15 Jul 2026
AI & Data Driven Enterprise
Middle East & Africa
15 Jul 2026
AI & Data Driven Enterprise
Overview
The AI and data landscape is entering a decisive new chapter. After years of pilot initiatives and isolated innovation, organizations are now shifting toward strategic, scalable investments that unify data modernization, analytics, and AI capabilities.
According to IDC, AI spending across the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa is projected to reach USD 25.9 billion by 2029 growing at 42% CAGR, reflecting the strategic importance of the technology. As the global adoption of Generative and Agentic AI accelerates, success increasingly depends on how effectively enterprises can harness, govern, and activate their data.
To translate innovation into measurable business outcomes, organizations must strengthen their data foundations and build resilient, trusted architectures that support secure, transparent, and explainable AI.
Join Us
This exclusive IDC Digital Event brings together senior IDC analysts and technology executives to explore the latest trends shaping AI adoption and data-driven innovation. Through keynote presentations, expert panels, and interactive discussions, attendees will gain the insight needed to avoid missteps, create value quickly, and ensure that data and AI work together as strategic assets across both IT and the business.
Agenda
AI & Data Driven Enterprise
One Day Event
11:00 am
Welcome Address
11:05 am
IDC Keynote: AI-Infused Transformation: Understanding the Value versus Cost Equation
The potential for Agentic AI to deliver new, highly efficient operating models and innovative, revenue-generating business models is unprecedented. However, getting priorities in order and controlling costs are the keys to success. In this presentation, IDC will share best practices for prioritizing use cases and a framework for effective AI cost management.
Bob Parker
Senior Vice President, Enterprise Applications, Data Intelligence, Services, and Industry Research, IDC
11:20 am
From Pilots to Production: How Agentic Orchestration Closes the AI Execution Gap
71% of organizations have deployed AI agents, yet only 11% of use cases reached production last year. The gap isn’t capability; it’s coordination. In this session, Camunda explores why enterprises across the Middle East and Africa are hitting an automation ceiling, and how agentic orchestration provides the missing layer between AI investment and measurable business outcomes. Attendees will leave with a strategic framework for moving AI initiatives from proof-of-concept to enterprise-wide production: with the governance, audibility, and human oversight that mission-critical operations demand.
Justin Vaughan-Brown
VP Product Marketing, Camunda
11:35 am
The New Security Perimeter: Why AI and Data Infrastructure Demand a Fundamentally Different Defense
The traditional security perimeter no longer exists. As organizations embrace AI-driven systems and data-intensive infrastructure, the attack surface has expanded in ways conventional cybersecurity frameworks were never designed to handle. AI models can be manipulated, data pipelines exploited, and automated systems weaponized — introducing threats that are faster, more adaptive, and harder to detect. This session examines why securing AI and data infrastructure demands a fundamentally new approach — one built on zero-trust architecture, continuous monitoring, and adversarial resilience — equipping security leaders with the mindset and methods to protect what now sits at the core.
11:50 am
Governed, Compliant, and Open: The New Rules of Data Sovereignty
Data is among an organisation’s most valuable assets — and its most regulated. As governments tighten data localisation laws, cross-border transfer restrictions, and compliance mandates, organisations face a growing tension between keeping data open enough to drive innovation and controlled enough to stay compliant. This session unpacks the evolving landscape of data sovereignty — exploring how forward-thinking organisations are building governance frameworks that satisfy regulatory demands without sacrificing agility. From cloud architecture decisions and data residency strategies to privacy-by-design principles, attendees will gain a clear understanding of how to turn compliance from a constraint into a competitive advantage.
12:05 pm
Presentations
Focus on Middle East
12:05 pm – 12:15 pm
Data Fabric vs. Data Mesh: Choosing the Right Architecture for AI-Ready Enterprises
12:15 pm – 12:25 pm
Edge-First AI: Deploying Intelligent Workloads Where Connectivity is Constrained
12:25 pm – 12:35 pm
MLOps at Scale: Building Pipelines, Governance, and Observability Into AI Infrastructure
Focus on Africa
12:05 pm – 12:15 pm
Engineering AI-Ready Data: From Cataloging and Lineage to Model-Ready Pipelines
12:15 pm – 12:25 pm
Vector Databases, RAG, and the New Data Stack Powering Generative AI in Production
12:25 pm – 12:35 pm
Agentic AI in Production: Architecture Patterns and Guardrails that Actually Work
12:35 pm
Panel Discussion: From Pilots to Payoff: Making Agentic AI Deliver Enterprise-Wide ROI
This panel brings together Data, AI, and IT leaders to discuss practical lessons from deploying Agentic AI in enterprise environments. It will explore what it takes to scale AI responsibly and deliver measurable outcomes across the organization.
