Reseller Middle East March 2016

ISSUE 231 | march 2016 www.resellerme.com

Channel masters Top vendor channel executives who are redefining the regional IT landscape.

Channel prospects in cybersecurity RSA’s Robert Griffin on the threat landscape Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s channel roadmap

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CONTENTS

STRATEGIC VAD PARTNER

Highlights 6

News

We help you catch up on all the major news and announcements in the regional channel community.

opinion 31

Business enabler

Sachin Bhardwaj of eHosting DataFort, explains how the IoT will drive demand for cloud and managed IT services.

interview 32

Strategy for security

Robert Griffin, Chief Security Architect, Security Evangelist, RSA, shares insights on how organisations can strengthen their security posture.

ISSUE 231 // march 2016

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cover story

channel masters Reseller ME profiles top vendor channel executives whose primary responsibility involves interacting with channel partners and ensuring they are given all the support required in order to be the company’s representative in the market. We take a closer look at their role and how they are shaping the regional channel ecosystem.

Feature 46 Combatting cyber threats

Reseller ME investigates how channel partners can maximise opportunities present in cybersecurity.

Vendor focus

hot products

54

Linksys unveils Max Stream EA7500

55

Philips launches 43-inch 4K Ultra HD monitor

50 Fortifying partnerships

Moreno Ciboldi and Marco Pasculli from Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise discuss the channel roadmap for 2016.

Review

53

Lumia 950 XL

56

Samsung flaunts new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge

57

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Here is some good news in the midst of all doom and gloom. According to Gartner, the Middle East IT spending is projected to reach $212.9 billion this year, registering a 3.7 percent growth compared to 2015. Despite the economic uncertainty at both global and local levels, the research firm predicts positive IT growth, spurred by Smart City initiatives and adoption of Internet of Things.

Surprisingly, Gartner says devices will account for 19 percent of total IT spending, with tablets and PCs showing a good momentum. This should be a big relief to distributors and resellers focused on this segment, as the PC market has seen a sharp decline over the last couple of years. Tablets and PC sales are forecast to reach nearly $8 billion this year, and exceed $10 billion in 2018. Mobile phone sales are expected to grow from $30 billion to nearly $37 billion by 2019.

In the forecast, Gartner says business IT services will represent 84 percent of the total services segment, which remains largely untapped by VARs in the region.

Within software, enterprise application software is expected to clock the largest growth in the forecast period. However, for those focused on the infrastructure side, Gartner predicts the data centre market will remain relatively flat this year, which includes networking, external storage and servers.

Perhaps, most importantly, Gartner says industries are building their own platforms, and 10 years from now the definition of vertical industries may not work and we will talk about connected eco-systems. IT budgets are flattening out from a global perspective and enterprise IT spending in GCC is likely to remain static this year.

Already, governments and verticals such as energy have started to re-prioritise their IT budgets with the focal point being cost optimisation and process efficiencies.

With hardware becoming a commodity, the research firm predicts the software market will explode and it’s where the real changing is happening. I think that’s where the channel should be focusing on over the next decade.

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Reseller Middle East

march 2016

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highlights

Xerox to separate into two public companies

Help AG, Pulse Secure revise BYOD market strategy

Nicolai Solling, Help AG; and John Mitchell, Pulse Secure

The Board of the company has unanimously approved the management’s plan to separate Xerox into two independent publicly- traded companies.

“Xerox is taking further affirmative steps to drive shareholder value by announcing it will separate into two strong, independent, publicly traded companies,” said Ursula Burns, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Xerox. “These two companies will be well-positioned to lead in their respective rapidly evolving markets and capitalise on the opportunities that now exist to expand margins and increase market share.

“I am confident that the extensive structural review we conducted over the last few months has produced the right path forward for our company. We will now position the companies for success and execute our plan to separate them in the shortest possible timeframe while continuing to focus on achieving our 2016 goals,” said Burns.

According to Xerox, the Document Technology arm will continue to be a global leader in document management and document outsourcing with approximately $11 billion in 2015 revenue. Meanwhile, the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) arm of the company will be tasked to help clients improve the flow of work by leveraging its expertise in managing transaction-intensive processes and applying innovations to automate and simplify business processes. With approximately $7 billion in 2015 revenue, the BPO division of the company will be focused on growth markets including transportation, healthcare, commercial and government services.

The leadership and names of the two companies will be determined as the separation process progresses.

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elp AG has announced changes to its go-tomarket strategies with secure access solutions vendor, Pulse Secure, to capitalise on the region’s growing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and enterprise mobility market.

By strengthening its ties with the vendor, Help AG aims to become the biggest partner for Pulse Secure in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

“Mobile applications are redefining the enterprise user experience, giving workers anytime access to corporate information.

At the same time, due to improper management and ineffective security tools and policies, these devices are becoming the weakest link in enterprise IT security.

We want our customers to leverage the benefits of BYOD while securing their data

and mitigating the threat of data leakage and loss,” said Nicolai Solling, Director of Technology Services, Help AG. “Pulse Secure has significantly refreshed its product line through 2015. The enhancements to its mobility solutions offer businesses the flexibility to deliver simple, seamless, and secure on-demand connectivity to mobile and remote workers.”

Help AG believes the Pulse Workspace solution’s ‘containerised’ approach of segmenting corporate and employee data, apps, and connectivity is key to addressing privacy issues plaguing the security of employee owned devices. The solution encrypts all data at rest, controls data sharing between enterprise apps, wipes corporate data without affecting personal information, and connects directly to the enterprise VPN.

$30B

forecasted Middle east mobile sales growth in 2016 Source: Gartner

Al-Jammaz Distribution recognised by Cisco Asim S. AlJammaz, Al-Jammaz Distribution Vice President, Alwas recently Jammaz Distribution, recognised as the said, “During the Emerging Regional and Global Partner event Specialty Distributor of held for the EMEA the year 2015 by Cisco. region, our efforts Cisco hosted have been recognised its annual Europe Asim AlJammaz, Al-Jammaz Distribution by Cisco. We are Middle East and Africa really honoured to be (EMEAR) Distribution named as the Emerging Regional Business Forum in Vienna last and Specialty Distributor for 2015.

December 2015 under the theme This award not only recognises the ‘Embrace the Journey’. The event work that Al-Jammaz does, it also focused on the rapidly evolving reiterates the great commitment technology journey and how and support that Cisco’s channel, distributors can join the vendor commercial, and mid-market every step of the way to ensure teams have been showing to continued business impact and partners like us. profitability.

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Qualys signs Ixtel as premium partner

Bit9 + Carbon Black re-brands to Carbon Black

Patrick Morley, Carbon Black

B

it9 + Carbon Black announced its official re-branding to Carbon Black. According to the company, while the name has changed, no changes will be made to the its strategy, product portfolio, technology direction and investments, and commitment to its 2,000 worldwide customers and hundreds of partners.

“Two years ago when Bit9 merged with Carbon Black, we combined our names to send a message to the market,” said Patrick Morley,

CEO, Carbon Black. “We wanted to emphasise that Bit9, well known for its superior endpoint threat prevention, was joining with an emerging leader in endpoint threat detection and response. The combined name was always meant to be temporary until we achieved leadership in the field of next-generation endpoint security.

Having reached that goal it’s time to simplify our brand.”

The company also changed names of its products to reflect the Carbon Black brand – the Bit9 Security Platform is now Carbon Black Enterprise Protection; the Carbon Black product is now Carbon Black Enterprise Response; and the Threat Intelligence Cloud is now Carbon Black Threat Intel.

“Other than the new names, there are no changes to the technology, the release schedule, the strategic plan, or anything else related to our products,” said Morley.

PCCI Group opens new office in DIFC PCCI Group, a customer experience and operations outsourcing provider in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, has recently announced that it has relocated its international headquarters to Central Park Towers in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

According to the Group, the expansion is in response to the strong client demand and customer base in the Middle East, which it has witnessed in the last quarter.

Through its office in DIFC, PCCI Group will provide a tailored end-toend customer experience strategy design, in combination with outsourced operational delivery solutions, to customers in the UAE and across the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

“In line with our global expansion plan, PCCI Group is pleased to announce the opening of our newest

office at DIFC. Dubai, being the gateway between the East and the West, attracts top professional talent, which makes it the perfect location for our global headquarters. In addition, DIFC is a perfect fit for the PCCI Group headquarters and our customers, as it offers advanced infrastructure in a stable and secure environment, with a world-class regulatory and legal framework,” explained Nidal Kamouni, CEO, PCCI Group. “We are excited about the next stage of our expansion plan, as we move forward with the execution of our strategy to offer full customer experience delivery solutions, which will enable our customers to not only enhance their total customer life cycle, but also assist them in becoming market leaders in an efficient and profitable manner.”

Hadi Jaafarawi, Qualys Middle East

Qualys announced that Ixtel has signed up to become a one of it premium partner in the UAE. As a premium partner, Ixtel will now offer the Qualys Cloud Platform and integrated suite of security solutions.

With a mission to be the ‘virtual service provider of choice for the GCC’s leading organisations’ Ixtel offers a range of services from IT strategy, IT consultancy, systems integration, as well as outsourcing IT business functions.

According to Ixtel, becoming a strategic business partner of Qualys enables them to expand their offering to include cloud security, vulnerability management and compliance cloud solutions. Ixtel is set to integrate its managed security services portfolio with Qualys’ portfolio to help customers effectively understand potential IT security threats and help them mitigate those risks.

“Our relationship with Ixtel helps us to strengthen and grow the Qualys’ business in the UAE,” said Hadi Jaafarawi, Managing Director, Qualys Middle East. “Ixtel is wellknown for its exceptional expertise in IT, outstanding customer service and wide customer base in a number of industries, including oil and gas and government security, which provides Qualys and Ixtel the ability to help these customers strengthen their cyber defences against attacks.”

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highlights

Cisco announces intent to acquire Jasper Technologies

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isco has announced its plans to acquire Jasper Technologies, to help enterprises and service providers launch, manage and monetise IoT services on a global scale.

Under the terms of the proposed acquisition, Cisco will pay $1.4 billion in cash and assumed equity awards, plus additional retention based incentives.

Jasper is an IoT service platform used by a number of enterprises and service providers. The company develops and provides SaaS platforms with a recurring revenue IoT business that manages and drives a wide range of connected devices and services for more than 3500 enterprises worldwide.

Jaspert also works with 27 service provider groups globally.

“I am excited about the opportunity for Cisco and Jasper to accelerate how customers recognise the value of the Internet of Things,” said Chuck Robbins,

Chuck Robbins, Cisco

Chief Executive Officer, Cisco. “Together, we can enable service providers, enterprises and the broader ecosystem to connect, automate, manage, and analyse billions of connected things, across any network, creating new revenue streams and opportunities.”

According to reports, the acquisition will allow Cisco to offer a complete IoT solution that is interoperable across devices and works with IoT service providers, application developers and an ecosystem of partners. Cisco will continue to build upon the Jasper

IoT service platform and add new IoT services such as enterprise Wi-Fi, security for connected devices, and advanced analytics to better manage device usage.

Jasper CEO Jahangir Mohammed will run the new IoT Software Business Unit under Rowan Trollope, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IoT and Collaboration Technology Group, Cisco.

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of fiscal year 2016, subject to customary closing conditions.

98%

of mobile data traffic in 2020 will be generated from smart devices source: cisco

Oracle debuts four-tier cloud-focused partner programme

Shawn Price, Oracle

Oracle has unveiled a new Oracle Partner Network (OPN) Cloud Programme to help partners accelerate the growth of their Oracle Cloud business by providing them with technical and go-to-market support.

“OPN now offers a comprehensive portfolio of cloud programmes available today,” said Shawn Price, Senior Vice President, Oracle Cloud.

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“Our rapid growth and extensive SaaS, PaaS and IaaS cloud portfolio presents an unparalleled opportunity for partners and customers alike. We can now equip our highly experienced partners with the tools they need to successfully move their customers to modern business models. This vast partner community includes tens of thousands of implementation experts with transferable skills who can help our customers navigate their transition to the cloud.”

Programme qualifications will be based on critical cloud performance metrics including the partners’ cloud specialisations, applications on the Oracle Cloud Marketplace, Cloud Fixed Scope offerings, successful go-live cloud implementations, cloud success stories, dedicated cloud focused resources and expertise, as well as other metrics that demonstrate mastery in Oracle Cloud solutions.

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According to Oracle, the four tiers of the new OPN cloud designations are Cloud Standard, the first tier in the programme where cloud partners can begin to differentiate themselves in the market; Cloud Select, which is for partners that have achieved a Cloud specialisation and/or are developing and selling Oracle Cloud technologies or services; Cloud Premier, the third tier of the programme, reflects partners who have transformed their business to focus specifically on driving their Oracle Cloud solutions with successful and repeatable customer use cases; and Cloud Elite, which is the highest programme designation, which is for highlyskilled and committed partners that have demonstrated full investment in a depth and breadth of Oracle Cloud solutions.

“For More information on Aruba, kindly email us on sales.value@redingtongulf.com�

highlights

axiom care expands services in the GCC

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xiom care announced that it will continue to expand its offering amid a growing demand for quality post-sales support among customers.

Repair time and excellent aftersales service are among the top five most important factors that more than two-thirds of UAE customers (74 percent), consider when making a purchase, according to a 2015 YouGov survey commissioned by axiom telecom.

In response to these recent customer demands, axiom care said that it is reaffirming its commitment to quality after-sales assistance by offering a range of comprehensive services, from software and hardware services, to express repairs, extended warranty, damage insurance, pick-up and delivery, and more across its more than 25 service points in the region,

which include eight in the UAE, and 17 in KSA. “Today’s customers are looking to maximise value for their investments.

