HP recently announced that the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) has implemented a complete computing infrastructure based on HP's storage area network (SAN) technology. The IT infrastructure was in place before the official launch of DIFX, and was designed to boost the Exchange's reliability, capacity and performance, immediately upon commencing operations.
Commenting on the project, Moustafa Nagi, Financial Services Industry Director, HP Middle East, stated that given HP's background and global proficiency in the financial services industry, it was a natural progression to be chosen as the DIFX's IT partner, but that, it also represented HP's deep commitment to the region and to the future of Dubai. "HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has a far-seeing vision for Dubai that shapes the way we do business in the Middle East region. The DIFX is a great example of how Dubai is leading the region onto a global stage, and our role at HP is to serve as a bridge across this important transition. Our proven international experience with operations transformation, trading, compliance, operational resilience, and IT transformation is what DIFX has invested in. We are proud to be playing this key role in Dubai that not merely leads to regional strength, but also, global recognition," he stated.
"Operating in today's financial markets is not without its challenges, as participants continue to overcome marketplace dynamics, intense global competition, increased regulatory and public scrutiny, and diminished capacity for differentiation," Nagi explained, as he commended the DIFX on their decision to invest in a reliable IT infrastructure to run their trading platform and peripheral applications, ahead of the launch. "We wish the DIFX great success as it embarks on becoming the regional financial exchange for the Middle East, and we are certain that it will attract the great applause it deserves," he added.
The Head of IT of Dubai International Financial Exchange, Kris Kristensen said that their initial requirement had been for a cluster of Unix servers to run their market surveillance application (ARAMIS). "When we met with HP earlier this year they offered not just an understanding of our specific requirements but had the experience and expertise to back their recommendations. It was HP that introduced the concept of storage consolidation and SAN to us, as well as the possibility of installing HP Non-Stop servers at DIFX, to serve our long term needs. The XP storage is the only SAN that supports 'Non-Stop', and the robustness of the product that will definitely help us to portray the image of a secure site to the international world."
DIFX selected HP over competing systems due to HP's price/performance benefits, and the system is designed to help DIFX manage its overwhelming data requirements. The HP implementation at the DIFX is based on two XP12000 Storage systems, three rp HP/UX systems, 35 Bl20p blade systems running a combination of Windows and Linux along with HP installation support services.
Farid Gemayel, HP Sales Manager for the Financial Services Industry pointed out that HP continues to be the vendor of choice for the world's top 200 banks, top 50 brokerages, top 25 insurance carriers, and more than 100 of the world's largest stock and commodity exchanges. "HP has implemented a scalable and reliable infrastructure that is geared to help DIFX reduce costs and move into real-time transaction processing. At the same time, our end-to-end solutions will help improve operational efficiency, provide services for more instruments, and reduce risk to market participants," he stated.
The DIFX project was spearheaded by HP along with its UAE-based reseller, PACC Mideast Data Systems who jointly provided Project Management and Server installation services as well as implemented the telecommunications requirements for DIFX. Samer Chami , Managing Partner for MDS/PACC stated that the DIFX project highlights the strength of HP and its enterprise partners to deliver enterprise mission critical infrastructure against aggressive timelines in line with the tremendous growth in the region.
The applications partner for the DIFX project is ATOS Euronext Market Solutions. The solution includes applications for market surveillance (ARAMIS), trading (NSC) and email infrastructure (MS Exchange).
About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $85.2 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.
About HP Middle East
HP is the largest technology and solutions provider in the Middle East with 670 employees and subsidiaries in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Cairo and Ramallah servicing the GCC, Egypt and the Levant. HP has been present in the Middle East since 1968, and opened its first regional office in 1994.HP Middle East is the market leader for Enterprise, Small and Medium Business and Consumer technology products, and offers a large portfolio of solutions and services in various business domains.
For more information about HP in the Middle East, please visit www.hp.com/me.
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