DED Unveils Two New eServices To Enhance Ease Of Transactions For Business Owners And Investors

The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) has unveiled two new eServices on its website, www.dubaided.gov.ae for online issuance of initial approvals and for renewing business licences. The services will be a great value addition for business owners and investors enabling them to complete their business registration swiftly and at their convenience on-line.

Mr Mohammed Shael Al Saadi, CEO, Business Registration and Licensing Division, DED, said: “The strong demand for the use of eServices highlights our success in achieving DED’s goal of promoting eGovernment initiatives in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to drive the evolution of a knowledge-based economy. DED has been utilising on-line platforms to offer an advanced, flexible, convenient and diverse suite of services to customers, reinforcing Dubai’s reputation as one of the best and competitive business destinations.”

He said that to issue, renew or transfer the location of business licences, owners must present a sealed lease contract authenticated by Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). This is to ensure the validity of commercial contracts, as well as strengthen the relationship between investors and tenants.

“DED believes in continuous improvement and is implementing the eStrategy to enhance and expand its online services according to world best practices and customer feedback. This complements our strategic objective of creating an investor-friendly environment and encouraging investors to regard Dubai as their investment destination of choice.”

Mr Shael said that the Business Registration and Licensing Division will continue to provide more tech-driven and value-added services to cope with the growth of businesses, and to position DED as the best government department offering services leveraging the latest technologies.

The Business Registration and Licensing Division has accredited three centers and law firms to provide business registration and licensing services during non-working hours. These include On Time Centre, Tas’heel Center, Emirates Secretarial Services, in addition to Al Tamimi & Company.

The range of eServices offered by DED include reserving and renewal of trade name, renewal of licenses, initial approval of licenses permits for most activities, and updating trade license data.

The eServices also include Transaction Status whereby customers can check the status of the transaction by using a transaction number, license number or initial approval number. Search Trade Names enables users to reserve trade names or find out if the desired name is already taken. Company Lookup helps to search for existing companies operating in Dubai and gain information on their contact details and business activities. Number of Licenses per Person Report is also available whereby the number of licenses registered under one person’s name can be known.

Through Business Set up Simulator, potential investors can get a rough estimate on setting up a new business in Dubai. License Renewal Cost Estimator allows existing companies to find out the cost of renewing their licenses. Activity Search procedure helps users to understand more about the activities that are classified by DED.

Informative and easy-to-use, the web services feature descriptive help text, Arabic/English support and a friendly layout and design. Internet users can instantly access the information without having to go through any registration process.

Mr Shael said that the Business Registration and Licensing Division in Business Village features an innovative Welcome Hub concept and e-kiosks where trained customer service representatives offer friendly counsel and cutting edge technology makes processes faster and more reliable. It is a marked improvement over traditional office cubicles. Customers can choose from a range of online, self-service and value-added options, thereby saving time and effort.

He added: “Investors dealing with Business Registration and Licensing can experience upgraded and expanded services to ensure faster and more efficient service delivery. It enables our customers to focus more on their business while we enhance efficiencies through automated and user-friendly services."

Business Registration and Licensing is a key function within DED and a strategic contributor to private sector participation in Dubai’s economic development. It is also the most important point of contact with the local government for investors and entrepreneurs.
 

Sage To Provide Stronger Business Insight And Efficiency For SMEs In The UAE

Sage Software, the leading global supplier of ERP, CRM and HRM solutions to medium and large organizations, has revealed the launch of Sage Peachtree 2012, an integrated suite of industry specific products that brings affordable business intelligence to SMEs, small manufacturers and distributors across the UAE. The new suite of solutions offers quick access to essential and strategic data, allowing users to monitor profitability and also make better informed decisions. Sage Peachtree 2012 has industry specific versions that cater to manufacturers, distributors, non-profit organizations, accountants, and construction businesses. The new Sage offering goes beyond accounting and provides an array of business management tools, which gives instant access to key information and makes processes like payment services, reacting to issues and controlling profitability, easier than ever.

Accompanying the launch of the new Peachtree software is the appointment of Mushahid Saify as Sage’s Channel Manager for Small Businesses in the Middle East. The appointment is part of the company’s strategic moves towards a more consolidated presence in the region. The new Peachtree version gives organizations the ability to copy transactions, increase efficiency, and get more work done faster. Also new with Sage Peachtree 2012 is the new Sage Peachtree Business Intelligence, a reporting and analysis add-on solution integrated into the Sage Peachtree package. Making use of the Microsoft Excel interface, Sage Peachtree Business Intelligence enables robust reporting and easier access to Sage Peachtree data. The strategic and powerful business intelligence feature pulls information directly from the system without the need for export or manipulation, with built-in templates for sales, purchasing and financial reporting, reports are always current with latest data so organizations can readily analyze the data that matters most to them to help make quicker and better informed decisions.

