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Editorial
S N O I T A N NOMI 18
Consolidation in Channel F
irst Quarter saw lot of partnership activity in the channel with new alliance’s, agreement charters, investments & acquisitions. As many distribution deals are getting signed, Vendors are looking to enhance their distribution relationship and geographic footprint by aligning with focused companies. As Innovation continues to surge to breathtaking pace, companies are keeping pace with digital transformation and the ever evolving & changing landscape. This issue encompasses many of the agreements signed and new steps by vendors for innovation adaption. The Integrator Awards returns to its 6th Edition as we kick off the nominations process for 2018 Awards starting 15th May. We have proudly completed a decade of hosting Awards events last year with the 2017 VAR Choice of Channel Awards for the volume industry. “The Integrator” Awards is focused on the Value Add segment of the industry, where the best in business get recognized and winners are declared at the awards night. In this issue we include the list of categories for the awards and the process of participation in details. We welcome all to participate in the 2018 Integrator awards, as healthy competition decides the true winner. The process is quite simple and we are gearing up to receive as many entries as possible. We will be making major announcements of our SME initiatives and corporate focused events during the awards night. Looking forward to receiving your nominations well in time before the voting process starts. Wishing all the participants the very best & may the most deserving win! Good Luck & Regards
Vivek Sharma Managing Editor
RDS 20 OR AWA T A R G E HE INT
T
2018
Nominations are now open for "The Integrator" 2018 awards, voting to start on May 15th 2018
Integrator Awards 2018 - 12
Nominations are now open for "The Integrator" 2018 awards, voting to start on May 15th 2018
News In Detail
HP Showcases its Innovative Solutions at INDEX 2018 - 9
Avaya completes acquisition of Spoken Communications - 10
Canon demonstrates commitment to the education sector with innovation for transformation - 11 Insight
Digital Transformation - 14
Dell EMC enables businesses for success in the age of Digital Disruption - Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President, Middle East, Turkey,& Africa, Dell EMC
Cloud Security - Challenges - 15
Sachin Bhardwaj, Director Marketing & Business Development, eHosting DataFort provides his insights on cloud security
Regulars
News Bytes EyeTech Market Stats
Published by: JNS Media International MFZE
Managing Editor: Vivek Sharma Art Director: Faiz Ahmed Sales Manager: Christopher David
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News Bytes
Mindware signs distribution contract with Kodak Alaris Mindware, the regional IT ValueAdded Distributor, has signed a major distribution contract with Kodak Alaris. The agreement covers all countries under Mindware’s Middle East, North Africa & Pakistan regional umbrella and includes the full range of the Kodak Alaris Information Management (IM) portfolio, from scanners and capture software, to information management solutions, to professional services and support. Naji Kazak, Regional General Manager for Kodak Alaris IM, mentioned, “We are thrilled to have Mindware as our distribution partner in the MENA and Pakistan region.The demand in the region for document imaging and information capture solutions is massive across several verticals" Nicholas Argyrides, Chief of Sales and Marketing & Deputy GM at Mindware, explained, “What we really like about this industry vertical is that it’s all about solving problems and undoubtedly, Kodak Alaris is one of the best of its kind in this respect - be it mailroom automation, records management, forms processing or any other type of end-to-end document workflow management.” “The partnership with Kodak Alaris is a wonderful milestone in the organization’s history as it perfectly supplements the gap we have been noticing in the document imaging & scanning space.
4 | March 2018
TimeXtender and Finesse announce new partnership for United Arab Emirates TimeXtender, dedicated to helping businesses build a data-driven organization, announced its partnership with Finesse, System Integratoion company from the GCC region. This agreement allows Finesse to offer its existing and future clients across United Arab Emirates Discovery Hub® by TimeXtender. Discovery Hub® is an integrated approach to IT architecture behind business intelligence that helps organizations decrease time to business insights and data-driven decision making by automating all that can be automated in the data discovery, BI, and analytics lifecycle. Discovery Hub® brings together the best of both worlds: data governance and selfservice BI. It enables business users to rapidly explore and interpret trustworthy data, while at the same time freeing IT and BI specialists from tedious and redundant tasks. By leveraging the power of automation, companies can increase agility, easily access governed data and facilitate the journey to compliance. Unlike other approaches, which rely on a mix of tools and vendors for scripting, data prep and data blending, Discovery Hub® is a fully integrated, end-to-end solution, delivering faster time to value with fewer resources. and analytics tools and keeping track of all corporate data. In essence, future proofing the enterprise. The interactive and user-oriented interface, with drag and drop function, enables any user with domain knowledge to rapidly respond to changes and to provide decision makers with the data they need, when and where they need it. Discovery Hub® combines the power of automation with a metadata-driven approach. The result is fast, reliable and secured data, displayed in any data visualization or reporting front-end tool, whether it is Power BI, Qlik, Tableau, Excel or any other. As it sits on top of the SQL Server stack with full visibility, both on-prem and in the cloud are available and readily customizable.
