Infra Insight October 2019

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DATA CENTER INSIGHTS

DATA CENTER

PURE STORAGE

BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE HYBRID IT ENVIRONMENT

“The “secret sauce” is still in the IP covering the architecture and the software.

We see that companies with a clear software led strategy, design and IP, have a major advantage as they are able to combine this with the latest hardware and bring cutting-edge solutions to the market,” - Assaad El Saadi, Regional Director - Middle East, Pure Storage.

The IT infrastructure landscape is evolving rapidly. What will it look like in 2020?

The continued accelerated adoption of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies means that data will shift from being an informational asset to the core of innovation.

As a consequence, IT teams will have to make strategic decisions based on the type of data they are dealing with and will need to have the ability to quickly and seamlessly move an application born in the cloud to an on-premise environment, and vice-versa.

This will drive the infrastructure market in 2020, ushering in the age of choice where public and on-premise environments can co-exist, bridged seamlessly with a common storage layer, so applications and data are free to move easily in a modern hybrid infrastructure.

Enterprise IT infrastructure is a focal point of disruption and innovation in every area, from servers and storage to networking and software. What are the trends that are giving rise to such disruption and innovation? And what are the implications for business-technology strategy?

AI, big data, cloud and software-defined are the four major technologies or trends that are impacting the data center market in the region.

From our perspective, cloud is a particularly big driver for the simple fact that most CIOs have now moved beyond simple “all on-prem” or “all cloud” strategies to realize that both are powerful tools in delivering on their IT strategies. They are opting instead for a hybrid IT approach with a

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common set of data services across on-premises and cloud, enabling consistent storage capabilities, APIs, and resiliency so that applications can be built once and run anywhere in the hybrid cloud.

ASSAAD EL SAADI,

REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST, PURE STORAGE

real commitment to using both depending on the relevant workload.

However, building an effective hybrid IT environment requires bridging a cloud divide that exists at the application, management and data levels. While significant technological strides have been made toward standardizing at the orchestration layer, the challenge remains at the storage layer, requiring businesses to look harder to find solutions that unify cloud and deliver a

Traditionally, IT infrastructure providers have relied on assembling branded systems for their server, storage, and networking offerings. To do so, they outsourced hardware manufacturing to ODMs. But do you think at present this model is becoming obsolete?

I look at it slightly differently. The “secret sauce” is still in the IP covering the architecture and the software. We see that companies with a clear software led strategy, design and IP, have a major advantage as they are able to combine this with the latest hardware and bring cutting-edge solutions to the market.

This is the way to disrupt legacy architectures, and something we focus on at Pure. We know that to stay ahead, there needs to be an emphasis on innovation, and with that of course comes R&D investment. Hardware is improving all the time, so often software emerges as a unique differentiator and value-add for customers. In fact, Gartner predicts 2019 should see worldwide spending on enterprise software reach $439bn, an increase of 8.3 percent from 2018, underpinning its importance. Over 90 percent of Pure’s engineering staff are software engineers. Our focus on developing the best software to go hand-in-hand with our leading flash solutions gives us the flexibility and agility to stay on the leading-edge of the industry when it comes to product innovation. ë

By 2021, 50% of large enterprises will use an integrated risk management (IRM) solution set to provide better decision making capabilities.

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DATA CENTER

NEXANS

SIMPLIFYING NETWORKS

“Nexans LANactive solution enables the customers to build a completely new network parallel to the existing network without disturbing the existing users and network operations,” - Arafat Yousef, Managing Director - MEA, Nexans Cabling Solutions.

How can customers evolve their networking cabling infrastructure without affecting the day to day business operations?

Nexans LANactive solution enables the customers to build a completely new network parallel to the existing network without disturbing the existing users and network operations. This can be done easily by pulling new fiber optics cables within the existing environment, terminating the fiber, and placing LANactive switches in the designated locations as per the design. Once all the implementation works are completed, the new LANactive based network can be operated and tested in complete isolation from the existing network, and once all is verified and finalized, the downtime required from the users is the time needed to disconnect their patch cords from the old network faceplates and connecting them to the LANactive switches closest to their location.

Business use cases for single-pair Ethernet is emerging. How do you see this trend?

With the global trend in green/sustainability, and the IoT evolution, the technology leaders have no option to find a cost-effective solution, especially with extending beyond use cases in the automotive industry and in several industrial applications. Billions of IoT edge devices that will be deployed over the next decade. Because the bulk of IoT devices being deployed do not require as much bandwidth and power as a typical application using traditional 4-pair cabling, single-pair Ethernet promises to provide a more compact and economical solution.

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ARAFAT YOUSEF,

MANAGING DIRECTOR – MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA, NEXANS CABLING SOLUTIONS

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is becoming powering strategy for wider array of higher wattage devices and IoT applications. How are you supporting the next gen PoE applications?

Nexans LANactive devices support PoE, PoE+, and PoE++, with the capacity of providing PoE++ on all available copper ports in the LANactive switch. Current applications are mostly using PoE (up to 15W) such as IP Phones and fixed CCTV cameras, while PoE+ is required where higher power ratings are needed, like PTZ CCTV cameras for example (up to 30W).

PoE++ is currently being utilized for more power demanding technologies like smart lighting applications, where the power provided

by PoE++ (up to 60W) is enough to power LED light panels.

Nexans LANactive solution takes the PoE applications to a new level because of the modularity of the solution, as the LANactive switches are fully supporting PoE and PoE+ by default, while in case more power is required, an upgrade of the power supply and the connectors head can be done quickly to enable PoE++ where desired. This enables the customers to start with the default offering of LANactive devices which can deliver PoE and PoE+, and upgrade as the need emerges to PoE++, and only at the locations requiring this upgrade. ë

DATA CENTER

eHDF

ENHANCING BUSINESS EFFICIENCY

“Artificial Intelligence is at the centre of any future Data Centre by not only lending itself to design and efficiency, but also in driving down operational costs,” - Yasser Zeineldin, CEO, eHosting Datafort

What are the trends impacting managed data centre services?

Data Centre Service Providers will see an increase in customers using Multicloud /Hybrid Cloud environments /deployments along with witnessing a significant growth in terms of Automation of IT environments.

In addition, IoT as well as mobile usage is paving the way for higher usage of Data Centre services. A trend that is gaining ground which allows for lower latency and higher speed of data transfer is the concept of edge computing. While this additional platform is created, we visualize a synergetic working process between the Cloud, edge computing and Data Centres. According to an IDC report, 45 percent of data created by IoT will be stored, processed and analyzed by edge computing. And by 2020, more than 5 billion devices will be connected to the edge network.

This will change the way businesses operate.

Data Centre providers will also focus on implementing and expanding on their Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) capabilities to stay ahead of the game. This is even more relevant at a time when there is an evident scarcity of a skilled workforce. The adoption of AI and ML will help simplify Data Centre operations while enabling greater efficiency and creating a predictive environment for both service and maintenance.

Needless to say, with the frequency and enormity of security attacks, and the additional burden of the shortage of cybersecurity skills, Data Centres will continue their mission in remaining focused on implementing advanced security solutions and processes over the coming years.

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YASSER ZEINELDIN,

CEO, EHOSTING DATAFORT

With the increase in malwares and cyber-attacks, how can colocation services improve business security?

Leading Colocation providers in addition to providing Data Centre Space, Power, Network Connectivity also have an option to provide

cyber security as an additional service which is outside the scope of a typical Colocation Service.

With higher threat levels, there must be consistency in monitoring every aspect of network as well as being proactive in their approach to monitoring data traffic patterns and performing security scans. In fact, predictive analysis used in cybersecurity helps in circumventing problems and lowers the business impact of cyber threats for customers.

Governmental regulations are now calling for additional security requirements. While these requirements are expensive, working with colocation providers who already have various certifications in place, can help save costs, but customers are assured of being able to meet the compliance requirements and abiding by industry standards, if they choose to avail the Managed Security Services offerings from the Colocation Provider.

How is AI helping data centres become energy efficient?

AI is at the centre of any future Data Centre by not only lending itself to design and efficiency, but also in driving down operational costs. As workloads, size and the complexity of Data Centres increases, energy usage will be high and overheating of systems will be certain. AI is now being put into action to help cool the systems and is vital for any Data Centre to keep the power consumption lower. This is possible due to AI’s capability to analyze and evaluate the temperature and controlling it with smart sensors.

Simultaneously it can identify any inefficiencies and solve the problem independently thereby reducing energy usage. ë

DATA CENTER

2CRSI

IN SYNC WITH TRANSFORMATION

2CRSi is a manufacturer who strongly believes in performance-based solutions with energy efficiency. The advanced computing is only possible with increased processing power and customized solutions.

What are the trends impacting managed data center services?

I believe edge Computing is the next major trend for the data center industry. Edge computing architectures expand the reach of a typical cloud network by pushing key processing functions to the edge of the network, closer to where the data itself is gathered. Traditional cloud computing requires collected data to travel back to the core of the network where it can be processed by the central server, this is resulting in latency that slows streaming content services, medical devices, industrial scanners, and other devices. As internet of things (IoT) devices become more common each year, the number of devices capable of handling that processing load is increasing to the point at which edge computing is more viable than ever. Edge data centers are also being used to extend network reach and increase speed, providing more powerful processing.

How is AI helping data centers become energy efficient?

Data centers have long relied upon conventional air conditioning infrastructure to meet their cooling needs. Considering that cooling is responsible for a huge percentage of data center energy consumption (up to 45 percent approximately), no surprise that many facilities have focused on improving their cooling strategies to become more energy efficient to reduce operational cost.

Highly powered processers and AI applications are also generating more heat than traditional cooling infrastructure can handle, forcing data centers to take new approaches to meet their

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cooling needs.

AI-applications partially able to provide solution with their ability to dynamically monitor and regulate the environment of a data center. But for me real solution is immersion cooling which can reduce operational cost by 45% and reduce built area of data center by 75%.

RAJASHEKHAR GAJULA,

CHANNEL DISTRIBUTION MANAGER 2CRSI

Traditionally, IT infrastructure providers have relied on assembling branded systems for their server, storage, and networking offerings. To do so, they outsourced hardware manufacturing to ODMs. But do you think at present this model is becoming obsolete?

Thank you very much for asking this question.

This will help me to explain in detail about the relevance of 2CRSI. The need of the hour is the utmost density and performance which will help to utilize the fullest of AI, IOT, etc. The IT infrastructure industry is going through major changes at present. This is pushing the manufacturers to practice and display excellence in engineering capabilities. The traditional or conventional business model of moving box is giving way to highly efficient customized solutions tailored to the need of the customer. 2CRSi is a manufacturer who strongly believes in performance-based solutions with energy efficiency. The advanced computing is only possible with increased processing power and customized solutions. We are a Platinum Member of Open Compute Project which clearly indicates our commitment to our partners and customers. Our CEO Mr. Alain Wilmouth and a dedicated team is excited to explain out full solutions in GITEX 2019. ĂŤ

DATA CENTER

SIEMON

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS FOR ADVANCED APPLICATIONS

“It is important however to carefully select the network cabling foundations to ensure optimal support of higherwattage devices and IoT applications,� - Prem Rodrigues, Director os Sales & Marketing - Middle East, India & SAARC, Siemon.

How can customers evolve their networking cabling infrastructure without affecting the day to day business operations?

To allow businesses to evolve their infrastructure without affecting the day to day business operations, data centre cabling should be installed from the outset with sufficient capacity to accommodate future growth. Industry standards bodies such as ISO/IEC, TIA/EIA, and BICSI for example all recommend installing cabling infrastructure that supports two or three generations of active electronics.

At the data centre edge, where server to switch connections are made, speeds are evolving from 10Gb/s to 25 and 40 Gb/s. In this part of the data centre, category 8 copper cabling, that allows to arrange the rack and cabinet layouts to support maximum 30-metre channel connections, is well placed to support migration to 25G/40GBASE-T when these higher speeds are required in the future.

