Integratorme september2014

The cloud gathers momentum I

t is set to be a tricky phase for the industry in the year ahead.

There are scenarios pregnant with possibilities but one can’t be too certain if things will materialize as anticipated. For instance, there are good reasons to believe that cloud services adoption rates may shoot through the roof, especially in the SMB sector with more cloud services available including remote server and email access, CRM software etc.

It is after all easier for the SMB to adopt cloud infrastructure, especially the new start-up companies that may have relatively less installed legacy IT. That could potentially straightaway offer them a great advantage in quick set-up and scalability as well.

On the other hand, it is possible, that SMB sector companies will still continue to wait and watch either because of a trust deficit in the cloud or because they are yet to be approached by solution providers with viable cloud based solutions and they may not have a great understanding of how to go about it. That also comes down to how aggressively cloud based solutions are as yet being sold because solution providers themselves maybe not too sure of the stakes attached if customers want to push a whole lot of solutions installed to the cloud.

At the end of the day, all customers, large or small, will ideally look at a mix of physical IT as well as cloud infrastructure. The split between the spends on the two forms of IT infrastructure will vary on case to case basis, depending on solutions availability in those specific domains where the customer’s Business is.

On the vendor side, there could be a few burn-outs as vendors that do not have a cloud strategy will falter as demand shifts to solutions sold through the cloud that offer a far viable pricing and convenience. It is essential for all vendors therefore to offer cloud based solutions. In the solution provider segment, the channel that is able to bring in a cloud computing focus, will be prepared to offer customer choices that can, to use a clichéd but effective phrase, delight the customer.

ontents

Editorial

Cover Story - 18

Realigned vistas

Systems integrators are making adjustments to take in stride the transformational impact of emerging Technologies

News In Detail - 12

STME says hybrid IT calls for integration strategy in Middle East

TechKnow - 14

The cabling specialist

Jean-Pierre Labry, Executive Vice President, R&M Middle East, Turkey & Africa discusses its focus on cabling solutions for the Data center which has made it one of the leading cabling suppliers in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa

Point2Point - 26

Making progress with the channel

Riverbed is focused on continuous partner enablement and knowledge transfer from all anglesElie Dib, Head of Channels for the Middle East, Turkey, North, West and Central Africa (METNA) region at Riverbed Technology discusses more details

Feature - 22

New Thought Process

Data analytics has never been this imperative, as social media brings to bear unprecedented data overload to organizations large and small. Data analytics and business intelligence leader, SAS, strives to bring some clarity to this jumbled scene.

Insight

Resolving the Networking Debate - 28

Curt Beckmann, CTO, EMEA, Brocade discusses how an open and modular networking platform provides greater choice and flexibility

Security for your Roaming Workforce - 30

Gerhard Eschelbeck, CTO, Sophos shares insights about how to use the cloud to enable BYOD and secure endpoints beyond your perimeter

Regulars

R. Narayan Managing Editor

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News Eyetech Stats & trends

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News Bytes

Pure Storage in Magic Quadrant Pure Storage, the all-flash enterprise storage array company has been placed in the Leaders Quadrant of the inaugural Magic Quadrant for SolidState Arrays (SSA) by Gartner. Pure Storage continues to expand its global operational footprint and is forging new strategic reseller partnerships to further develop its sales channels worldwide.

The Manufacturer has also introduced two new storage arrays to its flagship FlashArray product line—the FA-405 and FA-450—and the 4.0 release of its Purity Operating Environment software, featuring native asynchronous replication.

Through this expansion, Pure Storage has effectively extended its market reach and increased its support for Tier 1 storage use cases and missioncritical environments.

“There’s no question to us as we believe that the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant represents an inflection point for the solid-state array category,” said Scott Dietzen, CEO at Pure Storage. “A great deal of hard work and innovation by both Pure and its competitors has been invested in the creation of the all-flash array category, which we believe is positioned to supersede Tier 1 mechanical disk arrays, a roughly $15B annual market opportunity."

4 | September 2014

Cisco to highlight Connected City Vision Cisco will showcase its world-class Smart and Connected Communities (S+CC) technology solutions, aligning with the Dubai Smart City goals, at GITEX Technology Week 2014.

Under the umbrella theme of the Internet of Everything (IoE), Cisco will showcase Smart Cities technology solutions across the themes of Smart+Connected Communities; Smart Government; and Smart Tourism, and Hospitality.

Critical within this will be how to protect the opportunity the IoE presents from cyber-attack, to enable it to fulfill its maximum potential. Cisco’s stand will also feature a designated area for its strategic partners.

“Our return to GITEX Technology Week, coupled with our focus around smart and connected communities, not only demonstrates Cisco’s commitment to the Smart Dubai vision, but also to the UAE and the Middle East region as a whole,” said RabihDabboussi, General Manager for Cisco UAE. During GITEX, Cisco will also unveil new research on security behaviors and trends in the workplace in the UAE, and the latest solutions from the Cisco Security teams.

Brocade makes key Executive Appointments Following the recent appointment of Yarob Sakhnini as regional director for the Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa (MEMA) region earlier this year, Brocade announced a number of key regional senior executive appointments designed to drive growth in the Middle East market and consolidate its leadership position in Ethernet Fabrics, Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) technologies.

Fayez Eweidat has been named regional sales manager, MENA. He has been tasked with expanding Brocade’s footprint in the region, especially in emerging technology areas such as data centre Ethernet fabrics, SDN and NFV. Abdul Reham Tariq has been named regional channel manager, MENA. In this role he is responsible for spearheading Brocade’s local channel strategy. Hesham El Komy has assumed the post of regional marketing manager, MEMA and is responsible for creating marketing and lead generation programmes that enhance the corporate image of Brocade in the region and support overall sales objectives.

As enterprises in the Middle East make the transition to SDN, the company sees a healthy uptake of its OpenFlow-enabled products that are available across all of its flagship switching and routing product families.

“While we are now capable of offering end-to-end support for OpenFlow 1.3, we realise that the SDN momentum in the Middle East is still gaining pace and customers will need to gradually adopt this technology while ensuring a continued quality of service from their existing networks. The hybrid port mode means they can enjoy a steady and cost-effective migration instead of having to opt for a rip-and-replace approach,” says YarobSakhnini, regional director MEMA at Brocade.

News Bytes

Vision Solutions to Exhibit at Gitex 2014 Vision Solutions, Inc., the leading provider of replication, high availability, disaster recovery and workload migration software and services, will be showcasing its range of renowned solutions at GITEX Technology week between the 12th and 16th of October.

There has been an increase in demand and investment in the replication and recovery technology in the Middle East across a broad range of industries including manufacturing, banking, transportations and logistics. Gitex provides the perfect opportunity for Vision Solutions to showcase its Double-Take, iTERA and MIMIX brands to not only large but small to medium sized businesses in the region.

“The Middle East Market is a specific area of focus for us and our goal is to bring regional awareness to our innovative, field-tested and easy to use solutions,” said Ahmad M. Khattab, Vice President of Sales, Growth Markets at Vision Solutions.

“We will have solution architects and subject matter experts present so that we can immediately discuss and address current projects, requirements and sketch out realworld solutions.”

6 | September 2014

TDME integrated with the Aptec brand Aptec - an Ingram Micro Company, announced that its sister company, Track Distribution Middle East (also known in the market as TDME), will now operate under the Aptec brand name. The move combines TDME’s existing distribution portfolio of Cisco, Oracle and Belkin products and strong presence in the Gulf region with Aptec’s as part of the region’s go-to-market strategy for Technology Solutions. The combined capabilities and reach of both companies position Aptec as a single highly-integrated Value-Added Distributor in the Gulf region and Pakistan.

