TECHx Review Magazine - GITEX Edition Oct 2020

Dear Readers, We are pleased to introduce our first print publication “TECHx Review� - a Gitex special edition and also our annual business magazine.

The magazine covers important stories, interviews, expert insights, special features from brands that continued innovating and enabled businesses to continue operations from where they are.

2020 has been a year of many challenges in the physical world. While many industries came to a standstill, TECH & Healthcare stood tall as life support for Business Continuity. The magazine focuses on exclusive coverage from some of the brands that helped pave the way for businesses to transform or consider transforming.

For most industries the year has been a tough one, with Media, Marketing and Event companies taking quite a hit too. TECHx went live in March 2020 and we were welcomed with a complete lockdown, which was quite unfortunate. Despite the challenges, the team was determined, went the extra mile and people did start noticing us.

In just about 8 months, our website ranking is far better in the industry and we are already touching 200K+ impressions each month, which is growing each day.

This obviously has been possible because of our brilliant team, support from clients and the PR agencies working relentlessly on sharing great content. A big Thank You to all for accepting TECHx as one of your trusted sources of tech news and as a strong media & marketing partner.

I certainly hope you would enjoy reading this issue, have a great Gitex and end the year on a positive note. Also, please stay tuned on our website www.techxmedia.com for more coverage from GITEX 2020 and the business world.

Con Etisalat Deploys Dwdm Transport Network Orchestration In Emea With Blue Planet - P-6

20 Italian Startups Participating At GITEX Future Stars 2020 - P-8 Statistical Analysis Of Technology Spending Across Industries - P-10 PNY Technologies Enabling Digital Transformation Through Artificial Intelligence - P-14 ASBIS Group Celebrates its 30th Anniversary! - P-17

Have a good one. Cheers!

Published by: Interdev FZE LLC (TECHx Media) Address: 213 Al Nasr Plaza, Oud Metha, Dubai UAE. Tel: 04 344 9939 | www.techxmedia.com

Christopher David Media Head

General: info@techxmedia.com Editorial: editor@techxmedia.com Media relations & Advertising: chris@techxmedia.com

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ntent D-Link Backs SMBs In A Digitally Powered New Market Norm - P-21

Tech Plays A Vital Role In Overcoming Challenges Brought By Pandemic - P-22 How Remote Life Fast-Tracked Connected Technology - P-26 Cisco Research Highlights Strategic Imperatives For Cios In Uae & Ksa- P - 29 Palo Alto Networks Cyber Security Predictions for 2021 - P-30

Dear Readers, It’s not often we get to say this, but the first edition of our annual print magazine ‘TECHx Review’ has hit the newsstands already containing stories across the region’s ICT channel industry.

2020 had been a tumultuous year but with the strong commitment of ‘Evangelizing Technology’ and the confidence that the hard times shall pass, TECHx developed a strong digital presence through its Online News Portal, TECHx TV and TECHx Webinar Series this year.

TECHx has a clear vision of combining all stakeholders of the ICT Value chain from vendors to end-users & ‘TECHx Review’ is a continuation of this vision.

Featuring news from the industry that made headlines this year, expert opinion articles, interviews, predictions for 2021 and there is a lot more you are going to read in this issue.

For this publication, GITEX Technology Week 2020 is a great time as it is after months, the industry veterans are attending a physical event.

Approachable, insightful and inclusive, with a focus on core industry insights, we hope that you will enjoy reading this.

Have a great GITEX week ahead and stay tuned to TECHx to stay updated about what is happening inside the technology industry.

Director Strategy: TP Sharafudeen Media Head: Christopher David Executive Editor: Rabab Zehra Creative Director: Shaju Musthafa

Rabab Zehra Executive Editor

About: TECHx is an exclusive media and publishing platform for technology affairs, facilitating the promotion of new technological innovations, product launches, and advocacy of exclusive market insights on technology and various other domains interdependent to technology.

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TECH BYTES

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ETISALAT DEPLOYS DWDM TRANSPORT NETWORK ORCHESTRATION IN EMEA WITH BLUE PLANET Etisalat, recognized by Ookla® Speedtest® as the world’s fastest mobile network in 2020, has deployed the first endto-end multi-vendor DWDM Transport network orchestration in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region with software from Blue Planet, Haitham Abdulrazzak a division of Ciena, forging CTO, Etisalat a path to create one of the world’s most adaptive and self-optimising networks.

Blue Planet’s intelligent automation software supports in accelerating Etisalat’s digital transformation journey in line with UAE’s vision to create a more competitive digital economy.

Haitham Abdulrazzak, Chief Technology Officer, Etisalat, said: “Etisalat continuously aims to enhance its leadership, position, network efficiency and provide

superior customer experience, and a “zero-touch network target” is a tool to achieve this. Transport network is in the heart of all autonomous networks, and the deployment of Blue Planet solution is a major step in our strategy to create more agile on demand adaptive networks.”

The Blue Planet software has been designed to support Etisalat’s specific intelligent automation requirements and has been implemented in close collaboration with Etisalat. By reducing manual operations and automating order-to-service processes, Blue Planet supports Etisalat to further reduce the time it takes to introduce new services by 70 to 90 %. This efficiency is achieved via the Blue Planet Multi Domain Service Orchestration (MDSO) at the Transport DWDM Network level, which is integrated with Etisalat’s existing OSS inventory and automation systems to execute closed loop automation.

Blue Planet also provides automated fiber diversity by integrating with a GIS system, while orchestrating service provisioning across the multi-vendor and multidomain WDM network.

OKTA, CROWDSTRIKE, NETSKOPE, AND PROOFPOINT TO PROTECT DISTRIBUTED WORK ENVIRONMENTS Okta, CrowdStrike, Netskope, and Proofpoint, announced that together they are helping organizations to implement an integrated, zero trust security strategy required to protect remote working environments.

The partnership is enabling security and IT professionals with the knowledge and integrated product solutions they need to manage security for distributed work environments. The companies will offer integrated solutions, advanced insights, and reference architectures, in addition to implementation best practices, accounting for end-user, device, network, and data security, demonstrating the fundamental components of a modern zero trust approach.

“Data, assets, and employees are only going to continue to shift further from the office perimeter, making it the responsibility of security leaders to know and be able to explain to their boards, who

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has access to what information, and how it’s being encrypted. By further enhancing our integrations with CrowdStrike, Netskope, and Proofpoint, organizations of any size can benefit from a complete understanding of how to implement a modern, identity-centric, zero trust security ecosystem to meet their immediate needs accelerated by the pandemic.” said David Bradbury, Chief Security Officer, Okta.

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20 ITALIAN STARTUPS ABU DHABI DEPARTMENT PARTICIPATING AT GITEX OF ENERGY TO SHOWCASE FUTURE STARS 2020 ITS ADVANCED DIGITAL SERVICES AT GITEX 2020 The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) is set to take part in the Abu Dhabi Government’s pavilion at GITEX Technology Week 2020, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from December 6 to 10, 2020.

Participating under the ‘Government Services’ category, the DoE will be showcasing the latest updates about the digital services it offers, and prospects of integration with the Abu Dhabi government service system ‘TAMM’ in line with Abu Dhabi’s strategy for digital transformation.

The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy works to develop policies and regulations that support the deployment of the latest global energy technologies in the emirate, which, in turn, boosts energy efficiency, security of supply and environmental sustainability.

DoE’s participation in the upcoming GITEX 2020 edition is also an opportunity to explore new innovative technologies and products exhibited by private and public companies as well as networking and exploring future collaboration opportunities with the relevant local and international industry stakeholders.

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.

Participating for the third time at GITEX Future Stars, this year the Italian pavilion has almost doubled in size and the number of Amedeo Scarpa participants now stand Italian Trade Commissioner 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 contacttracing and social-distancing systems; and more.

Nicola Lener, Ambassador of Italy to the United Arab Emirates, says: “Thanks to a very advanced regulatory framework to promote the 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.”

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. 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 start-ups 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.”

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Craig Hayman CEO, AVEVA

THE VITAL ROLE OF THE DATA CENTER IN A DISRUPTIVE ECONOMY

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ata has become the lifeblood of today’s global digital economy, powering diverse industrial activity from retail and manufacturing to infrastructure and transport, and it is the data center that is forming the backbone to the data influx. It is anticipated that over 175 zettabytes of data will be generated annually by 2025. To meet worldwide demand, hyperscale providers have been building data centers and expanding their fleet in the past few years. However, increasing complexities of operating and maintaining these facilities are creating an unprecedented set of challenges which must be met with a new approach.

