Al Hilal Bank, a progressive Islamic bank, won as ‘Best Retail Bank (GCC)’ during the 6th edition of the prestigious Islamic Business & Finance Awards held recently in Dubai. This marks the fourth major industry recognition for the bank this year.

Al Hilal Bank won the most number of votes under the ‘Best Retail Bank’ category from readers of the Islamic Business & Finance magazine – the authoritative voice of the global Islamic finance industry with a worldwide circulation spanning all continents – and registered users of the www.cpifinancial.net website. More than 250 distinguished regional and global industry professionals from around the world honoured Al Hilal Bank alongside other leading Islamic financial institutions for their outstanding performance in 2011.

Earlier in March of this year, Al Hilal Bank won for ‘Best Branch Design’ at CPI Financial’s annual Banker Middle East Product Awards. This was followed by the ‘Quality Appreciation Award’ presented during the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA), the UAE’s most prestigious business excellence award. Al Hilal was chosen later on as the ‘Most Improved Bank’ during the ‘2011 Bank Benchmark Index Awards’ organized as part of the ‘UAE Customer Service Week’ that ran in October.

The recognition reflects Al Hilal Bank’s industry-leading efforts to raise service standards across the local banking sector, especially within the retail segment. Among the bank’s unique retail offerings are the UAE’s largest banking branch, thumb verification of customer transactions at all branches, instant issuance of Visa Debit Cards, a ‘Double the Profit’ saving scheme, the Middle East’s first-ever bank-installed gold ATM, and zero per cent vehicle financing.

“This has been a great year for Islamic finance and an exceptional one for Al Hilal Bank as we have been privileged enough to have received a number of awards from prestigious bodies. This award is of great importance as it reflects the confidence and support we enjoy from our valued customers and from the general public. We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to all the people who voted for us and thank CPI Financial and its Islamic Business & Finance team for bestowing us with this honor. This is a great motivation for us to continue developing and providing the best Islamic banking services,” said Mohamed Jamil Berro, CEO of Al Hilal Bank.

The annual Islamic Business & Finance Awards is organized by CPI Financial, the Dubai-based publisher of the Islamic Business & Finance magazine. CPI Financial was founded in 1999 and offers a comprehensive portfolio of market-leading periodicals, products and services tailor-made for the banking and financial sector. A total of 31 awards were handed out to the Gulf’s top Islamic bankers, financiers and Islamic banking and finance institutions during the event.

Al Hilal Bank is fully owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, the investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi. It currently serves over 50,000 clients through 19 local branches and 112 ATMs across the UAE as well as three branches in Kazakhstan. Among its future plans is the establishment of 3 new branches in the UAE

Dubai, December 7, 2011: The University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) recently awarded scholarships for academic and sports excellence, amounting to over AED 9.3 million for programs commencing in the September 2011 semester, the highest ever in the university’s 18-year history.

A total of 236 scholarships were offered to students in undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Over 80 students, parents, friends and academics attended the scholarship presentation ceremony .

The scholarships, which entitle the recipients from 10% to 100% off on tuition fees (excluding living and other expenses) were presented to new and continuing students by David Rome, President, UOWD, at a special ceremony held at UOWD in Dubai Knowledge Village.

Addressing the recipients, David Rome commented, “we are delighted to give the highest number of scholarships to meritorious students this year. Earning a scholarship from an institution like UOWD, which prides itself on the quality of its degree programs, is a true reflection of the high caliber of these students. These scholarships therefore represent recognition of truly outstanding students.”

Sandra Lee, Registrar,  UOWD, introduced the students and urged them to work harder to maintain their high academic standards.

“As a university that places a premium on academic and sports excellence, UOWD follows a stringent selection process to ensure that deserving students get recognized and are rewarded through scholarships,” said Lee. “This kind of recognition provides great motivation for students to work harder towards greater excellence.”

Conducts live demonstrations of the Extreme® Pro™ SDXC™ UHS-I Card, Sansa Clip Zip, MP3 Player and the all new Memory Vault

Dubai – October 19th, 2011: SanDisk, the global leader in flash memory storage solu-tions, recognized its retailer partners at a dedicated awards ceremony yesterday.. The evening witnessed the launch and live demonstrations of SanDisk’s new range of innova-tive products – the Extreme® Pro™ SDXC™ UHS-I Card, Sansa Clip Zip, MP3 Player and the all new SanDisk® Memory Vault.

