16th August 2011 - Dubai

Golden Systems wins Best Distributor Award from ZOTAC Golden Systems Middle East (GSME) have won the ‘Best Distributor’ award for the Middle East region from ZOTAC International, close on the heels of the ‘Best Performance’ award they had won from the vendor earlier this year. ...continued on pg 4

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Issue 142

16th August 2011

In Focus - Al Hosani Computer

What’s New - Acer cer

Building on the lead

Aspire x755 Notebook Series

Printing on the go HP Middle East recently announced new imaging and printing solutions and devices designed to help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and enterprise organizations enhance employee productivity, both in the office and on-the-go. Amin Mortazavi, General Manager, Imaging & Printing Group, HP Middle East says HP’s new technologies and innovations are designed to transform paperintense processes into simple digital workflows, allowing businesses to identify new opportunities for growth. He discusses further in the following interview with VAR magazine. ...continued on pg 4

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16th August 2011

16th August 2011

3

4 In Focus

16th August 2011

News

HP Middle East

Discuss how e-print technology now features more prominently across your devices.

The recent launch was to introduce e-print across the inkjet portfolio. The launch in the region was first done in Cairo.

The recent product launches further endorses our commitment to making e-print capabilities available in more of our devices and specifically addresses needs of our customers in the region. We have equipped our entry level printers with e-print capability. This means each of the printers has its own email id and can be sent print orders through the cloud.

How has the adoption been across segments? e-print has revolutionized Technology.

There are two segments. The consumer segment is picking up which is positively surprising. We are in talks with corporate side customers to deploy e-print solutions.

While these are initial stages in the commercial segment, it is absolutely known and accepted on the consumer side.

We have also introduced a couple of colour laser printers for the SMB segment and they also incorporate e-print capabilities.

This is a helpful feature for an SMB which may have workforce travelling and with a need to print on the go. There are security features. First of all it goes through the HP cloud. Email address is randomly generated, quite secured and known to only users.

How is Managed Print Services gaining currency?

We are on the verge of closing a big MPS deal with a large customer in the region.

The establishment of HP Financial Services last November at DIFC has enabled us further scope in working on large MPS deals. We have already worked out some MPS deals through our partners, which further shows our commitment to the partner model.

What other value propositions are available for customers?

We are flexible in terms of customer offerings. We have introduced a software with our new printers that gives them capability to upgrade the firmware. HP FutureSmart Firmware and the latest version of the HP Open Extensibility Platform (OXP) help extend the life of an imaging and printing fleet while helping to increase office productivity and simplify fleet management.

How successful have been your initiatives to combat counterfeits trade?

We have increased our efforts in fighting

the business of counterfeits. We have been quite successful in going after the criminals, working with authorities across the region.

We have done many seizures of fake products across counties like Egypt, KSA, UAE etc. This has brought down the menace significantly. At the same time, we are also ensuring that the awareness in the industry and among consumers continues to improve not just regarding counterfeits but also regarding environment friendly practices such as recycling of empty toners through our Planet partner program.

Discuss initiatives on the eco-printing front?

It is not new to us and we continue to undertake several initiatives. We have introduced features to reduce consumption of electricity. we have included duplex printing to print either side of a printer. The planet partner program takes back empty toners for recycling.

Is retail going strong or is there a dip?

We see retail growing. In some countries it is growing while in some it remains a bit flat. But this is kind off-season and post Ramadan, there should be further increase.

How is the growth in the large format printer business?

In the large format segment, there was a dip after the construction slowdown in the region. We have however sustained our market share. In Q1, we had 78.5 % market share in the region and we do not expect any major change.

How vital is training for partners?

Discuss your engagement on the channel front?

We will start a partners training program right after Eid. It is necessary to ensure that partners are well informed to satisfy customer queries and make the best of cross selling and up-selling opportunities.

We continuously look at the programs catering to our partners. We make sure the programs are up to date and meet their requirements in the market. HP IPG has the biggest coverage across the region in terms of partner accounts Managers. The priority is to increase the number of people on ground in markets like Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman etc. We want to make it easier for partners to access our services.

How has the year been so far and what is the outlook?

This year, the industry has come into the recovery phase. We look forward optimistically to September- October and the next fiscal.

2012 KIS and KAV editions include new and improved features Kaspersky Lab announced the availability of the 2012 versions of its home user products KIS and KAV for customers across the Middle East region. The two products are available in many of the specialized and unspecialized stores across the region, to make it available to the widest range of users possible.

The new Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 incorporate advanced protection technologies: a sandbox for launching suspicious applications, a program activity monitoring module, a script emulator, a cloud-based reputation database, a virtual keyboard plus many other features.

In the 2012 versions of Kaspersky Lab's home user products, cloudbased technologies have been Tarek Kuzbari improved. By regularly exchanging Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab ME, Turkey information between products installed on users’ machines and the centralized databases in the cloud, the most up-to-date threat information is made available for the protection of users. In addition to superior protection from the cloud, the new product versions also demonstrate how they do it. The main program window provides users with in-depth information about which cloud components are active and how they are protecting users’ computers and personal data.

