DHAHRAN, 6 May — Tomorrow is the opening at the King Faisal Conference Center in Riyadh of E-Commerce Saudi Arabia 2001. Arab News has already lined up interviews with the international experts who will be speaking on the subject of e-government and we’ll be presenting their thoughts on these pages next week. After so many plans and ideas are put on the table action is needed. Chief information officers from companies and organizations across the Kingdom can attend the Middle East CIO Summit, to be held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai from May 12-13, 2001.
Technology heavyweights Microsoft, Acer and Computer Associates will host and play a leading role at the summit. They will be assisted in the effort by the world-renowned Forrester Research group. Top executives from these companies will lead discussion forums and offer CIOs from throughout the Middle East an opportunity to gain valuable insights into the latest global technology trends.
Despite the poor infrastructure and legal difficulties some companies in the region have taken the plunge into e-commerce activities. In a first for an automotive manufacturer in the region, Porsche Middle East (PME) has announced that all prices for their Boxster and 911 models are now posted on the individual sites of each Porsche distributor under their official website, porsche-middleeast.com/homepage.htm.
Furthermore, prices are harmonized across the region, so what a customer pays in dirhams he would also pay in riyals, excluding local taxes and duties. The site also includes price lists of individual options to custom design one’s dream car.
“We are very happy to be able to offer this service to our customers and potential clients in Saudi Arabia,” said Hisham Khartabil of SAMACO, the official Porsche importers in Saudi Arabia. “In addition to providing technology at your fingertips, we hope to provide entertainment for the next generation who dream of some day owning a Porsche.”
In 2002, Porsche will launch its third model range after Boxster and 911, the much-speculated SUV named Cayenne. Porsche Middle East (PME) plans to support that launch with outstanding services and support both at dealerships and online. PME was established in 1999 to provide Porsche’s 11 distributors in the region and their expanding customer base with a point of contact at home base.
It’s amusing to shop for an expensive sports car online but e-commerce can also be used for more practical reasons. Medicine is as much of a business as car manufacturing and patients in Saudi Arabia needing specialized medical care overseas can find it difficult to find the best resources. Patientwise.net is a new website that can aid in US hospital surgeon selection.
With the help of their own physician, at patientwise.net patients provide information on their surgery needs and medical condition. Patients receive responses from hospitals in the geographic region of their choice within three to five days. Patients wishing to compare costs for their care may also receive proposals from the hospitals and physicians.
Once a choice is made, patients are offered an available date for a visit with the surgeon and a week for the surgery. Care for Patientwise users will come for the USA’s leading medical centers as well as community hospitals and physicians with strong quality records. Open-heart surgery, neurosurgery, cancer surgery, major orthopedic procedures and transplants are some examples of the care that may be obtained using Patientwise.net.
What if you can’t find exactly the e-commerce information or site your looking for? Try Hahooa.com, a trilingual Arab-world directory launched by Wanadoo. Each referenced site includes a description in Arabic, English and French. Hahooa.com covers more than 7000 URLs broken down into 418 themes with e-commerce and economy accounting for more than 42 percent of the database entries. The directory was created and designed by Tunisian-based web marketing agency “Access to E-business,” which handles regular updates. Wanadoo Morocco handle website graphics and design. The site technology is managed by Echo, a subsidiary of France Telecom.
For companies hoping to do e-anything, security is a major concern. California-based Network Associates plans to launch a subscription service to run virus-policing software for small and mid-sized companies. Industry analysts say that the service appears to be based on technologies developed by a former Network Associates‚ subsidiary called MyCIO.
The new service, to be launched on Tuesday, is called WebShield ASAP and will be offered through a security-software computer running the Linux operating system that connects to a corporate network. It will be monitored by either Network Associates or an Internet service provider.
Network Associates says WebShield ASAP, is designed for a company with up to 5,000 employees and is supposed to save companies money they would otherwise spend on in-house staff. Once they are connected, customers would be able to view data on how many messages the service scans, how many potential security hazards were found and how the problems were resolved. It can scan up to 100,000 e-mail messages an hour for malicious computer code.
Companies with 1,000 employees can subscribe to the service for two years for $20,000. A company with 5,000 employees can get two years of the service for $60,000. Network Associates plans to sell the service directly, as well as through service providers.
It is common for companies in this region to look across national borders to find the right people to meet the challenges of doing business in the 21st century. As an extension of its University Outreach Program, Bayt.com will reach over 20,000 graduating seniors, leading universities and decision makers through its participation in the annual Job Fair held by the University of Beirut on May 3-4, 2001, followed by the Forum for Orientation & Recruitment on the May 9-12, 2001. Bayt.com is the leading and fastest growing online recruitment site in the Middle East, and the first fully comprehensive, bilingual Arab and English site in the region. Bayt’s University Outreach program is a natural extension of the site’s value-added commitment to both employers and employees.
Fresh graduates benefit from this service in various ways. The site’s CV builder walks students through the process of creating a CV in a step-by-step manner. A free, convenient and easy-to-use platform to “park” CVs allows students to keep their information online so that they get exposed to employers and start networking even before they graduate. Free unlimited access to the region’s fastest growing jobs database allows students to find the jobs they want and apply directly online. Automatic Search Agents search the Bayt database on a 24X7 basis and notify the candidates of suitable positions as they arise. Many employers also list Internship Opportunities at Bayt.
Universities participating in this program will be offered quarterly educational seminars on the use and benefits of online recruitment and will have access to a wide range of educational literature on e-recruitment in general and Bayt’s unique features in particular.
They will also benefit from gaining access to a free, confidential and user-friendly state-of-the-art platform to “park” student CVs for future reference as well as internal matching activities. Now tell me, why haven’t Saudi universities signed up to participate in this program?