Enterprise Channels MEA October issue 2017 by GEC Media Group

ACCELLION: INFORMATION- VISIBLE, SECURED/ 52

PA G E S 7 2 VOLUME O5 | ISSUE 03 OCTOBER 2017 WWW.EC-MEA.COM

THE

BACKUP PLAN

With an elevation to its senior leadership rota and meaningful commitments to the channel, Veeam is all set to live its promise of becoming a $1bn company in revenue by 2019.

INDIAECM102017

PETER MCKAY, CO-CEO AND PRESIDENT, VEEAM

THE CRITICAL

INFRASTRUCTURE FORUM 2017 28TH NOV 2017

THE NEXUS OF GCC COUNTRIES FOR FUTURE ECONOMY Unveiling the investments, roadmap, technolgies and key infrastructure pillars that put GCC on the map of global competitiveness

ORGANISED BY

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EDITORIAL

It’s time for an industry rendezvous

ANUSHREE DIXIT A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R A N U S H R E E @ G E C M E D I A G R O U P. C O M

It’s the month of October. From the market perspective and from our organizational perspective, this month holds relevance in ways more than one. 2017, against all the odds, has still emerged as one of the strongest years in the ICT calendar with some great innovations in technology coming our way. In the last 2 years, we have seen many start-ups making it to the numero uno list when it came to being the choice of the customers. Though a cliché, ‘Change’ has emerged as the new constant. We also saw the term ‘Value’ changing in a way of its own. As a CIO told me in one of our recent meetings, “It is very important for me as an organization to change with time and it is equally important for the solution provider to change his value propositions to suit the change that I am bringing to the organization. After all, we are an ecosystem, and we thrive together.” SO, GITEX 2017 is all set to go on the floors from 8th October onwards. Leading IT players are once again on a roll to bring the best to the tables. It is always exciting to bring the industry and its stalwarts under one roof. As I said earlier, October is a big month for that. With the GEC Awards 2017, to be held on 3rd October, we are crossing a major milestone as an organization. While taking a step further by introducing some new categories in the awards, we are making sure that as a leading media organization we are right at the center when it comes to rewarding the present whilst making way for the future. See you at the Gala! ë

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2017 CONTENTS

VOLUME 05 ISSUE 03 OCTOBER 2017 W W W. E C - M E A . C O M

COVER STORY

MAKE ‘WAY’ WHILE THE SUN SHINES

Needless to say, the infrastructure market in the Middle East is in one of its prosperous phases. As many reports and studies have been stating, organizations that do not rise up to this demand will not see the sunrise of 2020. /24 MY VIEWS /52

INFORMATION— VISIBLE, SECURE SAPAN AGARWAL, COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, ME AT ACCELLION

MY VIEWS /54

DIGITIZING TELECOM SERVICES

INNOVATIONS /68

FEATURE STORY Services on the ‘move’

SURFACE PRO

Microsoft launched its versatile, reimagined Surface Pro device in the UAE, bringing the full power of Windows 10 creativity and productivity to the country’s consumers and professionals.

ABDERRAHMANE MOUNIR, COO, BATELCO

MY VIEWS /47

EDITORIAL::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 04

THE RESILIENCE OF POWER

CHANNEL STREET : ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 06

RAJESH N.R, SALES MANAGER - IT INFRASTRCUTURE RITTAL MIDDLE EAST.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT::::::::::::::::: 40 INNOVATIONS : ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 68

ADVERTISER INDEX: PURE STORAGE 02, CIF 03, DELL 07, GBM 09, RITTAL 11, TOSHIBA 13, ACCELION 15, VALUE MENTOR 17, REDINGTON 19, NEXANS 21, STARLINK 23, R&M 27, COMMVAULT 29, ARROW 31, GITEX DWTC 39, PALADION 43, CARBON BLACK 45, STORIT 49, HID 51, FINESSE 49, JUNIPER 55, OMA EMIRATES 57, INFINITEWIRELESS 59, SOPHOS 61, INNOVATIVE SOLUTION 63, TALARIAX 65, SERVICE NOW 67, MANAGE ENGINE 69, VEEAM 71, GEC OPEN 72

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CHANNEL

STREET JAMES PETTER, VICE PRESIDENT, EMEA AT PURE STORAGE

Pure Reveals Evolution Results Pure Storage revealed the results of Evolution, an independent global research survey that explores the ways businesses in the MEA and across the globe are balancing infrastructure and applications, today and beyond. The global research, which included a survey of 500 IT decision makers in the

MEA region, finds that 72% of businesses in the region are committed to being information-based companies and as such, are embracing digital transformation. The key factors driving adoption of digital solutions in the region are new business models (52%), need for faster innovation (47%), customer

DELL EMC TURNS A YEAR OLD Dell Technologies celebrates the first anniversary of its formation through the historic merger of Dell and EMC. In its inaugural year, the company formed a unified Dell and Dell EMC salesforce and created a $35 billion Dell Technologies channel and global channel program that added 10,000 new business customers to the Dell EMC portfolio. In addition, Dell EMC experienced explosive revenue growth in underpenetrated accounts in the first half of 2017, fueled by cross-selling of server, storage, client and converged infrastructure solutions. “We set the bar high and exceeded our own expectations,” said Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies.

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demand (47%), competition (43%), new customer acquisition (43%) and cost savings initiatives (42%). Digital solutions are typically driving almost half of revenue (47% on average) for MEA organizations today. Cloud confusion seems evident in workload fragmentation and cloud repatriation. As data vol-

umes continue to grow and unlock greater opportunities, managing and harnessing data with a futureproofed approach is essential for organizations in the region,” said James Petter, Vice President, EMEA at Pure Storage

EPICOR ISCALA WINS GOLD STEVIE AWARD Epicor iScala solution was named the winner of a Gold Stevie Award in the Best New Software Product of the Year, Financial Management Solution category in the 14th Annual International Business Awards. The International Business Awards are the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small—are eligible to submit nominations. The 2017 IBAs received entries from more than 60 nations and territories. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for “crowned,” the awards will be presented to winners at a gala awards banquet at the W Hotel in Barcelona, Spain on 21 October.

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HP Inspires Partners to Reinvent How the World Prints

ENRIQUE LORES, PRESIDENT, IMAGING & PRINTING AT HP

At HP Reinvent, the company shared its vision for protecting print in the workplace, arming partners with new tools to safeguard their print environment, reshape how businesses print, and transform servicing. “We will drive partner success with innovative new services and solutions for printing easily and securely, enabling

increased services and revenue opportunities” said Enrique Lores, President, Imaging & Printing at HP. At HP Reinvent, HP is launching HP Connection Inspector, a new intelligent embedded security feature created by HP Labs to help printers stay one step ahead of malware attacks with advanced self-healing capabilities.

CISCO UNVEILS INTERSIGHT Cisco unveiled Cisco Intersight, a management and automation platform for Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS) and Cisco HyperFlex Systems, marking the start of a multi-year strategic program to provide customers with clear IT advantages that support their competitive business goals. Cisco Intersight simplifies data center operations by delivering systems management as-a-service, alleviating the need to maintain islands of on-premise management infrastructure. Complete system lifecycle management is delivered by Cisco Intersight through machine learning, analytics and automation.

NETAPP ENABLES COMPANIES TO MAKE FASTER DECISIONS WITH DATA NetApp introduced a powerful system that set new records for price/ performance, alongside new software added to its big data analytics portfolio, including the first available NVMeenabled solution in the market and a NetApp Converged Infrastructure Solution for Data Analytics. These new offerings provide ultrafast performance and the building blocks for managing analytic data that is fast, secure, efficient and future-proof. New solutions and software being introduced include: NetApp EF570 all flash system; NetApp E5700 Series hybrid-flash system; SANtricity Cloud Connector; NetApp SANtricitry software. NetApp Converged Infrastructure Solution for Data Analytics – brings together the latest storage, networking, and server technologies in a pretested, prevalidated reference architecture to help simplify deployment of data analytics environments. “Organizations looking to transform data into valuable business results are often bogged down by inefficient infrastructures that are not designed for performance intensive workloads” said Ritu Jyoti, Research Director, Infrastructrue for Big Data and Analytics, IDC.

MASHREQ BANK TO DEPLOY NCR TABLET AND VIDEO BANKING TECHNOLOGY NCR Corporation revealed that Mashreq Bank will revamp its banking services in the country with a host of innovative technologies from NCR over the next six months. Mashreq Bank will be the first in the region to deploy NCR’s tablet-based Interactive Banker,

targeted to help financial institutions to transform their branches by converting branch tellers into financial advisors. “Ensuring uninterrupted availability of our services and delivering exceptional banking experience to customers at the time and channel of their

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choice remains a key strategy for us,” said Sandeep Chauhan, Head of Operations and Technology, Mashreq Bank. The Interactive Banker allows Mashreq Bank’s universal agent to monitor the customers’ transactions on its latest ATMs rolled-out in its modern

branches. The technology helps the bank turn smart data into great customer service by using real-time customer information so the best assisted service is offered to the customer when needed.

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CHANNEL STREET

Fibrenetix Partner with VAD Technologies in the Middle East

SECONDS

REALOPEDIA SHOWCASED HOW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CAN EMPOWER REAL ESTATE Realopedia.com participated at the recently held Cityscape Global where it showcased its capabilities in bringing together and connecting various industry stakeholders under one roof to meet and expand their networks and achieve business growth. In a separate agreement, Dubai Properties has become the first major developer in the region that has partnered with the alliance to showcase its residential and commercial projects.

MARIO M. VELJOVIC, GENERAL MANAGER AT VAD TECHNOLOGIES & JES NAGEL, FIBRENETIX CEO

CISCO TO RESELL VEEAM AVAILABILITY SOLUTIONS Cisco has been a key alliance partner for Veeam. Over the past two years, they have completed numerous Cisco Validated Designs to build on their long-lasting technical relationship. “We are now proud to announce yet another milestone in our strategic partnership with Cisco. Veeam will be added to the Cisco Global Price List in early October of this year. This will enable Cisco and its resellers to deliver Veeam Availability solutions as easily and simply as any Cisco hardware or software product” said Peter McKay, Co-CEO and President, Veeam.

Fibrenetix, revealed a new distribution partnership with VAD Technologies in the Middle East surveillance market. Fibrenetix, offers a comprehensive range of high-performance Video Optimized Servers and Storage for surveillance installations. Mario M. Veljovic, General Manager at VAD Technologies, said: “Fibrenetix has stepped up to the plate with an impressive 10-year spare part program, something that’s

of high importance to our resellers selling into Aviation and Homeland Security.” Jes Nagel, Fibrenetix CEO comments, “Fibrenetix has started a new 3-year investment plan for the Middle East & Africa region. We are currently taking on more employees and investing in larger offices in Dubai to support our future growth plans in the region.

FASYL JOINS IFS PARTNER NETWORK AS A CHANNEL PARTNER FASYL, as a business partner for sub Saharan Africa, will join the IFS Partner Network to empower more businesses across the African continent with leading business solutions from IFS. FASYL and IFS will work together to offer enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise asset management (EAM) and service management solutions to companies in asset- and product-centric sectors such as manufacturing and utilities.

ETISALAT LAUNCHES FIRST IPX EXCHANGE PLATFORM IN MEA Etisalat launched the first IPX Exchange platform in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region to support IPX traffic exchange; an integral part of Smart Hub services. Ali Amiri, Etisalat Group Chief Carrier and Wholesale Officer said: “The launch of the first IPX Exchange is an achievement as it sets a benchmark for Etisalat and the industry. The exchange will give our customers a high-quality service in terms of flexibility of speed and accessibility. The IPX exchange will add value to the SmartHub data center’s services and to our customers by providing them better connectivity and a reliable platform, also adding new facility to the existing platforms at United States, Europe and Singapore.

ERICSSON AND NET INSIGHT JOIN HANDS Ericsson has partnered with Net Insight for use with Ericsson’s Unified Delivery Network (UDN). The Sye solution from Net Insight is specifically designed to harmonize the viewing experience during live streaming events, ensuring everyone sees the same content at the same time. Through the cooperation, Sye will be integrated in Ericsson’s UDN offering. The combined solution will result in a superior, highly efficient, global content distribution service.

