Sirma has recently announced the establishment of a new company in Dubai, Sirma FZE, to strengthen its regional footprint. Julian Maslyankov, Vice President of Insurance Services, will manage and represent the local entity. His goals are to drive Sirma’s business growth in the region, forge strategic partnerships, and oversee joint projects with local and regional clients. We asked him to answer a few questions and share the medium- and long-term business aims for this newly established company.
Mr Maslyankov, you have been appointed Managing Director of the newly registered Sirma FZE in Dubai. Why did Sirma choose to open a regional office there?
Sirma’s management team made the strategic decision to establish a subsidiary in Dubai to strenghten our presence in one of the world’s fastest-developing regions – the Middle East. This move is driven by the growing demand for digitalization and artificial intelligence across industries such as insurance, banking, logistics, and hospitality, where Sirma already has proven expertise and established solutions. The market is under pressure to modernize, creating excellent opportunities for implementing flexible, scalable, and adaptive technology platforms.
In early 2025, Sirma took part in two significant conferences held in Riyadh and Dubai, focusing on the insurance sector. During meetings with local companies, it became clear that the market still relies on outdated technology systems. At the same time, businesses are being urged to comply with new regulatory requirements and are facing intense pressure to modernize. This combination of factors creates an ideal environment for introducing modern, flexible, and easily customizable solutions, such as those offered by Sirma.
The regional market is highly receptive to innovation and is eager to adopt new technologies, making Sirma’s presence in Dubai a timely and strategic step. This expansion is not just a commercial venture; it represents an investment in buiding a long-term role as a trusted technology partner across the Middle East.
What is the potential of the region?
Our research into the regional market indicates that this venture holds significant promise. The financial technology market in the UAE is projected to reach $46.67 billion by the end of 2025, with expectations to grow to $81.55 billion by 2030. This growth is driven by the widespread use of smartphones, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), and and supportive regulatory frameworks such as the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Currently, Dubai leads the market with a 60.23% share, boasting over 7,700 active companies registered in the DIFC, which showcases its thriving innovation ecosystem.
The InsurTech sector is also experiencing rapid growth, with its valuation expected to reach $8.5 billion by 2024. Health insurance is at the forefront of this expansion, driven by mandatory coverage requirements and the increasing adoption of digital platforms.
Additionally, government initiatives such as the Dubai Universal Blueprint for AI and the Digital Dirham pilot project are further accelerating digital transformation. These initiatives enable instant, programable payments and enable the cross-border integration of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Dubai’s strategic location, combined with its policy allowing 100% foreign ownership in free zones and its robust digital infrastructure, makes it an ideal hub for further expansion into the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and Africa.
What will Sirma bring to the regional businesses?
The market is highly diverse, with an increasing demand for innovative and digital solutions across various industries, including insurance, banking, logistics, and hospitality. These sectors are undergoing new regulatory requirements and face significant pressure for digital transformation, which aligns perfectly with our expertise and product portfolio.
Our subsidiary in Dubai will allow Sirma to establish a direct presence in the local market, enabling faster response to customer and partner needs. It will also help us support large-scale projects and expand adoption of our flagship products, including the Sirma.AI Enterprise platform, Salexor CRM, and Sales Enablement platform.
While Sirma has a broad portfolio of services and solutions, our initial focus areas will include:
- Fintech – providing comprehensive solutions, technology, and business consulting;
- Insurtech – delivering solutions based on the no-code/low-code Creatio platform as well as custom-built software;
- Sirma.AI Enterprise – developing and deploying proprietary AI agent solutions.
What will the Sirma.AI Enterprise platform offer customers in the region?
Sirma.AI Enterprise is an advanced platform that provides a full range of features found in leading AI orchestration systems. It enables users to create AI agents without any coding, group agents into teams, manage workflows, utilise RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), and work with a variety of different models. The platform also supports numerous tools and accommodates all types of Managed Cloud Platform (MCP) servers.
Sirma.AI Enterprise can operate with both cloud-based and local large language models (LLMs). We have developed specialized tools and processes to address diverse business needs. Hardware configurations are designed to support the installation of local LLMs on either existing or new infrastructure. Our deep industry knowledge in various industries allows us to fine-tune the agents effectively. We also provide comprehensive support to corporate clients at every stage of building their AI ecosystem – what we call the Enterprise AI Core.
One of the key advantages of Sirma.AI Enterprise is its ability to serve organizations in highly regulated industries or those concerned about data confidentiality. For these clients, a local language model (LLM) or a hybrid approach – where a local model anonymizes and “cleans” data before it is submitted to a global model outside the organisation – provides the most secure solution. The robust technology behind Sirma.AI Enterprise, combined with our industry expertise, positions Sirma as a significant player in introducing AI to the corporate client segment.
How do you expect demand for AI solutions and AI agents to evolve in the region?
The region is highly receptive to innovation, particularly when it comes to using artificial intelligence as a tool for optimizing and automating business processes. Our platform and intelligent agent solutions are being utilized across various industries. For example, in the banking sector, we see applications like AI customer chatbots and AI back-office assistants. In insurance companies, there are AI-assisted claims management agents, and in healthcare, we have medical examination transcription agents.
These solutions are quick to configure and deploywhich is especially valuable for companies aiming to modernize their technology systems in line with new regulatory requirements. We believe that these technologies will be key growth drivers for businesses in the region.
What opportunities do you foresee for partnerships and collaborations with local companies?
We already have successful partnerships, including our collaboration with Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) – one of the largest insurers in the region – where we are currently negotiating implementation of our solutions across their group. Additionally, our partnership with Creatio opens up opportunities for joint projects with local and regional clients. We are actively seeking certified implementation resources, which provides a competitive advantage when working with local companies and facilitates our market entry.
