EC-MEA April 2023 by GEC Media Group

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PA G E S 5 2 VOLUME 10 | APRIL 2023

ISSUE 09

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VIRTUALISATION OF DESIGN WORKSTATIONS Cloud virtualisation and VDI are enabling ondemand compute resources for high end design and rendering.

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DRIVING OPERATIONS AND PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE YOUR PARTNER FOR

Cloud & Digital Transformation

Enterprise Applications

Analytics & Automation AI & ML as a Service

Cyber Security Solutions

Management Consulting, Advisory and Quality Assurance

An unit of

“Delivery centres in US, Middle East and India”

Phone: +971528732716 | Email: hello@opx america.com | www.opxtechnology.com 02

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AP R I L 2023

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Channel in Saudi Arabia

imilar to UAE, Saudi Arabia is looking at enhancing its economy with a range of mega non-oil activities and opportunities. One of the primary challenges that any vendor supplier faces in Saudi Arabia is access to local channel partners, skills enhancement and training, certification and onboarding. Globalisation brings with itself opportunities for growth, investment, and cultural change. But it also raises the barrier for delivery. Local standards for delivery and operations can change overnight into global benchmarks. After all the investment is global and hence the expectation will also be similarly inflated. Software AG has recently appointed a country lead inside Saudi Arabia and one of the immediate activities is channel partner onboarding and partner development. Software AG is also following a high touch approach, providing 80% of the required skills for a project to the channel partner, while the partner makes available 20% of the required amount. The equation across projects gradually transitions to a reduced involvement by Software AG professional services and increased involvement from strategic partners, that is 80:20 changes to 20:80, points out Mamdouh Al Olayan from Software AG. Several new initiatives and projects like NEOM, Oxagon, Red Sea, Diriyah Gate in Saudi Arabia need smart connected devices- smart cities, smart campuses. Amongst the channel partners inside Saudi Araba that Software AG has partnered with are iot squared, IB Tech, Saudi Business Machines, Rootware, 2P, STCS, Wipro, TCS, among others. Turn these pages for more about Software AG’s go-to market in Saudi Arabia. This month’s lead feature looks at how legacy high performance computing using workstations is being disrupted by a combination of cloud and virtual GPU. Clearly, enterprises that rely extensively on graphical visualisation are the first to benefit by a scalable, on-demand access to compute resources. A combination of virtual GPU and VDI is now making it possible to offer compute resources on demand for graphical use cases. We are pretty much a consultancy, that focuses on graphical applications delivery, explains IMSCAD’s Adam Jull. We have an engineering team that supports customers all over the world, that use graphical applications in a cloud or virtual environment. Our skills are the delivery of graphical workflows and applications through a remote access and we can offer any flavour of VDI or cloud. Says Simran Bagga from Omnix Engineering, a strategic partner for Autodesk, once we enable our partners and get them ready for this new generation of solutions, how do we transform and translate this into the customer environment, is the next challenge. This where the Omnix sales engines and marketing engines fit in with IMSCAD. Turn these pages to read more on this subject, our regular thought leadership columns, and latest industry news. Wishing you all Eid Mubarak and a joyous time with your family.

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AP R I L 2023

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APRIL 2023

VOLUME 10

ISSUE 09

CONTENTS 31-36

COVER STORY

TRANSFORMING GRAPHICAL

VISUALISATION

EDITORIAL

18-24

CHANNEL

42-45

PRODUCTS VIEWPOINT 07

25-30

REAL LIFE

Get ready to maximise return on MDR investments

44-47

GUEST COLUMN

Governments are now most targeted sector by state actors

48-49

Managing ever growing data assets in the cloud

12-17

EVENTS

SOCIALLY SPEAKING 38-40

CHANNEL STRET Saudi Arabia’s go-to market underway

PEOPLE AP R I L 2023

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1 1 M AY Q ATA R | 1 8 M AY K S A | 2 5 M AY U A E

PRESENTS

SEC_RITY IS NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT U!

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AP R I L 2023

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VIEWPOINT

GET READY TO MAXIMISE RETURN ON MDR INVESTMENTS MDR can alleviate security challenges by addressing tool integration and resource management, enabling organisations to regain control of their digital assets.

he alarming frequency and intensity of cyberattacks in the region continue to unsettle even the most experienced security professionals. Reports suggest that UAE-based incidents saw a 151% year-on-year surge in the third quarter of last year alone. Furthermore, in 2022, more than one-third of the country’s operational technology computers, particularly those in sectors like manufacturing and petrochemicals, was targeted by threat actors. Regrettably, the tactics, techniques, and procedures employed by modern threat actors have become increasingly sophisticated. In what can be deemed a ‘gentrification’ of the cybercriminal underworld, previously informal groups have transformed into an industry that provides cloud-based services like Malware-as-a-Service and Ransomware-as-aService, and structured teams such as RansomOps. While we may label them as gangs or cabals, their effectiveness has not diminished. To beat these digicriminals, organisations must engage them on their turf. This also means that businesses and organisations must build round-the-clock detection and response capabilities deployed at scale. It is the only way to empower under-equipped, attritionplagued Security Operations Centres or SOCs to become the threat hunters we need them to be. But delivering such capabilities is a challenge, as is ensuring coverage for ever-expanding environments that encompass premises, clouds, identity platforms, and all the subenvironments, workloads, applications, and services within. Attempts at addressing this tech swamp often reach for more and more point solutions. Over-tooling makes more work for overburdened teams, leading to burnout and an exacerbation of the problem. Managed Detection and Response, MDR, is an antidote to all this. It applies a shared-

Taj El-khayat, Area VP – South EMEA, Vectra AI.

Cyberattacks in the UAE have surged, with more than one in three OT computers targeted by threat actors in 2022 responsibility model, supplying top-grade, on-demand, industry expertise, while also returning control of the environment to its proprietor. It does this through advanced, contextualised AI that delivers superior Attack Signal Intelligence to security stakeholders. This reduces the demands on security personnel, all but dispelling alert noise and taking responsibility for manual tasks. MDR can be used for either outsourcing or team augmentation. Either way, it solves many of the problems posed by the current landscape.

Best practices MDR services can offer significant benefits to organisations, but optimising ROI requires adhering to five best practices.

First, both the client and provider sides should have a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities through transparent communication, including detailed SLAs and system logs. Second, a liaison team should be in place to ensure that strategies and policies are understood by both teams, and actions are thoroughly documented. Third, MDR must seamlessly integrate with existing tools and infrastructures while reducing complexity and minimising disruption. Fourth, MDR should filter out the noise and actively listen to identify and tackle unknown threats. Finally, MDR can extend the security team by offering additional expertise, technology, and support to help reduce attrition rates and provide necessary resources. Detecting and mitigating cyber threats before they cause damage may seem like a simple requirement, but it poses significant challenges that even the most skilled CISOs struggle to overcome. MDR can help alleviate these challenges by addressing issues such as lack of resources and staff, allowing organisations to take back control of their digital assets. With Attack Signal Intelligence generated by MDR setups, valuable telemetry can be collected, empowering SOCs to strengthen their defences and create a safer digital environment. ë

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VIEWPOINT

GOVERNMENTS ARE NOW MOST TARGETED SECTOR BY STATE ACTORS In Q3 2022, government was the second most attacked industry with an attack average sitting at 1,564 cases each week marking a 20% increase compared to last year.

overnment agencies are responsible for mass amounts of sensitive data ranging from personal information about citizens to classified information pertaining to national security. In today’s digital world, information remains a hot commodity in dark marketplaces and drives threat actors to sweet spots inside national governments. Governments and their agencies have risen to the top as one of the most targeted sectors. In Q3 2022, government was the second most attacked industry with an attack average sitting at 1,564 cases each week. This marks a 20% increase compared to the same period last year. State-sponsored threat actors are also motivated by special causes to target government agencies other than financial gain. Sometimes their goal is to disrupt essential services, destroy national assets, encourage protests, expose political-level wrongdoing, or simply erode trust and provoke embarrassment. If breached, government institutions become a gateway for threat actors to access thousands of related enterprises, and the civilian population. This can have a profound effect by destabilizing the institutions and people that governments must govern.

Spotlight In January, the Greek Parliament identified an attempt to compromise 60 parliamentary email accounts. In February, cybercriminals breached the UK Foreign Office and an Iranian-linked group conducted the cyber operations. A Pakistani-linked group deployed a remote access trojan to spy on Indian military and diplomatic persons. In March, at least six US states were hacked by a Chinese-backed group. In April, cyber researchers discovered a new Russian-linked campaign using phishing emails to deliver malware to diplomats and

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Tamer Odeh, Regional Sales Director, SentinelOne.

embassy officials from Portugal, Poland, France. In May, a phishing campaign against the Jordan Ministry of Foreign Affairs was attributed to an Iranian cyber espionage actor. Russian-linked threat actors hit Italian websites with a DDoS attack. In June, threat actors breached Chinese government networks to find and leak evidence of human rights abuse committed against the Uyghur population. In August, DDoS attacks temporarily took down the Taiwanese presidential website and attempted the same on the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry. In October, US Government websites across Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi were taken offline by proRussian hackers.

Red flags Government agencies and institution across most nations are regarded as soft targets by advanced threat actors. These government entities are mostly supported by small funded budgets with little room for robust cybersecurity programs. Moreover, they usually do not employ dedicated security professionals and rely on general-service IT or small SOC teams. Legacy technologies in play here may not be robust enough to protect against large-scale ransomware threats. Here is a list of the principal flags: #1 Citizens and users will trust a government

web site and that makes them vulnerable. Researchers noted that attackers leverage legitimate government domains to distribute malware to many at once, since site visitors implicitly trust them. #2 Government systems are complex and host significant amounts of sensitive data often shared with third parties and contractors. This complexity and access increases risk from outside. #3 Government entities are less funded than their private counterparts. This increases the occurrence of unpatched software exposed to modern, advanced cyber threats. #4 Root cause for the red flags are a result of weak IT and cybersecurity infrastructure. Threat actors will target weak infrastructures to deploy malware, lateral movement tools, ransomware, and phishing.

Action plan In 2023, government agencies need to build cyber resiliency, implement best practices, and reduce their attack surface. Solutions from select cyber security vendors can provide visibility and will be effective, considering breadth of data networks managed by governments and their agencies. Select cyber security vendors can help government enterprises build resiliency through autonomous endpoint protection. ë

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2023

www.btxshow.com

08 JUNE - KSA 1 5 J U NE - U A E TRANSFORMATION IN

SECURITY NETWORKING BUSINESS APPLICATIONS IT & COMPUTING TRANSFORMATION IN

TRANSFORMATION IN

DRIV ING BUS INES S E XCE L L E NCE & TOTAL EX PERIENCE T RANF ORM AT I ON

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VIEWPOINT

MANAGING EVER GROWING DATA ASSETS IN THE CLOUD Businesses must set up a data protection strategy, implement robust identity and access management, and leverage cloud-native security services.

he world’s data is predicted to double by 2026, adding more pressure on enterprises to manage their digital assets. While cloud adoption offers benefits such as scalability, flexibility, and cost-effective storage, the exponential growth of data and cloud migration also raise concerns about data protection. Gartner predicts worldwide spending on public cloud services to reach a record $592 Billion this year, a 21% increase from 2022. Fast ‘lift and shift’ migration often neglects modern data protection best practices, leading to insufficient security for sensitive cloud data. The Cloud Security Alliance reports that 96% of companies face this challenge. To help protect data in the cloud, enterprises can implement three best practices: establish a comprehensive data protection strategy, implement robust identity and access management, and leverage cloud-native security services. By doing so, enterprises can securely and efficiently manage their ever-growing data assets in the cloud.

