Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 56 | Page 10

NEWS Finastra research reveals strong interest in Open Banking among UAE banks Moro Hub launches Unified Communication Cloud Service powered by Avaya Mohammad Bin Sulaiman, CEO of Moro Hub Finastra research reveals that nearly nine out of ten (88%) financial institutions in the UAE plan to enable Open Banking in the next 12 months. The demand from UAE banks for further collaboration is driven by innovation in customer service and the customer experience. However, the main factors challenging greater industry collaboration in the region, according to those surveyed, include potential reduced control indecision-making (48%), complex regulation (47%) and legacy systems (46%). The findings are revealed in Finastra’s Open Banking and Collaboration: State of the nation survey 2020, which was conducted before the Coronavirus outbreak among 774 financial institutions across the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, France, Germany, Hong Kong and the UAE. More than 100 responses were gathered from financial institutions in the UAE. Wissam Khoury, SVP and General Manager MEA and APAC at Finastra, said: “It is encouraging to find strong levels of support for the principles of industry collaboration and Open Banking within the UAE banking community. The biggest benefit for the masses is that Open Banking changes how banks handle customers’ financial information, putting control back in the hands of the customer.” Moro Hub (Data Hub Integrated Solutions owned by DEWA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has launched Moro Connect, a disruptive offering that provides Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) and Contact Centre-as-a-Service (CCaaS) for businesses across the UAE. Moro Connect is built on technology powered by Avaya, a global leader in business communications software, systems and services. As enterprises race towards business transformation, organisations in the UAE are proactively seeking ways to address the challenges brought on by increased digitisation. Businesses today are progressively relying on advanced technologies and trends such as video, mobile, social media and more, to emerge successfully in increasingly competitive markets. The collaboration between Avaya and Moro Hub will enable businesses in the UAE to deliver services to their customers faster at significantly reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), with better return on investments (ROI). Mohammed Bin Sulaiman, Moro Hub’s CEO, said: “Businesses in the UAE are increasingly adopting ICT in their daily operations to boost their productivity, growth and to accelerate Digital Transformation. At Moro Hub, we recognise the importance of embracing technology to power innovation to devise new products, services and processes. Through our partnership with Avaya, Moro Hub will be introducing groundbreaking unified communication solutions in the UAE.” 10 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com