The Integrator

Shattering Stereotypes: The Power of Women in Leadership and Tech

Women in leadership roles are crucial to the success of organizations, particularly in the field of technology. However, despite progress in recent years, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions, especially in the tech industry. This lack of representation not only limits the potential for innovation and progress but also sends a message to women that they are not valued in this field.

Gender diversity is not only a moral imperative but also a business necessity. The lack of women in leadership roles in the tech industry is a missed opportunity for companies to tap into a vast talent pool, gain new perspectives, and improve their bottom line. Studies have shown that diverse teams make better decisions, are more innovative, and deliver better financial performance. Moreover, companies that prioritize gender diversity in their leadership positions benefit from a better reputation, increased employee engagement, and a more positive work culture.

Furthermore, women bring unique perspectives and approaches to problemsolving, which can lead to better decisionmaking and more innovative solutions. By promoting diversity and inclusion in leadership roles, organizations can tap into the full potential of their workforce and create a more equitable and productive workplace.

So, the question remains, what can we do to ensure that women have equal opportunities to assume leadership roles in the technology industry, and how can we create a culture that supports and promotes diversity and inclusion? It is up to all of us to work towards a future where women have an equal seat at the table in technology leadership positions.

Vivek Sharma Publisher

EMPOWERING WOMEN IN CYBERSECURITY –DIVERSITY IS SECURITY

Tell us more about your role, and how you came to work in cybersecurity.

I joined Delinea (then Thycotic) over five years ago with the remit of establishing a solid foundation for the company in the META region by building a new local team, raising brand awareness, developing a network of qualified partners, and growing the company’s customer base. Having successfully achieved these objectives, today my role has evolved into the management of Delinea’s largest clients in the region and nurturing long-term partnerships to ensure these clients understand our value proposition and that projects are successfully implemented. Supporting and understanding the challenges that regional businesses face daily are key when working in cybersecurity –and I firmly believe that being part of that journey and contributing to the long-term strategies of organisations are key components of building longterm partnerships with clients and partners.

What do you love about your job?

My favourite professional experiences have been working for organisations that leveraged my skills and proficiency in multiple languages including English, German, Arabic and French to build or rebuild their business in emerging markets.

Why is it important to have a diverse workforce in this field? How does it benefit cybersecurity?

With today’s shortage of talent in the cybersecurity industry, it is a no brainer for companies to recruit more women, and more people from diverse backgrounds and cultures as this brings different perspectives and skills to the table. It also allows companies to have a tribe culture where everyone can share their experiences and build teams that work and grow together. There is always something to learn from someone who is of a different background, gender, or level of experience.

Indeed, the success of any organisation depends on the diversity of their workforce. This includes cyber security companies, where addressing issues from as many different angles as possible is key to creating world-class solutions for customers.

How can organizations pave the way for a future of female cybersecurity leaders?

Closing the gender gap won’t happen overnight. It’s good that it is widely discussed, but after words we need actions.

It may seem obvious, but focusing on diversity and inclusivity when recruiting for the roles, would be a good starting point, especially if intake isn’t restricted to those with a background in cybersecurity. Mindset and experience are more important than specific skills, which can always be learned Moreover, cybersecurity is very community driven, with a growing number of groups created by women to help empower women in growing in their roles in the industry.

What would be your advice for someone who wants to start a career in cybersecurity?

Currently, just 20% of the global cybersecurity professionals are female. DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) has been a hot topic for the last couple of years, and specifically diversity as it helps reduce the skills gap and is good for business. This, coupled with the growing need for skilled professionals to advance the development and uptake of AI and innovative technologies in the space, means the cybersecurity industry holds the promise of a rewarding career for women.

Exclusive interview of Nadia Zamouri, Territory Manager - META, Delinea with The Integrator.

Nadia Zamouri Territory Manager - META, Delinea

BE PASSIONATE AND MOTIVATED, AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW

Nathalie Rivat, VP of System Engineering at Fortinet explains what drew her to a career in cybersecurity and what her experience has been.

engineering and training teams and am exposed to different areas of the business. My team helps shape the development of product lines based on customer feedback. CSEs play a key role in product evolution as they work with engineering, reporting what customers and prospects require and how our products can best meet those needs.

How have you dealt with challenges throughout your career?

When I started my career as a young networking engineer before joining Fortinet, people were tempted to have negative preconceptions and they wanted to test and evaluate my capabilities. I still remember a few testing phases I was put through designed to see how I was reacting to technical pitfalls. As one of the rare female engineers, I was more visible and more exposed to judgment, unfortunately. Once I had proven myself, I felt like I probably gained even stronger trust from others compared to my peers.

What has your experience of being a woman in cybersecurity been like?

What inspired you to pursue a career in cybersecurity?

Can you tell us more about your career pathway?

I have an engineering master's degree in telecommunication and had an internship in networking as it was one of the most dynamic and promising environments to work in at that time. I realized that cybersecurity was evolving and expanding even faster than networking technologies and I joined a start-up with a security specialized vendor. That was Fortinet in 2004.

Over the past 9 years, I’ve witnessed the company grow its product portfolio and become an industryleading cybersecurity company. When I first joined Fortinet, I started as an EMEA Systems Engineer, then I moved to a Consultant Systems Engineer position.

What does your current role consist of and what is it about your work that excites you? What is the achievement you are most proud of?

I lead a team of Consultant Systems Engineers (CSEs). This has been a fantastic role as I’m at the crossroads of sales, pre-sales, product management,

Following mainstream misconceptions has never been an option, whether in my professional or personal life. Women can do anything. There are few women working in the field of cybersecurity, and even fewer if we only consider engineering positions. Being a woman in cybersecurity in a technical role is breaking the stereotype. I never accepted to let stereotypes decide what my life should look like and what I should do for a living.

What advice would you give others looking to start a career in cybersecurity, especially women?

There is nothing insurmountable. Don't be afraid. Women can do anything, whether that is becoming a firefighter or cybersecurity engineer. Be passionate and motivated, and the rest will follow.

For hiring managers at cybersecurity organizations, I encourage that diversity and inclusion be top of mind. Diversity helps organizations as different individuals bring their own approach to problem solving with different perspectives. Diversity is achieved by hiring different characters and it is greatly improved with gender diversity. Hiring more women in cyber would bring diversity as well as help to address the global skills shortage.

Nathalie Rivat VP of System Engineering, Fortinet

WOMEN ARE AS CAPABLE AS MEN IN LEADING BUSINESSES AND ACHIEVING GOALS

By: Maya Zakhour, Director Channel Sales - Eastern Europe, META, Iberia & Latin America

women are as capable as men in leading businesses and achieving their personal and professional goals. Not encouraging and giving women the chance to shoulder leadership roles is not a sustainable approach for businesses anymore.

What advice would you give to young women who are interested in pursuing a career in your industry?

Once a woman finds her place and passion in the tech industry – I believe she can do wonders to help other women find their place too and create a sustainable workplace for everyone.

What motivates you to continue working, and what keeps you inspired?

The UAE is leading the charge when it comes to putting women in prominent leadership roles – beginning with the government departments. When I look at the tech industry, I see a lot of women making their mark in their field – from marketing to channel, product development and leading regional businesses. I also see a lot of interest from young women to join the industry – The IT industry is no longer the ‘boys club’ – and I am seeing senior executives encourage and make way for a new breed of the leaders.

Can you tell us a bit about your journey and how you got to where you are today in your industry?

Technology is my passion, and it’s more than 20 years that I’m leading international companies in channel and sales roles, including B2B high tech enterprises. I have been in several senior positions and supervised major organizational operations with some of the region’s top companies. Prior to joining NetApp in 2017, I was Channel Director for the Middle East at Fortinet, Strategic Alliance Manager at Dimension Data as well as Channel Development Manager and Partner Account Manager for UAE at Microsoft.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in your industry, and how did you overcome them?

