Baghdadi honored with prestigious IT award

The awards, sponsored by Etisalat recognised more than seven distinguished 'Trailblazers', honoring technology leaders, pioneers and educators from throughout the Arab world. Baghdadi was rewarded for his outstanding individual contribution to business channel development in the Middle East.

Commenting on his award Baghdadi said, "I am truly honored to receive this award and I am very grateful for all of the support from my colleagues at Aptec, without whom this award would not have been possible. It is praise indeed to be recognised in this way and I am looking forward to the next 25 years and the exciting challenges ahead".

Other award-winning 'Trailblazers' included, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Economy and Planning, for her outstanding contribution to e-commerce and Nadia Al Saeed, Jordan's Minister of ICT for driving both the public and private sectors in the IT industry in Jordan.

Launched in the UK in 1980, Aptec designed the first Arabic/English operating system and a host of bilingual software applications including word processing, database accounts and spreadsheets. The company also pioneered bilingual products in Farsi and Urdu.

Aptec also established a manufacturing division to produce OEM kits for major UK based hardware vendors. Distribution, service, training and mobile operations were soon to follow, amongst other complementary IT activities.

Full operating branches were gradually introduced throughout the region, with Aptec Egypt opening in 1985. Over the following 18 years, Aptec has expanded rapidly and now boasts operations in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Africa, Lebanon, Kuwait and most recently, opened up a facility in Turkey.

Baghdadi concluded, "Aptec are recognised as the distribution powerhouse of the Middle East and awards like this add credibility to our claim".