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WWW.CNMEONLINE.COM ISSUE 241 |FEBRUARY 2012

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IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT | DATA CENTRE CONSOLIDATION | BUSINESS CONTINUITY

EDITORIAL

Starting a journey

Sathya Mithra Ashok Senior Editor Talk to us: E-mail: sathya@cpidubai.com

The trouble when you start working on any event is that you never know how it is going to turn out.

You try and control it as far as possible. You schedule every invite to go ǡ ϐ ǡ work the nominations to ensure the right people are chosen to win, you ϐ Ǧ Ȃ know how it will turn out. As they say, hindsight is always 20:20.

And your doubts and possibilities of error increase tenfold when it is the ϐ Ǥ However, I am proud to say that we pulled off a grand show at the CIO 50 Awards and Forum 2012 which was conducted in January. ǡ ϐ ͳͲͲ

makers from the region, CNME announced the leading lights in IT leadership Ȃ ϐ Ǥ In the past we had conducted Awards ceremonies where we would

Ȃ Ǥ Ȃ ʹͲͳͲ ʹͲͳͳ Ȃ ǡ ϐ improvement in their quality.

ϐ ϐ the trophy home. This was when we decided that we needed a forum to ǡ ϐ Ǥ

Ǧ from the Middle East, attended the CIO 50 Awards and Forum 2012, in the hopes of taking one of the precious trophies home with them. Ȃ Ǥ ȋ can get familiar with the winners in the cover story of this issue, starting page 35). Ȃ Ǧ ǡ Ǧ Ȃ taking a group photo. Ǥ Ǧ Ǥ ȋ Ǥ Ǥ com). And our social media platforms have continued to break some internal records.

As I have been telling several industry stakeholders this month, there is no way for CNME to go now but up. And as we travel the route, we are setting the bar constantly higher for the levels of interaction between vendors and Ǧ Ǥ ȋ ͷͲ Ǥ You can read about it on page 42.) Ǥ ǡ articles to write and more online platforms to strengthen the industry. In ʹͲͳʹǡ Ǥ Happy reading! www.cnmeonline.com www.twitter.com/computernewsme www.facebook.com/computernewsme

Publisher Dominic De Sousa Group COO Nadeem Hood Managing Director Richard Judd richard@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409126 EDITORIAL Senior Editor Sathya Mithra Ashok sathya@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409111 Senior Editor Jeevan Thankappan jeevan@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409109 Assistant Editor Pallavi Sharma pallavi@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409103 Sub Editor Ben Rossi benr@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409114 ADVERTISING Commercial Director Rajashree R Kumar raj@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409131 Commercial Director Karl Hougaard karl@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409136 CIRCULATION Database and Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409147

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EDITORIAL Our events

Making way for 4G

Jeevan Thanpakkan Senior Editor Talk to us: E-mail: jeevan@cpidubai.com

There  are  approximately  six  billion  mobile  subscribers  in  the  world  today,  and  last  month  a  milestone  was  achieved  when  the  number  of  3G  subscribers  ‡š…‡‡†‡† ‘Â?‡ „‹ŽŽ‹‘Â?Ǥ – ‹• ‡•–‹Â?ƒ–‡† –Šƒ– ‘Â?‡ ‹Â? Ď?‹˜‡ Â?‘„‹Ž‡ •—„•…”‹„‡”• Šƒ˜‡ access  to  fast  mobile  internet,  boosted  by  faster  networks  and  the  growing  popularity  of  smartphones.  To  put  this  in  perspective,  the  number  of  mobile  broadband  subscriptions  was  around  500  million  at  the  end  of  2010,  which  has  †‘—„Ž‡† ‹Â? Œ—•– ƒ ›‡ƒ”Ǥ ‡Ž‡…‘Â? Â?‡–™‘”Â? ˜‡Â?†‘” ”‹…••‘Â? ‡š’‡…–• –Š‹• –‘ –‘’ ;Ǥͺ billion  by  2015,  and  it  seems  there  is  no  limit  to  the  demand  for  mobile  broadband.  Â?† –Š‹• Â›Â‡ÂƒÂ”ÇĄ –Š‡ „—œœ™‘”† ‹• Íś ‘” Â?‘”‡ •’‡…‹Ď?Â‹Â…ÂƒÂŽÂŽÂ›ÇĄ ÇĄ –‘—–‡† ĥ –Š‡ ˆ—–—”‡ ‘ˆ mobile  broadband  by  the  industry.  It  is  billed  as  the  faster  wireless  network,  with Â Â†ÂƒÂ–ÂƒÇŚÂ†Â‘Â™Â?Ž‘ƒ† •’‡‡†• —’ –‘ ͳͲ –‹Â?‡• ˆƒ•–‡” –ŠƒÂ? ’”‡˜‹‘—• –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰‹‡•Ǥ Šƒ• gained  much  quicker  uptake  in  our  region,  and  at  the  last  count,  there  have  already  „‡‡Â? ˆ‘—” …‘Â?Â?‡”…‹ƒŽ Žƒ—Â?…Š‡• ƒÂ?† ʹ͸ …‘Â?Â?‹–Â?‡Â?–• ‹Â? –Š‡ ’‹’‡Ž‹Â?‡Ǥ Š‹Ž‡ –Š‡ ‰Ž‘„ƒŽ –‡Ž‡…‘Â? ‹Â?†—•–”› Šƒ• ‡ƒ”Â?ƒ”Â?‡† ʹͲͳʹ ĥ –Š‡ ›‡ƒ” ‘ˆ ÇĄ –Š‡ “—‡•–‹‘Â? Ž‘‘Â?‹Â?‰ large  is  how  successful  will  this  new  service  platform  be  in  the  Middle  East?  The  •—……‡•• ‘ˆ Š‹Â?‰‡• ‘Â? –Š‡ ƒ˜ƒ‹Žƒ„‹Ž‹–› ‘ˆ •’‡…–”—Â? ƒÂ?† „ƒÂ?†™‹†–Š ƒÂ?† –Š‡ ”‡‰‹‘Â?ƒŽ regulators  have  not  been  able  to  give  a  clear  picture  on  the  spectrum  issues,  which  could  seriously  hinder  the  growth  of  this  mobile  broadband  technology.  A  case  in  ’‘‹Â?– ‹• ‘„‹Ž› ‹Â? ƒ—†‹ Â”ÂƒÂ„Â‹ÂƒÇĄ ‘Â?‡ ‘ˆ –Š‡ Ď?‹”•– ƒ†‘’–‡”•Ǥ ˜‡” •‹Â?…‡ ‹– ƒÂ?Â?‘—Â?…‡† –Š‡ Žƒ—Â?…Š Žƒ•– Â›Â‡ÂƒÂ”ÇĄ –Š‡ •‡”˜‹…‡ ’”‘˜‹†‡” Šƒ• „‡‡Â? —Â?ƒ„Ž‡ –‘ ”‘ŽŽ ‘—– –Š‡ Â?‡–™‘”Â? †—‡ to  the  lack  of  spectrum  in  the  country.  In  the  UAE,  Etisalat  is  using  2.6  Ghz  spectrum  ˆ‘” ÇĄ ™Š‹…Š ‹• Â?‘– ”‡ƒŽŽ› …‘Â?†—…‹˜‡ –‘ ‹Â?†‘‘” ƒÂ?† ™‹†‡ ‰‡‘‰”ƒ’Š‹…ƒŽ …‘˜‡”ƒ‰‡Ǥ Š‘•‡ ™Š‘ Šƒ˜‡ ƒŽ”‡ƒ†› ”‘ŽŽ‡† ‘—– Â?‡–™‘”Â? ƒ”‡ „‡‹Â?‰ ˆ‘”…‡† –‘ Â”Â‡ÇŚÂˆÂƒÂ”Â? –Š‡‹” Íľ ˆ”‡“—‡Â?…‹‡• ˆ‘” Íś ÇĄ ”‡•—Ž–‹Â?‰ ‹Â? ƒ Â†Â‘Â—Â„ÂŽÂ‡ÇŚÂ™ÂŠÂƒÂ?Â?› Č‚ ‹– •Ž‘™• †‘™Â? Íľ •‡”˜‹…‡• and  renders  it  almost  impossible  to  deliver  true  4G  speeds.  Unless  the  regulators  ƒ…– “—‹…Â?Ž› ƒÂ?† ƒŽŽ‘…ƒ–‡ –Š‡ Â•Â‘ÇŚÂ…ÂƒÂŽÂŽÂ‡Â† ‹‰‹–ƒŽ ‹˜‹†‡Â?† •’‡…–”—Â? ȋ͚ͲͲȀͺͲͲ ÂŠÂœČŒ –‘ Â‘Â’Â‡Â”ÂƒÂ–Â‘Â”Â•ÇĄ ˜‡”› •‘‘Â? –Š‡ •–‘”› Â?‹‰Š– –—”Â? •‘—”Ǥ ‘™ǥ Ž‡–ǯ• Ž‘‘Â? ƒ– –Š‡ Ď?Ž‹’ •‹†‡ ‘ˆ –Š‡ …‘‹Â?Ǥ ™‹–Š –Š‡ ”‹‰Š– •’‡…–”—Â? ’”‘Â?‹•‡• –‘ „”‹Â?‰ ƒˆˆ‘”†ƒ„Ž‡ Š‹‰Šnj•’‡‡† „”‘ƒ†„ƒÂ?† –‘ ÂƒÂŽÂŽÇĄ „”‹†‰‹Â?‰ –Š‡ †‹‰‹–ƒŽ †‹˜‹†‡Â?†ǥ „—– it  seems  to  have  failed  to  catch  the  fancy  of  mobile  masses  in  developed  markets.  Industry  pundits  attribute  this  to  a  couple  of  reason.  First,  3G  is  now  robust  enough  –‘ ŠƒÂ?†Ž‡ ƒŽŽ „ƒÂ?Â†Â™Â‹Â†Â–ÂŠÇŚÂ‰Â—ÂœÂœÂŽÂ‹Â?‰ –ƒ•Â?• •—…Š ĥ •–”‡ƒÂ?‹Â?‰ ˜‹†‡‘ Ġ ÂŽÂƒÂ”Â‰Â‡ÇŚĎ?‹Ž‡ –”ƒÂ?•ˆ‡”•Ǥ Second,  there  is  no  new  killer  app  that  can  only  run  on  a  4G  network.  It  begs  the  “—‡•–‹‘Â?ÇĄ †‘ ›‘— ”‡ƒŽŽ› Â?‡‡† Íś ™Š‡Â? Íľ ‹• ‰‘‘† ‡Â?‘—‰ŠǍ ‡ Â?‹‰Š– „‡ ƒ„Ž‡ –‘ Ď?‹Â?† some  answers  for  that  this  year.

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Contents ISSUE 241 | FEBRUARY 2012

ANALYSIS 8 Health in the fast lane

10

11

The recently conducted mHealth conference highlighted the concerns and issues facing technology usage in health. Ben Rossi writes.

Embracing digital media

ʹͲͳʹ ǡ enterprises in the Middle East have not understood the full importance of new technology and how it can impact their business.

Big data is nothing new IBM’s Jeff Barber says that whether we call it big data, or by any other name, organisations need to learn to capitalise on their data to move Ǥ

12

Protecting your virtualised assets

latest solutions related to virtualisation, cloud and big data across their businesses, are they aware they are opening themselves to more cyber attacks?

14

Dynamic growth ǡ Ǥ ϐ the company remains positive about its ERP solution in the region.

16

Round-up Ǧ Ǥ

CASE STUDY 28 Organised for speed

35

ǡ

Ǥ

30

Technology on wheels ǯ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ

effective communications, offering its business a competitive edge.

NETWORK WORLD 46 Winning with consolidation ʹͲͳʹ ǡ Ǥ want to know is, what can it do for your business and is it worth investing in? Ben Rossi reports.

Computer News Middle East

FEBRUARY 2012

ͷͲ CIOs in the region.

STORAGE ADVISOR 54 Survival of the fittest

6

Top 50

The past year has given enough reason for regional enterprises to ȋ Ȍ ȋ Ȍ Ǥ ϐ strategies. Pallavi Sharma speaks to regional vendors to report on the state of affairs.

www.cnmeonline.com

SECURITY ADVISOR 62 Â Â Extending identity Â

‹–Š –Š‡ ƒ†˜‡Â?– ‘ˆ …Ž‘—† …‘Â?’—–‹Â?‰ ƒÂ?† ˜‹”–—ƒŽ‹•ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ ‹†‡Â?–‹–› ƒÂ?† access  management  is  fast  becoming  an  integral  part  of  corporate  security  armoury.

TELECOMS ADVISOR 70 Â Â The journey to 4G Â

Now  that  carriers  have  done  the  big  work  of  getting  4G  wireless  networks  up  and  running,  it’s  time  to  understand  what  these  deployments  and  services  mean  to  you.

72 Â Â Â

Racing towards the digital economy Accelerated  by  government  policies  and  increasing  demand  from  …‘Â?•—Â?‡”• ˆ‘” Â?‘”‡ „ƒÂ?†™‹†–Š ƒÂ?† Â˜Â‹Â†Â‡Â‘ÇŚÂ…Â‡Â?–”‹… ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?•ǥ ‡‘ —ǥ ‘ˆ •‘Ž—–‹‘Â?• ƒÂ?† Â?ƒ”Â?‡–‹Â?‰ ‹††Ž‡ ƒ•– ƒ– Â—ÂƒÂ™Â‡Â‹ÇĄ •–ƒ–‡• Š‹• ‘’‹Â?‹‘Â? ‘Â? Š‘™ –Š‡ ”‘ŽŽnj‘—– ‘ˆ Â?ƒ–‹‘Â?ƒŽ „”‘ƒ†„ƒÂ?† Â?‡–™‘”Â?• Č‹ ČŒ could  lead  to  a  total  overhaul  of  the  ICT  industry.

CAREERS ADVISOR 84 Â Â New kids on the block

INTEGRATION ADVISOR 78 Â Â Cloud app integration: the best path

Â

Š‡ ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– Â?‹˜‡”•‹–› ‹• Â?ƒÂ?‹Â?‰ ‡ˆˆ‘”–• –‘ Š‡Ž’ ƒ††”‡•• –Š‡ growing  IT  skills  gap  in  the  region  through  its  range  of  professional  IT  courses.  Pallavi  Sharma  speaks  to  students  as  well  as  staff  to  discover  ‡šƒ…–Ž› ™Šƒ– –Š‡ ‹Â?–‡”Â?ƒ–‹‘Â?ƒŽ ‹Â?•–‹–—–‹‘Â?ǯ• —„ƒ‹ …ƒÂ?’—• Šƒ• –‘ ‘ˆˆ‡”Ǥ

Â

ÂŽÂ‘Â—Â†ÇŚÂ„ÂƒÂ•Â‡Â† ‘” ƒƒ ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?• Â?‡‡† –‘ Ž‹˜‡ ‹Â? ƒÂ? ‡…‘•›•–‡Â?ÇĄ integrated  with  the  rest  of  your  infrastructure  and  enterprise  ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?•Ǥ —”‡nj „—– ™Šƒ– ‹Â?–‡‰”ƒ–‹‘Â? •–”ƒ–‡‰› ƒ…–—ƒŽŽ› ™‘”Â?• „‡•–Ǎ

90 Â Â Â

Turbulent turnover

• ŽƒÂ?‡Â?– –™‡Â?–›nj•‘Â?‡–Š‹Â?‰ –‡…Š‹‡• ™Š‘ “—‹– ƒˆ–‡” ƒ ›‡ƒ”Ǥ

INTERVIEW 92 Â Â The silver lining Â

RSA  security  chairman  Art  Coviello  says  customers  still  want  to  hear  details  about  how  the  company  so  quickly  detected  the  data  breach  –Šƒ– Žƒ•– ›‡ƒ” …‘�’”‘�‹•‡† ‹–• ‡…—” –‘�‡�•Ǥ ‡ ƒŽ•‘ •ƒ›• „—•‹�‡••‡• have  been  slow  to  pick  up  on  new  security  models,  many  touted  by  RSA,  that  would  help  reduce  the  impact  of  successful  breaches.

PRODUCTS 96   CNME  gets  down  in  the  dirt  with  the  latest  gadgets  and  productivity  tools,  and  brings  you  the  verdict.

LAST WORD 98 Ž‘‘Â? ƒ– ™Šƒ– Â?ƒŒ‘” ‡˜‡Â?–• ƒ™ƒ‹– ›‘—ǥ ™Šƒ– ™‡ǯ”‡ ”‡ƒ†‹Â?‰ǥ ƒÂ?† ƒ •Â?‡ƒÂ? ’‡‡Â? ƒ– –Š‡ …‘Â?–‡Â?–• ‘ˆ –Š‡ Â?‡š– ‹••—‡ ‘ˆ Ǥ

www.cnmeonline.com

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Computer  News  Middle  East

7

ANALYSIS Month in view

Health in the fast lane The recently conducted mHealth conference highlighted the concerns and issues facing technology usage in health. Ben Rossi writes.

T

he mHealth conference, held last ǡ ϐ in the Middle East market – when it comes to new technology, the region somewhat lags behind other parts of the world. Nevertheless, the key message conveyed throughout the event was that mobile health is here and will change the way people receive health care and interact with their doctors.

Santana Biswas, eHealth services director at du and chairman of the conference, kicked off proceedings at

of new technology.

8

Computer News Middle East

FEBRUARY 2012

“The world is going digital. The world is going social. Phenomenon like Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, are creating a huge impact on their own. It is a shift we need to understand and leverage for Ǥ the way technology is changing and adapt it to the dialogue between patient and doctor,” said Biswas.

“Mobile health is really about leveraging mobility. However, we have to make sure it is health we focus on and the relationship between the patient and doctor, with mobility and mobile phones as the enabler.

Penetration of mobiles and the internet in this region is one of the highest in the world.

www.cnmeonline.com

This is the digital society that we live in and we need to capitalise on this to help improve healthcare in this region,” Biswas added.

The notion of mHealth revolves around patients using their mobile phones to receive healthcare information and advice, connect them to the right information faster, and have their overall health care managed in a more ϐ Ǥ Ǥ ǡ ȋ Ȍ speaker at the conference. “There is massive growth in mobile cellular networks in this Ǥ Ȃ are living in a highly connected digital world in the GCC, and the UAE is leading that trend.

‡ ƒŽ•‘ •‡‡ ƒ …‘Â?˜‡”‰‡Â?…‡ ‘ˆ –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› Č‚ ÂŽÂƒÂ’Â–Â‘Â’Â•ÇĄ Â?‘„‹Ž‡ ’Š‘Â?‡•ǥ …‘Â?’—–‡”• ƒÂ?† televisions  are  all  converging.  This  offers  a  unique  and  profound  opportunity  for  mobile  Š‡ƒŽ–Š ƒÂ?† –Š‡ ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ Š‡ƒŽ–Š …ƒ”‡ †‡Ž‹˜‡”› system,â€?  she  said. “The  health  care  delivery  system  and  industry  generally  has  been  slow  in  changing  and  adapting  to  new  technology.  In  essence  we  are  trying  to  increase  access  to  Š‡ƒŽ–Š ƒÂ?† Š‡ƒŽ–Š Â…ÂƒÂ”Â‡ÇŚÂ”Â‡ÂŽÂƒÂ–Â‡Â† ‹Â?ˆ‘”Â?ƒ–‹‘Â?Ǥ Â‡ÂƒÂŽÇŚÂ–Â‹Â?‡ ’—„Ž‹… ‹Â?ˆ‘”Â?ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ ‘Â?‰‘‹Â?‰ medical  education  and  training  will  be  key  deliverables  that  we  can  get  from  mobile  health,â€?  she  added.

There  should  be  relevant  training  –Š”‘—‰Š‘—– –Š‡ ‹Â?’Ž‡Â?‡Â?–ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ ”Ǥ „†—ŽŽƒŠ said,  including  ensuring  there  are  people  with  clinical  backgrounds  involved  that  understand  the  users’  needs. ‡•’‹–‡ –Š‡•‡ …ŠƒŽŽ‡Â?‰‡•ǥ ”Ǥ „†—ŽŽƒŠ emphasised,  it  is  vital  the  health  care  ‹Â?†—•–”› Œ‘‹Â?• –Š‡ †‹‰‹–ƒŽ –”‡Â?† –‘ ’”‘˜‹†‡ better  care  for  the  future. ”Ǥ „†—ŽŽƒŠ ™‡Â?– –‘ ƒÂ?Â?‘—Â?…‡ –Šƒ– is  in  the  process  of  implementing  the  Hospital  at  Home  initiative,  in  partnership  with  the  John  Hopkins  University  School  of  Medicine. Dz Š‹• ‹• ƒÂ? ‡š’‡”‹Â?‡Â?– –Šƒ– ‹• Œ—•– happening  as  we  speak.  Patients  can  phone Â

Mobile health is really about leveraging mobility.

However, we have to make sure it is health we focus on and the relationship between the patient and doctor, with mobility and mobile phones as the enabler.

Penetration of mobile and internet in this region is one of the highest in the world.â€? Š‹Ž•– –Š‡ …‘Â?…‡’– …”‡ƒ–‡• ‡š…‡ŽŽ‡Â?– ‘’’‘”–—Â?‹–‹‡•ǥ ”Ǥ „†—ŽŽƒŠ ĠÂ?‹––‡† –Š‡”‡ will  be  some  challenges. “Strong  partnerships  among  technology  providers  are  critical  to  provide  successful  and  scalable  mobile  health.  Accessibility  is  another  factor,  the  cost  of  these  applications  will  be  critical  in  the  adoption.  Also  the  †‡•‹‰Â? ™‹–Š –Š‡ ‡Â?†nj—•‡”• ‹Â? Â?‹Â?† ‹• ˜‡”› ‹Â?’‘”–ƒÂ?–ǥ ĥ ‹• –Š‡ Ž‘Â?‰nj–‡”Â? ˆ—Â?†‹Â?‰ Č‚ different  stakeholders  have  to  buy  in  to  the  effectiveness  of  this  application  and  must  be  willing  to  fund  it  long  term,â€?  she  said. “mHealth  has  to  deliver  measurable  goals,  and  the  collaboration  between  the  different  organisations  involved  in  delivering  Š‡ƒŽ–Š …ƒ”‡ ‹• ˜‡”› ‹Â?’‘”–ƒÂ?–Ǥ ‡ ƒŽ•‘ need  to  eliminate  the  fears  of  the  patients  themselves,  like  reassuring  them  they  will  not  be  losing  contact  with  their  physician  and  showing  them  how  this  will  be  effective,â€?  she  added.

in  and  physicians  can  give  advice  and  also  refer  these  patients  to  clinics  or  hospitals.  ‹–Š –Š‹• ’ƒ–‹‡Â?–• …ƒÂ? Šƒ˜‡ –Š‡ •ƒˆ‡–› Â?‡– where  they  can  actually  call  someone  in  the  middle  of  the  night,â€?  she  said. “It’s  also  going  to  improve  the  quality  of  the  physicians  because  they  won’t  have  to  take  calls  in  the  middle  of  the  night  unless  it’s  an  emergency,  in  which  case  the  patients  will  then  be  referred  to  them,â€?  she  added. ”—…‡ Â‡ÂˆÂˆÇĄ ’”‘ˆ‡••‘” ‘ˆ Â?‡†‹…‹Â?‡ ƒ– John  Hopkins  University  School  of  Medicine,  ‡š’ƒÂ?†‡† ‘Â? –Š‡ ‹Â?Â‹Â–Â‹ÂƒÂ–Â‹Â˜Â‡ÇĄ ™Š‹…Š Š‡ •ƒ‹† Šƒ• been  implemented  in  several  health  systems  ƒ”‘—Â?† –Š‡ Ǥ Ǥ •‹Â?…‡ –Š‡ Â?‹†njʹͲͲͲ•Ǥ “The  idea  is  to  take  care  of  people  in  their  homes  rather  than  in  the  hospital.  This  sort  of  care  can  be  enabled  by  mHealth.  I  think  it  will  start  to  shift  the  paradigm  from  thinking  about  the  hospital  as  the  only  place  where  you  can  get  health  care.  It  may  start  to  enable  a  focus  towards  primary  care  and  to  a Â

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Â?‘”‡ Â’Â‘Â’Â—ÂŽÂƒÂ”ÇŚÂŠÂ‡ÂƒÂŽÂ–ÂŠÂ…ÂƒÂ”Â‡ Â?‘†‡Žǥ ĥ ‘’’‘•‡† –‘ •’‡…‹ƒŽ‹•– Š‹‰Šnj–‡…Š ÂŠÂ‡ÂƒÂŽÂ–ÂŠÇĄÇł ‡ˆˆ •ƒ‹†Ǥ ”Ǥ ƒÂ?‹‡ Â… ‡›Â?‘Ž†•ǥ …Š‹‡ˆ Â?‡†‹…ƒŽ ‘ˆĎ?‹…‡” ƒ– ‘„‹Ž‡ ‘…–‘”• ʹ͜nj͚ Â?–‡”Â?ƒ–‹‘Â?ÂƒÂŽÇĄ spoke  about  bringing  her  company’s  initiative  to  the  Middle  East.  She  said  mobile  health  will  not  only  give  patients  more  health  awareness  and  information,  but  will  also  change  the  way  doctors  operate  in  the  region. Â‘Â™Â‡Â˜Â‡Â”ÇĄ ”Ǥ ‡›Â?‘Ž†• ™ƒ”Â?‡† physicians  in  the  region  must  change  their  way  of  thinking  to  adapt  to  new  technologies. “Medical  school  trains  you  in  a  very  rigid  ™ƒ› –‘ „‡ ‹Â? …Šƒ”‰‡Ǥ ‘…–‘”• ƒ”‡ Â?‘– –Š‡ „‡•– at  coaching  people  to  lose  weight  because  they  don’t  have  enough  time  to  spend  with  people.  So  you  need  to  celebrate  nurses,  education  programs  and  other  technologies  that  allow  you  to  be  a  doctor  and  not  try  to  be  what  you’re  not,â€?  she  said. “If  we  can  use  the  technology  to  allow  us  to  be  a  doctor  and  let  us  involve  other  team  Â?‡Â?„‡”• –‘ †‘ –Š‡ „‡•– ’‘••‹„Ž‡ ÂŒÂ‘Â„ÇĄ –Š‡Â? –Š‡ ’ƒ–‹‡Â?– ‰‡–• „‡––‡” …ƒ”‡Ǥ ‘…–‘”• Šƒ˜‡ ‰‘– to  let  it  go  a  little  bit  and  loosen  up,  and  be  willing  to  use  the  technology  and  go  there,  as  opposed  to  thinking  I’m  captain  and  stay  off  my  ship.  It  can’t  work  that  way,â€?  she  added. “I  think  it’s  going  to  be  small  steps  at  a  time  in  the  Middle  East.  There  are  paradigms  in  each  country  and  I’ve  been  around  the  Middle  East  now  for  two  years,  and  the  paradigms  here  are  very  different.  There’s  going  to  be  slow  change  but  I  do  think  it’s  ‰‘‹Â?‰ –‘ Šƒ’’‡Â?ÇĄÇł ”Ǥ ‡›Â?‘Ž†• •ƒ‹†Ǥ Dz ‡ ƒ”‡ ”‡ƒŽŽ› ‡š…‹–‡† „‡…ƒ—•‡ Â™Â‡ÇŻÂ˜Â‡ had  a  lot  of  people  talk  about  how  it  won’t  Ď?‹– …—Ž–—”ƒŽŽ› ‹Â? –Š‡ —Žˆ ”‡‰‹‘Â?Ǥ › ‰‘ƒŽ ‹• to  have  a  locally  based  initiative.  Physicians  who  are  local  and  a  system  designed  to  help  develop  integration  with  the  physician  that  the  patient  seeks.  Most  people  would  agree,  access  to  care  is  a  problem  and  with  mobile  health  we  hope  to  change  this,â€?  she  added.

The  conference  involved  a  range  of  people  from  different  parts  of  the  health  care  industry  talking  about  mobile  health  and  its  evolution  in  the  Middle  East.     Â

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ANALYSIS Month in view

Embracing digital media If the Digital Media Forum 2012 proved anything, it was that enterprises in the Middle East have not understood the full importance of new technology and how it can impact their business.

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he  two-­â€?day  Digital  Media  Forum,  held  at  the  Habtoor  Grand  Hotel  in  Dubai  on  January  25  and  26,  involved  people  from  all  aspects  of  business  coming  together  to  discuss  how  the  digital  revolution  is  changing  business  and  the  new  opportunities  it  presents. Â Â‘Â™Â‡Â˜Â‡Â”ÇĄ –Š‡ Ď?‹”•– •–”‘Â?‰ ‹Â?†‹…ƒ–‹‘Â? that  these  opportunities  are  not  being  fully  ‡Â?„”ƒ…‡† …ƒÂ?‡ ˆ”‘Â? ƒ–”‹…Â? ‡††›ǥ ‘ˆ ÂƒÂ’Â’ÇŚÂ†Â‡Â˜Â‡ÂŽÂ‘Â’Â‡Â”Â• ƒÂ?† …‘Â?•—Ž–ƒÂ?–• —”‹‘—• Tribe.  He  said  businesses  are  failing  to  …ƒ’‹–ƒŽ‹•‡ ‘Â? Â?‘„‹Ž‡ ƒ’’• –‘ „‡Â?‡Ď?‹– –Š‡‹” users  and  company.  “I  don’t  think  a  lot  of  businesses  really  —Â?†‡”•–ƒÂ?† Â?‘„‹Ž‡ ƒ’’•Ǥ ‡ Ď?‹Â?† –Šƒ– there  are  a  lot  of  companies  developing  applications  to  suit  their  business  goals,  Â?‘– –Š‡ ‰‘ƒŽ• ‘ˆ –Š‡‹” —•‡”•Ǥ –Š‹Â?Â? –Š‡ Â?‡š– mobile  revolution  will  be  a  huge  opportunity Â

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for  a  lot  of  organisations,  but  it  will  also  be  a  very  destructive  force,â€?  he  said. ‡††› •ƒ‹† Š‡ „‡Ž‹‡˜‡• –Š‡ ’”‘„Ž‡Â? Ž‹‡• in  businesses  possessing  the  wrong  reasons  to  get  an  app,  and  a  bad  approach  can  even  ‹Â?Ď?Ž‹…– Šƒ”Â? ‘Â? –Š‡ …‘Â?’ƒÂ?›Ǥ Dz Ž‘– ‘ˆ …‘Â?’ƒÂ?‹‡• ™‡ –ƒŽÂ? –‘ Œ—•– ™ƒÂ?– ƒÂ? app  because  it’s  cool.  If  you’re  going  to  build  an  app  you  should  really  think  about  what  the  key  purpose  and  behind  it  is.  If  you  don’t  have  a  purpose,  don’t  bother  wasting  your  or  your  users’  time.  There’s  plenty  of  rubbish  out  there  on  the  app  store  already,â€?  he  said. “There  are  a  lot  of  companies  that  are  bombarding  their  users  with  evasive  marketing  messages,  not  respecting  their  ’”‹˜ƒ…› ƒÂ?† —•‡”• ƒ”‡ •–ƒ”–‹Â?‰ –‘ Ď?‹‰Š– „ƒ…Â? and  say  no.  So  the  idea  that  mobile  has  arrived  and  brands  really  get  it,  couldn't  be  further  ˆ”‘Â? –Š‡ –”—–Šǥ̜ ‡††› ƒ††‡†Ǥ

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Another  area  the  Forum  highlighted  where  enterprises  are  not  taking  advantage  of  new  technology  is  in  digital  research.  ƒ•Šƒ ƒÂ?ƒ”‡Â?ÇĄ ”‡•‡ƒ”…Š †‹”‡…–‘” ƒ– ‹˜ƒÂ?‹ǥ said  digital  approaches  to  research  offer  better  insight  than  traditional  forms,  and  companies  in  the  Middle  East  need  to  catch  up  with  this. “The  role  of  research  that  was  very  traditional  in  the  past  is  changing.  It  ‹Â?˜‘Ž˜‡• —• Â?‘˜‹Â?‰ ˆ”‘Â? ‘ˆĎ?Ž‹Â?‡ ”‡•‡ƒ”…Š to  online  panels,  developing  more  research  communities  and  understanding  what  they  are  all  about,â€?  Makarem  said. “Traditional  research  that  takes  three  or  four  weeks  to  gather  and  determine  Ď?‹Â?†‹Â?‰•ǥ ›‘— …ƒÂ?ǯ– ‡˜‡Â? Ž‘‘Â? ƒ– ƒÂ?›Â?‘”‡ because  things  are  changing  at  a  much  faster  pace.  It’s  now  all  about  the  real  time  understanding  of  what’s  going  on,â€?  Makarem  said. Dz Š‡Â? ›‘—ǯ”‡ Ž‘‘Â?‹Â?‰ ƒ– ‘Â?Ž‹Â?‡ communities  you  are  actually  looking  at  developing  the  connections  and  engaging  ™‹–Š ’‡‘’Ž‡ ‹Â? Â”Â‡ÂƒÂŽÇŚÂ–Â‹Â?‡ ƒÂ?† ‘Â? ƒ Â†ÂƒÂ›ÇŚÂ–Â‘ÇŚÂ†ÂƒÂ› basis.  It’s  getting  more  insight  into  their  lifestyle,  attitude  and  behaviour,  and  gains  a  better  feel  of  what  is  going  on  in  the  market,â€?  she  added. Š‡ Ď?‹Â?ƒŽ ƒ––ƒ…Â? ‘Â? „—•‹Â?‡••‡• …ƒÂ?‡ in  the  area  of  social  media  at  the  Forum  ™Š‡Â? ŽƒÂ? Â‡Â˜Â‡Â”Â‡Â—ÂšÇĄ …‘Â?Â?—Â?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?• ‘ˆĎ?‹…‡” ƒ– –Š‡ ”‹–‹•Š —•‹Â?॥ ”‘—’ǥ —„ƒ‹ &  Northern  Emirates,  denied  that  ROI  is  †‹ˆĎ?‹…—Ž– –‘ Â?‡ƒ•—”‡ ‹Â? •‘…‹ƒŽ Â•Â’ÂƒÂ…Â‡ÇĄ †‡•’‹–‡ many  businessmen  claiming  the  contrary.  The  common  stumbling  block  in  enterprises  really  embracing  social  media  is  uncertainty  over  whether  it  provides  real  ROI  and  how  that  can  be  measured. Dz Š› †‘ ’‡‘’Ž‡ Â?‘– •‡‡ –Š‡ •‹Â?’Ž‡•– ways  to  manage  ROI?  Money  going  out  there,  Â?‘Â?‡› …‘Â?‹Â?‰ ‹Â? Š‡”‡ Č‚ ™Š‡”‡ ‹• ‹– …‘Â?‹Â?‰ from?  There  are  tools  in  place.  It’s  really  •‹Â?’Ž‡ǥdz ‡˜‡”‡—š •ƒ‹†Ǥ “The  tools  you  can  do  this  with  are  very  •‹Â?’Ž‡ǥ Ž‹Â?‡ ‘‘‰Ž‡ Â?ƒŽ›–‹…• Č‚ ™‡ ƒŽŽ Â?Â?‘™ what  these  services  are.  There’s  nothing  dramatic  about  it.  If  you  can  match  up  „—•‹Â?‡••‡• –‘ ›‘—” ™‡„•‹–‡ Č‚ „‘—Â?…‡ Â”ÂƒÂ–Â‡Â•ÇĄ people  spending  certain  amounts  of  time  on  …‡”–ƒ‹Â? ’ƒ‰‡• Č‚ –Š‡Â? ›‘— …ƒÂ? ‰‡Â?‡”ƒ–‡ Â•ÂƒÂŽÂ‡Â•ÇĄÇł he  added. Â

Big data is nothing new IBM’s Barber says that whether we call it big data, or by any other name, organisations need to learn to capitalise on their data to move further in the next few years.

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any people are talking of the benefits and importance of consolidating data centres. Jeff Barber, director of worldwide storage product sales, systems and technology group at IBM, goes a step further. He says he actually pities companies that are not virtualising.

“I pity the company that isn’t taking

something they can actually use to their advantage. It’s a phenomenally important competitive advantage if you’re turning data into useful information,” he says.

“In the very competitive world it’s so much more important that you take that data and you make sure you have the right products on the right shelves based on the buying patterns of your customers,” he adds.

Barber also laughs at the circulating predictions that earmark 2012 as the year of big data and virtualisation. He says it has been out there a lot longer than people realise and is astounded there are still companies that have still not embraced it.

“Big data has been out there for years.

I think somebody coined a term that people think is very catchy, and all of a sudden we’re Ǯ ǯǤ Ȃ ǯ Ǥ ǡ Ǧ

ϐ Ǧ ǡdz Ǥ

Jeff Barber, director of worldwide storage product sales, systems and technology group at IBM.

Dz ǡ ǡ phenomenon is not stopping. All the various outputs of information, like Facebook or Twitter, are not going away. People’s use of the

Ǥ really think that it’s important to bring true Ǥ ǯ it in place basically since 2003,” he adds. ǯ leave some businesses wondering why they didn’t virtualise sooner, he highlights the importance of not rushing into it and advises a careful approach to do it right.

Whether we call it big data this year, or information explosion three years ago, the phenomenon is not stopping. All the various outputs of information, like Facebook or Twitter, are not going away. People’s use of the Internet and information is not going away. We really think that it’s important to bring true storage virtualisation to the market. We’ve had it in place basically since 2003.”

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“If I give anyone any advice, I’d say this Ǧ bang. People like to think they can go and buy a product, implement it and suddenly they’ve Ǥ ǯ Ȃ there is an awful lot of work you have to do bringing applications in at the appropriate time when you have the appropriate windows,” he says.

“You get the basic infrastructure built and then you start migrating applications as you can. The beauty of it is once you’re at that point and you virtualise an application, you then have the ability to add capacity and things like swapping vendors can happen over a weekend,” he adds.

Simply conducting the act of virtualising your data centres is pointless if you don’t then use that new platform to gain more information from it, Barber says.

You’ve got to understand what your data is and what can be turned into information.

So there’s the rationalisation process, there’s the tooling to make you able to go into those databases and create something useful out of it,” he adds.

He also emphasises security as an aspect that must not be ignored when virtualising.

IBM has recently developed its own security division in its software group data.

“Hacking is a new form of terrorism and it’s not going away. You really need look into security, because if you don’t have those ǡ Ǥ

down that cloud path and you haven’t spent time making sure that you have security over ǡ yourself,” Barber says.

Most people don’t take the time to invest in the people who truly understand the Ǥ ǯ taken a little bit of time and gone to people who know, they could have avoided 90% of ǡdz Ǥ

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Computer News Middle East

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ANALYSIS Month in view

Protecting your T virtualised assets While everybody is trying to come to grips with implementing the latest solutions related to virtualisation, cloud and big data across their businesses, are they aware they are opening themselves up to more cyber attacks?

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hat  is  the  question  posed  by  Kaspersky  Lab,  which  offers  Kaspersky  Internet  Security  and  Kaspersky  Antivirus  to  protect  users  and  companies  from  such  threats.  The  year  of  virtualisation  and  cloud  certainly  presents  many  opportunities  for  enterprises,  but  Kaspersky  says  that  it  opens  them  up  to  bigger  attacks  than  ever  before  as  well. “In  my  opinion,  virtualisation  means  that  more  servers  will  be  available  in  the  same  physical  place.  Therefore,  if  somebody  manages  to  break  into  a  data  centre,  they  will  have  more  data  to  steal,�  says  Costin  Raiu,  director  of  global  research  and  ƒ�ƒŽ›•‹• ƒ– ƒ•’‡”•�› ƒ„Ǥ The  same  concept  applies  to  the  cloud,  where  all  the  customers’  data  is  stored  in  one  place  and  this  means  bigger  incidents,  because  in  the  cloud  you  have  all  of  the  customers’  data  in  one  place,  readily  available  for  hackers  to  steal  over  a  high  speed  internet  link.  This  means  that  cloud  hacks  in  the  future  will  be  much  bigger  than  the  small  incidents  of  the  past,�  he  adds.

Raiu  says  that  cyber  attacks  are  set  to  ‰”‘™ ‹Â? ʹͲͳʹǥ Â?‘– Œ—•– ĥ …Ž‘—† ’”‡•‡Â?–• more  opportunities,  but  also  because  of  the  low  risks  and  high  gains  involved  for  hackers.  Dz –ǯ• ’”‘Ď?‹–ƒ„Ž‡ ƒÂ?† ’‡‘’Ž‡ …ƒÂ? Â?ƒÂ?‡ a  lot  of  money  through  cyber  crime.  Also  very  few  of  these  people  actually  get  caught  and  it’s  easy  for  them  to  get  away  with  the  crime,â€?  Raiu  says. ‡ ƒŽ•‘ •ƒ›• –Šƒ– •Â?ƒŽŽ ƒÂ?† Â?‡†‹—Â?ÇŚ sized  enterprises  should  ignore  general  conceptions  that  cyber  attacks  are  typically  targeted  at  larger  companies.  “Attacks  are  often  targeted  towards  big  companies  because  they  have  more  interesting  information,  but  in  2011  we  saw  many  smaller  companies  targeted  as  well.  So  it’s  not  true  that  only  big  companies  are  affected,â€?  Raiu  says.  Industries  that  have  previously  rarely  been  targeted  by  cyber  attacks  should  no  longer  dismiss  security  solutions,  Raiu  says,  as  hackers  are  constantly  seeking  new  •‡…–‘”• –‘ ‡š’‘•‡ ƒÂ?† Â?‡™ ™ƒ›• –‘ †‘ •‘Ǥ

Dz ‡ •ƒ™ –Š‡ ‘‹Ž ƒÂ?† ‡Â?‡”‰› ‹Â?†—•–”› hacked  in  2011.  The  energy  sector  particularly  lacks  in  security  awareness,  but  also  oil  companies,  chemical  companies,  government  contractors,  media  companies  and  political  entities.  I  think  that,  in  order  to  break  into  industrial  systems  hackers  will  develop  new  tools,  and  already  we  have  seen  this  happen,â€?  Raiu  says. ƒ‹— ƒŽ•‘ ‰ƒ˜‡ •‘Â?‡ ‡š’‡”– ƒ†˜‹…‡ –‘ help  companies  protect  themselves  from  cyber  attacks. “A  good  security  solution  is  the  answer.  ‹–Š‘—– ƒ •‡…—”‹–› •‘Ž—–‹‘Â? ›‘— ƒ”‡ ’”‡––› much  naked  in  front  of  these  sorts  of  attacks.  So  companies  should  install  a  good  and  reputable  security  solution.  I’m  not  saying  that  Kaspersky  is  necessarily  the  best,  but  businesses  should  definitely  look  into  independent  tests  and  see  what  they  say  about  different  products,â€?  he  says.  “Besides  a  good  security  solution  I  recommend  education  and  security  awareness  for  the  users.  It’s  necessary  to  have  a  full  security  policy,  that  includes  user  awareness  and  good  security  products.  Companies  must  make  sure  all  the  software  is  updated,  because  the  best  security  software  in  the  world  is  simply  —•‡Ž‡•• ‹ˆ ›‘—” —•‡”• †‹•ƒ„Ž‡ ‹– Œ—•– –‘ ‰‡– access  to  some  website  that  was  blocked  for  whatever  reason,â€?  he  adds.

The  scariest  thing  that  Raiu  talks  of  is  the  rise  of  cyber  warfare.  He  says  that  it  has  become  the  third,  and  most  worrying,  motive  in  cyber  attacks,  after  financial  gain  and  activism. “Cyber  warfare  is  a  growing  concern  as  a  way  for  military  and  intelligence  entities  to  attack  their  enemies,â€?  he  says.  Raiu  s ays  t he  I nternet  i s  b ecoming  a  c yber  war  g round  t hat  h e  b elieves Â

Tamer Elhamy, business solutions lead for Microsoft’s Gulf region

companies  a nd  u sers  w ill  g et  c aught  i n  the  m iddle  o f.   “ It  i nvolves  s uper  p owers  f ighting  each  o ther  i n  c yber  s pace  i n  a  k ind  ‘ˆ …‘Ž† ™ƒ”Ǥ – ‹• ƒÂ? ‡š’ƒÂ?•‹‘Â? ‘ˆ conventional  war  t actics.  B asically  we  a re  –ƒŽÂ?‹Â?‰ ƒ„‘—– ‡•’‹‘Â?ƒ‰‡ ƒÂ?† ‘ˆˆ‡Â?•‹˜‡ ÇŚ they  want  t o  c ollect  i nformation  a bout  the  e nemy  a nd  s abotage  t heir  s ystems,â€?  he  s ays.

Nobody  h as  a dmitted  t hey  a re  conducting  t hese  t ypes  o f  a ttacks,  R aiu Â

Attacks are often targeted towards big companies because they have more interesting information, but in 2011 we saw many smaller companies targeted as well. So it’s not true that only big companies are affected.� www.cnmeonline.com

says,  b ut  i f  i t  c ontinues  i t  c ould  l ead  t o  a  real  war  a mongst  s ome  o f  t he  world’s  most  p owerful  c ountries. “The  U SA,  i n  t he  p ast,  g ot  u pset  a bout  several  i ncidents  t hat  i nvolved  C hina.  They  s aid  i f  t hese  i ncidents  c ontinue  they  w ill  c onsider  t hem  a s  real  world  declarations  o f  war,â€?  R aiu  s ays.  “I  s poke  t o  s everal  p eople  f rom  t he  Chilean  a ir  force  a nd  t hey  s aid  a ccording  –‘ ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ ‹Â?–‡”Â?ƒ–‹‘Â?ƒŽ ÂŽÂƒÂ™Â•ÇĄ ‹ˆ –Š‡ person  w ho  i s  h acking  a nother  i nstitution  is  wearing  a  m ilitary  u niform  i t  i s  n o  longer  a bout  c yber  c rime  o r  h ackers,  b ut  becomes  a  m ilitary  o peration  a nd  c an  b e  considered  a  reason  for  war,â€?  h e  a dds.  Raiu  p roposes  t hat  n ew  r ules  a nd  procedures  n eed  t o  b e  i ntroduced  t o  prevent  a ny  o f  t his  f rom  h appening,  a nd  to  p rotect  u sers  a nd  b usinesses.  “That  i s  w hy  o ne  o f  t he  i deas  we  a re  pushing  i s  t o  m ake  t he  I nternet  a  m ilitary Â ÂˆÂ”Â‡Â‡ÇŚÂœÂ‘Â?‡ǥ –‘ †‹•…‘Â?Â?‡…– ƒŽŽ –Š‡ Â?‹Ž‹–ƒ”› entities  f rom  t he  I nternet,â€?  R aiu  s ays. Dz ‡–ǯ• ƒ– Ž‡ƒ•– Šƒ˜‡ •‘Â?‡ ”—Ž‡• ‘ˆ engagement  o n  t he  I nternet  b ecause  currently  t here  i s  n othing  a nd  e verybody  Œ—•– Šƒ…Â?• ‡ƒ…Š ‘–Š‡” ĥ ™‹Ž† ƒÂ?† ĥ „‹‰ as  t hey  want,â€?  R aiu  r ightly  s ays.

The  2 012  e ditions  o f  K aspersky  Internet  S ecurity  a nd  K aspersky  Antivirus  a re  c urrently  available  i n  t he  region,  w ith  t he  release  o f  t heir  2 013  ˜‡”•‹‘Â? ‡š’‡…–‡† ‹Â? ƒ”‘—Â?† —‰—•– –‹Â?‡Ǥ “They  w ill  h ave  a  l ot  o f  i nteresting  new  t echnology  a nd  m ore  i ntegration  with  t he  c loud.  For  2 012  we  wanted  t he  cloud  i ntegration  t o  b e  m ore  feasible  t o  –Š‡ —•‡”Ǥ ‘” ‡šƒÂ?’Ž‡ǥ ™Š‡Â? ›‘— ‹Â?•–ƒŽŽ a  n ew  p rogram  i nto  your  s ystem  you  c an  find  o ut  h ow  m any  o ther  p eople  a re  u sing  ‹–Ǥ ‡ ™ƒÂ?– –‘ ‡š’ƒÂ?† –Šƒ– ˆ—”–Š‡” ˆ‘” –Š‡ 2013  p roducts,â€?  R aiu  s ays.  Â

CNME has wingside seats at KasperskyLab's Cyber Conference discussing IT security in the age of warfare Follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/computernewsme) for live updates with #Cyberwar. Check online www. cnmeonline.com for the latest stories.

FEBRUARY 2012

Computer  News  Middle  East

13

ANALYSIS Month in view

Dynamic growth Dynamics is part of a complete Microsoft picture, and has continued to grow in adoption even during the recession. Ben Rossi finds out that the company remains positive about its ERP solution in the region.

W

ith 2012 being marked by many analysts as a tough year for enterprises, Microsoft believes that with Dynamics it has brought a product to the Middle East market that can substantially reduce costs for businesses. ǡ package, which includes CRM and ERP modules, provides an integrated repository of information across a company. The software streamlines the supply chain of information so all departments have immediate access to it.

14

Computer News Middle East

FEBRUARY 2012

Tamer Elhamy, business solutions lead for Microsoft’s Gulf region, says Microsoft

ϐ Ǧ ϐ Ǥ Dz ʹͲͳʹ ǯ ϐ ǡ and make our total cost of ownership more affordable for our customers,” he says.

Elhamy emphasises the ‘total Microsoft ǯ Ǥ Ǧ ǡ he says, the costs and time associated with training staff to use the software is ϐ Ǥ

www.cnmeonline.com

“That encompasses everything. It combines the user interface, the ease of use, the ease of deployment and the ease of training. So the entire package becomes the main selling feature, and that is what the customer appreciates most from the many things we are offering on the table,” he says.

“There are a lot of productivity gains Ǥ ϐ Ǧ people instead of doing, let’s say, three transactions a day, will be doing 15 transactions a day. So people can perform more transactions, they can respond faster, they can be more proactive and give better Ǥ ǡ we have seen customers reduce their procurement cost by 20%,” he adds.

Elhamy states that whilst the price of the initial licence may not be as low as other available solutions, when all costs are Ǥ “The thing that really rates us much better than the other solutions is the cost involved in implementing the solution,

getting  trained  on  the  solution,  upgrading  the  solution,  customising  it  and  adding  new  reports.  So  in  terms  of  total  cost  of  ownership,  we  are  usually  50%  less  than  other  vendors  in  the  market,â€?  he  says.  Since  there  is  a  high  staff  turnover  in  the  region,  Elhamy  says  he  has  seen  some  –”ƒ‹Â?‹Â?‰ „—†‰‡–• Dz‡š’Ž‘†‡Ǥdz ›Â?ƒÂ?‹…• …ƒÂ? help  rectify  this  situation.  Dz —•–‘Â?‡”• ‰‡– –Š‡ „‡Â?‡Ď?‹– ‘ˆ –Š‡ ‘Â?Ž‹Â?‡ training  free  of  charge.  So  when  you  buy  the  licence,  you  are  instantly  connected  to  all  the  training  material  you  need,  which  is  a  substantial  investment  from  Microsoft  and  is  •‘Â?‡–Š‹Â?‰ –Šƒ– …—•–‘Â?‡”• ‡Â?Œ‘› ƒÂ?† „‡Â?‡Ď?‹– from  a  lot,â€?  Elhamy  says. “Also,  the  training  has  been  done  in  a  way  so  you  are  not  sitting  on  an  online  –”ƒ‹Â?‹Â?‰ …‘—”•‡ ˆ‘” Ď?‹˜‡ †ƒ›•Ǥ ˜‡”› •‹Â?‰Ž‡ training  session  is  around  30  to  45  minutes,  ƒÂ?† ‹–ǯ• „”‘Â?‡Â? †‘™Â? •‘ ‹– …ƒÂ? „‡Â?‡Ď?‹– everyone,â€?  he  adds.  ‹–Š ‹…”‘•‘ˆ– „‡‹Â?‰ ƒ ͳͲͲΨ ’ƒ”–Â?‡” driven  organisation,  all  implementations  are  conducted  through  partners.  Elhamy  says  Microsoft’s  partners  train  selective  members  of  the  customer’s  team  to  be  equipped  to  –”ƒ‹Â? Â?‡™ Â?‡Â?„‡”• ‘ˆ •–ƒˆˆ ‹Â?njŠ‘—•‡Ǥ Dz Š‡Â? ‘—” ’ƒ”–Â?‡”• ‹Â?’Ž‡Â?‡Â?– ƒ solution  within  a  company,  one  or  two  members  of  staff  will  become  the  ‘super  users’.  These  people  get  a  higher  level  of  training  verses  the  others  so  that  they  can  guide  new  employees  and  support  the  learning  curve,â€?  Elhamy  says.

He  calls  these  training  implementations  “conscious  decisions  for  reducing  costsâ€?  for  their  customers.  As  for  the  perception Â

Tamer Elhamy, business solutions lead for Microsoft’s Gulf region

–Šƒ– ›Â?ƒÂ?‹…• ‹• Ž‹Â?Â?‡† –‘ • Â?‘”‡ –ŠƒÂ? large  enterprises,  Elhamy  says  he  hopes  to  broaden  that  soon. Dz ‡ Ž‘˜‡ ‘—” ’‡”…‡’–‹‘Â? ĥ ƒÂ? product,  but  we  want  to  add  to  that  ’‡”…‡’–‹‘Â?Ǥ ‡ Šƒ˜‡ •‡‰Â?‡Â?–‡† ‘—” offering  into  an  SME  offering  and  enterprise  offering.  Now  AX  2012  is  a  product  positioned  for  the  enterprise  offering,  and  Â?ƒÂ?› ‘ˆ –Š‡ Žƒ”‰‡ ‡Â?–‡”’”‹•‡ Ď?‹”Â?• ‹Â? –Š‡ ‹††Ž‡ ƒ•– ƒ”‡ ‹Â?’Ž‡Â?‡Â?–‹Â?‰ ›Â?ƒÂ?‹…• and  CRM,â€?  he  says. Â

There are a lot of productivity gains with Dynamics. Efficiency gets higher - people instead of doing, let’s say, three transactions a day, will be doing 15 transactions a day. So people can do much more transactions, they can respond faster, they can be more proactive and give better customer service. For example, on average we have seen customers reduce their procurement cost by 20%.� www.cnmeonline.com

Â?‘–Š‡” „‡Â?‡Ď?‹– ›Â?ƒÂ?‹…• Â‘ÂˆÂˆÂ‡Â”Â•ÇĄ ŽŠƒÂ?› says,  is  key  for  business  intelligence. “People  can  get  dashboards  and  key  ’‡”ˆ‘”Â?ƒÂ?…‡ ‹Â?†‹…ƒ–‘”• ‘—– ‘ˆ –Š‡ „‘šǤ – ‹• ”—Â?Â?‹Â?‰ ‘Â? –Š‡ •ƒÂ?‡ †ƒ–ƒ„ƒ•‡Ǥ ‘ ™Š‡Â? ƒ Ď?‹Â?ƒÂ?…‹ƒŽ Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡” Ž‘‰• ‹Â?–‘ –Š‡ ’”‘†—…– he  has  his  own  dashboard  and  his  welcome  screen  with  the  main  KPIs  that  he’s  looking  at,â€?  Elhamy  says. “It’s  very  important  that  we  are  Ž‡˜‡”ƒ‰‹Â?‰ –Š‡ ƒÂ?† š…‡ŽǤ ˜‡”›–Š‹Â?‰ ‹• „ƒ•‡† ‘Â? š…‡ŽǤ Â?› Ď?‹Â?ƒÂ?…‹ƒŽ ’‡”•‘Â? ‹Â? –Š‡ ™‘”Ž† ™‹ŽŽ Šƒ˜‡ –‘—…Š‡† š…‡Ž ‘” ‹• Â?ƒ›„‡ ‡˜‡Â? ‹Â? Ž‘˜‡ ™‹–Š š…‡Žǥdz Š‡ ƒ††•Ǥ Elhamy  says  he  believes  by  implementing  ›Â?ƒÂ?‹…• …‘Â?’ƒÂ?‹‡• Â?‡‡† Â?‘ Ž‘Â?‰‡” ˆ‡ƒ” their  customer  relations  management. “They  hated  going  into  a  system  and  inputting  whatever  happened  during  the  call  because  the  system  used  to  be  complicated.  But  now  they  can  get  an  outlook  interface  that  they  can  run  on  their  mobile  or  laptop,  and  ƒˆ–‡” –Š‡ …ƒŽŽ –Š‡› …ƒÂ? Œ—•– Ž‘‰‹Â?ÇĄ •‡Â?† ƒÂ? ‡Â?ƒ‹Ž and  it  goes  to  customer  relations,â€?  he  says.  Service  provision  is  very  much  on  the  radar  for  Microsoft  right  now.  CRM  online  is  available  in  20  countries  around  the  world,  which  Elhamy  says  has  been  hugely  successful.  He  also  says  that  Microsoft  is  investing  heavily  in  preparing  its  partners  for  this  new  consumption  of  technology. Dz Š‡Â? ™‡ •–ƒ”–‡† –”ƒ‹Â?‹Â?‰ ‘—” ’ƒ”–Â?‡”• we  showed  them  that  it’s  all  or  nothing,  either  you  have  everything  online  or  it’s  not  worth  it.  Some  of  our  customers  started  migrating  their  services  into  the  online  world,  so  when  the  ERP  online  comes  in  they  will  be  ready,â€?  Elhamy  says. Dz Š‹• ‹• •‘Â?‡–Š‹Â?‰ ÇŻÂ? ”‡ƒŽŽ› ’”‘—† ‘ˆ Č‚ we  invested  more  than  $50,000  of  training  for  partners  to  become  online  ready.  This  Ď?‹•…ƒŽ ›‡ƒ” ™‡ Šƒ˜‡ ’ŽƒÂ?Â?‡† –‘ ‹Â?˜‡•– ‘˜‡” 6,000  man  hours  of  training  of  our  partners,  ƒÂ?† ‹Â? –Š‡ Ď?‹”•– ŠƒŽˆ ™‡ Šƒ˜‡ ƒ…Š‹‡˜‡† Â?‘”‡ than  50%  already,â€?  he  adds. ‹…”‘•‘ˆ– †‘‡• Â?‘– ‡š’‡…– ʹͲͳʹ –‘ „‡ Šƒ”•Š ‘Â? –Š‡ Ď?‹”Â?Ǥ Š‡ …‘Â?’ƒÂ?› Â?‘™ Šƒ• over  2,500  enterprise  customers  in  the  Gulf  region  and  is  adding  up  to  200  every  ›‡ƒ”Ǥ ŽŠƒÂ?› •ƒ›• Š‡ ‡š’‡…–• –Šƒ– ‰”‘™–Š –‘ continue  in  2012.  Â

FEBRUARY 2012

Computer  News  Middle  East

15

ROUND-UP Month in view

King Faisal Specialist Hospital opts for Dell’s virtualisation solution

Internationally  recognised  hospital  and  the  biggest  research  facility  in  Saudi  Arabia,  King  Faisal  Specialist  Hospital  and  Research  Centre,  has  selected  Dell  to  deploy  its  complete  virtualisation  solution,  Dell  announced  today. ‡ŽŽ ™‹ŽŽ …‘Â?•‘Ž‹†ƒ–‡ –Š‡ ÂŠÂ‘Â•Â’Â‹Â–ÂƒÂŽÇŻÂ• ͡ͲͲ physical  servers  down  to  50  with  450  virtual  servers,  which  will  simplify  IT  management,  increase  the  centre’s  processing  capacity  and  allow  the  hospital  to  quickly  integrate  a  medical  cloud  computing  environment  in  the  future. Dz ‡ƒŽ‹Â?‰ ™‹–Š ’‡‘’Ž‡ǯ• Ž‹˜‡• Ž‡ƒ˜‡• Â?‘ ”‘‘Â? ˆ‘” –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› ‰Ž‹–…Š‡•ǥ •‘ ™‡ –—”Â?‡† –‘ ‡ŽŽ ˆ‘”

their  highly  available  solutions  and  are  relying  on  their  support  for  our  total  IT  infrastructure,â€?  •ƒ‹† ƒŠ‡‡† ÂŠÂƒÂ›Â›ÂƒÂ–ÇĄ ‹Â?ˆ”ƒ•–”—…–—”‡ manager  at  King  Faisal  Specialist  Hospital. Dz ‹–Š ’ŽƒÂ?• –‘ ‘ˆˆ‡” ƒ …‘Â?’”‡Š‡Â?•‹˜‡ suite  of  services  as  part  of  the  Kingdom  of  ƒ—†‹ Â”ÂƒÂ„Â‹ÂƒÇŻÂ• ‡nj ‘˜‡”Â?Â?‡Â?– Â’Â”Â‘ÂŒÂ‡Â…Â–ÇĄ ‹Â?‰ Faisal  Specialist  Hospital  aims  to  continue  to  ‹Â?’”‘˜‡ –Š‡ ’ƒ–‹‡Â?– ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡ –‘ •—’’‘”– the  growing  number  of  public  users  with  ‡ŽŽǯ• –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰›ǥdz Šƒ››ƒ– ƒ††‡†Ǥ ‡•‹‰Â?‡† –‘ Â?ƒš‹Â?‹•‡ •‡”˜‡” —–‹Ž‹•ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ –Š‡ •‘Ž—–‹‘Â? ™‹ŽŽ Š‡Ž’ ‹Â?…”‡ƒ•‡ ‡ˆĎ?‹…‹‡Â?…› that  has  become  vital  to  the  hospital  as  the  number  of  devices  connected  to  the  network  Ȃ ‹Â?…Ž—†‹Â?‰ •ǥ Â?‘–‡„‘‘Â?•ǥ –ƒ„Ž‡–• ƒÂ?† Â?‘„‹Ž‡ †‡˜‹…‡• Č‚ …‘Â?–‹Â?—‡• –‘ ‰”‘™Ǥ ‡ŽŽ ™‹ŽŽ †‡’Ž‘› ƒ ˜‹”–—ƒŽ‹•‡† ‹Â?ˆ”ƒ•–”—…–—”‡ •‘Ž—–‹‘Â?ÇĄ ‹Â?…Ž—†‹Â?‰ ™ƒ”‡ ˜ ’Š‡”‡ ͡ǤͲǥ ƒÂ?† …Ž‘—† †‹”‡…–‘” ‡‡ƒÂ? Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡Â?‡Â?– •—‹–‡ǥ ‹–”‹š ‡Â? Â’Â’ÇĄ ‡ŽŽ Compellent  arrays  for  production  and  disaster  recovery,  Brocade  FC  Switches  and  ‡ŽŽ „Žƒ†‡ •‡”˜‡”•Ǥ

‡ŽŽ ‡”˜‹…‡• ‹• ƒŽ•‘ ’”‘˜‹†‹Â?‰ virtualisation  consulting  and  implementation  support,  technical  training  for  the  hospital  staff,  onsite  knowledge  transfer,  ProSupport,  and  continued  infrastructure  support.   To  improve  security  and  availability,  the  hospital  has  also  built  a  separate  disaster  recovery  …‡Â?–”‡ǥ ’‘™‡”‡† „› ‡ŽŽǯ• „—•‹Â?॥ …‘Â?–‹Â?—‹–› solutions. “King  Faisal  Specialist  Hospital  relies  on Â Â™Â‘Â”ÂŽÂ†ÇŚÂ…ÂŽÂƒÂ•Â• –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› –‘ †‡Ž‹˜‡” Š‡ƒŽ–Š…ƒ”‡ solutions,  and  they  needed  the  best  and  latest  solutions  in  keeping  with  the  highest  •–ƒÂ?†ƒ”†• ‘ˆ –Š‡ Š‘•’‹–ƒŽǤ ‡ ƒ”‡ Š‘Â?‘—”‡† to  help  support  the  hospital  in  making  a  †‹ˆˆ‡”‡Â?…‡ ‹Â? –Š‡ ‹Â?‰†‘Â?ÇĄÇł •ƒ‹† ƒ˜‡ ”‘‘Â?‡ǥ ‰‡Â?‡”ƒŽ Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡” ƒ– ‡ŽŽ Ǥ ……‘”†‹Â?‰ –‘ ‡”˜‡” ƒ”Â?‡– ‡•‡ƒ”…Š ‡•—Ž–• ˆ‘” Íľ ʹͲͳͳ Č‹ —Ž› –Š”‘—‰Š ‡’–‡Â?Â„Â‡Â”ČŒÇĄ ‡ŽŽ ‹• Â?—Â?„‡” ‘Â?‡ ‹Â? šͺ͸ servers  in  Saudi  Arabia  with  the  highest  Â?ƒ”Â?‡– •Šƒ”‡ ‘ˆ ͜ͺǤ͸ΨǤ – Šƒ• ƒŽ•‘ ‹Â?…”‡ƒ•‡† ‹–• •‡”˜‡” •ƒŽ‡• ‹Â? –Š‡ ‹Â?‰†‘Â? „› ͳͳͳǤͺΨ compared  to  Q3  2010. Â

Spend on enterprise network equipment to grow in 2012: IDC Spending  on  enterprise  network  equipment  will  grow  by  8.7%  in  2012,  as  companies  continue  to  turn  to  enterprise  mobility,  video  consumption  and  cloud  infrastructure,  IDC  predicted.

The  additional  factor  of  many  companies’  Ď?Â‹Â˜Â‡ÇŚÂ›Â‡ÂƒÂ” ”‡ˆ”‡•Š …›…Ž‡• ˆ‘” Â?‡–™‘”Â? equipment  purchases  and  upgrades  coming  to  an  end,  means  worldwide  enterprise  network  revenues  will  reach  $39.4  billion  by  –Š‡ ‡Â?† ‘ˆ –Š‡ Â›Â‡ÂƒÂ”ÇĄ ƒÂ?–‹…‹’ƒ–‡†Ǥ Dz Š‡Â? ›‘— –Š‹Â?Â? ƒ„‘—– ’ŽƒÂ?Â?‹Â?‰ ˆ‘” ʹͲͳʹǥ certainly  cloud,  mobility  and  video  will  drive  –Š‡ Â?ƒ”Â?‡–ǥdz •ƒ‹† ‹Â?†› ‘”‘˜‹…Â?ÇĄ ”‡•‡ƒ”…Š ˆ‘” ǯ• Â?–‡”’”‹•‡ ‘Â?Â?—Â?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?• ƒÂ?† ƒ–ƒ centre  Network  services.

ƒ�ƒŽ›•– ƒŽ•‘ ƒ††‡† –Šƒ– –Š‡ continued  growth  of  smartphones  has  led  to  mobility  on  the  network.

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“As  we  saw  last  year  in  2011,  mobility  clearly  made  a  lot  of  waves,  raised  a  lot  of  Ď?Žƒ‰• ‹Â? –‡”Â?• ‘ˆ –Š‡ „‡•– ™ƒ›• –‘ …‘Â?–ƒ‹Â? handheld  growth  from  a  technology  perspective  and  from  a  business  perspective,  while  empowering  users  with  the  devices  ‘ˆ –Š‡‹” …Š‘‹…‡ǥdz •ƒ‹† ‘Š‹– Â‡ÂŠÂ”ÂƒÇĄ ǯ• director  of  Enterprise  Communications  Infrastructure. ‹†‡‘ …‘Â?•—Â?’–‹‘Â? ‹Â? –Š‡ ‡Â?–‡”’”‹•‡ will  also  grow  as  a  result  of  consumer  ƒ…–‹˜‹–› ‘Â? ‡Â?–‡”’”‹•‡ Â?‡–™‘”Â?•ǥ

predicted.  In  2011,  an  estimated  590  million  people  watched  streamed  video  over  the  ‡„Ǥ ‹–Š �‘”‡ ‡�’Ž‘›‡‡• …‘��‡…–‡† to  social  media  and  entertainment  sites  more  often,  the  amount  of  video  content  employees  access  on  the  company  network  is  set  to  rise.

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Š‡Â? …‘Â?„‹Â?‡† ™‹–Š ‡Â?–‡”’”‹•‡ —•‡ of  video,  which  will  range  from  digital  marketing  initiatives  to  the  growing  trend  in  videoconferencing,  video  will  be  the  main  driver  for  enterprise  network  upgrades  in  ʹͲͳʹǥ •ƒ‹†Ǥ A  change  in  the  way  businesses  approach  the  cloud  will  lead  to  a  large  increase  in  Â?‡–™‘”Â? ‡“—‹’Â?‡Â?– •’‡Â?†‹Â?‰Ǥ ƒŽ•‘ said  that  in  2012  the  enterprise  migration  to  the  cloud  will  become  so  dynamic  that  businesses  will  reach  a  breaking  point  and  ‹Â?˜‡•– ‹Â? –Š‡ –‘ ’”‡’ƒ”‡ ˆ‘” ™‹†‡•’”‡ƒ† cloud  deployment. “It’s  really  about  moving  away  from  the  current  piecemeal  approach  to  bringing  the  ‹Â?–‘ –Š‡ ‡”ƒ ‘ˆ –Š‡ …Ž‘—†ǥ ƒÂ?† „”‹Â?‰‹Â?‰ ƒ level  of  simplicity  to  the  network  architecture  so  it’s  easier  to  manage,â€?  Borovick  said. Â

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ROUND-UP Month in view

Qatar’s public health system to be automated Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Cerner have signed a landmark agreement to digitise the entire public health system of Qatar, including all HMC hospitals and primary health care centres (PHCs). Acting as a prime contractor and CIS integrator, Cerner will deliver cutting edge health IT solutions and third party suppliers that will bring the HMC Hospital Information Management into ʹͳ Ǥ ǯ ϐ project in the region to digitise an entire country’s public health system on a single computing platform.

Using the Cerner Millennium architecture, ϐ ǡ enable Qatari health professionals to elevate ǡ ϐ Ǥ Ǧ and improve the clinical care processes. In addition, Cerner solutions will provide the foundation for medical research initiatives related to population health management, Ǧ other chronic health conditions.

Cerner will also work with HMC to lay the foundation for a national health framework which will allow for a personal health record for every citizen in Qatar. Using Cerner solutions, HMC will help individuals better connect with their care team and engage in their health. Individuals will be able to

schedule appointments, send messages to their doctor and create a personal health record to better manage their health. Moreover, HMC will have the ability to capture and research health data across medical encounters and medical facilities providing vast repositories for ongoing research and disease management for the Supreme Council of Health.

“Access to the latest evidence based clinical information will ensure best clinical guidelines and healthcare practices and Ǥ Information System to be implemented soon, this technology will be at the clinician’s ϐ Medical Corporation hospitals and primary healthcare centers, allowing them to make

informed decisions about their patients,” said Ǥ ǡ medical, academic and research affairs for Clinical Information Systems at HMC. ǡ director of Health Information Systems, added: “The creation of this partnership with Cerner is a key stepping stone in our

implementation of technology.” ǯ ȋ Ȍ will be the foundation of the health technology Ǥ ϐ ǡ HMC Hospitals and PHC’s will integrate ͳͲͲ ͳͳ third party solutions, encompassing clinical, technical, operations, and administrative areas, to support HMC in achieving clinical Ǥ “Strong regional partnerships and supporting government initiatives to develop the health care industry are key pillars of Cerner’s growth strategies in the region.” said

ǡ director, Cerner Middle East and Africa.

“Through a seamless electronic health record system, HMC will have the opportunity to enhance the safety, quality ϐ Ǥ delighted to support their transformation into one of the leading academic health systems in the world.”

Al-Sorayai Group implements Oracle Retail Carpet and rug manufacturer Al-­‐ Sorayai Group has completed its six-­‐month implementation of Oracle Retail merchandising and stores applications to support its expansion into home furnishings in Saudi Arabia. Ǧ Retail applications to a utomate retail processes between head o ffice a nd retail outlets, and to collaborate b etter with suppliers to ensure s upply m eets demand of their new furniture retail concept, HomeStyle.

“Oracle’s accelerated implementation Ǧ

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Computer News Middle East

FEBRUARY 2012

enabled us to deploy a retail platform ǡ achievement,” said Abdulatif Bakhahdlag,

Ǧ Ǥ “In a ddition, t he O racle a pplications provide a h olistic v iew o f o ur b usiness, enabling u s to m ake d ecisions t hat continually i mprove t he c ustomer

shareholders, a s we g row,” h e a dded. Ǧ a s tandardised s tore o perations platform c omprising s everal o f t he Oracle Retail a pplications to p rovide a Ǥ

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implementation was b ased o n i nsight into s tore a nd i tem p erformance a nd customer p urchasing d ecisions, a nd was Ǥ Dz ǡ ǡdz ǯ ǡ EMEA a t O racle Retail.

“The O racle Retail p latform enables o rganisations to o ptimise t heir operations, m ake d ecisions b ased o n actionable b usiness i nsights a nd c onnect customer i nteractions to d rive t hat

the g rowth o f t he b usiness,” h e a dded.

ROUND-UP Month in view

Oman Air adopts SITA’s resource management solution

Oman Air will introduce a new resource management system to manage their 2,500 employees at Muscat International Airport, it recently.

It has opted for air transport ϐ

ǡ ϐ Ǧ completed early in 2012.

The new system will allow Oman Air work crews to be reached using mobile communications. It also captures operational Ǧ Ǥ

“SITA’s sophisticated resource management solution will help Oman Air optimise all ground operations and lead to ϐ ǡdz ǯ ϐ ǡ Ǥ Dz ways of working while improving aircraft turnaround time with automated work scheduling capability and direct communication to ground crews using mobile devices. It will help us to validate ϐ calculate accurate costs for all our ground operations. The quality of decision support and operational transparency will also greatly improve our ability to handle any disruptions,” Hunter added. ϐ Middle East to deploy SITA’s system since Ȁ ʹͲͳͲǤ ǡ ǡ said: “SITA’s resource management solution is Ǧ like Muscat International Airport. Most airport ϐ Ǧ ǡ Ǧ rostering is essential to be effective.”

AUS selects SunGard to manage alumni program American University of Sharjah (AUS) has selected SunGard Higher Education, a provider of technology solutions for universities and colleges, to help manage relations with its alumni and other key stakeholders.

AUS will use SunGard Higher ǯ ǡ Ǧ ϐ institutions, to help manage alumni relations programs, business processes and corporate relations. The solution is designed to help higher education institutions engage constituents more ϐ Ǥ ǡ help AUS integrate its processes from Ǧ Ǧ to improved communication, information access, corporate partners management, tracking and reporting. The integrated system will also help simplify access to

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Computer News Middle East

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accurate and timely information for alumni ϐ ǡ Ǯ points’ with corporate partners more relevant and productive. Dz SunGard Higher Education because of its track record of success among some of ϐ ǡdz Ǥ ǡ ǡ Ǥ “The best universities and colleges worldwide have very effective systems for alumni and stakeholders relations, and AUS is looking to benchmark best Ǧ ǡdz Ǥ Ǧ ǡ and Alumni Affairs, American University of Ǥ Mathew Boice, vice president EMEA and India, SunGard Higher Education said, “The ability to develop and nurture lifelong

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relationships with alumni and other key stakeholders is one measure of an institution’s success. AUS is building this capability with the adoption of Advance, and we are pleased to be part of this Ǥdz AUS currently performs all functions related to alumni and some key ϐ

ȋ ȌǤ ϐ between the University and its different audiences including industry leaders Ǥ strives to ensure continued growth of the institution while providing key initiatives, Ǧ ǡ and relevant outreach programs to Ǥ Ǧ Ǧ Ǧ services to prepare a broadly educated and talented workforce.

ROUND-UP Month in view

Al Hilal Bank deploys digital pen technology

Al  Hilal  Bank,  a  progressive  Islamic  bank,  is  using  state-­â€?of-­â€?the-­â€?art  digital  pens  developed  in  the  UK  to  revolutionise  its  document-­â€? „ƒ•‡† Ď?‹‡Ž† ƒÂ?† ‘ˆĎ?‹…‡ ‘’‡”ƒ–‹‘Â?•Ǥ Š‹• complements  the  bank’s  strategy  of  using  best-­â€?in-­â€?class  technologies  such  as  thumb  ˜‡”‹Ď?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ ‹Â?•–ƒÂ?– …ƒ”† ‹••—ƒÂ?…‡ ƒÂ?† †‹‰‹–ƒŽ …‡”–‹Ď?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â? –‘ ‡Â?•—”‡ –Š‡ Š‹‰Š‡•– level  of  security  in  banking  transactions  and  enhanced  customer  satisfaction.  The  digital  pen  is  currently  u sed  by  A l  Hilal  Bank’s  direct  s ales  team  a s Â

well  a s  o ffice  s taff  i nvolved  i n  c redit  finance,  f inance  o perations,  a nd  s ales  coordination.  T he  d evice  i ncludes  a  camera  a nd  a  G PS  t hat  d igitalise  a nd  automatically  i mport  t he  w ritten  documents  to  A l  H ilal’s  systems.  A l  Hilal  ’‡”•‘Â?Â?‡Ž •‹Â?’Ž› ™”‹–‡ ‘Â? ƒ Â•Â’Â‡Â…Â‹ÂƒÂŽÂŽÂ›ÇŚ printed  c opy  o f  a  p articular  d ocument  with  t he  d igital  p en,  which  a utomatically  records  t he  h andwriting  i n  i ts  m emory.  The  recorded  i nk  i s  t hen  d ownloaded  a nd  matched  w ith  t he  i mage  o f  t he  o riginal  †‘…—Â?‡Â?–Ǥ – ƒŽ•‘ …”‡ƒ–‡• ƒ Â?‡™ǥ ‡šƒ…– …‘’› ‘ˆ –Š‡ ŠƒÂ?†™”‹––‡Â? †‘…—Â?‡Â?– ‹Â? ˆ‘”Â?ÂƒÂ–ÇĄ Œ—•– ĥ ‹ˆ ‹– Šƒ† „‡‡Â? •…ƒÂ?Â?‡† ‘” photocopied.  T he  d igital  c opy  c an  t hen  be  e asily  s aved,  s ent,  a rchived,  c opied,  deleted  o r  retrieved  d epending  o n  t he  bank’s  requirements.

The  digital  pen  technology  facilitates  the  movement  of  captured  customer  data  along  with  all  supporting  documents  and  photos  through  secured  lines  to  any  Al  Hilal  branch.  The  bank  can  then  process Â

the  request  and  swiftly  reply  back.  By  using  the  integrated  digital  system,  Al  Hilal  Bank  instantly  digitises  its  workflows  ™Š‹Ž‡ …—––‹Â?‰ †‘…—Â?‡Â?Â–ÇŚÂ”Â‡ÂŽÂƒÂ–Â‡Â† …‘•–•Ǥ Š‡ •›•–‡Â? ™ƒ• ’”‘˜‹†‡† „› „— Šƒ„‹ Č‚Â„ÂƒÂ•Â‡Â† BSTechnologies. Dz —” †‹‰‹–ƒŽ ’‡Â? Č‚Â„ÂƒÂ•Â‡Â† •›•–‡Â? ”‡ˆŽ‡…–• our  commitment  to  using  technology  to  increase  services  and  convenience  for  our  customers.  Al  Hilal  Bank  intends  to  adopt  more  digital  systems  offered  by  industry  leaders  such  as  BSTechnologies  in  line  with  our  efforts  to  tap  modern  tools  for  the  convenience  of  our  mutual  customers.  ‡ •ŠƒŽŽ …‘Â?–‹Â?—‡ –‘ ”‡†‡ˆ‹Â?‡ ƒÂ?† ”ƒ‹•‡ –Š‡ •–ƒÂ?†ƒ”†• ‘ˆ Â?‘†‡”Â?ÇĄ ÂŠÂƒÂ”Â‹ÂƒÂŠÇŚÂ…Â‘Â?’Ž‹ƒÂ?– banking,â€?  said  Mohamed  Zaqout,  head  of  personal  banking,  Al  Hilal  Bank.

Al  Hilal  Bank  is  fully  owned  by  the  Abu  Šƒ„‹ Â?˜‡•–Â?‡Â?– ‘—Â?…‹Žǥ –Š‡ ‹Â?˜‡•–Â?‡Â?– ƒ”Â? ‘ˆ –Š‡ ‘˜‡”Â?Â?‡Â?– ‘ˆ „— Šƒ„‹Ǥ ÂŽ Hilal  Bank  currently  has  21  local  branches  and  112  ATMs  across  the  UAE  as  well  as  three  overseas  branches  in  Kazakhstan. Â

Consumerisation creates management blind spots: survey As  end  users  bring  their  own  devices  to  work,  download  apps  and  sign  up  for  cloud  services,  it’s  getting  harder  for  IT  to  maintain  application  visibility  and  control  performance.  In  addition  to  introducing  IT  management  blind  spots,  trends  such  as  consumerisation,  mobility  and  cloud  computing  are  also  increasing  business  risk,  according  to  a  survey  of  CIOs  from  around  the  world. Dz Š‡ ÂƒÂ‰Â‡ÇŚÂ‘ÂŽÂ† †‹•…‘Â?Â?‡…– „‡–™‡‡Â? business  and  IT  is  at  risk  of  widening,â€?  said  Steve  Tack,  CTO  at  Compuware,  which  commissioned  a  study  into  the  impact  of  consumerisation.  “Employees  are  clearly  hungry  to  use  the  same  technologies  in  their  business  environments  that  they  are  already  using  in  their  personal  lives.  This  is  creating  more  challenges  for  those  responsible  to  keep  these  technologies  up  and  running,â€?  he  added.

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Â?‘Â?‰ ͡ʹͲ • ’‘ŽŽ‡†ǥ ͚͚Ψ •ƒ‹† they  worry  that  further  consumerisation  of  IT  will  lead  to  greatly  increased  business  risks.  At  the  same  time,  consumerisation  is  blurring  the  lines  of Â

”‡•’‘Â?•‹„‹Ž‹–›Ǥ – ͚͜Ψ ‘ˆ ‡Â?–‡”’”‹•‡• polled,  CIOs  said  consumerisation  fuels  —Â?”‡ƒŽ‹•–‹… ‡š’‡…–ƒ–‹‘Â?•ǥ ĥ ‡Â?† —•‡”• start  assuming  IT  will  address  tech  issues  that  sit  outside  the  core  infrastructure. Â?ƒŒ‘”‹–› ‘ˆ –Š‡ • ’‘ŽŽ‡† „‡Ž‹‡˜‡ that  having  insight  into  how  applications  are  performing  for  end  users  is  important;  it  helps  improve  IT  maturity,  ƒ……‘”†‹Â?‰ –‘ ͺ͸Ψ ‘ˆ •—”˜‡› ”‡•’‘Â?†‡Â?–•Ǥ However,  a  lack  of  transparency  into  the  performance  of  cloud  and  SaaS  providers  is  reversing  that  maturity,  64%  of  CIOs  said.

For  instance,  more  than  half  of  CIOs  said  adequate  support  for  employee  mobility  is  almost  impossible  due  –‘ ”‡Ž‹ƒÂ?…‡ ‘Â? ‡š–‡”Â?ƒŽ Â?‡–™‘”Â?•ǥ

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which  make  it  much  harder  to  control  ’‡”ˆ‘”Â?ƒÂ?…‡ ƒÂ?† –Š‡ ‡Â?†nj—•‡” ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡Ǥ ‹Â?‡™‹•‡ǥ ͚;Ψ ‘ˆ • •ƒ‹† their  IT  departments  are  currently  prevented  from  supporting  SaaS  and  social  media  applications  because  they  …ƒÂ?Â?‘– ’”‘˜‹†‡ ƒ••‘…‹ƒ–‡† • –‘ –Š‡ business.

At  some  companies,  a  lack  of  application  performance  management  capabilities  will  wind  up  restricting  the  …‘Â?•—Â?‡”‹•ƒ–‹‘Â? –”‡Â?† ȋ…‹–‡† „› ͚;Ψ ‘ˆ CIOs).  At  others,  end  users  will  simply  circumvent  IT  departments.  At  64%  of  enterprises,  for  instance,  CIOs  said  ‡Â?–‡”’”‹•‡ Â?‘„‹Ž‹–› ’”‘Œ‡…–• ƒ”‡ ˆ‘”‰‹Â?‰ ahead  without  the  full  involvement  of  IT. The  International  CIO  Study  on  Impact  of  IT  Consumerization  was  …‘Â?†—…–‡† „› ”‡•‡ƒ”…Š ˆ‹”Â? ƒÂ?•‘Â?

Bourne,  which  polled  520  CIOs  from  large  ‡Â?–‡”’”‹•‡• ‹Â? –Š‡ Ǥ Ǥǥ —”‘’‡ ƒÂ?† Â•Â‹ÂƒÇŚ Pacific. Â

ROUND-UP Month in view

Data management revenue to grow 21% in 2012: Gartner Worldwide  master  data  management  (MDM)  software  revenue  will  reach  $1.9  billion  in  2012,  a  21%  increase  from  2011,  according  to  Gartner.  The  market  is  forecast  to  reach  $3.2  billion  by  2015. “This  is  the  biggest  annual  growth Â Â™Â‡ÇŻÂ˜Â‡ •‡‡Â? ˆ‘” –Š‹• Â?ƒ”Â?‡– •‹Â?…‡ ʹͲͲͺǥdz •ƒ‹† Colleen  Graham,  research  director  at  Gartner.  Dz ”‡••—”‡• –‘ ‘’–‹Â?‹•‡ …‘•–• ƒÂ?† ‡ˆĎ?‹…‹‡Â?…‹‡• in  a  heterogeneous  IT  environment  are  †”‹˜‹Â?‰ ‘”‰ƒÂ?‹•ƒ–‹‘Â?• –‘ –—”Â? –‘ ĥ ƒ Â?‘”‡ ‡ˆĎ?‹…‹‡Â?– ™ƒ› –‘ Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡ ƒÂ?† Â?ƒ‹Â?–ƒ‹Â? data  across  multiple  sources.  In  addition,  the  increasing  governance,  risk  and  compliance  regulations  are  forcing  organisations  to  focus  ‘Â? –‘ •—’’‘”– –Š‡•‡ ‹Â?Â‹Â–Â‹ÂƒÂ–Â‹Â˜Â‡Â•Ç¤Çł Dz Šƒ• „‡…‘Â?‡ ƒ …”‹–‹…ƒŽ †‹•…‹’Ž‹Â?‡ required  for  dealing  with  the  challenges  of  social  data,  ‘big  data’  and  data  in  the  cloud,â€?  Graham  added.

From  a  regional  perspective,  North  America  and  Europe  will  drive  the  demand  ˆ‘” ÇĄ ƒÂ?† „‘–Š ”‡‰‹‘Â?• ™‹ŽŽ ‰”‘™ ƒ– ƒ •–‡ƒ†› ’ƒ…‡ –‘ ”‡ƒ…Š –Š‡ „‹ŽŽ‹‘Â?ÇŚÂ†Â‘ÂŽÂŽÂƒÂ” Â?ƒ”Â?ÇĄ in  2013  for  North  America  and  in  2015  for  —”‘’‡Ǥ Â? ʹͲͳ;ǥ •‘ˆ–™ƒ”‡ ”‡˜‡Â?—‡ ™‹ŽŽ •‡‡ ˆƒ•–‡” ‰”‘™–Š ‹Â? Â•Â‹ÂƒČ€ ƒ…‹Ď?‹…ǥ ™Š‡”‡ revenue  will  increase  by  30%  from  2012  to  reach  $209  million. ‹–Š‹Â? –Š‡ ‘˜‡”ƒŽŽ Â?ƒ”Â?‡–ǥ Â?‘”‡

than  half  the  revenue  is  driven  by  products  ˆ”‘Â? •Â?ƒŽŽ ƒÂ?† Â„Â‡Â•Â–ÇŚÂ‘ÂˆÇŚÂ„Â”Â‡Â‡Â† ˜‡Â?†‘”•ǥ ĥ the  market  continues  to  favour  specialised  solutions  over  “genericâ€?  offerings.  However,  –Š‡ ‘˜‡”ƒŽŽ Â?ƒ”Â?‡– ‹• †‘Â?‹Â?ƒ–‡† „› –Š”‡‡ Â?ƒŒ‘” ’Žƒ›‡”• Č„ ÇĄ ”ƒ…Ž‡ ƒÂ?† Ǥ Dz Â? –Š‡ Â?‡š– ˆ‘—” ›‡ƒ”• ™‡ ‡š’‡…– Žƒ”‰‡” vendors  will  continue  to  acquire  for  this  specialisation  while  smaller  vendors  will  acquire  each  other  to  build  market  share  and  increase  the  functionality  within  their  portfolios,â€?  said  Chad  Eschinger,  research  director  at  Gartner.

However,  the  variety  of  technologies  –Šƒ– …ƒÂ? „‡ ƒ’’Ž‹‡† –‘ ƒÂ? ‹Â?‹–‹ƒ–‹˜‡ leaves  the  door  open  for  the  entrance  of  data  integration  and  data  quality  providers,  in  particular.  As  more  midsize  organisations  ƒ†‘’– ‹Â? –Š‡ …‘—”•‡ ‘ˆ –Š‡ Â?‡š– ˆ‘—” years,  they  are  demanding  lower  prices  and  Â?‘”‡ Ď?Ž‡š‹„‹Ž‹–› ˆ”‘Â? ˜‡Â?†‘”•Ǥ • ƒ ”‡•—Ž–ǥ Â?ƒÂ?› Â?‡™ ˜‡Â?†‘”• ƒÂ?† ‘ˆˆ‡”‹Â?‰• capturing  this  market  will  be  focused  on  areas  such  as  open  source,  as  well  as  cloud  computing  or  software  as  a  service. Š‡ Žƒ”‰‡•– †‘Â?ƒ‹Â?• ‘ˆ –Š‡ •‘ˆ–™ƒ”‡ Â?ƒ”Â?‡– ƒ”‡ ‘ˆ …—•–‘Â?‡” †ƒ–ƒ ƒÂ?† ‘ˆ ’”‘†—…– Â†ÂƒÂ–ÂƒÇĄ ‡ƒ…Š ‘ˆ ™Š‹…Š ‹• predicted  to  more  than  double  in  size  over  –Š‡ Â?‡š– ˆ‘—” ›‡ƒ”•Ǥ ‘ˆ …—•–‘Â?‡” †ƒ–ƒ

Š‡Ž’• ƒÂ? ‘”‰ƒÂ?‹•ƒ–‹‘Â? …”‘••nj•‡ŽŽ ƒÂ?† …”‘••nj market,  as  well  as  retain  customers  and  ’”‘˜‹†‡ ƒ …‘Â?•‹•–‡Â?– ÂŠÂ‹Â‰ÂŠÇŚÂ“Â—ÂƒÂŽÂ‹Â–Â› …—•–‘Â?‡” ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡Ǥ Š‡ Â?ƒ”Â?‡– ˆ‘” ‘ˆ …—•–‘Â?‡” †ƒ–ƒ ‹• ‡š’‡…–‡† –‘ ”‡ƒ…Š ̈́͸͜͜ Â?‹ŽŽ‹‘Â? ‹Â? ʹͲͳʹ ƒÂ?† –‘ ‡š…‡‡† Í„Íł „‹ŽŽ‹‘Â? ‹Â? ʹͲͳ͡Ǥ Š‡ Â?ƒ”Â?‡– ˆ‘” ‘ˆ ’”‘†—…– Â†ÂƒÂ–ÂƒÇĄ ™Š‹…Š Š‡Ž’• ƒÂ? ‘”‰ƒÂ?‹•ƒ–‹‘Â? •–‘”‡ Â’Â”Â‘Â†Â—Â…Â–ÇŚÂ”Â‡ÂŽÂƒÂ–Â‡Â† Â?ƒ•–‡” Â†ÂƒÂ–ÂƒÇĄ Â?Â‡Â–ÂƒÂ†ÂƒÂ–ÂƒÇĄ ‘” „‘–Šǥ ‹• ’”‘Œ‡…–‡† –‘ ”‡ƒ…Š ̈́͸ͺͺ Â?‹ŽŽ‹‘Â? ‹Â? ʹͲͳʹ ƒÂ?† –‘ •—”’ƒ•• ̈́ͳǤͳ billion  in  2015. “The  increased  demand  for  more  ‡ˆˆ‡…–‹˜‡ †‡…‹•‹‘Â?ÇŚÂ?ƒÂ?‹Â?‰ ƒÂ?† ƒ ˆ‘…—• ‘Â? improving  the  timeliness  and  accuracy  of  „—•‹Â?॥ †‡…‹•‹‘Â?• Â?ƒÂ?‡• ’ƒ”ƒÂ?‘—Â?– ˆ‘” ‘”‰ƒÂ?‹•ƒ–‹‘Â?•ǥdz •ƒ‹† ”ƒŠƒÂ?Ǥ Dz supports  these  goals  by  ensuring  the  high  quality  of  key  data  needed  at  the  point  of  decision,  removing  uncertainty  and  ‹Â?…”‡ƒ•‹Â?‰ …‘Â?Ď?‹†‡Â?…‡Ǥdz

FVC and Zoho to bring emerging cloud apps to MENA FVC,  a  MENA  based  VAD,  has  signed  a  partnership  agreement  with  Zoho,  a  private  company  offering  a  comprehensive  suite  of  online  business,  productivity  and  collaboration  applications,  the  company  has  announced. ……‘”†‹Â?‰ –‘ –Š‡ ƒ‰”‡‡Â?‡Â?–ǥ ™‹ŽŽ ”‡’”‡•‡Â?– ‹Â? –Š‡ ”‡‰‹‘Â? ĥ ƒ ƒŽ—‡ added  distributor  for  their  online  cloud  applications  like  Zoho  CRM,  Zoho  HRIS,  ‘Š‘ Â”Â‘ÂŒÂ‡Â…Â–Â•ÇĄ ‘Š‘ ‹Â?˜‘‹…‹Â?‰ ƒÂ?† ‘Š‘ ‡„ ‘Â?ˆ‡”‡Â?…‹Â?‰Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ ÂƒÂ”ÂƒÂ‰ÇĄ ƒ– ÇĄ Â•ÂƒÂ‹Â†ÇĄ Dz ‘Š‘ ‹• ƒ very  valuable  addition  as  an  online  cloud  ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?• †‹•–”‹„—–‘”Ǥ Â?‡ ‘ˆ ǯ•

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visions  has  always  been  to  bring  emerging  cloud  services  to  the  region  and  equip  our  channel  community  with  a  comprehensive  range  of  cloud  services  they  can  offer  their  enterprise  customers.  Zoho  brings  –Š‡ Š‹‰Š‡•– Ž‡˜‡Ž• ‘ˆ ‡š’‡”–‹•‡ǥ ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡ ƒÂ?† Ď?Ž‡š‹„‹Ž‹–› –‘ –Š‡ ”‡‰‹‘Â? ‹Â? …Ž‘—† applications  as  they  have  more  than  32  online  applications  serving  the  technology  needs  of  more  than  50,000  customers  worldwide.â€? Dz —” ’ƒ”–Â?‡”•Š‹’ ™‹–Š ‹• veryimportant  as  it  will  help  us  increase  our  services  in  the  MENA  as  cloud  computing  gains  momentum  across  this  region.   Customers  are  continually  looking Â

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for  ways  to  simplify  their  IT  environments  and  with  this  partnership  we  are  trying  to  enter  the  market  in  the  MENA  regionâ€?,  said  ƒŒ— ‡‰‡•Â?ÂƒÇĄ ‘Š‘ ˜ƒÂ?‰‡Ž‹•–Ǥ • –Š‡ Ď?‹”•– ’‘‹Â?– ‘ˆ …‘Â?–ƒ…– ‹Â? –Š‡ ”‡‰‹‘Â?ÇĄ ™‹ŽŽ †‡’Ž‘› †‡†‹…ƒ–‡† •ƒŽ‡• ƒÂ?† technical  resources  in  MENA  region.

Just  recently  Zoho’s  online  services  ™‡”‡ Â?Â?‘…Â?‡† ‘ˆĎ?Ž‹Â?‡ „› ƒ ’‘™‡” ˆƒ‹Ž—”‡ ‹Â? it’s  data  centre.  Zoho  resolved  the  issue  and  a  couple  of  hours  after  the  failure  tweeted  that  its  service  was  back  up  and  technicians  were  working  to  restore  the  company’s  ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?•Ǥ – ‹• ›‡– —Â?…Ž‡ƒ” ‡šƒ…–Ž› Š‘™ many  of  the  company’s  customers  were  affected  by  the  power  failure. Â

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Blogs:

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The cloud CIO

Pallavi Sharma, Assistant Editor, CNME

Reviews: Enterprise Hadoop

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Disappear not on social media

Insight: Crowd computingthe future?

Ben Rossi. Sub Editor, CNME

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CNME Poll: Why is technology entrepreneurship low among most Middle East nations?

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Lack of an entrepreneurial mindset

7%

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7%

Inadequate support by the government for local enterprise

7%

Attitude that all regional enterprise requirements can be met by solutions from global providers

57%

A mix of the above

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21%

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It’s been a big year for Apache Hadoop, the open source project that helps you split your workload among a rack of computers. The buzzword is now well known to your boss but still just a vague and hazy concept for your boss’s boss.

That puts it in the sweet spot when there’s plenty of room for experimentation.

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Dell EqualLogic PS6010 Get bigger, stay simple, lose nothing Intel® Xeon® processor

Dell EqualLogic PS6010: a fundamental shift in storage economics We are proud to introduce the long-awaited Dell EqualLogic PS6010 family. This family is the latest generation of enterprise storage, complementing the PS6000 Series that aligns with Dell strategy to keep changing the economics of storage. The Dell EqualLogic PS6010 provides increased performance with new 10GbE controllers, best storage for virtual servers with full integration with VMware ® and Hyper-V ™ Enterprise Management (with SAN HeadQuarters 2.0 performance and monitoring tool at no extra cost) and seamless expansion between generations with no downtime or performance penalties.

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Celeron, Celeron Inside, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Atom, Intel Atom Inside, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo, Intel vPro, Itanium, Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, vPro Inside, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

CASE STUDY Al Shirawi Group

MS Chaturvedi, CIO, Al Shirawi Group

Organised for speed With a centralised and high-performance architecture, Al Shirawi Group is getting a handle on IT complexity and diversity.

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Computer News Middle East

FEBRUARY 2012

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he  UAE-­â€?based  Al  Shirawi  Group  is  one  of  the  largest  manufacturing,  engineering,  distribution,  contracting  and  services  industries  conglomerates  in  the  Arabian  Gulf.  Very  ‘ˆ–‡Â?ÇĄ ‘”‰ƒÂ?‹•ƒ–‹‘Â?• ‹Â? †‹˜‡”•‹Ď?‹‡† companies  wage  a  battle  against  IT  diversity  and  related  costs.  For  MN  Chaturvedi,  CIO  of  the  Al  Shirawi  Group,  the  challenge  is  the  same.   “Best  practices  for  one  business  unit  may  not  be  relevant  to  another.  The  …ŠƒŽŽ‡Â?‰‡ ‹• –‘ …‘Â?“—‡” –Š‹• …‘Â?’Ž‡š‹–› without  compromising  the  IT  service  levels. Â

Â? –Š‡ •ƒÂ?‡ Â™ÂƒÂ›ÇĄ ™‡ …ƒÂ?ǯ– Ď?‹Â?† ’ƒ…Â?ƒ‰‡† applications  that  suit  all  our  business  ”‡“—‹”‡Â?‡Â?–• •‘ ™‡ Šƒ˜‡ ƒ •–”‘Â?‰ ‹Â?njŠ‘—•‡ development  team,â€?  he  says.  Recently,  Al  Shirawi  retired  its  legacy  •›•–‡Â?• „ƒ•‡† ‘Â? Â?ˆ‘”Â?‹š ƒÂ?† ‹–• ƒ••‘…‹ƒ–‡† Šƒ”†™ƒ”‡ –‘ ƒ …‡Â?–”ƒŽ‹•‡† ƒÂ?† —Â?‹Ď?‹‡†

infrastructure  built  for  the  business  with  high  availability,  better  control  and  reliability.  Dz ‹–Š ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â? …‡Â?–”ƒŽ‹•ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ –Š‡ challenge  was  to  build  an  infrastructure  that  …‘—Ž† ŠƒÂ?†Ž‡ –Š‡ ’”‘Œ‡…–‡† †ƒ–ƒ –”ƒˆĎ?‹… ÂŽÂ‘ÂƒÂ†ÇĄ provide  application  availability,  security  and  visibility,â€?  says  Chaturvedi.  The  central  IT  system  now  caters  to  an  ”ƒ…Ž‡ •›•–‡Â?ÇĄ ‘–—• ‘Â?‹Â?‘ ƒ‹Ž‹Â?‰ System,  among  other  applications.  The  technology  infrastructure  is  based  on  HP  enterprise  servers  running  on  a  network Â

built  on  Cisco  routers  and  Catalyst  switches.  ”ƒ…Ž‡ ”—Â?• ‘Â? ƒ Â?‹š ’Žƒ–ˆ‘”Â? Š‘•–‡† ‘Â? ÂŠÂ‹Â‰ÂŠÇŚÂ’Â‡Â”ÂˆÂ‘Â”Â?ƒÂ?…‡ ƒÂ?† Â?Â—ÂŽÂ–Â‹ÇŚÂ–ÂƒÂ•Â?‹Â?‰ Â?ƒ…Š‹Â?‡• ™‹–Š ƒ Ď?‹„”‡ …ŠƒÂ?Â?‡Ž „ƒ•‡† Ǥ “Centralising  our  infrastructure  has  helped  to  improve  business  continuity  and  •‹‰Â?‹Ď?‹…ƒÂ?–Ž› ‹Â?’”‘˜‡ …—•–‘Â?‡” •‡”˜‹…‡ ™‹–Š ”‡†—…‡† ”‡•’‘Â?•‡ –‹Â?‡•Ǥ ‡ Šƒ˜‡ ‡Ž‹Â?‹Â?ƒ–‡† the  dependency  on  obsolete  hardware  by  completely  refreshing  the  backbone  technology,â€?  says  Chaturvedi.

