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W O R R O M TOse, Juniper Networks is F O S N A W T nterpri N E G I L d Contrail E n L a N E A L T s s IN lease of AI based Mist Wirenleed Networks and Cloud Orchestration. .../32 oftware Defi S g in n fi e d re

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EDITORIAL

Prioritizing Innovation

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

It is once again that time of the year when the industry is bustling with content and have their sleeves rolled up for presenting their companies in a new light. The 36th edition of GITEX Technology Week will be rolling out on 6th October until 10th October. Smart city, 5G and Start-ups will be ruling the roost at the exhibition this year. Those of us who have been following the page will also know that there is a deeper emphasis on ‘Synergizing the mind and technology economy’— a concept that will push the boundaries for innovative thinking and collaborative learning. Talking about innovation and acceleration, our exclusive cover feature for this month features Juniper and its three top executives talking about how Juniper Networks continues to innovate and develop new solutions that empowers and serves their customers to be prepared for the changes ahead. One of their key focus is on the ‘Accelerate’ which is the marketing engine for Juniper’s Partner Advantage program. According to the leaderships at Juniper, by leveraging the tool, partners can engage customers and prospects with relevant campaign content and offers and have access to the most innovative marketing minds in the business. Catching up on Innovation is also our special story on Smart Cities. UAE, being one of the world’s most connected city aims to be at the forefront of not only pioneering but transforming the city into one of the smartest on the globe. Dubai’s 7-year agenda through the “Dubai Plan 2021” prioritises innovation as the key driver of the economy across all sectors, striving to become the innovation benchmark for smart cities seeking global sustainability and competitiveness. Since it’s the month of GITEX, do look forward to a burst of flavors in the stories. This month we are also celebrating 6 glorious years of the Industry’s most coveted awards – The GEC Awards 2019— to be held on October 1, 2019 at The Rixos Premium Dubai, the 6th edition of the GEC Awards will once again recognize industry’s leading players and their achievements for 2019 in a star studded ceremony. A lot of exciting things are in store. See you at GITEX! ë

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OCTOBER 2019 | VOLUME 07 | ISSUE 03

CONTENTS 22

32. Cover Feature

GUEST ARTICLE

IIOT AND THE FUTURE OF LOGISTICS IN THE MIDDLE EAST MIROSLAV KAFEDZHIEV, VP AND GM (MERTA), HONEYWELL SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONST

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GUEST ARTICLE

SMART SKILLS NEEDED TO MANAGE THE SMART CITY OF TOMORROW ROY STRIK, HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PEARSON PROFESSIONAL MIDDLE EAST

INTELLIGENT WANS OF TOMORROW Juniper Networks is aggressively innovating all types of networks to the next level of performance with three objectives, automation, creation, scaling.../32

ADVERTISER INDEX:

24. Cover Story

GEC OPEN 02, CIO 200 03, RITTAL 07, JUNIPER 09, MINDWARE 11, GAVS 13, STARLINK 15, VETITAS 17, VEEAM 19, SOPHOS 21, BULWARK 31, TALARIAX 41, STORIT 47, NUTANIX 51, FINESSE 59, ROUNDTABLE AD 68, DLINK 71, BEYONDTRUST 73, GITEX 75, GARTNER 77, DELL 79, CIO 200 80

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INTERVIEW

DATA CENTER EFFICIENCY REIMAGINED RAVI SUDARSHAN, REGIONAL MANAGER – MIDDLE EAST AT 2CRSI

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INNOVATIONS

THINKSMART HUB 500

EDITORIAL

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VERTICAL ANALYSIS RETAIL RE-IMAGINED

60. Feature Story

MODERNIZED

OMAN

(THE ROAD TO THE FUTURE)

SMART CITIES

ENVISIONING THE CITIES OF TOMORROW 05

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STREET Zain Jordan Launches ‘The Bunker’ Zain has launched ‘The Bunker’ – a TIER III UPTIME, with 99.982% availability, state-ofthe-art, military grade design and development, highly modernized, fully redundant power, cooling and communications network data center, situated at the King Hussein Business Park in Amman Jordan. The Bunker, which is the

first of its kind in the region and one of very few worldwide, gives local, regional and international organizations the opportunity to host their IT infrastructure, disaster recovery offices and enhance their ICT business processes. The Bunker is another initiative that exemplifies Zain Jordan’s efforts to spearhead digital

transformation in the country. The company revolutionized telecommunications in Jordan by introducing GSM mobile services in the country and introduced Fourth Generation services “LTE” for the first time in the kingdom. Companies that have very crucial computational functions and important data to store can really value such a facility that provides the highest levels of security and sustainability. When a company uses The Bunker as their main data center or their disaster recovery location, it is safer than any other conventional building. Its area measures approximately 4300 sq. mts., located 12 mts. below ground level. Built with the same specifications as a military-grade underground facility, The Bunker is constructed to the highest standards of security and redundancy requirements. It has dedicated rooms protected by high security 2-ton iron doors and 2 metres thick reinforced concrete walls, giving it the capability to withstand natural disasters, missiles and fires. Furthermore, when a disaster strikes, the cooling, power and connectivity systems are redundant and can be sustained for long periods without any outage. The facility has 24/7 onsite security personnel and advanced surveillance cameras security systems (CCTVs).

SECOND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WEEK KICKS OFF IN DUBAI

IQPC Middle East’s second Artificial Intelligence Week was hosted at the Oberoi Hotel Dubai and organized with the official support of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Inaugurated by H.H. Sheikha Maryam Al Qasimi, Government Relations and Protocol Specialist for Lead Ventures at The Office of Sheikh Sultan bin Abdullah Al Qasimi, and Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President International Affairs at

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Emirates, the event saw participation from influential and leading organisations including the Prime Minister’s Office, Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulation (DCHR), UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention, Smart Dubai, ING, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Al Zahra Hospitals, Saudi Aramco, King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology, and many more. Knowing the central role AI plays, the Department of Health

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— Abu Dhabi (DoH), the regulator of the healthcare sector in the Emirate, has been the first entity in the MENA region to pursue and launch an artificial intelligence policy for the healthcare sector. Dr. Hamed Al Hashemi, Director, Strategy Division at Department of Health, Abu Dhabi said: “In utilizing tech-based solutions like AI we can build a future-proof healthcare system. These systems are capable of providing more efficient, safe and evidence-based

quality of care while forging ahead with bringing new, innovative ways of healthcare services delivery.” Dr. Hamed Al Hashemi, Director, Strategy Division at Department of Health, Abu Dhabi said: “In utilizing tech-based solutions like AI we can build a future-proof healthcare system. These systems are capable of providing more efficient, safe and evidence-based quality of care while forging ahead with bringing new, innovative ways of healthcare services delivery.”

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ServiceNow Delivers Native Mobile Experiences at Scale for Work ServiceNow launched its native mobile experiences for everyday work across the enterprise with the general availability of its Now Platform New York release. Powered by the Now Platform, ServiceNow’s new Now Mobile app makes diverse everyday work tasks simple and easy. Whether it’s fixing an IT issue, ordering a computer, finding a conference room, getting help from human resources, approving purchase orders, travel requests and legal documents, or finding quick answers to questions, the Now Mobile app makes it easy to take care of business on the go. The New York release also features a new ServiceNow Onboarding app, which makes starting a new job a cinch by combining all of the multi-departmental tasks involved in getting up and running as a new employee into a single,

intuitive mobile experience. Together, Now Mobile and Mobile Onboarding set a new mobile standard for the enterprise, moving beyond single solution apps into workflow mobile experiences that better match how people really want to get work done. “Just as mobile was at the center of transforming our lives at home, we believe mobile will be at the heart of delivering great experiences at work,” said ServiceNow’s Chief Product Officer Chirantan “CJ” Desai. “Employees today expect their employers to offer native mobile-optimized tools. Mobile is the way many people want to get everyday work tasks done. The Now Platform enables companies to quickly and easily deliver unmatched native mobile experiences to employees that will unlock productivity and make work, work better for them.”

SYNOLOGY TO HIGHLIGHT ITS LATEST STORAGE SOLUTIONS AT GITEX Synology will be showcasing its latest product innovations and solutions at GITEX across three stations, which include storage foundation and digital workplace, smart surveillance solutions, and multimedia and networking for home. “Synology is happy to announce our participation in GITEX. It is a perfect platform for us to showcase our best-in-class innovations in Network Attached Storage (NAS), enterprise data protection, file sharing, and file syncing solutions as well as smart surveillance solutions to a niche audience attending the region’s largest technology exhibition from across the globe,” said Nick Jheng, Regional Manager of Middle East at Synology. At GITEX 2019, Synology will highlight its first ever deep video analytics NAS model DVA3219, powered by NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti graphic card, for the first time in the Middle East at the smart surveillance solution station, and showcase its range of new, entry level Synology NAS products, that are suitable for households, power users, small office and home offices at the multimedia and networking for home station.

AXS WINS AWARD FOR BEST SMART SERVICE Axs, TECOM Group’s smart gateway for integrated services, won the Best Smart Service category at Awards Cx during the Customer Experience Week Middle East 2019. The awards recognise outstanding customer experience across multiple categories. The smart service centre and online platform axs won the accolade for its new approach to business license renewals, using a smart automation system that grants instant online license renewal. This has significantly enhanced ease of doing business for over 5,600 business partners that operate across various Dubai business communities under TECOM Group, including Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City. During the conference held at Customer Experience Week Middle East 2019, Dr Ayoub Kazim, Managing Director of axs, presented the axs case study and shared insights on ways of leveraging automation to enrich the overall customer experience in a session titled ‘Optimizing the Operations of Corporate and Government Services through Automation – An Innovative Approach’.

CASPAR HERZBERG ON THE ROLE OF ENERGY BUILDING IN SMART CITIES AT WEC 2019 Schneider Electric was represented at the 24th World Energy Congress (WEC) taking place in Abu Dhabi from 9-12 September 2019. Caspar Herzberg, President – Schneider Electric Middle East and Africa, participated amongst other industry leaders to share his views on the topic – ‘The voice of cities: designing

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an energy smart future.’ Caspar shed light on Schneider Electric’s energy and infrastructure management solutions which help organizations attain the next level of energy efficiency, operational optimization and sustainability for a greener and smarter tomorrow. “Given the many silos that need

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to be overcome in order to realize the promise of digitization, there is an immediate need for integrated master planning at a city level, bringing technology providers, public sector entities and citizens together in defining long term outcomes of what people, the government and businesses want

to achieve in terms of Smart Cities for the benefit of all. A collaborative approach in tackling today’s urban issues in terms of energy, mobility, sustainability, and overall wellbeing is of paramount importance to Schneider Electric, and we look forward to working together to build the cities of tomorrow.”

AI-Driven Enterprise Automation and insight through AI User visibility and wired/wireless service levels Scalable location services using virtual BluetoothÂŽ LE Wi-Fi is ďŹ nally predictable, reliable, and measurable.

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CHANNEL STREET

Bahrain Credit Drives Digital Transformation with Veeam Bahrain Credit financing company, under Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company (BCFC), has selected Veeam Backup & Replication to guarantee data Availability, improve operational efficiency and better deliver digital services to its customers. Bahrain Credit prides itself on being the first choice for customers by providing excellent products, services and solutions and relies on data Availability for its continued success. Bahrain Credit’s priority has been the digitization of its services to extend greater conveniences to its customers, while catering to Bahrain’s growing demographic of young, tech-savvy digital natives. Getting to know its customers would be central to its strategy of engaging millennials. Therefore, data would be the nerve-center of its new paradigm. “Financial services digitization is our key to provide a differentiated customer experience that suits the new lifestyles changes,” explained Ali

Al Marzooq, Head of Innovation and Business Technology of Bahrain Credit. “With unique digital services on-boarding, we aim to simplify the process to help our customers save their time and effort. We’re building omni-channel engagement for our customers through web portals, mobile apps and self-service kiosks, so their entire customer journey can be managed online.” Veeam’s scalable backup and replication capabilities accelerates business performance, providing an easier and more efficient way for the Bahrain Credit in-house team to manage scalable workloads. Veeam Backup & Replication takes care of the backup and recovery of several mission-critical virtual machines (VM), including the VM running Bahrain Credit’s core database, which stores all customer data and serves all its enterprise applications. By enabling the group’s Digital Transformation strategy, Veeam has radically enhanced efficiencies across multiple areas of Bahrain Credit’s business.

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AVAYA AND IBM PARTNER Avaya will adopt hybrid cloud solutions from IBM to help expand its Avaya ReadyNow private cloud unified communications and contact center offerings internationally and accelerate modernization. By working with IBM to implement a hybrid cloud strategy, Avaya plans to tap into advanced technologies like AI to modernize its offering while enabling its customers to benefit from the scale and performance of IBM’s global footprint of cloud data centers. LENOVO PARTNERS WITH JANGALA Lenovo Foundation is partnering with Jangala to provide WiFi access and hardware donations in education centers for refugees. Jangala, a charitable non-government organization based in London recognized this need and is working to meet it with their “Big Box” connectivity solution. The Lenovo Foundation has partnered with Jangala to bring connectivity to refugee education centers, ensuring that while people’s lives

THREATQUOTIENT EXPANDS SUPPORT FOR RHINO CONSERVATION ThreatQuotient is partnering with Helping Rhinos, a charity organization focused on providing a sustainable future for rhinos. As an official supporter, ThreatQuotient aims to bring awareness to rhino conservation efforts and to raise money for initiatives that will ensure protection of the endangered species. The rhino has been a symbol of strength and steadiness for ThreatQuotient since it was selected as the official mascot in 2013, and this partnership marks a next step in ThreatQuotient’s goal to contribute positive change for the fortunes of the rhino. Less than 30,000 rhino remain in the world today, and Helping Rhinos is leading innovative approaches to conservation that will preserve and develop new habitat for rhino, and protect rhino from poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. They provide information and education to both local and global communities on the importance of sustaining rhino populations in their natural habitat, and create scalable, sustainable projects that will ensure the long-term survival of rhinos and other endangered wildlife. In honor of World Rhino Day, taking place on Sept. 22, 2019, ThreatQuotient adopted a baby rhino named Mthetho, which means “justice” in the local isiXhosa language.

have been disrupted, they are not isolated from education, learning, and communication with loved ones. ETISALAT PARTNERS WITH EXPO 2020 DUBAI VOLUNTEERS Expo 2020 Dubai revealed that Etisalat is the Official Premier Partner of Expo 2020 Volunteers. Etisalat will launch an awareness campaign to encourage millions of its customers to volunteer in the lead-up to and during the largest event ever held in the Arab world. The 30,000 volunteers will have a unique opportunity to play an essential role in Expo 2020 and to give back to the country, by welcoming the world to the UAE and helping to showcase the renowned Emirati culture and national values. MINDWARE BECOMES CITRIX SERVICE PROVIDER DISTRIBUTORBMindware has been appointed by Citrix as the Authorized Citrix Service Provider Distributor in the Middle East region. Under the Citrix Service Provider Distributor program, Mindware would provide product and service fulfilment, technical and business enablement and support to the Citrix Service Providers in the Middle East..

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SEA-ME-WE 5 Upgrades with Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme

Ciena completed a significant upgrade to the SEA-ME-WE 5 (South East Asia – Middle East – Western Europe 5) submarine cable system to support enterprise data exchange, internet TV, and online gaming. The upgrade – which was completed ahead of schedule – resulted in an 100% active capacity increase of the cable, enabling faster broadband access to users along the multi-regional data superhighway. The SEA-ME-WE 5 cable system is 20,000 km and spans across 17 countries. The cables’ advanced 100Gbps technology is expected to meet multiplying bandwidth demand between Europe and Asia, providing the lowest latency and further enhancing network diversity and resilience in the high-traffic area. SEA-ME-WE 5 is able to increase the value of

the cable system and accelerate growth by leveraging Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme, which features the 6500 Packet-Optical platform, to meet unpredictable traffic demands and provide new levels of capacity and flexibility for service providers. Additionally, Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai platform will help lower the cost per 100Gbps significantly by increasing the capacity per wave up to 300Gbps. Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme submarine network solution which supports an open architecture, will enable SEA-ME-WE 5’s customers to rapidly scale capacity, protect traffic from faults, and lower total cost of network ownership. In addition, SEA-ME-WE 5 will also leverage Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller software to get real-time visibility into the performance of the network.

NEXTHINK TO SHOWCASE ITS LATEST INNOVATIONS AT GITEX Nexthink will be demonstrating at GITEX 2019 the need for organizations to understand employees’ experiences during digital transformation projects to achieve business objectives and avoid costly project failures. Although the Middle East is on the verge of massive digital disruption, organizations need to change digital IQ and culture by involving employees when planning their IT strategy. Failing to do so can result in poor IT experiences that can cost organizations up to AED 91M per year. It is crucial for companies to recognize how important employees’ experiences are to their overall business – as happy, motivated employees allow companies to innovate and deliver on key objectives. At GITEX, senior executives from Nexthink will address the need for employees to be placed at the forefront of an IT strategy as well as discuss recent IT trends. Nexthink will also showcase its recently-launched ‘Digital Experience Score,’ which combines hard data and employee feedback for organizations to continuously measure, benchmark (against peers and competitors) and improve digital employee experience with a defined set of metrics.

JACKY’S LOOKING FOR CHANNEL PARTNERS FOR SOFTBANK ROBOTICS Jacky’s Business Solutions LLC are looking to meet potential partners to expanding their support across the region. Jacky’s will join SoftBank Robotics once again this year to showcase the wider applications of Pepper in customer and visitor management. During Gitex this year, Jacky’s will also showcase its new Robot Content Management Systems (RCMS) to update Pepper. Jacky’s RCMS which will allow end-

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customers or resellers to manage or update content on the Pepper robot as they would a website. As a cloud-based solution, RCMS reduces the need for complex programming and setup time needed for deploying a fleet of robots or making changes to content. Ashish Panjabi, COO at Jacky’s Business Solutions, said, “We continue to look for software partners as new industry sectors deploy Pepper. This year, we are

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specifically looking to partner with those that are experienced in developing chatbots, AI software development, loyalty systems, banking system, travel systems and other B2B software solutions, especially those in Arabic that could work off a robot would be of interest for us to meet.” Jonathan Boiria, Head of Sales at SoftBank Robotics Europe, said, “At SoftBank Robotics, we are heavily focusing on growing

our business in the Middle East by developing a local ecosystem of business and software partners. Through our collaboration with Jacky’s, we are strengthening our market reach for Pepper. Their newly acquired capacity to provide powerful, easy-to-use and customizable solutions to customers is a key driver to expand on our existing successful projects across the banking, retail, education and public sectors.”

