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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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In: Feature Story, News

Regional VAD FVC, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has announced that Yakob Kafina is its new GM for its operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Kafina will spearhead FVC’s continuing expansion in the Kingdom.
Before joining FVC, Kafina worked as director with Jeraisy Computer Services, one of the top three system integrators in KSA. During his 25-year IT career, he has worked with some of the leading vendors in emerging technologies including unified communications, security and networking, successfully integrating them into major government and private sector projects.Read More…

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In: Africa Focus, Feature Story, News

Technology powerhouse HP has maintained its top position in the East African PC market, with shipment growth of 46% year on year, supported by strong commercial demand and improved run-rates during Q1 2011. The vendor remained very strong in the Kenya market but continued to struggle in Ethiopia and Uganda. Rival Dell came a close second in Q1, with more than 600% year-on-year growth, after an aggressive channel recruitment and revamped drive from mid-2010. Dell continued to benefit more than other vendors from the shift from the grey market to official channels, especially in Ethiopia and Uganda, where desktop sales increased significantly. Taiwanese headquartered vendor Acer was third in East Africa in Q1, with 200% year-on-year growth, mainly thanks to deals in the telecommunications space. This channel is expected to continue growing as telcos explore data services to supplement dwindling voice revenues.
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In: Feature Story, Hardware, Networking, News, Peripherals, Security, Storage

ASBIS Enterprises, an expert in IT distribution in the EMEA emerging markets, has been appointed as a distributor by Netgear, a global provider of technologically advanced networking products. The distribution agreement covers all 26 countries that ASBIS addresses in the EMEA region. ASBIS will be offering Netgear’s complete range of products for end-users, business customers and service providers, including solutions for wireless, storage, security, web/email security, routers, firewalls and switches.
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