Abu Dhabi Smart Solutions & Services Authority signs MoU with Microsoft

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Smart Solutions and Services Authority (ADSSSA) today announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Microsoft to establish a ‘Cloud centre of Excellence’ that will aim to build its capacity for the delivery of cloud services and platforms, as well as upskill the emirate’s public sector workforce.

This partnership is aligned with ADSSSA’s strategy and ongoing commitment to drive Abu Dhabi’s digital transformation and adoption of emerging technologies. The MoU strengthens the collaboration between ADSSSA and Microsoft, whose cloud infrastructure serves more than a billion customers globally and follows Microsoft’s recent announcement of choosing United Arab Emirates for their first Middle East cloud data centre.

"This partnership represents a new step towards driving digital transformation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, consolidating its global position in technology and developing innovative solutions," said H.E. Dr Rauda Saeed Al Saadi, Director General of the Smart Solutions & Services Authority. “In line with Abu Dhabi’s ‘Ghadan 21’ plan, the Emirate aims to provide government institutions with qualified human capital and the ability to deal with the best digital solutions and advanced technology to provide the best services. The Authority also seeks to strengthen its partnerships with leading companies in the field of modern technology to better integrate government agencies and enable them to provide innovative services that contribute to the government’s progress. "

Microsoft’s collaboration with ADSSSA will focus on the establishment of a Cloud Centre of Excellence. Under the agreement, Microsoft will provide instructor-led training for 240 government employees from various departments and agencies. The training will be distributed across 11 tracks, and will encompass all Microsoft skill levels, from 0 to 300. Instruction will ensure that Government of Abu Dhabi employees are well-versed in such technologies as Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, Office 365, Data, AI and Dynamics 365.

Through Cloud Society in Box, Abu Dhabi Government employees will receive access to an online training portal hosted on ADSSSA Azure Tenant that can be customised to assign and track training paths. Microsoft specialists will be on hand to deliver regular support to all training delegates and guide them on their upskilling journeys.

In delivering best-in-breed solutions at scale, tight and fluid teamwork is indispensable. Abu Dhabi Government employees across agencies and departments will be introduced to a new collaboration platform built on Microsoft Teams and Yammer, allowing them to share success stories, best practices and technical resources.

“Microsoft has been a steadfast partner in Abu Dhabi’s digital transformation journey,” said Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, Global Sales, Marketing and Operations, Microsoft. “The opportunity technology presents to engage citizens, empower public servants, optimise operations and reinvent service-delivery models is unprecedented. We have also been a fierce proponent of upskilling and reskilling, at all levels of society, to prepare for our shared digital future. Our collaboration with ADSSSA will further drive digital transformation across government departments as well as spur economic growth and accelerate Abu Dhabi’s vision and objectives.”

As part of the collaboration, ADSSSA will render support by providing training courses for all employees of government agencies in the field of information technology in order to develop their capabilities and potential, and provide innovative technological services to enhance performance and government excellence.

About Microsoft Gulf

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft Gulf opened its Dubai-based headquarters in 1991. Today, the Gulf office oversees Microsoft Gulf activities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and UAE. More information can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gulf/     

About ADSSSA:

Abu Dhabi’s Smart Solutions and Services Authority (ADSSSA) has a legal personality and possesses the necessary legal capacity as well as financial and administrative independence in all matters. The Smart Solutions and Services Authority is aimed at developing smart systems for government services by focusing on the combined experience of all categories of customers, to improve and assist the work of the government services sector.

The Authority works with all government bodies to redefine services and offer them in a seamless, proactive and integrated manner, to meet the individual needs of each customer, through a multi-channel unified platform which provides customers with access to services anywhere and at any time. ADSSSA is also supervising the establishment of customer service centres, which will offer smart and integrated services as per global best practices. Their creation is an important initiative and a deliberated step which will help reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a technological innovation hub.

The Authority’s tasks also involve drafting general policies, strategic plans and initiatives, and providing operational support in order to achieve government integration in terms of information and communication technologies. It also helps to enable government entities to manage their institutional and developmental tasks through innovative systems and legislations, which will contribute to the improvement of government performance.

© Press Release 2019