Reseller Middle East September 2017 by Reseller Middle East

ISSUE 249 | SEPTEMBER 2017 www.tahawultech.com

HOW TO profit from services

Review

Toshiba Portégé X20W

Prospects in securing IoT

DYNAMIC DISTRIBUTION Redington Value on redefining the regional IT channel

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 249 // SEPTEMBER 2017

COVER FEATURE

DISTINCTIVELY DIFFERENT

Ramkumar Balakrishnan, president, Redington Value, on how the firm aims to redefine the regional distribution space.

HIGHLIGHTS

FEATURES

NEWS We help you catch up on all the major news and announcements in the regional channel community.

OPINION

24 EXAMINING VAT

Aaron White from Sage Middle East, explains the implications of VAT being implemented in the UAE in 2018.

32 BUILDING DEFENSES

Experts share how channel partners can play a role in securing IoT for businesses.

40 SERVE TO LEAD

Reseller ME speaks to experts to learn how the channel can differentiate through a strong services offering.

45 HOT PRODUCTS

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE8 REVIEW

TOSHIBA PORTÉGÉ X20W

50 HP RETAIL POINTOF-SALE SYSTEM

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

EDITORIAL Deeper bonds

Janees Reghelini Editor

E-mail: janees.reghelini@ cpimediagroup.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ TahawulTech Twitter: @TahawulTech

FOUNDER, CPI MEDIA GROUP Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015) Publishing Director Natasha Pendleton natasha.pendleton@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9139

Published by

Registered at Dubai Production City, DCCA PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409 © Copyright 2017 CPI 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.

Relationships govern businesses universally. This is no secret and yet it is an aspect that the regional channel community needs to work on constantly. I had the chance to speak to few industry veterans last month and the picture they paint of the industry two decades ago, is completely different from what it is today. They said that resellers never hesitated to give honest feedback about a vendor’s or distributor’s support. They had the freedom of unrestricted dialogue between each other and this was only possible because they shared a deep-seated bond. Today there are processes and a distinct hierarchy in place. No doubt that this has its own advantages. However, it was great to hear that the relationships forged all those years ago, continue to be solid even today. Maybe this is what the current channel ecosystem need to aspire for – long-term relationships that go beyond business.

With another edition of GITEX around the corner, this becomes even more important. While the five-day networking event is certainly about showcasing the latest offerings and being visible, it is also an opportunity to reaffirm existing relationships and get introduced to new ones. I encourage partners, vendors and distributors to have that much-needed face time where the discussions should be more than just business. According to the veterans, back then, the setting was like how it would be among friends – familiar and casual. Of course, as business expands, a structured setting is vital but wouldn’t it be great to bring back the warmth to the equation as well? At Reseller Middle East, we are in the midst of gearing up for the trade show. As every year, you will see us quite active with a number of initiatives underway. We look forward to meeting all of you and obtaining some quality face time.

EDITORIAL Group Editor Jeevan Thankappan jeevan.thankappan@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9129

ADVERTISING Group Sales Director Kausar Syed kausar.syed@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9130

Editor Janees Reghelini janees.reghelini@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9167

Sales Manager Merle Carrasco merle.carrasco@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9147

Online Editor Adelle Geronimo adelle.geronimo@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9135

CIRCULATION Database and Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh.nair@cpimediagroup.com +971 4440 9119

DESIGN Senior Designer Analou Balbero analou.balbero@cpimediagroup.com Designer Neha Kalvani neha.kalvani@cpimediagroup.com

PRODUCTION Production Manager James P Tharian james.tharian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9159

Operations Manager Shweta Santosh shweta.santosh@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9107 DIGITAL SERVICES Web Developers Jefferson de Joya Abbas Madh Photographers Max Poriechkin Charls Thomas webmaster@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9100 DIGITAL www.resellerme.com Printed by Printwell Printing Press

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

Microsoft applauds Redington Value for CSP business Redington Value has been recognised as the Microsoft Ramkumar ‘Distributor Balakrishnan, of the Year’ Redington Value for highest revenue attainment as an indirect Cloud Service Provider (CSP). The award was announced at Microsoft’s annual partner conference, Microsoft inspire, which took place in Washington DC, USA. “We are honoured to recognise Redington Value as this year’s winner of the Microsoft ‘Distributor of the Year’ award, and commend their transformational efforts on driving the CSP business,” said Tareq Hijazi, director, Commercial Partner Group, Microsoft Gulf. “Redington Value is a prime example of the excellent talent we see in our Microsoft partner community to deliver innovative and transformative solutions to our mutual customers.” As a Microsoft CSP, partners have the opportunity to go beyond reselling licenses and being more involved with customers. They can use dedicated in-product tools to directly provision, manage and support their customer subscriptions. Ramkumar Balakrishnan, president, Redington Value, said, “The Microsoft CSP programme offers us an excellent platform to function as a comprehensive provider for customers’ complete cloud requirements. With our role centred on the emerging cloud era, we look forward to continuing this momentum of empowering our partners with innovative services and tools; and accelerating the cloud business with Microsoft in this everchanging IT market.”

Honeywell signs up Aptec

oneywell is set to further enhance its technology distribution across the Middle East through a new distribution agreement with Aptec, an Ingram Micro company. The agreement will cover the distribution of smart and connected technologies, from (L-R) Ali Baghdadi, Ingram Micro and Edmond Mikhael, Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions cutting-edge mobile computers, voice-enabled software and the value chain, linking our industryworkflows, bar code scanners, and leading technology to thousands of printing solutions. resellers across the Middle East.” Edmond Mikhael, general manager Ali Baghdadi, senior vice president for Honeywell Safety and Productivity and chief executive, Ingram Micro Solutions (SPS) in the Middle East, META, said, “We are delighted to be Turkey and Africa (META), said, “This partnering with a global technology is an important agreement that will leader such as Honeywell and bring our sophisticated, state-of-thework together to provide industry art technology closer to customers, improving safety and productivity across stakeholders with the latest innovations and technological advancements.” industries. Aptec will play a vital role in

Gigamon partners with Exclusive Networks for EMEA Exclusive Networks Middle East, the value-added services and technologies distributor, has announced Gigamon as the latest vendor to be added into its portfolio. The move comes as Gigamon targets ambitious growth objectives for EMEA in 2017-2018; simplifying its channel strategy and forging a more monogamous channel relationship to realise the full potential of Exclusive Network’s unique and proven approach to value-added distribution, said the firm. Nathan Clements, managing director, Exclusive Networks Middle East, said that with unprecedented market change, a more monogamous vendor and distributor relationship has never been more relevant “Gigamon has been steadily growing its influence in the EMEA market with a disruptive technology portfolio that gives unparalleled data-

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

in-motion visibility into public, private and hybrid environments. Nathan Clements, Exclusive Our Networks businesses are a great fit and our combined efforts will accelerate them to the next level.” The distribution agreement for Gigamon technology now covers 15 countries across EMEA, extending the Exclusive Networks partnerships already established in Germany, the UK, France and Spain into the Nordics, Middle East, Benelux and remainder of the DACH region. “Exclusive is right in our space, with a great understanding of the needs of enterprise customers and a remarkable track-record of harnessing channel market dynamics to accelerate growth for disruptive technologies,” said Gerard Alison, vice president, EMEA, Gigamon.

HIGHLIGHTS

TP-Link signs up Ethos as distributor

D-Link expands partner portfolio with new alliances

-Link Corporation has announced strategic business alliances with GajShield, Moxa and Z-Com. The partnership with GajShield, will enable the firm to offer end-to-end network solutions ranging from 25 user unified threat management (UTM) security to 10,000 user UTM to SOHO, SMB and enterprise segment. GajShield is headquartered in Mumbai, India and its products are used by large and medium organisations worldwide. It also provides solutions for context-based data leak prevention, cloud security, BYOD security and application next generation firewall. Meanwhile, D-Link’s collaboration with Moxa is focused on deepening the two vendors’ capabilities to enhance their product portfolio and expand their reach

in specialised niche markets for factory automation, Sakkeer Hussain, D-Link smart rail, smart grid, intelligent transportation, oil and gas, marine and mining. Lastly, the alliance with Taiwan-based maker of high power carrier grade wireless products Z-Com is aimed at enhancing the firms’ solutions in the Internet service provider (ISP) and telecoms spaces. Sakkeer Hussain, director, Sales and Marketing, D-Link Middle East and Africa (MEA), said as the development of highspeed Internet, smart mobile devices and cloud application continues in the region, Z-Com, with its own core technology complements D-Link’s ISP and carrier grade products.

Neustar expands global partner network across EMEA Neustar, a neutral provider of real-time information services, has expanded its international partner network across Europe and the Middle East. The company has appointed five new VAD partners to its Cloud Security Partner Programme, which it said will enable the company to address the increased and continuously growing demand for security services, particularly DDoS mitigation and DNS solutions, in EMEA. The new partners include SoftShell in DACH, CRYPSYS Data Security BV in Benelux, IT2Trust/ePrinus in Poland and the Nordic region, E-Data in Turkey and Spectrami in the Middle East. They VADs join as the company expands its EMEA DDoS mitigation network capacity with the activation of new nodes in Frankfurt, London, and Amsterdam. Furthermore, EMEA nodes are rolling out during the second half of the year in Dubai and Stockholm, creating an EMEA-wide ring of in-region scrubbing mitigation centres.

As a member of the Neustar Cloud Security Partner Programme, Lee Finck, Neustar the new partners will have access to “an industry-leading cloud security solutions stack and service level agreements (SLAs), complemented with extensive training and support.” “Activation of the nodes in Frankfurt and Amsterdam was the first step in addressing the growing network security demands, welcoming these five VADs as channel partners is the next, and we’re very excited about that,” said Lee Finck, vice president, Worldwide Channels, Neustar. “Our roll-out of additional nodes, across the globe, is on track, meaning that by 2018 customers of SoftShell, IT2Trust, E-Data, Spectrami and CRYPSYS will be protected by the world’s largest, most distributed and technically advanced DDoS mitigation network.”

TP-Link Technologies has signed a distribution agreement with Ethos Technologies for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. Under the terms of the agreement, Ethos Technologies will supply channel partners in the UAE and Oman with TP-Link’s entire SMB product range and services. Denny Liang, vice president, TP-Link MEA, said partnering with Ethos Technologies, one of the specialised value-added distributors in the region serving the SMB segment will open up new opportunities and reinforce the company’s SMB networking products to channel partners in the UAE and Oman. “The SMB business for TP-Link has very good potential to grow in the two countries,” he said. Liang added that TP-Link is confident that the partnership with Ethos Technologies for the UAE and Oman is a great fit because the company will help us unlock opportunities with systems integrators serving the SMB market.”

