IDC and IBM Conference
Building Resilient Sovereign IT
Automation as the Foundation for Scale and Control
Hosted By
Saudi organizations are entering a new phase of digital transformation—one where sovereignty, resilience, and scale must coexist. Meeting national and regulatory requirements while delivering always‑available digital services demands a fundamentally different technology approach: automation‑led, resilient‑by‑design architectures.
This IBM Automation event brings together technology leaders to explore how to build resilient sovereign IT environments across infrastructure, networks, hybrid cloud, applications, and integration layers. Featuring an IDC keynote and IBM’s automation strategy, the sessions will demonstrate how observability, policy‑driven infrastructure, hybrid cloud management, and integration modernization work together to ensure continuous operations under disruption.
Through practical demonstrations, ecosystem collaboration, and a client success story, attendees will gain insight into how automation enables operational control, cost efficiency, and scalability—while preserving sovereignty and security in complex IT environments.
Agenda
IDC and IBM Conference
One Day Event
Registration and Networking
Welcome Note
Opening remarks introducing the event agenda and key themes around sovereign IT, resilience, and automation.
Ayman AlRashed
Regional Vice President, IBM Saudi Arabia
IDC Keynote: From Compliance to Competitive Advantage: The Case for Sovereign IT Architecture
Saudi organisations that get sovereignty and resilience right will not just meet regulatory requirements. They will build the operational foundation for long-term digital leadership.
Shahin Hashim
Associate Research Director (META), IDC
IBM Keynote: How to Build a Resilient Soverign IT
Learn how organizations can build resilient and sovereign IT environments using automation, governance, and modern operational strategies.
Advance IT Resilience with Agentic Operations
Discover how AI-driven and agentic operations enhance observability, accelerate incident response, and improve IT resilience.
Mostafa Zafer
Vice President, AI, and Automation, Middle East and Africa, IBM
Standardize and Secure your Infrastructure
Learn how infrastructure standardization and security practices using Terraform and Vault can improve consistency, governance, and operational control.
Jamal Khatouri
Director Sales, MENA, HashiCorp by IBM
Mohamed T. Fettah
Senior Solutions Engineer, HashiCorp by IBM
Tea/Coffee Break
Integration Modernization & Resilient Applications
Explore modern integration strategies and SaaS-enabled architectures that help build resilient, connected, and scalable applications.
Feras Juma
Presales Leader, Middle East & Turkey, webMethods and StreamSets
Purpose-built Software to Accelerate Sovereign Deployment
Discover how purpose-built software solutions can simplify and accelerate sovereign cloud and infrastructure deployments.
Mohammed A Alreedi
CTO, IBM KSA
Unlock the Power of Automation on AWS Marketplace
Learn how organizations can accelerate innovation and simplify procurement by leveraging automation solutions through AWS Marketplace.
Bana Qatarneh
Sr. ISV Partner Manager, AWS
Fireside Chat: Client Success Story
Hear real-world client experiences and insights on achieving resilience, operational efficiency, and transformation through automation.
Networking Lunch
Speakers
Ayman AlRashed
Ayman AlRashed is the Regional Vice President of IBM Saudi Arabia.
For two years prior to taking on his current position, he was the CEO of the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence. A Public Investment Fund firm, which was founded with the goal of helping the Kingdom establish itself as a leader in AI by providing cutting-edge transformational solutions.
Previously, he was a managing director at Accenture Saudi Arabia, an international professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud, and security.
In 2017, he was CEO of the Saudi Cloud Computing Co. and later served as an adviser at STC. At the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he held several posts as general manager for IT and communications. He previously worked in senior roles at companies including Microsoft, the Saudi Internet Co., SOL, and AIG.
As a business leader, AlRashed has expertise in areas including technology, consulting, defence and security, cloud infrastructure, and the public sector.
He gained a bachelor’s degree in computer science from King Saud University in Riyadh.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 10:00 am
Welcome Note
Opening remarks introducing the event agenda and key themes around sovereign IT, resilience, and automation.
Shahin Hashim
Event Sessions
One Day Event 10:10 am
IDC Keynote: From Compliance to Competitive Advantage: The Case for Sovereign IT Architecture
Saudi organisations that get sovereignty and resilience right will not just meet regulatory requirements. They will build the operational foundation for long-term digital leadership.
Mostafa Zafer
Mostafa Zafer is the Vice President, IBM Data, AI, and Automation, Middle East and Africa. In his role, Mostafa is responsible for strategy, sales, revenue, and client advocacy for IBM’s hybrid cloud, data, and AI solutions – a high-growth business that is one of the cornerstones of IBM’s growth strategy. Mostafa has over 20 years of experience in sales and strategy leadership at IBM, where he held several leadership positions in multiple countries. Prior to his current role, he was the Data & AI Leader for MEA, responsible for owning, defining, and executing the Data and AI strategy in the region.
