Latest news with #digitaltransformation
Arab News
an hour ago
- Business
- Arab News
Zain KSA and Cisco to develop AI infrastructure
Zain KSA, a provider of telecommunications and digital services in Saudi Arabia, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Cisco, a global leader in networking and security, focusing on the development of cutting-edge AI infrastructure and GPU-as-a-service. The agreement will leverage Cisco's advanced, end-to-end infrastructure solutions for securely building and scaling AI workloads, supporting Zain KSA in delivering high-performance, resilient, and reliable GPU-powered services to the Saudi market. The MoU is part of Zain KSA's strategy to actively align with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goals by driving digital transformation and positioning the Kingdom as a global digital innovation hub, particularly in the AI space. The MoU also includes exploring opportunities for training programs to upskil local talent, in line with Zain KSA's commitment to ICT skills development. As part of the collaboration, Zain KSA will leverage its deep market knowledge, cutting-edge digital capabilities, and targeted investments alongside Cisco's global expertise in AI-ready infrastructure development. The initiative will create new solutions and commercial models to enable customers across various sectors to confidently and easily adopt AI solutions. The MoU also includes exploring opportunities for training programs to upskil local talent, in line with Zain KSA's commitment to ICT skills development to support long-term national AI capabilities. Fahad Sahmi Al-Sahmah, vice president of B2B sales, Zain KSA, said: 'At Zain KSA, we are mobilizing all our capabilities and investments to drive nationwide digital innovation, positioning the Kingdom as a global hub, a digital economy powered by future-looking GenAI solutions and applications. These efforts aim to empower all stakeholders, including government entities, businesses, and individuals, to harness the boundless potential of AI in support of national goals. This strategic collaboration with Cisco, positions us well to explore, develop, and innovate use cases, as we continue building a resilient, integrated and agile digital ecosystem that can embrace next-gen technologies and deploy them in the Kingdom.' Zayan Sadek, managing director for service providers at Cisco Middle East, Türkiye and Africa, said: 'Cisco is excited to collaborate with Zain KSA to pave the way for a transformative AI-powered future in Saudi Arabia. By combining Zain KSA's digital expertise with Cisco's cutting-edge AI infrastructure technologies, we aim to unlock new possibilities to empower businesses to thrive in the AI era and position Saudi Arabia as a global hub for advanced technologies.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Uruguay Modernizes Data Infrastructure with Addition of PowerSchool Connected Intelligence K-12 and AI-Driven PowerBuddy for Learning
'Ceibal' initiative continues country's digital transformation FOLSOM, Calif., July 15, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PowerSchool, a leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education, today announced that Ceibal Digital Technology Center for Education Innovation (Ceibal), Uruguay's ambitious 1-to-1 technology and instruction program, has expanded its partnership with PowerSchool to advance the country's digital education transformation. Ceibal will now implement PowerSchool Connected Intelligence K-12 for data modernization and PowerBuddy for Learning, PowerSchool's AI-powered assistant for teaching and learning. Connected Intelligence K-12 is a data-as-a-service solution that centralizes educational data from multiple sources, enabling analysis to enhance decision making and improve public policy development. It empowers Ceibal to support its almost 700,000 students, by analyzing student engagement, tracking device usage, and addressing challenges like cyberbullying, by using AI tools. PowerBuddy for Learning works in conjunction with PowerSchool Schoology Learning, the Learning Management System (LMS) Ceibal has successfully used for several years. "Once implemented, PowerSchool Connected Intelligence K-12 would allow us to make data-driven decisions at scale in a timely manner, which could be a huge change for Ceibal," said Martin Anza, Information Technology Manager, Ceibal. Data-Driven Decision Making with Connected Intelligence K-12 Ceibal selected Connected Intelligence K-12 for its ease of use, scalability, and cost savings. The platform provides a K-12 specific data lake with pre-built data pipelines, monitoring, role-based access controls, and real-time data access. This selection led to Ceibal and PowerSchool's nomination for a 2025 BETT Award in the "Collaboration with a School, College, or University" category. Connected Intelligence K-12 enables transformative analytics capabilities, addressing key challenges such as identifying cyberbullying instances, uncovering student engagement patterns, and exploring relationships between online activity and academic performance. This efficiency allows Ceibal's business intelligence and IT teams to focus on other initiatives rather than manually integrating data sources. Connected Intelligence K-12 enhances education by streamlining data collection and analysis, giving teachers access to detailed student reports for personalized support. Predictive analysis tools help educators identify potential challenges for earlier interventions, keeping students on track. The system can track which students aren't logging into the LMS or completing activities, allowing teachers to provide additional help when needed. Ceibal and Schoology Learning Ceibal has successfully used PowerSchool Schoology Learning as its learning management system, yielding improvements in creating tailored curriculums, student-teacher collaboration, and facilitating blended learning environments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, over 93% of students and 94% of teachers in Uruguay utilized Schoology Learning. Schoology Learning is now the fourth most-used technology platform in Uruguay among children ages 9 to 17, trailing only YouTube, WhatsApp, and TikTok. AI-Enhanced Learning with PowerBuddy