THE TOP 16 SI LIST IS CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST`S ANNUAL

IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
16
TOP
SYSTEMS
INTEGRATORS
THE TOP 16 SI LIST IS CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST’S ANNUAL RANKING OF
THE TOP SYSTEMS INTEGRATORS, VARS, SOLUTION PROVIDERS AND IT
CONSULTANTS IN THE REGION, RANKED BY THEIR SERVICES REVENUE.
CHECK OUT THE TOP COMPANIES THAT MADE THE INAUGURAL SURVEY.
BY MANDA BANDA.
(26)
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST 2013 _www.itp.net_
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
hannel Middle East presents its inaugural list of the largest systems integrators in the Middle East’s SI sector, complete with a
breakdown of vertical focus and their financial performance. Now in the first year, the Channel Middle East Top 16 SIs List is an
annual ranking of the top systems integrators, solution providers, VARs and IT consultants in the Middle East, ranked according to
their services revenue. The research has been modelled on similar lines as the annual distributor Power List. Channel Middle East
magazine is the only channel publication in the Middle East region to have been given access to the audited accounts of IT distribution
companies since 2009, to enable us to show the real picture of the status of the distribution business in the region.
Based on that model, Channel Middle East magazine has decided to embark on a similar survey targeting the SI segment across the
Middle East region, with the Top 16 Systems Integrators List. The magazine intends to expand this research in the coming years as the role
of systems integrators and solution providers takes on more prominence in the regional channel. Channel Middle East aims to provide a
comprehensive breakdown and vital information from each SI, VAR, solution provider or IT consultant that makes the list including revenue
performance, key vendors, certifications, key verticals, IT projects implemented in the region, headcount and regional presence, alongside
comment from company executives on the state of their businesses. In the pages that follow, we will highlight the inaugural leading 16
systems integrators in the region.
C
EDITOR’S NOTE
We believe the Top SIs List 2013 contains the 16 largest Middle East-based SIs, VARs, solution providers or IT consulting firms operating in the
market based on the data available to us at the time of research. However, we also acknowledge that there may be other SIs in the region which
would qualify for inclusion so if you feel there are any omissions then please let us know and we will consider those companies next year. In the Top
16 SIs List – companies are ranked strictly by services revenue on projects implemented in the Middle East region. All the companies that made this
year’s list shared their audited financials with us.
(27)
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST2013 _www.itp.net_
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
1. MDS UAE
VERDICT
MDS takes top spot in the
inaugural Top 16 SI List
research, posting an impressive
$530m in sales revenue. The SI
has cemented its cloud and
data centre credentials and
recently unveiled the Cloud
Centre of Excellence in the
UAE. With more growth plans
underway, MDS looks set to
dominate the regional SI space.
SAMI ABI ESBER, PRESIDENT
2. ALROWAD IT SOLUTIONS
What were the company’s
milestones in 2012?
MDS was able to secure the
largest data centre facility
projects (Pacific Controls and
Mubadala). In addition, we
set-up a service company
MDS TS. Last year also saw
us scoop the best partner
awards for both HP and EMC
in the Middle East
Mediterranean Africa
(MEMA) region.
Tel: +971 2 627 6354
Website: www.mds.ae
Regional offices: Abu Dhabi,
Dubai, Doha and Muscat.
Key brands: HP, Microsoft, EMC,
Oracle/Sun, Dell, Apple, Avaya,
Emerson Network Power, Juniper
Networks, VMware.
What were the main drivers for
your revenue growth in 2012?
MDS grew its services
revenue in data centre
infrastructure, systems
integration and storage
consolidation.
Has the SI sector recovered
from local market instability?
Although the SI sector in the
Middle East has seen
improvement over the last
three years and has been
slowly recovering, there are
issues that are still hanging
over the sector.
Ownership: Privately owned.
Where will most of your
business growth come from
this year?
Our business growth going
forward will come from our SI
capability, our data centre
infrastructure and building
expertise in high-end services.
2012 sales
$530M
VERDICT
As a subsidiary of the Abu
Dhabi Police, Alrowad IT
Solutions has curved a niche
for its systems integration
business in the region. The
company has established a
track record in providing
proven IT solutions to the
government, public and private
sectors. Alrowad is poised for
growth as it looks to spread its
wings in the region.
strategy on payment of
transfer (POT) projects.
What were the main drivers for
your revenue growth in 2012?
The majority of our revenue
growth came from IT security
projects. In addition, the
government tailored IT
solutions we develop also
helped to push our revenue in
the past year.
