DM commemorates Sultan Sulaiman Al Qanuni

Architectural Heritage Department with Dubai Municipality, in association with Architectural Heritage Association UAE conducted a lecture to commemorate  Sheikh Sultan Al Qanuni. The commemorative lecture held at Dar Al Nadwa in Al Bastakiya was delivered by  Abdul Aziz Mohammed Saleh, history researcher with the Department.

The program titled as ‘Life and times of Sulaiman Al Qanuni, ruler of three continents’ was convened as a part of year long programs Department carry out, to  spread cultural and historic awareness within various sections of the society.

Lecture dealt with the life and times of  Sultan Suleiman the magnificent, as Western discourse refer him. His works , political ascendance, style of ruling and his contribution to the history of Law were well explained in the lecture.

The lecturer Mr. Abdul Azeez Mohammed Saleh Al Shehi has Bachelors in modern history and MBA from University of Istanbul .He had worked in several positions at Ministry of Education before he joined the Department as a researcher in history .He had been a prominent contributor to the academic syllabuses especially that of social sciences’, in the UAE. He has written a book on the history of UAE in collaboration with some other researchers and experts. 

Emirates Brings Economic Lift As New Seattle Service Touches Down

DUBAI - 1 MARCH 2012 - Emirates launched the first direct air bridge between the Middle East and America’s Northwest today, as its inaugural service from Dubai departed for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. With two dynamic and fast-growing regions now more closely linked, Emirates’ Seattle service will generate a host of economic benefits; from boosting imports and exports to creating new markets for business and tourism.

Emirates’ recent order for an additional 50 Boeing 777-300ERs fitted with American-made GE90 engines, plus options for 20 more aircraft worth a total of $26 billion at list prices, will support over 100,000 skilled American jobs* in more than a dozen U.S. states.

“Emirates has looked forward to the day when we would connect Seattle to our home hub in Dubai, on flights operated by state-of-the-art, Seattle-built aircraft,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group.

“This new service is the latest step in Emirates’ strategic programme of expansion across the United States, and we are confident that it will support the burgeoning trade relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the Seattle metropolitan region," continued His Highness. “Emirates highly values its partnerships with American business and industry, and we look forward to strengthening these links as we invest in growing our presence across the country.”

On board today’s inaugural flight from Dubai were: His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group; Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi - UAE Minister of Foreign Trade; His Excellency Major General Mohamed Abdulrahim Al Ali - Deputy Minister, UAE Ministry of Defence; His Excellency Hamad Buamim - Director General of Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Justin Siberell - US Consul General, US Consulate General of Dubai; Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline; Adel Al Redha, Executive Vice President - Engineering & Operations; and Ali Mubarak Al Soori, Executive Vice President - Chairman's Office and Facilities Management.

Emirates is already the world’s largest customer of the Boeing 777 and operates the aircraft to each of its six United States gateways: New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and now Seattle.

A number of other Washington State suppliers contribute to the airline’s unprecedented aircraft order book.  The Smart Landing and Smart Runway technology fitted in Emirates’ fleet is designed in Honeywell Aerospace's Redmond, W.A. facility; while Zodiac Aerospace manufactures Emirates’ aircraft stowage compartments at their Washington plant.

 

"This new service will serve as a gateway to an important part of the world that is essential to creating jobs, new business and tourism opportunities in our state," said Gael Tarleton, Port of Seattle Commission President.  "This direct service connects the Puget Sound region to an entire new continent of economic possibilities."

The U.A.E. was the 19th largest export destination worldwide for American goods in 2011, with total exports valued at a record high of almost $16 billion. Topping the list was transport equipment, which included almost $3.5 billion in aircraft deliveries, $163 million in aircraft parts and $26 million in aircraft engines. Other leading exports included computer and electronic products, non-electrical machinery, chemicals and fabricated metal products.

“Emirates’ non-stop flights will support Seattle’s thriving export trade through a 15-ton freight capacity that will serve one of the largest cargo hubs in the world at Dubai International Airport,” said Ram Menen, Divisional Senior Vice President of Emirates SkyCargo. “Emirates will carry goods including software, technology and telecommunications equipment to markets across the Middle and Far East”.

