Arabian Reseller - December 2020 by Rysha Media

DECEMBER 2020 Vol. 2. Issue 10.

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BRINGING

AFRICA UP TO HIGH SPEED Remote WORKING CYBER RISKS

GITEX 2020 SPECIAL EDITION

Service Management | Identity and Access Management Security Information and Event Management | IT Operations Management Unified Endpoint Management and Security | Advanced IT Analytics

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CONTENTS 

NEWS

AVEVA Intros Teamwork to Empower Industrial Connected Workers

Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Slack

13 14

Nokia and STC Launch the Operation of Technology Innovation Center

19 21

Acer Intros New LED and Laser Projectors

UAE Leads Innovation in $546 Billion Global Smart Cities Market

16 

20 22 23

GITEX 2020 SPECIAL SECTION Trend Micro to Exhibit Under the “The Art of Cybersecurity” Theme Tally Solutions to Showcase TallyPrime Equinix to Remain Focused on Digital Transformation

24 25 27

2020 Has Been a Year of Seismic Changes in the Way We Work and Live Red Hat’s Theme at GITEX will be ‘Go Slow, Look Closer, and Dig Deeper’ Companies Should Make Simple Switches to Innovative Tech

ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

EDITORIAL

DECEMBER 2020

EDITOR IN CHIEF Chris N. Fernando chris@ryshamedia.com

CHRIS N. FERNANDO EDITOR IN CHIEF

Digital Transformation is Accelerating Growth in the African Continent

SALES AND MARKETING Ranbir Sen ranbir@ryshamedia.com

DEPUTY EDITOR Edward Frank edward@ryshamedia.com

If there was ever a time to watch progress in Africa, it would be now. The continent truly has the ability to leapfrog technological trends and with the rapid scaling of digital technologies we believe there are huge opportunities awaiting to be exploited. The explosion of digital continues to gain momentum and digital, data, design and the emergence of the fintech sector are all fast becoming the driving force behind this. The continent also seeks to digitally enable its its population by the end of 2030. Establishing digital networks and services is crucial because it will strengthen intra-Africa trade, intra-investment and capital flows for national, regional and continental expansion at large. And this would require African governments and national bodies to create initiatives and policies to stimulate and speed up digital transformation. And a drive for digital transformation is well underway. You will read about all that in our cover story this month that focuses on the African market. In

the story, Pierre Havenga, the Managing Director for MEA at Vertiv, speaks about the opportunities and challenges in 2020, his plans for 2021, and the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus on the African market. Havenga explains how digital transformation has picked up steam, the opportuntites the market presents and what Vertiv is doing to enable the digital transformation initiative. This month, the magazine also serves as the GITEX 2020 Special Edition. GITEX 2020 is being held amid the pandemic as a hybrid event that includes an offline trade-show and online keynotes, meetings and more. All this is being done with all the safety and health guidelines in place. Read about what exhibitors at this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extravaganza are planning on showcasing. And as usual, we hope you will enjoy reading this month's edition of Arabian Reseller.

SENIOR WRITER Priyan Sampath priyan@ryshamedia.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER John Christy info@ryshamedia.com

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Prarthana Mary prarthana@ryshamedia.com

DIGITAL TEAM Context Media LLP, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. www.arabianreseller.com

C O N TA C T I N F O R M AT I O N Rysha Media LLC, Sharjah Media City (Shams), Al Messaned, Al Bataeh, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Email: sales@ryshamedia.com Web: www.ryshamedia.com

While the publisher has made all efforts to ensure the accuracy of information in the magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors whatsoever. Copyright @ 2020

NEWS

Nokia and STC Launch the Operation of Technology Innovation Center

Seagate Launches SkyHawk AI 18TB HDD for AI-Enabled Surveillance Solutions

Seagate Technology has announced it is shipping 18TB SkyHawk Artificial Intelligence drives in volume. SkyHawk AI is the world’s first purpose-built hard drive for artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled Surveillance solutions, enabling quicker and smarter decisions. The new drive supports deep learning and machine learning workload streams for Edge applications with ImagePerfectAI.

Nokia and STC have announced a joint collaboration to operate STC’s Technology Innovation Center in Riyadh. An agreement was signed to this extent by Abdullah Alowini, VP, Technology Strategy and Architecture at STC, and Khalid Hussain, Saudi Country Senior Officer at Nokia, in the presence of Haitham Al Faraj, SVP, Technology and Operations at STC, and Amr K. El Leithy, Head of Middle East and Africa Market at Nokia. The five-year project will see Nokia carry out several programs to help STC develop at least four truly innovative use cases every year to support STC’s business goals. Nokia will also support STC with the development of innovative use cases for new upcoming technologies. STC will also join Nokia’s Open Ecosystem Network, a digital collaboration platform which brings companies together to help them innovate and develop new ideas. This is where the center’s digital community will be hosted. Under the partnership, Nokia will also raise STC engineers’ capabilities to develop an entrepreneurial mindset that will help them build use cases in line with unique requirements of Saudi Arabia. Nokia will conduct several competitions to stimulate new ideas and use cases. A winner will be selected at the end of every challenge, contest or hackathon, based on the concept or business viability. This will help STC develop new revenue generation streams.

The innovation center will be equipped with the latest technologies and will leverage Nokia’s Open Ecosystem Network. It will provide an opportunity for STC employees to interact and benefit from Nokia’s international partner network. The exchange of ideas and interaction with global subject matter experts will help develop innovative services and products. Abdullah Alowini, VP, Technology Strategy and Architecture at STC, said: “We are committed to providing the latest products and services, and this is a crucial initiative in this direction. The innovation center will develop path-breaking use cases that will improve the lives of the people and contribute to the economic and social development of Saudi Arabia in line with Saudi Vision 2030. We are confident that this program, in collaboration with Nokia, will help us in developing local content and innovative use cases to improve the quality of lives of our people.” Khalid Hussain, Saudi Country Senior Officer at Nokia, said: “This collaboration is testimony to yet another strong, evolving partnership between STC and Nokia, contributing towards fast realization of Saudi Vision 2030. We are excited to work with STC on this unique initiative to develop unique ideas. We look forward to leveraging our global perspective, insights and technology expertise to help conceptualize new ideas to enhance the quality of life of the citizens.”

ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

The capacity to retain more data overtime is required for deep learning systems to become smarter and more accurate in their predictive analysis, and behavior analysis requires significantly more data than traditional video capture. SkyHawk AI simultaneously sustains 32 AI streams alongside 64 video streams and supports multi-bay NVR and AI-enabled NVR. SkyHawk AI offers a 550TB/year workload rate, more than 3× the workload rate of standard surveillance hard drives in order to manage data deluge in complex video security system environments without sacrificing performance. This drive intelligently adapts between traditional video workloads and video+AI workloads. Built to meet the demands of an always-on large workload in an AI-enabled NVR system, SkyHawk AI 18TB accommodates recording and analyzing footage simultaneously from multiple cameras which equips customers with faster and smarter footage analysis by eliminating data latency and processing. It includes three years of Seagate Rescue Data Recovery Services for additional peace of mind in the event of video surveillance data loss and a standard 3-year limited warranty. The SkyHawk AI 18TB hard drive is now available for an MSRP of AED 1726/Unit ($470/Unit).

NEWS

AOC’s New AGON Porsche Design Gaming Monitor Comes to the UAE

Riverbed Outs Latest Release of its NPM Solution Riverbed has announced key updates to its Network Performance Management (NPM) portfolio, delivering greater visibility that is crucial to monitoring productivity and performance, as organizations continue to shift toward hybrid-networks and work-from-anywhere models. Riverbed NPM—the leading and only unified network visibility solution that spans on-premises, multi-cloud and remote work environments—now includes: more cloud options, increased visibility and analysis of encrypted traffic, and use of artificial intelligence (AI) for behavioral analytics of packets, apps and users for automatically defining baselines and outliers.

AOC has launched the new AGON Porsche Design gaming monitor in the UAE. Available through Virgin Megastores, the PD27 brings a top-of-the-line performance that brings professional display technologies that are a musthave for any hardcore gamer. “We are proud and excited about collaborating with such a fantastic partner like Porsche Design within the Middle East region through our Distribution Partner Techxhub & Region’s Top Retailer Virgin Megastore. The Porsche design heritage goes perfectly with our state-of-the-art display technology. We believe together with our partnership, thanks to our terrific and completely unique monitors, we can provide gamers across the region with an unrivalled gaming experience,” said Carol Anne Dias, Sales Director Middle East, and Africa at AOC. The PD27 is a 27-inch 1000r curvature display that comes with a QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution plus a 240Hz refresh rate. There is also Adaptive Sync plus HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4, along with Display HDR 400 support plus 90 percent DCI-P3 coverage. “Launch of Porsche Design Monitors across Virgin stores will give gamers the opportunity to experience this world-class product. We as Techxhub strive to bring the very latest trends in technology to the region & focus on ecosystem-based demand creation, channel-based customisation, and a solution-based customer proposition,”

said Sachin Kapoor, Vice President IMEA at Techxhub. The new AGON Porsche Design gaming monitor include an ambient light behind the screen that allows for a more immersive experience along with dual 5W speakers enhanced with DTS Sound. A Wireless Gaming Keypad allows you to configure and access different monitor settings including FPS, RGB, etc. at a press of a button. The monitor is also the first to have a boot-up sound that mimics the Porsche engine. “We are excited to Launch Porsche Design Monitors across our stores. This best-in-class monitor will be a fabulous offering to the gaming fraternity” said Aymen Datsa, Regional Product Manager at Virgin Megastores. The Porsche Design gaming monitor also includes a user-configurable Projection Logo that projects an image of the AGON or Porsche Design logo right below the display. A new OSD is also included on the PD27, which continues the unique design language of the Porsche Design brand. The AGON Porsche Design gaming monitors launched exclusively through Virgin Megastores in UAE. As with all of its displays, AOC offers a 3-year warranty with on-site exchange service. The new model PD27 comes with an end-user price of AED 3499 (excluding VAT).

Additionally, with Riverbed NPM solutions, organizations can now also create customized dashboards that provide IT and business leaders with real-time insights into overall app performance and the connectivity infrastructure critical for remote working. IT responsibilities were already stretched far beyond conventional network boundaries due to the rise of cloud and hybrid networks. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses also now need more visibility into hybrid and distributed workforces as users are increasingly connecting beyond corporate networks and facilities and working from anywhere. In Riverbed’s Future of Work Survey, 37 percent of business leaders surveyed said they needed better visibility into network and application performance to ensure a better remote work environment, as increased visibility provides greater insight into business productivity and performance. Even after COVID-19 passes, remote working and distributed workforces are expected to see a sharp increase from the past—growing to 600 million remote employees by 2024, up from 343 million in 2019. Additionally, with the digital enterprise spread across on-prem, IaaS, SaaS and work-from-anywhere environments and with many workers using their own devices and connecting to company networks using personal WiFi connections or mobile data, attack areas and vulnerabilities have increased. In order to safeguard these newly exposed environments and manage their expanded workloads, IT and security pros need to have unobstructed visibility.

NEWS

AVEVA Intros Teamwork to Empower Industrial Connected Workers

Intel Launches Intel NUC M15 Laptop Kit Intel has launched the Intel NUC M15 Laptop Kit (formerly codenamed “Bishop County”). The NUC M15 brings Intel’s technical expertise to the whitebook market, with the goal of providing Intel’s channel customers with a premium, precision engineered laptop kit. The Intel M15 Laptop Kit includes an 11th Gen Intel Core mobile processor and Intel Iris Xe graphics and is designed to exceed the stringent requirements of the new Intel Evo platform brand.

AVEVA has announced the launch of its new AVEVA Teamwork a fully integrated cloud-based application built specifically for industrial workers to facilitate continuous learning and improvement. It is designed to connect plant workforces with core digital systems and unlock visibility into operations. Whether providing training videos, digital logbook, or answering a call for help AVEVA Teamwork will help solve many of the challenges associated with traditional training and knowledge transfer methods which can consume weeks and even months to get frontline workers up to speed on the essential skills needed to run today’s complex industrial operations. AVEVA has partnered with Poka, the most comprehensive connected worker platform, to bring the AVEVA Teamwork application to market. It will offer the connected worker a more integrated experience within the larger AVEVA Connect, cloud platform. “Poka is excited to partner with AVEVA, a leader in industrial digital transformation with a global network of support and service partners. This partnership will help accelerate industrial workforce transformation globally which has become even more urgent as a result of constraints imposed by the pandemic, “commented Alexandre Leclerc, CEO, Co-Founder, Poka. AVEVA Teamwork is designed to empower industrial-organizational workers to learn, solve problems, and share knowledge from their daily routines. It combines digital content, skills management, and communication features into a single, worker-cen-

tric application to support the unique needs of the plant floor. The result is a continuously updated knowledge base of best practices and training content, automatically shared with the workers who need them, across shifts and global operations. With the AVEVA Teamwork application, plant workers will be able to use tablets to scan QR codes strategically placed throughout the plant, giving them instant access to standard work instructions, trouble-shooting solutions, equipment KPIs and more. They will also be able to post important production updates and send out calls for assistance in the form of text, photos, or videos to communicate with one another in real-time to resolve issues and identify improvements directly from their daily routines. “AVEVA Teamwork brings yet another cloud inspired innovation to our growing software portfolio which will enable organizations to capture experienced worker knowledge and create sustainable video-based learning content, thereby reducing training time and costs for new operators by up to 50%,” commented Rashesh Mody, Senior Vice President, Monitoring And Control Business Unit, AVEVA. “Industrial workers will now have the benefit of being able to learn continuously, onthe-job, while also contributing to collective knowledge and best practices, and likewise industrial organizations also now have the knowledge and tools they need to drive continuous improvement in productivity, waste, quality, and safety.”

ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

Ultimately, the Intel Evo platform brand is earned by each channel partner, but the M15 offers the right foundation for our channel partners to build an Intel EVO-qualified laptop. The Intel M15 Laptop kit has a sleek, modern design with a premium CNC anodized aluminum chassis that measures just 14.9mm thick and weighs in at 1.65kg. Built with an 11th generation Intel Core processor and Intel Iris Xe graphics, the NUC team has taken advantage of over 50 years of Intel innovation and expertise to create a laptop kit that makes the most of our new CPU architecture. The Intel M15 Laptop kit is designed to deliver boundary-breaking performance for productivity, entertainment, content creation, and casual gaming. It features amazingly responsive adaptive usages with Wake on Approach, Walk Away Lock, and No Lock on Presence. The 73Whr battery provides all-day battery life, plus fast charging support, while Intel Wi-Fi 6 and Thunderbolt 4 provide superfast connectivity. Channel partners can choose from three base laptop kit SKUs, each available in two colours— “shadow grey” and “midnight black”—and multiple keyboard layouts to build out their solutions.