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Huawei Unveils the World’s Fastest AI training Cluster At HUAWEI CONNECT 2019, the company revealed its strategy for the computing market and released Atlas 900, the world’s fastest AI training cluster. A powerhouse of AI computing, Atlas 900 will help make AI more readily available for different fields of scientific research and business innovation. “The future of computing is a massive market worth more than two trillion US dollars,” said Ken Hu, Huawei’s Deputy Chairman. “We’ll keep investing with a strategy that focuses on four key areas. We will push the boundaries of architecture, invest in processors for all scenarios, keep clear business boundaries, and build an open ecosystem.” The industry’s approach to computing is evolving from rule-based to statistical models, which are the foundation of machine learning. Huawei estimates that in the next five years, statistical computing will become the mainstream and AI computing will account for more than 80% of all computing power used around the world. Atlas 900 is a powerhouse of AI computing, and it will bring new possibilities to different fields of scientific research and business

innovation – anything from astronomy, weather forecasting, and autonomous driving, to oil exploration. Huawei also deployed Atlas 900 on Huawei Cloud as a cluster service, making extraordinary computing power more broadly accessible to its customers across different industries. Huawei has offered these services at a great discount to universities and scientific research institutes worldwide. Gao Wen, a Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of Peng Cheng Lab, also spoke at this year’s event. He shared the mission and vision of Peng Cheng Lab and how the organization will work with Huawei to build China’s first evolving AI supercomputing system that supports exascale computing. The two companies will work together to establish a new generation of platforms for AI basic research and innovation. Zheng Yelai, President of Huawei’s Cloud BU, talked about how AI can be applied in different scenarios. Based on Huawei’s experience in over 500 projects across more than 10 industries, Zheng pointed out that industry AI is crossing the commercial chasm and becoming the key driver for reshaping how companies go digital.

WEB CLIPS RIPE NCC AND CITC JOIN FORCES The Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC), in collaboration with Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), held five workshops and three training courses to foster the deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in Saudi Arabia. The course took place over a four-day period at CITC headquarters in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and was attended by CITC, local Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecom operators and other interested parties. CAPILLARY TECHNOLOGIES SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH VEDA HOLDINGCapillary Technologies signed a strategic joint venture agreement with Saudi-based Veda Holding to form Capillary Arabia. The venture will allow Capillary Technologies enhanced access to the Kingdom’s rapidly growing retail, F&B and Manufacturing sector, and the ability to provide continued on-ground support to customers. ACCENTURE AND SMART LABOUR COLLABORATE Accenture and Smart Labour are collaborating to help blue-collar workers gain new skills for the digital economy. Under the terms of the agreement, Accenture will offer its expertise to help Smart Labour — a Dubai-based

MOVEMENTS

NUMBER GAME

organization that helps laborers develop skills for long-term, sustainable careers — train a wider group of blue-collar workers. Accenture

Nutanix appoints

will also develop a roadmap that is aligned

CYRIL VANAGT

with Smart Labour’s overall mission and help

to lead its Channel and OEM activities in the EMEA

HTC appoints YVES MAITRE as CEO

StarLink

$135.2Bn AI is expected to contribute over US$135.2 billion in 2030 to the Saudi Arabia economy: PwC

the organization streamline its operations in the UAE and the Gulf region. PYXYA SELECTS CONTRAIL SD-WAN FROM JUNIPER NETWORKS Juniper Networks has partnered with French managed service provider PYXYA to provide the Contrail SD-WAN solution to meet growing enterprise demand for secure branch connectivity. PYXYA, based in Lyon, France, is a disruptor to the traditional managed services model, one that provides an over-the-top (OTT) secure SD-WAN service using Contrail

appoints

SD-WAN on existing network infrastructures.

BASHAR BASHAIREH

Juniper’s automation, multi-tenancy and role-

as CEO

based access control helped win the business over multiple vendors.

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CHANNEL STREET

Pure Storage Unveils Technology Alliance Partner Program Pure Storage launched its Technology Alliance Partner Program (TAP), a program for participating technology and solutions partners. Today’s customers require strategic, thoughtful integration and partnerships between vendors to address the challenges associated with modern business. The TAP Program allows Pure Storage to collaborate with alliance partners focused on priorities most critical to strategic decision makers — building the best hybrid cloud, transitioning to fast, consolidated architectures, and deriving business value from AI and analytics. The TAP Program is intended to provide a structured framework for partner engagement, go-to-market, and solution development to ensure proven solutions for joint customers that adhere to Pure’s high value standards. Partners in the program enjoy access to Pure’s latest APIs

and software development kits to drive strategic integration and ultimately enable better business results for our shared customers. Partners will also have access to Pure hardware via a newlydeveloped on-site demo lab. “Our alliance partners enable customers to achieve their goals faster and more effectively. With that in mind, we designed this program to make it easier for ecosystem partners to partner with Pure on joint initiatives and solutions,” said Katie Colbert, VP of Alliances, Pure Storage. “The TAP Program represents a significant step forward in our technology alliance ecosystem. By investing resources into integrations with our partners, we can enable customers to quickly and confidently extend the value of their investments through an active network of integrated and validated solutions.”

NETSCOUT TO SHOWCASE VISIBILITY WITHOUT BOARDERS NETSCOUT SYSTEMS confirmed its participation at the GITEX Technology Week. New IT strategies to modernize on-premises infrastructures and seamlessly connect to a web of cloud technologies and providers accelerate the risk of failure, raise the stakes significantly for CIOs, architects, and IT operations in the Middle East. Losing a user’s confidence in your service or brand increasingly means the difference between success and failure, progress or retreat. The business impact of poorly responding services or a security breach can cost the loyalty of a customer forever. NETSCOUT will focus on highlighting the importance of putting network visibility first in the digital transformation process during this GITEX Technology Week. By transforming packet data — which is the same in any IT environment, NETSCOUT’s Smart Data approach gives organizations high resolution, consistent, and continuous monitoring everywhere in the IT infrastructure and any workload.

EMIRATES NBD TO LAUNCH VOICE BANKING Emirates NBD customers in the UAE will soon be able to get banking updates, track spends as well as listen to daily market briefings on their Amazon Alexa devices, as the bank continues to lead digital innovation in the MENA region with new Voice Banking solutions powered by “Amazon Web Services” (AWS). Using the Emirates NBD skill for Amazon Alexa, customers will be able to ask for their account and credit card balances, as well as details of their recent transactions using conversational language through an Amazon Echo smart speaker from the comfort of their home or office. The service can also be accessed on the go with Amazon Alexa enabled headsets or through the mobile phone using the Amazon Alexa App. A daily curated summary of investments related news and global market updates from the bank’s Chief Investment Officer will also be available. Further, customers would be able to obtain information on signing up for new products such as a loan or a card instalment plan as well as on other general programs and initiatives the bank is engaged in. To get started, customers can just say ‘Alexa, open Emirates NBD’.

LTTS DEVELOPS NEXT-GEN SMART OFFICE CAMPUS IN ISRAEL

L&T Technology Services Limited is pleased to reveal the launch of the ‘Smartest Office Campus in the World’ in Israel by the world’s leading technology conglomerate, for which LTTS had been the technology partner throughout the course of the project. The state-of-the-art building will redefine the future of work by enabling continuous and interconnected intelligent systems based on cutting-edge digital technologies such as IoT, Machine Learning and

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Predictive Asset Management. The futuristic campus is being run on LTTS’ smart campus platform i-BEMS (Intelligent Building Experience Management System). i-BEMS is the backbone of the modern smart building. The ingenious system-of-systems facilitates the next level of personalized user and digital experience, occupant safety, air quality monitoring and predictive diagnostics using IoT. Using i-BEMS, the smart office will help save energy and water

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while leveraging Machine Learning which will also address areas such as preferred working environment for the employees and their learning and development requirements. The new office campus offers several unique features for building occupants and facility managers alike, not experienced before in any facility. Customized apps guide users across every aspect of their work life – from commuting for work to indoor navigation & positioning

with easy way to find available meeting rooms, message board to share posts with colleagues, workplace services appointment bookings, food & dining experience with live service and dining occupancy, commute and parking experience with collaborated car pool services, gym services, desk finder and booking, and raising service requests. There are 100+ features accessible by users through a mobile app.

CHANNEL STREET

IFS to Showcase Innovations in Service Management at Telecoms World Middle East IFS participated at the Telecoms World Middle East 2019, which was held from 24th – 25th September 2019, at the Conrad Hotel, Dubai. As a gold sponsor of the event, the company placed spotlight on its flagship IFS Field Service Management solution in addition to meeting customers and partners at the event. As one of the key speakers at Telecoms World Middle East 2019, Marne Martin, President at IFS Service Management Business Unit and CEO of WorkWave, guided customers in their digital journeys through her presentation titled ‘Adap-

tation. Adoption. Agility: Starting on the path to Digital Transformation success’ on the first day of the event. Through her presentation, Martin addressed the challenges faced by the field service industry and shared insights on how IFS is helping businesses overcome these challenges. She also shed light on how businesses within the industry can gain a competitive edge with real time strategic and operational decisions through the company’s solutions. IFS offers scheduling and optimization along with unrivalled breadth in service management capability. The

company’s objective is to equip service management industry businesses to tackle even the most complex use cases and choose between cloud or on-premise deployments through its FSM solution. “Telecoms World Middle East was a perfect platform to showcase our innovative FSM solution to a niche audience of service providers and customers and share our global and regional success stories of helping businesses through their digital transformation journeys,” said Mehmood Khan, Managing Director and Vice President – Middle East and South Asia, IFS.

INFINET WIRELESS TO HIGHLIGHT THE RAW POWER OF 5G AT GITEX Infinet Wireless at GITEX will introduce the region to the cutting edge in network upgrades at that will allow enterprises to enhance speeds, capacities and latencies, all while gaining muchneeded control of costs. “I think you can now say that the telecoms market has one foot in the 5G era,” said Kamal Mokrani, global vice president, InfiNet Wireless. “As a consequence, operators in the region are eager to upgrade their networks to satisfy increasingly demanding subscribers, but they also want to keep costs down while overcoming problems

such as spectrum congestion in traditional frequency bands below 6GHz, or spectrum re-farming when their ex-WiMAX spectrum is being taken away.” “At GITEX 2019, InfiNet will be unveiling several brand-new, industry-first mmWave-band solutions that will help telecom and enterprise customers enhance their connectivity speeds and capacities, significantly raise service levels, and stand out from the crowd,” continued Kamal. Axion 28 is InfiNet’s latest breakthrough in wireless broadband access within the 28 GHz

band. The new family of solutions, which will be unveiled at the company’s GITEX 2019 stand, is designed for the deployment of high-density multipoint networks that deliver performance up to 1,200 Mbps in the 56 MHz band. Axion 28 allows WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) multiservice-networks infrastructure to be built in dense urban landscapes. It lays the groundwork for smart cities, from distributed enterprise networks with as much as 10km between sites, to CCTV and traffic-management systems and networks in remote areas.

IRIS Health Services Introduces Future-tech Solutions Across Oman As the Sultanate gears up for the launch of the Unified Health Insurance Policy, Oman-based IRIS Health Services is preparing the ground by implementing future-tech solutions to ensure faster and more efficient diagnostic procedures and claims settlements, higher levels of customer satisfaction, and better protection from fraud, waste, and abuse. In the last six months IRIS, a health insurance

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third party administrator, has integrated its proprietary and custom-built digital solutions across more than 100 medical services providers in Oman and trained more than 300 hospital, clinic and pharmacy staff to use the e-services, many of which use future technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning. The digital solutions include electronic health cards, real-time eligibility checks, e-pharmacy

lists and a Physicians Support Tool, benefiting everyone involved in the health insurance ecosystem from consumers to insurance companies to regulators and providers. Mr. K. O. Devassy, Chief Marketing Officer at the Badr Al Samaa Group of Hospitals and Polyclinics, the largest private healthcare provider in Oman, said the IRIS systems are making a considerable difference to its operations.

CHANNEL STREET

Batelco Hosts ‘Batelco Talks’ Session on Data Protection In line with its efforts to provide employees with an interactive platform for learning, development and knowledge exchange, Batelco hosted its most recent ‘Batelco Talks’ featuring Buthaina Amin, Director of Legal Affairs at Bahrain Economic Development Board and a Board Member of Women in FinTech Bahrain who shed light on the importance of data protection in the digital economy. This session held recently at Batelco’s Hamala Headquarters highlighted the importance of Data Protection in a data driven digital economy and included an introduction to Bahrain’s Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL).

Ms. Amin provided a brief analysis on the most important issues arising at an international level in relation to data and the methods implemented to tackle such issues, with a special focus on the Kingdom of Bahrain. The session included an overview of the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) recently enforced in the country, including who it impacts and who the key players are. The session, which was very well received by the employees, concluded with a question and answer session where Ms. Amin provided knowledgeable responses that greatly enhanced the session.

‘Batelco Talks’ is a mini-educational initiative focused on topics that are suitable for rapid business development and technology, presented by a selection of Bahraini leaders from different sectors. The high participation rates reflect staff ’s interest in targeted educational events and activities, which contribute to raising their knowledge and expanding their awareness in information technology, communication and digital transformation. Such events at Batelco supports the Company’s commitment to investing in the development of staff while also highlighting Bahraini professionals in different specialties.

MOHAP LAUNCHES THE FIRST BLOCKCHAIN-BASED SYSTEM

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has launched the first blockchainbased system to save and share assessment information of health professionals, including doctors, pharmacists and technicians, with local licensing health authorities. The smart system, which will cover healthcare workers in public and private health facilities overseen by the Ministry, will help reduce resource consumption in terms of time and cost, and improve efficiency and data integrity. Awad Saghir Al Ketbi, Assistant Undersecretary of the Support Services Sector, said: “The Ministry has successfully developed the

necessary infrastructure for a blockchainbased decentralized database. In the first stage, we will link the evaluation of health workers system with public and private health authorities and other relevant institutions to create a single digital platform with an access to the portfolio of health professionals. “The sophisticated platform comes in line with the ministry’s strategy to develop smart systems, provide the best smart e-services, ensure the happiness of customers and implement TRA standards, smart government enablers, and the United Nations E–Government Development Index” Al Ketbi added. He stressed that the innovative project will

support the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021, which aims to capitalise on the blockchain technology to transform 50 per cent of government transactions into a blockchain-based platform by 2021. This can be done through recording and documenting digital transactions using blockchain technology, besides allocating a distinctive imprint of digital data that cannot be hacked or changed. This huge development would increase the level of digital security of national data, reduce operational costs, paper transactions, and speed up the decision-making process, enhance the safety of patients and provide effective and efficient healthcare services.

Automation Anywhere Appoints Two Industry Veterans Automation Anywhere appointed two of industry veterans Stephen DeWitt as its first Chief Strategy Officer and Riadh Dridi as Chief Marketing Officer. The C-suite expansion will play a critical role in building the company’s global brand and supporting its next wave of global expansion. In the last year, Automation Anywhere has increased its customer entities to more than 3,000, doubled its workforce to more than 2,300 and expanded its global footprint to more than 40 offices.

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“This year, we have achieved the most significant growth in Automation Anywhere history – adding new employees, customers and countries at supersonic speed as organizations realize the tremendous value of our industryleading RPA platform,” said Mihir Shukla, CEO and co-founder at Automation Anywhere. “I am thrilled to add such incredible expertise to our executive bench to build upon this momentum and usher in a new chapter for intelligent automation.”

Mr. DeWitt brings extensive experience building startups from inception to scale in this newly created role. He has served as a senior executive for market leaders HP, Cisco, Symantec, and Sun. Previously, he was CEO of New York-based WorkMarket, acquired by ADP in 2018. As Automation Anywhere’s Chief Strategy Officer, Mr. DeWitt will oversee internal corporate strategy, operational excellence and help expand external relationships with investors, strategic partners and customers.

