Gulf IT Business News

Middle East automotive aftermarket estimated at US$ 11 billion per year

Autotec Automechanika Exhibition targets region with the highest per capita ownership of cars

Dubai - December 10, 2002/ Automechanika, the world's largest automotive aftermarket exhibition is set to target the rapidly developing automotive Middle East market with its debut event to be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from May 17 to 20, 2003.

Autotec Automechanika Gulf is the latest edition of a series of Automechanika exhibitions currently being held in twelve countries across 4 continents. Organised by Epoc Messe Frankfurt, a subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt, the world's third largest trade fair company, Autotec Automechanika Gulf will showcase a complete range of automotive parts and spare parts, accessories, tyres, tuning and performance systems, in-car entertainment systems, garage equipment, tooling and petrol station equipment.

"This region is the ideal venue for organizing Autotec Automechanika Gulf as it provides a gateway to an estimated customer base of 1.5 billion and strategic access to the Arabian Gulf states which boast one of the highest per capital car ownership in the world. The spare parts market in the Gulf is valued at over US$ 11 billion per year and is growing at a rapid rate," said Michael El Nayal, Managing Partner, Epoc Messe Frankfurt. "The Middle East has one of the highest cars-per-household ratio in the world and the continuously increasing number of vehicles on the road has created a substantial demand for garage and forecourt equipment for the service industry, which is an integral part of the automotive trade."

Exhibitors at Autotec Automechanika will get a chance to expose their products to visitors from the Arabian Gulf states, the Middle East, Iran, Western Asian countries and the Caspian and Black Sea states. "Dubai serves as a major center for re-export of car parts and accessories. Dubai's automotive accessories re-export trade is growing at a rate of 20 per cent per year and autoparts figure among the ten top re-exported items from Dubai," added El Nayal. "Epoc Messe Frankfurt is extremely confident that Autotec Automechanika Gulf will provide global exhibitors a platform to reach a huge market that has displayed tremendous consumption for car accessories and spare parts."

The prime target of Autotec Automechanika is the Arabian Gulf, which is a significantly lucrative market for the automobile industry. The luxury car market alone is expected to grow by 3.5 per cent annually giving rise to an increasing demand for spare parts. Kuwait is a prime example of a high-value market where luxury cars at the top-end category are in heavy demand and one in every two people owns a car. In addition, high-consumption markets such as Saudi Arabia, where the total number of automobile units sold per year exceeds 100,000 units, presents enormous and untapped opportunities for automobile manufacturers. The number of cars on UAE roads is also increasing at an average rate of 9.6 per cent per year.

The growing number of automobiles on the Middle East roads has brought about a corresponding increase in the demand for quality after sales service and genuine spare parts. There are more than 20,000 garages and motor workshops in the Gulf alone. An estimated US$2 billion has been spent in the past two years on petrol stations and forecourt equipment in the Gulf.

Dubai will be the latest venue to join a long line of successful venues worldwide, where the Automechanika exhibition has been held successfully. Messe Frankfurt has organized the Automechanika exhibitions in a variety of locations including St. Petersburg (Russia), Buenos Aires, Beijing, Guangzhou (China), New Delhi, Istanbul, Mexico City, Kuala Lumpur, Egypt and Frankfurt.

"We are extremely delighted to bring the Autotec Automechanika Gulf to Dubai because the Dubai World Trade Centre offers world-class exhibition facilities. In addition, the city of Dubai has excellent infrastructure, cosmopolitan ambience and leisure facilities, giving it an added edge for hosting such an event," said El Nayal.keralamonitor.com

Fourth Avaya Centre Opens At Dubai Internet City

December 10th, 2002

Luc Adriaenssens, Global Director of SYSTIMAX® Labs with the Category 5e standard cabling versus the Category 6 GigaSPEED XL demostration.

DUBAI -- Avaya (NYSE: AV), a leading global provider of communications networks and services for businesses, officially opened its US $250,000 SYSTIMAXâ Structured Connectivity Solutions Centre in Dubai Internet City (DIC) today. The global market leader in structured connectivity solutions also announced its latest Middle East business win - Knowledge Village - the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone's new initiative that provides the environment and advanced infrastructure for diverse organisations to create and disseminate knowledge.

The new state-of-the-art Avaya SYSTIMAX facility, which is the fourth of its kind in the world after Ireland, Australia and the United States, was opened by Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, CEO, Dubai Internet City. "Our relationship with Avaya goes back to the very launch of the Dubai Internet City initiative," said Dr Bin Sulaiman. Our partnership with Avaya has helped us build a next-generation infrastructure that now serves the most demanding needs of global and regional information and communication technology (ICT) companies. As Dubai Internet City grows, Avaya's expertise is enabling us to provide a robust foundation for our new initiatives. The opening of the SYSTIMAX solutions centre today further strengthens our partnership with Avaya," he added.

