Strategic ICT Partner
Technology Partners
60 Mins Show dates: 20-24 October 2013, Dubai World Trade Centre
|
AT GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK
|
FOLLOW US
@computernewsme
Exhibition hours: 11am -6pm
HDS embarks on first GITEX
WHAT’S INSIDE Following nine years of operating in the Middle East, Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) has embarked on its first full presence at GITEX Technology Week. According to Aaron White, General Manager, HDS Middle East, the decision to exhibit for the first time came following the large growth the company has witnessed in the region. “Over the last 24 months we’ve seen a dramatic explosion in our business and the type of customers we’re engaging with,” White said. “Really we’ve felt that it’s time to say to a broader market that we’re here in the region and are ready to invest in the region. “We have a fantastic story to 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Etisalat partners with MoE for Duroosi video launch Etisalat has today launched Duroosi tutorial videos in strategic partnership with the UAE Ministry of Education, supported by Google. The tutorial videos were launched by UAE Minister of Education His Excellency
Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qattami and EtisalatUAE Chief Executive Officer Saleh Al Abdooli, in the presence of senior government representatives and Etisalat 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Linksys targets SMBs
MobiWire’s MobiPrint² at GITEX 2013
GITEX preview: Symantec
4 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Etisalat... personnel. Google will be offering strategic partnership for this project by providing a dedicated YouTube channel and enabling learning through social media tools. The videos were launched during GITEX Technology Week, being held in Dubai from October 20-24, 2013. GITEX Technology Week is the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region’s top ICT exhibition and conference Duroosi is a major initiative by Ayaadi Etisalat, the CSR arm of the telecom major, which is expected to revolutionise the ‘smart’ education sector in the UAE. Till now, 600 tutorial videos for all subjects have been developed by
Etisalat, under the ministry’s supervision. These offer selflearning options with visual aids and provide easy access to students of Grade 11 and 12 to develop their skills. Students can log in to a dedicated Duroosi channel to access the tutorial videos for extra lessons offered by expert teachers handpicked by the Ministry of Education. UAE Minister of Education His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qatami said: “Smart education is a key priority for the government and advanced infrastructure will play a critical role in the achievement of this mission. Such strategic partnerships and unique talent development tools are critical
for establishing a knowledgebased, sustainable UAE in the near future. This project is another shining example of Etisalat’s visionary approach towards development of the education sector in the UAE.” Saleh Al Abdooli, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat UAE, said: “Harnessing the latest technology for education is an innovative approach towards knowledge building in the UAE. Duroosi will revolutionise conventional education tools by providing instant and convenient options of learning. Students with access to technology nowadays want information at their fingertips. “The project is also unique in that it allowed us to unite
government and private players for a cause of national importance. The support of the Ministry of Education was crucial to the success of this project. We hope this alliance with the Ministry and a private player will inspire similar strategic partnerships for knowledge development in the country.” Mohamad Mourad, Managing Director, Google, MENA, said: “The greatest impact technology can have is on education. The UAE Ministry of Education and Etisalat are pioneering in this field by developing an education initiative to reach students using the web, powered by YouTube.”
@computernewsme
P3
4 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 tell. What is Hitachi great at? Big storage boxes. What is Hitachi’s big weakness? Big storage boxes. Now we’re far broader than that.” White was referring to HDS’s now wide portfolio of products around converged solutions, private cloud offerings, and the service to go with it. “Now we can go to the customer and say we don’t just provide the technology but also fix business problems for them, and partner with other companies to deliver a solution that adds value to their business,” he said. “That’s difference, coupled with our growth in the region, has really led us to realise we need to tell more people
about this, and GITEX is such a great platform to be able to do that.” One are area where HDS has particularly grown market share is in cloud computing, which finally saw a significant rise in adoption in 2013. “People should listen to HDS on cloud because we know what we’re doing with it,” said Steven Murphy, VP EMEA, HDS. “We have relationships with huge manufacturers and companies around the world. “We’ve got the experience in how to do it, and because we know the virtualised world as well, we understand how to get there cheaply.” White went as far as claiming that private cloud adoption is almost at a stage of complete ubiquity.
