The Integrator

Presenting Innovations, Opportunities, and Appreciation through GITEX and ICT Champion Awards 2022

Through the sheer power of innovation, GITEX GLOBAL unites the world's most significant ecosystems, impacting business, economy, society, and culture. October being the month of technology, and the week of GITEX Global 2022 provided a new twist to the mix. It was possibly the most successful GITEX for all. We have detailed our entire GITEX 2022 work in this issue of The Integrator Magazine. We received a resounding reaction and demonstrated industry trends and diversities.

We noticed a paradigm shift in the market, and the transition is not simply a new technology trend but also a shift in the thinking of the consumers who buy the products and solutions. There is now a tendency toward comprehensive and all-inclusive solutions.

GITEX 2022 unveiled flying cars, robot dogs, and driverless taxis. The Tech show focussed on the metaverse, and JNS Media International had a vast understanding of the metaverse world.

Besides, the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has had another triumphant and gratifying moment. The 15th edition of the ICT Champion Awards 2022, held by JNS Media International, an OMA Group company, recognized and praised the work of suppliers, distributors, resellers, and system integrators in bringing the correct goods and solutions to businesses. The event, held on October 10, 2022, as part of GITEX Technology Week 2022 at Anantara Downtown, was attended by industry executives, business owners, and media members. Enjoy a few snippets from the event and the glorifying GITEX of JNS Media International.

Thank you

COVER STORY

Sharma Publisher

Vivek

RITTAL RIMATRIX MICRO DATA CENTRES OFFERS OT SOLUTIONS AND PROTECTION TO BUSINESSES

Rittal RiMatrix Micro Data ensures that IT is secure and operates with the smallest carbon emissions, regardless of the location. The combination of global standardization and adaptability means that these new packages make even better use of their advantages.

Rapidly growing data volumes must be processed directly on site far more frequently, whether for reasons of latency in edge computing in the factory or to send less data to the cloud. The goal is to increase data sovereignty and cut latency times.

This is ensured by RiMatrix Micro Data Centre, a compact home for fully fledged data centres with every key OT system element such as matching rack, power, cooling, monitoring, and security features. Besides being used as an edge data centre in harsh environments, it can provide the complete IT infrastructure for administrations and supermarkets without extensive structural changes. The RiMatrix Micro Data Centre can also back up data at locations calling for a high level of physical protection.

The new Rittal Micro Data Centres are pre-configured for different output classes and applications, with feasibility checks for customized applications. This saves time, speeds up configuration, and cuts energy consumption, as the components in the overall system are coordinated.

Rittal has also developed a configurator that allows sales partners to select the right data centres for their clients. This online tool offers a feasibility check, an error-free ordering procedure, and slashes the time

needed for selection, delivery, and commission. "It’s amazing to be a part of the team, delivering IT solutions with efficiency and speeding up with the New RiMatrix Micro Data Centers." says Ignatius Emanuel, Marketing Manager, Rittal Middle East.

Rittal GmbH & Co. KG was awarded ‘Top 100 Seal’ as one of Germany’s most innovative medium-sized companies.

Ignatius Emanuel Marketing Manager, Rittal Middle East

“

CHECK POINT - LEADER IN ENTERPRISE FIREWALLS REPORT BY INDEPENDENT RESEARCH FIRM

Check Point globally is recognized as a leader in The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Firewalls, Q4 2022 report. Forrester, leading global research and advisory firm, states in its report that Check Point “has an admirable vision: to be so good at threat prevention that it protects everyday business customers who aren’t cybersecurity specialists running a sophisticated SOC.”

Check Point uses AI, machine learning and deep learning to prevent sophisticated zero-day cyber security threats. Check Point’s user interface improves security operations efficiency by quickly detecting, investigating, and automating responses across the entire IT infrastructure.

“We believe being identified as a leader in The Forrester Wave™ for Enterprise Firewalls acknowledges

our commitment to best-in-class security,” said Eyal Manor, VP of Product Management at Check Point. “In our opinion, this recognition solidifies our position as a leader in providing the most innovative deep learning technologies that enable enterprises to scale threat prevention with a fully supported unified management system. We are committed to continuously improving our threat intelligence, automating policy management, and unceasingly delivering superior support.”

Other findings include:

• Check Point excels in overall security performance with superior malware analysis and IDS/IPS.

• Check Point kept its supply chain intact during the pandemic and customer references continue to hold the vendor’s usability in high

regard.

• Check Point’s user interface continues to be excellent, being both visually pleasing and intuitive.

• Check Point’s new firewall as a service offers five 9s (99.999%) availability with a very low 35ms latency connection.

FORTINET DELIVERS THE MOST INTEGRATED SINGLE-VENDOR SASE SOLUTION

single operating system. The latest cloud-delivered enhancements to FortiSASE further strengthen our ability to enable consistent security and user experience no matter where users and applications are distributed,” said John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO.

up from 10% in 2022." FortiSASE now includes new updates that add enhanced support for Secure Private Access and Secure SaaS Access.

