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MoPH Qatar, in association with ABATS, inaugurated electronic food safety system, ‘Watheq’

As one of the leading IT Systems Integrators in Qatar, Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions (ABATS) joined hands with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to launch the electronic food safety system, ‘Watheq’. On September 25, 2022, HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari ceremonially inaugurated ‘Watheq’.

Apart from high-level officials and dignitaries from MoPH Qatar, present at the event were General Manager of ABATS Mr. Rami Majed Ammari, COO of Ali Bin Ali Holding ICT Mr. Mohamad A. Ebrik, General Manager – Ali Bin Ali Holding – Finance Mr. Adnan Suleiman, Head of Sales at ABATS Mr. Nasser Issa and Ali Bin Ali Holding – Group Corporate Communications Manager Mr. Imad Hashim.

The ABATS team has been at the helm of this project, coordinating between all parties to make sure the project was delivered flawlessly. They worked together with the MoPH to create the most effective and integrated electronic system, aiming to provide high-quality services to enhance the health and well-being of the community. ‘Watheq’ is a very strategic project for ABATS and is one of the most important national projects undertaken within the Qatar Public Health Strategy.

The electronic system involves a food control process based on standard operating procedures subject to international accreditation controls (ISO 17020), through three electronically linked systems: the system of control of imported and exported food, the system of control of food in the local market, and the electronic management of food analysis laboratories.

This comes under the strategic objective to “develop an integrated risk-based inspection service certified to relevant international standards such as ISO/IEC 17020:2012 for imported, locally produced and exported food products that are supported by modern electronic management systems, effective diagnostic services, and monitoring and surveillance systems”, the ministry said in a statement.

Speaking of the ‘Watheq’ solution, Mr. Ebrik said: “We are proud and happy to be part of such an important national project. ABATS, with all our knowledge and experience, made sure to deliver the best platform that will enhance Qatar’s food safety system manifold.”

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Ali Bin Ali Holding organizes Cyber Security Awareness Session

Continuing its long-standing efforts to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and in view of the increasing threat of cyber-attacks on individuals as well corporations, ABA Holding decided to organize intensive Cybersecurity Awareness Sessions.

The ‘Don’t get hooked!’ workshop focused on educating senior management and division nominated Information Security (IS) Champions about the increasing cybersecurity concerns. From the title to the branding elements used in the event, everything revolved around the theme of threats in the cyber world.  The session was part of a larger campaign that started way back in 2018 with the plan to extend the knowledge to the entire Group.

Cybersecurity globally is not seen any more as the sole responsibility of the IT Department, it is a corporate responsibility. Treating it as a Group initiative, ABA IT, ABA HR, ABA Internal Audit and Finance Departments joined hands to organize the awareness event. Subject Matter Experts (SME) from Barikat, a partner of Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions (ABATS), was invited to deliver the specially curated sessions and explain the potential cyber threats and the ways to combat them.

The two-day event, which was divided into 3 sessions, was held on June 14 and 15, 2022, at the La Cigale Hotel. While the first session on Day 1 was attended by General Managers and members of the ABA Operating Board, the second session on the same day was for the Finance Managers from different ABA divisions. The solo session on Day 2 was held for IS Champions selected from different ABA divisions.

The event was launched by the Chief Operating Officer of ICT Mr. Mohamad A. Ebrik and Group General Manager Human Resources Mr. Aldrine Austine Fernandez.

Mr. Ebrik’s Opening statements highlighted the need to identify and always be aware of the sensitivity of business information. “It is the time for cultural change. ABA divisions shall look at cybersecurity as a business risk. In the light of FIFA-2022, it is time for us to be more cautious, more precise in identifying our needs toward the business operations.” he said.

Mr. Aldrine continued to highlight the seriousness of the matter and said: “Cybersecurity is of primary importance for business houses and individuals alike. We can’t even imagine how susceptible we all are to phishing emails and hacking tricks. We constantly need to keep ourselves updated about the latest hacking trends and the ways to avoid falling prey to them.”

After a short introduction, Mr. Emre Camalan (SME) from the Barikat Turkey team began his educative and informative presentation that covered all aspects of cyber threats, awareness and security. Constant interaction with the attendees made the session engaging.

The presentation was perfectly complemented by a simulation by members of the HR, IT and Internal Audit teams, exposing how hackers can easily blend with our system and extract our very personal details, using the same to hack our personal and company accounts. It was a perfect and fun way to pass on the critical massage about cyber safety.

The intensive presentation was concluded with a question and answer session and the participation and active interaction of the audience reflected the success of the event.

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Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions and Balador sign strategic partnership

Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions (ABATS) and Balador have signed a strategic partnership aimed at activating the Balador electronic platform for all public and private sector organizations in Qatar.

Balador’s agreement with ABATS will elevate the customer flow experience to new heights, making the customer journey completely digital through this exclusive representation in Qatar by Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions.

Balador is an intelligent cloud-based customer flow management tool that takes queuing from physical to virtual. It simply revolutionizes the way businesses provide their services and how they manage their customers’ journey by making queues a thing of the past.

This multi-tenant platform lists service providers, from both the public and private sectors, along with the branch names, services provided, locations, working hours and estimated waiting times based on proximity and availability. This allows the end user to book a ticket for the needed service or appointment without having to call, wait or queue for it; as well as rate their experience through star ratings and or text/voice messages.

All this translates into better time management for the public, avoiding crowding at business locations, and reducing pressure on customer-facing employees, thus increasing efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction.

The signing of the agreement marked a commitment, from both parties, to cooperate in the field of information technology and digital transformation through the introduction of the Balador platform in Qatar.

