Displaying items by tag: Dubai

 Following the successful launch of the first 5G commercial device in the UAE, Etisalat and Huawei today unveiled Huawei's first commercial 5G-enabled smartphone HUAWEI Mate 20 X (5G) at Etisalat’s ultra-modern Open Innovation Centre in Dubai in the presence of Etisalat and Huawei senior management and the media.

Completing five years in the Middle East and North Africa, Facebook opened the doors to its brand new regional headquarters in Dubai on Oct. 27. The 20,000-square-foot space features an open office concept, and showcases regional cultural inspirations through the various designs and artistic cues.

Since launching a local presence in the region in 2012, Facebook has been embraced by users, growing to 164 million monthly active people. With over 60 employees, mostly from the Arab region, Facebook’s office in Dubai acts as a hub.

Over the past five years, Facebook has grown its MENA user base by 264 percent, and now looks to galvanize the digital transformation in the Arab World, collaborating with users and partners to create products and solutions relevant to the region.

The new office houses a strong, purpose-built team, with strong regional experience, that reflects the brand’s mission to give people the power to build communities and bring the world closer together.

Working with companies across a multitude of industries including travel and tourism, finance, media, automotive, FMCG, retail, telecom and start-ups, Facebook has driven both awareness and consideration for global and local brands in the region. Complementing this is the company’s mobile-first strategy as over 156 million users access Facebook on mobile devices every month in MENA.

“This region has embarked on a path of growth and transformation and we aim to be part of it. Our new headquarters is a truly inspiring space, and brings to life the dynamism, creativity and innovative culture of Facebook while reflecting the communities around us,” said Jonathan Labin, Managing Director, Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan at Facebook.

“With its strong business ecosystems, regional connectivity, and access to the best global talent, Dubai and the UAE remain the right place for us to call home in the region,” Labin added. “We are only 1 percent finished in our journey here, and we are excited about what lies ahead in this young, connected, and mobile-first region.”

Facebook’s strong connection to the region is reflected in the Arabic themes used in the new office design, not just limited to quirky meeting room names such as ‘Hommous’, but also with commissioned pieces that blend modern and traditional styles from Emirati artist Eman Al Hashemi, making her the first artist from the Arab world to join Facebook’s Global Artist in Residence program.

Other things to look out for in the office include a maternity room for mothers who choose to bring their children to work, a treadmill desk, and an interfaith room. The office also features an in-house library with a cross-section of publications from global authors. 

Designed by INC Group and JLL MENA, the office includes a bright open floor area to encourage collaboration, a mother’s room, an interfaith room, a majlis, with recreational and quiet rooms. The office also features a private terrace with views of the iconic Palm Jumeirah.

Employees have access to a gaming section or can take selfies in a custom-built Instagram anti-gravity room. For those looking for quiet time, the space features ‘acoustic sofas’ as a quieter location for work as well as meeting rooms that reflect the regional culture and sense of humor, including ‘Three Men and a Habibi’, ‘Shawarma’, and ‘Gone with the Sandstorm’.

Expanding their presence in the region, Facebook aims to build on its work with local and regional Arab content creators like The Saudi Reporters, as well as further create opportunities for entrepreneurs by working directly with businesses to develop bespoke strategies that supports their growth.

The next few years will also see Facebook sustaining the momentum of its global #SheMeansBusiness program, launched earlier this year, in partnership with Emirates Foundation, Sheraa Sharjah and Ahead of the Curve in Egypt which aims to train and inspire women entrepreneurs in the region, and use Facebook and Instagram as platforms to reach and grow their audiences.

Satellite operator Intelsat and Etisalat have announced plans to expand the distribution of Intelsat EpicNG services in the Middle East. Under a multiyear expansion, Etisalat will upgrade its network to deliver higher performance to customers in the region using the Intelsat 33e high-throughput satellite. Concurrently, Intelsat will leverage Etisalat’s teleport in Dubai as an expansion node of the IntelsatOne Flex service.

The teleport acts as an extension to Etisalat’s Smart Hub services. Equipped with the latest technologies and platforms, it serves as one of the globe’s major satellite hubs, hosting more than 40 antennas. This will expand options in the region to benefit from Intelsat EpicNG high-throughput services.