Srinivas Rao, Manager of IT Infrastructure, Al Shirawi Group

Data security is one of the top priorities for the Al Shirwai group, a fact that is reflected in its multi-layered defense model. Advanced cryptography is being used on hybrid VPN links, which is further fortified with IPS and IDS, and distributed firewalls layered below a load balancer. www.cnmeonline.com

ÂŽ ÂŠÂ‹Â”ÂƒÂ™Â‹ÇŻÂ• •‹–‡ ‹• …‘njŠ‘•–‡† ‹Â? –Š‡ –‹•ƒŽƒ– †ƒ–ƒ …‡Â?–”‡ ™‹–Š Â”Â‡ÂƒÂŽÇŚÂ–Â‹Â?‡ data  replication  at  server  level.  Tape  is  „‡‹Â?‰ —•‡† ˆ‘” ƒ—–‘Â?ƒ–‡† „ƒ…Â?—’Ǥ …‘Â?Â?‡…–‹˜‹–› ‹• ’”‘˜‹†‡† „› ƒÂ? network  and  the  group  has  deployed  its  own  ‹nj ‹ „ƒ•‡† ‘Â? –Š‡ ˆ”‡‡ •’‡…–”—Â? ʹǤͺ Šœ with  TRA  approvals.  Dz ‡ Šƒ† –‘ †‡’Ž‘› ‘—” ‘™Â? ™‹”‡Ž‡•• solution  in  remote  locations  where  the  ISP  …ƒÂ?ǯ– ”‡ƒ…Š ƒÂ?† ™‹”‡Ž‡•• –”ƒˆĎ?‹… ‹• „‡‹Â?‰ –—Â?‡† ƒÂ?† •Šƒ’‡† –‘ Â?‡”‰‡ ™‹–Š ’‹’‡•Ǥ ‡ ƒŽ•‘ …Š‘•‡ ‘˜‡” ÇĄ „‡…ƒ—•‡ ™‡ ˆ‘—Â?† –Š‡ Žƒ––‡” –‘ „‡ ‡š’‡Â?•‹˜‡ ƒÂ?† ‘ˆ–‡Â? resulted  in  bandwidth  and  performance  issues,â€?  says  Chaturvedi. ƒ–ƒ •‡…—”‹–› ‹• ‘Â?‡ ‘ˆ –Š‡ –‘’ ’”‹‘”‹–‹‡• for  the  Al  Shirwai  group,  a  fact  that  is  ”‡Ď?Ž‡…–‡† ‹Â? ‹–• Â?Â—ÂŽÂ–Â‹ÇŚÂŽÂƒÂ›Â‡Â”Â‡Â† †‡ˆ‡Â?…‡ Â?‘†‡ŽǤ Advanced  cryptography  is  being  used  on  Š›„”‹† Ž‹Â?Â?•ǥ ™Š‹…Š ‹• ˆ—”–Š‡” ˆ‘”–‹Ď?‹‡† ™‹–Š ƒÂ?† ÇĄ ƒÂ?† †‹•–”‹„—–‡† Ď?‹”‡™ƒŽŽ• Žƒ›‡”‡† „‡Ž‘™ ƒ Ž‘ƒ† „ƒŽƒÂ?…‡”Ǥ ‡„ –”ƒˆĎ?‹… ‹• ”‘—–‡† –Š‘—‰Š ƒ ’”‘š› •‡”˜‡” ƒÂ?† Ď?‹Ž–‡”‹Â?‰ solution  with  open  conditional  content  access  management  on  IPS.  It  has  also  helped  Al  Shirawi  group  to  optimise  its  network  bandwidth  usage.  Ž ÂŠÂ‹Â”ÂƒÂ™Â‹ÇŻÂ• ͜͡nj Â?‡Â?„‡” –‡ƒÂ? ‹• now  busy  rolling  out  virtualisation  across  the  data  centre,  laying  the  ground  work  for  ƒ ’”‹˜ƒ–‡ …Ž‘—†Ǥ Dz ‡ ƒŽ”‡ƒ†› Šƒ˜‡ ͡ͲΨ ‘ˆ systems  virtualised  and  the  plan  is  to  have  a  100%  virtualised  environment,  which  will  help  evolve  a  chargeback  model  and  ”—Â? ĥ ƒ „—•‹Â?‡••Ǥ ‡ ƒ”‡ ƒŽ”‡ƒ†› ‹Â? –Š‡ ’”‘…‡•• ‘ˆ Â?ƒ’’‹Â?‰ ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?• ™‹–Š „ƒ…Â?ÇŚ ‡Â?† •›•–‡Â? –‘ …”‡ƒ–‡ „‡––‡” Â…Â‘Â•Â–ÇŚÂ–Â‘ÇŚÂ˜ÂƒÂŽÂ—Â‡ matrices,â€?  says  Srinivas  Rao,  manager  of  IT  infrastructure  at  the  group.  –Š‡” ’ŽƒÂ?• ‹Â?…Ž—†‡ ƒÂ? ƒ—–‘Â?ƒ–‹… •™‹–…Šnj ‘˜‡” –‘ –Š‡ ÇĄ ™Š‹…Š ‹• „‡‹Â?‰ †‘Â?‡ Â?ƒÂ?—ƒŽŽ› now  and  having  a  converged  IP  network  for  both  voice  and  video. Â

FEBRUARY 2012

Computer  News  Middle  East

29

CASE STUDY Emirates Driving Institute

Technology on wheels Fleet tracking technology isn’t new. But, Dubai-based Emirates Driving Institute uses existing technology in a unique way for timely and effective communications, offering its business a competitive edge.

Belhasa Group CIO Imad Taha (on the right) with Mohamed Shakil Ahmed, IT manager of EDI

E

mirates  Driving  Institute  (EPI),  part  of  the  Belhasa  group  of  companies,  is  one  of  the  largest  driving  institutes  in  the  region  with  1000  employees  and  800  vehicles.  EDI  has  60  branches  primarily  in  Dubai,  and  a  sister  company  in  Fujeirah.  Technology  underpins  everything  that  EDI  does  to  improve  its  services  to  the  students  and  helps  it  set  the  benchmark  for  other  institutes  to  follow.  “At  EDI,  IT  is  not  just  a  business  support  function.  It  actually  is  a  business  differentiator.  We  have  3000 Â

30

Computer  News  Middle  East

FEBRUARY 2012

new  customers  every  month  and  we  keep  adding  new  services  to  our  portfolio,  which  mandates  a  really  good  IT  infrastructure,â€?  says  Imad  Taha,  Group  CIO.  Š‡ Â?‡–™‘”Â? …ƒ–‡”• –‘ ƒ”‘—Â?† ͜ͲͲ users  and  the  most  critical  applications  running  on  it  include  Orbit  ERP  system  based  on  an  Oracle  platform,  and  applications  related  to  the  Roads  and  Transport  —–Š‘”‹–› Č‹ ČŒÇ¤ ÂƒÂ”ÂŽÂ‹Â‡Â”ÇĄ –Š‡ ‹Â?•–‹–—–‡ Šƒ† –™‘ †‹ˆˆ‡”‡Â?– Â?‡–™‘”Â?• Č‚ ‘Â?‡ ˆ‘” ‹–•‡Žˆ ƒÂ?† –Š‡ ‘–Š‡” ˆ‘” ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â? Č‚ ƒÂ?† Â?‘™ all  these  applications  are  mapped  together Â

www.cnmeonline.com

onto  a  single  network  using  routers  and  Ď?‹”‡™ƒŽŽ•Ǥ Š‡ …‘Â?’ƒÂ?›ǯ• †ƒ–ƒ …‡Â?–”‡ǥ ™Š‹…Š ‹• …—””‡Â?–Ž› —Â?†‡” ‡š’ƒÂ?•‹‘Â?ÇĄ Š‘—•‡• ƒ’’”‘š‹Â?ƒ–‡Ž› ;Ͳ •‡”˜‡”• ƒÂ?† –Š‡ •‹–‡ ‹• „ƒ•‡† ‹Â? —Œ‡‹”ƒŠǤ – ƒŽ•‘ Šƒ• ƒÂ? ÍłÍşÇŚÂ•Â‡ÂƒÂ–

contact  centre  based  on  Avaya  technology.  Security  is  another  important  element  ‘ˆ –Š‡ –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› ‹Â?ˆ”ƒ•–”—…–—”‡Ǥ Dz • we  are  working  with  the  RTA,  we  have  to  meet  very  stringent  security  regulations  ƒÂ?† ‘—” •›•–‡Â?• ƒ”‡ ƒ—†‹–‡† ”‡‰—Žƒ”Ž›Ǥ ‡ Šƒ˜‡ Â?Â—ÂŽÂ–Â‹ÇŚÂŽÂƒÂ›Â‡Â”Â‡Â† •‡…—”‹–› ƒ”…Š‹–‡…–—”‡ ‹Â? Â’ÂŽÂƒÂ…Â‡ÇĄ ™Š‹…Š ‹Â?…Ž—†‡• ˆƒ‹Ž‘˜‡” Ď?Â‹Â”Â‡Â™ÂƒÂŽÂŽÂ•ÇĄ ƒÂ?† ‡„ ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?• Ď?‹”‡™ƒŽŽ•Ǥ ‡ ƒ”‡ ƒŽ•‘ ‹Â? the  process  of  putting  in  place  an  intrusion  prevention  system,  as  we  are  going  to  offer  services  online,â€?  says  Mohamed  Shakil  ŠÂ?‡†ǥ Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡” ‘ˆ Ǥ †‘‡•Â?ǯ– •–‘”‡ data  on  the  servers  itself  but  uses  a  NAS,  •‡’ƒ”ƒ–‡Ž› ˆ‘” ’”‘†—…–‹‘Â? ƒÂ?† •‡”˜‡”•Ǥ ƒ•– Â›Â‡ÂƒÂ”ÇĄ ǯ• –‡ƒÂ? Šƒ• ‹Â?’Ž‡Â?‡Â?–‡† ƒ —Â?‹“—‡ Ď?Ž‡‡– Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡Â?‡Â?– •›•–‡Â?ÇĄ ™Š‹…Š has  catapulted  it  into  a  different  league.  The  new  system  allows  the  company  to  track  its  assets  in  real  time  from  a  central  operations  control  centre.  “The  idea  came  about  when  we  were  looking  for  a  tool  to  improve  services.  Ours  ‹• ƒ •’‡…‹ƒŽ ‹Â?†—•–”› ƒÂ?† ’”‘Ď?‹– Â?ƒÂ?‡”• ˆ‘” —• are  cars,  instructors  and  most  importantly  ‘—” …—•–‘Â?‡”•Ǥ ‡ ™ƒÂ?–‡† –‘ ‰‡– …—•–‘Â?‡” feedback  for  services  and  also  at  the  same  time,  predict  business  growth  and  eliminate  human  errors  related  to  operations,â€?  says  ƒŠƒǤ • ƒ ”‡•—Ž–ǥ Â?‘™ ƒŽŽ –Š‡ …ƒ”• ƒ”‡ Ď?‹––‡† ™‹–Š Â?‘„‹Ž‡ †‡˜‹…‡ –”ƒ…Â?‡”•ǥ ™Š‹…Š Šƒ˜‡ ƒÂ?† Â–ÂƒÂ‰Â•ÇĄ –”ƒÂ?•Â?‹––‹Â?‰ †ƒ–ƒ over  a  GPRS  network.  Dz ‹–Š –Š‹• •›•–‡Â?ÇĄ ™‡ ƒ”‡ ƒ„Ž‡ –‘ –”ƒ…Â? in  real  time  the  movement  of  our  cars  and  also  assess  and  evaluate  the  skill  levels  of  students.  Earlier,  we  didn’t  have  any  control  over  cars  and  had  supervisors  on  the  road  to  keep  an  eye  out.  Now,  everything  is  completely  automated  and  the  system  is  designed  to  store  information  in  real  time. Â

‹Â? ‹–•‡Žˆ †‘‡•Â?ǯ– Šƒ˜‡ ƒÂ?› ’”‘„Ž‡Â? ‘” for  that  matter,  GPS.  It  was  a  case  of  using  ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰‹‡• ‹Â? ƒ †‹ˆˆ‡”‡Â?– Â?ƒÂ?Â?‡”Ǥ – ‹• ƒ Ď?Ž‡‡– Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡Â?‡Â?– •›•–‡Â? ‹Â?–‡‰”ƒ–‡† ™‹–Š business  logic,â€?  says  Taha. Â

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$PNQVUFS &DPOPNJDT TBZT UIF *-PWF:PV WJSVT BOE JUT variants caused $6.7 billion in damages in the first five days alone.

Malicious insider attacks can take more than 45 days to contain.

The firm also found that the average time to resolve a cyber attack is 18 days, with an average cost to participating organisations of nearly $146000.

According to Forrester Research, the average security breach can cost a company between $90 and $305 per lost record.

of organisations saw an attack in the last year including malicious code, social engineering and external malicious attacks of organisations see the frequency of attacks increasing and almost ¼ saw the attacks as significantly effective carried out by insiders and well planned external hacking corporations

71% 21%

ACCORDING TO SYMANTEC’S STATE OF SECURITY 2011 REPORT:

$146K Engineers first discover that data has been stolen from the PlayStation Network servers Sony announces that their network has an “external intrusion” but issues no warning to it’s customers

20 APR 22 APR

Multiple Sony Websites go down amid DDoS attacks

CASE STUDY: SONY PSN HACK 2011

14 APR

Financial consequences of a security breach may range from fines levied by regulatory authorities to brand erosion.

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use their personal device to access work email and connect to the company network

33%

65%

38%

are increasing security system management budgets

46%

of organisations are increasing staffing in areas of network and web security

41%

are increasing network and web security budgets

REINFORCEMENTS ACCORDING TO SYMANTEC

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making a point of logging in every time they use an application

50%

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MOBILE SECURITY FIRM, CONFIDENT TECHNOLOGIES FOUND THAT:

$455Bn

2011

According to analysts, the enterprise security infrastructure market is projected to grow at an approximate compound annual HSPXUI SBUF $"(3 PG UISPVHI BT DPNQBOJFT continue to invest in improving overall security.

Gartner predicts that revenue from security products and related services markets will increase from 455 billion in 2011 to over 471 billion by 2014

$471Bn

2014

$195K

of businesses lost atleast $195,000 as a result of these cyber attacks. The report found that threats to IT include trends like:

of these losses translated into actual costs (revenue, productivity, money or goods)

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20%

84%

92%

of organisations attacked saw losses from downtime, loss of intellectual property and customer credit card information

27 APR

Sony then reveals that hackers compromised an additional 24.6 million user records on the Sony Online Entertainment Network

Analysts also said that Sony could have prevented the attack at a cost of $10,000 through a static and dynamic application scan which could have detected the SQL injection and suggested a correction for the flaw before the breach occurred.

$24Bn

According to analysts, the account amounted to potential losses of up to $24 billion

COST OF THE ATTACK

The Sony attackers were able to detect a common coding flaw called SQL injection to gain system access.

KEY ATTACK VECTOR

MILLION

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Sony confirms to the public that they cannot rule out the possibility that personal information including customer credit card details have been stolen

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Sony confirms 12,000 credit card numbers and 24.7 million of it’s customers information may have been stolen

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COVER STORY CIO 50 Awards and Forum

TOP 50 CIO 50 Awards and Forum 2012, the event honouring the leading lights of IT leadership in the Middle East, came to a grand close with the awarding of 50 of the top CIOs from the region.

The CIO 50 Awards celebrated the top 50 organisations, and their IT heads, that are using information technology in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimising business processes, enabling growth or improving relationships with customers.

“The winners here have demonstrated their ability not only that they have executed their project well, but that they have done so in uncommon, innovative ways: pioneering a new technology, applying a familiar technology to a new purpose, setting the bar higher for their competitors. And they have demonstrated business value beyond a mere positive ROI, to show how the project changed the way they do business (whether internally or externally) or repositioned them competitively,” said Sathya Mithra Ashok, senior editor of CNME at the welcome note.

“We had more than a 100 CIOs in the room, and it was wonderful to see the participation from the audience as we went through the forum and the discussions of the day. They were especially responsive to the panel discussion, which centred around the changing investment priorities from CIOs, and how vendors and service providers address these changes in the best way possible,” said Richard Judd, MD of CPI Technology and Business.

The CIO 50 Awards and Forum 2012 was supported by CNME’s Strategic ICT Partner Etisalat, Platinum Sponsor EMC, event partners Emitac and Key Information Technology, and table sponsors Aptec and ITQAN. The winners of the CIO 50 Awards (in random order) are:

Dr Saif Al Ketbi from Abu Dhabi Ports Company

Mohammed Saeed Al Shehhi from General Civil Aviation Authority

www.cnmeonline.com

Mohammed Younes from Abu Dhabi Education Council (representative)

FEBRUARY 2012

Computer News Middle East

35

STRATEGIC ICT PARTNER

COVER STORY CIO 50 Awards and Forum

Ahmad Almulla from DUBAL

Abdulla Al Bastaki from the Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai (representative)

Juma Al Ghaith from Dubai Customs

Abdulsalam Bastaki from Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority

Robert James Pickton from SEHA, Abu Dhabi

Sadiq Panjwani from Shuaa Capital

Dr Jassim Hussain from Gulf Air

Esam Hadi of ALBA, Bahrain

Arun Tewary from Emirates Flight Catering

Imad Taha of the Belhasa Group

Bas Wijne from Orbit Showtime Network

36

Computer News Middle East

FEBRUARY 2012

www.cnmeonline.com

STRATEGIC ICT PARTNER

Kirit Shah from the Landmark Group

Muhammad Javeed from Paris Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi.

Abdulla Hassan from the Department of Economic Development in Dubai

Alok Srivastava from Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company)

Sebastian Samuel from AW Rostamani

Wassim Hamwi, Meydan (Dubai Racing Club) (representative)

Entesar Al Hosani from Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi

Muhammad Ali Albakri from Saudi Arabian Airlines (representative)

Hind Hasan Abdulrahim AlZarouni from Dubai Public Prosecution

UVK Kumar from Doha Bank, Qatar

Fadi Chehayeb of the National Bank of Kuwait

Dr Tarek El Ahmady ElTobely of the Ministry of Higher Education in Egypt

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FEBRUARY 2012

Computer News Middle East

37

STRATEGIC ICT PARTNER

COVER STORY CIO 50 Awards and Forum

Sami Al Dekheel of Kuwait Finance House

Mohamed Roushdy from Siraj Finance

Sa’di Awienat from the Qatar Foundation

Fayez Maaraawi of Dubai World (representative)

Hamdan Alkalbani at Methaq Takaful Insurance

Khalid Lootah from the Ministry of Health, UAE

Ali Al Ali of Health Authority, Abu Dhabi

Richard Rhodes from Mafraq Hospital

Arnab Debroy from Metito Overseas

Thameem Rizvon from Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group

John Loomis from the Arab National Bank, KSA

Trevor Moore from Abu Dhabi University

38

Computer News Middle East

FEBRUARY 2012

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STRATEGIC ICT PARTNER

COVER STORY CIO 50 Awards and Forum

Saji Oommen from Al Batha Group

Deepak Kalra from Safeer Group

Abdulrahim Almudhareb from Dubai Courts

Javed Abbasi from the Gisba Group in KSA

Abdulla Hashim from Etisalat (representative)

David Teklit of the Jumeirah Group

Abdullah AlAttas from SAMACO, KSA

Mahmood Shaker from Qatar First Investment Bank

Mubaraka Ibrahim from the Department of Health and Medical Services, UAE

AT Srinivasan from Qatar Airlines

40

Computer News Middle East

FEBRUARY 2012

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Amal Al Kuwari from the Supreme Education Council in Qatar

Ali Radhi from the MBC Group

STRATEGIC ICT PARTNER

COVER STORY CIO 50 Awards and Forum

CIO investment priorities

Panelists at the CIO 50 Awards and Forum 2012 who engaged in a heated discussion on the investment priorities for the year.

A

t  the  CIO  50  Awards  and  Forum  2012,  IT  decision  makers  from  across  the  region  got  together  to  discuss  the  changing  investment  priorities  in  the  region.  Many  CIOs  expressed  their  desire  to  see  more  from  vendors  going  forward.  Dz ‡ ƒ”‡ Ž—…Â?› –‘ Šƒ˜‡ ‘—” „—†‰‡–• increased  this  year.  And  we  are  looking  to  spend  that  budget  in  the  most  productive  Â?ƒÂ?Â?‡” ’‘••‹„Ž‡Ǥ ‡ ƒ”‡ Š‘’‹Â?‰ –Šƒ– Â?‘”‡ providers  will  be  able  to  help  us  reach  the  goals  that  we  want  to  this  year,â€?  said  Arun Â Â‡Â™ÂƒÂ”Â›ÇĄ ÇŚ ƒÂ?† ‘ˆ Â?‹”ƒ–‡• Ž‹‰Š– Catering,  who  was  one  of  the  panellists  at  the  event.  He  stated  though  that  vendors  for  the  most  part  try  to  make  a  CIO’s  life  more  †‹ˆĎ?‹…—Ž– „› ’”‡•‡Â?–‹Â?‰ Â?‡™ •‘Ž—–‹‘Â?• ĥ –Š‡ only  answer  to  troubles  or  challenges  facing  them  at  any  point  in  time.  This  might  not  often  be  the  case,  but  they  still  continue  to  present  a  solution  as  a  panacea.  Ashi  Sheth,  director  of  IT  at  the  American  Â?‹˜‡”•‹–› ‘ˆ Šƒ”ŒƒŠ •–ƒ–‡† –Šƒ– ˜‡Â?†‘”• should  improve  their  support  offerings  in  the  region  as  well. Â

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Dz Š‡Â? ™‡ ‹Â?‹–‹ƒŽŽ› •–ƒ”–‡† ™‘”Â?‹Â?‰ with  certain  vendors,  their  support  levels  were  not  as  high  as  we  desired.  However,  I  must  say  that  over  the  last  three  years,  many  providers  have  worked  consistently  to  improve  on  the  services  that  they  offer  on  top  of  the  solution  sets,  and  this  is  starting  to  pay  off.  I  think  going  forward  more  efforts  in  this  direction  would  be  welcome,â€?  said  Sheth.  Œ™ƒ† †‡‡Žǥ •–”ƒ–‡‰‹•– ƒ– —„ƒ‹ —•–‘Â?•ǥ ‡š’”‡••‡† Š‹• ˜‹‡™• ĥ ƒ ‰‘˜‡”Â?Â?‡Â?– organisation  that  looks  for  the  highest  standards  from  vendors  and  stated  that  more  often  than  not  they  received  what  they  wanted.  As  of  now,  I  doubt  the  reliability  of  most  consultants  here,  as  well  as  the  resources  they  have  on  hand.  There  is  a  huge  gap  in  their  services  that  needs  to  be  addressed,â€?  said  Adeel.

• ‹Â? –Š‡ ƒ—†‹‡Â?…‡ ƒŽ•‘ Œ‘‹Â?‡† –Š‡ discussion,  with  heated  statements  about  ˜‡Â?†‘”• …‘Â?•‹†‡”‹Â?‰ –Š‡‹” ‘™Â? ’”‘Ď?‹–ƒ„‹Ž‹–› the  highest  priority  being  contrasted  by  others  pointing  out  that  things  have  changed,  and  that  they  are  working  on  transforming  themselves  as  well.  ŠÂ?‡† ÂŽ Â—ÂŽÂŽÂƒÇĄ ‘ˆ ƒ– —„ƒŽ ƒŽ•‘ pointed  out  that  decision  makers  should Â

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…‘Â?•‹†‡” „—†‰‡–• Â?‘– Œ—•– ‹Â? ™Š‘Ž‡ –‡”Â?•ǥ but  as  a  part  of  their  corporate  revenue  and  ‡š’‡Â?†‹–—”‡Ǥ ‡ •–ƒ–‡† –Šƒ– ‘”‰ƒÂ?‹•ƒ–‹‘Â?• ‹Â? the  region  should  consider  IT  spend  not  in  watertight  compartments,  but  in  comparison  to  other  departments  and  spend  across  the  company  in  order  to  get  the  true  picture.  —Â?ÂƒÂ”ÇĄ Š‡ƒ† ‘ˆ ƒ– ‘Šƒ ƒÂ?Â? also  got  involved  pointing  out  that  vendors  should  offer  customers  more  options  to  turn  …ƒ’‡š ‹Â?–‘ ‘’‡šǥ ƒÂ?† ƒ†† ’”‘†—…–‹˜‹–› ‹Â? ƒÂ? ‘Â?nj‰‘‹Â?‰ ˆƒ•Š‹‘Â? ˆ‘” –Š‡ …—•–‘Â?‡”Ǥ Stating  their  priorities  for  the  year  and  going  forth,  the  CIOs  on  stage  demanded  more  automation,  better  data  management Â Â…ÂƒÂ’ÂƒÂ„Â‹ÂŽÂ‹Â–Â‹Â‡Â•ÇĄ „‡––‡” ‡Â?ƒ„Ž‡Â?‡Â?– ‘ˆ …Ž‘—†nj based  solutions  and  service  delivery  for  2012  and  beyond.  “The  question  is  not  about  how  much  an  organisation  spends.  It  is  about  deriving  continous  value  from  whatever  the  spend  is.  If  your  IT  solution  does  not  let  your  people  work  more  effectively  or  help  them  achieve  their  targets,  then  no  matter  what  you  have  •’‡Â?– ‘Â? –Šƒ– Â’Â”Â‘ÂŒÂ‡Â…Â–ÇĄ ‹– ™‹ŽŽ „‡ ƒ ™ƒ•–‡Ǥ ‹‰Š‡” •’‡Â?† ‡ˆĎ?‹…‹‡Â?…‹‡•ǥ Â–ÂŠÂ‡Â”Â‡ÂˆÂ‘Â”Â‡ÇĄ ‹• ‘Â?‡ ‘ˆ our  priorities  for  2012,â€?  said  Adeel.

Sheth  emphasised  that  his  focus  would  be  on  enabling  mobility  across  all  of  the  students  in  the  university.  “They  are  my  customers,  and  I  want  to  ensure  that  they  can  get  the  information  they  require,  or  access  the  classes  they  need  to  wherever  they  are,  whenever  they  want  to,  through  whatever  device  they  wish  to,�  he  said.

Basil  Ayass,  enterprise  product  manager  ƒ– ‡ŽŽ Šƒ† ƒ …ŠƒÂ?…‡ –‘ ‰‹˜‡ Š‹• •‹†‡ ‘ˆ –Š‡ IT  game  and  started  by  agreeing  that  vendors  ™‡”‡ ‹Â?†‡‡† †”‹˜‡Â? „› ’”‘Ď?‹–Ǥ Dz ‡•ǥ ˜‡Â?†‘”• †‘ ™‘”Â? ™‹–Š ’”‘ŒĎ?‹– ‹Â? mind,  and  they  do  have  targets  to  meet  as  well.  But  the  only  way  they  are  going  to  do  that  is  by  ensuring  that  customers  get  the  solution  they  require,  or  the  service  they  want,  and  that  this  works  for  them  in  the  most  effective  fashion.  If  they  fail  at  that  task,  then  they  cannot  go  anywhere  and  cannot  achieve  their  targets  either,â€?  he  said. Â

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NetworkWorld

NETWORK WORLD Data Centre Consolidation

Winning with consolidation Data centre consolidation is a term being thrown around in 2012 almost as much as virtualisation, cloud and big data. You’ve heard people singing its praises and you’ve heard a few disaster stories too. What you really want to know is, what can it do for your business and is it worth investing in? Ben Rossi speaks to industry experts to present you all you need to know.

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T

ϐ centre consolidation are simple.

Anybody trying to sell you the shift (especially with virtualisation) would have told you over and over again that it provides you with clear cost reduction – and with analysts predicting another ϐ ʹͲͳʹǡ something that rings very sweetly in the ears of company executives.

“IT organisations are aggressively deploying server virtualisation in data centres to consolidate applications and improve resource management,” says Samer

ǡ Ǧ Ǥ “The limitations in current network technologies have often prevented organisations from meeting the performance,

availability,  security  and  mobility  requirements  of  server  virtualisation.  The  cost  savings  resulting  from  increased  asset  —–‹Ž‹•ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ Š‹‰Š‡” ƒ˜ƒ‹Žƒ„‹Ž‹–› ƒÂ?† ‘Â?nj†‡Â?ƒÂ?† application  deployment  meets  the  business  mandate  to  do  more  with  less,â€?  he  adds.  Cost  and  energy  reduction  aside,  the  underlying  business  foundation  of  making  the  switch  is  to  provide  a  better  return  on  investment.  The  idea  is  that  with  a  more  consolidated  and  integrated  virtual  environment,  and  storing  organisational  information  in  one  place,  companies  can  have  Â?‘”‡ Ď?Ž‡š‹„‹Ž‹–› –‘ ”‡Ž‡ƒ•‡ •‡”˜‹…‡• “—‹…Â?‡” ƒÂ?† Â?‘”‡ ‡ˆĎ?‹…‹‡Â?–Ž›Ǥ —”–Š‡” „‡Â?‡Ď?‹–• ÇŚ ‹Â?…Ž—†‹Â?‰ ’Š›•‹…ƒŽŽ› Šƒ˜‹Â?‰ Â?‘”‡ •’ƒ…‡ ƒÂ?† Â?‘”‡ ‡ˆĎ?‹…‹‡Â?– communication  from  the  IT  team  with  other Â

concluded  that  organisations  that  had  moved  to  a  consolidated  data  centre  had  better  visibility  of  future  workload  requirements.  “Encouragingly,  this  research  suggests  businesses  realise  they  have  a  need  to  catch  up  on  data  within  their  organisations.  The  unique  challenge  of  big  data  represents  the  coming  together  of  many  IT  trends  Ȃ –Š‡ ‰”‘™–Š ‹Â? …‘Â?Â?‡…–‡† ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?•ǥ devices,  systems  and  individuals,  in  both  the  consumer  and  business  world,  creating  vast  amounts  of  structured  and  unstructured  †ƒ–ƒ –Š”‘—‰Š ‡˜‡”›–Š‹Â?‰ –Š‡› †‘ǥdz •ƒ›• —‹‰‹ Â”Â‡Â‰Â—Â‹ÂƒÇĄ •‡Â?‹‘” ƒ– ”ƒ…Ž‡ ›•–‡Â?• Ǥ Dz Š‡ Ď?‹Â?†‹Â?‰• ‘ˆ –Š‹• ”‡’‘”– •—‰‰‡•– businesses  in  the  Middle  East  are  becoming  aware  of  this  and  are  rapidly  trying  to  get  on  –‘’ ‘ˆ –Š‡‹” •Š‘”– ƒÂ?† Ž‘Â?‰nj–‡”Â? †ƒ–ƒ Â?‡‡†•Ǥ ‘Â?•‘Ž‹†ƒ–‹Â?‰ †ƒ–ƒ …‡Â?–”‡• ‹• –Š‡ Ď?‹”•– •–‡’ ‹Â? that  direction,â€?  he  adds. Â

Samer Ismair, MENA-systems engineer at Brocade

Virtualisation means that more servers will be available in the same physical space. So if somebody manages to break into a data centre, they will have more data to steal.â€? †‡’ƒ”–Â?‡Â?–• ƒÂ?† ‡Â?†nj—•‡”• „‡…ƒ—•‡ –Š‡› Šƒ˜‡ ƒŽŽ †ƒ–ƒ ‹Â? ‘Â?‡ ’Žƒ…‡ ÇŚ Â?‡ƒÂ? –Šƒ– ƒ– Ž‡ƒ•– on  the  face  of  it,  data  centre  consolidation  is  a  very  attractive  business  prospect.  It  has  also  recently  become  far  more  popular  in  the  Middle  East.  Eight  months  ago  Oracle  released  research  showing  this  region  to  be  ranked  bottom  in  terms  of  data  centre  …‘Â?•‘Ž‹†ƒ–‹‘Â?Ǥ ”ƒ…Ž‡ ”‡˜‹•‹–‡† –Š‡ •—„Œ‡…– ‹Â? ‘˜‡Â?„‡” ʹͲͳͳ ÇŚ •—”˜‡›‹Â?‰ ͜͝͝ Žƒ”‰‡ organisations  in  10  regions  around  the  world  nj ƒÂ?† ‘Â? ƒÂ?—ƒ”› ͳͳ ”‡Ž‡ƒ•‡† —’†ƒ–‡† ”‡•—Ž–• showing  the  Middle  East  to  have  overtaken Â

Challenges Š‡ „‡Â?‡Ď?‹–• ƒ”‡ ‡ƒ•› –‘ Ď?‹Â?† ™Š‡Â? ‹– …‘Â?‡• to  data  centre  consolidation,  and  Oracle’s  Žƒ–‡•– Ď?‹‰—”‡• Ž‡ƒ˜‡ ›‘— ™‹–Š Ž‹––Ž‡ †‘—„– that  it  is  the  right  move  for  your  business.  However,  what  are  not  as  widely  circulated,  are  the  risks  and  challenges  associated  with  the  shift.

