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NEWS
Oracle’s global, philanthropic educational program, Oracle Academy, launched an upskilling programme in partnership with Mentor Arabia and Tamkeen Al Shabab to engage, inspire and prepare the next generation of leaders and technology innovators in Saudi Arabia. The program will provide core computing literacy to meet the demands of the future of work by training 10 volunteer educators in Oracle Application Express (APEX). Upon completion, the candidates will implement their knowledge in APEX by training up to 100 Computer Sciences graduates.
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Oracle Academy’s partnership with Tamkeen Al Shabab will provide holistic training that will cover various skills needed for participating students to excel in their future careers. While Tamkeen Al Shabab will equip them with the key soft and life skills, Oracle Academy in parallel will develop their technical capacities by offering them and their educators exceptional training and a range of high-quality, free courses that cater to varying levels and industries.
To name a few – some of these courses will include Java Fundamentals; Java Foundations; Artificial Intelligence with Machine Learning in Java; SQL Fundamentals; Oracle Application Express (APEX) Development Foundations and more.
The additional curriculum for Computer Science teachers covers Java and Database and offers teachers the option to take this learning into their anytime, anywhere online classrooms using the Oracle Academy free resources hosted online.
Students will also have the opportunity to undertake the Oracle Foundations Associate Java and Oracle Foundations Associate Database exams through Oracle University, which are aligned to the Oracle Academy curriculum.
MANAGEENGINE STUDY REVEALS INSIGHTS ON TECH MATURITY POST COVID-19
ManageEngine has announced results from its recent market study, The 2021 Digital Readiness Survey.
The survey discovered that 86% of organisations worldwide are using artificial intelligence (AI) more than they did two years ago. However, only 35% of the global respondents reported that their confidence in the technology has significantly increased.
The focus of the study was to understand technological and process maturity in a post-COVID world, in areas such as remote work, security, business analytics and AI.
ManageEngine commissioned Dimensional Research to conduct a
Rajesh Ganesan, Vice President, ManageEngine
survey of 1,210 qualified executives and technology professionals from small businesses to large enterprises. Researchers investigated geographical trends from North America, Australia and New Zealand, the United Kingdom, India and Singapore.
Organisations worldwide mainly increased their use of AI to improve business analytics (63%), increase operational efficiency (62%) and enhance the customer experience (60%). While a majority of global respondents (94%) believe that AI will meet business expectations—and 65% stated AI had delivered measurable business results— some fears remain around the technology’s performance. “The potential for AI to improve business efficiency and the customer experience was firmly on show through 2020, with AI handling everything from increased customer service volumes to oversight of self-service processes,” said Rajesh Ganesan, Vice President at ManageEngine.
“While AI is being handed more responsibility and is applied in more business-critical use cases, our research shows this is a double-edged sword and that more work is needed to embrace the technology and lift internal capability to ensure AI achieves its promise.”
HELP AG INTRODUCES MANAGED ADVANCED WAF SERVICE
Help AG has launched a fully cloud-delivered Managed Advanced Web Application Firewall (AWAF) service that proactively improves the security posture for organisations relying on webbased applications.
The service is in line with Help AG’s service centric evolution that offers customers uninterrupted access to leading cybersecurity technologies powered from in-country platforms with round-the-clock access to cybersecurity talent on a pay-as-you-go model.
Using cutting-edge Web Application
Firewall technology, it protects customers’ web-hosted applications from attacks, which target known and unknown exploits, without interrupting legitimate traffic.
Stephan Berner, Chief Executive Officer at Help AG, said, “In today’s digital age, enterprises rely heavily on web applications to perform their day-today business functions. With more and more applications moving to the cloud, customers are increasingly exposed to sophisticated attacks wherein hackers take advantage of attack vectors that bypass traditional network and hostbased security technologies.
Stephan Berner, CEO at HelpAG
“Help AG’s Managed Advanced Web Application Firewall service enhances customers’ cybersecurity posture and offers them industry-leading protection and an assurance of uninterrupted webhosted business applications.”
“The service provides them with round-the-clock proactive defense, support and management, no matter where the end user is located.”
SANS INSTITUTE LAUNCHES INTERACTIVE CYBERSECURITY COURSES
SANS Institute, the global leader in cyber security training and certifications, announced its upcoming live online training program ‘SANS Summer Dunes August 2021 Live Online’, to be held from 14th – 19th August. Designed to offer flexible access to cyber security training taught by real-world practitioners, the event enables Gulf professionals to protect their assets by learning critical skills in a hands-on labs in a virtual setting.
Expert instructors will help participants develop skills in topics such as network penetration testing, advanced incident response and threat hunting to defend their organisations against ever-increasing cyber threats. ‘SANS Summer Dunes August 2021 Live Online’ will feature two new GIAC-certified courses: ICS410: ICS/ SCADA Security Essentials, aimed at industrial cybersecurity professionals; and MGT551 Managing a Security Operations Centre (SOC), aimed at those looking to build SOCs.
