NEWS

NUTANIX DELIVERS ADVANCED DATA MANAGEMENT PLATFORM FOR HYBRID AND MULTICLOUD Era 2.0 extends the Nutanix database management solution across clouds and clusters

Bala Kuchibhotla SVP & GM, Nutanix

Nutanix, a leader in hybrid and multicloud computing, announced the release of the first cloud agnostic multi-database management solution. Era 2.0 extends the Nutanix database management solution across clouds and clusters to simplify opThe partnership with Aviatrix enables both large enterprises and small businesses to easily integrate security tools in a public cloud environment Help AG, the cyber security arm of Etisalat Digital, y announced its partnership with Aviatrix, the cloud network platform, to help better enable secure adoption and usage of cloud services for businesses in a simplified manner. As more businesses and app owners deploy cloud-based solutions, the agility and speed required has been a major obstacle for a successful cloud security implementation. The challenge (for security teams and tools) has been further compounded by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the dramatic increase in utilization of cloud and multi-cloud environments as organizations and their customers began operating remotely overnight. To address these challenges, Help AG’s partnership with Aviatrix enables both erations, with increased scale and reduced costs for IT and database teams. Additionally, Nutanix announced expanded support for Postgres and SAP HANA as well as a joint solution, powered by Era 2.0, with HCL.

Era enables IT teams to deliver Database as a Service by bringing one-click simplicity and invisible operations to database provisioning and lifecycle management. It’s a multi-database solution with support for Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and MariaDB, in addition to Postgres and SAP HANA.

“Companies are increasingly looking for technology solutions to support their hybrid and multicloud strategies but, while some vendors deliver application mobility, we haven’t seen a lot of innovation when it comes to multicloud database management,” said Bala Kuchibhotla, SVP &

Stephan Berner

Chief Executive Officer, Help AG large enterprises and small businesses to easily integrate security tools in a public cloud environment such as the creation of encrypted tunnels between cloud services. Aviatrix also helps to efficiently connect legacy data centres to cloud while ensuring much-needed infrastructure, operational visibility across deployment General Manager, Nutanix Era, Databases and Business Critical Apps at Nutanix. “Nutanix Era now delivers on our vision to provide a cloud agnostic multi-database management solution to truly unlock the promise of hybrid and multicloud.”

“At HCL, we help our customers to accelerate their data and infrastructure modernization journey with a secure, scalable, and cloud-ready database as a service. Our industry acclaimed services powered by the Nutanix Era & HCI platform will provide enterprises with a world-class automated database platform,” says Kalyan Kumar, Corporate Vice President and CTO, IT Services, HCL Technologies.

Era delivers simplified database management by combining the scalability and performance of Nutanix’s HCI software with the flexibility of cloud-ready data-

HELP AG PARTNERS WITH AVIATRIX TO SIMPLIFY CLOUD NETWORKING AND SECURITY

base services. processes and networking technologies spanning different cloud providers and services.

Stephan Berner, Chief Executive Officer at Help AG, said,“When public cloud infrastructure was designed and built, it was done by technical experts who were looking for minimal acceptable functionality. However, enterprises have very specific requirements for infrastructure and Aviatrix fixes a set of unique problems especially when running multi-cloud environments or connecting to legacy data centres. Together, we help better enable secure adoption and usage of cloud services through the use of innovative solutions that address confidentiality and control of data, control of identity and mitigation of threats.”

The Aviatrix cloud network platform delivers advanced networking, security and operational visibility required by enterprises with the simplicity and automation of cloud.

IBM SPLITS INTO TWO COMPANIES

The vendor will focus on majority revenue earnings from high-value cloud software and solutions

Arvind Krishna Chief Executive Officer, IBM

IBM announced its split into two entities will one focused on services. IBM will accelerate its hybrid cloud growth strategy to drive digital transformations for its clients. Additionally, IBM will separate its Managed Infrastructure Services unit of its Global Technology Services division into a new public company (“NewCo”). “IBM is laser-focused on the $1 trillion hybrid cloud opportunity,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM Chief Executive Officer. “Client buying needs for application and infrastructure services are diverging, while adoption of our hybrid cloud platform is accelerating. Now is the right time to create two market-leading companies focused on what they do best. IBM will focus on its open hybrid cloud platform and AI capabilities. NewCo will have greater agility to design, run and modernize the infrastructure of the world’s most important organizations.”

