Regions' increasing wealth and growing sophistication opens doors to Adve. Advent Software says it's making hay in the Middle East. The portfolio-management technology maker has more than 30 institutional clients in the region including Ahli United, Arab National Bank, Dubai Group, NBK Capital and SHUAA Capital.

"The Middle East has become a very important region for Advent over the last few years where we have seen a significant increase in the demand for our proven and reliable , head of Advent's business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "Having a strong team of industry experts in Dubai that understands the local market has been a key factor in winning new business and developing strong relationships in the region."

Local flavor

Demand for Advent's portfolio- and research-management, trading, compliance and CRM technologies has grown as local firms -- asset managers, wealth managers, private banks and family offices -- look for ways to strengthen their operations, manage costs and improve client service. Advent has clients in many of the Middle East's financial centers such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Riyadh and Cairo.

In the five years since San Francisco-based Advent started doing business in the Middle East, it has had to be flexible in its approach to some markets. Two years ago, for example, it entered into a marketing and sales joint venture with Riyadh-based information technology and consulting firm SISCOM to help it make headway with Saudi Arabian wealth managers.

Most staffers at the Dubai regional headquarters Advent established for itself in 2006 -- including client support personnel, sales representatives and implementation consultants -- are Middle Easterners born and bred. -FWR