Bahaa Salah, Managing Director, Aptec, an Ingram Micro company, Gulf and Near East region, added: “Track Distribution was always part of Aptec but sometimes it was confusing to the channel because we were positioning these two brands separately. We want to bring clarity to the market and I emphasize that integration into Aptec will be only beneficial for our resellers.”

The new Aptec branding provides significant benefits for legacy Aptec and TDME customers: for resellers it includes access to the wider product portfolio of larger number of vendors, streamlined onboarding processes when the sign up will happen with one company instead of two (less documentation, shorter approval time, less number of people to contact inside company), inventory available in several warehouses across the META region, ready to ship, and faster day to day services (logistics, financial support, marketing); for vendor partners – opportunity to have access to Aptec and TDME combined product portfolio benefiting from wider range of Advanced Solutions which Aptec pioneers in Value Added distribution, and streamlined operational processes.

Veeam reporting over 50% growth in total bookings revenue Veeam Software, provider of solutions that deliver Availability for the Modern Data Center, reported more than 50 percent increase in total bookings revenue and over 90 percent increase in new customers totaling over 700 clients for Q2 2014 when compared with the same period last year.

“There are excellent prospects in the UAE for us to increase our footprint in the region and bridge the gap between the requirements of the Always-On Business and IT’s ability to effectively deliver business continuity as well as IT resilience to the majority of businesses in the country,” said Gregg Petersen, Veeam Software, regional director, Middle East and SAARC. Globally, Veeam grew 30 percent in the first half of 2014 over the corresponding period last year. The second quarter of 2014 marks Veeam’s 26th consecutive quarter in which quarterly total bookings revenue has experienced double-digit percentage growth over the same period during the previous year.

News Bytes

Dell recognized as a Leader in UTM Magic Quadrant Dell has been positioned in the Leaders quadrant of the 2014 Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management by Gartner, Inc. This is the second consecutive time Dell has been named to the Leaders Quadrant for network security for small and medium businesses.

Dell offers thirteen UTM products in two main product lines to meet the needs of the small and midsize business (SMB) markets: the SonicWALL TZ Series for the smallest businesses, and the SonicWALL NSA Series for small and midsize companies. Dell targets the enterprise market with its SonicWALLSuperMassive Series, and also provides other network security solutions, such as SSL VPN and email security gateway.

Patrick Sweeney, executive director of product management, Dell Security said, “The Dell SonicWALL unified threat management product line offers our customers performance, productivity without compromise, and deep network security – all at an affordable price – which is very attractive to small and mid-sized organizations. Our customers tell us that the low price and comprehensive set of features are what differentiate our UTM products from others in the market, and we will continue to invest in these solutions to ensure we maintain and grow our industry-leading capabilities to meet our customers’ most pressing needs. We believe our positioning in the Leaders’ quadrant once again is evidence of our strong commitment to the UTM market.”

8 | September 2014

Oxygen and Aruba join forces to target SMB expansion Oxygen, a leading Secure Mobility Value-AddedDistributor (VAD), and Aruba Networks announced that the company has expanded its existing offering of tier-one wireless networking solutions to the channel for both the small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and the small-to-medium business (SMB) markets in the Middle East Region.

Oxygen has taken a big leap forward on its strategy to engage with small and midsize businesses and will focus on training SMB-focused VARs and helping them provide an comprehensive enterprise-grade security, resiliency and unlimited scalability to the customers they serve. Also the “Partner Incentive Program”, sales and technical support and PR & marketing support will be offered by Oxygen to help partners drive this initiative further in the region. Oxygen will also provide sales and technical trainings to its value added resellers on the Aruba SMB product line across the Middle East region starting from August.

Khalid Laban, Board Advisor, Oxygen said, “Oxygen will push hard behind the Aruba SMB products which are aimed at improving Wi-Fi capacity, security, and management for the SMB market. We will enable SMB-focused partners, as well as large Oxygen partners with SMB practices, to build Aruba’s presence among smaller businesses"

HP to partner Avaya in selling combined portfolio Avaya and HP Enterprise Services (ES) have announced a multi-year agreement to offer cloud-based unified communications and contact center technology, and management solutions for enterprises.

Together, the companies will sell a combined portfolio of Unified Communications-as-a-Service, Contact Center-as-a-Service, and infrastructure modernization services. Combining HP’s expertise in services delivery with Avaya’s strong unified communications and contact center portfolio will create one of the most advanced solutions in the industry, including mobile applications, software, and networking for unified communications and customer experience management.

Pierre-Paul Allard, SVP Worldwide Sales and President Global Field Operations, Avaya said, “Businesses are increasingly seeking alternative models for deploying and managing innovative communications and collaboration technologies. The agreement with HP is the right path at the right time to quickly address what is already one of the fastest growing areas of our business. Through our long-term relationship, we already share many customers. We expect that base to grow significantly with this new model, supporting the world’s collaboration business environment.”

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News Bytes

Silver Peak unifies Cloud, Internet, and WAN Silver Peak has unveiled Unity, an intelligent wide area network (WAN) fabric that unifies the enterprise network with the public cloud.

Unlike traditional WAN optimization solutions, Unity correlates information about cloud services and Internet “weather” to intelligently route traffic over a secure, optimal path.

By keeping SaaS and IaaS traffic on the Unity fabric, IT gains an ability it’s never had: the ability to monitor and control connectivity to the cloud while ensuring consistent SaaS performance.

“Silver Peak Unity represents an entirely new approach to wide area networking, which steps beyond WAN optimization,” said David Hughes, CEO of Silver Peak. “We're giving the enterprise a complete map of the cloud-driven network and applying new routing and intelligence to help enterprise IT see, control and optimize connectivity to every SaaS application.”

Silver Peak software installed in data centers, branch offices and cloud interconnection hubs generates the Unity fabric, a network overlay that controls and accelerates connectivity to any combination of enterprise services, IaaS resources and SaaS applications.

10 | September 2014

emt Distribution partners with Ipswitch emt Distribution, the specialty IT security products distributor announced today the appointment of their company as the authorised distributor for award winning WhatsUp Gold suite of network, application and server monitoring software from Ipswitch in the Middle East region. The distributor will be responsible for working with resellers across Middle East to train and help them build their Ipswitch business.

IpswitchWhatsUp Gold network monitoring software recently won 'Best ICT Management Product of the Year' at the 2014 Data Centre Solutions (DCS) awards, presented at a glittering award ceremony in London, UK recognising the achievements of end-users, channel partners and vendors in the datacentre industry.

Alessandro Porro, Vice President of International Sales at Ipswitch said, “We are aggressively looking at expanding our presence in Middle East, and emt with their deep understanding of the market, wide channel base, technical capabilities will go a long way to promote our award winning solutions in the region.”

Channel partners from UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan can avail the Ipswitch award winning solutions from emt Distribution.

A10 Networks and Webroot Partner A10 Networks, a technology leader in application networking, and Webroot, the market leader in cloudbased, real-time Internet threat detection, announced that A10 will integrate the WebrootBrightCloud Web Classification Service into the A10 Thunder Application Delivery Controller (ADC) product line, improving performance, efficacy and compliance of SSL traffic decryption.

