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EDITORIAL Publisher Dominic De Sousa

Sign of things to come

Jeevan Thankappan Group Editor Talk to us: E-mail: jeevan@cpidubai.com

Group COO Nadeem Hood

Last month, we organised our annual Cloud Congress event in Dubai, which brought together industry stakeholders across the whole spectrum to discuss the hotly-debated new technology paradigm. The event provided valuable insights from more than five speakers on the many aspects of cloud computing, addressing some of the technical issues and governance questions. I think the whole discussion about cloud is no longer about adoption, but about best practices and technologies to manage and secure cloud platforms.

We have seen many new technologies emerge in the world of IT but probably none are more confused and misunderstood than cloud computing. The research firm Gartner predicts the cloud computing market will grow to become a $109 billion industry with business processas-a-service and software-as-a-service dominating the market. Be that as it may, what we still require is some common definitions and understanding of the technology.

However, the silver lining is we are past the peak of inflated expectations and CIOs around the region have more confidence in the technology today, going by the spate of cloud infrastructure build out in enterprises. Now, with the security industry upping the ante to resolve some of the fundamental issues that bedevil cloud, one can expect telecom service providers to get a shot in the arm to accelerate the public cloud roll out.

Cloud is also tipped to hog the limelight at this year’s Gitex, the region’s largest integrated exhibition and conference. The conference promoters say this year’s Cloud Confex will address every phase of moving to the cloud, with a mission to promote the best practices. The 32nd edition of the show, which is themed ‘where technology meets business’, is also officially launching its SME Zone to address the burgeoning SME market in the region, which is indeed a step in the right direction. Many SME suppliers have welcomed this initiative and let’s hope it will actually open doors for smaller suppliers. CPI has a bigger presence in the show this year, so if you see us around feel free to come and say hello. And don’t forget to grab a copy of our hourly newsletter 60 Minutes and follow us over on @ComputerNewsME for all the latest from the show floor.

See you there.

Managing Director Richard Judd richard@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409126

Editorial Group Editor Jeevan Thankappan jeevan@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409109 Editor Ben Rossi benr@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409114 Sub-editor Joe Lipscombe joe@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9136 ADVERTISING Commercial Director Rajashree R Kumar raj@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409131 Sales Manager Michal A. Zylinski michal@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409159 Country Sales Manager Rami Mikati rami@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409148 Circulation Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409147

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EDITORIAL

The only constant is change

Ben Rossi Editor Talk to us: E-mail: benr@cpidubai.com

We are constantly telling you, or reporting on other people in the industry telling you, that IT is transforming and it is essential to keep up with the trends.

However, transformation as an enabler and key to success is not just restricted to technology.

We at CNME believe it is just as important to the value of our publication and we are always looking at ways we can improve and provide you better content.

That’s why this month – the biggest in the Middle East’s technology calendar – we are bringing you some great new sections to enjoy.

On top of our usual concoction of insightful features, case studies and analysis pieces covering the length and breadth of the latest IT trends, we are also inaugurating a revamped news section, rounding up all the most talked about happenings that have caught our eye in the last month.

We also have three brand new sections. CIO Spotlight will each month feature one of the region’s leading CIOs, who will provide us with a personal insight into their life and career. To kick it off this month we have Atlantis CIO Joe Tesfai, who tells the fascinating story of his upbringing in Kenya and how he went from knowing nothing about hospitality to running the IT for one of the most famous hotels in the world.

Our new Product Watch section details the top launches and releases in the last month, whilst CNME sub-editor Joe Lipscombe this month debuts his ‘The word on the street’ column, sharing the stories he comes across whilst covering the region’s vast calendar of technology events.

Furthermore, our Website (cnmeonline.com) is continuously evolving and leading the way as the Middle East’s premier source of technology news and analysis.

As the old saying goes, the only constant is change. You’ll see that at GITEX, you’ll see that here in CNME and you’ll see that at the ICT Achievement Awards on October 14, where we will reward the organisations and individuals in the region that have truly embraced the transformation of IT. We always love to hear from you, so please give us your feedback by emailing me at benr@cpidubai.com or connecting with us through our ever-expanding Twitter and Facebook channels.

Have a great GITEX and we hope to see you at our Awards.

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BIG DATA

TRANSFORMS BUSINESS

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Contents

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ISSUE 249 | october 2012

ANALYSIS 8

Innovating again

Soma Somasegar, Corporate VP, Microsoft, spoke to CNME at the launch of Visual Studio 2012 in Seattle, USA, about how Microsoft is showing the world it can be a leader in innovation again.

10 Banking on digital

When SunGard teamed up with analyst firm Celent to develop the Bank Readiness Index survey, they exposed weaknesses in the way banks cater to their digitally driven customers.

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14 Ready for prime time?

CNME held its annual Cloud Congress in Dubai, rallying together users and providers to discuss the best practices and technologies to manage the cloud.

There is nothing more salivating for most business heads than the prospect of being a huge global company. But as the IT team at General Electric will tell you, it can be a massive headache when it comes to collaboration.

16 Month in view

We round up the top stories that have taken our eye in the last month.

CASE STUDIES

26 IT: First port of call

After it was decided that its current IT infrastructure was out dated and upgrades weren’t possible, the Port of Fujairah took on a massive implementation to transform its entire IT system with Oracle at the helm of the project.

28 Video star

The pay-TV operator OSN is reshaping the way we consume media with its video on demand service, offering users the ability to watch what they need on any device.

CIO SPOTLIGHT 30 A life in IT

The inaugural CIO Spotlight focuses on Joe Tesfai, Senior VP of IT, Atlantis hotel.

SOLUTIONS WORLD

38 On the move, on the money

6

Mobility has changed the whole landscape of the enterprise. Ben Rossi explores how organisations can fully reap the awards by addressing the challenges it creates for the IT environment.

Computer News Middle East

october 2012

An Electric collaboration

NETWORK WORLD

INTEGRATION ADVISOR

46 Seasons of change

78 SI Hall of Fame

A fundamental change in server architecture could be on tap as companies look to cut data centre costs and power consumption.

CNME celebrates the region’s top systems integrators and managed service providers by inducting them into its inaugural Hall of Fame.

STORAGE ADVISOR

CAREERS ADVISOR

54 Taking the virtual step

84 Preventing a storm

We look into how enterprises maintain employees’ motivation in order to harvest optimal performance.

Virtualisation has delivered many benefits for IT departments around the world, though some people still don’t know exactly what they’re dealing with.

SECURITY ADVISOR 62 Cybercrime

In a two part special on cybercrime, Ben Rossi delves into the issue that is engulfing the Middle East, before rounding up the views and tips from some of the region’s leading experts on how organisations should be tackling it.

INTERVIEW

90 Expanding horizons

EMC’s Mohammed Amin, who is set to play a larger role, talks about his company’s growth plans

PRODUCT WATCH

TELECOMS WORLD

96 CNME breaks down the top product launches and releases in the last month.

72 Racing to the top

98 The trend with no end

Faced with fierce competition and churn, telecom service providers in the region are forced to overhaul customer experience to stay ahead in the game. www.cnmeonline.com

THE WORD ON THE STREET

CNME’s man about town Joe Lipscombe gives his spin on the latest IT issues affecting Middle East enterprises.

Analysis Microsoft

Innovating again September was another busy month for Microsoft, launching new releases of Visual Studio and Windows Server. This follows the unveiling of Office 2013 in July and precedes the imminent releases of Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface. Soma Somasegar, Corporate VP, Microsoft, spoke to CNME at the launch of Visual Studio 2012 in Seattle, USA, about how Microsoft is showing the world it can be a leader in innovation again.

Soma Somasegar, Corporate VP, Microsoft

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I

nnovation is not a word that people have rushed to identify with Microsoft in recent years, with the likes of Apple and Google reserving that sort of illustrious association.

However, it seems the original computing pioneers are finally ready to pioneer again.

With the advent of mobility leading to ubiquitous predictions that the technology world is at a tipping point in the definition of personal computing, Microsoft is determined it will lead the way.

There is no denying that Apple has so far led the mobility stakes with the domination of iPhone and iPad, but the tablet is yet to be considered a full-proof replacement for the notebook. Microsoft believes the Surface and Windows 8 can do that, supported by its range of related products, including Office and Visual Studio.

September saw the official launch of Visual Studio 2012 (and .NET 4.5), Microsoft’s flagship tools suite that enables developers to create applications on the upcoming Windows 8, as well as other Windows platforms.

Amongst its features are Windows 8 application development and porting enhancements, including the ability to target Windows XP for C++ applications without needing side by side installations.

It also extends on agile methodologies and provides more integrated testing functionality, such as code coverage for manually testing Web apps, cross browser CoderUI or a Web interface for test case management, and provides additional ALM (application lifecycle management) capabilities for SharePoint.

Somasegar, who heads Microsoft’s developer division, says Visual Studio 2012 is critical to the success of Microsoft’s other releases this year.

“At the end of the day we deliver a great selection of platforms and if you want to build an application using any of these platforms, the best tool that you’re going to want to use is Visual Studio. It is very critical to all these platforms in terms of getting the developer eco-system excited and energised about what they can do in terms of building fantastic applications that they can adapt to these platforms,” he says.

When we started working on the product, we had already internalised that the world is going to see a vast difference in the kind of devices and form factors. We realised that we needed to work closely with all the platforms no matter what the form factor is and make sure that the developer experience is both consistent and excellent for the particular form factor.”

He adds that his team decided early on with Visual Studio 2012 that it was important to embrace the consumerisation of IT. “When we started working on the product, we had already internalised that the world is going to see a vast difference in the kind of devices and form factors. We realised that we needed to work closely with all the platforms no matter what the form factor is and make sure that the developer experience is both consistent and excellent for the particular form factor.

“So whether it is a smartphone, slate or PC, we needed to think about how you have the right developer environment in terms of guidelines and prescriptive guidance to people so that they could take better advantage of the screen size and the hardware capabilities that exist with any particular form factor, as opposed to locking it to just one.”

Modern Microsoft The launch of VS 2012 was consumed with many mentions of enabling developers to build “modern applications” and to adopt “modern lifecycles.” Somasegar expands on this.

“Developers spend a lot of time day in and day out in the developer environment.

It’s like spending a lot of time in your home and you want your home environment to be ideal for you. So we’ve done a lot of work to make it a productive environment where developers can focus on the task at hand, as opposed to getting caught up in everything else and forgetting the context,” he says.

He adds that he believes the enterprise IT market is, if not already there, getting very close in terms of embracing devops.

“I’m thinking about agility as a core fundamental principal in which they need to operate. That’s a statement not just on www.cnmeonline.com

development, but on deployment, operations and management, so that they can really have the tight crew that they keep talking about.

With Visual Studio, we are really trying to lift the notch in enabling devops.

“You have to not only tell them that this is important but give them the tools to work from in an enterprise IT environment to allow more agility between the development and operations teams. We are already on the journey, but I think we’re going to see some real traction and process as enterprises get hold of these new products and discover how to put their ideas into practice.”

In a nod to the Middle East, Microsoft often looks to the region for inspiration when it is planning how to innovate, according to Somasegar.

This is due to the large number of people who are below 25 in emerging markets, which he says is staggering.

“When you’re talking about the next generation of people that are just coming out of schools, they are coming in the workforce with a completely different way of thinking about and doing things. So we now have to adapt away from some of the traditional ways we thought in the past. That’s why I think we need to look to emerging markets like the Middle East when innovating, because of the amount of people that exist in a particular age group in those geographies,” Somasegar says.

“Those people are not afraid to take bets and try out new technologies. I think innovation can happen wherever people are passionate and want change, so I think a fair amount of innovation will come from emerging markets. It is a greater opportunity now than ever before for the Middle East to innovate,” he concludes. october 2012

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analysis BRI SunGard

Banking on digital When SunGard teamed up with analyst firm Celent to develop the Bank Readiness Index survey, they exposed weaknesses in the way banks cater to their digitally driven customers. Wissam Khoury discusses the results of the Index survey and how SunGard has reacted by producing cutting edge solutions to help banks keep pace with the fast-emerging environment in order to serve evolving expectations.

T

he Bank Readniess Index (BRI) was designed so that banks could readily discover the extent of their abilities to cater to their customer’s needs. The banks answered a series of questions based on their mobility, customer metrics, multichannel availability and social media use. They were then shown immediate results giving them an insight into their current customer experience.

After gathering the results, SunGard quickly noticed that many banks were not keeping up with the needs of their customers and in particular, the Middle East region was lacking behind other regions in terms of meeting changing customer demands and preferences.

The survey results showed a distinct lack of mobile and web availability despite the fact that the region boasts nearly 90% connectivity and mobility, suggesting that the banking and financial services were not effectively tapping in to the digital market.

“We did not find the results that surprising, as it is clear that the increasing adoption of mobile devices and the explosion of interest in social networks such as Facebook and Twitter – both globally and regionally – is rapidly changing the way that customers look at their service providers,” Khoury states.

“While consumer brands can quickly adopt new channels to engage with their target audiences, it is much more challenging for banking and finance service providers to keep pace and, given obvious concerns around security of information, banks are finding it more difficult than most.”

Khoury believes that banks haven’t shown a lack of enthusiasm towards the developing market or their customers.

He thinks that in a rapidly changing, technical environment banks are hesitant to implement the latest solutions in fear that they may quickly become redundant, and therefore a wasted investment. This is an ever increasing issue as mobile applications, web based applications and digital devices

While consumer brands can quickly adopt new channels to engage with their target audiences, it is much more challenging for banking and finance service providers to keep pace and, given obvious concerns around security of information, banks are finding it more difficult than most.”

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Wissam Khoury, Managing Director, SunGard, Middle East

for the consumer continue to expand with an incredible rate of growth.

However, solution or no solution, the survey provided clear evidence that customers feel they’re not being “listened” to by their banks even though 90% of them take to social networking site Facebook, weekly and roughly half of those respondents use it to share banking experiences. Banks haven’t been blind to these statistics, as 76% of them agreed that the growth of mobility and digital technology delivered the perfect platform with which to personalise offerings to their customers, yet only 21% had devised social media strategies. Moreover, only 13% believe they are using the networking platform to its full potential.

“One area where banks can make an immediate start with social media is by “listening” to what customers are saying about them. The Bank Readiness Index research found that in many cases, sales efforts are based on bank-chosen priorities and not individual consumer requirements.

And if the banks are not focused on what consumers are interested in, they should not be surprised when consumers know

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analysis BRI SunGard

very little about them or their business,” Khoury suggests.

Middle Eastern customers described their feelings towards their banks with a lack of enthusiasm but Khoury believes that this can change over time with the help of IT solutions which can actively increase the effectiveness of a bank’s service. However, it isn’t only solutions and tools which might provide an answer to the issues facing banks. Customers may need to begin to trust online services and digital banking services more to enable banks to assist them in an advanced way. This requires an increase of knowledge from banking personnel as well as cooperation and trust from customers, something which was relatively low, according to the survey results.

“This is a fast emerging area, so while many of us may be happy to share photos, or talk to our friends online, via a smartphone or a tablet, there are still a large percentage of people who do not entirely trust technology with their money or savings. A proactive attitude from banks with an emphasis on educating their customers about the benefits of technology, coupled with changing consumer opinions and growing trust in technology over time, will address the low uptake figures. We certainly envision a time in the relatively near future, where consumer uptake for banking apps and online services will grow rapidly. But they need the right programmes to fit their requirements and banks need to provide stable technology solutions to cement that trust.”

Wissam Khoury and SunGard have since used these results to validate a product roadmap, by providing client feedback on where banks in the region see the market going. The company has developed a set of solutions which banks can deploy in order to address all the issues which were highlighted by the survey. The products, named Ambit, provide banks with integrated multichannel banking platforms, in branch and online.

“We can help banks deploy personal financial management tools, future-proofed for integration with social media, and ensure that the bank gains a full view of its customer 12

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october 2012

relationships so that opportunities for customer acquisition, retention and growth can be maximised,” Khoury says.

One leg of the solutions is the Ambit Concierge App, a device tool developed to improve the customer experience within the branch. Khoury explains that the app was developed to increase customer and staff engagement, increase trust by enabling customers to get closer to the services and to personalise the banking experience using the latest technologies.

“The survey showed that trust in banks has decreased a large amount. This is important to face, how can we regain trust from our customers? Bank staff sit behind large counters and desks and separate themselves from the customers. With this app we use the tablet as a visible and interactive platform for which both customer and employee can sit together and use.”

“When a customer comes into the branch, their details will be automatically loaded onto the screen of a tablet being www.cnmeonline.com

held by the employee. This is done using Near-Field Communication (NFC), the staff member will already know who the person is, what their recent banking activity has been and potentially be able to identify their reasons for visiting the branch before they have even greeted them,” Khoury says.

“The second biggest impact from the international crash, after capitals, was loss of trust. We need to regain this trust and personalising the banking experience is an ideal response. Our solutions, such as the Concierge App provide the opportunity for banks to do so.”

SunGard has just recently launched this app as well as a whole host of other solutions in response to the BRI survey results. Although the uptake may be slow, Khoury is convinced that when the survey is updated and retaken in the coming years, the results will show an obvious improvement on a bank’s ability to cater to the digitally driven era.

EVENTS Cloud Congress

Ready for prime time?

CNME held its annual Cloud Congress in Dubai, rallying together users and providers to discuss the best practices and technologies to manage the cloud.

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he Congress delivered an insightful and thought provoking set of discussions from IT leaders and managers from around the region who were keen to go in-depth about the main theme; traditional IT crumbling under the weight of cloud computing.

Bilal El Sabbagh, Director of Consulting, Deloitte & Touche, opened proceedings, discussing the journey into cloud for enterprises who he claimed were still “fearful” of adopting the system.

“The market for enterprise cloud is growing, fast,” he said. “But why would people adopt cloud if they did not know the risks, and how to manage the risks?”

The concern for many end users was that the virtualisation and cloud solutions would diminish traditional IT. El Sabbagh said that IT’s definition has changed, and customers need to evolve and adjust in order to maintain relevance with the expanding trend.

“In the cloud, the new IT organisation role will shift towards a service-oriented customer focus role that helps to align the business needs with the vendor solutions. The IT emphasis will be on integrating services across multiple providers. Thus, cloud will affect many of the traditional IT capabilities like support, backup and analytics.”

“It is a risky decision to move to the cloud without having the proper controls in place, especially if you are moving your data cross-border. Differences in legislation must be taken into consideration and even timezones when it comes to SLAs,” he added.

Following questions focused on the concerns of diminishing services and outdated services becoming obsolete, El Sabbagh concluded and Dell Enterprise Product Manager Basil Ayass took to the stage to support the fearful, claiming he was afraid of the impact of cloud.

“I’m scared,” he said. “Bilal showed us 60 slides of how IT will diminish once it moves into the cloud, but what about us? What about our jobs?

“When I was younger, I wondered what I would become. A doctor, perhaps? A lawyer?

At the time the emerging need and demand was computer science and information technology, so I took it up. Now things are

changing again, with cloud we’re fighting for our roles.”

The key concern in Ayass’ argument was that IT is losing its need and that traditional IT personnel aren’t prepared to serve the upcoming generation with what they want.

“The younger generation wants YouTube, Facebook, tablets, smartphones, bandwidth, faster and faster, and we are offering them a laptop and Windows XP? We’re losing our importance,” he said.

“We as a company realised that we needed to change in order to survive. If you don’t evolve with emerging trends your business will suffer, not just your IT. Your customers won’t be happy and you won’t be able to compete,” he warned.

Ayass also argued that cloud brings with it severe security risks. Having your data

communicate,” he said.

Offering an end-user’s perspective, Alok Srivastava, Acting Head of IT, Masdar, discussed data centre optimisation and consolidation, which was followed by a unique panel discussion in which end users and vendors spoke about the implementation of a cloud solution at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT).

HCT has recently invested in a Huawei virtual desktop solution to assist teachers and students by enabling them to access their work, lectures, presentations and updates from any device, in any place from one central storage facility.

The discussion included Amit Mathur, Huawei Enterprise Cloud Solutions Expert, HCT Professor Mohammed Arif Amin and HCT student and user of the solution, Mubarak

The IT emphasis will be on integrating services across multiple providers. Thus, cloud will affect many of the traditional IT capabilities like support, backup and analytics.” spread around, being accessed from different devices and areas increases the dangers of being attacked.

“Take the Al Jazeera Twitter attack for example. It took Jazeera 16 hours to get back online following their attack, which involved someone sending out fake tweets about sensitive stories. I won’t trust their news service any longer, I would check with another news service now because how would I know what was real or fake?

This is all because of the vulnerability of the service they were providing,” he said.

Ramesh Bhandari, Cloud Computing Manager, Etisalat, presented the importance of forging the right relationships for cloud, while Feras Zeidan, Networking Channel Manager, Avaya, discussed cloud enabled network architecture, touching on the impact of social media. He put forward some insightful facts in regards to the acceleration of adoption of modern applications.

“Social media is not a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we www.cnmeonline.com

Omar Mubarak Al Jabri. The panel presented an interesting insight into a solution which had been purchased, implemented and tested.

Amin said: “When students first came to the school they were supplied a laptop, but by their last year of study the laptop was already obsolete. We encouraged them to buy a new device, but not all students would do that. Now they can purchase whichever devices they want to use, bring them in to study with, and we connect them under our infrastructure. With contracts they can always upgrade when necessary, so it eliminates all worries.”

He added that the students feel comfortable with the Huawei box in different locations. “They feel like it’s their own. They can locate work from the box, complete assignments and then replace them back into the box, the professors can then collect the work from the box from any place in the world - mark them and set them back down into the box. Everyone feels safe and happy with that,” he concluded. october 2012

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ROUND-UP Month in view CNME to host Awards Computer News Middle East and CPI will reward the IT industry’s highest achievers this month.

The ICT Achievement Awards, which will take place at Jumeirah Emirates Towers on 14 October, will mark the third year that CNME has hosted the prestigious event.

It will bring together

prominent industry stakeholders from across the region as it recognises the best of the best.

“This year our focus turns on the importance of innovation and dare-devilry in the use of the latest technologies, as organisations return aggressively to growth paths,” said Richard Judd, MD of CPI Technology and Business.

GOVERNMENT

Dubai Government’s Information Security Committee held its second meeting to discuss information security policy, which is poised to be adopted across all Dubai government entities upon completion.

Security a money spinner Worldwide spending on security is expected to touch the $60 billion mark in 2012, up 8.4 percent from $55 billion in the previous year, according to research company Gartner — this figure will approach $86 billion in 2016.

WHAT’S HOT? Apple releases arguably the best iPhone to date.

Bigger, lighter, faster and cooler, equipped with iOS6 and LTE, the tech giant hits the nail on the head once more in the fight for smartphone supremacy.

ME at war with ‘Flame’

iPHONE 5

An undeniably fabulous month for Ballmer and co. With the releases of Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft Visual Server 2012, as well as the upcoming releases of the highly anticipated Windows 8 and Microsoft surface. Steve keeps the ball rolling.

A study has revealed that the Flame malware, developed to target Middle East-based companies, may be just one of four pieces of malware created by the same unknown development team.

Flame became public in May after Iran discovered the malware had been used to infect computers in its oil ministry. It was quickly linked with Stuxnet, which was used to disrupt Iran’s uranium refinement equipment, and was suspected to have been developed by other countries, due to its sophistication and targeting.

The latest research is the result of a combined effort by Symantec, Kaspersky Lab, the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) IMPACT cyber security team, Germany’s Computer Emergency Response Team for Bundesbehörden and its Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

The study found that the commandand-control mechanisms for Flame may have been developed as far back as December 2006, making the malware much older than previously thought.

Microsoft Known security flaws discovered in over half of Android devices leaves them extremely vulnerable to malicious applications. The conclusion was thanks to scans performed

by X-ray, the Android vulnerability assessment tool developed

by Duo Security.

ANDROID

Facebook denied claims of a major privacy breach after users reporting seeing private messages on their timeline page.

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Meg Whitman has a lot of recommendations to type up after HP announced another 2,000 job cuts, taking the tally to 29,000.

Originally the company planned to cut 27,000 employees by 2014, 8% of its global workforce.

HP

WHAT’S NOT?

INVENTOR

Bill Moggridge, the industrial designer credited with creating the first laptop computer in 1982, has died of cancer aged 69. He designed the Grid Compass, the first portable computer with a display that closed over the keyboard.

ITU Telecom World arrives Global ICT leaders will gather to discuss topics including the ‘radical transformation of the ICT industry’ at this year’s ITU Telecom World 2012, opening in Dubai this month.

The event, which is staged for 14-18 October and will run in conjunc-

Ultrabook sales disappoint Despite Intel’s claim that 40 percent of all laptops sold this year would be ultrabooks, uptake during the first half of 2012 was disappointing.

Intel defines an ultrabook as an ultraportable computer based on its processor architecture and running the Windows operating system.

In January Intel CEO Paul Otellini predicted that demand for ultrabooks would be huge.

But despite this year’s underwhelming sales, the ultra-portable segment remains to have significant growth potential. A healthy growth rate of 53 percent is predicted over the 2012 to 2017 forecast period, according to market intelligence firm ABI Research.

Targeted at mid-range prices, the most popular ultra-portable laptop today is Apple’s distinctly non-Windows MacBook Air. Lower-costing next-generation systems along with touch-screen models are promised for 2013.

tion with GITEX, will bring together an inclusive list of international speakers.

“No ICT forum in the world can rival ITU Telecom World 2012 for the breadth, depth and mix of its delegates and speakers,” said ITU Secretary-General

Middle East countries have the least Internet freedom in the world, according to a new report by Freedom House.

IT hiring on the up More CIOs are planning to expand their IT team in the coming quarter than they were three months ago, according to new data from Robert Half Technology. In the staffing firm’s latest IT Hiring Index and Skills Report, 9% of CIOs said they plan to expand their IT departments in Q4, and 6% anticipate cutbacks.

83% said they’ll maintain current staffing levels.

Data centres go greener Green data centres may have gone out of fashion as a topic of conversation, but rising energy costs, increasing demand for computing power, environmental concerns, and economic pressures are continuing to drive the market.

The data centre industry currently consumes around 1.5 percent of the world’s energy. The result is that the industry is undergoing major changes as it struggles to keep energy demand in check while maintaining growth.

A new report by Pike Research predicts that the worldwide market for green data centres will grow from $17.1 billion in 2012 to $45.4 billion by 2016, at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 28 percent.

Many data centre operators are experimenting with renewable energy sources and innovative cooling techniques to drive down power consumption, as well as investing in virtualisation and cloud computing technologies, both of which have green benefits.

Virtualisation can help to improve power efficiency in the data centre, by packing more compute capacity into less hardware.

www.cnmeonline.com

Cloud to grow 20% The cloud computing market will grow almost 20% this year to become a $109 billion industry, research firm Gartner predicts.

Business-processas-a-service (BPaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) will dominate the market, but infrastructure-as-aservice (IaaS) will quickly gain momentum.

In 2011, the market stood at $91.4 billion and Gartner expects it to grow to $206.6 billion by 2016.

Cloud is still only a very small part of the overall IT OCTOBER 2012

spending market though. In July, Gartner predicted total IT spending would be $3.6 trillion in 2012.

BPaaS currently represents the largest share of the cloud market, making up more than threequarters of the spending in the cloud. This refers to business processes delivered from the cloud, including email, payroll and cloud advertising — which is the largest single chunk of cloud spending in the market right now, representing $84.2 billion in spending.

Computer News Middle East

17

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Analysis:

Reviews: LG releases new line of docking speakers

Lying with technology

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http://bit.ly/PTA2Gn Read more online

School’s in for iPad

http://bit.ly/PZjthJ

Videos: Nokia launches Lumia 920 Windows 8 smartphone

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Insight:

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Blogs:

5 ways to kick that IT outsourcing addiction

Quantifying the cost of downtime Kelly Brown,

Director of EMEA Marketing, EMC Backup Recovery Systems, discusses the importance of regular backup for business in the Middle East.

Motorola announces new Droid Razr smartphones Read more online

http://bit.ly/On0DB2

A tech tour of the world’s largest cruise ship

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Cloud impact: The implications of network cabling

Events:

Shibu Vahid, Head of Technical Operations, R&M Middle East and Africa

Read more online

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case study General Electric

An Electric collaboration There is nothing more salivating for most business heads than the prospect of being a huge global company. But as the IT team at General Electric will tell you, it can be a massive headache when it comes to collaboration.

W

hen you are a multinational conglomerate corporation, implementing the latest technologies is not an option – it’s a given.

For General Electric, which is listed as the third largest company in the world by the Forbes Global 2000, it is absolutely pivotal to its success.

Nobody believes that more than its CIO for the MEA region, Fady Sleiman. And with 300,000 employees worldwide - 4,500 in the 27 countries that Sleiman oversees in GE MENA and Turkey alone collaboration is naturally at the top of the IT priorities.

“GE is very big on collaboration at the moment,” Sleiman says. “It’s a big theme – connecting our employers, customers and suppliers. We’ve been

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trying to get this out for a few years here, but unfortunately due to the cloudy space of voice over IP, it wasn’t achievable at that time.”

With this in mind, last year GE approached its service operator du voicing its eagerness to implement telepresence (TP) in its MEA headquarters in Dubai.

“We wanted a system that was an expensive piece of kit but brought huge amounts of benefits with regards to collaboration. We’re talking about a tool that our senior executives could use so they don’t have to travel for a day or two day meeting,” Sleiman says.

GE’s driving objective in the project was to keep its leadership local. As a multinational organisation

headquartered in the USA and with other important offices in Europe and Asia, GE wanted to significantly reduce the travel (and subsequent costs) that its senior executives from this region required to keep connected with its key global offices.

“To enable us, we looked at what collaboration technologies are. We worked with du finding out how we could overcome any issues from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).

We stuck in a point-to-point MPLS connection and connected that back to our UK data centre,” Sleiman says.

He adds that what made building the solution more complicated was GE’s way of operating with a global infrastructure services (GIS) group that takes control of all infrastructure in any region, meaning there were several teams to collaborate with.

“Whenever we want a new circuit or anything like that, these guys come in and implement the projects with the local project managers. We worked with Verizon, du and the GIS group in order to give us that point-to-point connection,” he says.

A fast implementation

However, the teams pulled together and managed to achieve the implementation in nine weeks, which Sleiman saw as a fantastic achievement for a project of that size.

“It was a great accomplishment,” he says. “The first meeting held was between the CEO and the global operations CEO, so it was a very high profile meeting.”

The tool itself is a Cisco 3012 – a large unit made up of three 62” screens that provide a realistic faceto-face experience.

With GE already boasting between 500 and 600 of these units globally, the Dubai headquarters can now interact with any of these TP units around the world.

“This type of technology is so sophisticated that they don’t even have to press a button. They walk into a room and as soon as the meeting is scheduled to start it will just prop up on a screen and get going,” Sleiman says.

GE has now started to deploy six additional units throughout the region to further enhance collaboration. “From an IT prospective we’re trying to take it within this region to another level,” he adds.

When it came to choosing the vendor and solution provider, it was a relatively simple decision for GE.

GE is very big on collaboration at the moment.

It’s a big theme – connecting our employers, customers and suppliers. We’ve been trying to get this out for a few years here, but unfortunately due to the cloudy space of voice over IP, it wasn’t achievable at that time.”

“We chose Cisco because that’s our preferred supplier of telepresence solutions globally. It was a pretty robust process because we have to have a preferred supplier first and we have to vet them. The problem is we find that none of our global service providers can carry both voice and data. Verizon, which is one of GE’s global partners, can only do data, so we had to go local. At the time, du was the only provider operating from this office, so that’s why we chose them,” Sleiman says.

“But it turned out to be a good experience.

We saw the things we need to see from vendors in pulling out the stops to deliver and execute. In terms of customer experience, we don’t want jitter on the line and we don’t get that much. Then of course it always comes down to costs - we had to think how this large and expensive investment would give value back to the organisation and stakeholders. If we’re spending big, there needs to be a big return on investment,” he adds.

As GE’s first TP unit in the MEA region, it was new to both GE’s regional team and du, but the implementation, which went live in April 2011, was seen as a “global success” for the company.

“We tend to deliver TP units in anywhere between 12 and 20 weeks, so for us nine weeks was a fantastic result. I’m talking globally, not just locally.

It was a really good result. There were a few teething snags at the beginning but they were more due to the configuration of the system. Besides that it was delivered very well,” Sleiman says.

“We got our local end-user support team to provide the training to the admins. We also knew there would be a certain group that would use the TP unit more than others so we provided them more training to use the system,” he adds.

Culturally challenging

However, like any IT project, it wasn’t without its challenges. The key challenges in this particular www.cnmeonline.com

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case study General Electric

Fady Sleiman, CIO, MEA, General Electric

project came down to compliance and cultural differences.

“We had to go through the process of finding out if what we were doing was compliant in the country.

Another challenge was linking the technical teams between each other. They’re from a different culture and we’re at different stages in the use of technology, so the guys back in Europe are on the cutting edge whilst the guys here have good technology and are driving for newer technology, but it was difficult at times to get them on the same page,” Sleiman says.

“But they did a great job driven by their willingness and eagerness to get together,

We wanted a system that was an expensive piece of kit but brought huge amounts of benefits with regards to collaboration. We’re talking about a tool that our senior executives could use so they don’t have to travel for a day or two day meeting.”

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understand and put that solution in place as quickly as possible. We’ve experienced very good quality with the telepresence and we get very minimal disturbance in the service,” he adds.

GE is measuring ROI from the project by looking at the usage of the unit and the schedules from the utilisation of the line and service.

“We tend to keep the telepresence utilisation between 60 and 70 percent – if it gets too much then people can’t use it because it’s too busy – and as long as we’re hitting that target we’re reducing travel considerably,” he says.

“I’m talking about the long-haul travel and even with shorter travel we’re only keeping it to mustmeetings that they have to attend and that’s why now the regional CFO has supported the initiative of rolling out the TP strategy across the region,” he adds.

With the success of GE’s TP unit in Dubai, and more on the way throughout the region, Sleiman says the next step in its collaboration plan is voice over IP. “We’re trying to raise the bar for doing business in this region and we’re having to because of the type of growth figures that we have. We have to change and we’re used to change to make sure we can cater for these things. That’s why we’re preparing for voice over IP and it looks like it’s going to be upon us very soon,” he says.

“That will bring huge benefits to GE because we have around 300,000 employees that are on our voice over IP solution globally so you can just imagine the scale of how that would assist us instead of making all these calls and stuff. Once we’re on our own network we will enjoy huge savings,” he adds.

Sleiman says the tough economic climate has changed how GE operates and led it to go back to basics with IT. “We have to make sure that what we took for granted in the past we no longer take for granted anymore. So we are constantly thinking about are we doing it right and what is the most efficient and costeffective way? It’s enabled us to sit back, look at what we’ve done and improve our operational excellence,” he says.

On the other hand, it has also led to management seeing the true value in IT, resulting in the subsequent investments in infrastructure and TP. “These are expensive technologies,” Sleiman says.

