Digital Transformation Working Group

The next meeting of AHK Azerbaijan's Digital Transformation Working Group took place on Friday, November 3, 2023, in the "Innovation Space" section located on the 1st floor of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency. The meeting was held under the theme "Enabling Tomorrow, Building It Today".

Declaring the meeting open, the Executive Director of AHK Azerbaijan, Mr Tobias Baumann, welcomed the participants and informed them about the progress of the meeting. Then, he gave the floor to Mr Orkhan Guliyev, Chairman of the Digital Transformation Working Group and Chief Operating Officer of Caspian Innovation Center LLC. Mr Guliyev, in turn, greeted the participants and informed the participants about the innovative society and competitive human capital, which are among our 2030 national priorities, and noted that today's discussions will focus more on innovation. Later, Mr Guliyev gave the floor to Ms Inara Valiyeva, the Chairperson of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency.

Ms Valiyeva, who took part in the event as a speaker, greeted the participants and thanked the guests for their participation in the event. During her speech, Ms Valiyeva introduced the mission and tasks of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency to the participants. She spoke about the establishment of a successful eco-system and its components, and then Ms Valiyeva emphasised the importance of start-ups and the importance of developing this field in Azerbaijan. Ms Valiyeva provided extensive information to the participants about the "Technest" scholarship program, which is a national scholarship program that offers scholarships in the field of information and communication technologies; she also taught the participants the essence of the scholarship program. At the end of the speech, Ms Valiyeva gave detailed answers to the questions addressed by the participants. More

On July 12, 2023, the next meeting of the AHK Azerbaijan Digital Transformation Working Group took place with the Center for Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution under the Ministry of Economy. The meeting was attended by around 20 company representatives, and discussions were held regarding the digital economy and artificial intelligence strategies in Azerbaijan in the context of strengthening the public-private dialogue.

Opening the meeting, Orkhan Guliyev, Chairperson of the Digital Transformation Working Group, welcomed the participants, introduced the agenda of the meeting, and further stressed the importance of the field of the digital economy, which is one of the main components of the digital transformation, in terms of developing the public-private sector partnership.

We were joined by Fariz Jafarov, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution who gave a presentation on the topic "Role of 4IR Technologies in Digital Economy". In his presentation, Mr Jafarov informed the participants about the general activities of the Center, the work carried out in the direction of socio-economic development strategies, the possible applications and benefits of 4IR technologies and digitalisation, and gave a brief overview of the effects on the future development of the world economy, including the economy of Azerbaijan. More

On 03 March 2023, the first meeting of the Digital Transformation Working Group took place with the participation of around 30 company representatives. The meeting was focused on the main local challenges of innovation in business.

Opening the meeting, Mr Tobias Baumann welcomed the participants, introduced the new Chairperson of the Digital Transformation Working Group, Mr Orkhan Guliyev and wished him a successful year ahead. Taking the floor, Mr Orkhan Guliyev briefly presented himself and then talked about the recent rebranding of the working group to cover more topics in digital transformation and innovation.

We were joined by Mr Farrukh Aliyev, Head of Innovations at PASHA Holding LLC, who shared his experiences in this particular field with the participants. In his presentation, Mr Farrukh Aliyev talked about the general incentives for innovation, barriers to innovation, need for an innovation strategy and went through the global innovation trends and priority directions. The meeting was followed by a lively questions and answers session and discussions with the participation of the member companies. More

On 13 October 2022, the next meeting of the ICT Working Group took place with the participation of around 20 company representatives. The meeting was focused on the current cybersecurity challenges facing businesses in Azerbaijan.

Opening the meeting, Rufat Sadigov, Chairperson of the AHK Azerbaijan ICT Working Group, welcomed the participants and introduced the agenda of the event. He drew attention to the cybersecurity challenges given the current global business growth dynamics, which poses a more significant threat, especially in the banking sector and among the public institutions in Azerbaijan.

We were joined by Fuad Mailov, Managing Director of the Technofusion LLC and Shaig Samadov, Regional Channel Account Manager of Fortinet, Inc., who shared their experiences in this particular field with participants. In his speech, Shaig Samadov talked about the importance of information security for businesses and went through risk management methods and a pyramid for cybersecurity solutions depending on the maturity level of the company.

The meeting was followed by a lively questions and answers session and discussions with the participation of the member companies AHK Azerbaijan. More

On 03 March 2022, the Meeting between the AHK Azerbaijan members and the E-Gov Development Center took place with the participation of more than 40 company representatives.

