Reseller Middle East May 2017

ISSUE 245 | MAY 2017 www.tahawultech.com

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 245 // MAY 2017

26

CHANNEL ACES COVER FEATURE Movers and shakers of the IT channel industry.

76

HIGHLIGHTS

05

PARTNER WATCH

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

72 RGROWTH EDEFINING

OPINION

REVIEW

HP ELITEBOOK 1040 G3

22 LEARNING ABOUT BaaS 73 THE GATEKEEPERS

77 MERLIN INTRODUCES HOT PRODUCTS

DRAGONFLY DRONE

Learn about Commnet Systems’ business and its journey to being a solutionsfocused player.

Vikrant Pawan from Intertec Systems on why partners should invest in Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS).

FEATURES

68 KEEP WATCH

Security experts discuss how partners can optimise the opportunities in the video surveillance market.

Westcon Security’s Ian Jones and Mohammad Aquib Aftab, from Carbon Black, share insights on security trends.

75 EASY PAY

Niranj Sangal from OMA Emirates, draws out developments in the mobile payment industry.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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EDITORIAL Excellence at its best

Janees Reghelini Editor

E-mail: janees.reghelini@ cpimediagroup.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ TahawulTech Twitter: @TahawulTech

FOUNDER, CPI MEDIA GROUP Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015) Publishing Director Natasha Pendleton natasha.pendleton@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9139

Published by

Registered at Dubai Production City, DCCA PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409 Š Copyright 2017 CPI All rights reserved While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

The last couple of months have whizzed by in preparation for our eighth Partner Excellence Awards. Looking back at the previous years, we can proudly say that this notable industry event has only gotten bigger and better.

This year, we were pleased to see we not only had overwhelming number of quality nominations but also had several new firms participating. Another testimony to our success was the incredible number of votes we received for our online voting categories from our esteemed readers– with over 30,000 votes, we are humbled to know that over the last 245 editions of this magazine, we have managed to create a small ripple of a difference for the regional IT channel firms.

The planning process for an event of this scale amounts to months of hard work. We had our design, web, events and editorial team on their toes, right

from the call for nominations, sorting and collaboration, judging process including the push for online voting this year to the actual detailing and flow of the Awards evening. At the end of it all, when we see a room full of people gathered to celebrate the excellence in the industry, it encourages us to raise the bar even higher and gives us a priceless sense of accomplishment.

Speaking about excellence, in this issue we have featured top channel leaders across vendors, distributors and systems integrators. The idea is to get to know these individuals a little better and understand what inspires them to keep going. As well-known educator John W Gardner once said, an important aspect to note here is that excellence need not mean achieving complex and elaborate goals; it can be doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

EDITORIAL Group Editor Jeevan Thankappan jeevan.thankappan@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9129

ADVERTISING Group Sales Director Kausar Syed kausar.syed@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9130

Editor Janees Reghelini janees.reghelini@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9167

Sales Manager Merle Carrasco merle.carrasco@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9147

Online Editor Adelle Geronimo adelle.geronimo@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9135

CIRCULATION Database and Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh.nair@cpimediagroup.com +971 4440 9119

DESIGN Senior Designer Analou Balbero analou.balbero@cpimediagroup.com Designer Neha Kalvani neha.kalvani@cpimediagroup.com

PRODUCTION Production Manager James P Tharian james.tharian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9159

Operations Manager Shweta Santosh shweta.santosh@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9107 DIGITAL SERVICES Web Developers Jefferson de Joya Abbas Madh Photographers Max Poriechkin Charls Thomas webmaster@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9100 DIGITAL www.resellerme.com Printed by Printwell Printing Press

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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HIGHLIGHTS

Ingram Micro acquires NIT, signs distribution deal with Parallels

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ngram Micro has announced that it acquired the business assets of Network Information Technology (NIT), a distributor of physical security solutions in MEA region.

NIT’s current management team will operate as a business unit of Ingram Micro META, led by managing director Bassel Fakir who will report to Dr. Ali Baghdadi, senior vice president, Ingram Micro and chief executive, Ingram Micro, META. Dr. Baghdadi said, “With the acquisition of NIT, Ingram Micro gains a well-established foothold as a recognised expert in the physical security market, further expanding our capabilities in the rapidly growing and higher value Middle East and Africa market.”

In addition, Ingram Micro, last month, also signed a distribution agreement Parallels, to become the authorised Ali Baghdadi, Ingram distributor Micro META for Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) region.

As per the terms of the partnership, Ingram Micro through its expertise and resources in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa will help extend Parallels RAS’ continued success in the region, said the company.

“I am delighted to have reached an agreement with Parallels to distribute its Remote Application Server and desktop delivery solution across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa,” said Dr. Baghdadi. “These products offer our partners a great complement to solutions from Microsoft. With our complementary offering, enterprise customers will have the ability to securely access their applications and data from any device, anywhere.”

According to the statement released, Parallels leadership is confident that the Ingram Micro partnership and the inclusion of Parallels RAS on the Azure Marketplace will enable the company to meet the diverse needs of businesses in the region while helping their partners grow with their private, hybrid and public cloud implementations.

HP Inc expands capabilities in 3D printing

HP 3D printing hub

HP Inc has announced that it launched an open platform for 3D printing materials and productionready applications development.

The company underlined that its open platform model for 3D printing helps expand the availability of new materials and address a broader set

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of applications.

The open platform model also helps lower materials and development costs, drive speed and performance improvements, and create new possibilities for part properties meeting specific industry needs.

“An open ecosystem of industry leaders is critical for greater innovation, breakthrough economics, and faster development of 3D printing materials and applications,” said Tim Weber, global head, 3D Materials and Advanced Applications, HP Inc. “Our

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

growing certified partner network and leading-edge lab facilities are a testament to the progress we are making in spearheading a dynamic community of collaborators focused on delivering the most innovative and production-ready solutions.”

HP, in collaboration with SIGMADESIGN, will offer the industry’s first MDK for 3D printing materials, ensuring a robust and expanding array of materials for end-customers and a simplified certification and testing process for partners.

An integral element of HP’s open platform strategy for 3D printing, the MDK will enable companies interested in certifying their materials to quickly test 3D powder spreadability and compatibility with HP Jet Fusion 3D printers.

SonicWall to enable partners with new initiatives

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onicWall has introduced two initiatives designed to help its 10,000-plus partners secure customers in the shifting cyber arms race – SonicWall University to train partners on cybersecurity, and a new global marketing programmes and incentives to help the SonicWall channel deliver their cybersecurity solutions and services for SMBs. “The response from SonicWall’s channel partners to our spin out far exceeded even our own expectations,” said Bill Conner, president and CEO, SonicWall.

“We’re excited that 10,000 partners have already joined the SecureFirst Partner Program and pleased to welcome 2,000 new partners to SonicWall. Today, we are announcing major investments

in education and marketing to help enable these 10,000 partners to assist their customers with securing their business. We know these Bill Conner, Sonicwall cyber threats are shifting and small to medium-size businesses are increasingly becoming targets, but they often lack in-house expertise and rely on trusted partners to keep their infrastructure secure.”

To address the lack of trained cybersecurity resources available to SMBs and enable SonicWall partners to provide the best real-

time industry offerings to their customers, the company has unveiled SonicWall University. This channel enablement programme is designed as an extension of the SecureFirst Partner Program, helping communicate insights SonicWall has gleaned from the SonicWall GRID Threat Network to the partner community in a structure they can learn from easily.

In addition to SonicWall University, the firm also launched a major marketing campaign in response to partner requests to help educate prospective and current customers on the most pressing cyber threats today. Partners can access prepackaged campaign materials and apply for market development funds online through a new SonicWall Partner Portal.

ESET boosts Middle East presence with retail partnerships Manufacturer of security software and protection products, ESET Middle East, has announced that it is expanding its retail distribution Dimitris Raekos, ESET channels across Middle East the Middle East markets.

In line with the company’s mission of reaching out to new customers across the GCC, ESET Middle East has developed two new partnerships, with Newcom Computer Systems and Ashtel.

With the retail partnerships, ESET is seeking to strengthen its market position via strong channel networks and enhance market presence.

The IT market in the region is growing at a fast rate with increasing demand for advanced security technology.”

The partnerships will also allow the company to expand its distribution reach, satisfying the increasing demand for ESET consumer solutions in the GCC as well as increasing product awareness across the region.

“The IT market in the region is growing at a fast rate with increasing demand for advanced security technology. Our partnerships with Ashtel Group and Newcom Computer Systems take us one step closer to realising our goal in providing the best way of using

technology in a safer way against dayto-day threats, and offering best-inclass security solutions in the region,” said Dimitris Raekos, general manager, ESET Middle East.

Newcom Computer Systems has been appointed to facilitate channel partner requirements for both retail and business products range. Meanwhile, Ashtel Group will distribute ESET retail products with a major focus on the UAE and Saudi Arabia markets.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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HIGHLIGHTS

Equinix recognises top partners

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quinix has announced the recipients of its second annual agent partner awards – the 2017 Master Agent of the Year and 2017 Agent of the Year awards.

According to Equinix, these awards put the spotlight on its top performing agent and master agent partners, globally, for outstanding delivery and execution of the company’s solution and services.

AVANT, a channel sales enablement company was honoured with the ‘Master Agent of the Year’ award. According to

Equinix, the firm adds unique value with its focus and expertise in channel sales assistance, sales training, sales guidance, and sales tools to fuel IT services business growth.

Cloudwirx, a global supplier and systems integrator for critical IT infrastructure was honoured with ‘Agent of the Year’ award.

This is the second annual agent partner awards held by Equinix. Dick O’Hara, senior director of worldwide partner sales, Equinix, said they are thrilled to recognise and honour their

The Equinix Partner Program was developed with the goal of building a rich ecosystem of top providers to help our customers to design and deploy the right cloud solution.”

GBM adopts social selling concept with LinkedIn Gulf Business Machines (GBM) has become the first regional IT company in the GCC to adopt LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool for its sales force.

LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator enables salespeople to more easily tap into the world’s largest professional network to find and build relationships with prospects and customers through social selling.

The partnership between GBM and LinkedIn signals the onset of a transformation of the regional IT sector, and the growing adoption of the social selling concept as a means to improve sales. Through this collaboration, the systems integrator places itself at the forefront of using the social channel to revolutionise the relationship between the business

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and its customers. Sales Navigator is expected to further strengthen the GBM brand by providing its sales team with insights on the target audience. It also helps the sales force connect with decision-makers and build on these relationships to seal business deals.

Kevin Jones, vice president, Software Solutions, GBM said, “LinkedIn has changed the nature of how we connect on a professional level. LinkedIn Sales Navigator takes this one step further and helps us convert these relationships into business opportunities.

“We are excited to be the first regional IT company to partner with LinkedIn to adopt the concept of social selling through Sales Navigator. This is aligned with GBM’s goal to innovate

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

Dick O’Hara, Equinix

valuable Equinix partners through its awards programme. “The Equinix Partner Program was developed with the goal of building a rich ecosystem of top providers to help our customers to design and deploy the right cloud solution—whether it is a public, private or hybrid cloud.

These two partners exemplify that, with their deep understanding of how to leverage and integrate the advantages of the Platform Equinix global footprint.”

and change the way we do business as a company. We also expect that this will be the direction which the regional IT industry will head in the near future.”

According to Liam Halpin, director, LinkedIn Sales Solutions, EMEA, the company’s Sales Navigator tool makes it easier to build trusted relationships more quickly by shedding light on the key connections salespeople need to make. “Through this tool we look to revolutionise the way that the GBM salesforce does business and in turn help them to achieve their business objectives,” he explained.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Fujitsu, VMware offer IoT solutions in the automobile sector

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ujitsu and VMware have announced an expanded strategic collaboration to bring IoT solutions to customers in the automobile industry.

Under the extended partnership, Fujitsu OTA Reprogramming Solution will be combined with VMware IoT solutions, enabling automobile manufacturers and partners to drive robust solutions in the future with connected cars and autonomous driving.

“Fujitsu has partnered with VMware since 2006, and we are pleased to say

that our partnership with VMware now extends to the IoT industry as well. For our OTA Reprograming Solution, as we are seeing increasing demands from automobile manufacturers and their tier 1 components manufacturers as a global standard, we will provide an OTA platform for connected cars by integrating VMware IoT solutions into our secure and effective OTA Reprograming Solution. We look forward to fostering these offerings in our mobile business,” said Shikou Kikuta, SVP, head of Mobility IoT Business Unit, Fujitsu Limited.

Fujitsu has partnered with VMware since 2006, and we are pleased to say that our partnership with VMware now extends to the IoT industry as well.”

TP-Link MEA hosts SMB partner event TP-Link Technologies has, last month, hosted its second annual ‘ConneXions’ Partner Meet Denny Liang, TP2017 on 19th Link MEA April in Dubai.

This year the focus of the event has been on SMB products and strategy, as the company moves to raise awareness on its solutions in this market segment.

According to the vendor, demand for high performing business networking solutions is increasing in the SMB sector across the Middle East hence the company had unveiled its SMB solutions.

TP-Link’s latest business products include JetStream Switches, Auranet Business WiFi, Pharos Wireless Broadband and SafeStream Router range.

Denny Liang, vice president, and Lucas Jiang, general manager from TP-Link MEA delivered keynote addresses at this year’s event.

Liang said, “Despite the current prevailing market conditions, partners have been unfailingly and continue to grow the TP-Link brand and business,” he said. “The ConneXions Partner Meet 2017 event kick starts our SMB agenda for this year for all channel partners in MEA.” ConneXions also saw TP-Link brought together over 200 par tners across systems integrators,

According to both firms, the automobile industry is rapidly moving toward incorporating more advanced technologies for connected cars, including automated driving. Several automobile manufacturers are investing in these technologies for connected cars, which will use new cloud services in the future.

As the number of electronic control units (ECUs) that manage automotive parts increases in cars, the software that is embedded into the ECUs has become more sophisticated, and in turn, is becoming more challenging to manage. With more technologies being integrated into vehicles, it is imperative for automobile manufacturers to have the ability to quickly and easily reprogramme software as required, while also being able to manage and monitor software versions individually.

channel par tners and end-users.

The company’s distribution par tners – ASBIS Middle East, MES, and Eurostar were also present at the event.

TP-Link also outlined its roadmap for the rest of the year to partners.

“As we continue to raise the bar in the SOHO and SMB segments, it’s critical that we share with our partners what is coming down the line,” he said.

$6.5B FORECASTED VALUE OF 5G PROJECTS IN THE UAE’S ICT MARKET BY 2026 SOURCE: ERICSSON

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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HIGHLIGHTS

Cisco recognises Middle East channel partners

Cisco has recently presented awards to its top performing Tier-2 channel partners from the UAE, Oman, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen which form part of the Cisco Middle East’s – East region.

The awards were presented to the winners across 14 categories during a gala ceremony held in Dubai where

over 100 delegates from the Cisco 2-Tier channel partner community were present.

“Our theme for the partner event was focused around digital transformation, which we believe presents a high value opportunity for our 2-Tier channel partners now, and in the years ahead.