“But when you explain it to the senior leadership that if we end up doing this you’re going to get this in return, and how it effects the bottom line and productivity, the buy in will always be there,” he concludes.

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Coming to a city near you!

Visit www.emc.com/forum2012 to find out more and register today

12 September, 2012 The Ritz Carlton Hotel, Doha

2 October, 2012 The Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh

EMC Forum 2012 – Transform: Business+IT+Yourself Together, cloud computing and Big Data are transforming our industry; EMC helps you master these new IT realities. Don’t miss this free one-day event that gives you all the tools you need to take IT to the next level. Find out more: www.emc.com/forum2012

case study Port of Fujairah

IT: First port of call After it was decided that its current IT infrastructure was out dated and upgrades weren’t possible, the Port of Fujairah took on a massive implementation to transform its entire IT system with Oracle at the helm of the project.

T

he Port of Fujairah invested in a large and rather impressive makeover of its IT infrastructure by implementing Oracle E-Business Suite R12 and Oracle Business Intelligence Standard Edition.

The multipurpose port is the only one of its kind on the Eastern Seaboard in the UAE and specialises in a vast range of services including general cargo projects, bulk cargo projects, wet bulk cargo projects, port facilities for small supply craft users and agents and container activity.

With the port dedicated to fast growth and enhancing its range of facilities, it had to replace its aging IT system and looked to Oracle in order to support the integration of its financial processes and lay down secure IT foundations for the future.

“We had been using Prophecy since 1997, an SME ERP by a company based in Australia, which was running on an Ingres database, but we couldn’t upgrade this system due to a lack of local support,” says Madhusudhan Sarangi, IT Manager, Port of Fujairah.

“It was unfortunate because we had a good relationship with this company and an update was planned but they couldn’t find the market presence here, so we were forced to discontinue our business with them,” he adds.

Sarangi, who has been with the Port of Fujairah since 1993, says the decision to employ Oracle as the vendor for its new solutions was done by default. The port needed to create solid foundations for growth and enable transparent business-wide reporting and planning, seen as vital

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for business success in the competitive travel and transportation sector.

“We didn’t want to make the same mistake as we did before and choose a vendor which may not be there in a few years. Oracle has the market presence, it has the implementers in place - it was the only vendor we tried,” he says.

The Oracle solution comprised of integrated, global business applications in order to tighten inhouse controls for payroll, bank reconciliation and HR.

Smooth sailing

The implementation was done in seven months by partners Computer Network Systems and Fujitsu.

Once the implementation was complete, the port upgraded to the latest releases (12.1) using its own in-house staff.

“We started in May 2008, once the software was in place financials and distribution went live in December 2008, whilst HR and payroll when through two months of parallel runs before going live,” says Sarangi.

The port ran into some issues with the Oracle reports upon implementation. It added new HP Unix Itanium server hardware to run the ERP but didn’t want too much customisation as it didn’t want to encounter too many difficulties in the future.

“The implementers gave our users training on the modules, prepared detailed user manuals and did hand holding in the first three to four months after the system went live. The reports were the most difficult part for us and our finance insisted on a parallel run,” he says.

“This run was really helpful for us - it helped us discover any reconciliation that needed to be done.

You can’t sit back worrying about if you have the right tool or not, the real question needs to be, can our team use the tool?” he adds.

Sarangi’s IT team is made up of six developers, one DBA, one Oracle technical specialist, three data centre and network support members and five system operators - a team he claims has a good relationship with Oracle, which has stepped in at pivotal times for the port.

“Our team took on the entire upgrade in 2011 with the knowledge that Oracle would help us out if we stumbled upon any issues. They provided all the solutions we needed and now we are successfully upgraded to the 12.1 model,” Sarangi says.

Oracle’s input and solutions have helped the Port of Fujairah not only to upgrade from the infrastructure it had, but also to provide a blueprint for the future expansion of the port’s IT capabilities. The new and updated system will now support the capabilities to extend and provide more information on its dashboard.

“There isn’t a limit to how much we can expand now thanks to this model, however, we haven’t moved into this area yet because we are a medium sized port and we haven’t needed to,” Sarangi says.

The port’s IT team appears to be well equipped for what he describes as a very proactive future. By training its staff in the most efficient way to be able to run Oracle’s latest updates, the port can now be safe in the knowledge that it has a more solid IT infrastructure to support its operations and growth.

“Our business applications are our main priority for the future. Tracking our ship movements and our cargo loading operations, we haven’t upgraded the technology here yet and we can’t go on using the current system for long. It’s easy to maintain and it’s no hassle but we will need to upgrade in the coming months,” Sarangi says.

“Once these new technologies are inserted and our corporate people are trained in the usage of them, we can be confident that these systems will be good for 15 to 20 years. We won’t make the same mistake as we did last time by adopting processes which can quickly become redundant,” he adds.

Madhusudhan Sarangi, IT Manager, Port of Fujairah

Such upgrades and implementations do not of course come without their costs and Capex budgets with full details and justification is due by the Port’s IT team this month.

“This is submitted to finance for review. After that it goes to higher management for final approval.

There has been a significant increase in the budget due to the upgrade of our infrastructure, as well as replacement of the legacy systems and introduction of disaster recovery (DR) systems,” Sarangi says.

Gaining recognition

We had been using Prophecy since 1997, an SME ERP by a company based in Australia which was running on an Ingres database, but we couldn’t upgrade this system due to a lack of local support.” www.cnmeonline.com

Sarangi is upbeat and positive about the changes and implementations made over the past few years and is very satisfied with the partnership with Oracle, Fujitsu and Computer Network Systems. The importance of IT departments in today’s world is slowly being recognised on a grand scale, he says.

“We’re not the apple of the management’s eye, but the operating systems are big sections now.

Today people are very dependent on IT and we are able to give them new solutions in order to improve productivity,” Sarangi says.

“It is becoming more difficult to find properly qualified people in IT and they’re becoming increasingly expensive to hire, this shows the level of quality and skill needed is much higher now than ever before,” he adds.

Whilst the Port’s IT department does have to fight hard to have its budgets approved, Sarangi says the management is beginning to recognise the strategic importance of IT to the port’s success.

The Oracle E-Business Suite, complete with all its upgrades, should see the Port of Fujairah through the next couple of decades. october 2012

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case study OSN

Video star The pay-TV operator OSN is reshaping the way we consume media with its video on demand service, offering users the ability to watch what they want on any device.

T

he ability to access what you normally watch on home television on PCs and mobile devices is changing the traditional broadcast TV industry. As consumers become more comfortable with the idea of video on demand on devices of their choice, there is pressure on broadcasters to meet this rising demand.

On-demand viewing is attractive because it allows viewers to watch content at a time convenient to them and preferably without commercial breaks. Consumers see this option as an enhanced viewing experience.

However, the changing patterns in media consumption and new distribution channels mean tight integration between broadcasting technology and multiple backend IT systems, which can be a daunting task for the IT departments.

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The Dubai-based pay TV operator OSN has recently rolled out an on-demand service called OSN Play that enables its subscribers to view premium shows and movies after they are broadcast on a variety of devices. OSN Play, which can be accessed through common browsers on both Windows and Mac, is also available on Android and iOS powered mobile devices and Internet-connected TVs. “We have put significant part of our content library online, so that customers can see what they want to see, when they want to see and where they want to see, without having to wait for the right time,� says Bas Wijne, Director of IS-IT, OSN. What is probably unique about OSN Play is the adaptive bit rate technology, which senses the bandwidth at disposal and streams video at lower or

Bas Wijne, Director of IS IT, OSN (on the right) with Lisa Robinson, Head of CA Operations

higher bandwidth to ensure smooth video play back without buffering. “Our on-demand service can work on 300 Kbps onwards up to 1.6 Mbps, though we recommend a feed of 2 Mbps for optimal experience.

Around the time of Olympics we added live streaming as well and now we have 10 live streaming channels available on OSN Play,” says Wijne.

OSN Play is delivered through a content delivery network (CDN) provided by Level 3. “We take all the content, transcode it into five different bit rates, encrypt it and then it goes to the CDN,” says Wijne. The pervasive nature of Internet can be a problem when content owners want to limit access to streaming media to a particular geographic region. The use of CDN ensures OSN Play is geo-blocked and is delivered only within a certain geographic area in addition to being able to measure where certain content is being watched and for how long.

OSN worked with the US-based KIT digital, which developed the online TV platform and integrated it with the company’s existing platforms. OSN had to build out the infrastructure from scratch to roll out the VOD service and everything is connected in real time to its CRM and billing platforms. “We had to ramp up our infrastructure and add new servers to get this up and running. OSN Play is hosted on a complete virtual environment, integrated with the existing broadcast environment. We are using virtualisation to the max and only a few applications run on physical servers,” says Wijne.

OSN has also paid extra attention to security to ensure content protection. “We are using Microsoft digital rights management platform, and have separated OSN Play section of the network from our corporate network. In addition, we have put in place powerful Cisco firewalls, IPS, traffic managers and load balancers to ensure security,” says Wijne.

He says OSN Play had very little impact on its existing network from a bandwidth perspective. “The most important decision was to use CDN as we did not want all our subscribers to pull video directly from the network, which would have required us to buy enormous amount of Internet bandwidth. We upload

We have put a significant part of our content library online, so that customers can see what they want to see, when they want to see and where they want to see, without having to wait for the right time.” www.cnmeonline.com

everything on the CDN and all we have is a small pipe to it.”

While broadcasters are increasingly putting their video assets on cloud, Wijne says it really wasn’t an option for OSN. “When you are working on content protection, you can’t afford to take a risk with any unencrypted services. We needed to keep that in our network, so we don’t have a choice but do it internally.

We are very unlikely to hand over key business processes to the hands of a cloud provider.”

Wijne says working with a CDN provider required deeper integration of backend systems. “Working with CDN was something new for us. Earlier, typical broadcasting meant you put everything on the satellite and that’s where it ends from a distribution standpoint. The challenge was how do you define the processes, do the registration, and get the metadata from the broadcast network and put that onto the digital network.”

Another challenge for OSN was the maturity of the broadband infrastructure, which varies from country to country in the region. “The challenge was to figure out how to get this service in a good quality feed into all these countries. So we are streaming from various places around the world to get it into the region. If we were to host it in Dubai, it wouldn’t have been possible to get all the content easily into Qatar or Saudi. So we stream from the PoPs of the CDN provider,” says Wijne.

He adds using adaptive bit rate for the first time in the region was also a steep learning curve for the OSN’s IT organisation. “Each country has its own unique settings. In Saudi, the setting might be different for IP streaming than it is in the UAE. Also, telcos have different settings as to what they allow on their broadband networks.”

OSN is currently working very closely with the telecom service providers in the region to exploit the OTT opportunities. “Most of these telcos have their own IPTV networks, where OSN is carried as a channel. A certain amount of their customers are also OSN subscribers and we looking at integration with these telcos to bring these users to OSN Play as well,” says Wijne.

OSN, which is now adding more live channels to its VOD service, is also toying around with the idea of transaction video on demand for premium content.

“It’s all about customer experience. We want to give them choices, whether they want it through normal set top boxes or Internet-connected devices,” says Wijne.

With PCs and mobile devices emerging as popular viewing platforms, OSN is all set to ride the crest of the new wave. october 2012

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CIO Spotlight Joe Tesfai

A life in IT The inaugural CIO Spotlight focuses on Joe Tesfai, Senior VP of IT at Atlantis hotel. Born and raised in Kenya, Tesfai moved to the USA aged 18 where he studied and then rose through the ranks at the Four Seasons hotel chain.

At 27, he migrated to the Middle East where he has spent the subsequent 13 years becoming a leading figure in the region’s hospitality and IT industries.

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H

TIMELINE 1965 Born in Nairobi, Kenya, where he spent most of his upbringing

1983 Moved to the USA to study at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, DC

1988 Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science

1988-1993 Worked for a couple of start-ups in DC doing bench work, integrating, building and selling computers.

1993 Joined the Four Seasons hotel in DC as Systems Manager

1995 Joined the Four Seasons hotel in Maui, Hawaii, to replicate his work in DC, whilst also helping with the set-up of a new hotel on the Big Island, Hawaii, which opened in 1996

1998 Joined the Four Seasons hotel in Chicago in a similar regional role

1999 Moved to Cairo, Egypt, to become the Area Director of IT for InterContinental’s MEA region, responsible for around 70 hotels

2003 Moved to Dubai to become the Group Director of IT at Jumeirah Group

2007 Joined Atlantis hotel as Senior Vice President of IT, also responsible for the MEA region’s One&Only hotels www.cnmeonline.com

ow did you find moving to the USA after growing up in Nairobi?

Growing up in Nairobi was great. I went to a Catholic school. Then in between Nairobi and the U.S. I actually spent a couple of years in Sudan because my father got transferred – he was the GM of a glass factory - and a year in England. But moving to Washington DC was a totally different environment for me. It took me about a year and a half to get used to it, but once I did I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was a great experience and I focused on what I really wanted to do at the time, which was computers – I loved computers.

What aspect of IT did you first want to get into?

Initially I wanted to get into programming, but I quickly got bored with it because it was just code after code after code. At that time we had to compile all the code, take it over to the computer centre on carts, issue it to the computer centre to run it and then you get the output on these big papers. It was too tedious and time-consuming.

What did you do after you graduated?

I graduated in 1988, just before the advent of PCs. I stayed in DC and got some work with a start-up systems integrator doing bench work - integrating, building and selling computers. I found it very interesting because that was where I was able to hone my skills in networking and I loved the hardware aspect of it. I was more interested in networking PCs because those days we were just starting to do that. Soon after that I became certified in NetWare and become one of the early CNEs in the U.S., which meant I was certified to actually create the network and connect all the computers.

How did you first get into hospitality?

After around five years of working at a couple of startups, I actually got bored of that stuff and one day saw an ad in the newspaper for a Systems Manager position in a hotel, so I thought I’d try my luck at that. That was the Four Seasons in DC. I applied for the job and pretty much got hired on the spot because I had the networking experience and certifications. But I didn’t know anything about hotels, so they walked me through the front desk, reservations, housekeeping, engineering and everywhere else in the hotel so I could understand their operations. One of the first projects I did there was to install a PC-based network.

You travelled around several locations for the Four Seasons – why was that?

I was with the DC Four Seasons for about a year and a half and then they asked me if I wanted to go to Hawaii to pretty much replicate what I did in DC. It took me october 2012

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CIO Spotlight Joe Tesfai

all of about two minutes to say yes. I was in the Four Seasons in Maui for a couple of years until we opened up the Four Seasons on the Big Island. I became the Regional IT Manager and did that for a couple of years before they asked me in 1998 to go to Chicago because they had some issues there.

How did you end up working in the Middle East?

In around mid-1999 Intercontinental asked me if I wanted to move to the Middle East in an Area Director of IT role responsible for around 70 hotels and based in Cairo. I was there until January 2003 because towards the end of 2002 a headhunter called me and said there was a group in Dubai that was looking for a Group Director of IT. To cut a long story short, it was with the Jumeirah Group and they flew me over, interviewed me, hired me and I moved to Dubai in March 2003. I was there for four years and in 2007 Atlantis asked if I’d be interested in being their Senior Vice President of IT to open up this big undertaking.

Why did you decide to move from CTO of the Jumeirah Group, which was a bigger group, to Atlantis?

I jumped at the opportunity because I was like a kid in a candy store. We had a huge budget and I was setting up the entire network from the ground up. It was a massive project but I did it because Alan Leibman (CEO of Kerzner International, which owns Atlantis) gave me the assurance that we’d be growing the group. We were also responsible for the One&Only brands. They have IT Manager’s on base, but we support them whenever they need help.

What do you find most difficult about your job?

What I don’t like about being a CIO is when technology fails and the all night looking for a needle in a haystack to get the problem resolved situations. It can be very time consuming and it really is very draining and demanding on you because you’ve got to be able to innovate and drive yourself every single day. It’s a 10, 12 hour job, sometimes six or seven days a week. It’s a struggle but you’ve got to have that work-life balance. I handle that balance with great difficulty but it’s all about prioritising.

I’ve got three children aged five to nine and Friday is all about the kids. I try not to ever have anything to do on a Friday so I can spend all day with them.

What has been your favourite job?

My favourite would have to be Atlantis because we utilise technology extensively and effectively here. Other groups are more into the guest service element and will spend more on the front of the house than technology.

As someone that was here from the start, Atlantis is my baby and my legacy.

Are there any goals and ambitions that you still strive to achieve?

It’s very unusual in hospitality to come across a project with such a huge IT budget as we have at Atlantis.

People build hotels on the same budget we have just on technology here. My goal is to do another one of these. I believe I have the energy and passion to do another one equal to or larger than this. Recently we’ve signed some contracts and we’ve got some partners where we’re trying to expand the Atlantis brand. One is in China and we’re looking for a partner in South America. So I think my next step is to move to one of these locations and aid in a new Atlantis opening.

What do you like best about being a CIO? I really like being able to innovate and utilise technology effectively in today’s ever changing landscape. The beauty of this job is I can come here every single day and I have no idea how my day is going to turn out. I can certainly plan – and I do – but you can never plan for the emergencies or urgencies that happen that day. That in itself is beautiful. As soon as you get bored, it’s time to throw in the towel and leave. I don’t think that will happen to me because I really love technology. I eat, live and breathe technology.

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Cloud Adoption Rates

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10

20

30

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Planning

Going to the

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Every student likely won’t need every cloud application or programme, which can also drive up costs.

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IT departments no longer need to devote time and energy to keeping the programmes updated and secure as the suite manufacturers do that.

