Microsoft United Arab Emirates (UAE) lights up the tallest building in the world to announce the launch of Windows 11. The company did this on the eve of the official release date to draw attention to the announcement. The iconic building was covered in blue, the new bloom wallpaper, Windows logo and Windows 11 inscription.
It’s a monumental day for Windows fans, and the Burj Khalifa is helping us celebrate #Windows11 in a big way.
Windows 11 is official today October 5th with Microsoft making it generally available to the public. However, Microsoft will use a measured and phased rollout process to bring it to existing devices that meet the upgrade requirements. Microsoft says it expects all eligible Windows 10 devices to get the upgrade by mid-2022. So you don’t have to worry if it doesn’t immediately show up in Windows update in settings.
As the day becomes October 5 in each time zone around the world, availability of Windows 11 begins through a free upgrade on eligible Windows 10 PCs and on new PCs.
Update: 2:47 pm – updated to correct the wallpaper name from glow to bloom.
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Check out other stories making the news in the technology ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East.
Microsoft UAE is showcasing how it supports sustainable farming with AI and IoT at 40th GITEX Technology Week in Dubai.
Using AI, Edge and IoT, Microsoft’s agricultural solution FarmBeats built on Azure enables data-driven farming to maximize agricultural output.
This data-driven farming entails using data visualizations, analytics and machine learning. The results; it creates automated recommendations on water usage and soil quality. That the company notes help during challenging conditions.
This is part of Microsoft’s AI for good global initiative to support sustainable farming practices and contribute to food security.
Located at H6-D20, Hall 6, a Microsoft Hub has been set up to offer attendees an opportunity to discover and experience Microsoft technology and innovations.
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Sayed Hashish, GM Microsoft UAE showing Microsoft technology innovations at the Microsoft Hub at GITEX Technology Week 2020.
Microsoft notes that governments are now reimagining a more positive world. As such the company is investing alongside them into critical technological infrastructure to solve pressing challenges.
Speaking to the media, Sayed Hashish, General Manager, Microsoft UAE notes there will be a need to feed nine to ten billion people by 2050. “This will require a significant increase in food production. However, there is a limited amount of additional arable land, and water levels have also been receding. Cloud technology may prove crucial to address this agricultural challenge,” he continues.
Microsoft is helping the United Arab Emirates(UAE) government achieve its vision of becoming a leader in AI. By partnering with its National Program for Artificial Intelligence to launch the AI Challenge Program initiative.
The AI Challenge Program is to accelerate the adoption of AI technology in the country. The UAE government led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, sees AI as a pillar of its future strategies. Using artificial intelligence(AI) to shape the country’s development for the next fifty years. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed calls AI the “catalyst for the growth of global markets and new economic sectors“.
Microsoft will be supporting government organizations in leveraging AI technologies to address real life business challenges. While building strong local Emirati AI talents, shares Sayed Hashish, Microsoft UAE General Manager.
The Microsoft general manager signed the partnership with UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, at an AI expert retreat in Dubai.
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Twenty technology ambassadors have graduated from the second cohort of the Microsoft Teacher Internship Program in the United Arab Emirates. The program organized in partnership with the UAE education ministry encourages the use of technology in the learning and teaching process. Enabling teachers to become technology ambassadors of tomorrow. Then empower the students to create the world of tomorrow.
Through the Microsoft Teacher Internship Program, teachers learn how to use Microsoft technologies to deliver lessons in the classroom. As well as empower students with twenty-first century skills.
Microsoft Regional Education Director, Ahmed Ameen Ashour, shares this about the program graduates.
Ahmed Ameen Ashour
Honored to announce today 20 new graduates from our Microsoft Teacher Internship program. Those teachers worked hard for 12 month learning about the best use of technology into teaching and learning. They will now be a lighthouse impacting all other teachers across the UAE. Congratulations
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Avaya and Microsoft announce partnership at GITEX 2019
Ahmed Helmy, International CTO Avaya at GITEX 2019
Avaya and Microsoft are partnering to offer Contact Center as a Service solutions to businesses in the Arab Gulf region. The companies announce the partnership at the ongoing GITEX Technology Week 2019 event in Dubai.
The collaboration will see Avaya’s contact centre services hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud datacenters in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Avaya IX-CC, Contact Center as a Service platform will be available to customers initially in the Arab Gulf region. With plans to expand the service to other Azure global regions in the future. The service is expected to be available H1 2020 with voice capabilities, followed by omnichannel features later in the year.
Ahmed Helmy, International CTO Avaya and Sherif Tawfik, Microsoft UAE Executive Director, Channel, Alliances, Startups and SMEs spoke to the media at the Avaya booth at GITEX 2019 about the partnership.
About the Partnership
Sherif Tawfik shares Microsoft has received amazing response from customers since cloud datacenter launch in the region. “they now can accelerate their digital transformation journey in the region“. We want to have relevant solutions and services working on our cloud, he continues.
“Microsoft now has the opportunity through our marketplace to offer enterprise-grade CCaaS solutions to businesses of any size delivered through Avaya and running on our Azure cloud. At Microsoft, it is our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Every application that makes its home in our intelligent cloud takes us a step more down that road.”
Our partnership with Microsoft allows us to expand our services on a cloud-based microservices architecture and platform Ahmed Helmy shares. Giving our customers the flexibility in deployment they have come to expect from our brand. This will help us offer our contact center services to the gulf region. And help us build the right reference to architecture to offer our services in other regions globally.”
