International Data Corporation hosted the inaugural edition of its ‘Smart City Middle East Awards’ at Dubai’s Jumeirah Creekside Hotel to honor the region’s most innovative ICT-enabled Smart City projects and initiatives.
More than 80 nominations were received across ten categories, with each submission undergoing a comprehensive multi-stage validation and judging process, and IDC is delighted to announce the winners and finalists as follows:
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
Smart Public Safety Award
Winner:
General Directorate of Dubai Police
Finalists:
Directorate General of Dubai Civil Defence
Monitoring & Control Centre, Abu Dhabi
Smart Health Award
Winner:
Dubai Health Authority
Finalists:
The National Health Insurance Company (Daman)
Ministry of Health & Prevention, UAE
Smart Learning & Education Award
Winner:
Institute of Public Administration, Saudi Arabia
Finalists:
Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia
Intelligent Transportation Award
Winner:
Roads & Transport Authority, Dubai
Finalists:
Dubai Airports; DP World
Sustainable Environment & Smart Utilities Award
Winner:
Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority
Finalists:
NEWGIZA for Real Estate & Development, Egypt
Dubai Design District
Ministry of Electricity & Water, Kuwait
Greenfield City Award
Winner:
Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu
Finalists:
Dubai Design District
NEWGIZA for Real Estate & Development, Egypt
Emaar, The Economic City, Saudi Arabia (King Abdullah Economic City)
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
Jyoti Lalchandani
“The Middle East has become a hotbed of innovation in the Smart City space, with cities across the region leveraging cutting-edge technology to meet the needs and expectations of their citizens, businesses, and residents,”
says Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC’s group vice president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa.
“Given the sheer scope of this ongoing transformation, we are delighted to be able to recognize and reward the outstanding contribution made by the pioneering organizations that have spearheaded the proliferation of Smart City initiatives and projects across the region.”
The awards ceremony marked the culmination of IDC’s dedicated Smart City Middle East Event, which saw a lineup of respected industry experts explore the emerging challenges and opportunities facing the region’s cities, local governments, and ICT suppliers.
Featuring a combination of insightful presentations and interactive panel discussions, the event’s keynote address was delivered by IDC’s vice president for Government Insights and Smart Cities, Ruthbea Yesner Clarke, who examined the latest trends shaping developments in the global Smart City space.
Ruthbea Yesner Clarke
“Awareness of the potential around Smart Cities has grown exponentially in recent years,”
said Clarke.
“Cities, municipalities, and governments around the world are realizing that they can positively alter the lives of millions of urban residents by exploiting opportunities presented by digital transformation.
To achieve this, they must harness the data from smart devices, networks, cloud infrastructure, and applications to develop new insights, products, and services, integrating smart technologies to enable a truly connected Smart City ecosystem.”
Fadi Shanaah, Orange Business Services’ business development director for Smart Cities and healthcare, also spoke at the event as he explored the creation of a holistic strategy for managing the data journey and enabling the Smart Cities of tomorrow.
Further discussions centered on the need to optimize Smart City investments, facilitate ubiquitous connectivity, and enable collaborative innovation, with fascinating contributions from Khwaja Saifuddin, senior sales director at Western Digital; Kia Cottrell, business development manager at Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company; and Hisham S. Hammami, CIO of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj.
Featured image via https://www.idcsmartcityawards.com/