The challenging market conditions of the pandemic forced regional enterprises to re-evaluate their cybersecurity practices as they pivoted from a cloud-last to cloud-only perspective, while unsecure habits of remote workers also exacerbated regional and global data breaches.
“Through its ambitious vision, the Gulf is on course to become one of the world’s most digitised economies. While a truly networked region will be the
Ned Baltagi, Managing Director, Middle East & Africa at SANS Institute.
catalyst for exponential business and civic progress, these opportunities also mandate the need for vigilant protection of corporate and government networks,” commented Ned Baltagi, Managing Director – Middle East and Africa at SANS Institute.
SAP EXPANDS ‘INNOVATE TO WIN’ SERVICE
SAP has expanded SAP Innovate to Win, a service designed to help customers get enabled on innovation frameworks and mindsets and apply these to build an internal culture around innovation and agility.
Available for companies of all sizes and from all industries, SAP Innovate to Win is an innovation enablement and coaching service that helps companies to tackle their individual business challenges. The company piloted the program in the Middle East and North Africa region, and have now expanded to support enterprises around the globe with virtual, in-person, and hybrid format options. The customised service enables teams within organisations to adopt Design Thinking — defined by The HPI School of Design Thinking (HPI D-School) as a human-centered, iterative, team-based mindset that leads to breakthrough innovations — and to build digital prototypes using SAP technologies. It also uniquely includes Business Model Innovation, Blue Ocean strategy, positive psychology, and creative coaching.
The standard program is delivered in seven different modules over the course of six weeks. With an emphasis on learning by doing, users complete field work in between each module to apply their learnings. This culminates in the final module when they then pitch the concepts they’ve developed to be utilised in realworld situations. SAP also creates a “maturity assessment,” or checklist, to help teams stay on track to achieve their objectives.
SAP Innovate to Win is also designed for different types of professionals. First, the programming can be geared to people specialising in IT who want to collaborate more efficiently with the business side of an organisation. With SAP Innovate to Win, IT professionals are better equipped to communicate with different kinds of teams and move from conversations centered on tech requirements to those focused on outcomes.
HPE SETS UP SALES CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN EGYPT
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has announced the opening of a new regional Sales Center of Excellence (CoE) in Cairo, Egypt, to serve the Middle East and Africa region. The sales hub will build on strong growth opportunities in the digital economy and will respond to customer demand for secure connectivity, remote work solutions, data analytics capabilities and as-a-service solutions. HPE will also launch an accompanying recruitment drive in the region.
The new Cairo Sales CoE hub has been designed to deliver a scalable and competitive site focusing on innovation and skills, as part of HPE’s long-term commitment to Egypt. The hub will provide an engine for career
Raif Abou Diab, Managing Director, Gulf & Levant, HPE
development and will foster future leaders in the region. HPE will build on and deepen its ongoing collaboration with local universities and research institutes in addition to the technology and entrepreneurship centers in Egypt to recruit graduates and develop local expertise and capabilities for the technology sector.
As part of the expansion, planned new hires for the Cairo Sales CoE are expected to nearly double HPE’s current sales resources in Egypt. HPE will also create new positions for apprentices, early careers and experienced hires to start work at the new hub. Graduate hires will work across sales, presales, sales supporting functions and channel, participating in a structured training program, including a two-year Sales Academy. Upon completion they will be able to move across various sales roles in the region.
“The opening of the Cairo Inside Sales Center of Excellence highlights our commitment to Egypt and its incredible talent pool,” said Raif Abou Diab, Managing Director, Gulf & Levant, HPE. “Egypt is vibrant, innovative and growing, so is well aligned with our business and our culture. HPE continues to focus on investing in growth and bringing together the brightest minds, creating a rewarding workplace that cultivates talent and advances the way we live and work.”
AppExchange is home to over 6,000 apps and consultant listings that extend Salesforce to help customers innovate faster and drive quicker time to value.
With over 9 million customer installs and 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies using AppExchange solutions, AppExchange has long been an innovation hub for customers looking to transform their businesses — and for partners developing solutions and providing expertise across the Salesforce Customer 360.
And now, with the addition of AppExchange Chat and Trusted Reviews, it is even easier for customers to connect with partners directly and to make smarter business decisions — without ever leaving a partner’s AppExchange listing.
“Customer expectations have changed drastically during the pandemic — and AppExchange is innovating to meet these expectations by enabling customers to connect directly, in real time, with partners,” said Woodson Martin, GM of Salesforce AppExchange. “In addition, with Trusted Reviews, customers can be more confident in their AppExchange install decisions.”
The new AppExchange Chat feature, built in collaboration with ISV partner Qualified, enables partners to add Chat functionality to their AppExchange listings, making it possible for customers to chat with real partner experts and get questions answered without leaving AppExchange and leverage those answers to make better informed business decisions in real-time.
