Gulf IT Monitor

Gulf Beauty 2003 will feature 350 exhibitors from 30 countriesSatcom Industry Focuses on Gitex Saudi 2003 Qatar Foundation implements Oracle E-Business Suite Panasonic introduces Amal Hijazi as the Panasonic brand ambassador in the Middle East Al Falak in GITEX 2003 Saudi Arabia Eastern Networks provides tailor-made High Availability and Data Replication solutions for banks

Satcom Industry Focuses on Gitex Saudi 2003

Inmarsat and four of its regional partners confirm participation in exhibition; focus on mobile voice and high-speed data communications via satellite

Riyadh, 23rd April 2003 Inmarsat, the Total Communications Network, today confirmed its participation in Gitex Saudi 2003, along with a delegation of Inmarsat service providers from the region. The world leading mobile satellite communications company will be showcasing a range of high quality, mobile, reliable, and cost effective global voice and high-speed data solutions at Gitex.

Nasser Dawood, regional manager for SatCom Distribution/O'Gara Satellite Networks, an Inmarsat service provider, comments: "We are delighted to be exhibiting alongside Inmarsat. Gitex Saudi comes at a time when satellite communications across the region present tremendous development opportunities to businesses, governments and communities in areas where voice and high-speed data cannot be accessed."

Tareq Stouhy, assistant general manager from Electronic Equipment Marketing Company, an Inmarsat partner comments: "Most of the voice solutions in the market today solve half of the communication challenges in the Middle East. Inmarsat and its partners will be presenting voice solutions that address individual and community voice needs, not only covering the region, but with seamless access to most areas of the globe." He continues: "With an average of approximately 16.7% telephony and mobile penetration in the Arab world, voice communications via satellite continues to be a lucrative market for Inmarsat and its partners."

Inmarsat mini-M continues to be the market leader in the mobile and semi-fixed global voice connectivity with over 100,000 terminals activated. Inmarsat and its partners will be demonstrating voice solutions that allow reliable, cost efficient and community wide access to telephony via satellite.

Issa Odtallah, Inmarsat regional development manager explains: "Inmarsat mini-M is being used around the world to provide a reliable voice and low-speed data connection in regions where terrestrial telephony does not exist, or is not reliable enough." He continues: "Inmarsat mini-M is being used today in Afghanistan in a Large Antenna mini-M format. This way the community gets access to cost-effective voice calls via pre-paid cards using a semi-mobile antenna placed in public calling offices." Along with mobile and semi-fixed voice connectivity, high-speed data communications that allow extreme mobility top the business development agendas of Inmarsat and its partners in Gitex Saudi.

A combination of data and multimedia centric applications that allow live ideoconferencing, Internet, and network access from remote locations, and using Inmarsat's Global Area Network (GAN) and Regional BGAN, will be on display.. Odtallah explains: "In the last few years, and moving forward, we see tremendous opportunities in satellite communication systems that allows high-speed transfer of data from and to virtually anywhere in the world." Halima Abdulla, Vice President of Atlas Telecommunications, an Inmarsat service provider participating in Gitex ends saying: "Gitex Saudi presents, as always, excellent business and networking opportunities that we are gladly pursuing with Inmarsat." -keralamonitor.com

Al Falak charts an aggressive strategy to tap
US$ 3.7 billion Saudi IT market

Leading IT & communications solution provider showcases
total end-to-end solutions at GITEX Saudi Arabia 2003

April 23, 2003
Al Falak, a leading Saudi and pan-Gulf IT and communications solution provider, has developed an aggressive strategy to play a more dominant role in the IT sector, with a focus on its home base, Saudi Arabia, the largest IT market in the Gulf valued at US 3.7 billion, by introducing leading edge business intelligence solutions.

Al Falak's end-to-end solutions tailor-made to suit specific business requirements will be exhibited at GITEX 2003 Saudi Arabia to be held in Riyadh from April 27 to May 1, 2003. Saudi Arabia constitutes over 60 per cent of the entire GCC IT market, according to market research reports.

The products on display at GITEX 2003 Saudi Arabia include SAS business intelligence solutions used by global organizations, the new Omegamon XE for Linux from Candle Corporation, and a wide range of new generation products such as digital cameras, computer mice and home theatre systems.

"Al Falak's local market expertise, excellent rapport with clients and enviable track record are factors that place the company in a strong position to tap the burgeoning Saudi IT market," said Ahmed Ali Ashadawi, President & CEO of Al Falak. "The market has been maturing, fueling the demand for our type of leading edge solutions that are designed to trigger optimum performance. Projections of still higher IT growth in Saudi Arabia in the coming years have encouraged us to develop more aggressive marketing strategies for the local market as well as the growing pan-Gulf region."

