Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism bested other organisations in Middle East Technology Excellence Awards

The DCT is the first government agency in the United Arab Emirates to use cloud data centres.

Migrating to become a cloud-based organization is no easy feat. Still, the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) took the opportunity to shift as a clear avenue for growth. It excels above the region’s government organizations in adopting cloud-based data centres and IT solutions with its partnership with Microsoft©.

“As the future becomes our reality, very quickly we become aware that we have to move forward rapidly just to keep pace. As such, we believe that DCT is a driver for innovation and adoption of platforms that align to the desired business outcomes,” said His Excellency Saeed Ali Obaid Al Fazari, DCT’s Acting Executive Director of Support Services, in a press release.

The annual Middle East Technology Awards recognises technological advancements within the gulf region, mainly in companies that champion and pioneer in ground-breaking solutions in cyberspace and Information Technology.

DCT’s migration to cloud technology was a giant leap for the agency, as government organisations uphold the nation’s level of adapting to the current global trends, and in this case, on data storage and services more applicable in the 21st century. DCT worked closely with Microsoft and chose Azure as its data centre, having previously worked with them in the age of digital transformation ramped up by the global pandemic.

In an interview with His Excellency Saeed Ali Obaid Al Fazari repeats how “DCT values the importance of innovation and technology to build scalable, flexible, secured, and sustained ecosystems and increase the efficiency of business operations. Thus, DCT is partnering with Microsoft to embark on a digital transformation journey using well-designed products and features. It’s both a partnership and a sustainable solution that benefits DCT, and it directly affects our readiness during COVID-19.”

With Abu Dhabi’s culture and tourism at its core, the agency embarked on the journey to adopt cloud processing mainly on the premise of improving customer and employee experiences. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, access to government services took a necessary transition, and with that, the DCT evolved. Moving all production systems from existing premises to Azure, DCT saw up to $2M worth of cost savings. It also reduced vendor or technical complexities, optimised internal operations, and prepared for future market demands in the region, all whilst improving customer experience.

From the data provided by the DCT, total services cost over the past three years has been computed to decrease significantly, if not completely obsolete. To date, DCT reports that Microsoft will enroll and oversee end-to-end migration, simplify the journey, and train the staff for self-sufficiency with the Enterprise Skilling Initiative.

Moreover, according to His Excellency Saeed Al Farazi, the agency prepared itself to adopt the cloud services but did not experience any delivery interruptions.

He said, “The migration has gone extremely smoothly, and I must commend all of the staff who participated in the program on the professionalism and technical skills they demonstrated to be able to deliver the project.