business & finance club - bahrain : Improved business opportunities in Bahrain is driving the demand for IT products and services from local public and private sectors, says Sage Software, a leading global supplier of ERP, CRM and HRM solutions to medium and large organisations.

Eyeing the prospects within the fast-rising economy, the company recently conducted a seminar with its local partner, Fakhroo IT Services, which underlined the potential of its business solutions to promote growth amidst recession. Attended by representatives from over 30 SMBs, the event also highlighted the newly launched 'Sage Accpac ERP version 5.6' and 'Sage Accpac Intelligence', which is part of the Sage Accpac Extended Enterprise Edition.  

The seminar also showcased the tight integration between 'Sage Accpac', an accounting software package for companies with multiple locations, multiple users and international requirements, and 'Sage CRM', and how the latter can be used by everybody in the organisation. Sage's strong presence in the Bahrain IT market, which is demonstrated by its longstanding relationship with important customers such as Central Bank of Bahrain, Bahrain eGovernment, AJM Koheeji, Shaheen Group, and Kalaam Telecom & Yokogawa, underlines its capacity to provide reliable solutions that can benefit a wide range of SMBs and multinational enterprises.  

"As part of the country's Economic Vision 2030, Bahrain has made it easy for new businesses as well as overseas companies to establish themselves in the country, which has improved business opportunities and removed the barriers for growth, thereby resulting in a very high demand for IT products and also in creating a very healthy and advanced local IT industry," said Vikram Suri, Managing Director, Sage Software - Middle East.

"In addition, the IT market has been supported by initiatives drawn out by the 'Bahrain Economic Development Board' and 'Tamkeen' that assist local SME's with their business and IT requirements. Sage Business Solutions cater to the needs of the SMEs with software designed for various verticals across all sectors, and we are proud to have concluded our seminar successfully and with excellent response from the attendees."  

Reports have projected that the Bahrain IT market will reach USD 366 million this year. In the face of rising demand, Sage Software continues to achieve some inspiring success stories, the latest of which being the successful implementation of Sage CRM at Kalaam Telecom for their support call centre. The company has also completed a successful implementation of 'Sage Accpac ERP' for Gulf Real Estate Development Company (GREDCO). As far as its local partnerships are concerned, Fakhroo IT has also recently signed up and trained for 'ERP X3 v6' - the newest version of 'Sage ERP X3', the flagship ERP solution for mid-sized and large businesses.

"The Bahrain event follows the great success we have had recently in the seminars held in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Dubai. Given the positive response and high interest shown with potential clients in the region, we are looking at conducting further similar activities, in addition to our continuous efforts to develop more technologically-advanced solutions for ERP, CRM and HRM," concluded Suri.