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DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

AUTOMATED INFRASTRUCTURE, CLOUD BASED PMS OR IOT PLATFORMS— TECHNOLOGY NO MORE EXISTS, BUT ´CO-EXISTS´ WITH THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR AS THE REGION WITNESSES A MAJOR FACELIFT. /24

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THE CRITICAL

INFRASTRUCTURE FORUM 2016 21 SEPT 2016 | BURJ AL ARAB HOTEL, DUBAI, UAE

THE NEXUS OF GCC COUNTRIES FOR FUTURE ECONOMY Unveiling the investments, roadmap, technolgies and key infrastructure pillars that put GCC on the map of global competitiveness ORGANISED BY

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EDITORIAL

Hospitality to Drive Technology Growth

S A N J AY M O H A PAT R A S A N J AY @ A C C E N T I N F O M E D I A . C O M

The global hotel industry revenue is predicted to touch $550 billion in 2016 from $457 billion in 2011. This means the growth potential in this sector is very high. And, Europe and Asia Pacific continue to be key regions for the industry at large with the highest hotel occupancy rates to be found there at over 68% respectively.

In this background, the Middle East and Africa regions are seen to be the maximum gainers.

Specially the Middle East, growth from the hospitality sector is remarkable triggered by high voltage events, i.e. 2020 expo at UAE and 2022 FIFA at Qatar. Besides, this region is by and large the favorite destination of the millennial travelers. This could easily be indicated from the average daily room tariff, which is at very higher side, i.e. $165.97 US. However, due to geo political condition around the EU and CIS region, the ADR in Middle East and Africa is bound to fall in next two years in order to accommodate the tourists from Asia Pacific. At the same time the hospitality industry across the globe is adopting the technology in a different way. Convenience is the biggest factor that attracts the guests to a particular hotel. Today, the power of IT is influencing the entire hospitality sector but what differentiates them from one another is optimized use of those solutions. Of course these technologies are not coming as cheap.

The study shows that more than 50% hotel bookings happen online. More and more people are using smartphones to take stock of the hotels and related services – specially the millennial guests. In order to match their requirements, the hotel industry needs to have all the solutions ready. As said before the technology does not come cheap so solution in hosted mode or cloud mode bound to grow fast. Big data and analytics is likely to play a major role in the future growth of the hotel industry. Each hotelier needs to be present in the social media. Wi-Fi availability is the first criteria of a guest before checking in followed by complimentary breakfast. Therefore, the hotel industry should take care of this and ensure that they have implemented right security solution in order to make the Wi-Fi secure.

Besides, the hotel industry need technology, which can enhance the productivity of the employees besides being presence in all the platform to make them known to the tourists. Guests always feel unfordable while dealing with delays in Check in process. The hotel industry needs to invest in handheld devices for the employees to make the process hassle free.

So the opportunity is really huge in the region specially for those who are into SMAC. ë

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FROM THE ADVISORY BOARD

VENKATESH MAHADEVAN, SENIOR TECHNOLOGY & TRANSFORMATION LEADER, DUBAI INVESTMENTS PJSC., GM-TECHSOURCE

Dear Readers, Infrastructure development has been growing and evolving by leaps and bounds, especially in the last few years. It is eminently visible in a lot of industries.

Since Budgets are not going to grow too much this year and maybe next, CIOs have their task cut out in coming up with Infrastructure technology investments that give their organizations the best bang for their buck.

Ideally, CIOs should focus on those technologies that can create more or new value to the customers/consumers and also work well from a security perspective.

Collaboration, Convergence, Identity Management are all key areas that will come to the forefront this period. The Goal should be clear, “Will this make a difference to my customer?”. This should be our driving factor, in whatever industry we work.

The Hospitality industry has always been evolving at a rapid pace and effective use of infrastructure technology plays a key part in driving customer satisfaction. CIOs in this industry are now putting their heads together in coming up with a customer centric approach that will drive their organizations up the value chain and renew their positioning further. I would go further to add that effective deployment of Infrastructure Technology will create savings

opportunities and will deliver a favourable cost benefit analysis.

One simple example…

Effective deployment of Wireless facility is so key to delivering customer satisfaction, that I cannot harp on this enough. Hotel guests today need access 24X7 to data connectivity, not only in their rooms, but in any part of the hotel lobby or area they are moving around or sitting and having a discussion.

Looking at investments that are low in the initial stages and minimum Capex will probably be the need of the hour and will also give CIOs the scalability that they need ever so often in this industry.

While consistently delivering Customer Satisfaction with existing technologies is a “MUST”, we should be able to excite the customers with new experiences. Some egs. …. Let’s say if the technology can remember the preferences of the previous guests, like the TV channels they viewed, music they were listening, Temperature settings for AC, Room lightings, frequently ordered food and beverages., etc., then you are surely on your way to delivering customer delight. Customer Delight clearly will be the driving factor for an Efficient Hospitality Industry.

Seamless Integration with the customer at the heart of it all, is the way to Go! Are you listening?

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CONTENTS VOLUME 04 ISSUE 01 AUGUST 2016 W W W. E N T E R P R I S E C H A N N E L S M E A . C O M

2016

COVER STORY

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

CHECKING IN

Automated infrastructure, cloud based PMS or IoT platforms— technology no more exists,... /24 MY VIEWS /22

A NEW ´SPARC´ IN THE CLOUD MARSHALL CHOY, VP, SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS AND ORACLE HARDWARE BUSINESS UNIT.

MY VIEWS /23

UNIFIED SOLUTIONS ON A PLATTER SALIL DIGHE, CEO, META BYTE TECHNOLOGIES

INNOVATIONS /49

MAILSTORE SERVER V9.8

FEATURE STORY FINDING THE ´VALUE´ IN VALUE ADDED DISTRIBUTION /32

MailStore launched an updated version of MailStore Server v9.8 to provide complete data security and protection for email archiving, management and compliance needs for business to meet their goals and objectives.

GUEST ARTICLE /30

EDITORIAL::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 04

BUILDING A SMART CITY

ADVISORY BOARD::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 05

IAN EVANS, EMEA VICE PRESIDENT FOR END USER COMPUTING, VMWARE

FOCUS STORY: BAHRAIN ::::::::::::::::::::::: 40

CHANNEL STREET:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 08

INNOVATIONS : ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 49

ADVERTISER INDEX: OMA 02, CIF 03, EMITAC 07, BULWARK 09, WEBNMS 11, FINESSE 13, UNIFY 15, BITDEFENDER 17, ESET 19, GEC OPEN 21, GITEX 31, GITEX IN HOUSE 45, HID 47, DELL 51, VEEAM 52

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CHANNEL

STREET IBM BOLSTERS INVESTMENTS IN ME

IBM expands its operations in the Middle East and Pakistan with the launch of a new Industry and Innovation Center. Located in Dubai, the center will foster innovation in the region by providing an enhanced customer experience, connecting clients with high technical skills and expertise.

The new center will also offer IBM clients access to advanced technologies in cloud and cognitive and to IBM’s research centers.

This is the second IBM Innovation Center in the UAE following the opening of the Abu Dhabi center in 2009. The Dubai center is connected to the Abu Dhabi infrastructure which is already showcasing 40 live IBM solutions including customer proof of concepts. Demos and IBM solutions will focus on key industries including Government, Travel & Transportation, Oil & Gas, Telco, HealthCare, Banking and Retail.

HP Simplifies Access to Technology with ´Device as a Service´ HP has launched a new service that gives its customers access to HP’s latest PC technology, enhances device management and frees up valuable IT time and resources. HP Device as a Service (DaaS) is designed to help take the stress out of acquiring, deploying and managing technology. “HP DaaS allows businesses to lean on our technology and expertise to keep their PC infrastructure running while they focus resources on driving their businesses forward,” said Luciana Broggi, General Manager, Enterprise Solutions EMEA, HP. “Our new offering removes the complexity around device management and gives customers a simpler way to access and implement needed technology .”

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DOUG HAZELMAN, VP PRODUCT STRATEGY, VEEAM

Veeam and Microsoft Unleash the Power of security and Virtualization Veeam Software unveiled the new Veeam Availability Suite 9.5. To be available later this year, Availability Suite 9.5 will fully integrate with Windows Server 2016 and Hyper-V technologies used in the data center. Veeam, in collaboration with Microsoft, will deliver greater security and offer easy integration between Microsoft’s releases of Windows Server 2016, Hyper-V 2016 and enterprise applications. “It is our goal to be one of the first Availability solutions to fully support Windows Server 2016 and Hyper-V 2016 technologies, but also to deliver the most comprehensive support,” said Doug Hazelman, Vice President of Product Strategy at Veeam.

“The latest version of Veeam Availability Suite will provide users with the ability to utilize the most current Microsoft technology and benefit from enterprise-grade security and reduced com-

plexities. Veeam, working together with Microsoft, provides the right combination of virtualization, and fast recovery to deliver Availability for the Always-On Enterprise.”

The new integration with Windows Server 2016 and Hyper-V 2016 technologies is a continuous effort to support Veeam’s direct integration with one of the world’s leading operating system, hypervisor, and most widely used enterprise applications. “Thousands of businesses of all sizes rely on Veeam for Hyper-V backup and protection,” said Chris Van Wesep, Director, Cloud Platform Marketing, Microsoft Corp. “As such, we are pleased to extend our collaboration with Veeam to provide IT administrators new options for efficient backup operations, high-speed recovery, and the business continuity they need to keep businesses protected and productive anytime, anywhere.”

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Sophos Introduces Always-On File Encryption Sophos unveiled Sophos SafeGuard Encryption 8, a new synchronized encryption solution that protects data against theft from malware, attackers or accidental leaks. All organizations can now choose to adopt the best practice of “always-on” file-level encryption to protect data accessed from mobile devices, laptops, desktops, on-prem networks and cloud-based file sharing applications.

Dan Schiappa, Senior Vice President and GM, Enduser Security Group, Sophos said, “We’ve completely reimagined SafeGuardEncryption 8 to encrypt each individual file by default and continuously validate users, applications and devices for secure collaboration.”

WEBNMS WINS BATTLE OF THE PLATFORMS IN IOT EVOLUTION EXPO 2016

PRABHU RAMCHANDRAN, DIRECTOR OF WEBNMS

DAN SCHIAPPA, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GM, ENDUSER SECURITY GROUP, SOPHOS

IFS RESEARCH: 40% OF BUSINESSES ARE UNPREPARED FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IFS revealed the findings of a survey of nearly 500 senior decision-makers from companies ranging across industrial manufacturing, construction, retail, oil and gas, automotive, energy and utilities, and other industries. 86% of the respondents think that digital transformation will play a key role in their market but 40% lack a strategy for it. “This survey shows that senior leaders of large industries have realized the potential that digital transformation offers, but in many cases haven´t got a strategy in place to leverage it yet. It appears there is also a great uncertainty regarding who is actually responsible for driving the digital transformation agenda within companies,” said Mark Boulton, CMO at IFS.

WebNMS wins the ‘Best IoT Platform’ award in Battle of the Platforms 2016 edition at the IoT Evolution Expo hosted at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas.

Pitted against competitors like Numerex, Aeris, Davra Networks and Systech, WebNMS emerged the winner in connected business and transportation category. The judging panel was an illustrious mix of IoT thought leaders, analysts, evangelists and industry experts from firms like Machina Research, 151 Advisors, AT&T, Verizon, James Brehm and Associates, US Cellular and SunMan Engineering. WebNMS Director, Prabhu Ramachandran said, “WebNMS, with its highly innovative R&D and technical team, is committed to offering world class IoT solutions for connected business operations.”

EPICOR STRENGTHENS GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES WITH ACQUISITION BY KKR Epicor Software Corporation recently entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by the global investment firm KKR from funds advised by Apax Partners. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“KKR shares our vision

10

of providing innovative technology with a clear focus on helping customers grow business, not software.