I believe that leadership roles across sectors are still very much reserved for men. Women’s professional progress has taken a blow, worsened by the pandemic, and the financial, mental, and emotional toll is high. Many women capable of attaining leadership roles find themselves stuck in the same position for years and unable to be promoted. Companies must realise that

What is your current role at NetApp?

In my current role I manage NetApp’s regional Channel, Distribution and Alliances landscape and focuses on growing channel coverage across Eastern Europe, META, Iberia & LATAM. I not only work on building a strong partner ecosystem in the region but also leads the teams’ efforts in applying partner and pathways strategies. I focus on developing the company’s services business through partners as well as overseeing the commercial and velocity business.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about women in your industry, and how do you address them?

Being a woman in tech is not all about coding or technicalities – there is so much more to a having a career in the tech industry. To me, it’s about solving problems – big and small. It’s about innovating to create a positive change to the way the world lives and operates. It’s about creating impact on the community in which we operate.

Maya Zakhour Director Channel Sales - Eastern Europe, META, Iberia & Latin America

DIVERSITY ENCOURAGES INNOVATION AND CREATES MORE OPPORTUNITIES

Yasmine Sameh, Program Manager at BeyondTrust

Tell us more about your role, and how you came to work in cybersecurity.

In my role as a Program Manager at BeyondTrust, I’m responsible for managing a team of Implementation Managers/Project Managers and I’m also working on delivering complex programs/ projects in EMEA region.

I started my career in the Tech Industry in 2011, focusing on the data storage management projects for 6 years, then networking/ telecommunications for 3 years and in 2020 I decided to explore cybersecurity because it is vital element of every successful program delivery to any organization.

What do you love about your job?

It’s a unique and interesting job where you always get an opportunity to lead and motivate people to do their best work, remove roadblocks and be inspired by them. At the same time, project management is a fantastic skill to have because it helps you in other areas of life too, and with every project being unique, I am never bored and always challenged to learn more and develop new skills.

Why is it important to have a diverse workforce in this field?

How does it benefit cybersecurity? Diversity encourages innovation and creates more opportunities for creativity. In cybersecurity, Creativity and Innovation are key success factors in developing products and providing services to a wide range of customers who

Yasmine Sameh Program Manager BeyondTrust

have rapidly changing demands. Having different perspectives and backgrounds in one team will always bring value to our diverse customers.

How can organizations pave the way for a future of female cybersecurity leaders?

30% of BeyondTrust C-Suite are great female leaders including our CEO Janine Seebeck. BeyondTrust is empowering future female leaders through many inspiring initiatives and programs such as “Women & Allies” BTRG and “Possibili-teas” that offer regular informal conversations with female leaders who continually empower other women by living BeyondTrust values, lead by example and engage all employees to learn about the perspectives of women.

Organizations can pave the way for future female leaders through many activities; starting with reaching out to a more gender diverse pool when attracting talent and then also offering flexible working environment, mentoring opportunities, leadership training programs, and networking groups to inspire future female leaders and help them recognize their hidden potentials.

What would be your advice for someone who wants to start a career in cybersecurity?

Be self-confident and motivated to always learn and focus on your adaptability skills including communication and problemsolving because cybersecurity trends are constantly evolving.

NEVER ACCEPT THE STATUS QUO AND ALWAYS PUSH YOURSELF TO LEARN

Can you tell us a bit about your journey and how you got to where you are today in your industry?

I moved to the UAE in 2008 and began working in the Gaming/IT industry with Golden Systems Electronics as their Marketing Director and Channel Loyalty Program Director.

I then joined NVIDIA in 2013 and took on the role of Regional Marketing Manager for the MENA region, where I oversaw consumer business marketing. This comprised marketing for our GeForce desktop and laptop business through channels, at retail, and to consumers.

After that, in 2019, I was promoted to Senior Regional Marketing Manager, where I was in charge of creating and executing marketing plans for the MENAT region, as well as recognizing consumer needs and directing the marketing team to achieve brand distribution and visibility. I was recently promoted to Head of Marketing for MENAT.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in your industry, and how did you overcome them?

I don't believe that being a woman has presented me with any obstacles. Throughout the region, women have long been welcomed, admired, and honoured. UAE is quite diversified and respects gender equality. I feel incredibly grateful and pleased to be working here.

What advice would you give to young women who are interested in pursuing a career in your industry?

My advice is to have faith in your abilities and believe that you are everything you need to be to reach your goals. Therefore, dream big and work hard to make them a reality. Never accept the status quo and always push yourself to learn as much as you can.

What motivates you to continue working, and what keeps you inspired?

NVIDIA's innovations and corporate culture are two things that I genuinely love and value. We collaborate, think, and learn as a team while thriving in a supportive environment.

The accomplishments of our efforts in the community and in retail are what motivate me personally. The way the gaming industry has grown and changed over the years, and how it still expands and offers new chances inspires me.

How do you balance your personal life and work, and what strategies do you use to maintain that balance?

I’ve accepted the fact that there is no 'perfect' work-life balance, especially in a fast-evolving industry. Personally, I believe what makes it easier is to simply love what you do. My love and appreciation for NVIDIA make my days much more enjoyable and manageable.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about women in your industry, and how do you address them?

The biggest misconception revolves around the acceptance of women in this industry, which is not particularly true, especially in the UAE. The most important thing for me and what I encourage other women to do, too, is to believe in your skills and capabilities, work hard, continuously learn new things from previous experiences and be geared for the future. Gender does not determine your calibre.

Chantelle Tavid – Head of Marketing, NVIDIA MENAT in an exclusive interview with The Integrator

Chantelle Tavid Head of Marketing, NVIDIA MENAT

EMBRACING THE CONCEPT OF FEMALE CYBERSECURITY LEADERS STARTS AT THE TOP AS A COMPANY MISSION

Tell us more about your role, and how you came to work in cybersecurity.

My work primarily focuses on building a team that serves as a force multiplier to our cybersecurity vision with concentrated attention to enterprise needs within specific focus areas (like the public sector). Within Sophos, I lead the global field CTO team, a highly experienced group of executive-level cybersecurity experts, who are also accomplished researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and spokespeople within their domains. For my role, I am the “field CTO for the public sector,” so I focus on most of my work on government and education.

What do you love about your job?

I am very excited about my position as head of Sophos’ new field CTO team. Sophos is a $1 billion+ global cybersecurity leader, so when developing this type of group, you are met with challenges and constraints you simply cannot solve through “web searches” or reading a “leadership” book. Furthermore, my work requires that I exercise varied professional skills, ranging from highly technical engineering conversations to other disciplines, such as marketing, sales strategy, and public speaking. All these factors combined are motivating and interesting to tackle every day and to also improve upon as we develop the group over time.

Why is it important to have a diverse workforce in this field? How does it benefit cybersecurity?

In cybersecurity, information sharing is critical to problem-solving and providing the best protection to defend against cybercriminals. By having diversity in skill, gender, background, and much more, we have a more holistic way of developing the best possible outcomes for solving a problem, whether it’s in cybersecurity or other team development efforts.

How can organizations pave the way for a future of female cybersecurity leaders?

Embracing the concept of female cybersecurity leaders starts at the top as a company mission. This also includes ensuring that performance reviews and the hiring process is structured and consistent to support all individuals objectively.

What would be your advice for someone who wants to start a career in cybersecurity?

To start a career in cybersecurity, review the different aspects of the field to get an overview. There are a lot of different niches, so it’s good to learn a little bit about a lot, first, and when you find an area that is interesting, go all in.

Please share something unforgettable from your career – an experience, words of encouragement, or working with someone inspiring.

One experience that comes to mind is when I briefly worked as a consultant for Bridgewater Associates where Ray Dalio initially shared his book, Principles, which contained a quote that I think about often, “What is true? What do you want? And what are you going to do about it?”

What unique challenges and opportunities do you face in today's world, and how have you navigated these challenges to achieve your professional goals?