SanDisk took part in its sixth GITEX Shopper this year, utilizing the ever-growing event to expand channel partnerships and brainstorm with existing partners on how best to add value in their respective markets. Following its continued success at the event, SanDisk honored its valued retailers with awards as follows:
1). ‘Outstanding Support at Gitex Shopper’ award went to E City, E4U and MK Trading
2). ‘Outstanding Promotional Support in Retail’ award went to Sharaf DG
3). ‘Outstanding Secondary Placement and Branding in Retail’ award went to Plug Ins
4). ‘Outstanding Product Range and Display at Gitex’ award went to COMPUME
5). ‘Outstanding Sales Growth in Retail’ award went to Lulu
6). ‘Outstanding Sales Growth in High Performance Products’ award went to Jacky’s Elec-tronics
7). ‘Outstanding Overall Sales and Category Management at Gitex Shopper’ award went to E Max
8). ‘SanDisk Strategic Regional Partner, MENA Region’ award went to Carrefour
9). ‘Outstanding Regional Duty Free Partner’ award went to DUBAI DUTY FREE

“We have always believed in rewarding the best. Our success and the success of our re-tailers at this year’s GITEX Shopper exemplify our commitment to investment in our channel,” said Tareq Husseini, SanDisk’s Middle East and Africa Sales Director.

-Over 24 companies in the UAE will be honoured at the awards-

Abu Dhabi, UAE 9th October 2011 – H. E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, Minister of Foreign Trade, UAE, welcomed the delegates from the International Business Awards at the press conference held today (Sunday, 9th of October, 2011) at the Ministry of Foreign Trade headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Attended by delegates and media, the event emphasised on the requisite of recognising achievements and accomplishments by establishments and individuals who have become leaders in their sectors. Under the Patronage of H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, Abu Dhabi will play host to the 8th Annual International Business Awards on 11th October 2011 at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. International Business Awards, the world’s premier business awards comes to the Middle East for the first time this year and attracted nominations from more than 40 nations. The competition was opened to individuals and organizations worldwide; public and private, for-profit and non-profit as well as large and small enterprises with many as 3,000 nominations assessed by a selective panel of judges who witnessed an increased level of participation in this year’s competition following months of intense competition from all over the world.

Speaking at the press conference Sheikha Lubna praised the efforts of the organisations in the UAE “it is apparent that the UAE is fast becoming a global market player and the recognition by the international judging panel indicates the accomplishments of companies and individuals from here. This should be a clear indication that over the years the UAE has transformed and it is now ready to compete with other established markets across various industries.”

UAE companies featured prominently in this year’s final results of Stevie Awards as the winners of the upcoming International Business Awards 2011 are announced. Over 25 categories and organizations and individuals from 35 nations, including first-time winners Bahrain, Peru, Saudi Arabia, and Slovakia, have been announced as Stevie® Award winners in This Eighth edition of Annual International Business Awards, the world’s only international, all-encompassing business awards program. Winning 42 Stevie Awards this year, organizations and individuals in the United States made the best showing.  South Korea came in second place with 29 awards, while the host nation United Arab Emirates earned an impressive 24 Stevies, United Kingdom earned 22 awards followed by Turkey with 11 and Germany with 10 Stevies.  Stevies are conferred upon top-scoring nominations in each category, as chosen by an international judging panel of more than 150 business leaders.

Nicknamed the Stevies from the Greek word “crowned,” the International Business Awards will be presented at a gala ceremony on Tuesday, 11th October at the prestigious Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Stevie Awards were created to honour and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and business people worldwide. Beginning with The American Business Awards in 2002, the mission was to raise the profile of exemplary organizations and individuals among the press, the business community, and the general public.  In short order the Stevie has become one of the world’s most coveted business awards.

“It is an honour to be here and present the Stevies for the first time in the Middle East. We have received an overwhelming response in this year’s competition, a sure confirmation that the awards are becoming prominent fixtures in the international business arena. These awards emphasize on standards of criteria that organizations have to fulfill and we believe that companies need to be recognized for their innovation, achievements and success,” said Michael Gallagher, president of The Stevie Awards.

