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Above:
Domain Days Dubai 2025 offered multiple networking opportunities
each day, including long morning and afternoon coffee breaks, lunches
and dinners, a special early morning get together and the show ending VIP
Yacht Cruise that will see more about at end of this review. 
Above:
After a Welcome to Day 2 address from Program Director Leonid Todorov,
the business sessions began with a 10am talk from Sahar Khan (Associate Director - Channel Partnerships
for Radix Domain Services DMCC), titled Built to Fit: Radix’s Journey to PMF.
Sahar detailed what product-market fit looks like in the domain
world, sharing how Radix approaches each top-level domain as a product;
each designed for specific user segments with clear market demand. 
Above
& below: There are a lot of legal considerations to take into
account in all sectors of the domain industry. Those were well covered
in this discussion of Legal Notice! Disputes, Resolutions and TM Stories from the Region.
The panelists were, left to right, Charles Shaban (Chief Representative Officer, MENA
& International Trademark Association (INTA), Manel Bensaid
(Senior Associate, Al Tamimi & Company), Mira Fajriyah
(Legal & Policy Manager PANDI) and Dragan Milic (Attorney at Law,
MILIC Legal). They discussed DNS-based trademark protection and dispute resolution across the region with insights into local practices the adoption and implementation
of such key instruments as the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and regional
alternatives available in the UAE and across Europe and Asia Pacific, identity online,
emerging challenges posed by new gTLDs and cybersquatting and best practices for rights holders, registrars, and policymakers. 
Above
& below: Next up at 11am this session, Quo Vadis, Domains? CEO Insights That Rhyme with Success,
was an audience favorite with its CEO panel sharing unique perspectives on the impact of emerging trends, technological innovations, and market dynamics on the industry,
along with an exploration of opportunities and potential pitfalls. It
featured, left to right Lukasz Gawior (Co-Founder,
WebHosting.today), Elias Rendon-Benger (CEO,
InterNetX), Lars Jensen (CEO, ShortDot SA) and Michael
Osterloh (CEO, HostAfrica). If there was ever a time to take
notes (below) this was it. 
Above:
I mentioned the networking opportunities during the coffee breaks.
During this one, left to right, Jeff Sass and Alexei Popov from
the .ART Registry chat with industry pioneer and NamesCon Founder
Richard Lau. 
Above
& below: After the morning coffee break, Bashar Al-Abdulhadi
(DCEO, KuwaitNet) kicked off the afternoon with the interesting history
and continuing success story of the Altasjeel Alarabi Platform.
Altasjeel was founded in 2003 as the first Arabic-language interface for domain name
registration, pioneering accessible digital presence in the Arab world.
Today, Altasjeel has evolved into a fully equipped Registry and Registrar solution for both ccTLDs and gTLDs, providing advanced domain and infrastructure management for the region. 
Above:
The next session centered on The State of DMARC in the United Arab Emirates: Are We Secure Yet?
Lars Sandbergen (Sales Director, DMARC Manager) provided a brief overview of DMARC—what it is, how it works, and
the email security threats it addresses. He also reviewed the latest data on DMARC adoption among UAE-based companies, compared to trends from six months ago, and highlighted key
shifts. Lars also pointed out the growing business potential for DMARC consultancy in the region. 
Above:
Another important technology related consideration was covered in the
next session, Beyond the Server: Unlocking Growth with Cloud and Edge
Services, presented by two WebPros executives, COO
Carsten Sjoerup (at podium) and Alona Borzhemska. They
provided an inside look at how WebPros Cloud is reshaping the future of hosting and domain
services by making it easy for businesses to scale globally with geographical expansion and edge hosting, simplify operations through easy cloud provisioning and managed services, and eliminate upfront investments with a no-CAPEX model. 
After
a busy morning, guests worked up a healthy appetite and the Marriott
buffet provided everything they need to get fueled back up for
the upcoming home stretch of Domain Days Dubai 2025. 
Above
& below:The first TWO afternoon sessions both featured Robert
Jacobi (CXO, Blackwall), seem at far right in the second of those
devoted to WordPress and the Middle East, which he
moderated. In the first Robert went solo to address Security and
Revenue: How the OSI Model Empowers Domainers in a Threat-Filled
Internet. The WordPress session featured multiple speakers
including (left to right) M Asif Rahman (Founder, WPDeveloper), Miriam
Schwab (Hear of WordPress, Elementor) and Alexander Gilmanov
(CEO, WPAmelia). WordPress powers 43% of all websites globally and the Middle East is an important part of that story.