For Business Inquiries ASUS Middle East Tel.: +971 4 256 6102, M.: +971 55 544 5639, Email: jeff_j@asus.com www.asus.com/me-en/commercial

SPECIAL FEATURE

ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

THROUGH THE CORNERS AHEAD CHANNEL PARTNER CHALLENGES 2021

This year’s EMEA Digital Channel Summit kicked off with experts Karsten Winther: VP Sales EMEA, Vertiv and Margarete McGrath: Chief Digital Officer EMEA, Dell. We’re All Hoping to Hit the Digital Accelerator in 2021 Clearly, the recent past has been a tough period for everyone – you don’t need us to tell you that. However, while customer budgets have tightened, and projects have been pushed back, it’s all happening against a longer term back drop of massive investment in digital transformation.

As analyst company Gartner group pointed out recently: “Top performing enterprises are accelerating digital innovation and leveraging emerging technologies to come out stronger on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Translating that into numbers, despite a global pandemic, direct digital transformation investment is still growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5% from 2020

ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

to 2023 and is expected to approach $6.8 trillion. And while there has been a lot of investment in public cloud services, it isn’t necessarily to the detriment of enterprise investment. According to a recent survey from Uptime Institute, the enterprise data center is neither dead nor dying. More than half of workloads are expected to remain in on-premise data centers

in 2022 and beyond. We are also expecting strong growth in edge computing accelerated by investment in IoT and, as it ramps up, 5G.

to be struck between digital acceleration – the gas pedal if you like – and digital infrastructure resiliency – the brake which gives us control.

According to IDC, the worldwide Edge computing market will reach $250 billion in 2024 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5% over the 2019 – 2024 period. So, while the short-term story may be disruption and contraction in IT budgets, the longerterm picture is much more positive.

IT Infrastructure Resiliency Needs to Be Top of Mind What exactly do we mean by ‘digital IT infrastructure resilience’? Well, there has been a lot of recent investment in specific areas of digital transformation by necessity: remote working, remote education, telemedicine, etc. But that increased reliance and focus on digital services carries with it increased responsibility and importance, both in terms of the IT equipment and the physical infrastructure (power, cooling, etc), that supports it.

Maintain IT Infrastructure Resiliency Through Heeland-Toe Shifting While it’s encouraging to know that the longer-term direction faces growth and investment in digital transformation, the short- to- mid-term (the track directly ahead of us) is obviously what we are all focused on. It would be good to think that there will be nice, long straight stretches of track to accelerate into in 2021, but as recent experience has shown, there will continue to be some chicanes and maybe even some wreckage to steer around. As IDC spending forecasts show, spending will increase in 2021, but it will take time to return to pre-covid levels and will be uneven across different industries and countries. The trick is how to maintain momentum while also tackling these obstacles. Racing drivers use the heel-andtoe technique to balance the accelerator and brake as they change down gears. Maintaining that balance between speed and control is what we are all going to have to master. Specifically, there is a balance

On the IT side, as a recent report from Interpol showed, there has been a spike in hacking and malware alongside the pandemic. In fact, cybercriminals are using information supposedly related to the pandemic to breach companies’ defences or exploiting vulnerabilities created by having more remote workers. And it’s a similar story on the facilities side. A recent report from Uptime Institute revealed that data center operators are planning to increase the amount of physical redundancy per site to protect against future disruption from not only the current pandemic, but crucially future pandemics and climate change. For, example at least one large cloud service provider is asking its colocation partners to ensure N+2 redundancy at all of their sites. That’s likely to drive continued investment in physical resiliency equipment. According to Omdia, the glob11

al UPS market will see 5% growth YoY in 2021. Partner Opportunity So, in 2021 there will be a number of customers looking to hit the gas pedal and accelerate digital transformation projects. But there will also be a lot of start and stop activity, and a need to make sure digital projects are secure and resilient. Customers will need guidance on how to balance digital acceleration in the right areas and make sure that digital transformation makes their business more productive. Here’s where we see three areas in which partners can differentiate themselves: • New digital tech challenging existing skill sets: partners can bridge the gap between the known and the unknown • Adding value merits revenue: partners who can add value to the customer supply chain can charge a premium price • Customisation requirements are growing: partners who can bring customisable solutions will win on simplicity and speed The continued uncertainty from the pandemic, combined with implementing advanced new digital projects, will multiply the potential risk for some customers. Given that heightened risk, they will be looking for trusted partners to guide them through – a skilled ‘pit crew’ if you like, to keep them in the race.

NEWS

Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Slack

Vertiv Ranked as Global Leader in Rapidly Evolving Data Center Cooling Market

Salesforce and Slack Technologies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Salesforce will acquire Slack. Under the terms of the agreement, Slack shareholders will receive $26.79 in cash and 0.0776 shares of Salesforce common stock for each Slack share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $27.7 billion based on the closing price of Salesforce’s common stock on November 30, 2020. Combining Slack with Salesforce Customer 360 will be transformative for customers and the industry. The combination will create the operating system for the new way to work, uniquely enabling companies to grow and succeed in the all-digital world. “Stewart and his team have built one of the most beloved platforms in enterprise software history, with an incredible ecosystem around it,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce. “This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world. I’m thrilled to welcome Slack to the Salesforce Ohana once the transaction closes.” “Salesforce started the cloud revolution, and two decades later, we are still tapping into all the possibilities it offers to transform the way we work. The opportunity we see together is massive,” said Stewart Butterfield, Slack CEO and Co-Founder. “As software plays a more and more critical role in the performance of every organization, we share a vision of reduced complexity, increased power and flexibility, and ultimately a greater degree of alignment and organizational agility. Personally, I believe this is the most strategic combination in the history of software, and I can’t wait to get going.” "Slack will be deeply integrated into every Salesforce Cloud. As the new interface for Salesforce Customer 360, Slack will transform how people communicate, collaborate and take action on customer information across Salesforce as well as information from all of their other business apps and systems to be more productive, make smarter, faster decisions and create connected customer experiences," the companies said in a statement. Slack’s open platform seamlessly integrates with more than 2,400 apps that people use to collaborate, communicate and get work done. With the largest enterprise app ecosystem, the Salesforce platform is the easiest way to build and deliver apps to connect with customers in a whole new way. Together, Salesforce and Slack will create the most extensive open ecosystem of apps and workflows for business and empower millions of developers to build the next generation of apps, with clicks not code.

Vertiv has been ranked by technology analyst firm Omdia as the largest global supplier in a data center cooling market which continues to undergo change and innovation. The newly released research highlights that established heat rejection technologies such as Direct Expansion (DX), Chilled Water and Evaporative Cooling continue to dominate while also becoming more sustainable. In addition, new technologies, such as forms of liquid cooling, are predicted to grow as data center operators look for ways to further improve efficiency and deal with increasingly power-intensive compute. The Omdia paper, Data Center Thermal Management Report 2020, published in late 2020 and based on 2018 and 2019 data, states that Vertiv has a 23.5% share of the global data center cooling market – more than 10% higher than its nearest rival. The market for data center thermal technology is set to increase from $3.3bn in 2020 to more than $4.3bn in 2024, according to Omdia. Vertiv also leads the global market for perimeter thermal technologies with a 37.5% market share which is more than 20% higher than the next largest supplier. In addition to analysing market position, the report provides insight and intelligence on how data center cooling technology is evolving. Established technologies such as chillers and perimeter cooling will remain a large proportion of the market. According to Omdia, split DX is still the primary form of heat rejection in data center thermal management, but chilled water and direct evaporative heat rejection are gaining momentum. In addition, cloud and colocation service provider momentum has accelerated, driving

ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

double-digit growth for air handling units (AHU). Omdia predicts there will also be strong growth in forms of liquid cooling – immersion and direct-tochip – that are expected to double between 2020 and 2024. Several factors are contributing to this shift, including increasing chip and server power consumption, edge growth, increasing rack densities, as well as energy efficiency and sustainability requirements. Lucas Beran, principal analyst for Omdia’s cloud and data center research practice and the report’s author, said: “The data center thermal management market is on the cusp of an inflection point. Currently, existing airbased thermal products and solutions are driving growth but are limited by their ability to cool 10kW+ rack densities. New technologies, products, and designs are coming to market to help support these high-density deployments and more efficient operations leading to changing market dynamic through 2024.” “Vertiv’s enduring leadership in thermal management demonstrates that our customers value our domain expertise, our broad-ranging portfolio and the increasing investment in technology, research and development,” said Giordano Albertazzi, president for Vertiv in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “The cooling products and solutions we have launched throughout 2020 and our forward-looking innovation roadmap will continue to offer leading technology to our customers, enabling them to achieve higher efficiency and sustainability goals.”

NEWS

Acer Intros New LED and Laser Projectors

Acer has introduced new LED and laser projectors for business and commercial use. These new models include a best-in-class wireless LED 1080p projector with 3,000 lumens of brightness and also high energy-efficiency laser projectors that reach 3,100 lumens. Additionally, three new Acer monitors have been announced for business and home users: the eye-friendly Acer B248Y, the HDR-capable Acer CBL272U and the Acer BL270, with virtually no side-bezels. Acer PD and VD Series The VD6510i is a wireless 3,000 lumens LED 1080p projector that delivers ultra-smooth 1080p 120Hz projections for action movie excitement. 125% coverage of the Rec. 709 color gamut provides excellent color saturation and vivid images, enhanced by 16x sequential display speed that minimizes rainbow effect, while 3,000 ANSI lumens of brightness enables the projector to produce a crystal clear image even for large screens or in a room with the lights on. LED projectors are very resilient to brightness decay, so users can enjoy their favorite movies for years to come, and are also eco-friendly due to their mercury-free nature. Also with 3,000 ANSI lumens brightness, the PD1530i is a business-oriented projector that was designed around making meetings as convenient as possible. The cable free, wireless 1080p LED projector is capable of throwing a 100-inch screen from a distance of less than 3 m (9.8 ft). LED projectors reach full-brightness almost immediately upon being turned on, eliminating delays at the beginning of meetings, and this brightness is long lasting: with a 30,000 hour lifespan, business users can expect to get many years

of use out of the PD1530i projector. Acer XL Series Using only 143 watts of power, the Acer XL series (XL1220/XL1320W/XL1520) contain some of the most energy-efficient 3,100 lumens laser projectors in the world. The XL series of projectors are reliable devices that deliver stunning image quality of up to 1080p and are priced for the mainstream market, making them perfect for use in medium-sized meeting rooms. An IP6X certification indicates that XL-series projectors are “dust-tight,” the highest grade of protection against solid foreign objects available, preventing the ingress of dust or other solid particles that may damage the device. This durability makes the 3,100 lumens projectors capable of being used under any ambient lighting, and combined with a 30,000-hour lifespan, they require remarkably little maintenance. Portrait and 360-degree projection modes are also available, enabling the XL series projectors to accommodate any sort of space or scenario. Acer UL and PL Series The Acer UL5630 is an innovative projector designed to overcome the limitations of space, capable of throwing a 120-inch projection from a distance of just 31 cm (12.3 in). This ultra-short throw projector is equipped with a new high-quality image laser diode that enables it to project in WUXGA (1920×1200) with 4,500 lumens of brightness, creating crisp displays in which even the fine print stands out. Features like the ability to project freely in 360 degrees or in portrait mode and remote management capabilities make the UL series particularly well suited for education and business.

Leica BLK247 Smart 3D Surveillance System Launched Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, has announced the expansion of its Leica BLK247 smart 3D surveillance system to accommodate the varying needs of its global customers. The Leica BLK247 is the world’s first 3D sensor combining LiDAR, video camera and thermal imaging technology for security and surveillance. Building owners, operators, security teams, and facilities managers can benefit from continuous monitoring of buildings and spaces including hospitals, factories, manufacturing plants, and offices. Additionally, the Leica BLK247 provides reliable surveillance for private properties. “The Leica BLK247 is an award-winning security product that addresses the need for 3D sensors in today’s surveillance industry. It provides an entry to true 3D surveillance technology, and it makes accurate decisions on when to trigger an alarm,” said Carl-Thomas Schneider, vice president of business development, Hexagon’s Geosystems division. “It also creates new opportunities for security systems integrators to offer one of the industry’s most innovative surveillance products.” “Leica Geosystems is a recognized leader in the areas of geospatial capture, measurement, and analysis. They have brought their expertise in these areas together to solve problems faced with traditional 2D image analysis in the security industry,” noted the Security Industry Association (SIA) judges for Best New Product Award 2020. “The product combines multiple sensors and multiple sensor technologies to provide a previously unavailable set of operands to a powerful edge computing platform.” The Leica BLK247 is now available in two versions, the Leica BLK247 i5 and the Leica BLK247 x5, which are suited to monitor and protect different environments. The x5 offers thermal imaging, dust and water protection for both indoor and outdoor environments, and an expanded operating temperature range, while the i5 designed for mostly indoor environments where thermal imaging is not needed.

NEWS

BPC’s SmartVista Named UAE Leads Innovation in $546 Billion Global Smart Cities Market Leader in 2020 Quadrant’s SPARK Matrix for Card Management BPC has announced that it has emerged as a leader in the 2020 SPARK Matrix for card management. For over 25 years, BPC has been serving over 280 financial institutions in over 90 countries worldwide with state-of-the-art banking and payment solutions. Its SmartVista Platform offers a selection of modules which can be used as micro services to deliver full end-to-end banking and payment experience or as a standalone. According to Quadrant Knowledge Solutions report, the Card Management System (CMS) market has dramatically changed over the last five years and that trend is set to continue. With growth of 5.6% in 2019, it is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.1% from 2020–2025. Valued at US$1.15 billion in 2019, the global CMS market is expected to reach US$1.46 billion by 2025. Today’s card lifecycle management solutions need to cater to all type of cards, markets and customer needs, physical and virtual cards including debit, credit, prepaid, specialised cards such as salary cards or even smart cards, which couple payment capabilities with additional benefits such loyalty schemes or social welfare information to deliver new experiences. SmartIssuer, BPC’s flagship solution has always been a core component of BPC’s SmartVista platform, which has organically evolved and anticipated market changes. According to Maria Gonsalves, Senior Analyst at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, “BPC SmartIssuer offers robust functional capabilities to extend its flagship SmartVista platform’s card processing capabilities to a fully integrated solution for transaction processing and card management. BPC, with its industry leading functional capabilities and robust customer value proposition has received strong ratings against various parameters of technology excellence and customer impact. It has then emerged as the technology leader in the 2020 SPARK Matrix analysis of the card management system market.” Jane Loginova – Group Chief Commercial Officer at BPC said, “We are thrilled to see BPC’s SmartVista awarded the title of leader in Card Management worldwide in Quadrant’s SPARK Matrix. This recognition testifies of our commitment to pave the way in card management innovation, anticipating market changes. For our financial institutions, we offer choice with cloud options, speed to market and efficiency while the ultimate result is about delivering a superior experience to the end customer. Our motto at BPC has always been ‘bridging real life to digital’ and it means a lot in today’s card world where physical and virtual need to co-exist.”

