The paradigm shifts
There have been several highlights this year in the changing landscape of IT. Among these, there could be a further burst of momentum in BYOD, Big Data and cloud computing workloads especially. A concern that has been a dominating them has been the growing significance of BYOD. This has been an area where vendors have come up with products, solutions or as add-on features with upgraded versions of exiting products. With smartphones expected to overtake Laptops as the most frequently used device of net access very soon, enterprises will need to deploy Mobile Device Management in their networks. They would also need to be able to support different platforms as consumerization of IT takes over more vehemently and where Windows 8 supported devices, the iPads featuring iOS and Android powered devices will learn to co-exist. Further, there is considerable impetus in the deployment of a strategy for Big Data. According to Gartner, dealing with data volume, variety, velocity and complexity is forcing changes to many traditional approaches. In the New Year, Big Data will become a bigger priority for organizations to help them have better tools for decision making as they continue to anticipate and cope with the implications of changing dynamics across Business models, customer segments etc. Process driven companies with sound Big Data analytics tools will be in a better position to adapt and progress across transformative scenarios. They will enable them to unlock greater business value and opportunities more quickly, enhancing customer experience, improving product quality, go to market strategies etc. Further, the transformation towards IT infrastructures relying on cloud-computing workloads will speed up in the unfolding year. As the Cisco cloud index predicts, the global cloud traffic will be the fastest growing component of data center traffic and will grow 6-fold by 2016.
R. Narayan Managing Editor Founder & CEO: Vivek Sharma Managing Editor: R. Narayan Assistant Editor: David Ndichu Art Director: Faiz Ahmed Sr. Sales Manager: R. Subramanyan Sales Coordinator: Smitha Jithesh
Content
Editorial
Cover story - P 18
The rising graph of Security Appliances
Security investments continue to be prioritized by customers and this is fuelling the growth in shipments and revenues of Security Appliances
News in detail - P 10/12
Cloud services could become main revenue generator Data security concerns slow down Adoption of Cloud Services
Techknow - P 16
On the Fast Lane
Philippe Elie, Director, Business Operations at Riverbed EMEA speaks about how companies are seeking smarter ways of utilizing bandwidth and improving their network performance.
Feature
The right balance - P 14
The collaboration between EMC and VMware is set to get stronger as the companies seek acceleration in deployments of cloud based solutions
Driven to succeed - P 24
Wi-Fi pioneer Ruckus Wireless is a trend setter in the true sense of that word. As Wi-Fi grows in stature within the telecommunications industry, the company is well placed to reap the rewards
Techknow - P 22
Citrix strikes out in virtual race
Virtualization heavyweight Citrix has the pedigree and technology to continue its leadership role across a dynamic cloud storage landscape, as Noman Abdul Qadir, regional channels manager at Citrix, explains
Insight
Dealing with a changing Malware landscape - P 30 It is essential that the security systems in place give continuous granular control, writes Marc Solomon, Chief Marketing Officer, Sourcefire
Partners Play a Vital Role in Disaster Recovery - P 31
The channel has an integral role to telp SMB customers in DR preparedness writes Ramzi Itani, Regional Channel & Alliance Manager, MEA
Regulars
News Bytes Eyetech Stats and trends
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News Bytes
Symantec announces Mobility Specialization Symantec enhanced its partner program in the Middle East with a new specialization that addresses both the increasing needs of companies for relevant and reliable mobility strategies and the opportunities for channel partners to benefit from this growing trend. The Mobility Solution Specialization enables Symantec specialized partners across the Middle East to help their customers to gain granular control over their mobile deployments and have different levels of oversight on mobile devices, according to their specific policies and needs. The Specialization comprises the following Symantec product/ solutions: Mobile Application Management (MAM), Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Security. The new Mobility Solution Specialization offers benefits to qualified partners who have acquired comprehensive knowledge and expertise in Symantec’s mobility solutions. Partners who achieve the Mobility Solution Specialization benefit from additional discounts (via their Distributor) and enhanced rebates through Opportunity Registration, as well as access to Consulting toolkits. As a Specialist, they have access to specialised training, sales tools and technical resources among other benefits.
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The Integrator | December 2012
MEA to record highest Cloud Traffic growth rate In the second annual Cisco Global Cloud Index (2011 – 2016), Cisco forecasts that global data center traffic will grow 4-fold and reach a total of 6.6 zettabytes annually by 2016. The company also foresees that MEA will have the highest cloud traffic growth rate at 79 % CAGR followed by Latin America (66 % CAGR); and Central and Eastern Europe (55 % CAGR). Global cloud traffic, the fastest growing component of data center traffic, will grow 6-fold – a 44 % CAGR – from 683 exabytes of annual traffic in 2011 to 4.3 zettabytes by 2016. Rabih Dabboussi, GM, Cisco UAE says, “ This year’s forecast confirms that strong growth in data center usage and cloud traffic are global trends, driven by our growing desire to access personal and business content anywhere, on any device. It is clear that the next-generation Internet will be an essential component to enabling much greater data center virtualization and a new world of interconnected clouds.” The vast majority of the data center traffic is not caused by end users but by data centers and cloud-computing workloads used in activities that are virtually invisible to individuals.
Fortinet hosts Global Partner Conference Fortinet recently hosted its annual Global Partner Conference, which this year took place on board the Royal Caribbean Cruise Liner ‘Majesty of the Seas’, on November 5-8. This year's conference attendance was Fortinet's largest, encompassing more than 1,000 distributors and silver and gold resellers from 70 countries. During the event, one of Fortinet’s highlights was the introduction and channel training of its new FortiOS 5.0, an advanced security operating system. Fortinet also recognized the outstanding achievements drawn from the company's distributors and resellers around the world. “Fortinet continues to rapidly gain market share in the overall network security market, and our channel is key to that success,” said Bashar Bashaireh, Regional Director of Fortinet Middle East. “This year’s conference was the perfect opportunity to share our latest technology innovations and business strategies with our silver and gold resellers.”
Wave Tech Computers LLC P.O. Box: 3421, Sharjah, Toll Free 800WAVE-8009283 info@wavetechgroup.com, www.wavetechgroup.com
News Bytes
Vox Spectrum Appoints Almasa as Plantronics Reseller Vox Spectrum an International group of telecom companies and the master distributor of Plantronics Headsets in the region has appointed Almasa Value Distribution as its value added reseller of Plantronics headsets in the UAE. Under the agreement, Almasa will generate demand for and build logistics to supply Plantronics’ products, including wireless headsets, through its strong channels in the GCC, including Saudi Arabia. Almasa Value Distribution was chosen as the partner to address the rising enterprise market demand for UC solutions across the region, including voice communications and collaboration. "Vox Spectrum has identified the growth in demand for Plantronics unified communications solutions around the region, but needed a partner with the relevant expertise and market reach to address these opportunities. With Almasa’s focus on the UC sector and knowledge of the needs of the Middle East’s market, we have found the ideal conduit for Plantronics to reach our target base of regional resellers and ultimately, end-users," said Manoj Gopinath, Chief Operating Officer ,Vox Spectrum Ltd.
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The Integrator | December 2012
Red Hat expands PaaS Ecosystem Red Hat has announced the expansion of its OpenShift Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) Partner Program in line with the launch of its on-premise OpenShift Enterprise PaaS product. With this, the OpenShift Partner Program introduces several new partner categories and welcomes new partners into its expanding cloud ecosystem. The original OpenShift Partner Program launched in May 2011. The OpenShift Partner Program expands now to better address the needs of customers as Technologies evolve. Ashesh Badani, GM, Cloud Business Unit and OpenShift, Red Hat said, “Our OpenShift partners have provided great extended value to developers using an open PaaS platform to date and we’re excited to expand the reach of our ecosystem further to continue to meet the evolving needs of developers and customers. As Red Hat moves its PaaS strategy and portfolio forward with the availability of OpenShift Enterprise, we are looking for our OpenShift Partner Program takes a big leap forward as well.”
