A look back into 2019 and looking ahead What a year 2019 was! It was a stupendous year in terms of technological advancements and the buzz they created in the Middle East and Africa region. Many technologies moved out of the research centers and were implemented in realworld use cases. Artificial intelligence continued to evoke heightened interest with large organizations working towards democratization of the technology and facilitating greater adoption by making it more accessible and affordable. It's allied technology machine learning helped power smart solutions that found favor with businesses looking to gain insights into customer behaviors and fight fraud. The Internet of Things made rapid strides through smart cities projects and smart homes. Governments across the globe embraced IoT to power sustainable development and improved governance. Virtual reality, augmented reality, edge computing and zero trust access made their presence felt and became hot topics of discussion. Amidst all the good cheer, however, the year 2019 proved to be a runaway year for data breaches. A string of highprofile data breaches once again placed cyber security at the center of attention for businesses and consumers alike. Cyber security continues to pose a challenge to the businesses looking to leverage the digital channels. This is because cyber criminals use advanced technology to exploit vulnerabilities and evade detection making the fight against cyber crime difficult for businesses. Our cover story this months looks back at the technologies and events that made the headlines this year and will continue to influence the market in 2020 and beyond. Here's wishing you a happy, prosperous, and safe New Year 2020!
Vivek Sharma Managing Editor
Managing Editor: Vivek Sharma Commercial Director: Mallika Rego Content Lead, Print & Online: Deepti Israni Art Director: Faiz Ahmed
ontents
Dear Readers
Technology Review – P–8 An exciting year draws to a close. A10 Networks Appoints Redington Gulf as Value Added Distributor in ME – P–5 Synergizing the Mind and Technology Economy – P–7
SophosLabs Intelix, a Cloud-Based Threat Intelligence Platform, is now Available – P–12 Four Lessons Learned About Pivoting Towards Digital Transformation – P–13
AWS Ground Station is now available in AWS Middle East Region – P–17
ManageEngine Delivers Industry’s First On-Premises Solution to Offer Endpoint MFA for all Major OSs – P–18 QNAP Demonstrated AI-based Smart Retail Solution at Intel Edge Computing Solution Summit – P–20 Avaya CU360 Collaboration Unit – P–22
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News Bytes
New Mimecast Research Finds Data Loss is Primary Concern for Financial Industry
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imecast announced new research commissioned by IDG Research on the factors leading financial services organizations to reprioritize how they manage compliance. Financial services organizations like retail banks, investment firms and insurance companies have always operated under stringent regulations and controls. However, increasing regulatory frameworks and evolving security threats are making compliance an increasing priority within these organizations. Mimecast and IDG Research surveyed financial services professionals to understand their compliance efforts and what they consider critical priorities. Nearly all respondents (92%) reported that compliance management has become an increasingly high priority over the past two years. Organizations’ compliance strategies for supervision in the coming year are being shaped most heavily by new regulatory requirements (45%) and a growing number of cybersecurity threats (39%). Regardless of industry, data loss is an ongoing struggle most organizations face. For the financial organizations surveyed it’s the number one concern, largely due to the ever-evolving threat landscape. More than half (58%) cited data loss as their organization’s biggest concern regarding non-compliance, and 49% said their organization had been impacted by data loss in the past 2 years.
Additionally, compliance management can be time consuming, in fact eighty-nine percent said the amount of time their compliance teams spend maintaining audit readiness has increased over the past two years. “Compliance is not a one-time thing, it’s an ongoing effort that organizations need to monitor at every level of their business,” said Garth Landers, Director Product Marketing, Archiving at Mimecast. “The explosion of data combined with the fact that everyone is a technology user has put a lot of pressure on financial service firms to get compliance right. As new rules and regulations come into play, it’s even more important for organizations to ensure they have the right people, processes and technology in place to maintain compliance.”
Emerson Expands Analytics Platform for Industrial Enterprise-Level
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merson has added two new IIoT solutions to its Plantweb Insight data analytics platform that will enable industrial facilities to transform the way they manage their enterpriselevel wireless network infrastructure. As digitalization and wireless technology adoption continue to rapidly expand in industrial facilities throughout the world, the need for greater visibility of network infrastructure performance is key. These new Plantweb Insight applications provide a quick-toimplement, scalable IIoT solution that helps customers advance their digital transformation strategies and achieve greater operational efficiencies. The new Plantweb Insight Network
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Management application provides continuous, centralized monitoring of WirelessHART networks. This first-ofits-kind application provides a singular, consolidated view of the status of all wireless networks in a facility, with embedded expertise and guidance for advanced network management. A key feature of the Plantweb Insight Network Management application is a configurable mesh network diagram, providing visualization of network design and connections along with device-specific information. While the new network management application provides a holistic look at wireless networks, the Plantweb Insight Power Module
Management application drills down to the device level, allowing facilities to keep their wireless devices appropriately powered so they can continuously transmit key monitoring data. “We were able to infuse a decade of experience with wireless technology into these new offerings,” said Brian Joe, wireless product manager with Emerson’s Automation Solutions business. “Our customers will now be able to manage and improve hundreds of networks through a singular interface. These new applications further enhance the Plantweb Insight platform, a set of pre-built analytics primarily focusing on monitoring key asset health.
News In Detail
A10 Networks Appoints Redington Gulf as Value Added Distributor in ME
A
10 Networks, announced a value
to recruit new reseller partners into our
added distributor partnership
Redington will be investing into a
Affinity Partner program. We will also rely
‘train your trainer’ scheme, which involves
agreement with Redington Gulf across
on their sales and marketing expertise
a dedicated employee getting trained by
United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait,
and technical training services to promote
the vendor. The distributor will then act as
Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq,
the A10 Networks brand and increase our
an Authorized Training Centre (ATC) and
Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
partners’ knoweldge of our company’s
build scheduled technical workshops to
technologies.”
deliver high level technical training and
Under the terms of the agreement, Redington will promote A10 Networks’
“Redington has a strong portfolio of
updates to resellers and partners, including
entire portfolio of leading solutions
security vendors that provide solutions like
including service provider network security
SIEM, IPS, DLP, packet broker and forensics,
to support IoT in the age of 5G, multi-
that complement those of A10 Networks.
are two of today’s biggest trends that
cloud management, distributed denial-of-
This plays well for both our companies and
will transform the market. 5G and multi-
service (DDoS) with Zero-day Automated
provides growth opportunities. We look
cloud environments require the most
Protection (ZAP), carrier-grade networking
forward to growing our footprint in the
automated and reliable security solutions
(CGN) and application visibility and
region through this new partnership.”
to ensure that business-critical applications
analytics. Ehab Halablab, Regional Channel
With the addition of A10 Networks,
certification programs. “5G and Multi-cloud environments
are protected and always available. A10
Redington can now build and offer
Networks has proven market leading
Manager – MENA at A10 Networks said,
partners and customers a robust, end-to-
technologies in these areas, and as such,
“As our company continues to increase
end solution, integrating complementary
the vendor is an invaluable addition to
focus and investment in the Middle East
solutions from various vendors in
our portfolio. We are excited to be able
region, we require strong channel support
the company’s portfolio. It also gives
to offer the company’s security solutions
to grow our share of the enterprise
Redington the opportunity of revisiting
to our partners and customers across the
market. We believe that Redington, with
existing customer accounts and using A10
region,” concludes Sayantan Dev, Senior
its vast channel network, can help us
Networks’ solutions to cross-sell/up-sell.
