Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) , a global leader in digitising and automating frontline workflows, is supporting emergency services customers across EMEA and sees the rapid development of smart cities in the Middle East as a catalyst for more responsive, sustainable and resilient public safety services.
UAE is leading the way, with the likes of Dubai ranked fourth and Abu Dhabi ranking fifth in the Smart City Index 2025 by the International Institute for Management Development. Abu Dhabi’s vision is to become the world’s first fully AI-native city by 2027, backed by significant investment. But what do smart cities mean for emergency services on the frontline of safeguarding people and responding to threats and disasters?
The 2024 floods in the UAE were a reminder that emergency services need the right visibility, and frontline connectivity to help those in need when an emergency strikes, with the National Ambulance service responding to 1,426 urgent calls across the Northern Emirates says one report.
This need for smart public safety services was highlighted at the recent Global Crisis and Emergency Management Summit in Abu Dhabi, which aimed to enhance preparedness and international cooperation at a time of rapid technological advancements, proliferation of digital solutions and AI systems that contribute to improving crisis response.
A Leap Forward for IoT with AI and 5G
Many IoT technologies are not new, but they are revolutionising how cities detect, respond to, and manage emergencies in new ways combined with advances in data management and analysis, secure cloud computing, AI, and 5G. The integration of Internet of Things (IoT) in smart cities for emergency response represents a significant leap forward in urban safety and disaster management, with a more connected frontline workforce and greater visibility across assets, inventory, and scenarios.
“Across the Middle East and Europe – aided by smart city developments around 5G broadband and AI – we’re seeing emergency services turn to more modern mobile computing,” said Michael Fertig, Public Safety Manager, Zebra Technologies. “Professionals in the field need a mobile ‘digital desk’ with critical communications connectivity and applications for operational work.”
From reducing response times through real-time data and smart traffic management to enhancing the accuracy and effectiveness of emergency operations through AI-powered analytics, the new IoT is proving to be an invaluable tool for emergency services.
AI integration, 5G networks for critical communications and data workflows, radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions and mobile computing can further enhance the capabilities of frontline public safety teams, with the potential to create predictive and proactive emergency management systems.
Rugged, purpose-built mobile solutions leverage IoT, AI, 5G and other technologies and put them into the hands of emergency services professionals in the field, making smart emergency services a reality. These solutions can provide real-time data intelligence, secure, mission critical communication, and interoperable technology designed to support emergency responders, law enforcement, and government agencies in high-pressure environments.
Middle East public safety professionals are faced with changing and challenging expectations, greater volumes of data, budget scrutiny and the rapid pace of technology developments. Addressing these challenges and opportunities needs to be underpinned by the acceleration of digitisation across operations to improve communications in the field.
