Saluting the brightest stars of the regional channel industry
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HAILING CHANNEL SUCCESS RESELLER MIDDLE EAST AND TAHAWULTECH.COM RECOGNISE LEADING IT FIRMS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE CHANNEL BUSINESS AT ITS ANNUAL HOT 50 AWARDS.
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ahawulTech.com and Reseller Middle East hosted its seventh annual Hot 50 Awards at the open-air restaurant BHAR, Renaissance Downtown Hotel against the Dubai skyline in the
background. The most-coveted Awards gathered key players across vendors, distributors, resellers and systems integrators together on one platform. The 150 plus guests had an opportunity to network and applaud the achievements of the year. The exclusive event paid tribute to channel players who are resolute in their strategies to craft value and equally successful relationships for customers, partners and themselves. Selected by TahawulTech.com’s and Reseller Middle East’s editorial team, the elite winners were companies that had shaped the regional channel business through innovative initiatives and grew their operations despite challenging market circumstances.
In her welcome speech, Janees Reghelini, editor, Reseller Middle East and TahawulTech. com, urged channel partners to continue to evolve their businesses to the demands of the digital age. She said, “Transformation to the next phase is only possible by acquiring new skills and staying on top of market developments. At TahawulTech.com and Reseller Middle East, we aim to continue to present the latest insights and play a role in inspiring IT businesses to turn challenges into opportunities.” The Reseller ME’s Hot 50 include firms across an extensive range of sizes and specialities. This year the event has also announced personality winners. Aysha Al Meheeri, Injazat Data Systems won the ‘most influential marketeer of the year’ while Kamlesh Lal, Dell EMC bagged the ‘best innovative marketeer’ award. The ‘most influential channel sales personality’ was presented to Maya Zakhour, NetApp and the ‘best disruptive marketeer’ was awarded to Areej Shakir, Veritas. Additionally, MBUZZ was recognised as ‘Rising Star – VAD’ of 2018.
*Details about the winning firms have been compiled by the RME editorial team from company websites, nominations submitted and editorial participations throughout the year.
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Personality Awards
Most influential marketeer of the year Aysha Al Meheeri, Injazat Data Systems
Best disruptive marketeer Areej Shakir, Veritas
Most influential channel sales personality Maya Zakhour, NetApp
Rising Star – VAD MBUZZ
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AL JAMMAZ DISTRIBUTIONÂ Best partner collaboration by a VAD
A leading value-added technology distributor in the GCC and the Middle East Al Jammaz Distribution delivers advanced technology products, solutions and services across segments such as data centres, infrastructure, cloud, IoT, networking, collaboration, cybersecurity, servers, storage, wireless mobility, broadband and internet access, consumer gadgets as well as life style. Working with systems integrators, value-added resellers, retailers, network solution and service providers, the Saudi-based distributor’s policy is to interact with its partners as its trusted allies. Al Jammaz Distribution provides its partner network with the loyalty of a business partner and the economics of an outside vendor. The distributor ensures its partner ecosystem receives what they need to run their businesses
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with maximum efficiency and reliability. Al Jammaz Distribution works closely with partners and follows a policy of developing strong sales channel. This includes combining its product marketing initiatives with partners and IT pro-community to ensure adequate channel fulfillment. According to the distributor, its aim is to select the right mix of sales channels and optimise their performance. This includes putting the channel, relevant programmes and key measurements in place to support partners and help them accomplish their goals. The distributor’s competitive advantage includes close collaboration with its partner community and positioning itself strategically with them by building a business based on longstanding relationships.
BARCO Best channel training initiatives by a vendor
Barco has had a remarkable year in 2018, winning large-projects and welcoming double-digit growth across the region. The company believes its most notable feats have been with Barco ClickShare, its revolutionary smart meeting room solution, which was wellreceived by the market. In 2017, Barco sold more than 2,700 units of Barco ClickShare, marking a huge milestone. It has recently launched the world’s first Barco ClickShare Certified Training Centre in partnership with its valueadded distributor FVC, in Dubai. The training centre, which not only leverages its channel network, and feeds in to its wider stakeholder group, provides customised Barco ClickShare training sessions around the latest systems in collaboration technology.
The firm attributes its growth and success in the region to strong relationships it has established with its network of partners, which includes resellers, distributers and other channel partners. The company believes the strengths of these partners within the region have helped ensure the reach of its quality products across the region. Furthermore, this relationship has been strengthened by the focus on training and development that Barco provides through its Barco ClickShare training centre. Barco works to empower and enable resellers and distributors with the right training to carry forward product knowledge and become subject-matter experts and thereby, offer quality service to their clientele.
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BULWARK TECHNOLOGIES Best security training initiatives by a distributor
Bulwark Technologies has achieved significant growth in revenues over the past year. It has streamlined its vendor relationships between Bulwark Technologies LLC as a value-added distributor for dealing with highend security solutions and Bulwark Distribution FZCO, which deals with fast-moving security products. For the company, it was a year of adding major security vendors and building a stronger information security product and solutions portfolio. The distributor has been constantly investing in new and proven security technologies to provide world-class and best of the breed service to its partners and customers. The company’s objective is to introduce niche leading global
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security products and solutions in the region to meet customers’ cybersecurity requirements. In line with this objective, Bulwark has partnered with global leaders over the past year such as 42Gears Mobility Systems for enterprise mobile management and Ekran System for user behaviour and insider threat prevention. One of its main objectives continue to be enabling its channel partners by creating and executing well-crafted channel and training programmes. Bulwark Technologies has grown its presence in the Indian sub-continent region by opening a new office in Bangalore, India and plans to further expand to Kuwait, Oman and KSA soon with dedicated resources.
CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD Best channel growth initiativesÂ
Check Point Software Technologies is a 100-percent channel-driven company. Partners gain immediate access to Check Point’s accelerated sales team training, free certification and training for technical team, and co-op funds to grow their business. Channel partners can choose areas of specialty that best matches their business interests such as to sell solutions, train, manage and support or become a distributor. The company encourages partners to pursue as many areas as they feel comfortable supporting. Check Point continues to invest in R&D to further improve its product family and look ahead to what customers need. The firm works diligently to remain one step ahead and also cooperate with other technology partners and governments to play a part in keeping customers safe. Check Point works in
conjunction with government agencies such as the Cyber Security Association in helping to work with the larger community, identify the areas of concern, and lay the groundwork for a safe future where all devices, services and individuals are connected. According to the company, its whole team is extremely involved to support channel partners as well as customers to deliver excellence always. Check Point provides unlimited access to product information, continued product support and marketing materials. It is prompt in responses to its channel and maintain close contact with its partners. In 2019, Check Point will continue to focus on cloud, mobile and threat prevention providing complete security on physical, virtual, public and private cloud environments.
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DME PROLINK Best passive network infrastructure vendorÂ
The data communication division of ECS Global Wire, DME Prolink, offers end-toend solutions and support on intelligent structured cabling and data centre. ECS Global Wire is an ISO9001:2015 certified Canadian company offering high-end electrical and wiring solutions across different verticals over the last 35 years. DME Prolink Middle East has been actively involved in creating a benchmark of end-to-end passive infrastructure solutions for catering to high magnitude projects in different verticals. While almost all the projects in Reem Islands in Abu Dhabi under UTT continue to be supported by DME Prolink, it also supports other projects such as Opportunity District, Five Hotel, Paragon Mall, Reem Central Park, Shoba Greens Choifat School and numerous Al Wasl projects across Dubai. The company was successful
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in increasing the value business of supplying passive connectivity to Etisalat by 12% this year. ECS Global Wire attributes its success to proactive staff members and focused mindset of accomplishing deliverables within expected timelines. Another key strength is the approach of continuous product enhancement. With the growing demand for passive infrastructure solution requirements, DME Prolink has invested on technical product development team to ensure only highest quality products are delivered, as per the international standards, certified by global performance testing and safety testing laboratories and approved by local authorities. Customers have well-received the company’s high performing copper solutions, resilient fiber solutions and robust cabinet solutions.
DTS SOLUTION Best cybersecurity consulting services provider
DTS Solution redefines the information and network security services industry. The firm allows customers to focus on its core business objectives while it takes care of all the security-related requirements. DTS understands that it is no longer sufficient to depend on traditional security defense mechanisms and helps organisations to meet its goal by offering its experience, expertise, diverse knowledge and innovative solutions. Over the past 12 months, the firm has executed key cybersecurity transformational projects in the national critical infrastructure industry (ICS/OT). It has also delivered numerous large-scale cybersecurity projects within the critical infrastructure domain. The company has developed its own compliance toolkit to support national cybersecurity standards
implementation called GRCStack, which helps organisations to be NESA-IAS, Dubai ISR and SAMA framework compliant. The tool has already been implemented across many organisations. DTS Solution has delivered more than 60 vulnerability assessment and penetration testing services projects that includes social engineering and Red Teaming in 2018. This not only demonstrates its competency in this domain but also the firm’s trusted advisor status as the go-to company for technical assessment. The market can look forward to the company launching its MSSP SOC as a Service platform in 2019. The SOC as a Service will focus on advanced incident and threat analytics through machine learning.
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HELP AG Best cybersecurity services provider
Founded in Germany in 1995, Help AG provides enterprise businesses with strategic consultancy combined with customised information security solutions and services. Present in the Middle East since 2004, the firm has established itself as the region’s trust IT security advisor. Over the course of 2018, Help AG has marked several milestones. It was recognised as the leading Managed Security Services provider in the UAE last year. It was able to increase its client base significantly by 300% and did not lose a single MSS customer. The firm’s
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Cybersecurity Analysis team reported more than 60 zero days, which is a record in itself. In an independent research project conducted by AKJ Associates, cybersecurity professionals across the UAE have named Help AG as the top security reseller and consulting company. The firm credits its success to having the best talent in the market, to not resorting to any shortcuts when it comes to quality service delivery and to sustaining a financially sound business model.
