Shurooq takes Oracle on board to promote Sharjah tourism

Shurooq CEO Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal

Sharjah is keen to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and also wants to promote the emirate an ideal tourist destination, according to a top government official.

To achieve these targets, Investment and Development Authority, known as Shurooq, has chosen Oracle's cloud applications - Software as a Service (SaaS) - to drive digital innovation for promoting the emirate as an investment and visitor destination of choice. The announcement was made on Monday at an event during the ongoing Gitex Technology Week.

Shurooq has projects around Sharjah and this requires a very strong ERP (enterprise resource planning) system based on cloud, chief executive officer Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal told Khaleej Times after the signing ceremony at Gitex.

"I believe project like this will fulfil our future mission," Al Sarkal explained.

"The Emirate of Sharjah is now being recognised as a rapidly evolving economic, manufacturing and tourism hub across the region. In order to continue attracting FDI across diverse sectors, it is imperative for us to be at the forefront of implementing next generation innovation and technology that enables sustainable development and helps create a highly stimulating economic environment", said Al Sarkal.

"Shurooq's digital transformation is aimed at delivering exceptional customer experience and performance while reducing IT complexity and lowering costs. This is vital to lead in today's digital economy. Oracle's suite of SaaS solutions has been selected after an exhaustive review and we are now keen on exploring the numerous possibilities that can be achieved along our journey", he added.

Under this strategic collaboration, Shurooq will deploy Oracle's full ERP, Human Capital Management (HCM) and Customer Experience (CX) cloud solutions.

Khaled Ismail, vice-president Oracle Digital, Eastern Central Europe, Middle East and Africa said: "Shurooq's efforts have been instrumental in Sharjah being recognised as a leading investment destination in the Middle East, and we are excited to help the organisation bring its performance to unprecedented levels of excellence. We are confident that Oracle's SaaS solutions will help Shurooq achieve its strategic economic and social objectives."

- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah