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THE POWER OF DATA

THE POWER OF DATA

SAM DANIEL, ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS CONSULTANT AT SEVEN SEAS COMPUTERS, OUTLINES HOW IT SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOYED VEEAM’S AHV BACKUP SOLUTION TO ENABLE SERCO TO HAVE GREATER VISIBILITY AND CONTROL OVER ITS DATA.

Sam Daniel, an Enterprise Solutions Consultant at Seven Seas Computers, which is a leading systems integrator and ICT solutions provider based in the UAE, has detailed the role it has played in solving a major issue for one of its clients.

Public services company, Serco was experiencing issues in terms of meeting SLA backup requirements and was also encountering issues in relation to managing its data as it was stored across different servers at multiple locations across the United Arab Emirates.

However, Seven Seas instructed Serco to deploy Veeam’s AHV backup solution in order to counter the problems it was facing. Daniel said the primary objective for Serco was to have one centralized backup location for all its sites.

He said, “The major pain point for the customer in this project was that it had multiple locations across the UAE - but they wanted to have one centralized backup infrastructure so they could maintain their backup and be in a position to monitor all of their sites from a centralized location.”

They had been previously managing everything centrally but were running various backup servers at a whole host of different locations which was creating huge headaches for them both in terms of meeting its backup SLA requirements and data management.

Daniel added, “The issue with the previous type of setup they were employing was that the data is scattered across different locations. They wanted a solution that could centrally back-up everything onto one centralized platform and they wanted to see what and how the infrastructure was running in their environment.”

In his capacity as a leading enterprise solution consultant at Seven Seas, Daniel wasted no time in advising the client to deploy Veeam’s backup and replication software to alleviate the challenges it was facing.

He added, “We installed the Veeam backup and replication software in their centralized location which was also doubled-up as its head office. From

CUSTOMER: SERCO

Customer Objective

Implementation of centralized backup infrastructure

Management and monitoring of all data

Meet backup SLA requirements

Why Veeam AHV backup solution?

Greater speed and flexibility

Instant recovery of lost data

Simplified and reliable backup solution

“AS SEVEN SEAS SYSTEM INTEGRATOR, IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HELP SERCO IN OPTIMISING THEIR BACKUP SOLUTION ON VEEAM AHV BACKUP SOLUTION.”

SAM DANIEL, SEVEN SEAS COMPUTERS

AT A GLANCE

CUSTOMER: SERCO

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to implement a backup infrastructure so that all the client can monitor all its sites at a centralized location.

CORE REQUIREMENTS: Increased visibility and control over data by becoming centralized and ability to instantly recover data in the case of a disaster.

that head office they’re managing all their remote sites. They had also been facing real challenges in terms of the speed of their backup but Veeam’s technology has resolved that issue.”

Veeam’s cutting-edge technology also provided greater visibility and flexibility to manage their data in a structured way. The advantage of deploying Veeam technology was that it provided them with the ability to instantly recover their data in seconds.

Daniel concluded by highlighting that the legacy infrastructure they were using meant that it was simply unable to meet backup SLA needs, plus it was also taking them too much time which in turn was resulting in the proliferation of costs.

Daniel said, “As a Seven Seas system integrator, it was a great opportunity for us to help SERCO in optimising their backup solution on Veeam AHV Backup solution. They were running different backup products in order to meet their SLA. Due to their legacy backup solution on Veritas backup and old hardware infrastructure and they were not able to meet their required backup SLA. Their backups were also taking longer and were subsequently failing. We had decommissioned their current backup solutions and reconfigured the entire solution on Veeam AHV Backup. We then made sure that their backups were taken to an offsite datacentre location and this in turn helped them have their temp DR with the capability of Veeam instant recovery. The VBR Server and its repository where located in another datacentre which is connected via fiber.” n

How seven seas did it?

Decommissioning of their existing current backup solutions

Reconfiguration of the entire solution

Ensured successful deployment of solution by adopting a ‘hands-on’ approach

SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED: Veeam AHV Backup solution

PARTNER: Seven Seas Computers

FAISAL ALJUNDI, GENERAL MANAGER OF MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA AT THINGLOGIX, OUTLINES THE ROLE THE COMPANY HAS PLAYED IN HELPING A LEADING BANKING PROVIDER IN THE UAE TO IMPLEMENT AMAZON ALEXA TO TRANSFORM HOW IT COMMUNICATES WITH ITS CUSTOMERS.

SMART BANKING

ThingLogix was established in 2014 and is headquartered in the United States. The company specializes in Internet of Things and AI but has also adopted a special focus on a new technology called serverless. Their objective with serverless is to minimize the usage of the infrastructure. In more simplistic terms they want to deliver more coding by using less infrastructure.

