60 MinsShow dates: 9-13 October 2011, Dubai World Trade Centre | AT GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK | Exhibition hours: 10am - 5pm

Opps for apps WHAT’S INSIDE

Dubai Chamber’s range of e-services

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PC industry faces sales slowdownThe global forecast for personal computer shipments has been cut dramatically

Barracuda Networks expands

Smartphones, once a dream, have become a reality in our lives a few years ago, with a huge surge recently. They have witnessed a growing demand and, today, continue their eager stride towards adopting the latest technology worldwide. With the heavy demand on Blackberry, iPhone and Android-based Smartphones, it was essential to give the deserved attention to Mobile applications, which kept Smartphones revitalized and made the technology companies strive to feed this growing requirement.

With more dependency on technology in our lives and the continuous hunger for better and faster applications, the potential is huge for telecommunications

companies and businesses. Mobile users are seeking more convenient ways to perform everyday business and personal tasks, giving Mobile Apps experts a huge potential to serve smartphone users.

“Smartphone users in the Middle East region are not to be neglected, as 41% of users in the GCC have more than one smartphone - the highest percentage in the world. The mobile application industry in the region is set to have a surge if it can keep up with consumer demand,” said Irini Raafat, Managing Director for LINK Development, IT solutions and services provider.

A study on the region showed that on average, smartphone users download six apps each month and there is a growing trend towards paying for apps that they like. More

“The mobile application industry in the region is set to have a surge if it can keep up with consumer demand.” Irini Raafat, Managing Director, LINK Development

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“Talking about IT in general and security in particular, it is a fast moving market and technologies shift every three months. It is expected by our customers that we are not only up to date with the state-of-the-art technologies on the market, they also rely on our knowledge on identifying new risks, threats and vulnerabilities that might cost them money.”Stephan Berner, Managing Director,help AG

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Opps for appsthan half of the people surveyed, or 53%, said that they will be buying apps in the next 12 months and about one in four, or 24% of them, said they will spend more than $50 on apps.

To help fulfill this gigantic potential in demand for new and innovative mobile apps, LINK Development and ArpuPlus have joined hands to encourage the innovative and talented youth from the region to apply their creativity and generate revenue at the same time by simply having a good idea for mobile apps.

Fadi Antaki, Managing Director of ArpuPlus, a leading Mobile Value-Added Services (VAS) and Platform Solutions in the MENA region and Europe, said: “We joined hands with LINK Development to assist entrepreneurs in marketing their own apps and meet the increasing demand for localised and region-oriented applications.”

LINK Development and ArpuPlus have pledged to draw on their own unrivaled domain expertise, business and marketing capabilities to support

Major 4G/LTE roll out In a bold insfrastructure commitment, Etisalat has launched a 4G mobile broadband network with the widest coverage in the region. The country-wide LTE-FDD network covers all the main cities in the UAE, marking Etisalat as one of the first telcos in the world to achieve this advanced service.

Nasser Bin Obood, Acting CEO, Etisalat, explained at the launch that 4G (LTE) has tremendous potential and capabilities as the LTE network offers speeds exceeding 100 MB/s. It is particularly effective when utilising large amounts of data, such as watching high definition movies, playing on-line multiplayer games, using social applications and other bandwidth-intensive applications.

According to Bin Obood, the launch marks a new milestone for Etisalat and also contributes to the ongoing development process of the UAE. For the LTE network,

more than 700 base stations have been renovated and equipped to provide 4G services across the country. An additional 300 will be operational by year end. “Advanced telecommunications are a key basis for a developed society and this 4G network can contribute to developing various sectors including education, finance, healthcare as well as the economic and business sectors, the latter of which will be a direct beneficiary of 4G."

gifted Arab mobile application entrepreneurs as well as creative minds, in their quest to populate the mobile applications world with innovative, informative, useful and fun applications targeted at users in the region and around the world.