Kaspersky Lab believes that the combination of cloud protection and security software running on users’ computers is an ideal way of ensuring multilayered protection. At present, this hybrid approach is the best option in terms of combating the wide range of threats out there in the wild. That is why both of the new product versions feature improved cloud technologies and enhanced program capabilities.

Tarek Kuzbari, Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab Middle East and Turkey, said, “This launch comes as an assurance on our commitment to our loyal customers in the Middle East region, who are becoming more and more tech savvy and security aware, especially with the increase use of social media and online services. The products are now available in all authorized stores”.

“Being aware of the availability of pirated KL softwares in the region, our team have initiated a number of measures aimed at providing Middle East consumers with the supported and official products which are tailor made for the local needs,” continued Tarek Kuzbari, Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab Middle East and Turkey. “Our paramount priority is the protection of our customers from buying illegally imported products and indirectly lending their support to pirates in this respect. And we want to ensure that channel partners stay well away from grey imports and turn to legitimate business practices instead.”

Kaspersky Lab has put together an anti-grey market drive that comprises a range of concrete steps designed to tackle the issue at its root. Kaspersky Lab will only activate codes designed for use within the Middle East region. Localized versions of the products ensure that buyers gain technical support and activation codes. Moreover, the vendor has introduced boxes that include a territorial belonging identifier – a special line on the box in Arabic and English that specifies the region that the product is sold in, in addition to a stretch-card with ME barcode

Golden Systems was chosen for this accolade for their outstanding sales performance in 2010, effective regional distribution strategy, customer service, strong marketing support and for increasing ZOTAC’s market share and brand visibility in the region.

Systems’ team who have put in tremendous efforts to grow the ZOTAC brand and provide only the best service, support and technical expertise to our customers,” says Iman Mozaffari, Senior Product Manager, Golden Systems Middle East.

“We are happy and proud to win a second award from ZOTAC this year. Being awarded the ‘Best Distributor’ award is another milestone for Golden Systems which has motivated our team to work even harder towards achieving further growth for this brand in the region. I would like to dedicate these awards to the Golden

Golden Systems is a leading distributor in the region representing some strong brands in the components segment. It has recently won awards from its vendorpartners such as Kingmax, Coolermaster apart from ZOTAC.

“Golden Systems has shown tremendous commitment in promoting ZOTAC in the Middle East in 2010 in such a short span of time. We would like to thank them and show them our appreciation by giving them the ‘Best Distributor’ award for the Middle East for 2010. Golden Systems has demonstrated exceptional ability in promoting ZOTAC’s products in the region with the highest levels of customer satisfaction. We are happy with our decision of signing them as our distributor and are confident they will continue to break barriers for ZOTAC in the Middle East,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.

16th August 2011

5

6 In Focus

16th August 2011 Al Hosani Computer

Building on the lead

Editorial

A potential realignment So far, this year has brought little cheer to the market so far as far as growth goes across established product segments in the PC industry. Tablets have robbed the sheen from notebooks and netbooks with an impressive growth trajectory.

The slow industry pace and flat growth rates challenges the visions that companies have held on to in the past few years. Companies are definitely looking at shifts in strategies as HP’s consideration of spinning of HP PSG reveals. Google’s buyout of Motorola’s Mobile phones business is also a dramatic shift for the software company to a hardware vendor, and ensuring that it would in due course compete head on with some of its biggest OEM clients in the Android segment.

Potentially, the next few quarters could reveal some more dramatic plans of makeovers from manufacturers as boundaries between product categories continue to blur. This will be a response to testing times as margins continue to drop. Hopefully, most of them would be well thought out long terms visionary strategies and not reflect only the thinking of the current leadership to be later debunked, when a new team takes over.

In the past few years ever since it heralded the iPhone and later the iPad, Apple has cornered an overwhelming part of the growth for the IT and smartphones industry combine in the consumer segment. In other words, while Apple extended its reach into the consumer segment, attracting first time buyers of its products, this growth came at the expense of established players in the IT as well as smartphones industry. The plight of Nokia which has seen its market share drop tells the story in the smartphones segment. In the PC industry, the failure of most vendors barring Samsung to bring out a competitive alternative to the Ipad is illustrative.

Ryad Santouh Managing Partner, Al Hosani Computer

Al Hosani computer is one of the leading distributers of Kaspersky as well as several other software brands. Ryad Santouh, Managing Partner at Al Hosani Computer LLC speaks in the following interview with VAR Magazine on how the distributor is consolidating despite market challenges

In addition to the economic slowdown, the innovative shift that Apple brought along seems to have caught most traditional PC hardware manufacturers off guard. They have been slow to respond and have seen the opportunity slip by to make an impact in new categories. Inevitably, the advantage in PC and Notebook markets would continue to shift towards manufacturers that can combine low cost manufacturing along with innovative offerings, leading towards realignment in the marketplace.