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GUEST ARTICLE

IIOT AND THE FUTURE OF LOGISTICS IN THE MIDDLE EAST n M I R O S L AV K A F E D Z H I E V, V P A N D G M ( M E R TA ) , HONEYWELL SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS

Globally, the warehousing and logistics industry has been undergoing rapid change, owing to a rise in digitalization initiatives and the adoption of IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) technologies. The expected value of the global smart logistics market is anticipated to grow to $27 billion by 2023, up from $16 billion in 20161. This is reflective of how sophisticated technology, smarter shipping, and integration with IIoT solutions are playing a crucial role in driving the sector forward. Here in the Gulf, the appetite for investment in digital transformation is building rapidly as regional governments push forward with ‘smart’ strategies and initiatives. It is a pioneering region in terms of adopting new technologies, largely because it is typically not held back by legacy systems that are common in other markets. We are seeing that IIoT-enabled technology is increasingly being used to deliver improved efficiency and productivity in business operations. APPETITE FOR IIOT-ENABLED TECHNOLOGY A recent survey by Honeywell analyzed the views of approximately 250 C-level executives at medium-to-large companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia across the buildings and cities, transport and logistics and industrial sectors. The results confirmed that there is a strong and growing appetite among businesses to embrace digitalization. In the transportation and logistics sector specifically, 50% of respondents said IIoT solutions are critically important to their

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operations today, while a further 19% said these technologies would become critical to operations over the next five years. In addition, 47% of respondents said their organizations are already investing in IIoT today, while 70% reported they had plans to increase investments over the next five years. IIoT is a natural fit for the transport and logistics sector, where intense competition, tight margins, and market requirements to deliver very high levels of speed and accuracy can put businesses under pressure. Businesses are generating more data from increasingly connected operations, and are asking for technologies to help aggregate this data and convert it into insights that can help drive improved efficiency and profitability. Among the immediate IIoT benefits highlighted by transportation and logistics companies we surveyed were time savings (53%), increased revenue and money savings (39% respectively) and improved decision-making (36%). WAREHOUSE OF THE FUTURE Today, many large distribution centers in the region are already reaping the benefits of IIoT. We are seeing many distribution centers deploy software and advanced technologies in order to meet growing consumer demands, and expect this growth to continue at a fast pace. The warehouse of the future will leverage interactive and mobile technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data, changing the way warehouses

receive, store, and ship goods, ultimately transforming the supply chain. Advanced technology elements such as voice software and augmented reality will also improve worker productivity and reduce training times. Robotics too will continue to change warehousing solutions, where robots will be able to pick and deliver orders, and collaborative robotics (or “cobots”) will work alongside humans to create great efficiencies. Our focus now is on developing technology that improves the level of automation within the industry, while enhancing worker safety, productivity and efficiency. An IIoT-enabled distribution center can continuously monitor activities in real time and notify operators when errors arise, so appropriate actions can be taken to prevent or minimize downtime. Our aim is to help organizations successfully identify inefficiencies in real-time, and enable them to constantly improve the effectiveness of their operations. AHEAD OF THE CURVE The region is currently leading the way with many supply chain and logistics organizations placed ahead of the curve when it comes to IIoT. They understand the key benefits of IIoT implementation, and view it as critical to growth. Through the active adoption of the latest technology, these companies are not only wellplaced to successfully realize the operational gains that IIoT has to offer, but can considerably improve the quality of service and offerings for their customers. ë

GUEST ARTICLE

WHY WIFI IS AN ESSENTIAL STRATEGY TO FUTURE PROOF BUSINESS WiFi technology gives businesses the tools to create lasting engagement and genuine longevity. n C A L L U M S H O R T, F O U N D E R , B E A M B O X

WIFI MARKETING CONNECTS BUSINESSES WITH REAL PEOPLE People-based marketing is an approach where the customer is seen as a collective whole, rather than a group of marketing data points, often communicated with in a silo. Consumers are driving a change to people-based marketing, with businesses now expected to provide a consistent customer journey. WiFi makes this much easier. From an initial email capture at log-in, businesses from restaurants to hotels can collect valuable and real-time customer data at every customer touchpoint. Businesses can then use this to create a valuable experience for every customer, making people the centre of every strategy. Key takeaway: Using WiFi to understand the customer holistically will increase customer engagement and loyalty; essential for business longevity. USE WIFI TECHNOLOGY TO SCALE YOUR BUSINESS SYSTEMS ACCURATELY In order to future proof well, businesses need to be able to respond efficiently to any changes in quickly and with fluidity. Put simply, they need to be scalable. Great WiFi with scalable bandwidth helps to give businesses the flexibility required to react to changing demand for business in the future. For example using cloud technology to manage a flexible and remote workforce, or combining WiFi with other technology such as mobile to meet customer requirements. This ability to react quickly will ensure your business

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can respond well to future market changes, while retaining market share. Key takeaway: Businesses need to invest in quality WiFi infrastructure and bandwidth to ensure they can react efficiently to changing demand. WIFI WILL QUICKLY AND EASILY BUILD A PRIMED EMAIL LIST Email is personal, cost-effective and offers customers essential value, so it’s important that it’s included in every business strategy. WiFi builds a database of customer email addresses quickly and easily from information captured at log-in. This quickly builds an email list of customers already primed to that specific business, giving them a headstart in connecting customers with the brand. Importantly, and unlike social media followers and likes; building an email list give the business data control Owning and managing customer data at a central business level, rather than relying on third-party apps is an important way to build lasting success into any business strategy. Key takeaway: Use WiFi technology to build a strong, opted-in customer email list. Segment this for future marketing campaigns to increase sales and customer engagement. INVEST IN INCREASED WIFI CAPABILITY FOR REAL FUTURE PROOFING POWER The much-hyped future WiFi technology of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 offer huge future proofing potential for businesses. Increasing network speeds will

obviously improve the capacity for wireless networks to handle increasing data volumes demanded by consumers. But, future WiFi technology will also give businesses the tools to use new applications and offer different services to customers, including virtual reality and augmented reality. Key takeaway: Consider future technology when investing in your business WiFi. Having the power to meet future capacity requirements will ensure lasting business relevance. COMBINE SOCIAL MEDIA AND WIFI FOR LASTING BUSINESS SUCCESS For businesses wanting to guarantee future reach and market share, they should use WiFi in combination with social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Social media is already a vital strategy for businesses to create engagement, but using social media accounts to access business WiFi will provide an extra data rich layer on customer behaviour. Key strategy: Take social media engagement to the next level by combining with WiFi technology to strengthen customer loyalty and interaction. WRAP UP WiFi enables businesses to generate essential customer insight to implement a lasting, peoplebased approach, as well as being able to keep up to date technologically. For any business wishing to stay relevant into the future, Wifi is not something that can be ignored. ë

COVER STORY

SMART CITIES

ENVISIONING THE CITIES OF TOMORROW 24

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COVER STORY

Driven by government led projects, the Middle East and Africa is quickly becoming one of the world’s fastest growing regions for the smart city development. n B Y: D I V S H A B H AT < D I V S H A @ G E C M E D I A G R O U P. C O M > n P H O T O : S H U T T E R S T O C K

T W

he Middle East, especially the GCC are spearheading global smart cities innovations to drive economic competitiveness and enable safe, convenient and prosperous communities. According to a report released by KPMG, the Middle East & Africa’s smart cities market is

expected to double from $1.3 billion in 2018 to $2.7 billion by 2022.

THE SMART CITIES OF MIDDLE EAST UAE, being one of the world’s most connected city aims to be at the forefront of not only

pioneering but transforming the city into one of the smartest on the globe. Dubai’s 7-year agenda through the “Dubai Plan 2021” prioritises innovation as the key driver of the economy across all sectors, striving to become the innovation benchmark for smart cities seeking global sustainability and competitiveness.

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COVER STORY

“SIEMON OFFERS SOLUTIONS THAT ENABLE THE TRANSFORMATION OF A CITY’S BUILDING LANDSCAPE FROM ‘TRADITIONAL’ TO ‘SMART’,” PREM RODRIGUES, DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING FOR MIDDLE EAST, INDIA AND SAARC, SIEMON.

“TO STAY AHEAD OF THE DEMAND AND DELIVER INNOVATIONS THAT IMPROVE THE LIVES OF CITIZENS, SMART CITIES NEED ADAPTIVE NETWORKS THAT CAN TACKLE THE CHALLENGES OF THE EVERCHANGING ENVIRONMENTS,” AZZ- EDDINE MANSOURI, GENERAL MANAGER OF SALES, CIENA MIDDLE EAST

The city has already served up the world’s first fully 3D printed office and the first 3D printed laboratory. Now, Emaar aims to create the first fully 3D-printed house as a model home later this year, both as a proof of concept and as a springboard for larger 3D-printed residential projects which will service actual UAE residents. Within a few short years, the UAE Government believes that we will see pilot projects evolve into mainstream construction developments that can give customers highly desirable, customisable and affordable homes to live in. Saudi Arabia will start building the first residential area in a proposed $500 billion futuristic city - NEOM. The proposed $500 billion mega-city will be a special economic zone. Much like those found elsewhere in the world, most notably in China and India, it will have its own laws, taxes and regulations. It will be 33 times the size of New York City, or just smaller than Massachusetts, covering 25,000 square kilometres. The smart mega-city plans to operate exclusively on renewable energy by covering vast areas of

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land in solar panels and wind turbines. It was also recently announced that the first flight from its new Neom Bay Airport, allowing development to get underway. They claim the first phase will be completed by 2020. In Oman, the first smart city project in Duqm is planned to begin next year allowing for faster economic and social development in the city. Last year in Muscat, a foundation stone was laid for the Madinat Al Irfan smart city. Madinat Al Irfan will cover more than 45ha of desert territory near Muscat and will be built in multiple phases, the first of which will be completed in 2023.

THE PRIVATE-PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS While Middle East and North Africa governments are leading Smart Cities visions, from Dubai Smart City to NEOM in Saudi Arabia, public-private partnerships bringing these visions to reality said Mohamed Khan, Channel Head – SAP Global Partner Organization in MENA. “Private sector organizations, especially technology companies, can leverage their international experience to exchange best practices and localize solutions that meet the needs of Smart Cities. At the heart of Smart Cities is the move towards the Experience Economy, which prioritizes organizations digitally transforming into Intelligent Enterprises that can leverage technology to enhance experiences. One of the most important aspects of Smart Cities is analyzing resident and citizen data in real-time. Governments should work with channel partners to combine citizen data

(“x data”) with operational data (“o data”) -- from sensors to social media – to better understand citizens’ beliefs, emotions, and intentions. As a result, Smart Cities can gain actionable insights that can lead to enhanced urban experiences and citizen happiness,” he added. Gaurav Mohan, VP Sales South Asia, MEA & CIS, NETSCOUT also believes that the private sector will play a pivotal role in the development of smart cities. “Smart Dubai is dedicated to transform and empower partnerships with the public and private sector to design and implement services in line with its mission. Dubai transformed itself into a model smart city by launching over 100 smart initiatives and more than 1000 smart services. Smart cities use data and technology to create efficiencies, improve sustainability, create economic development, and enhance quality of life factors for people living and working in the city. NETSCOUT’s solutions are vital when it comes to ensuring a secure and connected network. Our solutions provide visibility into the connectivity and communication between IoT devices and infrastructures is crucial to IoT success,” added Gaurav. A core infrastructure element of smart cities includes robust IT connectivity and digitalization, which is the key to safety, security and energy savings. If that IT connectivity and digitalization is brought into the city’s buildings and if governments invest into the development of smart buildings, smart cities can advance and come to fruition more quickly.

COVER STORY

“THOSE WHO ARE NOW TRANSFORMING THEIR NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE, OPERATIONAL MODELS AND BUSINESS PROCESSES TO SUPPORT IOT PLATFORMS, DEVICES AND TRAFFIC, WILL NO DOUBT SUCCEED,” GAURAV MOHAN, VP SALES SOUTH ASIA, MEA & CIS, NETSCOUT

BY SHIFTING CORE APPLICATIONS TO THE CLOUD, SMART CITIES CAN BREAK DOWN DATA SILOS AND SHARE ACROSS LINES OF BUSINESS TO ENABLE REAL-TIME DECISION-MAKING,” MOHAMED KHAN, CHANNEL HEAD SAP GLOBAL PARTNER ORGANIZATION IN MENA

Middle East & Africa's Smart City Market Expected to Reach

2.7 billion

$

by 2022: KPMG

CONNECTIVITY IS KEY Smart cities are no longer a futuristic concept. In cities such as Berlin, they are fully operational today and pushing the bounds of how the IoT links business, public infrastructure and people all together. Many cities are introducing a wide range of connected smart city applications, including multiple installations of surveillance cameras, connected waste management control, lighting, parking, traffic control, public transport, and pollution and weather monitoring. Siemon says that it offers solutions that enable the transformation of a city’s building landscape from ‘traditional’ to ‘smart’. With its advanced copper cabling and connectivity technology, Siemon helps create highly efficient converged infrastructures in buildings that support data, voice, video, lighting, security, building automation and other low-voltage building systems over one single IP-based physical cabling infrastructure. In this way, building systems and connected devices can integrate, communicate and exchange information which helps create a new level of building intelligence and analytics,” said Prem Rodrigues, Director of Sales and Marketing for Middle East, India and SAARC at Siemon. Ciena Middle East believes that in order to achieve the smart city vision, telecom operators need to be able to meet the increase in bandwidth demand and have the scalability to meet the dynamic traffic flows that a smart city will pose. Networks will need to handle, collect, and analyze data from billions of devices and homes, flagging any problems, and taking actions in near real-time.

Furthermore, the growing adoption of 5G network solutions is one of the key enablers of smart cities as it has the potential to address the challenge of connectivity in the most seamless way possible - providing 10x lower latency, 100x faster speeds, 100x more devices, and 1000x higher data volumes. “Smart cities are in constant evolution and growth. Therefore, to stay ahead of the demand and deliver innovations that improve the lives of citizens, smart cities need adaptive networks that can tackle the challenges of the ever-changing environments. Adaptive networks are a crucial element in the digital evolution journey of smart cities as they utilize a unique combination of real-time analytics, intelligent automation and a programmable infrastructure to rapidly scale, self-configure, self-heal and self-optimize by constantly assessing the network pressures and demands of smart city applications,” commented Azz- Eddine Mansouri, General Manager of Sales, Ciena Middle East.

SMART CITIES, SMART FUTURE Urbanization is expected to continue well into the future. Thankfully, in the present tech-driven world, the application of rising technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and automation can help us to tackle this ongoing challenge. Ultimately, the transition to smarter and betterconnected cities lies with local decision-makers, but support and investment from the private sector will be necessary as we embark on smart city research and development. ë

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GUEST ARTICLE

SMART SKILLS NEEDED TO MANAGE THE SMART CITY OF TOMORROW The Smart Cities of tomorrow will call for new and futuristic smart skills to harness the advantages they can offer

n R O Y S T R I K , H E A D O F B U S I N E S S D E V E L O P M E N TPEARSON PROFESSIONAL MIDDLE EAST

Smart cities are more than just a trend—they are inching closer to becoming the future because the world is becoming more and more urban. By 2050, 60% of the global population expected to live in the cities. Across the globe, smart city technology spending reached $80 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow to $135 billion by 2021, according to a report from the International Data Corporation (IDC). Those are huge figures, and the question that comes to mind is – what are the skills which will be needed in the future to manage smart cities? It is an interesting question because data from various studies states that 40%60% of the jobs that might come up in 2030 have not even been invented as yet! Yet at the same time, there is an increasing demand for new and futuristic roles, such as those demanded by the Smart City industry. Therefore, in order to stay relevant in this competitive market, professionals must upgrade their skills regularly and invest in up-skilling. Roy Strik, Head of Business Development for Pearson Professional Middle East, gives us an overview of some of the skillsets which will be required to make the most of the smart city revolution. ROBOTICS Robots will play an important role in the Smart Cities of tomorrow. In countries with ageing populations and labour shortages, robots will be assigned to tasks that the human population cannot complete and will be an integral part of smart cities. Their presence will enable an increase

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in operational efficiency. We are already seeing some examples of this today – hotels in Singapore use service robots to clean rooms and deliver supplies. Dubai is already experimenting with the working of robots in public services, transportation, policing and surveillance, as well as targeting automation of 25% of its transportation system by 2030, all as part of its efforts of creating the happiest city in the world. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Artificial intelligence today has a role in many industries. In a smart city, AI will use smart algorithms to help automate and improve many activities and operations of a municipality. Report from Gartner predicts that 20% of all citizens in developed nations will use AI assistants to help them with various operational tasks. There will also be a sharp increase in the handling of customer experiences by conversational agents – it will rise from 3% in 2017 to 30% in 2022. AI is becoming critical to the Smart City Revolution, and skills in this area will be in high demand as companies look for a competitive edge. 3D PRINTING In a smart city, 3D printing can be used not just to build houses, but also to build bridges. An example is Amsterdam, which has the world’s first stainless steel bridge installed across one of its oldest and most popular canals. Other examples of what 3D printing can achieve in Smart Cities are eco-friendly houses, glass structures, public buildings and more.

BLOCKCHAIN While the basic premise of smart cities is technology, there are no common standards, and requirements could vary across geographies. This difference in technology infrastructure could cause some challenges. Blockchain can help by connecting these technologies together, and in the process, actually derive more value from them. Some ways by which blockchain can benefit smart cities include smart payments for all government services, waste management, smart energy and smart contracts. While the technology itself is still in the early stages of development, it also means that this is the best time to learn the skills needed to harness the power of blockchain and master it. Nothing is constant except change, and the world some years from now will be vastly different from the world we live in. To remain competitive, professionals must ensure that they continue to develop new capabilities. Today upskilling is easily available in many forms such as blended education, MicroMasters and other programmes which make learning flexible, portable, and cost-effective. Such newer forms of learning are linked directly to the industry and provide skills required to get onto the job immediately, such as Pearson Professional’s Micromasters Credential in AI from Columbia university. It will be essential for professionals to invest in developing the required skillsets in order to stay relevant for the workforce and to lead smart cities of the future. ë

GUEST ARTICLE

5G: ENABLING HYPER CONNECTIVITY FOR NEW INNOVATIONS n H A R I K R I S H N A K H A N D AVA L L I , L O C AT I O N & E N G I N E E R I N G H E A D , B O D Y & S E C U R I T Y B U S I N E S S U N I T, C O N T I N E N TA L I N D I A

HIGH-SPEED CONNECTIVITY TO ADVANCE CONNECTED VEHICLES The high-speed connectivity will facilitate connected vehicle technology enabling features like advanced safety equipment, real-time vehicle diagnostics, improved interface and autonomous vehicles, all set to make their way to the shore set. Vehicle-to-vehicle infrastructure and vehicleto-outside infrastructure will enable an in-car system to monitor the vehicle and its surroundings. Therefore, not only does one know where the vehicle is headed but one can also receive updates on traffic, cyclists, pedestrians, crossings and other structures going around. Due to this connectivity, traffic could be easily controlled and one can automatically reroute themselves to quicker paths in turn controlling and maintaining an effective flow of vehicles. More precise GPS location information will be able to display street names and overlaid camera images of places in addition to critical navigation assistance. Adding to the potential of this speedy connectivity are the autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles require sensors to generate unprecedented amounts of data which requires incredible data processing capabilities and speed needed to mimic the timing of human reflexes. 5G therefore will be crucial for autonomous vehicles to include specific safety measures in the vehicle. For example, in times of emergency, the autopilot feature might hand the reins over to the driver. However, in the case of an elderly or a disabled rider this can prove to be fatal. For this reason, many tech companies are developing

remote pilots who will be trained drivers sitting in a simulator that can take over instantly. But, to achieve this, a stable and fast connection offered by 5G would be required. Additionally, 5G will provide passengers in self-driving cars with high-quality infotainment services, bringing data in and out of the car for passenger and driver consumption. 5G TO ENABLE CONTINENTAL’S ADVANCE TECHNOLOGIES India is well positioned to adopt the 5G technology and it has already laid foundation with key ecosystem players such as Continental to create a conducive environment. Continental is making use of the available system to build technologies that will advantage from the coming of 5G. The company has developed various functions enabling cars to take pre-emptive action against potential risks such as the Continental eHorizon. The eHorizon functions as an anticipatory visual sensor which speculates the condition of the roads ahead and interacts with the control system to achieve accident-free driving. It works as an additional virtual sensor that networks data from various different sources, assesses it and intelligently relays it to other vehicles. Continental is also using artificial intelligence to create models which are able to detect road objects and predict arising hazardous situations. These models can react to changing conditions and use input and output data to adjust functions. Additionally, neural networks are used for image processing and object detection. Continental has also established a system for pedestrian safety.

