Dubai, UAE, January 22, 2025
In a significant move at the World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos, the global technology group e& has announced a collaboration with IBM to implement an innovative, comprehensive Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI governance solution. This initiative aims to enhance e&’s AI governance framework, ensuring compliance, oversight, and ethical practices throughout its expanding AI ecosystem. The collaboration underscores e&’s commitment to establishing a robust governance infrastructure, effectively managing risks, and maintaining regulatory compliance in its AI applications.
This advanced solution will utilize IBM’s watsonx.governance, an enterprise AI and data governance platform, coupled with IBM Consulting’s expertise in AI deployment. The goal is to support e&’s mission of scaling AI responsibly, tracking returns on investment (ROI), and meeting compliance requirements while ensuring transparency and ethical management of AI models.
Leveraging IBM’s AI Governance Tools
The collaboration with IBM brings a globally recognized toolkit for AI governance to address critical challenges, such as maintaining consistent oversight of AI systems, managing risks related to non-compliance and ethical concerns, and monitoring AI performance at scale. As e& continues to expand its AI capabilities, the company is proactively strengthening its AI ecosystem by creating a robust framework that ensures accountability, mitigates biases, and safeguards data integrity. Through IBM’s technology and consulting expertise, e& takes a significant step toward building scalable and transparent AI operations.
Key Features of the New AI Governance Solution
The newly introduced AI governance solution offers advanced features, including automated risk management, compliance monitoring, and real-time performance analysis. These capabilities will enable e& to mitigate risks, detect biases, and adhere to regulatory standards throughout the entire AI model lifecycle—from development to decommissioning.
Dena Almansoori, Group Chief AI and Data Officer at e&, emphasized the importance of responsible governance as AI continues to transform industries. "At e&, we are committed to leading by example and setting the global benchmark in establishing robust AI governance practices," she stated. "By adopting IBM watsonx.governance, we’re taking a decisive step forward in our AI journey. This collaboration ensures transparency, explainability, and efficiency across our AI operations, raising the bar for AI governance in the industry."
Real-Time Monitoring and Risk Management
The governance solution empowers e& to monitor current AI use cases in real-time, proactively manage potential AI risks in production, and deliver measurable value to stakeholders. By establishing a centralized inventory of AI models, the solution offers full traceability and oversight. IBM watsonx.governance facilitates dynamic monitoring, providing real-time insights into model performance, risk scoring, and compliance metrics. This enables e& to detect issues like bias and drift early, allowing for corrective actions and fostering ethical AI practices.
IBM Consulting will closely work with e& to design and implement a comprehensive AI governance framework tailored to e&’s unique needs. This includes defining workflows, setting key performance indicators, and onboarding existing AI models onto the platform to deliver real-time insights into AI’s value, impact, and potential risks.
Accelerating AI Governance Framework Development
The deployment will also leverage IBM Consulting Advantage, an AI-powered delivery platform, to accelerate the development of the AI governance framework. This involves persona and journey mapping, market research, architecture patterns for AI integration, and the creation of knowledge transfer materials.
Shukri Eid, General Manager for Gulf, Levant, and Pakistan at IBM, highlighted the importance of navigating AI governance complexities. "IBM watsonx empowers organizations like e& to navigate the complexities of AI governance. By integrating automation, real-time monitoring, and centralized oversight, we address key governance challenges and reduce risks associated with AI," he said. "Strengthening our long-standing partnership with e&, this milestone serves as a catalyst for responsible AI innovation."
A Step Forward in AI Governance
This collaboration builds on the successful relationship between IBM and e&, highlighted in a recent joint report titled "MENA’s AI Advantage: Opportunity to Leap Ahead and Lead from a Middle East and North Africa Perspective." The report presents insights from leading Middle Eastern businesses and data from IBM’s existing CEO study. It identifies five critical themes that CEOs should consider as they prepare their organizations to seize AI opportunities, including the advocacy for trustworthy AI.
This collaboration marks a significant milestone in e&’s AI governance journey, setting a new standard for responsible and scalable AI operations for both the group and the broader industry.
About e&
e& is a global technology group dedicated to advancing digital futures across markets in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2023, the group reported a consolidated net revenue of AED 53.8 billion and a net profit of AED 10.3 billion, maintaining its position as a financial powerhouse with a strong credit rating and solid balance sheet.
Founded in Abu Dhabi over 48 years ago, e& has transitioned from a telecom pioneer to a technology group with a presence in 38 countries. The group offers a comprehensive portfolio of innovative digital services, including advanced connectivity, entertainment, streaming, financial services, AI-powered solutions, cloud computing, ICT, cybersecurity, and IoT platforms.
The group is organized around five core business pillars: e& UAE, e& international, e& life, e& enterprise, and e& capital, each catering to distinct customer and market needs. These pillars empower e& to lead in various sectors, from telecom and digital lifestyle to enterprise services and venture investments. Strategic investments in AI, IoT, 5G, and cloud services reinforce its leadership in the global technology landscape, driving the future of smart connectivity and innovation.
Driven by innovation, sustainability, and a commitment to digital empowerment, e& aims to create a smarter, more connected future for individuals, businesses, and communities.
For more information about e&, visit eand.com.
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud, AI, and consulting expertise. The company helps clients in over 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas, such as financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare, rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift
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