May 2015 by GEC Media Group

TOP CYB E RSECU R ITY PROJ ECTS L AU DE D AT G ISEC /06

PA G E S 6 4 VOLUME O2 | ISSUE 10 M AY 2 0 1 5 WWW.ENTERPRISECHANNELSMEA.COM

SUREN VEDANTHAM, GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, STORIT DISTRIBUTION

DELIVERING THE BEST CONSISTENTLY

INDIAECM052015

The specialist in data management believes in constantly and consistently creating opportunities for the growth of its vendors and partners. /44

EDITORIAL

In a Connected World

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

The entire global market, which includes MEA, will see a big shift in the way the technology has been used. All the devices, organizations, humans, processes – everything will be connected with each other soon – although it has already started showing its impact. The number of connected devices will be so large that it will outnumber the entire human population by 6.5 times in 2020. It means each individual will have 6.5 connected devices during that period. There will be two major visible impacts on the market. First of all security will gain huge momentum. Even some think tanks predict that every organization will be a security organization as the connected things / devices will have enough space to let in the bad components and manage and monitoring market will be absolutely very large so each of the organization would have to have their own resources to address it at the first instance. Secondly: analytics will play a huge role because when the devices will communicate with each other, it will generate huge amount of data, which will be ultimately collated to be interpreted to create the right strategy. Whether we call it as IoT or IoTX or even IOE… the terminology might be different to different organizations though but this will be ultimate technology manifestation and will generate enormous business opportunity of US$19 trillion for next 10 years globally. The evolution in the technological feel factor will have positive impact on the emerging markets like MEA and the growth opportunity will be in higher double digit because every bit of technology integration will happen from grounds up as things are just in nascent stages. Unlike advanced countries like North America, Europe and ANZ, the infrastructure is getting built up now and it will certainly take best of the breed and optimised technologies where as in the developed countries it will be a challenge to rip up the existing set up and to accommodate new technology for a new infrastructure. As people have started saying that today’s CIOs are under tremendous pressure. It is absolutely correct because the opportunities and options are so many that one wrong step can take his organization to 5-6 years back but with the right kind of technology implementation can make his organization surge ahead of his competitors. The role of partners will be challenged constantly as the market will become so large and intricate that it will go beyond the capability of a single partner to handle with a limited skill set. He has to complement his competition and keep on adding skill sets to take the solutions to the market. Fortunately, this issue comprises a lot of data points on the security landscape - majorly exhumed from the recently concluded security expo in Dubai, UAE, GISEC-2015. You will certainly enjoy reading it! ë

PRINTED BY AL GHURAIR PRINTING & PUBLISHING LLC.

MEA PUBLISHER: SANJIB MOHAPATRA

MASAFI COMPOUND, SATWA, P.O.BOX: 5613, DUBAI, UAE

SUBSCRIPTIONS INFO@ACCENTINFOMEDIA.COM

COO: TUSHAR SAH00 EDITOR: SANJAY MOHAPATRA sanjay@accentinfomedia.com M: +971 555 119 432

SALES AND ADVERTISING RONAK SAMANTARAY ronak@accentinfomedia.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: KARMA NEGI

M: + 971 555 120 490

karma@enterprisechannels.com SUB EDITOR: SOUMYA SMITA PRAJNA soumya@accentinfomedia.com

SOCIAL MARKETING & DIGITAL COMMUNICATION YASOBANT MISHRA yasobant@accentinfomedia.com

I N FO M E DIA PUBLISHED BY ACCENT INFOMEDIA MEA FZ-LLC PO BOX : 500653, DUBAI, UAE 223, BUILDING 9, DUBAI MEDIA CITY, DUBAI, UAE PHONE : +971 (0) 4368 8523

REPORTER: ANUSHREE DIXIT anushree@accentinfomedia.com VISUALIZER: MANAS RANJAN LEAD VISUALIZER: DPR CHOUDHARY DESIGNER: AJAY ARYA

M AY 2015

MEA

PRODUCTION & CIRCULATION RICHA SAMANTARAY + 971 529 943 982

A PUBLICATION LICENSED BY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA PRODUCTION ZONE, DUBAI, UAE @COPYRIGHT 2013 ACCENT INFOMEDIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. WHILE THE PUBLISHERS HAVE MADE EVERY EFFORT TO ENSURE THE ACCURACY OF ALL INFORMATION IN THIS MAGAZINE, THEY WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS THEREIN.

2015 CONTENTS

VOLUME 02 ISSUE 10 M AY 2 0 1 5 W W W. E N T E R P R I S E C H A N N E L S M E A . C O M

COVER STORY

ENTERPRISE SECURITY PROTECT OR PERISH Security is now a boardroom level discussion. The stakes are high, and businesses require a new model that gives them a comprehensive picture of their entire IT infrastructure. /24

MY VIEWS /41

Redefining Supply Chain with Technology

SPECIAL /47-62

FEATURE STORY ‘Banking’ to Bank Upon /38

MARKUS KUCKELHAUS, DIRECTOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS

CIO SPEAK /44

Viewing IT as a profit centre rather than a cost center ALIASGAR BOHARI, IT DIRECTOR , ZULEKHA HEALTHCARE EDITORIAL::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 04 MY OPINION /46

Bypassing The Internet With Next-Gen Cloud Enterprise MICHAEL WINTERSON MANAGING DIRECTOR EMEA, EQUINIX

CHANNEL STREET:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 06

PLUS Survey Results /32

MY VIEWS :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 22 COVER FEATURE (STORIT DISTRIBUTION ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 34 PARTNER STREET:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 40 CIO SPEAK : :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 42

ADVERTISER INDEX: EMITAC 02, HELP AG 03, SPECTRAMI 07, ESET 09, FDC 11, TP-LINK 13, EMT 15, FINESSE 17, OPTIMUS 19, NEXANS 21, BULWARK 23, ARUBA 37, HID 43, IOTX EVENT 51, AFRICA EVENT 53, UNIFY 63, DELL 64

M AY 2 015

MEA

CHANNEL

STREET GOVT .CIOS MUST FLIP FROM “LEGACY FIRST” TO “DIGITAL FIRST”—GARTNER

“The burden of legacy technologies in government puts innovation on a path of incremental improvement when agility and quick solution delivery is expected,” said Rick Howard, research director at Gartner. “To demonstrate ‘digital now, digital first’ leadership in government, CIOs must flip their approach from managing IT from the inside-out perspective of legacy constraints to the outside-in view of citizen experience. “With cost, value and security as top considerations, govt CIOs should begin with the assumption that public cloud is the preferred deployment option and then, if necessary, work back from public cloud to the cloud, co-location or on-premises option that provides the best fit for their business environment,” said Mr. Howard.

GCC EXECUTIVES ARE AT HIGH RISK OF PRIVACY BREACHES The annual GBM Security Study, now in its fourth year, has shown that security breaches in the GCC are on the rise, with one in five participants being aware of a privacy violation in the past 12 months. Increasing threats of cyber-attacks, coupled with the rise of cloud adoption, mobility and social media, led companies to implement more flexible technologies in the workplace, whilst not necessarily investing enough to mitigate against potential risks. “Security has become a boardroom discussion ” said Hani Nofal, VP, Intelligent Network Solutions, GBM. “The future is digital,” concluded Nofal. “And we must ensure that the correct security measures are in place in order for organisations, and the general public to feel safe in the technologies that can provide added value to their working and personal lives.”

M AY 2015

MEA

WINNERS AT GISEC’S 2015 I.T. SECURITY AWARDS

Top Cybersecurity Projects Lauded at GISEC Competing with over 30 strong contenders, the big winners of this year’s I.T. Security Awards were announced on 27 April 2015 at the 3rd GISEC. The awards are dedicated to fostering excellence in the implementation of I.T. projects and cybersecurity applications by public and private organisations in the Middle East. Held at DWTC, the gala awards ceremony brought together the brightest, leading companies in the region’s I.T. industry. Winners include: Gulf Air for Best Cloud Security Implementation; Kuwait International Bank for Best Data Loss Prevention; Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) for Best Endpoint & MobileDevice Security Implementation; Dubai Smart Government for Best Information Security Program Implementation; and The Crown Prince Court, Abu Dhabi for Best Security Information & Event Management. Appreciating and celebrating success, innovation

and advancement in the region’s I.T. security and solutions, GISEC’s I.T. Security Awards was sponsored by CA Technologies. Keeping abreast with advanced cyberthreats and sophisticated cyberattacks, the 3rd GISEC served as the launch-pad of the latest and innovative security products and solutions to keep organisations in the Middle East secure. Colocated with GISEC this year was the First Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition and Conference (GEMEC), to ddress the need of enterprises to embrace mobility. At the event, senior executives discussed ways to identify, evaluate and source technology and mobility solutions to meet their current and future mobile requirements. GEMEC’s world-leading conference programme caters to the region’s enterprise and government decision makers to extend their competitive advantage.

SANS Institute Honors LogRhythm in “Best of 2014 Awards”

LogRhythm, The Security Intelligence Company, was recently recognized as “Best SIEM” winner by the SANS Institute’s “Best of 2014 Awards.” These awards spotlight companies and security products within the industry that are making a difference. The awards are an extension of the SANS WhatWorks Program which raises awareness for security solutions and programs. Voters included more than 650 security operations professionals and managers from the SANS community who are actual users of the products.

“The SANS Institute is one of the most respected analyst organizations in the security industry and being recognized by members of their community is extremely rewarding,” said Chris Petersen, senior vice president of products and CTO at LogRhythm.

“The rise in cyber threats shows no sign of slowing down. While we all hear about the breaches, it is important that we also raise awareness about what companies are doing to prevent them so we can continually get ahead of the threats,” said John Pescatore, director of emerging trends, SANS Institute. “The SANS ‘Best of 2014 Awards’ honor the companies behind the scenes helping corporations and individuals reduce their risk of cyber-based attacks. “

LogRhythm’s Security Intelligence platform unifies next-generation SIEM, log management, network and endpoint forensics, and advanced security analytics. In addition to protecting customers from the risks associated with cyber threats, LogRhythm provides innovative compliance automation and assurance, and enhanced IT intelligence.

“Knowing that actual users selected us speaks volumes about the value LogRhythm offers as we continually develop new and innovative solutions geared towards customers’ individual needs.”

Learn how LogRhythm can help your business, speak to our partner Spectrami DMCC: Spectrami DMCC, Office 2402, Mazaya BB1 Tower, JLT, P.O. BOX 487840, Dubai, UAE

T: +971 4 4357209

W: www.spectrami.com

CHANNEL STREET

Bashar Bashaireh is the New VP, Middle East at Unify

BIG DATA CAN DRIVE REGION OIL PRODUCTION BY 8 PERCENT

East, CyberGuard Corporation Unify has appointed Bashar BasMiddle East & North Africa and haireh as Vice President, Middle other leading System Integrators in East. Bashaireh will be responsithe region. ble for capitalizing on the growth “I am pleased to welcome Bashar potential in this region, and will to Unify and look forward to report to Thomas Veit, Senior working with him as we work Vice President EMEAR. to expand our business in the Bashar Bashaireh joins Unify Middle East,” said Thomas Veit, from Aruba Networks, where SVP EMEAR. “Bashar’s extensive he was the Regional Director for BASHAR BASHAIREH, VICE PRESIDENT, MIDDLE EAST., experience and knowledge in the Gulf and Pakistan. He is a true UNIFY region will be key to helping Unify industry veteran with 22 years succeed in the region.” experience in the Middle East Market. His remarkable career includes appoint“Unify presents an exciting opportunity to work ment as Secretary General at Jordan’s Ministry of with a global leader to expand their business in Information and Communications Technology the Middle East,” said Bashaireh. “I look forward (MoICT) where he was responsible for developto working with partners and customers in the ing the Jordanian ICT sector; as well as sales region to deliver Unify’s New Way to Work.” leadership positions at Fortinet, 3Com Middle

According to the findings of a white paper released by Booz Allen Hamilton in the MENA, the GCC region’s hydrocarbon industry must develop more sophisticated data strategies as it looks to mitigate an extended period of low oil prices. Entitled ‘Securing and Enabling Data Driven Oil Fields’ the study suggests that rapid advancements in processes have until now supported reliable and complex, if expensive extraction, but in an age of increasingly volatile oil prices the capture and analysis of big data will offer tangible benefits across the value chain. Data driven oil fields can help defend the industry from a looming skills gap by automating processes and socializing institutional knowledge through management systems. “The oil and gas industry is a pillar of economic development in the Middle East region and a primary source of employment and state spending,” said Atif Kureishy, Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton MENA. “Securing the industry’s viability in a way that is sustainable and resilient to external factors will rely on technology and analytics. “ The paper describes the oil and gas industry as being ‘particularly at risk to cyber-attack’ given its critical nature to economic and social security, and as companies look to migrate to more integrated, digital systems the attack area ‘increases together with the organization’s vulnerability’.

EMITAC ACHIEVES GOLD CLOUD COMPETENCY Emitac Enterprise Solutions (EES) has attained Gold Cloud Productivity competency in the Microsoft Partner Program. By achieving this competency, EES demonstrates that it can be trusted as an adept adviser to customer’s having long-term strategic technology plans on cloud “We are very happy to achieve the Microsoft Gold Competencies for Cloud Productivity and look forward to furthering our client reach and capabilities.” said Madhav Reddy Kolli, Microsoft Business Unit Head, EES. “Our plan is to power and accelerate our customer’s growth and adoption of the cloud by being their trusted consultant and help them understand how Cloud can support and improve their business” he adds.

BROCADE CONTINUES THE EFFORTLESS NETWORK STRATEGY Brocade continues to build the foundation for the new IP and execute on its Effortless Network strategy with the addition of new innovative hardware and software products to its campus LAN portfolio. Acording to the company sources, Brocade ICX 7250 Switch delivers the performance, flexibility, and scalability required for enterprise Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) access deploy-

M AY 2015

MEA

ment. In addition, the Brocade ICX 7250 combines enterpriseclass features, manageability, performance, and reliability with the flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and “pay as you grow” scalability of a stackable solution.In parallel, Brocade unveiled the new Switch Port Extender technology which extends the capabilities of the Brocade HyperEdge Architecture while maximizing the value of

Brocade ICX 7250 Switches. In addition, Brocade extended the OpenFlow 1.3 support to Brocade ICX 7450 and 7750 switches to enable SDN solutions in LAN architectures. “With the explosion in the number of mobile devices and associated BYOD policies, increasing use of bandwidth intensive and latency sensitive applications and need for increased security and

control, enterprises in the Middle East are under tremendous pressure to ensure that their campus LAN infrastructure is flexible and easily scalable to meet customer demands and ensure business agility and competitiveness. At the same time, the IT Managers need to work within their budgets,” said Yarob Sakhnini, regional director, MEMA at Brocade.

DO MORE

WITH YOUR I.T. SECURED BY ESET

Whether you’re managing your business, or overseeing your company’s IT, ESET’s security products are fast, easy to use, and deliver market-leading detection. We deliver the protection that allows you to DO MORE. Find out more at ESET.COM/ME/BUSINESS

Dubai Internet City Bldg 2, Off 305 Dubai United Arab Emirates Tel +971 4 3754052 - Fax +971 4 4290967 www.eset.com/me - info@esetme.com

CHANNEL STREET

IN PUBLIC

“The question is not WILL you be attacked, it’s WHEN will you be attacked!” PHILIPPE ROGGEBAND, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR CISCO’S SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

SECONDS

PALO ALTO NETWORKS RECOGNIZED LEADER

Cisco -Protection across the Attack Continuum

Palo Alto Networks has been positioned by

UAE organizations with teams Cisco has added AMP Threat Grid of information security experts to the Cisco Advanced Malwarethat leverage threat intelligence Protection (AMP) portfolio, which and best practices for readiness integrates innovation acquired and response from network to through last year’s acquisition of endpoint to cloud. ThreatGRID. This integration New threat intelligence, provides the latest malware dynamic malware analysis and threat intelligence and dynamic retrospective security capabilities malware analysis capabilities, for Cisco AMP enhance protecboth on-premise and in the cloud, RABIH DABBOUSSI, GENERAL MANAGER, CISCO tion across the attack continthat strengthens Cisco AMP’s UAE uum. Unique to Cisco AMP, the continuous analysis and zero-day solution continuously records and analyzes file detection capabilities. In addition, Cisco is introactivity at and after initial inspection. ducing Incident Response Services that equip

Quadrant for Enterprise Firewalls1, which evalu-

Gartner in the “leaders” quadrant of the April 22, 2015 “Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls.” According to Saeed Agha, General Manager, Palo Alto Networks Middle East, this marks the fourth year that Palo Alto Networks has been recognized as a leader in the Magic ates vendors’ “ability to respond to changes in the threat environment, and to present solutions that meet customerprotection needs rather than packaging up fear, uncertainty and doubt.” PSILOG IS KODAK’S NEW DISTIE Psilog has signed a distribution agreement with Kodak Alaris. Through the agreement, PSILOG International will distribute Kodak Alaris’s full range of Capture and document imaging products in the Middle East and Africa market. Mr. Chandan Das, the GM of Psilog says “This agreement will facilitate a sizable expansion of the large & medium size SIs, VARs as well the channel market. The breadth of the applications and the

RETHINKING THE RISK : BT LAUNCHES NEXT GENERATION CYBER SERVICE BT has launched BT Assure Cyber, an advanced security platform designed to offer complete and comprehensive monitoring, detection and protection against cyber threats targeted at private sector and government organisations. The new solution builds on BT’s extensive knowledge in the security field and combines a blend of carefully selected tools developed by BT and its world class security partners to create and deliver a unique new service to the security market. Mark Hughes, president of BT Security, said: “As innovation in technology accelerates, so must innovation and investment in the security controls that protect sensitive corporate assets from cyber-attack. Helping organisations master that changing cyber threat landscape is at the core of the BT Assure Cyber proposition. It is all about rethinking the risk.”

range of capture and document imaging solutions included in the agreement will enhance the presence of Psilog in the ME and Africa market.” “KICK-START YOUR BUSINESS” WITH EPICOR EVENT Epicor Software Corporation is hosting its annual customer conferences in EMEA during April and May. The Insight conferences bring together Epicor customers, partners, and industry and product experts to collaborate on best practices, plans, tactics, strategies, solutions and insights. With the theme ‘Kick-Start Your Business’ designed to inspire customers to accelerate the growth of their businesses, the events will be kicked off with keynote presentations by Epicor

CITRIX TO HELP DRIVE CLOUD INTEROPERABILITY STANDARDS

executives, including Epicor CEO Joe Cowan.

Citrix has become a Corporate Sponsor of the OpenStack Foundation. NetScaler and XenServer solutions from Citrix are used as core infrastructure for some of the largest cloud infrastructure providers in the world, and now the power of these products will reach customers choosing to build their clouds on OpenStack. Lew Tucker, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Cisco and Board Member, OpenStack welcomed Citrix to the OpenStack Foundation as a Corporate Sponsor, and applauded their commitment to open industry standards. “Citrix’s membership is a testament to the growth and maturity of the OpenStack community. We plan to build upon our existing relationship with Citrix to support customers looking to deploy Mirantis OpenStack with NetScaler and XenServer”, commented Boris Renski,CMO, Mirantis.

