FINAL WORD
and a diversification of its underlying economy . Oil wealth has resulted in a highly developed energy sector , but with prosperity has come burgeoning financial services , vast overseas investments and significant growth in the tourism and hospitality business .
A business oasis The UAE is also an attractive place in which to do business . There are significant tax advantages for businesses setting up in the UAE . The GITEX Technology conference – held in Dubai last October – attracted thousands of early-stage business owners and hundreds of startups from right across the region . Venture capital funds are increasingly attracted to a start-up environment that is low-cost , can more rapidly attract talent ( wherever in the world it happens to be ), and can offer a very high quality standard of living .
This underlying dynamic – of an economy and a region on the move – creates huge opportunities for the tech sector . The UAE economy is one that ’ s underpinned by the energy and petrochemicals sectors – even if the longer term strategic plan is to make the economy much more diverse . Rapid growth has been enabled by technology . One look at the skyline of Dubai or Abu Dhabi will very quickly convince any visitor of that . Smarter ways of getting things done With city growth and infrastructure development has come the associated need to create smarter systems . The UAE ’ s major cities are now some of the most advanced ‘ smart cities ’ on the planet . And the intention is to make them even smarter . Some of the planet ’ s most ambitious plans for eGovernment and citizens ’ access to government eServices are being developed in the UAE and wider Gulf region – vital , of course , for nations and cities with such rapid population growth projections .
There are obvious security implications associated with all of this . The UAE is an important part of the Gulf region ’ s oil supply chain . The region is also a vital transportation hub and provides digital connectivity to support ever more complex systems and trading . Greater dependence of civic society on digital systems also builds vulnerability into the systems upon which so many citizens and businesses depend .
Beyond the UAE other nations , and the major enterprises that feed their economies , have similar needs . The region will need emerging specialisms and professional services teams that can service the requirement for global class security .
Genius needed Therefore , the cyber security challenges are more complex than in many other regions with even greater populations . Building resilience into the systems that underpin the wider Gulf region is a critical role that ’ s increasingly being played by technology specialists . Skills are needed to build , for example , nationwide citizen identity systems that are interconnected with government and private sector systems . There ’ s a requirement to select talent – that ’ s proven and vetted – to build these next-generation and futureproof solutions .
The landscape is ever-evolving . Complex transactional systems or government services are being built to utilise new ,
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