Striding  into  a  move  like  this  without  care  or  concern  for  the  risks  could  lead  to  a  potentially  bad  situation.  “Even  those  with  the  most  advanced  approach  to  data  centres,  doing  all  the  necessary  planning,  still  have  a  lot  of  things  to  consider  in  terms  of  risks,â€?  says  Ayman  Abusaffaqa,  deputy  GM  of  data  centres  at  Emitac  Enterprises  Solutions.  The  most  common  challenge  associated  with  consolidating  your  data  centres  is  how Â

–Š‡ Ž‹Â?‡• ‘ˆ –ƒŽ› ƒÂ?† „‡”‹ƒ –‘ ”‡ƒ…Š ƒ Â?‹†nj table  position.  Those  with  “very  littleâ€?  consolidation  in  ’Žƒ…‡ Šƒ† †”‘’’‡† ˆ”‘Â? ;͚Ψ –‘ ͳ͚Ψǥ ƒÂ?† those  with  less  than  10%  of  their  IT  estate  virtualised  was  down  from  52%  to  16%.  Those  doing  “nothingâ€?  about  consolidation  ™‡”‡ †‘™Â? ˆ”‘Â? ;͚Ψ –‘ ͳ͸ΨǤ Š‡ ”‡•—Ž–• ƒŽ•‘ •Š‘™‡† •‹‰Â?‹Ď?‹…ƒÂ?– improvement  in  feedback  from  organisations  that  had  already  committed  to  consolidation.  Those  who  said  they  had  seen  “no  impactâ€?  were  down  from  42%  to  16%,  and  Oracle Â

Source: Oracle data centre study, January 2011

BY THE NUMBERS

17%

16%

16%

16%

ME organisations with “very little� consolidation in place, down from 37% eight months ago

ME organisations with less than 10% of their IT estate virtualised, down from 52% eight months ago

ME organisations doing “nothing� about consolidation, down from 37% eight months ago

ME organisations who had seen “no impact� from consolidation, down from 42% eight months ago

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Computer  News  Middle  East

47

NETWORK WORLD Data Centre Consolidation

to  deal  with  the  server  down  time  that  is  necessary  while  the  transition  takes  place.  Companies  must  prepare  for  how  they  will  offer  their  services  and  deal  with  situations  while  the  servers  are  down.  Problems  can  arise  when  businesses  do  not  prepare  for  this,  or  when  this  transition  period  takes  Ž‘Â?‰‡” –ŠƒÂ? ‡š’‡…–‡†Ǥ The  risks  can  reach  further  than  this,  and  there  are  many  things  that  IT  departments  do  not  consider  prior  to  virtualising  their  data  centres.  “Consolidation  has  to  be  done  right  –‘ ƒ˜‘‹† „ƒ…Â?Ď?‹”‡ ˆ”‘Â? –Š‡ •—„nj‘’–‹Â?ƒŽ †‡’Ž‘›Â?‡Â?– ‘ˆ Â?‡™ –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰‹‡•Ǥ Â‡ÇŻÂ˜Â‡ •‡‡Â? cases  where  people  have  attempted  certain  …‘Â?•‘Ž‹†ƒ–‹‘Â? ‡š‡”…‹•‡• ƒÂ?† –Š‹Â?‰• ™‡Â?– ™”‘Â?‰ǥdz •ƒ›• ƒŠ‡” ÂƒÂ›Â†ÂƒÂ”ÇĄ ”‡‰‹‘Â?ƒŽ Â’Â”Â‡ÇŚÂ•ÂƒÂŽÂ‡Â• manager  for  Turkey,  emerging  Africa  and  Middle  East  at  EMC.  Dz ƒÂ?› ˜‹”–—ƒŽ‹•ƒ–‹‘Â? ‡š‡”…‹•‡• Šƒ˜‡ turned  into  nightmares  when  IT  managers  converted  physical  servers  to  virtual  Â?ƒ…Š‹Â?‡• Č‹ Â•ČŒ ™‹–Š‘—– ‰‹˜‹Â?‰ ‡Â?‘—‰Š thought  to  how  this  consolidation  would  impact  storage  and  backup  components.  This Â

is  why  it’s  key  to  always  develop  and  follow  „‡•– ’”ƒ…–‹…‡• „› Š‹”‹Â?‰ “—ƒŽ‹Ď?‹‡† ”‡•‘—”…‡• ™‹–Š ’”‘˜‡Â? ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡ǥdz Š‡ ƒ††•Ǥ Ahmed  Youssef,  business  development  manager  of  network  infrastructure  at  Alcatel  —…‡Â?– ÇĄ ‰‘‡• ‹Â?–‘ Â?‘”‡ †‡–ƒ‹Ž ‘ˆ –Š‡ challenges  and  how  they  can  be  prevented.  “One  of  the  biggest  risks  is  not  looking  properly  at  the  big  picture  and,  since  an  ‘”‰ƒÂ?‹•ƒ–‹‘Â? Šƒ• ƒ Ž‘– ‘ˆ •‹Ž‘• ‘ˆ ‡š’‡”–‹•‡ that’s  related  to  the  data  centre,  they  don’t  talk  to  each  other.  So  the  application  developers  don’t  talk  to  the  infrastructure  management,  who  are  not  talking  to  the  storage  group.  That  lack  of  coordination  is  a  big  challenge  in  properly  designing  the  data  centre,â€?  Youssef  says. “Another  thing  is  protecting  the  network,  meaning  the  risk  involved  in  disaster  recovery  related  to  the  data  centre.  As  data  centres  grow,  especially  when  you  start  to  have  multiple  data  centres,  you  have  to  plan  for  disaster  recovery  and  many  people  don’t,â€?  he  adds.

In  fact,  security  is  a  key  aspect  that  many  companies  are  ignoring  as  they  become  more  virtualised  this  year.  Costin  Raiu,  director  of  global  research  ƒÂ?† ƒÂ?ƒŽ›•‹• ƒ– ƒ•’‡”•Â?› ÂƒÂ„ÇĄ ‹• …‘Â?…‡”Â?‡† businesses  are  so  busy  trying  to  keep  up  with  trends  like  data  centre  consolidation,  that  they  don’t  realise  they  are  opening  themselves  up  to  bigger  cyber  attacks. “In  my  opinion,  virtualisation  means  that  more  servers  will  be  available  in  the  same  physical  space.  So  if  somebody  manages  to  break  into  a  data  centre,  they  will  have  more  data  to  steal,â€?  Raiu  says. “There  is  also  the  connection  to  the  cloud.  In  the  future,  we  will  see  more  attacks  against  the  cloud.  Clouds  mean  bigger  incidents  because  you  have  all  of  the  customers’  data  in  one  place,  readily  available  for  hackers  to  steal  over  a  high Â

Nicolai Solling, director of technology services at Help AG ME

Even those with the most advanced approach to data centres, doing all the necessary planning, still have a lot of things to consider in terms of risks.�

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Zaher Haydar, regional pre-sales manager for Turkey, emerging Africa and Middle East at EMC

speed  internet  link.  This  means  that  the  cloud  hacks  in  the  future  will  be  much  bigger  than  the  small  incidents  of  the  past,�  he  adds.

Change  management Another  aspect  that  must  be  considered  is  how  companies  handle  the  cultural  issues  that  arise  from  the  internal  change  management,  which  is  inevitable  from  data  centre  consolidation.  Dz Š‡Â? ›‘— Â?ƒÂ?‡ Žƒ”‰‡ …ŠƒÂ?‰‡• ‹Â? ƒÂ? organisation,  such  as  with  a  data  centre,  there  will  always  be  someone  who  may  be  worried  about  the  introduction  of  this  –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰›Ǥ ‘” ‡šƒÂ?’Ž‡ǥ –Š‡› Â?‹‰Š– –Š‹Â?Â? that  work  places  may  move  with  the  data  centre,â€?  says  Nicolai  Solling,  director  of  technology  services  at  Help  AG  ME.  Abusaffaqa  adds,  “If  you’re  going  to  tell  a  staff  member  that  through  data  consolidation  Š‹• Œ‘„ ™‹ŽŽ „‡…‘Â?‡ Ž‡•• Â?Â‡Â…Â‡Â•Â•ÂƒÂ”Â›ÇĄ ‹–ǯ• going  to  create  issues.  But  if  the  customer’s  strategy  is  to  go  for  cost  reduction  then  that  is  what  will  happen.  The  political  and  cultural  issues  that  arise  as  a  result  of  data  centre  consolidation  are  very  sensitive  in  this  part  of  the  world,  but  this  is  something  that  the  customer  must  manage  internally  within  the  team.â€?

However,  regardless  of  all  these  challenges,  Marc  Heger,  senior  director  of Â

NETWORK WORLD Data Centre Consolidation

MENA hardware sales at Oracle, thinks the

generation of data centres at all.

“One of the dominant trends at the Ȃ there is a massive amount of data becoming available. I think if you don’t have a plan in place to take advantage of that in the coming two or three years, many Middle East

ǡdz Ǥ Dz ϐ again and some international companies Ȃ ǯ of that big data and local companies aren’t, there is a clear business risk,” he adds.

Preparing for the future

cycle of data centres to range from three to 10 years. However, regardless of the current condition and how long it is likely to last, the resounding advice is to virtualise your data centres to adequately prepare for the future.

“The cloud computing and ICT convergence era is a driver in enhancing ways that data centres can add even greater value to the business. Server virtualisation, storage virtualisation and network virtualisation will transform the way companies across the enterprise market

Ayman Abusaffaqa, deputy GM of data centres at Emitac Enterprises Solutions

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Marc Heger, senior director of MENA hardware sales at Oracle

immediate costs, especially in elements such as energy. “The easiest way to measure the value of data centre consolidation is to look at the immediate savings in utilities,” he says. ǡ ǡ Ǧ term metrics and companies must not forget Ǧ for new technologies and trends.

consolidation, it is simply something companies must turn to. It is not a case of if they should do it, but how they can ϐ stage. Enterprises have to set themselves ϐ ǡ centre consolidation is vital in allowing them to take advantage of 2012’s rise of virtualisation.

Any decisions you make are going to affect you for the next 10 to 20 years. You have to be very careful in really making the right decision in the core of the network, the data centre fabric.” operate for the better,” says Steven Huang, director of solutions and marketing at Huawei ME. It is also advised that companies should not go through logical and physical consolidation before rationalisation.

“That’s the key thing, because it has to be properly designed from a bigger picture.

A lot of people are focusing on the data centre from within a particular organisation in one particular location, but they’re not

Ǧ locations,” says Youssef.

“So consolidating in the single data centre ϐ ǡ like open standards and not tying yourself to a single vendor, because any decisions you ͳͲ 20 years. You have to be very careful in really making the right decision in the core of the network, the data centre fabric,’ he adds.

Youssef also adds that when it comes to metrics, it’s initially all about the saving on

www.cnmeonline.com

ǯ ϐ improvement in the Middle East’s implementation rate of this new generation of data centres, but it is important to note there is still a way to go, and stopping or Ǧ changing world of business. Dz ǯ ourselves on the back, because we still haven’t surpassed the standard in mainland Europe at this stage. But now companies in the Middle East are looking in the right areas and have people looking at these technologies,” says Heger. Dz Ǥ ǯ about how long can it take or should it take to reach that level, I think we have to reach that level. Our advice to enterprises is that they really need to adopt new technologies Ǥ to work with integrated solutions that allow them to consolidate, virtualise and move ǡ ϐ the big data boom that is to come,” he adds.

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StorageAdvisor

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

STORAGE ADVISOR Business continuity & disaster recovery

Survival of the fittest The past year has given enough reason for regional enterprises to begin investing in a robust business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) strategies. Vendors believe that the appearance of big data and regional regulations has had a significant impact on these strategies. CNME speaks to regional vendors to report on the state of affairs.

P

icture this. A multinational enterprise -­‐ that is worth a couple of billion dollars and provider a key service to thousand of people Ǧ ϐ and personal information for future reference. In a moment’s notice the organisation’s data centre is breached by gang of experienced cyber criminals who use the holds of customer information for identity theft or to access their bank accounts, leading to hefty personal losses. Would you be concerned?

Would you be willing to work with the organisation again?

Now picture an alternative scenario.

The organisation’s entire infrastructure is immobilised due to a natural disaster due to which the service it provides to you is discontinued. Now imagine this service is to do with the provision of electricity or email. ǫ more than slightly inconvenienced?

From the popular PSN attack and earthquake in Japan to the Amazon cloud outage, over the last year a number of prominent organisations have suffered the long drawn effects of negative publicity, lawsuits and customer dissatisfaction.

Some would say, it’s about time then that businesses began to realise the importance of investing in a clear business continuity and disaster recovery strategy.

The need for these strategies is driven even further in a competitive environment, where margins are small and compliance standards are stringent.

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Muhammed Salama, technology ǡ Dz ȋ Ȍ ȋ Ȍ steadily moving up the CIO’s list of priorities due to the competitive nature of the Middle East marketplace, demanding customer

across neighbouring Arab Spring countries." Dz ǡ sectors need to invest in a clear BC and

markets, multinational organisations based in the Middle East need to create these strategies to adhere with the country’s regulations,” adds Steve Bailey, regional Ǥ ǡ ǡ ȋ Ȍ ǡ ϐ ǡ

but more about complying with international standards and achieving corporate governance. “Organisations today, are also looking at safeguarding their own interests as well as those of their stakeholders. So, while we do have companies spending more ǡ Ǧ and provisioning workspaces should a ǡdz Ǥ

enterprises in the Middle East currently

capabilities with some investing in sites positioned outside the primary geographic area.

ǯ Ǥ Dz hundred metres away from the production one, but this only provides a limited geographical separation and could still leave Ǥ

ǡ ǡ ǡ ͳ͵Ͳ ϐ continuity for all but the most severe of events.”

Salama adds that the way regional

with regards to distance and topologies. “In ϐ ʹǦ ϐ ͳͲͲ sites are usually located within the greater ȋ

ʹͲͲ ȌǤ However, in a country like the UAE it is ͳͲͲ

ǡdz Ǥ Salama adds that in the UAE while ʹǦ ǡ ͵Ǧ implementations are fast gaining ground. “In

ͳǡͲͲͲ ϐ ͵Ǧ topologies, sites are usually located across the larger spreads of cities such as Riyadh, ǡdz Ǥ Bailey believes that the appearance of big data has also impacted the creation of

enterprises handle data management.

Sachin Bhardwaj, head of marketing and business development, eHosting DataFort (eHDF)

Anthony Harrison, senior principal solution architect, EMEA, Symantec adds, “Many organisations start with a basic cold Ǧ keep a copy of their data offsite. However,

today’s modern data centres, companies are Ȃ need a fully functional application stack to access the data and continue to run your Ǥ ϐ the production ones; they may be on older or less powerful hardware but they should run the same versions of operating system, database and application.”

Harrison says that there are too many things that can go wrong between a primary ǡ

Source: European Disaster Recovery Survey 2011, conducted by Vanson Bourne commissioned by EMC

BY THE NUMBERS

1750

70%

43%

89%

IT decision makers surveyed

of UK organisations are not very confident of their ability to fully recover their systems

of organisations in Europe suffered downtime

stored a back-up copy of data offsite

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Computer News Middle East

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STORAGE ADVISOR Business continuity & disaster recovery

“In the past, organisations simply created and stored information but did not work especially hard to use and mine it.

Today, more organisations have begun to invest in data mining, in collating data from multiple sources, prioritising and analysing ϐ Ǥ ǡ ǡ ϐ server with critical data, the damage will be ϐ Ǥ

strategy,” he says. ǯ ǡ Dz companies are moving to disk for its reliability and faster recovery time, others have IT processes stored in tape applications. and therefore need a virtual tape library that allows them to move their processes on Ǧ Ǥ an increasing trend whereby organisations are using real time data replication solutions to replicate data from a production site to a Ǥdz Basil Ayass, enterprise product manager, ǡ

Basil Ayass, enterprise product manager, Dell Middle East

reason why regional enterprises have so far

robust strategies is associated with the lack of regulations regarding data movement and ownership in the cloud. “Customers are waiting for various government and regulatory entities in the region to introduce legal frameworks before they start leveraging ǡdz Ǥ ǡ Dz inhibitors for public cloud in the region

the event of any dispute or termination of a service contract with a cloud provider.

copies of data leaving the country and potentially being accessible to third parties, with or without the consent of the customer or service provider.”

Laying it out

ϐ step towards creating an effective BC and

between the two concepts. Dz and BC are the same. It should, however, be understood that BC is a framework that allows the undisrupted continuity of business operations under adverse conditions, including but not limited to Ǧ ǡ as hardware, human error or any other Ǥ ǡ policies and procedures related to preparing for recovery or continuation of technology infrastructure critical to an organisation after a disaster. This can be

Ǥ Ǧ

subset of the entire BC framework,” Ǥ

Too many vendors try to push customers into a one-size-fits-all technology choice that means vastly over-provisioned systems that do not deliver value in proportion to their business importance.”

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Anthony Harrison, senior principal solution architect, EMEA, Symantec

“For business continuity, organisations must not only look at technical solutions Ǧ Ǥ For instance, a BC would imply minimum dependency on a particular individual to operate and maintain a critical service, so that the system remains unaffected and ϐ ǡ even if one person is unable to effectively ǡdz Ǥ Symantec’s Harrison adds that while most organisations focus their efforts on the infrastructure and physical aspects of setting ǡ is often overlooked. Dz provide access to the applications and the data that the business needs to operate, so we always advise customers to start by answering questions like is the application able to failover between servers? Is the data ȋ many redundant components) so that the application can move between servers?” he Ǥ According to Harrison, a mature operation will have a detailed set of recovery procedures for each application. It will specify which applications should be brought ϐ ǡ to provide access to the replicated data volumes or the appropriate servers, and then bring the applications online in the correct

STORAGE ADVISOR Business continuity & disaster recovery

Ǥ Dz ǡ Ǧ tier application that needs the database to be ϐ ǡ ǡ a web server. Such a ‘virtual business service’ can be brought online automatically by the latest generation of management tools, regardless of whether individual servers are physical, virtual or even on different platforms,” Harrison says.

business and application requirements ϐ with the data. “Businesses should start by ϐ ȋ Ȍ ȋ Ȍ ǡdz ǯ Ǥ “Based on their RTO and RPO vendors can then translate these requirements

Ǥ Organisations can then decide for instance that it wants to use synchronous replication only for the most critical systems and for ϐ Ǥ Ǧ Ǧ ǡ can use different ways to get a copy of the data offsite. For instance, they can ǡ Ǧ backup using hourly snapshots or even down to good old tape. Too many vendors Ǧ Ǧϐ Ǧ Ǧ provisioned systems that do not deliver value

in proportion to their business importance,” adds Harrison.

More to come

while stringent international compliance standards will only drive the adoption of BC ǡ technologies will perhaps most impact these Ǥ Dz data centre virtualisation technologies, as well as private and public cloud computing models aimed at improving service levels, reducing cost and increasing business agility, it will no longer be acceptable to leave

where they may or may not be utilised once or twice a year. In addition to this, more stringent service levels and regulations will drive organisations towards the adoption of fault tolerant solutions where downtime is simply not accepted even during a disaster situation,” says Salama. Dz Ǧ Ǣ used for testing or development, on the understanding that in the event of a disaster, Ǧ as production servers instead. The maturing of virtualisation has made this easier to

Many organisations start with a basic cold DR site and use array-based replication to keep a copy of their data offsite. However, given the complexity and interconnection of today’s modern data centres, companies are realising that the data is not enough – you need a fully functional application stack to access the data and continue to run your business. That means that your DR servers need to match the logical configuration of the production ones; they may be on older or less powerful hardware but they should run the same versions of operating system, database and application.”

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Steve Bailey, regional operations director at CommVault

the replicated copy of the production ones instead. I also think that more and more companies will get closer to the goal of 100% virtualisation, which is a key enabler ϐ Ǥ means we will witness the mainstream adoption of public cloud provisioning as ǯ strategy; while some applications will stay in house in a private cloud to deliver the ability ϐ ǡdz Harrison Bailey concludes that as organisations come to terms with economic crunch, tougher competition and political turmoil, decision makers within these organisations

order to help them attain sustainable growth margins in the long run which in turn will lead vendors to new heights of innovation. Dz Ǧ infrastructure is not too far away. There are already many technologies that are focusing ʹͶ ͹ ǡ Ǧ Ǧ Ǥ development of complementary technologies that constantly monitor the ‘heartbeat’ and health of the infrastructure, and applications running on them to ensure a ‘zero’ interruption of service scenario, and this is ǡdz concludes.

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SecurityAdvisor

SECURITY ADVISOR Identity and access management

Extending identity With the advent of cloud computing and virtualisation, identity and access management is fast becoming an integral part of corporate security armoury.

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T

he focal point of enterprise ϐ malware and outsider threats, while most of the breaches these days are accounted for by insider threats. This is where identity and access management (IAM) solutions step in, which basically is a centralised and automated approach to regulating access to resources by employees and other authorised individuals. The primary objective

ϐ an identity for each user, associating attributes with the identity and enforcing a means by which a user can verify

Earl Perkins, research VP, Gartner

identity. Once implemented, IAM systems support single sign-­‐on (SSO), the ability of a user to access all network resources after authentication.

Though the concept of IAM has been around for a while, it is a cool idea that hasn’t really caught on among enterprises. But, now that is beginning to change with IAM being ϐ

managers this year, partly due to regulatory compliance reasons and the need to give access to information to the right people at the right time. “IAM is driven for the most part by the requirements for compliance in enterprises and institutions, compliance

address access to sensitive or critical information. They also seek to make the process of requesting access to information ϐ ǡ automate those activities associated with the creation, maintenance, use, and retirement of digital identities,” says Earl Perkins, research

Ǥ Erwin Martin, technical consultant with Secureway, says enhanced productivity

Ǥ Dz Ǧ ǡ ǡ Ǧ ϐ processes, delivering quick response times Ǧ tasks,” he says.

IAM is driven for the most part by the requirements for compliance in enterprises and institutions, compliance to internal and external regulations that address access to sensitive or critical information.

www.cnmeonline.com

Franz Erasmus, practice manager , information security, CA MENA

Enterprises across all industries are facing the same common challenges when considering an IAM solution. “Firstly they want to ensure their enterprise security, meaning that the right people have access to the right information at the right time.

This is easier said than done given that people might have the full right to access information, we don't know how they are using that information . Increasingly we find enterprises asking what people are doing with the information they are allowed to access,” says Franz Erasmus, practice manager for information security at CA MENA. Perkins from Gartner says regulatory

enterprises, namely questions such as who has access to what who gave the user or partner that access and when was it given; and what level of access was given. “IAM is a process that spans multiple business “silos” such as enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, supply

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SECURITY ADVISOR Identity and access management

…Šƒ‹Â?ÇĄ ƒ……‘—Â?–‹Â?Â‰Č„Â‡ÂƒÂ…ÂŠ Šƒ• ”‡“—‹”‡Â?‡Â?–• for  accountability,  transparency,  and  control  of  access.  Providing  a  common  process  and  approach  to  managing  identity  in  those  silos  …ƒÂ? „‡ ƒ •‹‰Â?‹Ď?‹…ƒÂ?– ’‘Ž‹–‹…ƒŽ …ŠƒŽŽ‡Â?‰‡ǣ ‡ƒ…Š silo  often  has  its  own  view  of  IAM,â€?  he  adds. Â‡Â”ÂŠÂƒÂ’Â•ÇĄ –Š‡ Â?‘•– •‹‰Â?‹Ď?‹…ƒÂ?– …ŠƒŽŽ‡Â?‰‡ associated  with  IAM  today  is  how  do  you  manage  identity  and  access  across  physical,  virtual  and  cloud  environments.  “You  need  to Â

Diyaa Zebian, MD, Novell Middle East

BEST PRACTICES CHECKLIST FOR IAM The solution should be able to map policies to users, computers, locations and specific business processes or application content. t .BOBHF VTFS JEFOUJUZ BVUIFOUJDBUJPO BOE access to systems. t &OTVSF EBUB DPOmEFOUJBMJUZ BOE JOUFHSJUZ UP reduce identity theft. t $PPSEJOBUF SJTL BTTFTTNFOUT XJUI DFOUSBM risk management authorities. t 1SPWJEF FOUFSQSJTF XJEF DPOUSPM PWFS authentication tools that are integrated with the organisation’s IT security framework.

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turn  the  concept  of  identity  on  its  head,â€?  says  ‡‡’ƒÂ? ƒ”ƒ‹Â?ÇĄ Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡” Č‚ •›•–‡Â?• ‡Â?‰‹Â?‡‡”• ƒ– ™ƒ”‡Ǥ Dz ˆ ›‘— Ž‘‘Â? ƒ– ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ ’‘Ž‹…‹‡•ǥ ›‘—ǯŽŽ •‡‡ that  they’re  still  rooted  in  the  physical  world.  Â?‡› „—‹Ž†‹Â?‰ „Ž‘…Â? ‘ˆ ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ ’‘Ž‹…‹‡• ‹• –Šƒ– „‘—Â?†ƒ”‹‡• ƒ”‡ ™‡ŽŽ †‡Ď?‹Â?‡† ƒÂ?† change  comes  slowly.   The  model  is  simple  nj „‘—Â?†ƒ”‹‡• ƒ”‡ †‡Ď?‹Â?‡†ǥ ƒ’’Ž‹ƒÂ?…‡• ƒ”‡ placed  at  the  boundaries,  and  once  placed  they  are  likely  to  live  a  long  productive  life  –Š‡”‡Ǥ ‹”–—ƒŽ‹•ƒ–‹‘Â? ƒÂ?† …Ž‘—† …‘Â?’—–‹Â?‰ …ŠƒŽŽ‡Â?‰‡ „‘–Š ‘ˆ –Š‡•‡ ƒ••—Â?’–‹‘Â?• ÇŚ boundaries  are  much  more  elastic,  change  is  constant,  new  endpoints  are  appearing  faster  –ŠƒÂ? ‡˜‡” Â„Â‡ÂˆÂ‘Â”Â‡ÇĄ Â?—Ž–‹nj–‡Â?ƒÂ?…› ‹• „‡…‘Â?‹Â?‰ a  fact  of  life,â€?  Narain  adds.

Erasmus  from  CA  echoes  a  similar  opinion,  “The  introduction  of  virtual  and  cloud  environments  have  presented  business  with  immense  value  and  business  opportunity.  However,  the  risk  of  losing  control  over  such  environments  by  means  of  rapid  proliferation  and  associated  identity  …”‡ƒ–‹‘Â? ƒ”‡ ”‡ƒŽ ƒÂ?† ‰”‘™‹Â?‰ ‡š’‘Â?‡Â?Â–Â‹ÂƒÂŽÂŽÂ›Ç¤Çł Those  shopping  around  for  IAM  solutions  •Š‘—Ž† Â?‡‡’ ‹Â? Â?‹Â?† –Šƒ– –Š‡”‡ ‹• Â?‘– ‘Â?‡nj

t 1SFWFOU VOBVUIPSJTFE BDDFTT UP SFTPVSDFT NBOBHF VTFS BDDPVOU MJGFDZDMF NBOBHF SFWJFX PG BDDPVOUT NBOBHF BOE NPOJUPS third-party access and interfaces. t 3FEVDF SJTL XJUI NVMUJ GBDUPS BVUIFOUJDBUJPO t &OGPSDF FMFDUSPOJD USBOTBDUJPOT VTJOH TUSPOH authentication. t "VUPNBUJDBMMZ TVTQFOE PS SFNPWF VTFST OP longer authorised to access an IT system. t *OUFHSBUF QIZTJDBM TFDVSJUZ BOE MPHJDBM *5

security access systems. t 4FDVSF BDDFTT UP TFOTJUJWF OFUXPSLT BOE applications by limiting access to: valid users XJUI WBMJE DSFEFOUJBMT BDDFTTJOH GSPN WBMJE MPDBUJPOT BDDFTTJOH EVSJOH WBMJE IPVST Source: Imprivata

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Â•Â‹ÂœÂ‡ÇŚĎ?Â‹Â–Â•ÇŚÂƒÂŽÂŽ –‘ ƒ††”‡•• ›‘—” …ŠƒŽŽ‡Â?‰‡•Ǥ Dz Š‹Ž‡ –Š‡”‡ ‹• Â?‘ •‹Â?‰Ž‡ •‘Ž—–‹‘Â? ˆ‘” ƒŽŽ

challenges,  there  are  technology  vendors  that  have  accumulated  in  one  place  the  products  often  required  to  build  a  comprehensive  IAM  program.  These  vendors,  known  as  IAM  suite  or  portfolio  vendors,  provide  access,  identity  administration,  and  intelligence  functions  in  two  or  more  IAM  products  and  provide  •‡”˜‹…‡• ȋ‡‹–Š‡” –Š‡Â?•‡Ž˜‡• ‘” –Š”‘—‰Š partners)  to  integrate  those  functions  within  an  IAM  program.  There  are  smaller  IAM  vendors  that  touch  in  partnerships  with  other  IAM  vendors  to  compete  against  the  suite  concept.  It  is  an  active  and  vibrant  market  for  solutions,â€?  says  Perkins. ‹›ƒƒ ‡„‹ƒÂ?ÇĄ ‘ˆ ‘˜‡ŽŽ ÇĄ •ƒ›• ƒÂ?

IAM  solution  should  grow  as  an  enterprise  grows.   The  challenges  faced  by  a  100  employee  organisation  are  both  the  same  and  vastly  different  from  ones  faced  by  organisations  with  10,000  employees.   Any  IAM  solution  should  be  robust  enough  to  both  economically  tackle  your  challenges  today,  and  be  able  to  be  used  as  a  foundation  for  tomorrow’s  opportunities.  Given  the  fact  that  each  organisation  is  unique  from  the  standpoints  of  IT  and  workforce  environments,  the  right  IAM  •‘Ž—–‹‘Â? •Š‘—Ž† „‡ Ď?Ž‡š‹„Ž‡ ƒÂ?† ‹Â?–‡‰”ƒ–‡ ‡ƒ•‹Ž› ™‹–Š –Š‡ ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ ‡Â?˜‹”‘Â?Â?‡Â?– ƒÂ?† …ƒÂ? „‡ ‡ƒ•‹Ž› …‘Â?Ď?‹‰—”‡† –‘ …‘Â?ˆ‘”Â? to  each  organisation’s  policies  and  risk  or  compliance  posture,  according  to  Chris  ‹š‘Â?ÇĄ ’”‹Â?…‹’ƒŽ •‘Ž—–‹‘Â?• Â?ƒ”Â?‡–‹Â?‰ Manager  at  BMC.  Selecting  an  IAM  solution  also  means  selecting  the  appropriate  long  –‡”Â? –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› ’ƒ”–Â?‡” –Šƒ– „‡•– ”‡Ď?Ž‡…–• not  only  your  requirements  as  an  enterprise  but  the  architecture  and  ‘philosophy’  of  the  enterprise.  Perkins  from  Gartner  •ƒ›• –Šƒ– Â?‘•– ’”‘‰”ƒÂ?• ƒ”‡ Â?ƒŒ‘” investments  with  considerable  deployment  times,  and  choosing  a  partner  that  will  be  a  •‹‰Â?‹Ď?‹…ƒÂ?– ’ƒ”– ‘ˆ ›‘—” ‡Â?–‡”’”‹•‡ ˆ‘” ›‡ƒ”• to  come  is  critical.  Criteria  such  as  viability,  the  availability  of  integration  partners,  strong  regional  support,  and  technology Â

Learn more at www.EMC.com

SECURITY ADVISOR Identity and access management

that addresses your requirements are all important. In addition, a partner that understands the process and organisational needs of the enterprise to support and use IAM is considered critical.

A daunting task ǡ

initiatives are considered high value but notoriously problematic to deploy. Yet

ǯ ǡ 30% or more of the total information security budget of most large organisation,

Ǥ ǡ ϐ the very people and process breakdowns IAM automation is meant to solve, such as too many or too few people involved in authorising requests, a lack of documentation for access requests and approvals, connecting to target systems with “dirty” or obsolete data, and so on. This conundrum has led to the rise of what is called identity governance.

ϐ Ǧ processes that are most critical to the Ǥ ǡ root access to the server hosting an ERP ǦǦ ǫ

that grants that access? How does that

Chris Rixon, principal solutions marketing manager, BMC

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Jackie Gilbert, Co-founder and VP, SailPoint

commonly need. This minimises the need Ǧ ϐ Ǥ In addition, our solution is designed to be Ȃ ǡ

Ǥ offer integration modules to third party provisioning solutions, access management products, and help desk products. In other words, we complement previous investments by adding friendlier UIs and better business ǡdz ǡ Ǧ Ǥ Erasmus from CA says his company has

and has developed a number of services

Within the security community, IAM initiatives are considered high value but notoriously problematic to deploy. Yet despite IAM’s complexity, it represents 30% or more of the total information security budget of most large organisation, according to IDC. ǫ ǡ and for how long? How can we report on it during an audit?

Getting your organisation’s governance processes locked in is a tall order, but well Ǥ ϐ identity governance is that it pinpoints which Ǧ of attention.

making efforts to simplify the process.

