SEIKO design Guru honoured by Japan’s top honour

Leading Seiko watch designer, Nobuhiro Kosugi has been honoured for his outstanding achievements by the Government of Japan, who presented him with the ‘Medal with a Yellow Ribbon’. The Japanese Government gives this award to individuals who, through their diligence and perseverance in their professional activities, become public role models.

Kosugi who has been involved in watch design and development for about four decades has a long list of career achievements. He was instrumental in designing the three Seiko watches that were awarded by Good Design Award, and was also in charge of designing the Grand Seiko SBGJ005, which won the “Petite Aiguille” prize at the 2014 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

Kosugi is renowned for designing luxury watches which are imbued with the distinctive style that evokes the Japanese sense of beauty. These design marvels are made together with Seiko’s master craftsmen Satoshi Hiraga, Kiyoshi Terui, and other outstanding Japanese craftsmen such as the Urushi lacquer and enamel artists.

A recent example of Kosugi’s unique design capability is the innovative Fugaku Tourbillon Limited Edition, which showcases the seamless integration of the tourbillon, metal engraving, and lacquer work. This unique timepiece is a splendid symbol of Kosugi’s immense talent and design capabilities.

Standard Chartered & USAID’s USD60 million partnership boosts Zambia’s power grid

Transaction is USAID’s largest Power Africa transaction to date

LUSAKA, Zambia, May 30, 2016/ -- Standard Chartered (www.SC.com) continues to deliver on its commitment to bridge Africa’s power gap by facilitating, coordinating and arranging transactions which boost the capacity of national power grids and access to electricity across Africa.  In this latest milestone transaction, Standard Chartered has partnered with the U. S. Government, through USAID, to deliver a term loan worth USD 60 million to Zambia’s Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO), making this one of the largest facilities that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has delivered within President Obama’s ‘Power Africa’ partnership since the campaign’s launch in 2013.  The loan will finance capital expenditure tor ZESCO’s Lusaka Transmission and Distribution Rehabilitation Project (LTDRP) as well as provide bridge financing to facilitate new connections to the grid. “Part of ZESCO’s strategic plan is to improve the quality of electricity and enhance connections to the national grid,” commented ZESCO’s Managing Director, Victor Mundende. “USAID and Standard Chartered’s support has already delivered more than 15,000 new power connections.  Furthermore, some of the funds provided will be used for other scheduled power system upgrades, contributing to new and existing connections to homes and businesses across the country.  ZESCO remains committed to meeting its aspirations of electrifying 60% of Zambia by 2030.” USAID/Zambia Mission Director, Michael Yates, added, “Power Africa is a broad partnership which aims to boost economic development, by providing access to electricity to homes and businesses across Africa.  This is one of our largest commitments in Africa to date, and will enable us to meet a critical need for a quarter of a million Zambians and the economy as a whole.” This facility is Standard Chartered Zambia’s longest tenor and largest facility provided to a Zambian parastatal entity to date.  Andrew Okai, CEO of Standard Chartered Zambia, commented, “By using our strengths in structuring financial solutions which promote economically enhancing partnerships and improve the lives of individuals, Standard Chartered can demonstrate our promise to be Here for good.  This is the Bank’s second Power Africa partnership to benefit Zambia, with the first being Standard Chartered’s Private Equity investment in Zambian Energy Corporation.” Newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Group’s Corporate & Institutional Banking division, Simon Cooper, joined the signing ceremony in Lusaka, during his first Africa roadshow since joining the Bank earlier this year, “This transaction correlates directly with ‘Energy & Climate Change’ - the central theme for African Development Bank’s AGM which was hosted in Lusaka, Zambia this last week.  Africa accounts for around a sixth of the world’s population, but only generates 4% of its electricity.  Through our commitment to Power Africa partnerships - such as the one we have officiated with ZESCO - Standard Chartered will continue to support infrastructure development which provides a solid platform for long term economic growth.”  For this ZESCO / USAID partnership, Standard Chartered acted as the Global Coordinator, Structuring Bank, Bookrunner, Mandated Lead Arranger, Facility Agent and Account Bank.  The international bank demonstrated its commitment to President Obama’s Power Africa campaign, which was launched in 2013, by more than doubling its original commitment to USD5billion.   Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Standard Chartered.

