Varmea may2016

Congratulations Networking Reseller of the Year

M I D D L E

Cover Feature

Issue 203

E A S T

A N D

A F R I C A

www.VARonline.com

May 2016

2016

What’s New - Pg 20 0

In Focus - Pg 8

News - Pg 14

PNY’s StorEDGE

Enabling digital transformation

Canon brings new solutions line-up

Awards Handbook coming soon!

Gaming drives PC demand PC Gaming rather than fading away in the face of rising popularity of console or smartphone gaming, seems to have only picked up as a growth trend. Today, the community size that indulges in PC gaming is growing and this can also be attributed to spectacular advances in the assortment of technologies that make up the PC gaming experience, from displays to powerful processing abilities of new age PCs. ...continued on P - 6

Glittering finale wraps up COC Awards 2016

...continued on P - 4

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Spotlight

Editorial

VAR COC Awards 2016

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Striking the balance Demand shifts in an industry can have significant bearing on the bottom line achievements of a company in fiscal year. As the focus on profitability would or needs to be the cornerstone of a company’s strategy in a business year, a reseller company needs to be always attentive to the balance in its product portfolio that would determine its competence in a volatile market.

There are at any point of time, products in three phases of lifecycle- there would be products that are recent introductions; there are products in the mature phase of their lifecycle and then there are end of life products as the demand for the product type or model is petering out.

Resellers need to pick and choose products from either of these three phases to keep in their stocks. They could possibly follow the strategy of stocking more products that are at the beginning of their lifecycle, which have been introduced fairly recently and therefore possibly fetch higher margins. Simultaneously they could also stock products that are in the mature phase and would contribute the run-rate volume business, with possibly lesser profitability yields as margins are miniscule. However, what favors their inclusion is that they are safe bets for a foreseeable period ahead. Finally, if they do stock end of life products, that should be with the intent for clearance sales or as part of smart bundle promotions that can help overall sell out of other product categories. At any given instant, a healthy balance would suggest that the reseller stocks more of the new products and less of those products which are past their peak demand.

Resellers who have significant inventories for product lines they sell, need to ensure they are meeting their month to month targets of sell out or take prompt actions at the latest, when a quarter is concluded with smart promotions and also driving visibility of such promotions, In this regard, a regular schedule of quarter end promotions sales that is also communicated well to consumer and SMB segments through various channels including social media may create some additional demand.

R. Narayan Managing Editor

CEO: Vivek Sharma Managing Editor: R. Narayan Art Director: Faiz Ahmed Business Development Manager: Mallika Rego Sr. Sales Manager: R. Subramanyan Sales Manager: Christopher David Sales Coordinator: Smitha Jithesh Contributing Editor: Faiz Askari Published by:

JNS Media International MFZE P.O. Box: 121075, Montana Building 404, Zabeel Road, Near GPO, Karama, Dubai-UAE Tel: 04-3705022 Fax: 04-3706639 sales@var-mea.com or info@var-mea.com www.VARonline.com Disclaimer: While the publishers have made every attempt possible to get accurate information on published content in this magazine they cannot be held liable for any errors herein.

The 2016 edition of the VAR COC (Choice of channel) Awards concluded on a grand note at a glittering awards ceremony held in the majestic St. Regis hotel in Dubai. This year also marked the 10th edition of the VAR COC Awards, the premier awards for the region’s ICT channel.

The awards gala was well attended by the industry’s who’s who. The winning brands received a rousing applause for their stellar performances over the past year.

The winners were chosen through an online poll that ran on www.varonline.com for nearly three weeks based on nominations received from the industry. The online polling process included voting from a wide channel database. Voters were instructed to vote on basis of the brand’s channel commitment, product availability, pricing, market performance and mindshare.

The brands that emerged with most votes from the survey were frontrunners to win in the respective categories because of the high percentage of weightage given to channel votes.

However, besides the channel voting, the final leg of the polling process included votes from an esteemed jury panel of three which consisted of Mr. Krishnamurthy, former MD of Acer

CATEGORIES SOHO Networking Brand of the Year SMB Networking Brand of the Year Storage Devices Brand of the Year Projector Brand of the Year NAS Brand of the Year PC Security Software Brand of the Year Printer Brand of the Year Display Brand of the Year Emerging Smartphone Brand of the Year Smartphone with Best Design Smartphone with Best Features Best New Smartphone Convertible Tablet Brand of the Year Wearables Technology Brand of the year Laptop Brand of the Year Mobile Security Software Brand of the year Innovative ICT Retailer of the Year ICT E-tailer of the year Mobility Distributor of the Year Networking Distributor of the Year Component Distributor of the Year AV Distributor of the Year Emerging Distributor of the Year Retail Distributor of the Year Brand of the Year Regional Brand of the year Networking Innovations Vendor of the Year Storage Innovations Brand of the year Projector Innovations Brand of the year Channel Executive of the Year Visionary ICT Business Group of the Year Champion Reseller of the year Networking Reseller of the Year Mobility Reseller of the Year

Middle east, Mr. Tarek Kuzbari, formed MD of Kaspersky Lab and Mr. Philip Hughes, formed GM of APC Middle East. This helped calibrate the overall voting and help adjudge the eventual winners across different categories.

Vivek Sharma, Founder CEO of VAR marketing LLC and JNS Media International MFZE said, “This year marked a major milestone for the awards which are the longest running in the ICT channel. We have put in place a very substantially comprehensive voting process that helps decide and applaud the deserving winners from among nominated brands in the survey.”

The voting has always seen an increase in the number of votes registered. Also adding to the increase is the fact that several of the nominated brands ensured that their reseller partners took part in the voting. More votes registered mean better validated verdicts.