Flying to ten Indian cities over 180 times per week, 22 destinations in Africa and points across the Middle East, Emirates will provide easy connectivity between Seattle and these key destinations, making business and leisure travel easier and more convenient for West Coast customers.

The arrival time of Emirates’ service from Seattle to Dubai provides conveniently timed connections to an extensive range of onward destinations.  Connections to Bangkok, Delhi, Bangalore, Doha, Chennai, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Mumbai and Hyderabad are all under three hours. 

In January, Emirates announced the launch of a new frequent flier partnership with Alaska Airlines that offers customers the opportunity to accrue Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles when flying to any of Emirates' 122 destinations worldwide. Miles flown on Emirates will count toward qualification for Alaska’s MVP elite level program.  Emirates Skywards members can also accrue miles across the Alaska Airlines network in the United States, Canada and Mexico. To celebrate the new partnership, both airlines are offering double miles on each other’s flights from March 1 to May 31, 2012. Under the new partnership, travellers connecting between any point on Alaska Airlines’ and Emirates' networks can also check in for their flights at either carrier's counter, receive their boarding passes and check their bags to their final destination.

Emirates currently employs over 700 Americans at operations throughout the world, and anticipates hiring more than 4,000 cabin crew and 500 pilots globally this year. So far in 2012 alone, the airline has recruited cabin crew talent in Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington D.C and will be holding an open day in Seattle in March. Emirates will be holding pilot recruitment drives in Atlanta and New York over the coming months.  

EK 229 leaves Dubai daily at 0950hrs and arrives at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 1310hrs. EK 230 departs Seattle at 1710hrs, arriving in Dubai at 1940hrs the following day.

* Figure calculated using U.S. government job creation estimates for U.S. built aviation exports

Payless ShoeSource Outlet Tailored for The Dubai Mall

Dubai, 1 March 2012: Payless ShoeSource, the largest specialty family footwear retailer in the Western Hemisphere, today announced the opening of a unique and special 300-meter store tailored for The Dubai Mall environment. The outlet was customized in a way that captures the attention of local shoppers and their needs. Just like in the U.S. and in other parts of the world, Payless will be offering a huge variety of on-trend, comfortable, high-quality, and affordable footwear to their consumers in the UAE market.

Commenting at the official opening, Steve Gish, Executive Vice President Retail Operations and Franchising of Payless ShoeSource, said: “The self-select shopping environment is unique for the Dubai and Middle East market. To enhance the shopping experience, the Payless ShoeSource store design in The Dubai Mall has been adapted keeping in mind the fashion and style oriented consumer. It is large and features a broad entrance to offer convenience and ease of shopping.”

Consumers can turn to Payless to get this year’s must-have shoe and accessory trends, all at great value prices. The average retail price per pair is expected to be around (Dhs 119) for women’s shoes, (Dhs 149) for men’s styles and (Dhs 79) for kid’s per pair.

The Payless team has created an energized, customer-centric organization dedicated to democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories to inspire fun, fashion possibilities for the family. Payless is also executing a House of Brands business strategy aimed at offering well-recognized brands featuring the latest on-trend styles offered at a great price in a fun, inspiring shopping environment.  

The retailer’s extended children's sizing program will also be available in stores throughout Dubai. This program allows children of all ages to find the best shoes that fit just right. The extended sizing program was created in direct response to customers who conveyed feedback that they buy shoes for children whose feet are adult-sized, but the fashion, styling and pricing of adult shoes makes it challenging to find the right styles for these kids.

Recently, the Payless team has achieved many important initiatives.

Expanding Brand Portfolio

Through licensing arrangements or acquisitions the brand portfolio offered in Payless stores continues to expand and today includes such brands as (American Eagle, Brash, Dexter, Airwalk®, Zoe & Zac, Montego Bay Club, Above the Rim, Lower East Side and the Smartfit children's brand), among others.

