Reseller Middle East February 2017 by Reseller Middle East

ISSUE 242 | FEBRUARY 2017 www.resellerme.com

IaaS PROSPECTS SI ROLE IN THE CLOUD ERA

POLE POSITION

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 242 // FEBRUARY 2017

26 POLE POSITION COVER FEATURE

Havier Haddad, Channel Sales Director, Dell EMC, shares partner plans for the region.

43 REVIEW

IPHONE 7

46 HOT PRODUCT

HP’s ELITEBOOK X360

24 CLOUD IN CHECK

HIGHLIGHTS

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

Red Hat’s Martin Percival on addressing hybrid cloud management issues.

FEATURES

30 OPERATION CLOUD

OPINION

20 SPOT ON

Bruce Zhou from Axilspot, explains how partners can overcome the challenges of IoT and the Internet worlds integrating.

22 ON THE GO

34 VALUE OF SERVICE

Citrix’ Arthur Dell shares highlights from its Global Desktop-as-a-Service market report.

STEPS TO SUCCESS Osama AlHaj-Issa from HPE Aruba, shares how partners can seize market opportunities to be successful.

Reseller ME delves into the evolving role of systems integrators in the cloud era.

Experts discuss how reseller partners can roll out Infrastructure-asa-Service deployments efficiently.

38 TAKING STOCK

Reseller ME finds out how regional retailers can differentiate their business through technology.

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

EDITORIAL Play to your strengths

Janees Reghelini Editor

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

FOUNDER, CPI MEDIA GROUP Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015)

Cloud has captured the imagination of most organisations in the region today. For resellers to succeed in this space it is imperative that they truly understand the reasons behind this. The primary one continues to be lower upfront costs as on-premise solutions can burn holes in one’s pocket since it involves large capital investments. In contrast, cloud-based solutions are normally on subscription type models with minimum capital and risk. Other attractive features include anytime access to applications from any place, greater scalability, easier software updates, better ease of managing documents and improved security. While these advantages are widely known, what can make all the difference for a partner’s business is if they add services. Globally, cloud services are growing five times faster than the overall IT industry as per an IDC study. It said that valueadded resellers who have 50 percent cloud revenue make more than one and half times the gross profit percentage than those who don’t.

One challenge for regional resellers is customer retention when it comes to selling cloud-based solutions and services. But by including other types of products or services, partners have an opportunity to upsell or cross-sell. It is important to ensure that you have a comprehensive set of cloud services that match customers’ existing as well as future needs. This will not only help drive retention but also grow your business. A number of regional distributors have launched their own cloud marketplaces recently, enabling resellers to leverage those resources to enhance their offerings. The advantages of reselling cloud solutions also include minimal costs without the hassles of adding new SKUs or related expenses, expanded reach as there are opportunities to add on to your sale and improved revenues. Partners have a huge opportunity here, one that they need to assess and create sound strategies for. At the same time, it is important that they play to their strengths to create robust and lasting operations.

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

HIGHLIGHTS

Avaya files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

ommunications company Avaya has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. According to the company, the move will enable them to restructure their balance sheet to better position the business for the future. “We have conducted an extensive review of alternatives to address Avaya’s capital structure, and we believe pursuing a restructuring through Chapter 11 is the best path forward at this time,” said Kevin Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer, Avaya in a statement. “Reducing the company’s current debt through the Chapter 11 process will best position all of Avaya’s businesses for future success.” The privately held Santa Clara,

California-based company said it obtained a $725 million loan, which was underwritten by Citibank, to fund its operations during the filing. Subject to Court approval, the financing, combined with the Avaya’s cash from operations, is expected to provide sufficient liquidity during the Chapter 11 case to support its continuing business operations and minimise the disruption to its customers, partners and employees. The Avaya CEO underlined that “the business is performing well,” and that they are confident this process will enable them to “emerge stronger than ever.” Nidal Abou-ltaif, President, Avaya International, said, “For Avaya’s Middle East and Africa operations we expect to continue business as usual – and

to build on the success we achieved in 2016. Our FY2016 results underline that Kevin Kennedy, Avaya our operational performance continues to remain strong, it reflects the strength of our technology portfolio. 2016 was a year of innovation for Avaya, with 16 major solution launches, a company record. Avaya had many highlights across the region, reporting double-digit growth for our networking business and adding major new customers in the real estate and oil and gas sectors. We also saw significant interest in our cloud business, with many customers looking at our cloud service offerings.”

Redington Value, Huawei partner to develop smart solutions

(LtoR) Ramkumar Balakrishnan, Redington Value and Alaa Elshimy, Huawei Enterprise

Redington Value and Huawei have recently signed a partnership deal that will see the two collaborate on the development of cloud and Internet of Things solutions to better support the growing needs of today’s businesses. Under the strategic agreement, Redington will make the vendor’s cloud and IoT offerings available in its solutions centre, Red Vault, for the benefit of industry specialists

while engaging jointly on Smart City projects. In addition, both companies will focus on developing and deploying key initiatives in the cloud space like the VAD’s Red Cloud and providing consultancy to channel players through its consulting arm – Citrus. Ramkumar Balakrishnan, President, Redington Value, said, “Huawei’s addition into our portfolio will enable us to accelerate our transformation objectives to becoming a solutions provider to channel players rather than just somebody who’s ‘moving boxes.’ Over the last few years, Huawei has successfully deployed solutions in the fields of Smart City, safe city, education, oil and gas and so on. We believe that their offerings and expertise in these areas will add more value into our solutions centre and consulting arm respectively.” Speaking about the channel strategy that Redington will undertake

in delivering Huawei’s solutions, Balakrishnan highlighted that it will primarily be focused on education. “We will, as an example, have programmes that will enhance channel players’ knowledge and skillsets in deploying safe city solutions. We can also host trainings on automated intrusion detection for the oil and gas sector. Through the partnership Redington will be able to provide channel players with all the tools required to deploy these solutions.” “Huawei is very excited to join hands with Redington Value, a top information technology player in the region. We are looking to combine Redington Value’s expertise with our own to come out with smart innovative solutions applicable to all industry verticals,” said Alaa Elshimy, Managing Director and Vice President, Huawei Enterprise Business, Middle East.

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

HIGHLIGHTS

Ingram Micro, HPE sign distribution deal Ingram Micro has announced that it signed a distribution agreement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise Marc Kassis, Ingram for the whole Micro META range of its security software product line and solutions. Under the agreement, Ingram Micro is now an authorised distributor of HPE Software offerings including security products across Gulf countries, Egypt and Levant. “HPE is committed to helping our customers understand the need to protect their business by building security into the fabric of their enterprise,” said Tim Grieveson, Chief Cyber and Security Strategist, HPE EMEA. “We are convinced that through our partnership with Ingram Micro we will be able to reach and help more customers mitigate risk in their hybrid environments and defend against advanced threats.” Marc Kassis, Cybersecurity Director, Ingram Micro META region, said, “Our target is to enhance the value proposition to our business partners with a dedicated range of services and relevant large vendors. With HPE, we are reaching the frontrunner position as a value-added distributor of cybersecurity solutions.”

87.5%

OF UAE COMPANIES REPORTED THAT THE AMOUNT OF SMARTPHONES USED FOR WORK HAD INCREASED OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS SOURCE: KASPERSKY LAB

Xerox completes separation of Conduent

erox has completed the separation of Conduent Incorporated, creating two publicly- traded companies. Jeff Jacobson, CEO, Xerox, underlined that the conclusion of the split is a historic event for the company. “The successful completion of the separation sharpens our market focus and commitment to our customers,” he said. “I am confident that the transformational actions we are implementing position Xerox for long-term success and unlocks shareholder value.” Members of the company’s executive leadership team, employees and customers celebrated the milestone by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on 4th January 2017. According to Xerox, its focus on growing its global leadership in digital

I am confident the transformational actions we are implementing position Xerox for long-term success and unlocks shareholder value.”

print technology and services will help customers innovate how they communicate, connect and work more productively. Jeff Jacobson, Xerox The company also underlined that its financial model and revitalised business strategy will enable strong free cash flow generation and margin expansion, as well as targeted investments in attractive growth areas, such as document outsourcing and solutions for small- and mediumsized businesses. Under the terms of the separation, Xerox shareholders received one share of the Conduent common stock for every five shares of Xerox common stock they held as of the close of business on 15th December 2016, the record date for the distribution. In connection with the spin-off, Xerox received a cash transfer from Conduent of $1.8 billion, which it intends to use, along with cash on hand, to retire approximately $2.0 billion in debt.

Amazon reportedly drops Souq.com deal Amazon.com Inc. and India’s Flipkart Online Services have walked away from talks to acquire Dubai-based Souq.com following disagreements over price, according to Bloomberg. Two people with knowledge on the matter who wish not to be named said that the e-commerce business is now seeking other potential investors, and is apparently negotiating with malloperator Majid Al Futtaim. Talks between the US online retail giant Amazon began with Souq.com in November 2016, in a deal that was expected to have been worth about $1 billion, after Souq.com appointed Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to find

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

buyers for a stake last year. The Middle Eastern company’s existing investors include Tiger Global Management and South Africa’s Naspers Ltd. Souq.com became the highest valued Internet company in the Middle East after a $275 million founding round in February 2016. The company sells more than 1.5 million products online to customers in countries including the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. A spokesman for Majid Al Futtaim has yet to comment on said negotiations, while Amazon and Flipkart didn’t immediately return requests for comment from Bloomberg.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Citrix acquires UniDesk

itrix has announced at Citrix Summit 2017 its acquisition of UniDesk, the force behind developing the Windows application packaging and management technology known as layering. According to Citrix, UniDesk allows for unique advantages that streamline secure app delivery and VDI deployments. Through incorporating UniDesk technology into XenApp and XenDesktop, Citrix can advance its industry standing by offering “best in-class” solution for apps and desktops in the cloud, on-premises and in hybrid deployment environments. As UniDesk technology is already compatible with XenApp and XenDesktop, it will be available to customers who have active Citrix Success Services subscriptions. The vendor also introduced new packages to transition from on-premises licences to Citrix Cloud for existing customers and services that enable Citrix and Microsoft customers to deploy Windows 10 desktops on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. Also, the provision

of services to deploy apps directly on Azure, and Smart Tools to simplify the PJ Hough, Citrix deployment of new workspaces. Citrix has also announced a new Citrix Ready partner initiative targeting the mid-market along with mobility and network management products and services that complement Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) and provide comprehensive security and value for Citrix and Microsoft customers. “Through our portfolio of products and services, Citrix is equipping partners and customers with the necessary tools to ensure their successful journey to the cloud. Whether they choose to overhaul completely or deploy apps at a gradual pace, we have the management platform and the services required to best fit their business goals,” said P. J. Hough, SVP, Product and Technology, Citrix.

Cisco: Retail sector lags in digital transformation Retailers remain in the early phases of digital transformation and are missing a $187 billion opportunity by not prioritising investments Mike Weston, Cisco in employee Middle East productivity, according to a report by Cisco. The multi-channel shopper is fueling a wave of digital disruption that threatens to put nearly half of retailer leaders out of business if they don’t transform themselves digitally. A new report released by Cisco titled, “Reinventing retail: Cisco reveals how stores can surge ahead on the digital transformation journey,” reveals that despite the risks, retailers around the world are moving too slowly when it comes to digital transformation and may

not be investing in the right places. The holiday season’s choppy sales report and the recent closing of big box stores is just the beginning. “The shakeup caused by digital disruption is already underway with many major retailers announcing the closure of hundreds of their brick and mortar stores in recent months, in order to better compete in a landscape where physical and digital channels are increasingly converging,” said Mike Weston, Vice President, Cisco Middle East. “Yet, there remains a tremendous opportunity, with the potential for retailers to generate more than $506 billion in value that can be achieved through digital transformation. Retailers need to make more progress in digitising their workforce and their core operations in order to execute on the innovative customer experiences they want to deliver, and to position themselves for success in the new retail landscape.”

Huawei unveils vision to create the “Intelligent Phone” At CES 2017, Huawei Consumer Business Group’s CEO Richard Yu shared Huawei’s vision of the next frontier in mobile – the Intelligent Phone, an AI-powered device. During the keynote, Yu pointed to the three pillars the Huawei brand – passion, collective wisdom and meaningful innovation – to explain the company’s success. The Chinese company also highlighted the “next phase in mobile” – the Intelligent Phone. The AI-powered Intelligent Phone, according to the company, will be able to anticipate our needs with new functionality that will truly match the way we think and feel. In order to bring the Intelligent Phone to life, Yu discussed the design needs of this dynamic, new device which will emulate the human capacity to interact with and understand the world around it. For example, the Intelligent Phone will need advanced computer vision to see and understand its surroundings. It will need more intelligent and developed microphones through which the device can hear and identify different sounds. It will require advances in power and battery life to process vast amounts of information. To accelerate the development of the Intelligent Phone, Huawei highlighted that it is currently working to further develop its sensor technology, machine learning, data management and chipset.

