Collaboration set to create global ‘gold standards’ in passenger experience, as Microsoft and Mowasalat (Karwa) design and develop new solutions and services built around safety and personalisation
12 April 2021; Doha, Qatar – Microsoft today announced it has entered into a partnership with incumbent public-transport services provider Mowasalat (Karwa) to accelerate its digital transformation programme and create safe, personalised experiences for passengers.
Formalised in a memorandum of understanding (MoU), the partnership will include workshops to drive the delivery of innovative new solutions for the nation’s transportation industry. Deliverables will include roadmaps for implementation of Microsoft technologies. Current plans include development of the concept of Mobility-as-a-Service, and the delivery of Microsoft Power BI dashboards and Power Apps agile development.
The agreement was signed by Mr. Ahmed Abdulrahman al Muftah, Chief Administrative Officer, on behalf of Mowasalat (Karwa), and on behalf of Microsoft, by Mrs. Lana Khalaf, Country Manager, Microsoft Qatar. Mowasalat (Karwa) will also work with Microsoft to design and build a journey planner to enhance rider experience; and Microsoft will train Mowasalat (Karwa) employees, through a skilling and certification plan, in key areas in Microsoft technology. Microsoft will also instruct Mowasalat (Karwa) staff on how to leverage the Shifts & Scheduling app in Microsoft Teams, for the enhancement of operations management.
“As a trusted cloud solutions company, Microsoft is the ideal partner for us in our establishment of a digital enterprise,” said Fahad Saad Al Qahtani, Chief Executive Officer of Mowasalat (Karwa). “Our goal is to put Qatar on the world map as a hub of innovation in the transport services sector. Together we shall design training programmes that will help bridge the gap between technology companies and transportation entities. We expect Microsoft’s partner ecosystem to play an important role in building agile and modern solutions for Mowasalat.”
Mr. Ahmed Al Muftah, CAO added: “We are constantly looking for future oriented concepts to keep us on top of the game. Our focus lays not only on customer related interfaces like our Bus and Taxi Apps, but also on transforming our daily operations to optimize our processes. This has helped us to implement our customer centric philosophy while reducing our environmental footprint. Ultimately, tech-based solutions will play an integral part in establishing a sustainable transportation legacy in the country.”
In advance of its hosting of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, the Government of Qatar is heavily investing in projects that will support the projected influx of tourists. Areas of attention include sports, transportation, hospitality, and infrastructure.
“Mowasalat is amongst the major stakeholders in Qatar’s growth story, which is led by the Ministry of Transport and Communication,” said Lana Khalaf, Country Manager, Microsoft Qatar. “With upcoming global events in the country, the company furthers its commitment to Qatar and its National Vision 2030. We are excited to partner with the leading transport service provider in the country to enable its vision to gain world recognition with trust and reputation of its brand. It is our aim that these solutions will be recognised as benchmarks in excellence among public services stakeholders around the world and replicated as gold standards.”
Microsoft has established plans to deliver the intelligent and trusted Microsoft Cloud services from a new cloud data canter region in Qatar. This will enable customers and businesses to increase agility, enhance service latency and performance.
