End user turns host for local companies

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Sabbagh and Sidebottom believe Service Now will be a big hit in the Middle East.

Zamil Industrial Development Corporation was so impressed with its choice of IT service management system that it decided to become a provider of the solution for other regional enterprises - and launch it at GITEX Technology Week.

The KSA manufacturing behemoth has formed a joint venture with Singapore-based Navigis to provide hosted IT service management services to Middle East businesses. Navigis is the exclusive reseller of Service Now, an IT service and asset management system, in Asia, including the Middle East.

"When we first came across the system, it seemed to promise more than we thought it could deliver. The provider offered to let us try it free for three months, and we were very impressed," explains Zaki Sabbagh, executive director of Zamil Navigis, and CIO of ZIIC.

"At the same time, we had transformed our IT department into a profit centre, with the aim of launching our own offerings. These two things came together and gave us the idea for the joint venture." He feels the hosted services will be a big hit in the region, offering enterprises of every size an easy-to-deploy, cost-effective and service-driven management system for their IT infrastructures.

Philip Sidebottom, partner in Zamil Navigis and CEO of Navigis itself, says the joint venture will allow Navigis to extend its reach into the Middle East by offering local - and localised - services through a regional expert, in the shape of ZIIC.

"We can offer regional enterprises better levels of support and service, and provide a truly local, Arabised offering by forming this joint venture," says Sidebottom.

Other advantages of the hosted model are a low cost of ownership for customers, as well as version-free operation. This also means any customisation done to the system will be preserved, eliminating the need for enterprises to engage in challenging reprogramming of customised solutions.

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