“The new Sage Peachtree 2012 solutions package is a fantastic and ‘must have’ package for SMEs in the UAE. Our latest offering is excellent for managing cash flow and provides a solid insight into a company’s overall health,” said Mushahid Saify, Channel Manager – Small Business, Sage Software. “Many businesses in the UAE are trying to adopt a ‘do more with less’ concept in how they run their operations. In fact, companies are now working with fewer employees but are ably assisted with strategic and reliable business software to improve productivity and efficiency. Sage Peachtree 2012 is the perfect tool for these companies as it offers easy and quick access to critical data to complete key tasks like decision making and profit monitoring.”

Among the Sage Peachtree 2012 line of solutions, Sage Peachtree Quantum is the most comprehensive application with new features and enhancements around workflow automation and dashboard customization. It provides users a simple and easy-to-work-with integrated accounting solution with enhanced performance and capacity from 5 to 40 named users. Also included in the Sage Peachtree 2012 package is Sage Advisor, which helps organizations maximize their software investment by following usage patterns and intuitively offering brief, personalized ‘show me how’ demos and guided tips and tricks, prompting organizations to discover new ways to simplify processes and obtain valuable business advice.

“We are on track to meeting our target growth this year and the release of Sage Peachtree 2012 could not have come at a more strategic time. This new offering is the entry point to the Sage family of accounting solutions. The Sage migration path extends the Sage Peachtree product line and offers a natural progression up to Sage ERP solutions to ensure small businesses have familiar and affordable options to support their long term business needs,” concluded Saify.
 

UOWD Teams Win The Top Spots In CIMA Global Business Challenge

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UOWD took the top spots at the 2011 CIMA Global Business Challenge Middle East finals, with both the winning and the first runner up positions taken by the UOWD teams Quad Core and BizzBrainz respectively.

The wining team, Quad Core was mentored by Dr Mufeed Rawashdeh, Associate Professor of Accounting at UOWD. The team including Undergraduate students Basit Feroz, Kanika Amar, Neha Choudary and Sara Mukhtar beat five rival teams to win the first place. Three out of the six shortlisted teams to represent the Middle East region were from UOWD. Other teams included students from Dubai Men’s College and Herriot Watt University, Dubai.

During the course of the challenge, the six teams chosen out of 101 teams from the Middle East, developed a report and present their recommendations to varied business scenarios as management consultants to the board of a fictitious high-end fashion retailer ‘CeeCee’. The judging panel consisted of Hussein Al Sayegh, Manager of Treasury at Dubal, Andrew Mortimer, Chief Operating Officer for Barclays Capital & Barclays Wealth Middle East Region, Ammar Aqeel, Chief Financial Officer at BMMI and Steven Broomfield, Project Finance Manager for Al Marai Co.

As the winners of the 2011 Middle East Finals, Quad Core will proceed to compete at the Global Finals in Chengdu, China on 23 and 24 July 2011. They will compete against finalists from 17 different countries including: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the UK.

Sara Mukhtar, Team Leader Quad Core’s says, ‘the whole experience has been a unique learning opportunity for our team in understanding the workings of the corporate world. It has encouraged us to implement strategies, theories and metrics that we have been presented with during the course of our education. Overall, the experience gained will be carried forward in our future corporate endeavours. We are thrilled to have won the regional finals and look forward to successfully representing UOWD and the Middle East in China.’

A statement from CIMA Middle East: ‘’The CIMA Global Business Challenge gives undergraduates the opportunity of a lifetime to compete in an international competition and present their ideas to business elites from multinational corporations, it has indeed been a pleasure to deal with such competent students from UOWD year after year.’

