RESPONSIBILITYISBALANCEDECOLOGICALLYWORLDASHARED Niall acrosssustainablecompany'sarticulatesSeniorMcLoughlin,VP,DAMACtheprojectstheregion. 10 A10 Networks Introduces IPv4 Address Cost Estimator Tool NEWS IN DETAIL 14 DAMAC’s InitiativesSustainabilityandConscious Efforts EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS 14 Vivek Sharma CEO Murali Margassery Assistant Editor Faiz Ahmed Graphic Designer Bhavana Menon Assistant Sales Director Navin Hassan Sales Executive Zain Fazal Sankay Media Sales Executive Suneeta Dadwani Sales Support
COVER STORY
4 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com Murali Margassery Assistant Editor Content
12 DHL Brings in “Sustainable Logistics!” Amadou Diallo, CEO - MEA, DHL Global Forwarding articulates the sustainable steps taken by the organization to reduce the carbon footprint in an exclusive interview.
EDITORIAL
“Sustainable and ecologically balanced world is a shared responsibility,” Amadou Diallo, CEO – MEA, DHL Global Forwarding, firmly points out as the most pressing need of the hour. The statement underpins the vision defined for The Integrator’s August issue. Notably, it is a collective success of modern thinking and universal acknowledgment, based on the “UN Paris Accord (2015),” that we got over 190 countries to agree on the framework to battle against global climate change and increasing emissions. GCC countries are enthusiastically committed to science-based target initiatives and strive to succeed with good results. Arthur D. Little’s recent report highlights GCC’s top performance across telecom, logistics, real estate, and financial industries in conducting sustainable initiatives. Some of these are highly responsible industries for sustainability. Focusing on ecological balance, each of their efforts creates a big impact. In addition to a cover story on “sustainable logistics,” The Integrator brings in several perspectives from construction, financials, and IT on theWesubject.arehappy to announce the launch of the “LEADER” segment that features high-profile personalities on the magazine’s cover. The publication is open to influential figures across the diverse arena of IT, ICT, BFSI, logistics, and hospitalitySimilarly,industries.The#ICTChampionAwards2022, our prestigious awards event, is scheduled to conduct on October 10, 2022 – on the sidelines of GITEX. It will recognize MEA’s leading ICT Vendors, Distributors, Resellers, and eminent personalities in 30+ categories. We seek your full support to make both a huge success! Read, engage, and motivate!
other Inquiries: info@var-mea.com Editorial editor@var-mea.com: Content 24FEATURE/COLUMN It’s Time for an Honest Conversation About Data and Sustainability 30 Organizations Should Seek Digital Solutions That Protect Both Planet and Profitability 28 Network Modernization: The Key to the Future of Healthcare EYE TECH 32 Microsoft Launches Azure Availability Zones to Heighten Competitiveness 15 Red Ant’s TechnicalSystems,CombinesRetailOSData,andHumanExpertise 16 With IntelligenceGetApproach,API-FirstEnterprisesBusinessFramework Follow us on LinkedIn 19 CollaboratesCommScope with Microsoft 18 Delinea and Authomize Announce CloudPartnershipStrategictoEnhanceSecurityControls NEWS BYTES 20 With Global Recognition and Customer-Centric Strategy, CBD Backs SMEs' Ambitions INTERVIEW 22 The Next Wave of Ransomware FEATURE 22 Othman Ibrahim Bin Hendi, Chief Customer Officer at CBD speaks about the UAE’s banking sector in general and the strategic positioning of CBD in an exclusive interview. 20
Disclaimer: While the publishers have made every attempt possible to get accurate information on published content in this magazine. They cannot be held liable for any errors herein. Published by: JNS Media International (OMA Group Company) OMA House, P.O. Box: 3314, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Tel: +971 6 573 0000 | website: www.VARonline.com all
Sales sales@var-mea.com: For
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• Affected products were also up 19% from the second half of 2021 Roya Gordon, Nozomi Networks OT/IoT Security Research Evangelist, comments, “many factors including increasing numbers of connected devices, the sophistication of malicious actors, and shifts in attack motivations are increasing the risk for a breach or cyber-physical attack.” with some of the most notable being Log4Shell, ProxyLogon, and ProxyShell, or poorly configured, unsecured Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) servers.
On the vulnerability front, manufacturing and energy continue to be the most vulnerable industries followed by healthcare and commercial facilities. In the first six months of 2022:
• CISA released 560 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) – down 14% from the second half of 2021•
• The top attacker IP addresses were associated with China and the United States.
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Sophos announces in the Sophos X-Ops Active Adversary whitepaper, “Multiple Attackers: A Clear and Present Danger,” that Hive, LockBit, and BlackCat, three prominent ransomware gangs, consecutively attacked the same network. It also articulated that each ransomware gang left its ransom demand, and some of the files were tripleJohnencrypted.Shier,senior security advisor at Sophos said, “multiple attackers create a whole new level of complexity for recovery, particularly when network files are triple encrypted. Cybersecurity that includes prevention, detection, and response is critical for organizations of any size and type - no business is
NEWS BYTES
John Shier Senior Security Advisor, Sophos Roya Gordon OT/IoT Security Research Evangelist Nozomi Networks
immune.”Thewhitepaper further outlines additional cases of overlapping cyberattacks, including cryptominers, remote access trojans (RATs), and bots. In the past, when multiple attackers have targeted the same system, the attacks usually occurred across many months or multiple years. The attacks described in Sophos’ whitepaper took place within days or weeks of each other— and, in one case, simultaneously— often with the different attackers accessing a target's network through the same vulnerable entry point.
The number of impacted vendors went upto 27%
T
• “root” and “admin” credentials were most often targeted and used in multiple variations as a way for threat actors to access all system commands and user accounts.
he latest OT/IoT security report from Nozomi Networks Labs finds wiper malware, IoT botnet activity, and the Russia-Ukraine war impacted the threat landscape in the first half of 2022. Since February 2022, Nozomi Networks Labs researchers saw activity from several types of threat actors, including hacktivists, nationstate APTs, and cybercriminals. They also observed the robust usage of wiper malware and witnessed the emergence of an Industroyer variant, dubbed Industroyer2, developed to misuse the IEC-104 protocol, which is commonly used in industrial environments. In this research, Nozomi Networks Labs analysts uncovered growing security concerns for both hard-coded passwords and internet interfaces for end-user credentials. From January to June 2022, Nozomi Networks honeypots found:
Most of the initial infections for the attacks highlighted in the whitepaper occurred through either an unpatched vulnerability,
• March was the most active month with close to 5,000 unique attacker IP addresses collected.
RANSOMWARE GANGS CONSECUTIVELY ATTACK THE SAME NETWORK, SOPHOS REPORTS
TECHNOLOGY
NOZOMI REPORT: WIPERS AND IOT BOTNETS DOMINATE THE THREAT LANDSCAPE
An official release reads, “commercetools’ multitenant, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution leverages a Microservices, API-first, Cloudnative and Headless (MACH)
Dirk Hoerig Co-Founder and CEO, commercetools
ShelfAndreasDrilling.Simon, Regional Director
Jedox, a provider of Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) solutions for financial planning and analysis (FP&A), announces that Shelf Drilling, an offshore drilling company, has reduced the time spent on the transfer and consolidation of operational data by 98% following its implementation of the Jedox EPM solution. Consequently, this has enabled the company to enhance efficiencies across key functions including rig maintenance and fuel tracking. By integrating Jedox's solution with its existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business intelligence (BI) tools, Shelf Drilling appears to maintain a consistent, always up-to-date, single source of financial and operational data. This near real-time data is being used for different purposes and among different departments, namely for maintenance forecasts, project authorizations, and emissions tracking."With Jedox, we were able to streamline and simplify our data management process. Information collected is synchronizedautomaticallyinthecloud and seamlessly consolidated, providing a single source of the truth," said Ian Clark, Executive Vice President at based architecture to enable the flexibility and scalability required by businesses to provide modern and seamless customer experiences, which are vital to driving revenue andDirkgrowth.”Hoerig, Co-Founder and CEO of commercetools, said, “Our solutions include best-in-class features and functionality for modern digital commerce, the ability to build and extend the technology to meet customers' exact needs, along with easy maintenance and scalability to help brands provide beautiful, powerful digital shopping solutions.”
MEA at Jedox comments, “we are proud to have been selected by Shelf Drilling for this landmark digital transformation project which enables them to enhance collaboration, planning, operations, and forecasting across their entire enterprise.”