Rick Vanover, Senior Director, Product Strategy, Veeam.

Refactor your cloud environment for greater agility and become data-centric to prepare for the future

Know your data The first step in cloud security is understanding what data you are protecting. Many enterprises have vast amounts of data that have been migrated to the cloud without being classified properly. To ensure that everything is done right, IT teams must identify what data is stored and where it is stored. Automated data classification tools can help sort through and organise this data. Once this is done, security teams can determine what data is mission-critical and sensitive, and start looking at how it is secured. Additionally, moving data to the cloud can create security and network issues that are often overlooked. This can include new service types that do not exist on-premises, code stored in cloud storage, applications leverag-

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ing other cloud services, and APIs provided in the cloud.

Know your responsibilities Enterprises often misunderstand their security and data protection responsibilities in the cloud. The shared responsibility model on which cloud security is based means that while the provider is responsible for the security of infrastructure and facilities, the customer is responsible for securing applications, data, and access. To ensure data protection, enterprises need to have backups of critical and sensitive data stored in the cloud, with copies across different locations, mediums, and at least one copy kept offsite, offline, and immutable. Controlling

access and privileges is also essential, with multiple accounts used across the business and access and identity management applied correctly. The principle of least privilege should be followed to limit user access to only the necessary resources and environments.

Keep it cost-effective Implementing effective security measures in the cloud is a big task for enterprises. However, the initial heavy lift to secure the cloud will not be needed again on the same scale. To maintain a cost-effective cloud environment, cloud data hygiene processes must be put in place. Enterprises must have a proper data life cycle process to store and protect data in the right ways. For example, data may move from block resource to object storage to archive storage, each with different costs. It is essential to establish a ‘cloud economic model’ to prevent unexpected costs associated with API usage, data egress, and more. This will ensure spending matches expectations and avoid ‘bill shock’. Enterprises must also re-factor their cloud environment for greater agility to unlock value for their business and customers. Becoming data-centric will prepare enterprises for the future, as the cloud is dynamic, and best practices will continue to change. ë

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www.futureitsummit.com

UNVEILING THE FUTURE AT #FUTUREITSUMMIT

2023

Cloud and Automation Towards a Sustainable Business and Economy SINGAPORE and INDIA

BROUGHT BY

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IN PICTURES GEC MEDIA GROUP’S IFTAR EVENTS BOOST CIO NETWORKING

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S ST

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EVENTS GISEC Global 2023

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EVENTS

GISEC 2023 fulfilled the UAE’s objectives on digital transformation The 11th edition of GISEC Global 2023 organized by Dubai World Trade Center and hosted by the UAE Cybersecurity Council was held on 14th, 15th and 16th March 2023 with a record of 500plus cybersecurity brands, 300 leading InfoSec and cybersecurity speakers, and 1,000 of the world’s top ethical hackers to discuss their viewpoints in the global security market. The event took place with the Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC) as the Official Government Cybersecurity Partner, and the Ministry of Interior, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), and Dubai Police as Official Supporters. GISEC Global 2023 was hosted with the theme ‘Connecting minds, boosting cyber resilience,’ which fulfilled the UAE’s objectives on digital transformation in data management, cybersecurity, government services, and governance. HE Dr Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity, UAE Government highlighted GISEC as the ideal cybersecurity platform and partner with vendors and government entities in the region. He also pointed out GISEC as one of the most important events which are not only for the government but also for the companies which are helping to achieve that resiliency and nowadays the sectors like healthcare, education, oil and gas, electricity, water, transportation, and aviation are going through digital transformation. Addressing the CISOs in

his keynote speech, HE Dr Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, emphasized the importance of partnerships and collaborations based on the values of trust and clarity to achieve the goal of building better cyber resilience. HE Dr Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti was presented with the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards’ Global Leadership Award at GISEC Global’s Mainstage, for his impactful mission to develop cyber talent, spread cyber awareness and cyberculture, and make UAE at the forefront of international cyber resilience. The event witnessed the CISOs from major corporations across the Middle East, Africa & Asia. The government dignitaries and cyber leaders, some major cybersecurity enterprises from 40 countries, innovators and global experts joined together to discover innovative and effective strategies. More than 35,000 visitors from 100-plus countries attended the three-day event. The Middle East’s effective and influential cybersecurity event is a confluence for the global cybersecurity community. The event united cybersecurity experts and the industry’s leading brands in the three days of conference sessions, keynotes, product launches, partner seminars, interactive sessions, briefings, and more. The speakers shared their views across six halls and nine stages – Main Stage, Government Stage, The Global Cybersecurity Congress, Critical Infrastructure Dome, Dark Stage, Nation Stage, Cyber Stars, Xlabs, INSPIRE, Hack360, and the Academy.

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EVENTS

The top ethical hackers and infosec leaders like Bruce Schneier (Cybersecurity Guru and one of the world’s most recognizable voices on cybersecurity), Kevin Mitnick (World’s most famous hacker, Global selling author and top cybersecurity keynote speaker), Jamie Woodruff (The man who hacked Kim Kardashian, discovered vulnerabilities in Facebook, Google and other well-known online apps), Bryan Seely (The only hacker to wiretap the US Secret Service & the FBI, uncovered over 20 million Social Security Numbers and featured on the front pages of Wired, CNET, Forbes, Washington Post & CNNMoney), Matthias Schranner (Former FBI trained hostage negotiator, undercover drugs enforcement agent & author), Sudhakar Ramakrishna (President and CEO, SolarWinds) joined the impactful event and made it a big success by sharing their perspectives. GISEC Global 2023 was a hub of some major

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global technology leaders like Huawei, Microsoft, Cisco, Honeywell, and du who came up with their innovative cybersecurity solutions. Moreover, there are some infosec companies like Spire Solutions, CPX, Crowdstrike, Mandiant, Pentera, Pvotal, Port53, Cloudfare, Edgio, Secureworks, Synack, Threatlocker, Votiro, Spidersilk, and Waterfall. GISEC Global 2023 initiated UnLock – the GISEC Cyber Stars Pitch Competition in which around 100 cybersecurity start-ups revealed their innovative solutions that focused on the future of cybersecurity, that is connecting with investors, mentors, prospects, IT security and corporate buyers, government officials and influential disruptors. UnLock comprised three categories, Best Global Start-up, Best Regional Start-up, and for academia, the Most Innovative Idea. Other highlights of the event include World Cyber Championship, Bug Bounty, Women in

Cybersecurity, CISO Circle and Secret Briefings. GISEC invited companies to be part of the largest bug bounty challenge in which the organizations can interact and identify the threats in collaboration with global bug bounty hunters, white hat hackers, InfoSec professionals and members of the InfoSec communities. The Women in Cybersecurity was another highlight of the event which was the speaking session of some influential women leaders like Elisabeth Beiter (Chief Administrative Officer, Pvotal Technologies, USA), Clar Rosso (CEO, (ISC), US), Celia Mantshiyane (Chief Information Security Officer, MTN (Mobile Telephone Network), South Africa), Nia Zumot (Cybersecurity Specialist, Microsoft, UAE), Neha Yadav (Global Head of Information Security Assurance & CISO, RAIN, UAE), Shamma Bin Hammad (Founder and CEO, CyberHero, UAE) and more. In the CISO circle the top CISOs came up with their viewpoints on the cybersecurity challenges and emphasized on a resilient and safer cyber future. The session was addressed by HE Dr Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti. GISEC Global is the platform of solution that brought the stakeholders together in a unified and a bold approach to cybersecurity. GISEC 2024 is all set to host on 23rd, 24th and 25th April at Dubai World Trade Centre and the ground is ready for the cybersecurity community worldwide.

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EVENTS

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#BCM #Risk Management - Towards a Resilient Enterprise

The GCC Security Symposium The GCC Security Symposium is back for its 7th year, and it’s bigger than ever! In 2023, the Symposium will visit three GCC countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, gathering over 400+ leading security decision-makers. When it comes to cyber security, we all have a role to play: attackers are increasingly circumventing technical controls and targeting account holders who inadvertently ‘open the door’ to attackers. Aside from the overarching theme of ‘Sec rity is not complete without ‘U,’ the symposium will take a closer look at how leaders in BCM and Risk management are assisting companies in developing a strong business case for business continuity and crisis risk management. The conference will also bring together top leaders in crisis management, disaster recovery, cybersecurity, and business resilience. The symposium provides an excellent opportunity to gain exceptional knowledge on how an agile BCM plan will increase your organization’s flexibility and agility. The event will include a powerful lineup of keynotes, presentations, workshops, and panel discussions, as well as an exhibition of top providers in the business continuity and resilience industry.

CISO Awards The Cyber Sentinels CISO Awards will honor the hard taskmasters of security in digital enterprises for their unwavering dedication to their organization’s security infrastructure. The award honors the top CISOs who use technology to secure critical business information assets, reduce risk, and deliver business value. The award ceremony serves as a platform for them to showcase their accomplishments and share their expertise and knowledge.

Future Security Leaders Awards As the threat landscape becomes more vulnerable by the day, there is no end to innovation and no limit to improvement in enterprise security solutions. The Cyber Sentinels Security Awards 2023 honor security vendors, VADs, System Integrators, and Resellers who have gone above and

beyond in innovating their solutions and services for customers, redefining the term “value” in security offerings.

Business Continuity Management and Risk Champions Award The BCM and Risk Champions Award recognize individuals or teams who have demonstrated exceptional skills and contributions in promoting and implementing BCM and risk management within their organization. The award seeks to raise awareness about the importance of risk management and BCM, as well as to recognize those who have made significant contributions in their field. BCM is a proactive strategy for ensuring that critical business functions continue both during and after a disruption. It assists organizations in identifying potential risks and developing risk-mitigation strategies. Risk management entails identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks, as well as developing strategies to effectively manage them. Individuals or teams who have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and a commitment to promoting BCM and risk management within their organizations, resulting in improved resilience, preparedness, and successful recovery from disruptions, are recognized with the BCM and Risk Champions Award.

The Grand Finale The Middle East Annual CISO Conclave, hosted by Global CISO Forum, will bring together the top CISOs and Security Heads from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe to celebrate, engage, and socialize with partners and peers from September 20-22, 2023, in BAKU Azerbaijan. The three-day Conclave is designed for industry leaders to network, share innovation, and source the latest products as we navigate a new era in security technology. This annual meeting in Baku is a strong step towards the Global CISO Forum’s vision of providing a year-round platform for the security community to connect with end users, consultants, and technology buyers through multiple digital channels.

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CHANNEL

Bespin Global achieves AWS Premier Tier Services Partner status in AWS Partner Network Hot on the heels of being awarded AWS MENA Partner of the Year 2022, Bespin’s latest achievement differentiates it as an AWS Partner that has successfully demonstrated its expertise and helped customers design, architect, build, migrate, and manage their workloads on AWS.

