Reseller Middle East June 2015 by Reseller Middle East

ISSUE 222 | june 2015 www.resellerme.com

The most influential channel executives in the region

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It’s that time of the year again, when we roll out the red carpet and celebrate the champions of the regional channel industry. In its sixth year, Reseller ME awards are developing quite a history now, which is symbolic of the coming age of our industry. Reseller ME was launched in 1997 by Dominic De Sousa, our Founder and Chairman, to chronicle and serve, which was then a very nascent Middle East channel industry. CPI Media Group launched this publication with a charter to champion companies that were springing up to facilitate new supply chain for vendors. As vendors looked for more efficiency in their supply chain, resellers responded and the role of distribution changed to that of enabling sales productivity. Over the course of last two decades, the channel grew stronger, the returns were for the vendors and the IT industry flourished in the region. We are proud to have played our part in this transition and the industry has weathered many storms to reach maturity. This is the raison d’être of our awards – to recognise and honour the achievements of channel companies even in the face of adversity, turbulent economic climate and evershrinking margins. As the channel continues to evolve towards new business models and address the sweeping technological changes, we want to commend and celebrate the courage and tenacity witnessed in the vendor, distributor and reseller communities. So mark your calendar now, and be there on 3rd June at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai to see history in making. This issue is also a special one where we pay tribute to the very best in channel and turn the spotlight on the achievements of some of these front runners who have made it through tough times to become influential players in the Middle East channel. Let us our tip our hats to these stalwarts.

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 222 // june 2015

cover feature Review

Galaxy S6 Edge

hot products

A round-up of the most influential executives in the regional channel industry.

Highlights

Feature

News

Carving niches

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

Reseller Middle East examines the channel prospects present in Next-Generation Networks.

opinion 21

Strike while the iron is hot

Jyoti Lalchandani from IDC META urges IT services firms to undertake a more strategic advisor role.

WD Purple NV 4 TB and 6 TB hard drives unveiled

events 76 Partner to profit

Samsung Business and Go Green Solutions look to build strong partnerships with its enterprise channel partners.

in-depth

Interview

24 Connecting future cities

77 Building value partnerships

Suparno Banerjee and Mohammed Khodr from HP outline the role partners play in delivering solutions to government entities.

Ramy Beddah, COO, Go Green Solutions, elaborates on channel strategy put in place to grow and develop partners in the enterprise space.

Giada unveils F300 barebone mini PC

D-Link introduces DIR-890L

highlights

OMA Emirates launches managed services for banks

Ingram Micro opens Morocco office

OMA Emirates has announced the company’s launch of end-toNiranj Sangal, OMA end OMA Emirates, Solution Gulf Managed Services for banks at the recently held Cards & Payments Middle East 2015. The new addition to the company’s portfolio provides banks with onsite teams to manage Terminal and POS services, POS Network Services, ATMs, Remote IT Infrastructure and Payment Solutions. Other solutions being showcased at the industry gathering include the range of payment and transactions services and solutions. The new OMA Managed Solutions has no ownership costs for banks and financial institutions and provides 24/7 skilled onsite or offsite manpower. It provides them with a cost effective alternative along with the benefits of smoother card production in order for the banks to achieve better customer satisfaction. Niranj Sangal, Group CEO, OMA Emirates, Solution Gulf, said, “OMA Managed Services will cover leasing of Terminal and POS services, POS Network Services, ATMs, Remote IT Infrastructure and Payment Solutions. Our skilled and professional project management teams are capable of providing adequate and timely guidance with clear focus on meeting project deadlines and ensuring that each project is within budget and in line with the bank’s business objectives.”

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

Ingram Micro had been Ingram Micro will be long-standing supporter opening a subsidiary in of North Africa from our Casablanca, Morocco, operations in France and the office will be the now with a local entity and company’s first legal a substantial investment presence in French and local management, we speaking North Africa and seek to help the IT channel will service one of the Ali Baghdadi, Ingram Micro to realise the promise of fastest growing IT markets Technology Solutions technology.” in the region. The company aims to support Official opening of the subsidiary IT resellers in the country by was announced by Ingram Micro delivering IT solutions and valueMETA region (Middle East, Turkey added services through its rich and Africa) executives during an product portfolio. The Ingram Ingram Micro launch event at the Micro North African subsidiary Sofitel Hotel, Casablanca, where launches its business in the country more than 80 reseller companies with four distribution contracts were invited to learn about the of leading IT companies such as company’s strategy for the North Microsoft, Oracle, Juniper Networks African region. and NetApp. Ingram Micro is also Ali Baghdadi, President Ingram planning to bring other vendors Micro Technology Solutions, META to the North African region and is region, said, “We are delighted to currently in negotiation with them. launch Ingram Micro North Africa.

NetApp kicks off AFF initiative for midsize to large businesses

Graham Porter, NetApp

NetApp has recently launched an initiative targeting channel partners to support Flash requirements of midsize to large

businesses. Offering competitive bundles for its All-Flash-FAS (AFF) 8000 Series, NetApp is enabling its partners to target midsize to large businesses that are looking to accelerate workloads without compromising on the way they deploy, manage, and protect data across their environment. The bundles are available to NetApp partners immediately. Graham Porter, Channel Manager Middle East, North Africa & Pakistan, said, “Since the launch

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mid-2014, we are noticing demand for popular configurations. We are now offering these configurations in a pre-built state so our partners can focus on their core business. The bundles also include full shelves instead of half shelves of solid state drives with flexibility to add more with separate part numbers, making additional configuration and ordering easier. The AFF bundles offer our partners a very attractive value proposition beyond just a price perspective.” The bundles help reduce timeto-market for products and services built on AFF. Channel partners can accelerate their sales cycles and drive revenue as they spend less time configuring and quoting solutions. NetApp launched its AllFlash FAS system in June 2014 to address customers who are looking to combine Flash performance and industry-leading data management.

Delivering on the Big Vision of Small Business Wednesday, 3rd June 2015, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, UAE

Linksys celebrates sale of 100 M routers Linksys, the networking solutions vendor for home and SMBs, showcased some of its latest networking products at DISTREE 2015, announcing the global launch of MU-MIMO router, Linksys EA8500. Launch of EA8500 came as a celebration of Linksys becoming the first router vendor in the world to have sold over 100 million routers since its inception in 1999. Linksys EA8500 is world’s first router with MU-MIMO technology, which enables multiple users to connect to the access point radio at the same time as compared to the conventional system which facilitates only one user at one point of time, said the company. This enhances the overall Wi-Fi speed and experience for each user. Amanulla Khan, DirectorMEA, Belkin International, said, “Linksys as alway led the innovations in the home and SMB networking products. Today, here at Distree we are pleased to showcase unique strengths and technological advancements of our latest products. “We welcome our retail and channel partners to join the celebrations of our achievements, especially of selling 100 million routers, in which they have played a crucial role.” The vendor also showcased its new range of routers, range extenders and accessories such as WRT 1200AC, a dual-band smart Wi-Fi router and RE6500HG and RE6700, Dual-Band wireless range extenders.

Governments in MENA to spend

USD 11.97 billion on IT in 2015

Source: Gartner 8

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

highlights

Cyberoam partners with Genx from their presence market Cyberoam has announced understanding. Partner the appointment of Genx collaborations are crucial as its Platinum Partner for our business growth. for UAE. The appointment We are also committed is part of Cyberoam’s towards strengthening expansion plan in Middle them as they have a better East – a cybersecurity grasp of customer issues market growing at a CAGR and often form the first of 13 per cent and which is Ravinder Janotra, Cyberoam point of contact for them. expected to be worth USD It is this approach that has allowed 10 billion by 2020. us to achieve success in a short Cyberoam is in partnership with time and gain a strong foothold major organisations across various in the security market. With more sectors in the region and with its hands joining in, we are confident alliance with Genx, the company aims of achieving major milestones in the to further its reach into the market. very near future.” Ravinder Janotra, Regional Genx is a value-added solutions Manager Middle East, Cyberoam, provider dealing in wide range of IT said, “We are upbeat about this Accessories and Components, WAN/ collaboration bringing benefits to all LAN Network Solutions, Structured stakeholders. Genx is a major player Cabling Solutions and more. in the market and we will benefit

Actifio announces new features for VDP technology Actifio has announced a series of new features and functional enhancements aimed at better supporting the number Grant Amos, Actifio of customers leveraging its patented Virtual Data Pipeline (VDP) technology in support of DevOps use cases. Large enterprises are increasingly viewing infrastructure as a commodity while applications are becoming more strategic. Managing the flow of data that powers applications presents a range of challenges at every stage of their lifecycle. Grant Amos, General Manager MEA, Actifio, notes that the company is seeing increased market demand to virtualise data and in doing so make it available anywhere and anytime to anyone with the right access.

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“In the ME market we are increasingly seeing a need to reduce non-productive infrastructure while allowing developers and business users to self-provision data. This in turn speeds development cycle time.” With the enhancements in the VDP technology, authorised developers, DBAs, and data scientists can now access fresh copies of production data securely and instantly. Operations are now able to better support users with self-service data access built for the enterprise. It also has a simplified protection of test/dev environments where administrators are able to protect, replicate, and restore clones used for test/dev environments while minimising the need for storage. Users can now go beyond recovery and mount a database at any point-in-time for application development, testing, analysis and more. The new enhancement includes the next generation of Actifio’s Resiliency Director.

highlights

StorIT announces new social initiative at ‘Converge’

DISTREE Middle East 2015 concludes successfully

StorIT Distribution unveiled its new social initiative, THOT (The Human-side Of Technology), at its annual Suren Vedantham, StorIT technology Distribution summit, ‘CONVERGE’, held at The Atlantis Hotel, Dubai. The initiative aims to be a platform for getting the regional IT fraternity together in reaching out to people and communities lacking basic needs such as access to clean water or education. Speaking about the initiative, Suren Vedantham, Group Managing Director, StorIT Distribution, said, “We plan to get together each year with all partners who intend to be part of the initiative to sponsor a social programme which may not demand much of our time or resources but could certainly touch the lives of underprivileged people around the world. We believe that the cumulative effect of a collective effort is always much greater than disparate individual actions. “This year, through THOT, we have been successful in sponsoring a social cause related to children’s education titled ‘Adopt a School’, which has been launched by Dubai Cares, a philanthropic organisation launched in September 2007 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. We thank Dubai Cares for their support and our partners, EMW, Pinnacle Smart Systems and Spusht for their generosity in co-sponsoring this programme,” he added. Apart from technology presentations from leading industry experts from EMC and VCE, and the introduction of THOT, StorIT also honoured its best performing reseller partners with awards under different categories.

programme at DISTREE Gathering more than Middle East with 23 500 industry delegates, brands delivering the 11th annual DISTREE pitches for their latest Middle East created products. Channel a wealth of channel partners voted live to business opportunities select overall winners in for hundreds of new, three categories. emerging and established DISTREE Middle technology and consumer Farouk Hemraj, DISTREE Events East also included electronics brands. a comprehensive conference During the three-day event, a programme with a mixture of wide range of new products and keynotes, panel discussions and brands were displayed at DISTREE awards sessions. Focused workshop Middle East, including a vast array of connected devices, smart technologies, sessions included speakers from Event Partner GfK; Content Partners accessories and peripherals. Extrius, FFD, Navo and Quadmark; Farouk Hemraj, Director and as well as Media Partner Channel Co-Founder at DISTREE Events, said, EMEA. The conference included “DISTREE Middle East is focused a Retail Voices Panel and Q&A on high-level channel interaction designed to create new business opportunities for all delegates. With DISTREE Middle East more than 1500 pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings held at this is focused on highyear’s event, DISTREE Middle East level channel opens up new consumer channel interaction designed to create opportunities for all attendees.” new business opportunities The DISTREE Diamond Awards for all delegates.” series also made their debut in the region this year at DISTREE Middle East 2015. The recipients session featuring senior executives of the DISTREE Diamond Awards from Emax, eXtra, Jumbo and were determined using on-site Khoury Home. feedback from retailers and DISTREE Middle East 2015 united e-tailers attending the event. The various channel stakeholders in the DISTREE Diamond Awards serve as recognition for companies that offer volume technology and CE retail channel and provided a platform a compelling channel proposition. for channel business development. The winners were selected by From start-ups to established retailers based on their interaction A-brands, the event delivered a wide with exhibitors during the event. range of business benefits for all During a Gala Dinner on participating exhibitors. 13th May, the ‘Middle East Retail “The initial feedback on this Academy (MERA): 2015 Awards’ year’s DISTREE Middle East has also took place in conjunction with been overwhelmingly positive,” DISTREE Middle East. The ‘MERA: stated Hemraj. “We will continue to 2015 Awards’ included awards innovate the structure and focus for retailers and distributors, plus of the event to keep it relevant individual executive awards and a and rewarding for all participants. series of initiative awards. Planning is already underway for The ‘60s to Convince Awards’ DISTREE Middle East 2016.” also formed part of the conference

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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highlights

Nexthink names Haceb as partner in Lebanon

Promise Technology workshop certifies security professionals

Nexthink has recently announced its partnership with Haceb in Lebanon. Under the Wissam El Hariri, Haceb partner agreement, Haceb will be able to extend consultancy services, support and implement Nexthink’s IT operations analytics solutions for its customers in the region. Nexthink will be able to leverage Haceb’s strong expertise and presence in Lebanon to offer real-time visibility and IT analytics to help IT departments connect, communicate and collaborate to achieve their business objectives; while improving security, IT operations and support, and transforming their workplace. Wissam El Hariri, GM of Haceb, said, “We are proud to be appointed as Nexthink’s partner in Lebanon. With Haceb’s existing hardware and software solutions and our reach that covers the whole Lebanese market and different industries; Nexthink will be a complementing solution to our portfolio and completes our end-to-end solution offering. Today business processes are becoming increasingly reliant on an organisation’s IT infrastructure, which continues to grow in size and complexity. Nexthink helps to manage this complexity by offering real-time visibility to monitor all end-user activities. This helps companies make more informed decisions and significantly reduce their overall IT costs.”