Cisco channel partners can leverage

our leading technology solutions from an expansive portfolio to build their role as trusted advisors for enterprises looking at transforming themselves to be able to truly embrace and benefit from digitisation,” said Shukri Eid, managing director, Cisco Middle East – East region.

“At Cisco, we believe that great relationships produce great results and this is why we are committed to supporting our partners as they form an integral part of our strategy and growth,” he added.

Among the top companies recognised at the event were: UAE Partner of the Year – Intertec Systems; Oman Partner of the Year – National Telephone Services Company; Pakistan Partner of the Year –Commtel; and Vertical Partner of the Year – EMW among others.

Yvolv eyes $7.5 billion market potential in KSA Yvolv, a joint venture firm by Alibaba Cloud and Meraas, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with DOITC, Fahad Al Hajeri, Yvolv IT integrator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and multidimensional IT service provider.

In order to support the country’s digital transformation journey and digital commerce evolution, Yvolv will be providing its Saudi customers through its collaboration with DOITC. As Middle East and North Africa public cloud spend is projected to hit $2 billion by 2020, according to the latest Gartner report, KSA represents one of the most strategic markets

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Saudi Arabia will lead the way in IT spending in 2017, investing an annual budget of $7.5 billion in transformative technologies such as cloud, Big Data, social and mobility according to the latest IDC report.” for Yvolv, encouraged by the latest developments in Saudi Arabia’s Draft Cloud Computing Regulations.

“Saudi Arabia will lead the way in IT spending in 2017, investing an annual budget of $7.5 billion in transformative technologies such as cloud, Big Data, social and mobility according to the latest IDC report. We believe this is the best time to support the Saudi market and seize the opportunity of growing demand through our new

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

partnership with DOITC,” said Fahad Al Hajeri, CEO, Yvolv.

Fahad Almajed, CEO, DOITC, said, “This agreement greatly expands our flexibility to offer end to end data, security, and cloud based solutions with the most technologically advanced facilities based in GCC. We see a great potential for Alibaba cloud computing solutions in this market and are highly optimistic about the future of our collaboration.”

HIGHLIGHTS

D-Link flaunts ‘Next Business Day’ replacement programme D-Link has announced a new warranty support programme that will see the company provide its customers Sakkeer Hussain, D-Link expedient support on select business products.

Dubbed ‘Next Business Day (NBD) replacement’ programme, the new initiative is part of D-Link’s enhanced warranty support programme on selected business products. The programme has been rolled out in the UAE and is expected to be extended to other regions across the Middle East.

According to the vendor, the free

D-Link NBD programme is valid for a first three-years period from the product purchase/registration and extendable at a nominal cost after completion of the three-years warranty period. The products covered include the entire range of D-Link’s Smart and Managed switches.

Sakkeer Hussain, director, Sales and Marketing, D-Link Middle East and Africa (MEA), said the company has unveiled the NBD programme as part of its extended support to channel partners and their end-user customers.

Hussain said the service is part of the value-added services D-Link is offering channel partners to help them grow and strengthen their customer relationships by providing them with the ability to differentiate themselves among other competitor brands.

“We believe that the Next Business Day Hardware replacement with no cost to the end-user will benefit businesses and corporates to reduce the cost-of-ownership of networks that are critical to their day-today operations. D-Link aims to strengthen its fundamental pillars of product reliability and endcustomer service as a key for growth in the MEA region.”

To be eligible for the services offered under NBD, the enduser customers must register the applicable product with D-Link within 90 days after purchasing and can check the product warranty and apply for NBD anytime through the newly launched dedicated D-Link NDB portal.

CensorNet signs up Credence Security CensorNet has announced that it selected Credence Security as its value-added distributor (VAD) for the Vivian Gevers, Middle East, Credence Security Africa, India and Pakistan regions.

As part of the agreement, Credence Security and CensorNet will work together to offer the cybersecurity company’s advanced cloud security products, including its Unified Security Solution (USS) to enterprises and resellers across the region.

The deal further expands CensorNet’s global reach, and addresses the growing demand for Cloud security solutions in the

CensorNet’s Unified Security Solution (USS) with its award-winning Cloud application control makes it an ideal security solution and managed service for our value added channel partners.”

Middle East and across Africa. The partnership provides Credence Security with access to a unique Cloud security solution that consolidates point solutions into one easy to manage platform.

Vivian Gevers, managing director, Credence Security, said, “CensorNet’s Unified Security Solution (USS) with its award-winning Cloud application

control makes it an ideal security solution and managed service for our value added channel partners. By partnering with CensorNet, we add a critical best-in-class security solution to our existing portfolio one step closer to delivering on our commitment of offering our partners and enterprises in the region a one-stop-shop for all their security needs.”

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HIGHLIGHTS

AOC inks distribution deal with SDC

Sameh Gamal, AOC and Sergey Didenko, SDC

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MD, Asia Pacific- brand licensing partner of AOC and AGON, has announced that it partnered with Dubai-based distributor, SDC to market AGON’s range of gaming monitors and also its premium range of monitors across GCC.

Sameh Gamal, business development manager, AOC Middle East, said, “We are pleased to have partnered with SDC and their experience in gaming market with various other leading brands and network of resellers convinced us that they will play a key role in increasing the presence of AOC brand in the region.”

AOC is a known brand for display solutions. The company recently launched entirely new range of gaming monitors, AGON, that are designed for gamers and are defined by performancedriven specifications and convenient features that eliminate any obstacle encountered on the path to glory.

Sergey Didenko, managing director, SDC, said, “We are excited to partner with AOC, they are one of the best brands in the business. Our region wide channel base and experience in the local market will increase the penetration for AOC brand in the market. It will also benefit channel partners from accessing more business opportunities provided by comprehensive range of AOC.” Didenko also noted that they will work closely with SDC and support them in their marketing initiatives.

“We plan to conduct a roadshow for partners in Dubai soon and we are confident that this will be a good start to our successful association with SDC,” concluded Gamal.

HIGHLIGHTS

eHosting DataFort attains PCI-DSS certification eHosting DataFort Yasser Zeineldin, (eHDF) has eHDF recently achieved the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance certification. The company has also been accredited with ISO 9001, 20000, 22301, 27001 and CSA STAR security certifications.

These new certifications will allow e-commerce, banking and financial services, insurance (BFSI) and other clients dealing with card storing and processing environments, access to eHDF’s physical, environmental,

network and infrastructure security needed to protect sensitive cardholder data and meet PCI DSS compliance standards for their business.

According to the company, it has managed to complete the stringent certification process in a record time of four months due to the existing compliance with several other industry standards. This places the firm high on its maturity in security mandates and governance.

“We see clients struggle with PCI compliance adherence which made us realize there exists a genuine market concern that needed a feasible solution. eHDF’s clients can now

End-user spending on devices to reach $600 billion in 2017 According to a recent study by Gartner, users of PCs, ultramobiles and mobile phones are buying new devices at higher average selling prices (ASPs), resulting in growth in end-user spending in 2017.

The study estimates that enduser spending will increase by two percent in 2017, to nearly $600 billion. Spending on mobile phones will represent 67 percent of that figure.

Gartner estimates that ASPs for computing devices and mobile phones will increase by two percent in 2017 in current US dollars, for two main reasons. First, component price increases are continuing into 2017 (mainly for PCs but also to some extent for phones), which

14

is resulting in more expensive products. Second, users’ interest in value and higher quality phones is increasingly overriding their desire for low prices.

“Across the world, the device market is becoming less pricesensitive,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.

“Consumers and businesses are seeking better products that suit their lifestyles, rather than just opting for the cheapest products.”

End-user spending on mobile phones is on track to reach nearly $400 billion in 2017, an increase of 4.3 percent from 2016. “The increased ASP for mobile phones was driven by users across the board,” said Annette Zimmermann,

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

leverage our PCI DSS compliance and easily empower themselves to get PCI compliant. This adds yet another layer of security to the customer’s data.” said Yasser Zeineldin, CEO, eHDF. He added that being able to demonstrate PCI compliance is what sets them apart from their competition.

“It is evident that when customers invest in time and expenses to achieve compliance, they expect the same of their service providers. They also need us to demonstrate high levels of controls implemented to safeguard their data in a secure and consistent manner and abide by regulatory mandates,” said Zeineldin.

research vice president, Gartner.

“They are replacing their basic phones with better-quality and more feature-rich basic phones, due to improved product portfolios from rising vendors such as Huawei and Oppo. In emerging markets, the majority of users are upgrading to better basic phones as the leap to premium phones remains out of reach for most,” said Atwal.

Greater availability of basic phones from Chinese vendors such as Oppo, BBK and Huawei increased the basic-phone ASP by 13.5 percent in 2016. It is on track to rise by four percent in 2017.

Shipments of PCs, ultramobiles and mobile phones are projected to total 2.3 billion units in 2017 — achieving flat growth from 2016.

According to the research firm, the PC exodus has reached its peak, but near-term growth of PC sales will be hampered by increasing component costs.

HIGHLIGHTS

EnGenius Networks host channel workshop in Abu Dhabi

Van Hsiao, EnGenius Networks

EnGenius Networks, along with regional VAD, Bulwark Distribution, organised a business solution workshop recently at the Royal Rose

Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

The event showcased various solutions offered by EnGenius Networks, shared some of the success stories from various regions and enabled in the recruitment solution partners within the local market. It also included practical

The aim of EnGenius Networks is to capture a sizeable part of the wireless market-share in the region and be positioned as a strong business solution provider for SMB.” demo sessions and technical training on selected products.

Among the key technologies presented by the company were its latest EnTurbo Series solutions and the company’s Tri-Band Wireless AC Routers.

According to Van Hsiao, regional general manager, “The aim of

EnGenius Networks is to capture a sizeable part of the wireless market-share in the region and be positioned as a strong business solution provider for SMB. In fact, we have one of the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio with an easy and simple to deploy solutions with competitive price offerings.”

StarLink joins the Pure Storage Partner Program (P3) StarLink has announced it became a certified member of the Pure Storage Partner Program (P3) and will now distribute Nidal Othman, StarLink the firm’s AllFlash enterprise storage solutions to its customers.

The distributor will sell, install and support the vendor’s products, through its extensive network of channel partners, to enterprise and government customers in the Middle East and Africa.

Pure Storage technology is ideal for high performance data centres and answers the call for simplicity and economies of scale while driving speed and efficiency with All-Flash Arrays for enterprises and service providers.

According to both companies,

We see huge synergy between our data centre and cloud objectives and the simplicity and efficiency of Pure Storage’s All-Flash portfolio.” through the partnership they aim increase reliability, performance and security for customers transitioning to the cloud.

Nidal Othman, managing director, StarLink, said, “We see huge synergy between our data centre and cloud objectives and the simplicity and efficiency of Pure Storage’s AllFlash portfolio. Pure Storage directly compliments our investments and focus in this market, and we are thrilled to explore the opportunity that this partnership will provide us as the MEA

region accelerates its pace on the cloud journey.”

The Pure Partner Program (P3) provides partners with the benefits, tools, training and support they need to be successful, which includes: a best-in-class incentive framework; a demo purchase programme featuring significant discounts on products differentiated by partner tier; a fully automated partner marketing platform; and pre-built co-branded demand generation campaigns; an executive sponsor and more.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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“Once you install the system and implement the solution, it‘s ON and that‘s it.”

- Mr. Ramesh Ramakrishnan, Head of IT, Middle East Zurich International Life

Zurich International Life partnered with Kodak Alaris Information Management to automate document handling across their business. i3400 Scanners combined with local service and support saved time and costs, while delivering a better customer experience.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Fujitsu enhances SELECT and invests in channel empowerment

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ujitsu has announced that it is enhancing its SELECT channel programme and investing more than EUR 1 million to empower partners to better address end customers’ evolving digitalisation needs.

The changes provide channel partners access to new areas of the Fujitsu portfolio centred on the company’s key strategic focus area of integrated systems and solutions around the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence/Big Data analytics, cloud, and cybersecurity.

Combined with a dedicated training and certification programme, this move is designed to open up new business opportunities for the firm’s channel

partners and help them support their customers on their journey into the digital future, said the company.

Enhancements to the SELECT partner programme include an improved rebate structure for the programme’s experts and circle members, to better recognise partners who have particular expertise in, and a particular focus on, strategic areas of digitalisation and digital transformation. In line with this, the set of new training courses and certifications encourages partners to become SELECT Experts in specialist, customer-centric areas such as integrated systems, high performance computing, virtual client computing, mobility solutions, and

data protection. Partners will also be assisted by increased numbers of integrated solutions specialists offering one-to-one business support to help them win customer opportunities.

Dave Hazard, VP, Sales Operations and Channel, Fujitsu EMEIA, said, “As a channel-centric organisation, we have listened to our channel partners’ needs. As a result, we are making a significant investment to enhance our SELECT programme, so our partners are better able to succeed as they adapt to the challenges of digitalisation. Clearly, IT is becoming more complex and we’d like to help our partners bridge the gap in the development of necessary skills.”

DCG to host Business Symposium and Networking series

(L-R) Ashok Kumar, Dharmendra Sawlani and Suchit Kumar, DCG

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ubai Computer Group (DCG) is set to host its fourth edition of Business Symposium and Networking series on 7th May, 2017 at W Dubai, Al Habtoor City. The event offers opportunities for the local business community to come together and not only network but also enhance the

scope through the activities set by DCG. Dharmendra Sawlani, president, DCG, said, “In times when disruptive innovation is the new norm, it is imperative to reinvent ourselves and our business model.

The primary objective of DCG Business Symposium is to bridge businesses and connect ideas. This event is a platform for industry leaders to come together and exchange ideas. Basking on the success of our past events, DCG looks forward to herald in a new phase to meet the emerging challenges of the evolving business landscape.”

According to the association, the event has become popular over the last year since its initial launch.

The event will feature eminent personalities from various faculties such as Edris Ahmed Behzad, director, Client Management, Dubai Customs; Matein Khalid, chief investment officer, Asas Capital, DIFC and Reg Athwal, who is a well-known public speaker, author and angel investor; to join the panel and also be key motivators for local businesses.

Suchit Kumar, general secretary, DCG said, “With technology changing the business landscape, there is an urgent need for complete renovation of a process. Business Symposium and Networking is one among the many broad array of initiatives DCG has taken to help connect our members towards broader perspectives of transformation and we are glad, this event is one of the most awaited by our members seeking answers to pragmatic questions.”

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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HIGHLIGHTS

InfiNet Wireless hosts 8th International Partner Conference

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nfiNet Wireless has recently held its 8th International Partners Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka. infinet-wireless-partner-conference.

Bringing together 72 attendees from over 25 countries, the two-day conference, with a mix of presentations, success stories, practical workshops

and team-building activities, gave the InfiNet team an opportunity to share its financial results for 2016, global strategy for 2017 as well as some exciting new product developments. It also gave several partners a chance to showcase some of their successful implementations and share best practices.

In his keynote address to attendees, Kamal Mokrani, global vice president, InfiNet Wireless said, “2016 was another strong year for us as we managed to grow 16 percent year-on-year. The Middle East outperformed most other

regions, growing at over 22 percent, and today is our second biggest market behind the CIS region. Despite the slowdown in several Middle East economies, driven by low oil prices and political unrest, we continue to see strong demand for our solutions in the service provision and video surveillance market sectors.”