ANALYST VALIDATION

Fortinet delivers the most integrated single-vendor SASE solution available, uniquely converging best-of-breed networking and best-of-breed security that are unified by a

According to Gartner, “singlevendor SASE delivers converged network and security capabilities to connect and secure distributed users, devices, and locations to resources in the cloud, edge, and onpremises.” It has emerged as a key architecture to secure remote users, ensure consistent user experience, and shift from a CAPEX to an OPEX business model. In fact, Gartner predicts that “by 2025, one-third of new SASE deployments will be based on a single-vendor SASE offering,

“Modern IT and employee environments are highly distributed and require secure connectivity and access, regardless of where users or applications are located. To provide these services, organizations must have comprehensive, tightly integrated, network and security solutions. Fortinet understands this and has implemented a single OS and agent across its entire Cloudbased SASE portfolio, plus it has layered in AI/ML technologies to drive greater operational efficiencies and deliver enhanced user experiences.”

John Maddison EVP-Products & CMO

Eyal Manor VP of Product Management, Check Point

NUTANIX LAUNCHES CLOUD CLUSTERS (NC2) ON MICROSOFT AZURE

NUTANIX announced the general availability of Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) on Microsoft Azure, extending its hybrid cloud environment to Microsoft Azure dedicated bare metal nodes.

“Organizations are embracing hybrid multicloud to easily scale from on-prem to the public cloud, optimize costs for performant and secure workloads, and tap into a flexible subscription model,” said Rajiv Ramaswami, President and CEO of Nutanix.

“While public cloud has solidified as a crucial investment for businesses, many customers need to run and manage workloads across public and private cloud environments,” said Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President, Cloud + AI Group, Microsoft.

“Nutanix and Azure solution addresses key challenges many enterprises are facing by providing unified management across clouds with applications, data and license portability,” said Paul Nashawaty, Senior Analyst at The Enterprise Strategy Group.

Customers can leverage NC2 on Azure to:



Simplify and optimize disaster recovery, eliminating the need to maintain a secondary site by utilizing Microsoft Azure's ondemand capacity for failover.

Access on-demand capacity bursting to Microsoft Azure, rapidly scaling capacity while leveraging existing applications and tooling.  Migrate and modernize their datacenters by easily moving their



existing applications and data as-is without costly and time-consuming refactoring or retooling.

NOZOMI NETWORKS RECOGNIZED AS CLOUD SECURITY INNOVATION

IN 2022 CYBERSECURITY BREAKTHROUGH AWARDS PROGRAM

CyberSecurity Breakthrough, a leading independent market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies, and products in the global information security market.

“With cyber threats against critical business operations on the rise, and the costs of these threats now in the billions of dollars, organizations require visibility into threats and vulnerabilities across IT, OT and IoT networks,” said James Johnson, managing director, CyberSecurity Breakthrough.

Nozomi announced that its Vantage solution has won the “Cloud Based Network Security Solution of the Year” award in the 6th annual CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards program conducted by

“Vantage represents an industry breakthrough in addressing this need, providing advanced network visibility and security across a new generation of converged IT, OT and IoT environments. Its SaaS architecture, massive scalability and high-performance data analytics

are unmatched. Vantage boosts operational efficiency and slashes network integration, administration, and cybersecurity overhead.

The solution provides superior visibility via a single view and network mapping so customers can immediately visualize all their globally distributed OT and IoT assets. Vantage also enables realtime awareness with continuously updated Threat Intelligence. It can identify vulnerabilities on every system and generate alerts on malicious activity using signatures and behavioral-based anomaly detection techniques.

“We are thrilled to have Vantage recognized by CyberSecurity Breakthrough with such an incredible award,” said Nozomi Networks Co-founder and CPO, Andrea Carcano.

Rajiv Ramaswami President and CEO, Nutanix

Andrea Carcano Co-founder and CPO, Nozomi Networks

KASTEN BY VEEAM ANNOUNCES NEW KASTEN K10 V5.5

Kasten announced the release of the NEW Kasten by Veeam K10 V5.5 Kubernetes data management platform. Kubernetes applications are growing at a rapid pace.

NEW

CAPABILITIES OF KASTEN K10 V5.5 INCLUDE:

• Intelligent Policies: Kasten K10 capabilities for intelligent decisions that simplify data protection at scale. Users can now factor in the application’s non-peak usage hours and specify a backup window.

• Boosted ease of deployment and scale: Kasten K10 further eases onboarding by providing an intuitive graphical wizard to generate the most suitable install manifests that can be visualized and repeated for multiple installs.

“With Kasten by Veeam K10 V5.5, customers can ensure adequate data protection in Kubernetes environments by offering autonomous operations that support cloud-native expansion goals. Kasten by Veeam’s membership with The Open-Source Security Foundation strongly underlines the company’s commitment to contributing to security best practices and education for both Kasten and Veeam customers and the industry at large,” said Danny Allan, CTO and Senior Vice President of Product Strategy at Veeam.