Recently, I’ve been appointed as the leader of Sophos’ inaugural global Field CTO team. I’m excited about the opportunity to make an impact on our mission of improving security outcomes. Within this function, I think about large-scale challenges such as increasing economic constraints or even the growing impact of ransomware on critical infrastructure organizations.

By: Julie Davila, VP of Global Field CTO Operations at Sophos

TO ACHIEVE GENDER DIVERSITY IN CYBERSECURITY, A LONG-TERM APPROACH IS NECESSARY

Could tell us about your role and your career history? My primary role as a security research evangelist at Nozomi Networks is to talk about all of the great research that our Labs team is doing to safeguard critical infrastructure. My technical career began unintentionally when I joined the US Navy as an intelligence specialist. Despite not having any technical background whatsoever, I had to present on many technical aspects of military weapons and capabilities (missiles, mines, aircraft ranges, communications, etc.) at just 19 years old. I think that is where it all began for me.

What do you love about your job?

I'm a naturally talkative person, so if I weren't doing this, I would probably be a lawyer. But most importantly, I love sharing the incredible research our security research team is doing. Our researchers are creating threat detection for customers' environments, discovering zero-day vulnerabilities in OT/IoT systems, as well as building highly sophisticated demos to demonstrate how we can protect these environments from cyber-attacks. It's an incredibly exciting job and I get to discuss all of that!

How can organizations pave the way for a future of female cybersecurity leaders?

To achieve gender diversity in cybersecurity, a longterm approach is necessary, starting with changing people's perceptions of what a technical person looks like. Engaging with young girls at schools can generate interest early on and create a pipeline of talented young women passionate about cybersecurity, ready to take on leadership roles when they enter the workforce.

Please share something unforgettable from your career?

One of the most memorable moments in my career was when my Jamaican mother flew to Idaho Falls when I was a recipient of a Laboratory Director Award at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Although I received numerous awards when in the military, the Laboratory Director Award marked the first time in my civilian career that I was recognized for my accomplishments. The fact that I could share that experience with my mom really meant a lot to me.

What unique challenges and opportunities do you face in today's world?

Being a young Black woman in an industry dominated by old White men, I have faced the challenge of not being taken seriously. Proving myself in every meeting was an absolute necessity, and at times, my ideas were overlooked until someone else regurgitated them. And I must say, constantly seeking validation from others is exhausting! But I didn’t make a fuss about it, I just focused on doing my job to the best of my ability and allowed my work to speak for itself. Eventually, everyone caught on.

Roya Gordon OT/IoT Security Research Evangelist, Nozomi Networks

Being a young Black woman in an industry dominated by old White men, I have faced the challenge of not being taken seriously."

MY ADVICE WOULD BE TO EMBRACE YOUR UNIQUE IDENTITY AND CULTIVATE YOUR POSITIVE DIFFERENCE IN A TEAM ENVIRONMENT

The Integrator spoke to Meline Soulie - VP Marketing and Development Technologies at Obvious Technologies to understand the challenges and opportunities that women have in the technology industry.

Can you tell us a bit about your journey and how you got to where you are today in your industry?

I am an Executive Leadership Team member at Obvious Technologies, responsible for Marketing, Partners, and Development. With over 20 years of experience in the security industry, I have been privileged to work in various aspects of the security space, including cyber and electronic security products, software, consultancy, guarding services, and system integration in France, Europe, and the GCC.

What advice would you give to young women who are interested in pursuing a career in your industry?

If I were to advise young women interested in pursuing a career in the security tech industry, my first advice would be to not limit themselves in terms of what they want to achieve. Whether it's in engineering, software development, research, and development, or pre-sales, anything is possible. The UAE is a country where women are encouraged to pursue their career dreams, and we are lucky to have that support from all the stakeholders.

My second piece of advice would be to embrace your unique identity and cultivate your positive difference in a team environment.

What motivates you to continue working, and what keeps you inspired?

The exciting opportunity to join a fast-growing French software vendor, Obvious Technologies, which is a leader in the PSIM, Command & Control, and the 3D Data Visualization market, motivates me to continue working. Being a member of the Executive Leadership Team in charge of Marketing, Partners, and Development offers me the chance to define our unique selling points and create an innovative ecosystem by working closely with end-users and business and technology partners.

How do you balance your personal life and work, and what strategies do you use to maintain that balance?

As someone who has been married for almost 20 years and is a parent of two teenagers, finding a balance between personal life and work is crucial. This is already almost my second job! But despite this, I always ensure to actively participate in various business groups to help me expand my network and help others establish or develop their businesses. Volunteering as a Board Member for French Tech in the UAE has been rewarding, albeit time-consuming. My participation in this organization allows me to connect with interesting people and share experiences in investment, business scaling, and recruitment.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about women in your industry, and how do you address them?

As a woman in my industry, I've encountered misconceptions about being too emotional, which were once viewed as weaknesses. However, with the growing focus on emotional intelligence (EQ) rather than just IQ, I believe emotional intelligence can be an asset. Building strong personal relationships and establishing trust within my community through branding and storytelling has been successful. Another misconception is that women underestimate their abilities to achieve something new or master a skill.

Meline Soulie VP Marketing and Development Technologies, Obvious Technologies

Supporting the People of the Region and Eventually the World

Laila Bin Hareb Almheiri is an Emirati serial entrepreneur, the founder & CEO of Alive Group, a keynote speaker, and an expert on multiple disciplines with more than three decades of experience in transforming the aviation, cybersecurity, public transportation, and holistic healthcare sectors. She used her knowledge of organic leadership, organizational transformation, and digital innovation to contribute immensely to the development of the UAE. Laila has recently been honoured by the United Nations’ ICAO and IAWA as a global woman leader who has inspired generations. The Integrator spoke with Ms. Laila Bin Hareb Almheiri about how she has managed to accomplish all of her goals thus far.

From a software engineer to a serial entrepreneur, how has life changed over the years?

I’m still a software engineer after all. The difference was that I just wanted to branch out and discover new avenues in different industries. Being a software engineer means employing a problem-solving mentality. I just adapted this mentality to my entrepreneurial journey. So, while life has been a lot more stressful and I’ve been busier outside of my home, I don’t see my journey going in any other direction. I’ve always viewed my achievements as a way to change societies in the GCC region and eventually the world.

Could you name a woman who inspired you the most?

I would have to say, my mother. She was the woman who sacrificed it all for me and my siblings. When I was growing up, she inherited something I would like to consider a “healer’s touch” from my grandfather. I would always watch her help the community around me, and despite being so young at the time, I felt her influential presence. She passed away from an undiagnosed sleep apnea complication which has motivated me and inspired me to establish Alive Medical, a company dedicated to providing natural solutions for this condition. She inspired me to follow my dreams, focus on my ambitions, and keep the healer’s touch flourishing.

Many regional and international organizations have honored and recognized you. How do you feel about all of this acknowledgment?

I’m very flattered and of course, I’m very grateful for the regional and international honors, but my main priority is to make meaningful differences in people’s lives. I am grateful for any recognition and accolades and hope that my influence inspires others to follow a positive path. As long as my influence can inspire someone to move with the right foot forward, then that’s all that matters.

What drives you to keep going? How do you balance all of your current responsibilities?

After a while, you sort of get used to it. I still maintain a healthy worklife balance but oftentimes, I stay late at the office. There is this cliché where the CEO is the first one in the office and the last one to leave. In the beginning, I had to fill in that role, but eventually, I learned to delegate tasks, hire the right people, and manage my time efficiently. Once we do things out of passion, we’re always driven. Over time, managing responsibilities has become second nature, and I cannot imagine life without being as busy as I am.

How is the Alive Group fostering innovation and development in the UAE?

Alive Group recognizes that the

status quo is changing, and that technology is driving the change. For instance, our innovative 3D scanning technology provides natural-based solutions to address sleep apnea without surgery. The scanner is placed inside the mouth and takes a detailed scan of the mouth to fit a mouthpiece whereby the patient can breathe without any complications. This is just one example of where we leverage technology and innovation to drive our business forward.