Key brands: Microsoft, Oracle, IBM,
What were the company’s
milestones in 2012?
Alrowad IT Solutions did more
than 60 projects in different IT
areas including infrastructure,
applications development, data
centre setup and systems
integration for more than 100
entities across the UAE.
Has the SI sector recovered
from the market instability in
the region?
The systems integrator arena
is stable although business
challenges still persist. From
our own experiences, we have
found that more customers
are approaching us to help
them solve their business
concerns. We have also
witnessed steady interest from
Where will most of your
business growth come from
this year?
Most of our growth will come
from the solutions we provided
to the government sector.
What are your plans for 2013?
We will be focusing our
COLONEL ANWAR ABDULLA AL MULLA, CEO
(28)
What are your strategic plans
for the rest of 2013?
We plan to grow our services
and outsourcing offerings and
we will pay particular focus
to our security and
vitualisation offerings.
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST 2013 _www.itp.net_
Tel: +971 2 408 5448
Website: www.alrowad-its.com
Regional offices: Abu Dhabi, UAE
SAP, SAS, CA and Easy meeting
“Feedback Italy”.
Ownership: A subsidiary of Abu
Dhabi Police
many regional government
and companies that want to
use our IT solutions.
2012 sales
$190.5M
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
3. THE VISIONAIRE GROUP
VERDICT
Visionaire has continued to innovate in a systems integrator
market where innovation has been stifled and stagnated in the
region. Through its own developed ‘TECHNOMICS’ business
model, the SI helps clients with perpetuity transformational
ICT by keeping the focus on their business needs rather than
vendor-focused strategies focused on market share.
We expect that 2014 will see a major
recovery with IT projects coming
upstream from SMB and the private
sector. Currently, the telecoms, government
and education verticals continue to be the
leading investments in the Middle
East region for ICT.
Tel: +971 4 881 5222
Website: www.visionaire.com
Regional offices: Abu Dhabi, Al Ain,Dubai and Doha
Key brands: TECHNOMICS, HP, Microsoft, Intel, Brocade, Cisco,
Juniper, Fortinet, Aruba, Fujitsu, F5, VMWare, [over 26 brands]
ANEETA GUPTA, PRESIDENT & CEO
What were the company’s key milestones
in 2012?
During 2012 Visionaire was able to
productise its more than 18 years of
technology deployment and integration
experience into a business model which we
call ‘Technomics’. Technomics is a single
integrated system (SIS) approach by
Visionaire that is a proven and
demonstrated integration model that
provides firms the ability to achieve
perpetuity in transformational ICT by
keeping the focus on the customer and
business needs rather than succumbing to
single vendor centred strategies of gaining
market share and meeting revenue
objectives. Visionaire was able to penetrate
new market segments with the Technomics
approach with a focus on enterprise,
education and hospitality sectors.
During 2012 Visionaire was also able to
provide substantial Technomics value and
progress to key projects such as the design,
build and operations of the UAEU Campus
valued at AED178m, the Zayed University
Khalifa City campus valued at AED69m, the
successful deployment of the Network
Ownership: Privately held by the Visionaire Technology Group.
Operations Center at RTA Dubai, as well as
the completion of an end-to-end ICT design
consultancy project with Qatar University.
from SMB and the private sector. Currently,
the telecoms, government and education
verticals continue to be the leading
investments in the region for ICT.
What are your strategic plans for the rest of
this year?
Achieving Technomics success in
integration of the 4Cs — cloud, connectivity,
communication and converged services —
which translates to integrated technologies
for data centre, cloud computing, mobility BYOD, telepresence and collaboration. We
are planning on a regional expansion into
supporting projects in Saudi Arabia, Qatar
and Kuwait.
What were the main drivers for your revenue
growth in 2012?
The majority of our revenue growth last
year came from unified communications and
collaboration, unified networks and rich
media solutions.
Has the SI sector recovered from the market
instability in the region?
We expect that 2014 will see a major
recovery with IT projects coming upstream
Where will most of your business growth
come from in 2013?
As Visionaire, most of our business growth
this year and beyond will come from the
enterprise segment, education and
hospitality industries in the Middle East.
2012 sales
$121.5M
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// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST2013 _www.itp.net_
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
4. EMITAC ENTERPRISE
SOLUTIONS
VERDICT
As a group, Emitac’s over
$1.4bn business comes from its
systems integration, IT
services, value- and volumedistribution business. EES’
decision to strategically focus
on cloud infrastructure
solutions and business
solutions is yielding huge
dividends and it has witnessed
its business grow
tremendously in 2012.
