Business Review Middle East magazine - April 2016

www.businessreviewmiddleeast.com

Dubai Parks and Resorts Creating a theme park of the future in the heart of the Middle East

Featured special reports

ServiceNow & Halliburton

April 2016

EDITOR’S COMMENT

W E L C O M E T O T H E A P R I L issue of

Business Review Middle East. Our cover story this month looks at the exciting Dubai Parks and Resorts site currently being constructed and due to open in October 2016. The integrated tourist destination will feature three theme parks – Legoland, motiongate and Bollywood Parks – as well as a Legoland water park, hotel and retail and dining complex. We visited the site and spoke to both Brian Machamer – VP for Theme Park Operations – and Matthew Priddy – Chief Technical Officer – about the work that has gone into creating this unique park, which truly offers something for all the family.

Also in this issue, we speak to energy expert Halliburton about its history in the region and other companies featured include Axios Systems and Griffin Consultants.

We do hope you enjoy the issue, please send your feedback to @BusinessRevME on Twitter.

Lucy Dixon Managing Editor EMEA lucy.dixon@bizclikmedia.com

3

Our Capabilities. Our People

Our Capabilities Our People Blueprint Technologies (www.bpterp.com) is an ERP company of professionals focused on providing services on SAP and SAP related services on cloud. Started in the year 2010 with Headquarters in Bangalore, India, with offices in Chennai and Dubai. Blueprint Technologies has partnered with Al-Russaid Technologies(www.al-rushaid.com) in Saudi Arabia and Bin Butti International Holdings(www.bbih.ae) in Abu Dhabi. Blueprint Technologies is a preferred SAP vendor for Companies in Saudi Arabia with strong SAP delivery capabilities. Blueprint Technologies has successfully executed end to end complex SAP projects and have extensive experience in providing SAP solutions for various industrial verticals like Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Manufacturing, FMCG, Real Estate and Construction. With a strong understanding of the market requirements in various industrial verticals.

Blueprint Technologies is also involved in executing projects on cloud with SAP SuccessFactors and Ramco ERP/HCM.

+91 8032 550 345 | 46

info@bpterp.com www.bpterp.com

India | UAE | Saudi Arabia

F E AT U R E S

8

LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW

Theme park of the future

Dubai Parks and Resorts, the biggest theme park destination in the Middle East

22 TECHNOLOGY

Detailed insights Meltwater, a company that provides comprehensive insights into social and media data

TOP 10

7 TECH start-ups that you need to watch

28 5

C O M PA N Y P R O F I L E S CONSTRUCTION

ENERGY

TECHNOLOGY

38 Dubai Parks and Resorts

104 Halliburton

156 ServiceNow

78 Association: Emirates Green Building Council

SUPPLY CHAIN

80 Griffin Consultants

MANUFACTURING

92 Palm Hills Development

172 Axios Systems

130 Alshaya Trading Co

184 Presidency of Meteorology & Environment

142 Fine Hygienic Holding

80 38 78

Griffin Consultants

Dubai Parks and Resorts

Emirates Green Building Council

Palm Hills Development

92

Halliburton

104 156 Axios Systems

172 130

Alshaya Trading Co

184 Presidency of Meteorology & Environment

Fine Hygienic Holding

142

ServiceNow

LEA DERSHIP I NTER VI E W

Theme park of the future Business Review Middle East talks to the man responsible for theme park operations at the ambitious Dubai Parks and Resorts project

Writ ten by: LU CY D IXO N Produced by: J O RDAN PLATTE N

9

LEA DERSHIP I NTER VI E W

“I WISH I was 16 again so I could work another 30 or 40 years on this project,” says Brian Machamer, Vice President of Theme Park Operations for Dubai Parks and Resorts. The project he is so enthusiastic about comprises three theme parks, a hotel and a retail and dining area, due to open later this year in a prime location between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. And Machamer has been working in the theme park industry since he was 16, so clearly knows this is a project 10

April 2016

worth getting excited about. He says: “It’s not just the construction that’s unique, it’s the offering that we have.

We’ve got a Bollywood theme park that caters to multiple demographics.

Legoland® Dubai more for the younger kids and a water park that is designed specifically for younger kids. And we have motiongate™ Dubai, a Hollywood movie-based theme park. So when a guest comes to the resort, with kids of all different ages and there is really something for everyone to do and I

T H E M E PA R K O F T H E F U T U R E

16 think that’s unique as well. If you went to Orlando you would have to spend time driving between different parks, taking away from your experience.

Here you can stay at the hotel and park hop to really maximise your time since all of our theme parks are located so close to each other.”

From his first job serving food in Disney’s Magic Kingdom as a teenager, Machamer now looks after operations for all the theme parks at Dubai Parks and Resorts. Each

The number of rides and attractions

of the parks is run independently, and it is Machamer’s job to ensure a high quality guest experience, emphasising the fact it has been designed to offer an integrated resort destination experience. He says: “It’s really about looking at everything from guest services to safety, and the overall guest experience. Somebody comes to the park, whether they go to Bollywood™ Parks Dubai, motiongate™ Dubai or Legoland® Dubai, it should feel like a very seamless experience 11

LEA DERSHIP I NTER VI E W on all fronts. So, it’s really important to bring the operators together and get them to single mindedly worry about the experience.” And when the project first began three years ago, there was a very limited management team so it was the job of the general managers to deal with everything before the more specialised team started. Machamer says: “As your director of food and beverage comes online, he might say, ‘I want the kitchen laid out this way’, versus what we have already designed. So we

“I wish I was 16 again so I could work another 30 or 40 years on this project” –B rian Machamer, Vice President of Theme Park Operations for Dubai Parks and Resorts

12

April 2016

T H E M E PA R K O F T H E F U T U R E

have to manage those expectations and limit changes. Of course, we want things to work as efficiently as possible and sometimes we will go back and review a change request, but as you get closer to opening, you have to stop doing that or you will never finish building. So on opening day it’s as close to perfect as it can be.”

Machamer says how important it has been to get the operations team involved in the project from an early stage. He says: “This helps to make sure that when the park opens

The number of rides and attractions including Smurfs Village, The Hunger Games and Ghostbusters

27

13

LEA DERSHIP I NTER VI E W it’s designed in the most efficient way from a guest experience and operations standpoint and major changes don’t have to be made after opening day. We see a lot of things at other parks that we would redo or do it differently.”

Machamer’s working week is changing as the park opening date approaches and ironing out any issues or picking up on where the construction has deviated from the plans is a key part of his role.

Recruitment is also one of his main tasks at the time of our visit “I’m mostly focused on recruiting to get the park staffed and ready to go later this year.” And hiring over 4,000 staff is not easy, particularly when you consider the limited availability of local theme park skills, something that Machamer has experience of from when he was recruiting for a theme park in Singapore. “It was a similar situation where we didn’t have a theme park operating in Singapore so we had to hire all the staff from other industries, and we hired 99 percent Singaporean. We basically had to look at who would be the right candidate to work in a theme park – people with a hospitality background, 14

April 2016

T H E M E PA R K O F T H E F U T U R E

40

+

The number of Lego-themed rides

15

LEA DERSHIP I NTER VI E W

‘Each of the parks is run independently, and it is Machamer’s job to ensure a high quality guest experience, emphasising the fact it has been designed to offer an integrated resort destination experience’ or who had been working in a guest services function in a hotel or perhaps the zoo. We look at what sort of hospitality and service background they have and that will hopefully set them up for success in the theme park model. And there’s a lot of that in Dubai.” Training of staff for the park has already started, and ten UAE nationals have been sent to Orlando to pick up the necessary know-how.

20 16

April 2016

The number of water slides and attractions

Machamer adds: “That gives them real on-the-job experience versus reading a training manual. Those initial staff that we hire usually then progress within the next year into more of a team leader or even a supervisor role as they get a better understanding of how theme parks operate. There’s a lot of growth from the ground up.”

Listening to Machamer talk about Dubai Parks and Resorts, its easy to see why he was drawn to the ambitious project. As he says: “The last project I was on was a very large integrated resort in Singapore, but I’ve worked in the theme park industry my whole life and this is the first time we are building three theme parks and a water park, with a nighttime entertainment complex and hotel. We have over 100 attractions coming online out here and its a

T H E M E PA R K O F T H E F U T U R E

17

LEA DERSHIP I NTER VI E W

18

April 2016

T H E M E PA R K O F T H E F U T U R E

big deal to open even one major ride. So to have all those attractions coming online simultaneously, that’s what makes it so unique.”

One element of the project that is really innovative is the use of smart technology, alongside partner Etisalat.

Machamer explains: “We wanted to take advantage of all the technology that’s out there, and set ourselves up for adaptability or expansion in the future.” Technology will be used

throughout the park to improve and enhance the guest experience in a number of different ways. For example, smart technology will give guests accurate and up-to-date waiting times for popular rides. “In the past, the attraction wait time sign was a metal wheel with numbers on it and staff would just spin that wheel and change it from 30 minutes to 45 minutes to 60 minutes. Then we got to a digital wait time sign. So what we’re

Themed dining and shopping destination, with over 50 units

19

LEA DERSHIP I NTER VI E W looking in our parks is when the queue wait time is changed from 30 minutes to 45 minutes, that automatically updates the main information boards around the parks and updates your mobile app, so as you’re navigating the park, you can adapt your plans.

So, it’s smart and the communication

Polynesian-themed family resort

20

April 2016

is instantaneous.” Other ways Dubai Parks and Resorts is harnessing technology is by using an e-wallet system, which essentially means you dont need to take any cash or credit cards into the park. “When I buy my theme park ticket, that ticket has RFID capability and I can load it up with credit so I can purchase food, retail merchandise or even onboard ride photos. Everything gets charged back to your one portfolio and it makes it very seamless, which equals a good guest experience and usually higher per capita spending.”

Queueing is an unavoidable part of

T H E M E PA R K O F T H E F U T U R E

visiting a theme park but, Machamer says, it is something that guests are expecting so it isn’t really a problem.

“The tolerance that some people have for queue lines if it’s a very popular attraction is amazing. We do have a queue fast system that you can get you front-of-the-line access and we limit the number of those tickets on a daily basis we also have guided VIP tours of the parks.

Using the mobile application to plan your day will also help – looking to see what wait times are. All of our queue lines are interactive, with themed video monitors

and other elements, so really the experience starts when you enter that queue and that’s really for me the difference between an amusement park and a theme park.

An amusement park will have a standard queue line with minimal interactivity whereas the theme park, the experience really starts the moment you enter that attraction.”

21

TECHNOLOGY

Detailed

Business Review Middle East talks to Zubair Timo at Meltwater, a company that provides comprehensiv Writ ten by: JESS SHANAHAN

INSIGHTS

ol, Area Director for India, Middle East and Africa ve insights into social and media data for businesses

23

TECHNOLOGY NOT ONLY IS Zubair Timol responsible for managing people across the three continents but, as Area Director for India, Middle East and Africa at Meltwater, he also works strategically on expanding the business and improving its products.

Most of Timol’s early career, however, was spent in law, which is where his qualifications lie, but during his 11 years with Meltwater he’s held a number of strategic roles. He says: “I’ve been part of growing the organisation in Europe, Asia Pacific and, more recently, in the Middle East and Africa. My primary speciality is emerging markets and I’ve held a number of strategic roles including business development,

24

April 2016

people development and leadership to do with female empowerment.

“My primary responsibilities are strategic overview and direction for growing each region; leadership coaching and developing managers within these parts of the world; and, finally, making sure we are commercially successful.”

Meltwater is a Norwegian company that started off with just two people, a laptop and a coffee machine.

The goal was simple - to make business decisions easier for clients by harnessing public information on

D E TA I L E D I N S I G H T S

the web. The company quickly grew into Norway’s leading media monitoring solution – and then the rest of Europe’s. Today it’s one of the largest media intelligence companies in the world with more than 23,000 clients in 108 countries.

Timol explains a bit more about the company: “On a very simple level, we provide outside insights. There’s so much information out there and it’s impossible to monitor it all alone.

Content as a whole carries very little value but if you can find the relevant needle in the haystack, it suddenly becomes very valuable. That’s what we enable our customers to do.

“We help them make better informed decisions based on the information available on the internet. We have a sophisticated Meltwater search engine and we track real-time online conversations that allow a company to make better decisions based on the content coming through. This might be looking at how your brand is perceived in relation to another, industry-specific metrics and so on.

Ultimately we give a client a dashboard which will give them an overview of the content surrounding their brand and industry to help them make quicker and

“Here in the Middle East the penetration rates are high: 65 percent of the GCC is online, more and more content is being created here and the market as a whole is very receptive to technology. In this region you’ll start to see more content that is specifically tailored to this market” more effective business decisions.”

Empowering women across the world is very important to Meltwater.

The company actively works to develop female leadership talent. Timol says: “When I started this project two years ago I had a management team that was 90 percent male; now it is 65 percent female. All our managing directors are female, and across in Cape Town we have two new mums who have come 25

TECHNOLOGY

“Businesses will be moving on from traditional social media and video will continue to grow. It’s definitely becoming more relevant to customers and clients here in the Middle East” 26

April 2016

back into the organisation as leaders.”