What is the best career advice you've ever received, and what would you like to tell young women out there?

The best career advice I’ve ever received was to allow ourselves to fail and to forgive ourselves for mistakes we will make along the way. Failure is inevitable and something we cannot escape. We shouldn’t view it as something that holds us back, but rather as the building blocks to success. My message to young women out there is to follow the right examples and to lead by example. Women in the region have always been given the short end of the stick, and it’s up to us to make the changes. Believe in yourself, allow yourself to make mistakes, and believe in the changes you can bring. The world is in your hands.

Laila Bin Hareb Almheiri Founder & CEO of Alive Group

THE BEST CAREER ADVICE I’VE EVER RECEIVED WAS TO ALLOW OURSELVES TO FAIL AND TO FORGIVE OURSELVES FOR MISTAKES."

EMBRACE YOUR PASSIONS AND DON'T SHY AWAY FROM TAKING RISKS

By: Nichola Banerjee, Regional Marketing Manager – META & CEE, Barracuda

What challenges have you faced as a woman in your industry, and how did you overcome them?

While technology has traditionally been a predominantly male dominated industry, there are organisations that recognise the value of a diverse and equally representative workforce. The Midis group is certainly at the forefront of the space, and I consider myself blessed to have worked in various roles across this organisation through my career. Over these 15 years,

As a result, my overall experience as being a "woman in tech" has been both positive and rewarding. Yes, given the pace of advancement in the industry, working in tech requires a lot of dedication, and this can be challenging for women sometimes.

What advice would you give to young women who are interested in pursuing a career in your industry?

Achieving success in any field demands hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Embrace your passions and don't shy away from taking risks. Keep the right mindset and approach, and you will undoubtedly thrive in the dynamic field of marketing. To build a strong foundation of marketing knowledge, I recommend taking relevant courses.

Marketing also requires a diverse range of skills, including creative thinking, analytical skills, communication, and problem-solving.

What motivates you to continue working, and what keeps you inspired?

Marketing for technology companies is a field that is constantly evolving, which means that staying ahead of the curve and keeping up with the latest trends is critical. The technology industry is one that demands individuals to have a passion for learning and a desire to adapt to change. With technology advancing at a rapid pace, the skills required in marketing are also shifting. While it may be challenging, seeing the impact of your work not only on the growth and success your business, but in the ability for end customers to embrace digital transformation, can be incredibly rewarding.

How do you balance your personal life and work, and what strategies do you use to maintain that balance?

Work-life balance is not a new concept; it simply means etching out appropriate time for your professional and personal life. I believe it’s important to accept that while you might not have the perfect schedule, you can strive

to achieve a realistic one. Some days, you might focus more on work, while on others, you might have more time and energy to pursue your hobbies or spend time with your loved ones. Work-life balance is something that is achieved over time, rather than being a goal for each day.

Fostering a work-life balance requires some creativity and discipline and most companies today understand that productivity is measured in different forms for different employees.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about women in your industry, and how do you address them?

Given just how much men outnumber women in senior leadership roles in the technology an understandable misconception is that career progress for women in the industry is limited. I however believe this has to do with the historically lower intake of women into the field. The key therefore to addressing this is to encourage girls and young women to take up roles in STEM fields..

Nichola Banerjee Regional Marketing Manager – META & CEE, Barracuda

WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY: HARLEEN SOHAL, REGIONAL MARKETING MANAGER - MEA, WSO2

WSO2 is an open-source API-first integration vendor that offers a broad technology platform to build digital products rapidly. WSO2 solutions allow enterprises to deploy applications and services on-premises, on private or public clouds, or in hybrid environments and easily migrate between them as needed. The Integrator spoke with Ms. Harleen Sohal, Regional Marketing Manager - MEA, to learn more about her journey and how women in the industry are rising to challenges and forging ahead.

Tell us about your journey and how you got to where you are now.

I have had a very fulfilling journey over the past 5+ years of working with leading IT distributors, and now an IT vendor for the MEA region. I started my career as a Marketing Coordinator, primarily addressing back-end support activities for Marketing Specialists. Over nearly two years, my role evolved into a team leader for a small yet diverse team of coordinators. We delivered great value by working with vendors and brand principals to ensure efficient campaign executions. It was immensely satisfying that, as a team, we developed a solid understanding of back-end marketing processes, compliance, and timelines, among other things; eventually, we could make a mark at a brand-building level. While wearing my Team Leader hat, I moved into the Specialist role, giving me a great flavor of ideation and marketing planning for my bucket of vendors. Fast forward to today, I am spearheading the MEA-level marketing planning and execution for my organization.

What motivates you to continue working, and what keeps you inspired?

Brand building and communication has always been an area of my interest. As a computer science engineer, marketing in tech felt like a sweet spot to learn more on the ground and build an interest-based skill set. The IT industry is unique when we look at it from a marketing lens. For instance, selling an IT product or solution requires stronger network interaction between various value chain stakeholders, primarily because of the complexity characteristic. For almost every transaction, the vendor, distributor, and channel partner must collaboratively work to create and deliver value for the end user. Exposure to such an extensive marketing process has allowed me to work end-to-end and develop

a holistic understanding. This has enriched my journey, and it has been very motivating to be empowered to contribute to and drive the regional marketing strategy at my organization.

How do you balance your personal life and work, and your strategies to maintain that balance?

Creating a healthy balance between work and personal life is done by strengthening your organizational skills and maintaining healthy workplace boundaries. Often, in the flow of a fast-paced life, we forget the need to set and accept boundaries. Regarding organizing and scheduling, preferences vary among people, such as tracking apps, checklists, visualizations, and mind mapping, and some prefer using a plain old schedule diary. What works best for me is to create multiple organized spreadsheets that keep track of every little detail. Starting my day by reviewing these spreadsheets gives me a better idea of how to distribute the tasks over time. This allows me to unwind my mind and enjoy being present completely. It can be challenging initially; however, I advise assessing the finest strategy for you individually through trial and error and ensuring it is healthy for you in the long run.

Harleen Sohal Regional Marketing Manager - MEA WSO2

BEING CONSCIOUS AND AWARE IS THE FIRST STEP TO INJECTING DIVERSITY

By: Sumi Shukla, Vice President Global Partner & EMEA Marketing, at Riverbed

aware of gender bias. We are seeing strides being made to drive for more inclusivity but sadly challenges do occur. Personally, some challenges that stand out for me as not only a woman in tech, but one of colour centres around the theme of being heard. This is a common challenge for women. Being spoken over, or simply dismissed, not only by men, requires women to remain confident and resilient.

What advice would you give to young women who are interested in pursuing a career in your industry?

The technology industry is a great environment for any young woman, as there are a variety of disciplines from Product Development and Engineering to Sales and Marketing. My advice would be to identify a role model and seek mentorship, as my mentors have been so instrumental in my journey.

What motivates you to continue working, and what keeps you inspired?

Sumi Shukla VP Global Partner & EMEA Marketing, Riverbed Technology

Can you tell us a bit about your journey and how you got to where you are today in your industry?

I have been honoured to work for some fantastic companies during my career. I would really say my career in IT started when I left university and was fortunate to secure a sales position at a Distributor. I was lucky after this to move to Cisco, where I spent the best part of my career in various roles. Cisco is a phenomenal environment to learn the importance of vision, purpose, and structure. I then moved to Riverbed six years ago and I’m now privileged to lead two fantastic teams here – the EMEA Marketing organization, and last year, taking on an extended scope to build and lead a Global Partner marketing team.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in your industry, and how did you overcome them?

As you progress within the corporate environment, and your experiences develop, one becomes more acutely

I am the proud mother of two amazingly talented daughters. They are my purpose, my inspiration, and my world. It’s important for me, that I show them the value of independence, aspiring and a career and to continue to champion an inclusive, equal world for them and their generation.