Alfalak introduces Oracle Cloud to customers Alfalak Electronic Equipment & Supplies has expanded its cloud computing solutions, in conjunction with Oracle’s cloud computing strategy to provide the broadest, most complete and integrated cloud offerings in the industry. Alfalak, a Platinum Partner of Oracle, revealed that Oracle Cloud offers a broad portfolio of Software as Service (SAAS) applications, platform as a service, and social capabilities, all on a subscription basis, catering to all mission-critical functions of Middle East businesses. “Alfalak has established a strategic partnership with Oracle in line with our mission to deliver value-driven technology solutions that enhance the productivity and efficiency of business organizations. We have therefore introduced Oracle Cloud to offer functionally rich, integrated, secure, enterprise cloud services that ultimately benefit end users, administrators, and developers alike,” said Ahmed Ashadawi, President and CEO, Alfalak Electronic Equipment & Supplies Co. Ltd.
News Bytes
MES apprises Iraq market about new Business solutions MES Technologies, a fast growing regional distributor with strong operations especially Iraq, recently held a roadshow that highlighted some of its range of Business solutions. The three day event was held at Erbil in Iraq from the 4th to the 6th of November. A large turnout of IT decision makers attended the event. The event provided a platform for launching new products from Epson in the market. In addition, it helped provide a Platform to showcase products from TP-Link and BitDefender to senior executives from the government and corporate sector, especially the Banking, Education and Health sectors . . MES is stregnthening its operations further in Iraq . It is recruiting new staff to expand the business to the north of Iraq and planning for a new Branch by the middle of 2013.
Minerva wins Award from Motorola At the recent Motorola Solutions Channel Partner Conference in Zanzibar, Minerva was an award winner for ‘Outstanding Channel Development’. Richard Wilcox, Sales Director at Minerva said, “we are extremely pleased to have won this award from Motorola Solutions. When developing our radio business we work very hard on winning the integrators and resellers that sell products from Motorola’s competitors. Therefore it is great for all of the teams hard work to be recognized with this award.” Motorola Solutions is arguably the current market leader for Two Way Radio, TETRA and Vertex Standard and are assisting professionals from all sectors to upgrade from analog to digital with MOTOTRBO, which is one of its key offerings. Wilcox adds, “Minerva’s Marketing team is consistently promoting the Motorola brand. We run many joint channel activities that ensure our partners get the best kind of support they need. This in turn allows them to offer the best solutions directly to their partners and end users. Minerva is continually encouraging both new and existing Partners to drive the Motorola brand.”
Versatile Security and Shifra to introduce new Smart Card Management System Bradford Networks launched the latest version of its Network Sentry 6.0 solution . A Network Access Control (NAC) solution, Network Sentry 6.0, provides organisations with a foundation for a strong and secure bring-your-own-device (BYOD) strategy with new key features that focus on automation, enhanced platform coverage, and integration with leading security solutions. “Implementing BYOD is now gaining popularity in the Middle East as it enables companies achieve greater productivity. The first step to a secure BYOD policy needs to be visibility and control over who and what is accessing corporate networks at all times,” said Ahmad Elkhatib, Managing Partner, Shifra, Bradford Networks’ channel partner for MENA. With its automated workflows, broad network infrastructure and mobile device coverage, and out-of-band architecture, Network Sentry 6.0 can support existing corporate network equipment and enables companies to quickly and easily create a granular set of BYOD policies.
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The Integrator | December 2012
Sourcefire strengthens FIREPOWER to address Advanced Malware on the Network Sourcefire has strengthened and expanded its FirePOWER appliance family. One of the latest innovations is the introduction of advanced malware protection for FirePOWER, which provides visibility and control of modern threats on the network – from point of entry, through propagation, to post-infection remediation. Martin Roesch, founder and interim CEO at Sourcefire said, “Adding advanced malware protection for FirePOWER significantly expands these benefits, helping combat threats before, during and after an attack. This is critical for organizations taking a proactive stance to mitigating the impact of sophisticated malware that can quickly permeate a network.” Sourcefire also introduced additions to the FirePOWER 7000 Series appliance lineup, and new 5.1.1 software featuring file type detection and control, as well as security intelligence for IP reputation and blacklisting.
Sophos enhances Small Business Security Sophos has announced the release of a comprehensive new unified threat management appliance and software package exclusively for small businesses. The Sophos UTM 100 appliance with BasicGuard sets a new standard for feature-rich small business security solutions—offering network, email, web and wireless protection together. According to a recent IDC Report, “Small and medium-sized businesses have as much need for information technology as much larger companies. They also require security because they are a target of cybercriminals, but there are unique issues that prevent SMBs from just buying what large enterprises purchase.” Although companies of all sizes can fall victim to malware and security breaches, tight budgets and a lack of resources typically impact small businesses that are oftentimes obligated to deploy low-end security products that lack necessary security functions. And these functions don’t necessarily scale as the business grows or their needs evolve. UTM 100 customers can easily upgrade their license to include more advanced security features and accommodate more employees.
STME certified for Data Protection STME has achieved Symantec Specialization in the area of Data Protection with a focus on Symantec’s backup and recovery technologies. Symantec Data Protection Specialization recognizes partners with a proven expertise in Symantec’s NetBackup and Backup Exec product ranges, including the latest NetBackup 5220 Appliances and ensures they have the skills and experience required to deliver differentiated services to customers. “STME has experienced exponential growth throughout the MENA region, partially due to the wide acceptance of Symantec’s award-winning data protection & recovery, security and appliance solutions, and we expect it to be a key driver of our future growth. STME is now in an even better position to meet the needs of its customers by delivering high-value solutions to protect and manage their information”, confirmed Afchine Tabrizian, Services and Support Director at STME. Symantec Specializations, recognize partners with a proven expertise in a particular area of business, provide partners with the skills and experience required to deliver differentiated service to their customers.
December 2012 | The Integrator
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News In-Detail
The research points to a growing customer demand for professional services, with complexity and constraints on CapEx reported as the biggest customer challenges. A surprising result is the fact that a small percentage of respondents (11%) currently look to their vendors for innovative finance solutions and 19% for marketing funding both factors being important when trying to build a brand and reputation rather than sell on price. Regan McGrath, Senior Vice President Worldwide Sales at Brocade says that channel partners need to be more critical of their vendors if they are to compete in the professional services space.
and tools and resources that help channel develop their reputation as consultants, will all become increasingly critical to developing competitive consultancy businesses that drive significant revenue returns,” noted Regan McGrath, Senior Vice President Worldwide Sales at Brocade. Brocade’s Alliance Partner Network (APN) Program is one such program that is a partner ‘enabler’. It offers a broad range of tools, assets and solutions that are easily accessible, usable, and targeted at accelerating partner revenue growth from the moment they join the program. The program helps partners extend their reach and grow business opportunities and realize revenue
Cloud services could become main revenue generator Regan McGrath Senior Vice President Worldwide Sales Brocade
10
A survey conducted by Brocade of over 500 channel enterprises globally, indicates that the channel expects professional services, which is currently less than 25% of their revenues, to be the number one revenue generator by 2020.
Considerations should include whether vendor strategies vision and technology support the partner’s ability to maximise professional services revenue, whether there is direct competition from vendors in the offering of services, vendor technology differentiation, financing options to support customer’s CapEX concerns, marketing enablement etc.
The report showed that vendors are largely to blame for the channel’s inability to move towards cloudbased professional services. The main hindrances cited are a lack of flexibility and capabilities by vendors, non-innovative solutions, complex partner programs and proprietary vendor technologies.
“Revenue focused channel programs like our Brocade Alliance Partner Network, combined with differentiated technology solutions that help address customers’ needs for innovative and easy to deploy networks, flexible financing solutions such as Brocade Network Subscription,
The Integrator | December 2012
opportunities from professional services and cloud hosted services. Brocade APN Partners can also secure significant levels of differentiation by offering Brocade Network Subscription, first and only “pay by port” subscription solution. Brocade Network Subscription offers customers cost management and fast flexibility to scale up and down to meet business demand, while only paying for the ports in use. Brocade partners can close a deal that may have otherwise been lost due to CapEx constraints, while offering their customers a clear and manageable path towards their ultimate goals, and securing incremental revenue on an ongoing basis.
Less complex
Less maintenance
More points
Sophos RED
Provides complete protection for even the smallest branch and home offices.
Complete UTM Security: It extends your Network, Web and Email Security subscriptions on your Sophos UTM to branch offices.
Built-in central management: The Sophos UTM controls your Sophos RED so there’s no need to manage individual devices.
Rapid deployment: Sophos RED is the first security gateway that doesn’t require local set up or technical skills at the remote site.