OKI EUROPE LTD Best innovation in printing
OKI Europe boasts a portfolio of awardwinning products and solutions, which comprises colour and mono printers, multifunctional devices, Serial Dot Matrix printers, specialty printers and managed print services. The company has recently expanded into the label printer market with the launch of two new label printers – the Pro Series 1040 and 1050. Users of both printers can now take their label designs to new levels of creativity and flexibility with the ability to print on a wide range of materials in professional four or five-colour finishes. OKI has also launched a dedicated database for ColorPainter users with over 14,000 media profiles, giving registered users fast, free access to
accurate media and colour management settings and unlocking new revenue opportunities for graphic arts businesses and creative organisations. Additionally, the firm has unveiled its new smartphone app, the ‘OKI AR Showroom’, which enables customers to visualise OKI’s devices as well as high impact visual communications materials in their own environments through the use of Augmented Reality (AR). The company’s recently launched Virtual Showroom allows customers to visualise all the possibilities with OKI’s Retail Printers and Store Signage Solutions. OKI aims to continue creating high performance products, technologies and innovative solutions in 2019.
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PRECEDENCE TECHNOLOGIES Best wireless solutions integrator
Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, IT consulting firm Precedence Technologies boasts major subsidiary offices along with satellite branches in Abu Dhabi. The firm offers services coverage all over the Arab Gulf and Middle East countries. Precedence Technologies believes that adopting a smart growth approach to its expansion, has resulted in several successful strategic acquisitions that have further expanded its ability to support customers nationwide. The company has been recognised locally and nationally for its success and growth as a leader in offering smart business solutions that combines technical expertise, functional knowledge and patented
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technologies to serve corporations across many industries such as hospitality, education, health care, banking, transportation, life sciences, technology and media, as well as public and governmental sector agencies. Precedence Technologies is a premium business partner with most of the leading and growing technology vendors, ELV and ICT manufacturers. The firm provides its customers with a reliable access to exclusive support and technical resources. Some of the company’s successful projects include Al Attar Tower, Radisson hotel, Rotana Hotels, Millennium hotels, Avenue mall and One Central Towers (DWTC).
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RAQMIYAT Best support services provider
Throughout 2018, Raqmiyat continued its journey towards its vision 2020, with new mega-contracts signed with customers, across sectors such as banking and financial services, government and public sector, healthcare, utilities, and aviation, to name a few. According to the company, new technologies were cherry-picked to contribute to the success of its customers on their digital transformation journey. Raqmiyat had accelerated its growth focusing on projects of maximum value to customers, offering them advanced consulting services, professional expertise, and tools required to digitise and transform their business to the next levels. This positively impacted its customers’ profitability, productivity levels, and compliance, to meet the most stringent international standards.
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The firm also continued its investment in acquiring new talents that can contribute to its success and growth. This covers consulting professionals, projects managers, technology experts, business development, among others. Raqmiyat believes its commitment to customers’ success is the core of its strategic plans. The company said its transformational strategy as a next-generation services provider, high-end SI capabilities, investment in project management capabilities, adoption to the latest digital technologies and extending project financing to customers, continue to be the foundation of its prosperity. In 2019, the services provider aims to further acquire new technologies especially in critical growth areas such as mobility, analytics, AI, CPM and cybersecurity.
REDINGTON VALUE Best data analytics practice
In 2018, value-added distribution firm Redington Value introduced a new practice around data science and advanced analytics to capitalise, together with its channel partners, on the opportunities that the $4 billion data analytics market has to offer. Redington’s data science and analytics practice aims to enable the company’s regional channel partners to take advantage of the tremendous market opportunities. Boasting existing relationships with data analytics experts such as Splunk and TCG Digital, the distributor has further reinforced its vendor portfolio by partnering with global leaders such as Talend, SAS, Tableau Software and MicroStrategy. Having observed that channel partners are not taking advantage of the
opportunities present in this space, the distributor unveiled the new practice to help bridge the skills gap in the market so that resellers can confidently optimise all prospects. As one of the first plan of actions for setting up the data science and advanced analytics practice, Redington invested in 25 people within the firm and an equal number in its consulting arm, Citrus Consulting, from a delivery standpoint. The distributor firmly believes that if partners invest into this practice, they can climb up the value chain significantly. The distributor is enabling partners to become experts in data science and advanced analytics so that they can successfully solve customers’ business challenges.
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SNB MIDDLE EAST Best post-sales support by a distributor
2018 has been a significant year for SNB Middle East with the firm moving its operations to its new headquarters in Bay Square, Dubai, further strengthening its regional presence. It has also signed a partnership with BIKAL LTD, a leading UK provider of IP surveillance products and solutions, to become its exclusive distributor worldwide. Over the past year, the company has diversified into solar power and related equipment, being an end-to-end Solar and PV system supplier in the region. This has enabled the firm to make significant progress on its sustainability priorities, allowing it to strike a balance between economic growth and sustainability while conserving natural resources. SNB strongly believes that the right level of service with added value is the
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keystone to the strong and sustainable relationships it shares with its partners. As a distributor, it strives to offer channel partners the best-in-class product and performance-oriented solutions with emphasis on continuous improvement, pro-active approach, timely response and accuracy. The distributor’s core competencies include pre-sales for PoCs and demos, dedicated product management team, robust regional presence with its own warehousing facility and a strong technical team with in depth knowledge of its products. SNB Middle East’s partners can leverage on its expertise in distribution, solution architecting, product expertise, training, service and support to grow their businesses.
