Computer News Middle East November 2023

ISSUE 377 I NOVEMBER 2023 TAHAWULTECH.COM

TIME TO ACCELERATE OMAR AKAR TELLS CNME HOW PURE STORAGE IS ON A MISSION TO DELIVER AN UNRIVALLED END-TO-END CLOUD EXPERIENCE FOR ITS CUSTOMERS.

DELL TECHNOLOGIES SVP HUAWEI MANAGING DIRECTOR HP MANAGING DIRECTOR

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY DUBAI PRODUCTION CITY, DCCA

EDITORIAL

GONE GLOBAL Our events

The 43rd edition of GITEX Global was another whirlwind week for the IT and technology ecosystem across the Middle East.

The event attracted over 170,000 people, so it’s fair to say that the region’s flagship conference is now truly a global event.

From our perspective at CPI Media Group, it was another incredibly successful week.

It was fantastic to meet, engage and connect with all our customers and partners in a face-to-face setting in a bid to discuss, dissect and digest all the technologies and trends that are going to drive new innovations across the IT landscape in the next 12 months.

The theme of GITEX Global, was unsurprisingly focused on AI, and that features predominantly in November’s edition of CNME through the series of interviews we conducted from the event.

On the front cover we have a brilliant interview with Omar Akar, Regional Vice President CEE-META at Pure Storage.

Talk to us: E-mail: mark.forker@ cpimediagroup.com

He provides a comprehensive overview on how Pure Storage is delivering an unrivalled end-to-end cloud experience for their customers.

Akar covers a lot of ground during our conversation, but a standout from our exchange was the fact that the company was going to take subscriptions to the ‘next level’.

“We are focusing on how we can bring the cloud experience on-prem by deploying the Evergreen//One and Evergreen//Flex subscription services, and with the Evergreen//One solution we are taking subscriptions to the next level,” said Akar.

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The event attracted over 170,000 people, so it’s fair to say that the region’s flagship conference is now truly a global event.”

Pure Storage are also taking their Accelerate forum to Riyadh on November 6th – and we’ll have full coverage of that event in December’s edition of CNME. CNME also spoke to Alaa ElShimy, Managing Director and SVP of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, Middle East and Central Asia during GITEX. ElShimy highlighted Huawei’s strong financial performance in the first-half of 2023, and said their focus at GITEX was all about ‘accelerating intelligence’.

On the topic of Gen AI, ElShimy said the technology presented unlimited opportunities, but called on regulators globally to get together to create a framework and best practices that ensures the technology is used in an ethical and responsible way.

CNME also managed to speak to Peter Oganesean, Managing Director, Middle East at HP, and Jarkko Huhtaniitty, Head of Hybrid Work Solutions, Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa (SEMA) at HP Poly, in an effort to learn more about how their product portfolio is enhancing productivity and providing security to users in our ‘work from anywhere world’.

CNME also caught up with Dr. Joye Purser, Field CISO, at Veritas Technologies during GITEX.

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She provided a fascinating insight into how the cybersecurity leader is leveraging their solutions to help their customers overcome the complexities that exist in the current security landscape.

Shane Grennan, Senior Director, Partner Sales & Business Development, at Fortinet also stopped by our stand during GITEX to give us an overview and update on the evolution of their channel partner program.

AI is a big focus for Fortinet, and Grennan revealed that they are looking to embed AI into all their products moving forward.

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We also have coverage from our Future Enterprise Awards, which was held at Habtoor Palace Dubai on Day 1 of GITEX, so check out our coverage from that to see all our award winners.

We also have interviews with HPE Intertec, Mitel and Living Homes and a thought leadership article from Dell Technologies.

Enjoy November’s bumper edition of CNME. Mark Forker Editor

The Unified IT Management Platform

Cloud Storage Use By Devices

1.11 TB

Local Storage Use By Devices

236 GB

DESKTOP-8LBU6UD Windows Laptop - Main Office Last login by DESKTOP-8LBU6UD\Admin

AUS-EXCH-2019 Windows Server - Main Office Last login by AUS-EXCH-2019\Admin

Ssferlazza-MacOS Mac Laptop - Austin Office Last login by SSferlazza

TAM-CentOS Linux Server - Tampa Office Last login by root

Cisco SG20-50 Switch - Main Office

Server Patch Compliance

85%

TAM-HyperV-Host Hyper-V Host - Tampa Office

DESKTOP-Q88DOQG Workstation Patch Compliance

100%

Windows Desktop - Main Office Last login by DESKTOP-Q88DOQG\CMaterese

SVR-19-HYPER-V Hyper-V Host - Main Office

4512 Installed 8 Failed 2 In Progress

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LE A R N M O R E

CONTENTS

22

26

HP

Pure Storage Cover Feature

10 Said Akar, SVP - Data Centre

Sales EMEA, at Dell Technologies, outlines how the company is focusing on unleashing the potential of Gen AI, but in a safe and ethical way.

HUAWEI

37

22 Peter Oganesean, Managing

Director, Middle East at HP, discusses how their broad portfolio of solutions are empowering users in our 'work from anywhere world'.

37 Alaa ElShimy, Managing Director and

10

DELL TECHNOLOGIES

6 News

CNME rounds up the biggest regional and global developments in enterprise technology, which includes the news that Vertiv has expanded their partnership with MDS SI Group, MOHAP launches the first National Centre of Excellence for AI - and Huawei has unveiled F5G Green Intelligent OptiX Network in a bid to accelerate industry intelligence.

SVP of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, Middle East and Central Asia, is excited about the potential of Gen AI, but has called for greater regulations on the technology.

42

FORTINET

42 Shane Grennan, Senior Director, Partner Sales & Business Development at Fortinet, sheds light on the evolution of their channel strategy and program across the Middle East region - and their increased focus on embedding AI in their products.

48 Georgi Atanasov, Technology Advisor and Acting CTO at Living Homes, provides an overview on their smart home platform that he believes will completely disrupt the smart home marketplace.

48

FOUNDER, CPI Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015)

ADVERTISING Group Publishing Director Kausar Syed kausar.syed@cpimediagroup.com

EDITORIAL Editor Mark Forker mark.forker@cpimediagroup.com

Publishing Director Natasha Pendleton natasha.pendleton@cpimediagroup.com

OnlineEditor Daniel Shepherd daniel.shepherd@cpimediagroup.com

Sales Director Sabita Miranda sabita.miranda@cpimediagroup.com

Contributing Editor SAME & Tahawultech.com Veronica Martin

LIVING HOMES

Published by

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DIGITAL SERVICES Web Developer Adarsh Snehajan

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webmaster@cpimediagroup.com © Copyright 2023 CPI All rights reserved While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

NEWS

Lexar unveils Memory and Gaming portfolio at GITEX Global 2023

John Linden, Co-founder/ CEO of Mythical Games and Former Studio Head of Activision Blizzard (Call of Duty), Joins Oobit Advisory Board

Lexar, a leading global brand in

Oobit is thrilled to announce that

memory and storage solutions,

John Linden, a renowned figure in the

recently unveiled its new portfolio

gaming industry and a pioneer in the

of memory and gaming products at

world of Web3 gaming, has joined its

GITEX Global, the world’s largest tech

advisory board.

event taking place from October 16 to 20, 2023, in Dubai.

The company’s latest product line-up

With his extensive experience and visionary insights, John will play a pivotal role in helping Oobit navigate

and partnering with leading game

includes a new microSD card, internal

the exciting possibilities that Web3

developers and publishers, John brings

SSDs, DRAM, and portable SSDs, and is

gaming and crypto payments bring to

a wealth of knowledge and expertise to

showcased at its stand D1, Hall No.1, of

the forefront.

the Oobit advisory board.

the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Web3 gaming represents the gaming

John Linden shared, "Web3

Lexar’s new products comprising

industry's future, with blockchain

technologies are reshaping how we

Professional GOLD micro SDXC UHS-II

technology and non-fungible tokens

interact with digital assets, creating

Card; Portable SSDs along with the

(NFTs) revolutionizing how players

exciting opportunities for innovation.

Professional NM1090 with Heatsink

interact with digital assets and in-

I am thrilled to join Oobit's advisory

M.2 Gen 5 NVMe SSD; ARES RGB DDR5

game economies. As the CEO of

board and contribute to their mission

Desktop Memory, will be available in

Mythical Games, a company dedicated

of establishing the gateway for Web3

the market in Q4 2023 across the Middle

to building player-owned economies

payments".

East. The products are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of

6

photographers, videographers, content creators, and PC enthusiasts of all levels.

MoHAP Launches Health Sector’s First National Centre of Excellence for AI

“Lexar has established a long history of more than 25 years in

The Ministry of Health and Prevention

developing leading memory solutions.

(MoHAP) has officially launched

By leveraging next generation

the UAE health sector’s first Centre

manufacturing technologies our newly

of Excellence (COE) for artificial

expanded portfolio now offers high-

intelligence.

speed performance combined with

The centre aims to promote the

higher memory capacities, allowing

digitalisation of health data, employ

users to capture, access, play video/

smart technologies to develop health

games and transfer high-definition

capacities and offerings, and establish

leader of the government’s digital

multimedia files at blazing speeds,”

a comprehensive digital service

transformation.

said Fissal Oubida, General Manager

ecosystem providing service users with

of Middle East, Africa, and the Indian

sustainable, innovative, high-quality

Technology Director and Digital Health

Subcontinent, Lexar, said.

services.

Department, said the launch of the

The Ministry announced the

NOVEMBER 2023

Sameer Alkhoory, Information

COE falls within the framework of

COE’s launch while participating

applying best data-founded practices to

in GITEX Technology Week 2023

implement optimal means of strategic

in Dubai, which is being hosted in

planning and decision-making, using

the city from October 16-20. Within

databases to assess and measure the

this participation, the Ministry

performance of health services. This is

is presenting a package of digital

an important element of setting plans

products and up-to-date technical

and policies and ensuring the ideal

systems and solutions to meet

distribution of health resources and

current and future health needs

services to promote the health of society

and solidify its position as a key

and modernise health indicators.

www.tahawultech.com

Mindware Launches MAGIC: Mindware's Aggregation Gateway for Innovation and Collaboration

innovative, and efficient services. It's a testament to the company’s dedication to cross-functional collaboration, risk mitigation, and ultimately, the mission to enhance Mindware's competitiveness in

Mindware, a leading value-added

service; it's a strategic partnership

distributor (VAD) in the Middle East

dedicated to nurturing the growth and

the market.

and Africa, is excited to announce

prosperity of the company’s valued

launch of MAGIC. With this initiative, we

the launch of MAGIC (Mindware's

partners. In essence, the 'Magic' Hub is

are taking a bold step towards providing

Aggregation Gateway For Innovation And

Mindware’s commitment to delivering

unparalleled support to our valued

Collaboration).

well-designed, customer-centric,

partners. This reflects our commitment to

“I am delighted to announce the

With MAGIC, Mindware is embracing a

embrace digital transformation and equip

unified approach to support its partners

our partners with the tools and expertise

and ecosystem through its cutting-edge

they need to succeed in today's ever-

consulting services.

evolving market. We are proud to offer a

This initiative embodies Mindware's

comprehensive range of digital solutions,

commitment to excellence and

technical mastery, and tailored support,

innovation, propelling the tech ecosystem

all aimed at helping our partners achieve

in the Middle East and Africa forward.

