Reseller Middle East

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

ISSUE 191 // NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.RESELLERME.COM

Partnering for success Mindware forges alliances to cement its position

analysis

vendor focus

Reviews

Infor makes progress through a strategy focused on specialised solutions

Dell extends its reach further into the channel to attract more partners.

Huawei offers an affordable smartphone with Ascend G300

emerging relationships

n e w v e n d o rs s co ut i n g f o r pa rt n e rs

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data policies

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©2010 Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Check Point, the Check Point logo, and Check Point Endpoint Security Full Disk Encryption are trademarks or registered trademarks of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. or its affiliates.

CONTENTS ISSUE 191 // november 2012

Highlights 6

cover feature

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

ANALYSIS 24 Geared for the long haul

Targus, the prominent accessories brand, recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and is making some big waves in the channel with new partnerships and strategies to take the brand to new heights in the region.

26 Leaping ahead

Prestigio, the PC peripherals and accessories brand, has recently announced its entry into the burgeoning smartphone market following its successful operations in the tablet space.

Feature 38 Emerging relationships

We feature some of the new entrants into the regional market who are scouting for channel partners to grow their business

Events 48 Best in show

38

Leading figures from the technology world descended into Dubai World Trade Centre throughout the week of October 14 for what was dubbed the biggest ever GITEX Technology Week.

Vendor Focus 56 Defining new value

Dell is extending its reach further into the channel to attract more partners.

John Coulston , Director of Channel Programs and Operations at Dell Middle East, explains the partner strategy.

partnering for success Mindware is climbing up the distribution ladder with new partnerships

Hot products DELL XPS One 27

Sony ALPHA SLT-A99

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Dell recommends Windows® 7 Professional.

With Dell™ mobility solutions, every corner of the world becomes a secure extension of your office.

Being on the move doesn’t mean you have to be unproductive. With Dell mobility solutions, featuring a 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7 processor, your team can do business wherever they are, safe in the knowledge that our laptops stay as securely connected outside of the office as they do inside.

Solutions include: • The new XPS™ 14 Ultrabook™. Inspired by Intel – designed to bring you an experience that's premium in every way • The Vostro™ 3360 – cost-effective without compromising on high performance • The Latitude™ E6430s – a high-performance business-class 14" notebook weighing just 1.75kg

XPS 14 Ultrabook.

Inspired by Intel

Vostro 3360

Latitude E6430s

See how Dell’s mobility solutions can benefit your business at YourDellSolution.com/me/mobility

© 2012 Dell Products. Dell, the logo, XPS, Latitude and Vostro are registered or unregistered trademarks of Dell Inc. in the United States and other countries. Ultrabook, Celeron, Celeron Inside, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Atom, Intel Atom Inside, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo, Intel vPro, Itanium, Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, vPro Inside, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks or trade names may be used in this document to refer to third-party products (such as operating systems and software) included with the products offered by Dell and the entities claiming the marks and names of those products. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. Dell Corporation Ltd, Dell House, The Boulevard, Cain Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1LF.

EDITORIAL Publisher Dominic De Sousa Group COO Nadeem Hood Managing Director Richard Judd richard@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9126

Editorial

Cautiously optimistic

Group Editor Jeevan Thankappan jeevan@cpidubai.com +971 4 4409109

Advertising Commercial Director Rajashree R Kumar raj@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9131 Key Account Manager Merle Carrasco merle@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9134 Sales Manager Nasir Bazaz nasir@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9144 Circulation Database and Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9147 Production and Design Production Manager James P Tharian james@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9146 Design Director Ruth Sheehy ruth@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9132 Designer Analou Balbero analou@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9104

Digital www.rwme.net DIGITAL SERVICES Digital Services Manager Tristan Troy P Maagma Web Developers Erik Briones Jefferson de Joya Photographer and Social Media Co-ordinator Jay Colina online@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9100 Published by

Jeevan Thankappan Group Editor

Talk to us: E-mail: jeevan@cpidubai.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ ResellerME Twitter: @ResellerME

IT spending in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) will reach $1.154 trillion in 2013, a 1.4 percent increase from this year, thanks to the increasing popularity of mobile devices, says the market research company Gartner. That should bring some cheer to the regional channel industry, which has been battered and bruised during the very gloomy 2012.

The growth will in part come from enterprises spending more money on software for smartphones and tablets, which are the current “bright spot” of the IT industry, according to Gartner, which adds that with the increased functionality of smartphones, and the increasing popularity of tablets, much of the network traffic and corporate data is now being shifted to mobile devices.

The growing popularity of smartphones and tablets coupled with the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) trend offers unprecedented growth opportunities for the channel. The fact that more and more enterprise data is now being stored on these devices has increased the need for security and advanced mobile device management software. Mobility, cloud and other advanced computing technologies will be the focus in 2013, and this represents a bright opportunity for channel partners who are looking to deliver next-gen solutions.

Now, all the eyes are on the sluggish PC market. Will the launch of Window 8 give the much-needed shot in the arm for this segment of the market? Or will the burgeoning smartphone and tablet market continue to eat away at PC shipments? Though the idea that tablets will cannibalise the PC market sounds a bit far-fetched at the moment, what is for sure is that it has made a huge dent, going by the figures from the PC market for the last two quarters. After a relatively flat Q2, PC shipments in EMEA declined by 7.7 percent in Q3, according to IDC. Growth in the Middle East and Africa region was below the forecast at -1.9 percent as vendors concentrated on minimising inventory levels before the Win 8 launch, which combined with the increasing competition from tablets, hindered growth.

Though IDC predicts the launch of ultra slim notebooks and Windows 8 will revive traction in the consumer space, it advices the channel to remain cautious and not over-commit to avoid inventory built up during this quarter as other devices with several launches expected, particularly in the tablet space, will continue to compete for consumers’ attention and budgets. I think the channel should hedge its bets as there is a growing doubt about Windows 8 reviving the popularity of PCs. Maybe, the time is ripe to go mobile.

1013 Centre Road, New Castle County, Wilmington, Delaware, USA Branch Office PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409 Printed by Printwell Printing Press © Copyright 2012 CPI All rights reserved While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

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highlights News

Computerlinks pushes the value chain

Lee Reynolds, MD at Computerlinks, MEA and APAC The leading distributor Computerlinks is devising a strategy that may just reshape the dynamics of the Middle East channel market.

“In the Middle East in particular, Computerlinks is working towards bringing in smaller product lines that offer more value to our partners rather than bringing in larger vendors, with huge product lines and smaller margins. The reason we do this is simple because we want to give the smaller but more

focused partners an opportunity to make more margins, cater to more customers and ultimately be more profitable,” said Lee Reynolds, MD at Computerlinks, MEA and APAC. “In the region, there is a large gap between the big and massive partners and smaller to medium sized partners. Often at times, it is the smaller partners who really do a great job servicing our customers but are rarely given a chance to succeed because they are overshadowed by the larger players in the market. So we’re trying to change this scenario and it’s really going to be our goal over the next few quarters. We’re going to bring on partners like Exinda who have really been dormant for the last two and a half years but have now brought on new management and a new structure as well as some great technologies.

By doing this we want to help those small to medium sized resellers get some market share off the bigger players,” added Reynolds.

“I think the whole structure at Computerlinks in the Middle East is one that focuses on bringing the smaller partners into that arena of servicing the higher customers.

I really enjoy that, it makes me happy to do that,” he said.

Reynolds believes that the whole strategy of shifting focus away from the bigger players will benefit the entire channel community.

“If market concentration continues and only the big guys continue to dictate margins, we will all be out of job in the next five years. The balance has to be maintained. If we continue on this path where the same partners do the same business with the same vendors offering the same level of service, we’ll soon see no value in the value chain, there will be no value added distributors or resellers unless we begin to put some of the good technology with good margins into the channel,” he explained.

The company is now marketing campaigns to promote this strategy by introducing some technologies that are new and some that have been existing but have changed to offer better value to customers.

“We are trying to go back to market with some products simply because they have been addressing the wrong markets and the wrong customers. So we’re mapping out the right partners, revising our following quarters marketing spend and shelling out strategies for our product managers,” he said.

Itqan certified as Cisco gold partner The UAE based systems integrator ITQAN has achieved ‘Gold Certification’ status from Cisco. To earn Gold Certification, ITQAN had to meet rigorous standards for networking competency, service, support and customer satisfaction set forth by Cisco. This certification reinforces ITQAN’s continuing commitment to become the region’s leading IT solutions provider by serving the needs of the region’s business segment by leveraging the latest Cisco solutions and upgraded skill sets.

Being a ‘Gold Certified’ partner will allow ITQAN to

offer its wide range of expertise across three high growth market opportunities—borderless networks, collaboration and data centre virtualisation. Partners having reached this level of certification benefit from the highest level of certificationspecific rewards and recognitions, which includes an increased level of tech-support, productivity tools, online training, marketing resources and sales promotion.

“This is truly a landmark achievement for ITQAN. Having been awarded ‘Gold Certification’ reinforces our leading position as a systems

integrator and IT services provider who gives full attention to the qualification of its resources and ensures its knowledge on what technologies it uses is beyond the standard levels. We care on what partnership status strategically to drive business serving satisfied clients and go in line with our partner strategy and technological road map,” said Feras Al Jabi, ITQAN’s General Manager. “Being recognised by a leading global brand like Cisco is an inspiration to further our commitment of providing customers with excellent service.

Rest assured that we will remain steadfast in our promise to bring advanced and intelligent solutions that can help customers drive in more productivity and efficiencies in their businesses.”

“Aside from the two advanced specialisations in routing, switching and security, we are proud to confirm that we are certified in data centre architecture, borderless network architecture and collaboration architecture which are the three major architecture specialisation recently introduced by CISCO,” said Rajesh Panicker, IIS Practice Manager at ITQAN.

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highlights News

MTC seeks to cash in on demand for mobility

Mohamed Rizwan Noor, VP of MTC Memory Technology Middle East (MTC), the regional distributor for brands such as GenX and Xtreme, is working towards cashing in on the demand for handheld mobility devices such as smartphones

and tablets in the region.

The distie, which showcased its line-up of latest tablet PCs at GITEX, is targeting the low to mid cost segment of the Middle East market. The tablets running on the Android 4.0 platform come in a variety of screen sizes and offer users access to connectivity on-thego at competitive prices.

“We have been studying the market for quite some time now and have noticed a huge demand for mobility products and see GITEX as the right platform to throw the light on the innovations we bring to market. GenX offers consumers access to all the applications and necessary features that are packed into compact and extremely portable devices at half the price,” said Mohamed Rizwan Noor, VP of MTC. The company is now working on creating a Windows 8 based tablet device to tap into the demand for much awaited Microsoft OS. “The thing about a giant like Microsoft is the familiarity that comes with their technology; Windows is an infamous platform with a majority of users praising the platform for its ease of use. Windows 8 will take this usability to a whole

different level and we can already see a massive chunk of the market transitioning to devices built on this latest Microsoft platform. This is why our teams are also working on devising an option built on the latest Windows platform that will be offered to consumers at a competitive price,” he added.

In addition to the GenX range of tablets, MTC also showcased the latest GenX smartphones and digital video cameras at its stand at GITEX Technology Week. The company believes that high quality at lower costs is the secret behind its success as consumers want access to the latest technology platforms but don’t see the need to pay hefty prices for it.

MTC and GenX are also set to launch the ‘Android Box’, a device that when connected to an LCD TV allows users to convert these into fully functional Smart TVs. “Another mega trend emerging in the region is the demand for Smart TVs that bring users maximum connectivity to YouTube and other Internet entertainment that they can enjoy on a high quality screen that is much larger than the traditional connected devices such as notebooks or desktops,” Noor said.

Scope ME partners with NSFOCUS Scope Middle East, a specialty distributor and technology solutions provider in the Middle East, has signed a distributorship agreement with NSFOCUS, which provides enterpriselevel network security solutions. Scope ME, which is now authorised to distribute the entire range of enterprise security solutions from the vendor, has confirmed its focus on the Web Application Firewall (WAF) segment which it

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believes to be a high-growth market in the Middle East.

“There is no doubt that increasing connectivity and the consumerisation of IT are driving trends in the Middle East. As customers increasingly demand the delivery of online services, businesses are compelled to hasten deployment of their Web-based applications. At the same time, cybercrime has been particularly rampant in the region with a number of government and private

organisations reporting large scale attacks,” said Fadi AbuEkab, CEO of Scope.

He adds that while enterprises are aware of the need to protect their customer facing services, they are still restrained by factors such as lack of expertise and cost. “We believe that the NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall is the ideal solution for our customers. This product, combined with our technical capabilities, will offer customers the best protection

while still accommodating for flexible deployment and low operational overheads.”

SCOPE will also distribute NSFOCUS’s range of solutions for DDoS prevention and mitigation, Network Intrusion Prevention (NIP) and vulnerability management. As per the agreement, SCOPE ME is authorised to provide complete after sales support for all NSFOCUS products.

This is made available via email, telephone, fax and an online portal.

highlights News

Ingram completes Aptec buyout

Dr. Ali Baghdadi, VP and CEO of Aptec – an Ingram Micro Company Ingram Micro, one of the largest technology distributors globally, has successfully acquired the Dubai- based prominent value added distributor, Aptec Holdings. The new

entity will be listed under the name: Aptec – an Ingram Micro Company.

Through this acquisition, the global technology distributor has taken its first steps into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and will leverage Aptec’s strength in the value added services space in addition to its extensive channel relationships to further expand its footprint across the region.

“We are excited to make this announcement. This is our testament to the region, to bring leading solutions that are relevant to the needs of enterprises across the region. As always, we will continue to work closely with both our vendor and channel partners to effectively extend leading solutions and services across the 73 countries we will now serve as Aptec – an Ingram Micro Company, including the Middle East, Africa, Levant and the Mediterranean,” said Dr. Ali Baghdadi, VP and CEO of Aptec – an Ingram Micro Company.

