Welcome to the second edition of CMtoday’s annual listing of UAE’s most remarkable brands and businesses operating in the Middle East’s built environment. The country’s growth story is being powered by the real estate sector and those managing these assets – Property Management & Asset Management Service Firms, Facilities Management Providers, Community Management & Owner Associations, and PropTech enterprises. This year’s list showcases 22 companies who have moved the needle in the built world and who have an ambitious vision for 2023.
(Disclaimer: This list is not a ranking. All companies are placed in alphabetical order)
Adeeb Group Reaching New Heights
Dr. Ansari, Group CEO
Focused on energy Management, Net Zero, Eco- Friendly, Sustainability, and Enabling IoT Based Energy Management solutions. Adeeb Group is a part of the prestigious Sultan Bin Rashid Al Dhaheri Group, and its vision is to serve UAE with best-in-class Facilities
Management and MEP contracting services. Since opening our first office in Abu Dhabi in the year 1994, which have been consistently enhancing our service offerings as well as increasing our presence across the UAE. Currently, we have branch offices across UAE as well as Seychelles and are working towards further expansion in various other countries. Over the last three decades, we have curated a very strong team, with time-tested processes and consistently updated technology, which is helping us to pave the way for further growth in the industry and the region.
We thank our visionary leaders of the country, and we work as a group in alignment with their commitment to Emirate’s Sustainable Goals. We have already started working towards the sustainability directives set forth by the UAE leadership, which are Abu Dhabi vision 2030 and vision 2050, wherein our teams are already contributing towards achieving energy savings of 20-30%. Also, our Research and Development teams and management teams are focused on establishing strategies for achieving Net Zero by 2050. We understand that the simplest of initiatives are kick-starters for bigger projects, we have stopped the usage of plastic bottles within our offices and our projects by providing water refilling stations.
We currently service over 200-plus projects both on a short-term as well as a long-term basis (Annual Maintenance Contracts). The most recent award was for a five-year term and such projects motivate us to add value to our esteemed clients by providing time and investment for energy management aspects. To achieve this task, we have created a dedicated Energy Management and Sustainability R&D Team, with members of certified professionals. We do the lookout for adding value to our client’s assets by constantly performing R&D and implementing energy conservation measures both from a zero-investment perspective as well as an investment model. Currently, we are teamed up with various technology providers and manufacturers in providing shared savings as well as guaranteed saving models for our clients. We are focused on achieving sustainability and our teams are working on setting the required strategies in alignment with the nation for the coming years.
During this year, we have grown our staff strength by over 28% with an overall increase in revenue of 12.5%, hence we are tirelessly working towards enhancing our infrastructure to provide better satisfaction to our customers. Customer retention would be the most important priority followed by the onboarding landmark projects across UAE. Furthermore, our focus would be also extended to Energy Management and the development of strategies for achieving Net Zero within the projects we currently operate and new clients. We have forecasted a healthy pipeline for 2023 and hence further enhancing current best practices, employee welfare, and technology to ensure optimized efficiency is key for operations.
AG Facilities Solutions (AGFS)
Tarek Nizameddin, CEO
2022 marks as the Year of ambitious Transformation for AG Facilities Solutions (AGFS) - to build upon our status as pioneers, obsessed with innovation and change, and drive our purpose of Empowering Facilities, Enhancing Life. As part of our Transformation,
we have successfully integrated our two businesses – AGFS (TFM, Hard Services, Infra Projects) and MBM (Soft Services) into a common identity of AG Facilities Solutions focusing on Technology driven Integrated Facility management Solutions.
At AGFS, use of technology is crucial for our four focus areas of: Moving to data-driven decision making and operations, Technology and innovation itself, Sustainability and CSR, & Customer Centricity – more imperative than ever in the modern, digital age – and our people and employee welfare.
With agility and productivity as the goals, we have built capabilities to become proficient at using technological tools to help the rest of the business respond quickly to changing conditions and be comfortable with using predictive analytics and business intelligence to inform decision-making.
Utilising technology efficiently ensures the optimisation of new opportunities whilst building competences in the FM space, across hard and soft services, to unlock value and drive customer engagement.
We have invested in both technologies and people during the year to upgrade our platform. On the technology front, we are implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 as our ERP solution, coupled with MRI as the CAFM solution.
Our People continue to be our most critical asset. We have invested strategically in employee engagements through our Culture Initiative and Educational Initiative. Regular check-ins and employee satisfaction surveys have helped us in being rated as a Top Employer in GCC
As part of our Digital Transformation journey, we will be incorporating integration of Big Data Analytics, AI/ ML, Robotics, Digitalization of assets, IOT into core FM operations to facilitate technological transition of service delivery in line with technology trends and customer expectations. We will increasingly look at partnering with our customers and vendors to provide implementable solutions around Technology driven FM.
In addition, we will be also expanding our service suit to offer holistic FM solutions around Asset Lifecycle Management, Predictive and Reliability Based Maintenance, Energy & Sustainability advisory and other specialized solutions
We are driven by our vision - “Pioneers in the pursuit of better to enhance life, every day.” We are proud of our legacy, while being bold enough to make changes which disrupt and consistently raise the benchmark of our service delivery. We have set ambitious goals to align our business model to the ever-evolving needs of all our stakeholders – customers, colleagues, society, and all business partners. We are driven by our Strategic goals to substantially increase our market share in a sustainable and responsible manner, driven both by service line expansion as well by innovating new lines of business. We will selectively partner with domain leaders to support our initiatives around Analytics, AI and Data driven FM solutions.
Al Bonian FM: ‘To Infinity and beyond….’
Tony Martin, CEO
2022 has been a very successful year for Al Bonian FM. We have seen continuous growth in our market share and footprint reporting an increased revenue growth of 40% and NP of 3% in 2022 alone. This has been achievable due to an aggressive strategic approach to new work winning,
continuing efficiency, risk taking and blind faith in our abilities to deliver the best FM Solutions in the regions FM market.
Al Bonian FM during this period have retained all their existing contracts. This is in addition to new work wins , and adding to both to our Nakheel and Meydan portfolios. This in due to our quality reputation, and capability to deliver expert in-house Hard Services, but also to execute major upgrades, systems overhaul with this in-house expertise.