Centrify sign's distribution deal with StarLink Centrify, a provider of Zero Trust Security through the power of Next-Gen Access, has signed a new distribution deal in Europe with StarLink who has been supporting Centrify’s business growth in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) including South Africa for the past year, and its role now expands to cover the entire EMEA region. Following its success in MEA, StarLink will now focus on increasing the number of identity and security partners in DACH, Northern Europe and Southern Europe, helping to onboard them and also to push the delivery of professional services in each region. Centrify EMEA Channel Director, John Andrews, comments: This expansion will strengthen our overall distribution strategy and growth in EMEA, and having the additional resources on the ground in territory from StarLink will expedite our ability to reach new partner networks in order to meet our planned partner breadth targets in all regions.” “We’re proud to extend our strategic partnership with Centrify into Europe. StarLink is making significant investments across Europe to accelerate growth, including deploying headcount on-the-ground in key European markets, These resources will enable Centrify to benefit from our proven business model, by delivering incremental value and partner engagement in each of these regions,” says Niall McGrane, VP Europe at StarLink.
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News Bytes
Spire Solutions invests in Cyber Security Technology Research In line with plans to scale up its presence in the region, value-added distributor Spire Solutions has inked an agreement with leading research and advisory firm Gartner. The service agreement, signed by the two companies at the Gartner Symposium/ ITxpo, will allow Spire Solutions to tap into Gartner’s expertise and bring global cyber security practices to the Middle East. Sanjeev Walia, CEO of Spire Solutions, described this agreement as another significant milestone for the company as it steps into its second decade of providing information security solutions and services to the region. ‘We will leverage this partnership and Gartner’s global insights to strengthen our offerings to the channel and our customers.We are certain that Gartner’s body of knowledge will prove fundamental in assisting local organisations in building a cohesive and effective security environment,’ noted Walia. Spire Solutions provides key technologies such asthreat exposure management, end-point detection and response (EDR) and threat hunting, and business risk intelligence (BRI) to the region’s organisations. The value-added distributor is now planning to expand its operations in KSA, while improving its standing in the UAE, and securing a larger market share in Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.
6 | March 2018
du participates as Smart ICT partner at STEP Conference 2018 As a driving force behind the digital transformation in the UAE and across the region, du from Emirates Integrated Telecommunication Company (EITC) participated as the Smart ICT Partner at STEP Conference 2018. The event invited more than 6,000 techies in Dubai to experience a four-part tech festival with conferences focusing on entrepreneurship, digital, fintech, and future tech. “We are delighted to participate as the Smart ICT Partner at STEP Conference, which provides an excellent opportunity for ICT players like du to share what we have been working on while also networking and collaborating with other innovators in the tech space,” said Jihad Tayara, Vice President, Business Development & Partnerships, du. STEP Conference, which started out five years ago as a series of workshops and small gatherings, now brings together many of the region’s brightest minds in the spirit of innovation and collaboration. With four conferences, a vast lineup of esteemed speakers, more than 250 startups showcasing.
Zebra revolutionizes field worker productivity with new durable smartphone
Zebra Technologies Corporation, well known in rugged mobile computers, barcode scanners and barcode printers enhanced with software and services to enable realtime enterprise visibility, announced the launch of the TC25: a new rugged smartphone specifically designed for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The TC25 empowers field mobility workers to scan barcodes on parts, manage routes and complete invoices on the spot. The TC25 series offers a number of significant advantages over the pen and paper systems and consumer smartphone solutions in wide use among tradesmen, couriers, direct store delivery teams and merchandisers. The device’s durable exterior and powerful battery allow it to work the entire day, with a powerful onboard processor that runs the latest enterprise-class applications for job tracking, navigation and messaging. The TC25 is available through Zebra’s existing global reseller base and also a select number of mobile operators including Telefonica Spain.
McAfee launches comprehensive Cloud Security Solution for Microsoft Azure McAfee, the device-to-cloud cybersecurity company, announced that it has extended its Cloud Security Platform to consistently protect Microsoft Azure, delivering the industry’s most extensive solution to secure Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-aService (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The solution addresses the most critical enterprise security requirements for Microsoft Azure and empowers customers to build applications on the Microsoft Azure cloud with the peace of mind that their applications, underlying cloud infrastructure and enterprise data are protected. This announcement marks the introduction of the first joint solution following McAfee’s acquisition of Skyhigh Networks, demonstrating the company’s commitment to enhancing its Cloud Security portfolio, which now includes McAfee Skyhigh Security Cloud, McAfee Virtual Network Security Platform (McAfee vNSP) and McAfee Cloud Workload Security (McAfee CWS). McAfee Skyhigh Security Cloud for Azure is available now, and McAfee vNSP’s support of Azure customers will be available by the end of March. As organizations migrate from data centers to the cloud, they need to take measures to ensure their use of cloud providers, such as Microsoft Azure, is safeguarded. This process is not easy due to many complex security parameters to configure, incidents to respond to and controls to manage, which are different across the various cloud providers. This leaves many cloud implementations vulnerable to attacks, such as those discovered by Skyhigh where man-in-the-middle (MITM) exposures could be used to penetrate enterprise cloud applications. McAfee solves this problem by providing one Cloud Security Platform that ensures comprehensive visibility and consistent enforcement of security and compliance configurations and policies across multiple cloud IaaS/PaaS platforms.
Software AG & IDC partnership to discuss ‘Smart Services Transformation in the Public Sector’ Software AG, a global company in enterprise architecture, IT & business transformation, agile processes, IoT and big data, has announced that it has partnered with IDC to hold the ‘Smart Services Transformation in the Public Sector’ aimed at helping government organizations implement scalable smart services. Rami Kichli, Vice President, Gulf and Levant, Software AG, who will be one of the key speakers at the event, said: “The opportunity to provide an efficient and transformative services is huge particularly in the public sector, where there is a massive demand to enhance public services and enable a seamless customer experience, particularly in the UAE, which has an ambitious goal of becoming a leading government in the world in all aspects. The hurdle for many public organizations continues to be the lack of integration and interoperability of backend processes, data and systems in many government systems and this requires openness to adopting innovative technologies.” Software AG’s Vijay Jaswal, Chief Technology Officer Middle East and Turkey region, will also discuss the practical guidelines in facilitating digital transformation in government systems through Software AG's Digital Business Platform. Kichli concluded: “The Middle East is at the helm of digital transformation and governments in the region are receptive to the need to evolve and adopt scalable smart services. Through this event, we look forward to showcase a technological platform that would enable governments easily transition to becoming a completely digital nation through efficient data management and integrate important services in a secure manner.”
