The Ministry of Transport in Saudi Arabia has issued a
new law that forces taxi firms to install communication and tracking
systems in their vehicles in order to reduce and eventually stop the roaming of
cabs in the streets.
Easy Taxi, the global taxi e-hailing service, has found that
it increases efficiency of taxi drivers by 20% by reducing taxi roaming time in
the streets when customers order taxis using the application.
The app allows customers to order a taxi to their location
and track its progress, taking out the standing-around-and-waiting process
usual to looking for a taxi. This in turn helps drivers find fares more
efficiently, cutting out their need to hunt down a potential customer. Lesser
unnecessary taxis on the road then leads to fewer traffic problems.
The law gives drivers 45 days to install the systems, after
which taxi cabs will only be available by on-call.
Easy Taxi was founded in Brazil in 2011. It is now one of
the world’s leading mobile taxi apps. Easy Taxi currently operates in 33
countries and 165 cities worldwide. Easy Taxi Middle East is currently
operating in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan.
Faisal Husain, founder and CEO of Synechron, a technology consulting and outsourcing firm, anticipates
the following ICT industry trends in 2015.
2014
has been an successful year for the Middle East Information Technology
industry.
The
overall IT investment during the year 2015 is anticipated to grow by 3.7%
globally. The IT services industry is likely to witness a remarkable growth of
nearly 4%. In absolute terms, it can hit the trillion dollar mark.
Trending
in 2015 is SMAC – Social, Mobile, Analytic and Cloud technology.
Cloud
infrastructure, as a strategy, is not just for the giants anymore. Start-ups
and small businesses are increasingly adopting cloud services too.
The
mobility sphere is at the beginning of the revolution and is expected to be one
of the biggest game changers. The concept of wearable devices will boost the
growth of mobility space.
Irrespective
of their size, companies need to ensure that information security risks are addressed
seriously. From 2009 till date, the total number of reported security incidents
has grown by 66%, on average.
Hiring
trends for the IT industry are expected to set a new precedent starting 2015,
with Big Data and Cloud computing being the major areas for employment opportunities
Beam Wallet, a mobile commerce and rewards platform
developed and launched in the UAE in 2012 – has announced a landmark investment
from Majid Al Futtaim Ventures.
The partnership marks a first-time entry into the fast
growing tech industry for Majid Al Futtaim Ventures.
Beam Wallet’s smart mobile phone application targets
consumers in the UAE, with more than 100,000 users and over 1,100 retail
outlets using the mobile commerce platform.
Enabling Beam Wallet to scale operations locally, regionally
and internationally, the investment also gives Majid Al Futtaim Ventures an
equity stake in the platform. Majid Al Futtaim’s core business is in
shopping malls, retail and leisure.
Beam Wallet’s mobile platform gives businesses an additional
marketing channel and the capacity to reward customers directly. Consumers
can make secure payments, accrue benefits, offers and rewards, while also
keeping track of their budgets.
Following aggressive expansion in the region, going from two to seven markets in 12 months, propertyfinder’s lead investor, BECO Capital, has committed to further funding of the leading property site in the MENA region.
The additional funding will be used to develop the product and tech team and intensify the sales and operations in key markets such as Saudi Arabia.
propertyfinder employs 120 people across 7 markets and recently moved into a brand new 8,000 sq. ft. office in Dubai Media City.
Established in 2007, the Propertyfinder Group owns and operates market-leading real estate portals across the region. Available in both English and Arabic, our websites provide visitors with comprehensive search facilities covering residential and commercial properties, real estate news, home advice and buying and selling guides, whilst agents enjoy access to the region’s largest potential audience of property seekers.
Current propertyfinder traffic statistics show us as a leader in the industry with 1 million visitors and 150,000 enquiries per month. Visits have grown by over 105% in the last 12 months and an impressive 298% in the last two years.
A winner of the ‘Enterprise Agility Awards’, ‘Dubai SME 100’ for the second consecutive cycle, the SMEinfo ‘Online Business of the Year’ and the Arabian Business Start-Up ‘SME of the Year’ titles and the ‘Arabia Fast Growth 500’ award in 2012 and with a presence in the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon, Bahrain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, the propertyfinder group is one of the fastest growing companies in the region.
The Group aims to be in a total of nine countries, with a focus on the GCC and other parts of the Middle East in the coming months.
As part of its vision to become the leading premium content provider and streaming service in the Middle East, Telly teamed up with Telfaz 11, Saudi Arabia’s primary Internet television network, to deliver online video entertainment to its subscribers across the region.