SHELF DRILLING REDUCES TIME SPENT ON CRITICAL DATA OPERATIONS WITH JEDOX EPM
COMMERCETOOLS TO FOSTER BUSINESS GROWTH IN THE MIDDLE EAST C
TECHNOLOGYNEWS BYTES
ommercetools, a digital commerce solution provider, has introduced its robust, future-ready, and highly scalable business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), and direct-to-consumer (D2C) digital commerce solutions to the Middle East to accelerate business growth by fostering major digital transformation in the region.
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According to ManageEngine, customers can leverage this integration to:
K issflow unveils its vision for seamless work management across all facets of the modern enterprise. The company has consolidated leading solutions across its portfolio – including its low-code, no-code, process automation, collaboration, and analytics offerings – to deliver a unified low-code/no-code work platform that enables enterprises to fast-track digital transformation. Suresh Sambandam, CEO, Kissflow said, “with our new unified platform, we’re enabling Middle East enterprises to move away from this disconnected, tactical approach to productivity, and instead embrace a radically simple and effective IT paradigm that delivers an inclusive and unified experience to all enterprise users.” Kissflow’s new work platform claims to be consolidating capabilities for app development, process management, task management, case management, data management, integrations, analytics, and collaboration. It makes these easily consumable to end-users, teams, team managers,
INTEGRATES WITH SECTIGO TO AUTOMATE CLM
ManageEngine, the enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corporation, has announced the integration between its key and certificate lifecycle management solution, Key Manager Plus, and Sectigo, an identity-first security Certificate Authority. This integration aims to enable IT admins, using Sectigo certificates, to confidently automate the entire certificate lifecycle from a secure, central platform.
• Gain visibility with exclusive reports for certificates issued by Sectigo "With work environments going perimeter-less and integrity issues at play in increasingly complex and untrusted IT environments, organizations are looking to step up their certificate lifecycle management (CLM) programs," said Rajesh Ganesan, president of ManageEngine. "The integration of Key Manager Plus with Sectigo is an important step in helping security teams protect applications and infrastructures, improve their overall CLM maturity, and reduce risks to their reputation."
• Maintain the acquired certificates in a consolidated, up-to-date inventory
• Accelerate the procurement of Sectigo certificates with automated domain validation from Key Manager Plus
KISSFLOW CHALLENGES GIANTS IN THE $50 BILLION LOW-CODE MARKET
• Prevent unforeseen outages with an automated renewal of Sectigo certificates
MANAGEENGINE
TECHNOLOGY process experts, citizen developers, and IT developers through the intuitive low-code, no-code model. This aligns with the company’s mission of democratizing app development in the region to address the present and intensifying shortage of technical talent.
• Plan renewals proactively with timely notifications on certificate and domain expiration
Rajesh Ganesan President, ManageEngine
NEWS BYTES
8 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com
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NEWS IN DETAIL
The “free” IPv4 addresses from the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) have now been fully allocated. RIPE (the Regional Internet Registry for Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Central Asia) made its last 22-block assignment in November 2019. As a result, IPv4 addresses are in short supply and prices from open market sources have skyrocketed. In 2021, the open market “price” of an IPv4 address in a 256 address block ( /24) in North America, jumped from a low of $25 each in January to a high of $60 in late November. The price in the first four months of 2022 has hovered between $50 – $55. What would be the expected price for an ISP looking to acquire more IPv4 addresses to sustain growth in the next few years? Will that high growth in price continue for the next five years, or has it now “topped out” and will increase only marginally?
The A10 IPv4 Address Cost Estimator tool provides three reasonable cost scenarios that can be considered for predicting future IPv4 acquisition costs. It then calculates the total cost of acquiring these IPv4 addresses over five years, given the subscriber growth and price scenario chosen. In these three scenarios, it is assumed that the service provider can expect to pay the average cost, not the highest peak price.
ROLLERCOASTER COSTS
10 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com
IPV4 EXHAUSTION CREATES
case scenario that the A10 IPv4 Address Cost Estimator tool does not provide. That is the service provider attempting to quickly acquire additional IPv4 addresses is forced to pay the “peak” price at that moment. If this were the case, the price could start at over $60 in 2022 and grow 25 percent annually to reach $183 in 2026. FROM “RUNNING OUT” TO “MORE THAN ENOUGH” CGNAT enables the oversubscription of IPv4 addresses. Multiple subscribers can share the same public IPv4 address. As there is a practical limit to how many private IP addresses can be supported by a single public IP address, defining that limit is an open question with manyThevariables.A10IPv4 Address Cost Estimator tool provides two common traffic profiles – wireline and mobile. These profiles are based on best practices of live service provider networks that have deployed CGNAT using A10 Thunder CGN. Mobile networks typically have a lower oversubscription level than wireline due to the larger number of applications that frequently sync and update on a mobile phone.
A10 recently published a quick assessment tool that allows network analysts and their management to structure some of the uncertainties involved in the analysis of IPv4 costs. It is an interactive, online tool that provides three potential IPv4 cost scenarios and estimates subscribers that can be supported based on two different traffic profiles. All inputs and assumptions behind the model use actual industry data.
• Conservative: Costs have topped out. The skyrocketing costs of IPv4 addresses have stopped and only small increases (~5%) can be expected over the next five years. By 2026, the average price will hit $47.
• Moderate: The average cost will increase at the average rate of the last three years (18%) and reach $83 in 2026.•Aggressive: The average cost will increase 25% annually and will reach $112 in 2026. There is an additional worstA10 NETWORKS INTRODUCES IPV4 ADDRESS COST ESTIMATOR TOOL TO EASE FORECAST UNCERTAINTY
OVERSUBSCRIPTION LEVELS BY TRAFFIC PROFILE
Service providers that have not yet deployed CGNAT often find that their existing allocation of IPv4 addresses is more than enough to meet five-year subscriber growth forecasts. The A10 IPv4 Address Cost Estimator tool also calculates the total number of excess IPv4 addresses using CGNAT and how many total subscribers could be supported.
TECHNOLOGY
12 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com COVER STORY
LOGISTICS
COVER STORY DHL Global Forwarding is a division of Deutsche Post DHL providing air and ocean freight forwarding services. Amadou Diallo, CEO - Middle East & Africa at DHL Global Forwarding articulates the sustainable steps taken by the organization to reduce the carbon footprint in an exclusive interview with The Integrator.
Elaborate on DHL’s other zero-emission projects and achievements We have introduced many projects to reduce our carbon footprint. For example, we launched a new, more comprehensive Carbon Intelligence program as part of our digital customer platform myDHLi where customers have more options to reduce, track and report their CO2 emissions (in setting and offsetting options). With our GoGreen Plus Service customers have the opportunity to neutralize their CO2 emissions for the ocean and air freight shipments via the usage of Sustainable Aviation and Marine Fuel with only one click. The CO2 emissions are reduced where they are emitted, what we call carbon insetting and the achieved reduction of our services are transparently passed onto our customers. In the UAE we have partnered with Total Energies to fulfill our zero-emissions logistics ambition by 2050. This partnership will solarise eight of DHL’s sites in Dubai to cover the equivalent of over 46,000m² of photovoltaic panels, saving more than 6,000t of CO2 in the first
DHL BRINGS IN “SUSTAINABLE LOGISTICS!”
Tell us about the revolutionary last-mile services DHL Global Forwarding introduced to reduce its carbon footprint DHL Global Forwarding is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. We have pledged to spend EUR7 billion on sustainable fuel and clean technologies by 2030 to reduce CO2 emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. At DHL, we remain very focused on enhancing last-mile delivery, a crucial component of e-commerce fulfillment, which can be made more efficient with the deployment of artificial intelligence and automation. We are working on several innovations, service upgrades, and expansion plans. We also aim to put more than 80,000 e-vehicles on the road by 2030. This will account for more than 60% of our last-mile vehicles. We will also increase the use of sustainable aviation fuels to more than 30% by 2030. In addition, all new buildings will be designed to be carbon neutral. We plan to offer green alternatives for all our core products and solutions.
13AUGUST 2022www.VARonline.com COVER STORY LOGISTICSyear. The whole solar system will produce over 14,000 MWh per year, enough energy to power over 16,000 homes yearly in the UAE. Moreover, eight electrical vehicle charging stations will also be installed – which contributes to the group’s goal of electrifying 60% of its fleet by 2030. In addition, we are pioneering new green solutions in the region. For example, we have launched a new 23,500 -sqm EV Hub in Dubai South to drive the EV circular economy, where batteries can be stored, recycled, repaired, and processed at end of life, ensuring long-term sustainability.