GINE FREE DISK MONITOR LITE

M AY 2015

MEA

BE ‘SPACE AWARE’ WITH MANAGEENAvailable immediately, the free disk-monitoring tool lets IT admins in SMBs and large enterprises monitor the disk space on an unlimited number of Windows servers, VMware and Hyper-V hosts. Free Disk Monitor Lite lets virtual server admins monitor individual VMs for virtual machine disk (VMDK) file size, average disk reads/writes, and data store

FZCO P.O.Box: 17543, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 870 3333 Fax: +971 4 870 3330 www.fdcinternational.com

CHANNEL STREET

Accenture TechVision 2015 Showcases New Horizons in Digital Ecosystems “Every business is digital businesses”— says Asif Javed, MD for Technology, Accenture Middle East. In its annual outlook of global technology trends, Accenture has identified a 180-degree shift to what it calls the “We Economy” that is reshaping markets and changing the way we work and live. According to Accenture Technology Vision 2015, pioneering enterprises are tapping into a broad array of other digital businesses, digital customers and even digital devices at the edge of their networks to create new digital “ecosystems.” This shift to the “We Economy” was confirmed in a related Accenture global survey of more than 2,000 IT and business executives, which found that four out of five respondents believe that in

the future, industry boundaries will dramatically blur as platforms reshape industries into interconnected ecosystems. Asif said that Internet of We is highly bridging the gap between enterprises and the physical world. “Now that digital has become part of the fabric of their operating DNA, they are stretching their boundaries to leverage a broader ecosystem of digital businesses as they shape the next generation of their products, services and business models to effect change on a much broader scale.” The report also highlights five emerging technology trends that reflect the shifts being seen among the digital power brokers of tomorrow: The Internet of ME, Outcome Economy, The Platform (R)evolution, Intelligent Enterprise and Workforce Re-imagined.

VEEAM FULLY SUPPORTS VMWARE VSPHERE 6 Veeam has updated Veeam Availability Suite, which now fully supports VMware vSphere 6. Veeam Availability Suite v8 combines backup, restore and replication capabilities of Veeam Backup & Replication with the advanced monitoring, reporting and capacity planning functionality of Veeam ONE to provide everything enterprise IT needs to protect and manage its VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V environments, with recovery time and point objectives (RTP) of 15 minutes or less for all applications and data. Doug Hazelman, VP of product strategy at Veeam said, “This update is yet another example of how we are enabling the enterprise to take advantage of the very latest technology advancements to deliver modern data center availability.”

SPECTRAMI ORGANIZES SIEM TRAINING FOR PARTNERS Spectrami in association with LogRhythm organized TechWorkshop, a training workshop for its channel partners on LogRhythm Security Intelligence solutions in Dubai, UAE. The Training was conducted by Mr. Trevor Kennedy, Senior Solution Architect for EMEA region at LogRhythm. Mr.Kennedy revealed the unique product architecture that gives the company’s solutions a distinct advantage. The workshop was well received by channel partners. Partners like AlRostamani Communications, Insight Oman, Saar Information technology, 6 Sigmea, Diyar United, Paramount Bahrain, ISYX Technologies, Aisle Five, EON IT& CDN were among the few attendees.

JUNIPER NEWORKS LAUDS SPECTRUM TRAINING Spectrum Training has been honored as one of the leading Juniper Networks Authorized Education Partners (JNAEP) in the EMEA region for 2014. Located in Dubai, Spectrum Training is an IT networking and security training and consultancy services provider in the Middle East and Africa region that delivers high quality training on Juniper Networks technology. As a JNAEP partner, Spectrum Training trained technicians are authorized to provide in-depth, technical training and education courses on a variety of Juniper products including Junos OS, service provider routers and security. Targeted at end-users, these valuable courses are derived from Juniper Networks’ proprietary training curriculum and range from introductory to intermediate. “Getting the top award for the fifth year in a row reiterates the fact that when it comes to quality training we are one of the best in the business.”, said Sujatha NM , Technical Manager for Spectrum Training. “We are pleased to recognize and congratulate Spectrum Training for its ongoing commitment to Juniper,” said James Sonderegger, head of worldwide education services at Juniper Networks. “With Spectrum Training’s support, we are able to expand the reach of Juniper’s education services around the world to deliver the local training that customers and partners need in order to maximize their technology investments.” Spectrum Training campus is located UAE, KSA, Jordan, and Egypt. Courses are targeted at the needs of local IT professionals.

DELL’S SERVER POWERHOUSE TO ACCELERATE MOST DEMANDING ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS Dell is all set to expand its 13th generation PowerEdge servers including the PowerEdge R930. Gan Desheng, manager subdivision, Information Management, Ameco Beijing said, “By moving from IBM’s P-series UNIX systems to Dell’s PowerEdge R9-series servers we were able to reduce our total cost of ownership by nearly 50%, achieve 99.99% system availability and improve our performance of

M AY 2015

MEA

systems running the SAP® ERP application by 3.5 times.” Dan Harrington, Research Director, 451 Research commented “Dell’s high end x86 portfolio not only provides the solid hardware platform for this, but also the software and services ecosystem required to manage complex scenarios such as the ongoing industry migration from UNIX to Linux. In addition to this, Dell’s long standing

relationships with channel partners and key system integrators – such as Accenture, Deloitte and Atos – provide the right mix of capabilities to tackle those projects.” “The PowerEdge R930, our powerhouse server, and our entire four-socket server portfolio are the latest examples of how we’re providing our customers with the technology they need to address the business needs of today and tomor-

row.” said Ashley Gorakhpurwalla, general manager and vice president, Dell Server Solutions. Powerful and reliable, the Dell PowerEdge R930 is ideal for customers migrating to more innovative x86 platforms from proprietary UNIX. It delivers 22 percent more performance than our previous world-record holding server on the industry ERP sales & distribution benchmark.

CHANNEL STREET

Enhance IT Security With “Gulf Air” and “Think Smart”

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, began a series of advanced training programs in the field of IT in collaboration with “Think Smart” institute. This collaboration aims to maintain the company’s leadership in the IT field and to strengthen its cadres’ competencies and skills in the same field. ““I believe that this ambitious agreement would consolidate investment in the Bahraini cadres whose excellence andability to innovate is clear in Gulf Air. Gulf Air has managed to become a regional leader in the field of Information Technology all due to the dedicated and hardworking IT team and its Bahraini cadres.” Director

Information Technology at the company, Dr. Jassim Haji said, explained on the sidelines of the agreement-signing ceremony with “Think Smart”. “We are constantly working on developing and training our employees and providing them with the latest training courses in the field of information technology which would help to provide the best technological services and innovation to our customers. We are confident that “Think Smart” institute is the ideal partner to achieve our goals in this area” said Sohair Khalfan, Senior Manager People Development. Chairman of “Think Smart” institute Ahmed Al-Hujairi stressed on the importance of this agreement with Gulf Air. “We are determined to make every effort to move forward in promotingtheir level, support of the advanced technologies and initiatives and innovative solutions aimed at improving the work efficiency of the national carrier and enable it to maintain the highest quality standards and provide an added value for customers,” Al-Hujairi said.

WEB CLIPS SEAL SECURITY LOOPHOLES WITH MANAGEENGINE ManageEngine has revealed its latest Firewall Analyzer add-on for EventLog Analyzer, the company’s log analysis solution at GISEC 2015. The new add-on enhances EventLog Analyzer with multi-vendor securitydevice and configuration management features to help IT security administrators monitor and analyze security incidents better HID GLOBAL UNVEILS ACTIVID TAP AUTHENTICATION New Tap Authentication platform provides secure multi-factor authentication to cloud applications and web services. The new solution enables users to simply tap their smart card to laptops, tablets, phones and other NFC-enabled devices for easy and convenient access to Office365 and other cloud apps and web-based services. WESTCON ME LAUNCHED WESTCON ACADEMY Westcon Middle East launched a new initiative ‘Westcon Academy’ at GISEC 2015 for end-user technical training as well as showcase their entire portfolio of enterprise cyber-security solutions. GET SCANNED MULTI-DIMENSIONALLY WITH ARTEC 3D Artec 3D has unveiled the world’s first high-speed

MOVEMENTS Unify has named BASHAR BASHAIREH as the Vice President, Middle East.

Fujitsu TechnologySolutions has promoted MOHAMED MENAKBI, to the position of Channel Director Middle East.

A10 Networks has named SANJAY KAPOOR as their new Vice President of global marketing.

JEFF MANDELL has joined Wacom’s Executive team as EVP Branded Business

M AY 2015

MEA

24.2 NUMBER GAME

percent

The Middle East Cloud Infrastructure Services Market is estimated to grow from 1.84 Billion in 2015 to $5.44 Billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 24.2%

full-body 3D scanner for 3D portraits for the first time in Dubai. Ideal for venues such as theme parks, shopping malls, outdoor and indoor attractions, the Shapify Booth is perfect for capitalizing on existing customer flows and drawing new ones. 3D “shapies” can be taken of customers in graduation robes, wedding attire, and at other significant moments in life, such as during pregnancy. SAMSUNG LAUNCHES GALAXY S6 EDGE At GEMEC 2015, Samsung has officially launched the Samsung Galaxy S6 Enterprise Offerings, which closes the gap between business and consumer technology. One of the smartest and sharpest personal smartphones available, it features enhanced manageability, a refined email experience and improved multi-tasking offering a new level of productivity to benefit both employers and end-users.

CHANNEL STREET

Cards & Payments Middle East 2015 The 16th Cards & Payments Middle East is all set to raise curtains on 12 – 13 May, 2015, at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event will bring together international experts across five conference streams; Cards & Payments, The Retail Show, The Mobile Show, The Ecommerce Show and Future Bank. The event, in partnership with Emirates Identity Authority and e-dirham, will see regional and international visionaries of payments and commerce debate the future of money and the business of payments. Keynote speakers include

Farhad Irani, EVP and Group Head of Retail, Mashreq; Fraz Chishti, Chief Innovation Officer, Noor Bank; Mung Ki Woo, Executive Vice President of Digital Platforms Global Products and Solutions, MasterCard. Event director Joseph Ridley, General Manager, Terrapinn said: “Events such as Cards & Payments are more important than ever in bringing industry experts together to debate the hottest topics as well as launch new technologies in the region.”

CEA UNVEILS THE MYSTERY: EIGHT INNOVATORS MAKE IT TO 2015 HALL OF FAME west of incompatible and The Consumer Electronics Associacompeting wireless protocols tion (CEA) has named the 2015 class and shepherded spectrum of inductees into the Consumer allocation issues to establish Electronics (CE) Hall of Fame last the Wi-Fi standard, earning night at its annual Digital Patriot’s him the nickname the “Father Dinner. The “The 2015 class upholds of Wi-Fi.” the best tradition of the CE Hall of Noel Lee, the founder Fame program, inspiring us with of Monster Inc. and the their vision, passion and dedication,” self-described “Head Monster,” said CEA President and CEO Gary GARY SHAPIRO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CONSUMER established the high-end Shapiro. The 2015 CE Hall of Fame ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION audio then high-end video honorees include company founders interconnection market, as well as introducing and inventors, those who promote technology, the Beats headphone line. He has been arguably and the retailers that market and deliver products the industry’s most enthusiastic evangelist for to consumers. Here are the 2015 inductees: improving consumers’ audio and video enjoyAs president and CEO of Recoton, Robert ment through accessories. L. Borchardt helped elevate accessories to a As its first director of marketing and later profit center for retailers. He grew his company’s president, Bernie Mitchell helped build Pioneer revenue from $3 million to just under $1 billion, America into one of the largest marketers of establishing Recoton as a global leader in the CE audio products in the U.S., growing from $2 milindustry. lion in sales a year from selling seven products to Tom Campbell began his career in the early selling 125 products and generating $238 million 1970s doing radio ads for Cal Stereo, becoming per annum. a leading consumer electronics retail executive Pioneering psychoacoustic engineer Dr. Floyd and consultant who helped many retailers grow Toole proved via measurements and scientific and succeed as well as launch numerous new methodology what constituted “good” sound. technologies and products. As a result of his work, several generations of One of the early pioneers of the modern speaker makers changed how they designed their connected home, George Feldstein, brought wares, and his measurement methods have been together integrated system controls for audio and codified into an industry standard. video distribution, lighting, HVAC, home theater Wilfred Schwartz founded and built one of systems, intercom and video security through the nation’s largest regional consumer electronics the company he founded above a New Jersey retail chains, the Federated Group, which grew delicatessen, Crestron. from a single store in Southern California to As founding chairman of the IEEE 802.11 more than 90 locations across four states in less Working Group for Wireless LANs, Vic Hayes than 20 years. led the seven-year effort to tame the wild

M AY 2015

MEA

“FLYHIGHER” WITH APTEC Aptechas successfully launched its flagship “flyHigher” program for Cisco resellers in the Middle East. The program reiterates Aptec’s commitment to invest in the Cisco business by assisting partners on their journey to sales acceleration. “flyHigher is designed around the steps of the sales cycle as a central landing page for Cisco resellers. The program is aimed at developing and accelerating the resellers’ business profitably over time in close collaboration with Ingram Micro and Cisco,” said Martin Meitza, Senior Business Unit Manager at Aptec - an Ingram Micro company.

BANKING FIRMS TO GET MORE TECH-SAVVY Banking and securities companies in the Middle East and North Africa will spend approximately $12.9 billion USD on IT products and services in 2015, an increase of 1 percent over 2014 revenue of nearly $12.8 billion USD, according to Gartner. This forecast includes spending by banking organizations on internal IT services (including personnel), IT services, software, data center technologies, devices and telecom services. Software and devices are the fastest growing segments with 7.4 percent and 7.1 percent increases in 2015, largely due to the customer-centric strategies of banks that drive customer insight projects and mobility initiatives . “Software spending will perform better than other IT segments due to the reduction in operational budgets which will be a consequence of reduced oil revenue across these countries,” said Vittorio D’Orazio, research director at Gartner. “CRM solutions, as well as core banking software, will drive spending in this segment.” Telecom services will be the largest segment in overall IT spending in the banking and securities market at $5.5 billion USD in 2015.

100+ Enterprise Clients | 200+ Professional Team | Global Offices | Strong Domain Expertise

Gain Deeper Insights into your Business..!

info@finessedirect.com | www.finessedirect.com | facebook.com/finessedirect

CHANNEL STREET

Computer Performance at a New Level with Fujitsu Fujitsu is introducing the new FUJITSU Server PRIMEQUEST 2000 series second generation line up of high-end servers. The quad-socket PRIMEQUEST 2400E2 and eight-socket PRIMEQUEST 2800E2 are best suited to mission-critical computing, where downtime is not an option. They offer an attractive alternative to businesses that want to migrate to a x86 platform without losing the reliability of current UNIX/mainframe systems. Hans-Dieter Wysuwa, SVP and Head of Global Product Business, Fujitsu said: “The new generation PRIMEQUEST family helps companies processing huge amounts of mission-

critical data to embrace the benefits of the data explosion while enabling business continuity. These ambidextrous, rack-optimized enterprise systems make UNIX/Mainframe available on an x86 platform providing the intelligent backbone that enables Fujitsu customers to deliver 24/7 service to their customers.” The features of the PRIMERGY RX4770 M2 make it an exceptional platform for running demanding and data-intensive databases, applications, and BI workloads. In addition, it substantially simplifies carrying out infrastructure-related tasks such as server virtualization at a price point that also makes it attractive for consolidation projects.

CANON LAUNCHES HIGH-PERFORMANCE DESKTOP SCANNER Canon Middle East launches the new imageFORMULA DR-C240, a high-performance desktop workgroup scanner with capability to reliably handle a wide range of documents including passports and other forms of identification. The compact yet durable imageFORMULA DR-C240 is quiet to operate, making it suitable for a variety of corporate, back-office and customer-facing environments. These include reception desks at banks, hotels, hospitals and government offices, which are often required to capture and process various documents including proof of identification.

SOPHOS SETS NEW STANDARD FOR USABILITY AND SIMPLICITY Sophos has introduced Sophos Mobile Control 5 (SMC 5), to further simplify mobile device management by setting security and data policy by user, across all three major mobile platforms in one solution. New management options enable an administrator to easily achieve the separation and encryption of personal and corporate information, as well as configure access and security settings through automated tasks, reducing management time and costs. With a re-designed self-service portal, Sophos Mobile Control 5 makes compliance with corporate security policy simple for both administrator and end user across iOS 8, Windows Phone and Android platforms.

THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA TO SOAR HIGH IN ‘CLOUD’ The outsourcing, managed services, and datacenter services market in Saudi Arabia is expected to total $570.6 million in 2015, according to a recent study published by IDC. The market is set to grow 16.2% year on year, primarily driven by increased spending on network and desktop outsourcing, , and hosting infrastructure services. The cloud market, in particular, will perform strongly, spurred by the growing maturity of the Saudi ICT market and the increase in the number of companies using cloud services. The government vertical, in particular, is one of the largest users of managed services in the Kingdom due to the various e-government initiatives and IT infrastructure and modernization projects underway that require the services of third-party service providers. Uzair Mujtaba, senior analyst for software and IT services at IDC Saudi Arabia, comments “Public cloud investments have typically had a low priority, but this area is expected to see strong adoption in the medium term as a growing band of Saudi organizations have started to recognize the benefits associated with public cloud.IDC forecasts the Saudi public cloud market to expand at a CAGR of 40.37% through 2018, while private and virtual private cloud services are forecast to expand 40.7% and 67.7%, respectively, over the same period. “

INTEL REPORT SHOWS ROADBLOCKS TO SECURITY A new report, Tackling Attack Detection and Incident Response, from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), commissioned by Intel Security, examines organizations’ security strategies, cyber-attack environment, incident response challenges and needs. According to the IT and security professionals surveyed, better detection tools, better analysis tools, and

M AY 2015

MEA

more training on how to deal with incident response issues are the top ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the information security staff. “Just as the medical profession must deliver heart-attack patients to the hospital within a ‘golden hour’ to maximize likelihood of survival, the security industry must work towards reducing the time it takes

organizations to detect and deflect attacks, before damage is inflicted,” said HamedDiab, Regional Director at Intel Security, MENA. “This requires that we ask and answer tough questions on what is failing us, and evolve our thinking around how we do security.” The ESG believes that there is a hidden story within the Intel Security research that hints at best

practices and lessons learned. This data strongly suggests that CISOs Create tightly-integrated enterprise security technology architecture, Anchor their cyber security strategy with strong analytics, moving from volume to value, Automate incident detection and response whenever possible, Commit to continuous cyber security education.

Secure Yourself!

partners@oppmusdistribuuon.com | www.oppmusdistribuuon.com

CHANNEL STREET

“GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION” UNITES MORE THAN 50 VARS AT SOLARWINDS PARTNER EVENT In an extension of its efforts to build a strong partner community for SolarWinds, Global Distribution recently conducted a Reseller Partners Event at the legendary Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai. SolarWinds sales and technical team joined the event from SolarWinds EMEA headquarters in Ireland. Key partners such as Al Rostamani, CAD Emirates, Dmatics, EBM, GBM, InterTec, MDS/PACC, NetLinks and many other key VAR’s from the UAE and Oman joined the event. Avinash Chanchalani, Business Unit Manager - Software from Global Distribution expressed his delight at the positive response they received from vendors and partners alike. “Global’s Business Development strategy includes partner enablement, and partner events& training form an important element. ” said Mario M. Veljovic, VP Solutions MENA at Global Distribution. “SolarWinds Storage Resource Monitor provides IT Pros with the necessary insight into storage resources and their consequent impact on virtual environments,” said Peter O’Connor, VP of sales, EMEA, SolarWinds. “Partnering with Global Distribution for such events allow us to reach more channel partners across the Middle East region and further grow the number of active users in the region.”

