Video: A new dawn for Oman - digital delivery - thanks to MMG

Energy Saturday 23/June/2018 22:14 PM
By: Times News Service

Muscat: Eshhar, a first-of-its-kind digital distribution service, has been officially launched, and Oman’s Minister of Information was there to help launch the revolution.
The new online company aims to cut paper waste and provide a digital alternative - and the orders are already flying in.
His Excellency Dr. Abdul Monem bin Mansour Al Hasani, Minister of Information, was quoted as saying, following Thursday’s launch ceremony, “Firstly, we congratulate Muscat Media Group on this new service and experience in the field of media within the Sultanate. The addition of a new virtual media platform, I believe, is not only an addition to the establishment itself but, rather, to the field of media, as a whole. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, by keeping pace with the future, which predicts a great deal to take place in the virtual world and, secondly, we have a large number of paper publications that we face difficulty in moving away from. This is another thing, this product is environmentally friendly and widespread. We believe that access to the world through this platform is a great opportunity for the group, which we hope will develop this platform, as well as follow suit with other platforms, Allah willing.”
His Excellency went on to say, “There is no room, under all circumstances at present, for media institutions, whether press, television, or radio institutions, to enter the virtual world without maintaining a strong presence, or they will otherwise be ignored by their audiences. The future predicts many changes in the world of media, and therefore media organisations are required to have a strong presence. We believe that Muscat Media Group is playing its part in this regard and is preparing itself for the future. We believe that there are many more platforms that this institution will expand into.”
Regarding the digital distribution system, Ahmed Essa Al Zadjali Chief Executive Officer of MMG said, “Eshhar is an innovative idea that has been applied for the first time in the Arab world. It is a product that depends on overcoming traditional thought and is advanced, modern and even futuristic. The idea is a digital distribution project in the virtual world, to help those wishing to spread publications, whether newspapers, magazines, books or flyers, without the need to print them. All they are required to do is provide us with the design of their publication, define their target audience and the regions to which they wish to publish, and we will help them achieve their goal with ease.”
Al Zadjali added, “Through this unique product, no one needs to print or to pay money to a printing press, nor wait and think about how to distribute their product.”
Additionally, Eshhar is environmentally friendly, as it cuts down on printing, as well as the amount of paper and ink thrown away in the streets and roads, which then needs to be recycled. It is well known that paper requires the most amount of water when recycled.
Ahmed Zadjali went on to say, “Our group has been moving to digital and modern media for years, surpassing paper and print. In the beginning there were some who thought that we were joking or that we were from outer space. Today, we have proven that we were the most forward-thinking by aspiring to reach broader horizons with our vision, so we find that while press and media institutions suffer from material problems, cutting back on their expenditures, and the closure of publications over dozens of years, we are now planning to launch Meshary, along with other institutions and channels.”
“Here we were, a few weeks ago, when we opened T FM and Shabiba FM, we were launching a giant pioneering project and we looked forward to being the largest and most valuable addition to the community, across all of its various institutions, from ministries, educational institutions, companies, individuals and everything related to the distribution of different publications, as we will make everyone dispense with such publications - at the touch of a button - and even achieve better results with significantly lower budgets, and save a lot of effort and money with them.”