Smartworld, a joint venture between Etisalat and Dubai South, along with Cisco as its strategic partner, led a ‘Silicon Valley Innovation’ delegation of CIOMajlis executives to top technology companies in the Silicon Valley in the US.

 

During the five-day exclusive trip which ends today (October 30), the chief information officers (CIOs) of select companies in the UAE visited leading technology companies including Cisco’s Executive Experience Center in San Jose, General Electric Digital in San Ramon, Oracle Customer Visit Center in Redwood, EMC Executive Briefing Center in Santa Clara and Microsoft Technology Center in Mountain View to familiarise with the best practice in digitization and innovation.

 

CIOMajlis, an initiative powered by Smartworld, aims to contribute to realising the vision of the National Innovative Strategy with the goal of making the UAE the world’s most innovative country by 2021, works in line with the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

 

“The purpose of the tour was to gain insights into the latest global trends and  best practices in innovation adopted by the leading technology companies in the world as well as to show them what we have achieved,” said  Abdulqader Obaid Ali, chief executive officer, Smartworld.

 

The tour was arranged for CIOMajlis executives to help them familiarise with the latest innovation trends and form a strategic vision on the impact of disruptive technologies and emerging trends.

 

“The innovation trip helped the CIOs to learn from close quarters the culture of Silicon Valley, engage in creative discussions and presentations by influential technology experts and visionaries,” said Ahmed Al Mulla, chairman of CIOMajlis.

 

“The tour was a great opportunity for our CIOs to exchange knowledge, get an idea of the ever-changing trends in Infotech innovation, which can be put to practice here. We hope our members took full advantage of their interaction with their technology counterparts in Silicon Valley,” added Al Mulla.

 

“Cisco was proud to support Smartworld’s initiative as a strategic partner of the CIOMajlis, and to offer this unique opportunity to host UAE delegates at our headquarters. We had series of executive interactions and high-level engagements that included John Chambers, Cisco’s Executive Chairman,” said ShukriEid, managing director – East Region, Cisco Middle East.

 

“The program included a number of solution experiences and a custom-built country digitization, security and collaboration showcase,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service