How do you balance your personal life and work, and what strategies do you use to maintain that balance? This is a very real challenge. Having the backing, encouragement and support of an amazing husband has been key in my career. It’s important to prioritise your family and ensure quality time is dedicated to your personal life, just as it is for your work life. Setting boundaries, ensuring your team recognise this is important. It’s also key to lead by example. Being mindful of your team members, and/or colleagues personal time is important and for them to reciprocate.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about women in your industry, and how do you address them?

Women in technology are stereotyped into careers either in HR or Marketing. At Riverbed, we are taking tremendous strides and we’re proud to have women leading our Engineering, Product and Channel teams. Being conscious and aware is the first step to injecting diversity into the workforce.

ATTENDEES WILL HAVE THE CHANCE TO SEE THE NEWLY LAUNCHED OPSWAT NEURALYZER AT GISEC 2023

OPSWAT provides software tools. The Company offers software development tools and security applications. OPSWAT's software solutions streamline partnerships between technology companies and software vendors. The Integrator spoke with Sertan Selcuk, Regional Director, META at OPSWAT, about the key products and solutions that OPSWAT offers to enterprises in the Middle East.

drives, CDs, SD cards, and other devices. As a result, many partners and customers leverage OPSWAT’s MetaDefender Kiosk, which inspects all media for malware, vulnerabilities, and sensitive data at points of entry and exit.

With that said, we have a strong partner network that support both the IT and OT space.

applications from advanced threats. On the OT side, OPSWAT’s solutions prevent threats from entering OT networks by providing visibility into all connected OT assets, securing portable media, enforcing unidirectional data transfers, and much more.

Sertan Selcuk Regional Director, META, OPSWAT

Can you please detail some of the key products and the solutions that OPSWAT provides to enterprises in the UAE/Middle East?

Many critical infrastructure industries — whether it's within the manufacturing, defense, oil, and gas, or other sectors — rely on operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) that are isolated via air-gapped networks, thereby reducing the risk introduced by internet-connected devices. That isolation can introduce different problems, however, because these systems must be updated, reported on, and audited using portable media devices such as USB thumb

What is the purpose of the global partner network built by OPSWAT? The purpose of OPSWAT’s global partner network is to bring innovative, industry-leading critical infrastructure protection (CIP) cybersecurity solutions to global customers. Our program enables VARs, MSPs, systems integrators, and other resellers to expand their solution offerings, help customers solve a wide range of cybersecurity challenges, and carry out our mission of protecting the world’s most critical infrastructure for global markets.

What are the new products/ Solutions that you will be displaying at GISEC 2023?

OPSWAT will have its entire CIP lab set up at GISEC to demonstrate its IT and OT solutions using patented zero-trust technology. On the IT side, OPSWAT solutions can protect against advanced email attacks, secure local or remote access to cloud applications, provide endpoint visibility and protection, and protect

IT and OT convergence and increased digitalization can be a challenge for many industries when trying to secure their critical environments, but OPSWAT’s purpose-built solutions are powered by MetaDefender Core zero-trust technologies, including Deep Content Disarm and Reconstruction (Deep CDR), Multiscanning, Proactive Data Loss Prevention (Proactive DLP), File-based Vulnerability Assessment, and country of origin detection — all used to detect, analyze and eliminate malware and zero-day attacks.

Attendees will have the chance to see the newly launched OPSWAT Neuralyzer, a neural network cybersecurity product that enables OT personnel to protect their critical environments and supply chain through asset discovery, inventory management, network visibility, and vulnerability and risk management.

OPSWAT will also be showcasing its brand-new Mobile Kiosk, the new, ultra-rugged version of OPSWAT MetaDefender Kiosks designed to keep critical networks secure in even the harshest conditions.

COHESITY IS BUILT FOR A MULTI-CLOUD ERA, WITH A SUPERIOR MODERN PLATFORM

Tell us about Cohesity FortKnox and how does it help in providing protection against ransomware and other cybersecurity threats?

Cohesity FortKnox is a softwareas-a-service (SaaS) data isolation and recovery solution that run on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Cohesity takes care of managing the underlying infrastructure while the service is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) — in this case, in the AWS Middle East (Bahrain) Region.

The SaaS can play a critical role in helping organizations minimize the impact of cyber-attacks such as ransomware. It is designed to provide an additional layer of offsite protection while dramatically simplifying operations and lowering costs compared to magnetic tape and self-managed data vaults.

Traditionally, data was airgapped using magnetic tape as part of a 3-2-1 backup strategy – three copies of data, on two different media, with one of them in an offsite environment.

FortKnox powers a modern 3-2-1 option fit for the cloud era that effectively balances organizations’ security and agility priorities. It’s a cloud solution that allows customers to simply connect, vault, and recover. Vaulted data is kept secure and out of the hands of bad actors via a virtual air gap that is achieved through physical separation, and network and management isolation.

What are strategies and the plans that Cohesity has for the year 2023? Cohesity sits at the intersection of three of the highest priority business issues today – cyber security, cloud, and data management – and is poised to become a major powerhouse with industry analyst firms naming the company a leader and one of the fastest growing in its category

Cohesity Inc is an information technology company that develops a converged secondary storage platform. The company provides its products and solutions to public and private companies. The Integrator met with Gregg Petersen, Regional Director Middle East and Africa at Cohesity, to discuss Cohesity's protection services and their main product - Cloud Data Cohesity.

This is at least a $25B Total Available Market (TAM). where disruptive innovation allows modern architectures to take share from legacy players – this creates an opportunity for the next decadeplus. If we continue to execute, Cohesity is poised to become a major powerhouse in the industry in the Middle East. Cohesity is built for a multi-cloud era, with a superior

modern platform that includes a self-managed and SaaS approach

Could you please explain the Zero Trust Security Model and how is it helping in detecting and protecting against ransomware attacks? Zero Trust is an approach or philosophy that is built on limiting access to data or technology solutions based on the notion of the least amount of trust. Cohesity's data management and security platform supports a zero-trust architecture, helping organizations to preserve business continuity and their reputation through effective data governance, management, and protection.

Discuss the prime product of Cohesity – “Cohesity Data Cloud”?

The Cohesity Data Cloud is our platform that combines data security and data management in a single unified environment that frees data from silos, securely, and makes it available and accessible in support of the business.

The unique platform offers five key capabilities every organization needs that can be deployed separately or together as shared services across your data estate:

ƒ Data Protection—Immutable backup and recovery at scale

ƒ Data Security—Cyber vaulting and intelligent threat detection

ƒ Data Mobility—Safe, easy multicloud mobility

ƒ Data Access—Intelligent file and object access, copy data management

ƒ Data Insight—Global search, classification, and analytics

Once you’ve secured your data, you can manage and extract insights from it. Performing this in a single environment allows you to derive value from your data.

Gregg Petersen Regional Director MEA, Cohesity

EXPLORING PALO ALTO NETWORKS' CLOUDDELIVERED SECURITY SERVICES

Palo Alto Networks is a leading global cybersecurity company that is committed to providing innovative solutions that address the most complex and challenging security threats facing organizations. In the exclusive interview with Tarek Abbas, Senior Director, Systems Engineering, Emerging Markets at Palo Alto Networks, talks to JNS Media International about his role, the latest cybersecurity trends, and how Palo Alto Networks is addressing the evolving security challenges of the digital age.

What are the key benefits of using Palo Alto Networks' Cloud-Delivered Security Services compared to other security solutions?

It is one of the industry’s most comprehensive range of proven best-in-class security services, delivered everywhere. It provides shared intelligence across security product categories and ensures complete coverage across all threat vectors, with 224B threats blocked/per day. Plus, the network effect of 85,000+ customers turns unknown threats to prevention 180x faster and delivers over 4.3m updates/day. Palo Alto Networks' Cloud-Delivered Security Services have the highest efficacy and ROI of any security vendor, providing leading security 30% faster than point solutions.

What are the unique features of Palo Alto Networks' Prisma® SD-WAN solution that make it stand out from other SD-WAN solutions in the market?