Describe DHL’s “Go Green” initiative and its global impact GoGreen is part of our worldwide environmental protection program to reduce and avoid the emission of greenhouse gasses and local air pollutants. GoGreen Plus is our service offering sustainable alternatives to our core transport products, such as the usage of sustainable aviation fuel or sustainable marine fuel for transport and contributes to our mid-term sustainability roadmap to have at least 30 percent of fuel requirements covered by sustainable fuels by 2030. The GoGreen Plus Service is based on the displacement principle: the more customers book the service; the more alternative fuel or clean technology is used - making transport chains greener step by step. Following this principle, the appropriate amount of biofuel is purchased for the respective air or ocean freight shipment and used in the partners' ships and aircraft. The GoGreen Plus Service will enable our customers around the world to fulfill their decarbonization ambitions, with clear and measurable results. Would you have any current associations with governments (or affiliated) bodies in the GCC? We are always exploring strategic opportunities with the right government entities, business partners, and markets around the world. Currently, we remain guided by our Strategy 2025, which focuses on harnessing globalization, e-commerce, digitalization, and sustainability for the profitable long-term growth of our business. Our goal is to intensify the trade between Asia and the Middle East (UAE) and further expand trade in Africa while leveraging the most sustainable solutions. What advice do you wish to give to your business counterparts in the industry ahead of building a sustainable and ecologically balanced world? Businesses must remember that building a sustainable and ecologically balanced world is a shared responsibility. Sustainability must therefore be closely integrated into the bottom line. Businesses must look at increasing their profitability in a continuous, sustainable way, and embed social and environmental aspects more firmly in their business operations. At DHL, we take the UN Sustainable Development Goals into account as we go. As diverse as our business models may be, we believe that sustainable development is a must as well as a favorable feature.differentiating
Amadou Diall CEO - MEA DHL Global Forwarding
certifications and compliance obtained by DAMAC properties from authorities • Optimizing the operational cost by introducing an effective Energy Monitoring System as per the ISO 50001 of Energy Management System.
• Optimized & Implemented the Environmental cycle system of ISO 14001 of Environment Management System.•Winner - Best Owners Association Management Firm Y2017 Gulf Real Estate Awards.
Speak about the revolutionary steps that DAMAC took to contribute to ecological balance and sustainability Sustainability and sustainable practices have become increasingly important aspects of the construction industry. At DAMAC, under its facilities management arm, LOAMS, we have launched a “Sustainability Program” focused on the operations and maintenance stages of project development. Through the program, we aim to enhance all developments in our portfolio to follow international guidelines, policies, and procedures derived from multiple sustainability and environmental organizations or entities.Thecompany is also committed to educating our employees
• LOAMS was the finalist for the Gulf Real Estate Awards in Y2018, as one of the main criteria was Sustainability & Environmental of making business more sustainable. What suggestions do you wish to give others in the industry ahead of building an ecologically balanced world? Working in tandem with processes to align energy, environment, and sustainability is an ongoing process at DAMAC. As builders and professionals in the construction and real estate sectors, it is our responsibility to engage with and implement best building practices that pave the way for safer and more secure future intoformulateencouragerewardsOrganizationsgenerations.canintroduceandrecognitiontostakeholderstoideas,putthemaction,andcontributeto sustainable programs that benefit the company, economy, and environment at large.
DAMAC PROPERTIES
Niall McLoughlin Senior VP, DAMAC
concerning these policies and procedures to ensure that they are aware of the effective use of each system in the framework. Discuss key projects and their achievements
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DAMAC’S SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES; CONSCIOUS EFFORTS TO SUPPORT ENVIRONMENT
Some examples include:
DAMAC Properties is an Emirati property development company, based in Dubai. Niall McLoughlin, Senior Vice President at DAMAC articulates the steps the company has taken to deliver responsible, sustainable, and healthy communities and projects across the region.
• Following Dubai Electricity and Water Authority's (DEWA) efforts to support the use of environmentallyfriendly electric vehicles in Dubai and its mission towards carbon emission reduction in the emirate, DAMAC Properties plans to install electric vehicle chargers across its current and upcoming projects in Dubai•As part of its strategy to ensure the comfort, convenience, and subsequently happiness of its residents, DAMAC has successfully installed free-of-charge green charger stations in its master community DAMAC Hills 2, and aims to install more in DAMAC Hills in collaboration with DEWA • At the DAMAC Hills 2 community, LED solar lighting is used for the streets, as well as a water recycling system that uses water processed at an STP (sewage treatment plant) for irrigating the community’sFurthermore,landscapes.atDAMAC Hills, low-flow water fixtures are used in common areas to reduce water consumption. In addition, buildings in both communities also include energy recovery ventilation where fresh air handling units (FAHU) are installed. Tell us about the environmental INTERVIEW
Red Ant empowers organizations to respond to their business challenges and build new retail capabilities, with significant benefits including impressive ROI stats within just weeks of launch, a 400% increase in repeat purchases, and up to 250% year-on-year growth. Focus areas to drive retail customer engagement include clienteling, assisted sales, omnichannel PoS, and workflow management. Speak in general about the need for modern technologies at a retail outlet for efficient customer service A truly omnichannel customer experience that integrates data across all channels of a retailer’s technology estate and gives customers access to the right information at the right time, is essential for retailers. Customers choose brands that understand their browsing and buying needs and offer a highly personalized and consistent standard of customer experience. Proactive personalization and a connected experience are key to attracting, engaging, and retainingAdoptingcustomers.aclienteling solution as part of an omnichannel strategy allows retailers to empower store associates with the right product and customer information to create better experiences, both online and in-store, as well as boost store consultants’ productivity. Tell us about Red Ant’s Middle East prospects, such as collaborations, MoUs, and business deals. Seamless was a great event to take part in, we’re engaged with several prospects in the retail space and also some great local partners, the region is a really exciting place to be right now! Red Ant is a leading retail technology specialist, empowering organizations to respond to their business challenges and build new retail capabilities. Sarah Friswell, CEO at Red Ant articulates the capabilities of their RetailOS platform.
Really proud but it has not happened overnight, I also have the support of a board, leadership team, and the wider team who recognize its importance. I am passionate about diversity, equality, and encouraging the progression of women and girls into science and technology roles, and I am incredibly proud of what Red Ant has achieved as a result. I have driven policies so that, unique among technology companies, Red Ant is an employee-owned business with a team that comprises:
• 59% of women across all roles from the boardroom to developers
RED ANT
RED ANT’S RETAILOS COMBINES DATA, SYSTEMS & TECHNICAL EXPERTISE INTERVIEW
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• A wide range of ages –some who have worked for the company for more than 10 years and others who have joined straight from education or as part of an apprenticeship, opening up opportunities for women without traditional work histories
• Women returners to work and career changers who were actively recruited for their life skills as well as their work skills Sarah Friswell CEO, Red Ant
Explain Red Ant and the competencies of its in-store shopping platform
Red Ant is a retail technology specialist that promotes an omnichannel vision – its RetailOS platform integrates clients’ existing technology to provide innovative unifying tools, that surface all the content, and insights store associates need to provide outstanding customer experiences and sell more, in-store or at-home. RetailOS combines the perfect blend of data, systems, and human technical expertise to deliver smarter, safer stores for retailers, colleagues, and customers.
What could a business achieve by implementing the retail tech platform of Red Ant?
How proud are you in terms of being a woman chief of a global tech organization that has achieved thumping participation of women in its workforce?
thefts, trends of usage, generate alerts as well as predict the chances of a transformer going down. Tell us about the client base you have in the Middle East and plans for the upcoming years
HELICAL INSIGHT
Nowadays every company is using so many data sources and generating a lot of data. These data points are not having any value if the organization is not able to derive insights from this data and that is where we come in. We help companies to derive meaningful insights from this data which can in turn help them to decrease their costs, improve their bottom line and revenues, assign their resources in places/products with higher margins, and muchUsemore.case: We have a client who is in the energy & utility domain and they have built IoT devices, which are deployed on the poles and transformers. From these devices, they collect a lot of data about the transmission and distribution, current, voltage, temperature, pressure, wind speed, etc. With our BI product Helical Insight we are helping them to identify the input and out, various kinds of real-time analysis, identify the pilferage and Helical Insight is a pureplay services company providing services in the domain of data warehousing, business intelligence, ETL, and big data technologies.
INTERVIEW
As of now, we are having around five clients from the Middle East that focus on education, retail, and manufacturing domains. With our 5.0 release, we expect exponential growth in the customer base. We want to have a much larger footprint in the Middle East and for the same, we have started sponsoring and exhibiting various events in the Middle East. We are also in advanced talks with some companies in the Middle East and exploring partner programs with them.