THRIVING IN THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ As the global economic downturn forces organizations to re-evaluate their offerings as well as re-size their operations, we will see many more companies moving their workloads to data centers. In today’s volatile environment, the data center is more than just a safe and secure facility with space that is equipped with reliable power and a network, it is a valuable addition to many organizational infrastructures, a dependable extension of the IT team and an indispensable factor for success.

COVID-19 has paved the way for digital transformation as businesses shift operations and re-invent themselves to cope with new social distancing measures, restricted movements and supply interruptions. The ‘new normal,’ as post pandemic reality sets in, will see a new digital age rapidly dawning. Digital capabilities will increasingly act as a barometer for economic resilience and the industries that will thrive past the COVID-19 crisis are those that can digitalize completely.

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INTEROPERABILITY IS THE KEY TO ADOPTING NEW COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS Cloud computing is also transforming the design and deployment of data centers, and while cloud solutions were typically delivered over the internet by a third party, it is now becoming increasingly common to see the model applied within an organization’s data center as a private cloud. Data center transformation will continue to evolve, and CIOs now think about the cloud not as an ‘or’ strategy but rather an ‘and’ strategy when compared to traditional data center hosting. The shift toward a new computing environment undoubtably adds layers of complexity that have broad implications for how information technology managers secure the components of a data center to protect data from malicious attack or compromise. That’s why it is vital for organizations, today to integrate security into the design of their data centers. Security, in particular, poses an ever-changing challenge, given that successful business continuity is dependent on a secure environment. In the early days of the crisis, the data center industry served as the backstop for the global economy, supporting a massive shift to online services. For many organizations, the digital transformation that was expected to take years has been compressed into days and weeks. Demand for cloud services will soar in some sectors, but wither in other verticals as they shift into survival mode. The role of the data center is changing, and the operators who will thrive in the coming years are those who see themselves as a true partner to businesses and economies. With the data market scaling exponentially, it will take the intersection of both vision and the right technology to create the global digital infrastructure that will drive growth in the years to come.

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STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF TECHNOLOGY SPENDING ACROSS INDUSTRIES The complete lockdown due to the global pandemic created an unprecedented buzz in the technology infrastructure market.

The comparative statistic of the IT spending across various industries will give us indicators where this segment is heading.

As various reports explain the average IT budget across all industries was 8.2 % of the revenue. Software and hosting companies had the highest allotment for IT expenditure as compared to revenues. Financial services companies also kept higher than average spending which is 10 % of the total revenue.

Regardless of any particular industry, 56 % of business entities expected a normal increase in IT spending in 2020 and 20 % expected a decrease, but the complete business lockdown brought an unprecedented spending.

However, there was remarkable variation among industries, with 85 % of retail segment planning to increase 2020 IT budget, more than double the 42 % of FMCG and consumer products companies.

As per the industry statistics, almost 50 % of IT spending is allocated to a combination of on-premise software which accounts to around 22 %, SaaS as 7 % and IaaS/PaaS touches 18 %. The total cloud budget across SaaS and IaaS/PaaS is around 25 %.

Healthcare is at top position which comes at 33 %, technology hosting reaches 32 % and fast-moving consumer products were also allotted a budget of 32 %.

In another flipped scenario of on-premises software, 81 % of organizations regardless of the difference of industries, are expected

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to increase SaaS spending in 2020, with 28 % expecting remarkable increases.

Most of the enterprises are reducing their use of data centers and switching workloads to public cloud IaaS/PaaS. When the number of data centers will go down for most organizations it is obvious that the use of public cloud will go up drastically for 86 % of organizations as many studies indicate. Another significant trend in the segment of Transportation and logistics companies is they are shifting quickly to IaaS/PaaS with increased spending.

When we discuss the technology investment of various industries across the globe one report shows that, the top three strategic initiatives in recent times were digital transformation, cybersecurity and cloud which accelerated the IT consumption of the enterprises.

When we talk about the abovementioned strategies referred in many researches, I can emphasize on a certain point that 95 % of services organizations were most likely to focus on digital transformation.

Another fact finding report shows the investment in cybersecurity that with Industrial products 61 %, healthcare 60 % and financial services 56 %, organizations were most likely to rank cybersecurity among their top three initiatives.

Surprisingly, given several highprofile security breaches of customer data, only 31 % of retailers reported cybersecurity as one of their top three focus areas.

The same report explains that technology hosting 67 % and

TP Sharafudheen Director Strategy - Interdev Group

software companies 59 % lead the pack in citing cloud as one of their top three initiatives. They are followed closely by retail 47 %, healthcare 44 % and services 43 % industries, with a higher than average focus on cloud. On the contrary, only 31 % of transportation and logistics companies were focused on cloud initiatives, a seeming contradiction with their first-place position in the expected growth in IaaS/PaaS and SaaS spend.

Let me quote the 2020 technology spending report that found 26 % of IT spend was controlled by business units, but that increased to 28 % for organizations with more than 10,000 employees. However, technology hosting, software and financial services organizations reported that 34 to 35 % of IT spend is decentralized and controlled by business units.

This article is prepared on the basis of post COVID-19 scenario. Various online surveys and reports show on average same spending or budget allotment across the industries but we don’t have sufficient data to predict the post COVID-19 trend.

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PNY TECHNOLOGIES ENABLING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

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or over 35 years and thanks to strong partnerships with technological innovation companies, PNY represents its real success story in the EMEA Graphics, HPC, and AI computing markets.

Providing engineers, researchers and visualization clients with cuttingedge NVIDIA QUADRO, NVIDIA TESLA and NVIDIA DGX solutions, PNY offers professional technical support and a constant commitment to customer satisfaction. PNY Technologies covers the full range of AI application from High Computing Center deploying Deep Learning solutions to Artificial Intelligence Edge devices.

AI at scale - deployed in data server facilities is an infrastructure that works as digital body ingesting a high level of data in order to refine identification processes and strengthen problem-solving capabilities, tackling a wide range of applications: In Healthcare AI at scale is helping the identification of tumors and boosting the work on new medicines and vaccines allowing us to react better and faster to global health issues. In the research centers focusing on astronomy, AI data centers are processing tremendous amount of space probes, artificial satellites and telescopes data in order to discover new earthlike planets.

Aiming to cover all the spectrum of AI for the benefit of its global customers, PNY Technologies deploys Edge solutions in partnership with High-End partners such as NVIDIA and ADLINK. Nowadays, smart city strategies are one of the main trends in governmental policies and to

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the best AI Data Center platforms available in the market to enable enterprises to get their businesses and practices ready for AI. AI transformation is a challenge where the access to the right tools along the journey is critical towards a successful production environment.

December 2020

Jérôme Bélan CEO, PNY EMEAI

support the implementation of those strategies PNY and its partners offer a complete set of hardware and software solutions. Edge AI is already mainstream in our daily lives for example you are using it when asking your Google Home to call a friend or Alexa to order you an item from Amazon. Also, in the last couple of months to slow down the spread of COVID-19 public buildings are monitoring social distancing with Edge AI solutions. Finally we can’t avoid talking about retail and commerce applications. According to Servion Global Solutions, by 2025, as many as 95 % of all customer interactions will be through channels supported by AI. AI is an opportunity with many positive impacts, but how to get there? How to get your business and your practices ready for AI? PNY Technologies Europe brings

We work with market leaders constantly developing and delivering AI optimized tools to ensure fast development and supporting the entire AI workflow. We ensure that the AI talent embedded in data science, developers, and research engineering teams, is leveraging the support of technology expert teams when working with computing, storage and networking AI optimized technology. Our AI data center solutions deliver breakthrough performance to answer the increasingly complex workloads and allowing faster solution delivery.

Redesigning hardware for AI is key to address data aggregation and complex algorithms challenges.

An AI infrastructure that adapts dynamically to training, analytics, and inferencing workloads, while allowing forecast capacity planning is possible with NVIDIA DGX Systems, DDN AI optimized storage and NVIDIA Networking solutions (Mellanox).

