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

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Etisalat has signed an agreement to provide e-Hospitality Services for the Grand Millennium Al Wahda Hotel, Abu Dhabi.

As part of this agreement, Etisalat is delivering a full triple play package, incorporating Primary Rate Interface (PRI) voice serving more than 2,000 Direct Inward Dialers (DIDs), dedicated internet bandwidth of 24 mbps, as well as a wide range of TV content for all of the Hotel’s rooms, suites and public areas.

The Grand Millennium Al Wahda is the first hotel in the UAE to be enabled with Etisalat’s e-Hospitality services, a solution which enables

hotels to deliver an unmatched multimedia experience to their guests. It is implemented by aligning three significant customer touch points - landline, Internet and television services.

A contemporary bundle, the solution is available in three distinct packages: Silver, Gold and Platinum - offering voice channels, up to 1GB of dedicated Internet access and a selection of more than 300 TV channels - for hotels to choose from, depending on their unique business requirements. The e-Hospitality solution is made

Etisalat hospitality

HP power play for consumers

Most of the time, what we coin as new technologies are just standard improvements on older versions in the steady move of progress. However, there are some truly new ones that have the power to make you sit up and take notice.

“We are at GITEX to showcase our new product ranges for both consumer and business segments. With our presence this year, we will be communicating D-Link as an end-to-end networking solutions provider for businesses and SOHO’s. We want to introduce visitors to D-Link’s digital home, business networking, 3G and telecommunications solutions. Overall, we’re szhowcasing more than 50 consumer products plus many other solutions for business.”Sakkeer Hussain, sales and marketing manager, D-Link MEA

my gITEx

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New POS printers

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Etisalat hospitalityavailable through Etisalat’s IP network, providing greater reliability, higher speed and unmatched convenience through a single vendor touch-point.

Commenting on this occasion, Abdulla Ibrahim Al Ahmed, Senior Vice President, Business Solutions at Etisalat, said: “At Etisalat, we have strategically aligned our ICT service propositions for vertical industry segments to offer the most advanced and relevant ICT Solutions to businesses. The e-Hospitality solution is yet another pioneering initiative from Etisalat that provides a strong value proposition for our customers in the hospitality segment. Service experience is a core and arguably the most critical aspect for the hospitality sector.”

As well as streamlining service delivery mechanism for the hotel, the solution will also provide higher operational efficiencies and significant cost savings.

HP has revealed its latest investment in the desktop PC market, unveiling new products that HP said offer intuitive touch experiences and unrivaled power and speed.

“Already the worldwide leader in Windows-based PCs, HP is bolstering its market leadership with new strategic portfolio enhancements including the stylish all-in-one HP TouchSmart 520 and incredibly powerful HP Pavilion HPE

Phoenix,” said Salim Ziade, General Manager for HP Personal Systems Group in the Middle East. “These

introductions boast innovative new features designed with the user in mind and underline HP’s ongoing commitment to offer quality products that meet the diverse needs and

HP power play for consumers

preferences of our customers.”According to HP, the new

TouchSmart 520 is a stylish all-in-one PC that offers consumers a rich multimedia and touch experience and for users who demand high performance, the HP Pavilion HPE Phoenix is a lightning quick desktop tower engineered to run power hungry applications like immersive gaming and digital creation.

The 58.4cm (23”) all-in-one HP TouchSmart 520 PC is designed for consumers who demand a premium multimedia and touch

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Size may matter

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A US survey of enterprise IT managers and network administrators that has been conducted annually since 2005 shows that there has been a gradual increase in smaller enterprises experiencing intrusions of their user machines, office network and/or servers, while intrusion rates for large enterprises have fluctuated in the last three years.

According to this year’s findings from the seventh annual survey of 350 IT managers and network administrators executed by Amplitude Research and commissioned by VanDyke Software, half of small enterprises experienced an intrusion of their user machines, office network and/or servers versus 36% in 2005.

Meanwhile, intrusion rates experienced by large enterprises have been up and down the past three years, but this year there was a significant decline among large companies reporting a successful intrusion from 67% in 2010 to 49% in 2011. In the previous year’s study,

a significant increase of intrusions among large companies was reported, jumping from 41% in 2009 to 67% in 2010.