Cisco Honours Top Performing Partners at its UAE Partner Summit

Dubai, UAE, 29 May, 2016: Cisco presented twenty awards to its top performing partners in the UAE in recognition for their outstanding performance in 2015 across several categories. The gala awards ceremony held at The Ritz – Carlton, Dubai was attended by more than 200 delegates from the Cisco channel partner community.

“Our UAE Partner Summit 2016 was a tremendous success with partners attending in huge numbers. Our global and local executives had a chance to meet and interact with partners and share our partner strategy for accelerating profitable growth together,” said Mike Weston, Vice President, Cisco Middle East. “We also recognized the amazing achievements of our UAE partners who have demonstrated their success by moving quickly, adapting to new opportunities and driving customer success in new and impactful ways.”

Frida Kleimert, Head of Channel and Commercial Sales, Cisco UAE added, “These awards are designed to recognize best-in-class business practices and are presented to outstanding channel partners who have demonstrated innovative practices, architecture-led approach successes, and strategic business outcome-focused programs and sales approaches to seize new opportunities. The recipient partners have demonstrated excellence in their respective categories and it is a privilege to work closely with them towards providing even greater value to our customers.”

The list of Middle East winners at the Cisco UAE Partner Summit 2016 includes:

1. Enterprise Networks Partner of the Year: Gulf Business Machine
2. Security Partner of the Year: Dark Matter
3. Collaboration Partner of the Year: NABS Integrated Technical Services LLC
4. Data Center Partner of the Year: Cell Information Technology
5. Cloud & Managed Services Partner of the Year: BIOS ME - CloudHPT
6. Service Provider Architecture Partner of the Year: Emircom
7. Solution Innovation Partner of the Year: CDW
8. Enterprise Partner of the Year: Smart World LLC
9. Public Sector Partner of the Year: Emircom
10. Commercial Partner of the Year: Alpha Data LLC
11. Small Business Partner of the Year: Newtrend Computer Networks LLC
12. Services Partner of the Year: Gulf Business Machines
13. Distribution Partner of the Year: Comstor
14. Learning Partner of the Year: Fast Lane
15. Marketing Partner of the Year: Alpha Data LLC
16. Emerging Partner of the Year: MDS CPT
17. Tier 2 Partner of the Year: Intertec Systems LLC
18. Tier 2 Services Partner of the Year: Computer Network Systems
19. Vertical Partner of the Year: Etisalat
20. Partner of the Year: Gulf Business Machines

The Cisco UAE Partner Summit 2016 brought together top partners from around the country to celebrate their success and chart out future strategies. Through this summit, partners were able to get a better understanding of Cisco’s strategy for accelerating profitable growth together, realize the power of working together in the Partner Ecosystem, and meet with Cisco executives and network with peers. The event was supported by Intel as Technology sponsor, Aptec, Logicom and Comstor as Diamond sponsors, Nimble Storage as Platinum sponsor, and Global Knowledge as the Gold sponsor.  

سيسكو تقيم حفلاً للجوائز وتكرّم شركاءها على هامش فعاليات "قمة الشركاء في الإمارات 2016"

دبي، الإمارات العربية المتحدة، 29 مايو 2016 – منحت سيسكو عشرين جائزة إلى أفضل شركائها أداءً في الإمارات، وذلك تقديراً لأدائهم الاستثنائي خلال العام 2015 ضمن مجموعة من الفئات. أقيم حفل الجوائز في فندق ريتز-كارلتون دبي وحضره أكثر من 200 شخص من شركاء قنوات سيسكو.

