A new achievement confirms the role of our human capital and its ability to compete regionally and globally: Al-Amiri, Assistant General Manager, ITS

Dubai - December 28th, 2011: The International Turnkey Systems Group (ITS) has re-alized a new regional achievement by obtaining the “Best Technology Provider of the Year” award at the Islamic Business and Finance Awards ceremony. This award was pre-sented in recognition of ITS for providing the latest technological solutions and services that would meet banks present and future needs. ITS solutions also enabled Islamic banks to face growing challenges of competition in the local and regional financial mar-kets.

ITS has  provided banks with a number of ETHIX main banking services and solutions, including Islamic banking, automation of branches management, online banking services, and technological services related to treasury and management of Islamic investments and documentary credits.

Khaled Jasim Al Amiri, Assistant General Manager of ITS, received the award at a prestig-ious ceremony at Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai. Al-Amiri commented on being selected for this award: “Once again, ITS confirms its superiority by the testimony of others through obtaining one of the top regional awards and is highly recognized by companies and institutions in various sectors.”

He added: “For more than 30 years (the lifetime of the company), our human resources have played a prominent and important role in realizing these achievements. They have helped position the company to enable it to compete strongly within the market and most importantly, to distinguish itself through groups of solutions, products and services, which have ultimately become the hallmark of ITS.”

Subsequently, ITS also has been awarded “Systems Integrator of the Year” at the Ara-bian Business awards which is considered among the most notable and important awards presented to the business sector in the region.

Banking and Investment Sector

The ITS ETHIX financial solution is a recognized solution in meeting the requirements of Islamic and traditional banking and Islamic finance. ETHIX has assisted many banks and financial institutions to minimize their operational costs in responding to the increased demand of customers for both traditional and Islamic products and services.

In addition, through the use of the most advanced and developed technological solutions in the world, ETHIX Financial solutions is ranked globally as the premier total banking so-lution, fully compliant with Islamic Shari’a catering to Tier1 banks.

The successful strategy of the ITS Group has enabled the company to double the ceiling of its returns and achieve significant company growth. By increasing total returns and the company’s equivalent in profits, ITS have been able to make both regional and strategic expansions, highlighting the role of HR in ITS.        

Commenting on the Palm Hills Development’s appointment of Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), Egypt’s biggest listed firm, as the development contractor for the US$93 million Village Garden Katameya project in Egypt, leading UAE and Middle Eastern property developer Burooj Properties, the real estate investment arm of the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), said that this step is an important milestone for the project that will contribute boosting investor confidence of the delivery according to schedule.

The development, which targets not only expatriate Egyptians living in the UAE and the GCC, but also other nationals who express an interest to invest, offers tailor-made designs for its customers, and promises to provide residents with a haven from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Speaking of the appointment, Adel Ahmed Al Zarouni, Managing Director of Burooj Properties, said, “The Village Garden Katameya in Cairo is a very exciting project for Burooj. We’re pleased that Palm Hills Development has awarded the development contract to OCI, because it is one of the trusted and well-known construction firms in Egypt, and has a strong track record of completing high-quality work on schedule.”

Al Zarouni added that the MENA property market is soon to recover well following the global downturn, and the developmental project targets a wide range of audience. “This can be readily seen from the responses we have had from interested buyers, which reflects the strong demand for modern and luxury residential units in Egypt, particularly among Egyptians living in the UAE and other GCC countries.”

And he is not alone in his confidence. According to the recent Global Investor Sentiment Survey report released by property consultancy Colliers International, the majority of investors believed the relative value of real estate in the Middle East had increased strongly when compared to ten years ago, and some 70 percent intend to increase their real estate holdings in the Middle East over the next 12 months, with two-thirds reporting target returns in the region of 15 to 20 percent.

OCI is a leading engineering, procurement and construction contractor active in emerging markets across the MENA region. Their local knowledge and relationships make them an ideal partner for international developers, and they have earned a reputation for delivering quality work under difficult conditions, on schedule and at competitive prices.

Situated in east Cairo, close to the American University, Village Gardens Katameya is a cleverly master-planned residential community consisting of modern standalone villas, town houses and apartments, intermingled with plenty of open green spaces and lushly landscaped gardens, as well as a clubhouse offering various sports and leisure facilities and a shopping strip catering to all residents’ basic needs.

VGK is the first joint project between Burooj and Egyptian real estate developer Palm Hills Development since the two signed an agreement last year to cooperate in the development and marketing of a set of residential projects for a wide range of customer base.

Smartworld, the next generation Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services provider in the Middle East, has been named the Rookie e-Learning Company of the Year by XpertLearning, a leading e-learning solutions and content provider, during their participation in the 6th Annual Café ME (Customer Advisory Forum Event – Middle East) held on 15th November, 2011.