Allan CTO and Senior VP, Product Strategy-Veeam

SVP,

DELINEA ANNOUNCED NEW ENHANCEMENTS TO THE SSH CIPHER SUITE AND SFTP

Delinea announced new enhancements to the Secure Shell (SSH) Cipher Suite and Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) tunneling of Secret Server, its award-winning PAM solution. Further additions to disaster recovery capabilities help ensure Secrets data and permissions are available even during a disruption.

Enhancements to the SSH Cipher Suite provide customization of the ciphers used when making SSH connections for various tasks such as credential discovery, password changes, or heartbeat. Heartbeat provides up-to-the-minute monitoring of passwords and credentials and triggers alerts if they are changed outside the vault or without knowledge. The new SSH Cipher Suite features allow users to easily set availability and application orders for key exchange, MAC address, and encryption algorithms, allowing

Danny

Jon Kuhn

Product Management, Delinea

CYBEREASON ANNOUNCED NEW ADVANCEMENTS IN NGAV

Cybereason, has announced new advancements in Cybereason NGAV (Next-Generation Antivirus) that delivers nation-state level protection for organizations of all sizes – from small businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises.

“By adding these two sophisticated layers to Cybereason NGAV, Cybereason is redefining prevention by providing customers with more layers of protection than any other solution on the market,” said Lior Div, Cybereason CEO and Co-founder. “With protection capabilities that have already achieved the highest scores in the history of the four MITRE ATT&CK evaluations, our customers can be assured that we are continuing to innovate and empower them to defend forward by proactively ending the most sophisticated attacks, as early as possible in the kill chain.”

Each layer of Cybereason NGAV protection is purposebuilt to prevent ransomware and other malware infections in unique ways to assure sophisticated attacker tools do not slip by an organization’s defenses.

organizations to tailor ciphers to meet their best practices and increasing the security of the connections made through the vault. Admins can also easily remove old or non-approved ciphers and avoid remediation work.

The introduction of a new option for using SFTP tunneling with Filezilla and WinSCP clients now enables administrators to transfer files to target machines using either client while credentials remain safely in the vault.

Expansion of high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) features to focus on providing availability of access and permissions during an outage. These enhancements include replicating local and domain users, groups, file attachments, and secret/folder permissions, providing a standby vault with all permissions in place.

“This Secret Server release continues to demonstrate our commitment to providing the most secure and flexible enterprise access controls,” stated Jon Kuhn, SVP of Product Management at Delinea. “Features like SSH Cipher Suite, SFTP tunneling, and enhanced HA/ DR further our promise to customers of reducing their risk of a cybersecurity breach without impacting the productivity of their teams.”

Lior Div CEO and Co-founder, Cybereason

ARUBA SHOWCASES INSTANT ON, AN EDGE-TO-CLOUD NETWORKING SOLUTION, AT GITEX 2022

HPE Aruba is an edge-to-cloud networking solutions provider that incorporates Artificial Intelligence technologies. Aruba focuses on providing solutions to large enterprises as well as the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment. The Integrator engages with Amol Mitra, Vice President, and General Manager, Global Small and Medium Business at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, at GITEX 2022.

Amol

Mitra VP, and GM, Global Small and Medium Business, Aruba

How's your experience at GITEX and how well have you presented Aruba Instant On to the new customers? GITEX has been tremendous. Aruba has been participating in the event for many years, and this one has been the best one so far. Specific to our Instant On portfolio, we have grown our business significantly. We are meeting our distributors who all have their own stands at GITEX and have been demonstrating our solutions. The one shift that we have witnessed is that GITEX traditionally used to be very focused on large enterprises, but this year there has been a strong representation from the SME sector. Our engagement with them has grown and we have seen a very positive response to our Instant On brand which is a perfect match for SMEs. We see a huge growth opportunity not just in UAE, but also in countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar.

Give some quick insights into the activities which are happening at GITEX. With Instant On we are doing four things. Firstly, we are showcasing the product and the cloud-based mobile app through demos. The second thing is we are conducting presentations for our partners and distributors to show them what our road map looks like in 2023. This is important so that they prepare their go-to-market strategies ahead of time. Thirdly, there is a push for us to deliver our Instant On portfolio through. This increases the ability to deliver our products through e-commerce marketplaces. This is one area that is ramping up very quickly in the Middle East as there are a lot of small companies and large distributors that are trying to move their presence online in this region. We want to be at the forefront of this and we are engaging with e-commerce partners who are also exhibiting at GITEX.

RING TAKES ON A MISSION TO MAKE YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD SAFER

Ring is a smart home security company owned by Amazon. Ring manufactures indoor and outdoor cameras, as well as the Ring Video Doorbell and the Ring Alarm, all of which can be monitored and controlled from the Ring app. The Integrator engages with Mohammad Meraj Hoda, Vice President – Emerging Markets at Ring around the company's participation at GITEX 2022.