“Our partners are central to our growth strategy – while we have the technology, our partners have the local market knowledge, feet on the ground and relationships that are vital to our success. This yearly conference is an opportunity for us to thank our partners and customers for their loyalty and support, and strengthen old relationships and forge new ones,” said Dmitry Okorokov, chief executive officer, InfiNet Wireless.

E-City displays in-store retail technologies E-City, part of the Albatha Group, has revealed its move to showcase the latest in-store retail technologies across all its Dirk Raemdonck, E-City eight stores in the UAE. The retailer has announced the installation of the newest in electronic shelf labels, and interactive screens—all designed to give customers the ability to experience the ‘Future of Electronics’.

According to the company’s senior executives, the electronic shelf labels will feature pricing information that can be controlled from a central system, which means that the price displayed on the shelf will always be the same as the price registered on the till. All eight stores will feature QR codes that have

The move reflects our understanding that if the right technology is used then we can change the way we work and the way we shop.” been developed to help customers in finding out more information on a product on the internet via their mobile phones. Interactive screens strategically placed in different parts of the store also share important details on a featured product pricing, comparison with other brands and current store promotions.

“As part of our continuing move to attract more customers to our stores across the UAE, we have utilised the latest technologies with the key aim of giving customers a taste of the ‘Future of Electronics,’” said Dirk Raemdonck,

marketing and retail development manager, E-City. “The move reflects our understanding that if the right technology is used then we can change the way we work and the way we shop. We have surely come a long way from punching prices into the cash registers and using pricing guns to label a product. We are now tapping into newer technologies, which complements our core ethos with every inch of E-City outlets, utilising a design that aims to give customers’ the benefit of convenience and a unique experience.”

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HIGHLIGHTS

TechAccess hosts workshops for Huawei partners in Kuwait TechAccess, the value-added distributor in the Middle East, North Africa, LEVANT, Pakistan and Afghanistan hosted a technical workshop for Huawei partners in Kuwait. The workshop was aimed at providing partners with an overview of the vendor’s enterprise solutions portfolio, specifically storage and cloud solutions. The training was attended by 33 engineers.

Pa r tn e r s we re g i ve n i n- d e pth d e m o nstrati o ns of H u awe i’s sto rag e s o l u ti o ns, w h il e b e i n g ad v is e d o n h ow to d eve l o p o p p o r tu n i ti e s to s e ll th e ve n d o r’s c l o u d s o l u ti o ns. Fo ll ow i n g th e

wo r ks h o p, at te n d e e s to o k a n o ns i te exa m i n ati o n to te st th e ir p rof i c i e n cy, af te r w h i c h th ey we re is s u e d c e r ti f i c ati o ns, s a i d th e c o m pa ny.

“Certifications add a definite market credibility to our partner’s skills, and TechAccess is committed to enabling our partners update their advanced technical skills through focused trainings and hands-on workshops,” said Masood Salem, general manager, TechAccess for Huawei business, “Huawei have an excellent portfolio of storage and cloud solutions, and there is immense opportunity in

the Kuwait market. These periodic trainings enable our partners with a better understanding of Huawei’s technologies and meet the ever-challenging customer requirements, efficiently.”

$400B PREDICTED VALUE OF END-USER SPENDING ON MOBILE PHONES IN 2017 SOURCE: GARTNER

New Apple store opens in Dubai Mall

Technology giant Apple has opened a mega retail store in Dubai Mall, further strengthening the brand’s commitment to the region.

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The company entered the Middle East region in 2015 with the opening of two stores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It also expanded to two more

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stores in Terminal 3 at Dubai airport in June 2016.

The new two-storey Apple shop is located centrally in the mall with views of Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountain.

T h e A p p l e D u b a i M a l l s to r e f e a t u r e s a n a u to m a te d, m o to r i s e d s y s te m o f w i n d o w s t h a t h e l p ke e p t h e s to r e c o o l while cutting air conditioning c o s t s . E i g h te e n 37-f o o t- h i g h p a n e l s f a n o p e n a n d c l o s e ov e r t h e c o u r s e o f a d ay, c o o l i n g t h e s to r e w h e n t h e s u n i s h o t te s t a n d a l l o w i n g s h o p p e r s to w a l k o n to a p u b l i c te r r a c e i n t h e e v e n i n g.

Visitors will see a mural wall showcasing a creative concept called ‘Creativity. Connected’, that aims to display the country’s creative community, according to reports.

This includes start-ups, independent art galleries and local app developers to boutiques, cafes and food trucks.

APPOINTMENTS

INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS

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

Alan Gow joins Virgin Mobile MEA as Group CEO

Xerox appoints new global channel strategy leader Xerox has announced that Pete Peterson Pete Peterson, Xerox will serve as its senior vice president of Global Channel Strategy.

As the team lead, Peterson will be responsible for revenue and profit growth, as well as leading and executing targeted investments across direct and indirect channels worldwide.

“Now that we support the largest solutions-enabled portfolio in the industry, we’re able to bring new opportunities to the partner channel that serves small and medium businesses (SMBs),” said Kevin Warren, chief commercial officer, Xerox.

“Peterson is part of our investment in that

channel network – bringing to Xerox the extensive experience required to ratchet up recruitment and activation of partners that are the right fit and growth potential to increase our market share with SMBs.” Peterson joins Xerox from TESSCO Technologies where he led the sales organisation. Prior to that, he was the vice president of Global Channels at Brocade, a data and storage networking company; and he also spent 20 years at Tech Data, one of the world’s largest distributors of technology products, services and solutions. At Tech Data, Peterson progressed through sales and marketing roles, ultimately serving as senior vice president of sales for the United States.

Panasonic names new MD for the region Panasonic Middle East and Africa has announced the appointment of its new managing director Hiroki Hiroki Soejima, (Harris) Soejima.

Panasonic MEA With an association of more than 33 years with the brand, Soejima brings with him rich and varied experience having spent most of his working career outside Japan, especially Europe and Australia.

Having spent almost eight years managing the operations at Panasonic Europe, Soejima comes with an expertise in conceptualising and implementation of sales and marketing strategies with a customercentric focus.

“Middle East and Africa has been the focus area of Panasonic’s growth strategy. We are operating in a very competitive market that requires speed and dexterity to achieve business goals.

Our plans for 2017-18 are to execute our growth plans and further strengthen presence our market share across the region,” said Hiroki (Harris) Soejima, managing director, PMMAF. “As the region gears up for mega events such as Expo 2020 Dubai and Qatar 2022 FIFA world cup, and with Panasonic also at the cusp of a milestone- 100-year since inception; it’s an exciting time to be appointed as managing director. I am very much looking forward to be collaborating with our customers, partners and the community at large as well as to be a part of Panasonic’s growth story in the region,” he added.

Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa has appointed Alan Gow as the Group CEO, to Alan Gow, Virgin strengthen Mobile MEA its existing management team. He will be based at the Group’s regional HQ in Dubai, UAE. Gow comes with an extensive Virgin senior leadership profile, having been a co-founder of the original Virgin Mobile in the UK alongside Richard Branson, and an architect of the company’s economic model as a mobile virtual network operator.

“I am thrilled that my Virgin Mobile journey has brought me to the UAE to lead the dynamic Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa team,” said Gow. “The Middle East and Africa region is entering an exciting phase in its evolution, and I look forward to working with this highly talented team as we pursue a strategy of digital transformation, and drive the launch of innovative products and services that put our people and customer experience at the heart of everything we do.”

According to Virgin Mobile, Gow brings a wealth of experience in leading the brand into new markets, having been instrumental in growing Virgin Mobile in the UK from a start-up to a $1 billion company in just under four years.

Mikkel Vinter remains in post as founder and director for Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa.

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OPINION // INTERTEC SYSTEMS

Learning about BaaS

Vikrant Pawan, senior IT consultant, Intertec Systems, says MSPs and IT support providers should leverage the opportunities in Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS).

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veryone needs backup. But, it is a thankless job, one that adds no real competitive advantage – and when things go wrong there is nothing but blame. And things far too often do go wrong. Tape backup in particular is prone to error.

Many in IT would gladly give up their backup chores if they knew it could be handled safely and affordably by someone else.

Backup as a Service (BaaS) provides backup and recovery operations from the cloud. The cloud-based BaaS provider maintains necessary backup equipment, applications, process and management in their data center.

The customer will have some on-site installation – an appliance and backup agents are common – but there is no need to buy backup servers and software, run upgrades and patches, or purchase dedupe appliances.

The new world of backup architectures Different customers have different backup needs and preferences. A one-size-fits-all approach may turn off potential clients and at the least will

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limit our market. There are three main backup architectures.

On-premise: The traditional approach is purely on-premises. And Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can still support on-premises infrastructure.

By taking on these backup chores you are in a position to lead these clients to a hybrid or pure cloud approach.

Pure cloud: Another approach is pure cloud and while this may be appropriate for small organisations with non-critical data, it is not an optimum solution. A pure cloud backup approach seems compelling – the customer doesn’t have to worry about storage infrastructure and hands-on management. And for consumers, this approach is just fine.

Businesses are different. When file servers or other key servers go down, companies need to get back to business as soon as possible. Problem one with socalled disk-to-cloud (D2C) or pure cloud is there is only one backup tier. If there is a problem with the service provider or with the Internet connection, restores are either delayed or not possible.

But more pressing is the fact that there is no local backup. By definition restores from the cloud take longer

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

as they have to traverse a wide area network or the Internet. And these restores may saturate the business network, disrupting normal operations.

Hybrid: For many, the two main backup choices are to stay entirely on-premises or move completely to the cloud. The best route may well be somewhat in between. Called either hybrid backup or Disk-to-Disk-to Cloud (D2D2C), this approach blends an initial disk backup in-house with a second tier of backup in the cloud.

And with the cloud tier, backup can scale without adding infrastructure or staff, and is guaranteed to successfully restore when need be.

Another great part is that the local storage is there for smaller data recoveries, or when speed is of the essence. And larger restores are faster when they are already on the customer’s in-house network.

This provides two tiers of backup, and the customer doesn’t have to manage the tier that exists in the cloud.

And this cloud tier is ideal for restoring files to remote workers or satellite offices. The cloud tier can offer true disaster recovery, or restore easily to remote offices and users.

EVENTS // HKTDC

Electric feel

The Hong Kong Electronics Fair returned for its fourteenth edition last month, showcasing an array of fresh products aligning with the top tech trends of 2017. This year saw the launch of the Start-Up Zone, where over 100 eager entrepreneurs gathered to seek the approval of potential buyers and partners. Glesni Holland reports.

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he Hong Kong Electronics Fair, in its fourteenth edition, brought together masses of exhibitors, buyers and tech enthusiasts for this bi-annual event, to showcase the latest and greatest innovations in the consumer electronics space.

According to Dr. CH Ng, chairman of the Hong Kong Electronic Association, the Spring Electronics Fair intends to provide buyers from across the globe with a “one-stop shopping experience.”

Even in the current economic climate, he

maintained that the industry was still a booming success. “HKTDC’s electronics industry is Hong Kong’s largest merchandise export earner, valuing a huge HK$2.3 trillion in 2016, and growing 2.5 percent year on year,” he said.

Over 3500 exhibitors from across 23 countries and regions congregated at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre across the fourday event. From dancing robots to a futuristic VR zone, the fair was not short of technology-driven entertainment

“HKTDC’s electronics industry is Hong Kong’s largest merchandise export earner, valuing a huge HK$2.3 trillion in 2016, and growing 2.5 percent year on year.”

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outlets to keep visitors occupied.

However, it was entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, China mainland, Taiwan, Japan and the US that took centre stage at this year’s fair, in the newly opened Start-Up Zone.

“We rely very much on entrepreneurs to create new markets in order to develop the future of existing industries,” said Dr Ng. “This exhibition gives these entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase these ambitions, and through creating regional partnerships, we can discover ways to develop future innovations together.” iBebot Limited, a Hong Kong based start-up founded in January last year under Tektos Holdings, showcased IoT-enabled products focused on raising consumer awareness around inner air quality (IAQ). “On average, humans spend 80 percent of their time in a closed environment,” said Ludovic Depoid, founder and group director, Tektos Holdings. “While there seems to be plenty of knowledge around humidity and temperature of air outdoors, there seems to be a lack of awareness around the quality of the air we’re breathing when indoors.”

The concept was initiated by Depoid’s own personal situation, after his son was diagnosed with a non-hereditary asthma condition. “We later found that his condition had been aggravated by the high level of particles in the air at our home,” he said. This triggered the creation of ‘AirComfort,’ an iBebot

battery powered device that measures temperature humidity indoors, and is on the market now. ‘AirQuality’ is due to launch later this year, and monitors CO2 levels. “Irritable moods in both the home and workplace can be attributed to a lack of oxygen particles in the air, which is why we believe it is so important to measure the levels of both oxygen and carbon dioxide on a regular basis,” said Depoid.

Both products can be controlled via an app, which can be accessed by multiple users with permissions. Plugins can also be added, which would enable users to receive notifications directly to their smartphones if there is a drastic change in air quality.

Audio products held particular prominence at this year’s fair, and Auluxe Corporation capitalised on this

opportunity to showcase its latest WiFi enabled speaker, the Auluxe E3.

Andrew Chan, product manager at the start-up, believes it is the products industryfirst, gesture control feature that makes it stand out from the crowd.

With just a “light wave” above the speaker, users can change the song or alter the volume without even having to touch the device. “The ability to control a speaker through gesture control makes for a smooth and stress free listening experience,” said Chan. “Take for example if you are cooking in the kitchen; you don’t want to risk damaging your speaker, nor do you want to constantly wash your hands every time you want to change a song.

This technology gets rid of that hassle and makes the user experience much more convenient.”

The Auluxe app can also trigger up to 10 speakers in various rooms to play the same song simultaneously in ‘party mode,’ but each can still be individually controlled using the gesture technique.

The Taiwan-based company, exhibiting for the fourth time at this

year’s fair, launched the device at the end of 2016. With dimensions of W400mm x H160mm, the oval shaped speaker comes in a sleek design with a wooden base and a tempered glass finish.

The E3 is currently selling for $499 (AED1800) across various online platforms and stores in China and Taiwan, but the company plans to expand its reach within the coming twelve months. “We’re here at the Spring Electronics Fair to hopefully find ourselves a range of distributors that can take this product to market in the likes of Germany, Britain and Australia,” said Chan.

Elsewhere at the fair, Motorola was spotted exhibiting its latest smart products in the renowned Hall of Fame.

‘HuGo,’ which is a Hubble branded device and was launched at CES in Las Vegas earlier this year, is an intelligent smart camera equipped with Amazon Alexa for both video and voice communication purposes. Users can gain access to HuGo’s 360-degree lens and monitor their children, pets or home from remote locations using the IVO app, which is a Hubble home control system that is tightly integrated with HuGo. This device can also detect emotions and react to them accordingly - for example, it can tell you when your baby starts crying and then automatically play music or turn on a fan. Through the IVO app, users are alerted if there are any unusual changes in noise, movement or temperature in the monitored environments.

