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Oman Air sales action plan 2010

Growth and innovations at large:

The Oman Air sales team is all geared to usher in innovative measures and selling techniques for 2010.

Having closed the previous year with successful growth figures within an environment in recession, Oman Air is looking at setting a new record this year now that the global travel sector is poised for recovery.

Oman Air will be looking to achieve a competitive edge through a combination of service and destination choices.

Oman Air General Manager Worldwide Sales Abdulrazaq Al Raisi said that the recently concluded sales objective and strategy meeting held for three different regions highlighted a paradigm shift from the conventional approach to sales strategies.

Al Raisi said: “The three-day meeting was held for the three main regions namely, Europe, Asia Pacific and Gulf Middle East and Africa. The Country Managers and District Sales Managers of the respective countries and cities attended the meeting, which was an intense interactive session that discussed the various strategies, plans and projected results for 2010.

Among the various strategies discussed and decided to be put in action for this year were increased brand awareness, reduction in cost of sale, integration of sales and marketing planning, growth of premium leisure and development of sales personnel. Other focus areas of discussions were the identification of new channels of distribution as well as ensuring operating within the budget at constant cost.

Abdulrazaq Al Raisi said: “2009 witnessed a milestone in the transformation of Oman Air. A new fleet was inducted; new destinations were added, thus providing us with a whole new and extensive platform to build on the sales plan. The first and foremost goal in our plan will be to create an increased and positive awareness to our product offerings in all the markets that Oman Air reaches. With increased brand visibility that will also integrate the sales and marketing plan of each market and their requirements, we can certainly boost sales.

With the opening of new destinations, there has arisen a need to address a very prominent market segment which is the premium and leisure market. In addition to Oman Air’s hospitality, exemplary service and our expanding network, we plan to tap this market fully. Last but not the least we have a well-motivated staff whose skills are honed further through tailor-made training designed specifically for the Oman Air sales team.

This will continue this year as well, as we continue to go through a rapid expansion mode. “

ESYS to launch new ‘Gigabyte 10.1” small notebook booktop

Sri Lanka’s leading computer hardware distributor ESYS Technologies Lanka, a subsidiary of EZY Holdings will shortly launch the Gigabyte Booktop M1022M 10.1” Small Notebook.

Being appointed recently as the sole distributors of Gigabyte laptops in Sri Lanka, eSys Technologies are proud to add the Gigabytes attractive range to the many products distributed by the company.

The M1022M is the result of countless hours of ingenuity and creativity, featuring an Intel Atom N270 mobile Processor, 1GB of DDR 11 memory and a 2.5” 160GB SATA hard drive which is upgradable to 320GB. It also features Windows 7 Starter, widely acknowledged as the best operating system Microsoft has ever released.

Other features include Bluetooth 2.1 with enhanced data rate which increases transfer speeds by up to 3 times that of a conventional Bluetooth connection, thus rivaling Bluetooth connections in the latest PDAs and cellular phones. It also supports Draft N Wireless Lan 802.11n, the fastest Wi-Fi connection currently available. The PC1 Express Card slot allows for expansion as well as upgrading to a 3.5G connection, offering internet on the go at HSDPA speeds.

Featuring an elaborate and stylish design, with a keyboard that is 92% the size of a notebook, it is fully ergonomic with 17.5 mm keys, allowing for comfortable usage and extended hours.

“Its multiple features, combined with the flexibility of design will undoubtedly appeal to a broad spectrum of users with divergent needs and we are confident that it will be a hit in the local market”, EZY Holdings, Chief Executive, Shafraz Hamzadeen said.

Incorporated in 2004, eSys Technologies grew to be the largest distributor for computer components in Sri Lanka within a span of six years.

eSys Technologies has a strong regional sales and support team with over 200 employees focusing on distribution. The Company is financially robust with over US $ 3.5 million invested in infrastructure and products.

With an aggressive sales force and proactive solutions to their customers, eSys has changed the business dynamics of the computer trade in Sri Lanka.

