Gulf Times Community wins Qatar Digital Business Award

Gulf Times Community won theaward for SME Digital Transformation of the Year at QatarDigital Business Awards (QDBA) Friday.The 2019 edition of Qitcom concluded Friday with the announcement of the winners of the QDBA andthe Qitcom awards in a gala presidedover by HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim SeifAhmed al-Sulaiti.The award for SME Digital Transformation of the Year is given to anSME that has successfully deployedinnovative digital tools to enhancetheir operations and services.Now in its fifth year, the annualQDBA is one of the most prestigiousawards for the digital industry in Qatar, and comes as part of the Ministryof Transports and Communications’(MoTC) eff orts to honour and recognise corporate entities, SMEs, andstartups that have contributed to thedevelopment of the digital industry inQatar.For this year’s awards, MoTC received 150 nominations for the variouscategories of the awards. The nominations, which came from 76 public andprivate entities, including four majorbanks, were reviewed by a jury madeup of industry experts, university professors and government offi cials.Al-Sulaiti and MoTC’s Digital Societyassistant undersecretary Reem al-Mansoori presented the awards in 10 categories: ICT Service Provider of the Year,Systems Integrator of the Year, MobileApp of the Year, Cloud Solution of theYear, Digital Startup of the Year, SmartSolution of the Year, SME Digital Transformation of the Year, E-commerceSolution of the Year, Innovative FintechSolution of the Year, and ICT Exporter ofthe Year. Al-Mansoori said: “The fifthedition of Qitcom was held ina nod to what Qatar is aspiringto achieve and excel at regionally and globally, and that isthe building of safe, smart cities the citizens of which enjoy ahigh quality of life and services,as well as a robust, diverse, andsustainable economy.“The notable annual growth inthe outcomes of Qitcom is a keyindicator of the progress Qatarhas made on its journey towardsdigital transformation and of thedevelopments in the Qatari market and infrastructure, whichrender it an attractive destination for local and internationalinvestments, with the potentialto build an exciting future.”The ICT Service Provider ofthe Year award, which recognises the role played by ICT serviceproviders in supporting organisations with the timely provision of services, was presentedto A101 after being shortlistedalongside Ali bin Ali TechnologySolutions and GBM Qatar.The Systems Integrator of theYear award goes to the enterprise systems integrator that candemonstrate high levels of customer satisfaction. This year, theaward went to Mannai TradingCompany after becoming a finalist alongside GBM Qatar andMeeza.The Mobile App of the Yearaward goes to a business that haspioneered an original mobile appthat has enhanced the servicesoffered to its customers. Thisyear, 23 entities were nominatedfor this award, and while DohaBank and Commercial Bankreached the final stages, theaward went to Hamad International Airport.Meeza bagged the award forCloud Solution of the Year,which recognises organisations that provides excellence incloud-based solutions, servicesand infrastructure. Other finalists included ADGS and emdad.The Digital Startup of theYear award, which goes to a newproduct or service that has delivered measurable benefit forcustomers, went to urbanpoint,after a tough competition with30 nominees, with applab andModaris reaching the shortlist.Smart Solution of the Yearaward, which is given to businesses or government entities inthe transport, logistics, environment, healthcare or sports sectors – priority sectors targetedby the Smart Qatar programmeTasmu – went to Bonocle afterbeing shortlisted with HamadMedical Corporation and Kinecto Technology and Trading.The award was given to GulfTimes Community after beingshortlisted alongside QGrabsand Royal Art Kitchen Equipment Co.Meanwhile the E-Commerce Solution of the Year wasawarded to E-Butler after beingshortlisted alongside getit.qa,QGrabs, and QTSouq. Innovative Fintech Solution of the Year,which goes to organisationsthat have disrupted the Fintechspace through the implementation of new and innovative solutions, went to debito after beingshortlisted alongside Fatora.io,and Qatar Islamic Bank. Finally,ICT Exporter of the Year went tomodaris, after competing in thefinal stages with Maskan and Qtickets and Events.The gala dinner also witnessedthe awarding of the Qitcom 2019awards, which went to eightcompanies whose booths stoodout during the exhibition. Theawards were given in six categories: Best Innovative Booth (Hamad Bin Khalifa University), BestInteractive Booth (Vodafone),Best Accessible Booth (QNB),Best Sustainable Booth (QatarRail), and Best Engaging Booth(Huawei Qatar).The Best Interactive Boothaward was given in three subcategories based on the size ofthe booth between 36 and 95sqm (Cisco), booths between 95 and300sq m (Ooredoo), and boothslarger than 300sq m (Microsoft).