Al Bonian FM launched their Repara business ‘The second chapter of our journey…’. Repara was to specifically target high end properties, to provide a luxury concierge service and not the normal home maintenance packages. The business has been an enormous success and growth is continuous. We have witnessed that 95% of all new business has come through recommendations, either by word of mouth, or via community’s social media pages.
This year Al Bonian FM offered Helpdesk Services to our clients. The proposal, to remove the ‘middle-man’ i.e. their own helpdesk services. The rationale behind this was mainly the expediting of tenants/owner’s issues and also providing a technical support. Al Bonian’s Help desk team are mostly qualified engineers, this along with detailed questionaries/scripts has vastly improved the efficiency of visits to rectify faults, no more generic or wrong reasons for attendance, but informed and detailed diagnosis.
Al Bonian FM have revisited its initiative to self-deliver soft services. This was initially considered pre-pandemic but then postponed. The execution of this is well on its way, with the management team identified, the implementation underway with recruitment of resources. This initiative will go a considerable way to increasing Al Bonian FMs footprint and market share within the region.
Al Bonian FM has over 2022 had considerable presence on media platforms. Our LinkedIn page grows on average of one thousand followers per month, and we have been featured in all major Industry publications, either with interviews, submissions or advertisements and participated in all the industry events, forums and awards ceremonies. This reporting period we received recognition for partnership awards for Seddiqi and Meydan, and our CEO was recognised on three separate occasions and won awards.
Al Bonian FM’s brand and reputation continues to grow, become known and recognisable. This for an FM company of humble beginnings, local and standalone has been nothing short of an outstanding achievement.
2022 New Business Initiatives…. Onwards and upwards….
- Repara
- Helpdesk Services
- Self-delivery Soft Services
Limitless possibilities….
The aim is that the addition of soft services self-delivery will vastly enhance the portfolio of Al Bonian FM. Al Bonian FM continues to grow and challenge the major players in the FM market, they continue to punch above their weight, and match them even with the disparity in size or financial support and will continue to do so. It is critical that FM Solutions doesn’t become a monopoly for the big players.
We want to be showing continuous growth using our approach, and we want to consider moving or expanding into other markets in the region, while also increasing our market share in the UAE. The Al Bonian FM brand’s singular aim is to become widely known and associated with quality and great FM services.
Expect the best.
Belsio EPMS
Hamza Betraoui, Managing Director
Elinx Infotech has existed since 2002 as a technology company that developed software for the real estate industry across the MENA region. In 2022, Belsons Technologies Ltd, a DIFC Innovation Hub company, took a majority stake in the firm.
And with it- we inherited more than 400 Clients and 60 employees across 4 offices (UAE, Qatar, India and Egypt). The business has state-of-the-art ERP Real Estate software, and since the takeover, we have increased our customer base by 20% and have come out with a new Mall Management Leasing Module integrated with Finance. This includes multi-year leasing and specific customizations for a Mall. Sharjah Cooperative Society and Mega Mall are the latest clients to benefit from this new upgrade. Moreover, we have entered Saudi Arabia with a new Client - Rua Al Madina, incorporating region-specific changes; hence, we are ready for this blessed territory. Going forward, we are introducing exciting new technologies, including being the second company in UAE to get the Metaverse License.
Whilst some information is best kept as a surprise, we will go through a full company branding where Elinx Infotech will be renamed Belsio EPMS. There will be a full renovation of the company’s 22 modules where we will shift all our solutions onto the Cloud and fully integrate it with mobile applications and enterprise data protection framework.
We are keen to heavily explore the MENA region, especially countries such as KSA, Egypt and Iraq, by doubling the size of our team. There is a dire need for real estate PropTech solutions, and Belsio EPMS is the right fit.
Berkeley Services
Jiji Francis, Sr.Director UAE Operations
The evolution in the past year signifies progression post pandemic. With evolving marketing trends and advancements, it was fascinating to understand the industry today and to be prepared for the future. The focus was to get back the businesses on the runway.
And we believe we have substantially exceeded in doing so by continuing our partnership with our esteemed clients for the premium projects and having their confidence and faith in choosing Berkeley as their preferred vendor. We aimed on a vast spectrum of new business opportunities and have been successful in achieving them.
Maintaining the top client portfolios by renewing Burj Khalifa for the fifth Consecutive time , UAE University for 3rd Consecutive time and adding on several new businesses to the list namely Linencraft, Nshama , Malabar Gold and Diamonds marks our consistency in the business and Industry. Berkeley has already booked close to AED80+ Million is additional revenue from new clients.
We aim to continue the focus on long-term commercial profitability and embracing existing and upcoming opportunities.
The appointment of Imran Ahmed as our new Director of Operations for Abu Dhabi Operations brings in timely and strategic move for the organization. Our business in Abu Dhabi has seen many changes over the years and to head us through those times has been our Operations Director Mr. Venu. He has been instrumental in the growth and development of our Abu Dhabi operations.
Taking over from Mr. Venu, is Imran Ahmed who has been in the region for past 9 years and has over 20 years of experience in the industry. Imran brings with him a wealth of experience from managing major operations in the UK and here in the UAE. Key developments he will look to implement is greater use of technology to support the amazing team, to ensure efficiency and to continue to deliver the high-quality service Berkley is renowned for.
The growing concentration and smooth transition of FM industries towards innovation and technology plays a major role in developing the right kind of products and services to offer.
Through integration of digital networks within the conventional FM architecture, we have witnessed Berkeley transcend into the digital era. Tapping into the vast potential of technologies such as neural networks and real-time monitoring within our proprietary software, there has been a tremendous improvement in operational efficiency. While integration of Augmented Reality (AR) into motion capture technologies have assisted us in optimizing our staff schedule, digitalization of the HR process have assisted us in inching closer towards our sustainability goal. With our refined CAFM software programs, interactive dashboards of incident reports and asset operational log are available at your fingertips. Embracing the use of technologies like LIDAR in waste segregation/removal, our operational effectiveness has improved by over 12% within 2022. Incorporating autonomous technologies with rich data analytics have assisted in keeping us ahead within the AI genre.
We have active integration of passive technologies within our Operational Hierarchy. We have active partnership with Energy optimization cloud-based options. Solutions have been provided towards managing DeltaT by implementing Dynamic Chilled Water Balancing controls with all standalone or remote cloud analytics. Our solutions envision to reduce efforts around piping modifications and associated mechanical shut down, thereby adding value to our clients. With a social and technology driven future, we have heavily invested in IoT & other technologies aiming to advance through the digital frontier.
