IT leader demonstrates continued investment in the Middle East and North Africa with new USD 1.5 million regional headquarters in Dubai Internet City

The solutions vendor is experiencing exponential growth across the region and has implemented several high-profile business wins in recent months, including a deal to provide the Saudi Arabian National Guards Health Affairs with the largest-ever order of Sun software solutions in the EMEA region.

Building on its 15-year commitment to the Middle East and North Africa, and planning for future growth, Sun has moved its regional headquarters to the Dubai Internet City, investing USD $1.5 million in the new facility. Currently, Sun MENA represents the fastest-growing region within Sun's larger Europe, Middle East, and Africa territory.

"The regional market has shown robust signs of growth around demand for solutions, and we are expecting that investment levels will remain strong in the coming months," said Elie Simon, president, Sun Microsystems Europe, Middle East & North Africa (EMEA). "Sun has forged significant partnerships with some of the region's most prestigious organizations and we will continue to build on these successful relationships as well as developing new areas of operations."

Sun's new DIC headquarters is based around the company's iWork strategy, enabling more than 100 employees to access a secure hot-desk environment, and allowing them to leverage available workstations and conference rooms via their Java smart-cards. The new office, in which less than 5% of employees have fixed desks or offices, also features a Java laboratory and interactive demonstration environment for partners and customers.

"We are happy to welcome Sun Microsystems to the Dubai Internet City community," said Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Internet City. "With the region's IT solutions market growing exponentially, Dubai Internet City offers a strategic base and a strong platform for global companies like Sun Microsystems to tap these rapidly emerging opportunities. As one of the world's leading solutions providers, Sun brings a wealth of regional customer expertise and its broad technology vision to the DIC community," added Bin Sulaiman.

Enhanced focus on software and services
For 2004, Sun MENA has emphasized its commitment to the software and services elements of its business, to include affordable desktop and enterprise solutions as well as Linux-based offerings. Over recent months, Sun has secured a number of major new customers in the Middle East and North Africa. Recent client successes include:

•Saudi Arabian National Guards Health Affairs, which replaced its Microsoft environment with 1,500 SunRay client desktop systems and 4,000 StarOffice desktop computing licenses;

•Regional conglomerate Al Yousuf, which implemented a comprehensive Sun-based data centre solution, including enterprise storage, to increase its IT capacity and reduce operating costs; and

•Aluminum Company of Egypt, one of the region's key producers of aluminum materials, which has deployed a Sun-based software and hardware solution cluster and storage area network to support the company's Oracle E-Business Suite implementation.

"Sun's solutions underpin some of the most dynamic enterprises in the region. Over recent months we, together with our channel development partner Tech Access, have made considerable business gains. The new Sun iWork facility will allow us greater flexibility and mobility than ever before in meeting customer needs," concluded Mehmet Iyimen, managing director, Sun MENA.