The way Timol identifies female talent is often quite different to how he might with male candidates. He says: “We look for leadership potential in the interview stage – with both men and women – I think in most of the processes you’re looking for someone that is quite extrovert, giving text book answers or projecting a lot of confidence, although sometimes with women the signs are less obvious.

The authority can be expressed in a much more subtle way and the confidence is there but it’s channelled differently. Identifying that at the interview stage is really important.

Timol is excited to see the business grow and predicts this kind of technology will become even more important to businesses in the coming years, especially in the Middle East.

He says: “Here in the Middle East the penetration rates are high: 65 percent of the GCC is online, more and more content is being created here and the market as a whole is very receptive to technology. In this region you’ll start to see more content that is specifically tailored to this market.

“Businesses will be moving on from traditional social media and video

D E TA I L E D I N S I G H T S

will continue to grow. It’s definitely becoming more relevant to customers and clients here in the Middle East.”

He also spoke about how businesses will continue to use data in the future.

He said: “More and more companies will strive to use and understand data in order to run their departments.

The marketing department may have tracked KPIs in the past but it’s never been as clear cut as it is now when you run social campaigns.

“It’s very clear what the reach is and to which demographic. Moving forward, traditional departments that use data, such as finance, will continue to do so but I think investor relations, HR and

marketing will all benefit from looking at content more closely and using that to make better informed decisions.

“Externally, the ability to monetise content will become more important and companies will start to look more closely at content and ways in which to create revenue streams from it.”

Find out more about Meltwater’s social media and PR products here 27

LIST

7 TECH start-ups

you need to watch Dubai might be the start-up hub of the Middle East thanks to its abundance of accelerator programs, but there are plenty of tech start-ups throughout the rest of the region. Here are seven technology companies in the Middle East that you need to watch.

Writ ten by: JESS SHANAHAN

29

LIST

07/ INSTABEAT This sports technology company based in Lebanon has developed a product that allows swimmers to track their heart rate, calories burned and more to increase training optimisation. In the past it’s been difficult to track a swimmer’s activity - the challenge has been creating a device that’s both accurate and waterproof. Instabeat is the first waterproof device that connects to a swimmer’s goggles to provide accurate tracking and feedback. www.instabeat.me 30

April 2016

7 T E C H S T A R T- U P S Y O U N E E D T O W A T C H

06/This interesting app gives GETYOU

users are idea of how strangers and friends might perceive them.

Instead of getting people to post anonymous feedback about you, the app turns it all into a game. The goal is to bridge first impression gaps and breakdown stereotypes. In a way, it performs as a dating app but the idea is to get people connecting over interesting questions that are difficult to answer on appearance alone, such as your favourite band. www.getyou.com

31

Business Review Middle East is the portal for businesses in the region to promote their corporate activity and be informed of the latest industry news, trends and events.

The benefits of our Digital Footprint Package > A featured article in our magazine > A profile on our website > An interactive brochure for your own promotional use > An interactive widget for use on your website to showcase your company’s success > PLUS a Social Media strategy to spread the word and bring your package to life

FIND OUT MORE: Contact by email: craig.daniels@bizclikmedia.com (UK) Office: +44 (0) 1603 217 575 Website: businessreviewmiddleeast.com

Reaching executive decision makers

7 T E C H S T A R T- U P S Y O U N E E D T O W A T C H

05/ This taxi app was one of the first to achieve funding WASSELNI

through Gaza’s only start up accelerator program – Gaza Sky Geeks. It’s been described as ‘Uber for the Middle East’ although users have to be connected to Wi-Fi to find a ride.

Wasselni faces dramatically different challenges to most young companies — poverty, travel restrictions, and a limited infrastructure damaged even further by last summer’s conflict between Israel and Hamas. Despite these, Gaza’s start-up movement is gaining a lot more attention. www.wasselni.com

33

LIST

04/This is a platform that allows people to connect with local SOHATI

doctors and access top-notch medical information. It focusses on making information easily accessible and understood. Its team of in-house editors and independent doctors help curate information so users can find what they need quickly and easily. With its comprehensive approach and varied content formats, Sohati proves online medical references that are simplified and accessible to anyone, anywhere. www.sohati.com 34

April 2016

7 T E C H S T A R T- U P S Y O U N E E D T O W A T C H

03/ This is a service that allows WEPUL

people to learn anything and teach anything. It was born out of a need to learn little things like setting up a fish tank, as well as the larger need for entrepreneurs to learn further business skills. It all works on a skill-swap basis that allows people to get stuff done for free in exchange for their skills or favours www.wepul.com

35

LIST

02/CARY! This is a mobile-only classified site that mostly deals with car sales. Despite the Middle East having cheap fuel and large roads, car buyers are still price conscious when it comes to buying a car. This mobile site allows people to find prestige vehicles at low price points. www.carymarket.com

36

April 2016

7 T E C H S T A R T- U P S Y O U N E E D T O W A T C H

01/This service helps Muslim IRHAL

travellers to find halal food while flying, manage daily prayers and also helps travellers perform their annual Haj to Mecca/Medina. www.irhal.com

37

Park life

The Dubai Parks and Resorts project

Written by: LUCY DIXON Produced by: JORDAN PLATTEN

39

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

In just a few months the doors will open on the Middle East’s most exciting and ambitious theme park resort

W

hen you think of theme parks, you inevitably conjure up images of Mickey Mouse at Disney World or the King Kong ride at Universal Studios in Orlando. And Dubai Parks and Resorts is planning to join that prestigious handful of household names by creating a mustattend entertainment destination in the heart of the UAE. As Chief Technical Officer Matthew Priddy explains: “We have the ability to become a regional leader in the entertainment business. And as we develop the brand of Dubai Parks and Resorts, we can become one of the top three in the world.

That’s the goal, we are all very committed to that. And we’ve made a very good start.”

Priddy’s hand-picked team of 30 people boasts at least 500 years of theme park experience between them, each one of them a specialist in his or her field. Despite this degree of knowledge, the industry remains niche, and this allows Priddy and his team to ensure Matthew Priddy, Chief Technical Officer 40

April 2016

CONSTRUCTION

500

The number of combined years of experience the management team have in the theme park industry

“As we develop the brand of Dubai Parks and Resorts, we can become one of the top three in the world” – Matthew Priddy, Chief Technical Officer

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

41

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

the highest quality at every point of logistical point of the operation. The Dubai Parks and Resorts project was developed in support of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s vision for the tourism sector. “His Highness’s idea for 2020 involved bringing 20 million visitors,” Priddy explains. “He wanted to diversify the economy and create a family entertainment destination. Design for this project began in January 2013, and ground was broken in March that year. Throughout the remainder of 2013 and the majority or 2014, all the infrastructure was installed and erected, and by 2015 we were integrating the finishes, interiors, and finally the shows and rides themselves.”

And having spent a morning touring the Dubai Parks and Resorts site, talking

‘H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wants to diversify the economy and create a family entertainment destination’

42

April 2016

CONSTRUCTION

20m

The expected number of vistors to the region by 2020

to Priddy, who is responsible for design, engineering and production of shows and rides, it’s easy to see how the goal of becoming one of the top three theme park destination is going to be achieved. This ambitious and exciting destination is due to open in October this year, and the site comprises three theme parks – Legoland® Dubai (and Legoland ® Water Park), Bollywood ParksTM Dubai and motiongateTM Dubai, as well as the family oriented, Polynesian-themed LapitaTM Hotel, and a retail, dining and entertainment district called RiverlandTM Dubai. The facts and figures are impressive – the finished site is expecting 6.7 million visits in 2017 and will include over

Raed Kajoor Al Nuaimi, CEO w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

43

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

100 rides and attractions, with 15,860 trees and 6,100 palms on 25 million square feet of land.

The site still looks very much like a construction project – albeit one with a giant meatball (from the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) gracing the site – with rides starting to be installed and the buildings that will house many of the attractions going up. Priddy says: “We started a little over three years ago, and back then this site was nothing but desert. In the last two years we have put in the underground utilities, and all primary infrastructure that goes with that, meaning sub stations, water treatment facilities and sewage plants.” With the majority of that background work complete now, the team is focussing on everything from cultivating plants in its nursery for the landscaped areas and moving the first Lego models into position to recruiting over 4,000 staff that will be needed in time for the grand opening.

Dubai Parks and Resorts is located on the Sheikh Zayed Road, the main

44

April 2016

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

45

LIGHTING SYSTEM INTEGRATION

Supplier of all Show Lighting Equipment to Motiongate and Bollywood Theme Parks.

Architainment | Production Lighting | Special Effects | Parkwide Control Systems

Al Shirawi Building | Airport Road | Dubai | PO Box 93, UAE T: + 971 4 2821337 | F: +971 4 2822617 E:info@oasisppd.com | W: www.oasisppd.com

www.facebook.com/oasisppd

www.twitter.com/oeppd

www.linkedin.com/company/oasis-enterprises

CONSTRUCTION

route between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. And it really is the perfect location, says Priddy. “It’s a terrific site because it is equidistant between the two international airports – Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It’s also 10 kilometres from new Al Maktoum airport, which is going to take on the existing traffic from some of the terminals at DXB. It is also close to the Expo 2020 site, so the city is going to grow in this direction.

“What ends up happening, from what I’ve seen in my experience at Disney and Universal, is that all the support vendors and suppliers will spring up around the site and

15,850

The number of trees planted

6,100

The number of palms planted

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

47

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

48

April 2016

CONSTRUCTION

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

49

CONSTRUCTION

“We started a little over three years ago, and back then this site was nothing but desert” – Matthew Priddy, CTO

become an economic engine, driving growth in this direction.”

The career experience that Priddy refers to includes a 20year career at Disney, including serving as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Production for Walt Disney Imagineering. As Priddy says: “My background really is the theatrical side of the theme park business.”

Describing his current team and its role in the strategy of Dubai Parks and Resorts, Priddy says: “My group is an interesting mix of development and operations. We have procurement, contracts, media, R&D, control systems, creative,

facilities management, show and ride engineering, technical services. Our role is diverse, but the important thing for us is to ensure the guest experience.

“A theme park and a resort is looking to offer a compelling experience that will make people want to come and it needs to be so compelling that they want to come back and next time they want to bring their friends and their grandparents and they want to stay longer.

A longer stay equates to more per capita spending, and that’s the concept of an integrated resort – a theme park on its own, out of town, has a hard job with

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

51

Minimise risks.

Optimise results.

Reliability through experience and tradition.

As an experienced, impartial expert organisation, TÜV SÜD boasts over 80 years of international experience in the testing and approval of amusement parks, rides and structures. Our expertise is backed by industry best practices and client case studies from our work in Europe, USA, Asia and the Middle East.

Work with TÜV SÜD today to take care of all your safety needs while you focus on the fun part.

YEARS

INSPIRING TRUST

TÜV SÜD Middle East LCC Dubai Office +971 04 4473113 info@tuvsudme.com www.tuv-sud.ae TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH Munich Office +49 89 57911943 rides@tuev-sued.de www.tuev-sued.de/is

CONSTRUCTION

repeat visitation and length of stay. It doesn’t end up being a destination. Dubai Parks and Resorts is a destination. People will come here and stay for a day, two days, two and a half days.”

And Priddy certainly isn’t afraid of any local competition, in fact, he welcomes it. “We are fortunate that we have additional theme parks springing up around the UAE. We don’t look at them as competition, we look at them

as another reason to drive the UAE, Dubai and Abu Dhabi as international destinations. We will probably partner with them at some point in the future, when it comes to things like safety standards and creating a theme park organisational mentality in the UAE.” Content is key for the success of any theme park and the team at Dubai Parks and Resorts has carefully selected a rich

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

53

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

“A theme park and a resort is looking to offer a compelling experience that will make people want to come and it needs to be so compelling that they want to come back and next time they want to bring their friends and their grandparents and they want to stay longer.”

– Matthew Priddy, CTO

54

April 2016

CONSTRUCTION

mix of attractions and experiences that will enable it to quickly become a leader in the region. Firstly, there is Bollywood ParksTM Dubai, a product that is unique. “Bollywood has never been done as a theme park before and there are millions of Bollywood fans within just a few hours of our site, so we are expecting to have to start the expansion from day one!

Bollywood is such a large part of the culture here that making it part of the business plan was a no brainer.”

And it is a very vibrant part of the overall Dubai Parks and Resorts offering – the stunning Rajmahal theatre is a striking setting for the 850-seat shows. Priddy adds: “The theatre is very high end in terms of its finishes and its technology for the shows. During the day it will operate as a typical theme park theatre with 20-minute shows. Then at night it turns into a Broadway-style theatre, with an

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

55

CONSTRUCTION

extravagant production based on Kingdom of Dreams, with a cast and crew of 150 people.