$8B

FORECASTED VALUE OF SPENDING ON IOT TECHNOLOGIES IN MEA REGION BY 2017 SOURCE: IDC

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

Cisco announces intent to buy Springpath Cisco has announced its intent to acquire Springpath, a Sunnyvale-based player focused on hyperconvergence software. Springpath has Rob Salvagno, Cisco developed a distributed file system purpose-built for hyperconvergence that enables serverbased storage systems. The acquisition will allow Cisco to continue to deliver next-generation data centre innovation to its customers. According to both companies, the acquisition is the culmination of a long-standing strategic relationship between Cisco and Springpath. The two have worked together since early 2016 to launch HyperFlex, an integrated

hyperconverged infrastructure system, according to the firm. Since then, they have fully aligned on product development and go-to-market strategies. Furthermore, the acquisition will allow Cisco to continue to grow its computing business, enabling more customers to realise the benefits of simple and economic software-defined infrastructure.

This acquisition is a meaningful addition to our data centre portfolio and aligns with our overall transition to providing more software-centric solutions.”

“This acquisition is a meaningful addition to our data centre portfolio and aligns with our overall transition to providing more software-centric solutions,” said Rob Salvagno, Cisco vice president, Corporate Business Development. “Springpath’s file system technology was built specifically for hyperconvergence, which we believe will deliver sustainable differentiation in this fast-growing segment. I’m excited to be able to provide our customers and partners with the simplicity and agility they need in data center innovation.” Cisco will acquire Springpath for $320 million in cash and assumed equity awards, plus additional retention-based incentives. The acquisition is expected to close in Cisco’s first quarter of fiscal year 2018, following customary closing conditions and regulatory review.

Western Digital to acquire Tegile Systems

estern Digital (WD) and Tegile Systems have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Tegile, a provider of flash and persistent-memory storage solutions for enterprise data centre applications, will be acquired by Western Digital. The acquisition is expected to close in September, upon satisfaction of certain closing conditions as set forth in the definitive agreement between the parties. “The Tegile acquisition will fit perfectly in Western Digital’s long-term strategy to deliver high value solutions that address customers’ rapidly evolving storage needs,” said Mike Cordano, president and chief operating officer, Western Digital. “The addition of Tegile’s technology and talented team will advance our goal of solving customers’ most significant challenges

in capturing, preserving, transforming and accessing data. We welcome the Tegile team to Western Digital and look forward to working together to enhance our leadership position in enterprise and cloud-based storage.” The acquisition is expected to accelerate the Data Centre Systems (DCS) business unit’s revenue growth

The Tegile acquisition will fit perfectly in Western Digital’s long-term strategy to deliver high value solutions that address customers’ rapidly evolving storage needs.”

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

as Tegile’s highvalue, highgrowth flash Mike Cordano, storage arrays Western Digital complement the DCS products and can be marketed to Western Digital’s global customer base. Rohit Kshetrapal, chief executive officer, Tegile said, “Western Digital has been a key partner and long-term investor in Tegile and has already enhanced various aspects of Tegile’s business, including engineering integration, HDD/SSD supply chain efficiencies, go-to-market efforts and customer support. Both Tegile and Western Digital have introduced industry-changing storage products. The Tegile team looks forward to continuing this tradition of innovation as part of the Western Digital family.” Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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HIGHLIGHTS

NetApp expands programme for service providers NetApp has announced the expansion of its ‘Fueled by NetApp’ programme, designed to help drive growth for Fadi Kanafani, NetApp service providers who are helping their customers on the path to digital transformation. With this announcement, service providers gain access to new consulting and incubator programmes, as well as new efficiency guarantees and increased training, said the firm. The ‘Fueled by NetApp’ global service provider programme will continue to deliver go-to-market solutions with scaleout, guaranteed performance, automated

management, data assurance, and global efficiencies, according to the firm. The new programme also offers extended complementary product management consultancy services for the full NetApp product and solution portfolio with experienced service provider industry experts; NetApp Cloud Incubator Programme, which provides easy access to storage resources for cloud and hosting startups, allowing a focus on solutions engineering and delivery rather than the heavy costs associated with infrastructure build-outs; and training partnerships with live, instructor-led technology guidance and industry-leading product marketing and management certification support and more. “Enterprise technology is rapidly shifting to consumption-based and hybrid cloud models, creating a unique growth

Sony MEA and MECL plan to grow KSA business by 27% in 2017 Sony Middle East and Africa (MEA) has unveiled a new business strategy that aims to increase its regional presence and grow Taro Kimura, Sony MEA business by 20 percent in 2017. According to the firm, Saudi Arabia will be the biggest contributor to the company’s growth strategy in the region and the Sony business here is expected to grow by 27 percent. Driving Sony MEA’s strategy, managing director Taro Kimura aims to achieve this vision through new product launches and a refreshed business development strategy that will place the

company and its business partners in a strong position to gain market share in the company’s focus categories, which are television, digital imaging and audio products. Sony MEA is looking to grow television sales in Saudi Arabia by 26 percent, audio product sales by 32 percent and achieve a 57 percent sales growth in its full frame camera business in 2017. “To achieve our ambitious plans, Sony MEA and Modern Electronics Company Limited (MECL) are reengineering our operations and evolving strategies based on data and facts. We are aligning priorities, KPIs, processes and in-market execution plans. Our aim is to present a powerful united front in the retail space. This will enable us to offer our customers the best experiences with

Enterprise technology is rapidly shifting to consumption-based and hybrid cloud models, creating a unique growth opportunity for the service provider industry.” opportunity for the service provider industry,” said Fadi Kanafani, regional director, Middle East and Africa, NetApp. “Our ‘Fueled by NetApp’ programme addresses this digital transformation with a tailored approach with a clear go-tomarket consultancy for service providers designed to drive business growth while reducing risk.”

our innovative products and encourage them to appreciate their unique value,” said Kimura. According to Sony, a seasoned consumer electronics professional, Kimura has a proven track record in corporate transformation and business turnaround across the GCC, Europe and Japan. With his vast global experience and local knowledge, Kimura has been driving Sony’s business in the region since he began his second stint with Sony MEA in August 2016.

$3.52B PREDICTED GLOBAL VALUE OF VPA-ENABLED WIRELESS SPEAKER MARKET BY 2021 SOURCE: GARTNER

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

Seidor MENA implements SAP S/4 HANA at Truebell Seidor Middle East and North Africa has been chosen by retail firm Truebell as a partner of Ignacio Ruiz Eguilaz, choice for Seidor MENA implementing SAP’s new-generation S/4HANA business suite. The SAP S/4 HANA Implementation Project, which has successfully Gone Live on 1st July 2017 is aimed at providing Truebell customers with prime convenience and fast response times, said the firm. According to the company, SAP S/4HANA is the next-generation business suite. It is a product fully built on the advanced in-memory platform SAP HANA and with the

design principles of the SAP Fiori user experience (UX). SAP S/4HANA enables operational simplification for customer adoption, data modelling, user experience, decision making and business processes among others. It also enhances IoT, Big Data and mobile technologies to help businesses run seamlessly in the digital economy. “We are very proud to be Truebell’s SAP partner of choice after a lengthy and difficult process of selection between other partners,” said Ignacio Ruiz Eguilaz, managing director, Seidor MENA. “Our main value proposition has always been delivering projects on time, on budget and with excellent quality. We are proud to be our customer’s strategic adviser and we aim support them in running their

business simply and smoothly.” According to Eguilaz, with a wealth of over 30 years of technology expertise and experienced consultants, Seidor MENA will help Truebell deliver services to address evolving business demands. Truebell was founded in 1984 within the food industry establishing themselves as one of the preferred suppliers in the sector. “Equipped with a well experienced team, Truebell is growing rapidly over the years and we recognise that today’s world is about convenience, choice and change. It is with these values in mind we are transforming our IT with next generation SAP S/4HANA,” said Sunil Ramsinghani, director, Truebell.

HIGHLIGHTS

Xiaomi opens region’s inaugural Mi store in UAE Xiaomi has opened its first authorised Mi store in the region in partnership with local distributor Task. Located at Burjuman Shopping Centre in Dubai, the new store will showcase Xiaomi’s Mi 6 and entertainment-focused Mi Max 2 smartphones. Donovan Sung, director, Product Management and Marketing, Xiaomi Global, said, “The UAE has the highest smartphone penetration rate in the world so it is the perfect place for us to highlight the unique features of our top mobile devices and reach out to a tech-savvy Arab audience. We are confident that Mi 6 and Mi Max 2 will be a huge hit among discerning local and regional mobile consumers seeking superior performance, distinctive style, and great value for money.” Xiaomi was founded in 2010 by

serial entrepreneur Lei Jun based on the vision “innovation for everyone” and has presence in over 30 countries. The company has a wide array of product offerings including

Mi and Redmi smartphones, Mi TVs and set-top boxes, Mi routers, and Mi Ecosystem products including smart home products, wearables and other accessories.

Qualcomm acquires AI start-up Scyfer Qualcomm Technologies has acquired Scyfer B.V., a company affiliated with University of Amsterdam and focused on Matt Grob, Qualcomm machine learning techniques, to add a talented team to its roster. Scyfer has built AI solutions for companies worldwide and in a number of different industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare and finance. “We started conducting fundamental researches a decade ago, and our current products now support many AI use cases from computer vision and natural language processing to malware detection on a variety of

We started fundamental research a decade ago, and our current products now support many AI use cases from computer vision and natural language processing to malware detection on a variety of devices.” devices — such as smartphones and cars — and we are researching broader topics, such as AI for wireless connectivity, power management and photography,” said Matt Grob, executive vice president, technology, Qualcomm.

Qualcomm Technologies is focused on the implementation of AI on end devices – smartphones, cars, robotics, and the like – to ensure that processing can be done with or without a network or Wi-Fi connection. The benefits of ondevice AI include immediate response, enhanced reliability, increased privacy protection, and efficient use of network bandwidth.

