For the first time, Sun is offering five-day fast track training immediately after the release of the Solaris 10 Operating System (OS). In just five information-packed days attendees will receive the same content of Sun’s standard instructor-led courses that would normally take 10 days to achieve.
The program combines the content of the two brand-new Solaris 10 administration courses (SA-200 Intermediate System Administration and SA-202 Advanced System Administration, five days each) into a single five-day event with extended training hours per day. Included are:
• Twelve hours per day of productive immersion training.
• Hands-on lab exercises, lectures and workgroups.
• Post-class reinforcement.
• One or more of Sun’s top instructors per class.
• Exam voucher.
• Web-based courseware.
This Solaris 10 fast track training will be held at the New Horizons training center in Dubai, March 5-9 with the cost per student $4500.
Toshiba Is Top Earner
After an unprecedented last-quarter burst for Toshiba, the company has registered 264 percent growth in the UAE’s booming PC notebook sector. Additionally, Toshiba is the highest revenue earner in the notebook sector in every one of its Middle East markets.
The preliminary figures, released by International Data Corporation (IDC) for the fourth quarter of 2004, gave Toshiba 22.4 percent market share, as compared to 9.5 percent market share for the same period in 2003.
The UAE figures are the highest increases shown by Toshiba anywhere in the world, with other notable successes in Oman (up 205 percent), Bahrain (up 116 percent) and Saudi Arabia, where the company moved ahead of HP into second place in the notebook market, with 46.3 percent total growth for the year.
“These figures have set a benchmark for the notebook sector in the whole region,” said Ahmed Khalil, GM, Toshiba Middle East and Africa. “We have spent more than $3 billion on research and development and the buyers have responded in force to the technological improvements. Toshiba’s position as the leader in notebook technology is undisputed.”
The Middle East registered the highest growth for Toshiba in the EMEA region, which Khalil attributed to a “healthy product mix, high product quality backed up by international warranties and strong market performance.”
He added, “We have stuck to our strategy of a compact and focused network of distributors who develop customer intimacy and the highest levels of service and are committed to growing their business in line with ours.”
Khalil tipped the notebook sector for 30 percent further growth in 2005, with a continuing decline for the desktop PC.
“As mobility plays an increasingly important role in our lifestyles, the notebook will continue to dominate,” he said. “The market is becoming even more competitive and manufacturers that continue to push the boundaries will move further ahead. We have set ambitious targets of 25 percent market share in every country we are present in — and believe that this can be achieved.”
Khalil identified a number of key platforms for Toshiba’s development through 2005, namely the launch of the Qosmio series of high-end entertainment-centric notebooks for the home user, which he identified as a new retail segment for the company.
“Our main focus continues to be the middle and upper tiers for both the professional and home user. This is where Toshiba’s strength — dubbed “selfish technology” — will continue to see us six to nine months ahead on new product development before our competitors catch on. The Qosmio series is an excellent example: Our customers are looking for a convergence of computing and home entertainment and the Qosmio series enables the lifestyle gadgets of today to run off a central unit for maximum convenience and optimum performance.”
Toshiba works with a network of 12 distributors in nine countries, with six African countries targeted to come on stream during 2005.