That’s a separate ticket, which is all part of our strategy to extend the length of stay. A visitor could spend the day at one of the parks, go to Riverland TM Dubai for lunch, go to the hotel for a rest if they are staying there, then go to Bollywood ParksTM Dubai in the evening for a meal at the high-end themed Indian restaurant, then go to the theatre show.�

The second theme park is motiongateTM Dubai, which Priddy describes as a typical movie park as the attractions are based on

150

The number of cast and crew for the production Kingdom of Dreams

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

57

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

films from Hollywood. But, he says, it is atypical as there are many different and diverse IPs at the park. He says: “In the states they would be seen as competitors but they are all together here.” The park will offer attractions based on Sony

58

April 2016

PictureStudios films (Hotel Transylvania, Ghostbusters and Zombieland, as well as Lionsgate (The Hunger Games).

Priddy adds: “Those are not new products but they have never been done in a theme park environment before, so

CONSTRUCTION

‘The park will offer attractions based on Sony PictureStudios films (Hotel Transylvania, Ghostbusters and Zombieland, as well as Lionsgate (The Hunger Games).’

we have been very fortunate.

Sony has allowed us to use some of the new ghosts from Ghostbusters. So we are really bringing the films to life in the theme park environment.”

Visitors to motiongateTM Dubai will also get to enjoy attractions

based on Dreamworks animation films which Priddy says will be housed in one enormous building – big enough to fit in five Airbus 380s. He adds: “Dreamworks has a demographic that runs all the way from little kids to adults, and in my opinion the

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

59

LINQ, Las Vegas

Universal Studios Hollywood

Dubai Parks & Resorts

Master Planner for

Dubai Parks & Resorts. We offer master planning and landscape architecture services to the Middle East and the world. We believe landscape architecture is a visual language. We are committed to using that language to provoke perception, cause reaction, and most importantly, stimulate positive feelings.

Marassi, Egypt

Doha Oasis

www.rhdo.com

CONSTRUCTION

Dreamworks franchise has the best sense of humour. We will have all sorts of effects that have never been done before – including Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek and Madagascar. And all these will be unique in the way the ride technology and animation is being combined and presented to the world.”

The park that is aimed at families with younger children is Legoland ® Dubai, and the Legoland® Water Park alongside it. Priddy says: “Legoland® Dubai is not unlike the other seven around the world, although we do have one unique feature. Our Miniland a 90-metre diameter dome, which houses architectural icons from the region, created using Lego

5

The number of Airbus A380s that would fit inside the Dreamworks building

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

61

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

bricks,– this is clearly weather driven and architecturally it makes a great centrepoint.” The weather in Dubai has definitely been a factor in the design of the attractions, continues Priddy.

“We have a fairly elaborate shade programme, to minimise guests being outside. When they’re outside, we try to keep

62

April 2016

them in the shade. All of our queues are 30 minutes of airconditioned queue plus 30-45 minutes of cool overflow queue” Talking about the months ahead, Priddy describes the run-up to opening a theme park as a ‘very happy train wreck’. He is referring to all the different

CONSTRUCTION

teams pushing to get their elements ready, the extensive testing of rides and attractions. “You have to make sure it all works and it’s safe and reliable,” he says.

And there is a lot of technology that needs to be tested. “Whether it is control systems, music, development, exterior entertainment lighting, the list just goes on and on and on. The technologies that we’re combining are programmable ride systems which can vary at speed and has to be put together in conjunction with the soundtrack, with the

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

63

CONSTRUCTION

“We’re using lighting, projection, holograms, animated figures, and that is all run by computerised control systems. It’s quite technologically rich” – Matthew Priddy, CTO

music, with the media to make sure that we’re hitting all those marks. We’re using lighting, projection, holograms, animated figures, and that is all run by computerised control systems.

It’s quite technologically rich.”

To make sure all is working as it should when the crowds arrive in October this year, Dubai Parks and Resorts will be initiating what Priddy calls a testing and commissioning.

“You might, depending upon the status of things, open one park one day, open another park the next day and so on. This serves two functions. It allows

us to bring out the systems and make sure they’re properly tuned and identify any problems that we might have in parts. It also means we can train the staff. We’re bringing in over 4,000 people, many of whom have limited park operations experience so there is a lot of training and development that has to go on.”

Recruiting – and training – this many people is clearly a big challenge but, for Priddy and his team, the procurement phase was equally tricky, because there is only a certain number of people who can produce what a theme park needs, so there may

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

65

CONSTRUCTION

be timing and capacity issues.

He says: “Other projects going on in the world were chasing similar resources. So we had to get creative in procuring these packages. And the procurement team did a fabulous job - we managed to find the vendors and structure the packages that we think we’ve got it covered.

But it was a challenge.”

The hard work was well

worth it though, as the park currently has 95 percent of its ride systems either installed or in the warehouse ready to go. “And we’ve got a good 50 percent of all the shows either in the warehouse or on the water which is a tremendous accomplishment by our guys,” Priddy adds. “The goal is to get in and start playing with it so we can make sure we can dig out

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

67

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

68

April 2016

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

69

Abu Dhabi International Airport, Midfield Terminal Complex Abu Dhabi, UAE

Muscat International Airport Muscat, Oman

Salalah Airport Salalah, Oman

Bahrain International Airport Manama, Bahrain

If you can imagine it, we can manage it.

For nearly four decades, owners have turned to Hill International to manage their largest and most complex aviation projects throughout the Middle East and around the world. Hill is proud to have helped our clients turn their most challenging visions into realities. We have helped manage over 10,000 projects with a total construction value in excess of $500 billion, managing all phases of the construction process from concept through completion. www.hillintl.com Dubai Office: 971 4 227 0078 Riyadh Office: 966 1 207 9559 Corporate HQ: 800 283 4088

Š2015 Hill International, Inc.

Hill is also the leading construction claims firm in the world, having helped to resolve over 50,000 disputes valued at more than $100 billion. To minimize risk and maximize results on your next airport project, turn to Hill International.

CONSTRUCTION

all problems and deal with them as early as we can. The role of the project manager and the technical division is to look for bad news.

It is to look for problems and deal with them now. Not later. We’re doing a great job.”

Without exception, everyone we spoke to at Dubai Parks and Resorts had a love of theme parks running through their bloodstream. A passion that Priddy epitomises. He says: “I majored in theatre technology in UCLA. That is really all about lighting, audio, rigging, scenic construction and stuff like that.” This eventually led to a call from Walt Disney requesting that Priddy join its team building scenery for the Epcot Center. “Typically theme parks at that time used the Hollywood film studios to build all the scenery but it didn’t have the capacity for Epcot so we needed to set up our own. So we built 3.5 million square feet of scenery plus Tokyo Disneyland at the same time and shipped it out of California in 18 months. It was a lot of all nighters but it was a lot of fun.”

Earlier on, Priddy mentioned that R&D is part of his responsibility, and it is a fascinating part of a theme park as new and unique attractions are sought. He says: “It’s natural for all of us. You see something and you say ‘Ooooh,

“When we mature as a park and we have the right dialled-in level of talent, I know for a fact that we will become known as one of the top innovators in the business” – Matthew Priddy, CTO

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

71

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

I could apply that to some part of the theme park’. Whether it is a technology or a combination of technologies; maybe you have an idea of a special effect

and the technology doesn’t exist. Then you have to come up with it. You have to figure it out with all your smart people what combination of systems

CONSTRUCTION

technologies and products you can combine and utilise. When we mature as a park and we have the right dialled-in level of talent, I know for a fact that we will become known as one of the top innovators in the business.”

While touring the Dubai Parks and Resorts site, our guide was regularly pointing out space that has been allocated for future expansion.

And it’s easy to see that will be in the very near future, as it’s impossible to imagine the site being anything other than a huge success.

“Once we open and based on market demand

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

73

CONSTRUCTION

we have to think of expansion within the existing parks - each has probably 30 percent of its original size available. We believe our business plan is such that it’s best to have more demand than capacity but at some point that deteriorates the guest experience so we have to be ready to expand. The rule of thumb is every 18 months, maybe two years, you should be putting in a new attraction that gives you a marketing hit and a spike in attendance.”

So, will the site be ready for the crowds in October this year. The answer is a very loud ‘yes’, thanks largely, says Priddy, to strong

“We believe our business plan is such that it’s best to have more demand than capacity” – Matthew Priddy, CTO

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

75

D U B A I PA R K S A N D R E S O R T S

“I really believe we couldn’t have done this without all of our suppliers, our contractors, our architects and IT consultants.”

– Matthew Priddy, CTO

relationships with suppliers. He says: “I really believe we couldn’t have done this without all of our suppliers, our contractors, our architects and IT consultants.

It’s a world class bunch of

76

April 2016

companies. They have supported us really well. I think in turn we have been a very good client to work with. We pay our bills and we respect their requirements.

There was a bit of the stigma from

CONSTRUCTION

4k

The number of staff required for the opening day 2008 when the financial crash happened and a lot of people didn’t get paid. So there was a little bit of trepidation on part of some of our partners, but we have done an awesome job

dispelling all that to the extent that I believe that every one of our contractors will be back here next time around. Happily.”

w w w. d u b a i p a r k s a n d r e s o r t s . c o m

77

Building with a green agenda The UAE has made significant strides since 2006 to drive the green building agenda with numerous ground-breaking frameworks and programmes being implemented by the public sector Written by: Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of Emirates Green Building Council

The focus on sustainable built environments reflects in His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai’s initiative for a ‘green economy for sustainable development’.

Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) has been aligned with His Highness’ vision and initiative. Since its inception in 2006, it has been at the forefront of driving sustainability in the UAE’s built environment. EmiratesGBC supports all stakeholders in the building industry to advance green building principles that help protect the environment and

78

April 2016

foster sustainability in the UAE. EmiratesGBC is pleased to be cooperating with Construction Global magazine to highlight the importance of sustainability in green builds. Such communication initiatives are important to sharing the green building agenda in the region.

EmiratesGBC and its programmes are aligned with the National Agenda 2021, the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy and Abu Dhabi’s Vision 2030, all which serve as critical road maps to steer the advancement of sustainability in the country.

For further information on the Emirates Green Building Council, please visit the webiste: www.emiratesgbc.org

CONSTRUCTION

Building GREEN Written by: Nye Longman Produced by: Jordan Platten

81

G R I F F I N C O N S U LTA N T S

Business Review Middle East takes a look at how Griffin Consultants, despite being a young company, has quickly grown into a key green engineering consultant in the UAE

G

riffin Consultants is a small yet mighty engineering company operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Specialising in sustainable designs, energy management, and district cooling, the business has played a major role in a number of major projects across the country, despite the fact that it has only been in operation for a few years. Griffin has also become an increasingly active member of the Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC).

Business Review Middle East speaks to Omnia Halawani, Managing Partner at Griffin Consultants, to explore how the company has been able to reach these milestones in such a short space of time.

82

April 2016

CONSTRUCTION

Operations and talent management “We provide a range of services for new construction, particularly green buildings. We also do a lot of work for the existing building sector where we are an accredited energy auditor by the Regulatory and Supervisory Bureau of the Government of Dubai.” Halawani says, “We were one of the first accredited energy auditing firms, and one of the few companies that is carrying out energy efficiency projects under the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy’s ‘Directive on Energy & Water Efficiency of Buildings for Government Entities in Dubai.’ The project comes in line with the objectives of the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 to help achieve the overall energy demand reduction target of Dubai.”

Halawani adds: “Coming from an intensive design background, we provide an added advantage to our clients in the energy auditing sector as we can basically cover

Hassan Younes, Technical Director and Partner

Omnia El Halawani, Founding Partner

w w w. g r i f f i n - c o n s u l t a n t s . c o m

83

G R I F F I N C O N S U LTA N T S

both the auditing and the design aspect of a project. We go into the building, we assess it, and we see where it is wasting energy and how the energy can be conserved.”

Griffin Consultants has the holistic expertise at its disposal to provide custom-made solutions to a variety of clients looking to control both energy usage and their carbon footprint. The company’s expertise covers engineering, energy, and technology, whereby it can provide education and consulting, as well as a range of sector-specific certifications.

In short, the company’s offering encompasses everything from design, design and project management, and CSR strategy planning, through to technical studies and a range of services covering commissioning and sustainability.

Halawani says: “We are always developing our internal processes and always want to hear our employees’ opinions on how to do things better – both in terms of what they have experienced from their previous employers and what they look forward to experience.

It’s not authoritarian when we tell them ‘this is how it’s done.’ We would like them to build the company with us as their own.”

“Being a small company helps - our

84

April 2016

Mixed use buildings on Al Wasl

CONSTRUCTION

“We are always developing our internal processes and always want to hear our employees’ opinions on how to do things better. We would like them to build the company with us as their own” – Omnia Halawani, Managing Partner

w w w. g r i f f i n - c o n s u l t a n t s . c o m

85

Cupra was established in the early 90s in central England. The company was involved in manufacturing lightning protection components. Subsequently, the company was taken over by LCC france, and the group was renamed Cupra International..

