THE
INSIDER ISSUE 05
Logicom leverages market trends with broad solution portfolio
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from the general manager:
contents 04 Events
Dear Partners, Welcome to The Insider. We are very excited to be exhibiting this year at one of the most influential ICT events in the world, GITEX Technology Week 2014. We’re geared up for a productive week and look forward to seeing you all there. Following on from the great success of last year, we will once again be present at the Dubai World Trade Center in Hall 4 and are eager to meet with our customers from across the region. GITEX Technology Week is always a great opportunity for us to engage and network with our customers, and provide key insights and updates on our growing portfolio.
06 INTERVIEW APC 10 Feature FlexPod Express 15 People
We have lots of exciting activities planned during GITEX this year. Visitors to our stand will have the chance to learn all about Logicom’s new partnerships and view live demonstrations from our partners at Cisco, HP, Intel, Qnap and WD. In addition, Logicom representatives will be on hand to arrange meetings with our senior management as well as our regional product teams. This year we’ll also be offering ‘live’ updates on all the GITEX news and events through the Logicom social media pages. You can follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LogicomDistribution or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/logicomdisti for all things GITEX-related and connect with us with your own thoughts and comments. We have a number of competitions and prize draws lined up, so make sure you stay up to date with all our updates! This past year has been an exciting and busy one for all of us. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our partners, our vendors, and of course, the Logicom team for their hard work, cooperation and passion for achievement. Logicom expanded its reach this year, both geographically and in terms of our portfolio. In 2014, we embarked on a new strategy to enhance our coverage in Iraq, which making Logicom the only authorized Cisco distributor to cover the whole Middle East region, both locally and remotely through its regional partners. Through this investment, Logicom will make the best of our multinational presence in the Middle East and serve our Iraq-focused partners from each of the location of our six offices and warehouses in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf. In addition, Logicom has expanded its local operations in Kuwait and Qatar as part of our continuous efforts to better serve our partners, and meet all our stakeholders’ expectations, in any way and from any location we can. Leveraging on our international expertise and an increased local presence in these countries, we look forward to providing more opportunities for prospective vendors and partners in the region. In 2014, Logicom has also enhanced our investments and partnerships in the Middle East and Gulf regions with the addition of new lines of business with HP Services in the Gulf, as well as regional cooperation with new vendors such as Citrix and CommVault. As we near the end of 2014, I wish you all a successful end to the year and look forward to more successes in 2015. See you all at GITEX. Sajith Raj GM, Logicom Dubai
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EVENTS
Logicom Technology Forums L
ogicom’s strength in distribution is built on sound long-term relationships with the world’s leading technology vendors. We maintain our position as an indispensable link in the technology supply chain by offering exceptional valueadded services in support of the development of our distribution channel. One such service that Logicom offers is the organisation of the Logicom Technology Forums. These are interactive sessions held in each of the countries Logicom operates, which provides partners with the opportunity to network with the
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region’s leading ICT companies, as well as update them on Logicom’s latest product and solution offerings. This quarter, Logicom hosted four successful LTFs in Jordan, Lebanon, Abu Dhabi and Oman. The LTF in Lebanon was held on September 17 at the Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut and had a turnout of more than 170 attendees. Vendors such as APC, Intel, Microsoft, HP, NetApp, Citrix and Cisco were on hand to offer interactive sessions and live demonstrations of their product offerings. APC introduced its new UPS product line, and other presentations included an overview of Intel NUC, Windows
Server and Azure launching from Microsoft, HP EG Converged Infrastructure, an analysis of innovative storage and data management solutions from NetApp, and an introduction to the workspace suit from Citrix. In Jordan, the LTF was held at the Sheraton Al Nabil Hotel on September 16th with more than 130 partners and visitors in attendance. Presentations and demonstrations were offered by vendors such as WD, APC, Cisco, Microsoft, NetApp and Adobe. These included new launches from WD, an overview of creative cloud for teams by Adobe, and a
discussion on the Internet of Everything by Cisco, amongst others. In the Gulf, Logicom hosted two LTFs; one in Abu Dhabi on September 17th at the Beach Rotana Hotel, and one in Oman on September 24th at the Crowne Plaza. APC, Citrix, HP, QNAP and WD offered live updates, presentations and interactive sessions to more than 50 attendees at each event. Logicom extends its gratitude to all of its partners and attendees who helped make these events a great success, and looks forward to seeing everyone again at future LTFs.
