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ontents
Editorial
Cover feature - 18
Keeping off DDoS attacks
Building up the mid segment Business T
he SMEs in the region are surely investing in new solutions that address their pain points specifically. With budgetary constraints setting the limits in many contexts, they may however seek productivity solutions for only what are most obvious Business challenges and will be a visible enabler in day to day Business operations. Solutions that may work in the background of ICT infrastructure including security are not necessarily on their priority shopping lists. There still seems to be a certain gap between perceptions from the outside of the typical SME’s awareness of various ICT solutions and their typical way of sourcing ICT solutions, especially in instances where the CIO role is absent and is being served by an IT Manager or executive. To take other solutions that are as critical but whose value may not be tangible or underscored to decision makers at small to medium size companies is a challenging task. To get their mindshare and to slip in suggestions of solutions that potentially serve and enhance the Business or secures its strategic assets is something that can be undertaken potentially hand in glove with the senior IT person of the company. In several instances, the IT team is quite compact, comprising of 1-2 people and final decision making is taken to the GM level, after due consultation or approval of top Management. An outcome in favor of any new strategic ICT investment is therefore most likely when the decision maker, although in many cases might be a non-IT person, is however quite IT savvy. However, reaching out to the designated IT head is critical for those in the channel looking to build a relationship with the company. And in many instances, those solution providers who are able to get a breakthrough in terms of a solutions deployment, also get the first opportunity to upsell or recommend other related deployments, for the shorter team and up ahead.
Enterprise Businesses have been facing rising DDOS attacks in terms of size, complexity and frequency which calls for a multi-layered approach
News In Detail
Dell EMC to unveil new partner program - 12 SMEs in EMEA aspire to go digital but face challenges - 14 TechKnow
Mining insights from Data - 16
Peng Xiao, CEO of Pegasus, a Big Data solutions company discusses the company’s focus
Security continuum - 17
Karl Heinz Warum, VP, CEEMEA at Sophos discusses the Synchronised security strategy of Sophos
Getting into the act - 22
Gregory O’Reilly, Chief Business Development officer at Hyperline discusses how the company is looking to grow its business in the region.
Point2Point
Disruptive enablement - 24
Mustapha Hlil, Channel Ecosystem Leader, MENA at Red Hat discusses the company’s focus on enabling the channel and accelerating business transformation.
Growth with a plan - 26
Alan Pourmirza, MD at Synergix International, a regional VAD discusses domains of focus
Insight
Digital Records in Health Care - 28
David Whitton, General Manager of Kodak Alaris Eastern Cluster discusses how adoption of Electronic Medical Records brings great benefits
ERP in the cloud - 30
Hesham El Komy, senior director, Epicor Software discusses some compelling advantages that cloud based ERP solutions offer
Regulars
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
News Bytes EyeTech Market Stats
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News Bytes
Buzinessware deploys NetApp allflash storage NetApp announced that, Buzinessware a leading hosting specialist in the Middle East, has become the first provider in the region to deploy NetApp SolidFire all-flash scale-out storage to underpin its hosting and cloud services. This will enable the hosting provider to offer companies in the UAE) access to agile, scalable, on-demand storage infrastructure that delivers predictable, cost-effective performance in the cloud, along with reliable 24/7 UAE-based support. NetApp SolidFire enables Buzinessware to guarantee performance to each and every customer application and workload, scale out non-disruptively, and automate its entire storage infrastructure to keep operational costs low. “Our customers’ needs for consistent, predictable performance in the cloud–even in the face of everincreasing demands–has made NetApp SolidFire the ideal choice for our storage infrastructure,” said Sajid Mulla, director of operations at Buzinessware. “We are now able to deliver the exact level of performance required to each and every one of our customer’s applications, and make changes to performance and capacity on the fly without any disruption. As a result, we can help customers cost-effectively manage their core business services on demand, accelerate the pace of their innovation and drive true value in their businesses.”
4 | November 2016
RAH Infotech begins its operations in Dubai RAH Infotech, an India based value added distributor, announced that it has started operations in Dubai. With this, RAH Infotech has taken one more step towards expansion which already has an established base in India, Singapore and UK. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ashok Kumar, MD & CEO, RAH Infotech said “Middle East is an ever growing market and we see huge opportunities in establishing our business in this region. Dubai being the hub of Middle East, it was our natural choice to setup an office here. With some of our OEMs showing keen interest in spreading their reach in UAE and giving us further impetus, this was the right time for us to be present in this market. “Initially the operations will start with a senior sales and pre-sales resources and will be scaled up over a period of time. We have already hired the senior resources well versed with Middle East markets and are even expecting our first order from this region in a very short time” he added. With the new office in Dubai, RAH Infotech will now have spread its presence across UAE, UK and Singapore apart from 14 locations in India. Mr. Ashok Kumar hinted at further expansion into SAARC region within 2016 to further establish RAH Infotech’s reach and capitalise on the opportunities available in these markets.
ForeScout opens its regional office in Dubai ForeScout Technologies, Inc., a pioneer in agentless cybersecurity, announced the opening of its Middle East regional office in Dubai to help enterprise organizations and government entities protect against the latest cybersecurity threats. ForeScout's new presence in Dubai comes at the right time as the proliferation of internet of things (“IoT”) devices connecting to corporate networks is causing security ‘blind spots.’ “ForeScout is committed to protecting organizations in the Middle East against the latest IoT security threats,” said Hamed Diab, Regional Director, ForeScout. “ForeScout helps make the invisible visible. Our technology enables customers to see, control and orchestrate devices the instant they connect to a corporate network without requiring software agents or previous device knowledge.” According to Gartner, the volume of IoT will reach 30 billion devices by 2020 . As organizations in the Middle East continue to invest in IoT to help them innovate within their respective industries, including healthcare, financial services and public sector, it is critical that they have a security strategy as these devices find their way onto the corporate network. The constantly evolving threat landscape means that attacks are becoming more sophisticated and the bad actors are now gaining access to the enterprise through IoT devices that have become the path of least resistance. To help organizations protect against the latest security threats, ForeScout provides organizations with continuous monitoring across the most comprehensive set of traditional and IoT devices. The technology automates security controls of at-risk devices, easily integrates with more than 70 network, security, mobility and IT management products to orchestrate system-wide security, and helps organizations optimize on existing security investments.
Awards Survey 2013
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NETSCOUT showcases Business Assurance solutions AT GITEX Technology Week, NETSCOUT SYSTEMS showcased its complete portfolio of Business Assurance solutions, consisting of extended service assurance and new cybersecurity solutions, and NETSCOUT’s patented Adaptive Service Intelligence (ASI) technology, now termed ASI Plus, that seamlessly incorporates IP intelligence and analytics technologies from the Danaher Communications acquisition last year. Arbor Networks, the security division of NETSCOUT, which helps secure enterprise and service provider networks from DDoS attacks and advanced threats, also showcased products and solutions at GITEX 2016. For NETSCOUT, the Middle East and Africa represent high growth markets, where the company offers a broad portfolio of industry-leading products and solutions. Abhishek Hajra, regional director, Middle East and Africa, NETSCOUT said, “We work with our partners and customers to address their challenges by engaging with them early and then guide them throughout the service delivery process. We understand that organizations have to deliver bestin-class services to their customers, while having to manage their CAPEX and OPEX. At NETSCOUT, we simplify their businesses by allowing them to make better decisions by giving them complete control over their network,” added Hajra. NETSCOUT also highlighted CONNECT360, its unified global enterprise channel partner program for the region. CONNECT360 is a channelfriendly, multi-tiered program that enables regional partners to market NETSCOUT’s entire product portfolio spanning service assurance solutions and portable network analysis and troubleshooting tools.
6 | November 2016
RheinBrücke IT Consulting wins Epicor partner award
RheinBrücke IT Consulting, an enterprise business systems and IT solutions and services company, has been recognized by Epicor Software as the 2016 Epicor International Channel Partner of the Year at their recent annual Ignite Global Sales Conference. An Epicor Platinum partner for EMEA, RheinBrücke won the award for their remarkable contributions in customer support, overall sales growth and innovative approaches to leveraging Epicor ERP solutions. “RheinBrücke’s strong growth in EMEAI can be attributed to the successful execution of our Epicor ERP strategy. In line with Epicor’s strategy of providing industry specific ERP solutions and cloud first deployments, we have invested in a team of solution architects with extensive domain knowledge in Manufacturing, EPC/Construction and Distribution. Between our unrivalled technical capabilities and our focus on the mid-market segment, leveraging our global footprint, today, we have over forty clients in EMEA across our service offerings”, said Suresh Chandrasekharan, Chief Solutions Architect at RheinBrücke.