However, ThingLogix is also an advanced technology partner for Amazon Web Services and a lot of their projects are done in conjunction with Amazon Web Services. One such project is ThingLogix’s partnership with one of the UAE’s leading banks. Ajundi explains the initiative in more detail.

“We’re now engaged with one of the UAE’s leading banks and we’ve been tasked with the responsibility of building smart capabilities that will enhance the way the bank communicates with its customers. We’ve introduced Alexa the AI chatbot as part of our efforts to improve the communication between the bank and its end-users.”

According to the dynamic General Manager of ThingLogix, the main pain point for the bank was the fact that its standard IVR model had become almost redundant. Customers were expressing their dissatisfaction with the customer service it was providing so the bank realized it needed to act fast.

Ajundi added, “From a business perspective if you need anything from a bank or a telecommunications operator and you follow the standard IVR model you have to use a phone number and then you’ve got to go through a process when you hear all the options and then select a function by hitting a specific number. It takes you anywhere from 1-2 minutes just to complete your initial task.

CUSTOMER: A LEADING BANKING INSTITUTION BASED IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Customer Objective

Improve how the bank communicates with its customers

Deliver better customer experiences

Transforming its call centre

Why Amazon Alexa? [AWS]

A global leader in AI chatbot technology

Compatible with devices and easy to integrate into existing

systems

Reliable, secure and affordable

“WE’RE INTRODUCING ALEXA THE AI CHATBOT AS PART OF OUR EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE BANK AND ITS END-USERS.”

FAISAL ALJUNDI, THINGLOGIX

AT A GLANCE

CUSTOMER: A leading banking institution based in the United Arab Emirates

OBJECTIVE: To improve the communication between the bank and its customers to enhance the overall services it provides.

However, the power of Amazon’s Alexa is the fact that you can now get all the financial information you require in less than 1 minute.

He added, “By leveraging the AI capabilities of Alexa the banking provider can enable their customers to ask Alexa what my credit card balance is? She will answer immediately so the process is now instantaneous and takes less than 5 seconds. It removes all the issues customers were experiencing and encountering with their existing IVR model.”

Aljundi also firmly believes that introducing AI to enhance the customer experience will result in improved customer loyalty which is something banking providers are striving for in what is fast becoming an ultra-competitive market in the United Arab Emirates.

“By introducing AI into its customer service you’re not only enhancing and transforming how the bank communicates with its customers but yo ur also creating loyalty. That is extremely important for banks.”

Ajundi disclosed that a number of beta testing has already taken place and the project is now in the production phase of the business cycle. n

How ThingLogix did it?

Leveraged their position as a trusted technology partner of AWS

Expert on AI technologies

CORE REQUIREMENTS: Introduce disruptive technologies like AI to improve the overall customer experience for end-users.

SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED: Amazon Alexa [AWS]

PARTNER: ThingLogix

NEERAJ BAJAJ, GENERAL MANAGER OF QATAR PROJECT GROUP INTERNATIONAL LLC OUTLINES HOW THEY HELPED A MAJOR QATARI-BASED AVIATION COMPANY MANAGE THEIR NETWORK COSTS.

FLYING HIGH

Qatar Project Group International LLC has established itself as an enabler for change since it began its operations in 2004. The company has successfully executed countless projects for major enterprises in industries such as Oil & Gas, Government, Airport, Seaport, Shipping, Banking, Hospitality, Telecommunication and the aviation sector.

The vision leadership and innovation on display at Qatar Project Group International LLC was one of the primary factors it was tasked with the responsibility of taking on a major project with one of Qatar’s most successful and globally recognized airlines. The pain point for QPGI’s client was network costs. However, how could they reduce their overall costs whilst at the same time maintain their ability to be secure? QPGI, had the solution to their problem.

Bajaj explains, “QPGI is primarily focused on two domains. One of them is infrastructure whilst the other is security. In terms of security we’re focused on network security and we’re a technology partner with Barracuda.”

The General Manager of the successful Qatar enterprise said the success it had enjoyed with Barracuda Networks on previous projects gave it the confidence to know it was the perfect vendor particularly for this challenge.

Bajaj added, “We’ve deployed multiple solutions for Barracuda Networks in the enterprise segment in Qatar for a long period of time, so we know what their capabilities and we have a strong and healthy partnership with them. In this business use-case we’re highlighting here our client was encountering huge challenges in terms of managing its Network costs. It’s a major enterprise that works in the aviation sector and we developed a solution in conjunction

CUSTOMER: AIRLINE CARRIER BASED IN QATAR

Customer Objective

Reduction in Network costs

Maintaining strong security performance

No disruption in service

Required centralized management solution

Why Barracuda Networks?

Cutting-edge technology

Best of breed fiber solution

Leading IT security company

“WE INSTRUCTED THEM TO ADOPT BARRACUDA’S FIBER SOLUTION AS WE FELT IT WAS THE BEST SOLUTION TO DELIVER THE RESULTS THEY WANTED.”