IBM will focus on its open hybrid cloud platform, which represents a $1 trillion market opportunity. Building on IBM’s hybrid cloud foundation, the company acquired Red Hat to unlock the full value of the cloud for clients, further accelerating adoption of the platform. IBM will move from a company with more than half of its revenues in services to one with a majorhybrid cloud growth and another on managed infrastructure

ity in high-value cloud software and solutions.

The new company (to be named at a subsequent date) will immediately be the world’s leading managed infrastructure services provider. The new company will be entirely focused on managing and modernizing client-owned infrastructures, a $500 billion market opportunity.

VEEAM ACQUIRES KASTEN TO ACCELERATE PROTECTION OF KUBERNETES-NATIVE WORKLOADS

Veeam and Kasten’s Modern Data Management Platform will speed the production deployment of container-based Applications

Veeam Software announced its acquisition of Kasten, the market leader for Kubernetes Backup and Disaster Recovery, in a cash and stock transaction valued at $150M.

Containers are a critical component of DevOps-led infrastructure and application modernization, and Kubernetes has emerged as the dominant container orchestration platform – creating a significant opportunity for a single data protection platform that includes virtual, physical, cloud and Kubernetes environments. Veeam recognizes the strategic importance of this environment, the increasing importance of providing modern data management that is deeply integrated into Kubernetes, and the growth of DevOps to improve quality, increase scalability, Danny Allan CTO & SVP, Product Strategy, Veeam

and accelerate application delivery while reducing daily management. With the Kasten K10 Data Management Platform, Veeam will now be able to offer enterprise operations teams an easy-to-use, scalable, and secure system for Kubernetes Backup and application mobility with unparalleled operational simplicity. “Veeam was built on offering the best data protection for virtual and modern data infrastructures, and we have continued to expand our offerings to include industry-leading protection for physical and cloud environments,” said Danny Allan, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Product Strategy at Veeam. “With the acquisition of our partner Kasten, we are taking a very important next step to accommodate our customers’ shift to container adoption in order to protect Kubernetes-native workloads on-premises and across multi-cloud environments.”

While the Kasten K10 platform will continue to be available independently, it will also be integrated into Veeam Backup & Replication. With Kasten’s protection of container workloads and Veeam support for virtual machines, physical servers, SaaS applications and cloud workloads, this best of breed technology will provide all organizations a single platform for modern data protection.

IBM AND SERVICENOW TO USE AI FOR AUTOMATING IT

Expanded strategic partnership to combine Watson AIOps with ServiceNow’s IT Service Management and IT Operations Management Visibility

IBM and ServiceNow announced an expansion to their strategic partnership designed to help companies reduce operational risk and lower costs by applying AI to automate IT operations. Available later this year, a new joint solution will combine IBM’s AI-powered hybrid cloud software and professional services to ServiceNow’s intelligent workflow capabilities and market-leading IT service and operations management products. The solution is engineered to help clients realize deeper, AI-driven insights from their data, create a baseline of a typical IT environment, and take succinct recommended actions on outlying behavior to help prevent and fix IT issues at scale. Together, IBM and ServiceNow can help companies free up valuable time and IT resources from maintenance activities, to focus on driving the transformation projects necessary to support the digital demands of their businesses. IN SAUDI ARABIA

Infor announced that MenaBev, a multinational franchise organization of PepsiCo, has implemented Infor WMS warehouse management solution at its more than 300,000-square-meter bottling facility in Jeddah. Underpinning Mena-

Bev’s end-to-end operation, from raw material receipt through to the production, storage and shipping of finished goods, Infor WMS will increase automation across the organization, optimizing business processes to boost capacity and support continued growth. The project was successfully managed by Infor alliance partner SNS, a leading provider of supply chain consultancy and software implementation. With eight production lines and thousands of transactions daily between different systems, MenaBev’s facility is the largest operation of its kind in the world. The automation Arvind Krishna, CEO, IBM said, “By partnering with ServiceNow and their market leading Now Platform, clients will be able to use AI to quickly mitigate unforeseen IT incident costs. Watson AIOps with ServiceNow’s Now Platform is a powerful new way for clients to use automation to transform their IT operations.” at this MenaBev facility is state-ofthe-art: LGVs (laser guided vehicles) manage raw materials putaway and replenishment to the lines while a High Bay AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval system) has a capacity for more than 36,000 pallets.