The UAE is leading innovation in the world’s Smart Cities market, which is set to reach USD 546 billion by 2027, industry experts announced today ahead of GITEX Technology Week 2020. Meticulous Research firm expects the global Smart Cities market to grow at 23 percent CAGR to USD 546 billion by 2027. Abu Dhabi and Dubai rank in the world’s top 50 Smart Cities, thanks to digital transformation of the government, Smart Dubai initiatives, and Expo 2020 Dubai as one of the world’s best connected events. “The UAE’s ascension in global Smart City rankings is testament to the country’s government-led digital transformation,” said Savitha Bhaskar, COO, Condo Protego. Condo Protego, works closely with public and private sector organizations on their digital transformation to support Smart Cities. “As the economy and society continue to evolve, GITEX sets the stage for five Smart Cities mega-trends of 2021: AI, cloud, 5G, digital economy, and cybersecurity,” added Savitha Bhaskar. “Knowledgeable and experienced channel partners can help Smart Cities to meet business goals with the right solutions and KPIs.” Artificial Intelligence and Analytics AI is being used for facial recognition in airports, predicting utilities

ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

spikes, and preventing disease outbreaks. Organizations can use AI with machine learning algorithms and real-time analytics to optimize their insights. Cloud and Edge Computing In digital transformation, data storage, data analytics, and hybrid cloud environments can combine to deliver the biggest business benefit. As data storage drops in cost and increases in performance, organizations can adopt affordable, flexible, and scalable high-performance storage infrastructure. Data storage plus virtualization can enable remote and hybrid working and learning. 5G and Future Mobility Ultra-fast 5G mobile broadband networks are the foundation for the Internet of Things, Internet 4.0, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 5G can enable autonomous vehicles that safely reduce traffic, smart factories, and mega-events. Cybersecurity and Resilience While the UAE has rapidly moved towards a smart and connected society, the increased connectivity also comes at a steep price of increasing cyber-threats. Advanced threat intelligence can help secure cloud, endpoints, and networks from cyber-threats: ranging from traditional business email compromise (BEC) attacks and URL threats, to malware and ransomware, all of which can risk business continuity and customer trust.

HyperloopTT and Altran Sign Cooperation Agreement

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) announced today an agreement with world-leading engineering and R&D services provider Altran, part of the Capgemini Group. The agreement includes one hundred Altran engineers to accelerate the development of commercialized passenger hyperloop systems at the HyperloopTT facility in Toulouse, France, the Aerospace Valley of Europe. HyperloopTT’s European R&D Center is the home of the world’s only full-scale hyperloop system, which has been undergoing testing and optimization since 2019. The agreement advances HyperloopTT’s capabilities in a lean way, negotiated within HyperloopTT’s hybrid collaborative framework. The announcement comes after recent commitments from both the European Union and the United States, emphasizing the development of commercial hyperloop systems as part of a broader post-pandemic economic solution focused on sustainable high-speed transportation and infrastructure. “We’re seeing more and more major players in technology and transportation embrace hyperloop as the future of sustainable high-speed travel, and we welcome Altran to the HyperloopTT global movement,” said HyperloopTT CEO Andres De Leon. “Our business

DWTC Signs Video Collaboration Partnership with Avaya

model has enabled us to add their top-tier engineering expertise in aerospace, aeronautics, and systems engineering.” “HyperloopTT is leading the way in profitable and sustainable highspeed infrastructure,” said Altran Executive Vice-President William Rozé. “Our work together will make the HyperloopTT European R&D Center at Aerospace Valley, the epicenter for hyperloop engineering worldwide, while building upon the long tradition of transportation innovation and leadership in Toulouse.” HyperloopTT’s continued European-based development has accelerated the adoption of commercial hyperloop systems across the continent. Since reaching an agreement with the City of Toulouse in 2017, HyperloopTT has led international hyperloop regulation efforts from its full-scale test site. After developing the world's first hyperloop insurance framework with Munich Re, HyperloopTT completed the first set of safety and certification guidelines for hyperloop systems with TÜV SÜD and delivered them to the European Commission. HyperloopTT is committed to demonstrating that hyperloop is a sustainable nearterm infrastructure project that can solve the congestion, sustainability, air quality, infrastructure, and competition concerns that face the European Union.

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) today announced a strategic video collaboration partnership with Avaya, under which DWTC will use the Avaya Spaces workstream collaboration platform to create blended conference experiences at GITEX Technology Week 2020. GITEX is the only major technology event in the world to go live in 2020, with its conference schedule set to gather government experts, tech innovators and game-changing start-ups, hosting over 350 technology experts from 30 countries speaking live on stage. Visitors will be able to access more than 280 hours of content across industries and sectors including Artificial Intelligence, Smart Cities & 5G, Government, Future Mobility, Fintech, Digital Marketing, Energy, Healthcare and Education. International speakers who are unable to travel into Dubai will dial into conference sessions virtually via Avaya Spaces. Avaya Spaces is an all-in-one workstream collaboration platform for the digital workplace that changes the way work gets done in nearly 100 countries. It helps businesses, schools, governments and other organisations to bring together distributed groups of people instantly with immersive work spaces where they can message, meet, share content, manage tasks and collaborate in the cloud. “Dubai World Trade Centre is one of the region’s technology pioneers, and is blazing new trails with its blended approach to conferences and exhibitions. Being at the forefront of the industry requires game-changing solutions that are changing the way work gets done. Avaya Spaces meets that requirement, delivering innovation for workstream collaboration that not only remote-enables teams and workers, but helps them collaborate in ways that were previously unimaginable. With this partnership, we will deliver a conference experience like no other,” said Fadi Hani, Vice President – Middle East, Africa & Turkey, Avaya. “After a year of missed opportunities, GITEX, in its 40th edition, is finally giving the technology industry a platform to reconnect and do business again through in-person networking and conferences. We are pleased to welcome Avaya to this landmark edition of GITEX and are thankful for their strategic support and commitment to digital transformation in the region,” said Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President, Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre.

COVE R STORY

BRINGING AFRICA UP TO HIGH SPEED

Pierre Havenga, the Managing Director for MEA at Vertiv, speaks about the opportunities and challenges in 2020, his plans for 2021, and the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus on the African market ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

The year 2020 has been a sort of mix for many. While some strategies worked positively, some refused to take off. For Vertiv, a company that focuses on digital transformation, by providing equipment and services for the datacenter, 2020 has been a fantastic year. Pierre Havenga, the Managing Director for MEA at Vertiv, asserts, “We will have another record year growth is double digits. I am really excited about what we have been able to achieve and I am looking forward to what’s in store for 2021.” GROWTH IN 2020 The company went public in early 2020 and in October 2020, Vertiv announced that its Board of Directors had declared the company’s first-ever annual cash dividend of $0.01 per share of the company’s Class A common stock. The cash dividend will be payable on December 17, 2020, to shareholders of record of Class A common stock, including holders of record of the company’s units, at the close of business on December 2, 2020. Then in November 2020, the company announced that it had added at least 100 jobs through the coronavirus pandemic because of the soaring demand for datacenter equipment and related services. The company had then announced that the hybrid work environment will be around a little while and hence, the company’s objective to grow faster than the market. Vertiv was also recently ranked as the global leader in the rapidly evolving data center cooling market. In a market research report published by Omdia, titled “Datacenter Thermal Management Report 2020”, it was stated that Vertiv had a 23.5% share of the global data center cooling market – more than 10% higher than its nearest rival. The research report also suggested that the market for datacenter thermal technology was set to increase from $3.3 billion in 2020 to more than $4.3 billion in 2024. Furthermore, the report said that Vertiv also led the global market for perimeter thermal technologies with a 37.5% market share, which is more than 20% higher than the next largest supplier. THE NEW NORMAL “If we look at 2020, we look at the opportunities such as people working from home, or even the enterprise sector such as the government or the medical fraternity, we see that all of a sudden people realised they need to put in lots

of importance to information, data, and the availability of it,” Havenga explains. “2020 was a good year and we foresee that the trend will continue into the new year with the new way of working.” According to Havenga, the new normal is allowing people more time to work rather than travel, especially in the Middle East and Africa region. “There are challenges as well especially in terms of spending quality face to face time with colleagues and customers. However, though people are getting used to the new way of working, we are hoping to start traveling very soon to meet our customers and partners in the region,” he adds. AFRICA FOCUS And the company is doubling down on its commitment to the African market. The company recently announced two major distribution partnerships - one to cover East Africa and the other to cover South Africa. The distribution partnership with the Fajoba Group will meet the growing demand for its popular IT infrastructure support, such as the Vertiv Liebert itON Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). According to the company, this is a cost-effective, single-phase UPS with line-interactive technology that is ideal for protecting desktop computers and standalone IT equipment. The products are already available to Fajoba resellers in Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda. The second partnership was with Cyber Security South Africa (CSSA), which will address the current data center challenges being faced in the country. This will be done by enabling availability through Vertiv’s premium infrastructure technologies and speed of delivery through CSSA’s developed distribution capabilities. The partnership also covers the company’s latest products including the Vertiv Liebert GXT5 UPS and the Vertiv Edge 500 to 3000VA. “The Middle East and Levant region has had major data growth, which means new projects are upcoming, which is exciting for us,” explains Havenga. ”Africa is waking up, we will see lots of fiber coming into Africa over the next couple of months. The two Africa projects amount to about 78,000 km of sea cable that’s going to touch Africa in multiple places, which will help people from transitioning from 2G to 3G in lots of countries in Africa.”

According to Havenga, about 45% of mobile subscribers in Africa are still on 2G, and getting all these subscribers onto 3G will create a huge amount of opportunities. “We are thus spending a lot of time and funds to expand our footprint to bring products closer to our customers, speed up the delivery, and I foresee a huge increase in Vertiv’s market penetration in 2021.” Havenga further adds that digitalisaiton will continue to grow and the amount of data will keep on increasing. “Laws relating to how data is handled is also changing due to various data privacy acts. So we will see a lot of cloud service providers will be forced to manage that data traffic within the boundaries of a country and that will create more opportunities.” Apart from datacenter products and solutions, Vertiv also offers lots of products for the telecom sector, small and medium businesses, and so on. The company also offers edge solutions that use modular integration techniques to tailor solutions for your application while offering the benefits of a streamlined process. Vertiv customises products such as SmartMod and SmartMod Infrastructure, which can work through laws and regulations, and interact with the state, local, and federal officials as required. The company’s global solutions can allow companies to implement uniquely customised modular edge data centers of any scale that are built to maximise flexibility, improve scale, and boost efficiency. “While there are opportunities for such solutions, the size of the opportunities differ when we compare the Middle East, Levant, and Africa regions. For the Middle East and the Levant, we see lots of uptake of 1MW to 4MW building blocks, while in Africa, the demand is for building blocks that fall into the 500KW category,” explains Havenga. Havenga says for 2021, he would like to increase his company’s focus in the region. “The Middle East and Africa market consist of more than 60 countries, with 54 of those falling into Africa. We would like to expand our footprint in the region by focusing on efficiency and productivity. The pandemic was an adjustment for everyone. What we have learned from 2020 is that we can do better in 2021,” he concludes.

GITEX 2020

ManageEngine to Show Off its Entire Suite of IT Management Solutions for the GCC Market Nirmal Kumar Manoharan, the Regional Sales Director at ManageEngine, speaks about his company’s participation at GITEX 2020

Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? We will be representing ourselves as a complete solutions provider for organisations across all sectors looking to deal with their IT management problems. We will be showcasing our entire suite of IT management solutions for the GCC market. We have a portfolio of over 40 products covering all IT requirements ranging from IT service management, operations management, active directory management, security and analytics, endpoint management and more. What are your expectations from the event this year? ManageEngine has been doing business in the Middle East since 2005 and we have been a part of GITEX since 2007 and consider it of strategic importance to us. Our relationship with GITEX and the region is too strong for a pandemic to get in the way. So, in a major way, our participation this year is to communicate our commitment to our customers and that we will continue to serve them. We have had hundreds of thousands of interactions with customers, prospects and partners at GITEX. The benefits of these interactions accrue over years as it is a continuous process and we hope this year gives us the opportunity to have as many interactions as possible. Do you hope for a business relief from the pandemic based on your engagements at the event? While technology has been a net positive for our operations, we certainly did feel the economic and psychological impact of the pandemic. Though the situation is still unpredictable, we believe that 2021 will be a better year. We know this year GITEX would witness comparatively fewer visitors, but we look forward to meeting and thanking everyone who visit our booth (Hall 7, B-20) as it has been a challenging year for

all of us. What will be your theme of participation at GITEX? Remote working brings with it new data security risks, especially the risk of both unintentional and malicious data exfiltration. Under this work-from-home scenario, the onus falls on IT teams to facilitate a secure remote working environment, which not only enables safe connection to remote devices, but also facilitates routine activities without sacrificing cybersecurity. Having said that, this year at GITEX our focus would be to promote the wide range of security solutions we have to offer. ManageEngine's Desktop Central and Password Manager Pro, help manage and secure endpoints and passwords, respectively. With the launch of sophisticated phishing attacks, organizations across all sectors must keep a close watch over user accounts. For instance, it’s vital to monitor users who log on from multiple locations simultaneously or who access multiple resources in a short period of time. Therefore, our new-gen SIEM solutions like Log360, which includes user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) capabilities, and our privileged access management solution, PAM360, can be very useful for enterprises. To provide remote employees the access they need to exclusive information within the corporate network, organizations have to ensure secure remote access. This can be done using our Remote Access Plus and Access Manager Plus solutions, which is available to organisations of every size. How is your company weathering from the market effects on the pandemic? The pandemic surely did bring us to a standstill with unanticipated challenges in the beginning of the year. However, we have managed to grow the business this year as well and hope to continue to do so

ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

for the rest of the year. Our wide range of solutions and their overall value proposition has remained strong, which has helped us weather the storm to a great extent. We have been able to provide uninterrupted support to our customers during this difficult time. We believe our customers appreciate this, which reflects in the growth of the business. What were the key learnings over the past couple of months and how do you plan to use those to make changes to your regional strategies? To the relief of many of us, it appears as if we're on the verge of seeing a vaccine for COVID-19. Nevertheless, to put it mildly, the past year has been a trying time for the always-resilient information technology sector. Despite the litany of challenges the pandemic brought us, the key lessons we've learnt over the past few months are: Cloud Adoption: The pandemic obliterated conventional IT operations and associated processes. For the sake of business continuity, enterprises were forced to modify their on-premises IT infrastructure to facilitate increased remote access. Companies that adopted a solid cloud strategy were far less affected by the pandemic. Cloud makes it possible to dynamically add and remove virtual infrastructure, which in turn allows you to attend to any demands without compromising the security posture of the services. Endpoint Security: The influx of IoT devices over the past few years altered the endpoint management space; however, the pandemic further changed the business operations landscape, and it has made endpoint security more important than ever. While cybersecurity firms continue to adapt to enterprise cybersecurity needs, remote work has made it clear that endpoint security is the baseline upon which any additional security policies must be deployed.

