Trendy IoT to change industries as they look

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business

Among various technological developments, Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to remain a key trend in the UAE as the nation moves towards its goal of becoming a knowledge-based economy by 2021 and prepares to host the world’s biggest exhibition event, Expo 2020. Regional experts believe IoT will change the face of industries in the UAE in the coming years.
In an exclusive conversation with Emirates Business regarding the role of data-driven innovation in making knowledge economy a reality, Shukri Dabaghi, Regional Director for the Middle East and Francophone Africa at SAS, said, “By definition, the knowledge-based economy concept considers intellectual capability as the most critical component of the economy, more so than physical assets or natural resources. The level of Intellectual capability, in the world of big data is set by how much insight can be gained from data through tested, well-defined, repeatable analytical processes. Going forward, every bit of increase in quality of public or private services & products will depend on data-driven innovations and decision making.”
“Tapping into the big data of private sector, government or other open data sources, combining and applying advanced analytical techniques to discover hidden trends, relationships and dependencies will play a key role in transition into a knowledge-based economy,” he said.
Experts also opine that as both public and private sector will play an equally important role in the entire process, there are also certain business opportunities that will pop-up in the ICT and big data segments in the next 4 to 5 years.
Talking about the same Dabaghi said, “We see Internet of Things (IoT) as a key trend. It is expected that by 2020, there will be 50 billion connected devices that will be online worldwide. The volume and the variety of data that will be generated by everyday objects, from cars to fridges, from pacemakers to alarm clocks will create business opportunities that are only limited by one’s imagination.”
“Proactive healthcare services based on real-time medical feeds from individuals, predictive maintenance of industry equipment, smart kitchen appliances that suggest grocery lists and road safety through the use of smart devices installed on cars are some of the exciting promises brought about by IoT,” he explained.
In this context, many companies in UAE are working towards efficient data sharing without compromising security both in public and private sectors.
Hariharan Das, IT engineer with one of the leading MNCs in the region, told Emirates Business, “A lot is being done in terms of innovation in IT sector. With the fast changing world of technology, it is becoming imperative for all public and private enterprises to stay abreast with the latest. UAE is one of the most technological sound countries in the world and if things keep developing in this way, we are already half way towards becoming knowledge based economy.”
“It is only with support from various IT expert companies that the region is able to stay on-track when it comes to ICT and big data.
We might not understand yet,
but this is going be the main contributor towards the progress of UAE,” he added.