Virtual Ethernet cable: Sophos RED acts like a remote network port connected by a virtual Ethernet cable to your Sophos UTM.
Strong Encryption: All data sent to the central UTM appliance is protected with strong encryption and authentication.
Unified
Web
Endpoint
Mobile
Network
You’re safer in our world Data
For more information: www.sophos.com/unified Sophos Middle East | Office 205-EIB 5 | Alpha Building PO Box 500469 | Dubai Internet City | Dubai | UAE Email: salesmea@sophos.com | Tel: +971 4375 4332 | www.sophos.com
News In-Detail
Data security concerns slow down adoption of Cloud Services are often cited reasons for the slow adoption of outsourced enterprise cloud services. While two-thirds (62 percent) of the regional IT professionals polled stated that data security was a concern and 40.5 percent identified cost as a barrier, 43 percent cited service reliability concerns. In comparison, a lack of support from non-IT decision makers was mentioned by less than a quarter (22 percent) of the respondents.
Hani Nofal Director, Intelligent Network Solutions GBM
Concerns over data security is the top factor delaying the widespread adoption of cloud-based services, according to a new survey of IT professionals conducted by Gulf Business Machines (GBM). The online survey polled 909 IT professionals based in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait According to the survey, which coincides with the launch of GBM’s Intelligent Network Solutions (INS) division, concerns over service reliability and availability, as well as the cost of cloud-based solutions 12
The Integrator | December 2012
Hani Nofal, Director of Intelligent Network Solutions (INS) at GBM said, “ While it is important to note that the use of cloud technologies is part of the IT function’s evolutionary process, it is equally important to realize that change is usually a gradual process. It is only a matter of time before the benefits of using the cloud, such as cost effectiveness and scalability, outweigh these unfounded concerns.” Nofal added, “At GBM INS, we aim to partner with our customers to introduce them to cloud-based services at a pace that is in line with their comfort levels. We truly believe that the region offers significant potential for scaling up the adoption of cloud solutions and we aim to use our combination of experience and access to best-inclass technologies to support this trend.” Significantly, almost a quarter (24.6 percent) of the respondents
said that their organizations were planning to outsource business applications and services to cloudbased service providers in the next 12 to 18 months. The study also revealed that while one-inten IT professionals owns five or more personal devices - such as smartphones and tablets – a third of those polled owned up to three devices. However, only 6.2 percent admitted to owning one device. GBM INS, previously known as Integrated Networking & Site Services (INSS), provides customers and partners with a portfolio of solutions that captures all the values of fully human-optimized IT infrastructure.
Feature | Virtualization
The collaboration between the two companies a long way. EMC acquired the then start up VMware in 2003 in what a former EMC CTO described as the ‘acquisition of the decade’. Although run as different entities, the two cloud and virtualization titans continue to cooperate at different levels, a partnership the region could leverage as cloud continues to grow in the MEA. EMC has a range of services specifically for the
data is the future of computing,” said Havier. “We see big data as an opportunity where others see a challenge. We have strong computing capabilities to correlate all the data. To achieve big data scale, organizations need an automated storage platform like our EMC Isilon that allows them to add capacity with minimal additional operational cost and achieve scalability, performance and throughput.” Isilon is the scale-out platform from EMC geared specifically towards Big Data storage. Powered by the OneFS operating system, Isilon nodes are clustered to create a single pool of storage. As data
volumes increase, users are able to add capacity easily, while also gaining linear performance. For VMware, cloud was the next logical step after dominating the market in virtualization solutions. “We provide the Technology to help customers build their own cloud infrastructure. Each customer is different and they build their storage infrastructure in accordance to their specific needs. Cloud is business related; not technology related so every customer should build their own cloud their own way,” John Rainer, manager, partner organization MENA at VMware said. The region is catching up with
The right balance VMware virtualization architecture including back-up, disaster recovery, security, storage and virtual desktops. The partnership with VMware is part of a grand plan by EMC to move beyond being a storage company to a fully integrated information company. The aim, according to Havier Haddad Channel and Alliances Manager MEA and Turkey, was for the company to extend its coverage from the enterprise to small businesses and SMBs as well. From Iomega to Isilon to the recent acquisition of and security software provider Silver Tail Systems, EMC is today a leader in a wide range of sectors. “We are very good at integrating all our hardware and software services together and we are able to provide protection, archiving, virtualization, cloud services among others.” EMC acquired VMware just as the big data explosion was starting. “Big
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The Integrator | December 2012
The collaboration between EMC and VMware is set to get stronger as the companies seek acceleration in deployments of cloud based solutions.
John Rainer - Manager, Partner Organation MEANA, VMware
The MEA region is seeing a steady rise in Virtualistion deployments across verticals and EMC and VMware are hopeful they will continue to be play a significant role in this transformation.
the rest of the developed world in cloud solutions. “Cloud pick-up in the region is not as high as in other mature markets, but the prospects for growth in the region are very positive” Havier said. “The advantage with Businesses in the region is that they do not need to go through the normal stages of technology as the region lacks the burden of legacy systems. The region is dominated by X86 technology which is the easiest way to start virtualization, the basic component of cloud technology.” VMware has responded to increased demand for cloud services with an integrated cloud solution, the vCloud. “We have also launched a management layer for the cloud based on the market opportunities we are seeing. The cloud is becoming the de facto standard in the industry. We are thus offering the only integrated solution for the cloud which will make it easier for our clients to approach cloud technology,” said Ranier. vCloud is a cloud computing technology from VMware which allows customers to migrate work on demand from their data centre to a remote cloud. vCloud is meant to provide the power of cloud computing with the flexibility allowed by virtualization.
existing investment in legacy systems while enjoying the benefits of the public cloud. According to Rainer, a lot of customers plan for homogeneous and flat IT requirements during their fiscal year. But they fail to account for peaks for instance during the holiday season for a retailer for instance. “During the peak season customers don’t necessarily want to make investments in the datacentre but still want to cover these high peak seasons.” Such organizations, according to Rainer are the perfect candidates for the scale out model of a public cloud. After the peak, they can simply return back to their data centre. The savings for company do significantly add up. In a consolidation scenario going from a vertical world to a virtualization world, a customer would get about 60% and 30% in CAPEX and OPEX savings respectively. Add to an estimated 80% in energy savings in the data centre. “More importantly, over 70% of CIOs said their reasons for going into the cloud solution are not the CAPEX savings, it’s the high agility in the data centre. Cloud solutions can provide better value to the business in terms of flexibility, security, compliance and scalability” Rainer added.
Havier Haddad Channel & Alliances Manager MEA & Turkey EMC
important aspect is how to secure that information within the cloud. “In the past the user was identified by the PC; you had everything in the PC what IT manager allowed you to. Now, with all the devices coming in you need to control and manage access to data and applications. All these devices we have launched are around compliance and role-based management of the user. We don’t look at a user as a phone user or a desktop user but as a role in the company.”
