Enhancing UAE’s digital transformation drive

Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

Gitex Technology Week 2021 concluded on Thursday on a high note in Dubai. The technology extravaganza saw the launch of new projects and technological solutions during the four days. Local and global companies signed different agreement and announced various products during the exhibition to strengthen the UAE Digital Transformation drive.

Automation of E-Commerce Policy Procedures: Abu Dhabi Customs, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, has launched the “Automation of E-Commerce Policy Procedures” project through the unified government services platform “Tamm”, which is scheduled to be completed before the end of this year, during the activities of GITEX Technology Week 2021.

“Automation of E-Commerce Policy Procedures” comes in line with the directives of the wise leadership to facilitate the movement of trade in all its forms, especially e-commerce, in a way that contributes to enhancing the investment environment and attracting more investments to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which is a global centre for trade.

“Automation of E-Commerce Policy Procedures” contributes to facilitating the practice of business by improving the procedures for the movement of trade for shipments and keeping pace with the requirements of the growing trend towards e-commerce, contributing to increasing business volume through an advanced digital system capable of linking all customs systems in accordance with global best practices.

By “Automation of E-Commerce Policy Procedures” the General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs aims to provide a competitive investment environment that integrates with the private sector, simplify customs procedures and regulate the movement of personal goods through e-commerce channels, taking into account the customs procedures in force and legislation related to this vital sector, which is supported by the overall digital transformation strategy at Abu Dhabi Customs through the launch of several digital projects.

The provisions of the E-Commerce Policy apply to goods imported and exported by companies, which are the import of goods by companies to distribution centers in the local market and companies in the Free Zone or customs warehouses “Bonded warehouses” in addition to the import of goods for consumption in the local market from goods stored in distribution centers established in the Free Zone or customs warehouses via electronic platforms.

The provisions of the Policy also apply to the exports of goods by companies from distribution centers in the local market to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) countries and other countries of the world, in addition to exports of goods from the local market to distribution centers in the Free Zone or customs warehouses, as well as exports of goods from the centers of Distribution in the free zone or customs warehouses to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) and world countries.

The E-Commerce Policy requires companies to fulfil the registration requirements, as companies wishing to engage in e-commerce activity must register and add the activity in the registration system at the Customs Licensing Department of the General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs and add the activity in the trade license, while the licensed and registered logistics companies are allowed in the authorized department of companies to clear goods provided that their customers are registered in the Customs Licensing Department.

Also, companies wishing to obtain the privileges contained in this Policy must obtain a customs registration number, while e-commerce companies must establish distribution centres for goods intended for sale through their electronic platforms so that distribution centre requirements are met and companies are required to provide dedicated and separated storage spaces for goods suspended from goods for which customs duties have already been performed in distribution centres.

The E-Commerce Policy has specified a set of controls and provisions represented in the exemption of electronic purchases through sales platforms for companies “goods and imports for personal purposes” whose value does not exceed Dhs “1,000” in accordance with the provisions and controls contained in the unified guide to customs procedures in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for postal parcels and express shipping companies.

Tobacco and its derivatives, electronic smoking devices and tools, accessories, nicotine liquids, alcoholic beverages and food preparations containing alcohol are excluded from the first item.

Companies are also given the advantage of organizing a unified import declaration for a group of “consolidated data” shipments so that the value of one shipment does not exceed 5 thousand dirhams and not less than Dhs1,000, and the total value is 50 thousand dirhams for all shipments for one statement, provided that the number of shipments does not exceed 50 shipments, Restricted goods are excepted from this item.

The new e-commerce policy prohibits the entry of a number of goods into the distribution centers, which are “flammable goods except for fuels, in addition to radioactive materials, military weapons, ammunition and explosives of any kind”.

Zikr Ring: iQIBLA, the leading smart wearable technology brand, launched the world’s first smart ring, the Zikr Ring, at GITEX Technology Week 2021.  

Developed in collaboration with UMEOX INNOVATION, a leading international smart wear company based in Shenzhen, China, iQIBLA’s Zikr Ring is crafted to carry innovative functions to assist its users in their religious rituals and daily worship.  The features of the newly introduced wearable technology serve as a unique timepiece thanks to its sleek digital clock display.

Multi-access Edge Computing: As part of their strategic partnership, Etisalat and Microsoft have joined forces to unlock new 5G scenarios with Azure Multi-access Edge Compute. Leveraging the power of Etisalat Core Orchestration and Azure ARM capabilities, the partnership is creating 5G edge compute plug-and-play infrastructures for enterprises to run industry solutions.

Edge computing technology is set to reform a host of industries, reducing latency and enabling a whole host of applications to deliver fast and secure 5G, IoT and AI applications.

“Etisalat Edge Computing solutions will help customers transform the way they operate, especially transportation, smart manufacturing, logistics, and Oil & Gas,” said Khaled Al Suwaidi, Vice President Fixed and Mobile Core at Etisalat. “This drastically increases the value for traditional networks to transition into 5G to develop intelligent and autonomous next generation technology that unlocks potential opportunities to our customers.”

 “We are proud of the synergy achieved between Etisalat’s advanced 5G capabilities and our Azure Edge and MEC services to unlock a whole new range of distributed applications with a common and consistent architecture for Enterprise customers.” said Naim Yazbeck, Regional Director, Enterprise and Partner Group (EPG), Microsoft UAE.

This latest collaboration is a continuation of last year’s successful partnership, when Etisalat teamed up with Microsoft to drive a public cloud first strategy through a digital transformation program that enabled the telecommunications provider to build a platform infused with automation and AI.

Separately, Under the patronage of Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with industry leaders to bridge the regional IT skills gap and address demand and supply challenges across businesses.  

In line with the initiative by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to honor coders and developers, the company will collaborate with Oracle and Red Hat as founding partners for GITEX – Code infinity, the region’s first developer show aimed at coders and developers.

Cybersecurity solutions: Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, lauded the efforts of Majid Al Futtaim Retail – operator of Carrefour in the Middle East, Africa and Asia – for its remarkable dedication to adopting best practices in cybersecurity to protect its IT environment.

On the sidelines of Gitex 2021, Trend Micro presented Majid Al Futtaim Retail with a special award for its resilience in cybersecurity. The award was presented by Dr Moataz Bin Ali, Vice President and Managing Director, MENA for Trend Micro to Richard Oluseye Ogunkeye, Head of Security and Privacy, Majid Al Futtaim Retail.

The company has been safeguarding its regional operations by adopting various Trend Micro innovations over the past 5 years. The company which operates Carrefour in 17 countries, will now go into phase two of the collaboration with Trend Micro by adopting Trend Micro Vision One – Managed XDR services to strengthen its security stance in the region to combat cyber threats of the future.

Choosing Trend Micro as its preferred security partner, Majid Al Futtaim Retail has accelerated its digital transformation journey, while protecting more than 10,000 endpoints, over 2,500 servers, and multiple networks. With 17 data centers in multiple locations, the company’s cybersecurity infrastructure has been reinforced and centralized by Trend Micro solutions, directly from the UAE, having both, SOC (Security Operations Centers) and DOC (Data Operations Centre) teams based in Dubai.