With governments and organisations collecting more data than ever before, harnessing this data for hidden insight will be a key competitive differentiator and potentially lead to new waves of productivity, growth and innovation for the UAE. SAS - the leader in business analytics software and service, and the Etisalat BT Innovation Centre (EBTIC), a jointly established research and innovation centre by Etisalat, BT and Khalifa University, announced a strategic partnership with an aim to further boost UAEs analytics and data science talent pool at the recently concluded 2015 International Smart Cities Initiative Workshop (SCI15) in the capital.

SAS, with more than three decades of experience and expertise, will bring its data analytics proficiency by providing EBTIC its new generation Hadoop-based analytics and data visualisation platforms for furthering research and innovation in government data analytics programs in the UAE. The partnership also aims to contribute to the emergence of data driven policymaking within government organisations and work on joint programs between SAS, its government clients and EBTIC, which will contribute to the UAEs sustainable growth.

Commenting on the association with EBTIC, Shukri Dabaghi, SAS Regional Director for the Middle East and Francophone Africa said, Our alliance with EBTIC is a milestone, which will aim to enable data analytics users to employ our technologies bringing new ways of mining data and applying advanced analytics to discover, invent, innovate and drive positive change into the UAEs society.

Together with EBTIC, SAS will further enhance the analytical capabilities of the local talent pool by inspiring them to engage and cultivate skills in technologies of the future, keeping innovation and making the world a better place at the core of their career goals, added Dabaghi.

Prof. Nader Azarmi, Director, EBTIC said, Data can help nations in the creation, development and growth of an economy while overcoming big data-based challenges posed by an exponential growth of Internet of Things (IoT). Thus, our partnership with SAS only enhances our continuous efforts and goals in creating ideal knowledge-based economy across all government organisations such as environment, healthcare, education and other several public services departments across the UAE, transforming the country into a comprehensive Smart Society in all aspects.

In addition, SAS joint programs will enable to fast track in the creation of an ecosystem of local talents. And through this partnership, SAS will play a vital role in the successful achievement of these central agreements in a series of phases in the future.