68%

OF GLOBAL ORGANISATIONS ARE USING CLOUD TO HELP DRIVE BUSINESS OUTCOMES SOURCE: CISCO

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

HIGHLIGHTS

TP-Link recruits systems integrators for SMB array

P-Link Technologies has announced that it has started the process of recruiting systems integrators (SIs) for its recently unveiled SMB portfolio of products in the Middle East and Africa (MEA). According to the vendor, the SI recruitment drive is aimed at helping TPLink and its channel ecosystem across the region to target small businesses in specific market verticals in the region. Dia Hamdan, Regional Marketing Manager, TP-Link MEA, said that following the launch of the SMB Partner Programme and products, the company has developed a strategy to recruit channel partners who will develop the SMB business in the Middle East. Hamdan said the company is seeking to partner with SIs that are currently not doing business with

TP-Link yet and are willing to develop their business in the hospitality, education and corporate sectors. “We will be providing tools and resources to SI partners we enlist to make sure that they are trained, certified and enabled to implement our SMB offerings in the market,” he said. He reiterated that partner training and certifications are the cornerstone upon which the recruitment drive has been developed. “In every country across MEA, new channel partners will be required to undergo mandatory training and get certified either as a TP-Link Network Associate (TPNA) or TP-Link Network Professional (TPNP). Hamdan explained that the partner levels under the umbrella TP-Link Partner Programme are linked to training and the company has already

started rolling out the schemes in the region. “We have already created a dedicated partner Dia Hamdan, TP-Link portal where interested channel partners can register to start the engagement process. In addition, all the course materials to help partners prepare for the TPNA and TPNP certifications are already available online.” He pointed out that once a partner has been signed up, they will be guided on the training and certification paths.

Veeam introduces knowledge workshops for partners Veeam Software has recently announced the introduction of ‘Veeam Partner Academies’, a series of halfday and full-day Omar Akhtar, Veeam workshops that will be co-hosted along with a distributor. According to the company, the objective is to develop knowledge within Veeam’s sales and pre-sales partner community so that they have all the tools needed to deliver a compelling message to customers about the criticality of availability solutions for the modern data centre. Omar Akhtar, Regional Channel Manager, Middle East and SAARC, Veeam Software, said, “This initiative enables our partners to position themselves as trusted advisors to endusers and knowledgably advise them

This initiative enables our partners to position themselves as trusted advisors to end-users and knowledgably advise them about the criticality of ‘Availability’ in their journey to digital transformation.” about the criticality of ‘Availability’ in their journey to digital transformation. Our partners will be given the knowledge and skills to educate regional CIOs and IT managers about the need to transition from legacy backup solutions to high availability data centre solutions like the Veeam Availability Suite, in order to make the most of their investments in virtualisation and become always-on, always-available operations.” Veeam will co-host the first event in Q1’ 2017 in the UAE with its distributor Aptec – an Ingram Micro Company,

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

and will then extend the concept to other regional distributors. The intended frequency will be one Partner Academy workshop per distributor every quarter. The theme and topics for each event will be decided by its local systems engineer according to the business needs of the region and will feature deep-dive technical concepts and focus on the company’s solutions. The workshops will be open to all of the company’s channel partners to attend, irrespective of what tier they belong to.

$340.2 MILLION

EXPECTED VALUE OF CLOUD BUSINESS PROCESS AS-ASERVICE MARKET BY 2020 SOURCE: GARTNER

HIGHLIGHTS

Mimecast, Bulwark Technologies host partner enablement event

Mimecast and Bulwark teams

Mimecast along with Bulwark Technologies have recently held a Partner Education and Enablement Day event for IT resellers in the Middle East region. Industry experts discussed current IT trends, addressed the advantages of cloud security solutions for

small and growing businesses, and delivered best practices for selling security, archiving and continuity cloud solutions and services. Attendees engaged in a series of presentations and demonstrations including a live hacking session, to educate and enable Bulwark’s

D-Link urges partners to maximise broadband space D-Link Corporation has urged its channel partners to take advantage of business opportunities opening up as Sakkeer Hussain, D-Link a result of high Internet broadband penetration rates in the Middle East. Sakkeer Hussain, Director, Sales and Marketing, D-Link Middle East and Africa (MEA), said that if one looks at most countries in the MEA region, their governments are doing everything possible to get people and small businesses connected to the Internet. Hussain said in the UAE for example, the government’s efforts around Smart City and smart government have to be commended because that is encouraging

people to get connected to the Internet at home or through their mobile devices. “This is opening up opportunities for partners to offer the right networking and wireless solutions to consumers, SOHO, SMB and enterprise customers,” he said. “This is spreading across MEA with governments, private sector organisations and telecom providers all getting involved.” According to Hussain, having more people connected to the Internet be it a consumer, SMB, enterprise or an educational institution, benefits everyone as people are now in a better position to access the many services and vital information offered online. He explained that what this transformation in the Middle East has done for D-Link and its partner ecosystem is help the company to identify verticals and countries where jointly with the channel it can provide

partners in the Middle East region. Brandon Bekker, Managing Director, Mimecast, said, “The Mimecast Partner Education and Enablement Day provided a great opportunity for Mimecast to meet the channel partners of our distributor Bulwark in the Middle East region, and to discuss how we succeed in selling and implementing Mimecast products in the market in 2017. Customers within Bulwark’s partner network can now expect a complete and comprehensive value-added proposition. Our aim, as partners with Bulwark, is to grow our reach across different verticals and market segments in this region, and we look forward to a successful year ahead together.”

This is opening up opportunities for partners to offer the right networking and wireless solutions to consumers, SOHO, SMB and enterprise customers.” products, solutions and services to suit the needs of those markets. He said that this is the reason why D-Link has an in-house service centre in most of the countries across the MEA region. “We want to train and help channel partners jump onto the services bandwagon. To support channel partners in their quest to offer services, we have a dedicated technical support team and a call centre that offers pre- and post-sales support to resellers and their customers,” he said.

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

HIGHLIGHTS

TechAccess recognises top partners for 2016 TechAccess, a value-added distributor in the Middle East, North Africa, Levant, Pakistan and Afghanistan, has announced the winners of its Partner Loyalty Program for 2016. According to the VAD, its Partner Loyalty Rewards programme recognises the outstanding achievements of partners drawn from its distributors’ network across the region. This year’s winners included Gold partners Fujitsu, Special Database Technologies (PALCO), and Specialised Technical Services. In the Silver category were Americana Computer Systems, ECS ME, Jeraisy Computer and Communication Services Company (JCCS), AppsPro, Corporate Software, and Polaris Technology. “We congratulate our winning partners for their continued commitment towards growing their sales with us and performing exceptionally well by exceeding targets,” said Ahsan Ali, Chief Operating Officer, TechAccess. “Our partners are an integral part of our ecosystem; the growth and success of their business is our top priority. We encourage our entire partner community to take advantage of our support model and continue to grow their business in 2017.”

$1M

THE AVERAGE RECOVERY COST OF A BREACH THAT STAYS UNDETECTED FOR A WEEK OR MORE SOURCE: KASPERSKY LAB AND B2B INTERNATIONAL

Sophos launches new partner initiatives for SMBs

ophos has introduced a new initiative for small and medium sized businesses (SMB) in the Middle East. The new venture entails a special training and incentive programme for channel partners to enable them to address the needs of customers in the SMB space. Harish Chib, Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Sophos, said, “Our intention is to help incentivise our channel partners to better serve and support our customers in this market segment with security knowledge and expertise. Channel partners, who meet these targets will get incentivised and rewarded by Sophos for their efforts, where they will be able to earn back by way of price discounts and credit for certification training.” Sophos also announced a special pricing and rebate promotion for channel partners targeting the small and medium business end-users.

As part of this special incentive, partners can get Harish Chib, Sophos a return through reduced pricing and extra training initiatives. “Sophos is a 100 percent channel driven IT Security Company offering synchronised security through our next-generation portfolio of endpoint, network or cloud security solutions. As part of our ‘Channel First – Channel Only’ sales strategy, we are committed to providing simple and comprehensive security solutions to not only the mid-market enterprises but also the SMB segment and the channel partners that serve them. We are confident that our new training and incentive initiative will encourage our regional channel partners and gear them to cater to the ever-growing SMB segment in the Middle East,” said Chib.

Avira, Simal Technologies sign distribution deal Avira has recently announced that it signed a distribution agreement with Simal Technologies to further expand its channel base within the Middle East market. Pradipto Bhowmick, Business Development Manager, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Avira, said, “The Middle East is one of the key regions for us, and we are keen on expanding our reach in this market. We are glad to partner with Simal Technologies, a specialist distributor, which has a region-wide channel presence and much desired skills. “With this partnership, we expect to roll out our partner programme much more effectively and enable our channel

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

partners with full programme benefits, immediate access to the products and tools, and excellent margins from the moment they sign up,” he said. Under the terms of the agreement, Simal Technologies will serve as a certified distributor partner for Avira, promoting their products in various countries across MENA. Mazadul Hoque, Product Manager, Simal Technologies, said, “We are excited about this new partnership with Avira to distribute their security solutions in the region. With Avira’s range of technologically superior and consistently award-winning solutions, we are confident we will unlock the vast new opportunities for channel partners.”

HIGHLIGHTS

King Abdulaziz University now a Red Hat Academy Partner

ed Hat has announced that the King Abdulaziz University has been signed as a Red Hat Academy Partner in Saudi Arabia. The Red Hat Academy is an open source programme that provides curriculum materials for educational programmes in high schools and institutions of higher education worldwide. In line with the partnership, the university will now offer Red Hat courses and exams to current students, who will receive curriculum and labs, performance-based testing, and instructor support. King Abdulaziz University was established as a national university aiming at spreading higher education in the western area of Saudi Arabia. The University highlighted that it not

only has the regular students programme but it also has the external programme to make it easy for all students to get higher education. With a continuous commitment to knowledge development, (LtoR) Lee Miles, Red Hat and Dr. Abdulrahman H. Altalhi, KAU at the research, partnership signing ceremony innovation and entrepreneurship, such as Red Hat Certified System King Abdulaziz University will now be Administration (RHCSA), Red Hat offering Red Hat´s curriculum across Certified Engineer (RHCE), Red Hat many of Red Hat’s most popular platforms, including Linux, middleware Certified System Administrator in Red Hat Openstack, Red Hat Certified and cloud technologies. JBoss Administrator (RHCJA) and Students can also improve their skills by enrolling in some of Red Hat´s Red Hat Certified JBoss Developer (RHCJD). most popular certification exams,

Saudi Arabia ICT spending to reach $33.8 billion The Saudi ICT market will rebound in 2017 to reach a value of $33.8 billion for the year, according to the latest insights presented by International Data Corporation (IDC). Hosting its annual IDC Predictions 2017 event held in Riyadh, the global technology research and consulting services firm said it expects Saudi Arabia’s ICT market to grow 2.4 percent year on year in 2017, which represents a considerable improvement on the -5.1 percent downturn experienced in 2016. “Last year was certainly a challenging one for vendors, services providers, channel partners, and endusers alike,” said Hamad AlSaghir, IDC’s country manager for Saudi Arabia. “The year was characterised by weak oil prices and increasing inflation, resulting in lower-thanusual spending by the government, which has traditionally been the leading spender on technology

and associated services. In order to counter the negative impacts of economic dependence on oil, the Saudi government has initiated its Vision 2030 initiative, of which the National Transformation Programme (NTP) forms an integral part.” According to Hamza Naqshbandi, principal analyst at IDC Saudi Arabia, the NTP’s influence on the kingdom’s ICT market will be far reaching in 2017. As organisations across Saudi Arabia embrace this evolving ICT landscape and address the challenge of having to do more with less, the shift towards software and IT services is gathering considerable momentum. Indeed, IDC expects spending on software and IT services to see yearon-year growth of 5.5 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively, in 2017. At 35.4 percent, spending on mobile devices will continue to account for the biggest share of the Saudi IT market’s revenue in

The year was characterised by weak oil prices and increasing inflation, resulting in lowerthan-usual spending by the government, which has traditionally been the leading spender on technology and associated services.” 2017, although this share has fallen considerably from 42.5 percent in 2015 and 37 percent in 2016. Meanwhile, IT services will account for 30.6 percent of total IT spending in 2017, up from 23.5 percent in 2015 and 28.9 percent in 2016.

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

HIGHLIGHTS

HP Inc showcases latest offerings at SGI ME 2017

HP Inc has showcased its portfolio of large-format products and solutions at the recently held Sign & Graphic Imaging Middle East (SGI) 2017.

