years: 2026

Dubai, UAE, 22 May 2026: Whitewill, the international luxury real estate agency for developers and partners operating across the UK, USA, and UAE markets, has published its latest Dubai Real Estate Market Overview, offering insights into off-plan and secondary residential sales trends for Q1 2026. Based on transaction analysis conducted by Whitewill from January to March 2026, the report shows that Dubai recorded 44.4K real estate transactions with a combined value of AED 139.2 billion. The findings point to a market that continues to expand in value, supported by steady buyer activity, resilient pricing, and demand across both emerging and established communities.

Olga Pankina, Chief Operations Officer at Whitewill Dubai, said, “Dubai has built one of the world’s most resilient and internationally attractive real estate sectors, supported by strong regulation, long-term infrastructure planning, and a lifestyle proposition that continues to appeal to global buyers. At Whitewill, we are seeing demand across multiple buyer groups, from investors and end-users to ultra-high-net-worth individuals seeking prime waterfront, branded, and lifestyle-led assets. This balance keeps Dubai competitive as both a global investment hub and a place people increasingly choose to call home.”

Q1 2026 market performance 

A year-on-year comparison shows that Dubai’s real estate market expanded in both transaction volume and total value in Q1 2026, with value growth moving at a stronger pace than deal activity. Compared with Q1 2025, the market showed higher overall liquidity, stronger pricing, and a larger contribution from new developments. While mid-market communities drove transaction volume, Dubai’s premium districts continued to reinforce the city’s appeal among high-net-worth buyers. Overall, Q1 2026 reflects a market that is more value-driven, more selective, and increasingly shaped by buyers looking for quality assets, infrastructure, and long-term growth potential.

Top-performing areas in Dubai

Dubai South, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Residence Complex, Dubai Islands, Business Bay, Dubai Marina, and Majan remained among the active apartment locations across the quarter. Dubai South stood out in the off-plan apartment segment, supported by its proximity to Al Maktoum International Airport, expanding infrastructure, schools, retail destinations, and public spaces. DAMAC Islands 2, The Valley, The Oasis, The Heights Country Club, Dubai South, and DAMAC Hills 2 were among the most active communities for villa and townhouse. DAMAC Islands 2 led off-plan housing demand, while The Oasis and The Heights Country Club remained important districts in the secondary market.

Off-plan vs secondary market 

Off-plan remained the main growth driver in Q1 2026, rising from 25K transactions worth AED 53.9 billion in Q1 2025 to 30K transactions worth AED 73.4 billion in Q1 2026. This reflects continued confidence in new developments, especially in emerging districts offering infrastructure growth, accessible entry prices, and large master-planned communities. The secondary market recorded fewer transactions than the previous year, but its total value increased from AED 60.2 billion to AED 65.8 billion, showing that ready properties continue to hold strong demand in established locations. They remain attractive for buyers seeking liquidity, immediate occupancy, rental income, and completed infrastructure. This shows a market where off-plan is leading volume, while secondary properties continue to demonstrate value resilience.

Villas vs apartments

Apartments continued to drive transaction volumes, especially compact formats with accessible price points. One-bedroom apartments remained the most popular format across Q1, while studios and two-bedroom units also attracted steady demand. Off-plan apartments were most commonly purchased in the AED 1 million to 1.5 million range, showing strong investor appetite for liquid, mid-market assets. In the villa and townhouse segment, demand was led by family-sized homes. Four-bedroom villas and townhouses were consistently popular in the off-plan segment, while three- and four-bedroom homes remained strong in the secondary market. Villas and townhouses priced between AED 2 million and AED 5 million attracted the strongest demand, reflecting buyer preference for space and community infrastructure. Demand for luxury real estate in Q1 2026 was focused on Jumeirah Bay Island, Jumeirah, Palm Jumeirah, World Islands, La Mer, and JBR, supported by exclusivity, resort-style living, luxury hotels, and more.

Trends to watch

Several trends are expected to shape buyer activity in the coming months. Buyers are becoming more selective as they compare price, project quality, infrastructure, developer reputation, and long-term growth potential. Mid-market and accessible price points continue to drive transaction volume across both apartments and family homes. Emerging districts are leading transaction activity, while prime waterfront and luxury districts continue to set high price-per-square-foot benchmarks. The market is increasingly split between volume-led demand in developing communities and premium value growth in established and luxury locations.