In the data centre backbone, high-density fibre optic cabling such as 8-fibre MTP solutions currently provide the most efficient, cost-effective and highest performing cabling option for 8-fibre 40 and 100 Gigabit applications such as 40GBASE-SR4 and 100GBASE-SR4. But with the next generation of fibre applications supporting 200 and 400 Gb/s transmission speeds, 8-fibre MTP solutions also provide an easy migration path to next these generation applications. In addition, Base 8 solutions enable ultra-highdensity in data centre spaces by supporting 144 LC fibres or 864 MTP fibres in 1U of rack space or 576 LC fibres and 3456 MTP fibres in 4U.

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As data centres migrate to higher speeds, insertion loss budgets are becoming much more stringent and to ensure reliable application support, deployment of low-loss fibre solutions is highly recommended.

Data centre infrastructures should also be built with manageability and scalability in mind and the choice of cabling can play an important role here. Opting for pre-terminated cabling assemblies as supposed to field-terminated solutions for example can speed up data centre deployment because installation times can be reduced by up to 75 per cent whilst performance levels are guaranteed via factory testing and termination.

Business use cases for single-pair Ethernet is emerging. How do you see this trend?

Single-pair Ethernet was initially developed to support automotive applications, but it has now been recognized that single-pair Ethernet could fill the gap to support industrial (e.g., RS 432 and RS-485), automation, and other low-speed connections with non-proprietary cabling, whilst also providing a path for them to merge with IoT devices in the enterprise space.

In machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, communication largely takes place between low complexity components which include fieldbus devices that detect environmental parameters and respond with information or an instruction and actuators that move or control a mechanism such as a valve or light. The presence of these small low-cost devices is increasing in the enterprise space, and it therefore becomes beneficial to integrate them with intelligent

automation systems that already operate over the traditional IT local area network. Single-pair Ethernet can enable this by providing a path for a wide range of legacy fieldbus communications protocols to operate over one standardised media and communication protocol. Additional benefits of single-pair Ethernet include minimizing cost, keeping the physical size of the cables and connectors as small as possible by eliminating unused pairs, and delivering 10 Mb/s bandwidth which sufficiently supports transmission of M2M generated data.

The business opportunity for single-pair

DATA CENTER

Ethernet is huge. According to the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group call-for-interest (CFI), a mid-range estimate, excluding projected growth, for 10 Mb/s single- pair Ethernet in industrial and building automation applications (automotive applications excluded) is in the range of 65 million new ports per year.

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is becoming powering strategy for wider array of higher- wattage devices and IoT applications. How are you supporting the next gen PoE

PREM RODRIGUES,

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING - MIDDLE EAST, INDIA & SAARC, SIEMON

applications?

The development of higher-power delivery applications such as emerging IEEE P802.3bt Type 3 60W and Type 4 90W PoE will enable support of an even broader range of IoT devices including thin client, desktop, IPTV, biometric sensors and larger mobile devices.

It is important however to carefully select the network cabling foundations to ensure optimal support of higher-wattage devices and IoT applications.

Whether 30, 60, 90 or 100W PoE, remote power delivery to PoE-enabled devices via Ethernet cable leads to temperature rise in cable bundles which degrades network performance and increased insertion loss which may require overall channel length to be reduced. Also, when plugs and jacks are unmated under remote powering current loads, electrical arcing can damage connector contacts leading to unreliable connections.

Therefore, the cabling infrastructure to which higher wattage PoE device such as PoE-enabled computers are connected should be capable of supporting both 10GBASE-T and up to 100W remote powering applications in dense pathway and bundled configurations. Specifically, the transmission performance of the cabling at elevated temperatures should be extremely stable and the current carrying capacity should minimise the need for restrictive bundling practices and reduce or eliminate the need for channel length derating when operating in temperatures up to 60° C. It is also recommended to select connecting hardware that complies with IEC 60512-99-001 and to install solid patch cords to ensure reliable and thermally stable patching for device connections in hot environments such as ceiling spaces.

Siemon’s shielded Z-MAX category 6A/class EA and TERA category 7A/class FA copper cabling systems are ideally suited to support higher wattage PoE devices and applications.

These cables are qualified to 75°C and deliver compliant transmission performance for a wider range of channel configurations in environments having an ambient temperature greater than 20°C. In addition, Siemon’s Z-MAX® and MAX® RJ-45 jacks and TERA® jacks offer a special “crowned” contact geometry that places arcing damage to plug and jack contacts away from the fully mated position to maintain reliable, stable connections throughout the life of the system. ë

O CTO B E R 2 019

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DATA CENTER

NETAPP

DELIVERING EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

“The two most important Enterprise IT infrastructure trends are DevOps and AI. Both are big game changers,” - Fadi Kanafani, Middle East Managing Director & General Manager, NetApp.

and this is the challenge for IT organizations as the business requests more and more AI powered insights. Starting with the cloud may be a good option, but for training Deep Neural Networks, customers will have to implement their own solutions. A hybrid model is key to provide customers with the maximum flexibility.

The IT infrastructure landscape is evolving rapidly. What will it look like in 2020?

The IT landscape is evolving at a fast pace as the industry witnesses more and more consolidation.

Startups are fueling innovation, and larger organizations rely on acquisitions to maintain their leadership. Cloud hyperscalers are game changers as they open more data centers across countries.

IT infrastructure is turning into a hybrid model.

To survive, solution providers have to embrace this wave and help customers transform their data centers into hybrid ones. 2020 will confirm this trend. We will see an increasing number of customers with more than two cloud service providers pushing their providers to a dead-end if they have no cloud-ready or hybrid solutions.

Enterprise IT infrastructure is a focal point of disruption and innovation in every area, from servers and storage to networking and software. What are the trends that are giving rise to such disruption and innovation? And what are the implications for business-technology strategy?

The two most important Enterprise IT infrastructure trends are DevOps and AI. Both are big game changers.

Firstly, DevOps is radically changing the way IT is built and consumed. This is the world of automation, APIs, microservices, straight to production services, and massive scalability. IT infrastructure value is no more on how it is built, but on what it allows. Customers do not want to deploy complex components. Rather they want PODs, simple to install and start, and easy to

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FADI KANAFANI,

MIDDLE EAST MD & GM, NETAPP

manage and scale. They want to focus on what is important for the business, which is applications.

DevOps is putting pressure on organizations to adapt to their people’s skillsets.

AI is powering the next generation of data analysis as it provides better insights from large data sets. Processing insights are time and power consuming, and it is very important to start implementing technologies such as GPUs to minimize direct impact. AI algorithms demand a lot of power to produce results as they are still in their early days in terms of efficiency. The AI brain is not as efficient as the human brain yet,

Traditionally, IT infrastructure providers have relied on assembling branded systems for their server, storage, and networking offerings. To do so, they outsourced hardware manufacturing to ODMs. But do you think at present this model is becoming obsolete?

Moving to ODMs has been a trend as well as embracing a software defined model. For sure, the value is brought to life by the software stack, and you need to have the right knowledge to write the perfect code.

We see that with data. Many technology solutions or XaaS providers have tried to reinvent the data management layer. This demands a lot of experience like the one we have at NetApp. The critical aspects here are performance and scalability. As the amount of data is moving from exabytes to zettabytes and beyond, the number of objects to manage is increasing exponentially.

Data structures need to evolve and thus the know-how to handle them. ODM models also imply storage islands. They have no future and have to move to shared solutions, as the price to pay to implement data protection is too high.

This is the reason why solution providers are embracing NetApp solutions as we have the experience, expertise and knowledge in these areas. ë

NETWORKING INSIGHTS

NETWORKING

ERICSSON

SIMPLIFIED APPROACH

“Our approach is simple. We build solutions that empower your customers.

Transform your future network with innovations that are built for tomorrow’s demands,” - Chafic Traboulsi, Head of Networks, Ericsson MEA.

What are the Top 3 trends that will redefine and Networking in 2020?

1. New consumers: As the world has undergone an incredible digital evolution, the nature of consumption has also changed. The evolution of consumption patterns is intertwined with the disruptions that have transformed industries, cities and society alike. Businesses that grasp the new reality will be the ones that survive transformation to grow and flourish.

2. Next generation working life: The truths we know about working life are undergoing some dramatic changes. New behaviors and emerging technologies are changing how work is organized and the activities we engage in. New forms of communication will emerge and the arising business opportunities are endless and will span across all societies, organizations and individuals.

It will change how businesses are organized, as well as how we organize work, collaborate and share.

3. Learning and education: As technology continues to transform our society, those responsible for our current systems of learning and education are facing overwhelming pressure to adapt.

Education technology, connected learning, and the rise of a digital society is transforming the established concept of learning, teachers’ roles, and even the nature of knowledge itself.

What new strides will intent-based networking take in 2020 and how compatible is your portfolio in that?

Mobile networks continue to evolve with higher speeds, new functionality and increased population coverage in the evolution towards 5G. It is expected that most operators will introduce 5G from 2020, which is closely linked to the timeline for 5G standardization. Early deployments of pre-standard networks are anticipated

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Rise of IoT devices on campus demands new cybersecurity strategies. How does your portfolio cater to these?

Ericsson’s evolved network security is the pioneer of a simpler yet more robust era of telecom security. Our market-leading solutions equip service providers with autonomous, endto-end telecom security – built in to each layer of the network and securing all connected things everywhere, all the time.

Our security management solution, powered by advanced predictive analytics and offering increased actionable visibility, ensures that you can stay a step ahead of an increasingly dynamic threat environment. By making it easier for you to assemble, integrate and automate network security at massive scale, we will enable you to connect the enterprise of tomorrow.

CHAFIC TRABOULSI,

HEAD OF NETWORKS, ERICSSON MEA

in selected markets. As of today, there are around 30 operators that have publicly announced 5G introduction plans, with several trials already taking place.

Mobile broadband operators are faced with commercial and technical pressures to continually enhance their services. As the need for performance increases, so must the rate of network application software upgrades and network optimization. Our approach is simple. We build solutions that empower your customers.

Transform your future network with innovations that are built for tomorrow’s demands.

IT leaders are finding that traditional cloud solutions no longer meet the growing variety of demands on their networks. How are you competing on this front?

With increases in radio performance and the flexibility enabled by network slicing and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), networks can serve a much broader range of use cases. NFV enables faster and more flexible introduction of services, such as distributed mobile broadband, IoT, communication services and enterprise services. It is also a key building block on the path to future 5G deployments.

Capacity and throughput remain drivers, with user data consumption continuing to rise with increased use of video. Some specific use cases, like massive IoT and FWA, are likely to be implemented faster, as they can take advantage of the early evolution steps towards 5G. ë

Ready-to-connect IT infrastructure

Rittal Data Center Container Experience Ready-to-connect IT infrastructure in a robust container shell, as standardised IT modules in a range of output categories for SME, Cloud and Edge applications.

RDC All-in-One Container

IT modules including UPS system and cooling in a range of output categories for SME, Cloud and Edge applications.

RDC Power Container

Modular UPS systems with redundancy to supply one or more IT modules.

RDC Cooling Container

Efficient recooling systems in a container frame, ready-to-connect and system-tested with redundant chillers with integral free cooler or additional external free cooler.

FOR ENQUIRIES:

Rittal Middle East FZE Tel: +971-4-3416855 I Email: info-it@rittal-middle-east.com I www.rittal.com/uae-en

Data Center Container

Data Centre Container for mobile or temporary use of IT systems including an innovative, direct free cooling of up to 20 kW.

NETWORKING

RIVERBED

BEING AGILE AND COMPETITIVE

“Riverbed’s suite of visibility and monitoring tools enable detailed analysis, reporting, and continuous capture of network activity,” - Paul Griffiths, Senior Director, Cloud Infrastructure Business Unit, Riverbed.

you competing on this front?

The popularity of cloud solutions increased as access to applications and services became evermore mobile-centric. Users demand instant, and constant, availability of productivity tools and data, regardless of their geographic location. Riverbed is helping customers meet the needs of their users and systems by accelerating cloud hosted (SaaS and IaaS) applications to deliver the consistent, high performing, digital experience that is expected of an agile and competitive organisation.

What are the Top 3 trends that will redefine and Networking in 2020?

SD-WAN continues to mature and will become the defacto building block for organisation’s infrastructure, replacing legacy network technology, bringing a new era of business agility and ubiquitous connectivity.

The arrival of 5G will act as a catalyst for more “data rich” applications to evolve, transforming the way humans and smart devices interact with each other and between themselves.

