The annual Microsoft Roadshow 2001 seminar series arrived in Dubai last week. In a significant departure from earlier editions of the initiative, the Roadshow serves to address the synergies between IT development, investment and business objectives, by including dedicated tracks for the IT (OpenDoor) as well as business communities (The Microsoft Business Forum).
The Roadshow, which is being held in partnership with Hewlett Packard and Avaya Communication, started on the August 20 in Pakistan and traveled to Jordan, Bahrain & Qatar, before arriving in Dubai. From Dubai it will move on to Kuwait, Lebanon, Malta, Cyprus, Abu Dhabi and finally Oman. The Roadshow is also being supported by Emirates Airlines.
“The IT industry in the region is constantly evolving and is mapping better and better with any company’s business objectives”, said Abdullatif Almulla, Microsoft Country Manager for UAE, Oman and Yemen. “We are therefore structuring our Roadshow series in a way that addresses specific needs and specific communities. OpenDoor will focus on updating IT professionals and developers on the latest in Microsoft technologies while The Microsoft Business Forum, on the other hand, shows business decision makers how their companies can benefit from Microsoft and its partners technology solutions.”
“OpenDoor, has been the longest running and largest seminar program in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean region for several years now and has helped many businesses around the region build cutting edge IT solutions as well as make better informed IT investment decisions,” said Simon Ransom, Community Development Manager, Microsoft GEM.
“We are now extending this concept to include a business forum in each country that will present a sound business value proposition to decision makers, especially those of small and medium sized businesses - the primary drivers of the region’s economy.” — (Mena Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