At our PNY Lab test environments are setup to experience the AI solutions we propose. In collaboration with AI software and consulting partners we provide guidance to ensure customers are securing their investment in their AI infrastructure. Remote access to computing and storage AI optimized resources is possible to test drive an AI-ready infrastructure.

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TOTAL IMPLEMENTS NUTANIX SOLUTIONS TO POWER DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

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utanix announced that Total has implemented Nutanix solutions, including Nutanix’s hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) software, AHV, Files, Flow, Prism and Frame to develop a unified IT environment supporting the majority of their global operations. Total selected Nutanix to deliver the reliability and performance its users expect, while ensuring the necessary flexibility for the company to adapt to the fastchanging oil and gas industry. Additionally, the company selected Nutanix to support its goal of dramatically minimizing its datacenter footprint as part of its environmental initiatives to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Andrew Brinded Vice President & GM, EMEA Sales, Nutanix

Total S.A. is a French multinational company whose businesses cover the entire oil and gas supply chain. Its global operations encompass everything from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production, to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading.

could have significant repercussions. With Nutanix software powering its IT infrastructure in North America, Total has experienced no loss of services for its affiliates in the past three years.

To power its global, distributed operations, Total needed an IT environment that could support their 7,000 applications across the organization, as well as to help increase the reliability and flexibility of their IT infrastructure. In addition, they also needed a solution that would help them modernize their siloed datacenter and provide a consistent platform and management for all the company’s sites, regardless of the size of each site.

In addition to streamlining operations and increasing reliability, Nutanix solutions help enable Total to quickly deploy resources to keep up with their growing needs. The ability to quickly scale, as well as roll in and roll out resources as needed, is an important aspect for Total as it navigates a changing landscape with ever evolving IT needs. The Nutanix software-defined infrastructure solution enables this flexibility while also providing built-in data protection and one-click security upgrades to help maintain the security and integrity of sensitive industry data.

“Over the past few years, we have standardized the majority of our IT infrastructure on Nutanix and have migrated our operations to several clusters throughout North America,” said Guillaume Brocard, Senior Operations Advisor at Total. “These 11 clusters are 100 % Nutanix, with no other on-premises infrastructure. Standardizing on Nutanix has enabled us to dramatically reduce our total cost of ownership, while helping us make our operations more efficient.”

“With over 7,000 applications across their global organization, Total needed an IT infrastructure that could consistently deliver high performance globally,” said Andrew Brinded, Vice President & General Manager EMEA Sales at Nutanix. “With Nutanix, Total has the peace of mind of knowing they have a reliable infrastructure that can easily scale to meet the growing needs of the industry.”

Nutanix solutions help enable Total to streamline administration and enhance automations, including maintenance, as well as optimize costs. Nutanix solutions also contribute to providing the reliability and performance required to maintain its position in the challenging energy production space, as any loss of services

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With a wide variety of Nutanix solutions supporting key infrastructure operations, Total now has an extensible foundation that can bring new efficiencies to their operations. Over the next three years, Total plans to continue ramping up its Nutanix environment to enable additional sites and services, optimizing costs using Nutanix solutions together with other technologies.

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CLOUD ADOPTION DETERMINES THE SUCCESS OF A COMPANY’S OBJECTIVES

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igital transformation plays a fundamental role in shaping the way governments and businesses across the world are adapting to new opportunities and challenges. In Saudi Arabia, digital transformation is considered a key enabler to achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which is aimed at building a digitally vibrant society as well as a diverse and thriving economy.

As both public and private sectors come together to realize this objective, overall spending on ICT in the country is forecasted to reach $37 billion this year, according to global re-search and analyst firm IDC. Cloud computing is a key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation strategies. In fact, in 2019, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has unveiled a ‘Cloud First Policy’, which mandates government and semi-governmental entities to prioritize cloud technologies when making ICT investment decisions.

As one of the leading Gulf nations when it comes embracing transformative technologies, Saudi Arabia has always been an important market for Exclusive Networks. We believe that the Kingdom is undoubtedly rife with opportunities for customers, vendors and channel players alike. Exclusive Networks’ business in Saudi Arabia has grown significantly over the last three years. We pride ourselves in having strong channel partnerships that are built on mutual trust. Today, the Kingdom is the largest market for us in terms of revenue.

To further strengthen our footprint in the country, we have evolved our operations into a service-driven business, equipping our staff with the expertise to provide top-notch pre-and post-sales engagements to some of the Kingdom’s largest systems integrators. We have also expanded our portfolio to include exciting and innovative solutions to strengthen our reach in this market.

“WE ARE ACUTELY AWARE THAT ANY SUCCESS WE HAVE HAD OVER THE YEARS IS BECAUSE OF THE DEDICATION AND TRUST OF OUR VENDOR AND CHANNEL PARTNERS.” In the recent past, we have seen a huge thirst for knowledge and willingness to adopt best practices with regards to the cloud among Saudi firms. That’s why we believe that there are tremendous opportunities that await cloud players in this market. As a global cloud and cybersecurity value added distributor, we recognize that for any organization the move to the cloud is an extremely personal decision. Whether they seek to

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Grant Taylor General Manager, KSA & Egypt, Exclusive Networks implement public, private or hybrid cloud environments, this undertaking will determine the success of a company’s specific current and future needs and objectives. To address this, we have increased our efforts in developing and expanding our enablement initiatives to empower our channel partners to help them better educate their customers about the cloud and its value.

We are acutely aware that any success we have had over the years is because of the dedication and trust of our vendor and channel partners. To further reiterate our commitment to this market, we will continue to improve our offerings and capabilities, deliver the highest value of service to our partners, and add new vendors to our portfolio without losing focus on the vendors that have put us where we are now. We also plan to expand our geographical reach into the Eastern and Western regions to maximize the countless prospects in the Kingdom.

As Saudi Arabia takes a giant leap towards its grand digital trans-formation goals, Exclusive Networks is dedicated to empowering channel partners to pave the way to the success of the next generation of digitallyenabled enterprises.

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ASBIS GROUP CELEBRATES ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY!

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SBIS Enterprises PLC, specialized in distribution of Value Added Distribution products and solutions across EMEA region celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. The holding’s corporate portfolio includes hundreds of vendors and tens of thousands of products. The company has launched its own brands, and its annual turnover is about $2 billion. ASBIS managed to gradually turn from a small company of 12 people into a global IT distributor with a staff of close to 1800 employees and about 20 000 active clients from 56 countries.

ASBIS Group was founded in 1990 in Minsk by Serhei Kostevich, who to this day leads the company. In 1995 the Company was registered in Cyprus and the headquarters was moved to Limassol where it stays to this day. In 2000, ASBIS offices started operating in 10 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and second distribution center was established in Dubai. In 2002, an online e-commerce platform was developed. In 2004, the first office was opened in South Africa. In 2006, the company’s turnover exceeded $1 billion. In 2007, ASBIS was successfully listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) under the ticker ASB and in 2013 received the Warsaw Stock Exchange award for the best investor relations. In recent years ASBIS and its subsidiaries regularly win “Distributor of the Year” awards from worldwide manufacturers as Seagate, Lenovo, HP, DELL EMC, Western Digital and others.

Over the past five years, ASBIS has introduced new operating processes, expanded and strengthened its regional presence and received numerous industry awards.

“We have had a long and eventful journey, full of

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invaluable experience, which we constantly “invest” in the evolution of the holding. We continue to be ambitious in our global expansion, curious about new ways to satisfy the needs of consumers and remain true to our mission – making innovative technologies accessible and understandable to a wide range of consumers. We deeply value all our employees, thanks to whom we are relentlessly moving forward. We are immensely grateful to our clients, who inspire and motivate with their many years of trust. All this helps us to look to the future with optimism, to find more and more new niches, products, and markets where we can demonstrate the best standards of our client service”, commented Serhei Kostevich, founder and CEO of ASBIS Group.

2020 turned out to be a difficult year for the entire global economy, but the need to switch to remote work has opened up new opportunities in the IT field. Thanks to a very good strategy, close-knit team working as a single mechanism, fast response, and flexible management, the company did not miss the chance to be at the forefront of global distribution of digital technology. According to the forecasts published by ASBIS Group, the sales revenue in 2020 is expected to be more than $2 billion.

