Eros Group, distributor of world-renowned brands - Samsung, Hitachi, TCL, Candy, BenQ, Linksys by Cisco and Sonos and one of the leading players in consumer electronics, telecom, IT and allied multi-products in the Middle East, has entered into an alliance with Revo, the Multi-Award Winning developer and manufacturer of digital radio products for the DAB, DAB+, HD and Internet Radio platforms.

Eros Group will distribute the Revo’s Digital Radio products incorporating FM, Internet and DAB technologies through key retail channel partners in UAE and other Gulf countries and service the needs of consumers throughout the region.

On the occasion of release of Revo products in UAE, Mr. Deepak Babani, CEO of Eros Group said, “Partnering with Revo reflects At the launch press conference Mr. Deepak Babani, CEOEros Groupcommitment to constantly expanding our product portfolio and giving our customers the latest in consumer electronics. Revo is well known for highly acclaimed Digital Radio products with innovative designs and we are proud to introduce it to our customers in this region. We are confident that this ingenious piece of technology will appeal to our wide customer base.”

Mr. Colin Urie, Commercial Director of Revo Technologies commented on the occasion, “Our mission is building the World’s most exciting, innovative and stylish digital radios. At Revo we place a high degree of importance on the look, feel and ease of use of our radios. Our aim is to produce a product that crosses over from being a humble piece of electronics to something that enriches your day to day life. With their detailed knowledge of consumers, industry, unique range of products, and innovative service record, we are confident that our partnership with Eros will help establish Revo in UAE and other Middle East markets”.

Reflecting on the new trends in listening to music, Mr. Sathish Shenoy, Vice President of Business development of Eros Group added that streaming music from connected devices like PC, Digital music players, Internet/DAB Radios and Music Services is changing the way people listen to music. High penetration of internet connectivity and relatively large bandwidths, make Internet Radio a versatile option to expand your access to music and other audio content dramatically at no extra cost. In addition to local FM stations, Revo radios gives you instant access to your own music libraries like iTunes either from the docked devices, connected PCs, or more than 15,000 free Internet radio stations and podcasts from across the world, or DAB and DAB+ radio stations wherever available and most popular online music services streaming millions of songs. Revo’s own RadioControl, an innovative and easy-to-use application for iPhone, iPod app enhances user experience of controlling multiple devices attached to the network with a touch of a finger.

Initially Eros Group will make available three of best-selling products from Revo range: recently launched K2 with innovative contemporary design, Heritage which has a retro inspired design and Axis, Revo’s best-selling digital radio device priced at Dhs 1699, 1399 and 1249 respectively.

- Conference to be held in Dubai on 7th February 2012 -

Dubai, UAE– February 06th, 2012 – GFI Software today announced that it is to host a channel Partner conference on 7th February 2012 at Mina A’ Salam Hotel, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. The conference is open to all GFI reseller channel partners in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The conference will cover all sales and technical aspects related to the latest GFI products, including presentations on upcoming security trends as well as live product demos. Keynote speeches will be delivered by GFI’s management team, focusing on new product launches, channel and sales updates and product roadmaps.

GFI will also be presenting a number of awards to channel partners in recognition of their contribution to GFI’s success across the region.

“Middle East and Africa is a key market for us and the region holds an enormous business potential for both GFI and our channel partners. Our target is to incrementally increase our sales in the region and improve on last year’s very positive growth. At the partner conference we also want to assure our continuous and ongoing support to channel partners in the region,” said John Spoor, Channel Sales Manager MEA, GFI Software.

“We expect a high turnout of partners from UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, and Iraq, among others countries from the MENA region, at the 2012 GFI Partner Conference,” added Spoor.

Aside from Motorola RAZR’s groundbreaking design and dazzling technological specs, the smartphone is winning plaudits on the Middle Eastern smartphone scene for its ability to make life that little bit easier.