Opening the meeting, Tobias Baumann welcomed the participants and introduced the honorary guest speaker Fariz Jafarov, Director of the E-Gov Development Center, and thanked him for his close cooperation with the business community. Taking the floor, Rufat Sadigov expressed his gratitude to the professional team of the E-Gov Development Center for their immense contributions to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his speech, Fariz Jafarov talked about the next steps of the Center planned for 2022-2025, gave information about their vision for the future, the strategic goals of the digital government development plan, and a series of projects implemented by them. This was followed by a question and answers session with the participation of the member companies of AHK Azerbaijan. More

On 14 October 2021, the first in-person meeting of the ICT Working Group this year took place with participation of over 30 company representatives. The meeting was focused on business applications of data analytics and artificial intelligence in Azerbaijan.

Opening the meeting, Rufat Sadigov noted that after a long break he was happy with the return to in-person meetings and further stressed the importance of data analytics to map customer behavior and patterns in daily business activities. We were joined by Altan Atabarut, SEE Digital Transformation & Innovation Lead at SAS.com (Statistical Analysis Software) specially invited from Turkey who shared the best current practices in data analytics with the participants. In his presentation, he also covered AI solutions across major sectors ranging from banking and insurance to production.

The event was interactive and after the presentation, the guest speaker answered questions raised by the participants. More

On 10 June 2021, the next online meeting of the ICT Working Group took place with participation of around 30 company representatives. The meeting was focused on online banking and its regulatory framework in Azerbaijan.

Opening the meeting, Rufat Sadigov emphasised the rapidly evolving digital transformation in the banking sector and further noted that in the near future there would be no need for bank cards and branch offices. The session was moderated by Rufat Sadigov and we were joined by Afgan Bakhishov, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Unibank Commercial Bank OJSC who shared current trends in the digital banking sector and his experiences in this particular field with the participants.

The online event was interactive and after the presentation, the guest speaker answered questions raised by the participants.

On 10 February 2021, the next online meeting of the ICT Working Group took place with participation of more than 20 company representatives. The meeting was focused was focused on digital transformation for companies in Azerbaijan, especially for SMEs.

Opening the meeting, Rufat Sadigov noted how the COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated digital adoption in business generally and how it had affected SMEs. The session was moderated by Rufat Sadigov and we were joined by two guest speakers - by Orkhan Guliyev, Business Operations Lead and Rauf Mahmudlu, Network Services and Information Security Lead at Caspian Innovation Center who shared their experiences in this particular field with the participants.

The online event was interactive and after the presentations, the guest speakers answered questions raised by the participants. More

AHK Working Groups continue with their work despite the special quarantine regime. On 16 April 2020, the first online session of the ICT Working Group took place. The session mainly aimed to assist members with effective remote working and to support them to be more productive, focused and comfortable during this period.

Mr Rufat Sadigov, Chairman of the ICT Working Group welcomed the participants and introduced the speaker of the session - Ms Lala Abdurahmanova, a professional trainer and ICA certified coach. Ms Lala Abdurahmanova gave a number of tips and recommendations on effective remote working, while separating the "work" from the "home". The online session was interactive and after the presentation, Ms Abdurahmanova answered questions raised by the participants. More

On 27 February 2020, the next meeting of the ICT Working Group of AHK Azerbaijan took place at AHK office. The main topic of the meeting was the application of blockchain technologies in business.

Mr Rufat Sadigov, Chairman of the ICT Working Group opened the meeting, introduced the speaker and welcomed the participants. Mr Alexander Kuklin, Chief Data Officer at Technofusion LLC delivered a presentation on “Use of Blockchain Technologies in Business and Practices in Azerbaijan” at the meeting. The presentation mainly covered the history of blockchain technologies, blockchain use cases for business, as well as live demonstration and blockchain solutions for supply chain.

After the presentation, Mr Kuklin answered to the specific inquiries of participants and the meeting was followed by discussions. More

The next ICT Working Group meeting was held on 20 November 2019 at AHK office.

The meeting was opened with a welcoming speech by Mr. Rufat Sadigov, Chairman of the ICT Working Group.

Mr. Serkan Koc, Digital Strategy Consultant / Entrepreneur from Turkey gave a presentation on "Secrets of Amazon.com’s success" at the meeting. The presentation covered the various aspects of digital and business transformation, innovation culture and customer-centric approach.

After the presentation, Mr. Serkan Koc answered to the specific inquiries of participants and the meeting was followed by discussions. More

The next ICT Working Group meeting was held on 17 October 2019 at AHK office.