What were the company’s
milestones in 2012?
In 2012 we continued
executing our strategy to fully
transform our operation into a
solutions business in line with
the pressing requirements of
our enterprise customers.
MIGUEL ANGEL VILLALONGA, CEO
6. JUMBO ENTERPRISE
What are your strategic plans
for the rest of 2013?
Strategically, we have grouped
Tel: +971 4 605 8100
What were the main drivers for
your revenue growth in 2012?
Growth came from
engagement in new large scale
customers, as the success in
project delivery is leading to an
increased number of contracts.
Where will most of your
business growth come from
this year?
Our business growth will
come from cloud and business
solutions for our enterprise
customers. Another key
contributor will be the
enterprise agreement solution
frameworks based on
Microsoft technologies.
Has the SI sector recovered
from instability in the region?
The enterprise SI area where
we play, concentrates on
providing value to customers.
This market is certainly
recovering and most of the
enterprise sectors are investing
in IT to grow.
Website: www.emitac-ees.ae
Regional offices: Dubai, Qatar
Key brands: HP, Microsoft, Cisco,
Juniper, Symantec, McAfee, EMC,
Oracle and Metasonic.
Ownership: Privately Owned
2012 sales
$90M
VERDICT
As a group, Jumbo’s billiondollar-plus business comes
from retail, systems
integration, IT services and
volume IT distribution. Jumbo
Enterprise has posted a decent
figure given the challenges
that SIs have faced over the
last four years in the region.
What were the company’s
milestones in 2012?
Apart from the award that we
received from Lenovo, for
Outstanding Corporate
Reseller, the company was
delighted to have secured
managed print services
contracts with Abu Dhabi
Airports Company, Khalifa
University, Damas Jewellers
and Engineers Office, Worley
Parsons.
What are your strategic plans
LATIK GUPTA, HEAD ENTERPRISE
(30)
our solutions offering around
two main areas namely cloud
infrastructure colutions and
business solutions, where we
are concentrating on big data
and business analytics and
mobility solutions.
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST 2013 _www.itp.net_
for the rest of 2013?
We will continue to focus on
the growth of the service
businesses that include:
managed services, managed
print and document services,
infrastructure and AV
solutions.
Tel: +971 4 336 7999
What were the main drivers for
your revenue growth in 2012?
Our main revenue drivers last
year were managed print
services, SI and AV projects.
We also managed to roll out
projects in the hospitality, oil
and gas, aviation and
government sector.
segments and this is driving
sales and revenue growth.
Has the SI sector recovered
from local market instability?
Absolutely, we foresee a
significant improvement in the
overall conditions of the
market across all verticals and
Website: www.jumbocorp.com
Regional offices: Dubai, Abu Dhabi
and Sharjah.
Key brands: Lenovo, HP, IBM,
Ricoh, Sony and Brother.
Ownership: Privately held as part of
Jumbo Electronics Co LLC Ltd.
Where will your business
growth come from in 2013?
Our growth will come from the
following sectors: managed
services, managed document
services, infrastructure,
computing and AV solutions.
2012 sales
$48.1M
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
5. SMARTWORLD
VERDICT
Smartworld has made the Top 16 List this year with a solid
revenue performance. For a company that was only set-up in
2008, the company has all the business fundamentals in place,
and Smartworld is poised for further growth in the region.
Smartworld remains upbeat about
posting continued growth in 2013.
To help bolster more growth, we
are currently implementing initiatives that
aim at covering the rest of the Middle
East region with our signature line of
services and products.
Tel: +971 4 814 1400
Website: www.smart-world.ae
Regional offices: Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai.
Key brands: Microsoft, Dell, Cisco, Juniper, HP & Oracle.
REYADH AYESH, CEO/MD
What were the company’s key milestones
in 2012?
We recently completed a wide CNE/SCN/
WDN & SD PROJECT for Al Maktoum
International Airport (AMIA). The objective
of the project was to implement the IT
Systems for AMIA. The client for this
project was Dubai Airports Engineering
Services, and the scope of the project
included the implementation of the
following: airport infrastructure cabling
structure, fully redundant and secure
network, wireless system, service desk and
network node management system.
For this project, we were able to present
Dubai Airports Engineering Services with
unique offerings and value-add. Another
project that was implemented was the
Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) in
Dubai World Central.
The successful completion of the venture
has put Dubai World Central into the league
of prestigious gigabit capable precincts in
the world. The project provides next
generation network (NGN) capabilities and
connectivity to all of the ICT users in Dubai
World Central.