The sponsors of the awards evening included Dell who was the Platinum sponsor of the event, Kaspersky Lab and Linksys, both Gold sponsors as well as Epson, Telelink, AOC and WD, the silver sponsors. Promise Technology was the gifts sponsors and Touchmate were the raffle sponsors.

WINNERS Linksys D-Link WD EPSON QNAP Kaspersky Lab HP AOC Magnus LG G4 Sony Xperia Z5 Premium OPPO F1 Lenovo Samsung Dell Norton by Symantec Carrefour Souq.com Redington Gulf FZE Aptec, an Ingram Micro Company Musallam Trading Trigon LLC Prime Technology Middle East ASBIS Middle East FZE Dell Touchmate TP-LINK SanDisk RICOH Kamran Khayal, Assistant Vice President, Trigon Telelink Technology Group Promise Computer Technology LLC New Trend Computer Networks L.L.C Computer Care L.L.C

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Cover Feature

Gaming drives PC demand great upsurge of PC Gaming to become a popular source of entertainment among people of all ages.”

Key Drivers PC Upgrades: Depending on their needs and requirements users are going in for either replacement or up gradation of their machines that is translating in increasing the demand in the gaming segment.

“Consumers are getting more and more hungry for new, faster and latest technologies that enhance their gaming experience to a complete new level,” believes AOC’s Sebastian, he further added, “We are experiencing an increased appetite of users for higher refresh rates, curved monitors and bigger screen sizes.”

Key Trends

Vineeth Sebastien Sales Director, MEA, AOC

Although the overall PCs/Laptops volume has stabilized in last two years owing to macroeconomic fluctuations and growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, but this year, the revival of PC market growth is expected. As per Industry Estimates, 2016 will witness a rebound of the PC market in the Middle East with demand coming from boththe first time buyers and also those consumers who seek to upgrade their existing machines. However, Gaming is going to be a serious driver for this PC market growth revival.

In a hypothetical estimate, if we take into consideration the specific market of hardcore gamers which demand extremely high technical specifications with a MSRP above AED 8000, then we can roughly calculate a sale of 300-400 units per month across the Middle East region.

This shows a great market demand for gaming based PCs.

Curved Display and Monitor Size: Commenting on a visible consumer demand, Sebastian said, “Increased screen size is always a reason for driving demand. As the price gap narrows down between screen sizes, higher screen sizes become the standard. Curved display also has generated lot of traction in the market.”

Professional Gaming: While professional gaming in Middle East hasn’t yet reached the levels of East Asia, Europe or North Africa, one cannot deny the indefinite growth observed in the region. While believing in the potential of professional gaming, Khasru of Asus stated, “The recent ESL ELSEA’S Counter Strike event which offered the top prize of $100,000 is a prime example of that. The event which was hosted in Dubai last year attracted a large target audience and millions of viewers.

In an effort to contribute to this growth of professional gaming, we at ASUS are sponsoring numerous tournaments in the Middle East region.”

“For 2016, we have forecasted a figure of around 4.6M million units for the ‘’in- country’’ consumption of branded NB/DT/AIO PC all across Gulf countries including UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, KSA and Qatar.” Khasru of Asus also said, “With a greater volume of trade business occurring in the Gulf region, which is challenging to monitor and record, it can potentially drive the total volume up by another 50%.”

Online gaming or e-sports is latest buzz word among

“2016 will witness a rebound of the PC market in the Middle East with demand coming from both- the first time buyers and also those consumers who seek to upgrade their existing machines. However, Gaming is going to be a serious driver for this PC market growth revival.”

Mahiuddin Khasru, Sub Regional Head, ASUS expressed his views and said, “Looking at the bigger picture, there is a definite greater demand for those consumers who seek products with relatively mainstream specifications which also include gaming features or gaming grade graphics.

The sale of these products which ranges above AED 4000 is easily 20 times bigger or even more. Further with the average selling price (ASP) of gaming devices coming down, they are becoming more affordable and accessible to users who want power and performance for applications other than gaming.”

Khasru also added, “The year on year growth of these gaming PC/Laptops which are definitely reaching double digits, is the precise reason why brands believe in and are thus investing heavily in this segment.”

Vineeth Sebastien, Regional Sales Director –MEA at AOC commented, “The gaming market in this region is evolving very fast. With the renewed interest in gaming in the region fueled by Increasing broadband penetration and the connectivity of more Arab youth to the internet, coupled with latest technology advancements in PC gaming and the availability in local and international game titles in Arabic language is expected to take the market to next level soon. Looking at all these positives, we certainly believe the outlook is quite bright.”

Omar Fakhri, Head of Sales Middle East & Africa, AMD, “Industry is showing huge change Indeed the consumers in the Middle East region are showing great interest in the gaming domain. In the region we are also expecting a

gaming enthusiasts. “We witness e-sports as a next big opportunity in the MEA region. More and more people in developed countries are showing interest in e-Sports, this interest in visible in gaming cafes and gaming parlors. We expect this trend to soon enter into UAE region as well,” says Fakhri of AMD.

Channel Engagement AOC has a committed channel program to support partners. Sebastian added,“The objective of our partner programme is to support channel partners and provide them the extra edge that makes a difference between bidding and winning a deal. Our channel partner programme is extremely easy to join and easy to follow. All the parameters are kept simple, which helps channel partners to adhere to the programme and utilise the benefits of our programme easily. Moreover, we keep flexibility to incorporate the feedback from our partners to improvise the channel partner programme if need be. The programme should update the partner regularly and provide one stop solutions to its requirements, be it product updates, marketing collateral, training or technical.”

