MSP Broadens Reach of Video in Oman

The Middle East is abuzz with managed service provider activity, driven by enterprise demand and a broadening population of technology end users.

Video is one area on the move, and those who live in Oman may soon have a better array of video services, thanks to a deal between Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) and value-added distributor FVC.

The two are working together to provide Managed Video-as-a-Service (MVaaS).

Under the arrangement, video conferencing and telepresence services will both be available. “This new service will widen the adoption of video conferencing as an invaluable communications tool for businesses in the Sultanate,” said Dr. Waleed Heloo, FVC's General Manager for Gulf and Pakistan.

The new unified service will come with conferencing, device management and bandwidth services.

"We are committed to providing local businesses with the latest tools to enable them to focus on running successful practices. Video conferencing is a strong communications tool and will help facilitate better internal and external communications for our enterprise customers without the large CAPEX investment," said Huda Al Habsi, General Manager of Marketing Omantel Business.

Omantel, founded in 1970, is reportedly the first telecommunications company in Oman, and is more than 50 percent owned by the Oman government. Part of Omantel’s goal is to connect the Sultanate with the rest of the world.

In fact, the government is doing much to drive the IT sector. One project is e-Oman, which aims to ensure schools have enough modern computers, and to broaden the reach of government services by making them available as e-services.

The Omani Market

BMI tracks the IT market in Oman, which is still relatively small at some $363 million last year – about a tenth of the Saudi Arabian market, but is poised to maintain a 6-percent annual growth rate, which is less than the rate of the last five years.

Hot areas in Oman, like elsewhere, are convergence, cloud computing and virtualization, the researchers said.

Meanwhile, in services, most demand comes from aviation, government, and of course the oil gas sectors.