“We have what is known as a 123 Express service to provide our partners an efficient solution. This focuses on 1 hour warranty, 2 hour technical training and 3 hour delivery of goods”, Hamzadeen said.

The company has ten regional offices focusing on developing the computer market by providing warehousing with approximately 30,000 square feet, and touches more than 1000 sales points across the country.

Speaking on the recent tie up, eSys Technologies, General Manager, Yaasir Nizam stated: “We are proud to partner with a company like Gigabyte. We believe their product line would ideally suit the local market in both design and price.

I am positive that our infrastructure and market approach would undoubtedly position Gigabyte as a laptop to look out for”.

eSys Technologies plans on unveiling the entire range of lifestyle and business laptops of Gigabyte in within the first quarter of 2009.

NEXT retains leadership in CIM education

NEXT School of Business, recorded a student base of over 500 for the December 2009 examination maintaining its position of leadership as the largest Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM U.K.) study center in Sri Lanka.

NEXT was successful in introducing the new CIM syllabus for stage I and completed the second successful batch in May 2009. The repeated record enrolments are proof of the trust and confidence placed in NEXT as their first choice for CIM education, by both parents and students.

The practical nature of the new syllabus is complimentary to the skills of the lecture panel at NEXT. Publications for all four subjects and assignment guidelines for the two assignment based subjects have been developed to assist students.

The new intake for assessments in 2010 is now open to students for weekend and weekday evening classes to accommodate the large numbers expected as in previous sessions.

NEXT School of Business ventured into conducting four academic sessions per year to allow students to fast track their studies thereby ensuring flexibility.

NEXT has been the pioneer in adapting to the new syllabus for stage 1 with close connections with CIM - UK and leading UK study centers. NEXT secured two Sri Lankan prizes for Essentials of Marketing (EM) and Marketing Information & Research (MIR).

They have an easy to follow step by step guideline for assignment based subjects and a special revision program for exam based subjects to ensure high pass rates. Students have the option of following the old syllabus or the new syllabus and completing Stages Two and Three.

Kingslake to launch Proteus Financials

Kingslake together with Proteus Software will launch Proteus Financials on Tuesday February 9 from Colombo. Present to launch this new web enabled solution will be CEO Proteus Software UK, David Gray.

The launch will focus on how Proteus Financials using state-of-the-art technology can help C-level management run their businesses effectively by having full visibility of their Financials all the time from anywhere.

CEO Kingslake, Dr Dharmavasan will deliver the keynote address, while David Gray will elaborate as to how Proteus Financials utilises the ease of use and flexibility that modern technology delivers, thereby enabling Sri Lankan businesses to be competitive internationally.

“We strongly feel Sri Lanka claiming the second highest number of CIMA qualified professional Accountants in the world, next to the UK, is the ideal location for Proteus Financials to be launched” said Gray.

Proteus Financials developed jointly by Proteus Software UK and Kingslake, is the end product of both companies’ combined involvement of implementing Financials both internationally and in Sri Lanka for almost 50 years, thus ensuring that internationally used best practices are made available to suit the Sri Lankan market. The Software comes with a slew of usability features that take into account modern day business requirements.

This browser-based software is ideal for mid to large organizations with multiple branches or with different types of businesses to ensure they are on top of their overall Financials on-line, real time.

Kingslake together with Proteus over the past few years have developed a reliable and innovative team taking into account the long-term product strategy of Proteus.

“Kingslake who are a key strategic partner for us have added the Asian experience to Proteus Financials, which now makes it a truly international product.

CNCI congratulates President

The Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI), the pioneer Industries Chamber in the Country conveys its best wishes and congratulations to President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his very convincing victory at the sixth Presidential Election in Sri Lanka.

This victory is an endorsement of the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa and the vast majority of the people in Sri Lanka have confirmed their confidence and affection to the President.

The Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI) will be extremely pleased to extend its fullest support and co-operation to the President.