Government, enterprise, and technology pioneers discuss gearing up for 5G expansion, the burgeoning ecosystem for AI innovation, and support for local developers
Dubai, UAE - October 8, 2019: Duringits fourth annual Middle East Innovation Day, Huawei, a leading global providerof information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smartdevices, explored how new partnerships in the areas of Artificial Intelligence(AI) and 5G are now scaling digital services to more people, homes, andorganizations than ever before.
The event was held on the second day of GITEXTechnology Week at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
HuaweiInnovation Day incorporated three bespoke sessions: a 5G Ecosystem Conferenceunder the title "5G, Gear Up”; an AI Conference under the theme "AdvanceIntelligence”, and a "Huawei Developer Day Dubai 2019” session, which focusedon building a better ecosystem for Huawei partners and developers.
HuaweiInnovation Day was attended by Jawad Abbasi, Head of MENA, GSMA, and Huawei’sdistinguish customers from more than 20 telecom operators in middle east, andindustry partners among other industry leaders, the total attendance exceeded300.
Involvingregulators, telecom operators, industry partners, analysts, and other ecosystemplayers, the conference reviewed global 5G case studies and explored how 5G isbringing infinite possibilities not only to individuals but to vertical industriesacross the Middle East. To date, Huawei has secured more than 50 commercial 5Gcontracts while shipping more than 200,000 base stations worldwide.
Anjian, President of Carrier NetworksBusiness Group, Huawei Middle East, noted: "Since 2009, Huawei has invested4 billion USD in 5G research. We are not only providing the best 5G network,but also willing to explore 5G business success with our customers andpartners. To reach customer-oriented business success, we are committed toincreasing investment in three major areas: 1. Continuous investment in 5Gtechnology capability, which adapts to customers' business requirements, andbrings infinite possibilities not only for person but also for industries. 2.In terms of business development and 5G use case exploration, we willpersistent invest human and financial resources in business development toprovide more 5G use case solutions going to market with our customers; 3. Furtherdeveloping the 5G ecosystem platform, today we will announce Huawei middle eastOpenLab establishment, to work with our customers and partners to ensure thedelivery of the best possible solutions that contribute to business growth andsuccess for them. We will keep expanding and enhancing our collaborativepartnership in the Middle East to cultivate a strong and inclusive 5G ecosystemin its journey to building a fully connected intelligent Middle East.”
Duringthe AI Conference, "Advance Intelligence”,a deep-dive sessionexplored how local enterprises and governments are embracing AI as a keyenabling technology for advanced intelligence. That transformation will befacilitated by Huawei’s next-generation intelligent product strategy and new+AI products for the enterprise market. By adding AI capabilities to thenext-generation of ICT products, from Wi-Fi 6 to All-Flash Storage, Huawei willhelp customers address a new round of digital transformation challenges toachieve business success.
At the event,Huawei announced the launch of three new products within its enterpriseportfolio: next-generation, all-flashstorage product OceanStor Dorado; AI-native database GaussDB, and thehighest-performance distributed storage yet, FusionStorage 8.0.
AlaaElShimy, Managing Director and Vice President, Huawei Enterprise Business Group, added: "The increasing scale ofintelligent technologies are bringing disruptive changes to enterprises acrossthe Middle East. With the rapid development of cutting-edge technologies suchas AI, a diverse range of applications and massive amounts of data are beinggenerated, which pose demanding requirements on real-time data processing. Datainfrastructures must be upgraded to fulfill these demands. We believe that AIwill promote innovation across the region and will change the way entireindustries are run.”
Atthe HUAWEI Developers Day section, HUAWEI introduced the Huawei Mobile Services(HMS) Ecosystem based on the core framework of HUAWEI Mobile Services (HMS Coreand Capabilities) and Developer Services. To date, HMS Core has opened up 14capabilities to help developers build high-quality applications at low cost andquickly, and continuously improve the app user volume and activity.
Shining-StarProgram had been announced, investing 1 billion USD to support global developerto keep contributing in HMS ecosystem construction. Also, the first DigiXInnovation Studio will further expand throughout the globe, with eight DigiXLabs in 6 main regions including Dubai, providing great supports to globaldeveloper’s innovation, including device testing, experience of capabilitydevelopment and tool etc.
"Wesincerely invite all local partners to join our ecosystem construction, that’swhy we had invested 1 billion USD in Shining-Star Program and building thefirst DigiX innovation labs in Dubai to fully support them.” Said AdamErsong Xiao, Managing Director of MENA Mobile Services, HUAWEI ConsumerBusiness Group.
The Innovation Day comes at a time when boththe public and private sectors are making critical investments in ICTinfrastructure. Digital innovation is now at the forefront of many nationaldevelopment plans in the Middle East, and is seen as a crucial ingredient todiversifying local economies, creating future jobs, while acceleratingsustainable development.
The combination of 5G connectivity and AIwill be particularly powerful as it enables more people, things, and devices toshare advanced intelligence than ever before. According to Huawei’s recent Global Industry Vision (GIV)report, the company predicts that nearly 60% of the world's population willhave access to 5G by the end of 2025, and 97% of large companies will have deployed AI as applications.
Itis reported that AI will contribute US$320 billion to the Middle East economyby 2030, which indicates the large impact AI will have on the region with thegovernments’ support and implementation. The countries expected to gain themost in their GDP from AI by 2030 are the UAE with 14%, in which AI willcontribute to their GDP the most are: the UAE at 14% increase, followed by KSAat 12.4%.[1]
Visitorsto GITEX Technology Week can continue to explore Huawei’s latest solutions andglobal case studies at its exhibition stand located at Stand Z2-A10 in Za’abeelHall 2 under the theme "Building a Fully Connected, Intelligent World”.
Huawei’sparticipation at GITEX 2019 is supported by some of its key partners includingGAPP and Redington as Diamond sponsors; Enterprise Systems and Octalpha as Goldsponsors.