Dubai
Huawei Technologies has opened a facility in Dubai — OpenLab — in a bid to accelerate digital transformation in the Middle East with global partners.
With a focus on topics about exploration in the future, the Chinese ICT solutions provider will team up with industry partners to build a flourishing ecosystem in the region and drive growth through innovation.
Ala’a Al Shimy, Managing Director of Enterprise Business Group at Huawei Middle East, told Gulf News that it is an open lab and will enable Huawei and its partners to help industries go digital in the new ICT era and face up to the challenges of the intelligent world.
To date, Huawei has opened OpenLabs in Munich, Mexico City, Dubai, Singapore, Moscow, and China, and has over 400 solution partners worldwide.
Huawei is planning to invest $150 million in developing 15 more labs by 2019.
It will build seven new OpenLabs located in cities including London, Paris, Cairo, Moscow, Bangkok, Dallas and Johannesburg this year. This brings the total number of OpenLabs to 12 and by the end of 2019, Huawei plans to increase this number to 20.
Al Shimy said that Huawei has so far invested $1 million for the 5,000 square feet lab in a bid to collaborate with partners to develop solutions and innovation capacity for industries, expanding the market, and sharing the benefits.
It has signed deals with more than 50 partners in the region to jointly develop solutions for different verticals, mainly oil and gas, safe city and smart city.
“The digital transformation is causing disruption across every industry. We are committed to helping governments to maintain steady growth, achieve excellence and enhance the competitiveness of the ICT industry in the region,” he said.
OpenLab Dubai has been jointly launched with 30 solutions.
Al Shimy said that advances in new technologies such as the cloud computing, big data and internet of things will bring tremendous changes and innovation to many industries.
“All companies will need to work together to build a modern industrial sector, because we believe that no single ICT company is able to establish a comprehensive system in the face of digital transformation. Companies must work together to create symbiotic, inter-growth, and regenerative ecosystems and maximise business success,” he said.
The Middle East remains a significant market for Huawei as both a growth driver and a region where it contributes to building a better-connected world, he said.
Al Shimy said that there are plans to open smaller versions of the OpenLab in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