With the changing times and evolution of fast paced transformative technologies, we see a continuation and rapid growth of innovations and developments in the industry. We at Berkeley are looking to adapt the technologies which can be embedded within the operations that will benefit both the end user and Industry at large.
It has been a challenging phase post 2020 (pandemic) for the entire industry and we are slowly moving into a more stable and aligning to the dynamic requirement of the clients. The overall achievements, improved performance curve (due to enhanced training and implementation of IoT and other technologies) and the growth in terms of new and renewed business in the year 2022 has helped to establish Berkeley as a preferred vendor of choice for our customers. With over 311 Million AED turnover in 2021, we are well placed to close 2022 with a sizable increase on our projected revenue.
Emphasizing the target audience with Integrated technologies and streamlining the process is the key focus for Berkeley in 2023. We are looking to develop, enhance and emphasize the in-house capabilities (like pest control, water tank cleaning, lifeguards etc.), standardizing strategic FM practices as per International Standards by following robust governance mechanism in handlings IFM projects.
Better Communities
Jennifer Andal, Director - Owners Affairs
Elevating Standards of Community Management : 2022 has been a pivotal year for Better Communities in terms of building its portfolio and organizational growth. It has been a year of establishing industry connections, gaining confidence, and strengthening brand recognition.
We are now proudly managing more than a thousand units - a major achievement for a company that started out small in Q3 of 2021.
Our team also achieved great heights in terms of gaining the confidence of our stakeholders. More importantly, we have realized our primary objective of having the trust of owners who have given us the opportunity to manage their property investments.
BCOAM’s approach is to first get to know what makes owners and residents happy. We understand that each community is unique and that our management plan must respond to these bespoke requirements. Successful implementation of this strategy translated to a 96% happiness rating in our managed communities.
Despite being a relatively new company, BCOAM was also recognized by industry award-giving bodies. We are proud to have qualified as finalists and compete with much bigger organizations. Such nominations affirm that we are on the right track to achieving our goals.
With a great head-start, we are determined to continuously improve our service delivery, double our current portfolio, expand business operations, and recruit more dedicated industry professionals in 2023.
Our service delivery improvement plan involves implementing quicker turnaround/resolution time, optimizing service charges, tightening supervision of service providers, and completing all planned community projects. Most of all, we aim to show the value of accountability and transparency to all our stakeholders.
We believe that consistency is key in accomplishing our vision to being known as the most trust-worthy community management company in the market by the end of 2023. Our approach will remain customer centered. We will strive to show how honest and competent management can bring more value to communities.
Better Communities will continue to implement innovative solutions that will resonate beyond our managed portfolio and elevate standards of community management in the UAE. We certainly are, a company to watch out for in 2023!
BK Gulf Facilities Management
Stuart McGregor, General Manager
BKG FM was formed over 24 years ago as a division of BK Gulf and has enjoyed sustainable and continued growth, becoming a leading service provider through its successful delivery of prestigious contracts for renowned clients throughout the UAE.
After experiencing a 40 % growth in the recent years, we are focusing our efforts on enhancing existing services offerings and implementing innovative and sustainable solutions. We provide data – driven, outcome-based approach and high value service designed to meet client goals, becoming a trusted partner on their journey and helping them achieve measurable results. For our strategic plans and energy efficiency projects, our comprehensive service portfolio provides a solid foundation to enhance how we operate and maintain our clients’ facilities.
BKG FM ‘s success continues to surpass shareholders expectations. We continue to focus on clients and organisations who understand the value of their assets and wish to maintain them to a high level providing exceptional tenant experience, be it commercial, residential, healthcare, or industrial facilities.We continue to renew long standing contracts with organisations such as Al Ali Properties, Al Wasl Properties, JA Resorts and Hotels, Equinix, Execujet, Jumeirah Group, Habib Banks and many others. We ensure our existing client base remains our priority and that there is no compromise on service delivery such that renewal becomes a discussion, not a negotiation.
We are currently in the process of replanning our entire business with a refreshed organisational structure and changes in the way we approach customer delivery. Major Capital investment will enable us to operate with the latest technology and to offer real time, informed decision making, energy reduction plans to our customers. In an ever-changing market we need to be ever changing, this will soon be seen of us across our industry.
BKG FM General Manager, Stuart McGregor said: “Our success continues as we plan major changes in our Business that will be rolled out early in 2023. We will be taking Facilities Management to a different level with clients who understand the benefits of real time data to influence the operational control and energy consumption of their assets. We will be offering clients a completely different approach to Facilities Management, and we are certain that those clients who adopt our approach will soon reap the benefits of our changes. This completely radical approach to our business in 2023 will certainly see our continued growth realised once again.
On the wall behind my desk, I have 6 principles that I have used throughout my career, one reads “If you always do, what you always did, you’ll always get, what you always got” The next 12 months will see us embrace this principle and do things very differently, new opportunities for not only us as a business but for our clients too. We will be offering new services that will guarantee improvements to their facilities, buildings, complexes and assets and we are hugely excited about it.”
Buzzin
Nasser Fawaz, Founder & CEO
In the last 12 months, Buzzin has had a significant jump in acquiring market share in the visitor management business. The company has successfully attracted tier one communities and groups in the residential, hospitality and educational sectors.
Moreover, Buzzin has also deployed POCs in other top educational groups, malls, and communities across the UAE. 2023 is going to see exponential growth in the brand's presence across these sectors when the solution is rolled out at these groups
This wide-ranging success stems from the fact that Buzzin is the fastest and most convenient visitor management solution available in the UAE. Simplicity and the subscription-based model make it an attractive choice for community and facility managers.
Among its list of achievements, the platform has already processed over one million visitors in less than a year.
Buzzin continuously upgrades its products and adds new features to maintain its competitiveness and to meet market requirements. Buzzin is currently integrating with many access control platforms. This allows communities to reduce the number of security personnel required at their premises. They are also integrating with Apple Wallet to allow users to conveniently check-in using their iPhones and Apple Watches. It is worth mentioning that Buzzin is the only solution that allows NFC check-in using iOS and Android phones.
Buzzin has also integrated an attendance system into their visitor management system, unifying reporting and eliminating the need for a secondary attendance system in communities, offices, schools, or malls. There are many other upgrades in the works which will be disclosed in due time.