Ownership: A joint venture between Etisalat and Dubai World Central.
What are your strategic plans for the rest of 2013?
Smartworld remains upbeat about posting
continued growth in 2013. To help bolster
more growth, we are currently
implementing initiatives that aim at covering
the rest of the Middle East region with our
signature line of services and products.
What were the main drivers for your revenue
growth in 2012?
The impressive growth performance that we
posted in 2012 can be attributed to the
systems integration projects and the
operational projects that were awarded to us.
Has the SI market recovered from the region’s
market instability?
Yes, we can truly say that the SI segment
has managed to avoid the impacts made by
the recent economic gridlock. A recent
industry report has shown that SI services
account for approximately 46% of the total
professional IT services market in the MEA
region. The major factors driving the
systems integration market in MEA are the
rise in government IT investments growth
in technology and population, and the
increasing need for industrial growth. The
transportation, power, water plants, and
property construction segments are the
opportune drivers for SIs for projects such
as ERP owing to the high investments aided
by the government sector.
Where will most of your business growth
come from in 2013?
As with our previous years of operations,
the continuous growth that we continue to
enjoy can be attributed to the SI projects
and operational projects awarded to us.
2012 sales
$81.6M
(31)
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST2013 _www.itp.net_
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
7. INTERTEC SYSTEMS LLC
VERDICT
Intertec has attributed its 2012 growth to the services in the
application and infrastructure space which it was able to take
to market. For a company that aims to grow its expertise in
the banking segment and extend its geographical presence,
Intertec has what it takes to achieve this.
I do believe the SI business was never
down as we did not see this impact in
2011 or 2012. However, this depends
on the company’s focus, investment in
technology, training and being able to create
new solutions for customers that
impact their business.
Tel: +971 4 222 1338
Website: www.intertecsys.com
Regional offices: UAE, Oman, Bahrain, KSA & India.
Key brands: HP, Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft, Infor, LANDesk, Symantec,
Veeam, NEXThink, Vmware, Trendmicro, Optial & more [over 23
brands].
Ownership: Privately held.
NARESH KHOTARI, MD
What were the company’s key milestones
in 2012?
The company focused on regional growth
and in particular paid more attention on
solutions to grow the business, create new
products and craft a challenging work
environment. Keeping all this as the base,
we achieved 30% growth last year and have
moved to our 23rd year of performance with
the support of our customers and partners.
We have invested in creating new products
for 2013, and have implemented a lot of
policies around employees.
What are your strategic plans for the rest of
this year?
We want to develop some very strategic
alliances with vendors as well as
customers. We aim to become the
customers extended arm, so they can focus
on their core business, that is one of our
prime focus areas. We also want to create
in-depth market segmentation, and form a
consulting practice around the solutions
which Intertec wants to take to market.
The objective is to grow by 50% in the next
six months.
(32)
What were the main drivers for your revenue
growth in 2012?
Investment in technical, delivery and
business teams keeping the customer focus
has been one of the reasons for growth.
Further, all sales and business teams have
focused on customer business needs and
what the critical success factors are.
Has the SI sector recovered from the market
instability in the region?
I do believe the SI business was never down
as we did not see this impact in 2011 or
2012. However, this depends on the
company’s focus, investment in technology,
training and being able to create new
solutions for customers that impact their
business. The fact is that we have achieved
30% growth in 2012 and are on track to
achieve higher growth this year.
Where will most of your business growth
come from in 2013?
Currently, 50% of our revenue comes from
the corporate sector, 35% from government
and 15% from the financial vertical. We are
looking into improving our banking portfolio
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST 2013 _www.itp.net_
in addition to getting into new verticals and
geographies. Regional companies are
looking for cost-effective solutions, which
will help them deliver better, faster response
to their clients in a secure fashion. This
leads to many areas of business, some of
them are mobility, private cloud,
compliance, BI with analytics, security, and
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). We have
teamed up with quite a few solution
providers as well as developed our own IP to
deliver in most of the solution areas. We
have been investing in mobility, cloud, social
and messaging.
2012 sales
$40M
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
8. ALMOAYYED COMPUTERS
VERDICT
Despite experiencing
challenges in the Bahraini
market, Almoayyed has been
undeterred by some
uncertainty in the market it
serves. The company wants to
continue to raise its profile in
the public sector and banking
vertical in the region.
What were the company’s
milestones in 2012?
The company was able to
deliver several IT projects
although the main one was the
National Payment Aggregator
(NPA), an initiative by the
eGovernment Authority for
setting up a single, unified
electronic payment solution
across all government entities
in Bahrain.