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Discover it – the new world of IT solutions.

The digital transformation in business, trade and industry offers a whole host of opportunities but also throws up new challenges for IT infrastructures. Dealing with complex tasks and huge volumes of data calls for increasingly fast, ﬂexible and efficient IT solutions.

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CHANNEL STREET

Xerox Appoints Redington

R&M SUPPLIES JORDAN’S FIRST FTTH PROJECT Saraya Aqaba, the luxury mixed-use tourism and leisure destination located on the shores of the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan, has become the first in the country to roll out Fibreto-the-Home (FTTH) connectivity by leveraging state-of-the-art cabling solutions from R&M. The undertaking will allow more than 800 residential units and commercial establishments to enjoy high-speed connectivity and the latest triple-play services from telecom operators. Raed Al-Omari, Director of Mega Projects, said, “Saraya Aqaba is designed to provide the very latest facilities and amenities to residents and guests. The fibre infrastructure we have deployed provides the robust platform upon which a host of critical modern services will be offered. We have invested in the best technologies from R&M, a market-leading vendor, which will ensure that this network is capable of meeting the needs of users for years to come.” “With the advancement of technology in the Middle East and the techsavvy nature of consumers, FTTH is the clear way forward to meet growing expectations. Thanks to market-leading solutions and the eﬀorts of the expertly qualified partner Optimiza,” said Mohammad Sweidan, Area Director – Africa, Levant & Kuwait at R&M META

MARK DUFFELEN, VP & GM, XEROX MEA; ASHISH BHARTI, PRESIDENT, REDINGTON GULF-VOLUME DIVISION (ME)

Xerox Emirates has appointed Redington Gulf as its authorized distributor in the UAE. Through this partnership, Xerox Emirates aims to expand the reach of its A3 office entry level MultiFunction Printers’ (MFP) and Xerox Scanners in the SME segment & grow its market share by over 200%. The new partnership will provide Xerox Emirates access to Redington Gulf ’s strong and extensive network of IT resellers, supply chain

facilities and capitalize on its vast experience in the IT Volume Distribution segment. By partnering with Xerox Emirates, Redington Gulf will broaden their portfolio of IT offerings in the A3 office entry level Multi-Function Printers & Xerox Scanners segment. Xerox Emirates will also add value to this new partnership by offering training programs, special offers and incentives which will benefit Redington Gulf and its reseller network.

MINDWARE UNVEILS ITS CLOUD MARKETPLACE PLATFORM Mindware launched its Cloud Marketplace Platform, aimed at its Middle East and Africa partners. The platform includes an extensive array of subscription offerings, all conveniently aggregated on a on a state-of-

the-art online management tool. On the core of the new platform lies Microsoft and the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) agreement recently signed by the two companies. Utilizing the Mindware Cloud

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Marketplace and its Microsoft CSP services, Mindware’s resellers can now own the complete customer lifecycle, allowing them to easily sell Office 365, Azure, Enterprise Mobility and Dynamics 365 subscriptions

and, in turn, helping their clients take advantage of compelling cloud services by owning the entire billing process and directly managing support.

CHANNEL STREET

Hitachi Accelerates Customers’ Hybrid Cloud Initiatives With Enhanced UCP Offerings Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) launched Hitachi Unified Compute Platform (UCP) RS series, a fully integrated, software-defined data center (SDDC) rack-scale platform, powered by VMware Cloud Foundation. Hitachi UCP RS enables customers to embrace hybrid cloud for faster time to market and pay-as-you-go economics. It also gives customers the freedom to optimize their IT investments by leveraging private and public cloud as an agile extension to their business. UCP RS provides flexibility

to customers to either deploy integrated SDDC stack or build their own using Hitachi’s vSAN ready node and VMware software. “With the launch of our UCP RS in addition to advancements in our hyper converged UCP HC, Hitachi is empowering our customers to transform their IT environments, accelerate hybrid cloud deployments and further their digital business initiatives” said Bob Madaio, VP of Integrated Solution Marketing at Hitachi.

WEB CLIPS DPPM AND TECHMONIA UNVEIL ‘THE KEY’ TO INSTANT PAYMENT The Technology of Payment and Transfer is possible with THE KEY . The Founder and CEO, Alireza Dehghan has said, “This technology is like being the World’s bank, you are able to transfer funds instantly from your banks or cards anywhere in the world to anybody else and that person will be able to instantly spend it or transfer it worldwide with the fee of 30 cents in the most securest way possible just at the tip of their finger. And we don’t even keep your money.” CENTRA HUB TO FOCUS ON VATCOMPLIANT AT GITEX Centra Hub plans to promote the upgraded

SERVICENOW LAUNCHES SOFTWARE ASSET MANAGEMENT ServiceNow revealed the industry’s first software asset management solution that gives businesses the power to fix licensing issues before they affect their bottom line. Licensed software is now found in every enterprise department and managing compliance to these complex software contracts has become a minefield for IT. With vendor software audits on the rise, it has become more important than ever to address licensing problems fast or risk facing severe financial penalties. Software Asset Management combines catalog, procurement and orchestration all in one system of action.

version of its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution with inbuilt entry-level accounting module that is completely VAT-compliant as well as the cloud-ready version built on thin-client architecture at GITEX Technology Week 2017. The company will also showcase its other solutions such as Real Estate Management Systems (REMS), Computer Aided Facility Management Systems (CAFM) and Human Capital Management (HCM) at the region’s leading technology exhibition WINDOWS 10 FALL CREATORS UPDATE REVEALED

MOVEMENTS KRISTIAN KERR, is Head of Channel, Alliances and Commercial – EMEA, Juniper Networks

Citrix Systems has appointed MARK J. FERRER as Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer

Pure Storage Names CHARLES GIANCARLO CEO

NUMBER GAME

$10bn

As part of the update Microsoft will deliver an evolution to the photos experience that will let users tell their story like never before using photos, videos, and 3D effects; enhancements in gaming, security, accessibility, and immersive new experiences made possible by Windows Mixed Reality. All of this innovation will be brought to life by a range of beautifully designed, and feature rich modern devices available from hardware partners this holiday.

Frost & Sullivan believe the e-commerce sector is expected to reach $10 billion in 2018

INFOFORT INTRODUCES VAT COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS FOR GCC BUSINESSES Addressing business governance and compliance needs, InfoFort launched the VAT Compliance and Automation Solution for the GCC markets. The GCC-wide VAT implementation impacts how companies manage and deal with their data and information assets, driving companies to establish and seriously reconsider their existing information governance and legal compliance frameworks.

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GOVERNANCE OVER EXTERNAL FILE SHARING

Extending Your Enterprise Content Securely

Security

Governance

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08-12 OCT 2017 | DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE

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CHANNEL STREET

ArabianChain signs MoU with Jibrel Network

NIIT TECHNOLOGIES SHOWCASED RPA OFFERINGS AT MEBIS

MOHAMMED ALSEHLI, CEO, ARABIANCHAIN

ArabianChain has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Jibrel Network, the first protocol allowing traditional assets like currencies on the blockchain. This partnership will help government and bureaucratic processes adopt and leverage Arabian Chain’s innovative

blockchain technology, with support from Jibrel’s technical advisory services. “We recognize the immense potential blockchain has when it comes to driving a technology-first approach and changing the region’s economy,” said ArabianChain founder and CEO Mohammed Alsehli.

EFATOORA TO SHOWCASE ITS PAPERLESS SOLUTION AT GITEX A new turnkey solution, eFatoora is designed to enable any environment to become paperless with superior efficiency. The company is also set to unveil its own loyalty program, which will allow consumers to use the paperless app with any retailer. The vision comes from eFatoora CEO Yasmine Khan, who said: “Carrying so much plastic in your wallet and so many cards can become a burden for consumers, especially, for women who like to shop, receive offers and discounts – but have become increasingly tired with the number of cards and offers that you need to sign up for while shopping.”

NIIT Technologies Limited showcased its Robotics Process Automation (RPA) and Business Process Management (BPM) offerings for the Banking and Financial services sector at MEBIS, held during 18th-19th September 2017 in Dubai. Recognized as Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) region’s largest banking technology and innovation event, the 7th edition of the summit focused on the region’s Fintech market, technology driven banking trends and the emerging challenges with digitalization. As a networking partner, the company showcased its differentiated, industry-specific experiences across Asset Management and Capital Management solutions with focus on Effective Data Management and Reference Data Management at the event. Commenting on the partnership, Pankaj Malik, Sr. Vice President and Middle East Head, NIIT Technologies Ltd., said, “The banking sector in Middle East is at the cusp of change with digitalization, emergence of new technologies like automation and evolving customer needs. Our deep understanding of the Banking and financial sector with strong solutions in the RPA and BPM domains has enabled us to help our customer adapt with the changing times and deliver exceptional service experiences.”

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TOP PRIORITY FOR CEO’S SAYS BT RESEARCH BT revealed the findings of new global research based on a survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) with 400 CEOs in 13 countries across 5

continents, which reveals the critical importance of digital transformation in multinational organisations. The research shows that nearly 40% of CEOs currently have

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digital transformation at the very top of their boardroom agenda, with almost a quarter of them personally leading their company’s transformation programmes. There is a

high level of confidence amongst three quarters of CEOs surveyed that their specific programmes will help them achieve their strategic objectives, which include making

operational efficiencies, improving customer service and innovating for the future, with security as a key differentiator.

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Worldwide Wearable Device Sales to Grow 17% in 2017; Gartner Gartner forecasts that 310.4 million wearable devices will be sold worldwide in 2017, an increase of 16.7% from 2016. Sales of wearable devices will generate revenue of $30.5 billion in 2017. Of that, $9.3 billion will be from smartwatches. In 2017, 41.5 million smartwatches will be sold. They are on pace to account for the highest unit sales of all wearable device form factors from 2019 to 2021, aside from Bluetooth

VODAFONE, VMWARE SIGN ENTERPRISE LICENSING AGREEMENT

headsets. By 2021, sales of smartwatches are estimated to total nearly 81 million units, representing 16 percent of total wearable device sales. “The overall ASP of the smartwatch category will drop from $223.25 in 2017 to $214.99 in 2021 as higher volumes lead to slight reductions in manufacturing and component costs.” said Angela McIntyre, Research Director at Gartner.

CENTRIFY TO SHOWCASE ITS IDENTITY SERVICES PLATFORM AT GITEX Centrify will be participating in GITEX Technology Week 2017, to be held from October 8-12, 2017 in Dubai. The company will showcase its identity services platform, meet with customers and channel partners and demonstrate how organizations can stop the breach with Centrify’s identity services at the region’s top technology exhibition. “GITEX, being the most important event for the region’s IT industry, is a perfect opportunity to meet face to face with security practitioners looking to manage their organisation’s security based on identity. Our aim is to promote our award-winning identity services platform, meet with our clients and channel partners, discuss the evolving threat landscape and new security trends, and raise awareness about the importance of securing identities to reduce the risks of data breaches,” said Kamel Heus, Regional Sales Manager MEA, Centrify.

Vodafone Group has agreed to a software licensing agreement with VMware that will enable it to access a range of the technology vendor’s products. As part of that agreement, VMware will be one of the vendors to support the operator’s global roll out of Network Functions Virtualization to accelerate its delivery of future products and services in a rapid, cost-efficient manner. Vodafone will deploy VMware vCloud NFV as part of its group-wide transformation program utilizing NFV and software defined networking technologies across applications and networks. Vodafone will also receive Carrier-Grade Support, a new VMware offering to support the implementation of new software. “Reducing the time and cost to deploy and operate services, utilizing automation and convergence in standardized cloud environments for our network and IT businesses is a critical part of our technology and operational transformation strategy” said Fran Heeran, Vodafone Group’s Head of Network Virtualisation. VMware vCloud NFV will provide Vodafone with an ETSI-compliant, modular, multi-tenant NFV platform that supports choice in virtual infrastructure managers.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS FIRST TO OFFER AUTOMATED CREDIT CARD PAYMENT PLANS After partnering with PayFort. The initiative allows Etihad Airways to offer consumers who book directly via Etihad.com that range from three to 60 months. This is the latest enhancement in Etihad’s

ongoing digital transformation, after establishing its Digital Transformation and Innovation team at the start of 2017. Etihad Airways Vice President Digital Strategy and Innovation Justin Warby,

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said: “Etihad is committed to continually enhancing the travel experience by providing greater choice and flexibility to our guests while ensuring we make it as easy and secure as possible to transact through our

direct channels, including Etihad.com.” “By partnering with PayFort we’re able to offer fully automated, best in class technology solutions provided by the industry leaders. We’re taking a global outlook and bringing

best practice to the region. ” With over 20 payment methods available on its website, Etihad Airways offers diverse payment solutions to meet both global and local needs.

