In the busy operations room of an airline, a logistics manager notices a potential crew shortage flagged by the system hours before it would have been caught manually. In a retail chain, a surge in product demand is predicted days before the holiday rush, allowing the team to adjust orders and avoid stockouts. These are not isolated successes; they are glimpses of a new era in enterprise transformation, where AI is no longer a futuristic add-on but a built-in, intelligent partner shaping operations across the Gulf.

Across the Gulf region, enterprises are realising that traditional ERP systems, reliant on spreadsheets and manual workflows, cannot keep pace with today’s speed of business. The question is no longer whether AI can help, but how quickly organisations can embed it at the core of their operations. In this evolving landscape, Oracle is helping companies move beyond automation to transformation, embedding AI directly into the systems they use every day.

In conversation with TECHx Media, Yassine El Bakiouli, Vice President – Business Applications, Gulf region at Oracle, explained how this shift is taking shape across industries and reshaping decision-making, productivity, and strategy.

AI Built In, Not Bolted On

El Bakiouli emphasised that Oracle’s approach is about transformation, not just automation. “For us, the AI is not an add-on; our AI is built into the applications,” he said. This means organisations use AI every day as an integrated part of their workflows, rather than as a separate tool.

He shared examples from aviation and travel, where AI optimises crew scheduling and forecasts maintenance before disruptions occur, and from logistics, where AI predicts delays and suggests alternate routes instantly. “Companies can focus more on strategy and planning rather than manual work,” he explained. By embedding AI in the Fusion stack, Oracle is turning operational processes into strategic opportunities.

Supporting Enterprises Through the Transition

Oracle is helping organisations across the Gulf move from legacy ERP systems to next-generation, AI-infused applications that drive both automation and transformation. “Our approach is not just about replacing ERP, it’s about enabling connected intelligence across finance, HR, supply chain, and customer experience,” El Bakiouli explained. With Fusion Applications powered by Oracle AI and embedded analytics, customers gain real-time decision-making, predictive capabilities, and efficiency across every function, all while maintaining security principles.

The transition is made smoother with industry-specific cloud blueprints and local customer success teams guiding enterprises step by step through their digital transformation journeys.

Data Sovereignty and Secure Innovation

With growing emphasis on digital sovereignty, Oracle has invested heavily in establishing sovereign cloud regions in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, partnering with local entities such as STC, E&, and DU. This approach allows customers to innovate confidently while meeting regional data residency requirements, without sacrificing the power of Oracle’s global AI and cloud capabilities. Compliance with local regulations, rigorous governance, encryption, and identity management ensure transparency and trust. “This local approach, while maintaining global standards, supports governments in bringing to life their multi-year visions,” El Bakiouli said.

Productivity to Strategic Insight

The impact on decision-making is profound. In banking and financial institutions, AI forecasting models detect patterns before human analysts can, enabling executives to act proactively. In retail, particularly during peak holiday seasons, AI predicts demand surges, helps plan stock replenishment, and prepares businesses for unforeseen changes in consumer behaviour.

El Bakiouli underlined the shift: “It’s not just automation, it’s foresight.” By providing real-time insights and predictive capabilities, AI allows organisations to move from reacting to anticipating, giving leaders a significant edge in both strategy and execution.

The Competitive Edge, Context and Trust

Oracle’s AI differentiates itself by combining intelligence with deep business context. Since AI is embedded in the secure system of records, insights come directly from an enterprise’s own data rather than external models. In industries such as construction, AI monitors project timelines, flags potential deviations, and helps manage costs and materials, all within the Fusion stack.

This built-in approach reduces the risk of “noise” or inaccurate predictions that can occur with external AI models. “You get accuracy, transparency, and you don’t have too much noise,” El Bakiouli noted. For leaders, this translates to confidence in the insights and the ability to make strategic decisions grounded in trustworthy data.

Responsible and Transparent AI

As AI becomes embedded into workflows, questions around ethics, trust, and governance are critical. Oracle addresses this with tools such as Oracle AI Agent Studio, which allows business leaders to engage with AI insights in an auditable and compliant manner.

Models are designed to be transparent and aligned with local data protection laws. Oracle works closely with governments across the Gulf to ensure responsible AI practices. “Trust is, of course, a super important cornerstone for everything that we’ve been doing,” El Bakiouli said.

Leadership in the Gulf’s Fast-Paced Market

When it comes to driving successful digital transformation, leadership is key. “It always starts with authentic leadership, building trust, inspiring purpose, and creating an environment where teams feel empowered to experiment and grow,” El Bakiouli said. In the Gulf, where transformation moves quickly, leaders must balance strategic clarity with adaptability, embracing change while keeping people anchored to a shared vision.

Within Oracle, the same principles guide teams. Empathy, humility, and curiosity are just as important as technical or commercial expertise. Successful digital transformation is not only a technology story, it’s a people story. Leaders who connect innovation with human impact are the most effective.

Trends Across the Gulf, What’s Leading

Public sector entities are leading AI adoption, with strong momentum also in finance, retail, and travel. AI is becoming the new interface, simplifying complex systems into intuitive, conversational workflows.

El Bakiouli highlighted an important mindset shift: “AI doesn’t per se replace expertise; it augments it.” The technology provides information faster, allows employees to focus on strategy, and improves decision-making without replacing human judgement. Equally important is building skills to leverage AI effectively through Oracle University and partnerships with consulting and industry-specific experts. Clean, contextual, and secure data remains the foundation, powering AI to provide actionable insights that leaders can rely on.

Upskilling for the Future
Alongside embedding AI into enterprise systems, Oracle is helping professionals build the skills to leverage these technologies effectively. In the UAE, initiatives like sAIdaty 2025, in partnership with the Dubai Business Women Council, train women professionals and entrepreneurs in AI, cloud computing, and digital transformation. Building on the success of the first edition, which trained 500 women, the program now focuses on advanced AI applications, leadership development, and real-world deployment, ensuring participants are equipped to apply AI confidently in their organisations and ventures.

Why This Matters for Enterprise Leaders

For enterprises in the Gulf, the takeaway is clear. Legacy ERP systems cannot keep up with the pace of modern business. Intelligence needs to be built into applications, decisions must be made in real time, and insight must replace hindsight.

Oracle’s approach provides a roadmap: embed AI natively, leverage enterprise data, maintain trust and transparency, upskill people, and focus on strategic outcomes rather than purely operational efficiency. Organisations that move from automation to foresight, and from manual processes to AI-augmented workflows, will set themselves apart in the Gulf’s fast-evolving digital landscape.

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