FY15 Logicom & Cisco Kick-off T
he FY15 Logicom Cisco Kick-off took place in Limassol, Cyprus from the 23rd to the 25th of September. The three-day event brought together the Logicom and Cisco teams with the aim to learn, share and discuss the evolving partnership. Attendees had the opportunity to network with both Logicom and Cisco, find out how to evolve together more effectively and efficiently, and attend various panel discussions and workshops. Among the topics discussed was the latest news from Logicom and Cisco, insights to help shape FY15, as well as
future Logicom-Cisco strategies. Both teams were also introduced to Logicom’s Partners First and Partners Plus programs, the complete custom-fit business program for our Cisco partners. The Partners First program, which grew out of Logicom’s experience within different countries and cultures, is a framework for each partner to find all they need in order to work with Cisco. This includes helping ensure partners’ success in certifications, offering continuous updates and briefing sessions on Cisco solutions, and help with marketing activities.
Experienced, certified partners can also benefit from advanced technical courses, sales trainings, new product updates and marketing campaigns to keep them on the cutting edge of the IT market. During the event, Logicom also hosted the Logicom Excellence Awards, awarding team members and countries for their great performance in FY14. The winners were as follows: Claiming Excellence Award: Stella Kargatzi Claiming Excellence Award: Bilal Butt, Operations Specialist – Cisco
Architectures Optimisation: Logicom Romania Highest YoY growth in FY14 (Services): Logicom UAE Highest YoY growth in FY14 (Products): Pankaj Joshi, Account Manager – Cisco FY14 Best Performing Country (Products & Services): Logicom KSA The event was a success, and gave Logicom an opportunity to enhance its knowledge and improve its ability to create, develop and take advantage of opportunities. Logicom looks forward to welcoming everyone to next year’s FY16 Logicom Cisco Forum.
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INTERVIEW | APC
Powering sustainability Ziad Youssef, IT Business VP UAE & Gulf, explains APC by Schneider Electric’s new range of uninterruptable power supplies (UPS), and how his company intends to grow its market share. 1. Can you tell us about the features of the new line-up of UPS devices? What are the new products in the range? In the Smart-UPS Line Interactive Family, we have launched several new models including the Smart-UPS SMC, SmartUPS SM and Smart-UPS SMX. The main features of these new UPS devices include pure sinewave output, USB support, compatibility with active PFC power supplies and, for peace of mind, a three year warranty
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period. Within the Smart-UPS Online Family, we have also launched the Smart-UPS Online (SRT 5-10 kVA) and the features here include a multi color graphical LCD, unity power factor, switched outlet groups, and automatic bypass. This product is also covered by a three year warranty period. 2. What are the market trends that have driven Schneider Electric to innovate and develop this new line of products?
Before developing the next generation Smart-UPS, we evaluated the market trends and studied customer demand to assess the issues in our current units. Sustainability is on everybody’s mind today, and Schneider Electric is responding to this by providing energy efficient and environmentally friendly products and solutions. We ensure that our products are reliable, and green, in terms of reducing energy consumption and overall cooling costs.
With the switched outlet group feature, we ensure centralised management of multiple sites, risk mitigation and maintain availability of the networks. Through our SMC range we are focusing on the entry-level servers segment, which has been growing steadily for the past 10 years and has shown greater resilience than other segments of the market. Our virtualisation and multicore technologies will enable customers to migrate higher-end
The APC Smart-UPS 1500VA LCD 230V is designed to reduce utility costs and generate less heat.
