Please introduce VIVA Bahrain to our readers and viewers.

VIVA is a 100% subsidiary of Saudi Telecom established and launched in March 2010. Our strategy was clear; to transform the telecom industry in Bahrain and deliver on the requirements of consumers in this country. Over six years we have been the leader in cutting edge technologies, products and services, and have grown to be the largest telecom operator in the country today. We believe that Bahrain has got what it takes to be a major global player in terms of geographical location as well as from a regulatory and policy perspective. Today Bahrain is much better equipped than six years ago, infrastructurally and technologically.

What are the specific services designed by VIVA and geared specifically towards the needs of company/corporations?

We have been growing in the corporate space, you have to be able to provide the most reliable services whether it is locally or internationally. Corporate clients of course have ties with international entities so I think we have been well positioned because we not only have the largest national network but also have the largest international connectivity. You also have to master new products such as cloud services, which enable them to be more efficient: they can access data centers without investing in backend hardware and software. We have also invested in products like cyber security: we will soon be partnering with a company with one of the most advanced cyber security centres in the country and we are partnering with Intel.

In your point of view where are the opportunities in ICT in Bahrain keeping in mind the human capital perspective?

The telecom business is being transformed because of trends in consumer behavior. In this environment, Bahrain is wise to consider ICT as an opportunity to diversify its economy, as it has the talent and skill required to grow this industry. I come from a group which operates in 11 different markets and I have seen the talent in almost all of those markets; Bahrain’s talent is far better than other countries as a result of heavy investment. We support educational institutes and strategize to make sure that we are at the heart of this evolution. But we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, rather learn lessons from elsewhere to maximize the chances of Bahrain to win at the end of the day. like Investing in consumer digitization and smart city applications. We first launched with services that enable you to control your house from the mobile device, now we do vehicle tracking and monitoring for drivers, and on top of this a product for insurance companies, giving information on the performance of the driver.

How are you working with creating more synergy with the banking sector in Bahrain?

There are close ties between the telecom industry and banking industry we do a lot of enablement work with the banks, on both sides. I believe this will be much more common in the future and there is a common agenda for both sectors. That is, enabling Bahrain to maintain its position as a  financial services leader in the region. Over the last 6 years we have invested more than BD 900 million, which is an indicator of how confident we are. Bahrain is doing what it takes from a policy making perspective so investors have confidence to invest here.

The stability and ability of the financial sector to evolve and do partnerships with telecom operators, and having a common ground is very important.

What message of confidence would you like to send our readers and viewers?

I have never hesitated nor will I hesitate in investing in Bahrain because I have confidence in the system, the regulatory framework, the policy making and the government structure. It makes sense for anybody driven by investment practices to invest here: there is potential not only from a telecoms perspective but also from perspectives like tourism. There are economic issues on a global level; but dig deeper into how they are handling it and you realize that the potential is there.