As artificial intelligence continues to redefine industries, few regions are embracing its potential as rapidly as the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Known for their ambitious digital transformation goals, these nations are at the forefront of integrating AI across sectors, from finance and healthcare to smart cities and public services. But while the vision is bold, the journey requires the right partners and strategies.
In a recent interview, The Fintech Times’ editorial director Mark Walker sat down with Mohamed Taha Benssiba, head of AI for Europe South and Middle East and Africa at Oracle, to explore how the company is driving AI adoption in the UAE and GCC.
Their conversation revealed how Oracle is not only helping to accelerate digital transformation but is also bridging the skills gap and fostering innovation in AI across the region.
The UAE’s leading role in AI innovation
The UAE has firmly positioned itself as a leader in AI, backed by ambitious government initiatives like the UAE AI Strategy 2031 and significant investments in research. Benssiba touched on Oracle’s role in this vision, noting: “We actively support AI ambitions locally and regionally through several strategic initiatives.”
The company’s partnerships with entities such as the Dubai AI Campus and the UAE Ministry of AI demonstrate Oracle’s commitment to transforming sectors like healthcare, smart cities and public services.
The region’s proactive stance on AI adoption, especially in the UAE, has helped it become a global hub for major AI events, bringing together tech firms and startups to advance innovation and collaboration.
Oracle’s strategic role
Oracle has become an essential player in supporting AI ambitions in the region, helping organisations navigate their digital transformations. Its focus is on enabling AI-driven growth across key sectors, says Benssiba.
Through initiatives like Oracle’s sovereign cloud infrastructure, the company provides scalable AI solutions that enhance regional capabilities.
Industry-specific AI solutions and skills development
But Oracle’s contributions go beyond cloud services. It offers industry-specific AI tools that support sectors such as energy and financial services. Benssiba noted that Oracle is committed to helping industries across the GCC leverage AI to improve operations and enhance customer experiences.
A major focus for Oracle is addressing the region’s skills gap in AI and emerging technologies. To this end, Oracle has launched several initiatives aimed at training the local workforce. In Saudi Arabia, for instance, Oracle’s ‘Mostaqbali’ initiative, which translates to ‘My Future’, provides technical training for Saudi youth.
This programme aims to certify 50,000 Saudi nationals in cloud-powered technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and the internet of things (IoT) by 2027.
Similarly, Oracle launched the ‘sAIdaty’ programme in collaboration with the Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC). This initiative seeks to empower women professionals and entrepreneurs by enhancing their AI skills. Through classroom sessions, virtual meetings, and networking events, ‘sAIdaty’ aims to integrate women into the UAE’s digital economy and AI landscape. The programme is led by Oracle Women Leadership (OWL), a global initiative dedicated to empowering current and future generations of women leaders at Oracle.
AI adoption among Oracle customers
Oracle customers across the UAE and GCC are increasingly adopting AI to transform their businesses. Benssiba noted that AI is being leveraged to enhance efficiency, improve decision-making, and reduce operational costs. The public sector in the UAE, in particular, has been at the forefront of digital transformation, using cloud-based AI solutions to improve agility, efficiency and security in delivering citizen services.
One notable example is du, one of the largest telecommunications operators in the Middle East. du has implemented Oracle Alloy to offer cloud and sovereign AI services to government and public sector organisations in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. This partnership illustrates how AI is being used by Oracle’s customers to develop more secure, efficient, and cost-effective solutions.
Oracle’s AI capabilities are also driving advancements in research and development, with academic institutions, AI startups, and tech companies using Oracle’s industry-leading AI tools to accelerate the development of large language models (LLMs).
As Benssiba highlighted, Oracle customers are using AI for both training and inference, contributing to the global race for the most accurate and versatile generative AI (GenAI) solutions.
The future of AI in Oracle’s product portfolio
Looking to the future, Benssiba predicted that AI will continue to have a profound impact on Oracle’s customers. Over the next year, Oracle anticipates a significant increase in AI deployment across industries. AI is expected to play a key role in optimising operations, reducing costs, and improving productivity.
Many of Oracle’s enterprise customers are already using AI-powered tools across their operations, from AI-enhanced databases and chatbots to AI-embedded solutions in enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and supply chain management (SCM).
Furthermore, Oracle is making AI more accessible to non-technical users by offering low-code AI tools and pre-built models. These innovations will allow businesses to quickly deploy AI-driven solutions without requiring extensive technical expertise.
Oracle has also made significant strides in generative AI development. Earlier this year, the company introduced Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) distributed cloud innovations, designed to meet the growing global demand for AI and cloud services. These innovations enable customers to deploy AI services across multiple environments, addressing various data privacy, sovereign AI, and low-latency requirements.
Next steps
Oracle’s commitment to supporting AI ambitions in the UAE and the broader GCC region is clear. Through a combination of cloud infrastructure, industry-specific AI solutions, skills development programmes, and partnerships with public entities, Oracle is playing a key role in driving the region’s digital transformation.
With AI adoption expected to continue growing rapidly, Oracle is well-positioned to support its customers in harnessing the full potential of AI to enhance operations, improve decision-making, and foster innovation across industries.