Information provided by: http://www.onlinecolleges.net/

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Costs may not go down since they’re reoccurring and may be changed per user.

21%

average savings of

of higher education cloud users have successfully reduced the cost of applications moved to the cloud

78%

Widespread use may overload the school’s network and Internet connection, especially wireless networks.

Pitfalls of using cloud-based services

Faculty, staff fee

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Solutions world

INSIDE

On the move, on the money

solutions world Enterprise mobility

On the move, on the money Mobility has changed the whole landscape of the enterprise. People now want to be able to work from anywhere, at any time and on any device. Studies have shown that people are subsequently working more hours, but this mobility also creates challenges for the IT environment. Ben Rossi explores how organisations can address these challenges to fully reap the rewards of enterprise mobility.

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T

he consumerisation of IT and BYOD (bring your own device) phenomenon have had a massive impact on how enterprises are run.

On the one hand, it’s brilliant for both the employees and enterprise. Employees can use the devices and operating systems they prefer to use, whilst enterprises get more work out of them, with studies estimating people working up to 50% more hours, and even on vacations, because of the advent of mobility.

“Workforce mobility is one of the key ingredients when trying to create a professional, efficient and motivated workforce,” says Mikael Hansson, Head of IT, Ericsson ME. “We need salesmen who, when interacting with customers, have access to all necessary information to initiate deliveries to the customer and the revenue collection before returning to the office. For us at Ericsson, workforce mobility is one of five corner pillars in our IT strategy,” he adds.

Other research into flexible working practices has pointed to the fact that a flexible working strategy is a huge benefit to the business and vastly improving productivity by keeping people connected from wherever they are.

“Research also says that on average more than half of a company’s ability to generate revenue depends on the positive productivity of its employees, so the extra productivity of flexibly working employees has a significant impact on the bottom line,” says Daniel Schmierer, Area Sales VP, MEA and Turkey, Polycom.

Deepak Narain, Manager, Systems Engineering, VMware, refers to another study highlighting how younger generations of employees are more productive when able to work from home.

Katja Rudd, Research Director, Gartner

50% more hours being worked, and even on vacations, because of the advent of mobility

Mobility solutions need to be both quick and simple to use, since you are carrying around one of your company’s most important assets while being on the move. Speed of implementation is another challenge. If companies cannot bring in mobility solutions in a timely fashion, the creative workforce will identify their own ways and solutions. This might work very well for the individual, but might not be the best solution for your company from both a cost and security point of view.” www.cnmeonline.com

“Young employees work more efficiently when they have an outside stimulus involved, such as the sound of a crowd or while watching television.

Corporations need to embrace this idea anyway, because if they do not, these devices come in anyway and IT has lost all control,” Narain says.

Katja Rudd, Research Director, Gartner, adds: “With increased mobility, employees can place orders from on-the-road and receive work orders as they come in during the day. By routing field engineers more effectively, not only do they become more productive, fuel consumption is reduced and engineers can give more accurate information regarding arrival times to customer sites.”

However, with all these benefits comes a mass of challenges for the IT environment.

One is the risk to security and integrity of the corporate data, says Tareque Choudhury, Chief Security Officer, BT. “According to a recent BT survey, only one in 10 IT managers think that all BYOD users recognise the risks and less than one in five believe all users understand the access and permissions related to their mobile devices,” Choudhury says.

“It appears IT managers are nervous, and with some justification. Of employees who use their own device for work, one in three see no risk in using their own october 2012

Computer News Middle East

39

solutions world Enterprise mobility

Daniel Schmierer, Area Sales VP, MEA and Turkey, Polycom

device in a work context and just a quarter recognise the significant risks they pose to company security,” he adds.

90% of IT managers think BYOD users don’t understand the risks associated with accessing data on their device

Striking the balance According to Hansson, one of the biggest challenges is to strike the balance between information security and ease of use.

“Mobility solutions need to be both quick and simple to use, since you are carrying around one of your company’s most important assets while being on the move. Speed of implementation is another challenge. If companies cannot bring in mobility solutions in a timely fashion, the creative workforce will identify their own ways and solutions. This might work very well for the individual, but might not be the best solution for your company from both a cost and security point of view,” Hansson says.

Research indicates that malware targeting Android-based devices has increased by nearly 500% since last summer. As organisations seek to securely integrate mobile devices into their corporate enterprises, they will increasingly require defences that deliver comprehensive visibility into vulnerabilities on the network to protect against advanced threats that result from mobility and BYOD challenges.”

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Choudhury adds that as with mobility, which has today become much more widespread, the key to implementing successful BYOD policies is implementation of policies that clearly spell out the rights and responsibilities of employees.

“Over four in five companies say they already allow BYOD or will do within the next 24 months and 60 per cent of employees claim they are already allowed to connect personally-owned devices to the corporate network. By far the most important element in allowing BYOD is education of employees and constant monitoring,” he says.

However, James Lyne, Director of Technology Strategy, Sophos, believes it is all about making compliance as simple and automated as possible, and modernising policies to cover mobile devices.

“You need to identify how these devices will be used, what data is acceptable to be present on them and the level of security obtainable on a per platform basis. You won’t be able to achieve identical security on an Android, iPad, PC and Blackberry, for example. On a case-by-case basis organisations should assess their risk profile, their adoption strategy and then define technical and policy controls to help them overcome these challenges,” Lyne says.

There is little doubt that the mobile security market is less mature, though good capabilities that simplify deployment, and easy adoption such as via the cloud, are now coming to the fore.

However, it seems that one of the biggest challenges is the casual loss of control by IT. “Where typically certain functions were performed automatically, now they may not be and require the user to act. In an effort to please users, sometimes adoption projects can run on without addressing this detail,” Lyne says.

“Users may also make configuration changes post IT set-up, such as reducing the requirement for a pin or password on the device as it is an irritation.

Interestingly, I’ve observed in many cases that users do not think of security in the same way on a mobile as a PC and can make poor decisions which they would never implement on a PC,” he adds.

Reacting to risk Rudd says organisations must determine their tolerance to risk as part of their BYOD initaitives.

“Risks associated with BYOD initiatives are sensitive data loss, exposure to malicious software, device loss, showing a client out-of-date information, or any other business-risk-driven metric an organisation decides on,” he says.

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solutions world Enterprise mobility

With all these challenges that the IT environment faces in order to allow the enterprise to embrace mobility, the key question remains how to keep security intact.

“One such solution is for the IT team to set up a virtualisation of the desktops, which will allow the workers to finish their assignments away from the office, as well as giving the IT team control of what goes in and what comes out, creating a safer and more secure work experience,” Narain says.

Hani Nofal, INS Director, GBM, adds: “I believe that most IT organisations have to establish, at a macro level, what types of devices they will permit to access the network, perhaps excluding a category or brand due to unacceptable security readiness or other factors. Support must also be considered, such as adopting more IT-assisted and self-support models.”

According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index (2011), it is estimated that mobile devices and the traffic they create on networks will increase by 26 times between 2010 and 2015, driven by more powerful smartphones and tablets.

In 2012, Canalys estimated that smart device shipments will exceed 1.1 billion units with 23% growth, compared to only 461 million PC units, worldwide.

“The users of those mobile devices demand Internet access and access to applications wherever and whenever they want,” Nofal says.

“Very little of those mobile devices will have a LAN port to connect to a wired network, which means that this growth will drive an explosive build-out of Wi-Fi networks by employers, 3G and 4G networks by mobile providers, as well as public Wi-Fi by the likes of retailers and municipalities. It is not a surprise then to see that the wireless LAN network market grew globally in 2011 by 26% year on year compared to only 6.6% for the wired LAN networks,” he adds.

Hani Nofal, INS Director, GBM

80% of companies say they already allow BYOD or will do in the next 24 months

You need to identify how these devices will be used, what data is acceptable to be present on them and the level of security obtainable on a per platform basis. You won’t be able to achieve identical security on an Android, iPad, PC and Blackberry, for example. On a case-by-case basis organisations should assess their risk profile, their adoption strategy and then define technical and policy controls to help them overcome these challenges.”

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In terms of the Middle East, the mobility trends are very similar to those impacting the rest of the world.

“Research indicates that malware targeting Android-based devices has increased by nearly 500% since last summer. As organisations seek to securely integrate mobile devices into their corporate enterprises, they will increasingly require defences that deliver comprehensive visibility into vulnerabilities on the network to protect against advanced threats that result from mobility and BYOD challenges,” says Maher Jadallah, Regional Manager MEA, Sourcefire.

He adds that the BYOD culture has just begun and is growing rapidly as mobile devices connecting to corporate networks are increasingly owned by employees.

“While we can’t predict what the future will hold for smartphone malware, we expect that security professionals will continue to face new challenges resulting from the growth in mobility and the BYOD movement,” Jadallah says.

Schmierer believes technology companies will continue to lead the way as adopters of the BYOD model. “Also, companies that are predisposed to the innovative use of ICT in their business processes will be more likely to encourage BYOD,” he concludes.

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network world

INSIDE

Seasons of change

network world Server technology

Seasons of change A fundamental change in server architecture could be on tap as companies look to cut data centre costs and power consumption.

L

ow-power processors from companies like ARM could be in full use in data centres by 2013, and mixing them up with graphics chips could bring massive performance improvements and power savings, according to analysts. Experiments around implementing ARM processors in servers are already underway, and graphics chips are already being used in some of the world’s fastest supercomputers.

Power efficiency has been among the top determining factors in server purchases as customers keep costs in mind while deploying applications. This year, there was a spike in the build-out of cloud and high-performance servers around the hyperscale model, in which servers are densely packed to cut power consumption while scaling performance.

For further power savings, companies in the future could consider using servers with low-power ARM processors, which are used in most tablets and smartphones today.

“With the current size of the install base, shifts in architectures have always proven to be a gradual affair extended over many years. However, as the world is becoming more mobile and the amount of data is increasing, next-generation data centres need to become more dynamic and ready to support migration

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to the cloud. There is a need for servers to adapt which is driving higher growth in the blade, hyperscale, and converged server architectures,” says Basil Ayass, Enterprise Product Manager, Dell Middle East.

Anoop Sharda, CTO, Buzinessware, points out IT markets experience a fundamental shift in mission, architectures, roles and technology standards. “As the world shifts move towards the cloud environment, there is a growing demand towards the centralised, high power data centres, which can host big and powerful servers providing the services on the go.

Due to high power consumption and heat dissipation concerns gathering momentum across the data centre industry, there is a going to be a focus to look at the alternative solutions which consumes less power and are yet provide similar power and performance. The drive to look for the alternative solutions for sure is going to make us have fundamental shift in the server architecture and look beyond the traditional servers available in the market.”

Different vendors have different takes on the sea-change taking place in the server market and architectures. Andreas Weiss, Director of Systems Technology Group, GBM, says hybrid computing is the best form of server architecture. “With the announcement of zEnterprise EC12 we are seeing IBM’s

commitment to fit for purpose methodology personified.

The concept of ‘data centre in a box’ is becoming a reality, and we are seeing the journey towards it being able to cater to Intel, Unix and mainframe requirements in one single management framework.”

Cisco espouses the cause of fabric-based architecture. “As companies are coming under pressure to adapt to very rapidly changing business demands, so the underlying data centre architecture has to be able to dynamically shift. Fabric computing changes this. Within a fabric, servers become pools of resources and are able to take on a whole new persona. Thus applications can now be moved from a lower performing server to higher performing server without the need to rebuild everything from the server, network and storage,” says Mohannad Abuissa, Systems Engineering Manager, Cisco UAE. The growth of the cloud is partly driving server sales, with many companies building out public and private clouds. Many two-socket x86 servers were purchased for cloud implementations around the hyperscale model, which allows new servers to be easily plugged in to scale performance. Servers in the hyperscale model are also being used for applications such as analytics and business intelligence.

“The build out of the cloud is definitely contributing to server sales. The most popular option for building out public cloud infrastructure is the hyperscale x86 server models. Dell has established itself in this space by gaining experience in building clouds with some of the world’s largest cloud computing providers like Microsoft, Bing Maps and eBay,” says Ayass.

Sharda agrees that cloud is one of the main drivers for the sales in today’s IT market. “As all solutions and service providers move towards the model of Software as Service (SaaS) platform, hyperscale servers which can handle multiple virtual instances are deployed at the data centre to support the growing demand.

Hyperscale computing refers to the infrastructure and provisioning needed in distributed computing environments for effectively scaling from several servers to thousands of servers. As data centres deploy more and more cloud solutions, hyperscale servers are the demand of the day.”

Recipe for change Which technology transitions are impacting customer demand for x86, Unix and mainframe-class systems?

“There is a big move of following the change from consolidation, virtualisation, automation and cloud

Basil Ayass, Enterprise Product Manager, Dell Middle East

where the different types of server architectures are getting caught up on this. RISC based architectures are particularly under fire as x86 processors can deliver similar levels of processing power,” says Abuissa.

Ayass echoes a similar opinion and says without doubt x86 is today’s architecture of choice. “x86 is today’s architecture of choice. Dell is fully committed to x86, as we don’t offer any Unix or mainframe-class systems. These legacy architectures have proven costly over time and lack the flexibility and efficiency of the x86 architecture. Dell’s commitment to X86 has proven successful and recently validated by our yearover-year x86 server market growth which outpaced the worldwide market and the next two largest competitors, according to IDC’S Q2 2012 Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker.”

Weiss from GBM adds the workload type, SLA and techno-commercial value drives the choice of technology, and we are slowly seeing an intersection of technological capabilities. “X86 architecture is looking at providing mainframe qualities of service, whereas mainframes are trying to provide intel-like flexibility.

A new generation of integrated expert systems, such as IBM Pure Flex with server, storage, networking, physical and virtual management, are available and are ideal for virtualisation and cloud computing.”

Dense servers with ARM processors could be an alternative to x86-based technology in the coming years as IT managers factor in density and lower-power requirements. Analysts have said that a congregation www.cnmeonline.com

october 2012

14.3% is the growth in x86 server shipments in GCC during Q2

Computer News Middle East

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network world Server technology

Mohannad Abuissa, Systems Engineering Manager, Cisco UAE

of low-power ARM processors could provide more power-efficient processing of cloud transactions than traditional x86 server chips like Intel’s Xeon or AMD’ Opteron, which are more power hungry. The chips based on ARM processors would however lag x86 chips on data-intensive tasks such as database and ERP (enterprise resource planning).

Some companies this year introduced experimental servers with ARM processors. HP has announced

server designs with a chip from Calxeda, which includes a quad-core ARM processor and consumes as little as 1.5 watts of power.

“With the current trend it is very much possible that low power processors will be in full use in the data centre. But the journey is long with the tough competition from makes x-86 processors like Intel and AMD. Linux flavors can run on RISC based processors which are produced by ARM but Windows platform had been written mainly for x86 platform. Microsoft has launched ARM based operating system, but still all the applications for Windows need to be rewritten to support ARM processors. In my opinion, it is a very long journey for low power processors to enter in the main stream and provide a full scale solution for data centres,” says Sharda.

Analysts also agree that switching from x86 to ARM could be a challenge due to the hardware and software issues. Customers are already struggling with decisions on purchases with many server options available, including workload-optimised systems that bundle the server, storage, networking and software. Switching to ARM could be disruptive and have its benefits, but it may take time to implement.

At the moment, x86 rules the roost as the architecture of choice and switching over to a new architecture isn’t going to happen overnight. But, it sure is an idea whose time may come sooner than later.

mea x86 server market clocks moderate growth: IDC The x86 server market in the Middle East and Africa witnessed moderate year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2012, according to the latest research from IDC. The figures show the region’s market for x86 servers expanded 1.22% in volume and 1.15% in value during the quarter.

In contrast to the prevalent trend seen in the Middle East and Africa, x86 server shipments to the GCC countries experienced double-digit growth of 14.3% year on year. Oman recorded the highest growth among these countries, with a 180% increase in shipments year on year. Large 48

Computer News Middle East

deals were closed in the country’s oil and gas sector, thereby contributing to this extraordinary triple-digit growth. Other verticals such as education, banking, and telecomunications also contributed to the strong growth seen across the GCC region.

The North African market (including Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) experienced a significant slowdown in Q2 2012, with server shipments falling 14.6% year on year due to the ongoing political unrest and inflationary pressures in the region. In South Africa, IDC observed that demand for server units stemmed primarily october 2012

from the government and telecommunications verticals in Q2 2012. Despite this, the country recorded a 6.7% year-on-year decline in server shipments for the quarter.

“Telcos in South Africa are investing heavily in infrastructure to expand their data centres in readiness for cloud-service delivery as demand for such services starts to unfold in the country,” says Faysal Ayoubi, a systems and infrastructure solutions research analyst at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.

“However, instability in the EU has sparked uncertainty, and as

www.cnmeonline.com

South Africa is closely aligned with this region, it is feeling the ripple effects, leading to an enhanced level of cautiousness being seen in the corporate space, especially within the finance and manufacturing verticals.”

In vendor terms, HP topped the Middle East and Africa x86 server market in Q2 2012, dominating with 45.9% unit share.

The vendor’s rack-optimised form factor was the most significant contributor to this stellar performance. Dell ranked second with 19.5% share of the quarter’s x86 server shipments, followed by IBM with 14.8% share.

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Keeping an eye out with dell Managed services firm deploys multi-location surveillance platform for three of Saudi Arabia’s largest hotels within three days

A

t the world’s best hotels, service is everything. This is a view shared by Digital Solutions Provider (DSP), which offers ‘smart building operations’ to hotels and other large complexes in Saudi Arabia.

