Network World Middle East | Issue 02 | 2019

ISSUE 02 / 2019

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ADVANCING THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE Riverbed’s mission to enhance our lives through technology

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EDITORIAL

Put customers’ first Talk to us: E-mail: giorgia.guantario@ cpimediagroup.com

Giorgia Guantario Deputy Editor

This issue’s cover interview features Riverbed’s Regional Vice President EMEA Emerging Markets Elie Dib. I sat down with Elie who told me all about his experience at Riverbed, the company’s latest additions and enhancements to their portfolio, but most importantly their approach to the digital world and how they plan to advance the human experience.

Talking about human experience, we looked into the rise of digital banks with Jayash Patel, Head of Emirates NBD’s digital-only bank, Liv. Just like Dib, Patel believes understanding customers is at the center of success. More on page 14.

Turn to page 16 for a special edition of Cabling Planner. Fluke Networks’ Regional Sales Director for the Middle East and Africa, Wener Heeren and R&M’s Executive Vice President for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa Nabil Khalil, share their views on the cabling market and how their companies are taking advantage of the increasing demand for cable solutions.

We also hear from a range of regional experts on a number of topics, including chatbots, hybrid-cloud, blockchain, and the “revolutionary” Wi-Fi 6 and 5G.

“Just like Dib, Patel believes understanding customers is at the center of success.”

REDEFINING technology transformation

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 02 2019

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A quick roundup of some of the latest developments in the world of regional and global networking.

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All you need is Liv Head of Emirates NBD’s digital bank Liv, Jayash Patel on how the platform will win customers’ hearts.

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A special edition of Cabling Planner, the cabling solutions supplement.

16 SPECIAL: Cabling Planner Connect More

Fluke Networks’ Regional Sales Director for the Middle East and Africa Werner Heeren discusses the future of the cabling market and the company’s strategy.

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Why MSEs should rely on citizen IT Gartner’s Senior Director Analyst Christian Hestermann explains why MSE CIOs should use citizen IT.

Advancing the human experience

News

Nabil Khalil, Executive Vice President at R&M Middle East, Turkey and Africa, highlights the firm’s emphasis on ensuring connectivity right to the edge of the network.

Elie Dib, Regional Vice President, EMEA Emerging Markets, at Riverbed believes technology exists to enhance the human experience, not the other way around.

Future-ready

“UAE digitally healthier than the UK” Dr Sam Shah, director of digital development, NHS England, on the UAE’s agile and digitally-focused mindset.

The Wi-Fi 6 and 5G’s revolution Cisco’s Managing Director, Global Service Provider Sales Ali Amer predicts WiFi 6 and 5G will revolutionise connectivity.

FOUNDER, CPI MEDIA GROUP Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015) Publishing Director Natasha Pendleton natasha.pendleton@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9139 ADVERTISING Group Sales Director Kausar Syed kausar.syed@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9138 Business Development Manager Youssef Hariz youssef.hariz@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9111 Senior Sales Manager Sabita Miranda sabita.miranda@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9128

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EDITORIAL Managing Editor Michael Jabri-Pickett mjp@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9158

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Senior Designer Analou Balbero analou.balbero@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 375 5680

Deputy Editor Giorgia Guantario giorgia.guantario@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9146

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DIGITAL SERVICES Web Developer Jefferson de Joya Abbas Madh Photographers Charls Thomas Maksym Poriechkin webmaster@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9100 Publication licensed by Dubai Production City, DCCA PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409

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NEWS

AIRBNB UNVEILS PLATFORM IN ARABIC

A

irbnb announced that its global accommodation and experiences platform will be available in Arabic to enable its growing community across the Middle East and NorthAfrica region to access an even more seamless travel experience.

The localized web platform and iOS and Android apps are part of Airbnb’s ongoing commitment to the region and will further Airbnb’s mission to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. All of the popular features of the Airbnb platform will be accessible in Arabic: listing pages with thousands of homes bookable for great stays, Experiences around the world and

lots of content on how to travel or host with Airbnb.

Hadi Moussa, Regional Manager Middle East & Africa, at Airbnb said: “The Middle East and North-Africa region is extremely important to us, so we are delighted to launch Airbnb in Arabic. People from across the region have been using Airbnb since it was founded ten years ago to book magical travel experiences.

We want to create a true sense of belonging for them by ensuring they can do so in their native language going forward. We want to inspire more Arabic speaking travelers to explore their favourite destinations through authentic, local stays and Experiences on the Airbnb platform.”

RIVERBED LAUNCHES NEW SOLUTION TO ACCELERATE SAAS APPS

Riverbed announced a new solution that significantly accelerates the performance of leading SaaS apps, such as O365, Salesforce, ServiceNow and Box, by up to 10 times. SaaS Accelerator, combined

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with End User Experience Monitoring (part of Riverbed’s Digital Experience Management offering), for the first time it can allow organisations to directly measure and monitor in real time the performance of SaaS-based enterprise applications, and then effortlessly accelerate performance with SaaS Accelerator.

As a cloud-based solution, SaaS Accelerator enables organisations to turn up the service within minutes so they can benefit immediately from improved performance, and Riverbed SDWAN customers benefit from one-click provisioning using the Riverbed SD-WAN management console. Additionally, existing SteelHead appliance and SteelHead Mobile customers can leverage their current investment when

they deploy SaaS Accelerator, for a comprehensive solution that extends from the end user device through the network to the SaaS application.

“Companies today are in varying stages of digital transformation, even within their own businesses.

Riverbed’s new release is targeted to address specific challenges organisations are facing in their digital journeys and in assuring cloud and SaaS performance,” said Dante Malagrino, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Cloud Infrastructure Business Unit.

“Riverbed’s ability to measure and monitor app performance and user experience, and proactively accelerate SaaS and cloud-based applications to anyone, anywhere, regardless of location, is unique in the industry.”

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VEEAM INTRODUCES NEW DATA MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

C

loud and Data Management specialist Veeam Software has unveiled a new initiative to deliver unified solutions providing expanded options for customers: the “with Veeam” programme.

Veeam is partnering with premier enterprise storage vendors to provide customers with comprehensive secondary storage solutions that combine Veeam software with industryleading storage and HCI infrastructure hardware and management stacks.

Solutions have already been announced with ExaGrid and Nutanix.

The “with Veeam” programme builds on their former strategy by providing broader and deeper integration points

for partners to easily and rapidly deliver a secondary storage solution as a unified full-stack that is easy-toprocure, -size, -deploy and -manage, providing customers with options for their data-protection needs.

“Our strategy has always been to be open and agnostic by working with a broad ecosystem of partners to better serve our mutual customers’ needs.” said Ratmir Timashev, co-founder and EVP sales and marketing, Veeam.

Timashev noted that the launch of the “with Veeam” programme will take their strategy to new heights to help organisations achieve the levels of data protection, data retention, data availability and data management that their business’s demand.

DATA TO DRIVE GROWTH OF FUTURE MEGACITIES: SMART DUBAI’S STUDY Smart Dubai released a report entitled, “Decentralised Data for Dubai”, in association with Outlier Ventures D3 Sandbox, which explores the role of data and the Fourth Industrial Revolution to transform services in the city for citizens and enterprises.

The report also noted that data will become the engine driving the growth of these megacities.

It highlighted opportunities presented by the convergence of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), distributed ledger technology, and the Internet of Things (IoT), and asserted that open networks were vital for delivering the next stage of open data infrastructure.

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Younus Al Nasser, assistant director-general of Smart Dubai and CEO of the Dubai Data Establishment, said, “Smart Dubai is on a mission to establish Dubai as the world’s smartest and happiest city.

All of our efforts and plans are aimed at the ambitious objective of reinventing the city as we know it, taking services to a higher level, and addressing any and all challenges standing in the way of the bright future we strive to build.”

According to the report, public-private partnerships have helped establish networks, constituting a first step to addressing the issue, but the challenge remains in connecting individuals, assets, and data to truly benefit from these networks.

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NEWS

ADOBE ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH SOFTWARE AG

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dobe and Software AG announced a partnership to help companies transform their customer experience management (CXM) by bringing together customer data

from across multiple enterprise systems into a centralised and actionable real-time customer profile.

