Al Falak signs enterprise services marketing and selling agreement with Saudi Telecom

Under the terms of the agreement, Al Falak will be allowed to market and directly sell the services of STC's Enterprise Business Unit to its customer base. The Unit's extensive portfolio includes the AL JAWAL business tariff reduction program, customized two-way SMS, bulk SMS with optional Web interface, mobile virtual private network (VPN), client-based email, International National Backbone, Business Internet DSL, Internet Protocol VPN, and Backup Link. STC also offers Business Budget Control and bill splitting, which allows companies to segregate their bills into personal and business categories.

Ahmed Ashadawi, CEO and President, Al Falak, said:

"The agreement with STC allows us to extend the End-To-End Solutions to our customers to meet business-specific connectivity requirements, tailored to small, medium and large enterprises. This new business alliance also provides both Al Falak and its clients with a good opportunity to form partnerships with STC, which enjoys a solid reputation in the rapidly expanding KSA telecom market."

The Al Falak-STC collaboration embodies a mutually-productive strategic partnership capable of providing one-stop-shop solutions for global enterprises. Al Falak's main benefit from the deal is the expansion of its service offerings and the enhancement of its customer-centric approach. For STC, the agreement opens up new business opportunities under the regionally-renowned Al Falak trademark. The agreement is well-timed considering that KSA's mobile phone penetration rate exceeded the 100% mark in 2007, rising a remarkable 117.15% over the previous year, according to Madar Research. Total mobile phone subscriptions for the same year reached 28.4 million for a solid 44.16% year-on-year growth.

Commenting on the agreement, a senior STC spokesperson said that the partnership enhances the infrastructure and connectivity options of companies that want to gain a competitive business edge in the country and the region. He said that information and communications technologies have become key business enablers across the world's industries, which is precisely what this agreement aims to capitalize on. He added that STC is highly committed to providing superior telecommunications services to enterprises via a reputable, reliable and highly visible reseller as perfectly embodied by Al Falak.

Al Falak maintains productive partnerships with various other leading global brands such as HP, 3M, Alcatel-Lucent, Bluecoat, Juniper, Oracle, Imation, Genius, Compuware, and SAS. With over 27 years of experience and operations throughout the Middle East, the company is renowned for delivering unrivaled End-To-End solutions. Al Falak was recently ranked among the top 100 companies in the KSA for the fourth year, posting a robust SR300m growth in 2007.