Black Book Research pre-event survey reveals attendee priorities: smart hospitals, population health, and compliance-ready solutions
DUBAI, UAE / ACCESS Newswire / September 6, 2025 / As WHX Tech Dubai 2025 opens today, more than 5,000 healthcare leaders from around the world are converging to explore how global digital health innovators can partner with Middle East providers, payers, and regulators. This year's program, held September 8-10 in partnership with HIMSS, highlights the region's growing demand for smart hospital transformation and population health innovations.
Independent benchmarking firm Black Book Research released new pre-event survey findings this morning, capturing the priorities of 243 proposed attendees from 17 countries. The survey shows buyers are looking beyond technology showcases to find proof of outcomes, faster integrations, and solutions compliant with local regulations and data residency requirements.
Survey Insights
Smart hospital technologies (command centers, real-time location systems, AI-enhanced workflows) are the most anticipated exhibits, with 62% of providers naming them a top reason to attend.
Population health and chronic care innovations (digital front doors, RPM, analytics) were prioritized by 54% of payers and regulators seeking better access and cost management.
Interoperability and compliance remain critical, with 47% of respondents expecting vendors to prove readiness for EHDS, TEFCA, and regional data protection rules.
"WHX Tech has become a defining marketplace for global and regional healthcare leaders to connect," said Doug Brown, Founder of Black Book Research. "The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing frontiers for digital health, where providers, payers, and regulators are actively seeking innovations that combine usability with measurable ROI. For global vendors, it's a rare opportunity to demonstrate how their applications can adapt to local priorities-from smart hospital operations to population health management-while building trusted partnerships that extend across the region."
Top Client-Rated Performers at WHX Tech 2025
Based on WHX Tech attendee survey (n=243) and the Black Book 2026 Global IT Outlook Poll (n=2,449 users in 28 countries and regions)
Top Overall Vendor - Interoperability & EHR Integration
InterSystems - Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, InterSystems is a global leader in interoperability and health data platforms. Its TrakCare EHR is widely deployed in the Middle East across UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, while HealthShare powers data exchange across Europe, the US, and APAC, making it one of the most regionally relevant vendors for integration and cross-border compliance.
Leading Global EHR Provider
Oracle Health - Based in Austin, Texas, Oracle Health (formerly Cerner) is one of the largest EHR providers globally. With flagship hospital installations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and a strong footprint in North America and Europe, Oracle Health is viewed as a trusted partner for Middle East providers seeking AI-enabled workflows and population health tools.
Best in Imaging & Diagnostics
Agfa HealthCare Middle East - Headquartered in Mortsel, Belgium with a strong Dubai regional base, Agfa has been an imaging and radiology IT powerhouse for decades. Its enterprise imaging solutions are embedded in hospitals across the GCC, Europe, and North America, providing advanced diagnostic support and workflow orchestration that aligns directly with Middle East smart hospital ambitions.
Top Infrastructure & Smart Hospital Partner
Huawei - Global HQ in Shenzhen, China, with a major Middle East office in Dubai, Huawei is a leading provider of cloud, AI, and hospital IoT infrastructure. The company has partnered with GCC ministries on smart hospital projects, while also powering data-intensive health workloads in Asia and Europe, making it a strong candidate for providers prioritizing local compliance and cybersecurity.
Best Emerging Regional Innovator
AI71 - Based in Abu Dhabi, AI71 is a regional startup incubated by G42 specializing in applied AI for healthcare. With active pilots in UAE public health analytics and early expansion into Saudi Arabia, the company is seen as a homegrown innovator with potential to scale internationally, bridging Middle Eastern priorities with global AI research.
Top North American EHR Entrant
MEDITECH - Headquartered in Westwood, Massachusetts, MEDITECH is a long-standing North American EHR vendor. Its Expanse platform is gaining traction in international markets including the Middle East, and it is recognized for usability and rapid deployment compared to larger EHR competitors, making it a viable option for GCC providers exploring digital hospital modernization.
Regional Health System Champion (Middle East)
PureHealth - Based in Abu Dhabi, PureHealth is the UAE's largest healthcare group and a regional benchmark for integrated payer-provider digital transformation. With more than 100 hospitals and clinics in its network and partnerships with global innovators, PureHealth demonstrates how regional health systems can leapfrog into advanced population health, AI diagnostics, and data-driven operations.