This is an exciting time for Epicor, and I am extremely appreciative of Apax’s support during the last five years.” said Joe Cowan, President and CEO of

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Epicor.

Jason Wright, a Partner at Apax Partners, said, “We are proud of our collaboration with Epicor to build one of the largest global providers of enterprise applications differentiated by a focus on the customer and deep industry expertise.”

JOE COWAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF EPICOR.

Symphony IoT Platform Imagine. Deliver.

Realising the Value Beyond the tip of the Iceberg with

IoT Platform of your Enterprise Remote Asset Management Energy Optimisation Predictive Maintenance

Data Analytics Central Visibility

Legacy device retroďŹ t

Multi-vendor device/ gateway agent (Option, Kontron, Netcomm Wireless)

Cross-enterprise operations (BMS, Surveillance, Lighting, Logistics) Enterprise software integration (ERP, CRM, HRMS, Sales log) Cross-functional data blending

CHANNEL STREET IN PUBLIC

A smart city is that one which makes people happy, makes their lives easier, and improves livings standards HE SAEED MOHAMMED AL TAYER, MD & CEO OF DEWA

6

SECONDS

ACRONIS UNVEILS BREAKTHROUGH BACKUP 12 SOLUTIONS Acronis Backup 12 protects businesses’

StarLink Awarded at Gemalto´s ME Partner Summit 2016

full digital image. The solution backups and protects company data in today’s hybrid cloud IT environments – whether it resides in the cloud, on-premises, across virtual and physical systems, in remote systems, and on mobile devices.Acronis Backup 12 provides businesses with a range of recovery options, including file, email, and database recovery; system recovery, including bare-metal recovery, active restore, instant restore, and vmFlashBack; cloud disaster recovery; and physical data shipment.

ETISALAT LEADS IN DEPLOYING CLOUD BASED TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE Etisalat has activated its first live Network Function Virtualization telco cloud in Abu Dhabi. The latest project comes as part of the corporation’s continuous efforts for technological leadership

NIDAL OTHMAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, STARLINK

in the region and worldwide. The telco cloud platform will help create a one-stop shop app/ online portal with a fast, intuitive and pleasing user experiences and interfaces. It will also pro-

StarLink was awarded ‘Identity and Data Protection Solutions Distributor of the Year’ by Gemalto, at their Middle East Partner Summit 2016 on 26th May, 2016. The exclusive event hosted close to 30 partners from the GCC and South Gulf region. Gemalto honored its key channel and distribution partners across various categories. Sebastien Pavie, Director, MEA Regional Director, Identity & Data Protection, Gemalto said, “StarLink received the award based on growing their revenue with us year-on-

year, winning the strategic deal of the year and achieving ATC (Authorized Training Center) status.

Nidal Othman, Managing Director, StarLink said, “We are truly proud to have received this award from Gemalto, one of our key esteemed vendors. We have been a distributor for SafeNet, now a part of Gemalto, for many years, and each year the partnership becomes more and more successful due to the loyalty, integrity and trust that has been built.”

vide service capabilities e.g. self-configuration, self-optimization and self-healing functions.

USEK SELECTS EMC TO CONSERVE THE REGION’S RICH INFORMATION HERITAGE USEK selected EMC Isilon scale-out NAS; EMC VNX unified storage ; EMC Data Domain and EMC NetWorker to embark on a landmark initiative to create a secure, reliable digital archive of valuable icons of human history available.

To make this archive available to students and academicians anytime, anywhere, USEK also

KASPERSKY ZOOMS INTO ICS THREATS In a report on ICS threats landscape, Kaspersky Lab experts revealed 13,698 ICS hosts exposed to the Internet that more than likely belong to large organizations. These organizations include energy, transportation, aerospace, oil and gas, chemicals, automotive and manufacturing, food and drink, governmental, financial and medical institutions. 91.1% of these ICS hosts have vulnerabilities that can be exploited remotely.

To help organizations working with ICS to identify their possible weak points, Kaspersky Lab experts conducted an investigation into ICS threats. “Our research shows that the larger the ICS infrastructure, the bigger the chance that it will have severe security holes. There is no 100% guarantee that a particular ICS installation won’t have at least one vulnerable component at any single moment in time.” said Andrey Suvorov, Head of Critical Infrastructure Protection, Kaspersky Lab. The major findings of the Industrial Control Systems Threats Landscape report are- In total, 188,019 hosts with ICS components available via the Internet have been identified in 170 countries. The number of vulnerabilities in ICS components has increased tenfold during the past five years: from 19 vulnerabilities in 2010 to 189 vulnerabilities in 2015.

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successfully initiated an ambitious virtual desktop project powered on EMC XtremIO 5.0 SYMANTEC’S IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS ON RANSOMWARE Key findings include: The average ransom demanded by attackers jumped to US $679, up from $294 at the end of 2015. The majority of ransomware variants are designed to attack Windows computers and ordinary home users continue to be one of the biggest victim groups.

Employees at organizations make up 43 percent of ransomware victims, thanks to a growing number of gangs targeting large organizations with similar techniques and tools as used by cyberespionage/APT-type attackers.

300+ Professional Team | 175+ Enterprise Clients | 20+ Nationalities | 20+ International Awards | 10+ Global Locations

CHANNEL STREET

Sentinel One & Exclusive Networks Bring Next-Gen Endpoint Protection to EMEA

TONY ROWAN, GROUP CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST, EXCLUSIVE GROUP

SentinelOne revealed its expansion into Europe, Middle East, and Africa through a strategic partnership with Exclusive Networks. SentinelOne and Exclusive Networks will partner to initially bring Next-Generation Endpoint Protection to the EMEA region.

The companies joint mission is to replace the ‘Old Guard’ of legacy antivirus software and provide organizations in these markets with a unique, standalone approach to endpoint security that combines behavioural-based detection of both known and unknown threats, with automated mitigation and forensic tools to defeat attacks that employ a combination of advanced techniques within malware, exploits, or insecure scripts. “Bringing our solution to the European and Middle East market is a significant step toward changing the face of endpoint protection”, said SentinelOne CEO and Co-Founder Tomer Weingarten. “We’re

fortunate to have Exclusive Networks alongside for this effort, as they have already proven their ability for bringing disruptive cybersecurity technologies to the region.”

Talking about the launch Tomer Weingarten said, “The response was overwhelming & the teams are now set to maximize reach via new initiatives directed towards end users.”

“With SentinelOne, we have a disruptive, innovative and effective solution that fits very well with our CARM (Cyber Attack Remediation and Mitigation) initiative. It provides all three sides of the security triangle: prevention, detection and response. For the first time, Exclusive Networks has launched a vendor across our entire group in some 41 countries simultaneously. It’s time for a change at the endpoint. It’s time for SentinelOne and our partners to lead that change”, said Tony Rowan, Group Chief Technologist, Exclusive Group.

LOCK YOUR ´BACKDOOR´: ESET SHEDS LIGHT ON KEYDNAP ESET researchers have been looking into OSX/Keydnap, a Trojan stealing passwords and keys out of OSX keychains by creating a permanent backdoor. While it is still not clear how victims become exposed, it is thought that it could be spread via attachments in spam messages, downloads from untrusted websites or other vectors.

Keydnap downloader is distributed as a .zip file with executable file mimicking the icon Finder usually applied to JPEG or text files. This increases the likelihood that the recipient will double-click the file.

Once started, a Terminal window opens and the malicious payload is executed.At this point the backdoor is setup and the malware begins gathering and exfiltrating basic information about the Mac it’s running on. Upon request from its C&C server, Keydnap can ask for administrative privileges by opening the usual window OS X uses for that purpose. If the victim enters their credentials, the backdoor will then run as root, with the content of the victim’s keychain exfiltrated.

“While there are multiple security mechanisms in place within OS X to mitigate malware, as we see here, it’s possible to deceive the user into executing non-sandboxed, malicious code. All OS X users should remain vigilant as we still do not know how Keydnap is distributed, nor how many victims are out there,” says Marc-Etienne M. Léveillé, Malware Researcher at ESET.

STC DEPLOYS JUNIPER’S CONTRAIL NETWORKING Saudi Telecom Company has deployed Juniper Networks Contrail Networking. STC is pioneering the use of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) in the region, enabling it to offer customers accessible, dynamic online services and applications rapidly. This approach is also expected to increase STC’s business agility and revenue growth.With dedicated cloud services powered by Contrail Networking, STC now has a fully scalable, flexible resource to sell to subscribers and customers on-demand as their

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IT requirements evolve and change. Contrail Networking enables full automation, better scalability, security and flexibility for STC’s NFV-based cloud computing services.

“At STC, we have a ‘customer-first’ approach.

We aim to earn our customers’ trust and enrich society with comprehensive, innovative services and solutions. The network, underpinned by advanced NFV and automation capabilities, can deliver substantial value to our customers by providing the agility, speed and simplicity

that today’s businesses require. Juniper is an ideal partner with the same customer-centric approach, providing us with state-of-the-art technology for our cloud-based offerings,” said Dr. Tarig M. Enaya, Senior VP for enterprise at Saudi Telecom Company. Juniper Networks is committed to supporting STC at the forefront of the telecom industry in the Middle East by helping to create a differentiated customer experience,” said Adrian Pickering, VP, Middle East and Africa at Juniper Networks.

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Cisco’s Research Provides Digital Roadmap Cisco’s new research titled “Roadmap to Digital Value in the Retail Banking Industry”, which reveals that retail banks have the potential to realize $405.3 Billion from 2015 to 2017 as the Digital Value at Stake (VaS). Yet, in 2015, financial services as a whole captured just 29 percent of that opportunity.

Of the challenges slowing growth and innovation, cybersecurity weakness is certainly at the forefront. Cybersecurity concerns have prevented retail banks from adopting digital technologies and business models.

WEB CLIPS INTEL RELEASES GLOBAL SKILLS SHORTAGE REPORT Intel Security, in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, recently released Hacking the Skills Shortage, a global report outlining the talent shortage crisis impacting the cybersecurity industry across both companies and nations. 82% respondents admit to a shortage of cybersecurity skills, with 71 percent of respondents citing this shortage as responsible for direct and measurable damage to organizations whose lack of talent makes them more desirable hacking targets.

MANAGEENGINE EARNS HIGHEST

MIKE WESTON, VICE PRESIDENT, CISCO MIDDLE EAST.

SCORE ManageEngine revealed that Password Manager Pro, its privileged account management

GULF AIR’S VALUABLE INSIGHTS ON MOBILITY AT THE MOBILE SHOW

solution, has earned the highest score possible in the customer satisfaction criterion in “The Forrester Wave: Privileged Identity Management, Q3 2016” report published by Forrester

Gulf Air showcased it’s latest mobile and portable devices technology for its customers and employees during the recently held Mobile Show Middle East. Dr. Jassim Haji, Director Information Technology of Gulf Air was the only presenter from Bahrain and GCC, he made a presentation during the event on how to adopt mobility as part of the IT strategy in companies and how to assimilate mobility in the business processes to increase productivity and streamline operations. Dr. Haji presented several successful case studies on mobility implemented by him.

Research, In addition, the research report gave ManageEngine the highest scores possible in the overall interface intuitiveness, modernness and ease of use criteria. ManageEngine Password Manager Pro has also been named a “Strong Performer” in this privileged identity management (PIM) evaluation.

KLEPTIKA & SILAH GULF SIGN A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

MOVEMENTS ASSAAD EL SAADI is Regional Sales Director & GM for HDS ME & Pakistan

PALADION has named SUNIL GUPTA as President and COO

CHRISTIAN LANG is the VP Sales MEA for Commvault

Honeywell appointed KHALED HASHEM as country president for Egypt

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NUMBER GAME

61%

Executives Rank Customer Experience Management ‘Highest Priority’ in Run Up to Expo 2020

Kleptika and Silah Gulf join forces to revolutionize CX in the Middle-East by delivering next generation Robotics and Process Automation solutions. The design and management of both captive and outsourced operations, powered

by RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and RDA (Robotic Desktop Automation), brings opportunities to drive substantial process efficiencies, , increase flexibility and accuracy and ultimately enhance customer experience.