Following the announcement, Dr. Baghdadi confirmed that he will lead the acquired operations reporting to Shailendra Gupta, Senior Executive VP and President, Ingram Micro Asia-Pacific.

“The acquisition of Aptec fits well with our strategic objectives to continue to build our higher margin specialty businesses while broadening our geographic reach to capitalise on higher growth markets,” said Alain Monié, President and CEO of Ingram Micro Inc. “The Middle East and Africa are robust and growing markets with total IT spending projected to reach $80 billion by 2015. Aptec has been highly effective in growing their business and enhancing profitability in these emerging markets and we believe this combination will further accelerate these on-going objectives.

Aptec has a long-tenured, accomplished leadership team and we look forward to joining forces with them.”

Comguard to distribute EnGenius

Ajay Singh Chauhan, CEO, Comguard Comguard has been appointed as the value added distributor

by EnGenius. Comguard will distribute the wide range of EnGenius wireless data and voice communication solutions across the GCC. Together EnGenius and Comguard can provide clients a complete product line for all wireless environments,

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from enterprise-class wireless communications systems which includes long-range cordless phones, network servers security products and wireless mesh networking for digital wireless network cities, to end-user wireless network products.

Ajay Singh Chauhan, CEO, Comguard, said, “Wireless is

the future of technology and we wish to play an important role in this segment. With our partnership with the leaders in wireless technology EnGenius, we intend to provide high quality products and services to our partners and end-customers in the region. In association with EnGenius, we plan to take several initiatives to lend continuous technical and marketing support to facilitate the growth of business for all our channel partners.”

Comguard plans to run a special awareness campaign to highlight the products and solutions from Comguard Wireless stable in order to build a strong loyal channel partner network across the region.

Comguard Wireless will also provide sale, pre-sales, technical training to its channel partners

on a regular basis to insure that its channel is abreast with new technologies and solutions, thereby enhancing their competitive edge in the market to explore new opportunities.

Hossam Bebwy, Regional Sales Manager at EnGenius Technologies, said, “We are glad to partner with Comguard, the leaders in value added distribution in the Middle East region. We are sure that Comguard years of experience, technical expertise, and region wide channel base will help us further enhance our market share in the region.”

Comguard Wireless is currently in the process of identifying and recruiting new partners across the GCC region, including UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

New wireless-AC duo delivers lightning speed HD streaming

Meet the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router and Universal Media Connector.

The latest innovation in wireless-AC technology

With a growing number of Wi-Fi devices in the home, the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi AC 1750 Router provides the bandwidth and fast speed needed to optimise your online experiences. Plus, with Linksys Smart Wi-Fi you get access to tool and apps that help you manage your network such as Parental Controls, Guest Access, and Media Prioritisation. Add to this the new Linksys Universal Connector, WUMC710 and you can connect wired devices such as Smart TVs and game consoles to your Wi-Fi network and stream HD or even 3D HD video content wirelessly, taking advantage of the incredible AC speeds. To learn more, please visit linkys.com

*Maximum Performance derived from IEEE Standard 802.11 specifications (draft specifications for 802.11ac). Actual performance can vary, including lower wireless network capacity, data throughput rate, range and coverage. Performance depends upon many factors, conditions and variables, including products used, interference and other adverse conditions. 802.11ac 1300 Mbps in the 5GHz Band is approximately 3 x faster than 802.11n 450 Mbps in the 2.4GHz Band. An 802.11ac adapter will be needed to achieve 11ac data rates and up to 1300 Mbps wireless speeds may be achieved when connecting to other 802.11ac 1300 Mbps devices. Š 2012 Cisco. All rights reserved. Cisco, the Cisco logo and Linksys are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. Mac and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document or website are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

highlights News

Aruba partners with FVC and Metra

Chris Kozup, Senior Director of Marketing, EMEA at Aruba Networks Aruba Networks announced that it has signed two value added distributors to aid the company in the expansion of its PartnerEdge channel programme for the Middle East region. Aruba Networks has inked distribution agreements with prominent value added distributors FVC and Metra Computer.

Aruba Networks expects these partnerships to further bolster the

company’s commitment to the region, a market it ventured into approximately eight years ago. Since then Aruba Networks has witnessed an average growth rate of approximately 50% yearon-year in the region, according to Chris Kozup, Senior Director of Marketing, EMEA at Aruba Networks.

“We have witnessed significant uptake of our product and solution portfolio in the region, particularly in the UAE, KSA and Egypt. We are now working on further enhancing our channel strategy to focus on dedicated segments of the market particularly the burgeoning SME and the enterprise security space,” he said.

According to Kozup, while the company has signed FVC for its extensive experience in the network security distribution arena, it has signed Metra Computers for its strength in the SME market.

These partnerships fall into Aruba Networks’ PartnerEdge channel programme, that the company is currently expanding in the Middle East to broaden vertical market engagement with the region’s enterprise customers. Through PartnerEdge, Aruba aims to ensure its customers receive the right consultancy and after-sales services to support its range of leading networking solutions.

Metra Computer and FVC join mobility solutions provider, Oxygen, as authorised value added distribution partners within the programme.

“Metra’s broad reseller network will help us reach out to the growing SME market in the region while the partnership with FVC boosts our existing security offering with their focus and expertise in the field of security. A key area within security is the ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) trend that we are witnessing across the region and we have recently launched a new product line to help enterprises cope with the risks associated with having multiple devices access their network,” he said.

Aruba Networks’ EMEA PartnerEdge Programme offers four levels of participation to value added distributors and resellers – Authorised, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Aruba Networks’ technologies available through the distributor partnerships include the flagship Mobile Virtual Enterprise (MOVE) architecture, along with ClearPass for device discovery, onboarding, management and policy enforcement, remote networking, AirWave for wired and wireless networks, and Air-Mesh for secure outdoor wireless networks at a fraction of the cost of wired infrastructure.

Blue Coat names new leads for EMEA marketing and channel Blue Coat Systems has announced the appointments of two senior sales and marketing executives who will help drive the company’s go-to-market strategy and execution across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Shirley O’Sullivan has been named Vice President of Marketing for EMEA, and Pat Dunne has been appointed Channel Director for the region.

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In her new role, O’Sullivan will be responsible for leading the company’s growth strategy in the Web security and WAN optimisation markets. She will work closely with the field and channel partners to drive alignment and execution of go-to-market strategy across the region and will report directly to Chief Marketing Officer Steve Daheb. Prior to joining Blue Coat, O’Sullivan was the Director ofField and Channel

marketing for EMEA at Riverbed Technology. Earlier, she held a variety of security product marketing and channel roles at Nortel Networks.

Dunne is an experienced sales and marketing professional with over 20 years of experience in direct touch and channel sales. As the channel director for EMEA, Dunne will drive the channel programme for the U.K. and EMEA. He will be focused on

ensuring tight engagement between Blue Coat sales and channel partners. Prior to joining Blue Coat, Dunne held sales positions with leading technology companies such as Websense, Sun Microsystems, Trend Micro and NetIQ. He has also worked at several successful start-ups, including Elron, FTP Software and Neoware. Dunne will report to Stuart Henderson, Vice President of Sales for EMEA.

Identity & Access Management Workshop Tuesday, November 13th, 2012, Burj Al Arab, Dubai.

Streamline Access, Gain Visibility and Reduce Risk Paramount in association with Courion and Imprivata invites you for a half day workshop focusing on Identity and Access Management and ESSO solution Who should attend: CIO, CISO, IT Manager, Network Manager, Head of IT Infrastructure, Security officer, Engineers etc.

Venue: Burj Al Arab, Dubai Date: 13th November, 2012 Time: 09.00AM to 1.00PM Free Valet Parking will be provided

Agenda 8.45am to 9.15AM :

Registration

9.15AM to 10.00AM:

Identity & Access Management – So far and way forward

By Premchand Kurup – CEO, Paramount

10.00AM to 10.45AM:

Building Next Generation Identity and Access Management capabilities using Courion

By Marc Lee - EMEA Sales Director, Courion

10.45AM to 11.00AM:

Coffee Break

11.00AM to 11.45AM:

Streamlining Identity Management with Imprivata OneSign

By Nick Miles -Technical Services Director- Imprivata

11.45AM to 12.15PM:

Courion IDM Solution Demonstration

By James Roamer - Technical Manager, Courion

12.15PM to 12.45PM:

Imprivata SSO Solution Demonstration

By Nick Miles -Technical Services Director- Imprivata

12.45PM :

Lunch

To register please send an email confirmation to : chetan.g@pcsuae.com, Mobile: 00971 529972959

paramount ssuring Value @

Paramount Computer Systems FZ LLC. Dubai: Tel:+9714 3918600, Abu Dhabi: Tel:+9712 6724288, Qatar: Tel: +974 4551641, Kuwait: Tel: + 965 2471409, Bahrain: Tel: +973 727177, Email: sales@pcsuae.com, www.paramountassure.com

highlights News

Shifra eyes growing network security market

Ahmad Elkhatib, Managing Partner, Shifra Shifra Middle East, a regional valued added distributor, is aiming for a lion’s share of increased spending on network security in

the Middle East, by enhancing its portfolio of security solutions.

Increased government investments on ICT will spur the growth or the network security sector in the Middle East, in addition to the consumerisation of the bring-your-owndevice (BYOD) phenomenon which has seen growing adoption in the region, the company said. According to Frost & Sullivan, the Middle East network security market is expected to experience a healthy growth rate of over 18% between 2012 and 2018, opening up huge opportunities for vendors to identify and tap.

“Public and private sector companies are enhancing their security infrastructure as IT gains more critical significance in their business operations and desired growth.

As IT applications within organisations grow in complexity and coverage, so does its security requirements. We expect deployment of integrated security solutions to have a massive growth in the next few years,” said Ahmad Elkhatib, Managing Partner, Shifra.

At GITEX 2012, Shifra announced its appointment as the MENA distributor of Centrify Corporation, a global provider of security and compliance solutions. Shifra also showcased security products and solutions from Gemalto, a provider of digital security and end-to-end security solutions including online authentication, digital IDs and secure e-banking, in addition to integrated network security solutions from Stonesoft, and governance and archiving solutions from Proofpoint.

Shifra also showcased next-generation security software solutions from OpenTrust, which are designed to help today’s enterprises meet complex security challenges and establish agile, end-to-end trusted IT infrastructures, and Bradford Networks’ Adaptive Network Security platform that fortifies networks and leverages features from existing infrastructure to dynamically enforce security policies across both wired and wireless networks.

Iomega signs Metra as VAD The storage specialist has signed Metra as a B2B value-added distributor for UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq and Yemen, with the aim of increasing its reach into SMBs, SMB resellers and value-added resellers.

“With our focus on the SMB channel, this comes as part of a wider reach strategy which Iomega is investing in for the ME region, with tremendous focus to be on the ground to support the SMB market as well as the SMB business-to-business distribution structure. With Metra, we are fulfilling another part of our B2B reach and expanding our support. Metra

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has been chosen because of its strength and reach to different channel segments, whether it is system integrators, resellers or corporate resellers. We are confident Metra will be an important addition to our existing distribution partners in the region, where there is room for all to grow,” said Cizar Abu Ghazaleh, Regional Director for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey at Iomega.

Mohamed Eissa, Executive VP of Metra Computer, added that storage needs of organisations are rapidly growing, with cost effective, retrievable storage offerings being a necessity of every IT manager. “Storage is

Cizar Abu Ghazaleh, Regional Director for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey at Iomega forming part of every RFP, no matter how big or small.

Metra is focusing big time on storage, both SAN and NAS with various solutions.

Iomega’s SMB NAS offerings complement perfectly with Metra’s focus on solution sales and the strength in the SMB markets in the ME region.”

highlights News

StorIT ties up with Emulex StorIT signed a strategic partnership agreement with Emulex during GITEX Technology Week 2012. The new partnership is expected to address the increasing demand for high performance kits in virtualisation installations.

Under the terms of the agreement, StorIT will distribute Emulex solutions across the Middle East region, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.

StorIT’s established channel base combined with their strategic initiatives can help Emulex in its move to expand its reach while at the same time reinforce its presence in the region. With the newly signed partnership, Emulex now joins StorIT’s leading portfolio of vendors, which includes EMC, Quantum, Mellanox, Moonwalk and QLogic.

“We are very excited with the potential opportunities that this new partnership presents for both StorIT and Emulex,” said Bobby Joseph, CEO, StorIT. “Signing this new alliance during GITEX 2012, one of the most awaited IT events in the region, demonstrates our continuous efforts to be at the forefront of the IT industry. This new partnership proves to be both timely and strategic as the Middle East has expressed a demand for experts that can assess and meet the growing demand for server, networks and storage device solutions.

In addition, the alliance will also give our channel partners the ability to offer high quality storage offerings and further enabling them to work on bigger projects--allowing

LifeSize hosts partner conference

Bobby Joseph, CEO, StorIT them also to address new market segments in the region.”

Emulex is expected to bring global channels, strong original equipment manufacturer (OEM) relationships and an industry leading hardware roadmap to its partnership with StorIT. The company has become widely known for its design, development and supply of fibre channel host bus adapters, 10Gb Ethernet network interface cards, Ethernet-based converged network adapters, controllers, embedded bridges and switches, integrated baseboard management controllers (iBMCs) and connectivity management solutions.

With a continual focus on its channel community, LifeSize, a division of Logitech, recently held its 2012 EMEA Partner Conference at Hotel Mina A’Salam in the Madinat Jumeirah Resort in Dubai.

