From a vantage point, Munir’s invitation to entrepreneurs and influencers resonated as a call to capture the immense potential that this region offers. The MENA region isn’t just a market; it’s a realm of untapped possibilities and opportunities that a very few have taken up so far. Now, it is ripe situation for this region to prosper digitally and in an unprecedented way. Just for example, the .AE ccTLD landscape grew over 20% in the last year itself. Making it the fastest growing TLD in the region. This presented a golden opportunity for Digital Marketing, Domain, Hosting and Cloud services, Social Media agencies and Blockchain companies to establish themselves and get a head start.

Munir Badr’s presence on the summit stage was nothing short of remarkable. He shed light on the intricate tapestry of DNS and Domain Names in the MENA region, bringing forth a wealth of data and trends that highlighted the monumental growth potential lying beneath the surface. AEserver’s towering influence in the MENA region was palpable as Munir shared the stage. His presentation was laced with the company’s dedication to innovation and empowerment, reflecting AEserver’s role as a beacon for businesses and individuals seeking to navigate the domain landscape. AEserver in itself is the largest Private Domain Name Provider in the UAE.

What truly stood out was Munir’s commitment to actionable insights. This wasn’t just another talk—entrepreneurs and influencers were offered a rare opportunity to engage with a visionary leader who not only shared knowledge but extended a helping hand to those looking to tap into the MENA market’s immense potential. For those who missed out on the London Domain Summit, fear not! Munir Badr’s passion for growth and collaboration isn’t limited to the event stage. If you’re looking to dive into the nuances of the MENA domain landscape or seeking expert insights, don’t hesitate to connect. The conversation is ongoing, and the opportunities are boundless.

To be honest, his articulation was personal which showed how much he believes in the future of the region. It served as a gentle reminder to work what you love and his speech was well received with a round of applause.

The post London Domain Summit: AEserver’s CEO Munir Badr Promotes the MENA region and .AE domains appeared first on Domaining.ae.

As the premier domain industry event in the MENA region, Domain Days aims to create a platform for domain investors, registrars, registries, monetization, and traffic experts, web 3.0/blockchain domain enthusiasts, hosting/cloud providers, SaaS providers, and industry enthusiasts to connect, collaborate, and stay updated on the latest trends and innovations in the domain industry.

Domain investors will have the chance to explore emerging market trends, gain valuable insights from industry leaders, and discover new investment opportunities. Registrars and registries will be able to showcase their services, forge new partnerships, and expand their network of clients. Monetization and traffic experts will have access to cutting-edge strategies for maximizing the profitability of their domains, while web 3.0/blockchain domain enthusiasts will delve into the world of decentralized domains and explore the potential of this emerging technology.

Hosting/cloud providers and SaaS providers will showcase their innovative solutions for domain management, security, and performance optimization, enabling attendees to discover the latest advancements in the field. Moreover, industry enthusiasts will have the chance to immerse themselves in the domain industry, expand their knowledge, and connect with like-minded individuals who share their passion.

Domain Days will also provide a platform for fruitful discussions on the future of the domain industry, addressing topics such as the impact of emerging technologies, the evolution of internet governance, and the potential of artificial intelligence in shaping the domain landscape.

Early Bird Registration here: https://www.domaindays.com/#/buyTickets?promoCode=earlybird

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The rapid increase in .ae domains reflects the growing interest of government bodies, businesses, and individuals in utilizing the national domain for its several benefits, such as local credibility, regulatory compliance, and intellectual property protection.

The .ae domain has several features, including the availability of distinct names, exceptional user experience, and easy and quick registration. Emiratis can easily register their domain names and other activities within minutes through the list of accredited registrars approved by TDRA. It provides peace of mind in the security of the registration process.

The director of TDRA, Abdulrahman Al Marzouqi, reinforced the importance of registering emiratis in .ae domain names. He said UAE’s economy provides a competitive advantage for businesses and individuals that utilize a .ae domain, as it ties them to this economic strength. It brings confidence to customers and partners that own the domain. Moreover, there are other benefits, including the possibility of acquiring a name relevant to the nature of the business or brand identity. Currently, 23 accredited companies compete to provide domain registration services at competitive pricing and various service options.

Read more on: AEserver Blog
Another great article about Premium .AE Domains

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Entrepreneur Middle East organizes a number of events every year to honor and support startups, SMEs, and digital businesses in the MENA region. They provide an exciting opportunity to showcase and celebrate the innovative and impactful work of e-businesses in the region. At these events, some of the most significant entrepreneurs in the area exchange ideas, talk about difficulties, and network.