Bespin Global has maintained its status globally as an AWS Premier Tier Services partner since 2018 and recently received local recognition for its commitment to serving the Middle East region. Excelling in customer intimacy and opera-

tions, and with a roster of world-class talents, Bespin was the first Managed Service Provider in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, achieved this competency 2021, and recently embarked on a new venture with e& enterprise, formerly known as Etisalat Digital, a leading digital, professional, and managed services provider in the UAE. AWS Premier Tier Services Partners also have a strong team of AWS Trained and Certified technical consultants and deep expertise in project management and professional services. For Bespin, this is evidenced by its Middle East headquarters in Abu Dhabi, which feature a one of the first Cloud Operations Centre, offering customers round-the-clock monitoring of their cloud environments along with immediate actions in response to any changes in the environment. Bespin’s unique Managed Services take things a step further by providing 24, 7 integrated support services, including application and infrastructure monitoring, and optimising environment while its Bespin Academy promises to empower and upskill by integrating outcome-driven courses, hands-on laboratories, and performance-based tests to assess, train, and validate competency and skills using technologies offered by the company.

Dataiku joins NVIDIA DGX-Ready software programme to simplify enterprise AI Dataiku, the platform for Everyday AI, announced that it has joined the NVIDIAs DGX-Ready Software programme. Dataiku has been selected for the exclusive, invite-only programme because of its tested and certified solutions that pair with NVIDIA DGX systems to simplify AI deployment and management, allowing NVIDIA customers and partners to easily implement advanced analytics and AI. Already a member of the NVIDIA AI Accelerated programme, Dataiku has also recently become a Premier member of NVIDIA Inception, a programme that offers resources and support to cutting-edge startups transforming industries with advancements in AI and data science. Organisations often struggle with how to best

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access the necessary data required for advanced analytics initiatives while also contending with AI tools that have traditionally only been accessible by data experts and more technical users. Through Dataiku’s collaboration with NVIDIA, customers will be able to overcome these challenges through the following benefits: Data access: Organisations can now use a single, coherent solution to design, develop and deploy AI and analytics applications as Dataiku allows for access to data regardless of where it resides, whether on-premises or in the public cloud. Lowering the barrier to entry for AI: Dataiku provides software that helps everyone in an organisation — from technical teams to business leaders — achieve exceptional results with

Abhi Madhugiri, VP, Global Technology Alliances, Dataiku.

AI and powers collective success at companies of all sizes, across all industries. Speed to value: Customers benefit from Dataiku’s use of pre-built components and automation to streamline processes. Teams will see consistent management and governance across projects, and data scientists and engineers will experience a boost in productivity.

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CHANNEL

RNS launches IntelliAssure, a customised ISO and compliance consultancy service RNS Technology Services, a leading provider of cyber security solutions and services, has announced the launch of IntelliAssure, a personalised consultancy service for ISO, compliance and information security standards. RNS understands that businesses operate differently and face unique challenges. As such, the IntelliAssure service is tailored to meet each client’s specific objectives. “Our team is excited to offer ISO and compliance consultancy services to our clients,” said RNS Technology’s Founder and CEO, Samir Chopra. “We understand the challenges businesses face in navigating complex regulatory frameworks, and our consultants are well equipped with the knowledge and expertise to provide effective services.” IntelliAssure service is designed to provide businesses with the necessary tools to meet their compliance obligations efficiently. The

service includes training and support, which ensures that clients remain compliant with the latest international standards and regulations. The Middle East market has an acute shortage of knowledge and skills needed to address the compliance and information security standards. Hence, whatever little services are available are exorbitantly priced and not up to scratch in terms of quality. RNS aims to be the gold standard to address these gaps and offer our customers the best-in-class services to meet their technology and financial objectives. RNS Technology Services has been providing cyber security solutions and services for many years and has a proven track record of delivering outstanding results for its clients. With the addition of ISO and compliance consultancy services, RNS is well-positioned to continue its growth and help businesses thrive in’s competitive landscape.

Samir Chopra, Founder and CEO at RNS Technology Services.

Alibaba Cloud, Dubai Silicon Oasis launch Web 3.0 Association Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, announced a collaboration with Dubai Silicon Oasis, an integrated freezone technology park and member of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, DIEZ, to launch the Web 3.0 Association to better serve customers for exploring new business opportunities and support the growth of the Web 3.0 ecosystem. The announcement was made during the Alibaba Cloud Day summit in Dubai in the presence of Dr Juma Al Matrooshi, DirectorGeneral of Dubai Silicon Oasis, and Daniel Jiang, General Manager of the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. The event was held at the JW Marriott Marquis on 6 March under the theme “Together for a Shared Future” with key industry leaders to discuss business developments to evolve with the next generation of the internet that will bring major innovations and restructure current operational models. By leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s scalable, highperformance, and secure cloud infrastructure and digital technology, the Web 3.0 Association will provide a framework for industry partici-

pants in the Middle East and beyond to support the growth of the evolving Web 3.0 ecosystem and digital economy by enabling more opportunities for businesses and create more userfriendly and immersive experiences. During the event, Alibaba Cloud announced a collaboration with ChainIDE, a cloud-based multichain integrated development environment, IDE for developers, to help launch the Web 3.0 and Metaverse Lab initiative with an aim to train 10,000 blockchain engineers to empower educational technology and developer ecology in the Middle East. The initiative will nurture participants through a Web 3.0 training camp, Metaverse Lab and Blockchain Teacher Training System. During the event, Alibaba Cloud also signed a memorandum of understanding, MoU with Mysten Labs, a web3 infrastructure company and initial developer of the Sui Layer 1 blockchain to accelerate the adoption of Web 3.0. Under the terms of the MOU agreement, Alibaba Cloud aims to provide archival node services and secure cloud infrastructure for validators as part of Sui Blockchain Testnet to better serve developers and customers for a

(Left) Daniel Jiang, General Manager of the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence and, (right) Dr Juma Al Matrooshi, Director-General of Dubai Silicon Oasis.

more user-friendly and immersive experience. The two companies will enhance collaboration to mobilise the industry participants including the builders and communities etc in developing a sustainable Web 3.0 ecosystem and will also explore cooperation opportunities in e-commerce and payments sectors. As a global leading IaaS and PaaS provider, Alibaba Cloud boasts a network of 86 availability zones in 28 regions across the globe.

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This year’s award winners included: l

(Left) Any Coussins, Epicor Senior Vice President and Head of International and (right) Paul Flannery, Epicor Vice President, International Channel Sales with executives from Index Infotech, winners of the Industry Specialist Award at Epicor’s Momentum International Partner Conference 2023.

Epicor announced Partner Excellence Award Winners at Momentum Conference 2023 Epicor, a global leader in industry-specific enterprise software, recognised industry Channel Partners that have outperformed in their commitment to the growth of Epicor’s business, through innovation and cloud technology with their customers. The essential businesses that make, move, and sell increasingly recognise the significant benefits that the cloud can provide to their busi-

nesses, said Paul Flannery, Epicor Vice President, of International Channel Sales. Epicor Channel Partners have been there every step of the way to support and collaborate with our customers on their digital transformation journeys and are a natural extension of our business in delivering the deep industry expertise our customers expect, commented Paul Flannery.

Industry Specialist Award: Index Infotech delivered strong expertise in precast concrete and deployed Epicor Kinetic to multiple customers. They continually develop their industry knowledge and best practice by providing outstanding outcomes for their customers. Business Transformation Award: Kairos Solutions was recognised for its work in collaborating with a customer on their Industry 4.0 journey, providing a fully integrated and automated solution through Epicor Kinetic that delivered measurable outcomes for the business. Cloud Transformation Award: Coreplus evolved its organisational model to lead with the cloud, working closely with a customer to expand and connect their operations across Southeast Asia, covering each of the customers’ make, move, and sell initiatives. Rising Star Award: Mindbox delivered exceptionally strong year-on-year growth across a variety of Epicor platforms in a very competitive and price-sensitive market. The team made significant investments in their sales and marketing organisation with a focused demand generation model. International Partner of the Year Award: Precise Business Solutions significantly transformed its business over the last three years to focus on delivering for customers in the cloud, executing strong and sustainable performance while delivering value across many new cloud customers, migrations, and add-on sales.

FVC partners with Malwarebytes to bring security to channel FVC, a leading distributor of Infrastructure and Information Security solutions, announced a new partnership with Malwarebytes, a global leader in real-time cyber protection. FVC offers value-added resellers and their customers access to Malwarebytes’ incident response, endpoint protection, and endpoint detection and response, to reduce the prevalence of cyberattacks with easy-to-manage and affordable solutions. Malwarebytes is constantly expanding its business platform to address the latest threat vectors, most recently with Mobile Security for Business and Application Block. Last year, Malwarebytes also released add-on modules Cloud Storage Scanning, DNS Filtering, and Vulnerability and Patch Management, making Malwarebytes’ offering one of the simplest and most comprehensive end-to-end security platforms on the market.

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KS Parag, Managing Director of FVC.

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Evanssion partners with ExtraHop to provide network detection and response solutions Evanssion, a leading cybersecurity, and cloud-native value distributor are pleased to announce its partnership with ExtraHop, the leader in cloud-native network detec-tion and response, across the Middle East region. Through this partnership, Evans-sion’s customers and partners will be able to leverage cutting-edge network detec-tion and response solutions from ExtraHop. In response to an increase in cyberattacks this past year, there has been a wide-spread deployment of network detection and response solutions to eliminate blind spots and inspect

(Left to right) Fouad Tawk, Area Vice President, Middle East, Turkey, and North Africa at ExtraHop, and Ahmad Al Qadri, Chief Executive Officer, Evanssion. east-west traffic for threats and anomalies. When used in conjunc-tion with Endpoint Detection and Response and Security Information and Event Management solutions, Network detection and response fills in the gaps that other tools may miss, detecting threats across the entire network from data centers to re-mote locations and in the cloud. A report from MarketsandMarkets projected that the global network detection and response market would grow from $1.1 billion in 2021 to $3.3 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual

Growth Rate of 24.7% during the forecast period. ExtraHop can help enterprises stop breaches 84% faster with cloud-scale machine learning across cloud, hybrid, and distributed environments. With ExtraHop Re-veal, Evanssion can deliver an enterprise-class Network detection and response so-lution for the modern Security Operations Centre, so security teams can unlock complete 360-degree visibility, real-time detection, and intelligent response to act with confidence and speed.

CrowdStrike to be available with purchase of Dell commercial PCs in coming months CrowdStrike, a vendor in cloud-delivered protection of endpoints, cloud workloads, identity and data, and Dell Technologies announced a new strategic alliance to help organisations prevent, detect and respond to cyber threats with frictionless and cost-effective offerings. The alliance entails targeted offerings for businesses of all sizes. Through the new strategic alliance, organisations can manage cyber threats and protect their endpoints, cloud workloads, identity and data. The CrowdStrike Falcon platform is available to purchase with volume licensing to help medium and large enterprises as well as public sector organisations consolidate spend, platforms and contracts while meeting security and compliance needs. CrowdStrike will also be available across a broad set of Dell offerings, including with the purchase of Dell commercial PCs in the coming months.

Sam Burd, president, Client Solutions Group at Dell.

Daniel Bernard, chief business officer at CrowdStrike.

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Starlink expands F5 distribution to include Saudi Arabia and Bahrain Starlink, an Infinigate Group company, announced a key milestone in its ongoing partnership with F5, a market leader in multi-cloud application services and security. The two companies have agreed to expand their existing partnership to include the Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Starlink can now provide coverage for F5’s solution portfolio across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Lebanon. This news comes on the back of a strong track record of customer successes to date. Starlink will now extend this legacy to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, helping organisations of every kind to secure, simplify and optimise applications and APIs wherever they reside —on premises, in the cloud, and at the edge.