Telematics and HPE form Smart City alliance Telematics Networking and Communications, a part of the Bahri & Mazroei Group, announced that it has expanded its partnership with global technology giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to introduce innovative Smart City services for customers in the UAE. Telematics blends business model innovations alongside HPE’s technology innovations in working towards the UAE’s Smart City vision. This partnership outlines numerous sets of plans to roll out a slew of initiatives that are directly aligned with the UAE’s Smart City initiative. Esam Al Mazroei, Vice Chairman of Bahri & Mazroei Group, said, “We are inspired by the visionary leadership of the UAE; the excellent platforms they have provided us with creates great opportunities for local companies like Telematics to be part of the UAE’s global leadership in creating Future Cities that are driven by knowledge. I am excited about our alliance with HPE that holds huge potential in incubating and delivering smart services for tomorrow’s UAE economy.” Rajiv Dutta, General Manager of Telematics, said, “Telematics in partnership with HPE, is rolling out value-added Smart City services that are set to democratize the adoption of such services in the UAE. Within this, there are three areas that we are addressing with HPE: smart, safe and secure services for future cities. HPE’s advanced ComposableIT infrastructure will soon power Telematics’ cloud platform that, together with Etisalat’s M2M network, will drive the Smart Wi-Fi service across the entire Abu Dhabi taxi fleet.”
Awards Survey 2013
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News Bytes
Etisalat to rollout dedicated IoT Network Etisalat UAE in partnership with Huawei has successfully completed trials of a new cutting-edge Low Powered Wide Area network technology that will enable Etisalat to offer large scale reliable and secured connectivity for Internet of Things services and efficient smart city development. This new 3GPP based technology named NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) was successfully standardized in June this year with effective contributions from Etisalat along with key mobile industry stakeholders which mainly included operators, infrastructure providers and module manufacturers. This will help develop low-cost hardware powered with a battery that operates for a longer span as well as has deep indoor penetration capability. This technology will enable Etisalat to be the first operator in MENA to introduce state-of-the-art IoT solutions for mass connectivity of various machines and devices, ranging from smart meters to multiple sensors for vertical industries in order to fulfill requirements of Smart City and other strategic initiatives. All IoT services and applications will be managed on Etisalat hosted IoT platforms enabling customers to benefit from a range of managed services and ensure greater visibility and control over all connected devices.
8 | November 2016
DataTAAG and Veeam organize customer event
DataTAAG Technologies ME LLC & Veeam jointly organized an End Customer Roundtable Conference on 8th October’16 at prestigious Armani Hotel in Dubai. The event was very focused on Veeam – solutions bridging availability gap by leveraging the capabilities of modern datacenter, including virtualization, new storage integration and cloud capabilities. The event was a great success. There were DataTAAG customers from all segments – Enterprise and SMB who showed keen interest on the Veeam’s unique offerings. Veeam was represented in full strength as all key executives were present to meet customers. Earlier Najaf Ali, CEO DataTAAG Technologies ME LLC welcomed the guests & also showcased DataTAAG’s history, logarithmic business growth pattern for the last 3 years. It was followed by a session on IOT trends and technologies, which generated keen interest from the audience as the sessions highlighted some of the industry specific solutions by deep dive into IoT. Following this, Veeam’s team presented technical details of the Veeam products and solution.
Redington Value becomes a Splunk Distributor Redington Value has announced an agreement with Splunk, provider of the leading software platform for realtime Operational Intelligence, to become its distributor. Redington Value will distribute Splunk products through its extensive network of channel partners to enterprise and government customers throughout the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. “Redington Value is excited to announce its distribution partnership with Splunk. The Splunk Platform delivers real-time Operational Intelligence, which is essential for businesses needing to make analytics-based decisions,” said Ramkumar Balakrishnan, President, Redington Value. “Splunk is pleased to work with Redington Value, one of the leading distributors in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa,” said Cheryln Chin, Vice President, Global Partners, Splunk. “Redington Value’s regional experience, technical expertise and strong relationships across our ecosystem will help organizations leverage machine data for deeper IT and business insights.” Through the agreement, the following Splunk products will be available to Redington Value resellers. Splunk products include Splunk Enterprise, the platform for Operational Intelligence, that helps collect, analyze and act upon the untapped value of the machine data generated by technology infrastructure, security systems and business applications— giving customers the insights to drive operational performance and business results.
Awards Survey 2013
10 More Enterprise Customers chose DataTAAG Technologies for their IT Projects in the first half of 2016.
Data TAAG Technologies Middle East LLC PO Box: 121862, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 2778252 | Email: info@datataag.com | Website: www.datataag.com
ISO 9001:2008 | ISO 14001:2004 | OHSAS 18001:2007 Certified Company
News Bytes
Microsoft stages regional debut of Dynamics 365 Microsoft under its GITEX Technology Week 2016 theme of “An Empowered Future”, introduced its hyper-intelligent Dynamics 365, the cloud-based customer-relationship management solution that gives organisations of all sizes access to the most advanced AI tools ever seen in a business application. The Dynamics 365 cloud service brings together a number of purposebuilt apps, each designed to address a specific business need, such as sales automation, operations or customer service. In the best tradition of cloud computing, customers pay only for what they use, but the functionality of Dynamics 365 can expand as soon as the business requires it. “Microsoft understands that organisations come in many types and sizes, so with Dynamics 365, you start with what you need and you pay for what you need,” said Karim Talhouk, Microsoft Business Solutions Lead, Microsoft Gulf. “The Dynamics 365 cloud service mirrors your scale, growing with your business, so your agility is not hampered by software procurement cycles. Meanwhile, your organisation gets to benefit from an extensive range of analytical and predictive tools – already seen in products such as Office 365, Bing Predicts and Skype Translator – that can bring unprecedented real-world value to every stripe and flavour of business.”
10 | November 2016
AgilityGrid holds SMART Surveillance Forum
AgilityGrid’s SMART Surveillance Forum 2016 brought together their key partners from around the world at the Media Rotana Hotel in Dubai. CTOs and Security Heads from a range of businesses and government bodies were introduced to the latest CCTV security solutions and a range of new video analytics capabilities. The technology is not only innovative but can create cost–efficiencies in the long run, through earlier incident detection and reduced security risks. Guests experienced a LIVE demo of how this fully integrated technology can work seamlessly to deliver security insights in record time. The forum had keynotes from leading industry names specialising in IP/CCTV hardware, VMS and video analytics. Established six years ago AgilityGrid provides world-class CCTV security and network monitoring solutions for business and Government bodies across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Australia.. AgilityGrid service a wide range of industry sectors including Education, Transportation, Hotels, UAE and overseas Government Departments including Defense and Law enforcement, Hospitals, Banking, Retail and Broadcast media.
Avaya builds AR into customer experience Augmented Reality (AR) is redefining consumer experiences and business interactions in the region and around the world. At GITEX Technology Week 2016, Avaya, a global leader in business communications software, systems and services, demonstrated the application of this game-changing technology to create an Omnichannel, connected and automated experience for the banking industry. Augmented Reality open up new modes of interacting with dynamic content and sets the stage for interactive and real-time consumer engagement. Visitors to the Avaya stand at GITEX were greeted by a Digital Avatar representing a banking agent, and interactive AR brochures, accessed using a tablet PC. Users could scan the digital icons of their choice and get directed to additional information about that service, including additional icons to access more information or request a call-back. With the GCC region on the cusp of tapping into this significant potential of Augmented Reality across a range of sectors, Avaya provides a glimpse into the intelligent integration of online and offline consumer experiences.
