Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 13 | Page 12

NEWS OMAN IoT knowledge sharing between Indian firm and Oman Majority state-owned Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HCL Infosystems, an Indian ICT services and solutions company, to deliver Internet of Things (IOT), Machine to Machine (M2M) services, enhance automation, accelerate efforts to optimise network capabilities and roll-out large-scale ICT services and solutions across Oman. This MoU is part of Omantel’s strategy to increase business agility and deliver innovative offerings and e-Government solutions to support growth in the increasingly connected and knowledge-based economy in Oman. Commenting on the agreement, Talal Said Al Mamari, chief executive officer of Omantel said, “At Omantel, we continue to be innovators and pioneers of new technology in the Sultanate. Therefore, it is vital that we create new synergies with industry Omantel floats new subsidiary to roll out IoT network leaders to deliver the next generation of services and innovations for the continued evolution of Omantel’s 3.0 transformation strategy.” smart cities, smart homes, intelligent transportation and smart grids of the future. Internet of Things LLC is a partnership between Omantel (55%) and SIGFOX (45%), a provider of communications services for the Internet of Things (IoT). Under the partnership, first unveiled in April this year, both companies have pledged to provide IoT network coverage extending to around 85% of the Sultanate’s population by end-2017. Tech pundits have characterised IoT as a “game-changer” that will assimilate all kinds of “things” into the world of the Internet. IoT connects appliances, machines and devices over the Internet, letting them gather data, communicate with each other and transmit data over wired or wireless networks. This data can be suitably leveraged to, say, enhance energy efficiency, improve productivity, lower costs and generally contribute to the creation of ‘smart’ environments. Majority government-owned telecommunication services provider Omantel has launched a new subsidiary to support the roll-out of a nationwide Internet of Things (IoT) network, embodying technologies that provide the groundwork for the establishment of, among other things, 12 INTELLIGENTCIO For example, IoT-enabled homes, offices or warehouses can be remotely monitored from the standpoints of energy efficiency, security, and so on. The same principle can be applied to traffic signals, road networks, transport systems, logistics, and so on — systems and services that can be monitored and remotely controlled from the vantage point of one’s own smartphone or a PDA or computer. www.intelligentcio.com