PowerBuddy for Learning works in conjunction with PowerSchool Schoology Learning, the LMS Ceibal has successfully used for several years. PowerBuddy for Learning will transform how Uruguay's students and teachers engage with technology-enhanced learning. Building on Ceibal's successful "one laptop per child" initiative and nationwide Wi-Fi in public schools, PowerBuddy integration will accelerate personalized learning at scale. Founded in 2007, Ceibal is a Uruguayan initiative dedicated toward creating more equitable solutions for students by supporting Uruguayan educational policies with technology. Since its implementation, the program has evolved to ensure every child who enters the public education system in any part of the country has access to a computer for personal use with free internet connection at school. Additionally, Ceibal has grown to provide an expanded array of educational programs and resources for both Uruguayan educators and students, including training courses to enhance methods of teaching and learning. To learn more about PowerSchool Connected Intelligence K-12 visit, To learn more about PowerBuddy for Learning visit, About PowerSchool PowerSchool is a leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America. Its mission is to empower educators, administrators, and families to ensure personalized education for every student journey. PowerSchool offers end-to-end product clouds that connect the central office to the classroom to the home with award-winning products including Schoology Learning and Naviance CCLR, so school districts can securely manage student data, enrollment, attendance, grades, instruction, assessments, human resources, talent, professional development, special education, data analytics and insights, communications, and college and career readiness. PowerSchool supports over 60 million students in more than 90 countries and over 18,000 customers, including more than 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States. © PowerSchool. PowerSchool and other PowerSchool marks are trademarks of PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries. PowerSchool marks are registered trademarks in several countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. View source version on Contacts Media Contact We. Communications for PowerSchoolWE-PowerSchool@ (503) 443-7155
Finextra
5 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
Dakota raises $12.5m to bring banking into the internet age
Dakota Funding has raised $12.5 million in Series A funding to help it realise its goal of changing how banks work in the Internet Age. Dakota wants to help banks adapt to digital demands faster by giving them tools that are easy to use and can grow with their needs. 1 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. This Dakota Series A Funding round shows that strong investor confidence in fintech solutions that put simplicity, speed, and user experience first. Dakota, the crypto-integrated business banking platform, today announced it has raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round led by CoinFund, with participation from 6th Man Ventures (6MV) and Triton Ventures. The new capital will accelerate Dakota's mission to build the world's first globally accessible business bank account, combining the speed and transparency of stablecoins with the safety of U.S. Treasuries to enable modern, borderless finance. Founded by veterans from Coinbase, Square, and Airbnb, Dakota is reimagining how businesses move and store money across borders. Its platform enables companies to hold and transfer funds across USD or stablecoins while accessing familiar payment rails, such as ACH, Fedwire, SWIFT, and SEPA. Behind the scenes, Dakota leverages blockchain technology to enable near-instant, verifiable transfers, keeping customer funds fully reserved and under the client's control. Since launching in 2023, Dakota has already attracted over 500 business customers – from tech startups to international nonprofits – processing billions of dollars in annualized transaction volume. By using stablecoins as settlement rails and backing deposits 1:1 with U.S. Treasuries, Dakota eliminates the counterparty and liquidity risks that have plagued traditional banks, especially in the wake of recent crises like the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. 'Companies are increasingly default global and they're being hamstrung by slow wire transfers, limited banking access, and the reality that once money goes into a bank, customers lose control,' said Ryan Bozarth, CEO and co-founder of Dakota. 'Our goal with Dakota is to bring banking into the internet age — giving businesses the ability to move money as instantly and freely as information travels, without sacrificing security or compliance.' The timing couldn't be better. In the U.S., Congress is making meaningful progress on stablecoin legislation, with bipartisan support coalescing around frameworks like the GENIUS Act, signaling long-awaited regulatory clarity for dollar-backed digital assets. Globally, jurisdictions from the EU to Hong Kong are following suit, accelerating the shift toward compliant, mainstream adoption. Major incumbents are taking notice. Payments giant Stripe recently acquired stablecoin startup Privy and Bridge, while PayPal has launched its own stablecoin to keep pace with evolving market demands. These moves underscore how stablecoins are becoming an integral part of modern payments, offering businesses 24/7, borderless money movement at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. 'We believe stablecoins can revolutionize business banking,' said Alex Felix, CIO of CoinFund. 'Dakota is unlocking that potential by combining the familiarity of a bank account with the power of crypto rails. They're not asking mainstream businesses to change how they operate — they're upgrading the engine under the hood.' With the Series A money in hand, Dakota is expanding its product suite and geographic reach. The startup recently rolled out corporate cards, allowing clients to spend their funds via virtual cards while setting custom spend controls for their teams. It also added support for the international SWIFT and SEPA payment networks, on top of its existing U.S. ACH and wire capabilities, aiming to make sending money abroad as simple as a domestic transfer. Dakota is broadening its onboarding to customers across 100+ jurisdictions, including in the UK, EU (under MiCA regulations), Singapore, and Latin America. 