The 'Magic' Hub is more than just a

their business goals", said Philippe Jarre, Philippe Jarre, President Mindware Group.

Vertiv extends partnership with MDS SI Group to enhance digital infrastructure solutions

President Mindware Group.

businesses across the region.”

“We are very pleased to extend our strategic partnership with Vertiv. As the Middle East takes center stage to

The extended partnership between

be the next global data center hub,

Vertiv and MDS SI Group reinforces their

companies and industries of all sizes

dedication to delivering cutting-edge

are actively increasing investments in

technology solutions and top-tier support

the region. Vertiv, a global provider of

to businesses in the Middle East region.

critical digital infrastructure solutions

Vertiv has extended five-year

provides an extensive array of programs

strategic collaboration agreement

exceptional on-the-ground support,”

and services to cater to the essential

with MDS SI Group. “This renewal

commented Karsten Winther, president

infrastructure requirements. This will

underscores the strong collaboration

for Vertiv in Europe, Middle East and

empower data center operators to

that both organizations have cultivated

Africa. “As we navigate the dynamic

enhance their operations, fostering

in the Middle East and Levant region

digital landscape, we look forward

greater value with more energy efficient

over the past three decades, consistently

to continuing our journey together

operations,” commented Sami Abi

advancing technology solutions,

towards delivering innovative solutions

Esber, President - MDS SI Group.

offering top-tier products and

that cater to the ever-evolving needs of

Living Homes Unveils a Truly Intelligent AI driven Home Of the Future At GITEXGlobal Living Homes will present at GITEX

Living Homes is opening its

partnership with the software company Musala Soft, part of Qinshift.

Living Homes is an applied Research &

Dubai office

Development lab on a mission to create

in October

the future of truly intelligent homes – by

Global (Hall 29) a vision for a human-

and will be launching its operations

fusing the latest advancements in AI,

centric, context-aware home of the future

in the region in collaboration with the

IoT, Robotics, VR and nature-friendly

with intuitive intelligence that adapts to its

global luxury real estate leader BARNES

design. With its unmatched offering

inhabitant’s emotions.

International. The office will feature the

Living Homes builds a groundbreaking

first of its kind immersive room for ultra-

integrated AI platform for an intelligent

in Hall 29 will be able to take part in an

realistic smart home virtual experience.

home that takes care of its inhabitant’s

unforgettable immersive experience driven

The innovative Intelligent Home of

preferences, emotions, habits and

by technology, design and emotion.

the Future platform is developed in

lifestyle and adapts to them.

The visitors of the Living Homes booth

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

7

NEWS

Global Ultra-Broadband Forum 2023 Sparks 10 Giga Society Discussions in Dubai In collaboration with the UN Broadband Commission, Huawei recently hosted the Global Ultra-Broadband Forum (UBBF) 2023, bringing together international telecom carriers, industry allies,

Huawei unveils F5G Green Intelligent OptiX Network to accelerate industry intelligence

and experts in specific fields.

Their collective mission was to engage in discussions centered

discussion focused on the acceleration of

around productivity-focused UBB

10-Gigabit network development in the

target networks in the age of smart

Middle East and Central Asia, touching

connectivity, all while striving for

upon policy requirements, stakeholder

At GITEX GLOBAL 2023, Huawei

enhanced UBB network performance

collaboration, and the benefits of a

showcased its F5G Green Intelligent

and the maximization of its capabilities.

10-gigabit digital infrastructure. The

The overarching theme for this event

panel featured prominent figures,

OptiX Network scenario-specific solutions that enable industry

was "Connecting Intelligence for New

including Cevat Yerli, CEO of TMRW

intelligence through cutting-edge

Growth." The event served as a platform

Foundation; Alex Lee, Managing Director

technologies and scenario innovations,

for leading technology experts to share

UAE, China Mobile International;

and shared application practices with

insights, discuss innovations, and

Mohammed Bin Ali, Acting Director,

global customers and partners in

engage with industry stakeholders to

Telecommunications Directorate,

various industries.

accelerate the transition towards a more

Ministry of Transportation and

intelligent world.

Telecommunication, Bahrain; and Lin

Industry digitalisation unleashes the

8

standards bodies, regulatory authorities,

potential of optical technologies, while

Over the past year, the UBB industry

the development of optical technologies

has made significant strides in setting

Yanqing, Principal Consultant, Industry Policy Public & Government Affairs,

accelerates industry digitalisation and

standards and conducting technology

Huawei Technologies.

intelligence. Compared with copper

research. However, with the growing

lines, optical fibres are easy to obtain,

integration of artificial intelligence (AI)

have a long service life, and do not

into our daily lives, the demand for

generate heat loss. They are also a

immersive and intelligent services has

much greener communication medium.

risen sharply. This presented a new set

Huawei's F5G Green Intelligent OptiX

of challenges and opportunities for UBB

Network focuses on industry scenarios

networks. The Global Ultra-Broadband

The CXO Summit 2023 - Digital

based on the concept of "OptiX to

Forum (UBBF), an annual event in the

Transformation Simplified was held

Everywhere" and applies innovative

fixed network industry, provided a

on October 18, at the Habtoor Palace

optical technologies to build a secure,

crucial space to address these issues.

Dubai, LXR Hotels & Resorts during

CXO Summit 2023 overcomes the complexities of the everevolving digital economy

Regional leaders, such as

the week of GITEX GLOBAL 2023.

reliable, and simple digital network

Mr. Bocar BA, CEO of SAMENA

Hosted by tahawultech.com, with

infrastructure for various industries.

Telecommunications Council, and H.E.

Cirrus Labs acting as Official Event

Eng. Mohamed Ben Amor, Director

Partner, the forum envisioned as

Enterprise Optical Network Domain,

General of AICTO, played a significant

a venue that allowed attendees to

said, "With the deepening of industry

role in sharing their regional visions

network, share & learn together in to

intelligence, industries pose new

during the forum. Their insights

order to better service future digital

requirements on connectivity. Industry

underscored the importance of

successes.

intelligence, therefore, requires a

considering regional perspectives in

leading F5G intelligent all-optical

the context of global technological

digital transformation provider with

network. Amidst an intelligent evolution

advancements.

offices in the United States, United

intelligent, ultra-broadband, efficient,

Gu Yunbo, President of Huawei

of industries, Huawei will continue to

One notable panel discussion during

Cirrus Labs is a full-service

Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, India

explore scenario-specific innovations

the event was titled "10 Giga Digital

and Canada. Customer-centricity

in industries and work with partners to

Infrastructure for Accelerating a Robust

is a fundamental principle in their

accelerate AI enablement in industries".

& Sustainable Digital Economy." This

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

AVEVA unveils Industrial Intelligence-as-aService (IIaaS) at Aveva World 2023

touch the industrial digital twin and test out sector-expert AI. In their keynote addresses, CEO Caspar Herzberg and Chief Commercial Officer Sue Quense will show how industry leaders are harnessing the power of digital insight to master the connected industrial economy. They will highlight the role of AVEVA’s Industrial Intelligenceas-a-Service (IIaaS) in democratizing information that empowers teams to drive the next wave of sustainable industrial growth.

Caspar Herzberg, CEO of AVEVA, said: "AVEVA Connect is the digital experience delivering access to everything our customers and partners need to design, build, operate and optimize better with industrial

Global industry leaders gather in

offering remarkable insights and

intelligence-as-a-service. Now you can

San Francisco for AVEVA World 2023,

opportunities for industries worldwide.

uncover new opportunities, create a

where AVEVA's innovative IIaaS

More than 2,000 industry executives

living digital twin, from a single asset to

takes centre stage, revolutionizing

and experts will explore more than

the entire value chain across all major

digital transformation. AVEVA's

12 industry tracks, keynotes, and

industries. The clear benefit is that

ecosystem partnerships and portfolio

an immersive expo. With the theme

it boosts collaboration across teams

enhancements promise to drive

"Connect your world", they will enjoy

and organizations, so that you can

efficiency and sustainability in

the opportunity to see AVEVA’s latest

discover new opportunities and make

connected information ecosystems,

industrial cloud innovations, see and

sustainability a competitive advantage.

business model and this is perfectly

Market Shifts : Navigating Tech –

the greatest digital transformation

illustrated and reflected in their

Induced Changes.

challenges and featured insights from

company mantra which is entitled –

In the wake of these speeches the

luminaries such as Abdulla Bader Al

summit then saw a discussion on CXO

Seiari, Chief Executive Officer, Cyber

Innovative Insights which aimed to

50 Defense- Dr. Fatmah A. Baothman,

session, the event started in earnest

discuss core trending topics and issues

Member of the Global Future Council

with a welcome speech by Bruce

facing companies and the industry

on the Future of Artificial Intelligence

Ellsworth, Commercial Attache’,

surrounding digital transformation.

by the World Economic Forum - Ryan

‘Your Journey is our Journey’.

After an invigorating networking

Consulate General of United States of

The climax of the event was an expert

Donley, Vice President of Global

America, Dubai, UAE. This was then

panel discussion facilitated by Mark

Sales ScienceLogic and Sankar

followed by the keynotes speaker

Forker the Chief Editor of Tahawultech.

Kaliaperumal, Managing Director

Naeem Hussain, COO, CirrusLabs, who

com and CNME Editor. The discussion

Accenture.

discussed the topic of Leading Through

focused on topic such as overcoming

Following the panel discussion Zia Rahman, Founder and CEO at CirrusLabs, gave his closing remarks for the CXO Summit 2023 and thanked the attendees for their time. Tahawultech.com would also like to extend our warmest thanks to our Event Partner Cirrus Labs and everyone in attendance who helped make this event a success.

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

9

INTERVIEW

DELL TECHNOLOGIES

UNLEASHING THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION

Said Akar, Senior Vice President - Data Centre Sales EMEA, at Dell Technologies, outlines to CNME what Dell Technologies showcased at GITEX this year, his views on the latest trends and innovations in edge computing, multi-cloud and security.

10

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

S

aid Akar has been a key figure in Dell’s success in Europe, the Middle East and

the African region over the last number of years, and in a candid discussion with CNME, he reveals their blueprint for future innovations as they look to diversify their product portfolio.