Adobe and Software AG will create integrations between Adobe Experience Platform and Software AG’s webMethods Integration and API management services.

Adobe Experience Platform eliminates data silos by stitching together data from across the enterprise, enabling real-time customer profiles that are fueled by Adobe Sensei artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Software AG’s technology establishes enterprise-wide connectivity between CRMs and applications, as well as multiple backend systems. The combined offering lets brands move a customer’s key enterprise data

MICROSOFT SIGNS MOU TO SUPPORT KUWAITI START-UPS

Microsoft announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cubical Services, a business incubator that offers planning, implementation, and operation services to aspiring entrepreneurs and to start-ups in line with the Kuwait Vision 2035.

“The role of start-ups and small businesses is well known,” said

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Charles Nahas, general manager, Microsoft Kuwait. “Their activities have long made up the lion’s share of non-oil GDP in the region.

Supporting fledgling innovators as they push the frontiers of human endeavour has always been a passion of ours, here at Microsoft. As we work with Cubical Services Business Incubator to provide access to our

into Adobe Experience Platform via Software AG’s integration platform.

Leveraging Software AG’s strength in developing integrated SAP solutions, the partnership will also introduce a new data connector between Marketo Engage and SAP solutions that will seamlessly sync account scoring behavior (e.g. visited key web pages, opened email, attended an event) and other marketing data with sales activity and pipeline data.

“Adobe and Software AG are coming together to deliver a solution that will enable enterprises to harness and action large volumes of customer data to deliver personalised, real-time customer experiences at scale,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO, Adobe.

Microsoft for Start-ups initiative, we continue our support for Vision 2035, by equipping the Kuwaiti entrepreneurial community with everything it needs to innovate freely and achieve more.”

Under the agreement, Microsoft will provide access for selected businesses to its Microsoft for Startups programme, which is designed to accelerate growth and innovation using the intelligent cloud. Cubical Services’ Business Incubator serves entrepreneurs and business owners through four main divisions which are the SME Division, Real Estate Division, Incubation Programs Division, and Entrepreneurship Programs Division.

Cubical Services will also promote the Microsoft for Start-ups programme to its clients and refer start-ups that meet certain criteria to Microsoft, for inclusion in the scheme.

In turn, Microsoft will refer suitable start-ups to Cubical Services for its own incubation programme.

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UAE TO LAUNCH NEW SATELLITES DEVELOPED BY STUDENTS

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he UAE Space Agency and Exolaunch have announced a joint agreement to launch MeznSat into orbit by the end of this year.

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The agreement was signed during the recent Global Space Congress in Abu Dhabi.

MeznSat was developed by students from the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) and Khalifa University.

The satellite will operate using a shortwave infrared spectrometer to measure the abundance and distribution of methane and carbon dioxide in UAE’s atmosphere.

A team of students will monitor, process, and analyse the data sent

from the satellite at a ground station in YahSat Labs in Khalifa University.

Dr. Eng. Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, said, “The MeznSat project falls within the framework of the UAE Space Agency’s strategy, which aims to develop Emirati capacities and expertise and support scientific research.

The satellite will play a key role in studying the Earth’s atmosphere and providing high-quality data which will help to address the many challenges facing our planet.

It’s a privilege to arrange launch services for the MeznSat mission and support the growth of the UAE’s small satellite industry,” said Jeanne Medvedeva, Launch Services Commercial Director at Exolaunch.

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COVER FEATURE • RIVERBED

ELIE DIB, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, EMEA EMERGING MARKETS, AT RIVERBED

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ADVANCING THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE Elie Dib, Regional Vice President, EMEA Emerging Markets, at Riverbed told NWME about the company’s culture, their latest product launch and how the customers’ digital experience is key in today’s market.

H

ow long have you worked for Riverbed and what makes the company unique?

I have been with Riverbed for nearly six years and it has been an exciting and rewarding journey.

Riverbed today serves over 30,000 customers across the globe, including 100% of the Forbes Global 100. Despite this remarkable success and the ongoing growth and expansion, we remain as agile and dynamic as ever – which is why, even after all these years of success, we consider ourselves to be a billiondollar start-up!

This is especially well reflected in our company culture which encourages and empowers every employee to do their best. As a result, this has fostered innovation and kept Riverbed at the leading edge of the industry. Over the past several years, we’ve invested and innovated in digital performance, with solutions to measure and

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manage the digital experience, and a next-generation network to drive digital performance. As a result, the customers we serve are themselves positioned to lead their industries in this wave of digital business transformation, and the next one.

Riverbed is the best company I’ve ever worked for and I look forward to exceeding the expectation of our partners and customers.

As Riverbed’s Regional Vice President, EMEA Emerging Markets, what has been your strategy in the region?

The digital evolution of the Middle East region has presented my team and me with an incredible opportunity. On the back of last year’s growth, our responsibilities have been expanded and I now cover the entire EMEA Emerging Markets region.

One thing all countries within our remit have in common is that end user experience is the most important thing. It is a common language that

all these diverse cultures speak, and we understand that.

The strategy that has resulted in Riverbed’s ongoing success in the Middle East has been our focus on deepening penetration into key industry verticals, strengthening our relationships with our channel community and leading the sales teams to drive much closer engagement with customers in the region. It gives us great satisfaction in knowing that we now have the opportunity to replicate the success we have had in the region on a wider scale and thereby advance the digital capabilities of our customers in these markets.

What are the IT challenges organisations face today?

IT is evolving faster than ever before. If we look at the evolution of digital transformation, it’s changed from a couple of years back. Nearly 4.5 billion humans are digitally connected, and these users want catered and personalised

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COVER FEATURE • RIVERBED

experiences on a daily basis. They are the ones driving the change.

This is a challenge for anyone who doesn’t keep this in mind and doesn’t try to differentiate themselves.

Organisations need to be able to see things from the end user perspective and understand their digital footprint, rather than using the old fashioned way of looking at how well the infrastructure is functioning.

To do so you need to start monitoring the end user, make sure you grasp the meaning of the data and apply AI on top of that. This will help offer customised solutions to personalise experiences for end users.

Take as an example n11.com, Turkey’s largest e-commerce platform and a Riverbed customer – they have more than 80 million visits a month and rely on our solutions to understand their users and deliver a better experience for them.

They chose our digital experience

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“Technology exists to enhance the human experience, not the other way around.”

management solution SteelCentral to eliminate blind spots in their network and application operations, and better manage and monitor the digital experience of users.

How do you think digital transformation is impacting the human experience?

The digital world is advancing a lot of things nowadays. We might be sitting at home shopping instead of going to a mall, but we still expect the best from the experience. This is why organisations need to listen to their end users and customers, as they are the key to success for any company. It’s all about how you are perceived in the digital world. This is not only impacting businesses, but also us as humans. When I look at

my kids, I see a level of creativity enabled by digital transformation that I have never seen before. They are exposed to a million different things which help them approach the world in a more creative way.

This transformation is also enhancing our efficiency, both in and out of the office. For example, back in the day it was impossible to keep in touch with friends if you lived in different places, but nowadays people interact easily. The digital world has enabled us to bring people together and enjoy life more.

When you look at offices, Office365 is pretty much the norm and we spend most of our time using the software in the cloud. By implementing our SaaS accelerator, what employees used to do in three hours can be done in ten minutes,

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allowing them to spend time doing all sort of creative tasks they didn’t have time to do before.

I think the most important thing to understand is that technology exists to enhance the human experience, not the other way around.

How can Riverbed’s products help organisations achieve a better human experience in the digital world?

Nowadays vendors need to provide a platform for the customers to be able to monitor and enhance their own end users’ experience. And the Riverbed product portfolio offers the means to do this.

Our Digital Experience Management (DEM), a unified end-to-end platform, starts from monitoring the end user experience, and goes all the way up to the data centres, applications, infrastructure and so on. Organisations need to look at their business from the end-

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“Organisations need to look at their business from the end-user perspective and start monitoring from there.