Fortinet to Protect Against Threats at Every Possible Entry Point Fortinet which has been protecting customers at every entry point into the network with its expanded ATP framework has enhanced its FortiClient solution. The enhanced FortiClient solution enables every device - local or remote, stationary or mobile – to be protected anytime, anywhere. In addition, Fortinet’s two new FortiGate 3000 series high-performance firewalls, ideally suited for top-of-rack applications, help protect internal traffic and prevent threats from moving later-ally within an organizations’ network. “The constantly evolving threat landscape and

advancements in IT infrastructures are forcing organizations across the Middle East to rethink their overall security strategy,” says Alain Penel, Regional VP – ME at Fortinet. “No longer can they rely on border-only solutions to protect against risks that threaten the health of their business. Only Fortinet’s broad cyber security platform provides protection from the endpoint to the data center or cloud. With FortiGate and FortiMail already in the ATP Frame¬work, the addition of FortiClient closes another possible hole in protection.”

HOW SECURE IS YOUR SECURITY – ASSESSED IT YET? Dimension Data has a new assessment offering that helps organisations assess the maturity of their security architecture.MatthewGyde, Dimension Data’s Group Executive – Security, says “When assessing the robustness of an organisation’s security, we cannot leave out the employee. In fact, it’s essential that employees understand their role as both an asset and a potential security liability in an organisation,” “Organisations must be able to address root cause issues and apply the right resources and controls in the most effective way to protect key assets,” he says and points out that Dimension Data’s security assessment was designed to be a globally consistent, consulting engagement framework that’s vital for organisations which have a global footprint.

CUT DOWN DEPLOYMENT TIME WITH NETWORK SERVICE AUTOMATION Infoblox has revealed the report of Tolly Group’s testing which stated that automation of core network services can reduce the deployment time for virtual machines in a VMware private cloud environment by 62 %. “Today, network configuration tasks for private cloud are labor intensive, prone to error, and ultimately don’t keep pace with other cloud automation tasks.” said Kevin Tolly, founder of Tolly Group. “Solutions such as Infoblox Cloud Network Automation close the gap to enable faster, more reliable deployment of cloud environments and overall improvement in IT agility.”

GATEWORX NAMED THE NEW ‘IN-COUNTRY DISTIE’ BY EMT emt Distribution has geared up to appoint Gateworx as the in-country distributor for the complete suite for DenyAll, including Vulnerability Management, Web Application Firewall, Web Access Management and Security Management solutions. “The market for best of the

M AY 2015

MEA

breed security solutions is gaining momentum in Egypt and we believe the timing for this unique tie-up will open new doors of opportunity for all of us in the channel. Gateworx has a countrywide presence, which will allow us to offer better support to our channel partners,” said, Moham-

mad Mobasseri, the CEO at emt Distribution. Mohamed Haroon, Managing Director at Gateworx, said, “Information Security stays a key concern and DenyAll provides a robust security platform for businesses in the country. Our main focus initially would be to enhance

the DenyAll’s presence among channel partners across Egypt.” Both, emt and DenyAll will work closely with Gateworx to develop and market the products. The partnership expects to increase the footprint of DenyAll across the country and help support its partner base more effectively.

LANactive

Switch to the future

Intelligent

Fibre To The Office Miniswitch

FTTO Active & Passive Solutions Nexans is pleased to announce LANactive, an alternative approach to structured cabling. Using Fibre To The Office (FTTO) topology together with access switches installed near to the work place, it provides Ethernet services via standard copper based RJ45 technology to the device.

• Long distance transmission • Eliminating the costly Floor Distribution (Space, Switching & Passive accessories) • Reduced cable containment • Refurbishment with minimum disruption

The approach offers significant cost savings and other benefits in specific circumstances:

• Redundancy at user level

Your 1GB PoE+ port at your desk sales.middleeast@nexans.com www.nexans.com/LANsystems

Global expert in cables and cabling systems

MY OPINION

vying to make many other global footprints too. We have plans of expanding our team also How is partnership with Comguard faring? Comguard is our exclusive partner for the EMEA market. Their extensive network of resellers have given us thorough visibility and we have been harnessing a lot of attraction through them. They are our right size partners and best fit our needs. Is there any new partnerships program in the pipeline? Not any for the region, but for the European market we are looking forward to establish new partnerships. What is your marketing campaign and revenue target for the Middle East? Target is pretty aggressive for the Middle East and global market. We are anticipating our global revenue to triple this year and the stakes are high.

TARIQUE MUSTAFA

GHANGOR CLOUD FOUNDER AND CEO/CTO

“Targeting Three Fold Growth by Q4” TALKING TO ENTERPRISE CHANNELS A QUARTER AFTER ITS FIRST COVERAGE, GHANGOR CLOUD FOUNDER AND CEO/CTO TARIQUE MUSTAFA ELABORATES ON THE POWER-PACKED DEVELOPMENTS PLANNED, MILESTONES ACHIEVED AND PRODUCTS TO BE LAUNCHED.

What are the latest products in the Ghangor Cloud’s platter? We have had a major product launch for the new version of Information Security Enforcer. This comes with the APT protection.It gives highest levels of control over user access rights to data and reduces the exposure of enterprises to fraud and conflict of interest. Tell us something about your recent customer wins and expansions. We have been garnering quite lot of attraction

M AY 2015

MEA

from different places, especially from the North America. We have had 2 major customer wins in Southeast Asia. Ghangor has also been in talks with Gartner and IDC and a major revamp is being planned in the portfolio. What is the graph of your geographical presence today? We have a strong presence in the US,especially in North America. We have a great presence in S. E Asia too. We are gaining lot of exposure in the Middle East through Comguard. We are also

What is your comment on the market awareness of DLP? What would be your recommendation to your Middle Eastern Colleagues? The market awareness of DLP is pretty decent, in terms of information security as well. The expertise is lacking in terms of being able to make the right decision. So my message to the Middle Eastern colleagues is that, spend your IT dollars carefully. Be very wise and do your proper diligence before spending your dollars. Scrutinize vendor noise and choose carefully. What are your contributions for the Smart city initiative? For the smart city initiative, a good line of products from Ghangor cloud is set on stage. We are in talks with organizations in Abu Dhabi, concerned in the building of smart city. Many products on the security arena are in the pipeline for the smart city as well. When you are making a smart city you are running the risk of collating large number of people identities and arbitrariness of the city so the biggest challenge is Data leak and when it comes to data protection we have the best in class solutions for DLP. Name the 3 strengths of Ghangor cloud We are a paradigm shift. We are giving a totally new perspective to data security and APT. Our 3 strengths are; ease of use for end-user, ease of use for the IT guys, and accuracy and efficacy of the system. ë

COVER STORY

ENTERPRISE SECURITY

Protect or Perish Security is now a boardroom level discussion. The stakes are high, and businesses require a new model that gives them a comprehensive picture of their entire IT infrastructure. n B Y: S O U M YA < S O U M YA @ A C C E N T I N F O M E D I A . C O M > n P H O T O : S H U T T E R S T O C K

s disruptive technology shifts come at an accelerated pace with the coming of the Internet of Things, IT organisations, there has been an explosion in innovation and technology driving different business models, communication, with the speed of implementation for security controls being slow to catch up. Organizations must embrace the notion that as the structure of businesses and industries change, the IT systems that support it need to change, and so do the skills, processes and controls to keep them functioning. These changes in technology are having an incredible impact on cyber security. Businesses are looking for integrated security solutions with built in intelligence and policies. The changes in business today will require the move from simply securing components, to understanding and measuring the security of a business system as a whole.

TOP SECURITY CONCERNS FOR ENTERPRISES l Shortage of security professionals: The sophistication of the technology and tactics used by online criminals have outpaced the ability of IT and security professionals to address these threats and most organizations do not have the people or the systems to continuously monitor extended networks and detect infiltrations, and then apply protections, in a timely manner. l BYOD Trend: CIOs have found themselves in a particularly challenging position thanks to an array of technology innovations flooding the modern workplace. As more and more employees are using devices for both

M AY 2015

MEA

personal and business activities, the issues with potential loss of confidential company data increases as IT departments are less in control. l Threat origin landscape: Today, effective cybersecurity must be multi-dimensional and tiered, as threats can originate from virtually anywhere, target numerous levels of an organization, and sometimes persist for months or years before an information security staff is aware of an attack or breach.

OUTWITTING THE ATTACKERS With every company becoming a technology company, every company is also becoming a security company in the way that it protects its business, its data and its people. “At Cisco, we have been securing organizations of all sizes for decades, and we understand the rapidly changing security landscape. It is imperative for our customers to maintain a secure end-to-end environment to protect critical infrastructure, data and intellectual property” says Anthony Perridge, Security Sales Director, Cisco. Cisco’s continued investment in software, data analytics and threat intelligence along with their assessment, monitoring, response and operational capabilities offer end-to-end cybersecurity across the entire IoE continuum. “I have no doubt that the number of threats that organizations face will only keep growing”, says Nicolai Solling, Director of Technology Services at Help AG. “Combating these threats will require businesses to move toward what is called the zero-trust model, where they will stop trusting anyone and by default, inspect any business traffic flow between anyone. It may sound difficult to

achieve this level of full visibility, but luckily, the technology necessary to enable this is available today”. “Zero trust will also be seen in how we deal with threats. We will begin to look at the behaviour instead of trusting. An example could be how we deal with malware and viruses. We will see the vendors moving from signatures and trusted processes to always looking at how these processes and files impact our systems”, he adds. “If you analyze any enterprise, you will observe that most organizations scale up their security infrastructure only after a breach! That is because constant ramp up of security infrastructure may have an impact on ongoing business processes & operations” says Nehul Goradia, VP Channel & Alliances, Optimus Distribution.”Corporations need to have a holistic approach to Enterprise IT Security. An organization should look at establishing a Security Policy Framework, which is built in collaboration with business stake-holders to ensure minimum business operations impact but maximum and continuous security monitoring. This will ensure that the business is secured and monitored on a continuous basis.” According to Mark Morland, Regional Sales Manager – Middle East, Dell SecureWorks, “Companies should utilise multiple layers of security, including a 24x7 endpoint threat detection capability. Maintaining real-time visibility into all activity on every level of your network ensures that threats will be detected before they accelerate into a full blown attack, and can therefore be prevented from happening again”.

RIGHT WEAPONS AND PREPAREDNESS There are opportunities and risks that organiza-

COVER STORY

M AY 2 015

MEA

COVER STORY

ANTHONY PERRIDGE, SECURITY SALES DIRECTOR, CISCO

“Cisco’s unique threatcentric and operationalized security model provides continuous advanced protection, cloud-based intelligence, and retrospective security, combined with security advisors and solutions”

tions need to prepare for as they continue to support new business models related to mobility, cloud, BYOD and the IoT. What is most important is the need for cybersecurity models to radically change in order to provide the right level of protection for this new, connected world. Every organization must assume it has been targeted or attacked, and deploy the right resources and staff to secure their network from increasingly sophisticated cyber-threats. As a result, company executives need to understand, create awareness, and manage cyber risks and weaknesses in the security chain. Starting from the most senior level, businesses must make cyber security a business process, and deploy cyber security solutions that cover the entire attack continuum – before, during, and after a cyber-attack. “Security now needs to be ‘baked in’ to an organization as opposed to just ‘bolted on’; if security is part of the development lifecycle, it is “baked in” to the project”, comments Saeed Agha, GM - Middle East at Palo Alto Network. To ensure

M AY 2015

MEA

SAEED AGHA, GENERAL MANAGER - MIDDLE EAST, PALO ALTO NETWORKS

“Security now needs to be ‘baked in’ to an organization as opposed to just ‘bolted on’; if security is part of the development lifecycle, it is “baked in” to the project”.

security is “baked in” to an organization, security advisors must be at the table from the beginning of any new project. Using this model, security experts can suggest simple changes to design and implementation that can greatly reduce the risk after deployment. Saeed adds, “A good cybersecurity culture must and can only manifests from the top down.” If the company leadership team does not think that security is important, then there is no way for a good cyber security culture to percolate from the bottom up. “Middle East organizations need to be vigilant and secure their network beyond the data center to every connected object and device to provide insights during the entire attack continuum” says Anthony, Security Sales Director, Cisco. Over the last four years, Dell has successfully increased its security portfolio to offer an end-toend approach to security. Dell’s security solutions protect the entire environment without compromising access, collaboration, performance and cost. Dell has a strong security portfolio; from award winning NGFWs to e-mail security and

content filtering services, Dell Security is being cited in a number of Gartner Magic Quadrants in the leader segment for its innovation and growth. We live in a time where security breaches are a looming threat that no company can protect itself against with 100 per cent certainty. “It’s no longer about “keeping the bad guys out and letting the good guys in” through breach prevention. More and more organizations are accepting the fact that despite their best efforts security breaches are unavoidable”, comments Sebastien Pavie, regional sales director, MEA, Gemalto. VibinShaju, Intel Security Regional manager ME, PreSales says, “Intel Security’s Security Connected brings network and endpoint together through an extensible framework, centralized management and integrated with global threat intelligence (GTI) delivers unprecedented visibility across all threat vectors. At the core of McAfee Security Connected are the principles of integrated solutions, built-in intelligence, and advanced management offered with an extensible architecture for partners that no other vendor can provide.” He adds that the McAfee Security Innovation Alliance is a program that allows businesses to evolve their solutions to meet changing needs with minimal cost and disruption. The partner ecosystem extends McAfee’s security and compliance infrastructure into the areas that businesses care about most, from forensics to application security to power management. Industry experts have shared that data protection is more important today than ever before— stressing that losing business critical data is not an option as organizations are acutely aware of the need to protect their data. “In line with this, Acronis is guided by its mission to become the leading provider of easy, complete and safe new generation data protection solutions. Our updated suite of products has greatly redefined best-in-class solutions for backup, disaster recovery and secures access”, says – Guurprit Ahuja, Director – Middle East & Africa, Acronis. “Companies have started to prefer CYOD instead of BYOD. There are advantages to both, depending on the company business model and situation. Acronis believes in the approach of supporting both—further enabling customers to securely share and sync files across all popular mobile devices. Additionally, Acronis repackaged its offerings to reduce complexity and add more value for customers”, he adds.

WEAKEST LINK “The biggest issue for any organization today, small or big is around social engineering and controlling user behaviour”, comments Nicolai, Director of Technology Services at Help AG.

COVER STORY

THE RIGHT PROTECTION

NICOLAI SOLLING, DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AT HELP AG

SEBASTIEN PAVIE, REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR, MEA, GEMALTO

“One of the things we focus a lot on is thinking of products as part of an integrated solution, without lowering the technical capabilities. This is opposed to the market trend of choosing products which are built by the same vendor”

“It’s no longer about “keeping the bad guys out and letting the good guys in” through breach prevention. More and more organizations are accepting the fact that security breaches are unavoidable”

According to the latest UAE workplace security research findings conducted by Cisco in October 2014, employee behaviour is a genuine weak link in cyber security and becoming an increasing source of risk – more through complacency and ignorance than malice - because companies have so insulated employees from the scale of daily threats that people expect the company’s security settings to take care of everything for them. An effective security strategy with a comprehensive incident response plan helps to protect an organisation before, during and after an attack. Neither is antivirus dead; nor is firewall something one can do away with; so does that mean security is just going to become more and more complicated?

COMPLEXITIES JUST DON’T CEASE As networks continue to grow and expand, new devices and applications with widely varying security postures are constantly connected. These devices often include but are not limited to

mobile devices, web-enabled and mobile applications, hypervisors, social media, web browsers, and home computers. This growing trend greatly expands the attack surface and creates opportunities for attackers to compromise a non-critical asset and pivot from there to attack more critical assets and data. AV is far from dead, though some of the detection models of the past associated with AV, including signature-based detection, have evolved significantly over the years. Threats are complex and security needs to well-planned and optimized not to add more complexity to it. “Without this understanding of the bigger picture, security often falls prey to what we call the shiny new tool syndrome; when a new threat emerges, the organization responds by acquiring the latest new security product on the market. This technology-centric approach is typically the hallmark of an organization that hasn’t based its strategic plan on an understanding of business risks”, remarks Vibin, Intel Security Regional manager ME, PreSales.

Cisco has an extensive security portfolio . “Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services, one of the latest additions to our portfolio, empowers customers to deepen their protection from the data centre, to the network, to the endpoint with the ability to identify, understand, and stop advanced threats in real-time and retrospectively. It provides that integrated threat defense that truly helps businesses address their biggest security risk — advanced and zero day threats” remarks Anthony, Security Sales Director, Cisco. Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) delivers superior user and device visibility to support enterprise mobility experiences. According to Anthony, it’s the integrated and architected approach offered by Cisco which brings maximum value – “we don’t just detect incidents, we interpret them and determine their origin, evaluate their impact and search for other occurrences of identical or similar incidents”. “One of the things we focus a lot on is thinking of products as part of an integrated solution that needs to work together, without lowering the technical capabilities. This is opposed to the market trend of choosing products which are built by the same vendor”, says Nicolai, Director of Technology Services at Help AG. “Some of the very large security vendors in the market try to position themselves as being capable of fixing every single problem for a customer, from AV, IPS, FW and Event management. The problem however, is that when you try to do everything you end up not being very good at anything.” Nicolai adds, “The other differentiator is our unmatched technical expertise. This is evident from the type and quality of services we deliver. Through our Strategic Security Consulting, Technical Consulting, Security Analysis, CTM, MSS, and Support Services divisions we offer what is possibly the most extensive set of security services in the Middle East market.” Palo Alto Networks’ next-gen security platform overcomes the limitation of traditional security solutions by providing enterprises with the control and visibility needed to simplify network security infrastructure and enable modern applications. “Nine years ago, we forever changed the network security industry with the introduction of the NGFW. This breakthrough architecture brought unparalleled control through the safe enablement of applications and exceptional levels of protection by blocking all known threats operating across a multitude of different vectors. Two years ago, we again changed the industry with the introduction of WildFire and a next-gen threat cloud that focused on detecting and defending against the most advanced, unknown threats.”, comments Saeed, GM, Palo Alto Networks.

M AY 2 015

MEA

COVER STORY

VIBIN SHAJU, INTEL SECURITY REGIONAL MANAGER ME, PRESALES

NEHUL GORADIA, VP CHANNEL & ALLIANCES, OPTIMUS DISTRIBUTION

“Intel Security’s Security Connected brings network and endpoint together to delivers unprecedented visibility across all threat vectors.”

“An organization should look at establishing a Security Policy Framework, to ensure minimum business operations impact but maximum and continuous security monitoring.”

Optimus offers a very wide security portfolio: from network security to AV to virtualization security to GRC solutions to Security Management. The Optimus Security portfolio boasts brands such as McAfee, Bitdefender, Huawei, NetIQ & Novell, providing enhanced solutions across Endpoint Security & Management, BYOD, Virtualization Security, Network Security, Governance, and Risk & Compliance solutions. In order to help enterprises protect more sensitive data as it moves between data centers and across their networks Gemalto launched a new range of high-speed encryption (HSE) products. Their ProtectV for Cloud Service Providers will help cloud infrastructure vendors drive adoption of their services by assuring customers that their critical data will remain under their control, even in shared environments. McAfee is moving security from discrete solutions to an integrated approach as pervasive as computing itself. McAfee TIE using Intel DXL technology is one of the examples towards this vision. “Apart from this and McAfee traditional flagship solutions we are also creating market traction with our latest technologies of SIEM

M AY 2015

MEA

over Nitro Security acquisition, Next Generation Firewall with Stonesoft acquisition and Advanced Threat Defense (Beyond Sandboxing) through development on Validedge acquisition. Along with the standalone strength of these solutions, it’s also integrated well with the security connected approach of Intel Security paving way for unified management and reporting”, says Vibin. DVCOM has recently partnered with 2None of the leading access control and security company from Czech Republic to represent their products and services in the region.

