Nothing happened today In a perfect world, no one thinks about access control except you. The hundreds of people coming and going don’t think about you, or what a good job you’re doing, or how they always manage to get seamlessly where they need to go. Because you chose Synergis access control, it was another great day.
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Cover Feature - 18
Challenges amid advances W
ith IoT, there is a great potential that Big Data analytics can leverage in various scenarios and deliver real time actionable insights. Similarly, with more traction seen towards hybrid cloud deployments, there is a greater seamlessness being built into ensuring applications that users access either from the cloud or from on- premises, don’t give a lag in performance across all different end points, from workstations to mobile interfaces. The ubiquitous reach and seamless experience of Technology has gone up several notches in a short span of time and it doesn’t look like slowing down in terms of advances being made across various fronts. Against the evolving backdrop of more consummate solutions coming to market, end user expectations from the solutions they deploy is also likewise going up. As a constant pursuit, vertical focused solutions need to constantly step up the functionalities they deliver to address specific pain points of Businesses. On the other hand, there is a need for end users to improve their awareness regarding the security of solutions they get deployed on their critical infrastructure. Especially, with physical security infrastructure from CCTV to Secure Access Control solutions becoming more commonly deployed by Businesses of all sizes, and being prioritized as investments, they need to be sure they are going with best of breed choices. In such critical investments, any compromise, perhaps done on considerations of pricing differences, can be quite risky. End users need to be sure no suspect hardware gets in there with the rest of the deployed infrastructure that can be used as a threat vector. The weakest link in an integrated solution environment can be good enough for backdoor entry of threats. For integrators, the onus is to ensure they are recommending the best options that are all tested and validated to offer reliable performance right through the anticipated lifecycle until the need or call for upgrades comes up.
R. Narayan Managing Editor Founder & CEO: Vivek Sharma Managing Editor: R. Narayan Art Director: Faiz Ahmed Sr. Sales Manager: R. Subramanyan Sales Coordinator: Smitha Jithesh
ontents
Editorial
Access, more secure and smarter!
Intelligence and wider integration are key aspects driving traction in the Access Control solutions market
News In Detail
Cisco and ADSIC conduct workshop for UAE Public Sector - 11 SonicWall Threat Report highlights shifting trends - 13 TechKnow
Advancing data protection - 14
Serguei Beloussov, Acronis’ Founder and CEO discusses aspects of the Acronis approach towards data storage
Delivering solutions smartly - 16
Genetec President, CEO and founder Pierre Racz discusses the company’s focus on enabling partners and on some pressing challenges in the market
Evolving new storage propositions - 24 Fadi Kanafani, Regional Director for Middle East and Africa discusses highlights of NetApp’s solutions
Point2Point - 22
Delivering on an agile vision
Costa Boukouvalas, CEO, AgilityGrid discusses the company’s focus in comprehensive video security solutions across key vertical sectors.
Insight
SME’s, a growing target for Cyber Criminals in the Middle East - 28
HemayunBazaz, Regional Manager - Channel Sales, Middle East and Turkey at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company discusses
IoT: Waking up from the Network Admin's Nightmare - 30
Dhwani Parekh, Marketing Analyst, ManageEngine examines the major challenges that will be thrown up in terms of managing IoT devices for organisations
Regulars
News Bytes EyeTech Market Stats
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News Bytes
Ain Al Khaleej Hospital achieves new milestone CSC has announced that Ain Al Khaleej Hospital (AAKH), a CSC client using the Enterprise Management Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, has achieved Stage 6 HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) certification. Developed by HIMSS Analytics, EMRAM is an eight-stage maturity model that allows hospitals to track their progress towards a paperless environment and complete EMRs. Using CSC’s Enterprise Management EPR (Electronic Patient Record), Ain Al Khaleej Hospital successfully achieved the Stage 6 certification by deploying advanced capabilities. These included computerized physician order entry (CPOE), closed loop medication administration, structured clinical documentation, clinical decision support system, online automated filmless radiology related processes, intelligent pharmacy inventory and dispensing managementand barcoding process for pharmacy items, medication and patient identification. The hospital has implemented a Closed Loop Medication Administration (CLMA) process in order to ensure the “five rights” of Medication administration are followed, with patient safety as a primary objective. CSC is AAKH’s preferred healthcare informatics partner.
4 | March 2017
Dell EMC names Arrow Electronics strategic global distributor Arrow Electronics has been named to the list of key global distribution partners for Dell EMC’s new integrated Partner Program. “The Dell EMC program offers Arrow’s global IT reseller ecosystem great opportunities to deliver enhanced customer value and increased profitability,” said Sean Kerins, president of Arrow’s global enterprise computing solutions business. “Arrow is proud to collaborate with Dell EMC on this new channel program, which combines the best of the legacy Dell and EMC partner programs.” The new and integrated Dell EMC Partner Program was built on channel partner feedback and embodies core tenets of simplicity, predictability and profitability. It includes a distribution-specific track with comprehensive benefits and will provide Arrow’s global ecosystem of value-added resellers (VARs), managed service providers (MSPs) and system integrators with generous rebates focused on profitable behaviors; one partner portal with single sign-on and one-deal registration; simplified training; market-aligned targets and much more. “Distribution is key to helping our partners deliver for their customers,” said Jim DeFoe, senior vice president, Global Distribution, Dell EMC. “Arrow Electronics has been a strong partner to both Dell and EMC for several years. As we launch the newly combined Dell EMC Partner Program, we look forward to expanding this collaboration and maximizing the value of distribution for our joint partners.”
Genetec holds partner awards gala Genetec successfully hosted the Genetec Middle East Channel Partner Awards to honour top-performing partners in the Middle East in recognition of their outstanding achievements in 2016. The special gala ceremony, held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai, was attended by top executives from the region’s Genetec Channel Partner community. According to the company’s senior executives, the Genetec Channel Partners Awards is one of the many activities lined up to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary. In the last 20 years, Genetec has established strong alliances with like-minded technology partners who thrive on innovation. Its technology partners have built products that enhance and maximize the features of Genetec’s video surveillance and access control systems, enabling it to deliver the best solutions and offer boundless application possibilities to various markets. Firas Jadalla, Regional Director – Middle East and Africa, Genetec Inc., said, “In 2017, Genetec will provide its customers with solutions that will help them realize a secure and open architecture and a unified physical security platform. We are also looking forward to work with both our integrators and customers to make them aware of our innovative technologies being developed. We are confident that our customers will benefit from the largest selection of integrated best-of-breed solutions and demonstrate complete trust in the reliability and performance of our joint offerings.”
News Bytes
Mindware signs up as distributor for Barracuda Networks Mindware FZ LLC expanded its vendor portfolio with the addition of Barracuda Networks security and data protection products in the META region - including the Gulf, Levant, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Barracuda designs and delivers security and data protection solutions. Barracuda offers solutions that help its customers address security threats, improve network performance and protect their data. . Chris Ross, SVP International at Barracuda Networks said, “We are excited to have Mindware as part of our distribution channel, and to gain access to their extensive breadth of channel partners within the META region. The relationship will enable us to expand our distribution and reseller channel, and bring our solutions to more customers in region, who are looking to protect their networks, applications and data.” Nicholas Argyrides, Chief of Sales & Deputy General Manager, at Mindware said, “Barracuda Networks seamlessly fits in with the rest of our product offerings range and we are delighted that this business collaboration is now in place! The combination of Mindware’s focus on the security vertical across our regional distribution network’s along with Barracuda Networks’ top-class solutions will enable our channel partner community to expand their reach into more projects”
6 | March 2017
Microsoft announces new head for Middle East Africa Microsoft hasannounced the appointment of Samer Abu Ltaif as the president of its Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Abu Ltaif, who joined Microsoft in 2004, has held many senior roles within the organisation including regional director for enterprise and partner group across MEA. Most recently, he was the Regional General Manager of Microsoft Gulf. During his tenure, he led landmark Microsoft initiatives aimed at empowering governments and citizens through innovation, revolutionizing education, stimulating SME growth and entrepreneurship; all to enhance the region’s global competitiveness and modernization. Abu Ltaif played a key role in growing Microsoft’s presence in the Gulf and developing the company’s ecosystem of over 1,400 channel partners. His vision for Microsoft in MEA is to contribute to the economic and social development of the region. “MEA has tremendous potential. The rich diversity across the region, combined with the fast-growing youth population and innovative spirit, opens up enormous opportunity,” says Abu Ltaif. “As Microsoft, we have an important role to play, not only through the innovative technology that we bring to market, but also through our presence across the region, our focus on developing local talent, and our deep commitment to the communities in which we operate”. A key part of Abu Ltaif’s role will be to drive the digital transformation agenda of the region across governments, enterprises, developers and small and medium businesses.
Avaya appoints regional sales leader Avaya announced the appointment of Faten Halabi as Regional Sales Leader for Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Pakistan. In this new role, Halabi will focus on driving business with partners in these four countries and work closely with customers to help them achieve their digital transformation objectives. Halabi has been with Avaya since 2014, helping to transform the company’s operations in Bahrain as Business Development Director and growing business with key partners. Halabi will ensure Avaya operations are aligned with companies’ business strategies across key verticals. Halabi will help to drive adoption of Avaya’s latest innovative solutions, including Avaya Breeze, Avaya Oceana, and Avaya Equinox. Avaya has successfully transitioned into a software and services-led company, which today account for three quarters of revenue, and provides a range of cloud-based solutions and professional services, designed to help organizations achieve their digital transformation objectives more easily and cost-effectively. “Having worked in a broad range of business and consulting roles before joining Avaya, I can resonate with customers’ objectives and understand their business strategies and future goals. This role will see me keeping close to existing clients, while building relationships with new customers. This is an extremely exciting time for this region, and Avaya is perfectly positioned to help customers achieve their digital transformation goals. I look forward to growing the Avaya brand in these four countries,” said Faten Halabi, Regional Sales Leader, Avaya Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Pakistan.
