Gitex 2024 Report

GITEX Global 2024 brought together more than 6,500 exhibitors, including 1,800 startups and attendees from 180 countries, setting records for both size and scope. Held under the theme “Global Collaboration to Forge a Future AI Economy,” the event gathered public figures, global tech leaders like Salesforce, Dell, Oracle, and Microsoft, startups, and innovators to present the latest advancements in AI, cybersecurity, data infrastructure, and more.

Key themes included AI’s role in creating autonomous and personalized solutions, and building data-driven, sustainable technologies, all with the potential to enhance global digital transformation across various industries.

Here are a few takeways from my 5 extremely busy days at GITEX, focusing on the retail industry and Salesforce’s announcements & highlights!

Sébastien GRUERE

Regional Vice-President

Middle East

Retail is facing tough times globally, with companies experiencing slowdowns in growth, particularly in the luxury sector. However, innovation remains a critical factor for success. During GITEX 2024, Cartier and Valentino demonstrated how they are staying ahead of the curve through innovative solutions.

Cartier introduced a highly successful virtual trial solution for watches, which has been proven to boost conversion rates by 20%. This AI and AR-enabled technology allows customers to virtually try on watches before purchase, enhancing the customer experience both online and in-store.

Meanwhile, Valentino presented its ambitious omnichannel project with Databricks, which is improving data accuracy and availability, allowing for faster and deeper strategic insights. The focus is on delivering personalized experiences at scale, an essential move to cater to younger, more tech-savvy consumers.

We leverage our extensive retail expertise to help businesses achieve impactful omnichannel digital transformation. By guiding them through end-to-end projects and fostering strategic partnerships with industry leaders like Databricks and Salesforce, we drive innovative solutions that empower growth. Our ‘all-in-one’ in Bayretail StoreApp further strengthens store associates by enhancing in-store efficiency and capabilities, enabling retailers to deliver a connected, seamless shopping experience that meets the evolving needs of modern consumers.

The competition in e-commerce continues to intensify, and Salesforce took a bold step at GITEX 2024 by unveiling a new, affordable e-commerce solution. Integrated into their core platform, this solution allows companies to build or revamp their online stores in as little as 45 minutes.

While called D2C (Direct-to-Consumer), Salesforce’s offering goes beyond simple D2C models, providing tools for B2B and B2C companies to build dynamic e-commerce platforms that are fully integrated into the Salesforce ecosystem. This represents a significant advancement for companies looking to leverage the platform’s broad capabilities for both marketing and sales.

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At BayBridgeDigital, we recognize the significant potential this solution brings in empowering small to mid-market clients to increase their online sales while fully leveraging the capabilities of Salesforce’s ecosystem.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to redefine business operations, and at GITEX, Salesforce Agentforce stood out as one of the most promising innovations.

What is Agentforce?

Agentforce is Salesforce’s new customizable AI platform that revolutionizes automation. With its low-code, declarative builder and fully customizable agents, you can automate tasks, streamline workflows, and focus on what matters most. The declarative builder allows you to easily define agent behavior and logic without extensive technical expertise.

How can Agentforce meet your unique needs?

This platform allows businesses to create autonomous AI agents that can handle complex tasks across various departments.According to Salesforce, these AI agents improve operational efficiency by up to 30% and offer enhanced personalization for both customer interactions and internal processes. Agentforce represents a significant shift in the way businesses will manage tasks like customer service, marketing, and sales, providing personalized experiences at scale.

Agentforce from Salesforce is designed to support diverse business needs by automating tasks across service, sales, marketing, and e-commerce. Here are the main customer use cases for each type of Agentforce solution:

1. Service Agent: Primarily used in customer support, this agent manages routine customer inquiries across multiple channels (e.g., chat, social media). It’s valuable for providing 24/7 assistance, which is essential for industries with high volumes of customer service needs, like e-commerce or SaaS. It also handles escalations for cases requiring human intervention, such as in healthcare or finance, where sensitive or complex issues arise .

2. Sales Development Representative (SDR) Agent: This agent streamlines lead engagement by autonomously reaching out to prospects, qualifying leads, and scheduling meetings. It’s beneficial for industries like real estate and consulting, where fast, automated responses to client inquiries can significantly improve conversion rates.

3. Sales Coach Agent: Designed for sales teams, this agent provides real-time coaching and practice for customer interactions. It’s particularly useful in B2B tech and finance sectors, where sales reps need constant feedback and scenario-based training to refine their techniques and increase conversion rates.

4. Merchant Agent: Used in e-commerce, this agent automates product recommendations, manages inventory, and provides personalized customer engagement. It’s helpful for online retailers aiming to enhance the shopping experience by keeping popular items in stock and offering targeted promotions.

5. Campaign Optimizer Agent: This marketing-focused agent manages and analyzes campaigns in real time, adjusting strategies based on performance. Industries that rely on frequent marketing campaigns, like retail and SaaS, use this agent to maximize their marketing ROI by making data-driven adjustments quickly.