Khasru of ASUS elaborated the channel activity of his organization and said, “Our primary focus over the past two years has been greatly in the UAE, KSA and Qatar. We have developed and implemented a plan that engages us more with key resellers accounts and power retailers. In 2016, we intend to further enhance this plan by expanding to even more Gulf countries and try to set up in-country

Omar Fakhri Sales Head, Middle East & Africa, AMD engagements with established local partners. With this strategic plan in place, we are hopeful that by the end of 2016, ASUS will have marked definite impact and reach across the entire GCC region. Keeping this expansion in mind, we have estimated a 20% growth in sales from the other GCC countries apart from the UAE and KSA.” While elaborating the difference between conventional channel and gaming oriented channels, “We acknowledge the fact that those consumers who are looking for gaming PCs rely or seek guidance from specific reputed retailers/channels/media/social groups and forums. These “influencers’’ have established themselves an expertise which they use to sell their credible recommendations. The platforms also provide in depth analysis and guidelines on the extensive gaming product and portfolio. Having a direct access to these channels, the gaming consumers enjoy the advantage to have an independent comparison, do a survey and enjoy a real demonstration,” Khasru of Asus commented, “ASUS recognizes the potential opportunity for this growing market and this is why we collaborate with these platforms to ensure that our products especially our ASUS ROG line have the optimized reach in the market.”

Elaborating about AMD’s vision towards channels specially around gaming industry segment, Fakhri said, “Gaming is an important vertical for our business. We have specialised channels for gaming and we continue to enable them with best in class products. We are committed towards gaming market and are set to introduce new products in the segment. In addition, we also experience virtual reality as a major trend which can transform the entire gaming market. We are keen on taking such opportunities closer to channels so that they can leverage these big market opportunities.”

New Products in the PC Gaming: AOC’s AGON This new premium gaming product series from AOC is named “AGON” and the AGON monitors are expected to be available starting July/Aug time frame. All future AOC gaming product releases will be under the AGON name.

AGON will also encompass AOC's future gaming-related activities and social media voice. “Some of AOC's existing gaming displays, previously grouped together with other products, will be rebranded under AGON. We do expect the AGON gaming series of monitors will be well received by the users in the region,” informed Sebastian of AOC. While giving a glimpse about the new product announcements, Sebastian also said, “We will soon have the “QHD 144Hz” monitor with sizes 23.8 & 27 inch, also for the curved 144Hz monitors we have amazing models such as (AG 242FC 23.6”), (AC 272FC 27”) and (AG 342UC 34”), and for the Large monitors we have the V Line with size 40 inch’s such as (C4008VH8) & (C400VU8).” ...continued on P - 8

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In Focus

PFU EMEA

Enabling digital transformation Sabine Holocher, Manager PR and Social Media, PFU EMEA discusses market trends and opportunities that she observes in the scanner and document management segment of EMEA region.

What are the key drivers of the scanner market?

The evolution of the international business economy greatly impacts the digital imagining market, as well as other sectors. As trends in the economy determine the models of scanners that become in demand, we have had to accommodate the changing business landscape.

The impressive growth of the economy has created a more optimistic market as a result of the increasing demand. A strong trend across the region includes the increasing demand for laser MFP and color laser products.

This is largely driven to address the challenge of providing a more comprehensive product that will offer different functionalities, such as printing, copying, scanning and faxing into one device that will be an efficient and

drive profit by integrating relevant technological solutions to address their customer’s unique needs. Smart devices such as companion scanners or document scanners coupled with barcode scanning software, are becoming a popular option as a result, with recent trends in the market are deeming traditional purpose-built devices slightly outdated.

This has become more widespread as more companies have become aware of its wide range of benefits such as lowering cost, as well as reducing inventory and marketing cost, thereby increasing profit. Integration of paper-based information in digital processes will provide companies with strong competitive advantage.

“A strong trend across the region includes the increasing demand for laser MFP and color laser products. This is largely driven to address the challenge of providing a more comprehensive product that will offer different functionalities.” cost-effective solution for various businesses. MFPs make it easy to produce scans in the office and people get used to the idea, that all information can be available digitally at your fingertips. When companies have more than the occasional scan to handle and they want to integrate this information into their business processes, then professional document scanners are the solution of choice.

What are the trends you witness in reatil vis-a-vis scanners?

Technology is influencing the retail sector as it has impacted all markets. The retail sector has been actively pursuing innovative ways to streamline operations, enhance customer experience, increase productivity and

What are the key features of ScanSanp portfolio?

The ScanSnap product category is suited especially for personal office, home or mobile use. It is targeted at small to medium sized businesses and the self-employed, but is also used by individuals in large enterprises to improve personal productivity in organising documents and information. Easy one-touch operation, scan-to-mobile and scan-to-cloud are associated with ScanSnap and make it the right tool for many office tasks.

ScanSnap is the Fujitsu scanner solution for the home or for personal use in the office. It saves users time by converting paper at the touch of a button into JPG or PDF files. User productivity is enhanced by intelligent functions like automated image optimisation: The scans are

Sabine Holocher Manager PR & Social Media, PFU EMEA

processed and enhanced in the scanner to provide the highest quality images, saving valuable processing time in PC, Mac or mobile device. Users benefit from near instant digitisation and easy routing to MS Office and cloud applications. Other productivity enhancing functions are intelligent cropping, automatic rotation of documents which are inserted skewed or upside down, and indexing to automatically generate PDF key words for quick and easy searches. Almost no manual intervention is required.

The scanner automatically recognises business cards and recommends the appropriate application in the Quick Menu, which can be configured to display the most commonly used applications.

Also kindly discuss the transformation of scanners in the contemporary office document management segment.