Using the WebrootBrightCloud Web Classification Service with A10’s SSL Intercept feature, customers can analyze and secure SSL traffic while bypassing communications to sensitive sites such as banking and healthcare applications. The combined solution enables organizations to protect end user devices and applications, while meeting regulatory requirements that forbid the decryption or logging of confidential data. By adding Web Classification to Thunder ADC, customers using A10’s innovative SSL Intercept feature can granularly control which types of SSL or TLS traffic to decrypt and which types to forward without inspection.

"Our customers use a wide array of security products to analyze and protect their users and their data," said Jason Matlof, A10 Networks vice president of marketing.

"Unfortunately, many of these security products cannot inspect SSL traffic, exposing organizations to attack and data exfiltration. By partnering with Webroot, we can provide visibility into SSL traffic without unnecessarily decrypting communications to highly sensitive websites and federally regulated data."

News In Detail

STME says hybrid IT calls for integration strategy in ME USD426-million cloud services market is becoming an integral part of the region’s enterprise IT

C

ompanies looking to adopt cloud computing, but are also keen to keep their existing IT infrastructure and on-premises applications will benefit from the flexibility that hybrid integration has to offer, says Mohannad Amr, Project Management Officer at STME. However, in order to maximise the potential of hybrid IT, the right hybrid integration strategy must be put in place.

“Enterprises have already invested and will continue to invest in on-premises core applications and infrastructure architecture tailored to their needs,” says Amr. “But the emergence of social media, smartphone and tablet technologies, and even workplace practices such as BYOD, have expanded engagement points and pushed enterprises to rethink their existing platform so as to seize new opportunities that the cloud presents.”

Across the MEA region, cloud computing adoption is gradually taking off as per a recent industry survey. Between 2012 and 2017, the region is expected to have the highest cloud traffic growth rate in the

12 | September 2014

world at 57 % CAGR, according to the Cisco Global Cloud Index.

Gartner estimated revenues from the cloud services market in the wider MENA region to be around US$462.3 million in 2013, rising by more than 24% from the previous year.

“Cloud is no longer just a buzzword, but rather a reality.

By adopting hybrid integration, companies get to dip their toes into cloud computing without totally abandoning the conventional approach.

However, getting the right hybrid environment balance has proven to be challenging,” says Amr. To address this, IT departments need to scrutinise strategies and align them with their enterprise operational needs prior to commencing hybrid integration. “This entails being crystal clear on the interoperability requirements between systems, the level of data flow integration, and the scalability and extensibility needs in the future.”

A number of literature on integration of on-premises and cloud environments that are individualised for specific industries are also available to

help IT managers. The generic theme includes carrying out Application Portfolio Analysis (APA), where existing application portfolio is analysed and rationalised for best possible alignment between on-premise and cloud systems.

Gradual transformation is another key strategy, where enough time and thought are given to build new layers in order to consolidate and standardise systems. In addition, ongoing optimisation of both architecture and processes, as well as harmonising data continuously are crucial to maintaining service levels and efficiency.

“At the tactical level, it is not uncommon to find IT departments trying to integrate on-premises and cloud applications by creating custom codes using a cloud service’s application programming interfaces (APIs). The downside of this approach is that not only can these APIs be complex, but the degree of such integration is also limited to the capabilities that the cloud service vendor allows through APIs,” he says.

The use of Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) is

another strategy, which utilizes advanced cloud-based set of services that allow for the development, managementand governance of the connections and information transfer between on-premises and cloud-based applications.

“Although more costly up-front, this method transfers the risks of API in-house development along with future ongoing maintenance and upgrades to the iPaaS vendor,” Amr adds.

While it may provide several advantages, adopting a hybrid integration environment also posts some disadvantages, he says. “Increasing reliance on the cloud makes CIOs more engaged in managing service level agreements (SLAs) with multiple service providers instead of managing their own systems. Users also need to accept some latency due to Internet- vs. LAN-based communications, though that is being mediated by the development of advanced web technologies and ever growing bandwidths.”

Overall, hybrid integration offers a safe bet for Middle East companies eager to tap the cloud’s potential.

Point2Point | R & M

R&M is celebrating its 50th year anniversary this year and its showcase at the forthcoming edition of GITEX will include a demonstration of its highly customizable portfolio of Data Center, Office Cabling and FTTx products. Jean-Pierre Labry, Executive Vice President, R&M Middle East, Turkey & Africa discusses its focus on cabling solutions for the Data center which has made it one of the leading cabling suppliers in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa

Jean-Pierre Labry Executive Vice President R&M, META

The cabling specialist Discuss the need for high speed data center networks?

Data centers are responsible for establishing the technical and structural conditions a company requires for carrying out its business processes. They ensure reliability and security for servers and other components, protect them from external dangers and also provide the infrastructure required for operation.

Thus it was always looked to the data center as a space to accommodate the vital information that forms the core of an organization business. Today, applications and services are becoming increasingly centralized as thin clients and mobile

14  |  September 2014

devices enter company networks. This increases the importance of the data center as the location where all these services and applications are hosted and running.

Built on an understanding of the critical business and technology challenges of data center, it’s always required to use new technologies that provide maximum bandwidth, minimum latency and maximum availability.

What are your solutions for data centers, for existing ones and new ones?

R&M as a leader in connectivity solutions for Data Centers. We use our R&D to offer

high quality and innovative products, for 10, 40 and 100 Gigabit applications.

Our product range for the data center market includes copper connectivity, Fiber Optic, raceways, raised floor distribution boxes, pre-terminated trunk cables, directattached cables, as well as cabinets and isle containment. Most recently, we have introduced the revolutionary R&MinteliPhy Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM) solution which has been designed to be easily retrofittable in existing data center cable installations and allows network managers to continuously monitor each and every connection in data centers and local data networks in buildings.

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Point2Point | R & M

excellent real Another area "R&M adopts a consultant approach world scenario wherein R&M has and an end user driven approach and trainings. The strengthened its QPP Program has position as a leader the products we offer can be highly customized training modules in the Middle to our individual customer needs. This simplifies the in both Copper and East data center systems integration process."

Fiber to ensure that market is in the our partners are production of patch equally proficient cords which are an planners find it excellent system to use in both. We take great care to make essential component for connectivity. Two AIM when and where needed without the sure that these sessions are as 'hands years ago, we established the first facility need to throw old parts and buy new ones. on' as possible. R&M also continuously in the region that produces these vital cables and we are capable of producing patch cords that are not only of the highest quality, but that can also be highly customized to the specific requirements of each customer. Establishing such an advanced production facility in the region has enabled us to speed product delivery and we can customize different lengths and different colors with a very short lead time. Furthermore, we conduct 100% testing of all the produced patch cords.

Elaborate on your solutions to automate cabling management?

Automated Infrastructure Management has become very important for Data Centers as it prodvides a real-time physical connectivity monitoring, automatic and updated documentation for cabling infrastructure, along with the automated alerts on any unsolicited changes.

R&M inteliPhy AIM system provides extra benefits to IT managers and DC operators, starting from the centralized database with entire physical infrastructure, a comprehensive work order management, a graphical illustration of network, a powerful search and reporting features and the better use of installed capacity.

R&M's AIM solution is unique as it is the only AIM system that is fully retrofittable on the original passive system.

It uses standard R&M components with no need to replace any part. Data Center

16  |  September 2014

Which are the strong verticals for R&M in the region?

