du has launched a new SME playbook titled From Set Up to Set for Growth, developed with Huawei UAE to help small and medium businesses get more value from the digital tools they already use rather than pushing them to adopt new technology.
The guide draws on one of the UAE's most detailed SME digital transformation studies, based on face to face interviews with 648 SMEs across all seven emirates and five major industry sectors between January and March 2026. It covers five focus areas including customer engagement, productivity, cash flow, operational resilience and AI adoption.
The research found strong digital adoption but low digital maturity among UAE SMEs. While 81% use laptops and desktops, 77% rely on point of sale systems and 63% use productivity tools, only 8% have reached an advanced level of digital maturity. Setup costs, skills gaps, subscription costs and integration challenges remain the biggest barriers to progress.
Instead of recommending more tools, the playbook focuses on practical steps such as strengthening online presence, centralising customer data, streamlining daily operations, improving payment systems and using low risk AI tools that save time without added complexity.
Karim Benkirane, Chief Commercial Officer at du, said digital transformation is about making existing technology work harder rather than adding more of it. He noted that the playbook gives SMEs an outcome driven roadmap they can act on immediately.
Felix Liu, Managing Director of Huawei Gulf Carrier Business, said the partnership allows du to offer SMEs a complete digital toolkit spanning connectivity, cloud hosting and intelligent office collaboration.
With only 15% of SMEs currently using AI and analytics tools, the playbook encourages businesses to start small with tasks like drafting communications and summarising information. SMEs can access tailored support through du Business at du.ae/business.
News Source: Ogilvy