SECURITY AS A SERVICE HelpAG recently launched Managed Security Services. Their decision to launch the MSS division came after a year of careful market analysis which helped us evaluate customer readiness, prime pain points and service requirements. The region has reached a point where risk compliance, governance and even general security awareness mandate that a more strategic approach is followed in dealing security events and management of security devices. MSS allows to take the conversation forward with customers.

Cisco recently launched our Incident Response Services that equip organizations with teams of information security experts that leverage threat intelligence and best practices for readiness and response from network to endpoint to cloud. With Cisco’s Managed Services, organizations are able to lower operational expenses and take advantage of advanced analytics, Cisco’s global security operations centers, and a team of technical experts with Managed Services. The company provides monitoring and management to comprehensive and fully managed threat solutions. Dell SecureWorks provides managed security services to over 4,000 customers across 70+ countries. Dell SecureWorks analyses 100+ billion events daily using the latest intelligence from the company’s Counter Threat Unit (CTU) research team. The investment made to address advanced threats at the endpoint and on the network, have helped Dell SecureWorks to pull away from other vendors in industry analyst assessments. Intel Security has a security arm of Foundstone consulting services. Foundstone guides enterprises of all sizes on the best ways to maintain a strong security posture. “The team was heavily involved on ground helping very key organizations in the region against recent high profile attacks”, tells Vibin. In 2015 Gemalto is considering making more technologies available “as a service”. Currently, Gemalto’s SafeNet Authentication Service (SAS) delivers fully-automated, highly secure authentication-as-a service with flexible token options that are tailored to the unique needs of each organization, substantially reducing the total cost of operation. “With no infrastructure required, SafeNet Authentication Service enables a quick migration to a multi-tier and multi-tenant cloud environment, and protects everything, from cloud-based and on-premise applications, to networks, users and devices” says Sebastien Pavie, regional sales director, MEA, Gemalto. DVCOM is also planning to launch DrayTek based Enterprise Security solutions in SaaS model (Security as a Service). Partners are the crucial link in the channel ecosystem- so when security has become such a big issue, it’s all the more essential to enable the partners to provide the best when it comes to security solutions and services.

ENABLING THE PARTNERS Partners play a crucial role in getting customers to make the right investments in security technologies. They need to educate and empower the customer (defender) with real-world knowledge

COVER STORY

MARK MORLAND, REGIONAL SALES MANAGER – MIDDLE EAST, DELL SECUREWORKS

RENJAN GEORGE, MANAGING DIRECTOR – DVCOM TECHNOLOGY

GUURPRIT AHUJA, DIRECTOR – MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA, ACRONIS

“Maintaining real-time visibility into all activity on every level of your network ensures that threats will be detected before they accelerate into a full blown attack, and can therefore be prevented.”

“Along with strengthening the overall enterprise security environment, sometimes even the simplest of solutions like changing access passwords and data access control can have a major impact.”

“Companies have started to prefer CYOD instead of BYOD. There are advantages to both, depending on the company business model and situation. Acronis believes in the approach of supporting both.”

about the expanding attack surfaces. Cisco has begun to offer partners new Advanced Security Architecture Specialization, which has been created to provide partners with new skills to sell Cisco’s security products. They also offer Master Security Specialization, which gives partners a powerful competitive advantage and qualifies them as part of an exclusive group, contributing to their profitability and accelerating their business and market growth. The Optimus Academy is a strategic service through which we ensure our partners and vendors are equipped with constantly upgraded skills and knowledge to address customer needs & requirements effectively. Gemalto’s Cipher Partner Program has been built to offer access to a portfolio of the industry’s innovative IT security solutions, along with support and benefits specifically designed to match partners’ business models and business goals. “The program recognizes, rewards, and supports our partnerships and collaborations – combining Gemalto’s industry-leading security solutions with our partner’s industry and technology

knowledge to drive incremental growth and revenue across the data protection portfolio”, says Sebastien. “One of the most important aspects of our partner program is the fact that it allows deal registration, to make it easier for partners to grow their data security business with Gemalto. Partners are able to see the list of registered deals approved on our portal, giving them a validated and tangible pipeline that they can rely on and communicate about internally.” “McAfee Security Alliance Program” is now “Intel Security Partner Program.” They have consolidated the five Product Competencies into three Solution Competencies that are Endpoint Security, Network Security, and Security Management. Their new Specializations include: MS specialization, Support provider specialization, Services delivery specialization (expected July, 2015). To help partners strengthen their implementation services, there are instructorled post-sales services training courses; upon passing the associated exam, course participants are recognized as a Certified McAfee Security Specialist(CMSS), validating their installation,

configuration, management, and basic architecture knowledge. They have also introduced the Partner 360 Dashboard to help partners manage their business with Intel Security. The intent is for partners to track performance over time, understand key trends, and make important strategic business decisions.

FINALLY… Security is becoming complicated! But it all boils down to how an enterprise addresses security. Needless to say, ‘a good security defense strategy is always moving.’ One has to understand that hackers are always looking for weak spots and how they can break in. Every individual should ask himself the following- Did you update? Is there a new vulnerability? Did someone leave a machine on in a remote location or access a hijacked hotspot? Did someone click on a phishing email and was company network security down at the time? Being vigilant is only half the battle. Businesses should patch the weak links and maintain a strong defense. ë

M AY 2 015

MEA

PARTNER STREET

EMITAC

Gold Class Enablement of Businesses with Cloud

Emitac Enterprise Solutions (EES) becomes the first partner to attain Gold Cloud Productivity competency in the Microsoft Partner Program- Our exclusive interview with Madhav Reddy Kolli, Microsoft Business Unit Head, EES n W O R D S : S O U M YA < S O U M YA @ A C C E N T I N F O M E D I A . C O M >

hile most partners were toying around with the idea of Cloud, MS unit of EES took it seriously and the results are clear evidence of their efforts. In a span of just four years from 2011-2015, the unit’s contribution to the whole revenues of EES (which already happens to be one of the top tier SIs in the region) has literally sky-rocketed from 0% to 30%. Adding a new feather to its cap, EES has attained Gold Cloud Productivity Competency in the Microsoft Partner Program, hence demonstrating that it can be trusted as an adept adviser to customer’s having long-term strategic technology plans on cloud.

UNRAVELING THE GOLD CLOUD PRODUCTIVITY COMPETENCY Basically the cloud productivity gold competency is a new competency introduced by Microsoft to recognize the capabilities of partners who can deploy and support cloud for their customers. “EES happens to be the first local partner in UAE to achieve this competency”, remarks Madhav. The journey till this had its own share of ups and downs, but proper planning helped them to achieve the goal in all aspects like customer references, number of certified people, a threshold of Office 365 deployments etc. In Madhav’s words, “the most interesting part of this journey is actually proving ourselves in all aspects not just in terms of technical capabilities, or number of people but also earn the trust from

M AY 2015

MEA

our customers. We have always believed in being trusted advisors and partners to our customers. We are not one of those who just focus on easy sale or profit; we carefully understand the pain points of our customers and try to develop new strengths to help them counter their problem areas effectively. In this respect we have seen that cloud is one of the major focus areas. Going forward, a lot of organizational transformation is happening in Microsoft while they are urging the partners to move. We happen to be the first ones who have done that transformation and taking the lead in building the capabilities around cloud. We are extremely happy and content to have achieved it”.

EES –VS- OTHER PARTNERS “We stand out in many aspects including references, happy customers, proven expertise, which is all very important for a region like this where cloud is relatively new to organizations. Lot of customers hesitate to invest their business solutions into the hands of novices who try to learn at the expense of the customer or experiment around it as cloud is constantly evolving. Unless and otherwise you have a very strong partner supporting you while you’re implementing or managing your deployment, it will probably not be the right experience for the customers” says Madhav.

JOURNEY OF MICROSOFT UNIT OF EES The journey has been phenomenal to say the least. MS Unit is one of the youngest units @ EES.

WHY MS UNIT OF EES l Customized solutions l Multi-lingual deployments l Good brand equity l Excellent customer references l Trained and experienced team l Best of technologies l Real one-stop-shop l Thorough customer engagement l Helping customers not just buy, but use

EES has always been propagating one message internally- “we are not vendor dependent and we are not vendor focused alone; rather we are technology focused”. But deviating slightly from the vendor agnostic norm, Microsoft Unit was formed owing to the heavy focus the MS technologies demanded for planning, deployment and maintenance. In 2011, EES was appointed as a Large Account Reseller of Microsoft making it an authorized partner to sell Enterprise licensing solutions to major customers. Even though they were new, the customers respected and trusted EES on their delivery capabilities (previous projects on other technologies) and did not hesitate to give them a chance to deploy newer technologies. This helped EES to gear up quickly and build strengths around the whole practice. Notably,in the first year itself, the unit signed a few strategic customers who were not even registered in the Microsoft potential prospective list opening

PARTNER STREET

growth for its customers in true sense and differentiate themselves by providing not just licensing, rather get into those niche areas of Microsoft like Azure, etc where nobody was venturing owing to the risk factors. So, how does the Microsoft Unit actually power growth and enables businesses to deliver the best?

ENABLING BUSINESSES WITH EES Experience combined with technical expertise gives the MS Unit an edge as it caters to every little need of the customer. This is what makes them the customer champion. No wonder the customer retention rate of the MS unit @ EES is one of the highest in the market at a whopping 95%.

THE WINNING TEAM

MADHAV REDDY KOLLI,

MICROSOFT BUSINESS UNIT HEAD, EES

“The unit has been the region’s pioneer in implementing many firsts in the region namely deployment of EPM online, handle migration from Huddle to OneDrive for Business on O365, MS Remote App, etc. and is setting benchmarks for the others to chase.” doors and giving a whole new mission and growth dimension to the unit.

NO RISK, NO GAIN Rumour mills buzz that there are around 335 partners associated with Microsoft just in the UAE. EES did not want to be just any partner, they wanted to be a partner who could power

Madhav tells us- the team strength has reached 30+ from barely a 2 men unit when they started back in 2011. Additionally, they have built an excellent ecosystem of partners based across the region, e.g. Pakistan, India, Jordan, Egypt, etc. who work for EES. So, in addition to the 30+staff on ground staff @ the Dubai office, they have a supporting offshore team of 200+ across the region. Considering the costs in UAE, this smart arrangement ensures EES customers get access to the best customized solutions with a price advantage.Even within the team, there’s an excellent division of workloads to ensure every part of the project gets executed smoothly without any delay. The team is spread across Dubai and Abu Dhabi covering end-to-end of UAE with Dubai team covering the Northern Emirates and the Abu Dhabi team covering the Al Ain region.

SOLUTIONS IN FOCUS

Infrastructure and Cloud – With Several success stories to their credit, Office 365 migrations is one of their primary focus. They also do private clouds including windows server configuration centre, service management, virtualization management etc. Moreover, they help organizations in handling transitions seamlessly during splitting or merging, with minimum impact on the business operations. In addition, they are also actively continuing on building real strengths around MS Azure IaaS. “We have done quite a number of deployments but still there’s a long way to go. Azure is ever evolving and the adaptation has just kicked off in the ME region. Last quarter, four customers adopted Azure”, remarks Madhav. Productivity Solutions – Sharepoint and EPM are their flagships in this domain. What gives them an extra edge is they do tailored multi-lingual deployments satisfying the local needs , eg.for Government agencies.

Business Solutions – GP is the flagship ERP solution they deal with for SMB Customers. Being a solution that’s scalable, simple to use, easy to administer and fits the budget, they have been doing a great business in there. They also provide AX and CRM as well. Licensing - This is the DNA of EES. However, as Madhav clarifies, enterprise agreements and compliance is just one part of the whole thing they take care of. They are known in the region for their expertise in transforming business models from CAPEX to OPEX, and provide subscription based models as well

NUMBER GAME Growth has surely been exceptional for the MS Unit of EES. The Unit on its own has been growing at a rate of more than 100% YoY. And their commendable growth with MS is in excess of 88%. So, the growth curve is definitely steep upward. THE ROAD AHEAD “We want to be a recognized strong regional player than just limiting ourselves into UAE”, comments Madhav. With the unit actively trying to build competencies around several unique offerings and that coupled with the right timing and investments will soon see EES expanding its reach across the region. . Madhav adds, “Specifically, within the country, we are eyeing the huge potential of IT transformation in the next 1-2 years. Complementing this, there is a new wave of MS technologies to hit the region by the end of this calendar year and early next year. That will bring with it a huge list of customers who would be eager to build on new features and refresh their technology setup in ways more than one”. MS unit of EES is already on the hot seat when it comes to Office 365; their next target is making it big in the Azure arena as well.

FINALLY… Madhav wraps up by saying that cloud is no more just another fancy word in the region. It’s practical. The number of projects in the EES pipeline is way too many; the rate of cloud adoption is slow, but it’s happening. ë

M AY 2 015

MEA

SURVEY 2015

H N IO EAC T C TE E B R O PRWAR E L V HAT MA U S 68% D O AI N Yes AG

DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECT THIS YEAR?

29% 71%

32%

Yes

WHICH SOLUTION DO YOU HAVE?

SECURITY SURVEY 2015

10% NORTON 6%

OTHERS

53% DO YOU HAVE A SOS PROJECT THIS YEAR? 32

M AY 2015

MEA

47% Yes

SURVEY 2015

DO YOU HAVE SOLUTIONS TO DEAL WITH UNKNOWN/ ZERO DAY THREATS? DO YOU HAVE SOLUTIONS TO DEAL WITH INSIDER THREATS?

34% Yes

45% Yes

66% No

55% No

36%

SYMANTEC

31% KASPERSKY 17%

DOES YOUR ORGANISATION HAVE A BYOD STRATEGY?

ESET

39%

51%

Yes

10%

Planning

42%

Four hours

30%

Two hrs

18% No

WHAT IS YOUR INCIDENCE RESPONSE SLA?

Eight hours

M AY 2 015

MEA

COVER FEATURE

STORIT DISTRIBUTION

Delivering the best consistently A pioneer in introducing emerging technologies into the Middle East Channel, StorIT Distribution – the specialist in data management believes in constantly and consistently creating opportunities for the growth of its vendors and partners. Our exclusive interview with Suren Vedantham, Group Managing Director, StorIT Distribution n W O R D S : S O U M YA < S O U M YA @ A C C E N T I N F O M E D I A . C O M >

he current IT market is a hard-task master; though the best of technologies have made it one of the best times to be in IT, the competition constantly questions your worth. It’s not just about entering or even winning a race out here; what matters is are you prepared for the marathon? StorIT Distribution has proved itself time and again and continues to be on the top of the distribution channel in the area of data management. The journey of StorIT began way back in 2002 when the magic of the internet was just starting to overwhelm one and all. Right vision, appropriate strategy, clarity of business basics, combined with proper understanding of the market gave birth to a concept that had the strength not only to succeed, but also stand the test of time and technology. The digital era was dawning and brought with it a big void in the technology market space in the area of data management. Moreover, as with every emerging technology, the cost of entry into the space was no joke especially for the mid-market segment. This is where StorIT distribution fitted in perfectly as a data management specialist; they used their experience and expertise to create avenues in the Middle East market for the leading technology vendors in the

M AY 2015

MEA

data management space and made the best-inbreed technologies readily available to the resellers. As Suren Vedantham, Group MD, StorIT says, “We have been there at the right place at the right time with some valuable experience; all that came together. We have evolved with time but nevertheless continue to be the data management specialists with a value centric business model.”

SOLUTION CENTRIC RIGHT FROM DAY ONEApart from the experience and expertise they were bringing to the table, Suren believes what differentiated them further was the model of business wherein they have really carved a niche for themselves. “Right from day, we realized that the box-moving kind of a business or volume

he Human-side Of Technology (THOT) is a unique social initiative by StorIT which aims to bring together T the regional IT fraternity a common social goal. This year, StorIT along with a few of its local partners have teamed up to adopt a Primary School in Western Nepal.

COVER FEATURE

distribution didn’t really excite us. So, we chose to be an enterprise IT solutions specialist distributor and continue to do so.” He goes on to add, “Once we got started, we had the good fortune of actually tying up with the very best of breed technology providers. If you see our portfolio since we started, we have always had the top notch- the best in the world –as good as it can get. As a matter of fact, it was great to see that we were the preferred distributor of choice really for all of them because we literally introduced them into the ME distribution channel”. The idea was to always be up-to-date with the latest technologies without losing focus. “That focus also helped us to continue to be right on top as a pioneer in data management as well as emerging technologies. So we moved onto high performance computing – we were the first company to literally introduce HPC solutions into the distribution channel. We were the first company to introduce managed services into the reseller channel. We were the first one to introduce turnkey analytic solutions”, comments Suren.

CARVING A UNIQUE PLACE IN THE ME CHANNEL In a market that sees new technologies and new distributors entering the bandwagon at light pace, it definitely takes more than technical expertise to sustain in the business. So, what new fervor StorIT brought onto the table? Suren comments, “We love what we do. We want to continue to be right there at the cutting edge of the technology all the time and introduce the emerging technology to the entire reseller channel rather than keep it as a privilege of the only top ten enterprises. What we are trying to do is cut down the hype of everything that comes new or which is very cutting edge and introduce the same into the wider channel. With the kind of services we provide, we make it easier for the resellers to actually quickly adopt and resell. So we are literally creating areas of opportunities where it comes to cutting edge technologies with the least kind of cost of entry into that business.”

STAYING AHEAD So, with all the competition in the distribution market, how have they managed to hold ground? Instead of competing with others, they prefer

SUREN VEDANTHAM GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, STORIT DISTRIBUTION

to compete with themselves. “We’d love to get inspired by the strengths of our competitors, but don’t want to be bogged down with that” remarks Suren. “At the end of the day, the market needs the best of technology at the most optimum cost and they want this to be sustainable and relationships have to be long-term. The vendor wants an extended arm, who can share their vision and who would do what they would love to do if they were on ground with the channel. That’s where we literally fill in- we act as a true vendor representative. It’s not just about logistics or distribution. Rather it’s about carrying their vision forward for the region.”

“The entire area of data management is what we specialize in today with great partnerships with the best-in-breed vendors who actually help us to put together turnkey solutions.”

M AY 2 015

MEA

COVER FEATURE

LIST OF VENDOR PARTNERS

Aptare

Atto

EMC

SAS

Quantum

Mellanox

Emulex

Super Micro

They cover around 10-12 countries in the Middle East, starting from the Levant all the way till Pakistan. The headquarters is at Dubai; they have a branch office in the KSA, which happens to be one of their key markets, in addition to the UAE and Qatar. “Across the region, we try to forge partnerships that are meaningful and are long lasting and create opportunity for growth. We work very closely with our partners”, says Suren. “The beauty of new emerging technologies is that they keep you on the toes all the time; constantly creating opportunities to grow. We have been doing great and will make sure to keep that up.” All the good work and laurels make us wonder what’s the secret fuelling the success of StorIT Distribution?

PASSION OF STORIT Suren reiterates that at StorIT, the people love what they do and that definitely makes a big difference. The core strengths that make them a winner include focus in the area of data management, excellent skill sets, useful experience, fantastic channel network across the region and of course, a group of passionate people sharing the vision of the organization.

Moonwalk

QLogic

Huawei

WHAT LAYS NEXT?