SOFTWAREONE Best cloud optimisation solutions provider
SoftwareONE’s corporate profile of being a cloud and software portfolio management company is well recognised and accepted with most vendors and customers especially with its niche offerings across verticals in different regions. The firm’s service offerings on advisory, technology and managed services provide customers a single and seamless channel on guiding them in their journey to cloud or digital transformation while securing their existing environment and investments. In 2018, the company executed optimisation projects on major vendors such as Microsoft, Oracle and SAP, particularly assessing customers’ existing investments, deployments, license compliance, technology adoption, cloud consumption intents and transformational strategies. The company also engaged with customers in the region on cybersecurity service offering around security maturity, risk, compliance
and threat assessment engagements, assisting customers in adopting and ensuring CIS controls and security framework including providing technology and managed services to enhance and tighten their existing security posture As a global Microsoft LSP, SoftwareONE approaches customers to help optimise their existing license agreements and monetise it for cloud consumption or digital transformation aspirations. The company believes with the expected launch of Microsoft data centre soon, most regional customers would need this service, especially with disruption, adoption, consumption and transformation being the buzz words for the C-level decision-makers today. SoftwareONE globally is certified and experienced in assisting customers in shifting, migrating or transforming their operations to the newer means of IT execution.
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TRANSSYS SOLUTIONS Best cloud solutions integrator
TransSys Solutions’ current focus is on providing value through a range of Oracle product portfolio solutions. The firm has bagged multiple Oracle awards including specialised partner of the year consecutively for the past few years. Recognised as a platinum partner of Oracle, the firm serves across various industries and geographies. TransSys Solutions has recently expanded to a larger facility in Kenya to build an agile team and increase the capacity of its IT services for ECEMEA and APAC customers. TransSys’ continuous commitment to constantly deliver more value to its customers, has paved way to an array of innovative solutions such as Tia, the chatbot, Race-Rapid Adoption of Cloud ERP, iDeal – a cloud-based real estate
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management solution and Mobebiz an enterprise mobility solution among others. The firm takes pride in its rich experience and the deep domain knowledge. TransSys focuses on client-centric onsite leadership for faster response and attention to customers addressing mainly on ECEMEA, ASEAN, APAC, and North America regions. TransSys is also the only ECEMEA Headquartered partner to cross 200 plus Oracle cloud engagements. The market can expect the firm to have a greater focus on strategic CXM solutions including Digital Sales Force solutions leveraging MarTech and AdTech components as part of its offering in 2019.
ZYXEL MIDDLE EAST Best product innovation
Established in 1989, Zyxel Communication is a manufacturer of networking products. With headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan, the company boasts branch offices in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. It has around 1,500 plus employees globally, with distributors in more than 70 countries, 35 branch offices worldwide and products marketed in over 150 countries. Zyxel works with global network equipment vendors, telecommunications companies, ISPs and other small and medium-sized businesses. The company empowers channel resellers through enriching training and partner programmes. Over the past 12 months, the company has built its channel ecosystem, distribution and product awareness across the region. Zyxel products’
market share has increased and the company has grown significantly during 2018 as compared to the previous year. The company also launched Zyxel MULTY mesh WiFi System, which was well-received by the market. The firm believes the factors driving its success include providing reliable and comprehensive products and end-toend solutions, which fits vertical needs. Customers are also assured of costeffective products with supreme quality of support. The company’s value-added distributors are another success factor as they are dedicated and committed to growing the business in the region by facilitating their strengths financially and logistically. In 2019, the market can expect the firm to introduce comprehensive security solutions to secure networks for PCI DSS compliance.
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AGC NETWORKS Best IT solutions integrator AGC Networks has grown exponentially in the span of five years, on an average of over 80 percent growth in 2017-18, as it expanded its footprint across the Middle East and Africa. The firm has evolved itself into a digitallyenabled organisation coupled with the need to secure customers’ ecosystem across enterprises in the Middle East. From among AGC’s four
quadrants, which include Unified Communications (UC), Network Infrastructure and Data Center (NIDC), Cyber Security (CYBER-i) and Business Applications, the Audio-Video (AV) offering in the UC quadrant has been the major contributor with more than 50 percent of the total value, followed by NIDC quadrant. This is a one of the recent key milestones for the firm.
AVAYA Best UC solutions vendor Avaya provides superior communications experiences with the most complete portfolio of software and services for contact centre and unified communications with integrated, secure networking- offered on premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid. As the largest pure play UC connectivity provider in the cloud, Avaya continues to push for cloud adoption
across the channel. The firm’s commitment to the channel is cemented by its investment in the development of its partners knowledge and skillset. Avaya solutions are leveraged by leading organisations across the Middle East in a wide range of industries, notably in public sector, healthcare, hospitality, banking & financial services, telecommunications and retail.
BARRACUDA NETWORKS Best email security vendor
Barracuda offers easy, comprehensive and affordable solutions for email protection, data protection and network and application security. Over the course of 2019, the biggest market opportunity that Barracuda will
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tackle in the Middle East is helping its mutual customers build a robust stack of email protection solutions. Barracuda offers a complete set of solutions to protect networks and applications in the cloud as well as services to ensure data integrity.
