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Make the right choice with efficient printing
I
n the current market scenario today, we are seeing the demand for better technology solutions that provide businesses the maximum utility to improve their investments in print. Despite this growing demand however, we see that businesses do not often pay much attention to documentation and printing. If not properly utilised they could face losses and waste vital resources. Businesses should be more aware of the plethora of options that are now readily available in the booming printing market. Making the right choice that fits your business’s needs is of paramount importance. Printing services solutions such as Managed Printing Services provide organisations the benefit of receiving better returns on their investment. The August 2018 issue of The Integrator has focused on the current situation of printing technology in the market today. With the focus on helping SMB’s and larger organizations find the right solutions that best suit their needs. It also digs deeper into the many challenges that businesses might come across when trying to make their documentation more efficient. We have spoken to a few of the trusted names in the industry to get an idea of what to think about when faced with such challenges. In this issue we also feature the winners of the 6th Edition of The Integrator ICT Champions Awards. Many Congratulations to all the winners, we are looking forward to having the same enthusiastic responses for the coming years as well. We have got some exciting events lined up which we would like to share with you. First off the nominations for our upcoming Choice of Channel Awards has already begun. October is just around the corner and we are all geared up for this year’s GITEX Technology Week. We are very excited about our latest platform UNEQ Products which will launch soon and give unique innovations the recognition they deserve. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish our readers a belated Eid Mubarak! Stay tuned for more.
Vivek Sharma Managing Editor
ontents
Editorial
Cover Feature
Save costs with smarter print – 6
Feature Interviews
MPS for efficient and cost-effective print solutions – 11 Optimize print with MPS – 12
News In Detail
Next-gen access solutions report topline benefits – 18
Dell EMC offers data protection at lowest cost – 19
Insight
Commvault unveils enhancements to partner program – 20
TechKnow
Vmware unveils VMworld 2018 – 30
Published by: JNS Media International MFZE
Managing Editor: Vivek Sharma Art Director: Faiz Ahmed Sales Manager: Christopher David
P.O Box 121075, Dubai UAE, Tel: +971-4-3705022 Fax: +971-4-3706639, 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 handbook they cannot be held liable for any errors herein.
News Bytes
Akamai API Gateway adoption enhances end-user web experiences Adopting Akamai API Gateway can eliminate the common challenges in scale, secure access, and delivery that developers face when publishing their APIs, says Akamai Technologies. Businesses seeking ways to make delivering, securing and managing APIs easier, API Gateway can help manage external APIs at peak demand, streamline app interactions, and offload token authorization to reduce costs. “Akamai is committed to enabling IT and development to better collaborate on improving application quality and business impact” said Craig Adams, Vice President Product Management, Web Performance Business Unit, Akamai Technologies. “The Akamai API Gateway brings together Akamai’s DevOps solutions with a holistic and highly effective approach to delivering, securing, and governing the use of APIs on our platform. We believe the result is anindustry best approach for connecting DevOps, API management, and the delivery of web experiences.”
Fujitsu’s Solution for Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority
Fujitsu has implemented a cloud-based enterprise IT service management solution for the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) for operational efficiency through automated policies and processes. The ‘ServiceNow’ solution will help DSOA improve incident management, change management, problem management, purchasing, contracts management, and asset tracking & management. In addition, it will help assure remote assistance and help save employees’ time by providing a user-friendly interface. Bader Buhannad, Executive Vice President - Strategy, Business Services & Risk Management at DSOA, said, “We are pleased to deploy Fujitsu’s solution that will enable us to simplify the process of data management and achieving higher levels of productivity. We are confident that Fujitsu’s solution will further upgrade our control and governance, and boost efficiency in serving our business partners.” Farid Al-Sabbagh, VP & Managing Director at Fujitsu Middle East, said, “With our knowhow and the power of ‘ServiceNow’, we implemented a powerful enterprise service management process that will add to the efficiency of DSOA.”
ESET experts at Black Hat USA 2018 Cybersecurity experts from ESET,participating in the Black Hat USA 2018, will talk about ‘malware of mass destruction,’ enterprise security, and cyber espionage research. ESET security evangelist Tony Anscombe will present on ‘Malware as the New Weapon of Mass Destruction’ at the event. He will cover wide-ranging issues including U.S. elections, industrial control systems’ power outages, and destructive ransomware in his presentation. ESET’s Robert Lipovsk� will discuss his latest cyberespionage research. He will also illustrate how strong malware research supports ESET’s detection technologies, helps train its unique machine-learning algorithms, and prevents malware infections such as the global WannaCry epidemic. Apart from the speakers, product experts from ESET will provide demos at the ESET booth, showcasing its latest enterprise security offerings. Attendees stand a chance to win a pair of tickets to fly around the world apart from other prizes at ESET booth #928.
4 | August 2018
Only 65% Organizations Have a Cybersecurity Expert Despite 95% CIOs expecting cyber threats to increase over the next three years, only 65% of their organizations currently have a cybersecurity expert, according to Gartner Inc’s latest 2018 CIO Agenda Survey. The survey reveals that skills challenges continue to plague organizations that undergo digitalization. Cybersecurity remains a source of deep concern for organizations, according to the survey. Rob McMillan, research director, Gartner says, "In a twisted way, many cyber criminals are digital pioneers, finding ways to leverage big data and web-scale techniques to stage attacks and steal data. CIOs can't protect their organizations from everything, so they need to create a sustainable set of controls that balances their need to protect their business with their need to run it." The survey gathered data from 3,160 CIO respondents in 98 countries, representing approximately $13 trillion in revenue/public sector budgets and $277 billion in IT spending. Gartner analysts will present the cybersecurity insights at Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit, October 22-23 in Dubai, UAE.
TRA Awards Software AG
Automate Core Network Services for Data Centers Infoblox has announced new updates to its Network Identity Operating System (NIOS) platform. The updates will enable organizations to automate core services and data centers such as Red Hat Ansible, so they can rapidly deploy network and security services via the cloud. Connecting the on-premise NIOS based solutions with Infoblox ActiveTrust Cloud, a SaaS based DNS security solution,can extend protection against the loss of data or the spread of malware for devices everywhere. This native integration eliminates the need for endpoint agents or separate virtual machines to integrate withInfoblox cloud security services, making it a seamless solution. “With these latest enhancements, Infoblox is offering a true hybrid model for security, without having to deploy proxies everywhere or use endpoint agents. The enhancements enable faster response to incidents detected by ActiveTrustCloud, through on-premises ecosystem integrations for network wide remediation,” said KanaiyaVasani, vice president of SaaS and Business Development at Infoblox.
