February Issue 2020

INSIDE INTERSEC 2020

PA G E S 5 2 VOLUME O7 | ISSUE 07 FEBRUARY 2020 WWW.EC-MEA.COM

Andrew Stimpson, IFS.

Dr Hichem Maya, SAP.

Juergen Linder, Oracle.

Kerrie Jordan, Epicor.

Phil Lewis, Infor.

Sunil Mathew, Focus Softnet.

BUILDING CLOUD Innovative techniques adopted by top business application vendors are building the foundation for a more secure, automated, intelligent cloud platform.

Do not let cloud costs get into a runaway situation Aaron White, Nutanix.

How MSPs will coexist with hyperscaler players

How ML can protect you from phishing attacks

Threat intelligence is changing CISO conversation

Matthieu Brignone, Pure Storage.

Tarek Kuzbari, Bitdefender.

Leon Ward, ThreatQuotient.

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THE SECOND GENERATION

Global Community for Technology leaders

EDITORIAL

Arrival of second generation cloud

ARUN SHANKAR EDITOR A R U N @ G E C M E D I A G R O U P. C O M

Migration of on-premises applications to the cloud platform began around the edge of the enterprise. With non-mission critical applications such as human capital and talent management. Next in line were procurement, back office, and others. Ten and five years ago, hyperscaler players were battling to make their presence ubiquitous on the global Internet.

This year’s Oracle Open World appears to show that the arena is now opening to the arrival of the second generation of cloud players. Oracle has now moved its ERP suite of applications to the public cloud and interconnected with Microsoft cloud applications through Azure. The latter being a response to the multi-cloud, multi-vendor, strategy being followed by global enterprises.

Oracle has built a flat global network ensuring there is at most a single Internet hop for any business user accessing their database hosted on the Oracle global datacentres. It has encrypted all data in the cloud or in transit around the cloud. It has built open APIs and interconnection with leading third-party applications.

It has built in templates using emerging technologies such as IoT, machine learning, robotic process automation. 1,500 new features have been added to its cloud suite of applications based on suggestions and feedback from its cloud users. These work equally well whether in Oracle’s cloud or Oracle’s on-premises sites.

Independent benchmarking shows that Oracle ERP cloud applications running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, perform 5X to 10X better than other similar hardware platforms. Oracle’s cloud application performance also exceeds by the same factor, what enterprises would get by hosting the cloud suite in their on-premises datacentres.

While Oracle’s cloud application and cloud infrastructure combination is impressive other vendors are also making headway. Scan the pages ahead in this month’s Enterprise Channel to read about innovations from IFS, SAP, Epicor, Infor, and Focus Softnet.

Other events that dominated the month were Intersec 2020 and AVEVA World Conference in Abu Dhabi. At Intersec 2020 other than the myriad of CCTV devices that dominate the stands and the halls every year, there were lot more archival solutions in place. The other breakthrough devices visible were edge servers, a minimum requirement for any face and body recognition use cases based on machine learning.

At the AVEVA event, CEO Craig Hayman, pointed out that AVEVA is a listed software company with a revenue short of $1 Billion. It is focused on digitalizing the industries that are least digitalized.

And that includes industries like energy, buildings, food and beverage, marine, materials, and utilities. While these industries have been amongst the first to adopt digital technologies, and are also amongst the last to use digital technologies at scale, pointed out Hayman.

Do read the contributions from our expert panel including Aaron White at Nutanix; Matthieu Brignone at Pure Storage; Tarek Kuzbari at Bitdefender; and Leon Ward at ThreatQuotient.

Good luck for the month ahead. ë

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FEBRUARY 2020 | VOLUME 07 | ISSUE 07

CONTENTS 33

INTERSEC 2020

22

ERP FAST BECOMING MAINSTREAM

CLOUD APPLICATION Innovative techniques adopted by top business application vendors are building the foundation for a more secure, automated, intelligent cloud platform.

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CLOUD NEWS

54

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AI AND AUTOMATION NEWS

ICT APPOINTMENTS

19 33 38 42 50 54 SECURITY NEWS

INNOVATION INTERSEC 2020

REAL LIFE UNIVERSITY OF SHARJAH AND VDI

GUEST ARTICLE

TRENDS DIRECTIONS META 2020

PEOPLE

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INNOVATIONS

LENOVO UNVEILS THINKSYSTEM SE350, A PURPOSE-BUILT EDGE SERVER IDEAL FOR TIGHT SPACESN

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CLOUD NEWS

Etisalat launches CloudTalk, UAE’s first business unified communication service Etisalat announced the launch of a first-of-a-kind cloud-based business unified communication and collaboration service for small and medium businesses and enterprise customers in the UAE. Etisalat has partnered with Ribbon Communications to provide customers with a secure, scalable, and cloud-native business communication and collaboration solution. Etisalat’s CloudTalk offers customers an integrated communication

solution for their internal and external communication and collaboration needs.

The service is delivered over a carrier-grade cloud private branch exchange, PBX, replacing the legacy setups. Transformation is rapid and performance is optimum with minimal time needed for deployment. The pay-as-you-grow model gives customers the flexibility to work in multi-channel communication environments, minimising

upfront investments and focusing on productivity rather than infrastructure.

The hassle-free solution gives users the ease of switching between various devices seamlessly in real-time from any location. The state-of-the-art features such as instant messaging, video conferencing, screen sharing and mobile app, among others, contribute to an elevated user experience leading to better productivity.

ALHOKAIR MOVES TO AWS TO ACCELERATE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, LEVERAGE DATA ANALYTICS

Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair, one of the largest franchise retailers in Saudi Arabia, MENA, Central Asia and Caucasus regions, has announced that it is moving the vast majority of its technology infrastructure to Amazon Web Services, AWS, to empower the company with the most advanced cloud technologies to serve the customers better.

This cloud transformation will observe the company moving its last on-premises data centre to the AWS Cloud by the end of this year 2019 to accelerate its overall digital transformation strategy. Alhokair is working with AWS Advanced

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Consulting Partner Computer World International to support the migration and continued adoption of AWS services.

Earlier this year, Alhokair, whose brand portfolio includes over 75+ brands , developed an IT infrastructure and cloud strategy, and Marwan Makarzel, CEO of the company said that this strategy is focused on helping the business adapt to the fast changing retail industry that today is omni channel and catering to a digitally connected consumer base. The company chose AWS as its preferred cloud provider because of its agility

and breadth of services.

In its first phase of cloud adoption, Alhokair moved its core line-of-business applications to AWS, which have seen significant improvement in scalability, availability and performance. As Alhokair continues its cloud adoption, the company will be building its e-commerce and Business Intelligence platforms on AWS as it develops its omni channel strategy. The e-commerce platforms will be supported by analytics, prediction and recommendation engines that leverage machine learning services such as Amazon Sagemaker and Amazon Forecast to provide a personalised shopping experience.

Alhokair is looking forward to take advantages of its large retail data sets with data analytics services such as Amazon Redshift to acquire better business and customer insights. The adoption of AWS will also enable the company to enhance warehouse management systems operations with the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions to reduce costs and bring greater efficiencies.

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CLOUD NEWS

MINDWARE TO EXPAND CLOUD MARKETPLACE, OFFER PARTNERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH

VIJAY KUMAR, CTO AND CLOUD DIRECTOR AT MINDWARE.

Mindware, a value added distributor, in the Middle East and Africa, has announced regional expansion plans for the company’s new Cloud Marketplace. The company has had a great deal of success on-boarding current channel partners and actively recruiting new partners to the platform.

It is also adding a number of new products on the marketplace, giving partners an opportunity to co-sell these solutions with the existing Microsoft products, thereby enhancing their revenues.

Mindware is currently seeing a lot of interest from the channel community in countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Northern Gulf.

It will also be launching the Marketplace in LEVANT where the company believes there is high potential with the growing interest in cloud services in these regions.

Currently the product catalogue available on the Marketplace is heavily skewed in favour of Microsoft cloud related products and services. Realising the need to diversify this portfolio in order to give partners the opportunity for increased revenue, Mindware is in the process of adding several new products on the platform that can be bundled with the existing Microsoft solutions.

These new co-sell products are in the areas of virtualisation, backup and disaster recovery, security and performance management. In the background, Mindware is working closely with various vendors to get these Cloud Solutions certified for interoperability.

Mindware is also looking to sign up Independent Software Vendors to list their products on the Marketplace. In order to build awareness about the Marketplace, Mindware is hosting a series of roadshows across the region which will run up until the first quarter of this year.

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Mashreq accelerates migration to Microsoft cloud

Mashreq Bank has announced their migration to the intelligent Microsoft cloud to scale productivity and boost collaboration. The bank will now be able to accelerate digital transformation by better engaging customers, empowering employees, optimising operations and reinventing products and services.

The intelligent cloud is the most secured, controlled and contains a comprehensive suite of tools that deliver actionable business intelligence.

FSI entities, in particular, thrive on the information nuggets hidden beneath their vast data lakes. And as more customers are digital natives, we will need all the advantages available to stay ahead of the curve. Our migration to the Microsoft intelligent cloud, will empower us with the right digital tools while meeting our security data-residency and compliance needs.

In moving to Microsoft’s UAE cloud locations, Mashreq will be able to more effectively manage critical workloads such as network, core and security services, as well as tightening authentication and authorisation, and delivering DevOps, AI and Advanced Analytics capabilities- further accelerating their digital transformation endeavours. In addition, its infrastructure and costs management will be simplified, and upgrade paths will be more easily implemented.

Leveraging Microsoft’s recently launched data centres in the UAE, Mashreq will be amongst the first financial institutions in the country to migrate to the intelligent cloud, both on premise and on public cloud. The Microsoft Azure cloud is serving major digitalised businesses across the Middle East, as they seek to better engage their customers, empower employees, optimise operations and reinvent products and services.

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CLOUD NEWS

MANAGEENGINE’S APPLICATIONS MANAGER NOW SUPPORTS ORACLE AUTONOMOUS DATABASE

MATHIVANAN VENKATACHALAM, VICE PRESIDENT AT MANAGEENGINE.

ManageEngine, the IT management division of Zoho Corporation, has announced that Applications Manager, its server, cloud, and application performance monitoring solution, now supports Oracle Autonomous Database.

This move enables enterprise IT operations teams and cloud database administrators to gain visibility into the health and performance of every Oracle Autonomous Database instance in their fleet. Extensive support for both online transaction processing and data warehousing configurations help ensure optimal performance and enable DBAs to focus on business-critical tasks.

ManageEngine demonstrated its Oracle Autonomous Database monitoring capabilities at Oracle OpenWorld 2020. Product experts from the company were at the ManageEngine booth in Zone 3 to meet and interact with existing and potential customers, and share their global experiences and expertise with them.

Oracle Autonomous Database has gained

notable traction since its arrival last year, owing to its agility and support for even the most demanding applications. End users can leverage self-driving, self-repairing, and self-securing capabilities of Oracle Autonomous Database to reduce dependency on manual intervention, strengthen data security, and drive scalability.

Oracle Autonomous Database automates several administration tasks, however it is vital to keep track of its performance, as issues related to application or external components that make up the application ecosystem can still impact application response times and availability for end users.

Applications Manager’s Oracle Autonomous Database performance monitoring capabilities enables admins to ensure high availability for workloads. It also correlates and resolves performance issues across every database entity.

Applications Manager enables monitoring of sessions, processes, tablespace, connections, errors, and other key Oracle Autonomous Database metrics.

Infoblox acquires SnapRoute to accelerate delivery of cloud-native network services

JESPER ANDERSEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF INFOBLOX.

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Infoblox has announced the acquisition of SnapRoute, the creator of the industry’s first Cloud-Native Network Operating System, CN-NOS. SnapRoute’s talent and technology add significant depth to Infoblox’s suite of offerings and will help the company to radically simplify networking and deliver ground-breaking services more quickly and efficiently.

As business environments continue to evolve as part of digitalisation efforts, they become more decentralised, and operate across multiple platforms and devices in a hybrid cloud architecture, technology and service providers will need a new platform or architecture to deliver and manage network and security services at scale.

Infoblox’s BloxOne platform is built around cloud-native architectural principles, enabling the delivery of cloud-managed secure network services at scale. With SnapRoute’s cloud-native

OS, Infoblox will now be able to accelerate the development and delivery of additional network services on its platform.

Last July, Gartner released a report predicting that the WAN edge and network security markets will converge into a new market, built on the secure access service edge, SASE, model.

The report also asserts that the ideal platform for SASE will be built around a cloud-native architecture and will support the delivery of edge services via a SaaS based deployment model.

With its BloxOne Threat Defence solution and recently released BloxOne DDI solution, Infoblox has already delivered DDI and security centric services built on the SASE architecture.

SnapRoute’s technology, IP and exceptional talent will accelerate Infoblox’s ability to expand the suite of SASE services offered on this cloud-native architecture.

CLOUD NEWS

Citrix deepens ties to AWS, provides greater flexibility in deploying Citrix ADC

Hybrid environments are the reality of computing today. Citrix Systems has announced that it is deepening its relationship with Amazon Web Services, AWS, to provide businesses with greater flexibility and choice in deploying Citrix ADC in hybrid environments and a convenient and easy way to deliver a secure, reliable experience that engages users and allows them to perform at their best. The news came during AWS re:Invent 2019, which is taking place in Las Vegas this week.

The move to the cloud is on. But not everything can go there. From regulatory and compliance requirements to latency issues and local processing needs, some apps need to stay on premises.

As a newly validated AWS Outposts solution, Citrix ADC can be used to bring native AWS services, infrastructure, and operating models to

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on-premises facilities in a simple, cost-effective way and deliver a consistent hybrid experience.