In 2023, Buzzin is preparing for a major upgrade of the user app. Among the upgrades will be features such as a higher security threshold by introducing biometric authentications which will pave the way for using Buzzin at highly secured facilities.
The next 12 months will see growth through large business deployments coming on the back of substantial work accomplished in the past year. At Buzzin, 2023 will be the year in which the number of visitors using this solution will jump from 1.2 million to five million across the different sectors.
Buzzin is aiming to raise funds in the next 6 months to expand its growth to other GCC countries, capitalizing on its success in the UAE market. The platform will have a comprehensive product offering with innovation at its core, helping different business segments with their requirements across different markets. Transforming visitor management from paper-based logbooks to a digital system is further contributing to Dubai’s vision of becoming a digital city and supporting its sustainability objectives by going paperless. Buzzin is proud to be supporting smart sustainable communities and cities.
Concordia DMCC
Michael Nicolas, General Manager
Established in 2007, Concordia has built a strong brand in Dubai, initially through the success of Jumeirah Lake Towers and the strength of the ownership structure. Since being established, Concordia has grown across Dubai, now managing more than 253,000,000 sq. ft. of master
community contracts on behalf of multiple clients and over 111 residential and commercial towers.
Over the last 12 months, Concordia has achieved notable success with master community contract wins including Discovery Gardens, , Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Islands Town Houses, Jumeirah Village Circle and most recently, Midtown. Apart from these noteworthy wins, Concordia has also secured Integrated Facility Management contracts for multiple new towers in 2022.
Another significant area of achievement in 2022 has been the improvement in staff accommodation. As part of Concordia’s constant focus on employee welfare, it improved the standard of living for its employees by moving them to brand new furnished accommodation, offering more room, improved facilities and the addition of various recreational opportunities.
Other initiatives taken by Concordia over the last year focusing on employee welfare include:
- Employees mental health program
- Breast cancer screening
- Men’s health workshops
- Outdoor cinema on weekends
- Yoga workshop in cooler weather
- Ramadan well-being kits distribution
- Continuous employee engagement through various initiatives such as celebrations of World Environment Day and Blood donor day among other initiatives
- Appreciation events to reward and recognise the efforts of those individuals going beyond the call of duty to fulfill their work obligations
In addition to expanding geographically, Concordia also launched vertical expansion and the introduction of new business lines such as Concordia On-Demand, a digital self-service platform providing services directly to residential and commercial occupiers, end-to-end Fit-Out Management Services, full Project Management Services; and an Event Management Divisions, to broaden its scope of IFM services.
This expansion, as well as delivering growth, has increased the overall knowledge base of the built environment within Concordia, including new team members, contributing to the overall knowledge base of an already experienced and strong team.
Concordia is very optimistic about the future of its business and the strategic direction provided by the UAE’s visionary leadership.
In 2023, Concordia plans to continue its positive momentum with new contract growth, without losing focus on its current contract base and ensuring the continued success of its recent contract wins.
To achieve its goals in 2023, Concordia will continue its relentless focus on employees, clients and customers, through continued drive with employee welfare and enhanced training programs, supporting the employees and the business, to deliver on and exceed its customer and client expectations.
Deyaar Facilities Management
Mohamad Abou Laban, CEO
For the year 2022, we have had a sustainable and measured growth. The Facility Management market is going through a major transformation driven by technology innovation, new business models, emerging value propositions and creative new service offerings.
At Deyaar FM we have aligned our strategy in a similar manner. Over the past year, Deyaar FM stood out from the competition through innovation, diversity, growth, customer service, investment in people and strategic thinking.
The firm signed 30 new contracts and renewed 22 contracts between January 2022 and October 2022. Some of the major contracts include Engineering Office, Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society, Abu Dhabi Police and Kaizen OA. We are on target to achieve a remarkable 32% revenue growth for the year. We also recorded a 24% increase in manpower during this period. Our intention is to penetrate into new sectors and ensure major presence across all the 7 Emirates in the UAE.
This year we achieved an important milestone with Contract wins, whereby our order book crossed AED 120 million, exhibiting the company's unwavering focus on high-quality and cost effective solution to all our customers.
Increasing requirements in the facility management industry and even more complex delivery strategies require flexible, independently operating solutions and automation technology. At Deyaar Facilities Management we have implemented an approach where we are customer focused and have adopted a continuous improvement philosophy in everything we do to ensure the highest satisfaction levels for our stakeholders. This has helped us adopt new ways to do things better as well as identifying areas for improvement.
Some conventional systems can no longer keep up with the diverse new requirements. As one of the fastest growing FM Company in the region, our intention was to come up with solutions for the most frequently addressed issues. Over the past year, DFM has tried to stand out from the competition through innovation, diversity, growth, customer service, investment in people and strategic thinking. This has helped us think about ways we could be doing things better and we have identified areas for improvement.
Hence, we came up with two propositions:
(i) Using QR code technology for enhancing efficiency in cleaning services
(ii) Enhance operational efficiency through Augmented Reality (AR)
Currently we are working on complementing our service offering with energy management solutions backed up with a new state-of-the-art Central Command Centre. We are also working alongside our partners on implementing newer technology solutions in the facility management arena which will be announced once we successfully complete the testing phase.
At Deyaar FM our aim is to achieve sustainable growth. We end this year on a high with some good contract wins that we will start to operate from January 2023. We expect to continue with the same momentum whereby exceeding the expectations of our internal and external stakeholders.
From a growth perspective, it was important for Deyaar FM to add more services in-house, hence we are looking at adding new segments within our service delivery domain. Moreover, we also aim to penetrate into new sectors and provide those Clients with tailor made solutions. Deyaar FM will continue investing in technology, particularly in the virtual / augmented reality domain with an aim to improve service delivery, increase customer satisfaction and to reduce costs.
Ejadah Asset Management Services
Ejadah is a leading asset management company in Dubai with an outstanding reputation for its world-class real estate asset management services. This year our focus was on business growth across UAE, and has resulted in over 13% growth in revenue in 2022.
We have achieved an improvement in customer satisfaction - over 85% in 2022 and supplier satisfaction above 90%. We have also ensured new customer wins and garnered numerous awards which prove our brand and its service. Ejadah was ranked fifth in the region’s top 50 facilities management entities for 2022.