Vice President at Redington Gulf.
December 2019 | 5
News In Detail
Citrix Workspace Live for Google Cloud Solution enables companies to deliver simple, intelligent work experience on Google devices and operating systems
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xpanding on the flexibility and choice it provides to companies in enabling a superior digital work experience, Citrix Systems, Inc. announced general availability of Citrix Workspace for Google Cloud. Using the solution, companies can deliver unified access to the G Suite apps employees need and prefer to use and fuel a simple, intelligent experience that improves engagement and productivity. “When it comes to work today, employees don’t want to be distracted by technology. They want to be empowered by it to do their best work,” said Calvin Hsu, Vice President, Product Marketing, Citrix. “With Citrix Workspace, companies can quiet the digital noise that’s frustrating employees and enable them to focus on work that matters and thrive.” “We’re delighted that Citrix’s Workspace platform is now available to the millions of customers using G Suite around the world,” said Manvinder Singh, Director, Partnerships at Google Cloud.”
multiple workflows by automating and simplifying common tasks within minutes. Microapps for G Suite can be used to streamline everything from booking resources to sending event reminders and notifications to new team members. Through an easy-to-use microapp builder, companies can customize it to accommodate their unique processes and needs.
A Better Way to Work
Enterprise-Grade VDI
Citrix Workspace is a unified, secure and intelligent work platform that transforms the employee experience by organizing, guiding, and automating all activities people need to perform at their best. “With the Citrix Workspace on Google Cloud, we can create a unified work experience where people can focus on creating value,” said Mari Wasström, IT Solutions Service Management Lead, Neste Oyj. “And that has a tremendous effect on efficiency and employee satisfaction.”
And using Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Machine Creation Service (MCS), IT can quickly and efficiently provision Windowsbased Citrix workloads at scale and create a modern digital work environment in which employees can access all of the tools they need to collaborate and perform at their best. “We run all of our IT in the cloud, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is one of the platforms we use,” said Ulrik Christensen, Principal Infrastructure Engineer at Oncology Venture. “With Citrix Machine Creation Service, our administrators can easily create and update images for workloads. All they need to do is boot up the image and make the requested changes, then shut down the image, create a snapshot, and update things from Citrix Studio. It saves us a great deal of time is the perfect technology to keep things running.”
A Productivity Powerhouse With the latest release of Citrix Workspace, Google Cloud customers can incorporate the G Suite tools their employees prefer to use into an intelligent work feed and deliver productivity-boosting, time-saving microapps that integrate
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Modern App Development for a Hybrid Cloud World Using Google Cloud’s Anthos for hybrid and multi-cloud deployments, companies can build microservices applications and run them anywhere. With the validation of Citrix ADC for Anthos, customers can integrate Citrix ADCs, including MPX, VPX and CPX, into Anthos with confidence and maintain operational and policy consistency between on-prem and cloud environments to ease application migration.
TechKnow | Riverbed
Synergizing the Mind and Technology Economy Enhancing human experiences of customers and employees, in the digital era. Could you tell us how Riverbed is advancing human experiences? Earlier this year, Riverbed unveiled its new brand identity pivoted around ‘Advancing the Human Experience in the Digital World’. The official theme for GITEX this year – Synergising the Mind and Technology Economy – mirrored this vision and many of Riverbed’s conversations with existing and potential customers have been around enhancing human experiences, of customers and employees, in the digital era. Our value proposition is simple - Riverbed is here to help you optimize the delivery of any application, over any network, to anyone, anywhere.
partnership extends our reach and ability to address larger and more complex enterprise SD-WAN deployments. • Application Acceleration: We now deliver the only cloud-based SaaS acceleration service and will use GITEX as a platform to showcase how this solution significantly accelerates the performance of leading SaaS apps, such as O365, Salesforce, ServiceNow and Box, by up to 10 times. • Network Performance Management (NPM): Our NPM solution makes it easy to monitor, troubleshoot, and analyse what’s happening across hybrid network environments.
As the ‘digital performance company’, what are the prime tenants of Riverbed’s solution portfolio? Riverbed today is positioned not just as a technology provider, but rather as a technology enabler to its customers. We’re helping C-level executives build their business on the right platforms and tools to rapidly and confidently adopt new technologies and thereby accelerate digital transformation.
Can you highlight any major regional customers you have onboarded over the last 12 months? How are they using your technologies and services to grow their business? A Middle East Payment Gateway Provider: One of our recent regional successes has been with a leading payment gateway provider. To address the company’s unique and specialized IT requirements, its in-house IT team had built a highly customized environment. While this was essential to meet the organization’s needs, it also introduced complexity, which ultimately impacted performance. For a payment gateway provider, a mere millisecond of delay can have a measurable impact on operations and can even result in losses. They therefore approached Riverbed, seeking our expertise in helping them achieve seamless transaction flow. We successfully delivered a solution that provides them with visibility into the key pillars of their infrastructure that are essential to the smooth operation and highperformance of their payment systems.
Our offering to the market is built around 3 strategic pillars: • Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN): SD-WAN is now essential to achieving simplicity and scalability in hybrid networks for the modern enterprise. This is a focus segment for Riverbed as we lead the market with our technologies. The Riverbed SteelConnect solution unifies connectivity and orchestration across the entire distributed network. We have also enhanced our value proposition through our global original equipment manufacturing (OEM) agreement with Versa Networks. This
Charbel Khneisser Regional Presales Director, MENA Riverbed
What are the Top 3 trends that will redefine and Networking in 2020 SD-WAN continues to mature and will become the defacto building block for organisation’s infrastructure, replacing legacy network technology, bringing a new era of business agility and ubiquitous connectivity. The arrival of 5G will act as a catalyst for more “data rich” applications to evolve, transforming the way humans and smart devices interact with each other and between themselves. Finally, security will remain high on the agenda for all businesses, with multi-factor authentication and biometrics increasingly replacing traditional user access control methods. December 2019 | 7
Cover Feature | Technology Review
An Exciting Year Draws to a Close The year 2019 witnessed some of the most exciting technologies and events that created a buzz in the MENA region. Here's a snapshot of the year gone past
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echnology is evolving at a breakneck pace, so much so that at times the predictions outpace the duration they are made for! Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, robotics, social media, and host of other technologies have completely disrupted the way humans work and interact—both as individuals and as a society. Innovations in technology have given rise to disruptive business models that were unheard of a few years ago. This has not only helped traditional businesses create new revenue streams, but have also given rise to new age businesses. That said, while on the one hand evolution of technology is helping address some of the most pressing challenges that humans as a society are faced with as well as helping achieve sustainable development, it is also making businesses and consumers increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats. As the year draws to a close, we take a look at the technologies that created a buzz and forced the industry to sit up and take note of.
Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence continues to take the tech community and the world by storm. It has evolved into a business necessity and has
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become the go-to-technology when it comes to facilitating analysis of vast swathes of data in real-time to enable strategic decisionmaking. It is also the power behind efficient customer service, fraud detection, and large-scale automation of processes. Large tech organizations are now working towards democratization of artificial intelligence and the continued research and development efforts are helping make the technology more accessible and affordable for digital businesses. Another development in artificial intelligence is the idea of generative adversarial network (GAN) that will allow machines to mimic the imagination powers of a human to a certain extent. This is being made possible—with encouraging results—by two neural networks being trained on a data set through a 'real or fake' game.
Machine Learning Machine Learning is a branch of artificial intelligence which is used to train machines. It is one of the most promising technologies today that makes it possible for machines to learn how the human brain works and replicate this learning to analyze varied data types and deduce meaningful insights. At the core of machine learning are three models that help machines unearth insights and patterns. These include supervised models that are used with historical data, unsupervised models that are used on transactional data, and reinforcement learning that is used to train machines to respond to situations on their own, without instructions.
Edge Computing With a proliferation in the number of smart devices—estimated to reach 55 billion by 2025—the amounts of data generated will be humongous. Businesses and governments will harness this data to gain deep-dive insights and power decision-making. However, this same data will pose several challenges—storage, analytics, and security. Ever-increasing volumes of data will also cause bottlenecks in terms of speed of transmission. Therefore, to streamline data
analytics and maximize efficiency, edge computing—or simply edge—is being proposed as a solution. Edge computing refers to data processing—collecting, processing, and analysis—closer to the source, unlike the cloud where data analytics is centralized. It is a cloud-based environment, which resides at the edge of the network. It will enable low latency, high-bandwidth, and real-time access to digital information—for instance, in smartphones, automated machines, robots, and so forth. This will not only reduce the volumes of data being transferred to the cloud but also speed up data analytics. Although limited in use at present, edge computing is being hailed as the next big thing, as experts believe that over the next few years, almost six billion IoT devices will use edge computing for data processing. Cisco estimates that more than 500 zettabytes of data—primarily created by IoT—will be processed at the edge, driving greater adoption of edge computing. Gartner suggests that by 2025, 75% of the data will be created and processed outside of the cloud.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Virtual reality and augmented reality are upcoming technologies that immerse the user in a life-like environment. Augmented reality is a subgroup of virtual reality which involves combining synthetic images with the actual images in real time. It is a new generation technology, which is developing fast and holds immense potential for a host of industry segments including entertainment, gaming (eg., the popular Pokemon Go game), simulated education and training, healthcare, marketing, civil engineering, and even museums and theme parks for a life-like experience. Both virtual reality and augmented reality have piqued the interest of tech giants and startups alike as they promise multiple benefits. When deployed, augmented reality can help significantly reduce man power efforts, costs, time and the resources used. With further improvements both in hardware and software to truly support real-time applications in future, the true benefits of virtual reality and augmented reality can be fully realized.
Blockchain The image that blockchain conjures up is that of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Although it started its journey as a technology to help prevent fraud and misuse of cryptocurrencies, it has evolved into a technology that has begun impacting every industry segment. Today, blockchain is being successfully used across industries including financial services, healthcare, telecom, and any other industry that needs to secure data. Blockchain is a digital distributed ledger account which facilitates verified and secured sharing over the internet without the need for an intermediary. It is considered the next big technology after artificial learning and machine learning which will help secure data efficiently.
Globally, there is a lot of interest in the technology which has resulted in significant investments both from the industry and the government bodies. Efforts are also being made to standardize the technology. Gartner estimates that by 2025 the global business value of blockchain will cross $176 and by 2030 it will likely exceed $3.1 trillion.
Internet of Things Internet of Things (IoT) has already made successful inroads into our daily lives and has transformed everyday life through smart everything including refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves, traffic lights, health monitors, watches, cars, trains, and even toys. IoT refers to a giant network of interconnected devices and people that connect, collect, and exchange data through embedded sensors. To enable these devices to add value to our lives, technology companies are innovating furiously in areas such as connectivity, computing, and cognitive technologies. The data collected from interconnected devices provides businesses with the insights, patterns and behaviors, allowing them to improve customer experience with greater personalized services and tailor-made product suggestions. When patterns are unearthed, it becomes easy to spot anomalies and prevent fraud, making for a safer customer lifecycle. The data-driven, smart decision-making helps optimize processes, thereby increasing efficiency of a business. IoT is disrupting traditional businesses through innovative models and services, leading to newer business opportunities and revenue streams, besides reducing the time-to-market and increasing return-on-investment. According to Cisco, IoT will help private and public sector industries worldwide uncover an estimated US$19 trillion of economic value by 2022. With its numerous benefits, IoT is changing the face of the society in the Middle East and Africa region enabling sustainable business growth and judicious use of limited resources. At present, the Middle East region is in its first phase of the IoT revolution. The drivers of growth for the IoT market in the region primarily include smart transportation, oil and gas, healthcare, manufacturing, and hospitality. Further, connected cars, meters, wearables and consumers electronics are playing a key role in the growth of technology in the region.
Gartner estimates that by 2025 the global business value of blockchain will cross $176 and by 2030 it will likely exceed $3.1 trillion
Cybersecurity The World Economic Forum has placed cybersecurity as the fifth biggest global risk for doing business. Rapid digitization, proliferation in the number of connected devices, cloud adoption, and the omnipresent always-on connectivity are increasing the attack surface and risk to cyber exposure. With the growing amounts of consumers' personal data available online, there is always a lurking fear of unauthorized access to or theft of the data December 2019 | 9
Cover Feature | Technology Review that can lead to losses both to businesses and their customers. Cyber criminals have become strategic in approach and have the capability to launch targeted attacks using sophisticated tools and techniques. Recent spate in the incidences of data breach are a testimony to the technical prowess that cyber criminals possess. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) that use sophisticated techniques such as spear-phishing messages, network propagation mechanisms, spyware, tools for concealment, and so forth are also on the rise. These complex attacks are often used for unauthorized access to sensitive or business-critical information which can then be used for financial crimes. Physical security of premises and assets is also at threat from bad actors that act out of malicious intent. And to make matters worse, today's security metrics are woefully lacking in the ability to fully capture these changes and their dynamics. As a result, organizations and consumers alike, are much more vulnerable to evolving security threats—both cyber and physical—than they probably ever were. In view of rapid digitization and a dynamic business landscape, rife with multiple, complex cyber threats, enterprise security has become a boardroom agenda. Some of the areas that will see increased security threats as well as security innovations to help organizations fight these evolving threats include IoT security, cognitive security, mobility, cloud security, hardware-enabled security, and internal security. However, organizations cannot rest assured by fortifying cyber security alone. For an all-round security, businesses must consider other security aspects as well—such as unauthorized entry into the premises, fire safety mechanisms, and so forth. Organizations, therefore, need a holistic security approach in order to ensure a 360-degree security. They must invest in tools and techniques that enable them to test the reliability of security controls and pick up policy violations or misconfigurations that can provide cyber criminals with the opportunities to launch cyber attacks.
their spends on cyber security solutions. However, investments in security products alone will prove insufficient in protecting businesses. Businesses must deploy enough checks and measures to ensure only authorized personnel can access the designated resources. Organizations must plug in as many entry points as possible and gain in-depth visibility into the traffic—both internal and external—traversing the network. Zero trust access is not a technology. Rather it is a holistic approach towards strengthening network security not just at the perimeter but throughout the network. Zero trust access, also referred to as zero trust security or zero trust architecture, is a security model that mandates organizations to verify every entity— whether person or device—trying to access network resources, internally or from outside the perimeter of the network. The term came into being in 2010, but gained wider attention after a few years in 2014 when Google announced that it had implemented the zero trust security approach for its network. Still later, in 2017, Gartner proposed the Continuous Adaptive Risk and Trust Assessment (CARTA).