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N N A EL H C A C ES

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Reseller Middle East profiles executives across the vendor, distribution and systems integration communities, who have played a vital role in developing the channel industry and have made an impact on partners’ business. Challenging business environments demand innovative and resilient strategies and we believe these personalities have triumphed despite testing times.

Read on to get to know these channel chiefs better.

CHANNEL CHIEFS Raj Shankar managing director, Redington Gulf Years in the company: 16 plus Years in the IT channel business: 16 plus Company focus in 2017: To consolidate Volume and Telecom distribution businesses and grow Value Distribution business. We are also looking to focus on professional services and build cloud competency.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have built infrastructure to service requirements of telecom (smartphone) channel in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE. We have continued to focus on channel training initiatives for value-added resellers.

Additionally, we have invested in 360-degree marketing initiatives to help drive consumer demand for products distributed by Redington.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: There will be an increased reliance on revenue from cloud services.

The move from CAPEX to OPEX models will rise such as Managed Print Services for printing infrastructure. There will be a shift to marketplace model for e-commerce.

Work and the opportunity to help people realise their dream or unleash their potential inspires me.

Your biggest achievement till date: Not yet, hopefully soon.

What inspires you: Work and the opportunity to help people realise their dream or unleash their potential inspires me.

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Amer Khreino chief executive officer, Raqmiyat Years in the company: One Years in the IT channel business: 20 plus Company focus in 2017: To accelerate our transformation strategy towards Raqmiyat 2020 vision.

Ali Baghdadi senior vice president and chief executive, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Ingram Micro Years in the company: Four and half years in Ingram Micro. (Aptec group was acquired by Ingram Micro in 2012) Years in the IT channel business: 37 Company focus in 2017: To focus on more solutions around cybersecurity, physical security and Internet of Things, services around it and expand into more geographies.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We invested in cybersecurity centre of excellence, remote services for partners, SOC as a service for partners and IM Cloud platform in nine countries.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Solution selling, As-a-Service transformation, skilling in security and cloud will lead the way.

Your biggest achievement till date: Managing a work, family and personal interest life balance What inspires you: Challenges and the great team I work with.

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Key channel investments made over 2016: We have restructured our operations to accommodate growth across all our four strategic business units.

New technologies around cloud, cognitive and smart communities were added. Raqmiyat formed many strategic alliances with solutions providers to execute end-to-end projects, for valued customers. Besides, we have attracted new talents to beef-up our pre-sales, business development and sales for wider market coverage.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: It will be all about services. There is limited scope for companies to resell products or offer integration capabilities without adding more value of consultancy and services. In my view, this is a prerequisite to any future success.

Your biggest achievement till date: As a turnaround strategist, nothing excites me more than securing repeated successes with my leadership team; where we change the status quo, transform our business and impact lives.

What inspires you: ‘Passion to whatever you do’ is what inspires me. The know-how and experience will fall short, if passion is missing.

Anand Choudha managing director, Spectrami Years in the company: Six Years in the IT channel business: 13 Company focus in 2017: To expand aggressively and target to achieve 50 percent growth in the Middle East. Once we have established our presence in Europe, we are expecting a multi-fold growth at EMEA level and are looking to clock a turnover of $100 million in the next three years.

Amjad Fathi Al-Omar general manager, Sariya IT Years in the company: Seven Years in the IT channel business: 15 Company focus in 2017: To increase overall percentage of company revenue that comes through the channel, migrate partners to cloud solutions and increase the amount of net new accounts coming through partners.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have invested in our Cloud Marketplace, credit and financing offerings, as well as our professional services and training. Each of these areas offers enablement and help channel partners execute more efficiently and more profitably.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: There will be advances in cloud, mobility, data and connectivity. Information security is still witnessing increase in investments and will remain a focus area for customers. Increasing number of partners will shift their focus towards services and specialisation across vertical industries and solutions niches.

Your biggest achievement till date: It is yet to happen. Building Spectrami to a level it is - a set platform ready to move to the next level by getting investors can be counted as an achievement.

What inspires you: Bringing in new and niche technologies into the market and developing them is inspiring.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: It will be all about cloud and cybersecurity services.

Your biggest achievement till date: Channel enablement success What inspires you: I’m most inspired by things I face and work through in my daily life. Those lessons learned are perfect for posts that may help others as well. When it comes to the channel, I am inspired when I see my partners venturing into new businesses.

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TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS // COVER FEATURE

Arun Chawla chief executive officer, Trigon Years in the company: 25 Years in the IT channel business: 33 Company focus in 2017: To continue expansion and focus on retail and B2B business.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We invested in retail and B2B business units as well as service centres.

Andrew Calthorpe chief executive officer, Condo Protego Years in the company: 12 Years in the IT business: 38 Company focus in 2017: To redefine the region’s IT landscape by driving customer awareness and take-up of emerging and new technologies.

Next phase for the IT industry: We are now entering an exciting time with the Digital Economy and the Internet of Things era. Middle East organisations of all sizes and industries face increasing urgency to use their data to transform business models and meet customer needs, and prioritise third platform solutions and innovations.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: The distribution model will not change and the focus will be more towards value-added products and technologyoriented products. Future technologies will be cloud, large format displays and digital signage, robotics and IoT. Your biggest achievement till date: Working together with a loyal team - Trigon family – and making the company as one of the best and leading IT distribution firms in the region have been my greatest successes.

What inspires you: Passion and people.

Your biggest achievement: Growing Condo Protego to one of the region’s leading data availability systems integrator is my biggest achievement.

What inspires you: Helping guide our customers in their digital transformation journeys, and aiding them to use technology solutions to solve their business challenges.

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Deepak Verma chief executive officer and founder, Think Software Services and wannago cloud services Years in the company: 13 and one respectively Years in the IT business: 13 Company focus in 2017: To emphasise on IT transformation, cloud, managed services and security.

Asim Saud AlJammaz chief executive officer, AlJammaz Technology Distribution Years in the company: 18 Years in the IT channel business: 15 Company focus in 2017: To empower the IT channel industry with cybersecurity solutions that protect customers’ data and network, cloud solutions and well-established data centres that can handle the traffic and processing power needed for the next generation of applications and services with all the demands coming from smart devices and IoT users.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We focused around Internet and connectivity with cybersecurity solutions, cloud, digital services and financed the IT channels during the market issues.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Cloud technologies, digital transformation of businesses, IoT and cybersecurity solutions.

Your biggest achievement till date: My family and building a good relationship with the people I have met in my life.

What inspires you: Everything around me, from my parents, close family and friends to my team and industry leaders.

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Key investments made over 2016: We have invested in wannago cloud services, Indian operations and regional expansion Next phase for the IT industry: Consumption IT, OPEX versus CAPEX, managed services, technology specialisation and vertical focus such as healthcare and education, cloud and IoT will lead future businesses.

Your biggest achievement till date: Continuous innovation and growth What inspires you: Opportunities in the emerging digital transformation in IT is inspiring.

Girish Narayanan managing director, Granteq Distribution Years in the company: 12 Years in the IT channel business: 15 Company focus in 2017: To deliver telemedicine solutions that bring faster attention to patient care and connected directional smart signage, which displays in real time locations, time to go, distances, and travel mode and also enables to schedule and display messages such as text, logo or animation.

Fayez Ibbini chief executive officer, Alpha Data

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have invested in training and development of key channels, addressing each vertical, specifically towards healthcare and digital signage

Years in the IT channel business: 35 Company focus in 2017: To continue to invest in our pillars for digital economy with design capability and changing the rules of engagement. We have also added Bit coin and Artificial Intelligence as areas of investment.

Key investments made over 2016: Alpha Data made investments in hiring professionals to drive our digital economy business. The key business drivers and areas of growth in 2016 for us were in mobility, security, private cloud. We also started building up healthy opportunities for IoT and Big Data with our customers.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: It will be all about smart innovation and connectivity on the go.

Your biggest achievement till date: Being able to bring in innovative technologies into the region.

What inspires you: Limitless opportunities that technology presents to make daily life easy and enables collaborative workspace solutions.

Next phase for the IT industry: It will be Artificial Intelligence driven by Big Data Analytics and IoT. What inspires you: Growth and happiness of our employees and this has been my philosophy since I started Alpha Data. This has also resulted in committed employees and customers in addition to the new challenges and business transformation, I’m always seeing it as an opportunity rather than a threat.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Jagat Shah chairman and chief executive officer, Mitsumi Distribution Years in the company: 21

Years in the IT channel business: 25 Company focus in 2017: Our focus is to open new branches in the ME starting from Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. We are also looking to tie-up with storage and networking vendors for MEA.

Hesham Tantawi vice president, ASBIS Middle East Distribution Years in the company: 15

Key channel investments made in 2016: After getting distribution rights for HP Supplies and Dell EMC Consumer, we strengthened ME channel operations and appointed a new business team based out of Dubai.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Partners will focus more on managed services and cloud.

Years in the IT channel business: 31 Company focus in 2017: To focus more on our value-added solutions, which is comprehensive in technology areas such as security, storage, backup and disaster recovery, networking and infrastructure. We are focusing on developing more markets with local presence, especially Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and other emerging countries where we think we will be able to find growth. We are confident that there will be growth.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We had increased both the number of active customers and portfolio. We got more involved in software and solutions because we aim to be a one-stop shop for retailers and IT solution providers.

Your biggest achievement till date: The first channel executive ‘Life Time Achievement Award’

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Your biggest achievement till date: Hitting the $1 million revenue mark in 2000 and growing it to $475 million revenue in 2015 is a great achievement for me as well as Mitsumi Distribution.

What inspires you: I am most inspired by the culture we’ve built at Mitsumi. I’m always excited to connect with people who are passionate about their businesses.

Jude Pereira managing director, Nanjgel Solutions Years in the company: 10 plus Years in the IT business: 28 plus Company focus in 2017: Our focus is on cybersecurity operations automation.

Jose Thomas Menacherry managing director, Bulwark Technologies Years in the company: 16

Key investments made over 2016: We have added new vendors and technologies to the portfolio, revisited our go-to-market from a silo-based approach to a cybersecurity framework. We also enabled the team to better understand the dynamic changes within the cybersecurity environment and achieved several top-level certifications.

Next phase for the IT industry: There will be focus on optimising and maximising all the investments made during the past several months. The industry will move to harness the value of AI and automation.

Years in the IT channel business: 19 plus Company focus in 2017: To develop our channel and grow into focused territories across GCC and Middle East.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have invested in channel initiatives, which include long-term partner growth plans, partner certification and reward programmes and channel enablement sessions.

Your biggest achievement till date: Having founded Nanjgel Solutions and building it from ground up to a reputed and reliable security solutions provider in the region has been my greatest achievement.

What inspires you: A combination of people, process and performance is what inspires me, as without one of these, we can never be successful to achieve our day-to-day goals.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Cloud, Big Data, mobile and Internet of Things are evolving in the market. Data security is also an important aspect. Customers are interested in solutions that are easy to use, simple to manage and at the same time robust in design and security. Channel should understand and be prepared to address these developments expertly.

What inspires you: Adapting to the everchanging security landscape with latest niche technology solutions and acquiring the right expertise to support partners and customers.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

KU Shankari managing director, Lucky Star Computers Years in the company: 20 Years in the IT channel business: 25 Company focus in 2017: To increase our focus on gaming PC and complete solutions for cloud and storage business other than retail, which will continue.

KS Parag managing director, FVC Years in the company: 17

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have participated at GITEX 2016 with MSI and invested heavily on gaming laptops.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: There won’t be any changes in the industry over the next two years due to the volatile finance market.

Years in the IT channel business: 27 Company focus in 2017: To focus on new initiatives in the business domain of information security and Unified Communications and to build a service domain to cater to both.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have built a cross portfolio of innovative vendors for the channels and increased the transaction with the channel partners for enablement and training across the region.

Next phase for the IT channel industry:Â Cloud and managed services offering will lead the future.

Your biggest achievement till date: Building a focused team on the ground across different geographies such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Morocco to serve the partners better by being local.

What inspires you: Partnering with channel partners in bringing innovation to customers.

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Your biggest achievement till date: Successfully running the computer retail business over the last 20 years.

What inspires you: Every day inspires me.

I like to meet people and learn from my staff, customers and family. I like to take on challenges without worrying about winning or losing.

Mehdi Quraishi chief executive officer, ixtel technologies Years in the company: Three Years in the IT business: 30 Company focus in 2017: To emphasise on Artificial Intelligence (AI) based robotic process automation solution.

Marissa Safe chief operating officer and vice president, FDC International

Key investments made over 2016: We invested on next-generation Security Operations Centre, Platinum Services Desk and AI based robotic process automation platforms

Years in the company: 20 plus Years in the IT channel business: 26 plus Company focus in 2017: Value business, mobility, networking and services Key channel investments made over 2016: We have made investments around partner programme and logistics support.

Next phase for the IT industry: Automation, robots and algorithms will drive the next stage of digital disruption Your biggest achievement till date: ixtel, which has touched so many lives What inspires you: Getting to do what I like, every single day of the year, with people I like.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Value addition, education and end-to-end solutions will drive future businesses.

Your biggest achievement till date: To keep my family happy and to prove right from wrong What inspires you: People and achieving goals

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Mohammad Mobasseri chief executive officer and founder, emt Distribution and founder, emt Academy Years in the company: Four Years in the IT channel business: 22 Company focus in 2017: To focus more on our cloud and MSP offerings and to expand on our academy front too.

Mickey Bedi managing director, CNS Years in the company: Four months

Key channel investments made over 2016: We invested in our channel partners and supported them on lead generation and technology education.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Partners should be ready for today and future.

In this regard, they should look at adopting new technologies and business models, which isn’t always easy.

Years in the IT business: 24 plus Company focus in 2017: Our focus will be on digital transformation, managed services, cloud, applications, Big Data and cybersecurity

Your biggest achievement till date: We are proud to have closed and won good enterprise and government level projects. We have also signed up with well-known systems integrators to ensure our projects are successful.

Next phase for the IT industry: It will be all about IT enabled business transformation – IT-as-a-Service, IT automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

What inspires you: The IT industry is inspiring because it is dynamic in nature and this constant change teaches us to be prepared for future evolutions.

Your biggest achievement till date: Creating and enabling high performance leadership teams What inspires you: Creative disruption

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MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Naresh Kothari president and managing director, Intertec Systems Years in the company: 26 Years in the IT business: 26

Munaf Abbas chief executive officer, SNB Middle East Years in the company: Three

Company focus in 2017: To go digital internally as well as take customers through the same journey.

Our focus will be on automation, analytics and managing the customer IT operations by adding value to it in terms of cost saving and increase efficiency.

Key investments made over 2016: We have developed our IPR, integrated solutions and added a quantum of resources into NOC. We have also attained the certification of Managed Service for ISO 20K, 27K and MSP.

Years in the IT channel business: 16 plus Company focus in 2017: To explore opportunities in new territories, tie-ups and ventures.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have tied up with leading vendors to recruit and expand channel base, invested in partner enablement through rigorous trainings, partner recognition and channel marketing programmes.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: There will be an increased focus on Fintech, innovative solutions and cloud solutions.

