Author Archives: Staff Writer

Widely recognised as one of today’s most outstanding designers, Karim Rashid can literally turn his hand to anything. Famous for his fabulous colours, trademark stylised fluorescent ‘blobs’, sexy shapes and constantly evolving designs; the industrial designer has worked with some of the world’s largest and most famous brands.

Radisson SAS Resort, Sharjah has plans to launch a ferry service to Dubai from its private jetty, making it the first property in the emirate with this unique facility.

The DaletPlus News Suite digital newsroom will be deployed in Jordan Media City with the cooperation of Dalet’s local business partner, Mediators General Trading.

Hardware vendor BenQ has confirmed that regional boss Robert Dung will relocate to India. Dung will move from his current Dubai base as the vendor looks to take its in-country Indian operation to the next level, but will continue to manage the operations in the Middle East and Africa as well.

A recent study claims that Saudi IT investments in government and healthcare departments are resulting in significant benefits for citizens in the Kingdom, despite the limitations of existing network infrastructure and bandwidth constraints.

As part of its proposed merger with Alcatel, Lucent Technologies will establish a separate subsidiary to perform research and development work for the American government that is of a sensitive nature.

Galaxy hopes to create renewed interest in its products following a redesign of its brand logo and packaging.

Distributor NTDE plans to increase its distribution across the UAE and move into third party logistics.

Storage giant EMC and components vendor Intel have struck a multi-year global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) deal, focused on meeting the growing storage needs of SMBs.

Retailers across the GCC are increasingly looking to Australia as a source of halal meat.

UAE and Omani egg producers appear relaxed about a ban on chicken imports from India.

Saudi Arabia’s biggest hypermarket group prepares to take its first step in the UAE.

For many regional dairy producers, the boycott of Danish goods has led to a surge in business.

Printing solutions vendor Zebra has unveiled PartnersFirst, its EMEA channel partner programme. The company developed the programme following intensive analysis of individual markets and distribution and reseller channels in the region.

Sybase is to launch a new technology research lab in Jordan to promote IT learning and technological innovation in the country.

Arab Business Machine (ABM) has unveiled Apple’s new Intel-based Mac computer mini across the region one month after its US launch.

Tech Data has confirmed that its Middle East distribution deal with storage and security software giant Symantec has not been renewed. The distribution deal had been up for renewal on April 1st 2006.

With an investment of US$381 million earmarked for 2006 alone, Emke’s regional expansion plan is in full flight.

With the largest population of any country in the Middle East region, a rapidly growing economy and rising household incomes, Iran represents a potential commercial gold mine for consumer electronics vendors. Michael Thorne investigates.

Savvy marketing and a strong presence in the market have been key to the growth of Lays crisps in the UAE and KSA.

Thanos Hotels in Cyprus has collaborated with UK-based The Organic Pharmacy for the upgrade and refurbishment of its spa at the Anassa hotel, which was completed in February.

Empost has launched a new service allowing customers to collect and dispatch packages without visiting a post office.

Aramex has opened its long-awaited warehousing facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone.

Logistics professionals were working around the clock at the Dubai World Cup to ensure everything ran smoothly.

Fujairah Free Zone Authority is creating its own logistics park to capitalise on the Middle East’s distribution boom.

Dell Middle East yesterday unveiled its new Latitude D-family business notebooks, which it claims have been designed to perfectly meet customer demand.

US $2.6 billion development aspires to bring together energy professionals from across the globe. The ambitious energy city also plans to produce specialised engineers desperately needed in the industry.

Networking powerhouse Cisco is gearing up to introduce the latest changes to its channel programme at its forthcoming Gulf and Pakistan partner summit, which is taking place on April 12th at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai.

AMD plans to launch its new Turion X2 64 processors – a dual core version of its existing line of mobile CPUs – on the 9th of May

Printer vendor, Oki Printing is trying to put an end to the market for counterfeit consumables by using RFID tags on its enterprise mono and colour printers.

Hard drive vendor Western Digital (WD) today unveiled its new line of external hard disks for consumers, called ‘MyBook’. This product family initially comprises two models – the MyBook Essential Edition and MyBook Premium Edition – which are Xbox-esque in style and will be available in capacities ranging from 160- to 500Gbytes

Spanish skincare cosmetics company plans to drive sales across the Middle East.

Prajit Arakkal, Symantec business unit manager at Aptec is leaving the distributor later this month. Arakkal is making the leap from distributor to vendor and will take up the role of distribution account manager MENA at Symantec itself.

After opening a new factory in Abu Dhabi, Foodco plans to manufacture goods for European companies.

Warehouse accidents involving racking systems are normally kept under wraps in the Middle East. However, logistics managers must become proactive in reducing risks.

Global Shipping & Logistics has marked its foray into the 3PL market by commissioning facilities in Dubai Investment Park and Dubai Logistics City.

The first phase in Fujairah’s logistics park should be operational by the end of the year. The project is certainly ambitious, but can the emirate really compete with Dubai and Abu Dhabi to become a successful Middle East logistics hub?

NTDE has expanded its Dubai warehouse to cope with increasing demand for storage space.

The regional telecoms scene is already bustling with operators looking to get a sizeable footprint. Liberalisation has happened and the opportunities are drying up, but the number of players looking at expansion is anything but decreasing. The victory of the UAE’s TECOM in Tunisia and the emergence of the operator on the international scene means one thing: yet more competition.

World’s fastest-growing luxury hotel chain to debut in region in 2007

Dubai-based PC assembler MST Computers is following up on a hatful of leads after a successful two-day promotion at Burjuman Centre in Dubai. MST — an Intel premium partner — showcased its top of the range Samtek desktop PCs during the promotion period.

The Emirates Group has launched a new hospitality management sub-division featuring a portfolio of luxury conservation-focused resorts, spas and serviced apartments.

The first five-star property in Bur Dubai, the Dhow Palace hotel, opened at the beginning of February.

Rezidor SAS Hospitality is bringing its Missoni brand to the Middle East, as part of the European hotel management company’s rapid Middle East growth.

As part of a major upgrade plan, Alsumaria TV, an Iraqi satellite television channel, has recently expanded its DaletPlus News Suite newsroom installation and deployed DaletPlus InterWeb to facilitate remote access for its reporters in the field.

Jumeirah has officially opened H2O The Male Spa, a men-only spa at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers. The City Life Spa features what the group calls “active relaxation” for male residents of the hotel.

The Kuwaiti cabinet has approved in principal draft legislation that could see the establishment of the country’s third mobile operator, competing with MTC and Wataniya.

Alcatel and Lucent Technologies have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create a global communications solutions provider with a broad wireless, wireline and services portfolio.

Stockholm-quoted enterprise solutions provider Intentia has appointed Mike Nutter as vice president of its partner channel in Europe, Middle East and Asia. The company has also unveiled its business partner Jump Start programme.

Royal Jordanian has signed a contract worth US$3.2m with SITA to upgrade its IT infrastructure, enabling the airline’s bid to join the oneworld alliance.