Dubai Chamber E-Business Initiatives to members
October 29, 2003
Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), the representative body
of the business community in Dubai, has launched a new project to
deploy an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system that will optimize
performance levels through streamlined processes and efficient information-sharing
with its member organizations. This will lay the ground-work for DCCI's
plans to offer enhanced e-business services to its members.The project is being implemented by Hyperlink, the largest Oracle
E-Business Suite implementation and consultancy services company in the Middle
East. The Oracle E-Business Suite of Solutions will focus on implementing
DCCI's HR, Financial and Distribution processes.ERP remains at the core of modern business, with its ability to
integrate all departments and functions on a single system. DCCI's Oracle
E-Business Suite of Solutions is designed to introduce transparency and
accountability across users by streamlining information and communication, thus
enhancing the organization's role as the key facilitator of trade and commerce in
the region.The new solution is in line with DCCI's efforts mission to become the
key resource of competitive advantage for the business community. As the
representative body for every practicing business and professional organization in
Dubai, DCCI's primary functions includes protecting the interests of the
business community in the region, by providing value-added services that create
new opportunities in the global market.Abdul Rahman Ghanem Al Mutaiwee, Director General, DCCI, stated "This
step is in line with our continuous effort to develop the social and
business community in Dubai, as well as enhance the Chamber's ability to offer
qualitative services to its members. In our endeavor to achieve these two
objectives, it is important to stay abreast of the latest developments and to adopt
the latest concepts of eGovernance, that were launched by His Highness
General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai
and UAE Defense Minister. The DCCI was one of the first institutions to
hail the eGovernment initiative by dedicating action teams to study the
practical steps in implementing this initiative".Al Mutaiwee added, "The usage of DCCI's Oracle database, that will be
used by all government departments, will create a more unified approach
through integration of systems. We are also adopting modern methods in planning
for Human Resources and finance with co-ordination with the Dubai
eGovernment team".The new solution is designed to help DCCI offer improved services to
its members and facilitate networking opportunities with the local,
regional and international business community, as well provide DCCI with a
strong platform to offer enhanced e-business services to its members at a
later date"DCCI's key focus areas were its HR, Financial and Distribution
systems. After a thorough study, the Hyperlink team made a recommendation to
replace DCCI's existing set-up of Unix Solaris, NCR server and Oracle DB
customer systems with Oracle's E-Business Suite of Solutions. This solution
operates as a single unified system across DCCI's internal departments and
member organizations, bringing increased flexibility, transparency and access
to all. Hyperlink has been selected to execute this project because of
our proven credentials in handling projects of this nature in the
Middle East", said Dani Diab, Executive Vice President and General Manager of
Hyperlink."The Oracle E-Business Suite of Solutions will provide DCCI's employees
and external members a software map for automating work processes, in
order to have unified access to information. This suite of solutions enables
systems to communicate with each other, leading to speedy, streamlined
processes, and thus, an increase in productivity and reduced staff
workload", added Diab.Abdul Rahman Al Qahash, acting interim Manager of the IT Dept, DCCI
said, "The Dubai eGovernment project was a catalyst in launching the
Chamber's electronic services. Connecting the departments electronically has
contributed to saving of costs and easy exchange data throughout the departments.
We are confident that this will translate into immediate benefits for the
business community".
Apart from implementation, development, design, consulting and support,
Hyperlink will also provide training to DCCI employees, the project
team and end-users. "Training is essential to the success of the Oracle
E-Business Suite migration, as job roles become increasingly integrated and
transparent. Users need to familiarize themselves with each other's roles as well
as update themselves on the advanced functionality of the new system",
added Diab.
Hyperlink was established in 1997 to provide business solutions to
medium and large-scale organizations through the implementation of
enterprise-wide applications and decision support systems in the Middle East and North
Africa. Hyperlink is committed to providing the highest quality
solutions to customers through its five core assets like high caliber
consultants, strategic partnerships, standards and methodologies, regional market
experience and vertical market expertise. Its products and services include Oracle
solutions in financial, distribution, process manufacturing, human
resources and customer relationship management departments of an organization.