7.3%

Y-O-Y DECLINE EXPERIENCED BY MEA REGION’S PCD MARKET IN Q2 2017 SOURCE: IDC

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

UAE consumers rank high in appetite for AI tech: report Consumers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are more ready to adopt artificial intelligence (AI)-powered devices and services than consumers in many other countries, according to an annual research from Accenture. The 2017 Accenture Digital Consumer Survey, which was based on a poll of 26,000 consumers in 26 countries, found that three-fourths (76 percent) of UAE respondents are comfortable with an AI application responding to their query, and more than two thirds (68 percent) have interacted with computer-based applications in the last 12 months. According to the firm, these percentages are significantly higher than the survey’s global averages of 44 percent and 31 percent, respectively. Moreover, eight in 10 (82 percent) UAE respondents cited the availability of AI anytime as a key reason they

82% 74%

UAE respondents cited the availability of AI anytime as a key reason they prefer it to human interaction. UAE respondents said AI engagements are faster and more polite than human interactions.

prefer it to human interaction, and three-fourths (74 percent) said AI engagements are faster and more polite than human interactions. The report also found that UAE respondents are more interested in hyper-personalised services than their

global counterparts, with nearly twothirds (65 percent) of UAE consumers saying that tracking online behaviour and shopping history helps provide them with a more personalised experience, compared with only 40 percent of all respondents globally.

Fortinet enhances FortiCloud SaaS for SMBs and MSSPs

John Maddison, Fortinet

Fortinet has announced a major update to its leading FortiCloud Software-as-aService (SaaS) offering for SMBs and Managed Security Service

Providers (MSSPs). FortiCloud version 3.2 offers enhanced management capabilities to provide anywhere-anytime control over the security fabric solutions used to defend the largest segment of global business, said the firm. John Maddison, senior vice president of products and solutions, Fortinet, said, “Defending against the complex and constantly evolving threat landscape is a challenge for even the

largest enterprises and poses even greater risks for small and medium businesses who are often constrained by both human and capital resources. That’s why Fortinet has consistently delivered advanced security solutions with the ease-of-use and flexibility to maximise both a business’s defenses

Defending against the complex and constantly evolving threat landscape is a challenge for even the largest enterprises.”

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

and its resources. FortiCloud 3.2 centralises and expands controls over Security Fabric solutions to enable SMBs to spend less time on their security and focus more on growing their businesses.” According to the firm, the anywhere-anytime security management capabilities combined with multi-tenancy features also make FortiCloud the perfect entry point for new and existing MSSPs looking to deliver industry-leading security services to their customers. FortiCloud’s SaaS model offers a low total cost of ownership and operational efficiencies that helps new service providers enter the market and delivers fast return on investment for existing partners so they can quickly generate recurring revenue and higher margins.

HIGHLIGHTS

Splunk Insights for AWS Cloud Monitoring now available Splunk has announced Splunk Insights for AWS Cloud Monitoring, a solution that helps organisations drive more value from their journey to the cloud. Splunk Insights for AWS Cloud Monitoring provides end-to-end security, operational and cost management insights on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for as little as $7,500 per year, said the firm. The solution delivers an analyticsbased approach to cloud monitoring to address challenges head-on by providing end-to-end visibility into a customer’s AWS infrastructure, delivering real-time awareness of performance, health, configuration, security and infrastructure spend. With the analytics capabilities of Splunk, this solution can help customers predict AWS usage and

Cloud adoption has become standard practice, but companies can face challenges throughout the migration process, including visibility limitations, unforeseen cost and resource constraints.” optimise their AWS infrastructure to maximise savings. Splunk Insights for AWS Cloud Monitoring can be deployed via AWS Marketplace to correlate AWS data with other sources, across hybrid environments via a single platform with pre-built dashboards and visualisations. “Cloud adoption has become standard practice, but companies can face challenges throughout the migration process, including visibility limitations, unforeseen cost and

resource constraints. Customers need the ability to correlate data sources across environments, in real time to derive maximum value,” said Rick Fitz, senior vice president, IT Markets, Splunk. “With Splunk Insights for AWS Cloud Monitoring, our customers now have a costeffective, easy-to-use solution that provides predictive insights to remove the friction of cloud adoption and help ensure companies maximise their cloud investment.”

Sophos unveils campaign for silver and authorised partners Sophos has announced a new initiative for its authorised and silver partners from the Middle East and Harish Chib, Sophos Africa (MEA) region. The Sophos Super Star campaign is designed to motivate partners with additional rewards on achieving their target. It is also aimed at driving sales for the latest security solutions. Harish Chib, vice president, Middle East and Africa, Sophos said, “The rewards are a part of the

company’s plan to encourage our silver and authorised partners to generate revenue opportunities and achieve their business goal. Our main aim is to drive our partners to excel and incentivise them with rewards for their great effort. The rewards are applicable on the sale of all the

Our main aim is to drive our partners to excel and incentivise them with rewards for their great effort.”

products logged between May – October 2017. Authorised and Silver partners are our major source of SMB business in the MEA region. With this campaign, Sophos’ objective is to reward and motivate the extensive list of partners of these categories in the MEA region. “As part of our ‘channel first’ sales strategy, this initiative will help our partners to expand their business across the channel in the Middle East and Africa region. The region is divided into leading and emerging countries and both have different targets. The top three partners in both the regions achieving highest sales will be rewarded,” Chib explained.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

FTA launches online platform to prepare UAE businesses for VAT The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has launched a new website aimed at providing businesses and consumers with a wealth of information on the upcoming introduction of excise tax and VAT in the UAE. The new platform (www.tax.gov. ae) includes information pages about the Authority itself, as well as the introduction of the different types of indirect taxes in the country, the legislations regulating them, and the objectives and benefits to the UAE economy. “Launching the Federal Tax Authority’s website is a significant and impactful step forward towards implementing an efficient and transparent tax system in the UAE,” said His Excellency Khalid

Al Bustani, director general, FTA. For businesses, the website provides advice, and guides to help them determine if they are eligible to register, as well as guidance on the registration process. Businesses can also use the website to learn from the tax guides posted, in addition to the opportunity to register and attend VAT and excise tax live sessions conducted by the FTA around the UAE and webinars and offline training sessions. “We trust it will be the goto resource for businesses and consumers seeking information and reassurances about the new tax

system. The website’s accessible design and emphasis on relevance and readability reflects the authority’s commitment to international standards and best practices as it goes about executing tax laws and procedures in the UAE,” said HE Al Bustani. From mid-September, businesses will be able to register with the tax authority through the website, ahead of the implementation of excise tax in October 2017 and VAT in January 2018.

DigiCert to buy Symantec’s SSL certification business Cybersecurity firm Symantec technology platform, and DigiCert has announced unparalleled customer an agreement under support and which DigiCert will acquire innovations. Symantec’s Website Security “Transitioning our and related PKI solutions. Website Security and Under the terms of the related PKI solutions to agreement, Symantec will DigiCert allows us to receive approximately $950 sharpen our enterprise Greg Clark, Symantec million in upfront cash focus on delivering proceeds and approximately a 30 unparalleled protection for the cloud percent stake in the common stock generation through Symantec’s equity of the DigiCert business at Integrated Cyber Defense Platform. the closing of the transaction. As our recently announced deals with According to both firms, the Fireglass and Skycure demonstrate, addition of Symantec’s website we are accelerating the pace of security solutions to DigiCert’s innovation we bring to market through offerings will bring together the a combination of acquisitions as well industry’s top talent and provide as development from the ground up,” customers with an enhanced said Symantec CEO Greg Clark.

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

DigiCert will gain capabilities to take advantage of growth opportunities in IoT and bring new approaches to the SSL market. DigiCert will continue to operate from its headquarters in Lehi, Utah and will employ over 1,000 professionals. Jonhn Merril, CEO, DigiCert, said, “DigiCert is committed to providing the market with innovative products, the highest level of trust, and experienced leadership in the SSL and PKI community. We are excited about the opportunities ahead, and will work toward a smooth transition for customers and employees of Symantec’s Website Security business.”

For more information or to place an order on Intel, please write to sales.value@redingtonmea.com

HIGHLIGHTS

HTC launches e-commerce store for Saudi consumers

HTC has launched a new e-commerce store dedicated to bringing its smart mobile devices to more consumers across Saudi Arabia. Through the new HTC store, visitors will now be able to browse and buy the entire range of HTC smartphones and accessories, such as the flagship HTC U11 smartphone, and other devices within the HTC U and Desire ranges. In addition, consumers can browse the e-commerce store for HTC Ice View covers, car chargers, high-res audio earphones among many others items all at their convenience. The e-commerce portal will also be a platform to improve product and service experiences through customer feedback. “As HTC continues to grow its brand and customer base, we believe it is important to have one place for our customers where they will be able to access the entire range of HTC smartphones and accessories,” said Nikitas Glykas, president, HTC MEA. “Moreover, e-commerce is not just a buzzword in Saudi Arabia, but a clear direction in which the retail industry is moving. The Kingdom’s young, techsavvy population is driving this growth, and is also the same audience that is eager to explore HTC’s award-winning smartphone range.” The new HTC e-commerce store is accessible to individuals in KSA immediately at http://www.htc.com/ mea-sa/ with delivery across the Kingdom.

Souq adds ‘affordable’ AmazonBasics range to its website Souq has announced that a new range of affordable Amazon products are now available to customers in the region. In a Facebook post on August 24th by Ronaldo Mouchawar, the founder and CEO of Souq, he announced that AmazonBasics would be available immediately for sale on the Souq website. AmazonBasics is the US company’s own brand range of affordable items, ranging from laptop bags, to electronic cables and passport holders. Most items range between AED 20 and AED 50. In his post, Mouchawar said that AmazonBasics offered a “great selection of best in class products at

very affordable prices”. Ronaldo Mouchawar, Souq The UAE site only has 72 products currently available under this product line, compared to the US version which has thousands. Since the estimated $600 million deal was completed in March this year, Souq has gradually integrated Amazon’s services within its platform. In May, Souq made it possible for its customers to use their Amazon credentials to access its site. The login feature is available on the website, as well as the mobile app, where users will be able to share their name, email addresses and US postcode.

