• Home
• /
• Local business

Dubai is showcase of more than 20 digital cities

Dubai - To expand upon last year's IoTWF in Chicago, Dubai is featuring twice as many solutions than were featured at the 2014 event.

Read more...

The third annual Internet of Things World Forum discussed possibilities that IoT holds for the present and future.
As the host city of the annual event, Dubai is showcase of more than 20 digital cities and connected industry solution deployments made possible by Cisco and the IoT industry.
Through a series of smart city experience tours, IoT World Forum attendees see why Dubai is touted as one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world. To expand upon last year's IoTWF in Chicago, Dubai is featuring twice as many solutions than were featured at the 2014 event.
The IoT will be connecting 50 billion objects by 2020 globally, largely revolutionising companies and sectors - particularly smart cities, consumer electronics, retail, utilities, transportation, healthcare and construction - that will form the majority of the device base.

Ahmad Julfar, Doug Davis, senior president and general manager of the Internet of Things (IoT) Group of Intel Corporation, Intel; and Ahmad bin Byat, Chairman, Smart Dubai Executive Committee, and delegates at IoT World Forum at Dubai World Trade Centre. - Photos by Leslie Pableo/ Khaleej Times

The vast array of applications for this exciting technology includes connected cars, fleet management, smart meters, consumer electronics, game consoles, wearable electronics and security solutions. Ahmad Julfar, chief executive officer of Etisalat Group addressed a global audience at the forum. In his speech Julfar explored the possibilities that IoT can provide and what is required to realise the digital transformation of society in the context of developments in the Mena region and what this means for government, business, communities and individuals. Additionally, he outlined the work Etisalat Group is already doing to make this transformation a reality. Exploring the pace of technological advances, Julfar acknowledged that 90 per cent of the data that exists today has been created in the past two years. Whereas for most of human history it has been imagination that has driven innovation, today it is the technology we have at our fingertips which is driving innovation and will provide great future benefits for all. Julfar explained that the speed of future change will be underpinned by the IoT.
Over the next five years, IoT devices will reach 50 billion from 12 billion currently, with the sensors contained within providing levels of connectivity that will bring Tomorrow's World to life.
Given the UAE's embrace of technology and its aspirations in light of the Expo2020, Julfar outlined the range of opportunities already present in the UAE and explained how the partnership between the government, the regulator, and operator is essential to maximising benefits and delivering the clearest path to Smart City integration.
To this end, Etisalat Group will continue to be at the forefront developing IoT platforms, establishing partnerships, and influencing the conversation about where the IoT is going and how we get there.
abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com