Omnix International and Saudi Council of Engineers Sign MoU to Empower New Generation of Engineers in the Saudi Arabia Omnix, an end-to-end digital solutions and services pioneer, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Saudi Council of Engineers, a scientific vocational council that promotes the development of the engineering profession, to train and empower a new generation of engineers in the Saudi Arabia. As part of the agreement, Omnix will facilitate Saudi Council of Engineers member engineers to get certified by international accreditation systems and offer the exchange of consultancy and engineering expertise between the employees of the SCE and Omnix. Omnix will provide specialised training programmes to SCE members in the field of Building Information Modelling, Digital Construction, Multimedia, 3D Laser Scanning, computer-aided design, and technical linkage to provide and exchange information of common interest.

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Saadi Kermani, VP, Cloud Platform and Digital Business, AVEVA.

AVEVA announces portfolio-wide transition to AVEVA Flex subscription programme AVEVA announced its portfolio-wide transition to a subscription business model. To accelerate access to modern solutions and meet dynamic business needs, customers can trade-in their existing perpetual licenses for subscriptions spanning any mix of cloud, hybrid, and on-premises solutions across the designoperate-optimise industrial lifecycle. The AVEVA Flex subscription programme revolutionises the way industrial software is purchased and consumed. It can help reduce upfront costs as much as 65%, while enabling flexibility and scalability to respond to changing business needs, industry standards and regulatory requirements. New licenses for major engineering and operations solutions in AVEVA’s software portfolio are now subscription only, and the company has set a target to transition 80 percent of customer licenses from perpetual to subscription by 2025. A single subscription programme that spans edgeto-cloud solutions and from engineering to operations can empower teams to connect and collaborate in new and agile ways. European Energy uses AVEVA Unified Engineering in the cloud to enable a scalable, secure engineering workflow across their global footprint to empower their latest Power-to-X projects. Power-to-X technology produces green e-methanol based on renewable wind, solar, and bio-waste energy sources. As projects ramp up around the world, a flexible software subscription model allows tighter control and alignment between technology investment and business requirements.

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(Left to right) Seu David Daekyung, Managing Director, Macnica; Jun Ikeda, General Manager, Global Strategies, Macnica; Avinash Advani, Founder and CEO, CyberKnight and Vivek Gupta, Co-Founder and COO, CyberKnight.

Global VAD Macnica announces intent to acquire majority stake in CyberKnight Macnica, Inc, part of Macnica Holdings, a $7.3 billion global valueadded-distributor and solutions provider, announced its intent to acquire a majority stake in Cyber Knight Technologies. Headquartered in Shin-Yokohama, Japan, Macnica operates globally across Japan, USA, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, India, Brazil, Europe and focuses on AI, IIoT, mobility, cyber security, big data, healthcare, biotech, retail, robotics and semiconductors. Macnica’s product portfolio is based on some of the most advanced technologies in the world. The company is dedicated to providing customers with local engineering, technical services, support and solutions. Macnica has been in the cybersecurity business for more than 20 years and has a wide range of cybersecurity solutions. CyberKnight was founded in 2019 by industry veterans Avinash Advani, CEO and Vivek Gupta, COO and has rapidly grown into one of the largest cybersecurity VADs in the Middle East in just three years. The strategic relationship will support Macnica’s growth plans to

expand its geographical footprint into the Middle East, and then Turkey and Africa in due course. Furthermore, the collaboration will bring together Macnica’s renowned Japanese technology and professional services excellence, paired with CyberKnight’s Zero Trust Security expertise and Middle East experience. Headquartered in Dubai, CyberKnight’s 50+ team has on-ground presence in key regional markets, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, and Egypt. Since inception, CyberKnight has developed a channel of more than 400 partners across the region including VARs, SIs, global SIs, MSSPs and consultants, that have in turn sold one of more of CyberKnight’s 30-vendor cybersecurity portfolio solutions to over 600 enterprises, primarily in the banking and finance, telco, energy, and government sectors. As both partners have achieved success developing markets for emerging cybersecurity technologies, with many overlapping portfolio vendors, the synergistic partnership will support respective portfolio evolution, and strengthen vendor relationships overall.

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Provider of smart safety solutions, HIMA opens Middle East office in Jebel Ali, Dubai The facility houses a centre of excellence for HIMA, a provider of safety-related automation solutions, is pursuing a clear strategy to strengthen customer partnerships in key markets and enhance collaboration between its partners, sales and engineering services. The latest example is the new head office in the Middle East region. HIMA has been present in the Middle East region for over 20 years, serving an installed base across the 82 countries and building partnerships to be closer to customers. HIMA Middle East opened its new Head Office in Jebel Ali, Dubai, on the 28th of Feb-

ruary, 2023, strengthening its presence in the region. During the opening event, Managing Partner Steffen Philipp, CEO Jörg de la Motte, CFO Michael Löbig and HIMA Middle East Vice President Andrew Dennant, welcomed customers, guests and the local authorities. The HIMA Group continues to invest in the Middle East as the business focus in the region transitions from serving traditional hydrocarbon processing industries to serving customers who are increasingly delivering energy from renewable sources.

Project Engineering, Lifecycle Services, and Product Support that is available 24, 7 with a strong focus on sustainability. The installation of water-saving washroom facilities reduces the building’s overall water consumption by as much as 80%, and an air dispersal feature saves up to 30% of the annual electricity consumption, resulting in a potential 76% carbon footprint reduction in these two focus areas. The new HIMA Inspiring Work concept facilities hybrid working and collaboration with customers regardless of the nature of the expertise that is required.

Mindware earns specialisations for Windows Server, SQL Server Migration to Azure Mindware announced it has earned the Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure Specialisation, a validation of a solution partner’s deep knowledge, extensive experience and expertise in migrating Windows Server and SQL Server-based workloads to Azure. This level distinguishes channel partners that have met the stringent criteria around customer success and staff skilling, as well as passed a third-party audit of their migration practices, earning them this Azure specialisation. More and more companies seek to modernise their applications and take full advantage of the benefits that cloud computing can deliver. The end-of-support for Windows Server 2008 R2 and SQL Server 2002 R2, plus upcoming end-of-support for Windows Server 2012 R2 and SQL Server 2012 R2 in October 2023 will continue to increase the need to find partners with skills to assess, plan and migrate their existing workloads to the cloud. The Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure Specialisation highlights the partners who can be viewed as most capable when it comes to migrating Windows-based workloads over to Azure. Mindware clearly demonstrated that they have both the skills and the experience to offer clients a path to successful migration so that they can start enjoying the benefits of being in the cloud.

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Silmi Khanfir, Director of Cloud and XaaS at Mindware.

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#changemakers #2023trailblazers

9TH EDITION

2023

Honoring the best #iamacatalyst

JUNE 2023 SINGAPORE I INDIA

BROUGHT BY

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I N AS S O C I AT I O N

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REAL LIFE

AVEVA partners with Angola based Azule Energy to enable world-class operations AVEVA, a global vendor in industrial software, driving innovation and sustainability, has partnered with Azule Energy, Angola’s largest independent oil and gas operator, to drive digital excellence throughout the firm’s operations. The partnership agreement will enable Azule Energy – a 50-50 Joint Venture backed by bp and Eni – to reduce costs, improve safety and unlock new production opportunities using AVEVA’s cloud, Software-as-a-Service, and digital twin technologies. Moreover, the partnership will help cut the

time spent searching for key asset information, improve maintenance planning, reduce offshore trips and visits, enhance team collaboration, and facilitate remote operations. Azule Energy boasts a strong pipeline of new projects that are scheduled to support the energy needs of Angola’s growing economy and strengthen its role as a global liquified natural gas exporter. Digital Twin Spans Entire Asset Lifecycle AVEVA will deploy its digital twin software to connect data from every layer of the

technology stack for one contextualised, multivisual experience. In the first phase, AVEVA will focus on existing operations, implementing AVEVA Asset Information Management, AVEVA Information Standards Manager, and Assai Cloud for Operations – for two existing floating production storage and offloading unit in Block 18 and Block 31. AVEVA’s digital twin technology is the only solution on the market that spans the entire asset lifecycle. The vendor-agnostic solution is scalable, integrated, and open. It unites engineering and enterprise data to create a true digital backbone that will bring industrial intelligence to Azule’s entire team, delivered via the cloud. The move to AVEVA SaaS will empower Azule Energy to innovate and remotely collaborate across teams regarding their FPSO assets. The vessels are located a long distance offshore, which represents a significant challenge to operations. Using data-led insights, Azule’s team will be able to break down silos and deepen collaboration between onshore and FPSO teams, using their combined insight to streamline processes and accelerate delivery. AVEVA’s industry-leading visualisation technology will further enable Azule Energy to deliver faster and at scale. AVEVA is the only provider to supply a fully integrated solution that can be developed quickly and reliably. Together we are committed to providing secure, lower-carbon energy to support Angola’s sustainable development.

Confluent welcomes the launch of the new AWS Middle East region Confluent welcomes the launch of AWS Middle East Region, which will support the acceleration of digital transformation in the United Arab Emirates. The new AWS Middle East region consists of three Availability Zones and becomes AWS’s second region in the Middle East alongside the existing AWS Region in Bahrain, launched in 2019. It gives organisations even greater choice for running applications and serving end users from datacentres in the United Arab Emirates, enabling them to store data securely with even lower latency across the country. The collaboration means that organisations across the region can now quickly access Confluent Cloud through AWS Marketplace. As one of the first data streaming solutions to

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launch in the Middle East, Confluent’s cloudnative offering on AWS is the foundational platform for data in motion, built on Apache Kafka. Customers will be able to drive innovations in everything from unifying billing and security to powering rich, digital front-end customer experience and real-time, back-end operations. AWS Regions comprise Availability Zones that place infrastructure in separate and distinct geographic locations. Availability Zones are located far enough from each other to support customers’ business continuity but near enough to provide low latency for high-availability applications that use multiple Availability Zones. Each Availability Zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security and is connected through redundant, ultra-low

Fred Crehan, Area Vice President Emerging Markets, Confluent.

latency networks. AWS customers focused on high availability can design their applications to run in multiple Availability Zones to achieve even greater fault tolerance.