Accenture buys mobile design and development firm Intrepid Accenture has acquired Bostonbased mobile design and development firm Intrepid. As part of the acquisition, Intrepid’s 150 employees have joined Accenture Digital. The team will focus on the rapid development of innovative digital services and solutions, using agile tools in a collaborative environment where clients can work side by side with Accenture designers, engineers and mobile experts. “Mobile solutions are a cornerstone of digital business transformation and their design and development is a source of continued differentiation for Accenture Digital,” said Ankur Mathur, managing director, Accenture Digital. “When combined with connected devices they offer a broad set of opportunities for our clients to reinvent their business models. We are

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

delighted to bring Intrepid’s highly skilled team into Accenture and to help scale what Intrepid offers to clients today. Our shared values of people-first, disruptive innovation and continuous learning make Intrepid a great fit for Accenture.” Mark Kasdorf, founder and CEO, Intrepid, said, “It has long been our mission to build great digital experiences and bring connected devices to life for everyone, everywhere. We are thrilled to join Accenture and become part of a global network of leading designers and developers who are just as driven as we are to empower people through experience-led innovation. We will be better equipped to seamlessly scale the solutions we design and build in our studio to clients around the world, expanding the impact of beautiful apps that deliver real results.”

HIGHLIGHTS

DHL eCommerce signs up FarEye as technology partner DHL eCommerce has announced its partnership with FarEye, a Logistics Management Solution firm. The partnership is aimed at enhancing its customer experience, optimising its resources and delivering its brand promise ‘real-time’. DHL eCommerce is a division of the global logistics company Deutsche Post DHL Group. It provides international, standard parcel delivery for business customers. It supports business processes with mature e-commerce shipping solutions and technology platforms that help enable various online businesses. Charles Brewer, CEO, DHL eCommerce, said, “With eCommerce growing at such a rapid pace we see a fantastic opportunity for high quality solutions that will offer a great customer experience and more choice, convenience and control for online shoppers. FarEye’s platform is scalable, future-oriented and flexible. With FarEye we

Altavant Consulting partners with Mi9 Retail

can deliver ‘delight’ by having complete visibility of the logistics movement and keeping customer informed at every step, ‘real-time’.” According to the firm, its eCommerce arm makes significant investments in technology to improve processes and have better communication across all parties. FarEye’s platform, according to DHL, is an apt fit with its operations as it seamlessly integrated with the organisation’s existing systems and made the IT infrastructure flexible and agile. Being a SaaS platform, FarEye gave DHL eCommerce the flexibility to scale-up and down depending on the demand levels, which gave them an edge to adapt quickly to any work environment.

Paxton opens new Middle East office in Dubai use. Net2 training sessions The electronic access will also be run from the new control manufacturer Paxton base, making it even more has announced the opening convenient for local system of its new Middle East office integrators and security in Dubai. The new premises, companies to learn how to located in the Dubai Silicon install Paxton products with Oasis, will serve as the confidence. company’s first dedicated Paxton has also updated base in the area. its Middle East specific Launching into the region David Sodergren, Paxton website (www.paxtonaccess. in 2014, this continued ae) which now provides a wealth of expansion highlights the company’s information about the company and its commitment to the Middle Eastern product range. market and its ongoing international David Sodergren, Paxton’s Regional growth within the global security industry. Sales Manager for the Middle East, Visitors to the new office will be said, “We are very excited about the able to view full demonstrations of new office in the Dubai Silicon Oasis. Paxton’s flagship networked access With this free zone in line to be the first control product, Net2, as part of an ‘Smart City’ in Dubai, it gives us the ‘experience centre’ allowing them opportunity to come into the area and to see for themselves how easy the grow with the city.” company’s products are to install and

Altavant Consulting has announced a new partnership with Mi9 Retail, a global provider of advanced retail software solutions. “Our partnership with Altavant in Dubai demonstrates our ‘win local, grow global’ philosophy,” said Neil Moses, CEO, Mi9 Retail. “With many of our clients expanding into emerging markets, they can feel confident that Mi9 Retail is capable of supporting their international growth, especially in the Persian Gulf area. Offering local service to our international clients is just one more way Mi9 Retail is equipping them to handle the challenges of conducting business on a global scale.” This collaboration extends Altavant’s scope of business services and provides international brands with the best-in-class retail management solutions, said the company. The GCC market holds an exceptional potential for retail customer experience and the firm said it offers “innovative approaches” to help retailers accelerate their omnichannel efforts. “There are many exciting opportunities happening in the MENA region such as rapid growth in the retail sector, the design and implementation of VAT across the GCC, and the emergence of Dubai as a city driving technology innovation for the region,” said Haruka Marufuji, managing partner, Altavant Consulting. “Altavant’s mission is to assert leadership in retail consulting. We are thrilled and proud to be in partnership with Mi9 Retail, which allows us to provide our clients with the world’s highest standard retail solutions.”

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

APPOINTMENTS

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS New EMEA channel head joins Juniper Networks Juniper Networks has appointed Kristian Kerr as head of Channel, Alliances and Kristian Kerr, Juniper Commercial Networks for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). In this role, Kerr is responsible for all aspects of channel and partner strategy, planning and operations across Juniper’s EMEA business. Prior to joining Juniper, Kerr ran the EMEA partner organisation for Brocade Communications. Overall, his management career in networking has spanned nearly 20 years, in a range covering indirect and direct sales roles, for various leading technology vendors and service provider enterprise divisions. “High-performance, secure, and automated networking is at the heart of successful business transformation via the cloud. This means Juniper’s virtualised and physical security, routing and switching portfolio is in a sweet spot of opportunity, so I feel I’m joining at a critical time to help take EMEA channel operations to a new level,” said Kerr. “The company has always had a very strong partner-driven go-to-market model. Ultimately, it’s about delivering excellent business outcomes for our shared customers and achieving business growth for Juniper and our partners alike.”

Huawei appoints new VP for Middle East channel Global ICT solutions provider Huawei has appointed Hazem Bazan, Huawei Hazem Bazan Middle East as the vice president of Channels and Commercial Sales, Huawei Middle East. Based in Dubai, Bazan will be responsible for driving the Middle East’s channel sales operations. Working closely with Huawei’s senior management team, Bazan will take up the responsibility of driving the firm’s channel ecosystem across all its verticals. Additionally, he will look to strengthen Huawei’s channel partner network, develop its Partner Incentive and Certificate Programme and help to grow the company’s presence in the Middle East and Pakistan.

It is a great honour to be a part of Huawei and contribute to its growth.” “It is a great honour to be a part of Huawei and contribute to its growth,” he said. “The organisation has great potential in its offerings, and I look forward to using my skills and experience to build on our existing partner network and increase our presence in the region.” Bazan is an industry veteran in the region who has previously served in multiple roles in Dell Technologies, HP, and Compaq.

Infoblox names new director for MEA region Infoblox has announced and channel teams achieve the promotion of Ashraf more competitive advantage Sheet to the role of in the MEA region. I look regional director for the forward to collaborating and Middle East and Africa engaging with our partners regions. and customers to drive As part of his Infoblox’s cloud and security new role he will solutions as part of the digital be responsible for transformation taking place in Ashraf Sheet, Infoblox leading the strategic the market.” development of the business in the As Infoblox looks to ramp up region and further accelerating the business in the region, the main high-growth rates that the company focus for Sheet and his team will has been experiencing in recent years. be on creating value to customers “I’m very pleased to undertake by elevating every aspect of their this new challenge at such a pivotal network availability, agility, security, period in the company’s growth,” and performance – on premise, said Ashraf. “I am excited to help across data centres, and in the our highly talented sales, marketing cloud.

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

An overview of the latest people movement within the IT channel business.

Redline appoints channel specialist these partners. Redline Communications, Redline is a supplier which provides wideof mission critical area wireless networks communications for for the most challenging MEA Oil and Gas and applications and locations, Mining operations. has appointed Guruprasad In addition, Redline Padmanabhan to lead its supports new wireless sales and channel partner broadband applications operations for the Middle Guruprasad among Telecom Service East and Africa. Padmanabhan, Redline Providers, and in Smart Based in Dubai, Cities and Internet of Things (IoT) United Arab Emirates, Guruprasad projects. Redline is expanding Padmanabhan is responsible for its channel presence across the recruiting new channel partners in MEA region and exploring new Redline’s targeted vertical markets partnerships to tap into new market and overseeing sales, professional segments in the region. services and logistics support to

Zyxel announces new ME GM and channel head Zyxel Communications, a broadband networking company, has appointed Mamoun Abdullah as the company’s general manager and head of channel for the Middle East region. In his new role, Abdullah will oversee the Middle East’s channel operations — placing key focus on identifying, mentoring and managing potential as well as current partners to grow in regional business of Zyxel. According to the company, Abdullah is expected to lead the firm’s continuing efforts to establish itself as the most channel friendly organisation while also implementing strategies that are aimed at increased effectiveness of marketing and communication to maximise the recall factor among channel partners. Abdullah said, “We will continue

to build channel capacity planning, which places key emphasis on recruiting new partners, implementing Mamoun Abdullah, an effective Zyxel Communications enablement plan, training and extending the consistent support for all routes to market to enable channel partners growing with Zyxel and increasing their profitability. Prior to Zyxel, Abdullah worked with Unify Middle East and distribution firms such as FVC, Exclusive Networks and Mindware. He will be based in Zyxel’s Dubai office and will be reporting directly to David Sorensen, regional director for Northern Europe, Benelux and Emerging Markets.

Avaya names Fadi Hani as VP for MEA region Avaya has announced the appointment of Fadi Hani as Vice President for the Middle East, Africa Fadi Hani, Avaya and Turkey. Hani will play a pivotal role in promoting Avaya’s customer-centric, outcome-based approach in the region, working closely with key customers to help them achieve their digital transformation objectives. Since joining Avaya in 2007, Hani has held senior sales and management roles in the company, including managing director for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Pakistan. Hani has also held senior positions with other ICT and software companies in the region, including Oracle and NCR Corporation. With his extensive industry expertise and regional awareness, Hani will work to ensure Avaya operations are aligned with customers’ needs in the region, helping to drive adoption of the latest innovative solutions in the areas of cloud, contact centre and collaboration. “Having worked with customers across the region for many years, it is an honor for me to step up into this new position,” said Fadi Hani, VP, Avaya MEA and Turkey. “I look forward to the opportunity to help more customers in their journey toward digital transformation and cloud adoption using Avaya’s leadingedge software and services.”