Intelsat EpicNG, according to Intelsat, is a high performance, next generation satellite platform that delivers global high-throughput technology without sacrificing user control of service elements and hardware.

“This agreement with Intelsat will introduce a new level of cooperation to our long-term relationship,” said Ali Amiri, Group Chief Carrier & Wholesale Officer, Etisalat. “Leveraging the innovative Intelsat EpicNG platform and IntelsatOne Flex managed services, we will be able to deliver new, more powerful applications to our current customers as well as address new verticals.”

Kurt Riegelman, Intelsat’s Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, said, “Intelsat sought to build upon its already strong relationship with Etisalat as we developed our global footprint for the IntelsatOneFlex managed broadband service.”

Riegelman added, “Etisalat will be an important distributor of Intelsat EpicNG services and capabilities for customers throughout the Middle East and into Africa and Asia. Intelsat’s innovations, including Intelsat EpicNG, are unlocking new opportunities for our customers and distributors. Our expanded relationship with Etisalat will result in new applications as well as better services for customers throughout the region.”

Global blockchain specialist firm ConsenSys is launching the first cohort of its ConsenSys Academy Developer Program on August 1st, 2017. The ConsenSys Academy Developer Program is a first-of-its-kind, end-to-end blockchain training program. It begins with Phase1, an immersive online module that will kick off with a welcome video from Joseph Lubin, the co-founder of Ethereum and founder of ConsenSys.

High performing students will be invited to Phase2 of the program taking place in Dubai, the global hub for blockchain leadership and innovation. Since the announcement of the Dubai Blockchain Strategy 2020 by the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) and the Smart Dubai Office (SDO) in October 2016, Dubai has attracted leading experts and talent from around the globe to help Dubai fulfill its goal of becoming the world’s first blockchain powered government.  This includes ConsenSys whose Dubai-based regional headquarters has grown into its second-largest operation globally only behind its Brooklyn HQ.

The highly selective Developer Program has received over 1,300 applicants from a truly global pool of 95 countries worldwide during its two-month application window. Contenders’ resumes included a wide range of expertise, including data scientists, PhD students and CEOs. Applicants had as many as 30+ years of work experience side by side with student developers - attesting to the interest and demand for Ethereum education.

The rigorous selection process involved a coding test, as well as consideration of applicants’ backgrounds and experience through their resumes. The competitive process narrowed down the pool of candidates to a carefully curated class of enrollees with an acceptance rate of 10%.

In addition to end-to-end Ethereum coursework, students will be exposed to several unique topics covered during the program like Low-level Lisp-like Language (LLL). LLL is seeing a resurgence in popularity, due to its low-level access to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), and its demonstrated efficiency and much smaller compiled binary size which can result in significantly reduced cost on execution and deployment.

The ConsenSys Academy will be including a section on LLL in its Ethereum Developer Course that goes into detail about these advantages. It will also familiarize students with LLL syntax and describe what it's like to write a contract in the language. The course content for LLL has been prepared by Daniel Ellison, the LLL Archaeologist, now part of the ConsenSys Team.

Intel launched its new Intel Xeon Scalable processors on July 26. The product provides businesses with “breakthrough performance” to handle tasks such as real-time analytics, virtualized infrastructure and high-performance computing. Half a million of the processors have already been sold to AT&T and others.

The processors will drive “megatrends” such as cloud, analytics and 5G, said Firas Alfanney, Intel’s Data Center Group Sales Director for ME, Turkey, Africa and Russia, at a press conference in Dubai. “All of these trends are driven by data,” he said. “Today, smartphones are generating 30 megabytes per day, and a PC generates about 90 megabytes. When connected cars come into play, they will generate 40 terabytes per day. Data is increasing throughout all ecosystems.”

Businesses need to transform with this massive data growth, he said, in order to keep up with customer demand and provide the best services. For example, hybrid cloud is being promoted within the industry to give enterprises the flexibility to choose between private on-premise cloud and using some public cloud. This is going to be the trend in the future, Firas claims, and Intel’s new processors are the built for big data.