Elaborate on the API features of the platform and their efficiency to accommodate existing software resources of enterprises While designing our product we always have had an API-first approach. The way we have architected and designed our product is to keep it developed friendly and extensible and API is a major part of it. Every functionality of our product is supported by APIs. We have more than 680 APIs currently. These APIs can be used by customers to extend the functionality, automate a lot of tasks, create custom flows, etc. Explain the dashboard and reporting features you offer in the platform In Helical Insight, we offer a very simple, no-code, selfservice, and drag-drop interface allowing users to do their ad-hoc analysis. We wish to empower users to not depend on technical people and create their analyses. People can drag, drop required fields, add filters, select any of the 30+ visualizations, and customize them. With our simple interface, people can create reports, dashboards, infographics, map-based analytics, etc. Our range of visualization options includes table, crosstab, axis charts, non-axis charts, maps, advanced statistical and scientific charts (bubble, dendrogram, treemap), polar, radar, etc. How efficiently can they use for or impact business decisions? Give a scenario, if possible
16 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com
We have customers all across the world, including Australia, Indonesia, the Middle East, Israel, India, the US, South America, etc. though most of the customers are from US and India.
WITH API-FIRST APPROACH, ENTERPRISES GET BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FRAMEWORK
Nikhilesh Tiwari Director, Helical Insight
Nikhilesh Tiwari, Director, at Helical Insight speaks about the company’s API-first approach and focus on open source technologies.
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AESG
DELINEA
PARTNERSHIPANNOUNCEAUTHOMIZEANDSTRATEGIC
Dotan Bar Noy CEO, Authomize
AESG, the consultancy, engineering, and advisory firm, intends to help building owners create smart, connected buildings that support enhanced digital experiences for occupants. It also guides developers, building owners, and facilities managers in achieving the WiredScore and SmartScore certifications.
UAE
18 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com BYTESNEWS AESG
“Work and living spaces have fundamentally changed in recent decades and high-quality, uninterrupted connectivity is now as vital to occupants as running water. Quality of digital connectivity places second only to location among the top criteria tenants look for when moving to a new office. Smart buildings are fundamentally shifting the real estate market, forcing building owners and landlords to re-evaluate functionalities ranging from user productivity and wellbeing to environmental impact,” said Saeed Al Abbar, CEO at AESG. AESG estimates the typical certification period for WiredScore and SmartScore to be between three to four weeks. Following certification, the firm, together with WiredScore, will help promote the building by defining a bespoke leasing and marketing strategy that includes information such as tenant engagement guides, building fact sheets, and building roadmaps that will help the client provide training to leasing teams, brokers, and project managers.
D elinea, a provider of privileged access management (PAM) solutions, and Authomize, a provider of cloud identity and access security, announce a strategic partnership to co-sell their products. Authomize tracks all identities, assets, and privileged access usage to provide comprehensive, actionable understanding of the cloud identity and the access layer that enables organizations to ensure security in every“Ourenvironment.partnership with Authomize furthers our commitment to ensure STARTS SMART BUILDING SERVICES WITH ACCREDITATIONS IN THE
Ram Venkatachalam Head of Strategy and Business Development, Delinea Shriraj Gaglani GM, Azure - Operators, Microsoft
19AUGUST 2022www.VARonline.com BYTESNEWSCOMMSCOPE that our customers’ cloud and SaaS environments remain secure by protecting sensitive cloud-native identities and entitlements,” said Ram Venkatachalam, Head of Strategy and Business Development at Delinea.Delinea and Authomize claim to have partnered to create joint use cases, which will enable organizations to gain better control over who can access cloud applications and services. By deploying both products together, organizations could store credentials while automating access governance, thus reducing credential theft and lateral movement in all cloud environments including Infrastructureas-a-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and more. “We are excited to bring our full-stack CIEM, SaaS security, and Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) capabilities to Delinea’s industry-recognized privileged access management solution,” said Dotan Bar Noy, CEO of Authomize.
C announcedhasommScopethat it has toolsmanufacturingcloud-basedapplicationsaugmentedaimsmanufacturing.industrialtonetworkprivatecreatewithcollaboratedMicrosofttoaconvergedwirelesssolutiontransformThissolutiontobringrealityandtofactoryengineers.
Upendra Pingle, SVP Intelligent Cellular Networks, CommScope said, “we have deployed Microsoft’s private MEC platform in combination with CBRS access points in our manufacturing innovation center to improve operational efficiencies. Together, we are showcasing the immediate, real-world advantages of private networking in industrial manufacturing, as our combined solution paves the way for the evolution of private wireless networks and manufacturing.”
COMMSCOPE COLLABORATES WITH MICROSOFT TO ADVANCE INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING
This includes immersive technology training, aggregated assembly line data, and real-time remote assistance to improve production ramp times and worker capabilities.
“We see a tremendous opportunity to transform workforce efficiency by making it easy to deploy and develop private wireless that can underpin agile factories,” said Shriraj Gaglani, GM for Azure for Operators at Microsoft.
20 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com INTERVIEW CBD
With the "Best Technological Innovation in Financial Services" award, CBD has been recognized at Seamless 2022. What innovation did make CBD achieve the award?
WITH GLOBAL RECOGNITION AND CUSTOMER-CENTRIC STRATEGY, CBD BACKS SME CUSTOMER’S AMBITIONS
The "Best Technological Innovation in Financial Services" award was presented to CBD for its CBD Investr app, which is the first robo-advisory investment solution in the region offered by a bank. The innovative investment app is powered by smart algorithms that actively manage investment portfolios to deliver optimal risk-adjusted performance. Through the CBD Investr app, customers can conveniently access a globally diversified and personalized portfolio of stocks, bonds, and other asset classes using low-cost exchangetraded funds (ETFs) aligned to investors' risk profiles.
The bank has delivered a net profit of AED 866 million for the first half of 2022, up 28.1% compared to the first half of 2021. Higher revenue across net interest and other operating
Elaborate on the performance indicators of the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) and, as one of the longestestablished banks, what role does it aim to play in 2022 and beyond?
Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) is a UAE-based banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Dubai. CBD is ranked as the number one bank in the UAE on the Forbes list of the World’s Best Banks 2022. Othman Ibrahim Bin Hendi, Chief Customer Officer at CBD speaks about the UAE’s banking sector in general and the strategic positioning of CBD in an exclusive interview with The Integrator! specially tailored for the SME segment to fulfill their business requirements and back their ambitions.
How well do you think small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises are supported by UAE banks? Differentiate CBD from the rest? SMEs are the backbone of the UAE economy, accounting for around 94% of businesses in the country. In recent years, the UAE government has implemented several policies to boost economic growth by enabling businesses and entrepreneurs and increasing their contribution to the economy. The financial services industry is crucial in helping SMEs navigate a challenging climate. In line with the UAE Government's focus on SMEs, banks are supporting SMEs by striving to understand their businesses and developing products and services that suit their needs and minimize risk. As one of the UAE's first and most reputed banks, CBD has always differentiated itself from the other competitors by being a bank focused on family-owned and managed businesses across the Emirates in the UAE. Over the years, it has supported numerous SMEs that have later grown with us to become large corporates. Further, we have partnered with several government entities such as the Dubai Economic Department and Free zones, such as JAFZA, DMCC, DCAA, EFZA, Meydan, and RAKEZ to offer a full suite of products that are
The app offers customers the option of robo-advisory portfolios or investing on their own through the self-investor option. Robo advisory portfolios are managed by smart algorithms to deliver optimal performance without customers needing to manage and track the markets. The self-investor option allows customers to buy and sell their preferred shares and ETFs in real-time, thus providing a more personal and customized experience.
Tell us about the recent global achievement of CBD of getting included in the Forbes List of the World’s Best Banks 2022 CBD has been named the number one bank in the UAE on the Forbes list of the World's Best Banks 2022, based on key customer satisfaction metrics including trust, fees, digital services, and financial advice. The Forbes fourth annual 'World's Best Banks' report, published in conjunction with market research firm Statista, surveyed more than 45,000 customers across 27 countries around the globe for their opinions on their current and former banking relationships.Thisglobal recognition is an affirmation of our customers' trust in us to back their ambitions, and it also proves the success of our customercentric strategy.
