Open sesame: data is the new oil

Attendees during the Arabnet Digital Summit at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai on Tuesday.

The impact of open and shared data on Dubai's economy in the coming years will be enormous, as it drives innovation, improves competitiveness and helps launch new businesses across various sectors, experts say.
Speaking at the 2017 ArabNet Digital Summit, Younus Al Nasser, assistant director-general of the Smart Dubai Office, said that open and shared data has the potential to generate Dh10.4 billion for Dubai's economy every year. Highlighting the results of the Dubai Data Economic Impact Report, he disclosed that by opening government data alone, close to Dh6.6 billion can be generated, as of 2021.
"When looking at smart transformations, we realised that for every Dh1 that we spent at our Smart Government establishment, the government saved Dh5; in the past decade we have saved Dh4.3 billion in digitisation practices," he said. "We also estimated the value that blockchain technologies will have once they have been completely implemented and found that it was close to Dh5.5 billion. Another technology that has huge potential is the Internet of Things which we estimate to be valued at Dh17.9 billion by 2020."
However, the possibilities that will be generated through open and shared data will be limitless, he said. His words were echoed by Dr Aisha Butti Bin Bishr, director-general of the Smart Dubai Office, who said that Dubai's smart city transformation is just beginning.
"Creating positive impact is the heart of the mission of Smart Dubai. For three years we have been working with our partners across the city from the private and public sectors to achieve our mission of making Dubai the happiest city in the world. In three years we have witnessed a remarkable transformation across the city. Today, the DubaiNow app unifies more than 50 city services from more than 24 government entities," she said
"We are now bringing our focus on impact with ambitious targets to benefit every constituent in our city," she added. "The fuel for our smart city transformation is open and shared data which will play a vital role in our vision. Today, we can already see the beneficial effects that open and shared data are having on our communities. Dubai Data has already shown itself to be a powerful force in locking new economic opportunities, enhancing the quality of life and supporting resource sustainability in Dubai."
The Dubai Data Economic Impact Report found that, when properly utilised, shared data has the potential to vastly improve the quality of life for any city's residents. In Dubai, experts are confident that shared data will ultimately help new residents find the right place to live when they move to Dubai; help entrepreneurs find the right business idea; help city planners envision new districts and analyse their potential impact; and improve access to vital public services such as healthcare and education.
Heather Sharp, director of economics at KPMG, noted that the government plays a very crucial role in how accessible the collected data is. "Above all, the data has to be accessible, it has to be of high quality, and it has to be offered in a timely manner. The real value of that data will be evident when it is enriched, and this is only possible through partnerships with the private sector."
Once the data is available, the private sector can then get to work on utilising it, she said. "The private sector can use the data to create new businesses, start new applications, and develop new products and services. This will lead to the generation of new streams of revenues and lead to the increase in economic happiness that Dubai is aiming for."
Wael Nafee, vice-president of products at Careem, also highlighted how shared data can be used to create solution for various problems in real time. One sector which has the potential to greatly benefit from shared data is the transportation sector.
"When it comes to public transport, we have always seen an increase in bottlenecks when it comes to getting a taxi outside a metro station," he said. "This is especially true during rush hours; and so we looked at ways of addressing this issue. Using shared data we can get an idea of where the wait time is longest and then work to divert taxis to that location. This method of real time monitoring can also be used at other public locations where there is lots of visitor footfall such as malls."
In addition, he noted that there are several other applications of real-time monitoring through shared data. One such application involves diverting traffic away from accident sites so as to ensure that traffic does not slow down and cause commuters to spend any longer on the roads than they have to. Another application of shared data can involve offering lower insurance rates to drivers that have a safe and good driving record.
"The possibilities really are endless, and we can see them across almost all the sectors in the city today," Nafee said.
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com