CENTRA HUB Best CRM software solutions vendor CentraHub is a digital transformation solutions vendor that provides vertical-specific business process automation solutions, CRM software and HCM applications that transform business landscapes. Centra CRM is a sales force automation software that allows businesses to close more deals in less time. With deep insights in all operations, it provides a platform to analyze, plan, develop
and deploy marketing, sales and service activities. It is an effective customer management platform that gives insights into sales and marketing teams’ need to accelerate customer interaction. Centra CRM is a data-driven software solution that provides intelligent reports and insightful analytics to enable businesses to analyze, plan, develop and deploy marketing, sales and service activities.
DELL EMC Best digital transformation vendor Dell EMC is successfully driving its mission of helping customers in the region accelerate their Digital Transformation. In 2018, Dell Technologies Customer Solution Center was unveiled in Dubai, which is designed to serve as a technology hub for the META region. It showcases the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of technologies, from the edge to the core to the cloud, and helps regional organisations collaborate, innovate
and validate their efforts towards digitization, said the firm. Recently, Ministry of Artificial Intelligence signed an agreement with the company to help Emirati youth develop new skillsets associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. The firm’s primary goal continues to be that of a trusted partner on the customers’ journey to digital transformation, cloud-based IT environments, mobile workforces and more.
EPICOR Best channel sales support by a vendor Epicor’s channel programme challenges partners to build better businesses. The firm aims to help partners expand their businesses to include not only selling but also marketing, technical resources, sales support network, technical support, and even product and module development. Offering extensive support, the vendor works towards
making its partner ecosystem an extension of the company. Going forward, the primary goal for the Epicor regional team is to be in a position to have the right discussions about the transformation that is taking place, understand where it fit as part of that transformation and align its customers prospects’ goals and visions with its technologies.
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EXCLUSIVE NETWORKS ME Best security VAD Exclusive Networks accelerates market entry and growth for innovative cybersecurity, networking and infrastructure technologies. Exclusive Networks understands truly what potential looks like, choosing to work with winning technologies and partnering with emerging vendors. According to the distributor, partners and customers will always have access to established and disruptive technology that returns increased
margins, incremental revenue and differentiation, all backed by presales consultancy, professional services and 24x7x365 support. As part of a global group with revenues in excess of $1.5 billion, the firm has insights into technology and market trends, which it shares with its partner community to help them stay relevant to their customers. The firm’s three key pillars are ‘Engage’, ‘Enable’ and ‘Execute’.
FINESSE Best digital services provider Finesse drives digital transformation by an encompassing approach beginning with business process re-engineering, digital design and architecting, deployment and maintenance of business-critical solutions and services. The systems integrator is well-equipped in providing a unified solution for its clients that meet all requirements. The firm works with various technology
companies across the globe to deliver customised solutions and services tailored to the unique situation of each client; thus, enabling transformation. It caters to over 120 financial institutions world-wide including 80 percent banks in the UAE, besides industries in healthcare, retail, infrastructure, energy, education, pharmaceuticals, aviation, and government/public.
FOCUS SOFTNET Best ERP business solutions vendor Focus Softnet provides industry specific ERP solutions that cater to the requirements of various verticals and can be customised to suit their unique needs. Powered by robust BI engines, the solutions ensure quick and secure access
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to data, enabling business owners to take timely decisions. With an experience spanning over a quarter of a century, Focus Softnet is known as one of the most reliable provider of multi-capability ERP solutions.
GBM Best digital solutions integrator GBM provides complete end-to-end IT solutions designed to meet business needs. Business analytics, cybersecurity, mobility solutions, cloud and managed services and infrastructure solutions are some of the domains that GBM has built deep expertise around that are critical for business. GBM is the sole distributor for IBM – excluding selected IBM products and services – throughout
the GCC, apart from Saudi Arabia. GBM’s momentum was further enhanced when the company secured the Cisco portfolio. It also boasts strategic partnerships with VMware, Apple, Red Hat and F5 to name a few. The company offers an extensive range of IT infrastructure, solutions and services ranging from consulting, resource deployment and integration to after-sales support.
GSD Best enterprise solutions VAD Gulf Software Distribution (GSD) is a specialist distributor of the IBM Software portfolio. It is the sole distributor for selected IBM software, throughout the GCC excluding Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. GSD’s focus for the channel partners that it works with is to drive business growth – increasing the scope and benefit of their offerings with adjacent technologies from the IBM portfolio. IBM provides software products
across eight major categories – security, IT infrastructure (systems), cloud, analytics, Watson analytics, collaboration and talent solutions, Watson customer engagement. GSD’s specialist team has on average eight years of experience in IBM Software and is able to guide partners through this extensive catalogue to select appropriate software products to meet their solution requirements.
