It would have been a very lucky futurologist ten years ago who could have predicted correctly where the Middle East would be today.

Back then, governments the length and breadth of the region had been securely in power for decades. There was every sign they could carry on indefinitely.

Some regional economies were creating spectacular growth, while others had yet to push down on the accelerator. There was no talk of a crash.

Since then, the political, social and economic landscape in the region has changed dramatically. Some countries have descended into a turmoil only foreseen in nightmares.

The messy aftermath of the ousting of Gaddafi in Libya, the seemingly never-ending chaos in Syria, the rise of Daesh, the troubles of Yemen… Few global leaders could say hand on heart they saw any of this coming. And we have not even mentioned Iraq.

But in other places there has been tremendous progress, on a scale and at a speed rarely seen before in the history of the world.

Some countries have become regional economic powers with global influence. Others have opened up to international investment more fully. Homegrown companies like Jumeirah and Emirates have expanded well beyond their borders.

Getting there has not been easy. The Great Recession tested the skill of regional policymakers to the limit.

The lesson for businesses I think is to always be optimistic, but also always be prepared.

At International SOS, our job is helping organisations manage security and medical risk for their business travellers and expatriates. We enable governments, companies and NGOs to deploy staff around the world while meeting their duty to care for them.

On the medical side, the region has contended with outbreaks ranging from H1N1 to MERS CO-V, which only last year saw a major resurgence affecting nine countries in the Arabian Peninsula.

Day-by-day, they need to know what to do if an employee contracts a more common sickness or has an accident. More than that, they need to prevent that from happening in the first place.

Companies, both large and small, are responding to the risks. The Arab Spring was deeply concerning for local businesses who expected their employees to travel around the region. Since 2011, the proportion of our clients that are regional companies has grown considerably.

Generally speaking, we have seen organisations in this region becoming better prepared to deal with travel risk. But there is still variation across the industries.

International oil companies

The oil and gas industry has long been - and remains - among the front runners.

The opening of Iraq to international oil companies, after many years of sanctions and conflict, was an important moment. Sending employees into a hostile, high-risk country required careful planning for how to meet their health and security needs.

Of course, it is not just business leaders that have become more attuned to the risks over the last decade. We have seen expatriates and business travellers themselves demand more from their employers before embarking on international assignments.

That has been driven, in part, by the emergence of 24/7 global media and the rise of citizen journalism. This has meant that travellers are better informed than ever before and consequently, they are asking their employers difficult questions.

An increasing number of those travellers are based in the UAE. Companies large and small have set up here, and executives are crisscrossing the region to manage and drum up business.

In the last three years alone, business travel from the UAE has grown 33 per cent, outperforming growth of other major business hubs such as London and New York.

International SOS research shows that some 46 per cent of UAE-based executives report that the number of countries they have responsibility for has increased in the past two years. And that trend is only set to continue, particularly into Africa.

The one thing we know for certain from the last 10 years in the Middle East is that we will have plenty of risks to manage in the next ten. We have helped many organisations grow in the region responsibly over the past decade. That is what will bring me into work each day over the next 10 years too.

The writer is the Director of Development at International SOS.