News Please discuss your recent recognition from Kaspersky?

We got the best partner award from Kaspersky at the partner conference recently in Capetown in recognition of our sales achievements, and creative marketing of Kaspersky Lab products. We were also credited for promoting of Kaspersky Lab software to the key retailers in the GCC, including Carrefour ME, Sharaf ME, Jarir Bookstores, Plug-Ins, Geant ME, EMax ME, Jacky's, Jumbo, Dubai Duty Free, CompuMe and HyperPanda.

What are the other brands you distribute?

We are working with several leading software brands in the region. Our major focus is IT software. Besides Kaspersky, we have distribution rights for ABBYY, Sony, Magix, Adobe, Roxio, Nero among other software brands. We are a distributor for Sage as well in the retail segment.

How has the year been so far in terms of sales?

It has been challenging. We have progressed through the year. We have achieved good growth with Kaspersky which is today the top choice among buyers of AV security software and has growing appeal with consumers. They like the product as it is light and fast.

The business is improving in countries like Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan although maybe not to the extent we desire.

Are you looking to expand in terms of new offices at other locations?

We will be opening an office in DSO to be closer to our customers. We want to make it easier for them to interact with us. We

will retain our Sharjah office.

There was a delay in opening the Qatar office because we were in the midst of a busy period. We will open in 2012. We have an office in Iran that serves Iran as well as Pakistan and Afghanistan.

We continue to work in KSA through our partner’s office. KSA remains a large focus for us as it is the largest market in GCC territory. But several brands have had to deal with the issue of piracy there. In Egypt, we have faced small issues with customs as rules and regulations are not the same as in GCC. Would you be participating at GITEX this year?

We are participating at the GITEX trade exhibition as well as at the GITEX Shopper.

One of our activities last years was a campaign for Kaspersky buyers. Through a raffle draw, a UAE local won the prize which was a Mini-Cooper. We will look at some interesting activities this year as well.

Discuss how you see volume of business changing across power retailer and the reseller channel?

We do equal sales between the power retailer and the regular channel segment.

The shift would depend on changes in the market but there should be growth in both segments.

What challenges do you continue to see?

The challenge is to keep promoting our brands and continue ensuring their success. We have increased our sales team, merchandising support, support team etc.

We are careful with products we carry.

There is a need to be more selective.

HP mulls PSG spin-off HP recently announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2011 and suggested the possible spin off of HP PSG. HP unveiled the details of a plan to accelerate the strategy introduced in March. The plan introduced is expected to move HP into higher value, higher margin growth categories, sharpen HP's focus on its strategic priorities of cloud, solutions and software with an emphasis on enterprise, commercial and government markets and increase investment in innovation to drive differentiation As part of the transformation, HP announced that its board of directors has authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives for the company's Personal Systems Group. HP will consider a broad range of options that may include, among others, a full or partial separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction. HP will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. The devices have not met internal milestones and financial targets. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

"We're focused on improving performance across the business," said Léo Apotheker, HP president and chief executive officer. "HP is taking bold, transformative steps to position the company as a leader in the evolving information economy. The plan will allow HP to drive creation of long-term shareholder value through a focus on fewer fronts, thereby improving its ability to execute, invest in innovation and drive a highermargin business mix."

HP's Commercial businesses remain healthy with 5% revenue growth year over year.

HP's Consumer businesses, within PSG and IPG, were collectively down 15% year over year.

Personal Systems Group (PSG) revenue declined 3% year over year but PSG remains the PC market leader in terms of units, revenue and profit share.

Commercial Client revenue grew 9% and Consumer Client revenue declined 17%.

Leo Apotheker President & CEO, HP

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8 In Focus

16th August 2011 Al-Seera Group ( Distributor for Avira)

The reliable sentinel Al Seera Group is the distributor for Avira’s security products in the region and is steadily helping strengthen the brand’s reach in the channel and market. Abdul Qader, GM at Al-Seera Group, distributor for Avira speaks about the confidence with which Avira is engaging with the market.

News

NETGEAR sees 49 per cent revenue growth in Q2 2011 NETGEAR has revealed that net revenue for the first two quarters of 2011, which ended July 3, 2011, grew by 49 per cent, reaching a total value of USD 291.2 million. The figure shows a key increase from last year’s Q1-Q2 revenue of USD 195.0 million and Q1 2011 figure of USD 278.8 million. The company has also reported that the net revenues from the Middle East and North African (MENA) region and the European region has totalled to USD 110.331 million in the second quarter of 2011.

performance and good reputation will help us in building market reach.

Do you think consumers are spending more on endpoint security than before?

The need for information security has increased continuously.

Consumers are more aware than before of the need to secure their computing devices. We are seeing them spend more actively on endpoint security.

Abdul Qader GM, Al - Seera Group

Avira seems to have been a later entrant into this market. How do you reckon the company can make a significant impact in the local market?

We are confident that Avira has the reputation and experience to be quite successful in this market and we have seen positive results.