The partner conference focused on the growth of the company’s UVC Platform and its myriad of virtualised video infrastructure applications. The audience were treated to meet and greets with top executives from the company in addition to presentations on it’s vision and strategy for the future as well as an overview of video conferencing market and customer trends.

“The annual EMEA partner conference is an event that I truly look forward to every year,” said Andreas Wienold, VP of EMEA for LifeSize. “The event serves as a platform for our partner community to interact, build stronger relationships and learn about LifeSize’s focus, vision and current product offerings. Because LifeSize sells directly through the channel, it is imperative that this event provides the utmost support to our partner community. With the number of returning partners who attend year after year, it is evident that our partners find great value in this conference.”

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highlights News

Despec expands portfolio Despec is on a growth wave having signed on a whole new range of vendors to expand its portfolio.

“At GITEX this year we have drawn the focus away from our core business, printers and storage, to throw the spotlight on a combination of new and old vendor partners whose products and solutions hold great potential for the market across the MEA and Levant region,” said Jaison Korath, CEO, Despec MERA. Despec has signed distribution agreements with vendors such as PNY, TDK Technologies, Trust, HP Flash, Targus, Xtreme Mac and Powerocks to make varied additions to its portfolio. “We aren’t just adding vendors on an ad-hoc basis but focusing on particular markets having studied the varied demands of consumers across the region. For instance, while our agreement with Xteme Mac and Targus covers the Africa and Levant region, the agreement with TDK Technologies

focuses on distribution in Africa,” said Korath.

He further added: “We are particularly focusing on adding product lines that are relevant to the emerging markets of Africa as we believe that growth will come from the continent. This is why we have now tripled our accessories portfolio and actively included Africa in our roadmap.”

According to COO Faisal Jamal, the 2012 edition of GITEX Technology Week was the best yet with more business generated on the event floor. “We have seen and met key prospects for the region, particularly customers from Central and West Africa. The decision to separate Shopper and Technology Week has clearly benefitted participants because it has drawn a clear divide between the consumer and enterprise side of technology. GITEX Technology Week 2012 has definitely been the most successful yet with a quality audience that is ready to talk business,” he said.

Jaison Korath, CEO, Despec MERA

Focus Softnet launches new services business

Ali Hyder, CEO, Focus Softnet Focus Softnet announced its business expansion plans at GITEX Technology Week 2012.

The company launched its new services division, where it will provide business process

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services and e-business services to customers in the Middle East region. In addition to its existing software offerings, Focus Softnet will now offer customers a vast and

more comprehensive portfolio of products and services.

Speaking on the launch, Ali Hyder, CEO, Focus Softnet said, “After nearly two decades of success and steady growth as a software solutions provider, our company is at an exciting new phase, where we are expanding our business horizons to now offer our customers business process services and e-business services. With the launch of our new services division, we will now be able to help our customers achieve their technological goals and in turn help them take their business to the next level.”

Focus Softnet’s business process services include business process mapping, automation and gap analysis, in addition to implementation consultancy services.

“Our business process services ensure a smooth transition from one technology to another, be it adding a new ERP altogether, upgrading the existing ERP, or adding modules and solving gaps in the existing implementation of technology,” explained Rohan Tejura, Vice President, Focus Softnet.

Focus Softnet e-business services range from establishing a basic and simple Web presence through a website, to deploying a complex B2B or B2C oriented e-commerce and mobile application solutions wherein one can actually sell, collect revenues, and manage logistics, reports, and a variety of other value added operations through Web-based mobile technology, which is seamlessly integrated with its ERP solutions.

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highlights News

GCT celebrates partnership with Genius –KYE Systems Genius Computer Technology (GCT) has completed 15 years of its successful distribution relationship with Genius- KYE Systems, representing the brand in the Middle East region.

At GITEX Technology Week 2012, the company showcased the latest line up of Genius GX professional gaming gear which included the speakers, keyboards, headsets, mice and mouse pros in addition to a host of other products for gaming aficionados in the region.

“Over the last 15 years, we have shared a mutual relationship with Genius catering to more than 35 partners from the Middle East, Africa and CIS countries. Our participation at GITEX Technology Week is an effort not just to showcase the latest line up of products for customers in the region but also a relationship building exercise. At GITEX not only did we meet our existing partners and customers but also leveraged the opportunity to meet and interact with prospective clients, understand

their requirements from us and their capabilities to help us build the brand further,” said Jihad Youssef, General Manager, GCT Middle East According to Youssef, the two companies have been especially successful in meeting partners who can represent the brand in untapped territories, bringing a host of attendees from around the region to the largest ICT exhibition of its kind.

The company also successfully participated at GITEX Shopper, through its retail partners in the region. Youssef said he believes that gamers in the region are fast maturing. “They know just what they want.

They are not fooled by competitive prices but focus on quality. Gamers need reliability and that is why Genius GX gaming accessories are their preferred choice. Not only do all the products come with a two year warranty, they also come with a zero to 0.5% failure rate. Gamers want something new, something reliable and Genius gives them just that. With

Jihad Youssef, General Manager, GCT Middle East a steady string of innovations and constant support from partners around the world the company has enjoyed significant growth both in the region and around the globe with over 40 million products sold worldwide,” he added.

Brocade to accelerate channel time to revenue As Brocade partners evolve their business models in response to customer demand for virtualisation, cloud, data centre consolidation and professional services, the Brocade Alliance Partner Network (APN)has adapted to provide an easyto-navigate programme to accelerate time to revenue.

The new resources include an online partner portal to centralise management of all resources and assets, an online configuration tool, online pre-sales training and new marketing and sales asset development resources.

Brocade has streamlined the point-of-sale processes, and will be increasing rebate caps and incentives on IP

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networking sales focused on driving new customer growth.

Brocade is making enhanced configuration tools available to partners, in addition to the total cost of ownership (TCO) calculators, the Brocade BMI Configurator and inclusion in the Netformx Design Expert tool. The online product configurator tool will provide easy-to-use configurations to provide initial comparisons and compatibility reviews. The tool is designed to facilitate early discussions with customers and accelerate the sales process.

Brocade is launching APN Central, a portal that provides partners with a single online location for all deal information

and programme updates, along with access to all marketing, sales and pre-sales tools.

APN Central helps partners easily manage their marketing development funds (MDF), deal registration, lead management, education and configuration needs. These new capabilities also allow partners to view business plans, check programme compliance and provide direct access to the new and improved sales and marketing tools to more effectively drive growth and target revenue opportunities.

As part of Brocade Grid, three new online resources will now be available to support partners in their efforts to drive sales and build their own

brand. The marketing hub, Brocade pre-sales training and the sales kit provide readyto-use assets for demand generation, information blasts, product information, sales and training, and seminars-in-a-box that can be co-branded and personalised. Brocade is also providing enablement funding to new Elite and Premier level partners, and has developed “kick-start” campaigns that can be quickly and easily tailored.

By utilising these self-service marketing solutions, partners can access advertising, marketing programmes and assets to easily extend their reach and attract both net-new and current customers to accelerate revenue growth.

highlights News

GME Distribution boosts portfolio lineup In a bid to transition away from the distribution of run-of-the-mill memory and storage products to venture into the more quick moving accessories and peripherals line, Goodram Middle East (GME Distributions) has signed up new vendor partners.

The distributor has recently signed distribution rights for Photo Fast, Kogeto, Midland and Booq. “With Photo Fast we are the first distributor in the region ready with a product for the iPhone 5 that consumers and retailers in the region are hugely excited about. Kogeto is a camera lens for the Apple device that offers a 360 degree panoramic view and consumers can use the Kogeto app to upload these pictures and videos directly to Facebook and Twitter. Midland cameras are another significant addition to our portfolio, a range of cameras for users who enjoy extreme sports and adventure. This rugged line of cameras is made for action packed adventure and packed into rugged bodies. Finally, we are introducing Booq, a brand of laptop and Golden Board AD(190x115mm)Q.pdf 1 2012/9/18 tablet cases for Apple devices. Each of these

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additions represents a brand fairly new to the region but one that holds high potential with customers and therefore retail partners,” said Houmayem Zid, Sales and Purchasing Manager at GME Distribution.

Zid adds that because these brands are just being introduced, GME Distribution is on the lookout for the right breed of partners to help promote and grow business for each of these vendor partners. “We believe these products hold significant opportunity for partners in the region. Because we are one of the first to bring these products to the region, we don’t see much competition in this space.

Photo Fast, Kogeto and Booq are specifically targeted at Apple users that represent a huge portion of the region’s consumer market while Kogeto caters to the need for cameras that are not delicate and can be used in the most rugged of environments,” she added.

At GITEX Shopper this year, the company partnered with iStyle and Sharaf DG in addition Virgin Megastores. “GITEX is a platform that attracts new business opportunities and brings 下午3:05 competitors and potential business partners

Houmayem Zid, Sales and Purchasing Manager at GME Distribution together. This is why we are here to reassure partners that we are constantly bringing new innovations to the region to help them grow their own margins and business. We have recently made new additions to the team, with the appointments of a dedicated Marketing Manager and Retail Manager and have also introduced a brand new company websitewww.gme.ae ,” Zid said.

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ANALYSIS Targus

Geared for the long haul Targus, the prominent accessories brand, recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and is making some big waves in the channel with new partnerships and strategies to take the brand to new heights in the region.

“Targus has been in the region for the last 10 years and has historically been more focused on the retail side of the business in this part of the market. Worldwide we’re actually as strong in the B2B and reseller market as we are in the retail space, so we decided to make some big investments focused on establishing key channel relationships to ultimately drive the business in the region. This is an obvious next step for us, considering that the last year was a record year for Targus globally and the team here has contributed significantly to that. In a bid to replicate our success worldwide, we are now making even bigger investments in the region by attracting and recruiting the right people, establishing the right infrastructure on the ground and developing key reseller partnerships to cover our key growth markets,” says John Savage, MD, Targus EMEA. The company has invested in a team of four people, based in Dubai who will focus on driving Targus’ revenues and footprint in the Middle East and East Africa. “We believe the most important thing is good talent and that’s where we’ve started. We’ve also made investments in CRM tools and started using Salesforce.com, the intention being to build a strong database of customers so we can start communicating in a marketing sense as well as the sales sense. So the idea is to start the email campaigning and eventually introduce the partner advantage programmes that we have in the rest of the world in the region as well,” adds Savage.

On the channel side, Targus has invested in a dedicated person who will focus on identifying the right reseller partners and establish the right level of engagement with these partners. “The idea is to get

John Savage, MD, Targus EMEA

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the channel base set and work with these partners for three months before we launch a reseller loyalty programme in January 2013.

The programme will start off in the UAE and we will then pan this across the rest of the region,” says Riyaz Abdulla, Regional Sales Director, Targus MEA Abdulla adds that the company has already established key distribution partnerships as part of its first steps last year. “Having signed distribution agreements with regional distributors such as Al Falak, Redington Gulf and ITE Distribution, we are now focusing on the tier two resellers to set up an in-country presence. So we’re signing partners who have in country infrastructure, local stocking and local people. In the process we won’t just select any partner but focus on working with a few crucial partners because we don’t want to spread too thin at the risk of losing focus,” he explains.

Abdulla says that right partners are those that share a synergy with Targus. “First and foremost we’d like to establish a synergy between what the partner would like to do and what we want to achieve in order to establish a mutually beneficial relationship that represents a win-win situation for everybody involved,” he says.

Savage says that the company’s goal is to be the best at driving attach rate for customers. “It’s not about selling the products but about helping our customers drive their business. While we focus on driving, we will also end up selling more products. The key is that we are trying to consult with our customers and understand what their

Riyaz Abdulla, Regional Sales Director, Targus MEA business is about so we can jointly sell more products,” he explains.

Savage adds that the company is currently making the most of the rapid growth of the tablet market and has invested heavily in creating an innovative and aethestic portfolio of cases and accessories to complement the latest tablets in the market. This strategy, Savage believes has been hugely beneficial to Targus, having

“Having signed distribution agreements with regional distributors such as Al Falak, Redington Gulf and ITE Distribution, we are now focusing on the tier two resellers to set up an in-country presence. So we’re signing partners who have in country infrastructure, local stocking and local people. In the process we won’t just select any partner but focus on working with a few crucial partners because we don’t want to spread too thin at the risk of losing focus.”

reported significant growth in the last year alone. “We are now looking to replicate this success across the growing smartphone and Ultrabook market. We have already launched products for both devices and you can expect to see a steady stream of innovation from Targus on both fronts,” he adds.

“We expect the tablet and smartphone market to continue growing extensively and you’ll see more products from Targus on both fronts. We want our partners to understand that we’re investing heavily to help them tap into market trends. We’re always looking to improve our product range and we’ll bring the same thoughts to any new lines we introduce. We are now on the lookout for new partners to extend our smartphone product line and we won’t forget laptops either; because we believe these represent a big chunk of business. We see there are many opportunities to trade up and make more margins and that comes down to the kind of people we put down on the ground who position the right products and solutions together to sell more and drive the attach,” concludes Savage. //

november 2012

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Analysis Prestigio

Leaping ahead Prestigio, the PC peripherals and accessories brand, has recently announced its entry into the burgeoning smartphone market following its successful operations in the tablet space.

Yuri Antoshkin, COO, Prestigio According to Yuri Antoshkin, COO, Prestigio aims to sell 500,000 tablets before the end of 2012 and has already sold 400,000 tablets worldwide. Antoshkin says that the company’s innovations are witnessing maximum adoption across the markets of East Europe and the Middle East. “We believe that customers around the world are now aware of all the choices they have across one product category, they understand the delicate balance between price and quality and are looking for devices that offer them that perfect balance. This balance is what Prestigio has got right,” he says.

