28 February 2016
CISCO: IoE presents over $19 trillion global "value at stake" by 2022

Al Mulla: CIOMajlis to set industry benchmarks, foster a culture of idea and knowledge sharing

CIOs from UAE's government and private sectors come on a common platform to drive regional growth to a new level

, February 28, 2016:  Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from over 35 companies from Energy, Logistics, Finance, health, Aviation, Government, Construction, Oil and Gas, Education and other sectors explored ways on tapping into the multibillion opportunities by harnessing the Internet of Things (IoT) the first CIOMajlis session at Emirates Golf Club.

The UAE's first ever CIOMajlis is an initiative aimed at taking economic growth to the next level by bringing Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from public and private sector companies in the UAE on a common platform to share international best practices and explore business solutions in line with the UAE's Innovation Strategy and the government's goal to make it the world's most innovative country by 2021.

Christopher Reberger, Director, CISCO, while addressing the first CIOMajlis session on 'Internet of Things', said: "Dubai is embarking on its next evolution to enable Life, Economy and Tourism. With the government's keenness to make it a Smart City, there is an enormous value that can be created by harnessing the IoT, which is consistent with the broader strategy of the UAE. This is a big opportunity for public as well as private sector enterprises and the benefits accrue in terms on not only cost savings and revenues, but also in enhancing customer satisfaction and the value transcends to organisations and industries."

He said the UAE's focus on Customer Satisfaction and Happiness of its people will also drive orgnaisations to quantify the value of improving experiences, which is what IoTs enables.

The Internet of Everything (IoE) which Cisco defines as the networked connection of people, processes, data and things, is transforming industries, countries, and communities and serves as the foundation for a global economic opportunity.

Sharing his experience attending the first CIOMajlis session, Ajay Rathi, CIO, Meraas Holding, said: "The CIOMajlis has given us a strong platform to learn from experts who are best in their fields and gives us an opportunity to all members to understand how they can leverage some of the experiences that CIOs from across different sectors share.

Many times organisations view IT as expenditure only. The CIOMajlis platform empowers us and helps us build an environment where we can foster a change in mindsets across organizations and look at Information Technology not only as expenditure but from the perspective of the monetary benefits an organisation can reap."

Ahmad Al Mulla, Senior Vice President, Information technology, Emirates Global Aluminium, Chairman of the CIOMajlis, said sharing of experiences will lead organisations across the UAE to take economic growth to the next level.

"The high level of engagement at the first session itself shows we need more of this. The CIO Majlis will help organisations connect and benefit from networking, sharing knowledge and learning from global experts. It is not just ideas, but also about implementing those ideas," he said.

Going further, we plan to start benchmarking, share case studies and carving pathways for organizations as well on a macro level, based on emerging needs and trends," he added.

Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Smartworld, said: "We are very pleased at the response to the first meeting. The CIOMajlis initiative aligns with the government's strategy both at federal and local levels and we are confident this platform will go a long way in contributing to encouraging innovation across all sectors and driving growth not only on a regional but also a global level in a friendly and collaborative environment.

With nearly half of the world population estimated to have network access by 2020, over 50 billion physical objects will be connected to the internet. The outcomes that the connections make possible is what is the real power of the IoT.

With this definition, IoE represents a material economic opportunity for both the public and private sectors. A conservative, "bottom up" economic analysis conducted by Cisco Consulting Services, focusing on use cases that can be operationalized in the short to medium term, estimates a global "value at stake" of $19 trillion over 2013‐2022.

CISCO studied the IoE areas align with the Dubai Smart City vision IoE's ability to help public‐sector organizations manage

assets, optimize performance, and create new business models.

For Dubai, opportunities for public and private sector estimate of AED 17.9billion over the 5 year period.

The CIOMajlis members will have regular monthly meetings during which the members get an opportunity of learning from local and world renowned leaders on topics relevant to them and their businesses as well as participating in local and overseas field trips and educational sessions.

-Ends-

About Smartworld:
Smartworld is a joint venture between Etisalat and Dubai South. The company's growth is driven by the clear vision of being the top-of-the-league digital smart service provider to enable a futuristic digital economic growth. Established in 2008, Smartworld works closely with government entities, telecommunication operators, SMEs and large enterprises delivering them unique value using its state of the art next gen infrastructure, efficient processes and a top notch team. www.smartworld.com  

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© Press Release 2016