Avira has been a worldwide leading provider of professional and private antivirus software and IT security solutions. The company has over 25 years of business experience and more than 100 million clients. Avira AntiVir's core product distinguishes itself due to its outstanding reliability and has been regularly honored with the VB100 awards. Avira is the only provider of antivirus software that offers IT security products that also guarantee protection against data espionage.

Discuss range of products being distributed from Avira?

The range includes products for private users and Business users as well as bundles. The personal products include Avira AntiVir Personal , Avira AntiVir Premium and Avira AntiVir Security Suite.

For Companies , there is a comprehensive range that include Avira AntiVir Professional , Avira AntiVir Server , Avira AntiVir SharePoint , Avira AntiVir MailGate , Avira MailGate Suite , Avira AntiSpam , Avira AntiVir Exchange , Avira AntiVir MIMEsweeper , Avira AntiVir WebGate , Avira WebGate Suite and Avira Security Management Center.

We also offer product bundles including Avira Small Business Bundle , Avira Business Bundle , Avira AntiVir NetWork Bundle , Avira AntiVir NetGate Bundle and, Avira AntiVir GateWay Bundle.

What are the standout features of Avira’s range of products?

It is not an easy decision to choose between all these Antivirus products available in the market, However if you know what are the features and aspects you should look for in the product you are evaluating, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Avira combines all features and technologies needed to provide highest security levels for all needs from home user PC up to the enterprise most mission critical servers.

The most critical job of the Antivirus is to detect a virus and eliminate it, with the newly emerging threats this function becomes the most critical aspect of the Antivirus and differentiates between products in this domain.

Avira is recognized for its exceptional detection rates for both on demand and Pro-active. Avira got the Advanced+ rank in last AV Comparatives On-Demand detection test (AV Comparatives, February 2011), and the first rank among all cotntestees in the Pro-Active test (AV Comparatives, May 2011) with lowest false positive.

Avira is very well known for its light presence and small foot print on the computer memory.

In last AV comparatives performance report, Avira got the best result which is Advanced+.

Avira has a very fast engine with more than 10MB/S which combines best Pro-active and on demand detection, best performance and a very fast scanning speed.

What are the pricing and promotional benefits available for buyers?

Avira has a very attractive pricing policy to ensure that users will always get the best price even if they are changing from other competitors.

How has demand been in the past few months?

If we compare the demand for AVIRA in the last Quarter of 2010 via-avis the first Quarter of 2011, we have seen an increase of upto 75% across. We hope to continue the momentum of growth.

Avira has the Renewal discount wherein, loyal users will get 30% less discount of the first purchasing price. Governmental sectors get 30% discount on the official price list. Users that wish to convert from a competitor to Avira will get the price of renewal (which is 30% less) at the first purchasing to allow them enjoy renewal price from year one.

With so many strong brands in the market, do you see possibility of tough competition?

Users of Avira products will know there is a huge difference between the high performance levels of products from Avira- vis-avis products from other competitors. Avira’s products have the best malware detection rates as well as fast scan speeds. The superior

Avira has many promotions throughout the year to support competing and demanding market, last promotions from Avira include bundled products (Tune-up utilities) and free extra license and free extra years. Avira has promotions for business products also like giving extra 13 months on top of a purchased license.

Richard Jonker Managing Director, Netgear

The increase in revenue was bolstered by the company’s launch of 17 products during the first half of 2011, strongly highlighting NETGEAR’s efforts to build product momentum. Notable new products include the compact WiFi repeater/booster for home use, the stackable 48 port Gigabit Smart Switch with 10Gig uplinks and the mini-travel router for the Asian market.

The launch of these new products has not only given the company its desired product momentum but has also exceeded their expectations with the huge response generated from consumers. In fact, the second quarter of 2011 drove in triple digit revenue growth from service providers, which accounted for approximately 37 per cent of the NETGEAR’s total revenue for Q2 2011, as compared to the 16 per cent figure of 2010 and the 29 per cent figure posted in Q1 2011. This will also include revenue growth from the CNS division, which was acquired from Westell earlier this year. Further, NETGEAR’s service provider revenue during the second quarter also benefitted from a one-time USD 10 million order from a major service provider customer.

"We believe the third quarter 2011 will present sequential increase in market demand due to back to school for both our retail and commercial business units," said Richard Jonker, Managing Director for Emerging Markets, NETGEAR. “The vibrancy of the global IT market continues to fuel our determination to create more strategic and fully reliable networking and storage products for our diverse customer base. Our vision is to drive in more profit growth and expansion in the coming years, ably positioning ourselves as a major player in the networking and storage industry segments.”

Quick Heal launches Mobile Security Solutions for Android Quick Heal Technologies has launched Mobile Security Suite for Android. With this launch, the company will be addressing the global market of Android Smartphone users.