NEERAJ BAJAJ, QATAR PROJECT GROUP INTERNATIONAL LLC

AT A GLANCE

CUSTOMER: Airline carrier based in Qatar.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to deploy a solution that would enable this global airline to manage its costs in an efficient and secure way.

CORE REQUIREMENTS: A reduction in its network costs whilst maintaining a robust and security architecture around it.

with Barracuda Networks which was designed to help them manage these costs.”

Bajaj also highlighted that it took a consultative approach with its client and felt that Barracuda Networks fiber solution was the best fit for what they needed as it both addressed the issues’ they were experiencing in terms of cost but were also delivering the security they desired.

Bajaj said, “We instructed them to adopt Barracuda’s fiber solution as we felt it was the best solution to deliver the results they wanted. We connected this solution for them in 34 locations and the combination of QPGI and Barracuda technology also ensured that the network was secure and robust, which was obviously of very high importance to the customer.”

Bajaj said the project has been so far been a success since its deployment over a 1 month and that the client has already expressed its desire to roll it out across 250 locations.

He concluded by saying, “We did a PoC (Proof of Concept) for the client and it ran for almost six months without any issues at all. This obviously instilled them with huge confidence and they officially rolled out the solution and deployed it over 1 month and the client is already seeing results. The client is that satisfied with the deployment that they want to expand it out to over 250 locations nationwide. It wasn’t only secure and cost-effective it was centrally managed too which was another added-bonus for the client.” n

How QPGI did it?

Leveraged its experience in delivering large-scale projects

Had experience with working with Barracuda Networks on previous initiatives

Dynamic and innovative technology thought leader

SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED: Barracuda Networks fiber solution.

PARTNER: Qatar Project Group International LLC

SECURE UNION

MERIED BEKELE, CEO AND OWNER OF IE NETWORK SOLUTIONS DETAILS HOW THEY HELPED THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION ENHANCE THEIR OPTIMAL NETWORK PERFORMANCE IN A BID TO DELIVER GREATER SECURITY FOR THE ORGANIZATION AFTER A SERIES OF MALICIOUS ATTACKS WERE UNCOVERED IN 2018.

AUC, the commission for the African union’s secretariat was looking for state of the art network enhancement and security network solutions that would accommodate the organisation’s IT needs and address the ever-growing threat landscape. Accordingly, the commission has announced the need for the solution back in 2018 after some malicious network activities were found in the network.

Meried Bekele, CEO of IE Network Solutions said, “The commission’s infrastructure was found to be insecure and vulnerable to different attacks as it’s discovered that the entire content of

its servers was transferred to different country. It was then that IE-network solutions, a legally registered company in Ethiopia having more than 10 years of experience in providing an all-round IT solution collaborating with well-known global partners got the opportunity to offer the specified service for the commission.”

IE Network Solutions had the opportunity to provide the services and delivered with impressive efficiency. As a part of the project, IE equipped the African union with state-of-the-art Cisco based network infrastructure and information security solution that has enabled the African union to use advanced technology to combat threats against its valuable assets, some technologies are

CUSTOMER: AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION (AUC)

Customer Objective

Optimization of network performance

Enhanced security framework

Detection of threats

Why Cisco?

Core network optimization

NGFWs with advanced information security capabilities

Network access control for centralized access management.

“THE COMMISSION’S INFRASTRUCTURE WAS FOUND TO BE INSECURE AND VULNERABLE TO DIFFERENT ATTACKS AS IT’S DISCOVERED THAT THE ENTIRE CONTENT OF ITS SERVERS WAS TRANSFERRED TO DIFFERENT COUNTRY.”

MERIED BEKELE, IE NETWORK SOLUTIONS

AT A GLANCE

CUSTOMER: African Union Commission (AUC)

OBJECTIVE: To equip the African Union Commission with state of the art that will enable them to ensure optimal network performance and advanced network security.

Advanced Malware Protection and Sandboxing Centralized Network Access Control System Intrusion Prevention System with advanced visibility URL Categorizing and Filtering System Centralized Security Intelligence and Management System High Speed backbone network

After the contract was signed and items are delivered, IE Network finalized the whole project under less than a week. Taking the item delivery time from Redington for complete preparation and documentation.

Bekele added, “All Cisco devices deployed at AUC were purchased through Redington, from Cisco and the implementation was done by IE’s very own in-house system experts. The security upgrade devices implemented are expected to provide utmost protection to AUC’s critical information and data.”

Impressively, IE was able to complete the project implementation within the specified time and original budget and got a project closure approval of successfully meet the deliverables of the commission.

He concluded by saying, “African Union’s critical assets now sit better protected. IE Network Solutions serves best Africa’s Technology needs with expert solutions.” n

How IE Network Solutions did it?