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Othman Ibrahim Bin Hendi Chief Customer Officer, CBD
CBD income generated a strong increase in net profit. Market interest rates have risen, and solid loan growth resulted in higher revenue in the first half. Whilst the global macro-economic environment is challenging, the outlook for the UAE economy remains positive. The solid return on equity generated internal capital for growth while the bank's liquidity position remained robust with the advances to stable resources ratio at 89.35% as of 30 June 2022. All capital ratios were well above the minimum regulatory thresholds mandated by the UAE Central Bank. In 2022, we will continue to be instrumental in driving digital transformation and investing in enhancing technological capability to provide our customers with a best-in-class banking experience. For the first half of 2022, 98% of our wholesale banking transactions were initiated digitally, and we achieved a 102% increase in mobile banking transactions. Our app was rated 4.8 on App Store and 4.7 on Google Play Store. We will also continue to back our customer's ambitions by enhancing our products and services to fulfill the evolving needs of our customers and initiate strategic partnerships to support customers in achieving their financial goals. Backing the nation's ambitions and supporting the UAE's Government initiatives is also one of our top priorities, and the launch of the CBD Digital Lab demonstrates that. The CBD Digital Lab is the first initiative by a bank to establish an R&D facility in the DIFC Innovation Hub, which aims to create a collaborative ecosystem in the FinTech sector by fostering innovation and supporting integration between financial institutions and fintech startups.The Digital Lab will not only drive the future of finance and the future economy, but it will position the UAE as one of the world's most innovative nations and a global hub for innovation and technology. Further, it reaffirms our efforts to become “default digital” and expand infrastructure in financial technology, unlock innovation opportunities, and introduce new and innovative financial products to the market. How do you evaluate the postpandemic banking situation in the UAE, and what reformative actions can be expected from banks? We have recently announced our financial results for the first half of 2022. The positive results that we have achieved indicate that we are in a recovery mode and returning to prepandemic profitability levels. The pandemic has forced banks to evolve and adopt new business models. A bank's success in the future will be based on its ability to be agile. The landscape of the financial sector is changing dramatically. With technological disruption, the emergence of new entrants, both fintech and digital giants, and constantly evolving customer expectations, organizations are forced to continuously adapt to these changes and deploy an agile organizational model.AtCBD, digital transformation and innovation are fundamental to our ongoing success. We will continue to invest significantly in these areas to ensure we provide our customers with a convenient and seamless banking experience. Can you tell us more about CBD's ESG and Sustainability initiatives? As an organization backing the ambitions of our proud nation, CBD remains committed to operating its business in a sustainable manner, aligning with the UAE's efforts towards sustainable development, empowering local communities, and preserving the environment.In2021,CBD initiated an ESG transformation journey. We have consolidated ongoing and future environmental, social, and governance initiatives under a common ESG Framework governed by an ESG Committee, which is accountable to the CBD Executive Committee. Our ESG Framework sets out the key initiatives we believe we must undertake as a responsible corporate organization. We firmly believe that every employee in the Bank, and every citizen and organization in the UAE, has a role to play in sustaining our future.Itis an incredible time to be a part of this great nation, particularly as the UAE readies itself to host COP28 in 2023. We are determined to play our part in driving the sustainability agenda and backing the ambitions of the UAE.
R ansomware as a trend will continue to affect businesses across the world –with attack types and tactics from cybercriminals evolving all the time. As attacks get more sophisticated, so do the consequences of falling victim to ransomware and the complexity of theTheclean-up.stakes are therefore higher than ever for businesses when it comes to protecting against ransomware attacks. Organizations need to understand the emerging trends that we will see gather speed, and prepare their defenses for the ransomware onslaught.
Make Your Business Insurable: The tension between insurers and businesses affected by ransomware is mounting. In EMEA we have already seen global
Watch Out for Triple Extortion: This technique designed to make businesses pay more and pay faster involves extending the attack to the victim’s customers and partners. Triple extortion involves a third element –directing the attack beyond its initial target, using multi-layered extortion techniques to harm the victim’s customers and partners.
Written by: Edwin Weijdema, Global Technologist, Veeam Software insurance giant AXA announce that it will stop writing cyberinsurance policies in France that reimburse customers for extortion payments made to ransomware criminals. With insurers overwhelmed and frustrated by ransomware claims, underwriters will tighten up their policies to ensure clients are meeting predetermined conditions such as investing in appropriate cybersecurity and employee training before paying out.
Minimize the Threat Within: Various studies suggest that over 60% of data breaches and cybersecurity incidents are caused by insider threats. hygiene is the first line of defense for an organization. Using two-factor authentication and restricting file access to only those who need it are ways of limiting the amount of damage a single user can do if security is compromised intentionally or unintentionally. Furthermore, training and education are vital to making sure employees are confident in identifying and reporting potential attacks.
Protect Your Data: Organisations must consult with their technology partners about deploying modern data protection solutions that can detect, mitigate and remediate ransomware attacks. Data must be backed up and recoverable across physical, virtual, cloud, SaaS, and Kubernetes so that in the event of a ransomware attack, businesses can remediate and recover quickly rather than being forced into paying the ransom.
22 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com FEATURE VEEAM SOFTWARE
Edwin Weijdema Global Technologist, Veeam Software
Moreover, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, commonly viewed as a hacker’s dream, actually have the potential to help law enforcers bring criminals to justice. Digital ledgers like Blockchain make it easier to ‘follow the money as records cannot be altered or deleted. Therefore, once criminals turn their cryptocurrency into “real money,” the digital ledger can theoretically unmask them.
Enforce the Law: Law enforcers are trying to bridge the imbalance between risk and reward for cybercriminals. Cybercriminals can make huge sums of money with little or no threat of prosecution. This will and has to change. However, given the borderless nature of cybercrime, governments must agree on an international legal framework for punishing cybercrime. Until then legal action will mainly be directed toward the victims rather than the criminals. Many governments are debating whether they should make ransomware payments illegal, so businesses resist the temptation to pay ransoms – cutting off cybercriminals’ income supply.
CYBERATTACK: THE NEXT WAVE OF RANSOMWARE
QUESTIONS
23AUGUST 2022www.VARonline.com FEATUREFORTINET deception technology, and analysis in place to detect, deceive, and quarantine the invaders.
3. Processes – Investment in processes is not just a combination of people and products but it's also having vigilance.
Joe Robertson Director of Information Security and EMEA CISO, Fortinet
THE ANSWERS TO BETTER
Too many organizations think only about preventing attackers from getting in. They tend to focus on firewalls, antivirus, remote access authorizations, etc. However, there is a very real chance that an adversary has already circumvented these defenses and is inside their networks. When attackers have evaded frontline defenses, CISOs need to have tools like sandboxing, of directors is the EU’s Return on Security Investment (ROSI) formula.
AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY FOR COMMUNICATING CYBERSECURITY RISK
Written by: Joe Robertson, Director of Information Security and EMEA CISO at Fortinet. Most individuals on the board of directors for organizations are not cybersecurity experts. However, they are likely very aware of the global events going on in this tumultuous time of continued disruption by the Covid pandemic, the war in Eastern Europe, and the growing volume and sophistication of cyberattacks. With these concerns in mind, they want to know if their organization is at risk.
You can also bet that although they don’t know all the technical jargon of cybersecurity, they are savvy enough to ask CISOs or CIOs for a status report on the organization’s cyber defenses. This presents a challenge for an IT security expert reporting to the board: “How can I effectively communicate our organization’s cybersecurity risk? What metrics can I share with them that will properly answer the “Are we at risk?” question?”
Regarding a cybersecuritycompany’srisk,theboard needs to understand three basics:
THREE UNDERSTANDBASICSCYBERSECURITYTHEBOARDMUST
A ROSI VIEW TO JUSTIFY SECURITY INVESTMENTS
2. Products – CISOs need technologies that work together and are easy for the IT staff to manage and analyze. It should include threat intelligence subscriptions.
• The Threat of Attack is Existential for Most Organizations • Cybersecurity Requires Prioritization • Three Types of Investment 1. People – Organizations need people who have the skills to understand and protect the business and its employees. This means investing in skills
Another tool that CISOs may want to consider that isn't a metric but can help justify security investments to top leadership and the board
The methodology was developed by ENISA, which is a European security organization. Essentially, what it does is enables a CISO to come up with a number that looks like an ROI (return on investment) percentage— allowing it to be compared to traditional investments. With ROI, it shows how much a regular investment is going to return. With ROSI, it indicates how much monetary protection an organization is going to get or how much loss is going to be avoided.
ROSI allows the cybersecurity people to go into a board meeting armed with a number, so that they can show it to the board who then have to decide between investing in, for example, a new machine for the production line or in protection for the organization’s database.
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Quantify the carbon footprint of our equipment installed at customer sites to report Scope 3 emissions We continue to increase our efforts to further measure, monitor, and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with a specific focus on more comprehensively measuring the carbon footprint of our customers' NetApp solutions. Our customers have a genuine appetite for information about our product lifecycle carbon footprint, and we already offer a range of capabilities that allow customers to collect environmental data about their NetApp products. Through our NetApp Cloud Insights, we enable organizations to pinpoint underutilized and wasted resources – reducing wasted energy from data centers. Since 2015, NetApp has reduced its energy usage by 20% and now saves enough energy to power 44,000 homes a year.
