Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 16 | Page 11

NEWS Siemens offers $120M PLM software to Egyptian universities Siemens announced its largest ever software grant in Egypt. The $120 million industrial digitalisation software grant will be used to support training, education and higher degrees of research in Cairo, Ain Shams and Alexandria, the largest amongst the Egyptian universities. The grant was announced at a signing ceremony hosted by Siemens, in partnership with the three universities, and in the attendance of Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG, as well as other business leaders and academia experts. Siemens’ product lifecycle management software tools are used in everything from Ben Ainslie Racing in the America’s Cup, Firewire surfboard design, Red Bull Racing F1 and even the Mars Rover. Siemens PLM Software solutions include digital product development, digital manufacturing and product data management. At the three universities, the PLM software will be an integral component of the engineering programs. Over 35,000 Egyptian students will use the software for their Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Robotics, Industrial Design, Work Design, Ergonomics, Material Science and Materials Processing courses and projects. Additionally, it will enable them to create digital twins, simulated versions, of their final products as a more efficient alternative to creating a physical prototype. This grant is part of the company’s ongoing support for education initiatives in Egypt to develop the next generation of innovators. Just recently, the company announced joining forces with Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to establish and operate a joint technical training centre in Ain Sokhna and modernise Ameriya technical institute. Etisalat to implement Nuage Networks SD-WAN solution Nokia announced that Etisalat has chosen the Nuage Networks, Virtualised Network Services, VNS SD-WAN solution, as a key element in its cloud transformation programme. Nuage Networks VNS enables Etisalat to provide automated, dynamic, programmable and more efficient services to its enterprise customers. It will enable self-service ordering and configuration of services, as well as the ability to manage and control them based on the individual requirements of the enterprise. As enterprises embrace cloud services, Etisalat is transforming its digital services infrastructure to support them. Realising the potential and benefit of cloud-based and software-defined technologies, Etisalat had launched a corporate-wide programme to cloudify the network, dubbed Sahaab. The programme aims to harmonise hardware- centric telecom services with software- centric cloud services across the corporation. The Nuage Networks VNS solution will provide enterprise branch service using x86-based CPEs. Transport agnostic, it offers fast, secure deployment of cloud-based WAN services with intelligent traffic steering, full application visibility and end-to-end security. Enterprises benefit from the auto- provisioned plug n play services with quick and simple move, add and change requests. The Nuage Networks VNS is a new wide area network service that offers customers the flexibility to adapt their network services as needed to suit ever-changing business environments. Paired with Virtual Networks Orchestration VNO, an orchestration layer for service abstraction, Etisalat will be able to simplify, easily manage and enhance time to market of new functions and connectivity models for its SD-WAN enterprise customers. Schneider Electric and Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas draw attention to digital innovation His Excellency Salim Nasser Said Al-Aufi, the Undersecretary of Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas experiences innovations at Schneider Electric’s Innovation Hub on Wheels. Schneider Electric, a vendor in digital transformation of energy management and automation, with His Excellency Salim Nasser Said Al-Aufi, the Undersecretary of Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas, hailed digitisation as the engine of energy innovation, on the side lines of the recent Oman Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference. Oman’s energy firms are under increasing pressure to adjust to the new normal of lower oil prices, bring innovations to market faster, and ensure safety and cybersecurity. By breaking down silos and sharing data digitally, energy firms can enable digital oilfields to enhance energy efficiency, safety, reliability, and innovation. Showing the strong digital oilfield opportunity, 73% of upstream oil and gas companies worldwide expect to become fully digital by 2022, according to a recent report by Accenture. In Oman, Schneider Electric is exchanging best practices from 20 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies running solutions on the EcoStruxure architecture. Energy firms are developing digital oilfields by joining together Internet of Things innovations across sensor data, mobility, cloud, analytics, and security. Event attendees are experiencing the latest EcoStruxure solutions, including Asset Advisor for electrical distribution, Profit Advisor for optimising operations, and RefineryWise for refinery operations excellence. 11