That’s the key differentiator today and what Riverbed is helping our customers and partners to achieve.”

user perspective and start monitoring from there. That’s the key differentiator today and what Riverbed is helping our customers and partners to achieve.

By having the DEM as a platform that allows you to monitor the entirety end user’s journey, you can have full visibility and full control over what happens in your infrastructure.

Our next generation infrastructure solutions are a combination of a SD-WAN platform and our application and cloud acceleration offerings, including our new SaaS accelerator. Studies have found that on average, employees use 8 SaaS apps to complete work and 73% of companies will move 80%+ of apps to SaaS by 2020. Companies

need to make sure that their employees and the end user’s experience stays intact while doing so. By using the SaaS accelerator, organisations can make sure the experience stays the same while also being more cost-effective for the customers.

Our SDWAN was also enhanced to provide unified orchestration and connectivity across multiple segment within the enterprise.

What I believe will be the next step into the whole digital transformation game is our latest DEM enhancement. We have introduced automated remediation for common issues, so once they detected, the solution by itself will be able to remedy them before they start impacting end users or customers. Looking at the whole portfolio and thinking about it from a human experience, this is where we are. This is why we are the company that can advance the human experience and empower our customers and partners to deliver these key differentiators for end users.

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FEATURE • LIV

ALL YOU NEED IS LIV Jayash Patel, head of Emirates NBD’s digital bank Liv, explains why the platform is committed to winning customers’ hearts.

JAYASH PATEL, HEAD OF EMIRATES NBD’S DIGITAL BANK, LIV,

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ecently celebrating its second anniversary, Emirates NBD’s pure play digital bank Liv has already made its mark on UAE consumers. Liv currently boasts over “200,000” customers, and over a five-month period last year acquired more customers than any other bank in the UAE. Targeting the UAE’s millennial market, which Liv estimates to be worth $16 billion of spending per year, Liv is hoping to be tailored to its customers’ lifestyles, and looks beyond their bank balance, according the bank’s head, Jayash Patel.

“Banks are good at building trust and looking at money, but are they good at building love? We were set up to rethink the ways banks serve their customers,” he says. “That has to happen if you want to mean more to them. Our executive team is clear about us being leaders in innovation, testing things and failing where it is needed. We’ll build a lifestyle proposition that helps customers get more from what they have. We want to deliver a product that is digitally grown, not digitally adopted.” UAE residents can scan their Emirates ID and submit their biometrics to set up an account in just two minutes, according to Liv, who Patel says “won’t have a branch”.

According to Patel, there was recognition within Emirates NBD that emerging Fintech players could “take their lunch” if they didn’t take action, and that the bank had to deliver a proposition that could contend with the industry’s impending transformation. “Liv was incubated like a Fintech, and 90% of initial our staff were non-bankers,” he says. “A next-generation bank has to be built by this generation. If bankers built another bank, it would be the same as before.”

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Patel says that delivering “better financial health” was Liv’s thinking behind its decision not to sell credit products and to move away from “traditional” banking products. The platform includes a feature that breaks down customers’ spending by product category and merchant with the aim of providing improved visibility into how they can save money. “Savings rates in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are very low,” Patel says. “The UAE is very consumer-driven, and people easily

“Banks are good at building trust and working with money, but are they good at building love?” get sucked into the spending economy.

A lot of people don’t realise how much they spend on food or coffee every month. Savings is an abstract concept.

It’s hard to save generally but is easier once you have a purpose.”

If Liv is to survive and thrive in the new age of banking, it will force to fight off competitors in both the digital and physical spaces and ensure it can get the best possible understanding of its customers to retain their loyalty. “Consumers will switch banks more easily as a result of their being digital,” he says.

“The challenge for us is creating loyalty when the cost of switching is so low. Banks that don’t take care of consumers due to their system challenges will be prone to digital

disruptors. All traditional banks are working on that, including Emirates NBD, FAB, ADCB and Mashreq.”

Patel says that artificial intelligence will inevitably play a part in gaining that understanding. “We need to do a better job with AI and algorithms,” he says. “Consumers don’t want to be spammed and they want to be known. We need clean and organised data, and to figure out how to communicate effectively.” This grounded outlook ensures that Patel is not getting carried away with the prospect of digital banks supplanting traditional ones. “I’d like to say that everyone will join pure play digital banks, but I think after a certain level of affluence, consumers do like a human touch, so the traditional way of banking will still be there.”

Although Liv inevitably has close ties with parent company Emirates NBD, Patel believes the platform has its own distinct identity and technology strategy. “Some organisations run on cloud,” he says. “Digital banks will all get SaaS platforms. The way I see it, my SaaS platform is Emirates NBD, which is one of our many partners. We have created a new middle layer which is where we’re doing a lot of innovations that are specific for Liv. “When we launched Liv people obviously didn’t know who we were.

Emirates NBD is a super solid brand and that helps us a lot. One of best thing about Emirates NBD is I can leverage their capabilities. It’s a luxury we enjoy.”

Patel draws on tech CEOs Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk for inspiration.

“Whether or not you agree with Elon Musk, he’s changing the game.

They have clear intentions to change things. They aren’t just tweaking things, but are redesigning them to the core.”

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MAKING THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS

2019 ISSUE 22

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CABLING PLANNER • FLUKE NETWORKS

CONNECT MORE Fluke Networks’ Regional Sales Director for the Middle East and Africa Werner Heeren believes digital transformation will drive the industry to implement more, and better, cabling infrastructure.

WERNER HEEREN, REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA, FLUKE NETWORKS

W

hat is the biggest change you have seen in the cabling market due to other industries striving for digital transformation?

Due to the digital transformation (DX), we noticed huge demand for data to be transmitted over the cabling infrastructure which created new demands in the cabling market. IoT and Intelligent Buildings are driving the proliferation of IP-based and PoE-based devices in the ceilings and the walls of modern buildings. The growing demand to connect more and more devices to the internet (IoT) has required implementation of new standards and has questioned new parameters to be tested in the cabling. LED lights, security cameras, wireless access points, digital displays, distributed antenna systems (DAS), building automation control systems can be directly connected using plug-terminated links rather than via boxes, outlets and patch cords. Especially Power-over-Ethernet

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(PoE) delivery over the existing data cabling has demanded for new higher quality norms. It is not only about data speed and bandwidth, but now also about power levels, heat dissipation, efficiency, resistance unbalance (or Balanced-Twisted-Pair), Four Pair PoE, cable length, bundle size, wire gauge, shielding, Modular Plug Terminated Link (MPTL) standards, etc.

Bottom line, standard CAT 5e, CAT 6 or even CAT 6A field testing is probably not good enough anymore for today new requirements. We even see new transmission media arising like SPE (Single Pair Ethernet), How have government regulations and policies in the Middle East regions impacted the cabling market?

The government is driving many of the Digital transformation initiatives which in their turn are impacting the cabling market. Abu Dhabi Smart Solutions and Services Authority (ADSSSA) is having strategic priorities in establishing a hassle-free

personalised customer experience by using the latest technology or creating incremental value through joined activities across government entities. All these strategic priorities require more data centres as more data needs to be transferred, more infrastructure to be implemented.

The integration and automation of Government processes through AI by Smart Dubai requires more storage, more data to be transferred in a faster way, which leads to more infrastructure implementation.

The Government is concerned about more public safety, hence not only more CCTV cameras will be installed but also higher resolution of the captured images is being required.

Higher resolution means more data.

More cameras mean more connections and more data. Again, all this leads to more infrastructure, more cabling.

Ministry of Interior in Saudi requires by law to have CCTV security in place, which means MPTL requirements and lots of additional infrastructure.

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Ministry of transport has made it mandatory for all organisations with over 5 heavy vehicles to have a fleet management system in place, which requires lots of sensors and lots of data.

Subscription to Hassantuk is mandated by UAE cabinet resolution which requires lot of data collection, hence additional infrastructure and cabling requirements.

What is the impact of the increasing number of data centres in the UAE on the cabling industry?

Obviously, more data centres mean more cabling, more connections.

