Honeywell has announced the official opening of an innovation hub at the company’s regional headquarters in Dubai. 

 

The Honeywell Technology Experience Center is designed to promote knowledge exchange and demonstrate the value that can be gained from the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, the company said. 

 

With estimates that almost 90 percent of companies in the Middle East are failing to innovate sufficiently to drive growth and generate new revenue streams*, the centre leverages Honeywell’s deep global expertise and industrial knowledge base to help unlock opportunities for value creation though digital transformation initiatives. Visitors from a wide range of backgrounds and industries can be engaged, ranging from oil and gas, petrochemicals and manufacturing, to smart buildings and cities, transportation, aviation, supply chain and logistics, it said.  

 

Speaking at the inauguration, Norm Gilsdorf, president, Honeywell, high growth regions, Middle East and Russia, commented: “Honeywell selected Dubai as the location for the Honeywell Technology Experience Center because it is a global hub of innovation and IoT adoption. Digital technologies are evolving at an accelerated rate, delivering value and efficiencies that were previously unimaginable.”

 

Gilsdorf added: “Many companies in the region find that reaping the benefits of IoT can be a challenge owing to a lack of know-how on how these technologies can be deployed in practice. By leveraging Honeywell’s deep domain expertise and leading industrial cybersecurity experience, we look forward to working with forward-thinking visitors who are keen to understand and advance digital transformation in the region.” 

 

With regional investment in IoT-related technology set to reach $12.6 billion in 2021, up from $6.99 billion in 2018**, the Honeywell Technology Experience Center serves as a platform to engage with stakeholders from the UAE and Gulf states, as well as Turkey, Russia, Central Asia, India and Africa. Visitors can experience first-hand how Honeywell supports virtually every industry through its combination of hardware, software and data analytics. 

 

Interactive activities at the centre are tailored to industry-specific interests that allow visitors to take control of an industrial control room, oversee the security, safety and productivity of a modern skyscraper, learn how a connected city works, or test their skills at flying an aircraft simulator equipped with advanced connected technologies, Honeywell said. 

 

While driving the benefits of connectivity for value creation, Honeywell also recognises the need to secure and protect increased data sharing. To promote new opportunities while managing threats, the centre is co-located with the Honeywell Industrial Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (COE), that was formally launched in February 2018. The COE is a pioneering technology hub with a safe off-process environment to test network vulnerabilities and threats, train customers with real-time simulations and provide advanced customer consultations.

 

The Honeywell Technology Experience Center joins existing locations in Washington D.C., and Shanghai, which together enable visitors from around the world to gain first-hand experience of the potential of IoT and learn how industrial digitalization is positively shaping the world we live in, it said.

 

Honeywell has been established in the Middle East for more than 60 years. The company’s solutions blend physical products with advanced software to create value for industries while supporting long-term national development visions and economic diversification across the region. – TradeArabia News Service