Best Digital Front Door & Patient Engagement Platform
BeeHealthy - Originating from Finland, BeeHealthy is a digital front door platform developed by the Mehiläinen health group. It has proven success in Europe for patient engagement and chronic care management and is now being adapted for Middle East use, making it highly relevant to payers and providers aiming to extend access and improve outcomes.
Best Interoperability APIs & Payer-Provider Data Exchange
Carefluence - Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Carefluence was the first ONC-certified FHIR API vendor in the United States. With interoperability pilots underway in UAE private hospitals and broad adoption among US community hospitals, Carefluence is positioned to help Middle Eastern payers and providers adopt API-driven data exchange that meets both local and global standards.
Top Compliance & Security Partner
Kyndryl - A US-based IT infrastructure and managed services company spun off from IBM, Kyndryl supports digital transformation and cybersecurity for complex enterprises. With new Middle East operations and a global client base across healthcare and payer organizations, Kyndryl is recognized for helping hospitals and insurers achieve secure, compliant IT modernization.
Outstanding Payer Technology Solution
Hyland - Headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, Hyland delivers enterprise content management and imaging platforms used by both providers and payers. With strong penetration in North America and Europe and growing deployments in the Middle East, Hyland enables hospitals and insurers to digitize workflows, accelerate claims, and manage patient documentation securely.
Most Promising Startup / Emerging Innovator
Opmed.ai - An Israeli startup, Opmed.ai specializes in AI-driven operating room scheduling and resource optimization. Already piloted in leading hospitals in Israel, Europe, and the US, the company's technology resonates strongly with Middle East smart hospital initiatives seeking to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve surgical throughput.
Global-Regional Connector Award
Amazon Web Services (AWS) - Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, AWS operates globally with a strong EMEA presence based in Luxembourg and data centers across the Middle East. Its health-focused cloud infrastructure underpins digital health workloads for insurers and providers in North America, Europe, and now the GCC, where its compliance with local data residency requirements makes it a vital connector between global technology and regional regulation.
Black Book evaluates global health IT vendors across 18 key performance indicators that capture the full spectrum of success factors relevant to Middle East buyers: vendor credibility, training and support, deployment speed, system usability, integration and interoperability, compliance with regional regulations and data residency, scalability, innovation and AI functionality, clinical workflow enhancement, patient engagement, population health impact, revenue cycle performance, cost-effectiveness, security and risk management, measurable ROI, referenceability, customer satisfaction, and long-term sustainability. Together these KPIs provide a comprehensive view of vendor performance, linking technology capabilities to the operational, financial, and clinical outcomes that healthcare providers, payers, and regulators in the GCC and wider region now demand.
Survey Snapshot
Respondents (n=243): Providers 68%, Payers 8%, Regulators 12%, Investors/Other 12%
Regions Represented: Middle East (72%), Europe (11%), North America (5%), Asia-Pacific (3%), Africa (5%), Latin America (1%)
Countries Represented: 17 (majority from UAE, KSA, Qatar; additionally UK, Germany, US, India, Singapore, South Africa and others)
Top Priorities: Smart hospital tools, population health innovations, interoperability, compliance, ROI within 12 months
Survey Confidence: With 243 verified responses drawn from the expected 5,000 attendees, the survey results carry a margin of error of ±6.1% at the 95% confidence level.
On-Site Event Booth References for Top Rated Vendors:
InterSystems - Booth S3.D39; Oracle Health - Booth S2.E19; Huawei - Booth S3.F10; MEDITECH - Booth S3.F30; PureHealth - Booth S3.D10; BeeHealthy - Booth S3.C31; Carefluence - Booth S2.E30; Kyndryl - Booth S3.C30; Hyland - Booth S3.F28; Opmed.ai - Booth S2.C40
About Black Book Research
Black Book Research has emerged as the global leader in benchmarking healthcare IT and management solutions software and services, with an extraordinary level of trust placed in its results by providers, payers, regulators, and investors worldwide. Since 2003, Black Book has continuously surveyed international technology users and managed services buyers, applying a rigorous, vendor-agnostic methodology anchored in user-focused key performance indicators that are meaningful to real-world decision-makers. By 2025, Black Book's research data lake has grown to include more than three million validated opinions, making it the most comprehensive and trusted performance dataset across 110 countries. This unmatched breadth and depth position Black Book as the industry's definitive source for unbiased benchmarking, guiding procurement and adoption decisions in every major healthcare market. Download gratis industry reports at www.blackbookmarketresearch.com
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SOURCE: Black Book Research
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/whx-tech-dubai-2025-opens-as-global-digital-health-marketplace-connec-1069242