Cupra has since grown to a multifaceted organization with interests in Earthing & Lightning Protection Systems, Metal Conduit Systems, Floor Distribution Systems, Cable Management, Back Boxes, Hand Driers, Bus Risers and many more solutions.

We are Cupra - Customercentric.

Website: www.cuprainternational.com

Innovative and Efficient Solutions for You RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

INDUSTRIAL

CONTROLS

SERVICE

In homes, shops, offices and even large-scale buildings, we support comfortable lifestyles in any situation.

MCP

Daikin Middle East & Africa Tel: 00971 4 815 9300 E-mail: info@daikinmea.com

www.daikinmea.com

Find us!

Daikin Middle East and Africa

CONSTRUCTION Aryana 5 Hotel in Dubai

overheads are not very high. We can always price in a competitive way. Being a young company, it takes perseverance and a lot of effort to get clients to trust us with their projects.

But once they do, we always see them coming back to us with more projects. 70 percent of our projects are from return clients; which is great. ”This enforces the idea that the quality of the individual engineer working on a project is far more important than the age of the company on paper. We have been recently selected as one of the Top 20 MEP Consultants in the region.

“Being a younger company means that there’s not a lot of negative politics or bureaucratic processes - it’s efficient. We are there for each and every project whether they are of small or large – we have found that this gives our clients a lot of confidence in working with us.”

And that is the crux of Griffin Consultants’ unique position in the UAE: a small company with the talent, resources and remit to work on projects normally only meted out to larger organisations. By necessity its team is multi-skilled, which provides a depth of understanding and capability rarely seen in a single office, as Halawani explains.

She says: “We encourage our staff to take developmental courses and certifications

w w w. g r i f f i n - c o n s u l t a n t s . c o m

87

G R I F F I N C O N S U LTA N T S

for which all expenses are bourne by the company. We plan to have multiple internal training courses as well.”

“We always have regular team building activities. We have a monthly get together where we talk about the projects and the forecasts. Those monthly meetings would also include a team building fun activity for the team. Each month we give a different employee District cooling plant

88

April 2016

the task of coming up with the next teambuilding exercise.”

“We also find great satisfaction in giving back to our community.

On an annual basis, we pick a cause that is related to our field of expertise through which we can volunteer our time and effort.

Two years ago we were given a chance by OpenSource Arc (Humanitarian architecture, UAE) to help them design the concept

CONSTRUCTION

“And that is the crux of Griffin Consultants’ unique position in the UAE: a small company with the talent, resources and remit to work on projects normally only meted out to larger organisations” – Omnia Halawani, Managing Partner

MEP services for a community centre, orphanage, and school to house 300 unfortunate children in Tanzania.

“We collaborated with a large number of architects and engineers who have voluntarily came together to design this project. This year we are leaving it up to our team to decide what cause we should adopt as a company.”

Driving green The firm’s commitment to advancing the UAE green economy is evident on many levels. “Our director is on the Boards of Governors of the local chapters of ASHRAE and CIBSE; the internationally adopted standardising authorities in the USA and the UK respectively. He aims

w w w. g r i f f i n - c o n s u l t a n t s . c o m

89

G R I F F I N C O N S U LTA N T S

CSR- Tanzania Orphanage- thinktank of design teams

to help influence the construction industry on how to make it better and greener.� Says Halawani.

As a leading member of the EGBC, the company is part of a thought-leading organisation that hosts events, provides training and educational courses, and also works across the country to make businesses more environmentally friendly.

90

April 2016

“We have committed ourselves to a COP21 pledge, in association with the EGBC. Our pledge is to dedicate one day a month for pro-bono educational initiatives and other industry efforts that tackle climate change and serve energy reduction causes. We have also committed ourselves to influence our clients and customers to make better and more environmentally-friendly

CONSTRUCTION

CSR- IAQ analysis in kindergarten school

choices in building construction.”

Griffin believes in leading by example which is why, alongside its internally-led initiatives, the business takes great pains to achieve externally-audited accreditations, including ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:2007, and ISO 50001:2011.

Griffin Consultants’ short but

illustrious track record not only shows what can be achieved in the Emirates’ construction sector but also proves that small companies, no matter what sector they are in, can compete with much greater players, provided their strategy focuses on skills, quality, and delivering value for the customer.

Not only is this company one to watch, it is one to imitate also.

w w w. g r i f f i n - c o n s u l t a n t s . c o m

91

Beyond and m

Written by: Alice Young Pr

d bricks mortar

roduced by: Richard Deane

93

PA L M H I L L S D E V E L O P M E N T S

Sustainable, integrated projects are key to the success of Palm Hills Developments

94

April 2016

F

ounded in 2005, Palm Hills Developments quickly became one of Egypt’s leading real estate companies. CEO Engineer Mohamed Sultan says that the company’s ethos runs through every stage of its work, starting with land acquisition. “While keeping in mind that prospective clients have delegated us to fulfill their aspiration by developing their dream homes, not by just building houses. Such a philosophy sits in sync with our vision, which extends beyond bricks and mortar to creating a well-integrated livable experience,” he says.

To realise Palm Hills Developments’ vision, the company carefully selects the best business partners and service providers. Sultan says: “On the construction front, we’ve always been joining forces with the blue-chips of

CONSTRUCTION

the industry who clearly manifest profound understanding of the local market need gaps, and simultaneously project world-class standards.”

Taking integrated development to a whole new level coloured by eco-friendliness and sustainability is equally important to Palm Hills Developments, as Sultan explains: “We are always seeking to apply the latest cutting edge technologies, methodologies and techniques across all business fronts. We’re currently in the process of exploring and piloting a new construction technique, which is meant to represent a quantum leap, providing innovative solutions that will further enhance final product neatness, aesthetics and speedy development and, moreover, will enable architects to have more room for design novelty. Most importantly,

1000+ Number of jobs to be supported

by Palm Hills Development

w w w. p a l m h i l l s d e v e l o p m e n t s . c o m

95

such new approaches are centric around green and sustainable development.�

Palm Hills Developments has taken solid steps towards full Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and is working on several community projects focussed on developing integrated, self-sustaining communities. These will provide the infrastructure and resources needed to create a better standard of life for needy villages in Upper Egypt and the Delta region. Sultan

98

April 2016

explains: “We always develop in the context of our community, driven by representing a socially responsible corporate citizen. Our business supports 100 feeder industries, creating 200,000 job opportunities. We’ve also signed a joint cooperation agreement with the Industrial Training Council (ITC) of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Small and Medium Enterprises, to provide vocational training for youths with the aim of qualifying them to join

w w w. p a l m h i l l s d e v e l o p m e n t s . c o m

99

PA L M H I L L S D E V E L O P M E N T S various productive sectors in the labour market.”

Aside from its CSR activities, Sultan believes that the quality of its developments is what sets it apart from others. He adds: “Eleven projects from our portfolio have been delivered, inclusive of eight phases of Palm Hills October, Bamboo Extension, Hacienda White, and The Village. The company has currently 12 active projects - five in the East, five in the West, and two on the North Coast - all due for completion between 2016 and 2018.”

Sharing its real estate knowledge and experience is the focus of a project that Palm Hills Developments has recently decided to get

Address: 35 Abou Bakr El-Sedeek St. Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt Web: www.redconcon.com Email: info@redconcon.com

100

April 2016

CONSTRUCTION

involved in. Sultan says: “Capitalising on our leadership within the real-estate sector, we’ve decided to export such expertise via partnering with the government and the private sector in a continuous attempt to support housing provision. We’ve partnered with NUCA (New Urban Communities Authority) to co-develop 500 feddans in New Cairo. The project sales are expected to take place towards the end of 2016.

We’ve partnered with Madinet Nasr Housing to co-develop 100 feddans of Capital Gardens in New Cairo extension within Sarai development, along Cairo Suez road and within close proximity from the new administrative capital. Capital Gardens was launched last December and has achieved tremendous results - almost 100 percent of the first tranche was sold out during the first week of launch, reinstating demand in the Egyptian real-estate marketplace. Such a project is a clear testament to our dynamic and adaptive approach while casting our net wider targeting the upper middle income segment.”

‘A key pillar behind such stellar results is what we pride ourselves in: being the employer of choice in Egypt, deploying the best talent pool across all specialties, and keeping them constantly engaged’

w w w. p a l m h i l l s d e v e l o p m e n t s . c o m

101

PA L M H I L L S D E V E L O P M E N T S

Palm Hills Developments is actively exploring new markets, says Sultan. “We’re planning to expand our land bank by venturing into new markets behind the frontiers, specifically Africa where we’re still exploring and researching. In addition, we’ve just secured a new land plot to complement our second home projects portfolio of 135 feddans in Ras El Hekma. Via our flagship North Coast projects, we’re opting to support the government plan in transforming Egypt’s North Coast into a whole year-round destination.”

It has certainly been a successful time for the

102

April 2016

CONSTRUCTION

company, as the financial results highlight – it achieved record results in 2015, delivering 1,573 units with gross sales exceeding 6 billion Egyptian pounds. Sultan says: “A key pillar behind such stellar results is what we pride ourselves in: being the employer of choice in Egypt, deploying the best talent pool across all specialisties and keeping them constantly engaged.” Palm Hills Developments prides itself on its people, describing them as its ‘most vital resource’ and the ‘driving force’ that enables it to achieve its vision and turn it into a reality success story.

Palm Hills Development HQ is based in Cairo

w w w. p a l m h i l l s d e v e l o p m e n t s . c o m

103

Vision of gr

rowth

Written by: Lucy Dixon Produced by: Heykel Ouni

105

HALLIBURTON

Operating in the Middle East since the 1940s, Halliburton still has big plans for the region, as Business Review Middle East reports

H

alliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the global energy industry, with corporate headquarters in Houston and in Dubai. It employs more than 60,000 people, representing over 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries.

Ahmed Kenawi, Senior Vice President, Middle East and North Africa Region, notes that the Middle East is an extremely important region for Halliburton, for both the company’s shortterm objectives and its long-term vision.

“Halliburton has had a presence in the Middle East and North Africa region for many years,” he says. “We were logging in Saudi Arabia in the 1940s, more than 65 years ago. We value the stability of the business through global economic

106

April 2016

ENERGY

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

107

HALLIBURTON

fluctuations, and the significant growth opportunities that the region has to offer. These are two key reasons why Halliburton has a strong interest in growing our footprint and business platform in the ME/NA region.�

Halliburton was founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton as a cementing company, but over the last almost 100 years it has grown tremendously. It now serves

110

April 2016

the upstream oil and natural gas industry throughout the life cycle of the reservoir – from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, to well construction and completion, to optimising production through the entire life of the field.

It has two divisions: the Drilling and Evaluation Division, and the Completion and Production

ENERGY

Division, with 12 product service lines between them. One additional business line, Consulting and Project Management, is the nucleus of Halliburton’s integrated services strategy and works across both divisions.

Halliburton has a clear vision of what it is as a company and what it aspires to be. “The Halliburton vision is to deliver a customer experience second to none, as globally competitive, creative, and ethical thought leaders,” Kenawi says. Halliburton executes through collaboration, innovation, and process excellence to create value for its customers.

Halliburton: • Builds a reputation for distinctive health, safety, environment and service quality performance by emphasising process assurance and process execution

• Maintains long-term, sustainable customer relationships that help it meet the specific needs of a regional and global client base • Understands that the reservoir is the source of all value, and has the resources and expertise to provide the right solutions to increase access to hydrocarbons and improve recovery • Is a credible, reliable service provider that matches actions to words—it gets the job done • Is an effective innovator, applying pragmatic technology that delivers results • Is balanced, both geographically and in its product and service portfolio, to serve and support its customers cost-effectively • Epitomises excellence in integration, using technology to link its global network to maximise results

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

111

HALLIBURTON

“The Halliburton vision is to deliver a customer experience second to none, as globally competitive, creative, and ethical thought leaders” – Ahmed Kenawi, Senior Vice President, Middle East and North Africa Region

112

April 2016

To achieve its vision, Halliburton has a firm strategy that represents a long-term plan of action. “Every year, Halliburton executes the strategic-planning process, which is critical to the company’s long-term growth and sustainability,” Kenawi says. “During this process, we map out the three- and five-year strategies, focusing on developing the strategic plan, building a supporting financial plan, and developing a talent-management and succession plan.” Every Halliburton employee must understand and fully commit to the strategy, taking ownership of its execution to meet the company’s strategic objectives. This is one of the reasons for Halliburton’s success, Kenawi believes.

The ultimate goal of the company’s strategy is to secure its position of leadership as an energy service company by leveraging its existing strengths; balancing its global platform of products, services, technology and markets; and establishing a distinctive competitive position that provides sustainable growth over time.

Halliburton focuses on three key market segments—deep water, mature fields and unconventional resources—and this focus has produced superior results in recent years.

It is easy to see the progress made by

ENERGY

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

113

HALLIBURTON

Five key areas of strategic focus • Safety and Integrity which commands our highest focus and attention. We continue to build a reputation for distinctive health, safety, environment and service quality performance through our emphasis on consistent process assurance and process execution wherever we work.