News Bytes
Sage announces partnership with Dynamic Cloud in Saudi Arabia Sage, a market leading provider for integrated accounting, payroll and payment systems, has appointed Dynamic Cloud as an authorized partner for Sage X3, Sage X3 People, Sage 300 and Sage CRM business management solutions in Saudi Arabia. Dynamic Cloud, a subsidiary of Dynamic Energy, provides cloud-based business management software including ERP solutions in the Al Khobar IT sector. The company is engaged in the research and development of new technologies and innovative products
F5 Networks appoints new Director for Gulf, Levant & North Africa Region F5 Networks has appointed Taj El Khayat as its new director for the Gulf, Levant & North Africa region. Reporting directly to Diego Arrabal, Middle East and Africa VP, F5 Networks, El Khayat will lead a team comprising of salespeople, channel staff, and system engineers focused on consolidating F5’s position as the region’s leading application delivery company. In particular, there will be a strong emphasis on security and multi-cloud projects. El Khayat joins F5 from Riverbed, where he was the Regional Vice President for Middle East, Turkey and Africa, helping the company establish their leadership in the region as one of the leading application performance platform technology providers, while driving consistent growth and increasing market footprint. Prior to this, El Khayat held several senior positions at top ICT vendors like Juniper Networks, and Microsoft. He has had notable success in building strategies to enter new markets, assembling high-performance teams, as well as spearheading customer surround and satisfaction initiatives. “I am honored to join F5 Networks, and be part of a successful and striving region at a time where the market is rapidly embracing cloud and implementing their digital transformation strategies,” said El Khayat.
around areas such big data analytics and IoT. It also constantly seeks partnerships with globally recognized brands to maximize market share and profitability. Dynamic Cloud serves industries ranging from oil and gas, to healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, and education. The partnership agreement will offer Sage a springboard to reach new clients with its state-of-the-art business management solutions. “We are excited by the potential of this partnership with Dynamic Cloud to reach clients across a variety of industries. As the country’s focus on economic development and modernization of existing businesses continues into 2017, we are thrilled to be an enabler of sustainable, and robust business solutions in Saudi Arabia,” said Keith Fenner, Vice President Sage Enterprise Africa & Middle East.
8 | March 2017
Palo Alto announces new firewall appliances Palo Alto Networks announced availability of new purpose-built hardware and virtual next-generation firewall appliances that safely enable applications and redefine security performance for both threat prevention and SSL decryption, enabling customers to safely embrace the cloud and prevent successful cyberattacks across network, endpoint and cloud environments. The new models complement enhancements to the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Security Platform PAN-OS operating system version 8.0, also introduced, which includes more than 70 new features that deliver threat and credential theft prevention, secure cloud enablement, and more. Six new hardware firewall appliances join the existing hardware family of 16 appliances to safely enable applications and offer threat prevention in large data centers, small branches and remote locations, all managed centrally from Panorama network security management. The VM-Series virtualized next-generation firewall family also has been optimized and expanded with three new models to support customer organizations expanding cloud and virtualization initiatives. Lee Klarich, executive vice president, Product Management, Palo Alto Networks said, “Palo Alto Networks understands the growing performance and capacity needs as customer organizations look to expand cloud use cases and implement advanced security capabilities throughout their data centers and distributed organizations. We are pleased to expand the performance range and use case possibilities with our newest hardware and virtual firewall models.”
News Bytes
Redington and Huawei partner for Smart Solutions Redington Value and Huawei announced their collaboration in the information technology space with the objective of developing smart, futuristic solutions together. “Huawei is not only one of the leading providers of information and communication technology but is also steadily changing the landscape in emerging technologies such as cloud computing and internet of things” said RamkumarBalakrishnan, President, Redington Value. “The partnership is focused on collaboration with Huawei's cloud offerings and internet of things. We will also leverage the Red Vault to host leading Huawei technologies for the benefit of industry specialists while engaging jointly on smart city projects.” “Huawei is very excited to join hands with Redington Value, a top information technology player in the region. Redington Value shares our vision of how the IT landscape is evolving and has introduced several key initiatives such as the Red Vault Solution Center and Citrus Consulting – its very own consultancy arm for disruptive technologies. We are looking to combine Redington Value’s expertise with our own to come out with smart innovative solutions applicable to all industry verticals” said Alaa Elshimy, Managing Director & Vice President, Huawei Enterprise Business, Middle East.
10 | March 2017
Kodak Alaris hosts Partner Summit 2017
Kodak Alaris hosted a Partner Summit for more than 130 Value Added Resellers and Distributors from the Europe, Africa and the Middle East region in early February in Lisbon, Portugal. Channel partners from across the region attended the two-day kickoff event. “In this age of ‘data chaos’, we see tremendous opportunities to help customers accelerate digital transformation, remove complexity and unlock the power of information,” said Rick Costanzo, president and general manager, Kodak Alaris Information Management. “Our partners play a critical role. They are our extended team. Their efforts reflect directly on our bottom line. So it’s important to host these events and share our vision, strategy and product roadmap for 2017 and beyond.” The summit included a mix of presentations by Kodak Alaris senior executives and sales teams, breakout sessions and technical workshops where delegates were given a recap of 2016 business results and a preview of sales and marketing initiatives designed to help partners ‘grow together’ with Kodak Alaris. There was also a series of demos where partners could ‘test drive’ the latest technologies. In addition, Kodak Alaris hosted an awards ceremony to recognize the achievements of its highest performing partners.
FireEye enhances endpoint security solution FireEye, announced several enhancements to its endpoint security solution designed to offer unparalleled protection from threats missed by legacy and next-generation endpoint solutions. Utilizing the behavioral analysis capabilities of Exploit Guard, Endpoint Security now adds the prevention capabilities needed to quickly detect and respond to threats against Microsoft Windows. FireEye Endpoint Security also adds support for Mac OS endpoints. These exploit prevention capabilities are the first of several major, no-cost upgrades for FireEye Endpoint Security customers in 2017 – providing them a comprehensive Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP). Additional 2017 enhancements will include industry-leading anti-virus (AV) capabilities for known malware protection, virtual and cloud form factors, expanded behavioral analysis and machine learning capabilities. “The endpoint has always been the most reliable source of truth for us and our customers. With over a decade of experience responding to some of the largest breaches in the world, we see where other products fail and can codify that intelligence into a comprehensive endpoint solution focused on simplicity and speed. The investments we are making in 2017 for our customers in Endpoint Security are significant, as it is a core component of the FireEye Helix platform and a huge opportunity for our business,” said Kevin Mandia, CEO, FireEye.
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News In Detail
Cisco and ADSIC conduct workshop for UAE Public Sector
C
isco together with Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) held a security workshop at the Ritz Carlton in Abu Dhabi to showcase the latest security innovations, global smart deployments and use cases to Abu Dhabi’s government departments and entities. The high-level workshop brought together information security and technology leaders from the government and public sector who shared their experiences and discussed the latest developments in the field of cybersecurity. H.E. Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori, Director General of Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) said, “Cybersecurity has become a critical issue for governments and organizations across all sectors, from transport and healthcare to critical infrastructure and utilities. With fast-paced changes impacting how government organizations engage with citizens, businesses, and each other, public-private partnerships are able to
12 | March 2017
advance the cybersecurity agenda by facilitating information sharing and elevating security operations, standards and processes. This workshop is part of our longstanding relationship with Cisco aimed at leveraging best practices and building digital capabilities and trust.” Dynamic changes in the technology landscape, led by digitization, are creating opportunities for cybercriminals. According to Cisco’s 2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report, more than 50 percent of organizations faced public scrutiny after a security breach, with operations and finance systems most affected. The report finds that just 56 percent of security alerts are investigated and less than half of legitimate alerts remediated, as defenders battle complexity and manpower challenges, leaving gaps of time and space for attackers to utilize to their advantage. Underscoring the seriousness of recent cyberattacks, a common effort is emerging to address the need for greater
collaboration among business and government stakeholders to minimize the impact of cyberattacks and strengthen national security. “We are extremely proud of our association with ADSIC and support their efforts to highlight the importance of security, and the most effective strategies to prevent, detect, and mitigate threats,” said ShukriEid, Managing Director – East Region, Cisco Middle East. “Cloud, mobility, Internet of Things (IoT) and social media technologies, combined with growing digital business practices, have helped countless organizations transform how they operate, but they have also increased the attack surface. As ICT systems are extended and merged, there is growing fear that sensitive data that is collected and held by public entities will be vulnerable to criminal hackers or other types of unauthorized disclosure. Public sector organizations and service providers are especially vulnerable because their operations are tied so closely to the public’s trust. Security must be integrated
into the very fabric of an organisation, and it takes a security-conscious approach to ensure that every level of cyber protection is met.” The workshop is part of ongoing collaboration between Cisco and ADSIC to address growing demand for technology and networking skills and develo digital capabilities across government entities. Cisco’s Networking Academy Program enables UAE graduates to pursue successful ICT careers in a wide range of industries and also enables others to harness the entrepreneurial spirit and knowledge they acquired in Networking Academy to start their own businesses and create new jobs. The initiative has helped ADSIC achieve its goal of developing ICT education opportunities throughout Abu Dhabi, in line with the UAE National Career Development Plan, wherein the government is committed to investing in educational programs that will provide career development, access to world-class facilities and training for citizens throughout the Emirate.