HUAWEI MIDDLE EAST Best AI solutions provider Huawei Middle East produces enterprise-grade technology, innovates through collaboration and focuses on nurturing local talent. The firm has partnered with most governments in the Middle East to drive their regions’ digital transformation agendas. The company believes its differentiating factor when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) solutions will be through its hardware offering. Huawei attributes a large portion of
its success to its relentless pursuit of R&D – it spent $13.8 billion on R&D in 2017. The firm has recently introduced a 32-core Intel-based server, an AI chipset to a camera, AI Ascend chipset series and a full-stack, AI-powered intelligent computing for the mobile data centre. It has also launched a $140 million global AI education initiative, which will help Huawei collaborate with developers, partners, universities and research institutions. HOT 50 AWARDS RESELLER MIDDLE EAST
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INFOBLOX Best channel marketing initiatives Infoblox offers solutions in DNS Security and DNS, DHCP, and IP address management, the category known as DDI. Having entered the region in 2014, Infoblox Middle East and Africa’s commitment to its channel community was to help partners become more relevant to customer security priorities by investing in a robust partner development programme. The firm has been
relentless in its efforts and business development by having weekly webinars, monthly partner exchanges and quarterly customer events focusing on market trends and CIO priorities around cybersecurity and cloud related offerings. The firm said its core commitment to partners will remain the same - partner enablement, business transparency and partner profitability.
INFOWATCH Best integrated information security provider InfoWatch has been active in the information security business for more than 14 years and has evolved into a group of companies that protect enterprises against various information security threats. InfoWatch products allow clients to reduce to a minimum the risks associated with the processing, movement and storage of
information within the corporate secure area and outside it. The firm’s integrated solutions not only protect information, but automatically collect a body of evidence that can be used in administrative and legal proceedings in the event of a violation of the rules governing corporate information assets by company employees.
IVANTI Best endpoint security manager solutions vendor Ivanti unifies IT and security operations to better manage and secure the digital workplace. From PCs to mobile devices, VDI and the data centre, Ivanti discovers IT assets on-premises and in the cloud, improves IT service delivery, and reduces risk with insights and automation. Having entered the Middle
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East region recently, Ivanti is now looking to showcase and communicate the strengths of its robust portfolio of products and solutions. It has been consolidating its channel strategies and partners in 2018. It has also rolled out a new channel programme recently for the region as well as internationally.
JUNIPER NETWORKS Best network security vendor Juniper Networks removes the traditional constraints of networking to enable its customers and partners to deliver automated, scalable and secure networks that connect the world. Over the course of 2018, the firm has strengthened its security portfolio that extends threat prevention deeper into the network – down to the switch level. This includes Policy Enforcer, which
automates the enforcement of security policies across the network and quarantines infected endpoints. It has also introduced the Juniper Advanced Threat Prevention Appliance, an onpremises solution that absorbs threat data from multiple devices and then uses analytics to identify malicious traits. Juniper has also been working with its partners in driving 5G in the region.
KASPERSKY LAB Best anti-malware vendor Kaspersky Lab is a global cybersecurity company, which has been operating in the market for over 20 years. Kaspersky Lab’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into next generation security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical
infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes endpoint protection and a number of specialised security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats.
LENOVO GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY Best enterprise solutions vendor A $45 billion Fortune Global 500 company, Lenovo is a global technology leader in driving Intelligent Transformation through smart devices and infrastructure that create the best user experience. Lenovo manufactures one of the world’s widest portfolios of connected products, including smartphones (Motorola), tablets, PCs (ThinkPad, Yoga, Lenovo
Legion) and workstations as well as AR/VR devices and smart home/ office solutions. Lenovo’s data center solutions (ThinkSystem, ThinkAgile) are creating the capacity and computing power for the connections that are changing business and society. Lenovo works to inspire the difference in everyone and build a smarter future where everyone thrives.
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LEXAR Best personal storage vendor For more than 20 years, Lexar has been a trusted leading global brand in memory solutions. The firm prides itself in knowing first-hand just how quickly data is transforming the world. The firm provides a lineup that includes memory cards, USB flash drives, readers, and storage drives for
retail and OEM customers. It is committed to providing outstanding customer service, with friendly interactions, personalised advice, and expert support. With this dedication to performance, reliability, and support, customers can count on Lexar when it comes to storing the memories that matter.
MANAGEENGINEÂ Best network management and monitoring vendor ManageEngine, the Enterprise IT division of Zoho Corporation, which provides real-time IT management tools, serves over 180,000 companies around the world. The firm began its Middle East operations in 2005 and currently it is the fastest growing market for the company. ManageEngine has over 200 channel and technology partners across the world. In the last 12 months,
ManageEngine has added features across its suite of products. In October 2018, ManageEngine added user behavior analytics ADAudit Plus, its integrated Active Directory (AD), Azure AD, Windows server, file server, and workstation auditing solution. The company also launched the voice assistant and geo-fencing features for Desktop Central, its unified endpoint security and management solution.
MDS AP Best enterprise solutions integrator MDS ap helps customers run business better by leveraging technologies from SAP and complementary solution providers. It delivers high quality professional services implementing integrated solutions including enterprise architecture, data management and processing, analytics, enterprise performance management, omnichannel banking, human capital management, customer engagement and commerce as well as strategic sourcing and procurement. With 28 RESELLER MIDDLE EAST HOT 50 AWARDS
over twenty-five years of experience supporting enterprise customers across the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Eastern Europe regions, the firm believes it is uniquely equipped to help customers maximise the ROI on their SAP investment and fully leverage other best-of-breed industry solutions. MDS ap is a Gold Partner of SAP and is part of the MIDIS Group. It boasts twelve offices across the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Central Eastern Europe with locally based consultants.