The CIMA Global Business Challenge is an international competition designed to bring out the best in potential business leaders among young people. This competition provides students with an opportunity to test the depth of their financial knowledge, try out their business management skills, and expand upon their competitive ability. It has led to student internship opportunities from well-known organizations.
 

dU Attracts Prominent Business Leaders At The Latest Business Xchange Forum

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Continuing its journey in bringing together a group of pioneering industry leaders and following the astounding success of the last year’s Business Xchange forum, du hosted the recent event as part of its innovative umbrella of leadership series. This year’s forum focussed on du’s “Unlocking the Power of Managed Services” and it’s achievement of ICT operational excellence through managed services, virtualisation and cloud. The forum highlighted various ways in which Cloud & Managed Services could benefit enterprises from different spheres in their overall business development.

The event included collaborative discussions through which du offered CIOs and ICT professionals innovative techniques and ways in which they can support their business growth while managing costs. Cloud & Managed Services experts from du discussed the emerging technology, and thus helped the participants develop a more resolute and crystal-clear view of it. du also demonstrated how new technologies actually give professionals the tools to transform ICT’s direction, strategy and operational profile to fuel growth and continued cost reduction strategies.

Also discussed at great length were ways in which clients would able to optimise their ICT costs and investment, as well as refocus their capital investment into areas that are strategic in terms of revenue generation – as opposed to investing in hardware and telecommunications equipment and infrastructure.

“du has created a platform for collective collaboration in order to elevate the local market and refine its offerings. The carefully selected topics of discussion and theme of the event accurately reflect the situation of the sector today. Enterprises today want to harness the benefits of managed services, and our main focus is making sure these solutions work for them,” stated Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du.

The Business Xchange forum also explored issues that focused on providing practical advice that leads customers to success and showcased its highly reliable and cost-effective managed services solutions that keep pace with changes in its various customers’ businesses – and with the rate of ever-evolving modern technologies.

“There is an increasing debate around the future of Cloud computing, especially since many enterprises are still uncertain as to what approach they should take. Cloud computing offers a new path through which CIOs can deliver more value to their organisations, and through this event, du has brought something rare to the table; just by analysing how these new models can deliver real savings at this crucial time for businesses in the UAE,” concluded Faraidooni.

University Of Dubai Concludes Entrepreneurship And Business Plan Development Workshop

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The Center for Management & Professional Development (CMPD) at the University of Dubai (UD), a prestigious university in the UAE established by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has concluded the “Entrepreneurship and Business Plan Development” workshop for 19 women entrepreneurs who successfully trained on business management skills.

A ceremony felicitating the participants was held recently at the Dubai Chamber with three of the participants receiving awards for the best business plans. The three month training is part of Joint Venture for Finance & Entrepreneurship (JVFE), which was established in January 2005 as a joint venture between UD and the Citi Foundation. The JVFE aims at addressing the entrepreneurial qualifications of women through specialized and focused workshops.

Dr. Omar Hefni, President of UD, said: “JVFE has proven to be a unique proposition designed to address UAE’s labor market need for the right talent, and to enhance entrepreneurial skills. The Entrepreneurship & business plan preparation workshop has opened doors for not only Emiratis but also expatriate women who have now got closer to realizing their dreams of a small start up. This initiative is an evidence of the city foundation’s social response to the communities in which they operate.”

Usha Saraf, Manager, CMPD at University of Dubai said: “I can proudly say that this is a one of a kind program being delivered in this region. Although it is the seventh consecutive year, the content of the program has evolved considerably with every passing year making it more relevant, practical and hands-on with full applied content. The rigor of the program demands that participants as well as the trainers (who are industry practitioners) are pushed to yield results and the quality of the individual business plans submitted speak for itself. It is extremely rewarding to be instrumental in enabling the women to realize their potential and in turn contributing directly to the economy of the country.”

The program covered topics such as screening of business ideas, understanding the industry and competition, elements of marketing and understanding how consumers buy, importance of cash management, product pricing, various marketing dimensions, how to do simple market research, cash flow management, financial planning, business plan development, putting the plan to work, and looking at ethical and legal concerns as well as the regulatory environment.

This year’s program expanded its training activities to cover further workshops on how to Become A Highly Effective Women Leader and how to Effectively Use Social Media as a Marketing Tool, among other topics. These enable entrepreneurs to develop essential management and life skills, and to access the greater women entrepreneur network in the UAE.
 

Emirates NBD Business Banking Supports SMEs In Partnership With TECOM SME Builder

In line with its commitment to empowering small and medium-sized businesses, Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, announced that it had served as the key sponsor of TECOM SME Builder 2011. The triennial workshops are the ideal platform for professionals to upgrade their entrepreneurial skills, increase their knowledge and widen their professional network.

