A b o u t R a y a
Raya is the largest Egyptian national holding company
Raya Integration specializes in
broad-scale systems integration
and offers multi-vendor support
through its ISO-certified service
center.
Raya Teleom, builds and operates
a nationwide public data network
and provides hosting and
connectivity solutions.
& I t s S u b s i d i a r i e s
specializing in the IT and Telecommunications
industries. The company’s particular structure consists
of the autonomous subsidiaries in addition to several
centralized support functions.
Oratech is a joint venture between ProNet delivers integrated
Raya Holding and Orascom IT services of infrastructure and
Group that specializes in providing network solutions to
consultancy and IT professional telecommunications
services. manufacturers and service
providers.
Raya Software is dedicated to offer ready-made software packages,
to develop customer tailored business applications and deliver all related
professional services regionally and internationally. .
Raya Academy, established in cooperation between Microsoft and
Raya Holding, spans academic education & certification and technical
training for the field of IT & Management.
Starnet, Raya’s Internet service Raya Contact Center provides
provider mainly offers dial-up call center outsourcing services
connectivity with a focus on including tele-marketing, tele-sales
outstanding customer care. . and tele-research.
Protech, Raya’s retail & distribution arm offers a diversified product mix
of telecommunication & technology products backed up by a network
of dealers and distributors and services centers.
 Strategic Outlook
Raya Newsletter
“Our regional
projects create
In This Issue new revenue
streams and
Strategic Outlook ..... 3
increase exposure
to worldwide
One Vision, One Goal...

competitors
Quarter Highlight ..... 4 leading to more
Raya's Regional Presence Extended From the
Atlantic to the Gulf
professionalism
and adherence to
Viewpoint ..... 6 international
Can Egypt’s IT & Telecom Industry take off ? standards”

Partners in Success ..... 8 It has always been our vision to become leading to more professionalism and
Raya Integration: the leading market player in the region. adherence to international standards.
Cisco’s Exclusive Silver Partner in Egypt As an Egyptian company, supported by Hence, we have started to invest in new
Arab investments, Raya competes with ventures that can serve as access points
a range of multinational companies in to these markets, including agents in
Bulletin Board ..... 9 offshore markets. In addition to the Africa, the Gulf and North America.
Read the Latest News About Raya advantages of common language and
& Its Subsdiaries culture that facilitate accurate project
implementations, Raya outshines through
Trends & Technology ... 14 its large professional pool of experts
covering the breadth of integrated IT &
e-Billing Services: A Wider Perspective
Telco operations. Our regional projects
create new revenue streams and increase
exposure to worldwide competitors

One Vision, One Goal ...

Based on Raya's strategy of exporting

its professional services and expertise
obtained in offshore and nationwide
projects throughout the past years, we
have taken several measures to ensure
Raya Holding an increase in our regional activities. We
have established branches for Raya in
72 Mohey El Din Aboul Ezz St., Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
Mohandeseen
and entered numerous strategic alliances
Tel. : +(202) 7496353 to export our professional services and
+(202) 7496356 software products to the Middle East and
Fax : +(202) 7496343
Africa. Aiming at creating greater
opportunities for growth, these actions
E-Mail : info@raya.com.eg
http : //www.rayaholding.com have succeeded in expanding Raya's
presence in the whole region to extend
from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Tarek Zidan Ashraf Sabry
Director of International Operations Vice Chairman
Raya Holding & Chief Operations Officer
Raya Holding

Raya Newsletter 3
Quar ter Highlight

Raya's Regional Presence

Extended From the Atlantic to the Gulf
Considered a significant move towards becoming the leading market player in the region, Raya has
taken several measures to expand its operations in Africa, the Levant region, Saudi Arabia and the
Gulf area. Based on Raya's strategy of establishing branches in the Middle East and Africa, drawing
on Egypt's expertise and human resources, Raya established Raya Saudi to tackle the Saudi market
and Raya Gulf in Dubai Internet City to address the Gulf countries including United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