Customers can easily find partnerbuilt solutions enabled with Chat functionality through the AppExchange Chat collection page. The collection page currently includes over 25 apps and consultant listings from Chat pilot partners, including Qualified, Vonage, Natterbox, 360 SMS, OwnBackup, Copado and Conga. These listings are ready-to-install solutions that span five categories, including: collaboration; productivity; customer communication; data management and analytics; and finance and accounting.
FORTINET EXPANDS SECURITY SERVICES OFFERINGS TO PROTECT DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURES
Fortinet has announced an expansion to its FortiCare and FortiGuard security services offerings, adding a new security service called FortiTrust. FortiTrust security services offer user-based licensing across all networks, endpoints and clouds, which traditionally have been siloed. Initial service levels are being offered for zero-trust network access (ZTNA) and identity verification, with more offerings forthcoming.
John Maddison, EVP of Products and
CMO at Fortinet, says,“As the digital attack surface expands with billions of edges that need to be protected, organizations are struggling to support an array of point security solutions and disparate services. Solution and services sprawl has now grown too difficult and too expensive to manage when they are siloed across various form factors. According to Gartner, organisations are moving towards security solutions with integrated services offerings. Fortinet is redefining services by expanding its security services options – which currently include FortiCare and FortiGuard – with FortiTrust, enabling a unified offering with one licensing model for flexible consumption options across networks, endpoints and clouds.”
FortiTrust provides security services that follow the user across an organisation’s entire security platform, enabling organisations to easily manage and secure across all form factors.
FortiTrust adds to Fortinet’s existing FortiCare and FortiGuard security services portfolio. FortiCare services are available for all Fortinet Security Fabric products. FortiCare offers three levels of services, including Essential, Premium and Elite, all providing 24×7 technical support and timely issue resolution. FortiCare also
John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet
offers several product and account-based services options to address the unique needs of any organization. Through FortiCare, organisations have access to Fortinet experts to help accelerate technology implementation, provide reliable assistance through advanced support, and offer proactive care to maximise security and performance of Fortinet deployments.
PROVEN CONSULT AND SAUDI ARABIA’S UWC TO DRIVE DIGITALISATION IN LOGISTICS
Proven Consult and warehousing logistics service provider in Saudi Arabia United Warehouse Co. (UWC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to fast-track digital transformation in the logistics industry.
As per the partnership, both companies will collaborate in advancing technological transformation through the deployment of latest technologies.
“At Proven Consult, innovation is at the heart of everything we do. Our goal is to support businesses prepare for a digital future and change the way they conduct operations. We are extremely pleased to be the technology vendors of choice for UWC and look forward to our collaboration. We believe this partnership will mark the beginning of a long-standing business association as we embark on the journey of digital transformation for UWC,” said Anas Abdul-Haiy, CEO and Deputy Director at Proven Consult.
Committed to creating smarter businesses with its team of experts, Proven Consult, in partnership with UWC, will work to create value through implementation of digital technologies. The company aims to enhance business performance and implement Intelligent Business Automation as a core functional area within UWC in order to further enable technological efficiencies and achieve uniformity, integrate digitization, and improve functionality across various verticals within the organization.
This joint venture between two industry pioneers aims to realise Saudi Vision 2030 with the combined goal of promoting technological advancement in the Kingdom, while at the same time placing Saudi Arabia on the world map in terms of technological advancement.
SOPHOS ACQUIRES REFACTR
Sophos has acquired Refactr, which develops and markets a versatile DevSecOps automation platform that bridges the gap between DevOps and cybersecurity. Based in Bellevue, Washington, Refactr launched in 2017 and is privately held.
As DevOps and security teams continue to adopt “IT-as-Code” approaches to managing their environments, Refactr’s ability to automate any of these processes enables teams to scale. For example, with Refactr’s platform, DevOps teams can augment existing continuous integration, continuous delivery and continuous deployment (CI/CD) workflows, and cybersecurity teams can leverage the platform’s visual drag and drop builder. Refactr has leading customers in both the private and government/public sectors, including the Center for Internet Security and the U.S. Air Force’s Platform One.
Sophos is optimizing Refactr’s DevSecOps automation platform to add Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) capabilities to its Managed Threat Response (MTR) and Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions. The SOAR capabilities will also help automate Sophos’ Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem, which underpins all of Sophos’ product solutions, services, threat intelligence, and data lake.
“First-generation SOAR solutions have moved our industry forward in significant ways, but we’re now witnessing an evolution where more and more businesses are becoming software companies, and our security solutions need to evolve in parallel. As we’ve seen in recent supply-chain incidents, attackers are increasingly targeting software development pipelines, and defenders need the ability to shift further left of attackers. The industry needs SOAR to mature into more capable and generalisable DevSecOps solutions, and Sophos’ acquisition of Refactr will help us lead the way,” said Joe Levy, chief technology officer, Sophos.