The GITEX 2019, Dubai GITEX is an important annual event in Dubai that attracts audience and participants from across the globe. It is a platform where companies showcase their latest innovations and cutting edge products. True to its reputation, the 2019 edition of GITEX saw experts discuss the latest developments in technology and its impact on various industry segments. There were insightful sessions where speakers enlightened and enthralled the audience with their insights and a sneak peek into future products and services. Your magazine presented exclusive insights from business leaders who participated at the event and showcased some of their cutting edge products and solutions at the event.
The Annual ICT Awards
Zero Trust Access In the digital-first economy, businesses are migrating workloads and applications to cloud environments at a rapid pace. To allow access to data and applications, the business networks are being accessed by an increasingly mobile work force. Then there are the IoT-enabled (Internet of Things) smart devices that connect to the network. The sum of all these activities is a massive increase in the entry points or surface available to cyber criminals for attacks. Cyber criminals are increasingly leveraging technology to launch targeted attacks to inflict maximum losses with minimum effort. It is estimated by IBM that the average cost of a data breach is $4 million. Mounting clean up costs and heightened threat of cyber attacks has prompted organizations in the Middle East and Africa to significantly increase
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Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) use sophisticated techniques such as spear-phishing messages, network propagation mechanisms, spyware, and tools for concealment
The ICT Champion Awards is an annual, marquee event that celebrates the best in the business and acknowledges their outstanding contribution. Winners were felicitated across a range of categories at this prestigious industry event. The event also witnessed and acknowledged innovative products and services that stand to leave a lasting impact on the market. The winners set themselves apart with their truly unique offerings. The event was a huge success with enthusiastic participation from all quarters.
The Show Will Go On Although this year has come to a close, the developments in technology will continue well into the next year and beyond. Technological innovations will continue to fuel business growth with new business models and safer business environment while also making lives simpler for the end users.
News Bytes
Acronis #CyberFit Summit brings much-needed Cyber Protection
Infoblox Acquires SnapRoute for Cloud-Native Network Services
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n a bid to drive cyber protection innovation, discuss modern-day data management challenges and map out strategies to combat the increasing threat of cyber-attacks, global cyber protection experts, Acronis, hosted service providers and corporations from the region to a stakeholders’ summit in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island to discuss. The inaugural event, dubbed CyberFit Summit, will largely compliment UAE government’s efforts to boost cybersecurity investments across the Emirates through its recently launched National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS). With the UAE’s strategic position as a business hub coupled with its rapid modernization and rising smartphone penetration, recent findings reveal a 12 percent increase in malware attacks occurring in the first three months of 2019 compared to the same period last year. New cyber protection tools unveiled As part of the summit, Acronis unveiled three new cyber protection solutions for the Gulf region. The Middle East is one of the fastest growing markets for Acronis, with 6,000 resellers promoting and using Acronis technology in the region. These include Acronis Cyber Protect, which integrates seven key cyber protection capabilities into one easy-to-use solution and Acronis Cyber Platform, which is set to provide developers and ISVs the ability to customize, extend and integrate
Acronis Cyber Protection solutions. The Acronis Cyber Infrastructure is designed to delivers cost-efficient, easy-to-use and reliable hyper-converged infrastructure optimized for cyber protection deployments Speaking at the summit, Nidal Othman, Co-Founder and Managing Director of StarLink said that “cloud adoption was one area that has experienced growth in the Middle East. He termed the Acronis #CyberFit Summit as a timely event for those looking for a secure way to start using cloud technology.” “Every day, more cloud vendors are jumping into the lucrative MENA market, with an estimated value of US$2.2 billion to cloud vendors. This figure is expected to increase by 24 percent yearly on average as UAE governments allocate resources to cloud technology to power their smart city projects.” On his part, Serguei Beloussov, founder and chief executive officer, Acronis, said that traditional backup was dead and was not enough to provide just one aspect of what a company needs to protect itself. “Our solutions have been constantly re-designed to now provide holistic cyber protection, ensuring data is not only secure, but also easily accessible, as well as authentic. We want companies to be certain that their data has not been manipulated or falsified in any way. We want them to be able to trust their data.”
nfoblox has announced the acquisition of SnapRoute, the creator of the industry’s first Cloud-Native Network Operating System (CN-NOS). SnapRoute’s talent and technology will add depth to Infoblox’s suite of offerings and help the company to simplify networking and deliver groundbreaking services more quickly and efficiently. Technology and service providers will need a new platform/architecture to deliver and manage network and security services at scale. Infoblox’s BloxOneTM platform is built around cloud-native architectural principles, which enables the delivery of cloudmanaged secure network services at scale. With SnapRoute’s cloud-native OS, Infoblox will now be able to accelerate the development and delivery of additional network services on its platform. With its BloxOneTM Threat Defense solution and recently released BloxOneTM DDI solution, Infoblox has already delivered DDI and security centric services built on the SASE architecture. SnapRoute’s technology, IP and exceptional talent will accelerate Infoblox’s ability to expand the suite of SASE services offered on this cloudnative architecture. “We recognize that the future is in the cloud, and to meet customer demands for flexibility, scalability, adaptability, enhanced security and speed, it will become increasingly important for network and security services to be cloud-native,” said Jesper Andersen, President and CEO of Infoblox. “We are thrilled to welcome the SnapRoute team as we work together to leverage their innovative technology and IP to rapidly expand the services we offer on our BloxOne platform.” December 2019 | 11
News Bytes
Emitac Enterprise Solutions Appoints New General Manager Emitac Enterprise Solutions has announced the appointment of Antoine Abi Aad as the new General Manager for the company. Bringing almost three decades of experience—ranging from strategic alliances to consulting—Antoine will be responsible for the company’s overall performance and operations while continuing to grow its position within the local market. Antoine’s client focus approach and stellar ability to address their pain points, makes him a great leader to be at the forefront of aligning and improving the overall operational corporate strategy. Antoine’s core expertise lies in his customer and service-oriented approach that helps in creating highly conducive environments for growth for the customers and the business. A veteran and a visionary in the field of people and resource management, Antoine Abi Abad’s well-versed knowledge and progressive guidance will help him steer useful strategies for Emitac. He possesses a robust background in product and business management, and strong leadership skills. Originally from Lebanon, Antoine holds a degree in Computer Science from St Joseph University in Lebanon. He lives in Dubai with his wife and two children and enjoys reading, watching football and NBA games in his leisure time.