Awards Survey 2013
Most International Fastest Growing Most Impactful The Largest
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The world’s leading trade fair for Security, Safety & Fire Protection 7 Show Sections Commercial Security Information Security Smart Home Fire & Rescue Safety & Health Homeland Security & Policing Perimeter & Physical Security Register online today www.intersecexpo.com/R
News In Detail
Dell EMC to unveil new partner program John Byrne President, Global Channel Dell EMC
D
ell EMC has provided a preview of the new and highly anticipated Dell EMC Partner Program, set to formally become effective in February 2017. Designed in collaboration with partners and drawing from the best aspects of the former Dell and EMC partner programs, the Dell EMC Partner Program will provide unprecedented business opportunity for partners and reaffirms Dell EMC’s strong commitment to the channel. Built on three core tenets—to be Simple, Predictable and Profitable—the new program will ensure partners have ample opportunity, business confidence and commensurate profitability regardless of their program tier. In December, Dell EMC will announce tier thresholds for partners, providing a full six months for partners to ramp up to the new criteria. Program tiers, developed to elevate Dell
12 | November 2016
EMC partners over competitors and establish a clear path to up-level, will include Gold, Platinum and Titanium, as well as an exclusive, Titanium Black partner tier for the highest performing partners. Tier levels align with key business models of partners, enabling flexibility where needed to meet customer needs. Benefits will include generous rebates for channel partners who drive new business, attach services, sell the full portfolio and offer the portfolio exclusively. “The new Dell EMC Partner Program will bring together two great programs into one extraordinary program that enables our partners to leverage our industry-leading portfolio and accelerate their business quickly,” said John Byrne, President, Global Channel, Dell EMC. “The growth Dell EMC is experiencing in the channel is a brilliant illustration of our mutual success to
date, and the new program is purpose-built to continue to fuel this momentum. Our partners wanted a program without unknowns, and this program provides that transparency while ensuring predictability and profitability. The opportunities to win big with this program and with Dell EMC are extraordinary. Our goal is to excite and delight this amazing and powerful partner community.” The expansive program will encompass the entire Dell EMC partner ecosystem, inclusive of Solution Providers, Cloud Service Providers, Global Alliances, OEM Solutions partners and distribution. As part of this full ecosystem strategy, included as well is the “Powered by Dell EMC” brand program for those businesses that embed Dell EMC technologies into the marketplace. Delivering on the
commitment to make the program predictable and quickly profitable for channel partners, Dell EMC previously announced the Dell EMC Line of Business Incumbency Program for Storage, which enables channel partners to protect their investments with their installed base as well as expand to serve new customers interested in the full Dell EMC portfolio. Dell EMC also extended the Dell FastTrack program to EMC Business Partner Program (BPP) participants, and expedited many Dell strategic partners into the EMC BPP. This enabled both Dell and EMC partners to immediately start selling the full portfolio of Dell EMC solutions and provides accelerated benefits to eligible partners. The Dell EMC Partner Program will go live February 1, 2017, with further details being announced in the coming months.
Awards Survey 2013
News In Detail
T
he leadership of small and medium enterprises (SME) across organizations in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are keen to integrate digital and mobile technologies into the workplace, but over half of the same organisations do not have a strategy in place to achieve this, new research suggests. The vast Majority of organisations require local IT Partners to realise the productivity and performance potential of the Cloud and Mobile Working Aruba, a Hewlett
(50 percent) cite data security as the major barrier between their organisation and the Digital Workplace. More another 30 percent, believe cost is the key issue. • Half of SMEs are moving towards mobile working: 30 percent are investing in technology designed to optimise the mobile workforce, while a further 20 percent have plans to make similar purchases. • Finance and Healthcare may provide the next digital SMEs: 80 percent of workers
Osama AlHaj-Issa Regional Channel Director, MET Aruba
SMEs in EMEA aspire to go digital but face challenges Packard Enterprise company, conducted a study of over 500 SMEs across EMEA, finding that 66 percent of SME senior management believe that optimising the cloud, applications and mobile devices, thereby creating the Digital Workplace, is a strategic priority. However in spite of this, half of all organisations (50 percent) have no foreseeable plans to implement such a strategy. Key findings from the report include: • A quarter of SMEs are already thinking digital: 26 percent of respondents plan to invest in the Digital Workplace over the next year. • But security and cost raise concerns: half of SMEs
14 | November 2016
in finance and healthcare think that the Digital Workplace will be of importance to their organisation. Across all respondents, the number one reason given for investing in the mobile workplace is to achieve an increase in productivity, efficiency and flexibility, followed by the better access and sharing of data and improved team collaboration. Jeremy Lye, European Marketing Manager at financial asset management company Schroders UK, added: “The more advanced digital technology and analytics we have invested in has increased our understanding of clients’ purchasing behaviours. It’s also very important to have flexibility to work from
anywhere. Our clients are based across various parts of the country which means our sales people can now visit clients at their offices and access business data just as if they were in their office. This has improved sales productivity and clients are happier.” In order to realise the benefits of the Digital Workplace, SME respondents in the report recognise the need to deploy better security policies and for IT departments to establish control of all devices being used for work. To understand how to achieve this, 85 percent intend to seek the advice of a local IT partner. Seeking out expert support is the number one strategy that SMEs plan to adopt in pursuit of the Digital Workplace, over and
above peers, analyst reports or web searches. Osama AlHaj-Issa, Regional Channel Director, Middle East and Turkey at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, said: “SMEs that are embracing the Digital Workplace are reaping the benefits, but it’s a tough ask for any IT manager to marry the ambitions of senior management with their limited budgets and perceived security concerns. Local IT partners have a huge opportunity to become trusted advisors that can help SMEs overcome these challenges, helping them to implement digital and mobile technologies that can improve business productivity, enhance customer experience and achieve increased revenues.”
Awards Survey 2013
TechKnow | Pegasus
is letting our experts work on the ground right next to you to leverage your data asset in pursuit of your organization’s mission. We build our solutions on open source technologies such as Hadoop, Spark etc and others that have been popularized by Silicon valley through their efforts in building up Big Data solutions. We are focused on the market in the UAE and the rest of the Middle East. We have deployments in Abu Dhabi, also in Dubai and have built up good references. Peng Xiao CEO Pegasus
Mining big insights from Data Pegasys is a Big Data solutions company and is based out of the UAE. It is also part of the DarkMatter group which is a leading UAE based integrated digital defence and cyber security consultancy and implementation firm. Peng Xiao, CEO of Pegasus discusses the company’s focus Where is Pegasus based? Discuss the relationship with DarkMatter? Pegasus is a UAE-based software technology company with a global presence. Our headquarters is in Abu Dhabi and we are two years old. Pegasus is a company in which DarkMatter has invested
16 | November 2016
and is part of the DarkMatter ecosystem. We collaborate in Business and technologies. What are your focus areas? We are focused on building Big Data applications and providing actionable intelligence to help solve real world problems. Our approach to building solutions
Discuss how your solutions could work with DarkMatter’s areas of interest? Big Data could be seen as a horizontal theme solution that cuts across all streams of focus for DarkMatter. For instance, I believe it is like a unifying theme that brings everything together since data is the underlying asset in cyber security, whether it is secured communications or cybersecurity operations. So we believe this will be an important area of focus for DarkMatter. Comment on key verticals you are focusing on? Our main focus in terms of verticals is smart city and cybersecurity. Smart city initiatives are starting at the government level, at the central core where policy frameworks are set in place. Ultimately, it links and covers all different industries and citizenry as services. So smart city is an important area of focus for Big Data. Another significant area of focus is
cybersecurity and with IoT coming in, it will widen the surface of attack. IoT will bring a sea change to how we work with data. There is a need to analyze every activity and to convert into actions that are increasingly critical. What are underlying factors fundamental for Big data deployments? I believe the success of Big Data rests on customization and understanding the origin. For instance Data in the UAE will look very different from say in the US and not because of difference in language but because of formats, usage at the end user level etc. Within smart city initiatives in the region, you have different projects. For instance you need to build different solutions for different domains such as for traffic management with RTA, parking fines with Dubai Police, energy management with DEWA etc. They are all separate challenges. In the end you have to build a connect between these separate deployments that enables a central view, which is the ‘holy grail’ as far as Big Data deployments are concerned. Are Big Data deployments generally of a longer term scale? There are longer term projects and there could be short term opportunities. For instance, if Smart Dubai is working on ‘Happiness project’ which is a longer term project or partnership but if there is a requirement to ingest some data from social media that could be addressed quickly through a utility plug in tool.
Awards Survey 2013
TechKnow | Sophos
What is Synchronised security? Synchronized Security is a way of taking all our products and making them communicate in a way that gives you better contextual intelligence of what is going on inside your networks at the endpoints, so that you then provide better security. Today, most security vendors have diverse products that are standalone. If you want to understand a threat that is multipart with standalone products, each may have to be activated separately to respond. In the instance of synchronized security, the solution itself may know about an intrusion on the firewall side and alert the endpoint or vice-versa. The Sophos Central is how we manage all of this. It is the connection point with the network and endpoints. It is the layer that gives visibility across the network and you can frame policies that make sense across all of your products. So back in April we announced the release of Sophos Central (previously Sophos Cloud) with its all-new integrated management platform, as a major step forward in simplifying security management in an industry that has been increasingly trending toward complicated point products. How do you see your channel partner’s role evolving? We are growing at a fast rate. The challenge is the reseller can’t afford to stay only as a reseller but needs to evolve into the role of a trusted advisor selling security and convince customers about what needs to be done to protect data that maybe lying
Awards Survey 2013
around unprotected. With threats coming on a daily basis running into millions, your data needs to be protected suitably. Cybercrime being the big business that it is today, a customer needs a solutions framework that addresses these potential threats. The reseller can recommend what ideally fits the customer’s requirements. It isn’t enough if your security deployments looks like 99 doors closed and secured but with one left open- the one left open is more than enough for the threats to invade. Discuss how the Sophos Central has evolved? Earlier in the year, we announced the launch of our all-new Sophos Central integrated management platform, formerly known as Sophos Cloud. While Sophos Cloud has been widely recognized as an incredibly powerful and easy-to-use tool for managing endpoint, mobile, web, and server products. With Sophos Central, we are trying to bring everything together that can be controlled from a single pane of glass that can help manage policies centrally. When we started, we had endpoint solutions and mobile protection technologies as part of the central. We have thereafter brought in things like cloud web gateway, cloud email protection, Sophos Intercept X, a next-generation endpoint security product that stops zero-day malware, the wireless management etc into the Sophos Central protection portfolio. Having all of these together on one platform makes it easy to manage.
