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UAE-Based PhyGrid and VoiceComm Partners with Microsoft to Bring Store Digitalization Platform to the U.S.

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PhyGrid

UAE- based Phygrid, the Store Digitalization Standard deployed by large retailers in over 50 countries has announced a strategic partnership with VoiceComm, a distributor of mobile device accessories and Microsoft. This collaboration will introduce cutting-edge retail technology solutions to the U.S. market and support over 52,000 retail locations nationwide, embodying the principle of ‘saving the day for customers, saving the sale for the retailer’.

As the retail landscape evolves, in-store shopping is becoming more digital, with retailers integrating advanced tools like AI-driven endless aisles, mobile payments, virtual queuing, and personalized recommendations. This shift is fueled by consumer demand for convenience, seamless online-offline experiences, as well as the need for faster, more efficient service.

The UAE, a leader in retail innovation, has been at the forefront of this digital transformation with interactive digital kiosks and smart fitting rooms to AI-powered customer service solutions. These advancements have set a global benchmark, demonstrating how digitalization is shaping the future of shopping. As U.S. retailers aim to stay competitive, adopting these technologies will be key to meeting the expectations of today’s tech-savvy consumers.

Leveraging Phygrid’s global success and utilizing Microsoft’s Azure cloud technology, VoiceComm will offer retailers access to solutions that drive substantial return on investment through these benefits:

  • Increased Revenue: Drive online sales from in-store with AI-powered endless aisle technology.
  • Enhanced Customer Experience: Reduce wait times with virtual queuing and self-service solutions.
  • Operational Efficiency: Streamline operations through digital staff management and smart store systems.
  • Data-Driven Decision Making: Optimize store performance with deep behavior analytics.

Andreas Hassellöf, CEO of Phygrid, stated, “Thanks to our Microsoft Azure technology collaboration, our technology has transformed retail operations across the globe and we’re excited to now team up with VoiceComm to bring our solutions to the U.S. market. We believe that American retailers are primed to benefit from the seamless integration of online and offline experiences that Phygrid offers. This collaboration represents a significant step in our mission to redefine the future of retail.”

While the partnership focuses on the U.S. market, PhyGrid’s presence in the UAE is also expanding rapidly, with the UAE emerging as a regional leader in retail digitalization. The company’s platform, already used by retailers in the Middle East, offers solutions that align with the UAE’s smart city vision and growing demand for seamless, data-driven customer experiences in retail.

Ryan Weiss, CEO of VoiceComm, added,“In our forward-looking efforts to bring innovation to our customers, we evaluated many vendors for retail solutions, but it became clear that Phygrid is exactly what we were looking for. They focus so much on the strategy, art and science that goes into the customer journey that it makes sense why Microsoft recommends Phygrid to their customers.”

Keith Mercier, Vice President of Retail & Consumer Goods Industries, Microsoft, also noted, “The pace and scale of change happening in the retail industry is unlike anything seen before. The past decade has also seen an explosion of data that retailers are looking to leverage to better serve their customers and their business. At Microsoft, our goal is to empower the retail industry and help them unlock the value of that data through the Microsoft Cloud. With continuous innovation, security, and strong partnerships we can create unique tools and insights our customers need to thrive in today’s dynamic market.”

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LIFERAY INTRODUCES HEADLESS CMS TO MODERNIZE DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGEMENT

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Liferay, a leading provider of Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs), today announced the general availability of Liferay CMS, a fully headless content management system (CMS) designed to help marketing, development, and IT teams create, manage, and deliver digital content across multiple channels from a centralized repository.

Built on the core architecture of Liferay DXP, Liferay CMS combines the agility of a decoupled system with the stability and governance required by enterprise organizations. Whether powering a native mobile app, a customer portal, or a complex web ecosystem, Liferay CMS ensures content remains consistent, reusable, and easily distributable.

“Today’s organizations need agility without losing control of their content operations,” said Julia Molano, Director of Product Management at Liferay. “Liferay CMS builds on Liferay’s decades of DXP leadership to deliver a fully headless offering. It allows developers to work with stable, well-documented APIs while empowering marketers and content creators to manage global content without heavy reliance on IT.”

Liferay CMS introduces Spaces, the platform’s primary organizational units for headless content management, enabling teams to structure asset repositories, manage access, and collaborate more efficiently across departments or projects. Each Space provides a dedicated environment for content creation and management, including support for advanced localization with AI-powered translation tools, making it easier for global organizations to manage multi-language content.

“Across the Middle East, enterprises are moving away from fragmented content systems to unified, centralized architectures that can support scale and speed simultaneously. Headless CMS is becoming a critical enabler in this shift, allowing enterprises to deliver consistent digital experiences across channels while maintaining control and governance.  With Liferay’s intuitive CMS, teams can manage content centrally, reduce operational complexity, and accelerate time-to-market and deeper customer engagement’’, noted Moussalam Dalati, General Manager of Liferay Middle East, Africa, and France.

Key features of Liferay CMS include:

  • Global Content Visibility: A single view to search, review, and reuse content across regions and brands, eliminating disconnected repositories.
  • Headless Architecture: Combines the flexibility of headless deployments with the governance and control of a centralized system.
  • Embedded Analytics: Performance metrics like views and downloads are displayed directly within Liferay CMS, allowing teams to validate asset performance at the point of work.
  • AI-Assisted Workflows: Accelerates translation, localization, and content review.
  • Multi-Site Management: Ideal for franchises or organizations with multiple digital properties, allowing for centralized control while granting team-specific access.
  • Unified Collaboration: Dedicated ‘Shared with Me’ areas and advanced access controls ensure all stakeholders work from a single source of truth.