What new technology have you brought at GITEX 2022?

We brought in our full suite of innovative devices from Video Doorbells, Indoor and Outdoor Security Cameras, to our recent addition to the Ring family, the Ring Alarm. Including a Base Station, Keypad, Contact Sensor, Motion Detector and Range Extender, the Ring Alarm is another customizable extension of our smart home solutions which uses different sensors, such as window sensors and motion sensors, to extend your home security. It helps detect any malicious activity when you are away and immediately sends you an alert on your smartphone or device through the Ring app.

We also highlighted how our camera portfolio has evolved over time – we now have indoor and outdoor, battery-powered security cameras that can create a Ring of Security around your home – and many new features have also been added to the Ring app. The app offers several great options for users in terms of control and security: consumers can get to know if any third-party devices sign in; we have added an extra layer of security with two-factor authentication when they log in; and end-to-end encryption. At Ring, we take the security and privacy of our customers very seriously.

What is the status of regional presence in the Middle East and what sort of requirement arises from each of these countries?

Currently, we are selling Ring products in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and South Africa. Every country's needs and requirements around security are very different. UAE uses our product more for convenience, whereas in African countries Ring devices are used more for security, than convenience. Our products cater to all kinds of segments.

What is your strategy for 2023? How are you planning to expand in the region?

In the UAE and Saudi, Ring has been operating for almost

Meraj VP – Emerging Markets, Ring

five years. We have been present in other markets such as Kuwait, Qatar and South Africa for the last three years. We work closely with our existing partners, and we are working with telecom giant Etisalat to target different segments of consumers. Just recently, we signed a distribution agreement with a leading value-added IT distributor and service provider, Mindware, to support the company in maintaining a strong presence with resellers and professional installers.

How was it being associated with GITEX and what is your future

with GITEX?

GITEX is an important event for us as it provides the opportunity to showcase our products and services at the region’s largest and most anticipated tech exhibition, and one of the biggest IT exhibitions globally. This year, we have seen strong engagement from our channel partners, as well as end consumers visiting our stand.

GITEX is a great platform to solidify regional awareness of our security solutions as we can meet customers face-to-face, and host interactive demos for visitors to experience how convenient, effective and easy-to-install our products are.

Mohammad

EPSON PRESENTS PRINTING AND VISUAL SOLUTIONS AT GITEX 2022

Epson is a global technology leader that provides home and business solutions, including printers, projectors, smart glasses, scanners, and visualisers. Jason McMillan, Sales Director Middle East, discusses innovative technology with The Integrator.

solution shows how we can deliver aid remotely in a work environment.

The TeamViewer enables us to collaborate with the support person or the technical expert with the subject matter expert. With the Moverio glasses on, they get a complete realtime view of your environment and can communicate back either by chat or via audio. Moverio smart glasses significantly reduce environmental impact and offer users a more sustainable solution to providing onsite assistance, training, maintenance, and repair. Moverio minimises an organisation's carbon footprint because technical experts no longer need to travel long distances to offer service, repair equipment or deliver on-site training.

How do you work in the region?

Do you operate through partners?

What are your partner programs, and how does Epson reach its customers?

Epson has a strong presence in Dubai and Riyadh and many representatives in Egypt and Qatar. For the future, we have many plans for further expansion in the Middle East region. Recently, we started the Epson graduate program in Saudi Arabia, where we will enrol four Saudi national graduates through a two-year, multi-skilled program, which will hopefully enable us to grow our talent in the Kingdom.

What sort of innovative technology have you brought to GITEX 2022?

Epson's GITEX 2022 focus is highlight specific solutions that resolve the challenges facing customers in some of the region's fastest-growing industries, such as healthcare, retail, education and construction while underscoring the company's leadership in areas including immersive display solutions for events.

One of the most innovative technologies that Epson showcased this year is our collaboration with TeamViewer and the Smart Glass Moverio product, which enables industrial applications in the construction sector, such as remote assistance, workflow guidance and training. This augmented reality

At Epson, we want to be carbon negative and not use any underground resources by 2050 –which is evident with the solutions being introduced to the marketparticularly with Epson's WorkForce business inkjet printers, highlighting an energy reduction of up to 83% for companies compared to laser printing options.

What kind of industry verticals would this new visual and printing technology be for?

These technologies are ideally suited to some of the fastestgrowing sectors: construction, education, healthcare and obviously government automation and e-government services. Education is still one of the UN Sustainability goals and is an industry remarkably close to Epson's heart.

From a business standpoint, we are a 100% indirect company; we do not sell directly; we only go through our distributors or resellers. In the UAE, for example, we have a combination of broad-line distribution companies. Redington, for instance, is one of our significant regional partners.

How is GITEX 2022 different from the past years?

GITEX is back to a bustling high level of activity. GITEX Global now encompasses many other facets as well. With blockchain conferences and other country pavilions that we have seen, there is a lot of diversity.