News In Detail
S
onicWall announced findings from its Annual Threat Report, which highlights the most notable advancements made by security professionals and cyber criminals in 2016. The report was compiled from data collected throughout 2016 by the SonicWall Global Response Intelligence Defense (GRID) Threat Network with daily feeds from more than 1 million security sensors in nearly 200 countries and territories. According to the 2017 SonicWall Annual Threat Report, 2016 could be considered a highly successful year from the perspective of both security professionals and cyber criminals. Unlike in years past, SonicWall saw the volume of unique malware samples collected fall to 60 million compared with 64 million in 2015, a 6.25 percent decrease. Total malware attack attempts dropped for the first time in years to 7.87 billion from 8.19 billion in 2015. However, cyber criminals garnered quick payoffs from ransomware, fueled partly by the rise in ransomware-as-aservice (RaaS). “It would be inaccurate to say the threat landscape either diminished or expanded in 2016 — rather, it appears to have evolved and shifted,” said Bill Conner, president and CEO of SonicWall. “Cybersecurity is not a battle of attrition; it’s an arms race, and both sides are proving exceptionally capable and innovative.” According to the report, point-of-sale malware attacks declined by 93 percent from 2014 to 2016. High-profile retail breaches in 2014 led to companies adopting more
SonicWall Threat Report highlights shifting trends proactive security measures. Since then, the industry has seen the implementation of chip-based POS systems, usage of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DDS) checklist and other ongoing security measures. The SonicWall GRID Threat Network saw the number of new POS malware variants decrease by 88 percent yearover-year and 93 percent since 2014. This implies that cyber criminals are becoming less interested in devoting time to POS malware innovation. The report highlights that Secure Sockets Layer/ Transport Layer Security (SSL/ TLS) encrypted traffic grew by 38 percent, partly in response to growing cloud application adoption. The trend toward
SSL/TLS encryption has been on the rise for several years. As web traffic grew throughout 2016, so did SSL/ TLS encryption, from 5.3 trillion web connections in 2015 to 7.3 trillion in 2016 according to the SonicWall GRID Threat Network. As 2016 began, the malware market was dominated by a handful of exploit kits, particularly Angler, Nuclear and Neutrino. Following the arrest of more than 50 Russian hackers for leveraging the Lurk Trojan to commit bank fraud, the SonicWall GRID Threat Network saw the Angler exploit kit suddenly stop appearing, leading many to believe Angler’s creators were among those arrested. For a while following Angler’s disappearance, Nuclear and Neutrino saw a surge in
usage, before quickly fading out as well. The SonicWall GRID Threat Network detected an increase from 3.8 million ransomware attacks in 2015 to an astounding 638 million in 2016. The rise of RaaS made ransomware significantly easier to obtain and deploy. With their integration into the core components of our businesses and lives, IoT devices provided an enticing attack vector for cyber criminals in 2016. Gaps in IoT security enabled cyber thieves to launch the largest DDoS attacks in history in 2016, leveraging hundreds of thousands of IoT devices with weak telnet passwords to launch DDoS attacks using the Mirai botnet management framework. March 2017 | 13
TechKnow | Acronis
Advancing data protection Acronis is a leader in hybrid cloud data protection and storage. It has been involved in releases of number of innovative technologies to support the needs or motorsport teams and always-on businesses. Serguei Beloussov, Acronis’ Founder and CEO discusses some aspects of the Acronis approach towards data storage and data protection
Serguei Beloussov Founder & CEO Acronis
Discuss how Acronis is differentiating in the data storage industry? We are definitely among the top players in most markets for hybrid cloud data storage and management although there are larger competitors that have been around for more years.We are partner focused and have a unique partner strategy. We enable partners to have much higher margins in our cloud model. Even in the traditional model, our margins are much higher. We give more control to our partners. We are okay having less revenue per market share because we share more with our partners. We also are different because our products are built with advanced technology, which is how we differentiate. The experts in our team have worked earlier with companies
14  |  March 2017
that are leaders in Technology. We are definitely one of the most aggressive companies in storage software. One of our strongest initiatives is the work being done in the Formula 1 segment with Scuderia Toro Rosso. Scuderia Toro Rosso is meeting the need for a secure files sharing technology with Acronis Access Advanced, which comes with advanced data security and user management features, including tracking of user behavior and comprehensive file access history. Elaborate how the partnership with Scuderia Toro Rosso is helping the business growth? The partnership with Scuderia Toro Rosso has already proved to be beneficial for partners and service providers using these products. In just five
months since the beginning of this partnership, Acronis had hosted over 1,000 guests at the Acronis Racing Weekends with Scuderia Toro Rosso around the world. Following the races, Acronis partners reported increased interest in Acronis products, and improved sales. This had also resulted in 50% Acronis partner growth globally, compared to the same period prior to the sponsorship. This includes new partnerships with Synapsys Systems and Innovix Distribution, key Cloud Service Providers in the African Region and Southeast Asia respectively. From a Middle East and Africa regional standpoint, Acronis has seen its Cloud Business grow by 50% YoY in 2016 with consistent growth of enterprise and consumer backup products. Discuss which of the
customer segments have been seeing greater growth for Acronis? All the segments are growing and all are significant. However, the most focused one at the moment is the cloud service provider segment. We have two distributors in the cloud space which are Ingram Micro and BPS; we have a couple of dozen cloud service providers and we are actively approaching to recruit more service providers. We only have a partner model based Business and even our ISP business is routed through partners. When it comes to customer side deployments, there might be companies who come from the cloud service provider model who enforce customers for cloud deployments but
allow customers to choose what deployment model they are comfortable with. We know that in the Middle East region, on premises storage software continues to be in demand with a lot of customers. Ingram, our distributor in the region, and our channel partners offer the onpremises deployment for customers who have these requirements. We have several large customers and there are more we are in active discussions with. Do you offer analytics integrated with your products? We do not need to integrate with other analytics as we have our own analytics to
"We enable partners to have much higher margins in our cloud model. Even in the traditional model, our margins are much higher. We give more control to our partners."
figure how data was used, which is more valuable and based on that store it in a different way. While we analyze the data, we do not analyze the information. Elaborate the focus on IoT? There is a big push towards IoT. In our OEM Business model, there is a lot of IoT based functionalities in our products which is used by industrial PCs which manage the IoT. These PCs may be built by Siemens, GE etc; they license our software and deploy in their PCs. We also built our software to be IoT ready;
generally, all cloud architecture products are IoT friendly because they offload all decision and computing to the network and datacenter and there is very little that needs to be done on the device. Discuss the importance of security in data storage software? We build storage security from scratch; we are not integrating with third-party. We build security at the data level but we are not competing with security vendors. We believe in order to be protected, you need to
have device based security, network based security and storage based security. Discuss key features of your partner program? The Acronis Partner Program for Cloud supports any deployment model, including service provider-hosted, Acronis-hosted and hybrid, and any business model with licensing flexibility. This includes turnkey cloud data protection services with minimal integration that are quick to deploy and easy to use, as well as offerings that are more deeply integrated into partner technology and services portfolios. Partner incentives include stackable profit margins, incremental margins for deal registration, rebates and incremental accelerators.
Acronis enhances solution for Small Businesses
A
cronis has announced the addition of Microsoft Office 365 backup functionality to the world’s fastest and most complete small business backup solution, Acronis Backup 12, enabling businesses to protect all data, local and in the cloud, with a single solution, single configuration, and a single interface. According to the vendor, Acronis Backup 12 has been well-accepted, delivering over 40% growth in adoption in 2016. In keeping with Acronis’ Cloud-First strategy, Acronis Backup 12 adds new Microsoft Office 365 backup features that have been available in Acronis Backup Cloud solution since July. Acronis has seen significant adoption of the features that enabled Cloud Service Providers to protect their customers’ Microsoft Office 365 environments. Microsoft Office 365 services deliver flexibility and scalability, changing the way small businesses manage their email infrastructure. Acronis provides additional backup by enabling protection of cloud workloads with Acronis Backup 12, giving businesses full control over the protected data, and
allowing them to keep it locally or in the cloud for long-term access or archiving purposes. “Small and midsize businesses worry about control, worry about security, and worry about cost. Tying things together in a comprehensive way gets harder as firms grow and data protection becomes an ever bigger chore. Acronis has data control as a key product capability and SMBs will appreciate the ability to coordinate and manage diverse data,” said Ray Boggs, Vice President, Small and Medium Business Research at IDC. According to the latest Data Protection Cloud Strategies report produced by Enterprise Strategy Group, nearly threequarters of the surveyed businesses intended to protect their public cloud data in a location other than their production environment’s cloud, realizing that an interruption or problem in the cloud can potentially take away not only the production data, but also the backups. 44 percent of the respondents said they move data to a different cloud for speed and convenience, and 29 percent said they prefer keeping a copy of their cloud data in-house. March 2017 | 15
TechKnow | Genetec
Pierre Racz President, CEO & Founder Genetec
Delivering solutions smartly Genetec, a leading provider of IP security and intelligence solutions views the Middle East as a fast growing market for their solutions and is expanding their market coverage. Genetec President, CEO and founder Pierre Racz discusses the company’s focus on enabling partners as well as comments on some pressing challenges in the market
Elaborate on the key features that helps Genetec stand apart? One of the key things we are trying to is not just offering excellence in software but excellence in delivery to customers. Over the years, we noticed that customers were striving to optimize computing hardware to our system; we decided to do that for them. Sometimes, we have seen that integrators may under-estimate the complexities in configuration and may not get the best optimized performance. Since we provide open
16  |  March 2017
architecture, our solutions work with any hardware but the trick is in validation and we can provide guidelines. That is also why we started testing, certifying and reselling servers, workstations with various levels of computing powers for our solution deployments ; the goal is to take the transaction costs out of the equations, so that partners do not need to take time in the validation phase and can engage customers faster. Elaborate on how you enable partners take solutions to
market? We are primarily a software company and we are trying to take out the costs in delivering our solutions. The cloud is one way and validated hardware is another way we help partners with taking our solutions to market. Our architecture is hybrid cloud and can run in the cloud and on premises. 90% of our customers run it on premises but they benefit from the cloud. That is because, we can do full scale testing for them in the cloud. We have many customers who have
contracted us to do their tests on cloud and then they are deployed on premise. How is Genetec faring in the Gartner Magic quadrant? We are currently in the upper right hand corner, known for completeness of vision and ability to execute. These are in video management, License Plate Recognition and access control. How do you see the market shaping up? The market is in a bit of turmoil. There are some foreign
"In the past, integrators in the security space have struggled in going from from analog to digital; while that is more or less achieved now, they are now struggling with cybersecurity requirements; they must get that sorted pretty fast in terms of capabilities"
governments subsidizing companies originating from their country. There are reports of 6 billion USD subsidies in a market that is about 8 billion USD in total. That has impacted the middle tier of the market quite a bit. If the objective is not profitability, then what is it is the key question. However, we have also see than middle tier customers are looking at low end and high end options and are turning towards high end solutions, which is benefitting us.
