Dubai, UAE – Philadelphia by Kraft Foods announced today that nominations have opened for the third edition of its Spread Some Inspiration campaign, which celebrates the contributions of women in philanthropy, community development and charitable causes across the GCC. At a press conference held today at The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, Philadelphia also announced its partnership with UN Women, the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women globally. The partnership marks a significant milestone for Philadelphia who has pledged to donate 8% from its sales proceeds in KSA, UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait to support UN Women projects that are geared towards women’s economic empowerment in the GCC.

Present at the event were dignitaries from UN Women, led by Maha Al Nuaimy Deputy Regional Director and Officer in Charge, representatives from Kraft Foods, as well as this year’s panel of judges headlined by Dr. Aisha Abbas Natto, Entrepreneur and Boardmember of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), Iqbal Al Ahmed, one of Kuwait’s key media personalities, writer and journalist, and Azza Al Qubaisi UAE’s leading artist in jewellery and sculptures and environmental advocate. Also in attendance were some of the campaign’s previous nominees and judges, all of whom have contributed significantly to their respective communities and countries in the GCC.

“We are honored to announce our partnership with UN Women, whose association with the 2012 edition of Philadelphia Spread Some Inspiration campaign will enable us to reach out to even more inspiring women across the GCC. Starting January to February 2012, and again from July to August during the month of Ramadan, Philadelphia will be donating 8% of its sales towards UN Women projects in the region. These funds will be channeled towards developing women’s capacities and opportunities for leadership and socio economic empowerment”, said Vishal Tikku, Managing Director, GCC and Middle East Shared Services, Kraft Foods MEA.

“As such, our partnership with UN Women on the Philadelphia Spread Some Inspiration campaign is an ideal fit. Now in its third year, this campaign brings together many exemplary women who positively impact their communities each and every day of their lives through social work, charity and other philanthropic activities. This campaign enables us to document and follow the inspiring contributions of these women, bringing much needed awareness to their causes and celebrating their achievements”, added Tikku.

On her part Maha Al Nuaimy Deputy Regional Director and Officer in Charge at UN Women Arab States Regional Office (ASRO) commented: “UN Women(ASRO is delighted to be partnering with Philadelphia a global brand of Kraft Foods, and the world’s 2nd largest food manufacturing company in the Spread Some Inspiration campaign. This is an initiative that will support UN Women ASRO’s efforts to promote economic empowerment by highlighting the achievements of inspiring women in different fields. While enhancing women’s capacity and access to economic opportunities, this partnership is also setting the perfect model of cooperation between a UN organization and the private sector to bring about the aspired change in women’s lives in the region.” she concluded.

In his address at the beginning of the Press Conference, Azzam Alameddin, Corporate Affairs Director Kraft Foods, Middle East and Africa, stated that the campaign has to date brought to light the inspiring stories of some 230 women from the GCC, bringing much needed awareness and recognition for their respective causes. He added: “The campaign has flourished into one of the region’s most significant forums for women in the region to be recognized and rewarded for their inspiring contributions to community”.

Commencing today, women from GCC who have made extraordinary contributions to others around them can share their inspiring story on www.phillyarabia.com.Spread Some Inspiration with Philadelphia is an open forum for women to either submit their own stories or nominate stories of other women who spread feelings of joy, love and hope through their efforts in community relations and philanthropic initiatives. The panel of judges will shortlist the three most compelling stories, and the public will be then invited to vote online for the one story that has inspired them the most.

The winner chosen by the public through online voting will be announced at an awards ceremony, which will be held in Dubai on 8th March in conjunction with International Women’s Day. Philadelphia will honor the winner with USD10,000 in support of her cause, while the two runners up will also receive a fund worth USD5,000 each.

Follow the inspiring and heart-warming stories of women across the GCC on www.phillyarabia.com. And if you know of a woman whose story of helping the community should be told and celebrated this International Women’s Day, or if you yourself have a great story to share, visit the website and submit your nominations by 4 February 2012

Abu Dhabi : Egyptian tourism will be witnessing a prime event during 2012, as Egypt has been named Country Partner in the ITB Berlin 2012, which will take place during the period from March 7th to March 11th, 2012. Egypt will be the first Arab Country to be hosted as a Country Partner in the ITB Berlin.

