As Dubai races ahead with its 15-minute city vision, bolstered by initiatives like the 6,500-kilometre Dubai Walk Master Plan, India is retrofitting its dense, chaotic metros with digital overlays: sensor-based governance, predictive maintenance, and AI-powered mobility. One is building from a blank slate, the other upgrading a living, breathing organism. But both are turning to policy, platforms, and partnerships to solve a shared question: what should the city of tomorrow feel like?
And increasingly, the answer lies in code, climate, and collaboration.
Together, these twin models, Dubai’s top-down agility and India’s bottom-up scale, are forming a high-tech corridor of innovation, where policy frameworks enable rapid deployment, and tech talent transforms urban life into programmable infrastructure.
It’s a powerful idea: cities are not just built—they’re engineered.
“In India, the challenge is integrating technology into older infrastructure— overcrowded streets, legacy systems, limited digital touchpoints. In Dubai, the challenge is the transient nature— of people and assets. Roads, bridges, and corridors are constantly evolving. So, plug-and-play solutions must be fast, seamless, and adaptive,” says Sumanta Roy, Regional Head for the Middle East, Africa, and Mediterranean at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
“One is building from a blank slate. The other is upgrading a living, breathing organism. But both are aiming to solve the same question: what should the city of tomorrow feel like?”
Roy drew a stark contrast between the urban problems in both regions.
That agility has turned Dubai into a global sandbox for emerging technology.
A standout example was an IoT-based energy efficiency pilot created for a Dubai retail chain that used real-time footfall and temperature analytics to optimise power use. Another was a computer vision system that detected frontline worker fatigue—first developed with a Dubai government agency and now being expanded globally.
Governance that enables, not restricts
Roy emphasised that Dubai’s smart transformation is powered not just by tech but also by policy. “Dubai lays the foundation, provides governance, and then gets out of the way. If you have a good idea, it’s frictionless to launch. After that, the idea has to prove itself. It’s a perfect setup,” he said.
The TCS team is embedded across the city’s institutional and regulatory matrix. They’ve worked with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to streamline builder connections— cutting delays, waste, and inefficiencies.
The company is also contributing to what is expected to be the world’s largest net-zero energy building, spearheaded by DEWA. Their partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government includes sponsoring Emirati students to pursue technology-focused governance programmes. “It’s about preparing the next generation of government leaders to be technologically fluent,” Roy added.
AI-powered real estate and data-driven buying
The impact of smart city tech is perhaps most visible in Dubai’s property sector, where data, design, and marketing are converging. “Dubai is setting the gold standard for smart cities, and real estate is right at the heart of this transformation,” said Imran Khan, Founder and CEO of PIXL Global, a company developing immersive visualisation tools for property developers and investors.
“Tech is changing the game for off-plan properties—AI, data analytics, and automation are making it faster, smarter, and more immersive to bring the project to life and sell it.” His team builds data-driven content, predictive market insights, and 3D marketing platforms that go far beyond traditional brochures.
Buyers today expect more than just glossy renderings– they want interactive experiences that help them make confident decisions in their investments.Their tools help personalise content, accelerate go-to-market strategies, and offer predictive insights signalling a shift in how real estate interacts with urban tech.
The 15-minute city in practice
While PIXL helps visualise the smart city, Michael Quinn, Operations Manager at ALEC Facades, helps build it– literally.
“Dubai is ahead of the curve,” said Quinn. “There’s a global trend toward reducing long commutes and creating integrated, 15-minute cities. Young people today want convenience and balance. Dubai gets that.”
The December 2024 approval of the Dubai Walk Master Plan envisions a 6,500 km climate-controlled pedestrian network connecting 160 neighbourhoods. This initiative will turn walking, cycling, and short-distance commuting into default behaviours– no longer dictated by temperature or traffic. It also reimagines how architecture can serve both beauty and utility.
“At ALEC Facades, we collaborate from the early stages,” Quinn explained. “That means working with architects and developers right at concept level to align façades with long-term goals– sustainability, modularity, and resident comfort.”
Adaptive architecture and modular intelligence
ALEC’s use of freeform façades— column-free designs— enhances flexibility and visual impact.
“You can go 60 or 70 meters without a single supporting column underneath,” Quinn said. “That opens up vast layouts and allows for adaptive, efficient spaces.”
These façades also allow embedded smart elements— from LED panels and adaptive shading to solar glass and UV-filtering skins. The result is a more intelligent building envelope— one that regulates heat, generates power, and enhances well-being.
“And the entire construction is more sustainable because it’s modular, precise, and far less resource-intensive.”