More than economic value, after-sales services are becoming recognised as an important factor when purchasing a device,” said Faisal Al Bannai, Managing Director, axiom. “We are pleased to be an authorised service centre for 16

ALE honours regional business partners at annual event ALE, operating under the AlcatelLucent Enterprise brand, last month held its annual regional partner event in Dubai.

According to the firm, the event was dedicated to strengthening and driving growth between the company and its Business Partners.

The theme of the 2016 event ‘Own it!’ encouraged partners to consider how to deliver top technology offerings that meet the needs of today’s businesses.

During the event, key ALE partners were also awarded for outstanding performance in 2015.

The winners from the Middle East region included Redington Gulf, UAE as the New Distributor of the Year; Intraconsult Telecom, Egypt wins the Project of the Year award; Al-Futtaim Technologies, UAE was named as

Converged Partner of the Year; Intertech, Qatar bags the Data Network Partner of the Year title; and Intercol Dyarco, Qatar wins the Hospitality Partner of the Year award.

“We feel these events showcase our commitment to our partners by awarding some of the key achievers from last year and also provide them with insight into our performance in 2015.”

global mobile brands, and our holistic strategy has been tailored to cater to the needs of our customers to ensure a pleasant experience with their chosen mobile brand.”

International brands covered by axiom care include Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Blackberry, Lenovo and Microsoft, in addition to luxury mobile brands, such as Givori and Vertu.

The UAE roadshow also celebrated a number of top individuals from the following partners in the lower gulf region for their sales and technical achievements in 2015 – FVC, UAE; Al Futtaim Technologies, UAE; OHI Telecommunications, Oman; Redington Gulf, UAE; Telephony, UAE; and Tuqnia, UAE. The roadshow will continue with events in Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia later this quarter in the Middle East.

Baher Ezzat, Regional Director, Middle East, ALE, said, “We feel these events showcase our commitment to our partners by awarding some of the key achievers from last year and also provide them with insight into our performance in 2015. Over the course of the two-day event, we conveyed what we wanted to achieve this year and how significant their contribution will be. The event also acted as a platform for partners to provide feedback on how together we can have another year of success.”

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ManageEngine enhances Desktop Central

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anageEngine “We understand that announced key process automation process and security are two automation of the most important and security desktop management enhancements to its client requirements for management suite, Desktop IT administrators,” Central. said Mathivanan Available immediately, Venkatachalam, Director Mathivanan Venkatachalam, the company highlighted of Product Management, ManageEngine that the new features Desktop Central, include an iOS mobile app ManageEngine. “The for managing desktops and monitoring new updates will simplify their regular their performance on-the-go, a twochores such as deploying commonly factor authentication login system for used software and troubleshooting, IT administrators, an HTML5 viewer for while focusing on providing maximum remote desktop control that requires security.” no additional plugs or installation, and ManageEngine explained that .EXE block for Windows. the Desktop Central aims to address

concerns with asset security and auditing as well as streamline processes such as software deployment and troubleshooting. The new features include a self-service portal, iOS app, HTML5 viewer, a two-factor authentication and a Block .EXE tool.

$971.8

predicted growth of managed and data centre services markets in the uae by 2018 Source: IDC

Ingram Micro to be acquired by China-based Tianjin Tianhai

Ingram Micro HQ

California-headquartered Ingram Micro and China-based Tianjin Tianhai Investment Company have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Tianjin Tianhai will acquire Ingram Micro for $38.90 per share in an all-cash transaction with an equity value of approximately $6.0 billion.

Upon close of the merger, Ingram Micro will become a part of HNA Group, a Hainan-based Fortune Global 500 enterprise group and a leader in aviation, tourism and

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logistics and the largest stockholder of Tianjin Tianhai. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by both Ingram Micro’s and Tianjin Tianhai’s boards of directors, represents a premium of approximately 39 percent over the average closing share price of Ingram Micro for the 30 trading days ended 16th February 2016.

Following the close of the transaction, which is expected in the second half of 2016, Ingram Micro will operate as a subsidiary of Tianjin Tianhai, consolidated under HNA Group, the largest stockholder of Tianjin Tianhai (via HNA Group’s subsidiaries).

Ingram Micro is expected to remain headquartered in Irvine, California, and Ingram Micro’s executive management team will remain in place, with Alain Monié continuing to lead as CEO. All Ingram Micro lines of business and all regional and country operations are expected to continue unaffected.

Alain Monié, CEO, Ingram Micro, said, “Our agreement to join HNA Group delivers near-term and compelling cash value to our stockholders and

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we expect it to provide exciting new opportunities for our vendors, customers and associates. Innovation, new services introduction, brand management and ensuring the stability and continuity of the businesses joining their enterprise are fundamental to HNA Group’s overall strategy. As a part of HNA Group, we will have the ability to accelerate strategic investment, as we continue to capitalise on the constant evolution of technology and emerging trends by adding expertise, capabilities and geographic reach. Additionally, Ingram Micro will now be part of a larger organisation that has complementary logistics capabilities and a strong presence in China that can further support the growth and profitability objectives of our vendor and customer partners.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in various jurisdictions, as well as the approval of Ingram Micro’s and Tianjin Tianhai’s stockholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Global, Cryptzone sign Middle East distribution deal

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ryptzone has unveiled its first Middle East distributor partner, Global Solutions Network, the Solutions Distribution Arm of Global Distribution.

Under the new partnership, Global will help Cryptzone identify, recruit and train systems integrators (SIs) who have the potential and expertise to drive its business forward in the region.

“Information Security organisations are struggling to protect their networks, while simultaneously meeting business user demands for convenient, flexible access. We can help simplify security and streamline user access,” said Alex Pearson, General Manager for EMEA and Asia Pacific, Cryptzone. “In 2015 our focus was primarily developing and enhancing our core products so they

Mario M. Veljovic, Global Solutions Network

continue to deliver truly innovative technology. Our customers can control access from outside and inside the perimeter – above and beyond VPNs and firewalls, protect data against loss and misuse, and easily demonstrate

regulatory compliance. In 2016, we plan to expand into new markets and recognise this includes investing in developing our partner programme in new regions. We are delighted to kickstart these ambitious plans in the Middle East and would like to welcome Global to our growing family of distributor partners.”

Mario M. Veljovic, Vice President of Solutions for Middle East and Africa, Global Solutions Network, said, “We pride ourselves on working with partners to develop strong relationships, an ethos shared by Cryptzone. Its solutions are very exciting and we know that our existing network of partners will tremendously benefit from being able to deploy Cryptzone for their customers.”

Infor announces Cloudsuite programme for alliance partners Infor recently announced a new Infor CloudSuite specialisation programme for alliance partners.

According to the company, the new programme allows partners to complete a series of requirements that result in specialisation credentials, signifying applicable training to help customers move to the Infor cloud. Upon completion of the Infor CloudSuite specialisation programme requirements, partners will receive formal validation and acknowledgement from Infor, which differentiates the alliance partner from other partners relative to their training regarding Infor CloudSuite.

“We are pleased to have alliance partners that are specially trained to help meet some of the unique needs of our customers. This programme is designed to help ensure that every customer is able to take advantage of

the speed and flexibility of a modern cloud platform, with the added confidence of a trained partner to help guide the transition onto an Infor cloud solution,” said Vibhu Kapoor, Director Channel and Alliances Ecosystem, India, Middle East and Africa, Infor.

To qualify for cloud accreditation, applicants must have an existing Infor Partner Network (IPN) alliance agreement and which should in a good standing status. Eligible partners seeking to participate in the programme must complete a fourstep validation process consisting of nomination, application, review and award. To begin the nomination process, eligible partners can request a programme application from an Infor Alliance manager, who will then provide a checklist of requirements and initiate the process. Eligible alliance partners that have solution

Vibhu Kapoor, Infor

experience, have completed the required training and have a successful track record of customer implementations, including assisting customers transitioning to cloud will receive their Infor CloudSuite specialisation credential. Partners that are awarded Infor CloudSuite specialisation credential will be granted the following entitlements: a Hook and Loop CloudSuite logo and a certificate of recognition, acknowledgement in the quarterly Infor PR Newswire, and will have their specialisation highlighted on the Infor Partner Finder.

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Cisco announces participation at GISEC 2016

Sophos to showcase Security Heartbeat at GISEC

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Rabih Daboussi, Cisco

Cisco announced its participation in the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC 2016) which will be held at Dubai World Trade Centre from 29th to 31st March 2016.

The company aims to showcase and deliver its ‘Security Everywhere’ strategy – from the cloud, network and endpoints with new security products and features and a threat awareness service as organisations execute on their digital transformation.

According to Cisco, they will be extending Security Everywhere with new capabilities and services that deliver greater visibility, context and control from the cloud to the network to the endpoint, for organisations of all sizes. At GISEC 2016, the company will demonstrate and showcase how its products and solutions can support its customers safely and securely through digital transformation and how they can weave in the security techniques and deployment as part of it.

Rabih Dabboussi, Managing Director, Cisco UAE, said, “Our customers are asking for a true security architecture where advanced security solutions are a part of an integrated portfolio that shares information and capabilities across the entire platform. I am proud that we at Cisco are spearheading industry collaboration, working with customers to help raise their confidence as our solutions enable comprehensive approaches to security they want, and frankly, they need.”

Cisco security specialists and partners will be available at stand #C-100

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ophos has announced its participation in the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) 2016.

During the event the company will feature Sophos Security Heartbeat – the synchronised security protection for endpoints and networks, and showcase its security solutions including Sophos SG Firewall, XG Firewall and Cyberoam NG Services.

Harish Chib, Vice President, Middle East and Africa for Sophos, said, “GISEC, being the region’s leading IT security exhibition, is a perfect platform for us to promote Security Heartbeat, our synchronised security technology to our Middle East customers. By automating threat discovery, investigation and response, Sophos’ synchronised security vision revolutionises threat detection and reduces incident response times

Harish Chib, Sophos

exponentially so tactical resources can be refocused on strategic analysis.

Through presentations and demos at our stand, we plan to give our customers a first-hand experience on the benefits of synchronised security.”

Sophos also plans to showcase the latest versions of its next-generation endpoint and network security solutions.

Sophos will be exhibiting at Stand C-94, Hall GISEC Division . Experts from the company will be available at the Sophos stand to interact with customers and channel partners from across the region and share their global experiences and success stories.

Infoblox to demonstate its DNS Security Solutions at GISEC 2016 and compliance to DNS, Infoblox will be DHCP, and IP address demonstrating its critical management, our network services and technology automates solutions that protect and simplifies complex Domain Name System processes.

(DNS) infrastructure at From our highly GISEC 2016. secure hardware form Cherif Sleiman, Cherif Sleiman, Infoblox factor, to our hardened General Manager, Middle OS, to the variety of East, Infoblox, said, “Our security features in our solutions reduce the risk applications—no other network and complexity of networking. The control vendor focuses more on company’s solutions automate security than Infoblox,” he said. network-control functions to Infoblox will be exhibiting at reduce costs and maximise uptime, GISEC from the Help AG stand and they protect against the rising number B-100 located in Sheikh flood of malware and distributedRashid Hall, Dubai World Trade denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Centre.

From discovery, configuration

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Evanssion partners with Avi Networks

Spectrami, Red Hat ink distribution agreement

Anand Choudha, Spectrami

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pectrami DMCC and Red Hat have recently signed a distributions agreement for the Red Hat JBoss Middleware portfolio and Red Hat Mobile Application Platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, Spectrami anticipates training a strong sales and pre-sales team focused on Red Hat JBoss Middleware products.

According to the two companies, Spectrami’s ‘Vendor Extension Model’ – customer facing sales teams who actively sell to end-users – can provide Red Hat with greater access to customers in the

Ingram Micro enhances XCHANGE programme in EMEA Ingram Micro has announced enhancements to its Cisco XCHANGE programme for reseller partners in EMEA region.

The enhanced XCHANGE programme, according to the company, now offers greater discounts across all Cisco architectures, comprising routing, switching, wireless, security, collaboration and data centre. The streamlined process does not require deal registration or approval.

Working with Ingram Micro, resellers are able to deliver life cycle solutions and capture incremental business as they refresh existing customer product with Cisco-certified solutions through the XCHANGE programme.

Middle East. The distributor also plans to include Red Hat Mobile Application Platform, which enables enterprises to develop and deploy mobile applications in an agile and flexible manner, as part of the portfolio of Red Hat products it offers.

The two companies plan to work together to identify channel partners with specialised technical proficiencies in middleware. Red Hat resources will be available to assist Spectrami in areas such as technical and sales training, solution design and implementation, as well as Proof of Concept (PoC) deployment.

Anand Choudha, Managing Director, Spectrami, said, “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to extend the Red Hat JBoss Middleware portfolio in the Middle East. Open source and middleware are growing and exciting technologies and we believe that regional customers will respond positively to this offering.”

XCHANGE supports the environment and contributes to the circular economy by rewarding, with discounts, the removal and destruction of old products from Cisco and other selected networking vendors in an environmentally-friendly way and in line with local requirements.

The programme is specifically for partners who are looking to do deals between $5,000 – $25,000. Generating the promotion code and applying the discount to the order is extremely easy and quick to do using the speciallydeveloped and intuitive programme tool.

Mark Chlebek, Senior Director, Advanced Solutions EMEA , Ingram Micro, said, “We had a very positive experience with the launch of the first version of this programme in Europe. We believe this is a truly attractive and beneficial programme for our reseller partners. The programme enables resellers to be more competitive in the market and be more profitable when selling Cisco.”

Dilip Kalliyat, Evanssion

Evanssion, a regional value-added distributor for cloud transformation and information security solutions, has signed a distribution agreement with Avi Networks, a vendor of next-generation Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs).

