US software company Oracle opened a technology collaboration centre in Abu Dhabi that aims to help public and private sector organisations leverage the use of emerging technology to boost their bottom lines.
The Al Mustaqbal Oracle Innovation Hub on Reem Island will promote the integration of innovation into companies to streamline their cost and operational efficiencies, the Texas-based company said at the launch on Wednesday.
It will focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things, as well as supporting the development of the UAE capital’s knowledge economy.
The hub is part of Oracle’s continued investment in the UAE and the second after the Zayed Innovation Hub in Dubai. The company declined to disclose the investment cost of the centre.
Representatives from Abu Dhabi government entities attended the launch, including from the Ministry of Interior, the Department of Finance, the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), Abu Dhabi Customs, the Human Resources Authority and sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.
“Data is the beginning,” Mohamed Al Askar, director general of the ADDA, said in a keynote. "We spend huge time using technology, changing and impacting our interaction. The journey will never stop.
“We always want to explore and do something new. And along that journey and transformation we always seek the right partners.”
GCC states are attracting a large number of global technology companies because of the rise of tech-focused young consumers and an evolving digital landscape in the region.
Data centre companies have been a key factor in helping economies keeping in step with the rapidly-evolving digital landscape.
The UAE is ranked first in the Middle East in the 2021 edition of the Global Innovation Index, cementing its status as among the world’s leading countries in adopting the latest technology.
Oracle and a host of other global technology companies have flocked to the Emirates to set up various facilities to support the country's technological push.
The company currently has 33 cloud regions globally, with three in the Middle East, and the most recent one opened in Abu Dhabi last November. The Jeddah and Dubai regions were inaugurated in 2020.
Microsoft and Amazon, among the world's most valuable companies, have also opened their respective cloud regions in the UAE.
"We are seeing an increasing demand on how the government and the private sector leverages data and analytics," Leopoldo Boado, senior vice president for business applications at Oracle, told The National.
"The main challenge is how we use and take advantage of the value of this data. Data centres have that maximum level of security and sovereignty."
The global cloud computing market was valued at $368.97 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of almost 16 per cent from 2022 to 2030, according to Grand View Research.
Global spending on public cloud services, meanwhile, is expected to rise by more than 20 per cent annually to $495bn this year — nearly $84bn more than what was spent in 2020 — and hit $600bn in 2023, according to research firm Gartner.
The UAE provides the ecosystem, talent and support to explore innovation. We always want to be the first in digital transformation
Mohamed Al Askar,
director general of the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority
Additionally, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology had announced that it would adopt the Smart Industry Readiness Index, the global standard used by the World Economic Forum, to help local companies use Fourth Industrial Revolution technology to boost productivity and their contribution to the economy.
Oracle's new innovation hub aims to help public entities and private businesses to co-innovate to be able to capture the new opportunities in the market, Mr Boado said.
“There is a big shift right now among chief financial officers, mainly on cost reductions. The main focus is on the top line and how they can increase revenues."
In addition to corporates, the programme will also support start-ups and small and medium enterprises, both of which are major pillars of the UAE's economic engine.
Mr Al Askar said: “The UAE provides the ecosystem, talent and support to explore innovation. We always want to be the first in digital transformation."
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
FIXTURES (all times UAE)
Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)
Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
Don't get fined
The UAE FTA requires following to be kept:
- Records of all supplies and imports of goods and services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents related to receiving goods or services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents issued
- Records of goods and services that have been disposed of or used for matters not related to business
Six things you need to know about UAE Women’s Special Olympics football team
Several girls started playing football at age four
They describe sport as their passion
The girls don’t dwell on their condition
They just say they may need to work a little harder than others
When not in training, they play football with their brothers and sisters
The girls want to inspire others to join the UAE Special Olympics teams
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clinicy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Prince%20Mohammed%20Bin%20Abdulrahman%2C%20Abdullah%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%20and%20Saud%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2025%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20More%20than%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Gate%20Capital%2C%20Kafou%20Group%20and%20Fadeed%20Investment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