What were the main benefits and cost savings that a cost-benefit analysis performed by Forrester Consulting found for customers of Palo Alto Networks' cloud-delivered security services over a three-year period?

The main benefits were:

• Improved end-user productivity by having efficiency gains for IT, security, and network operations teams, business end users, and in-store workers with fewer incidents and investigations.

• Significantly reduced the likelihood of a data breach by 45% after three years.

• Reduced costs associated with licensing and managing legacy point-solution infrastructure.

• SOC teams were able to reduce the number of advanced investigations by 35%, improve MTTR by 20%, and cut the number of devices that require re-imaging by half, all resulting in $5.1 million saved over three years.

Palo Alto Networks has a unique approach with Prisma SD-WAN, the industry’s first and only Next-Generation SD-WAN solution, helping deliver an exceptional end-user experience with simplified operations and improved security outcomes which provides an ROI of up to 243%. It eliminates the complexity of traditional routing problems and deployment challenges by simplifying tedious network operations with AI and ML to reduce trouble tickets by 99% while extending consistent security to branches to reduce security breaches by 45%.

The most important features of this solution include security, integrated 5G, and extending SDbranch capabilities to the local area network (LAN). In addition, the Prisma CloudBlades platform delivers comprehensive branch services - such as security, multicloud, and collaboration tools without needing to update your branch appliance or controller. It also has enhanced AIOps capabilities to provide rich telemetry of network insights and ADEM, Palo Alto Networks' Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM) which manages the digital experience for mobile and branch users. Palo Alto Networks is also the first vendor in the industry to offer SD-WAN Bandwidth On-Demand.

Tarek Abbas Senior Director, Systems Engineering, Emerging Markets, Palo Alto Networks

MANAGEENGINE TO SHOWCASE ADVANCED SECURITY OFFERINGS AT GISEC 2023

ManageEngine is a leading provider of IT management software solutions. It offers a broad suite of software to manage all IT operations, from networks and servers to applications, service desk, Active Directory, security, desktops, and mobile devices. In this interview, JNS Media International interacted with Mr. Mathivanan Venkatachalam, Vice President at ManageEngine, to learn about the company's approach to IT management and their plans for the future.

What is Endpoint Central and how does it help organizations manage and secure their endpoints?

ManageEngine Endpoint Central is a unified endpoint management and security solution that covers the endpoints, apps, data, and end-user experience from a unified console. With Endpoint Central, endpoints can be hardened as per IT compliance requirements before they are provisioned with apps, documents, and access to network and cloud resources. From the centralized visibility it provides, organizations can identify vulnerabilities across the network to patch them, monitor application usage to optimize licenses, audit USB usage and user logins to analyze incidents, and discover and mark sensitive files to prevent data loss.

How does Endpoint Central's webbased tool enable remote desktop connection management, and what are the advanced options available for remote desktop sharing?

Endpoint Central provides remote troubleshooting for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS, and

rugged devices. Technicians can chat, call, or meet people virtually for hasslefree remote troubleshooting sessions.

Endpoint Central offers postreboot session re-initiation, unattended remote access, file sharing, multi-monitor and multi-session support, bandwidth optimization, user consent, and session recording among many others. To facilitate frontline workers better, IT technicians can enable or disable kiosks, clear app data, and even restart devices through remote chat commands.

To cater to non-intrusive troubleshooting use cases, Endpoint Central provides real-time insights into services and tasks running on the devices, event logs, and startup apps with options to terminate or restart problematic processes. Remote command prompts and PowerShell windows can be spawned for advanced, intrusion-less troubleshooting.

What are the new products and the services that you will be showcasing at GISEC 2023?

We will be showcasing all our

offerings at GISEC this year. This includes Endpoint Central, endpoint DLP, and application and device control to provide preventive controls. Most recently, anti-ransomware capabilities were added to provide incident response. This comes as ransomware-as-a-service has seen exponential growth.

Yet another recent feature we launched is the security and risk posture management dashboard in Log360, ManageEngine's unified SIEM solution with integrated DLP and CASB capabilities. Enterprises can leverage this new feature to implement proactive security strategies and prevent cyberattacks before they cause damage. We will be showcasing Log360 at GISEC.

What are the features of ManageEngine's mobile email management solution for securely configuring and managing corporate email accounts on mobile devices?

Endpoint Central’s mobile device management capabilities can be leveraged to provision popularly used email clients with accounts and protect sensitive data by configuring the app’s DLP settings remotely. Emails, contacts, and calendars can be synced on schedule for uninterrupted access. Endpoint Central sets up encrypted workspaces on personal devices to secure email and other sensitive data by defining policies to regulate the flow of data between personal and work spaces. These include prevention of screen grabs and recordings, Bluetooth and USB transfers, clipboard access, cloud backups, and native sharing through apps.

Mathivanan Venkatachalam Vice President, ManageEngine

GARTNER CYBER INSIGHTS THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE

Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory company, which equips business leaders with insights, advice, and tools that help build organizations. It operates through the following segments: Research, Consulting, and Conferences. The Integrator met with Richard Addiscott, to understand why Gartner’s insights and advice via reports, briefings, and proprietary tools are critical for businesses in the Middle East.

What are some of Gartner's top cyber security predictions for the years 2022-2023?

The predictions are on privacy and the number of people who will be covered by modern privacy laws. 60% of organizations use cyber risk as a primary determinant in deciding with whom they do business with third parties.

The next prediction is around the weaponization of operational technology environments by hackers to cause physical harm. We have seen operational technology challenges for several years. But what's happening is, it used to primarily be around people being annoying. So, they turn off the power or, do those sorts of things, whereas now there's this weaponization where operational technology environments cause physical harm.

The following one is about the increasing levels of board oversight that we are seeing. For a variety of reasons, boards have clearly had to take a much greater interest in cyber security. Cyber-attacks are becoming more common. They recognize that it is becoming more of a business risk, and the impact of a cyber event irritates the information technology department. It disrupts security for about ten minutes while they repair it. However, the impact of the breach or disruption to operations has an impact on customer satisfaction and revenue cost. However, none of these are indicators of the security team's performance. As a result, your organization's security posture should play a larger role, and boards should make investments based on risk appetite.

And any prediction about zero trust?

Zero trust is obviously becoming more prevalent. It's getting better and better. It's still very young. There is a lot of work being done in terms of consolidation, and we've already mentioned two things that we're likely to see. Because organizations are suffering from a skill shortage all over, zero trust, will, and cyber security mesh will lead to more vendor consolidation.

How well is the UAE market prepared for the cyber security trends identified by Gartner?

UAE, in my opinion, is in a very good position. It will come down to very visible leadership and very clear expectations on the part of government departments, which will then trickle down and cascade to their vendors and suppliers.

How important it is for cybersecurity firms to adhere to Gartner's predictions?

It is less about how critical are those predictions because every organization is different. Your ability to achieve the technical security goals is attached to your zero trust, so all of them depend on where you are. You could already have zero trust in and it's just a matter of extending. You might have really poor security maturity because you haven't developed a strategy. Until you understand your risk posture until you understand your overall maturity, it's really difficult to make those informed decisions.

Richard Addiscott Sr. Director Analyst at Gartner

TRELLIX XDR DELIVERS LIVING SECURITY TO HELP ORGANIZATIONS

Can you provide a detailed explanation of how Trellix XDR technology aims to revolutionize the way organizations approach cybersecurity ?

Trellix XDR delivers living security to help organizations stay one step ahead of adversaries, adapt to new threats, and accelerate detection and correction. This security ecosystem goes beyond basic XDR capabilities and focuses on proactively predicting and prioritizing threats instead of just reacting after an attack.

Trellix’s XDR ecosystem is designed to accelerate the effectiveness of security operations by providing customers with the capability to ingest over six hundred native and open security technologies.

What specific features and capabilities does Trellix Data Security offer to help organizations?