Tally Solutions introduces an Infographic for VAT regulations Tally Solutions, the international accounting and compliance software provider has introduced an Infographic to guide freelancers in the UAE comply with Value-Added Tax (VAT) regulations seamlessly. Set out in four steps, the Infographic features information on ‘Who is liable to register for VAT ’, ‘VAT registration processes’, ‘Things to keep in mind for VAT compliance’ and ‘Benefits of an automated system’. Tally Solutions has featured the Infographic on its website, with an aim to guide freelancers to the new tax returns system, which went live earlier this year in January. “Freelancers and self-employed individuals, who might otherwise be savvy about financial matters could face some challenges when it comes to filing their taxes. This is because, there are literally hundreds of pages of tax code, confounding even the most astute accountants. As such, the decision to introduce this Infographic was to help freelancers wade through the complexities of regulations, by highlighting the key considerations required by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA),” said Vikas Panchal, Business Head at Tally Solutions in the Middle East. Tally’s illustrated guide to VAT distills essential information into small, easy-tofollow steps perfect to help freelancers get their finances in order. The Infographic is developed in an easy and simple to read format and is available on the company’s website. Tally Solutions, is a leading international accounting and compliance software provider which has recently introduced Value Added Tax (VAT) software - Tally.ERP 9 Release 6to help businesses comply with VAT protocol and procedures.
March 2018 | 7
News Bytes
Axis device manager announced Axis Communications has announced the release of AXIS Device Manager, a comprehensive on-premise device management tool that offers an easy, cost-effective and secure way to manage all major installation and operational device management tasks. Moreover, in a world where security threats are becoming more common, AXIS Device Manager facilitates proactive device and network protection. It is suitable for managing up to a couple thousand Axis network cameras, access control and audio devices on one site — or several thousand devices across multiple sites. A further development of its popular AXIS Camera Management software platform, AXIS Device Manager demonstrates Axis commitment to helping customers attain ease-ofinstallation, cost-effective operations as well as proactively protecting their devices and networks against cybersecurity risks. Supporting cybersecurity importantly, in an environment where technology is in a state of constant change and evolution, and threats from cyber criminals become more sophisticated, it is essential that any infrastructure related to safety and security is managed dynamically day-to-day. New AXIS Device Manager delivers significant enhancements to device security by enabling centralized account, password and certificate management well as hardening device according to Axis hardening guide.
8 | March 2018
HID Global launches risk management solution with Artificial Intelligence HID Global introduced a new cyber threat and fraud detection service that brings artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to identity & access management, addressing the rising incidents of cyberattacks, especially against financial institutions. The new HID Risk Management Solution is a real-time risk profiling technology that uses data analytics to protect financial transaction systems and banking applications against cybercriminals. HID will demonstrate the new IAM solution at the RSA Conference 2018 in San Francisco next month. The ever-changing threat landscape that makes it more challenging to secure online and mobile financial applications has created an urgent need to improve the detection of fraud and cyberattacks and accelerate the prevention of costly damage. The new HID Risk Management Solution meets this need by combining evidence-based detection capabilities and behavioral biometrics, supported by machine learning. This HID cyber security solution is designed to protect banks, online merchants and service providers against zero-day malware, account takeover, phishing attacks and bots, among other threats. Adding trust to online transactions and preserving the integrity of digital business interactions, the HID Risk Management Solution is fully integrated with HID’s ActivID® Authentication Platform, which provides multi-factor authentication to protect users’ IDs, transactions, devices and accounts. The merging of multi-factor authentication with the new level of AI-driven, cyber threat and fraud detection is a strategic advancement that delivers risk-based, frictionless and adaptive authentication based on data intelligence. It increases security while optimizing the user experience as seamless – without any inconvenience to consumers.
Bulwark to demonstrate all-round IT Security products and services at GISEC With an intense focus on boosting the IT security, communications & technology industries in the Middle East region, Bulwark Technologies, one of the IT security specialized Value-Added Distributor has an array of internationally acclaimed products lined up to be showcased at the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC)2018. The pioneering Value-Added Distributor would join hands with its strong vendor portfolio consisting of Sophos, HelpSystems, iStorage, Lastline, 42Gears Mobility Systems and SendQuick for GISEC 2018. The company will be offering latest technologies and new product launch spanning Advanced Malware Threat Protection, Application Delivery Solutions, Next Generation Firewall, Secure Managed File Transfer, Encrypted Flash Drives & Disc Drives, Mobile Device Management, Email Security & Archival, PIM, IT Change Auditing in addition to their other security solutions at the event. “We act as the extended arm of our vendors in this market with local resources to extend the support for customers. We have a well-trained, certified staff to support our partners & customers. At Bulwark, we cater to our customers’ needs & introduce not just products but solutions that make the users’ life easier & more secure,” says Mr. Jose Thomas Menacherry, Managing Director.