MenaBev solicited the expertise of

SNS consultants in WMS software to complement its offering for this green field project, drawing on the

SNS team’s vast experience in managing such large, complex implemen“For every CEO, digital transformation has gone from opportunity to necessity,” said ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott. “As ServiceNow leads the workflow revolution, our partnership with IBM combines the intelligent automation capabilities of the Now Platform with the power of Watson AIOps. We are focused on driving a generational step improvement

Bill McDermott CEO, ServiceNow

in productivity, innovation and growth.” Organizations are under pressure to deliver innovation and create great experiences for customers and employees, all while driving efficiencies and keeping costs and IT risks down. Yet in today’s technology-driven organization, even the smallest outages can cause massive economic impact for both lost revenue and reputation. This partnership will help customers address these challenges and help avoid unnecessary loss of revenue and reputation by automating old, manual IT processes

PEPSI BOTTLING PLANT GOES LIVE WITH INFOR WMS MenaBev successfully deploys Infor supply chain software with SNS

and increasing IT productivity. tations to ensure the right solution to fulfil MenaBev’s specific needs.

The warehouse management solution integrates with seven different systems, including enterprise resource planning (ERP – including Infor LN) , manufacturing execution system (MES), laboratory information management system (LIMS) and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) systems, providing real-time integration and featuring monitoring screens to identify any integration issues.

TENABLE UNVEILS CAPABILITY TO CONTINUOUSLY SEE AND SECURE CLOUD COMPUTE INSTANCES Frictionless Assessment leverages native technologies deployed as part of the cloud asset to continuously assess instances for vulnerabilities.

Tenable, the Cyber Exposure company, announced new capabilities designed to empower customers to instantly and continuously assess their cloud compute instances without the need to deploy any additional software. Organizations will now be able to confidently harness the benefits of modern, cloud-first environments without vulnerability management programs requiring periodic scans or even agent-based approaches. Frictionless Assessment from Tenable is a revolutionary approach to vulnerability management for modern assets. Frictionless Assessment leverages native technologies deployed as part of the cloud asset to continuously assess instances for vulnerabilities. Customers will be able to evaluate cloud assets without interruption, quickly detecting new vulnerabilities as their environment changes without ever having to schedule a scan or deploy an agent. This integration straightforward IT and security systems integrators across the Middle East and Africa can now deliver more efficient, off-the-shelf integration of complete corporate systems – including access control, visitor management, security and building management – following a distribution agreement between Quanika and NIT, an Ingram Micro Company. Quanika’s modular, ready-made approach is designed to make integration straightforward, even for the most complex, multi-site projects. The company works with systems integrators, consultants, and end-user enterprises globally to leverage seamless integration with Axis Communications’ A1001 and A1601 controllers for unlimited doors and users, network cameras and audio devices. Quanika also allows integrators capability will launch first on Amazon Web Services (AWS), using AWS Systems Manager Run Command, to allow users to remotely and securely manage the configuration of their cloud instances without interruption. With the life of cloud workloads commonly measured in hours, Frictionless Assessment is designed to solve a key challenge of achieving and maintaining accurate visibility into cyber

risk across all cloud-based assets. “Cloud computing is a game changer and so is Frictionless Assessment,” said Renaud Deraison, chief technology officer and co-founder, Tenable. “Customers can set up a full vulnerability management program in seconds and receive actionable results for assets and workloads in their AWS cloud environment within minutes. We’re empowering organizations to invest in the cloud confidently with a risk informed approach, focusing on the highRenaud Deraison CTO & Co-Founder, Tenable

est priority vulnerabilities that pose the greatest risk to the business and less time on managing scans, agents and software.” Frictionless Assessment for AWS will be available to Tenable.io customers later in