Which are your most successful verticals worldwide? Our most successful verticals are government, transportation and heavy industries. Education is also an important market as there are many Access control deployments. Discuss the retail intelligence application showcased at Intersec this year? We have showcased our new retail intelligence application at Intersec. We are trying to take transaction costs out and be more efficient in delivering technology solutions to market. We have a standard video plus some analytics as part of it and can integrate with point of sales systems to give you good view of how many customers came in, how many bought etc. The new application filters and analyzes incoming video surveillance data to produce actionable intelligence about store operations, buying patterns, and trends. With powerful analytics such
as queue management, heat mapping, directional analysis, people counting and conversion rate analytics, the application can notify staff in real-time to respond to shoppers in the store or in a particular section. It will also inform them about long lines on check-out lanes or changing rooms so that the necessary staff can be reassigned. Marketing and merchandising professionals can use the information provided by the application to design new promotions and optimize inventory strategies from within a single interface. The aim is to move from being a 'video security' company to a company that provides its customers with intelligent insight that can be used across cities, airports, retail and business environments, schools and government offices. What were the solutions showcased? We also showcasedour decision support system, Mission Control, which provides organizations with new levels of situational intelligence, visualization and complete incident management capabilities. It allows security personnel to make the right decision when faced with routine tasks or unanticipated situations by ensuring a timely flow of information. We had also highlighted ‘Genetec Security Center 5.5’ and ‘Security Center Federation.’ The latest version of Security Center 5.5 adds
disaster recovery features, greater security with enhanced authentication and encryption, new hardware integrations, enhanced scalability and much more. As today’s environment brings new security challenges, Security Center 5.5 adds innovative capabilities to better help organizations monitor their sites, while offering administrators greater control and visibility of their security infrastructure. ‘Security Center Federation facilitates centralized monitoring, reporting, and alarm management across multiple sites or organizations, while streamlining operations during off-peak hours--powered by a highly scalable architecture that synchronizes cameras, doors, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) units, intrusion panels, and all related events, alarms and ALPR hits between sites. Discuss how Middle East operations compare with the global growth? We have recently expanded our operations here. We have been growing at 30% worldwide while the Middle East has actually been showing a higher growth rate.Genetec performed excellently in 2016, which is evident in its continued growth. We are further expanding our market presence in the Middle East. Discuss the company’s focus on testing facilities for customers and the focus
on securing the devices from attacks? We have very elaborate testing facilities. In the present day, we have now be careful about devices deployed on network and ensure they are not a threat to the rest of the network or to other networks. We need to ensure they don’t go and attack other devices in the network or become vectors for other third party attacks to come in. In the past, integrators in the security space have struggled in going from from analog to digital; while that is more or less achieved now, they are now struggling with cybersecurity requirements; they must get that sorted pretty fast in terms of capabilities and ensure they are not putting up junk into the infrastructure. What we are doing is encouraging end users and consulting engineers to insist on rigorous risk assessment and be more demanding with their vendors or manufacturers on the solutions they are deploying on the network. We are encouraging more in the industry to embrace the concept of cyber-malpractice insurance. We have been pushing the idea of cyberincompetence insurance and been telling the consultant community and the end user community that they should insist on cyber incompetence or risk insurance from the manufacturers and the integrators. With the cyber incompetence insurance, if you are putting junk hardware on the network, you will be liable to a lawsuit. March 2017 | 17
Cover Feature | Access Control Solutions
Access, more secure & smarter! Intelligence and wider integration are key aspects driving traction in the Access Control solutions market
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he need for Electronic Access Control Systems (EACS) is growing at an accelerated pace with the threat landscape becoming complex. EACS systems that includes authentication systems, intruder alarm and perimeter security system are expected to continue to see growth. EACS market is estimated to reach $16.3 billion by 2017, growing at a CAGR of 7.0% from 2012 to 2017. Mohammed Zaheer, GM, Business Connection, a distributor for leading Access Control vendors says, “Various industry report shows that the MEA region ranks as the fastest growing market for EACS. The growing of the market is mainly attributed to heightened security concerns backed by the government and regulatory mandates. The rising need to prevent, monitor and control unauthorized entry, visitor movement has led to
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the rise in the demand for security and access control systems.” He adds that technologies that are expected to drive the market include wireless locks, iris detection systems and Biometric solutions and expects large access control vendors to make a major push into the region’s market. Lee Copland, Managing Director, Maxxess EMEA opines that his company continues to see strong growth in the region from multiple vertical sectors. He elaborates, “This is in part driven by continued investment in infrastructure particularly around education, healthcare, leisure and hospitality, retail and transportation. Due to this and combined with increasing urbanisation and the continued political unrest in a region with significantly porous borders, we are seeing a rising
demand to better protect people, assets and data.” Sathish Arya, GM, Middle East & Africa at WatchNET International Trading LLC sums up key reasons that he says are largely responsible for the traction in surveillance deployments. “There are a few reasons that has attributed to the growth of electronic access control segment. The growth in commercial & services as well as residential projects in this market is driving rising adoption of electronic access & locks. Secondly, organizations these days realize that the need for access control is a mandatory their facility as new threats are emerging including workplace violence, theft and vandalism events that have been heard about in recent years. And finally, organizations have started catching-up and adapting themselves to the latest technologies and are looking for integration with other security systems. Organizations are interested to protect their facilities as well as streamlining the operations as they issue credentials to their people to restrict their access zones,” he says.
Drivers of the market Heightened regulatory requirements are now a reality, although varying from country to country. Most buildings that are part of high security infrastructure have in any case more or less kept pace with such measures in the past few years. “Access control is now mandatory across the region in a variety of highsecurity environments including national and industrial infrastructure as well as commercial enterprises such as tower buildings, 5-star hotels and shopping malls. However, before such compliance measures were introduced, most of these enterprises had already adopted access control to varying degrees and therefore beyond upgrades and greenfield projects, we didn’t see this as a major growth driver,” says Lee. On one hand, increased compliance measures may be seen to drive demand. On the other hand, Mohammed strikes a contradictory note that it is also seen to
slow rate of project deployments, perhaps with the need to meet more requirements. “This growth is mainly attributed to heightened security concerns backed by government and regulatory mandates for an increased level of security, activity monitoring, and access control.At the same time, an increasing number of regional regulatory compliances are seen as impediment to market growth,” Dubai seemed to lead the way when it made mandatory for new buildings to be up to speed with surveillance infrastructure. Countries including Qatar have also followed suit and implemented stringent compliance requirements. Lee adds, “Compliance also differs between different countries in the region as well as those within the GCC. For instance, by 2014, all existing and new buildings in Dubai across a range of market sectors had to be equipped with surveillance, and businesses were required to obtain annual security compliance from the Department of Protective Systems with non-compliance resulting in fines through to non-renewal of trading licenses. Most large enterprises integrate surveillance with access control, so that security operatives can visually verify alarms. As a result, this drove significant growth in Dubai, and since Maxxess has over 50 integrations this saw us realizing both new and upgrade projects. “ “Qatar went one step further and specified that all surveillance systems had to utilise an open standard based on IP with megapixel cameras as the recommended minimum resolution. In addition, any solution needed sufficient capacity for 120 days’ storage meaning a lot of storage. When you consider that most countries only recommend 30 days, this drove significant upgrade projects that also benefited Maxxess, since we already integrated with a raft of IP and Full-HD surveillance vendors. We continue to integrate further surveillance vendors into eFusion moving forward and recently announced our integration with SeeTec.” Lee adds there are more compliance initiatives under discussion including frameworks for approved manufacturers
Mohammed Zaheer General Manager Business Connection
and integrators, along with thinking around a more joined up and regional approach. The challenge according to him is that in the security industry, many manufacturers and installers are still getting up to speed on both existing regulations and not looking forward toward the compliance measures likely to come in years to come.