• Strategic Focus Areas, which are the foundation of our superior growth: – Unconventionals – Mature Fields – Deep Water • Technology and Innovation. We innovate at a faster rate and build a robust technology portfolio collaboratively with customers and suppliers to help our customers meet their technical objectives.

• Employee Investment. We invest in our employees’ competency and development to drive superior performance.

• Integrated Services. We integrate our activities, building cross-functional workflows to achieve efficient delivery of integrated processes and projects that create value for our stakeholders.

114

April 2016

ENERGY

Ahmed Kenawi

Senior VP, Middle East And North Africa Region Ahmed Kenawi is responsible for the region’s management and strategic leadership. He is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Kenawi was appointed as the Middle East Region Vice President in April 2015, and subsequently as Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa Region when the regions were combined in November 2015. Prior to these appointments, he served as Vice President of the Sperry Drilling product service line, a global leader in drilling and formation evaluation services for the oil and gas industry. He also served as Vice President of Halliburton’s Wireline and Perforating PSL, and as Vice President of Applied Technology, where he was responsible for the company’s global technology development structure, technology strategy, and geoscience and reservoir applications.

Prior to these positions, Kenawi was Halliburton’s Country Manager for the Middle East, excluding Kuwait. He joined Halliburton in 1989 as a field engineer and subsequently held various management positions within the Company’s Operations, Business Development and Marketing, and Technology groups.

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

115

Breakthrough Technology & High Quality Consulting Services SPIDER Egypt for Petroleum Services, once a small Egyptian start-up that has become one of Halliburton’s strategic partners providing Petroleum Services and qualified talented geoscientists across MENA region, was founded and registered with the EGPC (Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation) in 2002. Since then it has experienced a gradual growth rooted in two interrelated activities – our breakthrough pressure measurement technology and supply of manpower.

The aim of this article is to acknowledge the role that Halliburton has played in facilitating SPIDER’s growth and to express a thank-you for everything that the partnership with Halliburton means for us.

Originally, SPIDER’s purpose was to introduce and promote the technology of SPIDR (Self-Powered Intelligent Data Retrieval) acquired from our former partner DRC (Data Retrieval Corporation). In fact, the name ‘Spider’ aims to invoke the very idea of how our technology works – a quick little spider climbing up and down the hole to retrieve the pressure data. This busy little spider is of course a metaphor – SPIDR does not send any eight-legged creatures hung on a silk string down the well. In fact there is no need for ANY downhole runs as SPIDR is essentially a non-invasive technology using the power of its internal dual quartz pressure transducer, a shear mode and quartz crystal resonator that changes frequency with pressure.

At the very beginning SPIDER had a hard time persuading the prospective clients about the workings of SPIDR technology. When our consultants first presented SPIDR as being able to test almost any gas well for a fraction of the cost of a conventional downhole test, some clients have found it too good to be true. In response to that (after several unsuccessful presentations) we have come up with a bold idea – free trials of SPIDR that would be compared with DHGs (downhole gauges). As expected, SPIDR has produced very comparable measurements on almost all the wells tested (while virtually eliminating risk from hydrogen sulfide leaks or high pressures thanks to being non-invasive). These free-trials have finally won SPIDER a place with several companies operating in Egypt and over the time established SPIDR as one of the market leaders for non-invasive pressure measurement. Our business has finally started to feel the growing demand and we have gradually introduced new products such as reservoir engineering consultancy and additional services for measuring the liquid fluid levels across Egypt. Times were really good … but then the financial crisis hit the oil industry.

The year 2008 was probably the toughest year for SPIDER, yet luckiest at the same time. Just as the company was expanding, our clients started to limit their spending in response to falling oil prices. Frustrated

from the market development, SPIDER took a leap of faith and begun seeking business opportunities outside Egypt. Thanks to the growing reputation of SPIDR for its cost efficiency and precision, a big customer in Algeria has expressed an interest and invited us over to present our technology. The word quickly spread and after a few months of presentations and negotiations with other large companies, we have finally made a deal with our biggest and best client so far – Halliburton Consulting and Project Management Algeria.

At this point in late 2008 SPIDER proposed a new strategy of combining our technology with consulting business and support Halliburton in their efforts to pursue integrated asset management services. For this reason, we have transferred some of our technical staff from Egypt to Algeria.

Following the early success of this new SPIDERHalliburton relationship, Halliburton has agreed to partner with SPIDER in creating a strong geoscience foundation. I order to enable it SPIDER has established a local branch (Spider Algeria). Thanks to the Algerian branch SPIDER became an exclusive supplier of talented resources and payrolling services which has helped satisfy the growing demand for Halliburton’s consultancy business and streamline the delivery of Halliburton projects without delay.

In the last three years, we have been expanding our business with Halliburton to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia where we are hoping to replicate the Algerian success – especially in the current times of austerity SPIDR may come handy to many clients looking for a greater cost-efficiency.

To conclude, we are proud of being a supplier of Halliburton, its culture and business ethics principles and we are grateful to Halliburton for playing a key role in furthering SPIDER’s business success.

We are looking forward to continue our fruitful partnership for many years to come.

Sayed Shokeir Chairman Spider Egypt For Petroleum Services

We Make The Impossible Happen

ALMCO is an international organization headquartered in Baghdad, Iraq and having regional offices throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

ALMCO provides a host of services including Construction & Engineering, Catering, Facility Operations and Maintenance Services, Oil & Gas Support Services, Supply & Logistical Operations, vehicle leasing and Security Services. Supporting Iraqi, US, and coalition military forces as well as a wide variety of international corporations ALMCO provides Life Support service for over 17,000 people a day throughout Iraq.

ALMCO’s unique mixture of Iraqi professional personnel and a world-class executive team comprised of professionals recognized across the globe as some of the top people in their fields has enabled us to provide best in class services while still offering best value pricing. this unique combination of personnel gives ALMCO a highly professional, versatile, and dedicated team to leverage against any new opportunity.

Since its inception in 2004, our base of core service offerings and industry leading personnel have allowed ALMCO to experience tremendous growth and rapid expansion which is still ongoing today.

We look forward to making the impossible happen for you.

Apartment 37 B, H. 25, St. 25, Dist. 929, Arasat AI-Hindiya, Baghdad, Iraq Tel: +964 780 923 7810 | Fax: +971 4 4228057 Email: lifesupport@almcogroup.com | www.almcogroup.com

ENERGY

Halliburton in unconventional resources.

The company has maintained market leadership in North America, with performance that has exceeded expectations. Before the recent decline in market conditions, growth was twice what had been anticipated, and service intensity has been higher than expected.

“We deliver the lowest cost per barrel of oil equivalent—the result of our surface efficiency combined with our subsurface insight and customised chemistries,” Kenawi says. “Although unconventional resources are still a relatively small part of our business internationally, we are growing this segment of our business. There is a willingness to innovate in these markets, and new technologies are being adopted rapidly. For example, we have successfully introduced our CYPHER Seismic-toStimulation Service in the Middle East region, and recently executed the first hydraulic fracturing job with seawater in Saudi Arabia, as well as a second job that used local sand as the proppant.”

The second key area is mature fields, which account for more than 70 percent

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

119

HALLIBURTON

of the world’s oil and gas production, with many in the secondary or tertiary production phases. The Halliburton strategy in this segment is focused on integrated solutions that enable customers to realise greater recovery potential by improving performance on existing wells, optimising reservoir management, and identifying new profitable areas in the reservoir. The company’s integrated project management strategy in mature fields is paying off with significant project awards, and with a robust pipeline of integrated project management contracts, it is well-positioned for growth.

The final key area is deep water. In the last decade, 60 percent of global oil discoveries have been in deep water. Although the Middle East and North Africa have few opportunities in this arena, the region still merits attention, Kenawi noted. In this challenging arena, the strategic aim is to grow market share by employing leading-edge capabilities to help eliminate uncertainties and ensure ultrareliability for customers at every stage of the exploration and development process. There have been headwinds in the deepwater market as a result of higher costs and lower energy

120

April 2016

ENERGY

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

121

Oren Hydrocarbons Redefining Oil Field Chemistry www.orenme.com | www.oren.in

Locations UAE INDIA SAUDI ARABIA EGYPT

IRAQ OMAN LATIN AMERICA USA

CANADA HOLLAND CHINA MALAYSIA

One of the world’s top manufacturer of High Quality Specialized Drilling Chemicals • Clays / weighting materials • Viscosifiers • Filtration control agents • Lubricants • Surfactants & spotting fluids • High temp products & dispersants • Lost-circulation materials • Shale inhibitors & flocculants • Emulsifiers, Wetting Agents & Thinners

• Rheological modifiers • Obm fluid loss controllers • Sbm products • Biocides and scavengers • Defoamers and foamers • Corrosion inhibitors & scale inhibitors • Completion & Drill in Products • Production Chemicals • Brines

Plot No. S 10503 P.O. Box 18159, Jebel Ali Free Zone (South) Dubai, U.A.E. Phone: +971 4 8860497 | Fax: +971 4 8860498

ENERGY

prices, leading operators to shift investment from deep water to land in search of better returns. However, Halliburton continues to gain share in this slower-growth environment.

“Our integrated service capabilities, infrastructure and technologies mean that we are well-positioned to outgrow the market, as we have over the past three years,” Kenawi says.

“We will continue to leverage the investments we have made in these areas to drive growth.

Furthermore, we are well-positioned to navigate any market conditions. The experience and commitment of our management team, our highly skilled people, and our innovative technologies will continue to enable us to execute our strategy and deliver value to our stakeholders.”

Since the days of Halliburton logging in Saudi Arabia in the 1940s, there have been massive

“Our integrated service capabilities, infrastructure and technologies mean that we are wellpositioned to outgrow the market” – Ahmed Kenawi, Senior Vice President, Middle East and North Africa Region

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

123

HALLIBURTON

changes in the energy industry globally. One of the biggest has been the increasingly important role played by technology. The exploitation of hydrocarbons is becoming more difficult—well paths are more deviated, wells are deeper and hotter, and have higher pressures. Also, traditionally, hydrocarbons have been found in conventional reservoirs, like carbonates or clastic reservoirs.

But now, attention is being shifted to recovery from the source rocks in unconventional reservoirs.

The economics of effectively and efficiently developing an unconventional reservoir are challenging. Technology is helping address all these issues.

New technologies are enabling Halliburton to go to the most hostile environments to record data for full evaluation

Trusted supplier of high-quality products and services for Oman’s Oil & Gas Industry Since its inception in 1974, OOISS has become a leader in providing specialised goods and services for Oman’s Oil & Gas industry, serving applications from upstream to downstream. We offer our customers a one-stop shop experience which is supported by OOISS’s 60,000 sqm of facilities in Ghala, a transport fleet, over 150 committed members of staff and operations certified to the most demanding QHSE standards. Annually we stock and deliver on a just in-time basis over 150,000 MT of chemicals which includes the full range of drilling as well as water and process treatment chemicals.

Address: P.O. Box 510 Ruwi. PC 112 | Tel: +968 24117600 | Fax: +968 24590131 | info@ooiss.com | www.ooiss.com

124

April 2016

ENERGY

of a reservoir’s potential. With new drilling technology, Halliburton can now accurately place wells with the high precision required to maximise reservoir connectivity, and with new technology it can now effectively stimulate unconventional wells to make the economics of recovery a viable proposition. Halliburton has a number of world records and market-leading technologies that demonstrate its commitment to working in these extreme environments and new arenas, across the oilfield life cycle.

“Halliburton has a reputation for getting the job done,” Kenawi says, “and that’s what sets us apart from others in the industry. When our customers have a critical objective and they want assurances that their objectives will be met on time and on-budget, they call Halliburton. But we are looking further than that. Especially in today’s environment with low oil prices, we need to understand how the market is developing and how the customer’s business is changing.

We have to be aware of evolving geopolitical dynamics and how they affect us. We are constantly trying to understand the future so we can serve our customers better and ultimately drive better performance for our shareholders.”

The current economic environment is also

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

125

HALLIBURTON

making efficiency more critical than ever. It is no longer enough simply to complete the job—it must be executed as effectively and efficiently as possible.

“For Halliburton, one of the key elements in this is customer collaboration and customer intimacy,” Kenawi says. “This is another area where Halliburton excels, and it’s an important differentiator. We build strong customer business relationships, and we believe in working on a collaborative solution rather than forcing an idea on a customer.

Having strong, joint ownership builds credibility, and typically results in more effective solutions.”

Another area for growth is the Halliburton Consulting and Project Management business line, which adds significant value to customers’ workflows, and their well construction and completion objectives. Working with both the Drilling and Evaluation and

126

April 2016

ENERGY

“We build strong customer business relationships, and we believe in working on a collaborative solution rather than forcing an idea on a customer” – Ahmed Kenawi, Senior Vice President, Middle East and North Africa Region

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

127

“We had identified the need for a tiered approach to offering our services, to match customers’ needs and enhance value-creation” – Ahmed Kenawi, Senior Vice President, Middle East and North Africa Region

the Completion and Production divisions, the Consulting and Project Management teams aim to deliver predictable well-construction and intervention projects through collaborative leadership and risk management.

