The Integrator by INTEGRATOR MEDIA

UAE’s SME Ecosystem Discovers Massive Strength

Content COVER FEATURE

mall and medium enterprises (SME/Bs) are fundamentally the powerhouse of growth in every economy and the UAE government officially defined its mission to strengthen SMEs as part of its “Vision 2021.” The strong pillars of the SME sector are technology, finance, and logistics but the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic hit had put cracks in all these and their support systems. Several countries have ventured extraordinary revival measures to rescue SMEs from the crisis and revive their economy in general. The UAE was one of the frontrunners in the mission and it had also managed to open the economy, quickly. The October edition of The Integrator thoroughly analyses the SME sector, carries industry reactions, captures trends, and outlines SME-specific solutions in a detailed manner. GITEX Technology Week (October 17–21 at World Trade Center, Dubai) returns with huge hopes. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solution providers and SMEs join once again to discuss possible business relationships. As a pioneer in the ICT publishing business, The Integrator and its team are fully prepared to grasp every essence of the event. With extensive media coverage, interviews, and reporting, we continue to raise our forte at GITEX 2021. We are hosting the 14th edition of the “ICT Champion Awards,” one of the largest award ceremonies in the region, on the sidelines of GITEX. The gala awards night will be a notable medley of solutions providers, industry leaders, and channel partners. When it comes to creating a network for ambitious entrepreneurs, we are second to none!

SME Sector: The Powerhouse of Progress Backed by Agile Policies

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FEATURES

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Tips to Protect Enterprise Networks and Resources Against Mozi

GITEX FOCUS Aruba: Under the Theme, “Your Journey. Your Edge”

Speak and celebrate with The Integrator. Happy reading!

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Mindware: “Business Continuity” into the Spotlight

Murali Margassery Assistant Editor

Vivek Sharma - CEO Murali Margassery - Assistant Editor Faiz Ahmed - Graphic Designer Suneeta Dadwani - Business Coordinator & Executive Assistant Dhawal Dholakia – Sales Manager Sreejit Nair – Sales Manager

The cover story also attempts to give insights into the comprehensive revival efforts and agile policies put in place by the national government to uplift SMEs from pandemic distress and financial constraints.

Published by: JNS Media International (OMA Group Company) OMA House, P.O. Box: 3314, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Tel: +971 6 573 0000 | website: www.VARonline.com Sales Inquiries: sales@var-mea.com All other Inquiries: info@var-mea.com | Editorial: editor@var-mea.com Disclaimer: While the publishers have made every attempt possible to get accurate information on published content in this Magazine they cannot be held liable for any errors herein.

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TECHNOLOGY

NEWS BYTES

INTERSEC 2022 SET TO DELIVER INDUSTRY BENCHMARK FOR GLOBAL SAFETY AND SECURITY

ntersec, one of the leading emergency services, security, and safety events will mark its return in 2022. The 23rd edition of the flagship event, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will be staged at Dubai World Trade Center from 16-18 January, under the theme of “Uniting the world’s leading industry specialists for the safety & security of future generations.” His Highness said: “Intersec will be the most important platform of the year for businesses and governments to collaborate and continue on their paths of building a sustainable, safer, and more secure world for our generation and those that follow. We look forward to hosting our communities once again, safely, physically, and live inperson.” “Intersec 2022 brings the industry together at this crucial

juncture to share knowledge from recent experiences and look to the future with the event’s most powerful series of conferences including multiple platforms for strategic G2G, G2B, and B2B discussions and deep-dive sessions into key sector verticals,” said Christine Davidson, Intersec’s Group Exhibition Director.

Intersec claims to bring together thousands of its most powerful stakeholders for bilateral government and business discussions on mitigating and addressing vulnerabilities of the future. They will be joined by leading regional and international brands exhibiting the most innovative systems and solutions in a dynamic environment.

SSDS AND DRAMS FOR HIGH-SPEED INDUSTRIAL COMPUTING

lobal memory brand Team Group launches multiple industrial-grade innovative technology solutions, including the M.2 SATA SSD S750-M80, the mSATA SSD S750-3A, and the DDR4 WT DIMM product series. Both products

4 OCTOBER 2021

support TCG Opal 2.0 and AES 256-bit hardware encryption. Team Group claims, “The SSDs can provide users with excellent data protection features and performance to protect sensitive data and strengthen data security. They also utilize a graphene www.VARonline.com

cooling solution that boosts cooling efficiency and ensures optimal workload operation.” Team Group says, “The DDR4 WT DIMM series is the world's first industrial wide temperature DDR4 memory product equipped with an ultra-thin graphene cooling solution. This thermal technology not only improves the cooling efficiency of the memory module itself but also ensures the reliability, stability, and product lifespan of systems under continuous high load and harsh temperature conditions.” The product from TEAMGROUP has claimed to have been passed military-grade testing standards for shock and vibration resistance, guaranteeing stability and durability to overcome the extreme conditions of industrial applications.

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TECHNOLOGY

NEWS BYTES

SAFE SECURITY EXPANDS BUSINESS INTO INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

afe Security, a pioneer in Cybersecurity & Digital Business Risk Quantification announces its entry into the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions. Safe Security helps organizations manage, measure, and mitigate cyber risks with its breach likelihood prediction platform SAFE. The company appointed Cherif Sleiman, a veteran industry leader to head the business for international markets. Sleiman is a technologist who will focus on building Safe Security’s regional presence, go-to-market, and channel strategy in the region. “Safe Security is uniquely positioned to provide organizations with the knowledge necessary to

better secure their organizations. The SAFE platform delivers 360-degree continuous, dynamic and intelligent quantitative cyber risk management, and breach likelihood prediction by assessing People, IT Infrastructure, Cloud Presence, SaaS Deployments, and third-party Partnerships.” Cherif said, reflecting on his appointment. Saket Modi, Co-founder & CEO, Safe Security said, “With SAFE, we have created a brand-new category of products within cybersecurity, and we are pioneering the shift from a project led, reactive risk management approach to one that is proactive, and enables the Board to truly understand cybersecurity in a de-jargonized manner.”

Cherif Sleiman Business Head, International Markets

OPERATOR CONNECT ENABLES SEAMLESS PSTN PHONE SERVICES IN TEAMS

Nic Rudnick Group CEO, Liquid Intelligent Technologies

iquid Intelligent Technologies, a pan-African technology group becomes the launch partner for Microsoft’s new Operator Connect for Microsoft

6 OCTOBER 2021

Teams. Through its OneVoice platform, Liquid enables Microsoft customers worldwide to seamlessly integrate regulatory-compliant calling plans in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. Operator Connect enables seamless PSTN phone services in Teams. With OneVoice for Operator Connect, businesses will benefit from the seamless integration of voice telephony directly into their existing Teams install base. In addition, Liquid’s flatrate calling plans save money and avoid bill-shock whilst increasing control and decreasing fraud and risk, particularly as employees continue to work remotely. As a cloud-based solution, no hardware is required, driving down costs and allowing instant deployment. “We are delighted to deepen our relationship with Microsoft through this global launch and integrate our pan-African communications and technology capability directly into Microsoft Teams,” stated Nic Rudnick, Group CEO of Liquid Intelligent Technologies. Liquid said it will continue to develop its OneVoice platform to meet the modern communication requirements of its customers across Africa.

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NUTANIX AND CITRIX JOIN FORCES TO POWER REMOTE WORK

utanix, a leader in hybrid multicloud computing, and Citrix Systems are announcing a strategic partnership through which they will provide secure, on-demand, and elastic access to apps, desktops, and data from any device, in any location, at any scale through Nutanix hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and hybrid multi-cloud deployments of Citrix DaaS and Virtual Apps and Desktops services. “Organizations continue to look for IT solutions to support the agility, flexibility, and reliability required for a hybrid workforce,” said Tarkan Maner, Chief Commercial Officer at Nutanix. The partners have a successful track record powering remote work environments for customers, including large enterprises, large public institutions, and crossvertical industries including

healthcare and financial services. Under the planned partnership, Nutanix will become a Citrix preferred choice for HCI hybrid and multicloud deployments. The Nutanix Cloud Platform delivers an ideal IT environment to support Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops services in a hybrid multi-cloud environment. Citrix will become the preferred enterprise end-user computing solution on the Nutanix Cloud Platform. Through tighter collaboration, Nutanix and Citrix hope to provide fully comprehensive desktopas-a-service (DaaS) options for customers that enable them to procure, deploy and manage their Citrix environments running on the Nutanix Cloud Platform, delivered with original equipment manufacturer (OEM), global system integrator (GSI), service provider

Dr. Dorit Dor Chief Product Officer, Check Point

(SP) and public cloud providers in an efficient, cost-effective way and accelerate their adoption of hybrid multi-cloud solutions.

TREND MICRO LAUNCHES SERVICE ONE TO ENHANCE SECURITY ACROSS THE MENA REGION

rend Micro, a leader in cybersecurity solutions, announces the launch of Trend Micro Service One, consolidating its managed services to optimize enterprise

threat management. It includes premium support, an early warning service, Managed XDR, and incident response, which help customers prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats faster by supplementing internal resources. "With the launch of Trend Micro Service One, we aim to take the burden off the shoulders of security teams while also minimizing their risk of attack. Providing better insights across the entire security platform, from product integration, risk monitoring, and mitigation, to attack detection and response will present a clearer view for future security strategies," said Dr. Moataz Bin Ali, VP, and Managing director, Trend Micro Middle East and North Africa. Stating the launch of Service One, an official release of Trend Micro articulates, “The prevalence of cybersecurity threats and the dynamic threat landscape leave businesses vulnerable and put security experts in high demand to triage and investigate incidents. Over half of Security Operations Center (SOC) teams feel overwhelmed by alerts and aren't confident in their abilities to prioritize or respond to these alerts. Outsourcing security management significantly lightens the workloads and saves businesses from catastrophic breaches.”

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OCTOBER 2021 7

TECHNOLOGY

NEWS BYTES

TECHNOLOGY

NEWS BYTES

NOKIA G50: AN AFFORDABLE 5G PHONE WITH TOP FEATURES

MD Global, the home of Nokia phones, announces a new member of the G-series family. The Nokia G50

claims to be the most affordable 5G Nokia smartphone yet. “Our mission from day one has been to make quality mobile technology accessible to everyone around the world. With Nokia G50, we are proud to put 5G in the pockets of even more people,” said Florian Seiche, CEO at HMD Global

KEY FEATURES Nokia G50 is featured with Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 MP, 6.82” HD+ display, 48MP triple-lens camera with AI smarts, dual microphones, Bluetooth® 5.2 compatibility, 18W fast charging, two-day battery life, and one-year warranty at no extra cost. The phone is already prepared to welcome Android 12 and beyond.

YOSR MOBILE APP WITH SOCIAL NETWORKING IN CLASSIFIED ADS AND OTHER UNIQUE FEATURES

OSR mobile app, a marketing tool developed and owned by Naya TechnoMedia, combines both business and social networking within a classified ads application. YOSR showcases a one-of-kind interactive feature that allows users to build their social media presence, providing them with an option to create a portfolio and personalize it with images, videos, and stories. The personalized profile will give businesses an idea of their shopping preferences and general consumer behavior. It also comes with instant messaging to facilitate engagement and interaction among users. Ahmad Abd Alhadi, Managing Director of Naya TechnoMedia said, “We have designed this app to provide businesses an avenue which they can enhance their advertising and marketing strategies while ensuring a rewarding, engaging,

8 OCTOBER 2021

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and seamless shopping mobile app for consumers. It is the perfect app for both worlds.” YOSR application focuses on providing users with a fun experience as they can simply browse the application during their free time to enjoy watching other users’ stories and chat with each other. At the same time, they can easily access or view any item they may find interesting. The mobile app also allows sellers to post an ad without restricting them to a specific format, a special feature that removes limitations for sellers when writing their ads. Some of the ads can be detailed with descriptions while others can be easily promoted, making it more flexible and enabling them to be more creative in presenting their products to buyers.

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TECHNOLOGY

SME FOCUS

MICROSOFT FOR STARTUPS; GROWTHX ACCELERATOR PROGRAM KICKS OFF IN THE UAE

icrosoft in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), inaugurated the first cohort of its GrowthX Accelerator program in the UAE. As part of a larger strategic partnership between ADIO and Microsoft, GrowthX Accelerator is designed to bridge the gap between corporates and B2B startups across the Middle East and Africa by connecting startups with large corporations. The 12-week program focuses on empowering B2B startups with the technology, mentoring, and market access they need to solve the corporate partners’ unique challenges and problem statements. “As a founding partner of GrowthX Accelerator, ADIO is partnering with Microsoft to empower visionary entrepreneurs with the technology, mentoring, and market access they need to get off the ground. ADIO’s work with Microsoft will accelerate innovation and boost entrepreneurship, in line with Abu Dhabi’s unwavering commitment to support the private sector,” said H.E. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development Roberto Croci, Managing Director, Microsoft for Startups, MEA said, “Startups are now in the driver’s

seat to fulfilling their potential through the GrowthX Accelerator. It is exhilarating to facilitate an empowering experience for B2B startups to make the most of the technology, mentoring, and access to the market that this program will provide,” Microsoft for Startups is working with Etihad Airways, Unilever, Flow, Akbank, KPMG, and IKEA in the first cohort as corporate engagement partners. B2B startups will work with these partners directly for the duration of the program, to ultimately co-create technology solutions that address the corporate partners’ challenges.

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TECHNOLOGY

COVER FEATURE

SME SECTOR:

THE POWERHOUSE OF PROGRESS BACKED BY AGILE POLICIES

An in-depth analysis of the SME ecosystem in the UAE. The article also attempts to give insights into the comprehensive revival efforts and agile policies put in place by the national government to uplift SMEs from pandemic distress and financial constraints.

mall and medium enterprises (SMEs) are observed as the backbone of all economies across the world. Not only do they have the remarkable potential to lead innovation, create jobs, fuel economic growth, and expand the tax base but also can play a crucial role in social cohesion. However, their existence and survival were facing questions since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Many of them had to hibernate their operations for an uncertain period due to the disconnection of resources and supplychain networks, owing to lockdowns in the South Asian countries and Europe.

12 OCTOBER 2021

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), has always been a frontrunner in showing its remarkable potential to host micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in its economy. The “UAE National Agenda,” presented in 2014 leading to the UAE Vision 2021 had categorically explained about creating a “Competitive Knowledge Economy” and signaled the country’s interest to reduce petrochemical dependence. According to the Ministry of Economy, “SMEs represent 87 percent of the companies in the UAE and constitute 86 percent of the private sector’s workforce.” The sector, combining manufacturing, service, and trade,

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contributes over 52 percent to UAE’s non-oil GDP.

THE CRISIS PHASE AND REVIVAL EFFORTS The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has been actively surveying, studying the MSME sector, and figuring out possible options to help each category of enterprise to recover from challenges and financial constraints. Such surveys are regularly conducted in developed economies and the UAE is seemingly upfront in these actions that potentially enhance opportunities in the business sector. Reports of CBUAE, chambers of commerce in

Human Resources and Emiratization’s financial and administration protection from, and Prime Minister’s “agile, flexible, and speedy government” policy are the notable ones.

BANKS FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES The CBUAE survey concluded stating, “The surveys show challenges for MSMEs related to the absence of audited accounts, lack of collateral, in tandem with limited use of the services of the Credit Bureau and credit export insurance, which inhibit companies’ access to finance, thereby revealing areas where reforms are expected to have the biggest impact on improving the UAE MSMEs ecosystem.” The finding of the survey had played a crucial role in the UAE government’s mission to rescue SMEs and instructing banks to start flexible lending and insurance schemes for small and medium-sized businesses. Acting upon the government’s interest, most of the financial institutions in the UAE created tools that will mitigate their risk connected with SME lending. Leading banks in the country including Emirates NBD, FAB, Mashreq, and RAK, offer business accounts, flexible remittance, digital solutions, financing, and personal services to SMEs.

INSIGHTS INTO SME-SPECIFIC SCHEMES, POLICIES, AND LOANS IN THE UAE BANKS: EMIRATES NBD’S SME-SPECIFIC PACKAGE: The bank convenes Multaqa that helps SME owners and entrepreneurs hear from industry experts and networks. It had announced a customized business banking package in 2020 for UAE-based SMEs and startups that features preferential pricing and privileges on transactions, working capital, trade finance, FX, and commercial loans, cementing the bank’s commitment to supporting the future growth and development of companies registered to do business with Expo 2020 Dubai.

MASHREQ BUSINESS BANKING emirates, various other agencies accelerated the government efforts to protect the SME sector in the extremely turbulent year of 2020. The UAE government’s agility in terms of creating and revising policies was visible enough. Business support, economic stimulus packages, service fee reductions, and utility price reduction combinedly worked to rescue the vulnerable SME sector and the country stood above its counterparts in the GCC. UAE Ministry of Economy’s Cabinet Resolution 2020 to slash the fees of government services include licensing, renewal, and trademark, Ministry of

Mashreq offers business account solutions to SMEs include 25-30 percent discounts on trade transaction fees, free online remittance for currency transfers, unlimited checkbooks, business debit cards, flexible deposits, and tailored services for selected businesses besides sophisticated digital banking services.

RAKSTARTER SME ACCOUNT For budding entrepreneurs and startups, RAK bank provides zero-balance business accounts. RAKstarter accounts are available in AED, US Dollars, Euro, and Pound Sterling (GBP) currencies. The bank also claimed to provide business financing and attractive foreign exchange rates. Businesses own accounts at RAK

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OCTOBER 2021 13

TECHNOLOGY

COVER FEATURE

TECHNOLOGY

COVER FEATURE bank can also avail low-cost mobile POS machine at preferential pricing.

FAB’S SME GROWTH LOANS After the announcement of Abu Dhabi government on expanding the SME Credit Guarantee scheme to prioritize and increase SME’s access to financing in the Emirate, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) started to provide easy financing options to SMEs, improving their ability to withstand market fluctuations.

SME GROWTH LOAN BENEFITS FROM FAB     

Working capital facility for three months duration Term loans of up to 4 years duration Competitive interest rates Easy documentation Quick turnaround time

All qualified SMEs registered as LLC, FZEs, Sole Proprietorship, Partnerships & Branches of foreign companies, and operating in Abu Dhabi (onshore and offshore) in the categories of trading, manufacturing, and services are entitled to get the loan benefits.

   

Supply and Logistics Workforce Management Cloud and Cyber Security Data Collection and Analytics

SMES’ RELIANCE ON LOGISTIC SERVICES Nearly 70 percent of the UAE enterprises, mostly SMEs, trade their goods globally than locally. The ongoing digitization of logistic and supply-chain operations on par with the evolution of supporting technologies level the playing field for them. In addition, the geographical placement of the country added advantage for businesses to reach nearly half of the world population. The transformative growth and burgeoning investments in the e-commerce sector also seeding new hopes. Here are some of the logistic options that businesses can choose from. Road freight: It is one of the traditionally competitive logistic segments and it has a well-maintained

ROBUST TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS FOR SMES SMEs need the support of cutting-edge technology in their business environment. The presence of sophisticated hardware and competent software not only make customer engagement highly productive but also save process cost. A well-thought-out plan should be made before procuring technology solutions of any kind. The unprecedented pandemic hit led companies to start hybrid work, where a large percent of the workforce does their job remotely. Similarly, virtual interactions, even on business levels, have become a common practice. Hence, the IT solutions providers started tailoring their products based on the need of businesses. The integration of AI, cloud computing, cyber security, remote work solutions, and customer engagement tools is essential for SMEs to strive for success. When it comes to procuring hardware solutions, SMEs should rely on robust and sturdy solutions to reduce down the situation and following business impact. The cost could be a major factor in the selection of hardware resources; however, reliability shouldn’t be questioned. Both open and closed sources have solid software programs to handle the entire enterprise activities. No matter what, adequate technical, installation, and training support should be demanded when it comes to choosing a vendor or system integrator. Here’s a list of a few solutions that SMEs should go for or strengthen to become competent in the market:  Enterprise  Hybrid-Work  Communication

14 OCTOBER 2021

“SMEs represent 87 percent of the companies in the UAE and constitute 86 percent of the private sector’s workforce.”

infrastructure in the UAE. However, it required more efficiency and better technological support Air freight: Most SMEs rely on air freight services, through which goods can travel almost two-thirds of the world population in eight hours from the UAE Sea freight: For transporting heavy and large quantities of goods, sea freight becomes the only option. Including several home-grown ones, there is a large number of logistics and shipping companies, DP World, Tristar Logistics, DSV, FedEx, DHL, Aramex, and Fetchr to name a few, operate in the UAE with tailored services for SMEs. Most of them offer road, air, and sea freight services. To conclude, the COVID-19 pandemic had a lot of lessons for the SME ecosystem that includes enterprises, solutions providers, financial institutions, and logistic companies. All of these sectors consistently need to exchange values for common good. Existence in these sorts of turbulent times is possible only when effective integration and communication happen!