At GITEX 2024, Salesforce demonstrated its strategic shift towards multi-cloud solutions, allowing businesses to fully leverage the power of multiple clouds within its ecosystem. Whether it’s Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Data Cloud, or others, Salesforce’s integrated approach is aimed at offering a seamless experience across business departments.

One of the key drivers of this multi-cloud approach is the integration of AI agents, such as Agentforce, across different clouds, enabling more specialized functionalities. For example, AI agents  Marketing Cloud can optimize campaign performance, while agents in Service Cloud focus on customer experience.

Salesforce also hinted at an increased emphasis on offering more packaged solutions to encourage businesses to adopt multiple clouds within their ecosystem. These packaged offerings, such as incorporating capabilities from Data Cloud and Agentforce into the new eCommerce package, aim to streamline access to Salesforce’s suite of tools and drive more comprehensive digital transformation for customers.

We view these initiatives as a strong complement to our own packaged offers for Salesforce implementation and our multi-clouds expertise. This alignment reinforces our commitment to providing seamless, scalable digital transformation solutions. Together, these resources empower businesses to adopt multi-cloud strategies and unlock the full potential of the Salesforce ecosystem.

At GITEX 2024, one prominent theme across the tech ecosystem was the significant shift toward consumption-based or “as-a-service” models, as global technology companies explore flexible, demand-driven pricing strategies. This approach allows businesses to pay based on their actual usage, enhancing efficiency and accessibility, particularly for AI-driven solutions and cloud services.

Several tech giants at GITEX presented products aligned with this model. For instance, AWS emphasized its Bedrock service, which enables businesses to deploy generative AI applications with a pay-as-you-go model, aligning costs more closely with usage. This is particularly beneficial for organizations looking to scale AI without heavy upfront investments. Additionally, companies across industries showcased how subscription and consumption-based models are reshaping services, from digital transformation platforms to advanced data analytics tools, making cutting-edge technology more accessible and cost-effective.

This trend aligns with broader industry movements, where companies in sectors from healthcare to cybersecurity are adopting consumption-based pricing. This shift not only supports operational flexibility but also drives faster innovation cycles, as service providers continuously refine offerings to meet evolving demands in real-time.

We see this shift as a significant evolution that will help our clients maximize the ROI of their digital transformation efforts.

Throughout GITEX 2024, BayBridgeDigital held numerous discussions with Salesforce teams, exploring opportunities for deeper collaboration in e-commerce, AI integration, and multi-cloud strategies. As a trusted Salesforce partner, BayBridgeDigital continues to drive digital transformation for its clients, helping businesses across retail, healthcare, and commerce leverage Salesforce's latest innovations to stay ahead in their industries.

The discussions throughout GITEX reinforced BayBridgeDigital's commitment to being a key player in delivering cutting-edge digital transformation solutions to businesses in the Middle East and beyond.

While technology offers immense potential, it’s the right strategy and industry expertise that unlock transformative value. GITEX 2024 showcased how Salesforce innovations like Agentforce and multi-cloud solutions can reshape industries, but the true impact comes from putting these tools effectively. As a trusted Salesforce Summit partner, BayBridgeDigital is ready to guide you in leveraging these advancements to drive operational efficiency, elevate customer experiences, and accelerate your digital transformation.

GITEX Global 2024 in Dubai was a landmark event, underscoring Dubai’s vision to become a global technology hub. The event showcased the latest advancements in AI, cloud computing, smart cities, and sustainable tech, with a theme centered around building a “Future AI Economy.” As industries increasingly prioritize digital transformation, GITEX highlighted the need for global collaboration to drive AI-led economic growth and support innovations in various sectors, from fintech to cybersecurity.

One major trend at GITEX was the shift toward consumption-based pricing models. Companies like AWS and Salesforce emphasized pay-as-you-go services, which make advanced technologies like generative AI and data analytics more accessible to organizations that may not have the resources for large upfront investments. This flexible pricing strategy aligns well with Dubai’s tech goals, making the latest innovations scalable and affordable for a broader audience.

Looking forward, GITEX pointed to sustainability and AI integration as top priorities. The Future Urbanism Summit, a key event at GITEX, showcased innovations in smart city development, energy efficiency, and eco-friendly infrastructure, suggesting that sustainable tech will play a crucial role in Dubai’s strategic plans. The event also underscored a future where AI not only supports business operations but also integrates deeply into public services, urban planning, and healthcare.

In the coming years, Dubai’s vision includes advancing its AI research and data infrastructure, and expanding digital collaboration across global markets. Initiatives to support blockchain, quantum computing, and cybersecurity will be essential as GITEX cements its role as a leader in tech convergence. The UAE’s commitment to hosting events like GITEX shows that Dubai will likely continue to evolve as a destination for tech innovation, fostering an ecosystem where technology and sustainability converge to drive forward-thinking solutions .