Innovation – Gulf style

Much of the development of the UAE in recent years has been with respect to diversifying the economy and creating a knowledge society, which will ultimately export expertise to other parts of the world. BS Technologies is a local company that epitomises this shift in mindset, having identified communications technology as a growth opportunity in which it can not only participate, but actually lead the way. Bin Salem chief executive Ahmed Mohamed Al Dhaheri describes to Comm. his vision of the future his company is helping to construct

Al Dhaheri, CEO of Bin Salem believes technology will drive commerce in more profound ways in the future, hence his company’s interest in building competence in this area

Technology is becoming more of a need, and that is a simple fact of business today,” states Ahmed Mohamed Al Dhaheri, CEO of Abu-Dhabi-based diversified conglomerate Bin Salem. “As a company we weren’t too far from being involved in technology and for us this is a natural progression given the way businesses evolve.”

Some two years ago a specialised technology business unit was established within Bin Salem – BS Technologies – with the aim of developing new and innovative products and solutions in the mobility and asset security sectors. BS Technologies prides itself on its choice to develop its own intellectual property (IP), which it has been actively pursuing since its establishment, with the aim to introduce what is hoped to be the first of many products at the end of May.

“We have chosen a niche approach into the technology market, where we want to become a forerunner, and do not want to rely on copying other products and services that are already out there,” says Al Dhaheri. “And while we realise that the technology industry is a competitive one, we do not shy away from competition. In fact we believe competing against large, established companies is an advantage because it shows a ready market exists, and what is left is for us to develop a product that will serve the needs of the people.”

One of BSTechnologies’ first products is called Mobicop, an innovative, comprehensive mobile security software that protects and tracks a user’s mobile phone in case of loss or theft. It is a hidden application, which can only be raised by the handset owner, utilising a password. In addition to being able to track mobile devices, Mobicop also allows handset owners to agitate unauthorised users of the device.

A number of other solutions fall under the Mobicop umbrella, including Mobicopy, Mobitalk, and Mobipal; all of which are aimed at making the end user experience of mobile devices easier and safer.

Mobicopy is the first-of-its-kind application, which allows mobile device users to backup their contact list via SMSto an online server. These contacts can then be retrieved easily in case the device and/or the contact list are lost. Mobitalk is a unique application addressing mobile end-users’ recording requirements. It allows mobile device users to record voice notes or phone calls at anytime simply by pressing hotkey numbers on their mobile handsets. Recorded notes can be subsequently browsed, labelled, deleted, and transferred at a later stage, while mobile device memory is safeguarded as the recording function is suspended once device storage space becomes limited.

Mobipal is a personal messaging assistant application, which integrates the functions of an auto-responder, a personalised voice responder, a personalised SMSresponder, a phone number blacklist, and a voice recorder.

“We have a roadmap of the services and applications that we are looking to deliver over the next two years, and we already have significant buy-in from all the countries in the Gulf, as well as partners in Europe and beyond,” comments Abdullah AlKaabi, projects director for BSTechnologies. “Communications is a community activity, and in some areas competencies in the consumer space as of right now are quite low, so we are looking to change that. As computing technology is incorporated into smaller devices, those instruments become more vulnerable and we need to guard against that, like an insurance policy,” AlKaabi adds.

Given the rapid pace of development of communication networks in emerging markets, driven in particular by investment in mobile technology, Al Dhaheri believes the addition of the next billion mobile subscribers will be guided by activities in emerging markets, posing a fantastic opportunity to capitalise on this trend.

“We are aware that technological advancements are definitely the way of the future, and we want to be prepared for that,” Al Dhaheri explains. “We have shifted into a knowledge and information age, and we want to capture some of the gains that come with that. We are looking to help create the next knowledge hub right here in the region, and reverse the trend where most knowledge was imported, to becoming the exporters of knowledge,” he adds.

Bin Salem operates across a number of sectors, and part of BSTechnologies’ strategy is to address certain aspects of the technology requirements in those sectors, leveraging the benefits accruing from the use of mobile technology. Thus the launch of Mobicop is just the beginning of BSTechnologies’ ambition to bring innovations to market that have never been utilised in the manner they will be after they are introduced. Initiatives targeting the healthcare, education and media industries are also underway, for example.

“Many of the initiatives we have devised have been attempted, but never been commercialised,” AlKaabi says. “The UAE has a mobile penetration rate approaching 200 per cent, and what we are looking to do is empower mobile users more than they are today, in a manner that is agnostic to the service provider, or to the handset manufacturer,” he adds.

BS Technologies is betting on software being the ultimate driver that fuels the sales of mobile devices going forward, and with a strong emphasis being placed on the development of its own intellectual property, the company is looking to align itself quite actively with the developments in this space.

So bold are the nascent company’s aspirations that AlKaabi quips that at some point in the future BS Technologies would like to be referred to as the ‘Google of the mobile world’. “What we are looking to offer mobile devices is fundamental, it is groundwork and every phone in the world ought to be equipped with such applications as basic,” AlKaabi suggests. “End-users ought to be able to have full control of their devices,” he adds.

BSTechnologies’ ambition is to develop into a visionary and technology leader, with Al Dhaheri remaining enormously confident that the Middle East region and the Gulf in particular attracts and retains a sufficient calibre of expertise in order fuel this goal.

“The UAE is a multicultural place, and there is a lot of mindshare from around the world present here,” Al Dhaheri says.

“Therefore Isee no reason why we cannot tap into this rich vein of talent that is resident in this region, and not have to look to places like the West or India for the development of new technologies.”

Abdullah AlKaabi is projects director at BS Technologies, and says Mobicop is just the start of the innovations the company has on the horizon

Having referred to India, BS Technologies has established mobile technology laboratories and development centres in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Away from mobile device software solutions, BS Technologies is also spearheading activities in asset tracking, chipless radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions, as well as managed IT services. Within its asset tracking business, BS Technologies has developed a GPS-based fleet management system that utilises intelligent telematics solutions and is capable of interfacing directly with the vehicle’s electronic and on-board computer-based systems.

The company’s ExacTrack solution is a versatile fleet tracking and telemetry solution that fully integrates real-time vehicle (mobile resources) locations and an organisation’s back office systems to improve operational efficiency of its mobile assets. The solution combines the accuracy of GPS with the versatility of GPRS(and SMS) to offer the most cost effective and robust vehicle tracking unit.

BSTechnologies’ RFID solutions incorporate the use of auto identification technology, while the company’s managed IT services help third-party companies to free up vital management time and company resources, and incorporate hosting, service desk provision, IT maintenance and application management, amongst other things.

“The technology choices we are making are complimentary to the business experience of Bin Salem, and we also have new projects that we will announce in due course,” says Al Dhaheri. “Things nowadays change very rapidly. There is a great deal of diversification, and if a company is able to play a part in that rapid change, it is likely to also be able to secure a strong place in the future.”