"Smartphones are individual-centric technologies that have gradually become an indispensable and important part of personal and professional lives. People have gone beyond basic entertainment, ringtones and have started using mobiles for more advanced applications such as wireless email, browsing, m-commerce and banking. With this launch, we have used our Kailash Katkar deep research and knowledge in antivirus MD, CEO, Quick Heal technology to address the security and information safeguarding needs of such users. Very soon we plan to launch security solutions for Blackberry platforms as well", said Kailash Katkar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Quick Heal Technologies.

Quick Heal Mobile Security for Android is a complete security solution that offers a host of features such virus protection, call blocking, SMS blocking, anti-theft and data protection features. The automatic real-time virus and spyware scan comes with optional manual scan for installed applications. Call filtering allows users to block unwanted calls by configuring Black and White lists. The SMS blocking feature enables silent blocking of, malicious SMSs, unwanted spam SMSs and fraudulent SMSs. Data protection allows user to lock the lost or stolen phone remotely and wipe the personal data remotely by sending a pre-defined SMS. This powerful product also has anti-theft feature to trace/locate a lost or stolen phone and has the capability to render the device unusable once stolen.

The company plans to offer a compelling introductory price to all the early-adopters. To know more about the product and to avail exciting offer, www.quickheal.com/android.

9

16th August 2011

VAR Magazine Empowering and educating the channel

VAR Magazine is the fastest growing channel magazine in the MEA region. VAR MEA Magazine, which has completed over 125 issues of print, is the leading channel magazin in the region. Over five years and more, the magazine has become the preferred mode of communication with the channel for many leading vendors, distributors and resellers. VAR Magazine is presented in an easy to read print format, one of the reasons for its endearing appeal. It has deep and wide channel

penetration in terms of its distribution, a feature well recognized by the industry.

VAR MEA magazine has introduced several expansion initiatives including the exciting bilingual VAR Arabia. www.varonline.com, an interactive portal for the channel, was launched towards end of 2009 and has a fast growing readership in the channel

VAR Arabia - A bilingual magazine for KSA IT channel With the monthly VAR Arabia edition, the magazine extends its value proposition to benefit the Saudi Arabia ICT channel. The VAR Arabia print edition has a specific focus on the large strategic market of Saudi Arabia and is in line with the commitment of the VAR team to meet the expectations of a larger local IT channel readership across the Middle East. The intent is to deliver a product that builds on the strengths of VAR magazine with a strong editorial focus as well as providing unique value to advertisers.

Milestones of VAR Magazine • VAR MEA Magazine was founded on Sept. 18th 2005 for providing better, in-depth & sustained communication across the MEA IT channel.

• Over the past 5 years and 125 plus issues, VAR has successfully informed and executed channel centric communication like product launches, call to action campaigns, special offers, etc.

• 1st to launch a channel magazine in eBook format • With over 5000 resellers in OGCC having access to the magazine, the VAR Advantage delivers wide and deep penetration into the channel for advertisers.

• VAR Value fortnightly e-newsletters re-launched in January 2010 • First to launch channel awards in the region. The awards ceremony for the 4th edition of the VAR Choice of Channel Awards was held on the 21st of March at the landmark Meydan hotel in Dubai.

VAR Magazine’s vision of being a most reliable information media for the IT resellers in the region is backed by the execution from a team that has over a decade’s experience working closely with the channel. For VAR, the greatest success has been in winning trust from the region’s channel and the magazine will look forward to emulating that with its KSA edition.

For sales enquiries, contact sales@var-mea.com For subscription, contact subscribe@var-mea.com For more details, contact info@var-mea.com

10 In Focus

16th August 2011 EMPA Middle East

News

Strong bets on mobility Empa as a distributor has consolidated its Mobility and Accessories portfolio with a few leading brands. Chandan. Kr. Das, Business Unit Manager, EMPA Middle East FZCO speaks to VAR Magazine.

Yes, in Fujitsu we are distributing Tablets which are very well accepted in the market and gaining popularity due to following enhanced features like bi-directional rotatable, multiple finger-touches or multifunctional pen, modular bay for an optional second hard disk drive, DVD/Blu-Ray drive, second battery or weight Saver. There are optional integrated 3G/UMTS (incl. GPS), WLAN and Bluetooth. In addition, there are features like Fujitsu Advanced Theft Protection, fingerprint sensor, Smartcard Reader, etc. which make the tablet stand out from competition.

Chandan Kr. Das Business Unit Manager, EMPA Middle East

Discuss brands and product lines that you oversee in Empa?

Notebook and Peripherals Unit which has brands like Fujitsuand Toshiba Notebooks, Philips, Samsung Pleomax How have notebook shipments fared in this year so far, compared to last year?

It is growing year on year and in Fujitsuthe growth is almost double comparing last year. In the markets like Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan the growth rate is high.

Among the Notebook product lines, discuss in further detail, which are the faster moving in terms of configurations- whether it is entry level or mid level laptops?

The fast moving model is still the entry level configuration featuring Core i3 shared graphics with 2GB RAM and 320GB HDD. A growing demand is visible in dedicated graphic models in Corei5 and i7 CPU with 4GB/6GB RAM and 640/750 GB HDD with 1GB/2GB dedicated graphics.