Karl Heinz Warum VP, CEEMEA Sophos
Security continuum Karl Heinz Warum, VP, CEEMEA at Sophos discusses the Synchronised security strategy of Sophos and channel focus Is there already analytics in the solution you offer? There is already Root cause analysis. If there is a security event, it will map out visually attack events that shows where the attack came in, what it affected, where it may have stopped and recommended actions to prevent a similar attack in the future. While it does all that, with analytics coming in, it will dive in deeper and bring everything together on a platform. We are working on an analytics product that will
brings together all data that is useful for actionable insights. What is your channel strategy? We have a 100% two tier model with distributors and resellers. They help sell our products and provide service. We do a lot of training, education intiatiaves so that the partner understands our business and products and are able to sell better. We have a new partner program with incentives; there are handsome rewards for partners who are generating new projects. November 2016 | 17
Cover Feature | DDoS
Keeping off DDoS attacks Enterprise Businesses have been facing rising DDOS attacks in terms of size, complexity and frequency which calls for a multi-layered approach
18 | November 2016
D
istributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, is seen as a frequently used strategy by cyber criminals in disrupting Businesses. The impact of a DDoS attack can be quite disastrous for a company’s Business. It is executed through all possible devices with an IP address to send a traffic overload to a targeted network. The targeted network systems are unable to accommodate the web traffic that is being directed to it and goes down. As one of the prominent areas of an ever evolving landscape of cyber security threats, the need for Advanced detection and mitigation solutions for DDoS is quite critical. Mahmoud Samy, Regional Director, ME R CIS at Arbor, the security division of NETSCOUT says, “When you talk to CIOs, CTOs etc, they are unanimous that DDOS is one aspect they cannot compromise with. That is because DDOS attacks affect company’s financials, reputation, credibility of service etc. While there may still be time taken to mull over other security aspects and strategies, as far as DDOS protection is concerned, you have to be ready to thwart potential DDOS attacks from day one. Hence there cannot be any compromise. It has to be top of the list priority.” Global DDoS attack data for the first six months of 2016 shows a continuing escalation in the both the size and frequency of attacks, according to data gathered through ATLAS, a collaborative partnership with more than 330 service provider customers who share anonymous traffic data with Arbor in order to deliver a comprehensive, aggregated view of global traffic and threats. ATLAS provides the data for the Digital Attack Map, a visualization of global attack traffic created in collaboration with Google Ideas. In recent years, enterprise Businesses have been facing rising DDOS attacks in terms of size, complexity and frequency. With DDoS tools that are available for free downloads or purchase online, almost anyone with least technical skills can pull off an attack on a target’s web assets. However, there could in fact be a variety of reasons behind a DDoS attack and could also include diversionary tactics. Mahmoud says, “Success could be 100% from a DDoS attack on an
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organization that doesn’t have the protection. Protection has to be in place before an event. Attackers can reach their objectives in no time, if there is no protection. There are also simple do it yourself DDoS attacks tools available on Internet which makes it is easier to launch DDoS attacks.” He adds, “The attacks could come in different look and feel. They could be volumetric attacks, application attacks or exhausting attacks. Volumetric attack is a flood of traffic targeted to a destination whereas application attacks target a specific application to take it down. Exhausting attacks target security devices – they try and convert the devices that are meant to defend to launch attacks or be the gateways of attack. Some attacks can be a combination of the three.” Chris Gale, EMEA Partner Director at A10 Networks at
Mahmoud Samy Regional Director, MER CIS Arbor
“When you talk to CIOs, CTOs etc, they are unanimous that DDOS is one aspect they cannot compromise with. That is because DDOS attacks affect company’s financials, reputation, credibility of service etc."
A10 Networks opines these attacks could arise from different reasons including hit and run strategies orchestrated by untrained individuals or hackers. According to him, “These attacks are typically the least organized, and pulled off by the least technical individuals, they are the easiest to prevent. Unskilled troublemakers typically will use a paid service to pull off the attacks, making it costly to sustain long-term. By optimizing your network configuration, and utilizing technology with robust load balancing capabilities, the risks posed by these
attacks are greatly minimized.” The attacks could also have origins in political protests or could be traced to even competitors looking to hurt the financials of the company. It may also be a diversionary tactic to sustain the attention of IT staff to the DDoS related mitigation while the cyber criminals execute a more serious incursion into the network. Chris opines that the fact that a DDoS attack is being used as a smokescreen for a larger security incident is not realized until it's too late. The best defense therefore is to ensure that all normal November 2016 | 19
Cover Feature | DDoS
Chris Gale EMEA Partner Director A10 Networks
cybersecurity processes are continued in the wake of an attack and never assuming the worst is over. Finally, the origin of the attack may also lie in an effort at extracting ransom from Businesses that can’t afford downtime on their systems for protracted periods. In the era of IoT devices, the threat factor is more manifold. The most recent instance is the DDoS attack last month against Dyn, a New Hampshire-based company that hosts DNS zones for many companies. The DDoS attack used the Mirai botnet, which consists of thousands of compromised "Internet of Things" devices, including IP cameras and digital video recorders. The DDoS attack sent enormous volumes of traffic-most of it not DNS-to Dyn's name servers, overwhelming them and rendering them unable to respond to legitimate queries. The result was that many of Dyn's customers were unreachable from the Internet, including high-profile companies such as Twitter, Amazon, Netflix and Reddit. Providing an insight into what enterprises in the Middle East can do to withstand such an attack, Cherif Sleiman, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa at Infoblox says, "Infoblox's best practices
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recommend using a combination of onpremises appliances and a DNS hosting provider to support external authoritative name service. A customer following this recommendation would have withstood the attack against Dyn, as their onpremises authoritative name servers would have been accessible throughout the attack. " Cherif adds, “Infoblox provides the instrumentation and capabilities underneath the network intelligence
Stats: • ATLAS has observed an average of 124,000 events per week over the last 18 months. • A 73% increase in peak attack size over 2015, to 579Gbps. • 274 attacks over 100Gbps monitored in 1H 2016, versus 223 in all of 2015. • 46 attacks over 200Gbps monitored in 1H2016, versus 16 in all of 2015. • USA, France and Great Britain are the top targets for attacks over 10Gbps.
where we can uncover insights across your network, security, datacenter layers and the cloud. We are trying to reduce the latency between the time it takes to discover something is amiss and the action that solves the issue.” In the region, Telecom providers are also playing a significant role in ensuring DDoS protection and driving awareness in their role as MSSPs. “Service providers are also helping promote the role of DDOS security and they are selling it as a managed service. They have to ensure that their major customers are protected; otherwise the problems could multiply. We have partnered with service providers including Etisalat, STC and du who use our solutions and they are in turn providing DDOS solutions as managed services to the enterprise market, including key verticals such as Financial sector, oil & gas, government sector etc, “says Arbor’s Mahmoud. Attackers can employ what is known as Reflection amplification, a technique that allows to both magnify the amount of traffic they can generate, and obfuscate the original sources of that attack traffic. However, large DDoS attacks do not necessarily require the use of reflection amplification techniques according to Arbor’s Security Engineering & Research Team (ASERT). Reportedly, LizardStresser, an IoT botnet was used to launch attacks as large as 400Gbps targeting gaming sites worldwide, Brazilian financial institutions, ISPs and government institutions. In this case, according to ASERT, the attack packets do not appear to be from spoofed source addresses – and no UDP (User Datagram Protocol) based amplification protocols such as NTP (Network Time Protocol) or SNMP were used. The ASERT report documented that a majority of recent large attacks leverage the Reflection amplification technique using DNS servers, NTP, Chargen and Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP). DNS is currently seen as the most prevalent protocol used in 2016 and adding more cause for concern, the average size of DNS reflection amplification attacks has been growing. Further, while even a 1 Gbps DDoS attack is arguably enough to take most organizations completely off line,
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Gbps to 300 Gbps the average attack throughput DDoS size in 1H 2016 had Unskilled troublemakers typically will use a paid mitigation.” reached 986Mbps, service to pull off the attacks. By optimizing your While more showing a 30% network configuration, and utilizing technology with awareness is increase over 2015 building up in the and is projected to robust load balancing capabilities, the risks posed by market about the be 1.15Gbps by end these attacks are greatly minimized.” evolving nature of of 2016. DDoS threats, more Since the According to Adil Baghir, Sr. Systems companies in the region could look into range of attacks is quite varied, from Engineer at A10 Networks, many of the having the right solutions in place. The role high bandwidth to as low as 1 Gbps, the available solutions are arguably limited of the channel in driving awareness goes need is for a hybrid, or multi-layer DDoS in terms of DDoS mitigation performance hand in hand with vendors who have been defense. According to Darren Anstee, Arbor and A10 Networks is seeking to address at the forefront of DDoS technologies. Networks Chief Security Technologist, high these shortcomings with its latest TPS. Mahmoud adds, “The awareness in bandwidth attacks are best mitigated in The manufacturer’s new group of TPS the market about DDoS is getting better the cloud, away from the intended target. appliances unveiled in October, provides compared to 4-5 years. Arbor has been However, 80% of all attacks are still less up to 300 Gbps of DDoS protection in a educating the market regarding DDoS than 1Gbps and 90% last less than one single box. The top-end device is the new threats for nearly 15 years now. In the hour and therefore on-premise protection Thunder 14045, which is a 3 RU (rack unit) early years, no one else was talking of provides the rapid reaction needed and is appliance powered by four 18-core Intel DDoS but that has changed in the past few key against “low and slow” applicationXeon processors. years. Almost every CIO is talking about it layer attacks, as well as state exhaustion Adil adds, “Many existing solutions which goes to prove that the awareness is attacks targeting infrastructure such as introduce high latency into the networks now a lot better.” firewalls and IPS. and also offer very limited deployment Finally, a multi-layered approach is Offering protection against volumetric options. We are addressing these issues key to having the best chance against flood of data, a key identifier of a DDoS with our latest launch October of the new staving off such attacks. A no-compromise attack, A10 Networks offers Threat Protect TPS appliances which offer the fastest approach should be the mantra towards System (TPS) appliances and has recently DDoS mitigation solution offering from 1 securing effectively against DDoS attacks. unveiled the latest edition products.
