Businesses in Dubai to tap potential of 'Internet of Things'

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Dubai is set to witness a new revolution of integrating government services with the 'Internet of Things' thus making government services easily accessible to every resident in the city Dubai Chamber officials said on Tuesday.

"Dubai aims to spearhead regional development by transforming itself into a Smart City which is considered as a continuing step in the advancement of e-Government under the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai to evolve Dubai as the world's Smartest City by 2017 and the happiest city on earth" Majid Al Ghurair Chairman of Dubai Chamber said.

Speaking at signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the chamber and the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce to increase cooperation and promote strategic partnerships to increase two-way trade exchange which is currently valued at 6.3 billion euros Al Ghurair urged new industries to evolve existing ones to change and adjust mind sets to effectively make use of the massive business opportunities and potential for growth offered by Internet of Things.

The MoU was signed during the 5th Dubai Hamburg Business Forum organised in Dubai by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the presence of Al Ghurair Hamad Buamim President & CEO of Dubai Chamber; and Fritz Horst Melsheimer President of Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. The MoU expressed the commitment of both the institutions to promote the Dubai Hamburg Business Forum and actively work together to fulfill its aims in the coming years. Under the MoU both institutions agreed to increase the exchange of students and faculty between University of Dubai - operating under the umbrella of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry - and Hamburg School of Business Administration.

Al Ghurair said the Dubai government has managed to establish a digital platform over the last 14 years to efficiently provide e-services to businesses and the government departments. It has acted as a springboard for Dubai to lead the Smart City initiative he added. "Online connectivity has created change and could further influence the sectors that were traditionally identified as offering maximum business opportunities for companies from Dubai and Hamburg."

Buamim said innovation is a key driver of the Dubai economy. He said it is important to benefit from new technology to make people's life easier in light of global reports that indicate that the world will have 26 billion internet-connected devices by 2020.

Buamim pointed out that as a major innovation hub Dubai is spearheading innovation and connectivity in every area of activity to make people's life easier. "Over the next five to 10 years Dubai is expected to be one of the smartest cities in the world" Buamim added.

Buamim pointed out that Dubai's smart initiatives in key sectors offer numerous potential business opportunities to promote cooperation between Dubai and Hamburg and Internet of Things could help broaden these prospects to include more areas such as education smart homes manufacturing and retail.

Addressing the forum Melsheimer said that the fast pace of digitalisation of the economy requires businesses to embrace and shape this process to ensure their competitiveness in the changing scenario.

"We are very keen on learning about the processes the companies and our cities have undergone in order to maximise the benefits of digitalisation - as well as how they cope with the challenges of the Internet of Things in areas like IT security" Melsheimer said.

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