The meeting was opened with a welcoming speech of Mr. Tobias Baumann, Executive Director of AHK Azerbaijan and Mr. Rufat Sadigov, Chairman of the ICT Working Group.

Mr. Rashad Nazarov, Digital Marketing Instructor at Code Academy gave a presentation on "Digital Marketing in Azerbaijan: Facts and Figures" at the meeting. The presentation covered the various digital marketing channels and platforms used in Azerbaijan, the digital marketing was compared to traditional marketing. Detailed information on the effectiveness of digital marketing channels and potential of each digital in Azerbaijan were presented to the participants.

After the presentation, Mr. Rashad Nazarov answered to the specific inquiries of participants and the meeting was followed by discussions. More

The next ICT Working Group meeting was held on 28 June 2019 at AHK office.

The meeting was opened with a welcoming speech of Mr. Tobias Baumann, Executive Director of AHK Azerbaijan and Mr. Rufat Sadigov, Chairman of the ICT Working Group.

The speaker of this meeting was the director of E-GOV Development Center, Mr. Fariz Jafarov. He delivered a speech on the topic of “Support of E-government to the business”. The meeting was focused on the services offered by the E-government portal, facilitated relations between business representatives and government agencies and measures for the upgrade of activities.

Following the presentation, Mr. Fariz Jafarov answered to the specific inquiries of participants and the meeting was followed by discussions. More

The next ICT Working Group meeting was held on 7 May 2019 at AHK office.

The meeting was opened with a welcoming speech of Mr. Tobias Baumann, Executive Director of AHK Azerbaijan and Mr. Rufat Sadigov, Chairman of the ICT Working Group.

The speaker of this meeting was the head of the Database Administration (DBA) team at Azercell Telecom LLC, Mr. Kamran Aghayev. He delivered a speech on the topic of “Big Data analysis and application areas in a business environment”. The meeting was focused on the importance of data and its usage in business, sources of confidential information and their analysis methods.

Following the presentation, Mr. Kamran Aghayev answered to the specific inquiries of participants and the meeting was followed by discussions.More

On March 5, 2019, AHK Azerbaijan hosted a joint meeting of the ICT and HR&VET Working Groups. The meeting was opened with a welcoming speech of Mr. Tobias Baumann, Executive Director of AHK Azerbaijan. Mr. Agil Allahverdiyev, Chairman of the HR and VET Working Group and Mr. Rufat Hajialibayov, Chairman of the ICT Working Group gave an introduction to the topic.

Mr. Rufat Hajialibayov has introduced the Corporate Sales Director of Azercell, Mr. Rufat Sadigov as the new Chairman of the ICT Working Group. Afterwards, he invited Mr. Alexander Maslyuk, HR transformation and improvement expert of SAP CIS to deliver his presentation on “Digital HR to optimize performance management”.

At this meeting, the participants were informed about the traditional performance management processes, SAP Catalysts, SAP SuccessFactors and compensation cycle by Mr. Alexander Maslyuk.

Following the presentation, Mr. Alexander Maslyuk answered to the specific inquiries of participants and the meeting was followed by discussions. More

AHK Azerbaijan organised the ICT Working Group meeting on December 7th, 2018, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM at AHK Azerbaijan Conference Room.

The honorary guest speaker of this meeting was the member of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Republic, Mr. Tahir Mirkishili. He delivered a speech on the topic of “Impact of digital transformation on economy”. The core themes of this meeting were the impact of artificial intelligence on business, development strategies of the digital system and implementation of the international practices.

Following the speech, Mr. Tahir Mirkishili answered to the specific inquiries of participants and the meeting was followed by discussions. More

AHK Azerbaijan organised the ICT Working Group meeting on Tuesday, October 30th, 2018, from 15:00 AM to 16:30 AM at AHK Azerbaijan Conference Room (Winter Park Plaza, 7th floor, 75 Rasul Rza Street, AZ 1014, Baku).

At this meeting, Chief Commercial Officer of AzInTelecom, Mr. Ruslan Aliyev delivered a presentation on “World Cloud Computing Trends. AzInTelecom as a first Cloud Services Provider in Azerbaijan” topic. The core themes of this meeting were the crucial responsibilities of AzInTelecom, provision of Cloud Services (IaaS) and the main Data Center in Azerbaijan.