Designer Collections

Through relationships with New York-based fashion designers, Payless has designer collections featuring original designs by “Lela Rose for Payless” designed by the famous New York fashion designer Lela Rose, “Christian Siriano for Payless” designed by the Project Runway winner and now bona fide fashion designer, Christian Siriano, and “Isabel Toledo for Payless” designed by Isabel Toledo, whose apparel designs are worn by First Lady Michelle Obama. Through these arrangements Payless partners with the designers to unveil the footwear and accessory collections on the runway at New York Fashion Week, and later offers the collections in select Payless stores. The Payless designer collections are among the most broadly distributed designer footwear lines available in the U.S. today, and now shoppers at Dubai Mall can get the same designer collections without having to travel to the U.S.

Payless Design Team

Payless has a footwear design team in New York City dedicated to developing original product designs supporting the retailer's seasonal collection of on-trend products for the women's, men's and kids' categories.

The first initiative from its kind in the region The Sharjah Baby-Friendly Emirate Campaign launched in Sharjah

UAE, Sharjah 1st March 2012: The Sharjah Baby-Friendly Emirate Campaign officially launched yesterday in Sharjah under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi,. It is the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East.

The campaign aims to provide a right start for babies through breastfeeding that will remove chances of health problems in the future.

Furthermore, the campaign targets working women by providing suitable conditions that will promote their role as a key partner in economic and social development.

The Sharjah Baby-Friendly Emirate Campaign will, without doubt, play a pivotal role in creating a healthy environment for children and foster the overall wellbeing of children in the region.

In her opening address, Her Highness Sheikha Bodour, President of the Sharjah Baby-Friendly Emirate Campaign stressed on the basic right of children to grow in a healthy environment and how we have a duty towards providing such conditions for them. She also highlighted that the role of this initiative will be to raise awareness through all government and private institutions and to create special facilities for breastfeeding in different public areas.

She stated that the campaign has several areas of interest like as the Friendly Breastfeeding Initiative that aims to create a suitable environment in the nurseries to encourage breastfeeding in the baby’s first two years.

The Friendly Mother-baby Public creates facilities for mothers to breastfeed her baby at public places. There is also the Baby-friendly Health Facilities that support the cause of the campaign.

The Mother Friendly Institutions Initiative plays a prominent role in The Sharjah Baby-Friendly Emirate Campaign as they provide health facilities in line with world standards.

The launch ceremony included presentations that addressed the needs and ways to spread the awareness and also the practical possibilities of this campaign.

Nancy Merheb, Researcher at UNICEF Gulf, stated how UNICEF would do their bit to encourage breastfeeding by forging partnerships, working with government agencies and directly with communities. She said that they would also work on a national breastfeeding cause and also support in the advancement of pre and postnatal medical care. She also promised to enhance the resources available to new mothers.

His Excellency Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development and acting Minister of Health was all praise for the Baby-Mother Friendly Facilities and stated that it was very much in line with the international programs that encourage maternity hospitals to support breastfeeding. He revelaed that there were more than 20,000 hospitals like these operating in 165 countries around the world. He also pointed out that the UAE was the first Arab country to establish the first Maternal & Child Health Centre in the region.

Her Excellency Maryam Al Roumi, Minister of Social Affairs also declared the Ministry’s support to the campaign and saw this as an opportunity to create more baby-friendly environments. She also said that nurseries would receive unconditional help to promote this cause.

His Excellency Tariq bin Khadem, Director of Human Resources Department in Sharjah shed light on the role of organizations that provide an ideal work environment to mothers.  Sultan Al Mualla, Director-General of the Sharjah Municipality, also outlined the role that Sharjah Municipality will play in providing areas friendly to the mother and her baby. 

Speakers were scheduled 2015 as the year to achieve the goals of the campaign and encourage all institutions in Sharjah to dedicate special places to enable women to breastfeed her babies.

Mohammed Abdullah, CEO of  Sharjah Islamic Bank, said:” “We are committed at Sharjah Islamic Bank to support Breastfeeding Friends through our presence today in the launching ceremony of “The Sharjah Baby-Friendly Emirate Campaign”. We belief at the Board of Directors the importance of the campaign and support of its noble objective, thus we will be the main sponsor of this campaign”.  