Security will remain high on the agenda for all businesses, with multi-factor authentication and biometrics increasingly replacing traditional user access control methods.

What new strides will intent-based networking take in 2020 and how compatible is your portfolio in that?

The adoption and implementation of SD-WAN technology will only continue along its current course if it constantly adapts to business needs.

Intent-based networking can only truly function when it has the ability to react locally based on feedback from centralised policies that are built on those business needs. Riverbed’s portfolio (SD-WAN, Application Acceleration, NPM/ APM/DEM) enables network and application telemetry to be gathered continuously from all corners of a company’s global infrastructure. It’s delivered to a central point where ML and AI techniques provide the command and control messages back out to the network creating a dynamic feedback loop that changes as the infrastructure and business changes.

You cannot protect and control what you cannot see. Riverbed’s suite of visibility and monitoring tools enable detailed analysis, reporting, and continuous capture of network activity.

Automatically learning what is normal behaviour of users and systems, to then provide alerts and alarms when there is meaningful deviation from that behaviour. Reducing risk and mitigating the effects of security events is made easier by being able to rewind and play back incidents to gain knowledge from forensic examination.

Rise of IoT devices on campus demands new cybersecurity strategies. How does your portfolio cater to these?

IT leaders are finding that traditional cloud solutions no longer meet the growing variety of demands on their networks. How are

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PAUL GRIFFITHS,

SENIOR DIRECTOR, CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE BUSINESS UNIT, RIVERBED

How does your service/portfolio cater to the following aspects?

Need for large-scale networks Large-scale networks are complex and costly to manage and maintain. Riverbed simplifies the management, security and control by providing software defined network technology and services, connecting users and applications together between premises, out to cloud, and cloud to cloud. With simplicity comes ease of use and agility, adapting to change and maximising investment.

Cloud-only strategies Organisations with cloud-only strategies can forge ahead with their plans confident that Riverbed has the experience and technology to help them be successful. l SD-WAN enables the agile, intent-driven, secure connectivity from on-premises to the cloud, as well as cloud to cloud. l World leading, enterprise class application acceleration for both office and mobile workers accessing IaaS and SaaS hosted services. l Network, Application, and End-User performance monitoring tools to ensure that business runs like clockwork and any issues with cloud communication are proactively and swiftly resolved. ë

NETWORKING

CIENA

UNTAPPING THE POTENTIALS OF NETWORK

“Ciena’s Adaptive Network enables critical new capabilities in the digital transformation journey. The programmable infrastructure and intelligent network automation software can help transform networks to be more responsive as well as faster and more scalable,” - Azz-Eddine Mansouri, General Manager of Sales, Ciena Middle East.

What are the Top 3 trends that will redefine Networking in 2020?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will continue to play a critical role in the networking space as a fixer and optimiser to enhance IT operations. Automation is a great enabler of AI and, consequently, in 2020 networks will need to be more automated and more intelligent in order to scale and adapt. This will become a key part of the network, as we start to see dynamic and programmable infrastructure built on analytics and automation.

Another key trend resulting from AI will be emerging technologies, such as blockchain.

From a networking perspective, having a more programmable and intelligent communication infrastructure will be key for applications such as this. In addition, we will start to see AI-enabled security become an increasing trend, as AI can help attack and defend against potential threats.

It is likely that many organisations will use AI to improve modes for detecting and responding to incidents. Additionally, we will start to see more AI-based tools that provide threat-hunting, attack analysis and incident response used to proactively search for potential issues.

Of course, the industry as a whole is also talking about the potential of 5G which promises to bring exciting new services, applications, and user-cases to end users, humans and machines.

As more devices become connected and the presence of 5G grows, we’ll see greater adoption of smart cities, mobile gaming, enhanced mobile broadband, industrial robotics, and numerous other connected services such as driverless vehicles. However, for 5G to reach its true potential, wireline networks that interconnect 5G New Radios and data centers where accessed content is hosted, must become more dynamic, virtualized,

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AZZ-EDDINE MANSOURI,

GENERAL MANAGER OF SALES, CIENA MIDDLE EAST

NETWORKING

predictive, automated, and scalable.

What new strides will intent-based networking take in 2020 and how compatible is your portfolio in that?

As the telecommunications industry moves towards the widespread adoption of major new technologies like AI, 5G, IoT, and cloud; service providers will need to adapt to unforeseen growth and emerging use cases this will bring. These technologies are already radically changing how organisations connect to partners, data centres and end users and this is only set to grow.

Digital Transformation is key to adapting to ever-changing market conditions, technologies and customer demands as it allows providers to break free from the manual, legacy business processes that inhibit their ability to innovate.

While digital transformation is the end goal, achieving it requires providers to change the way they currently operate. In particular, intelligent, software-based network automation and ‘Intent Based Networking’ is the key to overcoming legacy technology and process challenges, and accelerating the journey to the self-governing, self-healing networks of the future.

Ciena’s Adaptive Network enables critical new capabilities in the digital transformation journey.

The programmable infrastructure and intelligent network automation software can help transform networks to be more responsive as well as faster and more scalable. This allows businesses to achieve strategic goals, offer new services and meet the demand provided by new use cases. All of which help to maximise operating efficiency to protect margins and grow revenues.

Rise of IoT devices on campus demands new cybersecurity strategies. How does your portfolio cater to these?

Campus networks are undergoing a rapid evolution of user- and application-driven network performance and utilisation demands, driving many campus network operators to evaluate upgrades to increase capacity, reliability, and economies of scale, while reducing complexity and latency. As technologies, platforms, and networks continual to converge, functions such as optical transmission and packet switching, such as Ethernet, have converged into flexible modular platforms that enable the creation of simpler, flatter regional network architectures.

However, it’s also crucial to ensure the right

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security measures are in place to detect, prevent, and mitigate security breaches. A comprehensive strategy embeds security consciousness across the fabric of the campus, minimises the attack surface of the network, reduces possible entry points, and prepares people and infrastructure for future regulatory requirements.

Ciena’s Packet Networking solutions include a flexible set of purpose-built platforms that support Ethernet, MPLS, and IP access and aggregation to address today’s key campus networking challenges. For example, Ciena’s Ethernet solutions provide secure traffic separation with full-service transparency, allowing network operators to maintain in-house control over routing information and security and encryption techniques.

IT leaders are finding that traditional cloud solutions no longer meet the growing variety of demands on their networks. How are you competing on this front?

Enterprises are increasingly using the cloud to simplify operations. Rather than purchase costly private lines to multiple cloud providers, many are connecting to - or co-locating IT resources and/or routers within - Multi-Tenant Data Centres (MTDCs). For cloud connect service providers, however, creating connections - from the enterprise-facing router through the cloudconnect fabric and into the cloud providers is currently a piecemeal, manual process.

Ciena’s Blue Planet provides advanced orchestration capabilities for automating end-to-end configuration, provisioning, and on-demand connectivity of multiple cloud and network resources for enterprise customers. It’s a multi-vendor solution that’s based on an open and highly programmable architecture to automate operations across multiple domains within single or multiple MTDCs. It removes the complexity of all network layers and domains, and presents a unified interface for simplified control, visibility, and management of end-to-end cloud connectivity. The solution simplifies the multi-cloud connectivity fulfillment process, reduces manual effort and total OPEX, and decreases the time interval from quote to cash.

How does your service/portfolio cater to the following aspects?

Race with 5G/Race against 5G Building upon Ciena’s industry-leading

expertise and field experience in delivering highperformance wireline networks, the Ciena 5G Network Solutions help providers scale existing 4G networks, while simultaneously preparing for wide-scale 5G rollouts. Ciena puts the “wire” in wireless networks. Our open approach enables greater choice by allowing mobile network operators to select best-in-breed products that meet stringent 4G and 5G service performance expectations. This is important because when compared to existing 4G LTE, 5G promises up to 100x faster speeds, 100x more devices on the network, 10x lower latency, and 1000x higher data volumes; all of which will have a direct and profound impact on the wireline network infrastructure that interconnects millions of cell sites and data centers together. Ciena’s current 5G Network Solutions includes a number of elements of our existing portfolio, including Blue Planet software, Adaptive IPTM capabilities and powerful coherent WaveLogic optics.

Cloud-only strategies Ciena’s Blue Planet software brings a wealth of AIenabled analytics and automation capabilities that enable the rapid creation, and end-to-end delivery of cloud-based services and applications.ë

Evolved cybersecurity is synchronized security.

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Synchronized Security is an award-winning cybersecurity system Next-gen endpoint, network, mobile, Wi-Fi, email, and encryption products, all sharing information in real time and responding automatically to incidents. And with everything controlled through the Sophos Central cloud-based security platform, management is a breeze.

NETWORKING

SOLARWINDS

REMOVING COMPLEXITY WITH RELIABLE TOOLS

“SolarWinds solutions help keep IT infrastructures up and running after deployment. We’re in the age of “slow is the new down,” where availability is mostly guaranteed, but performance can still be a variable,” - Sascha Giese, Head Geek, SolarWinds.

demands new cybersecurity strategies. How does your portfolio cater to these?

IoT devices come with their own security risks, such as the type of data being collected and sent to what device, how they communicate with the rest of the network, and how they’re controlled by humans. SolarWinds security solutions capture traffic from these devices and provide insight into anomalies.

What are the top three trends that will redefine networking in 2020?

The top three trends I think will redefine networking next year include: l A renaissance for hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI)—I think it’s is going to celebrate a comeback as edge computing l Application delivery will rely more and more on the network based on its decentralized nature l More use cases for indoor positioning via BT low energy and BT mesh The latest proposed Wi-Fi standard amendment, IEEE 802.11ax, has the goal of improving the average throughput per user by a factor of at least four in dense user environments. What does this mean for the modern enterprises and service providers?

Single device speed isn’t going to significantly increase, but since Wi-Fi 6 allows more simultaneous communications than before, the technology will show its value in higher density networks. In a typical enterprise situation where a multitude of laptops access the same resources and talk to each other at the same time, the flow of communication between end devices will significantly increase. That will move the bottlenecks to different places in the network, and uplinks could very well be the new weakest link in the chain.

According to Wi-Fi alliance, Wi-Fi 6 will be the next game changer for public environments. How geared up are you for this revolution?

It will be interesting to see how Wi-Fi 6 will compete with 5G in public environments as public networks—up to a smart city scenario—

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SASCHA GIESE,

HEAD GEEK, SOLARWINDS

can benefit from both.

What new strides will intent-based networking take in 2020 and how compatible is your portfolio in that?

SDN is a requirement for intent-based networking and, as of today, only a small portion of our customer base say they’re using SDN in production. Therefore, it’s easy to say IBN, while interesting, probably won’t be a reality in 2020 outside of some lab environments. As our suite of monitoring and management products sit on top of the actual infrastructure, and can be controlled via an API, compatibility won’t be an issue.

The rise of IoT devices on campus

IT leaders are finding that traditional cloud solutions no longer meet the growing variety of demands on their networks. How are you competing on this front?

We’re seeing a trend in multi-cloud usage in our customer base. As interoperability is getting better and better, it might make sense to use whatever cloud solution seems to be best for a task/workload.

How does your service/portfolio cater to the following aspects? l Network Segmentation l Race with 5G/Race against 5G l Need for large-scale networks l Wireless First l Cloud-only strategies l Cohesive Networking SolarWinds solutions help keep IT infrastructures up and running after deployment. We’re in the age of “slow is the new down,” where availability is mostly guaranteed, but performance can still be a variable. Considering that some of the technologies mentioned above come with their very own challenges, it’s important for IT professional to have a set of reliable tools in hand to lessen the stress and remove complexity from daily tasks. ë

AUTOMATION INSIGHTS

AUTOMATION

AUTOMATION ANYWHERE

A PLATFORM OF CHOICE

“The good thing about the product is whatever the database that is being used by an enterprise, our product sits on top of each of these platforms and can seamlessly integrate into any platforms or databases,” - Milan Shethe, Executive VP (IMEA), Automation Anywhere.

Please describe the key components of your solution and how does it enable automation Automation Anywhere’s solution is a Robotic Process Automation (RPA)-based software platform that provides enterprises with an Intelligent Digital Workforce in the form of bots.

