How can technology help companies achieve their potential?

Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori ADSIC’s mission is to simplify processes and make the life of local entities easier. Previously, establishing a business in Abu Dhabi was a process that involved 25 entities, and now we have everything unified under the DED Business Centre and the No Objection Certificate (NOC). A year into the implementation of NOC, the number of transactions has skyrocketed as processing times shrank from four months to 15 days. We also launched Abu Dhabi Services, a one-stop-shop app through which users can access more than 1,100 services and make transactions through mobile apps. We also have City Guard, a platform that collects and tracks customers’ governmental complaints as feedback in order to make their relations with public institutions much more efficient.

Khaled Al Melhi Nearly every country in the world depends on SMEs, and typically they represent over half of a country’s GDP and workforce. Every large corporation in existence today, including Injazat, started as an SME at some point. That is just as true in the UAE, if not even more so. We see SMEs as critical to the health and wealth of the nation’s economy, and we see Injazat as a catalyst to support and accelerate the success of these SMEs. Through our partnership with Maestrano, Injazat can offer a true pay-as-you-go capability that enables SMEs to gain all the benefits of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system at a fraction of the cost. This service combines world-class SME applications, which the client selects from the App Store, with Maestrano’s patented technology to avoid data duplication and multiple entries. All of this is delivered from the UAE’s most advanced cloud-based data center. In addition, the Maestrano platform has many front office, CRM, and e-commerce applications as well.

What do you see for the future of the sector in 2017?

RLAM Our current vision puts 2021 as our deadline for reaching our targets. The most challenging part is transitioning to the changes and the fast pace at which they are happening. This industry will see less and less external assistance as time goes by but this will also come with new larger opportunities for the private sector’s services. The cloud is a big example of this, with potential to become a USD1.4 billion project. ADSIC is helping design the UAE’s future and we want to remain open to alternatives and any progress coming our way.

KAM The technology sector and the integration of technology in business, government, and domestic spaces has grown tremendously since Injazat’s founding in 2005. Additionally, we see a myriad of initiatives to increase the levels of automation in business from retail to banking and transportation to government services, all focused on increasing the quality of user experience and reducing the costs of delivery. Enterprises increasingly want to focus on outcomes, more than the means to achieve them. That is where technology providers like Injazat can make a difference, and offerings such as Injazat’s cloud service can make the journey to that vision much more achievable and affordable.

How are you committed to helping raising local businesses?

RLAM We have expanded our network with the private sector. We do not see them as competition, but as a contributor to our work and as potential beneficiaries from our services, too. We work with them under different schemes, such as building their capacities for core and non-core, or for focused solutions that can change one single operation. We provide services through IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and other multinationals at that level. These companies provide services through our management structure, giving more flexibility to the private sector in terms of the platforms they can use to participate and create opportunities for potential users. We are expanding our services with the private sector because we perceive them as an engine for our technological growth.

KAM We are delighted to work alongside du and many other major ICT companies in the region, and we take an active role in many conferences and exhibitions in the GCC. As part of any Maestrano rollout, we work with the sponsor to develop and deliver orientation classes for the use of the applications and the cloud, so that SME staff can quickly add value to their businesses. Our newly revamped website provides information and whitepapers on both our services and on trends we see in the market. Our vendor-agnostic approach means that our prospects and clients receive unbiased advice on creating and implementing their technology and services roadmaps. Injazat is a commercial business, but we are committed to improving the skills and capabilities of the UAE in all aspects of the information systems and technology space.