But also, the request to transfer data in a more efficient way through for example MPO (Multiple Fiber Pushon) / MTP cassettes. These MPO connectors are more challenging to handle and have a higher risk for possible contamination. To take the fear away of MPO testing, there is requirement for better visibility and analysis of fiber end-faces and to provide a pass/fail test within a few seconds. Ergonomic features (compact, being easy to handle, reachability in tight spaces) could play a role as some Datacentres getting more and more compact or being placed at the edge. Team troubleshooting and sharing results through the cloud is becoming and efficient way for efficient operations.

What are the biggest cabling challenges organisations currently face in the Middle East?

The biggest challenges we notice are the expectations to fulfil all latest requirements. There are plenty of standards to comply with, while on other side, budgets are being reduced. Cable installers will need to find ways to reduce their certification cost by different means. One way could be to reduce the certification

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cost by acquiring faster testers. But a major component is to avoid upfront mistakes. How many times we faced an installer that thought has finished the job but found out that the tests were done against the wrong limits, hence they had to do all tests all over again. This is a major waste of time.

Due to the different requirements we sometimes notice teams discussing about which standards to use. It would be more efficient to have the Project Manager decide on which test limits to use as per the consultant requirements, but also be able to verify and check them from remote. Luckily there are now testers available with cloud access.

We should also not forget that all these new challenges put a pressure on the skills requirement of local labour.

Training will play a significant role in developing local skills and certification.

How would you describe the cabling industry in the Middle East compared to the rest of the world?

In Middle East, there is maybe an advantage that projects can start from scratch, hence the latest and best can be implemented. While in the rest of the world, most projects are related to updates of upgrades of legacy cabling installations where there is sometimes still need to make optimal use of the existing cabling.

Can you highlight any major regional customers you have onboarded over the last 12 months? How are they using your technologies and services to grow their business?

Due to the governmental drive for smart cities program in the region, Fluke Networks was able to play in these larger projects. Educational programs to provide interactive learning platforms have provided

opportunities to close large deals and grow the business.

What are the most exciting technological developments to have affected the Middle East in the last 12 months?

In the last 12 months, we noticed the exponential growth of Data combined with the Data protection requirements behind the drive of more local Data centres. Together with the implementation of smart cities to enhance customer

“The growing demand to connect more and more devices to the internet (IoT) has required implementation of new standards and has questioned new parameters to be tested in the cabling.� experience. In the near future, we expect that 5G deployment, AI, blockchain, factory robots, autonomous vehicles, and further expansion of IoT connections in Smart Cities will even further drive for more infrastructure. Not only more cabling but different kinds of cabling.

We see for example developments of Fiber cabling for Data transmission combined with copper for the Power delivery. Or Single-Pair-Ethernet for distant sensors.

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CABLING PLANNER • R&M

FUTUREREADY Nabil Khalil, Executive Vice President at R&M Middle East, Turkey and Africa highlights the firm’s emphasis on ensuring fiber connectivity right to the edge of the network to respond to the consumer’s increasing demand for bandwidth.

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hat is the biggest change you have seen in the cabling market due to other industries striving for digital transformation?

The world is moving to the cloud model to achieve better agility and economy, following the lead of the cloud titans who have redefined the economics of application delivery during the last decade. Applications such as social media and big data, new architectures such as dense server virtualisation and IP Storage, and the imperative of mobile access to all applications have placed enormous demands on the network infrastructure in data centers.

Network architectures that make the cloud possible are fundamentally different from the highly over-subscribed, hierarchical, and costly legacy solutions of the past. Increased adoption of high-performance servers and applications requiring higher

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bandwidth is driving adoption of 10 and 25 Gigabit Ethernet switching in combination with 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet. As a result, it has become increasingly necessary to include network fabrics, software-defined networking, hyper convergence, and software defined storage technologies in the data center. The introduction of Virtual Storage Area Networks (VSAN) and Software-Defined Storage (SDS) is significantly changing network architectures in the Enterprise Data Center. Shifting storage into the server housing means networks are consolidated. Cabling density increases as a result, both on the server housing and on the switch or router. Increasing virtualisation means data traffic between servers grows. At the same time, there is a further increase in CPU and PCI performance. As a result, data centers have to ensure their networks can cope with using 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE).

NABIL KHALIL, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AT R&M MIDDLE EAST, TURKEY AND AFRICA

From a cabling standpoint, all this adds complexity and modernisation of the data center promotes the need for simplicity, reliability and high-density. There are several areas to focus on to address these cabling needs, including hyperscale solutions, the choice between fiber and copper, density and modularity, and automation.

How have government regulations and policies in the Middle East regions impacted the cabling market?

In many countries in the region, governments have laid clear strategies for the digital advancement of their nations. Today, the UAE ranks as the global leader in FTTH penetration, according to the leading industry body FTTH Council. In Saudi Arabia, in line with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology’s (MCIT) National Transformation program 2020 initiative for the ICT sector, telecom operators are rapidly rolling out fiber

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optic connectivity not just in the dense urban areas, but also across remote locations in the Kingdom.

As a result, consumer demands for bandwidth are increasing and investments that ensure fiber connectivity right to the edge of the network are proving essential to providing the capacity that new applications and volumes of traffic demand. At R&M, we see a widescale increase in fiber optic cabling and the installation of decentral micro data centers as being part and parcel of the necessary infrastructure for future-ready networks.

What is the impact of the increasing number of data centers in the UAE on the cabling industry?

This of course has a positive impact on the cabling industry as most organisations today understand that while the cost of cabling typically only accounts for 4-5% of the total expense of the data center, reports have shown that 65% of system outages are related to cabling and patching mistakes cause of 28% of downtime in data centers. They are therefore making sound cabling investments to significantly reduce the possibility of data center downtime.

It is worth noting that internal data center traffic is expected to grow by 80% over the next three years. Because of this, there is a real risk of networks becoming bandwidth bottlenecks. As a standard practice, organisations must now move away from traditional low-density cabling to high-density structured cable solutions. By doing so, they can implement physical network infrastructure in a far more manageable and flexible manner.

Furthermore, these systems enable data centers to easily migrate to 25, 100 and 200 Gb/s networks and solve some of the most critical network challenges.

As the topic of data center modernisation is expansive, R&M has

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provided its unmatched expertise on Data center planning, design and implementation to organisations in our comprehensive data center Handbook, the latest edition of which is available for free download from our website.

Can you highlight any major regional customers you have onboarded over the last 12 months? How are they using your technologies and services to grow their business?

The cabling that R&M provided for the New Istanbul Airport connects thousands of cameras, card readers and the data center with 90,000 connections installed in the first section of the airport. The cabling also connects 5,000 Wi-Fi access points, giving the airport a fullcoverage WLAN, as well as the ICT infrastructures for customs, the security staff and the police force.

In the first phase of construction, R&M supplied 5,400 km of copper cablings and 3,270 km of fiberoptic cabling. Installation also required fiber-optic distribution cabinets, patch panels as well as 115,000 connector ports. Special requirements also needed to be fulfilled in each area, such as a colorcoding system.

R&M outfitted the airport’s data center with the Netscale solutions, which is the fiber-optic management platform with the world’s highest connection density of up to 120 ports per rack unit in a 19’’ rack. The R&MinteliPhy digital management and monitoring system was also installed.

This system automates the monitoring and operation of the data network from a central location and can detect any unsolicited changes to the infrastructure or attempts to tamper with the connectors in real time.

The cabling is designed for a lifetime of 25 years and unconditional reliability, and R&M has provided a guarantee for this. The airport

wants to provide travelers, logistics companies and airlines with a guarantee of 99.982% reliability (TIER III class).

What are the most exciting technological developments to have affected the Middle East in the last 12 months?

The growth in private and business data traffic in the Middle East continues unabated. And the Internet of Things, 5G and mobility also need to be taken into consideration. They are causing additional exponential growth of IP traffic and require ultralow latency even in remote places.

We don’t expect the hyperscale data centers that are coming into

“At R&M, we see a wide-scale increase in FO cabling and the installation of decentral micro data centers as being part and parcel of the necessary infrastructure.” existence today to be able to fully cover network, computing and storage requirements in a few years.