May 22, 2026 — Alteryx, Inc., an AI-ready data and analytics company, today released its “2026 State of Data Analysts in the Age of AI” report, revealing that while AI is becoming central to business decision-making, human oversight remains critical to ensuring AI-generated outcomes are trusted and actionable. The research found that analysts spend nearly four hours per week validating and correcting AI-generated outputs, while poor data quality and governance continue to undermine AI and analytics initiatives. The findings also show that AI works best when the people closest to the business stay involved, with 65% of analysts saying AI and agent-based systems are most productive when the logic is managed at the business level. As organizations accelerate toward more agentic AI systems, the need for trusted data, governed logic and workflows, and human oversight continues to grow.

Key Findings at a Glance:  

• 96% of data analysts are actively using AI tools in their roles
• 47% of failed AI and analytics projects are attributed to poor data quality or governance
• 65% of analysts say AI and agent-based systems are most productive when the logic is managed at the business level
• Data analysts spend an average of 5.7 hours per week preparing and cleaning data, and an additional 3.7 hours per week checking and correcting AI outputs
• Only 3% prefer fully autonomous AI without routine human involvement, while 46% favor a human-in-the-loop approach

The findings point to a broader shift in how organizations are operationalizing AI. As businesses move from experimentation to deploying AI in core workflows and decision-making, trust increasingly depends on more than model performance alone. Analysts and operations teams play a critical role because they maintain business logic, governance standards, and operational context that help AI systems produce reliable and actionable outcomes.

Human Oversight Still Remains Central in the Age of Agentic AI 

As AI becomes a bigger part of an analyst’s day-to-day work, the impact goes beyond simple productivity gains. Businesses are quickly adopting more advanced AI capabilities, like agentic AI, but, on the contrary, analysts are now spending more time reviewing, validating, and guiding AI-generated work. Over half (59%) expect to use AI agents to generate insights within the next year, and many are already using them to draft communications (59%) and manage workflows (54%).

Even as AI takes on a larger role in data-to-insight workflows, analysts remain closely involved because they are ultimately accountable for the quality, accuracy, and reliability of the outcomes. Nearly half (46%) prefer a human-in-the-loop approach where AI systems require human approval before taking action, while only 3% are comfortable with fully autonomous AI. The findings suggest that as AI becomes more embedded in business processes, trust, oversight, and human judgment remain essential to ensuring outputs are accurate, explainable, and aligned with business needs.

“AI is already influencing how businesses make decisions every day, but our research highlights a reality many organizations are now confronting: trust matters just as much as speed,” said Andy MacMillan, CEO at Alteryx. “The people closest to the business play a critical role because they understand the logic, rules, and operational context behind decisions, whether that’s pricing models, compliance requirements, or operational thresholds, and that business logic is constantly evolving. AI can accelerate work, but organizations still need governed workflows and human oversight to ensure outcomes are visible, understandable, repeatable, and auditable across the organization.”

Data Challenges Continue to Limit AI Success 

Behind every successful AI initiative is a strong data foundation, and many organizations are still struggling to get there. Even as AI adoption grows, ongoing issues with data quality, access, and governance continue to slow progress and limit AI effectiveness. Analysts say either poor data quality or governance is responsible for nearly half (47%) of failed AI and analytics projects, making it the biggest barrier to AI success.

Most (79%) analysts believe their data is ready for AI at scale, yet the day-to-day reality looks much different. Analysts still spend an average of nearly 6 hours each week preparing and cleaning data, plus nearly another 4 hours reviewing and correcting AI-generated outputs, checking for issues such as incorrect calculations, inconsistent metrics, or responses that don’t align with company policies and definitions. Governance concerns are also rising, with access control and data exposure (42%) ranking as the top issue, followed closely by regulatory compliance (41%). These findings show that as companies push AI deeper into business operations, the people closest to the business increasingly need to provide the context AI relies on, including not just clean data, but also the business logic, workflows, policies, and governance that shape how decisions are made and acted on.

AI Becomes Core to Business Decision-Making 

AI is quickly becoming part of everyday business decision-making. Nearly all analysts surveyed (96%) say they use AI tools in their work every day, and organizations are already seeing the impact. Among IT leaders, 85% report noticeable gains in employee productivity, while 79% say AI is helping teams make decisions faster.

As AI adoption grows, AI-generated insights are carrying more weight across the business. Half (50%) of analysts and 62% of IT leaders say that most or almost all business-critical decisions are now influenced by AI insights.

But generating insights faster doesn’t always make decisions easier. The biggest challenge organizations face is helping business leaders understand and trust AI-generated outputs, with 43% saying interpreting and explaining AI insights remains a key barrier. At the same time, companies continue embedding AI into core technologies like cloud data warehouses (40%) and business intelligence tools (39%), making AI an increasingly central part of how businesses operate.