Your biggest achievement till date: Being able to progress with fiber speed and solidifying our presence across the region and having appreciative growth in a subdued scenario.

What inspires you: Hunger for achievement, smart ventures and gearing for the next big crest inspires me

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Next phase for the IT industry: Automation and analytics with co-relation to become pro-active completely. This will also involve the integration of Internet of Things platforms.

Your biggest achievement till date: Having retained customers over 20 plus years and created a transparent organisation empowering employees.

What inspires you: Market challenges and new technologies. Also, learning from young kids on how they adopt to anything new.

Nicholas Argyrides chief of sales and deputy general manager, Mindware Years in the company: Less than a year Years in the IT channel business: 16 Company focus in 2017: To focus on security and storage verticals as well as the cloud platform.

Our strategy includes emphasising first on bottom line and then on top line. We are looking to become more customer-centric in our approach.

Nathan Clements managing director, Exclusive Networks Middle East

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have invested in Mindware’s sales organisation restructuring and have increased headcount in new geographies. We also launched our Cloud Marketplace state-of-the-art platform.

Years in the company: 20 plus Years in the IT channel business: 15 plus Company focus in 2017: To ensure profitable growth for us and our partners Key channel investments made over 2016: We have launched many new vendors in the Middle East market that bring innovation and relevance to our customers. These technologies allow resellers to be different from competition, and be even more relevant to their end-users. SentinelOne and Rubrik have been successful in this regard.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: We can expect more consolidation. We will see more XYZ-as-a-service being offered, especially from distributors. There will be more subscription-based models and less licensing.

Your biggest achievement till date: Eventually learning how to embrace change What inspires you: Being told it’s not possible and cruising on my motorbikes

Next phase for the IT channel industry: There will be an attitude to change. Be ready for Software Defined Network, hyperconvergence and cloud.

Your biggest achievement till date: Being given the chance to work with the exceptional team we have in Exclusive Networks Middle East.

What inspires you: Innovative and disruptive technologies

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Years in the company: 12 Years in the IT channel business: 20 Company focus in 2017: To drive channel empowerment and expand in UK, US and Africa. To lead the evolution of data centre, grow the cloud portfolio and develop next-gen services offerings

Nidal Othman founder and managing director, StarLink

Key channel investments made 2016: We have invested in customer success across the regions and in the channel incentive programme, StarLink Choice. We have brought disruptive technology vendors into the region.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: There will be a bigger

focus on behavioural analytics and machine learning, IoT, data centre and cloud, mobile security and incident response. Opportunistic resellers will be phased out, and the specialised partners will remain and grow. Security investments will continue and the journey to cloud will accelerate.

Your biggest achievement till date: StarLink’s contribution to the maturity of IT security in the region, and recognition as the region’s trusted security advisor with our disruption of what it means to be a VAD. What inspires you: Our passion for IT security and the ability to give back to the industry by investing in people, product and processes.

“Your ITSM Partner”

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Elitbuzz Technologies DMCC Ecommerce and Digital Marketing (Email – Social Media) SMS Marketing and SMS integrations (Direct Connectivity with Etisalat/DU) Mobile VAS (Value Added Services) USSD/Missed Call/ Cloud based IVR Solutions Cloud based ERP/CRM/HR/Accounting Applications

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Elitser Group of Companies

COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Raju Ramesh co-founder and chief executive officer, Finesse Years in the company: Seven Years in the IT business: 32 Company focus in 2017: Applications management

Philippe de Mazieres general manager, Gulf Software Distribution

Key investments made over 2016: We have focused on infrastructure for cloud and operations centres.

Years in the company: Two

Next phase for the IT industry: Process and tech optimisation

Years in the IT channel business: 25 Company focus in 2017: To expand our business and grow our partners’ capabilities Key channel investments made over 2016: Kick off of the company in early 2016 Next phase for the IT channel industry: In the GCC next phase is going to be the full maturity of the cloud Your biggest achievement till date: Setting up GSD and being fully operational and a leader in the GCC in only one year.

What inspires you: IBM capabilities to reinvent information technologies every decade inspires me.

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Your biggest achievement till date: Ability to come up with alternative models to suit conditions.

What inspires you: The fact that you are allowed to wake up every morning, which is a luxury so many don’t have.

Sanjay Ahuja vice president, Middle East and Africa, AGC Networks Years in the company: Five Years in the IT business: 23 Company focus in 2017: To focus on strengthening our partnership with vendors and adding strategic alliances to enable a profitable and sustainable business model. Our key focus is to deliver our managed services and cybersecurity solutions.

Sami Abi Esber president, MDS Gulf Group Years in the company: 30

Key investments made over 2016: We created a digitally enabled organisation to secure the customer’s ecosystem across enterprises in the ME. We invested in hiring key resources and realigned existing ones to ensure that the teams are well-positioned to address the needs of the customers.

Years in the IT channel business: 30 Company focus in 2017: To emphasise on third platform technology trends including data management and security, IoT, AI, cloud managed hosting and services.

Key channel investments made in 2016: We have launched our IoT business unit, built a new cyber defense centre in Dubai and opened a new head office in Abu Dhabi with a data centre.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Resellers should transform their business model in order to provide added value services to customers to help them to transition to the digital transformation era.

Next phase for the IT industry: IoT, analytics, cloud and managed services Your biggest achievement till date: Diligent leadership has lead AGC to massive success and growth in the region by winning a number of major projects, and structuring the company to deal with this growth. I also inculcated an entrepreneurial culture among each member of my team.

What inspires you: Challenging the status quo and believing in tackling problems head-on.

Your biggest achievement till date: Having contributed to the great progress of the ICT industry in the Gulf and leading MDS to be the number one IT service provider in UAE as per IDC. What inspires you: Helping colleagues and customers face challenges of the technology industry with fortitude and to contribute to the vision of our regional leadership to use technology to develop further infrastructure and services in the Gulf.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Shailendra Rughwani managing director, Experts Computer Years in the company: 23 Years in the IT channel business: 28 Company focus in 2017: Profitability

Serjios Hage founder, EMW

Key channel investments made over 2016: We signed up as HP’s Gold Partner and commenced the distribution of Aiptek Mobile Projectors.

Years in the company: 14 Years in the IT business: 30 Company focus in 2017: Our focus remains on verticals primarily in the commercial space such as hospitality and education. We are approved vendors for many local and global hotel brands such as Jumeirah Group, Meraas Hospitality, Rezidor Hotel Group, Movenpick and Kempinski.

Key investments made over 2016: In 2016, we have added more logos of iconic project wins and focused on OEMs that enhanced value to our business such as Cisco Systems. We invested more in our staff as we value their contribution to our continuous success over the past 14 years.

Next phase for the IT industry: There will be more consolidation on the global level and locally many new initiatives from Dubai government such as 10X, will ignite the IT industry over the coming decade.

Your biggest achievement till date: Ability to retain key employees and maintain important clients.

What inspires you: My wife

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Next phase for the IT channel industry: Consolidation and growth.

Your biggest achievement till date: Setting up Experts Computer in Dubai and co-founding Dubai Computer Group.

What inspires you: Dynamic and ever changing technology and the tremendous growth of Dubai.

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Stephan Berner chief executive officer and founder, Help AG Middle East Years in the company: 13 Years in the IT channel business: 22

SM Hussaini chief executive officer, Almoayyed Computers Years in the company: 14 Years in the IT channel business: 25

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have developed Managed Security Services (MSS) portfolio based on leading global best practice while fully addressing local compliance requirements.

Company focus in 2017: To focus on our strong position in the conventional reselling and integration business, while also paying attention to maximising our customer base. To grow our cloud and managed services business that will start gaining prominence during the fiscal.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Transformation and addressing the skill shortage

Key channel investments made over 2016: Our investments ranged from building consulting services to retraining the team. We had also on-boarded many new partnerships to offer point solutions in the cloud era.

What inspires you: My family

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Cloud and services around it.

Your biggest achievement till date: Building a business model that sustained a number of industry as well as economic challenges. Having achieved a business that always stayed aligned with the market evolutions.

What inspires you: It is always my team. I learn from them and work for them.

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Company focus in 2017: To continue to lead the information security market in regards to quality service delivery, customer excitement, plus hiring and retaining the best talent in the industry.

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

Your biggest achievement till date: Independence

Steve Lockie group managing director, Westcon-Comstor Years in the company: 10 Years in the IT channel business: 25 Company focus in 2017: We will focus on four key pillars in 2017, excellence in execution, delivering a solutions focus with service enablement, digital enablement of our partners and an unrelenting focus on the success of our customers.

Stephen Fernandes executive vice president, TransSys Solutions Years in the company: Two Years in the IT channel business: 25 Company focus in 2017: To deploy cloud solutions with SaaS, Paas and Iaas; increase focus on managed services, ERP mobility and analytics Key channel investments made over 2016: We have developed localised solutions including PaaS for SaaS extensions.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: It will be driven by value selling that meets a personalised need of a client

Key channel investments made over 2016: We intend to leverage the huge investments we made last year in supply chain, services, IT infrastructure and people to better add value to our vendor and reseller partners.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: We can expect to see evolution of consumption and financing models and how classic partners remain or grow more relevant within this environment.

Your biggest achievement till date: Supporting the Westcon-Comstor team that was recognised as one of the top 10 Middle East Great Places to Work in 2015.

What inspires you: People – witnessing the phenomenal strength, resilience, passion, spirit and drive of incredible people around the world.

Your biggest achievement till date: TransSys winning the Reseller Middle East ‘Best Cloud Solution Provider’ award consecutively for 2015 and 2016.

What inspires you: Witnessing transformations from ideas to outcomes, and the value it drives for stakeholders.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS

Tony Alam chief executive officer, Emitac Enterprise Solutions Years in the company: One and half Years in the IT channel business: 30 Company focus in 2017: Managed services and cloud services

Suren Vedantham managing director, StorIT Distribution

Key channel investments made over 2016: Our key investment was in the launch and development of our Offshore Development Centre, The Network Operations Centre (NOC) and expanding our operational reach (services) to the regions of Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.

Years in the company: 16 Years in the IT channel business: 22 Company focus in 2017: To continue investing and innovating in the areas of fundamental customer service, certified technical skills, IT managed services and support, reseller channel enablement and demand generation programmes.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have established Network Operation Centres (NOC) in Dubai and India to equip our reseller partners with the ability to offer professional services and managed services, on a 24x7 basis.

Your biggest achievement till date: To have inspired and established a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative under the banner, The Human-side of Technology (THOT), which has been successful in building a school for hundreds of children and adults in an impoverished remote village in Nepal.

We have plans to replicate the model in other underprivileged areas in Asia and Africa.

What inspires you: The possibilities to create economic and social opportunities.

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Next phase for the IT channel industry: The IT channel industry is clearly heading towards growth. Cloud and managed services are the main drivers, as we see an increasing demand for reducing CAPEX, maximum uptime, scalability, remote monitoring and management and security safeguards.

Your biggest achievement till date: Surviving multiple takeovers and transforming conventional IT reseller to a leading system and service provider.

What inspires you: H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

Vivian Gevers managing director, Credence Security Years in the company: Four Years in the IT channel business: 10 plus Company focus in 2017: To ensure that we give our key vendors such as Digital Guardian, Fidelis Cybersecurity, Red Seal, Rsam and Popcorn Training the focus they need. In parallel, we will continue to look to add vendors that complement our existing portfolio and expand our partner network and onboard partners that add true value.

Vimal Kocher managing director, Arrow ECS

Key channel investments made over 2016: We made a big investment in enablement, including partner workshops and on-site training.

Years in the company: One Years in the IT channel business: 29 Company focus in 2017: To develop IT distribution and focus on data centre and information security portfolio in the Middle East.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We delivered dozens of technical competency trainings to our strategic partners. We also built teams of pre-sales and postsales engineers and created in-house lab and data centre where we can provide consultative advices to customers and partners before the purchasing process.

Your biggest achievement till date: I have started my journey in the value-added distribution (VAD) business at a time when technology vendors did not rely on VADs to develop their distribution channel. Today that has changed dramatically and I feel proud to be a part of this transformation where VADs play a key role in the overall IT channel. Thus, my greatest achievement till date is the enjoyment, challenge and satisfaction I have had in enabling IT distribution channel and making every organisation I’ve worked for more efficient.

Your biggest achievement till date: Serving as Credence Security’s managing director has been my biggest achievement to date. In my time with Credence, we have successfully rebranded the organisations (previously ARM), added several niche security vendors to our portfolio and closed many strategic deals in spite of the tough economic conditions.

What inspires you: There is a quote I came across on perseverance that always inspires me. It reads ‘Life ain’t easy man. It knocks us down and drives us backwards. But when people decide that they won’t let that stop them, when they pick themselves back up and move forward towards their dreams and goals – that’s inspiring!’

What inspires you: The biggest inspiration to work in IT channel distribution business is the work itself. It comprises professionals that are embedded into a culture of movement, growth and advancement. Plus, surrounding yourself with likeminded creative types is further inspiring.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS (VENDORS)

Ajoy Pinto regional channel director, EMEA Emerging Markets, Hitachi Data Systems Years in the company: Two Years in the IT business: 25 Company focus in 2017: To drive innovative business models in the Middle East, especially in key industry verticals.

Aditi Ganguly director business operations, Lenovo Middle East and Africa Years in the company: 12 Years in the IT channel business: 20 Company focus in 2017: To drive profitable growth for the business Key channel investments made over 2016: Reclassification of channel RTM and one channel drive Next phase for the IT channel industry: It will be about coverage and retail Your biggest achievement till date: Winning the worldwide Lenovo Way Champions Award in 2009 What inspires you: Change is inevitable.

What inspires me is the ability of the human mind to adapt to changing environments and scenarios . It’s fascinating how we are able to mold our behaviour according to different situations. Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it.

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Key investments made over 2016: Hitachi Data Systems has seen strong success over the past year in joining forces on alliances with many leading technology companies on driving business productivity and Internet of Things advancements with key industry verticals, especially healthcare, and cybersecurity.

Your biggest achievement till date: Since joining Hitachi Data Systems, I’m proud to have grown our Middle East and North Africa channel programme to record highs in terms of number of partners, coverage, and solutions offered. I’ve successfully introduced account segmentation, resulting in healthy partner-led incremental revenue in emerging markets.

What inspires you: Driving change and leading our partner community to digital transformation.

Amanulla Khan managing director, Linksys, Middle East, Turkey and Africa Years in the company: Eight Years in the IT channel business: 22

Alexander ForoozandĂŠ channel director, Infoblox Middle East and Africa Years in the company: Three

Company focus in 2017: To grow the market share of Linksys Velop, the Whole Home WiFi solution, which was recently introduced and to focus on strengthening our SMB portfolio through technology and product innovation.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: The digital transformation is reshaping our industry and the priority is to reimagine how businesses and consumers are connected to unlock new opportunities.

Years in the IT channel business: 10 plus Company focus in 2017: To continue to enrich our cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence portfolio through continuous collaboration within the cybersecurity ecosystem.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have focused on channel profitability, enablement and business simplification. Better understanding how our channel community engages with Infoblox is key and we continue to work towards enhancing our global programme to address regional requirements.

