Abu Dhabi, UAE – November 13, 2016 

Gulf Business Machines (GBM), the region’s number one provider of IT solutions, has partnered with Ankabut, a leading IT service provider for educational and research sectors in the Middle East, for the first deployment of an Internet Services Provider (ISP) Control Desk in the education sector in the UAE. The new solution called REACH is expected to help universities to reduce their IT support costs and adopt world-class service management capabilities without the burden of hosting it, thus serving students and faculty more efficiently.

Through REACH, GBM has enabled Ankabut to optimize IT support costs for the education sector in the UAE, which helps keep the focus on academic development. It will also streamline the IT service management procedures across the connected universities and academic institutes. Moreover, with the new deployment, Ankabut can now provide a broader range of support services to its subscribers with a scalable solution.

Miguel Khouri, General Manager, GBM Abu Dhabi & Yemen said, “When Ankabut came to GBM with the request to implement a multi-tenant service desk for better visibility of their network, infrastructure, applications and assets, we knew this was a great opportunity to create an innovative solution which would be a game-changer in the UAE education sector. We proposed a unique “Control Desk As Service” solution based on IBM’s Control Desk which provides a scalable multi-tenancy offering of integrated services management and end-user self-service capabilities, accessible through both web and mobile. We are excited to have Ankabut on board to deploy this solution and we are confident it will benefit the local education sector to a large extent”.

Mr Fahem Al Nuaimi, CEO, Ankabut said, “Ankabut was looking for a service desk which can both satisfy the current requirements and accommodate an increased future capacity. Ankabut chose GBM because of the company’s proven track record in implementing IBM products and services, as well as its strong presence and reputation in the GCC. Thanks to the company’s project management methodology, excellent reporting system and project updates, the solution was delivered on time and as per the scope and budget”.

 “The IBM Control Desk has helped improve the efficiency of our support system, allowing us to increase the satisfaction of the universities we work with. We will continue to collaborate with GBM to meet our future strategic initiatives with IT”, stated, Mr. Qutaiba Al Hammadi, Manager Application Development & Delivery, Ankabut.

The REACH service desk will control and distribute the privileges and permissions for clients based on their requirement and services. An ITIL-focused approach has also been incorporated in order to manage the services of a wide range of universities with ease and accuracy.

-Ends-

About Ankabut:
Ankabut is the Advanced National Research and Education Network (NREN) in the UAE which connects academic institutions in the country to education networks around the world. As an Education Services Provider (ESP), it offers a range of Education IT services, professional support and guidance for institutes undertaking major IT projects.

About Gulf Business Machines (GBM)
Founded and operating in the region since 1990, GBM is the number one provider of IT solutions, leveraging industry leading technologies to drive real business results for clients. GBM is the sole distributor for IBM – excluding selected IBM products and services – throughout the GCC, apart from Saudi Arabia. GBM’s momentum was further enhanced in 1999, when the company secured the Cisco portfolio. Most recently GBM was named as the Apple Authorized Systems Integrator for the UAE.

GBM offers an extensive range of IT infrastructure, solutions and services ranging from consulting, resource deployment and integration to after-sales support. The company has offices in the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah), Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Pakistan.

Continuously recognized by its international partners, this year GBM has been awarded as IBM's Top Business Partner, Cisco's Middle East Partner of the Year, and Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence, the highest distinction a partner can achieve within the Cisco Channel Partner Program.

For more information please visit www.gbmme.com

For further information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
Gulf Business Machines 
Tel: +971 4 3435353
Email: communications@gbmme.com

Weber Shandwick 
Tel: +971 4 445 2245 
Email: gbm@webershandwick.com   

© Press Release 2016