HOW TO TACKLE A KEY CHALLENGE OF THREAT DETECTION AND RESPONSE
CAN’T SEE IT, VISIBILITY: IFYOUYOUCAN’T STOP IT. With mobile, cloud and the internet of things creating new openings for cyber threats, your organization is at greater risk than ever. So you need more visibility than ever to detect threats and respond to them effectively.
86% of organizations collect, monitor or analyze log data and endpoint data...
50%
of IT leaders worry about understanding the full scope of an attack
74% of organizations collect, monitor or analyze data from network packets...
48% of IT leaders are concerned about their ability to detect an attack in progress
...but only
10% say they're able to correlate data from different sources very well
7
WHAT YOU NEED:
INCIDENT LOGS
ENDPOINT DATA
NETWORK PACKETS
BUILDING BLOCKS OF THREAT VISIBILITY
CLOUD APPLICATIONS
DATA ANALYTICS
THREAT INTELLIGENCE
BUSINESS CONTEXT FOR THREATS
GET THE THREAT VISIBILITY YOU NEED, WITH RSA NETWITNESS ® PLATFORM Source: Information Security Strategies in the Age of Zero-Day Threats.Gatepoint Research PulseReport commissioned by RSA, April 2017 For more information, please write to sales.value@redingtonmea.com
MIMECAST Best partner excellence vendor With operations in the region since 2008, email security vendor Mimecast opened its Dubai office two years ago. With the help of its partner network in the UAE, it assists businesses in the region with their cyber resilience strategies. Through its security, archiving and continuity cloud services, the firm delivers comprehensive email risk management in one fullyintegrated service. As a partner-based organisation, the
firm has a robust channel programme to support its distributors and integrate its products into their resellers’ service stacks; providing them with the educational tools, sales enablement and marketing support they need to deliver Mimecast services to their customers. It launched the Mimecast Global Partner Programme in 2018, designed to bring uniformity to how the firm works with resellers globally.
MINDWARE Best channel enablement initiatives The last 12 months at regional distributor Mindware have been transformative. One of the biggest operation changes carried out was the implementation of three key systems in one year. The firm upgraded the ERP system, introduced a state-of-the-art CRM system and implemented a brand new business intelligence tool. The distributor plays a big role
in educating partners through its channel activities and programmes. The firm has a number of programmes for its channel partners revolving around loyalty. This mostly relates to the prevailing regional market conditions and the company’s aim is to reward loyalty and improve the stickiness of its partners onto Mindware going forward.
NEXANS Best cabling vendor Over the last 26 years, Nexans Cabling Solutions has been successfully enabling thousands of customers to invest in future-proof, high-bandwidth networks and lower their operational costs. Nexans has of a broad range of cabling products vis-à-vis other cabling vendors. With a complete range of solutions in both, copper & fibre, the firm provides end customers with solutions for their 30 RESELLER MIDDLE EAST HOT 50 AWARDS
LAN infrastructure and data centre needs that meet their today’s and tomorrow’s requirements. LANmark solutions includes but not limited to the future 2,5/5G, 25G and 100 Gbps Ethernet, the Automated Infrastructure Management, and solutions for data centres. Over the course of 2019, the firm is considering adding resources in focused markets in the Middle East region.
NORDEN COMMUNICATIONS Best CCTV and public address systems Norden brings the tested electrical and optical solutions, catering to a wide spectrum of industries telecommunication, building, industrial and utilities, surveillance systems and public address systems. With its office in UK, Norden brings British quality with international standard to the global market. It operates in multinational markets offering global service and local knowledge. The firm believes that
its innovation over independent core technology of 3A algorithm, intelligent analysis technology, thermal imaging technology and outstanding industrial design of products add to its key differentiators from competition. According to the firm, it steps up to the challenge and delivers software solutions via their CMS range, which covers all popular mobile platforms ensuring that customers can access their high-definition IP video anywhere.
ORACLE Best cloud applications vendor The Oracle Cloud offers complete SaaS application suites for ERP, HCM and CX, plus best-in-class database Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) from data centres throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Oracle delivers a wide array of databases, applications, storage,
servers, and cloud technologies to empower and accelerate modern businesses. According to the firm, more than 420,000 customers across 195 countries and territories use Oracle technology to increase responsiveness, accelerate analytical performance, connect people to innovation, simplify workflows, and enable their competitive edge.
PURE STORAGE Best storage vendor Pure Storage has recently announced AIRI (Artificial Intelligence Ready Infrastructure) and AIRI Mini, the industry’s first complete AI infrastructure for the enterprise. Built on Pure Storage FlashBlade and NVIDIA DGX-1― AIRI and AIRI Mini power today’s most complex workloads and make AI-at-scale simple and accessible for all enterprises, according to
the firm. The company has also announced Pure Storage Cloud Data Services, a suite of new cloud offerings that run on AWS. In 2019, Pure Storage’s goal is to work closely with its regional partner network to expand its customer base by targeting enterprises for which the ability to harness value of their data is central to business growth.