“Every year Dell Technologies participates in GITEX to showcase our end-to-end portfolio of solutions that are helping businesses thrive in today’s

11

When we talk about innovation, our innovation index has identified some challenges that we really need to address to make things happen.” digital economy. This year

are heading, and what's

we shined a special spotlight

happening now and, in the

on assisting enterprises

future,” said Akar.

to address the big five

some of the most pertinent

hinder business growth and

challenges within the IT

productivity. These include

ecosystem that they are

the future of work, multi-

attempting to overcome and

cloud, AI, edge computing and

solve with their innovation

security. GITEX is the best

index.

place to get together with

www.tahawultech.com

Akar then spoke about

unsolved challenges that

“When we talk about

our customers and partners,

innovation, the Dell

discuss ideas, understand

innovation index has

their challenges and what

identified some challenges

they would like to achieve?

that we really need to address

In addition to this, they will

to make things happen. One

also learn about our latest

area that we are focusing

products and solutions,

on with our customers is in

what direction the trends

relation to Gen AI, and what it

NOVEMBER 2023

INTERVIEW

12

can do to our digital economy

delivers organization-wide

to differentiate ourselves too.

and life. The multi-cloud

secure access to models

However, customers need to

and edge continue to become

augmented with your data

determine what works best for

more and more important.

that protects and drives your

them and the workloads they

The future of work after the

competitive advantage and

want to apply AI modeling on

pandemic is very relevant,

keeps you in control.

based on the phase they’re in,

as well as security, which is

I would like to quote

otherwise they won't be able

a key subject that needs to

Michael Dell, our founder

to achieve what they want

be addressed in everything

who said: “Every organization

with AI,” said Akar.

you do in technology,

needs to think of AI. If you are

“commented Akar.

not applying it across your

to Akar is that Gen AI from an

He also provided insights

The other aspect according

organization and thinking

infrastructure perspective is

into the latest trends and

deeply about reinventing

massive.

innovations that are driving

things, you are already

their future product roadmap.

behind”.

“The number one subject

Akar said that it has become

“Dell is in a perfect position to help customers navigate AI workloads – we’ve

every customer and enterprise

evident that there is now a

always believed in providing

is asking us about is AI

race against time in terms of

choice and have been doing

but the real opportunity is

how quickly you can embed

it through the various

making it enterprise-ready

Gen AI into your businesses

evolutions of emerging

and leveraging the power of

and differentiate yourself.

technology, including AI,

your own data to supercharge

“In the past, AI was all

understanding the challenges

about predicting an outcome,

that come with them.” added

Gen AI has become very

data processing and analysis.

Akar.

popular because it is easy to

Today, Gen AI can be used in

Additionally, Akar pointed

use and speaks the human

many cases. We are looking

out how Dell Technologies is

language. Many customers

for many ways to use Gen AI

fully committed along with

your organization.

are investing their time and looking at how they are going to use Gen AI to differentiate their businesses. This means moving fast, developing

We are committed along with our partners for the ethical and positive use of Gen AI. We believe technology drives human progress, and so does Gen AI.”

an approach to GenAI that

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

their partners for the ethical

“A lot of customers did it

launched the Dell Native Edge,

and positive use of Gen AI.

wrong and they ended up

which is a software platform

“We believe technology

repatriating from the cloud

that leverages the hardware

drives human progress and

and went back to their private

capabilities we provide for

so does Gen AI. We have

cloud capabilities only.

customers to centrally deploy,

partnered with lots of vendors

However, today customers

manage, and secure their

like Nvidia, and we are the

are asking us to partner with

workloads across the multiple

only one that has an end-

public providers to have an

sites they have at the edge. This

to-end validated design

end-to-end multi-cloud

is very important because a lot

that covers every single

strategy, so they can have the

of businesses are happening

aspect, such as computers,

flexibility to be able to put

at the edge, it's evolving a lot

storage, networks, data

workloads across different

and customers need a simple,

security protection and AI

locations, whether this is

optimized, cost effective and

large language models. Our

their own data centres,

secure solution,” said Akar.

capabilities help customers

co-location, edge or public

in managing and identifying

cloud. They want to be able to

commented that the attack

their data to make it right, as

have the choice to work with

surface has never been bigger,

well as helping customers in

different public providers.

and, at the same time, hackers

terms of implementation”,

Now, this is amazing, but

and attackers have never been

outlined Akar.

it's not easy to do, and this

stronger.

Regarding security, Akar

Akar also gave more details

is where technology plays an

“This is becoming a

about Dell’s edge computing,

important role in achieving

big problem, especially as

multi-cloud and security

such a strategy,” said Akar.

security companies are

Akar pointed out how

fragmented and don’t have

Edge is also becoming a

the right strategy to achieve

with GITEX, and other

very important subject that

this. Customers don't want

customers to demonstrate

customers are keen to take

you to provide another

Dell’s capabilities and how

a look at and see how they

security solution in terms

we can help customers enable

can achieve better outcomes

of applications. They need

their multi-cloud strategy.

through their edge.

another approach, which is

portfolio.

“We've been partnering

Gen AI is going to be another

“In the past, we focused

what we call Zero Trust.

workload that will also

on modernising the core

Zero Trust approach only

be virtualized and run on

data centre, and enabling

allows known, good activity

the cloud. The multi-cloud

hybrid-cloud. While the edge

across boundaries and

strategy was, is and will

infrastructure was growing in

data pipelines. This model

continue to be something

silos of small infrastructure

reverses the conventional

very important. We've been

and became today very

approach of "trust, then

investing since day one in

hard to manage and secure.

verify." Instead, it champions

enabling service providers

We partnered with them

"never trust, always verify,"

and customers to partner with

to give them the hardware

urging organizations not to

everybody in a bid to be able

infrastructure such as

automatically place trust in

to achieve their multi-cloud

ruggedized systems, gateways

any user, device, or network,

strategy. We like the cloud

and end user devices. Those

whether internal or external.

because it is all about agility,

are devices that can be

This means every user,

efficiency, ease of use, and

implemented anywhere at

application and device is going

cost reduction,” said Akar.

any temperature. However,

to be treated as a threat until

customers really need to see

proven otherwise. This requires

highlighted if it is not done

how they can manage this

a lot of integration, discussions

right, then it can become very

from a centralized location,

among with companies,

complex, and can cost you a

implement it and secure

customers, and capabilities”

lot.

their workloads. We recently

concluded Akar.

However, as Akar

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

13

FEA AWARDS 2023

CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE 14

CPI Media Group and tahawultech.com held the Future Enterprise Awards on Day 1 of GITEX Global at the Habtoor Palace in Dubai, which acknowledged and paid tribute to the IT leaders pushing the boundaries as to what's possible when it comes to technology.

Dubai Municipality - Command & Control Centre Best Technology Implementation of the Year in Government

NOVEMBER 2023

HAQQ Network (Islamic Coin) Best Blockchain Infrastructure of the Year

CirrusLabs Best Agile Product Management Practice of the Year

Ingram Micro Best Value Added Distributor of the Year

Raqmiyat Best AI Analytics Solution of the Year

www.tahawultech.com

Vinay Sharma, Gulftainer Digital Transformation Leader of the Year

Omantel Best Technology Implementation of the Year in Telecommunications

Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) Best Technology Implementation of the Year in Government

TP-Link Best Wi-Fi Solutions Vendor of the Year

15

Pure Storage Best Storage Vendor of the Year

Epicor Best Cloud ERP Vendor of the Year

Walid Yehia, DELL Technologies Technology Visionary of the Year

Hamed Obaid Sebait Naseib Areidat, Central Bank of the UAE IT Visionary of the Year

Ministry of Finance - Kuwait Best Collaboration Deployment of the Year

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) Customer Happiness Entity of the Year

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

FEA AWARDS 2023

Trend Micro Best Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity Vendor of the Year

Allied Telesis Best Networking Solution Provider of the Year in Telecommunications

D-Link Best Networking Vendor of the Year

Maya Zakhour, NetApp Woman Executive of the Year

Ahmed Wattar, Alfa Medical Group (AMG) Future CIO of the Year

M.H. Enterprises LLC Best Technology Implementation of the Year in Logistics

DELL Technologies Best Technological Deployment in Education

Fortinet Best Enterprise Security Vendor of the Year

Commvault Best Multi-Cloud Enterprise Data Protection of the Year

Riverbed Best Observability Vendor of the Year

16

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

Fadi Costantine, Sennheiser Technology Rising Star of the Year

Bayview CX Innovation Deployment of the Year

Intelligent Security Systems Best Security Surveillance Leader of the Year

HPE Aruba Networking Best SASE Vendor of the Year

17

Mindware Best Enterprise Value Added Distributor of the Year

Dubai Islamic Bank Best Technology Implementation of the Year in Banking

Taaleem Best Technology Implementation of the Year in Education

Logitech Best Innovative Workspace Solutions Vendor of the Year

SolarWinds Best Software Vendor of the Year (Observability)

Positive Technologies Best Result-Driven Cybersecurity Vendor of the Year

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

FEA AWARDS 2023

Redington Best Cloud Distributor of the Year

Bahaa Indary, Raqmiyat Innovative IT Leader of the Year

Avaya Best Customer Experience Solutions Vendor of the Year

Vectra AI Best AI Security Vendor of the Year

DELL Technologies Best End to End Solutions Vendor of the Year

Cloudflare Best Cloud Vendor of the Year

Orange Business Best Smart Cities Solution Provider of the Year

Cloud4C Best Mission-Critical Cloud Partner of the Year

AVEVA Best Sustainability Changemaker of the Year

Huawei Best Technological Innovation of the Year in Digital Transformation

18

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

IFS Best Cloud Enterprise Software Vendor of the Year

Everdome Best Metaverse Experience Provider of the Year

Veritas Best Cloud Data Management Vendor of the Year

Lenovo Best Hardware Vendor of the Year

19

Omnix International Best Digital Transformation Solutions Provider of the Year

Minnapad Best Web3 Project of the Year

Almoayyed Computers Middle East Best Innovation Vendor of the Year

ServiceNow Best Digital Transformation Vendor of the Year

Dataiku Best AI Vendor of the Year

Barracuda Networks Best AI Email Security Vendor of the Year

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

INTERVIEW

HP

WORK FROM ANYWHERE WORLD Jarkko Huhtaniitty, Head of Hybrid Work Solutions Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa (SEMA) at HP Poly, tells CNME Deputy Editor Veronica Martin, how their portfolio of solutions have been designed to enhance productivity and to provide robust security to users in our new work from anywhere world.

20

W

This enables us to provide comprehensive solutions that ensure effectiveness and security in remote and hybrid working scenarios.

In a global context where only 25% of workers believe their companies will provide the right tools for a successful hybrid work journey, how is HP Poly addressing the unique needs of organisations of all sizes to keep hybrid workers connected, productive, and secure?

We conducted a unique global study called the Work Relationship Index, with the participation of approximately 15,000 individuals from 12 countries, including business

hat innovative

worldwide are enabled for video

leaders, IT decision-makers and

solution

conferencing.

employees.

has HP Poly

The lack of the right tools can

developed

make individuals lose confidence

commissioned to provide

to support businesses and

in going back to the office as

insights that will help companies

individuals in adapting to

they worry about not being able

and leaders successfully navigate

the evolving hybrid work

to achieve the same level of

the changing world of work.

environment, and how do they

productivity as they would when

enhance collaboration and

working from home.

productivity?

