SME Advisor Middle East - Good advice for better business

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Issue 66 May 2011 www.smeadvisor.com

ADCB BUSINESSEDGE – Cutting edge financial solutions for Small and Medium Enterprises

KASPERSKY SME S MAKEOVER PAGE 7

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA PRODUCTION ZONE, DUBAI TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA FREE ZONE AUTHORITY

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WINNER AND PRIZES!

TRADE SECRETS “Success Through Exports” by Dubai Exports, ADCB and SME Advisor, advised businesses on taking their products and services to an international market. We bring you highlights.

Media relations for small businesses

Generating sales revenue

HOW TO DRESS FOR success

ISSUE: 66 MAY 2011

Contents Training & Coaching, outlines the most common grievances and offers solutions for improving your return on investment.

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22 Shoptalk 8 TRENDS AND UPDATES: A quick look at news and events that will impact SMEs in this region.

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Banking on business FINANCING SME EXPORT: Murali Subramanian and Lloyd Caughey, ADCB, outline the emerging bank facilities being put in place to help SMEs get a foothold on the export ladder.

SME Advisor Success Series

22 SUCCESS THROUGH EXPORTS: This seminar was organised by Dubai Exports, ADCB and SME Advisor to enable small and medium enterprise growth. We bring you exclusive coverage.

Trade 30 LOGISTICS: Fast and reliable transport and logistics are key to foreign expansion, says Dr. Ashraf Mahate, Head of Export Market Intelligence at Dubai Exports, and Vice Chair of the Economic Policy Committee, Dubai Economic Department.

Management

32 CORPORATE COACHING: Utilising coaching skills is more important than ever before for achieving personal and business success, says Sahar Haffaar Moussly, Executive Director, Trans Gulf Management Consultancy.

36 TRAINING OBSTACLES: Hanan Nagi, coach, speaker, founder and CEO of HNI

MEDIA RELATIONS: Media relations are important for business but you don’t need a PR agency, claims Alan Devereux, Communications Officer for the British Business Group, Dubai and Northern Emirates.

60 DIC DEMO CAMP 2011: The first round of contenders took to the stage on April 27th at the American University of Dubai pitching innovative ideas.

61 DKV BREAKFAST CLUB: A large audience attendance helped stimulate a healthy debate with the panel to address recent changes to UAE employment regulations.

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SOCIAL BRANDING: Your brand is complemented by social media, not solely driven by it, says Cynergix Enterprises.

Sales

44 REVENUE: The quickest way to generate profitable revenue is to make sure that your sales team is focused on the right activities, says Peter Heredia, Managing Director of Max Sales Solutions.

16 SHELF LIFE: New toys for you and your business. Like you need an excuse!

Marketing

Participants had the chance to pitch their business to others in under a minute.

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Business growth

Industry watch

63 OFFSHORING: The UAE is fast emerging as one of the key global destinations for offshoring in the Middle East, according to Global Services Location Index (GSLI).

64 CHANGE FROM WITHIN: Businesses need

TRANSLATION SERVICES: Independent financial adviser Greg Pogonowski looks at translation services and the role of Public Relations Officers (PROs) in the UAE.

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WINNER: Kaspersky Lab Middle East teamed up with SME Advisor and asked businesses to apply for a chance to win a complete malware overhaul. Read inside to find out who the lucky companies were and what they won.

Winner takes all

to better understand the power of their people to bring about changes, argues SKOPOS Consulting Group.

Office set-up

Director, DORMA Gulf, talks with Mike Byrne about office interiors and the growing trends in the region.

PLANS: Vikram Venkataraman, Director, Salvus Strategic Advisors, feels that writing business plans is old news; understanding the thought process is what really takes you forward.

52 EXPERT OPINION: Ben Shaw, Managing

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62 CHINA SOURCING FAIR 2011: The fair will return this year to provide a platform for buyers in the Middle East to meet potential supply partners from Greater China.

68 FALCON’S LAIR: Virtuzone, in partnership with Dubizzle, pitted the brightest and most innovative entrepreneurs against each other. Ketaki Banga brings you a bird’s eye view.

Business pin-up MO ELUZBEIR: Active blogger, serial ranter, occasional funny guy and the MD of Mediastow talks to Ketaki Banga.

A day in the life 58 YOUNG ACHIEVER: Meghna Kothari, Director, McCollins Media, takes us through a typical day in her life.

SME about town

59 ON IN 60 SECONDS: Virtuzone organised their very first speed networking evening on 18 th April.

Kaspersky SME makeover

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Corporate wellness HEALTH AND SAFETY: Implementing effective ergonomics into the workplace doesn’t have to be expensive, says occupational health specialist Dr. Sarah Peeters.

74 SIGN OFF: This is the first article in a two-part series where Guillaume Mariole, from Ignite Fitness & Wellness, talks about power dressing for business and for your body type.

Editorial

Publisher Dominic De Sousa COO Nadeem Hood Commercial Director Richard Judd richard@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9126

Friends and family The concept of near and dear ones varies.

It could be anything from an exclusive guest list of not more than 15, to an “intimate gathering” of 500 from your inner circle, as is the case with the average big fat Indian wedding.

So when we had planned on gathering about 150 people from the SME export community in the UAE, we were pleasantly surprised to find a crowd of over 300 attendees turn up. The line at the registrations desk had us scrambling to make additional seating arrangements. Whatever happened to the golden rule that only 50% of registered attendees actually turn up on the

final day, and that’s if you’re lucky! We did suffer a brief moment of panic when people from the event next door got curious about the fuss and started asking if they could also attend.

This was definitely a case of the more, the merrier. It certainly provided a huge networking opportunity for the export community, and we had some of the most respected names in the business advising on everything from trade finance to dealing with international customers, optimising logistics and much more.

To be honest, we were quite stunned by the response. The “Success Through Exports” seminar – organised by Dubai Exports, ADCB and SME Advisor – demonstrated a real need in this market for more resources and information for exporting SMEs. In Dubai, where SMEs account for 98.5% of all firms, less than 10% export, and consequently earn any form of export revenues. These statistics are obviously not good enough, which is why there is a massive push from Dubai Exports to increase the level of exports from the country.

SMEs are the current darlings of the business world but, under all this “media infatuation”, as one of our readers puts it, we can’t ignore the real concerns they face. We won’t be presumptuous enough to claim we solved all their problems at this event; but we’d like to hope that, collectively, we brought them one step closer to finding solutions.

Considering the topic at hand is export and expanding to international markets, it’s only apt to sign off with River of Dreams – another one of my favourites from Billy Joel – which perfectly sums up the hopes and challenges we heard about at “Success Through Exports”: Even though I know the river is wide I walk down every evening and stand on the shore I try to cross to the opposite side So I can finally find what I’ve been looking for Until next month...

Ketaki Banga, Senior Editor Talk to us: E-mail: ketaki@cpidubai.com Twitter: @SMEadvisorME Facebook: www.facebook.com/ SMEAdvisor

LinkedIn group: SME Advisor

Sales Director Raz Islam raz@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9129 EDITORIAL Dave Reeder dave@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9106 Senior Editor Ketaki Banga ketaki@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9115 Assistant Editor Mike Byrne mikeb@cpidubai.com +971 440 9105 ADVERTISING Commercial Director Richard Judd richard@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9126 Sales Director Raz Islam raz@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9129 Key Accounts Manager Faaju Abdul Fatah faaju@cpidubai.com +971 56 674 5757 CIO PROGRAMMES CIO Programmes and Events Lead Kavitha Rajasekhar kavitha@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9132 CIRCULATION Database and Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9147 PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Production Manager James P Tharian james@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9146 Designer Froilan A. Cosgafa IV froilan@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9107 DIGITAL SERVICES www.smeadvisor.com Digital Services Manager Tristan Troy Maagma Web Developers Jerus King Bation Erik Briones Jefferson de Joya Louie Alma online@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9100

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Head Office PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409 Printed by Printwell Printing Press LLC © Copyright 2011 CPI All rights reserved While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

Introducing server room in a box

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SHOPTALK trends & updates <<<

DED issues 3,224 licences in first quarter of 2011 The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) issued 3,224 licences for several types of businesses in Dubai in the first quarter of 2011, recording a 6% increase compared to the last quarter of 2010. A majority of the licences were issued in the commercial sector (7%) followed by the professional sector (4%).

General trade led the list of the top ten licensed activities in the commercial category with 431 licences issued, followed by ready-made garments with 264, dye and paints with 251, watches and accessories with 248, and carpeting and flooring with 235.

Residences and building cleaning services led the list of

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the top ten licensed activities in the professional category with 153 licences issued in the first quarter, followed by restaurants with 90, female beauty and personal care with 59, and female hairdressing with 55.

In industrial activities, blacksmithing and welding workshops led the list of the top ten licensed activities with four licences followed by metal work industry for construction with three.

The total number of transactions during the first quarter of 2011 reached 117,533 compared to 103,067 during the last quarter in 2010, a 14% increase. The number of amended licenses was 12,362,

MAY 2011

The Intlaq scheme, an initiative by the Department of Economic Development to encourage more UAE nationals to set up businesses from home, recorded strong performance with 53 licences issued in the first quarter of the year

while the total number of renewed licenses reached 21,667.

The total number of commercial permits reached 14,503, a 33% increase compared to the last quarter period last year, while the total number of trade name reservation transactions reached 12,211 names.

The Intlaq scheme, an initiative by the DED to encourage more UAE nationals to set up businesses from home, recorded strong performance with 53 licences issued in the first quarter of the year, a 51% increase over the last quarter of last year. The largest growth was recorded in the trade category with 34 licences followed by professional category with 19.

The total number of field inspection visits by DEDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Division reached 11,391 in first quarter of 2011.

SHOPTALK >>>trends & updates

Managing the mobile workforce According to a recent study, 60% of global workers believe being in the office is no longer needed to be productive.

Is this the death of the workplace as we know it? And how should CIOs respond?

It’s an increasingly common challenge for IT departments: how to manage information across an infrastructure that increasingly extends beyond the boundaries of the enterprise.

Consumer hardware such as smartphones, tablets and netbooks have become common currency within the enterprise, while communication tools such as Skype and social media channels like Facebook and LinkedIn have rapidly advanced the cause of the mobile worker.

Demand to work anywhere, anytime is stronger than ever before.

But the changing nature of the way employees interact with information is causing CIOs major headaches – not least in MENA where the use of SmartPhones and other such mobile devices is expected to witness rapid growth over the next few years. The global SmartPhones market alone is estimated to reach US$258.9 billion in 2015 from about $85.1 billion last year, according to USbased research firm M&M. Highlighting this shifting dynamic, Cisco recently issued the results of an international workplace study that discovered three out of every five workers around the world feel they do not need to be in the office anymore to be productive.

Dave Evans, Futurist and Chief Technologist for Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group, feels that the report findings reflect the fact that remote and mobile workforces are now considered business-as-usual for most firms. “Employee mobility is a fact of life, and the business advantages are clear across many industries,” he says. “While this report does identify real challenges for businesses, it also spotlights an opportunity for IT to enhance its relationship with employees and its role as an adviser and educator.”

He believes the report provides real-life insight into how the expectations, demands and behaviour of the global workforce are influencing the way information is accessed, as well as how business communications are changing.

However, not everyone is rushing to embrace the mobile revolution. Indeed, almost half of the IT respondents in the Cisco survey said they are not prepared – from either a policy or technology standpoint – to support a more borderless, mobile workforce. Not surprisingly, security is the top concern. Certainly, as workforces become more distributed the potential for data loss increases: a staggering one in four IT respondents said a quarter of the devices issued to employees in the past 12 months have

already been lost or stolen.

And as workforces become increasingly mobile, security and risk management concerns inevitably grow.

“The companies that figure out how to unleash user knowhow and consumer technologies while managing the risks will win this high stakes game,” suggests RSA Chief Operating Officer Tom Heiser. “This is the moment for information security teams to step up and be the most valuable players.”

The findings indicate the real need for better corporate policies, end-user education and stronger, trusted relationships between employees and IT departments. How well IT brokers these relationships will impact a company’s growth, productivity, competitive advantage, as well as its risk management.

“Simply put, this report serves as a call-to-action for IT organisations,” says Evans.

“Work is not a place anymore.

It’s a lifestyle, and the IT profession’s role is only going to get more strategic as it tries to help businesses stay agile and increase productivity.”

It’s an issue that will no doubt be top of the agenda at the CIO MENA Summit 2011 which takes place at The Ritz Carlton Sharq Village and Spa, in Doha, Qatar from 2nd - 4th May 2011.

This closed door session,

MAY 2011

hosted by GDS International, features leading figures from the MENA IT sector, including Jay Bauer, President of STI Systems, Justin Doo, Director of Security Practices Emerging Markets for Symantec, Mohammed Al-Mandeel from the Council of Saudi Chambers and Farhan Mazhar from BP. CIO MENA Summit 2011 is a C-level event reserved for 100 participants, and includes expert workshops, facilitated roundtables, peer-to-peer networks and co-ordinated technical meetings.

Other key issues that will be covered include strategic outsourcing, building a comprehensive virtualisation strategy to achieve cloud computing, maximising enterprise IT security performance and the role of IT in the coming decade.

For more information, visit www.ciosummitmena.com

About GDS International is a business-tobusiness events company. They offer financial, healthcare, IT service management, telecoms and oil and gas summits for senior executives throughout the Asia Pacific, Africa, China, Europe, North America and Russia markets. For more information on GDS International visit www.gdsinternational.com.

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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SHOPTALK trends & updates <<<

Business continuity management is vital for economic resiliency An effective business continuity strategy is one of the key tools that would ensure an organisation’s resilience against unforeseen events such as the economic downturn, said the Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi University Knowledge Group (ADUKG), the professional training and development arm of Abu Dhabi University (ADU).

According to Ahmed Badr, CEO of ADUKG, business continuity, as a part of business resilience, has achieved global recognition as an essential requirement for every organisation. This, he said, assists in the management of risk, protection of investment and support for strategic objectives and initiatives.

Business continuity management is now taught as an integral part of business management courses and is expected to be developed and managed as part of the regular management disciplines.

Aiming to provide local organisations with the required knowledge on this area, an interactive workshop, entitled Business Continuity: Strategic Planning for Times of Crisis, was jointly organised by ADUKG’s International Centre for Business Resilience and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). Held at the Khalifa City Campus of Abu Dhabi University (ADU) on April 16th, the seminar discussed the importance of Business Continuity Management (BCM) and how it can contribute in establishing an economic-proof organisation.

“Managing risk has become

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Delegates learned about the essential tools in initiating successful business continuity programmes as well as the resources and budgetary requirements to start up the programme. A hands-on “real life” experience was also conducted during the workshop to ensure practical and realistic discussions one of the key concerns to the public and private organisations and communities worldwide. The International Centre for Business Resilience was founded to equip UAE-based companies with practical knowledge, including training development, that would allow them to deal with emerging threats and challenges in the region,” said Badr.

“The Business Continuity Seminar is our first activity since the Centre’s launch early this year.

Through this seminar, delegates will be able to explore the key principles and stages of implementing BCM infrastructure, whilst emphasising its background, nature, purpose and benefits,” he added.

John Bartlett, an expert in business continuity management in the MENA region, was the course trainer during the full-day seminar. In a straightforward and understandable manner, Bartlett provided a realistic and practical understanding of the scope of business continuity, the benefits

MAY 2011

that can be obtained and what steps are needed to be taken in order to achieve them.

The seminar also focused on building a clear strategy and identifying the true benefits for implementing business continuity within the organisation. Delegates learned about the essential tools in initiating successful business continuity programmes as well as the resources and budgetary

Cobone.com launches in Saudi Arabia Cobone.com, an online source for deals, will now bring its bargains to Saudi Arabia.

“Cobone’s expansion to Saudi Arabia is yet another milestone in our growth,” said Paul Kenny, Founder and CEO of Cobone. “We are excited to be able to extend our services to Saudi Arabia and we have a lot of exciting plans that we can’t wait to share with our Saudi customers.”

A company majority owned

by Jabbar Internet Group, Cobone.com provides savings on hotels, goods, restaurants, spas and more across the Middle East.

A different offer appears each day, allowing members to take advantage of the most soughtafter services for at least half the usual price.

requirements to start up the programme.

A hands-on “real life” experience was also conducted during the workshop to ensure practical and realistic discussions. Delegates received a high level overview of BCM and what it means to their organisation, and in the achievement of their strategies and objectives. The seminar was based on industry’s best practices and provided an introduction to the content, structure and requirements of the Abu Dhabi business continuity standard as well as discussing other international standards.

The web-based business model uses the power of group purchasing to bring the best goods and services at discounts of between 50-90%. A certain number of people must participate in each offer before the deal can be activated.

Shoppers are encouraged to invite friends, colleagues and family to join in on daily deals to increase their own chances of completing a purchase.

Customers will also be given the flexibility to purchase coupons for themselves or their friends by using a selection of credit cards and cash on delivery in addition to online payment options such as CashU and Paypal.

“With one of the region’s highest internet penetrations and users, Saudi Arabia is ideally placed to benefit from the unique deals offered by Cobone.com,” said Thamer Bamieh, Country Manager for Cobone.com in KSA. “We want to support local businesses by increasing their exposure through this innovative way to shop.”

SME ADVISOR EDITORIAL BOARD

We are hiring! and adding to our existing board

To ensure that our readers keep getting rich and varied advice, not just in print but also in our various other initiatives like social media and events, we will be regularly reviewing our editorial advisory board. The aim is for our readers to get access to a core group of advisors from our existing panel, and also a rotating group of advisors, who change every year.

Are you up for the challenge? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not for the fainthearted, but it is a platform to connect with the biggest and most dynamic SME community in the region!

Get in touch with us if you are an industry guru who wants to give something back to the business community by sharing your expertise and advice. Mail ketaki@cpidubai.com.

For more information on our editorial board members, visit www.smeadvisor.com

SHOPTALK trends & updates <<<

Rendering picture of Fujairah City Centre

Fujairah set for major development initiatives The retail sector in Fujairah is considered to be well underserviced.

The Emirate’s retail potential is estimated at over AED ‎‎1 billion and only standalone hypermarkets and community centres are currently in ‎operation,” said Peter Walichnowski, CEO, Majid Al Futtaim Properties.

H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown ‎Prince of Fujairah, laid the foundation stone of the new Fujairah City Centre on 5th April.

The project is being developed

by Majid Al Futtaim Properties,

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a developer of ‎shopping malls, hotels and ‎mixed used community ‎projects in the MENA region, in partnership with the governmentowned Fujairah Investment Establishment.

Set for completion in the second quarter of 2012, the centre is strategically located at the intersection of the new Fujairah-Dubai highway and the existing Masafi Highway at the entrance to Fujairah City, and is planned to accommodate around 100 specialty retail stores, cafes and restaurants.

“Fujairah City Centre will

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be our sixth mall in the UAE. It will cater to the increasing demand for premium shopping destinations and the growing population in Fujairah, which is expected to be in excess of 185,000 by 2012. It will also create a minimum of 1,200 job opportunities and add significant value to the real estate surrounding it,” added Peter Walichnowski.

The Fujairah city centre is a LEED registered project, currently targeting a Gold LEED rating under the USGBC green ‎building guidelines. Upon completion, it

is expected to be the first retail development to attain this rating in the Emirate of Fujairah.‎ Fujairah is recognised as a strategic city in the UAE due to its location on the east ‎coast facing the Indian Ocean‎. While remaining one of the largest bunkering ports in the world‎, the Emirate of Fujairah is witnessing a series of developments that would enhance its leading position among the northern Emirates.

Two thirds of UAE’s oil is expected to be shipped out of Fujairah after the completion of the oil pipeline being connected from Abu Dhabi. The Emirate is also seeing an oil refinery being developed towards its northern end, in addition to the construction of a strategic grain storage facility for the UAE and a new FujairahDubai highway, which will reduce the drive time between the two Emirates by 45 minutes‎.

SHOPTALK >>>trends & updates

Dubai Exports partners with SGS Gulf for export services Dubai Exports, an agency of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED), Government of Dubai, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SGS Gulf Ltd., an inspection, verification, testing and certification company, to provide export support services to local exporters.

Through this collaboration, SGS Gulf will offer its services to Dubai Exports’ members, particularly to countries such as Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Colombia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia & Kuwait, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mauritania, Mongolia, North Korea, Haiti, Russia, Syria, Uzbekistan, including Iraq (from May 2011), among others.

SGS Gulf will also extend on-the-ground assistance with standardisation bodies in its operating countries, during international events organised by Dubai Exports. Other assistance available to Dubai Exports’ members will be regular country and sector updates on product import requirements, issued from time to time by Dubai’s trading partners. General assistance and trade advisory services on exporting requirements will also be made available.

“In our attempt to facilitate Dubai’s companies to penetrate newer markets through product and system certification

SGS will also extend on-the-ground assistance with standardisation bodies in its operating countries, during international events organised by Dubai Exports. Other assistance available to Dubai Exports’ members will be regular country and sector updates, general assistance and trade advisory services

(L-R) Rachid Cherkaoui, Managing Director, SGS Gulf Ltd and Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.

assistance, SGS Gulf will aid exporters to ensure that all products being exported are of high standards and in line with the importing country requirements. We are always looking for ways to assist companies in the Emirates by enabling them to penetrate foreign markets and enhance their export capabilities,” said Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports.

Rachid Cherkaoui, Managing Director, SGS Gulf Ltd, said “We help customers navigate an increasingly regulated world through our specialised business solutions that improve quality, safety, and productivity as well as reduce risk. Our partnership with Dubai Exports allows us to add

significant value to companies in Dubai and ensure business sustainability in the UAE.” During the duration of this partnership, employees of Dubai Exports will also be trained on

SGS Gulf’s services and both parties will work together to produce awareness publications on selected product standards and certification requirements for key export markets.

Double check In the February issue of SME Advisor ME, page 26 to 27, we featured Krishna Murthy from Al Rostamani Exchange for our Business Guru section. We inadvertently noted that Krishna was the CEO of Al Rostamani Group. We would like to clarify that Krishna is the Chief Executive Officer of Al Rostamani Exchange. *********************************************************** In the March issue of SME Advisor ME we featured an article on page 10 regarding salary satisfaction. We would like to clarify that the image which accompanied the article was mistakenly captioned as Amer Zureikaty, VP Sales, Bayt.com however the image is in fact of Dr. Khater Massaad, Chief Executive Officer, RAKIA.

