On March 5, 2014, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the launch of a project to make Dubai a Smart City in the next three years. This endeavour will ensure that 1000 government services under transport, communication, infrastructure, electricity, economic services and urban planning are made smart by the year 2017.

With the smartphone playing the most important role in this effort and being called the key pivot, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stated,

“Our ambition is that this project touches the life of everyone in our country, or every mother in her house, or every employee in his work, or every investor in his project, or every child in his school, and doctor in his clinic. Our goal is to bring about happiness to all. May Allah help us in achieving this end.”

What This Means for Businesses All Over Dubai

To state it simply, the smartphone is what they call the key pivot in this initiative. Slowly, this one object that is owned by a majority of the population will alter the lifestyle of this city, making it much more convenient for residents to perform a variety of daily, mundane tasks like paying bills and travelling by public transport. It will play an important role in dealing with emergency situations, beyond the basic call-making ability. In a city that has envisioned a simpler future that relies majorly on smartphone technology, how are businesses going to cope with this continuously evolving lifestyle?

Dubai is ensuring that it makes its residents as comfortable as possible, that they live a lifestyle that they find nowhere else in the world. For a people that is so reliant on a simple technology that is leading to an uncomplicated lifestyle where to get even daily tasks done is cakewalk, where is the smart technology for businesses to ensure that their customers can maintain that level of comfort and luxury when shopping with them or dealing with them?

It is time for every business venture—product-oriented or service-oriented—in the city to step up and embrace this technology to make the shopping experience a memorable one for the consumer. Whether it is the virtual tour of a restaurant, an augmented reality app for a furniture store, or interactive technology using digital signage at a clothes store, these are components of a lifestyle that is slowly being introduced in the city of Dubai, and eventually the UAE.

Such technology that enables easy living can be integrated with any kind of business/service. For instance, augmented reality—a technology that can replicate real life situations can be used to provide contextual information when used in combination with an app on a smartphone that is facing a particular direction. This reduces real estate requirements as well as gives consumers a chance to experience life-like situations in an environment they are comfortable with. Retail store owners can introduce interactive digital signage that uses QR codes to allow a customer to make purchases with his smartphone.

This one device that most people now own can be used for the benefit of ANY kind of business, and there is no reason an ice cream vendor or a car parts manufacturer should be left behind.

In an entirely smart city, make your business smart by partnering with PearlQuest. We provide smart solutions for anything. And while we have a list of services, if you have an idea that does not fall within this list, you can suggest it to us, and we’re sure we’ll find a solution for you. We’re constantly thinking out of the box, and we are ensuring that every business we associate with benefits from our association in more ways than one. Let’s meet over a cup of coffee and discuss how your business can become a smart business. We’re waiting for you!