Acting as a forum for knowledge-sharing and discussion of crucial issues faced by SMEs, the TECOM SME Builder 2011 provided an opportunity for professionals to interact with business experts and gain special insights into the latest industry developments.

“As a financial institution with a combined legacy of fifty years, we have a long history of championing small and medium sized businesses and business start-ups,” said Vikas Thapar, Head – Business Banking, Emirates NBD. “We see our role not only as providers of world-class business and financial solutions, but also to empower SMEs through educational and networking initiatives, and opportunities in the world of business and commerce.”

“Our customer-centric ethos supports our business banking customers over the longer term,” continued Thapar. “There are many areas of running a business that can be better understood and managed, such as regulatory, legal, labour, managing cash-flow and more. Events such as this facilitate effective learning that can instantly be put to practical use.”

Emirates NBD Business Banking customers receive preferential rates on trade services, competitive foreign exchange rates, access to exclusive business banking centers and a dedicated relationship manger as part of solutions that are tailor-made to their needs.
 

du Unveils Business Phone Plus Plan For Small And Medium Enterprises Across The UAE: Save Up To70% On Your Business Landline Bills

In its quest to provide Small and Medium Enterprises in the UAE with the best communication solutions which provide cost saving benefits, du today announced the launch of a new calling plan for companies with non-du business landline services across the UAE that offers an astonishing up to 70% savings of their current spent. The new calling plans known as ‘Business Phone Plus’, which is designed specifically to meet the needs of the growing SME sector, offers businesses a number of unique benefits that ultimately attains to great cost-savings.

“Our ‘Business Phone Plus’ plans is highly beneficial to Small and Medium Enterprises, who are looking to significantly reduce their overall telecom expenses. There are clear advantages of subscribing to the new plans, with major cost savings regarding bundled international, national and mobile minutes, low international call rates and Pay by the Second® billing – ensuring our customers aren’t faced with exorbitant phone bills at the end of each month, and instead concentrate on developing their business,” commented Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du.

Customers have an option to choose between two innovative ‘Business Phone Plus’ plans: ‘Business World 100’ and ‘Business World 400’. The ‘Business World 100’ plan offers monthly bundled benefits of 125 international minutes, and 125 national and mobile minutes, for just AED100 per month. With ‘Business World 400’ for just AED400 per month, customers get 500 international minutes, and 500 national and mobile minutes included monthly. In addition, they can also enjoy an all day flat rate of as low as AED1.35 per minute to 190 international destinations, and more savings with the ‘Pay by the Second® billing’ system.

To start enjoying the benefits of ‘Business Phone Plus’ plans, customers may simply contact du Business Customer Care at 800 188, or call their du account manager. Alternatively, they may visit their nearest du shop or authorised dealer, or visit (www.du.ae/businesscallselect) to find out more about the plans.
 

H H Launches AED 300 Million Development In Business Bay

H & H Investment & Development, a Dubai based boutique property developer, officially announced the launch of their latest commercial development, O14, at an exclusive event held yesterday at the tower.

The launch of O14 was complimented with the display of a renowned Spanish artist, Serrano Bou’s latest project, "Eyes through Eyes" for the first time in Dubai. Attendees to the event included investors, consultants, senior officials, and both art and architecture admirers to witness the artist’s debut in Dubai, as well as the contemporary features of the building.

Strategically located in the center of Business Bay, the construction of the tower started in February 2007, with District Investment and Developers as the main investors and H & H as the developers.

The O14 Tower is 22 storey freehold building, designed by award winning New York based architects, Reisur and Umomoto and is built around a new philosophy with the structure and skin flipped to offer a new concept of space. The O14 has a perforated concrete facade that acts as the core of the tower. The facade perforations serve as a solar screen, letting in exceptional levels of light, air, and views through to the interior occupants of the Dubai Creek, Burj Khalifa and the Godolphin Stables. The one-meter space between the facade and the building’s glass surface also acts as a chimney effect causing hot air to rise, creating an efficient passive cooling system, therefore reducing energy consumption by at least 30%.

’’The selling prices of the tower began at AED 1,300 per sq. feet with H & H having already sold 90% of the building. "We believe that the market prices are becoming more attractive for international operations to set up in Dubai. Dubai is becoming competitive in pricing and the cost of living has now dropped in comparison to other global cities like Singapore, London and New York", said Shahab Lufti, CEO and founder, H & H Developers.

