A new study led by Oxford Economics and SAP revealed that 15 percent of respondents in the UAE believe bridging the learning of the capabilities is required today. It also found that 39 percent see cloud as being necessary in three years’ time. However, only 24 percent of employees in the UAE expect to be proficient in cloud within three years.

“Confluence of cloud, social, mobile and Big Data are driving new possibilities to respond effectively to the rapidly evolving technology landscape

Prestigio’s digital signage solutions implemented at GITEX

Show dates: 12-16 October 2014, Dubai World Trade Centre | AT GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK | Exhibition hours: 10am -6pm

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SAP survey shares key insights

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WHAT’S INSIDE

Focus Softnet unveils Focus ERP

Huawei to unveil Smart storage solution

Mashreq and Avaya unveil ‘Smart banking anywhere’

management strategy; using SAP SuccessFactor we have completely transformed the way we attract, onboard, develop and engage our global workforce. Leveraging our ow n HCM Cloud solution, we have been able to quickly deploy globally scalable integrated talent management processes to drive successful execution of our business strategy. Compensation is no longer a differentiator – the best employers address their organisation’s needs of future skills, enablement, engagement and developing a pipeline for future leaders.”

Hesham Tantawi, Vice-President, Prestigio Middle East and Africa, spells out the company’s GITEX 2014 objectives.

How long have you been exhibiting at GITEX?The Prestigio Team in Dubai has arranged the brand’s presence within the brand booth at GITEX for the first time as we used to have our customers at Fairmont in the previous years.

and new business scenarios; organisations in the UAE must face the challenge of upgrading organisational capabilities and skills to enable future growth,” says Sam Alkharrat, President, SAP MENA.

“With the UAE’s growing economy, companies must create a culture of leadership development and continuous, employee-driven learning to accelerate innovation and drive high performance,” says Nelly Boustany, HR Director, SAP MENA. “Technology has been the cornerstone of our talent

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Prestigio...If this is your first time at the show, what are your reasons for being here this year?Participation at GITEX is a fundamental part of Prestigio EMEA today – it’s a great opportunity to introduce our company’s vision and its new products. Besides, it is a good chance for visitors to personally test the range of devices which will be showcased at the Prestigio stand.

What will you be doing differently this GITEX? We intend to fully utilise this exhibition and conduct a live face-to-face communication with our customers and partners. Our team has arranged an ultimate demonstration of multipads, multiphones, Prestigio Solutions

(digital signage and interactive LED all-in-one PC), SmartHealth and SmartHome products and various useful accessories

Will you be launching any solutions at the show? Among the new product lines, the Prestigio SmartHome and SmartHealth Solutions are some of our main highlights.

These are the products, devices and services aimed at facilitating our life at home and impacts how we use and relate to our home devices. Besides that, we have come up with the products dedicated to individual monitoring of the body health (self-tracking technology), which are becoming a new trend among consumers.

What do you believe will be special about GITEX this year?Compared to the previous year, GITEX has improved a lot by using the new technologies and by deploying Prestigio solutions to serve the attendees and making it easier for collaboration and navigation. Prestigio has partnered with GITEX during this event to provide LED screens, interactive multiboards and digital signage solutions helping to grab the necessary information and find a way to the booth.

We also expect to mark a record attendance and with the high number of exhibitors this year – the number shall definitely increase compared to 2013, making GITEX truly an event of a global scale.

Are you planning on being back next year?We will definitely showcase at GITEX in 2015 with a stronger offer for business clients. We are already looking ahead for next year and is currently in discussion to have Prestigio mobile phones as the badge of GITEX 2015.

What are the key trends we can expect in the next two years?We believe that ‘Smart solutions’ will be the protagonist of the next two to three years. The main pillars will be communication, information, entertainment, domotic, smart city and smart government.

Prestigio is located at Stand 20 in Hall 7A.

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Focus Softnet unveils Focus ERPFocus Softnet has announced the launch of its next generation ERP solution Focus 8 at GITEX Technology Week 2014.

Built on Microsoft technologies - Windows Presentation Foundation and Windows Communication Foundation, Focus 8 gives organisations the opportunity to synchronise offline sites, add users and offers built-in support for multiple languages and multicurrency transactions.