News In Detail
HP Showcases its Innovative Solutions at INDEX 2018 H
P Inc. participated at Index Exhibition – Dubai. HP showcased its innovative technology that has revolutionised the interior design industry by offering a new and simplified process of design delivery. Partnering with local and international designers, HP demonstrated various innovative design applications printed with their unique HP latex technology. Using the HP Sprout Pro, interior designers are now able to simply apply their unique designs to 3D renders to visualize their final creation before sending it off to print on HP’s latex technology. The outcome of these designs can be printed with the right sizes directly from the HP Sprout Pro and applied to walls, floors, furniture, as well as a range of other appliances. The HP Sprout Pro will soon be available for customers in the Middle East. Ernest Azzam, Regional Business Manager, Large Format Printing Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa HP Inc. stated: “With the
design market expected to reach $36 billion in 2019 in the UAE alone, designers and architects are constantly on the lookout for advances in this industry which can support their designs in an efficient manner. Innovation is a key factor considered by designers when purchasing tools and technology for their work. We understand the other key elements that are also important for designers including cost and time efficiency, products that are safe and environmentally friendly and most importantly, high quality outcomes. HPlatex technology was designed to address all these needs and to provide designers with an all-in-one solution, which is capable of providing their clients with a more personalized feel and the flexibility to try out different themes and tastes.” With the surge in interior design spending within the GCC – estimated value is equivalent to almost $18 billion a year, HP’s innovative design solutions are targeted towards
a range of industries including hospitality, healthcare, interior living, as well as offices, restaurants, universities and retail stores. Interior designer using HP’s design solutions, Annette Taylor-Anderson from ATA Designs said: “In the design industry, quality is crucial, and so it’s the first factor I considered when I was introduced to HP’s latex technology. The quality is significantly high, and the lower cost associated with the entire process provides us with the ability to dedicate more time in creating and experimenting with different designs, leading to unique outcomes. Today, there is an increase in the demand for more innovative solutions in the design industry to meet the growing needs of our customers, and the HP latex technology was able to fill a gap that was limiting interior designers from propelling in designing due to high costs and other factors.” Interior designer using HP’s design solution, Katja
Behre from Elli Popp said: “HP’s latex technology hasn’t only broadened the creative space for designers, but it’s also allowed us to experiment with new and varied materials. The eco leather in specific has captured my attention, as the outcome feels like genuine leather expect it’s not. Being a vegan, the values I hold strong to mean that I avoid working with genuine leather which aids in animal suffering. HP’s latex technology introduced a faux leather material of high quality which is environmental friendly, allowing me to experiment innovative designs with no limitations with regard to materials.” HP showcased its stand beside one of their customers from Dubai - UAE, who is portrayed real life applications using HP design solutions. To further empower designers, HP extended its support to a local design competition which encouraged designers to share their creative design work with the wider business community. March 2018 | 9
News In Detail
Avaya completes acquisition of Spoken Communications Avaya’s latest cloud investment provides customers with flexible solutions across public, private and hybrid cloud models
A
vaya Holdings announced that it has closed its acquisition of Spoken Communications (“Spoken”), a leading innovator in Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions and customer experience management applications built on conversational artificial intelligence. The Spoken platform accelerates Avaya’s growth in cloudbased solutions and provides a reliable and highly scalable cloud platform for customers of all sizes. Customers around the world can confidently move to the benefits of cloud at their pace and in the way
10 | March 2018
that best meets their needs, building upon the robust functionality of their existing solutions. Continuing to invest in innovation for the future, Spoken brings a transformative platform with many built-in features that today require third-party tools. This greatly simplified model will make it easier for customers and partners to do business with Avaya. With over 170 patents and patent applications, Spoken’s intellectual property will supercharge Avaya’s move into Big Data, Machine Learning and AI, as well. Spoken’s cloud-native,
multitenant architecture is already fully integrated with Avaya customer experience technologies, providing a robust cloud architecture for Avaya’s omnichannel offerings. And because Avaya and Spoken have been working in a co-development partnership for more than a year, several flexible cloud solutions are market-ready today. Customers will also benefit from Spoken’s specialized agent quality software applications and services, and Spoken’s IntelligentWire contact center automation solutions. IntelligentWire uses AI and deep learning
technologies on live voice conversations to reduce after-call work, drive more intelligent responses and gain deeper insight into customer sentiment and experience. “This acquisition is the latest example of how Avaya is now moving at cloud speed and investing for the future to provide our customers and partners with the innovative cloud solutions they need. We welcome the members of the Spoken team to the Avaya family, and look forward to building great success together,” said Jim Chirico, President and CEO of Avaya.
