Source IT Set to Expand Operations
Mobility and technology distributor, Source IT, has increased its activity in the Kingdom through the official appointment of Majdi Jaddo as business development manager for Saudi Arabia. Executives at Source IT expressed confidence that the new hire will build on the company’s recent successes in Saudi Arabia. Jaddo joins Source IT following five years in the Kingdom with IT retailer, CompuMe.
“Jaddo’s extensive experience in retail sales will enhance our customer pre- and post-sales service, ensuring that the needs of the consumer are met to the best of our ability,” said Ahmed Al-Azzawi, director at Source IT.
In his new position, Jaddo will lead the company’s business efforts in Saudi Arabia, with responsibilities that include increasing consumer awareness and developing links with Saudi partners to drive sales of Source IT’s product portfolio.
HP in Prime Position
HP has attained leadership position across all computer segments in the Middle East, according to data revealed by IDC for the third quarter of 2005. These figures confirm HP sales growth of 60.4 percent over the same period last year, more than double the average growth of the regional market.
According to IDC figures for Q3 2005, HP leads the regional desktop and mobile computer space, with 15.4 percent market share for desktops and notebooks, more than four percent ahead of the nearest competitor. HP also ranks top of the PC market in all countries across the Middle East, with market leading combined figures for desktop and notebooks in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and the Gulf States.
Overall figures placed HP No. 1 in the desktop space, with an unsurpassed 58.1 percent growth, three times the market growth rate and a total market share of 12.7 percent, nearly five percent more than the next competitor. HP also achieved 63.8 percent growth in the notebook space that claimed first place in the UAE, Egypt and Rest of the Middle East.
In a related achievement, HP’s growth has also been ranked among the highest in the region in the workstation category, with record growth of 115 percent. Anil Gandhi, GM, Personal Systems Group, HP Middle East, attributes HP’s consistent success to several factors.
“HP has been experiencing phenomenal growth across all countries in the region and it is reflective of our responsiveness to changes in the marketplace and our strengths in interacting with customers and partners,” he said. “HP’s ongoing Middle East projects in the Education Sector in Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, the UAE and KSA are deemed successful not simply because of HP winning the contracts, but because they are backed by our support and commitment at all stages of implementation — before, during and after sales — leading to horizontal growth with existing customers.”
Commenting on the performance of HP desktops in the region, notably the high growth in Saudi Arabia over last year, Gandhi added: “HP is generating tremendous results in the Kingdom. I stand by my comments at GITEX that our ‘Made in Saudi Arabia’ products rolling out of our local Assembly Plant are a major factor in our success. We will continue to aggressively pursue new opportunities to grow our market share across all Form Factors and stay ahead of our competitors.”
Sea-Me-We 4 Sub Cable Network
Alcatel participated in a ceremony hosted by Etisalat in Dubai for the inauguration of the Sea-Me-We 4 submarine cable network. After extensive provisional acceptance tests, Sea-Me-We 4, for which Alcatel had the turnkey responsibility with its co-contractor Fujitsu, is now ready to carry live traffic and to meet the fast growing needs from South East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Middle Eastern countries and Europe.
Completed in 18 months, the Sea-Me-We 4 submarine cable network spans nearly 20,000 km — approximately half of the circumference of the globe — linking 14 countries from Singapore to France and relying on 16 landing points. This system is designed to last 25 years with full reliability and with 32 times the initial capacity of the previous Sea-Me-We 3 system, which was installed in 1998.
Sea-Me-We 4 is operated by 16 carriers, including Saudi Telecom Co., Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board, Bharti Infotel Limited, Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited and Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd., and deploys Alcatel’s submarine and terrestrial optical networking solutions based on the most advanced technologies delivered to the market. Alcatel had the turnkey responsibility of this state-of-the-art network from design to laying for the segments linking Bombay to Marseilles, as well as the overall responsibility for the SDH end-to-end realization.
“We are proud to have contributed to the Sea-Me-We 4 project, which dramatically increases the communications capabilities in the Indian and Middle East region,” said Jean Godeluck, president of Alcatel’s submarine network activity. “This achievement further demonstrates Alcatel’s ability to support its customers demand in their tight deployment plans with advanced technological expertise, backed by a turnkey approach to complex submarine projects.”
7 New Books on TQM
The Arabization and Publishing House of e-TQM College, a Dubai-based provider of online courses in Total Quality Management, has brought out seven textbooks and reference books on Total Quality Management (TQM), two of which are translations to Arabic. The move is to address the lack of TQM resources in the Middle East and to increase awareness of TQM in the Arab world through knowledge dissemination, while supporting learners’ acquisition of internationally registered publications in English and Arabic.