In recognition of its contribution to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s (TRA) latest Government initiative, ‘Start Your Business in 15 Minutes – Bashr’, Software AG was presented with an award by the Authority. The Director General of TRA, H. E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, presented the award to Rami Kichli, Vice President, Software AG - Gulf and Levant, during the launch of the first phase of the Bashr initiative. The Bashr initiative is based on the UAE vision to enhance the business environment to build a competitive, knowledge-based economy. It aims to make the UAE the economic, touristic and commercial capital for more than two billion people. Mohammed Al Khamis Program Director, UAE Smart Government in TRA, said, “We are truly glad and satisfied with the capabilities of Software AG’s webMethods BPMS in supporting the ‘Bashr’ project.” Rami Kichli said, “The successful collaboration with TRA reflects Software AG’s commitment to continuously support the government in enhancing the UAE’s business environment and thereby, contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the National Agenda for UAE Vision 2021.”
August 2018 | 5
Cover Feature | MPS
SAVE COSTS WITH SMARTER PRINT For most organizations, print is often a neglected process, which when managed efficiently can save up to 35% costs
M
any organizations are not aware of the costs they regularly incur on printing, which is estimated to be about 15% of their IT spends. Print-related costs are usually overlooked, meriting attention only when there is a printer jam, or a replacement required. Often, when looking for ways to cut organizational expenses, organizations monitor expenses related to travel, broadband, communications, and energy costs, but completely ignore print.
Wasted Resources Apart from financial costs, organizations suffer productivity losses in the form of employees wasting time waiting for the print jobs at the printer. Running out of
Often, they underestimate their printing costs by as much as 50%, which when managed efficiently, can save them up to 35% costs. The State of SMB Document Management survey by Xerox has found that almost two-thirds (64%) of small businesses are not able to track the costs of their print devices nor the printer usage costs. In the absence of these statistics, organizations cannot curb wastage. The survey revealed that the most paperintensive processes were billing and invoicing (56% respondents), business and financial reporting (53% respondents), HR-related documents (51% respondents), and 47% reporting employees printing emails. The same number of organizations (47%) found legal signatures a big source
Almost two-thirds (64%) of small businesses are not able to track the costs of their print devices nor the printer usage costs supplies, replacement of parts, interruption to workflows, and getting urgent printouts from external shops add to wastage of time. According to estimates, the average wait time for an employee at a central printer in an American organization is approximately three minutes per employee. This adds up to about 13 hours per employee annually. Therefore, a small business, with say about 10 employees, will likely waste 130 hours a year.
ChallengesBusinesses Face Small and medium businesses, unlike large enterprises, usually do not have dedicated resources to manage the print process. And these are the businesses that are the front-runners in printing requirements.
of printing needs, while 40% found purchase approvals, marketing materials, and consumer quotations a big cause of printing.
Not Quite Paperless There are many reasons why print is not going away any soon. There is a lot of content available online, which is being downloaded and printed. Paper is easily portable and reader-friendly when it comes to reading long documents, making comments, and sharing. In addition, despite e-signatures being considered valid, there is still widespread preference for legal documents to be signed on paper. And, with the costs of color printing supplies plunging, color printing has
Quocirca Global Print 2025 Market Insight Highlights •
70% of industry executives expect a major business model disruption by 2025
•
31% believe their organisations are well prepared for digital disruption
• 64% rated innovation as very important to future success •
36% of organisations expect to be printing invoices in 2025 compared to 61% today.
•
42% organisations believe they will still be producing marketing collateral in 2025 against 56% today
• 72% already operate several paper-free business processes •
52% indicate that paper digitisation will be very important by 2025
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25% organisations say that print manufacturers have the strongest relationship with their business for print. By 2025, this will reduce to 16% of organisations, with IT services providers expected to lead the relationship according to 31%. August 2018 | 7
Cover Feature | MPS
witnessed a steep rise. More and more companies now opt for color printing when compared with black and white printing. As a result, printing continues to be an integral part of an organization’s typical work day. According to Gartner, an average organization prints about 400 pages per employee per day. If you thought fax machines have now been rendered redundant, think again. Faxing is still alive and forms a key part of the corporate workflow, especially in small and medium businesses. In an IDC survey, to assess why companies still used fax machines, it was found that faxing provided a low-cost method of communicating between businesses. Besides, organizations find faxing simple, easy to track, and secure. Unlike the popular belief that mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets help reduce printing needs, they are actually making companies more dependent on printing and scanning. In the absence of reliable solutions that can securely digitize documents, many companies print documents, scan them and share online. For instance, insurance companies still scan their forms, to use them on mobile devices, and to import signed forms. Therefore, mobile devices have actually increased print consumption.
Low Awareness Printing, scanning, and faxing continue to be a part of an organization’s corporate workflow. And, the awareness is still
8 | August 2018
The ‘paperless light’ concept makes internal processes completely paperless, with printing and scanning limited to external processes
significantly low when it comes to cost leakages due to inefficient print process. However, now with changing work environments that are increasingly moving towards digital, businesses are realizing the importance of assessing their print processes and the amount of leakage that the print process causes to their IT spends. A number of organizations are considering the ‘paperless light’ concept. According to this concept, internal processes are completely paperless, and printing and scanning are limited to external processes, paving the way for integration into a digital storage system. Since it is not possible to completely
1.
Johannes Gutenberg introduced the movable type printing press in the 1450s.
2.
Chester Carlson invented Xerography, a dry photocopying technique, in 1938.
eliminate printing documents, organizations of the future are more likely to be ‘less-paper’ than ‘paper-less’. According to Quocirca Print 2025 The Future of Print in the Digital Workplace Global Market Insight Study, by 2025, a significant number of organizations (64%) will still consider printing important to their business, which stand currently at 78%.
Smart Solutions Beginning with a ‘less-paper’ office, businesses can embrace greater digitization toward a ‘paper-less’ office with innovative print management solutions and smarter devices. They can consider solutions such as cloud, mobile integration, and managed print services (MPS) in their print strategy to reduce costs, increase productivity, make workflows efficient, and reduce carbon footprint. Printing solutions for the digital work environment must be technologically superior with the ability to connect to a cloud, facilitate document transfer, and be protected from cyberattacks.With rise in digitization, the office environments must make use of technological advances to keep pace with the productivity needs of the mobile, always connected workforce. In an increasingly digital world, businesses can gain better control over their print processes through print management solutions that are evolving rapidly. Increasing digitization will also
3. Xerox launched its first copier in 1960. 4. Inkjet printing technology was developed in the 1950s. 5. HP introduced its first mass-market personal inkjet printer in 1984.
force a stand-alone printing machine to evolve into an intelligent and connected workplace assistant. Organizations need smarter devices that are more than just machines. Since, legacy devices cannot cope with the changing print needs, businesses will need workplace assistants—intelligent devices—that produce much more than just a piece of paper with letters on it. For widespread embrace, these smarter devices must help organizations reduce costs by cutting down on the number of documents printed. “Therefore, print organizations are re-imagining and re-engineering the way they operate and how they communicate and transact business with their customers,” says Pui-Chi Li, Head of Marketing in the Middle East, Xerox.
in print technology while focusing on their core competencies. Additionally, they get the ability to pay for what they use. All these factors allow them to maximize resources in terms of costs and labour. It is estimated that outsourcing allows businesses to save up to 30 percent of their overall print spend. That said, actual savings depend on the state of the print process in an organization. These include print workflows and spends, current levels of technical expertise, procurement practices, and so on. Businesses must, therefore, look for outsourcing partners that specialize in printing, are capable of scaling to changing workloads, and can help optimize print through agile production, distribution, and customer communication.