S.M.HUSSAINI, GENERAL MANAGER
10. SYNOPTIC
What are your strategic plans
for the rest of 2013?
Tel: +973 1 770 0777
What were the main drivers for
your revenue growth in 2012?
The main drivers for last year’s
solid revenue performance can
be attributed to the company’s
ability to deliver a variety of
projects across different
industry sectors.
that are prevailing only in
Bahrain. However, the
government push in IT
projects is very evident.
Has the SI sector recovered
from the market instability in
the region?
While in other markets in the
GCC things have improved,
Bahrain is yet to recover. This
has more to do with issues
Website: www.
almoayyedcomputers.com
Regional offices: Bahrain
Key brands: Microsoft, HP, Cisco,
Oracle, Avaya, Citrix and Symantec.
Ownership: Privately held by the
Almoayyed family.
Where will most of your
business growth come from
this year?
It will be public sector and
banking. We expect the
infrastructure business to do well.
2012 sales
$32.2M
VERDICT
The decision to strengthen ties
with key vendor partners has
helped Synoptic to post strong
sales figures. The company
attained ISO 9001:2008,
10002:2004 and 10004:2012,
which covers professional IT
services and customer
satisfaction. All this has
contributed to providing
efficient services to clients in
Saudi Arabia.
What were the company’s
milestones in 2012?
A major highlight last year was
Synoptic moving its central
office to a new location in
Riyadh. The company also
announced changes in the
corporate hierarchy to
efficiently manage work
processes.
What are your strategic plans
AMMAR AL YAFI, CEO
With regards to this
opportunity, the company has
developed a two-pronged
strategy that includes: aligning
with the existing partners to
promote their cloud offerings
and strengthening our own
focus on cloud building.
for the rest of 2013?
Synoptic would like to leverage
its existing relationship with
vendors and its end-user
customers by providing them
with innovative solutions
backed by efficient services.
Tel: +966 11 224 6228
Website: www.synoptic.com.sa
Regional offices: Riyadh,
Dammam, Jeddah
Key brands: Microsoft, Oracle,
Huawei, HP, Brocade, Riverbed,
Dell, IBM, Cisco, McAfee, Juniper
CEO: Ammar Al Yafi
What were the main drivers for
your revenue growth in 2012?
The KSA economy has been
stable and as a result, we
managed to increase our
revenue last year because of
the superior support we offer
our customers.
Has the SI sector recovered
from the market instability in
the region?
Saudi Arabia is backed by a
stable economy and we foresee
a strong resurgence of
business activities this year
and beyond.
Ownership: The company is 100%
owned by Mohammed Al Mandil.
Where will most of your
business growth come from in
2013?
With firms beginning to spend
on IT projects, we will continue
to consolidate our alliances
with vendor partners as doing
so will set us apart.
2012 sales
$26.6M
(33)
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST2013 _www.itp.net_
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
9. AL ROSTAMANI COMMUNICATIONS LLC
VERDICT
Al Rostamani Communications make the Top 16 SI List this
year having posted strong sales. With its services business
now in place, the company has continued to broaden its
business horizons all in a quest of staying relevant to the
market it serves. The company wants to build a lucrative
services-driven business going forward.
Our aim is to increase the overall
size of the business through
the services revenue stream.
Consequently, we are developing verticals
in the area of mobile Internet, content and
anything as a service (XaaS).
Tel: +971 4 428 7557 or +971 2 619 9800
Website: www.arcuae.com
Regional offices: Dubai & Abu Dhabi.
Key brands: Schneider, McAfee, NEC, Alcatel-lucent, NetApp,
Symantec, Fujitsu, Motorola, Sagemcom and D-link.
Ownership: Al Rostamani Communications is owned by the Al
MOHAMMED ZAMEER, GENERAL MANAGER
What were the company’s key milestones
in 2012?
The company executed a major network
management system for a leading telecom
operator in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
and successfully completed a NetApp
storage implementation for two well-known
oil companies based in Abu Dhabi.
We also rolled out security consultancy
projects, networking and systems
integration projects with enterprises across
the UAE.
What are your strategic plans for the rest of
this year?
Our aim is to increase the overall size of the
business through the services revenue
stream. Consequently, we are developing
verticals in the area of mobile Internet,
content and anything as a service (XaaS).
We strongly believe the company is well
poised for growth in the Middle East
systems integration sector.
What were the main drivers for your revenue
growth in 2012?