Smart cities, global talent, and India’s role
Adding to this is India’s role in this transformation. India has some of the most highly trained BIM developers globally. “They are contributing heavily to projects across the UAE,” added Quinn.
BIM— Building Information Modelling— has become the norm for both public and private developments in Dubai. “It lets us visualise the entire building, detect conflicts, coordinate timelines, and ensure every subcontractor is working from the same model. It's a complete game-changer,” Roy added.
He explained the India-UAE tech corridor is becoming a two-way flow. “Many of the smart city tools we develop in India— whether it’s in data science, AI, or infrastructure automation— are now being tested, deployed, and scaled in Dubai.”
India-UAE as a launchpad for urban innovation
As Indian entrepreneurs and engineers increasingly turn to Dubai for expansion, the city’s role as a launchpad becomes clear. “I know many fintech and edtech founders from India who moved to Dubai to launch their next phase globally,” Roy said. “Dubai is a trampoline. You jump from India, land here, and go everywhere else.”
With smoother regulations, access to global capital, and proximity to Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia, Dubai is becoming a strategic base for AI startups, deep tech ventures, and climate-focused companies from India. “A friend of mine moved his entire machine learning business here— shut shop in India, made Dubai his base, and now services Western Europe and India from here,” Roy added.
Still, Roy cautions against assuming a one-size-fits-all strategy. “Set-piece strategies don’t work in the Middle East. You have to be local in your mindset and execution. But the openness to ideas here—especially in Dubai—is unmatched. Whether it’s AI, IoT, or digital assets, Dubai has become a global reference point.”
The blueprint for urban futures
In the grand arc of urban development, India and Dubai offer two contrasting models— one slow and messy but rich in scale and resilience; the other swift, deliberate, and experimental by design. Together, they are co-authoring a new smart city blueprint—one that blends physical infrastructure with invisible intelligence, and policy with product design.
“The city of the future is not just a dream— it’s being built right now,” said Michael Quinn. “And we’re proud to play a part in shaping it.”
Click this link for more on Business in Dubai.
This article is a part of a featured content series on Business in Dubai.
Disclaimer: This article has been produced by Times Internet’s Spotlight team.
Sources
And increasingly, the answer lies in code, climate, and collaboration.
Together, these twin models, Dubai’s top-down agility and India’s bottom-up scale, are forming a high-tech corridor of innovation, where policy frameworks enable rapid deployment, and tech talent transforms urban life into programmable infrastructure.
It’s a powerful idea: cities are not just built—they’re engineered.
“In India, the challenge is integrating technology into older infrastructure— overcrowded streets, legacy systems, limited digital touchpoints. In Dubai, the challenge is the transient nature— of people and assets. Roads, bridges, and corridors are constantly evolving. So, plug-and-play solutions must be fast, seamless, and adaptive,” says Sumanta Roy, Regional Head for the Middle East, Africa, and Mediterranean at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
“One is building from a blank slate. The other is upgrading a living, breathing organism. But both are aiming to solve the same question: what should the city of tomorrow feel like?”
Roy drew a stark contrast between the urban problems in both regions.
That agility has turned Dubai into a global sandbox for emerging technology.
A standout example was an IoT-based energy efficiency pilot created for a Dubai retail chain that used real-time footfall and temperature analytics to optimise power use. Another was a computer vision system that detected frontline worker fatigue—first developed with a Dubai government agency and now being expanded globally.
Governance that enables, not restricts
Roy emphasised that Dubai’s smart transformation is powered not just by tech but also by policy. “Dubai lays the foundation, provides governance, and then gets out of the way. If you have a good idea, it’s frictionless to launch. After that, the idea has to prove itself. It’s a perfect setup,” he said.
The TCS team is embedded across the city’s institutional and regulatory matrix. They’ve worked with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to streamline builder connections— cutting delays, waste, and inefficiencies.
The company is also contributing to what is expected to be the world’s largest net-zero energy building, spearheaded by DEWA. Their partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government includes sponsoring Emirati students to pursue technology-focused governance programmes. “It’s about preparing the next generation of government leaders to be technologically fluent,” Roy added.
AI-powered real estate and data-driven buying
The impact of smart city tech is perhaps most visible in Dubai’s property sector, where data, design, and marketing are converging. “Dubai is setting the gold standard for smart cities, and real estate is right at the heart of this transformation,” said Imran Khan, Founder and CEO of PIXL Global, a company developing immersive visualisation tools for property developers and investors.
“Tech is changing the game for off-plan properties—AI, data analytics, and automation are making it faster, smarter, and more immersive to bring the project to life and sell it.” His team builds data-driven content, predictive market insights, and 3D marketing platforms that go far beyond traditional brochures.