One Step at a Time
Managed Print Services
As a first step, therefore, businesses must evaluate their current printing processes and look to streamline them in accordance with their business needs. For instance, in an assessment of printing infrastructures across multiple branches of an organization, Xerox identified at least 35,000 inactive printers. Such ignored devices not only add to maintenance costs but also make organizations vulnerable from cybersecurity standpoint. Therefore, businesses must look to partner with providers that can help them leverage technology to become more efficient. SMBs, in particular, should consider partners that can help them realise benefits without huge investments. “SMBs should opt for the MPS cloud model as it will help them get the global benefits of MPS, without the worry about a big initial investment”, advises Mohamed EL Bahrawr, Marketing Manager BIS, Canon Middle East.
Offset printing is passé and digital printing is gaining centre-stage. Costs, productivity, and data security constitute critical aspects for any organization’s business objectives. Therefore, businesses must consider
Outsource Print Businesses can consider outsourcing print management in order to aggregate and consolidate print resources that can optimize their print processes. Outsourcing allows businesses, especially small and medium businesses, to access the latest
Beginning with a ‘less-paper’ office, businesses can embrace greater digitization toward a ‘paperless’ office with innovative print management solutions and smarter devices.
solutions that provide customized print services such that they can future-proof their print investments. “Intelligent print management software combined with the right technology and a robust service support infrastructure plays a pivotal role in any enterprise managed print services solution”, says Pui Chi Li of Xerox. At the core of MPS is optimization of print and it can help businesses, of all sizes, to dramatically reduce costs spent on printing—at times up to 35%. MPS allows businesses to measure costs of printing including all printers, copiers, and outsourced printing services. Businesses can curb wasteful printing such as unnecessary documents, single-sided print, color prints, etc, thereby reducing paper costs. Special features such as use of passwords can control special print jobs like color prints. Another area, where organizations can put the plug in, is printing of legal documents. The concept of ‘pull printing’ requires user to authenticate her identity to generate the print job. These methods help save time and money otherwise spent on maintenance of the printers. MPS had earlier eluded SMBs, with enterprise-scale businesses being the early adopters. However, with cloud-based MPS and choosing the ‘pay-as-you-go’ option, SMBs can benefit from reduced operational costs, increased productivity, better document security, efficient device management, automated work flows, and reduced IT burdens.
Enhanced Document Security One of the crucial benefits that MPS offers is document security. It is estimated that 90% of businesses faced a breach due to unsecure printing. Therefore, it is essential for businesses to secure their multifunction printer endpoints to ensure security of the documents. As a result, print devices have evolved technologically to use the IoT technology for security by continuous device monitoring and protecting against malware attacks. However, no two organizations have August 2018 | 9
Cover Feature | MPS
the same print requirements. Therefore, their document security requirements also vary. An MPS provider can assess the exact level of print security that an organization needs and can, accordingly, suggest appropriate solutions ranging from passwords to pull printing to advanced encryption. In addition, such an assessment can help outline all print-related costs – both on an overall level and a more detailed level using credentials such device, location, user, and so on. Considering benefits such as cost optimization and security of devices and documents, security and cloud will be the key areas for investment until 2025, says Quocirca Print 2025 Global Market Insight Study. According to the study, 84% of organisations rate security as the top area of investment with cloud computing (66%) and mobility (53%) following closely.
Reducing Carbon Footprint With the ability to reuse toner cartridges, reduce energy usage, and minimize paper consumption, print management solutions are also useful in addressing the increasing concerns over rising carbon footprint. A lot of MPS providers have taken up the responsibility of planting trees every time a certain number of pages are printed. Xerox, for instance has tied up with PrintReLeaf for a similar initiative. Businesses can consider adding such programs in their MPS contract at a small additional cost to make a big environmental impact.
Choosing the Right Partner Managing the print process is a labourintensive, onerous task. When looking for a partner to help ease the burden of administering the print process, it is essential that businesses choose the right provider. To this end, businesses must define service level agreements (SLAs) that enable them to acquire the right solutions for their unique organizational needs. These may include hardware, supplies, maintenance, and recycling support.
10 | August 2018
Intelligent Devices On the hardware front, organizations can consider multifunction printers that are not only reliable but have the flexibility to scale according to the print volume environment. Organizations can consider devices with production-quality color or monochrome digital presses according to their business needs. Most devices such as Canon’s MF730 Series come with an easyto-operate touch-screen menus that help streamline operations. Devices with high-end, enterprisegrade technology such as VersaLink from Xerox or the imageRUNNER series from Canon are now available for small and medium businesses also. Intelligent multifunction printers, that are lowmaintenance requiring less electricity, work well both for small and medium businesses as well as larger enterprises. Today’s technologically superior work group-class printers such as Xerox AltaLink and Canon C7500 series are high-volume
devices that are scalable and provide adequate security for large workgroups. For organizations with large print and user-management requirements, these intelligent devices can connect with mobile and cloud, so users can access them easily from anywhere.
The Middle East Landscape In the Middle East, countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are the pioneers in adopting print management solutions. In the other areas, the adoption is comparatively lower, probably because of low awareness about the available print management solutions. That said, the need to automate workflows and to enhance employee productivity are key requirements of organizations, irrespective of their size. Therefore, more and more organizations will likely realize the importance of adopting print management solutions and intelligent devices to minimize wasteful print costs in the future.
Conclusion
In the Middle East, countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are the pioneers in adopting print management solutions.
In a digital landscape, print continues to be an integral process of businesses of all sizes. While many organizations are pushing for paper-less offices by digitizing and storing documents online, printing and scanning are still popular methods of accessing documents. As a result, any inefficiency across the print value chain — be it maintenance or replacement of printers, supplies, and unnecessary color prints — results in costs to an organization. Therefore, in addition to adopting the latest technology solutions such cloud, mobile, and automation, it is in the interest of the businesses to choose smart devices armed with the latest monitoring and tracking technology. They must adopt print management solutions to plug-in the leakages and make the print process efficient. Businesses must implement best practices, coordinate purchase of supplies, and educate their employees for an efficient print process that can minimize print-related costs and maximize their IT spends.
Interview | Canon
Small and Medium Businesses should opt for the cloud model of Managed Print Services. This can help them become more efficient and use new technology, without getting stressed about investments through the pay-asyou-go option, advises Mohamed EL Bahrawr, Marketing Manager BIS, Canon Middle East, in an interview with The Integrator.