Its services include IP service provision, onsite operation and maintenance, plus datacentre and call centre operations. For every project on which it works, DSP creates a customised solution usingcutting-edge technology.

When DSP wanted to set up a new datacentre to manage services for three hotels in Saudi Arabia, one of its primary concerns was establishing and managing surveillance systems. Mohamed Raafat Atia, Technical Services Manager at Digital Solutions Provider, explains: “We needed to set up surveillance cameras and monitoring equipment at the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel hotels. This involved a large number of digital cameras, and the datacentre systems and storage to handle the huge volumes of data generated every day.”

With up to 3,000 digital IP cameras needed, hundreds of terabytes of data would be flowing through the storage systems. In light of this, an infrastructure with a large capacity, easy scalability and simple daytoday management was vital. Raafat Atia says: “We wanted to work with a technical solutions provider that had a trusted brand and could deliver high performance within an easy-touse system. We’d had disappointing experiences in the past with complex systems that caused issues for the team, and we didn’t want to make life difficult for ourselves again by building a complicated environment.”

Storage environment deployed within three days DSP spoke to Dell about its challenges. It recommended the Dell EqualLogic storage area network (SAN), providing a demonstration of its capabilities. Raafat Atia and the team at DSP were impressed with the easy setup of the SAN, especially when connected to Dell PowerEdge servers. Raafat Atia says: “Originally, we thought we’d need Dell’s help to set up the servers

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and storage, but after the demonstration we saw how simple EqualLogic is to use and were able to set up everything ourselves within three days.”

The success of this project for DSP is the service it provides for the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel hotels.

The team at DSP has been extremely impressed with the performance of the envirnoment which is set to improve as more units are added, due to EqualLogic’s virtualized storage architecture.

This datacentre will serve as a hub for future deployments, so a scalable environment is essential.

Raafat Atia says: “The hotels we work with maintain the highest standards for their guests, and they expect the same from us. The great thing about EqualLogic is that performance increases as more units are added to the SAN.” Additional units deployed in less than one day For the datacentre based at the Fairmont Hotel in Makkah, DSP chose Dell EqualLogic PS6500E SANs with up to 96 terabytes of storage in each unit. These are connected to Dell PowerEdge R710 servers with Intel Xeon processors 5520 and Dell PowerEdge M610 blade servers with Intel Xeon processors 5600 series.

By selecting Dell PowerEdge R710 servers, DSP gained the capacity to reliably deliver the most processor intensive applications. In addition, by implementing Dell PowerEdge M610 blade servers, the company reduced the server footprint while maximising performance.

Raafat Atia adds: “We particularly like the graphical user interface for managing the blades in our Dell PowerEdge M1000e modular blade enclosure. It simplifies deployment and administration.”

As part of the engagement, Dell also delivered Panasonic IP cameras for surveillance and PowerConnect 6248 switches. DSP uses Netavis

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Observer software for system monitoring. Raafat Atia says: “We’re really happy with this environment. We’ve just ordered another six EqualLogic PS6500E SANs to support future growth and are looking at deploying an additional 1,000 IP cameras in the near future. I’m sure we can set them up within a day.”

The environment now serves three of the largest and most prestigious hotels in Saudi Arabia. Yet from the datacentre in Makkah, it takes just three IT staff working in shifts to monitor the environment using the Dell Management Console. Raafat Atia says: “We like the fact that the Dell Management Console makes it simple to support multiple servers. It can be used to configure BIOS settings or server actions, and provides online diagnostics to help isolate issues or shut down and restart the server.”

Ease of use was a key driver in selecting the Dell solution. Raafat Atia says: “It makes business sense to keep the IT monitoring team to a minimum. This is a stable system and we’ve had no issues with it so far.”

The environment is protected by Dell ProSupport, Next Business Day Onsite Service. The service gives Raafat Atia peace of mind that DSP can maintain maximum uptime for the environment.

Due to its good experience on this project, DSP is now considering other projects with Dell, as Raafat Atia explains: “It’s an exciting time for DSP – we’re talking to Dell about building a cloud environment that will become a new line of business for us. We know that Dell has the expertise and the technology to make this work for us.”

To talk to Dell about how they can help your business email: em_emerging_channelsupportme@dell.com.

Find out more about DSP by visiting www.dsp.com.sa.

“We thought we’d need Dell’s help, but after the demonstration we saw how simple EqualLogic is to use and we set up our storage environment within days.”

Mohamed Raafat Atia Technical Services Manager Digital Solutions Provider

Do more with Dell networking and storage Solutions See how Dell helped Saudi services and consulting company, DSP, build a highly-scalable, reduced server-footprint environment. Enabling support surveillance solutions for three of Saudi Arabia’s largest hotels using Dell PowerEdge servers and EqualLogic storage.

Read the full case study at YourDellSolution.com/me/servers

©2012 Dell Products. Dell, the Dell logo, EqualLogic and PowerEdge are registered or unregistered trade marks of Dell Inc. in the United States and other countries. Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks or trade names may be used in this document to refer to third-party products (such as operating systems and software) included with the products offered by Dell and the entities claiming the marks and names of those products. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. Dell Corporation Ltd, Dell House, The Boulevard, Cain Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1LF.

Strategic IT Storage Partner

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INSIDE

Taking the virtual step

storage advisor Virtualisation

Taking the virtual step Virtualised storage was a game changing technology for IT. The introduction of virtualisation has delivered many benefits for IT departments around the world, though some people still don’t know exactly what they’re dealing with. Joe Lipscombe talks with industry experts in order to bring you the lowdown on the project on everyone’s lips.

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T has arguably been redefined as a service, and this requires a more flexible, virtualised infrastructure where virtual storage can complement virtual servers in order to unfetter information from its physical systems. However, making the leap into a virtual world can be a complex and daunting process. Enterprises need to be presented with a transparent, fundamental rundown of the features and benefits which make virtualising your servers a ‘must-do’ businesses venture.

“It is well established that virtual servers bring agility, efficiency and numerous other benefits,” says Ehab Abass, Senior Technology Consultant, EMC. Basil Ayass, Enterprise Product Manager, Dell ME, adds a different perspective: “Storage convergence and virtualisation are key enablers for today’s enterprise technology evolution. A highlyvirtualised approach to storage can complement server virtualisation by providing ready access to critical data, while avoiding unnecessary hardware purchases and the associated power, cooling, and management expenses that go along with them.”

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Marcin Bulynko, Team Leader, IBM Platform Services

Andrew Childs, Principal Consultant, Huawei ME, says that if an organisation already has heterogeneous storage array equipment in their data centre, virtualisation can help consolidate all of the arrays under a centralised management facility which will achieve optimised performance, control, and allow for more accurate reporting.

The experts all share a very positive view on virtualising storage but there’s no such thing as a free lunch. What are the main issues that businesses may face when virtualising their servers?

“It’s all about the data access and data migration method. Storage virtualisation moves device-specific functions into the virtualisation layer. This means that all the current processes like data replication, backups, cloning, automation and monitoring must be redeployed under virtualised storage again,” says Marcin Bulynko, Team Leader, IBM Platform Services.

Taking a step into the unknown is always a major concern for any enterprise, as Ayass explains: “The biggest challenge enterprises are facing when virtualising their storage is change. Change in the www.cnmeonline.com

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storage advisor Virtualisation

Mohan Sundaram, Manager, Enterprise Servers and Storage, Emitac

requests their users place on them, change in the multitude of messages they receive from storage vendors and change in the actual technology offering.”

When making drastic adjustments to your IT systems, care must be taken not to fall into a situation where you become counterproductive.

Mohan Sundaram, Manager, Enterprise Servers and Storage, Enterprise Infrastructure, Emitac, says: “The next challenge is the scalability of the storage in terms of capacity and performance bandwidth.

As we improve the utilisation of the virtualised storage through capacity optimisation more hosts are bound to be attached to it which puts a demand on its bandwidth and ability to cope with higher IOPS requests. A poorly designed virtualised storage may therefore become a problem to solve instead of solving existing problems.”

Money talks One key element to consider when making any change is outgoings. Enterprises need to weigh up

It is well established that virtual servers bring agility, efficiency and numerous other benefits.”

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the costs of a project; the cost of purchasing it, the cost of implementing it and the cost of supporting it in the long run. Also, it is important to see where savings, if any, are being made. Experts claim that virtualised storage is a major expenditure saver, but not immediately.

“In the short term, procurement costs are associated with a storage virtualisation project.

However, the benefits far outweigh the costs in the long term,” says Ayass.

Boby Joseph, CEO, StorIT, warns that organisations might end up buying multiple brands of storage, which could become expensive. “Trying to virtualise your whole data centre into different storage brands in order to suit all your applications would be timely and costly. Application vendors are key people in the way that they have to certify the storage vendor, so that you have a guarantee that your applications are going to run in their data centre.

Getting this wrong could sting you - compatibility is the most important thing in that sense,” he adds.

Sundaram breaks down the reductions to CAPEX and OPEX following virtualisation of storage.

“Virtualisation results in reduced CAPEX, as the available resources are better utilised – this avoids additional procurements - and better performance for the right applications is achieved, thereby maximising the performance and dollar,” he says.

He adds that the OPEX is reduced by decreasing the personnel required to manage per terabyte of data. In other words, more terabytes could be managed by less people as virtualisation enables single pane of glass management. It is also well established that 70% of IT budget is consumed in just managing the existing infrastructure. In such a scenario the reduction in CAPEX and OPEX through virtualisation could empower CIOs to better innovate with the existing budgets.

Shopping for vendors The virtualisation can be implemented at different layers; host, storage array or fabric layer – it all depends on the size and type of the infrastructure.

Storage is virtualised on the data path between the hosts and storage area network (SAN) attached storage devices - usually an appliance connected to the fabric managing the heterogeneous storage devices.

When businesses are selecting the technology, Bulynko says that the following factors should be considered: “Compatibility with existing infrastructure, especially storage and host bus adapter (HBA) connectivity, applications that meet the required IOPS, bandwidth and latency, and

storage advisor Virtualisation

critically, a provider or systems integrator that can demonstrate the right skills to consult, migrate, implement and support the virtualised storage solution to meet the enterprise’s requirements.”

Childs adds: “An enterprise should select the right virtualisation vendor based on the maximum compatibility with the existing storage arrays, and work with them to create a comprehensive design strategy for current and future growth. Moreover, the end user should have a clear understanding on what value-add features are required and what is supported by the virtualisation vendor.”

Adopting the idea The adoption rates of virtualised storage differ among regions. The Middle East isn’t fully onboard with the transformation as of yet, but the experts are claiming that it’s only a matter of time before businesses fully commit to this technology. However, concerns still hover.

“The Middle East is still enjoying economic growth above world-wide average and the data growth in the region is on the rise, so information security is always a concern. Therefore, companies need to look for the storage solutions that are well integrated with security solutions and can scale on the long run according to their growing needs,” says Abass.

“It’s important that they make the decision to buy storage solutions based on how it enables them to provide the business with efficiency, agility and information protection,” he adds.

Joseph states that due to customer pressure, service providers have been forced to lead the way locally in virtualising storage. “Virtualising an entire data centre environment isn’t really adopting as fast as you may expect, because that raises the most challenges. However, service providers are being put under pressure from their customers to virtualise storage space and this has indirectly made them path the way forward in terms of virtualisation in this region,” he says.

Sundaram says that, historically, the region has shown enthusiasm in adopting new technologies once the same has gained enough traction elsewhere. “This puts the region in an interesting position where they are not early adopters of technology, but at the same time they do not get left behind either,” he adds.

With this information in mind, the next 12 to 18 months could see a vast expansion of adoption in virtualised storage in the Middle East. The rapid increase in data growth and mobility usage demands more storage servers in affordable and accessible packages.

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70% of IT budget is consumed in just managing the existing infrastructure

www.cnmeonline.com

“There will be a dramatic increase in the takeup over the next couple of years as Middle East customers begin to execute their plans to move to cloud based data centres and usage-based charging for IT services,” Childs predicts.

Ayass adds to this, urging Middle East enterprises to focus on the trend: “More enterprises in the Middle East need to take time to classify and store data in order to get the most out of them through their complete lifecycle.”

Data growth and customer demand for safe, affordable storage of data is the stand out reason that enterprises will be making the step towards virtualised storage in the near future. Eventually, it could simply be accepted as the default storage solution, according to Bulynko.

“I think virtualisation will extend into smaller environments from the current high-end infrastructure environments that we see today.

Especially with technologies like iSCSI and FCoE becoming more affordable, we will see more re-usage of the older storage technologies as Tier 2 or Tier 3 storage, under the virtualisation layer. Storage virtualisation will become as standard as what we are seeing with server virtualisation,” he concludes.

APTEC - SAUDI ARABIA Call Aptec at Tel: 00966 1 4601950 Ext. 1304/1404/1406/1407 Fax : 00966 1 4601933 Email : dell.sales@aptecsa.com Visit: www.aptecsa.com

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INSIDE

Cybercrime and punishment

security advisor Cybercrime

Cybercrime and punishment Several high-profile security breaches around the world grabbed the attention of the Middle East IT industry, but it has taken the first major attack on a regional organisation – the devastating ‘Shamoon’ malware attacks on Saudi Arabian Aramco – to really bring it home that cybercrime is something CIOs should be taking very seriously.

Ben Rossi delves into the issue that is engulfing the Middle East.

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acking has changed. Hackers have changed, to be exact. It’s no longer teenage boys sat in their bedroom drinking cola, munching on chips and gaining recognition from their peers for bringing down a Website.

It’s now something far more serious. It’s organised crime, it’s an industry in its own right and it can have destructive consequences on the victims. Those that do it have even been given their own name – cybercriminals.

Take Saudi Arabian Aramco as a key example.

The ‘Shamoon’ malware set about wiping parts of the master boot record (MBR) on the hard drive of any Windows system it could reach – a technique designed to cause chaos on target networks. It succeeded, reportedly destroying 30,000 systems.

“Those endpoints have to be rebuilt and I don’t know how to measure that in terms of loss of revenue, but I would think that it’s millions or even tens of millions dollars worth of revenue,” says Nick Black, Senior Technical Manager, Trend Micro.

Asides from the direct financial loss of an attack, there are several more indirect consequences of suffering a breach. “There is a loss of face, loss of trust 62

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of their customers and the impact of losing customers to competitors – all of which are not measurable but have a massive impact,” Black says.

A step ahead One would be forgiven for wondering why, with all the awareness and security solutions around, we continue to see these high-profile breaches. Are the hackers keeping a step ahead of the solutions being made available?

“Hackers will always be a step ahead,” says Alaa Abdulnabi, Regional Pre-Sales Manager, Turkey, Emerging Africa and Middle East, RSA. “No one can predict the next attack on a certain organisation or the vector that will be used. We have to realise that we are living in a state of compromise and we must learn how to survive it.”

It’s important to recognise that security is a process and not a set of technologies, no matter how good they are, according to David Emm, Senior Regional Researcher, Kaspersky Lab. “There always remains the human factor in security. The starting point for many attacks is to trick someone into doing something that compromises their or their employer’s security. So yes, technology that is

able to block attacks is needed, but people also need to understand the threat and what they can do to reduce the risk,” Emm says.

The cyber espionage threat poses serious long-term consequences not only to a company’s profitability and competitiveness, but also a country’s national security, according to Roger Cressey, Senior VP, Booz Allen Hamilton.

“The implications of being subjected to a security breach by cybercrime are vast. It has happened in the U.S. and now it is occurring in this region,” Cressey says.

Abdulnabi adds: “The nature and intention of the attacker plays a big role. A nation-state hacker in almost all cases will not be after financial gain. Attacks could cause reputational damage, service disruption, sensitive information loss, government and defence secrets leakage, and God forbid human life loss.”

Organisations must remember that it is indeed a real crime and the law is there to protect them, but only if they are prepared.

In 2006 the UAE government brought in the Information Technology Crime Control Law, also known as the Cybercrime Law, with the purpose of criminalising unlawful activities that people perpetrate using computers.

However, due to the high difficulty of tracing attacks that come from a computer, in 2007 the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) set up the Arab Emirates Computer Emergency Response Team (AECERT), whose role is to support the identification and prosecution of cybercriminals.

Nick Black, Senior Technical Manager, Trend Micro

The nature and intention of the attacker plays a big role. A nation-state hacker in almost all cases will not be after financial gain.

Attacks could cause reputational damage, service disruption, sensitive information loss, government and defence secrets leakage, and God forbid human life loss.”

Preparing for war For organisations to take advantage of these laws, they must put into place security management programmes that comply with ISO 27001. If they are attacked, they then have the information that is required by AECERT to pursue the cybercriminals.

If they don’t have those programmes in place, the laws are practically useless to them and the criminals will likely go untraced and unpunished, according to Paul Allen, Head of the IPT Group at global law firm DLA Piper.

“Cybercrime is highly important in the region and globally. The important thing is for organisations to put in place a programme that complies with best practice and to implement it so that if they are attacked the authorities can help them to investigate,” Allen says.

Cybercrime is no longer an issue that organisations can ignore or dismiss as something that won’t happen to them. It is clear that every organisation, no matter how large or small, is a potential target, and the rise of mobility in the enterprise only poses more challenges.

“There is no doubt in my mind that it will get worse,” Black says. “I think we will see exponential growth in cyber attacks. Android for me is a massive risk. Anyone can dump applications in Google Play Store, so we’re going to see exponential growth in vulnerabilities of end points and entry points simply through the ineffectiveness of Android as a secure operating system. That’s a massive issue.”

Abdulnabi agrees that cybercrime is not going away and the issue will only exacerbate.