“At Intel we have been talking a lot about industry transformation,” Firas said, “The transformation of old industries adopting new technologies.” For example, farmers today now use drone technology, sensors and satellite imagery to assist them in meeting strong demand. Even in retail, sensors are used to help monitor stock. Data center is the core to support these megatrends, he said.

“Data center and network infrastructure is undergoing massive transformations to support emerging use cases like precision medicine, artificial intelligence and agile network services paving the path to 5G,” said Navin Shenoy, executive vice president and general manager of the Intel Data Center Group. “Intel Xeon Scalable processors represent the biggest data center advancement in a decade,” he said.

The processors are optimized to meet the wide range of performance demands in data centers and communications networks, offering up to 28 cores and up to 6 terabytes of system memory (4-socket systems), and scale to support 2-socket through 8-socket systems and beyond, powering entry-level workloads to the most mission-critical applications.

The processors are also “scalable” and are available at different levels to match the different sizes of enterprises. It’s not “one size fits all” Firas said. The Bronze level processor is for “light tasks” which moves up to Silver for “moderate tasks” and then Gold and Platinum which are “optimized for widest range of evolving/multi workloads”. The Platinum level processors have “scalable performance, hardware enhanced security, and advanced RAS.”

The general availability announcement of the processors follows Intel’s largest data center early ship program with more than half a million Intel Xeon Scalable processors already sold to leading enterprise, high-performance computing, cloud and communication services provider customers.

AT&T, the top telco in the US, has adopted the processors mainly for its ambitions with 5G and to cope with tremendous data growth. The processors require fewer servers and connect more virtual machines, which is ideal for 5G, since 5G is “all about network function virtualization.” The processors also provide the necessary power to run 5G, offer lower energy costs and space efficiency.

The benefits of the processors, Firas said, include a dramatic performance increase of 1.65x on average over previous generation technology. With 58 world records and counting, Intel Xeon Scalable delivers “industry leading performance across the broadest range of networks.”

The processors were architected to help customers accelerate the deployment of cloud infrastructure, transform communications networks and unleash artificial intelligence, said Firas. The product is supported by 480 Intel builders who verified its performance, and received broad support from a variety of technology leaders including Huawei, Lenovo, Nokia, Samsung, ZTE, Ericsson, Microsoft and AT&T.

Professional Communication Corporation Nedaa, the Dubai Government security networks provider, has announced that it has signed an agreement with Nokia formally designating Dubai as the headquarters of their pioneering Innovation and Creativity Lab.

In December 2016, Nedaa and Nokia formed a strategic partnership to develop the lab as a key contributor to Dubai’s ‘Smart City’ initiative envisioned by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. 

The region’s first-of-its-kind research and innovation hub will introduce creative solutions for education, health, utilities and transport, with local government agencies, the Smart Dubai project, educational and healthcare institutions, and private companies involved in the development and implementation of Smart City applications as primary beneficiaries.

A key stipulation under the Nedaa-Nokia agreement is the Emiratisation of all positions and jobs and the training and qualification of employed UAE Nationals to international standards.

Nokia will also grant Nedaa and approved technology partner Esharah Etisalat Security Solutions access to its advanced radio systems and Intelligent Management Platform for All Connected Things (IMPACT), the company’s innovative Internet of Things (IoT) platform.

These and other industry-leading Nokia technologies will be used to create new IoT platforms and applications as well as solutions for next-generation Internet Protocol (IP) and wireless connectivity, security, big data, and analytics.

“Now, we can start following our cooperative roadmap with Nokia to help accelerate Dubai’s transformation into a truly Smart City,” said Mansoor Bu Osaiba, CEO, Nedaa. “We will be bringing top Emirati talents onboard in keeping with the UAE’s vision of empowering its citizens to proactively participate in key sectors such as information and communications technology (ICT) that will underpin country’s transition to a Post-Oil Era. We look forward to commencing the lab’s operations within the next few months.”

Amr El-Leithy, Head of Middle East & Africa, Nokia, said: “After months of scouting we now have a worthy base of operations for our Innovation and Creativity Lab from where we will partner with Nedaa to innovate Dubai’s ICT landscape. This latest development takes us several steps closer towards achieving Dubai’s dream of an inclusive, connected and technology-empowered society.”