Document management plays an essential role in ensuring the smooth information workflow in an office environment. Companies are working to consolidate digital and paper documents to ensure proper cataloguing ...continued on P - 10

Cover Feature ...continued from P - 6 AMD’s GPU & Polaris Architecture According to Mercury Research’s latest GPU market report, revealing that in Q1 2016 where overall graphics unit volumes declined by 10.2 per cent sequentially, AMD gained discrete GPU market share (29.4 per cent, +3.2 share points q-to-q).

According to Mercury Research, factors in this surge are the strength of the latest RadeonR9 Series GPUs as well as AMD’s revitalized driver development strategy, helping the company gain 1.8 share points in desktop discrete graphics (22.7 per cent, +1.8 share points q-to-q) and an impressive 7.3 share point jump in notebook discrete, moving to 38.7 per cent share of this important market.

“With AMD’s next generation Polaris Architecturebased 14nm discrete graphics products expected this quarter, AMD believes it clearly has solid momentum in discrete graphics.” Khasru of AMD stated.

Mahiuddin Khasru Sub Regional Head, ASUS

ASUS ROG Series: ASUS take great pride in its line of ROG products which spans from DIY gaming components such as graphic cards, motherboard, RAM, storage units, as well as an extensive collection of gaming desktops, gaming accessories and gaming laptops. “Basically we provide solutions to anything related to PC Gaming. Describing the ROG range of products, Khasru also said, “Depend-

ing on the product specifics, the price varies from AED 3999 to AED 19,999. ASUS ROG is constantly striving to break through the gaming market to deliver products which fulfill the growing demands of our gaming consumers.”However, the latest ROG product offerings include: ROG GX700, a liquid-cooled gaming laptop, is designed to give hardcore gamers with the overclocking potential to push the limits with extreme gaming desktops. GX700 features Windows 10 Home, an overclockable Intel Mobile K-SKU processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX980 a desktop graphics card, and upto 64 GB DDR4 RAM to give gaming fans desktop-like power at home, and ultra-performance on-the-go.

ROG STRIX GL502 allows gaming users to experience unmatched performance with 6th-generation Intel Corei7 quad-core processor combined with a discrete NVIDIAGeForce GTX970M graphics with full Microsoft DirectX 12 support. ROG Strix GL502 has an ultra-portable design that makes it remarkably portable.

While PC gaming is a growth segment, it is still only a small percentage of the overall PC market.

However, due to the higher ASP of high-end gaming PCs, the sell out profitability is better than the entry or mid-level range of PCs and is therefore a segment that the channel can benefit from.

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In Focus

SanDisk

Addressing the new storage needs: SanDisk Sharing an overview on SanDisk’s approach towards addressing new trends of the market, Tareq Husseini -Regional Sales Director for SanDisk Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa (MMEA) also expressed his views and unleashed his company’s vision towards the new demands of consumers.

What are the key market trends you witness from the perspective of consumer behavior?

Consumers are creating more and more content. The smartphone has become the go to device for email and messaging and when one considers the sheer volume of messages with video or photo attachments being sent everyday they need expandable storage. Many new smartphones entering the market can now record in 4K video. This format uses huge amounts of memory. SanDisk has developed a range of mobile storage products. These products are the new USB range for your smartphone.

There is the SanDisk iXpand drive designed specifically for Apple devices. There is the SanDisk Dual drive designed for Android devices and finally there is the SanDisk wireless stick that can work with both Apple and Android devices. These products ensure users have the option to

meet. The advances and expectations are almost daily.

With write speeds as fast as up to 60MB/s2, everyone now has access to features such as fast action shots, continuous burst mode and multiple frames per second.

Photos are written to your card almost instantly so you'll get your best shot, and you’ll save time moving it all from your camera to your computer. The speed of the shots and the transfer has become paramount.

Consumers are also using storage drives while being on the move, this leads to a requirement of a sturdy, robust device with ease of usability. What are SanDisk's approach towards this?

Again, that’s absolutely true. Nobody wants to be somewhere that’s inaccessible for an essential shot or lacking the storage to make a movie. It’s not just a

“The SanDisk Extreme 500 portable SSD is less than half the size of your smartphone and delivers up to 4x the speed of a portable hard drive.

We understood and anticipated the next move in the market and that’s the need to be portable and the need to be hardy.” store precious memories and keep their phone memory free in order to capture that special moment as it happens.

Customer demands such as faster data transfer are becoming loud in the market. What are your views on this and how does SanDisk is addressing such demands?

There’s no doubt that speed is an ever-increasing factor for all consumers, and SanDisk is really driving that part of the market. The SDXC UHS-I memory cards offer enough speed, capacity, and durability to meet the demands of the most advanced professional photographers, the extreme lifestyle photo addicts and the passionate amateurs alike.

They are ideal to use with advanced cameras and HD camcorders with data speeds up to ten times faster than an ordinary memory cards. These are the demands that are being made now and these are the criteria we have to

question of being able to transfer, it’s a question of creating space quickly, efficiently and often in less than ideal locations. The SanDisk Extreme 500 portable SSD is less than half the size of your smartphone and delivers up to 4x the speed of a portable hard drive. We understood and anticipated the next move in the market and that’s the need to be portable and the need to be hardy. There is a demand to get to work in seconds, transfer big videos and photo libraries at up to 430MB/s, a speed that a lot of portable hard drives can’t get close to.The design is based around durability and practicality – this drive is amazingly compact and has no moving parts to break. Solid state technology offers reliable, responsive, high-performance storage for photographers and videographers who capture and carry lots of big media files.

Tareq Husseini Regional Sales Director, SanDisk, MMEA From the capacity perspective, what are the trends you witness in storage drives? We have also witnessed more than 200 GB made as pocket storage drives? What are the practical and personal uses for such high capacity sized storage drives?