Entrepreneur Middle East honor, celebrate, and acknowledge the most notable and successful people and companies shaping the region’s e-business environment at the Entrepreneur E-Business Awards ceremony. The awards were presented in 30 categories, with tough competition within each category. And only 28 winners were crowned for their projects, innovations, initiatives, and individual efforts.

Now for the surprise news, we are honored to announce that AEserver was nominated for this year’s E-business awards hosted by Entrepreneur Middle East. We are not only a nominee but also the winner in the ‘Best E-Solution Provider Of The Years’ category. The category seeks the best tech solution targeting Middle Eastern SMEs. The winner for this category is supposed to be best-in-class e-solutions that are creative, easy to integrate with the best customer service experience, And AEserver proudly fulfilled these criteria.

Read more on AEserver Blog

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We spoke to Munir Badr, founder & CEO of AEserver. While based in the United Arab Emirates, AEserver operates with customers from all over the world, has a strong presence and footprint in the MENA region, and is currently the largest privately owned accredited .AE domain name registrar by market share. In our interview, Munir not only gives us a lot of insights into the world of .AE, but also about the people in Dubai using these domains and under which conditions the domain landscape has developed there.

1.    Hi Munir, please tell us more about who you are.

My name is Munir Badr; I am the founder & CEO of AEserver.com (AEserver) – a UAE-based company that I started in 2005. Today, AEserver is the household name for domains, web hosting, productivity applications, cloud services, and other web presence solutions and is a critical player in the Middle East.
I have been a UAE resident since 1996; this is my home where I live with my family.

2.    Which TLDs are of particular interest to your customers and your business?

.ae is the ccTLD for the United Arab Emirates, the most popular and widely used local domain (or ccTLD) in the Arab region with over 250,000+ active registrations. In addition to .ae domains, AEserver offers other regional domains such .QA (Qatar) and .BH (Bahrain). The list of available domains is not limited to the local ccTLDs: we support hundreds of popular extensions, including the well-known .com, .net, and a wide variety of new gTLDs such as .email, .online, .photography, xyz, etc.

3.    You have a deep passion for .ae domains, which are available since the early 90ties. Tell us about your first experiences and where this enthusiasm for domains and the .ae TLD came from.

The United Arab Emirates has been booming in the oil, construction, real estate, and hospitality industries. This created a sweet spot for the digital world. The overall growth of this region fueled my passion, and I wanted to mirror this growth onto the national domain name, the .ae. We experienced a tremendous expansion through international clients seeking to start in the UAE’s market and they would naturally look for the matching .AE domain name for their brands.
We offered an easy, all-digital process, including a local representative service to register .ae domains via our website. Seeing happy clients getting the name they want was the best part of my day!
Today, the .ae domain is an unrestricted zone. Any person or business from any country can register a domain name in real-time and host it with any provider. There are no documents or manual action required, just like the .com!

4.    What can you tell us about the domain growth of .ae? Have there been any particular developments and milestones in the last two years?

Earlier this year, the local regulator, The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) which manages the .ae registry (aeDA), announced the registration of 15,000 new names under the national domain (.ae) in the year 2021, bringing the total number of registered names to 237,000 as of the beginning of 2022. This increase confirms the confidence of companies, entrepreneurs, and investors in the advantages provided by the national domain, drawing its strength from the reputation of the UAE as an active economic hub, with its global and regional standing.

5.    A quick research on which companies are online with a .ae domain shows that everything from a small cafe with delivery service around the corner to various services and brands is represented. How would you describe your target audience? Who are the owners of .ae domains?

Our customers include  a young, 100% digital nomads who intends to revolutionize the world, retailers of every nature – a trendy coffee shop, a car body shop, a furniture store selling antiques, and grocery stores – governmental organizations, individuals offering services such as yoga or tennis lessons, large corporations, and businesses operating in a wide range of industries such as constructions, health, hospitality, media, crypto, travel, and others. Thanks to the constant diffusion of digital solutions and services, we have been able to address the constantly evolving needs of a growing community of businesses and entrepreneurs operating in the UAE, the MENA region, and internationally.

To be 100% honest, I find elements of pride and personal satisfaction when customers from the US or Europe rely on AEserver’s solutions for their digital needs: it’s an indirect confirmation of the excellent work done so far.

6.    E.g., in Germany or other European countries, users generally trust their ccTLDs a lot, so having an online presence in the respective ccTLD is essential. At the same time, in the US, not too many companies care about .us. How high is the relevance for companies and acceptance of .ae in the population?