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Slihfeelf

Canon touch-screen Canon Middle East has extended its LEGRIA HF M-series consumer camcorder range with the launch of the new LEGRIA HF M41, LEGRIA HF M46 and LEGRIA HF M406 – a collection of touch-screen AVCHD models combining a high quality HD video system and a new range of creative features.

A 10x optical zoom allows users to shoot subjects from a range of focal lengths, and a maximum f/1.8 aperture also provides faster shooting, combining with an iris diaphragm to create more attractive background blur.

Dynamic IS reduces the effect of camera shake in situations where the user may be moving and shooting simultaneously, and Powered IS allows users to maintain steady performance at the extreme tele-end of the zoom – instantly stabilising the image so users can shoot distant stationary subjects without the need for a tripod.

New toys for youss. ine and your buansex cuse!

Like you need

Lounge apps Priority Pass, an independent airport lounge programme, announces the launch of an enhanced iPhone app and a brand new iPad app, which enables travellers to locate and see details of all available lounges in the programme in the Middle East and worldwide.

Both apps have a Find Nearest Lounge tool which uses GPS technology to locate the nearest lounge based on the user’s current location – for those who prefer to plan ahead, the app allows a fast, offline search for lounges available at any airport.

The app is free to download from the iTunes store. Simply search for “Priority Pass”.

“We have members throughout the Middle East, who are constantly on the move and these apps are ideal for quickly finding a bit of peace and quiet at the airport,” commented Jonathan French, Head of Brand at Priority Pass. “With 28 lounges available to member’s at all major airports in the Middle East, and more than 600 throughout the world, our new apps are ideal to have the information needed at their fingertips,” he said.

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LEGRIA HF M-series features: Canon HD CMOS Pro sensor 10x HD video lens, iris diaphragm

Optical image stabilisation Superb audio Creative cinematic features Touch cecoration 7.5cm touch- screen Smart auto, face detection, instant AF LEGRIA HF M41 individual features: EVF 32GB memory, two SDXC card slots LEGRIA HF M46 individual features: 16GB memory, two SDXC card slots LEGRIA HF M406 individual features: Two SDXC memory card slots

ASUS Transformer ASUS have announced the first shipments of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer. Featuring an expandable keyboard docking station and combined battery life of up to 16 hours (depending on conditions), the Transformer is running the new Android 3.0 operating system, Honeycomb.

Combining Honeycomb with ASUS’ Waveshare user interface and the hardware features available makes the Transformer an attractive portable device supporting both office work and social communication.

The convenient ASUS Launcher also allows users to easily launch software, manage content and access online services and connect devices with a few simple taps, while ASUS’ Waveshare

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Interface hosts a variety of unique applications such as MyNet, MyLibrary, MyCloud and more. MyNet easily streams digital media wirelessly within home network devices so HD videos or music can be played on devices such as an HDTV or desktop PCs for an even better experience from the Transformer.

Highlights: 1. Mobile productivity with docking station (Full QWERTY KB and touchpad, up to 16 hours of battery life, unlimited ASUS WebStorage) 2. Mini-cinema entertainment (IPS panel with 178⁰ viewing angle, HDMI support, NVIDIA Tegra2 1.0 GHz dual-core CPU) 3. Trendsetting tablet experience (Android 3.0 OS for tablets, flash support)

DESKTOP PRINTING Samsung Electronics, a provider of digital media and digital convergence technologies, have announced their new ML-3310 and ML-3710 printers, launched with the aim of helping small and medium-sized businesses simplify their printing solutions by offering hassle-free desktop printing with anti-jam technology.

The ML-3310 and ML-3710 printers have been designed to be easy to use, with simple troubleshooting capabilities. This means that if anything does go wrong it can be corrected quickly. The frequency of breakdowns are a vital consideration to business customers when choosing a printing solution, a consideration central to the ML-3310/3710 series which has been designed explicitly to reduce paper jams.

The optional paper tray capacity has also been increased up to 520 sheets, meaning that the printer will need to be re-stocked with paper less often and consequently save time and effort.

An optional built-in wireless capability with one-touch setup means less cabling, though alternatives are available in the form of a parallel port as well as a LAN functionality offering a faster LAN network speed for those offices without Wi-Fi capability.

All-in-one smart phone The highly anticipated Nokia all-in-one smart phone, Nokia E7, is now available in the UAE market starting AED 2,699. With its tilting 4 inch ClearBlack display, full keyboard and a fast access to a wide variety of apps directly on the home screen, this device supports business applications from enterprise technology partners including Microsoft and IBM. For business users, Nokia E7 provides direct, secure and real-time access to email, calendar, contacts, tasks and the corporate directory through Microsoft Exchange servers, as well as Office Communicator Mobile, developed by Microsoft for Nokia smart phones.

A few reasons to consider the Nokia E7 Easy access to private and business email Create, edit and share office documents and view PDF files with Adobe Reader Fast, secure intranet access with the built-in VPN High-resolution photos and HD video with the 8 megapixel camera and dual LED flash HDMI connectivity to project files, videos and images onto large screens 16 gigabytes of on-board flash memory USB-on-the-go, enabling easy file sharing by connecting a USB stick to the smart phone

Camaro drops its top The 2011 Camaro Convertible arrived for the first time in showrooms across the Middle East region in April 2011. The convertible is equipped with similar model configurations as the Camaro Coupe. The standard model has a 312-horsepower direct injection V-6 engine delivering 8 L /100km highway while the SS model features the 6.2L V-8 engine producing 426 horsepower.

The Camaro Convertible is offered in LT (V-6) and SS (V-8) trim packages with nine production exterior colours available and tops offered in black or tan. Rear parking assist is available on all convertible models.

Four strategic reinforcements enhance the alreadystiff body structure to eliminate common convertible maladies of cowl and steering wheel shake. Two 6.2L V-8 engines are offered in Camaro Convertible SS models, including the L99 on automatic-equipped vehicles and the LS3 on manual-equipped models. The L99 features the fuel-saving Active Fuel Management System, which saves fuel by shutting down half of the engine’s cylinders during certain light-load driving conditions, such as highway cruising.

Hard drive support WD, a provider of external storage solutions, have introduced a dual-drive storage system with six terabytes (TB) of storage to meet the capacity needs of today’s creative pros and Mac enthusiasts who create, store, edit and archive large HD video and photo files.

The new capacity provides users 33% more storage than the previous capacity, while maintaining the same footprint. Combining its extended six TB storage capacity and compatibility with Apple Time Machine, the new My Book Studio Edition II drive becomes an instant storage solution for a variety of professions including art and design, photography, legal and medical, and a host of other small businesses.

My Book Studio Edition II 6 TB -drive storage systems are available now at WD’s online store (www.wdstore.com) from USD $549.99.

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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BANKING ON BUSINESS Financing SME export <<<

Trading beyond YOUR horizon Financing SMEs is never clear cut, But banks are beginning to turn their focus to the growth of the sector, especially in this region. Murali Subramanian, Executive Vice President and the Head of Transaction Banking, ADCB and Lloyd Caughey, Vice President and Head of Trade Finance, ADCB, outline the emerging bank facilities being put in place to help SMEs get a foothold on the export ladder.

SMEs are a key driver for the dynamic UAE economy, which is predicted grow at over 3% this year and beyond.

In the growth years, through the global economic crisis and now, UAE SME businesses have sustained an almost consistent growth trajectory. They now constitute around 80% of the non-oil GDP of the UAE (around 30% of the entire GDP), 88% of the employment, and account for at least 90% of all of the UAEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s non-oil exports. The SME sector is the engine for the dynamic re-exports business in the UAE. The UAE has been ranked by the World Bank and IFC Doing Business survey as in the top three countries in the MENA region to set-up and operate a business in terms of procedures, cost and time taken, and has shown the greatest growth worldwide in start-ups in 2010. With world class logistic hubs at JAFZA and other free

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There are ten major players servicing mainstream SME clients, with several others in niche segments. Only now are these banks starting to join up with some of the government programmes to provide analysis and administration facilities to grant SME borrowers banking facilities MAY 2011

zones, there is large facilitation in ensuring the continued performance of the SME sector.

In other economies, where SMEs have driven the overall national economy, access to banking and finance, in addition to efficient logistics and a supportive regulatory and operating environment, has been a critical determinant of success for start-up and newly set up SMEs. On this front, SMEs in the UAE face greater challenges.

To quote the WB/IFC survey, access to finance continues to be a leading constraint for SMEs doing business in the UAE. SMEs often struggle to gain access to basic financing facilities; a report released by

the Union of Arab Banks and the World Bank in October 2010 revealed that SMEs in the Middle East receive just 8% of regional bank lending. For GCC-based SMEs the figure was even lower, sitting at 2% of all bank lending.

Although there are several government programmes for start-up funding, such as SME Dubai (formerly named Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development), Khalifa Fund, and the ADCED and DED programmes, access is not available to every SME setting up and operating.

The disconnect between a bank and a client view could be summarised as follows;

BANKING ON BUSINESS

Some of the most important issues relevant to SME financing are;

Financing and the increasing role of trade and supply chain Of the 52 banks licensed and operating in the UAE, there are ten major players servicing mainstream SME clients, with several others in niche segments.

Only now are these banks Murali Subramanian, Executive starting to join up with some Vice President and the Head of Transaction Banking, ADCB of the government programmes to provide analysis and administration facilities to grant SME borrowers banking facilities.

There is Banks have traditionally used a significant a relationship lending model crosswith SMEs that is based on their border trade knowledge of the promoters and/ element in the or the business of the SME. While Lloyd Caughey, Vice President and UAE SME supply a number of banks have indicated Head of Trade Finance, ADCB chain. Within intentions of lending more this context, the main to the SME segment and have SME-focussed banks offer these enhanced portfolio limits, actual ADCB provides structures for financing and approval and setting of limits is complete services servicing trade flows increasingly based on an analysis of financial to SME exporters to SME clients; statements and other key risk for all bank issuers Equipment financing (in indicators which limit the eligible and countries healthcare, construction, and SMEs to a much smaller number. other industries) Very few banks have offered that they export Trust receipt financing under scorecard or criteria based to, with the import local collections (LCs) on lending to SMEs, which has exception of an unsecured basis, with a loose proven to be much more flexible sanctioned linkage to exports and tolerant of the emerging or otherwise Financing against export LC nature of a majority of SMEs. It regulatory either as pre-shipment or post is not atypical to see the first two shipment loans approaches result in rejection prohibited Back-to-bank financing rates of 70% of credits examined, environments. and for decisions to take In addition Funding and transaction cost considerably longer than the lead to the above, The other major component is the time tolerable to SMEs. the recently competitiveness of bank pricing While SMEs withstood the of loans and FX for payments in recent economic cycle well and announced foreign currencies. Apart from actually increased their share of strategic alliance international banks that have the economy, many banks have with Bank of funding bases in money centres tended to cut back across all their America Merrill and source deposits in foreign industry segments and portfolios Lynch (BofAML) currencies, most local banks in and have not distinguished the the UAE source foreign currency SME sector for increased focus. allows ADCB to funding as wholesale funding ADCB, which has long had an offer its SME and not as client deposits, with SME focus, has adopted a tailored exporter clients a higher cost that gets passed model for credit assessment of access to the onto their clients, either as SMEs using a scorecard-based entire global higher FX margins for payments, approach, and has actually or reflected in the margin over increased its focus on lending to network and benchmark in loans. the segment. services of BofAML MAY 2011

Margins tend to be highest for SME clients compared to those for larger corporates as most banks try to expand to a multiproduct relationship with the more complex larger corporate, whereas SMEs do not offer other buying opportunities for other value added banking services.

A bank may not wish to finance a transaction itself or do so at a cost unacceptable to the exporter, but could provide an avalisation service (payment undertaking given by a bank in respect of a drawn bill of exchange). Based on the avalised draft, the exporter may obtain financing from another bank that offers lower cost financing.

This of course comes with an additional cost for avalisation.

Coverage of supply chain It is typical for banks with global network presence to provide export LC confirmation arrangements and LC/guarantee issuance capabilities across most if not all of a clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supply chain.

However, local banks typically restrict themselves to a region of choice, either where they are present, or in the GCC and MENA/ South Asia region. SME exporters tend to find fewer banks offering them such facilities as these are more focussed on servicing their larger clients.

Banks also tend to cherry pick the countries and risks they wish to confirm, and avoid the rest. As a result, an SME exporter faces a higher cost funding challenge for countries that banks consider â&#x20AC;&#x153;difficultâ&#x20AC;?, as these cannot be covered by supply chain based structures and hence lower cost.

Increasingly though, several defeasance techniques are used commonly by banks, and multilateral agencies such as the IFC, ADB, ICIEC and ECAs play an increasingly important role in bank risk defeasance. In the case of the latter, a few have also been key providers of reinsurance SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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BANKING ON BUSINESS ADCB services for all bank issuers services to SME exporters ADCB provides complete of sanctioned or on ort to, with the excepti and countries that they exp ition to the above, add In ts. men iron ited env otherwise regulatory prohib America Merrill of k tegic alliance with Ban the recently announced stra nts access to clie r orte exp SME its r B to offe Lynch (BofAML) allows ADC L. and services of BofAM the entire global network In addition to providing the

following trade solutions

to SME clients:

channel for : Fully electronic single-sign on

issuance Import LC and guarantee ort LCs, and documents exp of ting prin and Viewing progress of issued credits the of view Real time updated management on unt services and liquidity Payments, collections, acco all their accounts FX transactions

trade facilities pertaining to : Structuring and approval for orts

inst exp Pre-shipment financing aga tees ran gua and LCs ort Imp TRs under import LCs ing on all trade facilities Efficient execution and pric solutions r clients with trade finance ADCB provides SME exporte owing building blocks: that could include the foll ing n, presentation and process atio par pre n atio a) Document financing out with or with , ing b) Back-to-back LC structur it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; invoice and export cred c) Supply chain financing

services to enable export credit agency defeasance to banks.

Documentation preparation, presentation and processing This is typically used by SME exporter clients that either do not wish to have specialist staff focussed on this activity, or are facing a volume growth without any room to face delays in getting paid arising from incomplete or discrepant documents submitted by them. Banks prepare documents on behalf of the SME client and work with counterparties to collect third party documents, to produce document sets compliant at

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the point of creation Thereafter, this is negotiated.

The benefits an exporter gets from this arrangement are: Discrepancies are minimised and turnaround time is reduced Effort saved as the manual preparation of documents is minimised Banks coordinate with third parties on behalf of the SME Reports and document images are typically provided Predictability in getting paid against documents submission, and hence eventually lower cost of transaction or funding

MAY 2011

It is fair to say that there is growing focus by banks on longer term relationship building, better analytics, product range expansion, and flexibility for the SME segment

Hope for the future In conclusion, it is fair to say that there is growing focus by banks on longer term relationship building, better analytics, product range expansion, and flexibility for the SME segment. This is likely to most benefit clients that have an established business model and growth strategy, and may still remain a challenge for start-ups and businesses with little disclosed information and track record. Evolution to a model that befits this dynamic economic segment is inevitable on the part of banks.

ABOUT: Murali Subramanian is an Executive Vice President and the Head of Transaction Banking at ADCB. Transaction Banking is a group in the Wholesale Banking Group, offering industry leading cash management and trade solutions and premier client service to over 15,000 multinationals, public sector entities, domestic corporations, government entities, SMEs and financial institutions throughout the UAE. Murali has been in this role since August 2009, when he joined ADCB. Prior to this, he was MD and Head of Global Transaction Services at Citibank N.A. for the MENA region based in Dubai, and has held various senior management roles in GTS in the North African, CIS, and western European business. Murali has had a 22 year banking career of which 20 have been with Citi, and two with ABN Amro Bank in Amsterdam and Kazakstan.

Murali holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, and a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Lloyd Caughey is a Vice President and Head of Trade Finance at ADCB. Trade Finance is part of the Transaction Banking Group, offering industry leading Trade Finance solutions to large corporates, emerging local corporates, SMEs and retail clients throughout the UAE. Lloyd has been in this role since January 2008. Prior to this he was Director and Head of Trade Finance for Barclays Emerging Markets.

He has 20 years banking experience of which more than 12 years has been in trade finance product and management.

His early career was focused in South Africa where he worked for the major local banks. Thereafter he has spent time managing teams and transacting in many African and Middle East countries.

Lloyd holds a Licenciate Diploma in Banking from the Institute of Bankers in South Africa and Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of South Africa.

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Success through exports <<<

Her Highness Sheikha Dr. Hind bint Abdul Aziz Al Qassimi, Chairperson of the UAE Businesswomen’s Council Dr. Ashraf Mahate, Head of Export Market Intelligence at the Dubai Exports and Vice Chair of the Economic Policy Committee, Dubai DED

Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports

(L to R) Murali Subramanian, Head Transaction Banking, ADCB; Nilanjan Ray, Sr. Vice President, Head - SME Banking, ADCB; Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports; Colin Fraser, Executive Vice President and Group Head Wholesale Banking Group, ADCB; with HH Sheikha Dr. Hind bint Abdul Aziz Al Qassimi, Chairperson of the UAE Businesswomen’s Council; HRH Princess Fay Jahan Ara (fourth from right); and other VIP guests

Seminar supports SME exporters

Dubai Exports, ADCB and SME Advisor held the “Success through exports” event on 20th April to advise SMEs on how to take their products and services to an international market. There was an impressive speaker line-up, with Her Highness Sheikha DR. Hind bint Abdul Aziz Al Qassimi, Chairperson of the UAE Businesswomen’s Council, as keynote speaker. THE SME ADVISOR TEAM reports.

Dubai Exports, an agency of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED), SME Advisor Middle East, a magazine aimed at small EXCLUSIVE TELECOM PARTNER

Grand Hyatt in Dubai.

It was part of the SME Success Series events, jointly organised by SME Advisor and ADCB. Dubai Exports was the strategic partner for “Success Through Exports” and brought

and medium enterprises in the region, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) organised a hugely successful seminar entitled “Success Through Exports”. The event took place on 20th April at the SUPPORTED BY

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KNOWLEDGE PARTNER

EVENT PARTNERS

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

MAY 2011

MEDIA PARTNER

invaluable subject matter expertise and support to the initiative, further reiterating the DED’s commitment to small and medium enterprises in Dubai.

“Dubai Exports continually seeks to identify new and innovative ways by which to increase the level of exports from the country.

This seminar is just one further example of how we are seeking to increase the knowledge base of our companies so that they are competitive in global markets,” said Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports.

He further commented that exporting allows SMEs to grow their business and benefit from geographical diversification.

Her Highness Sheikha Dr. Hind Al Qassimi, PUBLISHER

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Presenting partner

attitudes of the owner or manager. “Psychological inertia towards exporting is something that these seminars are intended to

Attendees networking during breaks

Chairwoman, UAE Businesswomen’s Council, Murali Subramanian, Head Transaction Banking, ADCB presented the keynote speech whereby she stated that, “Despite the actually earn revenue from obstacles and difficulties exporting activities. In Dubai, women face, they succeed in where SMEs account for 98.5% overcoming them through of all firms, less than 10% creating and finding business export, and consequently earn opportunities under the any form of export revenues. umbrella of free trade Most export sales by SMEs pursued by the Government are modest in terms of scale, of the UAE.” with 68% of goods exporters Sheikha Dr. Hind also generating less than AED 1 pointed out that, “Over million worth of exports per the past 39 years, women annum per firm. in the UAE were able to “Such a low level of export take important steps in activity by SMEs leads to the the field of investment and natural question as to why entrepreneurship. They form they are not exporting. The around 4.5% of the total importance of this question is number of investors and are underpinned by the fact that managing approximately AED exports allow firms to enhance 12.5 billion which has been their competitiveness, provide invested in the trade, banking, opportunities for growth real estate, tourism, industrial, and innovation as well as contracting, construction and technology transfer, diversify services sectors. They also their revenue base, benefit invested AED 2.1 billion in the from economies of scale and manufacturing sector.” The of course increase profits,” UAE Businesswomen’s Council said Dr. Ashraf Mahate, Head currently represents over of Export Market Intelligence 11,000 members and covers at the Dubai Exports and Vice 30% of the SMEs with savings Chair of the Economic Policy of AED 27 billion.

Committee, Dubai DED. According to research A need for more carried out by Dubai Exports, SMEs to export there are two main reasons “Success Through Exports” why SMEs do not tend to highlighted how SMEs can export – namely, internal and take their products and external barriers. Various services to an international studies have shown that the market. In most countries only real export barriers are the a small proportion of SMEs psychological or behavioural

John Lincoln, Vice President, Enterprise Marketing, du

break,” commented Richard Judd, Commercial Director, CPI Business and IT, which publishes SME Advisor Middle East.

Supporting UAE businesses Focusing on these issues, “Success Through Exports” was a means to provide SMEs with the latest information, support and tools they require, whether they are just beginning to consider export as an option to expand, or whether they are established mid-market players.

Nilanjan Ray, Sr. Vice President, Head - SME Banking, ADCB reiterated the need for supporting SMEs: “ADCB is focussing on the SME segment and trade finance as areas of strategic growth. In view of this, the export /re-export business in the UAE is of great significance as the UAE has emerged as the re-export hub in the region. We at ADCB have launched several products focussed on this segment of clients operating in the SME space and will continue to do so. We are shortly coming MAY 2011

up with a Business Banking branch in Jebel Ali to expand our footprint in this segment.

We also plan to launch a specialised pre-shipment finance programme for exporters in the SME segment.

We believe this product will cater to a latent demand in this segment. In addition, we are ready to launch our online Fx trading platform – Fx Freeway to help exporters and importers manage their foreign exchange flows efficiently.”

Ray further pointed out that: “In keeping with our focus in this segment, we are extremely happy to partner with Dubai Exports to organise this event. We hope this will help bring necessary attention to the potential of this segment and will help address relevant issues.”

John Lincoln, Vice President, Enterprise Marketing, du – who advised attendees on managing international customers, and who has over 20 years of international hands-on operating experience in emerging and developed markets from the Far East to the Middle East, the Americas and Europe – said: “If you are conducting business in international markets, the world is your oyster. However be warned of the pitfalls and intricacies. Managing international customers is an art and a science. This and the many other pertinent issues covered during this event will, hopefully, help SMEs with a few of the challenges they face.”