"Knowledge Village, our latest initiative, is aimed at enhancing our human capital as part of our efforts to transform our society into a knowledgeable society. Through this new project, we seek to position Dubai as a global hub of excellence for learning, innovation and entrepreneurship," said Dr Bin Sulaiman.

Created to house a diverse community of knowledge-focused organisations, the one million square feet development will be home to a media academy, an innovation centre, eLearning institutions, graduate and post-graduate educational facilities, research and development organisations, corporate training entities, scientific and technology institutes, certification and testing organisations and incubators. Located adjacent to DIC, Knowledge Village is scheduled to be completed by the second quarter of 2003.
The communications infrastructure to be implemented by Avaya will comprise 19,300 information outlets connected by more than 1,100 km of Avaya's industry leading, reliable, high performance copper cabling infrastructure, the SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED® XL solution, and seven kilometres of its advanced multi-modal fibre solution, Avaya's SYSTIMAX LazrSPEED™ Solution, which supports 10-gigabit per second performance up to a distance of 300 metres. Avaya will showcase its family of SYSTIMAX products at the new centre. The Avaya SYSTIMAX solutions centre will play a key role in Avaya's plans to consolidate and leverage its position as the Middle East's leading connectivity solutions provider.

"This facility will allow customers to view our entire product portfolio in action. It enables us to demonstrate the difference in speed, throughput, bandwidth etc. of different solution sets. Customers will be able to make an informed decision as to which solution best fits their business requirements, not only today but also in the future. In addition, the centre will help illustrate the often overlooked, but important criteria of application delivery quality," said Dieter Bodingbauer, Managing Director Connectivity Solutions, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, Avaya.

"Today's applications place greater demands on the network and the associated cabling system. Applications such as multimedia video conferencing, medical imaging etc not only require huge amounts of bandwidth, but also place increasing pressure on the network, as they demand a high quality of service and throughput. It's not just a question of ensuring your connectivity solution can keep up with the ever more demanding applications, but that can it continue to deliver the utmost in performance, throughput and reliability," said Luc Adriaenssens, Global Director of SYSTIMAX® Labs.
"A typical demonstration at our solution centre", Adriaenssens noted, "is the Category 5e standard cabling versus the GigaSPEED XL solution over 100m simulating information transfers between a server and a client. Two applications - data transfer of 248 Mbps and streaming video - are tested over the two infrastructures in a simulated real world environment".

"This test clearly shows the built in margin and robustness of the new Category 6 standard GigaSPEED XL Solution. It easily supports existing applications as well as emerging applications such as streaming video. This solution is unparalleled globally and will form the backbone of the ICT offering at Knowledge Village. keralamonitor.com

Twin Suites from Ericsson target fast-growing Bluetooth Headset and PC Peripheral markets

Ericsson Technology Licensing launches the latest addition to the
Bluetooth Suites family. The twin Suites are highly specialized for
two markets with vast Bluetooth potential: Bluetooth wireless
headsets and wireless Human Interface Devices (HID's).

Wireless keyboards and mice, generally referred to as wireless HID's,
are two Bluetooth products now making their way to the market. Much
appreciated by computer users in need of a more flexible desktop
environment, Bluetooth offers greater functionality. Mobile phone
users, among others, are beginning to enjoy the increased mobility
and freedom offered by wireless headsets.

The Bluetooth HID Suite is Ericsson's answer to semiconductor
companies intent on delivering reference designs for Bluetooth
keyboards and mice to Original Design Manufacturers (ODM's) and
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM's). This new Suite provides
Bluetooth radio, baseband and software technology in ready-to-use,
easily integrated, total design solutions for fast time-to-market.

"Great designs are not enough when competing in this tough industry.
A lot of companies can offer the necessary hardware and software, but
our Suites give customers access to so much more," says Johan
Åkesson, Marketing Director of Ericsson Technology Licensing. "We
offer a wide range of Bluetooth services, including training,
testing, qualification and custom design services. In fact, Ericsson
operates one of the few existing Bluetooth Qualification Test
Facilities (BQTF) through which every Bluetooth product must pass."

"There is a clear trend in the market forecasts provided by leading
analysts that wireless HID's will be among the biggest Bluetooth
segments in terms of volumes," says Johan Åkesson. "Factors certain
to contribute to this growth are the current efforts by the major
suppliers of operating system and PC's to integrate Bluetooth."