At R&M, we see a wide-scale increase in FO cabling and the installation of decentral micro data centers as being part and parcel of the necessary infrastructure. These micro data centers are autonomous, automatable and sturdy solutions which have to be powerful enough to assume a leading role in the cloud.

Lots of companies could replace older enterprise data centers with powerful edge data centers. They can be used for a range of functions – for private and hybrid cloud, as a resource for external users.

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Category 8 Permanent Link Are you ready for the future?

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FAREYE • OPINION

WHY THE FUTURE OF LOGISTICS RESTS ON IOT KUSHAL NAHATA, CEO & COFOUNDER, FAREYE

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oT is no longer just a buzzword in the tech industry, and now has practical implementations in the logistics industry. IoT-enabled devices allow the monitoring of conditions during shipments – not just temperature and humidity levels, but vibrations and shocks as well.

A DHL and Cisco whitepaper indicates that IoT will deliver $1.9 trillion globally in the enhancement of supply chain management and logistics.

The main drivers behind the growth of IoT are the availability of cheap and reliable sensors, internet penetration, massive increments in data storage and processing capabilities and the emergence of AI. The future of IoT is predicted to lead to a 15% productivity increase in the delivery and supply chain industry and many logistics experts are using these new resources to enhance systems and supply networks, reduce costs and look for opportunities to generate high revenues.

In the logistics sector, the IoT devices that will have maximum use are smart sensors, RFID (radio frequency identification) chips and cloud based GPS-enabled trackers.

The logistics sector can harness IoT to achieve real time ambient data collection, collaborative information sharing, enhanced capacity utilisation,

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FarEye CEO and co-founder Kushal Nahata believes the internet of things will be the logistics industry’s most transformative trend.

increased process automation and higher overall efficiency.

The logistics sector is on the cusp of a revolution as companies are gearing up to integrate IoT in their daily operations. It is the main pillar of Logistics 4.0. There are multiple avenues which will undergo transformation with the adoption of IoT such as: The reduction of idle times By 2025, the value of time lost due to traffic jams is projected to reach $11.8 billion. Effective route utilisation and real-time inter-vehicle communication can cut down the cost by almost 50% Reduction in fuel usage Every year, traffic jams lead to costs of about $117 million due to fuel usage.

IoT can reduce that by half.

Accident avoidance Route optimisation and connected cars can reduce the number of accidents by as much as 6%.

Fleet management In case of any business exception, real-time notification to the managers enable them to respond to the situation immediately thereby reducing downtime. IoT will enhance fleet

efficiency by eliminating bottlenecks in the system.

Also, with smart sensors embedded in the vehicles in critical places like damper system, it will be possible to autonomously monitor the health of the vehicles and usage of advanced analytics will empower logistics firms to undertake predictive maintenance.

Sensors can also predict the ideal time for maintenance breaks.

End-to-end visibility RFID chips embedded in freights could provide complete visibility, especially during transit. Handheld mobile devices and bar code scanners provide high accuracy during the shipping and receiving of goods thereby giving the managers visibility of the consignment from start to end point and in-between.

Asset monitoring Sensitive goods like food items and pharmaceuticals require temperaturecontrolled environment during transit to avoid damage. Cloud based sensors can continuously monitor the ambient condition throughout the journey and transmit real-time data to the manager thereby providing effective monitoring capacity. This reduces the chances of damage of goods and ensure higher efficiency.

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INSIGHT • AZIZI DEVELOPMENTS

HOW BLOCKCHAIN WILL AFFECT UAE REAL ESTATE Azizi Developments CEO Farhad Azizi gives his take on the ways that blockchain can shake up the UAE real estate market.

FARHAD AZIZI, CEO, AZIZI DEVELOPMENTS

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lockchain technology is revolutionising the real estate sector and transforming how business in this realm will be conducted in the future.

Though initially created to support cryptocurrency, blockchain technology has now made a quantum leap, going beyond the purview of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Today, it is possible for people and companies to make highvalue transactions — including those of immovable assets like property — without the need for intermediaries.

By undermining the liquidity challenges associated with owning hard assets, tokenisation is democratising asset ownership with blockchain-stored tokens.

Reselling assets is now easier and geographic boundaries in real estate transactions are becoming confined to the dustbin of history.

The enormous potential of blockchain is being leveraged by Dubai, which is at the forefront of driving the smart transformation of the world economy.

The Dubai Blockchain Strategy, announced by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, sets a clear roadmap for

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businesses to tap into the potential offered by blockchain technology.

The strategy aims to make Dubai the first city to be fully powered by blockchain by 2020 through the three strategic pillars of government efficiency, industry creation, and international leadership.

For the real estate sector, Dubai Land Department is the main organisation driving this transformation, which has created a blockchain system using a smart and secure database of all real estate contracts. The move to smart contracts will cover lease registrations and link them to utility and telecom accounts as well as all property-related bills.

The end-to-end transactions recorded on the real estate blockchain will provide scalable, secure, transparent, shared, and immutable property data for all the participants in a trusted network.

This means that data relating to real estate can be shared and accessed across different government and private sector entities, all of which benefit from real-time insights.

Eliminating all manual processes, real estate transactions are not only becoming faster but also more flexible and relevant.

The immediate impact of this transformation is the speed in which property transactions will be conducted; what would have taken 20 days to be concluded can now be accomplished in less than 30 minutes.

For customers, the advantages are manifold: By creating a single platform for all the different services provided by various stakeholders, blockchain will enhance the customer experience and make the journey — from sales

to after sales — seamless.

A significant effect of Dubai’s move to blockchain technology in the real estate sector is the reduction in the need for pureplay brokerage services, as the single digital real estate platform will oversee all sales and rental transactions as early as next year.

For an industry that has long been influenced by brokers, the transformation will mean greater value for customers.

Smart Dubai also recently

“What would have taken 20 days to be concluded can now be accomplished in less than 30 minutes with blockchain.” integrated blockchain technology into its online payment portal — DubaiPay — to enable the realtime reconciliation and settlement of transactions.

In short, Dubai not only has set in place a strategy but is also implementing impactful tech reforms that will make blockchain an integral part of the industry’s operations, with the winners being all stakeholders, but predominantly the customer.

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INSIGHT • GARTNER

WHY MSES SHOULD RELY ON CITIZEN IT Gartner’s Senior Director Analyst Christian Hestermann explains why MSE CIOs should use citizen IT to keep up with business demands for new IT capabilities.

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ne of the competitive advantages of midsize enterprises (MSEs) is that IT and business users work closely together — and business leaders don’t hesitate to communicate needs for new IT functionalities and capabilities. But that is also where the challenge begins.

The average MSE employs 10 to 30 IT experts, 12% of whom are developers, which means IT’s

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capacity and ability to keep up with business demands for new capabilities is very limited.

The solution lies in today’s non-IT workforce that is more tech-savvy than ever. Some already have the skill sets to build IT solutions or adapt existing ones to their needs.

Some attended programming courses at university or online and can expand on that training. Those employees can form a citizen IT

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team that will enable MSE CIOs to build and deliver new features quickly and securely.

What is citizen IT? Citizen IT can include two groups.

Citizen developers use configurations and development environments to enhance existing applications.

Citizen integrators use integration tools to build flows between applications that avoid timeconsuming duplicate data entries.

The results of citizen IT work are known as artifacts — configurations, code, integration scripts and similar objects for regular IT to use in their projects.

However, citizen IT cannot be established overnight. MSE CIOs should prepare a citizen IT strategy that focuses on four elements.

Prepare and enable The professional IT department will naturally be hesitant to let end users deal with the organisational IT landscape — and rightfully so. Missioncritical and complex systems should remain in the hands of professionals.

Citizen IT should then focus on areas that can provide maximum value at minimal risk. Think of personalisation of screens or dashboards. Mark those environments as safe for citizen IT, and don’t forget to also clearly label the no-go areas. Organisations shouldn’t expect too much at the beginning. Start with a small project and build on small successes.

Educate and experiment Once the boundaries are set, MSE CIOs must look for suitable candidates. Recent graduates with a science, technology, engineering or mathematics background are

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likely candidates, as they are most likely to have the requisite technical understanding and critical thinking skills to be successful with citizen IT tasks. In addition, aspiring citizen IT members should also be interested in business processes and have a holistic business view that extends beyond their own domain.

