Microsoft demonstrates the power of ‘AI for government’ at 6th E-Government Forum (EGOV) in Kuwait

Microsoft today participated as the platinum sponsor at the 6th E-Government Forum taking place from 4-6 December at the Al-Baraka Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Kuwait City. The company demonstrated the power of its Cloud and Artificial Intelligence solutions to accelerate the government’s efforts towards e-services and drive digital transformation across all sectors in the country.

Currently in its 6th year, the E-Government forum (EGOV6) in collaboration with Kuwait’s Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), focuses on ‘Managing Change towards Digitization’ and places emphasis on the change management practices that need to be implemented in order to boost e-Government program implementation, and make the best use of all available resources along the way.

“Kuwait is undergoing a massive transformation and is seen accelerating towards the digital era.” Said Qusai Al-Shatti, Deputy Director General for Information Technology Sector at Kuwait’s Central Agency for Information Technology. “Our objective is to empower the government entities in the country with innovative and state-of-the art technologies to accelerate digitization and achieve sustained growth. In this process, it is imperative for us to rely on a technology provider who can deliver on these lines and can be relied upon. We are proud to have a partner like Microsoft on our side in this journey of to become a truly digital and connected government of Kuwait”.

The EGOV6 also features a technology exhibition, where Microsoft experts demonstrated a broad range of AI tools and innovations that can accelerate e-services in the government sector. Delegates visiting the Microsoft stand, gained the opportunity to get hands-on experience of latest cutting-edge solutions including cognitive computing, machine learning and use cases on face recognition, chatbots, emotion detection and object analysis - aimed at enabling better and secure engagement of citizens, empowerment of government employees, optimization of operations and transformation of public services.

“The Government of Kuwait is ambitiously steering towards achieving the country’s Vision 2035 of ‘New Kuwait’ with a strong focus on digital transformation,” said Charles Nahas, General Manager, Microsoft Kuwait. “Cloud and Artificial Intelligence can be at the heart of this journey to fuel digitization and accelerate e-services in the public sector to address challenges and meet citizen expectations. Our participation at this year’s EGOV6 is to reiterate Microsoft’s commitment and support the government’s vision, as well as commend the role played by agencies such as the CAIT, in driving this transformation - and delivering the power to the country’s government agencies to achieve more.”

Microsoft speakers also participated at the forum and addressed delegates on the power of artificial intelligence, cloud, cyber security and related technologies. Mohammed Zayed, Senior Cyber-Security Solutions Specialist for Microsoft Kuwait, gave a talk on the Culture Transformation for Identities & Information Protection in a Cloud Era, and the responsibility that Leaders and Security Officers carry in driving a secure digital transformation to protect their organizations from potential cyber-attacks. Firas Bou Fakhereddine, Technology solutions Professional for AI & Big Data for Microsoft Kuwait, addressed delegates on the role of Artificial Intelligence and how it is accelerating innovation, and bridging the gaps in society for individuals, organizations and governments to achieve more.

Microsoft partner, Blackstone also shared the booth with the company and showcased its AI solutions built on the Microsoft Azure Platform. Blackstone showcased the Intelligent Assistant, a chatbot powered by AI that is capable of understanding conversation phrasing and provide human-like conversations to the end user, enabling government entities to automate customer services and business processes. The company also showcased Predictive Analytics and Facial Recognition solutions that can enable government entities to better serve and protect citizens. In line with the showcase, Wajih Yahyaoui, Managing Partner at BlackStone eIT, also delivered a session during the Egov Summit on the ‘Role of AI in transforming Public sector institutions’ and make the most out of these technologies.