NIT, AN INGRAM MICRO COMPANY TURNS DISTRIBUTOR FOR QUANIKA

Quanika’s modular, ready-made approach is designed to make systems

the fourth quarter of 2020. Bassel Al Fakir Managing Director, NIT

to scale up AXIS Camera Station VMS to encompass more cameras and cover multiple sites as well as giving them the extensibility choice of Milestone’s powerful XProtect for video management.

Quanika Compact is a practical and affordable choice for small-to-medium applications in healthcare, retail, manufacturing, logistics and similar locations. Quanika Enterprise is designed for larger scale facilities and corporate enterprises giving organisations complete control and situational awareness across their entire estates globally. The Quanika VisitorPoint visitor management solution streamlines and automates operations.

Bassel Al Fakir, MD, NIT, an Ingram Micro Company, said,“NIT’s distribution agreement with Quanika will provide major opportunities for ICT integrators and consultants across the Middle East and Africa,” he said. “Our customers will be able to use Quanika’s off-the-shelf solutions and 24/7 support to integrate best-in-class technologies and deliver new levels of insight and control.”

MIDIS SI GROUP ACQUIRES MAGNOOS INFORMATION SYSTEMS LLC

MANGOOS will be working closely with MDS AP and other Midis SI affiliates

Midis SI Group have announced that in line with their strategy to strengthen their offerings and capabilities as a Digital System Integrator, the Group have completed acquisition of MAGNOOS Information Systems L.L.C, a Value Added Reseller and Technology Implementation company specializing in the Data Management and Analytics, Service Management and Automation software solutions industry.

MAGNOOS is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE but operates across the Middle East and Africa, with a presence in Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt and Athens. The Company was founded and managed by Michael Halas, who will be joining the Midis SI family as a Managing Partner of MAGNOOS.

MANGOOS will be working closely with Iron Mountain Incorporated, the storage and information management services company enabling digital transformation, reconfirms investment in the UAE with further expansion in Dubai. Since launching in the UAE in 2017, Iron Mountain has been on a bold expansion drive, undertaking a number of acquisitions to grow footprint, staff, services and products for customers in the UAE. With the fourth and most recent acquisition of Glenbeigh Records Management, Iron Mountain added exclusive storage solutions in the UAE, including the region’s only oxygen reduction system for storing paper records. Providing Iron Mountain’s portfolio of customers with the ultimate level of fire prevention and protection for records and data, the service is prevalent with banks, insurance companies and government entities who need to MDS AP and other Midis SI affiliates to improve their market reach and help them expand their offerings and strengthening MAGNOOS’s presence in the region especially in UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Sami Abi Esber, President, Midis SI, said, “I would like to thank our Midis Group team who worked diligently for months to conclude this acquisition. We’ve come a long way in positioning ourselves as a leading SI of choice for customers looking for digital transformation solutions. We’ve complemented our big data and robotics process automation portfolio (RAP) with the acquisition of Magnoos.”

“This acquisition will further strengthen capabilities of the Midis SI group in the domains of Big Data and Analytics. It will also increase our vertical focus by store sensitive data. Actively working to prevent the ignition of a fire, the system lowers the levels of oxygen in the document storage centre and ensures there are insufficient levels of oxygen to sustain a Sami Abi Esber President, Midis SI

creating a strong digital ecosystem and increase our offerings in the AI/ML, AutoML space including ML Ops and help us explore VR/AR and MR Solutions” he

IRON MOUNTAIN RECONFIRMS INVESTMENT IN THE UAE WITH FURTHER EXPANSION Iron Mountain added exclusive storage solutions in the UAE, including the region’s only oxygen reduction system for storing paper records

added. fire, extinguishing it quickly to protect files.

