The 3rd Annual SEHA Research Conference will be held at the Fairmont Hotel, Abu Dhabi on 14th - 15th December 2011 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The theme for this year’s event is “Research and Quality: Advancing excellence in healthcare.”

Under the direction of the SEHA Research Advisory Committee, the 2011 conference will be structured to be more interactive. The scientific program will comprise keynote plenary lectures with some parallel streams, poster sessions and with structured workshops.

“SEHA’s Annual Research Conference is an important signpost on the healthcare map of UAE, pointing the way to cutting edge studies and inspiring inquiring minds to explore paths not yet taken. I welcome you once more to this conference of healthcare experts and encourage you to contribute toward advancing excellence in healthcare” said Saif B. Al Qubaisi, SEHA Chairman.

The 3rd Annual SEHA Research Conference will feature around 200 scientific abstract presentations by healthcare professionals within the SEHA network, on diverse topics, making this year’s schedule even more engaging. Top international healthcare experts and researchers will present their views on the latest findings, best practices and emerging trends in quality and research. 

SEHA has continuously taken steps to meet the needs of the population in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. SEHA is committed to change and ready to face increased demands for excellence in health care. Primarily the most visible of SEHA’s changes are its reorganization into integrated service networks, its implementation of effective primary care, a heightened focus on customer service and its conversion from a hospital-based, specialty-focused system to one centered on “circle of excellence” based delivery of care. Many other changes are being implemented and still others are in progress. Process and practices are being re-examined through quality research  to see if it is still appropriate in today’s rapidly changing health care environment and whether it will continue to be appropriate in tomorrow’s world.

 It has been SEHA’s mission to support and advance cutting-edge thinking in healthcare so that it continues to provide patients with the best-in-class treatments and facilities. In line with this objective, SEHA has successfully organized the Annual Research Conference to build strong links with the research community, and promote excellence across all fields within the healthcare sector.

We invite you to visit our website www.seha-research.ae regularly for the latest updates and news about the conference. You can register online, find key speakers easily and contact us if you require more information.

Leading company showcases unique Sage CRM solution at Technology for Marketing & Advertising 2011

October 31, 2011

India’s CRM market, which includes on-premise and cloud based offerings, currently stands strong with revenues worth over USD 111 million in 2011 and is forecasted to grow to USD 179 million by 2014, demonstrating a compounded annual growth rate of 17.4 per cent, according to a recent report from Gartner, a leading business intelligence and research firm. Looking to play a major role in this expected growth, Sage Software, the leading global supplier of ERP & CRM solutions to medium and large organizations, has announced its participation at this year’s edition of ‘Technology for Marketing & Advertising 2011’ (TFM&A), India’s only integrated marketing & advertising event, which will be held from November 4, 2011 to November 5, 2011 at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai, Maharashtra. During the event, Sage will be showcasing its latest line of CRM & ERP solutions across event participants, which include CXO’s, directors, vice presidents, sales heads, marketing managers and the respective heads of service & support. The Sage exhibition stand will be located at Booth No. 26 inside the Nehru Centre.

For the Indian market alone, Sage has seen a high level of demand for its integrated suite of CRM solutions like Sage CRM, Sage SalesLogix and Sage Accpac. During the event, Kannan Srinivasan, Product Manager - CRM Solutions, Sage Software, will give a presentation entitled, ‘Measuring CRM success – Show me the evidence’, where he will talk about the significance of using CRM solutions and how it can help customers increase productivity and efficiency thereby impacting bottom lines. Jenit N. Ramaiya, CEO, Ambit Software, one of Sage’s key partners, will also be talking about the advantages and benefits gained from using Sage CRM solutions.

“The Indian market today has demonstrated a shift to being more customer-centric in nature, considering clients as valuable assets. During a recession, buying behaviour shifts changes and refocuses more than it declines. The challenge here is for businesses to adapt to the new reality and be able to take advantage of growth when the upturn happens,” said Vikram Suri, Managing Director, Sage Middle East and India. “This new found focus towards customer relationships has made Indian marketing and advertising specialists more aggressive than ever in running their campaigns. These campaigns and strategies have become increasingly sophisticated and have made use of newer technologies like the internet and social media. TFM&A acts as a strategic platform for Indian businesses to discuss and learn techniques on how to weather the crisis by adopting new trends and utilizing newer technologies. Participating at the event will allow us to leverage our wide range of CRM products across local Indian marketing and advertising professionals.”

At present, some of the major challenges faced by Indian SMB’s include difficulty in identifying quick win, cross-sell and up-sell opportunities within current customer bases; inaccurate forecasting; too much time spent on administrative processes; lower sales conversion rates and shortfall is customer service delivery. Sage CRM is being offered more than just a software application as it is a business solution for all customer-centric processes. The solution covers every interaction with customers across the entire business and helps improve internal business processes, enables closer management of new and existing customer relationships, increases revenues and decreases inefficiencies and provides management with timely and reliable insight to guide decisions.

“The vibrancy of the country’s economy, particularly in the SMB segment, gives us the confidence to say that the CRM segment will continue to grow in India. Taking advantage of this growth, we are offering the SMB segment a unique value proposition through our line of ERP and CRM solutions, something that our competitors do not have or have overlooked. Sage provides its customers with solutions that give our customers the flexibility to start small and scale up as the business grows,” concluded Vishal Kanal, Regional Sales Manager, Sage Software India.

Sage Software offers highly customizable ERP & CRM solutions that easily conform to a company’s local requirements and helps solve business and operational challenges. The company has over 1800 customers in India for its CRM and ERP products, and maintains strong partnerships and ties with major customers in India across verticals like Banking & Financial Services, Information Service Provider, Advertising & Media, Travel, Commodities Exchanges. Sage’s world class, award-winning product portfolio includes ACT by Sage, Sage CRM, Sage Saleslogix, and Sage Accpac ERP.