“SMEs need to expand overseas if they are to grow their business and form new alliances and partnerships” said Ketaki Banga, Senior Editor, SME Advisor. She added: “SME Advisor is grateful for the support provided by Dubai Exports and ADCB. We will be organising various such events SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Presenting partner

throughout the year. Not only will these events be educational and informative, but will also provide platforms to voice concerns, make new contacts through networking, and share experiences and advice.”

A day with the experts The impressive speaker line-up at “Success Through Exports” included Her Highness Sheikha Dr. Hind bint Abdul Aziz Al Qassimi, Chairperson of the UAE Businesswomen’s Council, and Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO Dubai Exports.

The seminar covered a number of topics some of which included: Trade finance: Innovative solutions for SMEs,

by Murali Subramanian, Head Transaction Banking, ADCB; Web based strategies

by Jean-Marc Paufique, General Manager at Zawya; Internet technology and export business, by Imtiaz Ali, Director - Global Sales, Tijari; Franchising, agents and distributors as a foreign entry route, by Gautam Sen Gupta, Market Vision; and Protecting your intellectual property rights, by Faisal Daudpota, Head of Data Privacy & Information Security, Al Tamimi & Company.

Other topics included Global logistics: Innovation in supply chain management,

by Damien Sheehan, Commercial Manager, DHL Express, UAE; Export risk mitigation techniques, by Pedro Mairos, Regional Marine Underwriter Manager Gulf Axa Insurance; and Export Credit Insurance by Schyler D’Souza, COO, Export Credit Insurance Company of the Emirates (ECIE).

For event details, speaker presentations and post-event coverage, please visit www.smeadvisor.com/events/ success-through-exports.

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AGENDA Date: 20th April 2011

|

8:30 am Doors open, breakfast and networking 9:00 am Opening address: Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports 9:07 am to 9:10 am Brief welcome and acknowledgements by SME Advisor Middle East 9:10 am to 9:30 am Keynote speaker Her Highness Sheikha Dr. Hind bint Abdul Aziz Al Qassimi, Chairperson of the UAE Businesswomen’s Council 9:30 am to 9:50 am Trade finance: Innovative solutions for SMEs Murali Subramanian, Head Transaction Banking, ADCB 9:50am to 10:10am www: Your gateway to exports Jean-Marc Paufique, General Manager, Zawya The role of online communities to promote trade Imtiaz Ali, Director - Global Sales, Tijari 10:10 am to 10:25 am Break and then move to parallel sessions in breakout rooms 10:25 am to 10:40 am Parallel session #1: Reaching out to global customers How to manage international customers John Lincoln, Vice President – Enterprise Marketing, du Parallel session #2: Managing export risk Protecting your intellectual property rights Faisal Daudpota, Head of Data Privacy & Information Security, Al Tamimi & Company Parallel session #3: Effective exporting techniques How to prepare your company for the next step of growth through exports Vikram Venkataraman, Co-founder and Director Salvus Strategic Advisors

MAY 2011

Venue: Grand Hyatt, Dubai 10:50 am to 11:05 am Parallel session #1: Effective exporting techniques Franchising, agents and distributors as a foreign entry route Gautam Sen Gupta, Director, Market Vision Parallel session #2: Managing export risk Export risk mitigation techniques Pedro Mairos, Regional Marine Underwriter Manager Gulf Axa Insurance Parallel session #3: Reaching out to global customers Global logistics: Innovation in supply chain management Damien Sheehan, Commercial Manager, DHL Express, UAE 11:15 am to 11:25 am Break and move back to the main hall 11:25 am to 11:40 am Export success case study 1: Gulf extrusion – Entry into Europe Sowmya Narayan, Supply Chain Manager, Gulf Extrusions Co. 11:40 am to 11:55 am Export success case study 2: Dofreeze – Global food exports Aamer Fayyaz, Managing Director, Dofreeze 11:55 am to 12:05 pm Schuyler D’Souza, Chief Commercial Officer, Export Credit Insurance Company of the Emirates (ECIE) 12:05 pm to 12:30 pm Open house for Q&A 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm Lunch 1:30 pm to 2.30 pm Meet the experts - Informal sessions for private one-toone consultations

Strategic partner

Presenting partner

Opening address

Speakers snapshot “Trade and exports allow firms to enhance their competitiveness, provide opportunities for growth and innovation as well as technology transfer, diversify their source of earnings and, of course, increase profit.”

Her Highness Sheikha Dr. Hind bint Abdul Aziz Al Qassimi, Chairperson of the UAE Businesswomen’s Council er Highness Sheikha Hind bint Abdul Aziz Al Qassimi is at present the Chairperson of the UAE Businesswomen’s Council and is also a member of the Board of Trustees Advisory Council of the Swiss friendship UAE as well as a board member of the Arab Businesswomen Council.

After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature, sociology and social work from Kuwait University, HH Qassimi spent several years working in the area of social work and education

S

aed Mohamed Al Awadi, is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Export Development Corporation (Dubai Exports), which is the first export promotion agency in the UAE. He is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Export Credit Insurance Company of the Emirates, which is the first company of its type in the country. Prior to this he was the Chief Operating Officer at the Environmental Health and Safety, which is the regulatory arm of Dubai World. Saed is also the Vice-Chairman of M’Sharie, which is part of Dubai Investment and the largest investment company listed on the Dubai Financial market. Saed is also on the Board of Directors of the Emirates Standardisation and Metrology Authority – the national reference point for the World Trade Organisation for technical regulations and standards.

Saed holds a degree in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, with a Masters in Environmental Engineering, and an Executive MBA from Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.

Trade finance: Innovative solutions for SMEs

Keynote speaker

H

Engineer Saed Al Awadi, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Exports

before returning to her studies, where she received a Masters in Sociology from Ain Shams University (Arab Republic of Egypt) and Doctorate Sociology from Ain Shams University several years later.

As well as working tirelessly within the sector of education, HH Qassimi has coorindated programmes for the youth and has been a driving force in bringing about more awareness and progress for the participation of women in business in the region.

“Emirates Business Women Council has been represented at both external and regional levels through the Federation of GCC Chambers, or at the international level through the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry and International Chamber of Commerce as well as presenting in economic conferences and forums. Its efforts extended to sending trade delegations to visit other countries to promote and develop relations between traders in UAE and oversees.”

Murali Subramanian, Head of Transaction Banking, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB)

“It is not true that there is a shortage of banking for SMEs, but it tends to be where it concerns matters of credit and extension of credit and where it concerns trusted advisory services and partnerships but more can always be done to provide greater value to the sector.”

M

urali Subramanian is an Executive Vice President and the Head of Transaction Banking at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB).

Transaction Banking is a group in the Wholesale Banking Group, offering industry leading cash management and trade solutions and premier client service to over 15,000 multinationals, public sector entities, domestic corporations, government entities, SMEs

MAY 2011

and financial institutions throughout the UAE. Prior to this, he was Managing Director and Head of Global Transaction Services at Citibank N.A. for the MENA region based in Dubai, and has held various senior management roles in GTS in the North African, CIS, and western European business. Murali has had a 22 year banking career of which 20 have been with Citibank, and two with ABN Amro Bank in Amsterdam and Kazakstan.

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Presenting partner

www: Your gateway to exports Jean-Marc Paufique, General Manager, Zawya

J

ean-Marc Paufique was appointed General Manager of Zawya in July 2010. He joined Zawya in October 2008 as Director for the Investment Opportunities Division, where he played a key role in developing Zawya solutions within this strategic market segment.

Jean-Marc started his career in Paris as a software engineer with McDonnell Douglas Information Systems and thereafter joined Reuters where his roles included

general management, sales and marketing in Europe and the Middle East.

Prior to joining Zawya, JeanMarc was the Managing Director of Reuters MENA, responsible for developing Reuters’ information and transaction business. JeanMarc is a French citizen with an Engineering Degree from Ecole Centrale de Lille and has attended several specialised executive programs at Michigan Business School and IMD Lausanne.

“With trade there is an abundance of potential buyers worldwide for products and services but there is the problem of reach – how can I get in touch with them and how can they reach me? Businesses need to acquire the means of reach which best suits their customer and the market they wish to focus on.”

The role of online communities to promote trade Imtiaz Ali, Director Global Sales, Tijari

I

mtiaz has over 14 years of experience as a management consultant in the e-procurement world and has been involved in projects assessing and improving operations in the public and private sectors. With extensive event management experience along with procurement consulting for airlines, petroleum, and other big organisations in the region, Imtiaz is often involved in various capacities with complex e-procurement readiness assessment exercises for many local and international financial institutions.

He is member of Institute of Supply Management (ISM) and has been awarded the highest designation of Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) by the institution. Imtiaz’s consulting expertise, moreover, covers a wide array of functions – from business design to supply chain assessment to technical consulting advice. He has led or been a major contributor in the business and technology design, development, and implementation of procureto-pay solutions and business process automation initiatives.

“Working in exports, as with any business, you have to learn how to use the power of the Internet – it is simply not an option anymore and cannot be ignored by businesses if they want to make headway in their respective sectors.”

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Parallel session #1: Reaching out to global customers

How to manage international customers John Lincoln, Vice President – Enterprise Marketing, du

“A gesture that might mean excellent in one part of the world could be offensive in another! What we take for granted is not always so. In Japan there are six ways of saying no. But yes might not always mean “yes I’ll go along with you,” it might just mean “yes I understand.”

J

ohn Lincoln has over 20 years telecommunications experience in the USA, Japan, Europe, India, Dubai, Malaysia, Latin America and various other countries. He has extensive senior expertise in international telecommunications sales, marketing, business development and customer service delivery.

John also has executive experience with general management, marketing, P&L, product development and revenue management responsibilities in both consumer and enterprise segments for both the fixed and mobile sectors.

In addition John has an impressive operational and management portfolio of established proven expertise in incremental business value creation and management of large multi-cultural teams in Vodafone Global in the UK, Japan

Telecom in Tokyo, AirTouch and Pacific Bell (now AT&T) in San Francisco and Tokyo, Airtel in Delhi and other telecom and technology companies.

Additionally he has extensive large scale business development, M&A and operational project experience across the USA, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

John has an MBA and MS in Telecommunications from the Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California, USA. You can find John’s personal blog at johnlincoln.blog.com. He can be contacted via: john.lincoln@ gmail.com, Twitter: @lincolnjc.

Parallel session #1: Reaching out to global customers

Global logistics: Innovation in supply chain management Damien Sheehan, Commercial Manager, DHL Express, UAE

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amien Sheehan is the Country Commercial Manager for DHL Express in the UAE, an international express industry. Based in Dubai, Damien is responsible for all DHL Express Commercial related activities within the UAE. Damien’s career with DHL

spans more than ten years. He joined the company in Australia in 2000 within the sales group and then spent time in various countries globally including the Philippines, Singapore, USA and Bahrain before arriving in the UAE in 2009. His time has predominately been spent on

Strategic partner

Presenting partner

the Sales and Commercial side of the business and in recent times he established the Global MNC channel structure in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa as part of the global CRM channel.

Prior to joining DHL, Damien

spent six years in Australia with NYK Line focused on their liner shipping business.

Damien has a Diploma in International Business from the Helsinki School of Economics, Singapore.

“Now that things are starting to happen again, it’s really time to separate yourself from your competitors and think about what you should be asking suppliers like us in the logistics industry.

Some of you may not even use DHL but, my point is, you should be pushing your suppliers to understand your options.

Don’t let them tell you this is your only choice – push them and us for choices. That’s one of the things about Dubai – it is a true hub in every sense of the word. It’s important that you leverage your location.”

Parallel session #2: Managing export risk

Export risk mitigation techniques Pedro Mairos, Regional Marine Underwriter Manager Gulf Axa Insurance

P

edro Mairos has a wide experience at the international level on marine insurance, particularly in the areas of marine liability (protection & indemnity), hull and cargo and pleasure craft and cargo.

After spending five years in Paris with AXA Corporate Solutions, Pedro spent a further four years in Hong Kong

“There are various types of risks when exporting – some are insurable and some are not. There are credit risks, legal risks, political risks and, of course, transport and logistical risks.

Before you begin exporting you must be aware of what cover your business and products or services need.”

Parallel session #2: Managing export risk

Protecting your intellectual property rights Faisal Daudpota, Head of Data Privacy & Information Security, Al Tamimi & Company

“When working in foreign jurisdictions with your products or services, it’s vital you first achieve rights in that foreign market and then you must protect those rights in order to maintain a competitive edge.”

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aisal’s practice covers transactional and contentious matters relating to intellectual property, information technology, telecommunications, competition and anti-money laundering. He is also accredited to appear before the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts.

He is experienced at advising clients in various other areas of laws, such as, banking, Internet, data protection, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), data protection, privacy, customs, criminal, maritime and anticorruption.

Prior to joining INTA Faisal worked as an Attorney with the law firm of Khalid Daudpota & Co. in Karachi, Pakistan, where he represented a broad range of clients in both contentious and transaction work in multiple disciplines.

He has authored many articles covering various legal disciplines. He has also spoken at international conferences and seminars, in particular, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the World Customs Organisation and Interpol. He holds an LLM in Intellectual Property Law from the University of London.

overseeing the Far East portfolio.

Based in Dubai since the end of 2008, he is currently managing the GCC region marine cargo portfolio of AXA Gulf. Pedro is in charge of developing and bringing innovative solutions for large clients and SME customers, importers, exporters, traders and freight forwarders.

Parallel session #3: Effective exporting techniques

How to prepare your company for the next step of growth through exports Vikram Venkataraman, Co-founder and Director Salvus Strategic Advisors

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ikram has a career banking spanning over 25 years in India and the Middle East, working with HSBC, ABN AMRO, Dubai Bank and Mashreq Bank.

His most recent experience in banking has been as the Head of the SME Business at Mashreq, which he left in 2010 to co-found and SME focussed investment banking firm – Salvus Strategic Advisors, which is based in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT),

Dubai, and Salvus Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai.

Salvus advises SMEs with the objective of helping them grow.

Raising equity and debt capital is an integral part of Salvus’s activities.

Vikram holds a BA from Loyola College, India, and a Masters from Oxford University, U.K. He has also served as the Secretary of the Oxford University Economics Society.

“Every SME has to ask this question right at the beginning: Why do we want to export?

It’s very important to analyse the reasons for exporting right up front and to understand the market you wish to enter.”

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Strategic partner

Presenting partner

Parallel session #3: Effective exporting techniques

Franchising, agents and distributors as a foreign entry route Gautam Sen Gupta, Director, Market Vision

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autam Sen Gupta is based in Dubai as Director, Market Vision Research and Consulting Services, which is a firm undertaking research, consulting assignments and feasibility studies across industry sectors; and Managing Director, Brand Finance Middle East, an independent marketing metrics consultancy supporting corporate bodies with brand valuation and strategic management of brands.

Gautam is also Director of GRAS Academy in India, providing vocational skills training aimed

at enhancing livelihood for underprivileged youth.

He is an invited member on the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)’s Worldwide Panel of Tourism Experts since 2003, and a regular speaker at events relating to entrepreneurship, tourism, branding, market dynamics and research.

Gautam holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata and also received an undergraduate degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India.

“Look at franchising as a route.

You need a brand but not all of us have a brand – we work in commodity markets, for example. And, critically, the brand must have value.”

Export success case study 1: Gulf extrusion – Entry into Europe Sowmya Narayan, Supply Chain Manager, Gulf Extrusions Co.

S

procurement and supply chain.

Currently heading the Supply chain department, she is in charge of international supply chain projects, contracts management, and sourcing and warehouse management.

owmya is a science graduate and a certified supply chain professional from the Chartered Institute of Supply Chain, UK. She has over twelve years consulting background in strategic

“A good idea, which we ourselves implemented, is to outsource to a company to have a market research study carried out. There is no room for error or shortcuts – you simply must know the market you are entering and the feasibility of your product in this market.”

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Aamer Fayyaz, Managing Director, Dofreeze

“After the experience of working in exports, we have four recommendations to help boost exports in business – acquire global quality standards; reach out to international customers at trade shows, exhibitions and government bodies; develop global sourcing arrangements by staying price competitive; and finally, develop international cooperation agreements with key players in targeted markets.”

A

amer Fayyaz has been involved in setting up and running baked products businesses for the last 28 years. He has worked in top management positions in several countries including United States, Europe and Asia in the food and bakery sector.

He started his career in 1984 with “Paris Croissant” in Connecticut, United States.

Later he has worked with “La

Brioche Dore” France, “Harry’s Bread” France and “Artal Foods” Belgium.

He is presently the Managing Director of Dofreeze LLC, Dubai.

He started up the company at a relatively small scale in 2000, and today, after 11 years, the actual market cap of the company exceeds AED 100 million and has become the leader in long shelf life packaged baked products in Asia.

Schuyler D’Souza, Chief Commercial Officer, Export Credit Insurance Company of the Emirates (ECIE)

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chuyler D’Souza joined the Export Credit Insurance Company of the Emirates (ECIE) in 2008 to start operations, manage and develop the Dubai Government’s export credit agency, which currently provides trade credit risk protection to the business community of the UAE. His extensive industry background includes several years of strategic marketing and business development.

Prior to this, Schuyler was Country Manager of Atradius Trade Credit Insurance where he successfully built and

managed the trade credit insurer’s business in the UAE. In the past, Schuyler has also held key positions with Emirates Bank, Firmenich and Bayer.

Schuyler has an MBA in Marketing and Sales from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai, and a Post Graduate in General Management from the Berufsakademie in Germany.

He is a Certified International Credit Professional and, a member of the Association of Finance, Credit & International Business Professionals.

“I have been visiting SMEs for the last eight to ten years and the majority have problems with documentation.

There are gaps everywhere but it’s vital to get this right before proceeding with exporting.”

Strategic partner

Presenting partner

One-on-one consultations Trade and working capital finance Dhiraj Kunwar, Regional Manager, Business Banking Group, SME, ADCB

D

hiraj has over 12 years of banking experience in the field of SME/ corporate lending, liability management and product development and capital markets.

He has worked with various top banks across India and the UAE.

How to select partners and traps to avoid Gautam Sen Gupta, Director, Market Vision

How to prepare your company for the next step of growth through exports Vikram Venkataraman, Co-founder and Director Salvus Strategic Advisors

Trade and working capital finance Ehtesham Riaz Rabbani, Team Leader, Medium Segment, Dubai Business Banking Group, SME, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, (ADCB).

Exporting to the Middle East & Asia Aamer Fayyaz, Managing Director, DoFreeze

E

htesham manages a team that provides custom made working capital and trade related solutions to cater to the business requirements of Medium Segment companies in any industry operating in the emirate of Dubai. His expertise includes over draft facilities, short or medium and long term loans, invoice discounting, post dated cheque discounting, LC, finance against trust receipt and letter of guarantees.

Reaching out to global customers Sylvia Youssef, Operations Manager, Virtuzone

A How logistics and DHL can provide assistance to SMEs in general Ben McLean, Area Sales Manager, DHL Express UAE

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enâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career with DHL spans more than seven years. He joined the company in England in 2004 within the sales department and went on to become Major Account Manager for London and the docklands before arriving to the UAE in 2009 as Area Sales Manager.

Prior to joining DHL, Ben spent nine years with Securicor Omega Express in the UK.

Successful entry into the EU market Sowmya Narayan, Supply Chain Manager, Gulf Extrusions Co. LLC

fter graduating in 2005 from Deakin University, Australia, with Bachelors in Biomedical Science, Sylvia began her career with Australia Post. During the four years with this company she progressed from Compliance Officer to a business analyst.

When arriving in Dubai in 2009 Sylvia quickly acquired her position as Operations Manager for Virtuzone and has been an integral part of Virtuzoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress since then. Although most of her time is spent improving the day-to-day business processes she also continues to attend initial consultations with new clients and with strategically planning and project managing the businesses growth.

For event details, speaker presentations and post-event coverage, please visit www.smeadvisor.com/events/success-through-exports MAY 2011

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Trade Logistics <<<

Getting from to Fast and reliable transport and logistics are key to foreign expansion, says Dr. Ashraf Mahate, Head of Export Market Intelligence at Dubai Exports, and Vice Chair of the Economic Policy Committee, Dubai Economic Department.

In the modern highly competitive world firms need to take advantage of opportunities not only in domestic markets but also overseas. This is more so the case for SMEs who need to ensure that they not only diversify their earnings base but also exploit sourcing efficiencies that arise from overseas expansion.

However, to become successful in overseas markets and to fully exploit sourcing advantages, the SME needs to master global logistics.

Different strokes for different folks The ability to expand beyond the domestic borders requires fast and reliable transport and logistics services. In other words, SMEs need to ensure that they have processes and systems in place to organise and manage global networks that deliver a high level of product variety and customer service at the lowest possible cost. More importantly,

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Today, products tend to be marketed globally with worldwide brand promotion and international distribution.

This means that marketing needs to coordinate with logistics so that there is a seamless integration between production and distribution

MAY 2011

these global networks have to be capable of interacting with external organisations such as suppliers, outsource agents and customers.

If the networks operate efficiently and effectively they should be able to allow SMEs to sell a whole host of products with variations that meet the legal requirements of each nation and the contractual obligations of different distributors.

In some cases these products are constantly changing to satisfy the needs of dynamic consumer tastes. This adds another layer of complication to the global logistics function.

The need to create efficiencies and linkages with suppliers and customers implies that any product development should first consider the role to be played by global logistics. Today, products tend to be marketed globally with worldwide brand promotion and international distribution. This means that marketing needs to coordinate with logistics so that there is a seamless

integration between production and distribution. Yet, at the same time, the marketing function needs to appreciate regional differences.

Therefore, the product may need to be adapted or simply repackaged to meet local tastes and preferences.

The end result is the creation of a large number of different variations for the same product which may even be produced at the same factory. These products are then stored either at a central facility or various regional facilities. This implies that the SME may need to ensure it has detailed information on inventory levels throughout the globe to avoid shortages in one market and an oversupply in another. Therefore, it is fair to say that the management of global logistics is both complicated and detailed. The complexities arise due to market and production factors while the detailed nature is more to do with accurate information requirements. The market complexities are essentially the different variations of the product that have to be produced and held to meet the needs of each nation. On the other hand product complexities are difficulties of producing the goods such as lead times, length of production runs and supply networks.