Customers, partners, and suppliers, who are an integral part of the company, its source of life and its main artery, play an invaluable role in the great success story of ASBIS. The company is grateful to each of them for the years of fruitful cooperation and is ready to see what’s next and build joint plans for the future. To express its gratitude and invite everyone to celebrate this significant date, ASBIS is going to launch a special motivational program.

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However, with the swift advancement of technologies, the gap between the able-bodied employees and those with certain impairments has shrunk significantly. The rapidly emerging technologies have indeed proved that the disabled persons and professionals can perform as good as, or in some cases, better than many of us. This is mainly because their offices and environments are disability-friendly, and the companies and governments see these adjustments as an integral part of their infrastructure.

How the new age offices are different from the traditional work environment has a lot to do with the utility, suitability and the assistive technology they offer. They also open a window of possibilities and opportunities for people of determination.

There is a flurry of new-age technologies on offer, and many companies in the UAE are adopting them to stay in line with the country’s motto of providing inclusive benefit for all kinds of people. Artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality (XR), robotic process automation (RPA) and the internet of things together are helping in eliminating time-consuming and hands-on human functions that are exactly the weak points of many people with disabilities.

Bringing in the emerging technologies to the workplace puts differentlyabled persons on a par with the rest of the employees. Some of them, such as text-to-speech software for

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HOW TECHNOLOGY IS OFFERING PEOPLE OF DETERMINATION EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AT THE WORKPLACE people suffering from dyslexia, screen readers for visually impaired can go well beyond the standard accessibility features on usual computers. Meanwhile, AI-powered solutions like Panasonic’s PiiMO, a robotic wheelchair, can make mobility borderless by making traditional environments like office floors, airports and buses more accessible for people of determination.

Hidetoshi Kaneko, Director and Division Head, Panasonicz

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isabilities, in many ways, can affect the movements and productivity of workers across the world. It seriously restricts one's movements thus being a roadblock to reaching their full potential, besides holding them back from proving their professional competence.

HOSPI Another robotic innovation, available in the region, is HOSPI assistive robots, which is an autonomous delivery robot. They are excellent for moving deliveries, be it transportation of medication and lab samples collection at hospitals or printed papers and mails in offices. The customizable robots can be reliable assistance for elderly and people of determination and can play an active role in modern digitized offices.

WHAT IS PIIMO? It is a mobile application-operated robotic wheelchair that can move autonomously once users give it the necessary inputs. Meant for crowded places, PiiMO comes with image recognition technology, self-position sensors, and obstacledetecting safety sensors, moving independently and safely among the crowd. It is precision-built powerchair that provides greater accessibility through advanced driving capabilities and enables autonomous movement in various facilities including airports, shopping malls and public transport facilities.

ATOUN A wearable robot for the waist is designed to minimize stress and burden caused by the sedentary workstyle, ATOUN can be a real help for professionals to work efficiently and thereby improving productivity. Until recently, the robotic arm has been used at logistics and manufacturing sites, but Panasonic’s is studying its application in nursing care.

The advent of assistive technologies, such as PiiMO, HOSPI and ATOUN has reduced that gap between people of determination and others at companies that implemented them.

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D-LINK BACKS SMBS IN A DIGITALLY POWERED NEW MARKET NORM “Business Continuity” has been most talked about in 2020. Tell us about D-Link's contribution in enabling SMBs to continue business operations effectively?

The importance of Business Continuity solutions have been brought to the forefront in the wake of the ongoing pandemic. D-Link’s extensive portfolio houses end-toend offerings around innovative technologies, right from smart solutions, cloud-based offerings, storage, switching, wireless and smart tech to IP surveillance, advanced security and networking solutions and state-of-the art devices – all of which are instrumental to enable SMBs sustain and grow their operations.

As SMBs increasingly adopt cloud and IoT technologies, put in place secure networks and embrace digital solutions, we continue to offer innovative solutions to help SMBs with business continuity strategies. At D-Link, we are ensuring our partners are trained to help regional customers with their remote work requirements. We are also continuously adding more partners into this ecosystem and bringing new and improved features to the portfolio.

D-Link has been aggressively tapping the cloud networking space with Nuclias Cloud. Can you highlight key features of the platform & is this a one-stop solution for Small & Medium sized businesses?

Nuclias Connect and Nuclias Cloud Remote Network Management Solutions are part of D-Link’s transformative remote work solutions portfolio. The complete end-to-end innovative suite of solutions is crafted to assist and empower remote learning and working. Nuclias Cloud portfolio allows SMBs across retail, education and hospitality, as well as MSPs, to deploy professional-grade networks from anywhere and anytime, eliminating physical space constraints. The Nuclias portfolio of solutions can be a one-stop solution for SMBs looking to move operations digitally.

D-Link partnered with Ameyo recently to launch its cloud contact center in UAE & Oman, tell us more about its significance?

With this partnership, we are Ameyo’s only cloud partner in the UAE and Oman. Our aim is to bring to our partners the hardware reliability and software services under one umbrella with Ameyo’s product suite. Ameyo helps consumer-facing brands implement results-focussed engagement with customers across mediums like voice, email, chat, social media, and video for sales, onboarding, customer service, and collections use cases. Its product suite includes Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions

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INTERVIEW

ONE STOP MEDIA PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY

Sakkeer Hussain, Director, Sales & Marketing, D-Link ME

and Helpdesk & Ticketing Software. Ameyo's solutions are ready to support businesses in UAE and Oman with various options, including on-premise deployments in customer-centric data centers or through the cloud-like AWS, Azure, Oracle, or D-Link cloud. Ameyo’s solution is being used by several brands in UAE and Oman like DAMAC, Alfardan Group, Al Ansari Exchange, Ajman Executive Council, Holiday Factory, HolidayMe, INAYA, and many more.

What are some of your latest offerings in the Wi-Fi Routers Segment & Surveillance Segment?

D-Link features Wi-Fi 6 routers which includes two flagship products - DIR-X6060 EXO AX 6000 and DIR-X5460 EXO AX 5400. D-Link’s DWR-925W 4G LTE M2M Router, offers seamless connections to businesses.

The easy-to-deploy, high performance 3G/4G router features a dedicated Fast Ethernet port and dual-SIM 4G LTE mobile broadband for maximum redundancy and flexibility for intense machine-to-machine applications.

D-Link’s extensive portfolio includes intelligent cameras, such as its flagship product – mydlink DCS-8630LH Full HD Outdoor Wi-Fi Spotlight Camera with Built-in Smart Home Hub. mydlink Wire-Free Camera Kit DCS2802KT also supports wireless video surveillance. With a rechargeable battery life up to 11 months, the camera is equipped with cloud or local video storage and has other features such as IP65 weatherproof, built-in 100 dB siren, Full HD 1080p resolution and PIR motion detection among others. Among other products that support wireless video surveillance, D-Link also have 802.11a/n Outdoor Short-Distance Wireless Bridge DAP-F3704-I, various wireless AC outdoor bridges such as DAP-F3711-1, DAP-F3705-N, DAP-F3712-N to name a few.

December 2020

21

INTERVIEW

TECH PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN OVERCOMING CHALLENGES BROUGHT

BY PANDEMIC 2 years of MBUZZ into the IT distribution sector, please share your take-away in the region during these years and the road ahead?

Yes, it was a strategic decision by our Executive Team to enter IT distribution. The key take-away from the distribution business is the huge exposure it has brought in. We ventured in with clear and structured value-added distribution model to connect and introduce latest niche technology to customers and establish footholds for brands in the region.

It is encouraging to see MBUZZ gain traction and strong foothold in the Middle East & Africa region.

Lately MBUZZ has entered into some key strategic partnerships? Can you please elaborate on the recent collaborations and what is the pipeline for year 2021?

MBUZZ leadership is particular about new strategical alliances and we’ve a dedicated team to evaluate and manage partnerships. In the past year, our team has been closely working with Supermicro & Micron on data center solutions and server & storage business.

Recently we’ve setup a new Security Operation Center in partnership with Watch Tower 365 and have started offering SOC as a service from our facility in Riyadh. We are on a growth trajectory and will continue to explore new opportunities and directions in the coming years.

TECHx as our strategic media partner will be on the forefront to be notified on developments.

In just 2 years MBUZZ has managed to build multiple technology verticals, please share your entire portfolio in terms of business verticals and industries of focus?

