Sharjah Economic Development Department leverages benefits of Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft

The licensing agreement will provide legal Microsoft software and support for SEDD, providing a base for it to develop e-services for the benefit of its staff and customers.

With the new Enterprise Agreement, SEDD will have direct access to Microsoft's latest products and services, as well as a range of free training and support benefits from Microsoft and ITQAN. The agreement covers various Microsoft applications in use with the organization, including Microsoft Office, Exchange 2003, SQL Server and Windows Server.

"This agreement provides the SEDD with the best overall total cost of ownership for our software requirements," said Ali Salem Al Mahmood, Director General, SEDD. "Previously the SEDD relied on outsourcing some of its applications as the infrastructure was not in place. With SEDD moving to a brand new building near other key departments such as SEWA, we decided to have most of our applications created and managed internally. We could not find any partner other than Microsoft that is capable of providing us with a total suite of products and solutions that are cost effective and extremely user friendly, and the support offered by an Enterprise Agreement provided the best solution to our requirements."

Along with the software licensing, SEDD will receive free monthly workshops from Microsoft for their IT staff, monthly briefing sessions on Microsoft technologies and offers from ITQAN on training, consultancy and support. The organization is also entitled to upgrade its software when new versions are released, at no licensing cost.

"One of the benefits of an Enterprise Agreement is that it brings a much closer relationship with Microsoft," explained Abdullah Lootah, Public Sector Manager, Microsoft South Gulf. "The technology briefings and support allow us to transfer knowledge to the customers, who gain a much greater insight into the full potential of our software. This helps them to use Microsoft technology to create fully integrated, innovative and secure solutions for their organizations, and to get the most out of their technology investment.

"More and more governmental entities are approaching us to legalize their software, and we are more than satisfied with the laws and the understanding that the UAE government has put in place regarding software licensing. We are working closely with organizations across the region to make sure that they can meet their business needs using legal Microsoft software at cost effective prices. An Enterprise Agreement is a gateway to a world of benefits and added values that our clients enjoy and feel from the first days of being part of such relationship," Lootah added.