Authority mandated to design, develop and implement data policy and standards to help accelerate emirate's digital agenda

Dubai, October 6, 2019- The Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) has unveiled its new Abu Dhabi Data Management Program (DMP), a new data-centric open data platform and open data sharing ecosystem, during its participation at the 39th edition of GITEX Technology Week, the biggest tech show in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA), which runs from October 6 to October 10, 2019 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

The Data Management Platform, which falls within the Open Data initiative under Abu Dhabi’s Development Accelerator program, Ghadan 21 is envisioned to help unlock the high value potential of government entities’ rich and dynamic data sets-bringing the UAE capital's digitization agenda into full realization.

Ghadan 21 is designed to fulfil the government’s vision of a diversified knowledge based economy making Abu Dhabi one of the best places in the world to do business, invest, live, work and visit.

H.E. Dr Rauda Al-Saadi, Director General, ADDA, said, 'We are proud to announce the ADD's new Data Management Platform, which reflects the robust roadmap that we have created to help implement our Abu Dhabi Data Strategy. The roll out of the DMP initiative will fully enable the effective and efficient delivery of future government services, which in turn, will serve as a precedent for excellence from government entities wanting to build a better quality of life for Abu Dhabi citizens, residents, visitors, and investors.'

'To fulfil the future-facing mandate, ADDA is responsible for building a common data strategy, policies, and governance model for the Abu Dhabi government. The Program is aimed at driving the Abu Dhabi government digitization agenda, strategically advancing the economic development and the information economy in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and refreshing Abu Dhabi Data Management Strategy,' H.E. added.

Al Saadi expressed ADDA's continued commitment towards achieving its mandate, stating that the emirate's digital transformation efforts combined with the need to achieve economic growth and development is an essential component in the move to attain social and economic prosperity in the long term.

Bringing Abu Dhabi's data vision to life

ADDA continues to work in close coordination and cooperation with other Abu Dhabi government entities (ADGEs)--leading in the efforts to enable, support and deliver a smart digital government that is proactive, personalized, collaborative, and secure. In fact, its newly launched DMP initiative will allow ADGEs to work together in a seamless data sharing environment; enable Data Federation and Data Sovereignty as the basic guiding principles of Data Sharing; and enable high quality of Data and Shareable Data Sets from all ADGEs. The move enables a slew of technology driven initiatives for adoption in Abu Dhabi to foster new data capabilities.

Unlocking data's full potential

With the initial phase of the platform scheduled to be functional by the end of 2019, DarkMatter Group has been awarded the program to facilitate ADDA’s objectives.

“As a digital-first organization operating within the innovative environs of Abu Dhabi’s enterprise and government sectors, DarkMatter Group’s success and growth is testament to the Emirate’s visionary outlook and ambitious objectives,” said Karim Sabbagh, Chief Executive Officer of DarkMatter Group.

“Therefore we are proud to facilitate the grand vision for digitizing Abu Dhabi’s government entities to unlock the next chapter for predictive decision-making and effective value-creation in the digital transformation journey ahead. Data is indeed the new oil of the knowledge-based economy, which is why DarkMatter Group will continue to evolve and implement this vision to strengthen Abu Dhabi’s future and enable the proliferation of a dynamic data sharing ecosystem in the UAE capital.”

Abdulla Al Kendi, Executive Director - Technology and Policies, ADDA, commented, 'The new DMP is aimed at unlocking the full potential of ADGEs vast data pool resources, which will result in the full implementation of five high-impact use cases by (Date). This initiative reflects ADDA's efforts to increase awareness about the key fundamentals of data management and help accelerate the maturity of data management practices in the Abu Dhabi government.'

Al Kendi added, 'The success of this program is expected to help provide strategic foresight for ADGEs, which will play a key role in their efforts to build new capabilities and capacities for advanced analytics and a robust decision support system. The key results to be gained from DMP will lead to the creation of an open data ecosystem with data sharing capabilities to support new services, improve existing services, and drive the development of technology startups.

The Road Ahead

Al Kendi explained that the DMP is a centralized data platform that is expected to generate five times worth of returns as compared to its initial investment, thus enabling the Abu Dhabi government to seamlessly connect private sector enterprises and startups to gain valuable data from government operations. The program is set to demonstrate value realization from government data assets with a high financial impact.

'Utilizing the DMP as a platform for high quality data and shareable data sets from all government entities will bring about technology-driven initiatives for adoption in the UAE capital to foster data capabilities and drive the economy’s sectors to form a collaborative working data relationship--ultimately resulting in a fully enhanced and evidence-based decision making process,' Al Kendi concluded.