The event, organized by XpertLearning, was attended by over 70 Learning and Development, Training, and HR professionals from the Middle East and included a mix of interactive case studies, workshops and product demonstration as well as discussions on international best practices and the future of learning and technology.

Mustafa Kaddoura, CEO of Smartworld, said, “We are delighted with this award and we would like to thank XpertLearning. Smartworld recognizes the importance of developing employees’ skills and knowledge through continuous training and development activities that utilize the latest advances in technology. Innovative e-Learning approaches allow us much more flexibility and mean we are no longer restricted by time or place in the pursuit of developing our talent”.

Smartworld is not only committed to developing its employees’ skills and knowledge, but also expanding the learning and development opportunities to university students under Smartworld  internship and training programs, giving university students greater opportunities to gain real-life learning experiences. These programs are designed to help students access the essential working knowledge and experience and will help them develop specific skills and abilities to enter the workforce with confidence.

Ahmad Mohammad, Director of HR at Smartworld said, “We have an obligation to contribute to the development of the next generation of ICT professional in the UAE and help educational institutes in the UAE understand the environment and HR requirements of corporates today. This investment in the future will allow Smartworld to remain at the frontier of the industry and will foster even more innovation and success.”

Smartworld collaborates with a number of universities and colleges, supporting students through its Internship and Summer Training Programs and constantly seeking feedback to improve and enrich the students’ learning and work experiences.

Smartworld has a wide-ranging portfolio of ICT products and services across Unified Communications, Collocation Services and Managed Services that benefit customers in addressing their diverse ICT requirements.

Oman, Muscat – Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions (GWS), a leading provider of facilities, commercial real estate and energy management for many of the world’s largest companies, today announced that it has been awarded a facilities management contract for Shell Oman Marketing Company’s retail and commercial sites in the Sultanate of Oman.  The agreement covers nearly 400 sites that sell fuels and lubricants to consumers and businesses in the country.

In March 2011, Johnson Controls GWS announced its partnership with Shell to manage and maintain 12,000 Shell retail sites in 27 countries. Oman is an additional country to that agreement, with Johnson Controls GWS delivering services from October 4, 2011.

Shell Oman Network Delivery Manager, Hafidh Al Azkawi said: “We look forward to the global experience of Johnson Controls delivered with an Omani touch at a local level. The contract will no doubt benefit our customers who can now look forward to well maintained sites which offer greater convenience and safety for them.  This will help us achieve our retail vision, which is to be the best in the industry.”

Julie Kimble, Johnson Controls Global Account Leader for the Shell retail business, said, “The Johnson Controls team on the Shell account are all looking forward to delivering our services to Shell retail and commercial sites in Oman, as we have done across the world. As facilities management is our core business, we will provide improvements in health and safety, security and environment, and operational excellence to help Shell deliver the best possible customer experience in the country.”

Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions is a leading provider of facilities, commercial real estate and energy management for many of the world’s largest companies. They create business advantage for customers through tailored solutions that optimize their real estate performance and employee productivity while reducing total occupancy costs. With over 20,000 employees they have delivered over $3 billion in savings for their customers over the last 10 years.

Dubai, 28 September 2011: Commercial Bank of Dubai announced today that it was awarded the prestigious ‘CSR Label’ accreditation by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This is in recognition of its performance as a responsible corporate citizen in accordance with international best practices. HE Hisham Abdulla Al Shirawi, Vice-Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry handed the accolade to Peter Baltussen CEO, CBD, at an awards ceremony held at the Dubai Chamber yesterday.

Upon accepting the award, Peter Baltussen said, “CBD’s Vision states that it is a bank that leads the way to greater financial and social prosperity. The bank embodies all key elements of CSR such as corporate governance, contribution to society and community, championing of causes related to health and environment and employee welfare in its overall strategy. The diagnostic framework of the ‘CSR Label’ has helped us refine and improve our CSR strategy, policies and practice, in line with international best practices.”

“Achieving this recognition is a testament to the bank’s efforts to operationalize its CSR strategy. The ‘CSR Label’ is a prestigious accolade for corporate organisations that achieve and adhere to its high standards. The Dubai Chamber deserves commendation for launching the CSR Label which could serve as a CSR benchmark in the UAE. It could also be an effective catalyst to inculcate CSR in the UAE’s corporate world,” he added.

28 September, 2011

Costa Favolosa

Costa Cruises, the largest Italian travel group and Europe’s number one cruise company, has been awarded by RINA Group with the prize, “2011 Green Cruise”.

The ceremony took place in Montecarlo, during the “RINA Green Night” event sponsored by the RINA Group, which annually awards the best projects for environmental sustainability. For the first time the event included a category dedicated to cruise ships, where Costa Cruises won. On July 2, 2011, in Trieste, on the occasion of her naming ceremony, Costa’s new flagship Costa Favolosa, a cutting-edge ship in terms of environmental protection, received ‘Green Plus’ notation.

