March 23, 2002 keralamonitor.com
Gitex Saudi targets largest IT market in the Gulf Gulf Education Show attracts new exhibitors from around the globe Dubai e-Government targets vertical industries of the private sector Kerala Consumer Forum Bags National Consumer protection Award Reseller Channel Forum at Gitex Saudi attracts considerable interest
Gitex Saudi targets largest IT market in the Gulf
March 23, 2002 keralamonitor.com
The Gitex Reseller Channel Forum to be held alongside the first ever Gitex Saudi 2002 has already attracted over 250 resellers from all over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), a month before the actual opening of the show. The Forum is organized by ITP, publishers of 15 market leading titles.
Created to complement and enhance the IT trade opportunities at Gitex Saudi, the Channel Forum is considered to be the largest dedicated channel event in the region and will be held from April 22 to 25, 2002. It offers an optimum platform for channel personnel, IT professionals and major IT vendors to meet and discuss issues of mutual interest and educate the resellers about the new trends in information technology. The Forum is of particular interest to anyone seeking new or additional Channel Partners in Saudi and throughout the Middle East, International IT vendors seeking to expand or strengthen channel ties through training and education programs in addition to Arabic software developers and web designers seeking business partners in Saudi, GCC and Levant markets. It is expected to be attended by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Corporate Solution Providers, PC Assemblers, System Integrators as well as IT vendors and distributors.
"Saudi Arabia currently represents over 40 per cent of the Middle East Information Technology market and it is still growing. We feel that this is the right time to target the resellers in the region and create a significant platform for them to interact freely with the channel partners and vendors," said Walid Akawi, Publisher, ITP. "The initial response to ITP's Reseller Channel Forum at Gitex Saudi has been phenomenal and is clearly evidence that the reputation of the event has already preceded it in the Kingdom."
Gitex Saudi has been ideally positioned to directly target the Saudi IT industry for the first time this year as Saudi Arabia has witnessed a tremendous surge in the development and usage of information technology in recent years and can now be considered the biggest IT market in the Gulf region. According to a recent study, the IT spending in the Middle East region will be more than US $ 4.6 billion in the year 2002 with a large percentage of this being attributed to Saudi Arabia.
Although the Kingdom was a late entrant into the Internet scene, it has recently recorded an extraordinary demand for Internet related software, hardware and services. E-Commerce has also witnessed a spiralling growth with over 600,000 new Internet subscribers and there is an ever-increasing demand for efficient network and e-commerce solutions. The growth rate in the areas of communications, Internet applications, POS hardware and mobile computing, is now projected at 20 per cent annually. While applications software is the chief growth segment, the Saudi market for computers, peripherals, software and IT consultancy continues to be the largest in the Middle East totaling a colossal US $ 800 million in annual sales.
The Kingdom is also currently implementing a five-year massive initiative, first launched in September 2000, to equip over 21,000 schools with PC equipment, networks and peripherals. The program is expected to expand the user base dramatically, as well as the number of Internet users, further fuelling the on-going US$ 1.5 billion market boom.
Gitex Saudi to be held in Riyadh at the centre of the region's largest growing IT market, will be a significant move towards expanding the GITEX brand name throughout the Middle East region. The many workshops and seminars to be organized alongside the show offer ideal opportunities to introduce state-of-the-art technologies to the most important buyers in Saudi Arabia.
At Gitex Saudi, the Reseller Channel Forum offers a total of seven seminar rooms, two of which have been fully reserved for the four-day event. Over 15 vendors from the various categories of software, hardware, distribution and networking segments will be targeting the fast growing reseller market in Saudi Arabia.
March 23, 2002 keralamonitor.com
Gulf Education Show attracts new exhibitors from around the globe
Focus on professional courses in IT education
The 14th Gulf Education & Training Exhibition, to be held from April 9 -12th 2002 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, has begun to make a global impact, with educational institutions from all over the world exhibiting at this year's show. Among the host of new exhibitors are institutions from countries as diverse as UK, Canada, India, Thailand and Pakistan, focusing on offering professional courses in higher learning leading to graduate and post-graduate programs."The continuing popularity of the Education Show worldwide comes as no surprise because it has been ideally positioned. The multi-cultural aspect of the population in the Gulf countries offers exhibitors a chance to target students from their home countries in addition to students wishing to explore educational opportunities in foreign lands," said David Domoney, Managing Director, International Conferences & Exhibitions. "The show takes place at a time of the year when most students are considering future educational options, well ahead of the new academic year in most countries. The fact that the region is still growing in terms of well-established institutions of higher learning has also added to the popularity of the event amongst institutions worldwide."
Some of the first time exhibitors this year are the Assumption University based in Bangkok, Thailand, Doncaster College of UK, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) from Pakistan, LaSalle College International of Canada and PA College of Engineering, Mangalore, India.
Based in Bangkok, Thailand, Assumption University has a student-strength of over 20,000 students from 60 different countries. It offers over 65 graduate, undergraduate and doctoral programs in the field of information technology, bio -technology, engineering, management and international business. In addition, it offers joint programs with leading universities in the US, Europe and Australia. As a first time exhibitor, Assumption plans to explore the significant potential student market in the UAE and will be specifically promoting courses in engineering, management and IT at the undergraduate level.
