Delivery and Secure Web Gateway, today announced that it has been positioned in the leaders quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateway  by research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc.  Blue Coat® ProxySG® appliances deliver the visibility, security and acceleration that enterprises require to enforce corporate policies and optimize application performance.

“Blue Coat has consistently delivered leading edge technology at the Internet gateway and branch office to ensure that enterprises can secure their networks and implement policies without compromising application performance,” said Nidal Taha, Blue Coat Systems Middle East Regional Director. “We believe being positioned in the leaders quadrant further validates the focused execution of Blue Coat’s vision to deliver the security and application acceleration tools that allow enterprises to effectively control their networks.” 

The report positions vendors based on their ability to execute and completeness of vision.  According to Gartner, “The Completeness of Vision axis captures the technical quality and completeness of the product and organizational characteristics, such as how well the vendor understands this market, its history of innovation, its marketing and sales strategies, and its geographic presence.”

Gartner has also placed Blue Coat in the leaders quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers, 2007.

Blue Coat ProxySG appliances can flexibly enforce policies on content, users, applications and protocols while increasing application performance at the Internet gateway and over the wide area network.  The highly scalable ProxySG allows customers to simplify their IT infrastructures by reducing the number of appliances required to secure and control the network.

“We expect average market growth rates to be in the 25 to 35 percent range for the next two years,” says Peter Firstbrook and Lawrence Orans in the Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateway, 2008 report.  “This growth will be fuelled by increased penetration of dedicated SWG devices, incremental feature revenue and the impact of appliance-based products replacing software.

Dubai- 24th September 2008: SonicWALL, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNWL), a leading provider of data protection and security solutions, announced today the signing of a Gold Partnership  agreement with Al Mulla Group of Companies, one of Kuwait’s leading business groups. The deal will help SonicWALL develop its distribution channel in the MENA region while expanding its fast-growing portfolio.

Under the terms of the agreement, Al Mulla Group will distribute through Certified Technical Engineers and Sales Professional SonicWALL’s portfolio of network security solutions including Network Security Appliances (NSA), SSL VPN solutions, and Email Security offerings - in addition to SonicWALL Aventail SSL VPN products - in Kuwait. The agreement will also leverage SonicWALL’s 10,000 channel partners worldwide, and will offer channel partners and resellers the opportunity to benefit from increased product availability and broad support.

“It was an easy choice to become the Gold Partner of SonicWALL products,” said Mr. P.C.Bahl, the   General Manager, Office Automation & Technologies, Al Mulla Group. “Al Mulla Group and SonicWALL share common values of providing high-quality products and excellent customer service. We anticipate high demand for SonicWALL products in Kuwait because of its comprehensive and effective approach to delivering innovative and comprehensive security solutions to businesses of all sizes.”

Mulla Group is one of the largest industrial houses in Kuwait, with diversified businesses in engineering, commercial and financial services. Since its establishment in 1938, Al Mulla has built a reputation for delivering its promises and identifying the general and specific technology needs of its customers.

SonicWALL acquired Aventail Corporation, a privately held provider of market-leading SSL VPN Secure Remote Access solutions, in 2007. This acquisition provided SonicWALL customers with a complete portfolio of SSL VPN solutions ranging from entry to enterprise levels, providing easily managed, Secure Remote Access appliances for all-size businesses.

“This year we celebrated our one year anniversary of expansion into the enterprise market after acquiring Secure Remote Access Company, Aventail,” says Shahnawaz Sheikh, SonicWall’s Regional Sales Manager of Middle East and Africa (MEA). “Our partnership with Al Mulla Group not only reflects our continued focus on enhancing customer value by providing our channel partners with a wider choice of products, it also contributes to our objective of extending our geographical coverage. I am sure that this relationship will continue to prosper for years to come.”

an emerging trend in digital imaging: the convergence of high-megapixel still photograph and High Definition (HD) video capture in a single digital single-reflex lens (DSLR) camera and the need for large-capacity memory cards to support these added capabilities.

With flickr.com now allowing users to post 90-second videos, or “long photos” as they are called, the DSLR video movement has definitely arrived. Canon’s new DSLR camera enables enthusiasts to take professional-grade photos and video, while SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) memory cards provide the robust capacity required to store the resulting data.