State-of-the-art infrastructure

Speed of project delivery

Expertise in IT security solutions

CORE REQUIREMENTS: Optimize the network and plug security gaps the African union had.

SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED: Cisco

PARTNER: IE Network Solutions

GETMAX OF IT

PANKAJ JAIN, CEO GETMAX DMCC, OUTLINES A MAJOR SUCCESS IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF A MAJOR OIL & GAS ENGINEERING COMPANY WITH GLOBAL FOOT-PRINT AND OFFICES IN MANY COUNTRIES ACROSS CONTINENTS VIA MIGRATING THEIR ENTIRE SETUP ON SINGLE MICROSOFT AZURE CLOUD SOLUTION ALONGSIDE DEPLOYMENT OF MICROSOFT M365 E5 & E3 LICENSES.

The customer is one of the manufacturing industry’s most trusted partners in oil & gas, marine, and industrial engineering.

There was multiple reasons for the customer wanting to transition to the cloud: In recent years, the customer expanded rapidly, but its computing systems weren’t able to keep up with the accelerated growth. This has caused inefficiencies, workflow bottlenecks, and difficulties in system management. They needed a solution to unify their geographically separate operations and to streamline communication and collaboration.

Seeing the cloud as both the solution to its challenges and the way to the future, the customer embarked on the ambitious task of making all operations virtual. The result? Seamless collaboration globally, vastly simplified management, and a productivity and efficiency leap that’s enabled easier expansion.

With Microsoft Azure, the company achieved seamless cloud connectivity across the entire organization for their employees to store and share information over cloud from anywhere as well as take and manage data backups for recovery or restore.

Also, to keep maximum productivity of operations, speed up project planning and centralized connectivity for their global offices, the company adopted Microsoft 365 for its management and IT staff in UAE. The company already relied on Microsoft Office, and there are hundreds of devoted employees at the company, so Office 365 inside a Microsoft M365 package was a natural next step.

“In this virtual age, customer knew that the benefits were there to move to cloud since any Inhouse solution got challenges for global access due to poor bandwidth and latency in some countries, and Servers hosting options were found

CUSTOMER: OIL & GAS ENGINEERING COMPANY

Customer objective

Simplify global branches connectivity and IT infrastructure

management.

Deploy a solution for more computing power for their IT systems.

Improve employee productivity in a rapid scaling environment.

HPC (High performance Computing) for Engineering Centre.

Why microsoft Azure Solution?

Was found matching to requirements to other cloud providers

Easily integrable and scalable components with long term

benefits

Supported easy implementation and fast computing

Met all aspects of customer’s demands

“THE GREATEST BENEFIT IS THE INTEGRATION OF THE COMPANY’S GLOBAL OPERATIONS, WITH ALL USERS ABLE TO CONNECT TO THE VIRTUAL DESKTOP FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.”

PANKAJ JAIN, GETMAX DMCC

AT A GLANCE

CUSTOMER: Oil & Gas Engineering Company.

OBJECTIVE: To achieve cost optimization in current HPC (high-performance computing) Of Microsoft Azure Cloud setup with customer’s global offices with nearly entire computing and data on a single cloud solution.

CORE REQUIREMENTS: Migration of their entire setup on single Microsoft Azure cloud solution alongside deployment of Microsoft M365 E5 & E3 Licenses.

to be coming with “too much extra baggage.,”

The Customer maintains and scales up on Azure Cloud. Maintaining a global organization to the cloud is very prestigious for Partner GetMax DMCC and continues to support and scale up the Microsoft side of the services.

Most recently in 2019 cost optimization were achieved by migrating a chunk of highperformance computing (HPC) services of Azure RI (Reserved Instances) was achieved.

Thus, adding another breakthroughs’ in customer’s long list of successes on cloud. The HPC automatically expands to accommodate the number of users and their needs, so now multiple users can be connected to a high-performance application, like CAD, video, or 3D rendering. This had previously caused a workflow bottleneck, with only one user able to work on a drawing at a time.

The greatest benefit is the integration of the company’s global operations, with all users able to connect to the virtual desktop from anywhere in the world, making communication and collaboration seamless while freeing employees to work from anywhere.

For a company that works 24/7 across time zones, the productivity and efficiency increases are significant, with time and cost savings to match.

“Now our client can open a new office anywhere in the world in days, not months, and the entire infrastructure can be managed with very small no of IT Operations staff.

“Everybody will come to understand in the future what significance this event has had in the world of technology and in the world of business and in the world of productivity.” n

How GetMax did it?

Understood the customer challenges by detailed discussions

Prepared a techno-commerical plan for achieving objectives

Delivered Infrastructure Solution resulting in cost efficiencies

SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED: Reserved Instances on Microsoft Azure for HPC (High Performance Computing) alongside M365 E5 & E3 licenses for Users.

PARTNER: GetMax

Cloud Fundamentals. Delivered.

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