Transforming from a telco to a techco: A glimpse of e&’s success story

Dowidar strengthened a series of partnerships during the pandemic, with leading technology players to help enterprise customers across the region ensure business continuity through advanced digital technologies. According to Dowidar, this helped e& realize the business value it could deliver across industries by designing, delivering & operating digital solutions built on technologies such as secure cloud intelligent edge platforms. e& has realigned its business operations by creating a new, diversified business model with robust business pillars as it transforms from a telco to a techco and Dowidar is driven to lead this transition and take e& beyond the realms of telecommunications.

“In this new digitally driven world, this transition is vital as it will enable us to offer the best value to our customers, shareholders, the markets we operate in and also to our very own people,” comments Dowidar. “The establishment of focused business pillars will enable us to increase organisational agility, allow for transparent target setting, enable seamless M&A execution where required, attract relevant strategic partners and investors as well as attract and retain the talent by business. By bringing next-generation of technologies using smart connectivity in a multitude of industries including entertainment, retail and financial technology, this will serve as a direct route to monetize our 5G investments and also elevate the digital-first lifestyle of our customers.”

e& has been a major enabler in Fibre to the Home (FTTH) penetration leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 2016, maintaining market leadership in the UAE, constantly ranking as one of the most advanced mobile networks in the world, and providing premium connectivity for customers.

As e& ramps up its technological capabilities, Dowidar commits to focusing on maximizing value by doubling down on its core UAE operations, diversifying its portfolio for a more balanced geographic profile, digitalising and transforming operations by elevating customer experience, and driving sustainability so as to have best-in-class ESG practices and performance.

A visionary leader

Dowidar joined e& (then known as the Etisalat Group) in September 2015 and since May 2020, he has been serving as Group CEO in charge of running one of the biggest telecom groups in the region that operates in 16 countries across Middle East, Asia and Africa, enriching the lives of some 162 million Group aggregate customers every day.

He has been at the helm of change at e&, implementing various strategic initiatives that have driven the company's business growth to new heights. As e& evolved into a global technology and investment conglomerate in February 2022, Dowidar’s stewardship has been the foundation for enhancing e&’s brand equity, powering outstanding digital customer experiences, and creating value for stakeholders amidst an ever-changing business landscape.

Today, e& is among the world's strongest telecom brands and, according to Forbes, also the most valuable listed telecommunications service provider in the GCC region. Recently, it was named the Emirati Most Valuable Brand of the Year 2022 and is also the fourth in the region in the overall Emirati and Saudi top 30 ranking. A highly skilled visionary, Dowidar has played a significant role in ushering in a new era of strategic partnerships and innovative collaborations with global industry giants, empowering a brighter, digital future for all.

Amidst changing times

Dowidar believes the company’s home market in the UAE is on its way to becoming the digital telco of the future in the age of ‘connectivity renaissance.’ The Group’s commitment to the aspirations of the UAE leadership to be a leading ICT and technology hub, which continue to empower the Group to provide world-class innovative solutions and maintaining its cutting-edge telecom infrastructure offerings. The UAE has been a driving force behind much of the digital revolution in the Middle East.

Dowidar sees the region’s telecommunication industry rapidly evolving to answer the demands of the economy and the changing needs of consumers. To ensure e& stays on top in this era of smart connectivity, Dowidar is set to increase his focus on a variety of areas, including customer intimacy, decarbonization, industry 4.0 technologies and 5G.

“We are seeing interesting changes in consumer behaviors and expectations, regulatory frameworks, and technology adoption,” Dowidar says. “Now—and more so in the future—it is crucial for players in the industry to understand the current market conditions and stay on top of trends and developments in the sector. Doing so will not only guarantee success, but will also ensure the development of an innovative, advanced, and highly efficient telecommunications industry in the region.”z

Unleashing the full potential of 5G

Dowidar notes that the importance of 5G will rapidly increase in the coming years as the UAE accelerates its efforts to transition to a knowledge-based service economy. Since joining e&, he has been committed to building a robust network that today enables the UAE telco operations to offer consumers one of the world’s fastest 5G download speeds. Under his leadership, he has led e& to build thousands of 5G sites to enable 5G coverage across the UAE. Dowidar sees 5G soon powering everything from driverless cars zooming between Abu Dhabi and Dubai to doctors performing remote operations.

“5G networks allow organizations across the country to truly take advantage of technologies such as automation, AI, augmented reality (AR), and IoT.  By allowing businesses to leverage industry 4.0 technologies, it opens doors for improving product quality, boosting efficiency, staying competitive, and enhancing safety, security and sustainability…all the while remaining profitable,” comments Dowidar.

Dowidar is committed to innovating within e&’s telecom ecosystem and building the infrastructure necessary to unlock the full potential of 5G in the UAE. He will continue to explore opportunities to maximize value from the delivery of end-to-end 5G enabled solutions. In the coming years, he is committed to ensuring e&’s engagement with relevant stakeholders to deploy and monetize new services from their 5G network, while at the same time testing and exploring new 5G use cases for government, businesses, and consumers.