Other salient provisions under the Nedaa-Nokia Innovation and Creativity Lab partnership include the training of the Dubai Government’s employees and fourth-generation technicians; development, testing and deployment of IoT communications interface operations through approved networks from Nedaa; and the enrichment of national intellectual property through support for research and development.

The highly-anticipated Nedaa-Nokia Innovation and Creativity Lab is scheduled to start operations within the next few months. This will be the right platform for local innovative initiatives and accelerating SME across the UAE.

Dubai never fails to impress with its forward-thinking approach to technological innovation. Dubai Police recently unveiled the emirate’s ambitious approach to law enforcement: a robot policeman equipped with cameras and facial recognition software. China is taking a similar approach, with companies developing artificial intelligence designed to predict crimes before they occur.

Dubai Police formally inducted a robotic policeman into the force this year. The robot, referred to by the media as ‘Robocop’, can read human faces and identify potential threats using artificial intelligence. Via the robot, citizens can report a crime, submit paperwork, or pay fines for traffic violations using a touch-screen located on an area of the robot that represents a human chest.

Dubai Police worked with Watson, IBM’s AI system, on voice command recognition. The robot was built by Barcelona-based PAL Robotics, with its mission of “Leading humanoid robotics for the real world.” The company has been developing humanoid robotic solutions since 2004. The prototype model was unveiled in 2016 at the annual Dubai-based GITEX electronics trade show. 

The robot, which will patrol busy areas of Dubai, is evidence of a government program aimed at replacing some human law enforcement officers with machines. If the ‘Robocop’ experiment is deemed successful, Dubai Police said the unarmed robots, which are dressed in the colors of Dubai Police, could make up about 25 percent of the force’s patrols by 2030. The robots could also improve services and security for Dubai Expo 2020.

Despite Hollywood movies like I, Robot depicting the potential catastrophes that could unfold if artificial intelligence plays against humanity, Dubai Police Brigadier Kahlid Nasser Al Razooqi, director general of the Smart Services Department, seems to believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. “These kinds of robots can work 24/7,” he told Reuters. “They won’t ask you for leave, sick leave or maternity leave. It can work around the clock.”

The real value in Dubai’s ‘Robocop’ is its ability to use artificial intelligence – a move being undertaken by other governments around the world. The robot can compare faces with a police database and flag matches to the police headquarters. The robot is also capable of scanning vehicle license plates, and its video feed can assist police looking out for risks such as unattended items in popular areas of the city.

In China, similar projects are underway to implement artificial intelligence into law enforcement. The country is well-known for its tough citizen surveillance, and is reportedly seeking to look into citizens’ futures by using technology designed to predict and prevent crimes. Police in China are working with companies to develop artificial intelligence; they say will assist them in identifying and apprehending suspects before criminal acts are committed, FT reported.

Vice-Minister of science and technology, Li Meng, explained: “If we use our smart systems and smart facilities well, we can know beforehand who might be a terrorist, who might do something bad.”

Guangzhou-based Cloud Walk has been trialing facial recognition technology that can track a person’s movements, such as visits to shops where weapons are sold. This tracking ability could help authorities assess an individual’s chances of committing a crime. Cloud Walk’s software can warn police when a citizen’s crime risk becomes dangerously high, which would then allow authorities to take action.

A spokesperson from the company told FT, “The police are using a big data rating system to rate highly suspicious groups of people based on where they go and what they do.” An individual will be flagged by the technology if he/she “frequently visits transport hubs and goes to suspicious places like a knife store,” the spokesperson added.

China is famous for its distrust of outsourced influence and internal uprising. Its citizens are no strangers to being evaluated by the government; a mammoth task monitoring 1.4 billion people. The government has even developed ‘China’s Social Credit System’ (SCS) to become mandatory in 2020, which will take in all of the big data tools of the information age, including electronic purchasing data, social networks and algorithmic sorting, to be used as an overall credit score for citizens.

New and effective technology such as smartphones and fast-developing AI software is amplifying the nation’s surveillance capabilities, often taking it too far, some claim. Chinese state media have reported instances of facial recognition software being used to infringe minor offences, such as identifying and shaming jaywalkers.

