“Light is communicating with us and the future of light is connected with our experiences,” says Eric Rondolat, CEO and member of the executive committee at Philips Lighting.

It is a great time to achieve more value and sustainability through better lighting systems in the world. “Light also makes our life more efficient and valuable,” Rondolat, told Arab News.

"We are changing dramatically the way people experience and interact with light at home, at work and in their cities. We foresee a future where lighting innovations connect seamlessly with smart controls, networks, devices and apps to positively benefit and improve lives and drive new business value,” Rondolat said.

"Our aim is to educate and create awareness about the importance of light. It is a perfect time to educate the market and consumers with the latest light solutions. We believe in integration and we can offer a unique experience to play with light,” he added.

Stressing the importance of GCC market to Philips, Rondolat said: "We see the market trends and focus on the customers segments as a growing business for us in the lighting market. We believe in Middle East region where we can see a high demand and potential for future growth."

Rondolat said: "Philips recently signed an agreement with Saudi Arabian General Lighting Company to provide full range of LED lighting solutions and strengthen Philips footprints in the region, while creating growth opportunities to support the government's objective to reduce energy consumption."

He added: "Saudi government is very sensitive for sustainability and growth. There is a lot of potential for us to develop our systems which are based on digital technology. This is a market that will get attraction and value due to the high growth ratio."

Rondolat said: "Saudi Arabia's market is very important for Philips and we expect that LED penetration in the Kingdom to achieve a strong double digit growth by 2018, driven by investments in public and private infrastructure."

Fusing the worlds of light, art and technology, Philips recently launched the world's first 3D printed luminaire in two spectacular designs at a light and building trade show in Frankfurt. These luminaires were created and manufactured using 3D printing and are controllable by a smart device.

Rondolat added: “We also launched the world's first complete power over Ethernet connected lighting systems for offices that give workers smart phone control of their office lighting and building managers new insights into building usage.”

Helping to create safer and more energy efficient cities, Philips also launched CityTouch light wave in the recent light and building trade show in Germany. It is a new remote lighting management system that allows streetlights to be instantly connected to a remote lighting management system over wireless GPRS networks instead of local Radio Frequency networks.

Rondolat said: "Philips’ LED lighting combined with controls can deliver up to 80 percent energy savings compared to conventional lighting, while providing high quality light for a comfortable, more productive work environment."