Secure Land Communications to Show Off Their Range of Reliable Communications Tech Walid Lahoud, the Head of Sales - MENA of Secure Land Communications at Airbus, speaks about his company’s participation at GITEX this year Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? GITEX will provide us a global platform to showcase our secure and reliable communications technologies and infrastructures currently being widely used by first responders, including our medical and police forces. This year, we will highlight the multimedia features of our Tactilon Agnet 500 and Tactilon Agnet 800 solutions. Tactilon Agnet 500 facilitates efficient endto-end and encrypted group communication. This reliable and secure push-to-talk device enables video calls and real-time location tracking, among other capabilities. On the other hand, Tactilon Agnet 800, which uses Tetra technology, is equipped with multimedia messaging, and live streaming features which enrich communication between smartphone users and people who carry a Tetra radio. What are your expectations from the event this year? The event will enable us to not only highlight the innovative features of our solutions but also to become part of a historic event that will take place live and in-person for the first time since restrictions have been imposed due to COVID-19. All precautionary measures are in place to keep exhibitors and visitors safe and secure. We will also do our part to ensure safe face-to-face interactions with everyone. Dubai is moving steadily and gradually towards bringing back vibrancy to the business sector and at Airbus we are looking forward to a positive outcome of the event. Do you hope for business relief from the pandemic based on your engagements at the event? At SLC, as a critical communications solutions provider, our activities have not been slowed down during this pandemic. Nonetheless, despite unprecedented challenges, we still pursue our strategy and continue to seek new leads and partnerships in line with our business growth goals. We expect to achieve our objectives and more during our participation at GITEX given that it is one of the most prestigious and biggest technology

events in the region. What will be your theme of participation at GITEX? We will highlight the importance of having secure and reliable communication mechanisms among teams, and at all times, especially during crises and emergencies. This is especially evident in today’s global health crisis in which our health authorities across the world need to collaborate more efficiently and coordinate together to send out urgent messages clearly and accurately at the right moment. Efficient communication saves lives, properties, and resources, as well as strengthens emergency response strategies. Secure and reliable communication devices with multimedia features are at the core of effective and robust communication systems. We can illustrate this theme further through our solutions. Do you plan to run any online engagements such as webinars in parallel to GITEX? Our focus is to fully take advantage of the in-person organisation of GITEX this year to demonstrate how our solutions work. As such, we are planning to run some demos during the show instead of online engagements. How is your company weathering the market effects of the pandemic? Although we have not experienced the full impact of the pandemic, Airbus’ SLC program unit has been extending crucial support to public and private entities involved in the fight against COVID-19. From the start of this crisis, we have known that we need to step up our efforts to provide critical communication solutions to our healthcare personnel, police forces and other front liners as they continue to perform their duties to protect citizens around the world. In fact, we have deployed a team to extend all forms of around-the-clock support as government agencies continue to work to contain the virus. What were the key learnings over the

past couple of months and how do you plan to use those to make changes to your regional strategies? Over the past couple of months, we have noticed the need to bridge the communication gap between organizations. Hybrid solutions with sophisticated multimedia capabilities are becoming more and more important to address critical communication needs, especially during emergencies and crises. The pandemic has exposed the prevailing issues in terms of team coordination and collaboration, which can also be answered by hybrid solutions and we have to address collectively for a more efficient response. As such, we will further strengthen our partnership with local distributors in the region to reach more organizations across industries and aid them in reinforcing their communication system and infrastructure through resilient and reliable products and optimized solutions. Any other info you would like to add? SLC has a complete ecosystem of third party applications that are innovative and deliver new and better ways of working for the users. These applications are tailored for each organization and allow them to gain in operational efficiency and team coordination and interoperability. For instance, the application “Guardian Covid” and Airbus-certified application was developed earlier this year by Epic Blue, Airbus’ partner and application developer, allowing health care workers to track their exposure time to a potential Covid case, as well as, ensuring the safety distance measures. That means, if two health workers get closer than two meters a notification is sent to them automatically. The control room also has an indoor tracking capability that can locate Covid cases and trace all the health workers who might have been in contact. Thus, allowing the control room to respond quickly and to take the necessary actions. Other examples include licence plate identification for police forces, advanced administrative applications to ease administrative work and other AI enhanced technology.

GITEX 2020

Trend Micro to Exhibit Under the “The Art of Cybersecurity” Theme at GITEX Sudqi Al Abweh, the Channel Accounts Manager for UAE at Trend Micro, speaks about the company’s participation at GITEX this year Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? At GITEX, Trend Micro is showcasing: • Trend Micro Cloud One Hybrid Cloud Security, a comprehensive SaaS security solution that includes file storage security, conformity, network security, workload security, container security, and application security. • Cloud One is optimized for cloud platforms AWS, Microsoft Azure, Docker, Google Cloud, IBM, Kubernetes Cloud, and VMware. Customers can find full security capabilities in a single smart agent; protection against vulnerabilities and for endof-life systems; and achieve and maintain regulatory and compliance requirements. • Trend Micro XDR, the first solution in the cybersecurity industry that offers the most extensive correlated detection going beyond endpoint detection and response (EDR). • Trend Micro Apex One providing automated threat detection, actionable insights, and all-in-one protection. • Amid the convergence of IT and OT, TXOne Networks solutions offer cybersecurity solutions to protect industrial control systems. TXOne Networks offers both network-based and endpoint-based products to secure the OT network and mission critical devices in a real-time defense-in-depth manner. • Trend Micro Deep Discovery Inspector to detect targeted attacks and ransomware anywhere in the network. What are your expectations from the event this year? As the world’s only tech show in-person in 2020, GITEX shows that while virtual communication has been successful, in-person interaction can provide person-

alized customer engagement that cannot be done solely through online. Building on Trend Micro’s recently expanded and enhanced channel partner program in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA), at GITEX, Trend Micro aims to further build and enhance its channel partner ecosystem. Do you hope for a business relief from the pandemic based on your engagements at the event? Trend Micro’s cybersecurity business in the UAE and Middle East has been strong over the past several months. At GITEX, we aim to get closer to our customers and partners, and to exchange best practices with thought leaders. Trend Micro’s predictions for the current year are expected to continue to ramp up – including the growing risk that organizations face from their cloud and supply chain. The growing popularity of cloud and DevOps environments are driving business agility while exposing organizations, from enterprises to manufacturers, to third-party risk. In 2021, Trend Micro expects UAE and Middle East organizations to continue to accelerate their digital transformation, and prioritize cybersecurity. Trend Micro is seeing strong regional cybersecurity demand from industry sectors such as government and public sector, banking and finance, and energy, oil and gas, and utilities. What will be your theme of participation at GITEX? Trend Micro AMEA (Hall 2 – H2-D1) will exhibit under “The Art of Cybersecurity” theme, aligned with the GITEX pillar of Cyber Security and the co-located cybersecurity of GISEC. “The Art of Cybersecurity” combines Trend Micro’s proven foresight, its XGen security strategy of cross-generational threat defense solutions, and passionate people to make

ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

cybersecurity a work of art. GITEX is a key event for Trend Micro to spread the importance of cybersecurity in the shift to digital transformation. We also aim to get closer to its customers across the region, and enhance our channel partner program. What were the key learnings over the past couple of months and how do you plan to use those to make changes to your regional strategies? The GCC continues to be hit hard by cyber-attacks. Trend Micro detected a combined 56,873,271 email, URL, malware, and banking malware attacks in the GCC during the first half of 2020, according to our Midyear Security Report. In the GCC, Trend Micro detected 41,236,550 email threats, 13,181,016 URL victims, 61,314 URL hosted attacks, along with 2,392,097 malware detections and 2,294 banking malware detections. Worldwide, COVID-19 related threats are the single largest type of threat. In H1 2020, Trend Micro blocked 8.8 million COVID-19 related threats, nearly 92% of which were spam delivered via emails. In the GCC, Trend Micro blocked 163,774 COVID-19 threats: 127,415 URL attacks, 36,312 email spam attacks, and 47 malware attacks. We are returning to GITEX to show how Middle East organizations can take practical steps in reinventing their cybersecurity solutions and employee processes. A major opportunity is for organizations to tailor their cybersecurity strategies to information security “personas.” While 82% of the UAE’s remote workers are more conscious of their organization’s cybersecurity policies, many are still breaking the rules due to limited understanding or resource constraints, according to our study “Head in the Clouds.”

NetApp to Encourage Uptake of AI in Making Faster and Better Business Decisions Fadi Kanafani, the Managing Director for Middle East at NetApp, speaks about his company’s participation at GITEX 2020 Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? NetApp will showcase its industry leading solutions in Cloud, Business Continuity, Data Services, Hybrid Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Security. We will also emphasize our data fabric vision as businesses rapidly adopt cloud. What are your expectations from the event this year? Thousands of customers across the globe trust NetApp to run their applications in the cloud – public, hybrid or private. As a cloud-led, data-centric software company, our aim this year is to demonstrate the power of the cloud in enabling not just business continuity but also building the organization of the future. In addition, we are showcasing our solutions portfolio that perform across diverse environments and helps organizations build their own data fabric and securely deliver the right data, services and applications to the right people—anytime, anywhere. We are encouraging customers to take advantage of AI in making faster and better business decisions from their data. To this effect, NetApp will engage with audiences through a mix of physical and virtual experiences at the show. We aim to give our visitors the flexibility of having access to our local experts as well as international solution specialists. Eventually, we will create an experience for our visitors that will reinforce the idea that NetApp is truly cloud-led. Do you hope for a business relief from the pandemic based on your engage-

ments at the event? NetApp is committed to supporting and being part of a global platform such as GITEX, which allows us to showcase expertise. We are looking forward to generating awareness for our solutions that are helping businesses maintain business continuity in a difficult time. We are optimistic that together with our partner community, we will grow our footprint across the region based on our industry-leading portfolio, expertise and support. What will be your theme of participation at GITEX? ‘Unlock the Best of Cloud’ is our theme this year. Do you plan to run any online engagements such as webinars in parallel to GITEX? Our plan is to engage with our audiences through a physical and virtual experiences at the show. How is your company weathering from the market effects on the pandemic? COVID-19 has created a new set of challenges for organizations. While it has been a difficult period for businesses, NetApp has seen opportunity as businesses are focused on enabling a remote workforce in the shortest time span. There is a rapid uptake in cloud solutions, and we’ve had businesses rapidly turning to the cloud – public and private to tackle the remote worker challenge. In addition to cloud solutions, we’ve also been providing customers with VDI solutions to handle increasing work-from-

hone demands. In addition, our AI powered ONTAP AI solution has been helping researchers and healthcare institutions across the region in the fight against the pandemic. What were the key learnings over the past couple of months and how do you plan to use those to make changes to your regional strategies? 2020 has been a year of remarkable and unprecedented change for businesses and individuals alike. But we’ve also seen that a positive effect of COVID-19 has been to dramatically accelerate the pace of digital transformation. Projects that were taking years to complete are now completed in a matter of weeks, or days with organizations at different stages of the DX journey, expecting different outcomes. A key takeaway from the last few months is that businesses need speed and agility to help respond in the face of an unprecedented disruption. We’ve also seen how data and access to this data has helped businesses maintain continuity. Businesses must invest now in a cloud-based model to prepare a path for a sustainable future. And NetApp is the only company who knows how to elevate an organizations’ cloud experience be it private, hybrid or public cloud. We are putting our expertise, R&D and alliances to helping businesses get more out of their cloud now more than ever. In this era of rapid digital transformation in the region, NetApp is focused on helping businesses address their data challenges and gain competitive edge.

GITEX 2020

Tally Solutions to Showcase TallyPrime at GITEX 2020 Vikas Panchal, the Business Head for Middle East at Tally Solutions, speaks about his company’s plans for GITEX this year Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? This year GITEX will see the showcase of our new product - TallyPrime- the next generation business management software. TallyPrime is our latest offering which will equip SMEs owners and new-age entrepreneurs with an ultra-simple and powerful software to enhance their business productivity. Focused on making the business owners’ lives simple, TallyPrime aims to further simplify business management with facilitating users to comfortably manage and grow their business without needing to know the finer nuances of accounting or technology. The product is meticulously designed keeping the user experience at core, which enhances the legendry speed, simplicity, reliability and flexibility of the product. What are your expectations from the event this year? GITEX is the first event in the UAE which will have a physical presence this year. We are thrilled to be participating in this event and are confident that event organisers have taken all necessary precautions, in linewith the government protocols to make this a safe and a successful event. In addition, this year’s GITEX also marks the showcase of our new world-class product – TallyPrime, which will assist SMEs and new-age entrepreneurs through their digital transformation journey. What will be your theme of participation at GITEX? Our theme this year is #MakeEveryDaySimple – by helping SMEs into their Digital Transformation Journey. With our new TallyPrime, businesses can adapt to the new normal and work towards growing their business by taking better control of business. Several new features and experiences have been introduced in TallyPrime that will benefit the entrepreneurs along with accountants in their day to day work. ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

The product has been designed such that it is scalable for future feature rollouts and is supported by this interface without breaking the frame. This will allow customers to easily shift and adopt to future releases without any requirement to upskill or learn new techniques. Do you plan to run any online engagements such as webinars in parallel to GITEX? Yes – We are currently doing the same and would be doing so during GITEX as well. This will help businesses to also connect with us as per their convenience. We will also host several webinars to ensure current customers seamlessly migrate to TallyPrime. We have also scheduled multiple virtual migration camps along with our partners in the region to provide support. How is your company weathering from the market effects on the pandemic? This pandemic has not been easy for the business community, however, we are seeing a positive momentum and life moving back to the new normal. We are optimistic that things will emerge better in the future and we are prepared to support these businesses with newer generation technologies and products. What were the key learnings over the past couple of months and how do you plan to use those to make changes to your regional strategies? The past few months have been instrumental with learnings. One key area of learning was – Adaption. We have seen everyone adapting to new environment. Businesses have been fast to adapt to new normal. Being a technology driven company, we adapted quite early and started virtual engagements with our customers and partners at an early stage. We will continue to use blended approach – as convenient to customers to provide best solutions and services and continuously help them in their journey towards growth and excellence.