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REPOGRAFIX Best printing services provider Repografix operates in the field of small businesses with a positive growing tendency in the market. The firm has recently renewed tender for supplying toner cartridges from the government sector and bagged the Best Supplier Award from Ministry of Infrastructure in the UAE. Within the current competitive market, it
has been able to grow business revenue by 50 percent compared to the previous year. The firm said that by supplying quality products and services to its clients, it is able to drive its business and gain customers’ trust. The firm attributes its success to giving priority to after-sales services and offering insights to customers.
RING Best smart home security vendor Ring launched its operations in the Middle East market over a year ago. Globally, Ring’s products have been hailed as dependable second set of eyes and ears to deter would-be thieves from entering homes, and it has been proven that Ring doorbells can reduce crime by up to 50 percent in neighbourhoods across the US. The firm now aims to bring the same convenience and security to
Middle Eastern neighbourhoods. In under a year, Ring has forayed into various Middle Eastern markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Levant and Kuwait with presence across more than 500 store fronts. The company has successfully launched a number of innovative home security products and solutions in the region over the course of last year.
SCOPE MIDDLE EAST Best channel engagement initiatives by a distributor SCOPE Middle East was established in 2000 and is a value-added distributor for cybersecurity, networking, mobility and cloud solutions. It has business units around Middle East and GCC countries with significant sales channels for Symantec, Kaspersky Lab, Ruckus Networks, Soti, Stormshield, Nomadix, Netscout, Array Networks, Ruijie Networks, Secnology, HID Global, Encloud and NIKSUN. The firm said that it combines expert 32 RESELLER MIDDLE EAST HOT 50 AWARDS
technical and market knowledge with partner enablement programmes. The firm believes that collaborating with its partners in a unique engagement model is a market differentiator. It strives to provide an exceptional partner experience by delivering results together. In the past year, the firm has added more technology vendors to its portfolio such as Array Networks, Niksun and Garland Technology.
SOPHOS Best UTM vendor Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, UK with very strong operations in the MEA region. The Sophos Group is a leading global provider of cloud-enabled end-user and network security solutions, offering organisations end-to-end protection against known and unknown IT security threats through products that are easy to install, configure, update and maintain. The firm offers endto-end protection against complex
threats and data loss. Its security solutions include endpoint, mobile, server, encryption, web, email, Wi-Fi, and UTM/next-generation firewall, all backed by SophosLabs. In 2018, the company has made strong progress in both its end-user and network security offerings. Sophos has also added significant customer value and expanded its market opportunity across its product line.
STARLINK Best partner empowerment initiatives by a distributor StarLink is acclaimed as the fastest growing “true value-added distributor” across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa regions with on-the-ground presence in 18 countries including UK and USA. With its innovate Security Framework, StarLink is recognised as a “Trusted Security Advisor” to over 2200 plus enterprise and government customers that use one or more of the distributor’s
best-of-breed and market-leading technologies, sold through its channel network of over 1100 partners. The StarLink Solution Lifecycle helps channel partners differentiate offerings and assists customers to identify key risks and define priorities for addressing IT security gaps relating to compliance and next-generation threat protection.
TOSHIBA Best consumer devices offering Toshiba established its presence in the Middle East several years ago and has now grown to a region-wide network of Toshiba Group companies, distributors and dealers. Supported by its regional headquarters, Toshiba Gulf FZE, established in Dubai in 1997, this network promotes
Toshiba’s capabilities as a worldleading diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products and systems. For over 30 years, Toshiba laptops and technology have set the standard for innovation, quality and reliability.
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VAD TECHNOLOGIES Best disruptive solutions VAD VAD Technologies is an established IT and technology value-added distributor, headquartered in Dubai, UAE. The firm caters to enterprise and SME markets through a strong channel footprint across Middle East and North Africa. The distributor said its objective is to deliver world-class technology products and solutions that transform the IT landscape and provide the best Return of Invest (ROI) and lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for its customers.
The company continuously develops its high-performance enterprise solutions portfolio with special focus on hyperconverged infrastructures, enterprise storage systems, IT infrastructure, physical security and cybersecurity. It supports partners with sales and marketing, as well as professional services, such as consulting, training, deployment and technical support, which forms a key part of its go-to-market strategy and vision for the region.
VEEAM SOFTWARE Best data availability solutions vendor Veeam Software, global provider of solutions in backup, disaster recovery and intelligent data management software for virtual, physical and multi-cloud infrastructures, has had an impressive journey in the region. The Middle East operations will play a significant part in the company’s global revenue goals, which is expected to reach $2.2 billion by 2022. Veeam Software provides
Backup solutions that enable Intelligent Data Management. Veeam Availability Platform is the most complete Backup solution for helping customers on the journey to achieving success in the five stages of intelligent data management, according to the firm. In 2019, the market can expect innovations from the firm around its channel partners, process and its technologies.
WESTERN DIGITAL Best portable storage vendor Western Digital Corporation is one of the largest independent makers of hard-disk drives (HDDs), which record, store, and recall volumes of data. It is also active in the fast-growing area of solid-state drives (SSDs). WD products are globally reputed, highly advanced, offer premium performance and are designed to specifically address
34 RESELLER MIDDLE EAST HOT 50 AWARDS
customer needs, said the firm. In addition to delivering new and innovative products, the company has continued to invest in markets it operates in, in terms of launching new partner programmes, training and appointing new partners. The company sells to manufacturers and through retailers and distributors.
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