As part of the agreement, Telfaz 11 fans will be first to enjoy episodes of their most-loved Telfaz 11 shows such as, Temsa7LY, Khambala and La Yekthar when they subscribe to Telly service, before it is published on YouTube or anywhere else. Once they become Telly subscribers, users will also have access to Telly’s most comprehensive library of multi-lingual Movies and TV Shows in the region.
In addition to content from Telfaz 11, Telly has local content in Arabic and films from Sony, Miramax, Lionsgate, Weinstein Co. and other features licensed through third-party distributors for the Middle East and Africa region. In addition, the Telly service provides Arabic subtitling for films.
SME Beyond Borders gets underway on November 30 at the Madinat Arena, with the eyes and ears of the GCC keenly watching developments.
The event brings to the UAE a high-powered cluster of international thought leaders in the SME and Enterprise space, including figures such as Deutsche Bank’s Roberto Mancone, Microsoft’s Mohamad Mourad and Markus Massi, Managing Director, the Boston Consulting Group.
The event develops the all-important theme of the ‘West-East corridor’ and the value-chain that it opens for regional SMEs as they venture onto the world’s latest trade superhighway.
Event presenting partner National Bank of Abu Dhabi believes that SME Beyond Borders can give every SME practical and unique guidance on how to benefit from the quantum shifts currently taking place in the world economy.
When it comes to transitioning from fulltime agency work to
freelancing, the biggest, and single most important, shift you’ll need to make
is inside your head. The fear and discomfort around not knowing where the next
cheque is coming from – and when – is natural and a hurdle that needs jumping,
but one that will set you free.
Chances are that if you’re thinking seriously about making
the work and lifestyle jump into the world of freelancing that you’ve already
got the necessary experience and skill set to make it work out. I often get
emails from would-be copywriters seeking advice on how to make it happen. It’s
really a confidence issue where people are looking for assurance. More on this
later.
I’ve been thinking about all this recently because I’m about
to start learning Final Cut Pro, Apple's video editing tool. It’s
something that’s been simmering away for a while on my back burner of ‘things to
do’.
The reason this is now moving from idea to action is down to
the content creation and social media work I’m doing for a client, Arabian Gateway. Social media loves video - nothing groundbreaking there - and any
well-rounded digital campaign needs video. Previously, when video content came
up in discussions with clients, I’d simply recommend people I know who can make
this deliver this part of the puzzle. Which got me thinking, sending work (and
cash) to someone else is an opportunity missed. Of course life - and
freelancing - is all about opportunities.
The wider my range of skills and services, the more
interesting I become to a potential client; the more value I can add to
answering the brief, and the bigger my invoice. Everyone is happy, and it all
serves to deflate nagging freelancer doubts about when and where the next job
is coming from.
You’ve already got your core set of skills. In my case,
content and copywriting. But what I’m driving at here is to keep learning the skills and tools that your
client is going to need, and ultimately you will expand your earning
capacity.
Understand the art of SEO, because that’s always going to be
critical to your clients’ needs. Elevate yourself beyond digital copywriting to
digital consultancy by putting in the time to learn successful website strategy
and the nuances and language intrinsic to front end design and back end
development so that you are able to competently lead and launch a web project.
Really truly read as much insight as you can in the field of social media, so
you can become an expert that executes beyond meaningless jargon and catch phrases.
So, it’s time for me to learn Final Cut Pro. I don’t imagine
I’ll be making award winning productions at Cannes Lions - there’s far better
qualified people than me who have dedicated their careers to this sort of
thing. But I know that, in time, I’ll be able to film, cut and edit interviews
and produce slick little montages and cool kinetic typography packages. And
that’s worth something to potential clients and my sense of financial security,
which help me maintain belief that work is coming, and my choice to be a
freelancer is the right one.
i came across this ad today, served to the guardian's website courtesy of google. it's a real beauty, if not rather alarming on a couple of different levels.
firstly, for a horrifying millisecond, imagine that this is your father. yes, try not to remember that vision.
secondly, it's a good example of how opting in to google's online ad model will leave your brand vulnerable to 3rd party advertisers who may have absolutely nothing in common with your own brand values.
the day that this ad runs in the print version of the guardian is never, unless rupert murdoch has gone and bought the paper. so why would the guardian want it on their website?
this talk from TED 2010 is a fascinating glimpse at where augmented reality is quickly headed. incredible.
i find it really interesting to see how microsoft's bing maps are integrating crowdsourced imagery from yahoo's flickr to create software straight out of star trek.
on a week that google released its incredibly dour and uninspired buzz product to the market, microsoft notch up an easy (albeit rare) PR points victory over its online rival.