Promise Technology has announced that it has certified over 30 systems integrators and security professionals as part of its Video Surveillance Training Course hosted in May in Dubai with its partner, Musallam Trading. Musallam Trading, a distributor of Promise’s high-performance storage solutions for the MENA region, are experienced in the video surveillance industry and are capable of providing consultancy to integrators to ensure that optimal solutions are delivered to the customer. Eng. Mostafa Fawzi, BDM, Musallam Trading, said, “We are excited that so many of our resellers and integrators were eager to participate in the Promise Video Surveillance Training Course which is a testament to their commitment to quality. Receiving certification from Promise is a clear indicator the security professional is fully trained on the best-practices for deploying and maintaining Promise’s surveillance solutions and is up to date on the latest industry trends.” Promise develops open storage platforms for video surveillance whose solutions include Vess A2000 NVRs and Vess R2000 and

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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We are excited that so many of our resellers and integrators were eager to participate in the Promise Video Surveillance Training Course which is a testament to their commitment to quality. Receiving certification from Promise is a clear indicator the security professional is fully trained on the best-practices.” VTrak x30 external storage, which are optimised to effectively handle high resolution video from HD/ megapixel cameras. Promise’s video surveillance solutions support a wide range of Video Management Software, such as solutions from Aimetis, AxxonSoft, CamIQ, Genetec, OnSSI, Milestone, and SeeTec. Additionally, the new Promise Surveillance Cloud platform for video surveillance as a service provides new possibilities to protect smaller businesses and chain stores.

HDS launches new lineup of softwaredefined infrastructures Hitachi Data Systems has recently announced a leap forward in its technology leadership for delivering software-defined infrastructures in the Middle East. In addition to enabling customers to simplify IT and free data from traditional hardware and location constraints it also makes it more accessible for all existing and new analytics-driven workloads. These new and enhanced offerings have been designed to help customers achieve greater levels of information access through virtualised, hyper-converged and scale-out platforms. Hitachi Data Systems is delivering on those goals by extending its Hitachi Storage Virtualisation Operating System (SVOS) to an expanded Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) family. It will also be expanding the Hitachi Unified Compute Platform (UCP) family to cover core to edge or small to large converged and hyperconverged infrastructure models, and introduce the Hitachi Hyper Scale-Out Platform (HSP) for fast-growing data analytics workloads. “As the global IT horizon starts shifting, the needs and wants of the Middle East also develops and migrates to sleeker, more responsive options. With this new solution, we are able to open opportunities to the mid-market while simplifying operations. It is an exciting time for us as we introduce this truly unique opportunity to the region,” said Aaron White, General Manager for Middle East and Turkey, Hitachi Data Systems.

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

highlights

SAP & Tyconz to hold customer conference SAP, together with its partner TYCONZ, an SAP-certified consultancy firm in the MENA region, are organising an end-user Patrick Hayati, SAP MENA conference on June 3rd 2015, at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, to showcase the benefits of SAP Business One – a complete ERP system designed to help small- and mid-sized companies. Through the solution, organisations can now avoid the hassle and expense of integrating multiple systems as its business grows. SAP Business One offers integrated reporting and analytics for the customer’s complete business needs. “Every company now, no matter how small it is, needs an automated system to make its business agile and

back-end efficient, and this is exactly what SAP Business One does. It covers all of the company’s basic needs, including financial management, sales, inventory and human resources, and is used by thousands of customers around the world,” Patrick Hayati, Vice President GPO, SAP MENA. Tarek AbdelKhalek, Managing Director at TYCONZ, added, “The conference will showcase how this affordable and scalable cross-industry solution can manage every aspect of your small business and streamline your key processes – from accounting and CRM to supply chain management and purchasing.” The conference is a must-attend for fast-growing organisations as it delivers education and information on SAP Business One – how it works, what it means for the customer and what tools are available to transform business today.

Metadata Technologies launches new version of Property-xRM

Metadata Technologies has announced the global launch of its new generation Online Real Estate CRM solution ‘Property-xRM’ built on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 platform. Rasheed Muhammed, Managing Director, Metadata, said, “Our new online Real Estate CRM solution will deliver on the promise of customer centricity by bringing together Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 technology in a manner which will help the real estate companies to

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better nurture and engage with their customers. Property-xRM for real estate is a true end-to-end CRM solution that is aptly poised to expand towards the global market.” The Property-xRM tool is a combination of the user friendly Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform coupled with the rich real estate experience of Metadata and supported by the functionality developed by Microsoft certified professionals over a decade.

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Zebra Technologies unveils WiNG Express for SMBs in EMEA Zebra Technologies has unveiled a new wireless local area network (WLAN) - the new WiNG Express is specifically priced to meet the needs of small and mid-size businesses and is designed for simplicity without compromising on the Zebra WLAN enterpriseclass features and functions used by Fortune 500 companies. WiNG Express requires virtually no IT department support with an easy-to-use, easy-to-understand graphical user interface that simplifies end-to-end WLAN management. The WiNG Express offering provides a competitive pricing model while still creating a fully network-aware WLAN that has the intelligence required to route every transmission as efficiently and securely as possible for unsurpassed wireless performance. Mark Smith, sales director, Enterprise Networks & Communications EMEA , Zebra Technologies, said, “Zebra WiNG Express gives users all the benefits of high-performance wireless connectivity at a cost that small and mid-size businesses can afford. The ease of deployment and scalability allows customers to grow their network as their business grows, all while maintaining best-in-class operational efficiency and delivering outstanding customer service.”

Healthcare Providers in MENA to spend

USD 2.86 billion on IT in 2015

Source: Gartner

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

highlights

Governments in MENA to spend USD 11.97 billion on IT in 2015 According to the latest findings by Gartner, governments in the Middle East and North Africa will spend USD 11.97 billion on IT products and Dr. Anurag Gupta, Gartner services in 2015, an increase of 0.4 per cent over 2014 spending of USD 11.92 billion. This forecast includes spending on internal services, software, IT services, data centre, devices and telecom services. Government comprises local government and national government. Telecom services, which include fixed and mobile telecom services, will be the largest overall spending category throughout the forecast

period within the government sector. It is expected to be USD 5.2 billion in 2015– led by growth in mobile network services. The software segment includes enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise application software, infrastructure software and vertical specific software. Software spending will grow 6.7 per cent over the 2014 spending, to reach USD 1.2 billion. “Transition from one-way department centric eGovernment initiatives to a two-way interactive citizen centric digital government is driving spending in government IT in the region,” said Dr. Anurag Gupta, Research Vice President, Gartner.

F5 launches cloud-based WAF service in EMEA

F5 Networks has launched a new cloud-delivered managed service in EMEA to defend against web application attacks and ensure compliance across dynamic cloud and data centre environments. The Silverline Web Application Firewall service offering provides quick web application firewall (WAF) implementation and unified, scalable policy enforcement capabilities. The service also includes 24x7 support from highly specialised F5 security experts with the company’s Security Operations Centre (SOC) resources.

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Mark Vondemkamp, VP of Security and Silverline Technologies, F5 Networks, said, “With security needs outpacing the number of qualified WAF experts in the industry, many organisations find themselves underprotected. Silverline solutions expand F5’s fabric-based Synthesis framework to include cloud-delivered services— giving customers the benefit of F5 experts proactively looking after WAF functionality. This approach effectively makes F5 the application security IT engineer for the customer, providing internal personnel the opportunity to focus on other priorities.” As the latest addition to F5’s Silverline cloud-based application services platform, the new WAF offering is built on the award-winning capabilities of the company’s BIG-IP Application Security Manager product. F5 seamlessly provides leading WAF services in both on-premises and subscription-based cloud offerings.

Scale smarter. Manage easier. Innovate faster. New PowerEdge servers can be configured up to %99 faster and boost IOPS by up to 10x . 1

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

Zero-touch

10IOPSX 99 3

automation configures up to

faster

Deploy

10,000 servers

in an

instant

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

Contact your nearest office for further details: mssales@mindware.ae | UAE: +9714 4500600

Resilient Systems: 46% of ME businesses lack IR plans According to the findings of a survey conducted by Resilient Systems at GISEC, it has been revealed that nearly half (46 per cent) of Middle East organisations have no Incident Response (IR) plans. The survey of more than 150 enterprise security professionals also found the rate of security incidents is very high in the region, with 69 per cent of organisations experiencing an incident in the last 12 months – highlighting the need for greater resilience against cybersecurity threats. Paul Ayers, General Manager, EMEA, Resilient Systems, said, “In this new era of cybercrime, businesses are learning that identifying and protecting against threats isn’t enough – they have to be able to respond, and they have to do it faster, better, and smarter than before. Security incidents are inevitable – but the good news is that quick and effective response can make cyber threats manageable, and ensure that businesses can thrive in the face of them.” Further findings of the survey indicated that 17 per cent of organisations reported having more than 25 incidents in the last year. It also revealed that Incident Response is becoming a priority for many, with 63 per cent saying their business will invest in Incident Response in the next 20 months, however, 14 per cent have no plans to improve incident response capabilities.

IoT market to grow

19% in 2015, Source: IDC 18

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

highlights

Fujitsu assigns new EMEA sales leader Fujitsu subsidiary PFU (EMEA) has strengthened its sales force in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) with two Tarek Akl, Fujitsu Middle East and Turkey new hires and management appointments for the Russian and Middle East markets. Moscow-based Partner Manager Denis Milentjev is further expanding Fujitsu’s document scanner business in Russia and the CIS region (Commonwealth of Independent States) by supporting and growing the ISV partner ecosystem. As Partner Manager for the Middle East and Turkey regions

Dubai-based Tarek Akl is developing the partner network. Having worked for 13 years with a leading scanner specialist in Russia, Milentjev is an experienced professional with considerable experience of Document Management Solutions and a broad network in the reseller and ISV community. Formerly Territory Manager for the Gulf region at a large IT company, Akl brings more than 13 years of experience in both software and hardware. This also includes working for a Fujitsu document scanner reseller and a regional ISV partner. In his new role Akl will expand the reseller network and develop the ISV engagement and improve relations to key end-users.

FVC hosts Polycom Partner Conference and Customer Day in Lagos FVC, Polycom’s authorised Value-Added Distributor and training Partner in the Middle East and Africa region, hosted its West African partners K.S. Parag, FVC conference in Nigeria on the last leg of a six country partner road show that covered UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria. Held annually, the Partner conference gives FVC’s Polycom partners the opportunity to meet the senior management from Polycom, get a preview of new products and network with fellow partners, sharing best practices and new business development strategies. “Nigeria is an exciting market for us with a lot of enterprise opportunities for unified communications,” said K. S. Parag, Managing Director at FVC. “Taking our popular Polycom Partner event closer to markets like Nigeria

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As the largest provider of visual communication solutions in the region, FVC is committed to developing business in Nigeria and has increased its investment locally with enhanced local presence and skilled resources.” gives us the opportunity to share our strategies with more of our local partners and the opportunity to talk to their customers and share some of the exciting new technologies first hand. By 2017, 58 per cent of network traffic is forecasted to be video. As the largest provider of visual communication solutions in the region, FVC is committed to developing business in Nigeria and has increased its investment locally with enhanced local presence and skilled resources.”

Citrix unveils Citrix Workspace Cloud

Jesse Lipson, Citrix

Citrix has unveiled the Citrix Workspace Cloud, a new platform designed to simplify the on-demand delivery of a wide range of IT tools and services. With Citrix Workspace Cloud, Citrix is providing partners and businesses with a solution to address the increasing pressure that new devices, apps and work styles are putting on traditional infrastructure. The Citrix Workspace Cloud creates a new control plane that merges the worlds of on-premises and cloud, allowing IT managers to create secure,

mobile workspaces that include desktops, applications and data from whatever infrastructure source best meets their specific needs. Jesse Lipson, Vice President and General Manager, Cloud Services, Citrix, “Citrix Workspace Cloud is the future of on-demand IT. People want access to all their apps and data, and this no longer equates to a desktop. Citrix has created the fastest and easiest way to deploy new resources, simplified infrastructure management, and provided freedom of choice in selecting the right hosting and delivery model.” Citrix claims that this cloud-based management platform provides customers the flexibility to choose which clouds or data centre resources fit their needs best, then select the applications, data, files and features that work best for each specific organisation and each person.

Acronis announces new Cloud Backup solutions in ME markets Acronis has announced the availability of two new cloud backup solutions in Middle East markets. Acronis Backup Service John Zanni, Acronis provides businesses with local and cloud backup services with bare metal recovery to any destination or system that can be purchased online directly from Acronis or from its resellers and partners with Acronis hosting and managing the services in an Acronis Data Centre. Acronis Backup Cloud is a multitier / multi-tenant solution, providing local and hybrid storage of backed up data, local backup on customer premises, and local recovery plus recovery from the cloud. The service provides advanced security, including SSL encryption of management

channels and in-transit and at-rest AES256 data encryption. John Zanni, Senior Vice President of Cloud Solutions, Acronis, says, “Opportunities currently abound for Service Providers providing cloud offers, including backup, secure file access, sync and sharing and disaster recovery solutions. Acronis Backup Cloud gives them the ability to offer easy, complete and safe advanced data protection solution to their customers with a managed and monitored high-margin service that delivers security and scalability.” Service providers across the globe have adopted Acronis Backup Cloud to expand their service portfolios to include backup and recovery. The new Acronis service provides a pay-for-use model and delivers complete protection that business customers require, including support for workstations, Windows, Linux, physical and virtual servers.

Dimension Data partners with Deloitte Dimension Data has announced that Deloitte Consulting has chosen them as the cloud service provider to deliver Enterprise Application and Analytic workloads for business transformation and the Dimension Data Managed Cloud Platform (MCP), as the infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). As a result, Deloitte will be able to offer clients solutions such as Managed Analytics and SAP applications to multi-national clients across five continents, while Dimension Data provides and manages the IaaS layer as a shared resource or private cloud. Deloitte will also have the flexibility to align the right cloud to the right application and workloads by choosing from Dimension Data’s public, private or hybrid cloud models. Shelley Perry, SVP, Research and Development for Dimension Data’s ITaaS Business Unit, said, “The combination of the Dimension Data MCP and Deloitte business transformation solutions enables the client to align IT to business outcomes. We’re investing in new, advanced technology from companies like the EMC Federation and Cisco to enable a hybrid cloud strategy. By surrounding enterprise applications, moving to the cloud, with all the services and capabilities they require, we’re simplifying IT transformation.”