CHANNEL STREET

DIFC Launches New Technology & Construction Division The region’s technology and construction companies can now choose to have their most complex commercial disputes resolved by a specialised division within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts. The new Technology and Construction Division (TCD) draws on specialist judges and a new set of industry-specific rules to fast-track dispute resolution, providing greater certainty to businesses in court. The Division will only hear technically complex cases. Examples in the construction sector might include complicated engineering disputes or claims arising out of fires. Technology-related cases could include liability for cybercrime incidents, disputes over the ownership and use of data, and issues relating to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence or connected cars. Parties located anywhere in the world are able to opt-in to the DIFC Courts’ jurisdiction, if both parties agree in writing. Requests to have claims heard by the TCD are made as part of the initial filing, with the Courts’ decision based on the

written evidence provided. DIFC Courts Chief Justice Michael Hwang said: “The TCD has been designed around the particular characteristics of highly complex technology and construction disputes, which can be resolved much more speedily and efficiently with the oversight of specialist judicial expertise. This new division is another foundation stone in our work to build the courts of the future, and an important new service for businesses operating in two key sectors of the UAE economy.” The TDC will be headed by Justice Sir Richard Field, who brings 20 years of experience handling complex disputes in the London courts. Commenting on his appointment, Sir Richard Field said: “It is a privilege to be chosen to lead the TCD, which represents an important addition to the UAE’s dispute resolution infrastructure. By forming a specialist division to handle complex – and sometimes new – types of construction and technology disputes, the DIFC Courts are working to secure businesses both now and in the future.”

SYNOLOGY TO SHOWCASE NEW TECHNOLOGIES AT GITEX Synology is all set to showcase its latest storage, networking and application technologies at GITEX Technology Week that is taking place from October 8-12. During the event, Synology will be demonstrating its devotion to bring advanced technologies to businesses and individuals in the Middle East. These include a centralized file portal for NAS users to create an even more streamlined cloud experience, a versatile on-premises business backup solution for servers, cloud services and virtual machines, advanced VPN management tool, and other enhancements on the DiskStation Manager Operating System (DSM)to provide more stable services. “We are excited to be participating again in this year’s edition of GITEX Technology Week. As the biggest ICT exhibition in the region, it is the perfect opportunity to showcase Synology’s latest breakthroughs in products and technologies for both enterprises and home users. This year, we have a lot of new exciting and innovative solutions and products aimed to accelerate your business needs and secure digital assets,” said Nick Jheng, Sales Account Manager at Synology. New products and solutions announced during GITEX will be available in multiple phases in the coming year, starting this autumn. Synology will also be announcing new channel partner partnerships in the GCC region for their storage, networking and surveillance solutions.

NCR CORPORATION LAUNCHES BREAKTHROUGH ATM SOLUTION NCR Corporation launched the NCR SelfServ 80 Series, a new family of ATM solutions that will help financial institutions redefine the banking experience and change the way consumers interact with the ATM forever. Through a unique combination of innovation across software, hardware, and services, consumers and financial institutions will gain many new benefits from this mobile-ready ATM solution. A large, 19-inch multi-touch display drives tablet-like interactions, where consumers can swipe, pinch and zoom their way quickly through transactions. “This launch fundamentally transforms the ATM to be perfectly aligned with how consumers want to bank and gives financial institutions a new way to realize omni-channel transformational strategies” said Wael El Aawar, VP, Middle East and Africa, Financial Services, at NCR Corporation.

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LANmark ENSPACE Make room for scalability

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CHANNEL STREET

Carbon Black’s New UAE Channel Development Manager Carbon Black has appointed channel expert Christian Hewitt to a new role as Channel Development Manager, UAE. This appointment comes as Carbon Black expands its global reach and builds up its customer base across the Middle East region. Christian joins Carbon Black to lead the identification and engagement of channel partners across this important region. Prior to this, Christian spent seven years at RSA, where he worked on a range of technical and commercial roles and brings long-term knowledge of the security industry. Before joining RSA Christian also held the role of Sales Specialist for the Middle East and Emerging Markets at Symantec. The appointment of Christian Hewitt ahead of GITEX follows on from the appointment earlier this year of Miles Rippon as EMEA Channel Director. Christian will work closely with Miles to develop Carbon Black’s channel strategy in the Middle East region. Miles Rippon, EMEA Channel Director, at Carbon Black said: “Christian joins Carbon Black bringing great experience and an enviable track

record in security having spent the last nineteen years working in technology roles ranging from Senior Systems Engineer to Sales Specialist. I’m delighted Christian is joining the team, his background, language skills and detailed knowledge of the local partner community and strong understanding of endpoint will fast-track us in developing the right relationships in the UAE market. Christian’s experience will be hugely valuable for us as we rapidly grow our presence in this region.” Christian Hewitt, Channel Development Manager, UAE at Carbon Black said: “I am excited to be joining a rapidly growing team in the Middle East and to take responsibility for increasing Carbon Black’s channel presence in the region. I am hugely impressed by Carbon Black’s ambition, products and what it can offer to customers to help protect their endpoints against evolving threats that traditional AV cannot address.” Carbon Black will be at GITEX from 8 to 12 October with its partner Westcon.

EQUATE SELECTS SIEMENS Siemens technology will support the efforts of EQUATE Petrochemical Company to enhance its protection from cyber security threats, following a comprehensive assessment of the industrial control system (ICS) at the company’s marine terminal operation area. Having carried out an IEC 62443 assessment of network security audit, Siemens will now support EQUATE with an upgrade to the Simatic PCS 7 distributed control system. “In collaboration with EQUATE’s experts, we were able to analyze production and process infrastructures, and recommend a set of measures that address their specific needs, which in turn supports upgrading the protection of their operations today and in the future” said Herbert Klausner, CEO, Siemens Kuwait.

AWS TO OPEN DATA CENTERS IN MIDDLE EAST BY 2019 Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to open an infrastructure region in the Middle East by early 2019. The new AWS Middle East (Bahrain) Region will consist of 3 Availability Zones at launch. Currently, AWS provides 44 Availability Zones across 16 infrastructure regions worldwide,

with another 14 Availability Zones, across five AWS Regions in China, France, Hong Kong, Sweden, and a second GovCloud Region in the US expected to come online by the end of 2018. AWS also announced it will launch an AWS Edge Network Location in the UAE in the first quarter of 2018. This

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will bring Amazon CloudFront, Amazon Route 53, AWS Shield, and AWS WAF to the region and adds to the 78 points of presence AWS has around the world. “Some of the most gratifying parts of operating AWS over the last 11 years have been helping thousands of new companies get

started, empowering large enterprises to reinvent their customer experiences, and allowing governments and academic institutions to innovate for citizens again. We look forward to making this happen across the Middle East” said Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon Web Services.

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COVER STORY

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n B Y: A N U S H R E E D I X I T < A N U S H R E E @ G E C M E D I A G R O U P. C O M > n P H O T O : S H U T T E R S T O C K

s I write this piece, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, opened the world’s first smart police service centre at City Walk. With no human intervention, the smart center will offer 27 key services 24/7. A living example of how infrastructure is redefining itself. A couple of months back, Dubai got its first cyber security strategy, first Robocop and soon enough the Hyperloop. All of this is a striking alarm for the IT vendors and service providers to up the game and bring innovation and customer centricity. In the era of automation, the success of an enterprise depends on how fast or readily it can adapt to changes. As the organizations gear up for massive infrastructural changes, it would very critical to align the evaluation with the challenges such as focusing on emerging technologies, adopting cloud models, reduce the carbon footprint, reduce cost and improve the business flexibility.

A NEW SET OF INFRASTRUCTURE DEMANDS Vanishing data centers, highly interconnected networks, distributed work environments are putting immense pressure on the I&O (infrastructure and operations) leaders. Astute IT leaders today recognize that business-driven IT has a real value to the enterprise, and that IT’s role should be to build relationships with key business stakeholders – thereby keeping central IT aware of new projects, and what their potential long term impacts will be on overall operations.

NEW PLATFORM OF TECHNOLOGIES In a study titled, ‘The Rise of the 4th Platform: Pervasive Community, Data, Devices, and Intelligence’, there is an increased emphasis on SMACT—social business, mobility, analytics, cloud and IoT. Needless to say business will be social and mobility, analytics, cloud and IoT will be further propelling this drive to make business social. Internet of Things (IoT) platforms are set to be an important component of the next decade of innovation in the enterprise. The study

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“Channel partners need to work closely with Smart Cities to deploy a software-defined data center approach to manage, monitor, and secure Internet of Things infrastructure.” -OSSAMA ELDEEB,

SENIOR MANAGER, MENA PARTNER ORGANIZATION, VMWARE

2.1%

HEAD OF SALES ENGINEERING EAST REGION, CISCO MIDDLE EAST

Oil production is forecast to rise 2.1 per cent in 2018

3.1%

UAE Non-oil sector growth to reach 3.1% in 2017 and 3.5% in 2018

1.9%

Acc to AMF Arab countries economy will grow at a rate of 1.9% in 2017 and 2.9% in 2018

$10.1bn

UAE telecom market is set to record revenue of $10.1 billion in 2018

$2.4trn

“Cisco is focused on innovations that break down silos across the components of the data center, and add programmability to all layers of the data center.” -MOHANNAD ABUISSA,

GCC construction market worth $2.4trn, has 22000 active projects

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also states that ‘Just like the previous generation of platforms focused on connecting systems and people, IoT platforms are starting to power solutions that connect smart devices, enterprise systems, and people.’ “The fourth platform of cloud-based ambient computing will be based on Internet of Things innovation drivers such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, predicting what citizens need before they realize it. Two intertwined mega-trends will enable effective Smart Cities: 5G mobile networks and network virtualization,” says Ossama Eldeeb, Senior Manager, MENA Partner Organization, VMware.

KEY VERTICALS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2018 Though a majority of the non-oil sectors are poised for strong growth, the telecom sector is reported to take the big leap. The ever-growing demand for high speed networks, bandwidth and smart phones is accelerating the need for a radical transformation in the telecom sector. Artificial intelligence (AI) is all set to be game changer for the UAE and GCC telecom industry. According to reports, the telecom service revenue growth will be boosted by mobile data, fixed VoIP and fixed broadband segments while 4G will replace 3G as the largest-adopted technology by 2019.

DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT “One of the fundamental principles of the data center of the future, both globally and in the Middle East region, will be the ability to dynamically deliver business critical applications. Virtualization of physical data center infrastructure has built a flexible foundation for many enterprises, and attention is now turning to enabling centralized visibility of all applications and systems in order to control performance and service management,” says Mohannad Abuissa, Head of Sales Engineering - East Region, Cisco Middle East. Anand Lakhwani, Practice Head – Infrastructure Services at Finesse says, “The challenges which I see in the Data Center management is too many resources to manage by multiple vendors running on legacy systems. With the new trend of Software Defined Infrastructure and Cloud technologies, the management is simpler now and have the better ROI to the clients.”

INFRASTRUCTURE-AS-ASERVICE According to reports, the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) vertical contrib-

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COVER STORY

“The main characteristics of Scalable and Flexible infrastructure is accessibility to the users from anywhere at any point of the time.” -ANAND LAKHWANI, PRACTICE HEAD – INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES AT FINESSE

uted the maximum to the market growth as there is an increasing need for business agility, cost savings, and assertion of business continuity across this vertical. The UAE cloud market is still in early stages of adoption with the implementation of private Infrastructure-as-a-service (laas) viewed by many as a critical first step towards broader cloud adoption, added the report titled “UAE Cloud Computing Market—Macro Outlook and Opportunity Assessment” from growth partnership company Frost & Sullivan.

CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE MARKET “Going forward every enterprise will live in a world of multiple clouds, and building a hybrid cloud strategy that includes both public-cloud and on-premise assets will be a top item on every CIO’s agenda. A CIO has to balance business and technical considerations such as being able to achieve the efficiencies and disruption that a

public cloud provides, while staying within the confines of regulations around data sovereignty, providing acceptable application latencies, and avoiding cloud lock-in,” says Mohannad. “The market is expected to grow with the most of the GCC CIO’s wanting to go for Cloud solutions. Hence by 2020, 80% of the employees will be working outside the organizations benefitting the mobile workers and those operating on virtual offices have to rely on high bandwidth links to corporate offices for connectivity,” says Anand.

FINALLY It is time to realize the meaning of these 3 words— Survive, thrive and grow. The workforce of 2020 will definitely be governed by a new generation of workforce. Everything will change, right from designing a strategy to planning it to executing it. The infrastructure is as dynamic as the customer requirements. Its just about taking the right steps! ë

MEA DCIM market set to grow $397.1 million in 2017

$ 397.1mn

UAE Video Surveillance Market to Surpass $290 Million By 2021

$ 290mn

Dh32b invested in Mena power and utilities green solutions

Middle East Cables Market is Expected To Reach USD 9.33 Billion by 2020

USD 9.33bn Global market for DCIM is projected to reach US$1.9 billion by 2020

US$1.9bn

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Dh 32b

MOVE IT. MANAGE IT. USE IT. It’s your data. Your cloud strategy.

Between 30% to 45% of cloud spend is wasted (…is that right? That can’t be right.1) A smart multi cloud data management approach is critical. Your data: securely moved, well managed and effectively used. You’re smart, and that’s right.

COMMVAULT AND THE CLOUD - SIMPLY POWERFUL. 1 State of the Cloud Survey, RightScale, January 2017

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MY VIEWS

Time to Bolster Defenses PREVENT, CONTAIN, RESPOND— SYMANTEC TELLS US HOW ORGANIZATION SHOULD FOLLOW THE 3-STEP STRATEGY TO PREPARE FOR THE RANSOMWARE OF THREATS.

CANDID WUEEST,

SECURITY ANALYST AND RESEARCHER AT SYMANTEC

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How has the evolution of Ransomware been in 2017? While ransomware has long been one of the main cyber threats to businesses, the past number of months have seen organizations more exposed than ever. Symantec’s latest research paper on ransomware has found that businesses were the main victims of the WannaCry and Petya outbreaks, with corporate networks the ideal breeding ground for this new generation of self-propagating threats. Our research found that overall ransomware infection numbers have continued to trend upwards. During the first 6 months of 2017, Symantec blocked just over 319,000 ransomware infections. If this infection rate continued for the full year, 2017 would be a significant increase over 2016, when a total of 470,000 infections were blocked. Contributing to this increase was a spike in blocked infections during May and June 2017, the months when the WannaCry and Petya outbreaks occurred. This year saw the arrival of a new generation of self-propagating ransomware. WannaCry, which was the first to appear, caused global panic due to its ability to spread itself across the networks of infected organizations and then spread to other organizations across the internet. Petya mimicked some of the techniques employed by WannaCry to spread itself across networks. WannaCry and Petya’s disproportionate impact on organizations can be seen in infection statistics. During 2015 and 2016, businesses accounted for between 29 and 30 percent of ransomware infections. That figure shot up to 42 percent in the first half of 2017, with a major spike in business infections during May and June, the months WannaCry and Petya spread. How should organizations safeguard themselves from attacks like Wannacry & Petya?

Building a multi-layered defense ensures that any point of failure is mitigated by other defensive practices. This should include not only regularly patching vulnerabilities and ensuring critical systems are backed up, but also employing multiple, overlapping, and mutually supportive defensive systems to guard against single-point failures in any specific technology or protection method. Tips for businesses and consumers l Always keep your operating system & software updated. l Do no open unknown links/attachments l Do not enable macros. l Always backup your files How will the concept of ‘RoT’ – Ransomware of Things change the course of security? IoT devices are increasingly becoming a lucrative source for cybercriminals, notably devices such as smart TVs and smart watches, which could be a profitable attack scenario. Ransomware is commonly used by attackers on expensive devices with a screen to clearly display the ransom message, hence we do not expect to see ransomware on all smart devices. However, we already see a shift in the security landscape when it comes to protecting our smart devices from RoT infections and it focuses on adopting a multi-layered approach. Symantec’s comprehensive 3-step strategy outlines how we can best prepare for the future of RoT: 1. Prevent: Email security, Intrusion Prevention, Download Insight, Browser Protection, Proactive Exploit Protection (PEP). 2. Contain: Advanced __ antivirus engine with machine learning heuristic technologies (SAPIENT) and behaviour based detection 3. Respond: Dedicated Incident Response team to help organizations respond and recover from a ransomware attack. ë

Come meet our experts at Arrow Hall 2, stand G2-1 Geetha Yechana Senior Product Manager M: +971 55 470 0919 Geetha.Yechana@arrow.com

Tariq Othman Channel Manager M: +971 55 941 5173 Tariq.Othman@arrow.com

AZERBAIJAN

YerlanDuissenbin, EldarKerimov and Susan Drummond qualify for Dubai Corporate Golf World Cup Around 100 top corporates and industry leaders from the Azerbaijan business community were seen in action at the Dreamland Golf Club in Baku on September 9, 2017. In a fun-filled yet competitive setting, GEC Open â€“ a premium corporate golf tournament was hosted for the second time in the region.

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In a mix of business and sports, GEC Open Azerbaijan was concluded with a lavish wine and dine affair forging and strengthening friendships as well as business relations. Azerbaijan is one of the fastest growing economy in South Caucasus region touted as the one of the emerging commercial destination for business in both Asia and Europe. GEC Open serves as a platform for Azerbaijanâ€™s business community to engage with international businesses and vice versa bringing financial opportunities to the region.

NEPAL

Gokarna Forest Resort in Kathmandu played host to the inaugural edition of GEC Open in Nepal on September 23. The coveted international tournament, in its 4th edition, is set to host 29 golf rounds in 18 countries engaging over 2400 top corporates and industry leaders. GEC Open Nepal saw over 70 avid amateur golfers come together for an entertaining yet competitive round of golf. Surendra Phuyal returned the best Nett score of the day at 40 points to emerge champion alongside Prithvi Malla who claimed top spot in ‘Best Gross’ category with a score of 34. With this win, the duo has booked their berth at the World Final of GEC Open 2017- Dubai Corporate Golf World Cup (DCGWC) – where they will present

Nepal’s challenge against winners from 17 other qualifying countries at Trump International and Emirates Golf Club over two days in Dubai in December. GEC Open Nepal was the fourth event in a series of national qualifying rounds scheduled to culminate at the DCGWC later this year. Prior to Nepal, the 2017 GEC Open organised successful events in Ghana, Turkey and Azerbaijan. The tour will now move on to host events in Dubai, Kenya, Botswana, Egypt, India, Thailand, UAE, South Africa, Mauritius, Bahrain, Singapore, China, Indonesia to name a few. With humble beginnings in 2014 in just one country, GEC Open has grown into a global platform for networking and a nursery for everlasting friendships and international business relations.

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COVER FEATURE

VEEAM

THE

BACKUP PLAN

With an elevation to its senior leadership rota and meaningful commitments to the channel, Veeam is all set to live its promise of becoming a $1bn company in revenue by 2019. With an enthusiastic team that bleeds ‘Green’, the vendor is once again re-affirming its vision in enabling the digital business be always ‘Available’ and the services ‘just happen’.

PETER MCKAY, CO-CEO AND PRESIDENT, VEEAM

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n W O R D S : A N U S H R E E D I X I T < A N U S H R E E @ G E C M E D I A G R O U P. C O M >

vailability for a user is just a matter of switching between sites. But for a business this comes at the cost of its brand.

WEARING THE DIGITAL ARMOR

Building up on its growth trajectory since 2006, Veeam has taken some bold and meaningful steps in standing firm in its commitment to become a $1bn company in revenue by 2019. The senior leadership rota was elevated to a greater notch when President & COO and member of the Board of Directors, Peter McKay, and co-founder, member of the Board of Directors and CTO, Andrei Baronov were made the Co-CEOs to drive the continued growth. The recently held VeeamON 2017 also echoed this. With new innovations across Veeam Availability Suite and Veeam Availability Platform the company is enabling its resellers and service providers to help customers move to and manage data in a Multi-Cloud or Hybrid Cloud environment, while greatly expanding the total addressable market to manage and protect public cloud and physical workloads Businesses are servicecentric than ever before. Digital transformation has placed data availability at the centre and this new paradigm is defining the way in which organizations are storing, securing, managing and backing up their data.

THE TERM ‘DIGITIZATION’ DOES NOT COME WITH A ONE-SIZE-SUITS-ALL PHILOSOPHY. For Peter McKay, Co-CEO and President, Veeam, ‘Change’ is what defines this new model of business. Organizations that are not adaptive to this change are at the risk of falling or failing. “Businesses confronting change today may be less inclined to refer to this as an era of digital transformation or digitization but rather, a time of digital disruption, which I believe is a more accurate definition.Nonetheless, in today’s world, technology and economic forces favour the customer in this growing digital and global economy, forcing businesses to quickly transform into agile and innovative entities. Even so, many companies I speak with have questions

about how to safely and efficiently navigate the era of digitization.”

BACKING-UP THE DIGITAL REALITY Poor data management and availability have already wreaked havoc in the global marketplace with some serious business downtimes noted. Working with the wider IT industry, Veeam is making sure that the digital lives are unaffected by the constant threats. As the regional CIOs and IT heads are increasingly virtualizing their infrastructures and moving to the cloud, it becomes very important to rewrite rules and revisit strategies. According to Veeam, Availability solutions for the modern data centre is the way forward and is central to digital transformation. “Availability is and will continue to be a fundamental requirement of the next generation data center. Ask any modern and digitally dependent organization how they would do without the next-generation data center and it’s clear that they’d not fare well. Our objective is to ensure that organizations have what they need to meet the needs of the next-generation data center when it comes to an Availability experience; especially when things do not go as well as planned,” says Peter.

WELL, IT JUST HAPPENS As drive capacities are increasing, so have the rebuild times. Things that used to take minutes can take hours and even days. Degraded performance or failed storage components are the worst turn-offs for any business. One of Veeam’s recent customer, Dubai Duty Free, faced the challenge of a slow VM recovery and Restoring VMs running Microsoft SQL Server that supported the point-of-sale system could take hours. Veeam was built for high-speed recovery. Dubai Duty Free’sfavorite restorefeatures are Instant VM Recovery, which restores a VM from a regular backup quickly and Veeam Explorer for Microsoft Exchange, which restores emails in minutes. “What my teams hear when we speak to businesses is that planning or sizing of data is commonly one of the most poorly thought out practices maintained by an IT department. While “it just works” often describes Veeam solutions, it doesn’t mean that you should just install it and hope for the best – it is not just “job done”. Thankfully, the Veeam solution is easy to use, so issues such as failed backup jobs or under provisioned repositories are a thing of the past. Forward thinking businesses now understand the value of business continuity, and as a result are prioritising the new demands placed on them by their customers, employees and partners. One CIO

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said to us, “No data, no customers, no business”. I think that’s pretty accurate – and telling.” A typical administrator usually installs Veeam with default settings by pressing the next button and without the need to configure it to fit infrastructure requirements. Likewise, when configuring the backup repository, IT administrators may just set it up with “some capacity,” which can mean any amount of space. If you create backup jobs with default settings FINESSE UAE 2017 and without considering any TEAM specifications of the system, you will most likely be calling Veeam support to make it tailored for their systems. You could also be facing issues such as failed backup jobs or under-provisioned repositories.

