You can forgive business leaders for hoping for some respite. They have been dealing with the seemingly constant changes in working patterns brought about by the upheaval of Covid and the rise of the hybrid workforce for several years. However, thanks to the rapid rise of enterprise AI, this is no time to relax as the working world is facing the fastest moving change since the introduction of the Internet.
While the influence of tech on how we work isn’t new, this moment is different. It’s not just about adopting new tools, but about reimagining how businesses operate, how teams collaborate, and how leaders ensure resilience in an increasingly digitised world.
One difference is where the impetus for the change is coming from. In the Middle East, 63% of workers believe that technological advances, particularly AI and GenAI, will impact their roles within the next three years. In South Africa, nearly half of the workforce (43%) anticipates needing to upskill to remain competitive. These are more than just numbers they offer a clear call to action. The workforce is eager to get comfortable using AI tools and the IT estate can no longer be taken for granted as a support function; it’s a strategic lever for future proofing the business.
Managing the growing skills gap
As these findings allude to, the IT skills gap is one of the most pressing challenges across the MEA region. According to IDC, organisations are struggling to find professionals with the right cloud and AI skills, both of which are now foundational to digital transformation.
There is, however, growing recognition among employees of the value in closing this gap. In South Africa, workers believe that enhancing their digital skills could boost their salaries by 36%. In the UAE, that figure rises to 44%. With talent attraction and retention already a regional priority, offering upskilling opportunities is becoming a competitive differentiator.
But this starts with having the right workplace technology in place. Across Africa, 80% of organisations report that meeting employees’ expectations for remote and hybrid work is their top skills-related challenge this year. These practices require more than fast Wi-Fi, they demand flexible, portable, and AI-ready devices that support anytime, anywhere productivity.
The need is especially clear among younger professionals. In the MENA region, young workers experience a 40% turnover rate. In South Africa, 68% of Gen Z employees say they’re optimistic about AI’s impact on their careers. These are digital-native employees who expect modern, AI-integrated tools and systems that support their ways of working and aren’t afraid to vote with their feet if they don’t feel their requirements are being met.
The implications for CIOs and IT decision makers are twofold: there’s pressure to modernise the IT estate, but it has to be done strategically. It isn’t enough to acquire new, more capable devices if they do not meet team needs. For example, giving a highly mobile team powerful devices that are heavy and require a lot of power could hinder their efforts to work from remote locations or at customer sites. Understanding actual usage patterns is key to efficiently utilising assets and maximising budget allocations, particularly at a time when efficiency is paramount.
This is where insight-driven IT planning becomes essential. Tools like Lenovo Device Intelligence Plus offer a data-driven view into how devices are used across the organisation. By generating clear ‘personas’ for different user types (based on role, work location, and digital habits), IT leaders can match the right device to the right employee. This ensures better user experiences, improved productivity and smarter investments.
The security imperative
While productivity and upskilling are important, CIOs are also grappling with rising data vulnerability risks. This is yet another reason to invest in upskilling, specifically in cybersecurity awareness. 86% of companies identified these defensive skills as important, up sharply from 63% in earlier findings.
But people are just one part of the equation. Ensuring devices themselves are protected is another. This task falls to IT teams that are often overstretched, tasked with everything from setting up new user profiles to complex software rollouts, leaving critical activities like patching and threat monitoring vulnerable to delay.
Automating these foundational tasks is a smart way to reduce risk. Tools like Lenovo Device Intelligence Plus can automatically implement patch updates across the fleet, identify device issues before they escalate, and even trigger basic remediation actions. It’s a simple but effective way to take a core defense mechanism device, patching, away from overburdened IT teams.
With less time spent on manual processes, IT teams can focus on higher-value tasks: delivering training on phishing and social engineering, or deploying AI powered solutions that drive business results.
For added peace of mind, ‘Cyber Recovery as a Service’ solutions provide a fail-safe layer in the event of worst-case cyber scenarios in a way that can be accessible for businesses of all sizes and implemented quickly. In a region where digital infrastructure is often targeted by increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, this level of resilience is quickly becoming essential.
Building a future-ready IT foundation
What’s becoming abundantly clear is that IT is no longer operating in the background. It’s now front and centre in shaping employee experience, driving digital transformation and protecting business continuity. The CIO’s remit has expanded, and the IT estate must evolve accordingly.
Understanding how technology is used, ensuring devices are optimised for modern workstyles and automating foundational tasks like updates and patching are no longer ‘nice to haves’. They are the groundwork for success in an AI-powered, hybrid-first world.
In South Africa, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, businesses are navigating unique economic, demographic and technological dynamics. But across all three markets, the direction of travel is clear: the IT estate is the nervous system of the modern enterprise. CIOs who get ahead of this shift by combining insight, automation, and a focus on user-centric design will be best placed to lead their organisations through the changing world of work.
For more information about Lenovo’s end-to-end portfolio, spanning from devices to services, visit here.
Discussion about this post