‘Green Plus’ is the highest notation assigned by RINA Group to ships that are environmentally compliant. ‘Green Plus’ is a voluntary notation certifying compliance with environmental protection standards that are far stricter than the provisions of the international MARPOL Convention. ‘Green Plus’ takes account of some 11 different pollution sources for vessels (including garbage, gray water, sewage, oily wastes from machinery spaces, CO2, ozone depleting substances, greenhouse gases, particulate matter, sulfur oxides, nitrogen and ballast water) and lays down specific restrictions for each one.

• Software AG’s webMethods SWIFT Module receives SWIFT’s highest level of certification for interoperability for the ninth year in a row
• Used by 9,500+ institutions in 210 countries, SWIFT is the global standard for secure and reliable financial messaging
• Software AG showcased its SWIFT-compliant solutions at SIBOS 2011, one of the world’s largest and most important financial services conferences and exhibitions

Marco Gerazounis - Senior Vice President, Software AG, Middle East

Dubai, UAE, September 22, 2011 - Software AG recently announced that it has been awarded SWIFTReady Financial EAI label for 2011 from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), SWIFT’s highest level of certification for interoperability. More than 9,500 institutions in 210 countries rely on this stamp of approval to ensure reliable, secure and assured messaging between member institutions. This is the ninth year in a row that Software AG has received this certification. The announcement was made at SIBOS 2011, one of the world’s largest and most important financial services conferences and exhibitions, where Software AG had a presence.

Financial institutions around the world conduct critical business activities that require financial data communications and processing services with various third parties and need a flexible, adaptable and secure network to exchange information. With a certified SWIFT solution, Software AG is able to deliver to financial institutions integration and connectivity between their existing systems and the SWIFT network, allowing them to optimize business activities such as payments, securities, treasury, and trade services.

“We automate and improve key banking processes for some of the biggest banks in the world, servicing more than 500 financial services institutions globally, including payment and payment monitoring solutions,” said Dr. Wolfram Jost, Chief Technology Officer, Software AG. “We’re pleased to be recognized for our solutions and to receive the highest level of certification from SWIFT.”

“SWIFT solutions are invaluable to maintaining the vibrancy of the Middle East’s financial markets and the competitiveness of the region’s corporates. For the company to be honored at an event as prestigious as SIBOS, and for the 9th straight year at that, affirms the exceptional ability of Software AG solutions to support the financially-driven processes of organizations” said Marco Gerazounis - Senior Vice President, Software AG Middle East, North Africa & Turkey.

Software AG at SIBOS 2011:  At-a-Glance

SIBOS is one of the world’s largest forums designed to reach the entire financial services industry. As a strategic partner to this sector, Software AG showcased its capabilities and customer successes during the forum’s recent 2011 edition in Toronto, Canada, including:

Payments Process Automation Demo – illustrates Software AG’s Payments Monitoring solution which helps streamline payments processing time and also predicts and resolves potential transaction problems before they occur.

ATM Fraud Detection Demo – highlights an ATM fraud scenario using webMethods Business Events (Software AG’s new Complex Event Processing product) to identify event patterns and deliver a holistic view. webMethods Business Events performs continuous queries on the event streams, which are then evaluated on-the-fly ensuring predictable, traceable, repeatable and correct results every time.

Mafraq, Tawam and SKMC win plaudits at ceremony for projects improving healthcare excellence

Abu Dhabi, 16 August 2011

Group Image

SEHA, the Abu Dhabi Healthcare Services Company, recognized the healthcare providers under its ambit for projects to better healthcare delivery, in an awards ceremony held recently at Khalidya Palace. Mr. Carl Stanifer, CEO of SEHA, was at hand to present awards to winners in the Platinum, Gold and Silver categories.

The awards ceremony recognized transformational projects undertaken by SEHA’s hospitals and healthcare providers, awarding Platinum recognition to Mafraq for adopting the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) model to improve healthcare delivery standards.

Tawam Hospital was awarded the Gold award for setting up a successful cultural paradigm shift in its surgical admissions process, while SKMC bagged the prize in the Silver category for its efforts in setting up a teaching hospital that encourages research and human capital development. 

Project submissions were evaluated through an assessment processed in line with American Society for Quality (ASQ) standards. Projects were ranked based on pre-defined Platinum, Gold and Silver award categories, and winners were chosen in each. Six panelists judged the submitted Transformational Events; the panel included 2 doctors from Zayed Military Hospital, a professor from FMHS/UAE University, 2 doctors from Dubai Health Authority, and a doctor from King Fahad Specialist Hospital and President of the ACHE-MENA. The first round saw 8 projects initially submitted, of which three were short-listed as potential winners.

