CIO Xchange UAE

CIO Xchange UAE

The CIO's New Mandate

24 Jun – 25 Jun 2026 Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Empowering People, Driving Value, Leading with Resilience

In a world of relentless technological disruption, agility defines success. ​For CIOs, the challenge lies in cutting through the AI noise to identify what truly transforms their organizations. The UAE edition of CIO Xchange, taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on June 25, brings together visionary leaders who are mastering this shift – by driving the AI Pivot to Scale.​

IDC Research show that over 51% of organizations worldwide are currently in the “AI Pivot” stage of maturity, working to scale AI initiatives responsibly. In UAE, the AI landscape is advancing progressively, backed by visionary government investments and a high level of digital maturity across enterprises. CIOs in the country are emerging as the architects of AI-driven transformation – enabling business units to scale AI, ensuring measurable ROI, and collaborating with CHROs to build an AI-ready workforce.

With 58% of UAE organizations still deploying AI in silos, CIOs will play a critical role in driving cohesive, enterprise-wide adoption that strengthens readiness and deliver greater strategic impact.​ This indeed is their opportunity to step forward as orchestrators of transformation.

UAE CIO Xchange 2026 will explore key strategic imperatives around leadership, culture, collaboration and much more to help CIOs direct adaptable tech agendas. ​Through interactive sessions and peer-driven discussions, Xchange will uncover how leaders are enabling high-impact use cases while embracing governance, trust, and responsibility in AI adoption.​ Join us at Xchange 2026 where we build a community rather than just a network. Because in an AI-driven world, the real differentiator is not technology itself, but the mindset that powers it.​

Why Attend?

The IDC CIO Xchange 2026 is the premier gathering for UAE’s CIOs and IT leaders, designed to address the rapidly evolving landscape of digital business strategy, technology leadership, and enterprise transformation. This event will bring together CIOs, digital innovation leaders, and industry experts for immersive dialogue, peer benchmarking, and hands-on workshops, focusing on aligning technology investments with business goals, navigating regulatory complexity, and driving sustainable growth in a dynamic digital era.

Building adaptive, resilient technology foundations that empower organizational agility and sustained growth.

Leveraging AI and agentic AI to drive intelligent automation, elevate productivity, and enable data-driven decision-making.

Addressing the complexities of legacy modernization, technical debt, and fragmented IT environments.

Embedding trust, security, and compliance as core principles in every technology and business decision.

Leading with vision by aligning digital investments to strategic business outcomes and delivering measurable stakeholder value.

Speakers

Jyoti Lalchandani

Jyoti Lalchandani

Head of WW Events & MD – META, Central Asia, India

IDC

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Harish Dunakhe

Harish Dunakhe

Senior Research Director, Software & Cloud (META)

IDC

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Shahin Hashim

Shahin Hashim

Associate Research Director (META)

IDC

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Shilpi Handa

Shilpi Handa

Associate Research Director (META)

IDC

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Jebin George

Jebin George

Senior Research Manager, Software, Cloud, and Industry Transformation (MEA)

IDC

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Eric Samuel

Eric Samuel

Associate Research Director

IDC

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Manish Ranjan

Manish Ranjan

Director, Software & Cloud (D&A) (EMEA)

IDC

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Knowledge Hub

Getting Your Data AI Ready

It has become a common refrain – getting data governance right is key to a successful AI strategy! This conventional wisdom is very true, but it is not a new problem. For as long as I have been involved in IT, both as an analyst and as a CIO, companies have struggled with wrangling the various data sets across the applications running at the organization.

Bob Parker
| IDC
SVP, Software and Services Research
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Vision to Reality: How Governments are Empowering the Middle East’s AI Future

IDC predicts that AI will have a cumulative global economic impact of $19.9 trillion by 2030, driving 3.5% of global GDP growth. Governments will play a strategic dual role – both shaping policies for secure, impactful, and responsible adoption of AI across industries, and acting as major buyers of AI to transform public programs and services, enhancing operational efficiency and achieving mission outcomes.

Massimiliano Claps
| IDC
Research Director
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Partners

Venue

Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, The Palm

Royal Ballroom

East Crescent, The Palm Jumeirah

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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