The ITB Berlin hosts around 17,000 visitors, and is considered the largest international congregation for experts in the tourism industry.This prime event provides Egypt with an ideal platform and a unique opportunity to present its diverse touristic portfolio , which makes it one of the world’s most attractive holiday destinations all year round to the German and international markets .

In 2011 and during the first months of 2012, the Egyptian Tourism Authority has, and will promote Egypt as a country partner in the ITB Berlin in all exhibitions and international forums, such as the IMEX held in Germany in May 2011, and the WTM held in London in November 2011. Besides, a promotional campaign for the event is set on the official website of the Egyptian Tourism Authority” www.egypt.travel” and also through various social networks.

Furthermore, the Egyptian Tourism Office in Frankfurt has been participating in all important events taking place in the various cities of Germany,  especially the Tutankhamen exhibition in Wiesbaden held in June 2011, the World Equestrian Festival held in August 2011, the  Berlin International Economics Conference held in September 2011, the Global Forum for the Development and Enhancement of Communication between the air carriers and airports in October 2011, as well as,  the 4th Annual Golf Tournament,  initiated in Germany and was ended in Hurghada, Egypt, with a closing ceremony at Habo Temple in Luxor in December 2011, in the presence of a huge media coverage.The Egyptian Tourism Office in Frankfurt, also exploited all major events held by the German Chamber of Commerce to promote this event , as well as other cultural activities across Germany.

Over and above, intensive advertising campaigns, aiming the Trade sector, were launched in major German publications specialized in tourism and travel, as well as, organizing a number of trips for major German tour operators and travel agents, perhaps the most important was a trip in cooperation with the Turkish Airlines in Germany and with Sun Express for charter flights.

In terms of advertisement aiming the public, the Egyptian Tourism office in Frankfurt prepared an intensive campaign to cover the fair before, during and after, using all traditional and non-traditional means of advertising to support Egypt’s media presence, starting January 2012.

Also, The Egyptian Tourism Authority will be organizing several events, in Egypt and Germany, to promote this important occasion, which includes a press conference on the 20th of December to announce the event, and will also sponsor a number of artistic events such as the concert of Sama3 Band to be held in January in one of the churches in Berlin, whereby a message of love and peace will be sent from Egypt to the whole world.  A second press conference will be held in Berlin in February 2012 to promote Egypt as a key partner in ITB, besides other cultural and artistic events, confirming Egypt’s presence as a prime touristic destination.

On another note, Egypt’s Pavillion will be held at Hall No. 23A of the International Congress Center in Berlin in an area covering ​​2526 m² with the participation of 120 travel agencies and hotels. The “Unique Fusion “and “All-Round Welcome” will be the main themes further expressed through the design of the Egyptian Hall where the Ankh iconic symbol of life, one of the Pharaonic icons of ancient Egypt will be the consistent visual cue for Brand Egypt in the ITB, over and above exhibiting touristic products in Egypt and a model of an Egyptian bazaar will be set, displaying handicrafts products and folkloric activities, to reflect the true Egyptian spirit, offering tourists a unique and lively experience of an old Egyptian souk.

The event will also witness the launch of the new advertising campaign, “We Are Egypt,” a message of peace and hospitality sent by the people of Egypt to the whole world, inviting them for an unforgettable experience.

New Delhi, December 19, 2011 – QNAP® Systems Inc. today announced a partnership with Symform to provide QNAP customers with up to 200 GB of free cloud back-up and unlimited cloud back-up for a low flat monthly fee. Symform is available with all new QNAP units and to existing customer devices through a free software update. QNAP customers simply click on the Symform tab in the QNAP Cloud Back-up wizard to quickly register and start backing up their NAS data to the Symform cloud, enabling secondary back-up and disaster recovery services.

“QNAP customers purchase our NAS products because they place great value on their data,” said Jérôme Jaussaud, product manager of QNAP. “QNAP offers users cloud back-up solutions to safeguard their data, and we are pleased to offer an additional data protection alternative by partnering with Symform, who offers the lowest price on the market for secure cloud storage.”