UAE RANKS 8TH IN GLOBAL E SMART SERVICE INDEX UAE has moved up by four ranks in its position in the e-smart services index of the E-Government Development Index issued by the United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs ranking 8th globally with the Republic of Estonia. The current ranking consolidates the UAE’s regional leadership in the e-services index–ranking 1st place in the Gulf, the Arab World and the West Asian region.

Awarded 5-Star Rating in CRN’s 2016 Partner Program Guide

For more information visit www.bitdefender.com or write us at salesmea@bitdefender.com

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Netapp survey reveals ´Flash´ attitude NetApp revealed the results of its first industry research on Flash adoption in EMEA. In a survey of 3,000 IT decision makers, 90 percent of respondents acknowledged there is a need for Flash within their businesses.

Key findings of the survey include: Despite the cost of Flash technology decreasing, 40 percent of IT decision makers think it is too expensive to invest in. The apparent cost barrier is most prevalent amongst smaller businesses. 90 percent of respondents admitted there was a need for Flash within their businesses. IT decision makers from medium sized businesses are the strongest advocates of Flash, with 94 percent agreeing that ‘a lack of need for Flash solutions’ is not a barrier to Flash adoption.

IT decision makers revealed that one in five financial decision makers (22 percent) within enterprises do not have sufficient understanding of the benefits of Flash technology to make an investment.

FADI KANAFANI, REGIONAL DIRECTOR MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA, NETAPP

CITRIX SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH LOGMEIN Citrix has entered into a definitive agreement with LogMeIn under which LogMeIn will combine with Citrix’s GoTo family of products. The combined company is expected to have annual revenues in excess of $1 billion with more than two million customers in virtually every country around the globe. The combination brings together proven innovators with a shared belief in simplifying the way people connect to customers, colleagues and the world around them. The combination of the GoTo business and LogMeIn creates the scale, portfolio and resources necessary to serve partners in a more comprehensive way, making it even easier for people and businesses around the world to connect and engage.

ALPHA DATA CLOUD SOLUTION CUTS ALAM GROUP’S DATACONNECTIVITY COSTS BY 35% Alpha Data revealed that its Alpha Cloud solution has reduced the data-connectivity costs of Alam Group by 35 per cent. Alam Group recently considered using a cloud computing solution to support its growing operations which includes more than 20 supermarket branches across the UAE with another five to open by the end of 2016. It consulted its plan to adopt cloud computing for the first time with Alpha Data. Alpha Data detailed the extensive features and benefits of its Alpha Cloud, an internet-based computing solution for sharing processing resources and data on demand specifically tailored for UAE clients.

Amar Singh, Sales Director at Alpha Data, said: “Alam Group is a long-term partner that sought our help in bringing its business to the cloud to improve its competitiveness, operational efficiency, and customer impact. We were able to prove that Alpha Cloud offers the best solution based on security, performance and cost-effectiveness.” “We chose Alpha Cloud based on its outstanding ability to secure our data, provide easy and cost-effective connectivity anytime and anywhere, and help our Group adapt to new technology trends.” said Kazi Shahidul Islam, Head of IT, Alam Group.

CROWN PRINCE LAUNCHES DUBAI FUTURE ACCELERATORS PROGRAM His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum unveiled an ambitious new programme to change the world. The “Dubai Future Accelerators” will connect the world’s most innovative companies with leading partners in government to test new solutions to key challenges at the city-wide scale. The Future Accelerators focuses on seven “21st century challenges”, which also represent significant opportunities for economic growth, job creation, and social development.

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Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, who is also ViceChairman of Dubai Future Foundation, said: “We invite all those across the world who want to create a better future to come to Dubai and help us create a better future.”

Anyone can apply, from start-ups to large companies, as long as they have a working prototype that addresses one of the key challenges above. Winning companies will develop in-depth proposals to create futuristic pilot projects that

can showcase the benefits of their technology.

The Dubai Future Accelerator is being run by the Dubai Future Foundation as part of the Dubai Future Agenda, a far reaching campaign to develop 21st century solutions and initiatives around the world. Other parts of the Agenda include the Dubai 3D Printing Strategy (with the Dubai Municipality), the Dubai Autonomous Transport Strategy (with the RTA), the Global Blockchain Council, and the Museum of the Future.

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CHANNEL STREET

Al Murooj Rotana Impresses Guests with Aruba Al Murooj Rotana has implemented a state-of-the-art wireless network infrastructure from Aruba.

The network has improved guest Wi-Fi satisfaction by 15% and serves as platform for innovation and introduction of new services.

Renju Ramanadhan, Cluster Director of IT, Al Murooj Rotana and Al Bustan Rotana, Dubai, said, “With 900 to 1000 guests using the network on an average day, we began to see noticeable performance issues. Further, as guests increasingly utilized video and multimedia rich applications, both the speed and security of the network were brought into question. We expected and wanted a basic requirement in today’s world – a very reliable wireless infrastructure to provide stable connectivity for all our guests.”

Graeme Kane, Hospitality Business Development Manager, Middle East & Turkey at Aruba said, “To remain competitive, hotels need to leverage a smarter, adaptive wireless network infrastructure that delivers stable, simple, smart, secure Wi-Fi access to thousands of devices at a time and supports mobile collaboration for staff.”

VEEAM POSITIONED IN GARTNER’S LEADERS QUADRANT 2016 Veeam Software has been positioned by Gartner in the Leaders quadrant of the June 2016 Magic Quadrant for Data Center Backup and Recovery Software. This 2016 “Magic Quadrant for Data Center Backup and Recovery Software” is a refocus and update to the “Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup Software and Integrated Appliances” that was last published in June 2015. The renamed Magic Quadrant and updated market criteria are in response to Gartner client requests to focus more on backup and recovery software for the upper midsize to large enterprises that protect data center workloads managed by data center personnel.

Ratmir Timashev, CEO of Veeam said, “As Gartner states, ‘A fundamental sea change is occurring in the backup and recovery market. For vendors to have long-term success, they must plan to address the legacy requirements of traditional backup and recovery, while looking to expand their integration with and exploitation of emerging applications, hypervisors, snapshot and replication technologies, and public cloud capabilities.”

Veeam announced a 24 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in total bookings revenue for Q1 2016, further demonstrating the industry’s growing appetite for Availability. With 75 percent YoY increase in total bookings revenue from large-sized deals,

GEC OPEN 2016 GEARS UP TO UNFOLD A NEW WORLD OF GOLFING GEC Open 2016 Corporate Tour is all set to kick off this August and this time the game just got bigger. Apart from the CSR activities that was bound to the flagship golf tournament, this year GEC Open will be touring 10 countries with some key corporate associations that would be opening windows to a whole new world in business investment and global tie ups. The UAE would play host to 4 rounds of amazing golf in 2016.

The Financial round of GEC Open, which would be staged on 12th November, 2016 at Al Zorah Golf Course, Ajman, is a unique part of GEC Open 2016 tour. It would be a unique platform for the BFSI and Investment honchos to network in a fun filled platform. TCFA Society Emirates has joined hands with GEC Open 2016 to encourage supporters, endorsers and sponsors to take advantage of the additional branding opportunities and to facilitate the exchange of information and opinions among people within the local investment community and beyond.

Mr. Tushar Sahoo, MD of Global Enterprise Connect said, “GEC Open materializes as the ideal turf for business, networking, friendship and most importantly— humanity to flourish. CFA Society Emirates´ support to this event further testifies the corporate mission that GEC Open embodies and we are extremely happy to join hands with them.”

“CFA Society Emirates is delighted to join hands with GEC in bringing together finance professionals for a fun golf tournament with a charitable purpose.” Tarun Khandelwal, CFA.

DUBAI COURTS NEW PACKAGE OF SMART SERVICES AS PART OF NIBRAS APP In line with the active efforts towards smart transformation, Dubai Courts recently launched the ‘Smart Q Ticketing’ service within the updated version of Nibras, the Middle East’s first-of-its-kind smart app with the capacity to host an integrated portfolio of smart services that are specifically

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designed to support the national efforts to reduce the number of clients in government centers by 80 per cent by 2018.

H.E. Tarish Eid Al Mansouri, Director-General of Dubai Courts, said: “Dubai Courts is steadfast on the path drawn by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al

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Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for the Government of Dubai in not only addressing but also leading technical development to reach the number one ranking worldwide. Smart transformation was and still is at the forefront of Dubai Courts’ strategic priorities,

having made proactive achievements in the innovation of smart and integrated services which have had the utmost impact in facilitating, accelerating and streamlining legal transactions while also raising the bar on performance index and achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction and happiness.”

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MY VIEWS

ORACLE

A NEW ´SPARC´ IN THE CLOUD

Effortless Security, Breakthrough Efficiency and Straightforward Security; Oracle´s latest addition to the SPARC platformthe S7, claims to bring all of the above capabilities to the cloud platform. In an exclusive rendezvous with Anushree Dixit of EC MEA, Marshall Choy, Vice President of Systems Solutions and Oracle’s Hardware Business Unit explains how and why ´Security´is the new performance with SPARC.

T

wo of the greatest concern for the modern enterprises and the SMBs has been aligning their IT goals to business and addressing the rampant skill gap in the region.

The S7, a cousin to the predecessor M7, brings the SPARC microporocessor capabilities into the Oracle public loud, engineered systems and server products.

management or operation of that system for the customer,” added Marshall.

REVOLUTIONIZING NEXTGEN DATA CENTER One of the biggest innovations of the S7 is Software in Silicon. “So, the two big things that we embedded on S7is Security and data analytics.

An enterprises´ most valuable asset is the data in the data center and the biggest challenge is how to make use of and analyse all the data in the data center. We have integrated security and DA into the microprocessor. With this we can significantly change the economics of how data is managed and analysed. Costumers need not buy additional hardware to secure the product.”

THE S7 DECODED ´Integration´ is a key aspect of the S7. “What we have done with the S7 is that we have integrated a great number of enterprise capabilities like security, efficiency and simplicity— things you typically see in a high class enterprise product is engineered into it. It reduces the cost and it provides better efficiency for users,” says Marshall Choy, Vice President of Systems Solutions and Oracle’s Hardware Business Unit explains.

“One of the driving factors for developing the S7 was to simplify security to the level of a button push. No deep knowledge or expertise is required. One only needs to know how to click a mouse.” The main purpose is to integrate and bring down the very complex enterprise technologies to smaller departments within the large enterprises and SMBs.

BRIDGING THE SKILL GAP: SPARC will be available in the region as an

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MARSHALL CHOY,

VP, SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS AND ORACLE HARDWARE BUSINESS UNIT.

offering of the Oracle public cloud which enables customers to subscribe to SPARC as ´Computer as a service´ that eradicates all the administration and operational aches that were previously borne by the customers. “We also have a Managed Services offering where we effectively can put systems whether it be an engineered system or server product on to the premises of the data center of our customers, Oracle does the

SECURITY AT THE CENTER “Security is the new performance. We don’t think of security as an afterthought. We don’t have a separate team to work on security. It is a holistic thought process for us. In S7, we implemented Silicon Secured Memory. We can protect access to data held in physical memory. So, the only application authorized to access the information can retrieve it. In addition, security is further enhanced through verified boot, immutable content that prevents unauthorized changes, enforced secured updates and a trusted and secure hardware and software supply chain that does not rely on intermediaries. ë

MY VIEWS

META BYTE

Unified Solutions on a Platter With its recent partnerships with Thoughtonomy and Jedox, Meta Byte is bringing in heterogeneous capabilities in business intelligence and automation to the region. Salil Dighe, CEO at Meta Byte Technologies talks to EC MEA their strategies in working in sync with the customer mindset and bringing in some new technology concoctions for the region´s digital appetite.