Mohamed EL Bahrawr Marketing Manager, BIS Canon Middle East
Optimize Print with MPS How important is it for print channel partners to transition to a Managed Print Service (MPS) model? It is very important to move to a Managed Print Service model and Canon’s print channel partners have already started promoting this model. There are various factors that are affecting this transition like the pressure of competing with any kind of hardware printing services. MPS not only sells one product to the customer but offers more, thereby, ensuring value to the customers and allowing for a longer relationship with the customer. It also ensures that there is a continuous flow of services and revenue from the Managed Print Service contract during the contract life cycle. This motivates print channel partners to improve their MPS offerings as well as differentiate themselves in the market place. According to the Global Print 2025 report, print manufacturers could lose their influence on customer
relationships in favour of IT services providers who provide broader offerings. What is your take on this shift in dynamic? Canon is broadening its offering to their customers not only with regards to providing better Managed Print Services but also offering digital transformation. The aim is to not only become an IT player in the market place, but also as an office provider of Managed Print Services. Therefore, Canon offers a lot more to the customers like digitization, workflow optimization in different verticals, and enhancing specific processes. Due to our experience, we can position Canon as a workflow provider along with MPS. This varies with different brands, but Canon helps to provide a more valuable solution to its customers. MPS requires a lot of technical know-how and not all normal IT system integrators have enough knowledge on how to manage a big fleet of enterprises.
How can SMBs ensure that they choose the right printing services that will help them remain competitive and be efficient? It is important to find the right printing services. Especially for SMBs, as it could be a challenge to be more efficient and use new technology. Investment could be an issue and that’s the reason Canon usually recommends that SMBs opt for the MPS cloud model. This would immensely help in getting the global benefits of MPS and at the same time not have to worry about a big initial investment. SMBs face the challenge of not having big enough infrastructure and IT support. The best scenario is for them to rely on SMB offerings and be very efficient and get the benefits of having the latest technology and functionalities of MPS with regards to security, scanning and work flow optimization. The idea behind MPS on the cloud is a more pay-as-you-go approach which would benefit SMBs. Security is a serious issue for SMBs and larger organizations, what steps can companies take to protect their documents? Security is a major concern, but it is important to segregate the issues of SMBs and larger organizations. For larger organizations, there are multiple dimensions of security as it’s all about the information about the network; and there are a lot of requirements along with security regarding the enterprise customers. Canon’s MPS offerings’ focus is to address the security concerns of the customer. It is important to be in-line with the security requirement of the organisation. Canon cares about the different dimensions and offers the security needed for each dimension. The level of security also depends on the complexity level of security needed for the customers. For larger organizations, the security offerings are larger and have broader security integration. Read the full interview on www.varonline.com August 2018 | 11
Interview | Xerox
Pui-Chi Li Marketing Head, ME Xerox
MPS
There is a growing need to maximize employee productivity through greater automation and information security. Therefore, to achieve people productivity, data security, and reduced costs, businesses must consider managed printing services (MPS), advises Pui-Chi Li, Head of Marketing in the Middle East, Xerox in an interview with The Integrator
for Efficient and Cost-effective Print Solutions 12 | August 2018
In an increasingly digital economy, how are printing solutions keeping pace? Digital economy is dependent on the digital transformation process and its success. Therefore, businesses are now demanding so much more than just a printer. To keep up with the market demands and trends, a stand-alone printing machine is evolving into an intelligent and connected workplace assistant. In the narrowest sense, digital transformation encapsulates the essence of moving from a ‘physical’ or ‘analogue’ world to a ‘touchless’ or ‘digital’ one across the print industry. The concept of ‘information digitization’ plays an evergrowing role towards utilizing ‘less paper’ and providing a communications platform. This harnesses the full power of new digital technologies, which is multi-channel and not simply print on paper. Therefore, print organizations are re-imagining and
re-engineering the way they operate and how they communicate and transact business with their customers. What is the landscape like of Managed Printing Service (MPS) in the Middle East? The Managed Print Services (MPS) market is growing across the Middle East and the growth differs depending on the specific countries/regions where you look. GCC countries, like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, are leading the Middle East region when it comes to the adoption of MPS. The key enabler driving enterprises to adopt MPS solutions across both large enterprises and SMB segments is the need to improve employee productivity through greater automation and information security. What are the key elements to consider for print solutions? Today’s office environments are evolving to fulfil productivity needs of the modern, mobile, always connected workforce. Therefore, we need so much more than just a machine – we need a workplace assistant, an intelligent device that gives us more than a piece of paper with letters on it. One of the most important qualities that a printing solution should have is being connected to a cloud to facilitate document transfer. However, at the same time the device needs to be protected from cyber attacks and malwares. In addition, today’s printers are expected to be efficient and cost-effective by cutting down on the number of documents that need to be printed. How can businesses maximize their print investments? People productivity, data security, and costs are critical aspects for any organization’s business objectives. Intelligent print management software combined with the right technology and a robust service support infrastructure helps manage these three critical aspects and hence plays a pivotal role in any enterprise managed print services solution.
Employing technologies such as MPS is a smart way to dramatically reduce costs spent on printing. In fact, MPS can help reduce organizations’ cost by up to 35%. A lot of organizations — big or small — don’t realize how much money is being wasted on purposeless printouts, maintenance of inactive printers, and downtime caused by poor servicing practices. One great example would be the financial sector, which is very robust in the Middle East region and creates a highly competitive environment. We have been working with one global financial services organization; and, after a careful assessment of their printing infrastructures across multiple branches, we identified at least 35,000 inactive printers! Can you imagine if an organization didn’t know about the existence of 35,000 machines across its multiple offices and how many of these devices had default security features? While saving at least 35% in print associated costs, this organization eliminated cybersecurity vulnerability by eliminating unprotected network access points. If hackers managed to penetrate their network and access financial data that their business is built on, it could have
The MPS market is growing across the Middle East and the growth differs depending on the specific regions where you look
caused an enormous damage to their overall business. How does MPS ensure security of confidential documents? Security is a top priority for Xerox as it would be for any business owner. That’s why all Xerox ConnectKeyAltaLink products are embedded with the Xerox-McAfee technology. It has an IoT approach to security, which constantly monitors and automatically protects products against malware attacks. These security enabled workplace assistants are armed with our holistic four-point approach to security, ensuring comprehensive, all-encompassing protection for all system components and points of vulnerability. These key features include intrusion prevention and device detection through a firmware verification test. Similarly, documents are not released until the right user is at the device such that scanned information is protected from unauthorized users. Xerox also protects stored information using the highest levels of encryption. In addition, ConnectKeytechnology provides extra security standards through our partnerships with McAfee and Cisco. How can print solutions be made ecofriendlier? In the GCC, large enterprises are keen to reduce carbon footprint and incorporate more sustainable ways in their business practices. Therefore, eco-friendly MPS solutions are playing a moral role that is of essence. We are keen to offer this added value to our MPS customers. For example, through Xerox’s partnership with PrintReleaf, our clients can have the opportunity to contribute to the reforestation of global forests. PrintReleaf leverages paper usage reporting and equates the number of trees needed to reforest that usage. Similarly, utilizing a machine that can serve multiple functions all at the same time can help you save so much energy. Xerox’s ConnectKey technology-enabled multifunction laser printers reduce the amount of energy used by approximately 50%. August 2018 | 13
