The UAE ranks 24th in the world and first among Arab countries in its use of information and communication technologies (ICT), according to the World Economic Forum's 2010-2011 Global Information and Technology Report, but there is still a long way to go in persuading companies outside the telecommunications sector to take advantage of it.
While the UAE scored relatively highly in both the environment and usage categories (ranking 25th and 30th respectively), its strongest performance is in the readiness measurement, where it finished sixth out of the 138 countries measured.
In several subcategories, the UAE scored even higher. Its level of company-wide technology adoption in the private sector is fifth in the world, the Government's procurement of advanced technology products is third, and its per-capita number of mobile telephone subscriptions is first.
These impressive scores are the result of substantial investment in mobile and broadband infrastructure over the past decade (specifically, by Etisalat), along with innovative offerings from technology and telecoms players (both Etisalat and du).
These efforts place the UAE in an enviable position - it can now build off a strong foundation to leverage the benefits of ICT, not merely in traditional sectors such as computers and mobile phones, but throughout the overall economy.
In other words, if we think of the UAE's technology infrastructure as a digital highway, the country now has the ability to build digital communities: the applications and tools that can leverage the connectivity advantages of that highway.
Greater technology use - especially outside of the traditional ICT sector - can deliver a range of benefits, increasing competitiveness and GDP growth and transforming key industries.
At present, most technology usage in the UAE's private sector is in telecoms. Just 21 per cent of all spending on ICT came from outside the telecoms sector, compared with an average of 50 per cent in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
This means the UAE has a significant opportunity to enhance its ICT use in other industries.
For example, utilities can use ICT to install smart metering and distribution systems, which give consumers real-time information on their power use, accommodate dynamic pricing plans, and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
Utilities in the US (ranked fifth in this year's overall rankings) expect to reduce consumer bills by 10 per cent and peak demand by 15 per cent through such technology.
Transport can also benefit from greater ICT use, through applications such as intelligent public transit systems, real-time parking information, and traffic signals that automatically reconfigure to reduce congestion.
In Singapore (ranked second), these applications have the potential to cut traffic deaths by 15 per cent, and reduce traffic by 20 per cent. Smarter e-government functions deliver a significant cost benefit: a study by the EU found that European taxpayers could save more than €15 billion (Dh79bn) if their governments switched to electronic invoicing systems.
E-health programmes also offer remarkable potential benefits, such as electronic health records, remote tools for diagnosing chronic diseases, and co-ordinating smarter responses for emergencies.
In Germany (ranked 13th), the government implemented a national electronic prescription drug plan, which can handle 750 million prescriptions a year, and will also improve the supply of key drugs.
While these examples show what is possible in other areas of the world, the UAE will chart its own path to greater technology adoption. To develop digital communities capable of using technology in this fashion, the UAE can apply a broad-based approach while co-ordinating measures among national policymakers, regulators, telecoms operators, sector developers and others in the private sector.
To that end, policymakers and regulators may consider adopting a holistic approach to overhaul the entire ecosystem. This entails co-ordinating with other sectors such as health care, education, energy and transport to develop sector-specific ICT policies.
Industry leaders in those sectors can examine gaps in their offerings, to determine how ICT products and services can help them serve customers better, while increasing the efficiency of their operations.
Finally, network operators can also play a part in this transformation, as they accelerate the shift from traditional telecoms business models (primarily those built around voice and connectivity services) to new models based on customer experiences and the needs of digital economies.
This is a significant evolution - most operators have spent the past decade building network infrastructure, and now their challenge is to create new applications and services, and develop ways to profit from those ventures.
This shift is likely to involve partnerships with public-sector stakeholders.
Karim Sabbagh is senior partner with Booz & Company and a global leader for the communications, media and technology practice. Bahjat el Darwiche is a partner with Booz & Company