Virtualization and cloud will dominate the information A recent study showed that 85% management field for years to of data will still reside in the data According to Havier, although come. Vendors like EMC and centre by 2014 in the region it is a crucial consideration how VMware seem to have found and with just the remaining 15% organizations virtualize and store just the right blend of services hosted in a public cloud. The most their information, an even more for customized solutions for all attractive way enterprise to store data for levels. Even a lot of these those previously organizations reluctant is in a hybrid Although run as different entities, the two cloud organizations cloud. Vendors and virtualization titans continue to cooperate in the region in the cloud have no reason business are at different levels, a partnership the region could to miss this data also keen leverage as cloud continues to grow in the MEA. management to protect bandwagon. customers’ December 2012 | The Integrator
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TechKnow | Riverbed
the virtual edge of the data centre to the branch office, enabling consolidation of edge servers and data. They enable an edge virtual server infrastructure (edge-VSI) that delivers consolidated data and applications, and LAN performance at the edge over the WAN. Our traditional partners have been in networking but we have new areas that are growing as well. Some partners are using Cascade with its monitoring capabilities to offer existing clients audit services. What are the major emerging issues affecting network performance? There are two: Big Data and cloud. Big data means that users have to manage more and more volumes
Philippe Elie Director, Business Operations Riverbed EMEA
Discuss your market strategy in the region Our business has traditionally been network accelerationthrough our flagship product Steelhead.We have since evolved from a mono product company to become a company that sells a whole portfolio of products in several categories. We have two products in two key emerging areas. One segment is monitoring for which we have Cascade, a product meant to measure the performance of IT infrastructure. A customer would for instance be able to use Cascade as an audit tool.We also have a new category geared towards storage, Granite. Graniteappliances extend 16
The Integrator | December 2012
network -- consisting of the private wide areanetwork (WAN) and the public Internet -- becomes a critical concern. The Steelhead CloudAccelerator solution addresses performance challenges by providing an easy-to-deploy optimizationsolution that meets specific customer needs. What is your approach to BYOD? At Riverbed, we want to give fast access to data and applications regardless of who you are, where you are, and what kind of terminal one is using. Stingraysoftware is designed to work within cloud environments and be easily integrated into an application stack. With Stingray
On the Fast Lane Companies are seeking smarter ways of utilizing bandwidth and improving their network performance. Riverbed has just the solution, according to Philippe Elie, Director, Business Operations at Riverbed EMEA. of data. Organizations need to back up this big data, replicate it and be able to move it from point A to point B. When you put your information in the cloud, you lose track of it as the data could be in a data centre in any part of the world. Big data and cloud together have a majorimpacton performance. These two concepts have opened up new opportunities for Riverbed. We recently launched a new specific product focused on the cloud called the Steelhead Cloud Accelerator. As organizations increasing look at leading SaaS provides such as Salesforce.com, Google Apps,and Microsoft Office 365, performance over the hybrid
products organizations can make applications more reliable with local and global load balancing and accelerate applications by up to 4x by using web content optimization (WCO). We have now launched Steelhead Mobile, software that can be installed in a tablet to accelerate the device. So whatever device one is using, they still get the same Riverbed code and the same acceleration as an enterprise device. It provides the CIO with great convenience in that he only has to install Riverbed once in the infrastructure and it will accelerate all the devices including desktops, netbooks and tablets.
Cover Feature | Security Appliances
Security infrastructure is a key investment priority for companies that are looking at overall increased IT spends in a bid to enhance their productivity. According to Research Agency TechNavio, the Global Security Appliance market will see a CAGR of 10.12 percent over the period 2011-2015. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increase in sophisticated cyber security threats. Further, the need for companies to comply with regulatory requirements, a preference for easy to deploy and manage solutions as well as the growing interest in cloud and Big Data solutions and therefore the corresponding increased awareness of security are driving the increased speding in security appliances.
The rising graph of
Security Appliances Security investments continue to be prioritized by customers and this is fuelling the growth in shipments and revenues of Security Appliances 18
The Integrator | December 2012
According to IDC research, among different security appliances, Unified Threat Management (UTM), Firewall/VPN, and Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) appliances are witnessing a healthy growth rate. Both factory revenue and unit shipments grew in the second quarter of 2012 with worldwide factory revenue recording an increase of 6.3 percent yearover-year to just under US$ 2.0 billion, and shipments increasing 6.5 percent to 496,697 units. This growth marked the ninth consecutive quarter of year-overyear growth. The UTM market represented 27.8 percent of security appliance revenues as result of 19.0 percent year-over-year growth. The IPS, Content Management, and VPN segments all saw revenue declines compared to the second quarter of 2011. “There is a huge demand for security appliances in SMB and Enterprise verticals. We have been involved in project deployments and hence we understand that the demand is growing and we are
expecting more of it in 2013. With a sharp increase in cyber threats in the recent times, SMBs also now feel the need to protect their data, content and identity,” says Mohammed Mobasseri, Senior VP, Comguard Middle East.
breed approach, which requires IT teams to manage multiple products and consoles. Integrated and easy is winning out over "total control", which can be expensive, and require significant services in order to deploy dedicated solutions.”
The emergence of UTMs as cost effective all-in-one appliances that offer several pre-installed security functionalities and the ease of plug and play suit the needs of the SMB market. While differing from manufacturer to manufacturer, UTMS in general feature network firewall plus other functionalities including gateway anti-virus, anti-malware protection, intrusion detection and prevention and content filtering.
He adds, “While we offer dedicated email and dedicated web appliances, we believe that over time even these will no longer lead network security sales for email and web. The market will favour consolidated appliances over time with not only one management console and one vendor but also security integration across components. As an example, this could be one web policy which will both be enforced at the endpoint and gateway – one policy, one agent, and one reporting capability, enabling secure browsing from anywhere.”
Zafar Shabdiz, MD, Secureway says, “The good old firewalls are no longer a match for these sophisticated attacks. Customers are after a single solution to address the most if not all, so UTM solutions are seeing the fastest growth rate.” UTMs continue to find favor with the SMB segment where budgetary constraints often allow modest spends in IT infrastructure. Further, UTMs offered the convenience of a consolidated approach without the need for greater intervention by a network administrator, especially for SMB customers who would have less of IT support in-house.
However it is true that while the all in one UTMS have seen the largest demand in the SMB segment, the enterprises segment by and large continues to prefer specialized standalone devices that focus on specific functionalities. “In the SMB segment, we see a demand for UTM and NextGen Firewall while we see a growing demand for DDoS prevention devices & NextGen Firewall in the Enterprise segment. Recently we have seen there is a growing demand for Advance Persistent Threat (APT) protection device at the Enterprise Segment mostly in Banking, Financial and Government
Mohammed Mobasseri Senior VP Comguard Middle East
verticals, ” says Lakshman Nalvade G, Security Business Unit Manager, Westcon group. Dedicated standalone devices bringer greater throughput for functionalities they feature. In the all in one devices, the effect of turning on integrated capabilities such as Virtual Private Networks (VPN), anti-virus software, and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) could reduce throughput.
Ahmed Rushdy, Sr. Technical Consultant at Comstor says, “While UTMs still offer a mixed all in one Security solution, Standalone Chris Kraft, VP Product appliances are still in huge Management, Gateway Security demand as it might support better and Control, Sophos says, “We performance and throughput rates continue to see strong growth serving one in all in one specific purpose appliances and delivering (UTMs) as "The market will favour consolidated appliances a unique budgets are over time with not only one management console solution feature tight and set when and one vendor but also security integration organisations integrated of all sizes are across components. As an example, this could be as a part of increasingly one web policy which will both be enforced at the a complete moving away endpoint and gateway..." solution.” from a best of
December 2012 | The Integrator
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Cover Feature | Security Appliances
for comprehensive inbound and outbound protection of emails, a dedicated email security, for meeting the business and technical needs of BYOD concept the need of Secure Remote Access appliance or virtual appliance etc.” According to Lakshman, Westcon, "DDoS attacks for instance affect the servers and applications published over the internet and make them unavailable, which results in huge business losses. Any organization having resources published over the internet is vulnerable to DDoS attacks. " Zafar Shabdiz Managing Director Secureway
Dedicated standalone devices meet expectations of enterprises which have an uncompromised approach towards their network security and would want highest throughputs from security devices deployed on their networks.
This is where DDoS protection solutions are making their way into the market. Likewise, explosion of Applications is another factor driving the growth for Next Generation Firewall and Web Security Appliances. On top of it recent attacks in Banking, Financial, and Government segments in the region has increased the demand for these security solutions. Lakshman adds, “ UTM is mostly preferred in the SMB and branch offices where there are less resources to manage and IT budgets are limited. Standalone devices like DDoS, NextGen Firewall and IPS are still in need mostly in Banking, Financial and Government sectors where they prefer layered security and high availability”.
Laskhman Nalvade Security Business Unit Manager Westcon
Enterprise from Arbor Networks, NextGen Firewall & UTM from SonicWALL and Juniper Networks, Secure Web Gateway from Bluecoat, Network packet broker from VSS monitoring etc.
