Latest e-solutions target small and large organizations throughout the Middle East

Dubai, UAE, 14^th May 2003

Comtrust, the e-solutions business unit of Etisalat, today announced its latest products and solutions roll-out plans for the second half of 2003. During the current year, organizations will benefit from new developments in the dedicated eHosting arena, new Public Key Infrastructure solutions; smart cards based applications and newer ePayment methods.

Speaking at today’s announcement meeting, Ahmad Abdul Karim Julfar, General Manager, Comtrust said, “Over the past year, the e-solutions market has grown and developed. World wide B2B Internet commerce growth is tipped to hit US$ 3.6 trillion by the close of 2003, with online transaction in the Middle East expected to top the US$ 3 billion mark, an eight-fold increase. Already the UAE has experienced a 40% increase in the adoption of e-banking and this trend is set to continue”.

Commenting on Comtrust’s recent performance Mr. Julfar said, “As the market develops, so to does Comtrust. We have experienced a 60% increase in our eHosting business, since the beginning of the year. Customer confidence in electronic payments continues to rise, this is reflected in an increase of more than double, with respect to ePayment transactions processed through Comtrust, in the current year when compared with the same period last year. Additionally, market response to Comtrust’s latest Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) based smart card solutions has been tremendous.”

Discussing Comtrust’s geographical expansion plans he said, “During the last 12 months we have also established a network of partners throughout the region, which extends our market reach significantly. Today, we have well established relationships with solution providers in countries such as Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“However, In order to remain as the premier and most comprehensive provider of e-solutions in the Middle East, we continually reassess our market offering to guarantee it meets the needs of our customers. It is this research and proactive ness in accessing needs of our customers that has led us to enhance our existing products and services, as well as introduce new ones, to ensure our focus mirrors market requirements,“ said Mr Julfar.

The new products and solutions offerings, which will be phased in throughout the remainder of 2003, cover a wide aspect of the e-business market, and will be targeted at a variety of specific industries and organizations.
Comtrust has restructured its eHosting packages, reducing its prices and increasing the number of options available, including a range of managed services out to the operating system level. By the end of the third quarter, Comtrust’s fully managed Oracle eBusiness suite will be available to the market. Comtrust will also enhance PKI-based smart card applications designed to authenticate individuals and businesses when they transact over the Internet.

Developments in the ePayments sphere include the deployment of Visa’s 3D Secure, its authentication solution for online transactions. Comtrust has also improved its managed eSecurity offering and its eConsulting services to further meet market demand.
“These latest developments have been designed to increase business benefits in security, outsourcing and online transactions, and to encourage regional uptake in e-business. With more and more organizations seeking to outsource their IT requirements, we now feel more confident than ever, that Comtrust can provide the right, tailored, end-to-end solutions for businesses and governments across the region,” said Mr Julfar.

“The new range of products and solutions will provide our partners with an even more comprehensive portfolio of services with which to approach organizations of all sizes. With these enhancements, Comtrust will be in an unparalleled position to drive e-business throughout the Middle East.”

Within the realm of ePayments Comtrust’s is able to advise organizations on subjects such as custom payment solutions and Business Cases & Planning Services. Comtrust’s eSecurity consultancy is being expanded to include vulnerability assessments, ethical hacking, security policy development, gap analysis, security risk assessments, custom security implementation and PKI-based solutions’ implementation.