Problem areas The common problems tend to be the same regardless of the size of the firm however their intensity is perhaps higher among SMEs. The most common issue faced by all firms is delayed delivery due to the ground factors such as poor roads and infrastructure, customs delays and so on. However, the delays can also arise due to inaccurate data capture and dissemination throughout the logistics chain, slow and inefficient operations, inappropriate controls and more.

Although delays are not the only

Trade

problem, they are by far the most important. Other issues include damage, stock outs, over supply or high inventory in one area and shortages in another. These issues imply that many firms and especially SMEs are not able to implement many of the accepted business practices such as just-intime delivery, lean inventories and so on.

Routes to success So the question arises, how can an SME excel in global logistics as it determines its success in international markets?

Academic evidence has found five factors which can go a long way towards giving SMEs a competitive lead in the field of global logistics.

The five factors are namely automation, information sharing, uniform policies and procedures, simplification, discipline, and being customer centric.

Historically, automation used to be very expensive but today this is not the case and the adoption of sophisticated hardware and software in order to enhance information capture and dissemination is now within the reach of most SMEs. Second, SMEs need to learn to share information in a responsible and cooperative manner. The willingness to share simple data – such as sale projections, inventory level, sales promotion strategies and so on – reduces the level of uncertainty between the SME and its stakeholders.

Third, the adoption of a uniform set of policies and procedures leads to low or even zero variance in operations. This implies that all stakeholders are fully aware of the outcome of each action and there is no second guessing or uncertainty.

Fourth, a simple design allows for few regional variations, if any, leading to fewer market and product complexities. More important, it reduces the need to hold a number of variations of the same product.

Finally, the SME needs to be totally customer centric so that it is

ABOUT: Dr. Ashraf Mahate is the Head of Export Market Intelligence at Dubai Exports (formerly known as the Dubai Export Development Corporation), which is an agency of the Dubai Economic Department. Dr. Mahate is also the Vice Chair of the Economic Policy Committee with the Dubai Economic Department. He has written a number of journal articles, chapters in books and edited books in the areas of economics, finance and banking. He has also presented papers at major international conferences.

Dr. Mahate has provided extensive consultancy services to various organisations in the areas of banking, economics and finance. He has been a director of a number of companies including a venture capital company and a private equity fund.

Dr. Mahate received his doctorate from Cass City University Business School in London (UK) which was ranked by the Financial Times newspaper as the 12th best university in the world for finance.

He read Economics at University College London, followed by a Masters in International Economics and Banking at the University of Wales in Cardiff. Dr. Mahate is a professional educator and received his training at the Institute of Education (University of London).

He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Managers (UK) and a Member of the Institute of Commercial Management (UK). He is also a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS).

Dr. Ashraf Mahate, Head of Export Market Intelligence at Dubai Exports (formerly known as the Dubai Export Development Corporation), an agency of the Dubai Economic Department; and Vice Chair of the Economic Policy Committee, Dubai Economic Department

responsive to the changing needs of customers. This means not only does the product need to change but so does the distribution channel, location of sale, packaging, and other such issues.

Powerful partnerships In most cases SMEs will not have the internal resources to develop their own global logistics networks and hence the most cost-effective method is to work with partners.

The logistics partners can range from third-party outsource firms to suppliers and customers. In this way legally independent companies can come together to exploit their individual strengths and create synergies. In doing so, the separate companies should look to develop a common logistics network. This network should go beyond simply transferring goods from one party to another, but sharing of their logistics management systems.

This is much wider and includes, of course, an exchange of data, information technology systems, processes and policies and, in some cases, even staff.

Businesses need to be very careful in selecting partners as this is a critical success factor. A “bad” or “weak” partner will not only incur a loss of time and financial resources but also customers and reputation.

On the other hand a “good” or “strong” partner can support the MAY 2011

firm’s weaknesses and ensure that the final customer receives a seamless service, without even realising that a number of companies have been involved in bringing the product to them.

Selecting a partner should begin by looking at what the business needs. In other words: is the SME looking for simply a transport link or does it need storage facilities, customs clearance, reduction of costs and so on. At the same time the business needs to look at what factors are important to the customer and how they can be enhanced through the use of a strategic partner.

An internal analysis which identifies the weak areas along with the demands of consumers is the first step towards selecting appropriate partners. The second step is to draw a list of possible partners who are capable of meeting the needs of the firm. Third, the business needs to carry out a proper due diligence on the most likely partners who have the potential to maximise the joint profitability and performance. Once the final list of partners has been arrived at, all the participating firms need to develop complementary strategies, coordinate their joint processes and policies, and share information. It may even imply the use of a single information technology system.

The magic ingredient in all of this is a strong commitment and willingness from the participating firms for an improvement in their joint performance. For SMEs with their limited financial and human resources it is important to develop strategic relationships with other firms throughout the globe. However – as is the case with any partnership – there has to be honesty, commitment and understanding for mutual success.

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Management Corporate coaching

<<<

Fine-tuning your skills Are you vaguely familiar with the function of a “life” or “corporate coach” but still lack knowledge of what they can offer and how it can benefit you?

Given the fast-paced and stressful lives most of us lead, understanding, appreciating and utilising coaching skills is more important than ever before for achieving personal and business success, says Sahar Haffaar Moussly, Executive Director, Trans Gulf Management Consultancy.

The lack of understanding surrounding the role of a life coach can sometimes lead to scepticism about the profession, as well as criticism of the work ethics of the individual who chooses to participate in life or executive business coaching. In order to lift this shroud of mystery and misunderstanding about coaching, let us start by defining the practice.

Coaching is a way to direct, instruct and train individuals,

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with the goal of achieving or developing specific skills which help them to enjoy greater success, less stress and better organisation.

While personal and professional goals may overlap, business coaching differs from life coaching in that the focus is to provide support and guidance to improve the effectiveness of an individual’s or a group’s business in relation to issues such as: Leadership Accountability Teamwork Sales

Communication Goal setting Strategic planning

Need for pre-emptive not reactive Unfortunately many companies do not take business coaching into consideration until they start facing problems and challenges. Only then do they call the corporate coach to ensure that the business continues to operate efficiently and effectively.

However, executive coaching is an increasingly accessible and

Management

time-efficient learning method as it can help: Revitalise management Develop new capabilities Meet the entrepreneurial needs of fragmented markets Develop higher levels of emotional intelligence Build and strengthen teams Inspire company loyalty Studies carried out by the Federation of Coaching illustrate that executive coaching can provide high returns on investment. So, who exactly seeks out a coach? According to the Chicago Tribune its: “winners who want even more out of life.”

To move forward in personal and professional life you need to tackle several areas such as: Self-mastery Self-reflection Life-work balance Emotional intelligence

Self-mastery This involves the creation of positive habits that help you achieve very specific milestones on your journey to building your business and your career.

As an executive there are certain steps that you should adopt in achieving this skill, which include reacting positively to change – learn, grow and spend your energy on finding solutions rather than brooding over problems. Self-mastery is an acquired habit that says: “I can handle whatever life chooses to throw at me.” It means you are flexible and you enjoy a positive outlook which helps you to think more creatively to deal with the changing circumstances.

Instead of refusing change, use the change to grow, use it as an opportunity to stretch your limits and discover new ways to manage people and events. If you don’t master yourself, you will not be able to manage others.

And have a sense of humour – change is not funny, but keep

A CEO who values his organisation and is communicative, and who is firm but fair with employees, is viewed differently from a CEO who stays locked in his office and only communicates with employees through his assistant

Sahar Haffar Moussly, Executive Director, Trans Gulf Management Consultancy, UKcertified Life Coach and NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) practitioner.

things in perspective and don’t take yourself so seriously.

Self-reflection This can also be called introspection, defined as “the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations.”

Work-life balance The communications revolution means that for many of us the line that separates personal life from work has become blurred. The many gadgets that have entered our lives, from SmartPhones to laptops and iPads, that keep us connected at all times mean that it is not a foreign concept to be working around the clock.

We fail to realise that not everybody at work expects you to be connected at all times, and MAY 2011

forget that finding and creating a balance between work and life is essential to personal and corporate health.

Emotional intelligence As it relates to superior leadership, this is a delicate mix of empathy, intuition and selfawareness. These skills can be obtained or enhanced through corporate coaching, so that you may display these qualities to others in your organisation and lead in such a way that others follow by mimicking your positive behaviours. A CEO who values his organisation and is communicative, and who is firm but fair with employees, is viewed differently from a CEO who stays locked in his office and only communicates with employees through his assistant.

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Management Over the last thirty years coaching has achieved great results in the workplace and it has evolved to new levels.

Dr. Skiffington, author of “Behaviour Coaching” has made great contributions to this development with the revolutionary behavioural coaching model for the workplace developed by her institute.

The term “behaviour” is frequently misused in training and coaching programmes, with little attention paid to methods of actually changing behaviours and insuring that these changes are lasting.

The definition of activities to which behavioural coaching subscribes is: “the actions, responses and reactions of an individual, team or organisation.”

Behavioural coaching can also be defined as: “the science and art or facilitating the performance, learning and development of the individual or team, which in turn assists the growth of the organisation.” The overall goal of behavioural coaching is to help individuals increase their effectiveness and happiness at work, in their studies, or in a social setting.

Everyone involved in personal and professional development needs to understand and appreciate basic behavioural processes and how these relate to individual functioning and organisational performance.

From an organisational perspective, the actions, behaviours and decisions of senior management can make or break the business, regardless of how its vision and strategy appear on paper. It is safe to say that in the current business environment, more than a few basic skills are needed to demonstrate leadership competency.

An executive needs mental and emotional intelligence, sophistication, cultural understanding, technical abilities, operational skills, a leadership mentality, working well with

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others, and a wide variety of other multi-generational, cross cultural, and business savvy skills.

Corporate coaching as such can serve as an essential component to the success of an organisation through emphasising and helping individuals to develop the following: A corporate coach can assist by accelerating the executive’s natural learning curve in a way that may not be achieved alone.

All behaviours result in positive or negative consequences for the individual and those around him.

Individuals are systems within systems, and each individual affects and is affected by these systems and the constant changes they are undergoing.

An individual’s current status and developmental progress should be defined in terms of their behaviour, rather than personality traits or personality styles. Corporate coaching will help you to become more self-aware, will assist you to be able to examine the past and the present to have a better impact on the future.

Specifying the target behaviour to impact a professional skill or position task can help you to learn new behaviours and skills to deal with situations – behaviours which are needed to succeed and may not necessarily have anything to do with your personality traits.

Measuring target behaviour that you need to amend and helps you to recognise blind spots that might put you at risk of failure.

Exploring and changing core values, motivation, beliefs and emotions – which can result in significant behavioural change.

Assessing covert behaviours, for example limiting beliefs and anxiety in relation to overt actions, or speaking at a meeting. A corporate coach can assist the executive’s limiting beliefs that hinder performance and decision making mechanisms, and aid in eliminating any anxiety which could potentially influence or blur an ability to make a right decision in a time of crisis.

MAY 2011

From an organisational perspective, the actions, behaviours and decisions of senior management can make or break the business, regardless of how its vision and strategy appear on paper. It is safe to say that in the current businessenvironment, more than a few basic skills are needed to demonstrate leadership competency

Assessing environmental events and the interactions between behaviour and environment, as a coach can help the executive with adopting the habit of differentiating between environmental factors which could play a role in any situation, versus any behaviour that creates the issue.

Employing validated behavioural techniques Employing sufficient followthrough monitoring and selfcoaching strategies, and assist in reducing linear thinking to become more creative and intuitive.

A corporate coach can assist you in adopting more strategic thinking for greater success.

Therefore, I wonder if any organisation can afford to move into the future without making this one vital tool available to its executives.

It can in many instances, prove to be an important factor in bringing about change in an organisation, especially in the light of more difficult economic times.

ABOUT: Sahar Haffar Moussly is a Dubai based, UK-certified Life Coach and NLP (Neurolinguistic programming) practitioner. Today she runs two businesses. Alongside her life coaching practice, Life in Harmony, Sahar is also Executive Director of Trans Gulf Management Consultancy (TGMC), a firm specialising in conference interpretation and translations service, which was established in 1997.

TGMC was listed as a finalist in the SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards, 2010, in the category of Professional services.

With over 25 years experience in the corporate world, Sahar holds a BA in English Language and Translation gained from Damascus University, and an MA in International Diplomacy gained at the University of Washington. She went on to become a qualified interpreter and translator, gaining a diploma in simultaneous translation and interpretation from the UK and became a member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists.

In 2010 Sahar published a research and guidebook in Arabic entitled: Welcome to tomorrow which introduce the topic of life coaching and self development to Arab audiences. The book was launched in Damascus in January 2010.

For more information about Life in Harmony visit www.lifeinharmony.me

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MANAGEMENT training OBSTACLES <<<

Balancing act OBSTACLES on the path to employee training and development can often appear because of restricted or slashed budgets. Hanan Nagi, coach, speaker, founder and CEO of HNI Training & Coaching, outlines the most common grievances and offers solutions for selecting the right development tools for improving your return ON investment.

Impact of training

Issue There is no real impact from the training on the workplace or the business – it is just a waste of time and money.

Diagnosis of possible cause There is no deep evaluation to the exact training needs of the individuals or teams, hence, the solutions delivered do not really hit the nerve and make a difference.

The use of the wrong development tool – class training alone might not work.

Recommendations Make sure your learning provider runs a comprehensive training needs analysis or pretraining consultancy. This will

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help diagnose the underlying problems, not the superficial ones, and assist you in selecting the right tool, be it training, coaching, mentoring, assessment, or on-the-job training.

Try meeting with a sample group for a particular training programme this year and check what exactly your employees need before sending them to a course they have requested.

For example an exercise may not be the appropriate course at this juncture but rather coaching skills for managers or giving feedback might be a more suitable option, but in order to find this out, the root problem must be first identified.

Insist on having a customised programme, if possible, as per your actual requirements and needs. Many high-quality MAY 2011

Make sure your learning provider runs a comprehensive training needs analysis or pre-training consultancy.

This will help diagnose the underlying problems, not the superficial ones and assist you in selecting the right tool, be it training, coaching, mentoring, assessments, or on-the-job training

training providers across the region would offer you that as a part of the training project. Offthe-shelf training programmes will probably not have such a great impact if the root causes are internal or organisational – this requires a more focused approach.

Ensure your training provider does not lecture for more than 30% of the time – people learn best by doing and getting involved. Request more of an experiential learning approach and review the tools which will be used and ensure there is a variety.

While there are classic and all-time-favourite theories, ensure the training content or curriculum which will be taught to your employees covers the latest research, models, trends and so on.

MANAGEMENT

We only remember the school classes which we enjoyed the most and, of course, remember what we learned in those classes. Make sure your trainer is energetic, fun and passionate. The traditional training lecture approach is no longer effective – try using new tools, TV shows and competitions for example. Ensure they are fun and engaging and you will be amazed by the level of learning retention and application at work thereafter.

Try new behavioural or competency-based training such as, emotional intelligence, coaching skills, NLP or selfleadership. While they may not sound like core business courses, they actually deal with the human dimension behind work, which can make a real difference.

Improvement and development

Issue There is an initial spark of improvement but what was absorbed during the programme then tends to fade away with time.

Diagnosis of possible cause Lack of follow-up Recommendations Internal or external, have a follow-up plan before the training programme commences.

Try simple assignments, tests, or simply ask the training participants to prepare a presentation for their colleagues to transfer the learning. In this instance follow up is crucial not complimentary.

Try coaching the training participant on how they might apply their learning. Ask them to come up with their own improvement project or task, and again support and follow up until the closure.

Make sure follow-up is included in your training project with any training provider you select. Most

high-quality learning providers in the region offer follow-up as a part of the training package you purchase.

Motivation to develop

Issue The employees are not excited or enthusiastic about developing themselves – they go to training to get out of the office and, when in the training room, they want to leave. There seems to be very little genuine interest.

There must be something in it for the employee so try to ensure any training or development programme you organise or conduct covers “what is in it for me”

Diagnosis of possible cause There is no real buy-in at the participants’ end.

Recommendations You can lead the horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink! It is the same for learning – no-one will develop an interest in something unless there is a drive.

There must be something in it for the employee so try to ensure any training or development programme you organise or conduct covers “what is in it for me” the participants as well as what is best for the company.

Ask the trainer to make this clear in the beginning of the programme, or use it in your internal marketing materials if you choose to advertise training programmes prior to the event.

The most successful learning experiences I witnessed when delivering training was with those who saw the benefit of learning the skills to help themselves as well as their companies, not the latter only.

Stay away from traditional training courses. If it is a soft skills related programme, then ask: How is this programme going to improve the behavioural competency of the attendees? If there is no clear answer, then this is most likely another traditional training course and it’s probably best to allocate budget funds to another, more suitable, course.

MAY 2011

Language

Issue The business language is English and this is a barrier for some employees.

Diagnosis of possible problem Participants do not understand some of what is being taught and may be too embarrassed to ask for assistance.

Recommendations In this case, insist on having competent bilingual trainers who can switch to other languages as and when required. It may also place the trainees at ease knowing they share a general common culture or language with the trainer.

You can have the delivery in one language and the materials in another. This approach combines the best of two worlds, though this may again depend on the participant group and their level and background.

Cost

Issue We do not have enough budget for employee development and training, or no budget at all.

Diagnosis of possible cause It is what it is.

Recommendations Small budget Try in-house customised training courses where you can get up to 20 people trained at your own premises for almost 25% of what you would pay if you sent them to public courses. Select your most critical training needs and send your star employees to attend, get certified and return to train the rest of your team members. However, do no compromise on quality – make sure you choose the right learning provider while making the most out of your budget.

No budget at all Identify the training needs and then look within your existing SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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MANAGEMENT

referrals. You can also use online professional Websites such as Linkedin.

Choosing the training provider

No budget at all? Identify the training needs and then look within your existing team for knowledge sharing possibilities.

This needs effort and organisation but it is worth it Hanan Nagi, coach, speaker, founder and CEO of HNI Training & Coaching

team for knowledge sharing possibilities. This needs effort and organisation but it is worth it. You will need to liaise with the line managers who may be helping with internal training so it doesn’t feel like an additional burden for them.

Find free resources, online and in books and start designing your own small training sessions.

Give it a try and get feedback from the attendees. Trying to develop your employees with the resources you have, no matter how limited they are, is still better than no training at all.

In general, think of ways to turn your HR/training department into a profit-making department. For example, are there sister companies or subsidiaries which you could start providing services to for a reasonable fee? This, in turn, could fund future training courses.

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Location

Issue We cannot fly our employees to have them trained, especially when it comes to travel cost and expenses.

Diagnosis of possible cause Lack of clear selection criteria.

Competent providers in current location, or in the area surrounding, cannot be easily found online.

Recommendations While this might be true for certain countries, there are many high-quality regional training providers who could run the program at your premises wherever you are. To find them, especially if specialised or technical, try networking with other companies in your field of expertise from neighbouring countries and ask for advice or MAY 2011

Issue It is hit and miss – sometimes we get lucky and the provider we choose does a great job, but sometimes they don’t.

Diagnosis of possible cause Again, lack of clear selection criteria.

Recommendations Make sure you have a clear criteria upon which you select or reject your training provider. Some of the most essential questions you should ask are: Does the training provider offer pre-course internal consultancy or help with the TNA if required?

How competent is the trainer assigned for the project?

What is the feedback from the references you checked about this provider?

How passionate is the provider or trainer about your programme?

Do they give recommendations and suggestions?

Do they challenge you and give you ethical advice, even if it is against their financial gain?

How updated is the training content?

Is it customised as per your actual needs or off-the-shelf?

What learning tools and approach does the provider use?

Does the provider offer a follow up plan?

What happens if the feedback is low – would the provider re-run the programme?

How did any previous training programmes provided by that trainer help the organisation before?

Has it really made a difference?

In general, does the training provider come across as a vendor or a learning partner?

Marketing Media Relations

<<<

Taming the beast?

Media relations are important for business but this vital skill is not rocket science And you don’t even need a PR agency, claims Alan Devereux, Communications Officer for the British Business Group, Dubai and Northern Emirates.

I have been talking to the media for a number of years. I have also been a media. The thing about the media is that it is not considered human. Medias, people who work within the media, are generally catagorised by job title or by the company they work for – let’s use TV as an example: “He is broadcast media.”

Many communications companies will have special people within their walls who are expertly trained to talk to media. Many of these companies will charge you a hefty fee, after all media training is a very specialised field. Not something you would want to tackle by yourself!

I was a business media, a broadcast business media. I was a target for many communication companies, not only in the UAE, but globally. My inbox was a primordial ooze of activity and I spent a lot of my day working out what time it was in Wisconsin so that the 6 am interview would go off without a hitch. I digress...

It is not difficult to talk to the media. It is not difficult to find a specific media. All you need to understand is that the term “the media” is misrepresentative. Many people who work in the media industry are actually quite nice and just want to get paid at the end of the month. There is nothing (generally) that one should be afraid of. Medias are just like you, and they

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all have names and families.

People who work in the media industry produce content for other people to consume. That is it; it is as simple as that. You will find many different types of content producers – from investigative to shipping and every possible connotation in between.

Once you find the person you should be talking to, get to know them. You don’t need to hire a PR company to talk to that person; you need a good story and his or her phone number.

Spin city “But, my PR company has excellent relations with my media – I pay them to speak to them on my behalf as they have excellent relations.” Please allow me to explain how the majority of PR companies operate (in the Middle East at least).

The senior manager you signed the deal with is working on business development and HR. The Head of Strategy you met is preparing PowerPoint presentations for the MD to win new business with.

The people meeting with the media are actually the most junior members of the team…which was very frustrating for me because they are the least informed about your company and product.

So the reality is that the people who have sold you media relations as an important part of your package probably don’t have any.

Other realities include (but are not limited to): MAY 2011

Media is content. “A media” creates content. If you have good content you can secure coverage.

Good media relations don’t exist as you think they do; content producers want the best possible for their outlets so generally they don’t mind who delivers it to them.

Bad media relations do exist.

I have heard people in the media say they create Outlook rules to Junk Mail certain PR company’s e-mails.

Alan Devereux, Communications Officer for the British Business Group, Dubai and Northern Emirates

People who work in media produce content for other people to consume.

