We have moved past the “Great Implementation.” As we enter 2026, the global enterprise has reached a critical inflection point where the sheer volume of data, the complexity of multi-cloud ecosystems, and the velocity of agentic AI have outpaced traditional human management. The mandate for the CIO has fundamentally shifted: it is no longer about managing technology, but about architecting autonomy.

Join us to learn how AI drives a generational shift in public services, national security, and the talent economy. It outlines a comprehensive strategic framework designed to simplify administrative operations, scale infrastructure securely, and personalize citizen experiences. In this session, Basil and Saad will co-present. Basil will share what Kuwaiti organisations can achieve using AI and Google Cloud to modernize digital foundations, empower employees, and bolster cyber defense. Saad will bring the practical side of things, sharing real-world examples from customers in the region to show how these technologies are implemented.

Digital resilience is already hard, and AI is raising the stakes further. In this session, we’ll explore how siloed data, alert overload, and shadow AI are straining organizations, and outline a practical approach to unifying machine data, sharpening AI with cross-domain insight, and securing the AI stack.

At the IDC CIO Summit, Ali brings a unique blend of executive leadership, strategic vision, and practical experience, sharing insights on how organizations can transform AI ambition into business outcomes while navigating the evolving challenges of governance, compliance, and cybersecurity.

Engage, Explore, and Network—Where Technology Meets Unforgettable Moments!

In today’s AI-driven world, data is the foundation for innovation, security, and growth, making resilience a strategic priority. This session explores how organizations can evolve their approach, align with business goals, and implement strategies that ensure recovery, security posture, and continuous operations in a landscape where identity, data, security, and AI are increasingly interconnected.

As enterprise IT shifts from “cloud-first” to “cloud-smart,” CIOs face a common dilemma: balancing agility and innovation with spiraling public cloud costs, operational complexity, and vendor lock-in.

This session delivers a pragmatic blueprint for building a hybrid multicloud architecture that puts control back in the hands of IT leadership. Discover how unifying data center, edge, and public cloud environments under a single operating model enables seamless workload portability, predictable TCO, and a future-proof foundation for enterprise AI—without forcing application refactoring.

In these current uncertain times, organisations of the middle east are facing unprecedented levels of physical and digital threats. Hear how Commvault have helped other customers within the region to mitigate these risks and provide reassurance to the leaders of the digital world in the region.

As AI accelerates innovation, organizations must ensure that critical decisions, services, and trust can endure disruption. This session explores how CIOs can move beyond traditional backup thinking to build cyber resilience across the business—preparing for disruption, recognizing risk early, and restoring priority services with confidence.

We will examine how leaders can align people, processes, and technology around trusted recovery, strengthen governance and readiness, and sustain business continuity as threats evolve. Attendees will leave with an executive framework for protecting innovation while enabling responsible growth in the AI era.