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Spend management fintech Qashio joins hands with Alinma Bank to roll out solutions to Saudi Arabia customers Spend management fintech Qashio has entered an exclusive partnership with Alinma Bank, the youngest and fast-growing bank in Saudi Arabia, to launch its operations in the Saudi Arabia. This is the first time that a Saudi Arabia bank has joined hands with a fintech company to provide solutions to its corporate banking customers, a massive milestone for the country’s tech space. With this partnership, Qashio can roll out both its Small and Medium Enterprises & Enterprise-grade spend management platforms to its customers in the country. The fintech solutions are also available to Alinma Bank’s vast number of corporate customers, benefiting both the bank’s and Qashio’s Saudi Arabian customers. Businesses can now issue Saudi Arabia’s corporate cards to be used for their employees in Saudi Arabia without running the risk of suspension and withholding tax Bahrain-issued Saudi Arabian Railway cards. These integrated corporations will come with advanced control/limits, accounting integrations, and enterprise-grade workflows. This falls in line with Saudi Arabia’s Financial Sector Development Programme under Vision 2030, which is aimed at developing a sustainable and thriving cashless society, increasing the share of non-cash transactions from 36% in 2019 to 70% in 2025. The primary method to achieve this is through uplifting fintech’s presence in the country. In fact, Mastercard’s report on The Future of Fintech revealed that Saudi Arabia’s funding increased by 1294% in 2021 from 2020, amounting to $91 million. Alinma Bank has been at the forefront of digital financial services

(Left to right) Abdullah Khalid Alsalloom, Deputy General Manager - Cards, Alinma Bank and Armin Moradi, CEO & Cofounder of Qashio.

in Saudi Arabia, and Qashio has been enabling digital payments for businesses across the Middle East and North Africa. This association between two industry vendors highlights the joint vision of both parties to introduce market-leading products to support businesses and contribute towards the digital payments vision set forth by the Saudi Central Bank. Qashio has signed renowned brands and customers across Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and continues onboarding clients. These include well-known brands such as Nana, Swiss International, Alabbar Enterprises, Kitopi, and Maids.cc, Yaa Foods, Al Shiha Group, Tasoru Holding, Instashop, Saif Belhasa, EFS Facilities Management Services Group, Papa Johns, and Bulldozer Group. Qashio’s virtual and physical cards combined with its software allow businesses to manage their spending more automated and transparently, saving hundreds of man-hours and reducing petty cash leakage in the process. Finance and Human Resource departments benefit from better expense reporting, better visibility, control of cash flows, and an empowered workforce.

Informatica launches UAE region’s Intelligent Data Management Cloud Informatica, an enterprise cloud data management vendor, launched its Intelligent Data Management Cloud in Middle East, a first for the region. The investment includes establishing a new Point of Delivery in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The PoD further solidifies Informatica’s presence in the Middle East and reflects its commitment to support local, scalable cloud-first data management services. The investment underpins Informatica’s commitment to the UAE government’s vision. Last October, during GITEX Global, Informatica signed a multi-year, strategic framework agreement with Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) to support its Data Enablement Programme to offer data management services to government entities in Abu Dhabi. This aims to transform Abu Dhabi into a data-driven state to drive economic growth and accelerate the digital economy across the Emirate. With a regional PoD, Informatica can better support local partners and organisations with its cloud data management platform in line with local regulations. The Informatica IDMC is a comprehensive cloud-native data

Jitesh Ghai, Chief Product Officer, Informatica.

management platform that enables enterprises to visualise, analyse and collaborate with their data regardless of location or platform. Powered by Claire, the company’s AI platform, IDMC helps organisations accelerate innovation and increase productivity at scale. With the launch of the UAE PoD, customers can enjoy the full breadth of services including the Cloud Data Marketplace, designed to intuitively increase data sharing, improve productivity and enable organisations to make more informed decisions.

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Software AG, IBTech partner to develop mission critical public safety systems in Saudi Arabia Software and Intelligent Business Technologies, an IT focused subsidiary of Albara’ah Telecom entered into a partnership to nurture the formation of advanced safe and smart cities in the region. This partnership will foster the creation of unified emergency services across

the Middle East region in addition to a successfully designed, developed deployed and unified ‘command control centre’ operational in the Saudi Arabia of Saudi Arabia. The unified emergency hotline for first responders supports in handling emergencies

for enhanced safety of human life of citizens and residents and adapt to safe and smart city norms and requirements. The agreement was signed between Yasser Alhakbani, Board Member, Intelligent Business Technologies and Mamdouh Al Olayan, Country Manager- Saudi Arabia, Software AG. The collaboration will facilitate IBTech to leverage Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT and webMethods integration expertise to create novel and future oriented use cases that align with safe smart city goals within Saudi Vision 2030. The cutting-edge use cases will lay the foundation for smart cities resulting in innovative services to benefit businesses and end users based on an ecosystem of fully connected enterprises. The Software AG PartnerConnect programme empowers its partners to deliver successful outcomes in meeting customer’s needs that evolves and aligns with external changes. Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT and analytics along with webMethods Integration stack is highly regarded and consistently ranked as leaders by multiple industry analysts such as Gartner and Forrester to name a few.

AW Rostamani selects Oracle Exadata Cloud Service, OCI Compute bare metal, FastConnect AW Rostamani Group, a diversified business conglomerate, has chosen a number of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services, including Oracle Exadata Cloud Service, to facilitate its migration of core business processes to the cloud and support the company’s expansion. OCI services provided via the Oracle Cloud Dubai Region will enable the Group to increase business agility and productivity, boost security, and save operational costs. AW Rostamani Group is one of the largest family-owned conglomerates in the Middle East, operating businesses across the automotive, real estate, retail, travel, and logistics sectors. Through its transition to the cloud, AW Rostamani Group is able to gain access to flexible, secure, and high-performance computing resources not previously available with its on-premises legacy system. Oracle Exadata Cloud Service provides AW Rostamani with the combined capabilities of Oracle Exadata on OCI, which will help the company integrate data across its operations and increase

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operational efficiencies, cut costs, and easily develop and scale applications based on business requirements. AW Rostamani Group chose OCI for its superior performance, high availability, built-in security, and lower operational cost. The company will use several OCI services including Oracle Exadata Cloud Service, OCI Compute bare metal instances, and FastConnect to connect directly to the Oracle Cloud Dubai Region via a dedicated, private, and high-bandwidth network. This will enable AW Rostamani to sig-

nificantly improve business application performance and meet data sovereignty and security requirements. AW Rostamani Group is migrating missioncritical business applications to OCI using Oracle Cloud Lift services. With its transition to the cloud, the Group is now charting a digital path for its next growth phase in a rapidly evolving economic environment. OCI is the natural choice for this digital transformation undertaking to help improve the speed of innovation and reduce costs.

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Built on datamena network, Equinix Fabric launched in UAE to provide optimised WAN datamena, the fastest growing carrier neutral digital ecosystem from du, in collaboration with Equinix, announced the launch of Equinix Fabric, an advanced software-defined interconnection solution in the United Arab Emirates. Equinix Fabric enables businesses to connect to distributed infrastructure and digital ecosystems directly, securely, and dynamically on platform Equinix through a single port in and out of the region. Built on top of datamena network, Equinix Fabric provides a seamless, reliable, and flexible connectivity solution for businesses and customers looking to optimise their WAN or access to a variety of digital ecosystems and service providers remotely to connect their own infrastructure in the region. With the growth of digital business, network optimisation has become crucial for enterprises and service providers, who need an agile infrastructure platform to create digital advantages. Equinix is responding to these critical needs by enhancing its next-generation platform strategy to become the centre of customers’ IT transformation efforts. Equinix Fabric is now the new standard interconnection approach for digital vendors on Platform Equinix, going beyond just cloud connectivity. Equinix Fabric simplifies remote connectivity in just a few quick clicks, customers can use Equinix Fabric just like they are already doing in other Equinix Fabric locations. Using virtual connectivity delivered on a shared platform and in a way that consumes fewer physical resources, is a more sustainable option. Equinix Fabric creates a network of services that are interconnected around the world, supporting companies that are at the forefront of

digital transformation to connect to everything and everyone that are important to their business: • Hybrid Multicloud connectivity: Simplify hybrid cloud networking with flexible, scalable connections to and between cloud providers in multiple locations across Equinix’s software defined network. • Edge and branch connectivity: Extend the reach of business digital infrastructure to edge and branch locations with secure, flexible connections to network and SD-WAN service providers. • Data centre interconnection: Improve how businesses manage data and applications, including backup and short-term traffic spikes, with private, reliable connections between datacentres over Equinix’s global software-defined network. • Digital value chain connectivity: Build an optimised network for digital services with scalable, low-latency connections to value chain service providers and partners both in the public cloud and in the datacentre.

Telecom Egypt adopts intelligent automation technologies from IBM for all OSS

Marwa Abbas, General Manager at IBM Egypt.

Telecom Egypt, a network operator in Egypt announced they are working with IBM to adopt intelligent automation technologies to implement an umbrella solution for all its operations support systems on mobile, fixed, and core networks. TE will adopt IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps deployed on RedHat OpenShift and implement IBM Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions. The solution will be designed to offer TE a holistic view of their entire IT environment, and to help them innovate quickly, reduce operational cost, minimise the time required to troubleshoot and resolve network related incidents. To help reduce operational and reporting time, IBM RPA, part of IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation, will enable TE’s engineers and

IT operators to track the network’s operating capacity and service quality across Egypt. Manually, this process required sending power signals across central offices and cabins to identify the weak points and areas, which could require at least 18 hours of compiling and revising data. The telecommunications industry is witnessing major transformation, and they are relying on new intelligent automation and cloud solutions to help enable accurate, fast and flexible business operations, as well as improved services to end customers. IBM’s intelligent automation software will provide TE with visibility into performance data and dependencies across their environments. The new solution will allow TE to identify, analyse, address and resolve complex IT issues in dynamic and complex environments.

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Cisco will accelerate the digital transformation roadmap of telecom operator, du du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cisco to accelerate the digital transformation roadmap

of the company, allowing it to transform from a service provider to a leading digital telco. The MoU is focused on exploring opportunities in key areas including sustainability,

metaverse-ready network, security and quantum-ready network, AI and automation, and private 5G among others. The announcement was made at Mobile World Congress – Barcelona (MWC). The collaboration supports du’s transition to become a platform of innovation while exploring new revenue streams boosted by cloud services, AI and a digital-first approach. The MoU also represents a strategic framework to help enhance du’s network performance, strengthen managed services and improve mobile experiences across the UAE in line with the telco’s digital transformation. The two companies plan to work together to identify and analyse digital market trends and opportunities to fulfil customers’ evolving network needs, as well as to identify potential new revenue streams and business models to support the transition. Cisco will provide expertise in networking and cybersecurity among other areas, while du will provide expertise in telecommunications and market trends.

Alibaba Cloud upgrades Dubai Holding’s datacentre facility Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, announced its collaboration with its longstanding partner Dubai Holding in its Dubai-based datacentre to upgrade the facility with state-ofthe-art cloud infrastructure and wider range of products and services in analytics, databases, industry solutions and AI services to offer customers the best possible digital solutions during their digitalisation journey. Through the upgraded datacentre, Alibaba Cloud will make available to the local customers a series of its proven infrastructure products such as Alibaba Cloud 6th Generation Elastic Compute Service instance and latest Elastic Block Storage service which offer significantly higher computing capacity, higher bandwidth, lower latency and improved performance. This range of latest products aims to provide enterprise customers with a wider scope of cloud services covering network, storage security and compute. Additionally, the upgrade to the datacentre will include providing best-in-class cloud solutions to meet business needs with the latest analytics tools to improve business operations and performance. The facility will also comprise of a revamp of its advanced database to provide faster, more efficient data processing as well as

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Daniel Jiang, General Manager of the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

industry-specific solutions and AI-powered services that will address unique challenges of a customer’s industry and drive better results. The announcement was made during Alibaba Cloud’s Cloud Day summit in Dubai during the launching ceremony in the presence of Dubai Holding Chief Technology Officer Boris Rusafov, and Daniel Jiang, General Manager of the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Alongside the commitment with Dubai Holding, Alibaba Cloud also revealed an enhanced partner strategy with more allocated resources and dedicated initiatives to provide comprehensive support for partners throughout local customers’ digitalisation journey in UAE and the wider Middle East region. To accelerate partners’ growth, Alibaba Cloud launched a MEA Alliance boosting programme to provide the local partners with customised business collaboration model and incentives in the MEA region including dedicated partner management channel, extra cloud resources, wider product margin as well as expanded marketing initiatives. Such initiatives also aim to boost partners’ income and strengthen their technical expertise. Alibaba Cloud currently works with more than 40 partners in the Middle East and Africa region. As a global leading IaaS and PaaS provider, Alibaba Cloud boasts a network of 86 availability zones in 28 regions across the globe, offering a highly secure, scalable, and robust cloud infrastructure to support global customers embracing digital innovation. Alibaba Cloud has been a leading provider of cloud services with a datacentre locally to serve local private companies and public institutions in the UAE and the wider Middle East region since 2015.