We are constantly engaging

The research was

A key finding was the desire for employees to have a say in the technology used at their

Examining the current

in conversations with our

workplace, whether it is in the

market dynamics is of utmost

customers to gain insights

office, at home, or while on the

importance.

into their requirements for

move.

The shift back to office-based

productive and secure work,

This gave us further insights

work has brought to light a

regardless of their location – be

in terms of the solutions that

significant disparity. During

it the office, home, or on the go.

we would need to develop, and

the pandemic, remote work

Our solutions are carefully

guided us in developing tailored

setups became a necessity,

crafted to address all these

solutions, recognizing that a

prompting individuals to create

needs, following a persona-

one-size-fits-all approach was

personalized work environments

based approach.

not going to be effective.

for optimal efficiency.

However, as the workforce

Through thorough research

Understanding diverse work

into various work profiles,

styles is crucial for providing

returns to the office, a clear

we've customized our solutions

suitable solutions, as employee

distinction arises, highlighting

accordingly. Poly’s integration

satisfaction hinges on this

potential operational

to HP has uniquely positioned

understanding.

challenges within the current

the company as the only

office configurations.

one in the market offering

achieving this is pivotal not only

According to a Frost

We strongly believe that

a full spectrum of video

for enhancing a company’s brand

& Sullivan research only

conferencing, headsets, phones,

image, but also for attracting and

10% of the meeting rooms

and computing choices.

retaining talented individuals.

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

calls in noisy environments.

as industry-leading video

Furthermore, at HP Poly, we offer

conferencing solutions,

video framing software that can

cameras, headsets, and more.

intelligently identify the current

In fact, HP stands as the only

speaker in a conference room.

brand in the market offering

Consequently, the video

integrated computing, audio,

stream automatically adjusts to focus on the speaker rather

and video solutions.

The engineering teams

than displaying the entire

from Poly and HP are merging

conference room.

their expertise to develop

Our goal is to ensure that

a seamless, comprehensive

everyone, whether physically

solution, setting us apart from

present or dialling in remotely,

others in the industry.

feels seen and heard during meetings.

A significant challenge in

As an example, we recently unveiled the Windows meeting rooms, featuring HP’s compute

current video meetings is that,

technology for robust and

often times, remote participants

high-performance computing

would feel disconnected from

capabilities.

the discussion happening in the room.

Our software layer,

We have integrated the HP Wolf Security layer, ensuring powerful cybersecurity measures

Could you provide insights

integrated with the

into HP Poly’s hybrid work

hardware, facilitates effective

solutions and services, and

communication, ensuring

complexities of managing

how these offerings play a role

that our portfolio of solutions

security in a hybrid work

in supporting the future of

delivers equal experiences no

environment where employees

hybrid work?

matter where employees work

often connect from external

We've recently introduced a

from - that everyone is both

networks, we have prioritized

range of new products. A couple

seen and heard clearly during

building strong hardware and

of weeks ago, we held the HP

meetings.

endpoint device security within

Imagine event at our Palo

and comprehensive reporting.

Recognizing the

our solutions.

Alto headquarters, which was

How has the merge between

HP has established itself as

attended by members of the

HP and Poly benefits hybrid

a leader in this aspect with the

media.

workers and organizations, and

HP Wolf Security features.

Over the course of this day-

what specific solutions have

The full integration of

and-a-half event, our senior

been developed through it?

Poly and HP has generated

management team outlined

The union between Poly and

considerable excitement,

our strategic vision and

HP bolsters our workplace

particularly as the challenges

direction, and we also revealed

collaboration solutions,

of hybrid work continue to

a multitude of fresh products,

through technology such

be a top priority for senior

solutions, and services.

HP Poly has created cuttingedge meeting analytics tools driven by AI and our dedication to improving communication is clear through features such as noise reduction and voice enhancement.

These capabilities prove invaluable when conducting video

www.tahawultech.com

We are constantly engaging in conversations with our customers to gain insights into their requirements for productive and secure work, regardless of their location – be it the office, home, or on the go.”

management and boards across industries.

Addressing these concerns has become a focal point in our discussions with customers and we are confident that we have the services, solutions and innovations to improve the hybrid work environment for their end-users.

NOVEMBER 2023

21

INTERVIEW

HP

EXPEDITING DIGITAL EQUITY Peter Oganesean, Managing Director, Middle East at HP, spoke to CNME Deputy Editor Veronica Martin, about the company’s mission to empower customers to meet the demands of the hybrid work landscape, the significance of its acquisition of Poly, its proactive approach to sustainability – and its commitment to achieving digital equity.

H

ow does HP's

missing element in our end-

Future Ready

to-end portfolio with the

Portfolio of

acquisition of Poly, a leading

solutions and

company in communication

services contribute to

and collaboration solutions.

enhancing collaboration and

22

Through this strategic move,

productivity in the remote

we elevated our overall value

work environments?

proposition to customers,

The world has transformed

addressing a broad spectrum

in the wake of the pandemic,

of their requirements.

revealing our ability to

This comprehensive

maintain productivity while

offering spans computing,

working remotely.

printing, peripherals,

Our working habits have

and communication and

changed, and our customers

collaboration devices,

are sharing with us their

enabling them to seamlessly

evolving needs, expecting

operate from both home and

us to provide innovative

the office.

solutions that will be able to enable these shifted work

flexibility and the ability

Could you explain the specific

requirements.

to utilize various devices to

features and benefits of HP’s

stay productive wherever

security solutions, particularly

end-to-end portfolio tailored

they are. Our current efforts

HP Wolf Connect, in ensuring

to meet the demands of this

revolve around providing

the safety and security of both

hybrid landscape. This is what

comprehensive solutions

remote and on-site employees

we showcased at this year’s

that enable them to achieve

within the work environment?

GITEX Global.

precisely that.

The hybrid work environment

At HP we have created an

Our goal is to empower

Prior to the pandemic, we

offers significant opportunities

our customers to work

were primarily focused on

but also challenges. As

productively and securely

the computing and printing

customers increasingly choose

from any location, whether

businesses, where we have

to work from various locations,

it's the office, home, a coffee

been industry leaders.

the aspects of productivity and

shop, or an airport.

Modern customers seek

NOVEMBER 2023

As we recognized the world changing, we added a crucial

security take on paramount importance.

www.tahawultech.com

Can you provide insights into HP’s AI focused innovations and how they're shaping the future of the technology industry?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not new to HP. We have AI applications and agents already available on our devices.

We have now rapidly entered a moment when technology is moving at the speed of imagination and creativity has no constraints. The age of AI is going to create new product categories, digital services, and massively improve the productivity in our product categories.

We believe that the biggest growth opportunities are in personal systems.

At HP, we are enthusiastic about the field of Generative AI, which will enable personalized experiences for customers. It will reduce the latency, protect Ensuring the safeguarding

Furthermore, HP has

data, improve the security, and

of devices and data when

introduced an innovative

eventually reduce the cost for

customers connect from diverse

feature, HP Wolf Protect

companies.

locations can be a daunting

and Trace, which offers

Customers’ personal

task for IT managers. This is

comprehensive device

computers are eventually

precisely why, at HP, we offer

security. This feature not

going to become their personal

dedicated assistance in the

only tracks HP computers but

smart companion because with

realm of cybersecurity through

also prevents unauthorized

Generative AI, it can assist,

HP Wolf Security.

users from gaining access to

analyze, and anticipate the

files and documents on the

needs of customers.

Our top priority is to ensure that customers can

network.

HP Poly has also

securely connect from any

Users can also leverage

demonstrated leadership

location. While companies

the capability to remotely

in AI and machine learning

invest significant sums in

geolocate their devices from

technologies by seamlessly

cybersecurity, there's often

anywhere in the world. This

integrating them into audio and

an oversight when it comes to

means that in addition to their

video solutions.

endpoint devices.

personal systems, users can

HP Wolf Security is designed to fill this crucial gap by providing enhanced protection for devices beyond the confines of traditional networks. It complements the cybersecurity measures that IT managers

This integration has

have full confidence in the

resulted in the introduction

security of their actual devices.

of features such as noise

HP’s unwavering commitment to achieve digital equity for 150 million individuals by the year 2030 is evident by our active involvement in a multitude of initiatives globally, and in the Middle East.”

have in place.

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

23

INTERVIEW

reduction, voice enhancement,

Certificate program in Esports

deforestation through

Management, Game Design,

driven cameras, all aimed

innovation, which involves

and Programming, to bring

at enhancing the clarity and

creating products that are best

cutting-edge skills to learners

quality of video calls.

for circularity. On protecting

globally.

human rights, we want to

Available in English and

innovations, HP is embarking

create a culture of equality,

Arabic, the new Professional

on a collaboration with NVIDIA,

diversity and inclusion.

Certificate program includes

In addition to these

becoming one of the first

HP’s unwavering

over 60 curated modules

companies to deliver dedicated

commitment to achieve

designed to prepare learners for

workstation solutions powered

digital equity for 150 million

jobs in the gaming, media and

by the NVIDIA AI Enterprise

individuals by the year 2030

information and communication

software platform in the

is evident by our active

technology (ICT) sectors.

coming months.

involvement in a multitude of

HP covers the full cost of

initiatives globally, and in the

enrollment in the certificate

Middle East.

track for all learners. HP

This venture is poised to establish a new benchmark for the most advanced

24

We want to counteract

meeting analytics, and AI-

Recent instances include HP's

LIFE, is another program,

AI workstation globally,

partnership with Cambridge

where we offer free business

simplifying the process of

for an EdTech fellowship in the

skills training for students,

creating and customizing

Gulf region, the Changemakers

educators, entrepreneurs, and

private AI models.

Challenge—a collaborative

lifelong learners.

initiative with the Expo

We collaborate with our

How is HP actively addressing

School Program designed

partners and HP experts all

environmental concerns

to promote girls in science,

over the world to create highly

through its product design

with the winners earning the

relevant, business-focused

approach, emphasizing

opportunity to present their

courses that are free to use for

energy efficiency, recyclability

ideas at COP28.

everyone, everywhere.

Furthermore, HP IDEA has

There are over 30 self-paced

Additionally, can you elaborate

been introduced, focusing on

free-of-cost courses which are

on HP’s commitment to digital

digital pedagogy for Arabic-

modular, interactive, and full of

equity and the steps taken to

speaking educators.

information.

and responsible sourcing?

There are also practical

fast track this initiative?

The most recent addition

This is one of the most

to our initiatives is the HP

exercises that enable

critical topics that transcends

Gaming Garage, a freely

individuals to develop the skills

beyond business. HP's

accessible online Professional

that can be transformational

ambition is to become the most

Certificate program in Esports

and open up new opportunities

sustainable and just technology

Management, Game Design,

for a successful future.

company by 2030.

and Programming.