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TECHNOLOGY

AI RACE

USE CASES, APPLICATIONS, AND EXAMPLES OF AI IN LOGISTICS PLANNING Logistics requires significant planning that requires coordinating suppliers, customers, and different units within the company. Machine learning solutions can facilitate planning activities as they are good at dealing with scenario analysis and numerical analytics, both of which are crucial for planning.

DEMAND FORECASTING AI capabilities enable organizations to use real-time data in their forecasting efforts. Therefore, AI-powered demand forecasting methods reduce error rates significantly compared to traditional forecasting methods such as ARIMA, AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average, and exponential smoothing methods.

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“The article was originally published on AIMultiple”

With improved accuracy in demand prediction, • manufacturers can better optimize the number of dispatched vehicles to local warehouses and reduce operational costs since they improve their manpower planning • local warehouses/ retailers can reduce the holding costs (opportunity cost of holding the item instead of investing the money elsewhere) • customers are less likely to experience stockouts that reduce customer satisfaction

SUPPLY PLANNING

Artificial intelligence is transforming all industries and logistics is one of them. Logistics is the management of the flow of products between different locations. A global network of suppliers and customers complicates logistics operations and logistics companies contain both easy to automate tasks and complex processes that can benefit from AI/machine learning algorithms.

Artificial intelligence help businesses analyze demand in real-time so that organizations update their supply planning parameters dynamically to optimize supply chain flow. With dynamic supply planning, businesses use fewer resources since dynamic planning minimizes waste.

What does AI mean for logistics companies? The technology offers a wide range of capabilities to logistics companies from autonomous machines to predictive analytics. According to Mckinsey research “AI adoption advances, but foundational barriers remain,” the logistics industry has adopted AI mostly for 4 business functions which are service operations, product and service development, marketing and sales, and supply chain management. These four business units cover 87% of AI adoption in logistics. Mckinsey estimates that logistics companies will generate $1.3-$2 trillion per year in economic value by adopting AI into their processes.

Warehouse robots are another AI technology that is invested heavily to enhance businesses’ supply chain management. The warehouse robotics market was valued at USD 2.28 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.8% between 2017 and 2022. For example, the retail giant Amazon has acquired Kiva Systems in 2012 and changed its name to Amazon Robotics in 2015. Today, Amazon has 200,000 robots working in their warehouses. In 26 of Amazon’s 175 fulfillment centers, robots helping humans for picking, sorting, transporting, and stowing packages.

What are the applications of AI in logistics?

16 OCTOBER 2021

WAREHOUSE ROBOTS

DAMAGE DETECTION/VISUAL INSPECTION Damaged products can lead to unsatisfied customers and churn. Computer vision technology enables

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businesses to identify damages. Businesses can determine the damage depth, the type of damage, and take action to reduce further damage.

PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE Predictive maintenance is predicting potential machine failures in the factory by analyzing real-time data collected from IoT sensors in machines. Machine learning-powered analytics tools enhance predictive analytics and identify patterns in sensor data so that technicians can take action before the failure occurs.

AUTONOMOUS THINGS Autonomous things are devices that work without human interaction with the help of AI. Autonomous things include self-driving vehicles, drones, and robotics. We should expect to see more autonomous devices in the logistics industry due to the industry’s suitability for AI.

SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES Self-driving cars have the potential to transform logistics by decreasing heavy dependence on human drivers. Technologies such as platooning support drivers’ health and safety while reducing carbon emission and fuel usage of vehicles. Tesla, Google, and Mercedes Benz are investing heavily in the concept of autonomous vehicles, it is only a matter of time before autonomous trucks are seen on roads around the world. However, according to BCG estimations, only around 10 % of light trucks will drive autonomously by 2030.

DELIVERY DRONES For the logistics of products, delivery drones are useful machines when businesses deliver products to places where ground transfer is not possible, safe, reliable, or sustainable. Especially in the healthcare industry where pharmaceutical products have a short shelf life span, delivery drones can help businesses reduce wastage costs and prevent investments for costly storage facilities.

ANALYTICS

AUTOMATING MANUAL OFFICE TASKS Hyperautomation, also referred to as intelligent business process automation, means using a combination of AI, robotic process automation (RPA), process mining, and other technologies to automate processes in an end-toend manner. With these technologies, businesses can automate several back-office tasks such as 1. Scheduling and tracking: AI systems can schedule transportation, organize pipelines for cargo, assign and manage various employees to particular stations, and track packages in the warehouse. 2. Report generation: Logistics companies can use RPA tools to auto-generate regular reports that are required to inform managers and ensure everyone in the company is aligned. RPA solutions can easily autogenerate reports, analyze their contents and based on the contents, email them to relevant stakeholders. 3. Invoice/bill of lading/rate sheet processing: These documents help communication between the buyers, suppliers, and logistics service providers. Document automation technologies can be used to increase the efficiency of processing these documents by automating data input, error reconciliation, and document processing. 4. Email processing: Based on contents in autogenerated reports, RPA bots can analyze the content and sends emails to relevant stakeholders. For more RPA and hyperautomation use cases for businesses’ back-office tasks, feel free to read our articles: • 60+ RPA applications • 10+ Hyperautomation applications • Supply chain automation

CUSTOMER SERVICE CHATBOT

DYNAMIC PRICING Dynamic pricing is real-time pricing where the price of a product responds to changes in demand, supply, competition price, subsidiary product prices. Pricing software mostly uses machine learning algorithms to analyze customers’ historical data in real-team so that it can respond to demand fluctuations faster with adjusting prices.

ROUTE OPTIMIZATION/FREIGHT MANAGEMENT AI models help businesses to analyze existing routing, track route optimization. Route optimization uses shortest path algorithms in graph analytics discipline to

identify the most efficient route for logistics trucks. Therefore, the business will be able to reduce shipping costs and speed up the shipping process. For example, Valerann‘s Smart Road System is an AI web-based traffic management platform that delivers information about road conditions to autonomous vehicles and users.

Customer service plays an important role in logistics companies since customers will contact companies for any issue they experience in delivery. Customer service chatbots are capable of handling low-to-medium call center tasks such as: • requesting a delivery • amending an order • tracking shipment • responding to a FAQ Chatbots are also valuable tech to analyze customer experience, chatbot analytics metrics enable businesses to understand their customers better so that they can enhance the customer journey they deliver.

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OCTOBER 2021 17

TECHNOLOGY

AI RACE

TECHNOLOGY

AI RACE

ETIHAD PARTNERS WITH MICROSOFT TO ADVANCE ITS TECH CAPABILITIES

EMITAC-GOCHECK PARTNERSHIP FOR AN AI-POWERED VISION SCREENING APP FOR CHILDREN

tihad Airways announces the launch of the next phase of digital transformation for its finance division, which will leverage Microsoft AI to automate its bank-reconciliation process. Etihad said in an official release “The move will address the increasing demand for improvement in productivity and operational effectiveness in the post-COVID era.” Etihad is aiming to make significant gains on efficiency by implementing the solution, as well as reducing the risk of human errors given a large number of transactions and manual reconciliation tasks currently in scope. “The pandemic has created more demand for digital transformation. However, the ability to execute on this has really rested on having the right people and technology partners in place – this is where Etihad has been exceptionally well-positioned” said Adam Boukadida, Chief Financial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group. This latest initiative follows Etihad’s successful deployment of Microsoft AI capabilities to support automated payment inspection earlier this year and is part of a continued partnership between the two entities in driving the adoption of AI across the company. Massimo Melessaccio, MEA CFO for Microsoft said, “Digital transformation in finance has become more and more a necessity to overcome many of the challenges we currently face as finance leaders. It was my pleasure to kick off the discussions around such collaboration between Etihad Airways and Microsoft.” Microsoft celebrates the second anniversary of the opening of its UAE data centers. Since entering service, the large IT corporation concentrated on dynamic digitization business continuity tasks for several enterprises across industries.

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mitac Healthcare Solutions announced its partnership with the U.S. digital health company GoCheck to bring to the UAE a smartphone-enabled, integrated vision screening application for the detection of vision abnormalities in children. Emitac Healthcare said in a statement that the distribution partnership will strengthen its portfolio of cutting-edge screening applications and add value to its vision and mission to transform care delivery through costeffective digital technologies. “Our partnership with GoCheck will enable us to reinforce the company’s mission to offer clinical innovation through new technology. Partnering with GoCheck will bring value and strength to the pediatric healthcare sector,” said Mr. Mohd Kenanah, CEO of Emitac Healthcare Solutions. GoCheck Kids is used by over 6,500 pediatric care teams in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East as part of the routine health checkup for children and in vision screening programs conducted within primary care centers and schools. Kevon Saber, Chief Executive Officer of GoCheck said, “Smart technologies and an IOS modern operating system help pediatric healthcare providers detect diseases in advance.” An office release claimed, “the use of photo screeners is recommended by various medical societies including the American Academy of Pediatrics because traditional vision screening methods such as Snellen charts have zero positive predictive value among pre-school children.”

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TECHNOLOGY

SME FOCUS

EMIRATES NBD’S “GET TOGETHER. GO CONTACTLESS” RECORDS OVER 34M TRANSACTIONS

mirates NBD, a leading banking Group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey) region, has recorded 34 million contactless transactions in eight weeks as part of its “Get Together. Go Contactless” campaign. The campaign's success builds on the bank's continued efforts to encourage and accelerate the use of contactless payments. Emirates NBD's campaign, which ran earlier in the year in partnership with global digital payments leader Visa, rewarded customers for making the transition to contactless transactions and adopting different contactless payment methods. The three lucky customers who won BMW 520i’s through the campaign were Mr. Hamad Mohamed Abdulla Ahmad, Mr. Kareem Ahmed Mohammed Abdou Maduor, and Mr. Saleh Omran Mohammed Al Khayal Alteneiji. The campaign offered customers the opportunity to earn entries every time they made a contactless payment using their Emirates NBD Visa Debit or Credit Card and enter a mega draw to win exciting prizes. At Emirates NBD, contactless payments now make up 88% of all face-to-face card payment transactions. The bank saw contactless payment transactions, which include

contactless card and mobile wallet-based payments rise by 59% year-on-year in 2020. Mobile wallet-based payments more than doubled during the period, while card tap and gobased payments increased by about half. The bank also saw e-commerce transactions increasing by 25% in 2020 over the previous year.

AVEVA AND SCHNEIDER PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER END-TO-END INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

AVEVA, a leader in industrial software, entered a distributor partnership agreement with Schneider Electric, the solutions provider in the digital transformation of energy management and automation. The combined strength of this partnership hoping to enable organizations on their journey to industry 4.0 through digitization and meet their end-to-end digital transformation requirements

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holistically. Through its specialized systems integrators, Schneider Electric will deliver AVEVA's comprehensive industrial automation software suite. The companies will extend this partnership to the greater India region including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Commenting on the partnership, Abis Zaidi, Head of Partners, Greater India Region, AVEVA, said, “Our distribution agreement with Schneider Electric supports this overarching goal and empowers customers to advance their digital agendas. Schneider Electric’s robust ecosystem of system integrators providing broad coverage across all geographies and verticals will help us to jointly address the unique requirements of regional customers.” Schneider Electric will support www.VARonline.com

its channel partners to promote AVEVA offerings through in-depth training and enablement sessions, certifications, incentivized programs, value-added services, dedicated channel workshops, and roadshows. The company will focus on upskilling its system integrators on AVEVA’s leading-edge software solutions and offer comprehensive lead generation and implementation support for its partners across verticals. The combined partnership aims to provide a complete portfolio of digital transformative solutions for the end-user to expedite their digital journeys across energy management, automation systems, and services. Schneider Electric will assist AVEVA customers in optimizing these solutions so that they may successfully update their operations and ensure business continuity.

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TECHNOLOGY

GITEX FOCUS

ARUBA RETURNS TO GITEX 2021 UNDER THE THEME, “YOUR JOURNEY. YOUR EDGE”

EPSON AT GITEX: SWITCH TO SMART AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

ith a range of solutions created for corporate, retail, immersive, and education sectors, Epson plans to showcase smart, sustainable switches at GITEX Technology Week 2021. The leading solutions manufacturer is all set to give interactive experiences to visitors besides displaying its solutions in the stand, H4D20, at the GITEX venue. “Whether it’s delivering an optimal hybrid learning or working environment, or the most dynamic immersive entertainment experience, Epson aims to enhance how the region’s companies drive their business dynamically,” said Jason McMillan, Sales Director, Epson-Middle East. Jacob Chacko Regional Director, Aruba

ruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, returns to GITEX Technology Week, exhibiting under the theme “Your Journey. Your Edge.” In its 12th appearance at the event, the company will demonstrate how organizations in the Middle East can leverage Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform) to prepare for a postpandemic world of hybrid working, digital-first experiences, and hyper-aware facilities. Commenting on the company’s participation at GITEX, Jacob Chacko, Regional Director - the Middle East, Saudi & South Africa said, “GITEX, with its position as the Middle East’s largest tech exhibition and networking platform, is the perfect venue for us to showcase our technology in simple, yet innovative ways. Our solutions address the specific needs and imperatives of different industries and create value through transformed customer experiences and accelerated financial outcomes.” Aruba will be exhibiting from stand number H7-A1, at GITEX. At the event, the company will demonstrate its latest technologies addressing the digital transformation needs of regional enterprises including: • Edge transformation in action • Unified Infrastructure. • Edge-to-cloud security • AIOps • As-a-service

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Here’s a list of solutions that Epson presents during GITEX: Business solutions: Interactive display solutions, such as projectors and visualizers, for physical distancing in meeting rooms and more engaging presentations for remote workers. Retail solutions: Epson offers several products such as TM-m30II-S mPOS devices and ColorWorks C6000 label printers that can transform point-of-sale and customer experiences, improve brand communication, and reduce cost and paper waste in the process. Epson will also display digital signage solutions and projectors. Education solutions: Epson’s simple educational switches include interactive display solutions, education document cameras, inkjet printers, and scanning solutions for an optimal learning environment. Home solutions: Epson will also launch scalable and cost-effective streaming solutions for home viewing and gaming experiences, as part of compact and affordable home solutions. Sustainability: The ‘Turn Down the Heat’ campaign, a collaboration between Epson and National Geographic, aims to encourage and raise awareness of how businesses can reduce their impact on global warming and will also be activated at the stand.

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SAMBANOVA AT GITEX: THE MOST ADVANCED SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, AND SERVICES FOR AI

MINDWARE AT GITEX: “BUSINESS CONTINUITY” INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

Nicholas Argyrides General Manager

Christopher Kenny General Manager, SambaNova International

ambaNova Systems, the company building advanced software, hardware, and services to run AI applications, announces that it will be attending GITEX Technology Week 2021 as part of the company’s goal to expand Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning adoption in the Middle East and around the world. GITEX attendees can find the SambaNova team at booth H7-E45. The software enterprise will introduce its state-ofthe-art offering, Dataflow-as-a-Service to the region, enabling businesses to jumpstart AI innovations, furthering AI and ML advancement in the Middle East. SambaNova’s next-generation approach to AI combines unique chip architecture, hardware, and software enabling businesses to run best-in-class AI. “The Middle East is an extremely innovative and ambitious area of the world and we are excited to connect with these leaders and share how AI can provide unmatched value to their businesses,” said Christopher Kenny, SambaNova International General Manager of Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia.” SambaNova’s flagship offering, Datalow-as-aService, is an extensible AI services platform, enables organizations to jump-start AI initiatives overnight by augmenting existing capabilities and staffing with a simple subscription. The platform is powered by DataScale, an integrated software, and hardware platform delivering unrivaled performance, accuracy, scale, and ease of use built on SambaNova’s Systems Reconfigurable Dataflow Architecture.

indware, one of the leading regional IT Value-Added Distributors in the MEA region, announces its presence at GITEX Technology Week. The company’s participation will be centered around the theme of “business continuity” to help partners and their customers endure the current challenging environment, identify market opportunities, and eventually emerge stronger out of the pandemic era. Mr. Nicholas Argyrides, General Manager - Gulf says, “As businesses embrace the hybrid workplace model in the light of the pandemic, technology firms have clearly adapted to the requirements of this new environment by focusing on security, connectivity, and accessibility. This has created new demand streams and, undeniably, new opportunities for all of us in the channel.” Mindware hints announcing an extensive array of distribution agreements that the company has signed over the last year at the event. The distributor is also excited about the recent extension of operations into the African continent following the merging of three Midis Group subsidiaries into Mindware. Mindware will be exhibiting at GITEX stand H3-D1, Hall 3.

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OCTOBER 2021 23

TECHNOLOGY

GITEX FOCUS

SME INTERVIEW

MUSAFIR

“MUSAFIR BUSINESS”- SEAMLESSLY HANDLING CORPORATE TRAVEL Musafir.com is one of the leading travel websites, which has a solid presence in the UAE, India, and Qatar. Musafir’s co-founder Sachin Gadoya speaks to The Integrator about Musafir Business, a platform that facilitates business trips for SMEs. onboarding process, our operations team simultaneously starts negotiations with our airline partners based on the requirements of the corporate client. This ensures that once the onboarding is through our travel consultants are ready to meet the client’s needs seamlessly from day one.

Sachin Gadoya Co-Founder, Musafir.com

We are excited to hear about Musafir Business, the corporate travel platform you created for businesses. Give us an overview: Musafir Business allows SMEs and large enterprises to organize yearround trips for their entire workforce. It is an automated system that gives individual corporate employees options to book hotels, flights, and transfers, with utmost transparency. There is flexibility built into the system to allow for approvals and to change or cancel the itinerary. We established the platform to simplify the process and eliminate unnecessary records, receipts, and emails. All travel requirements are saved and accessible on Musafir Business, meaning corporates can save up to 20 percent on annual travel expenses. What category of businesses do you focus on and how does the process take place? We focus on SMEs and large-scale corporates that seek cost savings and transparency in their corporate travel. While our sales team handles the

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What has made you identify the need for a platform like Musafir Business? We understood that there was a real need for a platform like Musafir Business when we did our research and it dawned on us that a majority of UAE-based corporations deal with a lot of back and forth from travel agents. This seemed extremely inefficient and we knew that the whole process could definitely be made smoother with the simple use of technology. We have a robust network of airline partners, hotels, and holiday suppliers - so, really it was only a matter of time before we took the learnings from the gap in the market to provide a simple and seamless platform that focuses on super-saver policies, paperless approvals and puts the traveler first. We started the platform in the UAE and expanded to Qatar and India. We are planning to expand the platform for customers across the GCC soon. How do you think the SME sector handled the pandemic? The COVID-19 pandemic created distress in every business in the Middle East and globally. Travel Tech SMEs were particularly hardhit during the early stages of the pandemic but overall tech companies are adaptable and flexible. We cut costs and continued to invest time and effort into our technology. Fortunately, the UAE government handled the pandemic well and so we www.VARonline.com

were lucky to be an open nation with travel and tourism options. The pace is only increasing with events like Dubai Expo 2020 and corporate travel increasing. How do you observe the growth of SMEs in the UAE? Luckily in a country like the UAE, SME growth is always encouraged and supported. With the EXPO 2020, the SME sector has only received a better boost. The location of the UAE is as close to perfect as it gets. With a central location that connects Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, and the relative ease of doing business, a lot of entrepreneurs like myself are coming forth to establish their centers here. Share the business goals of Musafir for the coming years The business goals are simple - lead, expand and adapt. We envision Musafir and Musafir Business to lead corporate and consumer travel throughout GCC and parts of Africa. Today’s customer needs are so dynamic that we are constantly on our toes looking for ways to adapt and meet the expectations of our customers through outstanding services. Would you share about any business challenges you face(d)? The travel restrictions brought on by the pandemic were the major challenge we have faced for more than a year. We aren’t worried about our competitors, we have been building loyalty for years and know the needs of our corporate travelers and consumers but yes, the way forward is clearer now that the country has opened up and that will definitely bring its own set of challenges that we are more than ready to face.