A DIGITAL RIDE WITH THE PARTNERS “People get worried about vendor-lock-in, but we’re a case for the opposite – we work with the majority of best of breed storage partners, and they like to work with us because our technology works really well, and we’re not interested in developing a hardware appliance option. We let our customers choose what is best for them. These are all major players in the digital transformation market, and we provide a very necessary component to what they do. Customers and Partners are trained in a number of ways; with the pinnacle credential being the Veeam Certified Engineer (VMCE) program. There are thousands of certified individuals around the world, and we are continually adding levels to the program (such as the VMCE-Advanced credential), as well updating the content based on new products and releases of existing products. These two credentials drive the technical details to customers and partners on

GREGG PETERSEN,

REGIONAL SALES VICE PRESIDENT, MEA, VEEAM SOFTWARE Gregg Petersen in his new role as the Regional Sales Vice President of MEA is also setting out his priorities to push the ambitions of the company. “Veeam is evolving into a ‘low-touch business’. To that end we will continue to invest in our partner network and enable them to perform end to end sales. Veeam is a marketing engine and building brand awareness and educating enterprises will continue to be a focus. We plan to strengthen our company’s in-market presence in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Palestine. Veeam will continue investing heavily in sales and technical resources. We will focus on key verticals like banking and finance, government, education, healthcare and the oil & gas sectors where we have traditionally enjoyed a huge amount of success in the region.

LADDER OF GROWTH Customer base

255,000 Inception

2016

Supporting partners by investing $126 million in marketing

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16,000

sales through channel partners

74%

of Fortune 500 customers trust Veeam

$126mn

100%

ProPartners

49,000

VCSPs globally

41% $1bn by 2019, $1.5 bn in 2020

13% Uplift in cloud bookings

In Q2’ 2017 Veeam achieved a 41% YoY total bookings revenue growth

COVER FEATURE

A DIGITAL RIDE WITH THE PARTNERS HPE resell relationship in November 2016

Cisco resale partnership in August 2017

Enhanced relationships with Nutanix, and Netapp Veeam Cloud and Service Provider (VCSP) program for Veeam Availability Platform for the Hybrid Cloud

VEEAM ON 2017 KEY TAKEAWAYS n NEW Veeam Cloud and Service Provider Directory n NEW Veeam Accredited Service Provider Program n Migrating, Managing and Protecting Public Cloud (AWS, Azure, and others) n Protecting Enterprise Mission-Critical Applications with NEW Veeam CDP and vCloud Director Integration n

Tape as a Service (TaaS)

n NEW Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 with Multi-Tenancy

“Our goal at Dubai Duty Free was 24x7 availability. Veeam gave us that and so much more including a DR solution for business operations and scalability to support business growth.” -ALLAN CHAPMAN, IT MANAGER DUBAI DUTY FREE

THE VEEAM ‘BACKED’ CUSTOMERS

FINALLY “Veeam Availability Suite was easy to deploy, manage and offered rich reporting tools.” -MS. ALIA AL KINDY,

MANAGER IT SERVICES, EGA

“Veeam helps us deliver 24.7.365 Availability of the data that becomes the catalyst for discovery, economic development and social prosperity.” -MR. ABDULMAJEED R. AL-OSAIMI, MANAGER OF THE SYSTEM & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AT ISU, KACST

how to implement Veeam solutions for the best Availability experience. These technical details can make the difference of an organization being more resilient from ransomware, being ready to scale an installation and ensure that all IT services are backed up, and their recovery is guaranteed.

For Veeam, the 2018 plans are as simple as strong. Apart from significant investment in building a global enterprise team by adding additional talent and management from industry heavy-weights, Peter along with Andrei Baranov (Co-CEO) is all set to grow and lead a global team of over 3,000 employees to new and expanding places and they just have one question for the enterprises reading this—So, Do you have a back-up plan? ë

“Veeam easily delivers the 24x7 availability our organization needs, helps us reduce the risk of data loss, and give our IT team the comfort of sleeping at night with one less thing to worry about.” -MARIO FOSTER, GROUP CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER AL NABOODAH GROUP ENTERPRISES (ANGE)

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MY VIEWS

The Digital Enablers “AT ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES, WE FOCUS ON HUMANIZING TECHNOLOGY AND BELIEVE THAT TECHNOLOGY ONLY BECOMES INNOVATION WHEN IT BECOMES USEFUL TO THE GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE. AT ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES, OUR FOCUS IS ON TECHNOLOGY THAT HELPS YOU TO CREATE BETTER EMPLOYEE AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES.”

How has the business year 2017 been for Orange Business Services? What kind of upward or downward trajectories did you see? From a global perspective, Orange Business Services reported an acceleration in revenue growth in Q2 2017 and with sustained strong commercial momentum. Our Essentials2020 strategy, based on network superiority, premium services, and unmatched customer experience, is having an impact. In the Middle East, Orange Business Services has continued to deliver double digit annual revenue growth in the region and we have been able to secure strategic deals this year working with governments and enterprises in the region, with a focus on large Smart Cities and Digital Transformation projects, adding new logos to the customer list.

FADI SHANAAH,

REGIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, SMART CITIES & HEALTHCARE, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA AND TURKEY, ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES.

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Tell us about your recent partnerships in the region? What kind of growth or additions have you had to your portfolio? As an IT services provider and major systems integrator, technology partners play a critical role in our business and are an integral part of our ecosystem. Jointly with our partners, we research and develop innovative solutions that work optimally in our customer’s business environment. As part of our Smart City strategy in the region and globally, we’ve continued building a strong ecosystem of partners that we trust to serve our customers and help them achieve their objectives. Some of our recent partnerships include Huawei, Tridium by Honeywell,

and others. We have also joined hands this year with DSOA (Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority), Du, Smart Dubai Office, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Visa, and Rochester Institute of Technology, to sponsor and support the Dubai Smart City Accelerator, which aims to accelerate 40 new ventures over the next three years. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), launched this accelerator programme (operated by Startupbootcamp) which is the first of its kind in the MENA region, in May 2017. A team of senior mentors from Orange Business Services will work on guiding these new ventures. How have your solutions lived up to the new realities of IoT, AI and Business Intelligence? At Orange Business Services, we have developed our own framework to help customers build their IoT solutions. Datavenue is our innovative internet of things (IoT) and data analytics framework. With Datavenue, Orange Business Services brings together our long-standing expertise and experience, supported by 700 IoT and analytics experts worldwide, as well as data scientists, developers, consultants, statisticians and IoT security experts. Datavenue offers a coherent package of solutions and services that offer users security and the chance to really benefit from data analysis and the Internet of Things. Datavenue now features two new complementary offerings: Live Objects, for connected objects, and Flexible Data, for data analysis. ë

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FEATURE STORY

DATA-DRIVEN BUSINESS Regardless of the size of an organization of any industry, data drives business. For the value of the data to be realized, it must be located, managed and protected. With Enterprise Information Management, the organizations can embrace the value of their data, by tapping into it to increase operational productivity and reduced costs.

O CTO B E R 2017

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FEATURE STORY

40%

The worldâ€™s data volume is expected to grow 40% per year, and 50 times by 2020.

n B Y: D I V S H A B H AT < D I V S H A @ G E C M E D I A G R O U P. C O M > n P H O T O : S H U T T E R S T O C K

ccording to a research by Technavio, the global enterprise information management market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 19% from 2016-2020. Exponential growth in data has led organizations across various sectors to undergo major digital transformations. Improved customer relationships, innovations and cost savings which have prompted organizations to adopt digitization. For instance, the healthcare industry has been generating huge amounts of digital data due to rapid digitalization of manual patient records and the need to provide better patient care at low costs. However, the increasing adoption of mobile, social, and other online communication methods has resulted in a surge of data related to customers, operations, suppliers, and stakeholders. Moreover, most organizations are under a lot of

pressure to ensure complete data security, along with reduced costs and improved efficiency. This has prompted businesses to adopt cloud-based information management infrastructure as it has benefits such as rapid implementation, automatic and seamless upgrading, and ease of leveraging cloudâ€?based data across organizations..

END TO END DATA MANAGEMENT SOLUTION For any enterprise, data is a driving factor to make operational decisions. When the data is governed well, the organizations can work more efficiently and maintain better customer relationship. The organizations that are well prepared to securely manage their data can obtain benefits and outperform their competition.Organizations face a bigger challenge in securing their data when they allow their employees to use their own personal devices

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FEATURE STORY

“The data sets that we are receive from our software applications must be effectively collected, analyzed, shared and acted upon, either manually or automatically” -LUIS ORTEGA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MEASA (MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA), AT IFS

WHY DATA MANAGEMENT?

“Big Data analytics is the currency of the new Digital Economy – driving new levels of citizen and customer insights for Middle East organizations across all industry verticals” -HICHEM MAYA, HEAD OF INDUSTRIES, SAP MENA.

Well managed data is In the right place – Moves efficiently between multiple systems In the right format – Validated, standardized or enriched; data is made usable At the right time – Immediate reactions, streaming sensor data For all users – Usage governed; businesses semantics applied

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“Organizations need to protect their credentials and data irrespective of where they are located - the network, in the cloud, or in SaaS applications” -TAREK ABBAS, SYSTEMS ENGINEERING DIRECTOR, EMERGING MARKETS AT PALO ALTO NETWORKS.

to assist them in their professional duties. They grant access to employees to share the corporate data on personal devices which might fall into wrong hands if not careful. Hence, the organizations are taking an extra step to secure their data. Luis Ortega, Managing Director, MEASA (Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia), at IFS says that their solutions allow customers to meet and also anticipate changes in technology and business so that they can stay one step ahead of their competitors. He believes that enterprise software like ERP, EAM and FSM are great at streamlining transactional and core business processes such as managing the lifecycle of projects, asset management, field service, manufacturing and supply chain. But not so good at providing visibility of patterns in these transactions, which often forces companies to undertake business intelligence (BI) projects that also include third party data warehouses. “The data sets that we are receive from our software applications must be effectively collected, analyzed, shared and acted upon, either manually or automatically. To execute that process efficiently, successfully and profitably, we also need our software to provide advanced analytics capabilities—and we need to know how to use them” adds Luis. “Big Data analytics is the currency of the new

FEATURE STORY

TRENDS IN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Data teams bridge the gap between IT and business

Blockchain will redefine database architecture

Artificial Intelligence will provide a new layer of technology interaction

Security gets worse before it gets better

Internet of Things transforms physical environments

Digital Economy – driving new levels of citizen and customer insights for Middle East organizations across all sizes and industry verticals” comments Hichem Maya, Head of Industries, SAP MENA. “SAP’s real-time solutions, such as the SAP HANA in-memory platform, the SAP S/4HANA real-time business suite, the SAP Leonardo digital innovation system for the Internet of Things, are all seeing strong demand to enable new digital business models” adds Maya.

INFLUX OF DATA IN VARIOUS SECTORS The world has entered a new era where the physical world has connected to the digital world. Data is generated everywhere from traffic sensors to heart rate monitors. For instance, retailers are trying to build complete customer profile across all touch points. In the healthcare sector, the patients can be monitored remotely and the manufacturing industries are using sensors to monitor their physical assets. Under transportation sector, the government is using big data for traffic control, route planning, intelligent transport systems, etc. Luis Ortega says that big data can create value in many ways for companies and

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mentions a few examples like - Making information transparent and usable at much higher frequency; Organizations can create and store more transactional data in digital form; Understanding your customers’ preferences and requirements, letting you tailor your offerings to fix your customers buying behaviour and trends; Improvement in the development of products and services. The most valuable form of business knowledge comes from being able to assemble a clear view of the past, present and the future status of projects, infrastructure, employees and so on. Reliable knowledge that can be used effectively requires your underlying enterprise software to be able to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time—in a way they can understand, and act on.

INFORMATION SECURITY In enterprise information management, there is a central secure repository for unstructured information. Here, content can have security classifications applied, such as Top Secret, Confidential, and Public. Without a tool to identify what and where sensitive information is, it will be difficult to protect it. Also, when a security incident occurs, its critical to be able to understand

the history of activity. Enterprise management solutions offers customers the ability to view all the actions that have been performed. Organizations should give employees the tools they need to efficiently access, manage and share information. From a Palo Alto Networks perspective, more than ever, organizations need to achieve automated, consistent and scalable breach prevention capabilities, all delivered from the cloud to secure business data. “Organizations need to protect their credentials and data irrespective of where they are located - the network, in the cloud, or in SaaS applications with a consistent and granular policy approach” commented Tarek Abbas, Systems Engineering Director, Emerging Markets at Palo Alto Networks.