Equinix to Remain Focused on Digital Transformation at GITEX 2020 Kamel Al-Tawil, the Managing Director for Middle East and North Africa at Equinix, speaks about the company’s participation at GITEX Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? As global IT decision-makers respond to an increasingly dynamic world including competitive pressures, growing customer demands, globalization, and challenges posed by COVID-19, many are accelerating their digital transformation efforts and continuing to prioritize the adoption of hybrid and multicloud solutions. This year at GITEX Technology Week, Equinix will introduce its Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric (ECX Fabric) platform to help digital businesses simplify hybrid multicloud deployments and expand their global interconnection opportunities on Platform Equinix. What are your expectations from the event this year? Despite the challenges of this year, it is a positive sign to see the industry come together from around the world. Technology has played an instrumental role in driving economic continuity in 2020 and at GITEX we look forward to discovering innovative best practices and showcasing areas in which we continue to make major advances. Equinix have been participating at GITEX year-after year with the aim to stay up to date on the latest discoveries from Multicloud, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Machine Learning (ML) are fundamentally changing the way data is being produced, shared and analyze. Do you plan to run any online engagements such as webinars in parallel to GITEX? Even with the ease of restriction and going about life as before, turning back to normal will take some time, and events will look very different in the interim, similar to this year’s edition GITEX Technology Week merging virtual with in-person event. At Equinix, we opted for a virtual participation and exhibiting rather than physically exhibiting at the event. How is your company weathering from

the market effects on the pandemic? The latest Global Interconnection Index (GXI), an annual market study published by Equinix, shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has already had a dramatic effect on how businesses are planning their digital infrastructure initiatives over the next three years. According to this, the fourth volume of the report (Vol.4), digital service providers, within industries like telecommunications, cloud & IT services, content & digital media and technology providers, are forecast to increase private connectivity bandwidth 5x by 2023, driven by greater demands from enterprises to close digital gaps at the edge. Even before the current pandemic, enterprises were implementing digital transformation initiatives, reassessing their cloud adoption strategies and cloud readiness, and moving towards digital solutions and tools to ensure business continuity. As the pandemic continues to accelerate the shift to digital, enterprises facilitating more remote working, such as telecommunications and cloud & IT providers, are expected to contribute to 54% of the total interconnection bandwidth growth in EMEA, outpacing other industries in the region. The report also forecasts that overall interconnection bandwidth—the measure of private connectivity for the transfer of data between organizations—will achieve a 45% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2019 to 2023, within the EMEA region. The expected growth is driven by digital transformation, and specifically by greater demands from enterprises extending their digital infrastructure from centralized locations to distributed edge locations. This comes as businesses scale and support real-time interactions by strategically interconnecting workflows closer to, and across people, things, locations, cloud, and data. The capacity of this connectivity is equivalent to 64 zettabytes of data exchange, which is enough bandwidth for every human on the planet (7.8 billion)

to transmit their full DNA sequence in an hour. What were the key learnings over the past couple of months and how do you plan to use those to make changes to your regional strategies? Digital leaders must prepare for post-pandemic recovery by planning and implementing the right digital transformation initiatives now. At Equinix we believe those that have a foundational infrastructure which helps bring together all the right places, partners and possibilities will gain a business advantage over the long term. The GXI Vol.4 provides insight on how global macro trends and despite COVID-19 impacting certain industry segments, we believe there are ways to navigate this. The digital adoption pattern has altered, with service providers now forecast to provision more interconnection bandwidth than enterprises, by a factor of nearly 2x. However, much of this service provider demand is anticipated to be in support of enterprises that are prioritizing their digital transformation in preparation for post-pandemic recovery. Traditional business, within industries like banking and insurance, manufacturing and business & professional services, will represent a combined 30% of global interconnection bandwidth by 2023. This is led by the growing need to move workloads to the digital edge while scaling core IT infrastructure. By 2023, these traditional businesses are expected to reach a peak interconnection bandwidth growth rate of 50% annually. The need for application exchange in digital ecosystems to support real-time engagement is essential and creates a network effect for businesses. The GXI Vol.4 predicts that connectivity from service providers to networks and cloud and IT service providers will be the two main sources of ecosystem interconnection, with an estimated 49% combined CAGR from 2019 to 2023.

GITEX 2020

2020 Has Been a Year of Seismic Changes in the Way We Work and Live Ehab Kanary, the Vice President of Enterprise Infrastructure for MEA at CommScope, speaks about the challenges in 2020 and the company’s plans for the months ahead Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? CommScope is working together to support our customers as they embrace what's next. Business models have changed, new opportunities have arisen, a need for fast, reliable ubiquitous connectivity has become the very backbone of commerce, education, health and safety.

GITEX, Dubai’s flagship event, in its part live and virtual format, continues to play a pivotal role in bringing industry leaders and innovators together for conversations around future networks, artificial intelligence, cloud and digital economies. By planning ahead and working together with local and regional leadership, we are all creating a path for a connected future.

The workplace and home dynamics are shifting globally, and CommScope is well positioned to tap into these opportunities through the networks of the future that we create. Here are examples of recent innovations that address this need for connectivity:

2020 has been a year of seismic changes in the way we work and live. The Covid-19 pandemic’s impact has been felt in every area of life, and it has brought new changes to venues and campuses struggling to stay relevant in a time of mass isolation. For many building owners, nice-to-have technologies have become must-have technologies in the age of Covid, accelerating technology improvements that were formerly on the back burner. CommScope will be sharing trends related to building connectivity, data centre evolution and how the lines between IT and operations will be blurring in 2021.

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CommScope is partnering with Google’s Area 120 for Orion Wifi, a platform designed to bring private, secure roaming for consumers while helping public venues solve cellular dead zones and monetize their networks. CommScope’s RUCKUS Cloud: IT teams can troubleshoot faster and proactively improve the user experience. These gains will continue to accrue as new machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities are introduced, making the network more autonomous and self-healing. Connectivity across key industries: Connecting to a university Wi-Fi network is important for students. As they bring the latest smartphones to campus, the connection needs to be seamless and support all the standards and applications. The hospitality industry is reopening with a focus on health and safety for guests and employees. The network is the key to supporting these initiatives as applications and devices are added for cameras, video, IoT and other devices. CommScope’s RUCKUS ICX 7550 enterprise campus switch series is purpose-built for Wi-Fi 6 and IoT deployments.

What are your expectations from the event this year?

Do you hope for a business relief from the pandemic based on your engagements at the event? We have spent time, in these first two stages of resolve and resilience: assuring our employees, partners, customers that we have measures in place to protect our people and our business. We’ve illustrated our humanitarian philanthropic response. For example, we assisted the information technology disaster resource center with pop-up Wi-Fi centres for emergency health care delivery, equipped school buses with outdoor Wi-Fi access points for distance learning, and donated in-building wireless systems, face shields, en masse to hospitals in China, Europe and the United States. On a personal level, CommScope's employees are donating their time and talent to support relief efforts in our communities. Our fundraising is targeting hunger relief with CommScope matching employee donations to select global organizations. Our

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employees can use special leave to support COVID-19-related community outreach efforts, including check-ins with retired CommScope employees to offer support. CommScope’s purpose is to create lasting connections. We did it before, we do it today. Networks are essential for business continuity – a key customer need. And that need or purpose isn’t unique to this time. They are what keeps us connected last year, last month and will next year, too. What will be your theme of participation at GITEX? CommScope will build off of key themes share with customers and partners at our 2020 EMEA Virtual Roadshow. Industries are fast embracing a new era of robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of things (IoT) and other innovations that will impact all of our lives. With these new tools, enterprises are finding it harder, not easier, to evolve along with these new technologies. Whether wired, Wi-Fi, cellular or any combination, the network should always be simple, reliable and adaptable. CommScope can guide organisations on how to do it—while delivering exceptional customer service every step of the way. Do you plan to run any online engagements such as webinars in parallel to GITEX? On-demand sessions from the CommScope EMEA Virtual Roadshow will be available. Organisations can uncover how they can build IT resilience while adapting to the new normal. Experts will cover everything from how cloud, Wi-Fi 6 and IoT will be key components of digital transformation. Content will feature real life examples from data centre transformation, education and hospitality. Guest speakers include Rafael Nadal’s former tennis coach Toni Nadal and Sean Fitzpatrick, the former captain of the All Blacks rugby team.

Red Hat’s Theme at GITEX will be ‘Go Slow, Look Closer, and Dig Deeper’ Adrian Pickering, the Regional General Manager for EMEA at Red Hat, speaks about his company’s participation at GITEX 2020

Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? We are looking forward to showcasing a range of 5G, edge computing, and hybrid cloud technologies at the show. By offering glimpses into the future via these new products, solutions, and functionalities, we are equally excited to take GITEX attendees on an exclusive journey into Red Hat open source, edge computing, open hybrid cloud, and digital transformation. Our goal has always been to be the catalyst in communities of customers, contributors, and partners, creating technology the open source way. GITEX 2020 is the next step as part of this ongoing vision and we are sure the event will be huge success for everybody connected. What are your expectations from the event this year? As always, we expect to meet with an array of friends new and old as regional and international technology leaders, enterprises, and startups come together to demonstrate the future of every business and industry. GITEX is undoubtedly one of the most important weeks in the annual technology calendar and we expect that it will meet and exceed expectations and drive even greater collaboration within the world of tech. Moreover, we envisage once again inspiring a host of enterprises and technology vendors, holding proactive discussions regarding their respective visions and goals for the future, and showcasing our 5G, edge computing, and hybrid cloud technologies that can assist them moving forward. Do you hope for a business relief from the pandemic based on your engagements at the event? Looking ahead to the event, we anticipate an increased level of engagement with attendees as they seek to address and overcome the pandemic. As such,

we are happy to provide the support they require in several areas. Firstly, we can drive increased efficiencies across their exciting infrastructures by adopting a common operating system and management tools. Secondly, we can enable greater flexibility by adopting one or more of the cloud offerings that are now widely available across our markets. Thirdly, we can ensure they capitalize on improved agility by adopting tools and methodologies, such as DevOps. This will enhance existing applications so they can run in a hybrid cloud environment or in developing new applications that are fully cloud-based. What will be your theme of participation at GITEX? This year, the theme of our participation will be ‘Go Slow, Look Closer, and Dig Deeper’. At GITEX 2020, we will bring together digital elements for guidance and experience navigation and showcase, besides our products and solutions, the playfulness and interactive nature of our brand. The event represents an opportunity for us to create a brand-new experience, and we believe our automated self-service booth experience is the perfect platform not only for our theme to come to life, but also inform and inspire all who visit throughout the event’s duration. Do you plan to run any online engagements such as webinars in parallel to GITEX? Of course, a prominent event such as GITEX will always thrust the spotlight on the work we do and how we can help enterprises succeed in the digital tomorrow. As such, the interest surrounding our products and solutions will be a particular high point. Online engagement is something we welcome at every available opportunity, and we encourage everybody to reach out and talk to us about how we can help them with their digital transfor-

mation agendas. How is your company weathering from the market effects on the pandemic? At Red Hat, we have weathered the market effects stemming from the pandemic well. Due to movement restrictions and lockdown measures, the demand for technology has increased dramatically and clients and customers, old as well as new, are coming us for solutions that will allow them to survive and succeed now and in the future. Open source is being acknowledged and pursued by a host of clients from various sectors, and the open source software and solutions we provide are proven to deliver longterm sustainability and provide positive outcomes for enterprises as they strive to achieve their aspirations. What were the key learnings over the past couple of months and how do you plan to use those to make changes to your regional strategies? Recent months alone have shown us that, as digital transformation accelerates rapidly, the digital skills gap is widening dramatically. Although governments and enterprises across the region aim to capitalize on the opportunities ahead, ensuring up-and-coming talent are equipped to succeed in tomorrow’s technology driven environments is a necessity. As such, educating young talent and driving an influx of grassroots-level initiatives level forms part our strategy. The Red Hat Academy has already made tremendous progress in this direction by transforming academic institutions into centers for enterprise-ready talent and outfitting them with training and certification required to drive digital upskilling. Moving forward, we will continue doing the same, so the people are in place to meet future market, sector, and organizational demands.

GITEX 2020

Helping Companies Manage Change Across Hybrid IT Environments Wael Mustafa, the Area Vice-President for MESAT at Commvault, speaks about his company’s participation at GITEX

Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? We will be showcasing out latest portfolio of products and services to intelligently manage data such as Commvault Backup & Recovery, Commvault Disaster Recovery, Commvault Complete Data Protection and Commvault HyperScale X. Commvault HyperScale X is an integrated solution that delivers simple, flexible data protection for all workloads, optimized scalability, and built-in ransomware protection which enables customers to simplify and accelerate hybrid cloud adoption. Whereas, Commvault Backup & Recovery ensures data availability for all workloads across cloud and on-premises environments, delivering simple, reliable, data protection through a single extensible platform. Commvault Disaster Recovery, on the other hand, enables customers to ensure business continuity and verify recoverability across cloud and on-prem environments, delivering simple, automated disaster recovery orchestration, flexible replication, and verified recovery readiness. Finally, Commvault Complete Data Protection brings our industry-leading functionality into a single data protection solution to ensure data availability and business continuity for all workloads across cloud and on-prem environments. These solutions addresses data management risks that exist today and that may exist tomorrow, intelligently. What are your expectations from the event this year? GITEX is a great opportunity for us to understand the new products and solutions that our customers are showcasing, in turn allowing us to reflect how to try and adapt Commvault’s services to best meet our clients’ needs.