APID to complement upswing with adoption of new strategies and creation of more opportunities for interior design professionals

July 14, 2011

Total spending for the GCC’s interior design segment is expected to grow in 2011, signifying a dramatic increase from last year’s recorded figure of USD 56.9 billion, according to a recent report from Proleads, a leading business intelligence and research firm. In line with this positive forecast, the Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID), an organization for professional interior designers in the Gulf Region, has also shared that there is an increased demand for interior design services across the GCC in general and the UAE, in particular. The increase in services can be seen in the UAE’s current batch of world-class development projects like hotels, mixed-use projects and villas. The strong growth balances the number of projects from 2009 to 2010, which totaled USD 21.8 billion - with the UAE representing two-thirds of the total project value.

The Proleads report has also revealed that the total spending for the UAE interior design segment is forecasted to grow to USD 22.5 billion this year. The spending refers to fixtures and facilities like curtain walling, doors, windows, canopy and skylights, stone cladding, swimming pools, garbage disposal, window cleaning, parking management, lifts, sanitary fittings, light fittings, external lighting, car park, landscaping, signage, kitchen, laundry and furniture. The projected increase has encouraged APID to launch and adopt new strategic initiatives and programs that primarily aim to create more opportunities for interior design professionals based in the Middle East region. Further, the move will allow APID to reinforce its ties with the interior design industry, connecting with new markets, strengthening existing business relationships and forging new partnerships.

“The GCC’s interior design industry is currently witnessing rapid growth and development and is strongly reflected in the high number of design projects that accompany the current batch of world class development projects in the region,” said Farida Kamber Al Awadhi, President, APID. “The increase in world-class development projects and the influx of leading interior design brands into the region is a reflection of the industry’s robustness and resilience amid the global economic downturn. APID affirms its commitment towards representing the best interests of the GCC’s design professionals and to provide them with a strategic platform that will allow them to strengthen business relationships and provide key opportunities for the region’s interior design community.”

APID is currently preparing for the region’s first ‘Festival of Interior Design’ (FOiD), which will be held from October 22 to 25, 2011 across Dubai. The event is part of APID’s strategic initiatives to highlight the key role of interior design in everybody’s lives and act as a platform to discuss the industry’s timely issues and also highlight the works of emerging talents and design firms in the region. The festival will be accompanied by the ‘Interior Design Congress, which will run on October 22, 2011, and will entail a program including four keynote speakers and two panel sessions featuring well-known design personalities. FOiD is slated to become a catalyst event that binds and unifies all interior design professionals in the region and allowing them access to key opportunities created by the event.

“APID remains steadfast in its commitment to improve the status and work environment of interior design professionals in the region, by implementing strategic initiatives and programs that are aimed at further developing and improving their interior design skills. These strategic programs also aim at giving the region a better understanding of the interior design segment and the design professionals that make up the industry. We are upbeat of this projected growth and have set our sights on reinforcing our presence in other areas in the region, envisioning a wider reach for APID members,” concluded Farida Kamber Al Awadhi.

Oman’s tourism sector set to reach USD7 billion by 2019

August 1, 2010

Salalah

The Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Tourism announced that Salalah’s annual Khareef Festival will be held until the end of September, 2010. Large numbers of visitors are expected to travel to Salalah, the capital of Dhofar Province and the country’s second largest city, during the Al Khareef season. According to a recent report by the World Travel and Tourism Council, travel and tourism to the Sultanate of Oman is set to reach USD 7 billion by 2019.

The Khareef Festival, which starts in June, is held in the mountains of southern Oman to celebrate the monsoon. Previous festivals have included a 3 kilometre carnival area with 1,000 carnival participants, games, rides, international cuisine and concerts. Last year a shopping festival was added. The expatriate community of Oman, including a wide variety of different nationalities, participate in the Festival.

“Visitors to Salalah during the Khareef Festival are attracted to the region for the variety of activities, cultural displays and family friendly atmosphere. Salalah also attracts tourists due to the attractive coastline, mountains, valleys and pleasant temperature. This year we have focused on heavily promoting these aspects of the festival. We are expecting growth in the numbers of visitors coming to the region,” said Salem Al Mamari, Oman’s Ministry of Tourism Director General of Tourism Promotions.

Numbers of tourists to Salalah have remained positive over recent years as a result of substantial tourism infrastructure developments and investment. There has been significant recent infrastructure investment in the Port of Salalah and Salalah’s UNESCO protected frankincense sites.  Salalah’s Khareef Festival is part of the Oman Ministry of Tourism’s ongoing efforts to boost tourist numbers and increase the contribution of the tourism industry to GDP to not less than 3 per cent.

In preparation for the Khareef Festival, Oman Air has increased numbers of flights scheduled over the summer, and is one of the main sponsors of the Festival. Large numbers of visitors from UAE, in particular, are expected, with last year drawing more than 72,000 Emiratis during the season. To accommodate these large numbers of visitors, Oman Air is offering flights from Ras Al Khaimah three times per week during the Khareef Festival season. Salalah is located about 1,040 kilometres from Muscat, and is well connected to the rest of the country and also to neighbouring countries via flights.

Oman has long been a popular destination among regional and international tourists for its natural beauty such as the beaches, caves in the Oman Mountains, Jabal Qara, and reefs around the Daymaniyat Islands. Festive annual celebrations are a major attraction in both the capital Muscat, and Salalah; two of the most prominent and popular tourist cities in the country.