FINALLY Organizations should realize the benefits by embracing an enterprise information management initiative. Improvements in data quality, information management and security are some of those benefits. It is not necessary that all the functional element areas of an enterprise information management must be adopted to realize the benefits. Organizations can begin by developing an EIM strategy focused on components that provide clear business impact. ë

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FEATURE STORY

SERVICES ON THE

‘MOVE’

The IT services shall cross a big milestone in the next few years. IDC predicts that the business outsourcing and services firm are expected to generate more than $1 trillion in yearly revenues in 2018. The IT services and outsourcing firms will set new records as enterprises charge ahead with their digital transformation efforts. n B Y: D I V S H A B H AT < D I V S H A @ G E C M E D I A G R O U P. C O M > n P H O T O : S H U T T E R S T O C K

he concern of data loss, rise in backup, risk and compliance are expected to drive the growth of global data protection as a service market. Retail and healthcare sectors have been widely adopting data protection solutions to ensure safety of their digital assets. According to reports, the Data Protection as a Service market is expected to reach $28,878 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 31.5% from 2016 to 2022. Most of the SMB’s today are working with the channel partners to determine whether they should have a physical or cloud based back up. According to reports, the IT services are gaining a major importance in the Middle East, their adoption is also increasing in the region as they

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help to reduce the overall costs of an organization. The technology adoption across various verticals in the Middle East have been making huge investments into automating their processes and systems for the growth of their business. Most of these technologies need specialized skill set which is another aspect that has impelled the outsourcing of services. Currently, the market is witnessing certain trends which suggest that the IT services market in the Middle East will grow in the coming years.

SERVICES IN THE MIDDLE EAST The Middle East region is showing robust growth when it comes to the service industry with a recent adoption of outsourcing activities as well.

The reason for this is the government’s approach in various sectors of services. The government has also been encouraging organizations to take the digital stride and contribute to the smart city initiatives where services play an important role in contributing to the multiple domains of smart city plans. IDC predicts that the big data technology and services market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 23.1% over the 2014 – 2019 during the forecast period with annual spending reaching $ 48.6 billion in 2019. Also, the large organizations provide multiple services to their customers by catering to their end to end needs and by offering various services on platform thereby saving the time invested to hire multiple organizations for different tasks.

FEATURE STORY

TRENDS OF 2017 INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE n

Storage takes a major step

Evolution of hybrid cloud solutions

Cloud takes up big data

Data centre build outs continue

SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE n

Artificial Intelligence

Security will be a vital factor

XaaS – Everything-as-a-Service

Keep mobile in focus

DISASTER RECOVERY AS A SERVICE n

Using the cloud for disaster recovery

Virtualization

Shorter RTO/RPO

Data Replication

THE GROWTH OF SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE Gartner: 77% of companies plan to increase their spending on SaaS in the next 2 years.

77% Statistica: By 2018, 59% of all cloud workloads will be SaaS based from 41% in 2013.

11.1%

The Managed Services Market Size is Expected to Grow from $152.45 Billion in 2017 to $257.84 Billion By 2022, at a CAGR of 11.1%

38.22% The global XaaS market will grow at a CAGR of 38.22% between 2016–2020

41% 27.9% $4.59

Transparency Market Research: The global SaaS market will expand at a CAGR of 27.9% between 2015 & 2022.

$ 8.52bn

The Security-as-aService market worth $8.52 billion by 2020

IDC: By 2019, the cloud software model will account for $1 of every $4.59 spent on software. O CTO B E R 2 017

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FEATURE STORY

BENEFITS OF XAAS (EVERYTHING-AS-A-SERVICE) Reduced Costs

Easier scalability

Easy access to new technologies

IT AS A SERVICE: THE HALF TRILLIONDOLLAR NICHE

ROBOTICS-AS-A-SERVICE

Maintenance is done by the provider

WHAT A CIO NEEDS? Over the last few years, managed services are growing rapidly across all verticals like Banking and Insurance, Telecommunications, Government and public sectors. The growth in these sectors will be driven by a number of factors like governance and regulatory compliance in the BFSI while digital transformation in the public sectors and so on. The industry has witnessed that the service providers are becoming more proactive in helping customers stay ahead of the curve. It includes being able to analyse and anticipate problems and be in a constant state of preparedness. Customers are also looking at being able to get customized solutions which requires service providers to have an innovative approach to solutions. CIO’s in many organizations today have to meet the challenge of increasing business demands while controlling IT costs. They are continuously looking for managed service providers as a cost-effective solution which helps them in improving their IT infrastructure. CIO’s want to adopt managed service model to have the convenience of using the best technology services without losing hold on IT.The properly planned managed IT services help in handling varied elements of IT infrastructure while transforming it meet the business demands.

FINALLY Definitely, the IT service industry has witnessed a strong growth in the region and with such promising growth rate, service providers should buckle up for the future and stay on the lookout for developing new strategies to engage the everexpanding customer base. ë

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DATA MANAGEMENT StorIT Distribution fzco P.O.Box 17417 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 881 9690 | Fax: +971 4 887 1637 Email: info@storit.ae

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Tel: +966.1.276.8014 | Email: ksa@storit.ae www.storit.ae

AUTHORIZED VALUE ADDED DISTRIBUTOR FOR

SERVICES

Benefits Beyond Customers’ Expectations OMA EMIRATES’ STAND-ALONE SINGLE BRAND LOYALTY PROGRAM, IT FOCUSES ON STRENGTHENING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS. THE ROBUST SOLUTION COMES ALONG WITH DATABASE MANAGEMENT AND CUSTOMIZED MOBILE APPLICATIONS TO SUIT BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS.

n a fast moving IT environment, merchants within the retail sector are now flooded with several solutions to ease their processes as well as integrate enhanced customer loyalty and service solutions. OMA Emirates had launched its Benefit Beyond - Market Place Solution for all merchants. In its initial avatar, the program was focused on providing brand loyalty solutions, however, with the growing demand for add on solutions across the market, the company have now incorporated several other aspects which work on a common program. These include Benefit Beyond Loyalty Program, Benefit Beyond Club, Prepaid Card Program, Gift Card Program, BB Pay and the BB Mobile App. The Prepaid, Gift and Loyalty cards work on a single integrated platform with transactions and settlements controlled by the OMA Emirates NanoSwitch. The process involves a common GPRS terminal and enables customers to choose an option for either one of the programs. Customers also benefit by redeeming a combined limit of points that they have accrued over any of the cards. Simultaneously through the Graphical User Interface on the BB mobile app, customers are able to view their available points on different

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loyalty programs.

BENEFIT BEYOND CLUB Built to accommodate multi-brand participation, the loyalty program enables customers to accumulate and redeem points within the network of participating brands. Additionally, it also allows customers to redeem the points over multiple channels which include POS, kiosk, mobile, etc. Another key feature is that it allows customers to avail of points across multiple outlets including airlines, supermarkets, entertainment houses, etc. The solution is built on the OMA Emirates network of terminals where accrual and redemption of points can be done on any of these terminals.

PREPAID CARD PROGRAM A specialized program which doubles up like a debit card is tailor made to suit individual business needs. The instant issuance and usage of the card is also supported with the option to reload cash.

GIFT CARD PROGRAM A fully automated closed loop solution, the

program is available for malls, supermarkets and retail outlets and is suitable for a chain of stores and large scale merchants. The cards which can be white labelled follows a simple procedure on customer onboarding and processing.

BB PAY OMA Emirates’ is in the process of developing a BB Pay mobile wallet. It will be built to accept QR code payments, NFC (Tap n Go) and acceptance on e-Commerce sites. The QR code besides reading the codes on products and terminals also contains a virtual payment concept which allows quicker check out. An easy to use application, customers can check out at participating outlets by accessing the mobile wallet, making in-store purchases or just taping the mobile device at the terminal.

BB MOBILE APP The BB Mobile App will include GEO marketing, BB Pay, multi loyalty program, mobile key, m-commerce, mobile check-in , M-parking , taxi bookings, utility payments, remittances, loyalty, gift, prepaid card, store locators, public transport utilities, etc. The app will be avail for both iOS and Android users. ë

Print a card. Any card.

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5/4/16 11:50 AM

or registered trademarks of HID Global or its licensor(s)/supplier(s) in the US and other countries and may not be used without permission. © 2016 HID Global Corporation/ASSA ABLOY AB. All rights reserved. HID, HID Global, the HID Blue Brick logo, and the Chain Design are trademarks

YOUR SECURITY. CONNECTED

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HID Global is leading the industry with the most robust portfolio of secure ID issuance HID Globalinis the leading the industry with most robust portfolio provide of secure ID issuance solutions world. Our FARGO® linethe of printers and encoders governments, solutions in the world. Our FARGO® line of printers and encoders provide governments, financial institutions and businesses of all sizes fast, efficient and reliable solutions that financial institutions are as secure as theyand arebusinesses affordable. of all sizes fast, efficient and reliable solutions that are as secure as they are affordable. You’ll call it innovation on demand. We call it, “your security connected.” You’ll call it innovation on demand. We call it, “your security connected.” YOUR SECURITY. CONNECTED YOUR SECURITY. CONNECTED

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© 2016 HID Global Corporation/ASSA ABLOY AB. All rights reserved. HID, HID Global, the HID Blue Brick logo, and the Chain Design are trademarks or registered trademarks of HID Global or its licensor(s)/supplier(s) in the US and other countries and may not be used without permission. © 2016 HID Global Corporation/ASSA ABLOY AB. All rights reserved. HID, HID Global, the HID Blue Brick logo, and the Chain Design are trademarks or registered trademarks of HID Global or its licensor(s)/supplier(s) in the US and other countries and may not be used without permission.

hid-your-sec-cnnctd-si-22x31cm-en.indd 1

5/4/16 11:50 AM

MY OPINION

Information— Visible, Secure WITH THE INCREASE IN DATA GENERATION IN PARALLEL WITH CYBER ATTACKS, THE ABILITY TO SECURE CUSTOMER DATA WILL ONLY BECOME MORE COMPLEX AND URGENT. ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO TAKE THE THREAT OF DATA LOSS SERIOUSLY AND CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE ACCESS TO CONTENT IS TIGHTLY CONTROLLED AND MONITORED, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT’S SHARED EXTERNALLY WITH PARTNERS.

Data as we all know is the new currency. In this evolving situation, how do you provide end to end data management solutions for the data rich enterprise? Data, like other assets, needs to be protected. Data security isn’t just a good business practice; in some industries like healthcare and financial services, it’s required. Organizations need to know where their sensitive content is stored, who has access to it, and what is being done with it, e.g. downloaded, printed, forwarded, etc? Accellion is uniquely qualified to provide organizations full visibility into their most sensitive content. Full visibility into all file activity provides a level of control for organizations that demonstrates compliance with rigorous industry and governmental regulations. Similarly, by integrating with enterprise content management solutions like Microsoft SharePoint, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox and others, Accellion provides organizations the ability to access, edit, and share the content stored in these repositories efficiently and securely with trusted partners outside the firewall. Encrypted content, AV and DLP scans on file uploads and downloads, two factor authentication, and many other security features ensure organizations’ most sensitive content stays secure.

