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This post is a companion to my analysis and takeaways about Avaya, following my recent trip to Dubai for the massive GITEX show. My writeup has been posted here on EM360, which I feel is a good home given given their focus on regions outside the Americas. I hope you give it a read, and likewise enjoy a few of my photos below from the event. As always sharing and comments are welcome!

Below - CEO Alan Masarek in our analyst-only briefing, a nice group shot (photographer unknown, sorry), and Avaya’s ever-present desk phones - in my hotel room.

Avaya at GITEX 2023_Alan at briefing.jpg

Some demos at the Avaya stand - Sestek, showing speech-to-text in Arabic, an agent wellness demo where AI tracks sentiment, not just with video but analytics for customer dialog, and keeping customer data secure with Journey.ai.

Avaya at GITEX 2023_Wellness Indicator demo.jpg

Avaya_at AI demo booth_unknown photo credit.jpg

Not sure if the flashy cars draw the big crowds, but big players spend big dollars here for sure.

Various manifestations of AI on display - too cute robots, Spot - the prancing robot dog from Boston Dynamics, and ever-present drones. Anything is possible in this part of the world, and there’s no way to tell how these “devices” will be deployed, but they’re definitely here now.

Metaverse demo from DEWA - Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Abu Dhabi government stand - one of seven emirates that make up the UAE, Extreme Networks stand - yes, there were plenty of familiar Western vendors on hand.

On the other hand, this is the Middle East - crossroads of commerce - and you don’t to have walk far to see players you’ll almost never see in the West - MCI - Iran’s largest mobile provider, China Mobile, and Huawei - with a model display showcasing their data center of the future.

Not surprisingly, Dubai is super-modern and built to impress - high noon shot of Jumeirah Emirates Towers - left tower was our hotel, nearby the Museum of the Future, and a skyline shot at night.