Cloud Walk’s artificial intelligence technology will also be used to track people with a criminal record, according to FT, and monitor those who enter “high risk” places such as hardware stores where potential weapons can be purchased. The Cloud Walk spokesperson said, “Of course, if someone buys a kitchen knife that’s OK, but if the person also buys a sack and a hammer later, that person is becoming suspicious.”

Some cities caught on to the crime prediction trend years ago. Milan has been using a system called KeyCrime for over a decade now, which is able to predict where robberies might happen based on past data.

When KeyCrime was first introduced in Milan in 2007, about 27 percent of robberies were being solved. The following year, after the software had been introduced, successes went up to 45 percent. Similar technology called PredPol, used in the US by more than 20 to 50 of the largest police departments, uses data to forecast when and where a crime is likely to happen.

The difference between China’s predictive technology method and Milan’s, is that China is using its extensive archive of citizen data to predict who is more likely to commit a crime, as opposed to where a crime is likely to occur. According to HIS Markit research, China has over 176 million surveillance cameras active, and the number is growing.

China is also using AI in crime prediction to match an individual’s identity even if they are spotted in different places wearing different clothing. This method of “personal re-identification” is considered a relatively new technological achievement.

Professor Leng Biao of the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics explained, “We can use re-ID to find people who look suspicious by walking back and forth in the same area, or who are wearing masks.”

China has been criticized for not carrying out necessary checks and balances in its judicial system, and critics say citizens could find themselves at risk of being targeted by error of the nascent technology. Beijing Weiheng Law Firm partner Li Xiaolin warns, “In China, wrongful verdicts with no evidence are very hard to reverse on appeal, because of the judicial system.”

The concept is, however, undeniably forward-thinking and could lead to safer and more secure communities. The Dubai government has even bigger plans for its law enforcement, such as egg-shaped robots used in parking areas to issue warnings about traffic violations, and self-driving motorcycles could also be sent out.

There is also talk of Dubai developing the “world’s largest robot” which can run at 80kmp.The robot will stand at 3 meters tall and carry heavy equipment and be maneuvered by a police officer seated in a cabin inside.

“We are looking to make everything smart in Dubai Police,” said Brigadier Khalid Nasser Al Razouqui, the General Director of Dubai Police’s Smart Services Department. “By 2030, we will have the first smart police station which won’t require human employees.” 

Dubai is fast moving toward achieving its goal of becoming the world’s first government to execute all implementable transactions on blockchain by 2020, an international expert on blockchain has said.

“Private sector enterprises, which stand to gain due to potential synergies with the government, are also gearing up and early adopters and first to market with this technology will have definite first mover advantages,” Dan Frankel, Blockchain City Adviser to the Emirate of Dubai, ConsenSys, told Chief Information Officers (CIOs) at the recently held CIOMajlis session on ‘Blockchain Technology’.

CIOMajlis is an initiative by Smartworld, an Etisalat and Dubai South joint venture company, focused on bringing Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from public and private sector companies in the UAE on a common platform to share international best practices and explore business solutions in line with the UAE’s Innovation Strategy and the government’s goal to make it the world’s most innovative country by 2021.

Ahmad Al Mulla, Chairman of CIOMajlis, said: “Dubai is a frontrunner in adopting the latest technology and has set a goal to become the world’s first government to execute all implementable transactions on the blockchain by 2020. The government initiatives in this direction present tremendous business opportunities for the private sector in the UAE.

“There is a current global shortage of object oriented programmers and developers,” he added. “We need to ensure sufficient availability of trained manpower and as these opportunities are accruing across all sectors, we will see a lot of blockchain implementation in near future across government as well as private sectors.”

Worldwide, the market size for Blockchain is projected to grow from $210 million in 2016 to over $2.3 billion by 2021. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, launched the Dubai Blockchain Strategy, which is focused on exploring and evaluating the latest technology innovations that demonstrate an opportunity to deliver more seamless, safe, efficient, and impactful city experiences.

Adoption of Blockchain is estimated to result in over AED 5.5 billion savings annually towards streamlining document processing alone. ConsenSys has been named as the official Blockchain Advisor for the City of Dubai and will be working in collaboration with government officials along with IBM, the project’s Lead Strategic Partner.