In addition to fast and affordable back-up services, users can use Symform to synchronize critical data directly from a QNAP device, between multiple QNAP devices, or between a QNAP device and other devices, such as laptops or tablet PCs. Because Symform has as no file size limits, users can use the cloud to back-up large files or images. Symform also provides users a way to earn more free services through referrals and contribution. Symform is the industry’s first decentralized cloud back-up and storage solution, providing users a cloud platform that is faster, more cost-effective, and more secure than traditional cloud solutions.

“At Symform, we are offering revolutionary value with secure cloud storage and back-up at the guaranteed lowest flat fee,” said Praerit Garg, president and co-founder of Symform. “QNAP is a leader in the NAS market focused on delivering high quality solutions, and we’re excited to supply its users with the most affordable and secure cloud back-up and disaster recovery solution.”

The Symform storage cloud is free of charge (up to 200 GB) with QNAP NAS firmware V3.5.2. Users who upgrade their QNAP Turbo NAS to firmware V3.5.2 also receive the following enhancements:

• Improved performance for changing file and folder permissions when Advanced Folder Permission is enabled.
• Five new UI languages: Hungarian, Romania, Thai, Portuguese (Brazil) and Greek.

QNAP and Symform are hosting an upcoming Webinar on backup disaster recovery best practices for small and medium businesses, scheduled for December 8, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. To register, go to: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/142655150.

Availability
Symform is now available for all QNAP Turbo NAS models that have been upgraded to firmware V3.5.2. The new V3.5.2 firmware update is immediately available for all QNAP Turbo NAS models at: http://www.qnap.com/download.asp.

Dubai, UAE; December 13, 2011: The eighth Dubai International Film Festival, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, honoured the key government departments and agencies that partnered with the festival this year with DIFF’s ‘Government Recognition Awards.’

At a special lunch ceremony, DIFF Chairman Abdulhamid Juma presented the Awards to the representatives of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation, Department of Health & Medical Services, Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, Dubai Civil Defence, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, Dubai Customs, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Police, Emirates Post, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Roads & Transport Authority and the National Media Council.

Abdulhamid Juma said: “We are thankful to the various government departments and agencies for their support to the festival. The concerted efforts of these organisations have helped us to extend a warm welcome to our guests from across the world, provide them a memorable stay in Dubai, and ensure that all aspects of the festival’s operations progressed seamlessly. As the region’s largest cultural festival of its kind, DIFF’s success has also again demonstrated the strength of Dubai to host large-scale world-class events.”

The eighth edition of DIFF concludes on Wednesday (Dec. 14, 2011) with an Awards ceremony where the winners of the festival’s prestigious in-house honours, the Muhr Awards, will be presented.

The Investment Corporation of Dubai is the title sponsor of the Dubai International Film Festival, which is held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah, home to the Dubai International Film Festival, are the principal sponsors of DIFF. The Festival is supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. For more and updated information about DIFF, please visit www.dubaifilmfest.com or join DIFF on     and

To overcome challenges in the MENA region by investing further in technology and sharing global best practices and local expertise to offer customers world-class travel management solutions and services.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 29, 2011: Kanoo Travel, the largest Travel Company in the Middle East, announced that they are working closely with American Express to put together a strategy to overcome challenges and deliver product and service excellence in the Middle East region. At their recently held Partner conference in Dubai, Kanoo Travel announced that they would invest further in technology and increase their collaboration with American Express by sharing global best practices and local expertise to offer customers only the best travel management solutions and services.

Kanoo Travel’s inaugural Partner conference titled ‘The Power of Partnership’, a special initiative taken by Mr. Nabeel Kanoo, Director of Kanoo Travel to bring together travel agencies and partners within the Kanoo and American Express partner network, was a huge success.  At the conference, Kanoo Travel was able to collect feedback from industry partners and put together solutions to further deliver world-class business travel service in the region.

Speaking on their plans, Mr. Nabeel Kanoo, Director, Kanoo Travel said, “Kanoo Travel’s value proposition has been to work closely with our partners to offer our customers only the best travel products and services. To stay competitive and consolidate our position as market leaders, we needed to re-evaluate our position and make decisions on what needed to be done differently. In order to collaborate with our partners and prepare for future growth, we recently held our first Partner conference in Dubai, which was a huge success with some interesting feedback from our partners.”

