SCAD signs deal with G42 Cloud to advance adoption of AI solutions

The Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) has signed a partnership agreement with G42 Cloud, the leading Abu Dhabi-based AI and cloud computing company, to utilise its advanced digital and AI solutions for improving SCAD’s statistical portfolio. The agreement was signed by Ahmed Mahmoud Fikri, Director General of SCAD, and Talal Al Kaissi, CEO of G42 Cloud.

The signing ceremony was attended by Badria Abdallah, Executive Director of Foresight and Communication Sector, Ahmed AlShaiba Al Sheryani, Executive Director of the Data Sector, and Yousuf Fahd, Acting Executive Director of Strategy and Planning Sector from SCAD, and Hisham Sari, Executive Business Development Principal from G42 Cloud.

The partnership will see SCAD leveraging G42 Cloud’s hosting services and deployment of cloud-based software and systems, advanced platforms for big data processing and analysis, as well as technical consultancy support. The Centre is going to develop high-quality descriptive, analytical and predictive statistical models across all its operations, utilising advanced AI applications and data sources. The new collaboration aligns with G42 Cloud’s goals to support digital innovation in government services by offering SCAD a holistic set of AI solutions with highly advanced analytics capabilities to support its digital transformation efforts.

Ahmed Mahmoud Fikri, Director General of SCAD, said: “At SCAD, we are keen to adopt advanced technologies and AI solutions to process various types of data accurately and objectively. We aim to provide reliable and high-quality statistics, analysis and research that support Abu Dhabi’s comprehensive and sustainable development process, as was the case for the Insights and Foresights platform, which contributes to improving the user experience in the government and private sectors, while supporting SCAD’s continuous efforts to provide added value services and enhance the solutions we offer our public and private sector partners.

“This partnership will enhance SCAD’s vital role in developing fast, reliable and effective digital solutions for processing big data, and finding new statistical methods and applications, which in turn contribute to foresighting and identifying needs and challenges. It formulates policies at all possible levels through effective integration of AI and data,” he added.

Talal Al Kaissi, CEO of G42 Cloud, said: “This partnership provides a remarkable opportunity to support the development and digitisation of SCAD’s data processing and analysis processes. Many government entities, organisations and companies rely on G42 Cloud services to meet a variety of use cases. We are very honored to contribute to SCAD’s journey of digital transformation and support the development of its operations by utilising our intelligent, innovative and impactful solutions as part of our efforts to leverage AI technology across sectors to improve results.” SCAD had recently launched its advanced Insights and Foresights Platform (IFP) to provide statistical data, analytical models and advanced simulations using latest AI technologies in the field of data analysis. IFP will enable decision makers within Abu Dhabi Government to study social and economic impacts of various policies as it can predict the ones with highest efficiency in resource management and integration across the government.

The Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi was established by Law No. (7) of 2008 to organise and develop statistical work in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The SCAD’s role has been reregulated in 2021 and started to report to the Abu Dhabi Executive Office. It adopted a decentralised methodology in statistical work, in order to support decision-makers and entrepreneurs to devise strategic plans and policies and advance Abu Dhabi’s comprehensive and sustainable development.

SCAD has an independent legal personality and full financial independence, as well as full legal capacity to work in line with the Emirate’s directions towards achieving sustainable economic and social development goals and the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, under the supervision of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

Based on the law amendment, SCAD is now responsible for building a unified system for Abu Dhabi’s statistical information and unifying and managing all aspects of statistical work in the Emirate. This includes development and regulation of statistical frames for all activities and sectors and updating them periodically, as well as providing technical supervision of statistical work and data systems at government entities. That, in addition to collecting, classifying, storing, analysing, processing, archiving, publishing and protecting Abu Dhabi’s statistical data obtained from various data sources.

SCAD is also responsible for making, developing and disseminating estimates, projections, extrapolations, and forecasts. Additionally, the Centre is tasked with supporting government entities and transferring knowledge and expertise, thereby enabling them to provide reliable and accurate statistics. SCAD is also authorised to contract with any entity or company within or outside the Emirate to undertake data collection and other statistical activities.

G42 Cloud is building the Mena region’s largest and most powerful AI optimized cloud infrastructure designed to make organizations more intuitive, agile, and efficient to solve real-world challenges. G42 Cloud’s world-class infrastructure is built to serve governments, special industries and enterprises of all sizes and leverages the power of AI to deliver superior performance. G42 Cloud operates its cloud platform end-to-end, having built best-in-class intelligent Data Centre facilities across the UAE. G42 Cloud also operates the Artemis High Performance Computer, one of the world’s “Top500” supercomputers which it offers as a service to multiple clients and industries.