Business professionals around the world participated in preliminary judging in May-July.  Their average scores determined the entries that were eligible to be considered in final judging, which was performed earlier this month by the members of 10 specialized committees.  In total, 200 executives around the world participated in the judging process.

Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.stevieawards.com/iba. 

Abu Dhabi, 20 August 2011): The Abu Dhabi Awards Organising Committee announced that nominations for the 2011 Abu Dhabi Awards will open tomorrow Sunday, 21st August 2011. Through the commitment of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, to preserve the legacy of our nation’s late father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Government of Abu Dhabi has chosen to celebrate compassionate individuals who have selflessly volunteered their time to build and support the community of Abu Dhabi.

Established under the guidance and auspices of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the Abu Dhabi Awards is a biennial ceremony that honours and recognises individuals who have contributed in building a greater sense of community and social welfare within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

A spokesperson of the Abu Dhabi Awards Organising Committee said: “The Abu Dhabi Awards Organising Committee is delighted to announce the commencement of the 2011 Abu Dhabi Awards. We call on residents and citizens across the Emirate to nominate. One nomination is all it takes to recognise someone’s contribution and make a difference to their life.”

Launched in 2005, and now entering the sixth Award program , the Abu Dhabi Awards seek to recognise and celebrate people who have made a lasting, positive contribution to the community. The Abu Dhabi Awards are presented to citizens, residents and non-residents of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi regardless of age or nationality. There are no specific categories from which recipients are chosen, meaning that anyone can be nominated for an Award.

This year, the nomination criteria have been expanded. For the first time, in addition to accepting nominations for those citizens and residents who live here in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Awards will also be accepting nominations for people who are doing good deeds for the benefit of Abu Dhabi from overseas.

Expanding the scope of nomination criteria aims to ensure that the Awards recognise as many people as possible whose work is immeasurably improving the community.

Nominations will open on Sunday, 21 August 2011 through to Saturday, 24 September 2011. There are four ways to submit a nomination for the Awards:

1.Visit one of the 100 nomination stations located across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Gharbia;
2.Submit an online nomination via www.abudhabiawards.ae;
3.Stop by the touring Abu Dhabi Awards nomination bus;
4.Post a completed nomination form to PO Box 44442, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 

The nomination phase will be followed by a screening and review period, following which the 2011 recipients will be announced and honoured at a prestigious ceremony held at the Emirates Palace in December.

The Abu Dhabi Awards has partnered with three organisations to deliver media, telecommunications and volunteering services that are key in delivering a successful programme. This year’s media partner is Abu Dhabi Media.

Shaikha Al Shamsi,  Associate Director of Corporate Branding, Abu Dhabi Media said: “Abu Dhabi Media is proud to support this year’s Abu Dhabi Awards, honouring those making a difference in our Emirate.  Across Abu Dhabi you’ll find individuals committed to making a positive impact on our community and the Abu Dhabi Awards honours the best. Throughout our print, online and broadcast media brands we are pleased to be recognising the programme and the individuals being awarded.”

Commenting on Etisalat’s contribution in supporting the Abu Dhabi Awards through a telecommunications partnership, Ali Al Ahmed, Chief Corporate Communication Officer, Etisalat, said: “The Abu Dhabi Awards seek to honour and recognise those who have contributed to society, and this has prompted Etisalat to support the initiative. This initiative is particularly important, as the loving nature of the UAE community and its good-will sees no boundaries.”

Takatof volunteers will play an important part in finding this year’s recipients. Maytha Al Habsi, Director of the Takatof Programme, said: “The volunteer teams from Takatof Programme will take part in screening thousands of nominations to find Abu Dhabi’s unsung heroes. Our participation in organising this prestigious Awards stems from the programme keenness to support creative initiatives, which aims to give back to the Emirati society – an objective which Takatof is working hard to achieve.”

In total, there have been 46 Abu Dhabi Award recipients, representing a diverse range of remarkable contributions. These have included environmental conservation, providing support and succour to the sick and elderly, inspirational teachers, the promotion of the arts and culture, history and infrastructure as well as recognising works for charitable causes.

What sets recipients apart has been their dedicated contribution to the community combined with the inspirational example they provide.

For further information about the Abu Dhabi Awards, including details on how to nominate and a list of past recipients, pleasevisitwww.abudhabiawards.ae.