Interview | NetApp
Privacy protection can't be attained only by technology With a rise in cyber threats, businesses must proactively train employees and must adopt flexible solutions to fortify their security frameworks, Fadi Kanafani, Regional Director MEA tells The Integrator What should be the data fabric of an organization to maximize the benefits that big data promises? Only recently, big data has been recognized by a number of companies across industries as an opportunity to get ahead of the market competition. It has become a key business driver, affording organizations with new insights and the power to better strategize their business direction to achieve sustainable growth. With the emerging artificial intelligence revolution, we expect to see the role of big data becoming even more critical in the near future. The big data infrastructure and software requirements are understandably complex. Enterprises need a system capable of collecting information from hundreds and thousands of sources, storing it efficiently, transporting it to where it’s needed, working with it for analysis and pattern recognition purposes, to name a few, and keeping it safe in compliance with existing laws and regulations. Recognizing this complexity, NetApp’s Data Fabric is a strategy and suite of solutions designed to help organizations tap into the benefits of big data. It provides the data management foundation for data collecting endpoints such as sensors.It offers smart functionalities for storing data on-premises and feeding powerful AI solutions.It integrates with the largest public clouds and ensures compliance with important legal frameworks such as the GDPR. In short, Data Fabric changes the data game. With constantly evolving cyber threats, what are the must-have security measures that organizations must take? In our fight against cyberattacks, employees, first and foremost, are the
14 | August 2018
first line of defence. It is thus important to give them critical training to empower and equip them with the right information and skills to combat costly online network breaches. As part of proactive security measures, it also helps to combine relevant employee training programs with several cutting-edge, clever technologies designed to protect an enterprise’s information technology (IT) infrastructure from malicious attacks. Some of these include: • Backup (on-premises or in the cloud) • Snapshots for minimal RPO without production impact • Data encryption • GDPR compliance (or other local frameworks) • Multi-tenancy It’s also noteworthy that cloud-like and software-defined service provisioning internally does away with many reasons for shadow IT. Therefore, HCI and public cloud integration are such a great proposition for CIOs as they deliver great value and lower risk exposure. Lastly, NetApp provides functionalities that are crucial for cloud service providers, for instance multi-tenant shared storage with encryption or SaaS Backup. Encryption allows cloud providers to meet disaster recovery and archival requirements without compromising clients’ data security. How should organizations choose cloud environments to maximize performance while ensuring security of assets? The key is to choose a flexible solution that addresses enterprises’ unique data needs, while providing the option to move back and forth and not be stuck with one approach. For example, data can be stored on-premises in a cloud-like environment that can be highly performant (flash) or super simple and automated (HCI), or highly integrated with
Fadi Kanafani Regional Director, META NetApp
the public cloud of choice. With our cloud infrastructure, cloud data services solutions, and proven data management software, we address all these requirements with the option to constantly optimize the deployment and service model. The bottom line is cloud is not always cheap and not always secure. Enterprises need to rely on a service such as the Cloud Value Management offering or tap into the expertise of a partner to find the best cloud strategy for them and then deploy the infrastructure and services to support it. The answers can be, for example, a fully-managed, cloud-native file storage service in the public cloud such as NetApp Cloud Volumes. Or, maybe something like NetApp Private Storage, which allows enterprises to take advantage of the public
cloud for computing power while the data itself never moves out of the controlled, co-located environment. Or, a powerful private cloud built on NetApp HCI, with the ease of consumption of the public cloud delivered on-premises. In view of BYOD, what steps must businesses take to ensure endpoint security? In the light of the growing BYOD practices, companies must implement appropriate strategies and processes— including building a secure IT infrastructure for customer data and identity protection that effectively addresses concerns about endpoint security. There are many steps that can be taken regarding this end. Data encryption and investment in advanced technologies are among these measures, in addition to deployment of an awareness campaign program for employees and implementation of a mobile device
management system for multiple mobile devices. It is really all about robust CIO strategy and processes. NetApp provides the strongest storage security solutions available today to help prevent unauthorized modification or disclosure of data stored across the enterprise. NetApp solutions not only support key data security and compliance initiatives, but they also help businesses address data privacy requirements, regulatory compliance, secure storage consolidation and multi-tenant needs, intellectual property protection, and secure information sharing. Given that the MEA region is a hotbed for cyberattacks, what must businesses do to ensure data privacy and integrity? Businesses should always bear in mind that privacy protection is not something to be solved by technology alone. It must be backed by strong privacy rules and
processes. Businesses need a holistic data strategy and approach that includes both technological and non-technological aspects such as data privacy, employee sensitization, data integrity, cloud security, data protection, and CIO strategies, among others. Safety and security is paramount. Today we have the technology to deliver this without compromising on the business potential of data. In NetApp’s case, the company helps organizations move on-premises applications that rely on files services to hybrid cloud and cloud-only models by collaborating with top hyperscale cloud providers to pioneer the delivery of enterprise network file system (NFS) services in the cloud. NetApp also provides Data Fabric to optimize the value of data in the cloud, whether customers run an on-premises IT environment that’s poised for cloud capabilities or are already using hybrid or public cloud infrastructures.
August 2018 | 15
News In Detail
Lack of Wi-Fi, A Dealbreaker for Arab Tourists Middle East vacationers demand round-the-clock connectivity, even while abroad: Linksys research
T
he latest research from Linksys has busted the myth of ‘digital detox’ – in which web-weary travelers seek screen breaks while vacationing, as tourists now consider internet access an integral part of their holidays. “Most Middle East travelers want to be connected all the time, wherever they are, just like at home,” said Amanulla Khan, Managing Director of Linksys Middle East, Turkey & Africa.
No Signal, No Stay Lack of internet access was a no-deal for Arab travelers’ choice of accommodation, with 95.2% saying they would refuse to book if the web was unavailable. UAE residents ranked this a top priority at 96%, compared with 94.4% of Saudi Arabian residents. The study found 92.9% of Middle East-based respondents rated Wi-Fi availability as a deciding factor when planning a holiday. UAE residents valued it slightly higher than their counterparts from Saudi Arabia – 94% versus 91.8%, respectively. Participants from Western Europe placed less emphasis on connectivity with British residents at 82% and Germans at 75.3%.
Family values Families with children need Wi-Fi connectivity more than with adult offspring – 77% versus 62%, respectively. The under18s’ preferences greatly influence their parents’ choice of accommodation.
Amanulla Khan Managing Director Linksys Middle East & Turkey & Africa
16 | August 2018
Home from home For travelers from the Arabian Gulf vacationing in their home countries, access to Wi-Fi is a huge factor – 94.8% of these respondents considered Wi-Fi to be important. In contrast, only 77.3% Western Europeans rated this important. Khan said the results were clear – lack of Wi-Fi really could be a deal-breaker. He advises owners of holiday lets, Airbnb landlords, and hotel managers to ensure they offer fast and secure Wi-Fi connections to their guests, or risk losing their custom.