Regarding people coming onto the stand, there's an enormous interest in what is new, and ways businesses can be more costeffective and sustainable. Every experience at the Epson stand shows how technology can help organisations be more sustainable.

Jason McMillan Sales Director Middle East Epson

NETSKOPE PROVIDING ONE SECURE PLATFORM FOR ALL

Netskope, a leader in SASE and Zero Trust, is focused on providing businesses with data protection and defense against threat services. Rich Davis, Head of Network and Security Solutions, at Netskope, engages with The Integrator and shares some insights about the SASE architecture that Netskope is offering at GITEX 2022.

Davis Head of Network and Security Solutions, Netskope

security to enable secure access, wherever employees and data need to venture to maximize business productivity. This is what SASE is all about.

What is the overall response of the channel strategies that Netskope follows?

We are fully committed to our channels and are working with two distributors in the region to better facilitate the needs of our customers. Our focused partner program allows us to work more closely with a much more detailed go-to-market plan with each focus partner in the region.

What are the products that Netskope is showcasing in GITEX?

Netskope is redefining cloud, data, and network security to help organizations apply zero-trust principles to protect data. The Netskope platform provides optimized access and zero trust security for people, devices, and data anywhere they go, enabling customers to reduce risk, accelerate performance and reduce costs and operational overheads.

At GITEX this year we are showcasing the recent completion of our SASE architecture, bringing together our market-leading Intelligent SSE, IoT Security, and Borderless SD-WAN to deliver a modern cloud security stack with unified capabilities for data and threat protection, and reliable network connectivity for every site, application, the user or IoT device.

How is SASE going to affect the security and data security in the market?

Nowadays, neither employees nor corporate data is static. Both are moving into unsecured locations thanks to hybrid work and cloud. We re-architect access and

What is the goal of Netskope for the rest of 2022 and the coming year 2023?

Over the past year, we have substantially expanded our Middle Eastern infrastructure, with four Netskope NewEdge data centers across the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, all supporting local customers. We have also boosted our local team and are fully committed to supporting regional initiatives including the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, Saudi Vision 2030, New Kuwait Vision 2035, and Bahrain’s Cloud First Policy.

Additionally, the completion of the Netskope SASE platform means that we are able to provide both the networking and security aspects of the architecture. We have done a lot of the groundwork and have all the resources in the region, now it is all about acceleration and execution. The focus is on helping organizations undergoing digital transformation or cloud migration and safeguarding their users and data wherever they are. Protecting the data lies at the core of most organizational demands, and incidentally, therein lies the strength of our new platform. We are increasing business agility and allowing the customer to get a competitive edge in doing so.

Rich

TRIGON STORY IN

Established

in 1997 700+ O ces in UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Oman Customers

A Distribution

UAE, DUBAI

8th Floor, NGI House, Port Saeed Area (Near Deira City Centre)

PO Box 32610, Dubai Tel: +971-4-3426060 Fax: +971-4-3547779 info@trigon-gulf.ae

UAE, ABU DHABI

1st Floor, O ce No. 22 Emirates Tower Hamdan Street, P.O. Box 94449 Abu Dhabi, UAE Tel: +971 2 6279964 info@trigon gulf.ae

SAUDI ARABIA

O ce # 508, Al Rossais Commercial Center Olaya Street, Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel :+966 114603114 Fax : +966 114603112 ksa@trigononline.com

Commercial

BAHRAIN

Kingdom Tower Bldg. 8

O ce 94, Exhibition Road, P.O Box 75149

Manama, Bahrain

Tel: +973 1729 2904 Fax: +973 1729 5183 bh@trigononline.com

OMAN

Trade Center, 5th Floor, O ce No. 503

MBD East Ruwi, Muscat

Sultanate of Oman

Tel: +968 2481 9423 Fax: +968 2481 9425 oman@trigon-gulf.ae

THE 15TH EDITION OF THE ICT CHAMPION AWARDS 2022, ORGANIZED BY JNS MEDIA INTERNATIONAL, AN OMA GROUP COMPANY

The information and communication technology (ICT) sector fraternity has once again experienced a triumphant and proud moment. The 15th edition of the ICT Champion Awards 2022, organized by JNS Media International, an OMA Group company, celebrated and complimented the efforts of vendors, distributors, resellers, and system integrators on their best-in-class efforts in bringing the right products and solutions to businesses. Industry leaders, business owners, and members of the media attended the event, which was held on October 10, 2022, as part of GITEX Technology Week 2022 held in Anantara Downtown. Leading players that have demonstrated competence in developing, integrating, or delivering top-notch solutions and services are given honours in over 32 categories. Award nominees are chosen based on a jury's analysis of nominations submitted by the winners' partners and clients as well as editorial

evaluations from The Integrator. Channel partners were able to network and expand their business potential for the upcoming months and years thanks to the well-organized gala awards night and dinner! "JNS Media views these occasions as the ideal chance to strengthen its area of expertise and establish contact with its customers. According to Vivek Sharma, CEO of JNS Media International, "the enormous strength we had gained through the partnership would be invested in comparable and larger events.” JNS Media International also shared the 236th Edition of VAR. In its straightforward yet effective format, it functions as a direct marketing product catalog. The readership of the channel includes the electronics market, Surveillance & Security, Mobility, Accessories, Imaging Devices, Information Technology - our storied channel - and the Computing range of goods and associated peripherals.