Entrepreneurs will get the technical tools and assistance from LINK Development and ArpuPlus to create new applications, market and monetise them. They will be supported by a downloadable Software Development Kit (SDK) that contains a powerful drag-and-drop, cross-platform application creation tools as well as a “Developers’ Community,” a discussion platform for knowledge exchange. Entrepreneurs can submit them to www.BananasFactory.com.

Meanwhile, the experts from LINK Development and ArpuPlus will work with the entrepreneurs, in case development skills are not present and help them market the application on stores and different platforms. The relationship between Banana’s Factory and the entrepreneur will be on a revenue-sharing basis. The end result: creativity that earns money!

Dubai Chamber’s range of e-services

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Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry is showcasing its e-services at GITEX as part of the Dubai e-Government pavilion. Its stand provides details about the new features available on its Web site and gives information about its integrated e-services provided in partnership with organisations like the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED).

Dubai Chamber has also received ISO27001:2005 certification by Bureau Veritas for IT and data security. Dubai Chamber is one of the few government organisations that has these technology standards in place across all departments, not only the IT sector.

To achieve the certification, Dubai Chamber conducted a comprehensive review of all

operations over the past three years, including internal audits, risk management activities, developing a security strategy and improving e-security. Meanwhile, an awareness campaign was launched among staff to introduce them to the new

systems and ensure they stick to new security procedures.

HE Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, said that keeping ahead with technology and providing leading e-services to members was a top priority. “Dubai Chamber is committed to leading Dubai’s e-transformation by improving access to its services, simplifying the channels of communication for its members and building a fully-integrated e-community, which will help reinforce Dubai’s position as a leading

knowledge and economic hub.”Dubai Chamber’s on-line services

allow members to pay renewal fees, pay for training courses and conferences and sign-up for networking events organised by Dubai Chamber. Visitors to the Web site also have easy access to an on-line commercial directory, the latest studies and economic data, as well as specialised sector-specific information and market trends.

“GITEX is an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate what organisations can achieve in terms of ISO certification, which reinforces our commitment to represent, support and protect the interests of Dubai’s business community.”HE Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber

Some people may yet debate the value of femtocells, but the tide has turned: in 2010, the number of femtocells around the world exceeded the number of macrocells, according to the Femto Forum.

Femtocells are small base stations that operators place in homes or businesses to improve coverage and capacity for users. While there is some debate yet about whether femtocells or Wi-Fi represents a better choice, most experts are now saying that the two technologies will work together. 

“We’re seeing that competitive pitch receding,” said Simon

Saunders, chairman of the Femto Forum, an association supporting the femtocell industry. Now, many femtocell makers are including Wi-Fi in their products. That way end users can attach to the Wi-Fi network for data services and use the cellular connection for voice.

The timing is right for even more growth of femtocells because many operators are upgrading their networks to LTE, the next generation mobile technology. At the same time they realize that users want to consume an increasing amount of data. Femtocells can help increase capacity for operators but deploying femtocells

requires radio frequency planning. It’s easier for operators to plan femtocells into new networks than it is to add them to an existing network. 

Femtocells can also help operators that are struggling with finding new sites for their base stations, an often expensive exercise. Femtocells are physically much smaller than a base station so can hang in many more kinds of locations.

Traditional in-building solutions are expensive and take a long time to implement, but a new generation of “enterprise  femtocells” (or picocells) offer a quicker and cheaper answer. 

Mobile operators are planning

Firing up femtocellsThe use of femtocells - small base stations that extend mobile coverage in buildings - is growing fast, driven in part by enterprises

The popularity of Dubai Chamber’s e-services continues to increase. Between January and September this year a total of 607,567 on-line transactions were completed, which is around 2,233 transactions per day. This is compared to 563,916 transactions completed during the same period last year.

for better in-building coverage in future networks. Next generation heterogeneous network architectures will involve overlapping plots of indoor and outdoor coverage using a variety of macro cells, metro zones, picocells and femtocells.