The achievements and accolades have been possible due to our technology & innovation focused operational efficiencies, a move to a paperless environment and digitization through advanced analytics, robotics process automation, PowerBI dashboards.
Ejadah today has over 14,000 employees across the UAE. We have made employee welfare, health and safety a core focus area through:
- Improved standards of living for staff
- Speak up for Safety (S4S) campaign
- Recreation facilities/ programs
- Employee awards
- Over 110,000 hours of training provided in hard and soft skills
- Online training platform with over 9000+ training programs/ modules
We have through our ADVANZ Percipio is our e-learning platform offered 9000+ modules to choose from and learn on the go. In addition, courses have been tailored to suit business requirements and provisioned as journeys that each department/individual can go through. The highly interactive platform now offers each course in audio, video, audiobooks, and document formats. The platform is mobile-responsive and can be fully accessed through the mobile app. Our aim is to enable continuous learning while ensuring business continuity. And finally, we have the Ejadah One app that automates the entire employee life cycle.
For 2023, our objective is to continue to focus on technology adoption, employee wellbeing, customer service and supplier satisfaction. We will cement our expansion in Abu Dhabi and other Emirates through growth of security consultancy/ systems, façade cleaning, manpower outsourcing and other new services focused on backward integration. Ejadah will also work on – Talent development. To place us as a regional, if not global, benchmark for real estate services in the next 3-5 years.
Eltizam Asset Management Group
Chris Roberts, Group CEO
Since inception, Eltizam has grown from a single company providing minimal services, to 8 subsidiaries offering a full spectrum of services to the built environment across the MENA region. This includes real estate consultancy, feasibilities, valuations, owners’ association management,
total facilities management, all aspects of property management, property technology, smart building solutions and development management – delivered by our 6,500+ staff.
In the past year, Eltizam acquired Falcon Investments LLC, who has traded as the affiliate partner of Colliers in the region since 1995. This gives us access to research, statistics and operating procedures which are taking place around the globe. Through the partnership, both firms are now able to maximise the potential of real estate for clients and increase the depth of overall services.
Another noteworthy addition to Eltizam’s expansion strategy in the past year was the launch of ‘LITE’ - a real estate development management company specialising in development management services, including design, project and cost management, further enhancing the Group’s all-encompassing business model.
The Group has taken big leaps in technological advancement through its tech division, EAST-O Holdings. With customers now demanding more transparent and efficient services and the ongoing progression in technology in the built environment, Eltizam proved its ability to quickly adapt amidst dynamic conditions and keep pace with emerging trends, successfully utilising its resources to develop portals and apps that radically enhance operational efficiency.
One such app is Eltizam’s in-house proptech application, PropEzy, a solution that merges different digital platforms to manage the built environment into a single integrated product for community, property and workplace management, with plans to introduce tools for security and facilities management in the near future. This digitalised tool helps tackle the fragmented state of proptech solutions by offering a single unified system, resulting in lower costs and higher ROI for asset owners and operators. PropEzy has remarkably recorded over 55,000 reservations, 45,000 customer requests and 52,000 online payments since its launch.
Additionally, in the company’s efforts to reduce carbon footprint in communities, EAST-O Holdings is also collaborating with energy experts on a special project that will allow community managers to view their energy breakdowns in real time through IoT technology. Expected to launch in 2023, the project will empower community managers and improve their decision-making process.
Eltizam constantly strives to be at the forefront of the real estate industry, a goal that is achieved through the adoption of best practices from other unrelated sectors as well. This philosophy led to the inception of specialised departments within the organization, including a CX department and a culture department (Get Wonky), both concerned on keeping up with latest research, initiatives and innovations.
Innovation is needed to help a company grow, to stay relevant within the field and to stand out from other organisations. It is essential to embrace innovation and, in our industry, we are looking at innovation through technology, people development, organic and inorganic growth strategies.
Moving forward, the Group will further explore the use of IoT, digital twins and smart building solutions, emphasizing on the direct interaction with the end-user through user-friendly mobile applications and working smarter to provide more efficient solutions.
Emrill Services LLC
Stuart Harrison, CEO
In 2022, Emrill celebrated its twentieth year of operations in the UAE and continues to be the region's preferred facilities management partner, providing quality services, ensuring safety and building trusted relationships based upon mutual values.
This year, Emrill has demonstrated the success of its holistic approach to seizing opportunities, investing in people and continuous improvement, and delivering world-class services, including:
- Continuous Improvement Workshops – over 20 innovations presented in 2022
- New Year's Eve clean-up—Downtown Dubai, completing the operation in 2.5 hours, breaking the previous years’ records
- Launch of ‘FM Engineering Reimagined’: 25% operations cost reduction across Dubai mega project
- Launch of ‘Masterminds’ - a knowledge-sharing programme, available to all employees, developed to circulate relevant/credible/current knowledge, experience, and expertise through masterclasses, enabling employees to connect to experienced subject matter experts
- Renewal of Emrill’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) membership and launch of eleven CPD-accredited courses (2021/2022). Emrill is the only FM provider in the region to offer CPD-certified modules, in-house and via the CPD website, so other companies can learn/benefit from them.
- Launch of ‘A Better You’ - an umbrella programme designed to provide credible information, tools and resources, including access to qualified healthcare professionals, to empower Emrill’s employees to prioritise their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
High-level rope access
Following a successful external audit by the International Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA), Emrill has achieved full operator membership status with the world-renowned High Level and Rope Access Trade Association.
In 2023, Emrill will continue to deliver high-level access services at heights in excess of 400 metres to over 200 properties. Emrill’s high-level access is delivered utilising a variety of safe, compliant, industry approved and regulated methods.
Sustainable cleaning robot
Emrill recently launched its first sustainable cleaning robot for a retail environment as part of the organisation’s ongoing mission to identify and execute more sustainable and artificial intelligence (AI) driven projects.
LeoMop, the latest edition to Emrill’s cleaning fleet, uses innovative technologies, including advanced AI technology, to enable more advanced cleaning and time efficiencies through intelligent area mapping in commercial properties.
Emrill Hub
Emrill embarked on the development and implementation of a company-wide digitisation project to enable all employees and customers to work across a single digital platform application, Emrill Hub. The platform helps support the UAE’s digitisation strategies for future innovative ways of working.