“Since its inception, the e-TQM College Arabization and Publishing Center has been focused on supporting the quest for education and lifelong learning at all levels by disseminating TQM principles and best practices in the Arab world. The Publishing House acts as an ideal platform attracting English speaking and Arabic speaking scholars to publish quality management textbooks and reference material,” said Dr. Mansoor Al-Awar, vice president, e-TQM College.
e-TQM College Arabization and Publishing Center’s books include: “Best Practices: Organizational Excellence,” “Performance Excellence: A Practical Handbook,” “The 4Ps of Organizational Excellence,” “Excellence Toolkit: Building Enabling Capability” and “Excellence Toolkit: Delivering Sustainable Performance.” The Arabized books are: “Best Practices Excellence,” by Professor Mohammed Zairi and John Whymark and “Organizational Self-Assessment” by Tito Conti.
Why Viagra Spam Floods Your E-Mail
Spam and Viagra, a popular anti-impotence drug, have found a match made in “spammer’s heaven.” According to an investigative report by Impotence Magazine, Viagra has become the most popular product associated with spammers.
Many overseas pharmacies are selling sildenafil citrate, the ingredient in Viagra. The product they receive doesn’t generally come from Pfizer, the makers of Viagra. Instead, the entire profit is split between the online pharmacy and the spammer; therefore making it one of the most profitable business opportunities for these so-called “affiliates.”
According to one spammer, “When all our relays are working, I make up to $15,000 in one day.” With an average revenue intake of between $3,000 and $10,000 per day, spammers are eager to put Viagra into the mailboxes of as many people as possible.
An investigative researcher for Impotence Magazine posed as an online pharmacy selling Viagra. By the end of the investigation, over 40 prospective affiliates replied who wanted to sell the product via the high traffic generated by spam. The investigator for Impotence Magazine also posed as a spammer by posting messages on websites for affiliate programs and received eight proposals from “bulk-friendly” online pharmacies. Currently, the two online pharmacies generating the most traffic from spam are “Health Suite” and “Human Nature.” They provide affiliates with numerous throw-away domain names owned by the same company that are designed to protect the website if a web host decides to shut down one of the domains. All traffic is then shunted to the remaining domain names, ensuring uninterrupted spamming. In fact, the above mentioned sites have been spamming uninterrupted for over six months. They are currently hosted by Namebay (namebay.com).
The ethical aspects of this practice go deep. So-called “affiliate providers” have been paying off web hosts and abuse administrators in China and other countries for years. One Affiliate Manager even guaranteed that the abuse administrator at their hosting company assures uninterrupted service in spite of complaints made. To report an online pharmacy for questionable practices, visit Impotence Magazine’s website at http://www.impotence-magazine.com.
Tips to Make Tech Gifts Delight
Tech-hungry consumers don’t always translate into tech-savvy users. Here are some tips to make sure your tech gift is a joy to receive.
When giving a technology-based gift, preparation is almost as important as giving. Select a gift targeted toward the age or skill level of the receiver. This is especially true with gifts for children.
When purchasing, open the box and examine the item, unless it will prevent you from making a return or exchange. Ensure all the parts are included. Double check to see that power cords and instructions are enclosed.
Batteries are essential. Buy a supply of the right batteries in advance. Check to see if the tech gift requires a battery charge. If it does, make sure you plug it in early so the battery is fully charged by gift opening time.
Only purchase tech items from a store that is willing to assist with set-up if necessary and that has resources for after sales service including tech support. At the time of purchase ask about software, peripherals, cables and other accessories needed to get the most out of a tech gift.
Broadband Connectivity Boosted Across Kuwait
Wataniya Telecom has made available wireless connectivity all over Kuwait, accessed using the W-Net card. The W-Net Card offers customers the ability to have wireless Internet access via their laptop anywhere in Kuwait by means of the EDGE network that was deployed earlier this year.
The W-Net wireless data card comes in the form of a PC Card that can be easily installed on any laptop and is automatically activated at the point of purchase. Users can enjoy wireless data speeds up to 200 Kbps, with 99.9 percent system availability throughout the country. Initially, a one-time 120KD fee is applicable along with 5KD activation fee. Customers can either pay a monthly subscription fee of 10KD for unlimited use or access wireless Internet on a pay-as-you-go basis, at a cost of one fil per kilobyte.
Intel Joins the BMW Sauber F1 Team
Intel Corporation and the BMW Group have formed a comprehensive partnership that includes technology, co-marketing and Intel sponsorship of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. As part of this agreement, Intel technology will be deployed throughout the BMW Group and its worldwide dealer network and Intel will become an official Corporate Partner of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. BMW purchased the Sauber team in June 2005. The BMW Sauber F1 Team and its new partners will present the new team in Valencia, Spain from Jan. 16-17.
Under the multiyear agreement and long-term technology partnership, Intel will support BMW in standardizing the IT infrastructure in the worldwide BMW Group data centers and in providing more than 3,000 dealers worldwide with innovative IT solutions. To support the expanding mobility of its staff, the BMW Group will also convert its corporate notebooks to Intel Centrino mobile technology-based systems and significantly increase the use of Intel-based PDAs within the company. The two companies have also agreed to develop an industry specification that would allow for seamless integration of third-party devices (including phones and portable music players) into BMW vehicles.