F

or Salil Dighe, CEO of Meta Byte Technologies, technology is all about; Listening, Understanding and Delivering. Rushing into any new solution or getting a partner on board just for the sake of having a new technology was never the idea. Talking about the emerging technologies and the adoption in the region he said, “It’s not about adoption or customers looking at newer technologies, it’s about how you translate their requirement into an innovative portfolio of solutions, this is what we believe in strongly. We are more of a listener and do consultation with the customers to understand their mindset, we work in sync with what they want and then ensure a roadmap in terms of their objectives and what they want and how we enable them to achieve that in the form of the latest technology perspective.”

Meta Byte’s forte has been automation and being in the industry for many years,. Salil emphasizes that Meta Byte understands the pain points of customers and dynamics of the eco-system. Salil says that Meta Byte is more like a consultant than a reseller or system integrator.

Talking about the region’s technological appetite he said, “Things haven’t really changed that much.

When the cloud was introduced back in the days, I was very skeptical about its penetration in the region. Cloud as I would say is something still in the air. It’s more like a private cloud than a public cloud”. He feels skeptical about the studies conducted related to IoT .“IoT does not necessarily means smart, it just means the level on convenience it may provide to the end user.

I don’t feel IoT will make a major difference, it is too early to say,” he adds.

SALIL DIGHE,

CEO, META BYTE TECHNOLOGIES

ZOOMING INTO AUTOMATION For Meta Byte automation means the process automation. “How to make organizations efficient by implementing technologies which can help them achieve their objective in a much faster way, much more intelligent decisions could be taken to execute those areas you are working on and how you can generate more context around the decision making process. We recently launched Virtual Worker which isn’t a replacement of humans but it ensures that a repetitive job can be taken over by robotics, because those jobs are causing backlogs and how one can invest on

employees already doing their job and ensuring they are doing better things in their careers.” said Salil. The concept of BI also comes into place when talking about process automation, Salil stresses the focus on planning; financial planning, strategy initiative planning, execution of ideas in real-time, this also plays a vital role in the automation process of companies. Robotic Process Automation is gaining momentum in the region and Salil feels the region is ready but adoption rate matters. “You need to look into the process part of it to identify process wise where your company isn’t efficient and there you apply RPA. I don’t see RPA as a replacement to human beings, that intelligence cannot be ignored.

The region is in the right time for this, it is an opportunity for customers to take advantage of the virtual work and for us to create an economy around the virtual work. It’s all about striking a balance.” said Salil.

BRIDGING GAPS “We’ve been very careful in how we go out to the market. We are targeting the governments, central governments and the enterprises. Once they understand the kind of value proposition we bring to the table, it will be easy for the rest of the people to adopt. We want to focus on Dubai, however we have international customers in UK, USA, Spain, Brazil etc. However, we are still on the first layer of intelligence building and planning. . There are lot of things at the back end that we are working on for the coming years.

We are hopeful to see our work translating into new initiatives with tomorrow being a reality,” concluded Salil Dighe as he expressed his views on the current scenario of automation and the trends in the region. ë

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COVER STORY

OPPORTUNITIES IN HOSPITALITY

DIGITAL

INFRASTRUCTURE

´CHECKING IN´ Automated infrastructure, cloud based PMS or IoT platforms— technology no more exists, but ´Co-exists´ with the hospitality sector as the region witnesses a major facelift. As UAE gears up for the dream year of 2020, all eyes are on the hospitality to see what show the sector will put up! n B Y: A N U S H R E E D I X I T < A N U S H R E E @ A C C E N T I N F O M E D I A . C O M > n P H O T O : S H U T T E R S T O C K

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COVER STORY

Dubai is adding 24,000 quality rooms and serviced apartments by 2017 alone.

$22.8bn

Leisure and Entertainment market is expected to increase by 70 percent on 2015 figures to include 45 million people by 2021

24,000

GCC hospitality is forecasted to grow from $22.8 billion in 2013 to $35.9 billion by 2018

45mn 5.3% 6.5%

Hotel supply is expected to increase at 5.3 per cent from 96,992 hotels in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to 125,383 hotels in 2016

UAE tourism sector grows at 6.5 percent annually from 2011 to 2021.

“There is no hospitality like understanding” — Anonymous

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he gates of the GCC Hospitality sector have opened up to mega developments and major revamps as the industry is already co-existing with a whole new generation of travellers and residents for whom hospitality

no more stands for a mere recreational site with pools and luxurious suites. It is way beyond that.

Hospitality, today, defines itself as an epitome of utmost guest experience, boundless connectivity, seamless networking….. and most importantly uninterrupted services.

THE ´WELCOMING´ LANDSCAPE The macroeconomic changes and the fluctuating

currency aches that swept across the Middle East had a lot of impact on the retail and hospitality sector. The currency devaluation definitely led to a downfall in hotels ‘marginal revenues, but it did not stop GCC, most importantly the UAE from becoming one of the most sought after tourist and recreation destination in the world, thanks to a relatively competitive infrastructure that has been the gravitational force for attracting tourists from worldwide.

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COVER STORY

XAVIER MONGIN DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST, TRAVEL, HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, ALE

“Our next-generation wired and wireless voice, data and video services help hotels offer a 360 degree personalized guest experience while optimizing the operation costs for IT.”

HESHAM EL KOMY SENIOR DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CHANNELS AT EPICOR

“IoT and mobility tools are going to be major disrupters in the industry and change the way hotels operate. Between the two, we will get to a point where close to everything is automated.”

ALE

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n The Mobile Guest Softphone enables guests to use their own mobile devices to access hotel services. n The Smart Guest Application Suite enables guests to control the in-room environment using the room phone to adjust lighting and temperature, access hotel services, set a wake-up call, set do not disturb room status, and more. n OTEC (Open Touch Enterprise Cloud) for hotels that are delivering voice communication from a Cloud platform hosted either by the customer or

by ALE with a very unique business model which is a pay-per-occupancy based with no upfront CAPEX investment. n NOD offering (Network on Demand) will be also available for the hotel industry as a consumption based model reducing the capital expenditure and giving the flexibility to use the best technology with no risk of obsolescence or

GRAEME KANE HOSPITALITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, MIDDLE EAST & TURKEY AT ARUBA, A HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY

“Aruba provides hospitality venues with a smarter, adaptive infrastructure that delivers, stable, simple, smart, secure Wi-Fi access to thousands of devices at a time,.”

unpredictable RoI.

EPICOR

n Financial management, material management, multisite, multi-company financial consolidation, reporting and budgeting tools. The Epicor hospitality solution seamlessly interfaces with Property Management Systems (PMS) Fidelio, Protel and Restaurant POS Micros, Infogenesis

ARUBA

n PCI-compliant Aruba 802.11ac Wi-Fi with ClientMatch technology ensures that every device connects to the best-performing AP on the network n Flexible Network Architecture for controllerbased or controller-less deployment, Cloud Management n Airwave Network Management lets IT see and troubleshoot network behavior across all

COVER STORY

AUTOMATING THE INFRASTRUCTURE Booking rooms online or checking in to a hotel, the last thing that a guest wants to do is to ´WAIT´. Automation technologies have been penetrating the hospitality sector heavily with automated kiosks and digital devices to order room service. Digital interactions have taken center stage driving the need for more digital apps for service architectures. Automating the infrastructure was a debatable topic due to the cost and time that would be involved in it, but rapid developments in cloud based PMS and IoT applications have paved way for an automated future.

FADY YOUNES ACTING MANAGING DIRECTOR, CISCO UAE

“Hospitality is about delivering an amazing guest experience.

Technology is playing a major role in transforming that experience from the mediocre or even expected, to one that amazes and delights.”

properties and access data and reporting in one intuitive dashboard n ClearPass Policy Manager for role-based network policy automation for both guests and hotel staff

CISCO

n Cisco Jabber for instant messaging and presence n Cisco Connected Hotel solutions helps hotels increase guest loyalty, deliver customized services and optimize operations n Cisco Wireless supports guest access, analytics, and customer loyalty, whether managed on premises or from the cloud. n Cisco Mobility Express is a low-cost solution for smaller hotel property deployments. n Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences powers real-time analytics and delivers relevant customer engagement.

JEAN-BAPTISTE PLAGNE VICE PRESIDENT, ECO BUILDING DIVISION - MIDDLE EAST, & RETAIL DIVISION - ARABIAN PENINSULA, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

“Hotels need to leverage the best technology, analytics and energy management mechanisms – in their lighting, elevators, security (CCTV), HVAC and power backup systems.”

n Cisco Services helps hotels plan, deploy, and manage the Wi-Fi foundation for hospitality innovation.

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

n PowerTag - a compact, easy-to-install wireless unit for circuit breakers n Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) solutions help improve energy management and ensure reliability and safety of the electrical network n Unica – a complete international and adaptable wiring devices range, which includes more than 150 electrical and electronic functions in light and power control, socketoutlets, VDI, signaling, protecting, comfort and energy savings. n Pelco by Schneider Electric offers a complete range of CCTV cameras and security solutions

WALKING WITH THE PARTNERS As the region gears up for a massive revamp of the hospitality sector on the technology and infrastructure forefront, it is no more a oneman-show. PPPs and the technology partner ecosystem have been thriving and trying to bring together the synergies.

“In 2015 we launched a dedicated certification program for hospitality solutions in order to increase the performance of our business partners and co-create with them the eco-system and skill-sets that are expected by our hospitality customers” says Xavier Mongin, Director, Middle East, Travel, Hospitality, Leisure, AlcatelLucent Enterprise. Hesham El Komy, Senior Director, International Channels at Epicor says, “Without a doubt, it has to be industry experience – many of our partners who operate in this sector have been focusing purely on hospitality, some for as many as 20 years.”

For Aruba, it is all about striking the right partnership for the right solutions.“Aruba Network’s robust partner ecosystem also allows us to team up with leading hospitality vendors to deliver compatible and complimentary technology solutions for hoteliers,” says Graeme Kane, Hospitality Business Development Manager, Middle East & Turkey at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

MOVING AROUND ´CONNECTED´ Connectivity and mobility are the major requirements that tops the guest wish list. The WiFi password is the first thing that a guest looks for after checking in. Free WiFi definitely entices the guest, but the last thing that he or she would want to do is to check in multiple number of times or go through the hassle. The traveller of today doesn’t come with a mobile device. He brings along a family of mobile devices which would be

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COVER STORY

IMPLEMENTATION STORIES ALCATEL

EPICOR

ARUBA

SCHNEIDER

Alcatel Lucent Enterprise,Globally, has serviced customers like Accor hotels, the Beverly Hotel, Hotel Bel Air and 45 Park Lane. Locally, they have a number of hotels serviced includingSouqWaqif Boutique Hotels, Qatar and Radisson Blue Hotel, Qatar, who have successfully implemented AlcatelLucent Enterprise’s data and voice solutions.

EPICOR recently completed an implementation of its Hospitality solution with Kerzner International Resort. The solution’s flexibility and ease of use eliminates the need for a large IT team to support the system, resulting in a drastic decrease in operational costs and an overall lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).”

ARUBA´s list of satisfied customers include Kempinski Mall of Emirates, Sheraton Mall of Emirates, DusitThani Dubai, Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, Al MuroojRotana, Dubai, Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay, Dubai, AmwajRotana, Dubai, Radisson Blu hotel, Dubai Media City, Bonnington Hotel & Residences JLT.

Schneider works with major groups like Hilton Worldwide, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and Kempinski Hotels. PELCO by Schneider Electric has installed its CCTV and surveillance technology offerings at establishments such as Conrad Hotel (Dubai), St Regis Hotel (Abu Dhabi), Hyatt (Dubai), and Sofitel Hotel – the Palm.