Companies want the flexibility to control the routing path of their traffic and ability to direct traffic through virtual appliances of their choice.

But it hasn’t been easy to achieve. Until now.

Leveraging new Amazon Virtual Private Cloud ingress routing features, companies can redirect traffic flowing in and out of a VPC through Citrix ADC to ensure highly available and reliable performance. Amazon VPC Ingress Routing is a service that helps customers simplify the integration of network and security appliances within their network topology.

Migrating apps to the cloud has never been easier. Created in collaboration with AWS, the AWS Quick Start for Citrix ADC empowers

companies to speed and automate configuration and greatly reduce the time, costs and skill level involved.

Citrix offers a comprehensive range of solutions that are proven to scale and integrate in the AWS environment and ensure the security, reliability and high performance that application delivery and management today demands. And it continues to extend and expand these offerings.

Citrix also announced that Citrix SD-WAN now supports AWS Transit Gateway to simplify how Amazon VPCs and on-premises networks are connected to reduce operational costs. Using the Citrix SD- WAN orchestration service, customers can quickly connect their branches and data centres to the AWS Transit Gateway and access resources across any Amazon VPC or other connected network.

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AI AND AUTOMATION NEWS

WAREHOUSE WORKFLOW SOFTWARE, HEAD-MOUNTED DISPLAY AND RINGER SCANNER MODERNISE WAREHOUSE OPERATIONS.

Zebra offers warehouse solutions that increase worker productivity Zebra has announced intuitive warehouse offerings designed to optimise workflows, maximise productivity in the warehouse and improve employee onboarding. Offering a modern user experience that leverages Zebra’s Android-based mobile computers and innovative optional accessories like the new enterprise-class HD4000

head-mounted display, Zebra FulfillmentEdge transforms existing warehouse management systems by enabling real-time dynamic workflows and routing mobile workers for picking, packing and put-away, without costly and risky upgrades or backend changes.

Zebra also introduced the new single-finger RS5100 wireless ring scanner, providing mobile workers with an ultra-light hands-free scanning option for increased productivity in industrial environments.

According to Zebra’s recent 2024 Warehousing Vision Study, IT and operational decision makers are already taking steps to upgrade their facilities and WMS platforms. Findings show that 54% of surveyed organisations plan to implement full-featured WMS and mobile worker execution systems by 2024.

FulfillmentEdge integrates existing real-time WMS data with real-time location information, providing visibility into the location of workers, inventory and material handling assets.

The solution then analyses the information and creates real-time workflows delivered as electronic tasks that can contain visual directions to the next pick location and photos of the item to ensure picking accuracy. Now, one worker can simultaneously pick multiple orders, enabling businesses to dramatically increase order fulfilment times and boost worker productivity up to 24%.

Zebra’s 2024 Warehousing Vision Study also found that 62% of companies say they plan to add or upgrade to wearable computers, such as smart watches, smart glasses or hip-mounted devices.

A10 NETWORKS PROVIDES AUTOMATION OF POLYNIMBUS SECURE APPLICATION SERVICES

LEE CHEN, FOUNDER AND CEO OF A10 NETWORKS.

A10 Networks outlined its blueprint to enable enterprises and web giants to meet the demands for the security, reliability and agility of applications in a multi-cloud world. With applications increasingly distributed across multiple clouds, and users more mobile, managing and securing applications has become more complex than ever.

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This disparate infrastructure and the increased threat surface create challenges to digital transformation. A10’s Polynimbus application services blueprint offers a way forward for enterprises and web giants to bridge the gaps created by diverse application environments that need to be managed and secured. This blueprint can enable greater simplicity, agility, consistent manageability and security for organisations as they tackle the complexities of the multi-cloud world.

Today, there is an application exodus from traditional enterprise data centres, with applications now running across multiple clouds. This requires an effective Polynimbus operational model. Polynimbus is defined as the operations of an enterprise across two or more public clouds, and this has now become the de facto standard for application infrastructures.

In fact, according to a global survey conducted by the Business Performance Innovation Network, in partnership with A10, approximately two thirds of enterprises have deployed across

two or more public clouds, with 84% expecting to increase their reliance on public or private clouds over the next 24 months.

However, only 11% of companies surveyed believed they had been highly successful in realising the benefits of multi-cloud infrastructures. Security, lack of IT talent, and effectively managing the complexity are understandably listed as top challenges.

A10 addresses the new multi-cloud operational reality with the Polynimbus application services blueprint. It covers secure operations considerations, the most impactful current and emerging multi-cloud technologies, migration from on-premises hardware and software to the cloud, and the requirements to ensure a successful pivot of operations across a multi-cloud environment.

It is no longer a case of a few cloud architects simply deploying a couple of applications to the cloud in silos. It is a shift to managing the new reality securely and efficiently as a core reliable IT operation.

AI AND AUTOMATION NEWS

OPPO AND IHS MARKIT RELEASE WHITEPAPER ON OPPORTUNITIES POWERED BY 5G, AI AND CLOUD

Global smart device brand OPPO and IHS Markit, a market analytics firm, today jointly published their first whitepaper on intelligent connectivity at OPPO INNO DAY 2019. The whitepaper is titled Intelligent Connectivity: Unleashing opportunities with the power of 5G, AI and cloud.

After a year of implementation, 5G is now entering our lives at an accelerated pace. The whitepaper noted that the year 2019 has witnessed the first wave of standards-based 5G commercial launches. By October 2019, 50 carriers had launched 3GPP-compliant 5G commercial services across 27 markets. In addition, 328 carriers in 109 markets were also investing in 5G. A massive wave of 5G development and 5G applications will boom in China. 5G is distinct from previous generations of cellular technologies in that it has been designed at the outset to address many different technical requirements, device form factors, applications and audiences.

The whitepaper predicts that intelligent connectivity will rely on the collaborative efforts of AI, the cloud and edge, connectivity and IoT to deliver value to enterprises and consumers. This value may refer to a range of aspects including lower operational costs, access to new sources of revenue, or enhanced customer experience.

The whitepaper also notes that because of the intelligent connectivity between 5G, AI, cloud computing and edge computing, companies and organisations should build more sophisticated business models as well as advocating openness, sharing and collaboration with partners for the development of new features to their solutions.

According to IHS Markit forecasts, around a quarter of the 1.7 billion mobile handsets shipped globally will integrate 5G by 2023 and every two out of three smartphones will have prebuilt AI hardware and features by 2025.

Additionally, digital assistants in the form of smart speakers will continue to be in demand. The global installed base of smart speakers will rise from over 100 million this year to over 800 million in three years.

Additionally, digital assistants in the form of smart speakers will continue to be in demand. The global installed base of smart speakers will rise from over 100 million this year to over 800 million in three years.

HPE, Ingram Micro sign MoU to build AI Innovation Lab for use cases

(LEFT TO RIGHT) WOLFGANG EGGER, MD, MIDDLE EAST AT HPE ALONG WITH DR ALI BAGHDADI, SVP, INGRAM MICRO.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HPE, has signed an MoU with Ingram Micro, agreeing to collaborate in the field of Artificial Intelligence in the Middle East. In response to growing market demand in the Middle East, HPE and Ingram Micro will bring their international AI experience to support digital transformation in the region.

HPE with Ingram Micro have committed to supporting social and economic development in the Middle East, including the development of youth and professional talent for new digital technologies, the fostering of innovative entrepreneurship across different market verticals, and creating a digital culture and expanding knowledge.

The agreement states that the two parties will work together on a number of projects to support the region’s GDP growth and increase in youth employment, as well as enhancing the efficiency and transparency of public administration. HPE and Ingram Micro will work together to build an AI Innovation Lab for the development of AI knowledge and to showcase AI use cases.

They will also develop AI training programmes so that enterprises can build AI knowledge and adopt the right technologies for their industries. HPE and Ingram Micro aim to develop a pool of talented AI professionals in the region, including through a new joint internship programme which will help place qualified candidates into internship positions with HPE and Ingram Micro customers.

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AI AND AUTOMATION NEWS

GEMS DUBAI AMERICAN ACADEMY LAUNCHES CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR AI AND ROBOTICS

GEMS Dubai American Academy announced launch of its new Center of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The establishment of this Center is a response to the rapid rate of technological and societal changes in today’s world and aims to drive the changes needed to ensure current models of education remain

relevant to the dynamic nature of industry.

GEMS Education undertook the initiative to strengthen the country’s AI and Robotics ecosystem that will serve as a platform for intelligence-sharing and technology collaboration in the cutting-edge areas of AI and Robotics.

The Center of Excellence is founded on the research that 65% of the jobs needed in 10 years’ time do not exist yet. The Center of Excellence for AI and Robotics will ensure students are fully equipped with the skills, expert guidance and grasp of emerging technologies required to prepare them for a radically changing world as well as for jobs of the future.

The GEMS Dubai American Academy Center of Excellence has a range of cutting-edge tech-

Infor introduces machine learning-driven solutions for retailers and fashion brands

Infor has announced a number of solutions designed to help omnichannel retailers and fashion brands optimise their inventories, improve demand and supply planning, boost factory efficiency and help take their fashion products to market faster.

The new, machine learning, MLdriven solutions are generally available and include Infor Retail Allocation, Infor Omni-Channel Planning for CORMAC WATTERS, GENERAL Brands, the latest version of Infor MANAGER AND HEAD OF INTERCloudSuite PLM for Fashion, and the NATIONAL, INFOR. Infor Nexus RFID Scan and Pack solution.

Infor Retail Allocation Infor Retail Allocation leverages Infor Machine Learning to address the challenge of where to position inventory to maximise full-price sell-through and minimise markdowns and waste.

The solution supports multi-modal fulfilment for all demand types and nodes, including vendors, distribution centres and stores. It enables retailers to create a time-phased allocation plan, from launch to clearance, to optimise the lifecycle margin for each product.

Infor Retail Allocation is one of the industry’s first allocation solutions to be powered by machine learning and one of the first enabling retailers to replenish distribution centres and allocate to stores in one process. It also is unique in its ability to reduce the labor required in allocation.

Infor Omni-Channel Planning for Brands Infor Omni-Channel Planning for Brands applies machine learning to

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nologies such as a Mixed Reality Zone featuring Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality, and Augmented Reality, manufactured hardware from Facebook, Microsoft and HTC, with software like Unity 3D. The Center also features a Self-Driving Car, an autonomous customised Renault Twizy fully electric car.

In the Robotics segment, the Center showcases the Baxter Robotic Arm, a collaborative research robotic arm, capable of advanced facial recognition and machine learning using industry grade Robot Operating System and Python coding; and Assembly Line Robotic Arms, a Dobot Magician robotic arm industry 4.0 setup, mimicking an assembly line using varied end effectors such as grippers, suction cup as well as laser engravers.

HCT and Oracle partner to train students in AI and emerging technologies

The Higher Colleges of Technology, HCT, the UAE’s largest applied higher education institution, will partner with Oracle in a ground-breaking initiative, to educate and train students in the field of AI and emerging technologies, after a MoU was signed by the parties.

The agreement was signed by Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi, HCT President and CEO in the presence of Dr Mohammed Baka, CEO of the Centre of Applied Research and Training, CERT, Arun Khehar, Senior Vice President Business Applications, Middle East, Africa and India, and Abdul Rahman Al Thehaiban, Senior Vice President, Technology for Oracle in the Middle East and Africa.

Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi, HCT President and CEO, said the agreement aims to enhance cooperation with Oracle, which is at the forefront of AI and emerging technologies, and complements previous, successful MoUs between HCT CERT and Oracle which saw 500 Emirati students across HCT campuses trained in emerging technologies including AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain and Internet of Things. He added that Oracle will become a Technology Partner for the AI Skills Academy and impart

AI AND AUTOMATION NEWS

ORACLE AND FUTURE WORKPLACE STUDY FINDS 72% OF UAE WORKERS OPEN TO ROBOTS AS CO-WORKERS

EMILY HE, SVP, HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT CLOUD BUSINESS GROUP, ORACLE.

Contrary to common fears around how artificial intelligence, AI, will impact jobs; employees, managers and HR leaders in the UAE are welcoming AI in the workplace with love and optimism, according to the second annual AI at Work study conducted by Oracle and Future Workplace, a research firm preparing leaders for disruptions in recruiting, development and employee engagement.

The study of 8,370 employees, managers and HR leaders across 10 countries, including the UAE, found that AI has changed the relationship between people and technology at work and is reshaping the role HR teams and managers need to play in attracting, retaining and developing talent.

The increasing adoption of AI at work is having a significant impact on the way employees collaborate at the workplace, and they are ready to welcome AI-colleagues with open arms. l 72% of UAE respondents are either excited or

optimistic about having robot co-workers. l Baby Boomers, 50%, and Millennials, 47%, expressed more willingness to have robot co-workers as compared to Gen Z digital natives, 41%. l UAE workers would like to delegate mundane tasks like creating expense reports, calculating employee benefits, writing pay checks and managing vacation requests to AI-enabled robots. l 12% of UAE respondents would also like AI to deliver career coaching, while 7% are comfortable allowing AI to conduct job interviews.

UAE workers are looking at the increasing adoption of AI in the workplace as an opportunity to acquire new skills and deliver more strategic work for their organisation.• When asked what new opportunities they think will be created through using AI, 43% of UAE respondents chose learning new skills. 38% followed that up with opportunities to expand

their role to be more strategic. l Having more free time to pursue other interests was chosen by 39% of UAE workers. l 27% of respondents also felt that AI can help them drive better organisational change and have a better and healthier work relationship. l 26% of workers believe that AI will help them achieve faster promotions, while 18% hoped to secure a higher salary.