The single point of failure is a Shahnawaz Sheikh, Regional concern with UTMs as enterprises Manager at Dell Sonicwall cannot afford downtime. Middle East says, “ Apart from Performance bottleneck is another the core functionalities of the factor as stacking up multiple Next Generation Firewall, there functionality on a single box results are other functionalities that are in performance issues. Compliance needed with in-depth protection requirements, layered security and management. So there are some other factors to go with could always be a need for other dedicated devices like DDoS, Westcon distributes core and standalone devices based on NextGen Firewall and IPS. perimeter security solutions exact need or specific need of including Network visibility & DDoS the customer that is beyond the Standlone devices would therefore prevention devices for ISP and capabilities of always have Next Generation a demand in Firewall offering. the enterprise “ UTM is mostly preferred in the SMB and branch For example, segment offices where there are less resources to manage to have inbut UTMs and IT budgets are limited. Standalone devices like depth DDOS with steadily DDoS, NextGen Firewall and IPS are still in need protection enhanced mostly in Banking, Financial and Government customer could performance sectors where they prefer layered security and consider a have made high availability”. dedicated DDOS inroads. This appliance, has prompted 20
The Integrator | December 2012
Shahnawaz Sheikh Regional Manager Dell Sonicwall
security focused distributors to have multiple options in their appliances portfolio to meet what the market demands and what suits expectations of different segments. Mobasseri adds, “It is interesting to note that many UTM vendors are now scaling up their appliances to be able to offer special features much like a standalone appliance and match its performance. This has enabled UTM appliances to gain acceptability in the enterprise segment. “ Comguard has partnerships with Watchguard, Clavister and Gateprotect. The distributor’s strategy is to offer what it believes is the best suited for a specific segment and region. For instance, it focuses on promoting Clavister in the large enterprise segment in certain countries where it has distribution rights as Clavister has a high 560 Gbps throughput and a unique in-house OS which has rendered the device highly secure, appealing to enterprise customers according to Mobasseri.
Chris Kraft VP Product Management Getway Security & Control, Sophos
Secureway has a long standing partnership with Fortinet in the region for their range of UTM solutions. In addition, it also partners with other security appliance vendors including Infoblox, Sourcefire, F5 etc. Secureway’s Zafar adds, “While there is a certain demand for standalone and there always be, they’re losing market share at the expense of UTM. In general closer to where data resides in the core of the network, customer would consider stand-alone as an option.” The spectacular success of the UTM over the years has led to the further evolution of the category as next generation firewalls. Offering more realtime control over applications running on the network, they are making inroads into the enterprise segment because of their utility. As Shahnawaz notes, “The need of the hour today is the enhancements to the UTM technology and this has given birth to the Next Generation Firewall
Ahmed Rushdy Techincal Consultant Comstor
concept. While the Next Generation Firewall technology has the UTM functionality embedded as the threat protection component at the perimeter, in addition it offers Granular control of applications, identification of various types of applications and real time visualization of these applications empowering the IT teams to delicately balance between the user needs and IT policies that govern the business.” In summary, while it looks like UTM devices will dominate the Appliances market for the foreseeable future with customers looking for easy to own, operate and maintain devices, the overall momentum in the Security Appliances market also looks certain to witness positive growth. The Increased sophistication of attacks is a reality and threats to the security of the network are only likely to get worse. Hence the need for security appliances that can keep these threats in check and out of the network for good will drive spends in these product segments. December 2012 | The Integrator
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TechKnow | Citrix
A lot of customer’s fears around virtualization revolve around losing control over their data. How do you reassure customers that their data is safe no matter where it is stored? Citrix has been a pioneer in virtualization for the last 20 years and we’ve always come up and built solutions with the end user in our mind. Security by default for us starts the moment we talk about virtualization. We’ve been delivering applications across all sorts of networks over the last twenty years, something we’ve always managed
The balance between the disparate needs of employees and organizations maintaining control over the network is a tricky one. How does Citrix maintain the balance Citrix Unified Storefront is an app and data store that aggregates, controls and delivers all apps and data - including Windows, web, SaaS and mobile apps - to any device, anywhere. It provides mobile end-users with an intuitive single point of access and selfservice to all their business apps
Citrix strikes out in virtual race Noman Addul Qadir Regional Channel Manager Citrix
Virtualization heavyweight Citrix has the pedigree and technology to continue its leadership role across a dynamic cloud storage landscape, as Noman Abdul Qadir, Regional Channels Manager at Citrix, explains.
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The Integrator | December 2012
to do in a secure way. The main selling point for virtualization is that when you virtualize your desktop, you are by default improving security. What worries most people is that they have to go back and secure their end point devices after they’ve laid out their infrastructure and put in their applications, making it a very reactive mode of enforcing security. Because you are moving your entire work load from the end point device to the datacentre, the IT administrator gets more control as now he has a single source to go to secure the infrastructure. When you virtualize your data centre and end point operating system, you bring back control to the IT administrator. Most top third party vendors also provide security for virtual desktops with software that is compatible with our solutions.
and data, with a consistent highdefinition experience on any device across any network. IT gains a comprehensive single point of aggregation and control for all apps, data and users, allowing them to protect enterprise apps and data with scenario-based controls, such as identity provisioning for authorized users, automatic account de-provisioning for terminated employees, and remote wipe for data and apps stored on lost devices. For Citrix, because people come to a single interface into the organization and that interface is secure, the moment an employee leaves, he can be disconnected immediately from all the services. Virtualization and BYOD go hand in hand. As a leader in virtualization, discuss how your
of your devices including "For twenty years, we have been helping users virtualize smartphones, applications; it was a simple transition towards desktop tablets and virtualization. Thus, as a leader in mobile workstyle PCs. Working in solutions, backed by our long experience,we can tandem with a help implement a BYOD solution successfully in any Citrix-enabled organization through a simple, secure approach." IT infrastructure, Citrix Receiver gives workers Used by more than 100 million consistent, and secure access to people worldwide, XenApp is an We were one of the pioneers of their content from any device application delivery solution that BYOD, long before it became an without introducing layers of enables any Windows application industry buzzword. In the past management complexity for IT.We to be virtualized, centralized and though, we were delivering BYOD also deploy an open architecture. managed in the datacentre and solutions only for applications. This allows the IT administration to instantly delivered as a service to The difference with BYOD today is decide whether they want to store users anywhere on any device. that now you are bringing a whole data on a thin client, in the data Virtual application delivery lets IT new operating system. For twenty centre or on the virtual storage in manage a single instance of each years, we have been helping users the cloud, giving him the choice application in the datacentre. virtualize applications; it was a and flexibility. Because of this, we Applications can be delivered via simple transition towards desktop don’t tie customers to any type application streaming to Windows virtualization. Thus, as a leader in of storage solutions or vendor. PCs for offline use, or run on highmobile workstyle solutions, backed We are thus able to protect any powered servers in the datacentre by our long experience,we can investments customers have made for online use on any device or help implement a BYOD solution in storage systems. operating system. successfully in any organization through a simple, secure approach. Discuss how Citrix As cloud services continue to This helps empower people to virtual solutions support grow in the region, how do you choose their own devices to communications with remote improve productivity, collaboration help those clients who own offices and workers legacy systems make a more and mobility, protect sensitive Most organisations deploying seamless transition? information from loss and theft virtual desktops want to ensure We help customers build as well to meet privacy, compliance that collaboration between workers as bridge the cloud; for instance, and risk management standards. using Unified Communication if a customer has a private cloud Organizations then get to reduce solutions like Microsoft Lync and they want to migrate to virtual costs and simplify management and video streaming work. With storage we can help them do that. through self-service provisioning, our GoTo Meetingsolution, a We also do have unified approach automated management and customer can simply into a video monitoring by deploying apps once to storage as we believe that over conference using any mobile time the private and public cloud for use on any device device. GoToMeetingallows for will come together. As we provide unlimited online meetings with up solutions for both, the end user Related to BYOD is access of to 25 attendees. The application is can be able to switch effortlessly via mobile devices. Discuss simple and one can start a meeting between these two platforms. your XenApp application in the and share a screen with just a click. We have the Citrix Receiver, an mobile arena An organization is also able to save easy-to-install client software Citrix XenApp empowers users with integrated audio conferencing that lets customers access docs, with on-demand self-service applications and desktops from any via VoIP and telephone. to enterprise applications. solutions manage this growing trend? From history, we have been giving access from anywhere, on any device across the network.
December 2012 | The Integrator
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Feature | Ruckus
Driven to succeed Nader Baghdadi Regional Sales Director, MENA Region Ruckus
Wi-Fi pioneer Ruckus Wireless is a trend setter in the true sense of that word. As Wi-Fi grows in stature within the telecommunications industry, the company is well placed to reap the rewards.