The main revenue drivers during 2012 were
(34)
Rostamani Group.
providing complete end-to-end ICT solutions
virtualisation, storage, security and
consultancy services. We also strengthened
our managed and professional services
offerings to the market.
Has the SI sector recovered from the market
instability in the region?
The systems integration sector is recovering
from the instability in the region. The
hospitality, finance and oil and gas sectors
are showing tremendous growth. The
infrastructure sector also looks promising
but still a bit of caution is required in this
particular sector.
Where will most of your business growth
come from in 2013?
Most of the growth during 2013 and
beyond will come from security, storage
and virtualisation. In addition,
opportunities will emerge in the
infrastructure space where unified
communications is gradually taking hold.
Managed services and XaaS requirements
will also increase and we are aligning
towards these two areas.
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST 2013 _www.itp.net_
2012 sales
$27.2M
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
11. NASMA
TELECOMMUNICATIONS LLC
VERDICT
With volatility in some markets
in the region, Nasmatel has
continued to augment its SI
business and the company is
looking to diversify its
solutions offerings as it looks
to grow its revenue streams.
The company plans to cultivate
market verticals.
What were the company’s
milestones in 2012?
Last year we managed to
double our workforce while
our year-on-year revenue grew
seven-fold.
ALI AL LAWATI, CEO
12. HELP AG
What are your strategic plans
for the rest of 2013?
The company has continued to
hire strategically bringing
onboard talented individuals.
Aside from human resource
issues, Nasmatel plans to
develop and cultivate other
Tel: +968-22084800
Website: www.nasmatel.com
Regional offices: Oman
Key brands: Cisco, Commvault,
What were the main drivers for
your revenue growth in 2012?
We focus most of our attention
on active markets and having
enough diversity in our market
offerings to have multiple
revenue streams. This will be
enhanced this year.
Has the SI sector recovered
from the market instability in
the region?
Unlike other parts in the
region that experience
challenges, the Oman SI
market never really faltered
because the country has
always enjoyed a stable
economy. SIs in the country
continue to benefit from the
economic stability and this
Quantum, Hitachi DS, Honeywell,
Rittal, Cyviz, Samsung, Seimon,
R&M, Estap, Crestron, Extron,
Keymile, Ampole, Chillman and
Firepass.
Ownership: Privately owned.
year we anticipate this to
continue uninterrupted.
Where will most of your
business growth come from
this year?
Growth will come from the
data centre, audio visual and
telecommunications sectors.
2012 sales
$18M
VERDICT
help AG’s strategy to stay
focused on the value game has
helped the company to build a
track record for itself in the IT
security solutions space. In a
market where the temptation
to trade in hardware is high,
help AG has adopted a plan
that places emphasis on
developing solutions and valueadd for end-user clients.
What were the company’s
milestones in 2012?
Since its establishment in
2004, help AG has achieved
on average 80% year-on-year
growth and 2012 was no
different. We also managed to
double our staff and most of
the new recruitments were
for technical positions. We
also expanded to Qatar and
we were able to sign new
vendor deals.
STEPHAN BERNER, MD
lines of business to help
sustain our revenue growth
going forward.
What are your strategic plans
for the rest of 2013?
help AG is focusing on valueadded services to assist
clients in building their
information security strategies
and to implement solid future
proof IT security solutions
that increase their security
posture accordingly.
What were the main drivers for
your revenue growth in 2012?
Our success can be credited to
the market’s perception of help
AG as a trusted advisor in the
IT security sphere. We have
unmatched technical skills and
deliver services that extend
well beyond most resellers and
SIs in the region.
Tel: +971 4 440 5666
Website: www.helpag.com
Regional offices: Dubai, Abu Dhabi
and Doha
Key brands: F5, Juniper Networks,
Blue Coat, Symantec, Palo Alto
Ownership: Privately owned.
focus for help AG, we have
actually benefited from
regional instabilities. The key
to success for SIs will be to
develop core competencies.
Where will your business
growth come from in 2013?
All initiatives follow our
company’s strategic objectives
of Customer Satisfaction and
Quality Delivery.
2012 sales
Has the SI sector recovered
from local market instability?
With security being the sole
$16M
(35)
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST2013 _www.itp.net_
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
13. FUJISOFT TECHNOLOGY LLC
VERDICT
In a year that saw IT security receive so much attention in the
Middle East as a result of targeted cyber attacks on several big
name enterprise organisations, Fujisoft’s decision to set-up a
security division is timely. The company is pinning its hopes on
services, IT security solutions and broadening its vertical focus
domain expertise.
