DMCC reshapes HR and enterprise operations with Oracle GenAI

By Nick Engelhardt, Senior Director, Product Marketing, Analytics & AI at Oracle, and Anshuman Panda, AI Agents Specialist Leader at Oracle

An image of DMCC’s headquarters in Dubai.
Figure 1: DMCC is the world’s leading trade and enterprise hub for commodities.

 

Established in 2002, DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) was founded to position Dubai as a global gateway for commodity trade and enterprise. Over the years, it has become a key economic driver, contributing to 15% of all foreign direct investment (FDI) to Dubai and 7% of its GDP. DMCC is home to world-class developments such as Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) and Uptown Dubai, accommodating over 100,000 working professionals, residents, and visitors, and recognized by the Financial Times’ fDi Intelligence as the world’s number one Knowledge Zone in 2024. The developments were also awarded the publication’s Global Free Zone of the Year for nine consecutive years.

DMCC boosts the flow of global trade through Dubai and is revolutionizing operations and employee experiences by adopting Oracle Generative AI (GenAI). By embracing cutting-edge AI solutions, DMCC is, automating key processes and redefining digital efficiency for businesses within its ecosystem. As a pioneer in AI adoption, DMCC is setting a new benchmark for innovation, automation, and seamless digital experiences.

Business challenges

Before adopting Oracle GenAI, DMCC faced several challenges:

• Manual handling of HR processes – While DMCC already used Fusion Cloud self-service for leave applications, employees needed to access the intranet, click an SSO link, and manually enter three fields to apply for leave. However, other HR queries, such as approvals and general inquiries, were still manual, consuming valuable employee time.
• Overloaded HR teams for policy-related queries – Although employees could check their leave balance on their own, they still relied on HR for policy-related inquiries, leading to an increased workload for HR teams.
• Scalability of automation across departments – The organization needed to expand automation beyond isolated HR functions to boost efficiency across multiple departments.
• Limited integration between enterprise systems – While DMCC had not integrated Fusion Cloud with other applications and did not currently require it, optimizing existing workflows and AI-driven improvements could further streamline operations.
• The need for a digital assistant – A key requirement was an AI-powered assistant capable of understanding natural language, providing instant and accurate responses, and seamlessly interacting with enterprise systems to raise productivity.

 

To overcome these challenges, DMCC sought an AI-powered platform that could provide immediate impact, integrate with its existing ecosystem, and continuously adapt to evolving business needs.

Why DMCC chose Oracle GenAI

DMCC partnered with Oracle for its Fusion Cloud applications, enterprise-grade security, and OCI Generative AI capabilities. A successful proof of concept with Conneqtion Group solidified Oracle as the ideal choice. Key reasons for selecting Oracle included:

• Using Oracle Generative AI and Oracle Digital Assistant to deliver contextual responses and enable self-service for HR, finance, and supply chain operations.
• Applying Oracle AI-Powered Document Understanding to automate document processing and extract insights with increased accuracy.
• Enhancing AI responses with Oracle Vector Database for real-time retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) from enterprise documents.
• Gaining faster processing, cost efficiency, and compliance with Oracle’s cloud native AI services.
• Meeting DMCC’s compliance requirements with robust cloud security.

 

With Oracle’s trusted AI ecosystem and DMCC’s vision for innovation, the partnership was a natural fit.

Implementation

DMCC took a phased approach to the GenAI implementation, which, helped ensure seamless deployment and alignment with organizational goals:

• A tailored proof of concept (PoC) would be conducted by Conneqtion Group to validate AI-driven automation.
• Employees would receive instant AI-driven responses to HR policy inquiries in any language, reducing HR workload and improving efficiency.
• Using Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, Oracle Digital Assistant (ODA), and OCI Generative AI, employees would seamlessly request leaves and HR letters.
• One-Click Expense AI Agent would verify expenses using Oracle Document Understanding and Fusion REST APIs, reducing manual effort and helping to ensure compliance.
• AI Adoption Dashboard, built with OCI technologies, would bring real-time insights into employee engagement, absence trends, and workforce planning.
• Bilingual AI interactions in English and Arabic would seamlessly integrate with Fusion Cloud HCM, MS Teams, Intranet Portals, and mobile apps, with a customized UI/UX aligned to DMCC branding.