enterprise workloads from Unix and mainframes to x86 server platforms. The combination of these x86 technologies will keep x86 growth rates above the overall market rate over the forecast period also IDC sees a built-up demand for new servers as servers are retired. 3. How receptive has the market been to the new product line? What is the feedback? The market has been very receptive to the new product line. This is not a surprise since we invested in research to evaluate the market trends and assess the exact needs of our customers. As a global leader in energy management, we are committed to upgrading and improving our products as we believe there is always room for improvement. 4. What market initiatives are being undertaken to create awareness of the new changes? As a market leader we are
in a good shape in terms of market awareness. We are further increasing our marketing activities to incorporate mass communication, reseller enablement workshops, and customer orientation sessions. Schneider Electric staff leverage these various platforms to ensure that the market is fully aware and educated about our new product lines. 5. What are the go-to market strategies APC will introduce to educate the channel and end customers? Throughout Schneider Electric’s history we have worked with channel partners to develop the business. Our relationship with partners has brought us the market leaders position, and by leveraging our channel partner and rewards program, we are able to increase reseller engagement with our distribution channels. Additionally we are constantly
organising workshops and communications related to products updates, to keep our channel partners informed and aware. 6. Is there anything else you would like to highlight? Many businesses have robust protection and management strategies in the data centre,while network closets and distributed server rooms are often neglected. With the increased demand for 24/7 availability, Schneider Electric is providing solutions to maximise uptime and consolidate any internal IT infrastructure. APC by Schneider Electric offers a simplified solution for enterprise infrastructure needs by creating an IT environment which is manageable and adaptable using easy and repeatable remote management techniques. Schneider Electric will feature some of these smart IT innovations at our flagship event, Power to the Cloud.
7. Could you share more details about this year’s ‘Power to the Cloud’ event? Set to take place on the 4th and 5th of November at AtlantisThe Palm in Dubai, the third consecutive edition of Power to the Cloud is anticipated to draw more than 1,500 trade visitors from around the Middle East, Africa, South East Europe and Turkey. We will showcase the deployment of smart mobility, IT, infrastructure and energy solutions across key verticals at the conference and exhibition. This year’s theme will focus on ‘making smart cities a reality’. Among the central displays will be a large prefabricated modular datacentre. Additionally, we will spotlight smart buildings solutions, energy efficient home automation systems, smart public services such as security and mobility, smart grids and integrated cloud management platforms.
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PRODUCT WATCH
WD My Cloud EX2
WD is strengthening its network attached storage (NAS) product portfolio with the introduction of its new My Cloud EX2. WD offers NAS solutions that fall under two categories; consumer series and expert series and the My Cloud EX2 falls under the latter category, accompanying the previously launched My Cloud EX4. Devices that belong to the expert series are built from the ground up for prosumers and creative professionals who have a need to reliably store, manage and share their content. The My Cloud EX2 is a two-bay NAS that can be purchased unpopulated (without hard drives) or with 4TB, 6TB and 8TB of capacity. Purchased with drives, the EX2 relies on WD›s own NAS optimised Red drives, which are designed for 24/7 operation and feature NASware 3.0 technology, which improves drive reliability and ensures data is protected in the event of a power loss or disruption. The My Cloud EX2 - like the My Cloud EX4 - offers anytime, anywhere access via its personal cloud feature. The feature is enabled by default and using the My Cloud desktop or mobile
application which is available for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices, a user can easily upload new data to the My Cloud EX2 or access the data that is already stored on it. The My Cloud mobile app also boasts integration with popular cloud services such as DropBox, SkyDrive and Google Drive, which makes sharing digital content simple and intuitive. With two drives installed, the My Cloud EX2 provides high capacity and high reliability by running drives in either RAID 0 or RAID 1. The NAS also offers JBOD and spanning modes and capacity can further be expanded by simply attaching a USB hard drive to the NAS› USB3.0 port. The My Cloud EX2 can also serve data via built-in file sharing options; the system can function as a FTP server, a backup server or even a P2P download server. As with the My Cloud EX4, the My Cloud EX2 allows users to download and run third party applications such as Amule, Icecast, Joomla!, phpBB, phpMyAdmin, Transmission, SqueezeCenter and many more. WD My Cloud EX2, EX4 and Red drives are available from Logicom.
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Feature | FlexPod Express
Consolidation is key With FlexPod Express - a joint solution from Cisco and NetApp - small- and mediumbusinesses can simplify their environments and reap significant benefits.
Logicom is focusing on promoting and offering the FlexPod Express solution to partners who can benefit from quickly, simplifying their environments through virtualisation. The solution provides small and midsize customers with an affordable, easyto-deploy infrastructure solution from NetApp and Cisco to address IT consolidation.