Melih Murat
Associate Research Director, Artificial Intelligence (META), IDC
1:05 pm
Close of Event
Speakers
Bob Parker
Senior Vice President, Enterprise Applications, Data Intelligence, Services, and Industry Research
IDC
Read Bio
Melih Murat
Associate Research Director, Artificial Intelligence (META)
IDC
Read Bio
Justin Vaughan-Brown
VP Product Marketing
Camunda
Read Bio
Bob Parker
IDC
Senior Vice President, Enterprise Applications, Data Intelligence, Services, and Industry Research
Bob Parker is a Senior Vice President responsible for several areas of research at IDC. Bob leads the global industry research teams which includes coverage of healthcare, government, retail, energy, manufacturing, and financial services as well as a cross industry group looking at emerging topics such as blockchain and robotics. Additionally, Bob leads our teams in the enterprise applications space, services, and the IDC coverage of data intelligence which includes coverage of artificial intelligence.
Bob has been conducting industry research for over twenty years including five years at AMR Research before joining IDC. Prior to entering the research field, Bob spent over fifteen years in various Information Technology and Operational management roles in the manufacturing industry including serving as the Chief Information Officer at Eastern Technologies, a defense contractor.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 11:05 am
IDC Keynote: AI-Infused Transformation: Understanding the Value versus Cost Equation
The potential for Agentic AI to deliver new, highly efficient operating models and innovative, revenue-generating business models is unprecedented. However, getting priorities in order and controlling costs are the keys to success. In this presentation, IDC will share best practices for prioritizing use cases and a framework for effective AI cost management.
Melih Murat
IDC
Associate Research Director, Artificial Intelligence (META)
In his role as associate research director for IT services and software across the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META), Melih drives IDC’s regional research and consulting engagements in the areas of IT services, Cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and intelligent automation.
He first joined IDC in 2012 as a senior research analyst located out of IDC’s Istanbul office, with various responsibilities for the firm’s IT services, cloud computing, software, and telecom domains — both in Turkey and across the wider META region. Between 2016 and 2021, Melih headed the international marketing and investor relations practice at P.I. Works, a global automation and AI software vendor that serves telecom operators.
Now back at IDC, Melih is leveraging his vast experience in the IT services, cloud, software, and telecommunications domains to advise clients on go-to-market strategies, technology marketing and promotion activities, and market trends analysis. He is also driving a wide variety of research and consulting projects across the META region.
Melih has also previously served as enterprise channel and marketing manager at Nortel Turkey and as business development and strategy manager at Netaş, one of the leading systems integrators in Turkey and a former Nortel subsidiary. He possesses a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and received his MBA from Esslingen University of Applied Sciences in Germany. He has worked as a business development specialist at HP and wrote his MBA thesis for the company, covering European retail channel trends and winning strategies for channel businesses.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 12:35 pm
Panel Discussion: From Pilots to Payoff: Making Agentic AI Deliver Enterprise-Wide ROI
This panel brings together Data, AI, and IT leaders to discuss practical lessons from deploying Agentic AI in enterprise environments. It will explore what it takes to scale AI responsibly and deliver measurable outcomes across the organization.
Justin Vaughan-Brown
Camunda
VP Product Marketing
A dual British/German national with deep insight into European buyer behaviour, Justin has lived in the Heidelberg area since 2006 and brings over 25 years of experience in taking enterprise tech to market for global players like Cisco, AppDynamics, Software AG, Microsoft, and now Camunda. A seasoned speaker and panellist, including appearances at multiple PMA events in 2025 (London, Berlin and Amsterdam), Justin has led as CMO, Global Digital Transformation Lead, and VP of Product Marketing. Across every role, his focus remains consistent: tackling real customer challenges with substance, strategy, and proven results.
Event Sessions
One Day Event 11:20 am
From Pilots to Production: How Agentic Orchestration Closes the AI Execution Gap
71% of organizations have deployed AI agents, yet only 11% of use cases reached production last year. The gap isn’t capability; it’s coordination. In this session, Camunda explores why enterprises across the Middle East and Africa are hitting an automation ceiling, and how agentic orchestration provides the missing layer between AI investment and measurable business outcomes. Attendees will leave with a strategic framework for moving AI initiatives from proof-of-concept to enterprise-wide production: with the governance, audibility, and human oversight that mission-critical operations demand.
Partners
Camunda
Camunda is the enterprise platform for agentic orchestration, enabling organizations to coordinate AI agents, people, and systems across complex, end-to-end business processes. With built-in governance, auditability, and human oversight, Camunda gives enterprises the control they need to move AI from pilots to production — safely and at scale. Trusted by over 700 organizations worldwide, including 9 of top 10 US banks, Camunda helps enterprises boost operational efficiency, accelerate time-to-value, and deliver better customer experiences. Recognized as a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for BOAT 2025 and rated 5/5 in Orchestration by Forrester, Camunda is The Business Orchestration Company. For more information, visit camunda.com.