On cloud nine

The Middle East IT market has grown responding to technological developments and innovations. Visvas Paul D Karra logs in to find out how the Omani IT sector is faring

When Samatel, the latest telecommunications provider, launched its services in Oman recently, besides the mobile services, a lot of stress was laid on its contact centre. Additionally, the company disclosed that more call centres would be opened in Mabela and Bid Bid respectively within a year. The contact centres of Samatel are expected to offer business solutions, including telemarketing, helpdesk and one-stop-shop marketing services.

To help get its contact centres up and running, Samatel tied up with Teleperformers – the biggest outsourcing company in the world. For its mobile operations, Samatel entered into an agreement with Effortel from Belgium, an MVNE (mobile virtual network enabler), which facilitates the entry of companies into the mobile reselling business.

Obviously, the contact centre and the mobile services involves a lot of IT infrastructure beginning from “SunRay Desktop replacement solutions” to complex data servers and all the other paraphernalia in between. The notable part is that Samatel roped in Oman Computer Network Systems (Oman CNS), a major regional ICT system integrator and managed services company.

“Over the years we have selected best-of-breed Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) for IT infrastructure products and best-in-class specialists for middleware products. Which is why Samatel, a start up company in the telecom field chose us to set up their IT infrastructure,” says Mufaddal Nafar, Area Sales Manager, Oman CNS, while talking about their association with Samatel. Oman CNS as a leading system integrator from UAE now offering high quality of services and turnkey IT solutions from KOM.

“Clients are attracted by our structured DREAM methodology (Define, Review, Engineer, Accelerate, Manage) by which we have created an organisation that can simplify end-to-end ICT needs of big or small companies, starting from the design and staying with the client throughout the technology lifespan,” says Nafar while talking about the activities of Oman CNS. Samatel and Oman CNS are two of the examples of how IT in Oman is growing at broadband pace as an increasing number of companies reap the benefits of modernising their operations by spending on modern IT technologies.

Billion-dollar mark

Recent reports by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) indicated that the Sultanate’s thriving Information Technology services industry is poised to grow by 10 per cent and will cross the half a billion dollar mark by 2011. Oman along with Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan, will play significant role in the Middle East IT services market, which is to hit $3.5bn by next year, the report said.

The IT market in Oman is only about 10 per cent the size of other GCC markets, but the government is investing in IT as part of its Digital Oman initiative and strategy to diversify the economy. In addition, there is a rise in demand for IT services from verticals such as oil & gas, telecommunications, aviation and financial services.

Says Sameer Gupta, executive vice president, Infoline: “Sustainable growth in the ICT sector has backed economic progress and provides a strong platform for the development of SMEs. The SMEs, in turn, have invested heavily on advanced and innovative technologies, which have been a key contributing factor to increased IT spending in the region.”
Infoline is a premiere brand in the growing sunshine industry of IT and ITES (IT Enabled Services) with one of the largest contact centre in Oman.

Further, economic reforms and trade liberalisation will initiate more spending by both public sector organisations and enterprises and the areas of predominant investment will be e-commerce platforms and back office systems; cloud computing; and IT infrastructure management.

Five-year bull run

“The IT sector in Oman began to look bullish from 2005 onwards when investments into large projects began pouring in and the government took up large scale infrastructure development. There has been an average growth of 8-10 per cent year-on-year in the IT sector with more than $300mn being spent this year alone,” says K Ram Subramanian, GM, Information Technology Division of Imtac, one of the premier technology providers in the Sultanate.

The term IT mainly deals with computer applications computing technology, covering everything from installing applications to developing databases. Today, the common work environment is completely automated and totally dependent on computers. One of the main reasons for this tremendous growth has been the internet, which Subramanian says, has been a big enabler and differentiator as it has become the platform on which the technologies are running now.

Starting as a distributor of Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 1984, Imtac managed a consistent growth since then to emerge as one of the largest technology companies in the Sultanate. The company is one of the few with complete and locally available expertise to carry out large technology projects in the region.

Subramanian says that several e-services being rendered by government organisations like the Muscat Municipality’s parking violations, Rent Contract System and other solutions have been provided by Imtac.

Similarly, Imtac has implemented the National Payment System and other automation services being rendered by CBO. Imtac’s clients include at least four major banks and other large corporates like PDO, ITA, Ministry of Health and Oman Refinery and Petroleum Company. All these organisations have a strong IT backbone.

Increased IT awareness

Ujjawal Tankha, country head, Max Electronics, which runs the Emax Store feels that once individuals and businesspersons realised the necessity of computers at home, the awareness levels of technology began to rise and soon it became a natural extension that they began to utilise IT in their companies and offices.
Says Tankha: “Previously, there used to be a single mobile handset per family. Now every adult member has more than one handset. This trend is now catching up with computers as well. The father will be having a laptop besides the desktop computer at home. Then the college-going children also need a laptop for their studies. This way, every home has now begun to have two or three computers or laptops.”