- AirTight gets “Strong Positive” rating in MarketScope on Wireless LAN Intrusion Prevention Systems from Gartner -

Jayadevan K, Senior Vice President, Value Business, ComGuard

Dubai, UAE, August 09, 2011 – ComGuard, the Dubai based leading value added distributors for IT security solutions in the Middle East region and partners to the global leader for wireless intrusion prevention (WIPS) products and services AirTight Networks announced that recently Gartner has rated AirTight “Strong Positive” in its 2011 Marketscope Report for Wireless LAN Intrusion Prevention Systems. A “Strong Positive” is the highest possible rating in a Gartner Marketscope. Gartner, Inc. is the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry The July 2011 report was authored by John Girard, VP, Distinguished Analyst, John Pescatore, VP, Distinguished Analyst and Tim Zimmerman, Research Director at Gartner.

Vendors were evaluated on five criteria - customer experience, offering (product) strategy, overall viability (business unit, financial strategy, organization), marketing execution, product/service.

The MarketScope report notes that, “Payment Card Industry requirements as well as a rush of consumer devices into the workplace put a premium on new detection capabilities and increased levels of integration with network infrastructure.”

“Wi-Fi support is a standard extension of corporate networks, and enterprises must ensure that vulnerability management and intrusion prevention processes need to be extended to cover wireless and wired networks. WLAN security monitoring in the form of wireless intrusion prevention systems (WIPSs) is required to ensure that supported WLAN performance is not impeded by interference or denial-of-service attacks, WLAN traffic is kept private and secure, users are prevented from installing unauthorized WLANs, and unsupported/unauthorized WLAN technologies are barred from operation.”

“We are proud to have the value of our services in the WIPS market recognized by this ‘Strong Positive’ rating in the current Gartner Marketscope “AirTight’s continued explosive growth, even during the recent two years of economic downturn, underscores the marketplace recognition of the need for robust wireless threat protection and its trust in AirTight’s solutions,” said David King, Chairman and CEO of AirTight. “Enterprises should invest their precious IT security budget wisely and carefully choose a WIPS solution that gives them maximum business assurance with minimum administrative burden.”

The Gartner report also concludes that, “Just like wired networks, wireless networks need to be monitored to both proactively detect vulnerabilities to accelerate mitigation and to quickly detect security incidents to support rapid incident response. Also, while the basic WiFi technology is mature, what Gartner calls the “Consumerization of IT” is driving demand for increased use of employee owned devices with wireless access, such as iPhones and iPads. This increases the need for WLAN monitoring to support Network Access Control functions for allowing wireless access to users who are allowed to use unmanaged devices. All this adds up to a continuing need for wireless monitoring and intrusion prevent to mitigate risk.”

“The increasing dependency on wireless LANs to run business-critical operations, an ever-growing number of WiFi devices, and the growing sophistication of WiFi hack attacks has made wireless security a top priority for security administrators. It is interesting to note Gartner’s mention of the challenge posed by the proliferation of smartphones and other consumer devices which are flooding into the enterprise,” continued King.  AirTight has addressed this by providing customers with visibility into the usage of smartphones and other mobile devices in their airspace and the ability to create watchlists to monitor their activity and location. AirTight’s goal has always been to keep ahead not only of emerging wireless threats but also the needs of our customers.”

Jayadevan K, Senior Vice President,  Value Business at ComGuard, said, “We, at ComGuard, are committed to bringing the best of breed technologies to the region and AirTight Wireless Intrusion Prevention Systems (WIPS) is one such solution which is of immense value to enterprises.”

First bank to implement a social media strategy in the region

UAE - August 1, 2011 - Standard Chartered has announced that it has been awarded “Best Consumer Internet Bank – UAE” and “Best in Social Media – Regional Sub-category winner” at the 12th edition of Global Finance’s annual “World’s Best Internet Banks Awards”. Winners of the prestigious World’s Best Internet Banks Awards were evaluated by a world-class panel of judges, including Global Finance editors who were responsible for the final selection of winners.

