Q&A: Adel Al-Daylami, chief global business officer, Batelco

Q&A: Adel Al-Daylami, chief global business officer, Batelco

The Middle East continues to be an attractive place for multinational companies seeking potential growth. Batelco's chief global business officer, Adel Al-Daylami, shares how it plans to meet the rapid growth of bandwidth as service providers seek to provide more for less in the region. One way it has done so is through its recent global network expansion.

Batelco announced in January this year the completion of its major global network expansion project. How will that serve to be beneficial for the Middle Eastern market? 

As a major player in the telecommunications industry, Batelco continually strives to enhance its global network to offer its customers substantial value. This expansion project was initiated specifically for this purpose, where we now have a stronger global network. This includes deploying new Points of Presence (PoPs), re-designing the global network, and signing new partnership agreements. The new network is optimally designed to provide superior value to any customer or carrier. Our experts dedicated their resources to create the best design that avoids having a single point of failure, provides the lowest latency available between PoPs, provides better country resiliency, and makes use of all the available cable systems efficiently. Without a doubt, regional and global customers and carriers will feel the difference when using our network.

What are your strategic priorities for the business within the region in 2016? 

The region is going through rapid changes, especially economically. We realise that our services are designed to help our customers focus on their own expertise in their industries, while we take care of their connectivity requirements. I would say customers nowadays understand the need of having a partner rather than a provider to fulfil their requirements. Our priorities lie in providing the best customer experience, value and support to our customers by ensuring reliable and high quality solutions. We have a big list of initiatives which are being developed as we speak where we are most certainly partners, and not just service providers.

What are the key opportunities in the Middle East and how does Batelco plan to execute on those in 2016? 

Despite the economical challenges faced, the region still has great potential for growth. Many MNCs are coming to the region, establishing offices and looking for reliable providers. Changes in the political environment can also be looked at as an opportunity. We closely monitor such changes and adapt quickly to address the market needs and demands.

What sort of evolution have you seen in recent years in terms of what customers are asking for in a global connectivity solution and how has Batelco adapted to that?

We can all agree that bandwidth is rapidly growing. Looking at the current state of the market, it is clear to see that providers are facing pressure to provide more for less. Additionally, due to the fact that a global telecommunication network plays a vital role in the operations of any customer, customers are demanding more aggressive service level agreements (SLAs) and rebates. Customers are also looking to optimise their cost wherever possible and add more services to the connectivity links. Having said that, Batelco, through its initiatives, including the recent global project deployment, is addressing these challenges and ensuring its customers are happily served.

What increasing demand are you experiencing from the region’s service providers and how does Batelco aim to meet that in its global services?

Regional providers face the same challenges caused by the global market. Most of the GCC providers face similar challenges as our business environments are more or less the same. Because of this, providers are also looking into ways to optimise their networks, operations, and ultimately achieve their business objectives. We work closely with all the providers where we serve them and collaborate with them to achieve common goals and win-win scenarios.

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