CompuMe launches new megastore in Al Khobar in a bid to significantly increase market share in Saudi Arabia
Total IT revenues in the kingdom expected to reach US$ 2 billion in 2003
Riyadh : March 15, 2003 As part of its expansion plans, CompuMe, the leading IT solution enabler in the Middle East, has recently announced the launch of its new megastore in Al Khobar, which marks the presence of its third store in Saudi Arabia. This initiative is aimed at drastically enhancing its market share in the kingdom in addition to reflecting its strong commitment to its customers.
"Al Khobar enjoys a very strategic location, as it serves the key city of Dhahran, the industrial city of Jubail and the major port of Dammam. As a major business centre of the eastern region of Saudi Arabia, we expect a serious acceleration of business ventures due to the opening of the oil and gas sectors. Hence we decided that it was indeed opportune for us to expand our operations, with the opening of the Al Khobar store," said Dikran Tchablakian, CEO of CompuMe.
"Ranked as the largest IT market in the Middle East region, Saudi Arabia witnessed a stupendous growth rate in 2002 of 14 per cent, which highlighted a strong development from hardware investment in PCs and developments in key infrastructure sectors. With major developments underway that are expected to create a significant impact, Saudi Arabia is proving to be a very lucrative market indeed. It is predicted that the total IT revenue in the kingdom is expected to grow to a healthy US$ 2 billion in the year 2003. In view of this positive forecast, CompuMe feels that this is indeed a very significant move that will enable us to increase our market share from the current 3 per cent that we occupy," he added.
Equipped with a wide range of digital and information technology products, the new Khobar Megastore will provide visitors with one of the most enhanced shopping experiences. "With life being so complicated, our objective is to make shopping for Digital and Information Technology products as easy as ever" said Leon Beuyukian, COO of CompuMe. "A dedicated area called "The Carousel" inside CompuMe Megastore will allow manufacturers to display and demonstrate how digital products work together i.e. how a camera can take a picture, send it by email, save and scan it or how to adjust a plasma screen to watch a DVD and surf the Internet. Visitors to the store will also be able to have a thorough understanding of how wireless technology can manage digital and information technology products in homes and offices", he added. CompuMe offers a wide range of products and services, which is one of the most extensive in the Middle East. It endeavours to provide its customers with high standards of quality with its innovative and cost effective products as well as qualified service.
CompuMe is the leading IT Megastore in the Middle East that provides an innovative and extensive range of IT products and services to consumers in the region. It is strongly supported by its commitment to the highest standards of quality in every area of operation. With the backing of a vigorous program of investment by its founders and partners, CompuMe also has ongoing support from the leading companies in the international computer industry. CompuMe business is based on a new concept in the Middle East Computer distribution. Its hardware selection, which includes equipment from the world's leading suppliers, can be configured into specifically tailored systems designed to meet the client's specific needs. (keralamonitor.com)FSL confirms the role of ammonium nitrate in Mulund blast
BEA WebLogic to run NASA's collaborative information portal to support upcoming Mars mission
Portal to enable NASA engineers at Mission Control to analyze data and information beamed to earth from Mars rovers
15 March 2003The BEA WebLogic Enterprise Platform of BEA Systems Inc., the world's leading application infrastructure software company, has notched up another major gain with the American's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) adopting it to build the Collaborative Information Portal that will serve as a key research and scientific tool during the upcoming Mars Exploration Rover mission.
The BEA-powered portal is designed to distribute data and information to NASA personnel and science team members at Mission Control, while two robotic rovers collect and transmit data from the Martian surface. NASA is scheduled to launch the rovers between May and July, and they are expected to arrive on Mars in January 2004.
"NASA's selection of the BEA WebLogic Platform crowns the series of accolades the solution has been receiving from global corporations," said Diyaa Zebian, Regional Manager, eSolutions BEA, the regional representative for BEA in the Middle East. "It fills us with pride that as many as 300 of NASA's engineers and science team members will be using it to locate, view, analyze and integrate the data collected by the rovers with other mission operations information. Being selected to power a key element of mission operations is an persuasive testimony to the high standards that are associated with BEA products."