That is it; it is as simple as that. Once you find the person you should be talking to, get to know them.

You don’t need to hire a PR company to talk to that person; you need a good story and his or her phone number

Do it yourself Now we know there is no need to hire a professional to speak to content producers, I guess we should probably discuss how to do it.

Get a phone number for the person you want to speak to and call him or her.

When introducing yourself, explain briefly who you are and ask if you can send them an e-mail.

Send a detailed mail outlining your content, making it very obvious within the first paragraph what you do or what your product is.

Make another follow up call the next day if there has been no reply.

You can, with just a little effort, secure coverage for your company without paying a monthly retainer.

There is nothing wrong with hiring a PR company – some are very good.

But if your budget does not have that much flexibility, you can save putting your hand in your pocket by picking up the telephone instead.

ABOUT: Alan Devereux is a husband, a father, and Communications Officer for the British Business Group, Dubai and Northern Emirates, and he can be contacted at info@britbiz-uae.com or http:// ae.linkedin.com/in/alandevereux.

MARKETING Cynergix Enterprise <<<

which we will introduce for them but then there will be instances where each brand will need tailor made strategies and adjustments.

One of our first questions will be to ask: What are the five major problems you are having with promoting your brand? When this is answered we can make our offering both very focused to the market and to the particular client and their brand.

Making the right connection Social media marketing IS a buzz WORD THAT has swept the globe LATELY and although businesses are realising its potential to maximise brand exposure, many are simply not succeeding. With this in mind, Mike Byrne decided to seek out advice from a company which ADVISES CLIENTS LIKE PEPSI AND NESTLE IN INDIA. What sets Cynergix Enterprise apart from a lot of other social media experts in the market?

All the different forms of media are evolving at a very fast rate and yet they are all interlinked in some way and complement each other. What we see now is that media has become increasingly more interactive, intimate and sensitive.

What is the methodology of Cynergix?

We very recently established within the UAE and we are making sure we take time to understand the market before launching our services. What our company has been working on is to create customised market-centric social media tools, which will take the entire concept of social media to an entirely different level.

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If you look at what we have done in India, we approach companies and propose how best they can conceptualise their business on social media. What we have always emphasised is that first take time to monitor the markets before proceeding to launch the business across social media.

When you build a loyal customer base it has to be monitored and there has to be constant interaction – too many businesses build the pages or initially launch the brand on a platform and then after some time the consistency of activity fades. With this advice we have now over 50 brands as clients, including Pepsi and Nestle in India.

So when we sit down with a potential client we firstly explain that we have a standard approach MAY 2011

And we are having to constantly remind clients that if they have social media as part of their company strategy then signs of that need to be visible – on business cards, on advertising and through dialogue with customers and colleagues

What is Cynergix’s view on social media strategy and how do you implement this with your clients?

Whether we are dealing with a big or a small brand the same principles apply – your brand is complimented by social media, not solely driven by it. Social media is not the answer to all the problems – it is one of many branches of marketing strategy that needs to be introduced and, more importantly, understood for the role it plays.

The question should not be why should a company use social media should be what is your objective. Companies have in the past, and continue to, spend a lot of time and expenditure setting up and marketing through Facebook without even thinking what they are doing and very quickly budgets become exhausted without any real progress being made with brand promotion and ROI. Cynergix teaches and directs its clients to firstly plan, then implement, but only where it can progress the brand in the most effective manner. Clear, concise and properly qualified education for social media is something that is lacking – this is something that Cynergix can provide, and on a performance level and client satisfaction, our track record reinforces this claim.

Many SMEs are dealing with small budgets and so they either are not aware of how to properly

MARKETING

distribute this budget efficiently for social media or end up spending it recklessly, either internally or acquiring the services of someone not well qualified.

We try to teach clients that it’s not effective brand strategy to just set up accounts and pages across the various platforms, to leave them unattended and unmonitored and hope that something sticks.

And we are having to constantly remind clients that if they have social media as part of their company strategy then signs of that need to be visible – on business cards, on advertising and through dialogue with customers and colleagues. You’d be surprised how many companies spend time promoting their brand across social media and then don’t verbally inform people that they are active across these platforms.

What do your team at Cynergix see as one of the most important elements to promoting a brand on social media?

It is understandable that some SMEs simply don’t have the resources to allocate a person to sit and monitor social media on a daily basis, and, in some instances, we have found that any resource allocated initially can often be asked to contribute to another element of the business after some time because teams are often stretched.

With this said, there is no point in promoting your business and your brand across platforms such as Twitter if a constant line of communication cannot be maintained – this platform demands constant interaction in order for it to produce dividends So what we would suggest is to try and figure out at the planning stage how realistic it will be to allocate resources to particular platforms, and to proceed with a realistic assessment. Not all platforms need constant attention and interaction in order to be effective for your business. So, for

Vikram V Prabhu, Chief Executive Officer, Cynergix Enterprise

example, if a business wants to get a message across and cannot afford the time to have someone post information on a daily basis, they could always think about putting together a series of short informative videos for YouTube.

These can then be added once a week or once a fortnight and updated automatically and so on – if there are any responses or questions posted then you can respond accordingly. You are getting your brand and information online in an interactive style with very little time and money spent.

The mistake we see a lot of businesses making is that they begin their social media campaign very proactively and initially deliver so much. What happens over time is that they become impatient with the process because there may not be quick tangible results and, so, less time is spent, interest wavers and then there is an inability to maintain the initial high level of interaction. We advise clients that start as you mean to go on – social media is a marathon, not a sprint – it’s about keeping it consistent and level and building up traction.

ABOUT: Cynergix Enterprise is a global social media intelligence innovation company based in Dubai and with offices also in India and Singapore. It is also the first company to be selected by the Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZ) under their entrepreneurial programme – Dubai Enterprise Centre (DEC).

Founded by Vikram V Prabhu and Venkat Ramana, Cynergix has an all media range that encompasses traditional and new media to social media.

Cynergix Enterprise can offer everything from application development and animation to digital properties and search engine optimisation (SEO).

Can you tell us a little more about a client you have worked with and what particular form of social media implementation helped them best?

Singapore Airlines asked us to achieve 50% growth within one year, with Internet transactions and purchase of tickets on their Website, via search engines. In MAY 2011

actual fact we met that target after six months. It was the framework we introduced into that project which helped achieve that and it’s this type of framework campaign which we specialise in.

With this project it very much concentrated on SEO (search engine optimisation) and when dealing with SEO you have to look beyond your own site – it’s also the social media platforms.

So in this regard we customised the SEO, implementing the social media with the Website content – in essence it’s about handling the content for the client and stretching it across the Internet so that it appears within as many searches as possible on search engines like Google.

Is Cynergix working on any new social media tool or programme which will help streamline and help micro-manage a range of social media functions?

At present we’re working on an application which will give the power to the users – it will add value using innovation. So instead of having several tools and several applications we are working on how best to blend them all in to one. The social element will be the central element, where everything from the creation, monitoring, responding and engagement, can all be simultaneously managed.

There are hundreds of tools available on the market at the moment but no one central system to help integrate and manage them all. There will be a form of artificial intelligence with this new program which will assist the user with automation of responses and so on.

But, again, this programme can be tailored to meet the specific needs and demands of each user. So, depending on the user, the priority applications will differ but the basis of it functionality will be the same across the range of tweaked programs.

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

43

Sales Revenue

<<<

Do the right thing What’s the quickest way to generate profitable revenue? It’s simple – make sure that your sales team is focused on the right activities, says Peter Heredia, Managing Director of Max Sales Solutions.

It’s a scary fact but, on an average, a salesperson spends between 5 and 10% of their available time on actual selling activity. This means that in an average week, less than half a day is actually spent selling or working on revenue generating activity.

Visiting customers is the activity that is most directly related to increasing revenue results, so sales people and their managers need to remove “time stealers” and plan to spend the maximum possible time in front of potential customers.

“What is revenue generating activity?” you may well be asking and what is stopping your sales people doing more? Take a step

back and ask yourself some more questions to find the right answers.

Should a salesperson be: • looking at e-mails or at their sales pipeline?

• on the road or in the office?

• worrying about admin or how long it takes to close deals?

• talking to other departments or talking to customers?

• recycling activity to managers or recycling business?

Of course all of these things need to be done, including some of the less productive activities, but the question is how to increase the focus on the tasks that actually generate revenue.

Think about this:

Should a salesperson be looking at e-mails or at their sales pipeline, and talking to other departments or talking to customers?

between 5% and If the average salesperson spends this means you g, sellin ally actu time their of 10% people if you would need an additional 19 sales during a day. g sellin of s hour t eigh full a wanted

What is revenue generating activity?

It is about two things: • Making proposals for your products or services in face-to-face meetings with genuine, qualified prospects.

• Carrying out any activity that is directly related to arranging faceto-face meetings with genuine qualified prospects to make a proposal of your products or services.

What are the main time stealers for salespeople?

Fixing things that don’t really matter: Most people like to be seen as busy. Very often this means working on things that are very visible to others or that they have simply reacted to rather than planned – dealing with a customer issue that should be dealt with by another department for example.

Operating in their own comfort zone: That means seeing the people they know and like or doing the things that they like doing as opposed to the challenging job of selling.

Internal distractions: Take a look at the activities that are directly dictated by the organisation, meetings, bureaucracy, admin, training and so on. You will probably

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MAY 2011

Sales

be amazed at the amount of time spent busily talking to each other.

Failing to prioritise: Every action should be tested or challenged against its impact on the two revenue generating activity areas mentioned earlier. If the action isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t contributing to achieving progress on either then it is most likely a waste of time.

Poor planning: This covers all aspects of organising themselves to do their job, from territory organisation, call planning and customer segmentation to making sure that customers are visited according to a well thought out schedule.

There are many others but this group would cover a large part of what is normally stealing revenue generating time from a salesperson.

Step 1: Clearly identify the revenue generating drivers of your business Step 2: Ensure that all salespeople completely understand every driver and the activity related to improving each of them.

Step 3: Provide every salesperson and manager tools to provide clear visibility of their activity so that at all times they are aware of what they need to do tomorrow, the next day, next week, or next month, to drive revenue.

Peter Heredia, Managing Director of Max Sales Solutions

Getting your sales team focused You can guide and coach a salesperson to focus on revenue generating activities and what is stopping them from doing more, however, the best approach is to ensure that they are aware of what revenue generating activity is

customers, the impact on revenue is huge.

With all other things being equal, if the salesperson in this example can increase their daily visits from 3 to 4, through better focus on time management for example, this will mean that they can improve the number of opportunities that they will work on each month from 12 to 16. This will deliver an increase in revenue from 60,000 to 80,000 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a 33% increase with no increase in fixed costs.

ABOUT:

and ensure that they want to change their focus.

How do you do this? Well it is quite straightforward but it may not be easy. Here are three steps to focus on:

How optimising your activity will improve your revenue If we look at the example below, it is clear that by focusing on only one of the revenue drivers - visiting

Peter Heredia is the Managing Director of Max Sales Solutions. He has worked with sales teams around the globe for more than two decades and has worked in the Middle East for the last ten years. His passion is helping smaller businesses to significantly improve revenue performance by focussing on the productivity and efficiency of their sales teams.

If you would like to talk to Peter then please contact him on peter@ maxsalesolutions.com

MAY 2011

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

45

Business growth Business plans <<<

Alice in Wonderland and business plans It is a jungle out there – a surreal land of make believe, fantasy and fiction at times.

So how do you find your way through it to reach your destination? Vikram Venkataraman, Director, Salvus Strategic Advisors, feels that writing business plans is old news; understanding the thought process is what really takes you forward.

Alice in Wonderland is one of the finest books written. Read on about a conversation between Alice and the Cheshire Cat. Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

The Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”

Alice: “I don’t much care where…”

The Cat: “Then it doesn’t really matter which way you go!”

Alice continued her explanation: “….so long as I get somewhere…”

The Cat: “Oh, you’re sure to do that, if you only walk long enough.”

Alice scratched her head and thought for a long time and realised that the forest was a big, confusing, dangerous place and that if she did not know where to go and how to get there, she was in for a lot of trouble – she

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knew she would spend a lot of time and effort in trying to get nowhere in particular. She knew she had to figure out where she wanted to get to, who she was going to ask for directions and help in getting there, figure out what she needed along the way, and how long it would take. She needed a plan.

The business plan is much like what Alice needed to come up with – nothing but a detailed journey planner, meant to help one think carefully about one’s journey and everything that goes into making a long and arduous road as smooth and well planned as possible. It is just about careful thinking and visualisation of the trip, and attempting to minimise the impact of various types of risks MAY 2011

A strategic plan also depends on the type of business you run and what stage it is at.

For example, if you are an opportunistic trader in Dubai, willing to trade in anything or make money on a “deal by deal” basis, there is not much point in a strategic plan! by arming oneself with proper tools and help.

The “How to write a business plan” theme has been written about ad nauseum – a Google search is proof enough. The “why” of the business planning exercise is the real key and it is extremely important to understand the practical implications of thinking of a

Business growth

business plan that addresses both, the long-term (strategic) and the short-term (operating) objectives and plans. A standard plan format is good enough to get you thinking carefully about the where, why, how and when of a business journey, in a structured manner that forces you to think of hugely critical issues that you otherwise might

not think of, gloss over or trivialise.

The word “plan” conveys the notion of rigidity, something you are not supposed to deviate from. A strategic plan is not about dogmatic adherence.

It is meant exactly to do the opposite – it is meant to help you not only visualise your long term goals but also visualise the path to get you there

From the big picture to minor details It is important to look at your business from two perspectives – the long and short term. A long term or strategic plan outlines your overall strategy and paints the big picture of what you are MAY 2011

doing, where you are going and, broadly, how you’re going to get there. This exercise is meant to sharpen the focus on what you really want the business to achieve and how you are going to do it. It is not about the short term and a to-do list for the immediate. It is about the long term and about the larger canvas. A strategic plan is largely about Alice’s first question and what you need to get out of a robust strategic plan is: What does our business stand for – what do we represent?

What exactly are we capable of doing and what needs are we addressing?

How will we stay different?

What are the serious challenges facing us and how do we respond (and continue to do so) to these?

Do we have what it takes to get to our destination – what exactly do we need and when?

A strategic plan also depends on the type of business you run and what stage it is at. For example, if you are an opportunistic trader in Dubai, willing to trade in anything or make money on a “deal by deal” basis, there is not much point in a strategic plan! If you are a very early stage small business, then your strategic plan will focus less on organisation or structural issues and more on the market, your USP and funding strategy.

The word “plan” conveys the notion of rigidity, something you are not supposed to deviate from. A strategic plan is not about dogmatic adherence. It is meant exactly to do the opposite – it is meant to help you not only visualise your long term goals but also visualise the path to get you there. This path is always strewn with obstacles – new ones that you could not have foreseen but are prepared to handle, precisely because you have created an organisation that can respond quickly with alternative routes!

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Business growth

The path is only as clear as far ahead as you can see it – what you can immediately or with reasonable accuracy predict, is the short term which you need to carefully think about and plan for as well.

Once you have a strategy and a basic strategic plan in place, only then can you answer the following: What are our short-term objectives?

How do we organise ourselves to achieve these?

Who will do what and by when?

How will we measure everything that everyone is supposed to do?

A business or operating plan looks at your short-term objectives and needs in more detail and helps you plan in shoring up key areas and will help you avoid making common mistakes. It will also help you identify and address weaknesses in your firm, as well as help you think of areas where there is potential to make money – areas you never went to before. There are two types of business plans – one which is a combination of a longer-term strategic plan and a shorter-term perspective, for purposes of presentation to a financier. The other is more an operating plan where the business owner needs to get down to the nitty gritty of key elements of the business: Market analysis, competitor (and product) analysis and positioning of the firms’ products or services.

Financial projections: Starting with the projected sales figure, you need to think of, and forecast, expenses – both running and capital expenditure, and plan on how you are going to fund your growth (effectively the balance sheet – sources and applications of funds).

Cash flow forecasts: Profit

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Profit is one thing, cash is entirely another. In my 25 years as a banker, it has been astonishing to see the number of businesspeople perplexed by their profitable firms being constantly short of cash!

MAY 2011

Vikram Venkataraman, Director, Salvus Strategic Advisors

is one thing, cash is entirely another. In my 25 years as a banker, it has been astonishing to see the number of businesspeople perplexed by their profitable firms being constantly short of cash!

Organisation: People – do you have the right team, do you need more, when will you recruit more employees. Think about the time it takes to get good people…plan!

Performance review: Milestones for the business, time lines and monitoring mechanisms need to be laid down.

Above everything else, one must realise that strategic and business plans are really tools to try and make one cover all bases – to think of as many angles as possible whilst making your business work. It’s not about a fancy document. Good plans will help you: take yourself, your beliefs and passion seriously and put them up to tough questions; take the market and the

environment seriously and not put your head in the sand to avoid seeing reality and therefore opportunities and obstacles; take others’ (partners, stakeholders, employees) opinions, seriously; and will help you to be taken seriously.

Take time and care to plan well.

You will discover where you want to go and how you want to get there.

ABOUT: Vikram Venkataraman is a career banker with 25 years of experience in banking in India and the Middle East with various banks. Some of the key senior positions he held are: • Executive Director, Regional Head of Credit Structuring ABN AMRO Bank, Middle East and Africa.

• Founding Member of Management Team and Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking, Dubai Bank.

• Head of SME Business, Transaction Banking and Factoring, Mashreq Bank, Dubai.

• Various assignments in Corporate Banking in HSBC India.

His most recent experience in banking has been as the Head of the SME Business at Mashreq, which he left in 2010 to co-found an SME focussed investment banking firm – Salvus Strategic Advisors, JLT in Dubai and Salvus Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai. Salvus advises SMEs with the objective of helping them grow.

Raising equity and debt capital is an integral part of Salvus’s activities.

Vikram has also been an entrepreneur in the wellness business, giving him a unique perspective of SME issues, both from a banking and entrepreneur’s points of view.

Vikram holds a BA from Loyola College, India and MA from Oxford University, UK. He has served as the Secretary of the Oxford University Economics Society.

Business growth SERVICES <<<

Translation services and your PRO Public Relations Officers (PROs) often offer translation as part of their services.

Unlike other countries where a PRO seems to be appointed to deal with the media on your behalf, a PRO in the UAE is a different proposition. Independent financial adviser Greg Pogonowski looks at the nature of the beast.

If you are going to do business in the UAE and you need your documents translated into another language, you need a translator. This is especially true when dealing with the government, as all official documents have to be in Arabic.

They can of course be in another language too. Most expatriates will first create their document in their home language, or English, which is the international language of business like it or not, and then have to get it translated into whichever language is needed, as documents may be going to more than one destination.

When selecting the translator or translation services company, you will need to check that each

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order is processed according to rigorous quality assurance procedures. Depending on individual circumstances these may be expanded or reduced, but in all cases a minimum level of quality control has to be demonstrated, so do your due diligence.

Public Relations Officers (PROs) can, and often do, offer this as part of what they perform. Unlike other countries where a PRO seems to be the face or team appointed to deal with the media on your behalf, a PRO in the UAE is a different proposition.

Here they provide a service for companies seeking to develop and maintain links with government and non-government agencies in the UAE such as: Employment visa requirements, MAY 2011

Whilst systems are getting better and more technology based, it can still take a long time queuing and this is where a PRO can help the most. Not only should they have an up-to-date knowledge of what forms are needed for what, and this is an everchangeable feast, but also the other requirements that go with them

immigration, medical, labour card, resident visa requirements, national identity card, and so on.

Renewal of trade licence Application forms for visit visa requirements not only for your friends and relatives, but also for embassies Visa transfer, medical and blood test Resident visa for families of employees Visa cancellation Passport renewal Renewal of labour card, resident visa, medical card, and so on Renewal of visit visa Legal and other translation Car registration Attest certificates and diplomas in the UAE For those of us who have been here a while, we all know that whilst systems are getting better and more technology based, there seems to be more administration here compared to some countries, so it can still take a long time queuing and this is where a PRO can help the most.

Not only should they have an up-todate knowledge of what forms are needed for what, and this is an everchangeable feast, but also the other requirements that go with them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; where to get them, who they need to be given to, when and where and the cost.

There are five basic translation services that any SME might need:

translation services 1Legal

This is the most relevant area for the UAE. Legal translators need to be selected not only for their linguistic skills, but also for their technical expertise. They need to produce accurate, well-written translations of legal documents. Translations done should be by someone certified suitable for any court or government agency in the country.

Business growth A legal translator is a professional who has been duly authorised by the government of the country in question to translate and notarise a document. Any certified translation produced by a legal translator is an official document in its own right.

The translation is certified with a stamped declaration which is written in the relevant language, as well as in English.

Documents that require certified translation services might include papers that have to be submitted to an immigration or naturalisation department (such as birth, marriage and divorce certificates), official transcripts (such as high school certificates, university degrees and vocational training certificates), regulatory documents (such as informed consents, protocols, research data forms and case report forms), patents and many others.

In order to eliminate the risk of errors, legal translators should be competent in the areas required which might include: a Comparative law: They have a basic knowledge of the legal systems of both the source and target languages. b Specific terminology: They should be familiar with the specific terminology of the particular legal field(s) dealt with in the source and target text. c Legal writing style: They should be competent in the specific legal writing style of the target language. d Banking and financial law: They would need to have extensive knowledge of finance and banking practice, including, in some cases, in-house experience of working with major institutions. This gives them a perspective that is highly focused on the clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business objectives, and a technical knowledge of the financial service industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special regulatory requirements. These might also need to include loan agreements, contracts, memos and letters, and financial reports. e Corporate law: These would include by-laws, inter-shareholder agreements, powers of attorney, meeting minutes, certificates

of incorporation, contract and shareholder agreements, and so on.

translation services 2Commercial

Greg Pogonowski, independent financial advisor

Legal translators need to be selected not only for their linguistic skills, but also for their technical expertise.

A legal translator is a professional who has been duly authorised by the government of the country in question to translate and notarise a document

This deals with business correspondence and international marketing campaigns. It is designed to supply clients with professional linguists who have been selected to cope with a variety of international business challenges, so that they can provide expert assistance whether you are planning an advertising campaign, a presentation or a new brochure, or are looking for ways to facilitate your expansion overseas.