Antoshkin believes that the company stands ‘smack’ in the middle of the tablet market, in between the high end tablets like

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those manufactured by Apple and Samsung and the low end tablet manufacturers like Simmtronics or Touchmate. “We have a dedicated team that studies the market and takes note of those trends that seem to be taking centre stage. With our own software development team that develops secure applications internally, we provide consumers with products that aren’t just economical but a whole lot safer than the usual low end brands,” Antoshkin adds.

He says that Presitigio’s development team is careful to update features and applications on their devices every two months having understood the demand for constant connectivity and change. Prestigio tablets come with pre installed e-books, gaming from Gameworld and the full suite of

Office Pro applications along with a host of many others.

“In a market as competitive as the consumer IT market, there are three determinants to success. The first is the design, the second is the usability and the third is price. If you bring each of these three elements together and constantly refresh the suite of applications that consumers can access from their device, you’ve given them the perfect device and this is what we at Prestigio aim to do,” he says.

After enjoying its success in the tablet space, Presitigio is now ready to take bold new steps into the smartphone market.

“We believe our experience in the tablet space has given us the necessary experience, strategy and drive to face the hefty competition in the smartphone market. We have taken our time to study the various trends in the smartphone market and launched the ‘MultiPhone’ with a 3.5 inch display, 1 Ghz CPU and dual SIM capabilities. This range of smartphones runs on Android platforms and comes with a string of interactive features and applications all packed into a lightweight and aesthetically designed unit. As was the case with our tablet line up, the ‘MultiPhone’ is a range of four smartphones each varying based on screen size, operating systems and camera capabilities.

With this we got our customers to choose the device that suits their unique needs,” he states.

Antoshkin feels that Presitigio is yet in its infancy and its latest smartphones will help boost the business further. “Presitigio has garnered enough goodwill and loyalty amongst its tablet customers who in a natural form of transition will also buy the smartphones that are essentially an extension of the brand. This is what we have been working towards, developing their trust so they may trust the brand to meet their connectivity needs,” says Antoshkin.

With resources such as a dedicated engineering team, Arabising smartphone content and a strong distribution partner in Asbis Middle East, who is leveraging its strong reseller network to extend these latest products to consumers across the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, Presitigio is now ready to witness the next phase of growth. //

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analysis Infor

Blueprint for growth History will tell you that Infor road show events usually follow a particular trend - the company announces a major change in strategy each year and that its employees and partners can expect progression within the 12 months that follow. You can then imagine the relief and joy when CEO Charles Phillips, took to the stage in Paris this month and declared that Infor had great news to share – progression through strategy.

Phillips is closing in on his second year as CEO at Infor, following the switch from competitors Oracle in 2010. Phillips brought with him a close and trusted team and together they set about constructing a full and future proof strategy for growth. Although the first 12 months were relatively quiet, things kicked into gear during the second term and Infor is showing an incredible rate of growth and progression in global markets.

“We’re making aggressive investments and showing solid growth,” says Phillips. “This is reflective in our product line, and we are showing good signs for the next few years.”

Infor has recently recorded yearly revenue of $2.8 bn, 2300 new customers, 140 new key partners, now making up a partner base of 1500, and 1700 new employees, equating to a staff base of 13,000, making them the third largest business applications company worldwide.

Phillips believes that the major differentiator that separates Infor from its competitors is the fact that it doesn’t have any across-the-board solution, but instead focuses on specialising individual network solutions for each vertical.

“We have a far broader product portfolio than people realise, we want them to see the breadth of that,” he says. “Our footprint is complete. We’re covered in so many sectors such as finance, hospitality, HR, asset management, etc, and we have specialised solutions and product portfolios for each of them.”

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Phillips says that following a long period of consolidation, which all businesses went through, including Oracle during his time there, Infor has now made the decision to move into a more product focused area.

“Becoming more focused on innovation of products and applications was the crucial next step for us. We’ve been doing that for the last two years. We came in and immediately hired about 600 new engineers and this year added 400 more, so in a short time we added about 1000 developers, becoming one of the world’s largest developer companies in the world, dedicated to business applications.”

websites go down, the whole Internet doesn’t go down. We’ve done the same thing now, our applications publish XML – it’s a unique architecture but it’s highly appropriate for business applications.”

Phillips describes this era as the Internet era. This follows on from two previous eras which he described as the point era, starting around 1980, which used best of breed applications and relied on businesses being fully responsible for integration of applications.

Following this came the monolithic era around 1995, which brought the addition of components and replacing suite components.

Now he believes we are in the Internet era.

“We have a far broader product portfolio than people realise, we want them to see the breadth of that.”

Mike Hibbert, Channel Manager, MENA, Infor The result of all this, Phillips says, is the next generation integration platform which it has produced. Infor, being a fairly new company, had the advantage of being able to adopt new technologies more easily and adjust to market shifts which would be a much longer process for companies such as Oracle and SAP. “We have an Internet based integration platform which is exponentially simpler than traditional middleware and for our purposes we think that’s better. This system will require far fewer checks, which is obviously a good thing because all application integrations are complicated, so simplifying that is a positive move. The major problem for application integration is that when you change one thing, 500 other things break, but we’ve solved that now,” he says.

According to Phillips, the benefits of ION, the integration platform, are that upgrades and changes to singular applications don’t affect other applications and reports. As the infrastructure is no longer embedded in the application, it means faster integration and simplified middleware, resulting in a more simple way to innovate products.

“The way you solve this problem is by being loosely coupled. It’s the same way the Internet works, it’s all HTML based, XML based, and it is loose linking. So when three

The innovation and progress will benefit the Middle East as well, according to Mike Hibbert, Channel Manager, MENA, Infor.

Hibbert claims that he has been pushing for Infor to invest more heavily in this region and that time has finally come. “We have some key partners in this region, it’s fast emerging, it’s adoptive and it’s willing to invest - that’s huge for us.

“We don’t have many people on the ground here, and that’s what we’ve decided to change. The major problem with this region, in relation to not having local support for our partners, is the work days. If a partner has a problem which they’re unable to solve and it’s a Saturday, for example, we wouldn’t be available to help them until Monday at the earliest. That’s a third into the working week,” he adds.

Hibbert says that Infor has big plans for the region and that evidence of that can be seen now. Major renovations are currently being made to the Dubai based office to accommodate the new work force which will move in soon and be solely dedicated to assisting the regional partners here.

“Infor has had a fantastic couple of years, and the Middle East has played a major part in that. It’s about time we put more people on the ground here and supported them to show our dedication to the region,” he concluded. //

Charles Phillips, CEO, Infor

november 2012

Reseller Middle East

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analysis Canyon

A fashionable move When PC Peripherals company, Canyon, launched its limited edition range of products, Chrome, last month at the Canyon Xperience in Amsterdam, it officially cemented its place in the fashion market.

It probably feels like a very long time since Canyon were seen as a peripherals company, and the dramatic shift into IT fashion will have come as no surprise to competitors who also see that move as a critical decision in the attempt to survive the changing landscape of IT trends.

Founded in 2003, Canyon has quickly announced itself as one of the leading companies of its sector with potential of growth despite the complexities of its shifting market. Canyon claims the brand is focused solely towards the younger generation and emerging markets, a declaration it has supported by opening regional offices in upcoming areas around the globe, including Dubai.

Speaking at the Canyon Xperience, Geert Van Dijk, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, claimed that due to the advent of mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, PC peripherals are losing their demand because they lack the need for accessories.

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“Peripherals aren’t growing. Desktops are going down, tablets are rising and all of our competitors are struggling to find a way out,” he said.

“Some of them just lower their prices and hope for the best. However, Canyon’s plan is to devise focus groups and identify where we can be successful. It’s a risk because you may miss some specific target groups but I believe it’s the only way out.”

Canyon believes that low cost tablets will rule the market by 2016 with a 60% market share, with 686 million being shipped this year alone.

“This is why companies must shift to accessories; headphones, tablet cases, pointers, etc, in order to survive the changing industry,” Van Dijk added.

Canyon focuses on emerging markets, such as Middle East and Africa where its new range of designs have been well received.

“We are strong in the emerging markets.

Our Stripe range, Graffiti range and Rising Sun range have all done very well in the

Middle East. It’s a fast growing market with a huge demand on latest trends and styles,” Van Dijk explained.

“All the retailers we work with in the Middle East seem to take on our limited edition ranges. Other markets aren’t so receptive of limited edition ranges but the Middle East always takes to them very quickly, it’s a fantastic market for us,” he added.

Van Dijk stated that the Middle East is an important area for Canyon on the basis that the economy is healthy and the willingness to invest and purchase is higher here than in other parts of the world.

It’s a bold move by the company to attempt to reinvent itself, but a move which has been well received in a region where innovation, reinvention and courageous business ventures are common practice.

“We’re a middle sized brand. We hope to become a very successful fashion brand, certainly within this region. The future of our business may lie in reinventing ourselves into a different sector and the Middle East is one of those regions which may be pivotal in that transition.”

Canyon is keen to continue to work with its customers in the Middle East, claiming that the market is open to new ideas. Canyon prides itself on being the alternative to black and grey products at the cheapest prices. Van Dijk explained that this would be a very safe strategy for Canyon but the company wants to be recognised as a risk taking, unique alternative in comparison to the norm.

“Huge companies like Samsung should be ashamed, they just supply all these products in very basic forms, such as black and grey. They need to turn up with something unique and different. The reason they do it is safety, but safety isn’t always going to give you the best results Of course if you’re the cheapest today, tomorrow someone else will be, then you’re just stuck in a pool with everyone else,” Van Dijk says. //

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FEATURE Mindware

Partnering for success 2012 is already turning out to be a hugely exciting year for the regional distributor Mindware, which has leveraged its heritage as part of the Midis Group to further its standing in the Middle East channel landscape.

The last few months have seen the company sign exciting new deals with vendors such as Emerson Network Power, Motorola Solutions and Huawei Enterprise.

Raking in revenues to the tune of $203 million in 2011, the distributor prides itself on relationships spanning in excess of 20 years with vendors such as Intel and Microsoft and continues to extensively build and enhance its 2500-strong reseller base spanning the entire Middle East, Levant and North Africa region.

With branches in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, and Lebanon in addition to

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a soon-to- be- launched office in Qatar, the company is working hard and smart towards offering both enterprises and SMBs in the Middle East the best-in-class portfolio.

Over the last few years, the company has consciously invested in expanding its product and solution portfolio in order to supplement diminishing margins from the components business. “While the components business is an area that will continue to stay, it represents a business that has gradually and naturally reduced over the last few years. Not ones to make excuses, we then decided to revise our strategies to supplement this change in market dynamics to invest in a broader

portfolio beyond the components side into the software and networking side of things.

For instance, we decided to invest in Dell’s commercial line and have benefitted with 25% increase in commercial business over the course of the last year,” says Mindware GM, Mario Gay. Mindware is divided into three key business units -. hardware and components, software and networking. According to Gay, the company tries to maintain independent operations across each of these units with a dedicated business unit manager and product manager. “We try to ensure each line of business carries the best in class

Mario Gay, GM, Mindware

november 2012

Reseller Middle East

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FEATURE Mindware

products and solutions and then rationalise our portfolio to ensure products complement one another. In a certain sense, we build a ‘Chinese’ wall between one line and the other to ensure there are no conflicts or competition within our own portfolio and even when we do seem to carry competitive lines, we ensure they cater to different niches which ultimately kills the sense of competition,” he adds.

He says that the distributor follows a focused strategy where it studies the needs of the market and then makes additions to its portfolio by cherry picking from the best in the industry and follows the same approach when choosing its resellers. “We follow the same criteria for resellers as we do for our vendor partners, we choose the ones we believe share our values and philosophy with focus on greater growth as opposed to one-time profits. We ensure they meet the basic pre-requisites in terms of credit and reference checks and categorise them based on vertical or technical specialisation leaving them to make the decision on which one of our vendor portfolios they would like to carry within their own. We then support them with education, training and technical support,” Gay explains.

Burgeoning relationships Gay believes that the region has witnessed a business cycle of sorts wherein a few years ago IT investments were dominated by the larger enterprises. These large scale organisations then took a backseat to the region’s growing SMB sector in terms of IT spending. Today, Gay says, although the SMBs continue to spearhead investments in innovative solutions portfolio, the large enterprises are once again making their comeback.

Gay adds that this influx of investment from the SMB segment may also be due to a significant increase in offerings for this portion of the market. “While the large enterprises and SMBs share requirements from IT, there was previously a lack of offerings for the SMBs that combined competitive prices with enterprise class quality,” he says.

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The company has recently signed a string of partnerships to complement its existing set of vendors such as Microsoft, Intel, Symantec, Citrix and Dell to cash in on these changing IT investments.

“We want to support the most innovative companies that serve a unique enterprise need while bringing with them extensive after-sales services and support to benefit both customers and partners. This is why we partner with vendors who don’t just create

this distribution agreement, Mindware will distribute Emerson Network Power’s single phase uninterruptible power systems (UPS), power distribution units (PDUs), racks and accessories across the Middle East region.

Not only does the deal indicate a significant addition to the distibutor’s portfolio but is also testament of the company’s commitment to expand its solution portfolio to go beyond the traditional hardware and components business.

In a certain sense, we build a ‘Chinese’ wall between one line and the other to ensure there are no conflicts or competition within our own portfolio and even when we do seem to carry competitive lines, we ensure they cater to different niches which ultimately kills the sense of competition.” innovative products but whose products complement our existing portfolio so we may create solutions bundles appropriate to the wider region, which in turns keeps our partners and our own business profitable,” Gay states.

Keeping this strategy in mind, Mindware has recently signed strategic distribution agreements with Motorola Solutions, Huawei Enterprise and Emerson Network Power.

While the partnership with Motorola Solutions will see the company offer Motorola’s wireless network products, applications and services to provide real-time information and transform business operations for SME’s, large enterprise and government in MENA region, the deal with Huawei Enterprise will see Mindware act as a value added distributor where it will provide the company’s customers with logistics and financial support in addition to post-sales technical support.