“Traditional IAM systems have earned a ϐ Ǥ Ǧ generation IAM solutions have addressed many of the shortcomings that plagued early

Ǥ ǡ

Dz dz for common tasks such as access request, approvals and reviews that business users

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and tools that assist an enterprise with deployment of IAM solutions on business, Ǥ ǯ implementation service deploys CA Identity Manager in an initial bounded deployment that delivers results quickly. CA architects and consultants work with the enterprise to develop solution design and integration ϐ and test plans. Technically CA has also developed a tool that facilitates system integration via a wizard style interface. Ǧ need for manual coding of the solution to enterprise systems, he adds.

IAM implementations promise big rewards but demand big investments, and don’t ever underestimate the amount of Ǥ environment for a smooth implementation before you get on the bandwagon.

TelecomsWorld

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

TELECOMS WORLD 4G

The journey to 4G Now that carriers have done the big work of getting 4G wireless networks up and running, it’s time to understand what these deployments and services mean to you.

I

n  a  nutshell,  you  can  expect  wireless  services  that  support  data  transmission  speeds  as  high  ƒ• ͳͲͲ „’•ǥ ™‹–Š ‘ ƒÂ?† –”ƒˆĎ?‹… prioritisation  to  boot.  With  such  features,  it  becomes  possible  to  imagine  a  mobile  employee  using  a  cell  phone  to  participate  in  a  video  conference  or  tune  into  high-­â€?quality  streaming  video.

Andreas Krenn, head of strategy and market development, Mobile Broadband, Region Middle East and North East Africa

Though  several  technologies  have  played  a  role  in  4G  as  it  developed,  including  ‹ ÂƒÂšÇĄ ‹• Â?‘™ ™‹†‡Ž› ƒ……‡’–‡† ĥ –Š‡ –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› ‘ˆ …Š‘‹…‡ ˆ‘” Íś Ǥ Dz Š‡Â? ‹– …‘Â?‡• to  the  technology  of  choice  for  4G,  the  whole  industry  can  remember  discussions  ‘Â? ™Š‡–Š‡” ‘” ™‘—Ž† „‡ „‡•– suited  for  connecting  people  in  the  future.  This  contest  has  been  clearly  decided  in  ˆƒ˜‘—” ‘ˆ ÇĄÇł •ƒ›• Â?†”‡ƒ• ”‡Â?Â?ÇĄ Š‡ƒ† ‘ˆ strategy  and  market  development,  mobile  broadband,  MENA  region. Dz ‡ ƒ”‡ •‡‡‹Â?‰ ƒ †‡Ď?‹Â?‹–‡ …‘Â?˜‡”‰‡Â?…‡ of  media  and  telecommunications  which  started  in  the  last  few  years,  and  this  was  driven  largely  by  a  strong  demand  for  devices  like  smartphones,  tablet  computers  and  laptops.  All  indications  point  to  further  growth  in  demand  and  our  belief  is  that  we  will  have  as  many  as  50  billion  connections  „› ʹͲʹͲǤ ‡ „‡Ž‹‡˜‡ –Šƒ– ‹Â? –Š‡ ˆ—–—”‡ ‡˜‡”›–Š‹Â?‰ –Šƒ– ™‹ŽŽ „‡Â?‡Ď?‹– ˆ”‘Â? „‡‹Â?‰ …‘Â?Â?‡…–‡†ǥ ™‹ŽŽ „‡ …‘Â?Â?‡…–‡†Ǥ Š‹• †‡Ď?‹Â?‹–‡Ž› presents  an  opportunity  for  4G  in  2012  and  „‡›‘Â?†ǥ ƒÂ?† ĥ –Š‡ ‰Ž‘„ƒŽ Ž‡ƒ†‡”• ‹Â? –Š‡ Ď?‹‡Ž† we  will  look  at  ways  to  make  the  most  of  this  demand,"  he  adds.   Â

All indications point to further growth in demand and our belief is that we will have as many as 50 billion connections by 2020. We believe that in the future everything that will benefit from being connected, will be connected. This definitely presents an opportunity for 4G in 2012 and beyond and as the global leaders in the field we will look at ways to make the most of this demand.�

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Ever  since  its  inception  three  years  „ƒ…Â?ÇĄ Šƒ• ”ƒÂ?’‡† —’ ”‡ƒŽ ˆƒ•– Â‡Â˜Â‡Â”Â›Â™ÂŠÂ‡Â”Â‡ÇĄ ‹Â?…Ž—†‹Â?‰ –Š‡ ‹††Ž‡ ƒ•–Ǥ Dz ‹• ƒ†˜ƒÂ?…‹Â?‰ ˆƒ•–‡” –ŠƒÂ? ‡š’‡…–‡†ǥ ‡•’‡…‹ƒŽŽ› in  our  region.  KSA  and  UAE  are  now  leading  the  pack  ahead  of  even  many  European  …‘—Â?–”‹‡• ‹Â? ”‘ŽŽ ‘—– ƒÂ?† –Š‡ –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› itself  has  matured  through  standardisation.  Šƒ– ‹• ‡˜‹†‡Â?– Â?‘™ ‹• –Š‡ …Ž‡ƒ” †‡…‹•‹‘Â? ˆ‘” ‘’‡”ƒ–‘”• –‘ ‹Â?˜‡•– ‹Â? ĥ –Š‡ –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› of  choice  for  4G  mobile  networks  as  …‘Â?’ƒ”‡† –‘ ‹ ÂƒÂšÇĄ ™Š‹…Š ‹• ‡‹–Š‡” †›‹Â?‰ ‘—– ‘” …‘Â?Ď?‹Â?‡† –‘ Ď?‹š‡† Â…Â‘Â˜Â‡Â”ÂƒÂ‰Â‡ÇĄÇł •ƒ›• ”Ǥ „†—Ž ƒŠÂ?ƒÂ? ÂŽÇŚ œœƒÂ?ÇĄ …‘—Â?–”› •‡Â?‹‘” ‘ˆĎ?‹…‡” ‘ˆ ƒ—†‹ Â”ÂƒÂ„Â‹ÂƒÇĄ ÂŽÂ…ÂƒÂ–Â‡ÂŽÇŚ —…‡Â?–Ǥ ‹”Â? —••‡ǥ Â?‘„‹Ž‡ „”‘ƒ†„ƒÂ?† •‘Ž—–‹‘Â?• ƒ”…Š‹–‡…– ƒÂ?† Š‡ƒ† ‘ˆ ‹††Ž‡ ƒ•– and  Africa  at  Nokia  Siemens  Networks,  ‡…Š‘‡• ƒ •‹Â?‹Žƒ” ‘’‹Â?‹‘Â?Ǥ Dz ‹• …Ž‡ƒ”Ž› –Š‡ technology  of  choice  for  4G  demonstrated  by  –Š‡ ˆƒ•– ƒ†‘’–‹‘Â? ‘ˆ –Š‡ ‹Â?†—•–”› Č‚ ™‹–Š‹Â? –™‘ ›‡ƒ”• –Š‡ –ƒÂ?‡nj—’ ‘ˆ Â?‡–™‘”Â?• Šƒ• ‘—–’ƒ…‡† any  previous  wireless  technology  before.  ……‘”†‹Â?‰ –‘ –Š‡ ÇĄ ͜͝ Â?‡–™‘”Â?• Šƒ˜‡ already  been  launched  with  several  hundreds  of  devices  completing  the  ecosystem  so  that  operators  can  provide  a  full  and  versatile  solution  to  their  subscribers.  All  in  all,  the  economies  of  scale  for  both  network  and  ‡Â?†nj—•‡” ‡“—‹’Â?‡Â?– Â?ƒÂ?‡• –Š‡ Â?‘•– attractive  technology  solution,"  he  says. Â

Christelle Toureille, Marketing Director for telecommunication solutions at Gemalto Middle East

Dz Šƒ• •—”‡Ž› …‘Â?‡ ‘ˆ ƒ‰‡ ĥ ƒ ™‹”‡Ž‡•• Č‹Â†ÂƒÂ–ÂƒČŒ „”‘ƒ†„ƒÂ?† •‘Ž—–‹‘Â?Ǥ Â?ƒŒ‘”‹–› ‘ˆ –Š‡ networks  have  been  optimised  to  provide  high  throughput  and  good  quality  service.  Š‘—‰Š …‘˜‡”ƒ‰‡ ‹• •–‹ŽŽ ‰”‘™‹Â?‰ ˆ‘” ÇĄ –Š‡ ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ Íľ ‘” ÎŞ „ƒ•‡ ‘ˆ Â?‘•– ‘’‡”ƒ–‘”• …‘Â?’Ž‡Â?‡Â?–• –Š‡ ‡Â?†nj—•‡” ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡ „‡›‘Â?† –Š‡ Š‘–•’‘– ƒ”‡ƒ•Ǥ ‹–Š ‹Â?…”‡ƒ•‹Â?‰ †ƒ–ƒ —’–ƒÂ?‡ ƒ‰ƒ‹Â? ˆ—‡Ž‡† „› Â?ƒÂ?› Â?‡™ nj‡Â?ƒ„Ž‡† devices  coming  to  market  this  year  coverage  will  continue  to  grow,â€?  he  adds.

Spectrum  conundrum Š‡ •—……‡•• ‘ˆ †‡’‡Â?†• ‘Â? •’‡…–”—Â? availability  with  enough  bandwidth  and  ˜‡Â?†‘”• •ƒ› •’‡…–”—Â? Â”Â‡ÇŚÂˆÂƒÂ”Â?‹Â?‰ ‹• –Š‡ Â?‡› –‘ ‡Â?ƒ„Ž‹Â?‰ Â…Â‘Â•Â–ÇŚÂ‡ÂˆÂˆÂ‡Â…Â–Â‹Â˜Â‡ Â?‡–™‘”Â?•Ǥ Dz ’‡…–”ƒŽ ”‡•‘—”…‡• ƒ”‡ Â?‘– ‹Â?Â‡ÂšÂŠÂƒÂ—Â•Â–Â‹Â„ÂŽÂ‡Č„Âƒ fact  that  is  becoming  increasingly  obvious  as  demand  for  them  keeps  growing.  For  Â?‡–™‘”Â?• ‹Â? Â’ÂƒÂ”Â–Â‹Â…Â—ÂŽÂƒÂ”ÇĄ ‡ˆˆ‡…–‹˜‡ ”‡nj farming  solutions  are  crucial  in  reallocating  frequencies,  while  controlling  interferences  „‡–™‡‡Â? Â?‡‹‰Š„‘—”‹Â?‰ ÇĄ ƒÂ?† frequencies.  Actual  coordination  between Â

Č€ ƒÂ?† Â?‡–™‘”Â?• ‹• ƒÂ?‘–Š‡” challenge  that  can  be  addressed  through  •’‡…–”ƒŽ Â”Â‡ÇŚÂˆÂƒÂ”Â?‹Â?‰ǥdz •ƒ›• ‡‘ —ǥ ‘ˆ solutions  and  marketing,   Huwei.  Hilal  Halaoui,  partner  with  Booz  &  Company,  says  it  also  depends  on  the Â

Dirk Busse, Mobile Broadband Solutions Architect and LTE Head of Middle East and Africa at Nokia Siemens Networks

Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Azzam, Country Senior Officer of Saudi Arabia, Alcatel-Lucent

Hilal Halaoui, Partner with Booz & Company

Â‘Â’Â‡Â”ÂƒÂ–Â‘Â”ÇŻÂ• •’‡…‹Ď?‹… •‹–—ƒ–‹‘Â?Ǥ Dz ‘…ƒŽ Â?ƒ”Â?‡–ǥ current  technology  and  local  spectrum  landscapes  are  essential  parameters  to  be  considered.  For  a  cost  effective  network  deployment,  operators  may  want  to  use  –™‘ •’‡…–”—Â?• ˆ‘” ÇŁ ‹‰Š •’‡…–”—Â? ‹Â? †‡Â?•‡ —”„ƒÂ? ƒ”‡ƒ• ˆ‘” ‹–• ‡ˆĎ?‹…‹‡Â?…› ƒÂ?† Ž‘™ spectrum  in  rural  areas  where  coverage  is  more  critical  than  capacity.  Considering  the  scarcity  of  low  spectrums  in  many  countries, Â Â”Â‡ÇŚÂˆÂƒÂ”Â?‹Â?‰ ‹Â? –Š‡ Ž‘™‡” „ƒÂ?†• Â?‹‰Š– „‡ –Š‡ only  option.  However,  this  is  not  an  easy  choice  and  it  has  to  be  done  carefully  taking  into  account  many  factors,  such  as  cost  and  ”‹•Â?• ‘ˆ Â?‹‰”ƒ–‹Â?‰ ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰‹‡• –‘ other  spectrums,  reduced  capacity  of  other  technologies,  etc.,â€?  he  says.

For  operators,  it  is  also  equally  important  to  evolve  a  backhaul  strategy  ˆ‘” Â?‡–™‘”Â?•ǥ ĥ ‹– …ƒÂ? „‡ ƒ ’‘–‡Â?–‹ƒŽ bottleneck.   “Spectrum  is  not  necessarily  the  backbone  of  this  mobile  broadband  ”‡˜‘Ž—–‹‘Â?Ǥ Š‹Ž‡ ‹– ™‹ŽŽ ’”‘˜‹†‡ ƒ Â?‡‡†‡† boost  to  the  radio  access  network,  trouble  ™‹ŽŽ •–‹ŽŽ ƒ”‹•‡ ĥ •‘‘Â? ĥ –Š‡ –”ƒˆĎ?‹… Š‹–• the  backhaul  portion  of  the  network.   The  rise  in  bandwidth  requirements  means  that  carriers  need  to  rethink  their  network  •–”ƒ–‡‰› ƒÂ?† ˆƒ˜‘—” ƒ Ď?Ž‡š‹„Ž‡ ƒ’’”‘ƒ…Š capable  of  meeting  increases  in  customer  demand,â€?  says  Saad  Khan,  regional  marketing  director  of  Ciena.

Š‹Ž‡ ‹• ƒŽŽ •‡– –‘ Â?ƒÂ?‡ ”ƒ’‹† •–”‹†‡• ‹Â? ʹͲͳʹǥ ‹Â?†—•–”› ƒÂ?ƒŽ›•–• •ƒ› ÎŞ will  continue  to  evolve  in  parallel.  “Many  operators  have  deployed  3G  networks  already,  and  will  continue  to  upgrade  their  Â?‡–™‘”Â?• ™‹–Š –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰‹‡• Ž‹Â?‡ ÎŞ ‘”

ÇĄ ‹Â? ‘”†‡” –‘ Â?ƒš‹Â?‹•‡ –Š‡‹” ‹Â?˜‡•–Â?‡Â?–• in  spectrum  licences  and  network  equipment,"  says  Christelle  Toureille,  marketing  director  for  telecommunication  solutions  at  Gemalto  Middle  East. Š‡ ƒ††• –Šƒ– ÎŞ ƒÂ?† •Šƒ”‡ Â?ƒÂ?› „‡Â?‡Ď?‹–•ǥ ‹Â? ’ƒ”–‹…—Žƒ” ƒ …‘Â?Â?‘Â? …‘”‡ Â?‡–™‘”Â?ÇĄ and  many  services  can  be  deployed  on  top  ‘ˆ ΪǤ ‘„‹Ž‡ ‘’‡”ƒ–‘”• ™‹ŽŽ ’”‘„ƒ„Ž› —•‡ ‹Â? …‘Â?Œ—Â?…–‹‘Â? ™‹–Š ÇĄ ƒÂ?† Žƒ–‡” Â?‹‰”ƒ–‡ –‘ ƒ ˆ—ŽŽ …‘˜‡”ƒ‰‡ –‘ –ƒÂ?‡ …‘Â?’Ž‡–‡ „‡Â?‡Ď?‹–• ˆ”‘Â? Íś ÇĄ ƒÂ?† ƒ˜‘‹† …‘Â?‰‡•–‹‘Â?Ǥ Š‹Ž‡ ÎŞ ‹• –‘—–‡† ĥ ƒÂ? ƒŽ–‡”Â?ƒ–‹˜‡ –‘ ˆ‘” Â?‘„‹Ž‡ „”‘ƒ†„ƒÂ?†ǥ †˜ƒÂ?…‡† is  also  looming  large  on  the  horizon  of  wireless  technologies  and  we  are  likely  –‘ •‡‡ ‹Â?‹–‹ƒŽ †‡’Ž‘›Â?‡Â?–• „› Â?‡š– ›‡ƒ”Ǥ Network  manufacturers  such  as  Nokia  Siemens  Networks  are  already  delivering  and  deploying  network  equipment  to  their  …—•–‘Â?‡”• …ƒ’ƒ„Ž‡ ‘ˆ ÇŚ ˆ—Â?…–‹‘Â?ƒŽ‹–›Ǥ ‹–Š ƒ •‘ˆ–™ƒ”‡ —’‰”ƒ†‡ ‘Â?Ž›ǥ –Š‡•‡ ‘’‡”ƒ–‘”• ™‹ŽŽ „‡ ƒ„Ž‡ –‘ Žƒ—Â?…Š ÇŚ ‹Â? a  short  timeframe  to  offer  cutting  edge  technology  to  their  subscribers  and  remain  the  leaders  in  their  markets. Â

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OPINION Leo Xiu

Racing towards the digital economy Accelerated by government policies and increasing demand from consumers for more bandwidth and video-centric applications, Leo Xu, VP of solutions and marketing Middle East at Huawei, investigates how the roll-out of national broadband networks (NBN) could lead to a total overhaul of the ICT industry.

T

he telecommunications market across the Middle East is set to change dramatically over the next 10 years. Increasing demand for bandwidth is starting to exceed the physical limits of legacy access networks. The roll-­‐out of NBN ϐ Ǧ Ǧ Ǧ massive investment with long pay-­‐back periods. Recent studies suggest that the external effects of broadband investments on GDP growth and employment exceed

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ϐ by far. As a result many countries in the Middle East have developing broadband strategies including industrial policy support, subsidies and direct government investments in telecom related policies.

The key to a successful national broadband strategy lies in having an investment friendly regulatory framework and ϐ policy measures.

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Some governments are changing the course of deregulation more seriously by taking a direct role as investor and operator. A

ȋ Ȍǡ ϐ region to have 100% broadband penetration by 2012.

A number of countries, mainly in the Middle East, are thinking along the same lines. Recently in Qatar the Q.NBN company

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OPINION Leo Xiu

signed  an  agreement  with  Qatar  Telecom  and  ‘†ƒˆ‘Â?‡ –‘ †‡Ď?‹Â?‡ ƒ ˆ”ƒÂ?‡™‘”Â? –Š”‘—‰Š ™Š‹…Š the  three  organisations  can  work  together  to  realise  the  Qatar  Government’s  goal  to  bring  high  speed  broadband  services  to  95%  of  households  and  100%  of  government  bodies  and  businesses  in  Qatar  by  2015.  Jordan,  Bahrain,  Kuwait  and  Oman  are  also  ‹Â? –Š‡ ’”‘…‡•• ‘ˆ ‡š’Ž‘”‹Â?‰ –Š‡ †‡’Ž‘›Â?‡Â?– ‘ˆ nationwide  NBN.  Challenges Â? –Š‡ „ƒ•‹• ‘ˆ Ď?‹Â?ƒÂ?…‹ƒŽ Â˜Â‹ÂƒÂ„Â‹ÂŽÂ‹Â–Â›ÇĄ ‹– ™‹ŽŽ –ƒÂ?‡ operators  some  time  to  achieve  nationwide  …‘˜‡”ƒ‰‡ ™‹–Š Ď?‹„”‡ ƒ……‡•• Â?‡–™‘”Â?•ǥ Â?—…Š longer  than  governments  would  like  for  reasons  of  economic  recovery  and  national  competitiveness.

The  blended  average  revenue  per  —•‡” Č‹ ČŒ ‘ˆ ‹††Ž‡ ƒ•– …—•–‘Â?‡”• ˆ‘” „”‘ƒ†„ƒÂ?† ƒ……‡•• ‹• …—””‡Â?–Ž› ƒ„‘—– ʹ͡ǥ with  little  regional  variation.  In  contrast  the  investment  per  home  decreases  strongly  with  ‹Â?…”‡ƒ•‹Â?‰ ’‘’—Žƒ–‹‘Â? †‡Â?•‹–›Ǥ ‘” –Š‡ Ď?‹„”‡nj –‘nj–Š‡nj„—‹Ž†‹Â?‰ Č‹ ČŒ ƒ……‡•• Â?‡–™‘”Â?•ǥ ‹– ‹• worth  noting  that  more  than  60%  of  the  Middle  East  population  live  in  “dense  ruralâ€?  and Â Ç˛Â”Â—Â”ÂƒÂŽÇł ƒ”‡ƒ• ÇŚ ™Š‡”‡ Ď?‹„”‡ Â?‡–™‘”Â? …‘˜‡”ƒ‰‡ ‹• ‡š–”‡Â?‡Ž› …‘•–Ž›Ǥ As  a  consequence,  operators  have  little  ‹Â?–‡”‡•– ‹Â? ‹Â?˜‡•–‹Â?‰ ‹Â? Ď?‹„”‡ ‹Â?ˆ”ƒ•–”—…–—”‡ outside  urban  areas.  Studies  suggest  that  under  current  ARPU  and  cost  conditions  Â?‡–™‘”Â?• ™‘—Ž† ‘Â?Ž› „‡ ’”‘Ď?‹–ƒ„Ž‡ for  about  25%  of  Middle  East  households,  ™Š‹Ž‡ –Š‡ Â?‘”‡ „ƒ•‹… Ď?‹„”‡nj–‘nj–Š‡nj…—”„ Č‹ ČŒ Â?‡–™‘”Â?• …‘—Ž† •‡”˜‡ •Ž‹‰Š–Ž› ƒ„‘˜‡ ͚ͲΨ ’”‘Ď?‹–ƒ„Ž›Ǥ Š‹• ‹• —Â?†‡” Â?‘Â?‘’‘Ž‹•–‹… conditions.  In  a  competitive  environment,  the  investment  opportunity  would  be  even  Â?‘”‡ Ž‹Â?‹–‡†Ǥ Š‹• ‹• ƒ Â?ƒŒ‘” …ŠƒŽŽ‡Â?‰‡ –‘ –Š‡ ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ ”‡‰—Žƒ–‘”› •›•–‡Â? ™‹–Š ‹–• basic  idea  to  solve  sector  problems  through  liberalisation  and  privatisation.

The  new  approach Š‹Ž‡ ”‡‰—Žƒ–‘”• ’”‡˜‹‘—•Ž› •ƒ™ –Š‡ ”‡•–”‹…–‹‘Â? of  the  incumbent’s  market  power  and  the  support  of  service  competition  as  their  main  task,  their  focus  is  now  shifting  to  fostering  investments  in  broadband  access  networks. Â

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Â? ”—”ƒŽ ƒ”‡ƒ• ™Š‡”‡ Ď?‹„”‡ Â?‡–™‘”Â?• ƒ”‡ not  viable,  the  only  market  solution  could  „‡ Š‹‰Šnj•’‡‡† Â?‘„‹Ž‡ „”‘ƒ†„ƒÂ?† Â‘ÂˆÂˆÂ‡Â”Â•ÇĄ ‹Ǥ‡Ǥ ‘Â?‰ ‡”Â? ˜‘Ž—–‹‘Â? Č‹ ČŒ ‘” ƒŽ–‡”Â?ƒ–‹˜‡ 4G  networks,  but  service  quality  will  be  well  below  the  broadband  strategy’s  high  speed  targets.  Here  the  regulator  needs  to  develop  Â?‡™ ‹Â?•–”—Â?‡Â?–•Ǥ Â•Â–ÂƒÂ”Â–ÇŚÂ—Â’ •‘Ž—–‹‘Â? …‘—Ž† „‡ –‘ ƒŽŽ‘™ ȋ‘” ÂˆÂ‘Â”Â…Â‡ČŒ ’‘‘Ž‹Â?‰ ‘ˆ –Š‡ spectrum  to  be  auctioned  in  rural  areas  so  that  operators  can  offer  higher  bandwidth.  The  current  practice  of  subsidising  local  community  Ď?‹„”‡ Â?‡–™‘”Â? †‡˜‡Ž‘’Â?‡Â?–• †‡Ď?‹Â?‹–‡Ž› Â?‡‡†• Â?‘”‡ …Ž‡ƒ” •–ƒÂ?†ƒ”†‹•ƒ–‹‘Â? –‘ ‡Â?•—”‡ ‹Â?–‡”nj operability  of  the  individual  networks. Â

Leo Xu, VP of solutions & marketing Middle East at Huawei

This  demands  adapted  and  new  regulation,  while  the  increasing  “digital  divideâ€?  between  urban  centres  and  rural  areas  demand  a  new  ƒ’’”‘ƒ…Š –‘ †‡Ď?‹Â?‡ ”‡Ž‡˜ƒÂ?– ”‡‰‹‘Â?ƒŽ Â?ƒ”Â?‡–•ǥ †‡–‡”Â?‹Â?‡ •‹‰Â?‹Ď?‹…ƒÂ?– Â?ƒ”Â?‡– ’‘™‡” ˆ‘” ‡ƒ…Š •—„njÂ?ƒ”Â?‡–ǥ ƒÂ?† –‘ †‡Ď?‹Â?‡ ”‡Â?‡†‹‡• ‘” ‹Â?†—•–”‹ƒŽ ’‘Ž‹…› Â?‡ƒ•—”‡• ˆ‘” ‡ƒ…Š •—„njÂ?ƒ”Â?‡–Ǥ In  principle  three  types  of  markets  can  be  determined: ‡Â?•‡ —”„ƒÂ? …‹–› …‡Â?–”‡• ™Š‡”‡ Â?‘”‡ –ŠƒÂ? ‘Â?‡ Ď?‹„”‡ ƒ……‡•• Â?‡–™‘”Â? ‹• ˜‹ƒ„Ž‡ ƒÂ?† can  compete  with  interactive  networks  and  ˆ—–—”‡ ™‹”‡Ž‡•• •‘Ž—–‹‘Â?•Ǥ Â? –Š‡•‡ ƒ”‡ƒ• Â?‘Â?ÇŚ regulated  infrastructure  competition  could  „‡ ƒÂ? ‡ˆĎ?‹…‹‡Â?– •‘Ž—–‹‘Â? ”‡“—‹”‹Â?‰ ‘Â?Ž› …Ž‡ƒ” standards  for  interoperability  and  symmetric  access  obligations.  In  smaller  cities  and  suburban  areas  ™‹–Š ‘Â?Ž› ‘Â?‡ Ď?‹„”‡ Â?‡–™‘”Â?ÇĄ ”‡‰—Žƒ–‡† ƒ……‡•• –‘ Â?‘Â?‘’‘Ž‹•–‹… Â?‡š– ‰‡Â?‡”ƒ–‹‘Â? Â?‡–™‘”Â?• ƒÂ?† ‹Â?˜‡•–Â?‡Â?Â–ÇŚÂˆÂ”Â‹Â‡Â?†Ž› ”‡‰—Žƒ–‘”› ”‡Â?‡†‹‡• ™‘—Ž† •—ˆĎ?‹…‡Ǥ Š‡ …‘Â?’ƒ”ƒ–‹˜‡Ž› Š‹‰Š ”‹•Â?• faced  by  the  infrastructure  investor  should  ƒŽ•‘ „‡ ”‡Ď?Ž‡…–‡† ‹Â? ”‡‰—Žƒ–‡† ™Š‘Ž‡•ƒŽ‡ prices  allowing  either  risk  sharing  by  price  structures  that  reward  long  term  rental  and  high  capacity  commitments.

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NBN  development  trends                    The  trend  for  growing  bandwidth  demand  remains  unbroken  across  the  Middle  ƒ•–Ǥ ‹†‡ —•‡ ‘ˆ Â?—Ž–‹nj”‘‘Â? ÇĄ …Ž‘—† …‘Â?’—–‹Â?‰ǥ Š‹‰Šnj‡Â?† ‰ƒÂ?‹Â?‰ǥ ƒÂ?† ’‹…–—”‡ and  video  intensive  social  networks  are  driving  data  rates  per  household  well  beyond  the  physical  limits  of  legacy  copper  access  Â?‡–™‘”Â?•Ǥ ÂŽÂŽ Â?ƒŒ‘” Ď?‹š‡† Ž‹Â?‡ Â‘Â’Â‡Â”ÂƒÂ–Â‘Â”Â•ÇĄ ƒ”‡ Â?‘™ •–ƒ”–‹Â?‰ –‘ ‹Â?•–ƒŽŽ Ď?‹„”‡ ‹Â? –Š‡ Ž‘…ƒŽ Ž‘‘’ǥ ‡‹–Š‡” ĥ ÇĄ Č€ ‘” DzŠ›„”‹† Ď?Â‹Â„Â”Â‡ÇŚÂ…Â‘ÂƒÂšÇł Č‹ ČŒ ‹Â? –Š‡ …ƒ•‡ ‘ˆ …ƒ„Ž‡ ‘’‡”ƒ–‘”•Ǥ As  a  result,  national  broadband  Â?‡–™‘”Â? Č‹ ČŒ –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› ‹• •‡– –‘ „‡…‘Â?‡ the  predominant  infrastructure  and  as  a Â Â—Â–Â‹ÂŽÂ‹Â–Â‹Â‡Â•ÇŚÂ„ÂƒÂ•Â‡Â† Â?‡–™‘”Â?ÇĄ ‹– ™‹ŽŽ ƒŽ•‘ ’”‘˜‹†‡ its  services  to  sectors  such  as  government,  healthcare,  education  and  business.  It  will  ƒŽ•‘ Šƒ˜‡ –Š‡ …ƒ’ƒ…‹–› –‘ …ƒ””› ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ and  future  data  and  communication Â Â•Â‡Â”Â˜Â‹Â…Â‡Â•ÇĄ ‹Â?…Ž—†‹Â?‰ Â˜Â‘Â‹Â…Â‡ÇĄ ÇĄ ÇĄ Š‹‰Š speed  Internet  access,  leased  line  service  for  enterprises,  and  backhaul  for  mobile  broadband  services.  In  the  very  near  future,  members  of  a  single  family  will  be  watching  ˜‹†‡‘ ƒ– –Š‡ •ƒÂ?‡ –‹Â?‡ –Šƒ– –Š‡› ‡Â?‰ƒ‰‡ ‹Â? ”‡Â?‘–‡ Š‡ƒŽ–Š Â?‘Â?‹–‘”‹Â?‰ǥ Â˜Â‹Â†Â‡Â‘ÇŚ …‘Â?ˆ‡”‡Â?…‹Â?‰ǥ ‰ƒÂ?‹Â?‰ǥ †‹•–ƒÂ?Â…Â‡ÇŚÂ‡Â†Â—Â…ÂƒÂ–Â‹Â‘Â? class  lectures  and  social  networking.

As  the  race  to  compete  in  the  digital  economy  continues,  national  broadband  network  technology  is  a  key  driver  of  national  competitiveness  as  it  will  provide  universal  access  to  high  speed  broadband  services  and  ‹Â?’”‘˜‡ ‘˜‡”ƒŽŽ •‘…‹‘nj‡…‘Â?‘Â?‹… ‰”‘™–ŠǤ

IntegrationAdvisor

INTEGRATION ADVISOR Cloud apps

Cloud app integration: the best path Cloud-based or SaaS applications need to live in an ecosystem, integrated with the rest of your infrastructure and enterprise applications. Sure -- but what integration strategy actually works best?

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here’s  a  lot  of  noise  from  vendors  of  every  stripe  about  the  cloud.  Unfortunately,  in  the  vendors’  efforts  to  show  how  all  their  products  are  cloud-­â€?based,  there’s  a  lot  of  blurring  about  the  specifics  of  what  it  means  to  be  a  cloud  application.  Consequently,  this  article  will  apply  differently  to  every  cloud  vendor.  (And  for  the  purposes  of  this  article,  let’s  keep  the  discussion  to  SaaS  and  cloud-­â€?based  apps  from  a  vendor  or  integrator,  not  ones  you  build  yourself,  although  some  of  the  same  principles  apply.) ‹–Š –Šƒ– †‹•…Žƒ‹Â?‡” „‡Š‹Â?† —•ǥ ‘Â?‡ of  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  cloud  software  is  the  variety  of  ways  it  can  be  integrated.  As  most  cloud  applications  ’”‡•‡Â?– –Š‡Â?•‡Ž˜‡• ĥ ƒ •‡”‹‡• ‘ˆ ‡„ Â•Â‡Â”Â˜Â‹Â…Â‡Â•ÇĄ –Š‡› Ž‡Â?† –Š‡Â?•‡Ž˜‡• –‘ ƒ Â•Â‡Â”Â˜Â‹Â…Â‡ÇŚ oriented  architecture,  even  if  they  don’t  ˆ‘ŽŽ‘™ ƒŽŽ –Š‡ ’”‘–‘…‘Ž•Ǥ ‹–Š –Š‡ right  toolkits  and  development  attitude,  you  can  integrate  cloud  applications  with  a  variety  of  techniques  and  use  as  many  of  them  concurrently  as  you  like,  even  in  the  same  application.  Of  course,  you  have  to  understand  the  limitations  of  each Â ÂƒÂ’Â’Â”Â‘ÂƒÂ…ÂŠČ„Â„Â—Â– –Š‡”‡ǯ• Â?‘–Š‹Â?‰ ™”‘Â?‰ ™‹–Š ‰‡––‹Â?‰ –Š‹Â?‰• †‘Â?‡ “—‹…Â?Ž›Ǥ ‡–ǯ• Ž‘‘Â? ƒ– –Š‹• as  layers  of  an  onion.

