Business Briefs

Lanka among Asia's leading destinations

World Travel Awards has nominated Sri Lanka among the leading destinations in Asia for 2007, placing the island nation among the big players in the region.

The Asia, Australasia and Indian Ocean Ceremony of the World Travel Awards is due to take place in Bangkok, Thailand on September 7, the organisers said.

The World Travel Awards was set up in 1993 to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry.

With thousands of votes cast by travel professionals from 160,000 travel agencies in over 200 countries, winning a World Travel Award has become one of the highest accolades, a travel product can achieve.

Emirates signs for eight more A380s worth $2.6 b

Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, signed for eight additional Airbus A380s, bringing to 55 its total order of this advanced double-decker aircraft.

Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, signed the Letter of Intent with Airbus President and CEO Louis Gallois, at the Paris Air Show. The deal is worth an estimated US$ 2.6 billion in list prices.

Sheikh Ahmed said: "The A380 is a technologically-advanced aircraft that fits perfectly with our projected growth strategy.

Every single one of the A380s we have ordered has been carefully planned for Emirates' present and future requirements.

"The A380 will be instrumental in helping Emirates meet its growing passenger demand using one of the most efficient, quietest and greenest aircraft ever produced.

ASUS P5WDH motherboard with enhanced features

EPSI Computers, the authorised Distributor in Sri Lanka for ASUSTeK Computer Inc. the worldwide leader of motherboards, introduced the P5W DH Deluxe motherboard, which leverages rich digital home features and supports Intel's Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Duo processors and ATI CrossFire graphics to deliver multimedia entertainment, wireless networking, data protection and easy access and management of various functions without being confined by the computer desk.

Group Product Manager EPSI Computers Rukshan Jayawardene, said that the remote controller that is part of this Motherboard can be used to turn the computer on and off, activate suspend mode and access and manage the various digital home features offered by the P5W DH Deluxe.

The remote provides the conventional remote functions, such as volume control, play, pause, fast forward and rewind, as well. With the DH Remote, users can do more with their computers at a distance.

Direct Solutions to develop marketing industry

Almost four years since its soft launch, Direct Solutions, Sri Lanka's pioneer full service Direct Marketing Agency is ready to develop the promising One to One marketing industry further, in Sri Lanka.

"We were keen to test the concept and the practicality of its operation in Sri Lanka before launching out fully," said its CEO, Priyanga Hapugalle who got his Data and Direct Mail service company PBN Direct to initiate this industry a decade and a half ago, before launching Direct Solutions with Co Founder and Director of Strategy, Ian Ramsden.

"Bringing in the best practices of the West in Direct Marketing has been a challenge to us", said Ramsden. "In the West almost every serious business has a strategic Direct Marketing plan that complements its Brand Marketing plans. They each have a dedicated Direct Marketing Agency assigned to manage their program. This is a reality even in some Asian markets too".

"However, the few local companies who have embraced the concept are now enjoying the rewards of this marketing strategy. We have clients such as Singer Sri Lanka who have successfully tested the strategy in one of its channels and then based on its learnings and success have applied it to their mainstream business channel.

Oracle Database Lite 10g Release 3 a highly-scalable mobile solution

Oracle recently announced the general availability of Oracle Database Lite 10g Release 3, a comprehensive solution that enables customers and partners to rapidly develop and deploy applications for mobile and embedded environments.

With enhanced synchronisation and increased support for a broader range of platforms, Oracle Database Lite 10g Release 3 brings unmatched mobile data management capabilities to the enterprise.

Oracle Database Lite 10g is a highly-scalable, mobile solution that enables applications to run even when disconnected from the network, while periodically synchronizing to an Oracle Database server.

Comprising a Mobile Server and a mobile relational database, Oracle Database Lite 10g Release 3 helps users reliably and securely exchange data with a corporate database; enables application, device and user provisioning and provides centralised management tools.