Interview | ESET
vulnerabilities, and human errors can be fatal for any online business.
Dimitris Raekos General Manager ESET, Middle East
Security is Everyone’s Responsibility Information security is a society-wide problem, says Dimitris Raekos, General Manager, ESET Middle East. He tells The Integrator that while enterprises are taking measures to fight cybersecurity threats, black-hats are a step ahead. Therefore, organizations must have early warning systems that can track targeted attacks in advance. In the wake of rising cyberattacks, what must businesses do to secure themselves? Companies need to address a lot of challenges related to IT security such as ransomware and targeted attacks, diversified landscape of platforms, employee misbehaviour, lack of network visibility, and lack of security workforce. Therefore, they need to cooperate with a managed security service providers or vendors that are capable of assisting them in fending those challenges both with their products and services. Additionally, these service providers or vendors should always extend support to any purchase made by customer of their IT security software or hardware. For enterprises, we do suggest an advanced and cross-platform endpoint security solution, a cloud based powerful
sandboxing to prevent zero-day attacks, a threat intelligence mechanism to have global knowledge on targeted attacks and botnet activities, and an endpoint detection and response tool to identify anomalous behaviour and breaches. Digital is the new norm and consumers are increasingly shopping online. What threats do businesses offering online services face? E-commerce companies are managing consumers’ personal details and any data breach can damage the reputation and lead to huge fines. It needs to be understood that although great advancements are happening in cybersecurity, black-hats might be one step ahead. Malware residing on back office systems or web servers, phishing emails, software or hardware
Fraud such as CNP, account takeover activities, and so on are a real threat. What can financial institutions do to prevent fraud? This is one of the most difficult challenges for financial institutions, as fraud can be initiated by external entities or insiders. It is very important for any institution to have an early warning system that can track targeted attacks in advance. For example, ESET Threat Intelligence gathers data from 110+ million sensors and other sources that can be used as a prediction tool using YARA rules. Financial institutions must have appropriate internal measures for their personnel—from background checks to IT security solutions that provide proper identity access control and data loss prevention capabilities. In a digital environment with hybrid cloud-based work environments, what measures must enterprises take to ensure privacy and security of data? Enterprises can categorize their private and public cloud data into different categories based on sensitivity. They can apply appropriate measures required to protect their intellectual property and fulfil regulatory compliance requirements. Therefore, they must ensure that their private cloud HW & SW are properly updated to avoid any attacks targeting vulnerabilities, employ two-factor authentication in logins such remote desktop, email, CRM, ERP etc. Hybrid cloud-based work environment also requires data encryption, sufficient risk assessment, superior data redundancy, data leakage prevention, and wellconstructed service level agreements (SLAs) clearly defining and verifying data ownership, privacy, and security covering the hybrid environment. For more insights from Dimitris Raekos, General Manager, ESET, Middle East visit our news portal - www.varonline.com August 2018 | 17
News In Detail
Next-Gen Access Solutions Report Topline Benefits Respondents with Zero Trust models leveraging Next-Gen Access report reduced overall risk and lower security-related costs, reveals the latest study conducted by Forrester Research on behalf of Centrify. The study finds that organizations powering Zero Trust Security with Next-Gen Access solutions reported twice the confidence to accelerate new business models and customer experiences. The study finds that 67% enterprise resources are exposed to access-related risk, and that a Zero Trust Security approach is the best strategy to control access to enterprise resources. Organizations using Next-Gen Access solutions – including Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), and Privileged Access Management (PAM) – also reported topline benefits including being 66% more confident in adopting mobile work models, and 44% more confident in securing DevOps environments. Those same respondents reported
18 | August 2018
bottom line benefits of mitigating overall risk by 37%and reducing security costs by 31%. According to Forrester, 58% global enterprises have experienced a breach in the past 12 months. The study states that “security leaders are urgently scrambling to defend every entry point, but traditional approaches to security, based on keeping out the ‘bad guys,’ while letting in the good guys, have proven ineffective.” In response, many security leaders are turning to Zero Trust approaches that remove trust from the equation completely, shunning the traditional “trust but verify” approach and replacing it with a “never trust, always verify” mandate. “The dissolving network perimeter is causing a complete rethink in how we approach security, taking into account a new enterprise reality defined by the cloud, mobility, and increasing demands for agility,” said Tom Kemp, CEO of Centrify.
Dell EMC Offers Data Protection at the Lowest Cost
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he new Dell EMC Integrated Data Protection Appliance (IDPA) DP4400 offers mid-sized organizations converged data protection—back-up, deduplication, replication and recovery. The new IDPA DP4400 solution provides for a lower cost to protect while reducing backup times by up to 2x. It protects up to 4x more data in a single 2U appliance with average 55:1 data deduplication. The IDPA DP4400 solution for mid-size organizations offers built-in cloud readiness features with disaster recovery and long-term data retention to the cloud. It is simple to manage, deploy and upgrade, with growth in place from 24-96TB – and up to 192TB in the cloud – with no additional hardware. “With the IDPA DP4400, we’re delivering a converged data protection solution that’s as simple to use as it is powerful —with support for the largest application ecosystem and expansion to the cloud. The IDPA DP4400 offers the right level of modern features and capabilities for mid-size data centers at the lowest cost to protect,” said Beth Phalen, President, Data Protection, Dell EMC. “For mid-size organizations, scaling can get expensive as they try to meet the needs of their ever-growing data,” said Michel Nader, Regional Director, Data Protection Solutions, Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META Region), at Dell EMC. “With the new Dell EMC IDPA DP4400 we have integrated the best of breed components to offer better time to value and cloud-tiering for long term retention, enabling mid-size organizations to greatly simplify and automatically adapt to the changing needs and requirements of their business, while keeping performance high and costs down.”
The IDPA DP4400 offers the right level of modern features and capabilities for mid-size data centers at the lowest cost to protect.
August 2018 | 19
Insight | Commvault
Commvault unveils enhancements to partner program C
ommvault has announced a program that aims to simplify, streamline and scale its partners’ businesses. The improvements in the program are a result of direct feedback from partners to coincide with the formal launch of its new partner program year. Commvault’s improved partner engagement program will make it easier for the partners to do business with Commvault, understand Commvault’s product offerings, and take advantage of the growing opportunities with customers in the backup, recovery and data management markets. In view of becoming a more partner-led business, Commvault has announced that it has undertaken a major redeployment of resources across its sales, partner, and field marketing organizations. This is with a view to create new teams dedicated to Commvault’s four routes to market: alliance partners,value added resellers (VARs) and distributors, service providers, and global systems integrators (GSIs). Commvault is focusing its people, programs and tools to support its partners accelerate business growth. To this end, Commvault has created a new partner success desk – an on-demand service center for partners around the globe that provides 24-hour assistance with RFP response questions and fielding technical questions through every step of the sales process. A robust partner demand center has been created to give partners access to Commvault’s marketing concierge team
20 | August 2018
N.Robert Hammer Chairman, President and CEO, Commvault
to help activate and execute marketing campaigns by seamlessly streaming content directly to partners’ websites and social media platforms. An improved Commvault quote center will make it easier for partner
organizations to generate and provide product quotes quickly to reduce the time to create proposals. A refreshed partner portal environment has new tools, content, and resources to optimize partner experience and ensure joint success.