According to the company, its latest latex printing technology allows for businesses to transform the walls of residential, commercial, and consumer

spaces, offering a new innovation to interior designers and decorators. The company’s stand during the exhibition features floor graphic, canvas, wallpaper, window blinds and sofa synthetic leather and textile cushions, which were all printed using HP’s latex printing method. Michael Smetana, Head of Marketing, Graphics Solutions, HP Europe, Middle East and Africa, said, “The interior and design industries are growing at considerable rates, with companies in the UAE spending up to AED 300 million, taking the top spot in the GCC on interior design expenditure. This proves there is great potential for manufacturers to introduce new and innovative technologies to meet this growing demand.” Among the new products that HP showcased at the exhibition are HP Latex, 335 Printer, HP Latex 560 and 570 Printers, HP Latex 1500 Printer and the PageWide XL 8000 Printer.

TP-Link partners with SALE International in Oman TP-Link Technologies has appointed SALE International as the distributor of its Neffos smartphone portfolio in Oman. Lucas Jiang, TP-Link According to the vendor, the appointment of SALE International as its distribution partner paves the way for the company to develop its business in the channel space in Oman. Lucas Jiang, General Manager, TP-Link Middle East and Africa (MEA), said the company is delighted to have signed SALE International as its distributor in Oman. “SALE is one of the largest telecoms focused distributors in Oman and the wider Middle East,” he said. “By appointing SALE International to distribute the

Neffos range of smartphones and accessories, we are demonstrating the commitment that TP-Link is serious about growing its mobile devices business in the region.” Jiang said TP-Link selected SALE International because it is a reputable distributor with solid presence in the telecoms distribution space in Oman and the region. Naser Khalid, Country General Manager, SALE International, Oman, said the company has diversified its business into mobile phone distribution. He also mentioned that adding Neffos to their portfolio will bring further value to us as a distributor that wants to grow its business in the mobile devices trade. “TP-Link is a well known brand in the computer industry and with Neffos as the company’s mobile brand, we will have their commitment to innovate and provide an aggressive

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

TP-Link is a well known brand in the computer industry and with Neffos as the company’s mobile brand, we will have their commitment to innovate and provide an aggressive line up of mobile handsets.” line up of mobile handsets,” he said. “The plans presented and the interest shown by TP-Link in building the mobile brand was impressive and is what led us to sign as their distribution partner.”

HIGHLIGHTS

Kotak Securities deploys BI and MIS analytics platform points across the organisation to give business and department heads the actionable insights in real time. The company, thus, wanted to implement a tool that can address the current Kamlesh Rao, Kotak Securities and Sunil Paul, Finesse challenge in terms of MIS and Analytics. Finesse was Finesse has announced that Kotak chosen to implement QlikSense at Securities, the stock broking and Kotak Securities to drill down the distribution arm of the Kotak Mahindra collated data across all systems Group, has gone live with its Business to get analytics that helped them Intelligence (BI) and MIS Analytics in interpretation, analytics and Platform using Qlik’s BI software. decision making. According to the Kamlesh Rao, CEO, Kotak customer, this has helped them Securities, highlighted that he had a better visualisation of data and to vision of using analytics to embrace have deeper insights to take more the next level of growth, apart from informed decisions. getting insights into the various data

“The best broking company going forward will be the one that understands their client’s behaviour well and on the go, and which is why business analytics play a very important role in letting us act on the data that we have,” said Rao. “BI and analytics is going to arm relevant companies who are capable of absorbing the business of BI to ensure that they are the ones who will be staying ahead and be market leaders in their respective lines of business.” He added that data, on the fly, in real time, is extremely important for being in the business of broking today. “Actions determined by decisions taken based on various data points are extremely critical in the world of broking today. That is why we chose QlikSense. Our association with Finesse has allowed us to make sure that QlikSense is the best system for us.”

National Store, Wiko sign exclusive distribution deal

(LtoR) Marie Paule Arnaud, Wiko, East and West Africa; Salah Khoory, National Store JK Group and Kashif Siddiqui, Wiko UAE

National Store, the flagship company of JK Group, has announced its partnership with French smartphone brand, Wiko, to act as the exclusive distributor for the brand in the UAE market. Under the partnership, National Store will carry out the ground sales and distribution operations for Wiko across all its outlets in the UAE. This will assist the brand in its countrywide expansion as well as in further

strengthening its visibility in the region. Salah Khoory, General Manager, National Store– JK Group, said, “Partnering with Wiko is a part of National Store’s future strategy to diversify the business of the company, while creating a strong base in the mobile and IT category. Wiko is a young and fresh brand with a lot of potential which will add a strong

new category to the company’s portfolio. The brand is already very well presented in the individual retail channel. Therefore, our aim is to further fortify its visibility in this segment and then move into increasing its presence through power retailers.” Kashif Siddiqui, Head of Sales Wiko, UAE, said, “With this partnership, we aim to strengthen the brand’s presence in the independent retail market, as this market provides better reach and returns with less investments. Wiko has worked with nearly all the power retailers in the UAE and is keen on re-entering the Power retail segment with its new range of 4G phones equipped with the latest technologies and is already in discussions with the top power retailers. Soon, consumers will start seeing Wiko on the shelves of power retailers.”

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

HIGHLIGHTS

TransSys named ‘Oracle CX Cloud Partner of the Year’

Prabu Balasubramanyan, TransSys Solutions receiving the Oracle CX Award

ransSys Solutions has announced that it has won the ‘Oracle CX Cloud Partner of the Year’ award for 2016 at the recently held Oracle Partner Day Event in Dubai.

The systems integrator was recognised for its commitment to delivering a variety of innovative client cloud transformations solutions using Oracle’s CX (Customer eXperience) Cloud in the GCC region. “Cloud and digital transformation are at the center of any business’ corporate strategy to jump start from where they are today. TransSys has been helping customers embark on their digital transformation journey using Oracle’s cloud solutions. We are delighted to win the ‘Oracle CX Cloud Partner of the Year – 2016’ award, which is an achievement and an honour. This award is a testament to our team’s dedication towards excellence and in providing solutions that drive real business value

and results for our customers,” said Prabu Balasubramanyan, Executive Director, TransSys Solutions. As an Oracle Platinum Cloud Select partner for the Middle East and Africa region, TransSys has been offering customers innovative solutions around its Oracle Cloud solutions portfolio. The company offers cloud solutions on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platformas-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-asa-Service (IaaS) across various functional areas viz. ERP, HCM, SCM, Cx. The company has also built PaaS for SaaS extensions across industry verticals to help clients quickly adopt to Oracle’s Cloud platform, in addition to offering specific solution accelerators.

DCG organises event for resellers and buyers

Dubai Computer Group (DCG) has recently hosted ‘Business Meets’ an event for buyers and resellers. According to DCG, the event is the first step towards achieving a healthy business environment for 2017 and beyond for the IT channel business. Held at the Ramada Jumeirah Hotel, the event gathered over top suppliers, distributors and importers to discuss reforms that would redefine the business landscape. The meeting started with a short presentation from DCG on the need for business reforms, current business

trends and formative measures. The attendees included management representatives and credit controllers from Achiever Computers, Al Masa Distribution, Aptec – an Ingram Micro Company, Asbis Middle East, Daisytek Computers, Experts Computer, FDC International, Gulf Shadows Computer System, Logicom, Mitsumi Distribution, Quality Computers, Redington, Tiger General Trading, Transworld Computer Technology and Trigon. During the event, attendees have agreed on a number of issues including the need to have a viable business

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

ecosystem to make the industry trustworthy; distributors credit controllers should meet regularly along with DCG team and selected partners to share information and planning; and lastly, buyers’ concerns should be respected and meetings with them needs to be initiated to get their feedback on the industry. Dharmendra L. Sawlani, President, DCG, said, “This arduous effort was taken by the DCG team to bring in consensus of the stakeholders on business reforms that meet the challenges of 2017 and ensure profitability. This is an ongoing process which we are sure will bring financial discipline and stability.” DCG also mentioned that it will soon organise a meeting with a team of buyers as well to understand the difficulties and solutions that can increase productivity and profitability. Furthermore, an expanded version of top suppliers meet is also being planned.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ninety-eight percent of Gen Z prefer shopping in-store

According to a new study by IBM and the National Retail Federation, nearly all members of Gen Z (98 percent) prefer to shop in-store over online. With the global Gen Z population set to reach 2.6 billion by 2020, retailers need to create more interactive engagement around their brands to serve the “always on,” mobilefocused, high-spending demographic, according to the study. “Generation Z expects technology

to be intuitive, relevant and engaging — their last great experience is their new expectation,” said Steve Laughlin, General Manager of Global Consumer Industries, IBM. “This presents a significant challenge for retailers and brands to create a personalised, interactive experience with the latest digital advances or risk falling behind. This kind of innovation is not linear or a one-time project — it is a new way of thinking, operating and behaving.”

However, the study found that 67 percent of Generation Z shop in a bricks-and-mortar store most of the time, with another 31 percent shopping in-store sometimes, indicating 98 percent of Gen Z shop in store. The new generation is important to retailers because it has access to $44 billion in buying power, with 75 percent saying they spend more than half of the money that is available to them each month, according to the study. The “Uniquely Gen Z” study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value is based on findings from more than 15,000 consumers aged 13-21 from 16 countries. Born after the mid-1990’s till early 2000s, Generation Z is the first “digitally native” group to grow up not knowing a world before cellular phones, smartphones and other digital devices.

OMA Emirates expands mobile payment offerings OMA Emirates has announced its investment into India based MobiSwipe, a company that specialises in Mobile Point of Niranj Sangal, OMA Sale (mPOS) Emirates solutions. According to OMA Emirates, the new venture will help broaden the services and solutions that it can offer in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the APAC regions. The added solutions will enable merchants to accept both credit and debit card payments via a simple mobile application and provides an innovative, convenient and economical payment option to a wide range of business sectors. “In line with OMA Emirates’

The new solution will help us provide our merchants with a wholesome mPOS ecosystem that combines mobility, payment and business processing across all sales channels.” expansion plans into new geographies and our experience in POS Management across Middle East, it was important for us to add an mPOS solution to the existing portfolio. The new investment in MobiSwipe provides us a stronger platform to broaden our set of business solutions and services. This comes at a timely moment when we see an increasing number of consumers using mobile

technology for payments and who have higher expectations from retailers to provide them with superior solutions that will increase their convenience while shopping. The new solution will help us provide our merchants with a wholesome mPOS ecosystem that combines mobility, payment and business processing across all sales channels,” said Niranj Sangal, Group CEO, OMA Emirates Group.

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

APPOINTMENTS

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS Fortinet names new CISO Fortinet has announced the appointment of Phil Quade as Chief Information Security Officer Phil Quade, Fortinet (CISO). As CISO, Quade will lead the strategy and expansion of Fortinet’s federal and critical infrastructure business. Additionally, he will serve as a strategic consultant to Fortinet’s c-level enterprise customers to help improve product development and innovation based on evolving cybersecurity requirements. He will report to founder, chairman and CEO, Ken Xie. In his new role, Quade will leverage his experience in managing diverse and complex cyber strategies solutions with global intelligence and partnerships to ensure that both Fortinet and its global customers have the most effective, broad security postures. “Bringing together the right mix of technology, threat intelligence risk management and partnerships to protect global information and assets is my passion. Fortinet’s Security Fabric vision aligns perfectly to what it takes to deliver an endto-end, intelligent, scalable, and integrated security architecture for today’s digital economy,” said Quade. “I am thrilled to join Fortinet’s leadership team and contribute to its vision, both in leading our internal information security efforts as well as providing strategic guidance and programmes to help safeguard our global customers.”

VMware MENA announces executive leadership appointments VMware has announced several new appointments Ahmed Auda, in the Middle VMware East and North Africa (MENA) region, appointing Mohammed Darras as the new country manager for the UAE, Ahmed El Saadi as country manager for North Africa, Levant, and Egypt, and Ossama Eldeeb as senior manager for its Partner Organisation for MENA. “Data management and the cloud will fuel competition of the Middle East and North Africa’s digital economy. As MENAbased organisations accelerate their digital transformation in 2017, VMware’s new appointments will help enable our customers and partners with strategies and solutions to drive competitiveness,”

said Ahmed Auda, Managing Director, Middle East and North Africa, VMware. Mohammed Darras brings more than 19 years of sales experience in the region, he most recently served as the regional sales manager for Cisco UAE. Meanwhile, Ahmed El Saadi has more than 12 years of experience in the cybersecurity space and was previously the regional sales manager for North Africa for Palo Alto Networks. Lastly, with over 22 years of business and IT experience, Ossama Eldeeb has been promoted internally from senior partner business manager at VMware MENA. “VMware’s growing expertise and pool of talent in this dynamic region is a strategic tool that will enable our customers and channel partners to better utilise the potential of the cloud and their own data resources,” Auda added.

