Don't Just Collect Data, Connect Data

- 

Today 173 million people are connected online in the Arab world, and by 2021, just three years from now, it is projected that 47 million new internet users, 45 million new mobile broadband users and 160 million new social media users will come online in the region (according to the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government). It is no longer a case of if but when the Middle East and North Africa will be a fully digital-led economy.

Despite generational divides, a critical mass of people in the Arab region are embracing the internet in every aspect of life. The adoption of big-data-driven approaches by businesses large and small shows they are very aware of the power of data to drive the region’s future growth, happiness and superiority.

Driven by the technological vision of its government and Smart Dubai initiative, last year the UAE was ranked the most digitally advanced country in the Arab world by the World Economic Forum. Businesses are tapping into the rapidly evolving local taste for technology across the region; digital start-ups are on the rise, inspired in part by global heavyweights such as Amazon, Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, who are investing heavily in the Arab world.