A smart city brings together technology, government and people November 02, 2017

Location Solutions was invited as a keynote speaker and a moderator to the Telematics Conference Middle East and Africa once again this year. The event gathered around 300 professionals and industry players from all over the world, and became a platform for technology discussions. Volha Smirnova, the Business Development Manager at Location Solutions, was moderating the panel dedicated to The Great Impact of New Technologies. The discussion gathered companies and speakers whose work is contributing to the level of technological transformation in the GCC and beyond, and the audience got to hear both local and global reflections on the subject. Other panel participants included Mr. Mohammad Al Saraira, Senior Director of Business Development at du, Mr. Juan Uruburu Alonso, Head of Sales Middle East, Commercial Vehicle Tires at Continental Middle East and Mr. Ivor Wheeldon, Head Customer Operations, Enterprise IoT at HERE Technologies. Location Solutions, like some other telematics service providers, holds a proprietary development team, yet – are very passionate about bringing technologies from all over the world into the GCC, and as Volha stated “Even when the most manifested technology enters the region, it needs to undergo a series of changes and transformations to cater for the local needs”. The GCC has its own definition of “innovation” in mind. This brings us to the question: Should we really be accelerating the level at which we are developing in the GCC? In AI and digitalisation — we are facing complete transformations in organisations large and small. Thanks to AI, automation and collaborative platforms, we get more established tools such as vehicle tracking and paperless job-scheduling, this makes operations managers in particular more prone to innovation. Many clients of Location Solutions have achieved greater business automation results by implementing LS products into their corporate realms. In terms of steps businesses need to take, several panelists suggested that there must be an open collaborative and innovative approach in using the business knowledge you already have to your advantage by embracing new technologies. For example, AI and machine learning coupled with location data to have some real benefits. Over the past few years – fuel expenses alone and proper order management decreased the budgetary bottom lines by 18% in the first year of usage only. This embraces a range of industries where Location Solutions are active, including but not limited to Heavy machinery and readymix tracking. In addition, some of the important technology pillars in the region were outlined; among which was the 5G technology. Now that 5G is revolutionizing the technology space, consumer segment will benefit, of course, however the target is always B2B. NBiOT connectivity also became an important factor, which will allow for a much wider application of telematics. Ivor Wheeldon from HERE Technologies stressed the importance of data and navigation in smart cities, and Juan Urunduru spoke about the steps that Continental is taking to support the 2030 Vision and some of the associated regional initiatives. These are other factors transforming the GCC beyond recognition, and are definitely pushing the whole African continent to join. The panel discussion was the synergy of views and opinions, and one of the concepts that were commonly shared was that organisations, especially in the GCC, are starting to realise that big data and knowledge can be leveraged and utilised for the benefit of corporate growth. Charles Azrak, the BDM and regional manager of Location Solutions said: “We are taking a proactive approach in tackling these needs and are eager to work with the most stringent government requirements”.