 

Dubai Eyes 103.8 Business Breakfast Presenters To Broadcast Live From Melbourne, Australia During Victoria Week

The Business Breakfast, Dubai Eye’s award winning weekday business programme, will broadcast live from Melbourne, Australia as part of a special “Victoria Week” from 8 -12 May 2011.

Throughout the week, presenters Malcolm Taylor and Brandy Scott will be interviewing high profile industry leaders with links to the UAE, from a range of business sectors including finance, transport, sport and tourism. They will also be covering the inaugural Australian Arab Business Forum & Expo on 5-6 May, which aims to promote and facilitate two-way trade and investment between Australia and Arab nations.

The Forum is supported by the State Government of Victoria, which also works to promote and assist business links across the region through the Victorian Government Business Office, its Middle East and North African (MENA) office, based in Dubai.

The Victorian Government Business Office provides help and assistance for Victorian exporters trading throughout the region, and works closely with local companies looking to source products and services, business introductions and investment opportunities with Victoria.

John Butler, Commissioner – MENA, State Government of Victoria, said:

“There are already a number of high profile companies from the GCC region with business ties to Victoria. These include Emirates Airline, title sponsor of the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s major thoroughbred horserace, Etihad Airways who sponsors Etihad Stadium, Melbourne’s multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue and Toyota Australia, which manufactures all of the Camry taxis for Dubai and Abu Dhabi from its main factory located in Melbourne.

“Bringing the region’s most popular business radio programme to Melbourne will allow us to highlight the immense range of opportunities for businesses wishing to establish business links with Victorian companies, and to showcase the state capital, which was recently named the world’s second most livable city, as an excellent place to live, work and conduct business."

Steve Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Arabian Radio Network, said:

“We are incredibly excited to support this initiative and are looking to make this Forum a regular event. Business connections between Australia and this region are increasing at a significant rate and these types of initiatives only help to further enhance relationships between these economies.”

Mr Butler (left) joined The Business Breakfast presenters Brandy Scott (centre) and Malcolm Taylor (right), at the Dubai Eye studio prior to their departure to Melbourne to present them with a book called Melbourne Symmetry, a 112 page publication of recent images giving a contemporary perspective of Melbourne.

The Business Breakfast broadcasts every weekday morning from 6-10am on Dubai Eye 103.8.
 

Managerial Vision Ranks Top In UAE Business Leader Agenda

Business organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) believe that implementing progressive management strategies in the post financial crisis era are the main factor to bring continued growth and hedge against business risk. A recent ’Business Management Survey’ conducted by IIR Middle East in the UAE revealed that 53 percent of respondents sited ’a strong vision’ as management’s top priority required to consolidate a company’s direction.

“Post crisis, it makes sense for corporations to look to their business leaders for visionary direction to lead businesses back into growth and expansion mode,” Dr Robert Kaplan, renowned management guru and professor at Harvard Business School. “Being a regional business hub with a highly developed infrastructure and a multitude of global businesses in operation, UAE companies have a good foundation to rebound back and lead their re-gion. Visionary leaders are therefore essential to understand the past and rebuild the fu-ture.”

The survey further revealed that following a strong vision, a defined management struc-ture was essential to manage growth. Subsequently, setting proper key performance in-dicators (KPIs) and positive employee communication followed respectively on business people’s wish-lists.

These issues coupled with a focus on Office of Strategy Management (OSM) will be dis-cussed and debated at the Balanced Scorecard Forum in Dubai. The OSM is an approach that organizations could take to help close the gap between strategy development and execution. Implementing the right OSM brings together people responsible for formulat-ing strategy with those responsible for executing.

“Many organizations throughout the world have already established an Office of Strategy Management,” says Dr David Norton, Director and Founder, Palladium Group Inc. “In practice, the OSM has become an essential ingredient for any organization that wants to ensure the survivability of its strategy management system,” he added.

Dr Norton, along with Dr Robert Kaplan, Harvard Business Professor, Harvard Business School and Co-Founder of The Balanced Scorecard in the USA, is set to discuss the Bal-anced Scorecard (BSC) enablers while focusing on core competencies and capabilities for effective strategy management. He will discuss these issues with decision makers from the private and public sectors.

The event will take place in Dubai between March 26th and 31st, 2011 at the Hyatt Re-gency Hotel. The interactive sessions will cover live ’risk assessment’ meetings, a ‘Let’s Talk Strategy’ discussion and award winning regional public and private sector case stud-ies.