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TechKnow | Honeywell
Honeywell’s New Platform for Enterprise Safety Applications
H
oneywell has announced the launch of Safety Manager SC, the next generation of its flagship Safety Manager platform. The Safety Manager SC is modular with a scalable design that enables it to function as a single platform for all enterprise safety applications. It allows customers – who often use four or five different safety systems – to consolidate and reduce their training and engineering costs, and spare parts inventories. Safety Manager SC incorporates series C-based controller and Honeywell technologies such as LEAP, Universal Safety IO, offline simulation and Experion integration. These collectively simplify safety system engineering, development, and testing. “Our customers increasingly want integrated safety and control solutions and the simplicity of partnering with one supplier for all their needs,” said Tim LeFevre, global customer marketing manager for safety systems, Honeywell Process Solutions. “We deliver exactly that by combining unrivaled expertise in distributed control systems (DCS) and safety systems with deep integration know-how. Honeywell is one of the few vendors that can support the full safety lifecycle.” Safety Manager SC has been designed to provide safety as it is SIL-2 and SIL-3 certified and supports small to large distributed safety applications requiring varying levels of redundancy. It simplifies operations by seamlessly integrating DCS and safety systems and improves maintenance and troubleshooting through its simplified design. It helps
22 | August 2018
reduce system costs due to its smaller footprint and use technologies such as Universal Safety IO and LEAP that allow for faster development and checkout of safety logic due to offline simulation capabilities.
Safety Manager SC is ideal for global hydrocarbon processing companies with greenfield projects requiring SIL2 or SIL3 solutions for distributed and safety applications, or stand-alone safety solutions.
Winners | Integrator Awards 2018
The 2018 Integrator Awards Winners
Winners awarded at the 6th Edition of The Integrator ICT Champions Awards 2018
T
he 6th Integrator ICT Champions Awards Gala held in June, 2018 at the Oberoi Hotel in Dubai was attended by the who’s who of the region’s ICT industry. The Awards celebrated the winners of the 2018 edition of the Integrator ICT Champion Awards across 30 different categories. The 2018 winners were selected through a process that involved accepting nominations in the first phase and then went through a voting process conducted on varonline.com. A special jury and The Integrator editors casted in their votes as well. The 6th Edition of the awards were sponsored by Platinum sponsors – Redington, Gold Sponsors – Linksys, Toshiba, Western Digital, PNY, Silver sponsors – Visiontech, DTS Solution, Checkpoint Software technologies and OMA Emirates. Category sponsors were AOC, Finesse and Hubnetix. This year we received a whopping 4,162 votes to decide the winners. The massive votes received stand as vindication of the prestige these awards carry in the industry. The evening also introduced Uneq Products, a unique platform for brands to get rewarded for their unique innovations in products and services. We would like to once again congratulate the winners of the 6th edition of the Integrator ICT Champions Awards
24 | August 2018
Cloud Computing Vendor of the Year
VMWare
Information Security VAD of the Year
Spire Solutions
Enterprise VAD of the Year
Aptec - an Ingram Micro Company
Enterprise Storage Vendor of the Year
Dell EMC
Enterprise Networking Vendor of the Year
Cisco Middle East
Unified Communications Vendor of the Year
Avaya
Converged Infrastructure Vendor of the Year
Dell EMC
Network Security Appliance Vendor of the Year
Checkpoint Software Technologies LTD
IP Surveillance Solutions Vendor of the Year
Axis Communications
Networking VAD of the Year
Logicom FZE
Storage VAD of the Year
StorIT Distribution FZCO
ERP Vendor of the Year
SAP Middle East & North Africa LLC
SMB Networking Vendor of the Year
Linksys
Enterprise Mobility Management Solutions Vendor Kaspersky Lab Managed Services Provider of the Year
OMA Emirates-Solution Gulf
Networking Integrator of the Year
Datataag Technologies
Storage Integrator of the Year
Condo Protego
BFSI Integrator of the Year
Finesse LLC
Emerging Integrator of the Year
DTS Solution
Access Control Solutions Vendor of the Year
Genetec Middle East and Africa
Endpoint Security Software Vendor of the year
Eset Middle East
Network Management Vendor of the Year
NetApp
SMB Storage Vendor of the Year
Western Digital
Visionary Vendor of the Year
Bitglass
Visionary Integrator of the Year
Visiontech Systems
Product Innovation Vendor of the Year
Toshiba Gulf FZE
Channel Champion Vendor of the Year
D-Link Middle East & Africa
Emerging VAD Of The Year
Ethos Technologies
Innovation in Displays
AOC
Innovation in Graphics Solutions
PNY Technologies Middle East FZE
Innovation in Network Security
Venustech
VAD Of The Year
Redington Value
Emerging ICT Solutions Brand Of The Year
Hubnetix Middle East
Visionary Cybersecurity Vendor of the Year
Sonicwall
Cloud Computing Vendor of the Year
The 'Cloud Computing Vendor of the Year' was won by VMWare, one of the leaders in providing cloud computing and platform virtualization software and services. It helps organizations virtualize computing through management of virtual data centers, through a range of products and services.
Enterprise VAD of the Year
The 'Enterprise VAD of the Year' was one by Aptec - an Ingram Micro company. The company is the authorized distributor for many leading IT hardware, software and communications manufacturers in the world, and has operations in over 70 countries.
Enterprise Networking Vendor of the Year
Cisco Middle East emerged as the winner of the 'Enterprise Networking Vendor of the Year'. This global leader in IT and networking, the company develops and manufactures networking hardware, telecom equipment apart from hightechnology services.
Information Security VAD of the Year
Spire Solutions won the 'Information Security VAD of the Year'. The company is the Middle East's preferred value added distributor of and the regional leader in information security solutions and services.
Enterprise Storage Vendor of the Year
The 'Enterprise Storage Vendor of the Year' was Dell EMC that provides organizations with greater efficiency and speed for their applications that allows consolidation of workloads and reduce costs with flash and hybrid storage solutions.
Unified Communications Vendor of the Year
The winner of 'Unified Communications Vendor of the Year' was Avaya, a global leader in superior communications experiences. The company provides a range of software and services in business communications, specifically unified communications, contact center, and services.
August 2018 | 25
Winners | Integrator Awards 2018 Converged Infrastructure Vendor of the Year
Network Security Appliance Vendor of the Year
Dell EMC continued its winning spree by bagging the 'Convered Infrastructure Vendor of the Year' for its superlative solutions enabling IT transformation for organizations through a combination of infrastructure, data storage, hybrid cloud and data protection solutions.