Are there any tablets being distributed by Empa? Discuss which brands if so? How are they faring in the market?

Discuss the retail distribution business model of Empa?

We have contract with all major power retailers in UAE, KSA and GCC and directly distributing all major brands that we carry. Apart from the products mentioned, I also handle the retail division of EMPA. Do you see retail buying on the rise or remaining steady?

It is growing and expected to increase further, especially markets like KSA, Kuwait and Qatar Discuss what are the challenges you see in distribution into the power retail segment?

The major challenge in retail business is shrinking margin. Since most of the retail business is vendor driven offering very thin margins, hence it becomes very diffcicult to manage the bottom line.

Do smaller retailers have a fair share of the overall shipments in retails compared with power retailers?

Not really, majority is with the large power retailers who deliver better sell-out. Yes, there are some small retailers who are catching up fast.

Al Hosani gets Kaspersky Best Partner of the Year award Al Hosani Computer LLC has been awarded Kasperky Lab's Best Partner of the Year for the third year running. The distributor was recognized for its exceptional sales achievements, and creative marketing for Kaspersky Lab products.

Al Hosani Computer LLC was also credited for promoting of Kaspersky Lab software to the key retailers in the GCC, including Carrefour ME, Sharaf ME, Jarir Bookstores, Plug-Ins, Geant ME, EMax ME, Jacky's, Jumbo, Dubai Duty Free, CompuMe and HyperPanda.

Kaspersky Lab recently summed up the results of its collaboration with partner companies from the emerging markets region in 2010. Representatives of companies from over 40 countries participated in the partner conference in Cape Town, South Africa on 8-12 May, where those partners demonstrating the best results received special awards.

Get-togethers of this kind are traditionally held once a year, offering emerging-market partners from non-CIS countries the chance to share experiences and discuss challenges and potential business opportunities. At the Cape Town conference the senior management of Kaspersky Lab gave presentations on the current IT security trends as well as their forecasts for the future.

Garry Kondakov, Managing Director, Emerging Markets at Kaspersky Lab, noted that 2010 had been a very successful year for the fast developing regional partner network. “We are continually moving forward. Last year we successfully launched a new program that made collaboration with partners even more effective and involved them more actively in marketing campaigns and various promotions held in countries throughout the region,” said Garry Kondakov. “The partner network itself is also developing – there are currently 5,000 participating companies in the Russian-speaking countries of the emerging markets region and 4,500 in other countries.”

There was a new format to the conference with sessions in which the heads of the regional offices reported on their operations.

Sales growth in Eastern Europe was 30%; in the Middle East – 73%; Africa – 66%; and Russia – 40%. “Our task this year is to continue to grow in all territories. To achieve this we intend to bring our collaboration with partners to a new level and strengthen their positions on the market by rendering comprehensive assistance,” stated Garry Kondakov.

Tripp Lite and Redington Gulf sign strategic service contracts Tripp Lite reinforced its strategic partnership with Redington Gulf, a leading IT distributor in the Middle East and Africa, with the signing of both a comprehensive Authorized Reseller Service Centre (ARSC) and Critical Application Partner (CAP) service contracts that will cover 20 countries in both the Middle Eastern and African regions. The move comes after the recent signing of a valueadded distribution agreement between the two companies and is part of Tripp Lite’s continuing efforts to position itself across the rapidly developing IT markets of the Middle East and African regions while also establishing itself as a leading brand offering integrated solutions for data centre and corporate IT environments.

Under the terms of the ARSC contract, Redington Gulf will establish key service centres where customers can bring in Tripp Lite products that are within or out of warranty, for repairs and services. Meanwhile, the CAP contract, will allow Redington Gulf to offer services like installations, on-site warranty service calls and preventive maintenance services.

“The signing of these new service contracts brings a fitting start to our strategic partnership with Redington Gulf,” said Vipin Sharma, Vice Sethuraman S. President, Middle East, Africa and CIS Sr. VP, Services, Redington Gulf Sales, Tripp Lite. “The opening service centres in strategic locations across the Middle East and Africa as well as emergency situation reassures our having the ability to call and ask for customers and instils a sense of help in the event of a failure or confidence in the Tripp Lite brand.

Our partnership with Redington Gulf gives us the advantage of being able to leverage our effective and reliable power protection solutions across new markets and emerging economies in the MEA region.”

“Our partnership with Tripp Lite has taken a major step with the signing of these new service contracts. The setting up of key service centres across the MEA region not only demonstrate the strength of our relationship with Tripp Lite but also reflects our common commitment towards providing customer and technical support to our customers.

Rest assured, we will continue to work closely with Tripp Lite and promote its wide range of power protection products to help meet the growing

demands and requirements of our customers.” said Sethuraman. S, Vice President, Services, Redington Gulf.