“We are extremely proud to

launch Focus 8, our flagship ERP solution that breaks the mould in Business Governance, Business Intelligence and Information Control,” says Mir Hasnain Ali Khan, Chairman and CTO, Focus Softnet. “It has been the culmination of our development team’s efforts and innovation over the last five years wherein we listened to our customers’ feedback, learned from market

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GOQii unveils beta fitness productUS-based GOQii has launched its beta offering – which combines a fitness tracker, a mobile app and a personal coaching service for fitness enthusiasts – at GITEX Technology Week. GOQii is aiming to “embed health, fitness & giving” into an individual’s daily life. GOQii’s ecosystem integrates wearable technology, personalised coaching and elements of social philanthropy to encourage users to make a shift toward a healthier lifestyle. GOQii’s coach interacts with customers one-on-one on daily basis via the app, guiding them on their food and nutrition requirements. “The GOQii philosophy is driven

by the passion for healthy and meaningful living,” says Founder and CEO, Vishal Gondal. “Having used many other wearable tech products, I felt that something was missing - they were just a bunch of gadgets, apps and online data-crunching solutions, which lacked motivation, customised advice or a human connection. I needed something more than data; I was looking for a complete solution for a more fulfilling way of life. With GOQii we have created the solution.” The company offers subscription for GOQii, which includes all elements of its ecosystem - band, experts and coach - for a period of 6 and12 months.

FVC pens Ashton Bentley reseller deal Value Added Distributor FVC has signed an agreement as the exclusive distributor for the Middle East by Ashton Bentley, a UK manufacturer of video conference, telepresence and presentation environments.

As part of their appointment, FVC will work with Ashton Bentley on all their existing projects in UAE and Oman, while working to build the other markets, especially in the GCC. FVC will show Ashton Bentley’s boardroom solutions in the Middle East for the first time at Gitex this week on Stand Z-G10 in Zabeel Hall.

Under the agreement, FVC will add Ashton Bentley products into its Executive Briefing centres in Dubai and Riyadh as well as educate the reseller channel and the corporate end users

about these systems. Plans are being discussed for the roll out of ‘mobile’ demonstration units that will enable on-site customer evaluation.

K.S. Parag, Managing Director, FVC, said, “With FVC’s strength of our existing line-up, we are looking to enhance the overall customer experience where our video conference offerings can now be enhanced with superb displays, audio and control by integration with an Ashton Bentley system.” Tony Leedham, Director, Business Development, Ashton Bentley, said.“We have spent considerable resources to ensure that video conferencing technology is maximised when integrated into our room environments.”

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Huawei to unveil Smart storage solutionHuawei is set to reveal its Smart storage Oceanstor9000 solution at GITEX.

Huawei will unveil the system intended for managing the influx of Big data, during the GITEX Big Data Summit on Tuesday 14TH October.

“The huge amounts of data generated have forced CIOs to rethink ways to invest in their high-end storage solutions,” says Sanjay Sainani, Regional VP, IT Solutions, Huawei, Middle East. “These businesses need to have the performance to match their business goals. Not only do businesses want to stay ahead but they also understand that losing data, critical to their business, whether there be a natural disaster or a power

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“Mashreq continues to set the pace in the UAE banking industry with its continuous innovation offerings to enhance customer experience and engagement.”

Chairman Dominic De Sousa, CEO Nadeem Hood, COO Gina O Hara, Publishing Director Rajashree R Kumar, Group Editor Jeevan Thankappan Editors Annie Bricker, Janees Reghelini, James DartnellCirculation Manager Rajeesh M, Production Manager James Tharian, Senior Designer Glenn Roxas, Analou Balbero, Designers John Magno, Neha Kalvani, Digital Services Manager Tristan Troy Magma

Web Coordinator Jarris Pedroso, Photographers Jay Colina, Anas Cherur

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Bit9 + Carbon Black showcases Carbon Black at GITEX 2014During GITEX 2014, Bit9 + Carbon Black is demonstrating Carbon Black, an endpoint threat detection and response solution for SOC and IR teams. Carbon Black’s lightweight, real-time endpoint sensor delivers ‘always-on’ visibility by continuously recording and maintaining the relationships of every critical action on every machine. The company will display its systems

at the Starlink stand (A2-2). “Critical factors ranging from

the exponential growth of IT infrastructure to aggressive government-backed efforts to nurture knowledge-based economies have made the Gulf a tempting target for cyber criminals,” says David Flower, Managing Director for EMEA, Bit9 + Carbon Black. “Thousands of organisations worldwide

Mashreq and Avaya unveil ‘Smart banking anywhere’

Mashreq Bank and Avaya today unveiled the bank’s future plans for the transformation of its customer engagement platform to Avaya SmartConnect solutions and services at GITEX Technology Week.

Mashreq customers will be able to initiate and complete transactions by video, virtual collaboration, email, social media, chat, SMS or phone, and to switch between devices or channels while talking to the same bank agent.

