What are the hot topics in the IT world of the Middle East these days? Once again we headed out to the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Dubai to catch up. Back home now, it’s time to share our impressions with you.

Not only was the SER sales team on site, but so were our partners in the Middle East who supported us greatly. With three days of intense sessions and discussions at our booth, we had the opportunity to exchange our ideas and thoughts with leading industry experts and peers from the region. Moreover, we met new and existing partners, customers and prospects to further develop mutual goals and strategies. In other words, our booth was definitely the place to be for exciting conversations and an inspiring exchange of ideas.

In addition to our booth, we also took the opportunity to meet one-on-one with analysts from Gartner. We discussed blockchain, its status and future potential. Most interesting was the timeline Gartner predicts for blockchain to mature — currently they are talking decades. Also, Gartner has a rather reserved and cautious perspective on blockchain, although it has been the most searched term in Gartner’s directory for the past 12 to 14 months. Here’s our take on blockchain and ECM.

In a world region still dominated by oil, we, of course, discussed the oil and gas industry with the Gartner analysts. We learned that our ideas and approaches are very much in line with the analysts’ perspective and have strong similarities to the approaches that other industries take to ECM.

Back home now, it’s time for us to follow up on all the great conversations and take the next steps towards intensifying our footprint in the Middle East. The event was surely another stepping stone on our path.