FalconMail for GCC on the Microsoft Store, published by Abtikarat Louis Trading and Services

We do not just say it, we have shipped it

Plenty of companies in the region will quote you for a Windows app. Far fewer have actually pushed one through Microsoft certification and kept it listed. We have.

FalconMail for GCC is published on the Microsoft Store under Abtikarat Louis Trading and Services, our registered name in Qatar, in the Productivity category. It is the desktop client for FalconMail, our own email platform, and the launch post covers what shipped: full mailbox, folder tree, search, and file sharing up to 2 GB with expiring links, in one native Windows window.

That listing is the credential. Everything below is the process we already ran end to end.

What Microsoft Store publishing actually involves

The build is the part clients expect. The publishing is the part that surprises them.

  • Partner Center account. A company account requires business verification against your commercial registration. In Qatar that means matching your CR record to the account details exactly, and the verification pass is not instant.
  • MSIX packaging. Apps hosted by the Store ship as MSIX. The Store also lists EXE and MSI installers that you host yourself, but those forfeit Store signing and background updates, so MSIX is the route we recommend. The package manifest declares capabilities, file associations, protocol handlers, and the identity Microsoft assigns you. Get the identity wrong and the package will not associate with your listing.
  • Code signing. Store-hosted packages are signed with the Microsoft Store certificate on submission. Anything distributed outside the Store needs your own signing certificate, from a public CA or Azure Trusted Signing.
  • Certification. Automated and manual review against the Microsoft Store Policies: crash-free launch, correct privacy policy URL, accurate age rating questionnaire, no undisclosed data collection, clean install and uninstall.
  • Store listing. Screenshots at the required resolutions, description, search terms, category, and market selection. Market selection matters in the GCC: you choose which countries the app is offered in.
  • Updates. Every new version goes through certification again. Version numbering has to be monotonic or the submission is rejected, and a Store-submitted MSIX version must end in zero: the fourth segment of Major.Minor.Build.Revision is reserved by the Store, so 1.2.3.1 is rejected where 1.2.3.0 passes.

A first submission that fails certification typically costs several days, and the report rarely tells you how to fix it. Knowing the failure modes before you submit is most of the value.

What we build

  • Line of business Windows apps. Internal tools for firms that live in Windows: case management, inventory, dispatch, document handling.
  • Desktop clients for existing web platforms. The FalconMail pattern: your web service in a native window, with the operating system integrations a browser tab cannot offer, such as taskbar presence, launch on startup, native notifications, and file system access.
  • Offline-first desktop software. Our ForeThought office suite was built for organisations that cannot rely on a connection or will not put documents in someone else's cloud.
  • Store publishing for apps you already own. If your app is built and you only need it packaged, certified, and listed, we do that alone.

Why publish on the Microsoft Store at all

For a Qatar business, three reasons hold up.

Distribution without an installer problem. No emailing a .exe that a mail gateway strips, and no IT ticket for every install. Users search the Store, click install, and Windows handles it.

Trust. A Store listing is a public statement that Microsoft has verified the publisher identity and certified the app against its policies. For a company selling to ministries, banks, or law firms, that is not decorative.

Managed updates. Windows updates the app in the background. You stop chasing clients running a version from eighteen months ago.

Publishing does not fit every app. Software with deep system-level requirements or licensing that will not survive Store policy is better distributed directly. We will tell you which of the two you have before you pay for packaging.

Working with a developer in your own timezone

Windows work is often outsourced to teams eight hours away. We are in Doha: same working week, Arabic and English, and a Qatari commercial registration behind the contract. When a submission is rejected at 2am Redmond time, you are not waiting a day to find out why.

For a wider view of how we work with clients, see our guide on choosing a website development company in Qatar, which covers much of the same ground on contracts and expectations.

Frequently asked questions

Do you publish under your account or ours? Either. Publishing under your own Partner Center account keeps the listing, reviews, and analytics yours permanently, and we recommend it. We can publish under ours if you need to ship before verification clears, but a listing cannot later be moved between accounts: it would be resubmitted under yours with a new identity, and existing users would reinstall. We say this up front so you can decide.

How long does Microsoft Store certification take? Usually 24 to 72 hours for a clean submission. Business account verification before your first submission takes longer and is the step most people underestimate.

Can you package an app we already built? Yes. Send us the build. Most existing Win32, .NET, and Electron apps can be packaged as MSIX without changing the application code. Apps that write to their own install directory, register a service or driver, or require elevation do need adjusting first.

Do you build for macOS or Linux too? We build cross-platform where the project calls for it. The Microsoft Store path described here is Windows only.

Is Louis Innovations a Microsoft Partner? A Microsoft Store developer account is separate from the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, and we do not claim partner program membership. What we hold is a verified Partner Center company account with a live listing under Abtikarat Louis Trading and Services. If a tender requires a specific Microsoft designation, tell us which one and we will confirm in writing.

Louis Innovations is Abtikarat Louis Trading and Services (CR No. 173808), based in Doha. To discuss a Windows app or a Microsoft Store submission, contact us at info@louis-innovations.com.