Layer  1:  On-­â€?Screen  Integration Otherwise  known  as  mashups,  this  style  of  integration  is  the  ultimate  in  quick  and  dirty.  Š‡ …‘†‹Â?‰ ‡š‡”…‹•‡ ‹• –Š‡ …‘Â?•–”—…–‹‘Â? ‘ˆ ‹ ”ƒÂ?‡• ˆ‘” –Š‡ •…”‡‡Â? Žƒ›‘—– ƒÂ?† • with  lots  of  parameters  for  grabbing  the  goodies  from  the  other  cloud.  This  is  the  baseline  method  for  pulling  images,  maps,  news  items,  and  data  feeds  from  publicly  available  services  like  Google  or  Yahoo.  This  method  will  become  increasingly  powerful Â Č‹Â’ÂƒÂ”Â–Â‹Â…Â—ÂŽÂƒÂ”ÂŽÂ› ˆ‘” †‡Â?Â‘Â•ČŒ ĥ ‰”ƒ’Š‹Â?‰ packages  and  other  document  services Â

In many cloud systems, there is no real way to directly access this level because it’s really not safe for writing. Even for read integration direct database access can be problematic, as the table has no indication of application state or transaction coordination. That said, for bulk reading of data (for example, to replicate it for an on-prem data warehouse or a cloud-based analytics tool), nothing beats the speed of direct database access." become  commonplace  as  cloud  services.  AJAX  can  give  the  pages  a  modern,  intuitive,  and  responsive  UI.  Unfortunately,  mashups  don’t  inherently  offer  much  in  the  way  of  security,  so  you’ll  have  to  look  at  tricky  …‘†‹Â?‰ ’”ƒ…–‹…‡• ƒÂ?† Â•Â‡Â”Â˜Â‡Â”ÇŚÂ•Â‹Â†Â‡ ˜ƒŽ‹†ƒ–‹‘Â? for  sensitive  data,  and  you’ll  probably  ™ƒÂ?– •‹Â?‰Ž‡ •‹‰Â?nj‘Â? ‘” ‘–Š‡” ƒ—–Š‘”‹•ƒ–‹‘Â? infrastructure  to  control  access  without  irritating  users.  So  the  tradeoff  at  this  layer  ‹•ǣ •‹Â?’Ž‡ …‘†‡ ƒÂ?† Â”Â‡ÂƒÂ†ÇŚÂ‘Â?Ž›ǥ ‘” •‡…—”‡† ™‹–Š …‘Â?’Ž‡š …‘†‡Ǥ Layer  2:  Presentation  Layer  Integration ‡’‡Â?†‹Â?‰ ‘Â? –Š‡ ™ƒ› ›‘—” …Ž‘—† ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â? ‰‡Â?‡”ƒ–‡• ‡„ Â’ÂƒÂ‰Â‡Â•ÇĄ ›‘— may  have  a  programming  layer  on  the  server  side  which  provides  fertile  ground  ˆ‘” …Ž‘—† ‹Â?–‡‰”ƒ–‹‘Â?Ǥ Č‹ Â? …‘Â?Â–Â”ÂƒÂ•Â–ÇĄ –Š‡ mashup  strategy  works  almost  entirely  in  –Š‡ Â„Â”Â‘Â™Â•Â‡Â”Ç¤ČŒ Š‹Ž‡ –Š‡ Â?ƒ•Š—’ •–”ƒ–‡‰› is  great  for  stitching  together  entire  •‡‰Â?‡Â?–• ‘ˆ ƒ ’ƒ‰‡ ȋ‡Ǥ‰Ǥǥ ƒ††‹Â?‰ ƒ Â?ƒ’ or  graphic  to  a  layout),  integrating  at  the  presentation  layer  shines  in  its  ability  to  add  individual  fields  within  a  section  of  a  ’ƒ‰‡Ǥ ‘” ‡šƒÂ?’Ž‡ǥ ‹– ™‘—Ž† „‡ Â?‹…‡ –‘ ƒ†† an  indication  of  “how  many  days  overdue  is  a  customer  paymentâ€?  to  the  summary  area  of  the  CRM  account  page,  but  this  field Â

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might  only  be  available  in  your  accounting  system.  Pulling  this  in  at  the  presentation  layer  gives  the  users  what  they  need  to  •‡‡ǥ ƒÂ?† ‹• ˆƒ•–‡” –ŠƒÂ? †‘‹Â?‰ ƒ ÂˆÂ—ÂŽÂŽÇŚÂ„ÂŽÂ‘Â™Â? integration.  Of  course,  the  strength  of  this  approach  is  also  its  weakness:  that  payment  overdue  indicator  would  not  be  stored  anywhere  in  the  CRM  system,  so  it  wouldn’t  be  available  to  support  reports,  alerts,  or  other  functions.  This  approach  is  usually  used  ˆ‘” Â”Â‡ÂƒÂ†ÇŚÂ‘Â?Ž› Â†ÂƒÂ–ÂƒÇĄ ĥ –Š‡ ’”‡•‡Â?–ƒ–‹‘Â? layer  may  not  have  the  kind  of  security  infrastructure  available  in  the  rest  of  the  system.  It  all  depends  on  the  language  ›‘—ǯ”‡ —•‹Â?‰ ƒÂ?† –Š‡ ‡„ •‡”˜‹…‡ •‡…—”‹–› Ž‹„”ƒ”‹‡• ƒ˜ƒ‹Žƒ„Ž‡ Č„ „—– ‹– —•—ƒŽŽ› †‘‡•Â?ǯ– Â?ƒÂ?‡ •‡Â?•‡ –‘ ƒ––‡Â?’– …‘Â?’Ž‡š •‡…—”‹–› mechanisms  when  integrating  at  the  presentation  layer.

Layer  3:  Business  Logic  Integration This  is  where  the  heavy  lifting  of  integration  gets  done,  because  this  is  ™Š‡”‡ –Š‡ ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â? …‘Â?–‡š– ‹• Â?‡’– ƒÂ?† ™Š‡”‡ –Š‡ „‡•– •‡…—”‹–› ƒÂ?† ‡„ •‡”˜‹…‡• ‹Â?ˆ”ƒ•–”—…–—”‡ ‹• ƒ˜ƒ‹Žƒ„Ž‡Ǥ Šƒ– ”‡ƒŽŽ› •‡–• cloud  applications  apart  is  the  richness  and  ease  of  their  APIs:  do  they  support  …ƒŽŽ ‘—– ƒÂ?† …ƒŽŽ ‹Â?ÇĄ Č€ ÇĄ ˆ—Ž

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INTEGRATION ADVISOR Cloud apps

APIs,  or  only  simpler  conversations  with  ǥ ÇĄ ‘” •‹Â?‹Žƒ” Â˜Â‘Â…ÂƒÂ„Â—ÂŽÂƒÂ”Â‹Â‡Â•ÇŤ ‘” productivity,  there’s  no  substitute  for  accurate  documentation  and  code  samples... so  evaluate  cloud  vendors  on  this  basis.

Most  cloud  applications’  integration  architecture  is  quite  loosely  coupled  and  based  on  a  request  or  response  model.  Frequent  polling  is  rarely  a  good  idea,  ƒÂ?† –‹‰Š– ‹Â?–‡‰”ƒ–‹‘Â? Ž‘‘’• ȋŽ‹Â?‡ –™‘nj phase  commit)  are  tough.  In  situations Â

where  a  cloud  must  push  a  message,  your  developers  will  have  to  create  logic  within  that  application  to  trigger  sending  the  message.  Your  developers  will  also  need  –‘ †‡˜‡Ž‘’ ƒ •–”ƒ–‡‰› Č‹Â’Â‡Â”ÂŠÂƒÂ’Â• —•‹Â?‰ ƒ dedicated  integration  server)  to  handle  network  timeouts,  application  downtime,  and  guaranteed  message  delivery.

At  this  layer,  integration  code  will  have  ƒ……‡•• –‘ ƒŽŽ •›•–‡Â? ‘„Œ‡…–• ƒÂ?† ˆ—Â?…–‹‘Â?•ǥ so  security  will  be  essential.

Most cloud applications’ integration architecture is quite loosely coupled and based on a request or response model. Frequent polling is rarely a good idea, and tight integration loops (like two-phase commit) are tough.

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Layer  4:  Data  Integration This  is  dealing  directly  with  the  cloud  application’s  database.  In  many  cloud  systems,  there  is  no  real  way  to  directly  access  this  level  because  it’s  really  not  safe  for  writing.  Even  for  read  integration  direct  database  access  can  be  problematic,  as  the  table  has  no  indication  of  application  state  or  transaction  coordination.  That  said,  ˆ‘” „—ŽÂ? ”‡ƒ†‹Â?‰ ‘ˆ †ƒ–ƒ Č‹ÂˆÂ‘Â” ‡šƒÂ?’Ž‡ǥ –‘ ”‡’Ž‹…ƒ–‡ ‹– ˆ‘” ƒÂ? ‘Â?nj’”‡Â? †ƒ–ƒ ™ƒ”‡Š‘—•‡ ‘” ƒ Â…ÂŽÂ‘Â—Â†ÇŚÂ„ÂƒÂ•Â‡Â† ƒÂ?ƒŽ›–‹…• Â–Â‘Â‘ÂŽČŒÇĄ Â?‘–Š‹Â?‰ beats  the  speed  of  direct  database  access.

At  this  layer,  security  is  an  issue  because  the  application’s  security  model  transcends  what’s  visible  in  the  tables’  access  controls.  In  most  cases,  data  integration  will  be  done  ™‹–Š •—’‡”nj—•‡” ’”‹˜‹Ž‡‰‡• •‘ –Š‡ ”‡•—Ž–‹Â?‰ †ƒ–ƒ Ď?Ž‘™ •Š‘—Ž† Â?‘– „‡ †‹”‡…–Ž› ƒ……‡••‹„Ž‡ to  standard  users. Â

EA ST M ID DL E E

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OR T IBU R IST D IC DYNAM

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CareerAdvisor

CAREERS ADVISOR Heriot Watt University

New kids on the block The Heriot Watt University is making efforts to help address the growing IT skills gap in the region through its range of professional IT courses. We speak to students as well as staff to discover exactly what the international institution’s Dubai campus has to offer.

D

ubai  International  Academic  City  has  been  home  to  the  prestigious  Heriot  Watt  University  since  ʹͲͲ͡ǥ –Š‡Â? ‹– ™ƒ• ƒŽ•‘ –Š‡ –Š‡ Ď?‹”•– ”‹–‹•Š University  to  have  set  up  a  campus  in  Dubai. ƒÂ?‡† ƒˆ–‡” ‡‘”‰‡ ‡”‹‘–nj –Š‡ ͳ͸–Š …‡Â?–—”› Ď?‹Â?ƒÂ?…‹‡” –‘ ‹Â?‰ ƒÂ?‡•ǥ ƒÂ?† ƒÂ?‡• ÂƒÂ–Â–ÇŚ –Š‡ ‹Â?˜‡Â?–‘” ƒÂ?† ‡Â?‰‹Â?‡‡”ǥ ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– Â?‹˜‡”•‹–› ™ƒ• •‡– —’ ‹Â? ͳͺʹͳ ƒÂ?† …‘Â?–‹Â?—‡• to  be  rated  as  one  of  the  top  25  universities Â

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in  the  UK  for  research  grant  awards.

According  to  Stephen  Gill,  academic  head,  School  of  Mathematical  and  Computer  …‹‡Â?…‡• ƒ– –Š‡ ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– Â?Â‹Â˜Â‡Â”Â•Â‹Â–Â›ÇĄ —„ƒ‹ –Š‡ ‹Â?•–‹–—–‹‘Â? Šƒ• „‡‡Â? ‘ˆˆ‡”‹Â?‰ internationally  recognised  computer  science  degrees  since  the  1960s  in  the  UK.  At  it’s  …ƒÂ?’—• ‹Â? Â—Â„ÂƒÂ‹ÇĄ –Š‡ ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– Â?‹˜‡”•‹–› offered  only  three  post  graduate  diplomas  ƒ…”‘•• –Š”‡‡ Ď?‹‡Ž†• ‘ˆ •’‡…‹ƒŽ‹•ƒ–‹‘Â? —’ until  the  start  of  2012.

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“As  part  of  our  initiatives  for  2012,  we  moved  into  a  300,000  square  foot  ’—”’‘•‡nj„—‹Ž– …ƒÂ?’—• ‹Â? ‘”†‡” –‘ ’”‘˜‹†‡ a  challenging  yet  supporting  learning  ‡Â?˜‹”‘Â?Â?‡Â?– ˆ‘” ‘—” ‡˜‡” ‡š’ƒÂ?†‹Â?‰ •–—†‡Â?– body,â€?  says  Gill. ‡ ÂƒÂ†Â†Â•ÇĄ Dz ‹–Š Ď?‹˜‡ ›‡ƒ”• ‘ˆ •—……‡••ˆ—Ž Â’Â‘Â•Â–ÇŚÂ‰Â”ÂƒÂ†Â—ÂƒÂ–Â‹Â‘Â? …‡”‡Â?‘Â?‹‡• „‡Š‹Â?† —•ǥ ʹͲͳʹ ƒŽ•‘ ™‹–Â?‡••‡† –Š‡ •–ƒ”– ‘ˆ ‘—” ˜‡”› Ď?‹”•– —Â?Â†Â‡Â”ÇŚÂ‰Â”ÂƒÂ†Â—ÂƒÂ–Â‡ ’”‘‰”ƒÂ?Â?‡ ˆ‘…—•‹Â?‰ ‘Â? –Š‡ study  of  computer  science.â€?

According  to  Gill,  students  at  the  ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– Â?‹˜‡”•‹–› …ƒÂ? „‡Â?‡Ď?‹– ˆ”‘Â? –Š‡ university’s  specially  tailored  programmes  –‘ ƒ––ƒ‹Â? ƒ ”‹–‹•Š —Â?Â†Â‡Â”ÇŚÂ‰Â”ÂƒÂ†Â—ÂƒÂ–Â‡ ‘” Â’Â‘Â•Â–ÇŚÂ‰Â”ÂƒÂ†Â—ÂƒÂ–Â‡ “—ƒŽ‹Ď?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â? –Šƒ– ‹• „‘–Š internationally  recognised  and  accredited  by  the  relevant  industry  bodies.  “In  addition  to  this,  students  can  qualify  for  one  of  our  many  scholarships  and  Ž‡˜‡”ƒ‰‡ ƒ …‘Â?’Ž‡–‡ …ƒÂ?’—• ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡ –Šƒ– hosts  11,200  students  from  across  the  world  and  engage  in  multiple  student  sport  and  social  activities,â€?  Gill  adds.

Crux  of  the  course Š‡ ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– Â?‹˜‡”•‹–› ‘ˆˆ‡”• –Š”‡‡ ’‘•–nj graduate  programmes  that  on  a  one  year  full  time  or  two  year  part  time  basis.  Gill  says  –Šƒ– •‹Â?…‡ ƒ Â?ƒŒ‘”‹–› ‘ˆ –Š‡ ‹Â?•–‹–—–‹‘Â?ǯ• ’‘•– graduate  students  are  industry  professionals  looking  to  improve  core  skills  or  pursue  ƒÂ? ƒ††‹–‹‘Â?ƒŽ “—ƒŽ‹Ď?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ Ž‡…–—”‡• ƒÂ?† tutorials  for  these  courses  are  conducted  in  the  evenings  and  over  the  weekends. Š‡ Ď?‹”•– ‘ˆ –Š‡•‡ …‘—”•‡• ‹• ƒ •…Ǥ ‘Â?’—–‡” ›•–‡Â?• ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡Â?‡Â?– ‹’Ž‘Â?ƒ that  Gill  says  aims  to  impart  the  skills  and Â

In the fast paced world of technology, as businesses continue to expand and digitise complex operations, it is essential that IT education programmes stay up to date on the latest technology trends and developments. This means equipping students with the skills needed to operate and maintain the latest systems, software and solutions. The ability to provision this need by basing our programmes on global industry research is definitely our USP.� ��‘™Ž‡†‰‡ ”‡“—‹”‡† –‘ �ƒ�ƒ‰‡ …‘�’Ž‡š

infrastructure  and  networks  as  part  of  the  support  services  of  an  organisation.  “The  course  includes  the  selection,  installation,  maintenance  and  support  of  a  wide  range  of  computing  technologies,  and  is  based  on  recommended  computing  and  management  methodologies,�  says  Gill.

The  second  post  graduate  diploma  ‘Â? Â‘ÂˆÂˆÂ‡Â”ÇŚ •…Ǥ ‘ˆ–™ƒ”‡ Â?‰‹Â?‡‡”‹Â?‰ ‹• concerned  with  the  use  and  application  of Â

‹Â? –Š‡ •’‡…‹Ď?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄ †‡•‹‰Â?ÇĄ †‡˜‡Ž‘’Â?‡Â?– and  deployment  of  software.  He  says,  “The  course  focuses  on  practical  application  of  theoretical  concepts  learned  in  lectures  and Â

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‡Â?…‘Â?’ƒ••‡• ƒ˜ƒ ’”‘‰”ƒÂ?Â?‹Â?‰ ƒÂ?† •’‡…‹Ď?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â? ‘ˆ ‘„Œ‡…– ‘”‹‡Â?–‡† •›•–‡Â?•Ǥ Š‡ course  also  includes  studies  in  data  bases  and  network  applications  in  addition  to  mobile  communications,  programming  and  security.â€? Dz Š‡ ƒ‹Â? ‘ˆ –Š‡ •…Ǥ ÇŚ ‘Â?Â?‡”…‡ …‘—”•‡ is  to  impart  the  understanding  and  skills  ”‡“—‹”‡† –‘ •‡– —’ ƒÂ? ‡nj…‘Â?Â?‡”…‡ ‘’‡”ƒ–‹‘Â? ‘” Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡ ƒÂ? ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ ‘’‡”ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄÇł •ƒ›• Gill.  Evidently,  the  course  looks  to  tap  into  the  fast  paced  world  of  online  businesses,  website  operation  and  maintenance.   The  ‡nj…‘Â?Â?‡”…‡ ’”‘‰”ƒÂ?Â?‡ Ž‘‘Â?• –‘ …”‡ƒ–‡ –Š‡ ‡š’‡”–‹•‡ Â?‡‡†‡† –‘ …”‡ƒ–‡ ƒÂ?† Â?ƒÂ?ƒ‰‡

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CAREERS ADVISOR Heriot Watt University

a  successful  and  secure  website  business  and  encompasses  a  combination  of  relevant  technology  and  management  methodologies According  to  Gill,  while  the  two  former  courses  require  that  a  student  undertake  ƒ Â?ƒ•–‡”• Â’Â”Â‘ÂŒÂ‡Â…Â–ÇĄ –Š‡ Žƒ•– ‘Â?‡ ”‡“—‹”‡• students  to  undertake  a  dissertation  in  ƒ††‹–‹‘Â? –‘ ƒ ”‡•‡ƒ”…Š ’”‘Œ‡…–Ǥ ‘•– ”‡…‡Â?–Ž›ǥ –Š‡ ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– University  has  added  a  Bsc.  in  Computer  ›•–‡Â?• –‘ ‹–• ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ ’‘”–ˆ‘Ž‹‘ ‘ˆ programmes.  “The  course  is  designed  to  give  students  a  strong  foundation,  as  well  as  applied  and  professional  computing  skills Â

STUDENTS SHARE

Vivek Sharma - 1st year Bsc. Computer Systems 18 year old Vivek Sharma became fascinated with the world of computers at a tender age of five, a feeling that was amplified when he went on to play his first PC game- Prince of Persia. “I remember wondering how the empire’s enemy in the popular game retaliated based on the empire’s move, and I noticed then that no two offensive attacks were ever the same. I was taken aback at the fact that a mechanical device was able to perceive its environment and adapt its attacks in response to decisions made by a human being. Research then introduced me to the concept of artificial intelligence (AI), the field I now hope to specialise in,� he says.

Sharma believes that this field has yet a long way to go. “Computerisation is inevitable and the creation of the ‘child robot with biometric body’ (CB2) or the infamous bipedal humanoid robot codenamed, TOPIO that can play table tennis against a human being are examples of some of the greatest achievements of the decade, but they’re definitely not the very last,� says Sharma. “The course at Heriot Watt provides me

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they  would  need  to  pursue  a  successful  career  in  IT,â€?  Gill  says.  Dz Š‡ —Â?Â†Â‡Â”ÇŚÂ‰Â”ÂƒÂ†Â—ÂƒÂ–Â‡ †‡‰”‡‡ ‹• ‘ˆˆ‡”‡† ‘Â? ƒ ÂˆÂ—ÂŽÂŽÇŚÂ–Â‹Â?‡ Â„ÂƒÂ•Â‹Â•ÇĄ ƒÂ?† ƒ”Â?• •–—†‡Â?–• ™‹–Š a  blend  of  interpersonal  and  technical  skills  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  organisations  of  the  future,â€?  he  adds.  Upon  completion  of  the  under  graduate  programme  students  can  then  choose  to  pursue  an  Honours  year  in  the  ǥ ‘” ƒ ’‘•–‰”ƒ†—ƒ–‡ ’”‘‰”ƒÂ?Â?‡ ‹Â? —„ƒ‹ ‹ˆ they  choose. “Currently,  59  post  graduate  students  are  spread  evenly  across  our  three  masters  diplomas  and  21  students  are  enrolled  for Â

an opportunity to pursue my interest in software engineering without much focus on hardware development and operations, and was therefore my primary choice,� he explains.

Sharma says that with the help of his teachers he is now well versed with SQL and the development, operation and maintenance of complex and varied databases. “The course is based on the use of the latest technologies and coding languages. What’s best is that we are guided by lecturers who are more than willing to support us through our subject matter and eventually guide us in the right direction to pursue a successful career in an IT field of our choice, “he says.

Sharma considers Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs his role model and is inspired by his quote, “Thinking outside the box and giving the world what they don’t have but what they really want�. He intends to go on to attain a Doctorate in AI and ultimately contribute to research associated with AI at large.

Reshma Archa Sunil - 1st year Bsc. Computer Systems Having completed her GCSE’s, Sunil decided to pursue a degree entry programme at the Heriot Watt University to capitalise on time and acquire an internationally recognised degree. “At the time the university didn’t offer a degree in computer science and because I didn’t want to waste any time I decided

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–Š‡ —Â?Â‹Â˜Â‡Â”Â•Â‹Â–Â›ÇŻÂ• —Â?†‡” ‰”ƒ†—ƒ–‡ †‡‰”‡‡Ǥ ‡ are,  however,  anticipating  this  number  to  ‹Â?…”‡ƒ•‡ –‘ ‘˜‡” ͳ͡Ͳ •–—†‡Â?–• ™‹–Š‹Â? –Š‡ Â?‡š– Ď?‹˜‡ Â›Â‡ÂƒÂ”Â•ÇĄÇł ‹ŽŽ •ƒ›•Ǥ Faculty  note Š‡ —Â?‹˜‡”•‹–› „‘ƒ•–• ƒ –‡ƒÂ? ‘ˆ Ď?‹˜‡ ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡† ƒÂ?† •—’’‘”–‹˜‡ ˆƒ…—Ž–› Â?‡Â?„‡”•Ǥ Š‹Ž‡ –Š”‡‡ Â?‡Â?„‡”• ‘ˆ –Š‹• –‡ƒÂ? ™‘”Â? ™‹–Š –Š‡ Â?‹˜‡”•‹–› ˆ—ŽŽ –‹Â?‡ ȋ•‡‡ Â„Â‘ÂšÇŚÂ‘Â—Â–ČŒÇĄ –™‘ others  are  industry  professionals  who  work  with  the  University  on  a  part  time  basis.  Dz Š‡ Ď?‹”•– ’ƒ”– –‹Â?‡ ˆƒ…—Ž–› Â?‡Â?„‡” ‹• not  only  a  team  leader  and  senior  systems Â

to pursue a degree in business and engineering.

Following the completion of this programme I then went on to pursue a Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) only to realise that the field didn’t interest me,� she says It was then that Heriot Watt announced the addition of the Bsc. Computer Systems to its extensive list of undergraduate courses ,and Sunil who describes herself as being immensely tech savvy since her high school days, jumped at the opportunity and switched courses.

Now in her first year, Sunil describes the course as no easy task. “The course requires a great degree of interest and determination to learn. While the teachers do a great job of supporting our interests and career plans, we have to learn to manage time between course work (assignments and projects) and study sessions (theories and methodologies).

In addition to this, we are encouraged to enjoy the campus experience and indulge in a range of extracurricular activities,� she says.

Sunil believes that the course provides a blend of core technical skills and soft interpersonal skills that are essential for a successful career in IT moving forward. “The programme brings together the use of the latest software, coding languages and system management methodologies, while also placing IT in context of varied business environments,� adds Sunil.

Sunil intends to pursue a career in the specialised field of gaming after completing her degree at the University.

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CAREERS ADVISOR Heriot Watt University

ƒÂ?ÂƒÂŽÂ›Â•Â–ÇĄ „—– ‹• ƒŽ•‘ ƒ ˜‡”› ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡† ƒ˜ƒ programmer.  The  other  member  focuses  on  teaching  the  advanced  network  applications  and  protocols  for  software  and  web  development,â€?  says  Gill.

Gill  believes  that  while  the  importance  ‘ˆ ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡† ˆƒ…—Ž–› Â?‡Â?„‡”• …ƒÂ?Â?‘– „‡ denied  the  relevance  of  the  course  material  to  current  industry  standards  must  never  be  ruled  out. “In  the  fast  paced  world  of  technology,  as  „—•‹Â?‡••‡• …‘Â?–‹Â?—‡ –‘ ‡š’ƒÂ?† ƒÂ?† †‹‰‹–‹•‡ …‘Â?’Ž‡š ‘’‡”ƒ–‹‘Â?•ǥ ‹– ‹• ‡••‡Â?–‹ƒŽ –Šƒ–

education  programmes  stay  up  to  date  on  the  latest  technology  trends  and  developments.  This  means  equipping  students  with  the Â

addition  to  this,  students  can  also  access  ƒÂ?† †‘™Â?Ž‘ƒ† ƒ ”ƒÂ?‰‡ ‘ˆ Â‡ÇŚÂŒÂ‘Â—Â”Â?ÂƒÂŽÂ•ÇĄ Â‡ÇŚÂƒÂ”Â–Â‹Â…ÂŽÂ‡Â•ÇĄ ™Š‹–‡ ’ƒ’‡”• –Šƒ– ƒ”‡ •–‘”‡† ‘Â? our  database,â€?  Gill  says.  Footnote Dz Š‡ ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– Â?‹˜‡”•‹–› ‹• ƒ ”‡…‘‰Â?‹•‡† charity  in  the  UK  and  much  of  the  additional  ”‡˜‡Â?—‡ ™‡ Â?ƒÂ?‡ ‹• …‘Â?•…‹‘—•Ž› ”‡nj‹Â?˜‡•–‡† in  research  and  teaching.  The  IT  programmes  we  look  to  offer  draw  very  much  on  the  strength  of  the  research  activities  carried  ‘—– „› ƒ –‡ƒÂ? ‘ˆ ͸Ͳ ƒ…ƒ†‡Â?‹… •–ƒˆˆ ƒÂ?† students  in  the  UK.  The  research  brings  together  a  combination  of  the  latest  IT  methodologies  and  policies,  and  current Â

The course is designed to give students a strong foundation, as well as applied and professional computing skills they would need to pursue a successful career in IT.â€? skills  needed  to  operate  and  maintain  the  latest  systems,  software  and  solutions.  The  ability  to  provision  this  need  by  basing  our  programmes  on  global  industry  research  is  †‡Ď?‹Â?‹–‡Ž› ‘—” ÇĄÇł ‹ŽŽ ’”‘—†Ž› •–ƒ–‡•Ǥ To  enhance  the  learning  environment,  the  university  has  provisioned  a  fully  equipped  computer  lab  based  on  the  latest  –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› ƒÂ?† •›•–‡Â?•Ǥ ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– Šƒ• a  dedicated  IT  helpdesk  to  assist  students  and  staff  with  their  queries  associated  with  accessing  and  using  the  institution’s  virtual  Ž‡ƒ”Â?‹Â?‰ ‡Â?˜‹”‘Â?Â?‡Â?– …ƒŽŽ‡†

ÇĄ ‡Â?ƒ‹Ž ĥ well  resolving  any  software  problems.

True  to  its  international  reputation,  ‡”‹‘– ƒ–– Šƒ• ƒŽ•‘ ‹Â?˜‡•–‡† ‹Â? ƒ Ž‹„”ƒ”› that  provides  students  access  to  a  wide  range  of  resources  and  information  –‘ ‡Â?…‘—”ƒ‰‡ ‹Â?†‡’‡Â?†‡Â?– •–—†›Ǥ Dz ‡ consciously  make  the  effort  to  add  to  the  ‡š‹•–‹Â?‰ •‡Ž‡…–‹‘Â? ‘ˆ „‘‘Â?• ƒÂ?† Œ‘—”Â?ƒŽ• throughout  the  academic  year  in  response  to  requests  from  both  our  staff  and  students  to  ensure  that  the  students  have  the  latest  reference  material  on  hand.  In Â

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technology  news  and  developments.  It  takes  into  account  recommendations  of  industry  ’”‘ˆ‡••‹‘Â?ƒŽ• Č‹Â’Â‘Â•Â–ÇŚÂ‰Â”ÂƒÂ†Â—ÂƒÂ–Â‡ •–—†‡Â?–• and  otherwise)  and  analysts  on  the  latest  –‡…ŠÂ?‘Ž‘‰› –”‡Â?†•ǥdz ‹ŽŽ ‡š’Žƒ‹Â?•Ǥ As  yet  in  its  infancy,  the  university  is  working  towards   establishing  industry  partnerships  in  the  region.  “Having  only  recently  begun  our  undergraduate  programme  we  are  still  in  the  process  of  building  industry  relationships  in  the  region  to  offer  ‹Â?–‡”Â?•Š‹’ ƒÂ?† Œ‘„ ’Žƒ…‡Â?‡Â?– ‘’’‘”–—Â?‹–‹‡• for  our  students  and  graduates.  Through  active  participation  at  regional  career  fairs  such  as  the  annual  Gulf  Education  and  ”ƒ‹Â?‹Â?‰ šŠ‹„‹–‹‘Â? Č‹ ČŒ ‹Â? –Š‡ ƒÂ?† conducting  our  own  career  fairs,  welcoming  industry  partners  to  visit  the  campus  and  •’‡ƒÂ? –‘ –Š‡ •–—†‡Â?–• ƒ…”‘•• –Š‡ Ď?‹‡Ž†• of  specialisation  that  they  are  looking  to  hire  in,  we  hope  to  be  able  to  provide  our  •–—†‡Â?–• ƒ Š‘•– ‘ˆ ‡š…‹–‹Â?‰ ‘’’‘”–—Â?‹–‹‡• ‹Â? association  with  some  renowned  partners,â€?  he  concludes. Â

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TEACHER TALK

Stephen Gill is teaches a range of computer science subjects encompassing the areas of databases, systems management and system security.

His research interests cover the subject of data mining and student learning difficulties particularly in academic writing. Gill is a former IT manager and has more than 10 years of teaching experience.

Subashini Priya Manimaran is the director of post graduate studies at the Heriot Watt University. Manimaran has a MSc. in Information Technology and M.Phil in Computer Science and is also currently pursuing a PhD in the same. Her research interests include software requirements engineering for service oriented systems and E-commerce web personalisation.

Dr. John Kanyaru has a BSc. in Computer Science with First Class Honours and a PhD in Software Engineering.

He teaches within the broad area of software engineering, in particular software development, interactive systems and web systems development.

His research interests are within software requirements engineering, in particular, the use of automated prototyping to support validation of requirements and specifications.

Other areas of research include model driven development, and medical informatics.

CAREERS ADVISOR Analysis

Turbulent turnover CIOs lament twenty - something techies who quit after a year

L

ouis  Trebino,  CIO  and  senior  VP  at  the  Harry  Fox  Agency  (HFA),  is  ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‹Â?‰ •‹‰Â?‹Ď?‹…ƒÂ?– –—”Â?‘˜‡” on  his  Web  development  team.

No  sooner  does  he  hire  a  Java  programmer  and  train  him  in  the  company’s  music  industry  niche,  than  the  programmer  is  recruited  away  for  a  higher  salary. Â

•–ƒˆˆ –—”Â?‘˜‡” ’ƒ”–‹…—Žƒ”Ž› ƒÂ?‘Â?‰ ʹͲnj ƒÂ?† ;Ͳnj•‘Â?‡–Š‹Â?‰• ÇŚÇŚ ‹• Â?ƒÂ?‹Â?‰ ‹– Šƒ”†‡” ˆ‘”

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Trebino  to  respond  to  HFA’s  changing  business  model  as  the  music  industry  moves  online. “IT  staff  turnover  is  probably  my  most  •‹‰Â?‹Ď?‹…ƒÂ?– ‹••—‡ ”‹‰Š– Â?‘™ ƒÂ?† Šƒ• „‡‡Â? ˆ‘” the  past  12  to  15  months,â€?  Trebino  says.  “It  puts  us  in  a  really  uncomfortable  position  to  have  this  kind  of  turnover  because  knowledge  keeps  walking  out  –Š‡ †‘‘”Ǥ ‡ ‹Â?˜‡•– ‹Â? –”ƒ‹Â?‹Â?‰ ’‡‘’Ž‡ ƒÂ?† bringing  them  up  to  speed  to  where  they Â

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need  to  be,  and  boom  they’re  gone.  That  has  been  my  biggest  struggle  and  concern  of  late,â€?  he  adds. ”‡„‹Â?‘ ‹•Â?ǯ– –Š‡ ‘Â?Ž› Ď?‹Â?†‹Â?‰ ‹– Šƒ”† to  retain  younger  IT  professionals. “They  are  looking  for  much  more  aggressive  career  development  opportunities  and  the  ability  to  learn  new  –Š‹Â?‰• “—‹…Â?‡”ǥdz •ƒ›• ‹Ž› ‘Â?ÇĄ ƒ– ƒ”–Â?‡” for  CIO  Research. Â

Don’t expect them to stay with you 15 or 20 or 30 years. That’s not going to happen.