Turn-assist systems for cars by Continental constitutes of short range radar for accurate detection of vehicle surroundings. The radar system can help monitor blind spots while turning, intersections and warn the driver of hidden pedestrians preventing collision. In addition to this, intelligent street lamps developed by Continental help manage flow of traffic and collect data which can be used to control signal changes and reduce emissions and energy. In addition to these, Continental has also revolutionized how digital assistants work. Their voice-activated digital companion understands multiple questions and enables natural dialogue. It can detect logical connections and hence provide distraction free-operation. When it comes to visual aesthetic, Continental has enhanced intelligent glass control connecting car windows to on-board computer. The main intent of this technology is to provide comfort through automatic or manual discolouration of the glass. It’s important to realize that 5G means the network is ready, not just for your cellphone but millions of other devices. 5G will help humans connect to everything thus being the next frontier in machine-to-machine communication. The fifth-generation wireless technology in India is expected to connect almost everything around us with an ultra-fast, highly reliable, and fully responsive network. 5G will allow us to reach and enjoy the full potential of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things. ë

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GUEST ARTICLE

YOUR OPTIMAL ROUTE TO HYBRID IT INFRASTRUCTURE— EDUCATED, PLANNED AND STRATEGIC In the Middle East, there has been a growing movement towards the adoption of hybrid IT environments, where workloads and services are split across cloud and non-cloud environments such as on-premises hardware, private cloud, co-located cloud and public cloud. But challenges persist, especially in the Storage-as-a-Service domain. Many third-party providers of this increasingly popular hybrid cloud offering have not managed to catch up with more stringent requirements when it comes to enterprise class-deployments. Many have shied away from moving critical client workloads offsite, choosing instead to maintain them in their own data centres. And travelling workloads are also beset by licensing restrictions that shrink the number of options for IT organisations. And so, the relatively short history of hybrid cloud has furnished us with several cautionary tales. If these uncomfortable anecdotes were to be compiled into a single volume, its title would read: “Plan Ahead”. WHAT ARE YOUR TARGETS? Identify your goals, zero in on your biggest pain points and plan your attack. Maybe you want to find better ways to run traditional applications in a public-cloud setting. You might want to explore ways to unlock the limitless computing power inherent in cloud-native applications and cloud-native development in your data centres. Or perhaps you just crave the cyber-safety of the public cloud for the protection of your data and the options for business continuity.

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SUPPORTING ON-PREM AND CLOUD-NATIVE APPS When planning better support for enterprise applications in the public cloud, make sure that the data services you select not only meet the feature requirements of your operations, but that the performance of those services can scale appropriately to the needs of your apps. When you are careful to select services that are compatible with your data centre storage, you are taking the step of ensuring that APIs and management are consistent across all your environments. If your big win is to prepare your data centres for the support of cloud-native apps, then you will need to add container support and object storage capabilities. This code portability allows cloudnative applications to run on your premises. In addition, associated automation tools and selfservice facilities can lead to an appreciable surge in your organisation’s agility and allow you to deliver on cloud-native application development. The bottom line is that modern IT environments should facilitate data strategies based on flexible consumption models, across on-premises, hosted, and public cloud—aligning application workloads with the most effective infrastructure. Most importantly, the modern IT environment should work harmoniously with a common management interface, 100% non-disruptive architecture and proactive/predictive support services. SECURING THE DIGITAL ESTATE Building your ideal hybrid IT infrastructure will

n ASSAAD EL SAADI, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MIDDLE E A S T, P U R E S T O R A G E

require a long, hard look at your current security policies and the formulation of new ones that allow a secure environment without hampering your operational ambitions. Do not be afraid to re-evaluate your entire data-protection and disasterrecovery processes, to ensure all your digital bases are covered. Your recovery objectives may have changed, before or during the design of hybrid cloud. As a result, you may find that the recovery options available to you are no longer fast enough for your new ambitions, necessitating the switch to flash storage. And if you find yourself needing to repurpose your backup data under your new paradigm, then consider using object storage for the long term, to ensure greater accessibility than you would receive with tape solutions. As with any endeavour where you adopt something new, it is prudent to let others fail first. But hybrid cloud is now mature enough that the major lessons have all been learned. Others have both failed and succeeded, and digital transformation is working its magic on those that have been duly cautious with their planning. I urge you to be one of them. Modern IT infrastructure roadmaps, diligently navigated, can take you where you want to be, with your data working for you, delivering the actionable insights that will keep you relevant in the global digital economy. ë

COVER FEATURE

MOHAMED TANTAWI

SAEED AGHA

INTELLIGENT WANS OF TOMORROW 32

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COVER FEATURE

Juniper Networks is aggressively innovating all types of networks to the next level of performance with three objectives, automation, creation, scaling. n W O R D S : A R U N S H A N K A R < A R U N @ G E C M E D I A G R O U P. C O M >

E

nterprises of all shapes and sizes have historically benefited from outsourcing or managed services deals, that have reduced the cost of noncore operations. IT and network infrastructure are just two of those areas, and it also happens to be two of the most prominent when it comes to delivering greater customer value at a lower operating cost. This means that enterprise CTOs are continuously squeezing service providers to deliver efficiency savings and product innovation. For many, wide area networking, WAN is one service that is coming under increased scrutiny. “The network has changed peoples’ lives immeasurably. Governments, businesses and people rely on the network more than ever before. Juniper Networks provides the intelligence, automation and scale for the entire network to learn about customer personas and directly meet those needs,” states Mohamed Tantawi, SP Sales Director META, Juniper Networks. It is very important to understand the customer business objectives and what they are trying to accomplish. “We also look at all initiatives they have in place to achieve those objectives. We help the customer to link their initiatives and their objectives using the best Juniper solutions and practices. An ROI discussion is always an interest to the enterprise. We always favor the engagement to be around how can we add value to the business and solve critical problems,” explains Fayez Eweidat, Enterprise Sales Director, META, at

FAYEZ EWEIDAT

AT GITEX 2019

Juniper Networks continues to provide enterprises and organisations with some of the most innovative and most integrated network solutions that are fast, flexible and secure. At this year’s GITEX 2019, the firm will showcase some of its most prominent products, such as the Contrail Enterprise Multicloud platform, which provides policy orchestration and advanced analytics to its customers. In addition to Juniper Networks varied products relating to connected security, Enterprise WAN and SD-WAN solutions is the Mist Wireless LAN product, which leverages artificial intelligence to automate operations and offers innovative location-based services to its customers – an anticipated product that is expected to draw a lot of attention at this year’s show.

Juniper Networks.

RECENT PRODUCTS Juniper Networks has introduced a cloud-delivered version of its SD-WAN solution. Juniper’s Contrail Service Orchestration now gives enterprises a simple way to manage and secure not only the WAN infrastructure, but also branch LAN and Wi-Fi networks typically deployed alongside it. “Juniper’s scalable, cloud-based SD-WAN solution helps enterprises prepare for the future while simplifying operations. It pairs the simplicity of a cloud-delivered model with central orchestration of network infrastructure, delivering advanced benefits of automated networking, security, analytics and artificial intelligence for IT,” says Eweidat. The Mist platform, from the recently acquired Mist System company, is a cornerstone of Juniper Networks’ strategy for delivering artificial intelligence-driven enterprise. By leveraging several core architectural advantages, including a microservices cloud architecture with abstracted control, automated workflows, an integrated artificial intelligence engine and a robust product portfolio that spans wireless LAN, wired LAN, WAN and security domains, Juniper Networks is bringing simplicity and scale to IT while delivering the best possible end-user experiences. With a Software-Defined Secure Network, SDSN, powered by virtualised routing and security elements, automated remediation, real-time intelligence shared across organisations via the cloud, and machine learning, enterprise networks will know when and how to defend valuable data, and infrastructure. This gives organisations an edge when defending assets from unknown or hard-to-detect malware such as ransomware that often leverage automation to proliferate rapidly.

SECURITY IT security is intimately tied to the network, as much as the network is intimately tied to business transformation. The biggest challenges faced by enterprises in this space are the evolving nature of attacks, the threat surface expanding exponentially and lastly, that companies are struggling to keep up. “Building automated security into the network fabric provides enterprises with performance, reliability and intelligence to thwart

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COVER FEATURE

FAYEZ EWEIDAT, ENTERPRISE SALES DIRECTOR, META, JUNIPER NETWORKS.

TOP LINE

n

IT security is tied intimately to the network.

n

The network is tied intimately to business

transformation. n

Cloud-based SD-WAN solution helps simplify

operations. n

Contrail gives cloud-based orchestration of

network infrastructure. n

Contrail offers automation, analytics, security.

n

Companies struggle to keep up with chal-

lenges in security. n

Automated security is built into the network

for performance. n

Evolving nature of attacks is a big challenge.

n

Expansion of threat surface is another

challenge.

attacks and minimise the disruption of services,” explains Eweidat. Juniper Networks Connected Security combines inbuilt detection of threats and the enforcement of policy with the capabilities of partners to safeguard users, applications and infrastructure against advanced threats. Combining automation with a layered approach to defense provides customers with the capabilities to answer both existing and emerging, internal and external threats. The latest updates to Juniper’s containerised firewall, the cSRX, and the addition of security intelligence to the MX routing platform, demonstrate the vendors commitment to integrating security into everything.

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CORE COMPETENCE “In today’s mobile world, customers do not give the network a second thought, and expect to connect instantly. The service provider core is primarily about massive speed, scale, and cost optimisation,” reflects Tantawi. Today, Juniper Networks is accelerating innovation in all layers of the network based on three simple principles: • Automate: remove complexity, reduce management overhead, and manage 1000’s of devices as one. • Create: new services in a fraction of the time it takes today and use an intelligent and programmable network to increase revenue. • Scale: meet unpredictable demand patterns, for

real-time traffic engineering, improved performance and efficiency, and break the vicious cycle of over provision. Customers expect flexible, intuitive services that can be adopted quickly and cost effectively. For this reason, service providers must begin their transformation to maximise future potential, or risk becoming marginalised through mobile and virtualisation. Software-Defined Networking, SDN and Network Functions Virtualisation, NFV are designed to merge the network into the age of the cloud. And to become a service creation platform that empowers end users and delivers customised experiences.

COVER FEATURE

MOHAMED TANTAWI, SP SALES DIRECTOR META, JUNIPER NETWORKS.

TOP LINE

n

Juniper is accelerating innovation in all layers

of the network. n Enterprise CTOs are squeezing service providers to deliver savings, innovation. n

Wide area networking is coming under

increased scrutiny. n

Juniper provides intelligence, automation,

scale for the network. n

Important to understand customer business

objectives, what they want to accomplish. n

Customers expect flexible services that can

be adopted quickly. n

Service providers must begin transformation

to maximise potential. n

SDN and NFV are designed to merge the

network into cloud.

PARTNER SKILLS Channel partners today face multifaceted challenges in the market. They need to meet the expectations of customers, in terms of business objectives, innovation, and pricing, while also continuously reskilling themselves in technology. The pace of innovation and IT transformation is also accelerating, not decelerating. Partners therefore need to be able to deliver and support the demand from customers. “Skills in security, datacentre, DevOps and software networking are key for partners looking to advance in today’s environment. Cloud integration skills and capabilities are in high demand as customers build out multi-cloud environments,” says Saeed Agha, Channel Sales Director, Emerging Region,

Juniper Networks. From a technical standpoint, partners have access to a team of Juniper Networks experts who specialise in network availability. Juniper engineers and technicians work to ensure that partners can meet the most aggressive network demands through operational hardware and software support that ensures maximum uptime, utility, and value. Additionally, the flexibility Juniper offers in terms of hardware replacement options, means they can be tailored to deliver the right level of service that partners, and their end customers require.

CHANNEL LOYALTY Juniper Networks Rewards is a comprehensive

partner incentive approach that increases partner profitability with abundant opportunities to be rewarded for adding value. It has been designed to reward partners for identifying new opportunities, showcasing their expertise, and closing a higher number of deals quickly. It helps partners better monetise their most important asset — value add — and in so doing, improve their bottom line. The building blocks of the reward programme are a global promotions catalog, a best of-class opportunity registration programme, and, for qualified Juniper Networks partners, a holistic performance incentive. Juniper Networks also offers Partner Deal Registration, this is a programme that rewards and protects partners for hunting new business

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COVER FEATURE

SAEED AGHA, CHANNEL SALES DIRECTOR, EMERGING REGION, JUNIPER NETWORKS.

TOP LINE

n

Pace of innovation and IT transformation is

accelerating not decelerating. n

Partners can build modular options to tailor

programmes to specific business models n

Partners have access to Juniper experts who

specialise in network availability. n

Juniper technicians deliver aggressive

networks through hardware and software support. n

Juniper offers flexibility in hardware replace-

ment with service levels to partners. n

Juniper Rewards is a partner incentive

approach increasing profitability. n

Juniper offers Partner Deal Registration that

protects hunting across accounts. n

To assist partners with promotional efforts,

another initiative is Accelerate.

across all accounts. New features of the initiative include specialisations that will address the role cloud is playing in driving IT adoption, in addition to simplified core requirements, and enriched reward schemes. “As Juniper continues to innovate and develop new solutions, it is important that our partner programme evolves as well. We have taken steps to ensure partners feel empowered to serve customers and are prepared for industry changes ahead. Our recently updated Juniper Partner Advantage is a prime example of this. We are also placing greater emphasis on addressing market

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opportunities through partner specialisations that are based on emerging trends such as security, data center, software development,” says Agha. To assist partners with their promotional efforts, another initiative from Juniper Networks is Accelerate, which is the marketing engine for its Partner Advantage programme. By leveraging the tool, partners can engage customers and prospects with relevant campaign content and offers and have access to innovative marketing minds in the business. The foundational element of Accelerate is the Juniper Marketing Concierge. With this, partners can improve their competi-

tive edge by developing compelling marketing collateral, creating customised campaigns, swiftly and easily orchestrating in-person and virtual events, in addition to designing integrated comarketing plans that accelerate the sales pipeline. With the above support from parent vendor Juniper Networks, partners can build modular options to tailor their programme to specific business models. These enhancements will ultimately help deliver best-in-class solutions tailored to the end user’s needs, build strong revenue growth and reward partners as they invest, innovate and grow with Juniper. ë

GUEST ARTICLE

THE FUTURE OF MENA BANKS IS FINTECH

Embracing fintech is not just the future of MENA banks but the future of all banks regardless of their geographical positioning.

n N I C H O L A S W R I G H T, S A L E S D I R E C T O R , M E N A REGION, SAXO BANK

The future belongs to banks that acknowledge the rising digital demand from clients is not met by simply expanding an IT department. Increased expectations for digital experiences from clients and the many opportunities that new technology provides call for an open business model with a sharp focus on the bank’s core strength – servicing clients. From our point of view, the bank of the future does not develop much technology itself. The bank of the future helps its clients navigate through the increasingly complex world of apps and smart fintech solutions by handpicking the best solutions and packaging them effectively. By adhering to this platform or marketplace model, banks can build a low-cost, flexible and state-ofthe-art client experience. The flexibility of having an open model makes it easy to add new services, without adding high costs and complexity. Outsourcing is now more widely adopted by institutional trading firms and is key to the future. Outsourcing to partners means you can benefit from scale and provide ‘best of breed’ products and services to a wider customer base quicker and with less Capex / Opex, rather than using your own limited capabilities as a bank to deliver sub optimal products and services. The outsource / partner model is absolutely key in finance now as customers become better informed, seeking better experiences and more diversified and comprehensive services and products from across the globe. You can no longer just provide a local / regional menu of products; as has been the case in the region up until now.

This is where the buzzword “fintech” comes into play. Fintech is a term that has grown in notoriety to be associated with disruption, creativity and opportunity. But what makes the MENA market so appealing to fintechs? We have seen some seismic shifts in the perception of MENA markets internationally in the past few years, especially with the upgrading of the UAE from frontier to emerging markets, followed by Saudi and soon Kuwait. Within the region, the UAE has embraced fintech the most and is ready to increase its investment in innovation and disruptive technology. Now it is the case that – on an institutional level - global financial institutions have to be involved in these markets and subsequently we are seeing an increase in capital flow, and a need for better infrastructure to handle these capital flows. In the Saudi market from the start of 2019 through July 31, trading activity of foreign investors totaled $56 billion, representing 21% of total trading, according to the filing, boosting the Saudi index: TASI up nearly 20% at its peak in May. These figures underpin how markets in the GCC are young but maturing very quickly and are keen to embrace new technology in order to catapult themselves ahead of older and more established markets who are being held back by legacy systems and infrastructure. Indeed, these countries see fintech initiatives and hubs as a way to become relevant in the global market-place and steel the limelight away from bigger centers. Traditionally, banks have assigned private bankers to HNWIs and UHNWIs in the region

but have under-served the mass affluent segment, who also suffered from undisclosed high costs with independent advisors. For the past 25 years, Saxo Bank has strived to democratize trading and investment, so this is a topic close to our hearts. We believe that access to global capital markets should not be the privilege of a select few. Everyone should have the freedom to control their investments and plan their savings to support their goals. For the past 25 years, we have looked at what opportunities and services were available to large financial institutions and used cutting-edge technology to perfect, package, and scale the solutions and make them accessible to a wider audience. Fintech offers a new solution for MENA banks that can help them to reach new audiences, scale their offerings in an efficient fashion and stay relevant. However, part of the fintech transition is that banks need to be open to partnerships and technology sharing. Banks have traditionally built and owned all technology underpinning their entire value chains. Now we see the value chain is being unbundled and to keep up with regulation and new technology, banks realise they must collaborate. Instead of building their own global capital markets engine, maintaining it, and keeping up with changing regulation and market opportunities, banks can enter into a partnership with Saxo and use our technology and market access to service their end clients. ë

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INTERVIEW

DATA CENTER EFFICIENCY REIMAGINED

With the explosive growth of Big Data and Big Analytics, efficient, solid, reliable storage is golden. 2CRSI uses state-of-the-art technology with enough stamina to keep up with changing trends. In an exclusive chat with Ravi Sudarshan, Regional Manager – Middle East at 2CRSI on the company’s vision to rethink data center efficiency and energy conservation.