PORT DESIGNS UNDERSTANDS CHANGING NEEDS AND EVOLVES TO MEET EXPECTATIONS Port Designs is one of the world’s leading players in manufacturing luggage and accessories for technology products. It distributes in more than 60 countries worldwide. Aloysius Dlima, Sales Manager, MEA and INDIA, speaks about the strategies Port Design had taken up to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the entire travel industry. How did Port Design (re)strategize the baggage and accessory business during these turbulent years? Port Designs did anticipate the COVID-19 pandemic impact quite early, by having a contingency strategy, support with our factories, and strong long-standing partners over decades. It has been beneficial for us to rationalize our business by producing key products in more volume to reach a scale economy on the market. We had to “hit the spot” so to say, with the change from working from office to working from home that introduced a flexible working culture. The example is given by ergonomics range or the desktop connectivity range for accessory business or new eco range as far as the baggage is concerned. Describe your product line-up including the custommade ones for businesses We have been recognized traditionally for our carry cases and our motto "Carry and Protect.” However, in the last decade, we have added into our portfolio accessories, which has been hugely successful with our Global corporate partners. The pandemic simply accelerated our plans on expansion for our range – specifically the Ergonomics and connectivity ranges. We introduced ergonomic products, suitable for home and office, guided by professionals in the health industry, to help with long hours at the desk. Within connectivity, we developed and delivered options of docking stations along with multiple accessories for Home Office culture. Which are the channels Port Design uses to operate the business (online/offline)? Also briefly tell us your channel strategies From a global perspective, Port Designs has been recognized as a leader in both retail and corporate channels where we can provide the specifics solutions at an IT’ strategic level whatever the size of the business. In the Middle East, we have been strong in retail since we started. We started the corporate channel in 2017 and it has been extremely good for us. We have used our Global partnerships within the Banking, Consulting, Insurance, and education channels while starting up new partnerships with the Transport and Public sectors. One of our major partners in the region remains the

Aloysius Dlima Sales Manager, MEA & India, Port Designs

Telecom industry and National Airline industry. Give us some insights into your concept of “Desktop Replacement” and its outcome As Port Designs, we have always looked to evolve to provide solutions to our customers’ requirements. We started with a huge range of carrying cases for all devices, our USP – “A designs studio in France to create options for personalization to customers,” along with our “Carry and Protect” quality. With requests from our global partners, we ventured into a new very crowded vertical of accessories, but we did differentiate immediately, with quality and range accepted by our corporate partners. This rolled out and became part of our ever-evolving portfolio. With the Pandemic once again the world changed, and Port Designs did what we do best, “evolve.” We made sure our partners had every possible option to fit into the new Flex & Home office trend.

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OCTOBER 2021 25

INTERVIEW

PORT DESIGNS

SME INTERVIEW

BAYT.com

BAYT’S AI-BASED TOOLS MAKE TALENT SEARCH AND RECRUITMENT EASIER THAN

ayt.com is a leading and award-winning job search platform in the Middle East and North Africa regions. Besides posting thousands of job vacancies daily, the web portal offers tools for employers to find the right candidate for the positions. Nauman Mian, Chief Financial Officer at Bayt.com responds to The Integrator’s questions on AI-based CV search, evolved recruitment process, and opportunities for SMEs to hire suitable candidates.

Nauman Mian Chief Financial Officer, Bayt.com

SMEs create opportunities and enable consistent talent movement in the UAE economy and elsewhere in the world. What role does Bayt.com play in facilitating these? When it comes to hiring top talent, there are a lot of things to think about. Where to source CVs, how to write a job description, what steps should the recruitment process include, what tools to use to promote the job and attract candidates, and how much money should be spent on hiring. Small and medium enterprises can sometimes be limited on the resources they allocate towards recruitment, especially in difficult economic periods (like the current COVID-19 phase). That’s why Bayt.com introduced free job postings last year. The job posting initiative grants companies globally access to Bayt’s CV database of more than 40,000,000 and offers several new benefits for employers including: • Free employment advertising opportunities • Access to applicants’ profiles and unlimited CV views • The ability to instantly contact job applicants via phone number, email, and messaging

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• • •

The ability to receive alerts every time a new candidate applies to the job Access to automated screening filters to enhance the applicant matching process We also offer different packages that are customized specifically for small businesses.

Speak about Bayt’s employer base and what makes the platform unique for employers, who wants to hire the right candidates? At Bayt.com, technology has always been the core of our mission as a company. We constantly seek to provide effective tools and information to make it easier for employers to hire top talent. Because of this, we launched a revamped version of our CV Search technology using artificial intelligence (AI). CV Search, already used by over 40,000 employers, now delivers even speedier and more accurate hiring results. With billions of data points available for employers, the new CV Search uses AI to effectively help employers conduct relevant searches. For instance, if an employer enters a search keyword such as “lawyer”, the system is

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smart enough to also look for other relevant job titles or skills automatically, such as “attorney”, “legal consultant.” This ensures that employers see all relevant CVs, and not just specific ones that use the exact keyword. On top of that, the smarter CV Search automatically applies word corrections and understands unclear search terms. The system learns from itself to produce the most relevant candidates. Moreover, employers can use our Job Postings tool to reach 10+ million monthly job seekers and receive instant auto-screened applicants. Can you briefly explain the job posting plans that small businesses can utilize at Bayt? We currently offer a low-cost package for small businesses which allows them to contact up to 10 candidates, post up to 3 jobs and search CVs for 150$ only per month. They can add on to the package by spending a little more. Speak about the recruitment solutions offered by Bayt. com. Searching, screening, and hiring great employees using Bayt.com is very easy. We provide companies with several recruitment tools that are highly advanced and powered by artificial intelligence. Bayt.com also offers employers access to the largest database of CVs in the Gulf, the Middle East, and North Africa region (over 40,000,000 CVs). Employers can access these hiring solutions to find great employees: • Job postings to advertise their vacancies and to receive many relevant applicants. • CV Search to find their ideal candidate from a large CV database. • Source2Hire to request assisted recruitment services from our talent sourcing experts. Tell us about other value-addition programs that Bayt runs to keep employers and candidates intact? Bayt.com can also support companies’ hiring process through an applicant tracking system (Talentera), various talent assessments and testing tools (Evalufy), as well as an employee onboarding platform (AfterHire). Talentera: A powerful recruitment solution and applicant tracking system that creates and powers attractive career portals. It's a comprehensive system that provides companies with effective tools to manage their recruitment pipelines such as applicant tracking, interview scheduling, task management, requisition workflows, social recruiting, job marketing tools, dedicated recruitment agency modules, and recruitment analytics. Evalufy: A video assessment platform. With this platform, companies across the world can streamline various stages of the recruitment and candidate

screening processes through customizable, videobased assessments, all while reducing the time and cost of hiring. Instead of screening candidates through assessment centers, screening phone calls, or other traditional methods, organizations that are seeking to hire have the option of using video assessments with Evalufy. AfterHire: A fully automated platform to revolutionize employee onboarding and engagement. This configurable platform is specifically built and designed using cutting-edge technology with the intention of revolutionizing the painstaking process of talent onboarding, and ensuring that newly hired talent is efficiently assimilated to the company and fully productive in their new job roles. AfterHire can be used by employers as a tool to reduce effort, time, and cost spent on manual and decentralized employee onboarding efforts. What sorts of financial and administrative hurdles could a business overcome when choosing Bayt.com for recruitments? We have many hiring solutions that support companies of all sizes, needs, and budgets. Our solutions include monthly small business subscriptions and even free hiring tools. We understand that cost is an important factor in the recruitment process. That’s why all of our hiring technologies are designed to maximize ROI by giving companies plenty of choices, speed, and ease of use. We want to ensure employers can reduce the cost per hire at their company, which is why we work with them to understand their individual needs and provide them with the most cost-effective hiring plans. Briefly tell us about the track record of success that Bayt.com obtained in these years Bayt.com was created in 2000 with the mission of empowering people with the tools and information to build their lifestyle of choice. Today, Bayt.com operates out of 12 offices with over 40 million professionals and over 40,000 organizations using our recruitment platform across all industry categories and career levels. Over the years, we have won numerous awards of recognition, including the "Leading E-Commerce Website in the Pan Arab Region" by the Pan Arab Web Awards (2007), the "Company of the Year" award by the TECOM Investments Pearl Awards (2009), SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards (2011), and many more. Yet, one of our core values as an organization is “Strive to be the best”, and we are constantly striving to do better and better by reaching every single member of the workforce and becoming a global provider of AIpowered recruitment solutions that take every business and organization from brand building to onboarding.

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OCTOBER 2021 27

SME INTERVIEW

BAYT.com

INTERVIEW

NUTANIX

NUTANIX COMES UP WITH “CLOUD ON YOUR TERMS” THEME FOR GITEX Nutanix is a cloud computing company that sells software, cloud services, and software-defined storage. Aaron White, Sr. Sales Director, speaks to The Integrator on Nutanix’s participation at GITEX and exhibits under the theme “Cloud on Your Terms.”

Aaron White Sr. Sales Director, Nutanix

What makes GITEX Technology Week 2021 exciting? This year the event is even more exciting for us. Not only are we back in-person, but GITEX will be held just three weeks after Expo 2020 opens its doors to the world. With the Expo being a much-anticipated global event for Dubai, we are expecting a high percentage of new trade visitors at GITEX this year – which is exciting! What are the reasons your company is exhibiting at GITEX and what do you aim to achieve at the show? Nutanix has been exhibiting at GITEX for several years. For the safety of our customers and employees, we decided to only exhibit virtually in 2020, but are very excited to be back for the live event this year. GITEX has always been an event we admire – in the past, thousands of visitors have stepped through its doors from all parts of the world. The UAE’s government’s digital vision and presence at the show, make it an incredible opportunity to connect with our relevant stakeholders. Our expectations from the show always remain the same. Connect with our customers, collaborate with our key alliances and partners, and showcase Nutanix’s latest technology innovations. We have seen considerable ROI in the past, but more importantly, we really appreciate the value it brings to our brand in terms of exposure.

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What will be your key message at this year’s show and what products will Nutanix showcase? Nutanix will exhibit under the theme “Cloud on Your Terms.” We will showcase our beautiful stand H6-C30, which has been designed to be inviting, safe, and open space for great conversations. In addition to meeting rooms, there will be a live studio featured as well. The technology spotlight will be on Nutanix’s simple, flexible, and cost-efficient platform - one that offers freedom of choice and enables true hybrid and multicloud computing. Nutanix will showcase three main solution categories – Cloud (Private or Hybrid), End-User Computing, and Databases. These technologies are designed to work holistically together to build a resilient IT infrastructure for organizations. They have security in their DNA, simplicity at their core, and flexibility to ensure the customer always has the power of choice. In June this year, the firm was named by Gartner, Inc. as a 2021 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Hyperconverged Infrastructure. This is the third year that Nutanix has been recognized as a Customers’ Choice vendor in this space. The company prides itself on having a 97% customer satisfaction rate, and an NPS score above 90. We will be announcing some key developments with our company’s alliance partners during GITEX. Company executives are keen to discuss the recent exciting partnership with RedHat, the world's leading provider of open-source solutions. The collaboration between the two vendors enables customers to more easily build, scale, and manage containerized and virtualized cloud-native applications. The expanded partnership with HPE, in response to the increased demand for hybrid cloud, will be another area of focus. The two companies now offer Nutanix Era (a database management solution) bundled with HPE ProLiant servers, as a service through HPE GreenLake. Part of the discussions will be around new solutions that will soon be launched in the next few months. The company will be introducing strengthened ransomware protection features. Nutanix Clusters, a true hybrid cloud solution, has been released on AWS and is set to have worldwide availability on Azure very soon.

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INTERVIEW

ARUBA

ARUBA ENDORSES EDGE TRANSFORMATION AND UNIFIED INFRASTRUCTURE Aruba is a Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) company that provides secure edge-to-cloud networking solutions and AI-based services to businesses in the verticals of IT, education, healthcare, etc. Jacob Chacko, Regional Director, Aruba talks to The Integrator about the signature products of Aruba that are being presented at GITEX. What are your observations on GITEX 2021? GITEX, with its position as the Middle East’s largest tech exhibition and networking platform, is the perfect venue for us to showcase our technology in simple, yet innovative ways. Our solutions address the specific needs and imperatives of different industries and create value through transformed customer experiences and accelerated financial outcomes. We constantly strive to build loyalty among our customers as well as channel partners (including distributors), and events like GITEX go a long way in helping us do that. Building relationships through face-to-face interactions is the secret to business success in the Middle East. Ever since the pandemic started in early 2020, we haven’t really been able to have those kinds of quality, personalized interactions. So, we are excited at the prospect of getting back to an in-person event like GITEX where we can have one-to-one meetings with customers and partners, and infuse them with excitement about our innovative technologies, as well as discuss our company roadmap and direction that is shaping the future of the networking industry. What are the key highlights of your participation at this year’s GITEX? Aruba will be exhibiting under the theme “Your Journey. Your Edge.” Today, more data than ever is generated at the Edge. Legacy networks are unable to cope with the massive amounts of data and decisions required in near real-time. Network architecture needs to utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) in order to be predictive. That’s where Aruba ESP comes in. It is the industry’s first platform with an AI-powered “sixth sense.” The solution is designed to unify, automate, and secure the Intelligent Edge and help organizations harness its immense potential. Aruba will demonstrate its latest technologies addressing the digital transformation needs of regional enterprises including: • Edge transformation in action: New Aruba ESP use cases will be demonstrated across healthcare, education,

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hospitality, finance, manufacturing and retail. • Unified Infrastructure: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation but created operational complexity for businesses. The company will showcase how its unified network simplifies network operations and boosts IT agility. • Edge-to-cloud security: More remote workers mean more applications in the cloud. Aruba will discuss starting a SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) journey with WAN and security transformation. • AIOps: Event attendees can discover Aruba network’s sixth sense – one that automatically monitors and fixes Wi-Fi, wired and SD-WAN environments. • As-a-service: Aruba executives will explain the company’s flexible consumption and financing options, to easily deploy new networking technologies in times of change. An area of focus for the company at GITEX will be on its EdgeConnect platform – an SD-WAN edge solution. The technology is built for today’s edge-to-cloud enterprise and delivers the highest quality of experience for users and IT, no matter where applications reside. Aruba enables enterprises to build a modern WAN that drives maximum value from cloud and digital transformation initiatives with a self-driving network that learns and adapts to the needs of the business. Aruba will also showcase the company’s 630 Series Access Points (APs) – the industry’s first enterprisegrade Wi-Fi 6E solution. The benefits of Wi-Fi 6E are clear and, alongside other important networking advancements, it is set to enable businesses to become more connected than ever before. Aruba’s WiFi 6E technology will enable businesses to dispense with sluggish connections and poor user experiences, and replace them with powerful, high-speed networks. With organizations looking to lower their risk during uncertain times, Aruba executives are keen to discuss Aruba as-a-service and Aruba network as a service (NaaS) options that offer business and IT leaders greater visibility, control, and flexibility across hardware, software, and management operations. The pay-as-

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you-go budgeting model respects today’s organizational imperative of guarding the bottom line. What is Aruba’s value proposition to regional businesses? The Hybrid Workplace is the future and this requires network intelligence and cloud-native capabilities to keep workers safe and productive. Below are some of the imperatives of a hybrid workplace that Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform) addresses: • Extend the network to the home – The IT department ships an Access Point (AP) to the employee’s home; the employee plugs it in, downloads a configuration from the cloud, and they’re all set. Centrally managed access credentials map to corporate policies to keep the network secure. And it’s all centralized managed from the cloud—IT gets full visibility and AIOps assisted troubleshooting from anywhere • Reinforce in-office social distancing - As employees return to the office, it’s important for facilities to be able to modify floorplans based on foot traffic or to change cleaning schedules based on density. With Aruba WLAN’s built-In network intelligence and location-aware capabilities, it’s easy to use density mapping to keep the workplace safe. • Minimize risk with contact tracing - Aruba’s network-based approach uses both proximity and location telemetry to perform contact and location tracing, and the advanced AI capabilities ensure pinpoint accuracy so you’re able to see which people intersected and the exact location of the interaction. • Flexible financing and consumption - It’s now more important than ever to keep financial and consumption flexibility top of mind. Aruba as-a-service options allow you to respond to rapidly changing business requirements, manage tight budgets, and easily deploy the latest networking technologies. Aruba has repeatedly been recognized by third party analysts as a leader in Wi-Fi 6, switching, SDBranch, and a visionary in Data Center networking. The world’s largest companies rely on us to provide a secure, AI-powered edge services platform that spans across campus, branch, data center, and remote working environments. Aruba has been at the forefront of innovation since its start, and has continued to make significant investments to deliver Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform), the first platform that goes well beyond conventional network management to provide AI-powered operations, provisioning, orchestration, security, and location services from the cloud. Combining over 18 years of proven wired and wireless network expertise with modeling telemetry data from over one million wired, wireless and SD-WAN devices, Aruba AI can identify anomalies and provide prescriptive

Jacob Chacko Regional Director, Aruba

"Our solutions address the specific needs and imperatives of different industries and create value through transformed customer experiences and accelerated financial outcomes."

recommendations that network administrators can trust. No other networking vendor has this level of AI expertise. Aruba as-a-service provides options for financial and consumption flexibility across hardware, software, and management operations. Flexible financing options include leasing, deferred payment, and buy-back programs for unlocking sunk costs. Consumption options include SaaS and NaaS solutions offered in simple pay-as-you-go subscriptions.

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INTERVIEW

ARUBA

INTERVIEW

Trigon

TURNKEY SOLUTIONS AND AFTER-SALES SERVICES MAKE DISTRIBUTION THRIVE Trigon LLC, an Al Ghurair Group Company, is a front runner in the distribution of professional displays and AV integration in the UAE. Trigon is associated with leading brands and serves commercial customers across the middle east. Vijay Thekkoot, Assistant Vice President, Trigon interacts with The Integrator on various dimensions of distribution and the company’s association with small and large enterprises in the UAE.

What categories of IT products does Trigon LLC mostly distribute to the enterprises? We are the authorized distributor for esteemed brands like LG, Samsung, BenQ, D-Link, Netgear, Peoplelink, Logic, Barco, etc. We focus on distributing large-scale infrastructure solutions, commercial display devices for various industry verticals, educational hardware, and healthcare solutions. Tell us a bit about Trigon’s association with the small, medium, and large enterprises in the region Trigon LLC functions as a part of Al Ghurair Group. Offering excellent solutions over these years, the company has been gained a commendable position in business-to-business distribution. We cater for all major industry verticals and our customer base is spread across government, SMEs, large corporates, transportation companies, and retail enterprises. We have our forte in turnkey solutions, which gave our partners the confidence to execute a project like EXPO 2020. We supplied and installed LEDs and other displays devices from LG across the EXPO site, both indoor and out-door. We undertake their maintenance as well. Trigon will set up a branch in Abu Dhabi that enables us to serve Abu Dhabi customers more efficiently. Apart from end-to-end IT distribution, we understand Trigon offers service support to its customers. How comprehensive is that? We have a dedicated team to handle services, maintenance, and repairs for all the solutions distributed under Trigon LLC brand portfolio. With a dedicated service center based out of Dubai, Trigon gives comprehensive services across the country. Similarly, we deployed a team for annual maintenance contracts (AMC) for leading clients, such as Dubai Airport, EXPO 2020, and Dubai Mall. How competent you are, as a solutions provider, in terms of supplying the latest and cutting-edge technologies to enterprises from its associated vendor

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Vijay Thekkoot Assistant Vice President, Trigon

partners? We offer a wide range of turnkey solutions for digital signage and related professional displays from global brands. The solutions incorporate consultancy, integration, installation, maintenance, and after-sales support. For video-conferencing solutions, we rely on Peoplelink solutions and for wall-mount solutions, we choose Logic. As we know the GITEX trade show is around the corner. How does Trigon plan to present its brand and solutions to its (potential) customers through the event? Trigon isn’t participating in GITEX, this year as we have some pre-planned engagements. We join hands with our vendors and planning to have business meet and training for our customers. We also have a plan to invite our customers to the LG experience center in Media City to show our latest and innovative products and solutions.

