Business & Money | Sunday 5 November, 2017 2:41 pm |

A delegation of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) visited technology giants in South Korea including Samsung, Hyundai Kia Motors, Cisco Systems, ASIA Beat and Ahnlab for knowledge-sharing and exploring the latest innovations, recently as a part of the ‘South Korea Innovation Tour’.

 

The five-day innovation tour, from October 22-26, was organised in line with the UAE’s efforts toward becoming the world’s leading hub for technology and building on disruptive technology trends such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and Big Data and integrating these in all government and private sectors. 

 

McKinsey Global Institute, in a recent report, identified 12 disruptive technologies set to drive truly massive economic transformations and disruptions in the coming years. According to the report, applications of the 12 technologies alone could have a potential economic impact between $14 trillion and $33 trillion a year in 2025.

 

Ahmed Al Mulla, Chairman of CIOMajlis, said: “Driven by the vision of the UAE’s leadership, companies are keen on being on the forefront in best use of disruptive technology for excellent business outcomes. And as disruptive technology reshapes the world in which we live and work, and also transforms business models, the role of CIOs in steering the organisations in the right direction, becomes highly important. This tour is focussed on knowledge exchange and empowering CIOs with innovative and new ways of making the most of the emerging technology trends.”

 

Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chief Executive Officer, Smartworld, said: “Empowering the CIOs and contributing to the further growth of UAE’s economy is among the top priorities of the CIOMajlis. The companies we visited are on the forefront globally in providing and implementing the latest technologies and we are sharing our experiences and learning from the best in the world. The CIOs are eager to implement the knowledge they have gained here in their companies as well as for the benefit of UAE’s industry on a larger level.”

 

During the visit to Samsung, the CIOs learnt about Samsung’s development, its innovations, latest products, B2B and B2C solutions and products and its vision and aspirations with future technologies. The delegates also attended a special presentation by ‘Big Data Group’ in Hyundai Motor Company, a presentation on Smart Cities by Cisco in Songdo Smart City and took a tour of the innovation centre where they learnt about the possibilities with digital transformation and IoT across verticals.

 

The delegation also attended an ASIA Beat Conference, a seminar on startup investment trends in East Asia and got an introduction of HOT startups, following which they attended a networking event with potential investors from East Asian countries. The CIOs visited Ahnlab, the leading cybersecurity company in South Korea, on the last day of the innovation tour.

 

CIOMajlis, an initiative powered by Smartworld, is in line with the National Innovation Strategy and is focussed on driving sustainable growth across the private and public sector by bringing CIOs from across different industries on a common platform.