Emerging markets drove worldwide smartphone sales to

19 % growth in Q1 of 2015 Source: Gartner

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

IDC

opinion

Strike while the iron is hot Jyoti Lalchandani, Group Vice President and Regional Managing Director, IDC Middle East, Turkey & Africa, urges IT services firms to undertake a more strategic advisor role. I spend a significant amount of time talking directly to the GCC’s vibrant end-user community, and it is becoming increasingly clear that today’s dynamic market conditions are creating a variety of challenges for businesses across the region. These include the need to meet top- and bottom-line targets, gain market share, maintain growth, launch new products and/or services, keep customers satisfied, and comply with applicable regulations and requirements. And while IT can undoubtedly play a pivotal role in overcoming challenges and creating growth, it is up to CIOs and IT decision makers to ensure

that their IT and business strategies are well aligned. But given the centralisation of authority and bureaucracy that are common traits of the region’s organisations, many CIOs complain that they are

unable to secure business buy-in for IT projects, often due to a lack of decisionmaking authority and the difficulties they face in demonstrating ROI. It is at this stage that IT consultancies would prove particularly useful, with their unique understanding of both business and IT functions making them the best candidates for developing organisations’ IT strategies. However, very few organisations in the region actually realise the value of consulting services, and are unwilling to pay for them as a standalone

It is important for services providers to realise that customers in the GCC are still rather low on the IT maturity curve and consequently require a great deal of support from their providers.

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service. So who are they turning to instead? Simply put, many organisations expect their IT services providers to act as advisors and guide them in making their strategic IT investments. The problem is that services providers generally employ an opportunity- or project-based approach to their business, with everything connected to billing rates; this inevitably means that providing non-billable advisory services impacts their profitability. Nevertheless, it is important for services providers to realise that customers in the GCC are still rather low on the IT maturity curve and consequently require a great deal of support from their providers.

Reseller Middle East JUNE 2015

opinion

IDC

In order to engender more productive and longerterm customer relationships, IT services providers must accept this reality and act as trusted strategic advisors rather than mere deliverers of technology. Indeed, it is clear from my discussions that IT decision makers are increasingly looking for services providers that can engage and collaborate with them over the long term, working on assigned requests and billing them accordingly on an hourly basis. Unlike business consulting services, the retainer model is rarely seen in IT services procurement. This is due primarily to the fact that most customers prefer to work with providers on a project-to-project basis, rather than constantly engaging them and paying for their advisory services. The sale of consulting services in the region is mostly opportunity-based, and long-term retainer contracts are practically nonexistent. This is a situation that I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t envisage changing any time soon. Given the wide variety of internal challenges faced by customer organisations, IT services providers must invest time and money to cooperate with these businesses in a consulting capacity. Chief among CIO expectations is the need for providers to help strengthen their business or ROI cases for complex and large-scale IT projects. Additionally, they expect their service providers to work closely with them and recommend the technologies and strategies

JUNE 2015 Reseller Middle East

CIOs expect their services providers to work closely with them and recommend the technologies and strategies that are best suited to their particular circumstances. By assisting organisations in synchronising their business and IT functions and demonstrating ROI to key stakeholders, services providers will be able to add tangible value and establish a firm foundation for building long-term relationships. that are best suited to their particular circumstances. By assisting organisations in synchronising their business and IT functions and demonstrating ROI to key stakeholders, services providers will be able to add tangible value and establish a firm foundation for building long-term relationships. The competitive landscape in the overall IT services industry is highly fragmented, with a variety of active services providers. However, IT consulting, being a more specialised and skillsintensive line of business, is less competitive. The field typically includes traditional systems integrators, most of which provide IT consulting services in their projects, while traditional distributors and valueadded resellers provide very basic consulting services that often do not extend beyond recommending or evaluating certain products or technologies. The lines between

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traditional systems integrators and solutions providers (typically large and global IT services companies) are blurred, and both of them include consulting services with their projects. The only noticeable exception here is that solutions providers are typically able to sell standalone IT consulting deals as well, while systems integrators only include them as part of larger projects. The remainder of the market is made up of business consulting companies and freelancers. Against this backdrop, I expect IT consulting services in the region to record continued and steady growth over the coming years. And as the region matures, services providers are likely to conclude more standalone consulting deals. The key verticals to watch out for in this space are telecommunications, banking and financial services, retail, oil and gas, transportation,

and government. In terms of the competitive landscape, the market may consolidate somewhat in the future, with some boutique consulting firms acquired by larger IT services providers. The GCC region is growing quickly, and many multimillion-dollar projects are expected in the coming years. Current market conditions represent a good opportunity for services providers to develop strong client relationships and become the go-to company for customers seeking a strategic advisor. Those providers that invest now in becoming client-friendly, collaborative, and strategic advisors will have a greater chance of winning large deals in the long run, while those that are more opportunistic will likely struggle to secure future long-term success. The sun is shining bright in the GCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IT services space, so nowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the time to get out there and start making some hay.

In-depth

Connecting future cities Suparno Banerjee, VP, WW Public Sector Programs, HP and Mohammed Khodr, Director of Sales, Enterprise and Public Sector, HP UAE, outline the role partners play in delivering solutions to government entities. There is a plethora of opportunities to tap into as governments across the region are in the process of going ‘smart’. In the UAE, plans are underway to transform Dubai into a ‘smart city’, and more than 1000 government services are expected to ‘go smart’ over the next three years. Consequently, the service and solution providers need to ramp up their offerings and ensure partners are ready to excel and profit from these smart initiatives. In this regard, HP is a formidable player, with its public sector portfolio offering the entire breadth of solutions. Suparno Banerjee, VP, WW Public Sector Programs, HP, says, “We boast an extensive services portfolio globally, where we implement and deliver solutions and operate on behalf of the government.” From the vendor’s point of view, partners are indeed a critical component within its entire gamut of business. For example, its Printing and Personal Systems division is largely partner driven while within the Enterprise Group the company follows a

JUNE 2015 Reseller Middle East

mixed model – it goes direct in some cases and through partners in others. The same strategy is followed in the software and services side of business. It is an open strategy, says Banerjee. “We believe it is a complex situation when it comes to governments. No single entity has all the answers. We have to bring the best out of every partner, including ourselves and solution providers. In our go-to-market strategy, we follow direct, sell with and sell through models. We have the complete breadth of partner strategies.” Every government has its own set of unique challenges, and when embarking on the ‘smart’ route, there is even a greater demand to address these issues. For a government entity, the issues could emerge from a number of aspects such as demographics, economic growth and the way they have been sustaining the financial shocks over the last few years. He adds: “Governments are trying to address the demands of citizens and the economic growth potential that they face. Through

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We boast an extensive services portfolio globally, where we implement and deliver solutions and operate on behalf of the government.” Suparno Banerjee, VP, WW Public Sector Programs, HP

our offerings, they can address these critical issues and can best optimise the opportunities present. For example, if you are getting more into digital or e-government scheme of things, you will need more data centre, storage, analytics and mobility solutions along with online delivery of services. It is always a quest for the next stage. At HP, we term it as ‘future cities’.” In such a scenario, there is no debate over the fact that there is a growth opportunity for partners. However, the question is how can they be profitable? Banerjee says, “If you look at any reports, you will find that the cities are going to spend upwards of 3 trillion USD on infrastructure over the next 20 odd years. Therefore, people look at that growth dynamics and claim a stake. We believe that we have a nuanced and integrated model because we have been with governments for many years and these conversations have resulted in the thinking process that for large complex projects, it is a journey. It is not about simply deploying a solution and walking away. You got to fix many things simultaneously. Therefore we come at it with a holistic vision. “We influence those partners who have a specific solution, which may come from someone who does that in a specialised manner. In some cases, we become the integrator, stitching it into the broader needs

of the city – sometimes by complementing or through deep specialisation in analytical capability. The partner and channel strategies and go-to-market model will also cut across the various divisions; my role is not embedded into any one business unit.”

Partners should take a step back and understand what is driving the growth dynamics in the region and keep a close watch on the government’s agenda. Mohammed Khodr, Director of Sales, Enterprise and Public Sector, HP UAE, says, “It is important

It is important the channel partners acknowledge where their strengths are Because as we assemble these large complex projects, we focus on working with solution providers who are complementary to each other” Mohammed Khodr, Director of Sales, Enterprise and Public Sector, HP UAE

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the channel partners acknowledge where their strengths are.” He adds, “Because as we assemble these large complex projects, we focus on working with solution providers who are complementary to each other.” Khodr points out that HP’s ability to play the systems integrator role, gives its customers the freedom to pick best-ofbreed technologies to improve their delivery on ultimate objectives. From a public sector point of view, HP is working closely with its partners to enable them and drive the same behaviour that is being practiced within the company – from cloud and Big Data to mobility and social. The vendor aims to enhance its positioning in the public sector through solutions selling. “Towards this, we do many activities with our partners such as quarterly business reviews, joint marketing activities and approaching customers together. At the end of the day, partners are also helping to deliver the solutions that we have to provide to the public sector. Our partners are an extended arm of HP. There is a lot of focus from top down. We invest both in their enablement and from the marketing perspective, we also invest with our partners in terms of doing joint activities.”

Reseller Middle East JUNE 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Channel

Premiers A round-up of the most influential executives in the regional IT channel.

The regional IT channel landscape is faced with a number of challenges including credit issues and low margins. Channel companies are constantly on the lookout for new avenues of growth and how best to upskill in order to maximise the opportunities present with emerging technologies. The players that focus on staying ahead of the curve and evolve their strategies with the changing times are the ones who can sustain business profitably. We draw inspiration from the top 60 whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who of the regional IT channel industry, including vendors, distributors, SIs and resellers, and applaud their vision and commitment, which keeps our industry ticking over.

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 11 Years in the IT channel industry: 19 Biggest achievement till date: Grand store project for Lenovo India - 1000 plus exclusive outlets setup followed by the global Lenovo way champion award in Beijing Your mentor in the industry: Alex Li, VP, Lenovo India Company focus for 2015: To focus on automated unified channel setup Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Channel capacity planning tool

Name: Aditi Ganguly Company: Lenovo Middle East & Africa

Issues in the regional channel: Diversity in channel structure across MEA Key to grow profitably: Focus on building profitable channel capacity

Designation: Director Channel Operations

Years in the company: 10 Years in the IT channel business: 30 Biggest achievement till date: Seeding firewall technology at a time when it was only being launched by Cisco back in 2000, for more than 100 channels. Your mentor in the industry: Sanjeev Krishnan, Regional Director, IBM Company focus for 2015: To drive emerging technologies such as cloud, virtualisation, Big Data, storage and IoT Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Virtualisation, cloud, Big Data, analytics, IoT, storage, cyber-security, ITSM and SaaS Issues in the regional channel: Some partners aspire to become distribution channels themselves, thus dealing with vendors directly, which in turn results in a lot of avoidable misperceptions. Key to grow profitably: Being in-line with niche technologies and having superior engineering support

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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Name: Ajay Singh Chauhan Company: ComGuard Designation: Chief Executive Officer

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 30 plus Years in the channel: 20 plus Company focus for 2015: To continue our emphasis on services and increase our portion of value advanced solutions. Cloud is another major area of focus. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Analytics solutions and Internet of Things Key to grow profitably: By cashing in on opportunities in emerging technologies and being able to adapt to market changes swiftly

Name: Dr. Ali Baghdadi Company: Aptec – an Ingram Micro Company Designation: President, Technology Solutions, META region

Years in the company: Cisco/Linksys since May 2009 and moved to Belkin in March 2013 with the Linksys acquisition Years in the channel: 20 Biggest achievement till date: We have been able to create a channel network that has driven the brand to take the leadership position in the home and SMB networking products in the region. Your mentor in the industry: It will be extremely difficult to pick one but my 8 years at Computer 2000 / Tech Data laid the foundation for my professional and personal growth and I owe the little success in my professional career to every individual in this organisation. Company focus for 2015: To retain brand leadership and recall rate Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Big Data, Cloud and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Issues in the regional channel: Lack of education and training

Name: Amanulla Khan

Key to grow profitably: Innovation will continue to be the prime driving force to increase profitability and growth.

Company: Belkin International MEA Designation: Director

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 6 Years in the IT channel industry: 13 Biggest achievement till date: Being able to partner with three vendors in the same quarter and best VAD award from vendor in 2012. Your mentor in the industry: There is no specific person or an organisation but everyone who is involved in the channel business. Company focus for 2015: To increase profitability by increasing geographical reach and empowering channel by introducing financing programme called ‘Advantage’ Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Cloud and backup solutions especially for the top enterprises for B2B and identity protection for B2C Issues in the regional channel: Channel partners are still not concentrating on the support side. Other issues include lack of product knowledge, profitability and credit issues.

Name: Amjad Fathi Al Omar

Key to grow profitably: I believe channel partners should get better knowledge about products and they should invest in human resources of certified engineers. Once there is a steady support system for product and end user, everything else will come automatically.

Company: Sariya IT Distribution Designation: General Manager

Years in the company: 4 Years in the channel: 12 Biggest achievement till date: Being able to create a very closed network of reseller partners across the Middle East for niche and specialised technologies on security and storage Your mentor in the industry: I have learned a lot from the field working with channel partners themselves. Every day gives me a new learning and every challenge, a new opportunity. Company focus for 2015: To bring in added value to the reseller partner eco-system and ensuring they are trained and skilled. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: APT, Vulnerability Management, SIEM, Copy data management, privilege and identity access management Issues in the regional channel: Skill sets and focus on emerging new technologies

Name: Anand Choudha

Key to grow profitably: There are healthy margins for our channels in the products that we represent

Company: Spectrami Designation: Managing Director

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 18 Years in the channel: 25 Biggest channel achievement till date: Shown constant growth year-on-year, both top and bottom-line Your mentor in the industry: My boss – Yehia El Halaby Company focus for 2015: To support and remain loyal to all our partners to build quality business and focus on profitability and improve gross margins. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Mobility, MPS Issues in the regional channel: Partners only focus on growing their top-line. Resellers must focus, caution, and control more in the two ‘make it or break it areas’ stock level and credits control. Key to grow profitably: Our quick adaptability to the market changes has helped us to focus on product mix with better profitability rather than the volume business.