Matt Watts Chief Technology Evangelist, NetApp
The Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) provides organizations with a realistic pathway to reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Most corporate sustainability initiatives focus on Scopes 1 and 2 emissions – referring to the direct carbon output of an organization and an organization’s indirect emissions associated with the purchase and use of electricity.
SUSTAINABILITY AT NETAPP
24 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com
As a global cloud-led, data-centric software company, NetApp considers that it has to help organizations use data as part of the solution when it comes to being more sustainable. Part of this is acknowledging that facts matter. There should not be a difference between how sustainable you think you are and say you are versus how sustainable you are. This is not an overnight process, nor is there a panacea for being an objectively sustainable organization. Setting and measuring objectives using scientific methods and partnering with corporate sustainability experts who will ask difficult, sometimes uncomfortable questions, is a great place to start.
In NetApp’s 2021 ESG report, we set out three clear and actionable objectives that demonstrate a purposeful effort to become more sustainable as an organization, serve our customers with greener solutions, and measure environmental output across the entire lifecycle of our products.
The relationship between technology and sustainability is a double-edged sword. Research commissioned as part of the World Economic Forum’s 2030Vision found that 70% of the 169 UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets can be directly supported by advanced technologies. At the same time, as the amount of data generated worldwide continues to grow – with Statista forecasting a global datasphere of 180ZB by 2025 – so does its impact in terms of power consumption and carbon emissions. Technology companies across the board including NetApp are, therefore, placing a huge emphasis on what we can do to help build a more sustainable future. There is a fine line between impactful, measurable initiatives that contribute toward correcting the climate crisis and vacuous greenwashing, which serves no purpose other than to create positive brand currency. This is the difference between looking sustainable and being sustainable.
By Matt Watts, Chief Technology Evangelist, NetApp
NetApp has committed with SBTI and is currently working to set meaningful science-based carbon reduction targets across Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Once we have submitted the target and received validation from SBTi, we will communicate this to our stakeholders and publish detailed progress reports on an annual basis.
IT’S TIME FOR AN HONEST CONVERSATION ABOUT DATA AND SUSTAINABILITY COLUMN NETAPP ESTABLISH SCIENCE-BASED TARGETS (SBT) FOR THE REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
AUGUST 2022www.VARonline.com
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• Very conscious manpower mapping is to be done while minimizing the perceptual bias • Seeking 360-degree feedback on each employee to be mapped in the matrix: This will include an assessment of factual parameters, seeking detailed and focused feedback from colleagues, line managers, and other stakeholders. E.g., Conducting a 360-degree appraisal of a business development manager through various stakeholders might include the following: Finance: Sales numbers, collection overdue, gross margins, overall accountability for account management, etc. Clients: Quality of interaction, pro-active updates, availability for feedback or follow-ups, etc. HR: Overall hygiene, sales performance, personality, attitude, compliance, growth potential, etc. Line Manager: Quality of reports, adherence to timelines, quality of work, sales numbers, quality of account management, prospecting, etc.• Sharing evaluation parameters in detail with the line managers to seek more inputs or seek detailed inputs on employee performance on various KPIs and making required changesE.g.,A Project Manager, who is rated highly positive in 360-degree evaluation, might be a constant defaulter on process compliance,
What are the key concerns of company “X” with its human •resources?Employee potential Employee performance Attrition risk Employee disengagement Lack of empowerment Other interesting matrices could be: HR capability vs. business priority • Management maturity vs. CHRO maturity Employee performance vs. employee potential Role of HR process orientation vs people orientation They could range from a simple 4-box matrix to an elaborate 9-box matrix or so on based on how comprehensive one wants to be.
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STEP 3: DESIGNING HR STRATEGY BASED ON MANPOWER MATRIX
HR MATRICES: A TOOL FOR LOGICAL MANAGEMENTMANPOWER
5-step guide on designing and using the HR matrices for the benefit of the current age dynamic organizations:
STEP 1: DESIGNING HR MATRIX
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STEP 2: MAPPING EXISTING EMPLOYEES TO MANPOWER MATRIX This is one of the most critical steps and it must ensure:
We have a tough role to play as human resources (HR) leaders. Dealing with human resources is all about dealing with a lot of perceptions, personalities, and attitudes. At times, it is just tough to put things in perspective and design a strategy that focuses on balancing the facts, emotions, and perceptions. Interesting HR matrices can be created to evaluate the existing employees and to arrive at the best manpower management strategies. A logical HR matrix is created based on well-evaluated needs or concerns of the organization and which can prove to be a highly valuable tool for anyHereorganization.isabrief
2. Future Plans of the company: existing employees’ skillset might be needed for future projects. In such a situation, even a “low potential” employee has to be maintained unless a ready replacement is there
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3. Impact of the employee on P&L (salary, sales contribution, margin contribution).
4. E.g., It might be difficult to maintain a high salaried low potential resource vs. a low salaried low potential resource.
Shruti Verma HR Manager, OMA Emirates over lenient with the team, and hence being ineffective in managing the team • Making final adjustments based upon more concrete information from line managers
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26 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com COLUMN OMA EMIRATES
1. Preparation for contingencies or structural changes: candidate pipeline, manpower budget (to accommodate high replacement cost)
5. The financial strength of the company (in terms of ability
This will largely depend upon several other factors apart from an individual employee’s placement in the manpower matrix. HR strategy might focus on the following variable factors too:
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• Identifying the rolespecific competencies and implementing competency mapping for developing high potential resources further
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Percentage of salary spend on maintaining high, med, or low potential resources
• Budget for increments for promoting high potential resources E.g., An organization with more than 60 percent of employees identified as low potential might focus on investing in or arranging for Anreplacements.organization with the majority of employees identified as having high potential, the focus might be on developing capabilities by increasing investment in T&D, learning programs, certifications, etc.
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to maintain salaries of staff, withstanding low business
• Number of business-critical roles held by low potential resources Number of business-critical roles held by employees with high attrition risk Percentage of employees identified as high potential, medium potential, and low potential Sales performance of employees placed as high potential, medium potential, and low potential. (Target vs achievement, gross margin contribution, new client’s addition, etc.)
“Designing a good strategy doesn’t necessitate the desired outcomes without a strong implementation plan.”
Since the business environment and employees are highly dynamic, the number of factors impacting the HR strategy could be uncountable. However, keeping all the other variable factors constant, the following manpower management strategies might be considered for various categories of employees:
• Sources/timelines/talentacquisitioninvestmentforidentifyingreplacementsforbusiness-criticalresources
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• Budget allocation for identified development programs and their impact on the overall HR budget.
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• Does the company have ready replacements or a potential pipeline of candidates?
27AUGUST 2022www.VARonline.com COLUMNOMA EMIRATES
• Does the company need to maintain the low potential for any reason for some time or immediate termination can be considered?
• How potential opportunities can be created for upgrading high potential resources within the organization?
• Overall business strategy is to expand, contract, diversify, etc.
STEP 4: PRESENTING HR STRATEGY TO THE
• Manpower budget alterations required to hire new resources to replace low potential resources or high attrition risk resources Future investment in training, certifications, reward and recognition programs, employee engagement activities, etc. To maintain high potential resources
STEP 5: IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY Important considerations in implementation could be:
performance)
• Timelines for handoverreplacementsonboardingandmanaging
HRINVOLVETHISMANAGEMENTWOULDLARGELYTHEFOLLOWINGANALYTICS:
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• Identifying developmenttailor-madeprogram for every identified high potential resource and related investment
• Work tenure of medium or low potential resources with the company Strategy proposals could be:
7. Feasibility of replacing low potential or low performing resources with strong personal relationships in the company due to the long service tenure
6. Critical nature of the role (e.g., Project Manager role may be seen as much more critical than any administrative role like Operations Executive). Business critical roles must be attended to on priority
Jacob Chacko Regional Director - ME, Saudi & SA at Aruba can use to build new solutions. Here, simplified workflows can also help alleviate administrative burdens and redeploy precious time so that staff can focus on patient care. From apps that help patients manage their care themselves, to online symptom checkers and e-triage AI tools, virtual agents that can carry out tasks in hospitals, or a bionic pancreas to help patients with diabetes, adding AI to your technology arsenal can greatly enhance patient care.
STEP 2: AUTOMATIONLEVERAGING
Many legacy networks that IT teams in the healthcare sector are pushed to work with were designed during a pre-COVID time when applications were static. These outdated networks not only create their roadblocks but trying to adapt them to support today’s demands can also result in huge operational issues. An IT team tasked with scaling their network up to support a surge in users and devices across various locations would be faced with having to manually process every connection type and device if a network hasn’t been modernized. Networks based on traditional VLAN architectures will struggle to accommodate huge amounts of IoT devices, so modernizing WAN solutions with SD-WAN should be seen as the next step for healthcare organizations. Offering greater efficiency and cost savings, hospitals and clinics can also opt for an approach that doesn’t involve the wholesale replacement of their current infrastructures, but rather look for options that coexist with current architectures.