However, the number of large companies that reported an intrusion declined from 56% in 2008 to 41% in 2009.

The last four years survey results were steady among midsize companies: 58% in 2011, 59% in 2010, 57% in 2009 and 61% in 2008 reported an intrusion. Yet ‘steady’ is not necessarily good news, as more than half of those representing midsize companies reported an intrusion.

New POS printers

International POS printer manufacturer Star Micronics is demonstrating the latest additions to its extensive range of POS printing solutions designed for retail, hospitality and kiosk applications. These include a new low cost high speed quality POS printer, a new wireless mobile printer as well as unique cosy-saving features and a wide range

of printer utilities provided at no extra cost.

The latest addition to the portfolio is a very low cost, high speed, quality printer, the TSP100. With its robust design and lever free paper loading, this printer is designed to perform in the harshest of retail and hospitality environments. It has high speed processing (up to 300mm/second)

as well as dual interface.Star is also demonstrating a

number of printers that provide a range of cost-saving features designed to reduce paper consumption. All Star thermal printers can reduce any receipt length up to 25% without reducing the font size. However, Star has developed a number of printers that provide additional paper-saving tools. One example is the latest addition to its TSP100 futurePRNT series.

“Given their reliability and exceptional functionality, our printers have been adopted by some of the largest retailers and hospitality operators worldwide including Harrods of Knightsbridge.”Simon Marin, director and general manager, Star Micronics EMEA

“Already the worldwide leader in Windows-based PCs, HP is bolstering its market leadership with new strategic portfolio enhancements.”Salim Ziade, General Manager, HP Personal Systems Group in the Middle East.

The last four years survey results were steady among midsize companies: 58% in 2011, 59% in 2010, 57% in 2009 and 61% in 2008 reported an intrusion.

“Among small companies, 50% in 2011 reported a successful intrusion,” said Steve Birnkrant, CEO of Amplitude Research. “This was not significantly higher than in 2010, when 43% of small companies reported a successful intrusion. However, the 2011 result was significantly higher than in 2005, when 36% of small companies reported a successful intrusion. This suggests that the risk of intrusions for small companies has been growing gradually over many years.”

Birnkrant added that intrusions experienced by enterprises were not trivial matters.

“It was still true in 2011, as in 2007 through 2010, that the intrusions reported often had a potentially ‘high’ or ‘medium’ financial impact and/or intruders may have obtained sensitive information.”

The survey defined “small” enterprises as those with 100 to 999 U.S. employees (those with fewer than 100 employees were labeled “micro-sized”); “midsize” with 1,000 to 4,999 employees; and large enterprises with 5,000 or more employees.

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experience, HP representatives said. It features a suite of built-for-touch applications, a free-standing, tilt-enabled display and enough space between the stand and display to hide the keyboard when not in use. With a smaller footprint, the all-in-one PC delivers all the power and multimedia features expected from a two-piece computing solution.

The all-new HP Pavilion HPE Phoenix is its most powerful consumer desktop PC to date, has been expertly engineered to deliver incredible performance for power hungry applications like immersive gaming and digital creation. With extreme speed, expandability, and a cutting-edge muscular design, users get a top-of-the-line desktop PC that not only performs, but looks the part too.

The HP Pavilion HPE Phoenix contains up to 12GB of DDR3 system memory enabling users to push their PC to the limit, while high end discrete graphics cards (250W) deliver captivating video performance and picture quality for immersive 3D gaming and multiple external displays. Like the HP TouchSmart 520, the Pavilion HPE Phoenix delivers an enthralling audio experience with Beats Audio technology.

HP power play for consumers

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Paramount – The regional leader in Information Security

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Suite 102, Building No 1, Dubai Internet City

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

Email: puja@pcsuae.com

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Speaking in codeMost of the time, what we coin as new technologies are just standard improvements on older versions in the steady move of progress. However, there are some truly new ones that have the power to make you sit up and take notice.

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Recently, CPI’s circulation manager asked me if I knew about QR codes. Though I had heard about them some time back, and even have memories of many people who mentioned the technology during conversations, I had to

accept (ashamedly) that I did not know everything there was to know about it yet. I asked him for some time to read up on the technology and its potential and get back to him. He, being generous, agreed to give me the time.

