UAE emerges as a bedrock in facilitating innovations

Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor

Expos have a long pedigree of introducing innovations to the world. But the Expo 2020, which is rescheduled to commence from October this year, coincides with a unique juncture when the whole world is undergoing a structural transformation towards digitization. So, this Expo is set to be the most connected ever, with the biggest integration of people, processes, and technologies.

We are on the cusp of a golden age in digital transformation, and with the Expo, the UAE is emerging as the bedrock facilitating new innovations and technologies. It is truly momentous to be part of UAE’s ascent in the digital global order.

This was stated by Abhay Pandey, CEO and Founder of MAST Consulting Group, during an exclusive interview with Gulf Today on Sunday.

The group’s UAE-based holding company, MAST Consulting, recently launched its much-touted Customer Intelligence and Analytics App (CIAA), which has been designed to provide an integrated platform for customers, brands, and service partners.

“The UAE is the land of innovation, opportunities, and possibilities. At MAST Consulting, our vision is aligned with the larger goals of the UAE government.”

Abhay Pandey poses for a photograph.

  “We aim to build an enhanced digital infrastructure for our clients. Our latest digital innovation, CIAA, helps clients offer excellent customer service, build brand affinity, and align themselves with ‘Towards the Next 50’, in accordance with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,” Abhay elaborated.

“The people, process, and technology (PPT) framework has been around for decades. The PPT framework was predominantly used by software companies for organizational transformation and management.”

“Today, with widespread digitization, the PPT framework can be applied to just about anything; to determine the maximum value we can extract through increased integration. Electronics manufacturers, automobile producers and distributors, large enterprises, construction companies, and healthcare facilities are all unifying their functions under single digital platforms and opening a new array of possibilities. That said, seamless integration had not been achieved at a mega-scale until the Expo 2020 preparations began.”

“The underlying rationale behind any integration, under the PPT framework, is to ensure the interests of all stakeholders in the value chain are safeguarded. This is, in fact, the motivation behind every major technological initiative that the UAE has launched, across sectors, in recent years. Notable areas of interest include customer experience (CX), transparency, and secure transaction channels - things that innovators like MAST Consulting are hoping to enhance, using platforms like CIAA.”

“Such platforms are digital ecosystems in which customers, brands, and service partners transparently connect with each other, and transact securely. The adoption of cutting-edge technologies provides customers with personalized experiences and wide-ranging functions, including management of their assets and post-sales service. Brands can monitor the overall performances of their service partners, and ensure a high level of consumer satisfaction. This will help boost the operational efficiency of both the brands, and the service partners, while preventing any kind of revenue leakage, thanks to end-to-end transparency.”

“In the case of CIAA, it harnesses analytics and consumer intelligence to help brands build personalized experiences, increase engagement, and understand what their end-users truly desire. The channel facilitates secure data sharing, customer feedback, and rating of products and services, which will help brands resolve issues proactively, and enhance their chances of customer retention.”

“Cumulatively, after several cycles of transparent and secure transactions, the unlocked value translates to macro, positive outcomes. The integration of people, processes, and technologies, at the Expo, will result in similar civic and socio-economic outcomes, except at a broader scale.”

“The greatest beneficiaries of increased data analytics and integration are the end-users, be it in mega-events like the Expo, or everyday business transactions. For example, Amal, an AI-powered chatbot developed in collaboration with Smart Dubai, will gather data on shows and events, and give feedback throughout the six months of the Expo. This data will also enable organizers to provide tailored services to international visitors, in their mother tongues. Such capabilities are truly customer-centric, and in line with the Expo’s spirit of bringing the world together for a better and brighter future.”

“End user-centric platforms like CIAA are of also great consequence, in the business ecosystem. “Being a homegrown start-up, we understand the needs of UAE-based customers. With the launch of our Customer Intelligence and Analytics App, we look forward to connecting customers, brands, and their partners, on a single digital platform that ensures the best user experience for all stakeholders,” Abhay concluded.