The award for 'Network Security Appliance Vendor of the Year' was won by Checkpoint Software Technologies Ltd. The company provides hardware and software products for endto-end IT security, which includes secutity for the network, endpoint, mobile security, and data.
SMB Networking Vendor of the Year
ERP Vendor of the Year
The winner of 'ERP vendor of the Year' was SAP Middle East & North Africa LLC. The company helps businesses streamline their business processes such as operations, finance, human capital management, and so on.
Enterprise Mobility Management Solutions Vendor
Kaspersky Lab was the proud winner of the 'Enterprise Mobility Management Solutions Vendor' for its range of cyber security solutions that are enabling businesses to ward off cyber threats.
26  |  June 2018
The 'SMB Networking Vendor of the Year' award was won by Linksys, a popular name in the realm of data networking hardware products for small businesses and home users.
Networking VAD of the Year
Logicom FZE, a wholesale distributor of technology products won the 'Networking VAD of the Year'. They are a distributer of computer systems, networking products, components and peripherals.
Managed Services Provider of the Year
The winner of the 'Managed Services Provider of the Year' was OMA EmiratesSolution Gulf. They are a leading provider of payment and transaction processing solutions for businesses in the region.
Networking Integrator of the Year
Storage Integrator of the Year
The award for the 'Networking Integrator of the Year' was won by Datataag Technologies, a leader in enterprise-scale IT infrastructure solutions in the region. In addition, the consulting services help businesses of all sizes to become more productive and efficient.
Condo Protego bagged the award for the 'Storage Integrator of the Year' for enabling businesses to redefine and transform their storage infrastructure and the journey to cloud computing, while optimizing data protection.
BFSI Integrator of the Year
Emerging Integrator of the Year
The 'BFSI Integrator of the Year' award was bagged by Finesse LLC, a trusted software system integrator in the MEA region, offering solutions based on blockchain, big data, AI, robotics, IoT, and so on.
Endpoint Security Software Vendor of the year
The 'Endpoint Security Software Vendor of the Year' was won by ESET Middle East. The company is one of the popular leaders in security solutions in the region, with the mission to make technology safer for everyone.
DTS Solution won the award for 'Emerging Integrator of the Year' for its innovative approach to cyber security by providing businesses with consulting services to help them protect their business-critical assets.
Network Management Vendor of the Year
The award for the 'Network Management Vendor of the Year' was won by NetApp for providing businesses with a range of hybrid cloud data services that help simplify management of applications and data.
August 2018  |  27
Winners | Integrator Awards 2018
SMB Storage Vendor of the Year
Western Digital won the 'SMB Storage Vendor of the Year' award. A global leader in computer data storage, the company allows editing and sharing of content from anywhere with an internet connection.
Visionary Integrator of the Year
Visiontech Systems emerged the winner of the 'Visionary Integrator of the Year' for its innovative solutions to help customers create and maintain competitive advantage while increasing their operational efficiencies.
Channel Champion Vendor of the Year
The 'Channel Champion Vendor of the Year' award was won by D Link Middle East & Africa. The company is a popular name in the entire MEA region for its connectivity solutions. These include networking, broadband, digital, voice and data communications solutions.
28  |  August 2018
Visionary Vendor of the Year
Bitglass won the 'Visionary Vendor of the Year' award for helping businesses gain control over data in the cloud while complying to regulations. The company provides zero-day data and threat protection for any app, any device, anywhere.
Product Innovation Vendor of the Year
The 'Product Innovation Vendor of the Year' award was won by Toshiba Gulf FZE for its innovative approach to developing world-class solutions in the MEA region, with a speial emphasis on social infrastructure and healthcare.
Emerging VAD Of The Year
Ethos Technologies won the 'Emerging VAD of the Year' award for simplifying buisness technology and IT solutions allowing businesses to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Innovation in Displays
AOC won the 'Innovation in Displays' award for its continuing innovation and technological advancements in the quality of visual displays used in monitors, TVs and all-in-one PCs.
Innovation in Network Security
The 'Innovation in Network Security' award was bagged by Venustech for bringing simplicity too security. Its research lab called Adlab is engaged in research of deep attack and defense technologies in network security.
Emerging ICT Solutions Brand Of The Year
The award for 'Emerging ICT Solutions Brand of the Year' was won by Hubnetix Middle East for its reliable products and solutions focused on sectors such as ICT, government, healthcare, education, manufacturing, retail, financial services, media, technology, and energy, among others.
Innovation in Graphics Solutions
The award for 'Innovation in Graphics Solutions' was won by PNY Technologies Middle East FZE. Within two years of beginning its operations in the Middle East and taking over Imation, the company has become a popular name in the region.
VAD Of The Year
Redington Value won the 'VAD of the Year' award. Apart from being one of the largest value added distributors in the region, the company has ventured into providing consulting services to organizations to deploy IT for their end customers.
Visionary Cybersecurity Vendor of the Year
Sonicwall won the 'Visionary Cybersecurity Vendor of the Year' for a full spectrum of security solutions including those for ransomware, encrypted threats, wireless and mobile access for numerous sectors.
August 2018  |  29
TechKnow | VMware
VMware Unveils VMworld 2018
V
Mware has announced that its 15th annual conference VMworld 2018 US will be held August 26-30 in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Later in the year, the 11th annual VMworld 2018 Europe will return to Fira Barcelona Gran Via during November 5-8 in Barcelona. With the theme of “Possible Begins with You,”VMworld 2018 attendees, comprised of IT technical professionals and business decision makers, ecosystem partners and industry leaders can find the knowledge, peer network, conversations and technologies they need to enable the digital foundation that powers the apps, services and experiences that are transforming the world. From workplace modernization to leveraging the benefits of a multi-cloud world, attendees will experience first hand the trends shaping digital business. The five-day event features general session keynotes by industry leaders and
30 | August 2018
user-driven panels, certification trainings and labs on industry topics. Topics covered will include Data Center and Cloud, Networking and Security, Digital Workspace, Leading Digital Transformation, and Next-Gen Trends including the Internet
This year we expect to welcome over 35,000 attendees globally at VMworld 2018 US and VMworld 2018 Europe to learn how organizations are envisioning and creating the digital future
of Things, Network Functions Virtualization and DevOps. “This year we expect to welcome over 35,000 attendees globally at VMworld 2018 US and VMworld 2018 Europe to learn how organizations are envisioning and creating the digital future,” said Robin Matlock, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, VMware. “VMworld is a leading industry forum for global technology, and we are thrilled to be the point of connection, conversation and cocreation for what’s next.” At VMworld2018, attendees will be able to discover emerging product breakthroughs, best practices, and case studies, meet with subject matter experts who bring new perspectives to pain points and opportunities in today’s market, engage with VMware's partner ecosystem and industry leaders, and gain experience in hands-on labs and VMware certification opportunities.
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