The .ae domain name leads the way here. Plenty of incredible and short names are available for registration at regular prices; hence, this is the first choice for new and existing businesses looking to target the local audience. The name is very trusted as a government regulator backs it. Domain registrants are confident that by booking a .ae domain name, their rights are secured by strict and transparent policies. The UAE is well known for having well-written policies based on best international practices. The registry coined a creative term for this purpose: “If it’s in the UAE, it’s gotta be . AE”.

As in many other countries, brand protection is highly regarded in the UAE. Therefore, it is common for our customers to secure several regional ccTLDs and the most popular international gTLDs (typically .com & .net), ensuring their nascent ideas or existing businesses can successfully scale in the digital space.

7.    What role do domains play in the marketing mix of companies? How vital are domains in the age of social media?

Let me reiterate that while domains still represent a significant portion of the AEserver business, our portfolio of services and solutions is much broader than just domains. That’s key to addressing the variety of customers’ needs who have embarked on their digital journeys. Let me share two examples: a nascent and an established and growing business.

Choosing the right domain is critical when incorporating a new idea. As mentioned before, brand protection might translate into identifying several permutations of the domain name with necessary extensions. Over the years, new domains may be added to the original portfolio: more realistically, though, as the business matures and evolves, other digital services become more central and relevant to running the operations successfully. Back-up solutions, productivity tools, CRM services, and security products are a few of the logical additions a growing business should consider over time.

At AEserver, we address all these needs according to the evolution of an existing business, providing the right tools and – even more relevant –super professional customer care, often the killer feature.

8.    Now we’re building the bridge to the secondary markets: Are there still good .ae domains to register?

The short answer is yes. The number of .com domains is close to 175M, meaning 175 million different names (and URLs) with a .com extension. Therefore, the sky is the limit for .ae! While all the two letters and most of the three-letter names are taken, there is an ocean of great dictionary words. There is also an increased demand for .ae domains in the aftermarket. This can be witnessed by plenty of sales that have been reported to the public, and some names have fetched as much as mid-six figures USD$, which by the way, have been completed over Sedo’s platform.

9.    How do you rate the performance of .ae domains on the international secondary market?

The performance on the aftermarket has gone through the roof during the last 12 months. There have been two 6-figures publicly reported for sales: binance.ae for $300,000 and auto.ae for $101,000. However, most of the other sales remain private as we sometimes notice our clients doing internal transfers of domain names to another party, and they mention the reason as “sold” when new ask.

Overall, there have been over 100+ public reported sales in the .ae aftermarket; the average sale price was around $13,000.

10.    When we meet people at trade shows and conferences worldwide and explain our business model – domain trading – we always meet people who don’t know that you can buy and sell domains on the secondary market. What are your experiences with the public knowledge of a primary domain market and a secondary domain market in the Middle East?

I guess that the situation doesn’t differ from any other advanced market. Awareness is high among industry experts, probably average in large organizations, and low among end-users. Educating our customers is one of our goals at AEserver. We regularly produce original content on various subjects to inform our customers and provide inspiration. We will soon make broadly available a series of articles to introduce, educate and explain the benefits and opportunities offered by the secondary market offering concrete examples and a detailed How-To guide to remove upfront any fear and doubt on how to operate in this space. It is also important for clients to correctly interpret the rule & regulations of owning a domain name to be sure that the rights & the investment are protected.

There is an increasing demand for valuables & digital assets such as unique mobile numbers, short number plates, NFTs, etc. It’s just a matter of time for the domain names to become a popular asset to own and showcase!

11.    What advice do you have for businesses that need a .ae domain, and what advice do you have for investors looking to add .ae domains to their sales portfolio?

Let me share with you one of the many unique traits of the UAE & the region: Fancy Plate Numbers. Local drivers are willing to pay premium prices for car plates with distinctive combinations of letters and digits. In 2021, a bidder paid over $10M for a single-digit Dubai plate. So, my first advice would be to be creative and descriptive at the same time, knowing that an efficient SEO strategy starts from a well-conceived domain name.

If what you have in mind has been previously registered by someone else, don’t be afraid and carefully evaluate your options in the secondary market. Investing in the right domain name is a wise marketing move with positive repercussions and ROI over time.
Brand protection is another suggestion, focusing on current and potential future interest and expansion geographies.

The last utterly unbiased advice is … doing business with AEserver!!!
As mentioned above, there are still names available to register at AEserver and already registered names avalaible for sale: See the full list here.

Thanks Munir for taking the time and sharing your knowledge with us!

