MEEZA, a provider of managed IT services and solutions in Qatar and the Middle East region has urged businesses in the region to drive IT innovation in their business.
Delivering a keynote address to leading IT thought leaders and Qatari businesses that gathered in Doha for IT Matters: an Innovation Summit, James Fanella, MEEZA acting CEO, says: “It is important that our clients, stakeholders and the broader public have an opportunity to hear, not only about new and emerging IT solutions, but also real business experiences of how these technologies are impacting organisations in Qatar and across the region. This is what IT Matters is all about.”
Fanella added that the IT Matters summit provides a valuable platform for sharing experiences across industry sectors, as well as providing ideas for business growth and innovation through IT.
Fanella said in the 12 months that MEEZA has been operational, the company has been able to launch the fist high availability data centre in Qatar. In addition said Fanella, MEEZA has also set-up the first command control centre also in Qatar and unveiled 14 managed services.
“Our approach to providing IT services to clients in Qatar and the Middle East region at large is to ensure that these IT services are helping them to innovate and grow their business,” he says. “We know that if our clients grow their business, we also grow.”
He added that since its establishment in November 2008, MEEZA has been focusing on how it can help companies in the region to leverage their IT innovation and drive this innovation deeper into their organisations and business.
Fanella pointed out that with the launch of the MEEZA SaaS offerings which will be sold through VARs in the region, the company is set to revolutionise the SME business sector. “To date, we have been awarded over QAR550 million in contracts and that an outstanding achievement given that this has happened in the first year of our existence,” he said.
Grahame Maher, CEO of Vodafone Qatar, a client of MEEZA says: “What Vodafone Qatar achieved in 2009 would have been impossible only five years ago. To go from virtually nothing to being a fully operational telecommunications service provider in a matter of months is in large part due to the services and solutions which MEEZA provide us and the strong partnership we have with the company.”
Maher added that after one year of business operations in Qatar, the introduction of Vodafone Qatar has changed the local telecommunications landscape.
Issa M. Al Mohannadi, CEO of DOHALAND, also a client of MEEZA, says the importance of IT to his company’s business and project objectives is set to transform the face of Doha in the coming years. “Our Heart of Doha project will encourage community building, presenting the people with an opportunity to work, socialise and interact within the heart of the city, bringing back the Qatari architectural values in a contemporary setup. As with every other project, this will also require careful implementation of leading IT solutions and services.” Al Mohannadi says.
Al Mohannadi says IT as a major driver of business growth is becoming more and more important in the Middle East, one of the world’s fastest developing markets. He added that the long term success and competitiveness of Qatar, in particular, has been built on a promise of cutting edge IT capabilities. The state’s commitment to diversifying its economy into a knowledge based economy is testimony to the importance of IT locally.
IT Matters is MEEZA’s major IT industry and business event of the year and caps off a hugely productive first year of operations for the IT services company.
Qatar-based IT provider of managed services MEEZA, recently held its IT Matters summit for 2009. The services provider used the event to showcase its managed services offering and urged businesses in the region to drive IT innovation in their organisations. RWME?s Manda Banda attended the summit and bring you this report back.