“Virtually all customers will implement some kind of private cloud today or very soon for a number of reason, predominantly around sovereignty of data,” he said. Whilst public cloud adoption has been hesitant, White added that services on this platform will start to be used on a specific application basis. “Things that don’t necessarily impact, or are not core to, their business are more likely to be in the cloud, but there core business is there core business,” White said. “What makes a bank and bank? Because it knows banking. But perhaps it doesn’t know e-marketing, so it will use that for a public cloud perspective so that they can leverage
that new technology without having to make the upfront capital investments to be able to get there. “The key will be mixing public and private together and that’s where we see our role by, not only helping customers build private clouds, but helping large service providers provide something that is multi-tenanted, secure, scalable and efficient.” It is this cloud trend which is contribution to two key trends which are transforming the enterprise, Murphy added. “There’s a real revolution in the way customers are going to market, and there’s been an evolution from an IT point of view in how to deliver that,” he said.
emphasise on our Linksys portfolio of the product line and we are reintroducing the SMB aspect of it. We are bringing the whole assembly portfolio back and using GITEX as a platform to reintroduce Linksys in the Middle East and Africa market. This would be like a global launch that we are planning to do under the SMB portfolio,” says Mohammed Meraj Hoda, VP, Linksys International. SMB is a huge portfolio and the company is beginning with the networking platform, which is more about connectivity and security and hopes to take it to the next level based on the cloud application. In terms of other plans for the next quarter, the company will also be announcing a new
global SMB reseller program that will provide benefits such as education, marketing tools and incentives to help resellers grow their business, according to Hoda. The company will be introducing its channel programme for business in November this year called Linksys Partner Rewards. Pre-registration opens from today, the first day of GITEX Technology Week; at www. linksyspartnerrewards.com. “We will be re-launching our channel program and making it relevant for the Middle East and Africa market, we have introduced the portal today at GITEX 2013, where they can register their interest and begin to get information that is related to the channel,” explains Hoda.
Linksys targets SMBs At Gitex 2013, Linksys is hoping to identify new business opportunities and further develop brand awareness and educating partners and consumers within this segment. The company is rolling out a lineup of value and high performance business connectivity and security products targeted to the small and medium sized business – everything between 2-99 seats. The solutions will provide scalable connectivity to meet the growing demands of the small and medium business. Phase 1 will include a rollout of core networking infrastructure products including Switches, Wireless Access Points, Routers and IP Surveillance cameras. Phase 2 will be followed by a smart cloud based network
P4
@computernewsme
management platform and phase 3 will consist of office automation solutions. “We will re-invest and re-
MobiWire’s MobiPrint² at GITEX 2013 After unveiling MobiPrint² at GITEX 2012, the cash transaction terminal brand, MobiWire showcased its terminal and its use cases, bringing together the main partners to express their trust in the product, at the GITEX 2013, being held at World Trade Centre in Dubai. MobiPrint² has been manufactured with a thermal printer, capable of providing an instant proof of purchase to the end-customer. Adopting a Java environment, the mobile POS can integrate unlimited programs enabling business expansion to its partners based on tailored use cases. Partnered with over 50 customers in the southern hemisphere in a year, the company offered new solutions to credit top-up, ticketing, e-wallet, e-voucher and lottery. The business is currently booming
in MENA and finds its way to subSaharan Africa, says the company. According to the company, it is now in the position to contribute further in increasing retail stores’ turn-over through POS management and
background synchronisation. MobiPrint²’s success is now expanding to other regions in the world where banking services are usually rare and cash payments are preferred mode of transactions. The
company’s CEO, Bruno Mortreux says, “The rise of MobiPrint² in the mobile Payment and MobiWire’s position as a design manufacturer of mobile payment device worldwide is becoming higher”.