They will stay with you as long as they see certain things, including personal growth or personal value enhancement, whether that’s financial reward or career aspirations. If nothing happens, they will leave after their first year of employment.�

“Traditionally,  it  took  two  or  three  years  ˆ‘” ƒ ’‡”•‘Â? –‘ Â?‘˜‡ —’ ‹Â?–‘ –Š‡ Â?‡š– Ž‡˜‡Ž in  an  organisation.  They  want  to  be  on  a  faster  track  than  that.  They  don’t  want  to  •–ƒ› ‹Â? ‘Â?‡ •’‘– ˆ‘” Â?‘”‡ –ŠƒÂ? ͳʹ ‘” ͳͺ months,â€?  she  adds. Dz ˜‡Â? ™Š‡Â? • ’”‘Â?‘–‡ ʹͲnj ƒÂ?† ;Ͳnj•‘Â?‡–Š‹Â?‰•ǥ –Š‡› ‘ˆ–‡Â? †‘Â?ǯ– Šƒ˜‡ Ž‘›ƒŽ–› to  the  organisation,â€?  Mok  says. Dz ‘Â?ǯ– ‡š’‡…– –Š‡Â? –‘ •–ƒ› ™‹–Š ›‘— ͳ͡ or  20  or  30  years.That’s  not  going  to  happen,â€?  Mok  says.  “They  will  stay  with  you  as  long  as  they  see  certain  things,  including  personal  growth  or  personal  value  enhancement,  ™Š‡–Š‡” Â–ÂŠÂƒÂ–ÇŻÂ• Ď?‹Â?ƒÂ?…‹ƒŽ ”‡™ƒ”† ‘” …ƒ”‡‡” aspirations.  If  nothing  happens,  they  will  Ž‡ƒ˜‡ ƒˆ–‡” –Š‡‹” Ď?‹”•– ›‡ƒ” ‘ˆ ‡Â?’Ž‘›Â?‡Â?–Ǥdz HFA’s  Trebino  says  that  while  his  RPG  ƒÂ?† †‡˜‡Ž‘’‡”• ƒ”‡ •‡‡Â? –‘ Šƒ˜‡ „‡‡Â?

working  with  the  company  for  a  longer  period  ȋĎ?‹˜‡ –‘ ͳ͡ ›‡ƒ”• ‘Â? ÂƒÂ˜Â‡Â”ÂƒÂ‰Â‡ČŒÇĄ Dz–Š‡ …‘Â?’ƒÂ?›ǯ• Java  developers  have  been  here  for  less  than  a Â Â›Â‡ÂƒÂ”Ç¤Çł ‡ Šƒ˜‡ ‡š…‡••‹˜‡ –—”Â?‘˜‡” ˆ‘” Â?› ‡„nj based  team.  It’s  a  younger  workforce.  They  have  different  needs,  different  requirements  and  different  desires  than  our  slightly  older  workforce.  I  see  them  being  much  more  transient.  It’s  much  more  challenging  to  get  the  newer  generation  of  folks  interested  in  –”›‹Â?‰ –‘ —Â?†‡”•–ƒÂ?† –Š‡ „—•‹Â?॥ ƒÂ?† Â?‘– Œ—•– look  at  technology,â€?  he  adds. Dz Š‡ ™ƒ› ‘—” ’”‘Œ‡…–• ™‘”Â?ÇĄ ™‡ „”‹Â?‰ in  a  developer  to  work  on  a  module.  These  ‰—›• ‘™Â? ƒ •›•–‡Â? ˆ”‘Â? •–ƒ”– –‘ Ď?‹Â?‹•ŠǤ ‘ me,  that’s  a  great  opportunity.  You’re  getting  to  learn  all  the  different  pieces  of  something  and  you  get  to  own  something.  But  they’re  Â?‘– ƒŽ™ƒ›• …‘Â?ˆ‘”–ƒ„Ž‡ ™‹–Š –Š‡ ”‹•Â?Ǥ Ď?‹Â?† Â?‘”‡ ‘ˆ ƒ ”‡Ž—…–ƒÂ?…‡ –‘ Œ—Â?Â’ ‹Â? ƒÂ?† Ď?‹‰—”‡ something  out,  especially  if  they’re  inheriting  somebody  else’s  code.  There  have  been  a  number  of  cases  where  we  have  had  a  system  –Šƒ– ”—Â?• ‹Â?–‘ ‹••—‡•ǥ „—‰•ǥ †‡ˆ‡…–• ‘” ƒ Â?ƒŒ‘” …ŠƒÂ?‰‡ ”‡“—‹”‡Â?‡Â?–Ǥ ‡ –Š‘—‰Š– ‹– ™‘—Ž† be  a  challenge  for  a  developer  to  own  it.  But  –Š‡‹” Ď?‹”•– ”‡ƒ…–‹‘Â? ‹• –‘ ™ƒÂ?– –‘ •…”ƒ’ ‹– ƒÂ?† start  over.  There’s  a  whole  different  mindset,â€?  Trebino  adds. “It’s  very  interesting  to  me.  Certainly,  –Š‡”‡ǯ• ƒ †‹ˆˆ‡”‡Â?– •‡Â?•‡ ‘ˆ ‡š’‡…–ƒ–‹‘Â? ƒÂ?† entitlement.  Often,  younger  people  coming  into  the  organisation  believe  they  should  be  •‡˜‡”ƒŽ ’‡‰• ƒ„‘˜‡ ™Š‡”‡ –Š‡› ƒ”‡Ǥ ‡ƒ”Â?‹Â?‰ the  ropes  is  not  as  interesting  to  them.  The  newer  folks  want  us  to  provide  them  with  ‹Â?Â?‡†‹ƒ–‡ ‰”ƒ–‹Ď?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?ÇĄÇł •ƒ›• ”‡„‹Â?‘Ǥ Trebino  says  that  his  Java  developers  Ž‡ƒ˜‡ ˆ‘” ƒ Â?‹š ‘ˆ ”‡ƒ•‘Â?•ǥ ˆ”‘Â? Ž‘‘Â?‹Â?‰

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out  for  better  opportunities  with  more  Ď?Ž‡š‹„‹Ž‹–› ƒÂ?† †‹ˆˆ‡”‡Â?– ”‡•’‘Â?•‹„‹Ž‹–‹‡• –‘ ƒ better  pay  grade.  ‡•…”‹„‹Â?‰ Š‹• ‘—–Ž‘‘Â? ˆ‘” •–ƒˆˆ turnover  in  2012,  Trebino  says.  “There’s  a  bit  more  stability,  but  I  don’t  think  we’ll  see  drastic  changes  unless  our  business  were  to  change.  The  new  folks  coming  in  all  have  similar  mindsets  and  drivers.  One  of  our  newest  and  strongest  Java  developers  is  actually  not  in  that  younger  generation.  He  is  Â?—…Š Â?‘”‡ ‡ƒ‰‡” –‘ Ž‡ƒ”Â? ƒÂ?† ‡š’Ž‘”‡ǥ ƒÂ?† Š‡ †‘‡•Â?ǯ– ‰‡– ˆ”—•–”ƒ–‡† ĥ “—‹…Â?Ž›Ǥ ‡ǯ”‡ Ž‘‘Â?‹Â?‰ ƒ– Š‘™ †‘ ™‡ …ŠƒÂ?‰‡ ‘—” ’”‘Œ‡…– assignments  and  change  our  application  owners  because  we’re  not  going  to  change  the  personality  of  the  workforce.â€? Dz ‡ Â?‘™ „ƒ•‡ ’”‘Œ‡…–• ‘Â? †—ƒŽ ownerships  by  teaming  people  up  to  look  at  our  most  key  systems  to  make  sure  they  ƒ”‡ ‘’–‹Â?‹•‡†Ǥ ‡ǯ”‡ ‰‹˜‹Â?‰ –Š‡Â? Žƒ–‹–—†‡ –‘ …”‡ƒ–‡ ‡Â?ŠƒÂ?…‡Â?‡Â?–•Ǥ ‡ǯ”‡ –”›‹Â?‰ –‘ ‹Â?•–‹ŽŽ a  different  sense  of  ownership.  They’ve  got  –‘ –ƒÂ?‡ •‘Â?‡–Š‹Â?‰ –Šƒ– ‡š‹•–•ǥ „—– –Š‡› †‘Â?ǯ– Šƒ˜‡ –‘ Ž‹˜‡ ™‹–Š ‹– –Š‡ ™ƒ› ‹– ‡š‹•–•Ǥ ‡…‘Â?†Ž›ǥ we’re  working  more  closely  with  folks  to  determine  their  strengths  and  desires,  and  align  them  to  the  right  systems.  Third,  as  new  developers  come  in,  we  are  teaming  them  with  a  business  partner  to  help  them  understand  the  impact  of  their  system  on  –Š‡ „—•‹Â?‡••Ǥ ‡ǯ”‡ –”›‹Â?‰ –‘ ‰‡– –Š‡Â? Â?‘”‡ ‹Â?˜‡•–‡† ‹Â? –Š‡ •–”ƒ–‡‰›Ǥ ‡ǯ”‡ –”›‹Â?‰ –‘ engage  them  in  where  the  company  is  going,â€?  ”‡„‹Â?‘ ‡š’Žƒ‹Â?•Ǥ ‹–Š –Š‡•‡ ‡ˆˆ‘”–• ”‡„‹Â?‘ Š‘’‡• –‘ ”‡–ƒ‹Â? his  IT  staff  in  2012.  “The  biggest  point  is  to  get  them  aware  of  and  engaged  in  the  new  business  opportunities  here,â€?  he  concludes. Â

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INTERVIEW Art Coviello

RSA Security Chairman Art Coviello

THE SILVER LINING RSA Security chairman Art Coviello says customers still want to hear details about how the company so quickly detected the data breach that last year compromised its SecurID tokens. He also says businesses have been slow to pick up on new security models, many touted by RSA, that would help reduce the impact of successful breaches.

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ere is a partial transcript of a recent conversation Coviello had on those topics as well as cloud security, managing risk and the limitations of the press.

Q: What’s the fallout been from the data breach at RSA? A: If there’s a silver lining to the cloud that was over us from April through the summer, it is the fact that we’ve been engaged with customers at a strategic level as never before, and they want to know in detail what happened to us, how we responded, what tools we used, what was effective and what was not.

Q: What are those conversations like?

A: Again, a silver lining to us being attacked, I’ve heard it time and time again, “If it can happen to you then I guess it can happen to anybody,” or, “My CIO said, ‘Oh my god if it happened to them let’s redouble our efforts, let’s review everything we’re doing.’” It’s kind of gotten to even a CEO Ǥ

money centre bank in Europe at the CIO’s request to talk to the CEO of the bank and his whole management team about the Ǥ They brought me because they were doing an overhaul of their IT infrastructure which included the development of a private cloud.

Even though it’s an internally controlled cloud he wanted the management group ϐ the infrastructure change that the bank was about to go through. I’m at a [similar] level with Fortune 10 oil and gas, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals. I’ve always had pretty good ϐ illustrates, but I’m getting in at levels that are unprecedented in terms of the contacts and the people I’m talking to. It’s so ironic.

I’ve never been in more demand as a speaker or in front of internal audiences. I would ϐ but not a CIO level or even higher. I think we are turning from awareness of the problem

Ǥ ǯ ǯ two or three years ago before a lot of these celebrated breaches took place.

By the way, it’s not going to get any easier. To me it shouldn’t be a shock that we have this level of breach, this level of Ǥ basically taking advantage of the openings that have been created and yet we’ve reacted too slow to adapt these perimeter defences to this new reality. Until now we’ve come full circle back to why you have to have a far Ǧ security. It’s not a question of whether or if you’re going to be attacked or whether or if you’re going to get breached. There’s so much interdependence, there’s so much interactivity from one company to the other that you absolutely have to be able to spot these problems, be able to anticipate who’s going to attack you, what they’re going to go after, and again, be in a position where you’re reacting Ǧ time and minimising the damage of what could be the inevitability of an attack.

ǯ ǦǦ as fast as you think it should or could.

I’m in a position now where as much as I’ve preached for three or four years that we have an opportunity to get it right this time as we virtualise our environments and we go to cloud [by building] security in, it ǯ ǯ same mistakes all over again. I don’t fault the Ȃ ǯ the way the world works sometimes that ϐ technology wave and don’t always think ϐ Ǥ Q: Why do you think CEOs – people outside of IT – want to speak to you now, and are they driving better responses from the IT people?

A: themselves and how much their businesses have changed in having more reliance on the

Ǥ ǯ not oblivious to the impact of technology on their operations. They’re clearly

To me it shouldn’t be a shock that we have this level of breach, this level of theft and this level of attack. People are just basically taking advantage of the openings that have been created and yet we’ve reacted too slow to adapt these perimeter defenses to this new reality, until now. We’ve come full circle back to why you have to have a far more nimble intelligence-driven approach to security.”

Q: You say you’ve been promoting a security model that calls for automating threat analysis and response for years.

Why haven’t more people adopted it?

A: You would like to think that people would come to these conclusions and act on them more quickly but there’s such competition ǦǦ ǯ ǡ ǯ initiative, whether it’s overhauling their own infrastructure, whether it’s this crazy

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looking to not only take more advantage of technology but also to wring cost out of these ridiculously outdated IT infrastructures ͸ͲΨǦ͹ͲΨ Ǧ ǡ ǡ old ways of doing things and not getting mileage out of their IT infrastructure dollar.

They’re also seeing younger people within the organisations and people within divisions not wanting to wait for IT to take

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INTERVIEW Art Coviello

advantage of technology and the number of Ǧ to communicate and work with your customers and do innovative things.

Increasingly, the more mature companies get that as never before, and then they see Ǥ

think there is better and better awareness, so they themselves are less reactive and they’re more proactive in wanting to know ϐ ϐ that technology in terms of the operational risk to business.

Q: You say awareness of the breach problems is high, yet adoption of new defences remains slow. Do you think that ϐ CEOs you talk to?

A: I don’t think there’s any question of that, and as I’ve said, I’ve seen it time and time again in discussions I’ve had with people and the silver lining to our breaches is people literally did say if it could happen to those guys we’ve got to be more aware of it, which is really giving us an entree to having these strategic discussions as never Ǥ attack I think people are actually impressed with the speed with which we were able Ǥ unable to keep [hackers] from getting away with at least something. But we were able to

minimise the damage, and more importantly, get to our customers timely enough so they could protect themselves to mitigate risk Ǥ ǯ a tremendous amount of credit with our customer base that we certainly haven’t gotten in the press. Customers do understand that we were able to handle that attack and

When we go into detail about the attack I think people are actually impressed with the speed with which we were able to see the attack in progress. We were still unable to keep [hackers] from getting away with at least something. But we were able to minimise the damage, and more importantly, get to our customers timely enough so they could protect themselves to mitigate risk associated with the damage.

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mitigate the damage better than anyone and that’s put us clearly in demand to talk to a lot of customers.

Q: Does being a victim give RSA more credibility in a way with customers?

A: Yeah. Believe me we are not the only Ǥ ǯ forthcoming but for us to have handled it any other way would have been kind Ǥ lot of credibility for going public, helping customers mitigate the loss, helping them to understand in what was absolutely a ϐ Ǥ ǯ press. The press has to cover a story like this but you know yourself that the accuracy of a lot of the press reports is not always that good. So wh en you got to talk to customers Ǧ Ǧ ǯ get across in a short article in the press on Ǧ different view.

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PRODUCTS Mobility

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet USB  thumb  drives  thanks  to  its  full  sized  USB  ’‘”–Ǥ – ƒŽ•‘ Šƒ• ƒ Â?‹…”‘ ’‘”–ǥ Â?‹Â?‹nj

ÇĄ ƒ Š‡ƒ†’Š‘Â?‡ Œƒ…Â? ƒÂ?† …‘Â?‡• ™‹–Š ‹nj ‹ ƒÂ?† Íľ …‘Â?Â?‡…–‹˜‹–›Ǥ

L

enovo  joins  the  Android  Tablet  club  with  two  news  devices,  the  IdeaPad  K1  as  consumer  oriented  tablet,  and  it’s  more  professional  sibling  the  ThinkPad  Tablet  which  we  will  be  looking  at  this  issue.

Fans  of  the  ThinkPad  franchise  will  really  Ž‘˜‡ –Š‡ Ž‘‘Â? ‘ˆ –Š‹• –ƒ„Ž‡–Ǥ › Ď?‹”•– Žƒ’–‘’ was  an  IBM  ThinkPad  so  I  really  appreciated  the  throwback  to  that  legendary  device.  Ž‡ƒÂ? Ž‹Â?‡•ǥ Œ‡– „Žƒ…Â? „‘†› ™‹–Š ƒ Â?ƒ–– Ď?‹Â?‹•Šǥ the  “  i  “   on  the  logo  at  the  back  has  a  dot  that  glows  when  the  tablet  is  switched  on,  and  the  red  tipped  pen  brings  back  memories  of  the  good  old  rubber  type  pointing  device  that  was  the  signature  of  all  ThinkPad  laptops.

The  screen  is  a  gorilla  glass  10.1  inch Â Č‹ÍłÍ¸ÇŁÍłÍ˛ČŒ „”‹‰Š– Â?—Ž–‹nj –‘—…Š †‹•’Žƒ› ™‹–Š Žƒ”‰‡ standard  Android  buttons  at  the  bottom  in  portrait  position,  with  a  resolution  of  ͳʹͺͲšͺͲͲ ’‹š‡Ž•Ǥ – Â?‘”‡ –ŠƒÂ? ͚ͲͲ ‰”ƒÂ?•ǥ –Š‹• –ƒ„Ž‡– ‹• †‡Ď?‹Â?‹–‡Ž› Š‡ƒ˜‹‡” –ŠƒÂ? ‘–Š‡” Â?†”‘‹† Honeycomb  tablets  in  the  market.  It  is  also  one  of  the  biggest  in  size  and  thickness  ȋ ÂŽÂ?‘•– ʹ͸ š ͳͺ š ͳǤ͜ Â…Â?ČŒÇ¤ ‘”–—Â?ƒ–‡Ž› –Š‘—‰Šǥ ‡Â?‘˜‘ Â?ƒÂ?‡• —’ ˆ‘” –Šƒ– ‹Â? ˆ‡ƒ–—”‡• and  performance.  ’‡…‹Ď?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?• ƒÂ?† …‘Â?Â?‡…–‹˜‹–› Š‡ Š‹Â?Â? Ġ ’ƒ…Â?• ƒÂ?

‡‰”ƒ Í´ Â—ÂƒÂŽÇŚ Core  1GHz  processor  with  a  1  GB  memory  running  Android  3.1.  It  comes  with  16,  32  or  64  GB  of  internal  storage,  and  adding  more  storage  has  never  been  easier  on  a  tablet  as  ›‘— …ƒÂ? …‘Â?Â?‡…– ˆ—ŽŽ •‹œ‡ …ƒ”†• ƒÂ?† ‡˜‡Â?

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Cameras  and  Speakers Š‹• –ƒ„Ž‡– …‘Â?‡• ™‹–Š ƒ Í´ ˆ”‘Â?Â–ÇŚÂˆÂƒÂ…Â‹Â?‰ …ƒÂ?‡”ƒ ƒÂ?† ƒ ͡ Â”Â‡ÂƒÂ”ÇŚÂˆÂƒÂ…Â‹Â?‰ …ƒÂ?‡”ƒ „—– „‘–Š …ƒÂ?‡”ƒ• †‹†Â?ǯ– Â?‡‡– ‘—” ‡š’‡…–ƒ–‹‘Â?• ˆ‘” good  quality  images.  The  photos  had  a  vintage  feel  to  them  due  to  low  saturated  colours,  ™Š‹…Š ™‘—Ž† Šƒ˜‡ „‡‡Â? ‰”‡ƒ– ĥ ƒÂ? ‡š–”ƒ software  feature  but  not  a  full  time  thing.   Compared  to  other  tablets,  the  ThinkPad  speakers  weren’t  as  great  either.  After  all,  as  mentioned  previously,  this  tablet  is  meant  for  the  business  consumer.

The  pen  ‡ ˆ‡‡Ž –Šƒ– –Š‡ ’‡Â? ‹• ƒ Â?—•– Šƒ˜‡ ™‹–Š –Š‹• tablet  so  it’s  disappointing  that  it  has  to  be  „‘—‰Š– •‡’ƒ”ƒ–‡Ž›Ǥ Š‹• ‹• Â?‘– Œ—•– ƒ •–ƒÂ?†ƒ”† •–›Ž—• ’‡Â? „—– ƒÂ? ÇŚ ”‹‰ —‘ ‡Â?•‡ „ƒ––‡”› ‘’‡”ƒ–‡† †‹‰‹–‹•‡” ’‡Â? ȋ”‡“—‹”‡• Íł battery),  which  means  that  you  can  use  it  simultaneously  with  your  hands  for  input,  allowing  you  to  comfortably  rest  your  hand  on  the  screen  as  you  use  the  pen  without  …ƒ—•‹Â?‰ ƒÂ?› …‘Â?ˆ—•‹‘Â?Ǥ ‡ ™‘—Ž† ƒ– Ž‡ƒ•– „—› it  for  the  red  tip  we  mentioned  previously.

The  handwriting  recognition  is  good  enough  if  you  use  manuscript  block  letters;  it  wasn’t  as  effective  with  cursive  handwriting.

Software  This  tablet  is  packed  with  apps.  From  „—•‹Â?॥ ƒ’’Ž‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?• Ž‹Â?‡ Dz ‘…—Â?‡Â?–• –‘ ‰‘dzǥ ™Š‹…Š Ž‡–• ›‘— …”‡ƒ–‡ ƒÂ?† ‡†‹– ‘ˆĎ?‹…‡ documents,  and  “PrinterShareâ€?  which  lets  you  print  basically  anything  from  your  laptop,  to  communication  apps  like  “eBuddyâ€?  and  “oovooâ€?  for  online  instant  messaging  and  video  chat.  This  device  also  has  eBook  readers,  movie  and  music  streaming  tools  and  a  bunch  of  games.  Basically,  this  machine  is  geared  to  go.

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Performance  and  accessories The  battery  gave  a  reasonable  performance  …‘Â?•‹†‡”‹Â?‰ –Š‡ •‹œ‡ ‘ˆ –Š‡ –ƒ„Ž‡– ‡Â?‘˜‘ estimates  a  running  time  of  a  little  over  ͺ Š‘—”• ™Š‡Â? —•‹Â?‰ ƒ ‹nj ‹ …‘Â?Â?‡…–‹‘Â?Ǥ The  charger  was  a  medium  sized  unit  with  ƒ Â?‹…”‘nj …‘Â?Â?‡…–‘”ǥ ƒÂ?† ›‘— …ƒÂ? ƒŽ•‘ charge  using  a  standard  USB  connection  but  it’s  a  lot  slower. ‡Â?‘˜‘ ‘ˆˆ‡”• ƒ Žƒ”‰‡ …‘ŽŽ‡…–‹‘Â? ‘ˆ …‘˜‡”• and  accessories  for  this  tablet,  including  a  keyboard  folio  case  that  connects  through  the  USB  port  and  an  optical  pointer  that  looks  Ž‹Â?‡ –Š‡ ‘Ž†nj•…Š‘‘Ž Š‹Â?Â? Ġ ”—„„‡” ’‘‹Â?–‡”Ǥ VERDICT:  Aye.  Lenovo  might  not  have  factored  in  the  weight  and  size  issues  when  designing  the  ThinkPad  Tablet,  but  they  have  brought  us  one  of  the  best  tablets  the  demanding  business  consumer  can  ask  for.  Â

This review was done by Fahed Sabbagh – proud geek and passionate blogger. You can catch him wax poetic on all things geeky at www.nerdyface.com.

Samsung Galaxy Note

ƒÂ?•—Â?‰ ’ƒ…Â?‡† –Š‡ ƒŽƒš› ‘–‡ ™‹–Š good  quality  loud  speakers  and  a  set  of  decent  quality  earphones  that  also  function  ƒ• ƒÂ? ƒÂ?–‡Â?Â?ƒ ˆ‘” –Š‡ „—‹Ž–nj‹Â? ”ƒ†‹‘Ǥ Software  ƒÂ?•—Â?‰ •Š‹’• –Š‡ ƒŽƒš› ‘–‡ ™‹–Š ƒ bunch  of  software  features  that  support  the  ‡Â? •–›Ž—• ™‹–Š ƒ’’• ˆ‘” –ƒÂ?‹Â?‰ Â?‘–‡• Č‹ Note)  and  good  handwriting  recognition.  There  are  also  a  few  applications  that  children  can  play  around  with,  like  painting  with  like  Hello  Crayon,  Hello  Color  Pencil  and  Hello  Chalk.  ‘—ǯŽŽ Ď?‹Â?† ›‘—”•‡Žˆ ‰‡––‹Â?‰ —•‡† –‘ •‘Â?‡ of  the  functions  of  the  device  like  clicking  and  holding  the  stylus  to  take  a  screen  capture  –Šƒ– ‘’‡Â?• ƒ—–‘Â?ƒ–‹…ƒŽŽ› ‹Â? ƒÂ? ‡š–‡Â?•‹˜‡ photo  editor,  allowing  you  to  make  all  sorts  of  changes,  scribble  more  stuff  over  them,  ƒ†† –‡š– ƒÂ?† ƒ Ž‘– Â?‘”‡Ǥ

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nce  again,  Samsung  has  pushed  the  edge  of  the  mobile  industry  standards  by  presenting  us  with  the  Galaxy  Note,  one  of  the  largest  mobile  phones  (apart  from  the  really  early  ones)  with  more  features  that  you  could  possibly  need. Š‹Ž‡ —Â?’ƒ…Â?‹Â?‰ –Š‡ ƒŽƒš› ‘–‡ǥ ‹– was  surprising  to  see  how  big  the  device  is  with  its  massive  body  and  super  large  5.3  inch  screen.  It  is  also  one  of  the  thinnest  ‹Â? –Š‡ Â?ƒ”Â?‡– ƒÂ?† ™‡‹‰Š• ‘Â?Ž› ͳ͚ͺ ‰”ƒÂ?•Ǥ Holding  the  phone  for  the  first  time  felt  a  little  weird.  For  years  companies  have  been  trying  to  make  phones  smaller  so  that  we’ve  forgotten  how  to  actually  hold  a  phone  of  this  size.  The  advertising  for  –Š‡ ƒŽƒš› ‘–‡ †‘‡•Â?ǯ– Š‡Ž’ …Žƒ••‹ˆ› ‹– ĥ a  phone  or  a  tablet  but  creates  a  whole  new  category  of  its  own,  a  step  that  was  perhaps  a  little  premature.

That  said,  once  we  switched  the  phone  on,  we  were  amazed  at  the  vibrant  colours  ƒÂ?† „”‹‰Š–Â?॥ ‘ˆ –Š‡ •—’‡” †‹•’Žƒ› ’ƒ…Â?‹Â?‰ ͺͲͲ š ͳʹͺͲ ’‹š‡Ž• ‘ˆ ”‡•‘Ž—–‹‘Â? ƒÂ?† protected  with  Gorilla  Glass. Â

’‡…‹Ď?‹…ƒ–‹‘Â?• ƒÂ?† ‹Â?’—–  TŠ‡ ƒŽƒš› ‘–‡ ‹• ’‘™‡”‡† „› ƒ Â—ÂƒÂŽÇŚÂ…Â‘Â”Â‡ ͳǤ͜ Âœ ‘”–‡šnj Íť ’”‘…‡••‘”ǥ Íł ‘ˆ RAM,  and  runs  Android  Gingerbread  2.3.5,  this  makes  it  one  of  the  fastest  phones  available.  It  comes  with  16  or  32  GB  of  ‹Â?–‡”Â?ƒŽ Â•Â–Â‘Â”ÂƒÂ‰Â‡ÇĄ ƒÂ?† ƒ Í´ Â?‹…”‘ …ƒ”† with  support  for  up  to  32  GB. Cameras  and  speakers • ›‘— ™‘—Ž† ‡š’‡…– ˆ”‘Â? ƒÂ?› ƒÂ?•—Â?‰ phone,  the  camera  performance  is  really  ‰‘‘†Ǥ Š‡ Â”Â‡ÂƒÂ”ÇŚÂˆÂƒÂ…Â‹Â?‰ Íş …ƒÂ?‡”ƒ †‡Ž‹˜‡”• great  image  quality  in  both  daylight  and  night  photos  along  with  quick  and  accurate Â ÂƒÂ—Â–Â‘ÇŚÂˆÂ‘Â…Â—Â• ƒÂ?† ƒ †‡…‡Â?– Ď?Žƒ•ŠǤ Š‡ ’Š‘Â?‡ ƒŽ•‘ …‘Â?‡• ™‹–Š ƒ Í´ ˆ”‘Â?Â–ÇŚÂˆÂƒÂ…Â‹Â?‰ …ƒÂ?‡”ƒ ˆ‘” ˜‹†‡‘…Šƒ– ™Š‹…Š †‘‡• –Š‡ Œ‘„ ’‡”ˆ‡…–Ž›Ǥ Even  though  the  video  quality  was  ˆƒ‹”Ž› ‰‘‘† ™‹–Š “—ƒŽ‹–› ƒ– ;Ͳ ˆ”ƒÂ?‡• ’‡” •‡…‘Â?†ǥ –Š‡ ƒŽƒš› ‘–‡ †‹† Â?‘– Šƒ˜‡ –Š‡ „‡•– ˜‹†‡‘ …ƒ’–—”‹Â?‰ ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡Ǥ Š‡ …‘Ž‘—”• were  not  as  saturated  as  they  are  in  the  still  photos  and  contrast  was  a  little  bit  lower.  The  video  was  also  a  little  shaky  because  of  the  lack  of  a  digital  video  stabiliser.  Â

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Performance  and  accessories Š‡ ƒŽƒš› ‘–‡ ‹• ‘Â?‡ ‘ˆ –Š‡ ˆƒ•–‡•– ’Š‘Â?‡• we  have  ever  tried;  the  overall  performance  is  very  impressive  whether  it’s  video  playback,  gaming  or  many  other  tasks.  Most  ‘ˆ ÂƒÂŽÂŽÇĄ ™‡ Ž‘˜‡† –Š‡ ™‡„ „”‘™•‹Â?‰ ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡Ǥ The  large  screen  and  fast  processor  makes  using  this  device  an  absolute  pleasure.  The  •–ƒÂ?†ƒ”† ‹nj ‘Â? „ƒ––‡”› Žƒ•–• ÂˆÂ‘Â”Â‡Â˜Â‡Â”ÇĄ ™‹–Š Â?‘”‡ –ŠƒÂ? ͺͲͲ Š‘—”• ‘ˆ •–ƒÂ?†„› ƒÂ?† ™‡ŽŽ over  12  hours  of  talk  time  over  3G  networks.

VERDICT:  Nay.  When  it  comes  to  features,  the  Galaxy  Note  is  one  of  the  best  phones  available  in  the  market.  However,  the  oversized  screen  is  a  bit  of  a  throw  off,  it’s  not  something  you  get  used  to  easily.  If  you  don’t  mind  holding  a  massive  phone  against  your  ear,  and  if  you  have  a  considerable  amount  of  space  in  your  pocket  or  purse,  you’re  in  for  a  great  phone.  Otherwise,  you’ll  need  to  look  at  the  other  smaller  –just  as  good–  alternatives  that  Samsung  has  to  offer.  This review was done by Fahed Sabbagh – proud geek and passionate blogger. You can catch him wax poetic on all things geeky at www.nerdyface.com.

FEBRUARY 2012

Computer  News  Middle  East

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problem might be to ask the enterprise to invest anew in hardware and solutions. Yet, if budgets limit it, an organisation will have to work with the legacy systems it has in house.

CNME asks how enterprises can get more ǡ can make their legacy systems last longer.

March 2012

Security Advisor SIEM

Security information and event management Ȃ ϐ ϐ ǫ investigates.

Integration Advisor

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invading our environments. The question then, is how can enterprises optimise their apps to perform better in the changing IT ǫ way forward.

Microwave backhaul CNME investigates the potential of microwave backhaul in the region, and analyses how ϐ

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Working with legacy systems Ask a vendor, and their answer to every

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The power of Foursquare

Break your own rules

Book Monetisng location-based social media is a hot topic for CIOs, and this book shows how checking in can be a useful tool for brand distinction. Gallo gathered insight from merchants, marketers and the founders of Foursquare. She also shares case studies from companies such as Jimmy Choo, which had employees check in at fashionable hangouts and rewarded customers who met them there.

The Power of Foursquare: Seven Innovative Ways to Get Your Customers to Check in Wherever They Are (McGraw-Hill)

Book As more women move into leadership roles at top companies, they gain the power to not only influence the future of their companies but also change the mind-set that says men must rule the world. The authors, who have coached over 5,000 women, believe that once women make up 30% of the top leaders in America, the country will reach a tipping point wherein women will have lasting influence. But until we get there, women should be careful to put their needs first, as that’s critical to their success.

Break your own rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking that Block Women’s Paths to Power (Wiley)

By Carmine Gallo

Computer News Middle East

Telecoms World

Forming contracts

Application optimisation

98

and tightening budgets for Middle East enterprises.

FEBRUARY 2012

By Jill Flynn, Kathryn Heath and Mary Davis Holt

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