New tech in Saudi hospitals

Carestream Health, formerly known as Kodak Health Group, is implementing a state-of-the-art Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) at the largest Ministry of Health (MOH) hospital in Riyadh, King Saud Medical Complex. The system will be fully functional in the next few months. The goal of the PACS is to help transition the hospital to an all-digital workflow.

“We are happy that we are able to bring these scientific advancements to the public in Saudi Arabia,” said Zaeem Ulhaq, country business manager, Samir Photographic Supplies (SPS) Medical Division.

“SPS has been a proud partner with the health sector in Saudi Arabia for more than three decades. It started with films and the wet processing of diagnostic images, then there was dry printing and radiography systems and now direct digital radiography and PACS.”

Nexans to expand presence

LAN cabling solutions provider Nexans is interested in signing new distributors and resellers in Saudi Arabia. Nexans, which has witnessed a sharp increase in its business in the region, believes a stronger channel presence in the Kingdom will help it address vertical market opportunities more effectively.

“Saudi Arabia is one of the key markets for Nexans in the Middle East. With so much infrastructural development taking place there, we see tremendous growth potential for our products and solutions,” said Tarek Helmy, regional director, Gulf & Middle East, Nexans Cabling Solutions. “Our objective is to ensure that we offer our best-of-breed cabling solutions combined with excellent service and support to customers in Saudi Arabia. In addition to the strong partnership we have with the largest integrators in Saudi Arabia, we are looking to recruit performance-based resellers backed up by a strong value-added distributor who will work closely with us to promote our solutions extensively in the local market.”

Nexans is looking at building more strategic alliances across the region with system integrators that have excellent project management as well as implementation expertise across all the key vertical segments including data centers. The new partnerships will hold the key to providing better solutions and service to customers in various market sectors across the Kingdom.

Strong ME mobile growth

Samsung Electronics remains in second place globally selling 45.7 million handsets in the second quarter, 22 percent higher than the same period in the previous year, thanks to strong demand in emerging markets. “Emerging markets like the Middle East continued to drive growth this first half,” said Sandeep Saihgal, general manager, handheld phones, Samsung Gulf Electronics. “The total global unit sales for the first half of 2008 reached 92 million units, which is an increase of more than 20 percent year-on-year and our eighth consecutive quarter of shipment growth.”

For the future, Samsung is looking toward strong growth in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom’s telecom regulator estimates the number of mobile users to have risen from just 2.5 million five years ago to 20 million today. In the coming five years, mobile penetration rates in the Kingdom are expected to catch up with the UAE and Qatar and rise to well over 100 percent.

“Saudi Arabia is currently one of our most important markets for smart phones because of its excellent growth potential and it will be significantly affected by the sustained development of the industry’s ICT sector, which accounts for 40 percent of an estimated 18 billion dirham Gulf market,” said Saihgal. “The liberalization of Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications sector is also expected to further boost demand for IT-intensive mobile phones.”

Samsung expects the yet-to-be-launched Samsung Omnia — which allows users to switch seamlessly between Microsoft Outlook e-mail and productivity applications that replicate the look and feel of their PC with a stroke of their finger — to become one of the most popular products in the region. Based on the most up-to-date Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system, Samsung Omnia gives users a mobile extension to their PC experience, with access to MS Office documents such as PowerPoint, Excel and Word. Users will also be able to send and receive e-mail and manage their appointments in Outlook while on the go.