“A transformational project significantly improves quality through a comprehensive ongoing approach to healthcare delivery excellence. It enhances service and has the potential to improve customer and stakeholder satisfaction through a cost effective alignment of people, process and technology,” Carl Stanifer, CEO, SEHA.
 
“A successful transformational project supports SEHA’s vision of world class healthcare, and facilitates our aim of offering safe, effective, patient-centered, efficient, equitable and measurable care for individual patients and populations,” he added.

“It was an outstanding idea by SEHA to engage their hospitals in the enhancement of excellence in patient care and other related areas. By involving healthcare providers and offering incentives, SEHA ensures they easily identify themselves with SEHA’s vision and mission. By giving the hospitals a chance to bring their own ideas for enhancing excellence, not only did own employees’ satisfaction improve, but there will also be a knock-on effect that will enhance patient satisfaction. Not just that, but productivity at hospitals will also increase by letting them implement their own initiatives” Ruth D Langer MD PhD- Professor of Radiology, Vice Dean of the FMHS

Projects were awarded on the criteria of being systematic, well developed and fact based, well deployed, effective, innovative, sustainable and replicable. The last criteria measures whether the project could be implemented in other settings to yield similar benefits, or be submitted for publication in a peer reviewed journal.

“I was delighted to see the professional yet friendly competition among hospitals, which is seldom seen in the region these days. We are confident that other healthcare institutes and organizations in the GCC will follow SEHA’s initiatives and best practices,” said Dr.Khalid Shukri- President American College Healthcare Executives Middle East and North Africa (ACHE-MENA), Saudi Arabia.
 
 “SEHA is playing a unique role in managing the public health sector of Abu Dhabi Emirate through partnerships with recognized international companies to facilitate international healthcare standards within SEHA’s hospitals,” said Shamsa Al Mehairi, Excellence Project Lead, SEHA.

“We are looking to implement knowledge transfer events to ensure everyone can benefit from shared expertise, and that innovative solutions by a healthcare provider can be transferred elsewhere to benefit the entire system. The awards ceremony was part of this strategy of knowledge sharing, fostering healthy competition between healthcare service providers to collectively reach a world class level of service excellence in healthcare,” she concluded.

Hamad Abdullah Al Mutawah

RAK Ceramics, the world’s largest ceramic tiles & bathware manufacturing company, has announced that the Government of Japan has awarded the prestigious ‘Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon’ to Hamad Abdullah Al Mutawah, Managing Director of RAK Ceramics, in recognition of his efforts in promoting stronger relations between the UAE and Japan in the field of agriculture and fisheries. Awarded in the name of the Japanese Emperor, the Order of the Rising Sun is Japan’s oldest national decoration established in 1875.

Al Mutawah, who previously served as Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, is a prominent business leader in the UAE and has been an active organiser and supporter of community-oriented activities in Ras Al Khaimah and all over the country. The award validates Al Mutawah’s passion for service and echoes RAK Ceramics’ commitment to promote strong bilateral relations with other countries in line with its global expansion strategy.

RAK Ceramics is a USD 1 billion global conglomerate in the ceramic industry, offering a product portfolio comprising over 8,000 designs in ceramic tiles, Gres Porcellanato, and several models in bathware. RAK Ceramics is also founding member of Emirates Green Building Council, which supports the development of sustainable buildings in UAE.

Device Manufacturer of the Year Award Is Industry’s Top Global Honor

BARCELONA, SPAIN – 21 February, 2011 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, has been honored last week with the highest industry honor as ‘Device Manufacturer of the Year’ by the GSMA at its Global Mobile Awards ceremony in Barcelona.  The award follows a year of global momentum for HTC, which saw the launch of a large portfolio of industry leading smartphones such as the HTC Desire. HTC was awarded from a list of three finalists that included Apple and Samsung.

“For HTC to be recognized by the industry in this way for the growth and success we have experienced in the last year is truly humbling.  Thousands of people at HTC work tirelessly to create the intuitive and deeply personal smartphone experiences for which we have become known. This award is a measure of their passion and dedication,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation.  “This award also belongs to the tens of millions of customers around the world who enjoy our phones and inspire us each day to create new innovative experiences. To those people, to our partners around the world and to the HTC family, you have my sincere thanks and congratulations.”

The GSMA judges commented, “this company (HTC) has built its market presence from nowhere, with fresh branding and marketing and a strong portfolio of devices across many platforms. In particular, it has proven an exceptionally popular and enduring phone manufacturer. With great communication and good customer service, this is a well-deserved award.”

HTC previously was awarded for the ‘Best Mobile Phone of 2010’ with the HTC Hero.

A committee of judges that include industry analysts and consultants, mobile operators, educators and other industry leaders determines the GSMA Awards.  For more information on the 2011 GSMA Global Mobile awards please visit - http://www.globalmobileawards.com