Integration drives the market There is a growing demand for greater integration of Access Control solutions and provide more actionable intelligence. Mohammed says, “As organizational threats and risks are growing and changing, the demand for security management solutions has become the standard rather than the exception. The security management system allows secure and authorized access into both the physical and logical world. The access control can be integrated with T&A, fire alarm, CCTV, elevator to manage and control the whole system from a single window. These scenarios are different in different work environments and verticals leading March 2017 | 19
Cover Feature | Access Control Solutions
Lee Copland Managing Diector Maxxess EMEA
to customized integration packages, such are great business opportunities for organizations like us with software development capabilities.” The demand for solutions that integrate immediate onsite response with electronic security and alarm systems is mainly attributed to heightened security concerns backed by government and regulatory mandates. End users are also demanding more intelligence from these solutions. Satish says, “A key driver for the electronic security market in the coming years is how products are interoperable with other technology in system design and use. Such interconnected systems are capable of communicating with each other, allowing for wider collection and processing of data. The analysis of this data can be further utilized to provide feedback on the effectiveness of current systems, streamline operations, allow for mobile and cloud applications, and generally provide greater ease of use. As a result of this shift, legacy systems that are either less easily or entirely unable to be integrated into overall systems have seen falling favor, while interest in and demand for interoperable systems have grown rapidly.” The demand for interoperable systems therefore is on the rise via-a-vis legacy systems that do not provide any flexibility and do not meet the growing need for live data intelligence.
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Sathish Arya GM, MEA WatchNet International
Lee says, “End users are looking to increase efficiency, upgrade failing legacy equipment or move away from proprietary systems, close security gaps as well as wanting to gain more value from their security in terms of data intelligence and flexibility.” Interoperability features are expected to become more critical to security system architecture as major users integrate video surveillance, access and area control, mobile devices and local and cloud-based storage across a common information technology platform. Mohammed says, “Realizing these facts and as a first step, our ESS application currently is an hardware independent and can seamlessly work with some of the ACS controllers, Video surveillance and mobile devices. The flexible and scalable architecture of the ESS application provides an option to introduce the bridge among multiple components without disturbing the existing infrastructure.” The opportunity is in integration of solutions into a system that enables greater control and visibility. DFS for instance is the master distributor for HID cards, readers and NAS ACS controller in the region and primarily provides solutions around these security products by developing their own ACS application which is branded as ESS soft. Mohammed says, “We at DFS are focusing primarily on the customized ACS
and integration projects rather than off the shelf products and solutions. We have been able to provide solutions to large organizations in terms of connecting and integrating different systems within the organization to provide a single window manageability. We have been the connect partners for companies like Bosch, galaxy etc, for providing the integration between Access Control System (ACS) and Time and Attendance (TNA), CCTV for their solution partners in the region.” He elaborates that ESS soft is just not an Access Control System application but manages all the physical access and logical access needs of an organization. It start from issuing the secure cards, managing the access control and Time attendance, integration to cctv, fire alarm, elevators, mustering and guard tour from an single application thus allowing organizations to manage their whole security needs in a most cost effective way. Maxxess, according to Lee, is looking to constantly integrating more products from a range of manufacturers, especially those from surveillance vendors, into the vendor’s flagship security platform, eFusion. “There is a great demand for integrated security solutions due to various reasons as well as the rise of smart devices and interoperability drives demand for security system integrators. It is also to be noted that a key driver for the electronic security
“The integration between systems is both an opportunity and a challenge. While building an integrated security system, integrators spend lots of time learning about the business as the requirement of the customers are varying in different business verticals."
market in the coming years is how evolving products are interoperable with other technology in system design and use. Such interconnected systems are capable of communicating with each other, allowing for wider collection and processing of data. The analysis of this data can be further utilized to provide feedback on the effectiveness of current systems, streamline operations, allow for mobile and cloud applications, and generally provide greater ease of use. As a result of this shift, legacy systems that are either less easily or entirely unable to be integrated into overall systems have seen falling favor, while interest in and demand for interoperable systems have grown rapidly,” Explaining that simple and commercial off the shelf (COTS) integration is at the heart of what Maxxess does, Lee adds, “For the last five to ten years’ organisations have recognised the need to streamline control room operations by integrating access, surveillance, fire and intruder alarms into a single security platform and that’s precisely what we can offer with Maxxess eFusion. This approach closes security gaps by enabling security operatives to visually verify alarms, relieve the burden of switching between disparate software and applications, provides standard operating procedures in the of events of varying incidents and overall drives significant efficiencies as well as strengthening security and mitigating risk.” Surveillance solutions are now increasingly seen as gateways to better analytics. Today large enterprises want to gain intelligence from all that data to better optimize their facilities, understand how sites are operating and recognize employee behavior. This demand has encouraged solution providers to focus on bringing such solutions to market. “We launched eMobile a feature-rich suite of dashboards that integrates with security systems, point of sale and IT networks software such as SAP and Oracle
to turn big data into powerful business intelligence. By taking live data, eMobile uses a unique processing architecture that constantly analyses and profiles the data and cross references it with human behavior to provide several signals and indicators that alert security and operations operatives of any abnormal activity. For instance, if an employee changes their route in and out of a building, undertakes unusual activity on the corporate network, or accesses a site during a scheduled holiday,” says Lee. Integration scenarios in different verticals for Access Control solutions also present a great opportunity for security integrators. “There is increasing demand for varying integrated solutions across a wide range of vertical markets. Maxxess eFusion is a highly versatile and modular security platform that gives organisations the flexibility to simply and cost-effectively integrate with a range of security and back office systems that also allows organisations to adapt and scale as their business grows. Together with Maxxess local support, this means integrators can offer tailored solutions that meets both the immediate and future needs of businesses large and small,” adds Lee. Satish see the need for integration as both a challenge and opportunity for the system integrators. He believes that integrators can possibly expand their range of solutions around such integrations for various use case scenarios and thereby grow their revenues. “The integration between systems is both an opportunity and a challenge. While building an integrated security system, integrators spend lots of time learning about business as the requirement of the customers are varying in different business verticals. This is an opportunity for integrators to access different technologies (integration with Video, Intrusion, Cloudbased solutions, Fire alarm integration, BMS & Internet of things (IoT). In the past
there was very limited scope for the integration which is a weaker revenue model for the integrators but now with the integrated solution there is a potential to increase their revenue. As integrated services & Internet of Things are progressing, physical security services providers have a whole new set of solutions and services to solve customer’s problems and increase the revenue base.” According to him for an integrator, it would be advantageous working with WatchNET that offers a vast range of over 400+ products within its portfolio inclusive of Access Control Readers, Biometric devices, Controllers, Megapixel Cameras, Recorders, Storage Equipment & Enterprise Class Integrated Software as well as cloud based solutions. “The System Integrator can source the complete set of solution form a single manufacturer since our products are scalable, modular with intact integrator both in hardware & software level. Further, WatchNET products are compatible with open standards such as ONVIF and PSIA. WatchNET very well understand the standards across the industry & delivers turnkey solutions. We have proven trackrecord in integration between many devices and different vendors. “ According to him, in one of the recent projects, WatchNET delivered a bespoke integrated solution with ACS & CCTV system with fire alarm integration, SCADA & BMS. Hence, he argues that integration and interoperability of WatchNET’s hardware with security software from different vendors will not be a challenging one. In the final analysis, the EACS market looks well poised to continue seeing robust growth in the region, providing integrators a healthy opportunity to grow as more residential and commercial projects come up. Competition is getting a lot stiffer in this industry as more manufacturers step in. The challenge would be to provide solutions that integrate and are interoperable, in line with industry standards. March 2017 | 21
Point2Point | AgilityGrid
Discuss the company’s focus on integrated solutions As experts in providing sophisticated CCTV security solutions, we offer fully integrated solutions combining best-of-breed technology to cater to the expanding security needs of both public and private sectors across the region. We provide integrated solutionscameras, software and the hardware which includes servers, workstations, storage, switches except for cables. The partner can source all of this from us, totally integrated. That is a key advantage, and the partner saves valuable time on engineering and integration. The systems are up and running in a few days and providing 24 by 7 recording. Some of the integrators who sources from some of the competitors vendors may not be able to provide such quick turnaround. What were the highlights of your participation at Intersec? This was the 5th time we participated at Intersec. We had more visitors this year and I can see the event getting bigger, larger with each edition.At the event, some of the integrators have been come with their end customers they got to see live demos in simulated environments, showing what they are offering. They got a true taste of how the actual production facility will look like with the solution deployed. We had six screens used to displays different solution demos.We got the whole demo labs setup with the rack containing six servers running different software. Discuss any new vendors you may be looking at to partner with? We are partnering with a new hardware vendor in hyper-convergence and software defined solutions that we are trying to bring in to CCTV solutions so that we can develop our cloud services. They are a vendor who has been around for a while in the region but are now making a huge push. How do you help partners in remote markets with demos of solutions? The demos are made available online; our-
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Costa Boukouvalas CEO AgilityGrid
Delivering on an agile vision AgilityGrid, a Dubai-based Value Added Distributor that provides IP CCTV security solutions for businesses and government bodies across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Australia, was an exhibitor at Intersec 2017 to showcase its comprehensive video security solutions across key vertical sectors. Costa Boukouvalas, CEO, AgilityGrid discusses the company’s focus country managers in those markets connect online and to a full suite of software – the partners or their end customers can see every one of those softwares in action. Elaborate the emphasis on the support you offer? We are the only solution provider that has KPIs to monitor every bit of hardware and software we offer as part of our solution. We monitor everything and have these tools on every hardware deployed. We offer performance baselines. We benchmark everything and the moment there is an issue and performance goes
below the benchmark, we get the alerts to fix it. We are quite proactive on this front. Are you looking to get on board new partners? We are keen to work with everyone. We have at least 50 resellers who we are working very actively with. There are a lot more who we engage from time to time. They know what we stand for and that is why they like to work with us. At the moment we are looking at Africa for expansion. We are covering the four end points of the continent. We have country managers in South Africa, Nigeria,
Kenya etc. We are now looking at other individual markets now.