“At the conference, we discussed the opportunity of shifting our focus from being a traditional travel agency to becoming a complete solutions provider with greater penetration of the online business, improved mobile solution offerings and increased footprint in strategic emerging markets. Going by the response we received at the conference, we look forward to making it an annual event, where Kanoo Travel and American Express can collectively improve services,” Mr. Kanoo added.

The Middle East travel market is expanding at an impressive rate with the region recording an 18.1% increase in air passenger demand from 2007 to 2010, when the global average was just 7.4%.  With more international companies entering this market due to the infrastructure growth, there is a significant potential for the travel industry to grow further. Over the last few months, Kanoo Travel and American Express have been working on a range of initiatives designed to build on the foundation created with strategic partners in the region. Kanoo Travel is also working closely with its industry partners to offer innovative travel solutions, deliver premium value and provide a globally consistent high quality of service and advice to its regional customers.

Leading distributor to leverage local network to boost Atlantic France sales 400 percent by 2012

Dubai – November 20, 2011: Paul Weil LLC, leading distributor in GCC and Levant, has signed an agreement with Atlantic France, the leading multi-energy solutions provider in Europe, to distribute their state of the art products in the Middle East and Levant countries. Paul Weil LLC aims to leverage its local and regional reach to increase Atlantic France sales fourfold by 2012.

Atlantic France will be participating at the Big 5 2011, the Gulf’s foremost building and construction tradeshow, being held in Dubai  from November 21st to 24th 2011, where it will showcase its state of the art products including Electric Water Heaters, Calorifiers, Solar Water Heaters and Heat Pumps, at Hall 1, French Pavilion stand number G26. The company is ranked no. 1 in France, and in the top four in Europe. With 15 manufacturing facilities worldwide, Atlantic France produces over 2 million units per year sold across 80 countries, resulting in an annual turnover exceeding USD 1 billion. The European solutions provider is the only water-heater manufacturer to have the UAE Quality Mark and the first to be granted ESMA approval.

Paul Weil LLC has proved itself to be one the biggest players in the water heating industry in the GCC & Levant countries, selling millions of units in the region. With a network of warehouses in UAE, Kuwait, Beirut, and Qatar, Paul Weil is looking forward to having a permanent stock of about 100,000 Units. With an after-sales service provision experience through a very strong engineering team, the company expects to sell over 500,000 units by 2014, achieving by that its continuous success with Atlantic France.

“We are delighted to have signed a deal with Atlantic France, which is well known for its quality and expertise in the multi-energy solutions market,” said Mr. George Hallal, General Manager, Paul Weil LLC. “We look forward to promoting and selling Atlantic France products, and expect to boost sales rapidly.”

Atlantic France has launched a new range of Domestic Water Heaters particularly well-suited to the Gulf region and the aggressive nature of local water. The heaters, which are made of high quality materials, rely on techniques such as Zirconium-based tank enameling for resistance to aggressive water, and The O’Pro technology that reduces corrosion inside the tank and extends the lifetime of the heating elements.  In order to foster the development of renewable energy throughout the region, the Atlantic Group is also launching a range of Solar Water Heaters appropriate for the Gulf region due to extensive sunshine. These heaters are easy to set up and maintain.

“We’ve entered into partnership with Paul Weil LLC based on a number of key factors. The company knows the Middle East market well, and has a strong history of success in the wholesale, trading and Project industries in the Gulf and Levant. At the same time, Paul Weil’s selective portfolio fits in well with our brand image, and we are confident that the company will offer our products and suppliers the attention they deserve,” said Mr. Serge Raveyre, Sales Manager Middle east & French Overseas, Atlantic International.
 

UAE expats and visitors can now send prepaid phone top-up credits to mobile phones of relatives and friends back home through any Al Ansari Exchange branch

November 15, 2011

Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s largest exchange house network that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, has revealed the launch of ‘Cross-border Mobile Top-up’, an over-the-counter airtime transfer service. The new offering, which is being launched in partnership with ‘TransferTo’, a leading international airtime transfer company, will allow members of the UAE expat community and visitors as well, to send top-up credits for prepaid mobile phones of their relatives and friends back home through any Al Ansari Exchange branch in the country. The launch is part of Al Ansari Exchange’s commitment towards improving customer satisfaction by expanding its portfolio of financial services and transactions.