SophosLabs Intelix, a Cloud-Based Threat Intelligence Platform, is Now Available
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ophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity solutions, today announced the availability of SophosLabs Intelix, a cloudbased threat intelligence and analysis platform that enables developers to build more secure applications. With SophosLabs Intelix, developers can make API calls into the platform for turnkey cyberthreat expertise that assesses the risk of artifacts such as files, URLs and IP addresses. The platform continuously updates and collates petabytes of real-time and historical intelligence, including: telemetry from Sophos’ endpoint, network and mobile security solutions; data from honeypots and spam traps; 30 years of threat research; predictive insights from machine and deep learning models; and much more. Through the use of secure RESTful APIs, developers can directly tap the platform with file submissions for static and dynamic analysis, queries on file hashes, URLs, IP addresses, and Android applications (APKs) to proactively answer questions like, “Is this file safe? What happens if I open or execute it?” or “Is this link safe? What happens if I call this URL?” SophosLabs Intelix is available through the AWS Marketplace and includes several free tier options, allowing developers to immediately access and start using the intelligence platform. “Sophos is building a global community around its APIs to spark innovation among developers. By exposing a variety of intelligence from SophosLabs directly through RESTful APIs, we’re making it simpler than ever before to quickly and easily integrate threat intelligence into new and existing applications and operations,” said Joe Levy, CTO, Sophos. “With SophosLabs Intelix, we’re lowering the barrier to realize analysis for anyone developing an application or platform." SophosLabs Intelix offers three key service features: • Real-time Lookups: Enables quick classification of artifacts with direct access to the latest SophosLabs intelligence by querying file hashes, URLs, IPs, or Android application thumbprints. Reputation scores identify known bad and known good files, as well as those in the grey area. • Static File Analysis: Leverages multiple machine learning models, global reputation, deep file scanning, and more without needing to execute the file in real time. • Dynamic File Analysis: Provides dynamic file analysis and classification capabilities through execution and instrumentation of submitted files in sandboxes, utilizing the latest runtime detection techniques to reveal true behaviors of potential threats.
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Four Lessons Learned about Pivoting TowardS Digital Transformation S
chneider Electric is more than 180 years old that has pivoted several times. The company started with iron and steel, and now provides energy and automation digital solutions for efficiency and sustainability. Jean-Pascal Tricore, Chairman & CEO at Schneider Electric shares four key lessons learned along Schneider's journey for making successful pivots. Here he shares his conversation with Omar Abbosh, chief executive of Accenture’s Communications, Media and Technology operating group. # 1: Keep your eye on a clear, consistent mission At Schneider Electric, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. We made the choice of efficiency 15 years ago. Our mission is clear and consistent: empower all to do more while using less resources, ensuring Life is On, everywhere, for everyone, at every moment. #2: Innovation and tech are key There are two kinds of pivots at work here: the pivots you initiate, which are good for the company, and the pivots you have to face and support as constraints. Anticipate them and innovate to lead the wave forward. We are inventing and delivering technologies for a more sustainable world, i.e., working to make energy cheaper and greener, while also making process more efficient. #3: A good pivot is one built on your knowledge, history, and strength, allowing for anticipation first and then adaptation.
Accenture calls this turning point a “wise pivot.” This is a perfect analogy, as you need one foot on one side (the old) and one foot on the other (the new) to make a successful pivot. There are incredible advantages in having technologies (cloud, mobility) that connect so many people across geographies, empowering transformative ideas for today and tomorrow. #4: People are the greatest asset for advancing any company’s digital transformation. Our people and partners are the drivers — with their innovation, digital talent, and ability to spark the power of communities working together for change. That is why we are committed to unleashing the infinite possibilities of an open, global, innovative community that is passionate about our meaningful purpose, as well as our inclusive values and push toward empowerment.
Nutanix Named Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure
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utanix has been named a Leader by Gartner, Inc. Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure. Nutanix has been recognized in all editions of this Magic Quadrant since Gartner started it. “We continue to be recognized by Gartner as a Leader in hyperconverged infrastructure again and again, and we believe it is because of our relentless focus on pioneering innovative technology and customer success,” said Dheeraj Pandey, Chairman, Founder and CEO at Nutanix. “Our goal is to make IT and cloud infrastructure so simple that it fuels innovation and business growth. Nutanix provides flexibility, not only via its products and solutions, but also from the freedom to choose the best HCI consumption model for the business, including software subscription licenses that are portable across hardware
platforms and cloud environments.” Nutanix was also designated as a March 2019 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice vendor for hyperconverged infrastructure. Based on detailed feedback from 264 customer ratings, Nutanix has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5. Additionally, 92% of respondents identified as willing to recommend Nutanix.
Nutanix believes that enterprises continue to choose its products over competitors for its simplicity and flexibility, as well as the company’s exceptional customer service. Nutanix’s products allow enterprises to deliver all applications, at any scale, with simple one-click deployment, upgrades, scaling, troubleshooting and more. By offering customers flexible licensing and consumption models, as well as the ability to choose among many hardware and virtualization vendors, Nutanix provides customers the flexibility needed to grow, scale and achieve their business goals. Nutanix also works toward ensuring the success of its customers, which has resulted in the company achieving an average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 90 for the past five years. December 2019 | 13
News Bytes
Cybersecurity Trends 2020: Technology is getting smarter – are we? A
tumultuous 2019 is steadily but surely wrapping up. Before we all step into the New Year full of hopes and expectations, we take a step back to look at what the year ahead may have in store for us all in our annual Trends report. The past year has seen a rapid increase in the adoption of up-andcoming technologies. Everyday items are getting smarter and more connected. So much so that companies are incorporating them into buildings to increase their operating efficiency, thereby saving millions. Even cities are racing to implement smart solutions so they can brandish those smart city credentials proudly. But are cities ready to shoulder this responsibility after the ransomware attacks they have experienced? In 2019 ML gained notoriety because of a more concerning issue – the rise of the deepfake. This technology renders the popular saying “seeing is believing” quite useless. Deepfakes could be leveraged to damage the reputation of public figures or even sway the court of public opinion. The technology was also applied in a less sinister context – FaceApp was popular for a hot minute, although the app itself did raise privacy concerns. Trends shines a light on how deepfakes and other ML-driven technologies may impact our lives in the upcoming months. With all the technological changes taking place, it sometimes feels that it’s hard to keep pace. The most visible changes can be seen in companies and organizations trying to meet the demands of
today’s digital era. The key takeaway for companies that are embarking on a digital transformation journey is that they should never underestimate the value of good cybersecurity practices. Ongoing digitalization is also transforming how our society works. People are more aware of their rights and demand better protection for their data, technologies like ML are moving by leaps and bounds and giving some companies an edge over the competition, and hackers are ramping up their attempts in trying to breach corporate treasure troves of information. But as this year draws to a close, we need not race; let us slow down and look at all the lessons that the past year has afforded us so that we can stroll into a better, perhaps safer, New Year.