A renewed focus on customer engagement

“Telecommunications has always been a people-centric business,” comments Dowidar. “As consumers rapidly and persistently adjust to new and higher broadband expectations, customer experiences are quickly becoming the primary differentiator and critical success factor for service providers. With increasing digitalization in society, customer experiences are very much at the heart of the industry.”

Dowidar highlights that the need to divert more focus to customer intimacy is one of the crucial elements what drove e& to restructure its business. With customer needs becoming more complex, Dowidar is leading e& to innovate its consumer and enterprise solutions to provide superior experiences that not only encourage the consumption of more services, but keep e&’s valuable customers, employees, and the region’s society fully connected.

With customer journeys becoming more digitalized, Dowidar believes industry 4.0 tools and technologies such as AI, automation, and data analytics will play a huge role in assisting Customer Service Providers (CSPs) in shifting from reactive to proactive customer strategies.

Building e&’s digital capabilities

“Digital technologies enable us to make sense of billions of data points and easily meet the needs of customers. We see a data-driven approach becoming critical in supercharging the customer experience efficiently, providing coverage, performance, and reliability for customers worldwide in this emerging digital era,” says Dowidar.

As Industry 4.0 technology powered by advanced cellular connectivity proliferates throughout the region, Dowidar is focused on building e&’s digital capabilities. “There is a growing need to turn towards emerging technologies to streamline operations and inject greater efficiency into our business processes,” comments Dowidar. Through e&’s Robotic Centre of Excellence, Dowidar is aiming to accelerate the use of robotic process automation (RPA) to deliver automated solutions for greater efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Dowidar views AI as an elemental technology, not only in his goal to enhance e&’s digital capabilities, but also in the region’s transforming telecommunications landscape. It was this vision, he says, that drove e& to partner with Hub71 to launch the region’s first AI Center of Excellence that offers world-class resources and expertise to empower organizations to become more data-driven and automated. Dowidar is on a mission to move e& from digital-first to digital-throughout by driving AI and automation and revitalizing digital customer experience by increasing the use of AI in customer interactions.

Driving industry decarbonization

Dowidar also acknowledges the emphasis that the UAE and other countries have been placing on decarbonization. The company is ramping up its efforts towards global climate action, lowering their environmental footprint in line with ambitious UAE agendas, such as UAE Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative as well as the National Net Zero by 2050 pathway unveiled by the UAE at the 27^th Conference of the Parties (COP27) that recently took place in Egypt. He notes that with increasing climate regulation and an ever-changing environmental landscape, decarbonization will become a top priority in the industry. “Delivering on our ESG commitments is paramount to providing an enhanced customer experience, bringing about human impact and looking after the communities where we operate. Not only will our sustainability and ESG agenda ensure profitability, but it will also help the industry deliver a brighter future for the region,” contends Dowidar.

Dowidar is certain that technology will be pivotal in the fight against the climate crisis and the push towards a greener economy. He has made environmental footprint reduction a significant priority for e& through improving energy efficiency and sourcing renewable energy. Earlier this year, for example, under his leadership, e& initiated expansion projects to improve network energy efficiency and build sustainable networks across the UAE. Particularly, e& pledged to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions within the Group’s operations in the UAE by 2030 and Scope 3 emission by 2040-2050. Dowidar will lead e& in accelerating de-carbonization of activities while focusing on mobile network modernization with the deployment of the latest generation of energy-efficient radio equipment.

“The mobile industry could lead the way in realizing a more sustainable future. While undergoing rapid decarbonization within the sector, it could also help other sectors reduce their emissions by offering energy-efficient smart and connected solutions,” comments Dowidar. As the region enters a new climate-conscious age, Dowidar remains determined to foster collaborations to find the right solution to improve network energy efficiency, increase the use of renewables, and engage in sustainability all the way along the value chain.

Leading e& to empower a digitally-connected future

The UAE’s telecommunications industry has come a long way since e& launched the country’s first mobile network in 1982. The nation has been home to some of the world’s most innovative and advanced technologies, from fiber optic cables to 4G connections and now 5G networks. “The business landscape is fast changing. Consumers who just a decade ago were only concerned with mobile networks for making calls and sending texts are demanding and expecting so much more out of their service providers today,” says Dowidar. With the UAE’s telecoms industry maturing and its future set to be even more reliant on service-oriented initiatives, Dowidar is inspiring e& to think beyond just building a good network.

In an era driven by next-generation connectivity and digital technology, Dowidar remains committed to accelerating the rollout of super-fast, high-capacity networks that will support nations to thrive in the digital society. Fostering a wide variety of public and private sector collaborations, Dowidar is on a mission to spur ICT infrastructure development across the country, while anticipating the demands of the future and innovating solutions to meet those demands – this Dowidar says is how e& will ‘Make Possible’ by doing things differently in this emerging digital era.