SAPAN AGARWAL,

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, ME AT ACCELLION

O CTO B E R 2017

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If we consider the huge influx of data in various sectors, which sector, according to you, is being affected the most in terms of data management? Any sector that stands to benefit from the internet of things (IoT) is bound to be significantly affected in terms of data management. The emergence of IoT in two

sectors - manufacturing and healthcare have already proven to be disruptive. The data generated by IoT devices has created incredible opportunities for quality assurance as well as identifying inefficiencies in their manufacturing processes. Once corrected, manufacturers can better serve their customers and grow their business. In the case of healthcare, the internet of medical things (IoMT) has enabled healthcare organizations to better monitor and analyze patient conditions, make more accurate diagnoses and, in turn, improve the level of care provided to patients. How according to you should business evolve in the changing information security management? A confluence of events involving the exponential rise in data being generated by IoT, machine learning, artificial intelligence and other technologies, the increasing reliance on third party service providers, and finally an increase in the frequency and severity of cyber attacks is creating a situation in which organizations must work harder to control, monitor, and secure their sensitive content. If organizations don’t know where their sensitive content is stored, they can’t manage who has access to it. And if organizations can’t monitor or manage access, they can’t ensure their data is only being handled by authorized users. The unfolding saga involving the Equifax data breach should send a message to CEOs, CISOs, CIOs and boards of directors that cybersecurity is a serious issue that, if neglected, can have enormous repercussions. And with GDPR becoming a law next year, organizations around the world will be held even more accountable for protecting their customer data. ë

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MY OPINION

Digitizing Telecom Services WITH THE WHOLE WORLD MOVING TOWARDS DIGITIZATION ALONG WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMART COMMUNITIES AND SMART CITIES, BATELCO IS PURSUING A STRATEGY ON HOW IT CAN TURN INTO A COMPLETE DIGITALLYW ENABLED COMPANY.

to end solutions. Such change is driven by both the needs of customers and also the need for telecommunications companies to find new revenue streams in the value chain in order to drive customer loyalty in very competitive market places.Among Batelco’s service oriented initiatives is its Cloud based IPTV service, providing dynamic content blended with a world class high definition TV experience. How has digitization impacted the telecom sector? The market is really focused on digitisation and this is altering the landscape for the telecom sector. Providers must ensure their networks can meet the need for fast connectivity coupled with high thresholds in order to keep up with the growing requirements of increased digitisation in everyone’s lives. From Batelco’s viewpoint, we strive to be at the forefront when it comes to emerging technology and today we are leading the market in Bahrain with the delivery of a continuous stream of new digital solutions. The strategy that we are pursuing recently is how we can turn Batelco into a complete digital enabled company, because the whole world is moving towards digitisation along with the development of smart communities and smart cities.

ABDERRAHMANE MOUNIR,

BATELCO CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

O CTO B E R 2017

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As the market moves on to be service oriented, how do you see the evolution of the telecom service spectrum in 2017? How has the customer demands evolved? The telecommunications market has changed dramatically over recent years with a major shift from Telcos providing traditional telecom products and services to the provision of a growing number of in-demand end

Are you participating at GITEX? If yes, what would be your focus? Following a very successful event for us last year, Batelco is participating at GITEX 2017, as part of the Bahrain Pavilion. The occasion provides an unmatched opportunity to showcase our major solutions, meet with key customers and clients and sign partnerships with other leading organisations. This year, we will focus on a number of products, services and solutions including AWS (Amazon Web Services), Security, Cloud Services, Data Centre and Global Solutions. ë

08 ~ 12 OCT 2017

DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE

The Self-Driving â„¢ Network

Visit us at: GITEX Technology Week 2017 Hall # 6 Booth # CLD08

BUILD MORE THAN A NETWORK.

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MY VIEWS

The Resilience of Power “COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF USER NETWORKS, MANAGING MULTIPLE VENDOR DEVICES WITH DIFFERENT PROTOCOLS REMAINS THE FEW COMPLEXITIES & CHALLENGES IN INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT. BUT THIS HAS CONSIDERABLY REDUCED, THANKS TO THE DCIM SOFTWARE AND ITS MARKET ACCEPTANCE.”

What challenges do you see in the Data Centre Infrastructure Management? The expectations on the DCIM varies from client to client and meeting the specific needs or adapting the features to meet them remains the single biggest challenge. A scalable, flexible and agile data centre should be able to cater to the client needs as and when it is required, or at a short notice. Following a modular approach in data centres really helps in achieving this objective, where we see an increasing number of people adopting this approach, to be flexible and to be ready on demand.

RAJESH N.R,

SALES MANAGER - IT INFRASTRCUTURE - RITTAL MIDDLE EAST.

O CTO B E R 2017

MEA

How do you see the future of cloud infrastructure market in the region? Rittal’s 40-foot Balanced Cloud Center (BCC) container launched early this year was designed and developed considering the growing market for cloud infrastructure. Balanced Cloud Center (BCC) container is a ready-to-use, turnkey cloud data centre with IT racks, climate control technology and power supply from Rittal and cloud infrastructure from iNNOVO Cloud, as well as the associated OpenStack cloud management software allow companies to build different cloud models quickly. The offer ranges from a private cloud, which is operated on-site by the customer with proven and secure components including servers, storage and network systems (‘on-premises’), to the external private cloud (‘off-premises’) run by a cloud provider from a cloud park, for example. The advantages of the system are its short-term availability, its ‘pay-as-you-go’ model, and the scalability of the system. Rittal has taken it one step ahead by offering a hosting facility for such cloud ready containers in the Lefdal Mine Data Center in Norway

With the region still going through the doldrums of oil prices and currency fluctuations, what growth are you seeing for the power solutions market in the region? For any organisation, its business continuity depends on uninterrupted power and their resilience towards a power interruption. It’s not just the source of power, but its efficient distribution too matters a lot. With so much of emphasis on power & its distribution for business continuity, we continue to grow in this area unaffected by any challenges What are the demands of an agile data center? The focus in data centers continues to be on modular & scalable UPS system. Having the flexibility to cater to growing power needs, on demand, continues to define the UPS selection in an agile data center. Reliability of the UPS & having a Decentralised Parallel Architecture (DPA) that avoids a single point of failure too weighs in heavily on the product selection. How are you competing with the other power solutions in the market? How are you in sync with the OPEX savvy enterprises? Opex consideration on power systems are on a rise owing to higher electricity bills, either due to higher production costs or due to a reduction on the government subsidies. Efficiencies of the UPS and its effective distribution gains significance. Centralised system to monitor power usage efficiencies too are gaining significance in data centers. Rittal’s high efficiency modular & scalable UPS with Decentralised Parallel Architecture and Switched PDU’s with bi-stable relays offers considerable savings on operational costs. An effective monitoring system from Rittal supports supervise the power consumption to facilitate better planning & control ë

MY OPINION

Holistic Solutions “OUR SUCCESS HAS BEEN BECAUSE OF THE LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP WE ESTABLISH WITH OUR CUSTOMERS THROUGH TRUST AND BY ENSURING OUR SERVICES ARE ONLY MEANT TO ENHANCE THE SECURITY OF OUR CLIENTS”

With ransomware and other threats, IT services providers are looking to make money on the insatiable demand for cybersecurity. How fairly does this statement justify the growth of managed security services? Gone are the days, when IT security services were limited to fixing breaches within the firewalls of an organization. Today’s business happens in ecosystems which brings in greater capabilities and opportunities, while at the same time, allow more security complexities. Cloud, IoT and mobile malware are complicating the security scene in organizations. Security service providers are constantly innovating to remediate threats and breaches. Demand for service providers, who can deliver wholesome solutions without impacting the functions and aligning with the business goals of the organization, is on an all-time high.

BINOY KOONAMMAVU,

CEO & PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT, VALUEMENTOR

What is fueling the growth in the managed security services market? In organizations, there is a pressing need for advanced threat protection from cyber security attacks. Rise of network complexities, skilled in-house professionals are the major reasons for organizations to look for specialized service providers for data security management. The need for unified security solutions is growing when organizations are embracing widespread implementation of enterprise mobility and BYOD strategies for their business growth. How does a partner stand out in this increasingly competitive market? Today, security experts face challenges around every corner, with new malwares and user intended attacks in a very complicated network of devices. It’s the qualities like ingenuity and passion towards detection and resolution and a culture where clients are seen as business

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partners, possessed by some security providers that makes them stand out in the crowd. What would be the key Dos and Don’ts while architecting a MSS architecture? n Do’s l Business risk should be the key driver for security l Technology and security as an enabler of business strategy l Cohesive security organization l Single team, common framework n l l l

Don’t’s Too much emphasis on technology Silo approach to security and risk Siloed security organization

How does your portfolio stand out in the crowd? ValueMentor offered solutions are holistic in nature, which are served by our 3 primary service groups - Information Security Audit Services, Information Security Consulting Services and Managed Services. ValueMentor takes pride in the fact that we clearly understand the challenges faced by organizations in the information security domain. Our success has been because of the long-term relationship we establish with our customers through trust and by ensuring our services are only meant to enhance the security of our clients. Our relationship with our clients go beyond “just being another vendor”. ValueMentor is vendor agnostic, we do not resell any software or hardware and will always recommend only the best solution for the organization. At ValueMentor, we firmly believe that Large Budgets are not a prerequisite for running a security program efficiently. We also boast of a platform with highly qualified and certified security professionals and we do not outsource any kind of activities to third party vendors. ë

MY OPINION

Progressive Solutions AUXIMTEC ASSISTS ORGANIZATIONS IN ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN THEIR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVES BY HELPING REMODEL THEIR ENTERPRISE TO BE MORE AGILE & RESPONSIVE TO ADAPT TO CHANGING MARKET CONDITIONS, BY IMPLEMENTING INNOVATIVE CLOUD ERP, CRM & MOBILITY SOLUTIONS.

Tell us about Auxim Technologies and your operations in the Middle East At Auxim Technologies we believe in the transformative power of technology and offer Strategic Technology Consulting plusendto-end innovative Digital Transformation solutions to organizations across their enterprise & digital domains. With our commitment to innovation and excellence, we help conceptualize, design & implement technology strategies for businesses that want to becomemore efficient, more agile and hence,more profitable. Auxim Technologies works with business of all sizes, hailing from a diverse array of industries and needs. We combine our solid business domain experience, technical expertise, profound knowledge of latest industry trends and quality-driven delivery model to offer progressiveDigital & Enterprise technology solutions. What ties our partners together is their strong leadership teams, which acknowledge their technology pain points and seek to bridge the gap between business & technology by either improving or expanding their current efforts.

HITENDRA MOLLETI,

MANAGING PARTNER & CIO, AUXIM TECHNOLOGIES FZCO

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What are the cutting-edge solutions you bring to the market?What kind of demand do you see in the Middle East for your solutions? AuximTec believes in leveraging Technology to re-engineer traditional business processes to bring in efficiency &increase staff productivity,which are the key demands of modern organizations, big or small. We achieve this by our specialization in building advanced AI & Machine Learning based bots & apps to automate number of processes

across the business value chain like HR, Operations, Sales and Production. We also have expertise in building OmniChannel E-Commerce solutions to unify the online & brick-n-mortar worlds to streamline business operations, which has seen an immense demand in the region with ever growing internet savvy customer base. AuximTec assists organizations in achieving success in their Digital Transformation initiatives by helping remodel their Enterprise to be more agile & responsive to adapt to changing market conditions, by implementing innovative Cloud ERP, CRM & Mobility solutions. We have also seen quite a lot of interest for our Data Analytics practice which help organizations be more competitive & build a unique differentiator in this crowded marketplace. Security is another major ongoing concern for Businesses today and with our strong domain knowledge we assist companies in building a strong posture to protect their enterprise & digital assets. How have you seen the 2017 market? We have actually found the Middle East market quite attractive this year,especially for company like ours who provide end to end innovative Digital Strategy & Solutions, to organizations looking to be more efficient & agile in this competitive market. Apart from UAE which is a vibrant market with its international appeal, we also see huge potential in Oman as traditional enterprises there, look to re-invent themselves, hence creating lot of business opportunities. The buzzing Start-Up scene in 2017 has also created numerous opportunities & market demand for tech companies that we foresee will continue to grow in the coming years. ĂŤ

INTERCEPT A completely new approach to endpoint security.

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MY VIEWS

Transformation Redefined

“MIDDLE EAST ADOPTS VERY FAST TO NEW TECHNOLOGIES, DIGITIZATION AND MOBILE TRANSFORMATION – MAKING SECURE MOBILE SOLUTIONS MANDATORY FOR EACH AND EVERY ORGANIZATION”

JAN C WENDENBURG,

CEO, CERTGATE

“certgate provides patented, true secure solutions for mobile, encrypted messaging, voice and email communication.”