Standard Chartered Bank has been recognised for its efforts to drive customer usage of its internet banking facilities and for being the first bank to use dedicated social media channels to communicate with customers. The bank has revealed that up to 24 per cent of its customer base is now enrolled for online banking, while 45 per cent of monthly banking transactions are now initiated online. In addition, the bank has over 24,000 fans on its facebook page which was set up in November 2009, and has a twitter account which tweets the latest announcements, promotions and offers. Standard Chartered has a dedicated team that manages its online communication and social media channels. These channels form an ideal platform to provide customer care, get customer feedback and communicate the latest promotions and offers.

Mohammed AlMazemi, General Manager Branch Sales and Services, Standard Chartered UAE said:

“These awards come as a testament to our leadership in introducing innovative services and communications channels to further improve our customer service and reinforce our customer focus strategy. We will continue to improve our online channels and utilise the power of social networks to realise our vision of becoming the world’s best international bank: Leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.”

Standard Chartered has developed a user-friendly interface that allows customers to easily access online services such as online bill payments, online fund transfers, online viewing of loan details and investment portfolio. The bank has also introduced unique online banking features such as the “Global Link”, which allows users to “pull” information on their relationship with Standard Chartered from a different market and to easily transfer funds from one market to the other.

Winners of “Global Finance’s World’s Best Internet Banks awards” were selected based on strength of strategy for attracting and servicing online customers, success in getting clients to use web offerings, growth of online customers, breadth of product offerings, evidence of tangible benefits gained from internet initiatives, and web site design and functionality. Headquartered in New York, with offices in London and Milan, Global Finance is a financial magazine with a circulation of over 50,000 and readers in 163 countries.

UAE, 12 July 2011 - Standard Chartered led the way at the emeafinance Awards winning an astounding 18 awards including four house awards for Syndicated Loans, Islamic Finance, Project Finance and the best bond in the Middle East and best M&A deal. EMEA Finance Editor at the ceremony highlighted that no other institution won as many house awards as Standard Chartered.

The awards were presented at the emeafinance Charity Awards Dinner in London.

Deepak Kohli, Regional Head, Capital Markets, MENA & South Asia, who represented the Bank at the event said:

“These awards attest to Standard Chartered’s continued success in delivering creative, world class solutions to our clients across the product spectrum. It’s great to see that our success is recognised by a regional magazine that is widely read by our clients as well as our competitors.”

Press Release: 27th June 2011

Winners of the 2011 Chancellor’s Innovation Awards were announced during a ceremony on 27th June at the Abu Dhabi University (ADU) campus in Abu Dhabi.

ADU Chancellor, Dr. Nabil Ibrahim revealed the three winning teams from the many proposals of innovative strategies designed to accelerate ADU’s pursuit of excellence. Each team of 3 to 5 comprised of members of faculty, staff and the student body.

The winning proposal was for the establishment of a Professional Knowledge Development Centre dedicated to the provision of short skill-based courses, specifically targeted at enhancing the broader programme of study in response to the rapidly evolving specific demands of local business and industry.

The first place winners were Dr. Modafar Ati, Sajin Salim, Rihab Abdelaal, and Hessa Al Shamsi. They received a prize of AED 20,000, for their winning entry.

The second place team’s entry, which won them AED 15,000, was for a Public Relations and Student Recruitment strategy for the Al Ain campus. It proposes offering the Toastmaster’s Youth Leadership Program to local High Schools in order to improve the English speaking skills of 11th and 12th grade students, and in so doing  reinforce their leadership skills in preparation for College entrance. The team included Shannon Glassgow, Huda Iqbal, Iman Ezzatullah, Sabah Sadiq and Sarah Fazal.  

A proposal to organize the first Annual Abu Dhabi University Student’s Choice Awards for the Media (ASCAM), placed third, giving the team an AED 10,000 reward. This idea aims to recognize the members of the UAE media for their contributions to the advancement of the country and encourage ADU students to make their choices and be involved in the nation building. The third place winners were Fatima Ghazi, Nikki Yu, and Dr. Makhtar Sarr.

Dr. Nabil Ibrahim said, “An overwhelming response displayed by participants in this competition not only exceeded our expectations, but also highlighted the level of enthusiasm that is shared with members to secure new heights at Abu Dhabi University. This initiative has shown that the members of any institution can make valuable contributions in sustaining its creative spirit.”

The judges for the competition were: Dr. Rick Van Sant, Director of the Center for Faculty Development; Dr. Rima Shaban, Operations Manager, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center; Dr. Haitham Nobanee, Professor in the College of Business Administration; and Dr. Mohamad Araji, Professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences.

