Dubai, UAE, May 30 2011 - Sharp Middle East has announced the expansion of its Business Solutions Division (BSD), with an increased focus on office automation solutions for 2011/12.

The Japanese technology giant is also expanding its key focus markets around the region for its BSD solutions, with a greater breadth of coverage in the Middle East and Africa.

Sharp Middle East's BSD General Manager, Tomoo Shimizu, said: "The Business Solutions Division is at the core of Sharp Middle East's operations. By growing our BSD team and increasing the number of key markets it operates in, we will quickly work towards reaching our targets outlined for this year, especially in two of our key focus areas - Multi Function Printers (MFPs) and Professional Displays. Our success so far, especially with MFPs, has led us to become a market leader in the segment, however we see there is still much room for growth and improvement."

The BSD team has expanded from six to 19 people, all working toward driving Sharp's business solutions, with a further six to be recruited. The members of the team are all technology professionals with a robust background in office automation, each with around 12-15 years experience in the field.

Following its establishment in 1998 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, Sharp Middle East FZE has continually grown in size and now serves more than 60 countries. These key markets include the GCC, several countries in North Africa such as Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, and the large African markets of South Africa and Kenya.

Key BSD Solutions

The core areas for the BSD in 2011 include Professional Displays which utilise Sharp's LCD technology to provide businesses with a full range of digital panels and monitors. This includes the world's largest LCD panel, the LB-1085 108 inch display, and the 60" PN-V601 with ultra slim bezel, allowing for seamless screen walls to be constructed using up to 25, 60" monitors with internal zoom.

Managed print services and document management are at the centre of Sharp's printing solutions, another key are for the BSD. These systems improve businesses' efficiency through careful tailoring to each company and their print and copy requirements.

Focus for business printing solution is also on getting customers in the region to make the switch from black and white to colour machines.

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