R&M has products in different business fields that include Office Cabling, residential, petrochemical, energy, healthcare, defence, finance, telecom, FTTx and industrial. This is possible because we have an extensive portfolio of over 5000 products, which can be customized to the needs of each of our customers. Since we have end-to-end system with different solutions and products we target different segments.

What is your channel strategy in the region? Who are your distributors?

R&M sells through partners and distributors and we have a network of over 60 different partners in our region. We have made it very easy for customers to find our partners. They can do this by simply visiting our website and entering the country which they would like to find a partner in: Elaborate on the value add services you provide your partners?

Channel partners benefit from extensive and regular training as part of the company’s Qualified Partner Program (QPP). We set up the first training academy in Middle East, Turkey and Africa for R&M at our regional hub in Dubai which is fully equipped to provide our partners with

invests in its partners by empowering them with technical expertise from highly experienced specialists sharing latest product knowledge and best practices on R&M products. Currently, we have over 10 courses in Office Cabling, Data Center, Automated Infrastructure Management and Telecom, covering both installation and design.

We regularly conduct the Business Breakfast initiative which brings professionals, network planners, service and maintenance personnel, IT consultants and other specialists together in an environment which fosters sharing of experiences and technical know-how. This is also a great opportunity for our partners to explore new business opportunities.

R&M adopts a consultant approach and an end user driven approach and the products we offer can be highly customized to our individual customer needs. This simplifies the systems integration process. Ease of installation and modularity are something we pay close attention to when developing new products. For example, we offer preterminated cable of specified lengths which are very easy to install. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that the same high-standard of Swiss quality set by R&M is maintained by our partners through the entire project so that in the end, the customer enjoys the best possible solution.

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Cover Feature | SI Business

Systems integrators are making adjustments to take in stride the transformational impact of emerging Technologies.

Realigned vistas A

s traditional IT is being challenged by disruptive trends, there is a need for the systems integrators to reposition their services. They need to map those trends that are redefining how small to larger users are going to consume IT services and accordingly align their delivery models.

Mohammed Zameer, General Manager, Al Rostamani Communications says, “ICT on Cloud, BYOD, LTE & Managed IT are the emerging trends that would define regional enterprise IT in the next five years.

Currently Enterprises still are clinging on to the concept of in-house IT departments and in-house expertise. Slowly but surely, the IT will become part of a managed service done either by a Global provider or a local provider.”

18 | September 2014

He adds, “The major growth would be in the Datacenter solutions, Hosting and Managed services spaces in the next few years. In the Telecom space there are many opportunities, as the service providers are outsourcing many of their traditional customer facing activities. We foresee emerging requirements on the application transformation for cloud applications, cloud virtualization, etc and we are positioning our strategy towards these areas.”

While the cloud is now a viable alternative, the customer still needs to make a choice based on specific needs of his Business.

Narendra Talreja, Director, IT and Managed Services at Seven Seas Computers LLC says, “The Cloud is shaping

up aggressively for the customer with options of Private, Public or Hybrid cloud deployments. The options span between the conventional Infrastructure as a Service, Software as a Services and Platform as a Service for the customer from application vendors and the ISVs respectively, depending upon who the customer is. Thus the customer has choices of a combination of technologies to avail from any of these offerings to forge a viable IT strategy which helps meet expectations of ROI, performance, SLAs, OPEX model and requirements such as compliance, go green targets etc, which in sum helps justify the IT spend to his business and the management.”

Seven Seas focuses on technology silos

from Enterprise Compute, DNS, Unified Communication, Infrastructure & ELV as well as Managed Services including cloud offerings. It is focusing on delivering cloud services to almost all industry verticals including the enterprise, SMB, BFSI, O&G, Govt, Hospitality, Healthcare, Education and Retail. The Integrator is keen to keep pace with the transition towards the hybrid cloud model.

Narendra adds, “There are possibilities wherein the same customer wants to deploy a hybrid infrastructure assuming he has reached end of life on certain legacy hardware and /or software. Getting into hybrid model allows him flexibility to meet objectives which may be pertaining to his business and management. This allows us and thus the customer to be an early entrant to the world of Cloud.”

More vendors have brought cloud based solutions that are now viable alternatives to many scenarios of traditional IT on premise solutions. There is conviction that the cloud and the on-premises models will co-exist.

Sunil Paul, COO at Finesse says, “Though the cloud adoption rate is slow, organizations have increasingly looking at various OPEX models including Cloud, SaaS etc. However Cloud based systems are not going to completely replace On-premises solutions. The future is going to be in favor of the Hybrid model, where on-site assets are combined with web based cloud services. Most organizations cannot meet their business functions with fully Out-of-the box functionality and making customizations and local developments will always remain a challenge for Cloud based deployments."

Finesse focuses on application and represents several of the industry leaders in the application space including Oracle, IBM, Open Text, Software AG, Qlik, Tagetik, Metric Stream among others.

Narendra concurs with the view that the cloud uptake hasn’t been swift.

Customers are still circumspect.

He says, “We do have cloud ready versions of many of the solutions we offer whereas the adoption rate is not as we had

expected. A lot of customers are adopting wait and watch, or are still waiting for their current investments to depreciate. For an SI, the cloud model sometimes supplants the upfront revenues from a regular model with a predictable annuity revenue model and gives customer options to pick his choices between Private, Public or Hybrid cloud.”

Jai Mulani, CEO of IBT Technologies, a Systems Integrator believes the cloud services adoption is rising and will see an acceleration. He adds,“We have seen solid growth in cloud services uptake in the past year. The SMB and Enterprise segments understand the benefits of having infrastructure in the cloud & it is an investment which comes in recurring form and so big investment is not really needed. I believe after a few years majority of businesses globally will have their infrastructure on Cloud.”

IBT has a predominant focus on Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Managed Services and the company is offering ready Cloud Services for its customers to migrate to.

He adds, “We have a datacenter in Manchester out of where we offer these services. We offer our customers their entire IT Infrastructure or partial IT Infrastructure on Cloud which can include their Applications, Database, Files, Emails or anything else they want to move to the Cloud. Moreover, we offer Infrastructure migration services from their in-house Infrastructure to Infrastructure on Cloud and manage it for customer based on the agreed SLA.” Customers are looking to upgrade

Mohammed Zameer General Manager Al Rostamani Communications

their ICT infrastructure but each Business customer will have their own rationale, which can bring in an increased role for the channel partner as a consultant.

Narendra adds, “There would be further augmentation of virtualization, consolidation and specialized services; Server, Network, Desktop, Storage, Applications and value added services.

The customers not opting for cloud options for policy reasons as well as those who want to move to the next paradigm would make a good percentage for us on these opportunities."

Condo Protego is also offering cloud solutions from the principal vendors it is associated with. The company is an EMC Signature Partner and Direct Partner, a September 2014 | 19

Cover Feature | SI Business

Narendra Talreja Director IT & Magaged Services Seven Seas Computers

Jai Mulani CEO IBT Technologies

Sunil Paul COO Finesse

Symantec Platinum IT including User Partner, Websense Helpdesk, Network "Customer satisfaction also results in additional Platinum Partner, & Datacenter business from the existing customers from and also certified Management and different areas of technology. More than 50% as an EMC Services we manage it for of our business is from existing customer and Partner. them based on references from these customers to their peers.”