These could include the need for: a Financial statements b Business reports c International marketing publications

translation services 3Technical

The main purpose of most technical texts and translations is to convey factual information. However, serious concerns arise when dealing with technical terminologies. Each industry uses its own particular jargon that must be standardised to convey the same factual information in a foreign language.

Given that technology is constantly evolving, it is essential for the technical translator to keep pace with innovation. Make sure that the technical translator you select possesses an up-to-date glossary of technical terms that is specific to their industry. This area would also need to include: a Patent translation service b Medical translation service c Engineering translation service

and proofreading services 4 Editing Efficiently translated and proofread documents play a crucial role in a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success since you stake your professional reputation on the accuracy of the translated document. For every job for which you make a bid, you are likely to be competing with five, ten or even more other companies. You have to

MAY 2011

find a way to distinguish from your rivals in order to win that contract.

A good piece of writing can reinforce your ability to deliver. This applies whether you are submitting a business tender, or writing the next great movie script!

localisation services 5Website

As localisation becomes more and more central to the market, so too does the need for translators who specialise in this area. The process of localising product does not merely involve the translation of your text into a foreign language. It is a complex procedure involving cultural adaptation and technological challenges.

Look at translation services which include software publishers if needed, so that they can provide you with tailored versions of their software, documentation, marketing and Web-based information in different languages for simultaneous worldwide release.

In conclusion, without the right knowledge about the current business environment in the UAE, or whichever country you are working in, simple procedures can run into days and weeks, unnecessarily holding up your business. Legal transactions with government departments in the UAE, like the Ministry of Labour, Department of Naturalisation and Residency, Ministry of Foreign affairs, Economic Department, Municipality, and so on can be completed smoothly and quickly with qualified and efficient PROs. You can try to do it all on your own, but it will probably save you considerable time and money, to say nothing of your patience, to outsource your PRO and translation services requirements.

ABOUT: Greg Pogonowski is an independent financial adviser with over 27 years experience in the financial services profession and works with Pinnacle Asset & Wealth Management. He can be contacted at greg@yourmoney-matters.com, or by calling +971 (0) 50 8769035.

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Office set-up Interiors <<<

BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS So you’VE GOT your office space but then comes the task of having to DO IT UP – should you keep the traditional style with cubicles and managerial offices or go for a more open-plan modern feel? Mike Byrne talks to Ben Shaw, Managing Director, DORMA Gulf, about the growing trends in the region.

If an SMEs has a small office space what is the advice DORMA would offer in order to best utilise this space?

Well let’s start with the obvious – the division of office space. With clever little adjustments with walls – there are acoustically rated moveable wall products which are available – you can basically take a space and divide it into several different configurations.

It’s just a matter of putting tracks in a particular space and correspondingly on the ceiling. By simply sliding them in one direction or another, a different space can be created for different purpose. This can be done by manually re-positioning them or it can be done automatically.

This is very useful for opening and closing a space, depending on

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needs for meetings or alternatively re-opening the space for more integration. But, on the flipside, when this sliding divide is closed you are losing a lot more air from one space to the next. So, what you should do is look at your climate control bill prior to having this sliding partition or door and the bill after – the divide might be useful for office design but is it practical for the cost of climate control and distribution of air flow?

The sound absorption is the most important element because when you have standard partitions they can be okay but are not the highest on the dB rating – we find that low level muttering can be detected through such partitioning. In the market you can purchase specially designed glass divisions, for example where the dB is 50, which is very good as the normal

MAY 2011

For an SME, which has an office space across one floor, and which needs to maximise this one floor, its best to take this space and divide it into the mix which is needed between the open space and the fixed office space

levels required to drown out noise is in the region of 35 to 40.

For an SME, which has an office space across one floor, and which needs to maximise this one floor, its best to take this space and divide it into the mix which is needed between the open space and the fixed office space.

If you take the fixed office space then they have two options – you can stick to the traditional one office per manager and cubicles and so on but you will be restricting yourself to a degree. If you use a moveable partition then you have more room for an open plan mentality and creating the necessary communicative environment.

Dealing with employees and customers also becomes much easier in an office space of this kind.

In addition to the partitions, you can use automatic doors, so that you can have privacy when you need it at the click of a button or you can just leave the door open. In the scheme of things, automatic doors with this capability are not too expensive to install – about AED 15,000 or thereabouts, and that should include the fitting and installation, depending on the supplier.

The glass version will obviously have less sound absorption than wood so, depending on your needs, the price will vary here too. But it’s a door at the end of the day so you are not going to get complete sound absorption because it is a moving fitting.

What we are seeing in the market, especially since the

Office set-up

economic slowdown, is that SMEs don’t want to have to refurbish their offices every couple of years just because they have made cut-backs or have expanded. So, to have such flexible fittings in the office space leaves more options for flexible redesign when required instead of paying to have permanent fixtures uplifted and new fixtures installed.

What kind of systems are in the market for SMEs who want to create an open office space but who want to maintain high-quality security?

There are access control systems which are available in the market.

You can track who is coming in and out of your building using key-fobs or through transmitters you can attach to a key-ring or your lapel and then there can be monitored security and access control.

How do you find workplace trends here compared with other regions – are businesses moving away from traditional office and cubicle formats to more open and engaging spaces?

You see a lot more open plan beginning to take shape. At the end of the day a lot of the architects, planners and designers are brought from Europe and North America for their expertise and therefore they bring their style and the growing trends from their respective regions with them.

Even if they are not from that part of the world, it is often the case that these people may have been educated

Ben Shaw, Managing Director, DORMA Gulf

in that part of the world and so have been influenced in some form or another. So from this perspective office spaces in the region are being influenced into adopting a more modern, open style.

And you have to take into consideration that the days of dull, gloomy offices are no longer an option for many businesses – employees now expect a bright office with more natural light and employers are now taking the feedback from employees much more seriously. The morale and the interaction between employees and with customers or clients are other factors which encourage businesses to adopt a more modern approach to office interior design.

What new innovative products has DORMA launched into the market to cater for office interior design?

We have recently launched the CS80 Magneo, which is an automatic door operator for internal use up to 80kg – this is the magnetic levitation for the low-powered consumption model. We also have a new product call Viseur, which is basically a product which is fitted into the floor and ceiling and you then cut a glass door in a particular way – so essentially all you will see is the glass door, but no fitting on the door.

Effectively it is totally transparent.

ABOUT: Ben Shaw joined DORMA Gulf in the capacity of Managing Director in 1997 and spearheaded the company’s operations from its headquarters based in Dubai. During Ben’s 14 year stint with DORMA the team has grown significantly from four to 253 people.

Ben has over 28 years of experience and prior to joining DORMA he worked with Black & Decker Overseas A.G. in the capacity of Sales Director.

Strategic guidance from Ben saw DORMA Gulf opening offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait among other cities and coming up of DORMA Middle East ‘Service and Installation’ in 2005 along with DORMA Interior Services Division in 2011.

DORMA has a range of products for office openings or building spaces.

They work closely with architects and designers to accommodate fittings which integrate into a building’s required design parameters.

There is more and more discussion around building green. Is this something that is becoming more MAY 2011

of a request from businesses designing and fitting buildings and office spaces?

Well people realise that it’s a changing world and a realisation that there is not an unlimited amount of the materials we are using. Businesses are now considering how these materials might be recycled in the future – a lot of companies in the construction and design market, including DORMA, are now using a lot of recyclable aluminium and steel.

Under service and maintenance there is the issue of sustainability.

Businesses now, and in particular the smaller businesses, want to know that the products they are installing for buildings and workplaces, with regular service and maintenance will last at least the lifetime of the building. What business owners need to realise, however, is that office interiors will need adjustments and repairs from time to time but as long as these services are carried out then there is no reason why there can’t be long-term sustainability.

With time businesses are beginning to realise that greener, more sustainable materials are not necessarily more expensive.

For something like the electronic sliding door for the workplace, it might be a little more expensive at the time for the purchase and installation but when you consider it in terms of maintenance and power consumption, then in the long-run it’s going to save you money.

From our experience over the past two and a half years in what has been a slower time, at least in this region, businesses are definitely now more understanding of the value of service and maintenance and the value of these green products in the long-term not only for their workplaces but for the entire building as a whole.

In respect of workplace installation and design there has been a shift from more short- term thinking to a more medium-long- term policy, and a more developed and mature market has emerged here in the Middle East in this sense.

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Business pin-up of the month Mo Elzubeir <<<

Gathering Mo-mentum Mo Elzubeir is a tough cookie and he tells it like it is. He dons many hats – active blogger, serial ranter, occasional funny guy and the Managing Director of Mediastow, to name just a few. After a chat with him, Ketaki Banga endED up transcribing one of the longest interviews ever.

Mediastow is a media consultancy firm established in 2005 which provides communication evaluation, measurements and analysis to support its clients’ communication programmes. At the 2010 SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards, Mediastow was a finalist in the category of Media and Marketing.

Its founder and Managing Director Mo Elzubeir moved to Dubai shortly after graduation, attracted by the possibilities that it presented.

“I had the idea of Mediastow after working on a development

project with my former employer for a company that did the same thing. At the time, the idea of starting a media monitoring company was the farthest thing from my mind. I do remember, however, that I saw several flaws in how they did things and, despite my recommendations, they ignored it,” says Mo. “I was just a developer for their software vendor and simply did what I was told. I met with one of their former employees who worked at my department and we started talking about the possibility of setting up a similar company

in Jordan. I thought it was an interesting idea but didn’t believe Jordan was a viable market; so I went back to the drawing board, put together the business plan and then quickly proceeded to write the software that would drive the company’s system. It took me two weeks to write the code and get things started,” he continues.

Mo has had his fair share of failures. He quit his first job in Dubai, joined a start-up that failed, and then joined a publishing company where the entire dept was laid off.

But by then he was ready with his business plan. “I was about to hand in my resignation when I found the termination letter on my desk.

I was the only one in the whole department with a smile that day,” he grins. “I decided it was time to be in control of my own destiny.”

But he admits that starting out on his own was no cakewalk.

Although his experience was in technology and media, he knew little about management and finances. “I made a lot of mistakes and learned along the way,” he

The Mediastow Dubai team

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MAY 2011

Business pin-up of the month confesses. “The thrill of going into uncharted waters excites me. The idea of building something from scratch is what keeps me going.”

Starting young You can tell Mo likes to buck the trend. His incisive and often controversial comments on Twitter are just the tip of the iceberg.

Apparently he was a trouble maker (a smart one, in all fairness) right from the start.

“My elementary school teachers would tell you that I was a bright but troubled child. I didn’t always answer the questions even when I knew the answers. If I didn’t like the question, I would critique it instead.

I didn’t care for conformity,” he reveals. “Maybe it was attention seeking; maybe it’s just me screaming look at me!”

In junior high, he started his first business with a friend selling pirated games to computer shops in Bahrain. “It was a good business and we were responsible for most of the games available in the market at the time. This was back when 3.5-inch disks were new,” he says with a straight face.

In high school (a different school, he clarifies), Mo started his first underground magazine with another friend. It was a satirical take on school which made fun of the administration, teachers and students. The magazine proved to be popular among both students and teachers. “In fact, it was written so well that even when we were caught, the principal found it difficult to punish us for it. We managed to put out five issues, before someone told on us. We knew we were going to get caught and did it just to see how far we could take it. It was a good run!” he beams.

While studying computer science at the University of North Texas, he founded Arabeyes.org, which was responsible for bringing Arabic support to Linux. He put together a team of volunteers and a platform for collaborations which resulted in applications adding Arabic support, translations for popular applications

(like FireFox) and new applications, among other things.

Mo Elzubeir

When Mo’s dad was dropping him off to his university in the US, his parting words were, “You know what, you’re black, you’re Muslim, you’re Arab and your name is Mohammad – good luck!”

Tough guy?

Mo is of Sudanese origin and, unless prodded, he doesn’t like to talk about some of the hard knocks he took because he had to fight just that little bit harder at times.

“As a kid, we moved a lot. Only one of my siblings was born in Sudan; I went to Denmark, KSA, Bahrain, Qatar, Cyprus, back to Bahrain, then Texas, and back to Bahrain again.

I don’t think there are any equal opportunity employers here. Even I have prejudices and cannot claim to be a completely fair employer.

But the law allows it and so I can get away with it,” he admits.

“I am not cynical – I am a realist. I recognise what’s good and what’s bad. For example, I am very proud of Sudan’s ability to hold a referendum and allow the South to succeed but do I have to discuss my pride at length? Do we get coverage for it, because we are still considered a symbol of drought and war?” he asks.

Mo refuses to play the victim.

“When I first started this business, everybody said you will never make it because you are not a certain nationality – and that is kind of true but it didn’t affect me and I didn’t give up. So I don’t understand the ‘poor me’ attitude some people have and I don’t like playing the victim. I don’t respect ‘victims’.

“I grew up in KSA and was beaten up plenty of times for being black and other times for being from Sudan, but so what! It didn’t break me. I may have become cynical, but I think of it as no big deal – they were stupid kids and I grew up and learned how to earn respect. Although there are prejudices, they are just challenges.

That’s life – it’s not worth living without challenges.”

When Mo’s dad was dropping him off to his university in the US, MAY 2011

his parting words were, “You know what, you’re black, you’re Muslim, you’re Arab and your name is Mohammad – good luck!”

But Mo just shrugs, “It didn’t bother me; I’ve grown a thick skin, so when people complain I simply think ‘deal with it.’ It’s just another challenge.”

Scaling it up Speaking of challenges, what hurdles did he face with Mediastow?

“The first problem we faced was getting translators and editors who are working online and motivated enough to perform to their maximum potential. We initially implemented a flat pay scheme, which is also used by our competitor, but we found it to be lacking. Then we started to pay per article produced and show the earnings on the dashboard so the translators and editors could see what they were earning as they worked. This has boosted productivity by 37%,” says Mo. He then continued to implement performance-based schemes where completing the target earns the translator a bonus in cash. “The results of these two measures alone allowed us to compete with our competitors not only on deliverables – and we were able to deliver faster and more efficiently – but also for the talent pool who preferred to work with us. The concept is simple: you work hard, you make more,” he explains.

Another challenge Mediastow faced was the original system, which slowed things down considerably.

“Our current system automates the entire process and removes a lot of the paperwork we initially had to deal with,” reveals Mo. “Our initial system was a Web-based platform where we would scan and then upload the images into a Web system, assigning attributes to each article clipping (keywords mentioned, date, source, and so on). This process proved to be very time consuming and did not scale very well.

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

55

Business pin-up of the month “The other problem we faced was that as the customer base grew, the number of keywords needed to be memorised by the readers grew exponentially. Mistakes were easier to make. Another challenge was that it took approximately six months to train a reader. It was also very difficult to find if the candidate hired was actually capable of performing the job until much later on.

We then decided to develop our own media system which would automate the process and allow us to scale it. A single reader can now produce 500 article clippings per day. This has created tremendous scale. Our system was also designed to let staff work from anywhere.

This allows us to further scale and move the operations to any location worldwide, without compromising on the efficiency.”

All these measures allowed Mediastow to focus on its core task, which was the analysis of media content and brand perceptions.

“We were the first company in the Middle East to receive an international award for our media research work. In 2008, we were awarded the Bronze Global Communication Effectiveness Award for the best use of integrated media evaluation/research by the Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC). We were also the first to join AMEC from the Middle East,” reveals Mo. “The competition was a monopoly and effectively had near 95% market share when we started out. We had to be lean and quickly shed any excess weight that slowed us down. Reaching profitability can be very challenging and you either need to have impressive stamina – that is the funds and appetite to lose money for years – or the agility to outproduce with fewer resources. We succeeded with the latter. We even comfortably survived the financial crisis,” says Mo.

Mo’s management style What has their track record been with employee retention?

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“We experienced a period in Dubai where jobs were very available, salaries were high, and people jumped around quite a bit. That contributed quite a bit to churn, not just in our organisation but in general. So at times it was difficult to retain talent,” admits Mo. But it was on the operational side where they were really affected: “We were affected by the fact that you have to be in office by 4:30 in the morning. That takes a toll on you after a while and it’s difficult to maintain.

We are changing that now and introducing shifts.”

Mo believes in incentivising, but throws in a caveat: “Personally, I feel incentives can be negative as well – for example, people don’t steal because of moral incentives; sometimes they refrain because they don’t want to be arrested.”

It’s not very effective to incentivise through equity either, according to Mo. “To be honest people prefer the cash rather than a stake on paper, especially when you’re a small company, though that might change when you’re bigger. Equity is interesting, but it has to be quick and tangible.

If your company has nothing to offer except percentage – 5% of zero is still zero,” he doesn’t mince his words.

He believes that honesty is the best policy: “I always tell my staff that they have to think about how I am thinking. Don’t think I’m doing it because I’m a nice guy; it’s because I’m being selfish and my selfishness ends up being to your benefit. So I’m giving you a raise because I don’t want to lose you. Then I’d have to bring in someone new and train them, and then find out if they are good enough. That’s a very expensive process and it’s in my benefit to give you a raise.”

But honesty works both ways, so he’s not averse to also pointing out, “And I also know the job market is not so great, so it’s in your interest to do a MAY 2011

good job because even though it’s expensive, I will not hesitate to let go of anyone who is not performing. We have a very clear understanding in the office.”

Being so incredibly blunt means Mo isn’t exactly in the running for the “Miss Congeniality” crown. “I have had mixed reviews; I can’t say everybody loves me.

There have been people who said you’re blunt but we respect you and then there are people who want to see me run over by a truck. But that’s life,” he admits.

“To be honest people prefer the cash rather than a stake on paper. Equity is interesting, but it has to be quick and tangible. If your company has nothing to offer except percentage – 5% of zero is still zero.”

Do it yourself Mo isn’t a fan of outsourcing unless you’re just starting out.

“It’s okay with non-essential things,” he feels. “It’s not about the money; it’s about how much control you have over it. I want to be able to improve and optimise to the best of my ability. When you mention donkey work, I have technology to take care of that.

For anything that needs a human factor, I’d rather have a person within the office.

“I have the advantage of being tech savvy. That helps. Sometimes you overdo it and bring in systems that no one understands, so we scrap it and start over.”

Mediastow even has an internal wiki where employees can look up everything from policies, to procedures, manuals, company information, client information and more.

What next?

“We are now at the point where we can either be another media monitoring company, or truly innovate and create new and creative products leveraging all the content that we have compiled throughout the years. The next five years will see Mediastow reinvent itself, adding B2C to its services, and making it a policy to remain a first-mover,” informs Mo. Expansion is also on the cards.

“We are looking at Qatar very seriously,” concludes Mo. Well, Mo is on his way and Qatar has been warned!

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A day in the life of…

Meghna Kothari <<<

Young achiever At a time when many are looking to switch industries or try something different, we bring you first person accounts of the lives of entrepreneurs or senior executives, outlining a typical day in their business. Who knows, maybe the perfect idea is waiting for you. Read on and get inspired.

important thing of all, planning my day. I try to be as proactive as I can while planning out my entire day and have a detailed discussion with my team about what needs to be done.

10

:00am: Being the Director of McCollins Media, I like to be aware of what is happening with all of our clients and their respective competitors and industries. I make it a point to spend at least an hour every day researching this and repeat this process towards the latter part of the day focusing more on creatives.

11

:00 am: I usually have client meetings set up during this time. This is actually my favourite part of the day! I try spending some time on catalysing business development for the agency.

1

:00pm: Lunch time has three possible scenarios – grabbing a quick bite on the way to a meeting; taking a client for an elaborate business lunch; or joining friends for a relaxing, stress-busting lunch.

Meghna Kothari is the 25-year-old Director of McCollins Media which offers services in public relations, social media marketing, events and design. Meghna is a graduate in retail management and also has a degree in fashion and merchandising.

6

:00 am: I love waking up to the sunrise, it seems like I have an automated alarm which never seems to fail. No matter what time I sleep, I’m wide awake by 6:00 am.

7

:00am: I adore my Yorkshire terrier, Gucci, and take her for a walk every morning. The walk usually ends up turning into a jog or

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MAY 2011

run which is great because it gives me and Gucci our daily fix of cardio and works up my appetite for a healthy breakfast.

8

:00am: I usually have my favourite music turned up very loud while getting ready for work.

It charges me up and helps me look forward to the long day ahead. My drive to work is not as tedious as most people experience with the traffic in Dubai because I’m always going against it (thank goodness for that). I quite like the early morning drive to work!

9

:00 am: As soon as I enter the office, I begin my daily ritual of checking mails and the most

3

:00pm: I have always been inclined towards the arts and enjoy being involved in the creative process at McCollins Media. I spend time with the creative team to brainstorm ideas for our clients and research the latest trends in design.

4

:00 pm: I oversee the administration and finance department as a daily routine just to make sure everything is on track.

5

:00pm: It is always a rush at this time as we need to ensure all the work for the day has been done and all pending artworks have been completed. I like to review our work for the day with my team in order to access the productivity and scope for improvement.

SME about town >>> Virtuzone speed networking

exclusive and more cost-effective services and products such as bank accounts, insurance, design and print, and more.”

There were close to 100 people at the event. We walked into a bustling crowd of business owners and the pitching started well before the speed networking kicked off.

Mukul Sanganeria, Vice President, Head Liabilities, Small and Some of the participants were old Medium Enterprises, Business Banking Group, ADCB, delivers friends we’d met the 60 second sponsor speech (L to R) Neil Petch, Chairman, and James Khoury, at previous SME Head of Business Partnerships, Virtuzone Advisor events but we also saw many new faces and heard about some pretty interesting business ideas.

Thankfully, all sponsors, including us, got gy nolo Tech CPI , cial Director (L to R) Richard Judd, Commer Senior Editor and Mike just 60 seconds e up, change partners Tim ga, Ban ki Keta & Business with ME isor Adv for their speech.

SME or, Edit t Byrne, Assistan Speed networking in full flow The format was such that one set of attendees stayed put while the second set sat across the table and moved from one person to the other.

They got 30 seconds to talk about their business to the person they sat facing, and then it was the other person’s turn to pitch for 30 ks brea the ng duri Non-stop networking, even seconds. James Khoury, Head of Business Partnerships, Virtuzone, g tworking evenin ne d ee sp kept time zealously and whistled t rs fi ry s. ised ITS ve Virtuzone organ n Hotel, Jumeirah Beach Residence ts had them on to the next chair – and lto so it began all over again.

