Issue 61: Innovation Happens Now
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re thinking about how our past can guide us as we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
THE BIG TAKE
Innovation Happens Now
Eid Mubarak! We hope you had a joyful and meaningful holiday. As everyone settles back into work, the economy is opening all around us. Dubai has announced several openings across varied economic sectors. Malls will open for more hours, flights will gingerly resume, and offices will open as the country regains some sense of normalcy. Yet, the battle against Covid-19 is far from over. We are just entering the new normal.
Ready, set, innovate: Writing in Gulf News this week, Xische’s CEO and founder, Danish Farhan, outlined the best approaches for this new economic landscape. Instead of fearing the challenges ahead of us, we need to consider the entrepreneurial spirit that built this country into an international powerhouse of trade, commerce, and innovation. Through top-down leadership, wise infrastructure investment, and an embrace of future technologies, the UAE is now a global nexus point of trade that can handle this crisis, and others like it. This is our foundation and we can use it to guide our actions now.
Design thinking: Farhan takes this idea and runs with it. “Innovative solutions were implemented for unique challenges for decades in the UAE and now we will do what we do best. Innovation happens now, but to ensure the best solutions rise to the top, we need to employ design thinking.” That’s right, design thinking is the missing ingredient that binds our efforts together.
Digital solutions: Over the past several newsletters, we have pointed to design thinking as a pivotal tool in our arsenal to identify and solve challenges. The argument is straightforward, as Farhan noted in Gulf News, “through collaboration as well as prototyping, solutions are found. Design thinking creates a controlled environment where we can quickly learn from failure to arrive at new solutions.” As the economy opens up in the wake of the pandemic, it’s critical for all sectors of the economy to embrace design thinking and apply it to digital solutions. Our digital economy will be the key growth area going forward. Are we ready for the challenge? The history of the UAE and its people leaves no doubt as to the answer.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
This week, we’re asking you about returning to work. Is your office returning to its physical space or staying remote for the time being? Get in touch across our social media channels @xische with your thoughts, feelings, and answers. Or drop us a line and just say hello.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“What you are thinking is what you are becoming.”
– Muhammad Ali
COVID19 STORIES
We are passionate about telling human stories. Now more than ever, those stories involve you. Covid19 Stories is a showcase of words, photos, and videos of our global community designed to celebrate shared experiences from this time of isolation. Powered by Empowering through, this exhibition is a dynamic and living testament to the historic moment we’re living through. Visit Covid19 Stories to share your story today.
OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK
The edge of innovation: Governments around the world invest in military research to advance technologies such as artificial intelligence. This investment results in innovations that trickle down to other sectors. With the recent announcement of a major new defense conglomerate in Abu Dhabi tasked with research in technology, we reviewed how fresh investment could spur innovation in the UAE. Building a viable knowledge economy requires investments in military research, and the UAE is taking critical steps to make this happen.
Internet infrastructure: Google is under investigation in the United States Congress for potential antitrust behavior connected to its recent overhaul of DNS protocols in its Chrome web browser. Sounds pretty technical, right? We thought so too. We unpacked this important case to highlight how the technical aspects of the internet’s infrastructure are coming into sharp focus in data regulation debates. TL;DR: It’s time to brush up on how the back-end of the internet operates.
A MESSAGE FROM SPIDERSILK
Practical cybersecurity: In today’s online world, cybersecurity is a critical line of defence for any business. Enter SpiderSilk, a Dubai-based cybersecurity firm specializing in simulating the most advanced cyber offences on your technology so you can build your best security defenses. Mitigating risk and protecting digital infrastructure can be achieved through the most advanced adversarial simulations and advisory services.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
The ultimate ride: Our love of gadgets at Xische is compounded by our love for technology. You can imagine our delight when we heard that the British car manufacturer Aston Martin is going to start making a new version of James Bond’s 1965 D85. The ultimate gadget-laden car will soon be on the roads again! The only question is whether the new version will have an eject function for the passenger seat.
Coming for WhatsApp: If you’ve been following this newsletter for a while, you’ll know we’re deeply interested in the debate about data privacy. When it comes to data protection, the European Union has done much work in crafting legislation designed for the modern internet. Bloomberg reported this week that the EU is about to get very serious about WhatsApp and Twitter in a series of decisions about data breaches on the popular platforms. Watch closely what unfolds because it could indicate how other countries will approach these services.
QUICK HITS
Ever considered just how smart an octopus is? If not, have a peek at this long piece for the backstory on these incredible sea creatures.
Newsletters continue to have a moment (you are reading one right now, after all). New York Times media columnist Ben Smith has more details on just how lucrative the newsletter business can be.
Digital culture is having a moment.
Like what you're reading?