Shalini S. from Assumption University's GCC & India Helpdesk said, " We are planning to reach out to the student community in the UAE and offer them an option of high quality education at a cost effective investment. We expect the fair to provide us the platform to interact with a large number of students in the UAE and an opportunity to present our university's credentials in a professional environment."
Doncaster College is one of the largest colleges of further and higher education in the UK with a wide-ranging curriculum that includes engineering, business, finance, design and art disciplines. Undergraduate programmes leading to a degree are issued at Doncaster college by the University of Hull, the University of Sheffield, Hallam and the University of Huddersfield. The main college site is situated at the centre of Doncaster with a student residential complex at High Melton. Located in a superb Georgian Mansion on a 120-acre site, the residential facility has excellent dining and sports amenities including a gymnasium and a 9-hole golf course.
Another new exhibitor from UK will be CoAcS, which will represent the University of Bath at the show. CoAcS, a company that provides services to the pharmaceutical industry based on strong links with academic establishments, specialises in the provision of computer-based solutions for pharmaceutical problems. The company has established special expertise in the use of computers in training, education and marketing. Through the associated company 'pharmindex", a particular emphasis has been placed on pharmaceutical information on the Internet.
The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) is a premier management institution from Pakistan's Punjab province will announce the launch of its Executive MBA program at the forthcoming exhibition. Designed to commence starting in the fall of 2002, the MBA program is meant for executives who are poised to play a leadership role in shaping the future of their organisations and want to leverage their experience through world-class management education. LUMS is a premier institution in the region and it aims to set up Schools for Information Sciences, Law and Public Policy in addition to expanding its student body and offering more graduate programs.
"The purpose of our participation this year is to increase enrolment from the Middle East in our academic as well as our executive development programs," said Nuzhat Kamran, Deputy Manager, Development & Alumni Relations, LUMS.
LaSalle College of Canada is a private bilingual (French and English) technical training college, approved by the Ministere de I'Education du Quebec to award college-study diplomas (DEC) and attestations of collegial studies (AEC). With three campuses located in Canada's largest cities - Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver- it has more than 4,500 students representing over 45 countries. It claims to be the only college with a world presence to offer a complete education in management with a vision focused on the international stage and e-business. LaSalle College's alliances with IBM, Microsoft, Novell, SAP and Cisco ensure that the Data Management and Programming courses it offers are of the highest quality and provide extensive value to the students.
The PA College of Engineering based in Mangalore, India is equipped to groom young talents into top quality professionals with sound knowledge. It offers a variety of courses specifically directed towards the IT segment with undergraduate programs leading to a degree in Computer Science and Engineering, Information Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering and Telecommunication Engineering. In addition engineering courses are also offered in Bio-Technology, Mechanical Electrical, Electronics and Mechatronics. Spread over 50 acres of picturesque ambience in the quiet Southern Indian city of Mangalore, the PA College of Engineering is managed by the PA Educational Trust.
Dubai e-Government targets vertical industries of the private sector
International Society of Petroleum Engineering (SPE) briefed on Dubai e-Government services
March 23, 2002 keralamonitor.comDubai e-Government recently extended its awareness campaign to target specific segments of the business sector in the UAE with its first ever presentation to a delegation from the International Society of Petroleum Engineering (SPE). The 22-member delegation led by Jamal Barghouti, Programme Chairman, was briefed extensively on the initiatives of Dubai e-Government with a view to creating enhanced awareness about its objectives, strategy and initiatives. The comprehensive presentation conducted by Yousef Khalili, Community Outreach and Marketing Manager, Dubai e-Government, was in keeping with Dubai e-Government's plans to generate extensive online involvement between the government and the various segments of the private sector in the UAE and worldwide.
"We are witnessing a spurt of rapid technological development which can drastically alter the course of our lives. We believe that it is imperative to be equipped with first hand knowledge on the phenomenal strides witnessed in the technology field. This presentation is an attempt to educate our members on the pioneering initiatives of the Dubai e-Government," said Barghouti. "We would like to commend the e-Government for their visionary approach in creating this initiative which will go a long way towards establishing Dubai as a leading player on the IT world map," he addedThe SPE is an international organization comprising of engineers working in the oil and petroleum related industry, with various chapters in all the oil-producing countries. The members meet on a periodical basis for free discussion on technical subjects relating to the extraction and refining of oil and oil related products. Membership is open to all professionally qualified engineers with significant experience in the oilfield industry.
"Dubai is a hub for a wide range of industries and businesses all of which need to deal with government in the course of their work. Most vertical industries of the private sector, like the oil-related industries, have specific requirements when it comes to dealing with the government departments. Our primary objective is to identify these industry specific requirements in order for us to provide them with enhanced services," said Khalili.
"We have embarked on a series of interactive discourses with these industries, which will provide us with a better perspective about their needs, and will guide us in devising and developing a wide range of effective electronic services to suit their requirements. As a first step in this direction, we are targeting the premium industry in the UAE -oil and petroleum. We are pleased to have been given the opportunity to introduce the SPE team to the Dubai e-Government initiative. The launch of Dubai's e-Government services is a significant step towards the creating an information society that ultimately benefits the public in every aspect of their daily lives," he added.
The presentation reiterated the role of Dubai e-Government as an aggregator of a suite of online services that is offered to the general public. It explained that the main objective of Dubai e-Government is to enhance customer focus and to improve efficiency and effectiveness of government services.