The impact of AI at work is only just beginning, and workers are looking at the technology to create a positive impact on their professional and personal relationships. l 52% of UAE respondents said that AI has had a positive impact on their relationship with other employees, while 36% said engagement with their manager improved due to the introduction of AI at workplace. l Respondents also said that AI has positively impacted their relationship with their spouse/ partner,6%, and their children, 7%.

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SECURITY NEWS

Kaspersky finds CISOs still struggle to justify necessary spending on IT security

VENIAMIN LEVTSOV, VP CORPORATE BUSINESS, KASPERSKY.

The vast majority, 89%, of Chief Information Security Officers, CISOs, are regularly summoned by the board of directors to provide recommendations for the business. This is a key finding from the latest global survey of information security heads commissioned by Kaspersky.

The study also revealed that despite a direct line with top bosses, it does not necessarily result in dedicated investments in security. In fact, 54% of respondents admit having to share their organisation’s IT budget.

According to the study, top management seek advice from IT security leaders regardless of the organisation’s reporting structure, with only

23% reporting to the board. Business leaders need input from their CISO most often when an internal cybersecurity incident happens, as recognised by 60% of respondents.

However, despite being visible and valuable to the board, CISOs still face difficulties when it comes to justifying necessary spending on IT security. Having to siphon their expenses from the broader IT budget, 43% of those surveyed feels that they are in direct competition with other business and IT initiatives, making it one of the top three challenges they face in order to make the case for essential information security investment.

SOPHOS LAUNCHES THREAT RESPONSE SERVICE BACKED BY MACHINE LEARNING AND EXPERT ANALYSIS

JOE LEVY, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, SOPHOS.

Sophos announced the availability of Sophos Managed Threat Response, MTR, a fully managed threat hunting, detection and response service. The re-sellable service provides organisations with a dedicated 24/7 security team to neutralise the most sophisticated and complex threats.

These types of threats include active attackers leveraging fileless attacks and administrator tools such as PowerShell to escalate privileges, exfiltrate

data and spread laterally, as explained in the SophosLabs Uncut article on Lemon_Duck PowerShell malware. Attacks like these are difficult to detect since they involve an active adversary using legitimate tools for nefarious purposes, and Sophos MTR helps eliminate this threat.

Built on Intercept X Advanced with endpoint detection and response, Sophos MTR fuses machine learning with expert analysis for improved threat hunting and detection, deeper investigation of alerts, and targeted actions to eliminate threats. These innovative capabilities are based on Sophos’ acquisitions of Rook Security and DarkBytes technology, and include:

full picture of adversary activities as part of the service, the scope and severity of threats can be determined for rapid response

EXPERT-LED THREAT HUNTING

Sophos MTR provides valuable insights into managed and unmanaged assets, vulnerabilities for better informed impact assessments and threat hunts. Prescriptive and actionable guidance for addressing configuration and architecture weaknesses enables organisations to proactively improve their security posture with hardened defences Sophos MTR is customisable with different service tiers and response modes to meet the unique and evolving needs of organisations of all sizes and maturity levels. Unlike many MDR services that focus on monitoring and threat notification, Sophos MTR rapidly escalates and takes action against threats based on an organisation’s preferences.

Sophos MTR anticipates attacker behaviour and identifies new indicators of attack and compromise. Sophos threat hunters proactively hunt for and validate potential threats and incidents, and investigate casual and adjacent events to discover new threats that previously couldn’t be detected

ADVANCED ADVERSARIAL DETECTION Sophos MTR uses proven investigation techniques to differentiate legitimate behaviour from the tactics, techniques and procedures used by attackers. Coupled with enhanced telemetry from Sophos Central, which provides a detailed,

MACHINE-ACCELERATED HUMAN RESPONSE A highly trained team of world-class experts generates and applies threat intelligence to confirm threats, and takes action to remotely disrupt, contain and neutralise threats with speed and precision

ASSET DISCOVERY AND PRESCRIPTIVE SECURITY HEALTH GUIDANCE

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SECURITY NEWS

VERITAS WARNS 26% PCS WILL BE MORE VULNERABLE TO RANSOMWARE FROM JANUARY 2020

IAN WOOD, SENIOR DIRECTOR, EMEA CLOUD AND GOVERNANCE BUSINESS PRACTICE, VERITAS.

PCs still running when Windows 7 reaches end of life on January 14 will be significantly more at risk of ransomware, Veritas Technologies has warned.

According to experts, 26% of PCs are expected to still be running the Microsoft software after support for patches and bug fixes end.

The vulnerability to ransomware of PCs running unsupported software was demonstrated by the WannaCry virus in 2017. Despite supported PCs being pushed patches for the cryptoworm, Europol estimated that 200,000 devices in 150 countries, running older, unsupported, software became infected by WannaCry. Although just $130,000 was paid in ransoms, the impact to business is understood to have run into the billions of dollars due to lost productivity, lost data, and corrupted hardware.

Microsoft ended mainstream support of Windows 7 in 2015, giving users five years to ready themselves for the software to reach end of life.

Five tips to help navigate the challenge:

EDUCATE EMPLOYEES The biggest risk is to data that employees save to unprotected locations. Ensure that users are following best practices for where to save data so that it can be secured and consider running a simulation. Saving valued data to centralised servers, data centres or to the cloud can help reduce risk.

UNDERSTAND YOUR DATA For enterprises, insight software solutions can help to identify where key data lives and ensure that it complies with company policies and industry regulations.

This is critical not only to identify the challenges but also to prioritise the recovery process.

SOFTWARE UPGRADE This is not going to be practical for large enterprises in the time available, but it could well be part of a longer-term strategy. For SMEs, the most sensible solution might be simply to upgrade to an operating system that has ongoing support.

RUN PATCHES According to the Ponemon Institute, 60% of respondents who experienced data breaches did so despite a patch to prevent breaches being available to them. Businesses should at least make sure that they are as up-to-date as they can be whilst they can. Users will also be able to buy ESUs from Microsoft to access patches

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Palo Alto Networks issues brief on Iranian linked cyber operations

SINCE 2010, IT IS THOUGHT THAT IRAN HAS BEEN HIGHLY ACTIVE IN CYBER OPERATIONS CAMPAIGNS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

With elevated tensions in the Middle East region, there is significant attention being paid to the potential for cyberattacks emanating from Iran. Since 2010, it is thought that Iran has been highly active in cyber operations campaigns throughout the world.

A number of groups and campaigns have been named and published on by the private sector, but direct attribution to the nation-state of Iran is still largely lacking in many of these instances.

Most attribution published by the private sector has relied on tactical evidence surrounding targeting and possible motivations.

It is important to keep this in mind, while at the same time understanding that without additional evidence, the current attribution set is accepted industry-wide as fact. Unit 42 has not gathered evidence to specifically attribute any of the accepted groups as originating from Iran, but also has not observed any evidence to counter any publicly made claims.

Some of the currently active groups or campaigns publicly attributed by the industry as originating from Iran are: l OilRig, AKA APT34 - Helix Kitten l MagicHound, AKA APT35 – Newscaster - Cobalt Gypsy l APT33, AKA Refined Kitten - Elfin l DarkHydrus l Shamoon l MuddyWater, AKA Static Kitten There appear to be two distinct motivators for these groups, espionage and destruction. The majority of observed attack campaigns have been espionage related, with the associated groups appearing to seek continued access into a target organisation or access to sensitive data.

A smaller number of highly focused destructive attacks have been observed over time, beginning with the original Shamoon attack in 2012, with additional iterations years after, and more recently with StoneDrill and ZeroCleare.

Overall, cyberattacks thought to be originating from Iran have been persistent and ongoing for the last decade. The target radius for these groups have spanned across the globe, across all major industries. Although perceived retaliatory actions may occur in the near future, even those actions are most likely in conjunction with ongoing attack campaigns and operations.

SECURITY NEWS

SANS STUDY REVEALS CONFUSION ABOUT THE ROLE AND TASKS OF A THREAT HUNTER

MARKUS AUER, REGIONAL SALES MANAGER CE AT THREATQUOTIENT.

ThreatQuotient has announced the results of the SANS Threat Hunting 2019 study. The most important result is the worldwide confusion about the role and tasks of a threat hunter. The study, sponsored by ThreatQuotient and conducted by SANS is, based on data collected from 575 participating companies that either work with or operate their own threat hunting teams.

Unlike the Security Operations Centre, SOC, and Incident Response, IR, teams, threat hunters not only respond to network threats, they proactively search for them. This involves making hypotheses on the existence of potential threats, which are then either confirmed or disproven on the basis of collected data.

The SANS study data confirms that most threat hunters react to alerts, 40%, or data such as indicators of compromise from the SIEM, 57%. Only 35% of participants say that they work with hypotheses during threat hunting, a process that should be part of the arsenal of every threat

hunter.

The fact that threat hunting is still in its infancy is evident based on suboptimal prioritisation of resources. In fact, 71% of participating companies consider technology to be first or second in terms of resource allocation for threat hunting. Only 47% of respondents focus on hiring new personnel and 41% on training employees.

Due to the proactive nature of threat hunting, companies often find it difficult to accurately measure the economic benefits of these security measures. Ideally, the experts prevent threats from becoming a critical problem in the first place.

However, 61% of respondents said their overall IT security status has improved by at least 11% due to threat hunting. These figures show that targeted threat discovery is important and that investing in dedicated threat hunting teams delivers measurable improvement in IT security for organisations.

Kaspersky finds over half of Arab citizens jeopardise privacy with pirated software

MAHER YAMOUT, SENIOR SECURITY RESEARCHER, KASPERSKY.

Kaspersky has conducted a survey on software usage and IT security attitudes among Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants, in collaboration with Arabic technology news portal, AITnews.

With inputs from more than 1,700 Arab respondents across the world, the survey uncovered that 37% always download pirated software and applications, and 20% do this sometimes. More than half, 52%, of these Internet users say that they always check and verify the source of their applications and software before downloading, even though experts agree that the sources of pirated software are rarely reliable and secure themselves.

A full 61% are aware of the privacy and security rsks associated with unverified downloads, but still use pirated software or applications instead of investing in authentic versions.

The study revealed that 56% believe that buying authentic software is expensive. While they are aware that pirated products such as antiviruses do not function as well as the genuine product, they are willing to accept the risk as long as they are not required to pay. A third, 32%, believes that free versions are as good as the purchased version, even though vendors are always forthcoming about the limited functionality of freeware.

On a positive note, 43% always access software and applications from verified sources. This access includes paying for the solution, or downloading authentic versions from vendors.

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COVER STORY

ERP FAST

BECOMING MAINSTREAM

CLOUD APPLICATION ERP vendors are encouraging migration from on-premises to the cloud through a variety of improvements around tenancy, latency, emerging technologies.

BY ARUN SHANKAR

JUERGEN LINDER, ORACLE.

ANDREW STIMPSON, IFS.

KERRIE JORDAN, EPICOR.

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DR HICHEM MAYA, SAP.

PHIL LEWIS, INFOR.

SUNIL MATHEW, IFOCUS SOFTNET.

COVER FEATURE

ORACLE

ACCELERATING ADOPTION, BUILDING USE CASES IN CLOUD ERP

ORACLE IS ACCELERATING MIGRATION OF ON-PREMISES ERP THROUGH ITS SOAR PROGRAMME AND EMBEDDING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AS TEMPLATES IN ITS CLOUD OFFERINGS.

(Left to right) Juergen Linder, Senior Vice President, Cloud Business Group, Oracle; Aarti Mohan, Director ERP EPM Cloud Strategy, Oracle ECEMEA; and Ashish Mohindroo, Vice President Oracle Cloud, Oracle.

D

uring the transformation journey to the cloud, data becomes a very critical element. Another key part is the role of emerging technologies which become very relevant in how they help customers generate returns and value from their cloud journey. The adoption of cloud applications is moving forward across three platforms.

The public cloud is the first step of migration to the cloud from on-premises, followed by adoption of additional cloud platforms, making multi-cloud progression, a natural next-step outcome. Restrictions around data sovereignty are also making enterprises implement private cloud as well, making hybrid cloud also a logical outcome.

With multiple data platforms, public and

multi-cloud cloud environments can challenge end users in terms of data integration. Eventually the complexity becomes very tough for end users to manage data integration across multiple data platforms.

“We see customers resorting to very expensive data warehousing construct. You cannot meaningfully do machine learning across data pools,” explains Juergen Linder, Senior Vice President, Cloud Business Group, Oracle.

“Multi-cloud, hybrid type of environment is going to be the predominant type of footprint for most of our customers, which has to do with data sovereignty issues. Certain type of regulation issues prevents them from pushing everything into the public cloud and serves unique opportunities to coexist,” says Linder.

Oracle’s Cloud@Customer is a complete

cloud instance running behind an organisation’s enterprise firewall. It functions as a private cloud and provides complete cloud functionality but runs on an on-premises model of hosting. Oracle has multiple layers of cloud technology that it can bring to the market based on business outcomes around ERP, CRM, HCM, EP, SCM. “Data gives us an opportunity to engage with customers in their need to transform,” points out Linder. “Cloud offers a very different way to engage with customers, and becomes more intense since we can see actual usage. Every customer is part of the cloud community.”

DATA LAYER AND ERP As part of a customer’s journey to the cloud, Oracle is working hard to ensure there is only one data layer across all its cloud applications. If

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COVER FEATURE

Sitting on top of a very deep stack of technology allows us to be extremely flexible. This is part of the infrastructure every SaaS customer takes advantage of, says Juergen Linder, Senior Vice President, Cloud Business Group, Oracle.

there is only one data layer that means business processes will not stop at application boundaries and will work seamlessly across all applications.