Pure Bridges the Divide Between Public, Private Cloud via Storage Layer
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ure Storage, the data solutions leader delivering a modern data experience, has announced major additions to its Cloud Data Services portfolio that helps customers more impact fully deploy hybrid clouds. These solutions enable portability of applications to and from Amazon Web Services (AWS) with minimal re-architecture, and allow customers to leverage public cloud economics for any use case. “Private and public cloud storage too often operate in separate worlds,” said Rob Lee, Chief Architect, Pure Storage. “As more and more customers adopt hybrid cloud, it’s critical that their infrastructure is optimized for data mobility. Pure’s Cloud Data Services exist to bridge the divide for customers and deliver the full value of data across any project or initiative.” Cloud Block Store for Amazon Web
14 | December 2019
in the public cloud, and provides a unified management and consumption experience. Cloud Block Store enables mission-critical applications to run in the cloud seamlessly, and makes cloud storage more powerful for web scale applications.
CloudSnap for Azure
Services Cloud Block Store (CBS) for AWS, delivers true hybrid operations for customers by providing consistent data services, resiliency and bi-directional mobility. Now generally available, CBS is enterprisegrade block storage delivered natively
Purity CloudSnapTM maximizes the cloud’s potential for backup storage with intelligent, efficient data transfer to the cloud. CloudSnap, a cloud backup technology enabled with AWS, is now available as a multi-cloud solution and can be leveraged in Microsoft Azure. Additionally, CloudSnap offers rapid recovery on-premises, or in the cloud to Cloud Block Store, to help customers meet demanding service level agreements (SLAs) and compliance policies with array and volume-level recovery that is both easy and cost-effective.
Register Online Today!
19 – 21 January, 2020 Dubai, UAE www.IntersecExpo.com
The world’s leading trade fair for Security, Safety & Fire Protection 34,800 Visitors 1,100+ Exhibitors 12 Country Pavilions 4 Conferences & Forums NEW Intersec Arena - Tech Centre for Excellence www.IntersecExpo.com/Arena Register online and skip the queue. www.IntersecExpo.com
News In Detail
Business expectations driving transformation of Data Center
Sachin Bhardwaj Director Marketing & Business Business Development, eHosting DataFort
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n the past the on-premises, enterprise Data Center was the heart of the IT organization. Today its importance and role is increasingly diluted, if you use its legacy responsibilities as a benchmark. Similar to other operational functions of an organization, the role of the Data Center is rapidly transforming. But that does not mean, its strategic importance for business is diminishing. With the increasing migration of applications to the Cloud, through SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, the extent of workloads hosted on premises are also in decline. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of enterprises will have scaled down their traditional Data Centers. Data residency rules, increasingly distributed global workforce, network latency, Internet of Things, emergence of managed service providers, are some of the drivers for migration of workloads out of the traditional, on-premises Data Center, to more suitable options. Historically, the enterprise Data Center used to address challenges such as, how do we best build the required infrastructure, in terms of cost, time and performance. Today the demand has transformed to, how do we best place the workload in terms of agility
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The Data Centre is under pressure to transform from a mere resource of hardware and software to a trusted partner helping business to compete in the digital market place, explains Sachin Bhardwaj, Director Marketing & Business Development, eHosting DataFort. and business benefits. The on-premises legacy Data Centre is, increasingly shrinking and becoming centralized to manage mission critical workloads, with a higher degree of oversight, control, and responsibility, than is available through externally placed options. While expectations from the traditional Data Center shrink in terms of size of operations and IT spending, the expectations from the modern and digital Data Center are rapidly increasing. The primary role of the Data Center head is changing from being a builder and manager of data center functions to becoming an enabler and collaborator for business to perform. As business heads increasingly choose to find more agile application and service options outside the IT organization, by remaining steadfast on their traditional roles, the legacy Data Center faces extinction. By transforming to becoming an enabler of business, and playing the role of broker and trusted advisor, the function of the Data Center has a purpose in tomorrow's digital organizations. Transformation of the legacy data center into tomorrow's multi-function diversified role
requires working on numerous fronts. First, the on-premises Data Center needs to be highly agile and responsive to meet internal demands. It needs to build a hybrid Cloud delivery model, benchmarked using the best industry standards. Second, it needs to attract and retain the best skills to manage internal expectations of delivering on machine language, artificial intelligence, business analytics and insights, amongst others. Third, and most importantly it needs to help business to compete and differentiate in the fast emerging digital market place, taking on born in the Cloud, pure play start-ups, and other digital juggernauts. The story of the future Data Center is no longer about empirical metrics of hardware and software. It is about delivering real services that help business to accomplish their expectations. The future of infrastructure is everywhere and anywhere, and will be business-driven by nature, remarks a Gartner specialist. According to Gartner, to drive success through this transformation, Data Center heads can leverage various enablers: - Artificial intelligence: These tools will help the IT organization to do vastly more with less resources, building suitable models for predictive failures and recovery. - Severless computing: This is also known as function platform as a service, and is an emerging software architecture pattern that reduces the need for infrastructure management and planning. - Network agility: Internal networking specialists must incorporate 5G technologies to enable the organization to meet modern use cases and the customers digital expectations. - Edge computing: This technology meets the expectations of the resident country and use cases, by bringing the workloads closer to the end customer. - Technology partnerships: The IT organization must enter into multiple supplier relationships to help scale operations and meet business expectations.
News Bytes
Honeywell brings together key decision-makers to advance the future of smart buildings and cities
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uring a recent event held at Honeywell’s high-tech office complex in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, industry leaders convened to discuss the transformative impact of digital transformation, how it is shaping the future of the region’s smart buildings and cities, and the importance of implementing robust cybersecurity strategies to protect operational
technologies across industries. The Honeywell Abu Dhabi Technology Day 2019 was attended by smart building and city decision-makers from the UAE’s public and private sectors. The discussion focused on how smart building technology solutions can support the UAE government’s objectives, such as UAE Vision 2021 and Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, and how business
leaders can adopt and incorporate these technologies more actively. Earlier this year, Honeywell research highlighted that more than 70% of medium-to-large organizations in the buildings and cities sector in the UAE and Saudi Arabia expect to increase spending on digitalization and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) technologies in the next five years. The research also revealed a growing appetite for investments in cybersecurity solutions in the next five years in both the UAE (75%) and Saudi Arabia (68%). The event follows the launch in April of the Honeywell Masdar Innovation Center, an innovation and knowledge-exchange hub advancing digital transformation across the oil, gas, petrochemical and infrastructure sectors. Honeywell has been serving customers in the Middle East for more than 60 years, and has been operating in Abu Dhabi for over three decades. The company’s solutions blend physical products with advanced software to create value for industries while supporting long-term national development visions and economic diversification across the region.