وفي هذه المناسبة صرّح مايك ويستون، نائب رئيس سيسكو الشرق الأوسط: "حققت قمة شركاء سيسكو في الإمارات للعام 2016 نجاحاً هائلاً حيث حضرها عدد ضخم من الشركاء، بينما أتيحت الفرصة لمدرائنا من الإمارات والعالم للقاء الشركاء والتواصل معهم لإطلاعهم على استراتيجيتنا للتعاون من أجل تسريع النمو وتحقق الأرباح. كما كرّمنا الشركاء الذين حققوا إنجازات مدهشة ونجحوا في التقدم سريعاً على مسار النجاح والتكيّف مع الفرص الجديدة ودعم نجاح عملائنا بأساليب جديدة ومؤثرة."

بدورها قالت فريدا كلايمرت، مدير القنوات والمبيعات التجارية لدى سيسكو الإمارات: "تهدف هذه الجوائز لتكريم أفضل ممارسات الأعمال، حيث تقدّم إلى أبرز شركاء القنوات ممن يبدون تميزاً ملموساً في الممارسات المبتكرة وانتهاج أسلوب يعتمد على بنية الأعمال للنجاح والعمل وفق برامج استراتيجية تركّز على تحقيق المخرجات إلى جانب أساليب المبيعات التي تمكنهم من اغتنام الفرص الجديدة. أبدى الشركاء الحاصلون على الجوائز لهذا العام تفوقاً واضحاً، كلٌّ في فئته، ونحن سعداء للغاية بالعمل معهم من أجل تحقيق قيمة أكبر لعملائنا."  

وفيما يلي قائمة بأسماء الفائزين بجوائز قمة سيسكو للشركاء في الإمارات 2016:

1. افضل شريك للشبكات المؤسسية خلال العام: شركة الخليج للحاسبات الآلية
2. أفضل شريك للأمن: شركة "دارك ماتر"
3. أفضل شريك للتعاون خلال العام: NABS للخدمات التقنية المتكاملة
4. أفضل شريك لمراكز البيانات خلال العام: شركة الخلية لتكنولوجيا المعلومات
5. أفضل شريك للخدمات السحابية والمدارة خلال العام: شركة BIOS ME - CloudHPT
6. أفضل شريك لبنية تزويد الخدمات خلال العام: إميركوم
7. أفضل شريك لابتكار الحلول خلال العام: CDW
8. افضل شريك مؤسسي خلال العام: سمارت وورلد ذ.م.م.
9. أفضل شريك من القطاع العام: إميركوم
10. أفضل شريك تجاري خلال العام: ألفا داتا ذ.م.م
11. أفضل شريك لقطاع الشركات الصغيرة خلال العام: نيوترند لشبكات الحاسوب
12. أفضل شريك للخدمات خلال العام: شركة الخليج للحاسبات الآلية
13. أفضل شريك للتوزيع خلال العام: كومستور
14. أفضل شريك للتعليم خلال العام: فاست لين
15. أفضل شريك للتسويق خلال العام: ألفا داتا ذ.م.م
16. أفضل شريك ناشئ خلال العام: MDS CPT
17. أفضل شريك من المستوى 2 خلال العام: إنترتك سيستمز
18. أفضل شريك للخدمات من المستوى 2 خلال العام: شركة أنظمة شبكة الكمبيوتر "CNS"
19. أفضل شريك قطاعات خلال العام: اتصالات
20. أفضل شريك خلال العام: شركة الخليج للحاسبات الآلية

من الجدير بالذكر أن قمة سيسكو للشركاء في الإمارات 2016 جمعت نخبة الشركاء من مختلف أنحاء الدولة للاحتفاء بنجاحهم ورسم الاستراتيجيات المستقبلية. ومن خلال القمة تمكّن الشركاء من تحقيق فهم أفضل لاستراتيجية سيسكو الرامية إلى تسريع النمو وتحقيق الأرباح معاً، والاستفادة القصوى من التعاون ضمن منظومة الشركاء بالإضافة إلى لقاء مدراء سيسكو والتواصل مع الشركاء الآخرين. حظيت القمة بدعم إنتل الراعي التقني، وكل من أبتيك ولوجيكوم وكومستور كرعاة ماسيين، نيمبل ستوريج راعياً بلاتينياً وغلوبال نولدج الراعي الذهبي.

