The Briefing

Virtualisation

MIDDLE EAST Adam Jull of IMSCAD and Simran Bagga of Omnix International discuss the recent partnership agreement between the two firms and the sectors they’ll be targeting in 2023 and beyond

Value-Add Partnership

Omnix International and UK-based virtualisation services specialist IMSCAD have announced a partnership. The seeds of the partnership were first laid approximately and such like away from the traditional workstation. Since Omnix and Autodesk have a long history of joint innovation, and Omnix has a broad reseller base, they were the perfect match for us to get into that customer base with our solutions and services,” said Adam 700 IMSCAD has carried out more eight years ago, but in the wake of the Jull, CEO & Founder of IMSCAD. than 700 COVID-19 pandemic, and the growing appetite in the built environment “We’re effectively a services business and, as we are independent, we go deployfor digital transformation, as well across all solutions, and we just advise ments as the need to work from different locations and devices, the two firms have inked a partnership. our customers on what to do, and then they can decide whether to go ahead or not. To date we’ve got over 700 of its virtual “We work very closely with Autodesk and our skills are around deploying graphical software in a VDI (virtual deployments under our belt and have Autodesk customers globally in VDI or cloud, so we have a lot of experience environment desktop infrastructure) or cloud and expertise that we can offer." solution environment. This allows people to work Simran Bagga, Vice President of more flexibly and on different devices Omnix Engineering and Foundation

Technologies pointed out that Omnix and Autodesk have worked together for over 30 years. She said that her firm was keen to partner with IMSCAD as it sensed a significant opportunity to provide an integrated virtual desktop environment for CAD modelling to customers in the region.

“This hasn’t really been happening in the region because of concerns around security, scalability, and dependability and with hybrid work environments and the outbreak of the pandemic, things have been far more complicated than they need to be and can definitely be simplified going forward.

“Our partnership with IMSCAD will act as a value-add complimentary solution for our current Autodesk partners and customers who are looking to expand their reach, their mindset, their businesses, and how they work and deal with virtual situations in today’s world.

“The partnership with IMSCAD is a win-win because they bring us the technology and the know-how, and we bring them the channel ecosystem, and our experience in the region. We know the region well and have experience of working with partners and customers and they know the technology well. So, I think we complement each other well,” she added.

SHOWCASING THE TECHNOLOGY Discussing how Omnix and IMSCAD will address the local market, Bagga states: “The big focus for us is on getting partners to be comfortable selling this technology because everybody wants to sell what’s in their comfort zone, and today these solutions are outside that zone. What we’re trying to do here is have a dedicated in-house commercial resource whose job is to pitch the IMSDCAD solutions to our existing channel ecosystem because we have a very healthy channel ecosystem, given the fact that we are a reputed value-added distributor.”

“Following that, we’re going to engage with the market with a number of activities including doing training webinars for our sales and technical partners and customers. We’ve defined a well-structured go to market strategy where we’re saying ‘hey, can we enable

Market focus

Simran Bragga says that Omnix International is looking to focus on the UAE and KSA as its key markets, followed by Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

Win-win partnership

The partnership with IMSCAD and Omnix will see both companies share their experiences and knowledge of the region. and recruit partners to think about this technology’. We’re also looking at how these partners can translate the experience they have to customers, so we’re keen to handpick a few of our partners to tell the story to their customers. We’re looking to put together a number of case studies in the next few months. There’s a lot of heavy lifting to do when it comes to showcasing technology like this.”

Jull added: “From our point of view, we’ve built our business in the US and Europe, and we do everything remotely – we remote consult, remote deploy and remote support. So, while we won’t be there in person if a customer wants to meet us, our teams in the UK manage all these companies and their requirements all over the world – we’ve done about 700 Autodesk customers in a virtual environment so far. It’s quite a specialist job and there are challenges, but we focus on it day in and day out – that’s our specialisation as a company. This is what we sell; we guide a customer and liaise with the customer on what’s best for them, and then go and deploy it.”

Asked about the profile of companies they’re keen to target and which sectors show the most promise, Jull remarked: “AEC firms are obviously key but we’re also looking into the manufacturing and oil and gas sectors. One of Omnix’s partners is focused on the oil and gas market and they’ve just signed up with us.”

Bagga concluded: “We’re looking to focus on the UAE and Saudi Arabia as our key markets, followed by Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

“There is no specific order of markets we want to focus on but we’ll go wherever we see opportunities to position and pitch these solutions. Saudi Arabia is definitely on our cards to visit and make a strong pitch for because of the amount of development happening in the country at the moment - technology such as this will help firms achieve their goals.” This article originally appeared on MEConstructionNews.com

Construction to see Growth in 2023

MIDDLE EAST Ibrahim Imam, co-founder, Group-co-CEO MENA and APAC at PlanRadar, exclusively shares his insights on the GCC construction sector for 2023 with Big Project ME

The construction industry has always been a cornerstone of the GCC region’s economy and will continue to be a main pillar for years to come. The GCC is expected to see construction activity rebound in 2023 with an expected growth of 3.5% to 4%, which is an impressive number.