The attendees were surprised the launch of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry the first Baby-Friendly Room in Sharjah enable mother to breastfeed her baby. They expressed their admiration about this initiative which comes in line the Sharjah Baby-Friendly Emirate Campaign.

They declared 2015 as the year they would achieve all the goals of the campaign and by then all the public institutions in Sharjah would have dedicated places for mothers to breatsfeed their children.

Middle East’s first Paper and Plastics Recycling Conference captures pulse of regional recycling industry

Paper and plastic recyclers, traders, recycling equipment suppliers and other delegates were able to discuss key industry issues with eminent speakers from the Middle East, US and Europe

Dubai, March 1, 2012: The region’s first Paper and Plastics Recycling Conference, which was held on 27-28 February at the JW Marriott Hotel in Dubai, was officially inaugurated by Dr Mariam Al Shenasi, acting undersecretary of the minister of environment, United Arab Emirates, on behalf of HE Dr. Rashid Bin Fahad, minister of environment and water on February 27.

In her opening address of the two-day event, Dr Mariam Al Shenasi drew the attention of the audience to the UAE’s 2030 Sustainability Program, ‘Estidama’ while stressing on the importance of recycling not only paper and plastic but other commodities as well.

Talking on the sidelines of the conference, HE Hamad Al-Ameri, general manager, The Centre of Waste Management Abu Dhabi, gave out the figures of recyclable waste collected in 2009, stating that about 44 percent of Municipal Solid Waste generated in Abu Dhabi was composed of paper and plastic waste that can be recycled. This includes waste from LDPE, HDPE, PET, mixed paper, cardboard, newsprint, magazine and high-grade paper.

Speaking to the media, Abdulmajeed Al Saifaie, director of Waste Management Department, Dubai Municipality pointed out that an average person in Dubai produces around 2.7 kilos of waste per day, which translates into seven to eight thousand tonnes per day of waste going to the landfills. “If we encourage more of such conferences, people would realise the importance of recycling other materials such as cans, and glass and I think we can reach the target of our master plan of sending zero percent of waste to landfill by 2030." 

One of the speakers, Surendra Borad, chairman of Gemini Corporation NV, Belgium, who is also the chairman of the Plastics Committee, BIR (Bureau of International Recycling) said, “Waste is an urban mine and should be treated like an urban mine. There are many business and employment opportunities within this sector. We are talking of a global recycling business of $500 billion which is increasing at a tremendous pace, every day.”

Knowing that the recycling business is not as developed in the Middle East as it is in other parts of the world, Borad was delighted to see the turnout of the delegates at the event indicating a strong interest to learn more about the regional and global aspects of the paper and plastics recycling business.

At the “Paper Recycling in the Middle East”  session, delegates heard from three important paper makers in the region. Atul Kaul, director, Pulp & Paper, Arab Paper Manufacturing Co., Mohammed Ahmed Mowkley, general manager, Obeikan Paper Industries Co., and Mubarak al-Khater, CEO, Saudi Paper Group, each provided insights into the activities of their companies and the paper recycling sector. Kaul and Mowkley commented on the growth occurring in the region while Al-Khater gave a summary of research into the quality and cost-effectiveness of recovered fibre grades that his firm has conducted.

In the second session of the day, ‘Plastics Recycling in the Middle East,’ Rajnish Sinha, business head (Middle East/ Africa), Bansal Petrochem International, provided a SWOT analysis on the PET recycling business in the Middle East. Pointing out opportunities offered by the increasing amount of waste in the region, he listed challenges due to the lack of a streamlined waste collection system leading of uncertainty of raw material as well.

Tarek- Al Mousa, chairman and managing director, Metal & Recycling Company, focused on the challenges of effectively maintaining the cash cycle while operating a recycling plant. He pointed out the lack of a customer base for end products made out of recycled material as one of the challenges in the local market, which leads to exporting rather than ‘closing the loop’ in the region.

