Middle East Perspectives
Observations and insights on topical issues within the sectors we work in, written by experts at Serco Middle East.
It is a blank canvas utilising the best of international experience and the best of technology to bring tangible changes and accelerate the objectives of Vision 2030.
Knowledge transfer is key to accelerating Saudi’s Nationalisation Agenda. Through Vision 2030, the Kingdom will gradually reduce the reliance on international contractors by fostering the skills, capabilities, experiences and qualified personnel within its own populace.
One such industry that remains in the midst of this phase is fire and rescue services; a critical element of ensuring the safety of the population.
The new normal opens up a wide range of opportunities for innovation as we now face a market that we have not faced before – one resurfacing from a year of pandemic.
Optimisation is the word on everyone’s lips this year; whether it is to save costs or improve efficiency, businesses should look at these three areas – workforce, asset management and data.
Embracing the Future of Advanced Air Mobility: Opportunities and Challenges
The advent of advanced air mobility (AAM) is set to revolutionise the transportation of passengers and goods...Read article
The Importance of Green Spaces for the Future of Liveable Cities
As urbanisation continues to accelerate globally, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is increasingly critical to ensure that cities remain healthy, pleasant, and sustainable places for citizens, residents, and tourists.Read article
Why prevention of land degradation needs a more cohesive environmental measurement framework
This year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is hosting World Environment Day with a focus on accelerating land restoration, drought resilience & desertification progress.Read article
Gear up for more eco-friendly travel: A 10-point path to a successful micro-mobility scheme.
Any organisation or partner supporting the ambitious Vision 2030 of the Saudi Government, especially through operations in the nation's giga cities such as Neom, AlUla and Red Sea Global, must carefully balance the need for infrastructural progression with wider sustainability goals from the project’s inceptionRead article
Leveraging advisory services to drive innovation and digital transformation in government initiatives
In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, governments across the UAE and KSA are recognising that citizen happiness is a crucial metric for measuring success.Read article
Strengthening Saudi Emergency Response - A New Framework for Fire and Rescue Services
As The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues its remarkable growth, the evolution and scaling of emergency response strategies, particularly within the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS), must become more assertive.Read article
Designing the future – integrating climate resilience into occupational health & safety
The recent storms in Dubai have made us all too aware our fragility to mother nature.
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2024: A New Definition for Success
Phil Malem shares his 2024 predictions for shaping regional success, foreseeing a rise in demand for sustainability services and proactive steps to realise government visions, propelling the region towards a sustainable future.Read article
The Benefits of Having Fire and Rescue Service Training Solutions at Regional Airports
Serco has established and managed Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) training operations across the Middle East since 2020. As providers to the private sector and regional governments, Serco is responsible for FRS Training for multiple international and regional airports in the Middle East.Read article
How the public sector can support the Kingdom's ambitious goals
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands on the precipice of a historic transformation as it sets its sights on becoming a global tourism destination.
With a bold goal of attracting 100 million visitors annually by 2030, Saudi Arabia's tourism ambitions are nothing short of ground-breaking and they have good reason to believe these numbers are possible.
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Saudi residents show support for green ambitions as part of Vision 2030 plans
85% of Saudi residents believe move towards a green economy is important for the Kingdom. Research highlights overwhelming public support for green transition as part of diversifying away from oil revenues
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Why and How Private and Public Sector Should Be Skyrocketing Nationals into Space Careers
In recent years, there has been a clear focus on the development of the space sector in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The increasing interest between life on Earth and space makes it crucial for the space sector to succeed across the region.
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Generative AI – A brilliant trap?
As AI rapidly advances, we find ourselves relying on it for an array of tasks, from generating written content to creating images and videos. While this technology undoubtedly enhances productivity, there's a growing concern that we may be sacrificing the process of genuine learning and critical thinking.Read article
Leading the Charge: The Vital Role of the Private Sector in Achieving Net Zero and ESG Objectives in the Middle East
It is now five months until COP28 is hosted in the UAE. As a global community we want the public and private sector to be focused on The Paris Agreement’s central aim of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change.Read article
Public support for a pivot to tourism:
Research from Serco Institute confirms Saudi residents believe hospitality and tourism is the route to success for the KingdomRead article
Public opinion supports the pace of change in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – Serco Institute research confirms
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Setting up a Mobility Service for Success in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
As Serco is awarded the mobility services contract for Red Sea Global, Serco Middle East’s Operations Director for Transport Samantha Rowles and Director of ExperienceLab and Innovation Rena Baba explain the critical elements required to ensure successful operations and a world-class customer experience.Read article
2023 Predictions
We see the continued shift towards outsourcing being a major priority for governments and entities across the region...Read article
Transforming customer experience in Airports
We can see that the airport sector in particular, has embraced a whole new set of values and approach to customer experience, which many leading airports across the world are now embracing as they look to reshape and enhance the experience for air travellers
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Why take the risk? Privatise your fire and rescue services
Organisations should not be willing to take a considerable risk by in-sourcing a critical service like fire and rescue. Learn more about the benefits of outsourcing this service…
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The visitor experience to Saudi starts with the transport sector – is it ready?