KASPERSKY SHARES SOME INSIGHTS ABOUT ITS CYBER IMMUNITY AND MICROKERNELS

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise are constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The Integrator interviews Andrey Suvorov, Cyber Immunity, Head of KasperskyOS Business at GITEX 2022.

Would you please tell us something about the new and innovative ways that you have brought?

Currently, we have about 60 disciplines which represent a set of cybersecurity products. Our first framework is a microkernel and the second framework we implemented in our operating system is about multiple independent levels of security which means that every component is isolated from others. This is a specific engine that has privileged communication only with microkernel, and it includes security policies. If someone will try to place some malicious piece of code. A microkernel will produce a call to Kaspersky Security System to this engine. It will check and say, "No such rules here, please deny."

How can an enterprise choose to have cyber immunity that you are bringing into the market? How easy is it for competitors to adopt it?

Currently, we are not competitors because we are not considering our approach as a consumer operating system. We see, from one side, plenty of vast numbers of such smart devices and, from another side, the importance of such devices because the goal is to

connect physical objects with digital platforms.

There are two main obstacles. The first is interoperability which means that they operate in different protocols, different from IT protocols. IT giants and companies agree about TCP/IP and can interoperate with each other. Still, in operational technology, there are plenty of protocols from different vendors. The second issue is cyber security. Suppose we are trying to connect physical assets with a digital platform. In that case, there is a risk that someone with a sinister plan can try to penetrate the area of an industrial control system or the size of production.

How do you want to penetrate the market and how are you using GITEX as a platform to present the product to the people?

GITEX is a fabulous place to find new partners to share the news with existing partners and customers. To have a joint discussion with the local team, our experts, and guests. Kaspersky will not create a final solution in terms of operating system initiative. Still, we make an operating system with an approach to designing cyber immune solutions. Still, we need a hardware supplier for each implementation, so we are looking for new suppliers who can be strategic partners. The second story is about independent software vendors. The applications will play an essential part in the cyber immune solution. Hardware operating system applications were responsible for the operating system. We are looking for hardware providers, but we also need some independent software vendors who will develop applications and functional components and will be co-owner of this final solution. We are inviting different partners, and we are ready to train them. We rely upon terms of partnership on our partners as a system integrator, then implement it in a real project.

Andrey Suvorov Cyber Immunity, Head of KasperskyOS Business

AZURE CLOUD OFFERINGS, DATA SECURITY, AND VENDOR STRATEGIES SHARED BY MICROSOFT AT GITEX 2022

What are the products and solutions that Microsoft will be showcasing in GITEX 2022?

The theme for this GITEX is "Believe the Hype - It is real." And I believe it's here, that is the metaverse, the main theme for Microsoft this year. The blending of virtual reality and mixed reality with the real world is really enabling our customers across organizations and industries to embrace this hybrid future.

How is Microsoft helping organizations with data security?

Security has always been a key priority for Microsoft. We significantly invest in cybersecurity. In the coming five years, a $20 billion investment going into security products, tools, and technologies. At Microsoft, we prioritise people's skills to ensure they have the right skills to drive security. Technologies will continue to digitize everything and ensure that digital transformation is happening.

How is Azure different from other cloud offerings?

Microsoft has been a hyper-scale cloud provider for many years. We have been here for close to three decades. In 2019, launched two data centers in UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi). So that is a big differentiator versus other hyper scalars in the country. The other differentiator is our partner ecosystem.

What are your vendor and customer strategies in the MENA region that you want to work with?

There is a big focus on being industry relevant in this region. Microsoft has been focused on bringing the right

industry expertise and resources worldwide. There is a very big investment in this area and making sure that we are not only bringing the solutions that we have only from a horizontal perspective, but we are also making it very relevant and industry-specific: energy, manufacturing, FSI, public sector, health care, and education being the prime sectors we are focussing on. There is a big shift in how we are going to market, not only from a solution and workload perspective but also from an industry perspective.

How can Microsoft become a digital transformation partner to the manufacturing companies in this region?

The cloud is going to be an enabler for that digital transformation. We believe that the agility, flexibility, and resilience; those customers look at, especially post-COVID, are key to that transformation. The cloud for manufacturing that we released a few months ago will be one of those enablers for those manufacturing companies to leverage those cloud services to help them be more resilient and agile in the way they are developing their services.

How do you feel the public cloud is evolving in the Middle East region?

We have more regions with our data centers in this world. UAE is definitely a big area of focus. We have had our data centers here for three years. We have data centers in South Africa, Qatar, and Israel. UAE has a lot of appetite to grow, and there are a lot of growth priorities that we have.