However, the primary benefit remains the ability to automate from end to end of the business process.

With the adoption of digital technologies, it is becoming easier for businesses to move towards becoming a services company from being a product company. However, this does mean that customer experience management from the front office through the middle office to the back office, needs to be seamlessly integrated and needs to flow seamlessly.

“What you are doing is modelling a service at the customer side that needs to be backed up by billing mechanism, revenue recognition, billing in ERP, and to take advantage of IoT sensors data for new billing scenarios,” adds Linder.

Once the data layer has been seamlessly integrated from end to end for business processes, it

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is possible to embed emerging technologies into the application suite that sits on top of the data layer. For its public cloud stack SaaS portfolio, Oracle is hosting Oracle ERP—Financials Cloud, Oracle HCM Cloud, Oracle SCM and Manufacturing Cloud, Oracle Customer Experience Cloud, Oracle Analytics Cloud, Oracle EPM Cloud, Oracle Data Cloud, Oracle Taleo Recruiting, and Oracle Taleo Talent Management.

Oracle is now embedding emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, analytics, blockchain, security, into its portfolio of public cloud products.

“Sitting on top of a very deep stack of technology allows us to be extremely flexible in deployment mechanisms for customers. This is part of the infrastructure that every SaaS customer naturally takes advantage of when they engage with us,” says Linder.

He also sees the impact of emerging technologies reshaping fundamentally how businesses are going to be run, by reducing the mundanity of tasks, leveraging pattern recognition and machine learning. As an example, 89% of finance functions performed today can be automated.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES By first integrating the data layer across the full suite of cloud applications and then embedding emerging technologies into these cloud applications, Oracle is hoping to give its customers a head-start in successful usage. Emerging technologies are directly embedded into the business process so they do not feel like a foreign element. Some of the more specific technologies include intelligent track and trace inside supply chain, intelligent document recognition, field service logistics, amongst others.

“We are embedding them natively into the application flow and making sure based on the common data layer that we have business processes supported end to end with those type of technologies,” clarifies Linder. He also points out, that in the past when vendors have not built-in these technologies, such as artificial intelligence in isolation, end users have had to experiment themselves.

“In case of applications we owe it to customers to give them a head start. They will not be able to benefit at the same pace that we can provide for them.” To date, Oracle has made 624 million

recommendations and delivered them for route recommendations based on machine learning.

Linder adds, “We do not ship technology for the sake of technology and leave you alone with that. Machine learning for us is a super important feature because of pattern recognition and allows us to be very effective. As an example, we are shipping IoT use cases and it is seamlessly integrated into the application.”

Oracle believes that the best way for end users to benefit is by embedding emerging technologies and prebuilt use cases and templates within its Cloud ERP suite. And these are being inbuilt into business processes themselves rather than having users access them outside the process.

“The supply chain module has seen a tremendous uptake in our customer base and tremendous amount of maturity,” states Linder.

Out of 2,700 supply chain customers on Oracle Cloud, 1,850 are already live.

“The mapping is already done and prebuilt use cases are being leveraged by customers. The algorithm is already there and the recommendations are on the screen. It is up to the user whether to use the recommendations or not. With machine learning the system is learning,” explains Aarti Mohan, Director ERP EPM Cloud Strategy, Oracle ECEMEA. The IoT platform and various use cases are prebuilt inside Oracle Cloud ERP. Others include asset management, production monitoring, connected workers. The ability to use these templates and use cases depends on maturity of the end users. Moreover, they are designed to be end user driven and do not rely on consultants for implementation.

“We have invested a lot in IR4 type of capability, augmented capability for stocking and repairs, and digital twins. We are beyond the first step,” adds Aarti.

SOARING TO CLOUD For first-time end users migrating from onpremises to the cloud, the list of risks and what could go wrong are endless. In the middle of 2018 Oracle announced its Soar programme to help end users accelerate to the cloud from onpremises in a risk free, predictable and planned manner.

Says Linder, “We have served enough customers to really be in an advisory function as to what

COVER FEATURE

The Soar approach is meant to take the risk out of the migration equation. The Soar offering is a fixed time-frame, fixed price, fixed scope, no surprises methodology for customers on their journey to the cloud. The methodology for the Soar migration and the tools has been built by Oracle. The Soar assessment is made by Oracle Consulting and extrapolates the existing landscape into what is the required cost and time. The purpose is to ensure there are no surprise left while migrating to the cloud.

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COVER FEATURE

We are using machine learning and artificial intelligence to run and operate the cloud on its own. Oracle is the only vendor in the market that is offering autonomous cloud, says Ashish Mohindroo, Vice President Oracle Cloud, Oracle.

is the right approach for each customer. If they are on-premises how can we complement them and move them to the cloud in a very predictable fashion.”

Customisations are pervasive in every on-premises ERP customer base. The Oracle Soar methodology makes a proper assessment of the customisations that have come into existence over a prolonged period of time, sometimes decades. Looking at the real usage of these customisations, many of these may not be critical anymore. And more over business processes keep evolving well after customisations have been made.

During the cloud journey, customers are keen to arrive at their destination with the right business model and the right technology. During their stay on-premises they may have used older versions and built customisations for their processes, which they may now find in-built and standardised in new versions and upgrades available in the cloud.

“Often times, a like for like conversation is not necessarily what you want to see. I want to under-

KEY TAKEAWAYS Once the data layer has been integrated it is possible to embed emerging technologies into the application suite. n You cannot meaningfully do machine learning across data pools. n Multi-cloud, hybrid is going to be the predominant type of footprint for most of our customers. n When vendors have not built-in technologies, such as AI, end users have had to experiment themselves. n 89% of finance functions performed today can be automated. n We do not ship technology for the sake of technology and leave you alone with that. n Out of 2,700 supply chain customers on Oracle Cloud, 1,850 are already live. n

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Soar is a risk-free approach for our customers to move from their current on-premises investment to the latest Oracle cloud platform. We call it the last upgrade you will ever do,” Aarti Mohan, Director ERP EPM Cloud Strategy, Oracle ECEMEA.

stand what is your business transformation goal. Where do you want to be and map that against what is in the system? What are the best practices of today, and then do a candid corporate assessment, if the customisations of the past are the ones you want to bring over?” explains Linder.

The Soar approach is meant to take the risk out of the migration equation. The Soar offering is a fixed time-frame, fixed price, fixed scope, no surprises methodology for customers on their journey to the cloud. The methodology for the Soar migration and the tools has been built by Oracle. The Soar assessment is made by Oracle Consulting and extrapolates the existing landscape into what is the required cost and time. The purpose is to ensure there are no surprise left while migrating to the cloud.

While the Soar methodology is implemented by Oracle Consulting, Oracle’s global system integrators also have their own methodology for migrating end users from on-premises to the cloud. Oracle’s global system integrators include KPMG, Accenture, Manai, Deloitte, Wipro, TCS. “Soar is a risk-free approach for our customers to move from their current on-premises investment to the latest Oracle platform called Fusion. We call it the last upgrade that you will ever do,” remarks Aarti.

INNOVATIONS Oracle has built-in artificial intelligence and machine learning into its database resident in the cloud that supports its applications. The Oracle autonomous database is self-securing, self-driving, self-running, and self-patching. Now Oracle has expanded the autonomous capability to the Linux operating system.

“What that fundamentally means is we are using machine learning and artificial intelligence to run and operate the cloud on its own, without human error and mistakes.

The system itself is able to drive all these operational capabilities to provide better quality of service at a lower price for the customer,” says Ashish Mohindroo, Vice President Oracle Cloud, Oracle. “Oracle is the only vendor in the market that is offering autonomous cloud,” he points out. ë

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COVER FEATURE

IFS

SINGLE TENANT AND MANAGED CLOUD ERP THIS VENDOR’S KEY DIFFERENTIATOR IS A MANAGED CLOUD ERP DELIVERY

HOSTED AS A SINGLE TENANT THAT ALLOWS CUSTOMIZATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

With the expansion of cloud technology, many enterprise software provides moved into the cloud domain converting their offering from a product to a service. Some major ERP vendors have adopted a cloud only practice moving their new as well as their existing customers to the public cloud, while other vendors have given their customers the freedom to select their deployment options from the public, private or hybrid cloud infrastructure.

With a strong presence in the Middle East, Africa and GCC region, Microsoft Azure is one of the largest cloud providers in the region.

Cloud-based ERP solutions gives several key advantages to companies. Moving to a cloudbased ERP allows customers to switch to an operational expense model OPEX, which is a pay as you go rather than invest in a capital expense model CAPEX, which requires a substantial initial investment. This further results in freeing the customer from the responsibilities of hosting and maintaining the software in a continually operational state around the clock.

Cloud based ERP services are provided as a service, which the vendor commits to deliver at a guaranteed availability target. This ensures a minimum down time with a 24x7 operational monitoring and support. Cloud ERP solutions would manage the data backup process and disaster recovery options for its customer. Thereby simplifying the complexity and responsibility of owning and operating an ERP solution.

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The major limitations and inhibitors in a cloud-based ERP solution is the nature of SaaS Software as a Service offering provided by major vendors. A SaaS offering limits the customer’s ability to customise or integrate their software as they wish. They are locked into the standard framework of the offering and mandatory version upgrades that comes along the way.

Compulsory version upgrades keep the software up-to-date, but these are forced on the customer, as they have no choice but to accept.

With new versions come new features. However, old features that the customer may use could be retired, forcing new changes to the customer’s business process.

While most cloud ERP solutions focus on providing a multitenant SaaS offering, companies like IFS offer the customer a Managed Cloud ERP solution that is single tenant. This offering allows the customer to customise its ERP solution for its requirements and differ updates, should they prefer. The single tenant nature of the offering provides secure segregation of customer data and defines dedicated resources.

IFS has been named as a major player in the 2019 IDC MarketScape: SaaS and Cloud-Enabled - Operational ERP Applications report. This IDC MarketScape provides potential operational ERP software customers a list of software providers that have taken great strides to address the complex challenges facing their organisations today and over the next five years. ë

n ANDREW STIMPSON, HEAD OF PRESALES IFS MIDDLE EAST AND SOUTH ASIA.

INSIGHTS Compulsory version upgrades keep the software up-to-date, but these are forced on the customer n Old features that the customer may use could be retired, forcing new changes to the customer’s business process. n IFS offer customers Managed Cloud ERP solution that is single tenant. n This allows the customer to customise ERP solution for their requirements and defer updates. n Single tenant offering provides secure segregation of customer data and dedicated resources. n

COVER STORY

SAP

LOCALISED CLOUDHOSTING FOR IN-COUNTRY DATA SAP IS HOSTING ITS PUBLIC CLOUD APPLICATION SUITE IN UAE AND SAUDI ARABIA BOOSTING IN-COUNTRY DATA ACCESS FOR PUBLIC SECTOR AND GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS.

Supporting datacentres in the UAE and Saudi Arabia is an ongoing process in which SAP continues to enhance its offerings with the latest products and solutions that are aligned with the global roadmap.

The following SAP products are available in the datacentre in the UAE: SAP Analytics Cloud; SAP Ariba; SAP Cloud Platform; SAP Cloud for Customer; SAP Commerce Cloud; SAP Enable Now; SAP Integrated Business Planning; SAP Marketing Cloud; SAP S4 HANA Cloud; SAP SuccessFactor including Jam Collaboration, Employee Central Payroll, HCM Suite, Learning, Onboarding, Recruiting Marketing, and Workforce Analytics. All of the above solutions are hosted in the UAE public cloud datacentre.

SAP is the first multi-national business applications company to go live and onboard customers with localised business solutions to UAE and Saudi Arabian cloud datacentres. This is part of the ongoing 5-year $200 million UAE and 4-year SAR 285 million Saudi Arabia investment plans SAP cloud datacentres can provide organisations with the whole public cloud package of business applications – to enable a fast start on digital business transformation. Public cloud datacentres provide world-class services, security, and data sovereignty of keeping data in-country.

Public and hybrid cloud investment is ramping up across the Middle East, with 88% of UAE and 59% of Saudi Arabia IT decision-makers increasing cloud spend in 2019, according to a

recent YouGov survey. Middle East organisations can gain real-time insights, scale up their software services, and meet data regulations.

Cost savings is a major benefit for organisations moving to the cloud, cited by 90% of UAE-based and 62% of Saudi Arabia-based IT decision-makers. As organisations harness the power of Industry 4.0, 76% of UAE and 83% of Saudi Arabia IT decision-makers agree that the public cloud is important for integrating future technologies.

Middle East organisations are increasingly moving to public or hybrid clouds, with 64% of UAE and 60% of Saudi Arabian IT comfortable running on public clouds. A major challenge is identifying which cloud model best meets their business. Channel partners can help organisations to understand the right type of cloud and which apps to run on the cloud.

In data protection, organisations migrating to the cloud need to protect their data while it migrates to the public cloud, and once the data is stored, running, and backed up via the public cloud. Organisations need to develop their workforce of the future. Not every employee needs to be a data scientist, but data science will be part of every career.

One of the biggest business benefits of adopting solutions on SAP’s UAE and Saudi Arabia cloud datacentres is that SAP’s real-time software solutions are tailored to 25 different industry verticals.

n D R H I C H E M M AYA , G E N E R A L M A N A G E R C O N S U M E R I N D U S T R I E S , E M E A S O U T H , S A P.