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COVER STORY

TRANSFORMING GRAPHICAL

VISUALISATION Cloud virtualisation and VDI are enabling on-demand compute resources for high end design and rendering.

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dependable. That is when we said, we can add value to our existing Autodesk customers and partners by generating the value through IMSCAD solution. It is something very unique. We are all out to test the waters with them. We have an IMSCAD dedicated product manager who will be supporting partners to understand what are the customer challenges.

Excerpts of the interview between Adam Jull from IMSCAD, Simran Bagga from Omnix Engineering and GEC Media Group’s previous Editor, Arun Shankar.

[EC MEA] Describe the nature of your services and the basis of the recent partnership announcement with Omnix Engineering?

[EC MEA] Please describe your ecosystem of partners and market dynamics?

[Jull] We are well recognised, because this is a specialists job to deploy for an Autodesk user, who has a lot of graphics, a lot of data, memory intensive applications. In this type of environment, it is not a simple thing. We partner with over 200 companies across the world. IT vendors and system integrators that do these sorts of projects, need our assistance to smooth the waters and get it done better and quicker. We have over 700 deployments of Autodesk customers with this type of virtual environment. We are built like a partner’s partner; I suppose that is a way of saying it. Because of our specialisation, people use as a consultant. We have been involved in some very big deployments, with various system integrators over the world in the US, particularly.

[Jull] We are a UK based business and we have partnered with Omnix in this region, because they are the Autodesk distributor for the GCC region. That is the main driver behind the partnership We focus on Autodesk customers primarily, that use graphical applications and the traditional workstation environment. We offer an alternative to that, whether it is remote, VDI, or cloud. We work with Autodesk in the US and in Europe. We have been contracted to test Autodesk products for things like Citrix and VMware virtualisation platforms. We are quite a well-known company in this space in the US and Europe. We see this region as a sort of untouched territory and, and see opportunity, particularly since the pandemic. Designers, architects and engineering companies, have users that are on traditional workstations in the office, wanting better, robust, remote, flexible working solutions. Basically, this means because it is graphics, it is a bit different to a normal kind of VDI type setup. It is quite a specialist job to get it right and to get performance. While we are a solution provider, we do not have our own cloud and we do not sell servers, or a physical environment, We are pretty much a consultancy, that focuses on graphical applications delivery. We have an engineering team that supports customers all over the world, that use graphical applications in a cloud or virtual environment. Our skills are the delivery of graphical workflows and applications through a remote access and we can offer any flavour of VDI or cloud.

[EC MEA] How does Omnix Engineering and its channel partners plan to leverage the partnership with IMSCAD?

[Simran] This is just the start of our relationship with IMSCAD. We have been pioneers with the distribution network as a value-added distributor of Autodesk for the last three decades. What we found out was, when we started our dialogue with IMSCAD, that this solution fits in well with our channel partners, because it complements the Autodesk solution. Autodesk customers are looking for a well-integrated, virtual kind of environment, for CAD modelling, which is secure, scalable,

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It is amazing, we probably have 30% of our revenue as a business for troubleshooting bad setups. People that do it themselves, and companies that go off and do it themselves, they get stuck or the users are not happy and we generally get the call. And that is one way we engage with Autodesk directly because they tend to call us when there is a problem with the customer.

IMSCAD GO-TO MARKET

[EC MEA] What is the role being played by Omnix Engineering in the go-to market of IMSCAD?

[Simran] We are actually the go to market kind of a partner for IMSCAD in the region. Traditionally, we have been always an Autodesk distributor. So, you know, we have been in this technology, for countries in Lower Gulf, which is UAE, Oman, Bahrain and even Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi. We have been there for almost three decades. We understand the psyche, requirements, KPIs, goals and objectives of how is the customer going to measure the performance of an Autodesk software. What we are trying to do is really extend, that outreach that we have with Autodesk technology. That was one of the reasons why IMSCAD chose to work with Omnix, because we understand quite a piece of the business.

(Left to right) Adam Jull, CEO and Founder, IMSCAD and Simran Bagga, Vice President of Omnix Engineering and Foundation Technologies.

Adam Jull, CEO and Founder, IMSCAD.

We have partnered with Omnix in this region, because they are the Autodesk distributor for the GCC region.

We focus on Autodesk customers primarily, that use graphical applications and the traditional workstation environment.

While we are a solution provider, we do not have our own cloud and we do not sell servers, or a physical environment.

We are pretty much a consultancy, that focuses on graphical applications delivery.

We have an engineering team that supports customers all over the world, that use graphical applications in a cloud or virtual environment.

Our skills are the delivery of graphical workflows and applications through remote access and we can offer any flavour of VDI or cloud.

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SNAPSHOT OF IMSCAD Since being founded in 2008, IMSCAD have been focused on the deployment of graphical applications for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, VDI and is a Graphical Application specialist. IMSCAD has evolved to become an NVIDIA specialists focusing on vGPU desktop deployments and Omniverse and enterprise AI solutions. IMSCAD offers pre-sales consultation and professional services to assist with scoping complex solutions. The experience gained has come from working with clients from differing industry verticals with varying existing IT infrastructure, all using a variety of third party applications, plugins and add-ons. To ensure the success of any NVIDIA solution whether vGPU, Omniverse or AI project, there are a variety of factors that must be considered during the consultation phase, including complexities of the individual applications themselves. NVIDIA’s virtual GPU or vGPU software enables GPU performance for workloads ranging from graphicsrich virtual workstations to data science and AI. It enables IT to leverage the management and security benefits of virtualization as well as the performance of NVIDIA GPUs required for modern workloads. Installed on a physical GPU in a cloud or enterprise data center server, NVIDIA vGPU software creates virtual GPUs that can be shared across multiple virtual machines, accessed by any device, anywhere. Not all organisations are the same, but for most, this will encompass a variety of legacy hardware and network infrastructure from different manufacturers aa well as a mix of applications, addons and plugins from numerous software vendors, some of which will usually be upwards of three to five years in age. It is also essential to fully understand the existing user workflows and their locations as well as the file and model sizes typically being worked on. Only after consultation and consideration of the above factors can an effective proposal be drafted. For any organisation a proposed deployment will be based around a solution that caters for the needs of each individual user, something that has become paramount for all organisations in the wake of the pandemic. Remote work, most likely in the form of a hybrid work model is here to stay and customers are looking at implementing VDI solutions, to not only enable employees to work and collaborate more productively from anywhere but also centralise resources, reduce operating and management costs, while improving security and control. IMSCAD is a specialist consulting partner for NVIDIA solutions, with a focus on using Citrix, VMware or HP Anyware. IMSCAD offers a full range of support when deploying solutions, with Citrix, VMware or HP Anyware and NVIDIA vGPU as well as Omniverse and AI projects.

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We have the partner outreach and we have the customers. We have almost 2,000+ customers that we can reach out to. We have a network of 50+ active resellers and solution providers in this region that we want to train and enable them on this technology. Our job is really to go and market this product. There is a lot of heavy lifting initially, because Autodesk customers or partners really do not want to change the way they think. And this is a transformation journey with IMSCAD. When will we start seeing the results, maybe in the next three to six months. Once we enable our partners and get them ready for this new generation of solutions, how do we transform and translate this into the customer environment, is the next challenge. This where the Omnix sales engines and marketing engines fit in with IMSCAD.

[EC MEA] Please describe the systems architecture for delivery of the remotely managed graphical workstation?

[Jull] There is on-premises VDI and we buy servers and put them in the office or datacentre. We will set them up for the client and manage that for them. Then there is private cloud setup and locally, we work with BIOS Middle East in the region who have six datacentres, and they offer us infrastructure for a per user per month model. And for cloud we use Microsoft Azure that has delivery with graphical instances. So, there are three flavours effectively and there are different

versions of how you do it. As IMSCAD we are like an advisor, and obviously we will say to the client, look, these are all your options. Which one do you prefer? Which one suits you best? What are you trying to solve? Which problems are you trying to fix in your business? And then we will recommend the best way to go with that solution.

[EC MEA] How is the graphical and visualisation experienced managed through virtualisation?

[Jull] NVIDIA is a key plyer in this space. NVIDIA produces GPUs and graphics cards and they have something called V-GPU. This is a virtual GPU and is a solution they offer. We can put a couple of very high-density graphics cards in a server, and then cut it up to suit the workflow that is required with maybe 20-30 users on a server. It could be any server, HP, Dell, Cisco, it does not matter. We would just help the customers to write out the specifications from end to end. That is how we work and that is why we are more of a consultancy in a services business. We do not sell the hardware, we do not sell the software, we just advise the customer on how to do it.

[EC MEA] Please describe the virtualisation setup and management process?

[Jull] Inside the software stack, there is hundred things you have got to

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OMNIX GO-TO MARKET Simran Bagga, Vice President of Omnix Engineering and Foundation Technologies. l

We can add value to our existing Autodesk customers and partners by generating the value through IMSCAD’s solution.

We have an IMSCAD dedicated product manager who will be supporting partners to understand what are customer challenges.

We have always been an Autodesk distributor for UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi for almost three decades.

We understand the psyche, requirements, KPIs, goals and objectives of how is the customer going to measure performance of an Autodesk software.

What we are trying to do is really extend that outreach that we have with Autodesk technology.

We have a network of active resellers and solution providers in this region that we want to train and enable them on this technology.

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get right to get it to perform for these end users. These end users are high maintenance and they like their workstations in their way. So, there is a bit of a culture shift you have to deal with as well within their enterprise, to get them on board and move them across. This also helps to give them better home working with a more robust solution, which gives them a benefit. A lot of enterprises have design teams across the region, and a lot of them have teams in India. You have to provide an infrastructure for those teams. And if you can do it in a centralised hosted VDI set up, or cloud setup, then it is a much more attractive way to do it, than the traditional way of shipping workstations everywhere. The traditional VPN type technology disappears with our setup and our solution. Users can now have more of a flexible environment to work in. When you do normal VDI and normal desktops, you run them out of a private server and that is very straightforward. Lots of companies offer that and it is not a new thing. There’s no real difficulty in doing that. When you bring a CAD programme into it, like Autodesk, it is not just Autodesk. These users use various different tools from different ISVs. So, they have maybe 20 different core applications that you use in their process. To bring all that into a VDI environment or a cloud desktop, you have got a lot of moving parts, and you need have to have Windows 10 experience, otherwise, it just will not work. What we do at IMSCAD, we have got a load of optimisation experience and we have learnt the hard way. How you run the applications properly and how you size the environment, that sort of thing.

[EC MEA] How do you configure the VDI environment to support the high compute demands of graphical visualisation?