Yazan El Jaouni, general manager, Doha Plastic, explained how maintaining the quality of recycled plastic granules and flakes proves to be a challenge in a recycling facility due to the lack of a pure steam of waste.

The ‘Recycling equipment & Technology’ session, technology and equipment providers showed how they can help waste management and recycling companies in their processes of sorting waste streams and recycling waste. Jonathan Clarke, Country Manager UK of TOMRA Sorting, Rolf Bjarell, Export Manager of Persona AB, and Steve Miller, CEO of Bulk Handling Systems explained the salient features of their products, which includes sorting machines and baling equipment.

In the ‘Global Recovered Paper Supply & Demand Trends’  session, speakers analysed the elements and factors affecting paper recyclers in the Middle East. Niels van Binsbergen, managing director, ACN Europe, Mark Mijnster, general manager, Cellmark Recycling and Ranjit Baxi, CEO of J&H International Ltd., spoke about the trends in the supply and demand of recycled paper globally.

On the second day of the conference, John Schneider, Contracts Manager, Centre of Waste Management, Abu Dhabi, while delivering the keynote address, explained the centre’s policies, activities, and ongoing projects with respect to waste collection, transportation, landfill, sorting, transportation and recovery of material.

Reinhard Wilkes, VP Operations, Bee’ah and Robin Dawson, Project manager, Emirates Environmental Technology, made a presentation each, to demonstrate how specific recycling plants in the Middle East operate to best serve the region. The delegates were also able to learn about best practices in integrated waste management and materials recovery from two case studies based on details such as infrastructure, statistics on waste collection in terms of waste types and tonnage, operational modules, sorting processes, and percentage of recovery of materials from the materials sorting and recovery facilities operated by Sharjah’s Bee’ah and Al Ain’s Emirates Environmental Technology.

During the session on, ‘The Future of Key Paper Grades,’ regional experts from paper mills utilizing recovered fibre for their end products, debated on the future of key paper grades and focused on aspects such as how the quality of recovered fibre can impact the quality of end products like tissue, containerboard and liner. Abdullah Al Moammar, managing director, Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO), Saudi Arabia, Helmut Berger, general manager, Abu Dhabi National Paper Mills, Ranjit Baxi, managing director, J&H Sales International and Rahul Kejriwal, CEO, Kejriwal Paper participated in the session which was moderated by Jim Keefe, Group Publisher, Recycling Today Media Group.

Another panel of global experts on plastics recycling were able to share their knowledge about the performance of plastic scrap in the region and the factors that impact its performance, the opportunities of exporting plastic scrap to giant consumers like China, and the future trends in the trading and recycling of plastic scrap. Surendra Borad, chairman, Gemini Corporation NV, Steve Farncombe, marketing manager, ACN Europe (UK) and Sunil Bagaria, president of GDB International, were the panellists in the session.   

The second day of the conference concluded with the session on residential collection, wherein waste collection projects and ‘segregation at source’ initiatives, currently underway in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ajman were explained by representatives of Bee’ah, Center of Waste Management and Ajman’s AIMS Group, namely, Ibrahim Al Houti, VP Tandeef, Beea’h; John Schneider, contracts manager of The Center of Waste Management, Abu Dhabi and general manager of the AIMS Group, Harbinder Singh. 

The Paper and Plastics Recycling Conference Middle East was hosted by US-based Recycling Today Media Group and Dubai-based Media Fusion, the publisher of Waste and Recycling Middle East magazine. The event combined market driven sessions examining commodity markets for recovered paper and plastics in a global context, insights from local policy makers on regional waste and recycling management development and case studies of how the industry is being developed from local recyclers. This event was an extension of Recycling Today Media Group’s successful Paper Recycling Conference and Trade Show in the US and the Paper Recycling Conference in Europe.

About Waste & Recycling Middle East
Produced by Media Fusion FZE, Dubai, Waste and Recycling Middle East is the region’s only dedicated business magazine targeted to in-depth coverage of the rapidly emerging waste management and recycling industry throughout the Middle East. Produced by a team of leading journalists, the magazine provides unique insights into this dynamic marketplace. Waste & Recycling Middle East is read by senior managers and practitioners in the municipal, industrial, commercial and institutional waste sectors along with recyclers in different sectors in the region.