As a systems integrator operation, the
market is stable and there are a lot of
IT projects coming up in the Middle
East region. There is no more trading in hardware
as the only business that is opening up in the SI
arena is for partners that are willing to invest in
solutions and are able to advise their customers as
trusted business advisors.
Tel: +971 4 352 6686
Website: www.fujisoft.net
Regional offices: UAE, India & Canada
Key brands: Cisco, HP, Microsoft and Panasonic. VMware, Avaya and
Johnson Controls.
ALBERT RAJ, MANAGING DIRECTOR
What were the company’s key milestones
in 2012?
Last year our target was to concentrate on
ser vices and increase the revenue we
generate in this space. I am glad to state
that we managed to achieve this.
We also planned to form a new division
for security solutions and we successfully
created the Fujisoft Security Solutions
division. The new security business unit
has taken rights for Johnson Controls
security products for the UAE, Oman,
Bahrain and Afghanistan.
Fujisoft was also awarded Cisco’s Best
Select Partner of the Year at the Partner
Summit UAE 2012.
What are your strategic plans for the rest of
this year?
For 2013 we want to target the market in
Abu Dhabi especially the oil and gas
sector. We are shortly opening up a
branch in the UAE capital and we will be
appointing a new enterprise sales team.
What were the main drivers for your revenue
growth in 2012?
(36)
Ownership: Privately owned.
It was definitely our focus in ser vices. By
offering turnkey IT solutions, we were
able to increase our revenue and one of
the main key point areas that contributed
immensely to our revenue growth was in
the virtualisation space.
Has the SI sector recovered from the market
instability in the region?
As a systems integrator operation, the
market is stable and there are a lot of IT
projects coming up in the Middle East
region. There is no more tradingin IT
hardware as the only business that is
opening up in the SI arena is for partners
that are willing to invest in solutions and
are able to advise their clients as trusted
business advisors.
Where will most of your business growth
come from in 2013?
Aside from our focus in the oil and gas
sector, ser vices and our newly formed
Fujisoft Security Solutions unit will all
drive business growth for the company as
a whole this year and way into the
foreseeable future.
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST 2013 _www.itp.net_
2012 sales
$11.2M
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
14. AZIMUTH WLL
VERDICT
As an emerging SI, Azimuth is steadily building its business
in the Middle East geography. Although the sales revenue
figure may be low, the SI is taking steps to diversify its
business into other vertical sectors while at the same time
building the necessary skills and competencies that will
propel it to new heights.
We want to expand our healthcare
solutions deployment into the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia. In addition, we intend
to extend the scope of projects to incorporate
more systems within healthcare deployments
with the goal being a complete
hospital infrastructure.
Tel: +973 7 721 2277
Website: www.azimuthgulf.com
Regional offices: Bahrain, Qatar and representative offices in UAE
and Saudi Arabia
Key brands: Ekahau, Infor, Lenel, Wavemark, Impinj, Alienware, Omni-ID
HUGH HASKELL-THOMAS, PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
What were the company’s key milestones
in 2012?
Last year we launched our own RFID/
RTLS visualisation and middleware
solution ‘Symphony’ and deployed it into
three customer sites. In addition, we were
recognised by an industry trade publication
for the Middle East Healthcare Deployment
of the Year.
What are your strategic plans for the rest of
this year?
We want to expand our healthcare solutions
deployment into the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. In addition, we intend to extend the
scope of projects to incorporate more
systems within healthcare deployments
with the goal being a complete hospital
infrastructure. We will also launch
Symphony as a product for resale in Asia
and Europe.
What were the main drivers for your revenue
growth in 2012?
The region is becoming more aware of
value for money and local support. Our
focus has been value and not cost for some
Ownership: Privately Held.
time. However, it is only in the last two
years that this focus has met customer
demand here in the Middle East region.
Has the SI sector recovered from the market
instability in the region?
The entire Middle East region has suffered
a severe setback. However, the instability is
driving more demanding requirements
which we believe are benefitting the entire
systems integration and solution provider
sector. Whether this trend continues is
difficult to say right now. If uncertainty
continues then we believe the focus will
remain on maximising the current
infrastructure which will continue the trend
of more complex projects for SIs and
solution providers involved in the solutionsselling game.
2012 sales
$2.5M
Where will most of your business growth
come from in 2013?
The majority of our growth will come from
the healthcare sector and the military
sector. We will also be expanding our
presence into the oil and gas market across
the Middle East region.