The Evolving Role of the Data Analyst

Analysts increasingly see AI as a collaborator that changes how work gets done, not a replacement for human expertise. In fact, 82% say automation is making them more effective by helping them work faster and focus on higher-value tasks.

As AI becomes more embedded in everyday operations, the role of the analyst is evolving from producing insights to guiding how AI systems operate. Over the next five years, 40% believe changing skill requirements will have the biggest impact on their responsibilities, while 36% point to the growing importance of real-time analytics. The findings suggest that analysts and operational teams will play an increasingly important role in defining, validating, and evolving the business logic AI systems rely on to deliver trusted, repeatable outcomes. This includes the rules, calculations, and operational processes that determine how the business actually runs, whether it’s updating tax rules in different countries, changing sales commission structures, adjusting supply chain thresholds, or applying compliance and pricing policies as conditions evolve.

Raising capital is never just about convincing investors that an idea is interesting but proving that it can survive pressure, attract a defined audience, and grow with discipline. The region’s startup ecosystem is maturing, with early 2026 data showing funding activity remaining steady, with $327 million deployed in February alone across 62 deals, reflecting strong investor appetite but also intense competition. For niche companies, capital is available, but it goes to businesses that can prove commercially valuable demand in their category.

MAXION, a UAE-based platform empowering social connections, puts together five fundraising tips for niche businesses preparing to attract investor backing.

Start with proof, not pitch

Investors are naturally careful with niche ideas because they are harder to size, explain, and compare. Founders should prove demand through users, applications, retention, revenue, or repeat behaviour, while clearly defining the underserved market they are building for. They also need to show why customer behaviour, market gaps, or timing make the opportunity commercially urgent.

Defensibility is just as important. In a market where an app can be built quickly, investors need to understand what cannot be easily replicated, whether that is founder expertise, proprietary data, community trust, or a product model shaped by years of real customer behaviour. MAXION’s moat comes from its “cupid in the loop” approach, shaped by the founder’s nearly decade-long experience matchmaking the world’s top 1% and translating those learnings into a tech platform for a wider audience.

Educate the market on your niche

Niche businesses often need to help investors understand the category before they can evaluate the company. Founders should explain the problem why existing solutions fall short, and how the business creates a different measure of value. A strong fundraising story explains where the company overlaps with existing players, where it performs differently, and where it has the potential to outpace them. In a niche category, taste, trust, and execution can become as important as technology.

In social connection apps, for example, the market cannot be understood only through likes or matches. Stronger indicators may include in-person dates, event attendance, quality of introductions, and connections that develop into lasting relationships.

Build a strong community

In a crowded consumer market, attention is expensive. Investors want to see that customers are willing to apply, engage, attend, return, recommend, and stay. A clear path to customers should be built before the fundraising process begins. They also need to feel confident that founders know how to reach their audience and can break through the noise with a clear marketing strategy. For MAXION, this proof came from its matchmaking business, with a curated community of over 5,000 members, 32,000 on the waiting list, and $750K secured in early-stage funding.

Founders need to understand where their audience spends time, who influences them, how they communicate, and what makes them trust a new product. This may come through targeted events, private communities, member referrals, micro-influencers, or highly focused social campaigns.

Focus on outcomes, not features

A company cannot raise capital on a strong idea alone. For founders raising from venture capital, the business case should come before the mission. VCs need to see the scale of the opportunity, revenue logic, unit economics, and a credible path to significant returns. Storytelling may open the door, but numbers make the business investable.

Investors also want to understand what changes because the company exists. A strong business should create access, build trust, improve retention, or solve a problem people repeatedly face. The company must understand its audience, deliver consistently, and show that the team can execute with discipline. Early engagement, behavioural data, a prototype, or initial commercial indicators can make that case far stronger.

Choose the right investors

Not all capital supports the same kind of growth. Niche businesses need investors who understand industry, customer behaviour, and long-term value built through community. Fast capital can become expensive if it pushes the company in the wrong direction.

Founders should look beyond traditional angel and venture capital routes and consider strategic investors, grants, corporate partnerships, and ecosystem-backed programmes where relevant. For instance, in February 2026, UAE-based startups secured $162.8 million across 23 deals, nearly half of the region’s total funding that month. This funding momentum is reinforced by government-backed initiatives such as the National Agenda for Entrepreneurship, Future100, Hub71, accelerators, free zones, and startup incentives that improve access to capital, talent, partners, and new markets.