Savitha Bhaskar, their expectations GM at Condo of Service Delivery Protego says, “Our which includes 24 vendors is far more effective than going to main Technology partners have been x 7 Monitoring plus Troubleshooting and one vendor solution that may be overall leading the journey to the cloud for some Hardware Replacement in 2 – 4 hours.” average instead of exceptional. The years now and for nearly a decade now “one size fits fall” approach has become we have been offering our customers Mapping Focus areas outdated as enterprises are more aware cloud-based and Email Security solutions Integrators are drawing up their strategies of their options, but also that they can and more recently storage and datacenter based on emerging trends in different combine these alternatives to best suit virtualization solutions that are a first verticals and based on anticipated demand their business objectives.” towards building a private cloud.” in specific solution domains. They are Managed services is likely to see more Along with the trends towards cloud adding new solutions to fuel their growth acceptance by customers as they see IT as services, Savitha also believes there is also as well as stay relevant in the industry an enabling facility for their core Business an inclination to move towards working in terms of expertise to meet additional processes. There is scope for the channel to customer requirements. integrators who can provide specialist have a profitable practice in this domain. A services.

Finesse has made strong inroads rising number of SIs in the region already She elaborates, “We are finding that catering to the specialized applications that cater to this opportunity. more enterprises, both large corporations the BFSI segment needs and has introduced Jai says, “We have a very vast portfolio and SMEs, are turning to consultative FATCA, Fraud Management, Treasury as of Managed Services which we offer to solution providers because they realize well as Signature Management to its BFSI our customers in Enterprise Segment. In that a customized solution combining offerings. Alongside, the company has seen these offerings, we undertake their entire the best-of-breed products from multiple growth in demand from other key verticals.

20 | September 2014

Sunil elaborates, “The BFSI sector continued to be our major contributor as always and also may have attributed to some of the new central bank regulations.

Education and Healthcare is also growing for us. We have introduced new innovative solutions such as Digital Concierge to hospitality industry which is attracting lots of interest from the region. As hospitality industry is getting ready for Expo 2020, we believe it should trigger the spending.”

Finesse claims to have doubled its sales in the areas of Business Intelligence, Data Analytics and Performance monitoring. It has also added a few more solutions in this area.

Sunil elaborates, “Financial Institutions have realized the value of Analytics and how it can redefine their business. Banks and financial institutions have started implementing Analytics and Performance monitoring tools to drive revenue, reduce risk and to get deeper insights.”

In addition, the company added new solutions to its portfolio in the last few months including CPM (Corporate Performance Management), GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance, Energy Sustainability, Customer Experience Management and Social Media apps.

Condo Protego has traditionally been strong on the storage and availability solutions. For instance, it is a Symantec Master Specialist in all four areas of Symantec Availability technologies.

However, it is now branching out into security solutions as well as it sees a linkage between the two domains.

Savitha says, “We mainly provide data storage and data center security solutions to large Enterprises and SMEs, both public and private companies across the UAE and the region. With the growing significance of Big Data, effective data storage and information lifecycle management is crucial and with growing security threats and risks, Datacenter Security is no longer something that can be taken lightly even for SME’s.”

She adds, “This vital link between data storage and security lead us to expand our security practice, allowing us to provide even more comprehensive solutions to our

customers. This is now our focus for the second half of this year, and we are already witnessing a clear demand for this service, with numerous requests coming in from customers in both the public and private sectors.”

Go to market approaches Systems Integrators are working on opportunities and leads created by various activities including telesales, marketing campaigns etc. They are also looking for opportunities where they collaborate with other systems integrators in areas of their expertise on larger turnkey projects.

As Sunil says, “We collaborate with most of the other leading system integrators in the region as they are very happy to take services from us on certain areas including BI & Analytics, Content Management, Governance, Risk & Compliance etc.”

IBT’s Jai says while they participate in tenders, “We also work with a lot of other IT Companies who brings in projects for us and we execute it for them. We also work with other industries, partnering with Interior Designers, Consultants, Contractors etc.“ Different communication approaches work in different market segments. In the Telecom service provider segment and the government establishment, Business is mostly through tenders and responses says Al Rostamani’s Mohammed. However he adds that customer referrals are of significant value.

He adds, “Our greatest strategy is to ensure highest satisfaction of our existing customers who in turn gives access to other customers by good referrals and professional networking. Customer satisfaction also results in additional

Savitha Bhaskar General Manager Condo Protego

business from the existing customers from different areas of technology. More than 50% of our business is from existing customer and references from these customers to their peers.”

While Condo Protego relies on its established clientele base but is also working with other larger sized integrators when relevant opportunities come up.

Savitha elaborates, “ In addition as a specialist partner we do collaborate with other SI’s in the region. The Large SIs work with us as they would like to include our specialist niche skills as part of their larger Turkey projects and smaller SI’s work with us as they come across opportunities in accounts they are engaged in which are outside their areas of specialization and hence they collaborate with us to deliver those solutions.”

The market continues to shift and embrace new technologies. Even if the pace of adoption maybe slack in certain verticals, there will always be some early adopters and catering to those requirements will keep integrators on the leading edge among their peers.

September 2014 | 21

Feature | Data Analytics

Data analytics has never been this imperative, as social media brings to bear unprecedented data overload to organizations large and small. Data analytics and business intelligence leader, SAS, strives to bring some clarity to this jumbled scene.

New Thought Process B

ig Data is providing corporate organizations with its own set of new challenges as organizations attempt to analyse and make sense, and profits, from the unravelling data torrent.

One of the reactions to Big Data by CIOs is Big Warehousing, a worrying development according to Carel Badenhorst, Head Information Management Practice MEA, Pakistan & Turkey at SAS. According to Carel, CIOs are going out and try to find a more optimized environment to store more data. This warehousing, Carel explains, will never offer any business value on and in itself.

“The one fear I have in going the Big Data Warehousing route is that you only make your limited decisioning based on the historic view of the organization,” Carel says, adding, “and you are not adding value.”

What SAS is trying to teach CIOs from a Big Data perspective is not how to store bigger data but how to analyse data more intelligently so that they can start managing more complex and bigger volumes of data, Carel says.

Social media especially is a source of much confusion as well as massive

22 | September 2014

opportunities for organizations. There are bigger and bigger social media streams coming to many firms’ data decision cycle now. As a business, one needs to know who the customer is, what they are spending their money on, where they are spending it. This allows the business owner to know who to interact with from a social perspective so they can build a more complete picture of the customer and be more relevant in their interactions with clients. All of this data however sits outside the company and the company simply has no control over. This Big Data is coming from complex data sources that that organizations don’t even own,but need to make central so they can bring it into their analytical decision cycle and get to know customers better.

What organizations then need, Carel says,is an analytical process to bring that data into their own environment in a structured format so they can begin making sense of Twitter, Facebook freeform comments, video and voice streams.

“All these, although very complex sources of data, are potentially rich sources of information but needs to be structured before they can be used it in some sort of logical story-telling process. To do that, you have to apply analytics to that data to bring some meaning to it. From my perspective, you need to look at not the volume of data but what you are going to bring in and be able to structure the data. You also need to consider what you are going to do with that data once you have brought it in,” Carel says. “We at SAS do not want our customers to build a big data warehouse.

We want them to get big profits from big data using analytics,” he adds.