The innovative new SmartActions app is central to this mission, letting users create automated tasks and improve battery performance by up to 30%, so they spend less time fiddling with mundane settings and more time focusing on the important things in life.

Users can either take direct control by configuring Smart Actions to set specific rules and/or wait for prompts based on recurring behaviors.

For example, the Low Battery Saver action will pay attention to how much charge your battery has and change settings to conserve what’s left. At 40% power, it can dim the display and at 30% it can slow down data usage. You pick the points and you choose the changes.

Smart Actions can also make changes based on where you are. These location-based actions are associated with Wi-Fi connections and will only be performed when those networks are detected. Arriving at your office could, for example, prompt putting your ringer on silent and pulling up that productivity app that really gets things done.

“SmartActions is constantly evolving and adapting to the lives of our customers, automating tasks that would normally require fiddly and repeated manual intervention, and freeing up time that can be better spent enjoying the smartphone experience and going about day-to-day routines. With SmartActions, you can set it and forget it,” said Raed Hafez, Managing Director for Motorola Mobility, Middle East & Africa.

Motorola RAZR is available in the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt now.

- BlueCat Networks Discovers Security Vulnerability and Works with Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) to Rapidly Test and Verify the Fix -

Dubai, UAE, 06th February 2012, ComGuard, a Dubai based leading value added distributor for IT security products and solutions in the Middle East and North Africa region today announced the availability of a patch from BlueCat Networks for its appliance-based DNS and DHCP software solutions that addresses the latest DHCP vulnerability publicised by the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC). BlueCat Networks discovered the vulnerability and was prepared to immediately provide patches to its customers on the same day as the ISC’s public release.

Working with a client, BlueCat Networks was instrumental in identifying and reporting the vulnerability (CVE-2011-4539) to the ISC. The vulnerability found by BlueCat Networks relates to a bug in the DHCP software which could allow an attacker to remotely crash a DHCP server in a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. After discovering the issue, BlueCat Networks worked with the ISC to test and verify a fix to address the vulnerability. BlueCat Networks’ proactive response demonstrates its commitment to security and providing timely patches to critical security vulnerabilities that could put organizations at risk.

“ISC is very appreciative of BlueCat Networks for its efforts in finding and testing this DHCP issue,” said Barry Greene, President of Internet Systems Consortium. “We are committed to identifying and rapidly addressing any security vulnerabilities and look to partners like BlueCat Networks to assist us in meeting the security requirements of our customers and the Internet community at large using our Phased Disclosure Process.”

“Our customers depend on our solutions to deliver business-critical DNS and DHCP core networks services,” said Branko Miskov, Director of Product Management, BlueCat Networks. “Security is a primary focus of our organization and we have a long history of being first to market with patches to address vulnerabilities as they arise. As an early adopter and member of ISC’s ‘Friends of ISC’ program, we are one of only a handful of vendors that work directly with ISC to ensure the ongoing reliability and feature richness of BIND and DHCP.”

Providing a purpose-built platform for DNS, DHCP and IP Address Management, BlueCat Networks solutions include highly secure software that is updated regularly to address new vulnerabilities. With BlueCat Networks’ simple solutions, there is no need for customers to spend time and effort monitoring security vulnerability and OS patches.

Jayadevan K, Senior Vice President, Value Business at ComGuard, said, “BlueCat Networks physical and virtual appliances are deployed at some of the most demanding public and private sector organisations worldwide to improve security, lower costs and increase IT efficiency. BlueCat solutions also allow organizations to securely manage change and growth with unsurpassed scalability and future-ready support for IPv6 and DNSSEC.”

Riyadh, January 2012: TELSA, the only dedicated B2B Telecoms and ICT Exhibition  and Conference  in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is under the patronage of H. E. Eng. Mohamed Jamil Bin Ahmed Mulla, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and organized by National Exhibitions Company and Informa Saudi Arabia, exceeded all expectation during the first two days of the event.