"We are the only solution provider that has KPIs to monitor every bit of hardware and software we offer as part of our solution. We monitor everything and have these tools on every hardware deployed. We offer performance baselines."
With the emphasis on integrated solutions, how do you select vendors you work with? With any new vendor that shows the interest to work with us, we look to get their software and hardware tested to validate what they claim in terms of what those products do. We have the testing facilities that are capable enough to do such test with a simulated environment upto 1000 cameras. In case they are able to deliver, it is very easy to integrate them into our systems. We prefer working with open platform
products. You can’t have proprietary hardware systems anymore now. You have to allow hardware to be opened up and allow for integration with other systems. That will keep the customer comfortable as well as he knows if he doesn’t like a camera that is part of the system, he doesn’t have to replace the whole camera; he can just replace the camera that has been giving issues. That is the advantage with our solutions and it is low cost as well. How do you see the momentum on the smart city and IoT fronts? As the needs of the Smart City get more
sophisticated, it becomes imperative that technology needs to keep up and stay ahead of the game. There are very effective business uses of leveraging video technology and security software to benefit not only the businesses in the key vertical sectors but also for government initiatives in the Smart City sector. On the IoT front, while there has been a lot of talk on about IoT,I don’t yet see a lot of innovation around it. There is a lot of unification to be done. Some companies are good in some aspects but it remains a challenge to present a unified platform. There could be consolidation as I see it and we are waiting for it.
March 2017 | 23
TechKnow | NetApp
How do you see the outlook for Enterprise storage in view of storage consolidation with cloud based options? When we look at digital transformation that is unfolding now, enterprise storage is taking centre stage in that journey. It is believed that by 2020, data will reach 28 exabytes; driven by IoT, smart cities, M2M etc. A Lot of data is getting accumulated and today it is not just humans that are generating data but machines themselves are generating data through AI and which is consuming more space than ever before. Today all organizations have the need to adopt digital transformation initiatives and that isn’t possible in isolation ofstorage. With the data that is generated, customers will need analytics to make smarter decisions and to add flexibility to their business. In all of this enterprise storage plays a key part and we see ourselves as a significant player in the enterprise storage space.
Fadi Kanafani Regional Diector, MEA NetApp
Evolving new storage propositions Fadi Kanafani, Regional Director for Middle East and Africa at NetApp says NetApp’s Data Fabric solutions are designed to enable clients to manage data across on-premises and public cloud resources to architect the IT environment that best meets their needs.
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What is your proposition for cloud? We have a very strong value propositionthe Data fabric vision at NetApp. This brings together all the components we have to allow Businesses take control of their data, make it mobile, free them from being locked to one service providers, make use of power of cloud and yet retain data integrity and sovereignty and keep it on premise. NetApp’s Data Fabric solutions are designed to enable clients to manage data across on-premises and public cloud resources to architect the IT environment that best meets their needs. NetApp facilitates digital transformation by delivering unified data management across clouds. With NetApp’s data fabric, organizations can increase efficiency, improve IT responsiveness, and ultimately accelerate innovation. NetApp is a very strong player with the services providers, providing cloud ONTAP that allows you to manage data on premise, in the public or hybrid cloud, move data from one cloud to another and bring it back as if it were on premises using ONTAP. So this is something no
TechKnow | NetApp
We have a strong partner landscape for traditional sell to customers that have been with us for a long time. However, when we started working with service providers on cloud services, they themselves became a channel for extending our services to their own constituency of customers.
other competitors can do; we do this with great flexibility and agility and at a minimal cost, if you compare with the rest because you don’t need to rewrite applications when you bring back data from the cloud. We have strong relationships with AWS, Microsoft Azure etc. Customers can for instance click ONTAP when logged into AWS and within minutes have storage space provisioned. We are also working with local services providers and are looking to introduce service catalogues. We already have relationships with service providers in the region including STC in Saudi, Etisalat here, offering cloud based services like video surveillance as a service, Disaster Recovery as a service, backup as a service, managed services in general. Public cloud customers of STC use NetApp services . How do you see the shift to the cloud accelerating? We see faster adoption in current economic conditions. The Oil & Gas sector crisis has impacted other Businesses and that has made them look towards the OPEX model to be able to continue running their Business efficiently at a lesser cost, getting all services as if it were available on premise. So these reasons, good or bad, are encouraging a faster adoption of cloud. Discuss changes on the partner landscape? We have a strong partner landscape for traditional sell to customers that have been with us for a long time. However, when we started working with service providers on cloud services, they themselves became a channel for extending our services to their own constituency of customers. We have special programs for supporting that. Is enterprise flash showing significant traction in various workload
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deployments? Today, we at NetApp have been showing tremendous growth. It is in triple figures as adoption has been high. That is also because Flash provides you with higher capacities and efficiency guarantees, for sometimes half of the cost. So customers can do much more with less. For requirements including DR and backup deployments, the customer will have options to choose what they want to deploy. I hardly see tapes and at times there could be traditional drives. Usually it now always Flash; our value proposition is always Flash. What are the different Flash propositions? In terms of Arrays, there are three types. There is Flash for running high IOPS requirements. For instance for Big Data analytics, EFF based on the E series platform. For the typical database requirements, we go with the FAS range of products. The new NetApp All Flash FAS (AFF) A200, an entry-level all-flash array, delivers enterprise-grade flash performance at a very attractive price point. The new system makes it easy for midsize businesses to move to all flash, and it features a compact 2U chassis design with an internal solid-state drive (SSD) shelf. When you go to service providers, we have a solutions from SolidFire, a company we acquired recently. The latest version of NetApp SolidFire Element OS storage software lets customers respond to business demands quickly with dynamic adjustments. This solution lets users accommodate mixed workloads on a single storage system, adding capacity and performance with seamless granularity.It is a platform that allows you to manage different workloads and
scale very quickly. It also allows you to go out and sign predictable Service Level Agreements such as for instance Platinum level, Gold level, Silver level etcwith customers and monetize your relationships with customers based on these predictable SLAs. Because each workload has a different dynamic, we have to go with what solution suits best for the specific workload, opting from the three different flavors of Flash that we offer. Can ONTAP work with storage that a customer may already have installed from a diifferent vendors? ONTAP can manage other storage; we typically run a Flex Array that virtualizes other storage available with customers and that allows ONTAP to manage the installed storage.ONTAP software and flash systems give customers a way to bridge existing and emerging IT architectures as they build and evolve their hybrid cloud If Oil & Gas has been a key focus, did the decline in the segment impact NetApp? How did you look at offsetting this impact? The Oil & Gas sector has always been close to NetApp’s strategic focus since our presence was established here from 2002 onwards. There has been an impact but we have worked around to augment the gap by looking at requirements of other Businesses and sometimes within the same entity. I do believe it is just a matter of time before the recovery happens and things stabilizes. We are also working a lot more with other segments as I mentioned in the case of the service provider sector and with other public sector entities, with Finance, Education etc. we have diversifies our focus and have been less reliant on the energy sector.
Insight | Aruba
and secure the network at the individual device level, meaning they may be viewed as an easier target by cyber criminals, as recent attacks have suggested.
Key Cyber Threats facing SMEs
Hemayun Bazaz Regional Manager, Channel Sales Middle East & Turkey, Aruba
SME’s, a growing target for Cyber Criminals in the Middle East Hemayun Bazaz, Regional Manager - Channel Sales, Middle East and Turkey at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company discusses
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he threat to SMEs comes from the wider trend for cyber criminals to target the individual, as well as the enterprise. With the consumerisation of IT and BYOD, workers carry a great deal of sensitive data on their smartphones that is exchanged back with their company servers. This makes single devices a potential gateway
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to a wealth of company and private data. If employees are working remotely, for example from a café using guest Wi-Fi, that can also add a layer of vulnerability unless the correct security policies have been applied to the user and device based upon their location. Typically, the SME market lacks the in-house IT expertise that is required to monitor
Most employees believe IT has their back so the weakest link are many times employees themselves. Our recent research has shown that, in order to get the job done, 6 in 10 workers are sharing their personal device with colleagues. In the fast-moving world of SMEs, we see a good deal of entrepreneurial spirit, lots of sharing of information and a fairly minimal focus on company security policies. This has an impact – a third of workers admit to losing company data through misusing a mobile device. The answer is not to restrict employees sharing data or connecting using mobile devices. It’s about providing a secure infrastructure for them to work in. Even for a small firm of just two employees, formalizing an approach to information security is crucial. Such a policy should cover roles, devices, locations and other contextual attributes, securing corporate information and systems without impacting usability and employee productivity. In the past, SMEs have lacked this kind of expertise in house, but through growing partner networks that offer service models via the Cloud, they are now able to access expert consultancy and infrastructure without paying the premium price.
