Dubai selected for first Sun Microsystems CDP hosted iForce Centre in MEA

The US $1 million 'proof of concept' facility will open in Dubai Internet City (DIC) in July.

'Until now, there has always been an element of risk in I.T. infrastructure investment. The iForce Initiative changes this. Customers will have access to a fully operational end-to-end solution model, built to their specifications, before they invest a single dollar. For the first time regional businesses will be able to 'test before they invest',' said Denis Heraud, Regional Manager, Sun Microsystems, Middle East and Africa region.

The new Tech Access Solutions Centre joins a growing global network of Authorised iForce [SM] Ready Centres, all adhering to the 'test before you invest' philosophy.

'Authorised iForce [SM] Ready Centres are designed to provide a pre-purchase testing ground for tailor-made solutions. They allow Sun and its iForce partners to validate solutions to customers and end users,' said Heraud.

'The iForce initiative enables us to deliver a 'proof of concept' to customers before they commit. This means they can interact with a working prototype software and hardware solution, built from the ground up to address the unique challenges of their business - whether they be large corporations or small to medium enterprise accounts.

'iForce solutions are customer driven. They draw upon the resources of industry leading relationships. The idea being, to give customers access to sector best practices regardless of their industry,' explained Heraud.

'Whether it is a hospitality Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) package or a finance customer relationship management (CRM) offering, iForce will leverage the expertise of leading independent software vendors (ISV), original equipment manufacturers (OEM), integrators, service and system providers and Sun to deliver best of breed, end-to-end solutions,' he concluded.

Tech Access, Sun's CDP for the Levant, GCC, Egypt and Pakistan, is the first CDP in the Europe, Middle East and African regions to host an iForce facility, which it will operate from its DIC-based headquarters. The company believes the iForce Initiative will feature greatly in meeting its obligations as the regional CDP.

'The iForce Initiative is very much a value added function for resellers and will go a long way to fulfilling our promise to deliver greater value to the channel. The centre will provide a compelling customer experience and this can only help Sun's channel.' said Sardar M. Ghalib, Chairman of the Board, Tech Access.

The state-of-the-art facility will also act as Sun's MEA hub, serving the seven regional dedicated Sun foundation account offices. It will feature a customer 'proof-of-concept' capability, presentation facilities and a separate conference/training set-up.

Sun and Tech Access have chosen DIC for the Authorised iForce [SM] Ready Centre because of hub synergy. 'The iForce centre will be a hub for our regional operations as DIC is the Middle East's I.T. hub,' said Ghalib.

'The free zone gives us access to regional facilities and amenities and brings together the leading technology players and therefore potential iForce partners.'

In line with the opening of the Tech Access Solutions Centre will be the creation of a Middle East iForce community, the aim being to attract regional industry leaders to collaborate in the creation of customised, 'best of class' solutions to meet specific customer needs.

'Sun is the market leader in mission critical open systems, deploying robust, network-ready systems, providing a stable foundation for any I.T. infrastructure. However, customers need more. The I.T. solution needs to be all encompassing and flexible enough to support their specific business process requirements as these evolve with the organisation's strategy,' said Ghalib.

'We are creating the iForce community to bring together regional technology leaders. Through the centre customers will have access to a community of 'best in class' solution providers. Our aim is to ensure all the elements of any particular business equation are available in one place,' he concluded.

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