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The Integrator | December 2012
Ruckus Wireless is spearheading the revolution in the enterprise Wi-Fi space as the industry gears towards changes brought about by widespread BYOD, big data and the emergence of the AC protocol. As a pioneer in the manufacture and sale of Wi-Fi technology and equipment, Ruckus is at the centre of major trends within the industry including BYOD. According to Nader Baghdadi, Regional Sales Director for Ruckus in the MENA region, the company has fully embraced BYOD with a fully integrated body of features to handle BYOD stress points for both administrators and users. “While it’s good in allowing employees the option of working in a domain they are familiar and comfortable with, there are risks as one cannot be sure of the security vulnerabilities in the machines,” Nader said. “Success of BYOD in any organization relates to how you do mission control
within the network, what kind of security services you want to push within your network, the controllers, the access points etc.,” Nader added. Ruckus access points and controllers use the 802.11n protocol and the company is working with the rest of the industry to adopt the higher AC technology, by Q3 of 2013 in Ruckus’ case. “We incorporate most of our technology within the antenna. It is how we direct energy from the antenna to the connecting device that gives you uptime, strong coverage and ensure security. The idea is to give control to the end user or to the connecting device to our network,” said Nader. Increased data and demands for faster and more effective delivery of the same has seen the wireless industry adopt technology able to offer faster transfer rates. Ruckus has
Feature | Ruckus
communicating incorporated device in real the industry "No network is 100% secure. There’s always a time, while MIMO standard degree of risk in any network. Usually it’s all mitigating as one of the about configuration issues, how users design their interference several forms of and minimizing smart antenna networks and how they address arising security noise to nearby technology. concerns.” networks and MIMO, or devices. Ruckus multipleis also looking to input and introduce to the market access points multiple-output, is the use of working on is Hotspot 2.0. Until with both Wi-Fi and 3G/4G capabilities multiple antennas at both the now, connecting in many hotspot operating on licensed and unlicensed transmitter and receiver to improve environments tended to be spectrum through the same device, communication performance. cumbersome - users typically have according to Le Hung. This technology offers significant to search for and choose a network, increases in data throughput and request the connection to the Concerns among consumers link range without additional access point (AP) each time, and were that wireless networks are bandwidth or increased transmit in many cases, must re-enter their traditionally not as secure as their power. It achieves this by spreading authentication credentials. Hotspot wired counterparts. According to the same total transmit power 2.0 will help ensure automatic Nader, wireless has become so over the antennas to achieve an authentication and roaming mature that the security protocols array gain that offers more bits per interoperability for equipment available in wired networks are second per hertz of bandwidth, vendors and operators. Users will available in wireless and sometimes according to Arnaud Le Hung, also benefit from Wi-Fi roaming on even better. “No network is 100% Ruckus marketing director for the hotspots from different providers secure though,” Baghdadi warns. EMEA region. meaning that users will be able to “There’s always a degree of risk in connect in more locations than any network. Usually it’s all about Telcos have adopted Wi-Fi as a ever. configuration issues, how users method to offload data and save design their networks and how they the networks from congestion Like the devices they help connect, address arising security concerns.” and save on costs. 4G networks Ruckus access points have become are very expensive to implement smart. With BeamFlex technology, Ruckus is keen to leverage its and Ruckus Wi-Fi solutions offer Ruckus access points that can international experience in a cheaper alternative to provide automatically move devices to targeting key segments in the users with faster transfer speeds appropriate spectrums to avoid region. “We are working to develop and security. Ruckus clients include interference. “The software within technologies geared towards KDDI of Japan, one of the largest our access points has the ability carrier verticals with solutions that service providers in the world. to identify which devices are make management, connectivity “We have installed more than using the 2.4 Ghz or 5Ghz. Any and access very easy to use. The 150,000 access points with KDDI device using 5 Ghz like an iPad controllers and switches we have which work to offload data from for instance can be automatically today can manage up to 15,000 3G/4G cells onto Wi-Fi,” said Nader. moved into the 5Ghz spectrum,” Le access points at once,” Nader said. “This provides a lot of advantages Hung said. The BeamFlex system The company has agreements with to service providers by cutting software continually learns the local partners providing back-end their costs of operations. End environment with all its hostilities services to such segments such as users are able to connect at faster and interference sources, including the hospitality industry, universities, Wi-Fi speeds and avoid 3G/4G disruptive RF conditions, numerous medical facilities and large networks where they run the risk of communicating devices, network enterprises.” We work with VADs to congested networks and dropped performance issues, and application deliver our products to customers calls.” flows. Then, it selects the optimum through system integrators,” Nader antenna pattern for each added. Among technologies Ruckus is 26
The Integrator | December 2012
Security question #21
Are you using the highest overall protection Next-Gen Firewall recommended by NSS Labs? 100% resistant to evasion 18.9 Gbps Next-Gen Firewall throughput Highest connections/sec Ultra low latency
According to NSS Labs, the global leader in independent security product testing, “For high-end multi-gigabit environments looking to upgrade defenses from their current firewall to a Next-Generation Firewall, the advanced architecture of the Dell™ SonicWALL™ SuperMassive™ E10800 running SonicOS 6.0 provides an extremely high level of protection and performance. Those that consider the SonicWALL brand to be associated only with SMB UTM products will need to reevaluate their opinion.” Dell SonicWALL secures the enterprise. Gain Next-Gen Firewall performance today. Visit sonicwall.com/nss to learn why NSS Labs rated Dell SonicWALL so highly.
2012 Next-Generation Firewall Security Value Map provided by NSS Labs—a third party, global leader in independent security product testing and certification (nsslabs.com). Copyright 2012 Dell, Inc. All rights reserved. Dell SonicWALL is a trademark of Dell, Inc. and all other Dell SonicWALL product and service names and slogans are trademarks of Dell, Inc.
Insight | Sophos
Is the threat scenario from cybercrime getting worse? We are bringing in intense research into two of the most commonly used and technically capable pieces of crimeware, the Blackhole exploit kit and the ZeroAccess rootkit. Blackhole is the major driving force behind malware at the moment. It makes it is insanely easy to distribute malware. The fact is you don’t even need Technology skills to do it anymore; you hit the right buttons and click them to distribute. These guys have actually released a new product update and in their release note they say that as AV companies have been investing
James Lyne Director Technology Strategy Sophos
Sophos focuses on simple to deploy, manage, and use encryption, endpoint security, web, email, mobile and network security solutions that also deliver the industry's lowest TCO. James Lyne, director of technology strategy, Sophos discusses the heightened threat scenario of cybercrime and how Sophos is focusing on delivering solutions that address these threats
The Integrator | December 2012
How is Sophos responding in terms of any new solutions? One of the major aspects which have been helpful are the hardware and network capabilities that we have – having endpoint and network security together, so that we can look at the outcome from both angles. We integrated endpoint security into our UTM so that customers can have a complete suite of
Battling cybercrime to catch up with them, they are adding new features to make life harder for the security vendors. Exploit writers deliver, package and sell their kits much like SaaS (software as a service) products. These new versions have features for capturing authentications, new engines etc. ZeroAccess is a family of rootkits and backdoors criminals use to install and conceal other malware, commonly for redirecting a user’s web traffic. It uses rootkit techniques to hide from security software while allowing remote attackers to control infected computers. It is amazing to note how advanced
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crimeware is today and we have got hands on these Technologies to analyse what best we can come up with to block these threats.