RAVI SUDARSHAN,

REGIONAL MANAGER – MIDDLE EAST AT 2CRSI

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When was 2CRSI established and what were the core founding principles of the company? 2CRSI is a 15 year old company. We are a Francebased company that was founded in Strasburg. The founding principle or vision of the company was to bring uniqueness to server storage solution market and reimagine the hardware and solution designing approach. Our motive has always been to keep customer requirement at the heart of everything that we do and design products and solutions in tandem with that. This becomes a very niche area of work as the market is saturated with multiple products with multiple functionalities but very few that is customized as per the customer requirement. So, we devise a game changer in that area. We provide products suitable for industries which require robust and/or embedded solutions and for datacenters looking for high-performance systems combined with energy efficiency. We design unique IT Solutions with a ‘pay-asyou-need’ model. This allows our customers to pay for only those solutions/features that they require. This not only enables them to lower their cost by opting green IT Solutions, but also get resources scaled as per the project. Our servers are designed and manufactured in France and assembled in both France and the US. With the explosive growth of Big Data and Big Analytics, efficient, solid, reliable storage is golden. 2CRSI uses state-of-the-art technology with enough stamina to keep up with changing trends. Our solutions provide customers with smarter storage, optimized through integration with existing systems and user-friendly accessibility, so your data is not merely warehoused, but also quickly and easily retrievable. 2CRSI also has another array of services that specializes in high-performance computing, immersion cooling and rugged systems. Our growth has been organic and in 2018 we acquired a company named Tranquil PC that specializes in

INTERVIEW

Reduce power consumption

Reduce building costs

Increase computing density per sqm

Easy to set up

Noiseless

Immersion cooling

designing and manufacturing rugged products, thus expanding our portfolio further. What makes you a niche player in the server or data center space? We craft systems of up to 480TB in 4U, using state-of-the-art, helium-based disks for tasks such as backup, video archiving, data archiving, databases, cloud storage, and more. With the knowledge of our experienced server experts, we work with you to design the optimal system for the unique needs of your industry and your company. When 2CRSI builds your hardware, you can focus on your business instead of wondering whether your hardware can keep pace with your company’s changing needs. So what does 2CRSI stand for? I am sure our readers would want to know. It stands for Conception, Consulting, Research Services for IT. But we call ourselves 2Crazy (laughs). We are crazy because we have been able to hit up high on the expectations of our customers on various projects. One of the best examples to site here would be ShadowPC, which is one of the leading cloud gaming solution provider company. We designed DC for ShadowPC ( Blade) with a particular emphasis on energy conservation. Our servers were able to save twenty percent of the overall electricity bill. This is a very crucial factor in USA?European countries as the cost of energy is really high and companies are increasingly focusing on green IT solutions. So this was made possible by our R&D team and server experts on board who conceptualize, consult and research services that are apt for a

customer’s environment and workload. We read about your Immersion technology in brief on your website. Would you like to tell us more about this technology and its benefits? Certainly. 2SRSI specializes in Immersion technology which is a very rare and unique technology that conserves energy and lowers your cooling costs down to negligible levels whilst providing highest level of data center efficiency. As a advanced computing manufacturer, 2CRSi designs specific servers for immersion cooling in 17’’ / 19’’ / 21’’ form factor. Our product range for immersion cooling is called “ATLANTIS”. Submerged server enhances cooling efficiency, reduces power consumption,can operate noiselss, without vibration, leading the way to a new age of green datacenters. When servers are immersed it develops higher capacity to absorb the heat. The liquid that is used is a biodegradable one which is normally used for edible products and has the volume of a typical baby oil. What amount of maintenance would this need? There is literally no maintenance needed. The lifecycle of this liquid is fifteen years and it is fully biodegradable. Like the saying goes ‘Pictures speak a thousand words’, customers wanted to see the product themselves before buying the concept. When we brought the physical product to the market, the demand sore immediately and I could see myself speaking to multiple customers on this. We also give a three years warranty on the immersion solution and our rugged servers.

What kind of implementations have been done with this technology and what results could you see? We have some major customers in UK and US who are using this solution. Certainly, there are some restrictions and hardships that you face when you bring a new product or solution to the market. There are some resistance to acceptance that can only be resolved by educating the customers. We are right now at that stage where we are educating our customers. The reception for this technology in this market has been exception for obvious weather conditions. I also had some interesting conversations with some major enterprises in Saudi a Arabia and and some reserch institutes in UAE, and I was very exuberant to see the kind of knowledge and appetite that the market had for such a niche solution.

Yes, and I would like to take this platform to invite customers and visitors to come and visit us at our booth and have a real-time experience of Immersion Technology. How does your customer acquisition model work? Direct or Indirect? We are 100% channel centric . It is a mixed approach. Our channel partners drive our solutions in the market and our team drives it internally as well. We educate and keep our channel partners up to date on the solutions that we offer but also keep a direct touch model with the customers as well. Currently we are working with two SNB Group and Sariya IT distribution— and are certainly open to new partnerships in future as we grow geographically and in size. ë

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INTERVIEW

AGNOSTIC OFFERINGS

“SENDQUICK FACILITATES MULTI-MODEM OPERATOR REDUNDANCY AND OMNI-CHANNEL ROUTE REDUNDANCY. ALERT AND REMINDER ENSURES SEAMLESS COMMUNICATION TO PERSONNEL ON ACTIVE DUTY WHILE ESCALATION ENSURES COMMUNICATION TO CONCERNED STAKEHOLDERS BASED ON OPERATING THRESHOLDS AND THRESHOLD OF TOLERANCE,” - ASHOK KUMAR, CHIEF OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - EMEA & SAARC, TALARIAX.

What is sendQuick? What does it do? sendQuick is a portfolio of award winning, self-sufficient, purpose-built appliances that cater to Enterprise Mobility and Enhanced Remote Access Security. Every sendQuick appliance addresses a specific application niche for example, Infrastructure Alerts, Notifications from Third Party Applications, Enterprise Messaging, 2FA and Queue Management. Alerts, Notifications, User Messages, OTP and Appointments are communicated to mobile stakeholders in 2-way mode across a plethora of communication channels such as SMS, Email, Social Media Messengers such as whatsapp, wechat, line, slack, telegram, viber, facebook messenger, our own mobile messenger sqoope as well as collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex.

ASHOK KUMAR,

CHIEF OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EMEA & SAARC, TALARIAX

What is the USP of sendQuick ? sendQuick is an enterprise class, industry grade, Alert Notification Management platform. sendQuick facilitates multi-modem operator redundancy and omni-channel route redundancy. Alert and Reminder ensures seamless communication to personnel on active duty while Escalation ensures communication to concerned stakeholders based on operating thresholds and threshold of tolerance. This in turn ensures timely identification, oversight and resolution of issues. Is sendQuick something that may be deployed at NOC/SOC within organizations? sendQuick may be deployed with NMS applications such as CA Unicenter, IBM Tivoli, HP Openview, BMC Patrol, Nagios, Solarwinds, WhatsUp Gold, Manage Engine, Prtg, Zabbix, Cisco Prime etc., sendQuick acts as the gateway to NMS applications ensuring First Fail is com-

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municated to the concerned stakeholders as well as the NOC Engineers ensuring faster and better Impact Analysis and Correlation. Also sendQuick reverse monitors NMS for platform and application availability. In the event NMS fails, sendQuick may be tasked to monitor IP addressable assets and applications for device and application failure while continuing to alert pre-designated individuals. sendQuick also has a built-in email server which will prove invaluable in the event the organizations email server goes down or is unavailable. The IT security framework at the SOC (Security Operations Center) comprises of Firewall, Anti-Virus, IDS, IPS, Probes, VA Tools, SIEM etc., sendQuick facilitates integration from each of these components and collectively from SIEM in order to ensure First Fail, Threat Detection, Event Tracking, Incident Response, Orchestration, Fraud and Compliance Monitoring. SIEM Tools such as Splunk ES, Solarwinds Log and Event Manager, Logrhythm SIEM, Alien Vault, QRadar, McAfee, Arcsight, Netwitness, Trustware may be configured to send messages to sendQuick. CISO/IT Security Manager/Security Experts can decide on the type of alert and where it must be sent for information, action, escalation and mitigation. What are the industry vertificals that will benefit from sendQuick? As of today, sendQuick appliances are deployed across 50 discrete verticals such as Banking and NBFC, Insurance, Hospitality, Healthcare, Manufacturing, FMCG, Services, Govt, Oil & Gas, Defense, R&D, Shipping, Logistics etc., We are a sector agnostic offering. ë

IT NOTIFICATION MANAGEMENT PLATFORM Single System for ALL Notifications

Viber

WhatsApp

Facebook Messenger

Cisco Webex

Slack

Microsoft Teams

Voice Call

Text Message

WeChat

@ Telegram Email

Real-time Alerts

LINE

Multi-Platform

Syslog SNMP Traps Email API

The ideal platform for enterprises to enhance their IT infrastructure uptime. Receive real-time alerts on your phone messengers.

RTIFIED CE

2015 ISO 9001

For further details, please visit www.talariax.com

ashok@talariax.com

+97156 212992

VERTICAL ANALYSIS

RETAIL

RE-IMAGINED The retail sector in the Middle East and Africa region is on the edge of a pivotal shift. E-commerce is becoming a reality, generating new customer experiences, disrupting business models, and creating growth opportunities for retailers.

n W O R D S : G E C M E D I A S TA F F n P H O T O : S H U T T E R S T O C K

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lthough UAEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s retail market has been challenging due to the ongoing increased supply and low customer spending, the retailers are finding new ways to increase sales. Recently it was announced that malls in Dubai that are digitally enabled are been expected to run the market in on coming months. The retail play ground is booming and becoming more competitive and innovative, bringing in new products and solutions for those who are normal

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customers and business firms.

ECOMMERCE GROWTH IN RETAIL Undoubtedly, e-commerce has completely transformed the retail landscape. Most recently, two years after spending US$500m to acquire Souq, American e-commerce company Amazon has rolled out its platform for customers in the UAE. The regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s e-commerce sector is growing at the fastest pace globally, with online sales expected to

double to $48.8bn by 2021, according to a report by Fitch Solutions Macro Research. E-commerce spending in the UAE is expected to increase by 170% to $27.1bn in 2022, from $9.7bn in 2017. But businesses still struggling to keep up may be wondering what they can do to encourage customers to come into their retail stores, instead of shopping from their internet-enabled devices. The convenience of online shopping is difficult to compete with, so many retailers opt for offering their customers a completely different experience

VERTICAL ANALYSIS

than they could find online. A recent study by SOTI showed that 92% of customers prefer stores that offer a mobile technology experience, for example. “Augmented reality apps can allow customers to virtually try on clothes, see what a paint colour would look like on their walls, or even how furniture would look in their homes. It is technological innovations like these that will bring the excitement back to shopping in a store. And with the right in-store technologies, retailers can get a better understanding of what their customers want out of the shopping process. Using technology to track the movements of customers is another way to harness technology in a brickand-mortar store. Analysing this data and using it to make valuable changes to aspects such as the store layout could go a long way to improving the customer experience, and in turn, boosting instore sales. Putting mobile technology at the heart of the logistics process is an option with Swisslog’s CarryPick solution. Coupled with SynQ software, there are even opportunities to share each step of order fulfilment with customers via a tracking page” added Alain Kaddoum, General Manager, Swisslog Middle East “As a leading CRM consultancy firm, 4C strives to ensure its customers reap the full benefits of their investments commented Jake Callaway, Managing Director, MENA at 4C“ In addition to expertly implementing the various Salesforce modules that effectively empower retailers, we work to truly understand each aspect of our customers’ businesses. This enables us to ensure that the tools they deploy can be seamless integrated so that everything can work together, contributing toward the end result of turning shoppers in to lifelong brand advocates.”

INFLUENCE OF AI IN RETAIL

“THE RETAIL SECTOR IS CONSUMER DRIVEN – THEY ARE THE REASON BRANDS EXIST AND THE RETAIL SECTOR IS THRIVING”. NITIN KAUSHAL, VICE PRESIDENT – SALES, META AT CAPILLARY TECHNOLOGIES

When it comes implementing AI and understanding its power which comes with a big advantage of gaining profit and huge customer attraction. Artificial Intelligence in retail landscape is the most promising implementation for those who use it. The companies will be able to save and receive customer data much more efficiently. And with that much data the retailers can create personalized shopping experience for the shoppers. As indicated by Worldwide Market Experiences, interests in computer based intelligence by retail section will surpass USD 8 billion by 2024. As more applications for AI, prescient investigation and profound learning advances are explored different avenues regarding achievement, computerized disturbance in retail portion

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VERTICAL ANALYSIS

“IT’S NO SECRET THAT E-COMMERCE HAS COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED THE RETAIL LANDSCAPE”

“TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN A KEY ENABLER FOR THE RETAIL SECTOR IN DRIVING A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC BUSINESS MODEL”

ALAIN KADDOUM, GENERAL MANAGER, SWISSLOG MIDDLE EAST

FADI KANAFANI, MIDDLE EAST MANAGING DIRECTOR & GENERAL MANAGER, NETAPP

“RETAIL SECTOR IS UNDERGOING A TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION THAT IS DRIVING RETAILERS TO AUTOMATE REDUNDANT TASKS AND REVAMP THEIR STRATEGIES”. JAKE CALLAWAY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MENA AT 4C

TOP UPCOMING TRENDS IN RETAIL 2019

Brands and Glass Box as a culture

will undoubtedly occur at a much quick pace. “An AI-driven strategy helps make sense of this data by creating an algorithm to understand individual consumer preferences. It deep dives into their buying patterns and history, product preferences and characteristics. It analyzes customer behavior and other parameters to create and send personalized campaigns to each customer – akin to giving someone a tailored suit. This helps brands achieve a true 1:1 personalization and continues to optimize campaigns through machine learning. Artificial Intelligence is a real game changer here. The future of personalization is a true 1:1 engagement, which AI is enabling.

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Experimental Retail rising E-commerce shipping getting faster

The RoI on AI-driven campaigns are immense. Personalizing campaigns with the help if technology benefits brands immensely; it reduces acquisition costs by as much as 50 percent, enhances revenue by 5 - 15 percent and increases efficiency of marketing spend by 10 percent to 30 percent, while providing costumers a truly personal experience”. Nitin Kaushal, Vice President – Sales, META at Capillary Technologies.

FINALLY It is really impressive how the retail market is evolving this fast with the implementations and innovations of new technology which is amazing.

Normalization of Multi-Channel

The retail market is booming along with the economy of UAE. Computer based intelligence specialists accept that the innovation offers a wide scope of utilizations for the retail portion. In the coming year, retail will see more noteworthy imbuement of computer based intelligence based arrangements in everyday tasks. Computer based intelligence will change the client support cycle in retail and the two retailers just as the purchasers will undoubtedly profit by the man-made intelligence Retail syndicate. Innovations and more innovations, how much will the retail market grow and what new things we will witness, that only future will tell. ë

GUEST ARTICLE

ATTENTION! COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDERS, IS YOUR BSS READY FOR THE REGION’S 5G REVOLUTION? As an extended family of new technologies continues to feed digital transformation fever across the Middle East, we prepare to welcome a long-touted nitrous injection that promises to elevate ICT solutions vendors and their customers to a whole new playing field. Say “hello” to 5G. The Ericsson Mobility Report puts the number of GCC 5G subscriptions at 30 million by the end of 2024. That is more than one subscription for every pair of people living here. While this will still represent only 2% of mobile subscriptions in the region, boosted network capacities and falling data costs are expected to increase this share. And while consumers heat up a new market, businesses will play their part. Low-latency 5G connectivity will undoubtedly fuel an increased adoption in IoT solutions, leading to an escalation in advanced machine-to-machine (M2M) field operations. STAYING WITH THE CROWD As the 5G saga takes shape, regional telecom operators must decide how they fit. I would argue, there has never been a better time to make the transition from communications service provider (CSP) to digital service provider (DSP). The advent of transformational technologies will always signal an opportunity for businesses in their orbit. But monetisation of such innovations can prove problematic without the right business support system (BSS) in place. According to a TM Forum report, as much as two thirds (67%) of total revenue from 5G use cases-beyond mere enhanced mobile broadband

(eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA)—is dependent on OSS/BSS transformation. Adapting your BSS to support 5G services will have an impact on real-time domains such as rating, charging and policy control. Complex usage scenarios will demand the integration of many other systems, and operators will need to ensure that a single BSS can cover these. Let’s consider four use cases. INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) IoT allows organisations as diverse as airlines, agricultural specialists and warehouses to enhance their ability to make smart decisions in real time. The low latency of 5G is very appealing when trying to deliver these kinds of systems, but it is vital not only to have an IoT-fluent BSS that understands what is being delivered and how; it is also critical that the solution provides flexible network monetisation, to manage charges and policies for different types of devices in the field. COLLABORATION WITH SERVICE PARTNERS When competing in the Age of Content, digitally savvy, demanding consumers are the new subscriber base. To offer the kind of one-stop shop they demand, the DSP must recruit allies application service providers (ASPs) and overthe-top (OTT) service providers—so they can provide a rich 5G experience. Via integration with the service-capability exposure function (SCEF), your BSS solution should enable content providers to create new package offers for subscribers,

nHASSEN HAMZA - PRESALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, NEXIGN

at will, and have more control over how they are delivered, allow the delivery of free traffic for special marketing campaigns and improve the quality of ASP traffic detection. LEGACY WI-FI REPLACEMENT When market share is redistributed among fixed and mobile services, DSPs need to decide how this will be managed. When mobile access through 5G can deliver very stable connections at lightning speeds, subscribers are unlikely to use legacy services such as Wi-Fi or home broadband. Your BSS needs to be able to deliver options on how to set up new usage-charge models as you phase out the old and usher in the new. ESIM SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT Younger consumers are so demanding, it appears they have convinced the telecoms market to allow them to switch provider at a moment’s notice. While eSIM (embedded SIM)-ready networks and handsets are not yet widespread, change is coming and 5G may accelerate its arrival. Working with eSIM and managing subscribers and devices will not only take a flexible BSS, but unprecedented interoperability and co-operation between industry players across the global telecoms market. TeleChain Broker, a joint solution developed by Nexign and its partner Bubbletone, is a blockchain-based marketplace for DSPs with a BSS connectivity kit that allows the creation of new roaming products and complex bundles, including digital non-telco services. ë