There has never been such a need and a desire to record and share experiences, whether that’s through movies, images or audio and it’s vital that we provide the products and pioneer the technology to cope with the ever-increasing requirements. From the youngest social media activists to the elder millennials, there is now the means to produce and enjoy their favourite media. Thanks to the enormous advances in mobile phone cameras and connectivity, there are now endless opportunities to capture, keep and display lifestyles and experiences.

The sheer volume of the data generated makes greater storage and higher speeds essential. For instance: more than 300 hours of video are uploaded onto YouTube every minute; 3.25 billion hours are watched on YouTube every month; 136,000 photos are uploaded onto Facebook every 60 seconds; and 7,200 tweets per second. With such a huge volume of digital information that needs to be uploaded, downloaded and transferred in general, we realise that ‘largest possible capacity’ now features alongside the ‘fastest possible time’. SanDisk has always been at the forefront of reliable storage and speed we will continue to not only meet challenges but open possibilities.

In Focus - PFU EMEA ...continued from P - 8 and easy access. Scanners play an important role in this regard, in the effort to move all data and records to a digital platform with a functioning search engine that will be useful for quick recovery. By creating digital versions in an established system within the organization, it will ensure better collaboration, save space and reduce carbon footprint.

Channels have also become specialized. Please share Fujitsu's approach towards transforming the channel industry with regards to new business avenues?

We are PFU, the manufacturer of the market leading Fujitsu scanners. PFU sells its market-leading scanner families only through the channel and is fully focused on enabling its partners to increase sales and grow their business. Channel partners can choose from a broad portfolio of scanners for professional personal, desktop, workgroup, high-volume production and networked environments. Just as important as the strength of the products is the record of continuous innovation and the development of new capabilities to help channel partners increase sales and grow their business. We support

knowledge transfer between PFU and its reselling partners, system integration partner and everyone in the channel down to the end customer. PFU has established processes, systems and tools to give channel partners the information they need. These include partner programmes, online training modules, social media material and all manner of content that partners can re-purpose. Knowledge Suite facilities in several of our major European hubs are taking our channel enablement concept to a new level.

At these locations channel partners, their customers, software providers and PFU can collaborate on solutions and share knowledge. PFU organizes regular KnowledgeShare events with ISV partners, resellers and end users.

Software applications have also become one of the decisive elements in this market segment. Please share your observations around this?

As a leading vendor of document scanners PFU is no longer focusing only on its hardware solutions but is taking purchasing decision makers on a 'customer journey', helping them to chose the right platform first and then to decide which scanner best fits their requirements.

The ScanSnap platform provides improved personal productivity with simple one touch scanning for home, office or mobile workers, allowing scan to folder, to email, to their existing applications or into the cloud.

PaperStream creates the best quality digital image from paper documents for enterprise users. It transforms paper documents into meaningful digital information and routes them into productive digital processes in one single step.

How do you foresee the next year for the Fujitsu scanner business?

We are very optimistic with regard to the market in the coming years. We believe that the growth of small-medium sized business will further drive our market as the need for reliable office solutions will be needed. In 2014 alone hardcopy peripheral spending increased by 3.43% compared to the previous year. We believe that this positive trend will continue for years to come and we remain steadfast in our commitment to create new benchmarks of excellence within the sector.

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Congratulations New Trend Computer Networks

2016 Awards 10TH EDITION

Networking Reseller of the Year

We would like thank all our partners, well-wishers and VAR Magazine for honouring us with this distinguished accolade.

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Authorised Award Winning Partner HEAD OFFICE Tel: +971 4 393 1145 Fax: +971 4 393 0487 E-mail: info@newtrend.ae Web: www.newtrend.ae

BRANCH Tel: +971 4 393 7338 Fax: +971 4 396 2645 E-mail: ntcndxb@newtrend.ae P.O. Box: 43607, Dubai, UAE

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News

Canon meets the market demands with new solutions line-up

Hendrik Verbrugghe Marketing Director, Canon Middle East Supporting businesses in the region to drive productivity, efficiency and sustainable development, Canon Middle East has strengthened their business-to-business (B2B) offering with the launch of 12 new B2B products and solutions. The new technologies were launched during an exclusive ‘Canon for Business’ event in Dubai, UAE, attended by 150 C-level executives, IT chiefs, partners and key decision makers.

During the event, leading businesses were given on-site product demonstrations and shown how the full portfolio of Canon’s print solutions, services and valueadded support can help them grow their businesses. The news comes at a time when market intelligence firm Smithers Pira estimates that the MENA printing industry will reach $26 billion by 2018.

“Our business-to-business division is targeting exponential growth over the coming years, and the Canon for Business event is a very important milestone in that journey within the region. Through this event we are

renewing our focus on verticals, aiming to provide them relevant expertise and value. We are also making a bold statement of our focus, our direction, and reiterating our commitment to our valued customers and partners,” said Hendrik Verbrugghe, Marketing Director, Canon Middle East and Canon Central and North Africa.

According to research from the Insight Report Middle East & Africa 2013, 97% of companies in the region have rated printing as a ‘critical’ task. Another report

by Gartner reveals that 75% of employees in the MENA region are unable to finish off their tasks without relying on printing, copying and scanning. However, this heavy reliance on technology has also led to more end-user time and effort around printing, with research by All Associates Group revealing that employees spend around 1.8 hours a day – 9.3 hours per week - searching, gathering, filing and storing documents they have printed. Unavoidable “Printing is an inevitable operation for any business and to make it as simple and convenient as possible, we are introducing our latest technology platform in the imageRUNNER ADVANCE series. This new shared platform will offer complete consistency & faster evolution. With a smart-phone like user interface supporting industrystandard mobile print and scan functions, built-in Wi-Fi, NFC, BLE capabilities, consistent user and management experience across any fleet, our latest platform will now enable customers to work from anywhere, securely and

with the right solution,” he added.