Raya has also entered several strategic alliances, including
sharing in the establishment of the company Bridge
Technologies, to market its services and software programs
in Africa and the region. Currently studying other markets
in the region, Raya is seeking partnerships with local
companies in this area.
Backed up with a track record of successful
implementations, Raya has succeeded in winning and
delivering several sophisticated projects in Africa and the
Middle East. Such projects include the automation of
Central Bank of Syria and the mobile phone services
company Syriatel in Syria, Central Bank of Jordan and the
mobile phone services company Fastlink in Jordan,
installation and training on Oracle E-business applications
and automation of the mobile phone services company
Djezzi in Algeria, in addition to other IT & Telco assignments
in Tunisia and Morocco.
Backed up with a track record
of successful implementations,
Raya has succeeded in winning
and delivering several
sophisticated projects in Africa
and the Middle East
Raya has founded Raya Saudi Ltd. in cooperation with a
group of leading Saudi businessmen. In a short period,
Raya Saudi Ltd. succeeded in winning several projects in
the real estate development, banking, manufacturing and
food industry sectors. As for Raya Gulf FZ-LLC, the rationale
for its establishment in Dubai Internet City lies in the
region's market potential, smooth registration procedures
and the protection of intellectual property rights. Raya Gulf
FZ-LLC seeks strategic alliances with the region's
companies and is currently negotiating several contracts
in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Kuwait.

Ashraf Gamal
General Manager
Raya Saudi Ltd.

Ashraf Gamal, the general manager of Raya Saudi Ltd. is a co-founder of

solutions and services company STS, which was acquired by Raya in 2000.
Born and educated in the United States, Gamal came to Egypt in 1990, and
worked with NCR for eight years. As Raya Integration's strategic solutions
and partner relations manager, Gamal became busy developing the company's
data warehousing, customer relationship management, e-commerce and
information security systems. Today, Gamal is occupied with identifying and
evaluating new business opportunities for the group in Saudi Arabia and
the region.