Buyers today expect more than just glossy renderings– they want interactive experiences that help them make confident decisions in their investments.Their tools help personalise content, accelerate go-to-market strategies, and offer predictive insights signalling a shift in how real estate interacts with urban tech.
The 15-minute city in practice
While PIXL helps visualise the smart city, Michael Quinn, Operations Manager at ALEC Facades, helps build it– literally.
“Dubai is ahead of the curve,” said Quinn. “There’s a global trend toward reducing long commutes and creating integrated, 15-minute cities. Young people today want convenience and balance. Dubai gets that.”
The December 2024 approval of the Dubai Walk Master Plan envisions a 6,500 km climate-controlled pedestrian network connecting 160 neighbourhoods. This initiative will turn walking, cycling, and short-distance commuting into default behaviours– no longer dictated by temperature or traffic. It also reimagines how architecture can serve both beauty and utility.
“At ALEC Facades, we collaborate from the early stages,” Quinn explained. “That means working with architects and developers right at concept level to align façades with long-term goals– sustainability, modularity, and resident comfort.”
Adaptive architecture and modular intelligence
ALEC’s use of freeform façades— column-free designs— enhances flexibility and visual impact.
“You can go 60 or 70 meters without a single supporting column underneath,” Quinn said. “That opens up vast layouts and allows for adaptive, efficient spaces.”
These façades also allow embedded smart elements— from LED panels and adaptive shading to solar glass and UV-filtering skins. The result is a more intelligent building envelope— one that regulates heat, generates power, and enhances well-being.
“And the entire construction is more sustainable because it’s modular, precise, and far less resource-intensive.”
Smart cities, global talent, and India’s role
Adding to this is India’s role in this transformation. India has some of the most highly trained BIM developers globally. “They are contributing heavily to projects across the UAE,” added Quinn.
BIM— Building Information Modelling— has become the norm for both public and private developments in Dubai. “It lets us visualise the entire building, detect conflicts, coordinate timelines, and ensure every subcontractor is working from the same model. It's a complete game-changer,” Roy added.
He explained the India-UAE tech corridor is becoming a two-way flow. “Many of the smart city tools we develop in India— whether it’s in data science, AI, or infrastructure automation— are now being tested, deployed, and scaled in Dubai.”
India-UAE as a launchpad for urban innovation
As Indian entrepreneurs and engineers increasingly turn to Dubai for expansion, the city’s role as a launchpad becomes clear. “I know many fintech and edtech founders from India who moved to Dubai to launch their next phase globally,” Roy said. “Dubai is a trampoline. You jump from India, land here, and go everywhere else.”
With smoother regulations, access to global capital, and proximity to Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia, Dubai is becoming a strategic base for AI startups, deep tech ventures, and climate-focused companies from India. “A friend of mine moved his entire machine learning business here— shut shop in India, made Dubai his base, and now services Western Europe and India from here,” Roy added.
Still, Roy cautions against assuming a one-size-fits-all strategy. “Set-piece strategies don’t work in the Middle East. You have to be local in your mindset and execution. But the openness to ideas here—especially in Dubai—is unmatched. Whether it’s AI, IoT, or digital assets, Dubai has become a global reference point.”
The blueprint for urban futures
In the grand arc of urban development, India and Dubai offer two contrasting models— one slow and messy but rich in scale and resilience; the other swift, deliberate, and experimental by design. Together, they are co-authoring a new smart city blueprint—one that blends physical infrastructure with invisible intelligence, and policy with product design.
“The city of the future is not just a dream— it’s being built right now,” said Michael Quinn. “And we’re proud to play a part in shaping it.”
Click this link for more on Business in Dubai.
This article is a part of a featured content series on Business in Dubai.
Disclaimer: This article has been produced by Times Internet’s Spotlight team.
Sources
- PIXL Global – Real Estate Visualization and Marketing
https://www.pixlglobal.com/ - ALEC Facades – Innovative Façade and Construction Solutions
https://www.alec.ae/en/divisions/alec-facades - Dubai Walk Master Plan Approved by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – Khaleej Times, December 2024
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai-to-build-6500km-network-of-walkways - Tata Consultancy Services – Newsroom and Smart City Case Studies
https://www.tcs.com/who-we-are/newsroom - Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) – Net Zero Energy Building and Smart Grid Projects
https://www.dewa.gov.ae/ - Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government – Tech and Governance Initiatives
https://www.mbrsg.ae/ - Dubai Urban Tech Strategy – Arabian Business Feature
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/politics-economics/urban-tech-vision-dubai-2040
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