March 28, 2004

Sun Microsystems today announced that Bahwan CyberTek (BCT), Oman’s leading solutions provider and systems integrator, has joined its partner network, as part of a new iForce collaboration, which will support Oracle’s E-Business suite across the region.
Specializing in enterprise-level implementations, BCT has provided solutions for several large Middle East organisations and government departments. In the UAE, the company built the Dubai government’s e-Pay engine, and it has worked with key government, private corporations and financial institutions across the region and rest-of-the-world.

S. Durgaprasad, Director and Chief Executive Officer, BCT, and Stavros Vougas, channel Marketing Manager, Sun Microsystems Middle East & North Africa

Under the agreement, BCT, which has offices in Oman, India, UAE and the United States, will leverage its Oracle’s E-business suite special and enterprise edition expertise, and Sun’s server technology, in developing its enterprise operations, and Web services, across the region. The solutions will be tested at Sun’s authorized iForce testing facility at the Tech Access Centre. Tech Access, Sun’s channel development provider, will provide ongoing support to BCT.

“Our focus is to provide market driven solutions, tailored to meet the real-time demands of enterprise. We have extensive experience in deploying e-services in Oman, and by partnering with Sun, with support from Tech Access, we hope to replicate our offerings across the GCC and wider Middle East,” said S. Durgaprasad, director and chief executive officer, BCT.

BCT has developed a range of best-in-breed products under the brand name CUECENT, which increases employee productivity, return on investment, customer service and operating margins.

The CUECENT Business Process Modeling Solution (BPMS), which automates software production, cuts the time of building applications by 40 percent, as well as reducing costs, enabling businesses to offer integrated, and customized solutions to customers. Its core architecture is based on J2EE, and is fully compatible with Sun’s specifications.

“The synergy between BCT and Sun will help drive our regional expansion plans, and further increase Sun’s presence in the market,” concluded Durgaprasad.

“Together, BCT and Sun will develop solutions for enterprise, based on the extensive experience of our two companies. We welcome BCT to our partner network, and look forward to developing our relationship,” said, Stavros Vougas, channel and marketing manager, Sun Microsystems Middle East & North Africa.

As an iForce Centre partner, BCT will be able to demonstrate its solutions on Sun platforms at Tech Access’ DIC headquarters, allowing potential customers the opportunity to see applications in operation before they commit to investing. Tech Access will also provide support in critical service areas, such as pre-sales technical support, training and marketing.

“BCT has a proven track record in delivering innovative market-focused solutions for the Middle East region. Their experience in implementing e-services for enterprise-level organisations, will bring added-value to Sun’s channel,” said Shomail Ghalib, managing director, Tech Access.

Photo caption: (from left to right) S. Durgaprasad, director and chief executive officer, BCT, and Stavros Vougas, channel and marketing manager, Sun Microsystems Middle East & North Africa.

About BCT

Bahwan CyberTek (BCT) is a world-class products and services organisation with clientele spread across the globe. It is an ISO 9001:2000 certified, SEI-CMM level 4 organisation, offering state-of-the-art software products and consulting services spanning Product Development, System Integration, Outsourced Application Development, Migration and Customization, Professional Services (IT Outsourcing Solutions) and end-to-end networking solutions.

About Tech Access

Tech Access has shown commitment and dedication to Sun Microsystems by currently being the only DataCentre Channels Development Provider of Sun products in the GCC, Levant, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and North Africa regions. By achieving this certification, Tech Access is able to provide the highest levels of technical and sales support to Sun's reseller channel in our target markets. Tech Access is also a solution provider. Where possible, Tech Access will use Sun or Sun-Alliance products in building a solution. This unequalled support made available to its strategic partners in the region is further complemented by superior logistics and warehousing facilities, almost tailored to the resellers' individual requirements, at a level never before offered in the industry.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer[tm]" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com.