As data complexity has increased, so has our ability to optimize its management and imagine a new path forward. We bring industry expertise and embrace machine learning to make data protection as easy and comprehensive as possible.

By combining all these pieces, organizations find that integrated security reduces the risk of data loss and helps improve the maturity of security processes. Organizations can move past reactive operations — which often can’t keep up with the volume, speed, and sophistication of today’s threats — to a fully optimized proactive security process.

How does Trellix Email Security help organizations secure their email communication ?

Many email security solutions today use antispam filters and antivirus

The Integrator had an exclusive interview with Vibin Shaju, VP of Solutions Engineering, EMEA to discuss how Trellix aims to revolutionize the use of technology in cybersecurity.

software that don’t respond fast enough to attacks and leave security gaps. And with traditional tools focused on detecting malware, cybercriminals are adapting and using dynamic malwareless techniques.

To keep the organization’s email infrastructure safe and build a confident, resilient organization, security teams need a new approach that prioritizes email protection as a key component of holistic extended detection and response (XDR).

Using a combination of technology, intelligence, and expertise, Trellix Email Security solutions empower organizations to:

• Detect and defend against the most sophisticated business email compromise (BEC), ransomware, and phishing attacks.

• Protect on-premises and cloud-based email infrastructure, including easily integrating with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace

What key features and capabilities does Trellix Cloud Security offer to

help organizations address the new security challenges that arise as they move to the cloud?

The effectiveness of an organization’s overall cloud security posture requires traditional security solutions that cover network, endpoint, and email, enhanced with comprehensive visibility and analytics-based capabilities. Our holistic approach to cloud security helps security teams monitor and defend hybrid infrastructures with advanced protection and detection technologies.

Trellix Cloud Security featured solutions include:

• Trellix Cloudvisory — a control center for cloud security management that delivers visibility, compliance, and governance to any cloud environment. It runs cloud-native microservices for asset discovery and compliance scanning to enable end-to-end automation of detection and response for complex multicloud environments.

Vibin Shaju VP, Solutions Engineering, EMEA, Trellix

ORACLE NETSUITE SOLUTIONS ARE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE COMPANIES OF ALL SIZES AND INDUSTRIES

Dr. Jaleel Polin, NetSuite Practice Lead at Catalyst, addresses your key questions about NetSuite!

Who is and what does Catalyst Business Solutions do?

Catalyst is a Digital Consulting headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley in San Jose, CA; we are present in 15+ countries in EMEA. Over the past two decades, we have helped our clients Transform and Protect their organisations through our expertise in Applications, Cybersecurity, and Cloud Adoption solutions & services.

Catalyst is also an Oracle Partner and an Oracle NetSuite Solution Provider dedicated to assisting SMEs and start-ups in their growth under our latter qualification. We mainly cover the EMEA region, particularly Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and France. Our NetSuite-certified workforce is distributed globally in Mauritius, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Cameroon, and the UAE.

What solutions do you offer as part of your NetSuite business?

Oracle NetSuite solutions are flexible enough to accommodate companies of all sizes and industries. Our global team has successfully implemented ERP projects in wholesale and retail, fintech, mining, e-commerce, and other sectors. We have successfully digitalized our clients' financial, sales, purchasing, inventory, and production processes, regardless of their industry or geographical location.

What are the specific services that you provide to your clients?

Small and medium-sized companies contact us not only for advice on ERP systems (NetSuite in this case) but also for guidance on the best practices to adopt within their industry through our professionally qualified and NetSuite-certified experts.

For example, we have a team of accountants with extensive experience and knowledge in several EMEA jurisdictions and who are also NetSuite Finance experts. They provide in-depth assistance in setting up accounting plans to meet OHADA, IFRS, and GAAP standards, to name a few.

Additionally, we support our clients in many areas once their system is running. For example, we help them optimize the instance and ensure they use NetSuite's KPIs, dashboards, and all the analytical functions.

Furthermore, given that NetSuite updates are provided automatically and are free of charge.

In addition to technology solutions, what facilities do you provide to SMEs to support their growth?

Our long experience in the business world has given us an understanding of the day-to-day difficulties SMEs worldwide face.

We know that IT investments are expensive and risky and that cash flow management is challenging for SMEs. Therefore, we offer incentives such as very competitive rates and payment facilities. We allow our customers to start the project with minimal requirements, few key users, and only essential modules to run their business. Similarly, we plan the implementation in phases to ease our clients' cash flow to ensure a quick return on their investment.

What advice would you give to companies that are hesitant to invest in an ERP solution?

A successful implementation project is guaranteed when undertaken by a solution provider whose team has the proper skill set and, most notably, the capacity to grasp the client's requirements within their local context.

We are pleased to say that we restored the client's confidence in using an ERP solution through our ability to deliver on our commitments. Beyond choosing a technology solution, we recommend to any prospecting ERP acquirer to ensure that they have an expert partner to support them in their digital transformation.

Dr. Jaleel Polin NetSuite Practice Lead, Catalyst

ORIENT FINANCE BROKERS: TRANSFORMING THE TRADING INDUSTRY

Orient Finance Brokers is licensed and regulated by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) to offer financial services, such as currencies, and monetary brokerage, trading non-regulated derivative contracts and currencies in the Spot market. The Integrator spoke with Mr. Seraj Asad Khan, Managing Director of Orient Finance, to better understand the financial industry and its transformation thus far.

How has Orient Finance been able to transform traditional trading techniques over the last decade? We have been providing all investors, particularly retail investors, with a wide range of opportunities for trading and portfolio diversification across a variety of financial instruments through our platform. As a result, we have been able to revolutionize conventional trading methods and position our trading platform as a one-stop solution for all the trading and investing requirements in the financial markets. Furthermore, the present digital revolution has opened doors to numerous innovative opportunities, enabling us to utilise more sophisticated trading algorithms and tools to execute trades more swiftly, precisely, and at reasonable costs than traditional techniques. Additionally, by analyzing enormous amounts of data, our customers can diversify their trading strategies by determining the patterns, trends, and other insights. We are further able to access a wide range of markets, which enables us to diversify our portfolios and efficiently manage associated.

What technology does Orient Finance use to safeguard client information?

At Orient Finance, we are equipped with several state-ofthe-art security technologies to ensure data protection and reliability. This includes firewalls, which is the software tool that continuously monitors & regulates both incoming and outgoing network traffic in order

to prevent unauthorized access. Additionally, we use 256kb SSL encryption which transforms sensitive data into code to prevent unauthorized entry. Two-factor authentication which requires users to provide a security token, to access their accounts, is also among the suite of security technologies we have adopted to safeguard client information. We have also installed intrusion detection and prevention systems for any signs and indications of malicious activities or unauthorized access, as well as conducted regular security assessments to determine and rectify any potential weaknesses in our processes or systems.

Can you tell us about the current trading trends and how most clients address the risk factor involved in trading?

The financial markets are ever-evolving, with several factors including economic data, political events, and company earnings reports shaping the trends. The market conditions can cause some asset groups or sectors to perform well than the other asset category. For instance, investments like stocks and other assets may be favored over more volatile ones during a period of steady or continued growth. Clients can address risk factors associated with trading in a number of ways. Diversifying investments across various asset classes and sectors is an effective approach that can lower risks. Thus, by distributing your portfolio across a number of investments, your capital amount is preserved. Clients can also place stop-loss orders to reduce potential losses if an investment goes against what they had expected. To assess the risks involved with various investments and help them determine trading strategies, clients can seek guidance from our trained market experts. It is crucial to keep in mind that trading is always associated with many risks, and clients should be prepared to accept and manage these risks appropriately.

Seraj Asad Khan Managing Director, Orient Finance

DIRECT TT GRANTED SCA LICENSE FOR FINANCIAL CONSULTING ANALYSIS IN THE UAE

NAQD COMMUNITY BANK’ RECEIVES PRELIMINARY APPROVAL FOR LAUNCH

Royal Strategic Partners (RSP), an establishment attracting organizations from across the world to invest in the UAE, received the preliminary approval for a ‘Specialised Banking License’ from the Central Bank of the UAE to launch its NAQD Community Bank (Naqd).