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Tell us about certgate and your operations. Are you planning to expand in the Middle East? Digitization is globally driving mobile transformation. Most industries today are under heavy pressure to re-invent and optimize themselves as global digitization changes almost every aspect of corporate and governmental processes. The more you digitize, the more things are going mobile. If you can digitize it, it can be done mobile. But mobile communication and data is much more vulnerable to data leaks, unauthorized access and misuse. If you are going mobile, you must take care for secure, encrypted mobile communication and data storage. certgate, located in Germany, is highly focused on secure mobile solutions to secure data and communication on mobile Endpoints, i.e. smart phones, tablets and laptops. We have already today highprofile clients in MEA region and want to expand further into the Middle East. We are looking for established partners in MEA region to work with and to open later a local office to support our increasing customer base. What are the cutting-edge solutions you bring to the market? Unique combination of usability and security. certgate provides patented, true secure solutions for mobile, encrypted messaging, voice and email communication. They feature mobile APPS for secure voice, messaging and Email with optional wireless 2-factor authentication smart card readers. 2-factor authentication becomes the future, global standard for authentication. As people using the smartphone at work, it cannot be the

second, independent factor anymore. A new second factor, i.e. smart card or tokens are required. Most secure solutions today targeting Windows desktops or laptops. Mobile platform security, i.e. Android and Apple/iOS, has been improved during last years. But they still lack easy to use, secure solutions – including end-user, convenient 2-factor authentication. Android and Apple/iOS are primarily built for consumer markets; corporate level security must satisfy higher requirements. certgate’s secure APPS and device independent 2-factor hardware security products easily fulfil higher corporate standards, based on global certified secure technology.

What is the strength of your Multi Device Security portfolio compared to your competitors? Unique, patented 2-factor authentication & APPS for mobile devices Today, most employees have more than just one device. Most people have a laptop and smartphones, many have an additional tablet device or more than one smartphone. If you want to secure all your APPS and mobile data on all your devices at the same time, using your (private) encryption keys, its getting typically either complex or not secure. certgate has found a solution to this problem. certgate provides secure mobile APPS (voice, messaging, email) and has invented international patented smart card readers (for your keyring or badge) which combine usability with 2-factor security for all your devices, regardless if it is a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop. This is a very unique and patented technology to reduce complexity for corporate, secure mobile / PKI infrastructures. ë

GUEST ARTICLE

The 5 Deadly Sins of Privileged Access Management…And How to Atone for Them Organizations are moving to the cloud with a vengeance. As with all platforms, protecting against privileged access abuse is crucial for cloud workloads. It is not up to the provider to protect your cloud workloads, it is up to IT.

Take a look inside any large enterprise and you’ll likely find that passwords are still not under complete control; users with administrator privileges are still causing problems and far too many system vulnerabilities remain unpatched. In fact, according to a recent report by Forrester, 80% of breaches are the result of abuse or misuse of privileged credentials. For years, security experts have outlined the best practices for privileged account management (PAM) but despite this, IT organizations continue to struggle with PAM for five key reasons. I jokingly refer to these as ‘The Five Deadly Sins’ and while it might sound a little dramatic, consider that these “sins” cost the typical enterprise nearly US$4M annually from things like lost productivity, costs to mitigate incidents and legal or compliance issues. NOT DEPLOYING PRIVILEGED PASSWORD MANAGEMENT GLOBALLY One way to mitigate poor password management is by deploying a centralized password management solution, that includes built-in session monitoring, across all data centers be it virtual or cloud. This will ensure that both important capabilities are met with strong workflow and ease

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of use for your high-maintenance users. TOO MANY HOLDOUT ADMIN USERS How much privilege does an end user really need? Users, greedy for power, will say they need complete privilege. In fact, 94% of Microsoft system vulnerabilities in 2016 can be attributed to users with admin rights yet again, users with elevated privileges are common across organizations, a problem that has been shown to cause direct downtime of computing systems. It is essential that IT teams remove all local admin rights from all Windows and Mac end users.Once all users are standard users, IT teams can elevate a users’ access to specific applications to perform whatever action is necessary as part of their role without elevating the entire user on the machine. The benefit? When the next ransomware variant breaks out, your end-users’ machines will be contained, preventing further propagation. It will save your IT team and help desk many headaches, and save the business from possible downtime. In parallel, you can use asset and application vulnerability insights to help you make better decisions on elevating privileges. NOT PRIORITIZING SAAS

n J O H N H AT H A W AY, R E G I O N A L S A L E S M A N A G E R , M I D D L E E A S T, B E Y O N D T R U S T

APPLICATIONS AND THE RISK THEY INTRODUCE Unprotected SaaS workloads can lead to a host of problems; some immediate, some longer lasting. As organizations race to adopt *aaS to keep pace with business demands, IT must provide the same level of protection to cloudbased systems as for on-premise systems. This includes capabilities such as ability to: n Enable automation for DevOps n Find, group and scan cloud assets n Protect virtual and cloud management consoles and instances n Use a cloud access service broker to enable third-party access n Perform vulnerability assessments for hybrid and public cloud infrastructures Personally Identifiable Information (PII) must be protected at all costs. Too protect access to this data, organizations must deploy an integrated PAM solution that providers control and visibility over all privileged accounts and users across Windows, Mac, Unix and Linux desktop and server platforms and in doing so improves system security and closes gaps – it’s the only way to atone for our “sins”! ë

GUEST ARTICLE

Wireless Way-Finding: Roadmap for The Aspiring Smart City So, what is the blueprint for the smart society? What constitutes best practice? And how can we ensure the foundations are sound enough to support value-adding solutions that revolutionise every day’s life?

Governments within the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) have shown unparalleled ambition in creating these digital societies, embarking on long-term economic visions that leverage technology to lay the foundations for smart cities, as evidenced by the region’s conference venues becoming regular hosts for smart-citythemed events,all aimed at creating awareness and igniting the spirit of innovation. THE WAY FORWARD The first thing to recognise is that legacy cable infrastructures can only take the smart-city pioneer so far. Many of the unique selling points of smart cities involve the necessary feature of mobility.Traffic optimisation, automated public safety and remote health monitoring are just three examples where key elements of the ecosystem (e.g. vehicles, CCTV cameras, people, etc.) can be anywhere, with data made available to/from them in real time.Hard-wired solutions severely hamper the delivery of such solutions. In addition, these cabled solutions are extraordinarily disruptive in their deployment, requiring significant undertakings from the perspectives of both civil engineering and the public purse. Both factors also amount to considerable lifespans for cabling projects, thereby dampening

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n K A M A L M O K R A N I , G L O B A L V I C E P R E S I D E N T, I N F I N E T W I R E L E S S

the momentum of smart city initiatives. Wireless presents itself as an obvious candidate for any government intent on crafting its own smart city. But care must be taken when selecting the platform on which all future smart solutions will be built. Choose the wrong one, and visionary advances could quickly grind to a halt. MOBILE MATTERS Significant capacity is required to serve the rising numbers of connected citizens and their associated mobile devices. Always-on reliability is a standard assumption among solutions providers and government innovators. And flexibility in configuration is also a must, so that policymakers and enterprises can respond quickly to unexpected shifts in citizens’ behaviour. An effective smart infrastructure also needs to enable split-second decision making, in the order of 3ms or lower for most known applications today. Adopting a 3G platform with latencies in excess of 100ms, clearly will not meet the stringent requirements of anything “smart”. And 4G networks only reach 50 or 60ms in latency. Even 5G, projected to deliver response times of between 1 and 5ms, will be delivered as a series of shared networks, used by millionsof

consumers and businesses, coming with all the known bottlenecks at different times of the day. QUALITY OF SERVICE A suitable, quality-of-service mobile-Internet solution needs to be IP-based, provide guaranteed delivery of each and every packet,be capable of connecting seamlessly to any data source and any current or future sensors.Consider the CCTV-based public safety system mentioned earlier. Real-time image-processing is computationally expensive. Low latency, reliability of data transfer and fast processing capabilities come together to deliver features such asinstant facial recognition, ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) and a host of other crowd-based analytics services that ultimately translate into safer and more secure environments. STAY THE COURSE Our journey towards the smart cities of tomorrow must be less of a sprint and more of a methodical march. Healthcare, education, security and public safety all await the innovators. Their solutions – if built on the back of a robust, flexible, responsive and reliable wireless platform – will usher in that new smart city age we have all been waiting for. ë

INNOVATIONS

KEY CAPABILITIES n Longer battery life (Up to 13.5 hours) n 12.3-inch PixelSense Display; Hyper-slim n 7th generation Intel Core m3; Core i5; Core i7 Processors n Intel Core m3 - 4GB RAM & 128GB RAM of SSD storage n Intel Core i7 - 16GB RAM & 1TB of SSD storage n Accessories: Surface Pro Signature Type Cover; Surface Pen; Surface Dial; Surface Arc Mouse n Optimized for Windows Hello and Microsoft Office 365 n Surface pen – 4096 points of pressure sensitivity with tilt

Surface Pro Microsoft launched its versatile, reimagined Surface Pro device in the UAE, bringing the full power of Windows 10 creativity and productivity to the country’s consumers and professionals. With longer battery life, enhanced performance and a superior display, the new Surface Pro has been re-engineered to suit the needs of everyone. From artists and designers to media and marketing professionals; from engineers and architects to teachers and doctors – the Surface Pro, through the innovation of Windows 10, can help bring ideas to life. PLEASE SEND YOUR FEEDBACK AT INFO@ GECMEDIAGROUP.COM

FLASHARRAY//X Cloud-era web scale applications and a massively increased focus on data analytics across nearly every industry demand a new generation of all-flash storage, designed to power tomorrow’s innovation. Today, infrastructure underpins the number one priority we hear from our customers – The need to put their organizational data to work. This was the driving force behind the release of FlashArray//X, the company’s first all-NVMe, enterprise-class all-flash array. Designed for the cloud era, //X delivers the highest performance and enterprise reliability for Tier 1 applications. Microsecond latency and GBs of bandwidth – with all the rich data services, proven 99.9999% availability over two years (inclusive of maintenance and generational upgrades), and unrivalled Pure1 support that the FlashArray family is built on. And with the Pure Storage Evergreen model, any FlashArray can be fully upgraded, non-disruptively, to //X.

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KEY CAPABILITIES n µS Latency – FlashArray//X delivers consistent latency in the 100s of microseconds n 1PB in 3U – Unprecedented density with 18.3TB DirectFlash modules n Evergreen Upgradeable – Every FlashArray//M can be fully upgraded to //X online, with no disruptions and no re-buy of storage TBs

INNOVATIONS

Multi- Operator Dot 2 Ericsson has launched three new scalable small cell solutions designed to help expand the small cell market and meet the growing demand for better mobile coverage and capacity while preparing networks for 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) applications: The Multi-Operator Dot and the Multi-Dot Enclosure for indoor deployments; and the Strand-Mount Unit for outdoor micro radios. KEY CAPABILITIES n The Multi-Operator Dot solution delivers a set of Radio Dots that can be shared between multiple operators. n The Multi-Dot Enclosure combines multiple Dots in a single enclosure n The Strand-Mount Unit for outdoor micro radios makes it easier to install the radios on the existing grid, hung on aerial coax, fibre, or electricity cables. n The Strand-Mount Unit for outdoor micro radios facilitates the dense deployments that will be required for 5G. n The Multi-Operator Dot and the Multi-Dot Enclosure will enable service providers to offer their customers full multi-operator solution. n The Strand-Mount Unit creates new opportunities for outdoor deployments for customers such as telecom operators, cable operators and tower companies.

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ThinkAgile VX Series

Lenovo launched the ThinkAgile VX Series, powered by VMware vSAN, a preconfigured hyperconverged infrastructure solution engineered to provide businesses of all sizes with simplified management and greater efficiency. The VX series is the latest addition to Lenovoâ€™s ThinkAgile portfolio of integrated appliances and systems designed to support customers as they modernize their IT infrastructures and unlock the efficiency, cost economics and agility of a softwaredefined data center.

KEY CAPABILITIES n Is pre-integrated, pre-configured hyper converged solution n Reduces data center complexity by aggregating servers, storage and virtualization resources n Is highly scalable n Is equipped with the latest version of VMware vSAN, which includes up to seven times greater storage space with deduplication and compression capabilities, n Native encryption, which eliminates the need for separate selfencrypting drives that increase TCO for customers. n Can be used as infrastructure for remote office/branch office and retail stores as well as VDI deployments and enterprise applications. n VX 3000 Series: General-purpose 1U and 2U 1-node solutions optimized for compute-heavy applications, such as VDI. n VX 5000 Series: Storage-dense 2U 1-node solutions optimized for fast, high-capacity storage applications such as email, big data, and analytics. n VX 7000 Series: 2U 1-node solutions optimized for the highestperformance workloads, such as databases and collaboration.

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