The large-scale economic developments in the Sultanate have definitely helped the growth of IT, says Tankha. “The last two years have been like a boom-time,” he admits while saying that laptops, computers, hardware like printers were the fast moving products at the Emax store, set up at Muscat City Centre in 2007.

Continuing further, Tankha says that the popularity of the social media like Facebook and Twitter has only enhanced the value of internet, which in turn helps in the growth of IT. As many companies begin to integrate social media into their publicity campaigns, it only added to the rising demand for IT products, he adds.

Gupta concurs with this when he says that IT has always been an essential tool of commerce, but it has become increasingly important since the development of the personal computer and the Internet. Consumers and clients demand efficient service and rapid communication, and even the smallest of small businesses cannot do without effective information technology.

“The most significant advantage of employing information technology is data knowledge. With the development of email, texting, and the wide variety of social media technologies, consumers demand an almost immediate response – and IT services can provide that immediate communication effectively and inexpensively,” adds Gupta.

Computer-controlled

The computer in its myriad forms has permeated all areas of our life, says Haitham Abu Nasser, general manager/ partner, Integrated Systems (IS). Take a car for example, says Nasser. The computer chip inside the car’s system is involved in the smooth running of the vehicle and all safety aspects are controlled by it. This is the way forward for us as we utilise the benefits of IT to make our life easier and convenient, Nasser opines. The government’s Digital Oman strategy, which is being spearheaded by the Information Technology Authority (ITA) is actually a step in that direction.

The eGovernment services portal’s stated aim is to transform the Sultanate of Oman into a sustainable knowledge society to empower the people and businesses with information and services by delivering all eGovernment services through a common gateway in a seamless manner.

“Integrating government services with businesses and individuals requires massive IT infrastructure and implementation of new technology solutions to gain competitive advantage and achieve business goals. Therefore practically every IT company in Oman is involved with ITA in one way or other as vendors or partners,” says Nasser.

Integrated Services, which is a full service company providing IT infrastructure, security, safety, building management, communications and audio visual expertise, offers complete turnkey solutions and has clients from the public as well as the private sector. When organisations realise that they can cut down costs between 20-40 per cent by automation of their processes, then they decide to implement IT in their companies. This will fuel the growth, says Nasser.

Cloud computing

Gone are the days when Tally was the frontier in IT. Many of the new technologies are adding value and providing new opportunities for businesses as newer applications speed up production processes and accounting systems. As key business processes began to be identified, the need for associated information requirements, hardware, software and bespoke applications began to grow. Thus, IT began to be aligned with core business requirements.

With the evolution of technology and constant innovations by technology giants like Google and Microsoft, the mode of IT operations is changing. Cloud computing is emerging as a favourite among organisations, which want to cut costs and increase their operational efficiency.

IT service providers like Infoline and Gulf IT are popularising Cloud Computing and providing services using the Cloud Computing Platform – thereby ensuring IT solution offerings on par with latest global developments.
Cloud computing is basically done with Google Apps which has email, calendaring, instant messaging, document, spreadsheets and presentations, site creation and video without having any software of your own, says Rahul Bhavsar, business head, Middle East, Gulf IT.

“The applications are hosted by Google, so you can just turn them on and get to work quickly. With this cloud computing approach, you don’t need to worry about installing, maintaining or upgrading software, and you always have access to the latest technology. You can also use any device: PC, Mac, Linux, Android or iPad, if it has a web browser and a connection to the Internet you can access your information from anywhere,” Bhavsar says.

“The cost savings are compelling, especially when you’re on a tight budget: cloud computing is about one tenth of the cost of on-premises software. It’s also more secure than storing data on laptops and USB keys that are easily lost or stolen,” adds Bhavsar.

Along with cloud computing, another IT solution is cloud codes, which provides an ease of use, affordable, and reliable source for getting all the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) software needs in the cloud. This single development and delivery model significantly reduces the time and costs associated with the development and delivery of enterprise systems.

Way forward

The MENA region has gradually started capitalising on the global wave in IT Enabled Services (ITES). As countries strive to develop knowledge based economies, the growing demand for IT and ITES would rise. However, it has been observed that companies are reluctant to make huge investments in technology and hence resort to outsourcing.

The customer contact centre industry across the Middle East is to a large extent at the developing stage and definitely, a vision exists for a more matured growth in the long run. One of the latest regulatory developments in the Middle East has been the initiatives towards opening of VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) which will lay the foundation for Middle East contact centres standing up on par with the global standards.

“Corporate leaders have realised to be ahead in the rat race means a blend of visionary management, cost effectiveness, latest technological platform, quality output and the most important customer satisfaction. We at Infoline assure our clients with all the above components and help them achieve success,” Gupta added.
 

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