DED completes successful visit to finalise technical infrastructure specifications for Credit bureau

Following the visit to the technology center, the DED delegation also met with Mr. Steve Alesio, Chief Executive Officer and President, D&B (NYSE:D&B).

The DED team was given an extensive tour of the D&B facility, which enabled a better understanding of the intricate mechanisms and infrastructure required for the provision of accurate business information in a mature market context.

"As we finalise the customization and implementation details, we wanted to ensure that the credit bureau would be in accordance with international standards, yet remain practicable in the local market context. The same piece of information can have very different decision implications from one market to another," said Bashar Saleh Qallab Director, Credit Bureau Project, DED. "The meetings also focused on the future phases of the project itself and highlighted the potential uses of business information in a more mature market environment where the market is the primary stakeholder," he added.

"The applications of credit information will be limited to risk management functions, particularly in the initial phase. However, as the depth and breadth of market information expands, as will be the case in a developing market, market information can be used for an entire gamut of applications ranging from simple data authentication to supply chain management. Although the credit bureau will focus on credit information specifically, the infrastructure that the DED puts in place, technical and legal, needs to account for the growth and future uses of market information as a whole," explained Qallab.

"The visit to our headquarters was intended to provide the DED team with hands on experience about the standards and procedures in place at D&B regarding the provision of quality business information," said Ms. Vicki Raeburn, Chief Quality Officer, D&B Corporation. "We are committed to the project in Dubai and the UAE market as a whole and the implementation is subject to the same level of quality assurance standards that have been associated with the D&B brand for over 160 years," Raeburn added.

The DED delegation was also received by Steve Alesio, Chief Executive Officer, D&B. . The discussions focused on the implementation of the technology component of the credit bureau through its South Asia/Middle East Subsidiary Dun & Bradstreet SAME, and the choice of Dubai as the company's regional headquarters.

"D&B is pleased to have been selected by the Department of Economic Development for the implementation of the credit bureau and believes the bureau will give a significant boost to Dubai's unique position as the region's business hub," said Alesio. "The technical implementation of the bureau further strengthens our commitment to bring local insight to D&B's global services. This is in accordance with our global partnership strategy which involves the formation of strategic relationships either by total ownership or by creation of joint ventures with regional partners, as is the case with Dun & Bradstreet SAME," he added., which has been D&B's strategy in Europe and SE Asia. This is in accordance with our global partnership strategy which involves the, as is the case with Dun & Bradstreet SAME," he added.

In addition to Steve Alesio and Vicki Raeburn, tThe meetings were attended by Mr. David Kovacs Vice President - International Marketing, Asia Pacific/Latin America, D&B;, Mr. Rajesh Mirchandani, Chief Executive Officer, Dun & Bradstreet SAME and, in addition to members of the Dubai based technology team.