Name: Arun Chawla

Company: Trigon

Designation: Chief Executive Officer

Years in the company: 16 Years in the retail channel: 16 Biggest achievement till date: Positioning Jacky’s as the top retailer in terms of revenues at GITEX Shopper year after year. Your mentor in the industry: The Internet Company focus for 2015: To enhance customer experience in retail Technologies to drive regional retail growth: Better integration of e-commerce with retail Issues in the regional retail channel: Making the pie grow larger we’ve seen more stores open in the sector but the pie hasn’t grown at the same pace. Key to grow profitably: By being able to sustain the costs of retailing. The UAE is not inexpensive.

Name: Ashish Panjabi Company: Jacky’s Retail Designation: Chief Operating Officer

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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Years in the IT channel business: 13 Your mentor in the industry: Our partners Company focus for 2015: To develop a strong sales channel including partners and IT pro-community and tightly connect our product marketing initiatives to ensure proper channel fulfilment. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Networking, data centres, cloud, security, surveillance systems, wearable devices, IoT, smart devices

Name: Asim AlJammaz Company: Al-Jammaz Distribution

Issues in the regional channel: The political issues in the Gulf is an important factor today. Other challenges include the quality and quantity of resources due to labor laws, increasing living costs, long payment terms from end users and government offices, which affect the channel cash flow. Key to grow profitably: Some ways to grow profitably are by providing more value to customers, sell solutions not move boxes and focus on advance technologies.

Designation: Vice President

Years in the company: 3 Years in the channel: 10 Biggest achievement till date: Implementation of StarLink Choice Rebate and Incentive Programme and deployment of cross-portfolio channel management team Your mentor in the industry: Cisco Systems. Having worked at Cisco, and set up a Cisco Silver Partner SI from the ground-up, I can say that Cisco has one of the most robust, high-fidelity channel programmes in the industry and has in turn created an extensive and high-performance partner ecosystem. Company focus for 2015: To optimise existing teams and portfolio, expansion of recently opened markets and to grow into new African and European markets Technologies to drive regional channel growth: APT/ Zero-Day Malware Protection, incident response, security and operational intelligence Key to grow profitably: By having a balanced portfolio of established and niche vendors. Also by having the capability to offer true value-added-distribution to the channel

Name: Avinash Advani Company: StarLink Designation: Vice President, Business Strategy

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 16

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 13 Years in the channel: 22 years in the UAE Your mentor in the industry: P. R. Shankar Kumar, he was one of my first managers at DCM Data Products (now DCM Data Systems). He was a General Manager and later an Executive Director at DCM Data Products. Company focus for 2015: Safedata in the past 6 months has expanded its offering to become an SI focused on solution sales. The company aims to deliver best in class ROI via customer engagement architecture, Cloud Optimisation, infrastructure migration services and has also invested in a specialised in-house consulting team. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Business value solutions are the way forward; customers look for a technology partner rather than a one-off transaction Issues in the regional channel: While credit and margin are perennial issues, employee turnover and partner profitability are issues that can be addressed with the support of the distribution and vendor community.

Name: D P Sangal Company: Safedata

Key to grow profitably: Proper implementation and postsales support are essential to help profitability and ensure longevity in the channel-customer relationship.

Designation: Founding Partner & Managing Director

Years in the company: 10 Years in the IT channel industry: 25 Biggest achievement till date: There have been many – when we were awarded the F5 EMEA distributor of the year 2014, Reseller Channel Empowerment Initiative Award 2014, Sourcefire Distributor of the year award 2013, Reseller Distributor of the year 2012 and so on. Your mentor in the industry: There is no one person who is the mentor, it is a mix of traditional channel and the new e-commerce, new market strategy that guides you. It’s not a person who is the mentor but the market. Company focus for 2015: To focus on data security and end point security Technologies to drive regional channel growth: New Generation Firewall, SIEM, Back-up solutions and mobile security – basically providing the real solution package in security Issues in the regional channel: The main issue is the lack of competency – not only sales but also technical, with the market selling inefficient solutions. Key to grow profitably: By providing the right solutions and services through educating and empowering the channel.

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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Name: Fari Boustantchi Company: Exclusive Networks ME Designation: Chief Executive Officer

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LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 34 Years in the IT channel business: 34 Biggest achievement till date: As a business leader, steering Alpha Data over three decades through various transformations in the market and technologies, growing and evolving the organisation to be one of the largest systems integrators in the region and building employer brand equity by shaping Alpha Data as one of the best places to work in the industry. Company focus for 2015: Embrace new technologies and trends in the industry, use the disruptive change that the industry is going through to pioneer ‘the new style of business.’ Technologies to drive regional channel growth: IoT, could, Big Data, mobility and security

Name: Fayez Ibbini

Issues in the regional channel: There are more channel partners than what the market requires, trust deficit between channel partners and lack of joint strategy and common minimum programme among the channel partners.

Company: Alpha Data Group

Key to grow profitably: Customer first approach, leading with services and continuous acquisition and retention of talent.

Designation: Founder and Managing Director

Years in the company: 16 Years in the channel: 8 Biggest achievement till date: Cloud transformation of the regional Microsoft channel, today 1 in each $3 that we sell is a cloud Dollar Your mentor in the channel business: Tareq Hijazi, Regional Director, Small and Mid-Market Solutions and Partners Group, Microsoft Gulf Company focus for 2015: To focus on more cloud offerings from Microsoft: Microsoft Azure cloud services and Microsoft CRM online Percentage of channel sales: 95+ per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Cloud is growing five times the IT industry growth, if you are not selling cloud then your business will decline on the long run Issues in the regional channel: Technical skills gap on the new cloud technologies Key to grow profitably: Through managed services on top of product selling, understand how to monetise the new cloud world

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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Name: Haider Salloum Company: Microsoft Gulf Designation: Channel Sales Manager

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 6 months Years in the channel: 8 Biggest achievement till date: Getting the IT Channel back on track at Eaton Your mentor in the industry: Dr. Ali Baghdadi, President, Ingram Micro Technology Solutions, META Company focus for 2015: Building the right IT Channel Ecosystem, empowering the Power Advantage programme (Eaton IT Channel Partners Programme) in Middle East and leveraging the existing Global Alliances Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Virtualisation and converged infrastructure Issues in the regional channel: Confusion and lack of specialised channel partners

Name: Hany B. Maurice Company: Eaton Corporation

Key to grow profitably: Drive the sales by value, drive customer centric solutions and by being able to build a proper ROI and TCO to help people to sell

Designation: Regional Channel and Alliances Leader

Years in the channel: 17 Biggest achievement to date: Actively helping to drive Huawei’s enterprise sales operations across the Middle East by working closely with senior management to forge new relationships. Company focus for 2015: To drive the vision of the new channel strategy, ‘Transforming Together’ with our partners. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Enterprise networking and infrastructure services, cloud computing and data centres, enterprise wireless technology and Unified Communications & Collaboration (UC&C), Issues in the regional channel: There is a need to provide solutions and services that will enable businesses to have greater flexibility, using innovative IT platforms and infrastructure that promotes openness and convergence. Key to grow profitably: By building on the strength of our channel partner network in the Middle East by extending the availability of our specialised training and technical knowledge programmes while empowering our enterprise partners to identify new opportunities for growth.

Name: Hany Hussein Company: Huawei Designation: Channel Vice President of Middle East, Enterprise Business Group

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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Years in the IT channel business: 20 Biggest achievement till date: Establishing direct incountry presence in 16 countries in the MEA region Your mentor in the industry: Bahaa Salah, MD, Aptec - an Ingram Micro Company Company focus for 2015: To attain leadership as top networking brand in SMB segment in all key markets, growing 100 per cent in East and West Africa. Percentage of channel sales: 64 per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: LTE, Wireless 11AC and surveillance are the key drivers for growth in the region Issues in the regional channel: Political stability and currency fluctuations

Name: Harrison Albert Company: D-link

Key to grow profitably: Solution selling model with value-added post sales and warranty support services. Being the early bird to bring in new solutions to the market.

Designation: Regional Director

Years in the company: 7 Years in the channel: 15 Biggest achievement till date: Our employees, partners and customers are no doubt our biggest achievement for they fuel our drive to innovate Your mentor in the industry: It’s hard to think of one specific mentor. I was lucky enough to work with some great colleagues and supervisors Company focus for 2015: To work with our partners and customers in the region to effectively make the transition from the second to the third platform while achieving their business objectives. Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: It’s all about the mega trends- cloud, social, mobile and Big Data. Issues in the regional channel: There is a need for more specialised learning and development tools to help the channel transform with the larger market and technologies.

Name: Havier Haddad Company: EMC Corporation Designation: Channel and Alliances Director, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 17

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 13 Years in the channel: 30 plus Company focus for 2015: To continue to be profitable. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Mobility and wearables Issues in the regional channel: Market slowdown Key to grow profitably: By working closely with partners and to lead with innovative technologies

Name: Hesham Tantawi Company: Asbis Enterprises Designation: Vice President, META

Years in the company: 3 Years in the IT channel business: 20 Biggest achievement till date: The biggest channel achievement for a UAE-based systems integrator is being recognised and appreciated from both our technology partners and our customers. We have achieved the highest partnership status with most technology vendors and got awarded for our services from a lot of different businesses in UAE and Oman. And this is thanks to our services team and commitment to our community. Company focus for 2015: To continue focus on cloud, security and managed services Technologies to drive regional channel growth: A good partner network programme is critical to our success and growth. It allows us as channel partners to grow our businesses by increasing financial benefits, providing marketing and sales support and running a highly effective, simplified training and certification programmes. Key to grow profitably: We sustain profitability by offering a complete value-added solutions to our customers and by bringing commitment, value and expertise to our partners, rather than mass selling and focusing on the numbers game, which has low margin and no value.

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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Name: Ihab Al Saheli Company: CNS Designation: General Manager

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IMATION POWER BANKS • Compact and light portable battery packs • Made of Samsung Lithium Ion Cell • Toggle switch for iPad and Samsung pad charging • LED light indicator

PB002 5600 Power on the Go

OPTICAL MEDIA

Keep Your Content Safe and Secure by Creating Long-Lasting Archives

WIRELESS OPTICAL MOUSE

PWM-350 Plug and play with USB connectivity. Cordless comfort with uncompromising performance and advanced features

PB003 84000 mAh Power on the Go

DVD WRITER

Slim External DVD Recorder Double-layer discs allow for 80 percent more recording capacity. 8.5GB of data storage

POWER BANK 4

PB004 11200 mAh Power on the Go

STEREO HEADSETS

PCH 230 & 530 Stylish, lightweight & comfortable design that offers pristine sound quality, comfort and reliability. Ideal for call center, office and home use

www.imation.eu

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 16 Years in the IT channel industry: 12 Biggest achievement till date: Developing a business model, which is adaptive to the market and keeping customers happy. Always keep the customer on your side. Your mentor in the industry: No one specifically but I try to retain the good qualities of the people who have contributed to the channel. Prefer to have a blend of strategy, vision and experience. Company focus for 2015: To maintain the market share and diversify to new trends and technologies. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: E-commerce is gaining popularity as the corporate sector is keen on cutting the cost and moving away from the traditional approach. Issues in the regional channel: Slow cash conversion, over supply and grey products are the pressing issues in the channel market.

Name: Jaison Korath Company: Despec Middle East

Key to grow profitably: Follow the basics - keep the overheads under control, manage the supply to the tune of demand and effective service.

Designation: Chief Executive Officer

Years in the company: 8 Years in the channel: 20 plus Biggest industry achievement till date: Growth, achievements and recognitions have been ongoing on a personal level during my early career days. And today it is at an organisational level. Nanjgel as a team has achieved 30 per cent year-on-year growth, with an annual turnover of over AED 50 million. Your mentor in the industry: I compete with myself. Every person is racing against time, especially in a highly competent industry such as ours and for each person the biggest challenge is evolving their own self. Technologies to drive regional retail growth: Retail players are moving towards an omni-channel mode with emphasis on digital media, experience centres, signages, display walls and a lot more. Theft management practices and security tools are also being adopted. Company focus for 2015: To follow a security solution based approach by maximising value to all. Issues in the regional retail channel: Lack of strong brand visibility, customer engagement and enticement.

Name: Jude Periera

Key to grow profitably: Idea generation and being agile is a must for all technology players in every industry.

Company: Nanjgel Solutions Designation: Managing Director

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

www.resellerme.com

towards the right direction...

CONTACT DETAILS: Dammam

Riyadh

Jeddah

King Fahad Road Tel: +966 13 843 5125 Fax: +966 13 843 5124

King Abdullah Road Tel: +966 11 2055092 Fax: +966 11 2052374

Al-Madinah Road Tel: +966-12- 6834222 Fax: +966-12-6679584

Email: info@sariya-it.com

Dubai Office # 606, Platium tower JLT,Dubai, United Arab Emirates Direct: + 971-4-4504734 GSM: +971-555938898

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 10 Years in the channel: 25 plus Biggest achievement till date: Oxygen managed to create a true VAD partnership with our channel, and as an outcome we are able to deliver business value to our customers. Company focus for 2015: To be the leader in secure mobility Technologies to drive regional channel growth: There is a growing demand for mobility in the Middle East region. Oxygen is committed to its channel growth and development by providing innovative secure mobility solutions offerings to help our value added resellers to meet the growing demands of their customers. Issues in the regional channel: From a VAD perspective, regional channel players should dissuade from competing margins even if they are pressurised to do so by the vendor partners. The vendor pushes the channel to close the deal and everyone competes on margins, everybody loses here except for the vendors.

Name: Khalid Laban

Key to grow profitably: Vendors and partners need to work together to preserve margins.

Company: Oxygen Middle East Designation: Chief Executive Officer

Years in the company: 15 Years in the IT channel industry: 15 Biggest achievement till date: Ability to provide local support including pre-sales, services and logistics into Saudi Arabia, East Africa and North Africa. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Information security and infrastructure solutions. Issues in the regional channel: Looking for a higher credit period and skeptical on investments for new ‎vendors. Key to grow profitably: Build a breadth of channels including depth in key regions and vertical segments.