The components of this technology comprise of cognitive capability and embedded analytics, which allow software bots to instantly automate business processes, driving unprecedented human productivity while dramatically reducing operating costs for the world’s largest enterprises.

Please describe how your solution automates the front office and the back office and any other specific areas The fast-evolving technology behind Automation Anywhere’s RPA solution uses software bots that work side-by-side with human workers to do the repetitive, mundane tasks – liberating employees to focus on higher-level business value that only humans are equipped to provide. This is directly augmenting the front office and back office workforce, creating the solution to overcome challenges imposed and sustain economic growth for any business.

Companies today are mainly using this technology to extend and enhance human capabilities to make employees far more productive. At the same time, RPA automation allows human workers to transfer lower-skilled tasks to machines so they can concentrate on the high-value, creative tasks.

A few examples of our solutions include ‘IQ Bots’, which help enterprises sort through piles of unstructured or semi-structured data. As an example, bots can cognitively sort through emails

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and low-res documents in 190 languages, thus removing the need for manual processing of such data. Another recent solution we have launched is our mobile app, which provides a centralized dashboard to control these bots from anywhere.

Lastly, the Bot Store is a leading marketplace for bots and digital workers where we have ready-todeploy bots that can be integrated by customers looking for immediate automation solutions.

Please describe how your solution integrates multi-vendor application databases and platforms It is completely domain-agnostic, industryagnostic, platform-agnostic, operating systemagnostic, and database-agnostic. The solution seamlessly works with banking, financial services and insurance domains, healthcare, high tech, manufacturing, supply chain, automotive and more. We have integrated our solutions with enterprises in every sector, and while we work with banking and financial services insurance, some of the platforms that we typically integrate with in a banking environment are core Integration platforms. This goes through all of banking applications, analytics platforms when you look at high tech in other industries. Another example is insurance companies, where we integrate with risk solutions platforms. This is mainly because a lot of the processing that we do from a banking process perspective involves a lot of ARP solutions. The good thing about the product is whatever the database that is being used by an enterprise, our product sits on top of each of these platforms and can seamlessly integrate into any platforms or databases.

Please describe how the ROI of your solution can be measured by

the end user example hours saved per customer, number of intermediate operations etc The ROI can be measured a number of ways, but mainly focus on time and money saved. As an example, one of the US’s largest life insurance and financial services companies, with over 2,500 employees and revenue in excess of $4 billion, saved over $200 thousand in just one year and 120 hours per month in labor savings by using Automation Anywhere’s technology.

For which vertical market segments is your solution best optimized or for which type of organizations or for which type of processes

AUTOMATION

Legacy companies are now competing with “digital native” companies (Amazon, Uber, etc.) in which nearly every part of the business is completely automated. Customer demand and issues are handled instantly. In order to compete, legacy companies must automate everything that can be automated in order to drive higher levels of productivity and customer service, for a generation of “I-wantit-now” customers.

Automation Anywhere’s software bots automate business processes which could never have been automated before, dramatically improving efficiency and productivity.

This technology eliminates the friction that limits productivity and lets companies develop completely new business models. Automation Anywhere’s cognitive RPA solutions are the answer to the next era of digital transformation which will be driven by an efficient digital workforce.

Automation Anywhere currently provides its automation technology to more than 1,600 organizations across more than 90 countries and a variety of sectors including financial services, insurance, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, earth sciences, telecom, logistics companies, and the public sector.

Automation Anywhere serves many of the world’s leading companies, including: Unilever, Google, Juniper Networks, LinkedIn, Cisco, Dell EMC, ING, Whirlpool and GM among others.

How does your solution improve the processes and work flow of an end customer organization?

MILAN SHETH,

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT (IMEA), AUTOMATION ANYWHERE

What is the role and value played by the channel partners during consulting, implementation and post-sales support?

We have multiple partner types that we work with. Some are distributors, system integrators, service providers, advisories, as well as channel partners. Channel partners are in our system to bring scaling, so they are nothing but sell-through-partners; they bring in their existing customers who they do traditional business with and they sell our licenses. They also bring in newer customers and sell RPA licenses and digital automation licenses; that is how they break through the market and bring in new customers and their existing customers to make sure they go through some digital transformation.

From a post-sales perspective, the channel partners bring in their every arm, and these are delivery experts that sit inside their center of excellence; they are trained, certified and they help in implementing the product. They seed the product and make sure to identify one or two processors to start with, and this essentially post-sales where they are completely in charge of implementing our solutions. From a consulting perspective, it kicks in once the solution has been implemented over a period of around two months. The channel partners bring in methodologies to help scale and transform the enterprise eventually leading to a digital transformation. ë

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AUTOMATION

FINESSE

THE TRANSFORMATION CATALYSTS With a unique yet straight-driven customerfirst and customer-last approach, Finesse has been able to enable over 250+ enterprise clients in their digital transformation journey.

Not only this, an ever-growing portfolio of business units and services also ensures that no business is left behind and no sector untouched, be it the traditional cloud services, managed IT services or emerging technologies like Robotics and AI.

AS THE SAYING GOES, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS NOT A GOAL BUT A JOURNEY. A journey of well-coordinated, cohesive, streamlined actions and operations that would redefine the traditional parameters of an organization, whilst deriving tangible results in the process. Traditionally, the role of a system integrator was to put the architecture puzzle together. There are scattered pieces of an organization’s information subsystem that have to be integrated into a mesh. But as the wave of digital transformation swept across, we saw a complete upheaval in the role of system integrators and they started metamorphosizing as the enablers for this transformation, not just integrators.

Finesse Global, within nine years of its commencement in the region, has been successful in climbing up the ladder of customer

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preference and emerged as one of the trusted leaders for the deployment and maintenance of business critical solutions and services.

With a unique yet straight-driven customerfirst and customer-last approach, the global SI has been able to enable over 20+ enterprise clients in their digital transformation journey.

Not only this, an ever-growing portfolio of business units and services also ensures that no business is left behind and no sector untouched, be it the traditional cloud services, managed IT services or emerging technologies like Robotics and AI.

BEING THE TRANSFORMATION CATALYST The overriding wave of digital transformation has urged the end customers to push for more integrated and comprehensive solutions. As business needs to work in tandem with the technology, customers are now demanding

ELJO PYNADATH, DIRECTOR , GLOBAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

AUTOMATION

SUNIL PAUL,

RAJU RAMESH

CO-FOUNDER

CO-FOUNDER

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AUTOMATION

SAMER DILKAN,

CHIEF SOLUTION ARCHITECT

ANAND LAKHWANI,

ARTI SOGANI,

MANAGER DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

PRACTICE HEAD – INFRA SERVICES

TEAM EXCELLENCE

REENA ALEX JOHN,

AJAY ALEX,

HEAD SHARED SERVICES - HCM

PRACTICE HEAD – BANKING

BOBBY THOMAS,

DELIVERY HEAD – EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

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ISHA FARHA QURAISHY,

CUSTOMER SUCCESS MANAGER - FINESSE

MEGHA SHASTRI,

PRESALES CONSULTANT – CRM

AUTOMATION

a plethora of service that can work hand in hand with this change – more effectively and efficiently –rather than adding singular tools in multiple layer Finesse believes that, for an enterprise to become digital, the initial step would be to leverage the capabilities of more modern IT systems and tools. Modernization of the IT infrastructure is key and this revolves around the capabilities of a system integrator.

THE EVOLVING CUSTOMER According to the leaderships at Finesse, the company has built very strong relationships with its growing portfolio of customers and this is one of the key strengths that Finesse boasts of. According to Raju Ramesh, Co-Founder at Finesse, “Today, a customers’ journey or service experience is bifurcated into numerous nano touchpoints. Digital transformation in enterprises is all about having a 360 degree view of the entire business architecture and having the right tools and solutions to orchestrate them. The role of an SI is very crucial here. Real-time results or data analytics is the need of the hour and we at Finesse are making sure that we are the right and the most trusted partners when it comes to providing visibility across various data sets and integrating it in one platform.” In short, as the customer journey becomes a more connected and integrated experience across a multitude of channels, systems integration is the process that allows you to connect your systems to better meet customers at all points throughout that journey.

“Finesse works with various industry leading technology companies across the globe to deliver customized solutions & services tailored to cater each of our client’s unique situation. We offer solutions for Blockchain, Robotic Process Automation, Treasury, BI & Analytics, Infra Solutions and Cloud Transformation. We cater to around 120+ financial institutions worldwide including 80% banks in UAE apart from industries in Healthcare, Retail, Infrastructure, Energy, Education, Pharmaceuticals, Aviation, and Government/Public,” he adds.

ACCELERATING BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION WITH RPA According to Sunil Paul, Co-founder of Finesse, organisations in the Middle East must find quick and efficient ways to operate in an era that is becoming increasingly digitalised by the day.

Automating high-volume and repetitive business tasks is one way to save costs and free up staff time to focus on higher-value tasks. This is why CIOs

are now turning to Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline business operations and automate manual processes. For the uninitiated, RPA is an emerging and transformational technology that utilises artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to automate tedious tasks and drive efficiencies in business operations without increasing employee headcount or cost.

No longer just a buzzword, RPA is rapidly becoming the business process technology of choice for organisations looking for ways to enhance delivery, reduce costs and ensure consistent accuracy and quality of work. RPA offers a range of benefits to organisations and the main business case for the technology is its ability to automate most of mid-and back-end processes, which are still performed manually.

This allows employees with roles that require creativity, judgement-based decisions and knowledge applications to spend their time on customer-centric business processes rather than being bogged down by mundane tasks that could easily be automated.

“At Finesse, we are now engaging with regional customers to streamline processes for automation and implementing RPA tools from our partners such as UiPath to help them reap the full benefits of digital transformation,” says Sunil.

THE NEED FOR AN ENABLER…. AND NOT JUST AN INTEGRATOR Well, I have read somewhere and completely agree to this fact that an amazing customer experience is made up of many small experiences.

These experiences have several elements that a solution provider has to master. Finesse has been a hard-core believer of this fact and makes sure that getting the right system in the right place is a first step towards this journey.

Transcending challenges with vision is on the most significant attribute of Finesse that enables the company to engage with the customers with an aesthetic approach, help the business go digital and transform the way they work in tandem with technology. Eljo Pynadath, Director, Global Business Development at Finesse says, “We deliver meticulously designed solutions and services through our expert solution architects. The solutions are harmonized to sync in with the unique demands of our enterprise clients in the Aviation, BFSI, Education, Energy, Government domains, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Pharmaceuticals, and Retail.”

Being the most trusted software system integrator in the region is one of the most coveted recognitions that the company has received amongst the others in the past decade. As more and more

companies embark on their digital transformation journey, knowingly or unknowingly, they are adding hundreds (if not thousands) of applications and tools – some operating on different, and even conflicting, technical platforms.

This situation calls for a solution provider who understands the crucial role of unifying communications and delivering business value in such a complex environment. “Finesse is a leading technology innovation company & several accolades and awards to its credit, is one of the most trusted software system integrator focusing on enabling digital transformation,” says Sunil. “Today’s digital business is agile, fast and constantly changing—driven by evolving customer and marketplace demands. To assure your conventional applications keep pace, our Digital Business Platform is based on market-leading application infrastructure and middleware software allowing you to manage digital change and create a new generation of adaptive applications to truly innovate and differentiate from the competition,” he adds.

GITEX SPOTLIGHT “We have been associated with GITEX since the inception of Finesse. We are excited to be a part of it this year as well and are intensely focused to serve best solutions for digital transformation. We believe that with the everchanging innovation picture, every enterprise or an organization needs to transform its business processes. Our approach is on the lines with the GITEX Theme, “Synergizing the Mind and Technology Economy” and how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will impact the region as well as the humanity in general.” says Sunil.

A global leader in transforming businesses, Finesse will be showcasing various solutions for Business Intelligence and Analytics, Blockchain, CRM/CPM, Governance Risk Compliance and Robotic Process Automation. The company has successful implementations running throughout different verticals like BFSI, education, aviation, government and healthcare.

FINALLY—2020 AND A DECADE FOR FINESSE As Khalil Gibran once said, “To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.”

