KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): UEM Edgenta Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary Operon Middle East (Operon) has inked a business exploration agreement with Byte Blanket FZE and Disrupt-X DMCC to identify potential technological collaborations in supporting sustainable smart cities and introduce digital solutions in the Middle East market.

In a statement Friday (April 1), it said the collaboration is part of UEM Edgenta’s continued foray into the integrated facility management market in the region, as it focused on its regional expansion strategy, while developing tech-enabled integrated solutions aligned with its “Edgenta of the Future 2025” vision.

Managing director and chief executive officer Syahrunizam Samsudin said through the regional partnerships, the company would explore opportunities to bring its collective visions to life.

“We are confident that our combined expertise will be the solution of choice for the Middle East and other international markets.

“The future of cities will be shaped by connectivity, mobility, resilience and sustainability. Revolutionising smart city development requires future-proof technology solutions that enable sustainable urbanisation and support the wellbeing of a community in a low-carbon ecosystem,” he said.

Meanwhile, UEM Edgenta said it is also looking to introduce the concept of “Hyper-Aware Buildings” together with Byte Blanket and Disrupt-X, as part of the smart cities’ technology with IoT being the eyes and ears of hyper-aware facilities.

It said with the combination of the internet of things (IoT) and contextual data, buildings are made more adaptive to their environment, as well as their occupants’ needs, which allows situational awareness for better efficiency, productivity, reliability, safety and security.

Disrupt-X is the provider of an end-to-end scalable IoT platform solution, while Byte Blanket owns Enter Bubble Technologies, a disruptive digital framework with the potential to revolutionise smart cities and industries through spontaneous micro-social networking across the globe.