We’ve structured our Business Units (BU) focusing on our technology verticals; client computing, server & storage, video surveillance, document imaging, wireless & networking BU’s to name a few. Eventually we will be making inroads into consumer & retail segments with our personal storage, digital imaging, lifestyle & mobility product portfolio.

2020 has been a roller-coaster ride for industries across the world. What kind of best practices can enterprises

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Fawwaz Al Shammari CEO, MBUZZ

adopt to counter the challenges brought by COVID-19 pandemic?

If you had to look back, technology has played a vital role in overcoming the pandemic and the challenges that came with it. MBUZZ, as an organization was able to quickly adapt and passed-on the confidence and expertise to our customers and partners. We wanted to make sure that we don’t overlook the impact of pandemic nor underestimate our ability to overcome the situation.

MBUZZ group has had a strong presence across MEA, Asia & Europe since 2007, what has worked for you and how do you see the tech distribution space evolving in the coming years?

We are able to foresee the constant shift in the technology due to our diversified workforce & inclusiveness. MBUZZ is evolving by advancing in new directions and ideas wherever we are present.

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OPPORTUNITIES ARE BORN FROM CHALLENGES – 2021 IS TIME TO FLY Asbis recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, how does it feel to be part of this power-house and what's the work culture like?

The key to a company's success is customer confidnce, employee involvement, continuous development of the portfolio of products and solutions. All this can be said about the international holding ASBIS Group, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Customers, partners, and suppliers, who are an integral part of the company, its source of life and its main artery, play an invaluable role in the great success story of ASBIS. I feel grateful to be part of the company, for years of growth ahead.

Tell us about the brands that depend on Asbis for their go-to market plans?

ASBIS Middle East specializes in distribution of VAD (Value Added Distribution) products and solutions in the field of information and communication technologies from global international suppliers.

It currently has its own offices throughout the EMEA region in 27 countries. The holding's corporate portfolio includes hundreds of vendors and tens of thousands of products. ASBIS Middle East’s key brands are Intel, AMD, Sapphire, Logitech, Seagate, Western Digital, HGST, Kingston, Transcend, Toshiba, SanDisk, Supermicro, ESET, TPLink, Ubiquiti, MicroTik, Mellanox, Grandstream, Mimosa, Lexmark, Canyon and Prestigio.

Our marketing plan is a unique blend of traditional and non-traditional methods. We’re confident that we’ve got the strategies that will generate word-of-mouth recommendations and build larger customer base.

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Tell us about some campaigns that you've ran in 2020 which helped brands under your umbrella to be relevant and seen?

In marketing we learn new things every day, that’s because it’s always changing. Companies who did not prioritize digital marketing before the economic downturn are scrambling.

In digital marketing we focused on online newsletters, we emphasized on video creation, as audience love your story, concept and messaging and webinar marketing, as its popularity is still rising for obvious reasons. With growing subscribers for both our newsletter and video channel, it’s one of the few positives we can take out of a difficult year.

Apart from digital marketing, we also did couple of gaming experience roadshows for our gaming brands despite the pandemic, offering gamers throughout UAE the opportunity to experience gaming products during the roadshow.

What marketing channels have worked for you this year and what kind of opportunities would you like to tap in 2021?

Now that we are reaching the final stretch of 2020, the year of the Pandemic, it is a great time to reflect on the lessons you learned and how you can use them to visualize your goals and dreams for a winning 2021. Even without the current crisis, we may have adopted these new and expanded facets of our marketing, but the pressure of the moment makes us look for ideas beyond our traditional efforts. In my opinion, “Opportunities are born from challenges” in 2021, it’s time to fly. Next year I will seek for more inspiration, as this year is making clearer than ever. No one can control Mother Nature, but you can control

INTERVIEW

ONE STOP MEDIA PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY

Faraz Ali Khan Marketing Manager, ASBIS ME

your marketing strategies. We don’t live in a perfect world and I was excited to figure out how to navigate around the crises and come out of it stronger, wiser and more successful.

I personally know how passionate you are about your work and have seen that while working together in campaigns. On the personal front, what drives you, your passion, hobbies, interests etc.

My philosophy is very simple that is “Before you act listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn.

Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive and before you quit, try.”

There are three reasons that why I like my profession: people, creativity, and technology. When I say people, I mean customers and their relationship with your product and company. The goal of marketing is to change customer behavior and drive action, whether that's to build affinity or to encourage word of mouth.

December 2020

23

INTERVIEW

AOC - ACHIEVES NEW HEIGHTS WITH THE NO. 1 GAMING MONITOR TAG BY IDC

with up to 360hz refresh rate, 0.5ms response time and up to 49” screen size. AGON and AGON Pro have ultimate gaming design with RGB light function.

Our Porsche design model under AGON Pro is also designed to give an ultimate premium experience to the gamers. All the Gaming monitors come with built-in G menu software with preset modes of FPS, RTS & racing and also customization flexibility.

Apart from your Monitor line-up, can you take us through your complete portfolio and solutions that you offer in the Middle East region?

Apart from gaming monitors, we have models available for B2B and B2C customers which come with features like height-adjustable stand, Pivot, USB-C and 4 side frameless designs. Also, we are planning to launch Gaming IT Accessories like Gaming Keyboard, Gaming Mouse and Gaming Pad to cater to the demand of our gaming customers. We have a line-up available for AOC Public Display (PD) /Signages like Interactive whiteboard, videowalls, 24/7, which will be launched very soon. AOC TV is already available in the ME region

Carol Anne Dias Regional Sales Director, MEA, AOC

AOC was named a global leader in Gaming Monitors earlier this year, what worked for you and what helped you achieve this?

Our new designs and continuous efforts to enhance the consumers' gaming experience with a range of line up meeting requests of every gamer positioned AOC as a global leader in gaming monitors. As per IDC data, not only in 100hz but also in the 144hz range AOC is the #1Gaming monitor brand worldwide.

Take us through your Gaming Monitors line up and the tech underneath which puts them ahead in the market?

AOC caters to every consumer’s need. From the fastest refresh rates of 240Hz and response time 0.5ms, we focus on each gamers requirements and work to provide the best gaming experience with our lineup of AOC Gaming monitors including AGON for casual gamers, AGON Premium for core gamers and AGON Pro for hardcore professionals and e-sport gamers.

While AOC gaming monitors come in 23.6”- 34” size with 144 to 240hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, AGON and AGON pro are equipped to give a gaming experience

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As per the latest trends, remote-working will continue for many businesses going forward. How can AOC help businesses towards business continuity?

AOC is helping businesses during the WFH scenario with our range of monitors that suits everyone’s requirements.

We have around 50 models available from 15.6” to 49” size, FHD to UHD, Flat & Curved, Widescreen and many more, to cater to the need for all level of businesses whether it is a big corporate, govt. enterprise, midsize businesses or shop owners at very competitive prices. We ensure peace of mind to the businesses with the 3-year warranty.

Even with the pandemic, 2020 has shown an upward trend for certain segments in IT. How has been the year for you and what trends do you see in the region for 2021?

With the unexpected pandemic hitting the global markets, the IT segment indeed has shown an upward trend and so did we grow three folds this year with gaming taking over 300% vs 2019. This year has been exceptionally good for us as a team in TPV technology within the MEA region not only in QTY, revenue but also breadthwise into smaller regions, retail and bigger portfolio range. We do intend to continue this trend as we carefully grow creating brand awareness within different regions. In 2021 we are more focusing on introducing new categories like the AOC PD range, touch screens, Philips gaming whilst continuing our vast range of monitors for this MEA region. With our customer support and the enthusiastic team, I’m sure 2021 will be another success for us.

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AL-HAMAMI TECHNOLOGY - ADDRESSING MARKET’S THIRST FOR TECHNOLOGY segments too. Consumables and end-customer devices, including printers, PCs, tablets, laptops, Chromebook and mobile devices, AV equipment including projectors, interactive whiteboards and digital signage, networking including both wired and wireless solutions, switches, access points and controllers, servers and storage, from small business servers to data centers, and a range of storage options such as NAS, SAN, HDD, SSD, telephony, such as on-premise and hosted VoIP, Software, licensing and warranties, including Microsoft licensing and many more. The exploding e-learning market after the lockdown has brought in lot of new requirements in technology consumables. We believe we can address this market demand through our chain of retail and online superstores.

