Sharjah / UAE, Bochum / Germany: 7th June 2011 Sharjah Media Corporation was launched and started its own radio broadcast shortly after the independence of UAE on 31st Aug 1972. The aim was always 'to be very careful and strict in selecting programmes, with paramount attention being given to reflect Islamic high morals and values' (H.H. Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi). The first contact Sharjah Radio made with VCS was in October 2009 when it requested a proposal to upgrade their radio system. This request was quickly followed by the first meeting with Wael Yasin and Torsten Kriening of VCS the following month. During this visit VCS explained the advantages of dira!® Next Generation, VCS radio automation, production and play-out system.

• Ham Radio Software

Dira is one of the systems. System for managing production and playout of audio for “radio” formats. Request through ATOS software catalogue.

The reliability and the highly robust system architecture, proven by the BBC and Deutsche Welle as examples, raised Sharjah Radio' interest in VCS and its business proven radio technology. Impressed with the dira!® software, Sharjah Radio decided that a complete replacement of their existing system was required to meet the technical needs of today and the future. Abdulrahman Ahmed, Head of Engineering of Sharjah Radio, led a very detailed and professional tender process, where VCS was recognised as a vendor for the solution delivered in a ready to use condition. Key factors for the decision towards a dira! Radio automation system were the fully-fledged Arabic language support of the software and the paramount reliability of the overall system that ensures a fault-less twenty-four-seven on air operation. VCS started the project on 21st March 2011, after common project processes were agreed. The focus was on the seamless migration of audio and metadata from the legacy system as well as the integration to the existing broadcast and storage infrastructure.

Only 3 weeks later the system was fully configured in Bochum/Germany. Shipment and delivery of the system to Sharjah was completed by 11th May 2011. Due to the excellent project teams from Sharjah Radio (led by Mrs. Wigdan Nassr Abd-Alrahman) and VCS (led by Michael Pridat and Wael Yasin), the project was successfully delivered on time. Key to the successful delivery was professional project management - keeping focus on the challenging project schedule, structured intensive hands-on training and superb collaboration between the parties. The flexibility of dira!® Next Generation was shown when the system was further configured during training.

This customisation raised a high level of user acceptance for the new radio automation system. In the first week of June 2011, only 10 weeks after the project started, Sharjah Radio went live ON AIR with dira!® Next Generation radio automation system following a very smooth deployment. The system architecture contains two fully redundant all-in-one-servers including storage for the content management system and audio files, two on air workstations, an autorecorder for continuous recording and five production workstations. The system also integrates with the existing HP storage platform. MBS, a division of VCS Aktiengesellschaft, a wholly owned subsidiary of SciSys plc, has been offering solutions in the professional broadcast segment for more than 15 years. It implements turnkey systems for leading broadcasters based on the dira!® and media:fabric® product lines.

Ham Radio Software

Sharjah Radio station acquired its strength and fame due to the prominent programmes that it presents such as 'Shariat Al Nour', the medical symposium and 'The encyclopaedia of the Al Sunna'. Before completing its first year of operation, the station was awarded the bronze prize for its programme 'Victims of Mines' during Cairo Radio & TV festival, in July 2001.