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GUEST ARTICLE

LEVERAGING ERP TO OVERCOME THREE INDUSTRY 4.0 CHALLENGES n ANDY COUSSINS, SENIOR VP & HEAD OF SALES I N T E R N AT I O N A L , E P I C O R S O F T W A R E

Not long ago, Industry 4.0 and digital transformation were the domain of first movers only. Today they are high on the agenda for every regional manufacturing business. In fact, 62% of Middle East respondents to a PwC survey on Industry 4.0 were expecting to be at a high level of digitization and integration in 2020, compared with only 41% reporting such a high level in 2015. This investment is driven by the expectation of results. At the top end, around a third of respondents expected Industry 4.0 implementations to result in both cost savings and revenue gains of more than 20% within five years. As organizations in the Middle East start executing their Industry 4.0 agendas, a major focus will typically be on applications that use AI, big data, cloud, and the IoT. While the advantages are well-documented, they do come with technology challenges of their own, specifically around the continuous need for vertical and horizontal integration, effective management, and use of all the data generated, as well as the need for more complex risk management. INTEGRATION While the right industry-specific ERP solution will fast-track your implementation, right out of the box, it will still need to be integrated with other systems—such as your IoT implementations—to achieve the depth and breadth of integration and automation called for by Industry 4.0. To simplify this integration—both internally and with suppliers, partners, or customers, the architecture and interfaces of your chosen ERP solution must to be streamlined, flexible, and

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based on standard open protocols. It also helps if the solution is designed specifically to take advantage of cloud computing frameworks, because a cloud-based platform can be ideal for integrating different business entities and locations, and in extending integration to suppliers and customers. But don’t forget the human element - as much as integration in Industry 4.0 is driven by automation, it isn’t always about robotics, IoT, or AI. For the foreseeable future, most of the functions you’ll be integrating will still rely on human interactions. It’s therefore important to think about how easily your ERP solution supports the human side of integration. ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS Ideally your ERP system won’t ask you to do all the hard work to pull actionable insights from data. Look for easy-to-use, pre-built, analytic functionality that is already mapped to your most likely common needs, such as materials handling, financials, sales, or production. This is particularly important when it comes to analytics that help you answer those all-important ‘why’ questions. If the ERP solution is designed specifically for manufacturing and this extends to its embedded analytics, you’ll be able to get going quickly with analytics that deliver real insight. Make sure you have the flexibility to customize and build your own views, queries, reports, and dashboards, as you gain confidence and discover new needs. RISK MANAGEMENT Many small-to-midsize manufacturers choose

software-as-a-service (SaaS) ERP because they can’t devote nearly as many resources to infrastructure, application, and data security—or to IT maintenance and support—as a specialized IT service provider can. As well as offering a more reliable and secure service, a SaaS ERP solution can give you automatic access to updates and upgrades that keep you compliant with regulatory changes. This means you can stay on top of new financial controls, tax laws, reporting requirements, and international trade requirements. Businesses often point to SaaS models as a way of keeping pace with technology-driven change to remain competitive with the best, forgetting that there are significant risk management advantages too. If you choose the SaaS model for greater business assurance, make sure the provider offers you a satisfactory level of control over how and when updates and upgrades happen. At the same time, even if you don’t want to take advantage of ERP delivered through a SaaS model, look for a solution that offers a flexible cloud-based architecture in an onsite hosted option. That way you get most of the benefits of a cloud model—but in your preferred hosting environment. Irrespective of whether you call it Industry 4.0 or digital transformation, it doesn’t change the fundamental nature and scale of the revolution taking place, nor the challenges facing regional manufacturers as they try to identify and take the right steps to survive. But by investing in the right ERP platform, manufacturers can face these challenges head on and not just survive, but go on to thrive, and grow. ë

PLETHORA OF SOLUTIONS • Data Storage • Data Protection • Data Analytics • Big Data Analytics • Business Continuity • Open Compute Solution • Manage Services

AUTHORIZED VALUE ADDED DISTRIBUTOR FOR

StorIT Distribution fzco 2503 Clover Bay Tower, Business Bay, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971.4.8819690 | Fax: +971.4.887.1637 | Email: info@storit.ae www.storit.ae

SPECIAL STORY

The Middle East and Africa region has mostly been a follower in the launch of new technologies than a leader. But with 5G, it will be different. Telecom service providers in the region are all set to deliver 5G services. n B Y: D I V S H A B H AT < D I V S H A @ G E C M E D I A G R O U P. C O M > n P H O T O : S H U T T E R S T O C K

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he Middle East is fast becoming one of the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most dynamic markets, looking to be at the forefront of telecommunication innovation. According to ResearchandMarkets. com, mobile user penetration in Africa and Middle East reached 59% in 2018 and will grow to 70% by the end of 2023, aided by mobile

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coverage expansion. M2M/IoT will be the fastest growing device segment in AME. This is driven by initiatives in transportation, smart cities, and security solutions, thereby generating service opportunities for telcos and IT vendors. Ongoing trials and developments of 5G networks, primarily in MENA, and expansions of 4G networks throughout AME will create new opportunities

for equipment vendors and investors.

INVESTMENTS IN MENA The launch of 5G services by telecom providers like Etisalat, Ooredoo, STC and Zain will assist 5G to boom in the GCC region in the coming years. Oman, Turkey and Jordan, the other main

SPECIAL STORY

WHILE COMMSCOPE IS HELPING TO SHAPE COMMUNICATION CONNECTIVITY AND NETWORKS OF THE FUTURE, OUR FUNDAMENTAL VIEWPOINT IS THAT 5G WILL BE A “NETWORK OF NETWORKS” FEMI OSHIGA, VICE PRESIDENT OF SERVICE PROVIDERS, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA, COMMSCOPE

telecom markets in the Middle East are expected to deploy 5G in 2020 and 2021, according to a GSMA report indicated in 2018. 5G will account for 6% of total connections in the Middle East and North Africa region and 16% of total connections in GCC Arab States by 2025. Migration to 5G is expected to proceed at a much slower pace than that of 4G, since subscribers are less likely to migrate to expensive 5G service. In May, - Etisalat became the first service provider in the region to unveil the availability of 5G network, supporting smartphones for commercial use. It was soon followed by UAE’s second operator du and Bahraini telco Batelco. Etisalat is

also investing more than AED 4 billion in rolling out 5G network base stations this year. With the technology expected to contribute billions to economies around the region, network operators are rolling out pilot deployments and making investments in communications infrastructure. Femi Oshiga, Vice President of Service Providers, Middle East & Africa, CommScope said – “For some, testing will happen this year while for others, 5G is on the horizon. To prepare for a network which is 100 times faster than 4G, our customers are investing in innovation which increases capacity and offers spectral efficiency.

Winning the race to 5G will entail significant investment – both for deploying 5G network infrastructure and for supporting continued 5G R&D and innovation. Proactive government policies can help advance these efforts and accelerate ubiquitous 5G deployment. Allocating additional federal government funding for 5G, for example, will support and complement private sector initiatives. While CommScope is helping to shape communication connectivity and networks of the future, our fundamental viewpoint is that 5G will be a “network of networks” — including wireline and wireless, licensed and unlicensed – with deep fiber penetration in both to support the variety of 5G use cases.“ Hassen Hamza, Presales and Business Development Manager, Nexign commented – “Massive investments in 5G infrastructure can cause gaps in the revenue structure for telcos. This is why during the early phase of adoption, telcos can partner with 5G infrastructure vendors and create joint pilot projects on a revenue share model. 5G radio and infrastructure vendors are competing with each other to bring more value for telcos, making joint pilot projects with these telcos an attractive option for them as well. It is important to note that governments will play a central role in 5G adoption too. They can significantly reduce investments from telcos by

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SPECIAL STORY

“AT INFINET, WE ARE RESPONDING TO THESE MARKET TRENDS BY BUILDING A BRAND-NEW PORTFOLIO OF PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGIES, LIKE QUANTA 5, THAT WILL ENABLE WISPS TO THRIVE IN THE 5G ERA,” ANDREY KOYNOV, CTO AT INFINET WIRELESS

“ONLY VENDORS WITH NEW GENERATION SYSTEMS WITH FUTURE-PROOF ARCHITECTURE AND A CLEAR VISION, FOR HOW TO GENERATE REVENUE GROWTH FOR TELCOS, WILL BE CONSIDERED IN ALL FUTURE TENDERS,”

“AIRBUS HAS 30 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE OF SERVING PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE WHOLE CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMUNITY WITH RELIABLE HIGH AVAILABILITY SOLUTIONS SEAMLESSLY SUPPORTING USERS’ OPERATIONAL PROCESSES,”

HASSEN HAMZA, PRESALES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, NEXIGN

ALI HELENIUS, HEAD OF STRATEGIC MARKETING AND TECHNOLOGY, AIRBUS

creating a joint 5G infrastructure operator, for example, and reduce payments for extended licensed spectrum.” For all industry vendors including infrastructure, applications and BSS—5G adoption will be a serious opportunity to not only keep market share, but to grow it significantly. Only vendors with new generation systems with future-proof architecture and a clear vision, for how to generate revenue growth for telcos, will be considered in all future tenders. Vendors will need to provide systems that support telcos in convergent scenarios and different types of networks—not only 3GPP in order to give subscribers access to services outside of 5G coverage areas.

TACKLING THE CHALLENGES 5G will trigger a transformation in the market with connections speeds expected to reach 100Mbps and latency expected to drop to 4ms. That being said, fixed 5G does pose several challenges, specifically around the range of coverage says Andrey Koynov, CTO at InfiNet Wireless As a consequence, WISPs are going to have to redesign their backhaul network and make

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a significant investment in infrastructure. At InfiNet, we are responding to these market trends by building a brand-new portfolio of products and technologies, like Quanta 5, that will enable WISPs to thrive in the 5G era. “Quanta 5 has been designed as an all-in-one package to enable operators of all sizes to quickly deliver high-capacity premium services to their corporate clients, to interconnect their network nodes wherever they are located, or simply to provide internet connectivity to end users. The solution can also be deployed as part of a wide area network to connect remote locations to the main control and operations centres, whether for oil & gas companies as a part of their smart oilfield strategy, or for financial institutions wishing to seamlessly connect all their branches and offer better a customer experience,” added Andrey. According to a research by Ericsson, 5G will reach 40% population coverage and 1.5 billion subscriptions worldwide by 2024, making it the fastest mobile generation ever to be rolled out on a global scale. However, with many other challenges, comes the risk of cyber attacks as well. According to Airbus, societies are globally facing security threats. Terrorism, organized

crime and cybercrime are probably the most serious and wide-spread of these threats. Public Safety organizations are under constant pressure to evolve and develop their operations in order to keep societies safe and well-functioning. Ali Helenius, Head of Strategic Marketing and Technology at Airbussays – “Airbus has 30 years’ experience of serving Public Safety and the whole critical communications community with reliable high availability solutions seamlessly supporting users’ operational processes. Airbus is committed to on-going business model and technology evolution as evidenced by strong involvement in 3GPP standardization work which is needed to enable 4G/5G based interoperable high quality critical communications solutions.”

5G FUTURE HAS JUST BEGUN The 5G future has just begun in the region. With the technology expected to contribute billions od economies, network operators are rolling out deployments, solutions and making investments. All we can say is – 5G has arrived and it could radically alter the digital and economic landscape in the region. ë

INTERVIEW

LET’S RECRUIT SMART AI HAS LEFT NO SECTOR UNTOUCHED! HOW TRUE THIS STATEMENT COULD BE? OUT OF ALL THE SECTORS, WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT A FEW YEARS BACK THAT A TRADITIONAL RECRUITMENT SITE/COMPANY CAN REDEFINE THEIR BUSINESS MODELS WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. MORNING COFFEE WITH THE INNOVATIVE MINDS AT SEARCHIE WHO HAVE BUILT A WORLD-LEADING VIDEO PLATFORM THAT USES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING TO ACCURATELY PREDICT PEOPLE’S PERSONALITY AND CULTURE IN THE WORK PLACE. THE PLATFORM WHICH IS PROUDLY BUILT 100% IN-HOUSE AND IN THE UAE IS CHANGING THE WAY COMPANIES HIRE AND RETAIN TALENT.

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INTERVIEW

Within a very short time frame Searchie has been able to garner some rave attention from the industry. You were voted as one of Top 10 Start-ups that will affect the fourth industrial revolution. How confident were you when you embarked on this journey? Gregg: If I say I expected this attention, then I would not be wrong. The vision of the company is so strong and the fundamentals are purely based on transforming a sector that was stuck in the cobweb of traditional models. The platform which is proudly built 100% in-house and in the UAE is changing the way companies hire and retain talent. We were also acclaimed by the World Economic Forum as one of the Top 100 global startups. I can confidently say that, globally we are one of the best (if not the best) AI driven service providers. So, is the platform fully operational now? Gregg: Yes, it is. We are in a full-swing business mode, closing deals with customer, getting people to try and test the platform and getting their feedback. We are at a very exciting phase and the initial feedback has been amazing. These customers have also done a comparative analyses of this platform with other players in the market and have testified that no one is doing what we are doing. Today, we are conducting over 5000 interviews per week.

It all started from Gregg’s sabbatical journey. The journey took him to Harvey Bennett and Sahiqa Bennett who were then running a recruitment agency. The duo were pretty worried about the lack of disruption in the recruitment sector. It is then that the trio— Gregg, Harvey and Sahiqa— decided to take this pivotal step of intertwining the power of technology with talent acquisition. Excerpts from Gregg Petersen and Harvey Bennett’s exclusive interview.

As we can read on your website, eliminating frictional employment is one of the founding visions of Searchie. Tell us more about it Harvey: As a book cannot be judged by its cover, a candidate’s traits cannot be judged by his/her CV. So, this was the thought that drove us to build Artificial Intelligence into our platforms. Our mission is to open up a world of job possibilities for all. Owing to the traditional model of bulk resumes reaching the HRs and recruitment officers, we are seeing a gap in right talent reaching the right place. Inefficiencies in the existing recruiting model mean the right talent and the right job don’t always end up together. Searchie’s vision is to create a solution where job seekers get jobs faster, and hiring teams get the most qualified candidates by eliminating frictional unemployment. Let us take a deep-dive into how the platform works and how

Artificial Intelligence is taking the main seat? Harvey: One of the unique facets of the platform is the video interview. Our AI Avatars, Sarah and Ahmed, conduct the video interview. While the interview is happening, the AI catches up 360, 1000 touch points every three and a half seconds and detects micro facial movements, body language, voice, tone and pitch, eye movements etc. These detections are ninety two percent accurate and helps us to predict a candidate’s personality and culture in workplace. The candidate simply needs to click on the video link and it will direct him to the platform. After an initial surrounding and sound check the interview will commence. The benefits of this platform is that it is completely non-biased, non-racial, non-emotional, non-judgmental hence giving the candidates a fair chance to put their best foot forward. This generates psychometric reports that aim to match candidates with job-specs based on skills, behavior, cultural values and needs. It also encourages diversity by mitigating sub-conscious bias. There is also a liberty to record your interview as per your convenience and geographical positioning. What are the direct benefits that companies can have if they are partnering with Searchie? Harvey: Normally companies have a cycle of sixty to hundred days to hire people. With Searchie, companies can reduce this time to three to five days. Searchie is intended to be a talent acquisition platform which cuts down the time and cost to hire. We aim to “uberize” the recruitment model and add value to the process by running all candidates through an artificialintelligence (AI) led video assessment. Gregg, can we have a word of conclusion from you? Gregg: We are creating a human-machinehuman cycle. There is a lot of hype going on around things like; Automation is replacing jobs and it will destroy the human race. We, at Searchie, are deconstructing this myth by empowering AI to empower human to human interaction. We are using technology to improve human tasks. We are developing our technology in a way which is human-centric . Moreover, Searchie platform is also a paperless, digital, data driven solution in line with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoums’ 2021 vision. ë

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THE WORLD CIO 200 SUMMIT

KICKS OFF IN SAUDI ARABIA

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he first round of The World CIO 200 Summit 2019 kicked off at the Movenpick Hotel Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on 11th September amidst a full house of CIOs and CISOs from various verticals in the country. Held under the Patronage of the Ministry of Communication and Information technology, the event was inaugurated by Mr. Mohammed Al Amoudi from MCIT who later gave the keynote speech. Over 150 delegates witnessed some excellent presentations from the end users and solution providers. The prominent speakers were – Mr. Mohammed Mahnashi, ICT Consultant, Ministry

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of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tahani Al Dosemani, Director, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Brett Samuel, Head of Technology, Veritas Middle East, Eng Ahmed Hassan, Support and Services Director and Pascal Mattas, Sales Manager from STME. The event was co-hosted with GEC Security Symposium and CISO Awards 2019 which explored the true meaning of what end to end security means in a digital enterprise. Mr. Shaker Al Anazi, Cyber Security Senior Manager, Zain KSA shared an excellent presentation on the topic – ‘Towards effective cybersecurity measurement.’ Read more on GEC Security Symposium in the Oct Edition of Cyber Sentinels ë

THE WORLD CIO 200 SUMMIT

THE WINNERS OF THE WORLD CIO 200 SUMMIT SAUDI ARABIA WERE NAME

COMPANY

CATEGORY

Shadi Ali Almosajen

Amlak International for Real Estate Finance Co.

Leader

Rajesh Chandramohan

Tamimi Markets

Master

Khaled Yusuf

Autoworld

Leader

Jaffer sadiq

Movenpick Hotel - Riyadh

Next-Gen

Roc Arquiza Escosio

Al Faisaliah Hotel

Leader

Muhammad Siddiqui

International Medical Center

Next-Gen

Sulaiman AlKharashi

Tatweer Buildings Company

Legend

Abdullah Alomari

Etihad Etisalat Co. - Mobily

Legend

Qasim Nadeem

ABANA Enterprises Group Co.

