UAE’s leading telecommunication operator Etisalat has collaborated with Accenture to introduce the first Digital Index in the emirates.

The initiative will provide businesses and government entities in the UAE with an opportunity to have their digital maturity ranked, and to understand how they can improve this ranking to increase their competitive advantage and drive growth, said a statement.

The UAE Digital Index will focus on four areas – organisation and collaboration, IT and infrastructure, the customer experience, and channels and partners – to understand how well UAE organisations are doing to leverage digital in areas such as recruitment, employee mobility, digital marketing, social media, e-commerce, and digital supply chain management.

Each organisation will be ranked against international benchmarks as well as their peers in the UAE, it said.

The Digital Index will be rolled out online over the coming days and will be free for all UAE-based companies.

The businesses that want to know more about their digital maturity can access the survey online through Etisalat’s website or can apply for an on-site consultation by an Etisalat executive.

Abdulla Hashim, senior vice president - Digital Services, said: ”The Digital Index is part of Etisalat’s initiative to be a business enabler for companies in the UAE.

“Our aim is to drive awareness of how companies can better use digital solutions to meet the changing needs of their customers, employees and suppliers, and to underline the message that digital maturity is an ongoing journey rather than a single step. We want to encourage digital innovation and the Digital Index will help businesses learn how they can start improving their operations through doing more online.”

Through the Digital Index, Etisalat aims to assist organisations in gaining a better understanding of today’s digital world in which their business peers and consumers operate; clarify what needs to be done to help organisations already on their digital journey, as well as those that have yet to appreciate the potential value of setting out;  and build toward releasing potential revenue growth — realizing that digital technology can help businesses operate more effectively and achieve better results.

Omar Boulos, managing director - Middle East, Accenture, said: “Companies that are farther along the digital maturity curve find it easier to develop new services in their established markets, as well as completely new products and solutions for new markets.

“Furthermore, using digitisation to improve internal processes can lead to cost reductions and margin increases. Digitisation is increasingly becoming a prerequisite to defend competitive positions in the market and to drive growth. This Digital Index will help the UAE’s business sector realise what they need to do to achieve both.” - TradeArabia News Service