Direct TT, one of the world’s leading financial consultancy firms and part of the DTT Group, a globally recognized and regulated financial services provider, acquired the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) license for Financial Consultancy and Financial Analysis. The DTT Group further announced its plans to invest USD 10 million over the next two years in its regional operations and fintech research and development.

As part of the acquisition, Direct TT will offer its clients regulated, reliable financial research and analysis, along with scientific data based on more than 25 years of experience, to forecast price trajectory and future trends for the forex, stocks, CFDs, precious metals, and energy markets. In addition, the license permits Direct TT to introduce customers to financial services from SCA-licensed entities and promote financial products through marketing and advertising. The move represents a significant step towards becoming a regional and global leader in the financial markets sector.

H.R.H Dr. Saif Al-Islam Bin Saud Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud, Chairman of the Board, DTT Group commented: "The region has firmly established itself as a global financial hub, with its strong and diverse economy, advanced financial markets, and probusiness policies, thereby attracting investments from around the world. In addition, the fintech and innovation sectors are experiencing a rapid boom as a result of the high demand from businesses upgrading their technology infrastructure to meet global standards.”

Walid Ead, CEO & Managing Partner, DTT Group, said: “Acquiring the SCA license is a major milestone for Direct TT, as it reaffirms our commitment to our clients in the UAE. Our mission has been to consistently deliver regulated, accurate, and reliable financial data to ensure that traders have access to the best financial products and information, as well as the security to invest with confidence.”

“We consider the GCC to be a key region for us, due to its position as a global financial hub.” he added.

The Naqd, founded by RSP, is poised to offer ground-breaking digital banking solutions that support the long-term growth of companies involved in numerous industries, particularly for businesses utilising the eCommerce and omnichannel spaces. This aligns with its commitment to achieving the UAE's vision for digital transformation. It will cater to the financial needs and requirements of the banked and unbanked population, as well as micro-small and mediumsized enterprises (micro-SMEs) and start-ups in the UAE.

Likewise, Naqd will also serve the UAE's entertainment, transportation and logistics, and retail sector, in addition to the healthcare ecosystem, by providing innovative services that include - equipment financing, project financing, treasury management, and retail solutions. The advanced digital solutions will be effectively utilised to create a sports digital community where Naqd will collaborate with various.

Dr Hamad Al Ali, CEO of Royal Strategic Partners stated: “We are pleased to have received the approval to launch our new NAQD Community Bank. The bank employs cutting-edge digital banking technologies and innovations to provide services to various significant economy sectors in the UAE.

HOUSE OF POPS ATTRACTS ATTENTION WITH THEIR

100% NATURAL AND VEGAN

POPS

House of Pops focuses on clean and healthy eating. The company offers 100% natural, vegan pops made from real fruits and free from allergens and refined sugar. JNS Media International conducted an interview with Mazen Kanaan, co-founder and CEO of House of Pops at Gulfood 2023 to discuss more about the company's mission, products, and plans for the future.

How has your overall experience been at Gulfood?

This is my third time attending Gulfood and I must say that the experience has been really positive. With each passing year, we have been able to secure more space and we have noticed a steady increase in the number of attendees. This has been a source of great energy for us and has presented us with an excellent opportunity to connect with new partners and franchises.

What is the feedback from people at Gulfood this year?

The feedback this year has been positive. One reason for this may be that we have expanded our product range. In the past two years, we only offered sticks, but now we also have a scooping product and a new format which we call the bites. These additions have added a lot of value to our offerings, and people have taken notice. They appreciate that we now have a more comprehensive portfolio to offer, rather than just one product.

What are the main products that you are showcasing at Gulfood?

Apart from our popular sticks, we are also showcasing our new range of tubs that customers can take home and scoop from. Additionally, we have bites which are small, 10-gram portions of our delicious ice cream whipped in 72% single origin Madagascar chocolate. These are perfect for a satisfying and indulgent snack while at home watching a movie or simply enjoying

some downtime. The snackable format of the bites has been well-received by customers.

How did you come up with the idea of House of Pops?

When I was researching the market, I noticed a gap in the ice cream market when it comes to health and wellness. There are plenty of options for snacks like cookies and drinks, but when it comes to ice cream, most products are high in fat and sugar. Given the growing interest in health and wellness, I felt there should be a healthier alternative available in the ice cream market. That's how the idea for House of Pops was born.

Are you looking for any kind of collaborations?

Yes, we are open to collaborating with any business that shares our values and ethics regarding our brand and product. We are interested in exploring franchising opportunities, distribution partnerships, and trade approaches with big retailers. We are also open to private label and co-branding opportunities.

What are your plans for 2023?

Our plans for 2023 include expanding our distribution of the new range of bites and tubs. We also want to expand our presence in the GCC region by partnering with individuals or companies who can take our franchise across countries in the region. We will focus on innovation in terms of new and exciting flavors to add to our portfolio. That is where we will be bringing the new news.

Mazen Kanaan Co-Founder and CEO, House of Pops

FORWARD FOODING DISCUSSES THE ROLE OF FOODTECH IN THE MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD SYSTEMS

In your opinion, what are the key trends in food innovation?

Over the last decade we have seen food innovation shifting more towards technology-enabled solutions that can promote and bring more efficiency and sustainability to the food system. Right now, we are seeing entrepreneurs becoming more creative and focused on developing a new generation of FoodTech innovations, building on the work that is being done so far. Renewed attention has been paid to hybrid meat products, which combine plant-based meat with conventional meat or biotechmade ingredients, due to their unique ability to merge the benefits of multiple products into one. We expect to see a shift towards more scalable solutions such as precision farming, which optimizes resource usage, and biotechnology innovations that can enhance crop resilience.

What is the relationship between traditional food companies and food tech startups evolving in the Middle East?

The Middle East is undoubtedly an exciting emerging hub for food innovation, with numerous partnerships and initiatives which have the ambition of creating world-class innovation platforms. Innovation will be a key factor in propelling this region forward, perhaps more so than in other areas of the world. Consequently, food companies in the region are proactively seeking ways to boost their self-sufficiency in food production. Collaborations with FoodTech companies offer an excellent opportunity to achieve this goal.

How can established players in the hospitality industry collaborate

Forward Fooding, is the world’s first collaborative platform for the food & beverage industry fostering innovation via FoodTech Data Intelligence and corporate-startup collaboration. They act as an ecosystem enabler to provide the necessary support and velocity to enable meaningful collaborations and partnerships between established food organizations and AgriFoodTech startup and scaleup companies globally.

Alessio D’Antino, CEO and co-founder of Forward Fooding, shared his insights and vision for the future of the food industry with JNS Media International at Gulfood 2023.

with foodtech startups to drive innovation and create new opportunities for growth?

Innovation can address the issues while also creating economic opportunities. If we look at the issue of food waste, for example, measuring how much is wasted through technology (e.g., AI applied to smart scales) can help businesses lower their operating costs while showcasing more transparency and meeting the needs of more environmentally conscious customers. Another opportunity for cost reduction for the hospitality sector comes from the use of robotic technologies, which, in some cases, have proven effective in increasing sanitary standards, generating better margins, and scaling operations.

How can F&B companies in the Middle East ensure building the sustainable businesses that can withstand economic and environmental challenges? The economic and climate resilience are closely linked to the creation of sustainable food systems. In our experience, one of the key pillars of building solid foundations for a food system is to foster collaboration among local ecosystems and empower key stakeholders with the right tools and knowledge to nurture these partnerships. These ecosystems serve as a collective ‘immune system’, shielding us from external threats. Climate challenges have made it clear that the health of our planet and profitability are inextricably linked. This means that embracing technology-driven innovations offer incredible opportunities for governments and companies alike to remain competitive and resilient.

Alessio D’Antino Founder & CEO of Forward Fooding