About the Recycling Today Media Group

Founded in 1963 the group publishes Recycling Today, Recycling Today Global Edition, Construction & Demolition Recycling and Storage & Destruction Business magazines as well as companion websites and e-newsletters. Additionally the group publishes the Paper Recycling Markets Directory and the North American Scrap Metals Directory. The group also produces The Paper Recycling Conference – USA, The Paper Recycling Conference – Europe and The C&D Recycling Forum. The Recycling Today Media Group is a business unit of GIE Media, Inc.

du Builds 4G/LTE Network with Cisco Mobile Internet Solutions

New National 4G LTE Network Will Meet Growing Demand for Advanced Mobile Services 

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 1, 2012 – Cisco today announced that du, a leading integrated telecommunications service provider in the UAE, is deploying a nationwide mobile broadband network enabled by a Cisco mobile Internet solution to deliver highly secure, high-speed 4G long-term evolution (LTE) mobile data services to its customers.
du will use the Cisco ASR 5000 Series as its mobile Internet evolved packet core (EPC) platform to provide greater network performance and intelligence. This will enable du to develop and deliver innovative new mobile services and enhanced experiences to its five million mobile customers.
Highlights/Key Facts

• Designated as a 4G mobile specification, LTE is designed to provide multi-megabit bandwidth, more efficient use of the radio network, latency reduction and improved mobility. This combination aims to enhance the user's interaction with the network and further drive demand for mobile multimedia services.
• LTE 4G will allow du’s five million mobile customers to even more readily access their Internet services, providing an effortlessly fast service with speeds up to 150Mbps. This opens up online opportunities like never before, allowing for HD video streaming on mobile devices, seamless gaming experiences, quicker than ever social networking and an overall enhanced connectivity experience that takes mobile internet and Internet on the go to the next level.
• The Cisco ASR 5000 Series is purpose-built for the complexities of the mobile network. It is a robust, multimedia services platform that brings a new level of network and customer intelligence to the mobile network. Such intelligence is critical to delivering real-time, personalized mobile services.
• The Cisco Mobility Management Entity (MME), a key component of the Cisco ASR 5000 Series, is critical to the network function of the 4G mobile core network, known as the evolved packet core (EPC). The Cisco MME manages multiple back-end functions, including authentication, paging, and mobility -- with 3GPP, 2G and 3G nodes, roaming and other functions.
• The Cisco Serving Gateway (SGW) and the Cisco Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) are two essential elements to du’s LTE core network. The Cisco SGW provides superior throughput and processing, while the Cisco PGW acts as policy enforcement and manages quality of service (QoS). The Cisco solution will enable du to provide an initial aggregate capacity of up to 10 Gbps.
• By combining multiple functions into a single, carrier-class platform like the Cisco ASR 5000 Series, du can reduce signaling overhead, distribute session management and take full advantage of the network's control and user plane capabilities. As network demand grows, the Cisco ASR 5000 enables du to multiply network capacity with minimal investment.
• Du’s customers will also benefit from additional mobile security as provided by the Cisco ASA 5585 firewall, ensuring highly secure mobile communications and transactions.
• Cisco Advanced Services is working closely with du to commission the network and prepare for the launch. Cisco will also offer managed services to operate the packet core network for the first year allowing du to speed new services to market at lower cost and with high reliability, offering a lower total cost of ownership and a greater return on investment. 

• According to the Cisco® Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2011 to 2016, worldwide mobile data traffic will increase 18-fold over the next five years, reaching 10.8 exabytes per month -- or an annual run rate of 130 exabytes -- by 2016. The expected sharp increase in mobile traffic is due, in part, to a projected surge in the number of mobile Internet-connected devices, which will exceed the number of people on earth (2016 world population estimate of 7.3 billion; source: United Nations).