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

OPINION // SAGE MIDDLE EAST

Examining VAT Aaron White, regional director, Sage Middle East, explains the implications of VAT being implemented in the UAE in 2018.

n 1 January 2018, valueadded tax (VAT) will come into effect for the first time in United Arab Emirates. Naturally, small businesses are concerned about the financial and operational impacts of VAT compliance, especially since they’re used to operating in a low-tax business environment. While there will be implications for systems, infrastructure, skills and training, there are a number of benefits to the new tax system on businesses and the economy. But first, let’s take a step back to understand why VAT is being implemented in the first place. For decades, the economies of the GCC countries have benefitted from high oil prices. However, a drop in demand, increased global competition, and a substantial decrease in the price of crude oil per barrel – from a peak of $147 in 2008 to about $50 today – has forced GCC countries to look for other sources of revenue to diversify their economies and remain globally competitive. VAT is one such revenue source, and because tax is an unfamiliar topic in the GCC, you might have some questions about how it will impact your small and medium business.

What is VAT? VAT is a tax on the consumption of goods and services and has been set at 5% across GCC countries. This rate is among the lowest in the world, with some countries charging VAT of more than 20%. VAT is levied at each stage of the supply chain, from the manufacturer, to the wholesaler, to the retailer, taxing the ‘value added’ by businesses at each point in the chain. For example, raw cotton becomes more valuable as it moves along the supply chain to eventually be manufactured into a T-shirt, or the end-product. Certain sectors will be exempt from paying VAT, such as healthcare, education, certain foods, some type of real estate transactions and local transport, but these may differ between member countries. Export of goods outside the GCC will be zero-

rated, which means exporters can claim a tax refund. What are the advantages of VAT? VAT is an efficient and transparent way for governments to increase revenue – the IMF predicts that GCC states can boost GDP by 1.5% with the implementation of VAT. This will help GCC states to diversify their economies away from oil and to continue delivering on their public service mandates. How will VAT affect your business? If your business has an annual turnover of AED 375,000 (or the equivalent in other GCC states), you will be obliged to register as a VAT vendor. If you generate 50% of this threshold, you can voluntarily register for VAT, which has its own advantages and disadvantages. The important thing to note is that VAT is not a business expense but a

“By partnering with a solution provider that has experience in these markets, you’ll be taking a smart first step to becoming compliant.”

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

cost that is ultimately passed on to the end-consumer when they buy a product. Businesses act as the ‘collection agents’, collecting the tax on behalf of the government. In this way, they are helping to make the economy more prosperous and efficient. However, there will likely be indirect costs associated with becoming compliant, which will affect many areas of your business, including pricing, cashflow, financial reporting, tax accounting, supply chain and compliance processes. The cost of non-compliance could be even greater. Penalties are set at a minimum of AED 500 up to five times the amount of VAT that would have been payable for the period in question. At 5% VAT, this puts your maximum risk at 25% of turnover. How can you become VAT compliant? If you haven’t already, now is a good time to invest in an accounting solution that streamlines the VAT collection, record-keeping and reporting processes, and that automates the

“An effective VAT system relies on shared responsibility between governments, businesses and consumers.” production of VAT invoices in Arabic. While you have until 1 January 2018 to be fully compliant, full transition can take between nine and 12 months so, if you haven’t yet, you should activate your VAT implementation plans as soon as possible. Businesses that need to be VAT compliant should work through a detailed impact assessment with a trusted business partner to guide them through the implementation and operations phases. We have already started engaging and educating our channel partners on VAT requirements so that they can help their customers to avoid penalties. An effective VAT system relies

on shared responsibility between governments, businesses and consumers. The additional revenue will go a long way to maintaining effective public services and positioning GCC countries as globally competitive nations with truly diversified economies. While it may be daunting initially, preparing your systems for VAT collection and payment to governments needn’t be a massive or expensive undertaking. More than 150 countries have VAT systems in place – by partnering with a solution provider that has experience in these markets, you’ll be taking a smart first step to becoming compliant.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

COVER STORY // REDINGTON VALUE

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

DISTINCTIVELY DIFFERENT In a competitive marketplace, only those firms who dare to distinguish themselves through innovative initiatives and ensures they are at the forefront of change can hope to flourish over the next decade. Janees Reghelini caught up with Ramkumar Balakrishnan, president, Redington Value, to discover how the firm aims to redefine distribution.

he regional distribution space has undergone several stages of changes over the years. One of the most notable differences has been the shift to solutions-based distribution model rather than a products-focused one. While this has transpired gradually, the transformation is now tangible. Having been through this journey over the last 11 years of operations, Redington Value is determined to redefine the space and orchestrate the elements for its next phase. Ramkumar Balakrishnan, president, Redington Value, says, a solutions’ distributor is someone who engages in an outcome based sale. The ability to actively combine three different vendors’ offering into one comprehensive solution to effectively address a customer’s requirement is what solutions distribution is all about. “Many believe solutions distribution is like old wine in a new bottle

but that’s not the case,” says Balakrishnan. “This transformation is happening; however, the industry must have people who can understand, create and go-to-market with a genuine proposition.” Understanding the dynamics of the new era of IT distribution, the firm has worked towards building its portfolio of offerings in the regional market over

ASPECTS MOST LIKELY TO IMPACT REDINGTON’S BUSINESS IN 2018

Security around mobility Mobility around VDI solutions Meaningful analytics Cloud services Regional geopolitical undercurrents

the course of this year. It has grown its operations in all the territories it covers and onboarded new vendors such as Palo Alto Networks, Nokia, Seclore, StorageCraft, Gemini, Nexthink and gone mainstream with Huawei. The company has also escalated its focus in the security, cloud and hyperconverged space. “From a strategic point of view, two key initiatives stand out – one is setting up of our consulting arm, Citrus Consulting, which is now a DIC company,” he says. “The second is that our aggregation and auto provisioning platform, Cloud Solution Provider, will go on general availability by the beginning of this month, which is a big win for us.” The growth for the company has been derived largely from the security, analytics and the software-defined everything offering, which includes software-defined data centre, networking and storage.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

24th October 2017 | Dubai UAE

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REDINGTON VALUE // COVER STORY

“We are dedicated to vendors who appreciate the amount of investments we make and who understand that the channel needs to be profitable.” “Today, we are in the process of constructing the offering towards an OPEX model as compared to CAPEX, which has gained momentum. Also, regional customers are increasingly adopting software-defined solutions in the security, networking and data centre space,” he says. “These are the areas where enterprise uptake is growing, including analytics.” What has been instrumental to the distributor standing the test of time is its ability to adopt emerging technologies, explains Balakrishnan. “We have moved away from the traditional box moving style of business and have more number of people who understand emerging technologies and trends. “More than 65 percent of our Q1 revenues have come from software while only 35 percent constitutes hardware. We are considered as a proficient partner of choice by all our vendors.” According to the distributor, having identified the prospects that emerging trends will have and beginning initiatives around it early on, have helped it to stay one step ahead of the game.

He adds, “Challenges always result in opportunities.” If credit availability in the SMB channel or waning demand in select markets is a challenge, then the player should create a contingency plan to address it. Balakrishnan says, “Maybe the solution is to go narrow and deep with select partners or try to understand the end-users’ demands and then support partners in project financing. We try to overcome the problems through different strategies.” He adds that today every single person at Redington Value is a solutions provider. “The approach is how to bring together different

technologies into one solution to win the marketplace. This change in mindset has helped us stay ahead of the market.” Keeping this in mind, Balakrishnan highlights that even conversations with partners have evolved. Today, the discussion is on how to optimise the prospects through joint initiatives. “Channel enablement and education are as important for us as channel acquisitions and promotions,” he says. The distributor organises a number of trainings and enablement initiatives throughout the year to help partners be in a better position to seize market opportunities. The dearth of talent in the industry is currently one of the biggest bottlenecks faced by the firm, says Balakrishnan. Additionally, there’s also the challenge of vendors not setting a clear path to how they want to grow their channel ecosystem. Although this has changed considerably, Balakrishnan points out that there are still vendors who appoint new distributors in a landscape that doesn’t evolve all that rapidly. “We are dedicated to vendors who appreciate the amount of investments we make and who understand that the channel needs to be profitable.

“Even though there are partners who have reorganised and consolidated companies to set up new business units within their own ecosystems, I believe more can be done.” www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

REDINGTON VALUE // COVER STORY

They need to have a long-term steady approach to how they want to build their business.” Another challenge is the pace at which the channel is transforming, he says. “Even today, I find many partners viewing the business from a traditional mindset. This has to change and it is something that will happen over time.” To address this, according to Balakrishnan, partners should already be investing or at least looking to invest in key areas such as securityas-a-service, analytics-as-a-service and understand how to build machine learning and artificial intelligence imbedded solutions. “They need to know how they are going to partake in such a business environment. They must focus on building public and private cloud infrastructures. It is essential that partners seriously begin building their capabilities to be future proof.” In order to be able to tap into these opportunities, partners have to start investing in getting their personnel trained and exposed to new and emerging technologies immediately. “They need to challenge them on their understanding of these new concepts. The first step is awareness. Even though there are partners who have reorganised and consolidated companies to set up new business units within their own ecosystems, I believe more can be done.” Not only partners, says Balakrishnan, but even vendors have a huge responsibility in educating the ecosystem on new concepts such as machine learning. “None of us have the luxury anymore to say the business is not going to get disrupted for another few years and there is time to take action. The rate of

KEY INITIATIVES Red Vault “It has become a serious proposition as we now have around 35 solutions and use cases where every single vendor has got representation. It has become mainstream for us and has received wide acceptance. We are now aiming to take it to a different level where we will onboard ISVs as well as vertical business specific use-cases on analytics to encourage customers to experiment with it. We are in the next phase of developing the solutions centre.”

Citrus Consulting “We had announced our consultancy arm a year ago, and it is now in full production with several projects underway. In this initiative, the focus is on cloud and analytics.”

Red Cloud “To enable cloud services, Red Cloud will be upgraded to the 2.0 version, which will have many more capabilities such as bots, massive amounts of analytics and auto-provisioning among other features that will be added. Once the platform is ready for general availability, we will transition it from the old platform to the new one. We now actively have more than 175 partners, compared to 65 last year, transacting with us through this platform.”

adoption is becoming quicker. To be ahead of the curve, you need to invest in people being exposed to these market developments.”