Dubai, UAE, 15 May 2026: Qashio, the MENA region’s leading spend management solution, has announced the launch of Qashio Corporate Travel, a new platform that allows employees to issue and use company cards while booking corporate flights and hotels in one place. By bringing employee cards, travel bookings, and all related expenses onto a single system, Qashio enables companies to fully consolidate travel spend, maintain policy compliance, and gain real-time visibility across every transaction. The product is now available to both existing and new Qashio customers.

Launched ahead of the upcoming Eid and summer travel season, Qashio Corporate Travel allows companies to manage business travel bookings within the same platform they already use for expenses, cards, and approvals. Finance teams can secure price-matched fares on flights and hotels, access exclusive corporate rates, and ensure that every booking is automatically categorised and supported by built-in reconciliation and receipt management. With business travel spending in MENA expected to grow 8.3% annually and reach $270 billion by 2030, travel remains one of the most frequent sources of employee-driven spend outside direct finance control. Qashio Corporate Travel is designed to close this gap by bringing the full travel spend cycle into one cashless, policy-led platform.

Armin Moradi, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Qashio, said, “Corporate travel has traditionally been fragmented, manual, and difficult to control. With Qashio Corporate Travel, we are bringing travel into the same financial framework as every other company expense. Finance teams gain real-time visibility, stronger controls, and up to three per cent rebates, while employees get a smoother booking experience. This launch reflects how businesses in the region are evolving alongside national cashless strategies and higher expectations for transparency and efficiency.”

Beyond booking, Qashio Corporate Travel provides full visibility across travel and non-travel spend in one dashboard, with real-time tracking and automated reconciliation. Companies can book trips within seconds from a global inventory of more than 200 airlines and 1.5 million hotels, use Qashio Cards or alternative payment methods, and earn Qashio Points on every booking. A dedicated post-sale support centre manages inventory after purchase, while future enhancements will introduce travel ancillaries and structured approval flows to further align travel with internal finance policies.

Qashio’s launch of Corporate Travel builds on its wider international expansion. The company recently opened its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, alongside existing offices in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. Today, Qashio serves thousands of enterprise and mid-market customers across the Middle East, the EU, and the UK, helping finance and operations teams reduce manual work, improve control, and unlock rewards from company spending. Strong demand across the Middle East, supported by expanding financial hubs and digital transformation agendas, has positioned Qashio as the most comprehensive international spend management platform to emerge from the region.

Qashio Corporate Travel is available immediately to all customers, with no usage fees. Businesses can now manage flights, hotels, and expenses in one place while supporting a fully cashless, policy-driven approach to corporate travel.

Dubai, UAE, 13 May 2026: Whitewill, the international luxury real estate agency for developers and partners operating across the UK, USA, and UAE markets, has published its latest Dubai Real Estate Market Overview, offering insights into off-plan and secondary residential sales trends for Q1 2026. Based on transaction analysis conducted by Whitewill from January to March 2026, the report shows that Dubai recorded 44.4K real estate transactions with a combined value of AED 139.2 billion. The findings point to a market that continues to expand in value, supported by steady buyer activity, resilient pricing, and demand across both emerging and established communities.

Olga Pankina, Chief Operations Officer at Whitewill Dubai, said, “Dubai has built one of the world’s most resilient and internationally attractive real estate sectors, supported by strong regulation, long-term infrastructure planning, and a lifestyle proposition that continues to appeal to global buyers. At Whitewill, we are seeing demand across multiple buyer groups, from investors and end-users to ultra-high-net-worth individuals seeking prime waterfront, branded, and lifestyle-led assets. This balance keeps Dubai competitive as both a global investment hub and a place people increasingly choose to call home.”

Q1 2026 market performance 

A year-on-year comparison shows that Dubai’s real estate market expanded in both transaction volume and total value in Q1 2026, with value growth moving at a stronger pace than deal activity. Compared with Q1 2025, the market showed higher overall liquidity, stronger pricing, and a larger contribution from new developments. While mid-market communities drove transaction volume, Dubai’s premium districts continued to reinforce the city’s appeal among high-net-worth buyers. Overall, Q1 2026 reflects a market that is more value-driven, more selective, and increasingly shaped by buyers looking for quality assets, infrastructure, and long-term growth potential.

Top-performing areas in Dubai

Dubai South, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Residence Complex, Dubai Islands, Business Bay, Dubai Marina, and Majan remained among the active apartment locations across the quarter. Dubai South stood out in the off-plan apartment segment, supported by its proximity to Al Maktoum International Airport, expanding infrastructure, schools, retail destinations, and public spaces. DAMAC Islands 2, The Valley, The Oasis, The Heights Country Club, Dubai South, and DAMAC Hills 2 were among the most active communities for villa and townhouse. DAMAC Islands 2 led off-plan housing demand, while The Oasis and The Heights Country Club remained important districts in the secondary market.