Raya Newsletter 4
Quar ter Highlight
> Raya established a new branch in Dubai Internet City
In the coming period, Raya will focus on utilizing its channels
in the region to export services such as development and
implementation of applications, professional services to
establish information systems, outsourcing, in addition to
consultancy in the field of call center management. Raya
will further expand regionally in IT training services through
the export of a number of training hours by Microsoft
certified instructors in Raya branches in the Middle East
or through specialized training centers in the region. In
addition, providing a touristic experience to the applicants
seeking to enroll in Raya Academy in Egypt through training
courses in resorts such as Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh.
Raya's ambitions extend
beyond these regional markets
to include the European and
American markets after
establishing a solid foundation
for its operations in Africa and
the Middle East.
Wael A. El-Kabbany, the general manager of Raya Gulf FZ-
LLC is busy developing new business opportunities in the
Gulf area. Before moving to Raya Holding, El-Kabbany was
in charge of the development of regional sales and marketing
activities in a number of successful national & international
firms operating offshore, including Intergraph International,
Nile Group & Triangle Group. With a B.Sc. in communication
engineering, and around ten years of experience in the field
of communication and information technology, El-Kabbany
developed his postgraduate skills and knowledge in the
marketing, sales and financial planning of projects.
Raya Newsletter
Raya has founded Raya Saudi
Ltd. in cooperation with a
group of leading Saudi
businessmen
Raya's ambitions extend beyond these regional markets
to include the European and American markets after
establishing a solid foundation for its operations in Africa
and the Middle East. The major factors that will help Raya
succeed in the region's markets are professionalism in
hiring of specialized and internationally certified resources
and the adoption of international work standards such as
the ISO and other international certifications that Raya has
attained. For instance, Raya is considered the preferred
partner for several multinational companies such as Oracle,
Cisco Systems and Microsoft. Raya also enjoys a pool of
rare professional expertise certified by Oracle and Cisco
Systems in e-business applications and Internet Protocol
technology respecively, in addition to Certified Software
Quality Engineers (CSQEs) and Project Management
Professionals.
Hence, Raya is progressing surely towards an increase in
the export of its professional services and software
applications that demand high quality standards. These
steps, as part of an integrated strategy geared to expand
regionally have demonstrated signs of success and are
expected to pay off in the near future.
Wael A. EL Kabbany
General Manager
Raya Gulf FZ-LLC
5
 Viewpoint
Can Egypt’s IT & Telecom
Industry take off ?
> H.E. David Welch, US Ambassador to Egypt
Q How do you view Egypt as an investment
market for IT?
Many U.S. IT firms already are operating in Egypt and have
forged close partnerships with Egyptian companies. This
suggests that Egypt has much that is attractive to foreign
investors: Let's start with human resources. The most
important assets for an economy seeking to attract investment
capital are creative minds, and an environment that
encourages the development and application of new ideas.
Egypt has a cadre of IT talent and has begun to put in place
the training resources needed to increase its pool of skilled
professionals.
“Investors will be drawn to
countries that have removed
the administrative and
logistical barriers to the
flow of goods and services”
Raya Newsletter
As IT & telecommunications continue to play an
increasingly important role in the various market
sectors, their successful incorporation has become
a vital need to catch up with the global
technological development and boost Egypt’s
economic growth. On this subject and Egypt’s
potential as an investment market for IT, Connect
conducted this interview with H.E. David Welsh,
U.S. ambassador to Egypt.
Second, the government of Egypt has begun to create a
technologically neutral and pro-competitive regulatory
environment, which is especially important for the IT-Telecom
industry. There’s a very good dialogue among the
government institutions responsible, whether it’s the Ministry
of Telecommunications or Telecom Egypt and that is in my
experience one of the most active and self-sustaining
functions. The government is moving forward with legal and
regulatory reform in the telecommunications sector and I
understand that measures are being considered that will
facilitate trade in the information technology sector. Passage
of strong IPR protection also will reinforce Egypt's efforts to
attract investment into its knowledge-based industries.
Despite Egypt's many strengths, however, businesses often
grapple with seemingly arbitrary bureaucratic impediments
that require a great deal of time to be resolved. At the end
of the day, investors will be drawn to countries that have
removed the administrative and logistical barriers to the flow
of goods and services.
Q How do you see IT helping the Egyptian
economy and where are the areas of opportunities?
Information technology is a powerful tool for economic
development. It holds huge potential to expand businesses,
create jobs, and improve social services. IT-via the Internet-
is changing the way international trade is conducted, which
can be significant for a country like Egypt that is seeking to
expand exports. In the United States, the economic benefits
derived from IT have been impressive. Between 1995 and
2000 information technology contributed to nearly one-third
of U.S. real economic growth though it only accounted
6
 Viewpoint

What role does a national conglomerate

“Productivity gains come not
such as Raya play in the development of Egypt as
just from processing
an IT player?
information faster, but from
changes in the way a firm While it is necessary for governments to create the enabling
incorporates the technical environment to facilitate IT usage, development of the
technology itself is driven by the private sector. Private
advances made possible by IT” sector investment in IT has led to the year after year increases
in computer power and data storage, enormous
directly for eight percent of the total jobs. For developing improvements in speed and carrying capacity of
countries, such as Egypt, information technology offers the communications systems, and great strides in software
same possibility for economic growth. capability. It is companies like Raya that will provide the
innovation, training, business solutions, and vast array of
The local business community provides a vast opportunity IT products the country needs to become fully integrated
for IT growth. Information technology is a general-purpose into the new economy.
innovation that potentially can be applied to every sector of
the economy. Simply installing a PC, however, will not do
the trick. Productivity gains come not just from processing
information faster, but from changes in the way a firm “It is companies like Raya that
incorporates the technical advances made possible by IT. will provide the innovation,
Integrated IT solutions improve design and production, and
produce efficiencies in ordering, billing, delivering and training, business solutions,
tracking products and services. These developments result and vast array of IT products
in better customer service and a better bottom line.
the country needs to become
Many multinationals have found that locating production fully integrated into the new
closer to markets and relying on skilled services providers economy.”
in the local area makes sense. Egypt's location and human
resources make it an obvious choice for outsourcing. Once
again, however, the business climate must be attractive. It's
important to understand the variables investors consider
when deciding to put their production facility in country X
verses country Y, and then determine to be country X.

