Bringing A Data Giant To Dubai

Alteryx chairman and CEO Dean Stoecker talks with Gulf Business about the importance of data analysis in today’s business environment, and why Dubai was the obvious choice for the tech company’s newest office.

- Neil King

IN APRIL, one of the world’s leading data science and analytics firms opened its Middle East and Africa office in Dubai.

US-based Alteryx – with a market cap of $5.18bn, 2018 revenue of $253.6m, and a 22-year pedigree in the tech sector – opened its Dubai Internet City office days after the company’s co-founder, chairman and CEO Dean Stoecker spoke at the emirate’s high profile Smart Data Summit.

Gulf Business spoke with the tech leader – worth an estimated $333m – about the purpose of the new office, why data analysis is vital for growth, and how Alteryx is helping to shape the global business landscape.

Why is now the right time for Alteryx to open an MEA office?

We are seeing a surge of interest in advanced data analytics within the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Government backed programmes such as Smart Dubai are playing a key role in accelerating digital transformation across the emirates. We’ve been selling into the MEA market for over 18 months but we wanted to further support the success of current and prospective customers as they evolve their data analytic requirements. With the opening of our new Dubai Internet City office we will better support our local customers and partners as they gain knowledge from data by enabling data producers to analyse it for insights and make data-driven decisions.

Does Dubai feel like a natural fit for the company? If so, why?

There is a huge excitement around big data and analytics within Dubai from its city-wide initiatives to transform into the world’s smartest and happiest city. But successful digital transformation is dependent on enabling collaboration between all data workers both within and across organisations to analyse data and provide analytic outcomes.