But the technology to do this today with 3G networks already exists. These devices simply plug into an existing fixed broadband Internet connection to connect back to the wireless carrier’s core network, thereby generating a personal cellphone signal inside the subscriber’s home.

The femtocell concept can quickly and easily be applied to small offices, and with some adaptations, can be scaled up to bigger buildings. These “enterprise femtocells,” or picocells, represent a clear choice for larger business premises.

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Paramount – The regional leader in Information Security

www.paramountassure.com

Suite 102, Building No 1, Dubai Internet City

P.O Box 25703,Dubai, UAETel: 971-4-3918600

Email: puja@pcsuae.com

PC industry faces sales slowdownThe global forecast for personal computer shipments has been cut dramatically by Gartner, the research group, due to economic instability in western Europe and the US and a consumer shift to tablet devices such as the iPad.

Gartner lowered its growth guidance for the global PC market this year to 3.8%from its earlier forecast of 9.3% and warned that 2012 would also see a slower start to sales. PC sales for 2011 are expected to be 352m - nearly 54m units less than it forecast just nine months ago, in December 2010. It was the second time this year Gartner had lowered its guidance.

“The expectation originally was that the economy would stabilise in the second half and consumers who hadn’t upgraded their PCs for some time would be attracted back to the market. But that hasn’t happened and in fact PCs have been pushed even further down the buying criteria,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.

Second-quarter PC sales were much lower than expected in the US and early indications are that back-to-school spending has been disappointing. Many consumers are spending money on smartphones and tablet computers, while holding onto their desktop PC or laptop for a few more years.

In contrast to slowing PC sales,

Gartner forecast earlier this year that global smartphone sales would grow 57.7%to 468m in 2011, while sales of tablets are expected to more than treble to close to 70m units this year.

“It is only towards the back end of 2012 that we could see a boost for the PC industry, if companies like Microsoft and Intel begin providing thin and light laptops at cheaper prices. But if that doesn’t happen, we will have to cut numbers again,” Atwal warned.

HP’s recent decision to spin off its PC business highlighted the difficulties the industry is facing. In August, Taiwan’s Acer, the fourth-largest PC manufacturer by shipments, projected a loss for 2011 and Dell cut its revenue forecast for the year.

“The business model of PC

vendors has to change. It used to be about low prices, high volumes and low margins. But the model is breaking down because they no longer have the high volumes,” Atwal said, believing that computer companies would have to evolve to producing more varied types of devices, from phones and tablets to televisions. “Apple has shown the way but we will have to see if other companies can follow.”

Sales in emerging markets such as China, Russia and Brazil are currently underpinning the PC industry, while sales decline in western Europe and the US.

However, Gartner said that if buying behaviour in those markets changed - perhaps with the introduction of cheaper tablets - the PC market would be facing further stagnation.

“Social networking is fundamentally shifting the way we interact, communicate, organise, form opinions, and even shop; it’s blurring boundaries, increasing transparency and creating fluidity in everything we do. Linking a twelfth of society and growing rapidly, companies, large and small, can no longer ignore or try to block social networking in their environment. It’s a part of the fabric in which we now learn, play and work.”

Publisher Dominic De Sousa, COO Nadeem Hood, Managing Director Richard Judd, Sales Director Rajashree R Kumar, Editorial Director Dave Reeder Senior Editors Sathya Mira Ashok, Jeevan Thankappan, Arun Shankar Circulation Manager Rajeesh M, Production Manager James Tharian, Art Director Kamil Roxas, Designers Analou Balbero, Froilan Cosgafa IV, Glenn Roxas, Digital Services Manager Tristan Troy Magma

Web Developers Jerus King Bation, Erik Briones, Jefferson De Joya, Louie Alma, Jay Colina

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Nigel Hawthorn, VP of EMEA marketing, Blue Coat Systems

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Barracuda Networks is expanding in the region in response to demand for stronger security following a global increase in high profile security attacks.