According to recent reports, the UAE is home to over four million expatriate residents. The new service will now allow these expats to strengthen their ties with family, friends and loved ones through the gift of sending mobile top-up credits. ‘Cross-border Mobile Top-up’ complements Al Ansari Exchange’s remittance based services, giving customers another option to top-up overseas mobile prepaid cards aside from the traditional method of cash transfers. Through this new offering, customers can now send mobile credits to their families and friends in more than 70 countries around the world. This includes Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China and more, as well as European Countries including Russia, Ukraine amongst others, and also US and MENA countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan and many other countries around the globe.

“Our strategic partnership with ‘TransferTo’ has resulted in the launch of ‘Cross-border Mobile Top-up,’ an engaging new service that will provide our customers with a more convenient and easy way to send mobile top-up credits to their loved ones back home,” said Rashed Ali Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange. “The development and creation of new offerings demonstrates our commitment to roll-out new products and services that will prove to be both convenient and more advantageous for our customers. This new service not only aims to top up phone credits but also serves as a strategic complement in bridging the distance between expats here and the families they have back home.”

To perform an international top-up, the sender needs to provide the mobile phone number of the recipient along with the selected top-up value, at any Al Ansari Exchange branch. After making the necessary payment, the transfer is then processed in real-time through TransferTo’s secure platform. Once the transaction is completed the recipient is notified by SMS about the top-up credits received.

“We are thrilled to have partnered with Al-Ansari Exchange, which is one of the leading exchange houses in the UAE, to make this service available to expatriates, residents and visitors in the country. Many of them send part of their earnings every month directly to their families back home. This new service will now allow them a way to send smaller amounts of value back home as well, providing the ideal solution for sending small gifts,” concluded Eric Barbier, CEO, TransferTo.

Global industry leaders joined by growing list of confirmed speakers

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, 14 NOVEMBER 2011: EADS/Airbus and Boeing, the two largest Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) in the world, have confirmed their positions as foundation partners of Global Aerospace Summit 2012 to be held in Abu Dhabi from 16th- 19th April.

As Foundation Partners, EADS/Airbus and Boeing will play a key role contributing to the development and shape of the Summit programme content, and already have representatives on the Summit’s Advisory Board, which also includes personnel from Mubadala Development Company, Booz & Company, Abu Dhabi Aerospace Technologies (ADAT), Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), Sanad Aero Solutions, and Etihad Airways.

Global Aerospace Summit 2012 is an exclusive, invitation only, international forum bringing together international and regional senior executives from across the aerospace, aviation and space sectors for a four day event that will promote cross industry thought leadership and discuss future growth strategies.

The format combines two days of high level debate-led discussions on aerospace, aviation and space, followed by two days of field trips to aerospace and aviation facilities. There will also be closed door discussions, a private procurement meeting programme, and a careers development programme targeting vocational and professional development.

Commenting on Boeing’s involvement in Global Aerospace Summit 2012, James Albaugh, President and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said:

“The Global Aerospace Summit 2012 in Abu Dhabi will be an excellent platform for thought leadership across our industry. Boeing is pleased to participate and help make this Summit relevant to the needs and demands of our industry now and in the future.”

Marwan Lahoud, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, EADS/Airbus added:

“Through a collaborative effort and a cohesive plan, Abu Dhabi is demonstrating to the world at large that it has the potential to become a major hub for aerospace, aviation and space innovation and development. Our position on the Summit’s Advisory Board as well as being a Foundation Partner for the event itself, allows us to play a role in ensuring that Global Aerospace Summit 2012 can harness the collective insight from some of the leading figures within the industry.”

In addition to the confirmation of Boeing and EADS/Airbus as Foundation Partners, the list of confirmed speakers for Global Aerospace Summit 2012 continues to grow. Representing the space and satellite industry is George T. Whitesides, CEO and President of Virgin Galactic. At the Summit there will be panel led discussions focusing on the future of Space and Aerospace Markets, Satellites as tools for national economic development, and the new era of commercial space business.