28 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com
FEATURE
STEP 1: UPGRADING THE NETWORK
NETWORK MODERNIZATION: THE KEY TO THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE There’s no denying that COVID-19 had an irreversible impact across every industry, perhaps most notably the healthcare sector. Two years ago, healthcare providers and facilities had to make huge changes to adjust to the influx of COVID patients. From telemedicine to patient portals, new technologies are still being deployed today to help the system fight back against the backlog of patients needing care, as well as deliver the improved and more seamless service that customers now expect. This has meant that the IoT device explosion is on the rise across the healthcare sector. Deloitte predicts that the IoMT market will grow in Europe from $ 12 billion to $44billion by 2025.Ashealthcare organizations continue to introduce IoT devices to their operations, their digital success stories depend on one fundamental component – a reliable network. Resilient and secure connectivity must underpin every institution’s digital roadmap, upholding and progressing
With a modern network in place and now set up for scale and connectivity, health organizations must then look towards leveraging the benefits of automation.Asallthese IoT devices churn out large quantities of health information, automation merged with other smart technologies such as machine learning can help turn into actionable insights that healthcare organizations
By: Jacob Chacko, Regional Director - ME, Saudi & SA at Aruba, an HP Enterprise company ARUBA the convergence of IT, patient care, and operational efficiencies. So, just how do they achieve this?
STEP 3: SECURITY
While a modern network and the IoT devices and AI solutions it can support have the potential to transform healthcare in practice, the growing use of connective devices also poses increased risk for healthcare organizations. In a hospital setting where staff, patients, and visitors are always on the go, multiple new devices are constantly joining and leaving the network. Now, securing the network is more important than ever. The key to a secure network is visibility. This means that everything, from sensors to visitors' phones, needs to be individually identified, secured, and monitored. By ‘fingerprinting’ every device this way, any vulnerability can be spotted and addressed immediately before it is ex-ploited. This level of nuance is also particularly vital in healthcare. In life-or-death environ-ments, critical-care devices that need to run continuously can’t be treated the same way as those which can be disconnected if needed. Instead, Zero Trust architectures ensure that all devices and users trying to access the network are identified and authenticated, before providing the least amount of access required through a predefined security policy.
WORK FROM HOME - WORK MUST GO ON Working from home isn’t exactly new, but the need to work from home is. When it became apparent that social distancing would be a key tactic to slow the spread of COVID-19, immediately closing office buildings was the natural response. In fact, it is likely that companies’ familiarity with remote work — if only on an occasional basis — has smoothed the rapid transition and enabled ongoing operations. However, this urgency has served as a sort of double-edged sword: While it is responsible for the rapid transition to remote work policies, it is also responsible for quick fixes that may do more to hinder than help workflows in the long run.
DURINGTRANSFORMATIONDIGITALAND BEYOND COVID-19
Getting the right information to the right employees is challenging enough when everything is paperbased and everyone’s working remotely, but the issue is greater than that. Enabling digital workflows isn’t just about scanning paper documents into electronic files so that the immediate task at hand can be completed, but about automating
KODAK ALARIS
A CULTURAL SHIFT
292022www.VARonline.com
Written By: Naji Kazak, Managing Director - EMEA at Kodak Alaris processes can cause companies to miss opportunities, make illinformed business decisions, and lose clients to competition. In the midst of this global pandemic, these realities take on even greater importance: Digital transformation is no longer a question of “sinking or swimming” over an extended period of time, but of sinking or swimming now. Technology adoption has been one of the single biggest factors in ensuring business survival. For instance, grocery stores have turned to online ordering and curbside pickup, restaurants have implemented QR code menus to minimize shared objects, and healthcare organizations have relied on telehealth platforms to provide virtual care.
COVID-19 has been a massive catalyst for digital transformation, but companies need to do more than implement short-term solutions that enable remote work. Businesses with an eye to fully automated workflows will enjoy benefits that far outlast the pandemic.
the processes themselves so that work can be carried out efficiently and effectively over the long term. This automation requires taking a close look at business processes, reengineering them as needed, and investing in technology that goes beyond simple document capture. For instance, when faced with these issues, Xenith Intelligent Workplace Solutions teamed up with Kodak Alaris to create a new Scan@ Home Solution with preconfigured automatic workflows. Built on Kodak Alaris’ INfuse Smart Connected Scanning Solution, the offering enables workers to save information to the right place, send documents to the right person, and scan directly into line-of-business systems from home — all without a PC connection or local software.
Naji Kazak MD - EMEA, Kodak Alaris
FROM DIGITIZING PAPER PROCESSES TO FULLY INTEGRATED WORKFLOWS
URGENCY SPURS TECH ADOPTION Companies that embrace digital transformation are more successful than those that lag behind. Digital companies typically have a superior customer experience, better employee engagement and retention, and increased business growth and profits, among other benefits. What’s more, manual
For companies that have turned to remote work, tech adoption has meant using equipment such as document scanners, mobile devices, and multifunction printers (MFPs) as specific needs arise.
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Remote work seems to be here to stay, and digital transformation will continue to facilitate it. For companies that haven’t embraced it, now is the time to invest in the digital transformation strategies that enable remote work, and in the technologies that spur digital transformation.
The concept of sustainability is reflected at the highest levels of decision-making in the wider MENA region, as evidenced by its inclusion as a pillar in the UAE’s Vision 2021 strategy as well as the Abu Dhabi Environmental Centennial - a shared, comprehensive set of environmental goals for the Emirate for the next 50 years. The Qatar Vision 2030 aims to protect natural resources, while Egypt will host the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27).
• In 2018, SAP announced its intention to plant five million trees by 2025 and has now raised that target to 21 million trees by the end of 2025.While motivated by these goals, we are even more inspired by working with companies in the Middle East to empower them to succeed in their sustainability initiatives for the collective good. This is because technology is an enabler and accelerator to help companies of all sizes and industries achieve their emissions-reduction goals by reinventing the way they account for and manage carbon emissions across their supply chains and operations. Hitachi, Unilever, “SAP is helping companies to reinvent themselves as intelligent, sustainable, and successful enterprises,” says Sergio Maccotta, Senior VP of Middle East South at SAP.
30 AUGUST 2022 www.VARonline.com COLUMN
• SAP is driving a longterm strategy of greening our operations around the world including using 100% renewable energy for SAP’s data centers and buildings worldwide since 2014 and expanding this over time also to external data centers (co-locations and hyperscalers).
Sergio Maccotta Senior VP of Middle East South at SAP SAP and Colgate-Palmolive are just a few successful collaborations that are inspiring other companies to set ambitious goals to tackle climate prevention.WhileSAP is well-known for solutions that boost profitability through increasing efficiencies and reducing the total cost of ownership, we also build sustainability measures into all aspects of these solutions. In other words, we help companies by connecting data and business processes to embed sustainability into all business functions.Inaddition to building sustainability metrics into solutions, SAP has also developed programs specifically designed to manage sustainability. The SAP Cloud for Sustainable Enterprises offers customers a broad range of sustainability-specific enterprise applications that can be flexibly implemented according to their sustainability requirements. For climate action, the SAP Product Footprint Management carbon accounting solution helps companies understand, analyze, and ultimately minimize the CO2 footprint of their products, and SAP Responsible Design and Production enables them to become more circular.Ontop of this, SAP’s role in helping to manage complex supply chains around the world enables us to encourage companies to accelerate their move to the circular economy.Toconclude, let’s consider the impact of successful sustainability initiatives on a brand’s reputation, which also plays a role in making sustainability profitable and profitability sustainable.
• SAP has committed to accelerate its timeline to netzero from 2050 to 2030 and to reach climate goals, in line with the Paris Agreement, 20 years earlier.
How do these laudable government sustainability strategies relate to the wider business landscape in the MENA region?While companies in the Middle East increasingly realize sustainability should be at the heart of their business models, aligning them with public policy, putting this into practice can be challenging. Moreover, sustainability is often incorrectly perceived as being at odds with profitability. At SAP, we continuously challenge this view, focusing on making sustainability profitable and profitability sustainable. We are qualified to help businesses achieve this ideal scenario as we leverage what we have learned on our journey to sustainability. So, before delving into how we help others achieve their sustainability goals, it would be appropriate to share a select few of our green credentials:
ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD SEEK SOLUTIONS THAT PROTECT BOTH PLANET AND PROFITABILITY
Dragos, the leader in cybersecurity for industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) environments, has announced the appointment of Omar Al Barghouthi as Regional Director, Middle East. In his new role, Al Barghouthi will be responsible for spearheading Dragos’ regional growth, strengthening its partner network, and consolidating the company’s leadership role in providing security solutions through the Dragos Platform for the Middle East’s rapidly growing industrial sector. Christophe Culine, Chief Revenue Officer, Dragos said, “Omar is a 20-year veteran of the industry and the region. He is versatile and accomplished with a strong background in leadership, strategy,
DRAGOS APPOINTS OMAR AL BARGHOUTHI AS MIDDLE EAST REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Al Barghouthi comes to Dragos from IBM Middle East, where he served as Cybersecurity Sales Director for regions including the Middle East, Levant, and Pakistan. Previously he held a series of roles in strategy, business development, and service delivery in private and public sector organizations including Injazat Data Systems, Dubai World, and Ajman Government.