In the Middle East, analytics as a field is yet to get much traction beyond some key industries-although it’s not due to lack of interest, Carel contends. “In the region, we are seeing certain industries that are comfortable with the use of the analytical process within mature industries such as finance and telcos who are already used to using the analytical process and the analytical mind-set of data-driven business decisions. The uptake in the

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Feature | Data Analytics

then deploy it to other segments is their operational slow although the “Analytics can tell you the story of the future so one can environment,” interest is huge,” start applying these mathematical formulas through the Carel says. “So if Carel adds. you use analytics Analytics as data. Not only can one start understanding why certain appropriately, it a concept scares things are happening in my organization, but they can will run through the people a little actually start being proactive in their decision making." entire organization bit, Carel admits. seamlessly and This is not to everyone will know say analytics is how to apply the methodologies, the exactly what they need to do,” he adds. anything new- mathematics has always process and the formulas to the existing The overburdened CIO has reason to been there. What has changed however environment they already have in place smile as analytics offers a far easier path to is the application of mathematics on the to get more value from them and to start business outcomes. “The wonderful thing decision making process. “For the past driving future-based decision making,’ he about mathematics is you do not need three or so decades, what people have adds. to know the answers beforehand,” says been focusing on is reporting-getting the Contrary to popular belief, analytics Carel. “So if you use analytics correctly, data represented in some sort of electronic is not the exclusive domain of expert mathematics will expose to you whether format whether it’s in an Excel sheet or data scientists. Today everyone in the individual variables actually contribute to other formats. However this has limitations answering specific business questions or because reporting will only ever give you a organization is involved in the analytic lifecycle, Carel says. IT’smain responsibility not and anything that contributes to an historic view. What people now need to be is to provide that single 360 degree view answer right now is irrelevant. In using competitive and drive profits up and costs of the organization through data. After IT the Analytics Life Cycle, relevance is made down in organizations is a different way has done that, this view of the business known to you as a first step of using of thinking, which BI reporting does not is exposed and this is where business analytics,” he adds. provide,” Carel says. analysts come in; anyone who The application of mathematics to uses excel in an organization data is called the Analytics Life Cycle. This is a business analyst and entails applying mathematical formula to they understand how the the data so that data can start telling a environment reacts for what story that is not of the past. they are responsible for. This Carel explains: “What analytics can allows the business analysts to do is that it’s going to tell you the story start asking questions from his of the future so one can start applying environment using the data. these mathematical formulas through the In a typical scenario, when data. Not only can one start understanding a company is introducing a why certain things are happening in my product, they have an idea organization, but they can actually start how the market will react being proactive in their decision making. to the product. So one will Users are then able to playing with need analytics to test this different types of scenarios without having hypothesisand validate what to go and try them first. Mathematics will the business people think. expose these scenarios to me and the Once this validation is done, Mathematical Confidence Limit will give this hypothesis is passed onto you the correct amount of confidence in a statistician who will then exactly what is going to happen in the draw a model to answer this future if you take certain steps. So the question with specific data. application of mathematics for analytical “Once I have this predictive storytelling using the analytics lifecycle is model, anyone can send a what over the past five to six years has Carel Badenhorst parameter into this predictive become more prevalent in organizations.”

Information Head model and get an accurate This is where SAS plays a role, Carel MEA, Pakistan & Turkey, SAS analytical answer. One can says. “What we teach our customers is

24 | September 2014

Point2Point | Riverbed

Discuss the opportunities you see for Riverbed in the region?

Riverbed has expanded beyond Wan Optimization to five major product sets that add up to something much bigger, the industry’s most complete application performance platform. Our new platform opens up a much larger market opportunity for Riverbed in Application Performance Infrastructure. The Middle East markets offer vast business opportunities whether from Riverbed existing satisfied customers, from the untapped opportunities across our new platform, or from new markets that we are penetrating.

The region’s businesses are facing new challenges as demand for ‘AnywhereAccess Computing’ surges. Locationindependent computing provides companies with the ability to turn distance and location into a competitive advantage by hosting applications and data in optimal locations, while ensuring flawless application performance and the best user experience.

Achieving true location-independent computing requires an application performance platform like the one that Riverbed provides that maintains visibility no matter where or when the applications are located or accessed.

What does Riverbed look for in its partners?

We look for partners who are capable of distinguishing themselves from the rest through developing services competencies independently from the vendor. The core of the channel strategy at Riverbed is to empower our channel business partners to build service offerings on our application performance platform to ensure customer satisfaction and ROI.We are working towards enabling our partners to be fully capable of designing the solution, articulating the benefits to the customer, implementing the solution in the best possible way and providing post implementation support.

What are the challenges that facing you partners today?

Vendors have created a reactive ecosystem minimizing the importance of their channel

26 | September 2014

Riverbed is focused on continuous partner enablement and knowledge transfer from all angles sales, pre-sales, post-sales, tools, shadowing, demos, marketing, etc. Elie Dib, Head of Channels for the Middle East, Turkey, North, West and Central Africa (METNA) region at Riverbed Technology discusses more details Elie Dib Channel Head, METNA Region Riverbed

Making progress with the channel to conduct strategic thinking and planning.

This has resulted with the channel lacking focus and specialization in the technology or industry they serve. This is in stark contrast to the way that channel entities operate in more mature IT markets. I would also say that it is not the lack of funds or skills that has brought about this mentality but rather a vicious cycle set in place by vendors who permit their channel partners to become complacent.

Channel partners have begun complacent and wait for vendors to bring them opportunities and even when these opportunities are brought to them, they

are incapable of implementing solutions and providing support, but depend on the vendors to assist with this.

How do you help your partners to overcome those challenges?

Enablement, Empowerment and trust are the key drivers to an independent business partner. This is the formula that will allow Riverbed to expand its reach and penetrate new markets along with our partners. This divide and conquer market approach will mutually benefit Riverbed and our partners as we both increase our market share and profits.

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Insight | Brocade

W

ithin the networking industry, there is a growing divide between two schools of thought; between those companies that believe that the future of the network lies in openness, and those that think a proprietary approach is the compelling way to go.

Many readers will pause here and say “Hang on…

That debate is over. Everyone knows that customers want open standards!” And that highlights an important point.

Customers do, by and large, want openness. Vendors have recognized that preference and highlighted their membership in various open communities.

No vendor has leapt forth and insisted that closed is the way to go. The tension is more complex; it is between open-and-fully-interoperable, and ostensibly-open-yetproprietary. The question of interoperability will clearly impact how your network and your business will be able to function and evolve in the long-term.

In essence, the open approach is based on the belief that, in order to truly align an enterprise’s infrastructure strategy with its business requirements, customers must be free to choose the solutions that best meet their specific needs, regardless of which vendor builds them. In order for this ‘best of breed’ approach to work, technologies must be – not just based on open standards – but genuinely interoperable, giving customers the option to bring in specific products and components as their needs evolve and change.

At the other end of the

28 | September 2014

spectrum is the open-yetproprietary approach, which requires organizations to stick solely to one equipment provider. Advocates of this proprietary approach will tell you that it too has its own advantages. However, with the demands placed on enterprises’ core infrastructure growing all the time and new innovations bringing major changes to the way that networks are deployed, configured and controlled, this ‘locked in’ approach is increasingly seen as dated and restrictive, rather than efficient.

The open, interoperable approach, with the flexibility and choice that it brings, makes it the best option for customers, who all have unique and complex requirements and need to be able to design and adapt their infrastructure to meet those needs.

With the industry moving towards Software-Defined Networking (SDN), the importance of this kind of openness will only increase.

The growing complexity of today's networks, and the move to greater use of virtualization, mean that it is simply no longer feasible to rely on a single vendor to deliver an end-to-end solution that fits every customer's requirements of service agility and scalability.

