SAS National Innovation Summit spotlights opportunities for government agencies to boost data-driven innovation in the UAE

The overwhelming response to the recently concluded SAS National Innovation Summit 2015 demonstrated the increasing requirements necessary to undertake data-driven innovation within the government agencies in the UAE.

Dubbed as ‘Taking UAE Government agencies from Data to Insight and Innovation’, the SAS National Innovation Summit brought together over 100 policymakers, data science thought leaders and key stakeholders from leading UAE government organizations. The summit focused on harnessing the real value and benefits of driving innovation through data insights and analysis.

“With the continuous data explosion taking place globally, analyzing big data will serve as the key driver for innovation, productivity and growth across different sectors within public and private organizations. We, at SAS, are committed to provide cutting-edge data-driven solutions that align with the UAE’s strategic vision of making the country a regional hub for innovation,” said Shukri Dabaghi, Regional Director for the Middle East and Francophone Africa at SAS.

One of the summit’s keynote speakers, Colonel Barakat Yakoub Al Kindi, Head of Systems & Development, Abu Dhabi Police, highlighted the importance of data and predictive analytics in today’s policing. According to Al Kindi, Abu Dhabi Police was the first government department to use and yield the benefits of data analytics to significantly reduce and prevent crime in the capital.

Col. Al Kindi also mentioned that by analyzing and understanding data, government organizations can achieve optimum benefits by creating opportunities including identifying new strategies for crime control; road & traffic safety and reduce road accidents.

Marcel Yammine, General Manager, Gulf and Emerging Markets at SAS said; “The SAS National Innovation Summit was a great success and the timing was just right, ahead of the UAE Innovation Week that is set to take place on 22-28 November. In line with the UAE’s vision to become the regional innovation hub, SAS aims to play a pivotal role in encouraging and supporting government agencies in exploring, understanding and learning the importance of innovation through data.”

Meanwhile, Khawla Al Qubaisi, Director – Information Technology, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD), spoke about harnessing the value of Abu Dhabi’s Judicial Data. She explained the essential role of data within ADJD in building performance measures as well as monitoring, evaluating and making better recommendations. 

Among the other speakers at the summit were Marco Rohrle, Manager – Advanced Analytics, National Health Insurance Company (DAMAN), who shared the journey of DAMAN in health insurance analytics; and Dr Mohammed Ebrahim Al-Mualla, CEng, MIET, SMIEEE, Senior Vice President – Research & Graduate Studies, Khalifa University, who presented the vision of building a national analytics data science talent pool in the UAE.

In addition, international speakers from SAS included Simon Dennis, Director of Central Government Practice, SAS UK, who talked about data and digital dividend; and Dr. Wayne Thompson, Chief Data Scientist, SAS Institute from Cary, USA, who discussed big data and analytics for government innovation.