In 2023, Emrill will continue to develop, implement and utilise innovative strategies and technologies to meet evolving market requirements and increase operational efficiencies. Through the development and implementation of technological initiatives, delivery of internal skill-building programmes and achievement of international accreditations, Emrill will continue to strengthen its reputation as a world-class FM services provider.
Facilio Inc
Prabhu Ramachandran, Founder and CEO
Facilio is an established leader in the connected buildings and facilities management software space. They offer an AI-driven property operations platform that allows real estate owners to aggregate building data, optimize performance, and control portfolio operations
- all from one place. Headquartered in New York City with offices in Dubai, London, Chennai, Australia & Singapore, Facilio is a global company backed by leading investors including Accel Partners, Tiger Global Management, Dragoneer Investment, and Brookfield.
For Facilio, the year 2022 was all about solidifying their presence in all the key markets globally. They raised their series B fund for $35 million and rolled out category-first products to enable real estate enterprises to reach success through a predictive, connected model of property operations.
The company doubled their headcount in the last one year, and are currently at 200 employees with a globally distributed workforce across 4 continents. They opened a new development hub spread across 40,000 sq ft.
“We achieved 400% revenue growth in the past 12 months and acquired large enterprise customers in London, Dubai, Australia, New York and other regions, and we now manage 10,000+ buildings globally,” says Prabhu Ramachandran, CEO of Facilio.
“In the past year, we have made significant strides as a progressive and innovative technology leader in the real estate industry, and are proud to have global brands such as ICD Brookfield, Investa, Aster DM Healthcare, Mercatus, BritishLand UK, among others as our customers.”
The company launched a scalable, AI-driven Connected Retail solution to help retail portfolios remotely monitor and control systems, deploy optimization strategies at scale, and improve energy savings & asset performance.
Recently, Facilio became one of the first solution providers worldwide to be accredited by WiredScore, the company which provides internationally recognized digital connectivity and smart building rating systems for real estate.
Plans for 2023:
“We plan to revive our annual roadshow ‘Future Proof’ in 2023 which will feature a series of summits in four cities - Dubai, London, New York & Australia. The all-day summits will bring together progressive leaders in the real-estate space sharing actionable insights into how buildings can be made energy efficient & deliver a first-class workplace experience.
We will continue to educate both Facility management (FM) & real estate owners/operators about modernizing their still outdated CMMS, help them to minimize their spend on property O&M with a unified platform approach.
In the region, we are committed to helping real estate owners to improve energy efficiencies in line with UAE’s vision to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
GIS Drones
Mohamed Shawky, Co-Founder and CEO
2021 was a revolutionary year for GIS Drones. We have grown from a two-people company to a company that’s supported by one of the largest real estate valuation companies in the UAE and the region. The company was conceptualised and launched
as the world was going through the pandemic and we have come through these tough years stronger and bigger. We have been able to generate some very good relationships with the government and corporate sector where we were able to execute many drone capture projects such as surveying Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, Mapping RTA Cycle Track in Dubai, inspecting elevator shafts of Address Downtown, 3D modelling towers in Palm Jumeirah, and filming a panorama for the beautiful Jacob&Co - Binghatti new tower.
Here is the summary of the most important events during 2022:
1) Winning Dubai Air Show most innovative company prize
2) Handshaking and Joint Venture with Land Sterling as a powerful shareholder
3) Resigning from my corporate job, to be a full time CEO of GIS Drones
4) Re-branding Geodrones.ae to gisdrones.com
5) Moving our headquarters to Sheikh Zayed office
6) Hiring 4 new staff in business development, sales, marketing, and administration
7) Winning 2 long term projects with top government and business sector companies
By Now, GIS Drones are fully capable in providing the below services:
- Aerial cinematic Photography / Videography to support your marketing requirements
- Drone surveying & mapping to generate your site topography 2D map, contours, and point cloud
- Progress monitoring & violation recording for your construction projects with time lapse
- Drone Facade Inspection for buildings and infrastructure
- Interior drone inspection for confined spaces and hard-to-reach places
- 3D Modeling of your assets and creation of digital twins
- Solar panels inspection using advanced drone thermal technologies
- Capture & analyse anything the drone can see from the sky
- GIS Drones invests in innovative and disruptive technologies to set ourselves ahead of the competition, and provide sustainable solutions that will benefit the global economy and the next generations to come.
Speaking about the transmission speed and remote connectivity, we have successfully tested controlling our drones through the 5G network. This technology is revolutionary as it will allow the operations team to control their drone fleet hundreds of kilometres away, while keeping their eye on the critical locations while inspecting or surveying the assets. And I’m happy to say that this service is ready NOW with GIS Drones. Please call us to discuss it in deeper detail
Our second revolutionary technology is using drones in cleaning the exterior facade of the buildings, solar panels, and rooftops. We are working hard on developing this cleaning system where it will help in minimising the amount of water and electricity used, clean faster, and of course provide a safe operation without jeopardising our labours to injury danger. This service is coming early February, so stay tuned!
We are looking forward to expanding our services list with more innovative ideas, as well as planning to open new offices in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh during 2023.
Drones should be part of every industry, be it construction, facility management, roads and transport, inspection, defence, agriculture, or Oil & Gas. We are ready to work with government and large organisations to build their drone department, provide training, and of course our drones services.
Hitek Services LLC
Javeria Aijaz, Managing Director
HITEK’s journey started in 2015, when Farnek updated its corporate vision & mission to be a technology driven FM company. The group carried out detailed R&D and began to invest in its operational and support processes, making them leaner
as well as digitalising them by developing state-of-the-art, flexible, scalable, unified and integrated technology. Initially, HITEK started life as a branded department within Farnek, but subsequently in January 2022, it was launched as an independent commercial entity of the Farnek Group, headed by managing director Javeria Aijaz, supported by expectational local talent.
Within a span of eight months the team quadrupled in size, employing consultants, project managers, developers, system integrators and additional support staff. We capitalised on opportunities locally to begin with then followed our strategic vision to reach out to companies in the other GCC countries.
Recently HITEK signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Safari Holding, a Saudi conglomerate operating in numerous sectors such as FM, Construction, Entertainment and Technology. Through this partnership, HITEK aims to support the kingdom’s vision
2030 by encouraging international investors and partnership to digitalise the economy, particularly the FM industry.