According to the distributor, the partnership will broaden its product offerings in its strategic pillars of cloud transformation and security. Evanssion will now provide enterprise customers from across the region with software-defined application services while enabling them to accelerate application delivery on-premises or in the cloud with services including application visibility and analytics, microsegmentation, autoscaling, and self-service for app developers.

“Avi Networks brings a sophisticated solution to the ADC market which has been quiet for a long time when it comes to innovation. We are excited to be working with Avi Networks to deliver unprecedented agility in application delivery and insights into application performance and security for private and public cloud environments,” said Dilip Kalliyat, President, Evanssion. “Forwardlooking enterprises see the need to drive automation and self-service for application services in the face of multi-cloud networks. With the Avi Vantage Platform, customers will be able to speed up time-tomarket for critical applications, lower TCO, and dramatically improve IT services for lines of business.”

As part of the agreement, Evanssion will provide pre-sales, sales, vendor accredited trainings, lead generation support, and a vendor support team for resellers and end-customers.

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Reseller Middle East

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highlights

Criteo releases reports on mCommerce trends in the Middle East Criteo has released its Q4 2015 ‘State of Mobile Commerce Report,’ which examines mCommerce trends on a quarterly basis and provides Jonathan Wolf, Criteo insight into online shopping behaviour as consumers’ path to purchase continues to evolve.

The company’s recent dive into 1.4 billion online transactions finds that four in 10 purchases occur across multiple devices or channels globally. Of that figure, close to one-third are completed on a mobile device, indicating that consumers are using numerous devices along their path to purchase and are regularly buying on mobile.

The proliferation of mCommerce is further fueling the desire for more personalised brand experiences from consumers. Digital marketers can no longer look at device use alone to identify and convert consumers into buyers.

According to Criteo, for companies to be successful, understanding user profiles across multiple devices, browsers, and apps is key to provide them with a meaningful and relevant experience throughout their shopping journey.

“Criteo’s quarterly Mobile Commerce Report demonstrates that mobile is an essential component of commerce today, with most consumers browsing and buying across multiple devices,” said Jonathan Wolf, Chief Product Officer, Criteo. “In order to better understand the digitally-savvy consumer, marketers need to stop looking at each device on its own, and start understanding the user behind them. Multi-device behaviour is the new normal. Criteo’s new Universal Match solution enables advertisers to zero in on shoppers at the time they are most likely to purchase, with a targeted message across all of their devices.”

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Alpha Data receives Veeam Platinum ProPartner status By earning the status, Alpha Data assures customers of exceptional expertise and excellence in deploying solutions that integrate advanced Veeam Software technologies. Alpha Data now joins an elite group within Veeam’s global network of 37,000 ProPartners.

Amar Singh, Sales Director, Alpha Data, said, “Virtualisation is an integral Amar Singh, Alpha Data component of enterprise IT and has been a top priority for Alpha Data ever since lpha Data has announced we laid out our comprehensive cloud services roadmap. Last year we focused its upgrade to Veeam sharply on enhancing our Veeam support Platinum ProPartner capabilities in particular and deploying status.

Veeam-powered solutions with the aim of The company exceeding our clients’ expectations. As a was upgraded after achieving Veeam Platinum ProPartner, we have the $1.5 million in MSRP revenue proven ability to integrate Veeam’s awardand investing in Veeam Certified winning backup, disaster recovery and Engineer Training Course trainings virtualisation management solutions to help to deliver PS in 2015. As a Veeam Platinum ProPartner, Alpha Data will organisations, especially today’s modern enjoy special benefits such as access data centres, enjoy Veeam’s promise of to a dedicated Veeam manager and ‘Availability for the Always-On Enterprise.’

We thank Veeam for this privilege and recognition as a Veeam Expert and honour and for its untiring support.” customer reference.

A

Al-Futtaim Technologies receives partner award from ALE

Al-Futtaim Technologies has won the award for Converged Partner of the Year at Alcatel Lucent Enterprise’s (ALE) annual Partner Day held in Dubai.

The award was presented by Marco Pasculli, Vice President, Channel Sales for SEMEA; and Moreno Ciboldi, Vice President and Sales Leader for SEMEA

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from Alcatel Lucent Enterprise to Dawood Bin Ozair, Senior Managing Director, Al-Futtaim Engineering and Technologies; and Venkat Raghavan, General Manager, AlFuttaim Technologies.

Raghavan of Al-Futtaim Technologies said, “We are extremely delighted to receive this recognition from our partner Alcatel Lucent Enterprise. This award is further testament to our commitment and ability to deliver best-in-class products and services to our customers.

We are confident this award will motivate us to work even harder to ensure we provide added value to all our customers.”

For More information on Gigamon, kindly email us on sales.value@redingtongulf.com

highlights

AOC appoints Trigon as authorised distributor

(L to R) Sameh Gamal, AOC; Arun Chawla, Trigon; Vineeth Sebastian; AOC and Kamran Khayal; Trigon

A

OC has appointed Trigon, as the authorised distributor for its entire range of monitors for UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq.

Arun Chawla, CEO, Trigon, said, “It is our pleasure to partner with AOC and today it marks the beginning of a long-lasting relationship between Trigon and AOC. We are confident that with our network of resellers and time tested infrastructure will play a key role

Commvault announces global customer momentum Commvault has recently announced its continued customer momentum driven by the increased demand for Commvault data management solutions.

New and existing customers that have expanded their investment into Commvault’s portfolio of data management solutions and/or services in Q3 FY 2016 include, but are not limited to, the following organisations BP2 – BNP Paribas Partners for Innovation, CIECH Group, City of Seattle, Dataline, DataSpring, Guthrie Healthcare Systems, Hero Cycles Limited and Associates, Metropolitan Council of Minnesota, NTT Data, Reasonnet, Tinkoff Bank and the University of Melbourne

in increasing the presence of AOC brand in the region.”

Vineeth Sebastian, Regionals Sales Director-MEA, AOC, said, “We are excited to expand our relationship with Trigon, who is also our distribution partners for our group company MMD, the brand license partner for Philips monitors in the region. Their region wide channel base and experience in the local market, combined with their knowledge for display solutions enabled Philips monitors to increase its footprint in the region.

We are confident that this partnership with Trigon will enable us to increase our presence in the market place as well as allow existing and new channel partners to benefit from accessing more business opportunities. AOC boasts a comprehensive range of monitors that can be used in business, home or gaming applications,” said Sebastian.

“Data backup and protection is critical for high-availability data centres,” said Martin Smekal, CEO, DataSpring. “Those were the main reasons why we chose Commvault, as it will allow us to offer the best services for backup, protection and deduplication in cloud environments with Virtual infrastructure friendly licencing policies.”

N. Robert Hammer, Chairman, President and CEO, Commvault, said, “We are excited to bring on these customers in our third quarter and believe our growth speaks volumes about Commvault’s ability to meet emerging data management requirements in the marketplace today.

We look forward to continuing this momentum based on the recent launch of our market leading Commvault Data Platform and next-generation software, which provide organisations with a modern, holistic data management solution to tackle emerging and existing challenges facing customers today.”

Protects Against Dynamic Security Threats Simplifies IT Security Structure Provides Security for Email, Web and Database Systems

Dubai: P.O. Box: 32610, Dubai, UAE. Tel: +971 4 3426060, Fax: +971 4 3547779, E-mail: info@trigon-gulf.ae Bahrain: P.O. BOX 75149, Manama, Bahrain Tel: +973 17292904, Fax: +973 1729 5183, Email: trigon@mylightspeedoffice.com KSA: Office 508, Al Rossais Commercial Center, Olaya Street, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Tel: +966 11 460 3114, Fax: +966 11 460 3112, E-mai: shabuddin.m@trigon-gulf.ae

highlights

Dell unveils new BIOS verification and ATP Technology

D

ell has announced the availability of the Dell Data Protection | Endpoint Security Suite Enterprise, which integrates Cylance technology using artificial intelligence and machine learning to proactively prevent advanced persistent threats and malware.

As part of this solution, Dell also announced the availability of a new post-boot BIOS verification solution for Dell commercial PCs, which allows customers to ensure their device remains free from malware during the boot process. The postboot BIOS verification solution will be integrated on Dell commercial PCs with the purchase of the Dell Data Protection | Endpoint Security Suite Enterprise licence.

The new endpoint security suite available today integrates Cylance technology that employs artificial

intelligence to protect against the execution of advanced persistent threats and malware including zero day attacks, and targeted attacks such as spear phishing and ransomware.

Dell Data Protection | Endpoint Security Suite Enterprise is now available for both Dell commercial PCs and as a security solution across heterogeneous IT environments.

89%

of middle east enterprises believe that private cloud will enable them to innovate faster Source: oracle

Progress, Entrust Datacard sign distribution deal Progress Distribution has announced that it signed a distribution agreement with Entrust Datacard to promote its certificate services in the Middle East.

As part of the agreement, Progress will strengthen Entrust Datacard’s channel network and organise regular channel development activities such as training workshops, events and exhibitions to help increase its market share in the region. “We are happy to sign this distribution partnership with Entrust Datacard for the Middle East region.

Entrust Datacard is a channel friendly company with a comprehensive range of certificates, software and services that support it and we felt they were a perfect match to our existing solutions portfolio. We are looking forward

to working closely with their team to increase their market share and sales across the Middle East and are confident our channel network will go all out to promote it,� said Gareth Morgan, Sales Director, Progress Distribution.

As part of its distribution plans, Progress will promote the Entrust portfolio of Certificate Services, SSL digital certificates, as well as management and signing certificates through roadshows, focused workshops and tradeshows throughout the Middle East. The distributor will also organise focused channel development activities including enablement programmes, training, incentives and promotion.

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highlights

Exclusive Group announces 2015 financial results

Olivier Breittmayer, Exclusive Group

E

xclusive Group has announced an underlying organic growth of 31 percent and total pro forma annualised revenues of EUR 1.04 billion for 2015.

According to the company, the results prove the success of its value-centric approach, relentless focus on cybersecurity and data centre transformation opportunities, and astute acquisition strategy. The performance underlines the Group’s momentum to grow beyond EUR 1 billion annual revenues; a target achieved nearly two years ahead of plan.

“We have now entered unchartered territory as the very first ‘Super VAD’ business to retain and extend its value-added model

on a global basis,” said Olivier Breittmayer, CEO, Exclusive Group. “Since the start of this journey we have doubled revenue every two years with a strategy blending together accelerated organic growth with hand picked acquisitions that have supported our value and local knowledge qualities to deliver a unique proposition.”

Adjusted to remove the added 2015 turnover of Transition Systems – the pan-Asian cybersecurity VAD acquired in December 2015 – Exclusive Group’s core business divisions returned revenues of EUR 840 million, up nearly EUR 200 million on the previous year’s results.

The company highlighted that a strong performance throughout the Nordics and Baltics saw the region post revenue growth of over 40 percent. France and Africa demonstrated healthy returns, growing 33 percent and 63 percent respectively. In the Southern Region (Iberia, Italy, Turkey), collective growth of 41 percent underlined the strength of the business despite slow economic recovery and other challenging factors. The UK continues to report healthy trading and solid sales momentum with over 55 percent annual growth.

Avaya unveils new multi-channel solutions for mid-market companies Avaya has announced its first complete, multichannel unified communications and contact centre cloud offers targeted for the midmarket.

Avaya Midmarket Cloud solutions offer two flexible deployment options, enabling the company’s channel partners to evolve into midsized companies with capabilities needed for digital business.

According to the vendor, both options, Powered by Avaya IP Office and OnAvaya – Google Cloud Platform, can enable hybrid clouds that allow customers to maximise their investments in more than 1 million Avaya systems worldwide.

Based on the Avaya IP Office Platform, Avaya Midmarket Cloud Solutions allows unified communications and contact centre cloud offers for midsized businesses in the market that utilise the

same code base as those installed onpremises.

Fadi Moubarak, Channel Director, Middle East, Africa, and APAC, Avaya, said, “Avaya channel partners have a significant role to play in cloud deployments for midsized companies with their established knowledge of the customer and expertise with Avaya products. Now, they have even more flexibility with which to approach the customer by offering hybrid cloud solutions in a market that has considerable growth potential and is looking for a cost-effective path to advanced communications.”

Currently, partners outside the US are only eligible for the Partner Powered by Avaya IP Office option and, therefore, must be able to provide the infrastructure or host in the data centre of choice.

highlights

FireEye unveils enhanced partner programme

F

ireEye has announced an enhanced FireEye Fuel partner programme designed to increase customer security and partner profitability.

The new programme expands go-tomarket opportunities for partners with the introduction of the new Power and Essentials product editions announced today.

As part of FireEye’s commitment to growth through the channel, the reward for Value programme has been updated to offer FireEye Fuel partners the opportunity to earn up to twice their normal discounts in 2016, while expanding their security practices with new products, services and threat intelligence opportunities.

According to the cybersecurity vendor, they aim to reimagine how security is delivered so partners can build new, differentiated security practices that provide customers an improved threat posture that adapts to cyber risk across their organisations. By utilising FireEye assets, the

David DeWalt, FireEye

company emphasises that partners can extend their security capabilities and have the flexibility to offer new services such as the Authorised FaaS Delivery Partner Programme and iSIGHT Value Add Programme. The new partner programme offers a pay-for-performance profitability approach, where distributors and resellers will be rewarded based upon the value they bring to each transaction.

FireEye also announced an expansion of the FireEye Global Threat Management Platform to include two new editions – FireEye Power and FireEye Essentials. “With a new product offering tailored for the channel and an innovative mix of industry partnerships, we’re expanding the security market to create new ways to deliver profitability to partners,” said David DeWalt, CEO and Chairman of the Board, FireEye.