Cost of a DDos Attack A
ccording to the Corporate IT Security Risks 2016 study conducted by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International among more than 4,000 representatives from 25 countries including the UAE, a single DDoS attack can cost a company up to over $1.6 million, though that figure depends to a large extent on how quickly the attack is detected. Companies of various sizes affected by DDoS attacks over the last 12 months were asked what costs they incurred as a result. It turned out the biggest expenses for medium and large companies (20% and 19% respectively) were caused by changes to their credit and insurance ratings, which is hardly surprising considering many DDoS attacks become public knowledge. For small companies, the largest DDoS-related expenditure item was overtime payments to employees (17%). DDoS attacks are also cited as one of the top five threats that can force companies to hire new employees, with 37% of organizations that fell victim to such attacks planning to significantly increase their IT staff. Other major DDoS-related costs included customer compensation (12%), upgrading IT infrastructure and
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software (10%), staff training (10%) and PR expenses to restore a company’s reputation (9%). This can bring the average cost of a DDoS attack to about $106,000 for smaller companies and up to more than $1.6 million for enterprises. One important finding from the study was that if an attack is detected in the first 24 hours, the costs can be almost halved compared to an attack detected over a day later. “Our research demonstrates that DDoS attacks are one of the most expensive cyberthreats for companies. They are more expensive than a virus or a cryptomalware infection. Even a single DDoS attack can disable the online services for long periods of time, damage the company's reputation and deprive it of its current or future customers. There have been incidents where prolonged DDoS attacks have led to the bankruptcy and closure of successful online businesses. Proactive protection allows a company to quickly detect an ongoing DDoS attack and, in the case of a solution like Kaspersky DDoS Protection, to find out as soon as an attack begins thanks to the DDoS Intelligence system, thereby warding off any potential risks,” says Alexey Kiselev, Project Manager, Kaspersky DDoS Protection. November 2016 | 21
TechKnow | Hyperline
Hyperline is a North American manufacturer of the most comprehensive range of products available for Structured Cabling Systems; copper cable, LAN cable, telephone cable, telecommunication cable, fiber optic cable, coaxial cable, interface cable, industrial cable, hybrid cable and much more. Gregory O’Reilly, Chief Business Development officer at Hyperline discusses how the company is looking to grow its
Gregory O’Reilly Chief Business Development Officer Hyperline
business in the region.
Getting into the act What’s unique about your strategy towards the market? We are probably one of the best in providing support after the sale. Our focus on new customers does not come at the expense of our existing customers who we provide constant support. This aspect makes us stand apart from our competition.. Discuss your solutions for the datacenter? We have an extensive portfolio of solution for the datacenter, right from the patch guards to connector, cables, patch panels, racks, solutions on the copper side and we are in the
22 | November 2016
process of developing likewise on the fiber side. Who are your partners in the region? We have CMT (Core Matrix Technology) and also have NIT as our distributors and in addition have distributors for some of the other GCC countries. NIT is a security focused distributor but like us want to offer end to end solutions to customers and hence looking at solutions we offer on the cabling side. Have you had significant successes with the larger datacenters and Telcos? To be honest, not as much as yet but that is one of our
objectives ahead. We have however done projects that were approved for Du and Etisalat. We are continuing to work and establish our value and recall with consultants and engineering companies so that we are able to break into some of the larger projects in the region. This will be one of our goals up ahead. Are you looking to enhance your SI channel in the region? We have brought in a manufacturer representative to work with the distributors and the channel. It was our distributor CMT who helped us get approvals from Etisalat
and du on the copper front. We would like achieve some similar results on the fiber front. Discuss your focus on fiber solutions in the region? We move more fiber cables in the region compared to North America for instance. We are in the process of enhancing our fiber cable solutions. Our copper solutions are among the world’s best and we want to ensure similar achievements with our Fiber solutions. Do copper and fiber cables have different use case scenarios? Copper is usually for workstations, offices. As a
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"We have generated interest and recall in the market over the past couple of years. We have had great interest from potential distributors in the region and have had as many as 15 to 20 companies or so looking to work with us."
backbone, fiber is more the norm. In Canada, fiber is used to the home office and to the desktop. So not only is copper running to the desktop; fiber is being used as well. At some point, fiber will catch up. There is however a last mile hassle that the PCs need to have a fiber compatible network card. Which are your larger markets? We have a large market in Russia and the United States. We have experienced a 35% growth in Canada over the past year. We have just really started out here. I came down for the first time in April this year for Bicsi and since then
we have redrawn our focus and are committed to grow our business locally. We have tried in the past to do the business from Canada but that hasn’t really given us the desired results. We are investing here so that we can support our customers from here. Are you looking at all markets in GCC and around? We have distributors throughout the region already including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and some partners were earlier working with in Cairo. We have a lot of
distributors but have them spread out across the region, allowing us to get our products into the markets here. What are the products on the roadmap? We are developing a wireless access point. We are conducting product trials in Canada. We have a powered version now and we are working with our manufacturer to bring out a PoE version. This would help bring in some value differentiation among vendors we compete with. We will possibly be looking at
showcasing our new fiber solutions at the show next year. New Fiber soltyions would be our next major announcement because we are primarily a cable company. How do you view the interest from potential partners? We have generated interest and recall in the market over the past couple of years. We have had great interest from potential distributors in the region and have had as many as 15 to 20 companies or so looking to work with us. They want to take our products to the consultants they work with, to get them approved. Overall, it is a positive outlook.
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November 2016 | 23
Point2Point | Red Hat
Red Hat is focuses on ensuring its open source technologies are helping accelerate business transformation and sees a key role for channel partners in enabling this. Mustapha Hlil, Mustapha Hlil Channel Ecosystem Leader MENA Red Hat
Channel Ecosystem Leader, MENA at Red Hat discusses the company’s focus on enabling the channel
Disruptive enablement Discuss the channel focus at Red Hat? We are in an emerging market where the channel plays a key role in penetration of the market. It is essential for the sales team inside the organization to be aligned to the channel. Distribution is a key element in channel business and has to be an effective extended arm that offers value proposition to the channel. All of Red Hat’s businesses is done with the channel. In the industry for all vendors, Business with the channel is the target but through
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the channel is what is being achieved mostly today. Demand generation is mostly done by the vendor and the fulfillment is transacted through the channel. Every vendor would like to it to be the way where 50-60% demand is created and entirely fulfilled by the channel. We have had some great successes in achieving such objectives. The key success is in being successful in challenging a partner organization to be disruptive and we want Red Hat to become an essential part of the value chain of the
partner. If a vendor is not participating to create part of the profits for the partner, you cannot expect focus in return from the partner. Further, the end-customers will not be served proactively. We have had instances where customers have come up and said that they weren’t aware we offered an ‘x’ solution or proposition. So that can only be resolved through educating and enabling partners to reach out to customers. How do you add value to the partner ecosystem?