Read more from SEDO

The post .AE: The new star in the ccTLD sky: Munir Badr from AEserver shares insights about the new popular extension .AE appeared first on Domaining.ae.

Dubai: The good news first – Organizations in the Middle East are containing data breaches faster and more effectively than they have been used to. And here’s the bad bit: the costliest breaches – and they still happen – are costing regional entities up to $9.6 million.

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During the forum, Mohammed Al Hebsi, Acting Director of the Literature Department at Dubai Culture, stressed in his opening speech the importance of the role that digital publishing plays in the literary field, saying: “In light of the rapid technological development witnessed in our world today, digital publishing has become an essential link in the world of culture and the dissemination of knowledge. It plays an important role in enabling writers to publish their literary productions and making them available to the public on a large scale.” He also attributed the significant contribution of digital publishing to the love of reading and knowledge among society members, especially the younger generations, thanks to the advanced means that make reading more interesting.

Al Hebsi indicated that the forum is the first-of-its-kind in the emirate, as it is the first event that was held at the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, which represents Dubai’s cultural front and is characterised by the latest digital technologies it employs and its digital transformation lab, which incubates more than 4 million books for adults, children, researchers and readers.

Read more on: Zawya

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This increase confirms the confidence of companies, entrepreneurs and investors in the advantages provided by the national domain, drawing its strength from the reputation of the UAE as an active economic hub, with its global and regional standing.

Commenting on these figures, Eng. Abdulrahman al-Marzooqi, Director Policies and Programs Department at TDRA, said: “An internet domain and website act as the official presence of an organization or company online, keeping it in touch with the whole world. Since a website is an important asset for any organization, the .ae domain allows the organization to present itself as part of the highly reputable economic environment of the UAE, bringing the organization many prospects for growth and interaction with the world.”

Mr. al-Marzooqi confirmed that the team at TDRA is constantly working on managing the national domain name and facilitating its access to all who wish to make use of it, saying: “The .ae Domain Administration (aeDA) is constantly working to provide the best user experience and the necessary support services through authorized agents, where registration is fully automated and processed without human intervention in just a few minutes, which positively reflected on the .ae turnout, as shown by the figures today.”

TDRA pointed out that “.ae” aims to enhance leadership of local companies and support strategies of organizations in the UAE. aeDA is also working on “.ae” policy development in line with international best practices, as well as providing technical support around the clock, monitoring by the support team and quick communication with registrars and registrants in the event of an emergency.

aeDA was established in 2007 by TDRA in the UAE as the regulator and registrar of the .ae ccTLD., and the Arabic “.” domain name. aeDA is responsible for the control and implementation of all policies related to the operation of UAE’s top-level domain “.ae” and ., in addition to overseeing the operation and organization of the registration system in service of all parties.

Read more on Zawya

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New technologies have always demanded societal conversations, and the metaverse is no different, with its ethical implications being put into question now more than ever – Meta, formerly Facebook, has recently pledged $50m for research into practical and ethical issues around its metaverse.

With Microsoft’s $70bn deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, Meta investing $10bn into acquiring and developing both hardware and software VR capabilities, and Google creating a $39.5m private equity fund for all metaverse projects, the metaverse has garnered the support of tech giants who are creating an irresistible, immersive digital world that we are all likely to partake in.

Read more: Arabian Business

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AEserver is an accredited domain name registrar in Bahrain by the TRA of the Kingdom of Bahrain since 2021.

Why .bh?

Create a buzz with .bh, the domain name for any website anywhere.

• .bh is both a country-code domain and part of your online presence that will go as far as your imagination will take you
• A .bh domain makes your web address shorter and more memorable
• .bh announces your presence on a global digital stage

Who is a .bh for?

• Any entity with an online presence
• Individuals & businesses that target the local Bahraini market

There are special sub-domains such as .biz.bh, .edu.bh, or .med.bh reserved exclusively for registrants in Bahrain.

Register your .bh or البحرين. for just BD 35 per year (AED 349 / USD 95)

.bh registration timeline/phases:

The current registration phase for .bh domains are as follows: 2nd January 2022 09:00 UTC until 3rd May 2022 08:59 UTC on a first-come, first-serve basis strictly provided the registrant applicant (whether a business, entity, individual, organization) is located or resides in Bahrain.  This is to give priority to Kingdom of Bahrain residents and local businesses and organizations over any international registration.

On 3rd May 2022 at 09:00 UTC, the domain will enter into General Availability and will be available to any individual or business inside OR outside of Bahrain.

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