Leading Bahraini property developer deploys Sage Accpac CRM for greater efficiency

Manama, Bahrain, 14th August 2006

Riffa Views, the first master-planned property development in Bahrain, is geared up to offer competitive service quality through the implementation of Sage Accpac's Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution, which will streamline the company's sales and marketing operation through efficient processing of its customer and prospect information and requests. Riffa Views is one of the high profile projects from Arcapita, a Bahrain based bank with real estate investments totalling US$ 2.5 billion including Bahrain Bay, a waterfront development, and Victory Heights in Dubai Sports City. The system was implemented by Fakhroo IT Services, a leading IT solution provider and Sage Accpac Partner.

"Riffa Views is a major development project in the Kingdom which will occupy an area of 23 million square feet with 900 luxury villas, an international school, commercial and recreational facilities," said Yasser Abdulla, Managing Director, Riffa Views. "Our vision is to bring new concepts in residential living and commercial investments to the region. In order to achieve this we need to focus on delivering the best service levels, and implement global best practice methodologies in our sales and marketing. This meant choosing a CRM product, first of all from an established global vendor, second with strong local support from an experienced partner, and of course with enough customizability and scalability to grow with our business."

"Fakhroo IT Services did an excellent job of implementing Sage Accpac CRM in 30 days," said Yasser. "One of the most important benefits for Riffa Views is the immediate availability of customer and prospect information to authorized staff to respond quickly and accurately to any queries. Through the Sage Accpac CRM system, all property account managers at Riffa Views have relevant project information available to them on-screen. This includes information of the various phases of the development, area sizes, prices and design styles. In addition, the history of communication with a prospect or customer is stored in the system for review, and financial transactions integrated to Sage Accpac ERP. It's a seamless process."

Using Sales Force Automation, Riffa Views has built greater efficiency within its sales force by offering easy access to information. The company is also planning to use Sage Accpac CRM campaign management feature to run targeted marketing campaigns and measure return on marketing investment. In the future, Riffa Views plans to extend the usage of Sage Accpac CRM to online information of property availability for customers and within the company's different departments.

"Prospective property buyers today have a range of high quality projects to choose from, and most buyers from within the Middle East do not limit themselves geographically. This means that the competition within the real estate industry is on a regional level, not just local. Bahrain is emerging as one of the key strategic choices for both residential and commercial purposes. The key differentiator for a prestigious developer like Riffa Views will be the level of customer service they are able to offer and CRM plays a vital role in facilitating that, "says Marc Van der Ven, Managing Director, Sage Accpac Middle East. "

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About Riffa Views
Riffa Views Property Development Company, established in 2005, plans to build a 900-villa development woven around a new 18-hole PGA championship golf course. The masterplan for the development has been designed by EDAW, the leading international architects whose award-winning designs supported London's successful Olympic bid in 2005. Construction of the project will be managed by MACE, the international project consultants, whose track record in professionally-managed, timely projects in the Gulf include Dubai's Burj Residences, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai Marina, Fairmont Hotel and Residences, Dubai's Mall of the Emirates and Shangri-la Hotel, World Islands and Ski Dubai and Bahrain's City Centre retail and entertainment complex. The development combines 18 different four-bedroom villa designs reflecting an architectural fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern themes. The entire project is expected to be finished by the end of 2008.

Riffa Views is the result of a joint venture between the Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank and Bahrain International Golf Course Company.

About Fakhroo IT Services
FITS is a leading regional IT solution provider and Sage Accpac partner that focuses on using technology to improve the way companies work and conduct business. It has been offering its services for over 18 years which  include IT Systems Planning and Consulting, Network Integration, Outsourcing Services, Software Development, Intranet solutions, Wireless and IP Telephony.

About Sage Accpac ME
Sage Accpac offers leading business management software and services that support the needs, challenges and dreams of medium sized organisations. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports 5 million customers worldwide, has over 10,000 staff with revenues in excess of US$ 1.3 billion. For more than 25 years, Sage Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software for enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management and human resource management. It products are used by a range of organisations including Manufacturing, Wholesale Distribution, Trading, Banking & Financial Services, Transportation & Logistics, Telecommunications, Oil & Gas, Healthcare, Chemicals, Consumer Products, Defense & Security, High Tech, Government, Services, Retail, Utilities, Construction, Real Estate and Education.

© Press Release 2006