“We had identified the need for a tiered approach to offering our services, to match customers’ needs and enhance valuecreation,” Kenawi says. “The Integrated Project Management component has been developed over the last 15 years, and has different levels of

128

April 2016

ENERGY

integration and considerations.”

Turnkey drilling—the delivery of well stages for a fixed, lump-sum price—is becoming widespread in the Middle East. This requires the contractor to accept more risks with drilling the well, while shielding the operator from most operational risks. While a risk-averse nature in both operator and contractor may promote behaviors that lead to poor drilling performance with a turnkey drilling contract, a collaborative and integrated approach between operator and contractor could lead to improved performance. “Today we operate 70 well construction and 44 integrated well intervention rigs worldwide,” Kenawi says, “and our customers continue to appreciate the value of increased collaboration.”

Halliburton invests massively in research and development. The company’s commitment to the Middle East region is highlighted by the inauguration of the new

Unconventional and Reservoir Productivity Technology Center in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. The new center enables Halliburton to provide state-of-the-art research and development solutions for conventional and unconventional reservoirs addressing challenges both in the kingdom and across the region. The center provides a base for developing strong relationships with local universities such as KFUPM in developing technology—relationships that are expected to lead to employment and training opportunities for Saudi technicians and university graduates. In addition, Kenawi says, the center is expected to provide technology and solutions to existing and future partners around the globe, contributing to the development of local workforces and national economies.

w w w. h a l l i b u r t o n . c o m

129

Trading in the GCC Written by: Alice Young Produced by: Dennis Morales

131

A L S H AYA T R A D I N G C O

Alshaya Trading tells us all about its extensive impact within the industry and influence on the Gulf Corporation Council

M

.H. Alshaya Co. is a leading international franchise operator for over 70 of the world’s most recognised retail brands including Starbucks, H&M, Mothercare, Debenhams, American Eagle Outfitters, P.F. Chang’s, The Cheesecake Factory, Victoria’s Secret, Boots, Pottery Barn, and KidZania. The

132

April 2016

S U P P LY C H A I N

company operates over 3,000 stores across diverse customer sectors: Fashion and Footwear, Health and Beauty, Food, Optics, Pharmacy, Home Furnishings, and Leisure and Entertainment.

Alshaya’s stores can be found in markets across the Middle East and North Africa, Russia, Turkey, and Europe, and the company employs more than 44,000 people of over 110 nationalities.

The company has established itself as the industry leader across these territories through a combination of local market understanding and a comprehensive commitment to customer service. Growth in each of its operating divisions and brands is supported by continuous investment in talent and infrastructure. It applies best practices in retail

w w w. a l s h a y a t r a d i n g . c o m

133

A L S H AYA T R A D I N G C O FEATURED LIGHTING CRYSTAL WAVE LIGHTING INSTALLATION. CUSTOM DESIGNED & MANUFACTURED.

LIGHT IS LIFE CONCEPT

Y O U R

+1 416.461.8476

•

D ESI GN • R E N D E R S • MA N U FAC T U R ING ENDLESS CA PA BI L I T I E S

P R E F E R R E D

| VISOINC.COM

L I G H T I N G

P A R T N E R

MADE WITH

IN TORONTO

S U P P LY C H A I N

operations, merchandising, marketing, information technology, logistics, real estate, human resources, and financial controls.

The trade arm of the group is a turnkey offering of products and services that extends across many parts of the trading and construction industry. Storage systems and supermarket solutions are its largest division, and it covers the entire GCC. Alshaya Trading has more than 25 showrooms across the region, servicing end-users and projects alike, and sells the commercial kitchens found in hotels, restaurants, and schools. Many of the most prominent food chains in the GCC have kitchens installed by Alshaya Trading. The company also supplies office furniture and interiors for schools, universities, hospitals, and offices. Based on the space that is available, specialists design, deliver, and install the optimal solution.

All of the company’s products are of American or European origin, including a German kitchen supplied under the Kitchenhaus concept, with 12 stores, soon expanding to 35. The company had a strategy from the very beginning that it would only work with the best manufacturers available, which is why European and US

‘Storage systems and supermarket solutions are the company’s biggest division, and it covers the entire GCC’

w w w. a l s h a y a t r a d i n g . c o m

135

A L S H AYA T R A D I N G C O

manufacturers are preferred.

The strength of the company is its dedicated team of employees, and it aims to hire only the best. It attracts people with ease thanks to Alshaya’s strong brand and trusted name, with the trading division having operated for around 70 years. The company has people who have been with it for 25 years and more.

Alshaya Trading has a good name as an employer which helps it to attract good people. The business rewards good performance and has a very strong incentive scheme. It also tries to ensure its employees are operating within good working environments, and

136

April 2016

give them a clear career path with opportunities to grow. Most of the managers have come from sales backgrounds, grown into sales managers, and then developed their managerial capabilities and become division managers.

The company aims for increased efficiency in its recruitment strategy, utilising online tools such as social media, and improving communication to ensure that it is well-known as a good employer. The company says that employees tend to stay for a long time, as the company fights hard to retain its best talent: it is not necessarily a matter of salary, but of giving people the

S U P P LY C H A I N

1000+

Number of Employees at Alshaya Trading

w w w. a l s h a y a t r a d i n g . c o m

137

A L S H AYA T R A D I N G C O

AQUABLADETM

We tamed the power of water

Ideal Standard presents AquaBladeTM, a new era in toilet flushing technology. With simple clean lines and contemporary styling, AquaBladeTM has been designed with aesthetics as well as performance in mind: a smooth, gently curved surface with no overhanging rim combined with an exclusively engineered system of channels to create a powerful 360° cascading wall of water from the very top of the toilet bowl.

Join us:

138

April 2016

IDEAL STANDARD GULF FZCO Jebel Ali, Dubai, P.O. Box 261559, United Arab Emirates, www.idealstandardgulf.com

S U P P LY C H A I N

right conditions and the right responsibilities.

Alshaya Trading maintains very strong relationships with its suppliers, ensuring loyalty and the creation of value for the manufacturers.

It sees itself as an extension of the manufacturer.

By creating value for suppliers, it prevents them from seeking other companies. It is a trend across most of the markets today in the GCC – some of the manufacturers go directly to the market because margins are under pressure in such a highly competitive area. Alshaya Trading has to make sure that it adds value to products before they reach the market, and it does this through the knowledge, skills, and market value understanding of its employees.

Alshaya Trading has recently conducted a restructuring of its organisation, changing the operational model of the business from a country focus to a vertical divisional structure.

The company believes that within each division lies the opportunity to utilise the knowledge and synergy that exists between people who work within the same market segments, like construction projects. It is an important way to make sure the business actually innovates and improves its service and products to the customers. Moreover, there is a specification

‘The company believes that within each division lies the opportunity to utilise the knowledge and synergy that exists between people who work within the same market segments, like construction projects’

w w w. a l s h a y a t r a d i n g . c o m

139

A L S H AYA T R A D I N G C O

1890 The year the parent group was founded Alshaya Group

140

April 2016

team that sits on top of each division to create collaboration between them.

The company decided to optimise its extensive supply chain, building stronger ties with the supply chain partners. Its strategy now is to work more in-depth with each supply partner it has, which puts a greater strain on the business because it has to proactively go out, persuade, and sell the product that it believes is the strongest in the market.

Alshaya Trading employs 250 sales people on the street every day providing the GCC

S U P P LY C H A I N

customers with expert knowledge, and they are trained to be the first point of contact for customers, supported by a vast team of specialist designers, estimators, and technical services staff. It has one of the strongest teams of any trading company in the GCC. The business believes that it can really offer its customers a good service, and it is sending some very strong brands into the market. It

tries to make sure the customers can go and see the manufacturing facilities in the US or Europe when it has big projects that are supported by that. In the end, the manufacturers are the specialists.

The strategic direction of the company is to penetrate current market with current products and services. It is important for Alshaya Trading to add value to its customers and suppliers.

w w w. a l s h a y a t r a d i n g . c o m

141

Digitising the business:

innovation in operation

Written by: Nye Longman Produced by: Heykel Ouni

143

FINE HYGIENIC HOLDING

F

ine Hygienic Holding is the MENA region’s number one tissue maker. Its products sell in more than 29 countries outside MENA, with new markets being added each year.

Introducing brand-new technologies to the region was never new to FHH. In 1991, the company introduced the first fully-automated paper mill, which

144

April 2016

was the largest capacity machine in the Middle East at the time.

In 1996, FHH founded another paper mill that surpassed the size of the first one, maintaining its leading position in the region.

For FHH, innovation was never limited to machinery, as it revolutionised the industry with various innovations, mainly SteriPro. This patented technology

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

is utilised in the manufacturing process by using an ultra-violet sterilisation technique with a fully automated ‘no hands’ manufacturing method to reduce the hazard of contact with germs.

FHH was also the first to introduce the WetPro technology to the Middle East, allowing tissues to handle substantial quantities of water and remain

intact while fully disintegrating when flushed. In terms of energy innovation, FHH succeeded in setting a new industry standard for power co-generation in the world, as it brought three existing parties to create a self-sufficient model for power generation at its paper mill in Egypt.

“Innovation is one of our strategic priorities

“Innovation is one of our strategic priorities when it comes to meeting our consumer and customer needs” – Salim Karadsheh, Group CEO

w w w. f i n e h h . c o m

145

True, we have many areas of unmatched expertise.

But what matters most is how it applies to you.

From the world’s leading data scientists, to a unique process tailored to your goals, you’ll realize we make one thing possible. Anything.

Four signs your business needs a data lake, now It is now well known that the digital universe, which comprises most businesses’ data needs, is growing exponentially. In fact, over the next decade the digital universe is expected to grow by around 40 percent a year. This is growth at an astonishing speed.

In this environment, it is critical that businesses use data analytics to enhance competitiveness and meet the needs of the ‘information generation’; millennials and more born into the digital era. From helping to predict buying behaviours, to driving innovation projects that will enhance customer service or improve business productivity, data lakes that can collate, store and analyse vast amounts of data have great power to transform a business for the better. Analytics should no longer be an aspiration, but a necessity.

So, how do businesses know when they need to scale-up and invest in a data lake?

There are four tell-tale signs: 1. Operational complexity: In a pre-data lake environment, if a business is trying to scale its infrastructure there’s a good chance that their data requirements will outstrip their ability to manage them. To cope with operational complexity, businesses would require a more flexible common storage resource, i.e. a data lake.

2. Operational cost: When a company finds that business demands on IT keep growing even when it is trying to reduce OpEx. It is time to look at a new approach. Businesses need to invest in additional third party support to monitor, manage, deploy and improve their systems than simply adding headcount.

3. Production strain: Another key indicator of the need for a data lake is when existing analytics applications are putting a strain on the production systems of a business. Real-time analytics can be extremely resource-intensive.. Data lakes are key to ensuring that real-time analytics can run at optimum performance.

4. Multiprotocol analytics: A final key indicator that a business needs a data lake is when data scientists are running apps on a variety of different Hadoop distributions and need to hook their data up to them. Businesses will need multiprotocol support in the future as analytics experimentation carries on, and they need to plan for this with a data lake strategy.

Across the industries, from finance to retail, manufacturing to media companies, each thinks that their problems, challenges and opportunities are unique. But, when you abstract the specifics you’ll always come back to the same universal challenges. What unifies and characterises all of these is the transformation brought about by information technology and the potential of big data.

Not every business will be ready to deploy data analytics yet, but most will, at the very least, need to start planning for it or risk losing out to competitors that embrace the technology. Because, eventually all businesses will need to embrace data analytics, and those that don’t will fade into obscurity.

FINE HYGIENIC HOLDING

4,200

Number of staff working for Fine Hygienic Holding

when it comes to meeting our consumer and customer needs. We are keen on ensuring continuous plant automation, product development and constantly finding means for increasing energy savings, cost efficiencies and productivity,� says Salim Karadsheh, Group CEO.

148

April 2016

Technology at the heart of the business Fine Hygienic Holding currently employs around 4,200 people across a range of countries.

Although it remains headquartered in Jordan, with a varied portfolio of operations and products under its control, FHH manufactures,

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

converts, sells and exports to over 45 markets worldwide. Such a range of offerings, often demands a certain degree of complexity and a need for advanced technologies.

With such diversity of business processes, FHH’s Head of Business Technology, Bassem El-Wazir and his team have

been working tirelessly to keep up with latest technologies and business evolution, and to maintain the technology advancement that the group has always had. From unifying legacy systems to providing business solutions and insights, Business Technology at FHH has become

w w w. f i n e h h . c o m

149

22 years of growth, prosperity and stability Now expanded to Dubai

Managing I.T

to optimise & improve business potential

IT Outsourcing | Maintenance | Antivirus Software Microsoft Licenses | Data Recovery • IT Outsourcing Services (Managed Services) • Network Installation (Wired/Wireless) • Monthly Contracts • Yearly Maintenance • Card Scan Distributor (Corex) • Branded Computer Sales • On Call Services

T +962 6 565 0836 F +962 6 565 0837

info@onixcomputer.com www.onixcomputer.com

P.O Box 925059, Amman, 11110 Jordan

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

a denominator at the heart of the company.