Canon demonstrates commitment to the education sector with innovation for transformation
G
lobally, the education sector faces challenges of reinventing traditionally accepted processes, driven by changing learning modes, inclusive national visions, and a move towards more competitiveness and quality-consciousness by management, regulatory authorities, and paying customers. Canon Middle East is using its presence at Gulf Educational Supplies & Solutions (GESS) conference and exhibition in Dubai to outline its commitment towards this sector, and showcase its innovation that aims to transform experiences for all stakeholders within the education ecosystem. Speaking at the event, Shadi Bakhour, Business Unit Director, B2B, Canon Middle East, said: “Transformation in the education sector typically brings to mind advanced technology aids for a more
inclusive, immersive, and engaging learning experience, and while this is a major area of focus, there are numerous other areas within the sector that can benefit from innovative technology adoption. Under our educationfocused innovation umbrella, we forego buzzwords and focus on their useful applications, and are proud to be at the forefront of marrying trends such as augmented reality and interactive projection with the needs of the education sector.” Canon’s focus and commitment towards the education sector informs innovation around products and solutions aimed at the diverse needs of customers in the education space, targeting students, faculty, management and administration, and other stakeholders. Most notably, Canon has also extended its commitment to education
to include investments and donations towards enabling access to education in underserved areas of the world. “The ever-evolving education sector in the region faces a host of challenges such as competition, funding, and regulatory oversight. The vision of transforming the quality of education delivered in the region is led by governments’ initiatives to improve, diversify, and stimulate education innovation. This transformation is causing a shift from traditional methods of learning to technologyenabled, multimedia, highquality learning experiences, and this is where Canon shines. Our vision for the future of education – which is now –presents the opportunity to engage students and their attention through a range of hi-tech learning experiences, providing a boost to vocational training and creative thinking,”
said Venkatasubramanian Hariharan, Business Unit Director, B2C, Canon Middle East. Canon is cementing its relevance to the education sector by demonstrating its keen understanding of evolving trends and by identifying specific areas that can benefit from a technology-based overhaul. • Vocational Education & Creative Thinking: Canon initiatives for learning include technology advancements such as augmented reality and interactive projection to bring content to life within an educational scenario. They also provide students and faculty with applications and resources to transform visual art into craft with solutions such as Canon’s Creative Park and develop photography skills with Canon Academy. • Process Optimisation: When it comes to administration and management of educational institutions, Canon offers technology solutions to digitally archive and tag all archives for efficiency and security. Invoice handling is also made smarter with Canon. • Communication Efficiency: Educational institutions need to communicate frequently, and often individually, and offer each stakeholder a unique and customized experience. To aid this, Canon also offers the capabilities to facilitate the enrolment and on-boarding of students at the beginning of the relationship, and Canon campaign management solutionshelp the organization save time and money in subsequent and consistent communication. March 2018 | 11
Insight | Dell EMC
Dell EMC enables businesses for success in the age of Digital Disruption Hosts Executive Summit for regional leaders to capitalize on the opportunities presented by transformation Dell EMC hosted its Executive Summit – ‘Expect Moore’ – for business leaders in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa region at the InterContinental Budapest in Hungary. At this event, Dell EMC provided a blueprint for digital success and insight into how transformation initiatives can positively impact business results and functions such as growing revenue, improving products and services, and the speedier introduction of new offerings to the market. The dawn of the ‘Internet of Everything’, widely referred to as the next industrial revolution, is transforming the way businesses across industries operate. According to the Digital Transformation Index study commissioned by Dell Technologies, over half (52%) of respondents have already experienced significant disruption to their industries as a result of digital technologies, and 78%
14 | March 2018
of respondents consider digital start-ups as a threat, either now or in the future. The impact of disruption on maintaining a competitive advantage is quite significant today, as 62% of respondents have seen new competitors in their industries as a resultof digital technologies and initiatives, adding to the pressure on established companies to remain competitive. The Dell EMC Executive Summit opened with a welcome note from Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President – Middle East, Turkey & Africa, Dell EMC, followed by the keynote by Geoffrey A. Moore, renowned author, speaker, and advisor, whose work is focused on the market dynamics surrounding disruptive innovations. The event also hosted several sessions including a practical guide to making digital transformation real, a closer look at the smart cities of the future, the path to artificial intelligence, and security
transformation for a digital era, among others. Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President, Middle East, Turkey,& Africa, Dell EMC “The next industrial revolution is already here. Two-thirds of businesses worldwide may be at risk of losing significant market share and market value over the next three to five years, being made obsolete by more agile and technologically-superior competitors. This data either translates into an opportunity or threat depending on the advancement of the organisation’s digital transformation journey. At Dell EMC, we believe that this monumental change is rich with opportunity, but, for these businesses to play a role in this next industrial revolution, they must take the necessary steps to transform digitally, which are crucial to success in this competitive age.”
Insight | eHosting DataFort
Security – your biggest challenge in the Cloud While the benefits of migrating to the Cloud in terms of reducing operating costs and technology complexity have been well documented, redrawing an organization’s security policy in preparation is a more drawn out exercise, says Sachin Bhardwaj, Director Marketing & Business Development, eHosting DataFort.