“To maximise the effectiveness of citizen IT initiatives, MSE CIOs must set up a reliable support system to provide speedy responses” In any case, training and education will be necessary, and most of it should be learning by doing. As MSE CIOs usually enjoy great autonomy within their organisations, they should encourage a culture of experimentation and collaboration between citizen IT and the IT department. Inevitable failures must be treated as education and experience — the base for future success.

Support and respond To maximise the effectiveness of citizen IT initiatives, MSE CIOs must

set up a reliable support system to provide speedy responses to citizen IT requests. Quick response time is essential. If citizen developers and integrators wait too long for support, it will not only reduce their motivation, it might lead to compromised artifacts that are a risk for the organization.

However, the net balance needs to be positive. If, after an initial investment period, IT has to spend more time supporting citizen IT that it would take to deliver services itself, MSE CIOs need to review the people, tools and processes involved and make appropriate changes.

Monitor and rescue Let’s be clear: Nontechnical experts who modify or extend core business applications can introduce security vulnerabilities, well-intended changes can result in inaccurate data that creates inefficient business processes, or worse, violates compliance regulations.

IT should analyse every citizen IT artifact prior to production deployment and establish a solid monitoring operation. However, the main motivation should always be to support and improve results, not to obstruct and make progress difficult. People-centric self-governance and self-oversight practices are good ways to guide citizen IT resources down the path of accountability.

And ultimately, if and when citizen IT staff get themselves into trouble, they need to be rescued and aided rather than punished.

After all, their intentions were positive, and learning from failures is the most efficient and enduring form of learning.

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FEATURE • NHS

DR SAM SHAH, DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT, NHS ENGLAND

“UAE DIGITALLY HEALTHIER THAN THE UK”: NHS DIGITAL DIRECTOR Dr Sam Shah, director of digital development, NHS England, explains the digitisation efforts gathering momentum in the UK’s healthcare industry, and pinpoints the UAE’s agile and digitally-focused mindset as one that the UK could learn a lot from.

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HS England employs almost 1.8 million people, treats 1 million patients every 36 hours, and has a budget of approximately $195 billion a year. Seventy years since its inception, and the founding principles of the organisation remain the same: it continues to be funded by UK taxation, and is free at the point of use - just as the NHS founder, Aneurin Bevan, intended. But it goes without saying that healthcare practices today differ drastically from the treatments and patient experiences likely to have been found in 1948 - and this can only be expected to change further in years to come with the advent of emerging technologies within the industry.

According to the Topol review - a report published by Health Education England last month, nine out of 10 jobs in the NHS will have “some element of digital skills,” and will require “digital and genomics

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literacy” by 2040, if the promise of technological innovations in the UK is to be realised.

Spearheading this movement towards digitising the nation’s healthcare is Dr Sam Shah, director of digital development at NHS England.

Shah’s technology work revolves around providing a link between programme delivery around the NHS’s digital developments with its users, as well as its policy and the strategy set out by its CIO and CDO. “I cover some of the elements that connect the front-end systems - the digital experience systems for users, system-facing apps, the NHS’s own apps for citizens - with the back-end systems. I’m also very much involved in technology standards and dictating the infrastructure that needs to be in place to connect systems, like primary to secondary care.”

One of the NHS’s biggest technological success stories to date, Shah says, has been the development of the 111 online platform for urgent care access. Within a few months of rollout, the NHS has already started to see over a 5% shift in channel usage, from telephony to online.

“That gives us an opportunity to start changing the behaviour of people that are transacting with the NHS,” he says. “If we can reduce friction for our citizens, take out the burden from healthcare providers and channel that to improve the outcome for individuals, then hopefully we can have a more efficient system, and one with delivers better outcomes.”

Natural language processing is also currently being tested on the NHS’s national helplines, as are ways that it can use intent engines and analyse calls in real-time. “This allows call handlers and clinicians to flag what is important to a particular caller, then can we automate bespoke advice for different channels,” says Shah.

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Despite his mandate to initiate this digital change within the organisation, Shah is still a practicing clinician, and he believes this helps to give him a balanced perspective on the ways that technology can tangibly impact the patient experience. “That’s one of the most important things to me,” he says.

“That pretty much shapes and drives everything that I do.”

Having worked in technology, coding and academia, while still being a clinician, Shah regards

“I think the UAE is already more agile and more digitally focused than the UK.” himself as “lucky, and someone with many hats,” - a notion he believes is crucial in an organisation as large as the NHS. “An entity of this size needs strong, multidisciplinary and agile teams, and an awareness in digital leadership. It’s about having a combination of academics, operational people, researchers, service designers and technologists in one space to create an ecosystem that have a range of skill sets in order for digital leadership among the healthcare workforce to succeed.”

While Shah says that this awareness in digitally enhancing the medical industry is something that the UK is strong in pursuing, he believes it is still behind the digitisation efforts being made in this part of the world.

“I think the UAE is already more agile and more digitally focused than the UK,” he says. “A good indication of this is the digital

penetration of the population - the UAE has one of the highest digital penetration rates in the world, and this acceptance of technology is clearly more visible in Dubai than in the UK as things stand.”

The emergence of blockchain use cases in the UAE is another clear demonstrator of this acceptance, Shah says. “With blockchain, you can certainly see why Dubai is on its discovery phase, and iterating in a much more agile way than a system which isn’t as digitised. The UAE - and Dubai, specifically - are exciting places to watch and learn from in terms of digital healthcare.

Much of this comes down to the fact they don’t have the same legacy problems; instead, they’re starting point comes from a system that has been designed with its fundamental principles centred around digital.”

For this reason, Shah believes the application of blockchain in the UK may be harder to implement and sell to the general public. “The main difficulty with blockchain is that relatively few people understand it,” he says. “Think about the population at large - their expertise isn’t technology, and certainly not distributed ledger technology.”

To that end, despite its applicable use cases in the healthcare industry, the very nature of the industry rests on patient trust and confidential data. “While we might know that it will help improve trust through creating immutable ledgers that cannot be tampered with, it’s unlikely that it could be sold to the population in a way that’s easy to understand and meaningful to them,” adds Shah. “It’s probably not blockchain itself that will help people understand, but instead a practical initiative which improves people’s situation and delivers a better user experience.”

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INSIGHT • MANAGEENGINE

ONE YEAR OF THE GDPR ManageEngine’s Marketing Analyst Giridhara Raam M gives his take on the GDPR as the personal data regulation turns one.

GIRIDHARA RAAM M, MARKETING ANALYST, MANAGEENGINE

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usinesses are comprised of different departments and professionals, with data flowing across the organisation. When there’s a data breach, it’s usually the data protection officers (DPOs), CIOs, and CISOs who take the brunt of the blame; however, since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), all staff are more responsible for data handling. The GDPR has brought in a unified approach towards data security management, increasing awareness among stakeholders at any organisation.

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The GDPR came into effect on May 25, 2018, bringing more security to EU citizens’ personal data. Though this European data protection law has brought better security to end users, it’s left many businesses struggling to modify their personal data handling procedures. Businesses across the world have redefined their data management strategies to become GDPR-compliant in order to avoid huge penalties imposed on them for poor security frameworks.

However, the number of cyberattacks and data breaches haven’t gone down despite stricter data handling procedures. It’s been a year since the GDPR came into full force, and there’s still a lot of improvement that needs to be done in regard to personal data management.

What’s happened since the GDPR’s establishment?

The GDPR brought huge changes to organisations’ data collection, storage, processing, and disposal procedures; here are some interesting facts surrounding the introduction of the GDPR. • EU data protection authorities have registered a number of complaints since May 25, 2018.

In the first month, there were over 10,000 complaints, and the number of complaints grew to 60,000 over the next six months, eventually hitting 95,180 complaints in January of 2019. All these complaints were filed by individuals who felt their rights under the GDPR had been violated.

• Most of the complaints regarding GDPR compliance have been directed at telemarketing, promotional emails, and video surveillance.