Off-plan vs secondary market 

Off-plan remained the main growth driver in Q1 2026, rising from 25K transactions worth AED 53.9 billion in Q1 2025 to 30K transactions worth AED 73.4 billion in Q1 2026. This reflects continued confidence in new developments, especially in emerging districts offering infrastructure growth, accessible entry prices, and large master-planned communities. The secondary market recorded fewer transactions than the previous year, but its total value increased from AED 60.2 billion to AED 65.8 billion, showing that ready properties continue to hold strong demand in established locations. They remain attractive for buyers seeking liquidity, immediate occupancy, rental income, and completed infrastructure. This shows a market where off-plan is leading volume, while secondary properties continue to demonstrate value resilience.

Villas vs apartments

Apartments continued to drive transaction volumes, especially compact formats with accessible price points. One-bedroom apartments remained the most popular format across Q1, while studios and two-bedroom units also attracted steady demand. Off-plan apartments were most commonly purchased in the AED 1 million to 1.5 million range, showing strong investor appetite for liquid, mid-market assets. In the villa and townhouse segment, demand was led by family-sized homes. Four-bedroom villas and townhouses were consistently popular in the off-plan segment, while three- and four-bedroom homes remained strong in the secondary market. Villas and townhouses priced between AED 2 million and AED 5 million attracted the strongest demand, reflecting buyer preference for space and community infrastructure. Demand for luxury real estate in Q1 2026 was focused on Jumeirah Bay Island, Jumeirah, Palm Jumeirah, World Islands, La Mer, and JBR, supported by exclusivity, resort-style living, luxury hotels, and more.

Trends to watch

Several trends are expected to shape buyer activity in the coming months. Buyers are becoming more selective as they compare price, project quality, infrastructure, developer reputation, and long-term growth potential. Mid-market and accessible price points continue to drive transaction volume across both apartments and family homes. Emerging districts are leading transaction activity, while prime waterfront and luxury districts continue to set high price-per-square-foot benchmarks. The market is increasingly split between volume-led demand in developing communities and premium value growth in established and luxury locations.

Dubai, UAE, 12 May 2026: Aethra Advisory, a global hiring strategy & mobility architecture practice, has launched in the UAE as the first independent advisory practice dedicated to helping organisations design their global hiring infrastructure. The business will support founders, HR leaders, scale-up operators, and strategic decision-makers across UAE companies expanding internationally and global businesses entering the UAE, and wider Middle East, helping them navigate cross-border hiring, employment models, mobility programs, and compliance risk in an increasingly global workforce environment.

Aethra Advisory enters the market at a time when more companies are hiring across borders before they have built the systems needed to support those decisions. Many organisations still select Employer of Record (EOR) platforms, vendors, visa routes, or employment structures based on speed, only discovering compliance gaps, cost leakage, or operational limitations months later. Aethra sits at the architecture stage, helping leaders make structural decisions before vendors and execution routes are selected. As the global cross-border workforce and migration solutions market is projected to reach $11.37 billion by 2033, growing at an annual rate of 11.8%, this advisory layer is becoming important for companies that need global workforce models built for scale rather than short-term hiring fixes.

The company works upstream of execution, helping companies define where to hire, how to hire, which infrastructure to use, and where risk may emerge. Its services include Global Hiring Blueprint, Mobility Program Design, and Founder Advisory, covering areas such as EOR versus entity decisions, country decision matrices, immigration pathway design, vendor ecosystem strategy, compliance architecture, mobility policies, and 12-month hiring roadmaps. The practice is self-funded, allowing Aethra to provide independent guidance on employee relocation and global mobility cases for UAE-based and international firms.

Sonam Haider, Founder and Global Mobility Strategist, Aethra Advisory, said: “Companies often treat global hiring as a vendor selection exercise, when the real issue is whether the structure can hold under scale. The UAE currently holds the highest hiring sentiment globally, with 56% of employers planning workforce expansion, but growth at this pace can expose weak EOR models, unclear worker classification, poor market entry choices, and fragmented mobility processes. The gaps usually only surface more than a year later. Aethra Advisory gives leaders an independent view before those decisions become difficult and expensive to reverse.”

The business is founded on more than a decade of operator-side experience across global mobility, consulting, in-house leadership, and global employment platforms. The founder has held roles at PwC, Fragomen, Amazon, Uber, Deel, and Multiplier, giving Aethra an inside-the-machine perspective on how global hiring decisions play out. The company is designed for organisations that are expanding into new markets for the first time, building mobility programs that have outgrown their current infrastructure, or managing global hiring across multiple countries without a clear operating model.

