LINK Development voted among region's premier web developers

The awards were presented at a ceremony at the Burj Al Arab Dubai, and recognise innovation and excellence by companies offering web development solutions in the region.

CEO of LINK Development, Hanan Abdel-Meguid said that the recognition further reinforced LINK Development's growing status as a heavyweight software development house and a leader in the region's web industry.

"We have developed and delivered large scale enterprise and government projects," she said, "but at the same time, we have always stayed abreast of web technologies and usability and user experience. This is clearly demonstrated by the web design awards we have received and it is a great honour to receive recognition that places you at the top of the region's web industry.

"This is a reflection of our web development team's ability to deliver solutions that create a highly positive user experience regardless of whether this is a corporate website, an e-government or general interest portal," she adds. "We hope the success of these sites serves as a spur for other companies in the region to embrace the vast opportunities offered by the Web".

Having recently won the Gold Award in web development for Banking & Financial Institutions in the UAE round of the competition, LINK Development went on to win three awards on a Pan Arab scale for superior user experience, usability and refined design in web development. The company received the Golden Award in the Culture category for the Cairo International Film Festival, Silver Award in ICT for Orascom Telecom and the Bronze Award in Services for Mobinil.

The Pan Arab Web Awards are organized by the Pan Arab Web Awards Committee, with winner selection being carried out by a jury panel of industry experts from across the region. Running for the third year, the awards are designed to promote innovation, recognise high standards of web design, advocate development of local talent and encourage all sectors to become involved in the digital economy.

These awards come as recognition for LINK Development's solid track record and extensive experience in software development, with the company having developed some of the most important portals and websites for various business and government sectors in the region. Its portfolio includes popular general interest portals like MSN Arabia, corporate websites for companies such as Shell and Telecom Egypt, in addition to a host of e-government portals developed for various GCC government ministries and departments, as well Egypt's impressive e-government initiative involving all the country's government entities - Bawaba.

The company has extensive knowledge and proficiency in Microsoft Web 2.0 technology, which is the second generation of web based communications and services. One of its most prominent features is richer, more interactive and user friendly interfaces based on the new technologies such as Ajax, and more enhanced graphical presentations.

"Such knowledge makes us an ideal partner for web solutions," adds Abdel-Meguid. "In addition to web development, we offer a broad range of software solutions to businesses and governments that encompass intranets, e-commerce, Enterprise Integration and CRM implementations."

One of the awards the company received was for its work on Cairofilmfest.com, a website dedicated to providing news and information on all activities under the annual Cairo International Film Festival, the most prominent film festival in the Middle East running since 1976. Another winning site, Otelecom.com was developed by LINK Development to help Orascom Telecom to effectively manage online relations with investors, media, subsidiaries and potential employees, and provide corporate information on a company considered to be among the region's largest and most diversified network operators. Furthermore, Mobinil.com was designed to provide convenient online services such as telephone bill settlement to Mobinil's ten million customers and help it maintain its position as the leading mobile service operator in Egypt.

LINK Development is a Gold Microsoft Certified Partner with expertise in as many as five areas of technology competencies, guaranteeing a team of certified professionals with high proficiency, solid knowledge and early adoption of Microsoft technologies. It has also achieved CMMI Level 3 and ISO 9001:2000 certifications.