Cloud and telecommunications service need an open and modular networking platform that provides greater choice and flexibility as they move towards SDN and NFV. As a working group chair at the Open Networking Foundation, I have worked closely with the

Curt Beckmann CTO, EMEA Brocade

Resolving the Networking Debate Curt Beckmann, CTO, EMEA, Brocade discusses how an open and modular networking platform provides greater choice and flexibility. world's leading experts on SDN and I have seen first-hand the progress that has been made in the development of open frameworks, architecture and standards for SDN. I expect the next 12 months to be especially fruitful for open SDN. And yet, I expect the debate between the interoperability and proprietary

philosophies to continue for some time to come. The good news is that organizations will have an increasing ability to choose a path that works for them. And over time, with agility, flexibility and control now more important to customers than ever, I’m willing to bet that true openness will win out.

Insight | Sophos

Security for your Roaming Workforce Gerhard Eschelbeck, CTO, Sophos shares insights about how to use the cloud to enable BYOD and secure endpoints beyond your perimeter.

N

ot long ago, securing computing resources was simple and straightforward: build a solid network perimeter with a strong firewall, add host intrusion prevention, and authenticate everyone who enters. In today's anytime, anywhere, any-device work environment, the new perimeter is the security software on employee laptops and mobile devices. Some of this software is difficult to update while the users are outside the office, requiring VPN connections for access and large update files that slow down an already spotty connection.

Five security risks of a roaming BYOD workforce— and tips to resolve them Risk 1: Out-of-date software and policy One common complain among traveling employees is that their security software and policy slips out of date while

30 | September 2014

they work away from the office.

When they return, their noncompliant systems are blocked from accessing the network, and all productive activity grinds to a halt while their computers download security updates and apply the latest policy.The old “layered security” approach that combined network security with local device configuration and security software maintenance simply doesn’t work. Effective protection requires a way to automate security policy configuration, threat updates and enforcement for laptops that are outside of the network than inside—whether they are connected in airports, hotels, coffee shops, remote offices or employees' homes. Tip: Choose a cloud-based security subscription service that offers secu-rity software and policy updates anywhere without slowing down users.

Risk 2: Personal browsing on company computers

Most employees are wellintentioned and securityconscious, but as the lines between work life and personal life continue to blur, it's understandable that they use work systems for personal tasks. Personal browsing and social media use on mobile devices creates insidious new social engineering opportunities, which cybercriminals are only too happy to exploit. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social networking sites make it easy for employees to connect with friends, family and peers.

Unfortunately, unsuspecting friends and co-workers may click on malicious links they believe to be from trusted acquaintances. Companies with rigid polices banning these sites report only marginal success as many employees either ignore the policies or find ways around them. A more pragmatic solution is to block web threats using an effective web-filtering solution.Tip: Take advantage of

Gerhard Eschellbeck CTO Sophos

security software web filtering capabilities that block malicious and web-borne threats, as well as enforce proper usage policy.

Risk 3: Exposing sensitive data Enabling BYOD is a must in today’s business environment, and securing proprietary data should therefore be another major priority. Customer lists, account numbers, marketing and business plans, and other sensitive data likely reside on employee notebooks and mobile devices. What happens to that sensitive data if the mobile devices are lost or stolen? An easy-to-manage encryption solution and mobile device management are recommended to keep data safe in a BYOD world.

Tip: To protect data and ensure compliance, be sure that your security solutions encrypt data on multiple platforms including both Windows and Mac. Select a single solution that gives you

visibility into all the devices your remote users are using, including Windows or Mac laptops and mo-bile devices.

Risk 4: Mobile workers in charge of their own security Security is not the average employee’s top priority or core competency. Even if mobile employees are capable of performing security tasks, who wants them spending time securing systems rather than doing their jobs? In the BYOD era, many employers choose to bring their mobile devices to work. Don’t make the mistake of allowing your end users to be in charge of their own security. Tip: Security must be transparent to users and reduce the burden of IT admins by selecting a solution that will protect Windows and Mac computers equally.

Risk 5: Unsecure storage devices USB devices often contain sufficient storage space to easily accommodate massive amounts of data. They are produced for consumer use, lack inherent security, may be difficult to manage, and are easily misplaced. Industries with high compliance requirements such as healthcare, insurance and financial services may restrict the use of such devices.

Even if industry standards don’t apply, utilization policies and monitoring may be advisable.

Tip: Monitor USB device usage across the business, and deploy a realistic device control policy.

Consider encryption solutions to ensure that any data stored on these mobile storage units is protected.

Why the cloud is the perfect

fit for today's businesses Cloud-based, cloud-managed security solutions are transparent for end users and simple for administrators. They protect data and endpoints by focusing on individual users, with policies that follow them across systems, Windows, Mac and mobile devices —wherever they go. With a Cloud solution, security becomes far easier to use, deploy and manage with one convenient, cloudbased management console that's available from any computer with a browser.

Upgrades are automatic, coverage is everywhere, and it doesn't require complicated server setup or infrastructure maintenance. This simple, pay-as- you-grow, subscriptionbased service is a cost-effective way to protect your business.

Modern Cloud solutions

deliver comprehensive, cloudbased protection as a service that includes state-of- the-art, advanced anti-malware, web security, web filtering and mobile device management.

Moreover it: • Secures Windows and Mac computers as well as mobile devices • Protects users from infected websites • Allows admins to set safe and acceptable web use policy with web filtering • Enables BYOD by allowing you to easily manage mobile devices and security policy for laptops from one console with user-centric management and reporting • Prevents the use of unwanted removable storage devices such as USB thumb drives, external drives and more

September 2014 | 31

eyetech

Xerox WorkCentre 5945/5955 Overview: The Xerox WorkCentre 5945/5955 multifunction printer, enabled by ConnectKey Technology, easily streamlines how you communicate, process and share important information. It simplifies complex, paperdriven tasks, and drives down costs while keeping your data secure. Designed with ease of use in mind, the WorkCentre 5945/5955's completely accessible paper path makes routine maintenance a breeze.

Key features: • The new Xerox WorkCentre 5945/5955 is designed with true 1200 x 1200 dpi that delivers superior image quality and print speeds up to 45/55 pages per minute. With output as fast as seven seconds and a 4,700 sheet paper capacity – the device helps businesses get more work done, faster.

• The Xerox devices allow users to scan, share or print documents, with increased flexibility. The devices have single pass duplex scanning, at up to 200 images per minute, and the customizable single touch scan feature makes it easy to quickly send scans to email, PC or the cloud – with just a touch of a button.

• Equipped with Xerox ConnectKey technology, users can print from the device of their choice, making printing quicker and easier too. Xerox Mobile Print and Apple AirPrint allow users to print securely, from almost any mobile device, to any MFP, regardless of brand.

• In addition, the WorkCentre’s uses the latest Xerox Emulation Aggregation (EA) Toner, which can be replaced by any user, providing less user intervention and more uptime so businesses can focus on the work that really matters.

• To help businesses stay ahead of data breaches and other security threats, the WorkCentre 5945/5955 is integrated with McAfee technology– ensuring that only authorized users have access to the device.

32 | September 2014

BenQ’s new Interactive Education Projectors Overview: BenQ unveiled today two new additions to its education projector line – the MX852UST and MW853UST. Infused with the company’s long-standing vision of futureproofing every classroom, the projectors engineered for quality, innovation and reliability and designed to bring increased productivity, efficiency, simplicity and enjoyment to educators, IT managers and school administrators. Building upon the success of BenQ’s Smart Interactive Classroom concept, the MX852UST and MW853UST are equipped with the seamless integration of ultra short-throw technology and PointWrite compatibility for dual-screen- and multi-touch-enabled interactivity to immerse teachers and students in a truly collaborative learning experience.