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• Based on data breach norms, if organisations experience a data breach they need to report it to the data protection authorities within 72 hours. Due to this, EU data protection authorities received 41,502 reports of data breaches through January 2019, and 5,000 in June 2018 alone.

• Since May 2018, there have been 255 cross-border cases initiated

“The GDPR has brought in a unified approach towards data security management, increasing awareness among stakeholders at any organisation.” by both national data protection authorities and European Data Protection Boards.

• With over 300,000 media mentions in 2018, the GDPR received even more coverage than Mark Zuckerberg.

• In May 2018, the GDPR was at the top of Google Trends —higher than any American celebrities.

What lies ahead?

Based on reports from the European Commission, as of December 2018, over 50 percent of regulated organisations are yet to become GDPR-compliant.

Organisations need to become

GDPR-compliant the old-school way by redefining their security strategy, identifying their data entry and exit points, as well as determining their data storage and management procedures. Generally this takes a great deal of time.

However, with the proper data security management tools, this overall strategy can be simplified, providing better visibility and security to users’ personal data.

How should businesses become GDPR compliance before its too late?

Businesses need to identify the right data security strategies to kick start their journey towards GDPR compliance. CIOs and CISO need to identify these strategies by appointing the right data protection officers to take care of their organisational data and improve its security against cyberattacks. Businesses that are already in track to GDPR compliance, need to make sure whether they will be able to sustain their compliance over a long term, and those who are already compliant, congratulations you are one among the remaining 50%.

Businesses that are yet to kick start their data security procedures need to do the following to be there on time, identify how a data exists inside your network at various different points like the point of entry, purpose of data collection, process the data undergoes, storage duration/ location, and exit points.

Businesses would be able to do this smoothly by employing the right endpoint management or data management solution, as these tools can bring a bird’s view perspective over your organisational data.

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INSIGHT • ARUBA

WHY THE CIO AND CISO ROLES ARE GETTING HARDER CIOs and CISO’s across industries are regularly moving between positions and companies because of this common mistake, according to Aruba’s UAE country manager Gemal Emara.

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GAMAL EMARA, UAE COUNTRY MANAGER, ARUBA, A HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY

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t’s your worst possible nightmare: a hacker has breached the company’s network and shut down its operations. Millions in revenue is being lost. And the worst part – you’re blamed for it.

This is becoming an all too familiar scenario for CIOs and CISOs tasked with securing their companies’ networks. No sooner have they entered an organisation and put security systems in place than they find themselves blamed for a successful breach of the company.

So, where does it all go wrong?

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Network visibility is not a niceto-have Most CIOs or CISOs allocate their funding towards securing their data centre. However, when it comes to implementing a system that provides them with full visibility of their network, they consider it simply ‘nice-to-have’.

They implement basic security elements like a firewall and assume they’ll be OK. But, in reality, should an attack happen at the edge of the company’s network, the only way they can possibly know is by doing a deep dive to investigate each and every occurrence that might indicate a breach.

We all know this simply isn’t possible though. When a user is locked out of their account, the IT department will rarely ever take the time to investigate why. They simply unlock the account and move on to the next problem.

It’s true that when a user is locked out, it might be because they forgot their password, but it could also be an indication of something far more sinister.

Every lock-out is a potential attack For example, Aruba recently had a case where a client kept on getting locked out of their system. Not realising there was a problem, they kept unlocking the system and moving on.

That is until one Sunday morning, when around 1,000 lockouts occurred simultaneously. We discovered that these lock-outs were a direct result of hackers attacking the network in order to access sensitive information.

The most concerning part of all this was that the devices being used to launch the attacks were, in fact, the company’s own devices,

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which had actually been stolen some time ago.

Your greatest vulnerability is unguarded So while CIOs essentially have no idea if and when attacks are happening at the edge, this is exactly where an organisation’s greatest vulnerability lies. Think of the average digital environment today – thanks to IoT, there are more

“No sooner have CIOs and CISOs entered an organisation and put security systems in place than they find themselves blamed for a successful breach of the company.” connected devices than there have ever been before.

Each device is a potential gateway for a major breach. Think of the consequences of the massive data breaches which have been occurring across the world – millions are being lost on a regular basis.

One only needs to take a look at the statistics to see the odds of escaping one of these attacks are not good. In fact, according to the 2016 Global Megatrends in Cybersecurity report, 67% of companies with critical infrastructure suffered at least one attack during the course of those 12 months.

How can CIOs and CIS’s secure their positions?

The only way a business can possibly remain secure under these circumstances is if the CISO or security team receives notifications as soon as something deemed outof-the-norm occurs on the network.

Essentially, an end-to-end system that can detect attacks and respond rapidly is vital. It needs to cover the entire network from the data centre to the edge.

A combination of a network access control solution that is device agnostic, and covers everything from a company’s vending machine to industrial IoT equipment, combined with an analytics solution that sits on top of a company’s security solutions, for example, its firewall. Based on its analysis of these security solutions, the analytics technology creates profiles for individual users. Then if activity outside of a user’s typical profile takes place on the network, it immediately alerts the security officer.

Say for example, a particular user typically logs into the company network from the UAE between 8am and 10pm, but then one day that user logs in from Russia at 2am, the analytics solution will immediately know something is wrong. This analysis can go as far as detecting when a user is typing more slowly to how they would normally. Then once the analytics technology identifies a network intruder, the network access control solution automatically kicks them off the network.

Combined, these two technologies effectively ensure CIOs have visibility, as well as complete control of their entire network.

It’s the only way to truly ensure you aren’t the next CIO a network breach sends packing.

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INSIGHT • FINESSE

SHOULD YOUR BUSINESS USE CHATBOTS?

Finesse co-founder and COO Sunil Paul gives his take on how chatbots can improve operational efficiencies and give an enhanced customer experience, and looks at use cases for enterprises that are considering adopting them.

SUNIL PAUL, CO-FOUNDER AND COO, FINESSE

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www.tahawultech.com

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oday there are already so many examples of chatbots at work that you don’t even realise.

When a virtual assistant greets you when you call your bank, when a chat box solicits your contact details on a travel website, you are experiencing chatbots at work.

If one examines the many definitions of chatbots over the Internet, they all broadly agree that they are computer programmes or software that engages with human users with pre-determined messages in a conversational format.

Thanks to artificial intelligence and natural language processing capabilities, the current crop of chatbots are able to mimic human conversations. As a result, diverse sectors, from banking to healthcare to industrial services are turning to chatbots to drive their customer service interactions and glean valuable intelligence on customer and market behaviour.

There are many platforms that can be used to build both AI-based and command-based chatbots.

Before jumping on the chatbot bandwagon, enterprises need to answer three basic questions: A) Do you need a chatbot?

B) What problem or challenge will it solve?

C) Who are the target users?

What value will it offer them?

Once you have answered these questions, also spare some time to find successful use cases – only a consistent return on investment can justify your investment.

The business case for chatbots is that they help automate routine

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functions and free up the company’s human resources to deal with more complex and value-added tasks.

Most companies look to chatbots as

“The business case for chatbots is that they automate routine functions and free up human resources to deal with value-added tasks.” a means to reduce overheads and, thus, operational costs.

Chatbots are typically embedded in customer engagement channels like websites and apps, or within chat platforms such as Facebook Messenger or SMS so that customers can enjoy 24x7 access to a company without experiencing waiting times.

Chatbots sift through vast amounts of data to provide a customer with clear-cut and personalised information so that customers don’t have to undergo the tedious exercise of navigating websites or IVR menus or wait over the phone to be attended by a call centre agent. Whenever querying

gets too complex, chatbots can escalate the case to a human agent.

For companies hawking consumer-facing products and services, chatbots can boost conversion rates and increase sales.

Companies using such solutions are perceived as innovative.

Where companies have to deal with multicultural environments like the Gulf region, chatbots can help them listen to the needs and preferences of their customers better.

Consumers are increasingly favouring chat over email for communication. Dealing with millennials - who have grown up with Alexa and Siri, and are accustomed to instant responses - has pushed companies to integrate virtual agents or artificial conversational entity (ACE) technologies like chatbots into their customer outreach strategies.

