Link Development, the software development subsidiary of LINKdot-NET, has announced it is to open its first European sales office in Italy.

The new office in Rome will enable the company to build its European client base following a number of recent successes across the continent. 
This expansion puts Link Development in the privileged position of being one of very few Egyptian IT companies serving the European market - a trend that is steadily growing as Egypt’s IT potential gains more exposure on a global level. 
“With more than a decade of experience operating in the Middle East and Africa, Link Development has become the partner of choice to large multinationals seeking IT outsourcing (ITO) such as Microsoft, Intel, Pfizer and Schlumberger,” said Hanan Abdel Meguid, Link Development CEO.
“We are now moving Europe to a higher position on our radar screen to meet growing demand from companies who recognise the advantages of working with Egyptian companies and their talent pool,” she adds. “The strong track record and the international recognition our work has received through awards and certifications gives us the confidence to plan for similar success in Europe.”
The company is a world-class provider of e-solutions with a focus on portals and intranets, e-commerce, enterprise inte-gration, Microsoft CRM implementations, helpdesk dolutions, unified communi-cations and IPTV.  Furthermore, it has built substantial experience in the telecom sector, developing value-added services such as messaging and collaboration services, IPTV and digital rights management.
As one of the largest software development houses in the Middle East and North Africa region, Link Development has built an unrivalled portfolio of award-winning work and a substantial client base in countries as diverse as Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Algeria Mauritius, Kenya and Malawi.
Having achieved this position at the forefront of the industry in the region, the company set its sights on entering the European market and has consequently studied its requirements over the past few years. In order to build its profile on the continent, active participation in leading European trade shows has been on the company’s agenda, with Cebit being a major platform for exposure for the company in the last three years. It has already begun building a European customer base, having recently delivered large offshore development projects to Greece and Italy.
The company has also worked in partnership with Microsoft over the last 10 years, and has been a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in five competency areas for more than eight years. Its continuous focus on training and certification has enabled it to achieve ISO 9001:2000 and CMMI Level 3 certifications, and to have more than half of Microsoft’s most valued professionals (MVPs) in Egypt. The skills of its 270-strong team of software professionals cover areas from software development and design to project management and quality engineering.