For partners to thrive in the new digital era, it all comes down to their willingness to take risks, says Balakrishnan. “Partners must take that first step and bet on emerging technologies by investing in training and quality human resources. They should not wait for the vendor or distributor to make that investment or drive an initiative. This is true, even for us,” he adds. “We have made several investments where the returns are not expected in the first year. However, we have stayed invested, created the business opportunity and now we are going to accelerate the demand. Partners have to take risk and invest in emerging technologies.” Over the course of next year, the value-added distributor will be massively focused on four areas – mobility, security, cloud and analytics. He adds, “I believe 2018 will be a positive year for the industry.” While the last decade has been about evolving into a solutions distributor that stands out from competition by being an early adopter of emerging technologies, we will see the firm increasingly taking up the role of an aggregator over the next ten years. Balakrishnan says, “The difference is that as a distributor you are only tied up with the authorisation you have to resell products and services. As an aggregator, we will be able to aggregate solutions, products and relationships. This will be the next phase for us.” Believing that the regional industry has massive capacity and there are several growth years ahead of us, he says the key question is, “Are you going to be part of the journey or not?”

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

FEATURE // SECURING IOT

BUILDING DEFENSES

Consulting firm BCG predicts $267B will be spent on IoT technologies, products, and services by 2020. This means intensifying IoT-enabled infrastructuresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; defenses will be the topmost priority for enterprises. Experts share how channel partners can play a role in securing IoT for businesses. 32

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

he growth of connected devices and systems through Internet of Things (IoT) technology is mushrooming at a rapid pace. According to reports, IoT has the potential to revolutionise industries and generate immense value over the coming years. With the proliferation of this space, it has become imperative that security for these IoT-enabled infrastructures must be engineered at the design stage itself. Cisco’s recent research of enterprise IT and business decision makers revealed that their top challenges with implementing IoT initiatives included security of

business data, standardisation of IoT platforms and compatibility with business systems as well as the cost of implementation. “Security and data privacy issues are critical elements that are being addressed. Equally, there are organisations and committees that are working hard on establishing IoT standards to ensure compatibility between all the different IoT components,” says Scott Manson, cybersecurity lead, Middle East and Africa, Cisco. Fortinet’s regional channel manager Zacky Vaz says because of IoT’s critical and complex nature, security continues to be one of the

largest opportunities for the channel. “Partners who can plan, design, deploy, and optimise an integrated security offering are finding a growing demand for their skills. By tying traditional security appliances and emerging technologies together into an integrated security fabric, partners can help their customers collect and respond to more actionable intelligence, synchronise threat responses, and centralise the creation, distribution, and orchestration of their security management and analysis,” he adds. Channel partners should look at examining multiple aspects in the IoT security realm such as device

www.resellerme.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

FEATURE // SECURING IOT

and data, service and application security. Mohammad Jamal Tabbara, senior systems engineer, UAE, Infoblox, says, “According to a study, almost 57 percent of IoT devices are not secured.” This is because many of the IoT devices that exist today are deficient in the fundamental security measures required in order to provide a secure IoT ecosystem. Tabbara adds, “This will continue unless regulations are put in place because IoT brings many existing Internet security threats and data theft, which we have seen in the past along with new evolving ones.” The economics of IoT for vendors indicate that security will continue to be an after-thought for IoT-enabled devices unless regulations are enforced. The current scenario gives rise to many opportunities for the channel. “This is where partners must provide platforms and solutions that can mitigate threats and malicious communications at every layer of the IoT infrastructure. This is in addition to the security fundamentals required to be provided and

“Partners who can plan, design, deploy, and optimise an integrated security offering are finding a growing demand for their skills.” Zacky Vaz, Fortinet

maintained, such as data encryption, secure authentication, data integrity checks, along with continuous updates, patches, and bug fixes,” he says. “These security platforms and services should not be in silos.” In order to monetise IoT through security-focused services, partners should look beyond perimeter defences. Cisco’s Manson says, “Security today needs to be visibility driven similar to the network and the focus should be on threat centric security. The biggest problem for customers is trying to keep the threats out. But threats are so pervasive now because they are being built by professional cybercriminals.”

“Security needs to be visibilitydriven, similar to the network and the focus should be on threat centric security.” Scott Manson, Cisco

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

He suggests that by moving it to a platform-based approach it brings more capabilities to customers and reduces complexity. “On the services side of security, this area is growing faster than actual product sales. Offerings such as advisory services, managed services, deployment services, incident response services and a managed threat defense service is providing an 8.9 percent growth for the channel specifically in the midmarket over strict product sales.” According to Tabbara, the industry has created multiple standard security protocols and platforms such as STIX and TAXII to facilitate the cybersecurity integration between third party security vendors via an “ecosystem platform and metadata that IoT infrastructure must have and leverage.” He adds, “The channel partners and distributors need to be able to offer and provide IoT solutions protected by orchestrated ecosystem security platforms, which is a major opportunity for them along with the IoT vendors and manufactures.” While the prospects that exist in securing IoT is undeniable, it must

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FEATURE // SECURING IOT

Mohammad Jamal Tabbara, Infoblox

“Partners must provide platforms and solutions that can mitigate threats and malicious communications at every layer of the IoT infrastructure.”

be noted that actual on-ground implementations of the technology are still relatively new. Ettiene Van Der Watt, regional engineering and training manager, Middle East and Africa, Axis Communications, says, “Its application is yet to be experienced in a large-scale environment with a long-term testing phase. Therefore, at this point, a consulting approach is important to outline requirement and scalability, with room for adjustments. When applied correctly with positive results, technology sales will automatically rise. Solution providers must understand how IoT adds value.” Agreeing, Sanjay Ahuja, senior VP, MEA, AGC Networks, says, “Partners need to understand the value in businesses wanting to have safe and secure connections. They can also provide managed security services in order to reduce cost of administering, troubleshooting and remote monitoring as more and more devices get added to the network.” Developing additional skills to support new and complementary platforms is also a critical element.

Building trusted security around an IoT system requires team effort, says Ahuja. “Partners are anxious to tap the right talent and bring on professionals who have the right knowledge on IoT technologies. They must also have the necessary training and certifications from vendors that have IoT solutions, as this is critical.” Additionally, partners should also possess skills such as keeping information safe and secure from attacks such as botnets, DDoS and malware and acquire business intelligence, as IoT is all about collecting, storing and analysing data from different smart devices. Der Watt says, “We believe that companies that focus on developing IoT systems that mine available data, focus on cost saving and efficiency, will add value to the IoT ecosystem and find their natural place in this domain with great potential for success.” According to Tabbara from Infoblox, regional IoT services and initiatives will become even more accessible, efficient, available,

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

secure, and convenient for the individuals and businesses. “Channel partners who are not ready yet will continue to miss vast market opportunities,” he says. Partners who are in a position to offer vertical specific IoT integrations and automated solutions will be most successful. However, this is far easier said than done. All stakeholders should step up and work together to offer IoT devices and related software required to operate and secure the ecosystem. “This is where partners who have the right skills, ecosystem solutions and IoT integrations, and partnerships; will take the lead in the market by adding substantial values to their customers,” Tabbara adds. Apart from acquiring right technical expertise, Vaz adds that developing customised solutions will also help partners to stay profitable in this area. He says, “IoT is a game changer for security. Customised services will enable partners to stay ahead of competition.” Manson says, “The future for IoT in the Middle East is bright. Smart Cities are leading the IoT revolution, enabling governments to help lower costs, improve productivity, increase revenue, and improve citizen experiences through urban services such as smart parking, energy, traffic and waste management.” In order to play a vital role in enterprises’ demand of securing IoT-enabled business environments, partners should first take the time to assess their business and skills while mapping out a clearly defined growth strategy. The initiative and drive must emerge from partners to be ahead of competition, after all, success comes to those who will and dare.

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FEATURE // MARGINS FROM SERVICES

SERVE TO LEAD

In a landscape where margins are increasingly declining and hard to sustain, partners are discovering that services offer an opportunity to supplement their business. Reseller ME speaks to experts to learn how the channel can differentiate through a strong services offering.

ow margins continue to be one of the biggest problems for regional IT channel players. Partners need to constantly find ways to improve their bottom line and focus on profitability even today. While both vendors and distributors have a responsibility to ensure partners are trained on latest technologies to improve their skillsets and devise profitable initiatives, it also depends on the channel firms themselves to address the issue head on. Increasing number of channel organisations are finding that by offering value-added services, they are able to enhance their margins considerably. “The Middle East IT services market is polarized, with a contrast of low-value and high-value services,” says Savitha Bhaskar,

COO, Condo Protego. “Many Middle East channel partners offer low-value managed services that provide operational assistance with day-to-day administration. On the other end are specialised partners with specific domain expertise who

Will Hamber, Juniper Networks

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

provide high-value and high-cost business consulting and technology consulting, and assist with creating new efficiencies and driving digital transformation strategies.” In order to differentiate their portfolio through services, partners need to

“Partners also need to consider their in-house skillset and people available to provide upfront support and services through to post-sales support and services.”

consider their own branded offers and services supported by the vendor, says Will Hamber, senior director, partner operations, EMEA, Juniper Networks. “Service and support are no longer just hardware maintenance, they need to review and evaluate how their offering covers the full hardware and software support cycle. They also need to consider their in-house skillset and people available to provide upfront support and services through to post-sales support and services,” he says. According to Hamber, installations are now reaching across multi-vendor platforms with an increasing demand for open platforms and automation. He adds, “Excellence across these areas increase the chance to provide real consultancy to businesses and will lead the way to a higher value margin sale.” Partners need to remember that if they are offering services, whether it is managed or professional ones, they have to ensure the customer is finding value in it. Bhaskar points out that most Middle East resellers’ operating models are based on order fulfillment and trading. She says, “By stepping up to become value-added resellers, they can, not only increase their own competitiveness, but also bring value to their customers. However, resellers must have a long-term strategy and investments to become valueadded players.” How can regional channel players decide which kind of services to invest into? The first step is examining internally at the strengths that the firm possess to decide which path to take. Talking and listening to customers are also vital elements in understanding their requirements and challenges, adds Hamber. “This way they can evaluate the real need and better determine where business value can be added through their services.” “Top value-added resellers should build capabilities to understand the