STME Increases Product and Solutions Offerings with Veritas Technologies

STME and partner collaborations embark on providing knowledge to clients

Dubai, 30h May, 2016 - STME, the Middle East’s leading IT solutions provider and systems integrator (SI), headquartered in Dubai, signed a new partnership agreement with Veritas Technologies LLC (which split from Symantec in March 2016), the global leader in information management, to provide clients in the Middle East with the company’s market leading solutions, NetBackup for backup and recovery.

Backup solutions are extremely important for the continuation of uninterrupted business. The loss or potential loss of organizational data and information could result in organizational downtime that can cost a significant sum of money, or take a prolonged period of time for recovery, or worse some organizations may never recover from the loss of data and information. The loss of organizational data and information can occur in various forms, from hardware failure, security breaches, cyber-attacks, human error, and natural disasters are some of the common causes.

“Protecting your organization from the loss of data and information is crucial for the continuity of your business, especially in the service-oriented age businesses now operate in. The downtimes that result from the loss of data and due to the lack of a backup system, or a reliable backup system, may also cause the organization that has already lost so much, to also lose customers and clients who demand quick turnaround,’’ said Mr. Ayman Al Bayaa, CEO of STME.

“Veritas is dedicated to providing our customers with cloud-ready solutions that enable them to easily extend and manage data protection from their data center to the hybrid cloud,” says Amer Chebaro, Regional Director East Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Veritas. “With its extensive technical capabilities and sales expertise, STME is well-positioned to meet the needs of our customers and work with Veritas in successfully executing our growth and development plans across the region.”

Veritas NetBackup

Veritas NetBackup is the market-share leader in enterprise backup and recovery software in the industry and can add new functionality and increased performance to support dynamic enterprise environments enabling organizations to function effectively and efficiently. “The Veritas solution empowers organizations by reducing complexity and outpacing relentless data centre growth, and greatly expands the effectiveness of backup and recovery. We are pleased to be able to offer these solutions to our clients in the Middle East,’’ said Mr. Ayman Al Bayaa, CEO of STME.

In a bid to reach organizations in the Middle East and communicate the necessity for reliable backup solutions and the disastrous effects of not having a solution in place, STME is constantly collaborating with their partners and vendors to deliver best services, support, and provide knowledge and insight on industry trends, challenges, and options. As proof of these collaborations, STME recently concluded a partner event alongside Veritas, at Etihad Towers Hotel, Corniche West Street, Abu Dhabi, and covered topics such as analysing and classifying data, and supervising and managing storage. The full day event had presentations by STME and Veritas staff and was attended by IT professionals from across the ME.

Through innovative, customized, and complex solutions, and workshops and client site visits, STME and the company’s partners and vendors are providing business organizations in the Middle East industry-leading products and solutions, for the smooth functioning of their business operations. The partnership between STME and Veritas is continuously evolving to provide clients in the Middle East leading products, solutions, and services.

Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader

For over a decade, Veritas has been recognised as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup Software and Integrated Appliances1.

"اس تي ام اي" تسعى لزيادة الحلول والخدمات التكنولوجية مع "فيرتايس"

"اس تي ام اي" تتعاون مع شريكتها لتوفير حلول حماية المعلومات واستعادتها  

(دبي، 30 مايو 2016) -  شركة "اس تي ام اي"، الرائدة في مجال تقديم حلول المعلومات والأنظمة المتكاملة ومقرها دبي، وقعت اتفاقية شراكة جديدة مع شركة "فيريتاس" للتكنولوجيا (التي انشقت عن سيمانتيك خلال شهر مارس 2016) الشركة الرائدة عالميا في مجال إدارة المعلومات ، للعمل على تزويد العملاء في الشرق الأوسط بحلول الشركة الرائدة في السوق "نت باك اب" الخاصة بالنسخ الاحتياطي للمعلومات وحمايتها من الضياع.