Name: KS Parag Company: FVC Designation: Managing Director 44

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

www.resellerme.com

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 18 Years in the IT channel industry: 22 Biggest channel achievement till date: Being awarded by Lenovo as ‘The best channel of the year – 2008 and 2012’ Your channel mentor: Raj Shankar, MD, Redington Gulf Company focus for 2015: SMB sectors, high end gaming section, workstation solution for Autocad and graphic designers and focus on the export market. Issues in the regional channel: Due to the political uncertainty of the Middle East region, the market has been severely impacted. Export market to the region is down, except for the African market. African market export in this quarter is much better compared to last year same quarter. Besides the export issues, the price war is on-going in the market due to over stocking. Key to grow profitably: Our businesses opt for gradual, organic growth that is more manageable and involves less risk. Growth involves risk and commitment, however if wellmanaged, it should be achievable for most businesses. We will try to manage efficiently and keep the profit level consistent, and increase the capital strength.

Name: K.U. Shankri Company: Lucky Star Computers Designation: Managing Director

Years in the company: 11 Years in the IT channel industry:‎ 16 Biggest achievement till date: ‎ When we became the number one suppliers for data media Company focus for 2015:‎ We want to focus on other regions rather than local sales. Issues in the regional channel: Payment issues, cash flow is less in the market at the moment Key to grow profitably: To focus on neighbouring regions and increase product range

Name: Manoj Tiwari Company: Printek Supplies Designation: Managing Partner 46

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

www.resellerme.com

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 8 Years in the channel: 8 Biggest achievement till date: Receiving ‘Intel Finance Achievement Award’ in 2006 - the highest recognition for an individual from Intel. Company focus for 2015: To reorganise and consolidate the value division further according to the type of products within the portfolio. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Cloud, mobility, Big Data, virtualisation, Internet of Things Issues in the regional channel: Partners need to focus on specialisation in terms of skills or high level of competencies to grow in the market. Key to grow profitably: Embrace the new business models and ensure the quality of services offered to the market.

Name: Mario Gay Company: Mindware Designation: General Manager

Years in the company: 10.5 Years in the channel: 10.5 Biggest achievement till date: It is not about one big achievement but more about how we consistently help our channel grow a profitable business and to help their customers be successful in their business. Your mentor in the industry: There are a number of people who have inspired me in understanding how the channel is continually evolving. Company focus for 2015: To focus more on those partners who recognise and are driving the virtualisation opportunity. Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Virtualisation in the data centre, cloud and SDN Issues in the regional channel: The partners will need to change their approach from selling products only to offering solutions with services that can be tailored to their customer needs. Key to grow profitably: We’re differentiating our partner programme by focusing our resources on elements that fuel the business of building industry-leading networking and cloud solutions.

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

www.resellerme.com

Name: Mario Georgiou Company: Juniper Networks Designation: Regional Partner Director MEA

Years in the IT channel industry: 20 Biggest achievement till date: I had the pleasure to be involved in a number of major mergers and acquisitions and set up various new businesses and ventures in ICT distribution, ICT professional services, training and logistics. Your mentor in the industry: Dr. Ali Baghdadi, President, Ingram Micro Technology Solutions, META Company focus for 2015: To grow and develop our partner channel network. You will see a lot of creative channel programmes and events from us. Additionally, service is a key area of focus too. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: BI/analytics, data/information security, Automatic Identification and Data Capturing (AIDC) and digital signage

Name: Mario M. Veljovic

Issues in the regional channel: The channel is not fully geared up to sell ROI and TCO, instead still sells on price and by specifications. That has to change. Key to grow profitably: Focus, focus, focus

Company: Global Distribution Designation: Vice President Solutions MENA

Years in the company: 26 Years in the IT channel industry: 26 Biggest achievement till date: Brand building and achieving channel profitability Your mentor in the industry: Anji Wang, who was the Vice President at lTech Research, which was a company located in the US and is not operating in the market any longer. Company focus for 2015: Cost reduction. We are aiming to increase the business quality instead of focusing on revenue growth. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: mobility solutions through portable devices such as laptop, tablets and smartphones Issues in the regional channel: Political instability and unexpected market slowdown

Name: Marissa Safe

Key to grow profitably: The key to grow profitably is to correct the TAM (Total Available Market) assessment. The numbers predicted by research firms must be accurate to avoid doing business in saturated market.

Company: FDC International Designation: Chief Operating Officer and Vice President www.resellerme.com

Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: A little more than 1 year

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 1 Years in the IT channel industry: 13 Biggest achievement till date: Being appointed as Fortinet’s Channel Director for the Middle East Your mentor in the industry: Experience gained from working to develop Microsoft’s channel Company focus for 2015: Building a strong channel ecosystem to offer the best support to Fortinet partners and customers across the region Percentage of channel sales: Currently 20 per cent, with aims to double by the end of the year Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Fortinet provides end-to-end security solutions and this year we will focus on our advanced technologies (Fortimail and Fortiweb) to drive growth

Name: Maya Zakhour

Issues in the regional channel: Channel players still have to improve their skills and expertise

Company: Fortinet

Key to grow profitably: Specialisation in Fortinet advanced technologies is critical to create differentiation in a market that has many competitors.

Designation: Channel Director, Middle East

Years in the company: 7 Years in the IT channel industry: 25 Biggest achievement till date: To have transformed Emitac from a reseller into a full fledge IT solutions and services organisation Your mentor in the industry: No formal mentor, although I get inspired by many senior executives in our industry Company focus for 2015: Managed services, cloud and mobility Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Virtualisation and cloud automation, mobile-enabled business process management Issues in the regional channel: Apart from the traditional challenge to find the right talent, the regional channel business has a unique combination of very strong vendor presence with a full indirect model, which sometimes creates tensions in the model Key to grow profitably: Innovation in the solutions we provide to our customers, and an increase in direct services revenue, including professional services and managed services.

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

www.resellerme.com

Name: Miguel Angel Villalonga Company: Emitac Enterprise Solutions Designation: Chief Executive Officer

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your Supplies and Accessories Destinationâ&#x20AC;? DESPEC is your gateway to over 10,000 resellers across EMEA, by distributing and marketing thousands of consumable office products, from over 30 different suppliers such as HP, Netis, DJI, ADATA and Imation to name just a few. we have grown to become one of the leading supplies distributors in the region by focusing on our core products such as inks, toner, storage, and paper, and by developing state of the art logistics and e-marketing services.

DESPEC MERA FZE ,P.O.Box 61050,Dubai,UAE. Tel: +97148811191 / Fax: +97148811190 Email:salesteam@despec.com www.despec.com

*Distributions agreements for brands are country specific and are eligible for authorized regions.

Years in the channel: 17 Biggest achievement till date: Incorporated in 1996, Mitsumi has grown from a single brand and a single product line to a multiple brand distributor with unparalleled reach across Africa, closing revenues of USD 390 million globally last year. Your mentor in the industry: Michael Saul Dell & Lee Kunhee, Samsung Company focus for 2015: To consolidate offerings largely in tablets, smart phones and PC. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Smartphone proliferation and Internet connectivity continue to drive the region channel growth. Both e- and m-commerce are growing segments in the Middle East.

Name: Mitesh Shah Company: Mitsumi Distribution

Issues in the regional channel: MEA market is pricesensitive market. Key to grow profitably: By having in-country presence, right product portfolio, in depth knowledge of market segment and high level of support will grow your business profitably.

Designation: Managing Director

Years in the company: 15 Years in the channel: 15 Biggest achievement till date: Launching partner programme for MENA Your mentor in the industry: Luis Murguia (ex GPO Head EMEA, SAP) Company focus for 2015: Lower general business run rate (volume) Percentage of channel sales: 25-30 per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Cloud and Platform (led by HANA) Issues in the regional channel: Qualified SAP resources Key to grow profitably: Quality excellence focus and customer centricity.

Name: Mohamed Sameer Khan Company: SAP MENA Designation: Channel Head, GPO MENA www.resellerme.com

Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 17

Almuhanna Al-Ajluni Mobile: +971-529082771 Direct Line: +971-(0)48120597 Email: almuhanna.alajluni@westcon.com me.westcon.com

Years in the IT industry: 20 Biggest channel achievement till date: Been graced with the Channel Executive of the year award for past 2 years and grew emt’s regional operations in a short time to be now listed among the top channel companies in the region. Company focus for 2015: Geographic expansion, advanced level training and certification and complete solution offering Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Network and information security solutions, vulnerability and patch management solutions, unified security solutions, DLP solutions and encryption Issues in the regional channel: Lack of focus on complete solution selling, lack of education, awareness and skills and the market is brand driven rather than solution driven.

Name: Mohammad Mobasseri Company: emt Distribution

Key to grow profitably: Focus, complete solution offering, professional technical and support offering will help in growing profitably. Also being flexible and well prepared for future can help.

Designation: Chief Executive Officer

Years in the company: 37 Years in the IT channel business: 13 Biggest achievement till date: Building and growing IBM partners’ ecosystem in the region Your mentor in the industry: Several IBM executives Company focus for 2015: From a channel perspective – transformation of IBM channel to be ready for the changes taking place in the industry, and to be able to provide comprehensive value propositions to our clients in the CAMSS solutions Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Hardware - IBM Mainframe z13, Power 8, Flash Storage Solutions, IBM Spectrum Software Defined Storage (SDS). Software Analytics, Cloud, Security, Mobile, and Social

Name: Mourad Zohny

Issues in the regional channel: Skills/certifications level of local channel resources and adopting the financial model (cash flow) to the new forms of technology consumption such as Cloud, SaaS and PaaS

Company: IBM Middle East & Saudi Arabia

Key to grow profitably: Developing a set of value-add services based on knowledgeable and skilled professionals that can address and solve clients’ business challenges.

Designation: Global Business Partners Leader

www.resellerme.com

Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 2

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 1 Years in the channel: 20 plus Company focus for 2015: Data storage and backup, security surveillance, networking and IT security solutions across all verticals Technologies to drive regional channel growth: CCTV surveillance, wireless security solutions, data protection and virtualisation, data centre network and application performance monitoring solutions Issues in the regional channel: Political instability and fluctuating oil prices can affect channel strategies in the Middle East, lack of technology awareness among channel partners and logistics challenges in the region. Key to grow profitably: By empowering partners through training and development programmes. Focus on developing and maintaining ‘loyal’ resellers and systems integrators and through focus on Professional Services.

Name: Munaf Abbas Company: SNB Group Designation: Chief Executive Officer

Years in the company: 15 Years in the channel: 20 plus Biggest channel achievement till date: Being instrumental in changing Intel’s distribution network in MENA to develop greater breadth of addressable customers for our products and by consequence the size of business in the region Company focus for 2015: To focus on key channel offerings such as CPU, SSD, NUC, tablets and drive Intel Technology Provider (ITP) programme Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Mobility and data centre solutions Issues in the regional channel: Political instability and currency fluctuations Key to grow profitably: A strong focus and commitment to support our partners through channel marketing investments was key to sustain and maintain channel’s business growth in MENA countries.

Name: Nassir Nauthoa Company: Intel Designation: GCC Country Manager

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

www.resellerme.com

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 9 Years in the IT channel business: 9 Biggest achievement till date: Opening 6 stores across the GCC in one day – 3 stores in UAE, 2 in KSA and 1 in Oman . Your mentor in the industry: Micky Jagtiani, Founder, Landmark Group Company focus for 2015: To enhance our clients’ in-store as well as online shopping experience Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Mobility and electronics for health and fitness Issues in the regional channel: Nothing regionspecific; the market here is mature enough and immune to major crisis

Name: Neelesh Bhatnagar

Key to grow profitably: Customer satisfaction and omni-channel sales strategy

Company: Emax Designation: Chief Executive Officer

Years in the company: 3.5 Years in the channel: 16 years channel sales experience, 6 of which have been in the ME region Biggest channel achievement till date: 2014 CPI Hot 50 award for Best Partner Programme Company focus for 2015: Continue to offer Veeam’s leading virtualisation availability solutions via our established channel partners Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Hyper-convergence Issues in the regional channel: local instability Key to grow profitably: By investing in channel 100 per cent enablement, incentives and marketing

Name: Omar Akthar Company: Veeam

Designation: Regional Channel Manager ME and SAARC www.resellerme.com

Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 4 Years in the IT channel business: 9 Biggest achievement till date: Structuring Aruba Networks Middle East channel for growth Your mentor in the industry: Fred Saint-Joigny, EMEA Director Channel Sales & Alliances, Aruba Networks Company focus for 2015: To gain market share in secure mobility and grow mobility applications Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Wireless LAN 802.11ac, ClearPass and Mobility Engagement Platform. Issues in the regional channel: Scaling partner resources to keep up with tremendous business growth

Name: Osama AlHaj-Issa

Key to grow profitably: Create enterprise awareness on new office normal of all wireless office and underlying infrastructure required to have secure and productive work atmosphere.

Company: Aruba Networks

Designation: Middle East and Turkey Channel Director

Years in the company: One year with Gigamon and 9 years in the Middle East Years in the channel: 25 plus Biggest achievement till date: Establishing the F5 MEA channel community and maintaining their trust Your mentor in the industry: Mark Mulford, MD of Frontline Distribution (lately C2000) Company focus for 2015: Development of our channel partners’ business in MEA. Growth of our customer base with a 100 per cent satisfaction ratio. Gigamon is growing faster than the industry sector, we want our channel partners to profit from this market opportunity. Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Issues in the regional channel: Managing potential channel conflict, ensuring the best interests of the customer and the partner are met. Key to grow profitably: Long term consistency regarding channel management, developing an environment where trust exists and the interests of all involved parties are considered. Enabling a situation where the partners can add real value which is of benefit to the customer in terms of service and project success by providing services, which contribute to the bottom line of the reseller.

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

www.resellerme.com

Name: Paul Sherry Company: Gigamon Designation: Regional Director Middle East & Africa

Years in the channel: 10 Biggest achievement till date: Successfully formulating and managing the execution of ESET Middle East’s channel strategy, which has helped grow our revenues together with those of our channel partners. Playing an important role in building ESET’s brand and share in the region ever since the company stepped into the MENA region.

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 6 plus

Your mentor in the industry: All my reporting managers, both past and present Company focus for 2015: To place more emphasis on partner engagement, training and other value addition. Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent

Name: Pradeesh VS Company: ESET

Issues in the regional channel: Shortage of skills and insufficient support from vendors. We have addressed both of these by having regular trainings and by extending our support to our partners at every phase of the process. Key to grow profitably: By building long-standing trust based relationships with both customers and partners.

