Information Technology Authority (ITA) of Oman, in cooperation with Oracle, organised a conference on digital trends at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU).

The aim of the conference was to highlight the latest developments in the 4th Industrial Revolution, particularly in terms of digital transformation and e-governance.

Digital Trends & the need for Digital Transformation

Eng. Omar bin Salim al Shanfari, ITA Deputy CEO for Operations affirmed that ITA recognises the importance of understanding and implementing evolving technologies.

ITA has been working closely with both private and public sector partners on the digital transformation journey – be it under the ITA umbrella or the Digital Oman umbrella.

Smart City Initiative

Al Shanfari also stated that the Oman Government had implemented a number of pilot projects for smart cities in Madinat Al Irfan and Muttrah City.

This includes an MoU that has been signed between ITA and Omantel to establish a pilot project for the Smart City in Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) in partnership with the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE).

Omantel will provide the necessary communication and support services to take advantage of smart city applications, Internet access, cloud computing services and big data at KOM.

In February this year, an ‘ICT and the 4th Industrial Revolution Lab’ was organised by the Ministry of Transport & Communications (MOTC) and the ITA, with the support of the Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit (ISFU).

The 4-week lab was conducted to discuss multiple ICT and digital initiatives including training programmes and empowering national talent and enabling it to become an economic contributor, along with the rest of the other sectors.

At the digital trends conference, Al Shanfari elaborated on the outputs of the lab. The lab came out with 11 initiatives including 25 projects. Out of this, 11 projects were related to the provision of devices, applications and digital solutions. Eight projects were related to advisory and cloud services and cybersecurity.

The remaining six projects, stated Al Shanfari, were to upskill local talent and transform Oman into a hub of economic and commercial activity.

These initiatives, he said, would provide at least 8,750 job opportunities for Omani graduates by 2024.