At the end of the day, we are here for a purpose and that is do business. Customers in turn have a budget and need the best value. We need to be a part of the local ecosystem that offers him or her that value, which is through the channel. As a vendor, we need to make sure we participate through the local ecosystem. We do this in different ways such as creating certification programs. We provide online learning resources through Red Hat OPEN for the channel to get themselves certified instead of having to fly out to locations to attend such
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"Digital transformation needs disruption and that would mean some software underpinning for everything, meaning software defined. That is where Red Hat has a crucial role to play- software defined storage, software defined orchestration etc."
programs. Red Hat OPEN is available anytime, anywhere through the Red Hat Partner Portal. In a wider perspective, we are looking to create resources for open source by working with Universities via an Academic program. That will help in creating Red Hat certified technologists in the market. Open source is about collaboration. We too have a local community that meets regularly in Dubai and includes people from the partners, distributor and customers. We are the only 100% open source company. We focus on making open source products that we take them up to enterprise readiness in terms of industry standards, coding, security etc before offering them to customers. We contribute our learning into the open source ecosystem and the community benefits from this including a lot of other open source flavors available from other vendors. We work on this basis because, we are able to access a wider pool of developers in millions which can help make the product better rather than only rely only on the developer team within the company, although quite sizeable. Incidentally, when working on a project in KSA, our channel partners for the project, rewrote part of the code. Discuss the partner levels? We have different kinds of partners from the global SI partners, solutions providers
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to the ISVs and certified cloud service providers. Each one comes with a certification criteria. Certification is based on product knowledge. As for ISVs, we have some countries in the region who have grown as production zones in addition to the India sub-continent. We have a few companies that are developing applications in specific areas and are going global. Discuss how Red Hat looks at digital transformation as a focus? Digital transformation needs a big foundation focus. We play in the part of the journey that helps build the foundation. We are working with governments, telecoms, Banks, Financial organizations, smart government agencies, major airlines etc around transforming customer experience. In many instances, our work around this in the background and have for instance worked on the online booking for a leading airline in the region a better experience. We have some good references in many of these areas. Digital transformation needs disruption and that would mean some software underpinning for everything, meaning software defined. That is where Red Hat has a crucial role to play- software defined storage, software defined orchestration etc.
legacy partners and the relatively newer partners who focus on specific areas. We work out the footprint of the partner which may not be 100% Red Hat focused. We enable them around the new technologies that we recommend, help with their certifications and then help in demand generation with customers who have serious Business issues to solve. Our Business is with the channel, through the channel; if they grow, we grow. We like to see them grow, firstly for the Business reason and secondly to say thanks to the local ecosystem. Discuss your regional focus? Red Hat is committed to Dubai as the HQ for the regional Business. We have offices in Johannesburg and Istanbul regionally managed from Dubai. We believe in this market. There has been talk about downturn but we have dealt with it by staying focused on solutions and innovations. What was your focus at GITEX? We offer a new way of deploying Business Applications. We have highlighted the cornerstones of our Infrastructure-asa-Service (IaaS) solutions portfolio, including Red
Hat OpenStack Platform, Red Hat CloudForms, and Red Hat Ceph Storage. For organizations looking to efficiently develop, deploy and run applications in hybrid cloud environments, Red Hat offers its container and application development portfolio consisting of Red Hat OpenShift Container Portfolio, Red Hat JBoss Developer Studio, and Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform. Red Hat’s entire cloud portfolio is built around an open hybrid cloud management approach. Hybrid clouds deliver strategic advantages to the business by redirecting resources from lights-on to innovation. They enable faster business service development and deployment and help organizations respond more quickly to opportunities and threats. Hybrid clouds reduce risk by allowing ongoing compliance and runtime management. For this, interoperability is key and this means taking a hybrid approach to managing a cloud, as enabled by open source software, open standards, open application programming interfaces (APIs), and other aspects of openness. We showcased the interconnection of three worlds, the infrastructure, middleware and the cloud portfolio which were never put together before in the way Red Hat has. November 2016  |  25
Point2Point | Synergix International
Discuss market outlook for the region as you see it, also related to the value add distribution scenario? The Market is not yet stable due to various regional and political issues and also the drop in oil prices has playing a big role in government sector projects. Having said that, we have seen some signs of improvements in the second half of 2016 but still yet to show the regular performance as in previous years. Elaborate on your product and solutions focus as a VAD? Synergix International and its associated group of companies were established back in 2000. Over the past 16 years, the company has established itself as a leading distributor for several leading Technology solutions vendors, covering the Middle East and Africa. As a value add distributor, we are committed to deliver cost effective leading edge technology requirements, reliable network monitoring, analysis, and supervision solutions, as well as network infrastructure solutions. These products include Real Time Location Systems from Airista, Wireless Site Survey & Planning Equipment from Ekahau, Industrial and datacenter testing & Measuring Equipment from Fluke Industrial, Cable (fiber & Copper) Testing & Cable Certification Tools again from Fluke Networks, Structured Cabling Accessories from INFILINK, Fiber Splicing Machines from INNO as well as Wired and wireless Network Tester, Network/ Application Monitoring and Network Analyzers from NetScout.
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Alan Pourmirza, Managing Director at Synergix International, a regional VAD for a range of monitoring and network infrastructure solutions discusses the company’s continued focus on domains of core competence and
Alan Pourmirza Managing Director Synergix International
how it is expanding its channels in new markets.
Growth with a plan Discuss the markets you cover based out of Dubai? We are focused on operations across the Middle East and North Africa. We are consolidating our reach into all these markets we cover. And we are increasing channel reach in specific markets. Discuss if the datacenter segment is a significant focus for you? Yes indeed, the datacenter is a significant focus in terms of solutions we have and have a unique range of solutions for the segment. We have products which address datacenters environmental issues such as thermal imagine, Airflow meter,
Particle counter, vibration sensors and network related equipment. Discuss the segments targeted with the handhelds? We have handheld network and industrial testing tools. Our partners target the commercial, government, and industrial establishments for different market verticals such as Education, Defense, Oil & Gas, Transportation, government and private sector. Comment on new products lines as well as vendors you may be looking to associate with? Over the past year we have
expanded our solution portfolio with four new vendors. These vendors are NetScout, Ekahau, INNO Instruments and AiRISTA Flow. We are constantly enhancing our value proposition offered to partners. Discuss channel engagement initiatives – are you in the process of expanding channel reach in the region? We have an established channel network that has been developed and enhanced over the past few years. At this point, we are looking to have active channels in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Qatar Kuwait, kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Libya.
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All visionary and enterprising SME companies are invited to participate in the inaugural SME Champion Awards, which kicks off its nomination phase in November: • Nomination entries will be from SME companies across select verticals in trading and services • SME companies with a yearly revenue of over $ 3 million would be eligible to be included in the process • Nomination entries will be adjudged by an eminent jury panel over a period of 1-2 months • Winners will be awarded at the Awards gala event The Awards focus on broad based recognitions across various areas and multiple categories under • • • • •
ICT deployment Innovation & vision Awards Startup awards SME commitment awards Individual honours
ICT deployment awards The awards are conferred on both the solutions integrator who deploys and the SME where it has been deployed. This will be based on supporting documents that prove how the deployment has improved productivity or performance since the period of deployment – project needs to have been deployed a minimum 3 months before awards nomination deadlines). • • • • • •
Best ICT deployment in travel Best ICT deployment in healthcare Best ICT deployment in hospitality Best ICT deployment in retail solutions Best ICT deployment in HR services Best ICT deployments in construction /real estate
Innovation & vision Awards
Recognition for the industry’s best!
These awards will look at best cases of innovations that companies have introduced in the local market, that have make their services stand out . Companies need to have completed a minimum 3 year of operations 3 months prior to nominations deadline and audited figures of revenue achieved need to be shared with future forecasts • • • • • • •
Best new innovative Business model Most innovative services Best CSR initiative Best in renewable energies Best employee initiatives Best expansion and growth initiatives Best in adoption of emerging technologies
Startup Awards These awards focus on recognizing the Businesses that have gone from an idea to profitable operations and the exceptional people driving these Businesses • • • • •
Best start-up SME of the year in trade Best start-up SME of the year in services Best SME startup by an Emirati entrepreneur Top woman SME startup entrepreneur Best seed capital /venture funding for SME
SME commitment Awards These awards recognize the organizations that have demonstrated SME friendly programs and initiatives, helping facilitate the growth of SME organizations • Outstanding commitment by an ICT company for SME sector • Outstanding commitment by a Bank to SME Business clients • Outstanding commitment by an Association to SME growth
About SME Champions: SME Champions, is a platform initiative from JNS Media International, the leading B2B ICT publications and communications company, which brings together SME customers with providers of ICT products and solutions, via Publication, Awards Gala, Golf tournament and CSR initiatives. It is a unique platform to network and establish strong business alliances.