However, its partnership with Emerson Network Power is perhaps the highlight of its year considering the fact that the Midis Group has shared a successful relationship with vendor for over three years now. Under

Most importantly, Mindware will play a critical role in helping Emerson Network Power expand its operations in the region and drive the adoption of its portfolio within the Middle East’s growing SME market.

To support the distributor in this task, Emerson Network Power is also making significant investments to boost its footprint in the region. “We are heavily investing in the region as it represents a vast growth opportunity. For instance, we have recently opened offices in Morocco in North Africa in addition to two more registered companies in Saudi Arabia to complement the work of the three already in existence. We also plan to engage in local manufacturing in Saudi Arabia. Emerson Network Power has offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and will soon start work on two additional buildings, warehousing and manufacturing facilities in Jebel Ali freezone as part of expansion.

We also have active entities in Basra,Iraq as well as a Qatar,” says Pierre Havenga, MD, Emerson Network Power, MEA. “We decided to engage in a marriage with Mindware because we don’t just see it

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FEATURE Mindware

as distributor but a critical partner. Although it was a very detailed process, it was an easy decision to make because not only is Mindware part of the Midis Group, it also shares the same value system as Emerson.

We both believe in doing ethical business and focus on availability and reliability as core competencies. Both Mindware and Emerson strive for growth and ensure we supply the proper solutions to the customer.

And if that wasn’t enough, this agreement gives us access to Mindware’s wide network of resellers who can help us provide the right levels of after sales service and support to customers across the region. We don’t just sell products and solutions, we want to make sure it is maintained and working according

operate in. What we launched with Mindware is not just a product; we provide a close partnership and an effective solution to the customers. Mindware’s got the vast amount of value that they bring to the partnership and we will deliver these solutions as a joint partnership. We don’t believe in signing on a whole basket of partners in the region because we believe that creates confusion.

Instead we narrow the choices down; select the significant few and we build the business together. We want to grow Mindware because if their business is growing, we grow. On our end we will provide them the best technology available, product availability and logistical management and that’s how we are going to go forward,” says Havenga.

We don’t believe in signing on a whole basket of partners in the region because we believe that creates confusion. Instead we narrow the choices down; select the significant few and we build the business together. to expectations on a continuous basis,” he explains.

According to Gay, this opportunity is open to all of Mindware’s channel partners and the only criterion for selection is the drive for success. “We are going into this partnership with a broad strategy that opens the opportunity to all our resellers. The aim is to reach out to as many customers armed with Emerson’s leading product portfolio bundled into the right solution offerings at the right prices that we will further complement with after sales support and services. The only way to go is further up,” Gay says.

With this goal in mind the company is now in the process of recruiting channel partners, educating them on the varied product portfolio, helping them price and position the products in addition to familiarising them with the technical details of the portfolio.

“We strive to be number one on all our business platforms across all the countries we

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Channel first What stands out about the distributor is that in the wake of all this change, it hasn’t compromised on its ability to upskill its channel partners, opening it to new opportunities and helping them to be profitable.

An essential part of the company’s channel strategy is its incentive programmes.

“Channel incentive programmes are extremely important for our business to drive sales. Not only do these programmess help in capturing market share but they also help promote greater loyalty with our partners who then collaborate with us on building a strong customer database, enable us to launch new products, enhance margins, reduce cost of sales, increase product adoption and even help us attract more partners to help us expand our geographical reach. These incentive strategies promote cross selling opportunities and ultimately help us strengthen our relationship with

partners in order to maintain a strong sales cycle,” says Gay. Over the last year, the company has revised its channel strategies to go beyond the traditional ‘monetary’ gains to offer incentives that help partners cover operational costs or at other times re invest in the business.

For instance, the ‘Mindware Fulfillment Incentive Programme’ was launched in July this year to further encourage its channel.

The programme was structured with the intention to reward the participating channel partners and involves a partnership with Majid Al Futtaim for the incentive payout via a Visa pre paid card that is valid for the duration of three years from date of issue and is conveniently redeemable at all operating merchants accepting Visa worldwide.

“We have already paid out incentives with the newly introduced programme for promotions related to Intel, Microsoft, Dell and Symantec, proving its success.

Participating in the scheme is as easy as registering for it and keeping an eye for all the promotions communicated to them by our sales team. The aim we hope to achieve from this programme is that it will improve performance while retaining our channel partners and will motivate our sales team which in turn only helps the success of our business,” he says.

The company echoes this focus on the channel even when working out its vendor portfolio. “We are careful to partner with those vendors who we believe share the same value system as Mindware, they believe in the need to support and grow the channel and most importantly help us devise strategies and programmes to keep our partners satisfied and competitive. We are careful to provide our partners with extensive in-country technical support and stock availability to ensure they are on top of their game. In addition, we invest heavily in training and education, not only when signing new partnerships but throughout the relationship lifecycle to ensure they are constantly updated and geared to go,” Gay adds. //

Our standard product line ranges from 12” to 55” and is available in the most popular and proven technologies in today’s markets. And if you have special requirements, our “custom solutions” team is at your command.

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FEATURE

Emerging relationships Developing countries in the Middle East offer a vast business opportunity for technology vendors. The number of IT vendors setting foot on the Middle Eastern shores is rising faster than ever, and those who can bring right products into this regional market can tap these fast-growing markets. Many of these vendors are relying on partners to acquire customers and expand the sales coverage across the region. We feature some of the new entrants who are scouting for channel partners to grow their business.

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Pantum www.pantum.com

Robert Liang, Sales Director, MENA Region Pantum is a newly created printer brand that serves the market with reliable and affordable printing solution and services. This Chinese brand provides printing solutions to consumers, home offices as well as businesses and governments with a full range

of laser printers from single function laser printers to Multi-function printers (MFPs) and colour printers.

Pantum is in the process of setting up operations in Dubai as a long-term commitment to its partners and customers in the region. “We have seen almost no new brand entering the market over the past 20 years in the industry. Pantum is aiming at bringing new innovation, new technology and new value into the market. The MEA market is one of the most important markets for Pantum worldwide. By our unique business model, we believe we can bring long term benefit to our partners and the market,” says Robert Liang, Sales Director, MENA Region, Pantum.

Pantum did a soft launch in the MEA market at Gitex, and says it has received a very positive feedback, as resellers and distributors are excited about the entry of a new brand into the regional printer market.

“We are in the final stages of deciding who to partner with. We believe in partnership model to guarantee long term win-win benefit relationship with our partners and grow together with them,” says Liang.

Pantum says it has fielded many inquiries from distributors and resellers across the MEA market during GITEX. “The biggest challenge we have at the moment is to select the right partners who can add value to our brand and the market, and who are truly willing to develop the market and grow together with us,” says Liang.

Pantum is gearing up to launch its printers in Iran, UAE, other GCC markets, East and South African markets in the next few months, and expects to gain an impressive market share by the end of 2013. “We will keep launching new products such as MFP and higher speed laser printer and updating the market with our products every quarter in the coming years,” adds Liang.

Veeam Software www.veeam.com

Gregg Petersen, Regional Sales Manager – Middle East, Veeam Software Veeam was founded as an organisation to focus solely on the virtualisation environment.

Since its inception in 2006, the company claims it has experienced huge growth quarter on quarter and more than doubling in size every single quarter since then.

Veeam, which has been present locally in the Middle East for over 18 months now, has grown its resources in the region, including management, technical, sales, channel and marketing, and boasts 30 new customers every quarter.

“The current spending pattern now in the Middle East centres around security, virtualisation and disaster recovery. Fortunately, Veeam plays a key role in two of those areas by providing virtualisation and disaster recovery for VMs,” says Gregg Petersen, Regional Sales Manager – Middle East, Veeam Software.

Veeam is a 100 percent channel focused company globally and in the Middle East. “We will not transact a deal directly at all. We have two distributors – Aptec- an Ingram Micro Company and Magirum, which is now owned

by Avnet Distribution. We have over 150 partners in the Middle East, all on the various levels given by Veeam from basic to silver to gold partner status.”

Veeam’s growth strategy in the region hinges on the channel. “We at Veeam believe that this is a two-way relationship. Sure we rely on the partners to drive and grow our business but they also rely on Veeam to help them grow their business too. We rely on our partners’ local knowledge with regards to relationships in their customer base, pre-sales skills and ability to generate revenue for Veeam. Our partners rely on Veeam for customer focused sales, marketing and training for sales and technical people.

Together this is proving to be a winning formula for Veeam globally and in the Middle East,” says Petersen.

He says the biggest challenge for the company has been introducing the channel to a relatively new and disruptive technology.

Though the initial focus for Veeam in the Middle East was to acquire customers, now the company is gearing up for the next phase of growth enabled by the channel.

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feature Emerging relationships

Sourcefire www.sourcefire.com

Maher Jadallah, Regional Manager of MEA at Sourcefire Sourcefire provides intelligent cyber security solutions with a focus on increased visibility and control to help enterprises manage and minimise network security risks. The Middle East region is of strategic importance for Sourcefire.

“Through our distributors’ efforts, we have seen a significant increase in business from the region and felt it was the right time for us

to have a local presence. Growing Internet and e-commerce activities have created a greater need for IT security solutions in the region as well as increased awareness of the potential risks that can impact organisations in the Middle East,” says Maher Jadallah, Regional Manager of MEA at Sourcefire .

He adds that there is a growing demand for enhanced IT security solutions due to the sophisticated and evolving nature of today’s threats. “What makes the case even tougher is the unpredictable affects these threats can have on the IT environment, which put the IT security staff into challenging and new situations where the traditional, static security tools that organisations have come to rely on are heavy and incapable of defending against,”Jadallah adds.

The channel is a crucial part of Sourcefire’s growth strategy for the MENA region. “We transact a significant amount of our regional business through our channel, which shows how important our partners are to us. We have partnered with FVC and Secureway in the region to drive growth,” says Jadallah.

Sourcefire says it is committed to achieving and maintaining a high level of mutual success with its partners. The vendor has a Global Security Alliance channel partner programme in place with unique programmes and incentives to help drive market penetration and partner loyalty.

This programme enables its channel with flexible levels of participation based on their organisation’s business goals and growth strategies. “We provide marketing resources and channel enablement programs to help our partners further strengthen customer relationships and loyalty for a true winwin relationship. Our programme also provides partners with deal protection, sales enablement training, market development funds and financial incentives for increased commitment to Sourcefire,” says Jadallah.

Over the next 12 months, the company is planning to hold a series of road shows in the region, in addition to continue to invest in training and certification programs for partners in this region to provide them with the knowledge and resources to serve customers.

VirtualSharp www.virtualsharp.com

Michael Hillewaert, VP of International Sales at VirtualSharp For those organisations that are evolving IT services to private clouds, disaster recovery is a must-have to keep the

business running. They must be able to both assure the delivery of the service, as well as support business continuity to their lines of business, customers and auditors. VirtualSharp Software has pioneered the concept of Recovery Assurance in order to address this complex problem specifically.

The company, which has successfully introduced this concept within several enterprise customers across the world, is now eyeing the regional market.

“Since the Middle East market has adopted the VMware virtualisation quickly and that the region has a lot of focus on the aspects of high availability and DR makes this the ultimate region for a solution like ReliableDR from VirtualSharp,” says Michael Hillewaert, VP

of International Sales at VirtualSharp.

VirtualSharp is foraying into the Middle East market with a 100 percent channel strategy. “ It enables us to scale quickly and importantly to regionalise our customer approach. In order to build out our Middle East channel, we’ve partnered with Aptec- an Ingram Micro Company, which has shown to be able to do that successfully with VMware, a company we work closely with,” says Hillewaert.

He adds that the plan the next 12-18 months is to set up a local VirtualSharp team to support both partners and customers in the region. “We have seen that being present in a region always accelerates the adoption of a technology and we have high hopes for it in the Middle East.”

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FEATURE Emerging relationships

Pivot3 www.pivot3.com

Anand Chakravarthi, Director of Sales - Middle East & India, Pivot3 Pivot3 with its HQ in Houston, Texas was founded in 2003 on the idea that a revolutionary scale-out architecture would deliver large-scale, high-bandwidth storage using off-the-shelf hardware components combined with specialised software. Pivot3’s architecture aggregates the storage capacity

so that all virtual desktops have access to all of the storage resources on all appliances, which makes performance more predictable during peak times.

The unified storage vendor started its operations in the Middle East in early 2011, after earmarking it as a potential high-growth market. “The Middle East market is known to adopt latest technologies and making investments for the future. Energy and resource management takes precedence in markets like the ME where cost control and energy efficiency is key. Pivot3 VDI solutions are capable of delivering exactly this for end user computing,” says Anand Chakravarthi, Director of Sales - Middle East & India, Pivot3.

Pivot3 has recently signed with Aptecan Ingram Micro Company as its distribution partner in this region. “As a value added distributor Aptec provides us the right platform to reach out in this market with their well-established channel. Resellers are always looking up to their distributors in assisting them develop a viable solution

architecture for their customer base. Aptec is one of the very few who deliver such a support to their channel,” says Chakravarthi.

He adds that customers today are not merely looking for quick fix solutions but a long-term relationship with the technology providers . Pivot3 says the company along with its channel is focused on developing such relationships with the end customers rather than just delivering solutions.

“We plan to establish, grow and invest further in this market as we see high growth.

Developing the right channel and creating value opportunities is the key. The possibilities are limitless, but aiding customer as a trusted advisor and able to deliver what you promise will eventually provide the desired business objectives and boost business.

“Our solution is relatively a new innovative category and our vision is to create such newer category of products and solutions to be market leader, strive to deliver value to the market and eventually customer success,” says Chakravarthi.