SOLUTIONS PORTFOLIO

Data protection

Data analytics

Data management

For a specialist VAD which has been credited with introducing emerging technologies to the Middle East channel, excitement is obvious to know the upcoming offerings from them. Suren tells us they have been doing a great job with converged infrastructure- a trend which is here to stay for quite a long time. Apart from that, they are also working on open stack, SDS, data analytics, data protection, etc.

FINALLY… High Performance Computing

ROCK SOLID PARTNERSHIPS Suren tells us that StorIT has been recognized time and again as their vendor partners’ best incremental distributor in the region. “For all our vendors, we literally create the market which might not be otherwise easy or may come at a high cost to the vendors”. StorIT believes in forging long sustained relationships with its partners rather than engaging in it just for short term business gain. “In spite of being in the business for 13 years, we still have a very conservative portfolio. We always ensure that we do justice to any partner we onboard and we are successful in the longer term. With the

M AY 2015

MEA

Managed Services

domain knowledge, expertise and experience we carry, in all humility, I doubt that any other distributor can deliver like us in the domain we operate in”, says Suren. “Our data management portfolio is as good as it gets in the world; even a multi-million dollar distribution company may not have a portfolio which is better than what we carry today.”

GROWING RAPIDLY StorIT have been growing rapidly in the niche area they deal with. Suren tells us that the excitement around the technology is just getting better with time; there’s so much innovation happening all the time in the area of data management.

Needless to say, with the digital revolution, data has become the most crucial component. The current era is all about information, which has become the core and crux of everything we do. So, it’s all about managing the data smartly and analyzing it rightly to make the most out of it; and that’s where StorIT stands as a strong trustworthy partner. As Suren nicely puts it across, “Be it any business, at the end of the day, what matters is the kind of service you provide and the consistency with which you do that”. In the midst of the technology hype, many-a-times, the real tenets of partnership tend to get undermined. “It’s essential to act as a true consultant to the partners by showing them the way ahead and enabling them to walk on it to achieve their objectives. And the key lies in constantly evolving without losing focus. Progress is finally an output of persistence, patience and passion”. ë

FEATURE

BFSI

‘ Banking’ to Bank Upon

‘To Bank Upon’— an idiom that portrays the trust that someone has on someone. BANK— as a term stands as a metaphor for the security that it offers. But how secure is our Banking and Financial Sector in this era of advanced security threats and horrendous cybercrimes ? n WORDS: ANUSHREE DIXIT <ANUSHREE@ACCENTINFOMEDIA.COM > n PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

rom plastic money to cloud, mobile banking to video banking— technology has truly served as a touchstone for the evolution of the banking and finance sector. ‘Innovation’ and ‘Security’ are the key words of the century but Innovation WITH Security is the demand of the century. The elasticity of Cybercrime and hacktivism has been maturing with each fraction of a second. Decision makers and experts from various verticals have named the Banking and Finance sector as the most vulnerable platform for cyber-attack, owing to the benefits that can be reaped. Amidst all this mushrooming chaos, the Banking and Finance sector has undergone a chronic evolution.

EVOLUTION OF THE BANKING SECTOR According to an IDC report, Big Data analytics and cloud mobility are all set to drive the IT expenditure in the financial industry to reach USD 5.8 billion in 2018. The banking sector has also stood witness to the fact that bullish growth is entirely dependent on the adoption of the latest technology. According to Sanjay Khanna, CIO of RAK Bank, “Technology is affecting our lives as never before and the banking industry has been one of the pioneering industries in leveraging

M AY 2015

MEA

technological advances. The role of banks has therefore changed drastically from typical branch centric financial institutions to comprehensive service providers via multiple channels. Rapid change in technology has also brought about new challenges especially in IT and infrastructure management (which dictates the need for 24/7 availability, multiple channels, etc.), requiring ongoing effort and focus from IT managers.”

BFSI LANDSCAPE IN THE REGION Analysts have always marked that the major driving forces and trends in the financial landscape include increased connectivity, increased demands in security, market innovation and increased access to information. Big Data has channeled itself through the multiple operations of banking and finance. Siva Shankar Maheswaran, End User and Consultant Business Manager, HID Global believes that, for banks to successfully evolve to next-gen banking, it is imperative to secure their online and mobile channels in order to maintain the trust that they have nurtured with their customers. Increasingly, hackers are creating malware specifically targeted at banks in the region, which is not surprising, as cyber criminals follow where the money is and capitalize on perceived vulnerabilities. “With 1.75 billion users worldwide in 2014, the

smart phone is becoming popular as a multifunctional device that can be used for mobile identities. Security best practice dictates that banks and other financial institutions must secure online access with multi-factor authentication. With the growing threat landscape, they must also increase fraud controls, yet avoid interrupting the online user experience. This requires strong, dynamic authentication that is more secure than passwords yet convenient and cost-effective”, says Siva Shankar. Niranj Sangal, Group CEO, OMA EmiratesSolution Gulf (Ingenico) says that OMA Emirates spends over 18%-20% on R&D to ensure ongoing evolvement and development of solutions that are needed to provide greater customer satisfaction. “We understand the competitive challenges our clients face and we strive to enhance their service standards with a technology mix that provides cutting edge customer service. We have a strong network of partners that we work with to provide end-to-end solutions”, adds Niranj.

COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS Researchers have supported the fact that the organizational structure of the banks is complex and the myriad of transactions and operations are a maze that demands up-to-date solutions and vigilance to keep hacktivism at bay. Most recent solutions like the ActivID have been transpar-

FEATURE

ently protecting online transactions from a wide range of advanced persistent threats, phishing, man-in-the-middle and man-in-the-browser attacks. “ActivID appliance protects financial organizations with risk-appropriate and costeffective user authentication that goes beyond passwords. Available as hardware or a virtual appliance, the solution helps to reduce TCO, is easy to deploy, and is simple to integrate into an organization’s existing network infrastructure”, says Siva of HID Global. Niranj Sangal, Group CEO, OMA EmiratesSolution Gulf (Ingenico) states that the market has been moving at a faster pace with technology advancements, which makes it easier to penetrate the changing market requirements that are seeing higher degree of customer demands. e.g. loyalty solutions, which have been in existence for a long time, are experiencing far higher uptake over the last two years. “Apart from our preset standard solution, payments solution and inbuilt CRM for better tracking of transactions etc, we also have a complete Retail Suite, e-Insurance , and work on tailor-made applications for our clients who have ongoing requirements for new technology to be incorporated while striving towards better customer service, better use of data or using new technology for NFC, RFID etc.”, adds Niranj. According to Sanjay Khanna, RAK bank is one of the very few in the world to extend an

authenticated live web chat service on its corporate website and its Online Banking platform. RAK Bank has also introduced card-less cash withdrawals at RAKBANK ATMs through MobileCash. This new digital banking solution allows cash withdrawals from the bank’s network of 230+ Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across the UAE without the use of payment cards. “With 252% mobile penetration rate in UAE and strong network of RAKBANK ATM network, MobileCash functionality has a strong reach to retail customers and provides ease of use to bank customers. It also helps business customers to make the funds available in time of need without dependency on cheque or card”.

VISIONARY AND VALUE-ADDED BFSI INFRASTRUCTURE Moving on the path of ‘Value added BFSI infrastructure in the region, banks in the ME have adopted various key infrastructure solutions that are leveraging the term banking to a different pedestal, moving from product-centric to customer-centric. Mobile banking and social media stand as a testament to this vision. “We take a business centric approach in designing our solutions which are used for the bank’s consumption only. This is applicable to infrastructure solutions as well and our focus is always on leveraging latest technologies in IT infrastructure

The banking and finance ecosystem is undergoing radical change owing to the newest additions like video banking and ActivID interfaces. ‘Cloud’ will have an altogether new meaning and purpose for the banking industry in evolving from product-centric to being solution-centric.

space. Virtualization, infrastructure consolidation and cloud infrastructure have been key drivers in IT infrastructure at RAKBANK in recent times”, says Sanjay of RAK Bank. “The objective behind RAKBANK’s strong vision for technological innovations is to ensure both convenience for customers as well as efficiency in IT infrastructure and operations. Our focus on mobile banking and social media is a testament of our commitment to this vision. We take a business centric approach in designing our solutions which are used for the bank’s consumption only. Virtualization, infrastructure consolidation and cloud infrastructure have been key drivers in IT infrastructure at RAKBANK in recent times”, he adds. OMA Emirates believes that the most important part of deliveries to anyone or the clients is “INFRASTRUCTURE”. “Lack of proper IT infrastructure can be a show stopper, and understanding the need to support our clients, OMA Emirates has set up a separate company - ‘Quick

M AY 2 015

MEA

FEATURE

SIVA SHANKAR MAHESWARAN,

SANJAY KHANNA,

END USER AND CONSULTANT BUSINESS MANAGER, HID GLOBAL

“The objective behind RAKBANK’s strong vision for technological innovations is to ensure both convenience for customers as well as efficiency in IT infrastructure and operations”

“HID Global is extending its leadership in with a new generation of solutions to secure digital banking.We are unique in our holistic approach with the Five Layers for Online Banking Security.”

CIO OF RAKBANK

THE BANKING AND FINANCE SECTOR HAS STOOD VICTIM TO SOME OF THE MOST SEVERE CYBER THREATS. BFSI LANDSCAPE IS EVOLVING WITH HYBRID CLOUD GAINING THE MAINSTREAM PEDESTAL AND CLOUD SERVICES LIKE IAAS GAINING MOMENTUM. TRANSACTIONAL COSTS ARE GIVING WAY TO OPTIMIZED SERVICES AND ONESTOP-SHOP SOLUTIONS.

Network’ which is a partnership with Mawarid Finance and looks into all infrastructure hosting or managing needs. It provides a fully secure and PCI complaint Data Centre facility, Network monitoring, Value Added services, Card management services certified by Payment Schemes to do transaction processing, issuance and acquiring requirements etc.”, says Niranj.

THE THREAT HORIZON Security threat in the banking and finance has kept the CIOs and IT heads awake at night and on toes throughout the day. With several DDOS and other patterned attacks, internet has proved

M AY 2015

MEA

to be the quiver for cybercrime munitions. Threats are getting more erudite and advanced targeted attacks such as APTs are victimizing the banking and finance sector. This has driven the need and call for more fortified IT infrastructure and many key players in the industry are re-constructing their ecosystem and replacing legacies to cope up with the flowing customer needs and leveraging the solutions to tackle the complexity of threats. In line with this HID Global’s layered authentication solution for secure online and mobile banking strives to overcome the threat with secure features that support foster frictionless digital banking,

NIRANJ SANGAL

GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OMA EMIRATES-SOLUTION GULF (INGENICO)

“We believe that the most important part of deliveries to anyone or our clients is “INFRASTRUCTURE”. Lack of proper IT infrastructure can be a show stopper”

address vulnerabilities with existing twofactor authentication solutions, protect against account takeovers seamlessly and comply with heightened regulatory guidance in response to the rising online threat landscape

FINALLY… The evolution of technology, mobile and open networks has benefitted the Banking and Finance sector in ways more than one but has equally nurtured a fertile space for cyber criminals to rage war against them. New approaches and tactics for risk management are gaining pace and demand in the solution providers’ regime. Solutions that are the key demand of the region include secure payments, online banking security, retail security for customer data protection and financial data compliance. Technologies are in place, solutions are in place— the correct permutation and combination of the technology is that which matters now. Leading providers advise banks and other financial bodies to balance security and other operational vigilance by protecting user identifications and correlating the threats with the correct solutions. ë

MY OPINION

MARKUS KUCKELHAUS,

DIRECTOR RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS & INNOVATION

SCOTT ALLISON,

SVP GLOBAL SECTOR HEAD TECHNOLOGY AMERICAS

Redefining Supply Chain with Technology DHL’S COLLABORATION WITH CISCO IS A PARADIGM OF HOW TECHNOLOGY AND SUPPLY CHAIN CAN BLEND TO DIMINISH GEOGRAPHICAL BARRIERS AND IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE MODELS. SCOTT ALLISON, SVP GLOBAL SECTOR HEAD TECHNOLOGY AMERICAS AND MARKUS KUCKELHAUS, DIRECTOR RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, SOLUTIONS & INNOVATION TALK

regulations and also due to some technological issues. So our next venture is World Delivery. We tested this on German islands. Most people when they talk about drones, they talk about urban delivery. We do not see that happening for the next 10-20 years due to high regulatory concerns, social acceptance and other technological issues. If it is in a closed environment, yes there are possibilities on the logistics side. But if we talk about Africa, the first question that would be raised is, “why unmanned”. So in areas like that helicopter delivery would be feasible rather than a drone.

TO ENTERPRISE CHANNELS MEA ON THE VARIOUS TECHNICAL ADOPTIONS DONE BY THE LEADING SUPPLY CHAIN IN CATERING TO THE NEEDS OF AS HIGHLY DIGITIZED WORLD.

Tell us something about your partnership with CISCO? CISCO is an important customer as well as an important supplier. Cisco is one of the largest enterprises delivering enterprise technology services to the world and Deutsche Post DHL Group is one of the largest supply chain industry in the world. We have recently released a white paper that elaborates our collaboration with CISCO on the Internet of Things initiative. Through this we aim to see how cloud technologies can leverage our supply chain and logistics operations. Share something on your latest Sensor technology and how it has increased DHL’s operative efficiencies?

We are using the MicrosoftKinect sensor that is used for video control & gesture control. Instead of using laser scanning technology where the system cost thirty to sixty thousand Euros, why not make use of Kinect sensors which are just 100 Euros. We are also on the forefront of collaborating this depth sensor to the smart glass by which you can scan the volume of the object and place it accordingly. Productivity would gain 25% by using the glasses. What is your take on drone technologies? We have three use cases for drone technologies. We have discovered that the technology is already implacable on certain platforms. If we move out of the controlled area it is more difficult due to

What is the whole concept around driverless cars? Driverless cars and vehicles have been a part of the logistics infrastructure since long. Again, those operate in closed premises and very controlled areas. Next step is moving out of the warehouse which is the port logistics and harbor logistics where these technology can be aptly used. We can also cite the example of one of the containers in Dubai ports that is completely operated unmanned. But if we talk about public spaces there still has to be a lot of caution before deploying it. Which other partners are you working with? We are looking for new partnerships on the technological forefront. Our key vision behind these partnerships would be to see how technology can redefine the logistics industry and secondly which partner can best fit with our vision to leverage that technology. ë

M AY 2 015

MEA

CIOS SPEAK

Server virtualization is one of our dynamic initiatives to protect the environment, save cost sand introduce process efficiency. The team has also achieved a milestone by introducing the SAMAE Mobile Application which is the first of its kind in the aviation sector. IT should follow business change or lead itwhat’s your view? IT acts like a lynchpin for leading business change, without IT any change will not have a strong foundation. I think CIO’s should lead IT to enable business change in sync with the company strategies and CEOs Vision for the company. IT provides the transparency, widens the reach of an organization and drives standardization in a large organization like ours.

MR. MOHAMMED JAMEELUDDIN,

IT MANAGER, GENERAL CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY (GCAA)

“IT acts like a lynchpin for leading business change” THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE GENERAL CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY IS ADVANCED WITH GREEN DATA CENTER, CLOUD SOLUTIONS, NETWORK OPTIMIZATION, AND MOBILE APPLICATIONS AND ESTABLISHED WITH AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY “GREEN IT” DEPARTMENT. MR. MOHAMMED JAMEELUDDIN, IT MANAGER, GCAA HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN DRIVING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF SERVICES FOR THE AUTHORITY.

How have you changed the IT infrastructure at your organization over the recent times? The Aviation industry is very critical and dynamic; to be able to contribute to the profitability of the organization developing a strong business strategy for the Information technology department at GCAA my focus has always been

M AY 2015

MEA

on standardizing, modernizing and mobilizing services within the authority to achieve exceptional success in the field of IT. In 2014, GCAA IT was awarded the best Cloud security implementation at the GISEC. We have established a state of the art DR Site for business critical operations We have transformed more than 220 services into e-services thus making GCAA IT 100% paperless.

Are you in favor of hybrid cloud? We being a federal authority cannot move to a hybrid cloud due to confidentiality aspects. Our Private Cloud provides cloud and enterprise security for devices and applications while empowering the mobile workforce through freedom of choice and an unmatched user experience. How do you maintain a robust security posture at GCAA ? We have implemented integrated security solutions that incorporate biometrics, electronic, encrypted access control, and advanced interoperable systems for highly secure environments to improve efficiency in the organization. Our Network and wireless security is managed with NGFWs, anti-virus and malware engines, IPS intrusion prevention system, server protection, email gateway filtering, and email anti malware scanning, MDM takes care of it. In addition Intrusion Detection and Prevention has helped shield unpatched vulnerabilities from attack with security policies that update automatically to ensure the right protection is applied to the right cloud servers at the right time. We also have Advanced Host Firewall that creates a firewall perimeter around each cloud server to block attacks and limit communication to only the ports and protocols necessary, with the ability to log and audit traffic for compliance reporting at the instance level. What are the technology upgrades you are planning in the coming days? Currently the highest priority is to implement converged networking, creating efficient coexistence of telephone, video and data communication within a single network. ë

YOUR SCHOOL. CONNECTED

Use identity solutions from HID Global to help create a secure environment in which students can thrive. When it comes to visitors, the more school administrators know, the better they can protect their facilities. HID Global offers visitor management solutions — including ID cards, door readers, and printers/encoders — that strengthen visitor screening and tracking by providing secure access to administrative offices, science labs, computer rooms and more. With a more secure school, teachers can focus on teaching and students can focus on learning. YOUR SECURITY CONNECTED. Learn more about our secure ID offerings at hidglobal.com/education © 2014 HID Global Corporation/ASSA ABLOY AB. All rights reserved. HID, HID Global, the HID Blue Brick logo, and the Chain Design are trademarks or registered trademarks of HID Global or its licensor(s)/supplier(s) in the US and other countries and may not be used without permission.

hid-ad-Education-k-12-2015-your-school-connected-210x297.indd 1

4/21/15 4:27 PM

CIOS SPEAK

ALIASGAR BOHARI,

IT DIRECTOR AT ZULEKHA HEALTHCARE

“Viewing IT as a profit centre rather than a cost center” ZULEKHA HOSPITAL IS UNDERGOING GROUNDBREAKING TRANSFORMATION, DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

specialty facilities in 2006 at Dubai and Sharjah and creating a website for patients with unique features like – know more about hospital and events, book an online appointment, view online patient’s reports. Laboratory Information systems (LIS) and Picture Archiving and Computerized System (PACS) are integrated into HMIS. We also have an IT Contact Centre to offer IT support for all Zulekha users, reduce the number of user complaints received & to provide faster solutions effectively.”

MODELS. FURTHERMORE, IN AN INDUSTRY WHERE A CUSTOMER’S HEALTH IS AT STAKE, SERVICES NEED TO BE OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY. ALIASGAR BOHARI, IT DIRECTOR HAS EMBARKED ON A SUCCESSFUL ROADMAP.