Management at one place that can be managed from one place. We introduced the Sophos UTM 100 appliance, a new unified threat management appliance and BasicGuard, software package exclusively for small businesses. Together, they offer network, email, web and wireless protection together. It is a UTM box which can provide firewall, IPS, web filtering etc and can integrate with wireless solutions infrastructure, convenient in particular for a SMB customer to manage all of that from one place. Is there any new product launch with BYOD offerings? We have launched a cloud service for mobile devices. We have had several conversations in the region.
and We have seen a authentication huge push for "We are bringing in intense research into two of standards BYOD among the most commonly used and technically capable available. Businesses. But pieces of crimeware, the Blackhole exploit kit and Sophos UTM there has been the ZeroAccess rootkit. Blackhole is the major Wireless no progress to driving force behind malware at the moment. It Protection deploy what makes it is insanely easy to distribute malware." features WPA2is necessary Enterprise in to manage combination these different with IEEE 802.1X (RADIUS devices. It must be because of the having network solution, endpoint authentication). complexity of devices running solution and mobile solution, all different OS. together in one place. This solution It is also essential that Branch is suitable for SMB right up to offices have managed and secured Sophos Mobile Control as-a-Service enterprises. Although Enterprises their networks, else attacks can eliminates hardware costs and may run their own infrastructures make their entry through Branch reduces time to administer MDM but there are many who buy cloud networks. solutions. You can go online, sign services. The solution is ideal for up and in ten minutes bring BYOD Businesses of all sizes. Sophos Access Points are management into your workplace. automatically set up and You can offer passwords, ensure What is the state of wireless configured by the UTM appliance patch management is up to date network security? and all wireless clients receive etc. this is quite easy and has had Wireless network security has been complete UTM protection. We good feedback. Users are probably an issue of discussion for past provide plug-and-protect VPN and connected much longer to the couple of years. As a company that Wi-Fi extensions to connect branch Internet with their smartphones makes wireless security, we want offices and mobile users. than they would be through their to get the word out about the We also provide the Sophos office Laptops. So it makes good need for better secured networks. RED (Remote Ethernet Device) sense for us to host it for our In a survey we did of wireless that protects branch offices and customers. We have new features networks, a mix of consumer and provides secure remote access. like locking the device, purging the enterprise, 19% were using WEP, a Simply plug the device into your data if lost, making sure it is running security setting that any attacker Internet router and centrally AV and is protected. can using simple tools get in less manage it from the Sophos than 2 minutes. There are people UTM appliance at headquarters. One of the challenges in the who think they have secured their Branch office traffic is forwarded enterprise is about knowing networks but actually owning to the Sophos UTM appliance for where the devices are, who is poorly secured networks. We also connecting etc. Sophos Mobile found some open networks with no complete security Control provides a simple way to passwords. The idea of the exercise bring BYOD into the enterprise— was to raise awareness and to move Do you see security investments as a rising priority in the region? quickly, safely and securely—with to WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access Security awareness is better than it a new web-based administrative II), a more secure wireless protocol used to be. They were in the past console and extensive feature There are personal and enterprise concerned about how much it will set. The solution sits in front of versions of it. The other point is to cost. Now they are asking questions email server and looks at who is use a strong password. about features, quality and the right logging in and compares to the partners. The Middle East market is available compliant list. It can set Enterprise users should ensure a market we are expecting to grow the policy that if the device is not secured wireless management. faster. We have some great partners in the compliant list, it can’t access Sophos UTM Wireless Protection in this market. the network. That is the benefit of supports the strongest encryption December 2012 | The Integrator
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Insight | Security
What Good is a Snapshot in a Continuously Changing Malware Landscape? While advanced malware and targeted attacks are profoundly changing how we must protect our systems, it is essential that the security systems in place give continuous granular control, writes Marc Solomon, Chief Marketing Officer, Sourcefire.
the damage, you need a broader approach to IT security that enables continuous visibility and control. Because once you “see it,” then you can “control it” and “protect it.”
Marc Solomon Chief Marketing Officer Sourcefire
It’s no longer enough to focus on visibility and blocking at the point of entry in order to protect systems. Attacks today have reached a new level of sophistication and outbreaks are inevitable. Like the infamous bank robber, Willie Sutton, who disguised himself as a mailman, a maintenance man, even a police officer to gain entry to targeted financial institutions and eluded captors for decades, modern malware can disguise itself as a legitimate application to evade defenses. Later, when a breach occurs, you don’t know what you’re looking for. To contain and stop 30
The Integrator | December 2012
Think for a moment about how today’s air transportation safety procedures have evolved as we’ve become savvier to potential threats. Airport security checkpoints are essential to the process of keeping threats off of our airplanes. However, the addition of federal air marshals and ongoing training of in-flight personnel to spot suspicious behavior in the air are also critical to maintaining security. An individual may appear perfectly ‘normal’ and escape notice when passing through initial checkpoints. But behaviors change (i.e., he or she may become increasingly anxious, agitated or angry) as the time approaches to execute an attack. Now consider today’s malware defenses. Technologies like sandboxing share a similar ‘snapshot’ approach to security as airport security gates. It provides a baseline level of protection, but it cannot identify sophisticated malware that appears ‘normal’ in a sandboxed environment – failing to
execute or recognizing it’s running in a sandbox and modifying its behavior. Yet unlike our air transportation safety program that continues to monitor individuals beyond the checkpoint, once a file is deemed ‘clean’ and leaves the sandbox it is no longer visible. At that point, malware has infiltrated the network and the problem shifts from threat prevention to threat removal; without ongoing visibility, an outbreak is inevitable. To deal with advanced malware and targeted attacks, organizations must expand their approach to the malware problem to address the entire lifecycle of modern threats— from point of entry, through propagation, to post-infection remediation. Obviously, you still need a first line of defense that includes malware detection; the ability to identify files as malware at the point of entry and remediate accordingly is a fundamental first step. But you also must identify technologies that extend visibility and control through to propagation and post-infection remediation. Let’s take a closer look at these phases of the malware lifecycle and technologies that can help increase protection.
Insight | Disaster Recovery
Partners vital in DR strategy
Post-infection Remediation. Once you’ve identified suspicious behavior, you need solutions that can automatically evaluate the file against the latest threat intelligence and retrospectively alert you to malware. You can’t afford system performance delays so technologies that can leverage the cloud to analyze individual files without a full system scan will save computational cost. Next you need to understand the scope of the breach—what was the file’s trajectory? Gaining visibility into which systems the file has touched and if it has been executed gives you actionable intelligence to contain the outbreak. Armed with this insight you can quickly take steps to remediate—quarantining files previously thought to be safe but now deemed to be malware and performing clean-up. Malware detection is a critical component to any defense strategy, but it isn’t fail-safe. Without continuous file analysis and retrospective alerting you’ll remain in the dark until your systems begin to significantly falter. When an attack does become evident you’ll be challenged to know how to contain and stop the damage.
Channel partners have an integral role to to help SMB customers in making this journey towards better preparedness writes Ramzi Itani, Regional Channel & Alliance Manager, Middle East & North Africa Across the UAE, over half of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) reported losing critical data due to power failure; and only 34 percent of SMB’s are backing up their data on a daily basis. A full-scale disaster recovery (DR) plan whether for a small business or a large enterprise entails indepth planning, and the partner community is in a unique position to add value to businesses in the Middle East as they work to keep their information and systems safe in the event of disaster. A major focus of Symantec’s business is helping organizations in the region with their disaster recovery and business continuity efforts. And because companies trust channel partners to help them make the smartest technology decisions, they are best suited to help make sure organizations have the solutions in place. As partners in the Middle East work with customers and emphasize the need to plan for the worst, we recommend sharing the following tips: 1. Not only should organizations should have a DR plan in place before something goes wrong; but after an outage or disaster occurs, organizations should document what worked well in their plan and what did not. Processes should be refined continuously to keep up with the changing environment. And, if a company doesn’t have a plan, they need to carefully consider what it would take to maintain their critical business functions in the event of disaster. 2. It is beneficial to work with a trusted partner to help with disaster recovery specifics. Partners work with businesses to help them understand details like where to
Ramzi Itani - Reginal Channel & Alliance Manager, MENA
Propagation. Malware that gets through the first checkpoint will change its behavior, perhaps immediately but perhaps not for days, weeks or even months. You need solutions that will continuously monitor files and identify and analyze suspicious changes in behavior, automatically cross-checking against other pieces of contextual information such as bandwidth usage, time of day and file movement for greater intelligence. Continuous file visibility and analysis is critical to understand how to contain outbreaks and block future attacks.