Come 2020, Finesse will be completing a decade of establishment. With a hat full of feathers, hand full of merits, and transformation aces up the sleeve, the global SI is all set to raise the bar for the industry and touch upon some new horizons in enabling digital transformation. ë

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AUTOMATION

SAP

ENHANCING BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS

“Using SAP’s solutions, Middle East organizations can unify their back-end and front-end data on one digital platform – breaking down data silos, reducing complexity of business processes, and providing one version of the “truth” of an organization,” - Girard Moussa, SAP CX Director, Middle East South.

ing end-user experiences with real-time digital platforms – from Majid Al Futtaim’s Carrefour brand re-inventing experiences for more than 750,000 daily customers with its website, kiosks, and tablets, to Expo 2020 Dubai personalizing experiences for an expected 25 million visits.

Please describe the key components of your solution and how does it enable automation?

Please describe how your solution automates the front office and the back office, and other specific areas?

Our solutions across the HANA in-memory platform, S/4HANA real-time business suite, and C/4HANA customer experience suite can enable Middle East organizations to integrate their operations and run in real-time. With full visibility on their operations, Middle East organizations can optimize employee and customer experiences, optimize costs, and scale up as their business grows.

Please describe how your solution integrates multi-vendor application databases and platforms?

All of SAP’s enterprise software solutions are open and can be integrated with various vendor technologies, and SAP recently joined Adobe and Microsoft to form the Open Data Initiative to unify siloed data across multiple providers.

Middle East organizations can also leverage our data centers in the UAE and KSA to accelerate their digital transformation journeys.

Running customer experience solutions in the cloud is vital for delivering real-time analytics.

Please describe how the ROI of your solution can be measured by the end user example hours saved per customer, number of intermediate operations, etc?

One of the biggest challenges facing Middle East organizations is the “experience gap” – that organizations believe they are delivering better experiences than what their customers actually experience. In today’s Experience Economy, Middle East organizations can help to close

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GIRARD MOUSSA,

SAP CX DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST SOUTH

the “experience gap” by combining back-end operational data with front-end customer data to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Middle East organizations can find major business benefits such as a more loyal and engaged customer base, increased efficiency, optimized cost, and lower risk.

For which vertical market segments is your solution best optimized or for which type of organizations or for which type of processes?

Every Middle East industry vertical is optimiz-

How does your solution improve the processes and work flow of an end customer organization?

Using SAP’s solutions, Middle East organizations can unify their back-end and front-end data on one digital platform – breaking down data silos, reducing complexity of business processes, and providing one version of the “truth” of an organization. Organizations can also find greater levels of productivity and efficiency because these solutions are also available on mobile devices while employees on the go. Using C/4HANA, organizations can deliver continuous, real-time, and 24x7 engagement across multiple channels to differentiate their business and enhance their business competitiveness.

What is the role and value played by the channel partners during consulting, implementation, postsales support?

Channel partners play an essential role in helping MENA organizations to develop their business goals, their digital transformation roadmaps, and which automation solutions best meet their needs. Supporting our MENA channel partners, SAP continues to evolve our Channel Partner Program to find, train, and retain the top partners to drive customer experience innovations. We are continuing to invest in our open ecosystem, for example by training more than 100,000 consultants on the SAP Cloud Platform Extension Factory, which offers tools for partners to integrate easily with SAP C/4HANA. ë

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AUTOMATION

GAVS TECHNOLOGIES

ACCELERATING AUTOMATION “Intelligent automation is a journey & not a destination. In this framework, all generations of robots deliver benefits to all companies across industries and functions,” - Chandrasekar G, Managing Director - MEA, GAVS Technologies

Tell us a little bit about, how GAVS’ started its journey in the Middle East, given the tremendous success you have had in US? GAVS’ has been in this region for about 10 years now. From our humble beginnings as an IT Infrastructure Management Services company, serving some of the largest banks in Oman & UAE, we have grown leaps & bounds, over the last 7 years at a CAGR of 70%. We currently have about 300+ employees in the region, with offices in UAE, Saudi, Oman & Qatar.

Given the core competence we have built over 2 decades as an organization & our R&D driven work culture, it was our utmost prerogative back in 2015, to build an AI & Robotics-led platform to drive user experience by 10X & reduce resource utilization by 40% to our clients. We call it Zero Incident Framework (ZIF), through which are committed to help enterprises reach a near Zero Incident State by way of Proactive Detection & Remediation of Incidents.

Could you give us more insights about ZIF & the key components of the solution?

GAVS’ IP led solution Zero Incident Framework (ZIF), is an AIOps based TechOps platform which enables proactive detection and remediation of incidents helping organizations drive towards a Zero Incident Enterprise ™. By focusing on eradication and proactive remediation of the incidents, Zero Incident Framework TM (ZIF) enables organizations to trend towards a Zero Incident Enterprise TM. GAVS’ products will help change, how you organize your IT Operations, bring meaningful and actionable insights to speed up network fixes, provide real data as quantifiable justification to adopt strategies that foster business improvements. Our ability to leverage new age technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud, Virtualization has a deep

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impact on the way enterprises do business in a dynamic technology landscape. Our products serve the entire gamut of IT infrastructure technology and applications services, architecture guidance, application development and integration, management and consulting services.

They are designed for virtualized and automated environments that drive business agility.

The 5 integrated components provide a ‘Singlepane of Command’ that help enterprises; To Autodiscover all IT assets & mission critical workloads, Monitor the performance of enterprise wide IT Infrastructure & Applications, Identify the root cause from the Digital dirt through AI driven Event Correlation, Improve the uptime & positively impact the revenue stream by leveraging on AI driven Predictive Analytics and Manage remediation through Automation & Self-heal How can an enterprise benefit from ZIF from an IT Operations standpoint?

We need to touch upon 2 areas here. From a Service Desk Operations perspective, ZIF helps enterprises enhance productivity through reduced Mean-time-to-repair, improve User Experience by 10X and reduced repeat incidents & and the number of incidents too through permanent remediation. As for DataCenter Operations, ZIF helps you aggregate & correlate diverse data to reduce false positives and give you a unified view of enterprise IT health, leverage on AI for faster root cause analysis & take preventive measures to avoid costly system outages.

Could you describe as to how your solution integrates multi-vendor application databases and platforms?

ZIF co-exists with other tools in the enterprise and complements them. It ingests data from all these tools irrespective of the format and

aggregates them seamlessly to provide predictive insights.

ZIF data collector engine is easy to configure and can integrate with tools listed below through APIs quickly.

Is there a mechanism for organizations to measure RoI of your solution?

The components for ROI computation include Employee productivity, IT productivity & lost revenue / leakage including some Qualitative benefits.

For example, for an enterprise with say 1000 alerts, 75% false positives, 10% P1 / P2 incidents & with average cost of hourly operation of $35, the annualized savings over a 3 year period will

AUTOMATION

and Machine Learning (ML) to Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

Intelligent automation is a journey & not a destination. In this framework, all generations of robots deliver benefits to all companies across industries and functions. The progression in characteristics of the generations of robots from traditional RPA to AI shows, higher costs and time for RPA implementation, theoretically lower volume of processes where RPA can be applied, limited number of use cases where RPA finds application & finally ambiguity in methods used to calculate RoI For more information, you may refer, IEEE P2755™ which was formed in 2015 bringing together a group of industry leaders to help create the essential structure and standards to this fast-paced market. The standard defines more than 60 terms, concepts and nomenclature related to the field of Intelligent Process Automation.

How are your IDAM & Integrated Risk Management projects coming along?

Understand you have plenty of local, international references including some Fortune majors in this space as well?

In today’s world, with proliferation of IT Devices, Applications & Toolsets, enterprises are prone to never-before seen CyberSecurity threats which could cost them millions of dollars in lost revenues & potentially irreversible brand damage. GAVS’ as a part of our digital services offerings has redesigned & strengthened our 2-decade long experience in the Identity Governance, Access Management, Privilege Access Management & Integrated Risk Management space Today we have around 300+ consultants as part of the CoE & have premium partnerships with Principal vendors including SailPoint, CyberArk, Arcos, Ping Identity.

be approximately $5.84M IT Infrastructure being more a less a horizontal function, the solutions effectiveness & use cases cuts across a variety of industries & across organizations of different sizes. The solution has the flexibility to be tailor-made, scaled up / down to individual client needs. GAVS’ clientele includes Start-ups to Fortune companies How is your technology different from or similar to RPA? Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) refers to application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related new innovative technologies, including Computer vision, Cognitive automation

CHANDRASEKAR G,

MANAGING DIRECTOR - MEA, GAVS TECHNOLOGIES

Any analyst Community Recognition that you would like to highlight?

We have been recognized by almost all the major players including; l Gartner - Cool vendor 2016 & consistently feature in their reports on SmartMachine l Everest Group - Start Performer amongst Major Contenders for IT Infrastructure Services Automation 2018 l GAVS has been recognised by Gartner as one of the ‘Representative Technology Services Provider’ for Blockchain in the Report ‘Market Guide for Blockchain Consulting and Proof-of-Concept Development Services’ by Analysts David Groombridge & Chrissy Healey. l GAVS won a Stevie Award for the technological innovation of the year at the American Business Awards in 2019 ë

O CTO B E R 2 019

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AUTOMATION

RED HAT

TACKLING AUTOMATION CHALLENGES

“Ansible Automation is Red Hat’s software for automating provisioning, configuration, management, and deployment. Ansible carries out these activities through the use of playbooks—Ansible’s instructions and language for automation,” - Mark Hosking, Head of Emerging Technologies - CEMEA, Red Hat. Please describe the key components of your solution and how does it enable automation?

Red Hat believes automation is a strategic and foundational component of IT modernization and digital transformation. The ultimate realization of the benefits of IT automation comes in when you start combining use cases. Or, even better, when you combine all of them into a single system. That’s where Red Hat Management and Automation solutions come to play with Red Hat Ansible Automation at its core.

Ansible Automation is Red Hat’s software for automating provisioning, configuration, management, and deployment. Ansible carries out these activities through the use of playbooks—Ansible’s instructions and language for automation.

Playbooks can describe policies you want to enforce or steps to follow in a general IT process and utilizes a powerful library of 100s of Open source powered Modules and playbooks.

Ansible features: 1 – It is Simple: Human readable automation, no special coding skills needed where tasks are executed in order and can be used by every team 2 – Powerful: not only it automates App deployment, but also configuration management, workflow orchestration, DevOps, Network and Security automation 3 – Agentless: based on agentless architecture that uses OpenSSH & WinRM to help get started immediately 4 - Community Powered: Ansible is the most popular open source automation tool on GitHub today with more than a quarter million downloads per month and over 3,550 contributors submitting new modules all the time. This also significantly fuels up the buildup of hundreds of ansible modules: small programs that do some work on the remote systems.

There are 2 components in the Red Hat Ansible

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MARK HOSKING,

HEAD OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES CEMEA, RED HAT

Automation family: Red Hat Ansible Engine This is the brains behind all things Ansible. It shares the same name with the open source community project, Ansible, and is fundamentally identical to that project. But, being a formal offering from Red Hat brings other benefits, like support, remediation, and in-depth documentation.

Red Hat Ansible Tower Ansible Tower brings an easy-to-use user interface (UI) and dashboard for Ansible Engine.

It lets users see everything happening across their nodes, centralize automation, grant role-based

access, schedule jobs, and more. It also gives real-time information of playbook runs and natively supports cloud deployments. Ansible Tower builds on the underlying Ansible automation engine by adding control, access, security, auditing, and delegation capabilities required in the enterprise.

For customers looking for to deliver services and enforce policies across their hybrid IT infrastructure through unified, comprehensive, consistent management, Red Hat Cloudforms extends Ansible capabilities to both Business and IT Users. It enables continuous discovery of the virtual infrastructure landscape and provides a Self-service portal with show-back features helping customers gain visibility and control costs with policy-based operations, including load balancing, scaling, and reporting.

Red Hat Insights also help customers prevent critical issues before they occur with real-time, in-depth analysis of their Red Hat-based hybrid infrastructure, enabling users to proactively detect issues, enhance visibility into their deployments, improve security, and prescribe remediation through familiar tools like Red Hat Satellite.

Satellite is an infrastructure management product specifically designed to keep Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments and other Red Hat infrastructure running efficiently, with security, and compliant with various standards.