Gartner has predicted that 25% of customer service operations will use virtual customer assistants by 2020.

Organisations report a reduction of up to 70% in call, chat and/or email inquiries after implementing VCA (virtual customer assistance), according to Gartner research. They also report increased customer satisfaction, and a 33% cost saving per voice engagement.

The use of chatbots isn’t limited to customer facing operations.

Companies could also use chatbots for internal operations.

For example, they can be used as personal assistants for scheduling appointments or ordering office supplies. They can be also used in project management for automating team communications and reporting and tracking expenses.

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INSIGHT • CISCO

HOW WI-FI 6 AND 5G WILL REVOLUTIONISE CONNECTIVITY Cisco’s Managing Director, Global Service Provider Sales Ali Amer predicts that the rollout of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 will truly result in better connectivity and an explosion of innovation as a result.

ALI AMER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GLOBAL SERVICE PROVIDER SALES, CISCO

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G and Wi-Fi 6 will truly revolutionise connectivity and bring with it new applications of technology.

When connectivity improves, there is often an accompanying wave of new products, services and experiences across industries. The difference between the upcoming wave of innovation and the one experienced with 4G and LTE is based on who will be leading the charge.

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4G revolutionised consumer experiences, providing the wireless foundation for the invention of smartphones. Essentially putting the Internet into people’s pockets, the smartphone revolution has led to the development of a wealth of apps which enable online shopping, photo sharing and bill payments, in addition to a wealth of other products and services. The quest for hyperconnectivity is demanding faster,

more reliable networks and is causing businesses and industries to adapt at an unprecedented pace.

The next significant leap in connectivity The digital age has resulted in an expectation for instant connectivity, especially on-the-go. However, the reality is that today’s wireless access points and 4G networks cannot handle the number of devices trying

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to simultaneously connect. With WiFi 6, Cisco anticipates up to 400% greater capacity, reducing latency and increasing download speeds significantly. Improved connections will also have less of an impact on a connected device’s battery, enabling it to become up to four times more power efficient.

The 4G era connected the digital and physical worlds through the smartphone. This shift alone caused vast disruption, with industries completely transformed by consumer connectivity and the sharing of information. Many businesses resistance to such change were made to adapt, in order to survive. With Wi-Fi 6, the evolution will be different. As Wi-Fi 6 will reach maturity much quicker than 5G, it will drive help businesses drive innovation forward.

Many organisations have already discovered the positive effects of digital transformation and we can now connect everything from our lights and home appliances, to even footballs and grapevines.

Whether to make operations safe and more efficient, or to offer consumers a more personalised experience, we will see companies embrace this transition as they strive to remain competitive and provide consumers with the latest products and services. From students reliving historical events and surgeons practicing procedures through VR headsets, to warehouses fitted with sensors for autonomous robots and vehicles to fulfil orders, the applications of such technologies are countless. This will all be possible, with the advent of Wi-Fi 6, allowing for increased bandwidth and lower latency.

A secure, wireless future Wi-Fi 6 and 5G offer enormous

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opportunities for productivity and innovation, but successfully adopting these technologies at scale will be a challenge. These innovations will increase business mobile traffic up to seven times by 2022 and the number of IoT devices will increase to the billions.

This will inevitably make security more complicated and ever more

“Wi-Fi 6 and 5G offer enormous opportunities for productivity and innovation, but successfully adopting these technologies at scale will be a challenge.” critical, putting intense pressure on IT to manage and secure a constantly growing network. The businesses that can successfully address each of these challenges will be the ones that thrive in the new wireless era.

Cisco has been re-architecting the network to meet these challenges and unveiled its intentbased networking portfolio to prepare customers for this wirelessfirst world. With a software-focused approach, the network unlocks

data and insights that will enable IT to support businesses in realtime, automating routine tasks and embedding security into the network itself. Such efforts are helping customers capitalise on the opportunities Wi-Fi 6 and 5G offer, creating enhanced userexperiences, while ensuring security remains paramount.

Cisco has completed Wi-Fi 6 connection tests with the likes of Intel and Samsung, fine-tuning processes to ensure the best standards in connectivity. New WiFi 6 access points across Cisco’s Catalyst and Meraki portfolios offer customised, programmable chipsets and access to industryleading analytics capabilities for businesses. These new APs deliver a more secure wireless network and can communicate with multiple IoT protocols.

A new core switch for the campus network will also be introduced. For over 20 years, the Catalyst 6000 family of switches have served as the foundation of many customer campus networks.

Whilst it has been one of the most successful networking products in the company’s history, Cisco is committed to innovating the network and meeting the demands of today’s businesses.

Today’s companies require a networking foundation that is designed to solve the challenges posed by our new wireless-first world, with speed and efficiency.

Cisco’s new Catalyst 9600 core switch will meet such demands and act as the secure foundation for customer campus networks for many years to come. It is crucial that businesses are equipped with the right technology to futureproof their offerings and gain a competitive advantage.

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INSIGHT • NUTANIX

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENT HYBRID CLOUD AARON WHITE, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AT NUTANIX

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s enterprises demand stronger application mobility and interoperability, they are increasingly choosing hybrid cloud infrastructure. While the advent of public cloud has increased IT efficiency in certain areas, hybrid cloud capabilities are the next step in providing the freedom to dynamically provision and manage applications based on business needs.

As per findings of Nutanix’s global Enterprise Cloud Index, measuring enterprise plans for adopting private, hybrid and public clouds, enterprises plan to increase hybrid cloud usage, with 91% stating hybrid cloud as the ideal IT model, but only 18% stating they have that model today. The findings also revealed that application mobility across any cloud is a top priority for 97% of respondents – with 88% of respondents saying it would “solve a lot of my problems.”

Additionally, the report found public cloud is not a panacea; IT decision makers ranked matching applications to the right cloud environment as a critical capability, and 35% of organisations using public clouds overspent their annual budget. When asked to rank the primary benefits of hybrid cloud, interoperability between cloud types (23%) and the

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Nutanix’s Middle East Regional Director Aaron White gives his take on how hybrid cloud can help enterprises dynamically provision and manage applications based on business needs.

ability to move applications back and forth between clouds (16%) outranked cost (6%) and security (5%) as the primary benefits.

White enterprises are turning to hybrid cloud to modernise IT for the digital era, given the significant complexity that still exists today in cross-cloud management and integration, many enterprises are struggling to create an effective hybrid cloud strategy. Following these guidelines will help successfully implement hybrid cloud.

1. A SINGLE INFRASTRUCTURE OR BIMODAL IT? Supporting mode 1 (traditional) and 2 (next-gen) applications with separate infrastructure is called bimodal IT—and it’s a limiting, impractical process. Your hybrid cloud needs to support both seamlessly for a more agile infrastructure 2. DON’T OVERLOOK DEVELOPMENT AND TEST RESOURCES Be sure to include all IT resources dedicated to development work, including tools, repositories, build servers, and so on 3. DON’T CHOOSE CLOUD PROVIDERS TOO SOON Before you start thinking about a cloud provider, make a complete list of the environments you’ll need to give you an idea of what you’re

doing on-prem. Remember, this is a 3-5 year commitment at least, so no rush!

4. RECONCILING IT IDEALS AND REALITY Enterprise IT is rarely perfect, but you can still optimise it with a tactical, practical cloud management approach. As you work toward implementing hybrid cloud, keep the lights on in your current environment.

5. NEW TO DEVOPS? TIME TO GET FAMILIAR As an enterprise, gaining a competitive advantage is a business necessity. To stay ahead of the curve, many enterprises from varying industries are getting serious about DevOps. In conclusion, reliance on legacy datacentre architectures—whether you own the equipment and software or not—or getting locked into a specific infrastructure stack can add to technical debt, increase operating costs, and limit future flexibility. Hybrid cloud capabilities constitute a growing necessity in the dynamic, digital business climate, in which enterprises demand the freedom to dynamically provision and manage applications based on business needs.

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Technology, it’s time to listen to humanity and put us at the center of your digital transformation. Technology didn’t invent the human experience. But every so often a breakthrough comes along that can advance it. Businesses. Governments. CIOs. Let’s advance the human experience. Together.