The wireless headset is not only the most widely used Bluetooth
application for mobile phones, but it is also quickly gaining ground
as an accessory for cordless phones, in-car handsfree systems and
voice recognition software.

"As with wireless HID's, the trend among market experts are
projecting a major growth for headsets," says Johan Åkesson. "As the
Bluetooth headset pioneer, we know consumers want headsets that are
light, and comfortable, have a good voice quality and are not too
expensive." This puts a lot of demands on the Bluetooth design, which
must be small, power efficient and inexpensive to manufacture.

To achieve this, Ericsson builds its Suites around their highly
integrated radio combined with baseband and software that are
minimized for the application at hand. In addition, both the HID and
Headset Suites feature support for the new Bluetooth Specification
1.2.

Alcatel's end-to-end networking experience valued by Oil & Gas industry

Paris, December 10, 2002- Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) announces
today that it has been selected by AGIP GAS B.V., a joint venture between
AGIP North Africa and the National Oil Corporation of Libya (NOC) to
provide a full turnkey telecommunications network and associated services
for AGIP GAS' internal communication needs. The contract, worth 58 million
Euro, fits in the frame of the global Western Libya Gas Project (WLGP)
aiming at developing and exporting to Europe large volumes of natural gas
via pipelines.

Alcatel will be responsible for designing, building and commissioning a
sophisticated communication network consisting of telecom and non-telecom
subsystems, like access control, closed circuit television and
meteorological systems. A 520 km terrestrial fibre optic network will
connect the onshore plants while a 110 km fibre optic submarine cable will
make the link with the offshore platform. The integration of SDH, a VSAT
satellite system, LAN/WAN and various radio systems along with third party
equipment and the interface with production installations will result in a
fully fledged carrier-class network addressing all AGIP GAS' communication
needs. The project also foresees the associated training.

Frédéric Rose, chief operating officer of Alcatel's Network Services
activities, said: "We are keen to implement the telecommunications part of
the ambitious Western Libya Gas Project. It confirms that Alcatel's
end-to-end networking experience and technical expertise developed for
telecom operators is also of strong value for large corporate customers
requiring a carrier-class telecom infrastructure for their internal needs".keralamonitor.com

Arab Lab & Instrumentation 2003 to showcase laboratory equipment and instrumentation

December 10, 2002

Dubai -The Arab Lab & Instrumentation 2003, the Middle East's only international trade fair dedicated to laboratory equipment and instrumentation, is gearing up to attract a record number of laboratory and instrumentation professionals at the Dubai World
Trade Centre from February 3 to 6, 2003.

"The Arab Lab & Instrumentation Exhibition has acquired a critical importance for the region in view of the continuous emphasis on technological development in the Middle East. Most of the public and private sectors in the Arab World have begun to invest
heavily in new and innovative technology, thus offering a huge potential market for suppliers of sophisticated laboratory and instrumentation equipment. The success of the Arab Lab & Instrumentation show over the past few years is a significant
reflection of this trend," said David Domoney, Managing Director, International Conferences and Exhibitions (IC & E).

The annual trade fair is a focused event targeting manufacturers and suppliers of laboratory equipment and services. Last year, it attracted over 300 exhibitors from more than 30 countries. For the 2003 show, more than 350 exhibitors have already
confirmed their attendance. The range of products includes medical lab equipment for the health sector, latest quality control technology for the industry sector, diversified instrumentation for the environment sector, cutting edge technology for the
education sector and analytical techniques for the private sector.

"The continued focus in the Middle East on implementing quality technological systems has enabled us to extend the purview of this exhibition, to include a variety of sectors like Health, Public Services, Environment, Industry and Education. Technologists
working within the rapidly changing infrastructure of the Arab World will be provided hands-on access to laboratory and instrumentation for professionals," said Domoney. "The 2003 edition of the trade show aims to encourage attendance of specialists empowered to identify and purchase laboratory equipment, instrumentation and services."

The target visitors include chemists, biochemists, biologists, clinical engineers, environmental health officers, food technologists, hispathologists, instrumentation engineers, lab technicians, medical directors, microbiologists, pathologists, petrochemical engineers, quality control analysts and Research & Development analysts.

The Arab Lab & Instrumentation show is a meeting place for the laboratory and instrumentation industry, providing a networking platform for professionals and a window on new advancements. Visitors to the show are expected to include major organizations and distributor sectors, senior representatives from the ministries of various GCC countries as well as healthcare professionals from the private sector. The exhibition will also host specialized seminars for laboratory and instrumentation end users, providing insights into the latest developments from around the globe.The 2002 edition saw professional visitors from 46 countries including Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Morocco and Iraq. keralamonitor.com