Your biggest achievement till date: I believe every achievement is important and big at that point in time, which leads to your next big challenge and achievement. Enjoying the journey is your biggest achievement and I owe this to my family and friends who make this journey so much more beautiful.

What inspires you: We are at the forefront of digital transformation, be it at home or at business.

Technology is transforming the way people live, work, create and connect. At core of this transformation is connectivity and how we lead the way for this change inspires me.

Your biggest achievement till date: With the help of my peers, redefining the perception of Infoblox within the channel community from a niceto-have reactive vendor to a must-have strategic industry leader that holds itself accountable to the highest level of integrity.

What inspires you: Growth through collaboration and integrity motivates me. Identifying talented people (and there’s a lot of them) to mentor through their career aspirations within the technology space with a lead-by-example approach.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS (VENDORS)

Denny Liang vice president, Middle East and Africa, TP-Link Years in the company: Seven Years in the IT channel business: Seven Company focus in 2017: To grow all three divisions – Small and Medium Business, smart homes and mobile phones

Amir Kanaan general manager, Middle East, Kaspersky Lab Years in the company: One

Key channel investments made over 2016: We launched a channel training certification programme for TPNP and TPNA and invested in channel events.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Players who differentiate and specialise across various verticals will lead future businesses.

Years in the IT channel business: 15 Company focus in 2017: Our emphasis is on industrial security and threat intelligence. We are also working with our enterprise partners to help them with the needed trainings that will enable them to provide incident response and forensics to their customers using the data they collected through our solutions.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We are focusing on providing trainings to our partners. An enterprise channel manager was recruited to help our enterprise partners with all requirements needed for us to grow together.

Your biggest achievement till date: Building a business model in the Middle East that will work with customers through our partners in a win-win situation.

What inspires you: My children, because they always explore and look for new approaches.

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Your biggest achievement till date: Building TP-Link in Middle East and Arica region from scratch to $120 million, from one small office to six regional offices in a span of six years.

What inspires you: Whenever we achieve something, we realise we can do so much more.

Fadi Moubarak channel leader, Avaya International Years in the company: Four Years in the IT channel business: 27 Company focus in 2017: We are continuing our ongoing transformation into a software and services-led organisation because we believe this enables us to make a meaningful impact on our customers’ business.

Eyad Al Shami senior manager, Channels, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Citrix Years in the company: Three and half Years in the IT channel business: 15 Company focus in 2017: Citrix Workspace Suite and Citrix Cloud are the top go to market priorities for us. We are also focusing on growing the networking business with our partners and the drive of SD-WAN into the markets facing low bandwidth challenge. We are also looking to strengthen and drive the Microsoft partnership to next level with the Azure Marketplace integration, Skype for Business and Mobility.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: The big challenge for the channel is going to be how to deal with cloud – not in technology integration terms but rather from functionality integration with customers’ business processes.

Your biggest achievement till date: My biggest achievement has been to develop and increase the loyalty of key partners to Avaya as we have worked closely with partners in their transformation.

What inspires you: When you know that you have made a difference – when a partner or customer tells me that I helped them to achieve their objective then that is a true sense of achievement. My key personal criteria to measure if what I am doing is worth it, is if it helps somebody achieve the right outcome, whether it is internal employee, a partner, or even a customer.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: There will be a growing mass of solution advisors who are less dependent on infrastructure sales and are more cloud or services oriented.

Your biggest achievement till date: My credible reputation in today’s IT market, gained through working intensively with partners.

What inspires you: Rubbing shoulders with my successful colleagues and peers will always create the need for me to deliver better results and stay ahead of the curve.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS (VENDORS)

Haider Salloum SMB channel director, Microsoft Gulf Years in the company: 17 Years in the IT channel business: Eight Company focus in 2017: To complete the cloud journey and enable customers to digitally transform their businesses.

Graham Porter manager of channels, Middle East, Veeam Software Years in the company: New Years in the IT channel business: 34 Company focus in 2017: To expand the product set to include software for physical servers as well as virtualised and also to include endpoints such as desktops and laptops, doubling the addressable market for Veeam.

We are also looking to drive our 40 percent per annum growth initiative Key channel investments made over 2016: We have created a cloud provider channel and gone deeper with our regional Gold and Platinum partners in the Middle East Next phase for the IT channel industry will be: Availability services for cloud and availability for IoT devices Your biggest achievement till date: Keeping my reputation intact for 34 years in the Middle East What inspires you: Building partnerships and relationships that work over time and handling conflicts.

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Key channel investments made over 2016: We have heavily invested in our partners and has focused on technically enabling the channel on cloud technology. We have conducted a series of technical trainings to help retool and reskill the channel presales and sales teams on the new set of cloud technology related to security, productivity, Azure and voice telephony.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Managed services will drive the future as traditional method of trading and reselling will eventually phase out, wither and die in the era of the cloud. Value-added services will be key.

What inspires you: The impact of technology on every aspect of daily life inspires me. I wake up every day hoping to make a small difference in the lives of people in the region.

Havier Haddad senior channel director, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Dell EMC Years in the company: Nine Years in the IT channel business: 17 Company focus in 2017: With our new partner programme, we aim to enable our entire channel ecosystem to seize new opportunities and ensure partners are positioned to help customers through digital transformation.

Harish Chib vice president, Middle East and Africa, Sophos Years in the company: 10 plus Years in the IT channel business: 10 plus Company focus in 2017: To continue driving an exciting new vision of synchronised security. We are creating a single, cloud-based management console that will span our entire portfolio. We will add more qualified partners, migrate them to cloud solutions, increase their customer satisfaction ratings and continue focusing on partner training and certification over the course of this year.

Key channel investments made over 2016: Sophos launched its new and in-depth partner programme for Middle East and Africa. We created the new global MSP Connect programme and Sophos Central Partner Dashboard for MSPs. We also launched a partner mobile app, through which they can access marketing materials, news and product information. Sophos launched a sales and engineering certification programme called synchronised security accreditation programme.

Key channel investments made in 2016: With approximately $35 billion of sales already flowing through the channel and growing faster than the market, our key investment was on the new integrated partner programme.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Today’s channel is shifting to a service-focused model, catering to vertical industries and specialising in solutions niches. From a competitive viewpoint, this move could be the catalyst that prompts the channel ecosystem to retool their business models beyond the basics to advanced services offerings, evolving into solution advisors.

What inspires you: Our partners and customers are no doubt my biggest inspiration for they fuel my drive to foster mutually beneficial, sustainable channel relationships that ultimately contribute to overall business profitability.

Your biggest achievement till date: Succeeding in carrying forward our synchronised security vision in the Middle East and Africa region.

What inspires you: Technology, innovation and a passionate team, which includes our channel partners.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS (VENDORS)

Karim Refas regional channel manager, Eaton Middle East Years in the company: 13 Years in the IT channel business: 13 Company focus in 2017: To deliver on our brand new go-to-market strategy focusing 100 percent on the channel with a significant new partner recruitment process in the GCC and KSA.

Hesham El Komy senior director, International Channels, Epicor Software Years in the company: One and half Years in the IT channel business: 10 plus Company focus in 2017: To drive channel growth Key channel investments made over 2016: We have created and implemented a new channel programme as well as developed a structured team.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Completing the transition from license-based to annuity subscription based purchasing will be the way ahead.

Your biggest achievement till date: Rolling out industry-first, value-based partner programme for EMEA What inspires you: Competition and the challenge

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Key channel investments made over 2016: Eaton launched a partner programme in the Middle East, a new online training portal and a training centre at our regional headquarters in Dubai. We also appointed Mindware as a new value-added distributor across the Middle East.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Opportunities will come mainly from solutions that can offer new ways to optimise and simplify data centre operations, in an increasingly complex environment of software-defined architectures.

Your biggest achievement till date: Before taking up this position in the Middle East, I spent 11 years working with Eaton in Europe where I successfully established the firm as a new power management market leader in IT channel.

What inspires you: Helping to improve people’s lives and the environment around me is what matters most for our employees, customers and for future generations – this inspires me.

Mustapha Hlil regional partners and alliances manager, Central Eastern Europe, CIS, Middle East and Africa, Red Hat Years in the company: One and half Years in the IT channel business: 20 plus Company focus in 2017: Our focus is on ensuring that our partners are geared to become key advisors to our customers on how open source fits into their digital transformation strategy.

Mohamed Khan channel head, SAP Global Partner Organisation, Middle East and North Africa, SAP

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Channel will no longer be about box-pushing or just fulfillment. We see the channel becoming extended arms of their vendors, with a consultative approach to selling and agile execution.

Years in the company: 17 Years in the IT business: 22 Company focus in 2017: To continue our commitment to drive MENA nationwide digital transformation and Future City agendas with our more than 120 regional channel partners.

Key investments made over 2016: SAP has been especially focused on leveraging global and regional partnerships and alliances to enable our channel partners to drive cloud take-up and enable organisations to make an impact in the economy, society, and environment.

Your biggest achievement till date: My role at Red Hat is to make the company visible across the channel community and relevant to the business of our strategic partners. And I can say with confidence that this objective has been accomplished successfully.

What inspires you: Playing a role in the success story of a company like Red Hat that has the potential to change the world is what drives and inspires me. I also am driven to help my team members grow and achieve their true potential.

Next phase for the IT industry: It will be all about the digital economy, especially AI, Internet of Things, Blockchain and machine learning.

Your biggest achievement till date: Leading MENA markets to become one of the fastest-growing EMEA regions for the SAP Global Alliance Partner Programme.

What inspires you: Helping partner companies to grow profitably, by evolving their businesses to the most efficient and effective business models, leading innovation by using the latest technologies as enablers.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS (VENDORS) // COVER FEATURE

Osama AlHaj-Issa channel director, Middle East and Turkey, HPE Aruba Years in the company: Six Years in the IT channel business: 13 Company focus in 2017: Growth, partner profitability, ease of doing business and SMB channel development

Naji Kazak director of sales, Middle East and Africa, OKI Europe Years in the company: 10 months Years in the IT channel business: 14 Company focus in 2017: To increase partner base and market share in graphic arts in addition to solution-based products in the region Key channel investments made over 2016: We have launched a partnership programme called Shinrai Program, which is focused on driving success and growth based on mutual trust and loyalty. This came about believing that our company’s success is dependent on our channels’ development and success. We believe in them so we help them grow their business and contribute to our success.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have invested in a Channel Sales Academy Programme for SMB partners, mobility boot camps in multiple Middle East and Turkey locations for WLAN and ClearPass and supported partners and distributors with demo kits and NFR kits for proof of concepts.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Selling subscription or software-as-a-service and IoT solutions especially for securing Edge of the network where IoT devices exist.

Your biggest achievement till date: HPE Aruba EMEA Excellence Award in FY’2016. This award was due to the rapid channel growth I led in my region and creating corresponding channel team structure and strategy. This resulted in growing all channel segments with top gold and platinum partners as well as SMB. What inspires you: Challenge and technology leadership.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Customisation of partners’ approach to endusers to ensure that we implement a winning and profitable strategy for the vendor, partner and customer.

Your biggest achievement till date: Having grown the market share within countries in the GCC region through double-digit numbers within a time frame of a year, and ensuring a continuous growth over the following years.

What inspires you: A successful story of an entrepreneur

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS (VENDORS)

Peter Hunt senior channel sales director, Oracle, Middle East and Africa, Cloud Infrastructure Division Years in the company: 20 (including Sun Microsystems); seven years since Oracle acquisition Years in the IT channel business: One and half years Company focus in 2017: To continue being the enterprise infrastructure provider, supporting whichever strategy the customer chooses - cloud, hybrid or on-premise.

Ossama Eldeeb senior manager, Middle East and North Africa Partner Organisation, VMware

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Partners will need to expand their capabilities – they will need to fully understand, articulate and have the supporting skills and expertise for both cloud and on-premise solutions.

Years in the company: Four Years in the IT business: 23 Company focus in 2017: To help channel partners across Middle East and North Africa gain the ability to deliver new business models for the digital workplace and the next generation of end-user computing.

Key investments made over 2016: During my tenure, we’ve unlocked new business in emerging markets such as North Africa, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE, and have strengthened relationships with key resellers and systems integrators across the region.

What inspires you: Being in a position that allows me to lend a helping hand to partners in the MENA region to be able to transform, evolve, and embrace the mobile cloud era is a privilege, honour, and a source of inspiration.

My passion lies within working with VMware’s channel partners to evolve, transform, and seize the opportunity not only to profit, but to truly help their customers take full advantage of this era.

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Your biggest achievement till date: I have previously run large territories from a sales perspective: Russia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, C. Asia, North Africa, East Africa, SADC. In all territories, I built the business side by side with channel partners. These are complex countries, and access to local skills is a priority.

What inspires you: Excellence, in all forms. For example, sportsmen like Messi or Federer, skills to admire such as simultaneous translators, or just brilliant products, such as the iPhone or the Oracle Hardware portfolio.

Pui-Chi Li head, Integrated Marketing, Xerox Middle East and Africa Years in the company: 10 Years in the IT channel business: 14

Peter Oganesean regional manager, HP Inc. Years in the company: 12 Years in the IT channel business: Five Company focus in 2017: To keep reinventing personal systems and revitalising our entire print portfolio.

Key channel investments made over 2016: In addition to strengthening the growth of HP Inc.’s business in the UAE, we have also invested in developing market opportunities in East Africa, particularly in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Company focus in 2017: Continued growth of channel business through MPS offering, targeting on SMBs and focus on innovation Key channel investments made over 2016: We have invested in incentive and targeting programmes to generate demand in the market Next phase for the IT channel industry: Increased IT integration and transparency, not just for the large enterprises, but also for the SMB customers Your biggest achievement till date: Representing my country at a water sport event in 2009 What inspires you: Diversity of life and a strong desire to see and experience it drives me forward each day

Next phase for the IT channel industry: The industry is going through digital transformation and our channel partners have to adapt to complex customer needs. We will see more partners consolidating on vendors and focusing on the full customer lifecycle.

Your biggest achievement till date: Multiple roles and regional coverage during my 12 years at HP made me professionally rich and became my main point of strength. Reaching this stage is what I see as my biggest personal achievement.

What inspires you: My children are my main source of inspiration. Everything I do today is being observed and recorded by them. I must progress and evolve to stay relevant. They consider me as their role model.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS (VENDORS)

Sakkeer Hussain director, Sales and Marketing, D-Link Middle East and Africa Years in the company: 10 Years in the IT channel business: 20 Company focus in 2017: To continue our emphasis on all four business units – consumer, retail, SMB and telco.

Rui Silva channel manager, Middle East, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE)

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have invested heavily in many new product launches as well as promotion and incentive schemes, which have enabled our partners.

Years in the company: 13

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Leveraging the opportunities that arise from an IoT-driven business environment will dictate the next phase in the industry.

Years in the IT channel business: 30 Company focus in 2017: Our key focus is to continue to innovate and develop new cloud and networking solutions to various industry verticals in the region.

Key channel investments made over 2016: I am proud of the new training and sales incentives that ALE has implemented for our partners, which will motivate them to promote our solutions to customers with great confidence.

Next phase for the IT channel industry: It will be driven by the era of cloud solutions and services as they continue to become an integral part of organisation network infrastructure.