Aethra’s framework is built around five pillars: workforce strategy, hiring infrastructure, immigration pathway design, compliance architecture, and mobility operations. This approach helps companies move from fragmented decision-making to a hiring architecture they can own, adapt, and execute against. The company is already seeing early market validation through founder-level conversations with EOR platform leadership and potential strategic partners across the region.

As the UAE continues to grow from a destination market into a global workforce hub, employee relocation and cross-border mobility requirements will continue to increase across both inbound talent and UAE-based organisations managing global hires. Aethra Advisory aims to support this shift by becoming the strategic advisory layer for global hiring and mobility architecture, helping organisations build workforce structures that are scalable, compliant, and aligned with long-term growth.

Riyadh, KSA, 12 May 2026 – AppyThings, a Google Cloud partner focused on building the AI-native data and integration stack that powers secure, scalable digital services and enables enterprise AI adoption, headquartered in the Netherlands, has strengthened its commitment to Saudi Arabia with the launch of AppyThings Arabia, its new legal entity in the Kingdom. The move follows two years of on-the-ground operations in the nation and reflects rising demand for the underlying cloud, data, and API foundations that support the Kingdom’s  Vision 2030 digital transformation. Saudi Arabia ranked second globally in the World Bank’s 2025 GovTech Maturity Index, underscoring the pace and scale of the country’s digital government progress.

With more than 10 years of international experience and a track record spanning over 100 customers, AppyThings brings established expertise to Saudi Arabia. The company has built a growing base of more than 10 major customers across the region and in key sectors, including public sector, healthcare, financial services, and telecommunications. Its regional workforce has tripled over the past two years, reflecting both client demand and the company’s long-term investment in local delivery capacity. AppyThings’ approach focuses on enabling organizations to build scalable, AI-ready digital platforms by combining integration, data, and cloud capabilities to support long-term transformation, aligning closely with KSA organizations’ push to modernize critical systems, strengthen interoperability, and build resilient digital infrastructure.

The Saudi expansion also builds on AppyThings’ established, award-winning reputation in Europe. In 2025, Google Cloud named AppyThings its Apigee Implementation Partner of the Year in KSA, reinforcing its growing role in secure, scalable API-led transformation across the Kingdom. KSA’s Cloud First policy has further accelerated this shift by requiring government entities to prioritize cloud-based solutions, creating a stronger foundation for modern platform-led service delivery.

Shazali Taha, Vice President, META at AppyThings, said: “The launch of AppyThings Arabia marks an important step in our long-term commitment to Saudi Arabia and to supporting the digital priorities set out under Vision 2030. We are seeing strong demand from organizations that want to modernize securely, connect systems more effectively, and build AI-ready digital services that can scale with confidence. By combining our global Google Cloud expertise with a localized presence and deep capabilities across APIs, data, and event-driven architectures, we can support customers more closely with the technical depth, delivery quality, and strategic guidance needed for durable transformation.”

As organizations accelerate the adoption of AI, the ability to deploy and control AI agents within business processes increasingly depends on a robust and well-governed integration layer. This layer enables orchestration, security, and control, positioning AppyThings at the core of AI-driven transformation. As part of its expansion in Saudi Arabia, AppyThings has also appointed Ahmed Raafat as Country Manager KSA, reinforcing its local leadership and commitment to supporting customers on the ground. The company has also secured new client wins across the region, including leading organizations in the Kingdom, further strengthening its presence in the enterprise and government sectors.  

Shazali Taha was recently promoted to Vice President for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META), after leading efforts to introduce AppyThings to the market during the pre-launch phase of the local entity. In his expanded role, he will oversee market expansion across META, focusing on localization, prioritizing key markets, scaling teams, and aligning closely with national transformation agendas. This includes helping organizations respond to priorities around cloud adoption, AI-ready platforms, data modernization, paperless services, automation, and more connected public and enterprise systems. AppyThings’ approach combines consulting, maturity assessments, and phased implementation roadmaps, allowing customers to build long-term digital capabilities. Rather than addressing integration needs as isolated projects, AppyThings enables organizations to build unified, AI-native platforms that support data, automation, and digital services at scale.

The launch of AppyThings Arabia positions the company to deepen its support for customers in the Kingdom while creating a stronger base for regional growth. Having already established traction in Saudi Arabia and expanded into other Gulf markets, AppyThings sees significant room to grow over the next five years as demand rises for trusted Google Cloud partners that can combine specialist expertise with local commitment to deliver the infrastructure layer behind AI, data, and digital services at scale.