 

Dell Unveils New Enterprise Solutions that Help Customers Deliver Results Faster

• Dell creates one of the industry’s highest performance end-to-end infrastructures; offers native support for 10 gigabit Ethernet throughout Dell’s Server, Storage and Networking portfolio
• Customers can achieve up to 10 times greater application performance for decision support and business intelligence workloads with 10GbE support across Dell servers, storage and networking¹
• New 12^th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers powered by customer-centric innovation and optimised for mission-critical business applications
• New Dell EqualLogic storage arrays combine increased capacity and support for 10 gigabit Ethernet

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 02 March 2012 – Dell today announced at events worldwide a suite of powerful new enterprise solutions to help customers deliver results faster.  Organisations today are dealing with quickly changing and often unpredictable demands and require end-to-end IT solutions that allow them to respond rapidly to customer needs.  With this announcement, Dell is delivering an end-to-end IT platform that raises the bar on customer-centric innovation which provides simplified management, increased performance and superior long term value. Â
“Customers tell us they want a high-performance infrastructure that is easy to manage and helps them quickly deliver business outcomes.  Today we are introducing a new set of datacentre infrastructure solutions that share key capabilities across our entire portfolio, from servers to storage to networking,” said Brad Anderson, President of Enterprise Solutions Group at Dell. “We accomplished this through a combination of strategic acquisitions such as Force10 and customer-centric engineering of our new 12^th Generation PowerEdge servers and storage platforms, delivering an integrated infrastructure with a common, high performance network fabric.  When combined with the second generation of embedded systems management in our servers, Dell is delivering one of the most robust and easy to manage datacentre infrastructures in the industry.” Â
The Most Powerful and Easy To Manage Servers in Dell’s History; 2^nd Generation of Embedded Management
Dell announced a full portfolio of 12^th Generation blade, rack and tower PowerEdge servers optimised to run mission-critical business applications.  Dell designed and built its 12^th Generation servers with input from more than 7,700 customer conversations in 17 countries across four continents – focusing on their needs for innovation to deliver business results faster.  The new Dell PowerEdge servers work seamlessly with Dell’s storage and networking products and deliver innovations, such as:

• Turn data into insights faster:  Dell lays the foundation to extend the Fluid Data Architecture to the server.  With Dell Express Flash, the industry’s first, front accessible, hot swappable PCIe solid state disks connected directly to the server, Dell can provide up to 10.5 times more Microsoft SQL Server transactions per second than HDD storage².  Dell CacheCade data accelerator can provide up to 28 times quicker queries on Oracle Databases³.
• Streamlining and automating essential systems management tasks: Dell extends its systems management capabilities with its 2^nd generation of embedded server management tools that efficiently manage the deployment, updating, monitoring and maintenance of server lifecycle.  Dell’s new PowerEdge servers deliver bare-metal deployment and provisioning that requires up to 85.5 percent less engineer time and 86 percent fewer manual steps⁴. This extension of Dell’s systems management capabilities is expected to build on functionality in its 11^th generation of servers, which saved Vitacore customers up to 43 days of system administrator time per year⁵.
• Driving energy efficiency to bring a breath of fresh air to the datacentre:   Building on Dell’s history of enabling the world’s most energy efficient datacentres with Microsoft Bing and others, Dell is bringing a breath of fresh air to all datacentres with its 12^th Generation PowerEdge Servers.  With Dell fresh air IT equipment, a datacentre can realise an estimated (US) $3,000,000 in capital expenditures⁶. 

     Â
Dell Storage Arrays Offer Higher Performance, Flexible, Small Footprint to Easily Manage Data and Costs
Dell also announced the next-generation EqualLogic PS Series storage arrays, which combine fast networking bandwidth with increased storage capacity in a smaller footprint than previous generations.

• EqualLogic PS6110 Series—Ideal for mid-sized deployments with multiple physical or virtual servers. These arrays are configured with both optical (SFP+) and copper (10GBASE-T) 10GbE networking, supporting datacentre flexibility. With up to 72 terabytes in a single array and 1.2 petabytes in a single group, customers can easily scale when needed by adding additional arrays into an existing EqualLogic group without downtime or forklift upgrades.
• EqualLogic PS4110 Series—Dell’s first 10GbE EqualLogic entry-point arrays can provide the same benefits and features as PS6110 Series and are designed for smaller deployments and remote office locations. The systems support up to 36 terabytes in a single array and 72 terabytes in a single group.

