Dubai: e& enterprise, part of e& (formerly known as Etisalat Group), has entered into a strategic three-year alliance with DataRobot, a US-based leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform provider, to launch an Enterprise AI as a Service (AlaaS) offering to support government and private companies in their digital transformation journey.

The Enterprise AI as a Service (AIaaS) is an end- to-end cloud offering for building, training, deploying, and managing AI and Machine Learning solutions and scaling the AI life cycle at a fraction of the cost compared to in-house AI capabilities . AIaaS enables governments and private enterprises to implement use-case-driven AI solutions and create business value with minimal investments in AI expertise.

To further accelerate the successful adoption of AI, e& enterprise and Datarobot will also establish a first-of-its- kind AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE). The AI CoE, a centralised experts group, will ensure continuous capability building, deliver best AIaaS practices and guarantee value creation by overseeing the implementation of organisation-wide AI projects.

The partnership strengthens the Group’s position as the market leader in innovation and digitalisation as it adds business value for enterprise customers who seek to accelerate AI adoption as part of their digital transformation journey. The new service model offers faster time to value in alignment with enterprise business needs while developing and deploying AI applications for industry verticals.

Through this collaboration, customers of e& enterprise will be able to adopt the AIaaS offering, powered by a locally deployed DataRobot platform, where fully scalable and use-case-driven enterprise AI applications can be implemented. Customers will benefit from the digital footprint and managed services expertise of e& enterprise, coupled with DataRobot’s AI platform capabilities.

“We stand ever ready to seek new strategic partnerships that will add value to government and enterprises so that they can become more data-driven and technology-enabled, efficient and cost-effective in the digital space. The ‘AI as a Service’ delivery model enables these companies to implement and run advanced AI solutions at a fraction of the cost of building and maintaining their own system. Our strategic partnership with DataRobot will influence and accelerate regional markets for AI adoption; our managed services will unlock tremendous value for all industry sectors,” said Salvador Anglada, CEO, e& enterprise.

“We are excited to partner with e& enterprise to bring the transformative power of AI to even more organisations around the world,” said Dan Wright, CEO of DataRobot. “Our common goal with the Enterprise AI as a Service and AI Center of Excellence is simple - to democratise and accelerate the use of AI, and give companies in these key regional markets the tools they need to unlock the full potential of their data to drive unprecedented business value.”

e& enterprise has always enabled enterprise customers to make smart and well-informed decisions based on actual and real-time data by transforming data into intelligent information. As one of the leading digital enablers for enterprises and governments within the MENAP region, e& enterprise uses its deep technology expertise to act as an enabler of digital transformation for government, corporates and large-scale organisations by providing complete end-to-end solutions.

DataRobot is one of the most widely deployed and proven AI platforms globally, delivering over a trillion predictions for leading companies around the world. As a unified platform designed to democratise and accelerate the use of AI across industries, DataRobot helps businesses harness the power of AI to drive transformative growth.

Etisalat Group has changed its brand identity to e&, effective from 23 February 2022. Its strategy aims to accelerate growth through the creation of a resilient business model representing the Group’s main business pillars. The Telecoms business currently continues to operate led by Etisalat UAE in e&’s home market and by existing subsidiaries for international operations, upholding the Group’s rich telecoms heritage, bolstering the strong telecoms network and maximising value for the Group’s various customer segments. Ramping up the digital services for individual customers to elevate their digital-first lifestyle, e& life brings next-generation technologies through smart connectivity platforms in entertainment, retail and financial technology. To enable the digital transformation of governments, large-scale enterprises and corporates,

e& enterprise focuses on maximising value through its end-to-end solutions in cybersecurity, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as deploying mega projects. e& capital allows the Group to focus its efforts on driving new mergers and acquisitions while maximising shareholder value and strengthening global presence.