The 12 new B2B products and solutions are designed to meet the increasing demand from both commercial and in-house print service providers ensuring enhanced throughput, ensure consistent colour, accurate registration controls, and flexible media handling and finishing. The new line-up includes, Canon’s latest Generation 3 imageRUNNER ADVANCE 6500 series, the imagePRESS C10000VP, imageRUNNERADVANCE 8500 Series, Canon’s imagePROGRAF PRO 2000. 4000, 4000s & 6000s and Canon’s imagePROGRAF PRO 1000 In addition to these products, Canon also demonstrated its workflow solutions such as Uniflow, ThereFore and IRIS in a specially constructed ‘Enterprise Zone’. These industrial style workflow solutions ensure automation and management of printing processes in organisations, driving productivity, saving their costs and delivering against the most demanding deadlines.

Promise holds the 2016 Promise Surveillance Solutions Summit in Dubai The Promise Surveillance Solutions Summit 2016 successfully concluded in Dubai and attracted visitors from throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) eager to learn more about the newest trends and solutions for the video surveillance market. Promise Technology, the developer of the open storage platform for video surveillance, hosted the event along with its distribution partner Musallam Trading at the Palace Downtown Dubai.

Axxonsoft, Microsoft, Intel and Toshiba together with Promise shared valuable insight on what technologies are driving the industry, what the future of video surveillance will look like over the next several years and how the group of companies are working together to provide solutions for a safer tomorrow.

“Thank you to all of the visitors of the event and to our partners who shared their expertise of the video surveillance market,” said John van den Elzen, General Manager, Surveillance Business Unit, Promise Technology. “Promise’s philosophy is about working together to succeed together and the summit in Dubai captured this perfectly. We are really looking forward to hosting our next summit in the region soon.”

“I want to thank all of the VIP guests who joined us at the summit, including those from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Bahrain, Egypt, Sudan, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain,” said Eng. Mostafa Fawzi, Business Development Director, Musallam Trading. “As a value added distributor, Musallam Trading understands the importance

of not only selling excellent solutions but also offering programs and events like the Promise Surveillance Solutions Summit that ensures our customers are up to date and informed on what is happening in the industry now and how to be prepared for what’s coming in the future.”

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News

Huawei signs FDC International to tap regional SMEs

Huawei has appointed FDC International as regional volume distributor in the Middle East to support the growing need

by SMEs for new ICT solutions that enable them to access enterprise level ICT capability.

FDC International and Huawei have partnered to speed up time to market Huawei products and solutions in the Middle East through FDC International’s regional product centers and its expertise in addressing the digital transformation requirements of SMEs. The tie up between Huawei and FDC comes just before Huawei’s annual Partner Summit and will highlight ICT trends impacting the market while showcasing some of the technology solutions making headway in regional Enterprises.

“This partnership forms part of Huawei’s direction to support the SME market through the recruitment of select partners who are able to deliver on Huawei’s value-add proposition,” said Hany Hussein, Vice President of Partners & Alliances, Huawei, Enterprise, Middle East. “This is in-line with Huawei’s ‘Transforming Together’ channel development strategy which aims to create the right partner ecosystem to support the business needs of organizations of all sizes, through a long-term commitment that is based on strong collaboration with channel partners.” He added.

FDC International have strong regional presence and will support SME ranging from 100 to 1,000 users across

multiple locations, and provide fast, efficient delivery of Huawei solutions.

“SMEs like any other business are keen to have access to the latest ICT solutions that help them operate with the same capability as a large enterprise, by deploying new ICT technologies that help them succeed in their digital transformation,” said Dr. F. B. Safe CEO of FDC International. “FDC has over 27 years of regional IT distribution experience with more than 200 qualified professionals to address the needs of SMEs while providing them with insights and advice on how to leverage Huawei’s agile solutions to evolve their ICT environments efficiently and grow their business.”

Huawei’s ‘Transforming Together’ channel strategy is based on developing strong, collaborative relationships with its partners to help end-users gain maximum value its solutions through the partner’s insights and understanding of local market needs. Huawei’s channel partners play an important role in delivering sustainable market growth in the region, and its channel strategy aims to recruit, enable and activate a core community of trusted and valued partners. Huawei’s channel program provides partners with a wealth ofinformation and education, giving them the tools to realise ICT’s full potential to transform their customers’ businesses.

While the process of digitalization speeds up, new technologies, new players, and cooperation modes emerge, allowing customers more control and power while collaborating with partners in the ecosystem. The ICT industry is becoming more and more ‘developer-defined’, Huawei remains committed to the strategies of ‘Focus’ and ‘Being Integrated’ with customers and partners while building a new ‘developer-defined’ ecosystem through joint innovation.

XTOUCH concludes GITEX Shopper on a strong note XTOUCH announced the successful conclusion of the spring edition of this year’s GITEX Shopper on a very strong note with sales of its smartphones commanding new heights.

“We are overwhelmed with the response for our smartphone at this year’s spring edition of GITEX Shopper. We had partnered with the leading retailer in the country such as Sharaf DG, Emax and Plug Ins to sell the wide range of XTOUCH smartphones during the show,” said Farhad Khan, the VP Commercial at XTOUCH. “We are extremely glad that all our retail partners at the GITEX Shoppers experiences great business and sold large number of our smartphones.”

“As per the initial reports from all our retail partners at GITEX Shopper, we featured among the top selling brands among all the product categories including smartphones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, televisions, and so on,” said Khan.

“We showcased our key products at the show and also utilized GITEX Shopper as a platform to launch our latest next generation 4G LTE smartphone with touch fingerprint sensor technology, UNIX in the Middle East region.