EMWme named as Brocade’s Elite Partner in the UAE EMWme has recently announced that it has been upgraded from Premier to Elite partner status by Brocade.

According to the systems integrator, the upgrade makes them Brocade’s first elite direct value-added partner in the UAE. EMWme has been closely working with the vendor for more than twelve years to deliver the entire stack of IP and software networking data centre solutions to enterprise customers across the hospitality, government and education sectors.

Serjios Hage, President and Group CEO, EMWme, said, “We have shared a cordial relationship with Brocade for many years, and with this achievement I am sure our customers will reap the benefits.

We are elated to share this success with them to provide added benefits and competencies including superior service

and support from our certified specialists at competitive rates. Our differentiator from the competition in terms of highly qualified pre- and post-sales resources has helped us achieve all the pre-requisites to claim this prestigious title.”

The systems integrator has been operating in the UAE since 2004. The company specialises in designing and implementing end-to-end IT infrastructure and business enablers which include various vendor specialisations and partnerships that are best of breed across the globe. The firm today serves a wide range of clients from law enforcement, government and semi-government agencies to commercial enterprises. The company has thrived by staying abreast of today’s technologies keeping a watchful eye on technology trends future-proofing solutions delivered to customers.

appointments

Industry appointments An overview of the latest people movement within the IT channel business.

Riverbed announces new SVP and CSO

Veritas introduces leadership team

Riverbed Technology announced that Phil Harris has joined the Company as Senior Vice Phil Harris, Riverbed President and Chief Strategy Officer, a newly created position reporting to Chairman and CEO Jerry M. Kennelly.

In his new role, Harris will be responsible for shaping Riverbed’s architectural approach to nextgeneration software-defined networking, providing counsel and direction on long-term technology and business strategy, overseeing corporate development activities including M&A, and leading the company’s go-to-market approach with strategic technology alliance and OEM partners.

“Riverbed is right in the middle of many of the most pressing challenges facing IT today, as businesses continue to migrate apps and data to the cloud, build-out software-defined networks, drive optimisation to the edge, and go through a digital transformation,” said Phil Harris, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Riverbed.

“The company’s current technology and product roadmap, along with our technology, service provider and channel partners, positions us to help customers through these market shifts.”

Harris joins Riverbed from BMC Software, where he was CTO, responsible for business, technology and overall company growth transformation strategies.

Veritas Technologies has announced recently that it is now officially operating as an independent company led by new CEO Bill Coleman.

“In the era of the cloud, many organisations won’t own their data centre and many might not even own their applications. Other than your team, data is the most critical asset of value in the 21st century,” said Bill Coleman, CEO, Veritas. “We’re in a unique position as the company that manages and protects the world’s information, and I am honoured to become part of the Veritas family to serve our customers and partners.”

According to the company, they are well-positioned to innovate and deliver the benefits of information management. The firm pursues market segments that in aggregate represent a $24 billion market opportunity by 2018. These markets include backup and recovery, integrated appliances, information availability and archiving solutions, where Veritas holds number one or number two market share positions. Now with the backing of The Carlyle Group, the company is accelerating new solutions in this fastgrowing market.

Ramzi Itani, Regional Channel Director, Emerging Markets, said, “Our channel partners can expect an even stronger commitment to

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Bill Coleman, Veritas

the Middle East channel community and distribution partners in the region. Following our re-launch as an independent company, Veritas will be able to drill down into its core areas and create stronger solutions for our customers. The Veritas business strategy will focus on three key pillars – data protection through backup and recovery, data governance through archiving, ediscovery and data analytics and finally high availability.”

The new Veritas leadership team brings together a strong mix of industry expertise and entrepreneurial success.

Partnering with the executive team is a seasoned board led by Chairman Bill Krause, formerly President and CEO of 3Com and David Scott, former chairman and CEO of 3Par who was until recently senior vice president and general manager of the global HP storage business.

“Other than your team, data is the most critical asset of value in the 21st century. We’re in a unique position as the company that manages and protects the world’s information, and I am honoured to join.”

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Epicor names new Regional VP of MEA and India

Colin Summers, Epicor

Epicor Software Corporation has appointed Colin Summers as its new Regional Vice President for its operations across the Middle East,

Africa and India.

Summers brings with him more than three decades of experience from various leadership roles in the global and regional technology industry. Summers’ forte includes building businesses and managing high growth organisations. He draws upon a wealth of knowledge working with world-class technology companies such as Commvault Systems, Intermec, and 3Com

Mindware announces new GM

Corporation. He was also the managing director and founder of Computer 2000, the region’s first information technology distribution company.

“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to lead the company’s growth strategies in MEA and India,” said Summers. “We have a great opportunity to capitalise on the company’s current market success and continue to grow in this region. As Epicor remains committed to ensuring impeccable customer service and satisfaction, the company will further reinforce its collaborative efforts with its strategic channel partners. Our goals are to sustain the company’s status, strengthen its market foothold and deliver increased value and support to customers.”

Gilbert Lacroix, Mindware

Avaya appoints new EMEA and APAC Head of Networking Avaya has announced the Maan Al-Shakarchi, appointment of Maan AlHead of Networking in Shakarchi as the Head of Europe, Middle East and Networking in Europe, Middle Africa, and Asia-Pacific, East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

Avaya, said, “A flexible In his new role, Al-Shakarchi and reliable network is will be responsible for driving essential for forwardsales of Avaya’s next-generation looking businesses that Maan Al-Shaka, Avaya networking solutions across the want to capitalise on the region with a focus on its statemegatrends of today of-the-art SDN Fx networking technology. and tomorrow – including network He will be reporting directly to Nidal Abou- virtualisation, cloud, mobility, Ltaif, President, Europe, Middle East and and video – to drive competitive Africa, and Asia-Pacific. advantage. In my new role, I’ll be Al-Shakarchi began his career at Avaya supporting Avaya customers in in 2005 as part of the Nortel team and achieving their ambitions to become most recently led Avaya’s networking digital businesses, and helping them business for the Global Growth Markets to future-proof their technology Theatre, overseeing key networking investments by adopting what we implementations with customers such believe is the most advanced fabricas Al Noor Hospital, Burj Khalifa and the defined networking solution on the Dubai Financial Market. market today.”

Mindware has named industry veteran Gilbert Lacroix as its new general manager.

He was previously advisor to the CEO of Midis Group, which owns Mindware. As part of the management restructuring, the distributor has also promoted Arkan Saleh, who was heading finance function, to the role of chief operating officer.

“Being part of the $4 billion Midis Group, we have a solid foundation and the right set up to face any crisis to emerge stronger.

We are moving to a solutions-based distribution model and the plan is to bring out plug-and-play type of solutions, especially targeted at the SMB sector in the region.

We are not trying to cover all the brands and products, but to focus on products we know we can add value to,” said Lacroix.

In line with its move towards solutions distribution, Mindware is planning to expand its portfolio this year. “We have to flesh out our solutions portfolio, which will require us to bring some niche vendors to the region. You will also see our volume business shrinking over the next couple of years as the focus shifts towards solutions,” added Lacroix.

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appointments

VMware announces new VP for Southern Europe and MEA

Sony Mobile appoints MEA VP

Hirokazu Ishizuka, Sony Mobile Henri van der Vaeren, VMware

VMware announced the appointment of Henri van der Vaeren as Vice President for Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Based in Paris, van der Vaeren will be responsible for the strategy, development and management of VMware’s operations throughout the region. He will report directly to JeanPierre Brulard, Senior Vice President and General Manager for EMEA. van der Vaeren has nearly 25 years of management experience in the IT and telecoms sector. He was previously with SAP, where he was managing director for France and BeLux, and a member of the EMEA Executive Committee. Prior to that, he was reporting to the CEO of Colt Telecom, working as managing director of a region covering up to 12 Western Europe countries, after holding various management positions for Belgacom and France Telecom. He was also a Syntec Numérique board member, the French ICT companies association, and chaired the Belgian Telecom Operators Platform, Belgium’s telecom operators association.

“I am delighted to be joining VMware, to help our customers in their digital transformation using softwaredefined technologies,” said van der Vaeren. “I am ready for the challenge of accelerating our business growth within the southern region, further developing partnerships with our customers and partners, based on a mutual desire to transform business processes and deliver value through IT innovation.”

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Sony Mobile has announced the appointment of Hirokazu Ishizuka as its Middle East and Africa’s Vice President, in a restructuring of its Global Sales Development division and will primarily be responsible for the sales development in the region.

Ishizuka has been Sony Mobile Communications’ CVP for Global Sales and Development since his appointment in February 2013. He was, in that role, responsible for the capability development of sales

execution, consumer retention, channel development, strategic partner support and store-front excellence.

According to the company, he was also was the driving force behind Sony Mobile’s objective of maximising the value share of key markets and accounts.

A long-standing Sony senior executive, Ishizuka has previously held several senior positions with the corporation. He was appointed Sony’s President of Display Components and Device Company of America in 1999, before heading Sony’s Europe TV Business Unit in 2004, and moving thereafter into a number of CVP positions, which included Head of Region for Japan, followed by a wider oversight as Head of Region, APAC, before assuming his current role.

His additional assignment now sees him take over the responsibilities of Ruediger Odenbach, a veteran from the days of Sony Ericsson.

Parrot appoints Marketing Director for Consumer Drones business Parrot has announced success of the iconic iMac, that François Ruault has iBook and iPod. been appointed to run In 2004, he was the worldwide sales and appointed by Microsoft as marketing for its Consumer Country Manager for Xbox in Drones and Connected France, delivering doubleDevices division. digit growth through to Ruault, according 2010, before moving to its to the vendor, brings headquarters in Redmond, outstanding expertise Washington. While there, he in sales, marketing, Francois Ruault, Parrot served as Senior Director, operations and innovation Worldwide Sales and to effectively support the Marketing for Microsoft Group’s growth ambition. He worked Hardware, before heading up planning in the advertising industrywith BBDO and operations for HoloLens as COO in the United States and then France, of Microsoft Next Gen Experiences, the he joined Apple in 1992, heading up augmented reality platform recently communications, consumer marketing released jointly with Windows 10. In then retail sales for Europe through 2013, he joined Amazon at its Seattle to 2004. He played an active role headquarters as Worldwide Marketing in successfully turning around the Director for Digital Products, covering the European business, contributing to the US, Europe and Asia.

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70% SMBs adopt business process automation tools IDC*

*IDC white Paper September 2015 - Are your Business Processes Stifling Your Market Opportunity? Cost-Efficient Print and Document Management Through Smart MFPs.

Smart SMBs use Smart MFPs Smarter working requires smart technology and processes. IDC has found that at a time when many companies are prioritising the need to increase efficiency and employee productivity, 70% of SMBs are looking to adopt business process automation tools to help.

To facilitate this change, IDC defines the latest smart multifunction printers (MFPs) as ‘digital transformation tools’ that make the leap from ‘dumb device to

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eHosting DataFort

OPinion

business enabler Sachin Bhardwaj, Director Marketing and Business Development, eHosting DataFort, explains how the Internet of Things will increase the demand for cloud and managed IT services in the Middle East.

Digital transformation has become a major focus for many organisations in the Middle East. Today, businesses need to focus on newer technologies, which can help them transform into a ‘digital business’. In fact, in the era of Internet of Things (IoT), organisations will need to rethink how they approach rapid digitisation.

According to Gartner, by 2020, 75 percent of businesses globally will be a digital business or will be preparing to become one.

While many organisations have digital business transformation initiatives planned or underway, Gartner predicts that only 30 percent of these efforts will be successful due to lack of talent and technical expertise.

Faced with mounting costs and an increasingly complex IT environment to manage, organisations are now more than ever looking at managed IT services and cloud as an alternative to in-house IT infrastructure management.

Why cloud?

Cloud services in the Middle East are growing significantly as businesses are seeing tremendous value in having

a scalable and flexible pool of resources at their fingertips.

The assurance of lower IT costs and scalability has drawn IT decision makers to move their business-critical data and applications to the cloud. Also, the popularity of the pay-as-you-go model and having clearly measureable predictable IT costs is another driver towards cloud adoption in the Middle East. In fact, many organisations are considering to move to a hosted private or hybrid cloud model. Having said that, public cloud is not far behind.

Cloud hosting with a reliable cloud services provider is more secure than in-house server hosting. Service providers not only have a team of experts across technology domains, but they also constantly invest in and upgrade their technology, knowledge, skills and expertise in order to offer the latest hosting services to their customers.

A reputed services provider is also certified for various quality and security certifications and conduct regular security system audits.

Owing to the fact that they run and manage systems for multiple customers, they continuously keep themselves

updated about the changing security threat landscape across verticals.

Managed IT services – the obvious choice According to IDC, the managed and data centre service markets in the UAE will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.8 percent between 2013 and 2018 to reach a total of $971.8m by 2018. This acceleration is due to the increasing demand from core growth industries such as retail, healthcare, and manufacturing. Data centre hosting makes up approximately 18 percent of the Managed Services market revenue in the UAE. Industry sectors such as banking and finance, aviation, media, government, IT and telecom in particular, have taken to managed services as ensuring a ‘secure and reliable system’ is critical. managed IT services offer companies multiple benefits: • At the strategic level, it allows companies to focus and leverage their resources towards their core business activities, rather than spending too much time on operational activities.

• At the operational level, it offers the skills and expertise

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of a service provider to competently manage complex data centre requirements.

• At the financial level, Managed IT services reduce total cost of ownership and provide the benefit of a subscription based OPEX model.

This means that companies can continue to focus on their strategic business objectives; relocate funds on developing new applications and innovation; and indirectly win access to skilled resources, latest technology and best-inclass IT infrastructure.

Cloud and managed IT services can help organisations cut costs significantly and improve operational efficiencies tremendously.