Next-Gen

Abdulgader Alharthi

Saudi Ground Services

Legend

Yazeed AlMarshoud

Saudi Ceramics

Leader

Hamdi Al-Jadani

GIC

Leader

Waleed Almutairy

Ministry of Justice

Next-Gen

Mohammad Hamza Sheikh

National Factory for Can Ends Limited

Next-Gen

Syed Fakruddin Albeez

Dar Al Arkan

Legend

Osama Merghani

IHG

Leader

Sajid Riaz

Balsharaf Group

Master

Mohammed Mahnashi

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Legend

Abdulaziz A. Aloraij

Ministry of Communication & Information Technology

Legend

Meshal Alfouwais

Saudi Electricity Company

Legend

Mohammed Al Nuem

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Legend

Abdul Aziz Al Jobiri

Ministry of Education

Legend

Khaled A Alnuaimi

Ministry of Interior

Legend

Dr. Tahani Al Dosemani

Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University

Legend

CHANNEL PARTNER EVENT

PARTNER

SUMMIT 2019 ROAD SHOW

16th SEP 2019 Burj Rafal Kempinski Hotel, Riyadh, KSA

M

indware KSA successfully hosted the Mindware Partner Summit and Roadshow 2019 on 16th September at the Burj Rafal Hotel, Riyadh. The event was attended by over 500+ channel partners from the country who engaged in compelling conversations, breakout sessions, and success

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Stories. The summit not only facilitated meeting new and potential vendors but also took the channel partners through deep driven insights into creating a winning strategy in the modern market place. The Mindware Partner Summit Roadshow 2019 unveiled Mindware’s vision for its channel partners and enhanced the benefits of partner Program.

The prominent speakers at the Partner Summit 2019 were – Philippe Jarre, CEO, Mindware; Fadi Matta, General Manager, Mindware KSA; Emad Bakilah, Channel Manager KSA, Dell Technologies; Ahmad Alturki, Technical Account Manager – Strategic Accounts, Veritas; Mohammad AlAzab, Senior Technology Consultant, RSA; Hemant Pandya, Security Consultant McAfee;

CHANNEL PARTNER EVENT

“As the leading distributor of finest IT products in the Middle East and Africa, our mission is to lead the way in the value add IT distribution marketplace by proactively anticipating and serving the complex needs of our channel partner’s with our extensive portfolio that includes top-notch global brands reaching out to over 3,000 reseller across KSA. Through strategic partnerships and strong vendor’s relations, our organization has been able to concentrate on bringing hi-tech, effective solutions to the market. Our focus on value-add distribution and personalized service while offering the most competitive pricing and timely delivery is of paramount importance for ensuring successful partners relationships and customer satisfaction.” FADI MATTA, GM MINDWARE KSA

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“We provide a full service support, solutions, produces & Knowledge to our partners”

“We are Not alone we are part of biggest ecosystem”

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Mohammad Abu Gabal, Channel Manager, Juniper Networks; Osama Abed, Business Development Manager, Nexans; Leila Allou, Channel Manager Middle East, Barco; Georges Saliba, Master Distribution Manager, Xerox; and Ranei Ayoub, Solution Sales, Citrix. 2019 has been a year of transformation for the VAD with various key milestones such as; expansion of portfolio with the acquisition of Arrow ME; Mindware’s newly launched marketplace and the new cloud platform; solution approach and much more. During the event, Philippe Jarre, CEO of Mindware also spoke about the key benefits that the Saudi Arabia partners have while working with Mindware and how the VAD is expanding traditional role by adding value and improving close partnerships. ë

FEATURE STORY

MODERNIZED

OMAN

(THE ROAD TO THE FUTURE) With an aim to take the country to new heights, Oman has well planned its vision. By adopting and implementing new and emerging technologies, the nation is all set to stay ahead in its game.

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FEATURE STORY

n B Y: G E C M E D I A S TA F F n P H O T O : S H U T T E R S T O C K

I

have never lived in Oman, but when I got to research on its growth I was blown away. From the planning of smart cities to adoption of new technologies, the nation has always tried to be ahead. Being one of the small countries in terms of geography, let’s see what the ‘Pearl of Arabia’ has to showcase. According to the World Bank, Oman is predicted to have the highest growth among

the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in 2020. The GDP is forecasted to jump to six per cent in 2020 from 1.2 per cent this year. With the returns from the Tanfeedh programme for economic diversification, as well as continued investments to expand its oil and gas sector, the country is all set to have a high growth in the coming years.

STRIDING FORTH WITH TANFEEDH Tanfeedh is an initiative taken by the Omani government which mainly aims at linking strategies of the very important sectors of Manufacturing, Tourism, Transportation, and Logistics, Mining and Fisheries to expand national income resources and complete the objectives of the Ninth Five Year Development Plan 2016 – 2020. It

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NINTH FIVE YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN (2016-2020) KEY PROMISING SECTORS

Manufacturing

Transportation and Logistics

also works towards a sustainable participation between the public and private sectors. Tanfeedh will recognize the hardships and the chances of the government community and projects by tracing a comprehensive road map with public participation to make sure better solutions and fulfillment of KPIs of the government. The main point of the Tanfeedh program is running discussion labs which are effective with the stakeholders, partners and participants in the core sectors like manufacturing, logistics, tourism, fisheries and mining.

TECH DRIVEN OMAN In the tech driven environment of Oman, the government plays a crucial role in investing in the technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain. Realizing the importance of this technology, Oman’s Information Technology Authority (ITA) has given huge importance to this. Last year, ITA also held the 4.0 Digital Trends Forum to discuss on the emerging technologies like AI and the 4th industrial revolution. The country also plans on using this technology for diagnosing of breast cancer. A new system for the early diagnosis of breast cancer will be introduced in five hospitals across the Sultanate said reports. The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Information Technology Authority (ITA) announced the launch of the facility after a successful pilot project done by the MoH, ITA, and few solution providers to employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) in diagnosing breast cancer, scoring 96 per cent

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Tourism

Fisheries

success rate. Alonside AI, the country has also implemented Blockchain. Last year, Omantel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Blockchain Solutions & Services (BSS) for mutual cooperation between the two companies which include availing the smart solutions offered by BSS in logistic and commercial operations. In February 2019, BankDhofar, started using Blockchain technology for cross-border payments to India. The ‘Smart’ Oman – According to Smart Oman, Oman Smart City Platform is a knowledge-sharing platform to bring out smart city initiatives in Oman. The platforms objective is to give knowledge-sharing, collaborative and networking environment between smart city stakeholders. Through funding research and hosting innovations competition for the smart city, the platform works as an enabler and facilitator. Duqm has planned its first major smart city project which will begin in 2020. This project was inspired by Japan’s and South Korea’s simpler way of living and decided to bring to project to Duqm with help of South Korea. The City will be built phase by phase. The country has already planned the phase one, where they will construct airports, industrial and tourist area. The aim is to provide smart integrated experience for the people of Duqm and encourage them to use smart solutions. Madinat Al Irfan is another mega project which is being developed by UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim and Omran. The first foundation stone

Mining

was laid last year.

OMAN VISION 2020 Oman’s vision for 2020 is an approach that guides the Sultanate to a diversified and sustainable economy. First unveiled in the year 1995, the Vision 2020 is an ambitious plan designed to steer the Sultanate towards a more sustainable and diversified economy by using oil revenues to boost investments in health, education, and social services, better train citizens, and raise living standards across the board. Along with Vision 2020, the country has planned for the future ahead with Vision 2040. As per the reports, the country is partially on track to reach its rigorous Omanization and diversification targets of the vision. Expected to have 5 million foreign workers by 2020 and 8 million by 2040, the government hopes to shave 10% off the expat labor force by 2040.

DEVELOPMENT NEVER STOPS It has surprised me how much the “Pearl of Arabia” is growing and developing. The government is striving for the growth of the country and its people to become better in terms of the economy and the life style. With visions to a reach bright future and implementing new and intelligent technologies, the Sultanate is doing its best to stay ahead in the game. When it comes to countries like Oman all I have to say is “the future is here”. ë

GUEST ARTICLE

SIX THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WI-FI 6

Huawei Middle East believes that 2019 is going to be the year that Wi-Fi 6 – the next evolution of the omnipresent Wi-Fi – will become a must-have for businesses across the world.

With the Internet of Things and the imminent launch of 5G networks driving more connectivity across the region and beyond, Wi-Fi as we know it will simply struggle to cope with the increased demands that will be placed on it. This is where Wi-Fi 6 comes into play. Here are six things you need to know about Wi-Fi 6. 1. Wi-Fi 6 isn’t as new as you’d think. As a matter of fact, Wi-Fi 6 has been under development since 2014, after the High Efficiency WLAN Study Group determined a need for greater spectrum efficiency in 2013. That led to the creation of project 802.11ax in May of the following year, driven by a standard task group headed by Huawei’s Osama Aboul Magd. 2. Wi-Fi 6 addresses the pain points of its predecessors. Ever struggled to get a social media post to upload while at a concert or sports event? Had difficulty downloading an email at a big work conference? Areas of high connectivity traffic experience poor Wi-Fi service, and Wi-Fi 6 is specifically designed to improve performance in dense environments. It does so by using spectrum more efficiently, managing interference, and making enhancements to protocols such as Medium Access Control (MAC). 3. It wasn’t always called Wi-Fi 6… but that sure is an easier name than 802.11ax standard! The name, Wi-Fi 6, was chosen because this is the sixth generation of Wi-Fi networking technology, following on from Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n). 4. Wi-Fi 6 is more than just an upgrade. While it is an evolution, Wi-Fi 6 isn’t just a performance upgrade for Wi-Fi 5 – it makes some fundamental changes to the standard that enables it to perform significantly better. Wi-Fi 6 is designed to deliver superior user experiences for application performance, support more number of users, particularly in bandwidth-intensive or latency-sensitive applications. That means fewer dropped video calls, amongst many other

n F A I S A L A M E E R M A L I K , C T O – E N T E R P R I S E B U S I N E S S G R O U P, HUAWEI MIDDLE EAST

benefits. 5. 90% of enterprises will use Wi-Fi 6 by 2023. According to a report released by Huawei during Mobile World Congress 2019, the uptake of Wi-Fi 6 will be almost complete in the corporate sector in the next four years. This will be mostly due to the increased use of technologies such as 4K/8K Ultra HD Video, virtual and augmented reality across education, enterprise, and industrial activities. Wi-Fi 6 will deliver the high-quality network, bandwidth, reliability, and low latency needed to provide

an optimal experience in the IoT world. 6. The first Wi-Fi 6 products are available now. Huawei launched Wi-Fi 6 products earlier this year, under its new AirEngine Wi-Fi brand. The combination of AirEngine and Wi-Fi 6 capabilities delivers the connectivity needed to drive digital transformation for enterprise services and create an optimal user experience with ultra-high performance capacity. We already can see use cases emerging of Wi-Fi 6 deployment with customers in Middle East market. ë

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ENTERPRISE ADVISER

VERITAS APTARE BREAKFAST BRIEFING SERIES KICKS OFF IN DUBAI The first executive breakfast briefing session kicked off in Dubai with the presence of Veritas Aptare CEO Rick Clark and a live demonstration of the integrated IT analytics dashboard. On 02 September, GEC Media Group successfully kicked off its executive breakfast briefings series on the theme of how to cut costs in a multivendor, multi-cloud infrastructure. The executive breakfast series is being conducted in partnership with Veritas, and showcases its newly acquired Aptare IT Analytics solution. The GEC Media Group, Veritas Aptare road show kicked off in Dubai, with an onsite presentation by Rick Clark, CEO and Vice President, Aptare Worldwide Sales. This breakfast roadshow series continues into Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait and Oman. The Aptare IT Analytics solution integrates IT performance metrics from any vendor driven environment covering storage, backup and recovery. Presenting at the breakfast session in Dubai, Aptare’s Clark, pointed out that Aptare works across any cloud, any storage and any backup environment. Also present at the Dubai executive breakfast briefing session, along with Clark was Kareem Halasa, Practice Lead EMEA Emerging Region, Veritas. The Dubai breakfast briefing was attended by top IT decision makers from Mashreq Bank, Gargash Hospital, Burj Al Arab - Dubai Holdings, Dubai Investment Fund, du, Emirates NBD, Deloitte, Al Masraf, Flamingo International, amongst others. The IT decision makers pointed out that their pain points are around visibility into their IT environment, cost control, data compliance, and IT transformation. Most of the high-level end users present during the briefing session pointed out that they manage multiple businesses across a group, which is usually diversified and complex. While vendor sprawl was not a significant challenge, using an agentless

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solution from Aptare, working across an open extensible framework, would help them reduce their pain points. Clark explained that Aptare IT Analytics can meet their expectations in managing and delivering compliance, security, performance metrics, cost metrics, storage, IT management, chargeback and automation. Veritas’ Halasa demonstrated the Aptare solution running live from a cloud environment using a browser. Particularly impressive was the ability to build custom reports and dashboards using a drag and drop approach. Clark stressed that Aptare also has a vast library of report templates that cover almost any type of end user requirement, that has been built from a long baseline of first hand engagement with global end users. CIOs, Heads of Datacentres, Heads of IT infrastructure are being challenged by the complexities of managing data storage, backup, recovery, disaster recovery, availability, continuity, across multi-vendor and mixed environments. Managing these across In-cloud, on-premises, hybrid and virtualised environments, adds additional complexity. Using Veritas Aptare IT Analytics, datacentre administrators can detect opportunities in unused data storage, can better manage costs of data storage, can initiate internal charge-back for data services, and can engage in smarter vendor negotiations. With these solutions, IT decision makers managing data and storage will be in a better position to drive: l Cost optimisation l Cost reclamation l Digital transformation

IT managers can gain clarity across their entire IT infrastructure through a broad-view management console that provides insights on cloud infrastructure utilisation, storage optimisation, chargeback, backup SLA status and more. They can optimise storage costs, mitigate risk and streamline backup compliance. They can leverage an event correlation engine that includes out-of-the-box correlation logic for some of the most common storage and backup management challenges. So, what is Aptare IT Analytics? It is a unified analytics dashboard for heterogeneous, hybrid and multi-cloud IT environments. Veritas Aptare IT Analytics stitches together almost every data and storage environment that regional and global end users are working in. This includes Amazon Web Services, Brocade, Cisco, Cohesity, Commvault, Dell EMC, Hitachi Vantara, HP-MicroFocus, HPE, Huawei, IBM, INFINIDAT, Linux, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, NetApp, OpenStack, Oracle, Pure Storage, Rubrik, Veeam, Veritas, VMware, Windows. Whether On-premises, private, public, multicloud, IT managers can take control over data wherever it resides, with actionable insights through a single-pane-of-glass using highdefinition IT analytics. Aptare IT Analytics is a vendor-independent IT analytics, platform. Its single-pane-of-glass view provides deep analytics and, interconnected insights across the critical components of your IT world, whether on-premises or in the cloud. Aptare IT Analytics also provides a software development kit for end users to create data connectors for additional storage and backup system environments. ë

ENTERPRISE ADVISER

POWERED BY

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02 SEP 2019 VERITAS UAE

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VERITAS APTARE BRIEFING CONTINUES INTO RIYADH ATTRACTING TOP IT DECISION MAKERS

After Dubai, the Veritas Aptare executive breakfast briefings was successfully completed in Riyadh with the presence of top IT decision makers. The GEC Media Group and Veritas Aptare, executive breakfast briefings continued its engagement with leading CIOs in the GCC region. On 11 September, the executive breakfast briefing was held in Riyadh with the continuing theme of how to how to manage IT environments in a multi-vendor, multi-cloud infrastructure. The Riyadh executive breakfast briefing was led by Brett Samuel, Head of Technology, Middle East and South Africa, Veritas. Samuel gave a short overview of the storage landscape trends in Saudi Arabia and in the region. Amongst other parametres, Samuel justified the basis of introducing Aptare IT Analytics in the region on the basis of reclamation of unused storage in enterprises. CIOs can reclaim unused storage across diversified business groups, and save on purchase of additional storage as a possible basis of return on investment. Samuel also explained the concept of data storage chargeback and show back that is facilitated by Aptare IT Analytics. CIOs can also compare

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performance of multivendor backup tools across the enterprises and trouble shoot high failure rates. By troubleshooting incidents of failure of backup across multiple vendors and multiple platforms such as private, hybrid, public and multi-cloud, CIOs can increase the levels of data compliance across the enterprise. They can also closely monitor distribution of data across a cloud environment increasing the levels of compliance, when business takes the lead in adoption of cloud-based tools. The Riyadh breakfast briefing was attended by top IT decision makers from Al Hammadi Development, Al Jazeera, Alsalam Hospital, Dar Al Arkan, IHG, International Medical Centre, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Movenpick Hotel, National Factory for Can Ends, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, amongst others. The IT decision makers present at the Riyadh breakfast briefing, were keen to understand how Aptare IT Analytics could help them in their

day to day operational role. Specifically, they raised queries about the comparison of Aptare with other similar IT analytics solutions. Also discussed was the possibility of generating alerts from Aptare, after preparation of the scheduled reports. The Aptare team presented the solution through a live browser-based demonstration. The delegates were able to appreciate the versatility of the dashboard and its extensive multivendor and multiplatform capability. The Aptare team presented the powerful capability of the solution to be customizable and generate any type of report based on the requirement of the IT administration team and their ongoing pain points. The GEC Media Group and Veritas Aptare executive breakfast briefings continues next into Abu Dhabi in September, followed by Doha, Kuwait and Oman. UAE based GEC Media Group are the publishers of Business Transformation, Enterprise Channels, The Titans, Cyber Sentinel. ĂŤ

ENTERPRISE ADVISER

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GUEST ARTICLE

AUTOMATION HAS CHANGED THE FUTURE OF WORK. WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE? ServiceNow says that AI isn’t going to make us all redundant overnight, but it is going to channel us towards some new roles in work.

