du to offer SAP solutions in Software as a Service model, hosted from its State-of-the-Art Data Center in the UAE to Fast-Track Digital Transformation

UAE, Dubai, 10 February 2016

UAE government enterprises will soon gain access to some of the world's smartest applications in 2016, thanks to a strategic partnership signed today by du and SAP during the World Government Summit.

The partnership works to support the commitment to nationwide digitization and innovation. The UAE Vision 2021 aims for the country to become one of the Top 10 in the world in INSEAD's Global Innovation Index and in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index over the next five years.

Combining du's Infrastructure as a Service with SAP's Software as a Service creates a unique off-the-shelf product - helping the UAE evolve to a cloud-based model, in line with global market trends.

In line with the UAE Vision 2021, and as a result of this strategic partnership, du will support UAE federal and local government agencies, and private enterprises, with SAP's innovative private cloud-based applications hosted on a state-of-the-art data center in the UAE.

With real-time private cloud applications, organizations can become more efficient and agile, scale up more easily with their business growth, and gain in-depth insights into operations, employee productivity, and the user experience. UAE organizations can also save money, as the cloud solutions are pay-as-you-go without additional capital investment needed in hardware, infrastructure, applications, or licenses.

Carlos Domingo, Senior Executive Officer, New Businesses & Innovation, du, said: "We're doing all we can to equip the UAE to become a global leader in innovation. This partnership fast-tracks the adoption of world class digital services in the UAE by making them more cost effective and easier to attain. Now customers won't have to face a massive up-front investment to increase their productivity with these services - they will only pay for what they use."

Organizations using these applications will be able to leverage the advanced network infrastructure of du, combined with the real-time analytics capabilities of the SAP S4/HANA business suite, which runs on the real-time SAP HANA platform.

Steve Tzikakis, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SAP South Europe, Middle East, and Africa, said: "With the market demand for private cloud applications growing in the region, SAP is further driving our co-innovation partnership with du to support the UAE's digital agenda. By leveraging global best practices and solutions, SAP is committed to using the power of the cloud to allow employees and customers to more easily engage with organizations."

du will offer organizations a wide range of back-end and customer-facing SAP solutions, including enterprise resource planning, human capital management for human resources, customer relationship management, marketing, and analytics and business intelligence.

-Ends-

About du
We started operating in 2007, offering mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services. Today, we serve more than 7.5 million individual customers and over 80,000 businesses in the UAE. We also provide carrier services for businesses and satellite up/downlink services for TV broadcasters.

We won the Gallup Great Workplace Award. Our recruitment strategy aims to provide fulfilling opportunities for quality talent in a cosmopolitan working environment where more than 60 nationalities work 35% of which are Emiratis. We are the first telecom company in the world to release a Sustainability Report based on GRI-G4 comprehensive guidelines. Among our other laurels, we also have the credit of being the first in the UAE to be awarded with prestigious LEED Platinum certification for 2 of our green retail outlet.

du is 39.5 percent owned by Emirates Investment Authority, 20.08 percent by Mubadala Development Company PJSC, 19.5 percent by Emirates Communications and Technology LLC and the remaining by public shareholders. Listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the company trades under the name 'du'.

For further information, please contact:
Saugat Chatterjee
PR Lead (B2B)
Brand & Communications
du
Mobile: +971559367045
Email: Saugat.Chatterjee@du.ae

Paramita Chakrabarti
LeoComm PR
Tel: +971 4 367 6159 
Mobile: +971 55 6088674
Fax: +971 4 367 2615
Email: paramita.chakrabarti@leocommpr.com

About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device - SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 300,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com

Follow SAP on Twitter:
@SAPMENA
@SAPMENANews

Media contacts
Husain Al Tamimi, SAP +971 56 6811641, husain.tamimi@sap.com
Claire
McPeak, SAP, +971 4 330 1777, c.mcpeak@sap.com
Steve
Baron, Wallis Marketing Consultants, +971 4390 1950, sap@wallis-mc.com

© Press Release 2016