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INTERVIEW

AOC

PHILIPS, AOC MONITORS MEET ALL YOUR COMMERCIAL DISPLAY AND GAMING NEEDS TPV Technology is a multinational electronics manufacturing company. TPV designs and produces a full range of CRT and TFT LCD monitors as well as LCD TVs and it owns brands such as AOC, Envision, and Philips. The Integrator interviews Carol Anne Dias, Regional Sales Director – MEA at TPV Technology. made programs for our SME and channel partners. Segregating categories into B2B, gaming, entry displays, and our PD range so there is a better focus on products. We have a dedicated “sell-through team” handling direct sales in the SME market along with our distribution teams. We cater to smaller resellers with different programs, so as not to leave out our partners from every angle. Carol Anne Dias Regional Sales Director – MEA, TPV Technology

Speak about the unique products of AOC, Philips for the consumer and business-centric market At TPV Technology, we offer the full range of AOC & Philips monitors to meet the needs of our consumers at every level. Be it gaming, go green, touch, privacy, or wide screens for professionals and businesses, we have the right specifications. Philips monitors meet the needs of today’s dynamic and polyvalent professionals with a wide array of innovative solutions designed to maximize productivity, deliver true-tolife visuals, enhance well-being, and safeguard the environment. AOC Monitors focus on professional display needs. With full-HD IPS and dynamic design, 24V2Q gives business professionals an enhanced experience. The model has also won Consumer Choice Award for its slim profile. What sorts of concentration and association TPV-Tech has with SMEs and large enterprises? We closely work and design tailor-

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Are you planning to present products or solutions at the GITEX Technology Week? If so, which are they? This year our focus is to launch the Philips gaming range and that’s now available in retail stores. Focusing on detail features, such as the momentum display boasts sound by legendary audio experts Bowers & Wilkins, create a new level console gaming monitor with a 55’’ 4K HDR display with ambiglow. This will be our flagship product (558M1RY) rolling out big at the GITEX Technology Week with our partners. Tell us about the high-end AOC gaming monitors and their demand As known AOC gaming bagged the No. 1 position as per IDC in one quarter. From there on, there has been a high demand for AOC gaming monitors especially in the 27’’ and above. 2021 Qtr 2 as per IDC AOC split is almost 28% market share in 27’’ and above. Our flagship model AOC Porsche design PD27 is our unique display created for a perfectionist with QHD 2560x1440 with superior picture quality. The PD27 has a 27-inch 1000r curvature display that comes with a QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution www.VARonline.com

along with a 240Hz refresh rate, and HDR 400. It offers multiple video inputs ranging from HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 with support for adaptive sync. Users longing for the roar of the flat six-boxer engines in racing games will appreciate the 5W stereo speakers with DTS sound. How do you evaluate TPV-Tech’s business prospects for the next five years? Researchers predict that the global display market will hit a whopping figure of $206.29 billion by 2025. In light of this, we foresee it as below: • Looking to the future of the workplace many factors will change the way we work. One of the most important when it comes to technology is the display. We have already seen trends such as large display formats, slim borders, borderless, curved, 4k resolutions, touch screens, and so on • In the next coming years, we will see display screens incorporating trends such as visual/augmented reality (VR/AR) allowing users to view, move around, and interact with 3D displays • 8K displays will allow larger screens without pixelation • Transparent, flexible, and foldable - Ideal for meeting and conference rooms • Eye-tracking: Like mobile phones, displays will have an eye-tracking feature for security • AI will be incorporated into display screens, which will allow consumers to automatically be informed on suggestions on how to improve time and operate as your personal assistant

INTERVIEW

LOGITECH

VIDEO COLLABORATION TOOLS TO KEEP TEAMS CONNECTED AND COLLABORATE EFFECTIVELY Logitech is one of the world's leading manufacturers of input and interface devices for personal computers (PCs) and other digital products. Loubna Imenchal, Head of Video Collaboration, Africa, Middle East, Turkey, and Central Asia, Logitech discusses key trends in video collaboration and the company’s plans for GITEX with The Integrator. Tell us about the importance of video collaboration for organizations. There is no doubt that organizations across all verticals have accelerated their digital transformation journey since COVID-19 hit. Hybrid models of operating have become the norm, and teams have been forced to work and collaborate in more innovative ways. As part of their broader transformation plans, and given the current scenario, organizations increasingly understand the value of video collaboration tools to keep teams connected and collaborate effectively — with each other, and with partners and clients. In the current situation, with restrictions on people’s movement having an impact on the ability of organizations to collaborate, video collaboration tools have an important role to play in helping organizations execute their plans effectively, and they can overcome these obstacles by investing in the right video conferencing tools for their needs. How is this playing out in the Middle East? As the Middle East begins to emerge from the pandemic, we expect to see demand remain strong. While organizations will no doubt return to having some face-to-face meetings and limited business trips, video conferencing will remain a pillar of communications and hybrid work. Organizations will also scrutinize the value of face-to-face meetings and business travel with more zeal than before, and management will be acutely aware that executives can take part in more video

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Loubna Imenchal Head of Video Collaboration

conferencing meetings than faceto-face meetings on a given day. The potential productivity gains and cost savings are enormous. In terms of engendering a culture of collaboration, video conferencing tools are also an important tool for keeping your workforce active, engaged, and connected with their colleagues. This is important for people working remotely and can have an impact on an organization’s ability to retain talented staff. What plans do you have for GITEX? Logitech is excited to showcase a range of high caliber solutions at GITEX, with demand for collaboration tools remaining high across the region as organizations continue to embrace hybrid working models. We will showcase our top video collaboration solutions at GITEX in conjunction with our partner Avientek, which is exhibiting in Hall 3, stand 8A. Among the products on show will be Rally Bar, our next-generation www.VARonline.com

portfolio of video conferencing solutions for small, medium, and large rooms. Rally Bar is a portfolio of appliance and PC-based solutions that work with today’s leading video conferencing services such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. We will also demonstrate Logitech Scribe, an AI-powered whiteboard camera for meeting rooms and classrooms. Compatible with leading services like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, Logitech Scribe broadcasts whiteboard content into video meetings with incredible clarity, virtually transporting everyone into the same room. In addition to exhibiting products on our partner’s stand, we will also hold meetings and 1-1 demonstrations at a dedicated meeting room in the Conrad hotel, close to Dubai World Trade Centre. Any last thoughts to share? Video collaboration has never been so important. Organizations across the region have experienced the importance of keeping their teams connected during the past two years, and there is a growing awareness of the advantages of using enterprisegrade solutions. Even as many people venture back to places of work and education, hybrid models are now an established mode of operations for many organizations, and we see continued high demand for solutions that aid collaboration. We look forward to meeting with customers at GITEX to demonstrate the advantages of our newest innovations and how they can help companies boost efficiency, innovation, and employee and customer satisfaction.

DAHUA DELIVERS END-TO-END SECURITY SOLUTIONS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES Dahua Technology is a leading video-centric smart IoT solution and service provider. Dahua offers end-to-end security solutions, systems, and services for city operations, corporate management, and consumers. Joseph Zhang, UAE Product Director interacts with The Integrator. What are Dahua’s SMB solutions and target market? As a leading security solution provider, Dahua offers end-to-end solutions for various applications and vertical industries including traffic management, government facilities, retail, and banking and finance, and so on. Application solutions, such as face recognition and LPR feature not only cameras, recorders, and VMS, but also open interfaces for convenient third-party integration. Dahua SMB solutions provide exclusive functionality that can cover several scenarios such as school, manufactory, smart retail, villa and apartment, hotel, etc. What’s the market perspective of Dahua SMB solutions? In recent years, metadata and AI concept have been attached more and more importance. As an endto-end security solutions, systems, and services provider, Dahua has been developing mature solutions on AI face and car plate license recognition. For SMB business, Dahua has the complete program to support our partners. For preferred distributors and system integrators, also some resellers, we will give them the support according to our partner program, including the rebate program, training, and certification program, marketing promotion programs. We believe by cooperating, the SMB program will help our partner create a truly beneficial solution and offerings. Speak about the solutions Dahua

Joseph Zhang UAE Product Director

promotes for SME/Bs We promote Imou that serves global IoT users with a “3-in-1” business system encompassing Imou Cloud, smart devices, and intelligent technologies. Designed for home and small and mediumsized business (SMB) users. Imou provides comprehensive smart IoT solutions for different scenarios. Its open cloud platform allows thirdparty integrations, which makes Imou perfect for building smart IoT ecosystems, creating greater value for partners and users. www.VARonline.com

How do you evaluate the consumer brands in the security industry? Nowadays, people are more conscious of home security. With the wide use of smartphones, consumer cameras allow end-users to monitor the situation remotely with convenience. The Imou system is easy to set up and connect with SmartHome compatibility. Providing round-theclock safety, the Imou system offers professional-level reliability and features. It’s like adding a 24/7 security guard to your staff, allowing you to focus on growing your business. OCTOBER 2021 37

INTERVIEW

DAHUA

INTERVIEW

D-Link

NUCLIAS: A REVOLUTIONARY REMOTE WORK SOLUTION FOR SMBS AND LARGE ENTERPRISES

-Link is one of the global leaders in the design and manufacture of networking, broadband, digital, voice, and data communications solutions. The company caters products to the connectivity needs of digital home consumers, small office professionals, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and enterprise environments. Sakkeer Hussain, Director - Sales & Marketing, D-Link Middle East & Africa speaks about Nuclias, D-Link’s new networking solution, and the other latest solutions.

Describe your new networking solution, Nuclias (Cloud and Connect), and its features. Walk us through the scalability of Nuclias from small businesses to large enterprises as a comprehensive and secure networking solution. Nuclias Connect and Nuclias Cloud Remote Network Management Solutions are part of our revolutionary remote work solutions portfolio and are true market differentiators. Nuclias Connect helps customers to make their network easier to manage, configure, and expand. It empowers network administrators through its centralized control, configuration, and customization capabilities while minimizing their onsite workload. Nuclias Cloud portfolio allows SMBs and large enterprises across retail, education, and hospitality, as well as MSPs, to deploy professional-grade networks from anywhere and anytime, eliminating physical space

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constraints. Convenience, cost-effectiveness, and ease of use make the solutions ideal for onboarding, studying, troubleshooting as well as monitoring and reporting network activity quickly and easily. Nuclias Cloud is often the preferred choice in remote work models as compared to a traditional networking solution as it is cost-effective, efficient, features easy, and zero-touch deployment with hassle-free cloudbased management. Nuclias Managed Wireless Networking Solutions offer the capability, hosting flexibility, and value that customers need to carry out for their digital transformation efforts with minimal interruptions. The solutions offer centralized remote network management via an intuitive interface and multi-tenant architecture that makes outsourcing simple for end-users. The best part of Nuclias portfolio is that it is easily

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scalable from small businesses to large enterprises. The portfolio caters to not only SMBs but also enterprises in terms of capabilities and performance. Any organization with any level of IT resources can quickly and easily deploy, configure, manage, monitor, troubleshoot, and scale their networks remotely – via a web browser or an app. We have seen a huge adoption rate for Nuclias Cloud since its launch last year. It was a relevant and timely product considering the immediate market requirements back then. Going forward, we will enhance the portfolio with new features and better market segmentation to provide genuine value-add for our customers. What are the SMB sectors and industries D-Link focuses on? Tell us about your SMB product lineup We cater to almost all sectors in the SMB industry. Fast and reliable Wi-Fi connections are central to the success of an SMB company deploying smart solutions. At D-Link, we are market leaders in Wi-Fi, cloud, and networking technologies, serving both enterprise and SMBs for decades in the region. We understand regional SMBs’ business needs as they get along their digital transformation journeys. From, Mesh routers – cuttingedge technology modernization for home and SMB Wi-Fi setups to pioneering remote networking solutions, cloud-based offerings, networking solutions, and Wi-Fi 6 routers, we have an extensive range of products and services specially curated for this segment. AI, IoT, mesh, Wi-Fi 6 routers, and 5G technologies dominate the new launches planned for the upcoming quarters. What sorts of after-sale experiences do SMBs get in terms of support infrastructure, services, customer support, end-to-end support, etc., after choosing Nuclias or other D-Link products? We operate through our dedicated network of channel partners in the region. Our partners play the role of being D-Link’s extended arm and offer customers in-depth support that includes, regular check-ins, maintenance, training on how to best optimize the product or solution, guidance for cross buying, and so on. We support partners in every way possible, right from marketing, leveraging an opportunity to providing all the tools they need to successfully operate in today’s digital world. Speak about the solutions that D-Link have to address the growing demands of remote working D-Link’s state-of-the-art networking, cloud, connected and smart solutions play a critical role to help regional organizations adequately equip themselves to become digital businesses. Our solutions portfolio across these

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

areas empowers remote working models. Both SMEs and large enterprises can benefit from our extensive portfolio of networking and cloud solutions, enabling seamless remote work models. Besides our flagship offerings such as the end-toend cutting-edge suite of Nuclias solutions, designed to assist and empower remote learning and working, we are continuously innovating to bring unique solutions that perfectly address customers’ existing and future digital demands. D-Link’s latest 5G Private Network, Nuclias Connect, Nuclias Cloud, and Smart Home solutions are specifically designed to support this new era of connectivity. We boast an elaborate portfolio of indoor and outdoor mydlink cameras, Nuclias Managed Wireless Networking Solution portfolio, market-leading Wi-Fi 6 routers, among many other solutions that drive remote and hybrid working.

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OCTOBER 2021 39

INTERVIEW

D-Link

INTERVIEW

DELL

DELL HELPS BUSINESSES TO THRIVE WITH ITS END-TO-END INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS Dell is a leading technology solution provider that focuses both on businesses and consumers. Walid Yehia, General Manager – UAE & Senior Director interacts with The Integrator on various aspects of solutions the company offers to SMEs and large enterprises. Speak about the unique products of Dell for the consumer and businesscentric market This past year, businesses have had to adapt to a new world of work that’s constantly changing. Organizations increased their investments in digital transformation driven by the doanything-from-anywhere economy. Striving towards digital workplaces that ensure productivity from anywhere and enabled by secure and agile infrastructure, became priorities for organizations, as did the employee experience. This led to the need for faster, more secure, easierto-use devices, collaboration tools, and IT automation. What sorts of concentration and association Dell has with SMEs and large enterprises? Organizations nowadays need to be digital organizations that can transform and thrive. Dell Technologies works with businesses of all sizes, providing customized solutions based on their business and technology requirements. We also have as-a-service offerings to ensure cost savings, ROI, and efficiency for organizations. Our goal is to give customers the freedom to scale resources in ways that work best for them, so they can quickly respond to changes while focusing more on their business needs. Across the region, we seek to become the technology industry’s most trusted advisor, providing capabilities spanning strategy development, consultative services, and solutions deployment and support to help customers and partners drive the digital transformation of their businesses. Are you planning to present products or solutions at GITEX? At GITEX 2021, we will showcase our end-to-end portfolio of

40 OCTOBER 2021

infrastructure solutions that are helping businesses thrive in today’s digital economy. This year, we have a partner-led stand where our partners will be showcasing our integrated solutions portfolio from edge-tocore-to-cloud. Dell will highlight new growth opportunities for regional business with best-of-class infrastructure solutions comprising multi-cloud, digital workplace, data, security, and finance solutions. We will also conduct workshops and breakout sessions on AI, multi-cloud, 5G, Edge, and IoT. Senior product experts will share insights on how the company’s industry-leading technologies can support businesses to accelerate their transformation journey and build resilience and agility through IT simplicity, digital innovation, and more. Tell us about Dell’s workstations and servers, and their demand From 3D animation to financial analytics, Dell Precision workstations are purpose-built to power industry leaders across a wide variety of professional landscapes. The Dell Precision Mobile and Fixed Workstations are designed to handle the most demanding applications across industries, featuring the latest processors, professional graphics, and scalable memory and storage options. Dell Precision delivers versatile designs, intelligent performance, and mission-critical reliability. Our expansive professional portfolio enables consumers to customize workstations and optimize them according to their needs. Our PowerEdge servers portfolio provides innovative solutions for diverse workloads, to maximize performance and versatility while lowering operating costs. Our portfolio includes rack servers, tower www.VARonline.com

Walid Yehia General Manager – UAE & Senior Director

servers, specialty, rugged servers, and modular infrastructure. We are the only server vendor offering a cross-portfolio solution for cryptographically verified hardware integrity, dynamic system lockdown, and robust firmware and boot protection. Anchored by a wellestablished Silicon Root of Trust, we provide security that starts at design and continues through the supply chain and full lifecycle. How do you evaluate Dell’s business prospects for the next five years? As the world upgrades to smart and digital infrastructures, it will prompt new models of business, services, and act as a driver of economic momentum. These are very real opportunities in front of us today. Powerful technologies – including artificial intelligence, machine learning, 5G, storage, and cloud – are ushering in new and competitive risks and opportunities. This digital revolution will open up broad spaces for new services as well as consumption in a variety of industries, elevating organizations and helping them become more resilient in the face of transformation. At Dell Technologies we are expanding our as-a-Service capabilities to simplify how customers and partners access our technologies on-demand—across storage, servers, networking, infrastructure, PCs, and broader solutions.

LINKSYS OFFERS RELIABLE SOLUTIONS TO CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES

inksys is one of the leading brands of data networking hardware products, sold to home users and small businesses. Its product range includes Wi-Fi routers, Wi-Fi extenders, access points, and network switches. Amanulla Khan, Managing Director of Linksys Middle East, Turkey & Africa talks about the range of enterprise-specific products offered by the company considering the increased need for secure remote work solutions. Amanulla Khan Managing Director, Linksys MEA

Speak about the unique products of Linksys for the consumer and business-centric market As a leader in the market, we are always looking to offer reliable solutions to consumers and businesses because we understand the importance of strong and steady technology. For both our consumer and business segments, we are simultaneously working to expand our WiFi solutions by integrating the latest and greatest technologies such as WiFi 6 and 6E and/or the newest iterations of Mesh WiFi. We also do this by combining different functionalities into our solutions in line with IoT ecosystems. We’re also proud of Linksys HomeWRK for Business, the first-ever enterprise solution to deliver secure network connectivity for both corporate and personal needs in one easy-tosetup unit optimized for business applications and collaboration tools. In a similar vein, Linksys HomeWRK for Education will bring reliable connectivity and security to students at home. The HomeWRK solutions are secured by Fortinet who bring their expertise to safeguard cyber threats introduced by home networks. We believe technology should be accessible to everyone, so we aim to make our solutions easy to use and reliable.