Abdulrahman Al Hamami Chairman, Al Hamami

Apart from being a Reseller/VAR, we hear that you are also focusing on a strong retail presence, can you tell us about the plans in this space?

Yes, Al Hamami Technology is introducing the wide chain of technology retail stores. The regions two biggest economies – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – in particular, have high internet and smartphone penetration levels.

The population of both countries is digitally savvy and consumes thrice the amount of video content as compared to the USA. Catering to the needs of consumers, we are confident that Al Hamami can be a remarkable stakeholder in the technology retail trend of the region.

Can you please give an overview of Al Hamami Technology and its operations in the region?

Al Hamami Technology started in the Saudi market as an IT consumable products retail chain. In 2020 it formulated a new business strategy to set up a series of blended online and offline superstores for the ICT products across MEA. Al Hamami Technology is focusing on addressing market’s thirst for technology requirements. With the emphasis on reducing dependency on the oil industry, several Middle Eastern countries are formulating strategies to boost the contribution of the ICT market to GDP. The operations have already started from Dubai and spreading to other major cities in the region.

The pandemic has changed quite a bit in the channel ecosystem in 2020. What kind of demand did you see in 2020 for IT products and what kind of growth/demand can we expect in 2021?

We foresee and hope that the post-pandemic period will bring a new market especially in the technology consumer segment. KSA’s multiple reform programs like Saudization, Guardian Laws, and Saudi Vision 2030 and UAE’s regulations and investment policies are already driving the consumption story and pushing e-commerce growth. At the same time, the government is investing heavily in retail, infrastructure and tourism to boost employment as well as per capita income of local players.

Over the past few months, Al Hamami has strengthened its position in the ICT Reseller segment. What verticals are you focusing on and the target region?

Al Hamami is focusing more on the technology consumer markets, MSME sector and the fast-growing home

2021 is a promising year for the technology market theoretically and practically. We want to share the same hope with everybody and we put forward the idea to believe in technology as it will transform our life into another shape soon with a lot of new opportunities.

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INTERVIEW

ONE STOP MEDIA PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY

December 2020

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EXPERT INSIGHTS

ONE STOP MEDIA PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY

HOW REMOTE LIFE FASTTRACKED CONNECTED TECHNOLOGY

U

ndoubtedly, connected technology is playing a key role in allowing employees to continue working, in spite of the current coronavirus pandemic. As the trends in remote life are set to continue beyond the pandemic, it is worth examining what these changes will look like for different industries and sectors and how that impacts storage needs.

A GLOBALLY CONNECTED WORKFORCE Millions of people around the globe have been encouraged to work from home, and the number of telecommuting workforces has skyrocketed in a very small period of time. IT teams have rolled out virtual workstations for employees to access critical enterprise applications and remote employees are using video conferencing and team collaboration tools – such as in DevOps automation and project management – to facilitate barrier-free virtual connections.

As we look into the future of video conferencing, artificial intelligence (AI) is coming into play. With the help of AI, user experience and team meeting efficiencies are improving.

By: Khwaja Saifuddin Senior Sales Director, Western Digital

ESPORTS AND VIRTUAL EVENTS The outbreak of the coronavirus has forced event organisers to rethink their strategy for gatherings by going either fully virtual, or offering a hybrid of inperson and online sessions to connect and engage their audiences. The lockdown has also changed our stay-athome entertainment options. By 2023, the world’s 2.7 billion gamers are projected to spend over £154 billion on video games — particularly mobile gaming, and potentially, on wearable gaming devices.

THE RISE OF REMOTE LEARNING During the pandemic, whilst the school campuses were closed, administrators and teachers were asked by governments to shift quickly to remote instruction.

Multiple educational non-profits and technology companies partnered with public schools to provide resources, tools, and training for instructors to stay connected with and teach their students. More students than ever before accessed productivity software and applications through virtual desktops. As a result, the need for personal data storage through internal HDDs and SSDs or desktop drives to backup learning assignments, documents and projects became critical.

SMART, AUTOMATED SUPPLY CHAINS The pandemic has created an interesting opportunity for pavement robots, drones and self-driving cars that make last-mile delivery more efficient and contactless. In fact, an e-commerce platform recently bought an autonomous vehicle startup to expedite self-driving car development.

Further to this, an experimental branch of a search engine has been conducting drone delivery tests since October 2019 and has expanded the items customers can order.

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December 2020

Furthermore, thanks to the power of the cloud we can now stream video straight onto our devices. However, a shift to a cloud DVR is presenting challenges for service providers. The content libraries for streaming services are continuing to grow at a staggering rate, and as a result, Cisco projects that global IP traffic will reach 4ZBs in 2022, with 82% of that being video.

WHY COMPANIES ARE SCALING UP CAPACITY DATA STORAGE In closing, the current situation has prompted companies, schools and municipal services to ensure they have the adequate data storage capabilities to service and manage the connected technologies they are now responsible for. It is a brave new digital world, and one led by increased enterprise demands in cloud data centres. From schooling to delivering vital public services to streaming entertainment, companies are scaling up data capacity, accelerating cloud computing and sharing disaggregated flash storage resources. The remote life model with new IT systems in place to support it has largely proven itself across the globe, and that could bode well for companies even after the pandemic.

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6 DEC -10 EM B E R

D UB A I W O R L D TRADE CENTRE

T H E O N L Y G LO B A L TECH SHOW IN 2020 LIVE, IN - PERSON F E E L T H E B U S I N E S S A N D P E O P L E P O W E R AT G I T E X ’ S 4 0 TH A N N I V E R S A R Y E D I T I O N

Five extraordinary days to make up for a year of missed opportunities in 5G, AI, Future Mobility, Cloud, Blockchain, Fintech and more. Plus, 280 hours of conference learning across technology mega-trends.

Dubai World Trade Centre is committed to deliver a Safe, Smart & Seamless experience.

Important Notice: As a new health & safety measure, admission is strictly by advance online registration only. No tickets sales at the show.

GITEX.COM | #GITEX2020

EXPERT INSIGHTS

VEEAM - 2021 PREDICTIONS FOR THE TECH INDUSTRY

D

evelopers will have more say in technology direction and data strategy of companies.

We will see an aggressive “shift to the left” across all industries, where CIO’s will depend more on their development teams to guide the technical direction of the company.

In 2021, we’ll see DevOps teams continuing to have far more say in the data strategy process, and as a result we’ll see a greater increase in the mobility of workloads, correlating with an increase in cloud data management techniques.

A GREATER FOCUS ON PROTECTING & MANAGING WORK COLLABORATION PLATFORM DATA IN THE CLOUD Distributed workforces were already on an upward trajectory but have been completely kicked into overdrive with the COVID-19 pandemic. With many companies extending work-at-home opportunities through mid-next year, reliance on cloud-based collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, will only increase. This means even more teams will be looking to harness the power of the cloud to store an influx of data from collaboration platforms. In 2021, this will create more focus, awareness and need for data protection and management for collaboration software.

WITH DECLINE OF HARDWARE, SOFTWAREDEFINED MODELS WILL BECOME MORE PROMINENT Appliances will diminish in their attractive as we shift towards software-defined models. 10 years ago, appliances where these shiny new toys that everyone wanted to get their hands on, however they

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December 2020

data that they already have. By leveraging machine learning in the cloud, organizations will ultimately become smarter.

COMPLIANCE REGULATION FINES WON’T SEE AN UPTICK – THEY’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TRENDING DOWN.

By: Danny Allan, CTO and SVP Product Strategy, Veeam

have not had the staying power we predicted they would. In fact, we’ve seen a shift towards backup-as-aservice and away from appliances.

Remote work in the pandemic had a real impact on how we dealt with hardware in 2020 that will continue into 2021 as softwaredefined models take center stage.

MACHINE LEARNING WILL BECOME DEMOCRATIZED IN THE CLOUD AROUND DATA. Already, we are seeing organizations recognize the unlimited opportunities available to them through data they have already collected. Data re-use will be a big trend we see organizations shifting to 2021, with many leveraging the power of machine learning to help them do this.