WHAT THE CIO SAYS

CIO GUIDELINES Embrace Latest Technology Full Mobility and Connectivity Onsite Physical Security Seamless Front and Back Office Software

New Revenue Channels

Guest satisfaction

MR. MOHAMMED IMADUDDIN,

GROUP CIO AND HEAD OF GROUP BUSINESS EXCELLENCE, AL FARA’A GROUP

“GCC Hospitality sector will be major and will be one of the key industries in 2020. The challenges and opportunities will be to bring the IOTs into life and enhance the entire user experience in terms of hospitality and tourism.”

sitting on the network of the hotel and that needs a greater level of operational efficiency while all the way having a check on the expenditures.

“Our comprehensive suite of solutions helps hotel owners and operators support the newest mobile applications and wireless services, improve operational efficiency by reducing expenses, such as energy costs and generate new revenue streams through next-generation

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Mobile Engagement Opportunities

technologies,” says Fady Younes, Acting Managing Director, Cisco UAE.

THE FUTURE PILLARS OF GUEST SATISFACTION “Lack of connectivity, lack of comfort control can significantly impact their overall stay – and hinder an establishment’s business profitability and reputation in the long run,” says Jean-Baptiste Plagne, Vice President, Eco Building Division - Middle East, & Retail Division - Arabian Peninsula, Schneider Electric. “Guests expect always-on Wi-Fi to find in-venue activities, access self-service apps and stream content without delay. This mobility has created a need for Hotels to engage guests through smartphone apps and untether their front-desk staff so they can assist

guests anywhere on the property.”Fady of Cisco says “As we continue to move into a new age of mobile and connected things, IoT presents a number of advantages for hoteliers, increasing business value as well as securing customer loyalty through enhanced guest experiences. Hotels that leverage IoE capabilities that are made possible through technologies such as Wi-Fi-enabled RFID sensors and Bluetooth LE.

FINALLY No guest is the same and so are their requirements. Hence, hotels have to strike an equilibrium between the needed technologies and the available technologies. it is definitely good to have a technically rich environment, but what matters the most is the level of security that it brings. ë

CIO SPEAK

material industry in the Middle East to the next level. Indeed, the company’s ambitious expansion plan aims to launch a regional chain establishing up to 10 ABYAT showrooms throughout the Gulf region.

This will need a huge IT infrastructure, the main Data center located in Kuwait with disaster recovery& business continuity site. all branches connect to main HO Data center with backup line to the BCDR site, and each branch have sub branches and warehouses and all branches connect to the main Data center in Kuwait.In ABYAT we are using SAP as our ERP system and we are considering smart building in our IT infrastructure.

On the technology front how well did your organization perform in the first quarter of 2016?

2 showrooms have been established in Dammam and Riyadh, now we are working on the latest branch coming before end of this year in Jeddah and start working professionally from first opening day without any incident reported. We have some projects based already started in the Head office some of them have major impact like upgrading our private could VMware based to the latest version that include upgrading our DRBC solution. Also we were working to implement new service desk solution and are evaluating could base solution.

MR ADIY AL NAKHAL,

ABYAT, GCC CORPORATE

Aligning IT with Customer Satisfaction

What are the key plans you have in store for your organization in 2016?

To adopt more smart services like the mobile services and portal services, enhance the infrastructure with new technologies, and assist in marketing technologies opportunities. All of that aligned with organization strategy and customer satisfaction policy.

AS A DECISION MAKER FOR A ONE OF ITS KIND RETAIL CHAIN IN KUWAIT, ADIYALNAKHAL AIMS TO ADOPT MORE SMART SERVICES LIKE THE MOBILE SERVICES AND PORTAL SERVICES, ENHANCE THE INFRASTRUCTURE WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES, AND ASSIST IN MARKETING TECHNOLOGIES OPPORTUNITIES. ALL OF THAT ALIGNED WITH ORGANIZATION STRATEGY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION POLICY.

Please provide a brief about your organization and your role in the organization.

ABYAT is a GCC closed shareholding company founded in 2005 and inaugurated its first showroom in Kuwait in March 2008. The trademark and the brand concept were fully developed in Kuwait, explaining why our busi-

ness is ideally geared for the regional market.

ABYAT is one of the first retail stores of its kind in the Middle East, developing its business strategy around customers’ needs and aspirations, and providing all their finishing, home furniture & outdoor furnishing requirements under one roof.

ABYAT’s successful concept and well-earned reputation will take the finishing and furnishing

Where do you see the IT market trending in 2016?

There are a lot of challenges, ensure zero downtime, operating with everyday new technologies, and compliance with the new features and services. In addition to make your employee ready to work with new technologies adopted.

The market will go more in cloud solutions and big data technologies.

What are the Dos and Don’ts for your regional colleagues?

The infrastructure has Dos & Don’ts for regional colleagues in different branches considering the information security enhancement and ensuring a safety workplace technology and maintaining IT services with high performance. ë

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29

GUEST ARTICLE

VMWARE

Building A Smart City When the infrastructure layer isn’t managed by a single body, the journey to becoming a smart city is more challenging. Once a shared service platform has been created the opportunities are endless. Ian Evans, EMEA VP for End User Computing, VMware, gives his insights on the ideal ‘smart’ city plan comprising of various components.

Imagine a city where sensors monitor everything from temperature to traffic patterns; where street lights are activated and deactivated using motion sensors; where water pipes can shut off leaks remotely and where security can be improved using automated surveillance. Imagine a city where your sat nav not only tells you where to go, but also directs you to the nearest available parking space.

This reality is being enabled by the continually expanding Internet of Things (IoT), a web of objects and sensors connected to the internet which are able to seamlessly communicate with one another, in real-time.The city of the future will be able to communicate with itself, track and respond to the movement of its residents, and automatically optimise conditions.

Before this can happen however, we still have three hurdles to overcome: 1. BUILDING AN INFRASTRUCTURE FIT FOR PURPOSE The first critical step towards shaping a smart city involves the creation of a reliable shared-services platform that aligns all of a city’s services.Acting as a foundation, it will connect all of a city’s smart technologies – from electricity grids through to water metres and, of course, all other utilities.

This works best when managed by a single large body. Take Dubai’s IoT infrastructure for example, where success comes largely from its ability to create a shared central IT organisation,

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n I A N E VA N S , E M E A V I C E P R E S I D E N T F O R E N D U S E R C O M P U T I N G , VMWARE

called Dubai Smart Government (DSG) that joins all the other smart initiatives together, acting like an IT services enablement division for the rest of Dubai’s eGovernment.

2. CONNECTING SERVICES The sharing of information between services can be used for anything from easing traffic congestion to saving lives. Imagine that a reckless driver was to cause a traffic accident which badly injures the driver of another car.

CCTV footage could be shared with the police and relevant insurance parties, a transportation service could reroute traffic based on real time data and a nearby ambulance could be alerted to the incident, immediately pulling up the driver’s medical history so that he/she receives the best possible medical care.

While we may not be quite there yet, certain elements are beginning to be put into practice.

For example, VMware AirWatch already works closely with Tel Aviv Municipality to provide its traffic wardens with an AirWatch-managed Samsung Note 5, essentially providing them with a digital workspace that allows them to work from any location. They can use the devices for ticketing by logging tickets and filling reports that include pictures, time and GPS stamps of the parking contraventions, all while on the go.

3. SECURITY Cities becoming smart means deploying even more IoT devices to connect infrastructure

and resources. Gartner projects that 6.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide this year, and forecasts that the number will grow by more than three times, to nearly 21 billion by the year 2020. This surge in connected devices, and the amount of data being shared wirelessly, will provide huge opportunities, but could also pose serious risks. It’s not just personal data, such as medical records which is at risk, but also critical services such as transportation systemsor electricity grids.

THE FINAL COMPONENT… One essential ingredient is needed in order to create a secure network of devices across a smart city: a robust enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution, that guarantees the end-to-end management of all connected devices. Think of the number of devices, used in the finance or healthcare sectors for example, which could have access to sensitive resources and information. It’s crucial that organizations in these have the ability to communicate securely with their networks of trusted devices.

The opportunities presented by smart cities for both citizens and businesses are both as exciting as they are endless. With proper implementation, a well-managed infrastructure, a robust EMM solution and plenty of imagination, smart cities will provide huge economic, cultural and social advantages for their residents, meaning each and every one of us has an exciting future ahead. ë

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FEATURE

Survival of the fittest is a cliché. Distributors who are ready to walk that extra mile and are brave to take that extra risk in going beyond the tradition will survive. Since the term value was added as a prefix in value added distribution, the standards are no more the same and the game just got…´Dynamic´! n WORDS: ANUSHREE DIXIT <ANUSHREE@ACCENTINFOMEDIA.COM>

F

rom pick, pack and shipping to vendor extension models and value added services, distributors have been aligning their business models more closely with vendors in order to give the customers the same experience that a vendor would provide. From channel enablement events to attracting VARs in partnership with vendors,to providing vendor extension models, the distys have experienced a dynamic makeshift in their roles.

THE EVOLVING ROLE OF VADS The badge of ´Value´ embodies a lot of credentials. It is no more a provide-and-forget service for the distys.

The service that follows the provision is what defines

´value´ and it differs from vendor to vendor. StorIT sees the evolution of data storage and the emergence of 3rd platform technologies as an ideal playground for the VADs to adapt and explore. “Over the past couple of years, the term ‘VAD’ has been overused, more for marketing mileage than as an attribute of business that generates real value, to the extent of making it sound hackneyed. Nevertheless, there is a concerted effort by a segment of distribution partners to up the ante in this area to stay competitive and relevant to the fast changing business environment,” says Ranjith Kaippada, Sales Director, StorIT Distribution. For Bulwarks, the evolution is based on nourishing the channel community. “We have been empowering our channel community, which has significantly contributed to our growth

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FEATURE

MARIO.M.VELJOVIC

VICE PRESIDENT SOLUTIONS MEA AT GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION FZE.

“It’s an ongoing transition that shifts Distributors from a legacy tactical role to a much more strategic one.”

RANJITH KAIPPADA SALES DIRECTOR, STORIT DISTRIBUTION

NIZAR SURANI SENIOR PRE SALES CONSULTANT STARLINK

“Adapt, Innovate “StarLink differentiates and Evolve to create itself with a concept called opportunities with purpose’ ‘True’ Value-Addedhas been the mantra that Distribution. This positively has kept us in good stead.” impacts vendors, partners and customers.”

THE EVOLUTION OF VADS

Basic tenets of distribution: logistics and credit

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Channel Management and Product Management

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Sales, marketing, renewals, training

Moving in lockstep with vendors and VARs

Transitioning to solutions-based sales

Invaluable partner enablement

FEATURE

´VALUE´ IN VALUE ADDED DISTRIBUTION StorIT

JOSE MENACHERRY

MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BULWARKS

“It is our continuous and ongoing effort to invest on channel initiatives which include long term partner growth plans, partner certification and reward programs and channel enablement sessions.”

StorIT remains committed to investing in value added services to provide the very best of breed technology solutions that can give our reseller partners a competitive edge. We have been making consistent investments in intellectual capital that has enabled the company to keep up its superior competency in providing professional services, which complement and enhance the solutions delivery capabilities of its reseller and vendor partners.

STARLINK StarLink differentiates itself with a concept called ‘True’ Value-Added-Distribution.

StarLink also offers a comprehensive

VADs juggling between the role of dysties and SIs to provide that extra edge to the customers. Many vendors started foreseeing a turbulence in the channel and partner ecosystem. & development as a value-added distributor in the region.” says Jose Thomas, Managing Director of Bulwarks.

“Moving in lockstep with vendors and VARs transitioning to solutions-based sales, Distributors have continually enhanced their services.

They’re evolving beyond legacy financial and transactional services to provide invaluable partner enablement and development resources to their customers. It’s an ongoing transition that shifts Distributors from a legacy tactical role to a much more strategic one,” says Mario.M.Veljovic, Vice President Solutions MEA at Global Distribution FZE.

