Global industry leaders attend du’s 5th Customer Advisory Boarddu’s fifth Customer Advisory Board (CAB) session, held recently at their offices in Dubai Media City was attended by senior representatives of several leading global industries. Key topics discussed during the evening included industry trends driving customer experiences, and du’s managed services offerings.
Several new members were welcomed to the board during the session, including Dr. Abdulkareem Sultan Al Olama (Executive Director, Centre for Healthcare Planning and Quality, Dubai Healthcare City), Sharat Seth (Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers), Yasir Siddique (Head of Compensation, Benefits & Admin, Nestle Middle East) and Mohamed Ezzeldin (Managing Director, GS4 Security Services).
Kempinski Hotels and Resort’s representative shared a real life case study and the overall satisfactory results from du’s Bandwidth on Demand services. It demonstrated how the innovative and flexible “BoD” solution benefits the overall guest experience, generating incremental revenue and offers competitive differentiation, with high speed internet access. The complete solution is fully managed by du and its partners.
“Creating the best value for our business customers is at the heart of all that we do, and our fifth CAB session was a great platform for us to be able to better understand our customers’ requirements, in order to continuously evolve their customer experience,” said Osman Sultan, CEO, du. “We are proud of the expertise and value that the board members have brought to the CAB sessions since its launch. Our highly successful fifth CAB session coincided with our fifth anniversary, and we are equally proud of what we have achieved during this time. Our business strategy is to continue building on our achievements by doing things better and more efficiently, and by creating more value through enhanced profitability and operational excellence.”
Additionally, the Board was presented with the results of a study on how du’s managed security services assists corporate customers evaluate their current system and processes, including practises to improve efficiencies. The objectives of the study were to assess the capability maturity of key information security processes, establish a baseline level of process maturity and compare existing processes with the processes of other industry competitors.
“Having the support of an established, reliable telecommunications system is vital to the overall corporate experience for employees and customers alike,” said Osman Sultan, CEO, du. “Our focus at each CAB session is to gather like-minded industry leaders together to determine the best practices that will improve customer experience. The trends and innovations we discussed are applicable across all industries, and can be used to the benefit of all.”
du established its quarterly CAB meetings in line with its promise to collaborate with our key customers in defining the future. The first of its kind in the region, the CAB concept comes under the umbrella of the du Leadership Series, with the aim of bringing together a select group of industry leaders from leading companies across all industry verticals.
During each meeting, du discusses industry trends, business priorities and strategic directions, while also listening to the voice of its customers in a bid to work in tandem across several industry sectors. Through this initiative du connects and engages with customers in a proactive way, while fostering innovation and leadership through a process of discussion and participation in order to contribute to shaping the telecom industry in the future – not just in the UAE, but across the region.
The meeting was led by Osman Sultan in the presence of Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du in the presence of du’s leadership team. Several top industry leaders attended the CAB meeting, in their own capacity, including – Sharath Seth(Partner, Price Waterhouse Coopers), Deepak Khullar (CFO, ADCB) Joe Tesfai (SVP, IT, Atlantis) Sultan Karmostaji (COO, Higher Colleges of Technology) Marwan Al Ali (SVP, Jumeirah Group), Prince Denzil (CIO, Siemens) Clive Haswell (CIO, Standard Chartered Bank); Samer Abu Ltaif (General Manager, Microsoft Gulf), David Horton (VP, IT, Mashreq Bank) Jawad Shaikh (VP and Head of ME, Cap Gemini) and Fady Sleiman (CIO, GE Corporate (MEA) ).
About du
du, the integrated telecom service provider in the UAE, launched mobile telecommunication services in February 2007 across the UAE, in addition to internet and pay TV services that du provides in some of the free zones of Dubai. Call Select, du’s nationwide fixed line services for voice telephony, was launched in July 2007. By the end of 3rd quarter of 2011, over 4,937,900 people in the UAE had chosen to become du mobile customers.
Among du’s many firsts is its historic Number Booking Campaign for both individuals and business, Pay by the Second billing system, Mobile TV, Mobile Payments, first of its kind ‘WoW’ recharge card (which offers customers the choice between ‘more credit’, ‘more time’ and now the ‘more international’ recharge option with additional credit on international calls) and Self Care.
For business customers, du business offers include Closed Business User Group and preferred International Destinations. du Broadcast Services division brings scalable media technology platforms and telecommunication solutions to the broadcast community through its world-class teleport (Samacom) and Master Control Room (MCR) facilities.
du products and services for consumers and business are available through du’s retail network, currently numbering 44 du shops located in strategic locations across the UAE, including the recently opened flagship store located in the heart of Abu Dhabi. In addition, customers can access du products and services at more than 3000 authorised dealers or through the du e-shop, accessible at http://shop.du.ae du shops are a one-stop-shop for mobile service, carrier select and the payment of service bills.
du is 39.5 per cent owned by the UAE Federal Government, 19.75 per cent by Mubadala Development Company, 19.5 per cent by Emirates Communications & Technology Company LLC and the remaining stake by public shareholders. It is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name du.
