What are your reasons for coming onboard the 43rd edition of GITEX Global, what are your expectations, and who are you hoping to meet at the show?
For a company like Honeywell that sits at the leading edge of industrial automation and control, GITEX Global is the ideal platform to showcase the latest digital technology, as well as exchange ideas on how technology can be leveraged to advance industrial objectives, from productivity to safety to sustainability.
This is something Honeywell has been doing across the region for more than 70 years, deploying new technologies that support our customers’ goals and the strategic visions of the countries in which we operate. As the pace of technology development continues to accelerate and the goals of industry become more complex and intertwined, the need to engage regularly with customers, partners and government stakeholders is greater than ever. That is the opportunity that GITEX presents Honeywell, and we are looking forward to sharing our latest technology updates with the industry during the show.
Are you planning to launch any products or services, demonstrate new technologies, or sign any partnerships during the show? Please provide details to help us amplify your presence.
Honeywell’s theme at this year’s GITEX is “Shaping The Future Of Technology And Sustainability”. Visitors to the Honeywell stand are going to see how we are leveraging new digital technologies to help customers achieve their strategic goals, including the role of digitalization in driving forward sustainability strategies.
We will have interactive demonstrations of a range of technologies, including Honeywell’s mobility solutions for the retail and logistics sectors, portfolio of voice solutions and Operational Intelligence offering that streamlines and automates operational workflows using advanced data analytics.
Furthermore, we will show several digital solutions for buildings and cities for the first time at GITEX this year, to demonstrate how they can help meet sustainability goals across the built environment. This includes new demos of the Honeywell Forge Sustainability for Buildings platform, and our Data Center Manager solution to help improve efficiency of critical infrastructure.
How important is GITEX Global for your business, and what is the volume of business growth you anticipate from your participation in the show?
GITEX Global is important for Honeywell because it brings together thousands of leading technology companies from different countries and regions into one place for several days of very focused and productive discussions. The outcome is important deals and partnerships that underscore the progress that technology is driving across industry. At previous GITEX events we have had five days of very productive meetings at our booth, and alongside the signing of major deals during the show, we also get the chance to network with hundreds of other exhibitors to drive discussion about advancing technologies and what they are bringing to critical sectors of the economy. This makes GITEX a very efficient place for us to do business.
How important is the Middle East and Africa for your business, and what is your growth strategy in the region over the coming years?
Honeywell supports a variety of long-term national development and economic diversification initiatives across the Middle East and North Africa region. Our regional strategy is rooted in a commitment to localization, to support the development of local engineering capabilities and a world-class talent pool.
For example, in April 2023 Honeywell broke ground for a new advanced regional manufacturing centre at the King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), Saudi Arabia’s new energy industrial zone. The new facility will become our eighth site in Saudi Arabia, and will provide development and manufacturing of cutting-edge technologies from across our industrial portfolio. We remain very positive about the growth prospects across what is a strategically important region for Honeywell.
To what extent can the region’s bold digital transformation missions elevate the global tech ecosystem?
There is a major emphasis on digital transformation and the impact it can have on industries across the Middle East, and through Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-based solutions Honeywell has enabled many of the region’s major projects to achieve improved performance and efficiency already.
It is exciting to see how the region is transforming into a leader in digitally-led innovation for the world. When you consider the depth of talent available, the ability and willingness to invest in cutting-edge innovation, and the role that its key sectors like energy and logistics already play on the global stage, there is a huge opportunity for the Middle East to cement its position as a global digital leader.
This is particularly relevant when it comes to sustainability, as we are seeing significant interest from customers across the Middle East digital solutions like artificial intelligence (AI) to help them understand, deliver and report on sustainability objectives in new and innovative ways.
A recent Honeywell survey, which involved some 1,000 retail directors across the Middle East, the United States, Europe and Africa in leadership roles – including IT, operations, and customer experience – revealed nearly six in 10 retailers plan to adopt AI, machine learning (ML) and computer vision (CV) technologies over the next year to enhance the shopping experience offered within stores and online. The research also indicates that retailers see this new technology as complementing and enhancing their workforce and not eliminating jobs.
Which countries and industry verticals are you targeting as part of your business plan over the next 5-10 years?
Honeywell is strategically expanding its presence across key industry verticals such as airports and transportation, healthcare, commercial real estate and hospitality, across the Middle East and North Africa in both established and emerging markets.
Across all these sectors, a big focus is going to be on reducing the environmental impact of operations, through a range of technologies that can directly and indirectly reduce emissions, lower energy consumption and make achieving sustainability goals easier.
We’re also going to remain a close partner to the region’s energy sector as it addresses this objective and balances supplying the energy the world requires today with driving a practical, urgent and sustainable energy transition.
7. GITEX Global is accelerating the epic race for AI dominance in 2023: how is your business embracing the AI innovation wave?
The introduction of AI has opened the door for a new level of industrial autonomy. Honeywell already has AI across its portfolio today, not only to automate and augment routine processes, such as those where the risk of human error is high or where the physical environment is hazardous, but to really push the boundaries of what it can bring to decision making across the enterprise.
The benefit of digitalization is that you can take all the operational data from across your business and turn it into intelligence. Where AI comes in is the ability to use that intelligence to accelerate decision-making, with less margin for error. We integrate these capabilities across our Honeywell Forge cloud-based data analytics suite, which is used across sectors today to gain unprecedented insight into the performance of operations, and where opportunities lie for optimization.
8. Aside from AI, what is the world’s next big technology shift and how should government, business, and society prepare for it?
We’ve been talking about Industry 4.0 for more than a decade already, and now attention is turning to Industry 5.0 and what that looks like. Fundamentally, Industry 5.0 integrates the concepts of sustainability, circularity and human-centricity into industry, driven by new computational power that has opened the door to AI.
Sustainability is now a critical building block of how industries operate, and it means organizations are reliant more than ever on technologies that can help them integrate that into their operating models.
GITEX Global and GITEX Impact will build up the momentum for COP 28, taking place in Dubai from 30 November - 12 December. How do you see the adoption of ESG strategies by tech companies, and what are the critical factors for those initiatives leading to a more sustainable future?
We can see that companies are increasingly adopting ESG strategies and are growing their investments in sustainability – as witnessed by the Honeywell Q3 2023 Environmental Sustainability Index.
Our report shows 86% of companies surveyed indicated that they plan to increase their sustainability budgets; 74% said they were optimistic about attaining sustainability goals, particularly with respect to 2030 energy goals.
Budget increases are focused in areas of energy evolution and efficiency, emissions reduction, pollution prevention and circularity/recycling. We expect to see growing momentum in these areas alongside meaningful action at both a state and industry level on accelerating the energy transition.
This is critical, because while technology is vital if we are to achieve the world’s sustainability goals, it cannot do so alone. Innovation thrives in the right regulatory environment, and with the commitment of the sectors it supports. Looking ahead to COP28, it is crucial that we advance in all three areas – innovation, regulation and commitment across industry – to deliver the promise of a more sustainable future for our world.
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