How have you changed the IT infrastructure at your organization over the recent times? One of the most important IT upgrades coordinated by me and my team was to implement a custom-designed IT Infrastructure in

M AY 2015

MEA

2005 that complemented and catered to the total healthcare needs of all units within the Zulekha Healthcare Group. I was also involved at the core of designing and implementing the paperless Intranet solution Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) for both multi-

There seems to be a lot of buzz around –“IT as a business enabler” – so do you think a strategic relation between the marketing and CIOs is the new thing in place? How important is it? We need to view IT as a profit centre rather than a cost center, in fact I believe there are no specific IT projects- rather these are just business projects that the IT department helps bring technological

CIOS SPEAK

advice to the table to improve the business CIOs debate whether IT should follow business change or lead itwhat’s your view? Managing the dichotomy between projects (or change) and BAU is always a huge dilemma for the IT operations teams. However, in my perspective, CIOs/IT Directors, who are trying to reduce the operational cost, need to focus on increasing the organization’s rate of change, to improve stability and increase the overall profitability of their organizations. What is the most difficult technology-related investment decision you had to make? Why was it difficult and what was the outcome? I was part of the original team responsible for designing and implementing the HMIS in 2004 for Zulekha Hospital. As a hands-on professional, I was instrumental in the 24-month implementation period from the onset at both multi-specialty hospitals in Dubai and Sharjah. This HMIS module that is implemented with EMRs was soon augmented with access for the four medical centers located at different locations in the U.A.E thereby completely integrating the Zulekha Healthcare Group in a single seamless network. How do you stay current on technology trends and innovations? I habitually read blogs and am involved with different forums and communities. I also attend conferences from Enterprise Channels MEA and other top notch organizations on a regular basis. I subscribe to all frameworks and technologies I use. This keeps me abreast with the technologies I work with. Give an example when you implemented an emerging technology. Our HMIS, which is a comprehensive application, integrates various functions to enhance the operational efficiency, making it one of the most effective healthcare software developments. ZHIT has implemented the ITIL’s best practices and has set a benchmark for being 1st in UAE to receive ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011 for IT Service Management in Healthcare Industry. And as part of continuous improvement, ZHIT has also implemented Information Security Management System processes aligned with ISO 27001:2013, using an integrated approach. This standard adopts a risk-based approach for an effective information security management. This

takes into consideration the security aspects of various patrons’ data within our organization. What are the top two or three ways that you and we can measure the value of the IT function? How do you influence each of these in the short term and longer term? The IT department’s performance is evaluated based on two objectives, one that can be measured monetarily with proper cost allocation by implementing effective technologies. And when we cannot measure monetarily, this is done through various innovative implementations, i.e. by providing value added services to our patrons and maintaining confidentiality and security of patient data. Hence, the target is on improving the management of a complete patient life cycle on a long term basis. Give an example of when you helped reduce costs for the rest of the enterprise by using IT. With the implementation of ISO 20000

How far have you implemented virtualization? We are currently running an enterprise-level solution Hyper-V virtualized environment; its implementation has provided a secure, robust environment for different transactions across all departments of the hospital along with remote access of patient medical records. What’s your view on hybrid cloud adoption? As we are dealing with critical information we prefer to stick around with a private cloud. Security is a prime concern in the Middle East of late; what designs do you have in place in your arsenal to take care of this? ZHIT has formalized their information security processes and is adhering to all controls defined in ISO/IEC 27001:2013 ensuring protection of critical information, such as patient data security and reduce the possible risk of fraud, information loss and disclosure. We are also

“CIOS/IT DIRECTORS, WHO ARE TRYING TO REDUCE THE OPERATIONAL COST, NEED TO FOCUS ON INCREASING THE ORGANIZATION’S RATE OF CHANGE, TO IMPROVE STABILITY AND INCREASE THE OVERALL PROFITABILITY OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS.”

processes we ensured maximum cost saving by optimizing IT operations, minimizing downtime and hence easily measuring the ROI. However, in a hospital’s case, much more is at stake, IT system impacts the way in which doctors treat and care for their patients, hence real lives depend on the IT department’s ability to perform under pressure. Have you implemented green IT? As part of the ‘Go Green’ initiative and to make paperless hospital, LIS and PACS are integrated with HMIS. We have also implemented power management software to save energy and reduce carbon emission. We have initiated projects like E-data, PC power management, E-waste management and usage of Eco friendly IT products, usage of Blade Servers, PC Power Management which automatically turns off the user PC when it is not in use, and server Virtualization.

in the process of implementing an external Disaster Recovery Site for service availability and continuity. How do you manage IT budgets? The goal of a strong IT Leader should be to provide a balance between both with transparency and tact, invest their capital in appropriate technologies in order to save time and money, and finally going forward and proving the complete success of enabling these new technologies. What kind of technological pain points do you experience on a day to day basis at work? We are facing an enormous challenge of keeping our patient data private and secure, but using the current technological innovations we are able to be the most efficient, competent & courteous providers of comprehensive healthcare in the world as per our organizational vision. ë

M AY 2 015

MEA

MY OPINION

regulatory norms and licenses from the telecom sector. Colocation is the service provided in the data centre; it’s more about the customer lifecycle. Customer follows a customer. In order for a customer to walk into your data centre you need to have a customer in the data centre. So that’s where the idea of campus comes into. If I have 150-200 customers in the first data centre, I can align it with the second data centre and so on Please tell us something about Equinix Cloud Exchange and Hybrid Cloud infrastructure? Equinix offers data center industry’s broadest choice in cloud SPs, with many of them offering direct connections to their cloud infrastructure via Equinix Cloud Exchange, Equinix Cross Connects or Ethernet services. We are the only data center provider offering direct connection to both AWS and Microsoft Azure.

MICHAEL WINTERSON

MANAGING DIRECTOR EMEA, EQUINIX

“Bypassing The Internet With Next-Gen Cloud Enterprise”

How does Equinix Data Centers stand out amongst the crowd? We always connect our data centres and ensure that our clients never ever lose their data. We never go dark. We aim to create data centre communities, which we call ‘campus’ across cities and connect the infrastructures to ensure data protection. We are also gradually developing our back offices that would ensure that our customers leave the data centres satisfied and secure. It will also scrutinize the ‘happiness factor’ that would tell us why our customers are happy. Is there any new channel partnership program in the pipeline? Yes, we are in talks with many organizations in Dubai and the Middle East—though its too early to talk about this. Through this channel partners we wish to expand our service base and also simultaneously expand our local market knowledge.

“AT EQUINIX, WE NEVER GO DARK”. MICHEAL WINTERSON, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF EQUINIX EMEA TALKS TO ANUSHREE DIXIT OF EC MEA ON HOW EQUINIX DATA CENTERS ENSURE DATA PROTECTION AND FOCUS ON CUSTOMER HAPPINESS FACTOR.

Tell us something about your recent geographical expansions We have had 5 major expansions this year; Rio, Melbourne, London, New York and Osaka. Talking about our venture into the Middle East, the gulf region presents a buffet of opportunities for global countries to invest in cloud opportunities and Dubai is geographically a favourable position

M AY 2015

MEA

for channels to flow. Give us a glimpse of your data centre and colocation services? We don’t provide networks, we don’t provide clouds or any MS; our customers do that. We provide the building for these services, which is completely physical and which takes a lot of

What is your recommendation to the Middle Eastern CIOs and CTOs? ‘Cloud’ as a solution is offering innumerable opportunities to the enterprises, so my recommendation to the CIOs is “Go Global”. Solutions across the world are standardized, networks are open. So, don’t wait for the solutions to come to you, rather explore it. Secondly, create a team in your organization that can ‘innovate’ rather than ‘work’. And lastly, collect and preserve all your data. Never discard any data—structured or unstructured. Storage is feasible, affordable as well as mandate. ë

GISEC-GEMEC 2015SPECIAL

High security performance with simplified management FROM WIRED/WIRELESS NETWORKS AND MESSAGING SYSTEMS TO WEB APPLICATIONS, DATABASES AND MUCH MORE, FORTINET’S SOLUTIONS PORTFOLIO HELPS SECURE THE BROAD ENTERPRISE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE, ALLOWING CUSTOMERS TO ENSURE SECURITY AND CONTROL OF THEIR NETWORKS, USERS AND DATA. EC MEA TEAM INTERACTED WITH THE FORTINET TEAM AT GISEC 2015.

ALAIN PENEL REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT – MIDDLE EAST AT FORTINET

NADER BAGHDADI

MAYA ZAKHOUR

REGIONAL DIRECTOR ENTERPRISE SALES

CHANNEL DIRECTOR, ME FOR FORTINET.

“At Fortinet, we believe we are the best in class, because we go all the way from client connected device to BYOD with a multitude of technologies that provide security to the enterprises”

“Our partner training can enable partners to make themselves distinct from the others in the market. NSE certification gives the partner added value as a network security expert irrespective of any vendor”

GISEC Launch – FortiGate 3000D and FortiGate 3100D Network Firewalls Fortinet’s enhanced FortiClient solution enables every device - local or remote, station¬ary or mobile – to be protected anytime, anywhere. “The constantly evolving threat landscape and advancements in IT infrastructures are forcing organizations across the Middle East to rethink their overall security strategy,” says Alain Penel, Regional VP – ME at Fortinet. “No longer can they rely on border-only solutions to protect against risks that threaten the health of their business. Only Fortinet’s broad cyber security platform provides protection from the endpoint to the data center or cloud. With FortiGate and FortiMail already in the ATP Framework, the

addition of FortiClient closes another possible hole in protection.” Competitive Advantages of FortinetStrong focus on Research and Development Certified protection In house security research and services A unique technology platform Enhanced Partner Program Maya Zakhour, Channel Director, ME highlighted the new changes Fortinet has made to its partner program hence reaffirming the dedication of the company for its partners. "The new program has several levels -platinum, gold, silver and authorized. We have put in place

“Our portfolio delivers the most innovative highest performing network security platform that allows organizations to securely build and grow their IT infrastructure, while simplifying it and reducing costs.” some new requirements to attain these levels of partnerships. NSE is a new training program for our partners. NSE certification gives the partner added value as a network security expert irrespective of any vendor. Partners can progressively do the various certifications from NSE1 onwards to gain more and more advanced understanding of the solutions so that they can really showcase their expertise to the channel. The certifications cater to enablement from both technical as well as sales perspective. We also do free online training for our partners. In June, we have the expert academy in Canne, France; so we are inviting our partners from the ME to book their seats from now It comprises hands-on training and we shall also give away to them exam vouchers for higher levels of NSE. On the completion of the expert academy training, they are really experts". Additionally, Fortinet has introduced the rewards system which is focused on advanced technologies as well. "It's really a great incentive for partners to do more and more business with Fortinet". Fortinet is making sure to engage actively with the partners from a very early stage so as to assist them all along the way to deliver the best solutions as well as best services. ë

A P R I L 2 015

MEA

GISEC-GEMEC 2015 SPECIAL

are couple of areas we are trying to get into- these include the emerging technologies like the cloud, virtualization, storage, compute, IoT. We are trying to develop in these domains and by the next GITEX, we shall be able to make announcements of actual brands and what we shall be doing in these areas. Security is very much linked with mobility as well; so are you planning to venture into mobility space too? Yeah. We see lot of shift in security happening to address the security concerns on cloud, for new age applications, SaaS etc. On boarding new vendors is backed by our efforts to address all the changing needs of security across several domains.

AJAY SINGH CHAUHAN,

CEO, COMGUARD DURING THE GISEC 2015.

A 360° Approach to Security NICHE LEADING BRANDS IN THE INDUSTRY, COUPLED WITH COMGUARD’S HANDS-ON SOLUTION CENTRIC EXPERTISE, COULD BE PIVOTAL TO ANY ENTERPRISE. EC MEA TEAM SPOKE TO MR AJAY SINGH CHAUHAN, CEO, COMGUARD DURING THE GISEC 2015.

What is the Focus of Comguard in this edition of GISEC? We are showcasing a wide array of security solutions with 5 of our premium vendors; Bluecat (Network & Device Management), Kaspersky & Sophos (endpoint protection and management) , Nexthink(end-user analytics), and Ping Identity(identity & access management).

Comguard? I think it has been good. We have been able to showcase some of the new relationships we had in Q1. It allows us to broaden our horizon on what we are able to offer. We also see a clear shift in terms of how the threats have increased and how complicated the threats have become and how the newer solutions are trying to tackle them.

What is your expectation from GISEC? We would like to showcase what Comguard does as a group. We have added a lot of new vendors this year as well as last year. We have a lot of niche technologies within Comguard. We would like to evangelize the technologies and showcase what the five participating vendors bring to the table to both the partners as well as the industries

So Comguard seems to be on boarding several new vendors, isn’t it? More importantly, if you see they are addressing the new age threats, so that’s been the motto. Because the earlier set of tools or companies can’t address those in the fashion they are meant to be.

How has GISEC been so far for

A P R I L 2015

MEA

Has there been any change in the focus of Comguard? No, the focus continues to be security. But there

Are you targeting SMBs as well? We have always been doing so through couple of brands like Kaspersky and we continue to do that. We are basically consolidating that space; however our heavy focus is on the enterprise clients. What is the key differentiator that makes Comguard stand as a class apart from the competitors? We like to believe that Comguard is a VAD in the truest sense. We started off our operations in the Middle East as Training and Professional Services company. It was the other way round for us and thus we understand the true essence and value of distribution. Plus, we have a very robust and expert pre sales and technical support team that does make us stand a class apart. This year we are also focused to roll out a very robust CRM, as an extended arm for the vendors and partners and its key aim would be to maximize our efficiency of the back end processes as well. This has been one of the key ingredients that we were missing out on but by this we have touched upon that area too. We are also initiating 24* 7 support lines. Do you offer bundled solutions as well? We like to call ourselves a complete solution provider, because at the end of the day we do evangelize from the perspective of the end user. However, commercially we do not interact with end users, but channel everything through our partners. Are you planning to foray into MSS too? We have started a consultancy and MSS division in 2015 with the name Recconix. ë

GISEC-GEMEC 2015SPECIAL

BLUECAT

SOPHOS

STAYING ALWAYS ON AND CONNECTED SMARTLY Strengths l Unified mobile security, address management,

INTEGRATED SECURITY FOR THE ENTERPRISES

automation and self-service l Rich source of network intelligence l Rock-solid DNS and DHCP core network

FREY KHADEMI, SR. SYSTEMS ENGINEER, CENTRAL EUROPE AT BLUECAT NETWORKS

Highlight at GISEC BlueCat IPAM Solutions provide a smarter way to connect mobile devices, applications, virtual environments and clouds. BlueCat offers a rich source of network intelligence that can be put into action to protect your network, reduce IT costs and ensure reliable service delivery.

services you can count on for reliable application access and connectivity l Reliable service delivery l Listening to customers and addressing their concerns l Solutions architected for simplicity and scale l A transparent licensing model that won’t penalize you for growth l The industry’s best 24/7/365 technical support and services l Best practice implementation methodology and migration tools accelerate time to market ë

DIMA DABBOUR, CHANNEL SALES MANAGER, SOPHOS

Highlight at GISEC A complete range of security solutions including network, endpoint and server security in an integrated manner across the region Strengths l Security and data protection solutions that

NEXTHINK

REAL TIME VISIBILITY FROM END-USER PERSPECTIVE

GHASSAN I. ALKAHLOUT, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, NEXTHINK

Highlight at GISEC Software provides enterprise wide, real-time analytics

covering all endpoints, end users, apps and network connections and visualization of the IT infrastructure and service delivery. Nexthink helps IT departments connect, communicate and collaborate to achieve their major goals and to optimize endpoint security, operations, support and workplace transformation projects.

Strengths l Customers benefit from real-time visibility of their infrastructures from the end user perspective l Raise level of threat detection & compliance at end-user level l Outside-In: End-user IT Analytics l First “Any Device” Enduser Analytics ë

are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership. l Solutions backed by Sophos Labs – a global network of threat intelligence centers. l Combines endpoint, data, email, web, server and mobile protection—all in one license l Protects everywhere with integrated technologies that work better together l Industry leading solutions l Integrated l Flexible deployment l One point contact ; user based licensing ë

PING IDENTITY

SECURING ENTERPRISES BY PROTECTING PEOPLE Highlight at GISEC Identity and access management (IAM) solutions that give customers and employees one-click access to any application from any device.

GILLIAN FRASER, CHANNEL SALES DIRECTOR, EMEA, PINGIDENTITY

Strengths l Superior IAM solutions l Simplified enterprise grade security l Workforce identity l Single sign on

Competitive advantage l One password for many apps l Available both on premise and via cloud l Not cumbersome l agility Industry Solutionsl Healthcare l Financial Services l Public Sector l MSPs ë

A P R I L 2 015

MEA

GISEC-GEMEC 2015 SPECIAL

“Give us the trust, we give you the intelligence” HELP AG WAS PRESENT IN A GRAND WAY AT GISEC 2015 ALONG WITH ITS VENDOR PARTNERS NAMELY BLUE COAT, PALO ALTO, F5, SYMANTEC, OPSWAT AND CISCO AND WENT ALL THE WAY TO EDUCATE THE AUDIENCE ABOUT THE CRUCIAL ASPECTS OF SECURITY THROUGH ITS LIVE SESSIONS.

ment, wireless security, outsourcing incident response, etc.

STEPHAN BERNER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, HELP AG

Informative short presentations and demosIn order to spread awareness of the services, HelpAG is capable of providing; they organized several live sessions on topics like critical data protection, SOC management, social engineering, advanced threat mitigation, device manage-

Competitive advantage of HelpAG’s MSS Stephan Berner believes that no other company in the UAE, KSA or Qatar is providing decent MSS as of today. The main issue in the GCC countries is that they don’t wish to let their data rest outside the country. “Our MSS are within the country, in mainland; they are 100% supported by the compliance rules of the region. That in itself is a huge benefit. Moreover, with HelpAG, the services are offered by information security specialists. When the information is confidential, you just wish to associate with one whom you can really trust. This is something we score again; 25th May 2015, we are going to complete 10 successful years in the region” Entrusting security to 3rd party SPshow ready is the Middle East?

“For the organizations in the Middle East region, it’s important that the MSS provider should be within the country. As of today, many companies are already using MSS provided out of the US, or may be India. But if you look into information security as a subject, the biggest issues are the lack of knowledge, lack of skill sets, and lack of resources. HelpAG is combining 24/7 monitoring and expert knowledge on security in its MSS. Give us the trust, we are going to give you the intelligence. And if there’s a problem, we have 24/7 support staff who will come and fix it right away. Even remediation is very important; a company sitting in the USA, or India or Europe can’t provide instant help as it’s a remote based service for them”, says Stephan. Expectations from MSS HelpAg is just rolling out the services; in six months from now, they are expecting to see a big success. “We are estimating to have around 15 customers by the year-end” remarks Stephan. ë

Protecting your Applications Always F5 in Nutshell At F5, we are specialized in Enterprise Security, cloud and application delivery. Our key services also include data center security, identity and access management.

