Sun Microsystems enters new channel partner alliance to meet IT needs of Saudi SMBs

Al-Jammaz, which has more than 9 years of expertise as a Saudi-based technology distributor, will give Sun a larger geographic and vertical market reach across the Kingdom's mid-market. Sun, which provides solutions for the largest banks, telecoms providers, and oil companies in Saudi Arabia, plans to bring that same level of enterprise performance and reliability to smaller organizations.

"The government sector is leading the growth in Saudi Arabia's technology sector, which is set to reach $5 billion in the next few years. A major market driver is the SMB sector - companies that have less than 500 users - which are looking for both industry-specific solutions as well as infrastructure that is just as advanced as that used by the largest businesses, only more affordable," said Bruno Haubertin, channel manager for Sun Microsystems MENA.

"Al-Jammaz has a firsthand understanding of the Saudi mid-market as well as expertise on the services side - something that smaller companies appreciate and rarely receive. Together, Sun and Al-Jammaz will focus on delivering software, industry-specific solutions, and value-added service to SMBs in the Kingdom,"

he added.

In addition to Sun's StarOffice office productivity suite, which is priced attractively and affordable to maintain for smaller organizations, the companies will also offer the Saudi market a range of Sun's AMD-based Opteron servers, Sun Ray workstations and data storage solutions that fit the needs of the SMB segment.

"Al-Jammaz Telecom has created a robust reputation in both its partner and vendor relationships, which echoes Sun's commitment to its channel. Our distribution network, on-the-ground expertise, and firsthand knowledge of the Saudi SMB market's actual business needs will enable Al-Jammaz to make its new Sun partnership a boon for the Kingdom's mid-market organizations," said Asim S. Al-Jammaz, Vice President, Al-Jammaz Telecom.