Best ways SMEs can protect themselves from malicious cyber-attacks SME leaders need to nurture creativity and a degree of risk taking in order to get the best from their workforce, while at the same time recognising that attacks will happen and to have a contingency plan for this. Inevitably, this puts a lot of pressure on IT to take an adaptive trust approach to device connectivity and data security. It starts with identifying individual worker preferences in order to build secure infrastructures around them. Employee training comes next, and this should not only include a needs-assessment by employee type, but should also educate employees on why such actions are important and how they can assist in improving company security. Finally, there must be a mechanism for employees to provide feedback to IT and a service level agreement should be in place for how to respond to employee input and requests. Often IT is able to improve the effectiveness of workflows and policies simply by listening to employee feedback. How SMEs adapt to the preferred behaviours of their workforce may be the make or break for long term growth. Embracing the need for openness, innovation, collaboration and some degree of risk is good – but only when an organisation can understand and plan for the security risks these behaviours bring with them.
Mobile working in Healthcare improving productivity
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he use of mobile technology in and out of the workplace is making a positive impact on the productivity and job satisfaction of healthcare employees, according to research conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and sponsored by Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. The findings suggest that nearly six in ten (59%) of workers report being more productive in their jobs as a result of mobile technology, while nearly half (48%) are more satisfied in their job if they perceived their employer to be a good provider of mobile working practices. While the use of mobile technology for employees has gained popularity in recent years, some hospitals still restrict the use of mobile phones within their premises for fear of interference with medical equipment. However the report suggests we may be arriving at a point where employee demands for mobility can no longer be ignored: almost a third (29%) of healthcare workers now state they would not work for a company that would not allow them to use their mobile devices for work. When asked about their drivers of being more productive,
loyal, creative and satisfied were, a number of key trends stood out within the EIU report: • 39% said working anytime, anywhere has the greatest impact on their job satisfaction • 38% of employees said that the ability to collaborate effectively has a significant impact on how creative they are at their job. • 31% place the freedom to work anywhere in the office as the greatest impact to loyalty The study also suggested that mobile optimised working leaves healthcare service workers feeling more loyal (36%) and more creative in their work (41%). Interestingly, nearly half (47%) of healthcare workers rated their company’s use of mobile technology as ‘good’ or ‘pioneers’. However, the research suggested that there is still room for improvement. Eight in ten large healthcare organisations do not offer training on how to use mobile devices more effectively for work and 68% do not offer employees digital collaboration tools for mobile devices, such as Slack or Gchat.
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Insight | ManageEngine
I
f statistics from Gartner and others are anything to go by, the Internet of Things is the certain future. In a Gartner study from March 2016, almost a third (29 percent) of the surveyed organizations are currently using IoT. And an additional 14 percent planned on implementing the technology by the end of 2016. As organizations move towards IoT adoption, they will also need to brace themselves for its adverse consequences. One of the parties facing these consequences will be the network administrator. Here are three major challenges a network admin will face with the proliferation of IoT:
1. Network security If you ask a network admin who handles IP devices on the network how well the security is holding up, you're bound to hear a sarcastic comment and an exaggerated sigh. With new hardware, software, and patches constantly being injected into their precious network, they are already stretched thin. Imagine their horror if the organization decided to connect all the things, or sensors and devices, to the network. I think we can all agree they would deserve a pay raise and fast. Securing the IP devices on the network is already quite a task. With IoT in the picture, the number of devices will shoot up in a short amount of time. Securing the gateways, or the IP enabled devices that connect the sensors
30 | March 2017
Dhwani Parekh, Marketing Analyst, ManageEngine examines the major challenges that will be thrown up in
Dhwani Parekh Marketing Analyst ManageEngine
terms of managing IoT devices for organisations
IoT: Waking up from the Network Admin’s nightmare and devices to the network, becomes critical. But even that might not be enough. In his book RIoT Control, Tyson Macaulay, a security veteran, predicts that local devices, other than being connected to the cloud, will also have the ability to communicate with each other through the gateway. That's when securing the gateways to protect the data
in the cloud will fall short, because an infected device could communicate with local devices and render them useless, or worse—hacked. A recent article on Wired opens our eyes to the extent of such a network security threat that early IoT adopters are facing. It points out an unnoticed but deadly consequence of a security breach in an IoT environment.
To quote the article, "One major concern is that, unlike having your Facebook account hacked, the average person will likely never realize that their IoT devices have been compromised." Security being one of the major problems faced by network admins, it would be safe to assume that a sound security system would have already been put into use before adopting
IoT. A continuous monitoring system, though, would be the best option to overcome this particular hurdle.
2. Auditing and compliance Regulations such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, FISMA, GLBA and more demand up-todate information security. The advent of IoT is bound to bring about reforms and amendments in these regulations, forcing organizations to keep up. Gartner predicts a 225 percent rise in the number of IoT devices over the next four years. If you think your setup would (most likely) account for one of those numbers contributing to this statistic, then you have already begun the preparation. Any organization with a fairly large number of IT assets will already be facing complexities when trying to comply with regulatory requirements. As these organizations adopt IoT, the complexities increase thanks to different regulatory requirements being introduced for the technology. Maintaining compliance with these regulations, especially as they are renewed and updated on a regular basis, will be challenging. With updates and releases by different vendors for different devices already being managed by the network admin, adding IoT devices to the list will definitely prove taxing. Not only will the network admin be facing these challenges, so will the regulatory bodies
"With updates and releases by different vendors for different devices already being managed by the network admin, adding IoT devices to the list will definitely prove taxing. Not only will the network admin be facing these challenges, so will the regulatory bodies themselves." themselves. As these regulatory bodies come up with better reforms and regulations, network admins strive to fulfill the requirements of compliance auditors by producing the corresponding compliance reports that demonstrate the security measures that protect their network from being compromised.
3. Bandwidth management With the huge number of applications and services running on a network in an organization due to virtualization and cloud computing, networks are now overburdened. This has brought the bandwidth management issues faced by the majority of the IT departments across industries and organizations to the forefront. The networks, already battling with these new technologies, are forced to flex even more to incorporate the BYOD technology. With employees connecting their mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smart watches, and smart fitness bands, the network had to be ramped up with efficient protocols, local caching, higher speeds, more network cards, and so on. Adding the pressure of IoT into this mixture is a sure fire way to tip the delicately balancing network of the organization.
If we were to take into account the smaller IoT devices such as the weather reporter or the monitoring devices that send mere megabytes of information every few hours, then bandwidth utilization would not be such a problem. But if we are to take into consideration high data usage over the networks such as remotely controlling a truck used to transport ore in mines, something this Swedish pilot program has ventured into, the whole scenario takes a turn for the worse. Next will be smart billboards fetching 4k resolution videos for advertisements. Imagine handling that kind of traffic on your current network. IoT as a technology is still in its nascent stage, or as a one article puts it, "Right now the Internet of Things is an awkward teenager." As it grows, which we are promised will be fast, newer challenges will follow. And as mentioned above, the enterprise network is still coping with the recent adoptions of AI, virtualization, and hybrid computing. With all the issues and challenges already being discussed across the globe, you might have started working towards strengthening your network. As you prepare your organization for IoT, you might want to add these to
your checklist! - Thwart security challenges by proactively monitoring the devices across the network. Choose a monitoring tool that has the capability to drill down to the deepest details, making both active and passive monitoring possible simultaneously strengthening the security of the network. - Auditing and compliance for IoT needs to be handled dynamically. Opt for vendors that upgrade and scale corresponding to the changes in the environment. Choose tools that automate report generation and simplifies alerts to avoid audit complexities. - As you get ready for higher bandwidth usage with IoT in the picture, it would be wise to automate prioritization of the same within the network. This helps optimize bandwidth usage to avoid bottlenecks during peak times. - Integrate all your monitoring tools to get central control over the entire network to ease the inclusion of IoT devices through a single tool. Monitoring these devices along with the rest of the devices on the network would help map every device and determine the root cause of any unanticipated incidents. When your IT and your organization is properly prepared, you can turn what could have been an IoT nightmare into a sweet dream of success with connected devices, automation, and competitive advantage. March 2017  |  31
EyeTech
A10 Thunder CFW
DAP-2610
Overview: A10 Networks announced the expansion of its A10 Thunder CFW (convergent firewall) family with a new Gi/SGi firewall solution and a software-only vThunder CFW for NFV deployments. The new A10 Thunder CFW addresses rising security concerns of service providers who are focused on the industry’s transition to 5G, broad-scale deployment of network functions virtualization (NFV), software-defined networking (SDN) technologies and the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices. The A10 Thunder CFW also helps service providers deliver a strong, secure networking environment for their own infrastructure as well as for their subscribers by combining the security of a carrier-grade firewall with built-in CGN and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) features. Key features: • Gi/SGi Interface Protection protects subscribers and shields mobile core infrastructure – including enterprise services and NAT IP pools – from cyberattacks to ensure uninterrupted operations. • A high-scale IPsec VPN between LTE cells and security gateways helps mitigate risks of mobile devices targeting mobile core infrastructure and maintain confidentiality and data integrity for subscriber traffic. • Supports a high number of concurrent sessions, and subscriber scale, to provide performance and availability for network scaling demands, ensuring providers maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty with the 5G transition. • Carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT) functionality is fully integrated with A10’s Gi/SGi firewall to address the shortage of IPv4 addresses and extend a provider’s current IPv4 investment.