It helps customers build a trusted and secure environment through complete, unified life-cycle management which can be fully automated with Ansible.

Finally, for organizations looking to incorporate sophisticated business process automation and decision logic into line-of-business applications and quickly update underlying business rules as market conditions change, Red Hat also offers Red Hat Decision Manager. Decision Manager is a platform for developing container-

AUTOMATION

ized microservices and applications that automate business decisions. Decision Manager includes business rules management, complex event processing, and resource optimization technologies to help create, test, debug, and control business rules in an organization.

Please describe how your solution automates the front office and the back office and any other specific areas?

Red Hat Automation tackles automation challenges in back office IT infrastructure and applications. This, in turn, will reflect in better front end application performance and enhanced customer experience.

For infrastructure Automation, Red Hat Ansible performs automation and orchestration of IT environments via playbooks. Ansible playbooks consist of series of ‘plays’ that define automation across a set of hosts, known as the ‘inventory’. Each ‘play’ consists of multiple ‘tasks,’ that can target one, many, or all of the hosts in the inventory. These tasks can be simple, such as placing a configuration file on a target machine, or installing a software package. They can be complex, such as spinning up an entire CloudFormation infrastructure in Amazon EC2. Ansible includes hundreds of modules, ranging from simple configuration management, to managing network devices, to modules for maintaining infrastructure on every major cloud provider.

Red Hat CloudForms includes “Ansible Automation inside” and gives IT operations teams a system to sense and respond to environment changes by logging activities, capturing events, detecting configuration changes, monitoring utilization and capacity, and tracking consumption to enforce governance and ensure compliance via customizable policies and with Ansible Playbooks. It also gives IT organizations tools for IT financial management by using consumption data and billing rates to generate chargeback reporting.

In addition, Ansible is embedded in Red Hat Satellite which, in combination with intelligence insights from Red Hat Insights, enables IT Operation teams to quickly detect infrastructure vulnerabilities and areas of needed optimization and provides quick automated actions to perform patching to maintain organization security and compliance with various standards.

To help Automate Business decisions, Red Hat Decision Manager helps evaluate business rules to draw conclusions from live data, it supports an advanced, highly scalable rules engine which scales to automate decisions governed by thousands of rules with ease, and can execute

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decision models described with the Decision Model & Notation (DMN) standard. Complex event processing (CEP) extensions add the ability to process time-based constraints providing advanced, real-time decision making.

Please describe how your solution integrates multi-vendor application databases and platforms?

When it comes to automation with Ansible, tasks are performed by Ansible ‘modules’ - small pieces of code that run on remote hosts. If there is a need for a new module to handle some portion of IT infrastructure that is not covered by Ansible’s included set of 1000+ modules (created and fueled by the open source community), extending Ansible is easy. While the modules shipped with Ansible are implemented in Python and PowerShell, Ansible modules can be written in any language and only are required to take JSON as input and product JSON as output.

Ansible can also be extended through its support for dynamic inventory. Dynamic inventory lets Ansible playbooks be run against a set of machines and infrastructure discovered at runtime rather than statically defined.

This extensibility of Ansible means that no matter how custom your environment may be, it is easy to make it work with Ansible. Ansible’s open source nature also means that new features are added to extend Ansible in every release, and it’s easy to contribute your changes back.

The Ansible Galaxy community site contains 100s of modules and thousands of roles that can be used and customized to build playbooks.

Finally, Red Hat Decision Manager scales to automate decisions governed by thousands of rules with ease, and can execute decision models described with the Decision Model & Notation (DMN) standard. Full support is included for DMN 1.2 models at conformance level 3, as defined by the Object Management Group OMG DMN specification. This ensures that any valid DMN 1.2 model can be automated.

Please describe how the ROI of your solution can be measured by the end user example hours saved per customer, number of intermediate operations etc.

ROI’s for Ansible are typically built on 3 pillars: l How much time can be saved by automating manual and repetitive tasks. l Quantifying the benefit of being able to deliver applications and services more quickly, or being able to recover from outages and downtime more quickly? This is measured in time saved but also quantifying the value of uptime and

availability of the application or service.

Identifying other tasks or actions that previously had not been possible to deliver. A very good example would be proactive compliance audits to ensure that the infrastructure and applications are not being affected by configuration drift. This helps to avoid costly outages or breaches before they happen.

l

For which vertical market segments is your solution best optimized or for which type of organizations or for which type of processes?

We are seeing customer adoption and use cases emerge from virtually every vertical market segment. A key differentiator for Ansible is that this rapid innovation and extensibility of the platform to address more use cases and environments is being powered by the Open Source software innovation model where users are creating, improving and then contributing their changes back for other organizations to benefit from. Furthermore, the ease of use of the platform and the ability for users to rapidly learn to use the tool makes Ansible a very popular automation platform to use as a foundation to build an “Automation Culture” within the wider organization and unleash the true power and potential of automation.

The differentiation for specific clients occurs when they use this content to address the specific pressure points they are facing within the lifecycle of their applications and services. Virtually any process involved required for the development, testing, deployment, operation, upgrade, through to decommissioning of applications, can be improved and accelerated using automation.

How does your solution improve the processes and work flow of an end customer organization?

Ansible modules are the functional code blocks which serve as the tools in your Ansible playbook. The playbooks become the instruction manuals within your organisation, detailing how to execute a task or process, and the modules which make up the playbook are the tools that execute the chain of instructions you define.

When one considers the complexity of typical IT operations today, there are some significant challenges to overcome. Clustered applications, multiple datacenters, public, private and hybrid clouds and applications with complex dependencies requires a tool that can automate and orchestrate complex tasks in these environments very simply. That is where Ansible delivers massive value. ë

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AUTOMATION

TALLY SOLUTIONS

UNDERSTANDING THE PULSE OF BUSINESSES

“Our aim at Tally is to assist SMBs in their journey towards automation so they can use technology for their daily business operations like accounting, inventory and compliance and increase their business efficiency,” - Vikas Panchal, Business Head - Middle East, Tally Solutions.

across verticals and market segments. At Tally, we understand the pulse of small and medium businesses, the way they function, and the software is made keeping those precise things in mind.

Today, Tally is used by nearly 2 million businesses across the globe across key industries including manufacturing, services, traders, transport, construction etc.

Please describe the key components of your solution and how does it enable automation.

Tally.ERP 9 is a business management software which automates the accounting, inventory and compliance needs of a business efficiently and providing business owners enough time to concentrate on their core business. The software is extremely easy to operate and provides utmost, flexibility, reliability and speed in overall daily operations of the business. Tally not only keeps all business data safe and secure, but it also ensures that the business runs uninterrupted.

Within minutes, a company can install, activate, and run the software. There are no pre-requisites, procedures, or set rules to follow. One need not have a strong accounting background to efficiently run it.

Additionally, Tally.ERP 9 adjusts accordingly in case of unexpected changes in the business environment or during unexpected situations. For instance, it performs even when there is sudden power losses or system crashes. The software consumes minimal memory space, making data backups and data transfer to other devices easy.

At any given point in time, Tally never has access to any business data of its customers and the business owners can be ensured that their data remains safe, secure and encrypted at all times.

enjoying the fruits of automation, it is high time that SMEs realize the power automation brings with it and how it can transform their business.

Please describe how the ROI of your solution can be measured by the end user.

The software can significantly boost the productivity and profitability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the accounting and inventory process becomes faster, easier, and more efficient. The benefits of automated solutions are more long-term than short term. In today’s day and age where everything is going digital and large enterprise companies have already started

For which vertical, market segments is your solution best optimized or for which type of organizations or for which type of processes?

Our aim at Tally is to assist SMBs in their journey towards automation so they can use technology for their daily business operations like accounting, inventory and compliance and increase their business efficiency. The product is designed in a way to fit the requirement and demands of SMBs

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VIKAS PANCHAL,

BUSINESS HEAD - MIDDLE EAST, TALLY SOLUTIONS

How does your solution improve the processes and workflow of an end customer organization?

A business needs an ERP software to manage all the accounting, inventory, and other business operation complexities. This way, an enterprise can focus on more mission-critical operations to sustain growth and achieve both short- and long-term goals. Tally helps improve processes and workflow by automating traditional and time-consuming processes without interrupting existing organisational set-up.

What is the role and value played by the channel partners during consulting, implementation and post-sales support?

Our partners are an integral and very important part of our family. They relentlessly work towards helping us reach out to the millions of SMBs across the world. One of the most critical things for all of us at Tally is customer delight and our partners help us in providing the same to our millions of users through an unparallel after sales service. All our partners have a strong domain and technical expertise, making them highly qualified to deliver the ‘Tally Experience’ to our current as well as prospective customers.

To date, we have a strong network of close to 25,000 partners globally who have been helping us reach a million customers for over three decades. ë

TELECOM INSIGHTS

TELECOM

DU

PROVIDING DIFFERENTIATED SOLUTIONS

“Telcos must bring the best breed of brands and partners onboard to deliver projects that enable digital disruption,” Marwan Bin Dalmook, SVP ICT Commercial and Business Development, du.

With the economic slowdown, the growth is mobile subscribers have reached its low peak. How are you securing your digital future? What kind of strategies are you using?

At du, we keep innovating every day in order to stay ahead of the curve as the mobile economy begins to mature. This has resulted in our business’s differentiated solutions evolving beyond the core. We need to ensure the development of our ICT solutions is all about efficiency, customer experience, and digitalization which we believe is the natural progression for us as a company. We are one of the two major players in the UAE that enable connectivity. A few years back we made a commitment with our customers that we can do more for their businesses, for example around data. We can host data for companies, manage data for them, put a security layer around it, or create applications for companies that can be used on this space.

Within that new partnership framework, we are not limiting ourselves to providing connectivity. The more we see cities, nations, and governments moving to become smarter and more digital, we will see greater need for such new collaborations frameworks with Government Entities and the Private Sector.

As an enabler of the digital era, our ICT capabilities are continuously expanding to include new solutions that leverage M2M connectivity, Cloud, Cyber Security, Datacenters, Internet of Things, Big Data, and other emerging technologies like Blockchain or Artificial Intelligence.

Whether consumer or enterprise connectivity, our customer journey is digital-first to enable everyone to thrive in tomorrow’s digital world.

MARWAN BIN DALMOOK,

SVP ICT COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DU

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How do you think telecommunications sector can boost the economy?

All telecoms companies will be completely different in 2020-2025 from what they are today. The disruption in the telecommunications industry will continue and even accelerate. The Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Big Data and other disruptive technologies will increasingly have an overbearing influence on many of the things that we do. We have to be humble and admit that we do not know exactly how all these will work together because it will be beyond our wildest expectations. However, we can be sure that the impact of this disruption will be immense, and this is why we needed to be better prepared and evolve beyond the core.

Telcos are playing a key role in enabling digital transformation and bringing the leadership’s smart city vision to life. As a sector that can bring new, scalable technology to the masses, ICT solutions will also play an important role in unlocking connected solutions powered by emerging technologies that will boost economic growth in the years to come.

Digitally transformed societies will result in more seamless day-to-day exchanges between government entities, enterprises, and individuals.

As the traditionally vertical world of telecoms is becoming more horizontal, the infrastructure that underpins society will become more transparent as well as digitally interactive and engaging. Telcos are meant to be the digital enablers of the cities of the future.

Smart city solutions delivered through the Internet of Things, Big Data, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, among other emerging technologies, will be instrumental for Telcos to leverage in order to boost the economic landscape. Telcos must bring the best breed of brands and partners onboard to deliver projects that enable digital disruption. As such, the sector is innovating change where government entities, enterprise, SMEs, residents, and tourists will all benefit from an enriched smart city experience.

What are your views on security vulnerabilities and challenges on 5G? The digital battlefield of today is inundated with rising accounts of data breaches and cyber hacks.

These are becoming a big challenge for any organization, both big and small, especially those operating in the critical infrastructure sectors.

This is where du is helping organizations create safer digital workplaces by offering a wide range of Cyber Security Solutions. With the introduction of 5G capabilities, more security solutions

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will be required to provide the peace of mind and ease in encouraging the usage of 5G uses cases.

Furthermore, from the Smart Cities perspective, being a safe city is the first step of being a smart city. Having a plan is one of the most important aspects for tackling data security issues.