2015— A PHENENOMENAL YEAR FOR THE DYSTIES 2015 was an interesting phase for the ME Distributors as they were faced with a mounting challenge of aligning cost with value. ´Distiegrators´ as a concept was seen stemming from the increased demand for distributors to provide services which are at par with the system integrators. In the race to survive, the market saw many

´DISTIEGRATORS´: AIR CLEARED Based on our conversation with leading players in the region, they did not seem to be quite influenced by the whole new aspect to distribution. “Distributors getting deeper involved in the Value Chain is important. However, I am worried about Distributors competing with Resellers and VARs for a quick gain. It’s important that Distributors show a clear commitment to the Channel Ecosystem,” says Mario. “ They may work alongside SIs to help them with skilled resources on major projects but won’t act as a SI with the customer directly,” says Ranjith. For Bulwarks, the focus has been channel enablement and they do not intend to shift their focus. “Bulwark plans to keep its channel community up-to-date on the specialized cutting-edge technology products and solutions and simultaneously provide world-class service to its customers,” says Jose.

THINK LIKE A DISTYE, ACT LIKE A VENDOR

Partner Program called StarLink Choice which includes quarterly rebates and incentives. Partners also get access to the same service capabilities in order to scale their business up quickly while they develop their own internal skills.

To customers, StarLink is perceived as a Trusted Security Advisor.

BULWARK Bulwark serves the entire region with innovations from more than 20 technology vendors and provides round-the-clock value-added services such as pre-sales expertise to support partners, sales and technical trainings, marketing support, logistics and credit facilities to support and benefit its channel ecosystem.

Vendor extension models are currently a favourite concept among the customers. “StorIT acts as an extension of our vendor-partners. We try to identify and invest in areas, which could compliment vendors’ commitment to the region while adding to the strength of reseller channel partners. We act as their extended sales arm that not only shares their vision for the region but also provides them with a broad reseller channel network which can introduce their technology to the market at the shortest time span and help them achieve their growth objectives,” says Ranjith. According to Bulwarks, their vendor extension business model not just enhances the growth opportunities for channel partners but also hand holds partners in the initial stage of engagement with customers.

FINALLY The drastic impacts of oil prices on the global and the Middle East market have been quite evident.

Economic slowdown resulted in increased cost cutting and decreased IT spending, which directly and indirectly affected the Middle East market.

But true to the fact, on one hand where the organizations wanted to spend less, on the other hand they couldn’t help but leverage their existing technology.

So, the game is all about being ´Dynamic´and playing ´Clever´. ë

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MY OPINION

street light. The idea is to use LiFi to transfer geo-positioning, location based services. We have created a street light which is called IOTA- it is a smart street light, we have included LiFi as a communication system with a specific component inside so that you can interact with the cloud platform to manage the device and software for a mobile phone which you can connect to a street light. We strongly believe that smart city starts with connection between the city and the people. Smart street lights are a major component of it as streets form an integral part of any city. We wanted our street lights to be like a bridge between citizens and cities and LiFi would using the mobile phones, having access to very localized information and use the street lights to ensure connectivity.

We are also in the final stages of developing the HEALTHCARE4U, a revolutionary management system for the healthcare sector.

MARC FLESCHEN,

CEO OF ZERO.1

Making Dubai ´LiFi Ready´ IN A BID TO REVAMP THE COUNTRY´S NETWORKING LANDSCAPE, ZERO.1 USHERS IN A NEW DAWN OF CONNECTIVITY WITH LIFI. MARC FLESCHEN, CEO OF ZERO.1 IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH EC MEA STATES THAT THE COUNTRY IS READY TO LEAPFROG LEGACY WIFI PLATFORMS AND IS READY TO REALIZE ITS DREAM OF BECOMING A ´SMARTER CITY´.

Z

ero.1 is at the heart of pushing the endless capabilities of IoT to further heights. With IOTA (Intelligent Outdoor Tower Automation) product range, the company is creating a LiFi enabled platform that adds extra layer of networking intelligence and communication to the LED street lights.

How was Zero.1 conceptualized and what is it about?

Theoretically the company originated 3 years ago, but we started operations in February 2016. The company stems from the belief that the market has actually moved on to the services platform and we are here to offer the combined strengths of hardware and software with our LiFi platform. LiFi is the fastest and cheapest wireless communication system and is the optical version of WIFI. So, the whole idea of conceptualizing Zero.1 was to commercialize LiFi solutions and services. We

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provide LiFi management solutions combining hardware and software, together with cloud platforms, to a variety of different sectors including road and transport, telecommunication, and Smart City authorities.

What are the technologies Zero.1 is bringing to limelight?

LiFi is our key technology offering. In order to bring the technology to life, we created a LED

With its combination of IOTA hardware, City.1 Software and Cloud services, Zero.1 will lead the commercialisation of LiFi technology in the UAE, with plans to also introduce it in other GCC countries shortly. LiFi applications that will impactmultiple sectors such as street lighting, retail, healthcare, education, museums, and large public venues are in the development stage and are planned to be strategically launched this year.

How has the adoption of LiFi been in the region? Did you come across any major obstacles?

Dubai has always been a technology ready region and we did not see any particular challenge while implementing or taking the solution to the decision makers. On the contrary, we could easily skip the solution description part as the decision makers were well equipped with the knowledge of the product and they had a clearer vision of where they would need the technology to be implemented. One of the major point was that people, here, are eager to experience new technologies and LiFi gave them a perfect platform to enjoy a unique kind of technology that has minimal carbon footprint.

City.1software bridges the gap between objects and people. The IOTA Street light is embedded with the Cyrus card. Merged with Zero.1’s cloud platform, the city’s streetlight network becomes the centre of communication, between the city and its people, businesses and services to people, and people to people.

As you are still establishing your position in the market, what kind of partners do you look forward to work with?

We are working closely with du in the UAE. The solutions are deployed and taken to the customer through our service partner du.

We provide the solution and they provide the implementation. We are also in conversation with key retailers and museums in Dubai and will be announced soon. ë

GUEST ARTICLE

VEEAM

Surviving the Century of Data Growth Dramatic business digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and everyday digital activities are driving immense data growth worldwide. Research shows that by 2020, the world will generate 44,000 EB of data in one year alone — 37 times more the 1,200 EB generated in 2010!

At an individual company level, industry experts expect to see at least 10 times more data in the average data center. A company that had to manage and orchestrate 10 TB in 2010 will have to keep 100 TB available in 2020. Keeping up can be overwhelming, and the need for continuous access to that data at any time has made us completely dependent on IT. IT leaders are responding to this progressive data growth by shifting toward converged and hyper-converged IT infrastructures. Three years ago, IT started renewing data centres with more efficient flash and software-defined storage, taking data away from the traditional arrays and shifting the focus back to applications.

To keep up with data growth, IT needs to keep application performance, availability and scalability high, while minimizing storage costs per gigabyte. Software, along with cloud computing, will become crucial in meeting today`s business demands of both enterprises and end users.

IT CHALLENGES OF DATA GROWTH When a company generates terabytes of data daily, it brings quite a few tough management challenges for IT. The sheer volume of unstructured data makes it difficult to gain valuable insights fromit. At the same time, nothing can be deleted because it’s too difficult to sort out what’s unnecessary. In turn, storing and archiving all of

that data fuels the growth as well.

As the data growth trend continues, getting the most relevant data at your fingertips when you need it is only going to get harder. Businesses provide their services 24/7 and they need all data online and available at all times.

Enabling Availability requires data center modernization with the latest technologies and software solutions that support virtualization and storage across on-premises and cloud-based platforms. Huge volumes of unstructured data require a unique approach to storage. Storage systems should have enough flexibility to not only scale up, but also to scale out cost-effectively. On the hardware layer, you can achieve higher performance by implementing modern storage mechanisms, tiered storage and different types of media within the storage array, like flash and non-volatile devices.

THE WINNING STRATEGY To survive in the age of data growth, you need to support your business with valuable insights and data Availability. You need a strategic approach to data management. Scalability and Availability are the two key pillars to developing this strategy.

Planning the future capacity demands of your infrastructure and workloads will help you get ready for future growth. Choose platforms, solutions and hardware that allow you to easily scale.

Capacity planning solutions featuring resource

n GREGG PETERSEN, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND SAARC, VEEAM SOFTWARE

reservation and built-in simulation scenarios can be very helpful when estimating your future resource needs.

Try to simplify your data center management and add an orchestrationlayer into your existing environment. Hyper-converged solution stacks combined with a proven Availability solution can dramatically minimize your total cost of ownership in terms of management overhead.

It’s important to understand your IT environment, know which workloads are missioncritical and break down applications into Availability tiers. Each application has its own level of importance for business operations, and therefore should have a specific SLA tier. While some workloads demand absolute, uninterrupted Availability, you can tier others at more moderate RTOs and RPOs and easily put them into public cloud storage, for example.

To bring Availability into the data centre, you need a combination of integrated solutions that allow you to meet all compliance and SLA requirements and respond to business and end-user demands.

Only a strategy embracing virtualization, cloud technologies, modern storage and a reliable Availability solution will help you fully address the challenges of a massive increase in data. If you’re not thinking of your strategy right now, in a couple of years you may simply be lost. ë

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FEATURE

FOCUS BAHRAIN

Progressive Outlook of Bahrain Bolsters IT The business capital of Gulf- ‘Kingdom of Bahrain’, is known to be the most forward looking and modernized Arab land. A classic example of digital disruption blended with innovative technologies taking center stage and contributing to the overall landscape of the region.Bahrain has not just opened its doors to the world but also to technologies like IoT, mobility, digitization etc. The Telecom industry of the region is the most flourishing sector. With the recent budget, vision 2023, increase foreign investments and proximity to other developed nations; Bahrain surely emerges as a promising country. n B Y: S O N A L L U N A W AT < S O N A L @ A C C E N T I N F O M E D I A . C O M >

A

n island country with infinite possibilities’- The Kingdom of Bahrain. Strategic location, liberalized government policies, freest economy in the Arab world, growth and development in terms of infrastructure and the modernized outlook- these factors make Bahrain one of the most dynamic nation of today’s world. Bahrain ranked 30th in the Global Network Readiness Index in 2015, which clearly puts Bahrain in the forefront of ICT development. This island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf in Middle East ranks first in GCC for its eGovernment services and 18th in the world, making it one of the most advanced and tech savvy country which embraces technology and is hungry for

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innovations to make the businesses prosper. The Bahraini currency is the second highest valued currency unit in the world. Bahrain’s highly developed transport as well as communication facilities make it a home to numerous multinational companies.

STAYING UPBEAT- ICT TRENDS The economy of Bahrain is oil dependent however the recent fluctuations has led to the focus of the economy shifting to other industries like tourism, retail, construction etc. Other major economic activities include production of aluminium and exports of petroleum and petroleum products. The market has shifted to services and emphasis is laid on healthcare and education.

The outlook of the public as well as private sector of Bahrain is extremely adaptive, enterprises try and adapt to newer trends in order to foster growth and compete with the global markets. Dr Jassim Haji, IT Director, Gulf Air said, “Beside Internet of Things, Big Data and analytics, cloud services and mobility are some of the emerging ICT trends.” Organizations have started exploring solutions that fit their business needs and aim to derive maximum results through deployment. MENA region’s first cloud based accelerator program was launched in Bahrain. Internet of Things is gaining momentum in the region paving way for digital transformation and other innovative technologies being used by Enterprises.

Hospitality has seen a major growth in the

FEATURE

14

th

in the

world

E- Participation

30th IN THE WORLD for Networked Readiness

8th

5th

IN THE WORLD

IN THE WORLD

for Internet usage globally

for Mobile Broadband

91% of Population use the internet (UN E-Gov Survey)

Networked Readiness Index WEF

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FEATURE

The government portal of Bahrain is one of the most applauded in GCC. Having a dedicated mobile application, the portal helps the citizens, tourists, information seekers, expatriates in various ways. Traffic, civil, electricity, housing, payments, registration, law and order, health, eVisa, postal, smart card, passport renewal, eServices and many other provisions are included on the site, making it one stop destination for all. COBIT5 is adopted by the eGovernment in Bahrain.