The groundbreaking addition of HD video capturing capabilities in a DSLR camera opens up completely new avenues of creative expression for users. Point and shoot digital cameras have been able to shoot video for some time, but HD video-enabled DSLRs take such innovation to another level. DSLR cameras offer users increased versatility with the ability to film using a wide variety of lenses. Now video enthusiasts can use a fisheye lens during one shot in order to capture wide hemispherical images, and a telephoto lens during another shot for close ups.
  
RAW images consume up to 10 times as much space as regular JPGs, making an afternoon’s worth of wedding photos or using burst mode at sporting events a memory-intensive affair.  The new 32-gigabyte1 (GB) SanDisk Extreme® III CompactFlash® (CF) card enables photographers to shoot in RAW for extended periods of time without worrying about running out of storage space.  

“The Canon EOS-5D Mark II highlights the newest trend in DSLRs which is to combine high-quality still photography with full HD video,” said Susan Park, director of product marketing at SanDisk. “This is truly a remarkable camera that takes full advantage of the SanDisk Extreme family of high-performance and large-capacity memory cards.”
 
Featuring 16:9 Full HD video capture at 1920 x 1080 pixels and 30 frames-per-second (fps), Canon’s EOS-5D Mark II DSLR demands a memory card with the storage capacity required to make such filming both possible and enjoyable. At a whopping 32GB, the latest addition to the award-winning SanDisk Extreme III Compact Flash line can store over an hour and a half of video at full HD resolution. With a 30 megabyte-per-second2 (MB/s) write speed, SanDisk’s card can transfer 32GB of content to a computer in a little over 15 minutes.

Dubai eGovernment announced that a delegation from Sweden’s Provisa Group – which specialises in publishing various special interest reports – visited Dubai eGovernment and met with the Acting eServices Director, Moza Al Akraf. The Provisa team comprising Kathe Arnsen, International Business Manager, and John Qvint, Sales Manager, Provisa Group, are in Dubai to explore possibilities of publishing a promotional book about the emirate.

The visiting Swedish delegation was all praise for Dubai’s eGovernance infrastructure and spoke about the possibilities of establishing cooperation between Sweden and Dubai in the eGovernance domain, especially through sharing of best practices.

“We are glad to have had this opportunity to closely see Dubai’s electronic governance infrastructure, which is certainly world-class. eGovernance is a major topic that Provisa is planning to focus on in the coming months, and this visit has been of tremendous value, especially because we are keen on maximizing opportunities in Dubai for Sweden’s business community,” said Kathe Arnsen.       

Commenting on the visit of the Provisa team, Moza Al Akraf said, “It was a privilege to welcome this delegation from Sweden and provide them an overview of our eGovernance set up. Sweden also has a well established eGovernance framework and we are considering cooperating with them by exchanging knowledge resources and experiences, and sharing best practices. Dubai eGovernment will offer total support to the Provisa Group to help them achieve their objectives in Dubai.”

in enforcement activities. Resulting transparency a first in the region and will allow for tougher penalties against piracy. The Ministry of Culture and Information (MoCI) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has started the implementation of a number of major anti-piracy measures in a move intended to establish the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a regional leader in anti-piracy efforts.

The MoCI, through the personal efforts of His Excellency Minister Madani, has launched a public website on which critical information on copyright anti-piracy cases will be posed. The website can be found at http://www.info.gov.sa/info/copyrights/followup.aspx). The Kingdom is the first country that has implemented such an enforcement transparencny initiative in the region.

Eric Smith, President, International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), who met with Minister Madani last March, praised the Minister’s actions: “We commend the KSA Government and Minister Madani for taking this historic step forward in the fight against piracy in the Kingdom. The establishment of a MoCI public website, bolstered by a reformed and more effective Violations Review Committee within the Ministry demonstrates the creativity and commitment of the KSA government, and the Ministry in particular, in finding new and effective ways to fight this growing social and economic threat. We are all hopeful that this new transparency will lead to deterrent fines and penalties for shops and street vendors dealing in pirate products, and imprisonment in serious piracy cases, in order to bring much needed deterrence into the Kingdom’s enforcement system. 

In 2006, the KSA committed to a tougher stance against intellectual property rights (IPR) violations in meetings with the U.S. government and with IIPA.  Unfortunately, several criminal elements continued to take advantage of the Kingdom’s strong commercial growth, which has led to the proliferation of sales of pirated materials causing severe damage to legitimate Saudi industries. For 2008, the KSA, working with the IIPA will focus on completing the transparency process, on deterrent enforcement; the legal use of copyrighted software in the government and Saudi enterprises; and copyright law reform.

