Channel Post speaks with Ali Hyder, Group CEO, Focus Softnet on their participation at GITEX Technology Week.
How long have you been exhibiting at GITEX Technology Week and what are your takeaways from previous participations?
We have been participating in GITEX for the last 21 years and the response we have received year-on-year has been bigger and better each year. This high-profile ICT exhibition has helped us raise our corporate profile, increase our brand awareness and visibility as well as promote our products to a wider audience.
GITEX is an ideal platform to showcase our solutions and services, meet with existing and potential customers and hold demonstrations for visitors to show them the unique features of our products and the benefits of implementing our solutions.
Why did you choose to participate in GITEX Technology Week 2017 and what are your expectations from this year’s event?
GITEX Technology Week is very important for Focus Softnet as it provides us with an opportunity to meet customers, partners and potential partners. Given the reach of the platform, GITEX brings together enterprises from across the GCC and Africa, allowing us to increase the awareness of our brand, products and services even further.
Attendees can expect the conversation to be on disruptive trends such as Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Cloud, Mobility etc. at GITEX. With the regional GCC governments introducing Value Added Tax (VAT) in 2018, regional businesses will be definitely looking for VAT-ready solutions. We are expecting a lot of visitors asking us about our VAT-compliant ERP solutions. We expect to see more commercial establishment checking on the option of moving to cloud-versions of enterprise and business software solutions.
Do you have standalone presence at the event or will you be showcasing with your partner(s)?
Focus Softnet will be participating in GITEX on its own at Stand E-10 in Hall 8.
What are you showcasing at GITEX Technology Week 2017?
We will demo our cloud ready Focus 8 ERP, built on thin-client architecture, which will help customers to access their data remotely, increase productivity, save on IT infrastructure costs, and deliver enhanced security for their data.
Apart from our ERP solutions, we will also be showcasing our vertical-focused solutions such as like Restaurant Management, Warehouse Management, Real Estate and Property Management solution, Material Requirement Planning, Retail Management and Academic Management solutions, mobile apps and cloud-ready business software solutions at GITEX 2017.
We will also be showcasing Focus i, a middle-tier ERP solution with well-integrated business intelligence tools, and complete range of ERP solutions, including financials management, supply chain, and other modules. Visitors will get a chance to see cloud-versions of our solutions and mobile apps for different applications.
What technology trends have you seen in the Middle East and Africa market?
Digital transformation continues to be an important trend in the MEA region. Organizations are adopting cloud solutions to be agile in order to be fully digitized. We see an increase in mobile apps as business leaders want to have access to information anytime and from anywhere. We expect to see more commercial establishment checking on the option of moving to cloud-versions of enterprise and business software solutions.
Being VAT-ready is slated to become a mandatory compliance requirement by the end of 2017. By having both multilingual and VAT readiness capability built into Focus 8, our next-generation ERP solution, we expect to generate significant interest and inquiries from enterprises and SMEs.