BUDGET 2015-2016 His Majesty King Hamad issued a law approving Bahrain’s budget for 2015-2016 Revenues- estimated at BD4.274 billion – BD2.097bn for 2015 and BD2.177bn for 2016

4.274bn The budget deficit is estimated at BD3.009bn – BD1.504bn for 2015 and BD1.505bn for 2016.

Expenditures- estimated at BD7.284bn – BD3.601bn for 2015 and BD3.682bn for 2016

7.284bn 3.009bn

6.374bn

910mn

Recurrent expenditureestimated at BD6.374bn – BD3.156bn for 2015 and BD3.217bn for 2016

Spending on projects- estimated at BD910 million – BD445m for 2015 and BD465m for 2016.

OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES

n Liberal Business policies

n Need for standardization

n Advanced Infrastructure

n Need for greater efficiency, improved

n Proximity to other large markets

quality and reliability

n Excellent test ground for products

n Cyber Security Threats n Shadow IT

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region due to increase in Tourism as a result of advanced infrastructure. “Hospitality is transforming itself with the aim of building the Bahrain tourism ecosystem and investing in offering guests’ experiences at par with other top travel destinations. Forward-thinking hoteliers are moving to flexible, virtual networks and interactive tools to deliver a superior guest experience to customers”, said Mohammed Areff, VP MEA, Avaya.

Bahrain’s banking sector comprises of both conventional as well Islamic banks. The banking sector is adapting to the digital era and there has been an increase in the use of banking applications. The digital transformation of Bahrain acts like a catalyst to boost its ICT landscape.

Commenting on this digitization Mohammed Aref said, “The industry is moving towards the X-as-a-Service consumption model, allowing organizations all the benefits of an IT infrastructure that they need, without a significant capital outlay. It is evident that the region is open to disruptive ideas and there is definite growth of digital transformation, at a slow pace but evident none the less.”

Dr Jassim Haji considers digital transformation to be the fastest growing in the region, he said “The digital transformation has been remarkably quickly adopted, it has permeated through different types of demographics, this region is considered one of the fasted growing in the realm of digital transformation with the wide spread of smart phones, tablets, data subscriptions and the offered online services from all types of organizations.”

TELECOM’S THRIVING MARKET The Telecom sector is the most booming industry followed by retail and banking. Mobile penetration rates at over 120% and projected 10.2% CAGR growth to $6.47 billion by 2020 according to a survey conducted by Frost and Sullivan. “Telcos are taking the lead into driving the transformation of businesses with cloudbased business communication solutions,” said Mohammed Areff. VIVA Bahrain, the Kingdom’s telecom operator collaborated with Avaya to offer Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) for businesses across the island. Batelco has selected Aptilo Networks to enable carrier Wi-Fi for Bahrain Wi-Fi, a nationwide Wi-Fi network which will change the landscape for communication services throughout the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Dr Jassim Haji also informed about the heavy investments made by the Telecom industry and the transformations made to enhance the services

FEATURE

DR JASSIM HAJI

MOHAMMED AREFF

IT DIRECTOR, GULF AIR

VP MEA, AVAYA

“Bahraini organizations are continuously exploring new technologies and how to use the latest trends in their business model.

Taking into consideration TCO vs ROI and security aspects of it.”

“Bahrain is going through an exciting period of digital transformation where businesses are increasingly looking to leverage emerging technology trends.”

SOFTWARE AND SERVICE GROWTH TO OUTPERFORM IT MARKET FORECAST BY SEGMENT 200

150

100

and transactions into the digital realm with self-service focus and wider reach over all types of devices in Bahrain. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain is the primary driver of key plans and initiatives to make the Telecom sector flourish. An attempt to make the country connected through broadband and wireless network, the TRA has liberalized policies making this sector one of the most liberalized in GCC. The internet penetration in Bahrain is about 91.5% which serves as a favorable platform for social media, digitalization, blogosphere and growth in applications market.

MAJOR ONGOING PROJECTS Bahrain is seeing a boom in its infrastructure market owing to the huge investments made by the government to achieve economic vision 2030 launched by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. “Government infrastructure projects continue to top the list as mega projects come underway and investment in security and government to citizen services unfold.

The focus on smarter and safer public services to improve the quality of life for residents and visitors further puts the spotlight on technology innovations”, said Mohammed Areff. Global investors are eyeing the Kingdom of Bahrain due to its initiatives taken to promote tourism and make Bahrain a tourist destination and compete with Qatar and UAE. The tourism sector is projected to contribute 5.1% to the GDP by 2024. Construction projects like New terminal for International Airport Manama, Nuclear Power Plant, Hawar Island development, Bahrain Investment Wharf and many others are the ones at forefront. Bahrain Bay is one of the smart city project which aims at pioneering an innovative metropolis and integrated community. Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications have laid emphasis on smart city governance, with plans and projects to be implemented in shaping the face of the cities and moving towards ‘smart’ solutions.

FINALLY 50

0 2012

2013

2014

2015f

Bahrain - Computer hardware sales, BHDmn Bahrain - Services sales, BHDmn f= BMI forecast. Source: IBM

2016f

2017f

2018f

2019f

Bahrain - Software sales, BHDmn

As the telecom sector prospers and continues to show favorable results the advent of 5G is not a far reached goal for the Kingdom. The future needs will be laid on the foundation of cross platform solutions which will be characterized by innovation. Foreign investments and continued growth in Tourism will be the backbone of the economy. The Kingdom of Bahrain with its modernized outlook will continue to attract foreign talent and thus newer IT solutions and enhanced IT skills. ë

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SPECIAL STORY

Aligning

Business and IT ‘Deploy what you need not what you desire’, this is the fundamental rule of aligning business and IT. With expansion comes growth and in order to grow organizations need a technological sound infrastructure to cater to their needs and promote their interests.

Inter-organization or Inter-region or inter-department, depending on the nature of the business the requirements differ. The question then arises is ‘where?’ and ‘what?’ rather than ‘who?’; aligning isn’t a competition it is a ‘smart’ selection. n W O R D S : S O N A L L U N A W AT < S O N A L @ A C C E N T I N F O M E D I A . C O M >

I

t’s not that organization’s use technology, they live technology. Every organization be it small, mid-sized or a multinational, IT is one of the driving factors boosting the overall organization productivity; intertwined and mingling across departments and not just being a part of organizations but being the most crucial force driving major operations. In the olden days there was not much room for IT talks or even emphasis laid on technology, it was considered a field which was linked to only multinationals. However, the current times witness the blend of all business activities with IT. The question then ascends is how is the entire IT process or technological progression aligned with the overall business? How is the journey from planning to transformation to execution to updating align with the overall business processes?.

WEARING THE THINKING CAP Every enterprise aims to earn maximum return on investment, it is not just about achieving targets but getting that extra edge to function with ease. Information Technology helps in changing the face of the enterprise by deploying solutions and applications to offer external as well as internal ease of operation. Better decision making and integration of IT to strategy, mission and goals is a fundamental need of business and IT. Every CIO intends to provide maximum by using minimum resources and as the lines between business and IT is blurring every organization is becoming an IT organization. As per IDC the worldwide IT spending will reach $2.8 trillion in 2019, this prediction clearly indicates that enterprises are associating importance to IT and have a dedicated budget to stay upbeat with the competitors and gain maximum out of technology. When thinking about aligning business to IT the most important factor is the need of the organization. Every vertical and every enterprise has varied needs depending on the usability, number of employees, scale of business, budget considerations, requirements, skills of the employees, operational region and other factors. The decision of deploying a technology which is suitable for the enterprise need is the biggest concern

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TOOLS TO ALIGN BUSINESS AND IT Vibrant and inclusive company culture

Understanding of how company makes or loses money

Clear and specific goals to both IT and employees

SPECIAL STORY

5 AREAS OF IT ALIGNMENT STRATEGY DRIVEN ALIGNMENT

OPERATIONAL ALIGNMENT

CALENDAR ALIGNMENT

IT as an instrument to transform business

Internal/External customer service as key priority

CULTURAL ALIGNMENT

ECONOMIC ALIGNMENT

for every CIO since the idea of technology is to ease the problem and support business wants rather than making it complex and irrelevant for the enterprises. Weighing the overall value chain, mapping company goals, sustaining as well as updating technology and working in parameters best suited for the organization becomes a major role of CIOs when aligning IT with business.

As the CIOs contemplate about the best suited solutions for their organization, Vendors also reflect on the vertical specific need which they ought to match with their target customer’s demands. An understanding of the current IT trends and the pinching points for the enterprises will help vendors offer solutions custom made for their buyers. Example: AGC Networks delivered a comprehensive contact center solution based on Avaya technology for iCARE Clinics since the healthcare provider wanted to enhance customers’ booking experience and drive customer satisfaction. Nile Air adopted Amadeus’ complete airline IT portfolio since Nile Air wanted to boost operational efficiency and make revenue decisions in real time.

A balance between the CIO requirements, business demands, varied department wants and the vendor delivery is significant in aligning IT processes and contributing to enterprise betterment.

FINALLY… Rotate both IT and business professionals across different departments and job functions

Aligning Business and IT isn’t a project, it is a process. Constant efforts by enterprises to attain business transformation will lead to increase in IT spending by organizations, thus allocation of funds for IT will be a part of every company’s budget. In order to meet international standards of operation employees will be trained to overcome skill shortage and make the maximum use of deployed technology. Routine tech-check of enterprises will become a mandatory drill in order to understand IT needs of the business. ë

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organizations are scared of digital disruptions that’s why there is a firm acceptance that organizations need to transform, part of this transformation is adopting a digital business platform. The region has always been active in adopting whatever is adopted in the modern world, however it differs drastically over the region’s geographies.” According to Rami the region has a lot of appetite in adopting digitalization, some of it not by choice but some out of compulsion to not be lagging behind in the market. Commenting on the challenges Rami said, “Human Resource is a critical challenge in this equation. In this digital business platform every company becomes an IT company.

Organizations need to have a deep rooted understanding for human resources. Talent shortage and competition is the number one challenge for this region. There is a need for brainstorming between vendors, consultants, customers, stakeholders in order to uncover the problem that can be solved by this digital business platform.”

RAMI KICHLI,

VICE PRESIDENT, GULF & LEVANT MET, SOFTWARE AG

Blurring Lines between Business and IT

SOFTWARE AG HAS REVEALED ITS PRELIMINARY FIGURES FOR THE SECOND QUARTER AND THE FIRST HALF OF 2016. THE GROWTH IN THE REGION HAS BEEN 30-40% COMPARED TO LAST YEAR. RAMI KICHLI, VP, GULF & LEVANT MET, SOFTWARE AG GETS CANDID ABOUT THE COMPANY AND HOW HE AIMS TO HELP IT EXCEL WITH INNOVATION AND DEEPER PENETRATION IN THE MARKET AS HE SHARES HIS VIEWS IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH US.

It’s all about ‘Digitalization’ Rami Kichli sees a very obvious shift in the adoption of digital platform in the global world which includes the GCC region as well, busi-

nesses want to transform themselves digitally.

He sees the world as fundamentally different today and there is a lot of focus to come up with different business models. He says, “Large

Partnerships with local educational institutions/universities by providing softwares and training of softwares for free

Embarking on a 9-month program by partnering with a leading charity to develop a set of activities as part of CSR

Building the capacity for Software AG resources in the region

A new certified training center for Software AG to be opened in Dubai for the entire region’s customer training needs

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Big Data Streaming Analytic solutions “Big data streaming analytics is all about use case, the technology itself means nothing in isolation of what the value use case brings. There are a number of use cases that are more or less accepted,” said Rami. In his view he feels that what is done so far is just like touching the tip of the iceberg in terms of covering and identifying use cases that can be materialized by using big data solution, it is just the start of it. He also sees it as a classic example of big data being a platform and not an application and requires a lot of imagination in order to come up with these ideas or use cases that can solve tomorrow’s problems. “From a technology perspective big data streaming analytic solution is all about utilizing and co-relating different sources of data.” adds Rami. ë

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In a crowded security market, businesses and IT security executives find it increasingly difficult to find the right endpoint protection. We put Sophos Endpoint Protection to rigorous test to find how it fares to meet the expectations for next-generation endpoint security.