The challenges of securing an organization's data assets in the Cloud remains the primary inhibitor towards migrating to the Cloud. While many organizations have adopted a Cloud-first approach, many are still reluctant to embark on this journey. It is not enough to start checking boxes as done, when initiating a Cloud migration exercise. The big picture of how to get a return on investment includes redrawing an organization data security policy to include its Cloud assets and how to manage its Cloud Services Provider (CSP). Organizations embarking on a Cloud migration journey need to apply due diligence to assess the levels of security inbuilt within their chosen CSP. Expect to see at least one of these compliance specifications stated including ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, CSA-STAR, HIPAA, amongst others. Asking the CSP to formally disclose the level of risk and level of compliance through a questionnaire, is again a common practice, for an organization’s legal and security departments. Spending time on getting these responses, evaluating them, and moving to a high level of transparency in terms
of the security preparedness of the CSP, is a commonly practiced way forward for the end user organization. Looking closely at the responses from the CSP will help answer questions about the inbuilt levels of security. Spending time and aggregating these responses will help to build a suitable data security policy, applicable to an organization's Cloud assets. Moreover, an organization’s core IT team must always be involved in any Cloud migration exercise from the early stages. The biggest mistake may be to move into a CSP’s environment that is not as securely protected as the organization’s onpremises environment. When migrating workloads from on-premises to the Cloud, the robustness of the organization's data classification gets tested. Not all data needs to be moved from an onsite-premise, with a listed compliance requirement, into a Cloud environment. In other words, data classification policies applied onsite also need to be applicable in the Cloud, in terms of exclusion and inclusion of data. Another fundamental change from on-premises data management
to Cloud-based data management, is ownership of responsibility. End user organizations will typically find that once their data has been moved to a Cloud environment and if managed by the CSP, the skills required to perform IT management and administration roles will become redundant. This will require a new portfolio of skills by the end user organization, as they will be involved more in monitoring and managing the operations of the CSP. The most critical part of the relationship with a CSP, is where the hard line between the two sides is blurred and without clarity on the exact nature of responsibility from both sides. The end user organization needs to work decisively towards redefining and clarifying any such fuzzy areas for lack of security compliance and data integrity within the CSP. The more effort that goes into establishing clarity on the roles played by the CSP and the end user organization, especially around data integrity and data protection, the more likely that the relationship will progress from short term implementation to long term stability. March 2018 | 15
News In Detail
LTE advanced and NB-IOT drive STC 4G expansion in Saudi Arabia • Subscribers to benefit from improved user experience. Enterprises to benefit from IoT connectivity • Network expansion spans Ericsson’s Massive IoT, Managed Services and networks offerings, including 5G-ready hardware • Helps to position Saudi Arabia at the forefront of technological advancement
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speed video and media
laying the groundwork for
NB-IoT.
second line support.
access for subscribers, or
evolution to 5G. The LTE Advanced
The digital transformation
Nasser Al Nasser, Group
IoT business innovation and
also sees STC deploying
CEO at STC, SAYS: “At STC, our
opportunities for enterprises.
expansion, which got
Narrow Band-IoT (NB-IoT)
main goal is to ensure that
Our partnership with STC
underway in December 2017,
in RANacross its expanded
the country’s Saudi Vision
shows 4G network evolution
includes the deployment of
network to drive and support
2030 ambitions are met. We
is already happening and
Ericsson’s 5G-ready baseband
enterprise IoT Ecosystem
do that by always making
paving the way for 5G.”
16 | March 2018
H2, 2017 saw more cyberattacks in Industrial networks of energy and ICS integration companies
A
lmost 40% of all industrial control systems (ICS) in energy organizations protected by Kaspersky Lab solutions were attacked by malware at least once during the last six months of 2017, closely followed by 35.3% of engineering & ICS integration networks. That’s one of the key findings of the latest report from Kaspersky Lab, ‘Threat Landscape for Industrial Automation Systems in H2 2017’, which found thatthe number of attacks on these two sectors noticeably exceeds those on other industries. Other sectors experiencedan average of between 26% and 30% of ICS computers attacked. The vast majority of detected attacks were accidental hits. The cybersecurity of industrial facilitiesremains an issue that can lead to very serious consequencesaffecting industrial processes, as well as businesses losses. While analyzing the threat landscape in different industries,Kaspersky Lab ICS CERTrecorded that nearly all industries regularly experience cyberattackson their ICS computers. However, two industries wereattacked more than others- energy organizations (38.7%) and engineering & ICS integration businesses (35.3%). The sector that demonstrated the most noticeable growth of ICS
computers attacked during H2 2017 (compared to H1 2017) wasconstruction,with31.1%. For all other industries in question (manufacturing, transportation, utilities, food, healthcare etc.) the proportion of attacked computers ranged from 26% to 30% on average. According to experts, the energy sector was one of the first industries thatstarted to widely use various automation solutions and is now one of the most computerized. Cybersecurity incidents and targeted attacksover the past couple of years, along with regulatory initiativesmake a strong case for the power and energy companies to start adopting cybersecurity products and measures for their operational technology (OT) systems. Moreover, the modern power grid is one of the most extensive systemsof interconnected industrial objects,with a large number of computers connected to the network and a relatively high degree of exposure to cyberthreats, as demonstrated by Kaspersky Lab ICS CERT statistics. In turn, the high percentage of attacked ICS computers in engineering and ICS Integration businesses is another serious problem given the fact that the supply chain attack vector has been used in some devastating attacks in recent years.
The relatively high percentage of attacked ICS computers inthe construction industry compared to H1 2017 could indicate that these organizations are not necessarily mature enough to pay the required attention to the protection of industrial computers. Their computerized automation systems might be relatively new and an industrial cyber security culture is still to be developed in these organizations. The lowest percentage of ICS attacks has been found in enterprises specializing in developing ICS software
- 14.7%, meaning that their ICS research / development laboratories, testing platforms, demo stands and training environment are also being attacked by malicious software, although not as often as the ICScomputers of industrial enterprises. Kaspersky Lab ICS CERT experts point to the significance of ICS vendors’ security, because the consequences of an attack spreading over the vendor’s partner ecosystem and customer base could be very dramatic, as was seen during the exPetr malware epidemic, for instance. March 2018 | 17
News In Detail
Honeywell appoints Fahmi Jabri as Business Leader for Commercial Security in the middle east, turkey and africa
H
oneywell, the global software-industrial company, has appointed Fahmi Jabri as its business leader for commercial security in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META). Jabri’s new role will see him grow Honeywell’s security business and drive greater customer focus. He will also advance the organization’s portfolio of commercial security hardware and software solutions for connected buildings in the region, leveraging advances in analytics, big data, cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
18 | March 2018
“As a leader in the commercial security sector, Honeywell is well positioned to help organizations become safer and more secure, while meeting increasingly stringent government safety and security regulations,”said Mick Goodfellow, general manager, Honeywell commercial security, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. “Fahmi will have an important part to play in helping our customers solve critical business issues by leveraging connected offerings in the security field, and in championing the extensive benefits of our technology in
increasing insight and control across a facility.” Jabri is tasked with reinforcing Honeywell’s position as a key player in the small and medium business (SMB) segment, the high-end CCTV market, and the access control and commercial intrusion business for Honeywell. Commenting on his new position, Jabri said: “Honeywell has some of the most advanced solutions in the commercial security industry, comprising class-leading software platforms, access control, intrusion detection and CCTV systems. We look
forward to working with our partners and customers to add greater value to their operations, and to help them interpret and use the huge and growing volumes of data being generated by connected buildings and security systems.” Prior to this role,Jabri was strategy and marketing director of security and fire, for the Middle East, Russia, Turkey and Africa. He has been in the building technologies’ industry for more than 17 years, and joined Honeywell in April 2015.