“The Saudi Telecoms and ICT sector is booming and the high number of industry experts that attended the Saudi Telecoms and ICT Summit held alongside TELSA is a reflection of the industry’s demand for such an event,” said Hussain Al Harthi, Managing Director, National Exhibition Company. “The summit presented a platform that united the industry in discussion and debate covering topics such as Saudi Arabia’s role in setting a benchmark for next generation connectivity in the Middle East.”

According to a report published by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), nearly 70 percent of the internet users in the G20 will be from emerging markets by 2016 compared to 56 percent in 2010, while mobile devices, especially smart phones, will account for about 8 percent of all broadband connection in the G20 nations by 2016.

“The Saudi telecoms and ICT sector is experiencing rapid change. Saudi Arabia’s distinct demographics are driving an accelerated uptake of higher-value services,” said Deep Marwaha, General Manager of Informa Saudi Arabia. “TELSA, which features an exhibition, conference and workshops, supports this active industry and attracts business leaders, telecoms professionals and government agencies from throughout Saudi Arabia and the region.”

“Saudi Arabia’s government has invested heavily into the country’s economy and infrastructure, announcing the second record budget in a row this year. The number of projects and firms is increasing and companies are in turn raising their telecoms and IT budget and purchasing a wider variety of services,” said Mr. Hidefumi Kawakita, General Manager of Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa – KSA Office, during the exhibition. “We see a great potential for business technology solutions and services to verticals such as Education, Government, Healthcare, Hospitality, and many more, and therefore we are setting a focus on this field.

“The government has further recognized the potential for energy saving technologies which are necessities considering that seventy percent of Saudi Arabia’s electricity is consumed by air conditions.  Panasonic is the leader in offering innovative energy saving solutions in the world and we are determined to manifest this position in the Saudi market in the long term.”

Adding to the comments of Mr. Kawakita, Eng. Shoukat Mostarihi, Business Development Manager at Taqnia, one of the leading System Solution operators in Saudi Arabia and member of Alesayi Group, agent of Panasonic Corporation, said: “Panasonic is the leading phone manufacturer in the world. With the Saudi operators heavily investing into technologies such as LTE and HSPA which could serve as a relatively cost-efficient option to deploy high-speed broadband services across the major cities in the Kingdom as well as smaller towns and villages, we clearly see the future in SIP phones, a segment Panasonic aims to claim leadership.”

Mr. Marwaha said: “This is the first edition of TELSA in Saudi Arabia and we received very positive feedback from exhibitors, speakers and delegates. As the only dedicated B2B telecoms and ICT event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia we found a niche that is very high in demand. Bearing witness to this fact is that TELSA was used as a launch platform by participating companies.”

Intergrated Telecom Company (ITC), one of Saudi Arabia’s leading telecom companies, launched the Kingdom’s first Fiber Sync Storage Service, which uses high-speed fiber technology to sync storage units across various data centers, during TELSA. The products offer solutions especially suited for corporations and business sectors which rely heavily on data, allowing them to sync storage and backup sources in less than 1/1,000th of a second. 

Participants in TELSA included the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Official Supporter), Mobily (Official Telecom Partner), Ericsson (Platinum Sponsor), Comptel, (Silver Sponsor), LCC (Silver Sponsor), Integrated Telecom (Silver Sponsor), and many more exhibitors, partners together with a roster of elite speakers.

The Saudi Telecoms and ICT Summit at TELSA was held in parallel with the exhibition in which organizations and companies from around the world discussed the latest market developments and issues.

For more information visit www.telsaexpo.com.