The company expects Saudi Arabia to remain central to that trajectory, supported by strong government direction, an increasingly digital economy, and continued investment in modern public and enterprise services.

Dubai, UAE, May 7, 2026 – Swisslog has successfully deployed and commissioned a new AutoStore Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) at Satair’s Singapore facility, further strengthening its position as South East Asia’s leading AutoStore partner.

This installation represents Satair’s third automation deployment globally, following its successful implementations in Hamburg (Germany) and Dulles (Washington, USA). It forms a key pillar of the company’s strategy to harmonise and robotise logistics processes across its global network enhancing efficiency, resilience, and scalability. Satair, an Airbus services company, manages global logistics operations that store, manage, and distribute aircraft parts and tools to support Airbus and other fleets, ensuring efficient maintenance and timely delivery across the aerospace aftermarket.

Enhancing speed and regional capability in aerospace logistics

The new AutoStore system strengthens Satair’s logistics capabilities across Asia-Pacific by enabling high-density, goods-to-person automation. The system utilises 23 robots and 60,000 bins to store approximately 80% of small and medium-sized parts within the existing 1,000 m² footprint. The system delivers faster and more consistent order processing to the aerospace industry in South East Asia while supporting scalable, 24/7 operations. This translates into improved reliability, shorter handling times, and greater flexibility for customers—particularly during periods of peak demand.

“Our partnership with Satair continues to be a strong example of how advanced automation can transform aerospace logistics. By combining Swisslog’s integration expertise with AutoStore’s high-density storage technology, we are enabling Satair to scale efficiently and stay ahead of growing regional demand,” says Steven Xie, EVP and Managing Director, Swisslog APeC.

Swisslog is one of the world’s leading AutoStore integrators, with extensive project references across South East Asia and globally, and more than 400 projects completed worldwide. 

Reinforcing Singapore’s aerospace ecosystem

Supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the installation strengthens Singapore’s position as a leading aerospace logistics hub. The project also contributes to the nation’s ongoing efforts to advance digitalisation and build future-ready supply chain capabilities.

“The inauguration of AutoStore in Singapore is a pivotal step in our transformative regional growth via technology. By integrating this advanced automation, we are ensuring that our supply chain remains resilient and ready to support the rapid fleet growth we see across Asia-Pacific. This investment reflects our commitment to providing consistent, value-added, world-class service levels to our customers,” says Andy Lee, Managing Director for Satair Asia-Pacific.

Swisslog will continue to work alongside Satair as it advances its automation capabilities, ensuring the Singapore facility remains a strategic benchmark for operational excellence in the region.

Dubai, UAE, 27 April 2026 – New research from PlanRadar, a leading platform for 360° digital documentation, communication and reporting in construction, facility management and real estate projects, reveals that construction professionals increasingly see AI as a practical support tool rather than a threat to their roles. Based on a January 2026 survey of 1,728 construction professionals across the Middle East and Global Markets, the findings point to a growing gap between the industry’s recognition of AI’s value and the pace of actual investment.

Among surveyed respondents in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the main barrier to wider AI adoption is not fear of job loss, but confidence in how AI is applied in day-to-day project workflows and how easily teams can adopt it. In Saudi Arabia, 63% cite accuracy and trust in AI recommendations as their main concern, followed by the learning curve or complexity of adoption at 33% and data privacy and security at 26%. In the UAE, 59% cite accuracy and trust as their main concern, followed by learning curve or complexity at 29%, while data privacy and security and integration with existing systems are both cited by 18%.

“What construction professionals in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are telling us is clear: the conversation is moving beyond whether AI belongs in construction. Both governments have made AI a cornerstone of national strategy. Saudi Arabia through Vision 2030 and SDAIA, the UAE through its AI Strategy 2031. The infrastructure ambition is there. The bigger question is whether it can be trusted, introduced practically, and adopted smoothly by project teams under real delivery conditions. That is where technology providers and employers now need to focus,” said Andrey Belogortsev, Regional Manager – MENA & APAC – PlanRadar.

Globally, more than half of respondents say they would be more likely to stay with their current organisation if it significantly increased investment in digital tools with AI capabilities, including one in four who say they would be significantly more likely to stay. Yet nearly half report that their organisations have no current plans to invest in such tools.

The research also challenges a common assumption about AI in construction. Fear of job displacement ranks lowest among reported concerns globally. Nearly half of respondents spend 11 or more hours per week on administrative tasks, and among those already using AI-integrated tools, two in three report saving at least two hours per week, per project, on administrative and coordination work.