How do you evaluate Linksys’s business prospects for the coming years? Our business will grow in many ways. In terms of technology, we expect 6E and Mesh to be more commonly adopted amongst consumers and our product roadmap will reflect that demand. We expect the same for 5G as it becomes more accessible to the mass market through ISP infrastructures being set up across the country. Concerning our business initiatives, we expect retail to expand their online presence in the region, which will demand more reliable networks. What sorts of concentration and association Linksys has with SMEs and large enterprises? We have always had great relationships with SMEs which we will continue to grow through offering cloud-managed access points (Linksys Cloud Manager), switches, and routers. This segment has grown for us at a steady pace so we will continue to add solutions to meet these demands. We plan to recruit more SMEs whilst sharing our knowledge of our solutions and technology through training programs. With our newly solidified partnership with Fortinet, we are now able to offer secure networks and expect our Linksys HomeWRK solution to be well-received by large enterprises as their need to replicate corporate networks at home increases. www.VARonline.com

Are you planning to present products or solutions at the GITEX Technology Week? If so, which are they? During the GITEX Technology Week, we will be showcasing the most premium solutions of our different segments. There will be a particular emphasis on our 5G solutions as the 5G infrastructures continue to expand in the Middle East. Guests will be able to demo a range of other business-led offerings including the Linksys Cloud Manager and Mesh WiFi solutions, as well as get to experience the Linksys App and its features first-hand. We’ll also be highlighting our newly announced Linksys HomeWRK solutions secured by Fortinet. Tell us about Linksys’s “work from home” and networking devices and their demand. Enterprise-at-home is becoming a significant step in the evolution of workplace technology as working and learning from home is now more common globally than it ever was. This leads to an increasing need for reliable infrastructures to mitigate cybersecurity risks and maintain efficiency. Businesses want to replicate corporate networks by giving their employees access to the same resources as in the office. Our strategic alliance with Fortinet enables us to offer enterprise-grade connectivity and security. OCTOBER 2021 41

SME INTERVIEW

LINKSYS

INTERVIEW

PNY

WITH TOP DATA CENTER SOLUTIONS, PNY RULES IN THE ENTERPRISE MARKET PNY Technologies is a leading IT manufacturer with a broad product range including flash memory cards, USB flash drives, and solid-state drives (SSD). Talus Arukalil, Regional Manager – MEAI explains its GPU solutions, other front-line products to The Integrator. and DRAM modules. Next one, the Nvidia Professional solutions group targeting business development with enterprise-level end users, workstation builders, SI partners, etc with Quadro, Tesla cards, Nvidia DGX systems, and networking solutions. The third group is focusing on removable storage products for the retail consumer market with USB drives, memory cards, portable SSD, etc. Talus Arukalil Regional Manager – MEAI

Give us some insights into the NVIDIA Data Center solutions PNY launched recently PNY provides the most comprehensive computing, storage, and networking portfolio for data centers. Its vast expertise and experience enable to support the challenges of the data center coming from a broad range of industries such as healthcare, retail, higher education, and more. PNY offers the NVIDIA DGX A100 AI Infrastructure based on the NVIDIA A100 GPU architecture, one universal building block for the AI data center for enterprise at scale, allowing to build DGX PODs and SuperPODs, a complete, cloud-native AI data center with limitless capacity. In this environment, PNY proposes different storage solutions dedicated to data centers, and AI, coming from strong partners such as NetApp or DDN, or the PNY in-house storage server PNY 3S. How does the operational paradigm get shifted via GPU solutions? Three converging forces have sparked the AI era: the availability of huge databases, the invention of Deep Learning algorithms, and the unprecedented performance of GPU computing. For 30 years, the principles of Moore's Law have been authoritative as microprocessor performance increased by 50% per year. Now, the physical limitations of semiconductors mean that CPU performance is only increasing by 10% each year. By popularizing GPU processing, NVIDIA has provided a new path for the entire industry and will deliver up to 1000 times faster computing performance by 2025. GPU computing is the most effective way to improve the performance of HPC applications and data centers. Tell us about the strength PNY amasses in the IT component industry and what are your signature products? PNY managing the market in three segments. Consumer components ecosystem group focusing on gamers and system integrators with Nvidia GeForce GPUs, SSD,

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Speak a bit about PNY’s dominance in the consumer market with its graphic cards Our range of components is our strength and uniqueness. GPU availability is very limited in recent times and we have challenges to fulfill the market demand. However, we are trying our best to provide maximum allocations to our traditional partners. PNY being Nvidia partner for consumer and professional Quadro cards we can provide more GPUs to market compared to competitions focusing on GeForce only. How’s PNY’s performance and market share in the MENA region and compare them with other regions? Globally US & EU are large markets for PNY since we operate in those regions for more than 30 years. Middle east operation launched in 2016 and we are in the growth phase. We are lucky to have many leading broad line/specialists partners joining our network to strengthen market reach. The Consumer SSD market is highly competitive. How does PNY differentiate itself from others? The flash-based memory market is volatile and pricesensitive in general. In 1985 PNY opened the business with the DRAM module as the first product. Since then we have had the expertise to handle all formats of memory (USB drives/cards/DRAM all range/SSD full range). Many PC applications are switching from HDD to SSD and now Playstation also announced an upgrade option with NVME SSD with a speed of 5500 MB/s and above. PNY SSD range includes basic 2.5” till CS3140 NVME with high performance up to 7500 MB/s which is one of the fastest in the industry. Briefly tell us about PNY’s expansion plans in the region and new technology introductions? The demand for IT technology is growing strong in most markets is the positive part. As all know the pandemic period accelerated the importance of technology. We are looking forward to expanding more to larger upcoming regions such as Africa and Central Asian countries. PNY is a global partner to Nvidia and we are committed to bringing all the latest launches to the region along with more range of SSD and DRAM is the plan for Q4 2021.

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ODATiO MANAGES ALL MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN BUSINESS

avoye is a global provider of supply chain solutions and it has recently launched ODATiO, a supply chain execution software. It combines a warehouse management system (WMS) and transport management system (TMS) to provide seamless and efficient supply chain management as well as its JIVARO packing machine that adjusts the carton to the contents leading to a reduction in shipments. Alain Kaddoum, Managing Director, Savoye Middle East discusses its competencies with The Integrator

Tell us a bit about how ODATiO and how well is the software solution aligned to the automation scopes of the supply-chain process. ODATiO is our response to the need of logistics organizations across the globe to become more flexible to meet the demands of a changing market. It is a software application designed to manage all major functions of the supply chain business. It can manage the multiple functions of a software system, including warehouse and transport management systems. ODATiO enables supply chains to deploy their software solutions across multiple sites in an optimized, rapid, and repeatable manner. It combines transport management systems with warehouse management software, thereby allowing supply chains to utilize just one software program for their different operations. In addition, ODATiO simplifies work processes and tasks, helps prevent human errors, accurately collects, and calculates data, and saves time. We continuously update our ODATiO application to include new standard modules. It now comprises a customizable scheduling cockpit, which provides complete visibility of warehouse and transportation activities. Through our software, companies can enjoy higher flexibility in configuration, greater autonomy in processes, and more seamless data interoperability. Are there any user-specific features in ODATiO? Another unique feature of ODATiO is its business rules engine, which is completely configurable by users. Through this tool, you can autonomously create and modify your management rules without limitations on the number of settings and despite not having any technical experience. As business and management change over time, you can accordingly modify, add, or delete your rules using ODATiO. ODATiO is a 100 percent, highly responsive web-

Alain Kaddoum Managing Director, Savoye ME

based solution that is accessible via any screen, tablet, smartphone, or operator terminal. How does ODATiO replace the conventional supply chain tasks reducing carbon footprint? Supply chains need to have efficient transportation and warehouse management to minimize carbon emissions of operations. Through ODATiO, we have developed a seamless synergy between our Transport Management System (TMS) and Warehouse Management System (WMS). As an eco-friendly transport management solution, the software helps eliminate unnecessary mileage and prevent empty returns through route optimization, grouping functions, and more. ODATiO also has warehouse management features such as a pre-cubing system, which optimizes the filling of shipping boxes to eliminate unnecessary package spaces. Moreover, the system assigns movement orders to operators who are looking to reduce the energy consumption of vehicles on the platform.

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OCTOBER 2021 43

INTERVIEW

ODATiO

INTERVIEW

ABCOM

KRAMER’S CUTTING-EDGE AND INNOVATIVE PRO AV SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESSES

BCOM is one of the leading AV distributors in the UAE with over 16 years of experience in the industry. The company distributes a broad range of products from Kramer Electronics, an award-winning AV manufacturer. Max Abdullah, Business Head, speaks to The Integrator about the highlydemanded products of Kramer and ABCOM’s participation in GITEX.

Speak about the industry verticals that Kramer focuses on as one of the prominent players in the market? Kramer offers an extensive and innovative Pro AV solutions portfolio for corporate, education, houses of worship, government, live events, healthcare, and more. Kramer’s products include end-to-end solutions that blend cutting-edge cloud technologies, advanced software, and time-tested hardware, such as Kramer’s award-winning analog and IP-driven solutions for collaboration, streaming, and control. Are you concentrating on the SMEs sector or large enterprises with your products or solutions? With industry-leading hardware, advanced software, and cutting-edge cloud technologies, Kramer offers complete AV solutions for any business and corporate environment. Tell us about Kramer and the products in high demand. Kramer offers hundreds of specialty Pro AV products for a vast range of markets and applications. Our products come with a global warranty (up to 7 years on selected products) and friendly tech support to ensure satisfaction.

Max Abdullah Business Head, Kramer

 Supports 3rd party conferencing and apps, such as Microsoft Teams®, and Zoom®  Super−compact (74x74mm) and flexible to install with both built−in Wi−Fi and LAN connectivity and includes industry−leading 1024−bit encryption for secure use on the internal network  Up to four participants can share their screens simultaneously on the main display either using the VIA app mirroring feature, iOS mirroring via AirPlay™, Windows & Android mirroring via Miracast™ or ChromeBook mirroring

Currently, we have six products that are in high demand:

VIA CONNECT²:  A smart, secure, wireless, and wired presentation and collaboration platform  Meeting participants can display or stream full, uninterrupted video up to 4K@60Hz from their device, and even play YouTube® videos in full frame rate

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DSP-62-AEC:  Powerful pro-audio performance into a compact multi-channel DSP, and 2:1 video switcher, perfect for every space

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 Loaded with features like dual HDMI inputs, a hassle-free class-compliant USB audio interface, and a gorgeous intuitive web GUI  Supporting up to 4 microphones  PoE provider with optional mains powering from the connected power adapter  Up to 4K60 4:4:4  HDMI audio de-embedding

 Provide easy to use, modern, embedded web-based UI  Provide a one-stop solution for a network AV installation of up to 1000 devices

MV–6     

KRAMER BRAINWARE

3G HD–SDI Multiviewer Max. Data Rate — 3Gbps. Multi–Standard — SDI, HD–SDI, 3G HD–SDI Kramer re–Klocking™ & Equalization Control — Ethernet & RS–232

Is Kramer presenting its solutions and services at GITEX Technology Week? If so, which are they? Yes, we are in Hall 4 - Stand C1 (H4C1) at the GITEX venue. The following are the products we are presenting this year. VIA Connect², DSP-62-AEC, Kramer BRAINware, VP-440X, and KDS−6 (AV over IP), and MV-6

 Ethernet Master / Room Controller Software  Fully customizable UI  Replaces physical Brain  Scalable & flexible control  Designed for KT–107, KT–107RB, and KT–107S touch panels

What is the present stature of the AV distribution business in the UAE and its prospects? I think UAE AV distributors continued to add value to the AV market and clients by presenting and offering the advent of new platforms and technology within the AV industry. At ABCOM, we stay ahead of the curve by offering the latest cutting-edge technology from the industry's leading manufacturers such as Kramer Electronics.

VP-440X  The Next Generation Compact Switcher-Scaler / HDBaseT  Delivers a fully-featured 4K60 scaler/switcher in a compact form factor ideal for any setup  Simultaneous HDMI & HDBT outputs  Up to 4K60 4:4:4 HDMI  4xHDMI and 1xVGA inputs  Flexible control: front-panel, RS-232, web pages, contact closure switches

KDS−6  High-performance AVoIP streaming solution that is economically advantageous and highly scalable  Supports 4K@60 4:2:0 AV content with latency the maximum latency between 30-50ms and switching time of up to 1 second, using over 1Gbit IP network

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OCTOBER 2021 45

INTERVIEW

ABCOM

INTERVIEW

NEWCOM

NEWCOM DISTRIBUTES ADVANCED SOLUTIONS IN VOLUME AND VALUE-ADDED SEGMENTS Newcom Computer Systems is one of the leading IT distribution companies offering both business and consumer solutions. Newcom distributes monitors, gaming accessories, videoconferencing devices, docking stations, and cybersecurity solutions for prominent brands. Jai Bhatia, Director Sales talks about the prospective aspects of the distribution business. Speak about the industry verticals that Newcom focuses on as one of the prominent IT solution distributors in the market? The UAE, the foremost nation for international trade and business in the MENA region, is a competitive market for the Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry. Newcom Computer Systems bridges the gap between the vendors and channel partners. Newcom is the region's finest IT distribution company for globally renowned brands catering to technology and lifestyle products. The company has a strong distribution network that spreads across the middle east and Africa. With over 17 years of experience, we are the pioneers of volume and value-added services catering to the channel partners as an authorized distributor for Logitech, Targus, Norton, Samsung, Viewsonic, Hikvision, HP, Rapoo, J5create, ESET, Tucano, and many more. We hold the philosophy that we must create a "partnership beyond business" with every partner and vendor; as such it is our goal to provide the best distribution services in the middle east and Africa regions. With our VAD division, Newcom has marked a new milestone to not only provide IT accessories but also provide complete IT business solutions with a complement of cyber security and audio-video collaboration cater to all - from an individual to small and big enterprises. What is the present stature of the

46 OCTOBER 2021

tech and solution distribution business in the UAE and its prospects? Currently, tech and solution distribution are the most booming industry in UAE as well as worldwide. The relation between tech and humans has gone to a level where tech has become a crucial part of human life. Distribution filling the gap between technology and humans, marking a bump in revenue in the pandemic due to the demand for audio, video, and PC accessories to support the new remote topology. The UAE keeps on filling quickly in the innovation space. Private and public area players are taking on cutting-edge arrangements and catch the more extensive, worldwide rush of development, information usage, computerized change, and mechanical headway. We thank the UAE government to provide such a wonderful infrastructure as well as we highly appreciate their commendable job during the pandemic. Are you concentrating on the SMEs sector or large enterprises with your products or solutions? Yes! Newcom focuses on both SMEs and Large enterprises to extend the services, which include videoconferencing solutions, interactive flat panels, video walls, and cyber security solutions produced by superior brands. The company continues to nurture the trust of its esteemed customers by extending its service starting from pre-sales to post-sales. With our value-added www.VARonline.com

Jai Bhatia Director Sales, Newcom

division, Newcom has reached a new pinnacle by providing IT business solutions to both consumers enterprises. Is Newcom presenting its solutions and services at GITEX Technology Week? If so, which are they? Newcom has participated in the GITEX previously and it has been an amazing experience. Although we are not participating directly in GITEX with our solutions and services, we are supporting our vendors to reach their goals for the event. Tell us about Newcom’s digital solutions and the products in high demand. Newcom Computer Systems is one of the leaders in digital solutions distribution. We not only concentrating the volume-based services but also strongly cater to the value-added distribution. Newcom has built a strong and dedicated team and continues its journey as one of the pioneers in the distributor for globally renowned brands.

RISK MANAGEMENT AND SAFE TRADING; ASBIS LEADS THE WAY ASBIS is one of the leading IT distributors in the middle east. It supplies a wide range of IT solutions including networking infrastructure, software and security, and printing and business solutions. Konstantinos Konstantinoum, Chief Risk Officer at ASBIS speaks about risk-free trading. Talk us through your career journey? Having graduated from Middlesex University, I have tried my luck in the UK entering the accounting profession. I soon realized that I was not much interested in penetrating the profession of an accountant/auditor I decided to move back home and look for more opportunities. It was at that time 6 years ago that I was introduced to the ASBIS Group and joined as a Credit Control Assistant. During that period of significant changes in the group in 2017, there was an opening for a Senior Credit Risk Manager in our subsidiary in ASBIS Middle East in Dubai, and I was offered the opportunity there. Ever since I have been evolving in this role and have been enjoying my role as the company’s risk manager. I sincerely believe that I have found what I was looking for and I see myself in this role for a long time to come. Is the role of the CRO in IT distribution different today from what it was 10 years ago? The role of a CRO in IT distribution has changed significantly throughout the last ten years. The world financial crisis of 2008 has forced things to change drastically. In the past, being a CRO meant that you were sitting in an office, analyzing your risks and making decisions based on these analyses. This has radically changed since unless someone understands his/her client from A to Z, is not in a position to make the best decision for both parties. Currently, there are multiple tools and access to information is much easier, which makes the life of a CRO easier and more educated.

significant and forced all members of risk management to add value in the chain of our operations. The constant training, the commercialization of risk services as well as the constant upgrade of the tools used allow a modern CRO to add significant value, but enhancing the credit availability and therefore increasing safe trading.

How does a CRO create value especially when the current market is slow? The creation of value has always been a major subject of discussion. Especially for us, who are not at the sales or marketing divisions of our organizations and we are dealing with the risk management and other aspects of the financial welfare of our organizations. It is tough to ascertain the value-added; however, ASBIS has invested heavily and made the role of risk manager

What do you love most about your job? Working in a multinational environment, getting to know so many different customers from so different ethnic, cultural and financial environments, makes every day at work exciting. The challenge of each day is by itself a unique driver which is very rare to find. If there is a perfect job satisfaction level, I strongly believe that being a risk manager in ASBIS, is very close to perfection.

Konstantinos Konstantinoum Chief Risk Office, ASBIS

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OCTOBER 2021 47

INTERVIEW

ASBIS

INTERVIEW

WESTERN DIGITAL

WD ENTERPRISE STORAGE SOLUTIONS HANDLE TOUGH WORKLOADS Western Digital Corporation, commonly known as WD, is a computer hard disk drive manufacturer and data storage company. It designs, manufactures, and sells data technology products, including storage devices, data center systems, and cloud storage services. Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Sales Director, Middle East talks about WD’s SME and enterprisespecific products.

Khwaja Saifuddin Senior Sales Director, Middle East

Speak about the merits of WD’s data center platforms and drives in the business-centric market Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. As a leader in data infrastructure, the company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access, and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities of data. Western Digital data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital, SanDisk, and WD brands. Innovation has always fueled and nurtured growth at Western Digital. It is as important now, as any time in our history. Western Digital has long been at the forefront of game-changing innovations. From the invention of the first hard drive to recent advancements in 3D NAND our journey of innovation continues to inspire those who dare to think big about the possibilities of data. Western Digital participates in multiple

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collaborations with external organizations to provide Western Digital access to resources and knowledge that can be applied to improving current products and developing new technologies or products, and generate value from the data stored on our devices. It is the efforts and the direction of our esteemed global management that drive our competitive edge and continued success in the market. What sorts of concentration and association WD has with SMEs and large enterprises? Briefly explain the product line you have for them Robust storage solutions are needed for the rising needs of businesses and consumers. Western Digital offers a portfolio of products, covering a range of market segments, created to enable customers to derive valuable insights and intelligence from data. WD Ultrastar for businesses: An enterprise-grade drive, designed for cloud service providers, telcos, and system integrators. The Ultrastar Edge servers are easy

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to transport, deploy and scale in the field, at co-location (colo) facilities, factories, or in remote data centers. It delivers blazing speed and capacity for real-time analytics, AI, deep learning, ML training and inference, and video transcoding at the edge. WD Gold NVMe SSDs: It improves system responsiveness and boosts productivity while lowering overall TCO. Enterprise teams can work with confidence knowing they have power loss protection and the ability to stop anyone from accessing sensitive data by eliminating it with fast and effective secure erase technology. It is available in a range of capacities to meet a business’ specific needs. WD Gold NVMe SSDs can work alone or perfectly complement WD Gold HDDs and other HDDs to handle tough workloads with endurance businesses can trust. Give us an insight into the features of WD’s newest SSDs released to the market If we’re looking at SSD’s that support SMBs, then we must talk about NAS – network-attached storage – as it’s one of the most widely used methods for accessing, sharing, and protecting data alongside the cloud. NAS solutions help SMBs solve for latency and remote shared access to data or applications across the network. Leveraging our strength and leadership in a flash, we recently announced our new WD Red SN700 NVMe SSD, a high-endurance, a fast-caching solution that accelerates NAS performance for SMB customers. This powerful new drive is engineered to support 24/7 NAS environments and always-on applications with the ultimate in reliability and endurance. Its fast system responsiveness and I/O performance are perfect for multi-user, multi-application environments, letting SMBs tame their toughest projects from virtualization to collaborative editing to intensive database storage. Given the need for robust systems that are efficient and intuitive to manage, and in many cases, they need some sort of infrastructure on-premises. A NAS solution can benefit SMBs of all sizes, providing the performance, capacity, and reliability they need. Are you planning to present products or solutions at the GITEX Technology Week? If so, which are they? At GITEX, we are keeping a pulse on current data trends with a showcase of products to meet the needs of today’s businesses. As a leader in data infrastructure, Western Digital is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver

the possibilities of data. At GITEX, you will find Western Digital data-centric solutions, comprised of the Western Digital, SanDisk, and WD brands. Each brand offers a range of capacities to meet a business’s specific needs. How do you evaluate WD’s business prospects for the next two years, in terms of expansion, growth, tie-ups, etc.? As the market leader, we know we have a responsibility to our consumers to stay ahead of the competition. And we do this through strategic collaborations, innovations, and actively listening to our customers. Whether in your pocket, home, car, or the cloud, it's likely Western Digital is with you every step of the way. It's a responsibility we don't take lightly. That's why we are always at the cusp of innovation, pushing the boundaries of technology to make what you thought was once impossible, possible. Western Digital understands that the next few years will be an exciting time for smart technology providers in the middle east. The market is growing, and consumers are excited for what’s coming next, but a lack of knowledge around smart technology infrastructure threatens this progress and the gains that will go with it. As various technologies continue to evolve so will the data storage needs and how to get the best value from it. Western Digital is prepared to support the growing digital needs of companies and consumers with specialized storage solutions to create optimum value from IoT data, which must be considered when building out the wider data infrastructure.