WHERE Participan on 18th April at Hi EVENT IS TH AT PARTNER A e.

After the whirlwind speed AS ut W in m SME ADVISOR siness in under a bu r ei networking, attendees got a th h tc pi to the chance chance to catch their breath over drinks and canapés and follow Virtuzone is a UAE So what was the idea behind up with businesses they found company – working organising a speed networking event? interesting. The feedback was in partnership with Neil Petch, Chairman, very positive and attendees were Creative City, Fujairah Virtuzone, explained: “This appreciative of the platform. We – that enables free zone start ups evening was, in essence, an made a few useful contacts, too, and entrepreneurs to establish a opportunity to give something and you’ll hear about them in the legal presence in the UAE, without unique and innovative back to coming months. having to rent office space. Starting our customers. We wanted clients In all, it was an interesting and from AED 17,500, you get a UAE to meet each other in order for fruitful evening and we’re happy business license and up to five UAE them to generate new business. to note that Virtuzone plans employment or residence visas, and We also wanted to showcase our to conduct such events every access to Virtuzone’s business centre new partnerships; as Virtuzone quarter. For more information facilities in Dubai and Fujairah. clients they are entitled to visit www.vz.ae.

On in 60 seconds

MAY 2011

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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SME ABOUT TOWN DemoCamp Series 2011 <<<

IDEAS INC

The build up to the first edition of DIC’s DemoCamp Series 2011 saw an abundance of applications. The first round of contenders took to the stage on April 27th at the American University of Dubai, pitching innovative ideas ranging from online streamlined insurance quotes to placing food orders using BlackBerry devices.

The first of the DemoCamp 2011 series, an annual initiative spearheaded by Dubai Internet City (DIC) in the region, took place on 27th April, where tech entrepreneurs, students, professionals and engineers demonstrated their innovative concepts to an audience of investors and venture capitalists.

Dubai Internet City had received 40 submissions for evaluation in the lead up to the event. Applicants were screened by a panel of industry experts, including the organisers and business partners of DIC. During the event, shortlisted applicants demonstrated their product and highlighted its market opportunity, stage of corporate development, and identified the competitors. Demonstrations also conveyed working software, hardware, network services and other features.

The day-long session also witnessed the presentation of Ziad Matar, Director, Business Development, Qualcomm.

The jury panel included Tariq Al-Asiri, General Manager at Argaam Business Info, Ronnie Mouchawar, CEO of Souq.com, and Imad Choucair, CIO TECOM Investments who shortlisted the eight demonstrations.

These young entrepreneurs

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and innovators also had support from mentors like Husni Elassi, CEO, CircleCom, Piero Ricotti, Managing Director, Sirti and Shadi Banna managing partner at SME revolution program Potential.

Majed Al Suwaidi, Director Business Development from Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource Zone highlighted the growing relevance of this ongoing initiative from the ICT cluster, he said. “DIC has been supporting these entrepreneurs by organising events like DemoCamp and will continue to do so on various platforms this year. It is important for us to get these young companies and students in the limelight and get them ready to face a global audience.”

Applications on display at the event targeted various sectors like retail, hospitality and insurance and travel utilising new age platforms like social media.

Retail therapy, is no longer limited to just window shopping according to innovators like Ritesh Tilani, CEO, CareZone and founder of an innovative revolutionary platform that allows consumers to identify brands that care, contribute to their favourite causes, and at the same time, earn rewards for themselves.

Tilani made a very MAY 2011

There was an impressive turnout at the DemoCamp with healthy Q&A and audience interaction with the presenters

interesting presentation on this pioneering location based mobile application.

“The experience was wonderful as I was able to present this state-of-the-art technology in front of an audience that consisted of experts from the industry as well as potential investors. This gave our company a chance to grow and set a step into global market,” pointed out Tilani.

FoodLounge Application demonstrated how users can place food orders to restaurants, cafes and fast foods using their BlackBerry device and also be able to track the location of the delivery person. Mahdi Hosseni, Founder, Fortune Bekee, pointed out: “The application will also have a social network that helps users keep in touch and updated on their favourite restaurants. At the same time, restaurants will also be able to reach out to their target audience.”

Toosal, another online travel application, presented by Rami Farah, is a travel search and comparison site that focuses only on low cost carriers in the Middle East. “We wanted to help our clients find the best fare from one panel rather than searching all the sites individually. The information on the site is helpful as it compares prices and informs on schemes from different airlines.”

Supporters of the event included the American University of Dubai, Interactive Middle East, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and SME Advisor Middle East.

Other demos presented included:

Name of the application - JoyFit A BlackBerry mobile phone fitness application that live tracks friends, shares routes, computing calories burnt and virtual world elements using BlackBerry WebWorks development kit.

Presenter Yassine Benmosbah, American University of Dubai Name of the application WhoaWee.com Virtual world with online gaming and social networking, this is also one of the biggest Arabic/English MMOG with 16 virtual worlds Presenter Sudhir Halankar, Creative Director, Hi-Tech People Name of the application- Whizle Here the application is a combination of project and work management.

Presenter Nick Nice, Sales Director, Webology Name of the application Pricefinder Pricefinder is a website where one can receive custom-made quotes for insurance or loans or any product supported by the company. With each form filled, five or more partners associated with the company will come back with a quote providing variety of options to the customer.

Presenter Michael Andersen, Managing Director, Pricefinder Name of the application myfacecut.com This application shares data based on personality and using the social network.

SME about town >>> Dubai Knowledge Village Breakfast Club

The changing landscape of UAE Labour Law Dubai Knowledge Village, a member of TECOM Investments, held a panel discussion titled “UAE Labour Law Regulations – Changes and Impact”which addressed recent changes to the employment regulations.

Mana Al Zarooni, Director, Investor Relations and Government Services Operations, TECOM Investments; Eithne Treanor, CNBC Special Correspondent; Samir Kantaria, Partner, Head of Employment, Al Tamimi & Company, and Nuria Gonzalez-Martin, Human Resources Director, RealHR Consultancy and Recruitment, during a panel discussion

The panel dicussion aimed to address some of the issues that have emerged in the last few years as a result of the global economic crisis, and was held as part of the DKV Breakfast Club, a regular networking event for decision makers, and the session was moderated by Eithne Treanor, CNBC Special Correspondent.

Some of the key issues discussed at the event included Emiratisation, labour laws and entrepreneurship, as well as new regulation policies for change of jobs.

In addition to Eithne Treanor, other speakers on the panel

included Mana Al Zarooni, Director, Investor Relations and Government Services Operations, TECOM Investments, Samir Kantaria, Partner, Head of Employment, Al Tamimi & Company and Nuria GonzalezMartin, Human Resources Director, RealHR Consultancy and Recruitment.

Kantaria said: “Although changes to the labour regulations are meant to tackle some of the issues that are the result of the global economic crisis, only time will tell whether the impact of the changes brings about the intended effect. What, therefore, remains to be seen is whether

“Although changes to the labour regulations are meant to tackle some of the issues that are the result of the global economic crisis, only time will tell whether the impact of the changes brings about the intended effect. What, therefore, remains to be seen is whether this is a beginning or an end to the reforms.”

-Samir Kantaria, Partner, Head of Employment, Al Tamimi & Company

MAY 2011

this is a beginning or an end to the reforms.”

Addressing the issue of waiving the six-month ban for employees if proven that the company has in fact behaved poorly or against the law, Mana Al Zarooni said: “It is a very good move initiated by the Ministry of Labour to curb violations and ensure the effective utilization of existing manpower.

“However, the Ministry of Interior has already implemented the said rule within the free zones for quite a while. Therefore, within free zones none of the employers can apply any sort of ban at the time of cancelling the employment visa of sponsored employees, unless in the case of serious criminal offense.”

During a panel discussion Nuria Gonzalez-Martin said: “The changes in labour law are improving the work relationship for the benefit of both the employers and employees.

This new framework will attract key staff to the region, raising the level of professionalism, skill base and competitiveness of the market while consequently improving business throughout the region and making Dubai an even more exciting and enriching place to be.”

The periodically organised DKV Breakfast Club events focus on solving and discussing businessrelated issues in the context of global best practices to help companies run more efficient operations. The participation of an increasing number of decision makers, government officials and HR professionals serve as a testimony to the success of the DKV Breakfast Club initiative.

Established in 2003, Dubai Knowledge Village is home to over 450 professional centres specialised in HR development, professional testing, as well as management training and consultancy services.

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SME about town China Sourcing Fair, 2011 <<<

Crowds at China Sourcing Fair 2010

plug into china The China Sourcing Fair will return this year to provide an ideal platform for buyers in the Middle East and nearby North African markets to meet potential supply partners from Greater China.

China Sourcing Fair, 2011 Venue: Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre Date: May 31st – June 2nd, 2011 Industry focus: Electronics and electrical According to previous surveys conducted by China Sourcing Fair, almost 70% of the suppliers interviewed said that the best solution for them to achieve their sales target was to explore new markets and to secure more orders as the global market rebounds.

China Sourcing Fair 2010 recorded a visitor attendance of 14,020. Buyers at the threeday show were up 30% from 2009, with both mature and emerging markets showing more active order placing activity due to heightened confidence in the retail market. The Fair brought together a strong portfolio of global buyers and exciting news was reported from the Fairgrounds that buyers were active and returning customers had placed larger orders than in 2009.

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Event profile

will give many businesses and consumers more opportunity and freedom to visit other trade events in Asia. If you’re a buyer in the Middle East or North Africa, you now have better access to Greater China’s innovative suppliers in Dubai.

Networking opportunities The event can provide an ideal platform to accentuate local and international flair in their products for buyers from over 118 countries, sourcing for innovative items from quality suppliers.

Exhibitors will effectively have the opportunity to promote products and brands to a highly influential regional audience such as Al Fajer Group, Al Jawhara Group, Dubai World, Emaar Group, Jacky’ s Electronics and OfficeMart.

Exhibitors interviewed for the 2010 survey showed strong interest in expanding sales into South & Central America, Africa, the Middle East, ASEAN and China. As the economic recovery strengthens, the great opportunities of the fast developing markets are becoming apparent to suppliers.

latest electronic innovations The China Sourcing Fair including: Consumer electronics is an electronics event Computer & networking designed to serve buyers in Telecom products the Middle East and North Electronic accessories Africa who are looking Home appliances for international-quality Hardware and building electronic and component materials will be held products from Greater China’s concurrently with the more competitive suppliers, exhibition and who want to source from these suppliers closer to their Well-timed sourcing home markets. This exhibition The Dubai Fair falls between will be held three days from Asia’s peak sourcing months 31st May – 2nd June, 2011, at the Dubai International in April and October, which Convention & Exhibition Centre and organised by the China Sourcing Fair 2011 schedule Global Source Hong Kong.

Date Opening Hours Registration Hours

Highlights At the fair there will be the opportunity to explore their MAY 2011

May 31, 2011 June 1, 2011 June 2, 2011

11:00 am - 6:00 pm 10:00 am - 6:00 pm 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

10:30 am - 5:30 pm 9:30 am - 5:30 pm 9:30 am - 3:00 pm

For more information and to register visit: www.tradeshow.globalsources.com

Industry watch >>> OffshorinG

SHIFTING TIDES The UAE is fast emerging as one of the key global destinations for offshoring ranking second only to Egypt in the Middle East, and fifteenth globally, according TO Global Services Location Index (GSLI). India, China and Malaysia remain the top offshoring hot spots in the world.

Most US companies move their job functions overseas due to a shortage of skilled domestic talent, not cost cutting, as it is widely believed.

Similarly, manufacturers and high-tech telecommunication companies are less likely to establish offshore operations and are moving increasingly toward the use of third-party providers of offshore labour.

These are among the findings of the sixth annual study on Corporations’ Offshoring Trends by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and The Conference Board, an independent research association. The study is part of ongoing research into the effects of offshoring trends on competitiveness and reflects the sentiments of business managers.

“Over half of the participants in our survey say offshoring has resulted in no change in the number of domestic jobs in most functions,” said Arie Lewin, Fuqua Professor of Strategy and International Business. “In the US alone, the software sector has the highest ratio of offshore to domestic employees – almost 13

offshored jobs per 100 domestic jobs, which may be a reflection of a scarcity of domestic science and engineering graduates in the US.” According to survey respondents, the range of factors that influence their selection of an offshore site has been broadened to include the location of the best service provider and the quality of infrastructure. In spite of placing a high priority on cost savings and labour arbitrage, the survey finds average achieved cost savings offshore have declined at many companies.

The researchers said that survey participants have lower expectations than previous respondents for average cost savings in several offshoring functions. Contact centres, IT and software development have seen the largest declines among all offshoring functions as companies new to offshoring discover a number of hidden costs involved, including expenses for training, staff recruitment and retention, as well as government and vendor relations. Conversely, average achieved savings have increased for administrative and innovative functions such as research and

Arie Lewin, Fuqua Professor of Strategy and International Business

ABOUT: Duke’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) was established in 1992 by The Fuqua School of Business and has been directed by Professor Arie Lewin since 1995.

There are 33 CIBERs located throughout the US that are funded by the US Department of Education under Title VI through a competitive bid process.

Duke CIBER collaborates with other CIBERs to carry out projects, and engages in outreach activities with other centres and departments at Duke as well as other colleges and universities, businesses and communities.

To learn more about Duke CIBER, visit http:// faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/ ciber/site2006/

MAY 2011

development and sales/marketing.

“The potential for cost reduction alone is no longer enough to justify moving operations,” said Ton Heijmen, Senior Advisor to The Conference Board. “Companies are now shifting from cost-driven offshoring to a multidimensional value proposition in creating a global footprint.”

As companies expand offshoring activities by increasing scale or by offshoring more diverse and complex functions, most firms see a decline in the overall efficiency. This may be partially attributed to a loss of managerial control as offshoring operations are expanded, requiring companies to improve coordination and management of their global sourcing.

The ORN database includes cumulative responses collected through an annual survey conducted since 2004. As of November 2010, the database encompassed 2,000 companies (22% large, 35% mid-size and 43% small) and more than 4,300 different offshoring projects.

A published report on the research results is available for purchase. You can contact jrussell@ duke.edu for details.

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Industry watch Change from within <<<

People power The change in the economic landscape has forced many businesses to introduce swift and often robust initiatives in order to survive. Policies are re-drafted and processes erased and replaced. But to reap the rewards of such overhauling requires businesses to better understand the power of their people to bring about the changes, argues SKOPOS Consulting Group.

It can take a tremendous amount of effort to start exercising or quit smoking despite the many obvious health, environmental and economic benefits involved. The fact is that each person has their

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own set of beliefs, concerns, needs, priorities and behaviours which prevent, or drive them, to change.

It is not enough to simply tell people that they have to change: they have to fully believe in the importance of transformation and be strongly motivated towards it.

MAY 2011

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The reality is that there is no generic one-size-fitsall change Tough task management At the organisational level, the challenge of change can formula. You have to get to be magnified a thousand fold: agents in a company of the core of the change 5,000 people, for example, will organisation, have to consider 5,000 variables. its values and Adding to the complexity of ambitions, change management in the and the pulse corporate setting is the set of values and norms that influence of its people. the individuals concerned Unfortunately, both and also the organisation. we have been In the case of the Middle East, seeing a lot the unique social and business culture prevailing requires of companies organisations to undertake in the Middle research and planning East engineer thorough to ensure the success of change change in a management initiatives. haphazard Organisations in this part of the world consider business and and forceful personal bonds essential to any manner.â&#x20AC;?

- Dr. Hussein El-Kazzaz, Managing Director of SKOPOS Consulting Group

partnership. They also prefer to meticulously analyse any deal or plan and prefer face-to-face communications. These are just some of the factors that come into play in any change management strategy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The reality is that there is no generic one-size-fits-all

Industry watch

Dr. Hussein El-Kazzaz, Managing Director, SKOPOS Consulting Group

are established, several stages should then be taken into consideration when effecting organisational change.

These include creating enterprise-wide awareness on the need for a specific change or set of changes; motivating movement towards change; providing knowledge on how to achieve change; imparting and implementing the skills and behaviours needed to change; and adopting reinforcement measures to ensure that change is sustained.

Changing landscape change management formula.

You have to get to the core of the organisation, its values and ambitions, and the pulse of its people. Unfortunately, we have been seeing a lot of companies in the Middle East engineer change in a haphazard and forceful manner. Change management takes a lot of patience, foresight and dissemination. In many cases organisations do not understand what they have to change, how to go about it, and how to rally the support of their teams,” said Dr. Hussein El-Kazzaz, Managing Director of SKOPOS Consulting Group.

Involve, not impose Employees of corporations or large organisations in the Middle East have most probably encountered the term change management over the recent economically unstable times.

Change management is generally defined as a structured approach to shifting individuals, teams and organisations to a new state.

Its goals include missionary, strategic, operational, technological and behavioural

As with any other project, the people dimension of change exerts the strongest influence on success or failure.

Many change programmes fail because too much emphasis is directed towards processes rather than people

change. Although change has been considered crucial to survival in today’s competitive business environments, a recent global survey curiously reveals that only 30% of change programmes are successful, even if they are well-intentioned and carefully prepared.

The reason behind weak outcomes is that many initiatives impose change rather than involve members in change. As with any other project, the people dimension of change exerts the strongest influence on success or failure.

Many change programmes fail because too much emphasis is directed towards processes rather than people. A deeper understanding of the unique mindsets of individuals working for a particular organisation and the social and business elements that influence them is needed before any change plans can be executed.

An important step in the change process, then, is in-depth dialogue with all the players involved in, and affected by, change. Once member profiles MAY 2011

It can be very difficult to put down that cigarette or start walking one’s way to health, but the rewards are well worth the effort. In the same manner, organisations in the Middle East stand to reap numerous benefits from strategic change initiatives, especially when undertaken with the support of OD specialists.

The region’s shifting business landscapes, however, require more than just process adjustments – a deeper understanding of how change affects the people and values that drive an organisation deserve just as much attention.

ABOUT: Dr. Hussein El-Kazzaz is the Managing Director of SKOPOS Consulting. He has consulting and training experience in the private and public sector, on issues of performance improvement, performance based planning and monitoring systems, organisational design, development and change, strategic management, and human resource development.

SKOPOS Consulting uses both soft and hard management tools to implement organisational change with its clients in the Middle East and Africa.

For more information visit www.skopos.com

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SME makeover The winnerS <<<

Khalid Abu Baker, Corporate Sales Manager, Kaspersky Lab Middle East and Turkey

Kaspersky LAB SME makeover Businesses have various unmet needs – be it HR, marketing, finance or technology. With this is mind SME Advisor teamed up with Kaspersky Lab Middle East and asked BUSINESSES TO APPLY FOR A chance to win a complete malware overhaul.

Read on to find out who the lucky companies were and the prizes theY won.

Kaspersky Lab provides malware protection products that are optimised for low Total Cost of Protection [TCP].

Their new 360° solutions are from a product family based on a uniform set of anti-malware and other core technologies. They provide an easy-to-manage security system that’s flexible enough to work across platforms and protect IT

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asset, from servers to SmartPhones.

After thousands of applications from across the region, choosing one winner just didn’t seem fair – so Kaspersky Lab Middle East finally decided on five deserved applicants.

This month we focus on one of the winners – Damas International.

Damas International is an integrated jewellery and watch retailer, originally established in 1907 in the UAE. It has since grown MAY 2011

“May I firstly extend a big congratulations to Damas International – we will be coordinating very closely with them in the coming weeks to plan the implementation of the prizes into their network systems and to ensure they receive the finest malware protection.”

-Khalid Abu Baker, Corporate Sales Manager, Kaspersky Lab Middle East and Turkey

into an internationally based fashion jewellery network with a trade network that operates in 18 countries, and has an extensive retail network with stores primarily located in the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and North Africa.

Khalid Abu Baker, Corporate Sales Manager, Kaspersky Lab Middle East and Turkey, met with Damas International and SME Advisor to discuss the range of prizes. “May I firstly extend a big congratulations to Damas International – we will be coordinating very closely with them in the coming weeks to plan the implementation of the prizes into their network systems and to ensure they receive the finest malware protection,” he said.

Khalid outlined the range of product prizes which Damas International will be able to avail of:

Kaspersky Open Space Security Kaspersky Open Space Security provides wide corporate infrastructure with world-class anti-malware protection in a single, integrated suite of applications that work seamlessly across all platforms.

Every workstation, laptop, file server, mail server, Internet gateway or SmartPhone is fully protected, whether in the office, remotely or at home.

Kaspersky Total Space Security provides a single solution to protect your entire network against the most advanced security threats.

Ultimate malware protection Kaspersky Total Space Security is equipped with the latest antivirus engine. This delivers powerful protection, blocking and eliminating all types of modern malware.

Protection against hackers Modern hackers now use key loggers and root kits to access data and avoid detection. The powerful antivirus engine effectively neutralises these threats, preventing unauthorised access to your computers.

SME makeover

Firewall protection A new generation firewall and Intrusion Detection and Prevention systems protect users working on any type of network. With predefined rules for over 250 commonly used applications, time spent configuring the firewall is significantly reduced.

Secure electronic communication Email messaging is an essential part of any business. However, it can leave your network exposed.

Kaspersky Total Space Security scans all messages you send and receive, and also any links or files sent via instant messaging applications such as ICQ and MSN. Removable device control Computers can easily become infected through removable devices such as USB flash drives, data storage and I/O devices.

Kaspersky Total Space Security enables control of these devices and prevent them from connecting to your corporate network.

Anti-theft protection for SmartPhones SmartPhones have become an essential business tool. However, they can be easily lost or stolen, presenting a new security risk.

SMS Block and SMS Clean: if a SmartPhone is lost, simply send a hidden SMS message to the original SIM card, and any data will be blocked. You can also remotely wipe data from the device memory.

SIM Watch: when a SmartPhone is stolen, the SIM card is often replaced. If this happens, SIM Watch prevents the new user from accessing any personal data, and also sends you the new telephone number of the device without the new user’s knowledge.

Encryption: files, folders and memory cards can be encrypted and password-protected.

Samer Abdullah, Territory Corporate Sales Manager, GCC, Kaspersky Lab Middle East & Turkey, discusses the winning products with Damas International

With Kaspersky Total Space Security mail application, all incoming and outgoing messages, including attachments, are scanned in real time.