"The BEA WebLogic Platform, which has gained a number of clients worldwide, including," added Zebian. "Whether used by businesses or by NASA scientists, if offers the same degree of reliability, security and precision, making it the preferred solution for different kinds of customers. The NASA choice, of course, gives BEA WebLogic a stronger seal of approval and endorsement, but the fact that thousands of satisfied customers are banking on it around the globe is a matter of great satisfaction for us."
The mission is the next step after the highly successful Pathfinder mission of 1997. The two new rovers can trek up to 100 meters per day. They will carry sophisticated instruments that will search for evidence of past liquid water and assess whether there were past environments that could have been conducive for life. The knowledge gained from the exploration of Mars could have dramatic effects on the future of humankind.
NASA selected BEA WebLogic ServerÔ as its portal platform after careful consideration of the portal's technical requirements. Specifically, BEA WebLogic provides superior scalability to handle the very large number of page views that are expected during the mission, and offers industry-leading performance and reliability, which are imperative to ensure that NASA is able to maximize the knowledge gained during the 90-day exploration. The portal will be part of the mission ground data systems and will help manage data that reaches Earth via NASA's Deep Space Network, an international network of antennas located in the United States, Australia and Spain.
BEA Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAS) is the world's leading application infrastructure software company, providing the enterprise software foundation for 13,000 customers around the world, including the majority of the Fortune Global 500. BEA and its WebLogic® brand are among the most trusted names in business. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., BEA has 91 offices in 33 countries and is on the Web at www.bea.comLG UPS MID EAST MOBILE PHONE STAKES WITH EMS PHONE
LG Electronics has launched its first Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) mobile phone into the Middle East. The lightweight flip-cover G5200, is the first of many new mobiles the global and regional digital leader intends to launch in the region during 2003."This is a big year for LG mobile phones," said Mr. P. C. Choi, President, LG Electronics Gulf FZE (LGEGF). "Having had a successful entry into the regional GSM market in 2002, we're aggressively targeting the mobile sector this year."The G5200 with EMS is the next level up from the models we launched last year. EMS is the step between SMS and MMS and it should prove to be an exciting addition for customers looking for something a little different."EMS allows for the transmission of simple images, sound and user-defined animations over current mobile communications infrastructure. LG believes the service could prove to be even more popular than SMS."On average, around 2 billion SMS messages per month are sent on mobile phones in the Middle East. EMS allows the exchange of pictures and ring signals between phones and it's expected to be massively popular in this region," said Choi.
At a time when a sharp rise in mobile use has been recorded in the Middle East, Choi said LG's increased presence is a timely decision."Mobile phones in use outnumber fixed lines across most of the GCC and the level of interest in new products does not look like declining for some time to come," he said."LG Electronics must ensure it brings to market the very latest technology it has to offer to build product leadership and customer loyalty."By combining LG's award winning screen technology with its state-of-the-art telecommunications framework, we are producing versatile, innovative and fun mobile handsets, giving buyers the opportunity to explore the possibilities of the mobile Internet in a new fashion."
The Korean giant recently announced its first year in the competitive mobile phone sector in the Middle East and Africa had produced sales of US$ 20m and is targeting a sales increase of 650% for 2003.The Arabic enabled G5200 is the fifth model in the LG stable. The WAP, GPRS handset has all the usual functionality expected of a cutting-edge mobile and features polyphonic ringtones and 200 number phonebook with Li-Ion battery. "LG tested the waters last year with four handsets which proved to be popular across a number of market segments," said Choi."The G5200 brings a new dimension to LG's range and will see the company begin to make a large dent in the target it has set for itself this year.
"As far as the mobile phone market in the Middle East is concerned, LG Electronics is certainly a name to reckon with."Standard package items include the handset with travel adapter, standard battery and portable hands-free. In addition, ringtones and pictures can be downloaded onto the handset.