Earlier this year, Tripp Lite signed a distribution partnership agreement with Redington Gulf to distribute Tripp Lite’s wide range of products including UPS Systems, UPS Batteries, PDUs, KVMs, Cables, Power Inverters, Racks and Surge Suppressors. Tripp Lite solutions cater to data centres that are as small as a remote closet to a full-fledged modern data centre facility. Key benefits and advantages gained from using Tripp Lite products and solutions promote significant savings from operational costs, seamless connectivity and a marked increase in productivity and efficiency.

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WINNERS!

Seagate’s Fill and Win campaign for Momentus XT drives was a huge success. The large number of correct entries coming in from resellers and their sale staff through faxes as well as online revealed that the channel is keeping itself well informed about Seagate’s products. Ten lucky winners were chosen through a raffle which included all correct entries. Each of the ten winners won a Seagate hard drive.

Abdul Rasheed (Computer Shack LLC)

Akhtar (Prince Computer Trading LLC)

Rafeek P. V. (PCME Computers)

Razik Parvez N. M. (Color Works LLC)

S. M. Jamshed (Channel7 Trading L.L.C)

Noufal (Diazone Technologies LLC)

Shamjid (Variety Computer)

Syyed (hi com)

V. Manikkavel (SHA Computer's)

Anil Beriya

on the behalf of Vishal Beriya

(Scantrans Computers LLC)

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What’s Avira Premium Security Suite

Epson Stylus Photo R2000

Key Features:

Key Features:

• Avira Scanner detects all known viruses, worms and Trojans while AntiAd/Spyware protects you against spyware and adware • AntiSpam filters out unwanted and phishing emails and AntiPhishing protects you against identity theft attacks • AHeADTechnology halts unknown code that looks suspicious while WebGuard keeps you away from malicious websites • AntiDrive-by stops sneaky malware downloads while you surf , MailGuard scans all your incoming and outgoing emails and FireWall slams a door in the face of hacker • Parental control to help parents keep their childs from inappropriate websites • Backup feature, to keep your important files backed up in a safe and virus free place.

• As long as you have a valid license, you have the right to use Avira latest version. Avira is using thiss approach for both business and consumer products cts

• The new A3+, 8-colour photo printer, which has been launched in the Middle East, delivers high-quality photographic prints using Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss2 pigment ink • It comes with the advantage of 50 percent higher capacity cartridges compared to previous models in its class. This allows larger print jobs to be completed with fewer ink changes.

• Epson has also answered customer calls for wireless connectivity, making the R2000 one of the only printers in its category to feature Wi-Fi. • Combined with USB and Ethernet connectivity, Wi-Fi enables the R2000 to fit easily into any studio or home environment.

• Users can print remotely otely from iPhones or iPads using ng the Epson iPrint app.

For more details, log on to www.avira.com

Aten VC 180

For more details, log on to www.epson.com

Key Features: • • • • • • • •

Converts VGA signals to HDMI output Supports analog stereo audio input Superior video quality – up to 1080p, WUXGA Screen Position Button – screen position settings can be restored for each output resolution Multiplatform support – Windows, and Mac Supports dual power sources: VGA port or power adapter (in case the VGA port cannot provide sufficient power) LED indicator Automatically detects video input signals

Acer Aspire x755 Notebook Series Key Features:

For more details, log on to www.aten.com

Massive 23 GT Notebook Cooler Key Features: • • • • • • • •

Supports laptop size from 10” ~ 17” One mini-USB and dual USB ports 200mm red LED fan Fan speed control knob (500~800 RPM) Five different angles adjustment Anti-slip rubber design Fan grill design for heat dissipation Ergonomic angle design

• Part of the X755 series, the Aspire 5755 and 4755 take advantage of the second generation Intel Core processor family, delivering smart performance that adapts to users’ needs and dynamic processing power for music, gaming, videos, movies, photos, social networking and other demanding mainstream applications.

• Aspire 5755 and 4755 combine excellent performance with a classy and appealing look and feel.

• The glossy cover features an attractive stripy pattern modulated in several colour options.

• The Aspire 5755 comes in brown, black, red and blue, while the Aspire 4755 is available in brown, black, green and blue.

• The multi-gesture touchpad puts swift, flawlesss navigation at your fingertips, for ultraconvenient zooming, rotating, navigating and browsing.

• The new Aspire 5755 and 4755 come in two format sizes – 35.5 cm (14”), 39.5 cm (15.6”) – both with high-definition CineCrystall LED backlit displays presenting striking 720p visuals in 16:9 aspect ratio.

For more details, log on to www.thermaltake.com

For more details, log on to www.acer.com

Samsung ML-4510/501X series mono laser printers Key features: • The ML-4510/5010ND/5015ND is the latest addition to Samsung’s business to business (B2B) printing range.

• Designed for small-to-medium businesses, the ML-4510/5010ND/5015ND series provides a productive, high quality and trouble free mono laser printing solution that’s also budget and environmentally friendly.

