The SAP User Group – Middle East & North Africa (SUG-MENA), today announced that it will hold its annual conference and vendor fair, SUG-MENA 2010, on 15-17 March, at the Crowne Plaza Convention Center, in Manama, Bahrain.
The three-day conference will provide a platform for senior Middle East IT executives from a wide range of industries to discuss how software solutions can help them proactively adapt to the region’s rapidly evolving economic landscape and support long-term business sustainability.
“The SUG-MENA conference acts as a channel of communication for SAP customers to voice opinion and challenges, and provide constructive ideas as to how SAP can further support the development of the Middle East region as a whole,” said Salem Al Angari, President of SUG-MENA.
“The 2009 conference was a success in terms of both level of support and participation, and provided an important sounding board for SAP customers. As a result of feedback gained at the event, innovative new business initiatives have been launched,” continued Al Angari.
The conference agenda includes presentations by senior Middle East executives and a keynote speech from Jim Hagemann Snabe, member of the SAP Executive Board and head of the newly created Business Solutions & Technology organization. This will be the first time an SAP Board member has addressed the SUG-MENA conference.
“The SUG-MENA conference provides a valuable forum for SAP to meet with and hear insight from regional customers, facilitate knowledge exchange, and share best practices,” said Sergio Maccotta, Managing Director, SAP Middle East & North Africa (MENA).
“We are pleased to have Executive Board Member Jim Hagemann Snabe present a keynote speech at SUG-MENA 2010; this is an endorsement of how important the views of MENA customers are to the SAP Board. Jim has extensive insights into the global business landscape and is responsible for ensuring that SAP’s product and technology platform develop in close alignment with customer needs, so this is a prime opportunity for customers to be heard at the highest level.” added Maccotta.
The SUG-MENA Enterprise Support panel discussion, initiated by SAP and the SAP User-Group Executive Network (SUGEN), will allow participants to hear customer experiences on how organizations are meeting the challenges involved with managing increased IT complexity, optimizing performance and creating the insight and agility needed to close the gap between strategy and execution.
The Executive Exchange, to be hosted by SUG-MENA, will provide common ground for senior IT executives from across the Middle East to discuss the changing role of IT and interact with other SAP users to consolidate views and influence priorities as companies look for increasingly flexible access to software solutions and future product capabilities.
Delegates will also discuss the role systems integration plays in enabling business insight and end-to-end best-run business processes, how incremental innovation can compensate for market shifts and changing customer needs, how to achieve fast ROI and ‘quick wins’ with commensurate value, and tactical solutions to specific challenges.
SUG-MENA conferences strive to provide rich and diverse content, with the aim of capturing the interests of SAP users, and incorporating suggestions and recommendations from attending members. This will be an ideal educational opportunity for SAP customers to attend demos, specific presentations, and interact with SAP experts on a one-to-one basis. The success of such an event is enhanced by the attendance and involvement of as many SAP users as possible.