Cities should prepare for cybersecurity attacks and make sure they educate their citizens to make good use of new technologies and how to decide with whom to share data and more importantly with what purpose.

Smart cities have creating new opportunities and new forms of economy but also creating new kind of challenges on data protection: l Insider Threat - Motivated malicious users should not be able to change / delete any information and cover their tracks l Hacking - If security perimeter is compromised it should be possible to understand which unauthorized changes have been made l Regulatory Compliance - Authorize users should present proof that the data they are governing is authentic and has not been tampered The implementations of new technologies like Blockchain will help to create a trust framework within the smart city context and we are already working towards this direction.

Can you explain how you have been able to help the operators in the region enhance their services by implementing your solutions? du’s ICT solutions are meant to help government entities and the private sector in their digital transformation journey. Just to mention some real life implementations, our strategic role in implementing the Smart Dubai Office’s Dubai Pulse platform, DSOA’s Silicon Park, and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s (TRA) NCRM program are just a few clear success stories and proof of du’s ICT capabilities.

Moving forward, with all these discussions of an ultra-connected and super intelligent world, this will not only impact the industry but also society as a whole. There is ongoing debate in the world; however, conversations around the balance between the technologically possible, the economically viable, the societally beneficial, the humanly rewarding, and the ethically compatible are needed. Another important disruptive development is the move to a decentralized ecosystem along with the development of emerging technologies like Blockchain or Artificial Intelligence, transforming the technology landscape into the recipe for a perfect storm.

What is your main strategy to keep up with the competition in the

region?

Today we are not only competing with traditional Telcos, but any organization that is providing ICT solutions to enable digital transformation. Our ambition is to keep supporting Dubai and the UAE leadership visions for making the cities and the country the smartest, safest, and happiest in the world. This mission exists as a core component in defining our strategy today and helps us differentiate ourselves from rising competition.

Smart City initiatives create innumerable opportunities for generating new business models focused on innovation, cost reduction, sustainability, productivity, efficiency, control, and transparency; and as these opportunities unfold and expand every day, Telcos play a key role in enabling the next-generation technologies that will bring them to fruition.

Dubai and UAE ambition is incomparable with any other smart city development in the world as the scope is broader, and having this broader scope means the data connected and the multiple Government Entities or Private Stakeholders that will interact will be richer than ever. Our job is to guarantee all the capabilities not only for users, citizens, and visitors, but for the entire nation when it comes to better planning, anticipation, insights, and analytics. This is our end goal and our deepest commitment with society, creating a better future in the UAE and improving everyone’s quality of life. ë

TELECOM

IEC TELECOM

CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS IS THE KEY

“Our approach is to listen and understand clients’ constraints, needs and objectives in order to offer the most relevant solutions, services and support,” - Nabil Ben Soussia, Vice President - Maritime, IEC Telecom Group.

How do you think the telecommunications sector can boost the economy?

The telecommunications sector is an important part of any economy as it is closely interlinked to other sectors of the whole ecosystem. As a result, there is a spillover effect which helps boost the economy. According to the World Bank, for every 10 per cent increase in broadband connectivity in developing nations, GDP rises by 1.38 per cent.

As part of IEC Telecom’s portfolio of enterprise solutions, for example, we offer a wide range of products and services to enable digitalization for remote units, including tools for remote monitoring, surveillance and maintenance. These enterprise solutions are also used as back up for terrestrial networks. As a result, they ensure the continuity of business operations. For many organisations, especially government bodies and financial institutions, a short-term interruption of operations can lead to huge losses. Reliable and robust telecom infrastructure directly contributes to the well-being of businesses that are part of the economy.

Moreover, the economy and its overall infrastructure are changing; while in the past businesses invested in properties, gold, equipment as the main asset, a new type of asset is emerging now – data. Data is becoming a key measure of whether a company will remain relevant through the digital revolution or no, thus its transmission, security and ease of access are becoming crucial factors for any business. Satcom solutions help address these needs, helping companies operate 24/7 even in remote areas and without the need to scarify their operational efficiency.

What are the biggest challenges satellite providers face in the Middle East? How do you plan to address those challenges?

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Some of the biggest challenges faced by satellite providers in the Middle East are as follows: Regulatory issues: Lack of common regulatory basis for the region makes it impossible to have a regional project. A country-by-country approach is not efficient on account of high costs involved.

Having said this, governments acknowledge the importance of satellite communication for the growth of the economy.

Low bandwidth: As compared to the terrestrial media, particularly the optical fiber, the bandwidth supported by satellites is much less.

Though present satellites provide much more bandwidth than the satellites of the 1970s and 1980s, the bandwidth is nowhere comparable to the optical fiber bandwidth. This challenge is being met with advances in technology like high throughput satellite, fiber in the sky.

Despite the above challenges, the global SATCOM equipment market is estimated to be USD 20.20 Billion in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 30.32 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 8.46% from 2017 to 2022.

Can you explain how you have been able to help the operators in the region enhance their services by implementing your solutions?

We help operators in the region enhance their services through our solutions as follows: Business continuity back up – IEC Telecom provides the necessary bandwidth to ensure that operations team are able to stay connected, no matter how remote the location is. Our broadband solutions enable multiple users to obtain secure and reliable connectivity, in order to access business-critical applications such as email, intranet, internet access, video-conferencing and large file transfers.

For many organisations, especially government bodies and financial institutions, a

short-term interruption of operations can lead to huge losses. Our satellite solutions are designed to face such challenges, performing as a backup to their terrestrial network. A minimal monthly contribution ensures critical operations run continuously, protecting connectivity for key business applications, emails, web access and more. Whether a business is in the banking sector, supply chain or is a large organisation with multi-level IT hierarchy, we can support them with their special business needs.

By enabling smart ships – There has been plenty of talk around smart ships. These cyber-enabled, smart and autonomous ships offer the potential to improve safety and reduce

TELECOM

uptake accelerating and innovations like electric vehicles gaining mainstream attention, the oil and gas business has to change its way of operating to stay sustainable and competitive. Digitalization is the only way forward. New applications such as OneGate Energy by IEC Telecom solutions allow businesses to digitize, optimize, and automate processes that save time, money, and increase safety. These solutions also enable the coverage of areas where telecommunication infrastructure is often unreliable or unavailable or where site conditions make the implementation of terrestrial communications challenging.

Highly robust and secure communication networks for emergency response and relief – When a disaster strikes, conventional networks are usually saturated or discontinued.

Satellite solutions are the only reliable way to maintain communications at all times. With our telecommunications systems, aid agencies can consolidate their relief efforts over time, set up temporary offices using semi-fixed modems and access corporate applications, manage logistics or even use low bandwidth video conferencing solutions. For longer-term deployments and sustainable development missions, IEC Telecom can cover any specific need and offer high broadband data connectivity ‘DSL-like’, so that teams can access and share high data volume, get a VPN connection, join videoconferencing, etc.

environmental impact by lowering the risk of human error. They also enable operational cost reductions and optimization of fleet management through improved fuel efficiency and reduced manual requirements. For example, OneGate Marine/Offshore, from IEC Telecom, paves the way for full vessel digitalization by establishing virtually controlled, truly reliable satcoms links, backed up by multiple levels of cyber-security, to protect critical vessel functions. Available in two modifications - for marine and offshore projects - OneGate is a steppingstone to vessel automation and is fully adaptable for future market requirements and regulations.

Digital Oil Fields - With renewable energy

NABIL BEN SOUSSIA,

VICE PRESIDENT – MARITIME, IEC TELECOM GROUP

What is your main strategy to keep up with the competition in the region? l Our biggest strength is our years of vast experience in serving many different industries. No matter what the business is, we are able to offer a customized and industry-focused solution which works. Some of the industries we cover include maritime, humanitarian, energy, government, enterprise and media. l The next is the wide spectrum of solutions we offer; a comprehensive suite of system integration, system products, and network services that enable a complete end-to-end solution for customers. l We offer world-class support, as we understand how critical reliable back-up is. Our approach is to listen and understand clients’ constraints, needs and objectives in order to offer the most relevant solutions, services and support.

We engineer and integrate individual systems or complex networks and support them throughout their lifecycle. Our goal is to provide total solutions that help customers concentrate on their core mission – whether it is telecommunication, broadcasting or managing a fleet of vessels, vehicles or offshore/onshore infrastructure. ë

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TELECOM

NEXIGN

THRIVING IN THE DIGITAL ERA

“We would like to enable telecom operators to transform their business models and to become digital service providers (DSPs),” - Ahmad Sayed, Regional Head & VP of Sales MEA, Nexign.

How do you think the telecommunications sector can boost the economy?

Personally, I think that the telecommunication sector will not just boost, but has the potential to drive the economy during the upcoming years.

Between the adoption of technologies like IoT and 5G, the growing need for mobile broadband connectivity and the continuous demand for enhanced data throughput, telecom operators will not only act as basic communications service providers for other economy sectors but will be the trendsetters and a lynchpin of the global economy.

What are your views on security vulnerabilities and challenges when it comes to 5G? As the 5G saga takes shape, regional telecom operators must decide how they fit in. We believe that there has never been a better time to make the transition from communications service provider (CSP) to digital service provider (DSP).

The advent of new technologies will always signal an opportunity for businesses in their orbit. But monetisation of such innovations can prove problematic without the right business support system (BSS). This is particularly true in the age of the millennial consumer connecting the infrastructure to the digital native, in a hasslefree way, is part and parcel of the optimum user experience (UX).

According to a TM Forum report, as much as two thirds (67%) of total revenue from 5G use cases—beyond mere enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA)is dependent on OSS/BSS transformation.

AHMAD SAYED,

REGIONAL HEAD & VP OF SALES, MEA, NEXIGN

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For telcos, this means that adapting their BSS to support 5G services will have an impact on rating, charging and policy control. Complex usage scenarios will demand the integration of many other systems, and operators will need to ensure that a single BSS can cover these areas, but most critically the Internet of Things (IoT), collaboration with service providers, legacy WiFi management and eSIM subscription management.

What are the biggest challenges service providers face in the Middle East? How do you plan to address those challenges?

The decline in traditional voice revenues driven in large part by the growing demand from subscribers for more varied and personalised offerings and the emergence of OTT providers—has particularly affected many regional operators. Many of these local players have been slow to recognize the paradigm shift and digitally transform—by unlocking opportunities offered by IoT, 5G and blockchain to keep up with changing consumer demands. At the same time, the pressure to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) is driving operators to embrace cloud and virtualisation. This is not possible without efficient collaboration with the other industry players, on a global level.

With the capabilities introduced in the Nexign product portfolio, CSPs are able to seamlessly and efficiently build global partnerships and capitalise on the many benefits of an open ecosystem including business agility, accelerated integration, increased value and TCO optimisation. As a result, end-users will benefit from personalisation, optimisation and expanded service offerings from CSPs. Can you explain how you have been able to help the operators in the region enhance their services by implementing your solutions?

2017 saw us enhance our product portfolio further and make our products even more tailored to our customers’ needs. Our approach is based on DevOps, a practice that aims to reduce the time to market of operators’ new products by more than 80% and provide the best in class TCO – 25% lower than the market average. Our future-proof portfolio of products includes: Nexign Digital BSS is an end-to-end platform delivering full-stack BSS functionality to drive communications service providers’ digital transformation. The platform helps CSPs to unlock extensive opportunities for rapid business development and revenue enablement, allowing them to give their customers a truly digital experience. Nexign Digital BSS is built on a solid

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foundation of converged billing and a real-time network monetisation platform, enhanced by centralised product management. Our solution delivers full digital BSS functionality, providing an omni-channel customer experience, digital partner ecosystem enablement and such capabilities as real-time charging, rating and policy, open API support, and a microservices architecture.

DevOps-based development and delivery let businesses implement changes rapidly and enable new digital products and services to be launched quickly.

Nexign Network Monetisation Suite is a versatile solution for real-time rating, charging and policy control across all network services, from e-banking and e-commerce to mobile and fixed communications, as well as VAS and OTT services.

Nexign IoT Platform is a highly secure all-inone product that helps you get the most out of IoT technology. This reliable telco-grade platform, proven by Tier 1 communications service providers, allows you to unlock new revenue streams while providing end customers with advanced features for digitalisation and automation of IoT business processes as well as new value-added services. Modern technologies such as digital twins, artificial intelligence, and machine learning ensure the offerings are of the highest quality.