It’s clear to see how the Kingdom plans to attract people to live, work and visit but the focus should not only be on the experience of travelling around the latest giga city, exploring the sites, working in a futuristic master development, attending a top entertainment event.Read article
2030 and beyond
Since Vision 2030 was unveiled around 6 years ago, the Kingdom has achieved many noteworthy milestones to support its economic diversification objectives and build a flourishing future for the people of Saudi Arabia.Read article
TL Human-Tech collaboration: Higher quality services at lower cost
Many public and private-sector companies still rely on contact centres as the primary method of communication between businesses and customers.Read article
How Saudi has the opportunity to use data like never before
According to reports by DataReportal, there were 33.58 million internet users in Saudi Arabia in January 2021, showcasing an increase of 1.3 million people between 2020 and 2021.Read article
The Next 50
2021 marks the 50th year since all seven emirates came together, forming a strong union, with ambition and forward thinking to create and secure a better future for generations to come.Read article
It is a blank canvas utilising the best of international experience and the best of technology to bring tangible changes and accelerate the objectives of Vision 2030.
How important is facilities management to customer experience?
We all started caring about seeing these services in action. They made us feel safe. And if we never spent much time thinking about them before, we’re more likely than ever to notice if they are not there.Read article
Laying the foundations for the future: the path to tomorrow
The past year has highlighted the huge strides that our country has made when it comes to future proofing our economy as we accelerate out of the pandemic.Read article
Transforming customer experience in the transport sector
With the number of commuters and travellers increasing, delivering a fantastic customer service where people feel safe and comfortable is paramount.Read article
Emiratisation isn’t just a tick box exercise
Nationalisation is a key activity that all businesses in the UAE need to dive into, in order to give back to the country that has provided so many opportunities.Read article
Digitisation is the key to citizen happiness
Today, almost every business has its own route directly to their customer at any time of the day via their phones.
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Customer experience considerations when implementing new tech solutions
In a matter of a few short months, COVID-19 brought the term “social distancing” to the forefront of everyone’s mind and has resulted in a dramatic shift to remote and digital experiences with a sense of urgency to roll out innovative solutions and deal with the crisis for the long term.Read article
Knowledge transfer is key to accelerating Saudi’s Nationalisation Agenda. Through Vision 2030, the Kingdom will gradually reduce the reliance on international contractors by fostering the skills, capabilities, experiences and qualified personnel within its own populace.
How asset management supports privatisation across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Privatisation demands a broad range of activities to be completed in order to ensure that operations of these entities are profitable, making them attractive to foreign investors and driving growth.Read article
Is there something in the data?
We live, work and operate in an increasingly data driven world. With recent advances in new educational degrees such as computer science, improvements in regulatory policies and international standards and the commoditisation of raw computer power, technology is disrupting established ways of delivering and doing business.
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Fire and rescue services are more complicated than you think
The acceleration of construction and technology in the Middle East often means that certain industries are playing a continual game of ‘catch up’ in order to meet the requirements of rapidly constructed mega-cities.
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Three Areas to Consider to Optimise Your Business
Productivity now, more than ever, is absolutely vital in looking for ways to remove wastage from the business and to get it operating in the most efficient and effective way possible.
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Supporting and accelerating the careers of Saudi nationals is a key part of our post-COVID-19 strategy
The CEO of international public services company, Serco Middle East, has outlined the vision for the business in the Middle East post the pandemic.Read article
We don’t need to fix women, we need to fix workplaces
There is a big misperception that to succeed in business, women need fixing. The common belief that women need to be mentored to have more confidence, more drive and greater leadership skills to fit into the mold of what ‘good’ looks like; is outdated at best.Read article
Three areas to consider to optimise your business in the Kingdom
Optimisation is the word on everyone’s lips this year; whether it is to save costs or improve efficiency, businesses should look at these three areas – workforce, asset management and data...