Entries covered a diverse range of topics and strategies and covered issues such as Student Recruitment and Enrollment Growth; Quality of Customer Services and Effectiveness of Public Relations; Growth in Fundraising and External Support for Academic, Administrative or Campus Life; Effective Strategies to Enhance Communication and Employee Satisfaction at ADU; and Innovative and Cost Effective Strategies to Retain Students.

The Chancellor’s Innovation Award is an annual challenge to teams composed of faculty, staff and students to think creatively in ADU’s relentless pursuit of excellence.

Optimus beats off strong competition to win the much coveted ‘Best Networking VAD’ award at the Network Middle East Innovation Awards 2011 and the ‘VAD of the year’ award at the Reseller Middle East Partner Excellence Awards.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 20, 2011: Optimus Technology and Telecommunications, a leading regional Value Added Distributor (VAD) of IT and telecommunications products, announced that it has won the coveted Network Middle East Innovation Awards 2011 for the ‘Best Networking Value Added Distributor’ category and the Reseller Middle East Partner Excellence Awards 2011 for the ‘Value Added Distributor of the year’ category. Optimus was recognized for its value-added services, channel growth initiatives, training programmes, support services and strong commitment to its vendors.
 
Speaking on their double feat, Meera Kaul, Managing Director, Optimus Technology & Telecommunications said, “We are thrilled to win two major industry awards for being the ‘Best Value Added Distributor’ within days of each other. Being recognized as the ‘Best Networking Value Added Distributor’ by Network Middle East and the ‘Value Added Distributor of the Year’ by Reseller Middle East for 2011 is a big achievement and honor for our team. It is a testimony of our company’s commitment to providing the latest and best networking solutions and round-the-clock support to our customers and partners in the region. This award also recognizes our team’s commitment in providing the highest level expertise, excellence, customer service and support while further strengthening our relationships with our vendors and channel partners.”

The Network Middle East Innovation Awards 2011 were designed to recognize and reward companies and individuals for their outstanding achievements in building the most technologically advance IT Infrastructure as well as offering the Best networking product range in the Middle East.  “Optimus Distribution was given the prize for Best Network Value Added Distributor of the Year at the NME Innovation Awards 2011 on the back of its extensive portfolio of solutions and dedication to customer support in the region,” said Daniel Shane, editor, Network Middle East. “Over the past 12 months, Optimus Distribution has worked hard to increase its footprint in the Middle East, while remaining committed to technological innovation.”

The Reseller Middle East (RME) Partner Excellence Awards 2011 honour and measure the achievements of vendors, distributors, system integrators (SIs), resellers and retailers across the region’s IT market. Winners are judged by a team of leading networking professionals and industry analysts who have worked in, and studied the region’s IT industry, IT infrastructure implementations and usage over many years. Commenting on Optimus’ win, Arun Shankar, Senior Editor, Reseller Middle East said, “Creating a portfolio of services for its channel partners enabling them to build long-term relationships with their customers. The visible effort put in by Optimus was at the highest level amongst the players of the related industry and was replicated across their region of operations.”

Optimus is one of the few Value Added Distributors in the region that has executed the value model in its essence. They supported their channel by offering value-added services such as channel partner capacity building, lead generation through inside sales desk, channel credit facilities, capacity building of channel partners through channel training sessions, pre and post sales support, channel enablement on new technologies and products as well as helping to increase their channel’s existing business. Optimus’ Channel Support programs have enabled the company to support partners with limited financial abilities to execute large business deals.

In 2010, Optimus enabled channel development programmes and initiatives, which resulted in stronger sales and market share for its vendor partners. To continue these initiatives and to align with the vendor channel training and education requirements, the distributor rolled out its channel capacity building initiative, Optimus Academy, earlier this year , to support regular product training, certification workshops, seminars and sales workshops for its Middle East channel base.

“Optimus is a young, dynamic and rapidly growing company. We are proud and very happy with what we have achieved in a short period of just three years. Winning these awards would not have been possible without the support of our customers, channel partners, vendor partners and employees, who have been an integral part of our growth and success. We would like to thank them for placing their trust in us,” Ms. Kaul concluded on a high note.