حلول النسخ الاحتياطي هي في غاية الأهمية لاستمرار العمل دون انقطاع، ففقدان أو احتمال فقدان البيانات التنظيمية والمعلومات يمكن أن يؤدي إلى تعطل عمل المنظمة والذي يمكن أن يكلف مبلغا كبيرا من المال أو أخذ فترة طويلة من الوقت للتعافي، أو قد يحصل ما هو أسوأ  اذ ان بعض المنظمات قد لا تتعافى من فقدان البيانات والمعلومات. ويمكن أن يحدث فقدان البيانات التنظيمية و المعلومات بأشكال مختلفة ، من فشل في الأجهزة اوالاختراقات الأمنية اوالهجمات الالكترونية او خطأ بشري وقد تكون الكوارث الطبيعية هي بعض من الأسباب الشائعة ايضا.

أيمن البياع، الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة "اس تي ام اي"، علق قائلا "ان حماية المؤسسة من فقدان البيانات والمعلومات أمر حاسم لاستمرارية الأعمال، وخاصة في الشركات الخدمية التي تقوم بتشغيل عملياتها داخليا. فالأعطال التي تتسبب بفقدان البيانات، ونظرا لعدم وجود نظام نسخ احتياطي أو نظام نسخ موثوق به، يمكن أن تتسبب للمنظمة التي فقدت كثيرا من معلوماتها وقاعدة بياناتها، بفقدان الزبائن والعملاء ايضا وخاصة اولئك الذين يطالبون بحلول سريعة".

عامر شيبارو، المدير الإقليمي لشرق أوروبا والشرق الأوسط وأفريقيا في "فيريتاس"، قال حول الحلول التي تقدمها الشركة "تكرس شركتنا عملها لتزويد عملائنا بالحلول الجاهزة للخدمات السحابية التي تمكنهم من توسيع وإدارة حماية البيانات من مركز بياناتها إلى السحابة الهجينة وبسهولة. وقد تعاونا مع "اس تي ام اي" لقدراتها التقنية الواسعة وخبرتها في المبيعات، التي تؤهلها لتلبية احتياجات عملائنا والعمل معنا لتنفيذ خطط النمو و التنمية لدينا بنجاح وفي جميع أنحاء المنطقة".

"فيرياتيس نت باك اب"

"فيرياتيس نت باك اب" هو الحل الرائد في الاسواق حاليا في مجال حماية البيانات ونسخها واستردادها ويمكن إضافة وظائف جديدة له لرفع مستوى الأداء لدعم المشاريع في البيئات الديناميكية التي تمكن المؤسسات من العمل بفعالية وكفاءة. واضاف البياع "ان حل "فيريتاس" يقوي المنظمات من خلال الحد من التعقيد عند نمو مراكز البيانات، حيث يوسع الى حد كبير فعالية النسخ الاحتياطي والاسترداد للمعلومات. نحن سعداء لقدرتنا على تقديم هذه الحلول لعملائنا في الشرق الأوسط".

وكدليل على هذا التعاون، اختتمت "اس تي ام اي" مؤخرا فعالية بمشاركة "فيريتاس"،  في فندق ابراج الاتحاد في أبو ظبي، ناقشت عدة موضوعات مثل تحليل و تصنيف البيانات والإشراف عليها وإدارتها. الحدث الذي استمر ليوم كامل تضمن عدة عروض توضيحية من قبل موظفي "اس تي ام اي" و "فيريتاس" وحضره متخصصي قطاع تكنولوجيا المعلومات من مختلف أنحاء الشرق الأوسط.