•Leading industry analyst firm positions Software AG in the Leaders Quadrant for Business Process Analysis Tools, based on the criteria ‘ability to execute’ and ‘completeness of vision’
•Software AG’s BPA solution, ARIS, ensures that business and IT use business processes as their common language
•ARIS is not only seen as the tool for aligning business and IT but also to reach a wider set of stakeholders from the business side

Software AG has announced that it has been positioned in the Leaders Quadrant by Gartner, Inc., a leading industry analyst firm, in its recently released Magic Quadrant for Business Process Analysis (BPA) Tools. Gartner defines BPA as the business modeling space in which business professionals and IT analysts collaborate on business architecture, transformation and improvement, including process analysis and design to support BP improvement initiatives.

With the ARIS platform, Software AG delivers a feature-rich tool set well known for its long-standing leadership in BPA, offering a toolset and diagrams to support strategists in defining and implementing their business strategy.

In reaching the Leader status, Gartner stated: “Leaders provide mature offerings that meet market demand, as well as demonstrate the vision necessary to sustain their market position as requirements evolve. The hallmark of Leaders is that they focus on and invest in their offerings to the point that they lead the market and can affect its overall direction. As a result, Leaders can become the vendors to watch as you try to determine how new offerings might evolve.”

“We take great pride in being recognized as a Leader. Once again we have proven that Software AG has the right blend of technologies and talents to manage, enhance and optimize the business processes needed to sustain the ambitious development plans of Middle East,” said Marco Gerazounis, Senior VP Middle East North Africa & Turkey, Software AG.

This year, Gartner stated that ”Process modeling as part of BPA is becoming a starting point for a growing number of business process management (BPM) and compliance projects, and helps avoid the rush to execution that often results in poor BPM ROI or failure. Conversely, most BPM projects start with tools that include process modeling in support of workflow, and add a BPA tool to better understand their processes and simulate possible changes.”

Software AG´s BPA solution ensures that Business Process Management objectives are aligned with and implemented appropriately across the underlying IT systems and applications that support the business processes. The high quality of the combined design work of business and IT departments using business processes as their common language is the key factor for successful projects.

ARIS not only aligns business and IT but it can deliver consistent business-driven processes that reduce costs, increase process performance, transparency and agility—within and beyond corporate boundaries.

Complimentary copies of Gartner’s report are available at www.softwareag.com/recognition.

Qualcomm, developer of advanced wireless technologies, products and services, has strengthened its presence in the Middle East with the opening of a new operations centre in Riyadh. This new presence, located in Kingdom Tower, will serve as the hub for Qualcomm’s business operations in the Kingdom and will support the device manufacturers, network operators, retailers, distributors and mobile application developers that are driving the region’s fast growing mobile market.

“The quality and reach of telecommunication services in the Middle East region is advancing at a phenomenal pace, as demonstrated by the pioneering roll out of the latest high-speed mobile broadband technologies in Saudi Arabia, such the first global commercial LTE-TDD networks,” said Jihad Srage, president of Qualcomm Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

“Demand for smartphones and the expansion of infrastructure continues to accelerate, creating a healthy and competitive business environment that is increasingly offering access to new and exciting wireless services for business and leisure users. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm has provided the technical expertise and products to help its customers and collaborators thrive in the global wireless communications market. Our new presence in Riyadh extends our commitment to Saudi Arabia and helps us to serve partners in the Kingdom more effectively through a local base.”

Recent market research has projected that the Saudi telecoms market will grow from $13bn in revenue in 2010 to more than $17bn by 2016. The commercial launch of LTE service is expected to be a significant driver of mobile data consumption in the Gulf.

Analysts also note that the Saudi mobile market is one of the largest in either the Middle East or Africa, and is one of 17 globally which has more than 150% mobile penetration. Further, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) recently reported a 200% increase in mobile data users in the Kingdom within the first nine months of 2011 (Jan.-Sept.).

Qualcomm is leading the new era of mobile computing and voice connectivity enabled by high-speed mobile broadband, creating solutions that make wireless services more personal, affordable and accessible to people everywhere. Through its global office network, which spans approximately 175 locations in 75 countries, Qualcomm’s ideas and inventions are transforming the way people communicate and interact with the world around them.