But where do they start?

Companies need to put together a comprehensive plan for assessing their business objectives and goals so that they can be confident that they are making the right decision for their business. In the end, it is all about striking the right balance.

In the era of digital transformation, technology is a great enabler and cloud and managed IT services will help organisations in the Middle East become agile by providing them stability, scalability and most importantly – security.

Reseller Middle East

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Interview

RSA

Strategy for security At RSA Conference 2016, we caught up with Robert Griffin, Chief Security Architect, Security Evangelist, RSA, to learn more on the current threat landscape and insights on how organisations can strengthen their security posture.

Robert Griffin, Chief Security Architect, Security Evangelist, RSA

What are the biggest security threats organisations should be wary of in 2016?

There are merchant threats, especially in terms of disruptions of enterprises and infrastructures. These are new and important.

For example, the recent

attack against Ukrainian power companies in December resulted in the disruption of electric power. For many attackers, this represents a shift in focus from financial espionage into active disruption of business within the organisation and also the society where these capabilities are offered.

“We see that there is a tendency to attack new classes of enterprises, which were not as attractive to attackers before.

Critical infrastructure is now being targeted more often than compared to two years ago.�

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Today we see that there is a tendency to attack new classes of enterprises, which have been relatively not as attractive to attackers, until now. Critical infrastructure is now being targeted more often than compared to two years ago.

Are there more threats when it comes to information security?

There seems to be less risk of information breaches as opposed to infrastructures itself being targeted. This was true in the Saudi Aramco breach as well as the Ukrainian incident.

Back in 2006, it was clearly espionage attacks against the manufacturing sector. However, today it is

a different class of attacks intended to achieve social and economic damage.

There is a reflection of change in the goal of the attackers to create a social impact rather than for financial advantage.

What are the cybersecurity trends that you see around the globe?

There are new trends in attack mechanisms, especially in terms of the growth of the dark net. For example, RSA announced the discovery of two fairly significant new sets of malware in late 2014. One was called Terracotta, which was a malware-supported VPN network. Attackers could rent and have access to this VPN in order to secure communications among themselves.

The second one was called GlassRAT, a new remote access Trojan, explicitly directed towards being able to gain control of enterprise environments. Both were clearly a new generation of malware with some resemblances to previous classes of malware.

There are definitely ongoing developments of new malware within the attacker environment. The other change is in the direction and goal of the attackers.

What do you think is the future of cybersecurity?

Well, the first point to note is that attacks will

continue to grow in complexity, in frequency and in the range of attackers. Presently, we have three most common categories of attackers – nation-state, cybercriminals and hacktivists. Most likely, there will be further differentiation of these categories and the introduction of potential new kinds of attackers.

We are most certain to see a shift in the direction of response.

At RSA, we have strongly advocated that the model of defensive and preventive strategies such as firewalls will no longer suit the modern enterprise or government.

Today’s employees are always on the move, so most of their communication doesn’t happen within the home office over secured networks but via the cloud. Therefore, we need to have models that fit the cloud-based approach and support mobile users.

The only way to do this is through mechanisms such as identity and analytic-based approaches. I believe that the strategy of analytics and investigation will be the dominant response model in terms of how we deal with achieving cybersecurity going forward.

How can businesses enhance their security posture?

“We need to have models that fit the cloud-based approach and support mobile users. The only way to do this is through mechanisms such as identity and analytic-based approaches.”

The first aspect to this is to have a fundamental change in attitude and perspective. We have to think of security as a spectrum of capabilities.

Organisations should start by identifying what are the assets, if attacked or breached, would damage the company or its customers the most. What can be done to mitigate the risks around that impact? If we begin there, we will quickly come to the conclusion that very little should be spent on anti-virus or things that provide such little protection against attacks.

Instead the most effective methods show up in areas such as identity management, analytics and risk management.

That is the strategy one has to have in place and is the best way forward in order to respond to threats.

Gaining complete visibility across networks is what most organisations are aspiring towards.

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But what are the key elements to keep in mind to help achieve this?

There are three main aspects. One is that, the more you can instrument capabilities in that environment to provide information, the better off you are. If you don’t have that, then you miss out on a whole body of information, which you could otherwise use.

The second aspect is that you need to gather kinds of information that may not be the direct indicators themselves but provides really good context about what is going on.

The third element is that organisations really need to think about the privacy questions. They need to assess if this kind of information is collected, does it pose a risk of exposure of important user information or risks in terms of national regulation and company liabilities.

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CHANNEL EXECUTIVES

Channel masters Reseller ME profiles top vendor channel executives whose primary responsibility involves interacting with channel partners and ensuring they are given all the support required in order to be the company’s representative in the market. We take a closer look at their role and how they are shaping the regional channel ecosystem.

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CHANNEL EXECUTIVES

Aditi Ganguly

Ganguly comes with more than 20 years of experience in IT and has worked at Lenovo for the last 12 years across roles such as sales, marketing, product, retail and SMB. Her current role involves channel management in the capacity of operations.

What she loves the most about her role is the possibility of driving positive change through processes and programmes in the diverse Middle East and Africa channel environment.

In terms of challenges she says,

Director, Channel Operations, MEA, Lenovo

Foroozandé introduces himself as “a direct-touch sales professional with a knack for uncovering solutions to complex customer-partner-vendor challenges.” He attributes his success to the fact that he never loses focus on channel enablement, transparency and profitability to drive loyalty.

His current role involves identifying and recruiting new partners across the region, ensuring distribution and partner profitability, planning and executing channel enablement programmes and maintaining a well-balanced communication channel between all stakeholders.

He says, “The best part of my role is fulfilling my passion to build great

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Chris Gale

Senior Director, EMEA Partners, A10 Networks

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“Fragmented channel structure and the massive scale of the Middle East and Africa geography, which covers almost 72 countries, have its unique requirements in channel management.”

Over the course of the coming two years, Ganguly expects the retail channel to evolve to the next phase of its growth while the distribution landscape will see consolidation and reach.

She says, “I believe vendors will move ahead with a renewed focus on coverage and capacity.”

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networks of business partners, learning and growing as an individual while making close friends along the way.”

In terms of the regional channel evolution, he says, the last few years have seen the emergence of a kind of VAD who directly interacts with customers and in many cases bypass SIs all together.

“While customers are the biggest beneficiaries of this model, I also believe there should be a more balanced approach for our region.

“We will see the emergence of niche channel players in the market – highly specialised SIs focusing on a few key areas of expertise as differentiators in the market.”

Gale is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience working for tier-1 technology vendors including A10 Networks, Digital Equipment, Sun Microsystems, Dell, NetApp, VMware and Unisys. He has been instrumental in managing the partner community for A10 networks across EMEA and Russia including 26 distributors, 400 resellers as well as strategic partners and ISVs. He heads the overall direction and management of all sales and business development operations of the channel network.

“The aim is getting the virtual team focused on helping customers with their business challenges – right help, right place and right time. Once you have the customer

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Alexander Foroozandé

Channel Manager, Middle East, Pakistan, Turkey and Africa, Infoblox

happy everything else should fall into place,” he says.

Gale is most passionate about solving customer challenges and always emphasises to his channel partners the importance of a ‘customer-centric’ approach to business as opposed to a ‘product-focused’ one.

“Once you are seen by customers as an advisor and expert, you have their loyalty for years to come.”

The biggest challenge is remembering that business is about relationships, he says.

“People buy from people and new media should be used to support and complement this and not replace it. I would hate to see the inevitable use of IT to reduce interaction between people.”

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David Postel

Partner and Alliances Leader Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Red Hat

Currently, piloting the channel and commercial sales teams at Cisco UAE, Knibbs was running the channel and commercial team in Cisco North Europe for over three years. In that role, she had played a key role in developing new approaches to capture additional market share, strengthening relationships with some of the vendor’s top partners, and in driving double digit growth.

“I am committed to professional development and diversity in the workplace and as an active member of Cisco’s Connected Women network, I act as a mentor to several Cisco employees,” she says.

In her current role, Knibbs along with

G Graham Porter

MENA Channel Sales Manager, NetApp

my responsibilities. I also have to keep abreast of the ever growing Red Hat technology portfolio, enable partners and close deals.”

He says building alliances is what he likes the best about his job. “Taking a large global partner organisation and getting the relationship going and seeing significant opportunities stemming from it is satisfying.”

He believes the Middle East channel will continue to morph to adapt to the third platfom. “This will see a growing number of service providers proposing Everything-as-a-Service, and an entire ecosystem around them to get and keep them going.”

Postel has spent the last 11 years at Red Hat and has grown with the company.

He has worked in three different countries but has always covered the Middle East and Africa region.

He says, “I was part of a small team of three that opened the Red Hat office in Dubai, eight years ago.”

His current role largely involves being the conduit between the company’s global partner programme teams and the local channel managers across the META region.

“Managing relationships with global alliance partners (OEMs and SIs) hands on and assisting the GM with the regional sales forecast are some of

her team are responsible for inspiring, managing and supporting partners who represent the company’s primary route to market.

“The channel team is responsible for implementing strategic initiatives that create profitable growth for Cisco and our partners, as well as delivering exceptional customer satisfaction. With Cisco’s full product and services portfolio, we ensure that partners have the right capabilities and skills to serve existing customers and to develop new market opportunities.”

In the commercial management role, her team is responsible for overseeing sales and strategy for all of the vendor’s SMB and partner-led go-to-market model.

Porter has lived in the Middle East for the last 23 years, working in a variety of roles across channel, sales and marketing for companies such as IBM, HP, Sun and Cisco before joining NetApp. In his current role, he is responsible for channel strategy and business planning in the region through high level engagement with value-added distributors, partners and alliances to drive revenue growth.

He says, “I oversee the channel sales team to promote NetApp’s solutions portfolio. What I love the most about my role is the time I spent with customers and partners discussing opportunities, this is very rewarding.”

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Frida Kleimert Knibbs

Head of Channels and Commercial UAE, Cisco

The biggest challenge, he says, is the bureaucracy in vendors.

“At NetApp, we try to free up our sales team to spend more time selling and less time doing admin work.

The other issue is managing channel conflict and being fair and transparent with our partners.”

NetApp works on data centre projects with partners who offer a portfolio of data centre related vendor products such as Cisco, VMware, Microsoft, Veeam, Commvault, Symantec including NetApp. Porter says, “Partners will build their portfolio and invest in their services business and people skills in the coming years.”

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CHANNEL EXECUTIVES

Haider Salloum

Passionate about all things related to innovation, cloud technology, entrepreneurship and SMEs, Salloum’s current role involves a number of aspects, such is the diversity of managing the SME business for Microsoft.

He says, “I love coming to work and seeing how overnight the SME landscape may have altered in some way – be that through the introduction of a new disruptive business model or a new innovative product launch.

“SMEs are agile and highly competitive so it’s important for me

SMB Channel Director, Microsoft Gulf

Being a channel head for the region essentially means you need to be a big picture thinker and have a clear vision laid out for the business.

And that’s what Hussein does in his role day in and day out.

“My motivation comes from recognising and working closely with various stakeholders to ensure that plans are carefully thought through and then executed.”

Through working closely with his team at Huawei, he is able to leverage the knowledge and understanding of the company’s core mission to ensure that every action taken has a customer-centric approach.

H Harish Chib

VP MEA, Sophos

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to always ensure that everything Microsoft is offering to an SME is relevant and adds value to their business. It is equally important to ensure that our partners understand the value of selling Microsoft solutions and how it can increase the valuation of their business.”

One of the biggest challenges he faces in his role today is helping customers overcome their concerns about moving to the cloud.

“It’s about understanding what is best for our customer’s business and what is the need or pain point that Microsoft can help solve,” he adds.

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“The same applies when building our channel ecosystem. To achieve this, it is essential to nurture the customercentric ethos within the team and with our partners across the countries.”

For Hussein, the opportunity to help impact the industry for the better is a key driver. And staying in sync with the evolving nature of the business is a critical aspect.

He says, “We believe that our partners will be key in addressing markets that demand the flexibility to change in an economy that is volatile. Nurturing relationships and enabling them with the right tools and platforms to go to market with our partners is therefore an essential component of our channel business.”

With more than 10 years of senior sales and channel experience under his belt, Chib heads the MEA operations for the security vendor, Sophos.

He says, “My core focus is to strengthen the sales and channel strategy for the Sophos Group in MEA. My role involves leading the team, scaling sales operations in the region and leveraging the partner ecosystem to drive the company’s strategic growth.”

He is passionate about two aspects of his job. First is working closely with partners to ensure the company products reach more customers and

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Hany Hussein

Regional Vice President, Channels and Alliances, Huawei, Enterprise Business, Middle East

second, making sure partners are able to grow their business by joining hands with the vendor.

“The challenge I face is not restricted to my role but concerns everybody associated with the IT security industry.

“Increased attack surfaces, targeted attacks and the growing sophistication of these attacks is a challenge that needs to be dealt with.

In order to address these challenges, we need IT security solutions that are one step ahead of cyber attackers and which are advanced and comprehensive, yet simple to deploy and maintain.”

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CHANNEL EXECUTIVES

Karim Refas

Head of Channels, Middle East, Eaton Middle East

Yousuf’s current role involves devising and executing distribution and channel strategies while ensuring that these strategies are implemented effectively within a solid business plan framework.

Additionally, she also manages and drives partner incentive programmes, monitor their inventory levels, as well as plan lead generation marketing events.

“I also work with our sales team in their deal analysis and account planning sessions to ensure successful channel alignment during the sales cycle,” she says.

Her passion for the job stems from a conviction that what is done as a

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Lucas Jiang

Country Manager, TP-LINK Middle East

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partners who are passionate about the company’s technology and look forward to promoting it.