Designation: General Manager

Years in the company: 11 Years in the channel: 2 Your channel mentors: Thierry Chamayou, Regional VP, EMEA South and Francesco Quero, VP, Regional IT Channel Development, Schneider Electric Company focus for 2015: We will be relaunching our channel partner programme that enables partners to stay informed of company developments through events, workshops and training, and target the right audience for our product portfolio. Percentage of channel sales: Almost 50 per cent in MEA region Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Converged IT, IoT, cyber security, MSPs, modular and green data centres, SDN, cloud computing and UPS systems

Name: Rajashri Kumar Company: Schneider Electric

Key to grow profitably: By keeping track of market trends and customer expectations and adapting to customer needs and integrating the latest technology in an energy-efficient manner

Designation: MEA Transactional Director- IT Business

www.resellerme.com

Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 13 Years in the IT channel industry: 33 Your mentor in the industry: My thorough personal experience and ability to adapt with the times. Company focus for 2015: To increase the profitability by value-added distribution Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Smart devices and gadgets Issues in the regional channel: Political issues resulting in devaluation of currencies, dumping of goods by vendors due to low sales and unaudited or escalated volume figures presented as data analysis on IT market. Key to grow profitably: Through valueadded distribution or selling and optimise or lower the operating cost

Name: Ramesh Belani Company: Maxtouch Computers Designation: Managing Director

Years in the company: 10 Years in the IT channel industry: 16 Biggest achievement till date: Helping channel transform at different times either through skilling or through augmenting investments on their behalf. Constantly helping channel win business on newer technologies Your mentor in the industry: Raj Shankar, MD, Redington Gulf Company focus for 2015: Software-defined everything and security Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Hyper converged infrastructure and software-defined everything Issues in the regional channel: Investment in training and skills Key to grow profitably: Differentiation

Name: Ramkumar Balakrishnan Company: Redington Gulf Designation: President, Value-Added Distribution Business

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

www.resellerme.com

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Whether you have to wait patiently for your flight at the airport, or you are catering to important emails for your business while enjoying coffee at your favorite coffee shop, the D-Link DWR-932 4G LTE Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot has you covered!

www.dlinkmea.com

+971 4 880 9022

facebook.com/dlinkmea

info.me@dlinkmea.com

Online Technical Support

www.dlinkmea.com/techsupport

Years in the channel: 15 Biggest channel achievement till date: Being able to support partners in embracing the current market shifts and dynamics. Your mentor in the industry: Our channels and systems integrators community are our mentors. Company focus for 2015: To make SDDC main stream by extending our leadership in compute to all facets of the DC. Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent

Name: Reeman Ansari Company: VMware MENA Designation: Manager Partner Organisation

Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Disruptive technologies, network virtualisation, automation and management, storage virtualisation, SW cloud suites. Services integration, software-defined everything within the walls of the DC and beyond. Issues in the regional channel: Some channels are comfortable with the status quo and the legacy of how they did business in the past. Key to grow profitably: Evolve your business models and resource skill sets to differentiate your offering, consult

Years in the company: 11 Years in the IT channel business: 22 Biggest achievement till date: Exponentially grew network division distribution business in 10 years. The key was to grow the channel in significant areas but more important identify potential partners who were willing to literally burn their ships for us and grow together. Your mentor in the industry: Nestor Cano, President EMEA, Tech Data Company focus for 2015: To grow our SMB business, grow our network business and most importantly, focus on our installed voice customers, which is key to us. Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Issues in the regional channel: Partners often feel that the vendors are not adequately engaged and that they are left at the mercy of the market and to fight it out on their own. This is due to over distribution and a short term strategy of getting a quick win. We also believe that there is very little loyalty in the channel from a vendor or partner perspective. Key to grow profitably: Focus on key partners in specific technologies and markets.

Name: Rui Silva Company: Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Designation: Channel Manager Middle East

www.resellerme.com

Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 2

Years in the channel: 15 plus Biggest achievement till date: Establishing a successful channel partner network and vendor portfolio in the Gulf with sustainable growth. Your mentor in the industry: I don’t single out one person as I believe that all our business partners contribute in different ways. Company focus for 2015: Solution-based distribution and to create a well-balanced product portfolio, which can benefit all stake holders. Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Cloud based applications and Big Data Issues in the regional channel: Lack of regulated credit rating mechanism

Name: Sajith Raj

Key to grow profitably: Right mix of products and time to execute the full cycle of sales transaction

Company: Logicom Distribution Designation: General Manager

Years in the company: 28 Years in the channel: 28 Biggest achievement till date: Being the number one IT Service provider in the UAE as per IDC (for 10 consecutive years) and a leading regional systems integrator Company focus for 2015: To grow further software business, managed services and cloud offerings Technologies to drive regional channel growth: cloud, security, mobility and Big Data Issues in the regional channel: Increasing competition from vendors and regional SIs, delay in payment and projects

Name: Sami Abi Esber Company: MDS Gulf Designation: President

www.resellerme.com

Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 12 plus

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Years in the channel: 14 Biggest industry achievement till date: A key strategic project that fundamentally transformed our channel business and became a global business model Your mentor in the industry: Michael Collins

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 8

Company focus for 2015: To make it easier for partners to do business with us, building capabilities in the channel and enabling our partners to grow profitably Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Technologies to drive regional retail growth: The 2-in-1 market is picking up momentum as end users are looking for more flexibility and capabilities

Name: Sandy Audi Company: Dell Designation: Channel Strategy & Programs lead

Issues in the regional retail channel: While the shift to online and digital channel brings in a wealth of opportunities and growth, it will pose a threat to the classical retail channel if they don’t participate in the emerging trends. Key to grow profitably: The ability to differentiate yourself in the market place with focus on selling end to end solutions

Years in the company: 8 Years in the IT channel business: 21 Biggest channel achievement till date: Being a founding member and the President of Dubai Computer Group (DCG). Through DCG, we initiated and was successful in getting the customs duty on IT products from Dubai government to zero with one person service charge. Your mentor in the industry: Followed Steve Jobs’ success graph. Company focus for 2015: Sustaining growth of 2014 Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Mobile and IP technology Issues in the regional channel: Credit and overstocking

Name: Shailendra Rughwani

Key to grow profitably: Good stock management, focus on technical services and solutions.

Company: Dubai Computer Group Designation: President

www.resellerme.com

Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 12 Years in the channel: 23 Biggest channel achievement till date: Transforming my current company to a leading systems integrator in the region Your channel mentor: My team. I learn and get motivation from my team and work for my team’s success. Company focus for 2015: Services, point solutions and cloud Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Cloud and on-premise deployments Issues in the regional channel: Majority of the channel in the region tends to compete on price.

Name: S.M. Hussaini Company: Almoayyed Computers

Key to grow profitably: Excelling on service delivery while focusing on solutions that can bring a positive change in customers’ business, staying close to customers and gaining their satisfaction during every stage of interaction with them.

Designation: General Manager

Years in the company: 11 (since foundation of the company in the Middle East) Years in the IT channel business: 20 Biggest achievement till date: Establishment of Help AG as the leading IT security reseller in ME. Successfully planning and executing the company’s evolution in the services domain. Your mentor in the industry: Mr Reinhold back in 1995 who taught me that there is no such thing as ‘taking a shower without getting wet’. Company focus for 2015: To focus on existing markets, UAE and Qatar, geographical expansion into KSA and grow the scope and uptake of our recently launched Managed Security Services Issues in the regional channel: Hiring and retention of skilled professionals, credit and financing, vendor competition in services domain. Key to grow profitably: We credit the company’s success and profitable business growth to our T.E.A.M. – Together Everyone Achieves More. Our team members make the difference and underline our sole focus on cyber-security and unmatched level of technical expertise and breadth of

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

www.resellerme.com

Name: Stephan Berner Company: Help AG Designation: Managing Director

Years in the channel: 25 Biggest achievement till date: Being fortunate enough to have twice worked with great teams who have defined and lead compliant value distribution businesses in the Middle East with market leading employee engagement

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 7

Your mentor in the industry: Brian Eliot – a ‘founding father’ of value distribution at Azlan UK in the early 1980’s Company focus for 2015: Extending our footprint in the region and the development of our financing, cloud, education, professional services and our logistical services capabilities Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Mobility, security, cloud and SDN Issues in the regional channel: Financing remains a challenge throughout the region

Name: Steve Lockie Company: Westcon Group

Key to grow profitably: Sometimes it’s the deals you don’t do that are the most profitable. We remain committed to building profitable business with our key vendor and reseller partners.

Designation: Group Managing Director

Years in the company: 10 Years in the channel: 17 Company focus for 2015: Our focus will be on gaming, mobility and networking and market focus on Africa and Asia Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Cloud, IoT and mobility Issues in the regional channel: Lack of transparency limits the scope of understanding and trust in business which hampers the growth and lack of investment in the region. Financial and political stability are the other two issues. Key to grow profitably: Cost cutting, use of better technology and innovations.

Name: Sukant Mishra Company: Octagon International Group Designation: Managing Director

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 13 Years in the channel: 20 Biggest achievement till date: Being the sole distributor to achieve the distinction of completing approximately 1000 project implementations on behalf of resellers across the Middle East Your mentor in the industry: StorIT Company focus for 2015: Emerging technologies Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Data storage and protection, data analytics, high performance computing, managed services, virtualisation and data centre solutions Key to grow profitably: Agility to adapt, innovate and evolve

Name: Suren Vedantham Company: StorIT Distribution Designation: Group Managing Director

Years in the company: 2 years 4 months Years in the IT channel industry: 16 Biggest achievement till date: Earning the trust of my partners, and enabling them to grow their revenue, increase their profitability, and expand their market coverage. I owe my own success and growth to my partners, customers and team. Your mentor in the industry: My channel mentor is each and every member of the channel community. I learn from every encounter with every member of the channel community and they have collectively contributed, in one way or the other, to my knowledge, skills and competency and kept my motivation going. My partners are my mentors. Company focus for 2015: To get closer and more relevant to our enterprise and telco customers, growing our channel revenue and enhancing their competency in solution selling, and delivering the value of our Application Performance Platform Percentage of channel sales: 100 per cent Issues in the regional channel: Employee attrition, inadequate skll sets and dependency on the vendor. Key to grow profitably: By hiring the right talent, investing in enhancing talent competencies, solution selling and services value offering.

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

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Name: Taj ElKhayat Company: Riverbed Technology Designation: Regional Vice President, Middle East, Turkey, North, West, and Central Africa

Years in the channel: 8 Biggest channel achievement till date: R.O.A.D.S ( Recruit – Onboard – Authorise – Develop – Sustain the channel) initiative targeting market GAP coverage and white space development. Development of the distributor community from volume to value focusing on recruitment, partner development, and marketing and solution selling Your mentor in the industry: Nidal Abou- Ltaif, President for Avaya, AsiaPAC, Middle East, Africa Company focus for 2015: Energising, motivating, rewarding and empowering the channel to address the fast pace technology adoption

Name: Tanya Lobo Company: Avaya Designation: Distribution Director, Global Growth Market

Percentage of channel sales: 95 per cent Technologies to drive regional channel growth: Mobility enablement, security, cloud-ready communication solution and networking Issues in the regional channel: Lack of investment to develop skills Key to grow profitably: Outcome based selling that focus on addressing the customer expectation

Years in the company: 2 years and 9 months Years in the retail channel: 30 Biggest industry achievement till date: Chairman of The Electronics Group (the industry association) Your mentor in the industry: Mr. Majid Al Futtaim - his clear vision, boldness in execution, attention to detail - qualities that I was privileged to appreciate at close quarters. The late Mr. MR Chhabria from whom in a very short period of time, I was privy to some key learning in driving a business. Company focus for 2015: To position Jumbo as a diversified conglomerate in the UAE. The focus will be on bolstering the relatively high margin ‘Jumbo Solutions’ business units, which includes Jumbo Engineering, Jumbo Logistics, Jumbo Enterprise, and a newly established business unit offering talent management consultancy branded as Jumbo Force. Issues in the regional retail channel: Maintaining profit margins without compromising on quality is ultimately the biggest challenge in the retail sector. The grey market continues to be an impediment to healthy competition in this respect.

Name: Vishesh Bhatia Company: Jumbo Group

Key to grow profitably: At Jumbo, we have always believed in the value of risk-taking, and pursuing niche sectors where we can bring experience and add value. With the several layers of convergence in this business, we see integrated diversification as key to our success.

Designation: Chief Executive Officer

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

LEADERS AND LUMINARIES

Years in the company: 14

feature

Next-Generation Networks

Carving niches

Channel players need to become specialised consultants to profit from NextGeneration Networks. Reseller Middle East examines the prospects present.

For a growing business, whether it is in the enterprise or SMB space, networks are the pillars on which it functions. This is especially because in today’s business environment most of the organisations’ critical information and day-to-day operations are depended on the smooth performance of its networks. And as large

JUNE 2015 Reseller Middle East

enterprises shift from legacy networking infrastructure to modern architecture, it paves a clear path of opportunities for value-added resellers and systems integrators. Partners need to know how to best leverage on these prospects. The very first step towards this is understanding the customer’s demands and pain points.

