Author: Akin Naphtal

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and Ericsson are teaming up to accelerate Indosat’s digital transformation journey and offer new digital services to customers. Through this partnership, Indosat aims to enhance its competitive advantage by leveraging digital networking opportunities such as partner ecosystems, metaverse, new business models, multichannel engagements, network slicing, monetization, contextual journeys and APIs. Ericsson’s Digital Monetization Platform (DMP), a product catalog enabled, convergent charging and billing solution, will help Indosat take advantage of these opportunities. The DMP solution empowers partners and customers to develop new business models for both consumer and enterprise users alike. It provides a way to integrate…

ZIWO, a cloud contact center solutions provider, has announced the opening of its new branch in Cairo. This comes after the company’s revenue doubled last year and is a major step towards its hyper-growth in the MENA region. ZIWO’s cloud telephony solutions are designed to help businesses improve their communication and customer service. Clients include well-known names such as Damac, Carrefour, Tabby, Floward and Deliveroo. The company’s solutions include virtual numbers, call routing and contact center software, which make it easy for businesses to manage their calls and provide excellent customer service. Renaud de Gonfréville, CEO and Co-Founder of ZIWO,…

Informatica, a leader in enterprise cloud data management, has launched its Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) in the Middle East, marking the first time the platform has been made available in the region. The move includes the establishment of a new Point of Delivery (PoD) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which underlines the company’s commitment to offering local, scalable cloud-first data management services. This follows a multi-year strategic framework agreement with Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) signed during GITEX Global in October 2021 to support its Data Enablement Program and provide data management services to Abu Dhabi government entities.…

Bazaara, a peer-to-peer resale fashion app that enables users to buy and sell pre-loved fashion items, has successfully raised $230,000 in its pre-seed funding round led by Flat6Labs UAE, with participation from angel investors. Bazaara aims to revolutionize the fashion industry by creating a sustainable and community-driven platform that allows users to earn money from recycling their wardrobe items. The app has gained popularity in the UAE, boasting approximately 20,000 users and over 25,000 listings worth more than $1.5 million. The company plans to expand its platform across the GCC, with a full launch in KSA scheduled for 2023. READ…

Pentera, a leading company in automated security validation, has announced its partnership with MBC GROUP, the biggest and most prominent media company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The collaboration aims to pre-empt ransomware attacks and ensure continuous security validation across the enterprise. MBC’s team actively searched for a solution to regularly validate the effectiveness of their existing security infrastructure and supplement their penetration testing program. Since integrating the Pentera platform, MBC has increased its security validation frequency 10 times across its enterprise IT infrastructure. This has enabled MBC to test its security resiliency against real-world attacks,…

Schneider Electric recently held an event called Innovation Day to showcase its latest technological solutions for safe energy. Among the products on display was the Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular, which offers robust power protection in a cost-effective package, with a capacity of 50 to 250 kilowatts and 400 input voltage. The event was attended by a diverse range of professionals, including Schneider Electric clients, engineering consultants, data center managers and IT experts from the Egyptian market. According to a press release sent out on March 13th, the event was a success and provided attendees with an in-depth look at the…

Volocopter, a Germany-based urban air mobility (UAM) company, has chosen SITA as its preferred digital and IT systems partner for vertiports. SITA, an information technology provider for the air transport industry, will contribute to Volocopter’s Series E funding round and provide expertise in air transport to develop new operating standards and a digital-first passenger experience for UAM. Volocopter’s flagship product, the VoloCity electric air taxi, will offer stable, quiet and safe flights in congested megacities. The flights can be hailed via designated boarding points or vertiports, for which SITA will assist in establishing infrastructure, maintenance, flight operations, IT and customer…

Software AG and Intelligent Business Technologies (IBTech) have announced a partnership aimed at creating safe and smart cities in the Middle East region. The collaboration will see the creation of unified emergency services and a “command control center” in Saudi Arabia, according to a joint statement. The unified emergency hotline for first responders will help enhance human life safety and adapt to safe and smart city norms and requirements. IBTech will leverage Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT and webMethods integration expertise to develop novel use cases aligned with safe smart city goals under Saudi Vision 2030. The partnership will provide an…

VeriSilicon and Microsoft have announced a partnership aimed at creating powerful embedded platforms that will enable developers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to quickly create, deploy and develop IoT solutions on a trusted operating system with familiar development and management tools. The collaboration will also allow for easy device connectivity to the cloud through Microsoft Azure IoT. VeriSilicon’s scalable line of application processors, including Hantro video accelerators, Vivante graphics/VIP neural network processors and image signal processors, will be the first platforms supported through this partnership. These application processors are designed with multi-core Arm x64-v8A processors and come with 15-year support…

Electric vehicle company Arrival has secured a $300 million equity financing line from Westwood Capital to help it remain in business until late 2023. However, the company is seeking additional dedicated funds to develop its XL delivery vans for the US market and start production in Charlotte, North Carolina by 2024. Arrival is hoping to raise an additional $500 million, with $100 to $150 million raised by the end of this year to fund the XL program. Arrival has been burning through cash at a startling rate and is seeking to tap into as little of Westwood’s funding as possible…