This is still in the emerging stages; however, its adoption will increase as organizations recognize how it can help them analyze and re-use

Data privacy and privacy regulations will continue to gain traction in 2021. In particular, I predict we will see the first proposed federal regulations around privacy in the New Year. However, compliance fines will continue on the downward trend we saw in 2020. We saw a massive jump in compliance fines in 2019, which solidified how seriously GDPR, CCPA and others needed to be taken. Now that this attention has been received and the awareness is there, the shift will be more towards more consistency of privacy regulations at the federal level.

IT SPENDING WILL REBOUND AFTER 2020 – SECURITY AND HARDWARE WILL BE AT THE TOP. Despite the economic turbulence brought on by the pandemic in 2020, we’ll see a 5% to 10% increase in general IT spend in the New Year. Allocations will likely focus most on security, general system modernizations (backup, applications, cloud migrations, etc.) and refreshing hardware. In addition, organizations will take a look at what was on “hold” in 2020 to address IT spend that happens on an annual recurring basis, eg. hardware should be refreshed every three years, and if the pandemic halted an organization’s attention to hardware, it’s fair to say that will make its way to the top of the list in 2021.

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CISCO RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES FOR CIOS IN UAE & KSA

C

isco’s inaugural CIO Perspectives survey has identified the strategic priorities for 1,300 decision makers globally, across markets including the United Arab Emirates and the KSA. Cisco’s study has revealed that COVID-19 is top of mind for 61% of respondents in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The results of Cisco’s research illustrate four clear strategic imperatives for CIOs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia: •

•

•

•

Reimagining applications: 88% believe that building fast with the ability to deploy anywhere, intelligently, while being able to observe every experience and act in real time.

Securing data: 98% believe in ensuring that customers data is tight and secure, and founded upon trust.

Transforming infrastructure: 87% believe that creating an environment that is softwaredefined, intent driven, and context powered.

Empowering teams: 84% believe that providing the opportunity for employees to collaborate seamlessly, across every medium.

SECURITY-FIRST APPROACH For 67% of CIOs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, maintaining privacy and security is a common challenge.

Globally, CIOs surveyed spent $323 million per year exclusively on ensuring data privacy and protection.

In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, this spending averaged at 12%, while approximately a third of CIOs have allocated 15% of their IT budgets or more to secure sensitive information.

Looking ahead, 77% of CIOs in the region anticipate an increase in security optimization spend over the

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next 12 months, while 84% believe investments will also increase over the next 3 years. 64% of CIOs believe that ‘complete trust in data being secure’ is the most important aspect that they can offer to their customers.

Yet, 79% struggle to maintain a complete security fabric, while pursuing continuous innovation as their organizations transform.

EXPERT INSIGHTS

ONE STOP MEDIA PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY

MIGRATING TO CLOUD AND ADVANCING INFRASTRUCTURE 75% of CIOs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia rate managing multi-cloud dynamics as a top challenge – with issues ranging from processing and data security, to enabling mobile workforces. Over a third of respondents in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have already migrated their organizations’ processes and applications to a cloud enabled infrastructure. A staggering 95% of respondents from the region shared varying degrees of reliance on legacy technology, with 20% being ‘completely reliant’ for the running of critical functions.

EMPOWERING TEAMS AND PROMOTING A CULTURE OF COLLABORATION Of the CIOs surveyed, 51% in the UAE and Saudi Arabia believe their teams are 'mostly empowered' with the right technology. 19% believe that their teams could be 'much more empowered', while 23% recognize that significant improvements are required. In an effort to empower teams to work more collaboratively, CIOs identify ‘trust from management’ and ‘cultivating the right working environment’ as key influencing factors. 76% of CIOs in the region believe that the employee experience is either of 'primary' or 'high' importance to the organization's

Reem Asaad Vice President Cisco, MEA

executive team. This indicates potential for CIOs to further push the technology agenda among senior stakeholders to better connect and engage employees with smart workspaces.

“For over 35 years, Cisco has defined innovation – helping to build the Internet, reimagine connections and empower decision makers to push the limits of possibility. As businesses now re-engineer their IT plans to meet new demands, we believe that CIOs must be the driving force, pushing the innovation agenda – with full backing and support from their management.

More unified approaches to security, cloud and collaboration technology will better serve seamless operation and ultimately, help to drive business growth, said Reem Asaad, Vice President, Cisco Middle East and Africa.

December 2020

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EXPERT INSIGHTS

PALO ALTO NETWORKS CYBER SECURITY PREDICTIONS FOR 2021

1.

5.

The consumer hop: Our recent IoT security research report found more non-business devices are coming onto networks now needing to be secured alongside business IoT. With the need to allow staff to use their devices at home, the end device and those things around it become bigger risks of access into a business’s critical systems and information.

Shadow IT in OT intensifies: The energy industry is expanding the usage of IoT sensors and the identification, classification, and protection will take precedence albeit using concepts like Zero Trust to reduce the risk of breaches or sabotage. SOCs are merging between IT, OT and IIoT. Some did this a few years ago, but as more Energy/Utilities deploy IoT, IIoT and OT than ever, many more will need to consider, post COVID-19, merging their SOCs.

2.

Investment fraud increases: Due to COVID-19 crisis, people are more susceptible to click on scams like the offer of loans, payment holidays, and other financial opportunities.

Criminals target new or modified touchless processes: As we’re looking to reduce our risk of infection in every aspect of life we’re seeing increases in contactless payment limits, and also other methods, such as QR codes.

Our Unit 42 threat intelligence team has seen increasing discussions and tutorials on how to abuse QR codes in underground forums. We should expect to see criminals continue to focus on immature contactless processes or changes to mature trusted ones.

3.

Employee fatigue: Working from home means living online for between 10 and 12 hours a day.

We’ll see more human errors causing cybersecurity issues purely driven by employee fatigue or complacency.

This means businesses need to think about a whole new level of IT security education programme. Also, businesses need to take human error factor into consideration and ensure consistent edge security. 5G and edge computing could catch some napping: 5G, edge computing and, to some degree, IoT have not been at the forefront of businesses’ minds during 2020. Yet in the background, huge investments are being made for 5G’s deployment, and due to the delays, when it happens,

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6.

Haider Pasha, Chief Security Officer, Palo Alto Networks, Middle East & Africa

expect the ramp-up to be faster. 2021 will be the year we see cybercriminals really probe these spaces to see the art of the possible, as by 2022, more than a third of operators will have 5G networks in place in Europe, according to survey data from Enea.

4.

Rush to the cloud; security playing catch up: Most companies in Europe had plans to move key business processes to the cloud over the next few years, but with the onset of the pandemic, this became the next few months. Businesses, in 2021, are already planning stage two: recodifying to gain the real advantages of agility from the cloud, while security teams are still fixing the issues from the intermediary shift. This continuing migration at pace will lead to security gaps, and we’re likely to see more cloud security incidents until the shifts are completed and stability resumes, at least for a while.

Cybercriminals love current affairs: Cybercriminals will always flock to exploit the latest global trend or news item. With the Brexit transition period ending December 31, we have to expect to see scams, misinformation, and attacks leveraging what is such a significant change not just for UK residents but many across the EU too. Brexit will also mean that so many business processes will have to change. There will be a big rush to do this, and we’re likely to see mistakes along the way opening further opportunities for cybercriminals.

Commenting on the 2021 cybersecurity predications, Haider Pasha, Chief Security Officer at Palo Alto Networks, Middle East and Africa (MEA), said: “The year 2020 coupled with the global pandemic altered many aspects of life for organisations and individuals in unprecedented ways in the Middle East. In the upcoming year, technological advances including the growth of 5G networks, cloud, edge computing and touchless interfaces will give rise to new types of security vulnerabilities and threats.

However, with the right cybersecurity strategies in place, IT heads in the Middle East are well equipped to cover all the bases and overcome the next set of challenges in 2021.”

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ONE STOP MEDIA PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY

The history buffs among us might recall that Florence Nightingale is widely hailed as the founder of modern nursing, she proposed hand-washing treatment as an effective form of reducing infection rates amongst soldiers. But in spite of the clear positive impact this had, it took another 125 years before hand washing and cleansing became staple hygiene habits. Fast forward to 2020 and see today’s pandemic as a similar turning point — but this time in the adoption of digital infrastructure and services. The notion of digital transformation has been accelerated by a widespread need for accessible, online services. This is highlighted in a recent report from AppDynamics, where 71% of technologists reported that digital transformation projects in their companies have been implemented within weeks rather than the months or years it would have taken prior to COVID-19. IT leaders find themselves today at a commercially critical point in history. How and where they invest will be under scrutiny like never before. Yet innovation for innovation’s sake, for instance, will likely lead to overspend and underwhelming returns.