'Business today is borderless, and dollars are a universal language,' notes Bozarth. 'We want to give entrepreneurs from Bogotá to Bangalore the same access to U.S. dollar banking that a startup in San Francisco would have.' From a user perspective, Dakota feels like a typical fintech app; the blockchain complexity stays under the hood. Clients can send or receive payments via regular bank accounts without handling crypto directly, as Dakota seamlessly converts funds to and from stablecoins behind the scenes. Dakota is betting on a comprehensive approach, blending global payment rails, multi-currency treasury management, and globally available corporate cards, will set it apart. The founding team's pedigree lends it credibility in both camps: Bozarth and his colleagues built security systems that safeguarded over $100 billion in digital assets, and also helped scale consumer platforms to millions of users. That mix of experience may prove valuable as they navigate the complex intersection of banking and blockchain. Dakota's leadership is focusing on execution: growing its customer base, securing more banking partnerships, and continuing to invest in compliance and regulatory efforts. The company is betting that in a few years, startups will routinely hold dollars on-chain and send payments worldwide in seconds, as easily as sending an email. If that vision pans out, Dakota could emerge as one of the pioneers of stablecoin-powered banking. And thanks to its new funding, it has a running start in that race. Businesses can get started today at and experience modern banking built for the internet age. With Dakota Funding now secured, the company is set to transform traditional banking infrastructure through digital-first innovation backed by its $12.5M Series A round.
Globe and Mail
9 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Bounteous Appoints Kelly Jessop as Chief Solutions Officer to Spearhead Client-Focused Digital Innovation
Former IBM and Deloitte executive brings 25+ years of digital transformation experience to strengthen the company's innovation and client delivery engine
Khaleej Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
TASC slashes Tech Hiring Time in Saudi Arabia with launch of Tech Vertical AIQU
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is driving a significant surge in demand for technology talent, especially in AI and machine learning. However, many companies face challenges such as lengthy hiring processes, high costs, and limited flexibility, which cause delays that put critical digital projects at risk. Overcoming these obstacles is essential to sustaining the Kingdom's fast-moving digital transformation. AIQU, powered by workforce solutions provider TASC, builds on its established presence in Saudi Arabia by introducing innovative solutions like Deploy-on-Demand, which is designed to cut tech hiring timelines by up to 50 per cent. With a proven track record in Tech Talent, Statement of Work, Digital, and Managed Services, AIQU continues to evolve to meet the Kingdom's growing demand for agile workforce solutions. They enable clients to rapidly fill specialised roles while handling iqama, payroll, compliance, and onboarding, providing pre-verified talent ready to deploy within 2 to 6 weeks, compared to the market average of 3 to 6 months. This innovative solution is already supporting public sector digital programmes, banking and fintech transformations, global consultancies, and rapidly scaling SAP and ERP projects across the country. Industries such as cloud computing, AI, and cybersecurity are expanding faster than available talent can keep pace, creating an urgent tech crunch in Saudi Arabia. Roles like cloud architects, SAP consultants, and data engineers are in high demand, but local expertise remains limited. For specialised skills such as OT/ICS security or data governance, the talent gap is even more pronounced. AP consulting roles, for example, have a local talent shortfall of up to 40 per cent. 'Many businesses simply cannot afford the three to six-month hiring cycles associated with conventional recruitment or global system integrators,' says Tim Harlow, head of AIQU. 'Critical transformation projects cannot wait, yet the complexity of the Saudi recruitment market makes speed challenging. Vision 2030's momentum has created an enormous opportunity for organisations able to close their talent gaps quickly.' System integrators add further cost and complexity with approval processes and onboarding delays, making these models less sustainable. 'Cost, speed, and flexibility are the three pillars every client struggles with. Existing models are too rigid for today's dynamic projects,' Taha Esmail, VP of AIQU added. AIQU's Deploy-on-Demand model is built to overcome these challenges by offering pre-verified, project-ready tech talent mobilised up to 70 per cent faster than traditional hiring models. Clients submit role requirements tied to project deliverables, and AIQU matches candidates from a continuously refreshed bench of regional and international professionals. The service also manages full onboarding, including iqama, payroll, compliance, and Saudization requirements, ensuring faster time-to-productivity and regulatory alignment. Beyond speed, AIQU's approach delivers significant cost savings, typically 30 to 50 per cent compared to traditional system integrators, by cutting multilayered consulting overheads and providing transparent pricing. 'Clients want agility. We enable them to scale teams up or down based on project phases without the cost and complexity of long-term headcount commitments,' said Pinky Mistry, VP of AIQU. AIQU is expanding its pipeline of Arabic-speaking professionals, partnering with local training academies, building offshore development centers and growing its presence across the country. 'Vision 2030's momentum has created a massive opportunity for those who can close talent gaps fast. Our focus is on giving clients the agility they need to keep pace with this transformation,' concludes Tim.