Sony Professional Solutions appoints FVC to strengthen the presence of its TEOS Solutions and Bravia Professional displays in the MEA region
S
ony Professional Solutions recently appointed FVC as it’s official partner to market and sell its new line up of BRAVIA professional displays and digital signage solutions across the GCC and Africa region. Sony has a variety of large format BRAVIA professional display screens that enable dynamic digital signage by ensuring the highest quality image reproduction for every environment and application. Available from its smallest of 43-inches to its largest of 100-inches, the Sony professional displays boast spectacular 4K images with slim compact styling whilst offering reliability and
energy efficiency with low running costs.The professional displays and solutions provided by Sony can be used across several applications that include Retail, Sports, Entertainment, Broadcast & Production, Manufacturing, Education and Corporates. Earlier this year Sony announced the launch of TEOS Solutions designed specifically to transform workspaces for employees and visitors so that working is simplified, collaboration is enhanced and facilities management is optimized. The first solution – TEOS Manage provides businesses total control of their corporate workplace
communications enabling all IP devices, Sony displays, projectors and tablets, as well as other branded devices to be centrally controlled through the TEOS Manage platform. “FVC is well known in the region for being a top solutions provider that can transform workspaces to make it more simplified whist enhancing collaboration and user-experience,” Unni Krishnan, Head of Visual Presentation Solutions at Sony Professional Solutions MEA. “FVC has the expertise and a strong relationship withkey decision makers in sectors such as education, healthcare, government &
defense, banking, finance and many more. We are confident in FVC’s ability to support us in promoting our display solutions within the region.” “Sony is globally renowned for not only developing products and solutions of the highest quality but tailored to meet each customer’s unique needs and requirements,” said Mr. Sanjay Ahuja, CEO of FVC. “We are excited about the partnership and look forward to connecting Sony to a wide range of clients that we work within the GCC and Africa to further strengthen our relationship as well as build a significant presence for them in the region.”
March 2018 | 19
EyeTech
Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router
QTS-Linux combo quad-core NAS
Edimax has launched the BR-
Overview: The TS-653B comes with a sleek new look, featuring an
6288ACL dual-band 802.11ac
OLED panel and two capacitive touch buttons. The TS-
router with the latest 11ac
653B also features a PCIe port for boosting the potential
standard for extraordinary
applications of your NAS: the QNAP QM2 expansion card
improvements in the speed,
can be installed for adding an M.2 SSD cache/10GbE
reliability and quality of wireless
connectivity, a compatible wireless card can be installed
communications. It’s a 5-in-1
to use the TS-653B as a wireless access point, and a
dual-band Wi-Fi router with
USB 3.1 10Gbps card can be added for easier backup
an easy 3-step setup using a
to/from multiple external storage devices. With a USB
smartphone app or web-based
Type-C QuickAccess port and a SD card slot, the TS-653B
smart iQ setup, which meets
simplifies transferring and sharing files without needing a
all of your Wi-Fi demands and
network connection. The TS-653B also provides feature-
is the first product of its kind to
rich multimedia functionality, such as 4K @30Hz video
feature a green, power-saving TX
playback and real-time transcoding.
Overview:
power switch to adjust the Wi-Fi signal strength. The smartphone app and web-based interface also support auto firmware upgrade and the sleek design provides a unique, space-saving aesthetic which blends with any interior and delivers wide-reaching Wi-Fi coverage.