“The UAE is a priority market for Iron Mountain and we are constantly working to strengthen our local presence to better serve both existing and future customers,” said Cenker Ozhelvaci, Vice President of Emerging Markets, Managing Director of Iron Mountain Turkey and UAE. “We recognize the opportunity in the UAE, not only in physical records storage and management, but in the rapid and widespread digitization across the country with government and private businesses. Iron Mountain is committed to bringing the latest innovative digital and physical solutions to provide a best-in-class customer experience, as evidenced by the oxygen reduction storage vault.”

In 2020 alone, Iron Mountain quadrupled its storage capacity across five facilities in Dubai and now boasts the largest storage vault in the region. The acquisition also increased Iron Mountain’s workforce to a combined team of over 200 resources, ensuring the brand meets the expectations of the extensive client roster.

D-LINK TO HELP REGIONAL SMBS STRENGTHEN CLOUD AND DIGITAL STRATEGIES Urges partners to focus on the digital requirements these companies have

D-Link is focusing on supporting regional SMBs to grow their operations in the current virtual business environment by offering them the latest solutions through partners. In the current year, D-Link has enhanced its extensive range with solutions that enable remote working, to new additions in its nuclias cloud enabled range of products, IoT products, IP cameras etc.

Sakkeer Hussain, Director, Sales and Marketing, D-Link Middle East, said, “SMBs are an integral and large part of the economy. Today SMBs are seeking cost-effective ways to deploy innovative enterprise-level digital solutions that will help empower their businesses in the new normal. In today’s virtual era, they are looking to build strong cybersecurity postures, avail the benefits of cloud and automation technologies as well as use data and analytics solutions to enrich their operations and ensure business continuity.” BIOS Middle East (BIOS) to help enterprises in the Middle East to adapt to network challenges and branch complexities BIOS Middle East, a leading provider of cloud and managed IT services for enterprises, announced that it is collaborating with VMware to offer VMware SD-WAN to customers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. BIOS would be the first cloud provider to launch VMware SD-WAN in these countries. VMware SD-WAN delivers high performance and reliable access from branches or work-from-anywhere locations to cloud services, private data centers and SaaS-based enterprise applications in a cost-effective manner. It simplifies branch wide area networking by automating deployment and improving performance over private, broadband Internet, and LTE links for today’s distributed enterprises. According to Hussain, resellers and solutions providers can capitalize on the digital requirements SMB companies have today to operate in remote working models.

“Now more than ever, partners must cater to the SMB space and help these companies overcome the challenges when making the transition to the digital era. By leveraging on technologies such as cloud, IoT, automation, AI and analytics, channel partners can assist SMB customers to not only sustain but also grow their businesses,” added Hussain.

D-Link complements its extensive end-toend offerings around innovative technologies, with its dedicated partner programs.

Hussain said, “We continue to aim to be partners’ one-stop-shop when it comes to the SMB segment. As SMBs increasingly adopt cloud and IoT technologies, put in

Dominic Docherty

Managing Director, BIOS ME VMware SD-WAN is a foundational component of VMware Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform, which converges network services with best-in-class cloud security and Zero Trust network access to Sakkeer Hussain Director, Sales & Marketing, D-Link ME.

place secure networks and embrace digital solutions to help them be productive and efficient in the new normal, they will also experience the freedom and innovation these technologies offer to expand and fu-

BIOS MIDDLE EAST SET TO OFFER VMWARE SD-WAN TO CUSTOMERS IN UAE AND SAUDI ARABIA

ture proof their operations.” deliver flexibility, agility and scalability for enterprises of all sizes. Demand for SD-WAN is on the rise as enterprises become more mobile and seek innovative ways to circumvent the challenges posed by rapid digital transformation. BIOS will leverage its Managed Service offering, known as BIOS Assured, to enable organizations across the UAE and Saudi Arabia to take advantage of VMware SD-WAN.

Dominic Docherty, managing director, BIOS Middle East said, “By introducing VMware SD-WAN as part of our network-as-a-service offerings, customers in the region will gain better visibility, security, automation and improved performance for its applications across distributed locations and clouds, at lower costs. In addition, they will receive the benefits of having a provider that has a robust cloud footprint that leverages data centers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and soon Jeddah.”