George T. Whitesides, CEO and President, Virgin Galactic commented:

“Commercial space business is heading towards a new era and there are a number of opportunities for new players as well as the potential for innovation and technology development. For Virgin Galactic it is important to be a part of the debate with our peers as the industry can really benefit from collaboration in building a skilled workforce and maximizing the positive impact on local economies.”

“The level of response and participation from such leading global companies and representatives is indicative of the position that Abu Dhabi is building for itself in the aerospace, aviation and space industries. We look forward to next year’s Global Aerospace Summit as we believe that it will have a major impact in shaping future policy and decision making for the future,” concluded Homaid Al Shemmari, Executive Director of Mubadala Aerospace.

Representatives from Global Aerospace Summit 2012 are in attendance at this year’s Dubai Air Show, with a presence at the Mubadala Aerospace stand (C510), and welcome the opportunity to talk to interested parties about involvement in the Summit.

For more information on the Global Aerospace Summit 2012, please visit: www.aerospacesummit.ae  

D1 is a single offering, integrating hardware and software that can reduce the investment and complexity of Data Warehousing, Data Management and Business Analytics solutions for the SME market

November 13, 2011

SAS, the leading provider of business analytics software and services, has revealed that its strategic partnership with EMC Greenplum, the pioneer of Enterprise Data Cloud solutions for large-scale data warehousing and analytics, has resulted in the Middle East & North African region’s (MENA) new offering for all your analytics, data management and data warehousing needs. SAS and EMC Greenplum have already appointed one local partner in the UAE, Altis, to integrate EMC Greenplum’s Data Warehouse with SAS® Data Management, Business Intelligence (BI) and Analytics technologies. The resulting offering, referred to as ‘D1,’ allows customers to go to one locally based partner, approved by both SAS and Greenplum, to receive the best of both technologies and all relevant technical support. The newly-launched offering has been designed to help reduce operational cost and break down the complexity barrier for the SME market by acting as an integrated offering to help address the needs of the SME market, providing market leading technologies in the fields of data warehousing and analytics.

The ‘D1’ offering will integrate different models based on the functional coverage required e.g.:
•  Data Warehousing and Data Management
• DW, DM and Business Intelligence capabilities
• DW, DM, and Analytics Forecasting capabilities
 ‘D1’ is the MENA region’s first ever focused offering that provides this level of integrated value, with Data Warehousing and Data Management functionality available at prices from under the $55,000 price segment; and Business Intelligence capabilities enabled at prices from under $65,000. All prices also come with one year of remote technical support.

Through the ‘D1’ offering, Altis offers users a successful integration of both hardware and software, resulting in advantageous capabilities like the data warehousing features of EMC Greenplum; extraction, transformation, loading and in-Database processing from SAS Data Management; full statistical data mining, forecasting and scenario planning from SAS Advanced Analytics; and full business intelligence capability to easily add web development, Microsoft Office, web-services and enriched intelligence from company’s own disparate data from SAS Business Intelligence. All these advantages are available to customers through one integrated offering, supported by one local point of contact, resulting in lower TCO, shortened time to market and easier management.

As part of the move to increase awareness on the significance of using an engaging new tool like ‘D1,’ SAS recently organized a special roadshow event last October 19, 2011 at The Address Hotel, Dubai Marina Mall and is hosting another roadshow tomorrow, November 14, 2011 at the Beach Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The two special events is part of the strategic initiative to target the MENA region’s mid-enterprise market, which are composed of companies and organizations with disparate sources of data that needs to be integrated into a single data source for better decision making purposes. Prior to the release of ‘D1,’ mid-enterprise businesses were faced with the potentially high cost of data warehousing and data management solutions, both essential components for a sound BI and Analytics strategy. The ‘D1’ offering can already be ordered for the UAE market directly from the partner responsible for integrating and delivering the SAS and Greenplum technology, Altis – www.altis.ae d1@altis.ae and will become available in other GCC and MENA countries in the next few weeks.

