Cisco Systems® announced Tuesday that its Cisco® Connected Real Estate framework for shopping malls, based on IP technology, is being used to deliver innovative services to shoppers and tenants alike in the state-of-the-art AL Kout Shopping Mall waterfront shopping mall. Constructed and managed by Tamdeen Real Estate, the leading shopping mall developers and operators in Kuwait, AL Kout Shopping Mall is the first stage in the visionary new city development within Fahaheel city called “Madinat Fahaheel”.
Today most buildings, including shopping malls, are installed with multiple proprietary networks for building operations and management, as well as separate telecom and data communication networks. As a result, buildings that are complex to operate have high installation, integration and ongoing maintenance costs and have limited automation functionality.
The Cisco Connected Shopping Mall framework promotes the convergence of these numerous networks onto the open standard of IP to streamline processes by providing a single connection for all building and IT systems. This single IP network for communications (voice, video and data) creates unprecedented opportunities for shopping mall owners, operators, tenants and consumers.
“The vision of the AL Kout Shopping Mall project is to reinvent the city of Fahaheel so that nearby residents can have world-class quality shopping, entertainment and services at their doorstep,” said Ahmed Al Sarawi, Deputy General Manager for Tamdeen Real Estate. “It was important for us to partner with a company whose solution offered the possibility of installing state-of-the-art communication system that is also capable of deploying additional services in the near future, such as advertisements through IP television, interactive kiosks and wireless connectivity to the shoppers, all of which are possible over the converged Cisco IP network,” Al Sarawi added.
When completed, the AL Kout Shopping Mall will run secure voice, data and video over a converged intelligent Cisco infrastructure to give tenants services and resources through applications designed by partner Nevotek over Cisco 7912, 7960 and 7970 colour IP telephones. The Cisco infrastructure will soon be expanded to cover the rest of the “Madinat Fahaheel” development, namely ALMANSHAR, a commercial and residential complex, as well as a 200-suite five-star Rotana Hotel by the fall of 2006.
“We are seeing enormous growth and opportunities in the Middle East region for innovative thought leaders like Tamdeen Real Estate in using an intelligent network to create differentiation and revenues,” said Ghazi Atallah, General Manager for the Middle East at Cisco Systems. “We have already implemented similar infrastructures at leading international hotels, multi-tenant buildings and enterprises in Kuwait, elsewhere in the Gulf and around the world. With the ‘Cisco Connected Real Estate’ and the ‘Cisco Connected Shopping Mall’ frameworks, we have been able to deliver proven ROI through a solid and flexible IP infrastructure.”