The GGC IT market as a whole was valued at US$ 6 billion in 2002, and is set to grow to US$ 8 billion by 2005, according to a study by the Dubai-based Madar Research Group. Of this, Saudi Arabia and the UAE constitute 81.2 per cent of the GCC total.

"Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC are emerging markets that are poised to generate an ever increasing demand for IT products and solutions," Ashadawi said. "In many states, the governments are highly proactive in leading the drive towards computerization and integration of services. Al Falak is favorably placed to tap these markets as we have built a portfolio of business partnerships with some of the world's leading best of breed solution and software providers, hardware and consumable manufacturers, business consultancy houses and implementation specialist. Our highly skilled staff are strategically placed throughout the Gulf region to enable us to offer a full range of local support and services."

Al Falak in GITEX 2003 Saudi Arabia

RIYADH - Al Falak and SAS Institute will be demonstrating business intelligence solutions and services that have been installed in leading organizations in the Middle East and in Fortune 500 companies around the world. Visitors from the finance, telecommunications, oil and gas and government sectors will get to watch live demonstrations on SAS business intelligence solutions.

Also on view at Al Falak stand will be the new OMEGAMON XE for Linux from Candle Corporation, a leading solution provider for business-critical infrastructures. The new solution offers extensive systems management capabilities required to deploy Linux in mission-critical environments and help reduce server expenses.

Al Falak's new generation products to be displayed at the show include the Genius products such as DSC-1.3M TFT 2.1 mega pixel digital camera, VideoCAM Smart300, Wireless TwinTouch Optical Office Kit, NetScroll+ Traveller optical wheel mouse with a smooth glass-type surface, MousePen 5 x 4 and SW-5.1 Home Theatre besides displaying products from HP and Imation.

Al Falak's association with a number of global players puts it in a strong position to provide total end-to-end solutions for Middle East businesses. The company has created separate divisions and departments to deliver high quality services to businesses in the region.

Al Falak System Solutions & Consultancy (FSSC) offers world-class IT and system integration capabilities to clients, with a focus on deployment of robust and scalable information infrastructures for businesses of all sizes. FSSC support a broad range of IT services as such as Systems integration, project management and networking solutions.

Al Falak is working closely with its strategic communications and networking partners to present communications solutions from Marconi, Extreme, CISCO, PAV Data Systems, Fujitsu Siemens, Peribit, Altitude and Blue Coat.Al Falak has been a partner of JD Edwards within Saudi Arabia since 1990, successfully implementing their integrated financial, distribution and manufacturing EntrePrise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions for a wide client base.The Human Resources division of Al Falak is dedicated to recruiting, retraining and developing fully skilled professionals in engineering, computer science, communications, technical, operational, safety and other vocational and academic disciplines.

Al Falak has a regional wide distribution operation based in Al-Khobar Saudi Arabia, enabling it to provide the computer supplies and accessories from prestigious suppliers as such IBM, HP, Genius, Epson, Oki, Imation and Omega among others.

Gulf Beauty 2003 will feature 350 exhibitors from 30 countries

The 8th annual trade fair at Dubai World Trade Center will have two new sections for natural products and packaging solutions

April 23, 2003

Gulf Beauty 2003, the 8th international trade fair for perfumes, cosmetics and body care, will be organized at the Dubai World Trade Centre from June 2 to 4, 2003, featuring the largest number of exhibitors to date, including two new sections for natural beauty & health products and packaging solutions.

Epoc Messe Frankfurt, the regional affiliate of Messe Frankfurt, leading global trade fair organizers, is organizing the biggest beauty industry event in the Middle East. Gulf Beauty will benefit from Messe Frankfurt's expertise in conducting such exhibitions (Beauty World in Frankfurt and in Japan), the company's global network as well as from Epoc Messe Frankfurt's vast experience in the Middle East region with regards to local markets and target visitor groups.

"The beauty industry is one of the fastest growing in the region due to the new generation's demand for quality beauty and body care products," said Geoff Dickinson, managing partner, Epoc Messe Frankfurt. "There is a growing interest in fashion, health and beauty not only among women, but also among men. Cultural diversity is also a contributing factor. The buoyant Middle East beauty market is therefore courted by some of the biggest names in the industry. This has been reflected in the rapid growth of the Gulf Beauty show, which will feature 350 exhibitors from 30 countries this year besides a large number of national pavilions. In 2002 the show attracted 340 exhibitors from 27 countries, including 11 officially backed national pavilions."