Schedule
16 10/11/20 start 7 01 Nominations /2 /2 10 end 017 Nomination /2 /3 15 e deadlin Jury decision 3/5/2017 la ga ds ar Aw
For sponsorship enquiries as well as nomination queries, please write in to info@var-mea.com
Insight | Epicor Software
T
Hesham El Komy Senior Director Epicor Software
ERP in the cloud Hesham El Komy, senior director, Epicor Software discusses some compelling advantages that cloud based ERP solutions offer
28 | November 2016
he reality today is that most enterprise applications are well on their way to being cloud based. We’ve seen it with simple workloads such as HR and payroll, travel and expense management, and in the last decade we’ve seen the cloud as the new normal for customer relationship management (CRM) deployments. In fact, a July 2016 Gartner report predicts that the public cloud services market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will grow by 18.3% in 2016 to US$879.3 million. More specifically, the cloud application services (SaaS) market is forecasted to grow by a staggering 207% from US$166.1 million in 2015 to US$509.8 million in 2020. So what are the benefits of cloud based ERP solutions? Below are eight reasons why moving your ERP system to the cloud will benefit your business and support business growth.
Freedom of Choice Put quite simply, not all cloud ERP systems are created equal. Specifically, very few ERP vendors respect your right to choose the deployment model that is most appropriate for you, and revise that decision down the road as your business grows or technical needs change. Your right to transition between onpremises, multi-tenant, and single tenant is an important one. It recognises that the “best” deployment model for you today might not be the
best model in a few years, or even a few months. By providing the choice of MultiTenant (with its compelling economics and seamless upgrades) or Single Tenant (allowing more administrative control and administrative ownership), you can choose the model that works best for you.
Compelling Cloud Economics Despite the cloud having proven its value beyond just good financial sense, there is no doubt that for companies of all sizes the economics of cloud deployment are undeniably compelling, moving from capital to operational expenditure. Some of the more hidden economic benefits of the cloud include: • Not being as capital intensive as an on-premises deployment because of the subscription-based pricing model. • Better and more instant scalability, allowing clients to add (and sometimes remove) users to their system on demand and saving them from having to invest in hardware and software at the “high water mark”. • The direct and indirect costs of your infrastructure, from server to database systems to the actual hardware and replacement cycle cost. • The hidden costs of maintaining the servers yourself. • The benefit of the reduced deployment times (and corresponding improved
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ROI) that are typical for cloud deployments, as the necessary infrastructure is in place already.
"Despite the cloud having proven its value beyond just good financial sense, there is no doubt that for companies of all sizes the economics of cloud deployment are undeniably compelling, moving from capital to operational expenditure."
Better IT Resource Utilisation At the end of the day, most IT departments are stretched pretty thin, and find themselves spending too much time on low-value (but admittedly critical) activities such as verifying backups, applying security updates, and upgrading the infrastructure upon which your critical systems run. There is tremendous business benefit to assigning those tasks back to your ERP vendor as part of a cloud deployment, freeing up your IT department’s time to work on more strategic business projects such as creating executive dashboards, deploying mobile devices, and crafting helpful management reports.
The Cloud is More Secure Today, it’s hard to imagine a client who could possibly create a more secure operating environment than leading cloud providers. Indeed, Gartner reports that “Multitenant services are not only highly resistant to attack, but are also a more secure starting point than most traditional inhouse implementations.” Security today is a comprehensive, end-to-end mind set that has to be built across every layer of the ERP
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environment from the physical network interface cards to the user passwords. It means a holistic approach to anticipating and minimising possible natural, human, and technical disruptions to your system to ensure uptime and peace of mind.
Upgrades Cloud deployment redefines the experience by designing upgrades—big and small—to be deployed by the ERP cloud operations staff as part of standard support services, without imposing software installations on your staff. Minor updates are transparently deployed in a non-disruptive fashion, and major upgrades are announced well in advance, and include a sandbox training environment and end-user training. These major upgrades are designed to require little to no project management on your part, short of double checking that everything is working the way you expect it to and ensuring that your internal users are prepared to take advantage of the new version.
Mobile and Collaborative Moving to a cloud-based system gives everyone the real-time system access they require as a routine part of their jobs while driving out the
inefficiency of paper-based processes and the burden and security risk of figuring out how to deliver this yourself. Opening up your ERP system by virtue of cloud deployment allows you to retire the poorly defined ad-hoc “integration by Excel file” workflows that might have cropped up across your organisation. In their place, you can deploy real-time integration processes that link your employees, suppliers, partners, and customers. Cloud deployment brings the opportunity to redefine many of your legacy business processes and workflows in a way that leverages these more open, connected, instantaneous integration paths.
Business Consistency and Process Alignment Globally Increasingly, companies have staff working across multiple locations and they aspire to provide the efficiency of a single unified ERP system across the enterprise to support them. Deploying a single cloud ERP globally (where the only infrastructure requirement is Internet access) removes many operational obstacles, and gives you the confidence that your continued expansion
efforts can be accommodated without a significant IT effort by simply enabling that new location in your existing cloud-based ERP system. With consistency comes improved transparency and increased efficiency.
Reduced Risk, Greater Visibility, Better Value Many clients choose a cloudbased system (ERP and other workflows) because it allows them to deploy a much more complete solution than they could otherwise manage or financially justify under legacy deployment models. Not having to make a massive upfront investment in the ERP system and its supporting infrastructure is critical in allowing smaller companies to perform beyond samesized competitors from an enterprise application quality and completeness perspective. ERP solutions aren’t just software. They are tools that can be used to help grow your business profitably, offering flexible solutions that provide more accurate information in real-time, driving smarter, faster decision-making, and enabling customers to quickly meet changing market demands to stay ahead of their competition. The cloud increases the business benefits that ERP offers and can accompany your business on the road to successful growth. November 2016 | 29
Insight | Kodak Alaris
Adoption of Digital Records in Health Care David Whitton, General Manager of Kodak Alaris - Eastern Cluster (Middle East, Africa, East Europe, Turkey & Russia) discusses how adoption of Electronic Medical Records is rising in the industry and brings great benefits
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tilization of electronic record keeping systems is becoming increasingly predominant within the healthcare industry due to a wide range of benefits, ultimately resulting in improved quality of care and patient safety, not to mention controlled costs and time savings for healthcare providers. Primary benefits of implementing a comprehensive Electronic Medical Records (EMR)/ Electronic Health Records (EHR) system EMR systems are designed to keep track of a patient’s entire health and medical history in an electronic, computerized format. Although it may appear to be a daunting task, storing the vast volume of patient records in a digital format makes information more readily accessible and can help healthcare workers
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and patients navigate through healthcare systems more safely and efficiently. Ultimately, EMR systems can improve quality of care and patient safety, control costs, save substantial time for healthcare providers and, of course, provide extensive storage capabilities in today’s data-driven era. Advantages include increased efficiency, with the ability to reduce duplication of documents; elimination of needless delays in searching for charts; intelligence capabilities such as medical and prescription drug interaction alerts and treatment reminders; and quality measures for tailoring and showcasing data in customized formats. First steps for developing a smooth transition to Electronic Records Transitioning any healthcare organization from
David Whitton General Manager Kodak Alaris - Eastern Cluster
a paper-based environment to a digital one can be a complicated proposition. However, if the transition is thoroughly planned and executed, the task can be manageable and result in substantial benefits to your practice or organization. Either during the EMR/EHR selection process or when a system has been chosen and an implementation plan created, document and chart conversion needs to be addressed for the transition. Conversion of existing documents and information is critical, and requires evaluation and consideration of a scanning solution to integrate into your EMR system or to provide stand-alone document retention and access. Most scanning solutions have been validated with healthcare systems, but validation needs to be verified prior to use. Staff
training on the conversion of back files and day-forward documents procedures is critical for success. After the paper transition is planned and executed, your organization is ready to go live, with the EMR/EHR solution providing access to information electronically. During the transition phase, there is likely to be a slowdown, but once the system has been fully adopted, time and cost savings will be incremental. To ensure that the transition is smooth, you need to make sure everyone in your organization is onboard, establish solid security protocols, conduct routine maintenance and backups for your system and develop a disaster recovery plan. Challenges in converting existing medical records to a digital system With today’s wide variety Awards Survey 2013
of hard copy patient records, including faxed prescriptions, physician orders, referrals, collections of signatures, medical charts and other accumulated patient information, it’s hard to imagine how to convert to a paperless office. To ensure successful migration of paper charts and information to your EMR system, it’s important to first determine what approach you want to use to convert your documents, files and charts. Options include: • Set up a manual in-house process, whereby documents are scanned directly into a solution. • Purchase a solution that provides more sophisticated information indexing and allows users to scan charts into the EMR solution. • Outsource the project to a service provider that specializes in document conversion for physicians and healthcare systems. When converting existing data and considering scanning options, first and foremost organizations need to ensure the integrity of data and image quality. They also need to consider ease of use: Is it a simple push-button process, or is it more complicated? And, of course, speed: How many scans/pages per minute are demanded? Also, is a backup scanner needed? This is important when considering the high volume of paperwork being transitioned. Finally, you need to consider the level of service from the solution provider. Will the scanner provider replace or fix a unit if there are problems? How promptly will it be able
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transition to EMR is a critical first step that includes the "Transitioning any healthcare organization from a conversion of paper paper-based environment to a digital one can be a files into electronic complicated proposition. However, if the transition images that can is thoroughly planned and executed, the task can be be imported into manageable and result in substantial benefits." your EMR software platform for access. To make to correct the issue? Will it perform and whether they can this transition seamless, you provide guidance to help make be customized to work with need to ensure your solution the transition smooth? These your EMR system. The most offers the appropriate scanning are questions that should be important features to consider volume and high-quality considered when selecting a when selecting a scanning images. Otherwise, this step solutions provider. solution are quality of image may be a slow and arduous Integration of scanning scanned, ease of use, speed process. Many organizations solution into existing and service. mistakenly believe they can healthcare applications Why is selecting the get by with “a nice little Scanning is a relatively right scanning solution so scanner” they already have in simple method for capturing important for the transition to the office, until they find that electronic images of paper EMR/EHR? Selecting the right they’ve burnt it out after only documents and storing them scanning solution is the first a few weeks’ time. Shaving for online reference, either step to becoming a successful dollars off your document through a stand-alone solution “paperless” environment. Once conversion program will or an EMR/EHR or enterprise you’ve taken the leap to digital, result in wasted man-hours content management (ECM) you need to consider the most and frustration on the part solution. This process simply effective way to incorporate of employees, ultimately replaces paper charts with all of your existing patient diminishing the quality of images of paper documents documentation and information. care delivered to patients. that are readily accessible, and A documented conversion Efficiently converting back files most providers offer solutions protocol must be established and day-forward documents that integrate with existing and followed as part of your is an important step in your healthcare applications. organizational strategy in the organization’s transition However, what you really transition to digital. to EMR, and critical to any need to consider is how Selecting the correct healthcare system’s push well the scanning solutions scanning solution for your toward digital transformation.
