General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments Provides Smoother Access to e-Services and Smart Services

In partnership with Huawei, General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments upgrades its network to provide faster access to public services

Mobilk - Supporting the UAE government’s e-service and mGovernment initiatives, the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf) has announced the successful completion of an upgrade project done in partnership with Huawei—a leading global ICT solutions provider—that will help to consolidate Awqafs systems across the UAE and provide the public with faster, easier access to its e-services, content and smart services.

Awqaf promotes religious, social awareness and progress according to the tolerant teachings of Islam that recognise the current realities and understand the future challenges. 

As part of that mission, Awqaf offers a variety of services to the members of the public pertinent to its domain of activities. These span building and maintaining mosques and memorisation centres, managing Hajj and Umrah affairs and investing in Waqf (endowments) in the best interest of society, amongst others. 

“In partnering with organizations across the UAE to enhance religious awareness and help Awqaf carry out its role as efficiently as possible, we recognize the essential value of modern information and communication infrastructure as a means to enable greater levels of transparency for citizens in the UAE to see how, as a government entity, we can improve their lives. Ultimately, we aim to enable them with services and applications that make it easier for them conduct their daily lives. Huawei’s strengths in providing end-to-end IT solutions have helped to ensure that the network upgrades were completed both successfully and in a way that would facilitate our mission to provide improved public e-services and smart services,” said Mariam Al Braiki, Awqaf IT Director.

“Today we live in a world where technological progress is revolutionizing how we work and learn, with new information and communication technologies enabling organizations like Awqaf to connect with the public in a way that is much faster and more effective” adds Sufian Dweik, vice president, Huawei, Enterprise Business, UAE. 

This latest upgrade project marks a wider transformation of Awqafs entire IT infrastructure with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of e-services and smart services delivered to citizens, families and students. Such efforts have proven particularly important in recent years as more users regularly access Awqafs online services. For Hajj registrations alone, Awqaf is today required to process a high volume of applications every year. Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam and considered to be one of the most important moments in a Muslims life. 

In particular, the latest IT upgrades have allowed Awqaf to create a more unified network system that now connects its head office in Abu Dhabi to its multiple branches across the UAE. This not only gives employees faster access to digital collaboration tools to assist citizens, but it also makes it easier for them to apply for Hajj and Umrah services through a centralized management system for all online services. Centralized management also provides Awqaf with greater control in monitoring the quota for the number of applicants permitted to attend Hajj each year—ensuring that each space is utilized where possible.

With a ten-fold increase in wireless network speeds, families who have enrolled their children in Awqaf Quranic learning centers can in the future- once a suitable system is set in place- access transcripts, records and monitor their learning progress. A powerful network as it is will also ensure a seamless connectivity to its various smart mobile applications, concludes Al Braiki. 

Awqafs upgraded unified network system utilizes a series of world-class Huawei IT solutions tailored specifically for local enterprises. This includes a number of cutting-edge data center switching technologies, the deployment of Huawei’s eSight unified management platform, and the application of more agile network switches to boost wireless network speeds and performance from 100MB up to 1GB.