Savitha Bhaskar, Condo Protego

“By stepping up to become value-added resellers, they can, not only increase their own competitiveness, but also bring value to their customers. However, resellers must have a long-term strategy and investments to become value-added players.” specific customer requirements, domain and technology expertise, and be able to engage with customers from design through deployment to management of these solutions,” says Bhaskar. Today, professional services are in high demand and are key to a complete evaluation of a successful deployment. Hamber says, “Services such as analytics and business intelligence are also being added to partners’ portfolios, in line with the growing importance of data to a business.” He adds that it is essential to remember that customers too are working

hard to differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace. However, in order to be adept at building a robust services portfolio, partners must consider the challenges too. They should take the time to understand the market they operate in. “Channel firms must be able to identify the real demand from current and new customers,” says Hamber. He explains that partners must assess if they are able to cover the opportunity with existing in-house staff or establish if re-skilling is required. “Questions such as do they need to hire externally or acquire the knowledge through an acquisition are aspects they must evaluate,” he explains. At the end of the day, vendors do have a grave responsibility at their hands. Bhaskar says, “Vendors need to see IT services as not just a revenue stream, but also as a means to motivate partners to tie up with them, and help them to scale out their supply chain and market penetration.” After all, enhanced IT services training will also aid the vendors in delivering localised services to customers through their partners, and customers would benefit from lower cost services. “More efforts are needed from vendors to train and certify their partners to deliver professional services on their behalf,” she says. Agreeing, Hamber adds that vendors can help partners with training, up-skilling staff and allowing partners to benefit from professional services programmes. “Innovative revenue and margin share models will also become prevalent as projects become a greater mix of multivendor hardware, software and services,” he says. Partners have a huge opportunity in maximising value-added services to combat low margins. They should look at transforming the business with the evolving times and find ways to gain long-term profitable revenues.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

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REVIEW

TOSHIBA PORTÉGÉ X20W

RATING

Simple but powerful. Don’t be fooled by its modest design, Toshiba’s latest ultraportable offers serious specs every productivity fanatic will surely appreciate, says Adelle Geronimo.

he Portégé X20W is a 2-in-1 convertible device that combines the convenience of a tablet with the capabilities of a fully-fledged laptop. The device is designed with a 360-degree hinge, which enables you to configure the system into one of five distinct viewing modes – laptop, tablet, tabletop, presentation and audience. It has a matte black casing, which is quite demure and isn’t particularly attentiongrabbing on first glance. While many hybrid devices offer this kind of flexibility, I liked how the device efficiently and easily transition from one mode to another. The device is capable of automatically shifting settings for each mode and it also locks the keyboard when necessary to prevent any unintended input. During the test drive, I found that the X20W’s 12.5-inch full HD display with 1920x1080 pixels was adequately bright and vibrant. It also has a matte finish, which minimises glare when outdoors and eliminates fingerprint smudges as well. What’s more, the Toshiba hybrid touchscreen used Corning Gorilla Glass 4, which can be used either with a finger or a stylus pen. Audio is handled by Harman Kardon DTS technology but since it is a compact device, don’t expect it to yield powerful audio. The device’s keyboard is smaller than most hybrids but the feedback is

quite sharp with a decent travel depth. X20W’s touchpad, SecurePad, has a built-in fingerprint sensor located at the top-left of the active area. It can also be used along with Windows Hello, a TPM 2.0 chip and an infrared camera with dual microphone, which are ideal for having that extra layer of security. You can also expect audible and responsive click from the touchpad when using the left and right mouse buttons. The Portégé X20W comes powered by 7th Generation Intel Core U-series processors from Core i5-7200U, i77500U to i7-7600U Kaby Lake. The SSD configuration ranges from 256GB to 512GB, and the RAM comes in either 8GB or 16GB onboard. It runs Windows 10 OS.

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.resellerme.com

Thunderbolt 3 dock

The device effortlessly met daily productivity needs with minimal to zero lag times when using more than one application simultaneously. Another noteworthy feature the device has is the Hybrid Air Cooling System, which keeps the X20W cool even during intense usage. Portégé X20W has a 44-watt-hour battery, which Toshiba flaunts to last up to 16 hours. However, I found that it only lasted up to about 8 hours of continuous usage over Wi-Fi, which is more than enough especially for those looking to use the laptop for work purposes. Having said that, you can get Toshiba’s optional accessories such as the Thunderbolt 3 dock, which can give you additional connectivity ports. In conclusion, the Portégé X20W packs quality performance under its unassuming exterior. If you’re looking for a compact and light device that you use to make compelling presentations on or work on all day long, then this convertible is for you. Price starts at $1000.

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SAMSUNG DEBUTS GALAXY NOTE8 Samsung has recently launched the latest addition to its Galaxy Note series – the Note8. The Note8 has a 6.3-inch, Quad HD+ Super AMOLED screen. It has a curved screen and is available in a range of attractive colour schemes: black, blue, grey and gold. It’s also IP68-rated, which means it’s resistant to dust and water. Galaxy Note8 is equipped with a Snapdragon 835 processor, 64GB of storage (with microSD support), and 6GB of RAM. It runs Android 7.7.1 Nougat. The device is expected to receive an Android 8.0 Oreo update but it isn’t the in-built version of the operating system. It is equipped with a 3300 mAh battery and has two 12-megapixel cameras. The regular / wide-angle lens

HP LAUNCHES OFFICEJET PRO 7720 PRINTERS

has an aperture of f/1.7, and the telephoto lens is f/2.4. Meanwhile, the front of the phone has an 8MP selfie camera with an f1.7 aperture. It also features Google Assistant as well as Bixby, Samsung’s own virtual assistant. Last but not the least, the Note brand’s trademark feature is the S-Pen. According to Samsung, the new S-Pen – which is also water- and dust-resistant – is more pressure-sensitive and has a finer tip than older versions.

RIVERBED RELEASES XIRRUS WIRELESS ACCESS POINT Riverbed has launched its first Wireless Access Point, post its acquisition of Xirrus earlier this year in April. The new Xirrus AP (Model XD2-230) is an 802.11ac Wave 2 Wireless Access Point. The device comes with a number of key features. It features 3.9Gbps total Wi-Fi bandwidth. The 802.11ac AP can be managed from the cloud or on premise. The AP is designed with a powerful integrated controller, providing layer 7 application visibility to help businesses keep up with the demands that applications are putting on Wi-Fi, according to the company. Management and control is provided by the cloud or an on-pre mise based Xirrus Management System (XMS), enabling complete visibility and control for all devices and applications from a single console. The onboard controller enables application-based policy control, integrated

location services, and software-defined radios directly at the network edge. With 3 radios, including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the XD2-230 model provides secure access for Wi-Fi users and Internet of Things (IoT) devices with an easy-to-use SaaS solution, while helping enterprises scale and adapt to evolving demands. Secure access for an unlimited number of users/devices is delivered by the EasyPass SaaS solution. EasyPass simplifies secure Wi-Fi connectivity with integration to the Microsoft Azure and Google application ecosystems, enabling single sign-on to both user applications and Wi-Fi. Simple and secure onboarding for BYOD and IoT devices is supported by unique per-user security credentials that lock down access at a device level.

HP has launched its OfficeJet Pro printers for micro businesses: OfficeJet Pro 7720. The firm said the device is from the same family as HP OfficeJet Pro 7740. The revamped wide-format, All-in-One printers are mobile-first. The devices allow printing in vibrant colour, creating high-impact professional prints for up to 50 percent less cost than traditional colour lasers, according to the company. OfficeJet Pro 7720 includes features such as hassle-free media handling with easy A3 (11×17) printing, 216 x 356 mm flatbed scanner, 35-page auto feeder, two-sided, borderless printing, smartphone-style colour touchscreen, optional original HP high yield colour ink cartridges to print more and wireless connectivity. The 7720 come with one 250-sheet paper tray while 7730 is equipped with two 250-sheet paper tray. HP also announced a new Smart App, a complete re-brand of its All-in-One Remote app. The Smart App puts the power of a printer in the palm of your hand – enabling users to print, scan, and copy, all from a mobile device. The Smart App allows users to connect to local wireless networks, print directly from DropBox or Google Drive, check ink levels, and order supplies. It also lets users set up and register select, new HP printers. HP’s OfficeJet Pro 7720 is available in the UAE. HP Smart App is also available now in the App store or Google Play, for free.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

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SYNOLOGY ANNOUNCES DISKSTATION DS418J Synology has launched the new DiskStation DS418j, a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;budget-friendlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 4-bay NAS server designed to help home and individual users to manage, protect and share data effectively, said the firm. DS418j is powered by a brand-new 64-bit dual-core CPU and delivers an outstanding encrypted file transfer performance at over 112 MB/s reading and 87 MB/s writing under a RAID 5 configuration in a Windows environment. Equipped with a 1GB DDR4 memory, which is twice the size of its predecessor, and over 40TB single volume raw

QNAP LAUNCHES QUADCORE RACKMOUNT TSX53BU SERIES NAS capacity support, DS418j brings flexible storage management with excellent operation experience. The device is equipped with adjustable front LED indicators, allowing users to precisely control and schedule the brightness in four levels, said the firm. In addition, the model consumes only 21.22 watts in full operation and as little as 8.97 watts in HDD hibernation. Synology DiskStation DS418j is available worldwide.

CANON UNVEILS IMAGEPROGRAF PRO-6000 Canon Middle East has launched its new 12-colour 60-inch large format professional inkjet printer to complete imagePROGRAF PRO series. The PRO-6000 offers photo printing with a 12-colour ink system, dual-roll printing for productivity and a space-saving design. As the largest model with the largest ink system, the imagePROGRAF PRO-6000 rounds off the full line of printers in the Canon PRO series. The printer features the newly developed LUCIA PRO pigment ink and transparent Chroma Optimiser ink for printing with colour expression, black reproduction, good gloss characteristics and suppression of bronzing. According to the firm, the newly developed Multifunction Roll System enables unattended use for multiple purposes using different media types with a single printer. In addition, simultaneous loading of the two types

of black ink allows loss-free and automatic ink switching across various media. With a powerful L-COA PRO high speed image processing engine, the new PRO-6000 is capable of processing large volumes of high-res images and data with ease. As a result, the new device enables poster-quality printing at a faster speed of current imagePROGRAF 12-colour models. Full connectivity and Wi-Fi functionality ensure optimum productivity for busy environments through seamless integration with existing networks. The compact design of the PRO-6000 also makes it ideal for space-pressed print operations and other businesses that had forgone the introduction of a large format printer. The new imagePROGRAF 6000 is already available across EMEA.