Ahmad El Dandachi Enterprise Lead for Microsoft

Microsoft Azure is working towards simplifying the process of building modern applications which are reliable, scalable, and maintainable. Ahmad El Dandachi, Enterprise Lead for Microsoft, speaks about vendor strategies.

VEEAM BREAKING THE MYTHS OF THE ZERO TRUST MODEL

Veeam Software Inc operates as a software company, focused on simplifying backups for virtual machines. The company's platform manages all virtual, physical, and cloud-based workloads from a single console, as well as restores entire virtual machines, individual files, and everything in between, thereby enabling clients to have a complete backup of the data and speed up the pace of innovation. Veeam Software serves customers worldwide. Dave Russell, Vice President of Enterprise Strategy, writes about the myths of the Zero Trust Model and how it can protect your organization.

completely risk-free with building compliance and good employee habits. Similarly, zero trust is all about building good habits with your employees. It also ensures that your employees enable multi-factor authentication when accessing any apps or platforms. It is an added compliance layer that should be addressed by the IT Admin, someone at the top level, or even the deployer. There should be a top-to-bottom approach and a must for all employees to be authenticated and validated continuously to build a better security posture within the organization.

A zero-trust model isn't just about multi-factor authentication. It also requires all the users to be authenticated and authorized and have their security configurations continuously validated to access any application or data. This is done as an additional layer of security. This model does have various benefits such as remote authentication and verification by your employees. This will allow them to work peacefully in a remote or a hybrid situation.

SO, CAN YOU ADOPT THE ZERO-TRUST MODEL WHENEVER YOU WANT?

A zero-trust model means you do not leave any room for errors and do not trust anyone or anything. Some organizations mistake zero-trust for an actual product or certification. A zero-trust model is not a real product or new accreditation in the cybersecurity industry. A zero-trust security model is deployed to ensure end-to-end cyber and cloud security. It is deployed for the protection of our internal as well as external stakeholders. One of the essential concepts it lives by is 'never trust, always verify. It also enables multi-factor authentication to grant access to any application or platform. It is also about embracing the micro-segmentation of security perimeters to avoid any security breach.

Any new security feature or model is only

Before deploying any new security model, we need to understand the return on investment. We need to know whether we need it. We need to understand that while zero trust is an approach to secure the most critical assets of the business, it's equally as important to know whether the juice is worth the squeeze.

To apply the zero-trust model within your organization, you need to be an already digital organization with digital assets that need cloud and cyber protection. Your employees should have digital assets on which they can verify themselves.

We don't need to jump into every bandwagon or deploy every new technology just launched. We need to understand our security needs first and then act accordingly. Your cyber security investments will only be worthwhile if you and your employees are willing to commit to it long-term and build good habits to ensure complete cyber security.

Dave Russell Vice President of Enterprise Strategy, Veeam

WACOM'S DIGITAL PEN FOR LEARNING, TEACHING, AND CREATIVITY

Wacom is the global leader in the pen display and tablet market for creative users, which provides cutting-edge digital ink solutions for a wide range of partners using and producing smartphones, tablets, and digital stationery. The company operates through Brand Business, Technology Solution Business, and Other Business segments.

Wacom Branded Business, Technology Solution Business, and other business segments are transforming the creative industries at lightning speed. The ever-growing demand for original content and new designs leads to complex, high-volume workflows with a need for absolute precision that requires intuitive and efficient digital creative tools. Wacom pioneered the idea of the digital pen, which is still the best and most intuitive instrument to express human creativity. True to its name, which combines the Japanese syllable 'Wa' for harmony and 'Com' for computer, the company started to develop an intuitive input device for the more creative uses of a computer. In pioneering its ground-breaking EMR-Technology, Wacom created its first digital pen tablet.

Today, Wacom's digital pen tablets and high-res digital pen displays are at the heart of many workflows of the creative industry. They work like interactive digital drawing tables; for many digital artists, the pressuresensitive pen is just a natural extension of their hand. They combine the natural feel and familiar effects of traditional pencils, markers, and brushes with a digital workflow's precision, control, and editability.

TOOLS FOR THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY

A world filled with screens and displays for communication and entertainment relies on professional digital creatives to fill them with content. From storyboarding to post-production work, worldrenowned animators, game developers, CGI artists, and 3D sculptors turn to Wacom pen and display technology to create the characters, creatures, special effects, and worlds in the games and movies that fans adore.

In other creative workflows, like industrial design and fast fashion, time is quite literally money. Every false start or mistake can delay a product rollout or increase the cost of a development project.

Architecture is another industry that needs detailed designs and compelling visualizations. Add to that the

increasing need for smart buildings and the progressing digitalization of the construction industry. With Wacom, architects have a digital drafting table with the tools they need to sketch, conceptual design elements, color drawings, compile layouts, create 3D models and render presentations more efficiently.