Some of his other key roles include leading IBM’s software business for the Middle East and Pakistan, leading software sales in Saudi Arabia, and acting as global software sales strategy leader in New York. Mostafa also worked on the growth strategy for the Middle East and later on for Africa, as the growth strategy leader for the region. Mostafa is a firm believer in the importance of intersecting strategy, sales leadership and developing solid client partnerships to deliver solutions that make a difference for IBM’s clients and ecosystem in the region.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 10:50 am
Advance IT Resilience with Agentic Operations
Discover how AI-driven and agentic operations enhance observability, accelerate incident response, and improve IT resilience.
Feras Juma
With over 24 years of experience in the IT industry, I specialize in guiding customers through their digital transformation journeys, helping them realize the value of initiatives around Hybrid Cloud, AI, Hybrid Integration, API Management, and Process Automation.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 12:20 pm
Integration Modernization & Resilient Applications
Explore modern integration strategies and SaaS-enabled architectures that help build resilient, connected, and scalable applications.
Jamal Khatouri
Jamal Khatouri is a seasoned Sales leader with a finance background, offering a strategic edge in the tech industry. Starting his career in finance, he effectively translates complex technology solutions into business value. At HashiCorp by IBM, he spearheaded the company’s expansion in the Middle East, capitalizing on the region’s growing demand for cloud infrastructure. Jamal has built a strong partner ecosystem and led impactful sales initiatives, tackling key infrastructure management challenges. His leadership empowers developers, operators, and security teams with advanced tools to provision, secure, and manage cloud environments. By combining financial insight with technical acumen, he helps clients understand the ROI of their technology investments. Jamal’s ability to align technology with business goals makes him a vital force in driving innovation and digital transformation across the MENA region as the director sales of this region.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 11:20 am
Standardize and Secure your Infrastructure
Learn how infrastructure standardization and security practices using Terraform and Vault can improve consistency, governance, and operational control.
Mohamed T. Fettah
Mohamed T. Fettah is a Senior Solutions Engineer at HashiCorp by IBM, where he supports organizations across the MENA region in modernizing their infrastructure with secure, scalable cloud solutions. With deep expertise in DevOps practices and tools like Terraform, Vault, and Boundary, Mohamed empowers enterprises to adopt Infrastructure as Code and Zero Trust architectures. He brings real-world insights from working with leading companies to solve complex cloud infrastructure challenges. Whether mentoring teams or leading technical sessions, Mohamed is passionate about bridging the gap between operational needs and cloud-native solutions.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 11:20 am
Standardize and Secure your Infrastructure
Learn how infrastructure standardization and security practices using Terraform and Vault can improve consistency, governance, and operational control.
Bana Qatarneh
Bana Qatarneh serves as the Sr. ISV Partner Manager at AWS for Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT), where she drives strategic collaborations between global Independent Software Vendors and AWS stakeholders to advance customer success. With over 21 years of experience in IT and digital transformation, Bana has established herself as a thought leader in cloud technology adoption and enterprise digital transformation.
Prior to her current role, Bana was the AWS Marketplace Senior Customer Advisor for MENAT (Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey), and previously led corporate sales for Google Cloud in the UAE. Her extensive career includes leadership positions at technology giants including SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft, providing her with comprehensive expertise across diverse technology platforms.
Throughout her career, Bana has spearheaded numerous enterprise-grade digital transformations in the Middle East, focusing on Customer Experience, Digital Procurement, Spend Management, and cloud infrastructure optimization. Since 2009, she has been instrumental in helping enterprises leverage cloud technologies to achieve their business potential, consistently challenging the status quo and fostering innovative solutions.
Bana holds an MBA from the University of Lancaster, U.K., and a BA in Computer Science from PSUT in Jordan. She is passionate about cloud technology adoption and continues to guide world-renowned enterprises toward digital excellence.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 1:20 pm
Unlock the Power of Automation on AWS Marketplace
Learn how organizations can accelerate innovation and simplify procurement by leveraging automation solutions through AWS Marketplace.
Mohammed A Alreedi
Mohammed A. Alreedi is a seasoned technology executive and the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of IBM Saudi Arabia, where he leads national-scale digital transformation initiatives spanning cloud, artificial intelligence, automation, and cybersecurity. With over 15 years of leadership experience across the region, he partners with government and enterprise leaders to design and deliver mission-critical, scalable technology solutions that accelerate innovation and drive sustainable impact in alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from King Saud University (KSU), graduating with honors, and a master’s degree in Cybersecurity, also with honors. Mohammed is also a recognized thought leader and co-author of the IBM Redbook “Accelerating Modernization with Agile Integration” (SG24-8452), contributing to global practices in enterprise modernization and integration strategies.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 12:50 pm
Purpose-built Software to Accelerate Sovereign Deployment
Discover how purpose-built software solutions can simplify and accelerate sovereign cloud and infrastructure deployments.
Partner
Hosted by
IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.
Visit www.ibm.com for more information.
AWS
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—are using AWS to lower costs, become more agile, and innovate faster.