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One such industry that remains in the midst of this phase is fire and rescue services; a critical element of ensuring the safety of the population.
Navigating the road ahead: Why outsourcing public services has never been more important
As regional governments adapt to the new economic realities of emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, outsourcing public sector services has never been so relevant.Read article
Challenge your potential providers not only to offer a low cost service, but one enriched with value for money
It’s taken longer than anticipated, but the momentum of the vaccination programmes mean that the COVID-19 pandemic could finally become under control. After a turbulent year that has impacted international markets throughout all sectors, and even risks the end of certain industries we’ve known and loved, a phased return to normality could soon be under way.
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Saudi Arabia’s Opportunity to Lead the World in Customer Experience
A great customer experience breeds loyalty and overall it boosts happiness and a sense of positive wellbeing.Read article
2021: The year of innovation, data and collaboration
In a post Covid-19 era, service excellence in all sectors and putting end-users first to improve experiences will be front and centre for the UAE. More and more governments will turn to outsourcing in 2021 in the wake of the pandemic, to give more flexibility, increase cost savings and to increase efficiency, thus enabling governments and entities to focus on their main areas of specialism and the tasks at hand.
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Why operators make the best ‘delivery consultants’ in a post-COVID world
When looking for impactful and efficient change, you might consider seeking out the services of a consultant to ensure you hit the goals you’ve set for yourself.Read article
The future of passenger experience: Research findings and key considerations
2020 turned the transport sector on its head. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities across the world have enforced restrictions on public transport in order to limit transmission of the virus and ensure public safety.Read article
How COVID-19 has been the catalyst for robotics and automation
As countries begin to kick-start their economies, technology will play a powerful role in every single facet. We see this already in the way that governments are looking to make financial efficiencies, but still accelerate out of the pandemic so that they are continuing to deliver world-class experiences for citizens.Read article
Why Digitisation of Healthcare is Empowering Better Decision-Making
Now more than ever, there is an opportunity to reinvent the healthcare system in the Middle East. In the past, the focus was centred around the physical hospital infrastructure, but now the changing healthcare systems in countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE has shown...Read article
5 Reasons User Experience Design is Revolutionising Services Around the World
UX-led design demands that before investing in a project, organisations take time to understand the current reality of those experiencing the existing services, either as a service provider or service-user.
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Knowledge transfer key to accelerating Saudi’s Nationalisation Agenda
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is evolving rapidly. Not only is it seeing dramatic growth in the realms of industry and throughout its economy, but also socially...Read article
Understanding COVID-19’s Impact on the Transport Industry
No longer can we freely move people across cities, countries and continents due to the travel restrictions put in place to combat the virus.Read article
The new normal opens up a wide range of opportunities for innovation as we now face a market that we have not faced before – one resurfacing from a year of pandemic.
Key experience considerations when planning master developments, giga projects and cities
When it comes to developing cities, there are always customer related factors to consider, from understanding your target customers to uncovering their needs and priorities, allowing them to share feedback and making sure you’re delivering what actually works for them.Read article
The UAE tourist experience in a Post-COVID-19 World
Travel and tourism is a key pillar of the UAE economy.Read article
Optimisation is the word on everyone’s lips this year; whether it is to save costs or improve efficiency, businesses should look at these three areas – workforce, asset management and data.
How outsourcing can help save the transport sector
The world as we know it has changed. Gone are the days when travel was as simple as jumping on a plane; now we are living in an entirely different world...Read article
Equipping Nationals with the Skills of Tomorrow
As the world emerges from lockdown, businesses, governments and citizens will have to adapt to changes in the way we work, live and play.Read article
Leveraging the voice of the patient
It is vital that every patient-facing touch point is seen as an opportunity for organisations to deliver world-class care, with an empathy and understanding that puts the patient front and centre.
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Adapting to the new norm - How businesses will reinvent themselves in the wake of COVID-19
Many of us around the globe are now quarantined or self-isolating. Whilst this has led to a drop in daily travel and physical service interactions, it has led to a corresponding boom in online deliveries and the use of digital communications and home entertainment.Read article