Finally, Egypt has a large domestic market with potential

for IT growth. The widespread use of mobile phones indicates
that Egyptians are open to technology, but they have not
become convinced of the value of personal computers. For
many, IT has only entertainment value. The government
can play a crucial role in encouraging computer usage. By
introducing administrative services online, for example, the
government can create the same sort of demand for the
Internet that mobile phones now enjoy.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Ashraf Sabry, Raya Holding Vice Chairman
& COO, Ann Marie Roubachewsky, US
is actively engaged on this front, with its master plan to
incorporate information technology into the society. I
> From left to right Embassy Assistant Information Officer, H.E.
David Welch, US Ambassador and Medhat
understand that phone bills now can be paid online and Khalil, Raya Holding Chairman & CEO

other services are being planned.

Raya Newsletter 7
Par tners in Success

Raya Integration
Cisco's Exclusive Silver Partner in Egypt

In line with Raya's strategic direction of becoming

a worldwide market leader and a preferred value-
adding partner to technology providers, Raya
Integration has achieved Cisco Systems SILVER
Partner certification. This accomplishment
reinforces Raya's efforts in penetrating regional
markets, enabling it to take off with its professional
services and Cisco technology based solutions
to North Africa and the Levant area. .
The Cisco Silver Partnership Certification is meant to ensure
that partners have a sustainable business model in a fast-
changing environment, where customers require value-
added services, focused technical expertise and higher
levels of satisfaction. Based on several measures, Cisco
Systems evaluation encompassed the complexity and
volume of projects awarded to Raya Integration. With more
than 500 major customers, including a variety of ministries
and large corporations such as the Ministry of Justice,
Vodafone, Gupco and EAB, Raya Integration has delivered
a variety of nationwide, systems integration projects. Another
important achievement was implementations of Cisco's
latest IP Telephony and Security technology in in projects
for AUC and Golden Pyramids Plaza's integrated complex A major strategic partner, Raya Integration sponsored
Citystars (considered the largest IP Telephony network in > Cisco booth in Cairo ICT Conference & Exhibition
(12th-15th January, 2003)
the world).

The first Cisco partner in Egypt to achieve the IP Telephony

Specialization in year 2001, Raya Integration also Raya Integration attained
succeeded in attaining the IP Telephony Revised the IP Telephony Revised
Specialization in year 2002, maintaining its leadership as
the only partner in Egypt in this area of sophisticated -yet Specialization in year 2002
essential- line of work. It is worth mentioning that Raya
Integration has 2 out of 6 Cisco Certified Internet Experts
(CCIEs) in Egypt, which is considered a scarce specialization By achieving the Silver Partnership Certification, Raya
few engineers succeed to attain. Integration denotes that it is capable to deliver services
according to Cisco Quality of Service standards. These
include a high level of technical expertise through an
A Track-Record of Success eminently certified staff (Two CCIEs are essential); elevated
2001 2002 customer satisfaction, a customer support call center and
fast on site response. They also encompass troubleshooting,
Raya Integration wins Raya Integration gains 8 out applying the most updated tools in problem fixing and
Cisco's Excellence Award of 14 Cisco Awards for partners providing a demo lab for solution evaluation, testing &
for Outstanding Services • Partner of the Year.
problem simulation. In addition, a sparing strategy to deliver
&Technical Innovation in • Best Customer Satisfaction.
the Middle East. • Best Sales Manager.
the finest service with the least downtime with 24 hours
• Best System Engineer. logistic standby and a robust escalation procedure to assure
• Two Awards for Cisco. that the client is receiving the most adequate service at all
Certified Internet Expert times.
(CCIE) Achievements.
• Two Awards for Outstanding
Performance.

