07 May 2017
du will provide a complete 360-degree solution to boost growth and operations at Sharjah Asset Management

Dubai, UAE - As the Managed Cloud Partner of SAP in the UAE, du has officially signed a seven-year agreement with Sharjah Asset Management (SAM) to provide fully integrated and proven SAP asset management software solutions to help )SAM( manage their critical business processes and operations, hosted by du’s private cloud.

Sharjah Asset Management (SAM) is the investment arm of the Government of Sharjah, which is responsible for asset management of properties. By building strategic partnerships with leading asset management companies and investment agencies, SAM is a conduit for driving Sharjah's continued economic growth.

du will help )SAM( to efficiently manage the entire asset lifecycle with world-class enterprise asset management software from SAP. With real-time visibility into asset performance and powerful analytics, it’s easier to optimize asset usage, shrink costs, better manage capital expenditures, and ultimately maximize SAM’s return on assets including fixed property, plant, and equipment.

With the bandwidth and data center capacity needed for such a high volume of information, as well as local presence and licensing, du is perfectly positioned to provide the advanced solutions and functionality required by SAM.

du's managed cloud solutions of SAP are structured so that customers can use operating funds instead of capital funds for their technology purchases, therefore spreading payments over the life of the solution rather than making a complete payment up front. This solves the primary issue with traditional implementations, whereby customers have several different contracts and several different parties to negotiate with for a single solution.

“Our customers really appreciate the payment flexibility that we offer as a SAP cloud provider. With this solution, one size does not have to fit all and our customers can tailor their plan to fit their needs,” said Farid Faraidooni, Chief Operations Officer, du. “With du’s managed cloud, Sharjah Asset Management can hold just one contract covering all aspects of the solution, including software, infrastructure, maintenance, and ongoing management services.”

du's SAP managed cloud solution extends the client’s range of deployment options, giving them a higher degree of choice and more flexibility. This way, they can focus on their core business, spending less time and energy on building and maintaining IT systems. Moreover, the solution lowers the client’s total cost of ownership by leveraging the expertise and centralized resources that du provides.

Ibrahim Al Houti - Chief Officer for Support Services of SAM said: “We are pleased to join forces with du, whose services will further enhance our business objectives. This deal will further help us transform our business to digital so that we are able to better serve our customers in real time.”

Key advantages of SAM’s agreement with du include accelerated time to value thanks to the core competencies and infrastructure maintained by du; reduced risk to mitigate the uncertainty of usage requirements and operating costs; and updated software with all of the latest fixes, enhancements, and features of SAP software.

“Sharjah Asset Management is demonstrating best practices in public-private partnerships to drive future government innovation, and the UAE’s nationwide digital transformation. SAP continues to take our co-innovation partnership with du to the next level, enabling the UAE’s public sector to use real-time cloud solutions to cut costs and enhance competitiveness,” said Tayfun Topkoc, Managing Director, SAP UAE.

-Ends-

About du
du is a vibrant and multiple award-winning telecommunications service provider serving 9 million individual customers with its mobile, fixedline, broadband internet, and Home services over its 4G LTE network. du also caters to over 100,000 UAE businesses with its vast range of ICT and managed services. Since its launch in 2007, du has many UAE firsts to its credit, including introduction of Pay by the Second® billing system, IPTV and self-service portal.

du is ideally placed to support the realisation of UAE Vision 2021 and transformation of Dubai into a Smart City. du is also the official strategic partner of the Smart Dubai Office and the platform provider for Smart Dubai. Following the successful testing of the Middle East’s first Internet of Things (IoT) network, du is on course to complete deployment of its IoT network in 2016.

Brand Finance ranked du as the 12th most valuable brand in the Middle East in 2016. du previously won the coveted Brand of the year title by Superbrands Middle East in 2013. The company has been recognised with several other awards such as ISO 27001 certification of Managed Security Services and having the distinction of opening UAE’s first LEED Platinum Certified Green Shop. du also has the unique distinction of the first telecom in the world to release Sustainability Report based  on GRI-G4 guidelines in 2014. du is also credited with du’s world-class teleport is the largest of its kind in the Middle East and ranked among the top teleports in the world by World teleport Association.

du is 39.5 percent owned by Emirates Investment Authority, 19.75 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’.

© Press Release 2017