Following the presentation, Mr. Ruslan Aliyev answered to the specific inquiries of participants and the meeting was followed by discussions. More

On 9 October 2018, Baku hosted the German-Azerbaijani Business Forum on energy and ICT. The Forum was organised by the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan) in cooperation with the German Eastern Business Association (Ost-Ausschuss – Osteuropaverein der Deutschen Wirtschaft) at Fairmont Hotel Baku.

The main focus of this year’s Forum was on reforms and perspectives for partnership in the energy and ICT sectors. The Forum aimed to present projects, proposals and needs of German and Azerbaijani companies in the energy and ICT sectors and to identify current opportunities for cooperation in the respective industries.

At the official opening of the Forum, Mr Natig Abbasov, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr Azad Jafarli, Chief of Administration of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Mrs Andrea Sühl, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany delivered their opening remarks.

Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Natig Abbasov informed the participants about the introduction of new technologies in the energy sector of Azerbaijan. Mentioning the role of digitalisation as one of the main priorities of the energy industry, Mr Abbasov also stated that the cooperation with German companies is expected to further develop in the upcoming years.

Chief of Administration of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations, Mr Azad Jafarli spoke about the recent reforms carried out in the information technology and telecommunication sectors. Underscoring the new measures taken in the implementation of the digital projects, Mr Jafarli mentioned that the work is underway in the sphere of integration and evaluation of electronic services in the country.

The programme of the event entailed parallel panel discussions focusing on innovation in the energy sector and ICT as a driving force for economic reforms in Azerbaijan. ICT panel discussions were moderated by Mr. Elchin Aliyev, president of the Sinam LLC. During the discussions Mr. Fariz Jafarov, director of E-Government Development Center, Mr. Farid Osmanov, director of the Information Technologies Department of Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Rufat Hajialibayov, managing director of SAP AZ LLC, Mr. Stefan Kägebein, head of Working Group Digitalization in German Eastern Business Association and Mr. Abzetdin Adamov, director of Data Analysis Research Center at ADA University have shared their ideas, experiences and valuable thoughts about the ICT field in Azerbaijan. More

The workshop in the framework of Information and Communication Technologies Working Group (ICT Working Group) of AHK Azerbaijan was held on 07.06.2018, from 11 AM to 12:30 AM at AHK Azerbaijan Conference Room. 

During the workshop, Mr. Farid Gattal from SAP Azerbaijan delivered the presentation on the topic of “ERP as a key enabler for effective business operations”.

The participants of workshop were informed about the best practices of business process re-engineering in conjunction with the implementation of technical tools.

Afterwards, the presenter responded to the enquiries of participants and the workshop was followed by discussions. More

The AHK Azerbaijan organised the next meeting of its Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Working Group on 11 May 2018, from 11:00 AM to 12:30 AM at AHK Azerbaijan Conference Room (Winter Park Plaza, 7th floor, 75 Rasul Rza Street, AZ 1014, Baku).

The focus area of the meeting was a discussion of “The Strategic Roadmap for the Development of Telecommunication and Information Technologies in the Republic of Azerbaijan” and the improvement of ICT infrastructure for the digital economy, and the further enhancement of ICT efficiency in the public sector. The honorary guest speaker of the meeting was Mr Elmir Valizadeh, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. More

On 2 May 2018, the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan) organized the “Cyber Risk Management” workshop in the framework of AHK Azerbaijan’s Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Working Group at AHK Azerbaijan Conference Room.

Mr Agil Azimov from KPMG Azerbaijan Limited Company has delivered his presentation for members of the ICT Working Group. The workshop was attended by 20 representatives from relevant member companies of AHK Azerbaijan.

The core themes of the workshop were risk management, proactive strategy against IT Risks and discussions in business technology matters. The principal aim of the workshop was to notify member companies of AHK Azerbaijan about main critical steps in IT risk management strategy.

At the beginning of the workshop Mr Tobias Baumann, Executive Board Member of AHK Azerbaijan and Rufat Hajialibayov, Chairman of the ICT Working Group welcomed the participants and delivered their introductory remarks.

Following the presentation, Mr Agil Azimov informed the participants about modification, evaluation, and retention of operational risks. Afterward, the presenter answered to the specific inquiries of participants and the workshop followed by discussions. More

AHK Azerbaijan organised the Working Group on Information and Communication Technologies on 28.02.2018, Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m. at AHK Azerbaijan Meeting & Conference Room (Winter Park Plaza, 75 Rasul Rza Street, AZ 1014, Baku).

The focus area of the meeting was a discussion of annual agenda for 2018. Participants came together to identify the main topics, objectives, key speakers and suitable dates for the upcoming ICT events. More