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1. What is FlexPod Express? FlexPod Express is a joint solution from Cisco and NetApp that consolidates infrastructure and simplifies IT, while providing customers an easy and affordable implementation. Designed for midsize and branch office environments, this solution helps customers with limited IT staff to reduce complexity and gain efficiency. The solution enables businesses to start right with a lowcost, easy-to-deploy virtualisation solution, keep it simple with built-in
system efficiencies of Cisco UCS servers, Cisco Nexus switching, and NetApp FAS2200 series storage. FlexPod Express also offers protection on investments made as environments grow, providing easy infrastructure scaling to keep up with business demands while the cooperative support model from NetApp and Cisco accelerates problem resolution and reduces risk. The solution offers several tangible benefits key of which is reducing cost and complexity
by consolidating IT resources. Efficiency and system utilisation is also boosted as a result of virtualisation while the FlexPod Express also simplifies management and operational processes. By relying on the solution an organisation can effectively maximise application and storage efficiency. 2. What is the value for Logicom partners? Partners can grow their business and revenue, while differentiating
FlexPod Express for infrastructure consolidation figure 1.
Simplify the deployment of IT resources • Cisco UCS® C220 M3 servers • Cisco Nexus® 3048 switches • NetApp FAS2220 or FAS2240 storage Pretested by Cisco and NetApp with: • VMware vSphere® • Microsoft® Windows Server® 2012 Hyper-V® • Implementation guide to facilitate deployment • Cooperative support model
FlexPod Express for infrastructure consolidation figure 2.
To find out more about how this new infrastructure solution from NetApp and Cisco can help you acquire new and grow existing customers call the Logicom NetApp team.
themselves from the competition by selling the latest infrastructure solution designed for small to midsize customers. Partners can grow their business with a virtualisation solution partner that offers competitive pricing, attractive financing promotions, and high-impact lead-generation campaigns. The solution also enables partners to ‹keep it simple› as NetApp and Cisco make it easy to do business by providing prescriptive configurations, which are tested with the
leading virtualisation platforms in an effort to decrease selling time. FlexPod is a simple and affordable solution that allows Logicom partners to reach new customers with smaller workloads. 3. What is the target market for FlexPod Express? There is a very clearly defined target market for FlexPod Express - small or midsized businesses. FlexPod Express is designed to assist these businesses consolidate their IT infrastructure
to improve efficiency and reduce complexity, optimise applications through virtualisation, in a package that that’s easy to deploy, operate, and manage with limited resources. 4. Can you provide an overview of how the solution is deployed and how it functions? The FlexPod Express solution takes advantage of best-in-class components, including Cisco UCS C-Series servers, Cisco Nexus 3048 switches, and NetApp FAS entry-level storage. This
combination of solutions enables businesses to reduce the number of servers and the storage capacity needed for applications, gain operational efficiencies using virtualisation, which allows staff to manage more systems and storage in less time, and allows an organisation to standardise the IT environment to more easily predict budgets and support growth. See figure 1 and 2 for an overview of the infratructure. For a consultation on FlexPod Express, contact your Logicom Account Manager
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HP | FEATURE
Keeping it simple HP Enterprise Group offers a broad portfolio of products that are designed to simplify IT challenges and enable businesses to keep pace with constantly changing demands.
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ogicom is focusing on value added distribution based on HP Enterprise Group portfolio as a result of changing business needs that demand that customer data centres keep pace. Yesterday's data centers weren’t designed for today’s business needs - they were built in independent silos of storage, servers, and networking. This created IT sprawl that led to excessive tools and processes, slow service delivery, and resources that were locked in operations. HP Converged Infrastructure brings it all together. The result is a simplified, yet powerful data center that’s energy and space efficient, less expensive to operate, and aligns to meet the needs of the business - for any workload at any scale. Logicom can assist in simplifying customer data through the following HP Enterprise Group solutions: 1. HP Converged Infrastructure 2. HP CloudSystem 3. Virtualisation 4. Client Virtualisation 5. HP Software - Defined Storage 6. HP Software- Defined Networking See figure 1 to understand how HP ConvergedSystem is better.