In addition, we have formed great relationships and partnerships at previous editions of the show, and we are confident that we will secure new leads and potential new customers at GITEX 2020, which is set to be the only face-to-face technology event of this scale globally this year. Do you hope for a business relief from the pandemic based on your engagements at the event? We look forward to participating at the first face to face event in the region dedicated to technology. The show gives us an opportunity to touch base with our current partners and understand their requirements ahead of the new year. We believe that organizing shows such as GITEX amid the current climate will instill renewed confidence in customers again, and encourage them to make investments in technology and their digital transformation strategies. What will be your theme of participation at GITEX? At GITEX, Commvault will be displaying its updated product portfolio to help our customers effectively manage change across their hybrid IT environments. As mentioned, we will be displaying Commvault Backup & Recovery, Commvault Disaster Recovery, Commvault Complete Data Protection and Commvault HyperScale X. Avinash Lakshman, founder of Hedvig will also be participating in a panel discussion during GITEX Future Stars along with other industry experts. Do you plan to run any online engagements such as webinars in parallel to GITEX? Commvault will be running its Connections Live event on Wednesday, 2 December 2020. This annual event is

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part of the global agenda of our organization during which we will be launching Metallic while hosting a number of customers. 9-time Formula One Grand Prix winner Mark Webber will join the Virtual Connections event, where a panel of experts and Commvault customers will discuss how to tackle the future of data management in 2021. How is your company weathering from the market effects on the pandemic? At Commvault, we have seen an increased appetite for investment in intelligent data management systems as organizations realize the importance of protecting and managing their data in the wake of the pandemic. This year, we have hired additional staff to cover UAE and KSA and will also be recruiting in other key markets including South Africa. We have built a strong business pipeline in markets such as Egypt and Turkey in 2020 and we look forward to more success, as the region begins to recover from the economic pressures brought by the pandemic What were the key learnings over the past couple of months and how do you plan to use those to make changes to your regional strategies? We have witnessed a dramatic increase in the need for data protection on a global scale and regionally. Our partners have displayed an increased appetite for data protection solutions that are tailored to their businesses as they adopt home working practices. At Commvault, we have worked on a robust strategy that focuses on meeting these evolving customer demands. A number of our existing partners and potential customers have hybrid cloud solutions, which makes us as Commvault the perfect provider for data protection solutions and recovery.

Companies Should Make Simple Switches to Innovative Tech Jason McMillan, the Sales Director of Epson Middle East, speaks about his company’s participation at GITEX this year Which products and solutions will you be showcasing at GITEX Technology Week? Epson continues to support customers across industry verticals to make simple switches to innovative technologies in order to become more sustainable and cost-effective. Epson’s technologies can also support social distancing in back-to-work and back-to-school. In the office, business leaders can leverage from Epson’s interactive display solutions, business inkjet printers and scanners. •

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Epson’s interactive display solutions can scale up to 155 inches in full HD or 350 inches in total and have a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio to safely bring people back together and maintain social distancing in meetings rooms and conferences, while still able to see material being presented in meetings. It can manage up to 50 devices in a collaborative engaging environment. The interactive display solutions can offer a more flexible, inclusive, collaborative, and memorable solution than flat panel screens. Middle East offices that adopt simple but effective and sustainable business inkjet printing solutions can reduce touchpoints, enhance employee efficiency, reduce servicing, save energy, reduce waste and CO2 emissions, whilst also saving money. Larger enterprises can similarly adopt safety measures such as de-centralizing printing fleets. Rather than having one large printer that everyone uses, organizations can opt to place smaller printers around the office to reduce the gathering of people. Epson document scanners for business & office offer superior performance at a significant value, ideal for customer-facing environments with a requirement for high efficiency and speed which can help reduce the long queues and gatherings. Many offices can also scan and email documents

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as PDFs rather than handing them out – further reducing the number of touchpoints and continuing to foster the socially-distanced office. Contactless printing solutions, such as Epson Print Admin, can control paper and ink wastage, as printing is only completed when an employee swipes their card to release their print job. Contactless printing solutions can also reduce the number of touchpoints as people swipe cards. Cloud-based solutions, such as Epson Connect, can allow employees to remotely print documents from their mobile devices instead of going to a printer to scan or copy documents. Channel partners can use remote servicing software such as Epson Remote Services to reduce on-site repair visits that can in turn reduce any potential health risks, increase first-fix success, and costs in servicing printers and business downtime. Which also means a more sustainable option by reducing commuting to lower our environmental footprint.

What are your expectations from the event this year? Epson’s commitment to the region is underlined by our participation at GITEX, the region’s largest and most innovative technology event. Epson is continuing to support our investment in the Middle East, especially in our key markets of the UAE and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are continuing to hire talents across the region and to bring innovative solutions to the market. GITEX is an ideal opportunity for Epson to demonstrate how innovative technology solutions can enable a return to work and life, especially in the office and in educational establishments, amid the “new normal” environment. We are also helping to foster greater sustainability aligned with nationwide transformation agendas such as UAE Vision 2021, Saudi Vision 2030, and

Egypt Vision 2030. We will emphasize our support for supporting industry verticals such as business offices, education, retail, tourism, and hospitality, and manufacturing to adopt the latest technology innovations to fuel their business growth. Epson’s solutions in interactive display solutions, visualizers or document cameras and business inkjet printers can support socially-distanced offices and classrooms. Our solutions in digital signage, mobile point of sale (PoS), and industrial label printers can help retailers, malls, and hotels and resorts to differentiate customer experiences. Our line of SureColor Large Format Printers can support innovation in textile manufacturing, especially in Egypt and Jordan. And our advanced industrial robotics and Moverio smart glasses can support the Middle East in reshoring manufacturing and help workers on factory floors. Do you hope for a business relief from the pandemic based on your engagements at the event? Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Epson has posted continued business growth on our B2B and B2C products and solutions in the Middle East. We are seeing strong demand for supporting remote and hybrid working and learning environments for our business and consumer customers. We are continuing to put our customers first, especially at GITEX, which remains the most important technology event in the Middle East, and one of the largest and most innovative worldwide. Thanks to our robust supply chain, Epson has not faced any disruption in our product and solutions pipeline. Epson has even shifted our global production facilities in order to ensure that we are continuing to maintain the availability of our solutions.

GITEX 2020

Avaya to Exhibit Under the Theme ‘Every Experience Matters’

Saudi Ministry of Interior to Present New Innovations at GITEX 2020

Avaya has announced its participation at the 2020 edition of GITEX Technology Week, where the company will demonstrate solutions that address post-pandemic business challenges and prepare organizations for the new world of work. Avaya’s presence at GITEX Technology Week, the only in-person global technology exhibition of 2020, will be supplemented with a large footprint on GITEX Unlimited, a digital platform that enables remote visitors to experience the event from the comfort of their homes and offices. Under the theme ‘Every Experience Matters’, the technologies on display are based on Avaya’s multicloud application ecosystem that delivers effortless, seamless, and context-driven experiences across all touchpoints for customers and the employees who serve them. The event comes as IT and business leaders are grappling with a raft of fast-moving challenges and uncertainties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Avaya’s recent ‘Work from Anywhere’ survey found that 72 percent of businesses have been revisiting their overall business model due to the changes brought on by COVID-19. And an even larger number, 80 percent, are rethinking their customer experience. At GITEX, Avaya will address these challenges with a solution portfolio, powered by AI, automation and layered innovation, that enables businesses to create the future customer experience center and future digital workplace and realize shorter time to value. “The world is very much adapting to new business models – a fact made obvious by GITEX Technology Week’s decision to adopt a hybrid approach for its 2020 edition. COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation by several years, and amid that shift, it’s become clear that increased focus needs to be placed on delivering incredible experiences across every touchpoint. We’ll be at GITEX to demonstrate how every experience matters, felt by a customer or employee and whether it’s online or in-person. And that prioritizing those experiences is the key to business success in the new future of work,” said Nidal Abou-Ltaif, President, Avaya International. At the heart of Avaya’s presence at GITEX is Avaya OneCloud, a unique hybrid delivery architecture that protects investments prevents disruption and ensures multi-experience continuity across each phase of a personalized cloud journey. Visitors to the Avaya stand at GITEX, as well as to its virtual booth, will discover real-world examples of Avaya OneCloud technologies in action, with AI-powered workflows providing employees with the context and virtual assistance they need to create memorable experiences.

In co-operation with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), Saudi Ministry of Interior (MOI) is participating for the sixth year at GITEX Technology Week, 6-10 December 2020, Dubai World Trade Centre. The initiative highlights the latest technological innovations, systems and applications, as well as many smart initiatives supporting data-driven and AI-based digital transformation efforts, especially those adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In line with the digital transformation strategy consistent with the Saudi Vision 2030 aimed at enhancing performance, the Absher platform includes over 200 e-services that benefit more than 17 million verified users, and serve citizens, residents, visitors and businesses. The platform played a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic, by reducing the number of visits required to security and government service centers through the provision of high quality services to individuals, companies, institutions and government agencies via governing procedures. The Tawakkalna app plays a major role in enabling a safe return to normal life through a set of remote service features, in addition to contributing to the management of this year's Hajj

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by making Hajj permits available through the application. Tabaud app is a contact tracing app, notifying users who were in contact with people infected with coronavirus over the previous 14 days. The application leverages the latest technologies developed by Google and Apple, while maintaining the privacy of users and the confidentiality of their data. KSA was the third country in the world to utilizing these applications and technologies, which helped the relevant authorities, especially the Ministry of Health, in managing the COVID-19 crisis. The Broouq platform is a visual and secure communication platform, developed to enable government entities to hold their internal and external meetings remotely during the pandemic crisis. The tool was used to hold the first virtual summit of G20 leaders, as well as 200 other key meetings. MOI partnered with SDAIA and Elm company to launch the Absher Challenge (Absherthon). The Challenge invited ideas to help improving existing services offered by the Ministry of Interior. The competition also aims to ensure a better life for citizens and residents of the Kingdom, by utilizing modern technologies such as AI, IoT, Big Data, Blockchain, and drones

Huawei Focuses on Creating New Value Together at GITEX 2020

VMRay to Participate at GITEX Technology Week 2020 VMRay, a provider of automated malware analysis and detection solutions, today announced that it will be participating at GITEX Technology Week 2020, to be held from 6-10 December 2020 at Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE. This year at GITEX Technology Week, VMRay will be showcasing the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate technology for automated analysis and detection of advanced threats.

During this year’s GITEX Technology Week 2020, Huawei is collaborating with partners from around the world to showcase how governments and organizations in the Middle East can create new value through synergy across five tech domains. As this year’s 5G Innovation Partner, Huawei has strengthened its commitment to the region’s technology ecosystem by confirming its largest ever GITEX Technology Week presence at the 40th anniversary edition of the event. As 5G has been rolled out at scale in the region and worldwide, Huawei believes that connectivity, cloud, AI, computing, and industry applications are now truly coming together to create unprecedented opportunities for society. Huawei is thus focusing on applying ICT technologies to more industries through scenario-specific solutions that help enterprises to enhance their business, and governments to achieve strategic goals related to domestic productivity and improving overall governance. Charles Yang, President of Huawei Middle East, notes: “This year’s GITEX Technology Week comes at a time when the true value of ICT has become increasingly clear. Keeping people, businesses, and communities connected even when physically apart is more essential than ever. Through open collaboration, the ICT sector can accelerate the development of the digital economy, in turn contributing to sustainable growth and supporting national transformation agendas in a post-pandemic world.”

GITEX visitors will not only see a demonstration of new technologies, but current and future-oriented applications that Huawei has developed with its global partners for customers in government, energy, transportation, finance, and more. Huawei’s regional leadership team is also connecting with attendees through participation in many of the individual GITEX conference tracks. During these sessions, the company will share best practices in helping to build smart enterprises, campuses, and cities, leveraging its depth of industry know-how and experience in more than 170 countries worldwide. In addition, Huawei will host a “Igniting Innovation Through Education” virtual summit dedicated to the unique requirements of today’s education sector, and what the ICT community can do to bolster digital learning, support new academic models, and promote ICT innovation in line with countries’ national development visions. Huawei will also host its sixth 5G Ecosystem Conference bringing together vertical industries, 5G ecosystem partners, and 5G operators. Recognizing the COVID-19 outbreak challenges, 5G is essential for societal development and business continuity during the pandemic, as well as for economic recovery post the pandemic. Participants will share insights on the 5G network values, and explore 5G applications both for consumer and industry, to harvest more remarkable achievements in business and social values.

“We’ll demonstrate how our technologies differ from other solutions. We strengthen our customers’ capacity to detect unknown malware and provide their Incident Response and SOC teams with the tools to handle the growing volume and diversity of threats with far greater speed and precision,” explained Ilijana Vavan, Chief Sales Officer at VMRay. “At GITEX, we’ll present for the first time our Email Threat Defender technology with its unique capability of detonating and analyzing suspect URLs at time-of-delivery rather than time-ofclick. This powerful solution lifts protection from email threats and phishing attacks to a new level.” The company will present its complete portfolio consisting of three products that addresses specific Incident Response and SOC requirements: VMRay Analyzer enables IR teams to quickly analyze and protect against the full spectrum of threats, including advanced malware and phishing attacks. • Deep-dive threat analysis with full visibility into malicious activity, noise-free reporting • Streamlines threat analysis by automating every stage of the process • Enhances threat intelligence through automated generation of IOCs from analysis results VMRay Detector is the key to scaling automated detection across the organization and the nexus for integrating the VMRay Platform with other security systems. • Delivers a detection verdict indicating whether a file or URL is malicious • Machine-readable detection results can be widely shared with other tools (SOAR, EDR, etc.) • Fully automated detection process, without human intervention VMRay Email Threat Defender complements anti-Spam and anti-Phishing solutions and detects email threats that other defences miss. • Scans incoming mail and extracts potentially malicious attachments and URLs • Accurate detection, without human intervention • Scales easily to support increased email volumes without hurting performance

GITEX 2020

Italy’s Startups Double Trackimo Looks to Connect with UAE’s Telecom Operators at GITEX Their Presence at GITEX Future Stars Italian Trade Agency (ITA) has selected 20 innovative SMEs from Italy’s booming start-up sector to showcase their unique solutions at GITEX Future Stars 2020. As a nation with a history of innovation and creativity led by masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Italians have a unique sense to match innovation with solutions that make life better, and this sensibility has extended into the technology sector, making Italy a fast growing technology hub in Europe. Participating for the third time at GITEX Future Stars, this year the Italian pavilion has almost doubled in size and the number of participants now stand at 20, compared to 10 companies that participated last year. Technology highlights at the Italian pavilion include blockchain solutions to solve the issues of counterfeit products, use of Artificial Intelligence to complement personal services in the HORECA sector, Semantic Web and Sentiment Analysis digital solutions, platform to expedite “Digital Transformation” in healthcare applications, solutions for vertical gardens, Smart Farming solutions and contact-tracing and social-distancing systems; and more. Nicola Lener, Ambassador of Italy to the United Arab Emirates, says: “Thanks also to a very advanced regulatory framework to promote the establishment and growth of new innovative enterprises with a high technological value, the number of Italian start-up companies has boomed over the years, with 11,500 start-ups registered in Italy as of July 2020. Despite these difficult times, we are therefore happy to bring to GITEX Future Stars, a number of Italian start-ups who are keen to present their innovative solutions to an inspiring ecosystem of companies, active investors, venture capitalists and visitors from over 60 countries.”