Any infected objects can then be treated or deleted

Supported platforms / operating systems: • Workstations: Windows ®, Linux®, Mac OS X

• File servers: Windows®, Linux, Novell Netware

• Mail servers and groupware servers: Microsoft Exchange Server®, IBM® Lotus ® Domino®, Linux

• Internet gateways: Microsoft® ISA Server and Microsoft® Forefront® TMG Standard Edition, Squid Proxy Server, Blue Coat SG, Cisco Content Engine • Smartphones: Symbian, Windows Mobile ®, BlackBerry

Kaspersky

modes remain protected and are notified of events using the terminal services tools. This also ensures that actions performed on end-users’ files and scripts are audited.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 8.0 for Windows Servers Enterprise Edition (an application inside Kaspersky Total Space Security) is certified compatible with Citrix XenApp and has been awarded a Citrix Ready certificate.

Cluster Support Kaspersky Total Space Security is designed to work with Kaspersky Open Space Security product lin the complex serverThe cluster networks of any scale and complexity from all t Open Space Security solutions are hi architecture found Kaspersky in today’s optimum value, yet are simple to deploy and mana enterprise networks, protecting both local disks and the cluster’s shared disks owned by the protected node.

Open Space

Security

Workstations

Servers

Desktops Windows®, Linux, Mac OS X

Mail Servers Microsoft Exchange Server®, IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Linux

Administration Server

Over 99% of spam emails blocked In order to protect your network from mass mailings, mail security application combines the latest technologies to block over 99% of all spam emails.

®

Laptops Windows®, Linux®, Mac OS X

A world class security solution for your business ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶

Kaspersky Open Space Security

Innovative technologies, new antivirus engine Protection from malicious attacks and spam Protection for all types of network nodes High Value scalable approach Efficient security management of complex networks Customer-focused technical support

• Kaspersky Work Space Security • Kaspersky Business Space Security • Kaspersky Enterprise Space Security • Kaspersky Total Space Security www.kaspersky.com

Support for virtualisation VMware Ready certification ensures proven reliability for virtual environments.

Kaspersky Total Space Security has been designed to provide a single solution to support all popular platforms: SmartPhones: Windows Mobile, Symbian and BlackBerry Workstations: Windows, Linux, Mac File Servers: Windows, Linux (including Samba), Novell Mail Servers: Linux, Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino Internet Gateways: Microsoft ISA Server, Forefront TMG, Squid, Blue Coat, and Cisco proxy servers Kaspersky Lab ZAO, 10/1, 1st Volokolamsky Proezd, Moscow, 123060, Russian Federation.

Tel: +7 (495) 797-8700, +7 (495) 956-7000 www.kaspersky.com

Terminal server protection With protection for Microsoft Terminal Services and Citrix XenApp servers, end users working in desktop/application publishing MAY 2011

File Servers Windows®, Novell NetWare, Linux, FreeBSD

Advanced protection technologies. A unique set of proactive technologies ensures protection against unknown malware and targeted attacks. Separate components of the new antivirus engine can be upgraded regularly without reinstalling the application. As a result, Kaspersky Lab customers always have the most up-todate protection against new types of malicious programs at their disposal.

360° Management. Kaspersky Administration Kit 8.0 Management Console provides tools for the remote deployment and management of protection for workstations and servers. It offers flexible control for enterprise-level networks with support for remote sub-networks and mobile users, hierarchical groups and management servers.

A simplified mode allows small offices to quickly deploy protection using preconfigured settings and application packages.

Real-time email scanning With Kaspersky Total Space Security mail application, all incoming and outgoing messages, including attachments, are scanned in real time. Any infected objects can then be treated or deleted.

Real-time scanning of Internet traffic via HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, POP3 and SMTP protocols The program inside Kaspersky Total Space Security scans for and removes all types of malicious programs in data traffic transferred via the Microsoft ISA / Forefront TMG Server. Scanned objects include archived and compressed files in practically any formats.

We will be bringing you coverage of the remaining winners in the forthcoming issue, so stay tuned!

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Winner takes all Campus Radio <<<

In the Falcons’ Lair

(L to R) Muhammed Ali J and Ritesh Jeswani, founders of Campus Radio ME; Sim Whatley, Managing Partner and co-founder, Dubizzle; Neil Petch, Chairman, Virtuzone; Richard Dean, the radio host of Falcons’ Lair

Virtuzone, in partnership with Dubizzle, pitted the brightest and most innovative entrepreneurs against each other in a battle that was played out in the studio of local radio station Dubai Eye. One lucky winner walked away with prizes worth AED 100,000.

Ketaki Banga BRINGS you a bird’s eye view.

“Falcons’ Lair”, “Dragons’ Den” – what’s with these investors and their penchant for melodramatic names?

But, drama is a given when you ask ambitious entrepreneurs to play off against each other for a prize that could set them well on the way to realising their dreams.

The prize in this case was support worth AED 50,000 from Virtuzone, which included setting up a UAE company for free – with all company incorporation costs for the first year of operations taken care of – and an online advertising package from Dubizzle worth the same amount.

Richard Dean, the radio host who refereed the fight, explains the format of Falcons’ Lair: “Dubizzle and Virtuzone got about 500 entries. They whittled those down to six companies and that’s when the radio station got involved. So we had three heats over the same number of weeks, and the best two played off in the grand finale. There

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It’s a combination of the actual business plan and also the people because you can have a great idea but, if you get the wrong people, it just doesn’t work.

Among other things, the Falcons were also looking for a company they could add value to

MAY 2011

was a panel of judges – a panel of ‘Falcons’ [an awe inspiring title indeed!] – who graded each company according to their efficiency, marketing, sales, commercialisation, operations and other crucial factors. The winners were Campus Radio ME, an online radio launched by two students and run by a team of volunteers.”

Sounds great. But what’s the story behind Falcons’ Lair?

Virtuzone’s Chairman, Neil Petch, who was one of the Falcons, elaborates: “Virtuzone is all about helping entrepreneurs and very small companies set up, and we’re trying to demonstrate how we not only facilitate but also support them. We’ve partnered with Dubizzle because we share a lot of brand values and, as advertisers, we found it a great platform to market to the young entrepreneurial audience. So it was appropriate to do this together as it’s not only about brand building, it also allows us to do the right thing.”

The judging panel of Falcons boasted names like Sim Whatley, Managing Partner and co-founder of Dubizzle; Neil Petch from Virtuzone; Mekki Abdulla, the CEO of Fujairah Media; and Geoff Rapp, Director at Boeing.

What sort of businesses applied and what were the Falcons looking for?

Neil talks about how, when you have a hundred companies setting up with you every month, you start to get a feel of the ones that will succeed: “It’s a combination of the actual business plan and also the people because you can have a great idea but, if you get the wrong people, it just doesn’t work! What was really interesting about this show was that there were some fantastic ideas. The opening pitch of the other finalists boasted of a US$ 2 billion idea. It certainly got our attention. But the winners ticked off all the right boxes on our long list.”

Among other things, the Falcons were looking for a company they could add value to. “Virtuzone is co-owned by the Fujairah government and represents media

Winner takes all

free zones that include TV and radio facilities. So we also saw the potential to assist Campus Radio ME to turn this into more of a mainstream show,” says Neil.

The founders of Campus Radio ME – Ritesh Jeswani and Muhammed Ali J – are expat kids who’ve grown up to be entrepreneurs. They look barely out of their teens and I’ve already had the pleasure of listening to their college banter as we shared the elevator on our way up to Dubizzle’s office.

Without wanting to sound like the parent I am, I blurt out, “What were you thinking!”

Ritesh grins back, his eyes (don’t miss the coloured contacts) twinkling: “Campus Radio is a student online radio platform and what we were looking to achieve a year back was to develop the community for students. There are so many universities in this country but not much of a community feeling. So we wanted to bring them together on one platform and use students as inspiration for students.

Eventually, it turned out to be this massive entertainment platform and we just went with the flow. So now we basically juggle between creating that community as well as entertaining that same community and giving them information they wouldn’t normally get – even simple stuff like free food or contests.”

Speaking of contests, they heard about Falcons’ Lair on Twitter and promptly shared it with their listeners before dashing off their own entry.

Muhammed adds his own perspective: “Both Ritesh and I studied here as well as abroad. When we came back, one of the things we noticed was that university life here is no different from high school because you’re still going home and not really taking care of yourself.

That de-motivates students because, firstly, it doesn’t give you the life skills you’d get if you were living by yourself and taking care of your own clothes or bank account and, secondly, because you are sort of

There are so many universities in this country but not much of a community feeling. So Campus Radio wanted to bring them together on one platform and use students as inspiration for students

expecting the college experience you see on TV. “We actually walked through Knowledge Village and I can say it’s quite soul sucking. We looked at how things were and how we could make them better.”

So where do they plan to take this idea, what with their recent support and publicity?

Mohammed talks about how, when they started, they decided to give themselves the first year to – quite literally – mess around with the programming, and see what works: “So after the first few months we discovered our prime slots which are different from contemporary radio, where your prime slots are morning and evening shows when everyone is driving to and from work. Ours were almost always after 9 pm throughout the week because that’s when students come back home, sit down with their assignments and tune in.”

Currently Campus Radio has about 42,000 IPs streaming in every week and this has been steadily increasing. “On the first day we had about seven listeners,” reminisces Ritesh. “These were all friends we’d asked to tune in, so it was a big deal for us. In the sixth month we participated in Pecha Kucha, an event organised by the Third Line, an art gallery in Dubai, where you get a few minutes to talk about your idea. At that time we had 11,000 listeners.

Over time, from an operational point of view we are now over 24 people, and almost everybody is working for free or as part-time volunteers – that includes RJs and software designers as we have applications for Android, iPhone, iPad and others.”

Currently Mohammed and Ritesh want Campus Radio to continue to exist online, primarily because most of their target audience is online, but they plan to improve the platform by making it more interactive and adding applications such as those for Facebook and YouTube. “We want to get content from the students so they are an active part of this, MAY 2011

rather than just getting messages from us,” explains Ritesh.

They haven’t yet commercialised their idea because they only just got the business license from Virtuzone, but it’s on the cards. Having said that, they’ve already been getting a lot of support. “For instance Red Bull decided to give us equipment for free – and this is expensive equipment – and du gave us free Internet,” beams Ritesh.

Neil, who looks like he is in danger of being out-talked by a couple of kids, takes that as his cue: “When you’re operating from your bedroom – say, if you’re a photographer working from home – and you ask someone for money, they don’t take you seriously from a commercial point of view. If you can’t send invoices, or if you ask for a cash cheque, you don’t get viewed as a professional. People expect ‘mates rates’. This jump to becoming a registered business, which normally has an expense to it, is definitely worth it as an investment.”

How else could Campus Radio maximise the benefits from this competition?

Neil feels they already have a product that is better than a lot of other money-making competitors, so they shouldn’t underestimate the importance of commercialisation. He also advises them to choose wisely.

“For instance, good marketing would be a better prioritisation than, say, a swanky office in the first year. Spend money on accounts so that when you approach a bank for a loan for expansion, you are more likely to be reviewed positively,” he advises.

Neil highlights how Virtuzone tries to provide some of these vital services to their clients at start-up friendly costs: “We target small businesses and a necessary evil of that is a lot of them, particularly in these difficult times, don’t make it past year one. So how can we help them? We’re now representing 1,500 to 1,600 companies so, if we go out and look for the best service providers and then buy in bulk on behalf of hundreds of companies, all SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Winner takes all

our clients get better rates. This is how we support them and make it more likely for them to succeed and then renew their licenses, which is our core business.”

Dubizzle’s Sim Whatley – who hasn’t spoken much up until then, partly because the others don’t seem to need any help – steps up now to calmly advise just how they could use the prize from Dubizzle to market themselves: “Now that you have AED 50,000 to spend, there are a number of ways you can look at targeting different audiences. We have a variety of products from static images, to flash and embedded videos. We’ve got an e-mail database of 200,000 people that can be segmented into demographics, age, nationality, gender, and so on. It’ll just be about sitting down with you guys and understanding the audience you want to reach and then we could recommend the best way forward.”

Sim stresses on the importance of providing such consultation to clients: “It is worthless to us to have clients who are going to spend a large portion of their marketing budget with us and then, if they get no consultation, their results are subpar compared to the other media they are using. It’s definitely worth our time to sit with them, make sure their expectations are realistic, they get what we promise and, at the end of the campaign, are happy and want to push more budgets towards us.”

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Campus Radio has already got a lot of support, for instance Red Bull gave them free equipment and du provided free Internet

MAY 2011

What else can we look forward to from the Falcons and their protégés?

Ritesh looks back at their interesting journey so far before he answers this: “I am thankful that my parents were so cooperative.

Folks were bustling in and out of my bedroom at all times – including sales people who were simply allowed to walk into my room in the middle of shows,” he laughs.

“We’ve got to a place where we are now stable; we’ve shifted out of the bedroom and now have our own studio, which is good. We plan to make this transition from being a bedroom radio to a more professional setup.”

Are they eventually looking at moving from volunteers to paid employees?

“We do have two paid employees – our coder who makes our apps and works on our Website, and our designer. We are looking forward to hopefully start paying the RJs and our support staff.”

An amused Sim jokingly warns:

“Don’t get rid of your free staff!” To which Muhammed responds: “It’s shocking that they’ve stayed so long.

We actually owe this to them that even if it’s not a lot of money, there’s something to keep them going.”

Looks like some of the more established companies could take a page or two from these guys’ management book.

Neil feels that Campus Radio is a very good story for the UAE because of the occasional talk about red tape and bureaucracy. “It’s the tiny companies that find it the most difficult – they don’t have a PRO, they don’t know where to go – so when you see an example like this, you realise that’s how the UAE economy is going to grow,” he’s convinced.

“I think the investment opportunity, speaking as a Falcon, and the real opportunity to affect the economy lies with these small, entrepreneurial companies. It’s encouraging that, right through the difficult times, we were still getting new clients at Virtuzone every month. Sure, some of them were downsizing from a more expensive office, but many were people like them who had an idea and the entrepreneurial spirit, had connections within Dubai and preferred to stay on here rather than go back home. So you’ve reversed the brain drain, which is great.

“We’ve really enjoyed our partnership with Dubizzle. It positioned us well and it’s nice – having achieved some level of success – to be able to give back to the business community. There’s been a lot of interest from the media. Radio has worked really well for us and we’ll continue with it, but we’re also considering a TV programme which requires us to up the whole thing considerably – so get ready for some interesting prizes and announcements,” and like the perfect showman, Neil sums it up with the promise of more to come.

Stay tuned.

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Corporate wellness Ergonomic office tips <<<

Fine-tuning workplace ergonomics Implementing effective ergonomics into the workplace doesn’t have to be expensive – making simple but vital changes or readjustments can help keep employees happy and increase productivity, says occupational health specialist Dr. Sarah Peeters.

For those of you who haven’t yet read last months’ “Damage Control” article, let’s quickly recapitulate why poor ergonomics is costly for the company.

Ergonomics studies people at work, adjusting the job or task to the worker, not the other way around. Why? Because working in an ill adapted environment can lead to stress, injuries and disorders associated with overuse of muscles and joints, with bad posture and repetitive tasks.

Health problems and stress can lead to sick leave and time off for doctor visits and other treatments.

Even before then, employees who are experiencing discomfort or pain at work are employees who are less productive and less efficient, notwithstanding the cost of healthcare and your steadily increasing insurance premium.

In short, put people in a work environment that isn’t adapted to their physical capabilities and limitations and you’ll be losing money.

Perhaps you’ve already predicted how you can save money? In short, this can be done

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by making sure the ergonomics in your office are as correct as possible – prevention is key.

Make sure your employees aren’t experiencing discomfort, aren’t at risk for injuries and aren’t developing health problems.

Spending a little money must also come into the equation.

Rest assured ergonomics doesn’t need to cost a lot. The following tips explain how to improve ergonomics on a low budget: The first step towards correct office ergonomics begins before the office is operational and before the employees start working: When starting or re-organising your office space, make sure the interior decorator (who you’re already paying anyway) takes good ergonomics into consideration. During my onsite ergonomic assessments, I’m often visiting impressive offices with exquisite furniture and gorgeous decorations.

However, employees complain because their desk is right underneath an air conditioning vent, or they have the reflection of the sun in their screen. Changing an existing layout is not as simple as making sure it’s correct to begin MAY 2011

Dr. Sarah Peeters, occupational health specialist, based in Dubai

with. If your interior decorator isn’t confident with this matter, ask an ergonomist to look over the plans.

Think about the furniture and office equipment you’re about to purchase. Do you really need that expensive, designer desk chair?

Take a closer look at it and you’ll notice it doesn’t have any of the features ergonomic desk chairs should have. Instead, opt for good quality furniture that offers correct ergonomic solutions.

The same goes for your IT solutions. Although laptops are necessary tools for employees who travel or work in multiple locations, they are a source of discomfort to the users with neck and back pain as main complaints.

Notice how low the screen is and the position of your neck to look down to it. Choose desktops for your onsite staff. Alternatively, set up the laptop workstation with a laptop support so the screen can be at a better height and an extra keyboard.

When the office lay out is ready and the equipment and furniture is satisfactory, it’s time to check task performance and individual employees:

Do a small assessment to highlight complaints and to identify the areas or tasks that are causing an issue.

Get specialist advice.

Ergonomists are there to help you.

If you have only a few employees with work-related problems, ask for an individual assessment. The ergonomist will visit the employee in question to assess the problem and change the workstation if needed. Small changes to the chair such as its height, or the depth of the seat are always a huge success in dealing with discomfort.

If you are already organising a wellness day or week, why not include a workshop on ergonomics?

This way you can reach all of your staff at once.

And then the allimportant tip: studies have shown that those working at computers have less discomfort with short, hourly breaks.

However don’t misunderstand; I’m not talking about a 55-minute break every hour. A simple walk to the printer or even around the desk is sufficient!

In conclusion, have your office and staff set up correctly to see less work-related health complaints, more efficiency and productivity and you’ll be saving money. In the end, don’t we all want to be happy, healthy and safe people with little cost involved?

ABOUT: Dr. Sarah Peeters is a trained occupational health specialist physician, based in Dubai. She received her training at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, in 1990 and has since been working in Belgium and Dubai as a specialist in occupational health and safety. She has been serving a vast number of different small to large companies, both corporate and industrial, which allowed her to gain extensive experience in her field. The OHS areas of specific interest to her are offshore health, travel health and office ergonomics. For more information conatct Dr. Sarah at occmeddubai@hotmail.com or call +971 (0) 50 859918.

CORPORATE WELLNESS SIGN OFF <<<

Dress for success And to hide a multitude of sins. This is the first article in a two-part series where Guillaume Mariole, from Ignite Fitness & Wellness, talks about power dressing for business and for your body type.

In Dubai we are spoilt for choice with super-sized malls and within them, endless corridors featuring clothes for every budget and style.

So when it comes to office attire, there’s really no excuse for not looking good!

This month, we give you guys some top tips to make sure you make smart choices when it comes to buying new threads.

Choose well and you could easily disguise that well-fed belly or unsightly moobs. However, that’s no excuse to put a stop to regular physical activity. Just think how great you will look when you combine both!

As for you ladies, fear not, as next month this column will be all about YOU and what you should be wearing!

Telling the men from the boys Dressing for your body type is crucial, not only to look and feel good but because it pays dividends in how people perceive you and, in turn, your business.

You can reap the benefits

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of dressing for your body type by investing in a custom made suit. Here in the UAE there is no shortage of top tailors and with keen prices and an excellent supply of top cloths to choose from.

Rule number one when looking for a suit is that it should always fit with ease. You should never feel you need to pull here or adjust there. Beyond this, check out the specific tips for your personal body shape to keep you on track when hitting the rails.

If you are tall...

You want to avoid looking gangly or gawky.

Dos: • Wear heavier cloths and patterns that are a bit busier such as plaids.

• Accessorise in detail; pop a handkerchief in your breast pocket and wear cufflinks on your shirts.

• Your jacket shoulders should extend slightly past your natural shoulder width and you should have at least three MAY 2011

outside pockets.

• Your pants should always be cuffed at least an inch and a half.

vertical (up and down) aspect dominates the horizontal (side to side) aspect.

Donts: • Never wear tight-fitting suits.

• Avoid suit jackets with thin lapels as well as bulky, built-up square shoulders.

• Never button your bottom button.

Donts: • Avoid tweeds, flannels and plaids.

• Don’t wear suit jackets that are extra long – the tail should cover your rear and no more.

• Avoid double-breasted suits.

If you are heavy set...

You want clothes that give a slimming effect.

If you are very muscled...

You want to find suits that accommodate your large upper body without making your waist and lower body appear large as well.

Dos: • Dress in dark, solid or striped, two-button single breast suits.

• Wear suits jackets that are cut generously around your waist.

• Your pants should be worn at your natural waist – that is fastening at the belly button or above.

• Ask a tailor about “English” or “forward” pleats as these hide bulk well.

Donts: • Never wear double-breasted suits as their buttons attract attention to the midsection and emphasise width.

If you are shorter...

You want to wear clothes that accentuate length visually and avoid cutting the torso in half.

Dos: • Solids and stripes are your friend as they make you look taller and leaner.

• The stripes on a suit should be no more than 3/4 of an inch and even less for shirts.

• Your sleeves should always show a bit of shirt cuff, a half inch or so.

• Look for suit jackets with high shoulder pads jackets and that are ventless.

• As far as patterns are concerned, select patterns whose

Dos: • Look for unpadded or lightly padded shoulders.

• Choose suit coats that have a bit of waist suppression – that is they come inward a little bit at the bottom.

• Opt for solid, striped or some elongating type pattern.

• Two and-three button, singlebreasted jackets work best.

Donts: • Never put your faith in “athletic cut” suits; these are not cut differently for you rather they are simply paired differently – that is bigger jackets paired with much smaller suit pants.

• Avoid jackets with narrow lapels and dress shirts with tiny collars.

• Stay away from double-breasted suits.

Ultimately, dressing for your body type is as much an art as a science. Combine that with a fitness regime and you’ll feel fantastic inside and out.

ABOUT: Guillaume Mariole is the Managing Director of Ignite fitness and wellness.

For more information visit www.ignitewellness.com or call +971 (0) 4 448 7142 or mail info@ignite-wellness.com

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