“The Saudi Government’s positive actions bode well for the future of IPR enforcement in the country. Copyright protection is an essential component for sustained economic growth and social development. The government’s efforts are a positive step towards even more progress for the KSA. The AAA highly values and supports such initiatives to clamp down on counterfeiters and profiteers,” he added.
 

“His Excellency Abdul Rahman Al Hazzaa has been highly cooperative and active in both private and public sector anti-piracy campaigns which he has steered in the right direction, so we are expecting the emergence of best anti-piracy practices in the KSA. While sustained efforts to curb piracy in KSA are reaping rewards, the AAA is committed to intensify its awareness campaigns to maximise the impact of various initiatives aimed at protecting IPR,” concluded Khudair.

company that worked with DUBAI.TV and HOLLYWOOD.TV from their beginnings to their US$1 billion valuations, seeks investors for our next world brand, CITY OF GOLD. Alternatively, we are also accepting offers for an outright sale of the property.

CITY OF GOLD – with a platform website at www.CITYOFGOLD.COM and an entire suite of satellite sites -- encompasses all of what other gold domains fail to offer: a fun, informative, world-class branded internet destination creaated on a powerful Web 2.0 internet platform. Perfect for creating a global audience with a built-in business network and social community, CITY OF GOLD is all that Dubai represents: Earth’s gold capital, packaged in a first class brand and ready to be turned into the world’s foremost name in gold.

CITYOFGOLD.COM comes complete with all of the hottest internet features you would expect an international brand to have: including pop-out galleries, integrated Google satellite and map views of Dubai, online forums and member areas, blog, Dubai gold and jewelry merchant directories, up to six custom membership levels, drop box module, fully-integrated search, instant messaging, and much, much more. Every single section of CITYOFGOLD.COM is indexable for the highest search engine optimization results. And the world-class domain is built on the latest, Web 2.0 standards, using rock solid XHTML and CSS: everything is ready for the next big technological evolution on the web. You’ve simply got to visit www.CITYOFGOLD.COM to experience the CITY OF GOLD.

The sale of the CITY OF GOLD brand includes the primary .COM, in addition to all domains representing other significant gold markets (e.g. CITYOFGOLD.IN for India, CITYOFGOLD.CN for China, CITYOFGOLD.KR for Korea, CITYOFGOLD.AE for the United Arab Emirates, and so on). The package also includes the complete transfer of all existing trademark applications.

WHY IT’S A GREAT TIME FOR GOLD

As the world’s major currencies are hit with increased inflation, devaluation and uncertainty, people will once again begin shifting their assets to the planet’s oldest form of asset protection: gold investment. Whether in small amounts such as jewelry or larger forms such as gold bullion, virtually everyone knows of the intrinsic value of gold. During times of low interest rates, war, invasion, crisis, and bank failures, the importance and appeal of gold shines even brighter.

VIRTUAL PROPERTIES, LLC has created a turn-key, world brand in gold, on a cutting-edge technological Web 2.0 platform prime for a world audience. No such colorful, friendly, broad appealing, advanced gold domain has ever existed before CITY OF GOLD. Now is your chance to own the world’s premiere brand in gold, right when gold will really start becoming more and more important in everyone’s lives.

WHY CITY OF GOLD?

The name ‘City of Gold’ is already internationally-branded, referring to the extremely gold-rich emirate of Dubai. Located in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai ranks as one of the richest cities in the world and boasts the largest number and concentration of gold merchants on the planet. At any given time, over 25 tons of gold glitter on display. For this reason the magnificent city is legendary worldwide as the City Of Gold.

UAE Minister of Foreign Trade H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi discussed the UAE’s unique approach to urban development, cultural tourism and diversification during a panel session on “Cities and Countries: Diversifying to Survive.” The session was part of the 2008 Global Creative Leadership Summit, which was held from September 21 to 23, 2008 at The Metropolitan Club in New York City.

H.E. Sheikha Lubna will join prominent international experts, public figures, academics, technologists, artists, Nobel Laureates and industry leaders in addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by globalization throughout the three-day invitation-only multidisciplinary Summit.

The UAE Minister talked about how cultural tourism has become an integral part of both the domestic hospitality service sector and the activities of her country’s residents. She explained that the UAE welcomes around 10 million tourists annually, many of whom are attracted to the country’s impressive blend of cultural heritage and rapid economic development. She referred to observations that cultural tourists spend more than ordinary tourists, thus making this sector a major contributor to national revenue. The Minister added that cultural tourism helps acclimatize foreigners who would like to spend more time in the country and enhances urban development.