“In the Middle East specifically, the volume of attacks will increase and nation-state sponsored attacks are likely to occur more often, reflecting the political tension in the region. It is important that we accept that we are living in a state of compromise. This will require adopting a new security model that is agile, risk-based, contextual and intelligent,” he says.

Cressey adds: “Cyber security is now a fundamental requirement of every organisation that develops or delivers value.” www.cnmeonline.com

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security advisor Cybercrime

Getting worse With the problem of hacking and its consequences on enterprise only exacerbating, CNME rounds up the views and tips from some of the region’s leading cybercrime experts on how organisations in the Middle East should be tackling the issue.

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here is very little doubt in both the business and IT arenas that cybercrime is not something to be taken lightly.

On the contrary, industry experts resoundingly agree that protection from it should be a top IT priority.

“Obviously no country is immune to the risk of a cyber attacks, but the Middle East’s natural resources and influence its countries have on geopolitical stability make organisations in the region prime targets. Being aware and being able to actually defend against such threats are two different things.

Organisations around the world face the same obstacles when it comes to cyber security,” says Jason Mical, Director of Network Forensic, AccessData.

Companies should not consider themselves immune to cybercrime but be vigilant and arm themselves against the wave of attacks hitting the region, according to Florian Malecki, Senior Product Marketing Manager EMEA, Dell SonicWall.

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region should be a reminder that the latest in network security is essential. There is the belief that cyber attacks are a Western problem and this attitude needs to be revaluated. Whether a Fortune 500 company, SMB or a government organisation, everyone is on the list of cyber thugs,” Malecki says.

Nicolai Solling, Director of Technology Services, help AG, believes the world’s dependence on the Middle East’s oil and gas industry makes the region even more vulnerable.

“If you take out the ability to produce oil and related products, serious disruption can be done to the world economy. Furthermore the technical framework around energy production has been shown to be slightly less secure, making the control networks vulnerable,” Solling says.

“A second very important topic is that the Middle East has had significant political changes over the last decades and especially the last couple of years, where cybercrime and the IT platforms have become a part of the battlefield. With that in mind it means that the

security advisor Cybercrime

cybercrime picture here in the Middle East is very serious and we need to take the appropriate measures to handle this,” he adds.

Julian Lovelock, VP Product Marketing, HID Global, believes the increasingly rapid emergence of more sophisticated malware makes it critical for institutions to urgently ramp up their security efforts.

“This will make it more difficult and costly for cybercriminals to scale their attacks, both for their own benefit, as well as that of their customers,” Lovelock says.

Increase in attacks Over the past five years, there has been a significant increase in targeted attacks in enterprises in the Middle East causing data loss worth millions of dollars.

Today, malware is a multibillion dollar industry where hacktivists are well-funded and indulge in focussed attacks driven by geopolitical or financial motives, says Haritha Ramachandran, Programme Manager, ICT Practice, MENA, Frost & Sullivan.

“These attacks are more sophisticated and therefore the challenge to manage the network is further complicated. It is extremely important for enterprises to understand and realise the criticality of these advanced and persistent threats and take every necessary step for prevention before the threat can do irredeemable damage,” he adds.

It has taken some devastating examples to occur for Middle East organisations to fully recognise the seriousness of cybercrime. Now the most pressing point is how to stay protected.

Mical says organisations need to implement technology that allows them to take a more proactive approach to cyber security.

“Unfortunately, I think most organisations are still investing heavily in preventative solutions and alerting solutions, taking a reactionary stance. These technologies are inherently handicapped in that they can only detect exploits that have been defined,” he says.

“The focus needs to shift towards integrated analysis capabilities and solutions that provide

The Middle East’s natural resources and influence its countries have on geo-political stability make organisations in the region prime targets. Being aware and being able to actually defend against such threats are two different things. Organisations around the world face the same obstacles when it comes to cyber security.”

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Jason Mical, Director of Network Forensic, AccessData

visibility across their enterprises into both data traversing the network and living on individual computers across the enterprise. This will allow them to detect the known, respond faster and remediate more efficiently,” he adds.

Ramachandran agrees with the proactive approach and says it can be accomplished through a combination of people, process and technology.

“Every company must clearly define and disseminate their security policies, automate policy enforcement and incorporate detailed auditing and reporting systems across the length and breadth of the organisation. Enterprises should also have a clear idea of the level of security assurance of the technology they are going to deploy or invest in. For example, in order to ensure maximum security, organisations should deploy technology with highest level of security rating that will protect the critical information against the most sophisticated and determined attacks,” he says.

Sameel Kazi, Project Manager, StorIT, believes protection can be only done if organisations are aware of the nature of a possible threat, so the best thing to do is to have systems upgraded, ready to deal with the possibility of a threat and to lower the trust level at all possible critical levels.

But despite the fact that network attacks are evolving, Joe Wang, CEO, WatchGuard, says standard security best practices are still affective when applied diligently.

security advisor Cybercrime

“Defence-in-depth, which is the idea of layering multiple security controls on top of each other, is still a very effective strategy to preventing many attacks. While new attacks may be able to sneak past one of your defence, another control may catch it down the line,” Wang says.

“Organisations also need to invest in solutions with good visibility and manageability features. Attacks may sometimes find a ‘backdoor’ into your network, so you need real-time visibility tools that can inform you when there is an anomaly or strange events. Finally, the best security in the system is worthless if it’s too difficult for you to setup. Select security controls with good manageability features to ensure you can figure out how to configure the control properly,” he adds.

Protecting yourselves In terms of solutions, enterprises should look at what layers of security have been implemented and where they are weak, according to Ray Wizbowski, VP Strategic Marketing for online authentication and enterprise security, Gemalto.

“In order to gain good perspective into the system weaknesses, companies could employ an ethical hacker to try and find a way into the system.

This will reveal where technology, policy, and/or process improvements need to be addressed. Strong user identity is also critical and will provide a solid foundation to build access controls to systems and applications,” Wizbowski says.

Ray Wizbowski, VP Strategic Marketing, Gemalto

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Solling adds that the solutions are entirely dependent on the requirements and risk of the organisation’s business unit.

“Obviously there are specific areas which gives a lot of security value to organisations, including Internet content control and inspection, e-mail security, antivirus and other client related aspects. However, the correct policies and procedures, and understanding the risks, will allow the organisation to make sure the investments cyber security get the most affect,” he says.

Lovelock agrees that while there is no magic bullet, having a true, multi-layer strong authentication will help ensure the highest level of security possible.

“Multiple authentication factors work best when placed at each critical access layer, such as Windows login, VPN, internals servers, and in front of cloud applications. In this way, even if one user is untrustworthy or one machine compromised, hackers are still inhibited,” he says.

As well as implementing the right solutions, it is also important for organisations and their employees to always carry out general best practices.

“IT needs be vigilant and take preemptive steps against attacks. Gartner states that attacks such as Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack mitigation should be a standard part of business continuity and disaster recovery planning, and should be included in all Internet service procurements when the business depends on the availability of Internet connectivity.

To do so effectively, a business must be forewarned, prepared and resilient against attack,” Malecki says.

One of the most critical practices once the security architectures are in place is the education of end users, according to Wizbowski.

“Security policies are only as good as the users who follow them. With solid policies in place and users fully educated, then the only thing left is to ensure the network is segmented and data is classified and stored using a high level of encryption. By segmenting the network, then based upon a strong identity foundation previously discussed, access can be controlled based upon the users access privileges,” he says.

Kazi concludes: “Preaching security is the biggest hankering and should be avoided. Security is stealth and has to be treated that way. However, what organisations should do is to dedicate enough resources and authority, which should be accountable for the complete upkeep of cyber security.”

Only time to tell what the future holds for cybercrime and security, but most indications point to the unfortunate inevitability that it will probably get worse before it gets better. It is the responsibility of the organisations to be prepared for that.

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A victim of cyber threats that can impact your business. Secure your business with Help AG. Help AG is an information security services and solutions provider. Known for its unmatched technical expertise and support services, Help AG understands the correlation between technical and strategic information security and brings you the best solutions available on this planet.

A victim of cyber threats that can impact your business. Secure your business with Help AG. Help AG is an information security services and solutions provider. Known for its unmatched technical expertise and support services, Help AG understands the correlation between technical and strategic information security and brings you the Strategic Consulting Technical Services Support Services best solutions available on this planet.

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Telecoms World

INSIDE

Racing to the top

telecoms World CEM

Racing to the top Faced with fierce competition and churn, telecom service providers in the region are forced to overhaul customer experience to stay ahead in the game.

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mproving customer experience remains the holy grail for most telecom service providers.

Seen as the key to attracting and retaining new customers, reducing churn and increasing profit, how to do it well is an ongoing subject of research, analysis, investment and intense scrutiny.

There’s no doubt that customer relationship management (CRM) has played a critical part in defining the customer relationship landscape in recent years.

Yet, finding a way to measure and quantify the customer experience, including forecasting dollar spend, mapping unique spending patterns and accessing a transparent ROI for individual customers, has remained elusive.

Many CIO’s are now faced with the dilemma of existing legacy CRM systems which track these segments as independent data -- but can’t connect them into the 72

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useful customer intelligence their sales and marketing colleagues are demanding.

Data such as caller details, preferred bill paying cycles, demographics and market interests is currently locked up in individual silos. The difficulty lies in penetrating the barriers of the silos, so that the data merges into one useful stream.

Fortunately, accessing the silos is getting easier.

New technology in the form of customer experience management solutions are becoming available that can work alongside CRM systems, transforming individual silos of information into a holistic, predictable and ultimately profitable analysis of customer intelligence.

What is the driving the need for customer experience management among telcos? “In markets with increasing competitive pressures, operators are challenged to differentiate themselves in the market place, especially if differentiation through lowering price has reached non-sustainable levels. “Enhanced service quality” is often pointed to as a key differentiator, and therefore elevates the topic of Customer Experience Management to a strategic priority,” says Andreas Krenn, Market Development Director, EP Mobile Broadband, Ericsson.

Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, Du, says customer experience has always been a strategic priority not only for telecom companies but every type of organisation, industry, or sector. “The ultimate goal is to have a customer-centric DNA; it is all about putting customers first in everything the organisation does and deliver and making sure all the activities are around the basic objective of delivering superior customer experience and value. Customer experience is a journey, a true cultural change that requires leadership involvement, commitment and a focused long term efforts, it is a mindset, skill set, knowledge, processes, and empowerment, it is a change in the organisation from product-centric, technology-centric, process-centric to customer-centric and employee engagement and empowerment.”

Fady Younes, Client Director, Cisco UAE, agrees that customer experience management is absolutely a priority for most telcos nowadays. “In fact, many service providers have set customer experience or customer excellence as a top company priority and

have implemented organisation changes creating focused teams on customer experience. Having the adequate tools in place to support their initiatives and measure results is extremely important,” he adds.

Ravi Mali, Regional Director of Tellabs, says CEM has evolved over time. The first and most basic form of CEM was having a reliable connection and managing that connection. The next CEM driver was capacity management. With the advent of the Internet, CEM evolved into knowing and managing what traffic was passing through the operator’s network. “Now with the proliferation of smartphones, CEM has evolved into managing subscriber behaviour in mobile environments.

CEM now has to deal with all types of IP networks and needs to measure on an on-going basis how subscribers are using their phones - whether that’s ‘best effort’ for certain applications or ‘always on’ for application dedicated devices,” he says.

Increasing revenues and profits while anchoring customer loyalty via a proven and quantified improved customer experience is a win-win proposition for telcos, especially in the markets in the Middle East which are teetering on the edge of saturation.

“Most people own at least one, if not two, mobile phone. It is ever more crucial to have in-depth and instant knowledge of what people say about the operator, what the users want and complain about, and how customers rate the products and services of the company and its competitors. Telecom operators work with crowds of customers whose positive or negative experience while using the operator’s services can rise or ruin company’s reputation and the whole business in the market,” says Alexander Zarovsky, Head of Business Development, InfoWatch.

Many industry experts agree customer experience and satisfaction also hinges on the network quality. Mali from Tellabs says good CEM is required as a fundamental business capability in an operator’s network and improve the quality of experience for users. Operators need to know how their network is performing to keep customers happy. The question now becomes “How can this be done better?” What is measured and how it is measured are the items that drive differentiation, he adds.

Krenn says thought network quality is becoming increasingly important, it is only one component accompanied by many more. “Embracing this fact and centering the focus on the consumer requires change in an operator’s organisation, processes, culture and more which, if implemented in a serious manner, also requires additional investment. Without the necessary investment, the topic of CEM remains a just buzzword on the operators’ agendas and has no actual impact on customer experience.”

68% of respondents said that improving customer experience was a high priority Ravi Mali, Regional Director of Tellabs

The industry research firm Ovum says the market for CEM solutions is gaining momentum and investments in this area are likely to pick up in the next 12-18 months.

According to Ovum survey Telco Business and Investment Trends for IT, improving customer experience was a high priority for 68% of respondents.

It goes on to add that vendors can increasingly cash in on telcos’ growing need to automate business processes to enhance the customer experience, improve retention, and boost the bottom line. Such initiatives require investments in subscriber data management, advanced analytics, decision automation, identity management, social media platforms, and knowledge management, which will create further vendor opportunities.

CEM is slowly emerging a must-have rather than a nice-to-have in a very highly competitive telecom market. “In order to remain competitive in an increasingly commoditised market where operators are struggling to cope with the OTT players threat, exponential data traffic growth and increasing service complexity, they must focus and invest in Customer Experience Management (CEM) as a platform for driving differentiation and customer retention. Not having the proper setup in place will impact the service provider image, will result in a negative customer experience and will therefore lead to churn,” warns Younes.

The writing on the wall is clear. CEM draws a line between the subscriber’s experience and the operator’s business, and it can make it easier for a carrier to take action that will improve its bottom line or the product it offers. Ignore it at your own peril. www.cnmeonline.com

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telecoms World Opinion

The quest for a

sustainable ICT industry Rising energy prices and an increasingly polluted environment have led to a high general awareness of sustainable development, making it a corporate responsibility to address sustainability in any industry, writes Joe Y Battikh, Government & Industry Relations Manager- GCC, Ericsson.

T

elecom sustainability is a multidimensional challenge that telecom operators can work on in a systematic and forward-looking manner as studies have shown that more than half of global consumers prefer to purchase from a company with a good environmental reputation and almost 80 percent of global workers believe that working for an environmentally ethical organisation is important.

The ICT sector is relatively energy-lean, responsible for about two percent (2%) of global energy use and subsequent carbon emissions (with telecom representing just 0.6 percent). However, telecom networks

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are still energy-driven and energy costs represent a significant operating expense that is increasingly important as energy prices rise and energy efficiency continues to be in focus. The challenge for operators is to pursue growth in telecom networks, while ensuring the 2 percent of global emissions does not significantly increase over the coming years.

In order to ensure its own sustainability and energy efficiency as well as enable technology for other sectors, the ICT industry has an important role to play. Climate change can significantly alter the way business is done and should be treated as a strategic issue that can be a threat or an opportunity. By including it in corporate strategy,

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operators can recognise, respond to, or create new business opportunities that will stimulate innovation and enable the transition to a high-value, highefficiency, and low-carbon economy. Sustainability should not remain an unexplored area and now more than ever, it is time for organisations to embrace it.

The ICT sector can make significant contributions to reduce the 98% of carbon emissions from other sectors such as energy supply production and distribution, transport and dematerialisation in general. An industry study, SMART 2020, estimates that ICT has the potential to reduce overall CO2 emissions by around 15 percent by 2020.

Several key opportunities have been identified in order to achieve emissions savings. For instance, e-health, logistics, smart buildings and smart grids are areas where technology can impact the role telecom operators play in making a significant difference.

Physical products could be replaced with services and help use resources more efficiently. In economic terms, ICT-enabled energy efficiency translates into savings of approximately EUR 600 billion.

Within the realm of ICT, broadband provides the most effective foundation for a resource-efficient infrastructure that can deliver many different services in a low-carbon approach. New technologies and applications are driving growth in both mobile and fixed broadband data networks; these networks are expanding to serve more subscribers. Broadband services like teleworking and online shopping can significantly contribute to carbon reduction. In fact, millions of metric tons of carbon emission can be reduced using simple and convenient online activities. A recent study entitled “Measuring the Energy Reduction Impact of Selected Broadband-Enabled Activities Within Households�, led by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), shows that replacing more energy-intensive conventional activities by the use of broadband Internet access could achieve net energy savings equivalent to two percent of a country total energy consumption.

Eight household-level activities that are enabled or enhanced by the use of broadband Internet access, in six countries, were studied. These activities are telecommuting, using the Internet as a primary news source, online banking, e-commerce, downloading and/ or streaming media (music and video), e-education, digital photography and e-mail. The results show that countries like France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K. and the U.S. could generate annual net energy savings equivalent to two percent of the total country energy consumption when reasonably adopting all eight broadband enabled house hold activities.

Joe Y Battikh, Government & Industry Relations Manager- GCC, Ericsson

It is evident that broadband can be used to help societies reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, and promote resource efficiency. Working with a range of partners, Ericsson, is developing intelligent ICTenabled infrastructure for utilities, transportation, government services and more. The aim is to optimise services or activities for greater energy efficiency, and to seek out opportunities for transformative solutions that fundamentally change the way we live and work. Ericsson is developing products, solutions and services as well as engaging in thought leadership to create the right framework for action. It participates in local, regional and international fora, such as the global climate negotiations, the work of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, and policy work on behalf of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI).