An image depicting MDCC’s reference architecture.
Figure 2: The architecture for DMCC’s deployment.

Deployment timeline and challenges overcome

• Three months to implement the HR policy RAG, Booking Absence, and Letter Requests.
  • Challenges faced:
  • LLM Hallucination – Continuous prompt redesign for accuracy.
  • Agent Architecture Design – Generalizing the architecture across the whole system.
  • Validations for Leaves / Letters – Rebuilding the validation mechanism referring to Fusion Fast Formulas.
  • Date Extraction – Ensuring accurate interpretation of dates from user queries.
• Deployments from lower to higher environments using VB Studio for code maintenance and build pipeline.
• Single Sign-On (SSO) integration with SharePoint and MS Teams using OAuth2 verification.
• Optimized performance: Reduced boot-up time from 20 seconds to 10 seconds by deploying agents and custom components in Oracle Kubernetes Engine (OKE).
• Improved accuracy: Custom AI flows in the agent architecture enhanced the overall system efficiency.

 

While DMCC initially faced challenges due to the lack of GenAI references, Oracle’s transparent approach and successful demonstration of AI capabilities earned the customer’s trust. Competing against multiple vendors, Oracle’s deep integration with Fusion, coupled with a well-executed PoC, provided the winning edge.

“The integration of Oracle Generative AI into our HR and enterprise operations has been a game-changer for DMCC. In just three months, we have significantly improved efficiency, reduced HR workload, and enhanced employee self-service capabilities. By leveraging AI-driven automation, we’ve cut down response times, streamlined processes, and set a new benchmark for digital transformation across our business district. Our partnership with Oracle has enabled us to overcome complex challenges such as LLM hallucination, validation mechanisms, and seamless integration with enterprise platforms like Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. This is just the beginning—our future roadmap includes expanding AI-driven automation into procurement, finance, and even employee services like valet parking, reinforcing our commitment to innovation and operational excellence,” says Abdalla Al Ali, Director of Information Technology & Innovation at DMCC.

Results

The deployment of Oracle GenAI at DMCC significantly improved efficiency, cost savings, and the employee experience. AI automation cut HR workload, streamlined finances, and boosted self-service adoption. The scalable infrastructure now supports automation across enterprise functions, setting an innovation standard.

• Reduction in HR workload with AI-powered automation.
• Faster expense processing using the One-Click Expense AI Agent.
• Increase in employee adoption, reducing dependency on HR teams.
• Reduction in manual effort across HR and finance operations.
• Faster expense claim processing, accelerating approvals and compliance.

 

By tapping Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and AI-driven automation, DMCC set a benchmark for digital transformation, bringing future-ready, scalable, and intelligent enterprise operations.

A strategic partnership for the future

DMCC’s adoption of Oracle GenAI is a strategic move to establish the company as a leader in AI-driven enterprise transformation. This deal positions DMCC as a pioneering GenAI adopter, setting a precedent for other organizations in the region.

Oracle provided extensive support throughout the journey, from AI workshops to commercial structuring, so that the solution aligned with DMCC’s long-term vision. The successful POC and Oracle’s ability to demonstrate a compelling, connected AI solution played a key role in securing the partnership.

Next steps

DMCC’s adoption of Oracle GenAI marks a transformational shift in how enterprises use AI to achieve new heights. Through automation, document understanding, and AI-powered interactions, DMCC enhances workforce productivity and future-proofs its operations. This strategic move not only benefits DMCC but also paves the way for broader adoption of AI solutions across industries.

As DMCC continues with its AI adoption, the company plans to expand AI automation to Procurement and Finance GPT on Microsoft Teams, and implement AI-driven valet parking for employees. With Oracle as a trusted AI partner, DMCC is poised to lead the way in GenAI innovation, setting a new standard for AI-driven business excellence in the UAE and beyond.

For more information about DMCC and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, see the following resources:

• Learn more about DMCC
• Discover Oracle’s AI solution hub
• Explore other technical case studies from OCI
• Try Oracle Cloud for yourself