"Robust storage solutions are needed for the rising needs of businesses and consumers. Western Digital offers a portfolio of products, covering a range of market segments, created to enable customers to derive valuable insights and intelligence from data."

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OCTOBER 2021 49

INTERVIEW

WESTERN DIGITAL

14th

EDITION

2021 20

An award is an achievement and an honor for one’s remarkable abilities. Like always, the ICT Champion Awards is bigger and better in selecting and honoring the superior performers and leaders of the ICT Industry.

AWARDS SCHEDULE

October 18th, 2021, by the side of GITEX 2021 at World Trad

CHECK OUT THE AWARD CATEGORIES

Printer Brand of the Year Display Brand of the Year Commercial Display Brand of the Year Innovation in Display Solutions Storage Device Brand of the Year Enterprise Storage Vendor of the Year SMB Networking Brand of the Year Commercial Laptop Brand of the Year Gaming Brand of the Year Enterprise Networking Vendor of the Year Innovation in Network Security Accessory Brand of the Year Computing Brand of the Year

We invite nominations with a writeup (not more than 250 words) brieﬂy explaining how you are qualiﬁed for the awards. The write-up can include the brand’s achievements, product qualities, other merits.

.................................................................................

Your nominations should be sent to editor@var-mea.com with the COMPANY NAME on the subject line. You will receive a conﬁrmation email shortly after listing your nomination.

ABOUT ICT CHAMPION AWARDS The “ICT Champion Awards” happens on the sidelines of GITEX 2021 recognizes and applauds premier technology companies, in over 25+ domains of the industry. The selection for awards will be inﬂuenced by the competence and excellence shown by the companies on products (incl. hardware), solutions, and services. We honor Vendors, Distributors, Integrators, and other VARs that have presented distinctive qualities, raised benchmarks, achieved spectacular success in meeting the expectations of partners and/or customers. The Integrator ICT Champion Awards applauds the achievements of the vendors and partners in the value-add channel segment since 2013

de Center, Dubai

Visionary Integrator of the Year Channel Champion Vendor of the Year PC Security Software Brand of the Year Brand of the Year IP Surveillances Distributor of the Year End-Point Security Distributor of the Year Video Collaboration Brand of the Year Commercial Audio Brand of the Year Champion Reseller of the Year VAD of the Year System Integrator of the Year Visionary Vendor of the Year

AWARD SPONSORSHIPS The sponsorship of the ICT Champion Awards is a great opportunity to enhance your brand visibility and connect with the region’s ICT channel. The award format offers multiple avenues to high-profile branding and communication before, during, and after the event - in print and online. We also offer a live blog, on www.varonline.com, and social media promotions. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: info@var-mea.com

WHO WE ARE? JNS Media International, an OMA Emirates Group Company, is a leading publisher and media solutions provider in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe since 2005. With over 16 years of excellence, we help technology companies to cascade their services right to the customers with additional value attached. Our services include market research, lead generation, product launches, and media promotions. Here are our iconic publications that eﬀectuate constructive engagement with our ICT partners and consumers.

The Integrator

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS

VARonline.com

September 30th, 2021, EOD

TECHNOLOGY

SME FOCUS

MEET TIGHTER DEADLINES WITH HP LARGE FORMAT PRINTER PORTFOLIOS

P introduces a range of DesignJet and PageWide XL Pro devices to equip large format print users with the technology to navigate and thrive in the new normal. The portfolios also deliver advanced photo and color quality, enhanced precision, and new graphics application potential - all while driving improvements in sustainability. With the two new HP DesignJet Z Pro devices, HP is offering print service providers (PSPs) and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysts the latest solutions to produce professional photoquality prints and high precision colorful GIS-generated maps. Meanwhile, the three new HP PageWide XL Pro printers equip PSPs and reprohouses with the ability to respond faster to customer demands and diversify their existing capabilities. “This is why we’re introducing the new HP DesignJet Z Pro and HP PageWide XL Pro series. Both portfolios are designed to help users navigate uncertain demand, respond to tighter deadlines and unlock untapped potential in their own offerings,” said Daniel Martinez, General Manager, Large Format Business, HP.

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HIGHEST COLOUR QUALITY WITH HP DESIGNJET HP DesignJet Z Pro users can now achieve 93% pantone coverage – 26% more gamut compared to the previous generation – and produce prints with the image quality of a 12-ink printer with just nine inks. Additional features such as the High-Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) printheads and dual drop technology, which reduces visible grain and eliminates the need for light-colored inks, promise prints with clear details and dazzling contrasts. Additionally, the HP PrintOS mobile app lets PSPs take more control of their print operations – from monitoring

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performance and reacting to issues, to sharing media pre-sets remotely.

MAXIMIZE PRODUCTIVITY WITH HP PAGEWIDE XL PRO HP has also announced three new HP PageWide XL Pro printers that enable retail PSPs and reprohouses to respond faster to customer demands, meeting tighter deadlines. Additionally, users will also be able to leverage new short-term applications including the potential to print on boards, cardstock, and paper from A2 to B1, and thickness up to 10mm. The new HP PageWide XL Pro 5200 and HP PageWide XL Pro 8200 offer print speeds up to 20 D/A1 pages/min, and 4300 ft2/hr (400 m2/hr) and 30 D/A1 pages/ min, and 5300 ft2/hr (500 m2/ hr) respectively, enabling users to meet short turnaround time. With the PageWide, XL Pro 8200 able to print mixed outputs of both CAD drawings and presentation boards, both printers are also capable of delivering full projects two to three times faster than before. With the new HP PageWide XL Pro 5200 and HP PageWide XL Pro 8200, users can also expand their print applications into two-sided, short-term retail posters.

SME Champions is a unique platform to network and establish strong business alliance’s. Brings together SME customers with providers of ICT products and solution over a common platform comprising of Publication, Awards, Corporate Golf and CSR initiative. Contact: +971 52 7711722 | Email: info@var-mea.com

TECHNOLOGY

SME FOCUS

AMD RELEASES RADEON PRO SOFTWARE FOR ENTERPRISE 21.Q3

MD releases Radeon PRO Software, which promises to deliver 16percent geomean YoY performance gains overall benchmark workloads besides offering increased application efficiency, reliability, and productivity. The official release claims, “the software is designed to deliver market-leading uptime and stability.” Following are the key features of the software:  Performance Improvements: Compared to last year’s 20.Q3 Radeon software driver provides marked performance improvements including a 48-percent increase for the Catia viewset and a 12-percent increase for the 3dsmax viewset.  Additional Remote Workstation Support: With remote visualization solutions, AMD Remote

Workstation securely streams workstation graphics. The new driver adds support for Teradici CAS (Cloud Access Software)  Application Certification: The certification provides enterprisegrade dependability for applications

including 3dsMax, Revit, Catia, and SOLIDWORKS  Viewport Image Boost: This feature scales up the resolution of the model in the viewport area to provide better image fidelity and allow users to make better design decisions

ANTHOLOGY AND BLACKBOARD MERGE TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE EDTECH ECOSYSTEM

nthology, a provider of higher education solutions, and Blackboard, a global EdTech software and solutions company, announces an agreement to combine the two companies. The combination claims to create a comprehensive and modern EdTech ecosystem across academic, administrative, and student engagement applications and make them available on a global scale.

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Blackboard is a provider of learning management software, communication tools, and student success solutions in more than 80 countries. Anthology provides higher education enterprise software and solutions around enrollment management, student engagement, alumni fundraising, and institutional effectiveness. Anthology serves over 2,000 colleges and universities in www.VARonline.com

more than 30 countries. Anthology’s solutions and services are designed to create operational efficiencies, identify opportunities, and empower institutions with distinct products to unite data, experiences, and insights across campus. Jim Milton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Anthology, will serve as Chairman and CEO of the combined company. “Upon the completion of this merger, we will have a data-driven product portfolio that seeks to touch every constituent at the institution and will aim to transform the way education uses technology to engage, connect, teach, learn and drive efficiencies across the institution,” Milton said. The combined entity will be majority-owned by Veritas Capital, a private equity firm that focuses on investments in technology or technology-enabled companies.

N-GENIUS APP TO BOOST PAYMENT ACCEPTANCE AMONG UAE SMBS

etwork International, an enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa, has introduced its N-Genius app as part of its continued commitment to support digital payment acceptance among UAE small businesses. The N-Genius app uses NFC technology to convert an eligible Android smartphone into a mobile contactless payment device, without the need for additional hardware. The portable solution will offer small business owners the ability to accept contactless payments from a wide variety of contactless payment methods, including cards and mobile wallets on smartphones and wearables, thus delivering seamless payment experiences to consumers. In addition to offering merchants and their customers the convenience of any time, anywhere payments, the solution claims to create safe and flexible payment solutions for local businesses “Following COVID-19 restrictions, we have seen growing adoption of contactless payments globally and in the UAE. Our N-Genius app will support small businesses in the UAE by enabling them to accept contactless payments and deliver a modern, seamless shopping experience to

their consumers via smartphones,” said Ahmed Bin Tarraf, Regional President – UAE, Network International.

CUTTING-EDGE SECURITY SOLUTIONS TO PROTECT ORGANIZATIONS’ DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

rend Micro, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, showcase its state-of-the-art innovations

at the GITEX Technology Week, taking place from 17th to 21st of October at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The company will demonstrate several cutting-edge security solutions to empower organizations in protecting their digital infrastructure in the evolving threat landscape. “GITEX 2021 gives us yet another opportunity to demonstrate our industry-leading cybersecurity solutions to protect the new age enterprises across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints – enabling them to take better control of their systems, while thriving in the new digital economy,” said, Dr.Moataz Bin Ali, Vice President and Managing Director, MENA. In addition to exhibiting security solutions at its booth, Trend Micro will also be hosting several sessions held by company experts that will cover different challenges in the cybersecurity space and the solutions necessary to overcome them.

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OCTOBER 2021 55

TECHNOLOGY

SME FOCUS

TECHNOLOGY

SME FOCUS

HP ACCELERATES WORKPLACE SOLUTIONS FOR THE HYBRID WORKFORCE

P Inc. announces new solutions that simplify and automate device management tasks, giving IT more freedom to focus on what’s important for their business and their employees. An official release from the company quotes, “We are committed to innovating at the heart of hybrid, providing seamless solutions and experiences to help people adapt to new ways of doing business. HP’s comprehensive portfolio of hardware, software, and cloud-based services, empower employees with innovative technology to help them stay productive, connected, collaborative, and secure – wherever work happens.” “HP’s new management solutions are automated and scalable for the evolving ways people work. HP Adaptive Endpoint Management is the gold standard for managing PCs in hybrid working environments, to help ensure devices are secure, upto-date, and fully supported,” said Sumeer Chandra, Global Head and General Manager, Personal Systems Services, HP Inc.

HP’S HYBRID WORK SOLUTIONS ARE FOLLOWING: HP Adaptive Endpoint Management:

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A fully managed service that helps IT managers send PCs directly to employees with zero-touch deployment. In less than an hour, employees can get to work quickly by simply unboxing their Windows PC and signing on with one click, where their suite of applications automatically installs, making device setup fast and hassle-free – all without having to interact with IT. HP Adaptive Endpoint Management securely manages increasingly distributed PC environments, even with multiple operating systems and vendors. HP Connect for Microsoft Endpoint Manager: It frees up IT

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resources by making it easy to remotely configure, secure, and update the BIOS of HP commercial PCs. IT can create policies for groups of devices customizing over 100 different HP BIOS settings. They can systematically push the desired settings to the correct devices during their initial setup, and change settings remotely as needed – all through the cloud. HP Connect for Microsoft Endpoint Manager also allows IT to better protect PC BIOS from unauthorized changes, eliminating the risks associated with traditional password-based approaches. HP Cloud Endpoint Manager: A cloud-ready solution designed for IT who want a better way to deploy and securely manage thousands of HP Thin Clients, all through a modern and intuitive interface. Accessible from any location from a web browser, the solution helps IT prioritize their day with customizable dashboards that include metrics and analytics to keep them up to date on deployments, device compliance, and server health. HP Cloud Endpoint Manager equips IT teams with real-time alerts to quickly identify and resolve issues while also saving them time through the automation of repetitive management tasks.

COMMSCOPE’S TOUCHSTONE DOCSIS 3.1 CABLE GATEWAYS IMPROVE USERS INTERNET PERFORMANCE

ommScope, a leader in home network solutions, expands its Wi-Fi 6 home network gateway portfolio with the release of its new Touchstone TG644x DOCSIS 3.1 cable gateways. With the use of online gaming, video conferencing, AR/VR, and other delay-sensitive applications on the rise, the opportunity has never been greater to bring low latency broadband services to market. The TG644x gateway supports CommScope’s end-to-end Low Latency DOCSIS (LLD) solution, which establishes a fast lane for delay-sensitive traffic from the home to the headend and back, and the enhanced capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 reduces latency and jitter in communications to the end device. The gateways support a high split with a switched diplexer for flexible deployment capabilities to meet the demand for increased upstream capacity, such as using video conferencing for working and learning from home. “By deploying the new TG644x gateways, service providers are providing subscribers with the confidence they will not drop a video call or miss an online lesson,” said Ken Haase, Vice President, Product Management, CommScope. “Gamers will be able to take advantage of lower latency, thus giving them the competitive edge by reducing lag or buffering.” The TG644x gateways allow service providers to deliver multi-gigabit data rates to and around the home and small business and enable reliable ultra-HD videos over Wi-Fi. These innovative Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 gateways are intended to serve as the hub of a subscriber’s network and connect all IP-capable devices (i.e., internet, data, voice, and video) throughout the customer’s premises. If additional coverage is required to light up dead spots, the gateways may be supplemented with CommScope’s X5 Wi-Fi 6 extender to deliver highperformance and managed Wi-Fi coverage throughout

the home. The gateways can also be managed with CommScope’s HomeAssure Managed Wi-Fi solutions, providing optimized, high-performance Wi-Fi coverage throughout the home. Furthermore, the TG644x gateways also support SNMP and TR-069 remote management protocols for reducing service providers' costs and can be managed with CommScope’s ECO Service Management solutions. It provides service providers visibility into the home network, and the ability to automate and control subscriber devices and experiences.

TOUCHSTONE CABLE GATEWAYS: • • • • •

act as fast lanes for delay-sensitive traffic support high split with a switched diplexer for flexible deployment deliver multi-gigabit data rates to and around the home and small business enables reliable ultra-HD videos over Wi-Fi serve as the hub of a subscriber’s network and connect all IP capable devices such as internet, data, voice, and video

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OCTOBER 2021 57

TECHNOLOGY

EYE TECH

TECHNOLOGY

ADVERTORIAL | FINESSE

CYBERHUB IS HERE.! FINESSE SOC FOR 24/7 MONITORING & CONTROL OF EVENTS & ALERTS

Sunil Paul Co- Founder & MD

inesse, the market leader of digital transformation and cybersecurity in the region, has launched a fully functional stateof-the-art Security Operation Centre (SOC) in the UAE. With the launch of this centre, Finesse continues to invest substantially in the cybersecurity space. The newly opened SOC will enable organizations in the region improve their security posture significantly, by proactively detecting, analysing and responding to cyberthreats to their digital infrastructure 24/7/365. As per PWC, 42% of CEOs ranked cyber and data privacy second among 11 areas of impact and value, as companies look to raise their digital ambitions. And with good reason. Digital transformation initiatives bring immense value to organizations, but also bring in a proportionate amount of risk. The biggest risk of them all, is the risk of intrusion and attack on digital infrastructure by cybercriminals. Cyberattacks have been at an all-time high in the UAE. A Kaspersky report indicates that there has been a 190% increase in cyberattacks in the UAE, since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Cyberattacks cause not just financial distress to customers and the business, but they also erode customer confidence, and have reputational, legal, financial & regulatory consequences for the

58 OCTOBER 2021

Eljo J P Chief Business Officer & Director business. Companies need to be prepared at all times to stop cyberattacks on their digital infrastructure, given it is not possible to totally stop cyberattacks, companies need to have technology and processes in place to predict the chances and identify in case these attacks happen to reduce the impact of the cyberattack and bring back stable operations, once the incident is neutralised. These activities are handled in a single location, often referred to as the Security Operations Centre (SOC). With the vision of reducing cyberattacks on businesses in the UAE, Finesse has opened its roundthe-clock Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Dubai. The state-of-the-art SOC is built keeping the region’s business clients in mind, and providing them with a cost-effective solution to safeguard their digital infrastructure from cyberattacks. What is a Security Operations Center? A security operations centre (SOC) includes the people, processes and technologies responsible for monitoring, analysing and maintaining an organization’s information security. The SOC acts as the corporation's intelligence hub, capturing data in real time from the company's networks, servers, endpoints, and other digital assets www.VARonline.com

and using intelligent automation to identify, prioritize, and respond to potential cybersecurity threats. Previously, the SOC was believed to be a heavyweight infrastructure that could only be afforded by very large or security-conscious companies. With the advent of new collaboration tools and security technology, many enterprises are establishing virtual security operations centers (SOCs) that do not require a dedicated facility and can be staffed by part-time security, operations, and development personnel. Many organisations are establishing managed security operations centers (SOCs) or hybrid SOCs, which combine in-house resources with tools and expertise from Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs). What Does a Security Operations Center Do? Small, five-person operations to large, national coordination centers are all illustrations of SOCs. The following are typical elements of a mission statement for a midsize SOC: 1. Cybersecurity incident prevention through proactive measures: • Continuous threat analysis • Network and host vulnerability scanning • Coordination of countermeasure deployment • Security policy and architecture consulting 2. Monitoring, detection, and analysis of potential intrusions in real time and through historical trending on security-relevant data sources 3. Response to confirmed incidents in a timely manner by coordinating resources and directing use of appropriate countermeasures 4. Risk and compliance capabilities to ensure industry and government regulations are followed 5. Providing situational awareness and reporting on cybersecurity status, incidents, and trends in adversary behavior to appropriate organizations

Finesse SOC will be providing the following services among others to their customers

suspicious or malicious activities for further investigation. Our platform take advantage of each of the following log sources and data types: • Security events from both endpoints and network • Infrastructure and authentication • Traditional security protection solutions • Threat Intelligence • In-house Application data

ORCHESTRATION AND AUTOMATION

1. Zero Trust Provisioning – Obtaining awareness of tools, software, hardware, technologies used within the business, and enabling micro-segmentation and zero-trust security protocol across these resources. PIM and PAM & Multi factor authentication tools will be used to restrict access and secure sensitive assets of clients 2. Continuous proactive monitoring – SIEM & XDR tools and processes will be used to monitor suspicious activity on servers, databases, networks, applications and other systems with the sole purpose of identifying potential security threats, and stopping these threats as quickly as possible. SOAR programs will be employed to amend and automate fixing these threats quickly. 3. Alert severity prioritization – Triage on threats, and address the most important issues first 4. Incident recovery and remediation – Once the cyberattack is neutralized, the SOC will work at restoring systems to a baseline or an earlier stable state. It also involves identifying steps that need to be taken to reduce the impact of the cyberattack 5. Root cause investigation / forensic analysis – Figure out the cause of the cyberattack using logs, in order to identify steps in preventing similar problems in the future 6. Preventive maintenance – Be informed on the latest security

innovations, and the latest trends in cybercrime. Take steps to stop these attacks on the organization 7. Patch management – Keep your systems secure, compliant and up-to-date 8. Management against a variety of cyberattacks – like malware, ransomware, distributed-denialof-service attacks (DDoS), SQL injection, zero-day attack and DNS tunnelling 9. Endpoint security – protection of computer networks, that are remotely bridged to external devices (like those of customers or remote employees) What makes Finesse CyberHub Unique?

CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY

At Finesse, as the SOC-as-aService provider, we go beyond the foundations of a standard SOC. We integrated a wide range of critical operations into a single cloud-native technological platform. Our platform accelerated threat detection, hunting, investigation, triaging, case management, and remediation.

COMPREHENSIVE VISIBILITY

All logs, data, and other telemetry will be ingested to Finesse SOC Platform, from as many relevant sources as feasible. With more data, enterprises will have a complete and accurate picture of what's going on, allowing them to identify genuinely

After capturing data, the Finesse SOC Platorm uses advanced data science approaches to automate and optimize the detection process, allowing it to make important correlations, reduce false positives, and boost confidence in the detections under investigation. We use the combination of supervised and unsupervised machine learning, rule-based and signature-based criteria, and behavior pattern-match detection methods to detect possible threats automatically, which enable our SOC to detect malicious behavior and strengthen protection over time by utilizing extensive and timely threat intelligence.

TEAM OF EXPERTS

We've put together a group of specialists with a diverse and complementary set of talents and knowledge. Our team is composed of data scientists and engineers, security analysts, threat hunters, researchers, and incident responders, all of whom collaborate to guarantee that you have the finest security operation possible. Our expertise open up opportunities for enterprises to focus on other matters. Finesse professionals work alongside your team, providing crucial skills, knowledge, and expertise, as well as 24/7 coverage, without the challenges of recruitment, management, and retention, or the compensation and related expenditures.

Combined with shared CISO consulting services & periodic Vulnerability Management & Penetration Testing Services, our Managed Security Service - portfolio will help you to focus on your core business by managing our client’s cybersecurity needs with onsite, off-shore and hybrid support models

www.VARonline.com

OCTOBER 2021 59

TECHNOLOGY

ADVERTORIAL | FINESSE

TECHNOLOGY

ADVERTORIAL | PHILIPS

PHILIPS MOMENTUM, THE WORLD’S FIRST MONITOR DESIGNED FOR XBOX

onitors & Displays Holding B.V. (‘MMD’), Philips’ monitor license partner, announces the release of the world’s first Designed for Xbox console gaming monitor. Philips Momentum Designed for Xbox console gaming monitors are built from the ground up to provide the ultimate experience for Xbox fans. These Designed for Xbox console gaming monitors set the standard for Xbox gaming. The inclusion of the new HDMI 2.1 spec now enables next-gen console gaming with 4K resolution and faster 120Hz refresh rates for ultraclear and ultra-smooth gaming performance. Taking it the next level, MMD partnered with Xbox to tune these “Designed for Xbox” displays to deliver the optimal validated Xbox Series X performance from the moment you plug it in.

A NEW FRONTIER IN CONSOLE GAMING

60 OCTOBER 2021

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DESIGNED FOR XBOX

his series of Philips Momentum monitors deliver Designed for Xbox validated performance with ultra-clear 4K resolution at a minimum 120Hz refresh rate, HDR support with DisplayHDR 1000, Variable Refresh Rate for smooth gaming and Always Low Latency gaming. The team has worked together to create Xbox Game Mode, which creates an exciting mode with specially tuned picture quality for Xbox. The monitors have been extensively tested, and validated by engineers at Microsoft and MMD to ensure perfect compatibility, while also meeting the high expectations that dedicated Xbox fans expect. “At Xbox, we are always looking to give our fans choice in how, what and where they play their

favorite games. Today, we’re excited to announce our partnership with Philips to deliver the first Designed for Xbox monitor, giving fans a unique display with technology and features that provide the ultimate console gaming experience for Xbox Series X|S.” – Matt Kesselring, Director of Xbox Hardware Partnerships. “Philips Momentum broke new ground in console gaming as the first monitor to achieve VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification. We are thrilled that the Momentum console gaming monitors will deliver a new standard of audio-visual experience that will bring out the very best in your Xbox.” Chris Brown, Philips Monitors Global Product Marketing Lead.

ABOUT PHILIPS MONITORS

hilips was founded as far back as 1891 in the Netherlands, and has since engaged in more than a century of innovation and entrepreneurship. Thanks to the company developing timeless business values, Philips has become one of the most highly recognized and trusted brands in the world today. This comes from a tradition of caring about people’s needs, innovating based on ever-changing

insights, and working to make a positive change in people’s lives – traditions as meaningful now as they were in the company’s beginnings. Philips monitors stand for excellent picture quality, and providing innovative solutions to problems people really care about. To reflect this Philips commitment, Philips has created the slogan: ‘Innovation and You’. – See more at www.philips.com

ABOUT MMD MMD is wholly owned by TPV group and globally licensed for Philips Monitors development, marketing and sales. Combining the Philips brand promise with TPV’s manufacturing expertise in displays, MMD uses a fast and focused approach to bring innovative products to the markets.

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OCTOBER 2021 61

TECHNOLOGY

ADVERTORIAL | PHILIPS SME FOCUS

TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE | INFOBLOX

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES CAN PREVENT CYBERATTACKS THROUGH GOOD CYBERSECURITY HYGIENE AND EMPLOYEE EDUCATION By: Wissam Saadeddine, Senior Manager – MENA at Infoblox

he public and private sectors have many differences, one characteristic is similar; that is cybersecurity and threats. Both sectors feel the pain of not having a sufficient community of trained and available security staff to hire, both are constant targets of phishing and related social engineering attacks and both are trying to balance the three-pronged attacks of the pandemic, the relocation of employees to work-from-home status and increased risks from attacks on cloud assets. The following are considered to be the noted challenges for both government and private sectors: • Workers are being required to work from home with available resources • IT and security staff must provide WFH employees with new equipment, which has major implications for IT budgets • Users are connecting to government networks from untrusted and often compromised

62 OCTOBER 2021

home networks • Users are employing personal equipment and IoT devices to connect to government networks and clouds that might not be secured to the governmental agency’s security standards Government operations potentially can impact much larger groups of people than a corporate attack. Depending on the government entity targeted, the effect could impact critical infrastructure at all levels. The COVID-19 effect of draining critical financial resources to fund purchases of hardware and software for newly displaced employees, plus expenses for significant increases of cloud services and, in some cases, a forced digital transformation from the on-premises data center to cloudbased assets, is putting a strain on both financial and staffing resources. From the citizenry perspective, the pandemic has opened the proverbial Pandora’s box of fake “official” websites devoted to COVID-19, misinformation from websites purporting to be the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other government and medical facilities that are watering holes for malware and ransomware attacks on hospitals delivered in emails purporting to be information about COVID-19. What can government agencies do to defend themselves against such attacks? While public and private sectors have some differences when it comes to issues such as disclosure and confidentiality, the basis is the same. At the core is user education. Helping government employees understand good cybersecurity hygiene is essential. With the www.VARonline.com

vast majority of office-based government employees working at home, agencies need to focus on the basics of identity management; implementing zero trust to protect networks from untrusted users, devices, applications, and network connections; and ensuring that data is protected from unauthorized egress and access. For those governmental agencies without existing threat intelligence capabilities, now would be a good time to invest in a comprehensive program that includes a mix of traditional data feeds, specialized feeds focusing on specific requirements for a given agency, an open-source intelligence (OSINT) feed, and greater emphasis on understanding the threat intel an agency already is generating from its existing SIEM systems and related log systems. Government agencies also should take advantage of several emerging technologies to further enhance their existing security policies. For example, security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) enhance the speed and reliability of existing operations. For cloud-based operations, a cloud access security broker (CASB) is onpremises or cloud-based security policy enforcement placed between cloud server consumers and providers. It interjects enterprise security policies as cloud-based assets are accessed. Continuous management and monitoring add another dimension to protecting government networks. As a key target of bad actors and nation-state cyber attackers, continuous monitoring is essential; any lapse can let attackers have access to a system, even if just momentarily.

ENSURE SERVICES: A RELIABLE IT SERVICES PROVIDER FOR ENTERPRISES Medhavi Kakkar, Marketing and Customer Experience Manager – MEA, Ensure Services

nsure Services, a Redington Group Company, is one of the largest IT Service Delivery networks with presence in over 26 countries. Ensure Services is the vendor-authorized, neutral service partner for over 28 IT brands in the Middle East and Africa region. In over 15 years, it tailored superior technology services for enterprises and consumers alike, helping them leverage the power of technology to its full potential, acting as a catalyst for growth. Ensure Services also received accolades such as A1+ credit rating by CRISIL and ICRA. Some of its service offerings include infrastructure management services, annual maintenance contracts (AMC), repair services, data recovery, trade-in parts and care packs, and consumer services.

IT INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT SERVICES The pandemic has speed fasted digital adoption and transformed organizations. This has also increased dependency upon the electronic devices that we use to connect with the world in the post-pandemic era. For organizations that cannot afford downtimes due to this increased dependency, Ensure Services has a robust offering of enterprise services that help reduce organizational downtime. Other issues that may arise with IT dependency are, increased threat of advanced security threats, high maintenance cost, performance monitoring, and obsolete workflows. With 250+ certified technicians across 28 countries, Ensure Services offers regular preventive maintenance at competitive prices. They adopt fool-proof systems and processes to ensure glitchfree operations while protecting systems from unwanted security threats by running regular security checks for impending threats through any listed assets.

DATA RECOVERY SERVICES One of the major IT threats is loss of data, but not all hope is lost even if your organization is not covered under an AMC. If there is a loss of data, Ensure Services’ stateof-the-art repair and data recovery labs, with the help of highly skilled data recovery technicians, will ensure that your lost data is recovered, if recoverable. They are skilled to recover data across various devices, such as hard drives, tapes, USBs, servers, and other storage devices.

PARTS AND CARE PACKS Over the years, Ensure Services has also shared its expertise to empower its clients by providing them with genuine spare parts from vendors. This has led to another line of business that helps Ensure Services reach those in need of genuine spare parts for their IT and consumer units. Through this business, they not only provide batteries, motherboards, hard drives, and other IT spare parts, but also warranty extensions that may help you in reducing maintenance costs in the future.

CONSUMER SERVICES Through all of this, the constant focus of Ensure Services has also been on the end consumers who may need a mobile, laptop, desktop, tablet, or printer repair. As an authorized service provider for various brands, such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and Microsoft, it offers both, warranty and out-of-warranty services to customers. As a services organization, they have also identified other pain points of end consumers and, therefore, they have launched pickup and return services to help customers and enterprises get their units fixed in time and with ease.

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OCTOBER 2021 63

TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE

TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE | FORTINET

SECURING 5G PRIVATE MOBILE NETWORKS FROM DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACKS, RANSOMWARE RAIDS, AND DISRUPTIONS By: Pablo Molinero, Senior Director of Product Management for Telcos, Fortinet

machine communications, predictability, agility, and high precision, within a tailored made network, you are facing many challenges in a fast-growing attack surface. There are multiple architectures for deploying private mobile networks, which vary based on the enterprise and industry requirements, use cases, and a spectrum of regulations and allocations per country. A company looking to build its own private mobile network may involve a myriad of different architectures and actors to create and manage it. Before deploying it, cybersecurity implications must be top of mind for all organizations. Companies should start by assessing their cyber maturity and be aware of the skills and technology required to detect, block, and respond to cyber threats.

n the Industry 4.0 era, critical industries from manufacturing to transportation to energy and utilities view 5G as the catalyst furthering change. 5G has the potential to accelerate the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0, and drive further innovation, automation and efficiency. To extract the full potential of 5G, operators need to look beyond the public network. While public networks offer a lot of capacity with high bandwidth connectivity to everyone equipped with a 5G compatible device, it’s not yet configured to support industrial needs. This leads critical industries to create their private mobile networks that while offering improved performance, reliability, and connectivity also bring with it cybersecurity risks. In a 2020 study done by ABI Research, they predicted that private networks built by Enterprises will go beyond public networks by 2036. And for good reason, as private cellular networks can be quickly deployed and customized to serve key and time-sensitive needs for automation, control, physical and process safety. Here we are talking about ultra-reliable communications for low latency applications as well as massive machine-tomachine communications for IoT and IIoT applications. Creating your own private mobile network doesn’t go without risks in terms of cybersecurity. Protecting operational technologies is already critical. If you are adding to these IIoT devices, fueled by the 5G capabilities such as hyper scalability, ultra-low latency, support for

64 OCTOBER 2021

Here are some takeaways to think about when designing a proper secure 5G Mobile private network: • The first security aspect involves microsegmentation and access control of the different production networks and devices. Security needs to create a virtual air gap in production environments to protect against threats, contain and limit their progression and impact. • Industrial devices are often not updated in time to not jeopardize the availability of the production chain. They can live with a well-known vulnerability for weeks or even months. In this case, the security infrastructure in place should provide a virtual security patch by preventing vulnerabilities to be exploited until the devices are upgraded. • Predictable low latency is also a key aspect. A few extra milliseconds can slow down, bring to a halt or even harm an entire production line if the inputs and outputs used by the industrial control application arrived too late to be usable. • Finally, the security elements need to have a very low footprint and in some cases be able to work in environments of high temperature or humidity, which require ruggedized solutions. In summary, it is well known that factories and logistics hubs are very attractive targets for denialof-service attacks, ransomware raids, disruptions, or industrial espionage. Operators and industrial players are well aware of it, and they are making cybersecurity an integral part of their 5G private network.

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TIPS TO PROTECT ENTERPRISE NETWORKS AND RESOURCES AGAINST MOZI Amr Alashaal, Regional Vice President - Middle East at A10 Networks

alware has been playing an important role in the expansion of botnets, automating the process of bot infection and recruitment. These botnets are then used to launch large-scale DDoS attacks. One highly prevalent malware in the DDoS world is Mozi. Mozi is a DDoS-focused botnet that utilizes a large set of Remote Code Executions (RCEs) to leverage CVEs in IoT devices for infection. These IoT devices include readily available and commonly used DVRs and network gateways. Once infected, the botnet uses peer-to-peer connectivity to send and receive configuration updates and attack commands. Mozi was first identified in 2019 and has been evolving and increasing in size ever since. It can now persist on network devices by infiltrating the device’s file system, remaining functional even after the device has been rebooted. During the first half of 2021, Mozi topped out at over 360,000 unique systems using more than 285,000 unique source IP addresses, likely due to address translation. In order to protect their networks and resources, organizations need to take the following steps to block systems infected by Mozi and the malicious traffic generated by them: Never Trust, Always Verify: Incorporate the Zero Trust model and its key principles into your security strategy. Create micro-perimeters within your networks. Limit access to your resources and invest in modern, AI/ ML-based solutions. Ensure visibility into not only the endpoints and network nodes, but also into users, their activities, and workflows. Investigate Whether You are Already Infected: The initial infection of Mozi comes in the form of RCEs sent using ports 80, 8080, 8443, etc. This can make initial infections stand out, which can help in tracking them with low false positives. If your network devices suddenly start generating abnormal amounts of TCP or UDP traffic, immediately isolate suspicious devices and limit the traffic originating from them. If this is not possible, then apply global rate limiting on all traffic until you track the source. Observe and Block Commonly Exploited Ports: Incorporate the Zero Trust Closely monitor any traffic using TCP ports 60001, 37215, 5555, 52869, 49152, both before or after a suspected infection. While these aren’t the only ports Mozi uses, they may help find the needle in the haystack. As a general good practice, monitor and block sources that send TCP SYNs to ports 23 and 2323 as most malware use Telnet to initiate IoT device infections. Take a Closer Look at the Payloads: If your network

devices are generating large amounts of traffic, look at the payloads (i.e., the HTTP POST as shown on page 13). RegEx can be used to filter these malicious traffic requests out and block them before they infect other devices. Block BitTorrent: Since BitTorrent is one of the most common peer-to-peer networks used by Mozi for Command and Control (C2) communications, any BitTorrent traffic coming into or going out of the network should be blocked. The sheer amount of BitTorrent traffic could be a dead giveaway of infection depending on your customer type. Ensure Your Security is up to Date: Make sure your security infrastructure is updated regularly and that your IoT devices are running the latest version of firmware with all the necessary security patches applied. Keep track of CVEs for your network devices and seek out help if there are any patches available. If fixes are not readily available, take appropriate action based on the particular CVEs. Employ or Review DDoS Baselining and AI/ML Techniques: Using modern DDoS techniques like baselining to see anomalous behavior versus historical norms, and AI/ML techniques, for detection and zeroday attack prevention, can be a force multiplier for your security team as manual tasks can be discovered and dealt with efficiently and 24x7.

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OCTOBER 2021 65

TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE

TECHNOLOGY

ADVERTORIAL | DVCOM

DVCOM HELPS BUSINESSES TO ACCELERATE TRANSFORMATION WITH CLOUD-CENTRIC SOLUTIONS

VCOM Technology is a specialist

seamlessly and intelligently,

UAE has increased considerably

value-added distributor in the

covering every scenario from small

and our vendors in this space like

to extra-large spaces.

2N, Milesight and Akuvox have

Middle East that represents some of the most dynamic ICT vendors and

Most of the companies are having

come out with lots of innovations

solutions offerings. We at DVCOM,

a digital transformation strategy as

whether it be cloud-based smart

are already seeing the rise of digital

the key focus in their 2021 agenda.

intercom solutions, AI cameras

business service that go beyond

With new trends prompted by the

for surveillance and WaveKey

support and maintenance and

pandemic, such as hybrid work,

technology that opens the door in 0.3

we help companies to accelerate

businesses are preparing for the

seconds.

their business transformation

next normal and there comes an

with products and solutions that

increasing demand for digital

The growth of e-learning has

includes cloud-centric unified

workplace solutions. This is a

been instrumental in driving the

communication and collaboration

game-changing moment and our

growth of the interactive flat panel

tools, cost-effective voice and

vendor Yeastar as they continue to

market which is expected to grow

video solutions, provide remote

refine their UC solutions have also

at a CAGR of 34% by 2023. To take

management tools, security

expanded their expertise to other

advantage of this growing market we

solutions and various innovative

aspects of the workplace. Besides

have partnered with OneScreen for

products that companies need to

the Appliance and Software Edition

this region to make it as simple as

prepare for the future and transform

of P-Series PBX System Yeastar has

possible for people to work together

themselves into an intelligent

launched the Cloud Edition with

and have productive interactions

enterprise.

extra flexibility and profitability.

– without technological barriers –

Another important launch this year

from wherever they are.

COVID-19 has changed the way companies operate. Businesses have

is the workplace scheduling solution.

found themselves forced to focus

The meeting room booking system is

budgets due to the current economic

on remote working. Organizations

composed of a cloud-based platform,

climate and the focus on business

have realized that they can operate

room displays, and smart sensors to

innovation (especially at the

remotely often at the same or

help streamline space allocation and

government level) is accelerating

higher levels of productivity and

save in-person collaboration from

the managed cloud services

cost efficiency and they expect

unnecessary scheduling conflicts.

growth in this region. The recent

their remote interactions to operate

Our networking vendor DrayTek

Declining IT and business

outbreak of COVID-19 witnessed

smoothly. This has rocketed the

has launched the new G.fast Dual

flourishing demands of hosted PBX

usage of digital tools like Microsoft

WAN Router - Vigor2866 Series

services to support working from

Teams and Zoom by around 700%.