We've laid out a robust

This program is strategically

Within the education sector, HP Futures is another example

strategy that extends

tailored to prepare learners

of an initiative we launched to

well beyond products and

for career opportunities in the

shape a more equitable future

encompasses sustainability

gaming, media, and ICT sectors

for education.

across three key pillars:

and is available in both English

combating climate change,

and Arabic.

safeguarding human rights,

Another initiative is around

Developed in partnership with the Global Learning Council, this initiative

and expediting digital equity.

gaming, an area which

engages key leaders across the

The main goal in our fight

is growing exponentially

education ecosystem, from

against climate change is

currently. We partnered with

academia to government, to

to achieve net zero carbon

edX, the leading global online

explore technology-driven

emission throughout the entire

learning platform, to provide

solutions to bridge the digital

value chain.

a new online Professional

divide.

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

COVER STORY

26

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

PURE STORAGE

GOING TO THE ‘NEXT LEVEL’

Omar Akar, Regional Vice President CEE-META, at Pure Storage, tells CNME Editor Mark Forker how its SLA-driven infrastructure is completely unique in the current marketplace, why Pure Storage is leading the industry’s sustainability push, how it is taking subscriptions to the ‘next level’ with Evergreen//One and Evergreen//Flex, and the importance of its Accelerate event in Saudi Arabia.

A

ccelerate is a very

comprehensive overview of Pure

appropriate verb to

Storage’s overall strategic vision

strategy is to help our

describe the intent

for the future.

customers adopt a future digital

of Pure Storage.

The global leader in

Akar kicked off the

“The first pillar of our

infrastructure, which primarily

conversation by re-

focuses on next-generation,

enterprise-grade, all-flash

emphasizing how Pure Storage

or flash technologies. We

block, file, and object storage

is a company that quite simply

believe in the value that all-

is on a mission to deliver

focuses on data.

flash brings to the future of

seamless experiences for its

“We’re a data-centric

datacentres, and we believe

customers in a bid to transform

company, and we firmly believe

that all-flash is playing a key

their data into powerful

that data is the most important

role in driving up efficiencies

outcomes.

and valuable asset that any

for organisations moving

Omar Akar, in his capacity as

organisation has. We tailor our

forward. In addition to this,

the Regional Vice-President for

solutions to be able to manage

it is also helping businesses

the Middle East and Emerging

data throughout its lifecycle,

drastically reduce their

Africa, has become the face of

and most importantly, extract

carbon emissions and energy

Pure Storage in the Middle East.

valuable insight from that data to

consumption, which plays

One of the most respected

help our customers make better

directly into the KPIs that many

and influential IT leaders in

business decisions,” said Akar.

organisations have around

the region, Akar has played

In terms of their strategy,

sustainability,” said Akar.

a key role in solidifying and

Akar disclosed that Pure

expanding Pure’s standing

Storage focuses on multiple

unstructured data had become

Akar said that the problem of

in the marketplace since his

pillars that form the foundation

more pertinent over the last 12

appointment in 2022, and the

of their overall strategic

months, but again highlighted

company continues to go from

approach.

how their infrastructure can

strength-to-strength.

In a region first, Pure Storage is bringing its flagship customer conference, Pure//Accelerate, to Riyadh on November 6th, and ahead of the event, Akar sat down with CNME Editor Mark Forker for a candid discussion which provided a

www.tahawultech.com

We are focusing on how we can bring the cloud experience on-prem by deploying the Evergreen// One and Evergreen//Flex subscription services, and with the Evergreen//One solution we are taking subscriptions to the next level.”

NOVEMBER 2023

27

COVER STORY

28

Pure Storage FlashArray//E help customers overcome that

important. When we say the

have to deploy digital services

problem.

technology will not become

everywhere in the current

“We also focus on how

obsolete, essentially what we

climate. We have witnessed the

we help customers manage

mean is that enterprises will

importance of being able to

their data and provide them

never have to migrate their data

broker services at the edge, and

with future-proof efficient

moving forward and we upgrade

most nations across the Middle

infrastructure that can

customer’s software and

East region are pursuing a

accommodate the current

hardware so their technology

cloud-first approach, especially

application landscape to cater

stays modern” said Akar.

in Saudi Arabia. It’s extremely

for different workloads. We

Akar pointed out that a

important that businesses

have seen an exponential

key remit of every CXO, CIO

have access to a distributed

increase in unstructured data,

and CEO is to deploy digital

multi-cloud architecture,

and this is where being able

services everywhere, and

and are able to move their

to manage and store all of

a critical component to do

workloads seamlessly from

this enormous amount of data

that is a flexible multi-cloud

their datacentres to the public

on an efficient tier, and on

architecture.

cloud, or to the edge to deliver

a technology that will never

“Our second pillar is based

become obsolete is critically

on the fact that organisations

NOVEMBER 2023

better customer experiences,” said Akar.

www.tahawultech.com

In terms of the third pillar

Akar said the updates

in their strategic approach,

to the Evergreen//One and

Akar noted how Pure Storage

Evergreen//Flex solutions

is acutely cognisant of the fact

were taking subscriptions to

that there has been a massive

the ‘next level’. “From a Pure

shift towards cloud-native

Storage perspective, we are

applications.

focusing on how we can bring

“There has been a seismic

the cloud experience on-prem

shift towards cloud-native

by deploying the Evergreen//

applications, such as Kubernetes

One and Evergreen//Flex

and container-based applications.

subscription services, and with

IDC and Gartner have published

the Evergreen//One solution we

reports which have suggested

are taking subscriptions to the

that almost 90% of organisations

next level. It is a real SLA-driven

will have to deploy containers in production by 2026, and 80% of

infrastructure that we deliver

Pure Storage FlashBlade//E

new workloads today capitalise

for our customers on-prem with a real cloud experience.

on containers, so cloud-native

architecture, irrespective of the

Customers will subscribe for

applications are critically

underlying infrastructure and

SLAs without having to worry

important for the future of

the Kubernetes distribution

about the infrastructure they

organisations, and for the

that sits on top.”

are deploying. We’re playing

deployment of new digital

A testament to Pure Storage’s

a major role in enabling this

services that will help the

evolution into a platform

seamless experience across

business grow and maintain

organisation was reinforced

different cloud deployments,”

its competitive advantage,”

earlier this year following

said Akar.

said Akar.

its placement in the Gartner

“However, for some companies, their infrastructure

The conversation then

Magic Quadrant for the 10th

touched on some of the major

consecutive year.

recent announcements that

is not cloud-native and

Pure Storage drew acclaim

have been made by Pure

container ready, and as a

and recognition for its primary

Storage on the //E Family.

consequence, organisations

storage, which stems from

Akar highlighted how all-flash

face challenges around

its ability to deliver a data

can significantly reduce an

persistent storage, data

storage and management

organisations’ total cost of

protection & backup recovery

platform that can seamlessly

ownership.

for containers, remote-

satisfy all customer data

replication and migration, role-

storage needs across a range

that the //E Family was

based security, auto-scaling

of prices and performance via

introduced in order to show

and most importantly, around

the FlashArray™ portfolio,

customers that flash was

being able to provision modern

based on a single, AIOps-

not only suited for mission-

databases to support the

driven management platform,

critical applications, or high-

deployment of cloud native.

Pure1® - all available via the

performance workloads, but

This is where Portworx by

Evergreen//One™ cloud-like

also that it can be deployed

consumption model.

for lower-tier workloads and

Pure Storage can add immense

“It’s important to remember

value. Portworx is a market leading data services layer, that delivers unified capabilities and data services for containers to address all the challenges I laid out earlier. Moreover, we deliver all of these data services across a distributed multi cloud

www.tahawultech.com

We believe in the value that all-flash brings to the future of datacentres, and we believe that all-flash is playing a key role in driving up efficiencies for organisations moving forward.”

NOVEMBER 2023

29

COVER STORY

applications. In addition to this, with all-flash you can drastically reduce your total cost of ownership moving forward,” said Akar.

Akar stressed how Pure Storage is absolutely committed to sustainability, highlighted by recent SLA commitments for Evergreen//One. “There is a misperception here that because the Middle East has traditionally been an Oil & Gas economy that energy costs are not important, and that there is no emphasis on sustainability, but that is not the case at all. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are both implementing a very aggressive plan around sustainability, and there’s a lot of KPIs and cadence around sustainability targets that are being enforced across

30

enterprises, government entities, and cloud service providers.“ “Pure Storage is continuing to invest in helping customers achieve their environmental and energy reduction goals. Since reporting our first sustainability results in March 2022, we have now completed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) across our full portfolio of arrays.

We can deliver between 75% to 84.7% reduction in direct energy savings vs. competitive solutions for the FlashArray// portfolio and between 60%-67% reduction for FlashBlade//S. We also enable companies to use 95% less rack space than competing offerings.

And with the announcement from last month around our commitment to pay for our Evergreen//One customers’ power and rack space costs, we are again disrupting the market, aligning TCO savings and longterm efficiency goals.

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

With Pure//Accelerate Riyadh set to take place on November 6th, Akar also touched on how Saudi Arabia is a key country for Pure Storage, and it has invested heavily in the region over the last number of years.

Akar said Pure Storage is both committed and aligned with the ambitious goals of the economic transformation program Vision 2030.

“Saudi Arabia is one of the top countries in the world in terms of accelerating digital transformation and capitalising

Why customers select Pure Storage: · Improves reliability by a factor of ten over competitors; · Offers two to five times more power and space efficiency compared to all-flash and ten times more efficiency than disk; · Requires five to ten times less manual labour to operate than legacy storage; · Results in at least 50% lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared to competitive offerings of both flash and hard disk; · Enables customers to eliminate the cumbersome challenges associated with hard disks from their environment.

on future technologies to contribute to their digital economy, and that is engraved

there is a huge emphasis on

to talk to a lot of industry

in their Vision 2030 framework.

e-government, and the move

experts from Pure Storage,

At Pure Storage, we are

into digital services, which

but also from our key partners

committed to supporting the

we know is fuelled by cloud

too such as Microsoft, Red Hat

objectives of the Vision 2030

native applications. We want to

and Cisco to name a few. The

program. We are doing this

contribute to accelerating the

objective of the forum is to

by bringing efficient next-

switch into digital services and

come together and determine

generation future-proof

cloud-native applications by

how we can take organisations

infrastructure to host the

leveraging the capabilities of

across different industries to

digital services required to

our portfolio,” said Akar.

the next level in achieving

increase efficiency and remove

Pure Storage is taking its

their digital goals. Accelerate

operational complexities. We

Accelerate roadshow to Saudi

is going to be an event that

want enterprise organisations

Arabia for the very first time,

focuses on what matters

in Saudi to focus more on

and Akar said it was another

for a data-driven digital

innovation rather than keeping

illustration of the company’s

transformation. It will provide

the lights on, and that’s exactly

commitment to the country.

a platform for customers to

what we do by delivering

“We are so excited to take

discuss future technologies

next-generation robust

Accelerate to Riyadh, as it’s the

and talk to leaders from the

infrastructure,” said Akar.

very first time we have taken

technology industry, whether

Akar also touched on the

Accelerate to Saudi Arabia. The

that be from Pure Storage,

importance of the cloud-first

event is comprised of focused-

or other key technology

policy being adopted across the

content on technology and

providers that are supporting

Kingdom.

innovation and it provides an

us at the event,” concluded

opportunity for our customers

Akar.

