Orange Business Services, the business to business branch of the Orange Group, was the Platinum Partner to the inaugural IDC Smart Cities Middle East Event & Awards on 1st May 2018, at the Jumeirah Creek Side Hotel, Dubai, where Orange presented awards and a keynote address on managing the data journeys created by the Cognitive City of the future. Orange Business Services is actively consulting on smart city projects across the region and recently launched a new Middle East regional hub and smart cities center of excellence at the Dubai Silicon Oasis. The hub includes a solutions showroom demonstrating Orange Business Services’ smart solutions portfolio and capabilities in a user-friendly space, designed to stimulate further innovative ideas and collaborative business opportunities
The Dubai Silicon Oasis is also home to the Dubai Smart City Accelerator program run by startupbootcamp, sponsored by Orange.
Orange Business Services is actively consulting and working on some of the most high profile smart cities projects in the region, including the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), and Jeddah Economic Company (Jeddah Economic City project), in Saudi Arabia.
In a keynote address, Business Development Director for Smart Cities in MEA at Orange Business Services, Fadi Shanaah, spoke about managing the data journeys in the cities of the future: “In the Middle East, ‘Smart Cities’ is a unique business opportunity with greenfield projects on a scale and moving at a speed that is unparalleled. Our view of the future city is evolving into the concept of the Cognitive City – an urban area constantly learning through interaction with connected objects across the city generating data – as our homes, cars and even our own bodies leave a digital trail and a perpetual stream of data. This data has the potential to change the urban landscape and improve the quality of life in cities but innovation is vital to manage the data journey; we are seeing really original ideas and collaborations in the region, including those showcased at the IDC smart city event and we congratulate all the winners.”
At the inaugural IDC Smart Cities Middle East event, Orange Business Services presented awards to the winners in five of the nine categories:
Smart Economy & Government Administration Award (Tier 1 City)
Winner: Smart Dubai Office
Finalists: Ministry of Housing, Saudi Arabia; Riyadh Municipality; Ministry of Finance, Saudi Arabia
Smart Economy & Government Administration Award (Tier 2 City)
Winner: Ajman Municipality & Planning Department
Finalists: Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange; Al-Ahsa Municipality
Greenfield City Award
Winner: Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu (Yanbu Smart City)
Finalists: Dubai Design District; NEWGIZA for Real Estate & Development, Egypt; Emaar, The Economic City, Saudi Arabia (King Abdullah Economic City)
Smart Tourism Award
Winner: Ministry of Hajj & Umrah, Saudi Arabia
Finalists: DXB Entertainments; Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, Dubai
Smart Living Award
Winner: Smart Dubai Office
Finalists: Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; Electronic Government Authority, Ras Al Khaimah
Through its smart cities global program, Orange Business Services works at the country, region, city, community and enterprise level – from government services to public infrastructure and utilities, smart metering and traffic management, parking and driverless cars, to district/building management, and to life enhancing personal apps for healthcare, retail, banking, and the smart home.
According to the Boston Consulting Group’s 2018 ranking, Orange is ranked 1st in Europe and 19th in the list of the most innovative companies in the world.
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