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In: Feature Story, IT Services, News

Accenture is enhancing its capabilitiesin the Middle East through a JV with Saudi Arabia-based Al Faisaliah Group (Al Faisaliah). The partnership has come about through the acquisition of a majority stake in Al FaisaliahBusiness & Technology Company (FBTC), an Al Faisaliah subsidiary. FBTC is a recognised ERP solution provider in Saudi Arabia and provides integrated business and technology services to a wide range of clients. Once the transaction is completed, Accenture’s position in the Middle East market will be strengthened by the combination of FBTC’s enterprise architecture, systems implementation and technology consulting skills, with Accenture’s broad management consulting, technology and outsourcing experience, industry depth, focus on innovation and global delivery capabilities.
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Brother International Gulf, provider of home and business IT peripherals, has praised Dubai Police and its Anti-Economic Crimes Unit for the excellent work they have rendered in the fight against the proliferation of counterfeit products in the UAE. Brother lauded the UAE law enforcement agency’s recent success in conducting a sting operation that resulted in the seizure of more than AED14 million (US$3.8million) worth of fake products of Brother Consumables and other multinational brands. To date, Brother has organised lectures and workshops showcasing actual samples of counterfeit and original products, which has helped the authorities in the fight against piracy.
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Eros Group, the sole distributor of world-renowned brands Samsung, Hitachi, Linksys, Candy & TCL has recently been awarded the Specialist Retail Distributor of the Year Award at the esteemed Middle East Retail Academy (MERA) 2011 Awards. The MERA Awards identify the best-in-class retailers and distributors in the region. A total of 30 awards were presented during the Gala Dinner, which took place in association with DCC MEA (Digital Consumer Channel – Middle East & Africa) in Fujairah, UAE.Read More…

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In: Africa Focus, Feature Story, Green Technology

MTN Uganda recently launched its green initiative called “21 days of Y’llow Care”, with a focus on the United Nation’s Environmental Focus in declaring 2011 the ‘International Year of Forests’. The new initative plans to plant 21,000 trees in 21 days and help raise environmental awareness across the country. “Our programme this year kicks off today June 1 and will run until 21 June 2011 – thus the 21 Days. During these days there are five internationally recognized days related to the environment, which is very appropriate,” said, Themba Khumalo, CEO, MTN Uganda. A week after the tree planting launch, MTN staff will roll up their sleeves and join residents of Kawempe Division in a Waste Management and Recycling exercise that will involve ridding Kawempe of plastics waste. Read More…

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In: Africa Focus, Feature Story, Networking, News

Motorola Solutions plans to expand its presence in Africa as the demand for for mission-critical communications, two-way radios and next-generation wireless networks increases in the continent. Earlier this year, Motorola split into two units: Motorola Mobility which houses the firm’s mobile and home units; and Motorola Solutions which addresses products targeted at the enterprise and government to Motorola Solutions. Africa, especially Nigeria is seeing an increase in the use of the latest digital two-way radio technology that provides entities – particularly the army and police, construction companies, manufacturing firms and oil and gas companies with clearer, more reliable communication and the necessary tools to improve functionality in the workplace.Read More…

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In: Africa Focus, Expert Views, Storage

As the world becomes increasingly digitalised, organisations are storing more and more data electronically, much of which is mission critical and essential to running their business. The integral nature of this data to the business world, as well as events such as the Enron debacle, led governments around the world to begin passing various pieces of legislation around the protection of electronically stored information. Compliance with legislation in this regard has forced organisations around the world to examine their data policies and adopt new guidelines for the retention, processing and destruction of electronic records and communication. One of the most notable regulations not only for the United States where this law was passed but for organisations around the world, particularly those is the financial sector, was Sarbanes-Oxley, or SOX.
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In: Africa Focus, Feature Story, Gaming, News

Corsair, one of the world’s top brands in the high-performance PC gaming arena, has appointed Corex as its South African distributor. Corsair markets its products in over sixty countries worldwide, primarily through leading distributors. Alan Spohr, Corsair product manager at Corex, says the vendor focuses on the same target markets as Corex. “This includes PC overclockers, enthusiasts and gamers, for whom Corsair is certainly the first choice. Corsair is not only recognised for its best-of-breed product, but is also renowned innovation and high-performance components in the gaming environment.”
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In: Enterprise, Feature Story, News

LINKdotNET, an ISP, has announced the launch of LINK Conferencing, the first managed audio and video conferencing service in Egypt, in cooperation with FVC, the regional distributor for Polycom, a unified collaboration solutions vendor. Through this cooperation, customers now will be able to conduct online conferences and international meetings. The service, which was recently launched during the Cairo ICT 2011, will provide enterprises in Egypt with the possibility of conducting meetings, allowing multiple parties in different locations to conference in a fully immersive experience through Polycom’s wide range of video conferencing solutions.
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In: Feature Story, News, Storage

To help customers improve the speed, efficiency, and simplicity of their backup and recovery operations, CommVault has entered into a global OEM agreement with NetApp under which NetApp will integrate elements of CommVault’s Simpana 9 software with NetApp SnapShot and replication technology, under the NetApp SnapProtect brand. NetApp SnapProtect software is based on an OEM version of Simpana software and close integration with NetApp SnapVault and SnapMirror transforms how companies can efficiently protect, manage and access enterprise data across all tiers of storage.
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In: Feature Story, Hardware, Notebooks, Products

ASUS launched the much anticipated ASUS Eee Pad Transformer in the UAE. Starting at AED 1,899, the Android Honeycomb tablet is available at all Carrefour stores in the country and across all major electronic retailers. The Transformer sets itself apart from other tablets in the market by featuring an optional docking station. This provides access to a full Qwerty keyboard along with unique Android function keys, turning the tablet into a full-fledged notebook. The expandable keyboard docking station also extends the Transformer’s 9.5 hours of battery life up to 16 hours, so users can use it all day for work and play.
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In: Feature Story, Green Technology, News

GEMS Education is spearheading an e-waste collection campaign in 16 of its schools to mark World Environment Day. GEMS has partnered with Dubai based company, Enviroserve. Each of the participating schools have collected hundreds of used electronic items including: computers, laptops, mobile phones, digital cameras, printers, scanners through their collection centres in the school campus. Enviroserve, which specialises in e-waste management solutions, will recondition, where possible, the collected electronic items or send them to accredited refineries overseas. The three schools that collect the largest amount of e-waste will receive prizes and a recognition plaque from Enviroserve.Read More…

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In: Distributor Watch, Feature Story, News, Software

Avnet Technology Solutions, a VAD in the Middle East and Africa region recently held a special training programme called “HP Software Academy” in association with HP to educate its Preferred Partners in Jeddah and Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Emad Aboukhater, channel manager for HP Software Solutions at Avnet Technology Solutions says the HP Software Academy is an initiative designed specifically to inform partners about the vendor’s software portfolio and increase awareness about the benefits of key software products and solutions offered by it.
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