(37)
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST2013 _www.itp.net_
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
15. TECH FORTE SYSTEM LLC
VERDICT
As a new entrant in the SI market in the region, Global
Distribution’s decision to diversify its presence in the IT
industry has seen it set-up operations in IT distribution, SI and
power retail segments. Tech Forte, the systems integration
arm, wants to capitalise on the emerging opportunities in the
government sector, education, BFSI, hospitality and healthcare
verticals across the Middle East region.
We only set-up the company exactly
a year ago and most of our effort was
on achieving vendor accreditation
and making sure we have a strong
foundation from which to grow.
Tel: +971 4 388 5878
Website: www.tforte.com
Regional offices: UAE
Key brands: Cisco, Avaya, HP, Oracle, VMware, Symantec, Fujitsu
and Lenovo, Payfair, Perpetuuiti, Pallas, YouTransactor, FIS, 2X
Exterity, Locatel, Everfocus and Sony.
VM CHANDRASEKAR, GROUP MD
What were the company’s key milestones
in 2012?
The operation started in August 2012 with
the key milestone of achieving strategic
alliances with key vendors and complete
accreditation. We also completed the core
team for market addressability across the
entire Middle East region.
What are your strategic plans for the rest of
this year?
We want to establish Tech Forte as a niche
player in the area of business continuity
planning (BCP), disaster recovery (DR)
and capacity planning along with a focused
approach to working with some key
customers in the UAE. In addition, our
ambitions are to be part of certain IT
initiatives in the central African region.
What were the main drivers for your revenue
growth in 2012?
As we only set-up the company exactly a
year ago, most of our effort was on
achieving vendor accreditation,
certifications and making sure we have a
strong foundation from which to grow from.
(38)
Ownership: Privately held as part of Global Distribution Group.
Has the SI sector recovered from the market
instability in the region?
We feel that the systems integration sector
is in the process of recover y but hasn’t
fully recovered yet because we still find
that there is a dearth of funds available.
The good part is that many IT projects
which were on hold in the last couple of
years have started moving again, are
being signed and the market is looking up.
With the hope that the Expo 2020 goes in
favour of Dubai, more new projects will
come to the fore spurring unprecedented
IT growth in the process.
Where will most of your business growth
come from in 2013?
Our business growth from an industr y
vertical perspective is going to come from
the government, education, banking and
financial ser vices, hospitality and
healthcare segements. From a solutions
offerings standpoint, our business growth
will come from desktop virtualisation,
storage, networking, security
infrastructure, application software and
business intelligence.
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST 2013 _www.itp.net_
2012 sales
$2.3M
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
16. NEWRAS TECHNOLOGIES JLT
VERDICT
Although NewRAS is a ‘small fish’ in the broader SI pond, the
start-up company has set its eyes on growing its business in
the mid-market segment in the region. The company is
developing expertise in network infrastructure, data centre
virtualisation and management, content and network security,
and wireless sector.
The mid-market segment continues
to be our major focus with some
good projects shaping up in network
infrastructure, data centre virtualisation and
management, content and network security,
and wireless projects.
Tel: +971 4 368 8119
Website: www.newras.com
Regional offices: Dubai
Key brands: IBM, VMware, Veeam, Siemens, Extreme, Citrix,
WatchGuard and Xirrus.
HASEEB SOLEJA, MANAGING DIRECTOR
What were the company’s key milestones
in 2012?
Last year saw us implement a server/data
centre virtualisation project for a German
freight forwarding/logistics and
warehousing company — Hellmann
Worldwide Logistics.
What are your strategic plans for the rest of
this year?
In the first quarter of 2013 we have
concluded a unified communications (UC)
project for our client Freightworks. We
have a wireless project with Xirrus’
offerings coming up for a major hospital in
Dubai, as well as for a leading hotel.
What were the main drivers for your revenue
growth in 2012?
As 2012 was the first year of our operations
here in the region, the aim was to break
even in one year. We just managed to do
that and have invested a lot of time in
choosing the right vendor partners.
The mid-market segment continues to be
our major focus for operations, with some
good IT projects shaping up in network
Ownership: Privately owned.
infrastructure, data centre virtualisation
and management, content and network
security and wireless projects.
Has the SI sector recovered from the market
instability in the region?
It definitely has as several unfinished
projects are back on track for completion
either in year 2013 or slotted for
completion next year. The recovery in the
real estate market of Dubai has rekindled
growth in the IT sector.
Where will most of your business growth
come from in 2013?
We are targeting three key verticals which
are healthcare, hospitality and transport,
[warehousing and logistics] sector.
2012 sales
$150K
(39)
// CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_AUGUST2013 _www.itp.net_