“We work closely with our partners to ensure that they are provided with all the right information and training, as any Eaton product manager would have, and they work as an extension of our team to deliver the same core objectives.”

In terms of challenges, there tends to be longer lead times in the ability to measure ROI due to the channel business’ indirect nature and the multitier supply chain.

“We work with our partners to provide them with support in recording the relevant information from resellers.”

Refas has recently relocated to the region after having spent 11 years working with Eaton in Europe in a variety of regional channel management positions. In his most recent role, he was the Channel Manager for Eaton’s IT Business in EMEA. “In this role, I oversaw the delivery of Eaton’s Power Management solutions for data centres to hundreds of ICT distributors and an extensive channel partner base across the region. Having recently moved to the Middle East, at present I am enjoying getting under the skin of the channel market locally.”

He says there is no greater a feeling in this role than in working alongside

company contributes to making its customers more competitive.

“I strive to establish this belief as the foundation of my work with our partners,” she add. “It steers our daily interactions, and makes our engagements gratifying, especially when we collaborate in finding solutions to complex challenges they are facing. I also thrive on successfully equipping them with the right tools and proper enablement to better position our products and to increase our market share.”

She believes ‘focus’ and ‘specialisation’ will drive the evolution of the channel in the coming years.

Jiang has been in the Middle East market for more than three years, during which he has overseen many countries. Currently he is heading operations for UAE and Oman markets as Country Manager.

He adds, “I am taking care of all the business in my markets including channel, retail, ISP and SMB. My role involves tracking the sales and managing the team to ensure the development of each business is going on well.

Meanwhile, I also guide and encourage my team to do more and better.”

Jiang is most passionate about the sales and marketing aspects of his role.

“I’m always excited about high sales number and successful marketing

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Lara Yousuf

Channel Manager, Gulf and Distribution Manager, MENA, Polycom

activities that we do in the region. This motivates and makes me happy,” he adds.

For him the most challenging aspect of his job is to make do with limited resources in an unlimited business environment.

“We need to work more efficiently to achieve our business goals and leverage the market opportunities with a limited workforce.”

Over the next two years, the regional channel will keep expanding and growing, he says.

“Meanwhile, the channel players will become more professional and they will focus on specific niche areas extensively, which will help them in the long run.”

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Maya Zakhour

Over the last 13 years, Zakhour has worked at leading IT organisations such as Microsoft and Dimension Data, building expertise in account management, consulting, channel management and marketing.

Her focus has been on channel management and the development of small to medium market sales, as well as building strategies to increase mind and market share.

In her current position, she oversees the management of Fortinet’s strategic channel partners for all Middle East sales territories.

“Along with my team, I focus on expanding and raising the business

Channel Director, Middle East, Fortinet

Zohny has been part of IBM for close to four decades, having first joined IBM Egypt as a Customer Engineer. He has the experience of several roles ranging from technical, sales and management positions across countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Canada. He has been the Channel Leader for IBM Middle East since 2002.

What he loves the most about his role are the relationships that he has nurtured over the years with business partners’ executives.

“This,” he says, “is built on trust and personal responsibility, and is based on clear understanding of the mutual objectives and roles of IBM and its

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Omar Akhtar

Regional Manager, Channels, ME and SAARC, Veeam

business partners to achieve the best customer satisfaction in our region.”

According to him, the biggest challenge is around the business partners’ ability to adopt the necessary transformation to be more responsive to changing customer demands.

He says, “Clients are looking for innovative solutions in cognitive computing, cloud infrastructures, and ‘as-a-service’ offerings, all based on the highest security standards. IBM and its business partners should be prepared to respond to those clients’ requirements with the most advanced solutions based on IBM technology and services.”

Akhtar joined the company to help spearhead the start-up of Veeam Middle East. He leads a team of six channel managers and is responsible for developing and managing strategic channel partner and distribution relationships while also overseeing technology alliances for Veeam’s Availability and Management Solutions for VMware and Microsoft.

On a day-to-day basis, his role involves working with the channel team to ensure partners have the correct support to develop their Veeam proposition and go to market strategy “This ensures that the Veeam partnership is of value to them and their clients,” he adds.

and presence across the region, while driving the company’s go-to-market strategy across all solutions.”

She says her relentless passion for the company’s channel business, honesty and persistence makes it easier for her to win partners’ trust and earn their loyalty.

“I strongly believe that a brilliant strategy, class-leading products, and cutting edge technology can put you on the competitive map, but only solid execution can keep you there.

With this in mind, I have developed a strong execution plan that is implemented by my team, with the help of our authorised distributors.”

M Mourad Zohny

IBM Global Business Partners Leader, Middle East and Saudi Arabia, IBM Middle East

“The best part about my job is evangelising to new partners as to why Veeam is the leader in Availability and watching their mindset change from just back-up and embracing the company’s technology and offering availability for the modern data centre to their customers.”

According to Akhtar, seeing partners not being educated or prepared to offer cloud services in the region to their clients is challenging.

“However, Veeam is well-positioned to assist partners capitalise in this space due to our established Cloud Provider Programme and CloudConnect feature, which enables partners to offer cost effective BRaas/DRaaS.”

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CHANNEL EXECUTIVES

Patrick Hayati

Vice President, General Partner Organisation (General Business and Partner Ecosystem), SAP MENA

Itani comes with 26 years of experience, out of which two decades have been spent in Dubai, looking after markets in Middle East, Africa, Emerging Markets and Europe.

He has worked in several roles from sales, marketing and channels across global vendors such as 3M, Imation, Microsoft, Cisco, Symantec and Veritas.

With about 90 percent of the company’s business done through the channel, Itani’s role is to ensure the company and its partners have both strategies aligned for exceeding its goals and to grow the business as well as be a profitable vendor for the partners.

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Reeman Ansari

Regional Channel Manager MENA, VMware

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certification, alignment, and coverage, aligned with SAP Global Alliance Partner Programme and SAP MENA goals. We meet with channel partners, and speak and network at channel events such as our SAP MENA forums.”

Hayati’s passion is providing a winning team spirit and individual career development, which enable high-performance teams to succeed in their goals of helping partners and their customers embrace the digital economy.

Over the next few years, he expects to see a strong take-up of cloud-as-aservice, which will help organisations to simplify and drive innovation.

Hayati has worked in IT for over two decades. And after joining SAP about more than a year ago, the team that he has been a part of has driven doubledigit growth in business for SAP MENA’s channel programme and presence.

He says, “Our team spearheads growth strategies and leads channel development, continuing SAP MENA to be one of EMEA’s fastest-growing market units for both the channel and general business segments. General business in 2015 contributed 35 percent of revenue, demonstrating the channel’s importance.

“The team and I drive channels sales, inside sales, partner recruitment,

“I also have to make sure that our partners and our sales team are reaching out to different customers to scale reach and help developing new logos. To meet the rising complexity of our customer projects, one major responsibility is to make sure our partners are fully enabled and equipped to fulfil on these projects.”

What he finds most challenging about his role is building a two-way loyalty between Veritas and its partners.

“This is done through a self-running ecosystem to focus on generating incremental business with the end user by providing solutions, which address the challenges of the customer,” he adds.

In her current role, Ansari leads and motivates her team to achieve and execute the company’s vision.

She says, “An exciting and motivating factor about the job is definitely within the current market dynamics. As emerging technologies are reshaping the world the way we know it, we are witnessing the transformation of IT, entering the mobile cloud era, serving billions of users with millions of applications. And the only way to deliver this is through IT-as-a-Service, which is founded on virtualisation.

“This is a huge opportunity for IT to deliver competitive advantage and for VMware ecosystem of partners to grow with us and add value to their customers and business.”

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Ramzi Itani

Regional Channel Director, Emerging Markets, Veritas

Ansari’s strongest assets include her passion for the business, positive attitude, the ability to focus and to deliver collectively with the team the biggest impact.

She believes that everything that is done today within the regional channel begins with orientation around applications.

“What businesses care about is expedient access to applications.

But the application landscape within most businesses is diverse – there are traditional, client-server applications and there are new modern, cloud-native applications. And IT needs to manage all of them,” she adds.

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CHANNEL EXECUTIVES

Sakkeer Hussain

Director, Sales and Marketing, D-Link MEA

Having more than 18 years of experience with the Middle East IT industry, Hussain brings high dynamism, innovation and diligence to his current role.

He says, “Going about the operation’s objectives with the required diplomacy to keep all partners constantly motivated is one of my key strengths.”

His role includes different aspects such as planning and implementing sales strategy for different countries in the region for various verticals, creating and running the partner programme, promotions and marketing activities, sales and product training for sales team, partners and distributors.

What drives him on the job is working with the sales team, distributor and channel

With over 13 years of experience in Information Technology and channel across EMEA Emerging Markets, Audi is currently the Channel Strategy and Programmes Lead for Dell in the MEA region.

Her day-to-day responsibility includes leading a team of programme managers and evangelist fully dedicated to channel development and enablement.

“Our priorities are rolling out strategic channel programmes, aligning partners with our strategies and ensuring that partners are leveraging the full potential and benefits from their partnership with Dell. It is also imperative for me that we maintain a high level of channel satisfaction and ensure our channel value

S Shuja R. Kidwai

Senior Sales Manager, Middle East and Africa, WD

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partners across various countries and making new partnerships.

“D-Link as an industry leader in networking, introduces many new technologies and products to the market throughout the year, which keeps me busy on a daily basis.”

According to Hussain, in 2016, the regional channel will see many opportunities as well as threats in the IT sector.

“While we do see a negative growth in some ME countries, there are also factors that spur growth such as regional attractiveness for different types of establishments. Trends such as cloud, IoT, home and business utomation will gain further popularity.”

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proposition and our programmes remain competitive and attractive,” she says.

Audi’s answer to what about her role is she most passionate about has two dimensions – internal and external.

“Internally, our entrepreneurial spirit and the freedom to innovate that translates into our ability to strategise and come up with innovative ideas and then immediately execute externally. Externally, supporting our partners and enabling them to develop, win and grow with us.”

According to Audi, the challenges in her job are around the dynamic nature of the business, which she believes can be solved by being agile and staying one step ahead.

Kidwai manages sales and business development for WD in the Middle East and Africa. He has had the opportunity to oversee sales operations of the vendor in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Africa. He was previously working at NetCom in various sales positions.

“I work very closely with our distributor and channel partners to ensure there is consistent dialogue between the company and them. We work towards fostering mutually beneficial relationships with them, which is beyond monetary perks,” he says. “ I believe my role is to empower them, become a trusted advisor to our consumers by giving them relevant information, hearing their feedback, offering

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Sandy Audi

Channel Strategy and Programmes Lead, Dell

adequate support and ensuring they get trained on our latest products and offers.

I also explore and evaluate new business opportunities in my region and different ways of reaching out to new consumers.”

Over the next two years, Kidwai expects to see a lot of growth coming from the surveillance and data centre storage verticals.

“With security and surveillance becoming priority, specialised surveillance products will be relevant. Similarly, proliferation of Big Data and tier-2 and tier-3 data centres in the region are likely to drive the need for data centre products.

The regional channel with align its focus to fulfil the changing needs of the region.”

S Sushma Kajaria

Kajaria boasts over 17 years of experience across IT systems integrators, distributors and vendors, out of which 15 were in the Middle East, Africa and Mediterranean region.

Over the last one and half years, in her current role, she works closely with the MEA partner community with other security, wireless, networking and storage vendors to recruit and develop their partner base.

She is responsible for the channel management and strategic business planning of the company, working closely with distributors and partners alike.

“During my tenure, I have

Head of Channel, Middle East and Pakistan, Hitachi Data Systems

ElKhayat’s role includes a mix of operational, strategic, functional, customer and channel centric tasks.

However, the core part of his job is to ensure his team is executing on the company’s go-to-market and operational strategies as well as delivering well against their KPIs focused on customer and partner satisfaction, solution selling, creating repeatable business, and leveraging the power of channel.

He says, “I devote a large portion of the week to being in the field, hand-inhand with my team, our partners and customers to ensure we are delivering as per our promise. I also exert my

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Vibhu Kapoor

Director, Channels and Alliances Ecosystem, India, Middle East and Africa, Infor

utmost efforts to ensure that the environment my team works in is based on rewarding hard work.”

ElKhayat says his role is about providing the platform to make everyone around him and those he interacts with successful – be it customers, partners, colleagues or family.

“Striking the balance to achieve that with the type of work I do and the demands my role has is the challenge.

However this challenge keeps me driving forward, as the mission to positively influence people around me is very rewarding and fulfilling. It is a positive challenge.”

Kapoor has over 15 years of experience with leading multinational companies in the software IT industry, primarily in the ERP business application space.

He says, “All my roles have been channel-focused so I literally live and breathe the channel. In my current role, the focus is on building the Infor Alliance partner network and optimising the current channel partner ecosystem across Middle East, Africa and India. The role involves planning meetings with key executives of partners and working with our internal team to make sure that partners are enabled to represent Infor in the market.”

Motivated by the ability to mentor

successfully combined sales leadership with sound business practices to achieve long term growth and profitability for partners and vendors. HDS has seen substantial growth in partner-led opportunities and in turn contributed to its growth as a whole.

“Having spent years in MEA IT industry where ‘relationships’ act as a key component to succeed in channel roles, I believe in leveraging these relationships to implement and execute strategic goals.”

For Kajaria, the biggest challenge, or “opportunity” as she sees it, is the changing technology landscape.

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Taj ElKhayat

Regional Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Riverbed Technology

partners and coach them to be solution providers and consultants rather than simply box-pushers, he says, “Partners that have implemented this model are reaping the benefits; something that I take great pride in.”

According to Kapoor, the biggest challenge is around the channel mindset.