The company’s Riyadh office reflects Qualcomm’s long-term commitment to the Gulf region, and to serving the diverse needs of its regional partners.

Alfalak Electronic Equipment & Supplies Co., a leading provider of technology-based end-to-end solutions in the Middle East, has announced that it has been authorized to sell printers manufactured by American technology firm Lexmark to the Saudi market.

A long-standing authorized reseller of Lexmark supplies in Saudi Arabia, Alfalak recently received Lexmark Supplies Partner Accreditation in recognition of its excellent sales performance. The latest contract aims to boost business relations between the two companies even further. Among the major beneficiaries of the agreement is Saudi Aramco, which already purchases Lexmark inks and toner cartridges from Alfalak.

“We are committed to delivering Lexmark’s world-class products to Saudi consumers in a timely and efficient manner and with the same attention to customers reflected by its corporate vision of ‘Customers For Life.’ We expect huge demand for Lexmark printers in the Kingdom given our prominent network of satisfied Lexmark patrons which includes Saudi Aramco, the world’s most valuable non-publicly listed Company,” said Ahmed Ashadawi, CEO and President, Al-Falak Electronic Equipment & Supplies Co.

Alfalak’s end-to-end solutions cover Systems Solutions Consulting and Deployment, System Integration, Data Networking, Computer Supplies & Accessories, e-Business Solutions and Workforce Resources. Drawing on 30 years of expertise in the Middle East’s information and communications technology services market, Alfalak continues to rank among the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s top 100 corporations.

New Cisco Aironet 3600 Series Access Point sets industry firsts, improving wireless experience by increasing performance up to 30 percent for any wireless device at an extended range

CISCO LIVE! – LONDON, UK – February 1, 2012 – Mounting expectations of fast network performance, seamless access to cloud services, consistent connectivity and high-quality experiences on any wireless device coupled with the growing number of mobile devices are placing huge demands on wireless network infrastructures.

To support these demands, Cisco is introducing the Cisco Aironet® 3600 Series Access Point (AP), delivering the fastest, most reliable wireless network and best wireless experience in the market today. As the industry’s first three spatial stream 802.11n access point with a fourth antenna (4×4:3), the Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP is designed to enable people to be seamlessly connected from any wireless device, even those with weak wireless signals, at a greater distance from the access point with up to 30 percent faster performance than any other access point.

With the Cisco® Visual Networking Index forecasting that there will be more than 7.1 billion mobile devices globally by 2015, the Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP offers customers a path to ensuring their wireless network infrastructures are able to cope with growing demand.

Highlights:

•Fastest Performance: With 30 percent faster performance, the Cisco Aironet 3600 Series 802.11n AP is designed to allow people to take advantage of cloud-based services, run virtual desktops with less lag time, or have smooth video calls, all resulting in better user experience.
•Higher Speed at a Greater Distance: The fourth antenna on the Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP allows for greater mobile flexibility as more people can be wirelessly connected from more devices spread further from the access point while maintaining a fast and reliable wireless connection.
•High-Quality Experience with Any Device Client: The Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP includes the new ClientLink 2.0, which can boost performance for 100 percent of wireless client devices connected to the access point, regardless of the device’s wireless signal strength and spatial stream category.
◦ClientLink 2.0 can improve performance for all mobile devices in 802.11a/g and now 802.11n across one, two and three spatial streams – from high-end laptops, smartphones and tablets to industry-specific devices to older wireless devices. It addresses the challenge of reliably connecting slower devices with weaker wireless signals, such as tablets.
•Investment Protection with Flexible Design: The access point’s flexible, modular design allows businesses to customize it depending on their needs with add-on modules that provide additional functionality. The access point also provides greater capacity to support additional devices as a business’ needs and user base grow.
•Performance Protection: The Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP includes Cisco CleanAir™ technology to help protect performance, increase reliability, and deliver unprecedented radio frequency (RF) spectrum troubleshooting, resulting in the best, highly secure experience.
◦Cisco is also announcing a new, optional RF monitoring module with Cisco CleanAir. The new module can provide full visibility into the complete Wi-Fi spectrum – all 23 channels rather than just the traffic-serving channel. By proactively and simultaneously scanning the entire Wi-Fi spectrum for interference and security threats, the monitoring module can intelligently and automatically choose the best channel to serve traffic, delivering the best user experience and fast, reliable performance.
•Driving Innovation Through Standards with Support for 802.11r and 802.11u: Cisco continues to drive industry leadership and innovation by being the first to support standards-based fast roaming with IEEE 802.11r on the new Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP. Fast roaming with 802.11r can allow clients to move between access points without breaking a session, a critical requirement for many applications. Cisco led the effort to evolve Cisco Centralized Key Management into the 802.11r standard and is now leading again by being the first to support this standard. Additionally, Cisco is also first to support 802.11u on the Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP, which will drive richer and simpler mobile experiences by allowing the network to communicate available network services to mobile devices.
•Simplified Manageability and Security: The Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP is supported by Cisco Prime Network Control System (NCS) and Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), creating a unique ability to address the “Bring Your Own Device” challenge. Unified policy and access control in Cisco ISE and converged wired/wireless management in Cisco Prime NCS, together with Cisco wireless LAN infrastructure, simplify and help secure the mobile experience.
 
