Increasing demand for IBM POWER technology in Saudi market

IBM event in association with SBM, the General Marketing and Services Representative of IBM in Saudi Arabia, was attended by SBM and IBM business partners and IT customers, and focused on System i's updates with regards to simplify IT "instant infrastructure", a system so simple users might forget that there is a system there.

Lead speaker at the road show, Kevin Patterson, IBM's Director, Worldwide Sales - System i illustrated, "System i a server, storage, software, and security in one, is designed specifically to integrate components for superior functionality. Supporting open standards like Java, and embracing Linux, UNIX, Windows, and i5/OS, every component of the System i was designed specifically to support running the applications important to today's businesses."

"System i is also a leader with regards to the total cost of ownership including system maintenance, hardware, software, application software, system management, which is important for any company to remain in business," highlighted Patterson; "in this respect, System i offers the most cost effective solution. Due to its many features, the user does not have to worry about the upgrade costs associated with other servers. With its ability to reduce the number of servers and associated staff required, the system frees the business-owner to turn his attention to the growing of his businesses."

With regards to the Kingdom, Patterson added, "Every indication I have had so far by talking to customers in the Kingdom, is that this a growing market where you have growing businesses, and System i is the perfect choice for it. The beauty of System i is that it targets all small, medium businesses and large corporations. We have customers that have 10 users and others that have 10,000." Commenting on the future of System i which saw its first entry in Saudi Arabia in 1989, he continued, "KSA market, the largest in the Middle East, is great for System i. In fact, one of our largest System i customers worldwide is actually here in KSA. I still view System i as growing worldwide, but it would not surprise me if the Saudi market out-paces what we do in the world!"