Key features: • Featuring a virtually sealed engine design for filter- free maintenance and dust-proof durability, these DLP projectors are also built with an XGA/WXGA resolution, up to 3200 ANSI lumen brightness, 10000:1 contrast ratio, HDMI connectivity, built-in 20W speaker power, and LAN Control respectively for excellent picture quality that lasts for years.

• Built with BenQ’s ultra short-throw technology to bring a stunning 87” large projection image in a mere distance of 0.67meters, the MX852UST and MW853UST offer a great solution for up-close engagement and limited classroom space.

• Built to support BenQ’s latest PointWrite touch innovations, the MX852UST and MW853UST offer an upgrade option to turn any surface into an interactive, touch-based learning platform by utilizing an innovative infrared technology that supports a speedy 0.016fps writing response from a PointWrite Pen or an optional PointWrite touch module that enables the camera to detect up to four finger or objects.

• The multi-touch capabilities further support Windows 8 touch interface for group annotation tasks.

Dell’s new workstations Overview: Dell has announced new mainstream and performance tower and rack workstations, the Dell Precision Tower 5810, Tower 7810, Tower 7910, and Rack 7910, designed to address the critical requirements of customers in compute-intensive fields such as engineering, manufacturing, and media and entertainment. Updated with Intel’s latest Xeon processors, DDR4 memory, next-generation graphics technology from NVIDIA and AMD, and doubling the amount of memory from the previous generation, these powerful, scalable systems are optimised and independent software vendor (ISV) certified to run the most demanding applications. In addition, Dell is releasing a new version of the Dell Precision Optimizer v2.0, which automatically configures workstation settings to maximise application performance.

Key features: • The updated Dell Precision tower workstation portfolio includes the single socket Tower 5810 and high-power dual processor Tower 7810, which both offer innovative design features within a compact footprint, and the highly expandable Tower 7910 that delivers ultimate workstation performance and scalability.

• The innovative chassis design on the systems includes quick release hard drives, a tool-less, externally accessible power supply, and a lockable front bezel for added security and delivers improved acoustics performance.

• The new Dell Precision Rack 7910 offers all the capabilities of the Tower 7910 in a 2U rack form factor, with complete qualification and support for workstation virtualization with Citrix XenServer and VMware ESX hypervisors. It is also the first Dell Precision workstation to include an Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC).

• The new tower and rack workstations feature next-generation Intel Xeon processors and are available with the latest AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro professional-grade graphics technology.

Linksys Managed Network Switches

Overview: Linksys has announced its first managed switches in the Linksys Business product line-up to complement its portfolio of business networking products. With the latest addition the Linksys Business line-up now includes a full range of cost effective routing, switching, VPN, wireless and IP Surveillance solutions. The new managed switches are available in a 28 and 52-port rack mountable chassis, with and without Power over Ethernet Plus. Managed switches offer more advanced security and bandwidth control for IT administrators compared to smart and unmanaged switches, to ensure stability of the business network.

Linksys Managed Switches feature port authentication and MAC-based port security, requiring clients to authenticate themselves before any data is passed. Advanced DHCP snooping and IP-MAC-Port binding functions ensure network integrity and help prevent network attacks. These advanced features enable business to secure their network environment and prevent unauthorized access to the network and mission-critical data.

With additional Gigabit or 10-Gigabit uplink SFP/SFP+ fiber-optic port expansions for servers and data centers, Linksys Managed Switches provide an ideal combination of business scalability and affordability.

Key features: • Layer 3 static routing • 24 or 48 Gigabit Ethernet ports • Two combo mini-GBIC (SFP) ports • Two 10-Gigabit uplink Ethernet SFP+ ports (LGS552P and LGS552) • Integrated Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) (LGS528P and LGS552P) • Energy Efficient Ethernet Technology (802.3az) • Port and Tag based VLAN support for up to 1024 VLANs (802.1Q) • Automatic Voice VLAN, Guest VLAN and Dynamic VLAN assignment

September 2014 | 33

Stats & Trends

45% of Senior Executives Lack Trust in IT

E

MC recently announced results of an independent survey revealing fresh insights about IT strategies and infrastructures deployed within companies and governments throughout the world. Most notably, respondents cite a startling lack of senior executive confidence that permeates organizations globally, specifically concerning readiness around the critical IT requirements of continuous availability; advanced security; and integrated backup and recovery.

The Global IT Trust Curve survey, administered by independent market research firm Vanson Bourne, spans 3,200 interviews across 16 countries and 10 industry sectors.

China received the top maturity ranking: Chinese IT decision makers reported implementing the highest concentration of sophisticated continuous availability, advanced security, and integrated backup and recovery technologies. The United States ranked second in maturity on the IT Trust Curve. Underscoring swift and aggressive technology investments to solidify their world influence, three of the four most mature countries — China, South Africa and Brazil — are BRICS nations.

Japan ranked last on the IT Trust Curve in the16-nation survey.

Key Findings: Lower levels of maturity permeate the globe: • More than half (57%) of all respondents fall into the lower maturity categories, while only 8% place in the Leader category.

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• The higher organizations land on the maturity curve, the more likely they are to have already implemented more strategic and leading-edge technology projects such as Big Data Analytics.

Lack of confidence in technology infrastructure: • Nearly half (45%) of all respondents globally report that their senior executives are not confident that their organizations have adequate availability, security, and backup and recovery capabilities.

• When asked about executive confidence levels, the percentage of all respondents within each maturity level who said their senior executives are confident that their organizations have adequate availability, security, and backup and recovery are: Laggard (39%), Evaluator (51%), Adopter (65%) and Leader (81%).

• Japan has the smallest percentage of respondents (31%) reporting that their senior teams have confidence in these key aspects of IT; Germany has the highest percentage (66%).

• 19% (nearly one in five) of respondents worldwide cite an overall lack of confidence in their technology infrastructure.

Highly-regulated industries throughout the world displayed proportionally higher maturity levels.

• In addition to the IT and Technology (#3) industries, the remaining Top 5 most mature industries globally are the highlyregulated Financial Services (#1), Life Sciences (#2), Healthcare (#4) and Public Sector (#5).

'Third Platform' Technologies gaining attention from government sector Newly-released research from International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that Middle East and African (MEA) government organizations are increasingly grappling with the need to gain executive-level support and funding for technology investments amid increasing end-user expectations and service delivery requirements.

"MEA government IT departments are increasingly being asked not only to ‘do more with less’ but also to ‘do new with less'," says MukeshChulani, regional program manager for IDC Government Insights. "This raft of increasingly complex new demands includes expanding the roster and reach of various services, ensuring operations are well governed, and minimizing the risks arising from the intensifying security threat landscape.

Consequently, many IT decision makers are keen to evaluate new engagement and business models."

Results from IDC's Annual Middle East and Africa Government CIO Survey 2014 show that in terms of investment focus areas, over onethird of MEA government sector respondents have plans to initiate investments in various 'Third Platform' technologies such as enterprise mobility, Big Data and analytics, and private cloud computing over the next two years. In particular, a growing interest in enterprise mobility will feature as a critical area of ICT market growth and opportunity within the region during this period.

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