Company Profile

Company Profile

Founded in 2002, Nattiq Technologies was created primarily to address the core problem of Arabic-speaking blind people in the Middle East: they were denied the ability to actualize what we believe is everyone’s God-given rights of privacy and independence. For most blind people in the western world, these rights are realized through the utilization of computer and communication technologies. While screen reading technology and hardware Braille devices had been available for decades in the west, no such high quality and affordable tools were available in the Arabic market.

Since day one, Nattiq has worked around the clock to provide the blind in the Middle East the tools to affect the realization of their privacy and independence through the use of data and communication systems.

The most immediate and serious problem facing the Arabic-speaking blind was quality, language-appropriate access to devices like computers and mobile phones, used in the everyday world of work, study and general communications. By forging strategic alliances with industry leaders, Nattiq was able to bring up-to-date powerful assistive technology tools to the blind users in the Middle East, offering them previously unavailable access to standard computers through the high quality and affordable Hal screen reader for PC’s, and next, with the localization of the mobile Speak screen reader for Symbian phones.

Since that time, Nattiq has continued to grow and diversify its offerings to ensure the Arab blind have access to all the tools required for successful and productive life and employment. From the everyday necessities such as talking watches and canes, to powerful productivity tools such as the BrailleSense Polaris and Handytech Actillino, Nattiq continues to form alliances with leading companies in the assistive technology industry to offer assistive devices to meet the needs of blind students and professionals at whatever stage of life they are in.

As Nattiq continues to evolve, we recognize that there are needs and desires of blind consumers, both in our region and internationally that are not yet being served, for which we are now in a position to provide effective solutions through our multilingual reader machines and accessible navigation products; and most recently, a family of screen less PC’s specifically designed with the blind in mind and customized to each user’s specifications.

By admission of most observers, Nattiq’s entry to the Middle East resulted in creating an industry which has continued to expand at a substantial rate annually, both in regards to company growth as well as social change in terms of the disposition of the blind in employment and society.

About Nattiq: A Brief History

Nattiq was founded in the State of Colorado in 2001. Auda Hazeem, an Arab-American who successfully founded and managed Altura Computer Systems for over 10 years, embarked on a novel homecoming to the Middle East with the daring launch of Nattiq Technologies in a competitive environment where blind users don’t receive formal government assistance. Influenced by the values of both cultures, Auda succeeded in founding an organization which combines the best values of East and West, attracting both a talented and dedicated group of staff and a very favorable customer response.

Since its inception, Nattiq has worked tirelessly to break the barriers of isolation surrounding the Arab blind by enhancing their privacy and independence through the availability of quality assistive technologies in their native Arabic language; thanks to partnerships between Nattiq Technologies and industry leaders like Dolphin Computer Access, Nuance, HIMS, Handytech, Perkins, Vispero, Index, Acapella, ViewPlus and others. Nattiq continues to handpick partners who understand what it takes to potentially serve over 6 million blind users in its market.

Nattiq has successfully implemented projects with agencies in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Tunisia in addition to serving individual users throughout the region. Nattiq has offered a model of service and empowerment to blind consumers in the region consisting of 22 countries, the majority of whom continue to rely on Nattiq for all their adaptive technology needs. Observers indeed confirm that Nattiq’s entry into the Middle East resulted in creating a thriving adaptive technology industry. Customers in the Middle East choose to do business with Nattiq because it has proven itself as a company with a long-term vision, crafting strategies which put blind users at the forefront in terms of raising awareness about how technology improves the quality of life for them, and seeking their input in to how Nattiq can continue to offer products and strategies that will continue to enhance their empowerment and independence.

Starting from the beginning of 2006, Nattiq began to advocate on behalf of blind recruits throughout the region to local employers, explaining the techniques and technology the blind use to perform various types of jobs effectively. Through these efforts, Nattiq has been able to assist blind consumers in the region in obtaining employment in prestigious organizations, further demonstrating that when given the opportunity, they have the ability to excel in magnificent ways.

Nattiq continues to pursue its long-term goal of empowering the largest number possible of blind and visually impaired people to acquire privacy and independence through the use of adaptive and assistive tools and technologies. Our goal is not to discover what we can do for the blind, but rather, to assist them in discovering what they can do for themselves.

Nattiq is the most trusted organization in the industry as a result. Auda and Nattiq are blessed with a competent team which is motivated by the search for excellence and the love of empowering the blind. Nattiq’s environment is informal and promotes interdependence among team members.

Nattiq also relies on a group of champions throughout the region. Champions are advanced Nattiq product users in whom we have invested training and resources for the purposes of providing training and support in distant or remote areas. Champions help Nattiq offer its solutions more directly, eliminating the overhead required by the placement of branch offices, allowing us to pass this savings back to our customers.

Mission

Nattiq’s mission is to work side by side with the blind and visually impaired people to obtain all levels of privacy and independence through the use of high-quality, adaptive and assistive tools and technologies.