Besides UNIX, we got wonderful response for A2 LTE, X4, X8 and P-phone models of XTOUCH. We believe that customers are now looking for products that offer quality and value for money.”

Khan added.

XTOUCH had strategically priced its products for GITEX Shopper and sold its latest 4G LTE smartphone, UNIX bundled with VR headset for just AED 786, whereas it’s other models like, X4 and X8 both bundled with VR headset were priced at AED 399. The show star A2 LTE comes with 4G LTE and metal frame design just priced AED 299, which makes low income groups enjoy LTE speed easily.

ESET Middle East partners with Axiom Telecom ESET has partnered with Axiom Telecom to drive awareness on the vital need for mobile protection in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

With the GCC’s two most populated countries also boasting region-leading mobile penetration rates, the personal data and sensitive information processed on smartphones and tablets has made the Gulf nations attractive target for potential cyber attackers.

According to ESET’s Trends for 2016: (In)Security Everywhere report, there has been a significant increase in the number of malware variants for mobile platforms with hundreds of malicious apps distributed through official stores. In 2015, over 500,000 Android users were targeted by fake phishing appson Google Play which, if installed,would have harvested users’Facebook log in details and personal information.

As part of the strategic ESET-Axiom partnership, Axiom will distribute ESET Mobile Security hanging cards for Android smartphones and tablets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, while ESET Mobile Security will be part of Axiom’s value-added services, giving its customers increased ability to enjoy safer technology on a daily basis.

“The UAE and Saudi Arabia are leading the region with 74.6and 73.6 per cent, respectively, of each nation’s

Neo Neophytou Managing Director, ESET Middle East

population anticipated to use internet-ready mobile phones and devicesby 2018. Asthe number of devices continues to grow, the challenges people face to keep their information secure also increases,” said Neo Neophytou, Managing Director, ESET Middle East.

“Our partnership with Axiom aims to protect and educate users against the growing number of mobile malware and other threats that many individuals are unaware of,” Neophytou added.

ESET Mobile Security is designed to maximise mobile security and allow users to use their mobile devices in less secure environments. Mobile users are enabled with ESET's advanced protection as they navigate the Internet, open suspicious email andchat messages, ordownload apps from third parties.

Established in 1997, Axiom is the Middle East’s leading multi-brand, multi-channel distributor and retailer of mobile telecommunications devices, accessories and telecom services.Axiom's distribution network provides multiple points of access to the end consumer through three principal routes: the retail channel through a variety of brands and store formats; a micro-distribution channel via independent stores; and a macro-distribution channel serving wholesalers for domestic and international sales.

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Available Models: TMT20II, TMU 220, TMT88IV, TMT88V

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What’s New Quick Heal Total Security

TP-LINK 450Mbps High Power Wireless N Router

Overview

Overview

Along with secure online banking, smooth Internet surfing and robust protection for PC, Quick Heal Total Security also offers safe banking that protects financial data during online banking and shopping. The parental control feature lets you manage and control Internet and computer access for your kids.

Enhanced Malware Protection blocks spyware, adware, keyloggers, and other malware.

With its upgraded hardware, the TP-LINK’s TL-WR941HP easily outperforms standard routers, providing dramatically expanded wireless coverage and connections that are significantly more reliable. You can enjoy high speed Wi-Fi in every part of your home, in your garage, and even in the backyard. sitivity of the router to High gain antennas boost the reception and sensitivity es. create stronger connections over greater distances.

This allows the router signal to travel farther and provide stable Internet access for all of your mostt important connected devices.

Key Features • Automatically detects unsafe and potentially dangerous websites, and prevents you from visiting them.

• The existing Malware Protection of Quick Heal is now enhanced and offers more protection to your PC against spyware, adware, keyloggers, riskware, and other malicious programs.

• Efficiently blocks emails that might carry infected attachments or links to compromised or fake and phishing websites.

• Quick Heal DNAScan technology detects and blocks unknown threats. It uses a combination of behavioral and characteristic inspection and monitoring of unsafe programs.

Key Features • Superior Range – High power amplifiers and high-gain antennas provide enhanced wireless range up to 10,000 sq ft.

• Wall-Penetrating Wi-Fi – Enhanced Wi-Fi signal cuts through walls and obstacles, eliminating dead zones • 3 Modes Functionality – Offers three wireless modes, including Router, Range Extender, and Access Point • 450Mbps Wireless Speed – Ideal for video streaming, online gaming and VoIP

For more information contact: www.quickheal.co.in

For more information contact: t t www.tp-link.com t li k

Acer Switch Alpha 12 Liquid-Cooled 2-in-1 Notebook Overview

Key Features

Acer announced the new Switch Alpha 12 2-in-1 notebook with Windows 10, which delivers a heightened level of mobility with Acer LiquidLoop cooling, excellent performance, and an ultra-slim, flexible notebook-to-tablet design that is both elegant and sturdy – helping people do more.

The new Switch Alpha 12 is the industry’s first fanless 2-in-1 notebook to use a 6th Generation Intel Core i7, Core i5 or Core i3 processor. It is powered by Windows 10, which is off to the fastest start in Windows history, with more than 270 million active devices.

• Fanless design featuring Acer LiquidLoop cooling technology for silent and reliable operation • Industry’s first fanless 2-in-1 notebook to use 6th Generation IntelCore processors; delivers exceptional performance and 8-hour battery life(1) • Versatile design with multi-position kickstand for flexibility.

• 12-inch display boasts 2160x1440 resolution, optional Acer Active Pen takes advantage of the best Windows Ink has to offer.

• Several optional docks extend the capabilities of the Switch Alpha 12; optional active pen for enhanced productivity.