Raya Newsletter 8
Bulletin Board

Ashraf Sabry
Vice Chairman & New Chief Operations Officer

To Streamline the sales operations in the various

subsidiaries, Ashraf Sabry, Raya’s former director of
Operations and Finance was recently appointed Vice
Chairman and new Chief Operations Officer. Ashraf Sabry’s
journey with Raya started when he came on board as
Protech’s general manager. When Oratech was founded
in 1997, Sabry became its managing director. His diligence
and dedication helped make Oratech the most successful
and prestigious IT consulting firm in the country. Upon
Oratech’s integration into the newly formed Raya Holding,
Sabry was given an instrumental role in the group’s strategic
planning, creating Raya’s business development, finance
and IT departments. His shrewd business experience and
comprehensive vision will help him develop one strategy
in addressing key accounts across the group. .

Automation
of The Income Tax Authority
The automation will
contribute to efficient
payment tracking and
prevention of record
duplication
Stemming from the need for one centralized database for
Egypt’s taxpayers, the Ministry of finance lately contracted
Raya Integration a L.E. 3.7 million automation project for
the Income Tax Authority. The contract covers the
automation of the authority’s head quarter, 11 offices and
177 branches across the nation. Accessible from all
locations, the database will archives taxpayer profiles and
historical records. This in turn will contribute to efficient
payment tracking and prevention of record duplication. the
project’s integrated solution includes Local Area Network
(LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) Connectivity. Based
on Cisco networking, HP hardware and Microsoft software,
the solution is fortified by Raya Integration’s strong project
management and 24/7 after-sales support.

Raya Newsletter 9
Bulletin Board

Pharmaceutical Industry
Potential Unlocked…
For the first time in Egypt’s pharmaceutical industry, Global
Napi, a leading company in this field, is relying on “Oracle
Process Manufacturing” in its daily operations including
production, planning, formulation of drugs, quality control
and laboratory management. Successfully implemented
by Oratech after the deployment of a complete Oracle
Financials suite, the project encompassed the
implementation of Oracle Financials and Procurement in
Global Napi’s sister company and main distributor RAMCO
Pharm. Alive since August 2002, this initiative has been
enabling Global Napi an integrated automated system for
reporting and decision making. Currently, Oratech is
deploying Oracle Sales & Distribution in Global Napi and
Ramco Pharm to complete the supply chain cycle as initially
planned.

…And Goldi Service CRM:

The Passport to a New Market
Goldi Service, a subsidiary of Bahgat Group, has recently
joined forces with Oratech to integrate Customer “ We value our earlier
Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) throughout its maintenance of Goldi white
experience with a
& brown goods, air conditioners and computers. The first pioneering consulting
of its kind in Egypt, the project will enable Goldi Service
and its business partners efficient management of service services such as Oratech to
requests and complaints. It encompasses an automated
process starting from customer call taking, through spare
undertake such essential
parts management, resources allocation & dispatch to project for our Group.”
problem solving and reporting of material, labor and
expenses. The success of such a pioneering initiative in Amr El Sharkawy, CIO Bahgat Group
Egypt will unlock the door to this major market potential.

Continuous Success with

Vodafone ...
In light of its successful track record with Vodafone deliverables” remarked Tarek Ashmawy, Vodafone Egypt
Egypt, Raya Software has been awarded another large corporate Intranet project manager. Raya Software
project utilizing latest web technologies. This project is received overwhelming customer satisfaction grades
categorized as a major extension to Vodafone’s main from Vodafone Egypt for its world class professional
Intranet project which has been successfully delivered approach.
by Raya Software in Nov-2002, serving many hundreds
of Vodafone staff. “ I would like to emphasize on the
high level of excellence and quality of the final

Raya Newsletter 10
Bulletin Board

Tight Schedule Challenge Met

in Saudi Arabia
During the course of cooperation with a leading American
consulting company, Raya Software met the challenge its
US partner faced in delivering an SMS-based e-commerce
project in Saudi Arabia under very tight schedule. The
project, previously declined by Indian development
companies for its rigorous time constraints, was delivered
by Raya Software’s team on time with a quality level the
end customer praised. M. Timmons, president and CEO
of the American consulting company, the client commented
on how the new application professionally outstands the
previous one.

