Huawei’s recently launched OpenLab Dubai now sits as its regional hands-on hub for experiencing public safety, smart city and oil and gas solutions. The firm’s regional managing director and vice president of its Enterprise Business Group, Alaa Elshimy, explains how the Lab can benefit potential customers in their decision-making and technology education.
Why has Huawei homed in on oil and gas, safe city and smart city solutions for its Dubai OpenLab?
The OpenLabs solutions across the world are similar. We try to understand each market and its needs. We are in the era of industrial digital transformation, and this is a key reason for us making this particular investment.
The Middle East represents one of the biggest regions in the world for oil and gas production, and this industry in particular is in need of digital transformation. We’ve leveraged other ecosystem players to come up with new solutions.
Huawei is focusing on public safety across the globe, and safety is becoming a priority worldwide, and particularly for the Middle East.
In terms of smart cities, our work in the OpenLab encompasses the broader transformation that is going on, and includes smart education and transport. The objective is to make the lives of citizens easier and to make them happier; to my knowledge, the UAE is the only country on earth with a minister of happiness. Smart education allows for students to attend a class from anywhere without physically being in a classroom. Aggregated systems also allow easy assessments of the students’ and teachers’ performance with clearly displayed KPIs.
Is digital transformation in the oil and gas industry a realistic prospect given the tough times it has faced?
Oil and gas companies may spend more today on technology, but when they look at the TCO and ROI, they will save money in the next 3-5 years. When you start to have automated asset management, you have better control and utilisation of your assets.
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Faster, Smarter, Safer
James Dartnell reports from the EMEA edition of F5 Networks’ Agility 2017 conference in Barcelona, where the firm’s new CEO François LocohDonou pledged to stay true to the firm’s software offerings while delivering increasingly complex and secure applications to its customers.
Kingdom Come
Following its decision to commit $45 billion into SoftBank’s Vision Fund, why has Saudi Arabia’s government felt the need to make such a huge investment in technology? Why is this investment being directed externally, and does it actually satisfy the country’s aims of delivering its Vision 2030 goals?
Full Speed Ahead
Having recently approved Dubai’s strategy to transform 25 percent of the emirate’s total trips into self-driving journeys by 2030, the RTA’s CEO of its licensing agency, Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan – the driving force behind the project – explains how the latest autonomous transport nnouncements will contribute towards the goal.
Clear Skies Ahead
Huawei's Connect conference gathered 20,000 IT professionals in Shanghai to showcase a number of solutions that embody the company’s vision to become one of the world’s top cloud players within the next five years. Glesni Holland reports from Shanghai New International Expo Centre.
Joining Forces
Following the historic merger of Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company into a $125-billion-asset behemoth, work needed to be done to get both companies’ IT departments on the same page. Throughout the transformation, Mansour Al Ketbi, now CIO of the resulting Mubadala Investment Company, has proven himself a master of sound technology policy, transparency, and, most importantly, diplomacy.
Community Service
Of all the industries that are most critical in delivering open, secure societies, the legal profession has arguably been the most resistant to digital disruption. DIFC Courts CEO Mark Beer OBE believes the legal industry is now compelled to adopt technology to become more user-friendly, and that it risks being supplanted by the private sector if it refuses to change.
New Kid On The Block
Nine out of ten government organisations across the world are tipped to invest in blockchain technology by 2018, and Dubai’s government has set out its stall to be a leader in the adoption wave. When can we expect to see blockchain become a mainstream technology in enterprises across the region?
How To Fend Off Digital Disruption
Anticipating future opportunities based on hard and soft trends is a crucial weapon in helping CIOs stave off being a victim of digital transformation. Clint Boulton explores what is needed to commit to an ‘anticipatory IT’ strategy.
Building Blocks
Now in its fifth year, the Data Centre Build conference returned to Dubai's Habtoor Grand Resort last month, to shed light on the latest trends and best practices impacting modern data centres.
Eight Steps To The Digital Workplace
Clint Boulton explores how to to craft a workplace that boosts engagement and agility.
