Xerox Appoints New Marketing Manager

Xerox has appointed Ayman Mattar as the regional marketing manager for Middle East, based at Xerox’s regional HQ in Dubai Internet City. Mattar will be responsible for further strengthening the Xerox brand and building on current business relations with partners and customers across the region.

Mattar, a Xerox veteran, held the post of marketing director, Xerox Emirates, for the last eight years. Prior to joining Xerox Emirates, Mattar was a marketing consultant for Xerox Limited, UK, for three years before moving to Dubai.

Since 1985, Xerox has developed an extensive partner and distributor operation in the region, with two new appointments, Hoshan and eSys Technologies. Xerox’s current customer base of over 12,000 in the region is set to grow over the coming months with Xerox’s expansion strategy in the region.

Al-Falak Signs PactWith FMQ

Al-Falak has signed an agreement with Faysal M. Qahtani Sons (FMQ), a leading construction firm in Saudi Arabia, to implement JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, a state-of-the-art enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, at FMQ’s offices in the Kingdom. Al-Falak will implement JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Version 8.11 at FMQ to streamline the company’s major business processes, including financial management, distribution and logistics, project management, human resources and payroll and equipment maintenance.

JD Edwards EnterpriseOne is a complete suit of modular, pre-integrated industry-specific business applications designed for rapid deployment and ease of administration. The solution is ideally suited for organizations that manufacture, construct, distribute, service or manage products or physical assets.

The implementation of JD Edwards EnterpriseOne at the FMQ site in Alkhobar will be conducted in three phases. In the first phase, Al-Falak will implement the financial, distribution, and HR and payroll applications, while the second phase will mark the implementation of the project management application and will include execution of the job costing, change order and contract billing modules. The project will conclude with the implementation of the equipment maintenance application in the third and final phase. The FMQ project will be managed as a central project, thereby gathering, documenting and mapping requirements from all sites into a single project document set.

ME Companies Must Reconsider Laser Printing

International publishing house IDG Global Solutions has developed a series of three papers, in association with OKI Printing Solutions, that identify the benefits of LED (light emitting diode) technology and help Middle East organizations choose the right printer to meet their business needs. Recognizing that the purchase of a color printer often represents a considerable financial outlay for any small or medium-sized company, the papers offer comprehensive advice on how best to ensure that any company receives the maximum return on its investment in this area. The papers can be downloaded at www.okiprintingsolutions.com.

John Ross, GM of OKI Printing Solutions, Middle East, believes there is really no comparison between LED and laser technology. “We pioneered LED technology more than a decade ago at a time when printing manufacturers were using laser technology in their printers. Back then it was regarded as a controversial strategy, but it has since turned out to be an inspired choice given that there is little doubt that LED technology offers superior results, producing sharper, crisper text and graphics. We believe that there is significant growth opportunity for the LED market in the Middle East today.”

The first paper, Color Printing Technology, looks at the technologies that can deliver affordable in-house color printing. Notably, it considers whether LED or laser technology provides business with the best printed communications. Since printed documentation often represents the first contact and shapes the first impression prospective customers have of a company, it is of vital importance that it makes a positive impact. With this in mind, the second paper, Creative Color Printing, considers the customer facing benefits of quality in-house color printing. With a comprehensive range of affordable color printers now available, high quality in-house color printing is within reach of even the smallest business. The third paper, Affordable Color Printing, looks in detail at the financial aspects of investing in a high quality color printers and show how a return on that investment can be gained in terns of office productivity and reduced total cost of ownership.

The color printer market is the fastest growing segment in the printer industry. It is driven by falling prices, increasing speeds and a growing need for in-house color printing, according to IDC, who predicts a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent for sales of color printers from 2003 to 2008.

Batelco Cuts Broadband Business Tariffs

Batelco announced a reduction in the tariffs of Broadband Business service starting from last week, making its tariffs the most competitive in the GCC.

“This move, that has been welcomed by the Kingdom’s extensive business community, entails reductions of up to 43 percent on Broadband Business Packages while Broadband Business usage rates have been slashed by an impressive 50 percent,” said Adel Daylami, senior manager, voice and data product marketing services, Batelco. “In addition to the reduction, a new Broadband package will be launched designed for single-user organizations at a cost of a mere 40 Bahraini dinar per month, being an ideal choice for a small enterprise where only one person uses the service.”

Quadrem Launches JV With Al-Faisaliah Group

Quadrem has launched operations in Saudi Arabia, bringing the global e-business hub to the industrial center of the Middle East for the first time. The Saudi Arabian expansion is through a joint venture with Al-Faisaliah Group. Quadrem’s new regional office will serve Al-Faisaliah Group’s own procurement operations and focus on the industrial sector throughout Saudi Arabia.

“The partnership with Quadrem enables us to leverage our strong existing networks in the Saudi Arabian market” said Khalid Al-Shamlan, GM, Al-Faisaliah Business and Technology Services Company. “The combination of our internal capabilities and the value proposition of the global Quadrem supply chain solutions are creating a lot of excitement within Saudi Arabia.”