Below, Domain Days Dubai Founder Munir Badr was in the audience
listening to talks every chance he got throughout the conference. 
Above:
Just ahead of the afternoon coffee break, Narek Torosyan (COO, 10web.io)
took the stage to talk about The Vibe-Coding Revolution:
Distribution is the Winner of Platform Wars. Narek noted that in
the th Middle East, where digital transformation is a national mandate,
vibe-coding could be a game-changer. It lowers the barrier to innovation, empowers local creators, and accelerates the region’s leap into a post-code future. As the region builds smart cities, fintech platforms, and citizen services, distribution may become its most valuable asset. 
Above:
During the afternoon coffee break, Paulo Wu (Dynadot.com) catches
up with a friend to compare notes. 
Above:
Back in the conference hall, attention turned to Influencers, Bloggers & Gen Z in DNS.
The panelists were (left to right) moderator Christian Taylor (Craylor.com),
Ayyoub Kehel (Founder, Arab Domain Acadeny) and Charlotte
Riedl (Publisher, Beauty Report). Influencer marketing has become one of the highest-ROI channels for tech and B2B brands, and the domain industry is no exception.
The panelists discussed how registrars, registries, and marketplaces are partnering with influencers to drive awareness, trust, and measurable growth. 
Above
& below: Another important aspect of security brought Patchstack CEO
Oliver Sild to the stage next to talk about Covering the
Blindspot of Website Security. Today, websites are being mostly hacked due to human error and vulnerabilities in code.
Oliver explained why, in most web hosting services, application security is a blind spot that needs to be
addressed and how that can be done. 
Above:
Domain Days Dubai 2025 saved some of the best for last - the
second part of The ART of Domain Name Investing Sales
series (following Part 1 from a different panel the day before). An all-star
group was assembled for this grand finale of the final business day
including, left to right, Monte Cahn (RightOfTheDot), Braden
Pollock (LegalBrandMarketing), Aron Meystedt (owner
of Symbolics.com the first .com registered on the Internet
40 years ago!) and Nathan Parker (Above.com). As was the
case with part 1, they presented a master class in how to to
succeed in domain investing. 
With
the 6pm hour approaching and the final business day done, Domain Days
Dubai Founder & Curator Munir Badr returned to the stage for
some Closing Comments and a thank you Farewell. Of course, the show's
signature event, a VIP Yacht Cruise along the Dubai waterfront was still
ahead but he wanted everyone in audience to know how much their
attendance and support was appreciated. Below:
When Munir came off the stage and was joined by conference
Program Director Leonid Todorov, a guest asked if he could get a
selfie to seal the great memories made at Domain Days 2025. 
When the work is done, it's time
to play! Come along now for the evening's VIP Yacht Cruise - Powered by
Domora (Freename) & Nova Registry (.link).
Above:
Guests start gathering at the front of the Marriott to board a luxury
bus, led by a red Ferrari pace car, that would take them to the waiting Lotus
yacht at the waterfront. Below:
When they arrived, guests walked a red carpet up to this photo
screen to have their pictures taken, then boarded the adjacent mega
yacht for the great evening ahead. 
Above:
Team Internet CEO Michael Riedl and his daughter Charlotte
Riedl on the red carpet. Below:
Left to right, Marco Hoffman (OpusDNS), Thomas Dolezal (Domainbuch.at)
and Hakan Ali (OpusDNS). 
Above
& below: The spectacular backdrop of Dubai's night time skyline
made the cruise through the harbor a visual wonderland for guests 
The
food inside was just as wonderful with a wide variety of delicious fare
available at multiple serving stations. 
Above:
Inside the massive dining room on the Lotus yacht. 
Above:
The stars coming out at night weren't all in the sky. They could be
found on the top deck too, including, left to right Andrey Insarov
(.it.com Domains Founder), Lienne Novada, Helmuts Meskonis
(Founder, Domain Summit) and Jack Dai (CEO, DN.com). 
As
the Lotus headed back to shore, there were many more from the Domain
Days Dubai 2025 constellation on the deck, including 6th and 7th
from the right, Mr. and Mrs. Munir Badr. They've created
something special with this event, something with global influence
and the best part of that is that an entire industry and the
people in it have benefited from that too. So a sincere thank you to
them and the Domain Days Dubai team as well. Return
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