The memorandum of understanding was signed on the sidelines of Smart City Expo Doha 2022, which was held on March 29 and 30, by the General Manager of ABATS, Mr. Rami Ammari, and the CEO of Balador, Mr. Mohamed Atout, in the presence of Mr. Mohamed Al Ebrik, the COO of Ali Bin Ali Holding’s ICT Division.

This agreement came in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 for economic transformation and the creation of a sustainable knowledge-based economy. It is also supporting the strategic national objectives of delivering integrated IT services and solutions for smart cities consistent with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar.

Balador is a leader in digital technology solutions, applications and customer services, with extensive experience in the Middle East gained over more than 15 years in the field of digital transformation. This unique experience helped it conceive the idea of the electronic platform, Balador, to change the way the service is organized and delivered while managing the customer experience through abolishing the queue completely and making it a thing of the past.

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Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions signs MoU with Barikat Cyber Security

 

In line with Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Holding’s vision to defeat the cyber adversary and the aim to support Qatar National Vision 2030 to protect national sovereignty and security, Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions (ABATS) has joined forces with one of the world’s leading cyber security firms, Barikat Cyber Security, to provide the Qatari market with various cyber security products, services, consultation and training.

ABATS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Barikat Cyber Security during the 5th QCB Information Security Conference for the Financial Sector (ISFS 2018), held on November 18 and 19.

This MoU paves the way for creating a new company domiciled in Qatar that will serve the local market in the field of cyber security. The memorandum was signed by Ali Bin Ali Chief Operating Officer for ICT, Mr. Mohamad A. Ebrik, on behalf of ABATS, and by the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Murat Huseyin Candan, on behalf of Barikat Cyber Security.

Under the MoU, Barikat and ABATS will be providing both the private and public sectors in Qatar with cyber security-related services, solutions, hardware, software, support and training. 

These services will include providing and selling vendor-based technology solutions (both hardware and software), technical support services, managed security services,

cyber security consulting services, ‘pentesting’ services, training services, compliance and auditing services and security operations center (7/24) services.

With this MoU, Barikat Academy services, including cyber security training and capability development, will be available to customers in the State of Qatar. This will help in alleviating the cyber security resource shortfall in Qatar and around the world.

Mr. Candan commented on the future need for cyber security resources, stating: “Many international surveys report that the cyber security resource shortfall will reach between 2.5m and 3.5m unfilled positions worldwide by the year 2021.”

He also pointed to the special relationship between Qatar and Turkey and said “due to the very good relations between the two countries, such partnerships and knowledge transfer make perfect sense and will be a good platform to ensure that the State of Qatar has the capacity and qualifications needed to support Qatar National Vision 2030”. 

Mr. Ebrik stressed the continuously increasing significance of this sector and said, “Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions aim to expand cyber security solutions and a Cyber Security Center of Excellence in the State of Qatar. We found in Barikat Cyber Security the ideal partner for this challenge and together, we hope to elevate the level cyber security in the country.”

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Growing with the Group, ABATS Goes Live with FORWARD system

Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Group’s FORWARD project reached a new milestone on Sunday, April 1, 2018 by welcoming another division – Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions (ABATS) to the FORWARD family. After the pilot divisions, ABATS is the first division of the FORWARD first batch roll-out to Go Live.

True to the slogan, ‘Growing together to reach new heights’, ABATS has grown and evolved in its journey with the successful implementation of the FORWARD ERP Application.

The added value that FORWARD will bring about in ABATS involves the introduction of the Project Costing & Billing module. With the help of this module, the division will be able to perform costing and billing operations more efficiently by having an overview of all its projects and activities. This will be a key milestone, and will enhance the core business of ABATS.

On Sunday, a gathering was organized to celebrate the successful launch of FORWARD at ABATS. Apart from the ABATS team, present at the event was Chief Operating Officer-ICT Mr. Mohamad A. Ebrik, ABA Group PMO Manager Mr. Youssef Farajallah Mahmoud and Intrasoft Project Manager Mr. Amer Dakhqan. Top management from the Head Office also attended the event to mark their support for the FORWARD Project.

Congratulating Team ABATS on its achievement, Mr. Ebrik said: “Whenever there is a new system implemented there are hiccups, we face troubles in business but slowly we start to realize its benefit and start utilizing it. Similarly, with FORWARD we are bringing the latest technology to ABA and investing a lot. But the biggest investment we are making is in our people who are running the application. Now, the challenge is to make sure that we can utilize the FORWARD system and take advantage of it.”

Mr. Ebrik also added: “The team has put in great efforts, spending weekends and nights to make sure that everything was up and running before the scheduled Go Live.”

Mr. Youssef and Mr. Amer also thanked the ABATS team for their dedication and cooperation throughout the transition period.

While the achievement was a result of substantial efforts of the whole ABTAS team, two heroes stood out during the transitional phase, namely Mr. Shafquat Zubair, Finance Manager, and Mr. Shaleh MD. Mridha, Management Accountant.

Certificates of appreciation were handed over to them by Mr. Ebrik. Mr. Zubair accepted the certificate on behalf of the entire ABATS team and said the actual journey has begun now with the Go Live.

To mark the journey to new heights, ABATS & FORWARD team members put a small note on the symbolic tree to mark their contribution to the ABA FORWARD project. It was also a sign of unity and cooperation, which is the basis for the success of the project.

The FORWARD planning and transition phase for ABATS was made possible by the sheer dedication and commitment of the ABATS team complimented by excellent guidance and teamwork by our PMO team.

Lined up next for the roll-out is ABA Logistics Division. FORWARD PMO and the Logistics team are putting in every effort to Go Live, as scheduled, in a few weeks’ time.