BRINGING THE PEN INTO THE DIGITAL CLASSROOM

Schools and universities worldwide are harnessing the power of Wacom's digital pen technology to meet the challenges of the digital classroom, hybrid and distance learning, e-learning, and online collaboration. The interactive pen tablets and displays help teachers and students to express themselves more naturally and explain concepts visually. It allows them to continue the methods they are familiar with from conventional lessons and connect and exchange information with each other online. Especially for the important STEAM subjects (science, tech, engineering, art, maths), there are many exciting application possibilities.

INSPIRING AND SUPPORTING CREATIVES

Creative professionals, as well as passionate enthusiasts and hobbyists, find in Wacom, a partner that provides them with the tools and solutions to support their creative ambitions. The vision is to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies. This advanced technology provides creative professionals with the right tools to express their personality and offers studios and other businesses reliable solutions to meet the demands of complex workflows.

HID GLOBAL ANNOUNCED THE 2022 STATE OF ACCESS CONTROL REPORT

Convenience Being a Major Theme, 42% of Respondents Worldwide Indicate Plans to Upgrade to Mobile-Ready Systems

HID Global announced the 2022 State of Access Control Report, providing insightful perspectives of the market’s current state and trends.

Produced by IFSEC Global in partnership with HID Global, the report surveyed just over 1,000 respondents from across North America (56%), EMEA (29%) and Asia Pacific (15%) to detail trends in the procurement, installation, specification, and operation of physical access control solutions.

The report describes the current state of the market, the technology being used, and trends that security and IT professionals are witnessing and foreseeing in the years to come, including:

CONVENIENCE:

Ease of use is the most crucial reason to upgrade to a new access control system, according to 60% of the respondents. This means that in addition to securing premises, a new system must provide a smooth and straightforward process for both users (employees, residents, or visitors) and administrators (security, facilities, and IT teams).

MOBILE ACCESS AND TOUCHLESS CAPABILITIES:

It is no surprise then, that demand for mobile access is showing an uptick, with 42% of respondents planning to upgrade to mobileready systems. While security system administrators benefit from increased operational efficiency, employees and visitors may find mobile access more convenient and secure since they are more

likely to have their mobile devices at hand than their access cards. The pandemic also played a role in the demand for touchless physical access control. About 32% of respondents cited they would upgrade systems to introduce touchless solutions in response to the pandemic, with contactless biometrics also being considered among them.

SYSTEM INTEROPERABILITY:

Future-proof support is also a growing concern as users are pushing for long-term convenience while achieving cost savings. In fact, almost half of the respondents (49%) selected the ability to support new tech in the future as one of the top three features in a new access control solution, and 33% included integration with existing security platforms as being important. As a result, consultants and integrators are moving away from proprietary models and embracing open standards-based technology, where software upgrades can be securely

managed through the cloud. One in five respondents added that interoperability and open standards will be one of the top trends set to shape the industry soon.

Sustainability: Organizations across all regions are making a clear effort to understand how new purchases and upgrades in access control technology can have an impact on sustainable practices, with about 28% of respondents having consulted their sustainability departments about their buying decisions. Access control readers that have Environmental Product Declarations and intelligent power management, for example, support green building ratings such as LEED. Additionally, deploying mobile access and virtual credentials removes the need for plastic cards and so spares the carbon footprint associated with their lifecycle. When integrated with a building management platform, it is possible to maintain continuous adjustment of building resources based on occupancy.

BARRACUDA RESEARCH REVEALS TOP 5 INDUSTRIES TARGETED BY RANSOMWARE AS DETECTED THREATS SPIKE TO 1.2MILLION PER MONTH

After identifying and analysing 106 highly publicized ransomware attacks over the past 12 months, Barracuda researchers have found that the education (15%), municipality (12%), healthcare (12%), infrastructure (8%), and financial (6%) sectors are the five most targeted by adversaries. The analysis reveals that ransomware attacks on educational institutions more than doubled compared to the previous year, while attacks on the healthcare and financial verticals tripled, and infrastructure-related attacks quadrupled.

The researchers noted a rise in the number of service providers – companies that provide IT services or other business services – impacted by ransomware during the last year. However, the public data suggests that fewer victims paid the ransom, likely due to better defences, especially in critical infrastructure.

Barracuda’s own detections reveal that the volume of ransomware threats spiked at 1.2 million per month between January and June 2022.

The company points out that most ransomware attacks don’t make headlines as many victims choose not to disclose when they get hit and the attacks are often sophisticated and extremely hard to handle for small businesses.

“As ransomware and other cyberthreats continue to evolve, the need for adequate security solutions has never been greater,” said Fleming Shi, CTO at Barracuda. “Many cybercriminals target small businesses to gain access to larger organizations. As a result, it is essential for security providers to create products that are easy to use and implement, regardless

of a company's size. Additionally, sophisticated security technologies should be available as services, so that businesses of all sizes can protect themselves against these ever-changing threats. By making security solutions more accessible and user-friendly, the entire industry can help to better defend against ransomware and other cyberattacks.”