“The UAE has been successful in maintaining its traditional roots while achieving significant economic and societal growth. Cultural tourism allows us to showcase this to both our foreign guests and our citizens who want to know more about our past, present and future. This unique segment of the country’s thriving tourism industry has emerged as one of our top income-generating activities,” said H.E. Sheikha Lubna. 

the UAE’s general strategy of diversifying its economic activities and preparing for the next level of national growth.  Through visionary leadership and the philosophy of excellence ingrained in all of our infrastructural developments, we intend to lead the region and the world in building the sustainable cities of the future,” concluded H.E. Sheikha Lubna.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Sept. 22, 2008 — Dr. Erfan-Bagedo General Hospital (EBH) announced today it recently implemented the Cerner Millennium® PathNet® solution. The hospital will use the solution to automate the managerial and operational aspects of its laboratory to provide faster, more accurate lab services for the more than 1 million patients it serves each year.

“As healthcare information technology continues to advance, so do opportunities to provide better, safer care to our patients,” said Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Erfan, EBH chief executive officer. “By implementing the Cerner Millennium PathNet solution at our hospital, we will be able to improve safety and efficiency in the laboratory.”

EBH will use the Cerner Millennium PathNet solution to streamline specimen management, track specimens and maintain quality control within the hospital laboratory. The PathNet solution is connected to the hospital information system, which gives caregivers real-time access to important laboratory data.

“Dr. Erfan-Bagedo General Hospital’s commitment to implementing advanced healthcare information technology has helped it become one of the leading private-sector hospitals in Saudi Arabia,” said Trace Devanny, Cerner president. “We commend the hospital leadership for continuing to advance the standard of care for the region and for providing world-class care to its patients.”

Palm Utilities, a subsidiary of Istithmar World PJSC, a major investment holding company incorporated in the Dubai World Group, has recently announced the launch of a new project by Palm District Cooling (PDC) in Jumeirah Village South that will deliver up to 200,000 tonnes of refrigeration (TR). The new project joins Palm Utilities' growing portfolio of utility facilities that deliver water and cooling services to some of the most prestigious residential and commercial developments in the UAE.

With the growth in demand for its world-class services, Palm Utilities has also announced plans to set up field offices in Abu Dhabi. The focus on Abu Dhabi is part of Palm Utilities' strategy to expand its presence across high-growth markets in the region; recent statistics have indicated that demand for various utility services will substantially outstrip the current supply level in Abu Dhabi, including a sharp 43 per cent increase in demand for water resources within the next five years as revealed by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA).

Mr. Ahmed Butti, Director General of Dubai Customs and Chairman of Palm Utilities said: “The pace and growth of Palm Utilities' operations has vastly improved, which is a very remarkable achievement for a relatively new player. The number of projects being commissioned has increased considerably as developers and master planners acknowledge the long-term impact in terms of sustainability, efficiency and pricing that our water and cooling solutions offer. The new project in the prestigious Jumeirah Village South and our plan to establish our new office in Abu Dhabi are strong indications of Palm Utilities' growing influence and reputation in the utility sector."

Palm Utilities has commenced construction of three of six district cooling facilities in Jumeirah Village South. The project will include a district cooling facility for Jumeirah Village South Triangle, which will supply 50,000 TR, and another facility for Jumeirah Village South Circle, which will supply 150,000 TR. The Jumeirah Village South facilities are part of several Palm District Cooling projects currently being planned or underway that will collectively deliver a total of 1,031,050 TR to various exclusive community developments.

The Saudi Arabian IT market is estimated to reach USD 3.8 billion by 2010,
according to recent studies, as a result of the Kingdom's dedicated efforts
to enhance its current ICT infrastructure and its sizeable investments into
the development of eServices, eEducation and Smart Cities. With aims to
leverage KSA's rapid transformation as a regional leader in information
technology, Mindware, a leading IT distributor in the Middle East, has
announced that it has invested in a state-of-the-art office located in Olaya
Street, opposite the renowned Kingdom Tower in Riyadh. The office will serve
as a domestic hub for its KSA operations and is expected to usher in further
growth in Mindware's business in the Kingdom.

According to the IDC report, the six Gulf countries - Saudi Arabia, UAE,
Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman will account for nearly 23 per cent of the
total IT spending of the entire Middle East and Africa (MEA), which is
expected to exceed AED 146.8 billion in 2008. The report further pointed to
the potency of the Gulf information technology market, which is expected to
exceed AED 44 billion by 2011, representing a growth of almost 12 per cent.
Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the region, comprising 43 per cent of
the overall IT spending and Mindware has made a decision to launch its new
office and establish stronger operations in the Kingdom to address the
booming demand from its government, as well as its largest industrial and
business sectors.