Cisco Middle East appoints new Country Sales Lead for Oman Cisco Middle East announces the appointment of Waheed Al Hamaid as Country Sales Lead for Oman. In his new role, Al Hamaid will lead Cisco’s business in the Sultanate and work closely with the partner ecosystem to support private and public sector customers in their efforts to digitise and transform their operations to drive business outcomes. “This is a dynamic time in Oman where we are experiencing fast-paced changes and evolving trends across government and multiple industries,” said Waheed Al Hamaid, Country Sales Lead – Oman, Cisco Middle East. “As an Omani, I take great pride when I look at what the Sultanate has

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

achieved so far. Now is the time for Oman Waheed Al Hamaid, to enter the Cisco Oman next phase of its economic strategy by harnessing the power of digitisation. At Cisco, our role is to help accelerate our partners’, customers’ and the government’s journeys towards becoming smarter, more competitive and more engaged in the new economy. Technology must focus on addressing urban challenges, addressing social, environmental and economic sustainability challenges, while enabling a better quality of life for Oman residents and more satisfying experiences for visitors.”

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

Emerson Network Power rebrands as Vertiv and appoints new CEO Emerson Network Power, a global provider of mission-critical Ron Johnson, Vertiv infrastructure technologies for data centres, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments, has now officially been rebranded as Vertiv. Platinum Equity acquired the business from Emerson in a transaction valued at over $4 billion. Emerson also retained a minority interest in the company. Vertiv has also announced the appointment of Ron Johnson as its new CEO. He was previously an operating partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and spent 10 years at American Power Conversion (APC). He was also

President and CEO of APC when the company was sold to Schneider Electric for $6.1 billion in 2007. While at APC he also served as General Manager of the company’s Availability Enhancement Group. Johnson said the transition to the new ownership provides a unique opportunity for the company. “It’s a fresh start for a business that already has so much going for it. I look forward to working with my new colleagues at Vertiv as we begin this transformational chapter in the company’s history,” he said. “As an independent company, Vertiv will operate with great freedom to make business strategy and in-vestment decisions, move more quickly like a startup, and focus on innovative solutions for our customers, including those in the growing cloud computing, mobile and IoT networks.”

VAD Technologies announces new General Manager VAD Technologies has announced the appointment of Mario M. Veljovic as the new General Manager for its Middle East operations. Mario M. Veljovic, In his new VAD Technologies post, he will be leading a team of technology distribution experts and will be responsible for developing and growing the company’s technology distribution business in the Middle East and beyond. Veljovic has over 20 years of experience in the ICT distribution environment and held various senior management positions with leading ICT Distributors across Europe, Middle

East and Africa. He has worked in the Middle East since 2003 and has been involved in a number of major mergers and acquisitions and set up various new businesses and ventures in ICT distribution, ICT professional services, training and logistics. Mario M. Veljovic, General Manager, VAD, said, “I am very excited to join VAD and am looking forward to working with some of the region’s most respected resellers and vendors. VAD’s vision is to deliver world-class technology products and solutions to its resellers that will support transforming the IT landscape. We are committed to enable our resellers to successfully offer high performance enterprise solutions to their customers across all industry verticals to support the transformation.”

F5 Networks names new CEO F5 Networks has announced the appointment of François LocohDonou as the François Locoh-Donou, company’s F5 Networks new President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of F5’s Board of Directors, effective 3rd April 2017. Locoh-Donou succeeds current President and CEO, John McAdam, who will remain a Director on F5’s Board upon his retirement on 3rd April 2017. Since McAdam joined in 2000, he has led F5 to $2.0 billion in annual revenue, with 49 of the Fortune 50 as customers, and numerous industry and community awards. “I am honoured to take on the CEO role at F5,” said LocohDonou. “I have admired John’s stewardship of the company’s values and vision and I bring a shared commitment to grow F5’s people, partnerships, product and services portfolio, in response to the increasing cloud and security demands of F5’s customers.” Locoh-Donou currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Ciena, a network strategy and technology company. He previously held successive leadership positions at Ciena, including Senior Vice President, Global Products Group; Vice President and General Manager, EMEA; Vice President, International Sales; and Vice President, Marketing. Prior to Ciena, Locoh-Donou held research and development roles with Photonetics, a French optoelectronics company.

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

OPINION // AXILSPOT

SPOT ON Bruce Zhou, CEO, Axilspot, explains how partners can overcome the challenges of IoT and the Internet worlds integrating.

he ability to connect machines, devices, sensors, and other everyday things into an intelligent network and make sense out of them, has huge promises to change everyday life. Manufacturing plants, retail outlets, households, residential and commercial buildings, logistic hubs, vehicles, roads, transit hubs, city governments, utilities, hospitals, healthcare, oil and gas fields, and scores of other areas are among the early adopters of these new opportunities. As can be expected by taking in our entire world and attempting to change it one stroke and with one magic wand is unrealistic, challenging and cause for chaos in the short term. Some of this is reflected in many of the reports we receive on a daily basis on the Internet of Things (IoT). For business decision-makers and technology providers, some measure of clarity and progress can be made by understanding the challenges of applying

IoT to business. We look at two principal challenges in making this happen. Technology protocols The challenges of IoT are resident in the ability to connect sensors and devices directly to the Internet. To connect to the Internet, any device and application must use Internet Protocol stacks. It is for this reason that devices called Internet gateways have been created that connect to non-Internet Protocol devices and networks on one side and the Internet-driven applications, devices and networks, on the other side. By doing so, Internet gateways need to be designed for the type of local networks and local applications that they manage on one side and how they connect to the Internet on the other side. By doing so they are less open to changes and adaptations of the sensors and devices for other purposes and applications, and limit their flexibility. Over the years, countless Internet Protocol driven applications, software

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Partners should be able to design, build and implement, mesh type networks. This allows businesses to cost effectively grow large-scale IoT networks without incurring additional costs of bandwidth and connectivity.â&#x20AC;? 20

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

tools and diagnostic kits, have been developed and exist, that can be applied to IoT devices and sensors, with or without much adaptation. This will help to get the IoT environment up and running in a short period of time, relatively speaking. That is provided they are in the same Internet Protocol environment. The basis for the development of Internet Protocol applications till now has been growing availability of large computing power and significant memory capacity to manage complexity of the Internet Protocol based applications. And all this within localised high cost nodes like desktops, notebooks, smartphones, tablets, among others. This is the exact antithesis of the IoT environment as it exists today, which is low cost, low power consuming, low computing capacity, and distributed computing nodes. Networking architecture When building an IoT network it is essential to plan and look ahead. It is also important to converse with all departments associated with the benefits and operations of the IoT network and applications. When dealing with tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of sensors and devices in any IoT project, it is important to have a networking strategy to ensure the end result is managed chaos instead of the opposite. Industry consultants who have gone through such projects point out, IoT application and network designs need to be built looking at requirements five years from now. When in doubt the rule of thumb is to design networks for a requirement that is 10 times the number of devices that are connecting in now. Another important consideration is to design the wireless environment thinking about what will happen in that specific industry over next five years. While the benefits of such best practices are self-evident, industry surveys show that such discussions

are not happening as much as they should. According to Forresterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Global Business Technographics Networks and Telecommunications Survey in 2015, only 45 percent of networking professionals have regular conversations with other departments. If all else fails, the minimum rule of thumb to apply, think big for IoT. Looking ahead into the requirements for IoT type of networks there is a significant change in the way devices will communicate. More often than not, communication signals will hop from device to device, to enter and leave the network of devices, connecting into and out of their mesh network. Using a number of hops between devices rather than the conventional hub to spoke jump will become the standard for most IoT applications and networks. The key here is multiple and random paths between IoT devices, based on predefined algorithms, rather than a fixed point to point hop. This saves power and cost while building scale and redundancy. Such networks are called mesh networks and the devices are called wireless nodes. Since connectivity within mesh networks rely on each other, their efficiency grows with an increase in the number of devices. Mesh networks become more efficient as the number of wireless nodes inside them increases. This is the opposite of what happens with the hub and spoke, star network arrangement. A mesh network cannot be easily shut down. To shut down a mesh network, every wireless node needs to be shut down. By comparison, if the hub is compromised in a star network the entire network can stop functioning. The challenge and opportunity for partners with IoT lies in their ability to get sensors and devices connected to the Internet. Connectivity to the Internet requires applications built on Internet Protocol stacks. Moreover, partners

should be able to design, build and implement, mesh type networks. This allows businesses to cost effectively grow large-scale IoT networks without incurring additional costs of bandwidth and connectivity. As silicon technologies improve the computing capabilities of IoT sensors, devices, machines and appliances, they will increasingly become more and more Internet like. At that stage the two worlds will come together in exponential fashion and the true power of IoT will become a reality.

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

OPINION // CITRIX

ON THE GO Citrix’ 2016 Global Desktop-as-a-Service Market Report reveals that 70 percent of its service providers anticipate increased DaaS revenues in this year. Director for Technology Sales and Services, MEA, Arthur Dell, shares more highlights.

recent report from Citrix surveying more than 25 countries including the UAE revealed that the Desktops-as-a-Service (DaaS) market has matured and large organisations are embracing cloud-hosted services more than ever before. Service providers continue to change their IT infrastructure models, add new services, and provide packaged applications and IT services to larger organisations. Key highlights from the survey indicate that 70 percent of service providers anticipate DaaS revenue growth in 2017 and more than 10 percent expect over 50 percent revenue growth. The growth of DaaS can be attributed to many reasons. First, the dynamic nature of DaaS allows users to access their desktops over the internet via multiple devices such as PCs, laptops and smartphones, giving them freedom and flexibility like never before. Cost saving is another benefit, as DaaS puts an end to the draining cycle of investing in hardware, servers, and licensing. With funds no longer leeching away into depreciating products, it can be freed up for added-value initiatives allowing the business to grow. The ability to work from anywhere also leads to less time spent travelling to and from the workplace, which can be redirected to completing necessary tasks.

With expansion often comes the increased risk of cyber threats, DaaS shifts the security burden away from the individual device and places it within a data centre that is guarded by the most robust levels of encryption. Not only is data no longer vulnerable on a local device but is also automatically backed up so that in the event of a breach, IT assets can easily be recovered and fortified with multifaceted authentication protocols. Finally, the higher levels of productivity across the workforce is a major success factor for DaaS, which is a result of enhanced uptime levels, improved performance, and new opportunities for collaboration across departments. Based on the results and the scope of the service provider responses, the following trends and implications become apparent: • Global appeal: The fact that survey included respondents from more than 25 countries in every major region illustrates how DaaS has become a global market. • Maturing market: Responses showed the percentage of service providers delivering apps and desktops to larger organisations has doubled, indicating greater trust in DaaS among mid-sized to large businesses. • Maturing growth projections: The survey showed a consistent growth projection among service providers compared to previous surveys,

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

•

indicating a maturing market and healthy demand. Continued preference for proprietary IT infrastructure: From an infrastructure perspective, DaaS providers continue to prefer delivering DaaS from their own data centres or co-location facilities, where they have the greatest control over the infrastructure. Desire to embrace the cloud: A significant percentage of providers continue to plan to migrate to cloudbased infrastructure in the next 12 months, indicating a strong trend towards cloud, which is in the early stages. Yet slower-than-anticipated follow-through indicates that the process of moving workloads to the cloud has been complex. Demand for new services emerging: The strong emergence of Microsoft Office 365 offered as a managed service indicates that the breadth of services will continue to change as future workspace needs evolve and grow. Consistent vertical market appeal: DaaS and related services have a consistent appeal across a broad range of vertical markets. While the survey respondents specialise in markets ranging from healthcare to manufacturing to financial services to construction, most specialise in their respective vertical markets to limit competition and preserve their unique value and margins.

