(MENAFNEditorial) A vibrant and innovative IT sector will be vital for business development, sustainable job creation and economic diversification in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the Dubai Aluminium Company (DUBAL) and German IT giant SAP.
The observation was made by DUBAL CIO Ahmad M. Almulla and SAP Co-CEO Bill McDermott today during high-profile keynote speeches delivered to leading figures from the UAE business community.
"Without constructive economic diversification, the UAE cannot flourish and realize its true potential," said Almulla, who was speaking as a part of the Middle East and Africa (MENA) leg of the SAP® World Tour 2011.
"As our stature and influence as a nation grows on the world stage, so too must our ability to innovate and set the agenda. Best practice, corporate social responsibility, sustainable job creation – none of this is possible in the 21 century without IT. Information may equate to power, but without being honed by precise and intelligent processing it remains formless. The importance of analyzing massive volumes of data in real time will enable companies to move faster and have more choices than ever before."
IT has been at the heart of DUBAL's journey to owning and operating one of the world's largest aluminium smelters. Built on a 480-hectare site in Jebel Ali, the complex's major facilities comprise a one million metric tonne per annum primary aluminium smelter, a 2,350 megawatt power station (at 30°C), a large carbon plant, casting operations with a capability of more than 1,161,000 metric tonnes per annum, a 30 million gallon per day seawater desalination plant, laboratories, port and storage facilities.
SAP, which is the world's largest business software provider, has worked with DUBAL since 2006and is one of most vocal proponents of IT-driven business innovation in the UAE.
Recent SAP projects of note in the UAE include contracts to improve the operational efficiency of entities like Federal Foods, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and the Federal Electricity and Water Authority.
Bill McDermott, SAP Co-CEO and Executive Board member, said:
"IT investments have already helped the UAE fuel impressive growth across this great country. Game-changing innovations like in-memory computing, mobility and cloud technology have the power to not only transform business and government, but also improve people's lives. Technology is the driving force behind the UAE's more sustainable and profitable future."
With keynotes already delivered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the SAP® World Tour 2011 is a nuanced, multileveled initiative designed to enable dialog with influencers, customers and members of the ecosystem interested in partnering with SAP.Through interactive formats, including industry- and product-specific breakout sessions, participants will learn how the SAP solution portfolio can deliver customer value, consistently executing on strategy and growing profitably and sustainability.
The MENA-leg of the tour comes at a time of notable success for SAP in the region.
In addition to consistently robust growth, SAP MENA has hired 100 new employees since August 2010 and recently opened new offices in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Qatar. In November 2010, SAP MENA announced it would double its resourceswithin the next two years, with the majority of headcount focused on solution delivery. Today, the region hosts more than 2100 qualified consultants and 75+ partners.
McDermott's visit to the UAE coincided with an award ceremony for the annual SAP MENA Quality Awards, which celebrate customers that use SAP Quality Principles to effectively manage software implementations marked by multifaceted technical and business process requirements, excel in execution and deliver significant benefits, and achieve fast, low-cost implementations to accommodate today's demands for rapid realization of return on investment.
The 2011 MENA award winners were crowned in the following categories (implementation partners in brackets):
Medium-Large Implementations:
• Gold: EMIRATES ALUMINIUM PJSC LTD. (IBM)
• Silver: PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT OMAN (SAP MENA Field Services)
• Bronze: AL ROSTAMANI GROUP (Mahindra Satyam)
Small-Medium Implementations:
• Gold: ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK (SAP MENA Field Services)
• Silver. ADNOC LINDE INDUSTRIAL GASES LTD. (ATOS)
• Bronze: KING ABDULLAH PETROLEUM STUDIES & RESEARCH CENTER (SSBS)
New Business Applications Implementation:
• Gold: ARKAN BUILDING MATERIALS CO. PJSC (Fujitsu Consulting)
• Silver: DUBAI REAL ESTATE CORPORATION/wasl LLC (Mindtree)
• Bronze: ETISALAT MISR (BBI Consultancy)
Gold winners will now be shortlisted for the SAP Europe, Middle East and Africa Quality Award to be announced during SAP's November expository business extravaganza, Sapphire NOW, in Madrid, Spain.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.