- HITEK has developed a suite of interconnected products like CAFM, IoT, BMS, Energy, Smart Hospitality, Health & Safety and Smart Fleet, with more in the development stage.
- Through its in-house team, HITEK has recently launched a carbon calculator named as CarbonTek that will help businesses to calculate their carbon footprint in order to enable them to execute their corporate NetZero strategy.
- HITEK has upgraded its existing hotel optimizer online solution into a comprehensive energy management platform that is scheduled to be released in December 2022. This platform provides digital and automated reports & dashboards for energy consumption, carbon footprint and comprehensive analytical breakdown into energy types, starting from portfolio to building to location and ultimately asset level.
- HITEK is also preparing to launch a comprehensive Smart Hospitality solution integrating PMS with customer and back-office mobility all in one platform. This will change the face of hospitality operations as it digitalises the entire guest journey.
HITEK will continue to focus on the UAE market, after all it is a proud UAE company with home grown solutions and believes it can significantly contribute towards the development of smart cities and is committed to supporting the UAE government’s vision for a cleaner environment and a sustainable future. However, HITEK’s broader business strategy is to expand its footprint across the GCC region and Africa, with our foothold in Saudi Arabia already established. HITEK aims to improve its channel partnership programme to onboard more prominent partners, to help achieve its strategic vision for rapid growth throughout the region.
Kaizen Asset Management Services
Fadi Nwilati, CEO
Our most important achievement in 2022 has been in growing our team's knowledge of the importance of Environmental, Social and Governance principles. Our team's determination to achieve our ESG goals will be our contribution and value add to our customers,
our partners, and our planet. As part of our commitment to ESG goals, Kaizen has achieved the Well Rating certification for 91 of our buildings which focused on six health and safety pillars: cleaning and sanitization procedures, emergency preparedness programs, health service resources, air and water quality management, stakeholder engagement and communication.
We are expanding our offerings in master community management and property management. In master community management, we have been focused on increasing resident engagement. Our focus is to improve the wellness of our residents by enabling engagement with one another, and focusing on social and physical wellbeing. In property management, we have evolved our offering to landlords by improving their occupancy to levels they have not witnessed before, by focused on the core customer, the tenants. We have also empowered landlords with alot of analytics utilizing our technology platforms, providing them with insights about their properties that enable them to make informed decisions that improve their property's rentability and bottom line.
We want Kaizen to lead in sustainability achievements, including reducing the usage of plastic bottles in buildings, increasing recycling to significant levels by making it very easy for customers to recycle, and continuing to achieve incremental positive results in carbon footprint savings.
We have several new services that are in pilot testing at the moment, including completely removing the usage of papers in buildings and replacing those with digital screens across the entire portfolio, and also delivering on new home services that enable residents to have peace of mind while having their properties taken care of. We also plan to roll out the access control system which will replace blue books in lobbies.
Operon Middle East
Derrick Wong - General Manager - Operon Middle East
Operon Middle East has set a business strategy plan for the next 5 years with a diversified plan to grow our business in 2023 to 2027.This confidence is based on our current figures which show we achieved 12% organic growth in 2022 and we shall continue our growth in 2023.
We have launched our B2C service product recently in 2022. It is planned to contribute up to 20% company turnover in 2025. Operon Middle East has also introduced new service line which is FM technology services targeting integrating IoT and AI into all our life aspects.
Operon Middle East will continue to grow in 2023. We aim to be a part of FM industry transformation into technology facility management and tech asset management business. Our vision is to elevate FM industry to a complete transformation of Techno FM asset management business where we will offer our clients an integrated solution of FM services.
Operon Middle East is part of UEM EDGENTA, an international organization which provides facilities management services and asset management in 7 countries globally including Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, UAE & KSA. A group of 21,000 staff globally. With diversified customer centric products from B2B to B2C and consultancy services will shape our value proposition and unique set of services to our clients.
ServeU Facilities Management
Gary Reader, General Manager
Over the past few years, we have been successful in solidifying our position in the FM industry. The journey has provided us with the opportunity and knowledge to better understand the requirements and expectations of our diverse clientele.
In keeping with our vision, we were effective in gathering the best internal and external resources to provide the region’s FM industry with the best possible solutions. As one of the leaders in the sector, we understand how important our contributions are to achieving the UAE's vision of digitalisation. As a result, we also focused on digitising our operations this year and introduced several innovative digital solutions for our customers.
Earlier this year, we launched the ServeU Essentials, a fully automated mobile application, to digitise customer experiences and also integrated the Smart Essentials feature in it, to offer complete smart home services for users. Similarly, we have launched two B2B mobile applications for our clients with residential and commercial properties, with an aim to enhance communication between stakeholders, especially during critical situations. ServeU also partnered with Microsoft to upgrade the computer-Aided Facilities Management system. We further collaborated with NSquare Xperts to configure and customise the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Services. With 58 new and retained contracts, 2022 proved to be yet another incredible year for us. I am also delighted to announce that our business has recorded a growth of XX per cent this year, which further strengthens our way forward. all these factors have allowed to grow and provide enhanced services to our customers.
At ServeU, we have always focused on ensuring easy access to quality services for our customers. We are on a constant quest to develop innovative applications that will assist our clients in achieving seamless workflows and coordination. As a trusted provider of FM services, we will continue to improve and adhere to the highest standards for our offerings in the future.
In the current digitalised FM ecosystem, our vision is to maintain the momentum with our innovations and introduce new solutions that address the challenges faced by our clients. We are constantly learning and updating our capabilities to keep up with this ever-evolving FM sector. Our vision is to serve more new and notable clients in the region, as a result of which, we have already committed to deploying more than 7000+ experts, technicians, and specialists. Likewise, we will be enhancing our business strategies and implementing more technological advancements in 2023, in order to improve our operations and workflows, and ultimately meet the demands of our growing customer base. Our commitment to delivering superior solutions and exceptional customer experiences has allowed us to maintain a strong growth trajectory, as well as positioned us as a prominent player in the region’s FM sector.
SNG Employment and Facilities Services
Khaldun Aburok, CEO
SNG Employment and Facilities Services has been recently focusing on re-constructing and quality management. We have added value to our services by completing an intensive IMS “Integrated Management System” and are certified with 4 ISO certificates.
We are certified in Quality Management System, Environmental Management System, Occupational Health and Safety Management System, and Facility Management System. Additionally, we have gained certified memberships with other International Standards such as BICSc and ISSA, as well as partnering with the world’s first-class Green Cleaning Network GCN.