Explaining the potential benefits that embracing Blockchain can bring, Frankel said blockchain technologies could reduce banks transaction costs by $15-20 billion a year by 2022, and as it removes costs of intermediaries, manual processing, re-work and processing errors, it could generate a potential savings of as high as 75 percent.

He said blockchain technology will transform every major market in the world by significantly reducing infrastructure costs, fraud and fee, thus driving the growth of global market share at an unprecedented rate. The first industries that will be transformed by blockchain will include financial services and real estate, technology, media and telecommunications, energy and resources, consumer and industrial products.

“Early adopters and first to market with this technology will have a strategic advantage,” he added.

Frankel said that to facilitate availability of trained manpower in Blockchain technology, ConsenSys will launch, ‘ConsenSys Academy’, a highly selective and immersive online blockchain training program that prepares developers to enter this rapidly growing technology field. The graduates will be flown after graduation to Dubai to receive their certificates and offered jobs in the Dubai Blockchain initiative.

Huawei hosted its Global Safe City Summit 2017 themed "Leading New ICT, The Road to Collaborative Public Safety" in Dubai from April 26-27. More than 350 government customers, industry experts, and partners participated in the summit to share their experience and opinions, and promote digital transformation of the public safety industry.

During the summit, Huawei introduced the C-C4ISR Collaborative Public Safety Solutions, which will drive digital transformation of the global public safety industry. Together with world-leading public safety partners such as YITU, SenseTime, Zenith,iOmniscient, and GSAFETY, Huawei also released the first all-cloud and matrix intelligence Video Cloud Solution and Crisis and Disaster Management Solution. The solutions are designed to address diverse safety threats and protect citizens in cities across the world.

With increasing global urbanization, cities are expanding and becoming less safe. Governments are increasingly focused on developing safe cities and aim to reshape urban public safety systems through innovative ICT. However, traditional siloed public safety systems typically lack information sharing capabilities and are major barriers to effective collaboration between different government agencies, which is essential for prevention of and response to emergency situations.

C-C4ISR Collaborative Public Safety Solutions will be the core of public safety systems

Commenting on public safety, Fan Siyong, President of Public Sector of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, said: "As cities embrace digital transformation, new safety threats are emerging that need to be addressed by the public safety industry. We need to keep pace with social and technological developments and shift from a traditional city safety construction model to one of collaborative public safety. By building cross-region and cross-agency collaborative public safety systems that connect governments and citizens, we can help cities better prevent, detect, handle, and recover from various threats.”

“The ‘collaborative’ method of C-C4ISR will be fundamental to digital transformation of the public safety industry. Using new ICT such as Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, mobile broadband, and Software-Defined Networking (SDN), as well as cloud-pipe-device synergy, the solution will drive efficient collaboration among governmental agencies as well as between governmental agencies and citizens."

The Collaborative-C4ISR or C-C4ISR includes C-Command & Control, C-Communication, C-Cloud, cross-agent C-Intelligence based on Big Data, service-oriented C-Surveillance, and C-Reconnaissance leveraging numerous access technologies of various types of devices, such as IoT and drones. "Collaborative" is the core feature of the C-C4ISR, enabling crucial visualization and convergence to maximize public safety.

During the summit, Hong-Eng Koh, Global Chief Public Safety Expert of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, stated: "In today’s digital world, platforms and ecosystems are accelerating digital transformation of cities and changing the way people connect and communicate, such as using Facebook, Uber, and WeChat.”

“In this new era, crimes and other threats are rapidly developing and public safety agencies need advanced technology that enables inter-agency collaboration to handle emerging threats and challenges. Huawei’s C-C4ISR platform and partner ecosystem are helping agencies to develop a collaborative public safety method that can help them maintain control over fast-changing situations."

Huawei releases the first all-cloud and matrix intelligence Video Cloud Solution, supporting cross-region and network-wide sharing

Currently, social video and numerous public safety video systems are typically constructed independently, which results in a lack of data sharing and analysis between government agencies and regions. Cross-regional crimes are increasing and without a collaborative cross-region video solution, collecting and analyzing information consumes a significant amount of time, manpower, and costs, which is both inefficient and can delay a timely response.