GBM APPOINTS NEW HEAD FOR DUBAI OPERATIONS
GBM / DRAGOS impeccable business acumen will enhance our client offerings in the UAE and beyond.” El Samadoni has over 30 years of experience working in the MENA region. He joins GBM from G42, where El Samadoni was most recently the VP of Business Development and Sales, responsible for accelerating its cloud division as well as driving the long-term strategies for the department.ElSamadoni said, “In my capacity as General Manager, I also aspire to build strategies that will innovate our current offerings, bringing business partners, developers, and organizations together.”
G ulf Business Machines (GBM) has announced the appointment of Ossama El Samadoni as General Manager (GM) for its Dubai operations. In his new role, El Samadoni will be responsible for leading GBM’s Dubai teams as they help enterprises to unlock new business value and strengthen partnerships. Amr Refaat, CEO of GBM, commented, “El Samadoni’s appointment comes at an exciting time when technologies such as AI and hybrid cloud solutions are transforming industries in the region. I am confident that El Samadoni’s leadership experience, track record of implementing innovative solution strategies, and technology, sales, and business development to fuel our continued growth in the Middle East. We are delighted to have him on board and look forward to seeing his considerable talents in action.”
Al Barghouthi said, “I am excited about this new chapter in my career, which will allow me and my new team to work closely with the region’s industrial organizations.”
El Samadoni GM, GBM Omar Al Barghouthi Regional Director-ME, Dragos
31AUGUST 2022www.VARonline.com APPOINTMENTS
Remastered.Inaddition
NVIDIA RELEASES A NEW GEFORCE GAME READY FOR MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN REMASTERED icrosoft has announced the general availability of Azure Availability Zones, to be delivered via its UAE data centres in Dubai. The investment is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of UAE businesses through the vital provision of business continuity and disaster recovery solutions. Naim Yazbeck, General Manager, Microsoft UAE said, “as businesses move forward amid increased industry upheavals and competition from market disrupters, competitiveness hinges on the ability to
NVIDIA releases a new GeForce Game Ready driver that claims to deliver optimized performance in Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered. This driver also provides support for Madden NFL 23 which launches on August 19th and the SUPER PEOPLE beta which starts in August 2022. There is also support for 18 new G-SYNC Compatible gaming displays and 13 new Optimal Playable Settings for popular games. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is loaded with NVIDIA GeForce RTX technologies, including NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA DLAA, and upgraded ray-traced effects- meaning GeForce RTX GPUs deliver the definitive #RTXON experience in Marvel’s Spider-Man to all of the above, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC also boasts numerous graphical and experiential enhancements to make full use of the PC’s capabilities, including:
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MICROSOFT LAUNCHES AZURE AVAILABILITY ZONES TO COMPETITIVENESSHEIGHTEN
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• NVIDIA HBAO+ • Uncapped frame rates • Higher-resolution shadow maps • Increased levels of detail • Higher fidelity texture filtering • Additional quality levels for numerous options
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33AUGUST 2022www.VARonline.com EYE TECH TECHNOLOGY
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CYBEREASON LAUNCHES INDUSTRY’S FIRST MDR MOBILE APP
KEY FEATURES: • Visibility into detections and active MalOps to better understand the scope of an attack • Anytime access to dashboards and the ability to initiate responses from any mobile device • Ability to quickly identify and isolate compromised machines • Constant contact with the Cybereason Global SOC • Ability to remotely initiate response actions with confidence • Access to reports and industry news to stay abreast of the latest tactics, techniques, and procedures used by nation-state threatremainactors operational even as external issues destabilise markets and supply chains. Backups alone will not deliver such capabilities. Rapid recovery requires strategy-focused infrastructure and solutions to work effectively. That is what Azure Availability Zones delivers.” The launch of Azure Availability Zones also signifies the readiness of Microsoft’s UAE cloud locations to form the backbone of organizations’ futureproofing programmes, undertaken in the wake of the COVID pandemic crisis. An official release claimed that Azure Availability Zones will build on the capabilities and benefits offered through Microsoft’s enterprise-grade data centres in Dubai. Among those that have already migrated to Microsoft Azure Availability Zones in the UAE are Emirates Group, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Mashreq Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
ohesity, a provider of data management solutions has announced the general availability of Cohesity FCybereason launched the Cybereason Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Mobile App that allows Defenders the power of a security operations center (SOC), at their fingertips. With the Cybereason MDR Mobile App, the developers claimed, defenders can further reduce the mean-timeto remediation by suspending an attack’s lateral movement directly from their mobile device. “The Cybereason MDR Mobile App is a game changer for Defenders, created in response to their evolving needs. Security analysts face alert fatigue, staffing shortages, and more attacks coming during off-peak work hours. These burdens demanded a response and the Cybereason MDR Mobile App provides the context needed between alerts and a MalOp and access to our global SOC from anywhere in the world,” said Lior Div, Cybereason CEO and Co-founder.
Other major regional publicprivate organizations are developing frameworks for involvement in ESG finance. Majid Al Futtaim, a leading retail conglomerate in the MENA region is implementing a Green Finance Framework to support its ESG activity. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), a $430bn sovereign wealth fund that has been actively involved in the transformation of KSA, partnered with BlackRock on ESG finance.
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Sustainability has gained significant traction in financial services over the last few years, moving it center stage, as it lies driven by a range of stakeholders including governments and regulators, investors, and clients themselves.
Georg von Pföstl Principal, Financial Services, Arthur D. Little, Vienna Andreas Buelow Partner in Arthur D. Little’s Bahrain office and a member of the Financial Services Practice
The Arab Federation of Exchanges currently references three ESG rating systems that cover companies in the region – Refinitiv ESG Score being mostly recommended as it is widely used and directly measures company ESG performance (vs. risk) offering a 97% share of MENA sustainability leaders score out of 100 points. Refinitiv rates ESG performance, commitment, and effectiveness across 10 main themes while Accounting for industry and company size biases, examples include Aramco (44), Zain (68), and Emirates NBD (35).
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) are central factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of a company.
Next, HSBC and Saudi National Bank have created a Sustainable Finance Framework making Saudi National Bank (SNB) the largest banking group in the Kingdom, creating the first sustainable finance framework.
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Today, over 90 percent of global emissions are now covered by Net Zero commitments. In the GCC alone, the financial sector is the largest contributor to the list, indicating that insurance companies have the potential to achieve high levels of ESG performance. Overall, GCC companies still have room to grow to meet top global performers with more mature ESG activity. Across the GCC region, the adoption of ESG requirements is largely optional, but the development of requirements remains ongoing.
High performers in ESG come from a variety of countries and sectors, proving that any company can achieve excellence in ESG, including Telecom Logistics Industrials (20%), Real Estate (10%), and Financials (30%).
The Red Sea Development Company was recognized as a global ESG leader in the Real Estate sector as sustainability has been a core guiding principle since the inception of the regenerative tourism project.
RESEARCH TECH TOP ESG PERFORMERS COME FROM GCC ACROSS TELECOM, LOGISTICS, AND
“Many of such challenges have been previously faced by other sectors on their ESG journey. However, unlike manufacturers or consumer goods companies, financial services companies do not provide physical products. While they can – and must – achieve Net Zero in terms of their operational footprint, true sustainability requires ensuring that clients and customers are also Net Zero,” added Georg von Pföstl, Principal, Financial Services, Arthur D. Little, Vienna.
• Arthur D. Little’s report highlights how the predominance of the financial sector in the GCC is likely to accelerate ESG practices • Top ESG priorities identified in the GCC are climate change/ energy; paperless, data security; talent and equality; ethics; and digitalization
Co-author Andreas Buelow, Partner in Arthur D. Little’s Bahrain office and a member of the Financial Services Practice, said “Key ESG indicators in the GCC are increasingly being linked to global initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Global Reporting Initiative standards. Seeing the financial sector in the region increase economic, social and governance reporting is a testament to how growth may increase reputation and value.”