The launch of Liferay CMS reflects a modular platform approach designed for organizations that prioritize an API-first strategy. Because it is built on the same core architecture as Liferay DXP, organizations can start with a streamlined headless CMS today and seamlessly activate integrated capabilities like advanced commerce, page building, or AI-driven personalization as their digital requirements expand.

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CLOUDERA ADVANCES HYBRID DATA PLATFORM WITH LONG-TERM STABILITY, ELASTIC SCALE, AND OPEN DATA INTEROPERABILITY

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Cloudera, the only company bringing AI to data anywhere, today announced significant advancements to its hybrid data and AI platform. These updates help enterprises modernize seamlessly, lower infrastructure costs, and accelerate analytics and AI across their entire data estate.

Enterprises face mounting pressure to modernize data platforms while managing cost and risk, creating significant operational strain. As AI investment accelerates, PwC projects that AI could add as much as $320 billion to the Middle East economy by 2030, with the UAE expected to experience the most significant relative uplift, contributing close to 14% of its GDP. Frequent upgrade cycles, rising infrastructure costs, and growing complexity hinder innovation and divert resources from high-value analytics and AI.

Cloudera addresses these challenges by providing long-term stability and a predictable foundation for enterprise data environments. With extended support until 2032 and a unified platform experience across cloud and data centers, organizations can reduce operational overhead and focus on advancing AI initiatives.

These advancements reinforce Cloudera’s position as the only platform to offer long-term stability, elastic scale across cloud and data centers, and open interoperability in a single architecture, without requiring data movement or disruptive migrations.

Key features include:

  • Guaranteed operational stability: Offers a stable, secure foundation for enterprise data environments, allowing organizations to standardize mission-critical infrastructure, reduce risk, and eliminate costly upgrade cycles while aligning platform strategy with long-term investments.
  • Modernize seamlessly: Provides simultaneous updates to on-premises and cloud deployments, ensuring consistency across the entire hybrid data estate. This enables organizations to boost performance and meet changing regulatory requirements without the expense of re-platforming.

The update introduces new capabilities to enhance performance, flexibility, and data collaboration across modern data architectures. Automated optimization of Apache Iceberg tables, powered by Cloudera Lakehouse Optimizer, accelerates query performance and reduces storage overhead with minimal manual effort. Organizations can also scale compute on demand with Cloudera Cloud Bursting, using cloud resources for peak workloads without moving data, improving utilization while maintaining security and governance. Expanded data sharing enables secure access to live Iceberg tables across external platforms without copying or duplicating data, reducing silos and preserving data integrity.

“Our customers no longer accept trade-offs,” said Leo Brunnick, Chief Product Officer at Cloudera. “They want the flexibility of the cloud, the control of the data center, and the ability to scale without disruption. This update delivers all three on a single, unified platform built for modern data and AI.”

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EMARAT SUPPORTS HSE EXPO UNDERSCORING HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP

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Emirates Petroleum Company PJSC (Emarat), a pioneer in the UAE’s oil and gas industry, is participating as Official Partner of HSE-Expo 2026, taking place on 1 and 2 April 2026 at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre in Sharjah.

Organised by Sharjah National Oil Corporation and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmad Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, Chairman of the Petroleum Department and President of Sharjah National Oil Corporation, the event brings together industry leaders, specialists, researchers, and stakeholders to advance dialogue around health, safety and environmental priorities across the region.

Emarat’s participation reflects the company’s continued focus on strengthening workplace safety, supporting responsible environmental practices, and aligning its operations with recognised regional and international standards. It also reinforces the company’s view that health, safety, and environmental performance is integral to operational excellence, long term resilience and responsible growth across the energy value chain.

Burhan Al Hashemi, Chief Executive Officer of Emarat, said: “At Emarat, health, safety and environment is a leadership priority embedded across every level of the organization. It shapes how we operate, how we invest and how we build a culture of accountability and care. Across our fuel, aviation fuel, lubricants, LPG, and natural gas businesses, HSE is fundamental to operational discipline, business continuity and the trust our customers and partners place in us. Our participation in HSE Expo 2026 reflects our commitment to raising standards, supporting responsible industry practices, and contributing to a safer and more sustainable operating environment.”

Emarat applies health, safety, and environmental discipline across its operations as part of its broader commitment to operational excellence and responsible growth. From frontline safety practices and process discipline to environmental stewardship and continuous improvement, the company views HSE as a business imperative that supports resilience, strengthens trust, and underpins performance across its fuel, aviation fuel, lubricants, LPG and natural gas businesses.

Furthermore, HSE standards are central to every product category Emarat operates in, including LPG. As a provider of composite LPG cylinders, Emarat adheres to global HSE industry standards in this product category among all others, underscoring the company’s commitment to safety and environmental responsibility across all aspects of its business.

Ali AlAstad Alhammadi, Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment and Quality, Emarat, said: “HSE Expo provides an important platform for industry stakeholders to exchange practical insight, share best practice and strengthen collaboration around issues that are central to workforce safety and environmental stewardship. For Emarat, this is an opportunity to engage with the wider HSE community and support continued progress in standards, awareness, and performance across the sector. We are grateful to SNOC for organizing this important platform and we look forward to continued collaboration and future participation”

HSE Expo 2026 serves as an important regional platform for advancing dialogue on workplace safety, environmental responsibility, and industry best practice. By bringing together energy leaders, technical specialists, researchers and stakeholders, the event supports knowledge exchange around the standards and innovations shaping safer and more sustainable operations across the region.

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