“We also provide and enable hybrid multi-cloud architecture because cloud has been an integral part of Saudi’s strategy moving forward, best evidenced by their cloud-first policy that was launched a few years ago. We have seen in the government sector in Saudi Arabia that

www.tahawultech.com

It’s extremely important that businesses have access to a distributed multi-cloud architecture, and are able to move their workloads seamlessly from their datacentres to the public cloud, or to the edge to deliver better customer experiences.”

NOVEMBER 2023

31

OPINION

DELL TECHNOLOGIES

THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL ECONOMIES Havier Haddad, Managing Director – Gulf, at Dell Technologies, has penned a thought leadership article in which he claims that digital transformation holds the key to the future growth of digital economies across the Middle East region.

Digital economies are characterized by the use of digital technologies to facilitate economic activities, such as online transactions and the sharing of information.

These economies also often feel the benefit of technology by increased competition, a focus on innovation and enhanced productivity.

According to Gartner, the MENA IT spending is projected to total $183.8 billion in 2024, up from $176.8 billion in 2023. The surge in growth can be attributed to the increasing

32

T

adoption of AI, multi-cloud, he world around

edge, future of work and

us continues to

security solutions within the

evolve with artificial

public sector.

intelligence

(AI), blockchain, 5G,

Generate value through digital

cryptocurrencies, and

transformation

the Internet of Things

As government organizations

(IoT), improving how we

continue their digital

communicate and exchange

transformation journey, there

information.

are a handful of practical focus

Increased digitization

areas they must keep in mind

and the growing

to enable productive, outcome-

interconnectedness of people,

driven collaborations:

organizations, and machines

• Bring greater agility to

is already having a profound

agency operations with

impact on the world’s

flexible IT. Transform static

economies.

IT into responsive, on-

Recognizing this potential,

demand, robust IT services

government strategies today

that can fuel your agency’s

are emphasizing the role

agenda while keeping

of digital in accelerating

administrative workloads

economic diversification,

small.

promoting sustainability and

• FOW Empower employees

ensuring citizen happiness.

to succeed, anytime and

Today, technology is driving

any where. Technology users

significant transformation

in government have always

within the public sector,

been a mixed population

enabling the development

of mobile and office-based

of digital economies and the

workers. Today, they need to

delivery of improved citizen

be able to work productively

services.

from anywhere — agency

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

offices, remote locations and

repetitive, automate-able

in transit.

tasks.

offers an eVisa system for

• Spur innovation by making

One of the key benefits

travelers, allowing tourists

better use of data assets.

of technology in the public

and business visitors to

Purpose designed data

sector is the ability to deliver

apply for and obtain visas

storage and processing

improved citizen services.

online.

can help you simplify and

• Kuwait's eVisa System

For example, most

secure data management

countries across the Middle

and translate information

East now use technology

economy requires a

into innovations and

to provide online access to

combination of technical

decisions that benefit

government services, such

understanding, pioneering

constituents.

as renewing driver's licenses

leadership, and a sense of

and paying taxes.

vision and determination to

• Augment cybersecurity across agencies, services,

This not only makes it

Winning in the digital

encourage an ecosystem of

applications, devices

easier for citizens to access

and systems. In addition

services, but also reduces

Government leaders who

to using secure devices

travel costs and commuting

engage with these possibilities

and infrastructures, you

time to government offices.

today could be shaping

can deploy and integrate targeted solutions to safeguard user identities, data, and systems, and to recover quickly from digital attacks.

innovation.

Winning in the digital economy requires a combination of technical understanding, pioneering leadership, and a sense of vision and determination to encourage an ecosystem of innovation.”

• Drive competitive advantage through

There are strong examples of

AI. Adopt AI strategies

digital government such as:

and benefit from its

• The e-Gate system at

the digital economies of tomorrow.

By placing ICT

transformative powers to

Hamad International

transformation programs

drive innovation, enhance

Airport allows registered

at the heart of their

efficiency, and address

travelers to quickly pass

national plans and through

complex societal challenges

through immigration

collaborations with the

in an increasingly digital

control by using biometric

private sector, governments

world.

authentication, enhancing

are already leading the

their arrival and departure

way in securing a viable

experience.

future for their citizens

• Build centers of knowledge and innovation. When

• The Royal Oman Police

while raising their national

development and building

E-Services allows users

competitiveness on the global

the workforce of the future,

to report incidents, issues

stage.

we need to understand

visa and traffic-related

that these areas allow us

transactions through their

transformation agendas

online service.

represent nation’s efforts

we look at future skills

to unlock a lot of potential for the future growth of

• Metrash2, a mobile app

These digital

towards unlocking the

digital economies. New

developed by the Ministry

region’s potential to

technologies can unlock

of Interior in Qatar, allows

radically improve healthcare,

new kinds of value and

residents to access various

education, public services,

revenue generation. Thanks

government services,

among others, all with a

to automation, workers

including traffic updates,

view to making a positive

can spend time on more

visa status and residence

contribution to society and

valuable, mission-critical

permits from their

building the extraordinary

work and less time on

smartphones.

future we will live in.

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

33

INTERVIEW

MITEL

AT YOUR HOSPITALITY Martin Bitzinger, Senior Vice-President, Product Management at Mitel, told CNME Deputy Editor Veronica Martin, how the company’s portfolio of solutions is transforming customer experiences in the hospitality industry during an interview at GITEX Global 2023.

H 34

What are Mitel's strategies for ensuring secure government communication and seamless integration with large command control systems in today's cybersecurity landscape?

Government is another major vertical for Mitel and we're focused on a few key areas.

One of them is compliance, which is closely tied to security, including data sovereignty and the whole infrastructure sovereignty.

Our products are ideally suited to fulfil these

ow is Mitel

intelligence plays a key role in

requirements. With the

planning to

enhancing that experience.

acquisition of Unify, we’re

advance its

We do that with Alliances,

also gaining a lot of services

hospitality

but also through innovations

capabilities which are ideal for

products and evolve its next-

in our portfolio. Our focus is to

managing those types of larger

generation solutions in the

improve the guest experience

customers where we need to

ever-changing tech landscape?

and the guest service, at

maintain the infrastructure,

This year we have pivoted

any point of the customer

provide security certifications

our strategy towards a

journey - from reservations to

and compliances.

vertical focused strategy and

facilitating check-in service

hospitality is among our key

requests to mobility, safety and

bringing enhancements in the

verticals.

security.

fields of mass notification or

For us hospitality does

There are a lot of interesting

On the product front, we’re

alerting, which is critical for

not only include hotels but

technologies on the AI front

a lot of government entities,

also a mix of construction,

that really help automate tasks.

including education.

tourism and cruise ships for

That's a key focus area for us.

Overall, security is a real

instance. For this industry,

focus to make our solutions

we're enhancing our core

highly secure, both from

products to add hospitality

a product and deployment

specific features to simplify the

perspective to be highly

deployment of our solutions

resilient, which is critical for

with fewer components and

many of the key government

integrated with back-of-house

entities.

applications.

In the past, you always

Could you provide insights

needed a lot of add-on

into the roadmap of Mitel's

software components, but

Hospitality multitenant cloud

we are now integrating these

services, and how they plan to

functionalities into our

meet the evolving needs of the

platforms.

hospitality industry?

In addition to that, we're

On the hospitality front,

really focusing on the contact

there are two things. Hotels

sector use cases, the customer

mostly require part of their

service angles, where artificial

communication infrastructure

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

In light of Mitel's history and recent acquisition of Unify/Atos, how does the company intend to compete with industry players like Granstream and NEC, and what sets Mitel apart in this competitive landscape?

Grandstream is more of a hardware player. They tend to have a much narrower solution portfolio than we do. Especially in the contact centre area, end-to-end security, cloud integration, larger enterprise platforms and end-to-end UC solutions.

We have a much stronger portfolio, including devices too. So, the completeness of portfolio as well as the size and footprint of our solutions make the difference.

NEC is a head-to-head to be on-premise to connect

connection. The whole solution

competitor. We differentiate

devices like speakers, lobby

needs to be on the ship.

ourselves through a much

phones and phones for the

But for normal properties,

more advanced portfolio in

rooms. That's typically part of

we’re able to provide both

terms of software, in-country

our core platform solution.

on-premise and in-country

hosted cloud and hybrid

Then there's also the

cloud solutions where many

cloud capabilities where we

software aspect, like contact

of our competitors offering

can mix physical and virtual

centers that we can deliver

only multi-tenant services

deployments on the customer

from the in-country cloud.

would need to add third party

premise.

With this combination, we have

products and solutions.

a very flexible offering.

The difference with many of

Our contact centres are also

This means that they have

a differentiator. NEC is a very

to rely on a system integrator

viable player, especially in the

our competitors, that are purely

to integrate everything

hospitality space.

focused on multi-tenant cloud-

together, whereas we can do

based offers, is our ability to

it all and we can basically

based offers and they're

provide both options – on-

provide a complete solution

basically taking advantage

premise and/or in the local

to our resellers that can

of that. Same as us against

cloud.

just go and install it in the

some of the competitors in the

properties.

hospitality space.

Some organisations have

They have those hardware-

different requirements. For example, we have a lot of cruise ships among our hospitality customers.

Due to their nature, a cloudbased solution is not a very good fit because of the lack of

Our focus is to improve the guest experience and the guest service, at any point of the customer journey - from reservations to facilitating check-in service requests, to mobility, safety and security.”

a stable and reliable internet

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

35

INTERVIEW

HUAWEI ENTERPRISE BUSINESS GROUP

ACCELERATE INTELLIGENCE

Dr. Alaa ElShimy, Managing Director and Senior Vice President of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, Middle East and Central Asia, spoke to CNME Editor Mark Forker during GITEX Global 2023, to discuss their AI capabilities, the need for Gen AI to be regulated – and their market performance over the last 12 months.

