ALKHOBAR, 11 January 2005 — Sahm Technologies is coming to Saudi Arabia in a big way. That was the message being conveyed by Sahm CEO Arvind S. Bhatnager in a telephone interview with Arab News on Saturday.
Sahm Technologies is the technology subsidiary of EMAAR Properties. The company provides services to both business and residential clients in Dubai. Within the EMAAR properties, Sahm has started deployment of a state-of-the-art Internet Protocol (IP) network. Over this broadband network Sahm has begun delivering new services that encompass voice, data, video and smart home solutions which it claims will make the concept of “intelligent living” a reality.
Sahm also provides technology services to the EMAAR group companies as well as external clients. These technology services include a level 4 data center, call center operations and management, web design and hosting, network management, managed security services, technology consultancy, field support, solutions implementation and project management. Sahm is also in the process of developing two other data centers in the UAE.
Now, Sahm wants to take its offerings on the road and Saudi Arabia, Riyadh specifically, is its first target. The company hopes to introduce its services to organizations in Riyadh within four months. Bhatnager said Sahm is planning to come into the Saudi market based on the overall market size, concentration of medium-sized companies and good number of financial institutions, which is an area of focus for Sahm.
“Sahm is looking at introducing certain unique products that we believe are not really available in the GCC markets. Plus, we have developed some core competencies, which allow us to move into the managed services market,” Bhatnager said. “By Managed Services we mean managing a client’s infrastructure remotely or on site and there are various models for how to do this.”
Bhatnager remarked that while many organizations in the Middle East have a lot of people managing IT infrastructure he feels that this is not being done in a very professional manner.
“What Sahm is planning to do is to collaborate with some of the largest organizations in the world which are top notch in the Managed Services business and bring their competencies to the Middle East,” he explained. “In the Middle East there is always pressure on the total number of workers you have versus the number of expatriates you have. Managed Services helps companies cope with that pressure.”
Through Managed Services, Sahm plans to offer “watertight” service level agreements. Bhatnager said Sahm’s professionals will use some of the latest tools and technologies for managing infrastructure and provide 24 by 7 support with an onshore/offshore model.
“This is something that has not been really offered in the Middle East,” Bhatnager pointed out. “Remotely we can manage a client’s infrastructure and Dubai not being too far from Saudi Arabia, we can provide support very well. This move toward offering Managed Services is a logical progression for us due to the fantastic infrastructure we have for ourselves in Dubai. Managed Services is a big area that we plan to expand on both in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”
Bhatnager explained that Sahm isn’t expecting clients to turn over their data for management.
“We will manage organizations’ desktops, servers and networks with total security considerations,” he said. “We have various models. There could be some people stationed for us in the Kingdom depending on the size of the organization being managed. But a lot of this work can be done remotely using sophisticated technology. We can have partners in Saudi Arabia for those services that require immediate attention and that would depend on the service level agreement we would have with the client.”
Right now Sahm is working to identify “strong partners” in Saudi Arabia. The company is looking for partners who have broad experience in the IT industry and who have experience in IT infrastructure management. Bhatnager also realistically points out that prospective partners must have good business contacts in the Kingdom. As soon as Sahm’s partners are signed, the company plans to immediately begin introducing its offerings to the market.
“One vertical that we want to target immediately is financial services,” said Bhatnager. “We want to use our excellent infrastructure including our data center in the UAE to help financial institutions in Saudi Arabia work toward Basel compliance and creating offshore recovery sites. Our differentiating factor is that Sahm is already managing data center services for financial institutions. There are other data centers in the region that will offer organizations space, but for Sahm, while we can offer the space, we can also manage the services needed by the financial institutions. We also have a call center so if someone is looking into creating a real disaster recovery plan, we can make available most anything needed.”
Sahm is also going to be introducing new CRM products from Talisma to the Saudi market. “We have done market research and found that CRM products at the high and low ends of the market are represented but mid-range there is a void,” explained Bhatnager. “So Sahm is tying up with Talisma to bring their CRM products to the Middle East market. We are totally convinced that Talisma offers the right products for financial institutions and a lot of other medium-sized organizations. We are certain that Talisma CRM is the right solution for the needs of mid-range companies and we look forward with our new local partners to showing these firms how Talisma can enhance their customer relationships.”
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