Huawei is launching the first all-cloud Video Cloud Solution, featuring distributed matrix intelligence. Cloud resource pools support global scheduling and flexible scaling, meeting cross-agency requirements and helping agencies better handle incidents. The solution integrates Big Data technology and can be applied in a variety of scenarios.

Bai Jianhua, General Manager of Government Solution Department of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, said: "Based on an open cloud platform, the Video Cloud Solution can support partners' various intelligent analysis algorithms and many practical video services. With matrix intelligence architecture design, the Video Cloud Solution provides distributed analysis capabilities at the center, edge, and frontend layers.

“This enables many functions, including local data storage, nearby computing, and automatic results connection and convergence. When cross-agency and cross-region tasks are delivered, the system can respond with analysis results in seconds, realizing data-driven ‘smartness’. Additionally, the Video Cloud Solution can provide various public services, such as the traffic guidance, crowd detection in scenic spots, and searching services for lost people, for other organizations and agencies."

Crisis and Disaster Management Solution converges IoT and Big Data to deliver early warning capabilities

According to the United Nations' statistical analysis, mortality and property losses caused by disasters and incidents is growing. Many factors, such as a lack of disaster assessment and preparedness, poor early warning capabilities, and lack of cross-agency collaborative command and dispatch, bring various challenges to crisis and disaster management.

At the summit, Huawei shared how it has cooperated with industry-leading disaster management partner GSAFETY to release the Crisis and Disaster Management Solution integrating IoT and Big Data full-lifecycle for the first time. The solution builds the infrastructure platforms through front-end IoT perception, agile networks, and cloud-based data centers.

The solution integrates many modules, such as intelligent surveillance, Big Data, IoT platform, critical communications, and converged command, to support the prevention, preparation, detection, warning, handling and rescue, and summary components of crisis and disaster management. This significantly improves government emergency departments' practical capabilities, better protects human lives and properties from disasters, such as the typhoon, flood, and hazardous chemical leakage, and helps people take preventive measures.

With the "Openness, Collaboration, and Shared Success" principle of the Huawei Safe City Solution, Huawei is committed to closely cooperating with world-leading partners in many industries, such as consultation and planning, system integration, and software applications. Huawei works with partners to develop a mature Safe City ecosystem and build one-stop Safe City solutions. Nowadays, Huawei Safe City solutions have been serving about 800 million people in more than 200 cities of over 80 countries in multiple regions, such as Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Under the theme "Leading New ICT, The Road to Collaborative Public Safety", Huawei Global Safe City Summit 2017 will be held in Dubai, UAE from April 26-27. The event will bring together leading enterprises, industry experts, and partners from across the world to explore the trends and challenges of digital transformation within the public safety industry, as well as share innovative technology application practices.

At the summit, Huawei will also launch the world’s first collaborative public safety solution. By leveraging new ICT technologies, such as cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, mobile broadband, and Software-Defined Networking (SDN), the new solution will enable efficient collaboration between government agencies and between the police and the public to transform public safety and strengthen communities.

In the digital era, new security threats are emerging that affect the public safety industry. To address these new threats Huawei believes the industry needs to shift from constructing traditional public safety models to building collaborative public safety models. These models are designed to keep pace with social and technological developments and establish a collaborative public safety system that protects the public through seamless interaction between authorities and citizens.

In addition, Huawei will release the first video cloud solution featuring an all-cloud architecture and matrix intelligence, as well as a crisis and disaster management solution.

During the summit Huawei, together with partners, will demonstrate its latest Safe City solutions and practices, such as video cloud, convergent eLTE broadband trunking, deep-learning smart video analysis, law enforcement Big Data, and next-generation converged command system.

Huawei Safe City solutions adhere to the principles of openness, collaboration, and mutual benefit. Huawei is committed to working closely with global leading partners in consulting and planning, system integration, and software application to build a mature Safe City ecosystem and provide one-stop Safe City solutions for customers. Currently, Huawei Safe City solutions are serving around 800 million people in more than 200 cities in over 80 countries such as Kenya, Indonesia, and China.