INSIGHTS With 2020 set to be the Year of Customer Experience, 96% of GCC organisations rank customer experience as a 2020 business priority. n Not every employee needs to be a data scientist, but data science will be part of every career. n Cost savings is a major benefit for organisations moving to the cloud, cited by 90% of UAE and 62% of Saudi Arabia IT decision-makers. n 76% of UAE and 83% of Saudi Arabia IT decision-makers agree that the public cloud is important for integrating future technologies. n

Middle East organisations are using the SAP HANA in-memory platform and SAP S4HANA real-time business suite to integrate IT and OT to better predict asset behavior, performance, estimate product quality, gain a 360 view on assets, and the SAP C4HANA customer experience suite to optimise customer experiences. With 2020 set to be the Year of Customer Experience, 96% of GCC organisations rank customer experience as a 2020 business priority. ë

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COVER STORY

EPICOR

OFFERING PREMIUM MULTITENANCY, HOSTING ON MS AZURE EPICOR FOLLOWS MAJOR REFRESHES OF ITS PUBLIC CLOUD OFFERING EVERY

90 DAYS AND MINOR REFRESHES EVERY 30 DAYS, OFFERING INNOVATION IN A PLANNED FASHION.

In May 2018, Epicor established a partnership with Microsoft Azure to standardise Epicor ERP on the Azure platform. Epicor has been rolling out ERP on its datacenters in a phased approach.

Epicor now has seven datacenters, two in the US, two in Australia and one each in UK, Singapore and Canada. Epicor intend to grow this, and is monitoring customer demand and opportunities.

It is very important for Epicor customers to have choice in their business, which is why Epicor allows them to run solutions in the cloud, or they can keep it on-premises. All modules of Epicor core ERP are hosted in the cloud as SaaS solutions with a couple of exceptions.

When it comes to how Epicor are actually architecting the cloud solution, it is a premium model of a multi-tenant. All Epicor customers have a unique database and this allows the vendor to provide different configuration options to customers that they would not normally get from other ERP vendors.

This is one of the value propositions that Epicor brings to the table. When it comes to ERP, Epicor see customers need more flexibility, and more configuration freedom, and makes that available to them in this dedicated database model. This is also called dedicated tenancy.

Customers continue to share servers but get a dedicated database and dedicated endpoint. What this allows us to do is offer services called a flex option. For example, Epicor issue twice a year major release upgrades and the customer has the choice to defer up to 90 days.

When it comes to more regular updates, Epicor does that on a monthly basis. This is not something that a customer can defer. These are really simple updates – bug fixes, maintenance,

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patches – where it just gets sent out and the customer does not even notice.

When it comes to a hybrid model, Epicor does not typically see customers that purchase a specific module and keep it on-premises and the rest in the cloud. It is usually all of the solutions are in the cloud or if they purchase additional third-party modules then those are hosted in different cloud solutions or on-premises.

When it comes to the twice a year major release upgrades, Epicor works closely with Epicor partners to ensure that when Epicor upgrades customers, they are not going to break anything.

Epicor ensures that partners are ready, they have upgraded their systems and they are issuing upgrades at the same time as Epicor are, so customers get minimum downtime.

For the monthly upgrades, these are so simple that they are not impacting on-premises installations. That is intentional on our part because Epicor don’t want to disrupt our customers.

When it comes to moving from on-premises to cloud, Epicor offer a rapid implementation programme called Upgrade Programme, and it allows customers to migrate to the cloud very quickly and at an affordable price. They can use partners, but this programme is the primary vehicle.

The upgrade programme is a methodology that Epicor Professional Services team developed.

They leverage Microsoft Azure as the platform to enable this and there are a number of tools that are available. Epicor make a portal available to our customers so they can monitor progress.

When it comes to partner involvement, there have been a few in the US that have participated.

Epicor partners are typically running customers

n KERRIE JORDAN, DIRECTOR CLOUD PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCT MARKETING, EPICOR.

INSIGHTS The most immediate impact customer’s see are regular updates and having access to the new technology. n Epicor’s biggest value proposition is industry expertise and manufacturing business fit. n When it comes to moving from on-premises to cloud, Epicor offers a rapid implementation programme. n Epicor established a partnership with Microsoft Azure to standardise Epicor ERP on the Azure platform. n When it comes to how Epicor are architecting the cloud solution, it is a premium model of a multi-tenant. n

that are already in the cloud. When it comes to working with Epicor on-premises customers and moving them to the cloud, Epicor professional services is typically leading that project, though they might be supported by a partner.

For customers who are on-premises and then move to cloud, the most immediate impact they see are the regular updates and having access to the new technology. Epicor’s biggest value proposition is industry expertise and manufacturing business fit. Often times, these manufacturers have not been leveraging all of these innovations that Epicor made available. So, the move to the cloud and the ability to always access the latest and greatest, is probably the biggest benefit. ë

COVER STORY

INFOR

DELIVERING A TRUE CLOUD EXPERIENCE ON AWS INFOR HAS BUILT ITS ERP SUITE LEVERAGING THE GLOBAL AWS CLOUD HOSTING PLATFORM, WHILE DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE VALUE ADDS SUCH AS IPAAS AND BUILT-IN IOT.

Infor has been working towards its Cloud Suite since 2010 when it began combining products, taking a core industry-specific ERP, combining it with industry-specific best-in-class applications for supply chain, asset management or performance management, and delivering fully integrated industry-specific suites of software with a single user experience. Infor built that suite by 2015 for 13 different industries.

Infor then moved into a second phase of development, which was not just integrating products to develop industry-specific suites, but actually to look at how to take those suites to the cloud, and that was a significant investment in things like selecting the right cloud partner. Infor chose AWS, and selected the right cloud services that they needed to use within AWS, and then fundamentally prepared the applications for the cloud.

This included multi-tenancy, high-availability, automation of provisioning and all the things that you expect from a modern-day cloud application.

CLOUD SUITE Infor now has 13 multi-tenanted, industryspecific Cloud Suites available in the public cloud.

The Cloud Suite is a core, industry specific ERP surrounded by appropriate extended applications, all integrated on Infor OS platform. This also gives Infor customers the ability to develop a digital transformation strategy with a single user experience across the board. Infor claims to be a true cloud organisation and true industry-specific cloud organisation.

The Infor Cloud Suite are not modules. They are a full-blown Enterprise Cloud Suite – full ERP

n PHIL LEWIS, V I C E P R E S I D E N T S O L U T I O N C O N S U LT I N G , I N F O R .

with best-in-class extended capabilities fully integrated. There is a Cloud Suite for automotive that will run an automotive business, with customer support, supplier support and everything that happens in between.

Infor has another Cloud Suite for processbased industries like food and beverage and chemicals. Infor also has Cloud Suites for fashion, hospitality and healthcare. Each Cloud Suite has a different mix of products because they are industry specific products.

HOSTING AWS has a number of full-blown datacentres around the world and they keep adding new ones.

They recently opened up a datacentre in Bahrain.

Many of Infor customers globally run out of the core AWS datacentres in Frankfurt, Ireland, Shanghai, California, Sydney. AWS has data centers around the world and they also have what they call availability zones. They have availability zones for most established countries around the world.

So even if a customer’s data is not local, access and availability is similar to a local presence.

It streamlines and speeds up the way customers access their cloud services. Infor will be assessing the Bahrain datacentre once it has been established.

Infor exclusively uses AWS for provisioning and delivering cloud services. Wherever AWS has a datacentre, Infor has the ability to provide services from that datacentre. But as it grows and Infor gets cloud customers around the world, it will begin to use more and more of the AWS datacentres.

Currently Infor does not have any services running specifically in the Middle East, but it does have many Middle East customers using its services through local availability zones, which connect to a datacentre in Europe or Asia or North America. Infor expects to elevates its presence in the Middle East through the AWS Bahrain Datacentre.

HYBRID CHALLENGE It is unusual for an established organisation who have been using on-premises systems for 20 years to go 100% to the cloud. Some people do, but most plan a journey where they begin and end.

Such organisations then move into a hybrid model and Infor OS’ Integration Platform as a Service component, I-PasS component has the ability to connect applications in the cloud and applications that are on-premise using a standard based loosely-coupled architecture of the Internet.

With XML messaging moving from cloud applications to on-premise applications, being able to take a copy of all of that information and messaging and put it into a central reporting repository, opens up a big data discussion. Infor has the ability to support through cloud, 100% on-premise and hybrid all within Infor OS. Infor OS, has been established for seven or eight years, and is a mature, high performing, scalable integration platform. It has always been able to connect Infor to Infor, Infor to non-Infor, and on-premise to cloud, Infor OS supports true hybrid deployments for customers. That gives the flexibility to migrate to the cloud step-by-step. ë

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COVER STORY

FOCUS SOFTNET

ADDING AI ON TOP OF CLOUD ERP

THE LATEST INNOVATIONS FROM FOCUS SOFTNET INCLUDE AI ENHANCED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT ON TOP OF ITS FLAGSHIP PUBLIC CLOUD PRODUCT, FOCUS ERP.

Focus has moved into the AI stream providing its Artificially Intelligent Futuristic Application, AIFA, a cloud-based solution to elevate customer experience to the next level through artificial intelligence-based solutions which sit on top of Focus ERP or any other inhouse solution of the customer.

Focus has all its latest offerings on the cloud which includes solutions like Focus 9, Back Office ERP, Centra CRM, Vertical Specific Solution for Industries like Real Estate Management, Garage Management, Dealership Management and Education, and Centra HCM - Human Capital management solution which caters to the payroll and personnel management requirements of every organization.

To add to the above, Focus also has introduced an out of the box solution for small business entities which is Focus Lyte, which manages the core Accounting and Inventory Management for small business entities.

The AI solution is on a public cloud only.

Focus’ other solutions of ERP, CRM and HCM are available both on public and private cloud.

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n S U N I L M AT H E W , C O O F O C U S S O F T N E T.

All the above-mentioned solutions are hosted on a public cloud environment within the UAE through our partner network Tata Communications. Tata Communications has its datacentre within UAE and provides a cloud infrastructure to customers keeping their data hosted inside UAE. The biggest advantage of having ERP on the cloud is to have your infrastructure being managed by the hosting providers in a safe and 99% uptime environment with accessibility to data anytime, anywhere. It also allows organisations to be lean with investment in hardware, while providing state of the art solutions.

As organisations upscale their operations over years, the cloud infrastructure supports growing infrastructural requirements without having to scrap the initial investments done on infrastructure as is the case when it comes to an inhouse application.

Except for not having their data only to themselves, the cloud model is the way forward for every organisation which is looking at optimizing their investment and business operations. ĂŤ

INSIGHTS Focus Softnet has its latest offerings on the public cloud. n

Cloud model is the way forward for every organisation which is looking at optimizing investment and business operations. n

The solutions are hosted on a public cloud environment within the UAE through partner network Tata Communications. n

INNOVATION

INTERSEC 2020

NETAPP E-SERIES BUILDING BLOCK FOR INTELLIGENT VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SOLUTIONS FADI KANAFANI,

MIDDLE EAST MANAGING DIRECTOR AND GENERAL MANAGER, NETAPP.

NetApp participated in Intersec 2020 with the aim of helping organisations modernise their video surveillance infrastructure and get more out of their data. NetApp presented its video surveillance storage solution designed to access and retrieve content, whether for 200 or 200,000 cameras.

For video surveillance solutions, NetApp does not go to the market alone. It partners with the best of breed solution partners like Axis Communications, Bosch security systems, Genetec, Ipsotek, milestone, Qognify, Stone Security, and Unicom Global. These partners either have superior cameras and equipment or video management systems.

“Most people think of video surveillance solutions as physical security. But video surveillance goes far beyond that,” says Fadi Kanafani, Middle East Managing Director and General Manager,

NetApp. Analytics on the fly is a fast-emerging area. Businesses are increasingly relying on intelligence gathered from video surveillance solutions. This could be for segments like homeland security, first responders, traffic management, hypermarkets, malls, transportation hubs like airports, railway stations, and so on.

“All these intelligent applications require a platform that is going to serve the requirements of those applications at a very high speed and be available on time,” says Kanafani. “At the core of all of this you need a platform that is robust, that is available, that is reliable, that is credible, and that has proven itself over the years.”

NetApp has an offering to provide that infrastructure that has been there for the past 20 years, with over a million systems sold. “NetApp has lots of credibility in that domain,” he continues.

While FlexPod has been a workhorse of

NetApps’ go to market in multiple business segments for some time, for video surveillance, the infrastructure requirement is different. The characteristics of FlexPod and the workloads that FlexPod serves is different than the workloads for video surveillance.

“You need a very high IOPS from the system and you need six nines of availability. You need a heavy-duty system that that is going to give you availability, especially when you are running lots of streaming videos,” explains Kanafani.

Unlike traditional data, digital video image archives cannot be compressed. That makes it important to control the cost associated with data archives of streaming video. “You will need a platform that is affordable and that is much more economically viable for this use case, and the E-Series is that,” says Kanafani.

The E-series is also an appliance from NetApp. It is a NetApp system with a NetApp operating system, optimised for high IOPs and availability.

It is used as a hosting server system either for on-premises type of applications or in the cloud.

The NetApp E-Series offers advantages in video surveillance environments, including modular scalability, lower risk, always-on access to data, and simplified management. It also offers VMS and analytics technologies direct, super-fast access to data along with ensuring reliability, speed, and scalability.

The NetApp solution stack for video surveillance is sold through its specialised channel partners.