H

uawei are one of

Dr. Alaa ElShimy, has played

Our theme at this year’s

the most innovative

a key role in Huawei’s success

GITEX is ‘Accelerate

companies in the

across the Middle East region

Intelligence’. We are

world.

since joining the company in

showcasing our capabilities

2016.

in AI and the cloud, and we

The Chinese ICT vendor has

innovation embedded into its

In a candid interview with

are demonstrating solutions

DNA and continues to push

CNME during GITEX, ElShimy

that we have developed for

the boundaries as to what’s

gave an insight into what

our customers over the last

possible when it comes to

Huawei was showcasing at the

12 months. From a cloud

technology.

tech conference.

perspective, we have the

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NOVEMBER 2023

37

INTERVIEW

38 Pangu 3.0 here at GITEX, and

these 10 industries we have

transform their sustainability

our cloud strategy is centrally

developed our ecosystem of

initiatives. We have already

based on ‘AI for Industries’,

partners and launched over 100

generated more than 850

which essentially means we

different vertical applications,

billion kilowatt of green

build vertical solutions based

which again is very unique,”

energy, which has saved more

on AI across all key industrial

said ElShimy.

than 35 billion of kilowatt of

verticals,” said ElShimy.

ElShimy highlighted how

Huawei has firmly

energy and saved more than

established itself as a leader

50 million tonnes of carbon.

Huawei gives their customers

when it comes to sustainability

That’s a perfect illustration

the flexibility and autonomy to

and digital power.

of the impact of Huawei’s

customize solutions best suited

“We are helping our

commitment to greening the

for their market requirements.

customers produce green

economy, and being a leader in

energy that is equal, or higher

sustainability,” said ElShimy.

“We have five models within our cloud portfolio, but

than what they consume. If

The theme at GITEX was

within each model we have

it’s equal then we are talking

AI Everything, and there was

customized AI models for

about Net Zero, and if it’s

inevitably a lot of discussion on

different industries, and on

higher, then they can become

Generative AI.

top of that we have a plethora

more profitable by going green.

of applications that users can

At GITEX, we are showcasing

is going to be a $15.7 trillion

avail of, which is very unique.

our Net Zero framework, with

marketplace by 2030, according

In terms of our enterprise

COP28 happening there is

to a report published by PwC.

business, we focus across 10

huge momentum across the

different industries, such as

region, and customers can

proper regulations to be

banking, transportation and

come and demo the solution

implemented in order to protect

utilities to name a few. For

and see how it can help them

businesses and end-users.

NOVEMBER 2023

ElShimy highlighted how AI

He stressed the need for

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Huawei’s focus on the SMB segment of the market across the Middle East has played a critical part in their success over the last year.

“We’ve enjoyed great growth over the last 12 months in the Middle East.

Globally, in H1, we generated $43bn, and our profitability grew by 15%. Our performance as a company has been very strong, especially in the Middle East. In terms of our strategy, we are focused on helping commercial and SMB customers. There is a burgeoning start-up ecosystem, and governments all over the region are investing their resources into the SMB space. We have created two different departments, one to look after the commercial segment of the market and the SMB “AI and Generative AI is

shows what can be achieved

side. We are developing

extremely important for

when governments work

systems that are easy to

all of us moving forward in

together, and that data

configure, implement and

the technology ecosystem.

protection framework is so

integrate into whatever

I firmly believe it will bring

important, and it was needed,

system customers have

a lot of value to society, to

and it’s the same with AI,

regardless of the industry

businesses, and to all major

we need proper regulations.

vertical. With our solutions

industry verticals, it’s a

The benefits and potential

you don’t need to be an IT

revolutionary technology.

of AI is enormous, but again

specialist, you can just take

However, there remains a lot

I must stress that it has to

it and drag it. Alternatively

of myths and misperceptions

be regulated properly,” said

you can have it in the cloud,

about AI in terms of what

ElShimy.

which will save you money,

it can and can’t do. I do

Huawei’s market

and we also provide training

think the biggest issue, or

performance has bounced

for our customers and

concern being raised is in

back in 2023, after a difficult

partners to drive change

relation to the regulation of

fiscal year in 2022.

within their organisation,”

AI. I would encourage all the

ElShimy stated that

concluded ElShimy.

regulatory authorities across the world to come together, and implement the right practices and frameworks that are needed to make sure Gen AI is used responsibly. It can be done, in Europe, GDPR

I would encourage all the regulatory authorities across the world to come together, and implement the right practices and frameworks that are needed to make sure Gen AI is used responsibly.”

has been a great success and

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NOVEMBER 2023

39

INTERVIEW

VERITAS

TACKLING CYBERSECURITY COMPLEXITIES Dr. Joye Purser, Field CISO at Veritas Technologies, spoke to CNME about the current cybersecurity threat landscape, how Veritas is helping organizations to combat cyber threats - and the role emerging technologies are playing in helping businesses to address data compliance challenges.

40

C

NME spoke to Dr. Joye

or any other cyber incident is of

so that it is isolated away from

Purser, Field CISO, at

utmost importance in a robust

the good copy backups. This

Veritas Technologies

cybersecurity layered strategy.

enables the restoration of the

during GITEX Global

Veritas leverages machine

data to happen quickly and

2023, to learn more about the

learning to use anomaly

efficiently”, commented Purser.

intricacies and complexities

detection. This means if a

that currently exist in the

threat actor is in your system,

emerging technologies play

cybersecurity threat landscape.

or network, our software can

in helping organizations to

“The cybersecurity threat

alert the administrators of an

address cybersecurity and data

landscape is becoming even

anomaly or unusual movement,

compliance challenges.

more complex as time goes on,

which is a copy of what threat

and our research indicates that

actors do when they are

and Machine Learning are going

it will not decrease in intensity

perpetrating a cyber-attack.

to be very important to help

or sophistication. Our studies

Besides, our backup software

people because of automating

show that 65% of organizations

enables the isolation of the copy

tests, which traditionally

have suffered a ransomware

that is infected with malware,

needed to be done by people

Purser also outlined the role

“In most areas of our lives, AI

attack in the last two years.

in the past. However, we know

We see that threat actors,

that Machine Learning can

whether they are nation state

be used by cyber attackers, so

threat actors, or cyber gangs,

threat actors will continue to

will continue to do damage to

increase the sophistication of

organizations moving forward,”

their threats of cyber-attacks

said Purser.

using Machine Learning. For

She also highlighted how

example, social engineering

Veritas is helping organizations

to impersonate someone by

to address risks around cyber

reviewing their behaviour and

threats.

then generating threat language

“Veritas makes data backup

to trick employees to click

solutions, so the ability to

on a link is becoming more

back up and recover your data

common. This is also becoming

following a ransomware attack,

increasingly difficult to spot

NOVEMBER 2023

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challenging. All you really need is the ability to work in IT help desk, or network administrator, or starting from the ground up, and then get those certifications, be assertive and ask for more experience, so you can quickly work your way up. I think it's a great equalizer, especially for women, and I hope to see more women in the cybersecurity profession”, commented Purser.

Purser also highlighted the importance of GITEX for promoting the message of what Veritas is providing in the cybersecurity ecosystem.

“Being at GITEX is really exciting as there is such a tremendous diversity in this area in Dubai. People from all over the world have come here to find out about the new because threat actors are using

more women into the field of

developments in technology,

machine learning to observe

cybersecurity.

and I see a tremendous

those patterns of life, and

“The thing that I love about

amount of cybersecurity

the way that people normally

cybersecurity as a profession

services, offerings, software

communicate to be able to

is that it is a great equalizer.

and hardware platforms. The

perpetrate that cyber-attack,”

People of all backgrounds,

future is really here, and it's so

said Purser.

Purser also highlighted how Machine Learning can also be used for good as it can really automate and take the guesswork out of a lot of repetitive or mundane tasks.

The cybersecurity threat landscape is becoming even more complex as time goes on, and our research indicates that it will not decrease in intensity or sophistication. ethnicity, or place in the

exciting to be part of it. For my

world can enter the field of

entire career, I've focused on

we use Machine Learning for

cybersecurity. All you need is

promoting technology because

anomaly detection. Our software

an interest in the subject, the

I do believe it's the future. It

looks for normal patterns of

ability to problem solve, and

makes our lives easier, things

behaviour and, during a cyber-

have the willingness to learn

simpler, so that people can

attack, there are patterns of

new things and go out of your

focus on tasks that are more

behaviour that are unusual.

comfort zone. Personally, I did

aligned to their highest calling.

Machine Learning picks up on

a cybersecurity certification

I've really focused time in my

those so that it can immediately

called the Certified Information

career in promoting technology,

alert security professionals

System Security Professional,

and that's why I'm at Veritas

that something is amiss”, said

and to get it, you needed to

and at this conference because of

Purser.

pass a five-hour exam and be

the excitement in the promotion

endorsed by someone with a

of cutting-edge technology”,

credential, which was really

concluded Purser.

“For example, with Veritas,

Purser also outlined what needs to be done to entice

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NOVEMBER 2023

41

INTERVIEW

FORTINET

TIME TO FOCUS

Shane Grennan, Senior Director, Partner Sales & Business Development at Fortinet tells CNME Editor Mark Forker how the company is embedding AI into all of its products, the evolution of their channel strategy across the Middle East region – and why they look for ‘focused’ channel partners.

42

S

hane Grennan has

leader Fortinet, where he is

witnessed many

currently a Senior Director.

changes in the IT landscape since he

At GITEX Global, AI was the central theme of the

began his career with IBM back

conference, and in a candid

in 1996.

exchange with CNME, Grennan

In the decades that have elapsed, Grennan has

provided an insight into the company’s AI strategy.

distinguished himself as one

As Grennan pointed out, AI

of the most respected channel

has the ability to resolve issues

leaders in the industry, and

that humans simply can’t.

has held senior positions

“The promise of AI has

at companies like Nortel,

always been not only in

Eircom and Cisco during a

cybersecurity, but across the

distinguished career.

board to tackle the really

However, he is best known

big problems that humanity

for his role with cybersecurity

can’t overcome on its own,

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

43

or if humans did tackle them

Fortinet is proactively working

they are correlated they have

then they would take years

to embed AI into every one of

to be analysed again, so it’s

as opposed to seconds. The

their products going forward.

just a perfect storm of massive

volume of traffic and the

“The vast amount of content,

amounts of data in nearly every

volume of content in our

traffic and emails means that

customer environment from

customers environment now

everything has to be analysed

the very large to the very small.

has to be inspected, because

and that requires a decision

We’re working to embed AI into

we have gone from a sampling

to be made about whether or

all of our products, those that

inspection to zero trust, and

not something can proceed, or

are deployed on the customer

that generates a huge volume of

if it is good, or bad, and that

site, those that are deployed

workloads that humans simply

analysis has to be done using

in the cloud and managed by

can’t deal with. We have to

AI, and that is what we are

the customer, and also in our

drive automation, but it’s not

very focused on. Traditional

own SaaS solutions. We have

automation using traditional

security tools also produce vast

witnessed that our customers

software, it’s automation using

amounts of data in terms of

are achieving a better security

AI,” said Grennan.

logging and alerts that need

posture using machine learning

to be correlated, and when

and AI, which is obviously

Grennan admitted that

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NOVEMBER 2023

INTERVIEW

44

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

critical for their business

partners meet their renewals

to grow their business. We also

aspirations,” said Grennan.

quota. We have diversified

have a range of specialisations

There is no debating that

and deepened the teams that

in solution areas so they can

Gen AI creates unlimited

interfaces with our partners,

achieve those specialisations,

opportunities for driving new

and the one word we use most

which involves sales and

innovations, but many security

often is focus. We want to

technical qualifications, and

professionals have shared

give each person in that team

that signals to the market

their concerns over the privacy

a smaller set of partners to

that they have expertise in

issues with Gen AI using an

focus on so they can better

a particular solution, such

open system.

understand what the partner

as security operations, or

“The solutions developed

wants to do in the future and

operational technology to name

by us, and other cybersecurity

how they want to grow,” said

a few,” said Grennan.

vendors are very focused and

Grennan.

they are not as open as those

Grennan also highlighted how

systems. They are either

there has been a huge shift to

deployed on the customer site

managed services from their

within their control, and the

channel partners.

limits of what they do are well-

“We have seen a huge number

In terms of what they look for in their channel partners, Grennan once again said ‘focus’.