& Vigor 2866 LTE Series providing

home for remote workers. Over

Being a Yealink distributor, we were

load balancing or failover feature

the past couple of years, we have

rightly placed to take advantage of

to ensure network continuity for

been consciously working towards

this boom by providing Microsoft

businesses. Also, 2 new Wi-Fi 6

building our capabilities in adopting

and Zoom certified hardware to

routers, Vigor2927 Series and 2865

an OPEX model to grow our business.

meet the increasing demand to

Series were added recently for

We are finally ready with our cloud

interact, connect, and collaborate

customers to enjoy ultrafast speed.

offerings under the banner iNTACT

with internal and external users

66 OCTOBER 2021

Physical security spending in www.VARonline.com

cloud services.

17-21 Oct 2021 Booth

C10

Welcome to the World of WiFi 6 & 5G At Linksys our mission is to build the world’s most reliable, innovative, future-ready wireless technologies that can securely connect every person and everything, effortlessly. At GITEX 2021, we’re giving centre stage to 5G, WiFi 6, Cloud Management and more. Come to our booth and discover it for yourself!

See you there! linksys.com/ae

TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE | PRODUCT

VEEAM EXTENDS ADVANCED SUPPORT FOR CLOUD ADOPTION AND MODERN DATA PROTECTION

eeam Software, a leader in backup and data management solutions, announced the new update to its flagship product, Veeam Backup & Replication, as well as multiple updates to its product portfolio that deliver enhanced cloud-native capabilities. Veeam Backup & Replication v11a follows the release of V11 in Q1’21. The most advanced data protection solution for Cloud, Virtual, Physical, SaaS, and Kubernetes workloads has been downloaded more than 300,000 times since its initial release. Veeam continues to innovate and expand with the focus on furthering its ecosystem of integrations with Veeam Backup & Replication v11a. Veeam extends its platform increasing value for customers as they move to the cloud, including expanded native protection for AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, Veeam backup repository integration for Kubernetes, and centralized management for IBM AIX and Oracle Solaris protection. Veeam Backup & Replication v11a provides even greater platform support, including Microsoft Windows Server 2022, as well as broader capabilities that help ensure that data is protected, no matter where it’s located. Finally, enhanced Continuous Data Protection (CDP) provides enhanced support for VMware VSAN and VMware Virtual Volumes (vVOLs), enabling alignment to RPO, RTO, and SLA goals with one integrated solution regardless of primary storage technology used. “The cloud is not ‘new’ for most organizations,” said Danny Allan, CTO & SVP, Product Strategy at Veeam. “According to our recent Veeam Cloud Protection Trends Report, more than 40% of organizations have been using production services in the cloud for more than 24 months. Data is moving, IT platforms are changing, and Veeam continues to evolve to support these moves and deliver the most simple, flexible, reliable, and powerful backup solutions. These latest product updates and enhancements will further enable our 400,000+ customers to protect, recover and manage their data wherever it resides.”

CLOUD-NATIVE CAPABILITIES FOR AWS, 68 OCTOBER 2021

MICROSOFT AZURE, AND GOOGLE CLOUD PLATFORM Veeam provides cloud-native support for the leading hyper-scale public clouds – AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud – under a single platform for hybrid-/ multi-cloud environments, providing unparalleled choice and simplicity when utilizing one or more providers. New features and capabilities in Veeam Backup & Replication v11a (and each standalone, cloudspecific offering) enable organizations to accelerate cloud adoption by ensuring data is reliably secured, protected, and managed from a single console. • Native protection of additional services: Expand native backup and recovery to Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) systems and Microsoft Azure SQL Databases. Policy-based automation eases management and eliminates scripts, while fast and flexible recoveries keep organizations operational 24/7. • Lowest cost archive storage: Achieve long-term retention goals for cloud-native backups within budgets. New support for Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) Glacier, S3 Glacier Deep Archive, Microsoft Azure Archive Storage, and Google Cloud Archive storage cuts data archival costs by as much as 50X. • Increased security and control: Safeguard encrypted backup data from ransomware and other cyber threats. Integrations with AWS Key Management Service (KMS) and Azure Key Vault, as well as new RBAC functionality, increases security with streamlined control over access authorizations. • One platform with unlimited options: Centralize AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform backup and recovery under a single, easy-to-use console. Directly restore ANY Veeam backup to AWS, Azure, and now also to Google Cloud for unlimited Cloud Mobility.

KASTEN BY VEEAM K10 INTEGRATION WITH VEEAM BACKUP REPOSITORIES Enterprise customers are taking advantage of the flexibility and power of containers but providing backup, recovery, and visibility into container backups

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is often a challenge due to fragmented solutions. With the new integration released as part of Veeam Backup & Replication v11a, K10 and Veeam customers will be able to leverage existing investments in the backup infrastructure. Kasten K10 v4.5 will be able to direct backups of Kubernetes clusters that leverage VMware persistent volumes to a Veeam Backup & Replication repository where its lifecycle can be managed and additional Veeam features and capabilities leveraged.

SUPPORT FOR RED HAT VIRTUALIZATION (RHV) BACKUP Now with support for a fourth hypervisor in a supported public beta, Veeam Backup & Replication v11a offers reliable integrated backup for Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) so customers can create efficient backups of RHV VMs utilizing native change block tracking and be prepared for any disaster. With fast recovery for RHV VMs, Veeam customers can meet recovery objectives with confidence using a flexible solution natively integrated with RHV.

INSTANT RECOVERY TO NUTANIX AHV With the new Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV v3, Veeam expands its patented instant recovery functionality to additional hypervisors. Customers can now instantly recover image-level backups created by ANY Veeam product to a Nutanix AHV VM for instant disaster recovery of any workload - cloud, virtual and physical. This functionality requires Nutanix AHV 6.0 or later.

VEEAM AGENTS FOR MICROSOFT WINDOWS, IBM AIX, AND ORACLE SOLARIS Veeam continues to make large strides in server backup with additional platform support and capabilities that reduce deployment and management operations. Now with support for Windows 10 21H1 and Windows Server 2022, customers can embrace the latest versions of Microsoft’s server and client operating systems with the confidence that their data can be both backed up and recovered. New automated protection groups enable customers to avoid data loss scenarios for new IBM AIX and Oracle Solaris assets added to the data center.

VEEAM ONE V11A CAPABILITIES As the premier monitoring and analytics solution for Veeam Backup & Replication, Veeam ONE v11a now provides deeper insights into data protection with a distinct focus on cloud, security, and enterprise capabilities. New support for Veeam Backup for Google Cloud Platform provides alarms and reports to help track and measure the efficacy of cloud backups, as well as

Danny Allan CTO & SVP, Product Strategy at Veeam

a new view into immutability, further helping mitigate against malicious activity from cyber threats. Enterprise customers can now take full advantage of enhanced reporting for advanced views and comprehensive monitoring and reporting with Veeam Agents for IBM AIX and Oracle Solaris, which can now be managed centrally with Veeam Backup & Replication v11a.

VEEAM SERVICE PROVIDER CONSOLE V6 Founded on a freemium model, Veeam has continued to offer free products to its customers and partners for the past 15 years. New Veeam Service Provider Console v6 continues that streak as a FREE product that provides cloud and managed service providers the ability to offer Veeam-powered BaaS and DRaaS to their customers from a centralized, web-based console. V6 now offers service providers deeper integrations to accelerate productivity, including VCSP Pulse integration for dramatically simplified license management and customer onboarding, as well as support for Veeam ONE and upcoming support for Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365.

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OCTOBER 2021 69

TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE | PRODUCT

TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE | BRAND

HUAWEI UNVEILS INNOVATIONS IN DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, CREATING MORE VALUE FOR CUSTOMERS AND PARTNERS H

uawei unveiled breakthrough innovations in several different domains, providing a first look at its comprehensive digital infrastructure range. Several of these innovations are completely new, and have never been seen before outside of Huawei's labs. The release highlighted how these products and solutions are set to shape digital infrastructure for the next decade. Huawei is one of the world's leading creators of digital infrastructure, and is dedicated to building a fully connected, intelligent world. During the event, Huawei Executive Director and President of ICT Products & Solutions David Wang delivered a keynote speech titled Leading Innovation in Digital Infrastructure. In the speech, he noted, "Infrastructure has been vital to every stage of human development. The intelligent world is fast approaching and digital infrastructure is the key to building this intelligent world. The world now faces unprecedented challenges and so Huawei will remain customer-centric and committed to innovation. We are dedicated to breakthroughs to serve major application scenarios such as digital offices, smart manufacturing, wide area network (WAN), and data centers, and accelerate the development of the global digital infrastructure." He went on to explain how digital infrastructure of the future would need to be hyper secure, reliable, and deterministic, and need more efficient data circulation and computing power as the world dives into digital. This speech started with the ideas Wang introduced recently at the release event for Huawei's Intelligent World 2030 report. The report itself finds that, by 2030, global connections will top 200 billion; monthly data per cellular user will grow 40 times to 600 gigabytes; worldwide general computing volume will grow 10 times over; and data generated will increase by 23 times, reaching one yottabyte for the first time. All of this creates a picture of new challenges and opportunities for the digital infrastructure sector over the next 10 years. The main focus of his speech today, however, was seven specific innovations Huawei has launched or is about to launch onto the market.

DIGITAL MEETING ROOMS: POWERED BY INTELLIGENT "OFFICE TWINS" AND BRIDGING 70 OCTOBER 2021

THE WORLD WITH UBIQUITOUS GIGABIT AND SEAMLESS COLLABORATION The newest "Office Twins" from Huawei are the AirEngine 6761 and IdeaHub. AirEngine 6761 is the industry's highest-performance Wi-Fi 6E product that delivers an experience-centric, all-wireless network for businesses, with instant and secure user access, interaction latency down to 10 milliseconds, and ultrafast file transfer at 1,000 Mbps. As part of the next generation of smart office tools, the 6-in-1 design of IdeaHub allows it to function as a projector, whiteboard, computer, conference endpoint, speaker, and microphone, enabling "frictionless collaboration" across different locations.

HUAWEI OPTIXSENSE: ACCELERATING PIPELINE INSPECTION The Huawei OptiXsense EF3000 is the company's first product under the OpiXsense family, and is currently the most accurate optical sensor of the industry. Coming packed with Huawei's leading optical technologies, the OptiXsense uses a unique optical digital signal processor (oDSP) and a new vibration ripple analysis engine for automatic incident identification. The OptiXsense achieves 97% accuracy, compared with the industry average of 60%–80%. It is designed to streamline oil and gas pipeline inspections, and will ultimately enable intelligent, unmanned pipeline inspections. Going forward, OptiXsense products will also support other domains, monitoring temperature, stress, and water quality.

THE INDUSTRY'S FIRST DETERMINISTIC IP NETWORK SOLUTION: MAKING LIGHTS-OUT DIGITAL FACTORIES A REALITY Industrial control systems demand extremely low levels of network latency and jitter. Conventional IP networks cannot deliver these standards, but today Huawei unveiled the industry's first deterministic IP network solution, providing end-to-end guaranteed network performance to support industrial controls. This solution uses CloudEngine S6730-H-V2 switches and NetEngine 8000 M8 routers. Huawei's innovations in IP system engineering and algorithms deliver microsecond-

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level single-hop latency and keep jitter within 30 microseconds from end to end, regardless of the number of hops. The solution supports multi-hop networking of tens of thousands of nodes, so it can deliver deterministic IP network performance for a workshop, a factory, or even multiple factories. It can even support centralized remote control of production lines located thousands of kilometers away.

H-OTN: LEADING A REVOLUTION IN SECURE PRODUCTION NETWORKS H-OTN, the industry's first converged optical device that supports hard pipe technologies, introduces an innovative Point-to-Multipoint (P2MP) OTN architecture for access networks. For the first time, Huawei enables an end-to-end hard pipe, from the access network to WAN, using a redefined product architecture and converged protocols. This not only guarantees 100% security, but also reduces latency by at least 60%. Huawei H-OTN will provide highly reliable communications networks, with ultra-low latency and simplified O&M, to support digital transformation across industries such as electric power and transportation.

AN INDUSTRY-LEADING IP NETWORK SOLUTION: ENABLING CROSS-REGION COMPUTING RESOURCE SCHEDULING Huawei's newest IP network solution delivers industryleading performance to help customers build vast, unified networks for cross-region computing. This solution combines Huawei's CloudEngine 16800 data center switches and NetEngine 8000 F8 WAN routers. Thanks to intelligent & lossless algorithm 2.0 and intelligent cloud graph algorithm, this Huawei solution is able to construct ultra-large data center networks connecting up to 270,000 servers, three times larger than the industry average. It guarantees 0 packet loss on Ethernet and lowers latency by 25%. This solution also features intelligent routing by cloud service type and cloud-network resource factor, improving transmission efficiency by 30%.

OCEANSTOR PACIFIC: USHERING IN AN ERA OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE DATA ANALYTICS (HPDA) OceanStor Pacific is the industry's first distributed storage for HPDA, representing huge breakthroughs in technical architecture, including data flows adaptive to large and small I/O, converged indexing for unstructured data, ultra-high-density hardware, and EC algorithms. With this solution, a single storage unit can make data analytics 30% more efficient by supporting hybrid workloads across high-performance computing (HPC), big data analytics, and AI computing, breaking through the performance, protocol, and capacity barriers that

David Wang Executive Director and President of ICT Products & Solutions, Huawei

typically limit HPDA. OceanStor Pacific has already been deployed in oilfields, and is set to accelerate the digital transformation of oil and gas exploration and create digital basins and oilfields.

HUAWEI CC SOLUTION: BUILDING THE INDUSTRY'S FIRST PUBLIC DIVERSIFIED COMPUTING SERVICE PLATFORM Huawei's CC Solution helps customers roll out public platforms that provide diversified computing power. It is designed with three scenarios in mind: AI computing centers, high performance computing centers, and integrated big data centers. The solution has four advantages over traditional solutions: diversified computing, rapid rollout, efficient utilization, and on-demand service. This solution is already in use in multiple projects, powering industry clusters with computing clusters and supporting the digital transformation of countless industries.

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OCTOBER 2021 71

TECHNOLOGY

FEATURE | BRAND

TECHNOLOGY

RESEARCH | TECH

SAUDI ORGANIZATIONS SUFFER CYBERATTACKS DUE TO VULNERABILITIES IN TECHNOLOGY PUT IN PLACE DURING THE PANDEMIC

Maher Jadallah Senior Director Middle East & North Africa, Tenable

enable has published results of a study that found 86% of Saudi organizations suffered a businessimpacting cyberattack attributed to vulnerabilities in technology put in place during the pandemic. The data is drawn from “Beyond Boundaries: The Future of Cybersecurity in the New World of Work,” a commissioned study of more than 1,300 security leaders, business executives, and remote employees, including 104 in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tenable. The pandemic accelerated remote work for many Saudi organizations. 91% of organizations now have remote employees, up from just 34% in early 2020. Moving forward, the vast majority of organizations (91%) plan to adopt this remote working model permanently. To facilitate the new world of work, cloud adoption has surged. Seventy-seven percent of Saudi organizations have moved business-critical functions to the cloud — including human resources (80%) and accounting and finance (60%). However, this change to working practices has increased organizations’ risks. By their own admission, 63% of Saudi organizations are prepared to support new workforce strategies from a security standpoint, while

72 OCTOBER 2021

67% believe moving business-critical functions to the cloud exposes the organization to increased cyber risk. When looking at the impact of this increased risk, threat actors are taking advantage. Ninety-eight percent of organizations experienced a businessimpacting cyberattack in the last 12 months, with 33% falling victim to five or more. Fifty-seven percent of Saudi organizations said these attacks targeted remote employees. “Remote and hybrid work strategies are here to stay and so will the risks they introduce unless organizations get a handle on what their new attack surface looks like,” said Amit Yoran, CEO, Tenable. “This study reveals two paths forward — one riddled with unmanaged risk and unrelenting cyberattacks and another that accelerates business productivity and operations in a secure way. CISOs and CEOs have the opportunity and responsibility to securely harness the power of technology and manage cyber risk for the new world of work.” IT and security teams are quickly rolling out tools for connectivity, collaboration, and productivity, while also moving business-critical data to the cloud to support a remote and hybrid working environment. Organizations must reevaluate their approach to maintaining security, aligned to the business, to effectively reduce the risks introduced. “The pandemic has seen the corporate perimeter shattered,” said Maher Jadallah, Senior Director Middle East & North Africa, Tenable. “Cloud adoption and remote working practices were being cautiously adopted in Saudi, but in the last eighteen months, this transition has exponentially accelerated. Attackers have seized on the opportunity, as this study reveals, which means understanding what poses a risk to the business and managing that risk effectively is imperative.” Forrester Consulting conducted an online survey of 20 security leaders, 37 business executives, and 47 remote workers (i.e., full-time employees working three or more days from home) in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These are a subset of a wider study of 426 security leaders, 422 business executives, and 479 remote workers as well as six telephonic interviews with business and security executives, to explore shifts in cybersecurity strategies at large enterprises made in response to the pandemic. The study was fielded in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the US in April 2021.

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TECHNOLOGY

STATS AND TRENDS

UAE SMBS ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THEIR BUSINESS: VISA STUDY

• Nearly half (49% vs. 40% globally) of UAE SMBs say accepting contactless payments is among the top critical investment areas needed to meet consumer expectations • Almost all UAE consumers (92%) say the pandemic has permanently changed their payment habits, with one in three saying they have not used cash in the last week The Visa Back to Business global research study has surveyed SMB owners and their customers since the onset of the global pandemic. The vast majority (88%) of SMBs in the UAE are optimistic about the future of their business. This includes 64% (compared to 50% globally) who are very optimistic, which is the highest proportion of all markets surveyed. Nearly half (49% vs. 40% globally) of SMBs in the UAE say accepting contactless payments is among their top investment areas to meet consumer expectations. The majority (84% vs. 74% globally) of SMBs in the UAE believe that customers will continue to prefer contactless payments as much or more than they do today. Nearly all (92%) consumers in the UAE say COVID-19 have permanently changed their payment habits (compared to 68% globally). Nearly three in four (73%) UAE consumers would not shop at a store that does not accept contactless payments (compared to 44% globally). One in three (33% vs. 21% globally) UAE consumers have not used cash in the last week, the second-highest among all markets. More than half (56% vs. 33% globally) of UAE consumers say they are at least somewhat more likely to shop in person compared to last summer, the highest among all markets.

UNLOCKING ACCESS TO THE DIGITAL ECONOMY Recognizing that greater digitization of commerce can bring enormous benefits to small businesses, Visa has continued to deepen and localize its commitment to

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SMBs in the UAE over the last 18 months to help them revitalize and reinvent their businesses. Visa claimed, it has: o been working with several UAE banks to pilot Tap to Phone solutions that make it easier for local merchants to accept payments using only an Android smartphone; o launched ADCB Pace Pay - UAE’s first virtual point of sale (POS) payment terminal with ADCB on both android and iOS platforms; o rolled out the “Rapid Seller Onboarding” to enable SMBs to accept digital payments from their customers in-store/at point-of-sale or online within just seven working days; o And conducted targeted studies such as Small Business Recovery and launched the Stay Secure campaign - in collaboration with DED and Dubai Police - intending to understand regional SME painpoints and provide actionable insights to small businesses. “With an 18-month view into the pandemic now, we have seen that small businesses that have embraced digital commerce and cross-border selling have generally weathered the pandemic and that seemingly small pivots toward digital commerce can continue to make the difference between a small business surviving and thriving,” said Shahebaz Khan, Visa’s General Manager for the UAE.

METHODOLOGY: VISA BACK TO BUSINESS STUDY The Visa Back to Business Study: 5th Edition, was conducted by Wakefield Research between June 15-28, 2021, among 2,250 small business owners at companies with 100 employees or fewer in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

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