OPINION // HPE ARUBA

STEPS TO SUCCESS

Osama AlHaj-Issa, Regional Channel Director, Middle East and Turkey, Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, shares how partners can seize market opportunities to be successful.

hannel partners must be optimistic about the future, despite political uncertainty in some countries in the Middle East. They should not hold back from investing in relevant market prospects. The Middle East in particular has a higher percentage of youth, therefore mobility is a necessity for the new workforce and the young society that it represents. Mobility is one of the biggest trends that is sweeping the region and its demand will only increase, in spite of political unrest. Channel partners need to align with vendors that have high business growth potential, provide healthy margins and have cutting edge technology if they are to remain optimistic in 2017 and beyond. First mover advantage: Channel partners who develop early capabilities in new technologies will be the ones who will be most successful. For example, in the mobility domain, Mobility Engagement solution for public-facing enterprises is a revolutionary technology, one that most firms have endorsed and requested to test in their premises. The solution is comprised of several components such as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;way findingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; solution, mobility analytical engine, and targeted advertising system. Customers such as hospitals, large educational institutes, malls, airports, stadiums and

similar organisations need this solution to enhance customer service, satisfaction and loyalty. Mobility Engagement technology has huge revenue generation potential if utilised well. The cloud is also a big trend that is being adopted widely. Partners will need to be able to implement cloud-based solutions in public, private and hybrid cloud infrastructure modes to meet the varying needs of customers. IoT is another trend that is gaining momentum. Partners should build competencies in IoT and trend analysis solutions and secure IoT based devices at the network edge. Marketing: Marketing has elevated to mission-critical status for channel partners and the vendors they represent. To survive and thrive, partners must effectively implement marketing using a variety of tightly integrated outbound and inbound marketing tactics, all focused on building awareness and generating sales leads. Channel partners should reconsider marketing and there are primarily four reasons for that. First, sourcing or selection of IT related products or services has shifted. Second, competition has intensified. Now channel partners face greater competition from local, regional, national, online and non-traditional competitors. Third, marketing has changed dramatically. The modern

marketing mix focuses on search authority, thought-leadership and lead generation, and importantly, is delivering dramatic and measurable results. Fourth, historically channel partners tend to spend less time, effort, resources and investment in marketing than other industries. But now partners must make marketing a higher priority, or risk failure. Successful vendor partnerships: Understanding customer needs and working closely with vendor partnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sales and engineering team to build the best solution to match or exceed these needs means getting the business closer to them. Readiness and early engagement are the two basic components for a successful partnership. We work closely with partners to enable their sales, pre-sales and post sales to represent us in each of these areas. This ensures customers of high quality delivery of the proposed solution and services. Attaching services enable better channel margins for our partners. Overcoming pressing challenges: One of the biggest challenges facing the channel today is managing cash flows and receivables since it impacts working capital. This calls for effective financial planning and management, and organisations that are able to do so will eventually succeed.

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

OPINION // RED HAT

CLOUD IN CHECK

Martin Percival, Senior Solutions Architect, Red Hat, on overcoming the challenges of hybrid cloud management.

un it in the cloud. Move to the cloud. Cloudenable your apps! If you’ve worked in IT (and often even if you haven’t) for the last 10 years, you can’t fail to have heard the increasing drum-beat of the clouderati. The promise of the cloud they hold out, is one of infinite scale, microscopic cost and everlasting reliability, but these messages come round with every new technology, so what is the reality behind the marketing? Looking at these promises in more detail gives a clearer view of the type of environment we are being driven to adopt, in order to deliver a modern infrastructure that is able to support development and delivery of applications for the 21st century. Harps and clouds? Scalability has always been an everincreasing factor for any business, which planned for growth. The advent of the Internet obviously piled on even more pressure in its need for an always-on approach to our service delivery. However, a growing awareness of spiralling costs has forced businesses to look again at the price of scalability; doing ‘more for less’ has never been a more repeated phrase. The promise of cloud deployment is that power can be added when needed, particularly when public cloud resources are effectively unlimited and are individually priced very competitively. The cost of services from the public cloud providers is often quoted as a reason for companies to start building applications using

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

those vendors’ specific toolsets. Since the charging model is tied directly to usage, this feels like a very cost-effective way to handle the problems of scale, while at the same time allowing for costs to be lowered during periods of less demand. Flexibility is a third key benefit of a cloud approach to development and deployment. The ability to deliver power exactly where and when it is needed, brings most companies better control over how they meet the demands of the business, as it balances the running of the organisation with the needs of internal development teams. This flexibility is even more important when public cloud infrastructure is not available, as the constrained resources of internal data centres need careful allocation to meet the needs of the whole business rather than one small segment. Storms on the horizon All of these seem like good reasons to believe that moving into the cloud will have immediate benefit, but each one throws up its own challenge for companies: Scalability without control tends to lead to wasteful overuse of resources, projects grow in scope very quickly and are left consuming resources, long after testing is complete. Cloud ‘creep’ needs measurement to bring it back under control. That same measurement quickly shows that without planning, public cloud usage can be more expensive than originally believed. Not only that, but comparisons of potential costs between public cloud vendors is a difficult task and any idea of finding some kind of ‘cloud resource

“The promise of cloud deployment is that power can be added when needed, particularly when public cloud resources are effectively unlimited and are individually priced very competitively.” brokerage’ is impossible to achieve when the best prices come from longer contracts. Finally, flexibility is non-trivial thing to deliver. Applications vary wildly in their needs. What may run fine in the controlled environment of a more monolithic style data centre, could raise different configuration issues for every public cloud vendor, effectively preventing easy, flexible migration. Also, green field applications written specifically for the public cloud, can quickly become as locked in to the APIs of an individual cloud vendor as they would have been in the days of proprietary software stacks. Is there hope for a silver lining? Fortunately, we are at a point where a combination of technologies can start to solve some of the bigger questions posed by cloud infrastructure. First, cloud management. For this to be successful it needs to be able to encompass both the public cloud vendors and also any inhouse private clouds, whether built from raw VM infrastructure or using something more sophisticated like OpenStack. To deliver wide value, it needs to be able to be implemented without invasive changes to existing infrastructure and should be able to interrogate and control any existing management layers where desired

(and permitted). While the term ‘single pane of glass’ is much overused, it should provide visibility of all elements of a company’s cloud and expose the full deployment of any apps across these elements. Secondly, some form of automation tool can help to ensure that applications are deployed in a repeatable manner, no matter where in the cloud they physically run. Like the management tool, it should understand the needs of all the different public clouds and should be extensible to handle new situations as they arise. It should work alongside the management tool as the ‘delivery arm’ of the combined toolset. Finally, we should look to build software architectures that transcend the API’s of any one vendor. The rise of containers as an app development and delivery mechanism is a promising direction. In particular, the use of Kubernetes as the orchestration engine for those containers is a very successful cloud vendor-neutral way to ensure the flexibility that businesses need. With these pieces in place, we can finally start to realise the broader promises of a truly hybrid cloud environment, that we can both measure and control to meet the needs of any kind of business application.

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

COVER FEATURE // DELL EMC

DELL EMC DISTRIBUTORS FOR GULF REGION Location credit: Dubai Autodrome

• Aptec, an Ingram Micro company • Arrow ECS • Mindware • Redington Gulf • StorIT Distribution

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

POLE POSITION

Janees Reghelini speaks to the new Channel Sales Director for Dell EMC’s partner-led business in META, Havier Haddad, to learn how resellers can win the race by taking advantage of the new company’s combined strength. ny petrolhead knows the overwhelming excitement at the start line. The smell of petrol, the rev of engines, the adrenaline. That’s the atmosphere Dell EMC wants to create for its partner community as it begins its new journey following the largest technology merger in history. The firm’s new Channel Sales Director for META, Havier Haddad, suggested we meet at Dubai Autodrome to attempt to capture some of this excitement. When two large conglomerates decide to come together, the amount of work required to integrate teams and sort minute details, is an unimaginable, mammoth task. Haddad’s first order of business was around ‘readiness’ ensuring the teams are put together wisely to reflect the company’s goals one year down the line. He says, “My first priority was to build the team. Although a challenging task, we are proud to have chosen executives who we believe can take the channel in the META region to the next level.” It was also crucial to understand and define the new combined partner ecosystem’s character. The company

aims to outline customer requirements clearly and put in place a detailed coverage strategy to guide partners to achieve “maximum coverage with minimum conflicts”. Haddad urges partners to understand the opportunity that arises with both companies joining forces. “Partners should realise that they are now looking at a new company with a fresh portfolio of products and solutions. The market opportunity is enormous in terms of the leverage this new portfolio is giving us and this too is a part of ‘readiness’.” Dell EMC’s strengths and challenges are now very different from what its

separate legacy firms used to face. This is what its current partner ecosystem need to understand and build on. “From the strengths perspective, I don’t think there is any other company in the industry who can compare to what we can offer today on several fronts such as solutions, commitment, R&D and talent. Also, we are not seeing the leaders being replaced with the merger but instead are given opportunities to lead new initiatives. This is further cementing the confidence within our partner community.” The challenge is that the power of the joint company attracts fierce competition.

“We cannot do without our distributors who really take the products and solutions to market and can offer the reach and drive, especially for our diversified territories.” www.resellerme.com // Reseller Middle East // FEBRUARY 2017

COVER FEATURE // DELL EMC

“The bar is being raised to higher levels and we feel the responsibility,” says Haddad. However, this is also an encouraging factor. Over the course of this year, we will see the firm rolling out a number of technical enablement initiatives and workshops to assist partners in proposing new solutions to customers to stay ahead of competition. “We are enhancing our training facilities and portfolio. We are conducting soft skill and product trainings while also holding sessions on solution selling. Our partners go through the same trainings that is done internally for our staff,” he adds. Historically, we have seen legacy Dell lead heavily on volume-based distribution, which means extensive coverage to reach out to both B2B and B2C customers. Whereas legacy EMC was all about value-added distribution. Another element to Haddad’s ‘readiness’ approach was defining the new distribution landscape. He adds, “Our distribution ecosystem will now be differentiated into two – volume and value. Both will be treated as our extended workforce. The value-added distributors will drive everything from pre

and post sales, marketing, developing business plans and doing QBRs with partners. We will also create plans to extend the coverage through different angles such as by covering technologies, industries and new types of businesses, together from value and volume fronts. “We cannot do without our distributors who really take the products and solutions to market and can offer the reach and drive, especially for our diversified territories.” The company has also launched its new partner programme towards the end of last year, which formally becomes effective from this month. Centred around three pillars – to be simple, profitable and predictable – the programme is designed to comprehensively cover all types of partnerships such as current and new resellers, service providers, alliances and systems integrators. “Through this programme, partners will be incentivised on several criteria such as acquiring new customers, being committed, leveraging our complete portfolio and increasing the volume of business,” he adds. According to Haddad, partners who are not working on building their

To stand out, partners should be attaining certifications, attaching services and adding value to their offering. 28

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

“Seize the opportunities and be the early adopter of the new portfolio and solutions.” differentiators to excel in the digital era will find it harder to grow their business. To stand out, they should be attaining certifications, attaching services and adding value to their offering. “This is also why our role is important. We need to be trusted advisors for our partners and guide them towards the market opportunity.” There are three aspects to keep in mind when talking to partners. First is ensuring there is profitability for them. The second one is making sure partners have what customers need. He adds, “We might have the best solutions in the world but if it is not what our customers want then it is a futile exercise. And the third part is understanding that partners will only sell what they know. If they are unaware of the solutions that we have around hyper-convergence, then they will not sell it. We have an opportunity here to enable and train them.” In the coming months, Haddad urges the partner community to bet on Dell EMC. “Seize the opportunities and be the early adopter of the new portfolio and solutions,” he adds.

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FEATURE // SI ROLE IN THE CLOUD ERA

As organisations discover the benefits of operating in cloudenabled business models, Reseller ME delves into the evolving role of systems integrators in such a landscape.

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

decade ago, cloud applications and services were considered to be just tech jargons. Regional enterprises were hesitant to invest in the vast world of cloud, fearing security and data logging challenges. Today as these concerns gradually cease to be a cause of worry and as the benefits are widely understood, increasing number of firms will or are in the process of shifting to a cloudenabled environment. In fact, according to a Gartner report, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will spend $ 1.42 billion on total public cloud services by 2019. So in the cloud-led era, what is the role of traditional systems integrators (SIs) and how can they remain profitable? Murugesan Vaithilingam, Director Services at Alpha Data believes in such an environment it is necessary for systems integrators to evolve with the times. He says, “As the market is maturing towards anything ‘as-

Murugesan Vaithilingam, Alpha Data

a-service’ model that integrates software, infrastructure and business processes and as increasing number of customers demand for cloud-enabled business ecosystem, we have accordingly positioned ourselves as a cloud consultant, reseller and cloud service provider through our Alpha Cloud Platform.” It is important for SIs to first go through the transformation internally to be in a better position to sell to end-users. This way they have a “strong case study” to present to customers, says Vaithilingam. “With a cloud-first approach we have transformed starting in-house workloads transition to cloud and then taken the services to our customers. It was a smooth transformation for us thanks to the proven track record and qualifications of our consultants. We have capitalised on considerable opportunities in accordance with the requirements of our customers as well as taken advantage of substantial prospects that

“System integrators will evolve as cloud aggregators to provide exceptional and suitable cloud solutions based on their clients’ existing investment plans and roadmaps.”