Gulf Beauty 2002 recorded a 38 per cent increase in exhibitors and a 4 per cent rise in professional visitors from 67 countries. The visitor mix featured retailers, salon and spa owners, professional beauticians, distributors, agents and exporters.

"The remarkable changes in lifestyles in the Middle East and the status of Dubai as a major commercial hub in the region has positioned Gulf Beauty as an international showcase for some of the world's best and latest beauty and body care products," said Dickinson. "We are geared to add value to the show through our global experience of organizing trade fairs, and provide a springboard for business growth for suppliers from across the globe by bringing them face to face with manufacturers and trade visitors. Gulf Beauty has certainly become the meeting point for the global beauty industry."

"What gives Gulf Beauty the edge is the fact that Dubai is the region's main export-re-export center. Dubai commands more than 80 per cent of all imports of beauty products into the UAE. Buyers come from all over the Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, the CIS republics, the Far East and Europe. It has thus become the ideal platform for international suppliers to build sustainable long-term businesses in the region," added Dickinson.

According to Daniela Rose, Project Manager, Gulf Beauty 2003, the show will have at least 11 national pavilions besides a large number of individual exhibitors. "This year's show will also witness a number of product launches which includes a multifunctional instrument with several clip-on pedicure implements that won the Red Dot Design Award in 2003; a new range of active-ingredient cosmetics for skin treatment besides oriental and fine fragrances."

"Gulf Beauty 2003 is poised to break all records in terms of exhibitor and visitor numbers and also in the range of products," said Daniela. "This year, for the first time, we have added a section on natural health and beauty products in response to a significant shift in market demand and another on packaging solutions to address the needs of manufacturers, product developers and major retailers, " she added.

Eastern Networks provides tailor-made High Availability and Data Replication solutions for banks

April 23, 2003

Eastern Networks has recently announced that it will be providing banks in the UAE, Qatar, Pakistan and Jordan with a High Availability/Data Replication (HA/DR) solution tailor made for them, aimed at ensuring that a safe and reliable copy of the SWIFTAlliance database is always available. Having evaluated various solutions in the market, Eastern Networks selected software based on Legato's Co-Standby and Octopus software, as the best solution recommended for SWIFTAlliance users.

High-Availability is a mandatory feature for the growing list of mission-critical applications. Unbroken information access is essential to a company's business success. Virtually any amount of IT downtime can mean lost productivity, lost revenue, lost customers, lost opportunities. That means banks need to be prepared for the full range of threats to the availability and stability of their core infrastructure. Threats ranging from communications disruptions, application problems, and unexpected peaks in customer traffic, to full-scale disasters.

Traditionally, high-availability was provided through specialized fault-tolerant hardware, which is very expensive, or clustering software, which requires expertise to implement and manage. Eastern Networks has provided banks with a cost-effective, simple to deploy, high availability solution, which requires no changes to the application. In addition, it does not require clustering software, does not require additional or specialized hardware, and will demonstrate significant value in a very short period of time.

In the event of a failure of the primary system, Eastern Networks' solution ensures that the SWIFTAlliance application and database automatically transfer onto the backup. The Hostname and Internet Protocol address are also moved to the backup server, eliminating the need for reconfiguration of other systems or workstations. Within 5 minutes, the system can be fully operational, users and applications connecting, and messages being sent and received.

"The impact on a bank's business if SWIFTAlliance becomes unavailable is often severe. A solution such as the one we are proposing protects the business by mirroring the SWIFTAlliance application and data from the production machine to a standby server," said Hazem Mulhim, CEO of Eastern Networks. "In the event of the production server or the SWIFTAlliance application becoming unavailable, the Legato-based software will enable the banks to continue operating because they have prepared for the unforeseen. The real time mirroring technology provided in this solution ensures that whatever data exists on the production server will exist on the standby server, thus ensuring data integrity," he added.

"The other part of Eastern Networks' proposed solution includes data replication. We all hope that disaster will never strike, particularly when it involves mission critical applications such as SWIFTAlliance. However, if the worst should happen, it would be reassuring to know that even in the event of a complete site failure, a safe and reliable copy of your SWIFTAlliance database is available for immediate use," said Mulhim.

By maintaining a remote mirror of the database, the data replication software ensures rapid recovery from even the most catastrophic disaster. The software captures changes to the SWIFTAlliance data and copies them to one, or many, recovery servers, which can be located either in-house or at remote sites across any local or wide area network. The solution provides a flexible approach to disaster recovery, allowing banks to implement a unilateral strategy for different locations without hardware or network dependency.

Implementing this solution would enable the disaster recovery server to have all the information on the primary as of the last update. Disaster risk would hence be reduced from more than 24 hours to less than 1 hour, depending on the update frequency.