AWS Ground Station is now available in AWS Middle East Region
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mazon Web Services (AWS) announces expansion of AWS Ground Station to the AWS Middle East region. AWS Ground Station is a fully managed service that lets you control satellite communications, process satellite data, and scale your satellite operations. AWS Ground Station is expanding to multiple geographic regions to ensure customers are served across the world. With the AWS Middle East (Bahrain) Ground Station deployment,
budding startup communities and enterprises in the region can communicate with their satellites and run workloads in the Middle East to serve end users across the region. This will help businesses and organizations throughout the Middle East speed up their digital transformation and innovate even more rapidly. The new AWS Middle East (Bahrain) Ground Station will bring opportunities for entrepreneurs leading start-ups to experiment, iterate, and fail fast
as they develop new products and services. Customers can easily integrate satellite data with other AWS services, either in the same region or in another AWS Region using Amazon’s international, high-capacity backbone network. Use Amazon EC2 for compute, Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) for storage, Amazon Rekognition for imaging analysis, Amazon SageMaker to apply AI/ML to satellite imagery data, AWS IoT Greengrass to build market-specific IoT solutions. December 2019 | 17
News In Detail
ManageEngine Delivers Industry’s First On-Premises Solution to Offer Endpoint MFA for all Major OSs ADSelfService Plus Helps IT Admins Secure Linux, Windows, MacOS Users’ Access at the Device Level Without Busting Their Budget.
cause havoc. When MFA is implemented organization-wide, the traditional username and password login is supplemented by an additional security measure. "Linux OS and its distributions don't provide built-in mechanisms to enforce MFA for GUI logins," said Parthiban Paramasivam, director of product management, ADSelfService Plus. "With ADSelfService Plus, users will have a seamless login experience irrespective of the platform they use. A Windows user who also has a Linux workstation or a macOS machine will have the same login experience across platforms."
Parthiban Paramasivam Director Of Product Management ManageEngine
Handling Cyberattacks with ADSelfService Plus With ADSelfService Plus' Endpoint MFA capability, user authentication goes beyond relying on traditional usernames and passwords and verifies identities through stringent authentication techniques.
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anageEngine, the IT management division of Zoho Corporation, today announced that ADSelfService Plus,
The more authentication techniques supported by the MFA solution, the more freedom admins have. With this in
its integrated Active Directory (AD) self-service password
mind, ADSelfService Plus supports a variety of authentication
management and single sign-on solution, now offers Endpoint
techniques, including SMS-based one-time passwords (OTPs),
Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) for Linux logins. The new
email-based OTPs, Google Authenticator, DUO Security and RSA
feature supplements Windows and macOS MFA support, making
SecurID. With ADSelfService Plus, organizations can leverage 14
ADSelfService Plus the industry’s first on-premises solution to
different authentication techniques to secure access to Linux,
provide endpoint MFA for all three major operating systems
Windows and macOS clients in AD environments.
so that IT admins can improve user account security and keep sophisticated cyberthreats at bay. According to the State of Linux report, 90 percent of the
With ADSelfService Plus' Endpoint MFA enabled, users will have to successfully authenticate themselves twice before they're allowed to access their workstations or servers. They are authenticated first
public cloud runs on Linux. With stolen credentials ranking
through their AD domain credentials and next through one of the
among the top data breach vectors, it's high time that every
supported authentication techniques before they can log in to their
organization works on its strategy in securing access to
remote and local Linux, Windows or macOS machine. Admins can
endpoints running on Linux. After all, one set of credentials is
enforce MFA for specific users with access to business-critical data
all a hacker needs to get into an organization's network and
based on their domain, OU, or group membership.
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Mobile Service Providers Preparing to Fortify Security in Anticipation of 5G Deployments A
global survey, fielded earlier this year by the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network, in partnership with A10 Networks, has revealed that mobile service providers anticipate significant new revenue opportunities from the deployment of high-speed 5G networks and a host of new IoT-driven use cases. But, they also believe muchimproved security will be essential to realizing that potential. The study, “Securing the Future of a Smart World” demonstrates that carriers are moving toward 5G commercialization and that security is a top concern. As per the survey findings, 67% respondents will deploy their first commercial 5G networks within 18 months and another 20 percent within two years, 94% expect growth in network traffic, connected devices and mission-critical IoT use cases to significantly increase security and reliability concerns for 5G networks, while 79% say 5G is a consideration in current security investments. “Mobile carriers anticipate significant revenue opportunities and exciting new use cases as they move forward with their 5G deployments. However, the industry also recognizes that 5G will dramatically raise the stakes for ensuring the security and reliability of these networks,” said Gunter Reiss, vice president of A10 Networks. “New missioncritical applications like autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and remote patient monitoring will make network reliability vital to the safety and security of people and businesses. Meanwhile, dramatic increases in traffic rates and connected devices will significantly expand the attack
Gunter Reiss Vice President A10 Networks
surface and scale for cyber criminals.” The top-three benefits derived from 5G as revealed by the survey include overall growth in the mobile market (67%), better customer service and satisfaction (59%), and creation of new 5G-enabled business models (43%). The respondents also voted their top drivers for 5G as Smart cities (60%), industrial automation and smart manufacturing (48%), high-speed connectivity (39%), fixed wireless (37%) and connected vehicles (35%). When it comes to security, the chief security concerns are core network security and DDoS protection. 63% respondents saw advanced DDoS protection as the most important security capability needed for 5G networks, 98% of the respondents said core network security was either very
important (72%) or important (26%) in 5G build-outs, 79% have or will upgrade their Gi/SGi firewalls, and 73% have or will upgrade their GTP firewall. “Operators overwhelmingly understand the importance of upgrading security in a more connected and smart world,” continued Reiss. “Now it’s time to take decisive action. Carriers need to move ahead aggressively with their plans to upgrade legacy DDoS protection and consolidate security services at the core and edge of their networks to address the growing concerns. A10 Networks’ 5G security solutions including Gi/SGI firewall, GTP firewall and AI-based DDoS protection enable operators to secure and scale their networks now and protect against the massive cyber threat coming with 5G,” Reiss added. December 2019 | 19
News In Detail
QNAP Demonstrated AI-based Smart Retail Solution at Intel Edge Computing Solution Summit
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NAP Systems demonstrated its AI-based Smart Retail Solution and applications for Momentum, the largest sportswear franchise retail store in Taiwan at the Intel Edge Computing Solution Summit in Taipei on December 17, 2019. QNAP’s Smart Retail Solution integrates surveillance, facial recognition, customer flow analysis, and edge devices to greatly accelerate retail digital transformation and O2O commerce. “Edge computing plays a central role in offloading multitasking applications, since transmitting big data from multiple retail stores to data centers can be highly bandwidthconsuming and requires large storage capacity,” said Meiji Chang, General Manager of QNAP. “By computing data gathered from on-premise QVR Applications, the QuCPE Edge Computing Server helps deploy a one-stop retailing IT structure with low-latency and enhanced security.” QNAP’s comprehensive Smart Retail Solution employs edge computing technology ranging from end-point applications to edge devices consisting of QuCPE Edge Computing Servers and QVR Software including QVR Pro, QVR Face and Retail Pro. QVR Face adopts Intel OpenVINO® and VAS Library technology to identify visitors age and gender while categorizing customers into the VIP list or Blacklist. For deploying the smart surveillance system in retail stores, QVR Pro also features Motion Search and SIP camera for detecting suspicious activity and sending emergency alerts through SIP broadcast intercom.
