LONDON, UK, 31st October, 2000 - Cisco Systems Inc, the world-wide leader in networking for the Internet, today announced that it is providing the Dubai Internet City with one of the world's most sophisticated communications infrastructures. Cisco's technology will form the backbone of the DIC's communications and networking systems, including the largest installation of IP telephony in a single site in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Dubai Internet City is an excellent example of how technology can dramatically improve the way companies provide service to their customers. Entrepreneurs will be able to create entirely new types of organisations, or let existing companies find fresh markets for their products. Ahmed Bin Byat, CEO of the DIC, said, "We are very excited about the technology that we are installing with the help of Cisco and their partners, Siemens and Getronics--truly we have a technology platform fit for the Twenty-First Century."
The highlight of this technology platform is the IP Telephony system, which plugs directly into the computer network. Part of Cisco AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data), the IP phones have built-in intelligence that automatically translates the human voice into packets of data to be carried by the data network along with e-mails, web pages and database queries. Voicemail, for example, will simply be a software application installed on a regular PC server, thereby cutting costs and at the same time providing better features - such as the handset itself being able to browse a corporate phone directory, or to contact someone on the Web.
The Internet City will lease office space to tenants, as well as allow them to build their own structures over long-term land leases (of up to 50 years). In addition to that, DIC will provide IT and telecommunications services for the tenant's own usage or for resale to their customer base, with high-speed connections to local and international Service Providers. The users of Internet City will also be offered something unique: an integrated voice/data communication system that allows companies to offer integrated e-business and customer response facilities. This will be the first of such hi-tech environments for a Middle Eastern country.
The integrated MPLS-enabled multiservice core network will provide the basis for advanced services such as customer-friendly e-commerce systems, high-speed network access for ASPs (Application Service Providers) and the technology to supply streamed, full motion video for training and education. The core network is based on BPX and MGX core switches; the Dubai Internet City IT team will run Cisco's Call Manager 3.0.2 in their network cloud to manage the IP Telephony system.
By March 2001 the number of phones installed is expected to multiply several-fold from the 2000 handsets currently rolled out - this is unique in being the single largest phone installation for a multi-tenant installation in the Europe and Middle East regions.
The Dubai Internet City becomes a showcase for the way technology contributes to an organisation's competitiveness. Paul Di Leo, Director of Enterprise Solutions for Cisco Europe, Middle East and Africa commented, "This is a showcase of the most sophisticated technology in the world. This implementation at the DIC is a massive endorsement of Cisco AVVID and the large-scale IP telephony deployment, clearly showing it is a technology of the present that is actually happening, and not something of the future."
Mazen Jabri, Account Manager for Cisco Systems Middle East added, "Cisco is providing the DIC tenants with advanced 'New World' services that are available in only a small handful of places in the world. This will give them the competitive edge they need in this era of high speed communications and Internet-based economies."
Links to users are 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet, which are integrated on to a 1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet backbone. As far as security is concerned, Cisco Secure PIX firewalls are installed, together with the Cisco Intrusion Detection System, which is part of the newly announced Cisco SAFE blueprint. This system intelligently detects suspicious network activity, raises alarms and if necessary removes the offender from the network and reconfigures network components automatically to prevent similar future threats.
The residents of United Arab Emirates are now able to boldly enter the Internet age, thanks to the vision of His Highness, General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, which has allowed the Dubai Internet City project to become a reality.