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Glen Ogden, Regional Sales Director, Middle East, A10 Networks, says, “This is true because only then can the channel act as consultants to guide customers on their journey to next-generation network (NGN) architectures. “NGN also opens up new revenue streams for channel partners in the professional services area. Professional Services (PS) are expected to form a significant percentage

of channel partner revenues by 2020 and PS in the NGN space will no doubt be in high demand from customers.” Meghan McCarthy, Director, Partner Organisation and Commercial, Middle East, Africa & Russia, Cisco, also agrees that CIOs and IT decision makers are relying on systems integrators and value-added resellers to guide them in taking important decisions when

Partners can apply and deploy NGN technologies through a constructive business approach that creates global connectivity providing a choice of services for the customers.” Renjan George, Managing Director, DVCOM Technology

it comes to NGN, which includes technology trends such as Software-defined networks (SDN), Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) and the Internet of Things (IoT). “These trends will open many new avenues including value-added services for channel partners to grow their business.” However, one of the challenges today is although most partners know that there are opportunities present in this space, they are unaware as to how to begin or tap into them. After understanding the

customer’s pain points, the next step will be to ensure that you as a partner have the adequate knowledge to guide the customer and implement the technology. And to achieve this, education is important. Dave Hughes, Technical Director, CommScope, Middle East and Africa, says, “Partners who remain educated and ahead of the present technology curve offer real value to a client’s business.” Renjan George, Managing Director, DVCOM Technology, urges partners to focus on providing high quality end user experience while

With change comes opportunity, and for partners the evolving service provider market opportunity is huge. Partners need to respond quickly to new market trends in order to stay competitive, monetise new services and drive optimisation while continuing to deliver quality services to customers.” Meghan McCarthy, Director, Partner Organisation and Commercial, Middle East, Africa & Russia, Cisco

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extending NGN Solution to their customers. “This will result in fulfilling the revolutionary IP telephony and data that supports the need of mobility. Partners can apply and deploy NGN technologies through a constructive business approach that creates global connectivity providing a choice of services for the customers.” Cherif Sleiman, General Manager, Middle East, Infoblox, points out that as it is an emerging technology, the standards are not mature yet. “For example, how Microsoft handles virtualisation is very different from how VMware handles it. So partners need to work closely with vendors to get the right specialisations and certifications. They also have a duty to invest in labs and run simulations and tests so that there is no guessing in terms of how these technologies will converge in a customer’s production environment.” The role of a partner is not to “rip and replace” existing technology, says

Reseller Middle East june 2015

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Next-Generation Networks

Is it too soon to have the SDN and IoT conversation with customers? ”In all honesty, the answer is ‘not at all’. Different industries are at different stages in terms of having a roadmap to monetising these technologies. Customers are already looking at these new technologies and partners have the opportunity to gain mindshare with their customers if they again, go beyond being technology partners and start being business partners by educating them on these new technologies and their applications.” Cherif Sleiman, General Manager, Middle East, Infoblox “I’d say that that SDN is still a relatively new concept globally. Enterprises in certain countries in the Middle East like the UAE are known to be ‘early technology adopters’ and no doubt adoption of SDN technologies in these regions will happen at the same rate as regions such as the US and Europe.” Glen Ogden, Regional Sales Director, Middle East at A10 Networks “SDN and in particular the Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) brings network simplification but also a number of operational and security challenges. Infrastructure is only a part of the story and a plan must be put into place to the vulnerabilities that a virtual fabric can introduce. Change is undoubtedly required with operations and policies carefully considered and adapted.” Dave Hughes Technical Director at CommScope, Middle East and Africa

Mario Georgiou, Regional Partner Director MEA, Juniper Networks. In fact, they need to plan on how to build on existing infrastructure. “A solid partner approach is focused on engaging customers early on in conversations, meeting their business objectives and addressing challenges or concerns that they may have. Additionally, partners are responsible for designing the NGN accordingly and augmenting existing infrastructure where possible. “To overcome emerging challenges as

networks continue to evolve, channel partners need to step up on how to develop their businesses, and this must be reinforced by training, information and support provided by vendors. This is also paramount given these networks rely on open solutions that require software and consulting skills, which could be lacking in the Middle East region.” It is important to keep in mind that NGN will not come from just one vendor. “Partners need to be well versed

in knowing the different technologies that make up an NGN and be able to couple different products together seamlessly to ensure a high quality of service is delivered both in terms of performance and availability,” explains Ogden. Understanding the customers’ future requirements will also help in deploying efficient NGN infrastructures. “This will help to offer innovative services available in the market, such as open solutions, virtualisation and SDN. These

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feature

technologies are more manageable, cost-effective, and adaptable, making it ideal for today’s highbandwidth, and dynamic network architectures,” adds Georgiou. The way ahead for partners is to invest time and efforts in enhancing their skillset in the NGN space in order to be able to make the most of the opportunities present. The key to success in this area is to adopt the role of ‘consultants’, to be able to guide customers in their NGN journey. “With change comes opportunity, and for partners the evolving service provider market opportunity is huge. Partners need to respond quickly to new market trends in order to stay competitive, monetise new services and drive optimisation while continuing to deliver quality services to customers,” adds Cisco’s McCarthy Although, most partners are far from achieving this, vendors can help directing them towards the right path. But the responsibility doesn’t only lie with vendors, partners themselves need to come to the forefront and display interest in these emerging technologies. Partners who are agile and quick to adapt to evolving market scenarios stand a chance to be noticed by customers and vendors alike and also profit from the opportunities.

Reseller Middle East june 2015

Event Samsung & GO GREEN

Partner to profit Samsung Business and Go Green Solutions look to build strong partnerships with its enterprise channel partners. Samsung Business in partnership with its authorised B2B partner and distributor, Go Green Solutions, hosted its inaugural channel partner onboarding event last month at Raffles Hotel, Dubai. The event gathered over 150 channel players, presenting them the opportunity to get acquainted with the different partner incentives offered by the vendor and distributor. Ramy Beddah, COO, Go Green Solutions, in his opening speech, encouraged the audience to become a part of the strong partnership between Go Green and Samsung. “We have worked aggressively in structuring the best team and now we are ready to appoint the right value-adding partners who specialises in various industry verticals in the GCC

JUNE 2015 Reseller Middle East

market. Our confidence in our partnership with Samsung has led us to make significant investments in our infrastructure and human resources function. We aim to provide services to partners in the SMB and enterprise space and deliver solution-oriented services. “Samsung is continuously developing more innovative products and solutions that transform the way we do business and Go Green is very proud to be a part of this success. With this, we will remain committed to offering solutions that increase efficiency, reduce costs and generate profits for businesses,” said Beddah. Khaled Kamel, Director, Samsung Electronics, who further underlined the great synergy between Samsung and Go Green, said, “Our partnership with Go Green gives us a great opportunity

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to extend our services to partners in various industry segments such as retail, hospitality and education. Our main purpose is to know what solutions to offer to enhance the customer experience whenever they engage with Samsung’s services. “We are looking for focused partners who are specialised in specific verticals. We want to work with partners who can customise our offerings depending on customers’ requirements. We believe in offering value, both to our partners and customers.” This was followed by presentations from the channel leaders of Go Green and Samsung. Mohammed Al Fadhil, Channel Enterprise Manager, Samsung, and Victoria Tcygankova, Channel Manager, Go Green, both elaborated the various

incentive programmes on offer to potential partners. The programme packages are classified into four categories namely Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, each containing attractive incentives such as sales and technical support, marketing campaigns and employee trainings and more. Fadhil reiterated the need for a stronger collaboration between Samsung and various key players in the channel. “We need a strong alliance with vendors and distributors such as yourselves, because although we own the technologies, you are the ones who own customer relationships, and only by working together, can we grow. We need you to inform us of your customers’ needs so we can come up with new innovations to meet those demands. Subsequently, we can educate you on the new technologies that we will develop and how it can enhance your customers’ businesses,” he said. Ahmed Ramzy, Sales Manager for Display, Samsung, presented on one of the tech company’s latest offering in the market – the Smart Signage Platform. He highlighted how different market verticals such as retail, hospitality, transport and education can utilise the vendor’s digital signage and TV solutions for a better customer experience. Apart from being a good platform for networking, the event also enabled attendees to enroll to the different partner programmes, which were introduced during the evening.

GO GREEN SOLUTIONS

interview

Building value partnerships Ramy Beddah, COO, Go Green Solutions, elaborates on channel strategy put in place to grow and develop partners in the enterprise space. partners specialised and catering to our target verticals in the GCC market.

Could you give us a brief overview of Go Green? Go Green is an IT distribution corporation, which is now part of the big giant Seaharvest Holding company and Hills Group. Seaharvest Holding is a group of 24 companies that is operating and investing in eight sectors – oil and gas, IT, health care, sports, media management, transportation, tourism and real estate development. The group has facilities and offices in eight countries globally with approximate turnover of 500 million USD annually. The Group has acquired dominant shares in Go Green in 2014 and we have worked very aggressively in restructuring the company and now we are ready to appoint the right value-added

Can you tell us more about the inaugural channel event that took place last month? At this event, we are proud to showcase Go Green Solutions appointment as Samsung’s value-added distributor in the Middle East region. We believe in Samsung’s strong position as a technology leader in the world and we are pleased to partner with them in this journey. Traditionally, Samsung is known to have a strong consumer base but now Samsung Business is increasingly investing in the enterprise space too. Go Green Solutions has been appointed specifically to partner with Samsung in the enterprise segment. Can you elaborate on your geographical reach? We have two offices, one established in Dubai and another opening soon in Abu Dhabi. We also have two warehouses in Dubai and JAFZ. And we have a team of dedicated professionals with the right skill-set to deliver to the GCC market. We have made these investments identifying growth within the market

and to take advantage of upcoming business opportunities as well as help our partners succeed. What is Go Green’s value proposition? Go Green Solutions provides the entire range of products of Samsung Business from displays, printers, A/C, TVs, mobility and home appliances. We aim to service partners and customers in the SMB and enterprise space. We deliver solution-oriented services, which are tailored for verticals, especially with a focus on hospitality, retail, education, healthcare, government, finance and transportation sectors. Can you discuss your channel strategy? We are going to be selective in our approach when choosing the partner we will collaborate with. Our aim is to develop longterm, trust-based relationships with partners to optimise partner capabilities and connect to new opportunities. We are looking for partners who are servicing the SMB and enterprise customers especially in the verticals of hospitality, education, retail and healthcare. Are there plans to expand your portfolio to other vendors? We are continuing to add complimentary vendors to

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our portfolio in-order to supplement our existing offering to our customer base. How are you enabling your channel partners? What kind of market support and training programmes do you offer them? Partner community can look forward to innovative methods to engage with Samsung through Go Green Solutions. We provide improved value to solution-oriented reseller base. Go Green will offer its partners pricing, deal support, incentives, market intelligence, pre-sales support and demand generation for participating resellers. What are your plans for the remaining part of the year? For each vertical we have prepared special Samsung offers, which are exclusive to Go Green such as TV Buy Back Programme for the hospitality sector, trade-in programmes for large finance and government organisations. With these, we aim to penetrate large accounts and increase market share. And also simultaneously build the run rate business through our channel partners by providing special bundle values. To onboard partners there will be a series of Samsung trainings organised by Go Green starting in September.

Reseller Middle East JUNE 2015

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Samsung review

Galaxy S6 Edge

For smartphone aficionados looking for a device that combines style and functionality, the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge might just be the phone for you.

Samsung has a reputation of being a pioneer of innovations when it comes to smartphone technologies, and the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge proves just that. The tech giant’s latest flagship mobile is truly a striking handset that you would definitely want to get your hands on. As compared with the old Samsung smartphones, which had a plastic body, the Galaxy S6 Edge’s premium metal and glass design gives the device that certain elegance and sophistication. A big change in the physical structure from the Galaxy series is S6 Edge’s built-in battery and memory, which means you don’t need to remove the back cover to insert a memory card or the battery anymore. Nevertheless, the device comes in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB configurations which gives users plenty of storage space to play with. Galaxy S6 Edge comes with a 5.1inch super AMOLED screen that has an impressive resolution of 577 pixels per inch, and of course the cleverly done curved screen edges makes the smartphone very distinctive. Its slick display gives you a crisp and detailrich graphics. The People Edge feature is one simple yet interesting addition to the smartphone. This allows the user to quickly access five chosen contacts using a colour-coding system, and he can detect whenever a call or message is received from these selected people, even when the device is faced down.

RME RATING

The smartphone sports a powerful hardware and is equipped with Android OS Lollipop, which makes for a snappy and smooth performance. However, on occasion switching between apps and scrolling down websites tend to stutter for about four to five seconds. It’s also not very good for fast smartphone typists as it tends to lag behind what you’re typing, especially when it tries to auto-correct during typing. With mobile devices today, the camera is undeniably one of the most sought after features by users. With this, Galaxy S6 Edge’s does not disappoint with its 5MP front camera and a 16MP rear camera, and offers a myriad of options such as selective focus, panorama, and slow and fast motion, which allows you to capture fantastic photos and videos. Also, in a generation where everyone loves taking selfies, including high-level professionals, tapping the heart rate sensor on the device will let you do just that effortlessly. However, the smooth front and back surfaces of the Galaxy

S6 Edge makes it quite tricky for one to get a good grip on it. It is also quite disappointing that it is not waterproof unlike the S5. The battery life is dependable, a full charge lasts up to 24 hours or so. Using the wireless charger is a great user experience as well, as it charges the phone just as fast and it gives you the flexibility to just grab your phone whenever you need it without worrying about the coils. Despite some of the minor issues on the device, Galaxy S6 Edge comes packed with many features, which make what you’ll pay for this smartphone really worth it. The price ranges from AED 3,099 to AED 3,799. Its premium design and impressive functionality makes this a device that professionals of all ages and levels will surely enjoy.

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

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hot products

Huawei Honor 6 Plus smartphone now available

Sony unveils SNC-VM772R security camera Sony is adding 4K imaging to its line of security technologies, with the new SNC-VM772R camera. The new model combines the enhanced resolution of 4K with low-light sensitivity leveraging 1.0 type back Illuminated Exmor R CMOS image sensor, bandwidth optimisation features, and intelligent scene capture capability to adopt the best picture quality, ideal for city surveillance, transportation, railway, traffic monitoring and airport surveillance applications. 4K technology will give security users the ability to capture content at four times the resolution of Full HD (1080p). Security professionals can expand their wide area surveillance and still capture, magnify and examine the smallest parts of a scene like a face or a car license plate number – all with a single camera. The SNC-VM772R camera combines these benefits with enhanced visibility, reduced total system costs and flexible and easy installation. The new SNC-VM772R is planned to be available in the third quarter of 2015. It will be supported by major VMS providers, including AxxonSoft, Exacq Technologies, Genetec, Genius Vision Digital, Lenel Systems International, Milestone Systems, NICE Systems, NUUO, On-Net Surveillance Systems, SeeTec AG and Verint Systems.

Honor, in partnership with Souq.com, has unveiled the new Honor 6 Plus in the Middle East. The new smartphone by Huawei will be sold exclusively on Souq.com, and is available for AED 1,399. Honor 6 Plus features a bionic parallel and dual rear camera with super max aperture. The Honor 6 Plus is the first smartphone device to feature a dual rear camera, meaning the CCD and light capturing is doubled. The camera is able to focus within 0.1 seconds and take panoramic images, recording all depth of field information. The super max aperture is adjustable from F.095 to F16, and adds an SLR camera quality virtual background effect to pictures. Because the camera records all depth of field information, the aperture and depth of field can be easily adjusted before and after taking images. The device also has a super night mode feature which applies a proprietary multi-frame

timing synthesis algorithm, and supports intelligent computing or manually set a long exposure time, which can capture details that can be missed by the human eyes. The phone has a 5.5 inches negative JDI screen. The 1500 to 1 ultra-high contrast screen has 85 per cent colour saturation, which is 20 percent higher than a normal smartphone. The new device also allows fast charging and has a long battery life.

