Riyadh venue for Citrix iForum 2003 Middle East

Citrix iForum is designed to provide end users with business solutions using the latest Citrix products and technologies and will be of particular interest to the Kingdom's technology leaders and IT innovators.

During the one-day conference Eng. Bilal Sununu, General Manager of Microsoft Arabia, will deliver a keynote speech discussing Microsoft's role as platform provider for Citrix and their many collaborations.

"Citrix and Microsoft enjoy a long-standing partnership that dates back to 1989 in terms of licensing, development and marketing," stated Eng. Sununu, "We are pleased to be able to participate in this event and look forward to sharing our views and strategy regarding Citrix with the IT industry's leading professionals."

Citrix's Europe, Middle East and Africa Vice President, Stefan Sjostrom, will give a presentation focusing on the Citrix vision and strategy of making the virtual workplace a reality. Named Citrix EMEA Vice President in February of 2001, Mr. Sjostrom brings over 20 years of high-technology sales, field marketing, business development and services experience in the EMEA region to Citrix, and is responsible for all EMEA product sales revenue.

"Citrix's decision to hold the prestigious iForum in Riyadh after previous successful events in USA, Europe and Asia is a strong indication of how seriously IT leaders view the importance of Saudi Arabia as the largest IT market in the Middle East," said Mr. Sjostrom. "We are delighted to support such positive initiatives which bring together the Kingdom's leading IT professionals and business leaders."

Citrix Systems' Southern Europe Area Vice President, Frederic Tourisseau, will head a roundtable discussion with five large Citrix Enterprise customers from Saudi Arabia, focusing on why and how these customers have implemented Citrix Solutions and its benefits for return on investment. "The roundtable will provide a valuable opportunity for an exchange of ideas, while giving practical insight into the product and its benefits in terms of total cost of ownership and cost savings," emphasized Antoine Aguado, Citrix Middle East Regional Manager.

The event is being sponsored by EMC, HP, Inmarsat, Microsoft Arabia, SAP SBM/IBM, Sun, Acer, Arabic Computer Systems, Al Alamiah, Natcom, New Horizons, PIT, Veritas, SCS, Four Vision, Expand, Al Falak and more, totalising up to 23 sponsors. There will be a partner exhibition area that allows for attendees to visit Citrix partners and explore solutions, products and technologies around Citrix architecture.

In the afternoon the iForum will be divided into one sales session and two technical sessions. One of the speakers at the sales session will be Mr. Amr Taher, former CIO of Saudi Binladin Group. Attendees will also have the opportunity to listen to issues discussed by Citrix partners and benefit from the comprehensive agenda, which includes topics ranging from Citrix architecture and adaptive infrastructure to pricing and return on investment.