safeguard backups, or determining optimal locations for application failover. Discuss with customers the various benefits that disaster recovery software can generate, including eliminating the need for manual intervention. 3. Discourage customers from cutting corners. It is critical to implement the right level of disaster recovery software to protect the organization in the event of an outage. 4. Conduct regular testing of their disaster recovery plan. Once a year just isn’t good enough; businesses should be testing their disaster recovery capabilities at least every quarter. Testing may need to be more often, depending on how frequently they experience significant changes in the data center. It is also important to train employees on the plan and ensure that they know their roles. 5. Organizations should automate to minimize downtime. Work with businesses to prioritize planning and implement tools that automate processes to ensure faster recovery. And when possible prepare in advance by moving data and critical systems from affected regions before disaster strikes. December 2012 | The Integrator
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eyetech
HP ProLiant SL4500 server series Overview: The new HP ProLiant SL4500 server series is the only solution purpose built for Big Data environments. It provides maximum performance, productivity and cost-effectiveness in an ultradense solution required by these workloads. Built on HP Converged Infrastructure, the new server offers a highly efficient design that consumes up to 50 percent less space, 61 percent less power and 31 percent lower cost while using 63 percent fewer cables. Key features • The modular design of the HP ProLiant SL4500 server series offers varied compute and storage configurations that enable clients to optimize their infrastructure for a workload- specific application, removing the need to piece together incongruent hardware for the supporting infrastructure. • With a single, cost-effective architecture, the HP ProLiant SL4500 server series also supports multiple Apache Hadoop vendors including Cloudera and Hortonworks, as well as additional software including OpenStack Cloud Software and MongoDB. • The HP ProLiant SL4500 Gen8 server series, with HP Smart Array technology, delivers performance with a nearly seven times faster input/output operations per second (IOPS) than existing architectures. • The new HP ProLiantSL4500 server series delivers storage density of up to 240 terabytes (TB) in a single 4.3-rack-unit (U) chassis, or 2.16 petabytes (PB) with nine servers in an industry-standard 42-U rack. As a result of this extreme density, clients realize significant cost savings, greater performance and increased efficiency. • The latest member of the HP ProLiant Generation 8 (Gen8) family, the HP SL4500 server series is built with HP ProActive Insight Architecture, which embeds intelligence and automation capabilities
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The Integrator | December 2012
LifeSize Unity 2000
Overview: LifeSize Unity 2000 is an optimized, integrated video collaboration solution with a clever, allin-one design for simple setup and ease of use. It accelerates global deployment of the highest quality HD video collaboration capabilities and is ideal for large meeting rooms and boardrooms. Connect with Clients, Partners and Vendors Built with best-in-class HD video, audio and presentation capabilities, LifeSize Unity 2000 helps you create stronger relationships. Key features: • LifeSize Unity 2000 can be completely set up by the end user with no tools. • Easy to Use LifeSize Unity 2000 is an automated turnkey solution for video communication and presentation. • LifeSize Unity 2000 is a completely integrated solution for optimum performance, all available to globally order in one SKU. • LifeSize Unity 2000 is a fully integrated HD video, audio and presentation solution with minimal IT or facilities installation and maintenance required. • It provides high investment protection because the solution can be easily redeployed to fit a new location. • LifeSize Unity 2000 provides an integrated and optimized HD video collaboration solution created with state-of-the-art components at the lowest total cost of ownership.
Media Matrix Solution Series. Overview: ATEN International has launched its latest series of Video Matrix Switches under its sub brand “ VanCryst”. The VanCryst Media Matrix solution is a combination of VM0808T, a 8 x 8 Cat 5 A/V Matrix Switch, that routes and distributes audio,video and RS-232 signals over distances upto 300m with 1920 x 1200 video resolution and VE300/VE500, an A/V Over Cat 5 Extender. The Media Matrix Solution is an ideal choice when long runs to the A/V output locations are required, and where versatility and security are essential. It is ideal for casinos, transportation, logistics centers, traffic control centers, port security facilities, industrial supervision settings etc.
Key features: • Easy Configuration and Control: Offers several access and control options – Including front panel push buttons, RS-232/RS-485 serial connectivity and a browser based web interface. • Boost Management Efficiency: Support for Over IP Connectivity increases management efficiency and flexibility. • Independent Routing: The switch’s audio and video sources can be routed independently to their target destinations. • Exceptional Video over Long Distance of up to 300m • Superior Balanced Audio Quality
WD 4 TB WD RE SAS, WD RE SATA HARD DRIVES Overview: Western Digital company is further expanding its enterprise-class storage offerings with the release of new WD RE SAS and WD RE SATA hard drives in capacities up to 4 TB. Available immediately in 1 TB, 2 TB, 3 TB and 4 TB capacities for nearline SAS and 2 TB, 3 TB and 4 TB for SATA, the 3.5-inch WD RE SAS and WD RE SATA hard drives offer the powerful combination of enterprise-class features and superior capacity to meet the growing demands of conventional business-critical environments as well as the high-capacity and performance requirements of cloud and scale-out computing. Key features: • Dual port, full duplex connectivity: Ideal for leading business-critical enterprise topologies. • 1.4M hours MTBF / 1.2M hours MTBF: Provides the highest level of reliability for 24x7 and up to 100% duty applications, for the WD RE SAS and SATA, respectively. • RoHS compliant, halogen reduced components. • Recording heads never touch the disk media ensuring significantly less wear to recording heads and media as well as better drive protection in transit. • Best in class operation and performance when drives are used in vibration-prone, multi-drive chassis. • Perfect for maximum capacity enterprise storage solutions, such as scale out, cloud storage, RAID a rrays, and NAS; a massive 2.4 PB of available storage (with 10 4U, 60 bay enclosures). • 5-disk platform, 800 GB per platter, SAS-interface, 6 Gb/sec transfer rates built for high performance 24x7.
December 2012 | The Integrator
33
Stats & Trends
Consumers Migrate more data to Cloud The consumer cloud performed strongly in the first half of 2012, with the number of personal subscriptions to online storage services at the end of June already at 75 percent of the market’s projected sum for the year, according to insights from information and analytics provider IHS . The number of global consumers using cloud services after the first six months hit more than 375 million, or about three-quarters of the estimated total of 500 million by year-end. While no firm numbers exist to show the extent of the cloud in 2011 because it was relatively new and untested, best estimates put global subscribers then at approximately 150 million. Subscriptions to either free or paid cloud services will continue to climb in the years ahead, jumping to an estimated 625 million next year, and then doubling over the course of four years to reach 1.3 billion by 2017, as shown in the figure below. Technology giants like Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon are using their own cloud offerings to sell hardware, content and other cloud storage services. Such services are often provided at the same cost—or below the cost—of equivalent offerings from pure-play cloud storage providers like Dropbox, Mozy, Carbonite and SugarSync. To compete with the big players, pure-play cloud providers are adopting a freemium model in which they throw in 2 to 5 Gigabytes of cloud storage for free, and then offer tiered pricing plans for higher levels of storage.
1,400
Worldwide Forecast for Personal Cloud Subscriptions (in Millions)
1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 -
2012
2013
2014
Source: IHS iSuppli Research, October 2012
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The Integrator | December 2012
2015
2016
2017
PaaS Revenue on track to reach $1.2 Billion Worldwide platform as a service (PaaS) revenue is on pace to reach $1.2 billion in 2012, up from $900 million in 2011, according to Gartner, Inc. The market will experience consistent growth with worldwide PaaS revenue totaling 1.5 billion in 2013, and growing to $2.9 billion in 2016. The category of PaaS includes suites of application infrastructure services, such as application platforms as a service (aPaaS) and integration platforms as a service (iPaaS); as well as specialist application infrastructure services, such as database platform as a service, business process management platform as a service, messaging as a service and other functional types of middleware offered as a cloud service. Users may subscribe to a cloud provider's PaaS or may buy a cloud-enabled application infrastructure product and build their own PaaS for private cloud (private PaaS) or public cloud consumption. The largest segments within the PaaS market are cloud application platform services (aPaaS), accounting for 34.4 percent of total PaaS spending in 2012; cloud application life cycle management (ALM) services (almPaaS) at 12 percent; cloud BPM platform services (bpmPaaS) at 11.6 percent; and cloud integration services (iPaaS) at 11.4 percent. Gartner predicts that the potential spending in PaaS technologies is an average of $360 million per year from 2011 through 2016. More than 70 percent of PaaS functionality today can be referenced to an application infrastructure and middleware (AIM) capability, calling for AIM vendors to consider PaaS in their offerings or to have a strategy to address the needs of those clients looking at cloud for future deployments. Today, the largest AIM vendors have only marginal share of the PaaS market (lead by Microsoft and some IBM acquisitions), and this leaves the door open for more competitive landscape disruption over the next three years since many of the largest enterprise software vendors are on the cusp of entering the PaaS market with their own offerings. PaaS spending globally is relatively small. Emerging markets are currently only marginally investing in PaaS, but this trend is expected to change as PaaS matures as a technology and the vendor landscape consolidates.
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