Evaluation approach: Sophos Endpoint is available as on-premise and as Sophos Central managed solution. We tested on-premise version with latest Sophos Enterprise Console (SEC version 5.4.0) to inspect quality of threat coverage, speed and quality of threat response and ease of management.

Detailed review: Going beyond legacy AV (antivirus) and signature-based endpoint security, Sophos Next-Gen Endpoint brings an evolved capability to help businesses that want to replace traditional or legacy AV with easy-to-manage yet advanced endpoint protection. Sophos technology combines advanced signature-less technology and behavior-based analysis to deliver proactive and adaptive detection and mitigation against

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ransomware, rootkits, malicious apps, traffic and other zero-day threats.

Puts end to traditional blacklisting and signatures: Sophos Endpoint takes a departure from dated signature-based defense and thus delivers memory-efficient endpoint security with a small footprint client for Windows, Mac and Linux devices. Applying a new science of prevention and detection, Sophos solution doesn’t rely on signatures to catch malware, instead it embeds proactive protection and detection capabilities using rigorous threat research and methods like behavior analytics, to catch threats that are designed to evade traditional security measures Comprehensive threat coverage with advanced threat defense: Sophos Endpoint enables proactive prevention, detection and fast response against web and application exploits, dangerous domains and URLs including command-andcontrol (C2) channels, potentially unwanted apps, and malicious code from zero-day vulnerabilities as well as ransomware threats Full range of capabilities spanning web, application, and device and data security: The solution provides comprehensive capabilities to

protect users and data across a range of enduser platforms. We found the ability of Sophos Endpoint to deliver push-button deployment of all key policies covering web, application, device, and data quite simple, for all of these could be configured with extreme ease using categorybased options, prebuilt or custom rules and point-and-click configuration features Automated incident response with synchronized security: Businesses looking to take advantage of Synchronized Security can benefit from this capability, which allows Sophos Endpoint to work in conjunction with the firewall to detect and automatically isolate suspicious or compromised devices. Automated incident response and threat removal can save significant time for security teams and this makes a unique strength for Sophos Endpoint Conclusion Sophos Endpoint takes a more holistic approach for combating threats at each stage . It doesn’t care whether a threat is a known malware or a zeroday, and hence provides more robust defense against multiple attack vectors including scriptbased threats and intrusions, evasive malware written to demonstrate specific behavior and ransomware exploits, providing a broad coverage for constantly evolving threat landscape. Sophos Endpoint has also recently added ‘Download Reputation’ feature, which uses a crowdsourced approach to alert end users if a download has a low reputation. This reputation is based on a file’s source, how often it is downloaded and other factors, and indicates whether the file might be a risk. Also when it comes to manageability, we found that user interface (UI) of Sophos Endpoint is simple to navigate with handy dashboards that enable at-a-glance views into key alerts and notification for events, policies and endpoint health. Sure many security administrators will find it a pleasure to use. ë

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Secure ID issuance WITHIN REACH.

HID Global is leading the industry with the most robust portfolio of secure ID issuance solutions in the world. Our FARGO® line of printers and encoders provide governments, financial institutions and businesses of all sizes fast, efficient and reliable solutions that are as secure as they are affordable.

You’ll call it innovation on demand. We call it, “your security connected.”

YOUR SECURITY. CONNECTED

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Visit us at hidglobal.com/printers

© 2016 HID Global Corporation/ASSA ABLOY AB. All rights reserved. HID, HID Global, the HID Blue Brick logo, and the Chain Design are trademarks or registered trademarks of HID Global or its licensor(s)/supplier(s) in the US and other countries and may not be used without permission.

GUEST ARTICLE

Robust Security Platform = Policy Management + Authentication + Authorization + Accounting

Security-conscious enterprises now require enforcement policies that utilize real-time contextual data to grant network privileges. In parallel, policy management platforms must support end-device profiling that identifies device types and respective attributes that connect to networks

Navigating the landscape of enterprise security can be daunting – the threats typically fly under the radar, and the broad array of malware, hacks and data theft shows real innovation. Worse, the level of malicious sophistication is also on the upswing. In tandem, corporate users enjoy communicating, computing and transacting business on a variety of wired and wireless networks – using multiple devices.

And the threat vectors continue to grow, exponentially. Consequently, IT departments are turning to policy management platforms that give them visibility into who and what is connecting to their networks. The platform must also be agile and sophisticated enough to embrace new levels of enforcement mechanisms for security in a mobile world.Today’s security platforms must embrace authentication and enforcement models for wired networking; public wireless connectivity; and users who tunnel in via IP-based virtual private networks (VPNs) to be effective.

MIGRATING TO POLICY MANAGEMENT FROM BASIC AAA Since Active Directory or LDAP are still used to administer security policies for most internal users and devices, IT departments aren’t able to perform enforcementusing real-time contextual

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data. Context like user roles, device types, ownership, location, and app usage – are all essential to enforcing policies as users move through their day and work with multiple devices. With this model,laptops can be given more rights than smartphones based on device type, for example.

Policy management takes all those factors into account and dynamically enforces which resources can be accessed. This sort of security management transition can’t be done in a firehose fashion; security professionals agree that a phased approach is the smartest way to move from legacy AAA to centralized policy management.

MANAGING IN THE BYOD ERA IT professionals have been sorely tested by the BYOD trend with both internal users and network guests. Managing the onboarding process of everyone’s personal devices can strain IT and helpdesk resources, and if not properly handled, can also create security problems.

By working with unique device certificates, users then don’t need to enter login credentials repeatedly throughout the day – or worry as much about password theft when connected to guest networks. Menu-driven capabilities ensure the rapid revocation and deletion of certificates for specific mobile devices if a user leaves an organization or if the device is lost or stolen.

n AHMED REZK, CHANNEL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING M A N A G E R , M I D D L E - E A S T A N D T U R K E Y AT A R U B A , A H E W L E T T PA C K A R D E N T E R P R I S E C O M PA N Y

HOW TO TREAT GUESTS The BYOD challenges don’t apply just to internal users. Any visitor – guest, customer, partner or other external third-party – will arrive with at least one device that requires network access – wired or wireless. Good security management requires a simple model that automates and simplifies the provisioning of network access for guests, but also provides expansive security features that keep data, computing resources and otherusers safe.

Self-registration lets guests create their own log-in credentials, which are delivered via printed badges, SMS text or email. Credentials can be stored for specific periods of time and set to expire automatically. Guest traffic on the network should also be configured to run separately from enterprise traffic.

REGULAR CHECKUPS OF DEVICE HEALTH Prevention is especially good medicine for the security of enterprises and their datacenters. IT must have the means to perform endpoint health checks to ensure that laptops are fully compliant with internal requirements which check for the latest patches and updates before they’re allowed to connect. ë

INNOVATIONS

KEY CAPABILITIES nComplete email archiving solution nIntegrated IMAP server nComplete data security and protection nImproved compatability with various email clients

MailStore Server v9.8 MailStore launched an updated version of MailStore Server v9.8 to provide complete data security and protection for email archiving, management and compliance needs for business to meet their goals and objectives. Bulwark and MailStore came together to introduce the latest Email Archiving Solution in the Middle East Region.

The enhanced version of MailStore Server and the MailStore SPE will provide improved compatibility with various email clients. This benefits users

who use cross-platform clients to access the email archive via IMAP instead of accessing their archive via Outlook or the MailStore Client. MailStore Server and the SPE have an integrated IMAP server that provides IMAP-compatible email clients read access to the MailStore archive. This provides a convenient way for many other email clients (such as Mozilla Thunderbird) across all operating systems (such as Mac OS or Linux) and mobile platforms to access an email archive.

PLEASE SEND YOUR FEEDBACK AT INFO@ ACCENTINFOMEDIA.COM

ORACLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MINICLUSTER S7-2 ENGINEERED SYSTEM The new Oracle MiniCluster S7-2, with its performance, reliability and simplicity, is an excellent choice for remote or branch offices, agile software development (DevOps) and highly secure environments. It is ideal to run applications where security is a must, like, financial transaction processing, legal and medical records, secure communications, mission-critical enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications and more. All this with extreme acceleration for Database and Analytics workloads leveraging the unique on-chip features of the SPARC S7 processor. It improves efficiency and database/analytics performance with Oracleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SPARC S7 processor and all-flash storage. It also increases developer productivity and accelerate projects with cloud-based, integrated DevOps tools

KEY CAPABILITIES n Automate the deployment of highly available environments with its unique Virtual Assistant n Accelerate and simplify system management without specialized training n Automated, unified, full-system patching n Issue centric n Touch screen of 2.4 inches

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INNOVATIONS

Linksys MAXSTREAM AC5400 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router Linksys EA9500 is outfitted with Next Gen AC Wi-Fi technology, MU-MIMO, Tri-Band and eight high-powered external antennas that work in concert to deliver powerful Wi-Fi at combined speeds up to 5.3 Gbps‡. With the EA9500, the whole household can use Wi-Fi connection to play video games, listen to music, check email, shop, stream 4K movies, and more, while also capable of providing up to eight simultaneous streams to client devices enabled with MUMIMO. As one of the most powerful Wi-Fi routers in the market, the Linksys Max-Stream AC5400 provides business grade functionality to get your home or small office up and running quickly along with the exclusive Linksys Smart Wi-Fi software app for your smart phone that provides remote access control of the EA9500 Wi-Fi Router from anywhere, at any time.

KEY CAPABILITIES n Room-to-Room Wi-Fi with Seamless Roaming Technology n First router capable of supporting up to 8 simultaneous MU-MIMO Streams n WPA2 encryption and SPI firewall help keep your network safely connected n 9 Gigabit Ethernet ports (8 LAN, 1 WAN) and USB 3.0, 2.0 ports n 1.4 GHz Dual Core Processor n Tri-Band Wireless AC5400 (1000 Mbps 2.4Ghz + 2166 Mbps 5Ghz + 2166 Mbps 5GHz) ‡ n The Latest Wi-Fi Standard – 802.11ac Wave 2 includes MU-MIMO

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Canon Océ Arizona 2200 Series Océ Arizona 2200 Series of UV flatbed printers - an enhanced solution for Print Service providers, fine-art print producers and photo labs. Designed to address the demand for increased capacity and versatility without compromising on print quality, the Océ Arizona 2240, 2260 and 2280 enable print service providers (PSPs) to capitalize on new market opportunities and explore a wider range of applications.

Building on the success of the market-leading Arizona 600 series, the Océ Arizona 2200 series allows PSPs to meet shorter customer deadlines and improve production capacity by delivering sellable prints at speeds of up to 63.4 m2/hr.

KEY CAPABILITIES n The flatbed architecture offers superb edge-to-edge and double sided printing on almost any rigid media n Flexible and scalable solution with decreased delivery times and high-quality printing n Superior finishing on a diverse range of materials n Easy installation and hassle free maintenance

One company. One source. One focus.

With customer satisfaction and your profitability on the line, choosing a stable technology partner is a critical business decision. While other technology providers in the industry are splitting apart, Dell is committed to remaining a true source of end-to-end solutions. Certainty in an uncertain world â&#x20AC;&#x201D; now thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a choice you can make with confidence.

Sell with confidence. Sell with Dell.

To learn more, visit Dell.com/partner/yoursuccess

Š 2015 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell Emerging Markets (EMEA) Limited is registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 3266654. Registered address: Dell House, The Boulevard, Cain Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1LF. Company details for other Dell UK entities can be found at www.dell.co.uk