Technology Insight

Virtualisation was slower to take off in the Middle East than many other regions, but is now attracting IT and business heads, particularly as they look to improve efficiencies without increasing IT budgets. Scott Herren, Managing Director and Vice President, EMEA, at Citrix, looks at the various levels of virtualisation and the business benefits it provides, discusses its new OEM partnership with Fujitsu and outlines the business strategy behind the company's decision to give XenServer and XenCenter away free. Rob Jones reports.

Nokia has a huge presence in the Middle East, so how does the region differ from the other areas in which it operates? Chris Braam, VP for Middle East and North Africa, Nokia, talks about the importance of the region, the manufacturers views on handset subsidiaries, what Middle East consumers and business users are looking for and the latest developments with Symbian. Rob Jones reports.

In part 2 of our interview with Lionel Reina, VP for Eastern Europe, ME & Africa, Orange Business Services, he looks at the gradual move towards managed services in this region and why companies are taking the plunge. He also tells Rob Jones about the network business opportunities post financial crisis in the small to medium sector.

Providing services mainly for multinational organisations, real estate companies and telcos in the Middle East, Lionel Reina, VP for Eastern Europe, ME & Africa, Orange Business Services, explains how the company has evolved in this region. He tells Rob Jones about some of the projects the company is involved in, such as King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia, and the technologies it is working on, such as fibre to the home and associated IP services.

With an ever increasing number of cyber attacks, industry specialist Rik Ferguson, Senior Security Analyst, Trend Micro talks to Phil Blizzard about the constant threat to a company's data security, the importance of continually updating software with the latest patches and demystifies some of the terminology, such as botnet, phishing and whales.

Dell launched the Adamo this week, claiming it to be the world's thinnest laptop. The PC manufacturer said it is aimed at the consumer who wants the 'product to speak for itself'. Amer Husaini, VP and GM of Consumer Sales for the region, explained the technology inside and why he thinks customers will be interested. Launched on the day Dell officially opened its store in Dubai Mall, he also tells Rob Jones about their hopes for the retail outlet.

Vodafone Qatar CEO Grahame Maher believes handset subsidiaries are bad for the mobile telecoms industry and customers alike. In part two of our interview with him, he explains why, plus outlines how he thinks services are changing in the region and why customers will no longer accept 'walled gardens'. Rob Jones reports.

Vodafone is 'progressively' launching in Qatar during 2008 and will be opening up to anyone living in the Gulf state in June. Grahame Maher, Vodafone Qatar CEO, tells Rob Jones about why the telco has opted for a fixed and mobile strategy in the country and expected customer numbers over the coming years.

Etisalat is installing fibre to the home or office throughout the UAE, starting with Abu Dhabi. Khalifa Al Shamsi, Vice President of Marketing at the telco, explains what broadband services Etisalat will be able to introduce, plus he tells Rob Jones about some of the mobile commerce applications it is rolling out, such as mParking.

Mobily CEO Khalid Al-Kaf believes mobile broadband usage will overtake that of fixed line by 2012 in Saudi Arabia. He tells Rob Jones why, and explains how operators will have to change their practices if they are to prosper in the future.

Telco CEOs looked at future growth during Middle East Communications event Mecom 2009 in Abu Dhabi. As mobile penetration in the region continues to boom, leaders discussed how to engage with customers and make money through offering innovative services. Rob Jones was there, speaking to various company heads, including Khalid Al-Kaf, CEO of Saudi Arabia's Mobily.

In part two of our interview with Ali Faramawy, VP Microsoft International and Area VP for Middle East and Africa, he talks about the upcoming release of Microsoft's next operating system, Windows 7 and what the software developer is doing to ensure it avoids the mistakes that dogged the release of Vista. Plus he tells Rob Jones about Microsoft's thoughts behind Midori - its OS post Windows 7 - and virtualisation in the Middle East.

Middle East and Africa is one of Microsoft's fastest growing markets, In part one of our interview with Ali Faramawy, VP Microsoft International and Area VP for Middle East and Africa, he explains the potential in this diverse region and its main vertical markets. Plus he tells Rob Jones about how Microsoft is trying to reach the region's huge family businesses.

As the idea of being connected anytime, anywhere, any place edges closer, Samir Al-Schamma, GM of Intel GCC, discusses Wimax, its inclusion in laptops, mobile devices and the march towards ever smaller and smaller-sized processors. Rob Jones asks when this ideal will become reality.

As buying patterns change, Intel's GCC GM Samir Al-Schamma talks about Intel's growth markets and looks at its latest business processor and explains the changes introduced. With the new platform requiring a major upgrade, Rob Jones asks if companies really have the appetite to spend the money up-front in these difficult market conditions