“I consistently challenge our business application providers to go beyond seeing themselves just as ‘box-pushers’ and ‘implementers’ and instead focus on serving as ‘trusted advisors’ to our customers by providing industry expertise and process consulting in addition to the best in class solution implementations.”

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feature

cybersecurity

Combatting cyber threats Regional organisations need to have robust cybersecurity solutions in place to be prepared to face threats that are increasingly growing according to recent reports. Reseller ME investigates how channel partners can maximise opportunities present here.

The online threat landscape has evolved over the years and the traditional methods of securing your data and networks no longer suffice the increasingly sophisticated attack mannerisms devised by the adversaries.

Trends such as Internet of Things (IoT), mobility, cloud computing and other collaborative technologies are exposing newer areas of cyber risk, which would have been hard to fathom a couple of years ago.

Rabih Dabboussi, General Manager, UAE, Cisco, says, “Simple attacks that caused containable damage have given way to organised cybercrime operations that are sophisticated, wellfunded, and capable of significant economic and reputational damage to public and private sector victims. Furthermore, new

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classes of devices and new infrastructure architectures offer attackers opportunities to exploit unanticipated weaknesses and inadequately defended assets.”

Also, BYOD trends further mean employees tend to access enterprise resources via multiple mediums, adding its own complexity and cybersecurity concerns.

Channel partners have a significant role to play here in educating customers and enabling them to stay ahead with the right tools and solutions.

According to Savitha Bhaskar, COO, Condo Protego, Middle East channel partners can guide their customers’ cybersecurity in two different ways.

“One by being datafocused, which is the inside-out approach, while the other is an outside-in approach that understands cyber threats

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and their origins. Channel partners who start with an understanding of the data first, are agile in developing cybersecurity strategies,” she says. “Alarmingly, the Middle East faces a major gap for cybersecurity partners, as many are technology generalists that cannot keep up with the rapidly changing threat landscape.

“To differentiate themselves, Middle East channel partners need to upskill their staff with vendor and industry certifications, and in turn guide clients’ cybersecurity strategy in a wider digitisation strategy.”

Another revenue stream for enterprisefocused partners is to offer customised security solutions.

Agreeing, Nandini Sapru, Sales Director, emt Distribution, adds, “This includes consulting agreements, penetration testing and security trainings and managed custom security services for their customers. Other opportunities lie in the SMB space where bundling of products and offering affordable solutions in the SIEM, DLP and MDM space can be of good benefit. Security training

New classes of devices and new infrastructure architectures offer attackers opportunities to exploit unanticipated weaknesses and inadequately defended assets.”

Rabih Dabboussi, General Manager, UAE, Cisco

and general awareness programmes such as CEH will have good prospects.”

Maya Zakhour, Channel Director, Middle East, Fortinet, says, “Partners should build up their credentials by completing vendor trainings, so they receive certifications.”

Through vendor training, partners can gain insights into the solutions and learn about the current trends in the security space.

“This immediately makes them more credible within the market. Then it’s a case of looking for opportunities, and working with vendors, when required, to convert them into long-term business.

“We believe that the goal for any partner should be to go from approaching customers to being sought out by customers.”

It is really up to the partners to educate end-

users on the importance of implementing a holistic security strategy, which offers multiple layers of protection.

“This protection,” says Sébastien Pavie, Regional Sales Director, MEA, Gemalto, “should include aspects such as encryption, access controls, encryption key management, network security, MDM as well as strong authentication technologies.”

Combatting cyber threats can be more challenging for partners than the usual issues they face, simply because of the high dynamism in this space.

They need to be constantly on their toes, stay updated on the latest developments and solutions.

According to Nicolai Solling, Director of Technology Services, Help AG, with resellers focusing more on products rather

Partners are also urged to enable new business or newer operating models, which includes peer-to-peer product innovation or customer service.”

Rohit Aggarwal, CEO and Founder, Koenig Solutions

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than on solutions, the market trend continues to adjust to that. “Because of this, a number of resellers are seen as being only as good as the vendors they partner with. However, with the challenges of security driving new models such as zero-trust architecture, emphasis on user behaviour and policy development and compliance with regulatory frameworks, the need for value beyond solutions delivery is what is now going to really differentiate the traditional resellers from the true experts.”

Rohit Aggarwal, CEO and Founder, Koenig Solutions, says, “Resellers across the Middle East region are currently faced with key challenges like working with and against hardware and software vendor partners and staffing needs to help address the requirement placed by technology resellers.”

He also adds that partners should enhance their interactions among its customers, suppliers, stakeholders and employees to create a niche for themselves in the cybersecurity space.

“Improving management decisions as algorithms crunch Big Data from social

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cybersecurity

technologies or the Internet of Things (IoT). Partners are also urged to enable new business or newer operating models, which includes peerto-peer product innovation or customer service.”

Maged Eid, Regional Director, Nexthink, adds, “By adopting award winning IT analytics solutions for security, partners can differentiate their offerings and create better niches for themselves.”

Also, to be able to succeed in this space, focus is a crucial element.

Identifying which are the key areas where a partner’s strengths lies is just as important as delivering custom solutions to customers.

Aji Joseph, GM, Radarservices, says, “It is important to have the right technology partnership in place to support such activities.”

Therefore, understanding where a reseller can bring in the most value is key.

Partners should work towards being a customer’s trusted advisor, which can only happen if they work on enhancing their capabilities.

Harish Chib, VP MEA, Sophos, adds, “They have to emerge as a trustworthy partner who can strengthen organisations in bringing a security transformation.”

As technologies such as IoT, mobility, analytics and digital transformation continue to be significant trends over the next few years, the type of attacks and breaches are only expected to increase.

Dabboussi from Cisco adds, “The number of connected devices alone

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Value-added services in cybersecurity “The service that will benefit customers in the region the most is Managed Security Services (MSS).

Currently, CAPEX budgets are being curtailed and spending is shifting over to OPEX. The large enterprise customers have already invested in best-of-breed security solutions but lack the manpower and expertise to utilise these to the best of their potential. They also don’t view security as a 24x7 operation while in reality attackers don’t follow at nine to five workday.”

Nicolai Solling, Director of Technology Services, Help AG “Partners can offer regular penetration tests, security awareness programmes, programme and product upgrades that are specific to a customer’s needs. Also suggestions on improving the efficiency of security architecture as it is integrated across different products in a network can be considered a value add.”

Nandini Sapru, Sales Director, emt Distribution “Enterprise customers are looking for services such as Penetration Tests (Security Audits), Security Awareness Training, Security Monitoring, Certifications like ISO and NESA, Server hardening and Managed Security Services. Customers who get compromised look for services like IT Risk Management, Digital Forensics and Firefighting.”

Aji Joseph, GM, Radarservices “Partners can offer training and certifications to their clients as many organisations are keen to train their trusted IT staff for maintaining their critical data and networks. These programmes also give partners a chance to interact with customers and understand their pain areas. Additionally, the partners can run security assessments where they can offer free vulnerability testing for organisations’ networks.”

Harish Chib, VP MEA, Sophos

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is expected to grow to 50 billion sensors, objects, and other connected ‘things’ by the year 2020. With this, the attack vectors will increase along with the amount of data, creating a daunting challenge for companies and those responsible for defending the infrastructure.

“We will see an increased demand for network security products, technology and services over the next 12-18 months.”

Pavie says, “Given the frequency and magnitude data breaches in the MENA region during 2015, in 2016 we will continue to see companies investing further in encryption and crypto management services combined with user access control and strong authentication, which are significantly becoming more and more the foundation of any organisation’s security strategies.

“The growing sophistication of these cyber threats has prompted businesses, government agencies and critical infrastructure operators to transform their strategies and implement policies around cybersecurity in order to mitigate the threat impacts and lower down the expenses,” he adds.

Channel partners need to be on top of their game in order to maximise opportunities in this space and to gain the trust from customers. They need to identify their core strengths and build niches so that they are relevant in the evolving threat landscape. Those who delve into the opportunities early on, will stand to benefit the most.

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Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

Fortifying partnerships

Moreno Ciboldi, Senior Vice President, South Europe, Middle East and Africa and Marco Pasculli, Vice President for Channel Sales and Strategy, South Europe and Middle East and Africa from Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, discuss the channel roadmap for 2016 at its annual regional partner event.

Can you share what was communicated to your partners at the event?

MP: This year’s annual regional partner conference brought together our top partners from both systems integration and distribution space.

The event serves as an ideal platform to

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summarise the highlights of 2015 and plans for this year. We exchanged and shared company strategies and business partner evolution. Under the Value4Partner programme, we are progressing well on our company transformation and collaboration with channels. And over the course of last year, we have released many

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simplifications, new tools and variations for our channels. Therefore, 2016 will be the year to dive into it more extensively.

We strictly follow the three pillars from the V4P strategies that are dramatically cutting the cost of our collaboration – simplify all processes, double the revenue with partners and co-investments. In

line with these pillars, we have massively coinvested last year in opening new markets such as cloud. We have co-invested with a select number of companies to start doing business or communication in the cloud. It is an opportunity for us to transform and evolve our customers into new directions. In terms of the on-demand business,

we have also announced the next release of network-on-demand.

We are now not only in communication and cloud but also in the networking space.

MC: 2015 has been a year of changes. It was our first year as an independent company since we were part of the bigger organisation, Alcatel-Lucent earlier.

Therefore, operationally and structurally, there have been many activities.

We believe this is a great opportunity for us to start from scratch and do the business in a different way but with the same positive energy. Today we are capable to grow market share in both areas – communication and digital networking. In fact we grew significantly in digital networking, especially if we consider our regional entities, South Europe, Middle East and Africa, in spite of all those transformations that we had to implement. Also, at the same time we grew three percent in the region overall. In 2016, now that we have completed the set up, we look forward to working with partners utilising the right tools to address the market opportunities.

V4P is a key programme for us. We have a consistent strategy across the history of AlcatelLucent Enterprise. Our success is based on the

We strictly follow the three pillars from the V4P strategies that are dramatically cutting the cost of our collaboration – simplify all processes, double the revenue with partners and coinvestments. It is an opportunity for us to transform our customers into new directions. success of our business partners. To help our partners, we need to have a very consistent strategy that is based on following the market trends and evolution, which is now more about applications and mobility, and help customers perform better on their specific business using our solutions.

What aspects of the company’s transformation are partners most excited about?

MP: They are excited as they feel and recognise our transformation. They see tangible benefits in their business. They feel that we really care about them. Many of our partners are working with us for a long time.

Technology is accelerating the space. They appreciate our efforts to be a simple

company to work with.

They like the way we are targeting the market and our creation of dedicated vertical solutions, through which they have the chance to make more profits and sell easier.

MC: The market is moving from CAPEX to OPEX and we understand that. So partners see and identify with that and they believe in us.

They appreciate the fact that we are seeing the evolution of the market in the right way.

Where do you see Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise in two years from now?

MC: I think we have clearly stated where we are going.

What is paramount for us is that the business partner understand the trend that we as a company are taking. We see ourselves going in the

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right direction in terms of focusing on our energy where it counts, from technology development to the way we position our technology in the market and engage with our business partners. Today, we are engaging with our end-users together with our business partners. So I see a company that is becoming more and more a key player in the market where we operate.

What are the challenges you are seeing in the Middle East region?

MP: The challenge is to be a step ahead of market growth. We need to be everywhere, which is why channel engagement is key. We need to be in front of as many customers as possible with the right partners.

What is the business focus for 2016?

MP: To become a solution business outcome provider rather than products.

What is your message for your partner community?

MP: The message to our existing partners is – stay with us, we are dramatically investing to be a much more efficient company. And to the new comers – join us, we are going to surprise you in terms of new solutions and new tools for making business together.

Reseller Middle East MARCH 2016

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microsoft

Lumia 950 XL

REVIEW

RATING

The Lumia 950 and 950 XL are great options for those looking out for straightforward smartphones with the unmatched experience of Windows 10.

Microsoft’s recent launches Lumia 950 and 950 XL are impressive smartphones equipped with a number of interesting features.

The devices come in a compact sleek design, with no sharp edges, making for a smarter look. The Corning Gorilla 4 display on the 950 XL is larger than the Corning Gorilla 3 display on 950 by 0.5 inches. Both devices come with 32 GB of on board storage and 3 GB of RAM. Gone are the days of the micro USB, Microsoft’s new devices are powered with the latest USB Type – C, which is definitely a welcomed change.

While the XL comes with a better chipset than the smaller Lumia 950, both have the 20MP Carl Zeiss lens at the back, which enables for some good quality images and videos.

Users don’t have to worry about running out of juice while on the XL, thanks to the 340mAh bigger battery. But that being said, having a larger screen real estate does bring the pixel density down by 46 ppi compared to the Lumia 950.

The key selling point for both the Lumia devices this year is the Windows 10 OS and the newly introduced Continuum feature.

Continuum is pretty simple to use - connect the Lumia device to the Display Dock and in turn to an external display unit. Connect a wireless mouse and keyboard to this setup and the whole

smartphone experience is enhanced to a different level. Customers are then able to use the smartphones’ features and extend the OS onto a larger external display.

The performance on the Continuum was great with only a slight shudder from time to time.

But this does not take much from the whole experience. Also, it is worth noting that the build quality of the display dock was quite robust.

Windows 10 does promise immense potential if Microsoft can find a way to get rid of the slow loading apps. Updating the software and the preloaded apps on the devices were a bit tiresome as it was extremely time consuming. Also, the build quality of the devices could have been much better and would have only added more to the users’ experience.

Both Lumia 950 and 950 XL meet the expectations of an average user in every possible way. Also, retailing under $650, the devices are a decent option for those looking out to move from the crowded Android and iOS space.

