Lebanese firm wins ‘World’s Best App’

Dermandar achieves six million downloads so far

'Dermandar Panorama', a Lebanese-made online mobile application (app) that enables users to create and share panoramic pictures, won the ‘World’s Best App’ award, at a global congress in Abu Dhabi on February 5. The hosting organization, the World Summit Award for Mobile Content - WSA-mobile (held within the framework of the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society), selected Dermandar Panorama as the best app for 2012.

The Dermandar company was founded by architect Elie Grégoire Khoury, with the support of the Berytech fund. The company currently operates as an offshore firm with a team of eight developers. “Establishing offshore companies is very efficient for mobile and software developers because they are exempted from taxes which local companies pay,” said Khoury. Offshore firms are not allowed to sell their products to the local market. Local users can only download the free Dermandar Panorama app, which has limited features.

Dermandar Panorama was described as the ‘easiest-to-use panoramic picture app’ by The Wall Street Journal. The app is available for iOS and Android and sold online for $1.99. Since its launch in 2011, it has totaled six million downloads. Khoury said the app generates a very positive cash flow. He said the local market is a much less profitable target than the international one.

The WSA-mobile award offers the firm an opportunity to enter the international IT arena. Khoury said the award is a motivation to enhance the app with updates and extra features.

“We will soon introduce a major new feature which will allow users to print postcards and posters of their panoramas,” he said. The photos will be printed in Barcelona, Spain, and delivered within 24 hours to all countries worldwide. Khoury said Dermandar Panorama will also target real estate developers who can benefit most from its features.