Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 31 | Page 54

COUNTRY FOCUS: KUWAIT “ KUWAIT’S POPULATION AND ORGANISATIONS HAVE A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPTS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND DIGITISATION OF THE FIELD. company, SAP is co-innovating with Kuwait’s largest and most innovative public and private sector organisations. For example, petrochemicals producer EQUATE is undergoing its next phase of digital transformation with SAP. EQUATE is moving business applications from the SAP HANA in-memory platform to the SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud platform, which can optimise costs, scale up to meet future needs and deliver innovative digital business models. How are technology companies investing in Kuwait? Sam Taha, COO SAP Kuwait strong demand for solutions running on our SAP HANA in-memory platform, SAP S/4HANA real-time business suite and SAP Leonardo digital innovation system. SAP is an active participant in Kuwait’s major technology events, including KIACS cybersecurity and oil and gas exhibitions, where we develop our customer and channel partner ecosystem, and exchange best practices with Kuwait’s leading innovative organisations. With digital transformation changing the way businesses operate in Kuwait we spoke to Maged Elserougy, General Manager – Kuwait, Schneider Electric, to assess its impact. With more than three-quarters of Middle East and North Africa’s digitally-leading organisations investing in big data and the Internet of Things in 2018, according to the SAP and Oxford Economics Digital Transformation Executive Study, we are supporting Kuwait’s organisations to adopt innovations across artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and the Internet of Things. In Kuwait, we are seeing Kuwait Vision 2035 is outlining a bold agenda for economic, societal and environmental transformation, economic growth and diversification, and job creation. Nationwide digital transformation will be the foundation for the country’s smart and connected future. INTELLIGENTCIO With Smart Cities growing, industry reports show that buildings account for about 40% of CO 2 emissions worldwide. As a result, Kuwait’s developers and building managers have an enormous opportunity to become digital to optimise costs, reduce emissions and enhance daily lives. What are some high-profile examples of energy digitisation in Kuwait? Kuwait is a significant growth market for SAP and is a key part of our Middle East North strategic investment plan. We are currently planning the launch of our dedicated Kuwait office, supporting further growth for our staff. Our training and development institute is working with our University Alliance partners to train Kuwaiti nationals on the digital skills needed for the workforce of the future. 54 energy efficiency and digitisation of the field. Currently, Kuwait’s public, private, and academic sectors are coming together to update the country’s existing regulations in energy efficiency, which would boost Kuwait’s market for the most advanced digital platforms for energy efficiency. MAGED ELSEROUGY, GENERAL Maged Elserougy, General Manager – MANAGER – KUWAIT, SCHNEI- Kuwait, Schneider Electric DER ELECTRIC How is Kuwait Vision 2035 impacting energy efficiency technology? Kuwait’s population and organisations have a strong understanding of the concepts of The Ministry of Electricity and Water is driving a nationwide smart metering project, with Schneider Electric, Ericsson and Zain. We are building the technology infrastructure for about 800,000 smart meters across the country. These smart meters will enable citizens to monitor their utilities usage in real-time, leading to enhance energy efficiency. Kuwait Oil Company is also piloting a meters project with real-time insights utilities usage, which aims to support its 2030 Strategy of business innovation, optimise operations and energy efficiency, and transform corporate culture and productivity. We have successfully completed the first phase of 65 meters. Another 2,000 meters will come on board, reaching a total of 8,000 meters. Schneider Electric is driving digital innovation across Kuwait’s upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. In upstream markets, we are deploying digital oilfields, focusing on full automation and control of onshore oil wells and pumps to optimise costs, production and safety. Schneider Electric is working closely with the Kuwait Oil Company on smart training through virtual reality environments, including automation of the guiding of www.intelligentcio.com