While the Unified Partner Programme is the same, the certifications are different. There is a specific certification for E-series, on how to maintain it, how to implement it, and how to operate it. Ingram Micro and Logicom are NetApp’s distributors in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. ë

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INNOVATION

INTERSEC 2020

HID GLOBAL LAUNCHES VERSATILE FINGERPRINT READER FOR MULTI-LAYERED AUTHENTICATION The iCLASS SE RB25F fingerprint reader is part of HID Global’s extensive line of biometric solutions for physical access control. The iCLASS SE RB25F fingerprint reader uses HID’s multispectral imaging technology to capture images from both the surface and sub-surface of the skin enabling all types of fingerprints, from people of any age, to be read quickly and reliably in cold, dry, dirty, wet and other challenging

n W I S A M YA G H M O U R , R E G I O N A L S A L E S D I R E C T O R , PHYSICAL ACCESS CONTROL, HID GLOBAL.

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environmental conditions.

Designed for two-factor authentication using fingerprint and high frequency credentials, the iCLASS SE RB25F offers superior performance, with mullion mount capabilities and Seos support for securing high value doors. Built for extensibility in demanding applications, the iCLASS SE RB25F supports a broad array of high frequency credential technologies and comes standard with HID Mobile Access and OSDP. Key features include Reliability: The iCLASS SE RB25F uses HID’s patented multispectral imaging technology, delivering consistent and best-in-class performance under any environmental condition.

Security: It supports breakthrough Seos technology, providing multi-layered authentication between card and reader while protecting against fake and spoof fingerprints.

Powerful: Utilises a new platform that can match fingerprints in less than a second.

Robust: Designed for indoor or outdoor use.

Flexible: Delivers multiple interface options for various system architectures.

Says Wisam Yaghmour, Regional Sales Director, Physical Access Control, HID Global, “The iCLASS SE RB25F fingerprint reader is paired with HID Biometric Manager, a downloadable, easy-to-install web-based software, providing device management and user fingerprint enrolment. With an intuitive user interface, HID Biometric Manager is able to configure the iCLASS SE RB25F settings, change authentication modes, adjust interface protocols, and more. In addition, HID Biometric Manager supports the enrolment of up to 10 fingerprints per user and provides a quick and easy way to write up to two user templates onto iCLASS Seos credentials.” ë

T

INNOVATION

INTERSEC 2020

SEAGATE’S HAMR AND MACH.2 TO

REVOLUTIONISE STORAGE, PUSH CAPACITIES BEYOND 20TB

n P H I L I P P E VA I L L A N T, E N G I N E E R I N G M A N A G E R F O R E U R O P E , S E A G AT E T E C H N O L O G Y.

Seagate’s MACH.2 Multi Actuator technology has enabled the company to set a new hard drive speed record, demonstrating up to 480MBs sustained throughput, the fastest ever.

Seagate recently introduced its MACH.2 Multi Actuator technology in the world’s first dual actuator hard drives, for customer testing prior to productisation.

Seagate’s advanced engineering team also announced a breakthrough in the demonstrated reliability of its HAMR, Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording, technology hard drives. Seagate revealed that its HAMR read write heads have achieved unprecedented results in long-term reliability tests that surpass customer requirements by a factor of 20.

Philippe Vaillant, Engineering Manager for Europe, Seagate Technology, notes that the whole idea for MACH 2 is to increase the performance at the drive level. A drive can deliver roughly 200 IOPS per TB and functionally for enterprise applications there is a need to provide a

minimum of 10 IOPS per TB. In order to increase the IOPS in the simplest way is to add another actuator. By doubling the number of actuators, Seagate can IOPS two-fold. In short, the company designed the MACH 2 for customers who have IOPS-per-terabyte quality-of-service requirements that can no longer be met by single-actuator drives.

Meanwhile, HAMR addresses capacity-related issues and not performance. It helps increase the amount of data that can be stored on a hard drive.

Earlier, Seagate used PMR, Perpendicular Magnetic Recording, which could help it achieve upto 18TB. Achieving more than 18TB required newer technologies. So, Seagate used a new kind of media magnetic technology on each disk that allows data bits, or grains, to become smaller and more densely packed than ever, while remaining magnetically stable.

Adds Vaillant, “We will have an evolution unit by the end of 2020. With HAMR we will be able to provide a 20TB product and upto 60TB in the near future. ë

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INNOVATION

INTERSEC 2020

LENOVO UNVEILS THINKSYSTEM SE350, A PURPOSEBUILT EDGE SERVER IDEAL FOR TIGHT SPACES

n D R C H R I S C O O P E R , G E N E R A L M A N A G E R L E N O V O D C G , M I D D L E E A S T, T U R K E Y A N D A F R I C A .

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The ThinkSystem SE350 is a purpose-built server that is half the width and significantly shorter than a traditional server, making it ideal for deployment in tight spaces. It can be mounted on a wall, stacked on a shelf or mounted in a rack.

The ThinkSystem SE350 puts increased processing power, storage and network closer to where data is generated, allowing actions resulting from the analysis of that data to take place more quickly. It puts increased processing power, storage and network closer to where data is generated, allowing actions resulting from the analysis of that data to take place more quickly.

The server has wired connections up to 10GbE and optionally supports both Wi-Fi and LTE wireless connectivity.

Since these edge servers are typically deployed outside of secure datacentres, they include technology that encrypts the data stored on the device if it is tampered with, only enabling authorised users to access it.

Says Dr Chris Cooper, General Manager for Lenovo DCG, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, “The SE350 offers numerous features to boost performance, improve scalability and reduce costs. It provides many features to simplify serviceability and increase system uptime. Similarly, systems management features simplify local and remote management of the SE350.” ë

INNOVATION

INTERSEC 2020

WESTERN DIGITAL DEBUTS SMART VIDEO SOLUTIONS AND ENTERPRISE-CLASS STORAGE AT INTERSEC

n KHWAJA SAIFUDDIN, SENIOR SALES DIRECTOR, M I D D L E E A S T AT W E S T E R N D I G I TA L .

At Intersec this year, Western Digital showcased how it is pushing the boundaries of surveillance technology through the concept of No Blind Spots. With the rapid advancement of smart security, the company demonstrated its storage solutions that span from the end points such as cameras, to the core datacentre. These solutions are designed to handle high resolution and capacity for enhanced public safety and artificial intelligence analytics use cases.

No Blind Spots includes Western Digital’s thoughtfully calibrated storage solutions designed for smart video. The company’s approach encompasses products that use raw video, AI and endpoint to cloud technology.

Western Digital delivers product reliability and longevity that support multi-streams as well as offering scalable and built-in analytics.

The company’s approach encompasses products that use raw video, AI and endpoint to cloud technology.

The WD Purple portfolio is an ideal companion to enhance smart video technology. Both the WD Purple microSD card and WD Purple Surveillance HDD bring internal and external solutions to the market. The WD Purple microSD card provides long lasting on-camera storage coupled with exceptional performance and reliability. The WD Purple Surveillance HDD features Western Digital’s AllFrame technology that helps create a security system tailored to the

needs of the business.

In addition to smart video solutions, Western Digital also demonstrated the capabilities of a wide range of internal and external storage options that are high performance and reliable to meet the needs of customers and offer enterprise class performance.

Optimising enterprise infrastructure for data to thrive, Ultrastar NVMe series SSDs perform at the speed of today’s business needs. The Ultrastar HC 530, WD Gold HDD and Ultrastar Data 60,102 are premier Cloud solutions demonstrated at the exhibition. The Ultrastar HC 530 is a cost-effective option that allows for huge data storage capacities.

WD Gold HDD offers enterprise class performance and exceptional reliability making it ideal for demanding environments. The Ultrastar Data 60/102 are 60 and 102 bay hybrid storage platforms, respectively. The extremely dense form factor has the flexibility to use SSD and HDD combinations to balance capacity, performance, and cost.

“The year 2020 will see a growing number of organisations capitalising on smarter use of the information we create, capture and store while also making sense of the massive amounts of data generated by artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads. Businesses have a winning strategy if the elements of the right infrastructure, information architecture, skills and processes, and partnerships, are put into place to ensure data availability and analysis,” said Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Sales Director, Middle East at Western Digital.

“The year 2020 will see a growing number of organisations making sense of the massive amounts of data generated by artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads. Western Digital’s portfolio offers a range of storage solutions for everything from mobile to highly specialised performance drives. We are in a unique position where we innovate across the technology stack right from building a flexible foundation to enabling access to faster intelligence.” ë

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REAL LIFE

HOW VDI, VMWARE ARE

TRANSFORMING UNIVERSITY OF SHARJAH VDI WAS THE SOLUTION TO PROVIDE A RELIABLE SECURE DESKTOP EXPERIENCE FOR 14,000 STUDENTS, FACULTY OF 610,

ACROSS 14 COLLEGES ON A VMWARE PLATFORM.

T

ertiary education is developing rapidly in the UAE, with a fast-growing young population and a government committed to developing its ambitious Vision 2021 plan, creating ever greater demand for world-class university education. The University of Sharjah, which opened in 1997, has grown significantly during its 20-year history in terms of research, diversity of courses offered, and the number students enrolled.

Amid this growth in student numbers, combined with the increasing demands of a young, tech savvy generation, the IT department was under increasing pressure to develop and deploy IT systems to take the University ICT systems to the next level.

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Education is increasingly adopting digital technology to enhance learning and to perform administrative tasks more efficiently, and these were areas that the University of Sharjah was keen to develop. However, the University’s IT department wanted to offer students and faculty a more pro-active service, with digital tools to transform learning, research and administrative tasks.

PAIN POINTS But with almost 14,000 students, plus faculty using non-virtualised desktops, it was increasingly difficult for the IT department to maintain existing systems, with large amounts of resources spent fixing issues with individual desktops. With so much endpoint hardware being used, it was

ROB IRVING, IT Director at the University of Sharjah.

REAL REALLIFE LIFE

also almost impossible for the IT department to offer the kind of modern digital services that students want in a scalable and secure manner, such as video conferencing, and digital access to lectures and learning material.

“We needed to provide high-quality services that people could rely on; and those services needed to be innovative and allow students to learn in new ways, to use the technology and work from where they want, when they want,” said Rob Irving, IT Director at the University of Sharjah.

Irving and his team were worried that with the existing infrastructure, they would not to be able to meet the University’s ambitious plans. A comprehensive virtualisation of the University’s

desktops operating in a cloud environment appeared to be a major part of the answer.

IT BACKDROP University of Sharjah had been collaborating with VMware on compute virtualisation for a number of years, speeding up delivery of critical applications and optimising the resource consumption, establishing savings on hardware, white space, energy consumption and cost. In 2018, the University took the decision to invest in the latest virtualisation solutions, and VMware was the obvious choice.

The University of Sharjah opted to work with VMware to modernise its datacentres, integrate public clouds, transform networking and security

The deployment of VMware’s VDI Horizon 7 increased flexibility by delivering Windows desktops and applications to non-Windows devices.

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REAL LIFE

and empower digital workspaces. This has allowed the University to drastically improve its performance in terms of allowing faculty and students to work where they want, when they want, access new educational tools and generally enhance their learning experience.

VDI SOLUTION To increase students’ and faculty members’ freedom to work from anywhere, while also increasing the efficiency of the delivery of IT services and strengthening security, the IT department decided to virtualise the desktops, using VMware VDI Horizon 7 to enhance the delivery of applications and user workface in a more efficient manner. This was first introduced for academic staff and laboratories, before being deployed for all students.

“I am a big fan of VMware’s VDI Horizon 7 because of the flexibility and efficiency it brings to desktop deployments. Instead of IT resources being wasted fixing minor problems on multiple different desktops, Horizon 7 brings everything under one central command, allowing the University to deliver more bespoke services to users while saving time and money,” Irving said.

The University of Sharjah had been a long-term user of VMware’s ESXi infrastructure and when looking at virtualising the desktops, selecting VMware made sense. All the infrastructure and IT services are running on VMware ESXi Infrastructure. This maximises the ROI in terms of usage of resources. The deployment of VMware’s VDI Horizon 7 increased flexibility by delivering Windows desktops and applications to non-Windows devices. VDI also significantly lowered the total cost of ownership per desktop, allowing the University to replace and repurpose PCs with thin clients.

BENEFITS AND RETURN With virtualised desktops, the IT department is able to focus on what it should be doing – delivering IT services to enhance teaching and learning.

With VMware Horizon 7, the University is able to offer students a wide selection of apps, from alerts that remind students to attend seminars to options for remotely attending lectures, and secure access to course materials online.

The deployment also brought significant cost savings in IT support, helpdesk call volume, desktop management and hardware costs. Moreover, centralised management of desktops also lead to easier-to-administer security. It also enabled Bring Your Own Device policies to be implemented without sacrificing IT security or control, which helped in modernising the University’s approach to the delivery and management of

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SNAPSHOT

The University of Sharjah, an Emirati private national university, was founded by its current president and chairman, the ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, in 1997. The University has some 14,000 students and 610 faculty members with 14 colleges offering many programmes at the diploma, bachelor, masters and doctoral levels. Courses are offered in various fields ranging from Sharia and Law to health sciences, medicine, fine arts and design, engineering and communication.

SOLUTION VMware VDI Horizon 7 Channel partner Diyar United Company CHALLENGES n Modernising its IT systems n Offer students and faculty world-class IT experience n Reduce per-head cost of administering IT services n Position University as a regional and global leader BENEFITS n Improve end user experience for desktop users n IT department able to serve students and faculty better n Improve learning outcomes through technology n Futureproof desktops and allows BYOD n Improves security across all devices n Supports digital transformation of the University

content.

The solution has helped the University of Sharjah to increase the flexibility by delivering Windows desktops and applications to nonWindows devices. VDI also lowered the total cost of ownership per desktop, allowing the University to replace and repurpose PCs with thin clients.

THE FUTURE Irving and his team are also interested in how wearable technology, which is seeing high levels of adoption among students and staff, can be harnessed for the benefit of learning. Irving believes there is potential to harness the data-collecting functionality of wearables and integrate them into the learning environment and administration systems.