"The establishment of our KSA-based office is a testament to our commitment
to our clients in Saudi Arabia, as it reflects our eagerness to maintain a
personal contact with them to sufficiently address their needs," said
Jacques Chammas, CEO, Mindware. "The office will prove invaluable to our
resellers as it will be a venue for in-depth training, service and access to
exhaustive information on cutting edge solutions. This would also help us in
acquiring comprehensive feedback and concrete input from our channel
partners on their requirements and accordingly meet their need in a
proactive manner."

"We believe that this is the perfect time to strengthen our operations and
value added services in the Kingdom by setting up a bigger Saudi-based
office, which will focus on addressing the growing IT needs of this highly
favoured investment destination. As more and more global companies are being
drawn to KSA with aims of tapping into the excellent business opportunities
in this rapidly growing country, we will be there to assist them with their
IT needs. We are positive that the growth of Saudi will help us achieve our
target growth of 20 per cent for 2008, thereby motivating us further to
focus our attention to this booming market," concluded Chammas.

The UAE footwear market is expected to hit USD 300 million by 2010,
according to recent industry estimates, as the domestic retail sector
witnesses' continuous growth as a result of the booming population and cash
flow across the emirates. In line with this, Orange Fairs & Events,
organisers of 'Foot Wear Expo 2008', the definitive event for the footwear
industry in the Middle East region, is set to host leading players from the
USD 1 billion GCC footwear market during its three-day run from November 03
- 05, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dubai. The inaugural edition of the
event has been launched with aims to provide global companies an ideal
platform where they can collaborate, expand their networks and leverage the
rapid growth of the market.

The organiser also revealed that over 100 manufacturers from countries such
as U.S.A., Australia, Brazil, Turkey, Italy, Indonesia, South Africa,
Thailand, India, Greece, Pakistan, Spain, Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Vietnam
and U.A.E. have confirmed their participation at the expo, and that it has
assigned a total of 1,500 sq. m. of exhibition space to accommodate the
3,000 visitors who are expected to attend. During the event, a wide variety
of low-to-medium and medium-to-high priced footwear collection, leather
products and leather accessories will be showcased by international
exhibitors, with aims of maximising the global footwear market, which is
expected to exceed USD 190 billion by 2010. Additionally, the organiser is
expecting 'Footwear Expo 2008' to usher in new fashion trends to the region,
with the large number of globally-renowned brands who are coming to
participate.

"Being a modern melting pot of cultures, which is magnified by the diversity
of ethnicity that is highly prevalent within the Emirates, Dubai definitely
fits the bill as a new fashion destination," said Nafees Ahmed, Project
Manager, Orange Fairs & Events. "With GCC economies attracting people with
high liquidity of cash, the footwear industry in the region has seen a
tremendous boost, and this is an opportunity, which companies participating
at the 'Foot Wear Expo 2008' are aiming to maximise. Amidst the booming
economic growth and thriving population, international manufacturers are
anticipating massive levels of consumer demand and consumption across all
sectors in the Pan-Arab region, and they have identified the event as an
appropriate launch pad for their high quality products."

Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for Sports Leadership Development (HBMPSLD), an innovative leadership program designed to develop future sports national leaders capable of promoting the sustainable development of Dubai in the sports field, has announced that it has recently concluded the fourth round of assessment involving a total of 345 applicants from nine cities across the UAE. Some 77 successful candidates were handpicked to advance to the final stage of the evaluation process.

 
HBMPSLD also disclosed a huge turnout of women candidates, including a total of 14 promising sports leaders who made it all the way to the final round. A key criterion for qualification is experience, which is indicated by 10-year average work experience of the finalists. In addition, HBMPSLD revealed that the final candidates have an average age of 33 and have remarkable competency levels in terms of personal skills and efficiency.
 
"We had an impressive turnout of candidates from both public and private sectors who underwent the integral evaluation process and manifested strong leadership and management qualities, which are key considerations of the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for Sports Leadership Development. The success of the activity, particularly the high level of competency and enthusiasm of the candidates, revealed a very promising future for the program and sports in general as numerous individuals have manifested strong interest to lead and contribute in the development of the UAE's sports programs," said Adel Al Shared, Director of HBMPSLD.