“With the use of technology we have enabled a culture of innovation that allows employees to become innovators. We developed a system that rewards creative and insightful ideas submitted by employees for any product or practice,” says Bassem El-Wazir.

Digitising the Business “FHH had always believed in BT as a driver to business growth. This is strongly reflected in the sizable investments

“We are keen on ensuring continuous plant automation, product development and constantly finding means for increasing energy savings, cost efficiencies and productivity” – Salim Karadsheh, Group CEO

151

FINE HYGIENIC HOLDING

1958 The year Fine Hygienic Holding was established

152

April 2016

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

that are allocated to achieve business digitization needs,” says El-Wazir.

In 2010, the group embarked on a strategic ERP consolidation and process unification project across all business units. “We were empowered with the allocation of a 10 million dollar budget for our project to be spent over the period of five years,” El-Wazir says.

“Our mission is to consistently empower our users with the knowledge and provide them with business insights that they need.

We provide business intelligence, advanced analytics and digital business solutions, that provide a competitive advantage

“Taking the time and effort to invest in overhauling its infrastructure – not to mention placing information tech closer to the centre of its entire operations – has been a rewarding challenge for Fine Hygienic Holding” – Bassem El-Wazir, Head of Business Technology

w w w. f i n e h h . c o m

153

FINE HYGIENIC HOLDING

to the group and brings us closer to our consumers and customers,” he adds.

The digital transformation has had a profound effect on how FHH’s workforce employs its resources, as El-Wazir explains.

Now, the work of numerous employees from across the group is completely dependent on the latest technologies and software.

Certain mobile based

154

April 2016

applications for example, did not only improve sales’ efficiency, but also created a more comfortable and convenient way of doing business.

According to El-Wazir, Business Technology serves as a significant value driver for the business.

One of the BT responsibilities is to improve performance through providing business solutions that help grow the business. “This is

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

where our Home Delivery App and B2B e-commerce service (FineStore.com) come to play.

“Taking the time and effort to invest in overhauling its infrastructure – not to mention placing information technology closer to the centre of its entire operations – has been a rewarding challenge for Fine Hygienic Holding,” El-Wazir concludes.

Today, the company is not only

able to measure performance and ensure accuracy like never before, but it is also able to do that while offering both customers and employees a fully interactive experience. Proud of its past and confident of its future, the group is looking forward to further growth, both at home and abroad with innovation and technology as its main drivers.

‘Proud of its past and confident of its future, the group is looking forward to further growth’

w w w. f i n e h h . c o m

155

The value of the cloud Written by: Nye Longman Produced by: Stuart Shirra

157

SERVICENOW

Global enterprise cloud provider ServiceNow is aligning its extensive range of products, services, and solutions to meet the needs of Middle Eastern markets

H

aving developed a hugely successful business spanning the USA, Western Europe, and Australia, ServiceNow has expanded its operations to cover a number of key markets in the Middle East. Following eight years of efficacious operations, the company is now widely regarded by many as the top provider for enterprise cloud systems and IT-driven solutions in the region.

After it recorded revenues of $1 billion last year, ServiceNow embarked on an ambitious strategy to massively expand this growth and become further aligned with the markets that it serves. We speak to its Regional Sales Manager Mark Ackerman to learn how the company has been able to deliver world-beating technology tailored to the specific needs of customers in the Middle East. We also explore the business model that has

158

April 2016

TECHNOLOGY

‘Following 8 years of efficacious operations, the company is now widely regarded by many as the top provider for enterprise cloud systems and ITdriven solutions in the region’

w w w. s e r v i c e n o w. c o m

159

PROVIDING WHAT ABOUT VERSOS Versatile Solutions (Versos) is a leading Information Technology service and solution company providing customers with solutions that match their businesses and technical requirements.

Versos comprehensive portfolio encompasses business and technology solutions and services with particular focus on IT Security and Infrastructure. Powered by over 100 culture-aware and qualified consultants, technical and project management professionals.

OUR SERVICES 路 Information Security Risk & Compliance, Audit and Assessment Services 路 Information Security Technology Services 路 Infrastructure Technology Services 路 Business Transformation Services

T MATTERS...

OUR PARTNERS

Tel + 966 11 473 5932 Fax + 966 11 473 5931 Email info@versos.com.sa

SERVICENOW

“Globally, we were the second company to reach the billion dollar mark in the SaaS space – we achieved this milestone faster than any other company in this market space making us the fastest growing SaaS company in the world!”

– Mark Ackerman, Regional Sales Manager, Middle East

162

April 2016

TECHNOLOGY

enabled ServiceNow to double its customer footprint and set itself the ambitious goal of generating $4 billion in revenues by 2020.

3700+ The number of staff employed by ServiceNow

Operations ServiceNow’s operational strategy and customer offering is centred on the idea that the everyday processes of office life can be looked at as if they were services – and improved accordingly. By providing a range of scalable solutions which often have the potential to cut through complexity and measurably speed up processes, the company has developed a model that evolves with the needs of the customer.

Mark Ackerman, ServiceNow’s Regional Sales Manager for the Middle East explains: “Globally, we were the second company to reach the billion dollar mark in the SaaS space – we achieved this milestone faster than any other company in this market space making us the fastest growing SaaS company in the world.

“We now also have a strong presence in the GCC countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain, both directly and with strategic partners. Due to

w w w. s e r v i c e n o w. c o m

163

BRIDGING THE GAP IN SER VICE ORIENTATION

With over 50 successful implementations across 4 continents and 24 Countries

SilverStorm helps organizations’ transition to service orientation, delivering enterprise solutions that support their digital transformation strategy.

‘Easy to do business with’ and ‘everything as a service’, set in a consumer driven environment are key concepts when transitioning organizations towards service orientation. This paradigm shift can be achieved through SilverStorm’s pragmatic approach to process improvement, organizational change management, and through the use of innovating technology. SilverStorm ‘bridges the gap’ between the customer’s actual state and the desired state.

“The flexibility and versatility of the ServiceNow platform, together with the speed of implementation by SilverStorm provided us with the best possible solution.” - Carlos Garriga, CIO Sareb

www.silver-storm.com • info@silver-storm.com SPAIN • MEXICO • UK • USA

TECHNOLOGY

our international presence, we also have customers from the likes of Egypt, Morocco, and Lebanon.”

ServiceNow has a threepronged offering to the market that consists of products, services and solutions but also offers opportunities for partnering; it underpins these capabilities with a robust support network. Its diverse range of products cover everything from IT operations and enterprise service management, to business and financial management, facilities management and application development.

Keen to differentiate from simply being a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company, it has developed the ServiceNow Platform which enables customers to streamline their applications to be as userfriendly as possible, supported by real-time analytics and a cloud-based delivery system.

Ackerman adds: “We are branching out – what we are doing with the ServiceNow platform is applying the service management principles to business. We’re starting to look at business services, support services, marketing, finance, admin, and legal. We are creating a harmonious environment for business process automation and, most importantly, management and subsequent monitoring, it’s the ERP for IT.” Empowering the individual Ackerman explains that the philosophy underpinning much of ServiceNow’s solutions is to grant individuals within an organisation the independence to perform as much as possible without being constrained by outside inputs. By design, the company’s solutions are certainly innovative, but are also grounded in the everyday needs

w w w. s e r v i c e n o w. c o m

165

SERVICENOW

of businesses around the globe.

He says: “We did a recent state of work survey in the US and discovered that people spent as much as 49 percent of their workday on emails. Nine out of ten people are saying their level of efficiency is based on somebody else’s input and, effectively, someone else’s efficiency.

“If you send

166

April 2016

someone an email and then you wait for them to respond, from your perspective, you’ve passed down the job because you asked somebody else for their input. Often businesses do not know exactly how efficient (or inefficient) they are because they often have no clear way of measuring the delivery of a service, and as a result, it’s always inconsistent.”

Offering

TECHNOLOGY

businesses and individuals the ability to “With the ‘Amazon’ measure progress and performance example in mind, is not only helpful to internal ServiceNow becomes operations and executives looking the internal ‘Amazon’ for to do more with less; it has placed any organisation, dealing ServiceNow in a position to be with all the provisioning able to say with full confidence of the services that its solutions have delivered employees request in departmental efficiencies of the background; all the as much as 30 percent. employee wants or needs Ackerman expands: “We have an Amazon-style look and feel for to know is what’s the customer interaction. All internal status of my request and processes are published and are when will it be fulfilled” then viewed as services within the company. Divisions within the company, – Mark Ackerman, such as HR, Finance, Legal, Facilities and Marketing, can publish a list of all the services they provide, and what the organisation ends up with is a very powerful Platform for Business Automation coupled with a strong knowledge base and mobility, per department.

“With the Amazon example in mind, ServiceNow becomes the internal Amazon for any organisation, dealing with all the provisioning of the services employees request in the background; all the employee wants or needs to know

w w w. s e r v i c e n o w. c o m

167

ITSM & Enterprise Service Management Experts Since 2008, Unikomm has helped companies automate and transform their IT into world class operations. We are the ITSM experts

Website: www.unikomm.com | Email: sales@unikomm.com

Quintica’s Q-Journey provides the roadmap to reach measurable process maturity.

Our Services enable automation of critical aspects of service management. Our solutions cover all infrastructure based service delivery.

Quintica has ServiceNow expertise implementing innovative and effective enterprise service management systems.

South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, UAE www.quintica.com

TECHNOLOGY

is what’s the status of my request and when will it be fulfilled.”

“People are getting the answers they need a lot quicker than using a standard email inbox because our systems enable them to practice self-help and proactive collaboration using mobility.

“As we drive and publish all these services from the different departments of the organisation, we then automate the workflow behind that. This system of interaction and engagement sits above the existing systems of record such HRMS, ERP and Building Management Systems and removes the need for multiple Portals, sites, URLs. “We’re now able to measure the efficiency of how we deliver services within the organisation, because the minute you actually put in a workflow and capture the activities related to a particular fulfilment request, you can measure the response and the turnaround times and see how efficient that particular business service is.”

$1bn

The amount of revenue that ServiceNow created

Competitive strategy Being one of the only Enterprise Service Management SaaS companies of any noticeable scale in the Middle East has obviously given

w w w. s e r v i c e n o w. c o m

169

SERVICENOW

“Having made its solutions very accessible and user-friendly, the company is set to single handedly change the face of enterprise cloud systems in the region” – Mark Ackerman,

170

April 2016

ServiceNow an edge over local and international competitors, but the company is far from complacent.

Having already partnered with some key blue-chip and government operators at a global level, Ackerman is keen to extend this coverage to similar companies in this target region. “Using specialist process and business reengineering specialist partners in the territory such as Unikomm, SilverStorm and Quintica we are able to actively address our customer specific needs within the Middle East Market.” He says.

“Customers in the Middle East are a lot more security conscious and data solvency is a big issue for them. We do have a lot of challenges convincing people that their data will be more secure on the cloud but this is something that all SaaS providers are experiencing.

“Our massive growth of over 40 percent year on year has come not only from green field opportunities, but a large component of our success has been in replacing legacy solutions that have not moved with the times.”

ServiceNow approaches its relationship with its customers in a radically different way to similar companies, many of which have

TECHNOLOGY

businesses formed around perpetual licenses. Since the SaaS model is subscription-based, it has to ensure that the level of service it gives its customers is consistently at the highest standard and constantly evolving to stay relevant to the needs of its customers. Ackerman adds: “Our global customer retention rate of 98.6 percent is the best endorsement of how well we are serving our customers.�

Having developed a sound

business model shaped by the challenges and standards of international markets, ServiceNow has fine-tuned its operations to work seamlessly in the Middle East and deliver unprecedented growth and performance to a range of customers. Moreover, having made its solutions very accessible and user-friendly, the company is set to singlehandedly change the face of enterprise cloud systems in the region.

w w w. s e r v i c e n o w. c o m

171

Innovating IT service management Written by: Nell Walker Produced by: Stuart Shirra

173

AXIOS SYSTEMS

As the region’s most innovative provider of service management solutions, Axios Systems is cornering the market by enabling government bodies, financial institutions and other organisations to transform service delivery within IT and all service-oriented departments

S

ince its founding by CEO Tasos Symeonides in 1988, Axios Systems lives and breathes innovation through the creation and rapid deployment of service management software.

Available via on-premise and SaaS-based models, the company’s enterprise software, assyst, transforms IT departments from techfocused cost centers into profitable and business-focused customer service teams.

What makes the assyst platform unique?

“Our service management software, assyst, has always been developed in line with ITIL best practices for service management,” says Glyn Yates, who serves as the company’s Middle East regional director.

