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App, AI and Software Development for UAE Businesses

A Dehradun-based engineering team working 1.5 hours ahead of Dubai, building bilingual Arabic and English products with almost a full shared working day.

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Almost a full shared working day with Dubai and Abu Dhabi

The UAE runs on Gulf Standard Time (UTC+4) and India on India Standard Time (UTC+5:30). Neither country uses daylight saving, so the gap stays at 1.5 hours all year, with India ahead. When it is 9:00 in Dubai it is 10:30 in Dehradun, so a 9:00 to 18:00 UAE day maps to 10:30 to 19:30 in India. That leaves room for morning standups in your time, live design reviews, same-day bug fixes and release windows both teams can attend. Since the UAE moved its federal working week to Monday to Friday, most UAE organizations share India's working days too.

Your office day
09:00 to 18:00
Our IST day, your time
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Shared, standard day
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10:00 in Dubai is 11:30 in Dehradun.

From Dehradun to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah

Nexzem Technologies is an app, AI and software development company based in Dehradun, India. We do not have an office in the UAE. We work with businesses in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah remotely, from the first workshop to launch and support, and the small time difference makes that practical: our working day covers almost all of yours, so a question raised at 10am in Dubai is usually answered the same morning.

Building for the UAE is different from building for a generic English-speaking market. Most consumer products need to be bilingual, with Arabic screens that are properly mirrored rather than translated strings dropped into a left-to-right layout. Government-facing and regulated services often expect sign-in through UAE Pass, payments run through regional gateways, and personal data handling has to fit the federal data protection law, or the DIFC and ADGM regimes for companies registered in those free zones.

This page covers how we work with UAE clients: the hours we share, the rules and integrations we plan for, the sectors we build for and how contracts and IP ownership work across borders. For service detail, see mobile app development, AI development and custom software development.

Rules your product has to meet in the United Arab Emirates

General information, not legal advice. We design for these from the first sprint and work alongside your counsel on the specifics.

  • Federal Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL)

    Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 governs personal data processing across most of the UAE: lawful grounds and consent, data subject rights, breach notification and conditions for transfers abroad. Its executive regulations add detail, so we build consent, access and deletion flows that can adapt as guidance develops. This is general information, not legal advice.

  • DIFC and ADGM data protection regimes

    Companies registered in the Dubai International Financial Centre or Abu Dhabi Global Market follow their own laws (the DIFC Data Protection Law of 2020 and the ADGM Data Protection Regulations 2021), which are closely aligned with the GDPR. Expect records of processing, impact assessments for high-risk processing and rules on transfers out of the free zone.

  • Health and financial sector rules

    Health software has to consider the federal law on ICT in health fields, which generally requires health data to be stored inside the UAE, plus standards from the Dubai Health Authority or Abu Dhabi's Department of Health. Payment and stored value products fall under Central Bank of the UAE regulation.

  • VAT and the e-invoicing program

    VAT at 5% is administered by the Federal Tax Authority, so billing systems need correct tax invoices and VAT reporting. The Ministry of Finance's Peppol-based e-invoicing system has run in pilot and voluntary mode since July 2026 and becomes mandatory in phases from January 2027, starting with larger businesses, so ERP and invoicing software must exchange structured invoices through accredited service providers.

  • Arabic language and bilingual content

    Arabic is the official language and government services are bilingual. Users expect Arabic interfaces that mirror correctly, use proper Arabic typography and handle mixed Arabic and English text. Contracts, consumer notices and some invoices may also need Arabic versions, which affects content management design.

  • Accessibility for People of Determination

    The UAE uses the term People of Determination for people with disabilities, and public sector digital services are expected to be accessible. We use WCAG 2.2 AA, the level the federal government design system follows, as a working target, including screen reader testing in both Arabic and English, since right-to-left content creates its own reading order issues.

Why teams in the United Arab Emirates choose Nexzem

Your working day, not overnight handoffs

With only 1.5 hours between Dehradun and Dubai, our team is online for nearly all of your business day. Feedback is acted on the same day, and releases can be scheduled when your operations team is awake to watch them.

  • Arabic designed in from the first sprint

    We design Arabic and English screens together, using mirrored layouts, Arabic-friendly fonts and logical CSS properties, instead of retrofitting right-to-left support after launch, which is slower and leaves broken screens behind.