“With VMware as partners in this transformation journey, the University of Sharjah is able to provide a very high-quality education for every dollar spent,” Irving said. “The IT empowers the college, students and faculty to be successful by giving access to anytime, anywhere learning. It

The next step in its digital transformation plans is move to the cloud, reducing internal support while increasing quality of IT services.

VDI significantly lowered total cost of ownership per desktop, allowing the University to repurpose PCs with thin clients.

has made the college more agile as the users can quickly get the resources to launch new services that benefit the students, faculty and staff. This has enabled the University of Sharjah to build a strong reputation and brand as a leader in technology adoption in the entire student community of UAE.” The next step in the University of Sharjah’s digital transformation plans is to embark on a significant strategy to move to the cloud, reducing internal support efforts while increasing the quality of IT services to the staff and students.

The virtualisation of the University’s applications allows it a greater flexibility in its choice of cloud providers and moving applications, as the commoditisation of cloud services continue.

VDI will continue to be an essential part of the University’s IT services to students, and the University is expanding its use from labs into the administration areas of the University, achieving further costs and support savings. ë Images courtesy University of Sharjah.

Proven Innovation Since 1983

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GUEST ARTICLE

DO NOT LET CLOUD COSTS GET INTO A RUNAWAY SITUATION WHILE MIGRATING TO THE CLOUD IS MEANT TO SAVE COSTS, PROVISIONING THE CLOUD PLATFORM IS A TIME-CONSUMING TASK, OPENING POSSIBILITIES OF OVERLOOKING.

Since cloud services are available at the click of a mouse, some services may have been provisioned and forgotten about.

A

s organisations in the region mature their multicloud strategies, moving more and more of their workloads into the cloud, they often find themselves in an uncontrollable situation of budget overruns and this is ironic, as one of the reasons for transitioning to the cloud is its superior cost efficiency with the on-demand, pay-per-use nature of the public cloud.

Cloud costs are unpredictable, unlike traditional IT infrastructure. In a Platform-as-a-Service, PaaS public cloud, a single application stack could be made up of many different services and resources—each with its own pricing model. Costs for compute, storage, network, or other services can vary by vendor, resource type, levels of service, and usage.

On top of that, provisioning of cloud services is usually distributed across the enterprise, so managing and controlling costs in a multicloud environment can quickly get out of hand.

Below are tips to gain back control and optimise cloud spending:

#1 UNDERSTAND CLOUD VENDOR PRICING The starting point before moving forward with a cloud vendor, is to make sure you understand their pricing model, including all the hidden costs for various API calls and other transactions so you can make a fair comparison and choose the best vendor for your use cases.

Once you start using the cloud, identify those services that are the highest contributors to your monthly spend.

Rationalise usage to either justify costs or identify opportunities for optimisation. Over-utilisation of a service could be due to a coding error in an application.

Also, since cloud services are available at the click of a mouse, some services may have been provisioned and forgotten about. These orphaned or unused resources can

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waste thousands of dollars. Identifying them can deliver a quick cost-savings win.

#2 CLEAN UP UNUSED RESOURCES After identifying unused resources, it is time to clean them up. Make sure key resources are backed up before deleting anything. Based on the usage patterns you have identified, slowly begin to scale down resources to the next smallest size to ensure you do not impact application performance.

Continue with this incremental reduction until you reach a point where the workload runs at the desired performance with the minimum infrastructure size.

Archaic data can be deleted or moved to lower-cost storage tiers. This will not only reduce immediate costs but moving data from primary to archival storage will also save you money on your ongoing backup and disaster recovery costs. Initiating a data management lifecycle policy will help to ensure that the issue doesn’t bubble up again.

For non-production workloads, consider limiting access to on-demand services. Automating start stop workloads based on your developer’s needs will help clamp down on unnecessary or unauthorised service requests whose costs can add up quickly.

Lastly, since most cloud providers offer volume discounts, consolidating multiple accounts with the same provider is an easy way to collect on free money.

#3 WORKLOADS AND BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY A good best practice is to assign workloads to the business unit or other functional area that is responsible for them.

This will not only enable you to chargeback for services, but the business unit can help with more accurate forecasting.

Budgets can be created based on the business knowledge and requirements of the teams that are using the services.

Cloud costs are unpredictable, unlike traditional IT infrastructure.

GUEST ARTICLE

AARON WHITE,

GENERAL MANAGER METI, NUTANIX.

each category. You may have workloads that need to scale out to meet certain performance metrics.

You can identify such workloads and their capacity requirements by having your engineering teams perform load and performance testing.

Once you have identified stable workloads for each of your environments you can plan for reserving the correct level of capacity. Reserving long-term capacity can usually save you substantial money. If you have workloads running across multiple accounts on-demand in different time zones, it may be worth looking into reserving some capacity for dynamic workloads.

#5 DEFINE COST GOVERNANCE POLICIES

Business unit owners can be made accountable for ensuring that resources remain optimised and within budget.

Cloud cost management and control can be an overwhelming and timeconsuming task.

#4 ESTABLISH BETTER CAPACITY PLANNING Now that you have optimised existing services, it is possible to get a baseline for your infrastructure requirements. Based on your usage patterns and the purpose of the workload, segregate them into categories such as stable, variable, long term, and short term.

Identify performance requirements within

You will want to deploy a suitable cloud management platform to help automate much of this analysis and optimisation activity, as well as other routine tasks that can help further reduce costs.

For example, by leveraging the tagging capabilities of a cloud management platform, you can easily identify all non-essential” services and set them to automatically shut down during off hours.

Most cloud management platforms enable you to send cost summaries and billing alerts. Set up your system so that business unit owners receive a cost summary daily. Set budget alerts to notify them when spend is getting close to their allotted budget to avoid overages.

Share your cost governance policies so that each business unit owner knows what actions to take for proactive cost control. Define all necessary usage, spend, and other customised reports required by your organisation, and develop a practice of reviewing them and taking action.

Cloud cost management and control can be an overwhelming and time-consuming task.

By following this analyse, eliminate, optimise, reserve and repeat model, you will be set up for success from the beginning to keep cloud services optimised for cost-effective business agility.

To truly stay ahead with the best technology at the least cost—and avoid cloud bloat syndrome— make sure to re-evaluate your architecture, technology stack, and your vendor partner relationships on a regular basis. ë

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GUEST ARTICLE

HOW MSPS WILL COEXIST WITH HYPERSCALER PLAYERS CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE MANY INCLUDING COEXISTING WITH HYPERSCALER PLAYERS EXPLAINS MATTHIEU BRIGNONE AT PURE STORAGE.

It has been suggested that hyperscalers have spent $185 billion building out new datacentres.

T

he business environment has dramatically and rapidly changed in recent years. We are living in a world where widespread economic and political uncertainty now runs parallel with unprecedented levels of technological development and adoption.

It is no surprise that these two factors have resulted in a shift in attitudes towards IT expenditure. No longer seen as a cost, but as a business critical spend that can drive efficiencies, reduce operational costs and enable fast growth.

Managed Service Providers, MSPs have always played a vital role in running a customer’s IT infrastructure, and over time this has evolved into a supportive and consultancy role. MSPs now play an active part in helping businesses to achieve operational success and reach their goals. Done correctly this looks like a true partnership, but there are challenges ahead for MSPs to navigate.

CHANGING LANDSCAPE Hyperscale public cloud providers have created a new dynamic in the cloud market, offering businesses unlimited capacity, seamless updates and large geographic scope.

Over the past few years alone it has been suggested that hyperscalers have spent $185 billion building out new datacentres; showcasing their fast and ambitious growth, as well as customer demand for their services.

This growth could actively be taking away business from MSPs as customers go to hyperscale cloud providers directly.

Unsurprisingly, budget restraints present another issue of contention, changing customers’ purchasing needs and habits. For example, increasingly buyers are reaching out to service providers and vendors themselves, with research to suggest that they are already 57% of the way through their decision-making process when they do. Budget concerns mean that more than ever before, organisations need

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services and solutions that meet their needs and objectives.

More than ever before organisations face uncertainty on how they should size their environment, or how to grow and evolve their infrastructure without impacting service delivery. In an age where downtime is no longer acceptable, they will be looking towards technology solutions that can guarantee up-time and a partner that can advise accordingly.

The combination of capex restraints and unpredictable growth means that many customers are increasingly issuing shorter-term supplier contracts. The technology needs of a company – and in many occasions the budget to support it – are in a constant state of flux, making it impractical to be tied into a long-term contract.

The result on MSPs? They have less time to deliver solutions to the business, and are under more pressure than ever to prove their worth and effectiveness from day one.

The ability to adapt to the changing needs of customers is further complicated by the financial challenges MSPs face. Often, MSPs have to purchase solutions from vendors upfront, or enter into long contractual agreements to lease equipment. Vendors could definitely do more to support MSPs through financial innovation and a degree of shared risk.

Hybrid cloud has changed the game for organisations.

While it is without a doubt opened up new opportunities, it now means businesses require the infrastructure and solutions that allow for their workloads to work seamlessly in different environments.

CHALLENGES = OPPORTUNITIES Of course, there are challenges that have moved the goal posts, but they also present unprecedented opportunities for those MSPs who get it right. So just how can these chal-

Rather than competing with hyperscalers, forwardthinking MSPs are already starting to work with them.

GUEST ARTICLE

MATTHIEU BRIGNONE,

AREA VICE PRESIDENT EMEA PARTNERS, PURE STORAGE.

The combination of capex restraints and unpredictable growth means that many customers are increasingly issuing shorter-term supplier contracts

lenges be addressed? There are several ways: Organisations across all industries are facing their own unique set of technology challenges – whether it is the financial services industry reliant on legacy technology, or the public sector where cost and culture can act as huge barriers to digital transformation projects. There is no one size fits all approach, and more to this point, an approach that works for a customer today might not work a month from now.

This has given rise to the success of more flexible subscription-based models. Businesses

increasingly require solutions that are agile enough to scale up and down according to demand.

MSPs need to ensure that their infrastructure investments will support next-generation solutions. This means enabling customers to leverage data intensive applications that require lowlatency and high throughput – such as predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning – to get better insight into what is going on with their business, customers, and industry.

Rather than competing with hyperscalers, forward-thinking MSPs are already starting to work with them. In this scenario MSPs must act as the metaphorical glue that brings all of these new technologies together for their customers.

Only by doing this will they be seen as a true partner, having the best interest of their customers at the forefront.

Ever-changing workloads can present challenges. In order to overcome these hurdles businesses are increasingly looking to reap the benefits of a hybrid environment. In order for MSPs to accelerate development and provide extra support when needed, they should be advising on solutions that will work in a hybrid environment to ensure they are adding real value to customers and prospects.

The landscape is changing, there is no doubt about that, but the future is bright for those MSPs that both embrace and adapt. It all comes back to a customer-centric approach, really putting yourself in the shoes of your customer; understanding their goals and challenges in today’s uncertain environment and providing the solutions and support to help them navigate this.

That said, the onus should not just fall to MSPs – vendors and hyperscalers alike should also operate with a customer-first mind-set, tailor financial options accordingly and take on a shared degree of the risk.

Those MSPs that thrive in the years to come will be the ones that continue to play a crucial supporting role in helping businesses to achieve operational success and reach their objectives.

What’s good for their customers will also be good for MSPs; the true partnerships seeded now will reap future dividends for all. ë

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GUEST ARTICLE

HOW ML CAN PROTECT YOU FROM PHISHING ATTACKS MACHINE LANGUAGE CAN DETECT MINOR ANOMALIES IN EMAIL HELPING TO DETERMINE PHISHING ATTACKS MORE EFFECTIVELY EXPLAINS TAREK KUZBARI, AT BITDEFENDER.

It all boils down to the quality of the filters employed to parse the data.

M

ost breaches start with an email. These ubiquitous messages are the most dangerous cyber threat even in the technologically advanced and industrialized Middle East.

Whether they hide malware or impersonate an executive ordering money transfers, email-borne attacks are constantly honed to bypass perimeter defenses.

Defending an organization against today’s advanced cyber-threats is a herculean feat. According to a survey, the strain is so acute that 53% of security professionals are considering resigning if they cannot increase their budgets or hire more staff. However, forward-looking decision makers have found an efficient way to alleviate this pain point.

Instead of taking the placebo path and piling countless layers of disparate security solutions on top of one another, in the hopes of filling all cyber-security gaps, IT leaders today are turning to a simpler and smarter approach-enter actionable cyber threat intelligence.

According to the 2019 Gartner Market Guide for Security Threat Intelligence Products and Services, 20% of large enterprises will use commercial cyber threat intelligence services by 2022 to bolster security-an increase from fewer than 10% today. But why is threat intelligence suddenly such an appealing approach to combating advanced cyber-threats?

Today’s high-performing companies are embracing threat intelligence for an array of uses, such as security data augmentation, phishing investigations, incident response, vulnerability management and detailed malware analysis. cyber threat intelligence lets security teams improve defenses by triaging and prioritizing alerts while increasing efficiency and productivity. Often integrated with Security Information Event Management SIEM or Endpoint Detection and Response EDR solutions, cyber threat intelligence correlates data gathered from inside the enterprise with

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indicators about external threats.

By narrowing the range of threats marked for investigation, threat intelligence can more quickly and accurately identify the risk of a breach, or a breach that is penetrating your infrastructure. But, in one area, threat intelligence makes all the difference: email.

Data collected by researchers in the past 12 months indicates that the global volume of spam has increased 48% year-over-year. Spam remains a key delivery mechanism for malware, banking Trojans, ransomware, or scams like the Nigerian prince, fraud and impersonation business email compromise, business email compromise.

