Smart technology and Oman 2040 Vision

Shurooq Al-Balushi is working on a Smart Technology project as part of her contribution to Oman’s Vision 2040 to make use of information to understand how improvements can be made to deliver better results to the Sultanate’s economy.

As part of her doctorate thesis, 30-year-old Shurooq, who is a lecturer at the National University, is on track to cut business costs as well as make savings for both the civil service and private companies.

“Smart technology, if planned well, will lead to lower costs on how businesses are run. That will have a direct impact of controlling inflation when market prices stabilise. Cutting costs also will lead to lower operating expenditure. The money the businesses save will lead to expansion of their operations. Expansion to their operations will mean job creation for graduates,” Shurooq explained.

There are many ways companies can use to save running expenses. Video conferencing with customers can cut down shopping queues when they shop from home. Private hospitals can use this technology to make diagnoses without patients coming over to see doctors on consultation basis.

Smart technology can also save domestics bills for home owners by cutting on electricity, gas and water usage.

“Efficient thermostat for air conditioning can lead to lower electricity bills. Water leaks are a major problems for most home owners and a smart technology can detect a leak a soon as it has started. Smart technology also can save lives with cooking gas leaks and prevent explosions,” she said.

She is also working on the road safety to reduce accidents on a variety of technology that can give ample warnings to drivers on the roads.

“Smart technologies that can warn drivers of slippery roads or wadis during the rain seasons. We see so many drivers lose control when it rains or get drifted away in the strong wadis, especially in the low lying areas or even towns on the hills,” said Shurooq.

National statistics support her claims. On average, road accidents during the rain seasons kill on average about forty people a year. In the last five years, 17 people died in the wadis during the rain seasons when their cars plunged into the deep water as they tried to cross roads.

Gas leaks and electricity shocks have killed 22 people in their homes in the last five years, according to official statistics.

Smart Technology can also make online payments easier and much safer to avoid financial frauds.

Banks in Oman have repeatedly warned customers on hackers who are trying to access private or even corporate accounts to defraud them with their money.

But how easy smart technology can be monitored?

“Smart technology devices can be connected and can be accessed through a central point that monitor activities. The monitoring systems can be an electronic tablet, laptop, consoles or even a phone.

You can monitor safety operations and conditions or make sure your money is secure from wherever you are,” Shurooq concluded.