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Cloud computing prominent investment opportunity in Egypt: Xerox GM We plan to launch software for the health sector and hotel services during 2016, says Haitham Abdou
General Manager of Xerox Egypt Haitham Abdou told Daily News Egypt the company acquires 40% of the sales of printing services in Egypt, in addition to 90% of the local printing services, particularly in the banking sector. He added that cloud computing and outsourcing services are the most prominent investment opportunities in the Egyptian market. Xerox plans to provide new software and services to support the health sector during 2016, including the automation of patient files, content management, and sending doctors reports automatically. It will also offer other solutions for the hotels sector for automating billing and providing printing via mobile services for hotel guests. What are the main company strategies in the Egyptian market? We plan to expand our network of agents and distributors by 10% or 15%. We will train employees and provide them with support tools to increase the size of their business in the market. We will also include them in Xerox's international programme for agents and distributors that require new investments from Xerox Egypt. We also plan to introduce new products in the Egyptian market, in conjunction with global markets. For example, Xerox has released new products this year such as the printer Versant 80 and CP1000i, which can print in silver and gold. They were launched in Egypt at the same time they were launched in international markets. Xerox will maintain this strategy throughout 2016. We will focus on locally managed printing services, which include everything that falls under the clients' office environment management. This accounts for all equipment for production, archiving, and document management operations due to the challenges of competition and economic problems faced by Xerox's customers. The company will focus on printing services that serve major companies and customers in line with the company's objectives of transforming capital expenses to operating expenses. This will return larger revenue in terms of added value and enable large and medium companies to acquire the latest services and technology without burdening them with expenses. There will be offers of integrated solutions for various sectors in the form of managed services that support these new solutions, which will meet the needs of each sector. This will include the public sector, in line with the economic and technological goals of the Egyptian government during 2016. Xerox will support the sector with new investments in labour and the training. What are your views on the investment climate in the market? The Egyptian market is very attractive for investments, especially after the economic and political turmoil stabilised. The government's attention to cloud computing services and outsourcing, which is part of the Ministry of Communication's plan, will make Egypt an international digital centre and increase investment opportunities. We expect the two sectors to witness significant expansion by the government and companies operating in the market, including print companies in general and Xerox in particular. This will positively reflect on the general investment climate in Egypt. We are optimistic about 2016 and we are confident in the government's economic and technological plan. We trust it will help the market grow and develop the companies working in Egypt, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which receive much attention from the government. How were you affected by the dollar shortage? Of course we were affected, but not much. We have seen similar problems in other countries since Xerox operates in 180 countries worldwide. This gave us experience to deal with such circumstances and minimise negative impacts. What are the investment opportunities and challenges in the market? Opportunities for investment lie in cloud computing, due to the government's recent attention to it. Outsourcing is also a very prominent opportunity to help Egypt become an international digital centre. What new services does the company intend to introduce to the Egyptian market? During Cairo ICT 2015, we launched the Arab user interface for the first time in Egypt at the same time it was launched in the Middle East. Xerox Egypt has turned into the regional centre to develop Arabic solutions for Xerox's devices supported by ConnectKey applications. This reflects Xerox's investments to serve different sectors, including the governmental sector. The language barrier hinders users from making the best of devices' capabilities. Hence, Xerox developed the new service to make it easier for users to conduct daily work procedures that may seem difficult in other languages. ConnectKey offers Arabic to support all users to get an understanding of all function in Arabic. Xerox will launch new applications and solutions that serve different sectors. For health, we will launch new services that include the automation of patient files, content management, and sending doctors reports automatically. We will also present more solutions to the tourism sector through automating billing and providing printing services via mobile for hotels' guests. Xerox will also provide innovative solutions to facilitate banking transactions, including deposit, withdrawal, opening bank accounts, and credit cards services. In the telecommunications sector, we are offering new solutions for automating the purchase of telecommunications services securely. All of Xerox's solutions are supported by ConnectKey & App Studio protocols that are integrated in Xerox's devices. How can users benefit from the Arab user interface? Users can conduct essential tasks with the help of multi-function printer through a smart touch user interface that comes in Arabic. This enables users to find contact details faster, through a sophisticated guide that stores all e-mail addresses and fax numbers, as well as scanning information in a unified list in Arabic. The interface also allows Arabic users to use cloud computing applications and smart documents tools remotely, which is integrated with Xerox's document management protocols that will represent a breakthrough for the government sector. Is there any cooperation with mobile operators to provide services to SMEs? Earlier this year, we cooperated with Vodafone to offer integrated services for SMEs. We help them achieve maximum efficiency in work through a diverse range of services and up to 28% discounts on Xerox printers. Xerox pays a lot of attention to SMEs, which account for 40% of Xerox sales in Egypt. We are very keen to offer new products that serve and fit the requirements of this sector. In 2015, we offered a wide range of new economic products for SMEs, including the black and white printer WC5022/24 and the colour printer WC6655. Both came with three-year guarantee. Xerox invested in its agents and distributors in this sector and provided through them print services to serve SMEs by cutting down on their operational costs and convert capital expenses into operating expenses, which helps increase profitability. What is your share of the Egyptian market? We acquire the largest share of sales, about 40%. Our managed printing services are some 30% of the total company's business. Xerox also accounts for about 90% of printing services, especially in the banking sector.
