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Ali Bin Ali Group organizes Cyber Awareness Session

Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Group has always tried to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and happenings around the world. In view of the increasing threat of cyber-attacks on individuals as well corporations, ABA Group decided to organize a Cyber Awareness Session that focused on senior management and senior employees exposed to cyber-security concerns currently being faced by the Group. 

 

The session is part of a larger campaign where the plan is to extend the knowledge to the rest of the Group, covering all employees from every division. The ABA IT Department joined hands with ABA Finance to invite Subject Matter Experts (SME) Ernst & Young (EY) to deliver a session of to explore the potential cyber threats and the ways to combat it.

 

The event, held on June 6, 2018 at the Al Falak Ballroom of Crowne Plaza Doha, was attended by seniors from the Group.

 

In the run-up to the event, ABA IT had sent out a ‘phishing’ email to the invitees to check their awareness level. The susceptibility rate for this exercises (14%) was much higher than average susceptibility rate and it justified further the necessity for the session.

 

The event was inaugurated by Group Chief Financial Officer Mr. Iftekhar Ahmad, who was also the initiator of the Cyber Awareness campaign.

 

He highlighted the seriousness of the matter and said: “Cyber-attacks are a reality and every day someone is falling prey to it. In the recent past, ABA Group has been a victim of such attacks. I request everyone to not take this matter lightly and do everything in our power to stay safe.”

 

The session began with a short video where ABA staff answered questions related to cyber-security awareness.

 

After a short introduction, the EY team began with their educative and informative presentation that covered all aspects of cyber threats, awareness and security. Constant interaction with the attendees made the session engaging.

 

The presentation was perfectly complemented with an interesting workshop where the attendees were divided into groups and asked to perform tasks to test their level of awareness. The workshop covered the key areas of cyber-attack threats, including passwords, disorganized desks, and email phishing. The activity was a perfect and fun way to pass on the critical massage about cyber awareness.

 

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Stabilizing QQP’s work process, FORWARD all set to roll out in other FMCG divisions

Implementing the ERP solution in a conglomerate such as Ali Bin Ali Group is a mammoth challenge and the ABA FORWARD team, along with Intrasoft, is leaving no stone unturned to make this transition foolproof and smooth.

 

The recent workshop to align all QQP processes in a stabilized and efficient manner was part of this effort and the outcome was highly positive. 

 

The workshop highlighted different topics in detail, which created an opportunity for open discussion about any previous issues. With the workshop proving effective, the QQP team is now more confident and comfortable with the processes of the new system than ever before.

 

General Manger of QQP, Mr. Dany Aoun, and his team have liked the approach and confirmed improvements in running their day-to-day business operations with no major issues in using the system. 

 

Mr. Aoun said, “This workshop was very necessary for our division and it has been very helpful. Our team has worked with FORWARD and Intrasoft to identify and resolve most of the issues and we can definitely see the effect on our everyday work.”

 

Following the workshop, major progress has been seen in the business process of the QQP division and they were able to close accounts for 2017 as well as the initial months of 2018 as a result of the stabilization phase. 

 

The workshop also helped identify some action points and the teams concerned are working together on executing them until the end of the stabilization period. 

 

The commitment and hard work that the team has shown during this entire process is commendable, which has led to fruitful results. The continuous support of Chief Operating Officer – FMCG Mr. Nabil Mourad and Project Sponsor Mr. Mohamad A. Ebrik during the QQP stabilization period encouraged the team to remain committed to nothing but success.

 

With QQP gradually reaching the finish line of their stabilization period, the FORWARD team is now ready to prepare for rollout in the rest of the FMCG divisions.