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hot products

Canon launches Océ Arizona 1200 series Canon Middle East has launched the Océ Arizona 1200 Series of UV flatbed printers.

Designed for print service providers (PSPs) Océ Arizona 1240, 1260 and 1280 are ideal for businesses in the sign and display industry, speciality print producers, reprographers and photo labs. PSPs can print directly to unusual materials with varied shapes such as canvas, wood, ceramics or glass and are able to print multiple times for high density or textured applications, such as packaging or wall cladding. A stronger vacuum system provides reliable drawdown of even

warped, rigid media, whilst the new UV curing system reduces surface heat for printing up to the thinnest, most heat-sensitive media, making it a perfect solution for retail displays and POS signage.

The devices use up to six-colours and can also be equipped with white and varnish. The optional addition of light cyan and light magenta ink enables superior print quality for photographic and fine art applications.

Both printers use Océ VariaDot imaging technology for sharper text and lines, alongside smooth gradients and solid colours.

TP-LINK releases smart home products

TP-LINK has recently released two smart home products that offer energy savings, the HS110 and the HS200.

The HS110 is a smart plug with energy monitoring that allows you to plug in your devices or appliances to start enjoying effective remote access and control. While the HS200 is a smart light switch that packs similar features into a wall-mounted switch that also functions like a traditional light switch.

Just connect your electronic device to the HS110 smart plug and start

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enjoying remote access and control, using your smartphone to activate and deactivate the power supply from anywhere. The scheduling function allows you to establish a customised schedule for turning your devices on and off automatically.

Similarly, the HS200 smart light switch offers many of the same control features as the HS110 smart plug. Remote access and control, programmable scheduling, and away mode help create a more convenient and energy efficient lifestyle for you and your family. A smart switch, however, provides the additional option of turning connected lights on and off using the built-in physical switch, allowing you to use it just as you would with a traditional light switch.

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Linksys unveils Max Stream EA7500

Linksys’ latest device is powered by a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor and can deliver speeds of up to 1.9 Gbps. According to the company, the AC1900 provides Next-Gen Wi-Fi AC technology capable of handling three simultaneous data streams to multiple screens and Wi-Fi devices without lag or buffering.

Featuring Multi-User MIMO technology, the AC1900 brings Next-Gen AC Wi-Fi to the home for simultaneous streaming, online gaming, video chatting and more to multiple screens in multiple rooms.

Delivering speeds up to 2x the speed of current routers, the Next-Gen MaxStream AC1900 can connect as many as 12 devices at the same time to your WiFi, including six screens streaming 4K video. You can also control your home Wi-Fi from anywhere on you mobile device using the Smart Wi-Fi app.

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InnJoo unveils Fire2 Plus

AMD introduces A10-7890K Setting a new APU Standard, the new AMD A10-7890K, according to the company, is the fastest AMD desktop APU released to date, with 1.02 TFLOPS of theoretical compute performance. This new processor has been paired with the AMD Wraith Cooler to deliver a high-performance combination, enabling online gaming, while offering near silent operation for a premium experience.

Gamers will be able to enjoy playing the most popular online and eSports games right out of the box on high settings with the new AMD A10-7890K APU, which is capable of providing smooth frame rates in some of the most popular online games like League of Legends, DOTA2, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive. AMD APUs combine the power of AMD processors with the performance of discrete Radeon R7 class graphics in one convenient SoC, and support DirectX 12, OpenGL, Vulkan, and FreeSync in addition to Microsoft Xbox One game streaming on Windows 10.

InnJoo has launched of Fire2 Plus in UAE and Saudi Arabia. The Fire2 Plus is the extension of successful Fire series.

The InnJoo Fire2 Plus is a 5.5-inch HD display 4G LTE smartphone crafted in a one piece metal body. The new smartphone is powered by 4600 mAh powerful batter, which only takes 1.5 hours to full charge.

“The success of Fire series has encouraged us to introduce more features and incorporate advance technology. Fire2 Plus is a step in same direction and we are confident that our new smartphone with smarter design, sleek looks and brilliant features at the most affordable price will set the market on fire once again,” said, Tim Chen, Co-founder and CEO, InnJoo.

The dual SIM, Fire2 Plus has a 1.3 GHz Quad-Core processor, 2 GB DDR RAM, Android 5.1 operating system, 16 GB internal memory, 128 GB expandable storage slot, micro USB port and Bluetooth. The latest 4G LTE smartphone is exclusively available at Souq.com for AED 399 in UAE and SAR 399 in Saudi Arabia.

Philips launches 43-inch 4K Ultra HD monitor The new Philips Brilliance display features UltraClear 4K UHD resolution at 3840 x 2160 pixels.

According to the vendor, this 4K resolution is four times higher than Full HD, presenting stunning, crystal clear images with exceptional detail.

The display features an advanced IPS 178/178-degree technology that permits extra wide viewing angles while maintaining the monitor’s remarkably crisp images and vivid colours. IPS displays are ideal for professional projects that require specific colours and brightness, as well as for general use for viewing and editing photos, watching movies and for web browsing.

The device is also equipped with Philips’ MultiView technology makes complex multi-tasking duties much simpler. MultiView 4K, transmits up to four video feeds in full HD on one screen. The display enables picture-by-picture

(PbP) and picture-in-picture (PiP) for monitoring multiple systems in a variety of viewing modes.

It also has a pair of high quality 7-watt stereo speakers built-in. The display is equipped with ample connectivity options, which includes VGA, DisplayPort and universal HDMI connector; and a convenient USB 3.0 hub deploys a 5.0 gigabyte per second transfer rate.

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hot products

Samsung flaunts new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge

Synology introduces DiskStation DS216+ Synology has launched DiskStation DS216+, a two-bay NAS server aimed at home and small office users.

Equipped with an Intel Celeron Processor N3050 with Intel AES New Instructions (Intel AES-NI) encryption, DS216+ delivers highspeed performance, exceeding 111 MB/s reading and writing, while ensuring encrypted data transmissions at over 113 MB/s reading and 109 MB/s writing. In addition, DS216+ can perform onthe-fly H.264 4K to 1080p video transcoding, making it possible for high definition enthusiasts to stream to their multimedia files, regardless of bandwidth or device potential limitations.

By implementing Btrfs file system, DS216+ offers advanced data protection by enabling point-intime snapshot and restore, built-in data integrity checks, metadata mirroring, as well as quota control for shared folders.

DS216+ also runs DiskStation Manager (DSM) and features a wide range of applications from backup, network management to multimedia.

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The 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 and 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge are equipped with Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) and are constructed with 3D glass and metal. From work to play, both devices have a new AlwaysOn Display, giving users a zero touch experience where they don’t need to worry about missing a call or important notification.

Without compromising design, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge both have increased utility with IP68 water and dust resistance. The devices are powered

by Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.6GHz Quad), 64 bit; and Quad core (2.15GHz Dual + 1.6GHz Dual), 64 bit processor respectively. Additionally, the hybrid SIM card tray allows users to insert a microSD card for up to 200 GB of additional storage

and in some select countries, the tray can be used with a dual SIM card.

Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge introduce the first Dual Pixel camera on a smartphone, delivering brighter and sharper images, even in low light. The Dual Pixel technology gives the devices brighter lens with wider aperture, and bigger pixel, the camera also has a faster shutter speed and a more accurate autofocus even in low-light conditions.

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge will be available at all major retailers in the UAE. The recommended retail price for Galaxy S7 is AED 2,499, with the Galaxy S7 edge available at AED 2,799.

NEC launches 75-inch display

NEC Display Solutions Europe has expanded its portfolio of high brightness displays with the launch of a 75-inch display.

According to the vendor, the new display has been designed for areas with high levels of ambient light, and where the harsh environment of sunlight would affect the performance of normal displays. The X754HB large format display offers a consistent solution for environments where lighting conditions are changeable but the information on the display always needs to be visible.

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The 75-inch display intelligently adapts to its surroundings, using an integrated ambient light sensor.

During the day, the display provides a bright, clear image regardless of the lighting conditions. At night, it dims down, reducing power consumption and creating cost-efficiencies for the organisation while keeping readability.

With a display size of more than 190 centimetres, the X754HB matches the industry demand for life-size signage applications that effectively operate in these demanding environments.

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Panasonic’s VariCam LT VariCam LT, according to Panasonic, can shoot in both 4K (4096 x 2160) and UHD (3840 x 2160) and features high sensitivity, low noise, wide dynamic range and a cinematic depth of field.

The device is equipped with a 35mm single-chip MOS sensor, originally developed for the VariCam 35 and has a same wide dynamic range. This ensures accurate image rendering over the entire image, from dark areas to highlights.

The device’s sensor has two native ISO settings of 800 and 5000.

It also has two dedicated analog circuits for higher sensitivity without increased noise. In addition, Panasonic highlighted that the VariCam LT offers the ability to change the mount from

SanDisk Ultra USB Type-C

an EF mount 1 (standard) to a PL mount (optional), increasing the range of usable lenses. The ‘V-Gamut’ in the VariCam LT gives the camera a wider colour gamut than traditional film.

The ‘V-Log’ gamma curve has evolved further to extend the dynamic range to 14+ stops. Capable of 60fps in 4K, the camera also has a new sensor center crop mode, allowing 240fps for slow motion in both HD and 2K.

Brocade unveils new Gen 6 Fibre Channel switch

Brocade has announced the Brocade G620, which is a Gen 6 Fibre Channel switch for storage networking.

According to Brocade, the Gen 6 Fibre Channel is especially significant for new technologies such as flashbased storage, which is accelerating the transformation of the data centre.

The Brocade G620 switch delivers performance across 32 and 128 Gbps links and shatters application performance barriers with up to 100 million IOPS. The Brocade G620 includes four Q-Flex ports the can support 128 Gbps or be split out into four 32 Gbps links. Delivering the industry’s highest port density in a one rack unit (1RU)

chassis, the switch offers 24 to 64 ports for ‘pay-as-you-grow’ flexibility and scalability.

The switch now includes the IO Insight feature for more visibility into performance monitoring. This new capability helps ensure critical SLAs can be met by monitoring IO statistics, including device latency and IOPS metrics, to provide intelligence for early detection of storage performance degradations. The Brocade G620 Switch with Gen 6 Fibre Channel technology is available now through Brocade and its channel partners and will be available through Brocade’s OEM partners in the second quarter of 2016.

SanDisk Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive designed specifically for next-generation devices.

The new drive features a USB Type-C connector for quick file transfer between USB Type-C enabled mobile devices, laptops, tablets and future devices.

The new Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive, according to SanDisk, can deliver USB 3.1 performance of up to 150MB/s.

The USB drive features a slim, retractable design to protect the reversible connector. The new drive complements the company’s suite of USB Type-C flash memory solutions which range from dual USB drives to portable SSDs. The SanDisk Ultra USB Type-C Flash Drive is the company’s first dedicated USB for Type-C ready devices. It is compatible with the SanDisk Memory Zone app for Android, which is available for free through the Google Play.

The app auto-launches upon insertion of the drive into a compatible device, allowing immediate access to the user’s content and easy file management.

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Column

Channel surfing

Reseller Middle East's deputy editor offers her thoughts on the Middle Eastern technology channel.

Janees Reghelini, Deputy Editor, Reseller ME

The SME play The SMEs of the region are at crossroads in their business paths where they understand the power of technology but are lagging behind in keeping up with the digital transformation. There still exists a certain amount of reluctance in investing in digital technologies, and understandably so, as the main focus is in getting the business up and running. Also, some SMEs may think ‘not yet’ when confronted with the question of digitising. I believe this represents untapped revenue stream for the channel partners.

IDC has predicted that ICT spending in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa will top $260 billion in 2016. This means over time, businesses will increasingly be inclined to transform into the digital era, in an attempt to cut costs and achieve flexibility. And as they explore the advantages of Internet of Things among other technologies, integrating and building up their networks and 58

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Reseller Middle East

creating a robust digital presence with more focus on actionable data, resellers have a very good opportunity to be true value-added partners in their transformation.

Partners also have a responsibility here. They need to step up to take on the role of a leader and help SMEs create more efficient business models and provide the guidance to enable that. Those resellers who identify this responsibility and capitalise on the opportunity have a chance to be a genuine differentiator in the market.

And the potential is enormous. Saudi Arabia’s market boasts of 90 percent of these type of businesses while in UAE alone, there are approximately 350,000 companies falling under the SME category. The opportunity is definitely there, but the question is - are partners willing to move out of their comfort zones and undertake new challenges?

We do see a handful of resellers looking beyond the norm and aiming

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at true innovation and value. Others need to get the ball rolling to keep up with the race, else risk missing out on the returns.

This month, we have put together a list of top channel executives from the vendors in an attempt to understand their everyday jobs better and recognise their endeavours in sculpting the regional channel community. Other highlights include the cybersecurity feature and interview with RSA’s Robert Griffin. As I discussed last month, we cannot have any conversations around any technologies without thinking of security first. Griffin shares some great insights for rethinking security in a radical manner.

On an ending note, a reminder on our Reseller Middle East Partner Excellence Awards 2016 coming up in May this year. Keep an eye out for related communication and look forward to those nominations soon.

Gulf Software Distribution, is the region’s smarter choice for reselling IBM’s world-class leading software. We realize that our network of IBM Business Partners is the heart of our mission. Each of our strategies will have positive impact to your business, and your success will be the index of our achievement.

Our experience of the market is incomparable and we build on it. We bring into the recipe all the ingredients required to proceed in this market. Our passionate team is ready to support during the full opportunity lifecycle, from building the solution to financing your deal, and much more. Take action now and join our network of success.

Dubai Internet City, Building 2, Premises 09 If you wish to become an IBM Software Business Partner, contact us on info@gulfsoftware.com | www.gulfsoftware.com