Kaspersky Total Security

For more details, log on to www.acer.com

PNY’s StorEDGE

Overview

Overview

Kaspersky Lab has unveiled the latest version of its Kaspersky Total Security – multi-device.Thanks to Kaspersky Safe Kids included, the new product will not only protect privacy and confidential information of users but also allow parents to better monitor children’s online activity and physical location, prevent them from going to inappropriate websites, and regulate the amount of time their kids use digital devices.

StorEDGE is the perfect solution for adding more storage without compromising your MacBook’s sleek design. StorEDGE sits nearly flush to your notebook’s edge, allowing you to stay fully mobile while storing even more images, videos, files, or whatever you’d like.

Simply insert StorEDGE into your MacBook’s SDXC slot, and it plugs in and stays in without you having to worry about unplugging or disconnecting anything. With its discreet and unobtrusive design, StorEDGE is ideal for MacBook users who desire increased storage capacity on-the-go.

Key Features • Kaspersky Safe Kids included into the new Kaspersky Total Security – multi-device Security.

• The product is designed to address these concerns and improve the ability of parents to create new ways for their children to use connected devices and browse the Internet.

• The new multi-platform software not only protects kids from viewing inappropriate content on websites and apps, but it also helps parents manage the amount of time children spend on their Internet-enabled devices.

• Private Browsing prevents websites and web applications from collecting such information as sites visited, the search queries, location and the devices used.

For more details contact: www.kaspersky.com

Key Features • Up to doubles your MacBook’s storage space • Plugs in to your MacBook’s SD slot and stays in: a semi-permanent storage solution • Product sits nearly flush againstt your notebook • For Use In: 13-inch MacBook Air,r, MacBook Pro, 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display • 5 Year Warranty • Read speed: 95MB/s • Write speed: 60MB/s For more details, log on to www.pny.com pny.com

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Market Stats

Commercial Notebook returned to growth in Europe in 1Q16, says IDC PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) reached 17.2 million units in the first quarter of 2016 — a 14.6% decrease year on year, according to International Data Corporation (IDC). Despite the shrinking market, commercial notebook PCs returned to growth in Western Europe (WE) and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In contrast, the consumer market performed poorly following a strong push for the Bing promotion in January 2015, making the comparison unfavorable.

Exchange rates, oil prices, and macro-economic conditions contributed to the difficult situation, as in previous quarters. Depending on local currency fluctuations, shipments were pushed or stopped, contributing to further unpredictability. Inventory remained an area of focus, but clearly the level of concern was limited in comparison to the previous year. While it is not unusual to have a lot of contrast between countries within a region, this quarter also showed strong variations within countries between segments and product categories. There were also a lot of differences in the results of the top market players. In the context of a shrinking market, market consolidation was clearly accelerating. However, new technology introductions such as Windows 10 and Skylake as well as the evolution of form factors to address consumerization and mobility trends, led to new market share redistribution. The main winner was HP, while Dell and Asus also outperformed the market average, and last but not least among the top 10, Apple and Fujitsu posted strong results.

"The return to growth in commercial notebooks in Europe is a good sign," said Chrystelle Labesque, Director, IDC EMEA Personal Computing. "It is interesting, however, how market consolidation is progressing. Productivity is key

in enterprise. Innovation in terms of form factors and productivity gains with the latest generation of devices is supporting some renewal in the enterprise space."

Slightly better than expected Western European shipments declined 12.1%, while Central and Eastern Europe decreased 10.8%. The Middle East and Africa (MEA) suffered again, with shipments down 25.1 %. In Western Europe, commercial notebooks posted 1.3% growth, with Germany even seeing double digit growth in this area.

Most countries were in decline, except Finland and Norway.

The Nordics improved, while Southern Europe was weaker.

Low oil prices together with currency fluctuations and political instabilities remained key market inhibitors in the CEMA region, but as in Western Europe, CEE posted a small growth in commercial notebook shipments: +0.7%.

“The PC market in both the CEE and MEA regions in 1Q16 performed very much in line with the forecast.

Demand for PC's in the MEA region remains negatively

affected by economic instability in Turkey, currency devaluation in both Turkey and South Africa, a slowdown in tourism in the UAE, and reduced consumer confidence due to lower oil revenues for Saudi Arabia and conflicts in the ‘Rest of Middle East’ subregion," said Nikolina Jurisic, Product Manager, IDC CEMA. "The region reported a contraction of 25.1% YoY. The PC market in CEE reported a yearly decline of 10.8%. The Russian PC market remains constrained by the overall economic environment. Other countries in the region reported a decline YoY that was particularly strong in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania, and Czech Republic, mostly due to the unfavorable comparison with the Microsoft Bing promotion last year and political instability in Romania and Bulgaria. The PC market rebounded in Ukraine after a long period of decline, reporting overall shipments of just over 200K, thanks to economic improvements, deferred demand and healthy inventory at the end of 2015

Top 5 Vendors: Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) PC Shipments 1Q16 (Preliminary) (000 Units) Vendor HP Lenovo Dell ASUS Acer Group Others Total

1Q15 Shipments

1Q16 Shipments

1Q15 Share

1Q16 Share

1Q16/1Q15 Growth

4,707 4,141 2,159 1,799 1,760 5,627 20,193

4,288 3,518 1,900 1,742 1,293 4,497 17,236

23.30% 20.50% 10.70% 8.90% 8.70% 27.90% 100.00%

24.90% 20.40% 11.00% 10.10% 7.50% 26.10% 100.00%

-8.90% -15.00% -12.00% -3.20% -26.60% -20.10% -14.60%

Source: IDC EMEA Quarterly PC Tracker, Preliminary Results, 1Q16, April 2016

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