The company’s research scientists have been analysing the latest cyber security threats landscape and will be sharing new research into the latest threats affecting consumers and businesses in the Middle East. The number of malware found on a daily basis dramatically increased by 55% in 2010, with one in five searches leading to a compromised site and 1% of malware originating from Twitter.

Dr Paul Judge, Chief Research Officer at Barracuda Networks, comments: “Attackers are focusing on where they can get the most eyeballs and profit, and today that

means social networks and search engines.The popularity and viral features of Twitter and Facebook make them attractive and efficient targets for attackers. The Middle East now has an estimated 6.5 million users on Twitter; becoming a hot bed for cyber criminals.”

Although world economies continue to be unpredictable and fragile, the market for IT security solutions remains

robust. The continuous presence of security threats and the speed at which they evolve, mean that no business can afford not to invest in protecting themselves against this risk. Security specialist channel partners can differentiate themselves as “best of breed” by selecting their vendor portfolio based on strength of solution, depth of portfolio and making sure they have a partner agile and

innovative enough to stay ahead of today’s ever evolving cyber threats.

Russell Johnson, VP International Business, adds: “The Middle East is of great importance to Barracuda Networks. We already have over 1,000 customers in the region and we are growing our sales and marketing resources to support our partners, hiring new talent to help them to increase their business and developing new partner tools to make working with Barracuda Networks easy, profitable and enjoyable.”Barracuda Networks will also provide demonstrations of its advanced Barracuda NG Firewall is built on European technology developed in Austria and is leading the way in NG Firewall solutions, with an installed base of 20,000 worldwide, including some of the world’s largest banks.

Barracuda Networks expands“We already have over 1,000 customers in the region and we are growing our sales and marketing resources to support our partners.”Russell Johnson, VP International Business, Barracuda Networks.

Vendor FocusBrocadeHassan Hamadani, Marketing and Business Development Manager, Emerging Markets, Brocade

What does your company do?Brocad networking solutions help the world’s leading organisations transition smoothly to a world where applications and information reside anywhere. From data centres and enterprise campus networks to the service provider core, these solutions are based on the Brocade One strategy for simplifying network infrastructures through innovative technologies. Today, it leads the Storage Area Network (SAN) market with the industry’s most reliable, energy-efficient offerings. In addition, Brocade provides innovative Ethernet fabric technology and high-performance Ethernet networking solutions as part of a complete switching, routing, security, wireless, and application delivery portfolio. Why iare you exhibiting at GITEX?Brocade is exhibiting at GITEX

Cloud Confex. According to the organisers, the exhibition has become the largest cloud platform in the Middle East featuring all the leading international players. This is a great platform for Brocade to demonstrate all the latest cloud-optimised networking innovations that the company has introduced. This comprehensive portfolio of Brocade products and open-

“An important objective is to generate new opportunities from service provider companies wishing to offer cloud services to their customers as well as enterprise companies looking to simplify and optimise their data centre networks and embrace the cloud.”Hassan Hamadani, Marketing and Business Development Manager, Emerging Markets, Brocade

architecture solutions is designed to help customers migrate smoothly to private, public and hybrid cloud models. What products or services will you be promoting at the show?We will showcase networking solutions that help companies migrate to the cloud or virtualised environments. We will be promoting

Virtual Cluster Switching, (VCS), a new class of Brocade-developed ethernet fabric technologies designed to address the unique requirements of virtualized data centres. The Brocade VDX family of data centre switches is the first to deliver Brocade VCS technology and this will be on display. These switches that are designed to improve network utilisation, maximise application availability, increase scaleability and dramatically simplify network architectures in highly virtualised data centres. What does your company hope to achieve?We are looking for better awareness about the new technologies mentioned above. An important objective is to generate new opportunities from service provider companies wishing to offer cloud services to their customers as well as enterprise companies looking to simplify and optimise their data centre networks and embrace the cloud.

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