Mi-Token www.mi-token.com

John Nolan, VP of Mi-Token Middle East Mi-Token, which provides two-factor authentication solutions, set up its office in Dubai in September this year to support its

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local partner Help AG in their drive to support clients remove static passwords completely from their environments by deploying easy to manage One Time Password systems.

“We also recognised the need to build a broader trusted third party partner network across the region and needed to be here to meet, vet and recruit the best security integration partners. There is an increasing awareness of the risk of weak and static passwords and this was highlighted recently by major incidents occurring at Saudi Aramco and RasGas,” says John Nolan, VP of MiToken Middle East.

Mi-Token is currently in the process of recruiting partners in the region, having had a very successful relationship with Help AG in the UAE. “We are currently seeking similarly qualified security gold partners in other territories. However, finding partners that

understand security solution selling has not been easy,” says Nolan.

Mi-Token has worked closely with Help AG over the last 12 months in the UAE, which has been instrumental in establishing Mi-Token as a key and integral component in most major security projects that it has undertaken.

Nolan says Mi-Token’s target is to be the number one two factor authentication solution for cloud and OWA (Outlook web access) solutions in the region over the next 18 months. “We have an attractive partner revenue share plan and technical support program to reward our trusted partners. We are also seeking Application development partners that can use our software development toolkits to embed One Time Passwords (OTP) and Secure Payment capabilities within their applications,” he adds.

FEATURE Emerging relationships

Zebra Technologies www.zebra.com

Pratik Kajaria, Channel Account Manager at Zebra Technologies Zebra Technologies offers a broad portfolio of products in printing technologies. It includes kiosks, printers, RFID printers and label printers.

“We also have software to back our hardware that we offer. We do a lot of printer management, print monitoring, label design software and ID designing software.

We have software professional teams. And lead by innovation, and try to expand and serve the needs of the customers. We have

also been growing in the region, achieving growth in double digits for the past few years,” says Pratik Kajaria, Channel Account Manager at Zebra Technologies.

The system integrators play a crucial role in Zebra’s business. “They basically integrate our products into the existing infrastructure of the customer. We do work with the distribution channel too, as many of our products are available off- the-shelf. We have over 100 partners in the region now,” says Kajaria.

Zebra has its Partner First programme to offer value to existing partners and to recruit new ones. “Our channel programme offers training and assistance, facilitates easier work flow and gives more visibility of the market. We have a channel team who work with them based on the programme.

In addition, Zebra has a distribution model where we engage with distribution partners, and premier level one partners also. Though it’s not new, we continuously work on the programme, and fill the gaps by applying the right level of partners,” says Kajaria.

Zebra also has a partner portal that offers training online. “We engage with

the partners by offering them extensive technical training, and we often invite our trainers from the UK to run training workshops across the region,” says Kajaria.

In addition, Zebra works very closely with ISVs to add value and position its products to high-end customers. “The ISV programme was launched two years ago and we have recruited a high number of ISV partners since in the region. We also recruit specialist partners and offer multiple vertical solutions spanning retail, healthcare, manufacturing, etc,” says Kajaria.

Zebra targets both mid-sized to large scale enterprises market. “We offer supplies, after sales, and care contracts.

We have independent Zebra authorised service partners in the region, who have specifically trained knowledge with our products and solutions and can assist in after-sales Zebra which is focused on its three key verticals - government, healthcare and retail – is planning to enhance its portfolio over the next 12 months and launch more entry-level products to cater to the needs of the specialised printing market.

My-HD www.my-hd.tv My-HD was founded earlier this year to help broadcasters make that transition from Standard Definition (SD) to HD by providing a secure premium free Pay TV Platform with a single viewing card solution for all HD channels in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

“We started the My-HD operations in June 2012 to provide MENA television households the best viewing experience at the lowest cost through an approved decoder and My-HD viewing card, while providing an opportunity for HD channels to share revenue from the low cost viewing card,” says Cliff Nelson, CEO of My-HD Media.

My-HD has a growing network of distributors across the MENA region.

Cliff Nelson, CEO of My-HD Media

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Approved decoders and viewing cards are also available in major hypermarkets and department stores in the region including Carrefour, Panda, Expert, Lulu and Sharaf DG. “We also have some very exciting partnerships and announcements in the pipeline to assist in strengthening our HD offering,” says Nelson.

He says a strong distribution and retail chain is critical to the success of My-HD. “In many respects, buying a My-HD viewing card at very modest cost – less than $25 per year – is an impulse purchase for customers and so visible retail distribution is critical. It also offers an incremental revenue or incentivise up-sell opportunity for retailers who can also bundle the viewing card with an approved receiver, an HD television and installation.”

review Huawei

Huawei Ascend G300 During an age of incredible technology’ stylish smartphones, tidy tablets, and luxurious laptops, we’re spoilt for choice in innovative, mobile treats. However, as great as the selection is, these devices come at a cost. The lower end of the market, let’s be frank, has always lacked the spark that the higher end products promise to deliver. So, you can imagine the Eureka moment Huawei must have had when it completed the Ascend G300, a low end, affordable smartphone that actually warrants its place beside the iPhone, Galaxy and BlackBerry.

In response to the next generation consumers, the Ascend G300 is a brilliant device from the outside in. It’s stylish, light (140g), and solid. The solidity is something worth mentioning because it is a cheaper option of smartphone, and these devices can often feel that way. However, Huawei have bridged a significant gap with this model and it feels complete in your hand. Ok, it’s a little rough and ready, the finish doesn’t ooze quality, but that’s not the point. The Ascend isn’t trying to distract you from the fact that it’s a cheaper smartphone option (asides the metallic disguising plastic cover I suppose); it plays to its strengths.

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The boring details; it runs on the Android OS, Gingerbread v2.3, 5mp camera, 4 GB of memory, full touch screen, and 480x800 pixel resolution. Not too bad so far, considering its price.

The screen isn’t nearly as crisp as the more expensive models, fine face on, but slightly off axis you’ll easily recognise the difference. However, it’s packed full of decent features which are highly enjoyable regardless. Simple things like live wallpapers, similar to the Galaxy, swipe panel options for the home screen and an extremely fast startup time, all add neat touches.

I recorded around about four and a half hours of battery life when Wi-Fi browsing, that’s more than I could get from some recent high end market releases - that’s impressive.

The company claims that the talk time is over five hours, but I don’t have that many friends, so I can’t confirm this.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (1GHz) on board the G300 is a very good runner. It’s fast enough, plays high quality, 3D games, and makes light work of the swipe browsing, which makes the phone very user friendly. Too often have I thrown a device (literally) because of slow reaction speeds. Rest assured, your family, friends and colleagues are safe in your presence when you’re holding the G300.

I’m a snappy happy chap, and I had a lovely surprise when I tucked into the camera.

In good light, and in focus, the Ascend takes fine photos. There are a few good camera options/settings and I had a good couple of hours enjoying them. It isn’t a fantastic piece of work but it’s adequate considering the asking price. The shutter speed is pretty fast, as is the auto-focus, so I wasn’t complaining.

It’s a pretty good social phone, you won’t be lagging behind your pals too much if they have the more expensive models. However, it doesn’t have a camera built into the front of the device, so you will get left out of the video calls.

Final verdict?

I have awarded the Huawei Ascend G300 two thumbs up. It has a great battery life, and is stylish and sturdy with a good list of features.

The pitfalls of most cheap smartphones seemed to have been addressed and answered to a fairly decent standard in the G300. The winning element of this phone though, is of course the price – a criminal AED 799. //

This review was done

by Joe Lipscombe, SubEditor of CPI Technology

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ANALYSIS GITEX

Best in show Leading figures from the technology world descended into Dubai World Trade Centre throughout the week of October 14 for what was dubbed the biggest ever GITEX Technology Week.

Now in its 32nd year and ran under the theme ‘Where Technology Means Business’, GITEX Technology Week is widely regarded as one of the world’s top three international ICT events. It followed GITEX Shopper, the consumer electronics retail show, which also saw great success this year with recordbreaking attendance and sales.

“GITEX Technology Week has always been a vital force in driving the ICT sector to generate both profit and performance in the industry, not only throughout the MEA region

but also on a global stage,” says Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO, Dubai World Trade Centre.

“As the momentum of traditional ICT markets slows down and reaches saturation in developed nations, the MEA region offers lucrative opportunities for investors and global companies in a rapidly expanding industry.

Over its successful 32 years, GITEX Technology Week has been a catalyst and influence in growing technology tourism and strengthening trade ties with Africa as the continent

experiences an ICT boom,” he adds.

GITEX Technology Week is an authority in the region and has proven each year its adaptability in presenting trending technologies and setting the current business agenda. It has highlighted key focus areas including Africa and its burgeoning ICT market, start-ups and innovation in an SME zone, the consumerisation of IT, big data and the ongoing cloud phenomenon.

Presence of international companies at GITEX grew once again this year and represented more than half of the total exhibitors, with Algeria, Denmark, Malaysia and New Zealand among the countries exhibiting for the first time.

With over 80% of leading global ICT brands present and C-level executives representing ICT budgets of over $50 billion, the exhibitors and speakers list was packed with industry heavyweights such as Cisco, Dell, du, Etisalat, Facebook, Google, HP, Huawei, Kaspersky, Microsoft, Nokia, Oracle, RIM, Samsung, SAP

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ANALYSIS GITEX

and Symantec.

Notable new exhibitors included Chinese telecommunications equipment company ZTE, Saudi Telecom Company, Sage, Vocalcom and African IT distributors Mitsumi. The event had new technology giants, over 130,000 industry professionals and more than 3,500 suppliers attending from 144 countries across five continents.

Government entities were also out in force, with Abu Dhabi Police, Dubai E-Government, Dubai Health Authority, Emirate of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, Fujairah Free Zone, Ras Al Khaima Free Zone and Sharjah Free Zone all present.

Dubai eGovernment’s stand saw a particularly large turnout by attracting over 7,000 visitors. The 2,700-square meter stand accommodated the 26 government entities and contributed to raising public awareness about eServices.

“Gitex 2012 provided the audience with a single platform to explore the latest eServices and mobile applications offered by Dubai eGovernment and government departments and entities under one roof. This will certainly boost the demand for such type of services from citizens, residents, visitors and businesses,” says H.E. Ahmad Bin Humaidan, Director General, Dubai eGovernment Department.

Bin Humaidan notes that the success of Dubai eGovernment’s stand in attracting increasing numbers of visitors year after year will motivate more government entities to join it. By virtue of the stand’s success this year, the number of participating government entities is expected to rise by 16 per cent next year, he says.

Also hot on the radar at GITEX 2012 was the

first UAE public demo of the widely anticipated and now recently launched Windows 8.

As well as showcasing Windows 8 at its stand, over 20 Microsoft partners featured their own innovations they had developed on Microsoft platforms such as Lync, Dynamics and Office 365.

On the eve of GITEX, Emerson Network Power announced a strategic alliance with Mindware, a locally established IT channel leader.

“The alliance will see the partner provide single-phase uninterruptible power supply systems, racks and accessories and power distribution units to organisations in the Middle East and North Africa,” says Pierre Havenga, Managing Director, Emerson Network Power (Systems), MENA. “GITEX went really well for Emerson this year. We wanted to leverage attention on the show to highlight our new partnership with Mindware,” he adds.

Epicor used the event to promote its next generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, Epicor ERP. “As GITEX is the only technology tradeshow in the region that provides an active platform for IT and technology vendors to interact with prospective customers and prospective partners, we successfully capitalised on every opportunity and have gathered a significant number of contacts and potential business leads,” Kanaran says.

For many companies, GITEX is about visibility. Raymond Al Chabab, Director of Sales and Marketing, STME, confirms this was the case for STME. “We have recently done rebranding and are working on a new website, so for us it was

a great opportunity to work on our presence.

We have already grown our sales substantially this year and whatever we get from GITEX is of course a bonus and a great addition,” he says.

For Despec, GITEX 2012 was all about having a bigger stand, bigger assortment and bigger reach.

“The main focus was to showcase our new ranges in the channel,” says Dipika Goyal, Marketing Manager, Despec. “Having acquired a successful ‘supplies-only’ distributor status in the channel, Despec is now not only expanding the in-country distribution model, but also growing in the product assortment catering mainly to the SMART technology range. We announced our new partnerships with some of the top vendors in the channel and promoted the new ranges.”

GITEX brings in visitors from across the Middle East and Africa, who are looking for new technologies, according to Tarek Helmy, Regional Director Gulf & Middle East, Nexans Cabling Solutions.

“It is a perfect event for us to scout for new resellers and meet potential customers and promote our solutions to them. GITEX 2012 opened up a lot of new avenues for Nexans and helped us to promote our products. We use every feedback and experience from GITEX to prepare better for the event next year,” Helmy says.

Apart from receiving sales queries, Golden Systems Middle East (GSME) had one to one meetings with its vendor partners and customers from the Middle East and North Africa.

“Further we were able to promote our latest innovative technologies and sign new partnerships thus meeting our main objectives

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ANALYSIS GITEX

for participating in GITEX. Our participation in GITEX this year was fruitful. We did manage to get a lot of positive feedback from our customers and partners on our products. We also signed on new resellers in countries where we were looking to increase our presence,” says Chantelle Tavid, Marketing Manager, GSME. Focus Softnet’s participation in GITEX 2012 was also a success, says the company’s CEO Ali Hyder.

“Apart from launching our new offerings such as Focus CRM, Retail Management System and our new services division at the event, we were also able to increase the brand awareness for our products and received a lot of sales queries. Our sales team is busy following up on the potential leads we received at GITEX and we are confident these leads will result in business for Focus,” Hyder says.

FVC used GITEX to showcase the Polycom Telepresence solution, a new customised video conferencing solution devised by the team at FVC.

