Sakhr Software Company
Sakhr Software Company (Arabic: صخر) is an Arabic language technology company based in Kuwait. It deals with products for the Middle East in e-governance, education, wireless, and security.
The Company currently has 200 employees worldwide. Its research and engineering activities are in Silicon Valley and Egypt, with sales offices in the U.S. (Washington, DC and California), Kuwait, UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Oman, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
History
Sakhr was founded in 1982 by Mohammed AlSharekh after branching out of his computer hardware company Alamiah Electronics by producing Arabic versions of the MSX computers. After nearly three decades in the industry and more than US$100 million investments, it now leads the field in Arabic language machine translation, OCR, speech recognition, speech synthesis, search, and localization.
In 1990, following the first events of the Gulf War, Sakhr relocated to Heliopolis, Cairo. After the relocation, the company changed its approach by terminating all computer manufacturing projects to focus exclusively on developing software products.[1][2]
Sakhr provided Arabic language localization services to the Saudi's Ministry of Education,[3] Egypt's Ministry of Commerce,[4] Oman's Ministry of Education,[5][6] and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.[7]
Dial Directions
In 2009, Sakhr acquired Dial Directions, Inc., a U.S. Silicon Valley software company providing language applications for mobile cloud-computing environments, including wireless carriers, telematics, and “smartphones” such as the Apple iPhone to enhance its market position in the emerging mobile application & cloud computing market.[8][9][10][11][12]
Awards
Sakhr software has won the following International awards:
- eContent Award – Arabic Language Buddy for smart phones (2010)[13]
- Oman Portal – Arab Web Awards (2010)[13]
- World Summit Award – (Screen reader for the blind) (2007)[14]
- World Summit Award – Best e-content (Web Content Translation Engine – Tarjim) (2005)[15]
- Arabian Business E-Achievement Award E-Visionary of the Year (2002)[16]
- Internet Shopper (T4S International Group): Best Arabic Language Supported Site (GITEX Cairo 2000)[17]
- Damtex Middle East Group: Best Arabic Application Development Company (1999)[13]
References
- "الشارخ" التكنولوجي العربي الذي لا يعرفه أحد CNBC Arabia
- The Internet in the Middle East: Global Expectations And Local Imaginations In Kuwait, page 44
- Al-Alamiah Electronics awarded major contract by the Saudi Ministry of Education albawaba
- Sakhr: Making Arabic e-gov a reality albawaba
- Sakhr Software in final stages of completion for Oman’s biggest E-Government educational portal project albawaba
- صخر تضع اللمسات النهائية للبوابة التعليمية في سلطنة عمان Alriyadh
- Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chooses Sakhr Electronic Document Management System albawaba
- "Sakhr Software acquires Dial Directions for mobile devices and services | Sakhr Software Co". AMEinfo.com. 2012-05-03. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- Echols, Tucker (2009-06-30). "Sakhr Software acquires Dial Direction – Washington Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- "Sakhr Software Acquires Dial Directions, Launches Spoken Arabic Translation via Mobile". ArabCrunch. 2009-07-01. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- "Sakhr Software Acquires San Francisco-Based Dial Directions". Silicon Valley Wire. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- Business Wire (2009-06-30). "Sakhr Software Acquires Dial Directions". Business Wire. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- Archived January 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- "Arabic company receives international e-inclusion Award for Disabilities Software | Sakhr Software Co". AMEinfo.com. 2012-05-03. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- "Sakhr's Instant Translation Technology wins World Summit Award for the Information Society | Sakhr Software Co". AMEinfo.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- "Sakhr Software chairman receives e-Visionary of the Year award | Sakhr Software Co". AMEinfo.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- "Sakhr's ArabDox awarded yet another prize | Gitex Dubai (Gitex Technology Week)". AMEinfo.com. 2012-05-03. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- Notes
- Sakhr Software – Arabic Language Technology
- #1 in Arabic Translation by U.S. Government metrics
- Arabic language app walks the talk – Government Computer News
- Etisalat inks deal to bring internet to the blind
- Getting smart on wireless in the classroom
- The Latest App: Smartphone Interpreters
- Speech Recognition iPhone App Translates Arabic On the Fly
- Merger Could Bring Major Tool To Military: Arabic-English Translation Via Cell Phone