Spam is the go-to weapon for cybercriminals. It can help in social engineering by gaining victims’ trust and compelling them to quickly open an attachment, click a link, type in a password, or even wire funds directly to the attacker’s account.

Spam takes many elusive forms, some of which can sneak past perimeter-level defenses, like next-gen firewalls and intrusion prevention and detection systems IPS, IDS. Spear-phishing and whaling-also members of the spam family-are even bigger threats to an organization. Whaling scams, also known as business email compromise, BEC, essentially forge a boss’s email address, or compromise the boss’s email account outright in order to send fraudulent messages inside the organization.

Typically, business email compromise operators ask a victim to transfer funds into a bank account they control. business email compromise scams have so far netted over $12.5 billion, according to the FBI’s cyber-crime fighting group, the IC3. Emails sent in the name of the CEO can easily get past your firewall unless your filters use proper threat intelligence to spot the scam.

So, how can security teams leverage threat intelligence to combat hackers’ most successful attack avenue? Well, it all

Threat intelligence correlates data from multiple levels to determine whether the email is malicious or legitimate.

GUEST ARTICLE

TAREK KUZBARI,

REGIONAL DIRECTOR MIDDLE EAST, BITDEFENDER.

Current threat intelligence vendors overestimate the customer’s capabilities.

Machine learning analyzes the text in the email for even the smallest clues that something is amiss.

Machine learning analyzes the text in the email for even the smallest clues that something is amiss.

boils down to the quality of the filters employed to parse the data. This is the key selling point for threat intelligence vendors and the key to success for prospecting buyers alike.

Applied to spam, phishing, spear-phishing and whaling, threat intelligence can catch malicious emails targeting certain industries, sniff out emails laced with elusive malware, and spot campaigns using sophisticated methods to evade detection. For example, machine learning models analyze the text in the email for even the smallest clues that something is amiss.

IP, domain and URL reputation spam threshold from those sources are measured constantly for blacklisting and whitelisting.

Tags-like employment, lottery, stock, pharma and dating-help categorize emails as suspicious before other filters kick in to infer or rebuff the validity of the email. And the list goes on.

Current threat intelligence vendors overestimate the customer’s capabilities. All of the above can be served up directly to your security team, or, if you lack the manpower and skill in-house, you can outsource it to your vendor’s army of security experts trained to tweak those knobs for you, based on your business model, industry type, technical requirements.

In the context of spam, threat intelligence correlates data points from multiple levels and angles to determine whether the email you are looking at is malicious or legitimate.

When choosing your threat intelligence vendor, first look for easy integration with your existing tooling SIEM, TIP, SOAR, targeted threat intelligence based on company profile, and predictive and strategic data.

The best vendors deliver security data and expertise by leveraging dedicated anti-spam, antiphishing and anti-fraud technologies, indicators of compromise on every layer of your infrastructure, internal crawling systems, email traps, honeypots and data from monitored botnets, advanced heuristics and content analysis.

Top rated solutions also include an internal virtual machine farm that executes prevalent malware and collects threat information and, ideally, collaborates with other cybersecurity industry players, international organizations and law enforcement agencies. ë

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GUEST ARTICLE

THREAT INTELLIGENCE IS CHANGING THE CISO CONVERSATION AN EFFECTIVE THREAT INTELLIGENCE HELPS CISOS TO REMAIN ON TOP OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THEIR THREAT ENVIRONMENT EXPLAINS LEON WARD AT THREATQUOTIENT.

Effective threat intelligence provides information needed to change from a million events blocked, to ransomware attacks stopped which would have cost the company £2M.

I

t seems as though everyone is talking about threat intelligence at the moment. Nearly every security vendor wants to get in on the action and the majority of security operations groups are either being told by their management to get on board with it, or they have attended various security conferences and realised they need to add threat intelligence into their security program for the year.

That said though, the questions most security operations groups always come back with are: What sort of threat intelligence should I get? How do I use it effectively? How is it going to help me? And my favourite one, what actually is threat intelligence?

Gartner has defined threat intelligence as: evidencebased knowledge, including context, mechanisms, indicators, implications and actionable advice, about an existing or emerging menace or hazard to assets that can be used to inform decisions regarding the subject’s response to that menace or hazard. By all means, this is a good definition but what does it all mean? And, how can threat intelligence benefit organisations?

Defending a business and its customers against cyber threats starts with understanding what you are up against.

Now, that may sound pretty obvious; studying the adversary is a common practice in many situtations. In sports, for example, even in nature, it is done all the time.

So why then, when it comes to cyber security, instead of looking outward, have organisations become accustomed to traditional security approaches that start at the perimeter and focus inward? In today’s increasingly connected and digital world it is important to expand this perspective, looking outside the walls of the enterprise, as well as in.

To establish a solid foundation for intelligence-driven enterprise security, what is needed is a way to bring all this global data together in one manageable location, translate it into a uniform format, and correlate it with local data, events, and context. With all the threat data in one place and usable for ingestion, analysis, and exporting, organisa-

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tions will be well on their way to expanding security perspectives and better defending against cyber threats.

That is where the platform comes in. Threat intelligence platforms, allow security teams to become more proactive and anticipatory by profiling not only the attack, but attackers who rapidly change their tools, techniques, and procedures to evade defensive technologies.

In my experience, a threat intelligence platform that is worth its salt has the potential to help organisations in three key areas: to communicate more effectively, focus resources more efficiently and manage risk more successfully. These are by no means the only areas of an organisation’s security strategy that will feel the benefits, but here are my thoughts on why they are the top three: At some stage in their career, every CISO or SOC manager will be asked by management, concerned about the latest reported hack: What do you know about it? How does it affect us? What are we doing about it?

Though not explicitly stated, the underlying assumption here is that preventative measures have already been taken to ensure such an attack will not occur on their organisation. This is where a threat intelligence strategy is key, providing individuals with a means of being proactive and ensuring that they’re on top of their cyber security.

As a result, security teams will then be in a position to answer these questions before they are even asked. Leaders also want a way to answer these questions in business terms in order to let management know what is being done by the security operations group. Effective threat intelligence provides all of the information needed to change the conversation from a million events were blocked this month, to ransomware attacks were stopped which would have cost the company £2M. On a network, there are only three things security operators need to deal with; noise, nuisance and threats. This noise needs to be filtered out blocking it at the perimeter or detecting it and automatically remediating, threats need to

GUEST ARTICLE

LEON WARD,

VP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, THREATQUOTIENT.

Effective threat intelligence provides information needed to change from a million events blocked, to ransomware attacks stopped which would have cost the company ÂŁ2M.

An effective threat intelligence platform helps organise the threats and provide the information needed to isolate what really matters.

be focused on the real rascals that can negatively impact shareholder value and nuisances need to be determined as simply noise or rather an actual threat that needs to be dealt with accordingly.

An effective threat intelligence platform helps organise the threats and provide the information needed to isolate what really matters. It provides security teams with a means of automatically filtering the noise while also enabling threat intelligence enrichment through an analyst workbench to understand and address the nuisances.

In short, a good threat intelligence platform lets an organiation operationalise its approach to cyber security.

Once an organisation begins to use threat intelligence to improve communications and

focus its resources, it can begin to dive into risk management. A threat intelligence platform lets organisations take a more strategic view of the business critical assets that it needs to protect, the threats that are targeting these assets and the ways in which security teams are going about it, and the countermeasures that are in place. From there, the risk gap can be figured out and turned into a strategic discussion with the board about accepting, transferring or mitigating risk, and the investments required.

Moving forward, I am convinced that threat intelligence will be a deciding factor in the success of many cyber security strategies and it is vital that organisations are staying ahead of the curve by actively looking at how they improve communication, operationalise threat intelligence and manage risk.

For organisations who have already implemeted a threat intelligence platform, the most frequently cited challenge is being inundated with threat data and not having a clue where to start. It is clear that the aggregation and sharing of threat data is simply not enough to succeed; threat intelligence platforms need to do more to support the utility of threat intelligence as part of security operations. Without comprehensive context and priority, it can be extremely difficult for security operators and threat analysts to identify a starting point for investigations.

Security operators and threat analysts can now become empowered to operationalise threat intelligence with the fine-tuned controls of a great threat intelligence platform. Threat data can be operational, based on user definition, rather than vendor definition. Teams are able to maintain control over how, when and where intelligence is used. ĂŤ

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TRENDS

SPENDING ON DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WILL ACCOUNT FOR 30% META IT SPENDING BY 2024 DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, INNOVATION ACCELERATORS, SOFTWARE, SERVICES, SECURITY, WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DRIVING IT SPENDING ACROSS META REGION.

Comparison of GDP growth of South Africa, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and UAE.

I

nvestments in digital transformation and innovation will account for 30% of all IT spending in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa META by 2024, up from 18% in 2018.

Group Vice President and Regional Managing Director, Jyoti Lalchandani, explained that spending in these two areas is leaving the rest of the market in its wake, increasing at a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 18% versus 1.5% for the rest of IT. His other predictions for the META region’s ICT markets included the following: l Government enterprise IT spending is increasing at a CAGR of 5.7% and will top $8 billion in 2021. l At over $6 billion, manufacturing will account for 23% of all digital transformation spending in 2020. l Annual security spending will top $3.6 billion by 2023 as digital trust becomes a priority. l Spending on artificial intelligence will top

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$600 million in 2023, doubling from 2018 levels. l IoT spending will reach $17 billion in 2023, six times the value seen in 2018.

IDC’s global research had identified three of the most pressing items on this new agenda: l Need to build digital trust programmes. l Enable development of an intelligent organisation. l Embrace new industry ecosystems.

“The digital economy is at a critical tipping point,” said IDC’s Chief Research Officer, Meredith Whalen. In just a few short years, IDC forecasts that nearly half of all GDP worldwide will come from products and services offered by digitally transformed organisations. In order to thrive, organisations must define their new role in this digital economy and proactively address new customer requirements around personalisation and trust.

They must also develop new capabilities around digital innovation, work, and intelligence,

and build a digital IT infrastructure that supports resilient operations and pervasive experiences.

“From ecommerce and cloud computing to fintech and cybersecurity, the UAE is leading the region in digital transformation,” said Ammar Al Malik, Managing Director of Dubai Internet City, which was the Strategic Partner at IDC Directions 2020. “We believe that the biggest budget in the history of Dubai, announced earlier this year, sends a strong message to the business community. It will be a catalyst for growth that stimulates entrepreneurship, innovation, and the ecosystems supporting a diversified, knowledge-based economy.”

Analysts continue to predict that ICT investment in the region will rise and the appetite for future growth is promising. As such, investment insight is crucial to ensure the 1,600+ start-ups, entrepreneurs, and Fortune 500 companies based in Dubai Internet City continue to leverage growth opportunities. ë

TRENDS

META ICT spending across 2015-2020.

META IT spending across 2015-2020.

META IT markets by size and growth.

Data grows while voice recedes in META telecom services 2020 over 2019.

META software and services show strong growth in 2020.

Innovation accelerators drive third platform spending 2019-2023.

How the market segments will spend 2019-2023.

Where are we in the course of innovation.

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TRENDS

How digital transformation will impact META spending.

What is happening in the cloud?

High spending in artificial intelligence.

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TRENDS

High spending in robotic process automation.

Securing digital trust during digital transformation.

Drivers of security spending

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PEOPLE

ICT Appointments

Automation Anywhere appoints industry veteran Yousuf Khan as CIO Automation Anywhere, which specialises in Robotic Process Automation, has announced the appointment of Yousuf Khan as the company’s first Chief Information Officer. Khan will be responsible for leading and overseeing the vision, strategy and operations of

Schneider Electric appoints Pankaj Sharma as EVP of Secure Power Division Schneider Electric has promoted Pankaj Sharma to succeed Dave Johnson as Executive Vice President of its Secure Power Division. Sharma, who is currently Senior Vice President, Home and Business Networks, Schneider Electric, has held leadership roles in the company including

Tenable appoints Marty Edwards as VP Operational Technology Security Tenable has announced the appointment of Marty Edwards, an expert in cybersecurity for industrial control systems and operational technology, OT, as Vice President of OT Security. At Tenable, Edwards will serve as an evangelist for the company’s OT security vision, with a

Forcepoint appoints cloud veteran Nico Popp as Chief Product Officer Forcepoint has announced Nico Popp has joined the company as Chief Product Officer. In this newly-created role, Popp will oversee the global execution and strategic evolution of Forcepoint’s behavioural-based cloud security platform.

This will include leadership of all product

Yahsat appoints Khaled Al Qubaisi as Chairman Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, Yahsat, announced the appointment of Khaled Al Qubaisi, CEO of Aerospace, Renewables and ICT at Mubadala Investment Company as its new Chairman.

Through his role in Mubadala, Al Qubaisi oversees the company’s aerospace,

Nutanix appoints Thomas Rollin as Director Global Accounts EMEA Nutanix announced the appointment of Thomas Rollin as Director Global Accounts for its EMEA region. He will focus on heightening customer service delivery for the company’s global accounts, accelerating sales growth and providing trusted advisor services. In his time at

Emitac Enterprise appoints Antoine Abi Abad as General Manager Emitac Enterprise Solutions announced the appointment of Antoine Abi Abad as the New General Manager for the company. Bringing almost three long decades of experience across fields ranging from strategic alliances to consulting, Antoine will be responsible for the company’s overall performance and operations while continuing to grow its prominent position within the local market. A veteran and a visionary in the field of people and resource management, Antoine Abi Aad’s wellversed knowledge and progressive guidance make him a great fit at the helm of steering useful strategies for Emitac.

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