Product Availability and Pricing:

•The Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP is available globally. With external antennas, the Cisco Aironet 3600 Series AP is listed at $1,595 USD; with internal antennas, the access point is listed at $1,495 USD.
•The dedicated RF monitoring add-on module is scheduled to be available by the end of calendar year 2012.

Supporting Quotes:

•Sujai Hajela, vice president and general manager, Wireless Networking Business Unit, Cisco“People are expecting more from their mobile devices: faster performance and constant, highly secure connectivity for any device to make the most of any service, whether it be from the cloud or datacenter. The new Cisco Aironet 3600 Series Access Point delivers just that at an even greater range, to help deliver the best experience for all wireless devices.”

•Sam Clements, manager, Mobility Practice, Presidio
“Our customers are increasingly investing in next-generation wireless networks to support

Omnix International, a leading regional technology service provider and integrator in the Middle East, has announced that its Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) business has posted an impressive 25% growth in revenues for FY 2011, thereby consolidating its Middle East leadership and revealing an increased share in the design software market segment.
 
The leading company’s strong performance in 2011 is widely attributed to the successful regional distribution of Autodesk’s CAD and Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology software solutions.

According to Omnix senior executives, the company also revealed its CAE business is very bullish on achieving 20% growth in 2012 and UAE is being seen as a major driver for this targeted growth. Omnix International is aiming to achieve more growth with a stronger concentration across architecture, engineering, construction, and oil & gas industry verticals, particularly in the Middle East region’s Computer Aided Design (CAD) industry. Growth is expected to be driven in by the implementations and promotions of Autodesk’s integrated suite of design based software solutions.

“Despite the huge impact left behind by the recent economic downturn, we have managed to achieve excellent revenues in 2011, which is testament to our continuing commitment to the Middle East market,” said Dr. Jayant M. Deshpande, Director, CAD Division, Omnix International.

“We pride ourselves in being able to meet the demands and requirements of the CAD segment. Backed by our experience of over 24 years in the business, we are confident that we will be able to meet our target goals for 2012, leaving our customers with the confidence of providing them with world class high quality design solutions for the rapidly growing AEC segments.”

The leading BIM provider will be tapping into forging more strategic partnerships with other design software vendors who develop complimentary products as Autodesk Authorized Developers, as part of the move to expand its broad portfolio of products and services. Omnix International has also revealed the availability of new BIM-based training services specially designed for the UAE’s CAD industry professionals. The new set of services is part of the leading company’s move to address the increasing demand for BIM software training and the need for more skilled staff in the region.