MOHAMMED HELALY, SOLUTION ARCHITECT, HELPAG

A P R I L 2015

MEA

Key Products We have 4 key products—Local Traffic Manager that provides industry-leading SSL performance that allows you to secure entire user experiences by encrypting everything from the client to the server. Second is the Global Traffic Management GTM that can be configured as a full proxy for global load balancing applications and DNS across architectures, as well as across the globe. For greater flexibility, GTM can be used in virtual and hybrid-cloud environments to extend DNS services and global app availability while maintaining centralized control within the data center. Application Acceleration Manager

(AAM) overcomes WAN latency, maximizes server capacity, and speeds application response times.Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) brings together security and deep application fluency to provide app-centric security at the network level. Products at GISEC We are showcasing the OPSWAT’s OESIS Framework. Through this enterprises can access end point vulnerability and this also enables solutions to gather comprehensive contextual intelligence by providing device. Any traffic coming to F5 is channeled to OPSWAT that detects threat and scans that is then referred to by F5 to take decisions. Keyword for F5 Networking and Application Solutions Anytime, Anywhere. ë

w ril No30 Apr er fore ste st be egi gi ED500.ae/r ReSave A ioTx

Internet of things expo 8-9 june 2015

dubai world trade centre

Powering smart and connected enterprises, government and consumers Be inspired by global innovators and visionaries at the regions pioneer IoT event

H.E. AHMAD BIN BYAT

H.E. AHMAD BIN HUMAIDAN

Chairman Smart Dubai Executive Committee

Director General Dubai Smart Government

MIGUEL GAMINO

KOERT VAN MENSVOORT

CARLO RATTI

Chief Information Officer, Office of the Mayor City and County of San Francisco

Managing Director Next Nature Network

Inventor, Educator, Director MIT Senseable City Lab

Leverage Big Impact From Small Things

SMALL CELLS

BIG DATA

M2M innovation in security and managed services

Expanding network capacity to support IoT adoption

Realising an intelligent and informative smart society through Big Data

SMART CITIES

INNOVATIVE ECOSYSTEMS

SECURITY & PRIVACY

M2M

How do you create an Internet of Your Things?

Creating future cities using IoT

Silver Sponsors

Strategic Partner

Association Partner

Strategic Lead Sponsor

@IoTDubai

iotx@dwtc.com

Iotx.ae/register

Lead IoT Sponsor Lead Innovation Sponsor

Official Airline Arabic Broadcast Official Magazine Partner Partner

Will IoT kill security and privacy?

Diamond Sponsors

Lead Sponsors

Official Business Publication

Technology Media Partner

facebook.com/iotdxb

Internet of Things Expo

Media Partners

+971 4308 6747 Platinum Sponsor Innovation Hub

Gold Sponsors

Co-located with

GISEC-GEMEC 2015 SPECIAL

“Technology with Expertise is our key word” Bulwark in Nutshell We have been in the market for the past 15 years and we are really focused on IT security solutions. We offer fresh approach to today’s IT support challenges. Key Vendors ESET, Radar services, Cyberroam, CyberArk, SendQuick, SecurEnvoy New Products and Plans As we have seen a strong demand in the region for IT risk management, we have recently partnered with Radar Services. With them we are providing key services in the field of IT risk management

services as a managed service. Security Threat No industry ranks high or low in security threat. Any kind of breach is equally harmful only the benefits are different. Key message Having up to date technology is always recommended, but is what is more important is how to use it. Skill set and expertise is important as well. So in Bulwark we believe that technology is there but you need the right expertise to handle and get the best out of that technology. So our caption is “Technology with Expertise”. ë

JOSE THOMAS, CEO, BULWARKS

Security that speeds up your business IT HAS BEEN A CONSTANT ISSUE FOR BUSINESSES THAT WHEN THEY TRY TO UPSCALE THEIR SECURITY SYSTEMS, THE COMPUTING SPEED GOES DOWN HENCE AFFECTING THE PRODUCTIVITY. ESET SECURITY SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN MAKING A BREAKTHROUGH THEREIN BY ENABLING SAFER TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT AFFECTING THE SPEED OF THE SYSTEMS. PRADEESH VS, GM, ESET ME SPOKE TO EC MEA TEAM AT GISEC 2015 ABOUT HOW ESET IS MAKING BUSINESSES DO MORE WITH TECHNOLOGY.

What are the expectations of ESET ME from the GISEC expo? We are expecting to meet more customers to discuss mobile device security.

PRADEESH VS, GM, ESET MIDDLE EAST

What have been the latest on technology front from ESET? ESET’s completely re-engineered and redesigned range of IT security products for business are now globally available. Our goal is to exceed our customers’ expectations, offering them first-class security that is unbelievably efficient and effective to install, configure and run.

A P R I L 2015

MEA

Could you highlight a major success story of ESET ME in the recent past? In response to the growing number of cyber threats against educational institutions in the region, The British University in Dubai (BUiD), has significantly strengthened its IT security posture with a campus-wide deployment of ESET Endpoint Security. They had done POCs with all big brands; however ESET top-performed on all levels making it the right choice for them.Perhaps the best testament to the solution’s simplicity and effectiveness is that in the 6 months since its deployment, BUiD has not registered a single support call with ESETsomething that was a fairly regular exercise with the institution’s previous security solution. There have been several other major deployments as well; including Rivoli , NAFFCO, Sun & Sands Sports etc.

What are the major competitive advantages of ESET solutions over the others? Our solutions provide security without slowing the speed of the system ensuring that security is an enabler, not a deterrent of business processes. Moreover, local support is a major point; in most other competitors, one needs to channel through several partners for support hence delaying the process; that’s not so in case of ESET. Any new updates in your partner program that you’d like to highlight? ESET’s Retail Partner Program for the Middle East recognizes and rewards partners who have a proven track record of promoting and selling the ESET Smart Security and the ESET NOD32 Antivirus products. The goal is to further drive uptake of our home user solutions and provide as many regional internet users as possible with ESET’s brand of proactive protection against malware, spyware, identity theft and social media scams. ë

AFRICA’S GO-TO EVENT FOR SATELLITE, COMMUNICATION AND CONNECTIVITY

18th Annual

Featuring:

1200+ Attendees

100 Speakers

40 Countries

320+ VIPs

18 years of business success

GISEC-GEMEC 2015 SPECIAL

Seamless Cyber-attack mitigation prepares a roadmap according to it.

“SECURITY IS MORE OF AN ADJECTIVE, NOT A NOUN”

Security Services: Exclusive networks offer a one stop shop solution to the channels and resellers. Seamlessly brings together vendor technologies in a complete, fully demonstrable end-to-end solution.

RAKSHA JASORIA, MARKETING MANAGER. EXCLUSIVE NETWORKS MIDDLE EAST

As one of the largest single VAD of IT security solutions in the globe Exclusive Networks brings in the pioneering CARM platform which is at the forefront of ‘post-breach’ security. CARM, Cyber Attack Remediation and Mitigation is an integrated solution platform that identifies when, how and where the breach took place and

Strength: No industry or region is barred from cyber threats or hacktivism but what makes Exclusive networks stand as a class apart is our service expertise and the expert trained team. GISEC Expectations: This year Exclusive network hit revenue market with a whopping €627 million and target to hit 1 billion by 2016. The market has evolved on the services platform, but still there are many organizations out there who sell you products in the name of solutions. But at Exclusive networks, it is Services all the way”. ë

Expertise, Threat Intelligence and Perfect Tools Fidelis, we make and have made many presentations on the causes and effect of security breaches so that the enterprises and end-users can benefit from various case studies and examples. Awareness is at place. I believe the prime factor is the lack of proper vulnerability systems—a lot of time is being taken to detect a potential threat. So according to me, a major drawback is in the Network visibility infrastructure

JIM JAEGER, CHIEF CYBER SERVICES STRATEGIST.

GISEC Agenda: Our agenda is to build our relationships with our partners. We have a very moderate presence and focus in the Middle East, but through our partners we are trying to expand our networks and capabilities, particularly in the commercial and government space. Security Breach Factors: We spend a lot of time investigating breaches. At

A P R I L 2015

MEA

Recommendation to CIOs: CIOs must focus more on expertise and services rather than the solutions. The technological tools and solutions are at place, what they need is ‘Comprehensive tools’, not just smart tools. Assimilating individual smart tools will create hurdles in collating data and enhancing visibility. So go for a comprehensive tool that boosts network visibility and provides vulnerability management systems. Key Differentiator: Expertise, Threat intelligence and Perfect tools. In the world of solutions, Fidelis offers Comprehensive solutions’. ë

PHILIPPE ROGGEBAND, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER OF CISCO SECURITY ARCHITECTURE.

Insecurity of Things Internet of Things won’t happen if we don’t have the right security levels associated with it. IoT means different things to different people. There are three broad categoriesl Objects that connect to enterprise networks l |Industrial Control Systems – connected objects on the manufacturing floor – There we have something more to be concerned about because those things used to be connected to a separate isolated network but wasn’t connected to the enterprise network or internet previously. That’s changing because we have moved to a connected world. Security needs to be integrated into those without disrupting the work ; that’s a big challenge. l Consumer Technology- the most challenging to control Expectations from GISEC We wish to share with the customers of this region that security is more of an adjective, than a noun- it’s something that you attach to a business objective. Cisco Advantage l Architected Approach l We know that threat landscape is a moving target. The way we deal with that is –we have got an organization named Talos- their job is to analyze the internet traffic 24/7 and build the intelligence. l We recently introduced the incident response service. One of the biggest problems is the lack of skilled security specialists. For an organization to be protected they need talent; if they can’t find it, what we are offering instead is a remote centralized capability with top-notch specialists who work closely with the Talos. ë

GISEC-GEMEC 2015SPECIAL

Breaching the gap between business and consumer technology

PIONEERS IN SECURE ENTERPRISE MOBILITY

AT GEMEC 2015, SAMSUNG HAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 ENTERPRISE OFFERINGS, WHICH CLOSES THE GAP BETWEEN BUSINESS AND CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY.

both hardware and software for advanced data and privacy protection.

MR. KHALED KAMEL, HEAD OF DEPARTMENT, ENTERPRISE BUSINESS, SAMSUNG GULF ELECTRONICS

What roadmap will GISEC set for Samsung? Samsung aims to bring security and reliability to the CIO. Samsung is working in parallel to build an ecosystem of enterprise solutions that deliver productivity, mobility, safety and security. Our main goal is to help sectors in the Gulf region that are transitioning from analogue to digital services and solutions while also adopting devices from the B2C marketplace.

What significance does GISEC have for Samsung? When most people think of Samsung, they think ‘consumer devices,’ not digital security solutions. As the world’s largest manufacturer of consumer electronics, we know that privacy and security are crucial to the experiences that our users have with our devices. GISEC gives us a rare opportunity to talk about our enterprise solutions. Samsung Galaxy S6 comes enterprise-ready right out of the box. A key part of our new offering is Samsung KNOX. A secure mobile platform for enterprises and employees, KNOX integrates security into

What is the cutting edge competitive advantage that the S6 has? After giving employees the freedom to choose how they want to communicate and collaborate, businesses are still struggling to secure transformative technologies like the latest smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S6 bridges this gap as one of the smartest and sharpest personal smartphones on the market. The core performance of the phone and the remarkable mobile security that we have installed ensures that employees will always have secure access to both their personal and professional lives. ë

ASHOK KUMAR, CHIEF OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - EMEA & SAARC, TALARIAX.

‘sendQuick’ from TalariaX has been at the forefront of Enterprise Mobility and IT Security. Facilitating a whole slew of niche applications such as Alert Notifications, Enterprise Messaging, Third Party Application Integration, 2 Factor Authentication and Network Monitoring, ‘sendQuick’ appliances are plug and play and yet Enterprise class to meet with demanding needs such as security, scaleability and redundancy. Talking about the evolution of SendQuick, Ashok Kumar, Chief of Business Development, Talariax said ‘sendQuick is one brand that fits whether you are talking about a Product, Solution or Service as it depends upon how it’s sold and implemented by our partners’. TalariaX is well supported by a multi-tier ecosystem of channel partners some of whom have vertical expertise in selling solutions and services to end-users. ë

“Be Alert in the Golden Hour” The Golden Hour The golden hour refers to that time when the attack is detected and it calls for immediate action. If the organization surpasses that crucial 60 minutes, then the results can be devastating. The success rates of the attackers are high because they have closely examined the behavior of the organizations and its monitoring procrastinations. “It is like a tailor made dress, no matter how well a readymade dress fits you, it cannot

beat the tailor made dress that knows and gels well with your body type. Same is the case with the attacker who has monitored you closely and your threat monitoring behaviors. ” Cites Omar. “Future technology is more secure than ever” That is the claim of Intel security. Speaking on this Omar says, “There is always a learning curve around security. Initially security was a piece

of technology, but today security is at the heart of technology. And at Intel security we make a move by learning the security landscape and hence our solutions are customized and thus we excel.” Hackers can smell your weakness from miles away. Organizations need to be update with latest technologies so security breaches does not have a single cause and effect theory. Organizations cannot sit duck to innovations, if you have a

OMAR BARAKAT, TERRITORY MANAGER—EGYPT, LEVANT, LIBYA SALES

team you have to educate that team to be able to react and respond to the threat much before it cripples the entire organization. ë

A P R I L 2 015

MEA

GISEC-GEMEC 2015 SPECIAL

“Managing your privileged accounts”

TIM GOODWIN, CHANNEL DIRECTOR, EMEA, CYBERARK

CyberArk at GISEC We at CyberArk are focused on protecting the privileged accounts of an enterprise. It’s a great opportunity to come and see the security in the region on such a big platform and meet likeminded people. Security Scale in the Region On the scale of security, the region stands on 6/10 in terms of vulnerability and 9/10 in terms of awareness. There is a lot of focus on primitive threats, anti-virus, firewalls etc. but there is a new layer of inside protection coming up and that’s the focus of CyberArk. Security is all about controlled networks. Competitive Edge CyberArk fits into both the category of products

“IT SECURITY THAT YOU CAN TRUST”

and services. The privileged account is the most important account for any enterprise as that account authenticates the operations. If you are on the hosting platform then managing the privilege account becomes more important because somebody else has the access to all the information. Everyday we see highly severe breaches and we are not just securing your system, we are securing the third party systems too, so our services are spread across all the arenas regardless of whether you are a hosting platform, our products and services best fit for all.

At Radar it is ‘Technology combined with the expertise of experienced professionals’

Enterprise freedom and BYOD No matter how much liberty an enterprise has in going paperless and transcending technological perimeters, there always has to be a control over the things. There has to be a robust system that must control the activities, secure it and CyberArk helps you build that robust system.

Anticipating the threat OR Solving the threat: At Radar services have a very dedicated and diligent 24/7 services. We are always proactive on the threat forefront so we are capable of alerting the customers so that they can deflate the threat much before it happens.

Post-cloud Cloud has been making business cost-effective and transparent and it is a dynamic infrastructure which you can grow.

Hackers VS Technology: “As technology evolves, so does the human intelligence so there will always be people who wish to turn the key around security barriers and outsmart the security frontiers.e have evolved. We are investing a lot of focus on the services platform because we see that a lot of organizations are not having resources for internal security. IT security is completely in alignment with business process now. IT and business are not two different entities now. ë

CyberArk and IoT When billions and trillions machines will be connected, CyberArk will make sure that only those people get access who are meant to get access to the devices. We are doing that already and we plan to do that in the future too. ë

DR. CHRISTIAN POLSTER, CFO & CSO, RADAR SERVICES

Game Changing Security Platform In Focus l Enhancements that further strengthen the cyber threat prevention capabilities of the Palo Alto Networks Traps Advanced Endpoint Protection offering that enables Traps to stop even unknown malware and zero-day exploits from compromising an endpoint, l AutoFocus cyberthreat intelligence service that provides prioritized, actionable intelligence designed to give customers a clear advantage in the battle against cyber threats.

A P R I L 2015

MEA

Prevention is the key The game has changed at the global level. Enterprises and governments now face advanced threats that evade traditional security products. Fundamental shifts in how technology is used –are raising concerns about new attack vectors.The security landscape in the Middle East is also showing signs of maturing as most of the organizations have started to accept that cyber security is a real threat; and managing it is a strategic business decision rather than just an IT decision. In such a

scenario, having a preventive solution becomes crucial. We can’t just afford to have a detection solution only. Competitive Advantage Palo Alto Networks solutions are a complete paradigm shift from a detection and remediation stance to one of prevention. The intention is to shut the door on advanced threats that can otherwise evade detection by network-based security or take advantage of the blind spots in traditional infrastructure.

SAEED AGHA, GENERAL MANAGER MIDDLE EAST AT PALO ALTO NETWORKS

We stay committed to influencing and shaping Middle East’s cybersecurity landscape ë

GISEC-GEMEC 2015SPECIAL

“Marking our presence with cloud security and compliance platforms”

“ORGANIZATIONS ARE SLEEPWALKING…IN REACTING TO SECURITY BREACHES”

Organizational challenges The prime factor for security breaches in the region and elsewhere lies in the lack of proper vulnerability management systems. Systems and technology is there but awareness is a key threat.

HADI JAAFARAWI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, QUALYS MIDDLE EAST

Qualys in a Nutshell Qualys, was founded in 1999 and we providecloud security, compliance and related services for small and medium-sized businesses and large corporations. We are the pioneers in delivering vulnerability management solutions as applications through the web using a SaaS model. Product Launch at GISEC We have launched theQualys Cloud AgentPlatform (CAP), a revolutionary new platform that extends Qualys’ industry-leading Cloud Security and Compliance Platform with lightweight agents to continuously assess security and compliance of organizations’ global IT infrastructure and applications.

Competitive Edge We are not only solution providers, we also have other training and certification programs that provides security professionals with up to date knowledge and skills on enterprise vulnerability and management systems. From the product point of view. Qualys CAP is a game changer and a new paradigm of continuously assessing IT systems. This platform provides our customers with the flexibility and choice they need to conduct real-time vulnerability and compliance management for IT assets whether it’s on-premise, cloud-based or mobile endpoints. For us customer security is the top priority. We also offer free API Access that enables our users to automate web testing and keep themselves updated and thus protect themselves from SSL vulnerabilities. GISEC for Qualys GISEC is like a pillar of security that maps and supports the security vendors and solution providers in the region. This is also an excellent opportunity for Qualys to mark our presence in the region ë

NICK POLLARD, SENIOR DIRECTOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, EMEA/APAC

Guidance software in Nutshell Guidance software provides solutions for all basic information security issues. Security Awareness “Organizations are sleepwalking when it comes to security awareness. Organizations think thay have all the technologies and policies in place, but in reality and according to my experience organizations realize the threat nearly 8 to 10 weeks after the breach has happened.” Competitive edge “We are a fast moving business. Our technology enables the organizations to realize the threat instantly and respond to it and protect their sensitive data.” ë

“Security is an Abstract term…hence more threatening” Odyssey Consulting’s services have 4 key categories that help enterprises in building a robust and Information Security Management System. “AT Odyssey we see to it that your IT investments are paid off well and justified.” Managed Security & Outsourcing Services. Key Services Managed Security & Out-

sourcing Services (MSOS); Information Security; Network Infrastructure and Governance, Compliance & Risk Management. On the cloud platform Odyssey responds to various challenges by providing secure, over the private-cloud, access to a feature-rich SIEM platform, which addresses the needs of organizations.

Security Perspective Security is an abstract term, you cannot touch it or see it. Unknown threats are more dangerous, so it is very important to fortify the regulations and think out of the box. A hacker thousand miles away is trespassing your networks and stealing data and you are sitting in your office feeling secured. So, the scenario is definitely changing and

CHRISTOS ONOUFRIOU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

awareness is spreading. GISEC 2015 is a gateway for us to enter the Middle East market, especially in the GCC. ë

A P R I L 2 015

MEA

GISEC-GEMEC 2015 SPECIAL

Secure Mobility Solutions OXYGEN MIDDLE EAST IS A MOBILITY SOLUTION PROVIDER, FOCUSING ON DESIGNING, DISTRIBUTING, AND IMPLEMENTING HIGH PERFORMING, SCALABLE, AND SECURES WIRELESS SOLUTIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST REGION. EC MEA TEAM SPOKE TO MR KHALID LABAN, CEO OF OXYGEN ME AT GISEC 2015.

according to the latest reports; so the concept of security is not enough without considering mobility.