Giada unveils F300 barebone mini PC

Giada Technology has introduced its F300 barebone mini PC in the Middle East. The F300 is tailor-made for deployment in digital signage applications in enterprises, government organisations, public institutions, and transportation departments. The F300 has an Intel fourth generation Core i5-4200U ‘Haswell’ processor, which runs at 1.8 GHz (2.7 GHz with Turbo Boost). With dimensions of 260mm x 175mm x 35mm, the F300 sports a compact frame, which makes it portable and a natural fit for use in digital signage applications where high performance, low noise and a dustproof design are mandatory.

Designed as a DIY barebones system, the F300 can be customised to meet demands. The machine can accept up to 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L RAM via a single memory slot, while expansion cards and storage capacity can be added quickly and easily. The F300 comes standard with several I/O ports to cater to various customer needs. With two DisplayPort 1.2 ports, the mini PC supports two ultra-HD mosaic screens with a maximum resolution of 3200 x 2000 pixels. The DisplayPorts can also be used to connect multiple monitors in a daisy chain, which makes the F300 ideal for use in digital signage systems. HDMI 1.4 is also supported with a converter to output 720p, 1080p, and 2160p with 5.1-channel digital surround audio, thus allowing the F300 to be connected to large Ultra HDTV screens. The machine also offers three connector cables to make 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity available. Giada has also applied its patented JAHC – Active Hardware Control Technology – to the F300.

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Precise Group presents XYZprinting Precise Group has recently announced the arrival of Da Vinci 1.0 and Da Vinci 2.0 – 3D desktop printers produced by XYZprinting Inc, a Taiwanese technology brand known for 3D printing. Since introducing the 3D printing pen, the 3Doodler and 3D desktop printer, Ultimaker, Precise Group has created a new segment in the UAE market for 3D related products. The introduction of XYZprinting will bring 3D printing into the daily lives of people and allow them to use and understand the benefits of the technology. The Da Vinci 1.0 and 2.0 is a plug-n-play 3D printer with a large build size designed specifically for students, DIY and hobbyist who have a keen interest in 3D printing. With no assembly required, a smart design, unique safety features and easy-to-use cloud system,

the Da Vinci printers have been designed for a 3D printing experience making it userfriendly across all aspects of the process. The printer requires no set-up and is an enclosed machine that allows consumers to create thousands of items from bowls and cups to key chains and smartphone cases. Some of the key features include, plug-andplay printer which means no assembly or equipment adjustment required. Da Vinci’s all enclosed design protects users from the high temperatures required to print and ensures printing byproducts aren’t released outside the printing area. It also features an open-source cloud database with thousands of free 3D models consumers can customize as desired. It also has a user-friendly filament, it has an easy-to-install filament cartridges available in 12 colours.

Philips Quad HD monitors now in 32-inch size MMD, the brand license partner for Philips Monitors, announces a new addition to the line-up of displays with super-fine resolutions beyond HD. At 32 inches, the BDM3270QP display is a new size for Philips Monitors with QHD, and offers users another choice for increasing their screen space. The new 32-inch display responds to growing demand for higher resolutions with pixel densities beyond HD at screen dimensions that appeal to users looking to scale their desktops up a level. The QHD (Quad High Definition) display offers a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels per inch with a desktop that provides plenty of space for managing multiple windows with detail-rich clarity. It also has a high bandwidth digital sources such as DisplayPort which has a speed of up to 10.8 Gbps, HDMI and Dual link DVI and a built-in stereo speakers provide high quality audio to complement the viewing experience. The display also

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

features MultiView technology, so users can work with two devices simultaneously, and partition the screen area for viewing content from two separate streams. Since Quad HD presents 2,560 x 1,440 pixels on every inch of display space, each area of the screen retains sharpness and clarity even when partitioned. Additionally, it also has SmartErgoBase, which allows the display to be fully adjusted to the user’s preferred working height, with swivel and tilt functions to achieve exactly the right angle and keep people fitter and more productive for longer.

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WD Purple NV 4 TB and 6 TB hard drives unveiled WD, a Western Digital company recently introduced WD Purple NV, a purpose-built line of 3.5-inch, high-capacity 4 TB and 6 TB hard drives for the greater demands of scalable network video recorder (NVR) surveillance systems. Compared with standard WD Purple drives, the new member of the WD’s surveillance video recording family of drives, WD Purple NV, is designed for larger-scale network surveillance systems utilising higher hard drive bay counts and greater numbers of attached cameras, with demand increased storage capacity and durability. The new drives is capable of long video retention periods for analysis and reference. WD Purple NV is also designed to withstand the demands of always-on digital NVR recording environments. It offers low power consumption and many advanced performance features typically reserved for higher end surveillance storage. Features of the new WD Purple NV include the AllFrame technology which can help to reduce video footage loss with a proprietary cache policy management technology to help improve data flow and playback when when combined with ATA streaming support. The WD Purple NV 6 TB surveillance hard drives are shipping immediately to customers for qualification and are covered by a three-year limited warranty. WD Purple NV 4 TB hard drives will be available for qualification later this quarter.

3rdJune 2015

Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, UAE

Reseller Middle Eastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Partner Excellence Awards, in its sixth edition, pay tribute to the commitment and achievements of the industry players in the regional channel ecosystem. The Awards recognise the very best from the industry who have used a dedicated channel approach, sustaining and driving their business despite market challenges, and for leading the space with innovation as their core strategy.

SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES Rajashree R Kumar Merle Carrasco Publishing Director Sales Manager raj.ram@cpimediagroup.com merle.carrasco@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5685 +971 4 375 5676 +971 50 173 9987 +971 55 118 1730 NOMINATION ENQUIRIES Jeevan Thankappan Group Editor jeevan.thankappan@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5678 +971 56 415 6425

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hot products

Procreate 2.3 now supports the Intuos Creative Stylus 2

Wacom and Savage have announced that Procreate 2.3 is now compatible with the Intuos Creative Stylus 2. Wacom designed the pressuresensitive stylus and Savage’s Procreate has been the application choice of many artists when it comes to drawing and illustration on the iPad. The adjustments for the compatibility between the two is in response to the customers’ long hoped demand to pair the precision and natural feel of the Intuos Creative Stylus with the powerful and fluid tools of Procreate. The Intuos Creative Stylus 2 will be supported in Procreate 2.3 on all compatible iPads. Users of the iPad Air 2 can connect and use all the features of the Intuos Creative Stylus 2 in Procreate 2.3, but it will remain officially unsupported. Savage and Wacom will continue to work together to improve and expand compatibility with the iPad Air 2. Other exciting additions to Procreate version 2.3 include the all-new Light Interface, along with stability upgrades and bug fixes from previous editions. The integration in Procreate is an important addition to the selection of supported apps with the Intuos Creative Stylus 2, and both teams look forward to seeing what their customers are creating with their newly compatible tools.

june 2015 Reseller Middle East

HTC launches HTC Desire 526G Dual SIM HTC Corporation has recently unveiled the new HTC Desire 526G Dual SIM, which is expected to bring seamless multi-tasking, smooth browsing and effortless video creation to the mid-level market. HTC Desire 526G has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor which enables the smartphone to handle all of your media demands like taking high quality photos and selfies, fast web browsing, watching videos and playing games. HTC’s well-known HTC BlinkFeed feature allows you the opportunity to join the millions of HTC users who have customised their streams to deliver more relevant, up-to-the-minute news and social updates direct to their home screens. Displayed on the HTC Desire 526G Dual SIM’s 4.7 inch QHD screen to ensure a good viewing experience, updates are displayed in crisp detail and

rich colour, making the information easy to digest whenever you glance at your smartphone. It also has an offline reading mode, which makes it possible to view articles from your personal feed as it allows you add up to 120 articles to your reading list when connected to WiFi and access them later to enjoy data-free reading on the move. The HTC Desire 526G Dual SIM’s official colours are Glacier Blue and Stealth Black. The device is already available from all major retailers in the UAE for AED699.

Brocade VDX 6740 switch

The Brocade VDX 6740 switch is an Ethernet Fabric Top of Rack (ToR) switch that is anticipated to redefine network visibility and agility with automation and simplicity for IP storage. It has up to 10 GbE connections, 40 GbE uplinks, and up to 160 GbE trunking, which enables it to deliver high-performance computing and reduce congestion. It optimises storage performance with 2x on-chip buffering and patented load balancing and multipathing capabilities. It can also be integrated into EMC Connectrix Manager Converged Network Edition and EMC Storage Analytics. The switch is also expected to simplify the learning curve and

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lower the OpEx with scale-out, plug-and-play, and logical chassis management and deploy native fabric automation and standards-based APIs for configuration and operational status. The switches deliver low latency through wire-speed ports and offer deep buffers to provide the buffering capacity to handle increases in traffic. Each switch supports multiple storage connectivity options, including FCoE, iSCSI, and NAS storage. It allows multipathing across layers 1 – 3 which creates a flexible network that adapts to changing business conditions and traffic patterns. It also supports cloud computing and can operate under the Brocade Vyatta Controller.

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Qualcomm Technologies launches LG G4 smartphone Qualcomm Technologies will be powering LG’s latest flagship smartphone, the LG G4. The new smartphone is the first to feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor with X10 LTE. The Snapdragon 808 processor with X10 LTE, featured in the LG G4, is equipped with the 12-bit dual ISP technology, the LG G4 camera offers to produce crisp images with life-like colour, texture and brightness, even in low-light conditions. The LG G4 is also the first smartphone to use sensorassisted positioning with Qualcomm IZat technology, which combines positioning data from satellites, WLAN and a variety

D-Link introduces DIR-890L of sensors already integrated into the LG G4 to provide accurate pedestrian navigation even in most challenging urban environments and inside buildings. It has a quad HD display which is supported by the latest Qualcomm Adren 400 series GPU. The LG G4 also offers video recording with the ability to capture content in 4K, made possible by the Snapdragon 808 processor. The Snapdragon 808 processors’ four-channel processing and audio-capture technology allows LG G4 users to easily record clearer video sound, even in noisy environments. Based on internal testing, the LG G4 has more than a full day of battery life.

Xerox’s new Rialto 900 Inkjet Press

Xerox’s new Rialto 900 Inkjet Press is a fully-integrated roll-to-cut sheet, narrow web inkjet press is designed for print providers who produce 1.5 to 5 million impressions per month. The inkjet press is 11.9 x 5.1 feet/ 3.58 x 1.55 meters in size including the press tower. To help lower the entry point into production inkjet technology, the Rialto 900 prints duplex jobs. The device offers the speed and image quality required to take on full-color,

personalised direct-mail, statements and book production. Its all-in-one design means the front-end controller, paper roll and finishing components are housed within the machine – a space saver and service convenience. Automating and simplifying production is possible with a range of workflow offerings, including XMPie, PersonalEffect, StoreFlow, Xerox FreeFlow Core and VI Suite and solutions from GMC and Solimar – all driving the press at rated speed for maximum productivity.

The DIR-890L Wireless AC3200 Tri Band Gigabit Cloud Router lets you easily connect, control, and monitor a network. It is equipped with advanced AC SmartBeam which provides a significant increase in wireless performance, while Advanced Quality of Service (QoS) efficiently distributes bandwidth. The DIR-890L is also armed with SmartConnect, which charges wireless AC enabled devices. It is mydlink Cloud enabled and supports the mydlink SharePort app to stream and share your media files. The DIR-890L is stylish, easy-to-use, and comes IPv6ready for a reliable network. The D-Link DIR-890L Wireless AC3200 Tri Band Gigabit Cloud Router allows a fast home network that connects all of your computers and mobile devices to your broadband Internet connection. The Advanced AC SmartBeam technology that is also in the DIR-890L brings you high-bandwidth wireless connectivity, increased speed and coverage for your network. The high-gain external antennas send the signal into the farthest corners of your home, giving you a strong connection wherever you are. The mydlink SharePort app allows you to connect a USB storage device to the DIR-890L and instantly share documents, movies, pictures, and music with mobile devices.

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Reseller Middle East june 2015

Column

Channel surfing Reseller Middle East’s deputy editor offers her thoughts on the Middle Eastern technology channel.

Janees Reghelini, Deputy Editor, Reseller ME

Saluting excellence The last month flew by in preparation for our most-sought after Awards in the industry – Reseller Middle East Partner Excellence Awards. Every year, we look at raising the bar, but I think this year has been the best so far. For me, personally, this is the most exciting and gratifying time of the year. For an Awards function of this scale and scope, there is a massive amount of hard work that goes in from all our teams, especially IT, design, editorial, sales and events. The groundwork began around two months ago, ensuring the nominations from the industry come in by the deadline, choosing an esteemed panel of judges and then the final back-end work of the actual proceedings of the

JUNE 2015 Reseller Middle East

evening. There is a lot of thought and planning that goes into each of these processes. This year we received an overwhelming 250 plus nominations. This indicates the seriousness with which the industry players, like yourself, take our Awards. Our panel of judges – Amer Khreino, Founder and Managing Director, Avenues; Manjeet Singh Chhabra, MD, CRIF Dun & Bradstreet UAE; Moustafa Abd ElMohsen, Founder and CEO, Shaheen Management Consultancy and Philip Hughes, Consultant – took time out to go through all the nominations, which in itself is no small feat. This year we designed the Awards to be more like a party, hence the Brazilian Carnival theme, because after all, it is an event where the

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industry get together to catch up, network and meet old friends while making new ones too. For me, the IT channel industry has become one big family – a family I’m proud to be a part of. I’m hoping to speak to you all more often over the next few months and continue learning and understanding the channel industry better. I’m sure most of you must be exasperated with my 101 follow-up e-mails and incessant calls but thanks to you we were able to pull off a bumper issue featuring the 60 top most influential channel executives in the regional industry. These are the people who lead the industry and steer it towards excellence. We at Reseller Middle East, salute their relentless commitment.

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