Love for tech is millennia-old

We're a smug lot these days tapping away on our tablets, texting our closest friends and video chatting with friends and family half way around the globe. Yes, in the UAE where there are more than 12 million mobile phones, one might falsely assume that the residents of today are vastly superior with their latest technological marvels. The truth is that ancient Emiratis, tens of thousands of years ago, were also technologically savvy in their own way by way of primitive tools — technology of the day — to get through life's trials, save the fact that a stone hammer didn't need to be recharged overnight. According to the Zayed National Museum, capitalising on the latest technology is nothing new for a country that is only now formally marking its 40th anniversary in December as a progressive federation of seven emirates. "The land that makes up the modern UAE has a long history of human settlement," espouses the museum on its website. "Home to Stone Age peoples 200,000 years ago, the region eventually saw, around 5,000 BC, the emergence of maritime trade with Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq) and later with India and Pakistan. Also, Emirati sailors reached China 2,000 years ago." The mastery of sailing technology by Emiratis on ancient dhows allowed a culture to plumb the Gulf depths for valuable pearls that were exported worldwide. A talent for technology helped early Emiratis weave intricate nets that, once cast over the aquamarine reaches of the glimmering Gulf, provided a bounty of seafood delicacies that fed an aspiring nation long before it would unite under one flag. With the same zeal to learn new maritime technologies, Emiratis also embraced higher technology in the early days leading up to the newly unified UAE taking its first steps in December 1971. Early computers It's generally acknowledged that IBM or Big Blue was the first company to bring computers to the Middle East so it was no accident that IBM was among the first to roll out high technology in the UAE. Amr Refaat, country general manager IBM Middle East, said that according to its records, "IBM's first computers in the UAE were installed in 1970 in the oil and gas industry. "The first computers were model 1401, famous for their use of punch cards. They were used for offshore pipe-laying projects." When the UAE was formed in December 1971, IBM was there. "We have been working with the government of the UAE from the very beginning," Refaat said. From oil and gas, computers quickly spread to other sectors as the young country worked overtime to lay the foundations for the future. "The first users of IBM technology in the UAE were the banking and petrochemical sectors which were quickly followed by government, defence and airline sectors after a few years," said Refaat. "Also the commercial sector used IBM technology, especially the point of sales and retail technology." Decades on as a world of competing computer and tech companies moved into a market pioneered by IBM, Big Blue was still making its mark on UAE culture. "IBM's involvement with the different sectors of the UAE economy from the early days has helped accelerate the development process and automation," said Refaat. "IBM's contribution to the progress of the UAE can be seen and felt in almost all aspects of life." Today, IBM is reaching out to a new generation of Emiratis and expat children who are embracing new technology at a greater pace than ever. Big Blue has embarked on countless e-learning projects at Dubai schools and campus infrastructure at Dubai Women's College and Dubai Men's College to mobile computing at a number of other universities across the country, he said. Investing in tomorrow Government authorities in the UAE, meanwhile, are investing Dh80 million this year in education and start-up funding to bolster information and communications technology (ICT) in the country. The money is being distributed through the UAE's ICT Fund, a body forged in 2005 by the Tele-communications Regulatory Authority (TRA) to help professionals get a competitive edge in the industry. Dr Eisa Bastaki, CEO of the ICT Fund, said in June that Dh22 million will be spent on research and development this year while a further Dh58 million will be spent on 100 domestic scholarships and another 100 scholarships abroad. Bastaki told Gulf News that the "main idea behind it is to fund and create an ICT ecosystem in the country … through incubation and start-ups." But nurturing the ICT sector at formative levels, Bastaki said that "ideas from research [and scholarships] could become products for start-ups." Bastaki estimated that global tech industry was valued in 2010 at $1.5 trillion, a sum that will double in the next five years. WORLD WITHOUT CASH Trade has long been the bedrock of the United Arab Emirates. But few ancient men of mercantile could ever imagine surrendering their valuable pearls or copper culled from the UAE's shores and mountains without first seeing cash in the hands of their trading partners. Enter the new cashless e-payment system by etisalat to be rolled out in December to mark the UAE's 40th anniversary. Thanks to new near field communications (NFC) and powered initially by the BlackBerry Bold 9900, the new etisalat NFC rollout will allow consumers to simply tap their phones at retail points of sale across the country and instantly pay for items. Once users place a new NFC-enabled SIM card in their smartphone, their handheld devices will become an electronic wallet. Common UAE brands such as Costa Coffee, Burger King and Seattle's Best Coffee have confirmed early partnerships.