“The exclusive MEA launch of the new ‘D1’ offering reflects the strategic relationship we have with EMC Greenplum, which is one of the leading data warehousing solution providers in the market today,” said Amir Sohrabi, Regional Alliance Manager, Middle East & Africa Region (Middle East, Africa, Turkey & Pakistan), SAS Middle East. “Businesses in the region today draw their success from the presence of a sound data warehousing system combined with effective Data Management, BI and Analytics technologies. Addressing this need, the new offering combines EMC Greenplum’s data warehousing solution with the features of SAS Analytics via ‘In Database Analytics’ to produce positive results. ‘D1’ not only gives users the advantage of a fully integrated warehouse and data management solution but can also help drive down operational costs, thereby resulting in increased productivity and efficiencies among users.”

According to SAS, ‘D1’ will be available from its approved channel partners in the MENA region (with Altis delivering the offering and technical support); more partners will be enabled once they have been vetted by SAS and Greenplum and as demand for the offering increases. The Return on Investment (ROI) for ‘D1’ users will depend on how modules will be fully utilized, which will vary from business to business and in some cases, will be making major impacts on business optimization and efficiency and resulting in tremendous returns.

“The new ‘D1’ offering is a ‘must have tool’ for today’s businesses, offering Enterprise class technology at a very affordable ‘go-to-market’ price. Amidst the impact of the recent economic downturn, research has shown that companies who invest in new technologies are able to step ahead of their competition. ‘D1’ is the type of investment that provides the type of intelligence required by organizations to stay ahead of the game. ‘D1’ offers organizations access to the type of data and information that enables optimized decisions, but now at a reduced TCO and shorter time to market,” concluded Philip Roy, Regional Director, EMC Greenplum.

Dubai, UAE 2 November 2011: National Bonds Corporation PJSC, the investment company behind the leading Sharia’a compliant savings scheme, has announced strategic partnerships with governmental organizations including Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dubai Export Development Corporation (DEDC) and the Awqaf & Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) to offer their staff the opportunity to join the National Bonds Employee Savings Scheme.

The voluntary scheme, a first-of-its-kind in the UAE, represents National Bonds’ ongoing commitment of encouraging a savings culture and increasing awareness about the importance of planning ahead to ensure a secure financial future.

Launched in October 2009, the Employee Savings Scheme offers employees the opportunity to establish their own individualized savings plan by deducting a portion of their salary each month via their payroll department through National Bonds. Available to all existing and new staff that choose to participate, the program does not affect employees’ end-of-service benefits and entitles them to all the benefits offered by National Bonds, primarily the competitive annual profits, no fee processes, weekly and monthly draws with thousands of prizes including a Million Dirham grand prize, and Life Takaful insurance for every member.

His Excellency Sheikh Khaled Ahmad Mubarak, Deputy Director General of Dubai Health Authority, said: “we are proud to join hands with National Bonds for this partnership which highlights our dedication to ensure the financial well-being of our employees by giving them the opportunity to save for their future and enjoy the benefits that schemes    offers. In addition to that, I would like to congratulate National Bonds on the program’s innovation and for the tremendous efforts that they are putting to reach out to the UAE community to promote a culture of saving and planning for the future”

Commenting on the partnerships, Mr. Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer, National Bonds Corporation PJSC said: “The National Bonds Employee Savings Scheme enables companies to increase staff loyalty and employee retention by providing staff with added benefits. This scheme can also act as an alternative “Retirement Plan” for both nationals and expats. We are pleased to welcome Dubai Health Authority to this scheme, and we commend them for demonstrating such commitment towards the welfare of their employees.”

He added, “It is our hope that more and more organizations within the UAE will recognize the unique value of such a scheme We are confident that the provision of a rewarding, Sharia-compliant, highly-liquid, and no-fee savings experience will incentivize employees to take the path towards a brighter financial future for them and their families.”

Dubai Health Authority is recognized as the strategic health authority for the Emirate of Dubai, empowered to set policies and strategies for health and assures the application of those health policies and strategies. Dubai Export Development Corporation was established by the Government of Dubai to provide exporters with the services required to enter or expand into foreign markets, while the Awqaf & Minor Affairs Foundation is in charge of adopting minors, managing and investing their funds and socially empowering them. They join a host of high-profile organizations in the UAE that have adopted the National Bonds Employee Savings Scheme, including Dubai Airports and Financial Markets.

National Bonds certificates are available for purchase in over 580 outlets nationwide including, National Bonds website, Emirates Post offices, exchange houses and banks. For more information, visit www.nationalbonds.ae or call 600 522 279.