Your biggest achievement till date: My biggest achievement till date is being promoted to channel director of EMEA for a well-known technology company in Europe.

What inspires you: I draw inspiration from meeting new partners and customers because it gives me the opportunity to talk about our products and solutions as well as share best practices in the industry.

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Your biggest achievement till date: Being able to develop D-Link as the most preferred brand across verticals such as consumer, retail, SMB and telco, has been a great achievement.

What inspires you: Seeking new challenges and attempting to overcome them successfully on a daily basis is what truly inspires me.

Shahnawaz Sheikh sales and channel director, SonicWall Years in the company: 14 Years in the IT channel business: 20 Company focus in 2017: To strengthen our new channel programme, SecureFirst Partner Program, by onboarding and enabling partners across all major markets in the region. We aim to build a strong channel partnership with a goal to gain market share and leadership.

Shadi Salama channel leader, Middle East, Cisco Years in the company: 12 Years in the IT channel business: Seven Company focus in 2017: Digitisation, security and software Key channel investments made over 2016: We have increased resources, expanded our partner landscape and conducted countless hours of training and enablement.

Next phase for the IT channel industr y: As we transition into the digital age new consumption models will continue to evolve. Ever ything will be offered as a ser vice

Next phase for the IT channel industry: Channel partners will adopt in-depth expertise and build it with product offering to their customers.

Also, we can expect them to shift gears from normal product sales with implementation approach to consultative selling approach that comprises solution designs, products, implementation with professional or managed services.

Your biggest achievement till date: My biggest accomplishment has been effectively creating a strong and committed channel base for SonicWall that is continuously delivering results with growing success stories across the region.

What inspires you: I believe the channel partners’ willingness to work with us, our customers’ ever satisfactory testimonials, our engineers’ passion to innovate, our global support organisations’ customercentric attitude and our local and regional colleagues’ passion to deliver their best are aspects that constantly inspire me.

Your biggest achievement till date: Delivering a profitable growth time and time again for our partners.

What inspires you: Succeeding in highly competitive situations.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COVER FEATURE // TOP CHANNEL CHIEFS (VENDORS)

Years in the company: Two Years in the IT channel business: 20 plus Company focus in 2017: Our number one focus is on our customers. Our agile, collaborative culture enables us to respond quickly to customer needs and stay ahead of market changes.

Key channel investments made over 2016: We have revamped our channel programme with new certifications and status to enable partners to increase expertise and meet evolving market requirements. We also appointed dedicated channel managers, and increased focus on the SMB and enterprise channel.

Zacky Vaz regional channel manager, Fortinet Middle East

Next phase for the IT channel industry: There will be an increased focus on specialisation.

Your biggest achievement till date: Having increased partner business sales and bringing about change in Fortinet’s channel are my biggest accomplishments.

What inspires you: My passion to work with people and building mutually beneficial relationships.

KEEP WATCH Security experts discuss how partners can optimise the opportunities in the video surveillance market, which, as per reports, is expected to have a tremendous growth by 2022.

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VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SOLUTIONS // FEATURE

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he video surveillance market has seen an unprecedented growth over the last few years as several high-profile and damaging security breaches and threats have impacted the Middle East business environment. Globally, the market was valued at $30.37 billion in 2016 and is projected to reach $75.64 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 15.4 percent between 2017 and 2022, as per a MarketsandMarkets report.

Regionally, video surveillance has become a mandatory requirement in many commercial sectors, which has further enabled its growth. Other factors driving security and surveillance products include the increase of small and medium businesses (SMBs) opting for these systems and the constant demand from segments such as retail.

Also, as the market moves towards a more connected future, it is hard to ignore the critical role cameras will play.

“End-users are thinking future, long-term, scalability and analytics, while depending on their solutions to get apt results,” says Marwan Khoury, regional marketing manager, Axis Communications. “We expect 2017 to be the year when new camera capabilities are combined with realtime analytics to address several security challenges, including facial recognition, forensic analysis and perimeter protection. We see high demand in thermal technology as well to compliment traditional video surveillance solutions.”

Sanjay Ahuja, vice president, Middle East and Africa, for AGC Networks, too agrees that video surveillance will be the

Marwan Khoury, Axis Communications

“We expect 2017 to be the year when new camera capabilities are combined with real-time analytics to address several security challenges, including facial recognition, forensic analysis and perimeter protection. We see high demand in thermal technology as well to compliment traditional video surveillance solutions.”

preferred choice for enterprises, when it comes to security options.

He says, “Technology trends such as cloud and Internet of Things are allowing for facility managers and IT admins to access live footage via the cloud – making video surveillance the top choice.”

As the number of breaches in the Middle East has risen over the recent years, regional governments have been increasing their security budgets. This further expands the opportunities for channel players. As the demand is high, partners have to first understand their customers’ requirements in order to maximise the prospects. They need to not only understand the requirements but also make it a point to thoroughly know their customers’ businesses.

This will allow them to recommend apt solution offerings.

Sakkeer Hussain, director, Sales and Marketing, D-Link Middle East and Africa, believes that although the channel partners are driving this growth in the Middle East market, there is still a lot to be desired for.

He says, “To be successful, an approach to innovation is required, where the channel ecosystem needs to be empowered with solutions to build value-added offerings, which can be taken to market for customers in the IP video surveillance market.”

According to Khoury too, the market is demanding a higher level of valueadded solutions. He adds, “Education and positioning themselves as experts beyond their traditional competencies will help partners to emerge as profitable players.”

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FEATURE // VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SOLUTIONS

Understanding customer business is one important element while the other includes being on top of market developments so that partners are in a position to advise end-users how they can tackle future challenges. For example, resellers need to spend time and resources in learning about the latest happenings within the video surveillance market. They need to know why high-definition cameras can be better, when a business needs to implement video analytics or the advantages of using cloud-based services for centralised data.

Nick Jheng, Sales Account Manager, Synology, says, “In regards to surveillance applications, Big Data and deep learning will be two key areas for partners in the development of an intelligent video system.”

Today Big Data provides opportunities beyond security to monitor and analyse businesses to learn about customer behaviour and be able to manage risk and optimise operations.

“It is important for partners to realise this as Big Data has become critical in supporting modern applications for video surveillance. Meanwhile, deep learning is also playing a vital role in increasing the demand for intelligent video analytics as more industries realise the benefits for its application.”

According to Jheng, deep learning is an area where partners can see significant investment and research.

Nick Jheng, Synology

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Firas Jadalla, regional director, Middle East and Africa, Genetec, says, “Our channel partners should be able to align themselves with the changing dynamics of the industry.

“The primary requirement for partners entering the surveillance business is to understand that it shouldn’t be just about selling products but also about providing a comprehensive solution. In addition to the sales set up, partners need to have resources for implementation and support.”

Agreeing, Ahuja adds that partners need to capitalise on the fact that with the advent of cloud access, video surveillance isn’t just limited to on-site infrastructure.

He says, “Understanding the customer’s need for surveillance, partners need to put together complementing solutions. Services will play a significant role from the partner community as customers would need sustained support in their current and future growth plans.”

According to Shailendra Rughwani, director, Nirsun Technology, besides keeping pace with technology, partners should invest in honing better product and project management skills.

He says, “The market requires advanced as well as cost-effective solutions. Partners should focus on developing these skills and ensure they choose the right supplier for right markets with the right prices.”

“In regards to surveillance applications, Big Data and deep learning will be two key areas for partners in the development of an intelligent video system.”

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

Firas Jadalla, Genetec

“The primary requirement for partners entering the surveillance business is to understand that it shouldn’t be just about selling products but also about providing a comprehensive solution.

In addition to the sales set up, partners need to have resources for implementation and support.”

Over the coming years, we can expect further innovation in the video surveillance market and this means even more doors will open to partners.

However, resellers must ensure to be in sync with market evolutions and educate themselves in the nitty gritty of the technology itself, to be successful in the long-term. Partners who can build their business around solutions and value-add will emerge and sustain as profitable players.

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PARTNER WATCH // COMMNET SYSTEMS

REDEFINING GROWTH Learn about Commnet Systems’ business and its journey to being a solutions-focused player.

E

stablished in 2009, Commnet Systems is a cabling consulting and systems integration firm that strives to deliver high value for customers across verticals such as hospitality, manufacturing and retail sectors.

Karthikeyan Narayansamy, the firm’s founder and chief executive officer, says, this is achieved by combining the right people, processes, technologies and programme management solutions.

“Our methods include applying domain expertise in specific industry segments, utilising a highly-skilled workforce, leveraging a proven global delivery model, implementing structured and scalable quality processes and methodologies while simultaneously staying cost-effective” Having grown significantly yearon-year since its inception, the company has built its credibility as an IT consulting firm in the regional market. Headquartered out of Dubai, the company has expanded to Oman, Qatar, India as well as Singapore and boasts a large workforce.

Narayansamy adds, “Initially, we were only doing subcontracting jobs and small enhancements in the cabling gamut of services. We got our first big break when we won a project to implement a company’s entire end-to-end cabling from supply of material to installation.”

According to the founder, the factor behind the company’s success has been

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Karthikeyan Narayansamy, Commnet Systems

solely its commitment to customers.

“In the services business, there are no specific working hours as we get calls for enhancements and service request 24/7. We are committed to our customers, which has helped us grow,” he says. “We have instances where our technicians are at the site early hours of the day to complete the work.”

He adds that the other growth drivers attributing to the firm’s success includes customer service, human resources, diversification into newer markets and vertical-specific expertise.

Over the course of time, the firm ventured into systems integration business and today has the capabilities

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

to implement and design data centres, cabling, raised floors, UPS, IT infrastructure services and IT hardware sales.

Nikhil Nair, chief sales and marketing officer, Commnet, says, “As part of our integration offering we have partnered with Huawei as our strategic vendor for services and solutions to cater to the market. We have also signed up with couple of Internet of Things (IoT) sensor manufactures to cater to our customers.”

According to Gopal Krishnan, the firm’s chief projects officer, in today’s market, most of its competition do not have technical resources on their payroll and are always on a reactive mode.

He says, “The biggest advantage with us is that all our resources are on our employment and are locally available, split across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”

According to Karthikeyan, the biggest challenge in the market is the lack of understanding of IoT and respective fillers, which are required to meet customer needs.

“However,” he says, “there are companies dabbling with this concept, and in the next few years we should see some interesting products and services being launched in this region.”

One of the key issues that systems integrators face today are the risks in cyber space and relevant security areas.

“This needs to be one of the primary focus area for the players going forward. If there are continued issues of breaches, it could be a bottleneck to grow,” Karthikeyan adds.

Over the course of this year, we will see the firm redefining its business model from service providing to a solutions-based one.

Nair says, “ We will be focusing on solutions selling with emphasis on retail, banking and hospitality verticals. We are also expanding the sales team across GCC and India, with plans for Singalore as well, once we are stabilised in these regions.”

PARTNER WATCH

THE GATEKEEPERS

Ian Jones, divisional director, Westcon Security and Mohammad Aquib Aftab, regional director, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Carbon Black, share insights on security trends and partnership strategies.

S

ecurity is increasingly a top priority for enterprises across all verticals. With the threat landscape expanding and becoming more complex with time, organisations now understand the significance of ensuring that security solutions are embedded into their infrastructure and operations from day one. With data being considered as the single most important asset for a business, regional enterprises are seeking better and stronger security measures to protect it.

“Regional organisations need visibility at the endpoint level, where their valuable data is stored and at its most vulnerable. The region is under consistent threats and organisations need to not only protect their data from attack but also be proactive against these risks ahead of time,” says Mohammad Aquib Aftab, regional director, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Carbon Black.

By preparing in advance, they can minimise the losses, reduce the risk and remediate in seconds, he adds.

Aquib Aftab, Carbon Black

“Traditionally, security has been focused on the network, but today customers have realised the ineffectiveness of anti-virus. With advanced attacks – such as ransomware and non-malware attacks – on the rise, forward thinking organisations should be thinking more about their endpoint protection strategies.”

As Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) is an important region for the vendor, it has signed up with WestconComstor as its strategic distributor for its entire portfolio.

Aftab says, “There is great opportunity for new partners to join our programme and build on our existing network of partners, enabling us to continue grow their business in the Middle East market. We also work closely with all our existing Incident Response and MSSP partners across the META region.”

Carbon Black started out with a local team in UAE, and has expanded to KSA in the last four years.

With the addition of Carbon Black’s portfolio, Westcon-Comstor aims to position the vendor along with its current solutions to provide a complete end-toend holistic network security offering.

Ian Jones, divisional director, Westcon Security, says, “Unlike traditional endpoint solutions, Carbon Black can provide our reseller community access to the nextgeneration of anti-virus technology leader in the IDC Marketplace Worldwide Endpoint STAP.” Together, the companies are working on several initiatives such as WebEx, technical and sales training, to enable partners and to educate the end-user community.

Ian Jones, Westcon Security

“By giving our channel the right tools and assistance to sell and support Carbon Black customers, we are already seeing successes in the channel,” adds Jones.

There are several trends that the region is experiencing when it comes to security. One of them is a slowly emerging shift towards cloud-based solutions among organisations.

Aftab says, “Customers are now considering investing in local cloud hosted solutions and are benefiting from this delivery model. Another important changing trend is that today’s attackers are going after the endpoint.

In the Middle East, the focus on endpoint protection had an exponential growth throughout 2016, and in this year, endpoint detection and response (EDR) is the central focus for security teams.

“Due to consistent, advanced threats at the endpoint, organisations are recognising the importance of protecting their (Intellectual Property) IP and valuable data.

We are investing heavily in local support and training teams in the region to meet the demands of our growing customer base in the region,” Aftab adds.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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Dubai’s BIGGEST Events Are Now Accessible On Your Smart Phone Devices

Access to latest events

Search using the Browse chronologically key name, calendar or map

OMA EMIRATES // PARTNER WATCH

Easy pay Niranj Sangal, group CEO, OMA Emirates, draws out the developments in the mobile payment industry and elaborates on Ingenico partnership.

I

n the recent past, there has been a significant demand in mobile payment solutions within the region as customer expectations evolve.

Increasing number of customers prefer opting for mobile solutions largely due to its convenience. Identifying the opportunities in this segment, UAE-

Niranj Sangal, OMA Emirates

based payment solutions provider OMA Emirates’ decade plus partnership with Ingenico, a global provider of seamless payment, has further developed the market. As Ingenico’s official distributor and exclusive partner for the Middle East, the solutions provider introduces its products to end customers as part of its sales and marketing strategy.

Niranj Sangal, group CEO, OMA Emirates, says, “The Middle East has a huge potential for mobile payments solutions. It can broadly be segmented into three areas, these include in-store mobile Point of Sale (PoS) mainly used to increase customer service as well as to decrease the queues for payments within retail outlets. Out-of-store mobile PoS has an extremely large potential in the region especially in terms of home services, food delivery, pop-up stores as well as at events and exhibitions.

“And lastly in the area of on-board mobile PoS use for ticketing and transport services, card based fare systems, on-board sales such as airlines.”

“Globally, mobility within payment systems has been experiencing a strong growth with innovative products and solution launches, which are making a quick entry into the Middle East.”