QNAP Systems has released the TSx53BU series NAS (available in 4-bay, 8-bay and 12-bay models with single and redundant power supply options) that offers optimal performance and deployment flexibility with 4 Gigabit LAN ports and expandability for M.2 SSD and 10 GbE connections. The TS-x53BU features a standard 1U and 2U form factor, and is ideal for SMBs and workgroups who require stable, secure and highperformance storage. Powered by a 14nm Intel Celeron J3455 quad-core 1.5GHz processor (burst up to 2.3 GHz), up to 8GB dualchannel DDR3L RAM, SATA 6Gb/s, and with 4 Gigabit LAN ports, the TS-x53BU series delivers up to 415 MB/s read speed and 416 MB/s read with Intel AES-NI 256-bit encryption. Additionally, the TS-x53BU-RP provides a redundant power supply to ensure optimal uptime for missioncritical applications. The TS-x53BU comes with a PCIe slot that allows installing a QNAP QM2 M.2 SSD/10GbE LAN adapter to boost SSD caching performance and to provide 10GbE connectivity. Users can also consider installing a 10GbE/ Gigabit adapter or a USB 3.1 10Gbps adapter for diverse storage applications.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // SEPTEMBER 2017

HOT PRODUCTS

AMD LAUNCHES EPYC SERVER PROCESSORS

AMD has lunched AMD EPYC 7000 series high-performance data centre processors. The AMD EPYC design, delivers up to 32 highperformance “Zen” cores and an unparalleled feature set, delivers greater performance than the competition across a full range of integer, floating point, memory bandwidth, and I/O benchmarks and workloads, claims the company. According to the firm, the world’s largest server manufacturers introduced products based on AMD EPYC 7000-series processors including HPE, Dell, Asus, Gigabyte, Inventec, Lenovo, Sugon, Supermicro, Tyan, and Wistron. AMD said the EPYC 7601-based system scored 2360 on SPECint_rate2006, higher than any other twosocket system score. It also scored 1200 on SPECint_ rate2006, higher than any other mainstream one-socket x86-based system score and 943 on SPECfp_rate2006, higher than any other onesocket system score.

ILIFE AIO TOUCH PC SERIES NOW AVAILABLE IN THE UAE iLife Digital Technology has announced the launch of its advanced All-in-One (AIO) PC under its Zed product series. Powered by latest Intel Celeron Processor, Intel HD Graphics and Windows 10 operating system, the ZedPC features a 17.3-inch LCD tilting display with a 10-point touch screen for an accurate and faster computing performance. The PAIO, according to iLife, is designed to eliminate the need for adapters/ wires and is equipped with an in-built battery, an upgradable 500 GB HDD, 3 GB DDR lll RAM, superior

cinema acoustics and a 2-megapixel camera for crystal clear communication. Available in two colours – silver and pearl white – the PC comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. Eric Bhagwat, AVP, iLife Digital Technology, said, “The new ZedPC clearly reflects consumers demand for a richer and faster computing experience at an attractive cost. The ZedPC has all the features to use it for work or play and is further complemented by its stylish, ultra-thin and light design; making it extremely convenient for users to carry it anywhere there go.”

ACER EXPANDS PREDATOR GAMING LINE Acer has unveiled the Predator X35 as part of its Predator gaming line, which leverages the NVIDIA G-SYNC and Acer HDR Ultra technologies for ultra-smooth performance. Predator X35 is a large 35-inch, 21:9 monitor sports an immersive 1800 curve and a brilliant (3440 x 1440) WQHD resolution. Featuring NVIDIA G-SYNC, Acer HDR Ultra and quantum dot technologies, it also provides the best possible contrast quality with high dynamic range, said the firm. It also features advanced LED local dimming in 512 individually-controlled zones shine light only when and where it is required. The Predator X35 delivers a broader, more deeply saturated color gamut covering 90 percent of the DCI-P3 color standard, and a luminance range several times greater than that of traditional dynamic range monitors. The fast 4 ms response time and high 200 Hz refresh rate combined with NVIDIA G-SYNC, makes gameplay smooth and life-like with no tearing or visual artifacts.

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

Outfitted with Predator GameView, there are eight pre-set display modes to optimise visuals for different types of action. In addition to Standard, ECO, Graphic and Movie, there are three special game modes, including Action, Racing and Sports, which can be easily accessed through a hotkey or the OnScreen Display (OSD) menu. Gamers can also define their own custom profile and programme each mode according to their preferences. The Predator X35 display will be available in Q1 2018. Exact specifications, prices, and availability will vary by region.

INTRODUCING THE MYWD™ CERTIFIED SURVEILLANCE STORAGE PROVIDER PROGRAM A world leader in storage solutions, WD® presents the myWD™ Partner Program for Storage Surveillance resellers, service providers and system integrators. Certified Surveillance Storage Provider Program is a onestop solution, compelling benefits and relevant information at your fingertips to boost your revenue and profitability. Check out the complete set of benefits and enroll today at https://events.mywd.com/SurveillanceUAE

Western Digital, WD, the WD logo, myWD, the myWD logo and WD Purple are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. © 2017 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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CANON UNVEILS COMPACT SHORT THROW INSTALLATION PROJECTOR

Canon Middle East has announced the launch of the XEED WUX500ST – a compact LCOS projector. The device has 5,000 lumens colour brightness and a native 1920 x 1200 WUXGA-resolution and full-HD capabilities. Encompassing the fifth generation of Canon’s cutting-edge Aspectual Illumination System (AISYS), the XEED WUX500ST harnesses advanced light-splitting technology in order to project vibrant images. A model of the XEED WUX500ST is also available for medical professionals, which includes a special DICOM Simulation Mode for displaying monochrome digital X-rays, CAT scans, and MRIs with superb grayscale gradation. According to Canon, the projector’s lens shift offers up to 75 percent vertical and 10 percent horizontal potential offsets delivering outstanding flexibility for installation, whilst the ability to deliver a 100-inch display from as close as 1.2 metres provides a huge level of convenience. Built-in HDBaseT, the device provides high-quality audio and image signals as well as control delivered via a single Cat6 cable of up to 100 metres. Wireless presentations from a PC are enabled via Wi-Fi connectivity, while innovative Networked MultiProjection (NMPJ) software allows as many as 10 devices to connect simultaneously.

HP LAUNCHES NEW RETAIL POINT-OFSALE SYSTEM HP has unveiled its versatile allin-one point-of-sale (POS) system, the HP ElitePOS for the retail sector. The ElitePOS features a modular design, different from large, boxy POS terminals commonly used in retail environments, said the firm. Its design is functional and supports use cases such as interactive signage, employee attendance, and self-service applications like a customer check-in and access to additional product offerings. For retailers who want a clean and clutter-free counter space the display can be separated from the input/output (I/O) base for maximum placement versatility. ElitePOS, according to the firm, is built to be retail-durable, designed to pass MIL-STD tests, deter minor spills by channeling liquid out the device, and

provide efficient cooling with side venting for improved reliability. Additionally, line-busting will be a breeze with Windows 10, fast DDR4 memory, and 7th generation IntelCore processors with vPro technology. HP is also integrating security software features into the ElitePOS such as HP Sure Start Gen3, selfhealing BIOS, and HP BIOSphere Gen3, firmware ecosystems. It also has user authentication features and an optional bolt-to-counter configuration, VESA mounting K-Lock features and external fingerprint reader for secure login through Windows Hello. The ElitePOS is expected to be available in the UAE at AED 9,175.

A10 RELEASES THUNDER 3745 Financial institutions have specific application delivery needs, especially those that deal in latency-sensitive transactions and high-frequency trading (HFT), where time truly is money and any delay can negatively affect profitability. For businesses where fractions of a second matter and low latency equals cost-efficiency, A10 Networks broadened its Thunder Series portfolio of hardware appliances to include A10 Thunder 3745, a new application delivery controller designed specifically for financial institutions and low latency environments. Thunder 3745, according to A10, improves transaction speed by reducing end-to-end latency while

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

improving scale and enhancing security and resiliency. It is ideal for mission critical applications that demand very low latency and low jitter, such as those operating on the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol or other industry protocols. A10 Thunder 3745 has a mean latency of 2-3 µs, max latency of 4 µs, jitter of 1 µs and concurrent NAT translation at 128,000. It has an SPE with FPGA, 1 RU, xx1GbE, 4x10GbE, 6 cores. It is also equipped with capabilities such as DPI, L7 traffic steering, header insertion, ACLs, and high-scale dual NAT

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Tech talk Reseller Middle East's Online Editor Adelle Geronimo shares her views on the current tech scene.

Adelle Geronimo, Online Editor, Technology Division

The big picture Selfies have become a cultural symbol of mobile phones. Who would have thought that the simple integration of a front camera on a mobile device can create a social trend that will probably last for generations. It has transformed the way people across the globe communicate, create and distribute data. According to recent studies, an average millennial spends one hour a week taking selfies, most of which are shared on social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. A number of smartphone players, including HTC and Huawei, are now also trying to take advantage of the ‘selfie generation’ by developing phones that have high-spec front cameras. Concerns about the selfie generation have been widely discussed in the recent past, with experts citing various negative impacts it may have. However, these kinds of concerns are slowly waning

as visionaries introduce new ideas on how to turn the trivial act of taking selfies into potential technology and business opportunities. For one, a team of medical clinicians and computer scientists have recently developed an app that can help spot early signs of pancreatic cancer, and potentially other diseases, by just taking selfies. Among the earliest symptoms of pancreatic cancer is jaundice, a yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes caused by a buildup of bilirubin in the blood. The app, called BiliScreen, uses computer vision algorithms, and machine learning tools to detect increased bilirubin levels in a person’s sclera, or the white part of the eye. Now, creators of BiliScreen admitted that the technology is far from perfect and is not yet ready for public usage as it is yet to undergo rigorous testing and approvals by relevant healthcare authorities. Still, I

SEPTEMBER 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

find it fascinating how an innovation as simple as the front camera has impacted an entire generation’s way of life; and now can potentially offer life-saving use cases. It is also noteworthy that several other industries such as banking and financial services and retail have begun exploring ways to utilise this trend in improving their services. Currently most of those initiatives are focused on security. As an example, some banks could potentially use selfies, a variation of facial recognition, to confirm that account holder is the one performing the mobile transaction. So, firms such as HTC and Huawei have the right rationale in mind for investing more into their front-facing cameras. There is a definite potential for becoming the partner of choice for futuristic solutions that could depend on the front camera. Truly, the sky’s the limit when it comes to technological breakthroughs.

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ISSUE 249 | SEPTEMBER 2017

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