• The range’s effective job processing means the ML-4510ND prints 43 A4 pages per minute, while the ML-5010ND/5015ND models print 48 A4 pages per minute.

For more details, log on to www.samsung.com

• In addition, jobs start within just 7.5 seconds when the printer is ready, and in 16 seconds from sleep mode.

• With a powerful 600MHz Dual Core CPU, linked to a 1GB network connection, the Samsung ML-4510/501X series handles large volume print jobs with ease, printing documents quickly and efficiently and with much greater energy efficiency. So, for example, a 50 slide presentation can be printed in just 86 seconds.

• The ML-4510/501X series has a large input capacity up to 620 sheets, so paper can be refilled less often.

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Can Seagate’s Thin Hard Drive Stave Off the Threat of SSDs? Seagate Technology’s introduction of a super-slim hard disk drive (HDD) could help the HDD industry stave off the incursion of solid-state drives (SSDs) in the notebook personal computers (PCs) and media tablet markets, according to data from the IHS iSuppli Memory and Storage Service from information and analysis provider IHS.

SSD shipments in notebooks will rise to 16.8 million units in 2015, up from 4.7 million in 2010. This will represent only a single-digit percentage of the notebook storage market compared to HDDs through the year 2015. However, this small percentage is impacting the growth of the notebook HDD market.

“Although shipments of SSDs for notebooks will be miniscule compared to HDDs during the next few years, the solid state drives are shaving off points of market share that are critical to maintaining the growth of the hard drive business,” said Fang Zhang, analyst, storage systems, for IHS. “Furthermore, SSDs are universally employed in media tablets, which are eating into the sales of notebook and netbook PCs. Seagate’s new Momentus Thin HDD represents an attempt by the hard drive industry to answer the challenge of SSDs in notebooks—and even in media tablets—by undercutting the cost of solid-state drives while providing higher densities.”

The notebook HDD market set to expand at a 9.7 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2010 to 2015. The combined market for HDDs and SDDs will rise at a CAGR of 10.2 percent. This indicates the solid-state drives will shave off half a percentage point of growth from the notebook HDD market during the five year period.

The rising sales of media tablets could have an even bigger impact on notebook HDD sales. Media tablets, which employ flash memory for storage, are expected to have a negative impact on sales of notebook PCs, and thus the HDDs used in them.

Notebook and Netbook PC HDD and SDD Unit Shipment Forecast (Thousands of Units) 450,000 400,000 350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 -

5.0% 4.0% 3.0% 2.0% 1.0% 0.0% 2010

2011 HDD

2012 SSD

2013

2014

2015

Percentage of SSD Relative to HDD Source: IHS iSuppli August 2011

Preferred Partner

Seagate’s Momentus Thin HDD could find acceptance in netbook and notebook computers, preventing SSDs from making further inroads. However, the near term opportunity for these drives in tablets is limited. HDD-based models are expected to account for 2 percent or less of the total tablet market in 2012, IHS predicts.

A Momentus Event for Storage Seagate in June announced that its Momentus Thin HDD - a 2.5-inch drive

that is only 7 millimeters thick - will be featured in tablets set to ship in September. The HDD has capacities ranging from 160GB to 320GB, with speeds of 7,200RPM and 5,400RPM, and 16MB of cache.

The thin form factor makes the Momentus suitable for mobile platforms.

However, the Momentus may really set itself apart from SSDs in terms of cost and capacity.

Seagate said the Momentus Thin HDDs are being used in what it called the world’s first handheld tablet computers with hard drives: the G9 8- and 10-inch tablets from ARCHOS. The manufacturers’ suggested retail prices for the ARCHOS 80 G9 and ARCHOS 101 GB tablets are $279 and $349. Seagate said that was a significantly lower price than competitive flash-based tablets, which cost between $349 to $829, with densities from 16GB to 64GB. A tablet using the Momentus Thin HDD can have 10 times the storage capacity of a flash-based tablet. Momentus Thin HDD-based tablets also can be significantly lighter than HDD-based netbooks due to the reduction of the 2.5-inch drive size.

HDD Disadvantages The disadvantages of HDD-based tablets include a potentially shorter battery life, a longer boost time and a relatively heavy weight compared to flash-based tablets. These drawbacks may serve as a disincentive to some tablet users who require speed and mobility.

A one-stop dedicated, specialist for genuine consumables Now relocated to a brand new store at a new address at Al Ghubaiba Rd., Opp. to National Flour Mill & Carrefour, Bur Dubai

Gold Partner

Platinum Partner

P.O. Box 103743, dubai - UAE. Tel: +971 4 3254446 Fax: +971 4 3254447 Email: sales@buraidacomputers.com website: www.buraidacomputers.com

Preferred Partner

Platinum Partner

Gold Partner

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Al Hosani Computer LLC Official Distributor in the Middle East and West Asia 1703 BelResheed Tower, Buhaira Corniche, Sharjah, UAE Tel: +9716-575-444-3, Fax: +9716-575-444-9 www.alhosanime.com, Email: sales@alhosanime.com

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