ICT technology through the use of broadband will provide a common communications infrastructure that unites diverse sectors in contributing to low-carbon goals and improved quality of life. Broadband can optimise delivery of essential services and redefine urban landscapes, from more intelligent electricity grids to more efficient transportation. Cross sector collaborations between telecom operators, a range of industry sectors, governments and international organisations will help accelerate ICT’s role in reducing global carbon emissions and putting the world on a more sustainable path. www.cnmeonline.com

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integration advisor

INSIDE

Systems Integrator’s Hall of Fame | Ones to watch

integration advisor SI Hall of Fame

In the biggest month on the Middle East’s technology calendar – the month of GITEX – CNME celebrates the region’s top systems integrators and managed service providers by inducting them into its inaugural Hall of Fame. It also looks ahead to see which are rising through the ranks as the ones to watch in the coming years.

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The inductees Al Rostamani Communications (ARC)

ITQAN

ARC is a member of Al Rostamani Group, one of the largest and most respected business conglomerates in the UAE. After a decade of steady growth, it is now one of the GCC’s leading IT and telecommunication solutions providers and SIs, renowned for its focus on providing end-to-end solutions that give customers the comfort of depending on one organisation for all their technological needs.

“Consistent pursuance for excellence always pays dividends,” said Mohammed Zameer, GM, ARC, upon learning of the company’s place in CNME’s Hall of Fame. “A leading systems integrator should be product agnostic, consultative and provide complete end-to-end solutions for both local and wide area networks.

“ARC is one of the very few systems integrators that have equal presence in both the enterprise and telecom market segments.

We specialise in aligning the business strategy of our customers with the right fit technology and adopting a consultancy approach to understand our client’s existing infrastructures and analyse their business needs before providing the customised solution.”

Emitac Enterprise Solutions (EES) EES has been providing technology based solutions for three decades in the UAE. It has grown from strength to strength with its wide and loyal customer base, and is one of the few local names in the industry that has been financially strong for those three decades. On top of its financial stability, its experience in implementing strategic enterprise projects,

partnerships with leading vendors and 24/7 support ability made it a strong candidate for the Hall of Fame.

“Being recognised as a leading SI in the region by CNME is an honour and in itself a validation of our supreme systems integration capabilities and right strategy. We take pride in achieving this, with an enviable track record of delivering a

large number of prestigious projects,” said Miguel Angel Villalonger, CEO, EES “We are known to be the most forward thinking and progressive company in the region, and we have always stayed one step ahead of the rest. We are exceptionally known in the market for our unrivalled service delivery and support abilities,” he added.

EMW ME

Gulf Business Machines (GBM)

Established in the region in 2003, EMW ME is widely recognised as the smart convergence and applications expert. The company prides itself on its agility and ability to build and customise specific requirements to meet clients’ expectations in line with industry standards.

Throughout the years EMW has delivered and implemented secure IT infrastructure solutions to a variety of high profile enterprise clients. Being privately held gives EMW the speed to make key decision and its global partnerships give it an unbiased advantage to choose what is best for its customers.

“We are ecstatic to have been inducted into the SI Hall of Fame. We strive to maintain our leadership position by continuously improving ourselves and retaining top talent to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations,” said Serjios EL-Hage, CEO, EMW. “With competition so fierce, market conditions dictate that only the best of the best can survive. Our customer-first attitude is what differentiates us. We strive to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction, build customer and vendor relationships, hire and retain high-caliber qualified staff to ensure continuity of mission-critical communications,” he added.

Founded in 1990, GBM is one of the largest and most respected IT solutions providers in the GCC, with more than 1000 employees and over 20 solid strategic partnerships forged with internationally recognised IT solution providers. This means that GBM can offer an extensive range of IT infrastructure, solutions and services from consulting, resource deployment and integration to after-sales support.

GMB is a spin-off from IBM, which it acts as the sole distributor for in the region. Its momentum was enhanced in 1999 when it secured the Cisco portfolio.

GBM now holds Cisco Gold Partner status, which is the highest level of recognition in the region. It also holds Cisco Borderless Network Architecture Specialised Learning Partner status.

The company’s experience and expertise span across multiple sectors, particularly e-Government, banking and finance, telecommunications, retail and oil. It has offices in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, as well as in Pakistan.

This year saw a 35% year-on-year growth in GBM’s virtualisation business. It counts all the major server consolidation and virtualisation vendors as technology partners in the region, including VMware, Citrix and Red Hat. www.cnmeonline.com

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ITQAN has over 28 years of IT knowledge and experience implementing major projects. It was the first systems integrator in UAE to implement an e-Government project, a health information system and to achieve the ISO 20000 certification.

With a multinational team of more than 100 IT professionals, ITQAN ensures local support and complete UAE coverage throughout its five offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain, in addition to a local help desk.

It offers a suite of key services to combine the right hardware and software solutions that deliver real business benefit to enterprise customers, specialising in the public and government sector, healthcare, oil and gas, and education.

“At ITQAN we stand out by our extensive experience in the local market, our efficient solutions, multi-vendor experience, in-house logistics facility, and our efficient processes and procedures that are built on international standards,” said Feras Al Jabi, GM, ITQAN.

Ones to watch

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integration advisor SI Hall of Fame

Ones to watch Almoayyed Computers

BIOS ME

Almoayyed Computers pre-dominantly operates in Bahrain, which is a small economy from the perspective of IT spending and as such it has strived in scaling up and having a successful business model to cover a number of verticals and technology areas.

Almoayyed has ensured continuously successful service delivery, project deployments and successful business acquisitions across the three decades of its existence. This is evident from its strong partner and customer relationships, and strong revenue stream.

“Being recognised by CNME as a ‘one to watch’ company is acknowledgement of the excellent work by our team over so many years, the confidence of our customers, and their continued trust that we enjoy. Any wise investment pays and we have invested wisely in our people and relationships with our customers and partners,” said SM Husseini, GM, Almoayyed Computers.

“We are thankful to CNME - which is doing an excellent job in bringing the ICT fraternity closer to each other - for recognising us. It goes without saying that in this competitive environment we make it an ongoing agenda to raise the bar for our deliverables,” he added.

BIOS ME considers itself the first systems integrator to really bring virtualisation to the UAE. It began that push five years ago and is now considered one of the region’s pioneers of virtualisation and associated technologies, such as cloud computing. It is also the only systems integrator in the Middle East to sit on VMware’s EMEA advisory council.

The company has just opened up a new innovation centre in its new office opposite the Burj Khalifa. It is packed with the latest technology BIOS offers and allows customers to get hands on with technology that isn’t yet in use in the Middle East.

“Being recognised as a ‘one to watch’ company is a testament to the hard work of our staff and also to the entrepreneurial environment that is the UAE. We started from very humble beginnings, so to be named as a one to watch is a great honour for us. It tells us we’re on the right track, but we know there is more work to do,” said Dominic Docherty, MD, BIOS ME. “If you want to see where the market is now, look at our competitors. If you want to see where it’s going, look at the solutions we’re developing. In 2013 we should be on track to be in most GCC countries, spreading our message that better technology results in better profits,” he added.

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Al-Futtaim Technologies

Mahindra Satyam

Al-Futtaim Technologies is part of the Al-Futtaim Group. Founded over 70 years ago, the Group is a respected conglomerate in the lower Gulf region and comprises of more than 40 companies.

“Al Futtaim Technologies is the first and only converged systems integrator in the region. By this we merely do not seek to bring multiple ELV and ICT systems together on a common platform or unified project management methodology, but we seek to create unique value through integrating systems at application level,” said Venkat R, General Manager, Al-Futtaim Technologies.

“Recognition from peers and independent experts are a great source of motivation and gives us immense sense of joy that propels us to do better. The CNME Hall of Fame would be a special honour in consideration of the repute of the publication,” he added.

Mahindra Satyam is a leading global business and IT services company that leverages deep industry and functional expertise, leading technology practices, and an advanced, global delivery model to help clients transform their highest-value business processes and improve their business performance.

For 25 years, Mahindra Satyam has had a key focus and commitment to value, particularly for its customers, investors and associates. It is part of the $15.4 billion Mahindra Group - a global federation of companies and one of the top 10 business houses based in India. The group has a significant presence in many industries, including automotive, agribusiness, aerospace, defence, energy, industrial, logistics, real estate, retail and steel.

Mahindra Satyam has development and delivery centres in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, UK, Hungary, Egypt, UAE, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, and its clients include many Fortune 500 organisations.

Computer News Middle East

october 2012

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You devote yourself to revolutionizing data management, and look where it gets you.

CommVault has been positioned a Leader in the 2012 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup/Recovery Software At CommVault, our entire 16-year existence has been focused on one cause: revolutionizing data management software. A history rooted in innovation and a customer base 16,000-strong have helped us become the fastest growing data storage software company in the world. Being recognized by as an industry Leader is certainly a proud accomplishment, but we consider it motivation to keep our focus sharp.

Many of our enterprise customers switched to our singleplatform Simpana® software not only to solve the data and information management demands they face today, but to also prepare them for the challenges of tomorrow.

This is at the very heart of our Solving Forward ® philosophy, a promise to continue leading the industry by remaining devoted to developing innovative software solutions that transcend

Backup & Recovery Virtual Server Protection Archive Search & Discovery Edge Protection

traditional backup to protect, manage and access data while delivering real value back to the business.

So, where exactly in the leader’s quadrant are we positioned?

Download the report to find out, and learn more about our innovations by visiting commvault.com/itleaders.

www.commvault.com n 04 375 3491 n E-mail: emeamarketing@commvault.com To find out more visit our stand at Gitex Hall 1, Stand D1-15

©1999-2012 CommVault Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. CommVault, the “CV” logo, Solving Forward, and Simpana are trademarks of CommVault Systems, Inc. All other third party brands, products, service names, or registered service marks are the property of and used to identify the products or services of their respective owners. All specifications are subject to change without notice. *Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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careers advisor

INSIDE

strategic it networking Strategic IT partner Storage Partner Preventing a storm

careers advisor Workforce improvement

Preventing a storm A happy worker is a productive worker, or so the saying goes. Motivation and a positive working environment can be critical for a successful business. Joe Lipscombe looks into how enterprises maintain their motivation in order to harvest optimal performance from their staff.

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n today’s society, where the classic nine to five routine is as good as gone, employees are pushed to the limit constantly to keep up to date with tasks and challenges. With the expansion of mobility with BYOD, private and public cloud services - and more and more data being produced and shared worldwide - workers can be stretched to keep on top of their responsibilities in and out of the office.

Within this environment it’s only natural that motivation and fatigue will suffer as a result.

Therefore, maintaining staff morale has never been more important than it is today, but what are the most effective methods to apply in order to produce a high spirited team?

In a recent poll conducted by Bayt.com, statistics showed that almost 32.7% of professionals rate the working environment in their company as ‘fair’ to ‘poor’. The poll also showed 23.4% of employees feel that the absenteeism in their organisation is high.

Suhail Masri, Vice President of Sales, Bayt.com, believes that simple adjustments within the office can help to decrease absence and improve morale, such as building an open-plan office space as opposed to a more old-fashioned cubicle style office. “While most employers previously opted for closed cubicles, today’s workspace revolves around information sharing and

Suhail Masri, Vice President of Sales, Bayt.com

When there is open communication and trust between team members and their leaders, it is more likely team members will address their concerns openly and timely and, hence, put their doubts at rest. Failing to connect and communicate with management can result in the spreading of negative rumours and unrest in the workplace.” collaboration, and the new ‘thinkgroup’ model is increasingly being favoured by employers,” he says.

Wael Al Nadi, Senior Director, EMC, TEEAM Region, agrees: “Ask the questions; are employees being rewarded? Are there chances for employees to be promoted?” he says.

“In a survey held by EMC on employee satisfaction we learned that Dubai featured very lowly in a table of best offices to work in within the Middle East. This is a regional office, many people come and go and people travel a lot which restricts the opportunity for socialising and partaking in activities. Compare this to Saudi where they ranked number one, this is an office which is focused solely on this area. This means that the team can bond, socialise together and build connections,” he adds.

Management must be quick to spot unrest in the workplace if they’re to eliminate any issues from potentially becoming problematic. In a large and dynamic team this may not always be a simple task.

“From experience, I have learnt that team members are very sensitive to what is happening around them and pick up any negative vibes very quickly.

As such, they may draw out incorrect or misleading conclusions,” says Najla Naim, Head of CPM RAN and IP BB Core, Ericsson ME. However, Stephan Berner, Managing Director, help AG, points out that unclear company strategy can cause unrest in a team.

“Internal and external communication issues as well as no clear targets and objectives being set by management can all add to unrest,” he says.

This highlights the importance of covering every element of a team project from morale on a personal level to the objectives and factors of tasks on a professional level. Masri states that most common causes of unrest stem from the higher levels of an organisation.

“At the manager’s level, this can manifest itself by a lack of open communication channels, not setting a clear common goal for the team, micro-management or www.cnmeonline.com

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32.7% of professionals rate the working environment in their company as ‘fair’ to ‘poor’

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careers advisor Workforce improvement

23.4% of employees feel that the absenteeism in their organisation is high

the absence of supervision, as well as much criticism and lack of praise,” he says.

The added issue within this region is that so many areas are made up of a largely diverse and ever changing workforce. Expats coming into a new office can take time to settle and adjust and of course this can be difficult for them and their colleagues, Al Nadi says.

“If someone is newly located from a different culture it takes time for them to settle down. Bringing in an expat is difficult and it can cause turbulence in a team. The money can be different, the food, the electricity even - simple things which can all add up and hinder the performance of a new employee.

Sometimes these people won’t settle down at all and will be best suited going back to their original office or a different area all together,” he adds.

Recognising excellence Monitoring employees is important if a company is to keep track of progress and workload. However, the current business landscape in the Middle East doesn’t make that an easy task. Employees are constantly on the move and constantly in and out of regional offices.

Therefore, organisations may have to adopt more evolved ways of keeping up with the progress of their staff.

“There is no one simple way to monitor employee productivity. It all depends on experience, maturity and duration of the employee in their job,” says Naim.

“Employees in a new position usually require close and frequent attention by the manager or senior to provide direction and know-how. However, more experienced employees are more likely able to run their own work independently, but do need regular check points with their manager or senior to validate that they are on the right track,” she adds.

Masri highlights a few things that he believes managers should avoid in regards to monitoring staff, “Try not to set weak goals, micro-manage, belittle your employees, have outdated skills or have poor communication skills,” he says.

Adapting to the diverse region The Middle East is a shifting business area in terms

While the diverse area comes with many benefits, some expats may face challenges with cultural differences. Companies need to orient new expat employees to the significant differences in local customs, culture, religion, and language. For many expats this is a larger leap than expected.”

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Najla Naim, Head of CPM RAN and IP BB Core, Ericsson ME

of personnel and office bases. Organisations have workplaces popping up and disappearing all over the region and no place more so than the UAE. This brings with it a very mixed workforce and a vast amount of employers will need to bring in staff members from different regions around the world.

Creating and building a diverse team can come with difficulties as well as benefits. Al Nadi discusses how EMC intentionally seeks a diverse workforce to patrol its Dubai based office due to the cultural mix of the area.

“Diversity is very important in a place like this. Pick a nationality and you’ll find an employee here who is of that nationality. It’s an expat community here, so it helps with the customers too as they’re from a wide mixture of places. This continuity is helpful for working relationships,” he says.

The difficulties lie in the stages of adapting to a new environment, as Masri states.

“While the diverse area comes with many benefits, some expats may face challenges with cultural differences. Companies need to orient new expat employees to the significant differences in local customs, culture, religion, and language. For many expats this is a larger leap than expected,” he says.

Constructing a diverse workforce and employing multiple expats wouldn’t be so frequent in the Middle East if it didn’t bring with it a strong armoury of benefits, Naim points out.

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“Normally, expats are very curious about the culture and how things are done in a particular company or country. They are open to this new environment and eager to contribute positively,” she says.

“In general, expats should have a sense of mission that goes beyond doing their job, with the passing on of knowledge to the local employees. If done correctly, the expat’s job can create a very positive impact on the productivity of the workplace. Finally, the diversity in culture, language, and backgrounds are beneficial to the company and create a more positive and productive workplace,” she adds.

Dealing with unrest It’s a harsh fact that some employees just do not work well in a team. A disruptive or restless staff member obviously needs to be dealt with and in a dynamic office with personnel coming and going, such issues can easily get hidden or swept under the rug and remain unresolved.

Berner offers his advice on said situations: “Direct communication is the best method, and this needs to be both ways. Ask the right questions and listen to the

persons involved. Decisions can only be made based on facts. If the facts lead to a situation where a warning or, in the worst case, a termination is required, don’t wait to get it done,” he says.

You can act directly with unsettled and disruptive employees but what about the top dogs? The staff members who continuously go above and beyond their pay grade to deliver on their targets? Such employees may not seek, but do require rewards and incentives in order to maintain their morale, interest and focus on the job. This is a factor which can be more easily addressed in certain areas than others.

“In Cairo, the EMC office has a club called The EMC Club, and they do anything you can imagine. This needs to be adopted in other offices but obviously other offices aren’t as big or aren’t as well laid out. In this club they get bank promotions, gym membership, partake in charity work and parties - lots of subtle benefits for the work force,” Al Nadi explains.

“These things keep employees happy and motivated, having little benefits when you’re in a strange environment can make people feel more at home,” he concludes.

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interview Mohammed Amin

Expanding horizons Mohammed Amin, EMC’s Senior VP and Regional Manager for Turkey, Emerging Africa and the Middle East, will now also oversee the fast-growing Eastern Europe region, excluding Russia. He spoke to us about the company’s strategy to grow the business in these dynamic markets and how EMC is uniquely positioned to exploit the opportunities around cloud and big data.