“We also introduced portable video conferencing solutions for industry specific issues as well as other solutions within security and networking, and we announced our partnership with Microsoft and signed an MOU with STC to launch Managed Video as a Service in KSA. Generating leads for new business and increasing an awareness of what we do are the important aspects for FVC to participate in GITEX,” says Dharmendra Parmer, General Manager, Marketing, FVC. According to Nassir Nauthoa, General Manager, GCC, Intel, GITEX plays an important role for both Intel and the growth of the region’s ICT industry.

“During the show we partnered with McAfee to address cloud computing and security concerns in the region with a focus on four key areas; securing cloud data centres, securing the network connections, securing the devices that connect to cloud services; and accelerating the development of unified standards for cloud security,” Nauthoa says.

Cliff Nelson, CEO, My-HD Media, emphasises the importance of the Middle East and events like GITEX in growing its distributor base.

“My-HD has a growing network of distributors across the MENA region.

Approved decoders and viewing cards are also available in major hypermarkets and department stores in the region including Carrefour, Panda, Expert, Lulu and Sharaf DG. We also have some very exciting partnerships and announcements in the pipeline to assist in strengthening our HD offering,” Nelson says.

Over at GITEX Shopper, Emax aimed to showcase its wide range of products available under one roof. “Emax featured one of the largest exhibitions at the GITEX Shopper event and this was a reflection of our large scale operations and an indicator of our vision to be the leading and preferred electronics destination in the region. Emax was hugely popular and successful at the event,” says Neelesh Bhatnagar, CEO, Emax. //

Interview touchmate

A homegrown success story Quality Gulf, which owns the Touchmate brand, is riding the crest of a growth wave in the tablet market. This local brand, which has proven popular in the second-tier market, is now gearing up for future growth with innovative products in its arsenal. Vasant Menghani, MD of Quality Gulf, spoke to us about the growth strategy. has paid off. Touchmate branded tablet was launched at last year’s Gitex, when we sold 300 units. This year, during The show, we have sold 85000 units and that speaks volumes of the kind of growth you can see in the tablet market. We bundle our products with lot of value-addition. For example, our retail partners sold our tablets with a bundled holiday package offer, which itself was worth $200.

Do you think the launch of Windows 8 will spur the PC market?

Yes indeed and I believe Windows 8 will change the dynamics of this market. As a Microsoft gold partner, we have a roadmap that includes a range of Windows 8 tablets and we are excited about the new products built on this fantastic platform. We work very closely with Intel as well, as the only desktop manufacturing vendor in the region.

Vasant Menghani, MD of Quality Gulf Can you tell us about your company?

From our very humble beginnings as a retailer in 1998, we have grown as a brand that boasts 1100 products in the portfolio. The Touchmate brand was conceived at the behest of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who wanted a made-in-UAE brand. Now, our products are available in 60 countries across the Middle East and Africa through retailers and 160 hyper markets. In fact, we were the first ones to convince hyper markets in the region to carry IT products, as they were initially sceptical of consumers buying PCs off the shelf. Our success can be attributed to the fact that we do the right things at the right time.

How was GITEX for you?

We have been part of GITEX since its very inception and we participate at the show every

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year to support our retail partners, who have significantly contributed to the growth of our brand. They have helped reach out to a wider audience and constantly encouraged us to keep innovating. This year, we showcased our entire range with a special focus on our tablet range, which now includes 25 different models.

How about your software business?

Our software portfolio is growing and basically comprises office automation products. We work very closely with our partner Unistal, which has a development centre in India and we have plans to expand our software portfolio further next year.

Isn’t the second tier tablet market already crowded?

I don’t think so, because it is a hugely untapped market. We do not compete with the likes of Apple or Samsung, but cater to the medium to low income segment of consumers, who are looking for value for money products. We have worked very hard at creating products that deliver the experience of a much more expensive brand at half the cost, and this strategy

What are the other plans for next year?

We are in the process of setting up direct presence in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Though our products are already available in these markets through the distributors, we felt the need to invest in resources on the ground to support our partners. We are foraying into the European markets such as Switzerland, Germany and Netherlands. We are also exploring the opportunities around the home appliances market. //

vendor focus Dell

Defining new value Dell is extending its reach further into the channel to attract more partners. John Coulston , Director of Channel Programs and Operations at Dell Middle East, explains the partner strategy.

Do you have partners working across your entire portfolio or are they all segmented?

We have partners who work in only separate areas. Preferred partners who work on storage are an example. We want to push capability in specific verticals through our partners.

How does a registered partner become a preferred partner?

It comes down to capability really. We will take a business plan, review it, and see if it’s appropriate for us. We need to see if the commitment from us will match the revenue we think it will bring. The opportunity is in understanding where the partner will take their business.

John Coulston , Director of Channel Programs and Operations , Dell Middle East

Can you please tell us about your distribution strategy? Is Dell committed to partners?

Historically we’ve been a direct vendor, but in the Middle East we’ve always just dealt with channel partners.

Our total partner programme - Partner Direct - was launched about five years ago.

It’s a globally award winning programme which is segmented into three categories: registered, preferred and premier partners, though we haven’t launched premier in this region yet. We’ve seen a real increase in

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preferred partners in this region recently.

We’ve got around 44 here now, that number has increased by about 15-20% in the last six months.

Within these programmes we try to specifically cover individual competencies - solutions, network, security, cloud, etc. We work on four key elements revolving around simplicity, rewarding, enabling and training.

What we do is allow partners to see what they need to do in order to develop their competency in these areas. We compliment their skills set with our portfolio.

From your experience here in the region, what are the trends emerging in the channel?

There are a lot of different channel trends at the moment. Here, we get a lot of mega projects, but not all partners have the ability to play in those areas. We have bigger ones that do and that is a distinct advantage for Middle East partners.

The main thing is that customers are demanding more and more specialist skills mainly around virtualisation, cloud and networking. They want to know that the organisation knows how to deliver, and they want to know that the vendor is going to be standing behind them throughout to support them.

How do you make sure that your partners are equipped with these skills?

We’re doing a lot of work to bring our global IP and share that with our partners. Anything we know, they know, that’s the goal. Bringing our best practices and implementing them in the region. We take our vertical sector teams and go round and share them across our preferred partners in the region.

In actual fact, we have a specific expert in the field who goes around and actually talks and trains people on the skills which have been acquired from outside the region.

What are the investments from a customer point of view, what technologies do they want?

Cloud is a big area at the moment. They want to know what it means, how to take advantage of it, etc. However, cloud questions for mid market are different to higher market questions. They want to know how to take advantage of storage, whereas at mega project level it is how to build a private cloud, and how can their employees use it.

Also, security is not going to go away, that’s big now. So we focus a lot on this area.

How does Dell define value?

Value for us is around bringing a number of technology areas together to provide a solution for a partner. It could be in a physical sense, building an entire office environment or conference rooms equipped with telephony and digital white boards. Alternatively, it could be about virtualising a data centre, and introducing virtual solutions. So long as the package is complete, manageable and of high expertise, we consider it valuable.

We also want to be valuable towards the widest range of the market as possible. With the growth and maturity of online transactions and purchases, you are going to see a lot of SMB start-ups and they’ll be looking for help.

So this is a big opportunity in this region.

Do you have SMB focused partners, and do their demands differ from larger enterprises?

We have generic partners focus on the mid market and smaller businesses. And then the specific partners we have will focus on the bigger corporate companies and projects.

In general the larger enterprises have resources in house to some degree and they’re responsible for specific negotiation in specific technologies. SMBs will just require more outsourced support from us, certainly more manageability.

How much of the cloud discussion is a reality in active partners?

It depends what your definition of cloud is. We have small business storage environments similar to SkyDrive, for

example. That’s you first step into a cloud environment. Then you’ve got higher abilities, virtual desktop capabilities via the cloud. It could be any device accessing your data independent of where you are, that’s the cloud, and that’s realistically using it.

we’ve closed the acquisition of SonicWall, so the security programme will come out soon.

We have our WADIM (workshop/assess/ design/implement and manage) approach, and we will push that over the coming years and share it with our partners.

How do you revise strategies and keep them relevant?

We weren’t always committed to stable strategies and people didn’t like this, so now we’ve changed that. We’re far more focused on being strategically stable. Our partner programme will stay the same, as will the key elements of the strategy. Our partners can now rely on that.

What will your main focus be for your partners?

We will focus heavily on what they need in order to demonstrate ROI and what they need going forward. Building a long term relationship with new partners is a key focus, making sure the data centre is always up and running etc. That project management type of approach is a critical element that partners are interesting in and I see that being a big trend in the coming months.

How are incentives changing?

The maturity of the channel has increased here in the Middle East over the past few years. The question now is: how can I build my infrastructure so that I have the most competitive offer for my customers out there,

What are the main challenges facing the channel and how does Dell help address these?

The key challenges come from the pace of technology change, the cost of keeping

We’re doing a lot of work to bring our global IP and share that with our partners. Anything we know, they know, that’s the goal. Bringing our best practices and implementing them in the region. We take our vertical sector teams and go round and share them across our preferred partners in the region. how do I build my capabilities and how do vendors support us during that?

We also need to look at how we work together to make sure the technology is up to scratch.

The technology is becoming more sophisticated, fortunately Dell has a huge depth of knowledge, and our partners love that from us. We’re built to work directly with customers and partners can take advantage of that if they plug into it.

Dell is actively expanding, what will the big announcements be in the coming months?

Our major announcement is our re-launch of the preferred partner programme, though it’s not really a re-launch as we never launched it properly in the first place. That’s our focus for the next couple years. You’ll see us launch a cloud competency programme in the very near future too. We already have storage and

up to speed with change is dramatic. The requirements partners need to increase investments grows all the time.

If we can keep our programmes to our four pillar strategy then we’re on the right track.

Partners have specifically said ‘help us get specialised’, ‘don’t ask us for one thing today and a different thing tomorrow’, and ‘if we invest with Dell, will we see a return on that?’

These are the main areas we need to focus on in order to serve our customers’ challenges.

Our commitment to our partner programme is just getting bigger and bigger over time. Investing in our partner programme is so important to us here at Dell.

A main partner fear is the commitment to technologies during times of change. We’re in it for the long term, we won’t change our strategy and we won’t lower our support.

We’re staying put and we’re committed to standing side by side with those partners. //

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vendor focus LifeSize

Video conferencing for every budget LifeSize CEO Colin Buechler was in Dubai recently to attend the company’s annual EMEA partner conference. He spoke to us about his company’s go-to-market strategy and what sets it apart from competitors.

Colin Buechler, CEO, LifeSize

What is LifeSize’s unique value proposition?

LifeSize is the innovation leader in video conferencing. We were actually the pioneer that created high definition video communications. We first launched our first product in 2005, so we’ve been shipping for seven years. We operate

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in 80 countries around the world with tens of thousands of customers. Much of the industry-firsts have come out of LifeSize.

We have been defining where the industry has been going since inception. As well as being the first to launch HD video conferencing, we were also the first to launch it for under $5000, so we brought price

performance to the industry. Our vision is to provide high quality video communication to anyone, anywhere. We wanted to make video conferencing mainstream, rather than just in the largest boardrooms in the largest companies in the world. To do that you have to create a flexible architecture that can be accessible to any company of any size.

One great example is we were the first company to provide one button push streaming, recording and archiving, so not only can you collaborate in high definition, but you can record that with just one button push and then you can stream that out to thousands of participants and then archive that to provide either on-demand or live.

We continue to provide those types of innovations around ease and simplicity.

We’re usually not looking where we are but where we’re going. We saw mobility being an explosion in our industry. It went from something that was interesting and nice to have about a year and a half ago, to being mandatory in almost every deal that we look at, which has really been driven by tablets, specifically the iPad and increasingly Android devices. So we saw this trend happening and about a year and a half ago we bought a company called Mirial out of Milan, Italy, that was the leading provider of mobile high definition video communication that support the broadest array of mobile devices, both iOS and Android devices, in the world.

Another great example of innovation from LifeSize is our virtualised infrastructure.

We defined this incredible high quality video collaboration, but it was connected to almost arcane and backwards-facing infrastructure.

Our industry has been very slow to adopt technologies that have been evident in many other IT stacks. Some of us don’t necessarily come from the video conferencing industry. My Head of Products and I both come from Dell and so when we looked at infrastructure, we didn’t want to build what other people build, that’s not what LifeSize does. We try to redefine it in a way that we believe customers can take advantage of. We did the same thing with infrastructure so instead of building products that our competitors had, we built a very flexible infrastructure that we call our Universal Video Collaboration (UVC) platform, which was the industry’s first virtualised infrastructure platform.

vendor focus LifeSize

How do you see investments in video communications picking up in the Middle East and what would you say to end users in the region?

We’re starting to see bandwidth being one of the top three priorities that governments are talking about as they try to improve the e-networks in their countries and really starting with the cities and working their way out. We’re really seeing a meaningful investment in trying to improve the broadband networks. One of the things that we do at LifeSize though is our codex support over 200 native resolutions. In the first place we provide high definition at the lowest bandwidths in the industry, which is 768kb. However, we understand that not every customer can take advantage of that bandwidth, so our codex will automatically readjust themselves to lower bandwidths and correct in order to provide the best quality of experience in any bandwidth. So we understand that not all networks will be perfect and we try to adjust for that with the technology rather than the customer having to adjust for that within the network. But the more investment we see in the network, the more opportunity there is for companies to take advantage of collaborative technologies like video.

What feedback are you getting from partners and customers in this region and what are the things they need you to help them with?

The feedback we get tends to fall into a couple of areas. One is around awareness with people wanted us to dispel some of the myths when it comes to video conferencing.