“Mashreq continues to set the pace in the UAE banking industry with its continuous innovation offerings to enhance

customer experience and engagement,” says Aref Al Ramli, Head of Electronic Business and Innovation, Mashreq Bank. “Today, technology has become significant in boosting efficiency and speed. We are proud to be the first bank to offer VTM technology. This agreement with Avaya will enable our customers to carry out their banking needs through the VTM network. The additional features include video conferencing with a specialist, instantly printing cheque books, instant replacement of debit and credit cards and instant statement printing. The machine is also equipped to scan Emirates

ID. With Avaya SmartConnect solutions, we are setting the highest and smartest standard for customer service in the financial sector.”

Customers will be able to instantly receive and apply for banking products and services such as banking statements and loan applications through a live, video-enabled communication session with one of the bank’s agents via a Mashreq video teller machine (VTM).

“Mashreq Bank is always keen to explore opportunities that drive its leadership position in the region,” says Mohammed Areff, Managing Director, GCC, Avaya.

“We are keen to demonstrate the power of Avaya SmartConnect to the world at Gitex with Mashreq Bank, and show how setting higher smart standards for customer focused organisations in any sector is today’s reality.”

Aref Al Ramli, Head of Electronic Business and Innovation, Mashreq Bank

are already benefitting from the enhanced security and compliance as well as lower operational costs made possible by our merged solution to endpoint and server security. We offer a proven strategy for the region to more effectively address this growing social and economic threat; GITEX is an excellent platform for us to showcase our technologies, techniques and

products for implementing our formidable security blueprint.”

David Flower, Managing Director for EMEA, Bit9 + Carbon Black

“Thousands of organisations worldwide are already benefitting from the enhanced security and compliance as well as lower operational costs.”

outage, can potentially bring millions of dollars loss to a company. The Huawei Oceanstor9000 high-end storage suite offers government entities, telecom operators and large businesses with unprecedented advantages in storage performance, scalability and cost.”

Huawei developed the Oceanstor9000 for enterprises across different industries, particularly in the energy, government and banking sectors that have large, data intensive IT environments.

The ICT vendor maintains that while Big Data has dominated CIO conversations in recent years, enterprises are still only scratching the surface of what is possible and are unsure about how to maximise its demonstrable value.

Mehdi Ziane, Senior IT Solutions Manager, Huawei will be addressing these CIO business critical issues during his GITEX Big Data Summit keynote speech ‘Mining Gold from Sand’, which will outline the value of big data storage within the Finance and Telecoms sectors. This will take place at the Dubai World Trade Center on Tuesday, October 14 at 10:00am.

Sainani continued: “At Huawei, we have embarked upon Big Data innovation for quite some time and have a clear vision of where we are headed in the region. Today, we are regarded as a prominent ICT company with rich experience and credentials in delivering big data solutions across all vertical industries but particularly for telecom and finance organisations.”

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Mir Hasnain Ali Khan, Chairman and CTO, Focus Softnet

“We are extremely proud to launch Focus 8, our flagship ERP solution that breaks the mould in Business Governance, Business Intelligence and Information Control. It has been the culmination of our development team’s efforts and innovation over the last five years.”

trends and developed a highly flexible and scalable business governance suite, which will provide our customers unparalleled capabilities,”

“With the launch of Focus 8, we are assuring our existing and new customers that Focus Softnet is a company that has been continuously in R&D mode, delivering version after version based only on the latest technologies,” says Ali Hyder, Group CEO, Focus Softnet. “Not many companies across the globe can showcase such a consistent series of software versions built on platforms ranging from DOS, to Windows, .Net, Web, Mobile and Cloud. Moreover, Focus has always ensured that while retaining the user flexibilities, it has also added features based on customer feedback thus fulfilling our promise of being a true solution provider for the customer.”

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Focus... Huawei...Etisalat makes 700 Mbps 4G LTE progress Etisalat has announced that it has tested and started a phased upgrade of it its network to the 4G Advanced (LTE-A) tri-band technology based on carrier aggregation technology.

A live testing on the network has successfully concluded, making way for ultra-speeds of 700Mbps mobile broadband connectivity and ensuring network readiness.

Saeed Al Zarouni, Senior Vice President, Business Planning and Technology Evolution, Etisalat said, “The UAE is racing towards futuristic cities based on massive connectivity and high bandwidth communications, and Etisalat is playing its part in achieving the

country’s smart city vision to provide the latest services to our customers in the country.

“In coming months, our LTE 4G Network will cover 88 percent of the UAE’s populated area and provides the country’s fastest mobile internet at speeds of up to 150 Mbps. A few months ago, we successfully conducted a live testing for potential speeds of up to 300 Mbps on our 4G LTE network. We are extremely thrilled today to be the first in the region to trial our 4G LTE-A network for future speeds of up to 700 Mbps. It is most definitely Etisalat’s move forward to rolling out the region’s first fifth-generation (5G) network.”