  • UAE integrations planned early

    UAE Pass sign-in, regional payment gateways, buy now pay later providers and delivery partners each have onboarding steps outside the code. We list them in discovery so approvals run in parallel with development.

  • Hosting that fits residency needs

    AWS, Microsoft Azure and Oracle all run cloud regions inside the UAE. When your sector or customers require local data storage, we architect for those regions from the start rather than migrating later.

  • App, web, AI and cloud in one team

    One team covers design, mobile, web, backend, AI and DevOps, so you are not coordinating several vendors across time zones. Nexzem has delivered 150+ projects across 15+ industries.

  • Straight about being remote

    We are based in India and say so. You get video calls in your hours, a shared project board, weekly demos on a staging build and named people to talk to, instead of a local address with nobody behind it.

Industries we build for in the United Arab Emirates

Sectors where our work lines up with what this market regulates, buys and expects. Each links to the full industry page.

Contracts, billing and IP for clients in the United Arab Emirates

How an engagement with an India-based team works when your company is in the United Arab Emirates.

  • Three engagement models

    Fixed scope for well-defined MVPs and websites, a dedicated team billed monthly per seat for ongoing products, or time and material with weekly timesheets when priorities change sprint to sprint. See fixed price vs time and material.

  • Contracts across borders

    You contract with Nexzem Technologies, an Indian company. Scope, milestones, acceptance criteria, governing law and dispute resolution are written into the agreement, and we are happy to work from your legal team's template where it is reasonable.

  • NDA and full IP ownership

    We sign a mutual NDA before you share detailed plans. Source code, designs and other IP created for you are assigned to your company, so you can take the product in-house or to another vendor at any time.

  • Billing and payments

    Fixed scope projects are billed by milestone, dedicated teams monthly and time and material from approved timesheets. Currency and payment schedule are set in the contract, with payment by international bank transfer.

  • Accounts in your name

    App Store and Google Play developer accounts, cloud subscriptions, domains and payment gateway merchant accounts are opened under your UAE entity. We work inside them with the access you grant, so control stays with you.

Services for businesses in the United Arab Emirates

Each guide covers the local rules, integrations and expectations for that service, alongside how we deliver it.

Questions from the United Arab Emirates

Something else on your mind? Ask a consultant and get a reply within one business day.

Does Nexzem have an office in Dubai or the UAE?

No. Nexzem is based in Dehradun, India, and works with UAE clients remotely. Because India is only 1.5 hours ahead of the UAE, our team is available for nearly your whole working day, joins calls in your hours and shares a project board and staging builds so you can follow progress daily.

Can you build apps in Arabic with right-to-left layouts?

Yes. We design Arabic and English layouts side by side, mirror navigation and icons where it makes sense, use Arabic-friendly fonts and test bidirectional text such as English product names inside Arabic sentences. React Native, Flutter and native iOS and Android all support RTL well when it is planned from the start.

Can our app or portal use UAE Pass for sign-in?

Yes, technically. UAE Pass uses standard OpenID Connect flows, which we integrate on web and mobile. Access is granted through an onboarding process run by the UAE Pass program, so we recommend confirming your organization's eligibility early and running that approval in parallel with development.

Where will our data be hosted?

Wherever your requirements point. AWS, Microsoft Azure and Oracle operate UAE cloud regions, which suit health, government and many enterprise projects. Other products can use regions elsewhere if transfers meet the PDPL or the DIFC or ADGM rules that apply to you. This is general information, not legal advice.

Which payment options can a UAE app support?

Common choices include Network International, Checkout.com, Telr, PayTabs and Stripe for cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay for wallets, and Tabby or Tamara for buy now pay later. Cash on delivery is still expected in some retail categories, so order flows often need to support it alongside online payment.

How much does app development cost for a UAE business?

It depends on platforms, features, integrations such as UAE Pass and payments, and how much bilingual content and design you need. Arabic support adds design and testing effort but costs far less when planned early. Try our app cost calculator for a rough range, then book a free consultation for a fixed quote.

Nexzem works with clients worldwide. This guide covers what is specific to the United Arab Emirates; the team, process and contracts are the same wherever your company is based.

Where else we workAll services

Building for the United Arab Emirates? Start on your clock.

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