Trackimo, an American-Israeli IoT solution provider that develops the world’s most compact and cost-effective tracking devices looks to connect with UAE’s telecom operators during Gitex. Global mobile operators such as Verizon, Vodafone, Telefonica, among several others have already rolled-out Trackimo’s personal safety and asset tracking products to their customers. The most successful Trackimo consumer IoT product launched recently is the Vodafone Curve Tracker, which was recognized by the Financial Times as ‘the best tracker ever’. The company is also looking at establishing a strong relationship with Bahrain’s Batelco, the leading integrated communications provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

According to Amedeo Scarpa, Italian Trade Commissioner to the UAE and Director of ITA: “Italy is a country with a tradition of innovation, historically supported by industries like automotive and fashion, but we also have a fast-growing tech ecosystem. With the onset of the pandemic, the importance of technology in keeping us all safe and connected with minimal disruption to work, has become more evident than ever. Italy started pursuing a strategy of digitalization when the pandemic struck, offering several rounds of stimulus for the technology sector this year. Technology is the future and, not by chance, 18% of new Italian startups are founded by under 35. At the Italian pavilion in GITEX Future Stars, visitors will get a true picture of the new Italian Leonardos and their creative and innovative tech solutions.”

Trackimo was also the sponsor of the very first historic Israel-Dubai Conference held in UAE that featured senior Israeli executives and leading prominent companies and government officials from the UAE. Shai Bar-lavi, CEO, Trackimo, said, “We want to bring our global industry expertise to the UAE and Bahrain after having worked with some large mobile service provider in Europe, the US, and other parts of the world. For instance, Vodafone UK has expanded its consumer smart tech offering with the launch of smart GPS tracker, Curve. Basically, Curve allows users to stay connected to the people and things they love, sending them alerts and updates straight to their mobile from a distance.

The Italian pavilion is in Sheikh Rashid Hall, stand SR-04, Dubai World Trade Centre from December 6-9, 2020.

Trackimo has confirmed its participation in GITEX Technology Week 2020 and will be present at booth Z2-B1

ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

located in Zabeel Hall 2. The company specializes in making trackers that work seamlessly indoors and outdoors, worldwide. Trackimo’s smart GPS (Global Positioning System), GSM, Wi-Fi trackers are purposed for personal, professional, industrial, and commercial use. “As the average person loses four items a month mainly keys, Curve could be valuable for those who want to keep track of regularly misplaced or valuable items – whether it’s laptop bags to cars, keys, and backpacks. With 41 billion smart devices predicted by 2027, and the Internet of Things (IoT) sector forecast to grow annually by trillions of dirhams, the launch of such product such tracking devices emphasizes a telecom operator continued innovation through the creation of smart devices and digital experiences, connected by its mobile network. We want to be part of this next phase of innovation and join forces with the telecom operators in UAE and Bahrain,” said Amit Shaked, Chief Operating Officer, Trackimo. “We are delighted to be part of this first face-to-face show of the year and are looking forward to personally demonstrating our latest patented tracking capabilities to a variety of industries at the Gitex event in December,” added Shai. Hosted between December 6th and 10th at the Dubai World Trade Centre, GITEX Technology Week brings together buyers from the world’s largest tech buyers in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia to test and collaborate with game-changing innovations from niche startups and global tech giants.

MBZUAI to Outline the Critical Role of AI in Fighting COVID-19 at GITEX 2020

Veeam to Show Best Practices to Protect, Manage and Unleash Data Veeam Software, the leader in Backup solutions that deliver Cloud Data Management™, today announced its participation at GITEX Technology Week, taking place between 6 -10 December at the Dubai World Trade Centre. This year, Veeam’s participation is centered around the theme ‘Protect, Manage and Unleash Data’, referring to Cloud, Cyber Security and Modern Data Protection as the three pillars that form the foundation driving Digital Transformation (DX) and enabling organizations to unleash the power of their data to deliver a rich customer experience.

Dr. Mohammed Yaqub, Assistant Professor at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the world’s first graduate-level, research-based artificial intelligence (AI) university, will discuss the critical role played by AI in the fight against COVID-19 and improving healthcare outcomes at a high-level session at GITEX 2020. Dr. Yaqub will lead the talk, ‘How does AI Help Fight the COVID-19 Pandemic?’ on the first day of GITEX on December 6. Dr Yaqub will show how AI helps detect, respond to, and recover from the pandemic, as well as predict infection progress and facilitate healthcare solutions to tackle the pandemic. AI will be central to enabling improved healthcare outcomes from the novel coronavirus, and accelerated research to improve the understanding and treatment of COVID-19. Dr Yaqub, who leads research in healthcare applications for AI at MBZUAI, will speak at the GITEX Future Stars: AI Everything stand, from 12-12.30pm on December 6.

MBZUAI experts will be available at GITEX to discuss the application of AI across key sectors serving UAE National Priorities. Dr Yaqub will participate in the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) session entitled ‘AI in Healthcare: challenges, opportunities, responsibilities, and the future’, discussing the challenges in adopting AI for healthcare problems. He will outline how implementing AI solutions to solve these problems increases the responsibilities of entities such as patients, researchers, industry, government, and healthcare bodies, while exploring the future potential of AI in healthcare. The session will be held in the ADDA Theatre from 4-4.30pm on December 6. “AI has come to the fore in 2020 due to its successful application in combating the spread of the novel coronavirus,” said Dr. Yaqub. “From research into vaccines to faster diagnoses, AI-based technologies have elevated the healthcare, scientific and research sectors by providing new tools to augment current capabilities. This is not just helping in the fight against COVID-19, but also accelerating solutions in current and future healthcare problems.”

The company will have both a physical and an online booth on the new GITEX.Virtual.Platform. As part of the GITEX Conference Program, Claude Schuck, Regional Manager for Veeam Software Middle East, will be participating as a speaker in the ´Smart Cities & 5G´ panel discussion on ´Boosting Efficiency in Business and Industry with 5G’. “I am very excited to take part in GITEX, and looking back, I can attribute much of our success to the relationships we have initiated and fostered at the event and I expect this year to be no different. After months full of virtual meetings and interactions, my team and I are eager to personally meet with our partners, customers and prospects again while respecting safe meeting protocols and social distancing guidelines. I look forward to meaningful and memorable interactions that will strengthen our local presence and open up the pipeline of new business for 2021,” said Claude Schuck. As part of Veeam’s mission to help regional organizations transition to the cloud and accelerate their DX journey, Veeam will present its entire suite of software solutions with a focus on the Veeam Cloud Data Management Platform for modernizing backup, accelerating hybrid cloud and securing enterprise data.

EXPE RT SPEAK

Cyber Risks in the New World of Remote Working Written by By Barry Cook, Privacy & Group Data Protection Officer, VFS Global

ARABIAN RESELLER | December November 2020

With close to half a year of ‘work-fromhome’ under their belts now, the remote workforce across the globe has started getting comfortable in their new living room-offices, and some companies are making this permanent. Along with work, entertainment, shopping, education, socialising - activities that would have earlier required one to step out of the house, have been brought, quite literally, into the palms of our hands, through our phones and laptops. As we have graduated to living lives online with streaming services, e-commerce, e-learning, and social media - we have also made ourselves increasingly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats and cyber-criminals have responded to this by shifting their focus to attacks on mobile devices. In the work from home scenario, data protection is becoming an increasing concern. Without the protected IT framework of an office, systems and their data can become vulnerable to malicious forces. According to research by Kaspersky, the number of attacks on mobile users reached 68,063 in the United Arab Emirates between January to June 2020. In other Middle Eastern countries, Egypt faced 220,000 cybersecurity breaches, Saudi Arabia saw 160,000 attacks in five months, followed by Kuwait (20,000) and Oman (15,000). In the recent months, cyber-attacks have risen to become one of the biggest threats to the digital health of corporations – with even the most heavily protected businesses becoming vulnerable to data breaches. The UAE has foiled about 120,038 cyberattacks in July, UAE’s state news agency WAM reported citing the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). In fact, malware accounted for 78 percent of the attacks prevented by the National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) – there were also a number of phishing attacks stopped. These not only pose a threat to sensitive company data, but also cause serious loss of production time, man-hours, revenue, while impacting the company’s reputation and inviting potential regulatory fines. It is therefore imperative to ensure you brace your company and employees with preventive measures to minimize such risks, instead of preparing to deal with consequences. Today, there are various simple ways in which corporations can ensure that employees remain secure while working remotely, keep company data safe, and

have a healthy digital experience as they navigate their new work-lives from home. Here are a few ways the companies can go about doing so, without overwhelming employees with complex directives and regulations. Is Your Data as Secure as Your Home? With our homes doubling up as offices, people are now increasingly using the same set of devices for both work and recreation - this puts not only their personal information at risk, but also risks exposure to sensitive company data. Physical security, firewalls, anti-fraud measures - these were all far more effective when everyone was accessing official data at work, protected with enterprise-level security, but not anymore. One of the most common downsides to working from home is unsecured Wi-Fi networks. While your employees are physically in the office, the company IT department can control the security of the Wi-Fi and LAN networks that are being used. Since home Wi-Fi networks may use weaker protocols (WEP instead of the more commercially used WPA-2, for example), it not only makes devices directly vulnerable, but also exposes them to hacks on other personal devices connected on the same network, such as mobile phones, digital assistants, smart appliances, and so on. There are a few ways to avoid this. Companies should issue advisories around router protocols that are the safest to use while working from home – i.e., a WPA-2 or higher, and ensure that employees assign it strong passwords that are frequently updated. Regular and comprehensive trainings must be provided to all employees to educate them on how to identify and mitigate threats to data security, and to secure systems in remote working, in line with EU GDPR guidelines, or the relevant laws that are followed by the organisation. There is also merit in providing them with simple instructions or training in creating separate subnets for each home device that uses their home router, to ensure that even if one of their devices is compromised, the others remain secure. Don’t Let Data Get Caught in the Phishing Net Another leading cause of data breaches, especially in recent times, is phishing scams. Taking advantage of people’s anxiety to know more about the COVID-19 crisis, there have been several instances of fraud emails and SMS messages linked to information about COVID being shared. This is a common

strategy used by scammers to hoax unsuspecting people under the guise of sharing important information and data, followed by infecting your device with ransomware. With the lack of robust firewalls by home networks, this can unfortunately be a common occurrence. This can be remedied via simple instructions issued to employees, starting with emphasising the importance of double-checking each link they click on. As a company policy, while using official email, any links or attachments received from an unknown sender, should not be clicked on at all. A handy tip to share with employees while looking for fraudulent emails is to check the way it’s written/formatted - if they have obvious typos, grammatical errors, or misspelled words – one should avoid them. Ensuring Closed-Door Meetings The most significant tech adoption for companies adapting to work-from-home has been using video calling software for team meetings - which means a proportional increase in the potential for trouble as well. These platforms, if not used correctly, can very often be unsecured and open to uninvited guests, which is anyone with a meeting link, thereby providing adept hackers a gateway to an employee’s system and the data it houses. However, there are simple solutions to ensure your official meetings remain secure and the data on the systems remain protected. Meeting hosts should ensure they “lock” their virtual conference rooms, or password-protect each meeting, and not share meeting links on open platforms such as social media so as to avoid virtual gate crashers. Regulations for remote meetings should mandate the updating of video calling software regularly so that it’s equipped with the latest security upgrades and bug fixes. Although 6 months of working remotely have made most of us semi-experts in wielding technology, doing so correctly is key, especially when organisational data is in the mix. Corporations need to be vigilant in their approach to data security, educating and monitoring employees regarding network security, usage of work devices on unsecured routers, inactive accounts lurking in the corners of the internet, and the latest software upgrades. Now that remote working is here to stay for the foreseeable future, these handy tips and a little foresight can ensure round-the-clock security for both your company and employees.

CXO SPEAK

Ensuring Digital Safety and Security

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON ARABIAN RESELLER | December September2020 - October 2020

Written by Sam Curry, CSO, Cybereason In mid-2020, the Cybereason Research Team detected an active campaign that targeted Brazilian customers of MercadoLivre, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Latin America. The purpose of the campaign was to infect users with a new multi-stage malware called “Chaes.” This threat used Living Off the Land binaries (LOLbins), or binaries natively supplied by the operating system, along with other open-source tools to evade detection by anti-virus tools. Such stealth augmented Chaes’ ability to steal sensitive information including login credentials, credit card numbers and other financial data from MercadoLivre customers’ browsers. It also helped the threat to covertly take screenshots of victims’ infected machines. The Chaes campaign is likely just one of many sophisticated threats online shoppers could encounter during the 2020 holiday season. And with a recent report from Criteo finding that 65% of UAE consumers are more comfortable shopping online than in store, this year, here are some specific recommendations that individuals can follow to ensure their digital safety and security for the 2020 holiday season. Be Wary Around Email-Based Offers It’s not uncommon for customers to receive emails advertising special offers and sales from retailers and e-commerce platforms during the holidays. The issue is that these emails might not be legitimate. Indeed, the messages might originate from attackers masquerading as trusted entities. These types of attack emails could carry malicious links that redirect recipients to fake login portals designed to steal

customers’ account credentials or financial data. They could also carry malware that steals users’ information and/or holds it for ransom. Acknowledging that threat, users should exercise caution around clicking links in unsolicited emails from retailers and e-commerce platforms. That’s especially the case if those emails claim to advertise special offers and sales. Customers can instead cut and paste promo codes that might be included in the emails and use them after visiting the retailer or e-commerce platform website. Exercise Payment Card Prudence Threats like Chaes give attackers the opportunity to steal users’ payment card information. With those details, malicious actors can make fraudulent purchases in the customer’s name. They can also monetize that information on the dark web by offering it in a sale or auction of stolen data. In response, users should consider protecting themselves against credit card fraud by enabling alerts on their payment card accounts and by reviewing their payment card bills for suspicious activity. They might also think about augmenting their financial security by developing a payment card strategy for the holidays. For instance, they could choose to use one card for holiday purchases and temporarily suspend all of their other cards. That way, they can limit the damage (and the recovery time) if malicious actors compromise the details of a user’s holiday payment card. Users can then take things one step further by placing fraud alerts or security freezes on their credit reports to prevent malicious actors from using stolen information to open new payment card accounts in their

victims’ names. Spoil Yourself with a Password Vault As they hop from website to website during the holidays, customers might be inclined to make things easier for themselves by setting easy-to-remember passwords on their web accounts. They might even be tempted to reuse the same password across multiple web accounts. In doing so, however, users could potentially expose themselves to account takeover attacks where malicious actors use brute forcing, online data dumps and other resources to try to authenticate themselves on a user’s account. If successful, nefarious individuals could then use a working set of credentials to try to conduct password reuse attacks and thereby authenticate themselves across some of the user’s other web accounts that might be protected by the same set of credentials. Users can protect themselves against the threats listed above by protecting each of their services with a strong, unique password. Remembering each of those passwords might get difficult if they have multiple accounts online, however. In response, users can splurge before the holiday season by buying themselves a subscription to trusted password vault software. Such tools not only store account credentials for customers, but they also help users generate strong passwords for each of their accounts. So in summary, exercise caution around email links, lock down payment cards and invest in a password vault. And with that, all that is left to be said is, I hope you have a secure and happy holiday season.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

4/5 Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G smartphone comes with a 6.67-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor.

