Ooredoo underpins role of cloud tech in self-sufficiency, diversification drive of Qatar

15/03/2018 07:48 AST

Best practices in digital transformation will play a significant role in Qatar's drive towards self-sufficiency and diversified economic growth, according to a senior official at Ooredoo.

'SAP NOW,' a forum hosted by enterprise application software firm SAP at the St Regis Hotel in Doha yesterday, gathered leading organisations Ooredoo, Jaidah Group, and Aspire Academy where they highlighted the role of cloud-based digital transformation to drive business innovation, job creation, and Qatar's economic growth.

"Cloud-based digital business models will support Qatar's self-sufficiency and diversified economic growth," said Ooredoo chief operating officer Yousuf Abdulla al-Kubaisi.

"At SAP NOW, we have showcased how our cloud partnership with SAP can transform industry verticals and citizen experiences, such as smart utilities and smart stadiums. By combining global expertise with our nation-leading infrastructure, we can deliver business breakthroughs across Qatar," he added.

The event also attracted hundreds of Qatar's most innovative C-suite executives, who discussed and debated how to optimise the cloud. The attendees highlighted use cases such as Industry 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT) and digital supply chain, customer engagement and e-commerce, human resources and talent development, procurement, and connecting to emerging and disruptive technologies.

According to the recent SAP and Oxford Economics Digital Transformation Executive Study, more than three-quarters of the region's most digitally innovative organisations are investing in cloud, IoT, and Big Data analytics, revealing the strong demand for innovations.

The event also witnessed Jaidah Group and Aspire Academy receiving the 'Middle East and North Africa Quality Awards' for their successful digital transformation and digital business models, besting hundreds of regional entries.

Established in 1898, Jaidah Group, one of Qatar's longest-standing and largest clients, won in the category 'Innovations - S/4HANA'. Since 2016, Jaidah Group has seen strong success on its digital transformation with channel partner ISS. Using the real-time business suite SAP S/4HANA as the foundation for its digital transformation, Jaidah Group has transformed the customer experience.

"In digitally transforming our automotive and heavy equipment dealerships with SAP S/4HANA, Jaidah Group now has real-time views on our financial reporting," said Jaidah Group CIO Saji Oommen.

Aspire Academy, with channel partner Clariba, won in the 'Business Transformation' category for deploying a wide range of analytics solutions. These solutions run on the in-memory SAP HANA platform to transform the performance for hundreds of top athletes and football players. "With analytical dashboards and interactive reports that can be viewed on mobile devices, Aspire Academy's coaches, sports scientists, athletes, and management can track and benchmark athlete training, fitness, and matches to improve performance," said Aspire Academy head of educational & sport IT services Nasser al-Marri.

"Thanks to our digital transformation with SAP, we will be able to better develop the top young athletes in Qatar and enhance Qatar's national teams' competitiveness on the global stage.

"We now have the actionable insights leading to accelerated turnaround, enhanced levels of customer service and retention, and improved inventory turnover - supporting growth of Qatar's key economic sectors," he added.

SAP Qatar country manager Fokion Angelopoulos said, "The leadership of Ooredoo, Jaidah Group, and Aspire Academy underscores the importance of digital transformation to enable Qatar's self-sufficiency and economic growth, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030."

Gulf Times