Sunil Paul, Finesse

“Most of our clients today, expect us to be an endto-end technology service provider offering them with multiple operating options rather than a typical trader.”

complement our traditional systems integrator business,” he adds. Sunil Paul, Co-Founder and COO, Finesse is confident that the company has adapted to the change in the way technology is consumed today. He says, “Most of our clients today, expect us to be an end-toend technology service provider offering them with multiple operating options rather than a typical trader. More over with the shift to cloud, we are encouraging all our clients to make the move as the future is going that way. Almost all our solutions are now on cloud and on ‘pay-as-you-go’ model.

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

FEATURE // SI ROLE IN THE CLOUD ERA

“Another aspect to consider is the adoption of all solutions on mobile. This opens up immense opportunities as the demand for information on all devices all the time is now a given.” The question of whether cloud is a threat or opportunity to SIs really depends on what kind of growth strategy they had in place to begin with. Stephan Berner, CEO, Help AG, dismisses the “so called threat that SIs face from IT trends such as cloud and software-based models.” He says, “I remember as far back as 2009 when Peter Lorant, then the head of EMEA Partners at Google Enterprise, referred to

Stephan Berner, Help AG

systems integrators as ‘out-of-touch dinosaurs’. And yet almost 8 years down the line, we still see the IT industry being largely influenced and shaped by SIs. “We remain relevant and important because we play the role of not only solution implementation, but also in the delivery of services, consultancy and support.” In a nutshell, SIs need to focus on delivering value-added services that will enable customers to compete in the digital business environment. This will also help with maintaining profitability. Stephen Fernandes, Executive Vice President, TransSys

“We remain relevant and important because we play the role of not only solution implementation, but also in the delivery of services, consultancy and support.”

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

Solutions, says, “Innovation and differentiation with higher service levels must be top of mind, for system integrators to remain relevant. In order to take advantage of the opportunities in each vertical, it is important to understand the organisation’s business drivers for technology procurement.” Opportunities could range from advisory services around enterprise architecture, to transition their on-premise infrastructure and services, including data centres, to a cloud computing model. “As an SI, we need to continue to innovate to ensure that we address industry vertical challenges. Based on our experience and expertise gained, we have developed industry specific frameworks and methodology that are offered to our clients as part of our services. These frameworks help to reduce the risks associated with any implementation and support services,” explains Fernandes. We can expect cloud to be a critical part of any business processes and systems in the coming years. The region’s demand for the technology will only grow further as the delivery models such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service,

Stephen Fernandes, TransSys Solutions

Platform-as-a-Service and Softwareas-a-service, are further refined. Vaithilingam says, “Eventually, system integrators will evolve as cloud aggregators to provide exceptional and suitable cloud solutions based on their clients’ existing investment plans and roadmaps.” Paul adds, “Research indicates cloud applications and platforms will be at the top of IT spending with half of all enterprises implementing cloud solutions by 2017. Keeping this in mind, we are catering to the ever increasing use of cloud, mobility, social and virtualisation. Thus, giving an opportunity for us to provide managed services and be all round technology solution providers.” It is easier to keep up with the market evolution if SIs spend time

“Innovation and differentiation with higher service levels must be top of mind, for system integrators to remain relevant. In order to take advantage of the opportunities in each vertical, it is important to understand the organisation’s business drivers for technology procurement.”

understanding changing customer requirements and designing strategies that match these needs. Berner says, “Systems integrators need to identify the areas that can be optimised through better processes, policies or technologies. Such strategic guidance will help justify IT spending even by organisations faced with budget constraints.” “Systems Integrators must consolidate their business model in line with their vendor’s consolidations,” says Serjios ElHage, CEO, EMW ME. “SIs that do not diversify will be left on the sidelines wondering what happened. Customer journey is key since they’re affected as well.” According to Fernandes, the market for cloud deployment is

moving towards a hybrid cloud model, where firms are more comfortable retaining their core systems on-premise while transitioning their other systems to a suitable cloud deployment model. “We expect organisations’ enterprise architecture to have both public and private clouds coexisting. System integrators will play a pivotal role in this shift and evolve further,” he adds. The opportunities for SIs in the cloud era are vast and varied. Systems integration is no longer just about bringing disparate systems together, it is about being with the customer at every step of the way in their digital transformation journey, whether that means embracing cloud or any other disruptive technology.

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

FEATURE // DEPLOYING IaaS

VALUE OF SERVICE

Experts discuss how reseller partners can roll out Infrastructure-as-a-Service deployments efficiently.

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

egional businesses are increasingly moving to a cloud platform and utilising Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) to make their operations more cost-effective, scalable, mobile and reliable. Research firm Gartner predicts that IaaS YoY growth in the MENA region will be 19 percent by 2019. Resellers should look at investing in the space today to garner some of that growth in the future. Ahmed Adly, ECEMEA Enterprise Cloud Computing Leader and Senior Director, Oracle, believes the regional resellers have significant opportunities with IaaS solutions to address largely two main customer requirements. He says, “First, transferring current workloads from customer data centres to IaaS on cloud to achieve tremendous cost saving and enhance business agility. The second is to focus on cloud native projects by helping customers start their new projects completely on cloud with zero upfront capex investment and pure pay-as-you-use model.” Agreeing with Adly, Anand Lakhwani, Practice Head, Infra Services, Finesse, adds that as

Ahmed Adly, Oracle

today most enterprises are in the process of seriously considering digital transformation, cloud and mobile solutions will become all the more paramount in a firm’s operational strategy. “Most customers in the region are moving in that direction and regional resellers who are ready with cloud provisioning and can run on OPEX model by providing Software Define Infrastructure(SDI), have tremendous opportunities,” he says. “The SDI solutions can be DC/DR on cloud, MDM, SDN, DR automation, monitoring, and so on. Every customer will host a part of their infra on cloud or mobiles as a part of new initiatives in their respective organisations.” But when it really comes down to it, there are some challenges that deter resellers from being able to deploy the solutions efficiently. Serjios El-Hage, CEO, EMW ME, says, “The challenges vary depending on the services and SLAs required. Also, another factor is that the real estate prices to host IaaS can be costly if not fully utilised. Unless the demand is sufficient to offset the cost, it will be very difficult

to sustain this model. Additionally, another issue is the frequent refresh of hardware to keep up with the rapidly-advancing software.” Besides that, Lakhwani adds, other challenges revolve around transformation of the skillset required to deploy these solutions and the integration issues for deployment of specific applications. “Also, the network bandwidth for the VPN to connect all the users on cloud or mobile could be an initial challenge,” he adds. According to Adly, generation one of cloud providers who were offering a proprietary platform that required huge migration efforts from partners and customers was the major challenge inhibiting this move. “It was also worrying partners and customers from being locked in a specific platform that they cannot move out from later. The other challenge was a lack of a true hybrid cloud model that could allow movement of workloads from public to private cloud and vice versa.” But that being said, vendors are enhancing their IaaS cloud offerings to help partners address these issues.

“Gaining knowledge should be the first step and in that regard many cloud vendors are organising boot camps and other intensive training sessions for reseller sales, pre-sales and technical teams to help them adapt to the cloud selling model, which is completely different from the traditional on-premise or even private cloud model.” www.resellerme.com // Reseller Middle East // FEBRUARY 2017

FEATURE // DEPLOYING IaaS

Going back to Lakhwani’s point of improving the skillset required to deploy these solutions, Adly says, “Train and try. Gaining knowledge should be the first step and in that regard many cloud vendors are organising boot camps and other intensive training sessions for reseller sales, pre-sales and technical teams to help them adapt to the cloud selling model, which is completely different from the traditional onpremise or even private cloud model. “The next phase is trial. This is where they need to try implementing the model on smaller projects to gain the

Anand Lakhwani, Finesse

“The deployment skillset is a crucial learning as the customer should be transitioned to the cloud smoothly. Resellers should enhance the skillset by enabling themselves with each and every technical session hosted by their OEM partners.”

confidence and momentum before transitioning to bigger projects.” “The deployment skillset is a crucial learning,” says Lakhwani, “as the customer should be transitioned to the cloud smoothly. Resellers should enhance the skillset by enabling themselves with each and every technical session hosted by their OEM partners.” While the opportunities do exist in the IaaS space, it is important to note that it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. El-Hage says, “It breaks away from the traditional business models and therefore, unless your staff and customers are ready to adapt, it will be difficult to grow. We’ve seen many entrants into this market but unless you are specialised in multi-vendor deployments with hands-on experience, survival, let alone growth, will not be easy.” Lakhwani adds, “Players should aim for continued growth by providing additional value through enabling easy migration and deployment, enhanced security and more control or management options for customers.” With the IaaS market growing organically by 30 percent in the region, Adly says there is no question about the opportunity present for resellers. “However, they also need to focus on the bundling of cloud services to provide a one-stopshop facility to the customers. Resellers also need to add valueadded services over and above the reselling transaction to help customers adopt faster and move more workloads to the cloud.”

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

Serjios El-Hage, EMW ME

“It breaks away from the traditional business models and therefore, unless your staff and customers are ready to adapt, it will be difficult to grow. We’ve seen many entrants into this market but unless you are specialised in multi-vendor deployments with hands-on experience, survival, let alone growth, will not be easy.” With cloud now being the centre of an enterprise’s growth agenda and spending on IaaS expected to grow in the region, he adds that partners will play a pivotal role. “Partners are the key catalysts that help customers make this shift with their expertise and utilisation of best practices, enabling the transformation process,” Adly adds.

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FEATURE // RETAIL

TAKING STOCK Reseller ME speaks to experts to find out how regional retailers can differentiate their business and create unique customer experiences through technology.

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

he retail sector is one of the biggest growth drivers for the region’s economy as it finds itself closer to the much-awaited Expo 2020. According to an analysis by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, retailing in the UAE is expected to reach Dh 200 billion by 2017, an average growth of 5 percent each year. It further states that “consumer spending is also predicted to continue rising in the medium-term, with growth rates projected to stabilise at about 4 percent on average per year leading to a total spending of more than Dh 750 billion by 2017 across many categories.” Based on data from Euromonitor, information from an ATKearney Research study and other sources, the Dubai Chamber analysis

indicates that consumer confidence in the country has not been negatively impacted by expectations of decelerating economic growth in the region. As per the report, data for retail sales and consumer spending shows that the retail sector is growing faster than the UAE economy as a whole. These findings do not come as a surprise, considering the number of new malls on the rise and extensive plans for expansion for the existing ones in UAE. Also against this backdrop, specialised trade show organiser, Virtual Info Systems (VIS), held the inaugural edition of ‘Smart Stores Expo 2017’ last month in Abu Dhabi. The show explored retail technology and was aimed at bringing together buyers, manufacturers, retail professionals and visitors from across the globe.

One of the exhibitors at the show, Prashant Menon, Director Projects, iSolve IT, believes regional retailers, although a long way off from being at the same level as their global counterparts, are definitely showing interest in advance retailspecific technologies to improve the efficiency of their businesses. Provider of smart solutions for retail, hospitality, queue management and security solutions, iSolve IT is enabling retailers to offer a better customer experience. Menon says, “Retailers need to first assess their requirements in line with their business objectives. They are looking towards application intelligence with emphasis on analytics. Smart solutions such as Electronic Shelf Labeling (ESL) can help save time and cost for a retail business.”

Reshmi Raj, INFO Quest

“Today in retailing, creating unique customer experiences is the single-most important factor and technologies such as traffic intelligence solutions, can help with that. However, the region is yet to fully embrace such tools.”

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

FEATURE // RETAIL

Taiyab Ghafoor, AXIOM Telecom

“Service and innovative seamless customer experience enabled by technology will be key to distinguishing yourself from competition.”

Analytics in retail can be a game changer, if utilised correctly. Based on the insights gained from predictive analytics, retailers can turn around their business and effectively create customised marketing messages and unique experiences for their customers. But how much of these technologies are actually being implemented in the region? “It is not being implemented at all,” says Reshmi Raj, Managing Director, INFO Quest. “Today in retailing, creating unique customer experiences is the single-most important factor and technologies such as traffic intelligence solutions, can help with that. However, the region is yet to fully embrace such tools.” According to Raj, retailers are in the process of understanding customer needs and their own budget limitations. She says, “We are finding that retailers are enquiring and considering such technologies seriously but haven’t taken the next step. Whereas we see this happening in other global markets such as Europe and USA.” The biggest challenge for any

retailer in the region is staying ahead of the fierce competition. “How do you retain your customers and sustain in the market? The only answer to this is by creating innovative customer experiences across all platforms. You have to strive to be different always,” says Raj. Agreeing, Taiyab Ghafoor, Country Head of Retail, AXIOM Telecom, adds, “As a retailer, you need to see how you can differentiate yourself and make customers realise why they need to shop with you.” “Another challenge for retailers,” Menon adds, “is to keep up with the rapidly evolving technology.” While keeping up with technology is certainly difficult, sometimes players do not maximise the solutions they have implemented or the information they have gathered from their customers. It is important to optimise customer feedback and constantly engage the customer. “Do retailers know why their customers exchange cer tain products? How do they use that information to better their operations or of ferings? Retailers have to action the data that

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

they have to see significant improvements,” Raj says. Ghafoor says, “Retailers definitely need to focus on data. Because that allows them to understand who their shoppers are and what they want. Profiling your customers, especially in a place such as GCC, where there are many different nationalities, is crucial to understand them. This will enable you in the future to tailor propositions based on the different customer demographics. Beyond data, it is about measuring customer experience. Making unique experiences for customers is absolutely key.” But how can retailers innovate and create those unique experiences for customers? According to Ghafoor, services can be an important factor in differentiating your offerings. “If you can understand what customers are saying about your service and if that’s the reason they keep coming back, then it shows the value you offer. Retail has always been about service and that will continue to be so. At the end of the day, it is all about playing to your strengths,” he says. Over the next few years, we will see the region’s retail sector growing exponentially and technology will have a big role to play, whether it is enhancing services or enabling omnichannel experiences. “Retailers, who take on board that they need to change and constantly evolve, are the ones who will rise to the challenge,” says Ghafoor. “Service and innovative seamless customer experience enabled by technology will be key to distinguishing yourself from competition.”

