Dubai – aiming to be world's smartest city by 2021

While some countries might see technology purely as products or an investment opportunity, Dubai is committed to technological solutions in every sphere of activity. Not for nothing is Dubai called the City of the Future, as a mind-boggling range of technologies is developed, tested and eventually implemented to create a technological hub in the Middle East which brings people together to harmoniously work together and develop solutions for life.

Accelerating innovation could be the Emirate's slogan as it embraces technology as a means of creating efficient ways of doing ... literally everything. Seeing ambitions high – such as Dubai's aim to be the world's smartest city by 2021 – and developing an environment where talented people from all over the world work together is part of the reason that the Emirate has become a technological beacon in the heart of the Middle East.

Dubai is a perfect example of the urbanisation that has taken place over the past decades. And that brings its challenges: pressure on infrastructure and social and economic structures, the environment and mobility. Physical expansion and resources are constrained, meaning easy interconnectivity is vital, and top-quality urban planning is critical to ensure the cleanliness of the environment. The list of requirements is daunting: adequate housing, power, healthcare, education, literacy, jobs, infrastructure, and fresh water on tap.

Dubai essentially started its technological journey as long ago as 1999 when it announced its first Information Communications Technology (ICT) strategy, with the establishment of Dubai Internet City, Dubai e-government, and Dubai Smart Government. And this has continued under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, with the Smart Dubai initiative four years ago and many other technological developments.

The very many digital transformation initiatives in the Emirate have gained the recognition, approval and adoption of ICT in all areas of the life of Dubai by the public. And that has led to a situation today where Dubai, a city of 2.5 million people, has one of the highest levels of ICT adoption in the region, both by the public and government, and a business environment that is second to none. In other words, the aim of technology is not just a goal, but a way of creating an inter-connected city with solutions for the challenges posed by modern living.

The Smart Dubai initiative led to a diverse range of developments, including huge Internet of Things (IoT) systems; hyperloop projects at Dubai port which ensure an efficient system for loading and unloading; autonomous vehicles where the aim is for 12% of city journeys to be carried out by autonomous driverless systems; the latest technologies will mean that residents will have sea, air, and land transportation alternatives with timely information for seamless connections; reducing unnecessary journeys will mean fewer physical trips meaning an estimated 80 million trips in the next five years will be avoided due to the digital smart city solutions; drones will map out solutions in real time for issues affecting water and power supply, as well as many others; the use of blockchain technology to ensure transparent business operations, robotics and artificial intelligence applications to bring about lean and streamlined processes.

The aim is clear: for the public as well as organisations across the government and private sector to adopt digital solutions. Fast internet interconnectivity was the first step, but also ensuring that sensitive and private information stayed that way. But it's not just people who are connected; it applies to every aspect of the city's resources and infrastructure: water, energy, sewage, drainage, waste distribution networks, buildings and traffic lights, will all be connected and integrated into the new digital eco-system and monitored in real time.

Companies are using technology to improve the environment in other ways, too. Just think of the challenges for cities everywhere from climate change, man-made and natural disasters. Dubai has set itself the target of being fully prepared to handle such events. How is this being carried out? This has required collaboration between city authorities and Dubai's citizens to enable the city to create responses to such incidents and enable a rapid recovery from them.

Organizations are empowering people by providing them with the right technology they need, thus aligning residents' goals and needs with technology. Among the solutions being sought are government interactions that are seamless and efficient. Technology aims to make all government services and transactions paperless and cashless and without the need for visiting government offices by 2021.

Residents and businesses should be able to access government services and carry out transactions anywhere and at any time via websites or mobile phones. And in the same vein, digital procurement opportunities for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) will allow them to send invoices and receive payments digitally. The aim is to make people's lives and businesses' interactions with government easier, while also saving time and money.

And Artificial Intelligence is also being developed to enable it to play a wide range of increasingly sophisticated roles in creating better customer interactions at the user interface. AI is seen as acting as the face of a company's digital brand. Dubai has developed an artificial intelligence service called "Saad" which will allow entrepreneurs and investors to ask questions related to setting up a business in Dubai, and to get real-time responses on various topics, including business licensing requirements and registration processes. “Saad” is designed to understand natural language and comprehend massive amounts of data, learn and reason from its interactions, and provide responses that will aid users in deciding on correct courses of action.

Dubai believes in using technology to push the boundaries for business. One recent example of this sees an internationally renowned gold investment company launch a “deep cold storage” solution for investors and traders. For the first time, crypto-commodities owners can now store their Bitcoin, Ethereum and other altcoins in a vault located in Almas Tower, Dubai – the headquarters of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the world’s most interconnected Free Zone, and the leading trade and enterprise hub for commodities.