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Figure 1. What is HP ConvergedSystem? HP's solution is designed to handle workloads with speed and efficiency by integrating storage, servers, and networking. In doing so these systems become easy to deploy and manage, which ultimately reduces costs and mitigates risks. The HP ConvergedSystem for virtualisation portfolio consists of multiple products: ConvergedSystem 300 VMware environments running 50 - 300 virtual machines looking for standard and reliable modular infrastructure blocks including rack-based servers and low-cost storage providing 2X
performance at 25 percent lower entry price point. ConvergedSystem 700 Companies requiring 100 - 1000+ VMs featuring blades-based systems and leading SAN technology. Configurations make it easy to expand VMware infrastructure; customisable components give seamless scalability and flexibility with an open on-ramp to the cloud. What is the HP CloudSystem? The system allows organisations to build and manage their cloud system with the industry’s most agile, open, and secure solution. HP CloudSystem lets you
automate end-to-end service lifecycle management for any cloud service, from infrastructure to application. As part of the HP Helion portfolio of hybrid cloud products and delivered as an HP ConvergedSystem, HP CloudSystem integrates all of the hardware, software, and services you need to realise a fully configured, enterprisegrade solution. HP CloudSystem software is built on a foundation of enterprise-grade OpenStack technologies, providing a common architecture across private, public, and hybrid clouds. You can be confident that you are using an industry-leading, vendorneutral, open cloud architecture.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
All about HP ConvergedSystem for Client Virtualisation HP’s flexible and scalable client virtualisation offerings can be right-sized for varying workloads, provide a better means to control and protect endpoint environments, and improve users’ productivity experience: VDI Solutions - Client Virtualization for Citrix XenDesktop Hosted Desktop Solutions - HP ConvergedSystem 100 for Hosted Desktops
HP Software-Defined Storage HP has been a player in Software-Defined Storage and the Software-Defined Data Center since inception and the only vendor capable of delivering on all elements of the software-defined data center compute, networking, storage and management - offering a complete SDS strategy and vision based on simplicity, efficiency, and openness that makes storage availability a top priority. The solution can be deployed for small to midsize businesses, service providers and enterprise
remote sites. Programmable network aligned to business applications delivers agility. The HP Software-defined Networking (SDN) provides an end-to-end solution to automate the network from data centre to campus and branch. Expanding the innovation of SDN, HP SDN ecosystem delivers resources to develop and create a market place for SDN applications. The HP SDN ecosystem delivers the following benefits: Simple - programmable network with open standards infrastructure
Agile - dynamically change how your network responds to business needs Automated - rapid deployment of applications Whether it’s the flexible delivery model or rich history of IT experience, only HP and Logicom have the products, services, and expertise to help meet the needs of regional businesses. Please contact the Logicom HP Enterprise Team for a consultation to find out how HP Converged infrastructure can work for your customers.
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PEOPLE
The People of Logicom Logicom Dubai is comprised of a multicultural group of professionals, and in this new feature Logicom will be introducing key members of staff - all of whom are instrumental to the company’s success in the region. The two team members featured on this page this month have both served Logicom tirelessly for more than 10 years. Name:
Anil Alby
Designation:
Public Relations Officer (PRO)
Job responsibility:
All PRO related work
You derive motivation from:
My team mates and the difficult situations I’ve experienced
Favorite time of day:
Morning- the busiest time at work
When not at work, you like to:
Play badminton, meet friends, and go to Church
Role model:
My father
Success is:
Through real hard work and commitment
Principle of life:
Honesty
How long have you been with Logicom? I have worked at Logicom for 10 years. Can you describe your role at Logicom? Being a PRO, I take care of all visa related matters for all the employees. I maintain good relationships with all members of staff, try to understand their problems both official and personal at times and suggest the best advice to move forward. I am also responsible for the company's renewal of the trade license and embassy attestations. I offer full support to visitors from our head office regardless of day or night to make sure they are served in the best way when they visit Dubai. What are some of your achievements here? Through Logicom I gained good experience in interacting with various clients, and government departments such as immigration, embassies, as well as different ministries. I’ve learnt the entire process for company activities, which has helped me gain a lot of knowledge and confidence to interact with people on different levels. Being a part of this large multi- cultural team, I have improved my socialising skills and have met the senior management team from Cyprus, as well as from different vendors through various events.
Name:
Sagy Jervin
Designation:
Executive Secretary
Job responsibility:
Administration and organisation
You derive motivation from:
Optimistic individuals
Favorite time of day:
Morning
When not at work, you like to:
Read, listen to music, travel
Role model:
My father and mother
Success is:
To do things that give you happiness
Principle of life:
Give the best you can and the best will come back to you
How long have you been with Logicom? I have been with the company for 12 years. Can you describe your role at Logicom? To provide secretarial and administrative support to senior executives of the company. This involves arranging meetings and travel arrangements, screening incoming calls, generating reports, arranging office stationary/pantry requirements and organising events. What are some of your achievements here? Working in Logicom has given me the opportunity to work and interact with individuals at different levels from different nationalities. My work profile has boosted my confidence and helped me to work on tight schedules and under pressure.
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