The region is poised for significant growth with investments in transportation, renewable energy, residential real estate, and tourism.

The sector has a large pipeline of projects spanning across the region including urban development in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Etihad Railways in the UAE and Saudi Arabia's new megacity NEOM.

The construction sector in the GCC countries is positioned for growth but it's not without challenges. Industry players must remain vigilant and proactive to ensure that this opportunity reaches its full potential.

As the construction industry continues to evolve, it will face numerous challenges over the coming year. These may include changes in safety regulations, rising material costs and an increased demand for accelerated projects that require highly skilled personnel.

THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN AND LABOUR SHORTAGES Supply chains are set to be one of the greatest challenges for contractors in 2023. As more countries struggle with supply and labour shortages, projects become more difficult to complete on time and on budget.

To make matters worse, shifting demand from customers keeps supply chains in a constant state of flux. With the increase in global competition, companies must be agile and adaptive

to meet their supply needs if they want to remain competitive.

Despite these challenges, there are many opportunities for contractors to adjust their supply chains for success. By building resilient supply networks and using technology to optimise workflows, construction companies can weather the supply chain storm and stay ahead of the competition.

FURTHER COVID‑19 OUTBREAKS With further COVID-19 outbreaks and a global economy that continues to suffer, the ability of developers and contractors to work productively and without disruption will be highly contested.

Although the peak of the pandemic seems to be over in most parts of the world, recent years have shown that it is difficult to make predictions about future developments. Further regional outbreaks of the virus could continue to lead to difficult workforce planning and delays in the construction phase.

THE RISING COST OF BUILDING MATERIALS The rising cost of building materials is one of the most prominent challenges that contractors, owners and developers must be mindful of. Construction projects have been hit hard by a scarcity of materials, leading to prolonged completion times and increased costs for those involved and has significantly influenced housing prices.

The construction industry needs to embrace innovative ways to mitigate the effects of increasing costs like targeting sustainable practices that not only help to reduce building material costs but also energy consumption over time.

KEY TRENDS IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR IN 2023 The construction sector in the GCC region is expected to become increasingly advanced in 2023. In addition to advancements in technology and digitalisation, there will also be a strong focus on green building practices and sustainability.

DIGITISATION The construction industry in the GCC region is set to drastically benefit from thus improve efficiency in their projects.

Through the automated evaluation of images taken on construction sites, artificial intelligence can also be used to identify safety deficiencies or to assist in the monitoring of machinery and equipment. This not only reduces the risk of maintenance-related outages or construction stops, but also increases the safety of employees and helps to comply with legal requirements.

AI implementation in the regional construction sector is set to become even more widespread over the next few years in both private and public organisations. For many companies, however, the selection of the right tools and the implementation itself remains the biggest challenge. If companies manage to implement this technology into their processes at an early stage, they will continue to benefit from significant competitive advantages in the coming years.

STRONG FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION With GCC countries actively pushing for green building and looking to invest in new sustainable construction projects, a great opportunity has arisen for businesses across the region to capitalise on this trend.

Sustainable construction adoption can potentially bring down costs while maintaining higher standards of quality. Adopting sustainable solutions such as improved insulation or eco-friendly materials provide an opportunity for more reliable, comfortable, and low-cost living spaces.

Sustainable construction will be utilizing innovative methods to meet environmental regulations while also providing high quality investment opportunities. Sustainable construction is clearly on its way to becoming a prominent trend throughout the GCC during 2023.

Despite present market challenges, the construction industry in GCC is forecasted to experience growth in 2023. To capitalize on these potential opportunities for expansion, it's essential that businesses become aware of key trends and obstacles facing the sector. A strategic approach can help maximise long-term prospects for success.

digitalisation by 2023. Construction digitisation refers to a range of technology-enabled processes such as remote monitoring, predictive analytics, cloud computing and others which are meant to improve the efficiency and cost management of construction projects.

These technologies help to make construction processes more precise, complete projects faster, enable more streamlined communication among stakeholders, eliminate paperwork and reduce cost overruns on projects.

To make the most out of such remarkable potential offered by digitisation in this sector, we need to see an increase in collaboration between technologydriven companies and traditional construction firms – an approach that could have a transformative effect on the entire GCC’s construction industry.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING Artificial intelligence and machine learning are predicted to play a bigger role in the construction sector in the GCC region by 2023. With the help of AI, large amounts of project data can be processed faster and in an automated way. AIs can identify recurring patterns that are subsequently used for datadriven predictions that help project managers make informed decisions and

Key focus

Digitalisation and sustainability will be in focus for the GCC construction sector in 2023, Ibrahim Imam said.

Increase collaboration

In order to make the most out of the potential offered by digitisation, there needs to be an increase in collaboration.