“Indeed, assyst became the first service management solution to be accredited for all 15 PinkVERIFY ITIL processes within a single solution.”

The Arjaan office tower in Dubai, where Axios Systems is based 174

April 2016

TECHNOLOGY

w w w. a x i o s s y s t e m s . c o m

175

AXIOS SYSTEMS

He continues: “assyst is designed specially to support large enterprise customers. More than 1,000 public and private sector customers around the globe — including many governments and publicly traded companies such as FedEx Express — use it to improve IT service delivery within their organisations. For them, this translates into reduced costs, faster incident resolution and a more satisfied user base.”

Expanding into the Middle East Since establishing a local presence in 2004, Axios has invested significantly in its expansion across the Middle East. The company now operates from three regional offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.

Yates says: “Since 2004, we’ve developed a loyal customer base and strong core verticals throughout the region. We have customers across the entire Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

“Within the GCC, it’s phenomenally impressive how organisations such as Qatar Petroleum, Arab Bank, Gulf News, Saudi Hollandi Bank, Saudi Investment Bank and others have used assyst to achieve their business objectives.

The IT departments of these organisations

176

April 2016

TECHNOLOGY

support a range of business-critical functions, and depend heavily on the reliability of their chosen service management solution.”

Customer care has played a major role in achieving regional success.

Yates says: “Our focus on IT Service Management, allied to our global customer base and GCC operations, has given our local team unique insights into the region’s specific requirements. This ensures that our customers receive unparalleled support. It’s a privilege to work with dedicated IT professionals who understand the unique challenges and opportunities of this complex market.”

Research and development Behind the scenes, the development team at Axios remains 100 percent focussed on research and development for service management technology. Axios has the highest R&D spend in the industry, and considers itself to have a duty of innovation to push the market forward.

Yates says: “Our research shows that operational efficiency is the industry’s key priority, so this is something we are very responsive to. Unlike other organisations, which are often

w w w. a x i o s s y s t e m s . c o m

177

AXIOS SYSTEMS

“ Developing strong and lasting customer relationships is key to success, and this reflects in our 100 percent go-live success record” – Glyn Yates, Middle East regional director for Axios Systems

178

April 2016

TECHNOLOGY

forced to allocate limited resources across a wide variety of products or services, all of our research goes into service management.

“The expertise we have within the organisation is second to none. If you do one thing every day, you become an expert at it very quickly and very assuredly.

After 28 years of dedicated focus on ITSM, it is no surprise we are the acknowledged visionaries.”

He adds: “We have complete control over the shape of deployment. The way that the solution integrates together is key.

In recognition of this challenge, we’ve sponsored multiple research projects over the last year, revealing key challenges in the market. We continue to act upon these insights in terms of product development and consultancy.”

Industry growth fuelled by innovation ITSM powered by Software-asa-Service (SaaS) is currently one of the fastest-growing areas of the market, Yates says.

“That market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 16 percent by 2019,” he says. “At Axios, we ensure our customers can move to the cloud with zero compromise on functionality.”

Axios has also identified the integration of ITSM and IT Asset Management (ITAM) to be a key market driver.

Yates says: “ITSM and ITAM integration allows organisations to deliver a more consistent standard of services within an optimised framework, and at a reduced cost.

“Not only has this insight fed back into our research, it has also been a core driver in our own innovation strategy. Our solution, assyst ITAM Suite,

w w w. a x i o s s y s t e m s . c o m

179

Tamkeen Technologies Tamkeen provides its developed services in technology consultation field to enable its clients to adopt the latest and best programs and technology solutions to keep update with such accelerated IT development and progress.

This is achieved through its individual experience in cloud computing, service oriented approach, and the information system department; in addition to its abilities in the most important business applications such as: establishment resource planning and client relations management as well as other provided services and applications by Tamkeen to provide high quality IT solutions to its clients.

www.tamkeentech.sa/en

TECHNOLOGY

aligns with the assyst service management offering. More customers are acknowledging the importance of ITAM in achieving network security, lower energy consumption and other organisational benefits. That awareness synchs with assyst ITAM Suite being one of our key focus areas this year.”

As IT departments reach higher levels of maturity, the next step is for them to share best practices across other service-led departments.

This is known as service management beyond IT. Yates says: “Put simply, service management beyond IT can be used in departments such as HR, facilities, finance and others. It can help departments standardise service delivery, resulting in a better customer experience, while also ‘doing more with less’.

This model of implementation also allows the organisation to achieve a higher ROI on their service management investment.”

In light of these trends, the Axios team has been energised by progressive adoption of ITSM best practices and steady growth, particularly throughout the Middle East region.

“It’s quite fortunate that the Middle East region doesn’t have as many constraints

Key Personnel

Glyn Yates Regional Director, Middle East Glyn Yates is the Regional Director for Axios Systems in the Middle East.

He oversees the management and development of sales, service and backoffice functions. One of his key specialities is helping customers realise the benefits and business efficiencies of adopting service management beyond IT

w w w. a x i o s s y s t e m s . c o m

181

AXIOS SYSTEMS

as other parts of the world,” Yates says. “Our customers are the driving force behind our strategy for innovation, and that’s why we champion flexible, intuitive solutions for service management.”

The ITSM market is undergoing significant expansion, with annual global growth compounding in excess of eight percent.

182

April 2016

“With additional IT growth comes the greater need for optimisation of operations within an organisation,” Yates says. “We have been at the forefront of this evolution in the IT service market, and we are passionate about supporting IT’s transition from enabling operational support to delivering true service across all aspects of an organisation.”

Discover how Axios Systems drives market innovation in the Middle East and beyond Axios Systems has a history of first-to-market successes. For example, when Axios entered the Middle East market, it defied convention by offering Arabic as a native language on the assyst platform. The Arabic option is an out-of-the-box feature: it doesn’t require additional customisation or programming, as is often the case for other software packages introduced to this market.

Explore more highlights from the company’s history of pioneering ITSM: • A xios was the first organisation to achieve BS15000 (now ISO 20000) certification. (2004) • The assyst platform became the first service management solution to achieve accreditation for all 15 PinkVERIFY ITIL processes. (2014) • A xios became the first service management vendor to introduce gamification. (2013) Industry analysts have recognised the significance of these contributions and the wider assyst offering. For example, Info-Tech awarded Axios with ‘Champion’ status in the ‘2015 Enterprise Service Desk Vendor Landscape’ report. And, earlier this year, global analyst house Ovum awarded the SaaS-based version of assyst a top ranking in four key assessment areas, including maturity, enterprise fit, reporting and analytics, and core ITIL functionality.

w w w. a x i o s s y s t e m s . c o m

183

Computing the climate Written by: John O’Hanlon Produced by: Craig Daniels

185

Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME)

The Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) is a member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and is Saudi Arabia’s frontline agency for environmental matters: we speak to its recently appointed CIO Dr Adnan Mustafa Al Bar who is leading PME’s digital journey

186

April 2016

ENERGY

T

he weather, and the accelerating rate of climate change impact the bottom line of every government and business in the world, however Saudi Arabia’s environmental service is as much about ethics as economics. As its President HRH Prince Turki Bin Nasser Bin Abdulaziz said when PME was launched in 2001: “The Islamic perspective relative to environment and natural resources is established on the basis of damage prevention, protection and conservation, so that the life becomes a continuous state of sustainable development.” This is a holistic view of our shared responsibility for the environment, biodiversity and the quality of life of all mankind.

PME is the government body in charge of all environment related issues in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as meteorological information and weather prediction.

Based in Jeddah, it works with the public and private sectors to implement standards in air pollution, waste treatment, the marine and coastal environments as well as being in charge of meteorology. The organisation’s primary role is to spread environmental awareness among all members of Saudi society and provide protection for present and future generations. Any company looking to do business in the Saudi environmental market must obtain a licence from PME. Crucially, it provides up to date information to the air traffic control authorities, and supplies the media with early warning of severe weather events.

Daily information gathering is carried out by 23 local offices mostly located at the regional airports across the Kingdom.

Information on wind speed, humidity, temperature and the like is continuously being collected

w w w. p m e . g o v. s a

187

Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME)

from ground-based sensors and balloons, and fed back to the central computing facility and HQ office at Jeddah. There are also some 14 radar stations each with a range of 250 kilometres. All this requires a great deal of processing power and wide communication networks, placing IT at the very core of the business, and the appointment in August 2015 of Dr Adnan Al Bar as PME’s first CIO marked a step change in its strategy. “Formerly we had an IT department that was seen as a necessary back office function rather than a strategic enabler for the business. Now my task is to ensure that our business goals and objectives are aligned with a proper IT strategy.”

An IT specialist, Al Bar has a background in consulting and academic work – he is a co author of Determinants of Cloud ERP Adoption in Saudi Arabia: An Empirical Study – and he admits

188

April 2016

that it took some time to familiarise himself with the specialised work of meteorology, environment prediction, and sustainable development. “After doing my initial assessment I soon found a number of areas where improvement can be made. Our digital transformation operation will, I believe, take the organisation into a much better position in terms of both meteorological prediction and environmental best practice.” At base, the function of CIO is much the same in any large organisation, he says.

His first move was to create an IT architecture roadmap for all of PME’s divisions, assessing their needs in terms of systems and software. This revealed the lack of a comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning

transf will, organ b

–

ENERGY

“Our digital formation operation I believe, take the nisation into a much better position”

– Dr Adnan Al Bar , CIO

w w w. p m e . g o v. s a

189

“I wanted to invest in Big Data analytics so that all the meteorological and historical climate readings can be gathered together in a data warehouse” – Dr Adnan Al Bar , CIO

(ERP) infrastructure. This was a big opportunity for early gains in an organisation with an annual turnover of $150 million. After looking at the various vendors in this market, it was decided to implement an Oracle system to bring together key business functions like financials, planning, and administration. All of the hardware to support this digital

ENERGY

transformation is housed in a new state of the art data centre. It is already operational, he says, and all of PME’s IT staff will be moving there over the coming months.

Meteorology today relies on an unprecedented quantity of input, with readings from thousands of sources flowing in without a break.

But data collection is of no use unless it can be organised. His next project was to put in place a big data structure. “I wanted to invest in Big Data analytics so that all the meteorological and historical climate readings can be gathered together in a data warehouse.” Once again Oracle technology, together with as much local support software as possible, will be implemented using Oracle development methodology to deliver very much improved weather prediction for the stakeholders – the government, the businesses and all of the people of Saudi Arabia.

At present PME is very much a government body, publicly owned

w w w. p m e . g o v. s a

191

Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME)

and funded, and accountable for all environmental matters. As such its focus remains entirely on providing the services for which it is well known, such as extreme weather prediction (including advice to the education sector on such matters as school closures), day to day information to shipping, airlines and business, and licensing. However there is a plan to split it into two separate companies, one for the environment and one for meteorology, each operating as a commercial entity

192

April 2016

ENERGY

though the government will continue to be a principal shareholder. This move will open the way, says Al Bar, to revenue generation from a range of activities. “For example it’s our statutory duty to supply weather prediction services to the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia (GACA). No flight can take off or land without a weather report.”

An additional benefit will be the freedom to operate as a business, one that sets its own procedures rather than being tied to civil service rules and regulation. It will be able to bring in talent and best practices from the world of business, which will further benefit organisational efficiency and, he believes, cut costs. “Of course

w w w. p m e . g o v. s a

193

Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME)

194

April 2016

ENERGY

1000

Number of employees at PME we would no longer be directly subsidised by the government and would have to generate our own revenues – but the public sector would still be a major customer.”

To get PME future ready he is facing the challenge of closing the skills gap. “We are preparing a training schedule for all the IT staff, taking into account the changes that we expect to happen in the business. We have to become a fully certified organisation if we want to be a preferred service provider to the government. We are also trying to recruit people from business. One problem we have is that our people have been working in silos – the IT people don’t speak the language of meteorology and the climate experts don’t understand IT – and though we do have some

people here who can bridge that gap, we need more.” Finding enough trained IT people who also understand the world of business is a challenge facing most of the organisations in the region, he says.

The weather will always do its own thing. Before the tragic crane collapse last September, which killed 111 people at the Grand Mosque of Mecca, PME sent out a warning 24 hours before the event, however in February this year heavy rains that it predicted for Jeddah did not materialise.

“We are always under pressure: we do our best but sometimes we will get it wrong,” says Adnan Al Bar ruefully. Weather forecasters all over the world will agree with that – however the route to better prediction undoubtedly lies with better IT and data management.

w w w. p m e . g o v. s a

195

LEADING MACHINE-TOOL SUPPLIER WORLDWIDE IN OIL&GAS DANOBAT focus on providing the most suitable solution for your API, GOST and PREMIUM thread requirements fo medium and high production applications, addapting automation level and machines layout to your particular needs.

DANOBAT

Arriaga kalea, 21 E-20870 ELGOIBAR (Gipuzkoa) Spain

Tel.: + 34 943 74 80 44 danobat@danobat.com www.danobatgroup.com