[Jull] If you imagine the traditional workstation environment, they probably have a local workstation that they do their work on, with 8GB of graphics and very fast processors to run the apps. When you go into a VDI environment, or cloud environment, you do not have to size that appropriately. What you are trying to do is get to the lowest common denominator to keep the costs at the right level. Someone who has got an 8GB graphics card in a local machine might not need 8GB. In reality, they might only need 4GB because they are running, AutoCAD or Revit. Therefore, you may need three different flavours of VDI. There might be some very high-end users who want to do visualisation and rendering. And then there are others that do not need 3D, maybe just 2D users. And this is where it gets interesting about how you work with customers to understand user groups. It is quite an intricate job and as I say, unless you know about the applications and the workflows, it is very difficult to do this. And this is why lots of people fall over and make mistakes.

[EC MEA] Is there a definitive line of competencies delivered by IMSCAD into the regional market?

[Jull] We do not expect Omnix’s partners to know this stuff. There are so many moving parts that need to be addressed normally. We support all our customers remotely, and our team are in the UK supports our customers in the US. We have a network operating centre and we can remotely manage any server cluster, any cloud environment, and fix things whenever that needs to happen. And that will continue in this region. For us, it is just a continuation of what we have done in the US and Europe. ë

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4/11/2023 11:01:17 AM

MOST ENGAGED IT CONTENT PORTAL ON LINKEDIN Enterprise Channels MEA thanks its LinkedIn communityfor making it the most engaged, local IT content portal in 2022.

29,000+

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9,500+

TOTA L L I N K E D I N E N G AG E M E N T S

RANK #1 ENTERPRISE CHANNELS MEA

COMPETITOR #2

COMPETITOR #3

6,500+ 5,400+ COMPETITOR #4

COMPETITOR #5

1,100+ COMPETITOR #6

PERIOD: 31 DEC 2021 TO 30 DEC 2022 SOURCE: LOCAL LINKEDIN ANALYTICS

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4/11/2023 11:01:30 AM

CHANNEL STREET

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CHANNEL STREET

Sof t w a re A G

GO-TO MARKET UNDERWAY IN SAUDI ARABIA Since onboarding Saudi Arabia’s Country Manager last year, the channel partner ecosystem is rapidly expanding, and this was one of the biggest priorities for the market.

he channel partner ecosystem is growing and is full of opportunities. It is rapidly evolving with several emerging developments and partners continuing to empower customers across their environment. The focus strongly lies on digital transformation, customer demand and channel-partner operational models to offer optimised experiences to customers while creating new levels of opportunities for all. The customer is even more powerful now than ever before and hence the need for deeper collaboration between vendors and partners. Software AG’s channel partner ecosystem is rapidly expanding and advancing. In fact, since onboarding the role of Country Manager for the Saudi Arabia at Software AG last year, this was one of the biggest priorities in the market. In H2 2022, Software AG appointed Mindware as value added distributor for Saudi Arabia, an extended relationship of Software AG in UAE. This allows Software AG customers and partners enhanced flexibility to access and deploy Software AG technology across its suite of solutions - API and Integration, IoT and analytics and business transformation. This was a significant move in the Saudi Arabian business model in how to deliver solutions to bring more value to a growing list of customers. The collaboration with Mindware is not just a vendor-distributor relationship, but an enabler in driving increased business value to customers. From clear metrics defined to monitor performance and efficiency for operational success of a business to driving new partnerships and increased revenues, This partnership has been extremely valuable in enhancing Software AG’s reach and creating value to complement the company’s offerings in the country, thereby enabling its business goals. The extended collaboration with Mindware

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CHANNEL STREET

is an attempt to collectively leverage each other’s strengths and continue serving Saudi Arabia with technology solutions, ecosystems and experiences across stakeholders. It is clearly a win-win partnership since 2022. In addition, Software AG also works closely with several other partners to implement solutions that transform organisations across sectors that include government, utilities, oil and gas, finance and banking to achieve their national transformation goals.

Some of these names include: iot squared - a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and stc Group where Software AG recently signed an MoU to drive rapid growth of IoT across Saudi Arabia. This partnership will build an ecosystem to support businesses in their IoT adoption and further develop Saudi Arabia’s digital economy, in line with its Vision 2030 objectives. l Several new initiatives and projects like NEOM, Oxagon, Red Sea, Diriyah Gate in Saudi Arabia need smart connected devices- smart cities, smart campuses. The partnership with iot squared is an example of how Software AG is partnering with local companies in Saudi Arabia in its go to market. l IB Tech – a recent partnership to develop mission critical public safety systems across the region. l Saudi Business Machines – a partnership to accelerate Saudi Arabia’s transformation and growth sectors. The partner, the oldest and leading transformation enabler, was also recently elevated to Premier Partner position by Software AG. l Rootware – brand new OEM Partnership to strengthen & enhance Rootware’s digital payment platform offering to its customers – mainly government and public sector entities in Saudi Arabia. l Other names include: 2P, STCS, Wipro, TCS. Software AG implements an effective go-tomarket that is put in place to provide the strategic underpinning for future business efforts to rest on. One of the enablement Software AG uses with its partners is the 80-20, 20-80 formula. This is a journey targeted to support partner eco-system to gradually build quality capabilities. The journey begins with 80% professional services from Software AG and 20% from the channel partner. The equation across projects gradually transitions to a reduced involvement by Software l

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Mamdouh Al Olayan, Country Manager Saudi Arabia, Software AG.

The collaboration with Mindware is not just a vendor-distributor relationship, but an enabler in driving increased business value to customers AG professional service and increased involvement from strategic partners. The minimal or 20% engagement is basically a quality assurance, making sure best practices are followed and the right project- programme management is pursued. From experience, this has

been a successful formula resulting in rewarding transformation journeys. The onboarding and training process for all partners is a vigorous one. Software AG is setting up a partner academy for all registered partners that are part of Software AG Middle East and Turkey ecosystem for ongoing training programs that will be conducted online through the year. Software AG certifications are a market differentiator and tangible proof of commitment to excellence. They are a track for gaining indepth knowledge of Software AG solutions. Moreover, all necessary tools are provided through the Partner Hub for across the board learning and trainings. As a channel driven business to increase growth and expansion in the country and to expand and double numbers by 2025 in line with business goals, it is imperative for Software AG to strategically build its partner ecosystem to drive growth and revenues through synergies, along with a growing sales team. ë

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PRODUCTS

Sophos demonstrates how to make ChatGPT a cybersecurity co-pilot Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, released new research on how the cybersecurity industry can leverage GPT-3, the language model behind the now well-known ChatGPT framework, as a copilot to help defeat attackers. The latest report, “Applying AI Language Processing to Cyber Defences,” details projects developed by Sophos X-Ops using GPT-3’s large language models to simplify the search for malicious activity in datasets from security software, more accurately filter spam, and speed up analysis of “living off the land” binary attacks. Since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT back in November, the security community has largely focused on the potential risks this new technology could bring. Can the AI help wannabee attackers write malware or help cybercriminals write much more convincing phishing emails? At Sophos, we have long seen AI as an ally

rather than an enemy for defenders, making it a cornerstone technology for Sophos, and GPT-3 is no different. The security community should be paying attention not just to the potential risks, but the potential opportunities GPT-3 brings. The first application Sophos tested with the few-shot learning method was a natural language query interface for sifting through malicious activity in security software telemetry; specifically, Sophos tested the model against its endpoint detection and response product. With this interface, defenders can filter through the telemetry with basic English commands, removing the need for defenders to understand SQL or a database’s underlying structure. Next, Sophos tested a new spam filter using ChatGPT and found that, when compared to other machine learning models for spam filtering, the filter using GPT-3 was significantly

Sean Gallagher, Senior Threat Researcher at Sophos.

more accurate. Finally, Sophos researchers were able to create a program to simplify the process for reverse-engineering the command lines of LOLBins. Such reverse-engineering is notoriously difficult, but also critical for understanding LOLBins’ behaviour—and putting a stop to those types of attacks in the future.

Alteryx announces new self-service capabilities to its Analytics Cloud Platform Alteryx, announced new self-service and enterprise-grade capabilities to its Alteryx Analytics Cloud Platform to help customers make faster and more intelligent decisions. The enhanced platform, which now includes all access for Designer Cloud, offers an approachable easyto-use drag-and-drop modern interface accessible to employees of all skill levels, without compromising data governance or security standards. These innovations come at a crucial time as Alteryx’s global 2023 State of Cloud Analytics Report found that cloud analytics will be an enterprise imperative for thriving in 2023. Four out of five respondents expect cloud analytics to have a positive impact during economic uncertainty, and nearly 90 percent agreed cloud analytics have helped them be more profitable. The Alteryx Analytics Cloud Platform allows everyone to participate in the decision intelligence process regardless of job role, skill level, or department with an intuitive self-service drag-and-drop user experience. With two-

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thirds of survey respondents indicating they would benefit from an easy and approachable cloud analytics interface; new Alteryx Analytics Cloud updates include: l The reimagined Designer Cloud interface is now available in All Access, with more than 30 extended prep, blend, analysis, and automation tools for intelligent decision making. l Alteryx Auto Insights enables any business user to easily analyse and discover the root cause of complex issues with the new Common Causes l Alteryx Machine Learning’s new capabilities enable line-of-business analysts in finance, human resources, and marketing to make faster and better forecasts. l Metrics Store helps business leaders make decisions based on a trusted view of enterprise KPIs. The Alteryx Analytics Cloud Platform has achieved ISO 27001 certification, a globally recognised standard for information security

Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer, Alteryx.

management. Additionally, Designer Cloud and Alteryx Machine Learning have achieved SOC2 Type II certification, and the full Alteryx Analytics Cloud Platform is expected to complete this audit in the second half of 2023. The scalable, extensible, and open enterprise-grade platform now includes expanded flexibility for private data handling, giving customers control over where to store and process their data.

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PRODUCTS

Mark Ackerman, Area VP for Middle East and Africa, ServiceNow.

ServiceNow launches major platform expansion with Utah release ServiceNow, the leading digital workflow company making the world work better for everyone, announced a major platform expansion with the Now Platform Utah release. Utah is built to help organisations future-proof their businesses and drive outcomes faster in the face of continued economic uncertainty. The latest version of the intelligent, end-to-end platform for digital transformation includes Artificial Intelligence-powered process mining with robotic process automation capabilities, additional search enhancements, expanded Workforce Optimisation, and Security Incident Response Workspace, all designed to help increase automation, simplify experiences, and offer greater organisational agility.

According to IDC, spending on digital technology will grow eight times faster than the economy in 2023, and by 2026, 40% of total revenue for G2000 organisations will be generated by digital products, services, and experiences. Even as technology budgets increase, leaders are going through a great reprioritisation of tech investments based on the need for near-term organisational impact and time to value. Organisations no longer need to choose between speed and innovation, or great experiences and business growth, said CJ Desai, president and chief operating officer at ServiceNow. ServiceNow’s intelligent platform offers fast time to value, continuous net new innovation, and a simplified and seemingly invisible upgrade experience so customers can do more with less and transform their business models. Our latest release is designed for this moment – empowering organisations to maximise efficiency, accelerate ROI on digital spend, and create simplified, connected experiences across their entire value chain.

