Dubai’s Digital Domain

Aired November 2005

Due to the efforts of visionary leaders, Dubai has invested its resources to build an emirate that will use not only its natural assets, but also the talents of its most precious asset – its people. This investment in becoming and remaining a world-class technology and financial centre has advanced phenomenally in the last few years.

This oil-rich emirate’s population has advanced rapidly in its integration into global networks of science, education, and commerce. Telecommunications and IT play a strong role in the globalization process, and wireless phone service and the Internet are transforming lives in ways unimaginable only a decade or so ago.

The benefits of these new technologies are many - the Internet and wireless communications have connected the residents to one another, advanced education, and allowed businesses and residents of the country to operate on a global scale previously unimaginable.

Technology has found a firm footing in the emirate’s education sector as well.

In the last few years, a number of universities and colleges from overseas have begun to offer partial or full degrees through affiliates in the UAE.

Apart from the traditional hands-on methods of experiments and trial and error, many universities also employ technology to enrich their students’ learning experience.

Knowledge Village was set up to develop Dubai into a destination for education for both regional and international learners. Many international academic institutes and programmes have set up a branch here.

The village provides the infrastructure for developing, sharing and applying knowledge. With the aim of becoming a centre of excellence for learning and innovation, use of eLearning in education and training is encouraged.

Ecommerce is something relatively new to hit the shores of Dubai, and looks set to be the way to do business in Dubai in the future.

GOVERNEMENT INITIATIVES

In the recent years there has been a marked increase in the use of electronic services among various segments of Dubai’s population, both residents and the corporate sector.

Since 2000 Dubai has set up a website that allows the public to conduct a variety of online transactions as well as quickly and easily find the information they seek.

The Dubai eGovernment portal has integrated government departments using state-of-the-art technologies. Users can access the various government departments through the website and avail of the services offered by each department.

Dubai eGovernment’s principal objective is to make Dubai a model society driven by technology and innovation, and to bring about a transformation in the functioning of the public sector.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The Middle East IT industry is probably the fastest growing IT market on the planet. There was a time when the Middle East was a dumping ground for old technology. Now launches feature the latest developments, sometimes even before they hit the markets of the West.

Estimates place the value of the market at around 140 million US dollars. Predictions are that in the UAE alone, IT spending will rise from 1.2 billion US dollars to 1.65 billion by 2008.

Currently there are several sectors in the UAE that offer huge opportunities for investment.

DUBAI INTERNET CITY

Together with Knowledge Village, two other specialised cities have been set up – Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City.

Dubai Internet City, or DIC, is a strategic base for companies targeting emerging markets in a vast region extending from the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent and Africa, a potential market base of 2 billion people with GDP 6.7 trillion US dollars. It is a simple process to set up a company here.

In line with Dubai’s liberal economic policies and regulations, the DIC offers foreign companies many benefits.

Within a short span of time, a dynamic international community of IT companies have established themselves in the DIC. These companies represent a formidable community of over 5,500 knowledge workers. The burgeoning IT cluster on the premises offers a high quality of business and interaction and networking opportunities.

GITEX

GITEX is the premier IT exhibition in the region and attracts visitors and exhibitors from around the world. Set to stimulate growth in IT spending across various industry segments, GITEX Dubai is one of the largest technology exhibitions in the world.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2005, GITEX continues to reflect the importance and phenomenal growth of the IT industry in the region by continually highlighting the latest technology and services from international manufacturers and suppliers.

GITEX presents an opportunity not only for companies to brand themselves and showcase their latest products, but also for potential partners to suss out each others’ services and to strike business deals.

Not only are deals struck between businesses, but also between different countries. The Dubai World Trade Centre, organisers of GITEX Dubai 2005, signed a deal with India to help them organise GITEX India 2006. This will be the fifth consecutive year that this partnership has been renewed.

Recent data shows that in 2005, the GCC countries have spent around 18 billion US dollars on IT, with 30 per cent of that expenditure coming from the UAE alone.

The current trend suggests that this more mature market will increasingly serve as a hub for the expansion of the entire IT sector in the Middle East.