KHALID LABAN, CEO OF OXYGEN MIDDLE EAST

Highlight of Oxygen ME We are the only VAD focused on security and mobility. Most of the others focus on either of the two aspects. The whole network is mobile, so if you don’t know how to put the two together, yours is a point blank product; or you’re just a distributor, not a VAD. 70% of the traffic on the internet today is coming from mobile devices

VidyoVidyo technology innovations put HD-quality, multipoint video communications within reach of anyone using any device, anywhere.

New On Board LogRhythm – The company’s patented and award-winning platform uniquely unifies next-gen SIEM, log management, network and endpoint forensics, and advanced security analytics.

A10 Networks – Their Advanced Core Operating System (ACOS) platform is designed to deliver substantially greater performance and security relative to prior generation application networking products.

RedSealRedSeal is a proactive security solution that automatically maps your network access by analysing network device configurations, & then correlates network access with the findings of your vulnerability assessment scans.

Aruba Networks Clearpass – The ClearPass Access Management System from Aruba Networks takes a fresh approach to solving the mobility challenge – one that gives IT a simpler way to build a foundation that supports enterprise-wide policies, strong security and an enhanced user experience.

MobileIronMobileIron solutions provide end-to-end security and management for apps, docs, and devices.

Plans on the radar We are doing a huge expansion in the KSA. We have our branch offices in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar. ë

Adaptive trust approach to secure connectivity elements that employees are looking for when they purchase a smartphone. Employees earning more than $60K are more than twice as likely as employees earning less than $18K to have lost company financial data Over a third of businesses don’t have any type of basic mobile security policy in place. l Top 5 at-risk regions – Malaysia, Thailand, S. Korea, China and UAE

CHRIS KOZUP, SENIOR DIRECTOR, EMEA MARKETING, ARUBA NETWORKS

“Securing #GenMobile: Is Your Business Running the Risk?” – Key Findings from the Aruba Study #GenMobile is a workforce of sharers with a general disregard for security procedures. Within the UAE, 62% of employees actively share their mobile devices with other employees. In the UAE, security features ranks fifth in terms of the

A P R I L 2015

MEA

Prime Focus l Wireless Workplaces- Aruba leads with Gigabit WiFi solutions. That really allows customers to unplug the cord with the confidence that their network will support all of their critical applications. l Securing the wireless environment – Making sure that we have a security framework that can really adapt to the user, location, the type of applications and devices being used. l Delivering architectures for smaller sized companies that allow them to manage their wireless networks from the cloud l Mobile engagement – How do we actually

extend services to the mobile device for the user based on the identity and location of the user. This is of interest to marketing people or brand owners. For example, if you’re a StarBucks fan and are near an outlet, the network can actually detect you and share with you promotional offers (only with your permission). Competitive Advantage Focus – We are 100% focused on mobility. If you look at some large players in this market space, wireless mobility makes up a very small percentage of their business and is not their primary focus. If you look at some of the small players in this market, they are really good at may be just one aspect of mobility. Aruba’s strength lies in looking at end-to-end mobile experience. We understand the difference in infrastructure need of a small and a large company; and provide both -choice and flexibility. We have an extensive ecosystem of partners, leveraging our strengths and innovating with theirs to ensure that we deliver the comprehensive mobile solution set to the enterprise. ë

GISEC-GEMEC 2015SPECIAL

Solution for everything DELL’S SIMPLE YET POWERFUL SOFTWARE – COMBINED WITH DELL HARDWARE AND SERVICES – PROVIDE SCALABLE, INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS TO DRIVE VALUE AND ACCELERATE RESULTS. EC MEA TEAM SPOKE TO RACHEL MEULEMAN, MARKETING MANAGER, D SOFTWARE DURING GISEC 2015 ABOUT THE END-TOEND SOLUTION OFFERINGS THEY ARE BRINGING TO THE TABLE.

Expectations from GISEC “We are expecting lots of people from the industry to come and actually find out what we are doing. Dell is being presented for the first time as a security solutions provider with a number of different products. Unlike previous years, there are various security solutions in our portfolio now- like data protection, identity access management; SecureWorks for the solution centre-it’s able to provide the entire security portfolio for the customers. It’s about letting the public know, increasing the awareness, and bringing a lot of professional pre-sales people come to the floor and provide solutions that the people need and they want. We’re up here against the competition in our field. We want people e to know we are

here, we are strong and are stronger than ever.” Hardware and now software “When it comes to security, Dell has both hardware and software. In the software section, there’s a huge selection on offer- we have identified three different lines of businesses – one of them is security; the other two are information management and systems management and in there we have around 200 products that we actually carry. We have so many different solutions that we can find a solution for every single customer out there. We are not limited.” Spreading the message of Dell Software

RACHEL MEULEMAN, MARKETING MANAGER, D SOFTWARE- PARTNER TO DELL

We are definitely focusing on the marketing of the overview of Dell Software. We are having an end-user event in Turkey on 28th May followed up by a partner-focused event in Dubai. On 3rd June, we are going to do a big end-user event with around 500 end-users and we are doing one in Poland too for East Europe. So, we are currently covering the emerging market. We focus both on the large enterprises as well as the SMBs. We are pretty diversified when it comes to customers and partners. ë

Enterprise level Security at SMB Pricing DELL HAS RECENTLY RELEASED THE NEW SONICWALL TZ SERIES FIREWALLS EMPOWERED WITH A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN NETWORK PERFORMANCE, THE ABILITY TO ANALYZE ENCRYPTED SSL TRAFFIC, AND AN INTEGRATED WIRELESS CONTROLLER.

FLORIAN MALECKI, EMEA PRODUCT & SOLUTION MARKETING DIRECTOR AT DELL SOFTWARE

Focus at GISEC 2015 To reinforce to the channels and the end user community that Dell is a true end-to-end security vendor. GISEC Launch – New SonicWALL TZ firewalls The new SonicWALL TZ Series is built around

state-of-the-art, multi-core security processors to create the highest performance, desktop formfactor UTM firewall on the market with intrusion prevention speeds reaching up to 1.1Gbps. It has the ability and the processing power to inspect SSL connections against the latest threats, providing an even higher level of security for Dell customers. Combined with the recently introduced 802.11ac-capableDell SonicPoints, the new TZ Series provides an ideal wireless security solution for both small businesses and large distributed enterprises. The patented reassembly-free deep packet inspection engine allows the SonicWALL TZ Series to scan every byte of every packet on all ports and protocols with almost zero latency. This technology eliminates bottlenecks and allows organizations to use security as an enabler, not an inhibitor. The graphical user interface in the TZ Series is easy to comprehend and eliminates the choice between ease-of-use and power by allowing rapid deployment and easy maintenance, thus driving down total cost of ownership. This makes

work easy for the resellers as well. Key Point of SonicWALL Firewalls We have a presence in every single GCC country. It is really future-proof in terms of scalability and flexibility. Marketing Strategy The go-to-market strategy here in the Middle East continues to be the two-tier model. Needless to say, Dell is being projected as an end-to-end security provider. Additionally, the brand legacy of SonicWALL is being banked upon as well since SonicWALL is a brand the market knows by name worldwide. We are organizing our pan EMEA partner event in Berlin from 18th-20th May – this is our annual EMEA partner summit for basically Dell SonicWALL and now we are introducing other parts of the Dell Software business to the partners as well. In the GCC, we regularly organize end-user events with our resellers. ë

A P R I L 2 015

MEA

GISEC-GEMEC 2015 SPECIAL

Delivering effective managed security services to combat advanced threats Key Focus We are the global leader in information security, operating across 70 countries and providing managed and monitored services to over 4000 clients globally. GISEC 2015 offers Dell SecureWorks a fantastic opportunity to showcase our security services portfolio, while also highlighting our significant investment in the Middle East. This region has been a huge growth area over the past two years and we are in the process of building our local capabilities to support existing customers and expand our footprint across GCC. A strong MSS contender One of Dell SecureWorks’ areas of expertise is security monitoring Being able to understand what’s happening outside the border of your security enterprise and applying this context to what’s happening within the perimeters of your network, right through to the end-point is absolutely critical. Providing this layer of

intelligence and making an informed decision to ensure your organisation remains secure is a massive challenge. As companies add security technology such as IDS/IPS to their networks, the challenge of analysing events is compounded by the evolving security threat landscape. Organisations need a way to process at scale, while making intelligence driven decisions to protect their business. Dell SecureWorks’ purpose built Counter Threat Platform (CTP) processes 110 billion events a day and filters down to suspicious or malicious events for review by our team of certified security analysts. These security experts manage and monitor customer enterprises 24/7/365 and alert on any high risk activity to customers within 15 minutes. Our mix of people, process and technology can help find that needle in a haystack and augment existing in-house security teams to ensure your resources are able to respond quickly to any malicious threats.

MARK MORLAND, REGIONAL SALES MANAGER , DELL SECUREWORKS

Marketing strategy We have a very strong marketing team within Dell SecureWorks and are continuing to invest heavily to support growth plans. We have a programme of events planned in KSA and UAE as well as a number of speaking engagements in the GCC. We also have comprehensive media campaign to continually build awareness in the region and offer regular thought-leading and educational webcasts to the market. ë

Enabling Businesses with utmost ease THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING AND FOCUS SOFTNET OFFERS CUSTOM-BUILT IT SOLUTIONS TO HELP COMPANIES FOCUS ON WHAT THEY DO BEST, WHILE FUNCTIONING BETTER AND DRIVING BUSINESS.

launching, especially with the Focus 8 horizon that we are looking at (launched in GITEX 2014), pretty much everything we do is cloud-enabled and mobile-driven.

ROHAN TEJURA, AS. VICE PRESIDENT, FOCUS SOFTNET

Focus at GEMEC We are showcasing our strengths on the mobile platforms altogether. All of our solutions traditionally have been very rich in terms of user experience but they have been mostly client server oriented, enterprise driven. But in the latest generation of solutions we have been

A P R I L 2015

MEA

Competitive Advantages l Uniformity of the user experience across various platforms and devices l Ease of deployment is one of the enviable attributes that Focus carries in the market. When we deploy our solutions across several different environments, our systems are easy and quick to implement and highly customizable while maintaining the security protocols that are required by organizations. Very little or no programming is required to deploy our solutions, as opposed to that of our competitors. All of our applications can be customized by a grid of check-boxes that you can select. l We are one of the few ERP providers which are on a global platform that have regional presence across multiple cities across GCC with each

branch having its own development centre, sales & support centre, after-sales centre and bridge application development centre. l Ease of use l Robust capabilities to the organization l We have a very strong hand-holding and training program when new customers come on board. Presence across the region We have a presence in every single GCC country. We have four offices in the UAE, three offices in the KSA, and at least one office in every other GCC country. Apart from that, we also have a strong partner network across the region that augments our business. Plans on the radar There are a lot of developments coming up – Focus 8 is going to become very specialized, vertical specific and very robust when it comes to cloud and mobile technologies. ë

GISEC-GEMEC 2015SPECIAL

Empowering Solutions with Value added Education and partners. It has been successful as many of the enterprises and customers showed interest. I think these kind of education and creating awareness is more important than just talking about the solutions. So first we make them aware of the trends and then showcase the solutions, so that the enterprises actually know what they are buying and why they are buying. This is our region, so I believe that we should raise the awareness of this region first. Knowledge and education is the main challenge. MOHAMMAD MOBASSERI, CEO,

Offering with vendors Today, a lot of IT vendors are offering a lot of solutions. We aim to provide enterprises with ‘Professional Solutions’ that best fit their requirements. Many times it happens that, enterprises invest a lot on one particular solution but then the solution stands less significance to the operations. In such a situation we offer professional solution packages that determine the challenges that an enterprise faces and provides Responsibility as a VAD We are not capable of pushing any customers to buy a specific product. The emt academy was launched last year with the objective to educate channel partners and make them aware of the demand for security in the region. The academy focused more on products and brands but this time we are placing a large focus on general topics to increase the knowledge of our customers

Entering the MS regime Investment in managed services is huge. We are going to be a MSP distributors and the biggest challenge that we are facing is again— education. The resellers are not identifying the value behind this. But the larger part of our plan is to join a group of companies or company who are already in this regime (MSP Distribution) and doing well. Key differentiator Our focus is our key differentiator. We focus only on IT security. Second is our focus on education. Market evolution:When it comes to real business, the market is still all ‘Products, products and products’. Next month we are planning to launch a new bundle of 3 products as solutions, so by this we are trying to change the culture. Expectation from GISEC:GISEC last year had set a very good roadmap for us, we got many quality leads. So this year it is very important for us and if we have equally good results we will be able to invest more in GITEX. ë

GOING THE EXTRA MILE

SOORAJ VENUGOPALAN, VICE PRESIDENT— MANAGED SECURITY SERVICES AT PARAMOUNT

Paramount in a nutshell Paramount, as an organization has been transforming and re-inventing itself to cater to the growing information securityneeds. Our services range fromthe provision ofsecurity policy and awareness trainings to end-to-end solutions that include perimeter security, secure content management, identity and access management, vulnerability assessments, risk, policy and compliance management, staffing solutions and managed security services. Paramount catalyzes as a true blend of consulting and technology solutions. Competitive Advantage of Solutions At Paramount there is never a ‘NO’ on the technological forefront. We offer cuttingedge technologies for the ‘hyper-extended’ enterprise.Our advanced APT protection, sandboxing, single sign-on, firewalls, IPS, etc. are just a few to name from the elaborate bouquet of solutions that we deliver.ë

“Secunia makes you secure, rather than make you feel secure” Security loophole It lies in being passive to the threats. There is a difference between legacy and passiveness—legacy can be largely product centric where you have outdated products that costs you a lot of money but don’t give you the desired results. Passiveness is more about the services, where you actually don’t do what you need

to do. “We are showcasing various layers of solutions for the proactive IT challenges”. GISEC 2015 is an answer to numerous questions on security. It is a hub of vendors, partners and disties that holds great importance in determining the development of future technology.

Competitive edge We cover end-to-end solutions and we cover all operations, we cover all products. We have to evolve according to the technology. BYOD is still a nightmare for many organizations, here the keyword is ‘Process’— If there is a security system in a workplace one has to follow the process that

ANTHONY GIULIANO MINNELLI, SENIOR MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT, VULNERABILITY INTELLIGENCE

is weaved into it, then the security concerns can be limited to an extent. Secunia keeps you secure environment secure. ë

A P R I L 2 015

MEA

GISEC-GEMEC 2015 SPECIAL

Security should not be a ‘Boardroom Discussion’ REDINGTON VALUE’S IS THROWING THE SPOTLIGHT ON ITS LATEST PORTFOLIO OF STATE-OF-THE-ART SECURITY, CYBER SECURITY AND CLOUD SOLUTIONS, WHICH CAN BE USED TO EFFECTIVELY COMBAT THE INCREASING CASES OF ADVANCED THREATS AND ATTACKS.

HISHAMULHASHEEL A, GM- SOFTWARE AND SECURITY, REDINGTON VALUE

VAD Responsibility I believe, the market is still very product-centric and it is looking at security from a product perspective. It has to come above it and we as a VAD are trying our best to educate our channel partners and twist that cap. As a VAD, our value

lies in how much value we can create in the channels. We believe in decentralizing value to our entire channel and partner ecosystem. At GISEC 2015, the company entered into strategic distribution agreements with leading IT security vendors Shavlik, Fidelis and Niksun. Shavlik is a pioneer in agentless endpoint patching technology, virtualization security, and third party patching for Microsoft Configuration Manager (SCCM) customers. Fidelis Cybersecurity provides organizations with a robust, comprehensive portfolio of products, services, and expertise to combat today’s sophisticated advanced threats and prevent data breaches. Niksun is a recognized global leader in cyber security and network monitoring solutions-offering a highly scalable array of real time and forensics-based cyber security and network performance management solutions for government &intelligence agencies, service providers, financial services companies, and large enterprises such as retailers and manufacturers.

Evolution For the past several years, we have been building our security solutions and are gradually moving on to the services zone. We have completely migrated from the product-centric phase and Gisec is an excellent platform for us to position ourselves in the market as an advanced security VAD and we are establishing a new partnership venture with Fidelis for cyber security. Security Awareness Security is the fastest growing segment of IT. There have been a lot of security outbreaks in the region, UAE of course shares the major part of it, where enterprises have gone beyond the traditional security interfaces. So, too much of awareness is also a problem. According to me, one of the predominant reason for Middle East being targeted by the cyber criminals is because of the fact that security is not a ‘Boardroom Discussion’. Consumerization of IT is one of the legacy systems that enterprises must transcend. ë

‘We secure the future’ GARTNER MAGIC QUADRANT HAS NAMED CHECK POINT ‘LEADER’ IN ENTERPRISE NETWORK FIREWALLS FOR COMPLETENESS OF VISION AND ABILITY TO EXECUTE. THE LEADERSHIP POSITION HAS BEEN UNWAVERING SINCE 1997.

of technology to make people aware that they are under threat— is the legacy. That’s where we bridge the gap with Check Point. We give them the technology to be aware of the threat.” Regional Security Landscape: In terms of security, the market awareness is quite vast. Investments in technology are at place. As the hype goes, only banking and finance cannot be labelled as the most vulnerable industries. Security threat applies to all industries. The oil and gas sector has been victims of hazardous cyber-attacks. Critical infrastructure is at stake too.

a network, has the highest catch rate of malicious files.

Solutions from Check Point Check Point Sandboxing Technology Tops Zero-Day Malware: Check Point Threat Emulation Service protects organizations against new, unknown and targeted attacks before they infect

Agenda for GISEC Check Point’s agenda in GISEC is to make our presence felt. People know check point, but the event will help us in making a sound presence and let the market be aware of our products. ë

In Mobile security Check Point Capsule protects your mobile devices from threats, provides a secure business environment for mobile device use and protects business documents wherever they go. Endpoint Security single agent providing data security, network security, threat prevention and a remote access VPN for complete Windows and Mac OS X security.

RAM NARAYAN, CHANNEL MANAGER

Legacy systems and lack of awareness have been blamed numerous times as the prime factor for security breaches. Ram Narayan from Check Point has a different version to it. “Lack

A P R I L 2015

MEA

Connect. Share. Give. Take. Solve. Save. Smile. Unify. Introducing Unify. Unifying business communications for the new way to work. unify.com

Scale smarter. Manage easier. Innovate faster. New PowerEdge servers can be configured up to 99% faster 1 and boost IOPS by up to 10x.2 Whether your business relies on data to predict the future, improve outcomes or engage more customers, the next generation of PowerEdge servers with Intel® Xeon® processors will help boost application and workload performance — so you can scale smarter, manage easier, innovate faster.

The 1st 2.5" hot-plug SSD3 delivers up to

Zero-touch

10IOPS X 99

automation configures up to

faster1

Deploy

10,000 servers in an

instant1

Learn more about these award-winning servers and revolutionary in-server flash designs.

To Learn More, Visit Dell.com/accelerate Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. 1 Based on Principled Technologies report ‘Simplifying systems management with Dell OpenManage on 13G Dell PowerEdge servers’, September 2014, commissioned by Dell, testing Dell’s 13th generation R730 with Enterprise-level Dell systems management. As compared to manual configuration. 2 Based on product specifications for Intel S3700 SATA SSD and Express Flash results from the Storage Networking Industry Association. 3 Based on Dell internal analysis August 2014 comparing SATA SSDs to Express Flash - PCIe-Gen3 x4 testing random reads. ©2015 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell, the Dell logo and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc. in the United States and other countries.

13G-Wave-2-Print-Ad-CB-EN_UK MK.indd 1

3/23/15 2:49 PM