من خلال تقديم حلول مبتكرة ومخصصة ومعقدة وايضا من خلال ورش العمل والزيارات الميدانية للعميل، تقوم "اس تي ام اي" و شركائها من موردي التكنولوجيا بتوفير المنتجات والحلول الرائدة لمنظمات الاعمال في الشرق الأوسط ، لتحسين سير عملياتها التجارية. الشراكة بين "اس تي ام اي" و "فيريتاس" تتطور باستمرار لتزويد العملاء في منطقة الشرق الأوسط بالمنتجات والحلول والخدمات الرائدة.

لمدة تزيد عن العشر سنوات، كانت "فيرياتيس" تعرف بكونها شركة رائدة في "غارتنر ماجيك كوادرانت" لبرمجيات النسخ الاحتياطي للمؤسسات والاجهزة المتكاملة.

General Electric leads the creation of a joint venture with Mara Group and Atlas Merchant Capital to benefit African infrastructure

The joint venture will seek to invest in infrastructure equity projects in selected countries throughout Africa

LUSAKA, Zambia, May 26, 2016/ -- General Electric (NYSE: GE) (www.GE.com) together with the Mara Group and Atlas Merchant Capital are leading an initiative to create a joint venture dedicated to investing in the highly underdeveloped African infrastructure sector. The joint venture will seek to invest in infrastructure equity projects in selected countries throughout Africa.                                                                  With the African population set to rise to 1.5bn by 2025(1), the continent’s economic growth potential is significant. According to the Africa 2030 report, the overall sense is one of progress and optimism and that changes are sustainable, making Africa an attractive socio-economic focus in the coming years. Africa presents high growth prospects in power generation, transport, oil & gas and other infrastructure areas including mining. The joint venture will focus on this broad set of segments by facilitating access to capital, thus offering the ability to execute and fully finance both advanced and early development stage projects. The hurdles to address are rapid urbanisation, and a growing middle class devoid of infrastructure. More than 50% of our African nations including Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and the DRC, don’t have access to electricity(2) and an infrastructure investment of US$360bn in power production, power transmission, water storage, modern railways, port capacity and modern highways will be required until 2040(3). Furthermore, Africa needs to spend $90bn a year for the next decade in order to upgrade and maintain its existing infrastructure alone(4). Jay Ireland, President and CEO GE Africa, comments: “This joint venture unifies three businesses with a strong commitment and expertise in infrastructure in Africa. The joint venture is our response to an integrated infrastructure approach in Africa. We are proud to partner with the expertise and talent of Atlas Merchant Capital and Mara Group, who have an extensive footprint in Africa, to address the necessities of the African continent. We have been significantly involved in social enterprises to date and will seek to further enhance and promote social and community development in the region to complement their expertise, knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit.” Ashish J Thakkar, Founder, Mara Group, adds: “Africa is a continent of 54 countries, but there is very low connectivity between them. Intra-African trade, a key driver for economic growth, represents only a fraction of Africa’s total trade over the past decade and this is largely due to a growing shortfall in infrastructure development. Through our joint venture with GE and Atlas Merchant Capital, we hope to tackle the funding deficit by creating a platform that has the power to truly change the lives of those living on the continent.” Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, President, African Development Bank, said: “We are delighted to see this partnership between three world-class players who, together, can have a real impact on infrastructure development in Africa. "We all know painfully well the imperative to fill Africa’s annual $50 billion infrastructure funding gap. Partnerships like these are a crucial part of the development agenda as we seek to promote social and economic development and fight poverty in Africa." The joint venture is well placed to act as a leading shareholder alongside sponsors of infrastructure projects and will use its relationships with lending banks and connectivity to power Africa and related institutions to meet the debt component of its funding. (1) United Nations’ World Population Prospects 2015 (2) Africa Energy Outlook 2014 (3) Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) (4) Africa’s Attractiveness Survey (EY)