Overview: The DAP-2610 Wireless AC1300 Wave 2 Dual-Band PoE Access Point is designed to supportsmall to medium business or enterprise environments by providing network administrators with secure and manageable dual-band wireless LAN options, and utilizing the cuttingedgespeed of Wireless AC. The DAP-2610 delivers reliable, high-speed wireless performance using the latest 802.11acWave 2 standard with maximum wireless signal rates of up to 400 Mbps (256-QAM) overthe 2.4 GHz band, and 900 Mbps over the 5 GHz band. This, coupled with support for theWiFi Multimedia (WMM) Quality of Service (QoS) feature, makes it an ideal access point foraudio, video, and voice applications. When enabled, QoS allows the DAP-2610 to automatically prioritize network traffic according to the level of interactive streaming, such as HD movies or VoIP. Key features: • The DAP-2610 can be ceiling mounted, wall mounted, or placed on a desktop to meet any wireless demands. • For advanced installations, the DAP-2610has integrated 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE) support, allowing the device to be installed in areas where power outlets are not readily available • To help maintain a secure wireless network, the DAP- 2610 supports both Personal and Enterprise versions of WPA and WPA2 (802.11i). • This access point also includes MAC address filtering, wireless LAN segmentation, SSID broadcast disable, rogue AP detection, and wireless broadcast scheduling for further protection of your wireless network.
32 | March 2017
Cisco Firepower 2100 Series Overview: Cisco takes on security bottlenecks, with the introduction of the Cisco Firepower® 2100 Series Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW). The 2100 series is designed for businesses that perform high volumes of sensitive transactions, such as banking and retail, and supports their need to maintain uptime and protect critical business functions and data. The series aims to end the industry tug of war between performance and protection – with incorporation of a new scalable architecture and improvements of up to 200 percent greater throughput to eliminate bottlenecks – from the Internet edge to the data center. Cisco also is simplifying management of business’ security portfolios from device to the cloud with productivity and threat defense enhancements to tools that match their needs. These include Cisco Firepower Device Manager for on-box requirements, Cisco Firepower Management Center for centralized security management needs, and Cisco Defense Orchestrator for cloud-based management. Key features: • The new Cisco Firepower 2100 Series provides businesses with a security architecture designed to protect against the greatest threats, without affecting the performance of critical business functions. • The Cisco Firepower 2100 Series delivers up to 200 percent greater throughput than similarly priced offerings, even when threat inspection is turned on. • The new Cisco Firepower 2100 Series NGFW is a family
AEC120
Overview: AXILSPOT announced the availability of its AEC120 Smart Antenna Ceiling Access Point in the Middle East and Africa to help businesses manage their growing workloads with a secure and reliable network and Internet connectivity. The AEC120 ceiling access point has the inbuilt and patented Rscanmultibeam smart-selection antenna system. The solution, belonging to the Dolphin portfolio of AXILSPOT comprises of Multi-beam Smart-selection Antenna System (Rscan) which comes as a patented technology developed by the company. As compared to traditional Wi-Fi, the new smart antenna system boasts of unprecedented technological advantages like automatic optimum path selection, stronger interference resistance, and higher concurrent capacity. Network beams can be formed by controlling the waveforms with different phases beamed by each antenna. These beams scan different directions, and include over 16 million different direction beams in theory.
of four threat-focused NGFW security platforms (2110,
Key features:
2120, 2130, and 2140) that deliver throughput ranges
• Each AEC enterprise-level AP can be centrally operated via the Axilspot wireless controller, which makes large networks simple to manage and enables the entire Wi-Fi network to be faster and easier to expand as well as convenient for marketing. • Load balancing based on users, bands, and traffic volumes distributes the access pressure of each AP in a balanced way improve the access bandwidth of each user; and guarantees high WLAN connection availability. • The positioning engine incorporated in the AP can accurately collect the location data of the terminal, while the smart antenna system is least affected by harsh surroundings. Compared with the traditional AP, the system offers more accurate location data.
from 1.9-8.5 Gbps, for enterprise use cases from the Internet edge to the data center. • Features an on-box web-based interface to deploy Cisco Firepower NGFW devices in minutes, with the use of a guided set-up wizard.
March 2017 | 33
Stats & Trends
MEA IoT spending to reach $7.8 Billion in 2017
T
he Middle East and Africa (MEA) internet of things (IoT) market is forecast to defy the region's moderate economic outlook by growing 19.6% year on year in 2017 to total $7.8 billion, according to a recent update to the Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC). This compares favorably to the healthy 18.1% growth seen in 2016, with IDC attributing the market's performance to the proliferation of digital transformation initiatives across the region as businesses and government entities strive to boost productivity and improve efficiency. "The MEA IoT market is becoming increasingly competitive, enabling organizations to source a range of innovative digital solutions aimed at transforming business operations, improving the customer experience, and enhancing employee engagement," says Wale Babalola, research analyst for telecommunications, IoT, and digital media at IDC MEA. "Indeed, IoT now offers a myriad of industry-specific solutions that can be easily deployed by organizations in a bid to stay ahead of competition. "IDC expects the manufacturing, transportation, and utilities industries to see the highest levels of IoT-related spending in 2017 as organizations across these verticals look to digitalize their
operations and improve their value proposition across different lines of business. The commitment of service providers, application developers, and OEMs to developing purpose built endto-end IoT solutions is serving as a major driver of the growing adoption we are seeing across the region." Manufacturing organizations will lead the way in 2017, with IDC forecasting IoT-related spending of $1.3 billion for this vertical. The 'manufacturing operations' use case will account for more than 51% of this investment. 'Manufacturing operations' is an IoT use case that supports digitally-executed manufacturing and the way in which manufacturers use intelligent and interconnected I/O (input output) tools (e.g., sensors, actuators, drives, vision/video equipment) to enable different components in the manufacturing field (e.g., machine tools, robots, conveyor belts) to autonomously exchange information, trigger actions, and control each other independently. The transportation industry is also forecast to see IoT-related spending of around $1.3 billion in 2017. The 'freight monitoring' use case is expected to account for $849 million of this figure, which aptly highlights the increasing importance of monitoring goods and improving productivity. The use of
IoT for freight management purposes (air, railroad, land, or sea) is based on RFID, GPS, GPRS, and GIS technology to create intelligent, internet-connected transportation systems. These systems perform intelligent recognition, location, tracking, and monitoring of freight and cargo by exchanging information and real-time communications via wireless, satellite, and other channels. IDC forecasts IoT-related spending by MEA utilities to reach $918 million in 2017, with investments around 'smart grid' technologies to account for more than 82% of this total. Smart grids are rapidly gaining traction across the region as municipalities increasingly see the value proposition in deploying related solutions in an effort to efficiently distribute resources to their respective end customers. "Numerous smart city projects are already underway across the region, and the propagation of such initiatives will continue to fuel IoT adoption by both public and private sector organizations," says Babalola. "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading the charge when it comes to smart cities, so it makes sense that these two countries will account for the highest contributions to overall IoT investment in MEA during 2017, with a combined value of more than $1.6 billion."
MENA IT spending to reach $155.8 Billion in 2017
M
iddle East and North Africa (MENA) IT spending is projected to reach $155.8 billion in 2017 a 2.4 percent increase from 2016, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. Analysts said the key vertical segments driving IT spending growth include the communications, media and services, banking and securities, manufacturing and utilities markets. Data center systems will see an overall growth of 6 percent in 2017, versus flat performance in 2016, due
34 | March 2017
to increase in demand for servers and unified communications. Software spending is forecast to increase 9 percent, with enterprise application software projected to grow 13 percent and infrastructure software spending to increase 6 percent. IT services will post 4 percent growth, with business IT services reaching nearly 5 percent growth this year. “The MENA region is moving in the right digital direction, where demand for the latest and most emerging
technologies like Blockchain will continue to reflect the profound changes the IT markets are experiencing. The growing and influential role of business leaders toward embracing technologies and processes such as cloud, business intelligence (BI), analytics, customer relationship management (CRM), digital business and marketing, are contributing to fuel digital transformation,” said Peter Sondergaard, SVP and global head of Research at Gartner.
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Maxxess Systems, Inc. United States
The Ultimate Wi-Fi Solution For Business Environments
Simplify your wireless network management while increasing your wireless range with D-Link’s portfolio of wireless controllers and access points – ideally suited for businesses in all verticals like Hospitality, Education, Government, Banking and more.
DWC-1000
DWC-2000
• 10/100/1000BASE-T LAN ports x 4 • 10/100/1000BASE-T option (WAN) ports x 2 • USB 2.0 ports x 2 • Manage up to 24 access points per device • Upgrade to 96 access points per cluster
• Combo 10/100/1000BASE-T/SFP ports x 4 • USB 2.0 ports x 2 • Manage up to 256 access points per device • Manage up to 1024 access points per cluster
DWL-3610AP
DWL-6700AP
DWL-8710AP
DWL-6600AP
DWL-2600AP
DWL-6610AP
Unified Wireless AC1200 Selectable Dual-Band PoE Access Point
Unified Wireless N Dual-Band Outdoor Access Point
Unified Wireless AC1200 Simultaneous Dual-Band PoE Outdoor Access Point
Unified Wireless N Simultaneous Dual-Band PoE Access Point
Unified Wireless N PoE Access Point
Unified Wireless AC1200 Simultaneous Dual-Band PoE Access Point
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