We want focus from our partners, and we have 4 tiers in our partner program. Now,

defined, so in one way it’s like

of our partners adopt managed

some partners are quite happy

buying a firewall if you want it

services, but if a partner has not

in the bottom tier because it is

to be open, then it is open, but

done that before then it can be

low commitment, and typically

if you want to configure it to be closed then it is closed, so it’s totally in the control of what the user wants to do. You don’t have

We have diversified and deepened the teams that interfaces with our partners, and the one word we use most often is focus.”

to feed it into an open cloud system to get back answers on

quite daunting to go from pure

lower revenue and that’s what

correlations, you buy a solution

systems integration to building,

some partners want. It’s a

from Fortinet and that goes

designing, and launching

pyramid with a very wide base

either into their datacentre, or

managed services. However, we

at the bottom, and not every

their private cloud datacentre,”

have expertise within Fortinet

partner wants to invest and

said Grennan.

to help our partners do that,”

become an expert partner.

said Grennan.

We have partners that are

Grennan moved to the Middle East to drive Fortinet’s channel

In terms of the evolution

completely security focused,

ecosystem across the region in

of Fortinet’s channel partner

and we have partners that are

2019, and in those four years

program, Grennan said it was

very focused on things like the

the cybersecurity leader has

built on three key pillars, which

SOC, and others completely

enjoyed excellent growth under

are systems integration, cloud

focused on cloud. In addition

his tutelage.

and managed services.

to this, we also have system integrators who do complete

“In 2019, when I moved to

“The market in the Middle

the Middle East, we had four

East is definitely shifting, every

datacentre refreshes with

people in the channel team

week it feels like there is a

storage compute, and that’s

covering the region, but now

hyper-scaler announcing it is

the nature of the market here

we have 40. We have invested a

opening a new datacentre, or

in the Middle East. However, at

huge amount in the team that

entering into a new country, so

Fortinet we are fully focused

interfaces with our channel

it is definitely more mainstream

on continuing to evolve our

partners, and that includes

than it was two years ago. What

channel partner program

channel account managers,

we ask from partners is to give

and develop solutions that

systems engineers, business

us a better understanding on

help our customers overcome

development personnel, and

what technology areas they

their challenges,” concluded

a renewals team to help our

want they want to grow in order

Grennan.

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

45

INTERVIEW

HPE

OUTCOME AS A SERVICE CNME Deputy Editor Veronica Martin spoke to Michael Langeveld, Head of Technology and Business Development, EMEA at HPE, and Swapnil Gandhi, Director of Infrastructure & Cloud at Intertec during GITEX Global to learn more about the new products and solutions they are demonstrating, the key technologies and trends driving innovation - and their focus on ‘outcome as a service’.

solutions to help organizations for their business priorities with innovative, scalable, and secure digital solutions tailored to their business needs.

Our solutions can help enhance efficiency, productivity, and security across a range of industries and verticals.

The focus of our solution

We are also showing our high-performance computing, latest technology and high-end solutions. We are also working

46

on a project to democratize this and make AI accessible.

We have enhanced our DL380 and developed how we give access to AI to everybody. We’ve recently acquired a company called Ethernet and we are demonstrating what we are doing with private 5G in the unallocated spectrum.

From your company’s Michael Langeveld

perspective, what are the key technologies and trends that

C

launching here this week at

Swapnil Gandhi:

simplify and accelerate the

GITEX Global?

The vision of Intertec Systems

business of the customer.

you’re seeing that will drive your

portfolio is everything as a

what new products

innovation and product roadmap

service, which is the HPE

and solutions you are

for the next 12 months?

GreenLake, where we provide

demonstrating and

a service solution that helps

is to be a global technology

It delivers a cloud experience

Michael Langeveld:

services organization,

wherever the apps or the data

Generative AI is a key topic right

partnering with customers to

live, whether it is in the data

now, so we’re demonstrating

create a digitally enabled future.

centre, in the co-location,

some of our capabilities around

NOVEMBER 2023

Swapnil Gandhi

an you tell our readers

We believe technology is

large language models, video

a catalyst for growth and

and voice.

innovation, so we provide

things in the edge or on the public cloud.

We are also looking at

www.tahawultech.com

outcome as a service, which is a new discussion where we shift the focus from selling products and services to delivering measurable results or solutions to meet customers’ needs.

Outcome as a service is becoming very popular these days in the technology and the service industries. Some of the key elements for the outcome as a service are defined.

The other solutions that we are offering are a data management solution where we provide data management as a service, backup as a service and data lifecycle management.

We also are focused on cybersecurity, covering ransomware attacks, zero trust, security and AI. We also are focusing on sustainability where we provide green data centres to customers.

How important is an event like GITEX Global for your company – and what value does it bring to your organization?

Swapnil Gandhi: GITEX brings in industry insights.

We attend this kind of event to be relevant in the market, understand the current trends of emerging technologies and some of the competitive strategies as well.

We also have an opportunity for networking where we meet our partners, peers, and everybody else to understand

We are also looking at outcome as a service, which is a new discussion where we shift the focus from selling products and services to delivering measurable results or solutions to meet customers’ needs.”

how businesses are moving at this point of time.

Apart from that, there is a big media coverage around GITEX, and that gives us the opportunity to have an interview, or a discussion like this and get a lot of exposure.

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

47

INTERVIEW

LIVING HOMES

THE HOME OF THE FUTURE

Georgi Atanasov, Technology Advisor and Acting CTO at Living Homes, explains to CNME Editor Mark Forker how their unique smart home platform is radically different to what other players in the market are offering during an interview at GITEX Global 2023.

L

iving Homes

to showcase the unique

to be here, and the event

is a Bulgarian

capabilities of their AI driven

provides us with a brilliant

headquartered

intelligent platform.

platform to demonstrate our

software company

concept and business model

that was launched earlier

managed to secure an

to the region. We’re building

this year.

exclusive interview with

a smart home platform that is

Georgi Atanasov to find out

very different to what the rest

more about Living Homes.

of the market is focusing on.

The company is on a mission

48

CNME Editor Mark Forker

to disrupt the burgeoning industry vertical of the smart

“It’s a new experience for

Traditionally, a lot of the smart

home marketplace and was

Living Homes to be here at

home players focus primarily

onsite at GITEX Global 2023,

GITEX, but we are excited

on connected devices and managed experiences. However, our intelligent home goes way beyond that,” said Atanasov.

The major theme at GITEX Global was AI, and a hot topic on everybody’s lips was Generative AI. Atanasov revealed that Living Homes are harnessing the power of Generative AI and bringing the home of the future to life.

“We use Generative AI, which has the ability to adapt to the preferences and behaviours of end-users in the home. Our smart home platform understands their needs and emotions and creates automated experiences based on that. Essentially, we provide a new generation experience that people are going to love.

We use a lot of robotics and

NOVEMBER 2023

www.tahawultech.com

49

AI technology to compliment

in our platform and the data

taking into consideration that

the platform, but as I said

handling happens on-prem. All

some homeowners may want to

we’re not overly focused on

the information that is personal

take a different approach.

connected devices, we want our

stays inside the home, and it’s

platform to take your home to

a federated learning that we

them to have all their data

the next level,” said Atanasov.

are trying to achieve with our

inside their home on servers,

Despite the undoubted

networks. We take data to train

but for other users it might

potential of Gen AI to

the whole model, but we leave

make sense to have it in a

disrupt and drive new

all the privacy data in-house,

building management system,

innovations, many security

so users can feel safe and

so we’re trying to be adaptive

professionals have expressed

secure,” said Atanasov.

to both approaches,” said

concern over privacy when it comes to the open system

However, Atanasov outlined how Living Homes are also

“It might make sense for

Atanasov.

Atanasov says what sets them

required for Gen AI. “Privacy is such an important topic for us at Living Homes, and that has definitely guided our innovation roadmap with our intelligent home platform. We have already

We have a separate layer that is responsible for smart detection that sits inside the home, and this layer uses different devices to get the information that puts the human instead of devices at the centre of managing your home.”

incorporated this as a concept

www.tahawultech.com

NOVEMBER 2023

INTERVIEW

patterns that enable the home to automatically adapt to the end-user.

“For example, if the first thing you do every morning is turn on the coffee machine, then you don’t need to that anymore, our platform will do that for you based on your behaviours. However, the person inhabiting the home will retain the ability to change this behaviour and overwrite it, but for most people it is more convenient not to have to manually create automations, but have a platform that does that for them and that’s what we do,” said Atanasov.

Atanasov concluded a brilliant conversation by acknowledging the importance of GITEX in terms of providing

50

them with the feedback required to stress test the platform ahead of its market launch next year.

“We believe that for us to be successful we have to give users access to what we do apart from other companies in

understanding that you

in order for them to better

the smart home space is that

have to put the inhabitant in

understand the concept. We

Living Homes focuses on the

the centre of the space. We

used GITEX to get feedback

person and makes technology

have a separate layer that is

from customers, developers,

revolve around the homeowner

responsible for smart detection

and investors to see if what we

by creating an adaptive home.

that sits inside the home,

are building is something that

“I think there are several

and this layer uses different

they would be interested in

aspects that differentiate us

devices to get the information

twelve months from now. I’m

from other market players,

that puts the spotlight on the

delighted to report that the

and the first one would be

homeowner when it comes to

feedback we have received has

that we are not just focused

managing your home,” said

exceeded our expectations,

on connected devices. We are

Atanasov.

and we already have a number

acutely aware of the fact that

In addition, the Living

it is going to take us time to

Homes Acting CTO also

see there is a huge demand

get our platform ready, but

highlighted how the company

here in the Middle East when

we are confident that we can

focuses on behaviour driven

it comes to the smart home

launch the platform at next

adaptive technology, which

segment and we believe we

year’s GITEX. Our perspective

allows them to track what

have the platform to disrupt

is not so much about devices,

users do, and based on that

the market,” concluded

but instead it’s more about

information they create

Atanasov.

NOVEMBER 2023

of follow-up meetings. We can

www.tahawultech.com

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