In the last two years, the solution provider has seen a tremendous interest generated across sectors and has provided strong Proof of Concept to several companies who are looking at building on their IT payment systems.

He adds, “Globally, mobility within payment systems has been experiencing a strong growth with innovative products and solution launches, which are making a quick entry into the Middle East.”

Over the last year, OMA Emirates has announced new mobility solutions in the region such as iSMP and iCMP “iSMP is a universal payment platform that accepts all forms of payment, EMV chip and PIN as well as magstripe and contactless. Based on Telium 2, Ingenico’s highly secure payment platform is compatible with its existing worldwide portfolio of payment applications. The iSMP meets all security and payment standards EMV, PCI PTS, Paypass, payWave,” Sangal adds. iCMP turns a smartphone or tablet into a secure mobile PoS solution.

“It enables payment acceptance across EMV Chip and PIN, magstripe and NFC/Contactless options. The pocket-sized and light weight machine allows payment acceptance anywhere.”

In order to grow the sales for these products, as a payment service solution provider, OMA Emirates approaches end customers such as retailers, transport services, hotels and F&B outlets, explains its benefits and implements the solution through their acquiring banks.

“We also approach the acquiring banks so that they can offer new innovative modes of payment hardware for enhancement and new business acquisition. We provide our customers with complete end-to-end hardware and software support.”

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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REVIEW

HP ELITEBOOK 1040 G3

James Dartnell takes HP’s lastest version of its Elitebook line – the 1040 G3 – for a satisfying spin.

C

omparable to Apple’s MacBook Pro in appearance and price, HP’s Elitebook 1040 G3 is up against it in many respects.

However, they shouldn’t be deterred.

The design of the product definitely befits its starting $1,250 price tag, with a slick matt aluminium body and splashresistant HP Premium Keyboard, which is also aesthetically pleasing.

It’s features aren’t dissimilar either, storage aside. Packing the option of an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, 16GB of memory, 256GB solid-state drive (SSD), and USB-C port, the all-round performance of the device is solid.

For the high-powered and paranoid among us, it also has a built-in Sure View privacy screen which is designed to safeguard your docs and data.

Although nothing new, these screens, built in partnership with 3M, cancel out wide angle views of LCD panels.

This prevents strangers from ogling the screen from the side, allowing only the user to view its contents.

Is this feature actually of any use?

Practically speaking, it works, but I’m not convinced it’s really a major selling point. The screen quality itself is

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something of a disappointment, with a relatively dull colour display.

The EliteBook 1040 G3’s battery life performance is reasonable, averaging around the 8-hour mark in my tests, which should be enough for the majority of business users.

On the connectivity front, the HP EliteBook 1040 G3 excels, featuring a smart card reader, headset jack, security lock port, and a USB 3.0 port on the left of the device. On the opposite side, it has a an HDMI port, a docking connector, power connector, a second USB 3.0 port, and a USB-C connector.

Wireless connections, meanwhile, are taken care of by way of

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2.

Overall, the Elitebook 1040 G3 isn’t groundbreaking, but it had reasonably tough act to follow from its predecessor, the Elitebook 840 G3. However, the blend of Sure View, decent performance and a comfortable keyboard makes the device a strong choice for productivityminded professionals.

RATING

HOT PRODUCTS

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MERLIN INTRODUCES DRAGONFLY DRONE Merlin Digital introduces its Dragonfly.

The Dragonfly is a mid-sized yet powerful drone that folds and fits into a hard-case shell for compact locomotion.

The device allows users to capture every aerial moment with precision and detail with the included 16MP 4K sports camera and 3D brushless gimbal. It comes with a GPS RC Watch and have Dragonfly autonomously follow along on

adventures, keeping the subject in the focus at all times.

The RC controller with 1 KM range, Live-View App, GPS, gyro, barometer, magnetometer and accelerometer sensors, and multiple shooting moves with just a push of a button. The sensors allow one to change modes with just a tap, and make for seamless captures of photographs and videos.

VersaLink B7035

AltaLink C8035

XEROX LAUNCHES CONNECTKEY PORTFOLIO

BENQ FLAUNTS ITS FLAGSHIP PHOTOGRAPHER MONITOR BenQ has launched its SW320 photographer monitor – a 31.5-inch 4K display with colour performance and High Dynamic Range (HDR) capability.

According to BenQ, SW320 delivers an ultra-wide colour gamut to reach 99 percent of Adobe RGB, a significantly larger colour space than sRGB and Rec. 709. The device supports DCI-P3 as well as 100 percent of sRGB and Rec. 709.

The SW320 is certified by Technicolor to meet strict standards for colour accuracy used in Hollywood and throughout the media and entertainment industries.

The devices’ 14-bit colour lookup table guarantees absolute colour accuracy as defined by Comission Internationale de l’Eclairge’s (CIE) Delta E deviation of less than two, designating the finest colour fidelity exceeding the limits of human vision. SW320 can be

hardware calibrated with a colorimeter and Palette Master Element calibration software for professional work.

It has a unique “Hotkey Puck” remote control enables instant switching between colour modes and image settings, and the included detachable shading hood works in both portrait and landscape orientations to block ambient light and glare for colour accuracy.

Finished in a minimalist bezel and adjustable stand design engineered to reduce reflection, SW320 provides comprehensive connectivity, including a media card reader, USB 3.0 ports, HDMI 2.0a, and DisplayPort / miniDisplayPort 1.4 supporting Mac Thunderbolt output.

Xerox’s AltaLink and VersaLink product lines, according to the company, highlights how it has transformed traditional printing devices into smart, connected workplace assistants that reflect the evolving needs of today’s businesses.

The 12 entry (A4) and 17 workgroup (A3) devices, both colour and monochrome, and with speeds up to 90 pages per minute, are all equipped with ConnectKey, which combines technology and software for SMBs and workgroups in larger enterprises.

The AltaLink and VersaLink product launch – the biggest in Xerox history – makes it possible for channel partners to maximise revenue opportunities by selling a full line of workplace technologies, including light production multifunction printers, managed print services (MPS) and workflow automation solutions.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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HOT PRODUCTS

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DS1517+

SYNOLOGY INTRODUCES DISKSTATION DS1517 AND DS1817+,

Synology has launched DiskStation DS1517+ and DS1817+, two ‘powerful and scalable’ 5-bay and 8-bay tower servers.

According to the company, these new servers offer a high-performance, reliable, and versatile network-attached storage solution for tech enthusiasts and small/ medium-sized businesses.

Both devices are equipped with a PCIe slot, which allows users to install an optional 10GbE network interface card or Synology’s new M2D17 M.2 SATA SSD adapter. In addition, DS1517+ and DS1817+ both come in 2GB and 8GB memory configurations, which can be upgraded to 16GB with its accessible memory compartment.

Synology highlighted that an additional network interface card allows enthusiasts and businesses to take advantage of up to two 10GbE ports to boost maximum throughput. When combined with the Intel Atom quad-core 2.4GHz processor and equipped with optional dual channel memory, DS1517+ and DS1817+ can deliver sequential throughput performance up to 1,179 MB/s reading and 542 MB/s writing speeds.

DS1517+ and DS1817+ are both capable of connecting up to two DX517 expansion units, allowing users to add up to 10 additional drive bays and scale up storage capacity on-the-fly. Both devices are powered by DiskStation Manager (DSM) 6.1 operating system for Synology NAS devices.

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SAMSUNG DEX LAUNCHES IN THE UAE Samsung has announced DeX alongside the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

The device lets users connect their Galaxy S8/S8+ to a monitor, keyboard and mouse for a desktop experience enabling them to seamlessly access apps, edit documents, browse the web, watch videos, reply to messages and more, directly from the smartphone on a larger display.

The base of the Samsung DeX features two USB 2.0, HDMI, Ethernet and USB Type-C ports. Users can set it up as a workstation, with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and connected to a monitor via HDMI.

It is equipped with an Android UI optimised for use with a keyboard and mouse including multiple-resizable windows, contextual menus and a desktop version Web browser with Samsung Internet.

According to Samsung, the device is enterprise-ready as it supports solutions such as Citrix Receiver, VMware Horizon Client and Amazon WorkSpaces. It is also built with a smartphone and data protection feature called Samsung Knox.

SONY FLAUNTS NEW SMARTPHONE OFFERING – XPERIA XZ PREMIUM The Xperia XZ Premium is Sony’s latest smartphone offering. It is a 5.5-inch 4K device that’s made with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back of the handset. The top and bottom edges of the device has a carefully crafted diamond cut. Certified IP65/68, the Xperia XZ Premium is protected against water spills and dust.

It is equipped with Android 7.0 Nougat and the Xperia user interface. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by up to 2TB by MicroSD card.

The new Qualcomm chip is equipped with an LTE modem, the Snapdragon X16, which enables the XZ Premium to have download speeds of up to 1GB per second.

The Xperia XZ Premim supports high-res audio with its stereo speakers, which are located on the front. It is also

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

equipped with LDAC technology, which prevents loss of quality when the device is connected to wireless loudspeakers or headphones.

Xperia XZ Premium features Sony’s new Motion Eye camera system that offers the ‘world’s first’ 960 fps super slow motion video capture and playback, four times slower than any other smartphone.

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QNAP ROLLS OUT NEW THUNDERBOLT 3 NAS PRODUCT QNAP Systems has launched is new Thunderbolt 3 NAS product the TVS1282T3.

The device features 7th Generation Intel 14nm multi-core processors, four Thunderbolt 3 ports and HDMI output.

The vendor highlighted that the new device has higher transfer speeds than its previous generation. It also mentioned that the new TVS-1282T3 is a perfect match for the Thunderbolt 3 MacBook Pro, and is backwardcompatible with Thunderbolt 2-enabled devices by using a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 converter.

The high-bandwidth Thunderbolt 3 connection supports functions such as video editing and sharing, making the TVS-1282T3 highly suited for Thunderbolt 3-enabled Mac and Windows users for 4K media workflows, file storage, and high-speed sharing.

The TVS-1282T3 can also

AXIS ENHANCES FA SERIES simultaneously run general Ethernet services with the built-in 10GbE LAN card, providing an exclusive Thunderbolt/NAS/iSCSI triple solution for a wider range of applications.

Thunderbolt 3 ports are also compatible with USB Type-C cables/devices and supports 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen2.

The TVS-1282T3 features the intelligent QTS 4.3 operating system that provides key elements required to create a dependable private cloud, including backup/restore, sharing, remote access, and management. The device accommodates up to 80 TB raw capacity (using 10 TB hard drives), and can be expanded by connecting up to six QNAP Thunderbolt expansion enclosures (TX-800P and TX-500P). The storage capacity can also be expanded by using VJBOD (Virtual JBOD) that leverages the unused storage capacity of other QNAP NAS.

TYCO SECURITY INTRODUCES C-CURE 9000 Tyco Security Products has introduced the latest version of its C-CURE 9000 security and event management platform that offers users increased operational efficiency, improved processes and procedure compliance as well as greater accountability.

According to Tyco, C-CURE 9000 v2.6 has achieved this through a number of core features including a new web based Access Authorisation Portal and a new Web Client user interface, which enables specific individuals greater flexibility and efficiency through the use of their mobile devices to perform administrative tasks.

This new product also allows security officers to visually verify cardholders before they are allowed to access to the specific areas of the building assigned to his/her access privileges. The latest version of the C-CURE 9000 security and event management platform also supports IPV6 address protocols for the iSTAR Ultra door controller and iSTAR Ultra Video, an access control and video edge device for integrated security monitoring for small sites.

AXIS has announced several new and improved products in its FA Series.

This series consists AXIS FA54 main unit, AXIS FA1105 sensor unit with a standard lens, AXIS FA1125 sensor unit with a pinhole lens and AXIS FA4115 dome sensor unit with a varifocal lens.

The series enables ‘costeffective and highly discreet’ indoor surveillance of four closely situated areas using just one camera system. AXIS FA54 Main Unit can stream at full frame rate HDTV 1080p videos from four connected sensor units simultaneously using one single IP address.

The devices capture video with Forensic WDR (wide dynamic range) that is optimised for low light and motion. AXIS FA54 also has the capacity to support advanced video analytics, and has an HDMI output for connection to a surveillance or public view monitor (PVM), making the system ideal for retail applications. The sensor units are small enough to be built into surfaces, structures or devices, and can be installed at eye level such as at building entrances without drawing attention. The sensor units come with an 8-m (26 ft.) cable for connection to an AXIS FA54. An optional 15-m (49 ft.) cable can also be used.

www.tahawultech.com // Reseller Middle East // MAY 2017

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COLUMN

Tech talk Reseller Middle East's Online Editor Adelle Geronimo shares her views on the regional tech scene.

Adelle Geronimo, Online Editor, Technology Division

Up close and personal We live in a day and age where everyone and everything are connected all the time.

People are in constant communication through the Internet, social media and more. Technologies that bring promises of access to information, knowledge and convenience are within our reach in the digital age. However, many of these innovations we enjoy come with a bargain – our privacy.

Every log-in, every device and every platform we use today are collecting pieces of information from us. Privacy is increasingly becoming a grey area in the digital age.

Recently, audio maker Bose faced scrutiny after complaints that its app collects data on the listening habits of its unknowing customers and provides that information to third parties.

Following this, a lawsuit has been filed against the company for violating the United States WireTap Act and a variety of state privacy laws.

The US government has, in late March, also announced that the Trump administration will be scrapping its predecessor’s Internet privacy law –

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allowing ISPs to collect users’ data without needing their consent.

While major providers from the country such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast have voiced their commitments to safeguarding users’ data, it is still quite worrisome that the lines towards privacy are blurring.

In an ‘art imitates life’ scenario. The popular media had produced several depictions of the troubling issues on privacy, transparency and security, among which is the recently released film called The Circle. The film revolves around prestigious technology company that takes pride in collecting heaps of personal data about its users and processing it analytically to “serve them better.” While seemingly innocent and reasonable, as the film progresses, the company aggressively rallies the ideology of ‘full transparency’ where data and permission cannot be withheld.

While this is only a fictional story, we cannot deny that it is not far-fetched.

We all know that tech giants such as Facebook and Google collect and use our personal data to sell targeted ads.

Multiple apps and platforms people use today gather users’ information and sell

MAY 2017 // Reseller Middle East // www.tahawultech.com

it to health, retail and financing firms for their businesses.

Today’s data-saturated environment leaves us exposed and vulnerable to different types of control and manipulation. We, as tech users, do and should have a right to privacy and should take charge of it.

It is also encouraging to know that big companies like Apple are determined to protect their users’ privacy from those who disregard it.

Apple recently detected that ride-hailing firm Uber had been secretly tagging and tracking iPhones even after its app had been deleted from iOS devices. While the tracking tactic is intended for fraud detection, it is still an Apple privacy rule violation. The tracking code has since been removed by Apple and Uber has been warned by the iPhone-maker that it will be blocked from its devices should they continue with such actions.

While we don’t want to cut ourselves off from the technologies we thoroughly enjoy, it is now more important than ever to stay informed about this right and exercise more control over the information we disclose in the digital space.

For more information or to place an order on Red Hat, please write to sales.value@redingtonmea.com