Dell’s Virtual Network Architecture Complements Server and Storage Announcements
Dell’s Virtual Network Architecture (VNA) is an open framework for virtualizing, automating and orchestrating network services in datacentre, campus and branch environments. Dell Virtual Network Architecture provides for an end-to-end 10GbE framework, which includes 10GbE Top-of-Rack and 10/40GbE distributed core fabrics.  In the six months since acquiring Force10 Networks, Dell has dramatically extended the global availability of its products by more than 40 percent to more than 80 countries and added nearly 600 customers.Â
Delivering Results Immediately with Optimised Virtualization Platforms
Dell unveiled vStart for Dell Private Cloud, which is designed help businesses rapidly deploy their own private cloud.  vStart for Dell Private Cloud will enable businesses to accelerate application and IT service delivery through a converged, pre-built infrastructure solution which includes the new 12^th Generation PowerEdge server, storage, networking and management components.  Â
Desktops Delivered According to Business Requirements
Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions are designed to help customers simplify PC management and enhance security. Dell today announced two desktop virtualization offerings: Desktop Virtualization Solution Simplified and Desktop Virtualization Solution Enterprise. Desktop Virtualization Solution Simplified is an integrated appliance, pre-configured with software and hypervisor components designed to remove the traditional cost and complexity of deploying smaller desktop virtualization solutions.  Desktop Virtualization Solution Enterprise is designed to scale to thousands of virtual desktop users while reducing initial acquisition costs enabling deployments to start with as few as 50 seats. Â
Delivering Business Intelligence with Dell Quickstart Data Warehouse Appliance
Dell unveiled the Dell Quickstart Data Warehouse Appliance  that will help mid-market and departmental users easily organise, access and analyse data, enabling them to take advantage of business intelligence to make more informed decisions.  The data warehousing appliance, which is based on the new Dell PowerEdge Servers and Microsoft SQL Server 2012, will leverage Dell Boomi for data integration. Â
Quotes:
“Dell continues to invest significantly in its enterprise capabilities and has made impressive progress to become a trusted enterprise IT solutions vendor. Today we’re seeing the next big push from Dell as it focuses on solving its customers' biggest pain points by delivering design innovation and operational efficiency for datacentres of all sizes. Dell has optimised its entire portfolio of PowerEdge servers to address the most demanding workloads and to seamlessly scale from small businesses to its largest enterprise customers. As an industry leader for automated systems management solutions, Dell has already shipped millions of servers with these robust enterprise capabilities embedded.  And with the technology advancements that Dell unveiled today across storage, networking, virtualization, data integration and computing, it’s clear that the company is laser focused on growing its share of the enterprise market.”  -- Matt Eastwood, Group Vice President, Enterprise Platform Research, IDC Â
“We are planning the transformation of our existing virtualization platform into a private cloud for 2012. The Dell PowerEdge M620 is our preferred platform because the main RAM can be expanded significantly, making it ideal for this purpose,” said Max Wagener, Head of Enterprise Architecture, GfK. “The databases that we’re planning to virtualize are quite memory-hungry, so the large memory capacity of the Dell PowerEdge M620 will give us the capability to consolidate them. After virtualizing most of our other applications and web servers, this is the next logical step for us.”
 
Availability:

• Dell’s 12^th Generation PowerEdge Servers will be available in the near future. 
• The Dell EqualLogic PS6110 and Dell EqualLogic PS4110 Series storage arrays are available today. 
• Dell Quickstart Data Warehouse Appliance is now in beta and will be available in Q2. 
• vStart for Dell Private cloud will be available Q2.
• Dell Desktop Virtualization Solution Simplified will be available in the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands from 12^th April.  Dell Desktop Virtualization Solution Enterprise will be available in the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands from 17^th April. Both solutions will be available in additional countries in EMEA later in 2012.
• Dell Networking 10GbE solutions are available today.