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ow you are going to oversee the Eastern Europe market as well.

What kind of opportunities do you see in these markets for EMC? What we are trying to do is to create a go-to-market strategy for the emerging markets, which includes Eastern Europe.

I am tasked with leading our sales efforts in what we now call the TEEAM region (Turkey, Eastern Europe, Africa and Middle East). Eastern Europe is a very dynamic market and growing at a faster pace from an economic growth perspective compared to Western Europe. Some of the big countries in this region, including Poland, Romania and Hungary, are witnessing high growth.

Did you know the GDP of Poland equals that of Saudi Arabia? I am very excited about the opportunities we have there.

Last year, you were talking about ramping up your presence in Qatar and Kuwait, with a special focus on Africa. How have those plans panned out?

We are on track. Now, we have a 15-member team in Qatar, which is going to be 25 soon.

We are growing close to 100 percent and according to the IDC report, we have more than 45 percent market share in Qatar alone.

We are going to open an office in Kuwait soon and the African market is growing at a rate of more than 50 percent for us.

Have you been able to sustain the 30 percent year on year growth rate?

Yes we have. And in fact, we have 41 percent market share in the addressable market in the region, which comprises enterprises, mid-market and SMEs. As you know we are not a big player in the SME market, so if you look at the enterprise market our share would be close to 60 percent.

But hasn’t EMC been moving downstream over the last couple of years to address the SME market?

Historically, EMC was perceived as an expensive brand, which mainly caters to the enterprise market. But over the last years, we have rolled out products targeted

at the SME market with products that start from $10,000. We are taking this market very seriously and we are pleased with the success in the last 12 months.

Which are the fastest growing markets within the Middle East for EMC? EMC in the region has achieved significant revenue and market share, so we can’t afford to focus on one country and ignore others.

For us to sustain the kind of growth rate we have, we need to fire on all cylinders. You just can’t focus only on Saudi, drop Qatar and Kuwait or vice versa. Our revenues are not in millions anymore, we are using another word that starts with B.

grow in two dimensions – 75 percent of growth will be in the enterprise space, and the mid-tier and SME market will continue to grow in parallel. Analysts predict the global storage market will grow at CAGR of 7 percent over the next three years, which is not bad.

How do you differentiate in a market like that?

First is our vision. We were the first company to talk about cloud and big data.

We were the first to raise the red flag about the data explosion, which will be 75 percent times more by 2020 while IT expertise is going to be only 1.5 times more around

First off, we are not a storage company. We are an IT information technology company. Only 43 percent of our revenues come from hardware, the rest comes from software and services. Our competitors who can’t offer what we can try to label us as a storage company.

This sure looks like a good time to be in the storage business. Do you think this market will be commoditised?

First off, we are not a storage company. We are an information technology company.

Only 43 percent of our revenues come from hardware, the rest comes from software and services. Our competitors who can’t offer what we can try to label us as a storage company. Now to answer your question, I wouldn’t say the storage market is a good place to be in today. If you look at the last quarter results of our competition, most of them have declined while we have grown. EMC has the right strategy and we are executing very well against it. Our market share equals that of our main three competitors’ market shares put together.

Having said that, I don’t think the storage market will be commoditised. There is more business coming in with lot of data being generated and the market will continue to www.cnmeonline.com

that time. One of the big problems here is that we need a new and different way to tackle the infrastructure. If we keep doing infrastructure like we do today, all the hard disks manufactured in the world wouldn’t be able to keep pace with the amount of data being generated. That is why we are talking about cloud and sharing resources and we have the right technology behind that vision.

What is the state of cloud in the Middle East?

In the region, so many large enterprise are building private clouds, and out of that 70 percent are working with us. In parallel, so many service providers including telcos are building their public clouds. Twelve months from now, I will be able to share with you some real-life examples of both private and public clouds built by EMC and how these worlds are meeting together to deliver dramatic costsavings and efficiency to the users. october 2012

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interview Pervez Qureshi

Poised for growth Epicor is one of the industry’s largest ERP vendors for the midmarket, but wants to get much bigger

F

ollowing last year’s merger with Activant Solutions, ERP (enterprise resource planning) vendor Epicor is closing in on US$1 billion in revenue, a figure that belies the vendor’s relatively low profile compared to giants such as Oracle and SAP. Now Epicor CEO Pervez Qureshi, who had served in the same post at Activant, is hoping to double the vendor’s revenue within five years. In an exclusive interview, Qureshi touched upon a wide range of topics while discussing “the new Epicor,” and the strategies the company has set in motion.

You’ve been talking about “the new Epicor.” What does that mean?

‘Heritage’ Epicor was a global company, very strong in manufacturing and services, growth-oriented, entrepreneurial, with great technology. Activant was primarily a US company, with a hyper-vertical go-tomarket focus, and very process and metricoriented in how [it] delivered things, and probably more profit-oriented than top-line growth oriented.

We had a lot of complementary aspects, with very little overlap in markets. We didn’t have the issues of integration you see with many [mergers], which is, ‘I’ve got two of everything and now I’ve got to pick, and one side’s going to win.’

Internally, we are setting the bar a lot higher. We’re putting in processes to measure everything we do. We’re adopting agile and scrum [application development methodologies and practices].

We are adding about 600 to 800 customers per year worldwide. And we’re hiring as fast as we can. That includes sales and marketing but the heaviest hiring is being done in professional services and 92

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development. We’ve added over 600 and are on track to adding 1,000 by the end of our fiscal year.

How quickly do you want to grow the company, and how do you plan to get there?

Over the past 12 months, we’ve had about US$860 million in revenue, and we’ve got 20,000 customers. We have a goal to roughly double in about five years.

Now, I’ll also give a caveat. I’m not hung up on doubling. The point is, it’s a vector. Some of it will be done through organic growth and the other part through acquisitions.

We want to be a global leader in the midmarket in each segment we serve: manufacturing, retail, distribution and services. Within those there are key verticals.

We expect SaaS [software-as-a-service] to become a big part of what we do. The [SaaS] revenue right now is very small. Productwise, we’re already there.

Can you talk about your longer-term SaaS strategy?

The area where we push SaaS explicitly is on the low end [with Epicor Express].

We’ve just done that in the Americas and we’re launching it in EMEA and APAC in the next few months. We have just under 200 customers on that today.

The plan is always to go upmarket. It’s always been our plan to offer the Epicor platform, whether standard or enterprise edition, in a SaaS format. Epicor Express is a way of testing our readiness from a hosting centre perspective, being able to support the product, pricing and packaging. It’s all about seeing how it works.

If today, a customer wants [other Epicor editions] today in a SaaS deployment, we’ll make that available for them. But we’re not pushing it today. www.cnmeonline.com

Pervez Qureshi, CEO, Epicor

Epicor has embraced Microsoft’s development technology stack and is also planning to extensively use its Azure cloud service, yet you also compete with the company’s Dynamics ERP products.

Recognise that when you’re talking to large companies, don’t think of them as monolithic. With Microsoft, there’s the infrastructure side of the house and there’s the application side of the house. Our relationship is very close and based on mutual credibility. They value our input, because we do use their stack in a deep way. That’s true as far as road maps and specific features.

Some Epicor products are based on infrastructure software from Progress. Is the goal for Epicor over time to get to one technology stack?

We have a very good relationship with Progress. Literally thousands of customers across the company use either the Progress database or the tools and I expect that’s

interview Pervez Qureshi

going to continue for a long time. While we’re going to continue to be a good partner and developer with Progress I think it’s fair to say we’re going to be strengthening the stack [relationship] with Microsoft as well.

What are your plans for enabling customers to run Epicor software on other public cloud services besides Azure?

Over time, I think people will be able to pick which infrastructure they want to go with in terms of the cloud. We want to make sure we get it right. We’ll start with Express, make it available more broadly, and make [a SaaS] option available more broadly for other editions. Then we’ll look to Azure for solving a lot of sort of high-volume deployments. Then after that, if we need to go to other infrastructure platforms, we’ll go there. Right now the focus is, let’s get it right on Azure.

Let’s talk about a perennial topic that remains relevant for most ERP customers: annual software maintenance payments. What’s your view of thirdparty maintenance for ERP, which some companies provide at lower cost?

There are people that do that. Sometimes they can be at a disadvantage, because they don’t have access to source code. They tend to be more cottage. They may have specific expertise, and if they do so, that’s fine too.

How are you giving customers value for their maintenance dollars?

When you sell ERP systems, let’s just be very clear. They are complex systems and they’re not simple to implement.

Salespeople that say it’s all seamless, it’s all easy, and all this other stuff, it just isn’t.

It’s very, very difficult. We’re not selling toothpaste or a gallon of milk.

People don’t want to change ERP systems.

It touches every part of your company. So when you do change you do it because you have a compelling business reason.

When you install it, it is complex. You will be calling us from time to time on all sorts of things. We are your partner. That’s the value you get from maintenance. Some of it is just help. Half the calls we get are things where people can look it up, but sometimes it’s easier to call than figure it out. Other times it’s a bug in the system. Third, we’re continuously adding capabilities.

When somebody buys a system, they’ll have it for 10 years, 15 years before they switch it. It’s a long-term relationship.

Maintenance services costs can add up but it’s a relatively small price to pay, given the complexity of the software, the workflow, the tools, and knowing they’re going to be continually enhanced.

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PRODUCTS Launches and releases

PRODUCT WATCH A breakdown of the top products and solutions to launch and release in the last month.

Product: Huawei MU736 Vendor: Huawei

Product: Xerox DocuMate 3125 Vendor: Xerox

What it does: This is the world’s first WWAN module that is fully compliant with the Next Genertation Form Factor (NGFF) standard. This standard enables a transition from Mini-PCIe cards to a smaller form factor module in size, volume and system design flexibility.

What it does: The DocuMate 3125 is a compact, sheet-fed document scanner that quickly converts paper documents, plastic cards and forms into searchable digital files that can be securely saved to a computer or in the cloud.

What you need to know: The Huawei MU736 NGFF module is based on Intel’s industry leading XMM 6260 HSPA+ modem solution, supporting penta-band operation for worldwide network coverage, low power consumption, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and major carrier certifications— enabling easier and more flexible design and integration into end devices. In addition, the MU736 supports all NGFF features to optimise performance, power consumption, and usability.

What you need to know: DocuMate 3125 has been designed to meet corporate compliance requirements, streamline workflow and improve overall office productivity. It can scan up to 25 pages per minute and 44 images per minute in duplex mode. Double Feed Detection (DFD) technology increases confidence while scanning by notifying the user if more than one page is scanned at a time. It hosts an exceptionally small footprint of 11.2” x 6.7” x 6.5” with automatic document feeder (ADF) and output paper trays that can be folded closed when not in use.

Product: Business PCs – Latitude 6430u Ultrabook, Latitude 10, OptiPlex 9010 All-in-One desktop Vendor: Dell What it does: The three new additions to Dell’s business-class portfolio aim to bring leading design to boardroom and touchenabled devices to help people interact with technology in more intuitive ways.

CLOUD

DocuMate also boasts Visioneer CONNECT, a set of links for Visioneer OneTouch that enables users to scan and automatically upload paper documents to popular cloud destinations with the touch of one button.

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What you need to know: The Latitude and

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OptiPlex designs are made to inspire workers to meet the demands of IT, according to the developers. The Latitude designs take advantage of the latest advances in touch-enabled applications and will allow businesses to confidently bring tablets into their enterprises. The OptiPlex design attempts to empower productivity whilst preserving precious disk space. The All-in-One system offers options for a multipoint touchscreen, fixed or rotating camera, and an articulating stand to optimse the user’s work experience.

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH

Product: iPhone 5 Vendor: Apple What it does: The latest addition to the famous smartphone family, the iPhone 5 is the biggest model to date.

Free turn-by-turn navigation and a faster A6 processor combined with a fresh, sharp, and feather-light redesign make this the best iPhone yet.

What you need to know: The iPhone 5 has seen a complete makeover. It’s thinner and lighter, yes, but also feels totally different due to its new materials. The aluminium back prevents finger streaks and also adds a touch of elegance.

We are now treated to a 4-inch screen as opposed to the old 3.5-inch screen.

It’s also taller than previous models and fits an extra row of icons, more text and images and wider movies.

Another major boost is the introduction of LTE. This feature increases browsing speed and app download time, making browsing a delight compared to those using just 3G on their older models. The camera has also, somehow, been improved. The iSight snaps faster photos with a distinct improvement in low-light conditions.

The iPhone 5 will ship with iOS6 which comes with some pretty nifty features. The Maps upgrade is fantastic as well as the Passbook app, an app that integrates all your coupons, tickets and boarding passes.

Product: IdeaPad S300 and S400 Vendor: Lenovo

Product: GIGABYTE’s 7 Series Mini-ITX Vendor: Golden Systems What it does: Supporting 3rd generation Intel Core processors, the GIGABYTE Z77N-WIFI and GIGABYTE H77N-WIFI mini boards integrate a wealth of connectivity features that include Intel Wireless Display 2.0, Dual HDMI and Dual Gigabit LAN, ideal for home theatre, digital entertainment systems or portable gaming rigs.

What you need to know: Motherboard Marketing Deputy Director, GIGABYTE, Tim Handly, says the philosophy behind the Mini-ITX boards is to “Simply create the most connected and savvy boards possible.” Measuring at 17cm by 17cm, Z77N-WIFI and HZZN-WIFI for factor motherboards combine a range of connectivity options that include Dual HDMI ports and Dual Gigabit LAN, plus an onboard Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 4.0 module that supports the new Intel Wireless Display technology.

The Wireless Display 2.0 technology supports resolutions of up to 1080p which means no compromise on image quality, while HDCP 2.0 and 5.1 surround sound ensures excellent audio.

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What it does: Adding to the IdeaPad product line, these thin and light laptops strike a balance between portability and performance for customers who want more computing power than a netbook, longer battery life and a lower price point.

What you need to know: Measuring at less than an inch (21.9mm), and weighing less than four lbs (1.8kg), the S-series is powered by 3rd generetion Intel Core processor, with a sleek exterior desgin and stylish metallic finish.

The S-series offers up to 500GB disk storage capacity, plenty enough for storing music, movies and documents.

Also, the intelligent energy management feature boasts five hours between charges as well as protection to the long-term durability of the battery.

Offered with Windows 7 Basic, the S-series will be eligible for the Windows 8 Upgrade Offer.

Lenovo appear particularly proud of the Lenovo Quick-Start “instant on” feature, a functionality that allows you to get online in seconds. Moreover, data protection is made easy with Lenovo’s OneKey Rescue System, offering a simple and quick way to back up and restore data, recover corrupted system files and run a complete virus scan.

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Column The word on the street

Joe Lipscombe

I

CNME’s man about town gives his spin on the latest IT issues affecting Middle East enterprises.

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The trend with no end

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am very fortunate in my job that I am able to report on a very fast-paced industry in an ever expanding region. Hardly a day goes by when I’m not zipping around the city trying to cover the many happenings at any given moment. In such a job, I can quickly gather what the main industry concerns and interests are and this month has been no different.

Everybody is talking about BYOD, or as I like to call it - Burying Your Out-of-control Dementia, because apparently it makes you forget when you’re at work, on holiday, on the toilet or when you’re supposed to be asleep. This is the 21st century, a time in which we have to cram every element of our life into one small device and balance it day to day.

Once, my father and I reached the peak of a large hill (or small mountain, as I prefer). He took out his mobile device and pointed it towards me. I, revelling in my triumph, raised my hands to the sky in static celebration, grinning like a benign toddler at feeding time. After about 55 seconds I dropped my aching limbs and called out “have you taken it yet?”

“Sorry?” my father said back. “Have you taken the photo yet?” I asked again. “Oh, no, I’m just sending an email,” he replied.

It has drawn split opinions in industry (BYOD, not my father), but most agree it is not just a fad and that implementing strategies which incorporate it is a must-do for business.

This has been laid out in Solutions World earlier in this issue.

However, I have a fear of BYOD. Statistics show that thanks to mobility and BYOD employees are now working on average 20 extra unpaid hours a week. In actual fact I have a fear of work and this is now just a subsidiary of sorts. The concern is that introducing october 2012

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your personal devices into the work environment decreases your chances of having a clear divide between the two. Personal becomes professional.

Recently, at a roundtable, I was talking mobile strategies and I was told a story which stuck with me. An employee travelling abroad on vacation had taken his device with him. The employee admitted to wanting to keep track of his work alerts and said he would respond accordingly if necessary.

Firstly, this drastically reduced the quality of his holiday, not to mention the chap on a sun lounger next to him dousing himself with sun lotion and having to hear the man complaining down the phone about Greg’s inability to create a Facebook page for an upcoming event (Greg was born in the 70s (Greg isn’t real)).

Secondly, it meant that sensitive data was being accessed half way around the world. For this reason, in an attempt to secure the data, he put a password on the device. If the password was entered incorrectly three times the device would lock and all the information would be completely erased.

Needless to say, once his young daughter got a hold of the device to play with, his data was erased within seconds. Therefore he couldn’t access any of his work for the entire period of his vacation and his employer had to find adequate resources to cover his loss of manpower, not to mention panic over the loss of data.

This all stemmed from the integration of professional and personal devices (and the addictive Angry Birds).

Although I recognise the positives, personally my issue with BYOD is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate yourself from your work - the implications of which can be devilish for your home life. Also, as mentioned, it opens up security issues for your company. Devising and deploying a data management plan will be timely, costly and difficult for your IT department, but with BYOD looking like the trend with no end, businesses must look to get started immediately or face very real and complicated risks.

ISSUE 249 | october 2012

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where Technology means business