PRIORITISE INFRASTRUCTURE FLEXIBILITY How businesses operate today has transformed dramatically compared to just six months ago. For IT leaders, this means tearing up the investment playbook.

The legacy 18-month budget-and-procurement cycle that relies on a capital expenditure model and forklift upgrades are an ill-fit for today’s business operations, where plans often change rapidly to reflect new and unexpected requirements. Instead, investment should centre on flexible consumption models with infrastructure that supports maximum flexibility and optionality, enabling teams to quickly deploy and scale new projects and applications. Moreover, as the economic uncertainty grows, budgets are going to be tighter than ever. The benefit of embracing a flexible consumption model is that businesses can aggressively drive modernisation projects with low risk of rising costs, budget depletion, or vendor lock in.

ENSURE ON-PREM IS PART OF YOUR HYBRID CLOUD STRATEGY During times of flux, the challenges of planning ahead on IT spend and infrastructure are compounded. It’s so easy for leaders to under or over provision, or focus on the wrong solution for their business transformation. While the current situation may have accelerated cloud adoption, it’s not the only option. Enterprises prioritise simplicity,

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EXPERT INSIGHTS

POST-COVID DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INVESTMENT STRATEGY

Assaad El Saadi Regional Director, ME Pure Storage agility, and flexibility — cloud traits that also exist onpremises. Now more than ever, there remains a need for a hybrid approach to IT. For those forward-thinking business leaders with an eye to using emerging technologies like AI and deep-learning in their strategies, on-premise equipment is invaluable. It will make data work harder and better for them, allowing them to power mission-critical applications that cannot live in the cloud. By making onprem part of your hybrid strategy, you have the option to choose the best hosting option, depending on the workload and the business objectives. And by leveraging a flexible consumption model, customers can accommodate their ever changing business needs.

CHARTING A WAY FORWARD It’s clear that COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation as a whole. However, despite this spotlight on digital projects, many businesses do not have the capital at their disposal for significant IT overhaul.

What’s more, CFOs and business leaders are more conscious than ever of budget constraints and will likely only invest on guaranteed returns.

IT leaders must be smart and look towards a different way of managing their technology environments. Flexible consumption models, with their low TCO, rapid integration and agility are perfectly suited to the many challenges of today’s operating environment, and will no doubt be a business mainstay as they take on the workloads powering the innovation of tomorrow in industry 4.0.

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

QNAP TS-h2490FU NVME ALL FLASH QUTS HERO NAS The NVMe all-flash TS-h2490FU is designed for providing extreme performance with high cost-efficiency.

Featuring 24 U.2 NVMe Gen 3 x4 SSD bays, the TS-h2490FU delivers up to 472K/205K random read/write IOPS with ultra-low latency. The ZFSbased QuTS hero operating system supports inline data deduplication and compression for reducing I/O and SSD storage consumption, which significantly extends SSD lifespan with a higher price-performance ratio for all-flash storage arrays. Coupled with near-unlimited snapshots, real-time SnapSync, and petabyte-scale storage expansion capabilities, the TS-h2490FU is ideal for I/O-intensive and latencysensitive applications, and eliminates productivity bottlenecks in modern data centers, virtualization, and missioncritical backup/restore tasks.

FEATURES: • Extraordinary performance with 2nd Gen AMD EPYC™ Series CPUs • Uncompromising All-NVMe Gen 3 x4 storage • High data integrity and storage utilization • Empower high-speed data transfer with four 25GbE ports

PNY NVIDIA® RTX™ A6000

Built on the NVIDIA Ampere architecture, the RTX A6000 combines 84 second-generation RT Cores, 336 third-generation Tensor Cores, and 10,752 CUDA® cores with 48 GB of graphics memory for unprecedented rendering, AI, graphics, and compute performance.

Connect two RTX A6000s with NVIDIA NVLink® for 96 GB of combined GPU memory. And access the power of your Quadro workstation from anywhere with remoteaccess software. Engineer amazing products, design stateof-the art buildings, drive scientific breakthroughs, and create immersive entertainment with powerful graphics solution.

PNY Technologies offers a standard 3-year warranty, dedicated Quadro Field Application engineers and direct tech support hot lines for pre- and post-support.

FEATURES: • Four DisplayPort 1.4 Connectors • DisplayPort with Audio • VGA Support4 • 3D Stereo Support with Stereo Connector4 • NVIDIA GPUDirect™ Support • Quadro Sync II5 Compatibility • NVIDIA Quadro View®Desktop Management Software • HDCP 2.2 Support >NVIDIA Mosaic

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The COVR-AX1800 Series is the perfect solution for starting out in whole-home mesh networking or expanding your existing network. The COVR-AX1800 Series was built for the modern device-dense home. Simply add more COVR-AX1800 Series points throughout your home to create your own lag-free, super-fast, whole-home Wi-Fi 6 mesh network. Experience up to AX1800 speeds while 1024-QAM boosts throughput to devices by up to 25% and 80 MHz contiguous channel width gives even more bandwidth. Up to 4 simultaneous streams let you enjoy faster, more enjoyable 4K streaming, online gaming and more, and should you require them – 4 Gigabit LAN ports and 1 Gigabit WAN port give you faster wired connectivity whenever you wish.

D-LINK AX1800 WHOLE HOME MESH WI-FI 6 ROUTER

FEATURES: • Wi-Fi 6 – Next Generation Wi-Fi • Smart Roaming • Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) • Smart Steering • Simple Setup • Profile-based Parental Controls • Expandable Network • Works with your existing Router or Gateway

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

ONE STOP MEDIA PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY

PORSCHE DESIGN AOC AGON PD27 GAMING MONITOR Porsche Design PD27 Gaming Monitor 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 % DCI-P3 coverage.

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 also has a boot-up sound that mimics the Porsche engine.

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.

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FEATURES: • Delivering immersion and eye comfort • Superior high quality viewing • The e-sports professional standard for gaming • A universally respected anti-tearing solution • Universal respected standard for display visual • Colorful visuals for all to enjoy • Connecting your eyes with your hands • Built-in audio of comforting quality • Optimize your game settings • Reducing shortwave blue light output for healthier eyes

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

ONE STOP MEDIA PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY

PLUSTEK ESCAN A350 SHAREPOINT The Plustek eScan SharePoint scans documents directly to Office 365, SharePoint, Network Shared Folders. It has a full-color, intuitive, 7” touchscreen interface that makes Microsoft Office365 and SharePoint accessible to everyone without extensive training.

Users can log in to their SharePoint account directly through the eScan and with one operation: scan the batch of documents, enter index data, and save the document directly to the SharePoint library of choice. Multiple accounts can be stored on the eScan SharePoint without the need to install on other PC or servers. eScan SharePoint provides full security protection and no operating system or server version compatibility risk.

Scan and save the documents to any of the following destinations: • USB • SMB (Shared Folder) • Email • SharePoint 2013/2016/2019 • SharePoint for Office 365 • One Drive for Business • SharePoint on premises • One Note Online • Exchange

TOSHIBA CANVIO FLEX

FEATURES: • Dedicated and customizable document scanning • Easy to use touchscreen display • Outstanding image quality • Job buttons simplify scanning

SMART STORAGE. MADE TO ADAPT FOR MAC, WINDOWS PC AND TABLETS The Canvio Flex is the cross-device storage solution built for your digital lifestyle. To try out new gadgets, we need freedom of choice. That's why the Canvio Flex is designed to work interchangeably with most major device platforms and operating systems.

Preformatted for Mac, Windows PC and tablets, this drive allows you to seamlessly access data and share between devices. Enjoy the convenience and flexibility for your storage needs with the Canvio Flex - your smart storage companion.

FEATURES: • 2.5" external hard drive • Capacities: 4TB / 2TB / 1TB • Color: Silver • SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 • USB-powered • Compatible with Mac, PC and tablets • Includes USB Type-C® and USB-A cables • 3years Warranty

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