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EyeTech
Kodak i5650S and i5850S Scanners
Acronis Backup 12
Overview: The Kodak i5650S and i5850S Scanners offer three-pocket sorting designed for the extreme scanning demands of service bureaus, BPOs and corporate mailrooms. Combining smart sorting with high-speed throughput and superior image quality leads to increased productivity and significantly lower document capture costs. The Kodak i5850S Scanner will help you be more productive by eliminating time consuming pre- and postscanning manual paper handling. Power through batches of mixed documents faster than ever before. And do all this, and more, using your current scanning software. Key features:
Overview:
• Automated sorting during the scanning process
Acronis Backup 12 protects businesses’ full digital image. With most business assets now being digital and not confined to a single device or location, businesses need a backup solution that is designed to provide complete data protection to support this new way of operating. Acronis Backup 12 has the ability to backup and protect company data in today’s hybrid cloud IT environments – whether it resides in the cloud, on-premises, across virtual and physical systems, in remote systems, and on mobile devices. Virtual Host Backup – Backs up VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V hosts (not just VMs) and recovers them to dissimilar hardware for complete protection of virtual infrastructures.
eliminates potential errors and wasted time while boosting productivity. • The rear exit tray neatly collects patch sheets for re-use, saving you money on printing. • Two front access trays provide both a large pocket for non-sorted documents and an easy access front exception pocket for checks or special documents. • High volume throughput provides the processing speed, smooth paper flow, and document handling versatility you need.
Key features: • Cloud Convergence with New Unified Web Console – Makes it easier than ever for IT managers to converge cloud and on-premises data protection by backing up and managing all individual workload environments, including on-premises and cloud, physical systems, virtual hosts and machines, and cloud workloads, from a single place on any device. • Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) in 15 seconds or less with Acronis Instant Restore – Addresses the business continuity needs for today’s ‘always-on’ business with the patented Acronis Instant Restore. • Support for Cloud Workloads with New Hybrid Cloud Architecture – Provides broad platform support of current backup solutions on the market, allowing IT Managers to back up on-premises physical and virtual systems, as well as Microsoft Azure VMs and Amazon EC2 instances for complete protection of the entire IT infrastructure and applications.
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Awards Survey 2013
A10 Thunder 14045 TPS
ServiceDesk Plus MSP
Overview: DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks, which attempt to cripple machines or network resources by flooding them with requests from multiple IP addresses, are skyrocketing. The attacks are increasingly being used in more sophisticated ways, including extortion and as smokescreens, tying up IT resources to enable other attacks. A10 Thunder TPS can block multi-vector DDoS attacks to stop disruption, detecting and mitigating them at the network edge, and functioning as a first line of defense for the network infrastructure. The new A10 Thunder 14045 TPS is the fastest appliance on the market that provides highest DDoS attack mitigation for Service Providers, Web 2.0 and Cloud Providers - 300 Gbps of mitigation throughput capacity (or 2.4 terabits per second in a cluster). This launch is part of A10 Networks’ expanded family of Thunder TPS (Threat Protection System) high-performance solutions. Key features: • For high-performance networks such as for service providers, websites and online gaming. • Performance: 300 Gbps, 440 Mpps, 2.4 Tbps in a cluster. • Specification highlights: SPE with FPGA, 4x18 core Xeon, 3 RU, 4x100 GbE, 2+2 redundant 80 Plus Platinum rated power supplies. • Dual power supply-capable and feature solid-state drives (SSDs) and use no inaccessible moving parts for high availability. • Benefits from Flexible Traffic Acceleration (FTA) technology, featuring Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for hardware optimized FTA processing, providing highly scalable flow distribution and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection capabilities.
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Overview: ServiceDesk Plus MSP is a web based, ITIL-ready help desk software designed specifically for managed service providers. This all-in-one ITSM solution delivers comprehensive help desk, service desk, account management, asset management, remote controls and advanced reporting in a multi-tenant architecture with robust data segregation. It empowers service providers to offer services and support to multiple clients with centralized controls. ServiceDesk Plus MSP is a perfectly integrated solution that combines IT Help Desk with Project Management and allows you to structure your projects, teams and workflows irrespective of the size of the projects. It reduces the burden on your helpdesk coordinator and assign incoming tickets automatically. The auto-assign functionality automatically assigns tickets to technicians based on their availability and access to tickets. Available immediately, the latest version of ServiceDesk Plus MSP improves IT service delivery to managed service provider (MSP) customers. Key features: • • • •
Highlights include more automation, contextual integration, and enhanced asset management capabilities. Codeless customization that lets technicians create dynamic ticket forms that validate user input. Custom menus that invoke third-party applications from within the ticket interface. Asset barcode integration that let IT asset managers build asset inventory information with automated barcode generation and scanning.
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Stats & Trends
Digital disruption Highlights: • • • •
85% of businesses consider digital start-ups a threat, either now or in the future 44% of businesses don’t know what their industry will look like in 3 years 59% have witnessed the entrance of new competitors as a result of digital technologies 71% confess digital transformation could be more widespread in their organization
85% of businesses believe digital start-ups will pose a threat to their organization, either now or in the future, according to new research from Dell Technologies. This phenomenon is propelling innovative companies forward and accelerating the demise of others. Almost half (45%) of businesses surveyed fear they may become obsolete in the next three to five years due to competition from digital-born startups. Some companies are feeling badly bruised by the pace of change. More than half (54%) of business leaders have experienced significant disruption in their industries over the past three years as a result of digital technologies and the Internet of Everything, and 44% of businesses don’t know what their industry will look like in three years’ time. The findings result from an independent survey by Vanson Bourne of 4,000 business leaders -- from midsize to large enterprises -- across 16 countries and 12 industries including UAE and Saudi Arabia. Some companies have barely started their digital transformation. Many have taken a piecemeal approach. Only a small minority have almost completed their digital transformation. Only 7% of businesses surveyed are performing critical digital business attributes* well. While only
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parts of many businesses are thinking and acting digitally, the vast majority (71%) admits digital transformation could be more widespread throughout their organization. Nearly two-thirds (63%) confess to not acting on intelligence in real-time. Only 41% of businesses reported to meet customers top demand for better security, while only 46% of businesses said they can meet the demand for 24/7 faster access to services and information Given the acute threat of disruption, businesses are starting to escalate a remedy. To advance their digital transformation: • 73% agree they need to prioritize a centralized technology strategy for their business • 64% are planning to invest in IT infrastructure and digital skills leadership • 69% are expanding their software development capabilities In order of priority according to respondents, the top planned IT investments over the next three years are: Internet of Things technologies-43% Ultra-high performance technologies (Example: Flash) – 42% Analytics, big data and data processing (Example: Data Lakes) – 42% Next Generate Mobile Apps-41%
Awards Survey 2013