So then I went back to the trusty Google and started reading about QR codes. And what I found took my breath away (being the closet geek I am!).

57% of Facebook and Twitter users said they had scanned a mobile bar code at least once in the past year, while as many as 40% had done so five or more times in the past year.

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

OPINIONAavara unveils news products

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With thoughts of Steve Jobs.

“Think different”

Microsoft Gulf has named Aptec Holdings as its first distributor for Microsoft Cloud in the region with an offering of Microsoft Office 365.

The distribution agreement currently covers UAE, Qatar and

Kuwait to be followed by other countries including Saudi and

Egypt in the near future. With its new Cloud distribution status, Aptec is expected to focus on recruitment, enablement and training of the reseller base along with offering its complete services expertise to the mid- market partners.

The new partnership will focus on the latest and most in demand cloud technology of Microsoft Office 365. “With Aptec’s

wide spread geographical reach and capabilities we are confident we can meet vendor expectations

with regards to distribution of cloud products. We believe that we can represent technology and create a centre of excellence to work with the channel more effectively to sell, customise and support Microsoft cloud solutions,” said Santhosh Kumar, Software Business Unit Manager of Aptec Distribution.

Microsoft Gulf believes that cloud computing as a concept will see increase of adoption and acceptance by the Middle East during next couple of years as more vendors and service providers are coming up with more cloud products.

Aptec gains Microsoft cloud distributor status

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“We believe that we can represent technology and create a centre of excellence.”

First, let us look at what a QR code is. According to Wikipedia, a QR or Quick Response code is “a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera telephones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, URL or other data”.

The QR code was invented in Japan in the mid ‘90s and found an easy following in high technology centres of the world including South Korea. While initially it was meant for use in the manufacturing sector, QR codes have developed to find a place in more commercial applications, as well as user oriented consumer applications, especially among the increasing number of people toting smartphones.

So much has this technology

grown in stature that experts noted a 1200% increase in scanning from July to December 2010. According to this infographic, 57% of Facebook and Twitter users said they had scanned a mobile bar code at least once in the past year, while as many as 40% had done so five or more times in the past year.

As the technology becomes more easily available and readily accepted – and a large portion of that is down to the fact that QR codes don’t have licences attached to them, can be created with ease and read with free apps available to most smartphones – some stunning examples of their usage have come to the fore.

Key among them is The World Park campaign in Central Park, New York (watch a video on that here) and Tesco’s ingenious use of QR technology to increase the strength of its brand in South Korea.

These examples simply set the tone. You can add QR codes just about anywhere you want. This site identifies 37 different elements on which you can add or use QR codes. Not all of them might be specifically useful to your organisation, but it does give an idea of the enormous potential that these codes possess in spreading the news and becoming a potent marketing tool.

Unlike many other technologies, QR codes have the capability to become ubiquitous in our daily lives. Used right, QR codes can enable companies to communicate more directly and intimately with its target audience. At the other end, consumers can access information about their favourite products, brands and stores without having to try too hard.

There are several free apps that allow you to create your codes without much trouble. To start off, you can include QR codes on:

* Your business cards – linking straight to your Web site

* Your advertising campaigns – where each ad can have a code leading straight to a URL or provide additional data

* Your products – add them

to exterior packaging to enable potential customers to get more information on the products inside

* Your conference and other events booklets – include them in event literature so delegates can get all the information they need straight on their smartphones

* Your marketing material – QR codes can be included on everything from t-shirts to mugs, and provide a consistent marketing tool in less space

Many companies in the US and Western Europe have already adopted QR codes widely, and it has become mainstream in many newspaper and print ads, as well as online campaigns. It is only a question of time before more firms in the region pick up the technology. Considering the high penetration of smartphones in the Middle East, QR codes will become an invaluable marketing tool for companies across verticals.

The only question is – who is going to be the first mover? Whoever it is, my money is on them. Meanwhile, try your hand at the QR code on this page

Santhosh Kumar, Software Business Unit Manager, Aptec Distribution.

To read this QR code:From your iPhone or Android smartphone search for a free QR code reader in the app storeDownload the free QR code reader appScan the above code using the app you have downloaded Article contributed by Sathya

Mithra Ashok, Senior Editor, CPI