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VENDOR FOCUS // MIMECAST

SHIELDING PROFITS Brandon Bekker, Managing Director, MEA, Mimecast, says the company is looking to lead a 100 percent channel business and onboard growth-oriented and security-focused partners in the region.

ould you give an overview of Mimecast’s operations in the Middle East? Founded in 2003, Mimecast is a Software-as-a-Service cloud platform that augments email system to ensure it is secure, up and running and maintains a record of all transactions. Email has become a pervasive mission critical business application and therefore have high risks for security breaches, confidential information getting compromised, targeted attacks and the like. We have set up our local office in Dubai towards the end of last year. This will help us scale up our operations and fortify our relationships with our customers and partners and allow us to offer end-to-end support. Our portfolio’s value proposition and the challenges it address are persistent across countries and industries. Any business where email is critical to the running of their operations becomes a potential customer for us. We are in the process of employing more people with region-specific experience as our aim is to leverage that while retaining Mimecast’s culture. What are the opportunities that you have identified here? There are two parts of our services – security continuity and archiving. The main driving force of our opportunity in the region is around security. We are seeing many targeted, impersonation, ransomware and malware attacks in the region. From our research, we know that the Middle East is one of the most

exposed markets when it comes to security but at the same time the region takes security quite seriously. This provides us with several opportunities. From all the trade shows we have attended since we first launched, we know that the security landscape is given great importance here. What is your channel strategy for the region? Our global strategy, with the exception of the US where we still do quite a bit of direct business, has been taking products to market via our channel partners. From that perspective, we do have some legacy partnerships in the region. We have also tied up with distributors – Bulwark Technologies and Nuvias MEA – for this region and are evaluating if that model can work for us. This offers us several advantages such as leveraging the knowledge of our distributors for selecting the right partners for our business. We want to be quite focused when it comes to selecting partners so that we acquire relevant business and ensure healthy margins are maintained. We are looking to enable the selected resellers and provide resources to enhance their business. What are the attributes that you are seeking in your reseller partners? With security being a big focus for the region, it is important for us that the business that is reselling our products has an orientation towards cybersecurity, cyber and related attacks and the like. They need to have a

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

security portfolio within their offering. And also, an understanding of email is required and is relevant for successful sales. As we will have a confined set of resellers and because of the size of the opportunity, it is also imperative that partners have established sales teams. We are looking for companies that have our similar set of values and a culture of growth. We have ambitious targets for the region and are looking to obtain 15 to 25 new logos each month, which is a significant number of customer acquisitions for the year. What are the resources available for partners and how will you enable them? Firstly, we make sure they get a strong product. We will also provide many assets and resources such as white papers, marketing, training, how-to guides, access to partner portal and so on. At the same time, we are supportive of partners’ engagement. If a reseller saw a good opportunity, we will support and accompany them when visiting the customer. It is all about training and high-touch support initially but there are frameworks in place, which make it easier for partners. One key aspect is ensuring partners are consuming our services themselves. With that experience, they will be in a better position to understand and approach customers. What is your message for your partners? Partners can look forward to exciting growth aspirations from Mimecast.

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Apple’s iPhone 7 takes the smartphone user experience to a higher level. he iPhone 7 along with the 7 Plus variant are the best of what Apple has to offer today. It comes with a number of improvements that make this device better than its predecessor. One major talking point has been the omission of the headphone jack. It has had its fair shares of lovers and haters. And in the end, Apple has made a decision that they believe is the way forward. The lightning connector is to charge as well as listen to music, too bad users can’t do both simultaneously, unless they have the new Apple Airpods. However, because the device charges fairly quickly, it is not all that inconvenient to use without the Airpods. Another element omitted from the new iPhones is the mechanical home button, which has now been replaced with a static version that’s force sensitive. The new home button features Apple’s ‘taptic engine,’ which triggers a vibration that creates an illusion that the button is being pressed down. The 7 and the 7 Plus are identical in most areas except for battery size and camera. Apple claims that the plus will last one hour longer than the 6s Plus while the 7 promises two hours longer battery life than the previous year’s 6s. But in reality, the device lasts only one normal day of usage and in case the customer is a social media enthusiast, he will have to find a charger by mid-day. The cameras on both variants of the 7 are 12MP and come with face detection, OIS and a dual tone flash. The advantage that the 7 Plus brings to the user is the 8MP telephoto lens, which brings a whole new dimension to the pictures you can

take. While this may not seem like a huge upgrade in terms of what is available in the market today, Apple focuses on refining little features that create a huge impact on quality. For example, the iPhone has a dedicated ISP chip that works with the camera to create images that are stunning to look at. A wide colour gamut, white balance, face recognition and billion other calculations done within a mere 25 milliseconds. This certainly is remarkable and something other manufacturers don’t do. Of course, this is all possible thanks to the new A10 Fusion chip, coupled with an M10 motion coprocessor, which performs 120x faster than the original iPhone and 240x better graphics performance. The chip is called the Fusion chip as it has two high-performance cores and two high-efficiency cores that run at 1/5th the power of the high performance cores thus

saving battery when necessary. This is where innovation makes the new iPhone a sophisticated buy – the Apple-designed performance controller decides which applications use the high-performance or the high-efficiency cores. Available in Jet Black, Black, Silver, Rose Gold and Gold variants, the 7 may not seem all that different from its previous model at first glance, however it does come with a better Retina display that has a wider colour gamut, a larger battery, a bigger mega pixel camera that produces high-quality images. But what truly sets the Apple iPhone 7 and 7s devices apart from the competition are the little innovative features that the company builds into its products, enhancing user experience to greater levels. However, priced at around AED 3000, it certainly is a premium product but worth every dirham.

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

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ASUS UNVEILS PROART PA32U MONITOR ASUS ProArt PA32U is a 32-inch directlit LED 4K UHD HDR monitor. According to the company, the new monitor has a full-array LED backlight featuring 384 LED zones and capable of a peak brightness of 1,000cd/m2, which offers a wide range of dynamic luminance for a much richer, nuanced image. ASUS highlighted that the use of quantum dot technology provides a wide colour gamut, enabling ProArt PA32U to deliver 99.5 percent Adobe RGB, 85 percent Rec. 2020, 100 percent sRGB and 95 percent DCI-P3 colour-space performance for high-end video-editing and production. ProArt PA32U has two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports that speed up to 40Gbps, supporting USB3.1 Gen 2 and

AXIS, CANON LAUNCH NEW INTERCHANGEABLELENS NETWORK CAMERA

DisplayPort 1.2. ASUS said that this unique port also turns ProArt PA32U into a docking display, enabling daisychaining up to multiple Thunderbolt 3 device. It also allows users to connect two 4K UHD displays for increased productivity and more versatile viewing.

EPSON RELEASES EB-1460UI Epson has launched a new interactive projector, the EB-1460Ui, which according to the vendor, is designed for increased collaboration and advanced business integration in meetings rooms. The device is equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities for remote working and support Skype on Full HD screens of up to 100 inches. EB-1460Ui has a split-screen option, which can be used even from two sources. The vendor highlihgted that this is ideal for users that are keen on carrying out two tasks at once, such as conducting presentations and hosting a video conference calls. It also has a built-in 16W speakers for audio without needing extra equipment or cables. It includes password access for whiteboard sharing, encrypted

passwords for whiteboard content and wireless security to keep data secure. The EB-1460Ui, according to Epson, is an all-in-one solution designed to create collaborative meeting rooms, enabling Skype in business and other video call solutions during meetings, and a host of other easy to use interactive features. It has fingertouch and dual-pen interactivity, which lets users control any presentation and lets them easily share and stream various types of content wirelessly from IOS or Android mobile devices with the iProjection App. It also allows screen mirroring through Miracast to effortlessly share content directly from any Android/ Windows devices also hosting the screen mirroring feature.

Axis Communicationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; AXIS Q1659 interchangeable-lens network camera combines Canon imaging and Axis network technologies for high-resolution surveillance. According to Axis, the camera brings a new level of ultra-high image quality for a fixed, widearea surveillance camera, and leverages image sensor and EF lens technologies for unmatched colour, contrast and detail even in the most challenging lighting conditions. AXIS Q1659 features a 20MP resolution at eight frames per second (fps), achieving unprecedented levels of detail for observing open spaces and across long distances. It features digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) imaging technology and offers a choice of seven different EF/EF-S lenses depending on individual user needs. Equipped with an EF lens mount, the camera enables easy lens changes. The new camera, according to the vendor, has the latest enhancement of Axisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Zipstream technology, which offers even more storage and bandwidth savings in video surveillance applications without compromising on important image details.

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

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NEC FLAUNTS INFINITYBOARD

HP INTRODUCES ELITEBOOK X360 The EliteBook x360 is dubbed by HP as “the world’s thinnest business convertible.” According to the company it combines Spectre’s thin and light design, the EliteBook Folio’s collaboration capabilities and Elite enterprise security and durability. HP highlighted that the device’s battery lasts up to 16 hours and 30 minutes. The vendor also noted that the EliteBook x360 features collaboration capabilities to enhance productivity and bring new life to meetings with dedicated conferencing keys, powerful audio. It has a 13.3inch (33.7cm) diagonal 4K UHD display with Windows Hello, and pen support. As part of the Elite family, according to HP, the business convertible includes latest innovations such as HP Sure Start Gen3, the “world’s only selfhealing BIOS” now with run-time memory (SMM) protection. The device is also supported by HP WorkWise, a smartphone app for PC management and first to offer tamper protection.

NEC Display Solutions Europe has announced the launch of InfinityBoard, a display solution designed to “fulfil business demands for interactive workspaces and huddle rooms.” Suitable for video conferencing, creative brainstorming, presenting, reviewing and collaborating, the InfinityBoard provides a modular and flexible platform to enhance efficiency and productivity in meetings of all kinds, according to NEC. Based on ultra-high definition (UHD) 65-inch and 84-inch large format displays with InGlass touch technology, the InfinityBoard solution provides a “paper-like” touch performance using a passive precision pen. This allows users to be creative with finger and pen differentiation allowing for intuitive touch, interactive writing and palm erasing. With pixelfree UHD visualisation, the solution also offers best-in-class visual

performance, even when users are in close proximity to the display. The InfinityBoard, according to the vendor, provides maximum comfort for video conferencing thanks to a combination of the integrated softwarepowered high-res Huddly camera with 120° viewing angle, the high-end loudspeakers by SEAS and an optional audio microphone conferencing solution, called TeamConnect Wireless, from Sennheiser. It also has height adjustment features, which ensures that everyone can work comfortably with the InfinityBoard irrespective of their height. Furthermore, it has a modular open pluggable specification (OPS) slot-in PC with Windows 10 operating system, which enables it to support a company’s specific conferencing application and future performance upgrades.

BIOSTAR LAUNCHES TB250BTC MOTHERBOARD BIOSTAR has launched its TB250-BTC mining motherboard designed for dense bitcoin mining operations. The new TB250BTC motherboard features enhancements provided by the new Intel 200 series and improved efficiency by the latest 7thgeneration processors, the company said. The TB250-BTC, according to BIOSTAR, is designed to be the newest, most stable and durable foundation for bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining. Crypto-currency trends for Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrency require dedicating a system that can run for long periods of hours under stress which can easily deteriorate motherboard components. With the TB250-BTC motherboard, according to the vendor, deterioration and the rate of which it is slowed down will be reduced

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

providing less maintenance cost which gives you the benefit of improved ROI. The new BIOSTAR TB250-BTC motherboard will support processors for the LGA1151 socket and will have native support for RAM with up to DDR4-2400 speeds and 32GB in total capacity. The motherboard will feature “high-reliability” LAN ethernet solution with Gigabit speeds for faster network utilisation. Built-in M.2 connector also allows high-speed storage support allowing minimal cable use for maximum cabinet utilisation for cards.