SNG has been focusing on creating new internal policies that highly focus on innovation and sustainability. We have entered new segments in the markets including but not limited to hospitality, healthcare, education, residential, retail, and industrial. Another major milestone was to provide our workforce, our most important asset, with a new home, and a new camp facility that includes training centers. classrooms, play areas, a clinic, prayer rooms, a shop, modern kitchen facilities, rooftop sports activities, and more. We have also signed a special agreement with Life-line Clinics to provide our staff with VIP healthcare and medication services.
Besides the wide range of Facilities Management Services, along with our SNG’s Manpower Supply business, we have recruited specialized staff and 200+ IT Engineers to a variety of well-named companies and projects across the UAE.
As part of our outstanding services, we offer in the market, is Green Cleaning. International institutions, such as BICs and ISSA and particularly GCN, have recognized SNG Employment and Facilities Services as the UAE's and GCC’s first and only Green Gleaning certified company. We have seen the importance of making a significant contribution to the “Mission of Green Cleaning” in order to support our people and communities. UAE enforces sustainability in our approaches and benefits from an increasing number of LEED-certified buildings, which will be evaluated yearly using a strict points system. Our goal is to provide sustainable and innovative total facilities management services to the UAE and its communities. SNG will always strive to provide excellent service in accordance with international standards.
Our vision is to positively impact our customers and community by providing first-class employment and facilities services while focusing on Innovation and Sustainability. With our internationally certified Green Cleaning, we have made a major step toward the UAE’s Strategy 2050 and Dubai’s vision 2040. With a 10M+ Population, 1200+ Schools, 1M+ Students, 150+ Hospitals, and 5000+ Health Centers, we understand the criticality of an environmental-friendly and effective cleaning and facilities services. Alone the City of Dubai provides more than 220 vivid communities and more than 65 Malls that roll over 3 million people. Isn’t it worth Green Cleaning?
We are confident in our ability to realize our vision of a sustainable and innovative UAE.
Tanmyah
Mubark Al Halyan, CEO
Since its inception back in 2001, Tanmyah has been able to prove its operational excellence by exceeding customer expectations in every service and project. From a manpower outsourcing company, Tanmyah has evolved into an integrated
FM company providing efficient teams to demonstrate best in class facilities services. During the past year, Tanmyah has kept its promise of accomplishing challenging projects and delivering top-notch services ranging from Facilities Management (Hard and Soft FM), HR resourcing and Security services.
Tanmyah has successfully achieved over 10 major contracts across industries like retail, healthcare, automobile, construction, etc. amounting to over 15 Million in revenue and has retained all its existing key contracts of around 380 Mn since 2021. Hence, the company has observed a 10% - 15% increase in its revenue compared to the previous year.
In the FM Industry, every day brings with it a new set of challenges and market demands that call for a variety of innovative solutions. At Tanmyah, we always strive to think out of the box and devise our plans and goals to take the organization to the next level.
Tanmyah has been able to cater its services to numerous organizations and business agencies throughout the UAE. In this regard, our facility management services have gained immense importance among the corporates and acknowledged by various enterprises. We are capable of providing competitive employee sponsorships and services within a short timeline that can benefit our prospect clients to a great extent. New changes in visa rules, the new nationalization program, quality FM service at competitive rates and many such employment and service related concerns can be easily resolved by partnering with Tanmyah in the coming year.
Moreover, we, at Tanmyah, are fully aware of the importance of evolving technologies and their significance in every sector including the FM industry. That’s why, we make sure all our manpower is fully trained as per industry norms and well equipped to deliver remarkable services to our clients at a fair market price.
For the upcoming year, our motivation is to retain profitable projects as well as grab new contracts where our professionals and manpower can showcase the best of their skills. To achieve the finest position in the FM industry, we are strategizing our approach to be one-step ahead of our competitors and extend our areas of services geographically wider within the market. Furthermore, we are directing activities for smart utilization of resources to achieve 400 Mn in the upcoming fiscal year.
Our professionals at Tanmyah are all ready to prove our operational excellence by exceeding customer satisfaction and ensuring the timely execution of projects. This approach will allow us to deliver the best FM solutions to our clients and business partners. With our policy of meeting high standards and ensuring unique working methods in every project, our clients and business partners will be facilitated beyond their expectations.
Our vision is to serve the increasing demands for manpower, security, and maintenance services along with eminent operational support to numerous entities across the UAE. We’ll make sure that while we seize new projects, our existing clients still get focused attention so as to run their business activities smoothly and efficiently without any hassle. Their long-term association with Tanmyah will speak volumes about the eminence and integrity of our company.
Urbanise
Conrad Op't Hof, Country Director - MENA
In 2022, Urbanise saw significant growth across the MENA market and further UAE expansion. We also continued to evolve our partnership with existing clients and RERA. Our partnership with RERA strengthened with the Urbanise and Mollak integration announcement.
This integration allows seamless data flow from Urbanise to Mollak to ensure compliance and reduce manual reporting at the end of the year. Data sent to Mollak includes, but is not limited to, financial, customer satisfaction, insurance, and asset data.
Another highlight for 2022 includes our direct bank integration with ADCB and Mashreq bank. Urbanise continues to be the only Community Management software solution that has implemented host-to-host functionality for its clients. Our combined OA and FM software solutions are the only fully integrated solution in the market and provide unrivaled automation for our clients.
Our CAFM solution experienced significant growth over the last year with successful implementations with SIBCA and many other clients across the region. The Urbanise CAFM platform continues to be enhanced with ongoing innovation and UI updates. We have released a new UI for our main menu, PPM Planner, and a communications module.
In 2023 we will continue to expand the Urbanise reach with a healthy sales pipeline. We continue to build our partner ecosystem and will continue to integrate with key service providers in the UAE to provide unrivaled automation to our clients. This enables us to build customer requests and enhancements for our clients, which are made available to all our clients across all geographies we operate in.
We will also focus on building out our Community Management solutions Power BI dashboards. During 2022 we delivered various financial dashboards for our clients, and we will further extend this to other key financial aspects of our Community Management solution. We provide analytics dashboards on both an OA and portfolio level. This enables our clients to gain valuable data insights to drive the best outcomes for the community owners and residents.