Serco Middle East has signed a memorandum of understanding with UAE-based AI company G42 to transform and deliver integrated public services across the region.

Artificial intelligence and cloud computing company G42 signed the MoU with public services company Serco to combine resources, capabilities and core competencies in a non-equity partnership agreement to deliver the integrated transformation of multi-faceted public services to existing and new clients.

G42 says it has the largest cloud computing capability in the region and AI-centric cross-industry technological expertise. Bringing this technology to Serco’s operations could set standards in service delivery across government clients in the sectors of smart cities, transport, aviation, healthcare and defence.

“We are committed to growing our business in the region and working with local partners to bridge capability gaps,” said Phil Malem, CEO of Dubai-based Serco Middle East. “Serco manages workforces, assets and data and, as an outsourcing company, we are a people-led, technology enabled business. As a technology led business enabled by people, we immediately saw a strategic fit with G42. Service excellence is a core part of both our strategies and I am looking forward to bringing this enhanced offering to clients in the United Arab Emirates.”

Through the partnership, clients can expect technology to be used across the whole value chain with a shift towards data driven decisions and operations.

“We are pleased to welcome Serco into our ecosystem of strategic partners,” said Peng Xiao, CEO of G42. “Companies across industries need to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives to keep pace with the increasingly complex competitive and regulatory landscape. We are confident that with our unique AI expertise and secure cloud computing infrastructure, we will be able, together with Serco, to provide customers with data-driven insights to make better business decisions, streamline efficiencies, foster innovation and drive value.”

Paul Bogan, chief digital officer of Serco Middle East, gave some examples of how the partnership will work in practice.

“End to end technology enabled decision making tools can be used to reduce the total cost of ownership for our clients,” he said. “This could be realised through our technology enabled workforce management to improve productivity and remove wastage, through business process automation to enable paperless environments for our partners or total airport management that drive new insights that support proactive decision making in the future.”

UK-based Serco’s Middle East subsidiary has been operating in the region since 1947 in the sectors of healthcare, transport, citizen services, defence, justice and immigration.