The vault at DMCC is one of the most secure precious metal facilities in the world and will store the firm's crypto investments in the physical form – without connection to a network – alongside the company’s’ current stock of physical gold. All the physical devices are fully insured for the crypto-commodities market value against theft, hacking or natural disaster.

As Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, DMCC, states: “At the heart of DMCC’s long term strategic growth plan is the use of technology and innovation to connect new markets, industries and customers."

In Dubai, there is a passionate belief in working together as a community to drive the region’s digital economy. Dubai has a very diverse range of workers and employees, with people from all over the world wanting to taste the experience. And that is what has led to the creation of an international and cosmopolitan workforce which works together in harmony. Dubai provides an inspirational backdrop, but it also demands that people work and live together for the benefit of all. Dubai promotes and supports diversification and that is what has created an atmosphere of working together for the common good.

Dubai is making the lives of entrepreneurs easier through seamless, comprehensive and convenient digital services for starting up and running businesses. This means simplifying regulations, providing easily accessible services and supporting business through incubators and accelerators in order to further strengthen Dubai’s position as an innovation hub.

And that is also why initiatives such as the AstroLabs Dubai project, which is the only Google-partnered tech centre in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) area, has seen such startling success. Based within the DMCC, companies can operate with complete foreign ownership while also being exempted from certain taxes and fees. What is the aim of this partnership? To create a special licence enabling start-ups to work in a collaborative community of like-minded entrepreneurs with no upfront costs. And the result is that the community already includes more than 120 start-ups and another site is already called for.

One of the reasons for AstroLabs' success is it offers a solution to one of the most significant barriers to startups in Dubai – the incubator’s free zone office space which would cost thousands of dollars if based outside of the DMCC’s premises, as well as providing regulatory and legal framework solution due to tricky issues of ownership and intellectual property. As with the DFA model, AstroLabs gives companies workspaces, connections, and a critical time frame for proving their business models.

What does this provide in practical terms? It's accessible 24/7, with the tech centre including coding facilities for programmers, a mobile device development lab and training room to host AstroLabs Academy workshops in analytics, big data, adwords, digital marketing, UX/UI design and start-up development.

As AstroLabs Co-founder Louis Lebbos says, the DMCC is all about making things happen. Initial discussions with the DMCC quickly turned into action on the ground and that was critical because, as he says: "We work with partners who get things done." This theme is continued by Muhammed Mekki, AstroLabs Founding Partner. He said the flexibility afforded by working with the DMCC allowed the creation of an offering that is unique for tech entrepreneurs, and has attracted some of the best from around the globe to Dubai. The financial advantages are clear, he explains: a subsidized licence in the first year, not having to deal with many of the requirements that are typically demanded of small companies in order to be established, and this has enabled the firm to attract "a lot of fantastic companies in a short space of time." This creates a vision and trust in what the firm can become and is a unique offering that would be hard to replicate in a different environment.

Another example is Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA), where entrepreneurs have access to government bodies, such as Emirates Airlines, who then choose the technologies which could help improve its services and operations. Selected startups get free travel and accommodation, office space, and a nine-week development course in which they work closely with a government liaison. If things go well, the government agency and the startup sign a memorandum of understanding outlining a future relationship. The DFA’s Hyperloop One, for example, is a program participant that is exploring the possibility of building a “hyperloop for cargo” at one of Dubai’s government-owned ports.

Dubai connects people from diverse backgrounds and creates a cosmopolitan atmosphere of working together in the technology sector as well as others, and it is this level playing field that allows all sectors to work together. As James Bernard, DMCC's Director of Sales, explains: "In 2016, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, stated that Dubai would be the first city fully powered by Blockchain by 2020. Since then, the city has become an important global centre for entrepreneurs and companies across this sector, bringing with them knowledge, innovation and positive disruption. Private sector and the government have combined their efforts and are working closely on multiple projects. There is a real unity that has developed with a common goal, and this has brought a lot of global expertise together in one city.

"The DMCC as a founding member of Dubai's Blockchain Council has adopted this effort from the start and has recently introduced new licensed activities – such as Blockchain - Distributed Ledger Technology software development – to support and encourage sector growth," he said.

What does the future hold in terms of technology trends? That is, of course, the million dollar – or perhaps billion dollar – question. Among the likely trends is an expansion of the Internet of Things solutions to further power Smart Dubai and Smart government initiatives. A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) smart lab will soon begin training government officials to implement AI in a wide variety of tasks that will make life easier for the public. AI based solutions include technologies such as deep machine learning, neural networks and natural language processing.

Then there is VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality). And another hot trend is likely to be the digital twin, which is a virtual representation of a product. This is another evolution of IoT solutions which helps the manufacturing industry to save costs and time. This concept is becoming a part of the productivity improvement and decision-making process. And, of course, Blockchain and distributed-ledger concepts are gaining traction due to their power to transform industry o