His exclusive software systems generate incredible 3D virtual worlds that allow companies to see into the future. Enigma’s Yashreeka Huq meets Hisham Abdel Meguid, the man behind the revolutionary technology company, Epic Systems.

Hisham Abdel Meguid makes complex and highly technical software systems seem easy. With a knack for translating intricate concepts into digestible language, he can provide his products to business leaders who are often a little less technologically adept than they like to let on. As the CEO of Epic Systems, he’s spearheading a regional technological revolution by providing the software innovations necessary to drive Arab businesses into the digital age.

The son of Esmat Abd El Meguid, former Secretary-General of the Arab League and Foreign Minister of Egypt, Abdel Meguid junior is at the forefront of the information technology (IT) uprising in Egypt. As he explains, “The current prime minister of Egypt has his roots in IT and has supported many new innovations in Egypt, but there is still much more to be done”. Abdel Meguid, a father of three, founded Epic Systems with Hisham Medhat just under a year ago, and they have already introduced software to the local and regional market that promises to transform the nature of business and marketing. After obtaining an industrial engineering degree from Columbia’s prestigious School of Engineering and spending 10 years as an analyst in IBM’s Information Systems department, Abdel Meguid eventually decided to take the leap and set up his own software company. And teaming up with Medhat - the man credited with developing an Adobe Flash Player accessible to local developers in Arabic – was a shrewd move. Abdel Meguid describes Medhat as “the Bill Gates of Egypt”. He knew Medhat would have the creative and technical expertise needed to start a successful IT company. “My business savvy paired with Medhat’s technical know-how make us a force to be reckoned with in the local IT industry,” says Abdel Meguid.

Amongst Epic’s software applications is the Virtual Active 3D. Designed primarily for real estate companies, it allows clients to view a potential residential or commercial property purchase from any perspective, with any added amenity they could possibly desire. “If you would like to see your new summer villa with beautiful marble flooring instead of traditional oak flooring, it is only the click of a button away with my revolutionary software,” Abdel Meguid explains. Small changes to a virtual tour - the type of tweaks that would typically take a real estate company several days to render for a brand-new animation - can now be applied on the spot. The added efficiency ensures the benefits far out-weigh the costs.

Meguid also dips his hands into statistics and economics by providing companies interested in data collection - typically advertising agencies or public relations firms - with a riveting program dubbed ‘Trend Compass’. The program takes bulk numbers and churns them out onto an animated graph. It unveils the beauty of statistical time series by visualising these boring numbers as enjoyable, animated and interactive motion charts. This helps decision makers to take the right decisions in a potentially reduced time. As well as showing the independent and dependent variables on a typical X-Y axis, the animation takes account of a host of other variables (thus breaking the traditional two axis barrier chart), allowing the graph to change over time through the use of captivating motion graphics. It’s the type of imagery that’s immediately comprehendible to the non-numbers-oriented clients that often walk through a company’s door. The program is approved by Princeton University’s Institute for Advanced Study and currently only Google and Epic Systems offer such advanced data visualization software. The software, available for a free trial on Meguid’s website, actually contains more complex features than Google’s software. “The time is now for technology to hold a higher priority for the region,” says Abdel Meguid. He’s already sold the software to a host of advertising agencies in the Arab World and even the Egyptian government requested a version. “The government made a well-informed decision buying our software and I hope they will use it to better the country,” he says. In the meantime, Abdel Meguid and his epic technologies are busy bettering international business.

Epic Systems
Tel: + (202) 374 936 19 - Mob: 012-3212500
Address: 43 Degla St., Higaz Square, Mohandessen
www.epicsyst.com