Management World Middle East, held in Dubai on 3rd – 5th March proved to be an interesting and vibrant event, showcasing the speed of innovation in this exciting region. Last week we saw an attendance of around 150 professionals who came to listen, discuss and debate the key communications opportunities and challenges facing the Middle East region. With around 50% of the attendees coming from Service Providers, it was truly a Service Provider driven event. In addition, we had a strong attendance of senior-level representatives from practically all of the Middle East Tier 1 Service Providers. In fact, this event even had major Tier 1 Service Provider Etisalat as the Platinum Sponsor. There was also a strong presence of regulatory authorities from the region, with attendees from both UAE and Kuwait regulators.

It is interesting but not surprising to see that the challenges facing this region are similar if not identical to the challenges facing the other major regions of the world. The presentations at the event covered topics as diverse as mobile configuration management, launching IPTV services, operations & business process reengineering and mobile advertising. And for each of these topics there was vibrant discussion and interest from the attendees in both the Q&A sessions and at the networking sessions. 

As we look back on a successful event, I feel confident that our Management World Middle East event has set the TMForum up for an interesting and bright future in this growing region.

-Martin Creaner, TM Forum President