AED 1799

offers a whopping 144Hz refresh rate. The maximum resolution it offers is 1080-by-2400 pixels and a pixel density of 395 PPI. The panel used on the smartphone is the LCD variety to keep costs low. But, the display looks really nice irrespective of what you play on it. Under the hood, the Mi 10T 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor.

It comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space. The Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G runs Android 10 and is powered by a 5000mAh non-removable battery. The Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G supports proprietary fast charging.

The phone runs on the Android 10 operating system with Xiaomi’s MIUI 12 running on top of it. You also get 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space. The overall UI is quite clean and intuitive to use. And the spec list is enough to power most apps on the market including games.

Xiaomi launched the Mi 10 series in February this year and just a couple of days ago, they announced their new Mi 10T series. The Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G comes packed in minimalist white packaging. Upon opening it up the first thing you see is a paper sleeve.

The performance felt smooth and we did not encounter lags or stutters when flipping through multiple app windows. Gaming sessions were quite good too and the gameplay felt quite fluid. Turn the phone around and you come face to face with a triple camera setup.

Inside that, you get a clear protective case and some paperwork that includes the quick start guide and the warranty information. Digging deeper, you get a 3.5mm audio to USB-C converter if you are still using your favorite pair of headphones and don’t want to switch from it just because you got a new phone.

This camera module includes a 64MP main camera that offers an f/1.9 aperture. You also get a 13MP ultra-wide lens with f/2.4 aperture, a 5MP Macro lens with f/2.4 aperture, and a sensor for the Auto Focus. The phone was able to capture some amazing shots under good lighting conditions.

You also get a USB-C cable that’s orange in colour at the connectors and a 33W fast charger. On the right edge of the device, you get the volume rockers, and just below it, there’s a power button that also doubles up as the fingerprint scanner.

To check out the real-world performance, we went to The Fresh Market in Al Aweer. As you can see in the video above, the images are quite vibrant and crisp. The videos captured natural and the colours popped out. On the front, you get a 20MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture for all your selfie requirements.

Apart from the fingerprint sensor, you can also unlock the device by using face recognition. On the bottom of the device, you get the speaker grille, the USB C port, and the dual SIM card slot. On the top, you get the IR Blaster and noise-canceling microphones.

In terms of battery, you get the 5000MAH variety that offers a battery life of a little more than a day without needing a recharge. For a price of AED 1799, the Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G is worth the money you spend on it.

The overall design and build quality are top-notch. The phone has a metal frame running around it, while the front and back are made of glass. On the front, you get a 6.67-inch display that ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

4/5

$ 695

ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3060 Ti OC NVIDIA announced its new GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards today. These graphics cards are expected to feature the GA104-200 GPU with 4864 CUDA Cores. On the sidelines, all GPU manufacturers will out their very own iteration of the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards, with ASUS being one of them.

maximum power draw for providing performance. There is something new on the spec list, too – support for PCI-express 4.0.

In order to gauge the real-world performance, we put the card through bunch of benchmarks. Ion the 3DMark: Night Raid tests, it scored 56329, while its graphics score stood at 118197. In the 3DMark: Fire Strike tests, it scored 23690, while its graphics score stood at 30124.

The company has launched the ROG STRIX RTX 3060 Ti OC onto the market and Gadget Voize was able to prepare the benchmarks well in advance to go live with this review as soon as the graphics cards were announced on the market by ASUS.

In 3DMark: Fire Strike Ultra, the card scored 7514, while the graphics score stood at 7536. In the 3Dmark TimeSpy tests, the card was able to score 11374 and the graphics score stood at 12356. In 3Dmark Port Royal, the ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3060 Ti GAMING OC was able to score 7045.

Coming to the specifications, the NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti features the GA104 GPU which confirms that this is the second GPU to feature the said chip. The GA104-200 GPU on the NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti graphics card features 4864 CUDA Cores, 80 ROPs, clock speeds 1410 MHz base, and 1665 MHz boost. Based on the specs, the card can deliver an effective compute horsepower of 16.2 TFLOPs. These are also the default clock speeds for the card.

The graphics card was able to keep its operating temperatures well inside the borders. For this benchmark, we used a test bed that consisted of the Intel Core i7 9700K as the processor, ASUS ROG MAXIMUS XI APEX as the motherboard, ASUS ROG THOR 850W as the PSU, and GSKIL TridentZ 3200MHz CL14 2x4GB as the RAM.

For memory, the graphics card features 8GB of GDDR6 memory which runs across a 256-bit bus interface. The memory clock for the GDDR6 memory is maintained at 1750 MHz or 14 Gbps effective which rounds up a total bandwidth of 448 GB/s. The pixel and texture fillrate are both at 133.2 GPixel/s & 674.3 GTexel/s, respectively.

This card is sort of a mass product for gaming enthusiasts, and it can run games at 4K. You also get WQHD and Full HD. In terms of the audience, the 3060 Ti series will appeal to those looking for a gameplay experience in WHQL resolution. For anyone who is looking for a gaming GPU that is offered at a pocket-friendly price, offers good performance, and good rendering quality, the ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3060 Ti OC perfectly fits the bill.

The card comes packed with a dual-bios design with performance and silent mode. Its three fans start to spin and cool once the GPU warms up. The card has a duo of (6+2) pin power headers, for

PRODUCT REVIEWS

4/5

AED 2500

AOC G Line Second Gen CU34G2X AOC’s new G Line Second Gen CU34G2X is a 34-inches curved gaming monitor that offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, a response time of 1ms, and a widescreen aspect ratio of 21:9. The monitor offers a WQHD resolution at 3440-by-1440 pixels and a brightness of 300 nits.

2.0 maxes out at 100Hz at 3440-by-1440. For 144Hz, you will need to use DisplayPort 1.4. If your GPU has DP 1.2, you will be limited to 120Hz at 3440-by-1440. The monitor also supports FreeSync over all four ports. In addition, you also get features such as Picture in Picture, Picture by Picture, and High Dynamic Range support. The OSD menu is very user-friendly, and navigating through it via the four small hotkeys beneath the bottom bezel was easy, too.

The AOC CU34G2X is built using Samsung’s curved VA (Vertical Alignment) panel. Now, this panel offers a static contrast ratio of 3,000:1, 178° viewing angles, and true 8-bit colour depth. The CU342X is also a curved gaming monitor and offers a 1500mm radius curved panel.

When it comes to performance, the AOC CU34G2X truly shines. The colour and contrast, the in-game details and so on, just pop off the screen. The colours didn’t look oversaturated at all and everything looked very natural. It also offers good video processing and a fast refresh rate.

The monitor also supports Adaptive-Sync technology that ensures your monitor’s refresh rate is always synced with that of your processor. You also get HDR technology that improves picture quality by delivering better contrast and colour accuracy.

In terms of screen uniformity, the CU34G2X showed no visible issues, even at the edges. The anti-glare layer is fitted tightly, making that performance even more impressive. The picture modes include a uniformity option that couples up with the included calibration data sheet very well by raising the black levels.

Inside the box, the monitor comes with a stand and base, both of which feel quite sturdy. No tools are required to attach the monitor panel to the stand. You also get a bunch of cables that include the DisplayPort, HDMI and USB. An IEC power cord provides the necessary electricity to power up the monitor. In terms of the design and build quality, the monitor gets full marks. It offers a stylish design and some gamer-inspired accents all around it. The monitor also offers a wide range of ergonomics, including up to 130mm height adjustment, +/30° swivel, -5°/23° tilt, and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

Recently, ultra-wide curved monitors have become a sort of “go-to” for most gamers out there. The AOC CU34G2X is a great ultra-wide curved gaming monitor that ticks most of the points that gamers are looking for in a good gaming monitor. For a price of AED 2500, the AOC CU34G2X offers excellent value for money; immersive image quality with high pixel density, contrast, and a wide colour gamut; plenty of gaming features including FreeSync; and ergonomic stand and rich connectivity options.

When it comes to connectivity, you get a boatload – there are two HDMI 2.0 ports, two DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, a headphones jack, and one upstream + four downstream USB 3.0 ports (one with quick charging). Keep in mind, though, that the HDMI ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

3/5

$35

1MORE Omthing AirFree TWS Earbuds The market for True Wireless Stereo earbuds has been growing lately and we have seen new entrants on the market to cash-in on the demand. 1MORE is such a brand that launched its Omthing AirFree TWS earbuds for a very attractive price tag of $35, which kind of hits the sweet spot for those looking for quality at an affordable price point.

the music track or change the volume level. The earbuds come with a 7mm dynamic driver that offers an impedance of 16 ohm and a sensitivity of 121 dB. The frequency response of the earbuds ranges from 20 Hz and 20 kHz. The earbuds offer a maximum output of 5 mW. In addition, the capacity of the charging case is rated at 550mAh. The total charging time of the charging case and the earbuds is 1.5 hours.

The earbuds come packed in a minimalist packaging. Upon unpacking, you get the charging case that already comes with the earbuds snuggly seated in, two pairs of extra eartips, a USB-C charging cable, and the quick start guide.

On a full charge, you get around 4 hours worth of listening time. The charging case offers a further four lc time of charging of the earbuds. Each of the earbuds also come with two noise control microphones and single LEDs on the earbuds that light up in two colours — white and blue.

The overall design and build quality of both the charging case and the earbuds are quite good for budget-friendly TWS earbuds. While its charging case isn’t the smallest on the market, it is small enough to slide into any pocket. The lid closes magnetically and there is one LED-light at the rear of the charging case, which lights up when it is charging.

For a budget-friendly TWS earbuds, the Omthing AirFree performed quite well. Sound quality was quite good for the price point it is available at.

The earbuds themselves are IPX4 rated – so it can withstand light rain and is also sweat resistant if you are into workouts. The earbuds have a smart design – this includes an oval-shaped part with a big round bump and a tiny stem that sticks out of the ears – this includes the microphones.

Lows and mids were clearly defined and there was a punch in the highs. Bass performance was average, but that is expected in pocket friendly earbuds. There is no noice cancellation feature on the earbuds though. The 1MORE Omthing AirFree TWS Earbuds is available at a price of $35. For this price, you get value for money – so if you are on the market for a quality at an affordable price point, you should definitely consider the 1MORE Omthing AirFree TWS Earbuds.

The earbuds are very light – so these can perfectly be used for all sorts of workouts. Touch controls on the earbuds again are quite minimal. You can tap twice on the right earbud to pause/ play music, while tapping twice on the left earbud will activate the voice assistant. There, however, are no controls to changing

PRODUCT REVIEWS

3/5

AED 799

Realme 7i Realme has been on a launching spree and the company recently announced the availability of the 7i on the regional market. Priced at at very attractive AED 799, the phone offers good features and performance for those wanting a quality product at a pocket-friendly price tag.

2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture, and a 2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture. There’s a fingerprint scanner just next to the camera module. On the front, the also sports a 16-megapixel camera for selfies, with an f/2.1 aperture. Apart from the dedicated microSD card slot, the Realme 7i comes with a dual-SIM capacity that accepts Nano-SIM cards. The phone is available in two colours – Aurora Green and Polar Blue. Sensors on the phone include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and fingerprint sensor.

Inside the box, you het the handset, an 18W fast charger, a USB Type-C cable, a Protective Case, the SIM card tool, and the quick start guide with the warranty card. On the right edge, you will find the power button and the volume rockers. On the left edge, you will find the dual SIM + microSD card slot. On the bottom edge, you will find the USB-C port, the 3.5mm jack, and the phone’s single speaker vent. The Realme 7i comes with a 6.5-inch touchscreen display that offers a resolution of 720-by-1600 pixels and a refresh rate of 90Hz. Under the hood, the Realme 7i is powered by a 2-GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor.

In terms of performance, the Realme 7i is quite breezy when it comes to multi-tasking between multiple open apps. We did not encounter any issues when shuffling between multiple open app windows. The photography and videography capability of the Realme 7i is very good. The camera app is clearly arranged and simple to use -you get options to shoot portraits, night mode, full-64MP, and videos right from the main screen. Other options include macro mode, Google Lens, slow-mo, time-lapse, and pro mode. The depth of field while taking the picture is hassle free, too.

It also comes packed with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space, which can be further expanded using the microSD card slot. The Realme 7i runs Android 9 operating system and also comes with Realme’s very own Realme UI V1.0 on top of it. The phone is powered by a 5000mAh battery and also supports the company’s 18W Quick Charge function which takes just 30 minutes to charge up to 33%.

The display offers an outstanding 90Hz refresh rate at a pocket-friendly price point. However, it also does not offer the goodness of a Full HD display. Having said all of that, there’s a lot that is going on for the Realme 7i. If you are on the market for a good entry-level smartphone, but are on a strict budget, the Realme 7i could be one of the options you could consider.

As far as the cameras are concerned, the Realme 7i comes packed with a quad camera setup. Now, this includes a 64-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture, an 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture, a ARABIAN RESELLER | December 2020

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Arabian Reseller - December 2020

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