Microsoft Partner Academy…

A New Strategic Alliance with Microsoft

Raya Academy has been appointed by Microsoft Egypt to

undertake all logistics and training management of Microsoft
Partner Academy. Launched early November 2002 by
Microsoft Egypt and the Ministry of Communications and
Information Technology, Microsoft Partner Academy is the
most ambitious and aggressive partner development and
training initiative to date .The training is conducted by
Microsoft Worldwide exclusive network of international
training consultants and experts. Completed by March
2003, the program will focus on building the skills of sales
and technical professionals as well as top executives. The
outcome of this initiative will contribute to the establishment
of a strong national IT industry that can compete in regional
and international markets.

El Rashedeen Branches
Connected Across Egypt
El Rashedeen Branches Connected Across Egypt
El Rashedeen company, the major distributor of Gillette
products in Egypt, recently contracted Raya Telecom to
connect its 7 branches across Egypt with Virtual Private
Network ( VPN) and Internet access services. The new
connectivity and communication services allow for direct
& on time information flow between the head office in Cairo
and the branches for stock level and sales volume
monitoring. This in turn, supports both sales activities and
top management decision making.

Raya Newsletter 11
Bulletin Board

Fast and Secure Connectivity

For UBE

To connect the different branches and ATM network to the

bank’s headquarter, Raya Telecom currently provides
Virtual Private Network ( VPN) and customer premises
equipment management services to the United Bank of
Egypt ( UBE). The VPN serves the bank’s operations on
a reliable network that fully supports the present and future
needs and directly affects the bank’s daily operations. In
addition, Raya Telecom network operation center is fully
responsible for monitoring the bank’s VPN on 24/7 basis.
It is backed up with the latest monitoring tools which allow
for a fast and outstanding performance in fault identification
and fault resolving, more than any other network operating
in Egypt.

Sheraton
in Touch With International Branches

Sheraton Hotels’ team chose Raya Telecom as its preferred

telecom operator to connect its functions to the United
States of America through an international VPN and Internet
access service. From Sheraton’s various locations in Egypt,
Raya Telecom provides the services to Sheraton Cairo,
Gezira, Heliopolis, Luxor, Suma Bay and Sheraton
Management Corp. .All those locations can currently update
their IT systems and access the Internet regardless of their
geographical distribution in Egypt and accordingly get
connected to their local and International branches. In
addition, Raya Telecom also provides Sheraton Hotels
with 24/7 support through its state-of-the-art network
operating center

ISO 9001 Certification of

Raya Contact Center

On November 4th 2002, Raya Contact Center (previously

Ciranet) was officially certified to the International Quality
Standards of ISO 9001:2000. The first call center in Egypt
and the Middle East to acquire this certification, Raya
Contact Center succeeded in breaking the local market
barrier and going into mainstream competition with countries
such as India, Philippines, and Ireland. With major accounts
such as Microsoft, Miraco Carrier, and Mc Donalds, Raya
Contact Center’s Quality Management System (QMS) has
a focus on delivering tangible business results to the clients.

Raya Newsletter 12
Bulletin Board

Tele-Services
on the Rise in Retail Banking

In view of the rising importance of call centers in retail

Raya Contact Center delivered a session entitled“ Call
> Services for Retail Banking” in Egypt’s Retail Banking &
Consumer Finance Conference.
banking, Raya Contact Center participated and exhibited
in Egypt’s Retail Banking & Consumer Finance Conference
on the 13th & 14th of January 2003. The event was
organized by Egypt’s International Economic Forum (EIEF)
and succeeded in attracting Egypt’s leading banking and
financial institutions. A pioneer in call center outsourcing
services, Raya Contact Center delivered a session entitled
“ Call Services for Retail Banking”, addressing the evolution
of customer interaction technology and models. The
session further highlighted a tailored business model for
retail banking based on Raya Contact Center’s know-how
and extensive experience in this sector.