Key features: • PCIe port supports installing a QNAP QM2 dual-port M.2 SSD/10GbE connectivity, a compatible PCIe wireless adapter, or a USB 3.1 10Gbps card • USB QuickAccess port for direct access to files on NAS without needing a network connection
Key features:
• Supports virtualization, centralized storage, backup,
• Supports router, access point, range extender, Wi-Fi bridge
sharing, and disaster recovery
and WISP modes
• A hybrid approach to virtualization in one NAS:
• Guest network
Virtualization Station and Container Station
• Up to 10 SSIDs (2.4GHz x 5 and 5GHz x 5) with VLAN
• Supports dual-channel 4K H.264/H.265 hardware
support in AP mode
decoding and on-the-fly or offline transcoding
• IGMP proxy and IGMP snooping
• IFTTT Agent enables web automation for improved
• DDNS and DHCP
working efficiency
• Port triggering for special applications • Virtual server and DMZ hosting • MAC/IP filter and URL blocking • iQoS for smart bandwidth management • Static routing • UPnP architecture • VPN pass-through (IPSec/PPTP) • Wi-Fi schedule control • Fault tolerance firmware upgrade
20 | March 2018
Dell EMC - Virtual Edge Platform (VEP) family
Pure Storage - AIRI
Overview: Dell EMC introduces its Virtual Edge Platform (VEP) family, the first-to-market software-defined wide area network solution (SD-WAN) with the new Intel® Xeon® D-2100 processor, to help speed digital transformation by
Overview:
connecting the enterprise edge to the cloud via universal
Built on Pure Storage FlashBlade and NVIDIA DGX-1, AIRI Makes AI-at-Scale Simple and Accessible for All Enterprises, the all-flash storage platform that helps innovators build a better world with data, AIRI is purpose-built to enable data architects, scientists and business leaders to extend the power of the NVIDIA DGX-1 and operationalize AI-at-scale for every enterprise. With AIRI, cloud, enterprise and government organizations can accelerate time-to-insight and bring new, impactful innovations to humanity, faster. AIRI enables organizations to turn data into innovation at an unprecedented pace. AI represents an opportunity for enterprises to innovate not only at a product level, but within day-to-day operations as they lead their industries through periods of tremendous change. According to Gartner, 80 percent of enterprises will deploy AI by 2020. AIRI provides a simple, yet powerful, architecture that empowers organizations with the data-centric infrastructure needed to harness the true power of AI.
Customer Premise Equipment (uCPE). The new virtualized solutions will enhance or displace expensive fixedfunction access hardware. Key features: • Virtual Edge Platform family, future-ready and purpose- built universal Customer Premise Equipment for virtual networking and software-defined environments • First-to-market with SD-WAN solution using the newly- released Intel®Xeon®-D processor • Dell EMC VEP4600 provides an open Intel® architecture-based platform to support multiple simultaneous virtual network functions (VNF). • Numerous proprietary physical devices can be consolidated into this single uCPE • The VEP 4600 is powered by the new Intel Xeon D-2100 product family, Intel® QuickAssist Technology (Intel® QAT), and Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK • It delivers more than 1.5x faster CPU performance1,
Key features: • Engineered as a fully integrated software and hardware solution by Pure Storage and NVIDIA. AIRI is powered by Pure Storage FlashBladeTM
up to 2x improvement in packet processing, 2x
• Four NVIDIA DGX-1 supercomputers, delivering four
memory bandwidth and up to 4x memory capacity2.
petaFLOPS of performance with NVIDIA® Tesla® V100 GPUs. • systems are interconnected with Arista 100GbE switches, supporting GPUDirect RDMA for maximum distributed training performance. • AIRI is supported by the NVIDIA GPU Cloud deep learning stack and Pure Storage AIRI Scaling Toolkit.
March 2018 | 21
Stats & Trends
Spending on Smart City Technologies in the Middle East & Africa tipped to reach $1.26 Billion in 2018
S
pending on the technologies that enable Smart City initiatives is forecast to reach $1.26 billion for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region in 2018, according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation (IDC). In the first release of its Worldwide Semiannual Smart Cities Spending Guide , the global technology research and consulting firm provides a detailed look at the technology investments associated with a range of Smart Cities priorities and use cases. As these initiatives gain traction, IDC expects spending in MEA to accelerate over the 2016-2021 forecast period, reaching $2.30 billion in 2021. Cities across the region are implementing digital transformation initiatives within urban ecosystems in order to facilitate a broad range of environmental, financial, and social outcomes. In IDC's view, a Smart City begins to be developed when multiple smart initiatives are coordinated to leverage technology investments across an entire city, use common platforms to decrease service time/maintenance costs, share data across systems, and tie IT investments clearly to smart missions. Smart City programs are enabled by 3rd Platform technologies, and emerging technologies are accelerated in the city ecosystem to deliver innovative solutions in very specific areas. The strategic priorities in MEA that IDC believes will see the most spending in 2018 are sustainable planning and administration and intelligent transportation. Intelligent traffic
22  |  March 2018
and transit, digital permitting, licensing and inspections, and Smart Cities platforms will be the region's largest use cases in terms of spending in 2018, followed by in-car camera systems, smart kiosks, and fixed visual surveillance. "IDC employs a truly innovative approach to sizing the global Smart City market by identifying 41 key use cases that will have the most impact on local government over the next three years, and sizing and forecasting their growth," says Ruthbea Yesner, vice president of IDC Government Insights and Smart Cities programs. "This approach provides technology suppliers with a detailed look at the
opportunity that exists within cities and offers a view into niche areas as well as broad market solutions." The worldwide market for technologies enabling Smart Cities is expected to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 18.6% over the 2016-2021 period, and MEA is one of the regions that will see the fastest spending growth, with a CAGR of 21.2%. "The year 2017 could be considered as the coming-ofage year for Smart Cities in the region," says Jebin George, program manager, IDC MEA. "The concept is being widely discussed and adopted in the region, early success stories are starting to emerge, almost
all greenfield developments are incorporating smart technologies by default, and nations are developing a common vision around the Smart City concept. The region is now getting into an exciting phase of the Smart City journey, characterized by wider adoption and faster growth." IDC's Worldwide Semiannual Smart Cities Spending Guide quantifies the expected technology opportunity around Smart City initiatives from a region and worldwide level. Spending data is available for nine regions with a focus on 15 use cases across five strategic priorities, as well as the overall Smart Cities market size.