The platform is also highly flexible and can be precisely tailored to market needs, including the requirements of smart cities, utilities, and grids.

In parallel with delivering innovative products for customers, we are committed to investing in and building long-terms partnerships with customers. A case in point is our exclusive partnership with Bubbletone to deliver an industry first, blockchain-based marketplace for digital service providers (DSPs) with a BSS connectivity kit that provides the opportunity to create new roaming products and complex bundles, including digital non-telco services. The blockchain can optimise everything a telco’s C-suite worries about—billing, provisioning, number portability and more - and acts as a potent agent of digital transformation, delivering significant operational efficiencies.

Transactions are sped up; intermediaries become a thing of the past; IoT becomes a viable deliverable, as does mobile money; and operators on the blockchain platform can enact direct-carrier billing straight away, all while slashing costs.

This solution holds particular promise for telcos in the Middle East where telecom monopolies and duopolies are common. All the benefits of incremental revenues apply, and there is no requirement to relinquish any control in the local marketplace, as operators are part of a global community of buyers and sellers.

What is your main strategy to keep up with the competition in the region?

The BSS market is evolving—its no longer sufficient for BSS providers to differentiate purely on product functionality. Vendors need to compete on non-functional business aspects and drive better customer experiences in order to stay competitive.

We would like to enable telecom operators to transform their business models and to become digital service providers (DSPs). The classical portfolio of telecom operators has started to stagnate due to the influence of Over-The-Top services (OTTs) and as a consequence, operators across the globe, including the Middle East, are turning to Nexign for solutions to help them evolve and stay competitive in the digital era.

We are fortunate in the sense that we have already had a strong BSS portfolio in place and our roadmaps were always grounded in best-practises such as open architectures and functionality for real Tier 1 operator needs, such as those of MegaFon. Our strategy is focused on how we can enable CSPs to become DSPs and move towards open, partnership-powered business models that will generate sustainable, long term value.

The 4 pillars of our strategy are: l Enabling personalisation together with an optimal experience. l Supporting the creation of digital partnership ecosystems. l Powering revenue stream diversification as well as cost base optimisation through 5G, Cloud, IoT, analytics, SDN/NFV, BPA, open source and blockchain. l Emphasising agility and rapid Time to Market.

We also see a trend where CSPs are expecting their suppliers to assume responsibilities beyond their specific area. They expect them to become real partners by being able to provide, and own, end-to-end, future-proof value solutions that support the convergence of networks and operations.

With the emergence of 5G, B2B2X platform business models, the establishment of digital partnership ecosystems and the business transformation of service providers, the relationship between suppliers and CSPs will continue evolving towards a partnership & collaborationbased model, where value will be co-created and shared. ë

MPS

INSIGHTS

MPS

KONICA MINOLTA

HELPING CUSTOMERS WORK SMARTER “Konica Minolta has introduced a complete range of Document Solutions that bridges the gap between paper and electronic documents using a fast, cost-efficient and secure processes,”

Document digitization is necessary to keep up with the changing times. How is your Portfolio in MPS playing an integral role in enabling companies’ transition to the digital age?

Digital transformation is essential to all businesses wishing to take part in the modern economy, but it can also prove challenging.

Konica Minolta’s workflow solutions promise to ease this transition. A number of organisations are already reaping the rewards through Konica Minolta’s solutions to optimise workflows and increase productivity.

With the use of the Konica Minolta Enterprise Content Management solutions, for example, companies can increase workflow efficiency, storage, security and compliance by automating manual processes, digitizing your paperwork and streamlining office tasks. With less energy spent on manual tasks, chasing documents and managing paper operations, more time will be available for your most important tasks.

This helps to build a strong culture of innovation throughout the company, and stops workers relying on traditional ‘closed-door’ processes.

We support the digital transformation of large, medium and small companies by providing a full-range of solutions.

Companies offering MPS are ramping up their efforts in terms of providing multi-function printers (MFPs) that can help businesses in digitizing their paper documents.

What is your contribution towards the same?

Konica Minolta has introduced a complete range of Document Solutions that bridges the gap

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between paper and electronic documents using a fast, cost-efficient and secure processes. With state-of-the-art equipment and excellent image capture, Konica Minolta can create high-quality images by converting paper documents into easily managed digital files.

Whichever multi-functional device from Konica Minolta you choose, you can be rest assured knowing that its high-quality scanning features are designed and manufactured by the industry leader in providing the perfect multifunctional device for each particular company’s needs. Some businesses have warehouses of filing cabinets, client records, receipts, bookkeeping records, and other important data accumulated over decades; other companies have countless folders — each brimming over with papers.

Whatever the size of your business scanning needs, your copier scanner will be able to handle various advanced processing features, including high-quality document imagining, image enhancement, data identification, easy retrieval, flexible network scanning suitable for various applications, multiple transmission methods, and transmission of data to one or multiple addresses and destinations. Konica Minolta provides all this and more.

MPS providers are introducing printing equipment and solutions with state-of-the-art security features. How do you see this trend rising?

Konica Minolta has led the industry in providing enhanced security features for the digital era, and we have recently announced the launch of bizhub SECURE and bizhub SECURE Platinum, a professional service that ensures Konica Minolta customers peace of mind by assisting end-users

with the setup of enhanced password protection and data security measures. Once documents have been scanned, they can be completely encrypted prior to storage, also any leakage of confidential information is triggered with an automatic email via a notification of a violation of data security.

Konica Minolta works closely with third party security consultants to check each system for weaknesses or vulnerability, especially the security of information stored on bizhub MFPs. As a result, the total security system on all bizhub MFPs is independently certified to the ISO 15408

MPS

tailored solutions using latest methodologies and tools to eliminate waste, decrease non-valueadded steps and reduce overall touch points.

Our Workflow solutions can Improve efficiency, flexibility with print workflow automation and unify different print technologies. An automated solution improves the quality of your output by reducing the manual handling required and any potential human errors. Integrating the printing infrastructure and automating workflows allowing companies to perform at maximum efficiency.

How does your service/portfolio cater to the below rising trends; l IoT Momentum fuelling the print security spend Konica Minolta has recently launched the new bizhub i-Series, the next generation IoT-enabled multifunction printer line equipped with state-of-the-art security features. Born from the company’s continuing ambition to create value for customers and driven by the desire to rethink the way multifunctional devices work for them, the i-Series is a smart technology hub that fully embraces the way businesses and print security is evolving. l Digital convergence Print and digital convergence will drive increased demand for integrated document workflows in future. Konica Minolta’s solutions have the digital workflow skills to drive efficiency and productivity improvements for any organisation. l Cloud-delivered MPS We are the market leader in the delivery of integrated cloud-based printing solutions. Our hardware solutions offer mobile printing facility that is based on private cloud technology.

Data security standard as established by the Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation. While some manufacturers may only certify a component of their MFP or a “security kit,” the entire system architecture of a Konica Minolta MFP is certified.

MPS providers are focused on the continued delivery of services that help clients minimize inefficiencies and wastage. How competitive is your solution against this?

Konica Minolta provides organisations with

l Big Data opportunity Konica Minolta is helping to simplify everyday processes for businesses to cope with challenges of manging big data.

LARRY LEOW,

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES GROUP MANAGER, KONICA MINOLTA

l AI in modern Workplace AI is a core part of Konica Minolta’s vision for the workplace of the future. We are committed to becoming the strong connector between cognitive computing, intelligent automation and other fields related to AI that provides services and solutions for a more efficient working environment. ë

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MPS

CANON MIDDLE EAST

SIMPLIFIED SOLUTIONS

“Canon understands the importance of enabling its clients with a robust print infrastructure that reduces threats and prevents unauthorized access to confidential information,” Mohamed El Bahrawy, Marketing Manager - B2B, Canon Middle East.

Document digitization is necessary to keep up with the changing times. How is your Portfolio in MPS playing an integral role in enabling companies transition to the digital age?

We believe that real Digital Transformation is a continuum moving in 3 main flows: 1. how individual workers manage their documents to 2. automating workflows within the office to 3. broader process optimization and transformation.

Canon MPS proposition builds it Digital strategy according to its customer’s needs and requirement with implementing a managed print service as a first step to understand what is currently being printed , why and what happens to these documents once printed , based on this data we are able to propose digital solutions and smoothly transition our clients to MPDS ( Managed Print and Documents Services) ranging from DMS, E-forms and digital signature solutions.

Companies offering MPS are ramping up their efforts in terms of providing multi-function printers (MFPs) that can help businesses in digitizing their paper documents.

What is your contribution towards the same?

Canon uses its DIMS technology on MFPs to provide OCR accuracy , anti- streak correction and multi-feed detection enabling simple, fast and versatile scanning of exceptional quality.

From our MFPs we are able to support not only clients’ documents digitization requirement but we take it one further step by providing different business enablement digital workflow applications amongst which are : Invoice processing, HR digitization, Backlog scanning and digital mailroom.

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MPS providers are introducing printing equipment and solutions with state-of-the-art security features.

How do you see this trend rising?

Canon’s office insight report show that 33% of data leaks come from within ( internal leaks) and 46% of organizations are looking to enhance their document security and GDPR compliance.

Canon understands the importance of enabling its clients with a robust print infrastructure that reduces threats and prevents unauthorized access to confidential information. Some of the security features are : Secure Print, Scan Encryption, HDD Password lock, Secure boot , SIEM ( security information event management) for real time audit.

MOHAMED EL BAHRAWY,

MARKETING MANAGER - B2B, CANON MIDDLE EAST

MPS providers are focused on the continued delivery of services that help clients minimize inefficiencies and wastage. How competitive is your solution against this?

Canon Managed Print Services simplify the implementation and ongoing management of an optimized, secure, productive and sustainable print service. It helps its customer’s minimize efficiencies via its output management solution uniFLOW that allows users to only print necessary documents, auto-delete unreleased jobs and implementing print policies e.g: duplex and black and white printing to control cost This translates into an average of 20% cost saving. reducing paper waste by 50% and freeing up IT related call by 15% enabling customer to focus on their core business.

Furthermore, Canon gives high priority to sustainability initiatives with IR ADV 3rd edition awarded energy certifications: ENERGY STAR® Qualified, Ecomark and Blue Angel which offer a class leading TEC rating for better energy saving. ë

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MPS

KODAK ALARIS

IMPROVING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

“Our solutions are highly customizable to suit the needs and expectations of clients, our solutions are also scalable which gives clients the flexibility to improve their operations as they grow,” - Naji Kazak, General Manager - Middle East, Africa, Turkey & Russia at Alaris, a Kodak Alaris Business.

How does Alaris plan to drive automation, connectivity and business growth of the customers?

Improving customer experience and reducing operational costs are two major areas that clients look at. Our solutions are highly customizable to suit the needs and expectations of clients, our solutions are also scalable which gives clients the flexibility to improve their operations as they grow.

How does information capture and intelligence work?

Governments and enterprises have invested heavily in back end system throughout the past few decades, CRMs ERPs DMSs etc are all systems that help organizations in streamlining their operations. Nevertheless, there is a hectic manual process in delivering data into these system. Think of invoice processing as example, a supplier submits their invoice, the information on the invoice is keyed into the accounting system, the invoice is scanned for records management purposes, and then the invoice goes into an approval process before a payment is issues. Now imagine having to deal with tens or hundreds of invoices a day, the margin of error increases as this is a manual process, it is also a time consuming process. Information capture sits right in between the receival of data and the delivery into the different systems, so in the invoicing example our capture solutions can automatically identify the supplier capture the relevant information and even validate line items against the PO before automatically inputting the data into the accounting system.

How can organizations turn raw data into actionable intelligence?

It needs to start with listing their objectives and what they are trying to achieve. For us, as Alaris,

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NAJI KAZAK,

GENERAL MANAGER - MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA, TURKEY & RUSSIA, ALARIS, A KODAK ALARIS BUSINESS

we have a big range of solutions that can help organizations in achieving their objectives.

How will enterprise information management change or redefine in

2020?

Information capture and process automation is picking up in the region so we expect an increase in demand for these solutions across different industries. ë

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