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SIEMON ANNOUNCES NEW PASSIVE CEILING ZONE ENCLOSURE Siemon has announced a new passive ceiling zone enclosure in the Middle East that installs flush within a 2 X 2 foot drop ceiling tile space. The new enclosure, according to Siemon, supports flexible, cost-effective zone cabling for today’s automated buildings by enabling shorter, easy-to-manage copper or fibre connections directly to building devices or to equipment outlets supporting a variety of lowvoltage building systems. Siemon highlighted that the new enclosure is designed to meet UL 2043 plenum ratings for digital ceiling deployments, the new passive ceiling zone enclosure is ideal for connecting directly to LED lights, security cameras, wireless access points or building automation controllers, or to outlets serving voice, data, digital signage and other low voltage systems. It includes a 4U adjustable rack system that tilts 45 degrees for easy access to terminations. It also supports a recommended 96-copper port count to harmonise with IEEE 802.3 Type 2 and

Type 3 Power over Ethernet (PoE) bundle size limitations and eliminate over congestion for optimised zone cabling deployments. Furthermore, the vendor noted that it is lightweight for easy overhead installation, the enclosure features a lower profile for installation in a wider range of ceiling spaces while supporting a load capacity of 31.7kg (70 lbs.). Its hinged door features foam gasketing to minimise vibration and accepts cut ceiling panels to blend into the surrounding ceiling décor. Part of Siemon’s line of ConvergeIT cabling solutions for intelligent buildings, the passive ceiling zone enclosure is ideal for use with Siemon cables, cords and connecting hardware to provide connections in the plenum space.

SONY, KIMBER KABLE RELEASE CABLE ACCESSORIES In its new Signature Series Sony launched three optional cable accessories, the product of its collaboration with Kimber Kable. According to Sony, the accessories combine Kimber Kable’s high-quality sound cable technology and Sony’s latest audio technology. The cables MUC-B20SB1, MUC-S12SB1, and MUC-M12SB1 are able to connect various Sony hi-res audio headphones with the latest 4.4mm balanced

(L-R) MUC-B20SB1, MUC-S12SB1, and MUC-M12SB1

connection headphone amplifier TA-ZH1ES and Hi-Res Audio player NW-WM1. Sony also highlighted that with their eight-wire braided structure the cables achieve excellent sound quality with higher clarity, lower external noise, minimised crosstalk and optimal electrical parameters. Gold-plated plugs with high corrosion resistance are used, and the aluminium alloy grips with better robustness and its acoustic characteristics reduce unwanted vibrations. The headphone-side plugs have screw-type lock rings, which enable stable and secure connections. The Balanced Standard Plug is plated with a non-magnetic material, which prevents magnetically induced noise and is exceptionally durable.

ALCATEL’S A3 XL 6-INCH PHABLET The Alcatel A3 XL is the first of a new premium range of affordable mobile devices, the “A” series. The new device, according to Alcatel, has a new distinct design, a large immersive high-definition display, fingerprint recognition technology and LTE connectivity that supports a wide range of data-heavy content and gaming activities. In addition, large screen smartphone comes fully loaded with a range of exclusive apps, mixing highly sophisticated technology with affordability. The Alcatel A3 XL fingerprint recognition feature allows the smartphone to be unlocked with one quick tap. It also helps to answer calls, take photos, encrypt documents and quickly access other applications. Along with this feature, the Alcatel A3 XL has an enhanced speaker system that offers greater sound clarity. It also comes with dual-flash two cameras along with a range of apps to help enhance and personalise photos and albums. The phablet comes in a vibrant range of colours and 3D patterns. Alcatel plans to roll out the Alcatel A3 XL in Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America during the first quarter of 2017, before moving on to Europe in the second quarter.

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

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ACER RELEASES CHROMEBOOK SPIN 11 Acer has announced its new Chromebook Spin 11 (R751T). Designed specifically for the classroom, Acer highlighted that the rugged convertible Chromebook comes with a stylus powered by Wacom EMR technology, and features four usage modes – tent, tablet, display and notebook. The Chromebook Spin 11 (R751T) also supports Android apps via the Google Play Store out-of-the-box. The Chromebook Spin 11 (R751T) has a number of features designed to facilitate school lessons and activities, rather than limit them. The device is equipped with a Wacom EMR stylus, which allows students to digitally draw, sketch, take notes, capture ideas on-screen. The EMR styli are battery-free and more resistant to accidental drops. Another main feature of the new Chromebook is the 360° dual-torque

AMD ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF RADEON FREESYNC 2 hinge design, which ensures users can enjoy a wobble-free, optimised touch experience in any mode, the company said. Evaluated against the stringent US MIL-STD 810G military standard the Chromebook Spin 11’s design is specialised to handle the rough-andtumble of the classroom, according to the company. Built on the Chrome operating system, the notebook has an 11.6-inch HD IPS display. It is powered by either an Intel Celeron quad-core processor N3450 or Intel Celeron dual-core processor N3350 depending on model. It also and comes with 4GB/8GB LPDDR4 memory and either 32GB/64GB on–board storage through eMMC flash.

CANON FLAUNTS OCÉ ARIZONA 1280 GT The Arizona 1280 GT is Canon’s latest UV flatbed printer designed for midvolume users. It has an eight-channel Océ VariaDot Imaging Technology, which according to Canon, can use light cyan and light magenta inks to deliver the smoothest highlights and quartertones for fine art and photographic applications. It can also use the CM² ink configuration for fast and smooth production printing as demanded by sign and display applications. The Arizona 1280 GT includes white ink for printing on non-white or transparent media and varnish for access to high value applications using spot varnish. It has variable droplet sizes from 6 to 42 picolitres. The ability to vary the

drop size to 6 picolitres produces sharp images with smoother gradients and quartertones. Canon highlighted that the Arizona 1280 GT has a Roll Media Option, which extends the user’s choice of applications to almost any flexible media up to 2.2m wide. It also has an optional innovative Automated Printhead Maintenance System, which provides hands-free printhead cleaning in less than 25 seconds per colour, ensuring consistent nozzle performance print after print.

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

AMD has announced Radeon FreeSync 2, a new technology for delivering smooth gameplay and advanced pixel integrity to gamers, with planned availability to consumers in 1H 2017. Qualifying FreeSync 2 monitors, according to the company, will harness low-latency, highbrightness pixels, excellent black levels, and a wide colour gamut to display High Dynamic Range (HDR) content. In addition, all FreeSync 2 monitors support Low Framerate Compensation (LFC). The technology also allows gamers can enjoy a complete plug-and-play HDR gaming experience, avoiding the need to tweak settings in software or on the monitor. Current HDR transport formats were designed primarily for movie content displayed on televisions with tone mapping handled by the displays, often leading to higherthan-acceptable latency for PC gaming. AMD also highlighted that the new API for FreeSync 2 offers a lower-latency alternative that shifts the workload to the powerful pipeline of a Radeon GPU, allowing the game to tone map directly to the display’s target luminance, contrast, and colour space. Radeon FreeSync 2 technology offers over 2x the brightness and colour volume over sRGB.

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SONY UNVEILS A1E SERIES Sony has introduced its A1E series, its line of 4K BRAVIA OLED TVs. The A1E Bravia series will be available in 55-, 65-, and 77-inch sizes. According to Sony, the new A1E series of BRAVIA OLED brings together the best of its picture quality technology, including the 4K HDR processor X1 Extreme featured in its flagship Z9D series. X1 Extreme, according to the vendor, accentuates the visual appeal of 4K HDR content and is capable of drawing out the full potential of self-emitting OLED panels, producing deep blacks and bright that more faithfully capture real world visuals. The A1E series is also equipped with Sony’s Acoustic Surface technology that vibrates the display and enables sound to be output directly from the TV screen.

LAVA INTERNATIONAL INTRODUCES LAVA A3

Sony also highlighted that by eliminating the speakers ordinarily placed around the periphery of the screen, this series achieves a speaker-less and standless form factor. Because sound is emitted from the screen, the picture and sound become as one, heightening the reality of the visuals before you. Moreover, users can enjoy an ideal viewing experience from anywhere in your living room, thanks to the combination of the OLED panel, with its wide viewing angle, and the Acoustic Surface technology which fuses together image and sound.

HTC LAUNCHES NEW SMARTPHONE SERIES HTC has unveiled its newest smartphone series, HTC U, with two new models, the HTC U Ultra and Play. The HTC U Ultra is equipped with of a Qualcomm Snapdragon HTC U Ultra 821 processor, a 5.7 inch, Quad HD Super LCD 5 display with a dual display of 2.05 inch with Gorilla Glass on the 64GB model and Sapphire Glass on the 128GB model. The HTC U Play is a compact 5.2-inch smartphone with Gorilla Glass which features the MediaTek Helio P10 processor. The smartphones under the new series are “3D contoured” with a liquid surface, it has symmetrical curved glass construction and polished surface bends that blends seamlessly on the side of the phone. With the aim of redefining the

relationship between users and their smartphones, HTC introduced the HTC Sense Companion – a personal companion who is consistently learning from the user, with voice recognition capabilities. Through artificial intelligence, the HTC Sense Companion gets to know users through machine learning to present customised and personalised suggestions. The HTC U series feature cameras with Optical Image Stabilisation, Phase detection autofocus (PDAF), a Dual-tone LED flash and Pro Mode among others. The HTC U Ultra comes with a 12MP UltraPixel main camera and the HTC U Play features a 16MP main camera. Both devices will be available in four stunning colours: Brilliant Black, Cosmetic Pink, Ice White, and Sapphire Blue.

LAVA International has introduced the LAVA A3 the vendor’s latest smartphone offering to the market. The dual-SIM smartphone comes with a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera. It also has a “super-fast” fingerprint sensor, which can unlock the device in just 0.16 seconds. Priced at AED 799, LAVA noted that the new device meet customers’ requirements, the new mobile phone has also been upgraded in various aspects, including the overall configurations, functions and user experience. According to the vendor, the LAVA A3 comes with a 5P lens 8MP front camera supplying extra lighting when capturing images in low-light situations, and a rear 13MP SONY IMX258 sensor with a high CRI flash and f/2.0 large aperture which increases the amount of light that can enter by 44 percent. These features not only brighten your photographs, but also make them so much clearer that you won’t miss any wonderful detail. The LAVA A3 runs on an Octacore CPU with 3GB RAM and 32GB ROM and is equipped with a 3020mAh battery.

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

COLUMN

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

Adelle Geronimo, Online Editor, Technology Division

An unexpected ally The year 2016 has been a particularly eventful one for the cyber threat landscape. The past 12 months saw a whirlwind of hacks, leaks and cyberattacks. Looking back, there was a slew of cybercrimes from the $80 million heist at the Bangladesh central bank to the ‘mega-breaches’ of Yahoo and LinkedIn. Closer to home, a series of cyber-attacks crippled a few government agencies in Saudi Arabia just before the year ended. Industry pundits are also claiming that 2017 will be no different, in fact, it will be more challenging than ever as we can expect nation state attacks, ransomware and a continuing wave of data breaches. On the other hand, things weren’t all that bad in 2016. The tech landscape has seen a number of interesting advancements including in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). For example, Google released its AI-powered, voice-controlled smart home device, Google Home; and IBM Watson

has also introduced an AI project that’s making big strides in the healthcare sector especially for cancer research. In the UAE, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) built the Rammas Bot an AI customer service attendant capable of detecting the spoken or written dialect of the customer and delivering real-time responses. The impact of AI across a diverse set of industries is disruptive, with the technology being optimised for tools used in various important operational aspects. Considering these factors, it is not a surprise that a number of industry experts view AI as a valuable ally when it comes to cybersecurity, making both these aspects of IT more important than ever this 2017. Machine learning, a component of AI, makes use of existing data to ‘learn and understand’ user behaviour and system patterns, and identifies any kind of activity that deviates from it. Right now, months go by before an organisation

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

detects a breach and by then the attacker is long gone with all the important data. AI can help them save time and money as it sifts through structured and unstructured data to detect anomalies that could go unnoticed otherwise. Furthermore, integrating machine learning algorithms into a security system makes the infrastructure more intelligent giving it the ability to keep learning; allowing it to anticipate threats and respond to them as they occur. For those who fear that the progress in AI might displace cybersecurity posts moving forward; fret not because although this technology is increasingly playing a big role in the security space this IT segment still need the better judgement and cognitive capabilities that humankind provides. The future holds immense potential for AI and cybersecurity respectively, but having these two IT elements together makes it an even more promising one.

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