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Meanwhile, QNAP’s Retail Pro is a store traffic analysis software that analyzes visitor flows based on their shopping journey. By integrating data including people counting, path analysis and heat map with the POS system, store managers can interrelate certain in-store behavior features and actual sales data. This data can provide valuable sales insights and reports to assist store managers optimization of marketing strategy plans and daily business operations to improve overall customer experience. The QuCPE Edge Computing Server uses high-performance Intel Xeon 12-core processor with Intel Open Network Edge Services Software (OpenNESS) and Intel Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) hardware acceleration technology to boost packet processing performance and throughput. With limited IT manpower in traditional franchises, the QuCPE series also supports cloud-based centralized network management to achieve Zero Touch Provisioning. From in-store data collection to computing analysis and business insights, QNAP’s Smart Retail Solution helps retailers transform valuable in-store data into business intelligence, and assist retailers in forming customer-centric business strategies through AI technology. As a result, retailers can use retail data to increase visitor rates and conversion rates. Moreover, QuCPE supports QNAP’s SD-WAN solution, QuWAN, to provide steady and optimized network transmissions for big data smart retailing.
Cloud is top driver of Channel Partner use across UAE, says Equinix study Survey of UAE IT decision-makers underlines long-term Channel shift from hardware to cloud services; study also finds cost-effectiveness remains top reason for enterprise to work with Channel partners
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quinix, Inc. , the global interconnection and data center company, published the findings of an independent survey exploring the views of senior enterprise IT professionals on the future of the Channel industry. The results show cloud is now the number one driver of Channel engagement, with almost half (48%) of the 836 EMEA IT decision-makers surveyed, using the Channel to access cloud-based services. 7 out of 10 (68%) IT decision makers work with multiple public cloud providers, with half (50%) of IT decision makers are solely utilizing private cloud and almost a quarter (24%) deploy a multi-cloud model. With Gartner highlighting that by 2025, 80% of enterprises will migrate entirely away from on-premises infrastructure to colocation and the cloud , these findings suggest companies are utilizing the Channel to reduce the complexity of such a critical infrastructure upheaval. Along with the shift driven by cloud, the study highlighted other areas where services traditionally managed in-house are beginning to move to the Channel. Security management – an area that enterprises have previously been reluctant to outsource – was the second highestranked service for which Channel partners are being utilized, named by 39% of respondents. More than one-third of decision-makers (34%) are using Channel partners to access interconnection, making it the third-highest priority service – an ongoing trend that is reflected in the growth of Equinix’s own Channel Partner Program. Enterprise IT decision-makers were also asked why they choose or might consider working with Channel partners. Cost was the number one priority across almost every market, with over half (53%) of UAE IT decision makers overall stating they choose to work with Channel partners
Jeroen Schlosser Manageing Director Equinix MENA
because it’s more cost-effective than other routes to market. Being able to access a better breadth of services came a close second (46% of respondents overall), with enterprises in the Netherlands and Turkey naming this as their main reason for working with Channel partners, while convenience was the key driver for decision-makers in France. Highlights/Key Facts • On average, enterprise IT decisionmakers across Europe spend just under a quarter (24%) of their budget with the Channel. In the UAE, this figure is more – IT decision-makers spend, on average, 42% of their IT budget via partners. • The average number of Channel partners engaged per enterprise across EMEA is nine, although this varies significantly by country. France and Germany are both above average with 12 and 11 Channel partners per enterprise, respectively, while the UK (7) and Finland (6) are the countries where companies work with the fewest Channel partners on
average. In the UAE, almost half (47%) of IT decision-makers work with more than 4 Channel partners. • The multi-partner use cited by respondents shows a need for vendoragnostic platforms that enable businesses to address IT challenges in today’s digital economy. Equinix’s Channel Partner Program is based on joint value propositions developed together with partners. Resulting solutions utilize the technologies of multiple vendors and the unique skills of the partner to comprehensively meet customer requirements. This collaboration is critical for success as the Channel industry shifts in line with new enterprise needs. This is particularly noteworthy given the findings in Equinix’s third annual Global Interconnection Index (GXI Vol.3), a market report which this year shows that interconnecting to multiple providers across multiple edge locations is the most prominent use case for interconnection bandwidth and is expected to grow 4x by 2022. Almost all (97%) IT decision-makers surveyed in the UAE consider interconnection to be important to their business. • In the UAE, a majority (54%) of IT decision-makers that currently use Channel partners do so for cloud services. However, a larger majority (60%) of those that do not currently use partners would consider using them for security management services. Interconnection services is the second most common service that IT decision-makers use/would use a Channel partner for, at 47% and 50% respectively. • Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) respondents across EMEA highlighted that Channel partners have room to improve in providing seamless solutions that are easy to implement without disruption to enterprises. This need is only going to continue to grow with the expansion and complexity of enterprise infrastructure. December 2019 | 21
EyeTech
Avaya CU360 Collaboration Unit Overview: The Avaya CU360 is a compact all-in-one video collaboration unit with full HD 1080p performance, a 4K camera sensor, along with 4K display support. Right out of the box, the unit can be up and running in 5 minutes, providing a quick and easy “huddle room” set-up in virtually any space. It can be integrated with an organization’s existing UC platform as well as any existing standards-based video infrastructure. By delivering access to and use of cloudbased applications, it can turn any room into a cloudenabled collaboration room. And if that wasn't enough, it can also turn any TV into an Android device with a camera and microphone. This means it can be used for video recording, Skype, and any other functionality that Android apps provide. Thanks to this simplicity and performance, it encourages and empowers employees to use video for their meetings instead of just audio, adding a personal connection to training, brainstorming, and other team meetings and customer interactions. Key Features: • All-in-one device. • 5-minute set-up. • Full HD 1080p performance, 4K camera sensor, and 4K display support. • Supports both SIP and H.323 for integration with existing UC platforms. • Interoperable with any standards-based video infrastructure. • Access and support for cloud-based Android® apps and collaboration tools.
Riverbed SteelConnect EX
Overview: SteelConnect EX is an enterprise-class and carrier-grade WAN Edge Infrastructure solution with best-of-breed SDWAN, integreated application acceleration and advanced network security services. The Challenge it Solves: Despite its obvious benefits, adoption of SD-WAN amongst larger enterprises has been quite limited to date, due in large part to the inability for SD-WAN solutions to interface directly with legacy networks during a phased SD-WAN rollout. How SteelConnect EX Solves this: Riverbed SteelConnect EX sets a new standard for SD-WAN in large enterprise that will propel mainstream SD-WAN adoption across enterprises and organizations of any size. An enterprise-class and carrier-grade routing stack ensures that Riverbed’s SD-WAN solution can seamlessly co-exist and interoperate with legacy networks, while best-in-class SD-WAN services enable organizations to adopt hybrid and Internet-based topologies without compromise to operational efficiency or WAN reliability. Key Features: SteelConenct EX solutions include: • SteelConnect EX SD-WAN enables enterprises to costeffectively expand WAN capacity, accelerate the roll-out of new sites and applications and streamline operations for hybrid and Internet-based WAN topologies. • SteelConnect EX App Acceleration provides industryleading application acceleration and optimization capabilities to boost app performance and end-user experience by sup to 33x or more for on-premises, cloud and SaaS-based applications. SteelConnect EX interoperates directly with SteelHead physical and virtual appliances today. And with the availability of SteelConnect EX, Riverbed also announces plans to further integrate Riverbed's industry-leading application acceleration and optimization capabilities into the SteelConnect EX platform in Q1 2020 for a converged SD-WAN Edge solution.
22 | December 2019