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GUEST COLUMN

MITIGATING APPLICATION SECURITY CHALLENGES Job satisfaction may improve if organisations support an optimal hybrid experience that sees the office as a mobile evolving space and the network as a key enabler.

echnologists across industries are concerned about the security of their organisations as they shift towards cloud-native applications and architecture. The last two years have seen a significant increase in the scale and sophistication of cybercrime threats, which has led to a dramatic expansion in attack surfaces. In a recent survey conducted by Cisco AppDynamics, The Shift to a Security Approach for the Full Application Stack, 84% of technologists in the UAE expressed concern that their organisations were vulnerable to a multi-staged security attack that could affect the full

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application stack in the next 12 months. While IT departments have accelerated digital transformation programmes using low-code and no-code platforms to build more dynamic applications and accelerate release velocity, security has largely failed to keep pace. All surveyed technologists in the Emirates admit that the rush to innovate and respond to the changing needs of customers and users during the pandemic has come at the expense of robust application security during software development. Security vulnerabilities can lead to slow run times, outages, and a loss of customer trust, and revenue. Technologists are urgently look-

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GUEST COLUMN

to respond to threats at scale, whether in containers, on-premise, or in the cloud.

ing to evolve their approaches to application security to support the shift to modern application stacks. They are looking to implement a security approach for the full application stack, moving to a DevSecOps model, and embracing artificial intelligence, AI and automation to cope with soaring volumes of security threats. To embed robust application security within their organisations, technologists in the UAE identified six key challenges that they will need to overcome.

Keeping pace with change

Overall, 88% of technologists across the UAE find it challenging to keep pace with emerging threats. Attack surfaces are growing exponentially due to the rapid deployment of the Internet of Things and connected devices and the adoption of microservice-based application architectures. New hybrid working models have also exposed organisations to new vulnerabilities. Technologists need to lean on partners for data and insights into new security threats and to map these threats against their own organisation’s security posture.

Lack of visibility Over 81% of technologists in the UAE stated that their current security solutions work well in silos but not together, preventing them from getting a comprehensive view of their organisation’s security posture. This lack of visibility into attack surfaces and vulnerabilities is problematic. IT teams need to integrate performance and security monitoring to comprehend how vulnerabilities and incidents might affect end users and the business. Technologists must comprehend the code and everything around it, continuously detecting and prioritising, allowing them to detect and automatically block exploits while maximising speed and uptime and minimising risk.

Balancing speed, performance

Simon Pearce, Executive CTO, APAC, Cisco AppDynamics.

Priority concerns IT teams receive an influx of security alerts from across the application stack, and they have no way to sort through the data noise to determine which alerts could cause the most damage. As a result, around two-thirds of local IT departments are in a security limbo and do not know what to prioritise. Business transaction insights are critical in assisting IT teams in measuring the importance of and prioritising threats based on severity scoring. These scores factor in the context of the threat, allowing technologists to see which issues are likely to affect the business-critical environment or application.

Security is often viewed as an inhibitor of innovation within organisations. With release velocity being the overriding priority, security teams have been cut out of the application development process until the very end of the development pipeline. A DevSecOps approach can make security a shared responsibility across teams and encourage developers to prioritise security issues at every stage of the application lifecycle, rather than being an afterthought at the end of the development pipeline. This will make security a shared responsibility across teams and encourages developers to prioritise it.

Growing security threat

Discovery and protection

Technologists in the UAE are concerned about vulnerability to multi-stage security attacks

Many technologists are now losing control of where data sits within their application portfolios, with application components running across multi-cloud environments and on-premise databases. This increases the risk of a significant security event, given the volume of customer data within many of these applications. Technologists must implement runtime application self-protection, RASP, which provides visibility from inside apps so they can be

secured wherever they reside and however they are deployed. Validating data requests directly within the app helps to prevent vulnerabilities from being exploited and provides threat intelligence that identifies attacks down to the code level. Developers can have targeted insight into their application environments that allow them

Technologists face an overwhelming number of security threats, leaving IT departments with insufficient time to analyse them all. AI and machine learning are crucial in identifying gaps, predicting vulnerabilities, and automating remediation. With bad actors using AI and ML more frequently, security teams must keep up. Indeed, over 88% of UAE technologists believe that AI will play an increasingly important role in addressing the challenges around speed, scale and skills that their organisation faces in application security. Organisations simply cannot afford to neglect application security any longer. It needs to be treated as a critical element of the application lifecycle and the foundation for organisations to deliver agile development and accelerated innovation. Technologists must therefore do all they can to overcome the challenges they face and ensure they have the tools, insights and structures they need to adopt a security approach for the full application stack. ë

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THE BUSINESS CASE FOR A TRUE-BLUE STAAS Storage-as-a-service or STaaS accelerates organisations’ digital transformation efforts and helps them achieve more with their data.

he pandemic has brought the importance of digitalisation to the forefront and has forced many organisations to accelerate their IT strategies. With remote work becoming the norm, businesses have had to adopt new technologies and platforms to keep their operations running smoothly. However, with so many options available, investing in the right technology can be challenging. In this new landscape, the business world now has a completely different meaning of ROI, namely Risk of Inaction: doing nothing and leaving everything as it was. The risk of falling behind competitors is too great, and businesses that fail to invest in IT risk being left behind. However, investing in technology for the sake of it can be just as risky. Poor investments can lead to unnecessary expenses and underwhelming results, which can ultimately harm the organisation’s bottom line.

Less expensive budget The typical IT budget cycles of 18 months, which are based on a procurement model and upgrades that come down to completely replacing systems, are a thing of the past and,

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therefore, no longer appropriate for today’s times. Plans often have to be adapted quickly to meet new and unforeseen demands and IT has to be able to move rapidly in tandem. Even as budgets are tightening, especially during the current economic uncertainty, the yield requirements are only going up. However, those who opt for a flexible usage model do not have to invest in expensive upfront CAPEX purchases. Digitisation projects can proceed with less risk of skyrocketing costs and budget shortfalls.

Benefits of STaaS Transformation to a modern, data-driven organisation places heavy demands on the flexibility, capacity, performance, scalability and reliability of storage systems. This used to involve a lot of planning, and buying capacity based on predicted growth which led to overprovisioning and waste and replacing the entire storage system every few years. Besides, it was a logistically, technically and financially huge operation. Storage-as-a-service or STaaS offers a solution to this. According to a recent Harvard Business Review study, 76% of organisations are either currently using or considering the adoption of STaaS in the next two years. The numbers indicate what one would like to have to understand just how important a STaaS trend is. As-a-service models deliver the flexibility and elasticity needed to respond to changing business requirements without a large up-front investment. CIOs are also able to avoid vendor lock-in, as subscriptions, if it is a true subscription model and not a lease, can be discontinued at the end of the term if they no longer fit the requirements of the business. There are no assets to dispose of or that need accelerated depreciation. STaaS is a good option for companies that need infrastructure that lets them accommodate different capacities, data types, connectivity and service levels, and the ability to use any of these options for short and longer-term projects without operational and cost penalties. It eliminates a great deal of the complexity around data storage and reduces friction, cost, and intricacies associated with sharing data across the enterprise. In addition, STaaS can remove the burden of admin and maintenance from storage management. We want and can free the people from IT so that they do not need to deal with maintenance, but can be devoted to the development and deployment of new services and create

Omar Akar, Regional Vice President, Middle East and Emerging Africa, Pure Storage.

The pandemic has accelerated the need for digitalisation, forcing businesses to adopt new technologies to keep their operations running added value. Transferring routine activities to a specialised service provider is similar to other and more familiar cloud models, such as SaaS or IaaS.

Digitising at speed STaaS is a modern flexible solution for data storage in the cloud and on-premises. This frees organisations from the costly storage

replacement cycle and having to overprovision with excess capacity. The key pitfall that businesses need to avoid is to go for a service which is just a rebadged lease. Most vendors in the storage industry today talk about delivering a service, but many fall short of providing a true “as-a-service experience”. They only give the illusion of providing a service with no real value-add or obligation. Most vendors deliver OPEX billing and are not true STaaS. Many times, they’re just dressed-up leases. It is the opposite of what enterprise customers are looking for and what they expect to receive. For genuine STaaS, monitoring, a Service-Level Objective and a Service Level Agreement should be the starting point. Without monitoring and an obligation to deliver what has been agreed upon, there is no real service. This also means that if the agreed performance and capacity are jeopardised, the provider must resolve this proactively. Thus, capacity must always be expandable without downtime when necessary. Moreover, organisations must always be assured of the latest technology, just as with Software-as-a-Service, upgrades and innovations are included. The result is that organisations can digitally transform their business at full speed without the associated financial and operational risks.

What comes next? STaaS has the power to accelerate an organisation’s digital transformation efforts and help them do more with its data. CIOs can better align technology with business goals and reshape their organisation so that the people responsible for storage can leave mundane management monotony behind them and become more creative and innovative: costeffectiveness follows; productivity follows; innovation follows; business growth follows. In today’s global digital economy, there could not be a stronger case than this for a true StaaS. ë

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SOCIALLY SPEAKING

What’s trending

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EXECUTIVE MOVEMENTS

(Left to right) Dr Dorit Dor, Chief Technology Officer, Check Point; Rupal Hollenbeck, President, Check Point and Nataly Kremer, Chief Product Officer and Head, R&D.

Check Point announces Nataly Kremer as Chief Product Officer, Dr Dorit Dor as CTO, Rupal Hollenbeck as President Check Point Software announced significant leadership changes to bolster crucial business areas and continue providing top-class security. The company has hired Nataly Kremer as Chief Product Officer and Head of R&D, appointed Dr Dorit Dor as Chief Technology Officer, and promoted Rupal Hollenbeck to President of Check Point. Nataly Kremer brings extensive R&D and leadership experience to Check Point. She joins the company after 12 years with AT&T, where she led its Software and Delivery organisation and was the General Manager of AT&T´s R&D centre in Israel. As the new Chief Product Officer and Head of R&D, Nataly will oversee all product and technology units and use her proficiency in delivering network, security, and cloud technologies for large enterprises to meet customer needs.

Joseph Tal moves from Citigroup to join as SVP for Trellix Advanced Research Centre Trellix announced appointment of Joseph Yossi Tal to the role of Senior Vice President for the Trellix Advanced Research Centre. Tal will report to Trellix Chief Product Officer Aparna Rayasam and lead Trellix’s global team of elite security analysts, developers and researchers across product research, advanced adversarial resilience, threat intelligence, research engineering, and data science as they produce real-time intelligence to advance customer outcomes and the industry at large. Prior to Trellix, Tal led Citigroup’s Global Cyber Security Innovation Labs practices with research teams in cloud, infrastructure defence, identity and access management, encryption, DLT and crypto networks monitoring, application security, mobile security, original research, and more. In this role, his mission was to understand the industry and ecosystem, new academic studies, and groundbreaking solutions to identify new paradigms and recommend investments in prominent ventures.

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AVEVA announces Caspar Herzberg as new CEO to drive future connected industries AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, has announced Caspar Herzberg as CEO. With more than 25 years’ software and industry experience, Caspar brings a deep understanding of how technology can transform and reshape industries, enabling innovation and driving responsible use of resources. Caspar joined AVEVA in 2021 as Chief Revenue Officer and assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer in 2022. AVEVA has recently been acquired by Schneider Electric, and as AVEVA CEO, he will also be a member of the Schneider Electric Executive Committee. Prior to joining AVEVA, Caspar led all aspects of Schneider Electric’s business in over 80 countries as President, Middle East & Africa. He started his business career at Accenture based out of its London office and worked in extensive digital transformations for the global energy sector. At Cisco, Caspar led sales and services for over ten years, developing smart cities strategies, technology innovation and business master plans for the private and public sector in China, Asia, Japan, Australia, the USA, and Europe. Caspar replaces Peter Herweck, who will become CEO of Schneider Electric from May 4th, 2023.

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2023 R OAD S HOW

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