The second is to make it far easier for them to understand and deploy. A lot of partners want to take advantage of providing video as part of a broader solution, but they need help in how to deploy and build those video environments in order to provide the best quality experience. Others are looking for help and assistance in order to make it easier for them to participate in the broader solution.

Do you try to balance your expertise between technology and business?

Yes, we want to provide solutions to

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customers’ problems, not just sell them equipment. You find that if you can understand a customer’s needs and provide them solutions to their problems, they’re going to be loyal customers. If you come in and convince them to buy a product and they’re still in the same place afterwards, they’re going to go and try to find somebody else. We respect the intelligence of our customers and want to help them solve problems – that is what our technologies are enabling them to do. The Middle East is a very exciting market for us because there is so much change that is going on in the region and visual technology is a redefining technology. We’re finding that industries,

or application-based expertise. A lot of partners add value to their customers by understanding those end customer needs well. So we have capabilities within our solutions that are built to verticals, especially some of the more public verticals like healthcare and education. But we really look to our partners to try and add value-added services on top of that to provide unique experiences for our customers.

What sort of partners do you look for?

We have distributors around the world that we work with but we look for distributors that have a partner network that can add value, whether we sign direct partners or through

“The partners that we’re looking for are ones that are going to add value to the solution whether it’s a vertical focus or application focus.” education, healthcare and business services are redefining themselves around visual technology because it’s what’s new and different in unified communications. Many industries are built around areas of expertise and you have to bring people to those experts in order to take advantage of that.

Data and audio don’t really change any of that, but with visual communication you’re able to bring those experts to the people where they are. In universities around the world we’re seeing distance learning explode and we’re seeing healthcare redefine itself where it’s not only training but remote diagnostics all the way to telepsychiatry is being built around high definition video communications. We’re seeing that start to happen in the Middle East as well, where public entities and companies are getting past the awareness of what high definition video can do as compare to what they had before.

Are you customising solutions based on vertical sectors?

That’s something that we do with our partners and we really look for partners that have that expertise, whether it be vertical expertise

distribution. The partners that we’re looking for are ones that are going to add value to the solution whether it’s a vertical focus or application focus.

How will cloud change the role of the channel?

The channels that want to embrace the cloud can and will be very successful. It requires an ability to build both a transactional business and a value-added business.

SMBs require the same level of support as large organisations, but they live on smaller budgets. In order to touch and reach a broad group of small businesses and treat them like larger customers, but do it in a cost effective way, through a strong marketing engine and strong inside sales engine, those companies are going to be successful moving towards the cloud. The other companies are the ones that are going to be able to add value on top of cloud-based services. There are many partners out there that provide unique capabilities and qualities of service on top of a cloud-based offering. Those are the ones that I think are going to be very successful.

Those companies that fight the cloud and go against the cloud I think will struggle.

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Hot products Review

Asus unveils Windows 8 line-up Asus has unveiled a completely new line-up of Windows 8 products, including notebooks, tablets, all-in-one PCs and a unique dual-screen device.

According to Asus, the new range enables new forms of functionality and applications targeting the entire spectrum of home and office users, while setting a new standard in performance, ease of use and innovative design.

The front-runner amongst the new launches is the Taichi. A fusion of notebook and tablet, Asus Taichi is an ultra-slim notebook that features a unique dual-screen design with 1080p IPS displays. In standard mode, Asus Taichi is a convertible and powerful Ultrabook designed for demanding productivity tasks.

In tablet mode, Asus Taichi is a “lightweight powerhouse” featuring intuitive multi-touch capabilities optimised for Windows 8. In dual screen mode, both

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screens can also be used simultaneously or independently for user flexibility.

According to Asus, the Transformer Book is the world’s first detachable notebook to combine the best features of a notebook and tablet. When it comes to work, it is a fully featured notebook with high-capacity storage and connectivity options. Then when it comes to play or travel, the high-definition display detaches from the keyboard dock and the Transformer Book becomes the thinnest and most powerful Intel Core i7 based multi-touch Windows 8 tablet available today.

Asus referred to its VivoBook Series as the “world’s most affordable touch innovation.” The S200 is entering the market at 1499AED, whilst the S400 costs 2299AED. With specifications that include 3rd generation Intel Core processors for multi-tasking performance, VivoBook is available with an 11.6” of 14” high-definition screen and features a large multi-touch touchpad and a choice of hard drive and hybrid storage.

Dell delivers new Windows 8 devices

Dell is helping customers touch the future with a refreshed portfolio of business and consumer PCs built for Microsoft Windows 8, designed to provide a more intuitive computing experience and address evolving customer desires. Dell has made available for pre-order three new PCs in its upcoming fall portfolio: the XPS One 27 and Inspiron One 23. Further, Dell is offering Windows 8 as an option on its current XPS, Inspiron, Latitude, OptiPlex and Precision brands.

The XPS One 27 All-in-One is designed for creative enthusiasts with a super high resolution display and performance graphics for multimedia creation and entertainment. The gorgeous, space-saving design features a 27-inch Wide Quad HD Display, which has 78 percent more pixels than a Full HD display, and an articulating stand that tilts the display to a 60-degree angle, providing additional options when using the touchscreen interface. Whether one is designing a digital masterpiece or experiencing HD entertainment, the XPS One 27 delivers the power, sound, graphics and pixels for a brilliant multimedia experience.

Sony debuts new cameras Sony unveiled three of its latest cameras: the Alpha SLT-A99, the NEX-5R and the NEX-6. The A99 allows serious photographers to explore the creative possibilities of full-frame imaging and the responsiveness of Translucent Mirror Technology. The successor to the flagship Sony Alpha A900 DSLR, the new A99 is the first camera with Translucent Mirror Technology from Sony to feature a fullframe 35mm image sensor. Translucent Mirror Technology is an innovative optical system that opens up dramatic new shooting possibilities such as high speed shooting and quick auto-focus. The A99 also debuts an advanced new AF-D continuous autofocus mode that is supremely effective with moving subjects. The 19-point AF system provides reliable depth focusing information. It is complemented by the 102-point multi-point focal plane phasedetection AF sensor to seamlessly manage subjects traversing the focal plane.

Unique to the A99, a newly developed full-frame EXMOR CMOS sensor with 24.3 effective megapixels is teamed with a highly advanced BIONZ image processing engine. This powerful sensor/ processor combination guarantees ultimate image quality which never goes out of focus.

The enthusiastfocused NEX-5R and NEX-6 offer the benefits of DSLRquality imaging with less to carry. Both the models feature a resolution of 16.1 megapixels, an APS-C image sensor in the ultra-compact body and a new, fast,

hybrid autofocus system, enabling users to catch precious moments in DSLR quality.

Additionally, the NEX 6 sports a built in view finder, mode dial and a multi-interface shoe giving intuitive DSLR-like operability.

Nikon launches D5200 Nikon Middle East has launche the D5200 digital SLR camera, a compact and lightweight entry-level model that delivers exceptional performance via Nikon’s allnew DX-format CMOS sensor, which has an effective pixel count of approximately 24.1-million pixels.

Building upon the D5100, this camera possesses greatly enhanced optical technologies, including an optimised EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, based on the one built into Nikon’s D4 flagship camera.

Created for full-scale photography enthusiasts, the D5200 boasts an image-processing engine that

offers superior resolution and image quality with very little noise at high sensitivities, the same quality and more delivered by the EXPEED 3 built into the high-end Nikon D4, D800, D800E, and D600 digital SLR cameras. This model’s performance is further enhanced via Nikon’s brand new DX-format CMOS sensor with an effective pixel count of approximately 24.1-million pixels. And just like the D5100, the D5200’s side-hinged vari-angle monitor gives users shooting flexibility from any angle and the ability to take self-portraits.

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Hot products Review

Nexans launches Slimflex fibre patch cords As part of the LANmark Fibre range, Nexans has introduced Slimflex fibre patch cords, specifically designed for environments with increasing port density, such as the data centre. Slimflex patchcords support Nexans fibre cable strategy to use the right fibre type in the appropriate place. Cost effective traditional fibres are used in backbone cabling where there is little need to use more expensive bend insensitive fibres.

However, the use of GIGAlite Flex bend insensitive fibre inside the Slimflex patch cords, means the cords are able to withstand very tight bends in patch areas without signal degradation, eliminating the risk of loss or application failure.

Slimflex patch cords feature a bend radius of only 7.5mm – as opposed to 40mm for traditional patch cords – dramatically reducing the risk of failure due to accidental over bending where it is most likely to occur. The cords use a small round cable with a diameter of only 2.6mm, which also reduces space requirements by 30% and is easier to handle as there is no preferential bending as would occur with a twin construction.

The cable uses an advanced flexible sheath material featuring high abrasion resistance, whilst remaining flexible and kink-free but without a memory effect. Additional features include low loss connectors, with insertion loss of only 0.3dB, and a reduced footprint to improve visibility in densely populated panels.

CommScope intros preterminated copper solution CommScope has introduced a preterminated copper connectivity solution designed to provide quick and easy deployment of large-scale cabling infrastructures in data centres as well as provide a future migration path to higher performance systems.

InstaPATCH QUATTRO, now available in the Middle East, is a 10GBASE-T and 1GBASE-T cassette and trunk-based connectivity solution. It combines highperformance with “plug-and-play” simplicity for fast data center deployment and easy modification as a network’s needs evolve.

“Pre-terminated connectivity has grown in recent years as a trusted means for designing and deploying data center infrastructures,” said Ciarán Forde, VP, Enterprise Sales, CommScope MEA. “InstaPATCH QUATTRO combines the performance and quality of our SYSTIMAX solutions along with the design

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freedom and installation ease associated with our InstaPATCH fiber solutions. We believe this solution corresponds with our customers’ infrastructure and data center needs today and for the future.”

InstaPATCH QUATTRO installs easily, adapts quickly and performs reliably even under the most demanding conditions.

InstaPATCH QUATTRO solutions include panels, modular cassettes, trunk and breakout cables. With the addition of InstaPATCH QUATTRO, CommScope now offers a full suite of high performance pre-terminated cabling solutions (copper, fibre and cabinet) that enable true end-to-end fast deployment of connectivity, from core to aggregation to access layers. It is an ideal solution for the deployment of pods and/or data centre modules.

Each InstaPATCH QUATTRO component is factory tested and certified by Fluke Networks equipment to ensure consistency and quality.

ECS unveils Golden motherboard edition Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) has launched its Black Series with AMD FM2 chipset– Golden Limited Edition: A85F2-A GOLDEN. The ECS A85F2-A GOLDEN builds on their already strong performance of FM2 motherboards by adding a host of powerful new features in the Trinity technology platform and also adapting the exclusive gold plating technology for the strictest quality and a higher outstanding performance.

The key features include AMP Technology support to take the full advantage of their unique operating design, newest graphical uEFI BIOS and easy-touse function radically takes full advantage of the performance, high-end gaming, multitasking and Windows 8 support.

ECS A85F2-A GOLDEN is said to be one of the most powerful and reliable motherboards for gaming solution. In the ATX format, this ECS motherboard features 2 PCIe x16 slots for graphics card upgrades and CrossFireX support, as well as 3 PCIe x1 and 2 PCI slots for different demands.

Up to 64 GB of dual channel DDR3 memory can be installed in 4 DIMMs, with full maximum speed from 1866 to 2133, or up to 2600 for high-end overclocking.

Expansion and connectivity options in the A85F2-A GOLDEN include 7 SATA 6 Gb/s connectors, 6 USB 3.0 ports, 8 USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit LAN, and a eSATA 6Gb/s connectors for fast external storage. Separate HDMI, DVI, D-Sub and Display Port provide graphics output, and 8-Ch HD Audio support.

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Opinion iPad

Frenzy for iPad Mini Apple’s iPad Mini has launched at last, and the market has reacted positively.

It is estimated that Apple has sold 3 million units during the first weekend following the launch. Ashish Panjabi, COO of Jacky’s Electronics, gives us his first impressions about the new iPad.

Ashish Panjabi, COO of Jacky’s Electronics

66

Reseller Middle East

november 2012

We expect to see the iPad Mini launch to do well and the fourth generation iPad should continue to help maintain the lion’s share of the market for tablets. Apple has spoken of a fairly rapid roll-out this time around with a whole host of countries coming into the first wave of launch of the iPads announced last night. The time to market has gradually been reducing and while we don’t have an exact date from Apple yet, I’m fairly optimistic it will be here before the year-end. As always, there may be grey goods imported into the country earlier but we advise customers to wait for the official launch as prices are normally exorbitant initially but once the official launch happens, we can expect prices to be much more closely aligned to those in other countries.

While it is announced that Apple has decided to charge a premium on iPad mini over other 7-inch Android-based tablets, I believe they quite rightfully can do so because of its uniqueness and for the thought that has gone into designing the product.

Also, there is the App experience that Apple tablet users can get as compared to an Android user, which was shown last night.

Whereas, the problem with many of the 7-inch Android tablets today is that they vary largely

in terms of engineering quality, finish, screen resolution and user experience. Most of them are black slabs and if you were to cover the brand names on most tablets, you couldn’t tell the difference between one and the other.

Apple has never been a brand that’s played to mass market pricing. Their Macbooks are often more expensive than that of most PC vendors. Their smartphones have also always been priced at a premium.

Apple for example never entered the netbook race when it started a few years ago and decided to launch products like the Macbook Air or iPad instead at a premium. There is an aspirational value that Apple has managed to derive from consumers and this was somewhat expected to continue with the new iPad Mini as well.

The buzz around the iPad’s has been immense, especially for the smaller factor device but Apple also managed to surprise a lot of consumers and industry pundits last night with the announcement of the iMac. At 5mm, it’s a stunning piece of work for a desktop computer and at a time when most desktop computers have become commoditized, it’s encouraging to see how Apple has managed to continue innovating and charging a premium for their desktops. //

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