Guaranteed Prizes...
With Starnet Bank

A mobile phone! Or a scanner! These are the prizes you can claim if you
join “Starnet Bank”. “Starnet Bank” is a new program by Starnet offering
prizes to its free Internet number 07770666 users who exceed a certain
number of hours. As the name suggests, “Starnet Bank” doesn’t rely on
luck. Instead, the number of hours that you spend on the Internet get
translated into points that you can use to obtain your prizes. The more
points you accumulate, the higher the value of the prizes that are delivered
to your doorstep. Access Starnet’s website at www.starnet.com.eg for
more information about “Starnet Bank”.

Multi-Messages from South Africa

Last December, Protech’s top management flew to South Africa to
attend Nokia’s semi-annual partners summit. The three-day summit
focused on Nokia’s strategies for next year; expected launches as
well as the latest developments in the telecommunications & mobile
industry. The highlight of the summit was the live demo of Multimedia
Messaging (MMS) applications. The participants joined in a contest
to take snapshots using the built-in camera in Nokia’s latest imaging
phone, Nokia 7650. They were able to send them to a central MMS
board setup within the conference area. All participants, including
representatives of the Egyptian press as well as of both operators
in Egypt, agreed on the great potential of such services; expected
to be available in Egypt soon.

Raya Newsletter 13
Trends & Technology

e-Billing:
A Wider Perspective
The economy has changed drastically over the
past year causing demand for cost reductions
and quality customer service to become today’s
business drive. Organizations not only compete
in service offerings, but also in how they deliver
theses services to their customers in the most
cost effective and efficient way.
Electronic bill presentation and payment once seemed like
a “can't-miss opportunity” for many billing organizations,
especially for industries such as telecommunications and
utilities. In addition to providing an enhanced customer
service, enabling the customers to view and pay bills online
would drive enormous savings in print, mail and collection
costs.
One way for billing companies to extend services to a
wider, more diverse customer base, is through banks
offering electronic billing means such as Automatic Teller
Machines (ATMs) , Interactive Voice Response (IVR), and
Internet & mobile banking. Providing customers with these
new outlets and mechanisms for automated bill payment
remarkably reduces the enduring burden of traditional
billing methods on the customers. It further benefits billing
companies through efficient money collection means and
provides banks with a new income source derived from a
revenue share percentage on the collected amount.
The fundamental drivers behind any customer-focused
initiative should be to identify, acquire and retain profitable
customers — with the emphasis on retain. Statistics
repeatedly show that it costs far less to retain a customer
than to acquire a new one. The more of an institution’s
services a customer makes use of, the less likely he or
she is to switch loyalties.

Providing customers with

new means for automated
bill payment settlement
remarkably reduces the
enduring burden of
traditional billing methods

In Egypt, most of the telecommunications companies are

providing e-billing service through their website. These e-
billing services are gaining more acceptance everyday,
though their use is still limited to credit card holders who
have Internet access and trust in online payment. Despite
the government’s and banks’ attempts to increase the
number of Internet users and credit card holders
respectively, the ratio of e-billing use that relies on the
Internet alone is far less than 1% of the total bill values.
This low percentage undermines the e-billing cost benefit
for companies.
It’s precisely such add-on services that enable banks to
become providers of the services that high-value customers
have come to expect — and that are also of increasing
interest to young, technology-literate, middle-income
customers. Expected to evolve dramatically in the next
three years, adapting e-billing services is definitely a win-
win situation for billing companies, banks, customers and
IT corporations alike.

Contributed by
Hisham Ali

Hesham Abdel-Hafeez Ali, is the business development and presales manager at Raya
Software. Backed up by 10 years experience in software solutions, he is currently acquiring
his MBA degree from Georgia State University. His business education and
technical background prompt him to update himself on the latest industry trends and utilize
IT for the benefit of the customer.

14 Raya Newsletter