@computernewsme
P5
GITEX preview: Symantec 1) What is the main theme of your presence at GITEX this year? Following the growth in security threats in the Middle East over the past year, Symantec will be showcasing a Symantec Security Operation Center (SOC) to demonstrate its Managed Security Services and Global Intelligence Network that monitor cyber threats worldwide. Responding to the growth in the demand for Disaster Recovery sites, Symantec will be demonstrating its Storage Foundation Solutions that enable customers to achieve their business continuity objectives in the most cost effective and efficient manner.
customers to achieve their business continuity objectives in the most cost effective and efficient manner.
Kenan Abou Lteif, Regional Manager for Gulf and Levant
2) Are you releasing/launching anything new at GITEX 2013? If so, what? During GITEX, Symantec will reveal the latest release of their Norton solution for consumers. In addition, Symantec will share security, backup and recovery solutions for organizations in the Middle East. Symantec will also demonstrate their market leading solutions for information management following the huge growth and continued demand for Symantec appliances.
providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help our customers – from consumers, small businesses and large global enterprises – secure and manage their information against more risks, at more points, more completely and more efficiently than any other company. In addition, as the security threat landscape evolves and customers adopt new technologies, we are investing in future growth areas such as mobile, virtualization and cloud services that will help to reduce cost and complexity for our customers.
3) How is your company presenting itself at GITEX this year to differentiate it from competitors? Symantec is a global leader in
4) What are the key trends influencing your approach to GITEX 2013 and the offerings you are pushing? Symantec is responding to the
P6
@computernewsme
following key trends during GITEX 2013: • Each year, the amount of information created increases exponentially and securing and managing our information-driven world becomes even more important and challenging. • Symantec will be showcasing a Symantec Security Operation Center (SOC) to demonstrate its Managed Security Services and Global Intelligence Network that monitor cyber threats worldwide in response to the rise in cyber security threats in the region. • Over the past year, there has been increased demand from organizations for Disaster Recovery sites. Symantec will be demonstrating its Storage Foundation Solutions that enable
5) How have you seen the Middle East respond to those trends in question, and how did you think that will change over the next year? The sophistication of attacks coupled with today’s IT complexities, such as virtualization, mobility and cloud, require organizations to remain proactive and use ‘defense in depth’ security measures to stay ahead of attacks. Organizations in the UAE have recognized that it is important to protect themselves, and Symantec has seen them adopting enhanced policies and solutions to defend their business against cyber attacks. 6) How important is GITEX as a platform and event to your organisation? GITEX is the ideal platform to engage with our customers, partners, industry influencers and decision makers, from across the region. Symantec will showcase its leading security, backup and recovery, data availability and consumer products. 7) What is the top reason you invest in GITEX — do you see a healthy return on your investment, or is it more about presence/visibility? Both. GITEX provides a valuable
platform for Symantec to engage with customers and partners, while showcasing our innovation and sharing best practices with the industry on how organizations can protect their information.
Highlights
8) What does your company hope to achieve by appearing at GITEX 2013? By participating in GITEX 2013 Symantec hopes to share new technology and solutions with customers and engage in thoughtful discussions about emerging IT trends with stakeholders in the region. 9) What are your company’s main recent achievements in the Middle East market? In 2013, Symantec witnessed increased demand from organizations for Managed Security Services. Symantec will be showcasing this service by having a Security Operation Center on the GITEX stand, with live data from the Symantec Global Intelligence Network that will demonstrate cyber attacks taking place worldwide. IDC reported that Symantec Purpose-Built Backup Appliances currently has 15.1% market share, which is more than four times what it was two years ago. Symantec in Middle East has witnessed an even higher growth rate, and the demand for its Backup and Recovery solution has been on a consistent rise. Following success in the airline, banking and energy sector, Symantec will be showcasing the latest release of their Information Management technology.
Publisher Dominic De Sousa, COO Nadeem Hood, Commercial Director Rajashree R Kumar, Group Editor Jeevan Thankappan Editors Ben Rossi, Tom Paye, Janees Reghelini, James Dartnell Circulation Manager Rajeesh M, Production Manager James Tharian, Senior Designers Analou Balbero, Glenn Roxas, Digital Services Manager Tristan Troy Magma Web Coordinator Jarris Pedroso Photographers Jay Colina, Abdul Kader
@computernewsme
P7