Keeping projects on schedule and managing mid-project changes are the two biggest day-to-day challenges identified by respondents. 58% believe AI could help reduce workload across their biggest day-to-day challenges, while 65% believe AI could streamline their biggest administrative time drains.

“Construction professionals are spending more than a full working day every week on tasks they believe AI could help reduce or streamline. At the same time, more than half say stronger investment in technology and AI would make them more likely to stay with their employer. That makes this more than a productivity conversation. It is also a talent and retention issue for construction businesses operating under growing delivery pressure,” added Ibrahim Imam, Co-Founder and CEO of PlanRadar.

PlanRadar was built to address precisely these concerns. The platform brings together 360° digital documentation, communication and reporting in a single AI-powered platform. According to the report, more than half of respondents have already adopted a central digital tool to track mid-project changes, and among those adopters, four in five report an improved ability to control costs or protect project margins. The report also finds that more than a third of adopters report faster approvals and responses, while AI-enabled users report time savings and fewer delays caused by lost or unclear requests.

Across the GCC, the real question is no longer whether organisations are using AI, but whether AI is actually doing the work. Most deployments still sit at the surface, assisting employees without changing how execution happens. AI is now moving beyond individual task support into structured workforce roles, where it carries responsibility across workflows, follows business logic, and executes within real enterprise systems. Gartner projects that by 2028, 33% of enterprise software applications will include agentic AI, up from less than 1% in 2024.

In the GCC, organisations are under pressure to scale faster, maintain service continuity, and improve cost discipline without adding unnecessary operational complexity. Digital Dubai recently launched the AI Workforce Transformation Program (AI+) to help train 50,000 government employees for an AI-ready workforce.

Shaffra, an AI research and applications company building autonomous AI teams for enterprises and governments, is already deploying this model across the region. The company highlights five business functions where AI is actively executing work inside organisations.

Customer service

One of the first functions to absorb AI as a workforce layer is customer service due to high-volume, time-sensitive, process-intensive requests every day. Autonomous AI Teams can handle routine queries across chat, email, WhatsApp, voice, and ticketing platforms while classifying urgency, routing cases, escalating exceptions, and updating records in real time. They can also pull customer history and identify recurring patterns linked to churn, complaints, or policy friction. Customer service teams have handled up to five times more queries through autonomous execution. This shifts customer service from a reactive support function into a continuously operating system that can absorb demand without linear increases in headcount.

Revenue operations

A more meaningful transformation is now happening in the commercial engine. Autonomous AI Teams can continuously monitor pipelines, detect stalled deals, flag procurement delays, identify pricing sensitivity, and improve forecast quality using live activity signals rather than backwards-looking updates. They can also support CRM hygiene, proposal workflows, approval chains, and internal coordination between multiple departments around account progression. PwC’s 2026 findings show that 45% of UAE CEOs are already using AI in demand generation across sales, marketing, and customer service. Leadership gets a clearer view of where revenue is genuinely at risk, where process friction is slowing conversion, and where intervention is needed before exposure turns into loss.

Human resources

In HR, recurring administrative work, policy enforcement, documentation, and employee support often follow structured paths that can be executed better when properly designed. Autonomous AI Teams can screen applicants, coordinate interviews, manage onboarding steps, answer routine employee questions, and flag missing approvals or documentation before delays compound. They can also support review cycles, workforce planning, and identify bottlenecks and process gaps early. Recruitment timelines are reduced from weeks to hours, while HR leaders review high-impact decisions.

Finance and accounting

In the financial department, AI needs to operate reliably within structured processes without compromising strict governance. Autonomous AI Teams can process invoices, support AP and AR workflows, follow up on missing information, review expenses against policy, and coordinate reconciliation and month-end close activities. They can also surface anomalies, identify unusual transaction patterns, and flag control exceptions for review. AI helps increase throughput while preserving auditability, approval discipline, and visibility across the finance operation. This allows finance teams to increase processing capacity without compromising control, shifting their role to oversight from execution.

Business operations

The most strategic application sits in business operations – where delivery, dependencies, handoffs, service levels, and internal performance come together. McKinsey’s finding that 84% of GCC organisations have adopted AI in at least one business function suggests the region is already moving into broader integration. Within operations, Autonomous AI Teams track workflows across systems, detect bottlenecks, monitor KPIs and SLAs, identify resource overload, and trigger interventions before issues become delivery failures. They can also support oversight by summarising status, escalating likely delays, and coordinating cross-functional execution in real time. Across Shaffra deployments in the Gulf, organisations have reported up to 80% reductions in operational costs and more than 2 million manual work hours saved monthly.