Hyperlink also offers design, implementation and training of applications in
addition to upgrades and post-implementation support and general business
consultancyTo date, more than 1,500 companies are live on the Oracle E-Business
Suite, the industry's first integrated suite of Internet business applications
that automates critical business processes across both front and back
office operations. The Oracle E-Business Suite can streamline every area of a
business-- marketing, sales, service, contracts, order management,
product design, procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, financials, projects,
human resources and professional services automation. Since its initial introduction, Oracle has delivered several releases of Oracle E-Business Suite enhancements, resulting in a mature,
function-rich set of applications. Oracle E-Business Suite also offers customers
unprecedented choice and flexibility in implementing business applications; its open
architecture and single data model allow applications to be deployed as
individual modules, business flows, or as an entire integrated suite.
The Oracle E-Business Suite is offered as traditional software on CD
ROMs or as an outsourced service.Harrington-Bin Zayed Group meetingbusiness and government leaders in the Middle East
Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan delivers key presentation on the
Innovative Approaches to Challenges in a Diversified Economy'October 30, 2003
Dubai -"The UAE economy is currently undergoing a transformation due to rapid
diversification in various sectors like IT, education, tourism and
health services. In light of this, it is essential for countries across the
Middle East region to also capitalise on the opportunities available, to lead
the region's transition to a new Economy", stated Sheikh Khaled Bin
Zayed Al Nehayan, Chairman of the Bin Zayed Group, during a key presentation
on the 'Innovative Approaches to Challenges in a Diversified Economy',
at a meeting held recently by Harrington Middle East and the Bin Zayed
Group.Harrington Middle East is a leading consultancy service provider in the
region and a joint venture between the Bin Zayed Group and Harrington
Institute (USA).The meeting was attended by leaders in the region's financial and
banking, oil and gas, government and private and public sector, including Mr.
Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of Communications of the UAE and Mr. Abdullah
Mohammed Saleh, Managing Director of National Bank of Dubai. Besides
acquainting the attendees with the services provided by Harrington Institute Middle
East, the meeting also discussed the positive changes taking place in
the Middle East economy.Sheikh Nehayan's presentation focused on the challenges facing the UAE
economy and the need for businesses in the region to strive for
organizationexcellence in order to grow and prosper. Highlighting the progress
already made by a few countries in the region, Sheikh Nehayan pointed out it
was important for businesses across the region to work toward a common
goal."There is no dearth of opportunity for growth and development in the
Middle East and forward thinking business in the region should move rapidly to
take advantage of this economic revolution. This will help pave the way
for positioning the UAE as well as the rest of the region at the
forefront of economic growth", said Sheikh Nehayan.
The second presentation, made by Dr. H. James Harrington, CEO
Harrington Institute focussed on 'Organizational Excellence'. He pointed out that
to compete in the international market all organizations have to manage
five things, namely processes, projects, change, information and
resources. Dr. Harrington pointed out that all five pillars of organizational
excellence are equally important for success and ignoring one or the other, may
lead to disaster."An organisation's priority should be process management. Time and
cost-efficient business processes are the primary criteria of quality certification
like ISO 9000, ISO 14,000 or Total Quality Management (TQM). At the same
time, businesses need to invest in project management because that is the
only way to improve processes. According to a recent survey by the Gartner
group, only 28 percent of all projects are successful. In order to ensure
projects are successful, organisations need to pay close attention to proper
planning and implementation of the right solution, which matches their
businesses needs and size of operations", said Dr. Harrington."A growing organisation also has to focus on constant change and
improvement. The dynamic environment that we live in today demands a corresponding
change in an organisation's goals as well as systems. It is often people's
inability to handle change that causes over 60 percent of the project failures",
added Dr. Harrington."Fourthly, an organisation needs to effectively manage its knowledge
resources. We are living in a world where we are overwhelmed with information and
it is difficult to separate what is important and can be used constructively and what can simply be disregarded. In many organizations over 80 percent of the total assets are knowledge-based assets. And lastly, but not the
least, organisations need to manage their resources. Resources not only
include people, that is, human capital, or wealth, but all the
resources that are available to the organization. That includes customers,
alliances, partners, products and suppliers. Without excellent control over all of
these assets, the previous four pillars of management will remain
unaffected", concluded Dr. Harrington.
Harrington Middle East is a joint venture between the Harrington
Institute (USA) and the Bin Zayed Group. It was set up in March 2003 to provide
customized world-class consultancy services to companies in the GCC region.
The Harrington Institute is an international group of highly
specialised professionals that provide customized consultancy services related to
management and technology solutions for organisations located throughout the
world. The consultancy services by Harrington Middle East include IT,
education, and organizational solutions that improve the overall performance and
the clients' value. Three divisions within the Institute: the Management
Solutions Division, Technology Solutions Division and the Harrington Academy
provide these services.