THE BIG AI WORK QUESTIONS The questions we must now face to understand the impact of AI in the workplace are: l whose job is going to change and how; l which types of professions will be impacted the most; l where will AI change male and female roles in different ways; and l how will these trends manifest themselves in developed versus developing countries? Let’s address that last point first. McKinsey & Company’s report on The Future of Women at Work: Transitions in the Age of Automation says that men and women tend to cluster in different occupations in different ways across mature and emerging economies: “This [clustering] shapes the jobs lost and gained due to automation for each. In the mature economies studied, women account for 15% on average of machine operators, but over 70% on average of clerical support workers. In the emerging economies [in the study sample], women make up less than 25% of machine operators on average, but over 40% of clerical support workers.” It starts to become clear that roles in developed economies, which might typically be filled by highly specialized knowledge workers, will initially be less impacted by AI and automation than those that require comparatively simple physical machine operation. This is not a binary division set in stone though. Over time, digital workflows and the application of data intelligence mean that even lawyers, doctors and actuaries, for example, will

also see an increasing degree of their role handled by AI. WHAT HUMANS ARE GOOD AT We know that machines are good at cold, hard repetitive tasks. So that makes them really good at actions performed by rotation and even by conditioning – which is pretty much what Machine Learning is anyway. But it makes them comparatively bad at intuitive empathy on a human level. If you were diagnosed with some challenging medical symptom, would you be happy hearing about it from a computer-generated readout as opposed to a human being? Even though we are making strides towards affective computing – or Artificial Emotional Intelligence as it is sometimes known – we are a long way off from any technology that can genuinely recognize human emotions and respond to them appropriately. Part of this discussion highlights the need to understand the difference between Artificial Intelligence that makes decisions and Artificial Intelligence that advises on decisions. AI will change the nature of some work, but it won’t change the fact that people have to rely on ‘gut instinct’ in areas of critical thinking. CHOCOLATE PICKLE SAUCE AI can be used to make music based upon identified beats and patterns. We know that it can even be used to create ‘art’ or at least some form of image based upon a defined request. But there are limits. AI engines directed at cooking have

n C H R I S P O P E , V P I N N O VAT I O N , S E R V I C E N O W

come up with abominations such as chocolate pickle sauce, simply because they fail to grasp the nuances of human taste. Because of this gap between computer brains and human realities, I would assert that any job group that requires true creativity, such as writers, engineers, inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians et cetera, is probably not going to be automated for a long while, for the most part at least. THE HUMAN-ROBOT FUTURE WORKFORCE Until the robots have robots of their own to install and maintain them, humans are going to be needed to design, plan, install, manage and maintain any robotics, technology, or AI systems. This takes us back to my point about understanding what technology is capable of – the more familiar you are with the technology, the more valuable you will be in helping implement and maintain it. For the immediate future – and long before ‘robot robots’ exist – it’s a human-robot future with both of us working in unison. What matters now to us as human beings is that we must realize that change is afoot – and that it is positive change. It is important for us to develop and champion all the creative skills that computerdriven AI and ML may never replace. If you haven’t thought about your empathy, creativity, ability to develop strategic thinking and be a problem-solving human communicator, then now is your time to shine. ë

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GUEST ARTICLE

UNIFIED ENDPOINT MANAGEMENT: A CRITICAL STEP TOWARDS WORKPLACE TRANSFORMATION WHAT IS UNIFIED ENDPOINT MANAGEMENT? Unified Endpoint Management is a process of managing and securing all of an organization’s servers and devices from a unified console. Unified endpoint management is an evolution and combination of enterprise mobility management (EMM), mobile device management (MDM), and client management. UEM considers different devices and platforms to bring cross-platform security and management to IT departments, thus enhancing the scope of device administration and data security. With an increase in the number of devices in a network, IT administrators may find employing multiple device management tools annoying. Offering admins the capability to manage all their complex devices from a single console can be an excellent decision. With unified endpoint management, IT administrators will be able to manage different categories of devices, such as those in bring your own device (BYOD), choose your own device (CYOD), corporate-owned, personally-enabled (COPE), and corporate owned, business only (COBO) groups using both a client management and MDM approach. UEM: THE EVOLUTION OF MDM AND CLIENT MANAGEMENT MDM can help manage macOS and Windows 10 devices thanks to the introduction of APIs, but MDM fails to assist with traditional desktop applications. This is where client management can help. Some market players have transformed their MDM offering into a UEM solution, keeping an MDM workflow as the base. Others have modified their client management approach and framework to adapt to the UEM market.

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Below are some highlights of employing UEM: Manage, control, configure, and monitor macOS, Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux devices from one single console. l Single-handed approach towards application management, device management, data security, and compliance. l Enhanced visibility over network devices with end-user support. l Improves SLA resolution time and offers improved productivity when integrated with ITSM tools. l

UEM EASES MODERN MANAGEMENT AND LEGACY MANAGEMENT While businesses are moving towards a modern ecosystem, legacy applications will continue to be around for a while. Unified endpoint management can manage not only modern operating systems like Windows 10 S and Google Chrome OS, but also legacy devices. With so many new and old OSs and devices in a network, IT departments will need UEM to keep devices updated to secure and safeguard them from unforeseen cyberthreats. CHALLENGES FOR IT ADMINISTRATORS Visibility: Businesses need to switch their endpoint management approach from devices towards users to have a better understanding of the endpoints and user requirements. This understanding will come over time, and only when IT admins can account for their network inentory, its conditions, and fixes to any problems. With UEM in place, IT admins will be able to manage OSs, users, or

n G I R I D H A R A R A A M M , M A R K E T I N G A N A LY S T, MANAGEENGINE

devices based on priority and demand. Diversified automation: Currently, businesses are employing different approaches to take care of their endpoints. They often use MDM, EMM, client management, or Active Directory-based tools. With multiple tools involved in taking care of a single endpoint, automation procedures like application management and policy deployments can overlap. With UEM, everything gets streamlined, and IT admins don’t need to worry about inconsistencies. The organization can easily rely on reports from the UEM approach. Negligence of root-cause analysis Today, businesses often show less interest in getting to the root of a problem, and will instead create a quick fix and move on to another issue. Automated monitoring and in-depth, predictive analysis will help IT departments forecast and prevent future issues, completely erasing the scope of such issues in the future. This approach brings more credibility, reliability, and value to businesses. Unified endpoint managment helps business achieve this goal by delivering a cohesive report of all the endpoints, allowing easy and swift analysis. Choosing the right UEM solution Businesses should analyze their demand by looking into their specific requirements based on the types of endpoints they have. For example, certain businesses will be composed of mostly IoT devices, but have a few desktop PCs. Understanding the demand for their unique set of network requirements, organizations can look into the corresponding vendors offering similar features and decide which one will best fit their needs after analyzing their budget. ë

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GUEST ARTICLE

THREE WAYS CHANNEL PARTNERS CAN EMPOWER THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE On the surface, creating a digital workplace appears simple. After all, it’s a matter of providing the right technologies and tools to empower workgroups. But in reality, it is much more complex. It’s about capitalizing on the relationship between happy, productive employees and customer satisfaction, and implementing technology-driven strategies to nurture both. While the concept of digital workplaces is not new, it’s finally reached a tipping point and is fast becoming the marketplace differentiator. The message is clear – embrace it and thrive or face obsolescence This is good news for channel partners who are armed with an arsenal of solutions that drive adoption. Let’s look at three conversation starters that print partners can use to help solve challenges for businesses undergoing workplace transformations: THE MILLENNIAL WORKFORCE For businesses executing digital workplace initiatives, the main concern should be how technology drives job satisfaction, feelings of accomplishment, and pride in one’s work – not which generation they belong to. As Millennials started moving into the workforce, many organizations became overly focused

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on pleasing them, but it turns out Millennials seek the same qualities as their older peers, and they’re not as tricky to please as many businesses thought. Studies are clear; job satisfaction requirements are not generational. People of all ages have four basic desires when it comes to work, and these factors are key when deciding to accept an offer, facilitating longevity, and knowing when to leave: l Pride in their organization l Ability to maximize one’s own job performance l Fair treatment l Enjoyment Channel partners are in a perfect position to leverage these facts. Start by educating prospects and customers on the similarities of needs across the entire workforce. Then, show how adoption of the translation app, mobile printing, cloud storage connectivity, and other performance enhancing applications address these needs and increase overall productivity. UNIFICATION OF COMMUNICATION AND CONNECTION CHANNELS A key driver of solution selection for digital workplace transformations is how it will

positively impact communication and connectivity within workgroups. Of course, practically every employee has communication capabilities in their pocket, but are those devices equipped with business apps, mobile access to workflows, and the security required to keep the company’s data safe? There must be a balance of convenience for employees and business must-haves in order for digital workforce adoption to be successful. For small to medium-sized businesses as well as larger enterprise organizations, channel partners can offer customized solutions while expertly addressing security challenges. TALENT ACQUISITIONS AND RETENTION Savvy businesses realize the connection between digital workplace capabilities and the ability to acquire and retain top-notch talent – and they actively develop and execute strategies that further those initiatives. When channel partners demonstrate how devices fit into the talent acquisition and retention puzzle and introduce the idea that apps can be customized to address needs unique to the business, it’s a win-win for the organization as a whole. ë AUTHOR: LISA GRAHAM, CHANNEL MARKETING MANAGER - CHANNEL PARTNER OPERATIONS, XEROX

GUEST ARTICLE

DESKTOP AS A SERVICE (DAAS) TRANSFORMING THE DIGITAL WORKSPACE n PA U L O P E R E I R A , D I R E C T O R , S Y S T E M S E N G I N E E R I N G EMERGING MARKETS AND EASTERN E U R O P E AT N U TA N I X

For companies undergoing digital transformation, DaaS is a great way to empower both your end users and your IT teams. Below are the top 10 reasons to choose DAAS. REASON 1: ELIMINATE DESKTOP AND LAPTOP CHALLENGES Employees come and go regularly, and appropriate devices have to be supplied and retrieved. Keeping close tabs on desktops and laptops, often across numerous physical locations, is difficult, time consuming, and expensive. An even bigger concern for most companies is security risks created by physical computing devices with data stored locally. DaaS addresses these challenges by moving all the heavy lifting into an enterprise or cloud datacentre. REASON 2: REMOVE THE EXPERTISE BARRIER Smart companies increasingly view DaaS as an elastic complement to existing VDI deployments or an opportunity for continued growth in VDI in hybrid cloud. DaaS reduces or eliminates VDI management challenges, enabling IT teams to focus on delivering services to businesses and end-users — and satisfying digital transformation goals. REASON 3: FOCUS ON STRATEGY NOT TACTICS DaaS makes it possible to continuously integrate and continuously deliver emerging technologies. DaaS also allows you to quickly support projects that require a fast ramp up, without exposing your

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company’s network and intellectual property. In many industries, mergers and acquisitions are a fact of life. DaaS can help you accelerate onboarding of new employees during acquisitions and grant them immediate access to company applications, data, and services. REASON 4: OVERCOME GEOGRAPHIC LIMITATIONS With the right DaaS solution, employees can work from almost anywhere that has an internet connection and receive good performance. If users in different locations need to collaborate electronically, DaaS solutions can facilitate collaboration. REASON 5: ENABLE BRINGYOUR OWN-DEVICE Adopting a BYOD policy, as many companies are doing, makes device management even more intractable. With DaaS, your company’s important applications run in your provider’s infrastructure services, safely isolated from other activity on user devices. Users gain access to applications and data only after proper authentication. And because no data is stored locally on the device, there’s no risk of compromise if the device is lost. REASON 6: SOAR INTO THE CLOUD DaaS provides a platform for Enterprises to understand and consume cloud services without having to learn new technology terminologies. DaaS also accelerates the cloud learning maturity in an organization because they can focus on application service integration and delivery without worrying about tech debt and tech inertia.

REASON 7: PAY ONLY WHAT YOU USE The ability to pay as you go—and pay only for what you use—is a hallmark of IT success in the digital age. DaaS simplifies your operations, reduces your per user costs, and makes perfect sense for organizations in the midst of digital transformation. DaaS reinforces a subscription based consumption model that meters on actual usage. REASON 8: SIMPLIFY SCALING Planning for resource needs and scaling infrastructure—whether physical systems or VDI—to keep up with the needs of a dynamic enterprise is hard. DaaS provides immediate scalability to simplify the planning process and address unforeseen needs. You can provision new desktops as needed and release them just as quickly. REASON 9: MAINTAIN FULL CONTROL DaaS gives you both greater visibility and increased cost control. Depending on your DaaS provider, you can quickly and easily grant (or remove) access to applications and data at a granular level. You can control access to data and prevent employees from making local data copies or writing data to insecure devices. REASON 10: STEP UP SECURITY DaaS eliminates the risks that result from sensitive data stored on user devices. Data remains secure in a datacenter, subject to your full control and established governance. ë

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STATELESS RADICALLY SIMPLIFIES CLOUD INTERCONNECTS GA Release Expands Capabilities to Deliver Ground-Breaking Architecture that Delivers Simple, Composable, Scalable Connectivity to Network-Driven Services

Stateless, the company reinventing network connectivity, with Luxon - the industry’s first software-defined interconnect (SD-IX) platform. Luxon’s patented technology with expanded capabilities makes interconnections simple, composable and scalable. Luxon’s expanded platform efficiently enables businesses and colocation providers to offer new network services quickly and cost-effectively by discarding device-centric methods of constructing infrastructure. Doing so allows customers to streamline network operations and minimize capital expenditures. Increases in network destinations, application diversity and bandwidth requirements are intensifying the demand for efficient, scalable interconnectivity that are easy to deploy and manage. Luxon presents a new way for businesses to interconnect applications and resources with its SD-IX platform. The platform enables simple, global interconnect visibility at scale, streamlines network operations, and provides the ability to create interconnect in minutes instead of months. Enhanced capabilities in the GA release include:

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Nearly infinite interconnect service chains. With Luxon, users can easily create new and virtually unlimited interconnects for service chains (sets of network services) that use any combination of security services, data encryption, routing and more. l Unmatched scalability and lower cost. Luxon delivers up to 4X the number of interconnects, requires up to 80 percent fewer servers and reduces cost/Gb by up to 50 percent compared with competitive offerings. l Increased connectivity options. Additional connection protocol support enabling easy integration into existing networks. l New switch technology opens more configuration possibilities. Software control extended to replace customized hardware with cutting-edge switching software. l Multi-tenant support. Luxon supports multitenancy environments and allows enterprises and service providers to enable end-users to manage their own interconnects - at scale. l Automation, visibility and control. Luxon enables users to automate services end-to-end, l

including deployment, growth and failover, and its rich APIs provide users with access down to the most granular level of the system. Ideal for businesses or service providers who want to manage connectivity and interconnects to cloud resources, the Luxon platform elevates existing assets while providing greater security, visibility and control, no matter the endpoint. Stateless’ ground-breaking architecture provides users with the flexibility, agility and resiliency that current network applications and virtual functions are unable to deliver. “The accelerated movement of applications to the cloud is creating a new era of connectivity,” said Murad Kablan, CEO and co-founder, Stateless. “To maintain a competitive advantage, businesses require fast, easy connections to the cloud, support for numerous interconnects and the ability to deploy a diverse array of new applications quickly. With secure, dynamic edge connectivity and hyperscale public cloud connections that simplify a traditionally complex multi-step process into a single step, Luxon addresses these challenges and more, and positions customers well for the future.” ë

By 2021, 50% of large enterprises will use an integrated risk management (IRM) solution set to provide better decision making capabilities.

Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit 28 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 29 October 2019 | Dubai, UAE gartner.com/me/security

Discover the latest research and recommendations to transform your security strategy and build resilience across the enterprise.

Source: Gartner Š 2019 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates in the U.S. For more information, email info@gartner.com or visit gartner.com.

INNOVATIONS

ThinkSmart Hub 500

KEY CAPABILITIES n Can eliminate time lost due to technical issues during meetings and provide a desirable working environment for a conference call or meeting. n Pre-configured for Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business or Zoom Rooms n Movable touchscreen display n 360° microphone array and Dolby Audio premium sound n Innovative cable management system helps eliminate cable clutter n Cable management door locks, securing physical ports and preventing cables from being accidentally disconnected n With audio and video capabilities, users can simply press a button to initiate their meeting with ease. n Can easily be placed in an office of any size, providing everyone with a consistent, seamless experience n Enabled with ThinkShield n Also comes preloaded with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise software to provide intelligent business-grade protection

From intra-office meetings to talking to clients, corporations are built on an invisible network of collaboration. This network forms the core of business relationships and communications, connecting the entire supply chain, without which, most businesses would be unable to operate. Even a small glitch in this network can cost participating parties millions in losses due to being unable to share crucial information at the right time. Most organizations incorporate expensive systems and practices to ensure that the right information is communicated at the right time. These systems include resource-consuming physical meetings, unreliable video conferencing and traditional phone calls. Keen to increase workplace productivity, Lenovo has introduced the ThinkSmart Hub 500, an all-inone collaboration platform that can be used for maximum efficiency, comfort and reliability.

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KINGSTON SERVER PREMIER MEMORY Kingston Technology Europe Co LLP unveiled its 32GB, 16GB and 8GB Server Premier 3200MT/s DDR4 Registered DIMMs are available now to fully unleash the power of the new 2nd Gen AMD EPYC™ Processor. Kingston’s Server Premier modules are specifically engineered to take full advantage of AMD’s latest eight-channel server microarchitecture. At 3200MT/s — the next-generation memory frequency supported in the latest AMD EPYC processor family — each DIMM provides peak bandwidth of 25.6GB/s. When grouped for multi-channel performance, this provides a significant boost in performance for today’s memory intensive server applications. Server Premier memory features a locked BOM (Bill of Materials) to ensure a consistent brand and revision of DRAM and undergoes rigorous, dynamic burn-in testing designed to root out early-life failures at the factory before being shipped out. A key component of the production test process is that Kingston simulates customer workloads on the very same motherboards that are found in their data centers.

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KEY CAPABILITIES n Locked Bill of Materials (BOM) n Part Change Notifications (PCN) of 45-90 days n Server platform validation n Leading server motherboard manufacturer qualification n DDR4 speeds from 2400 – 3200MT/s n Lifetime warranty n Industry-leading service and support

POWEREDGE TRANSFORMATION WITHOUT COMPROMISE Explore the potential of the next generation of the Dell EMC PowerEdge server portfolio powered by the Intel® Xeon® Platinum Processor. DESIGNED TO POWER TRANSFORMATION The most cutting-edge portfolio of Dell EMC PowerEdge servers yet is designed to help customers to drive IT transformation. And it has the power to transform your business too. Best-in-class Dell EMC PowerEdge 14G servers, featuring the next generation Intel® Xeon® Processor Scalable Family, are built from the ground up with a no-compromise approach – to deliver an end-to-end, fully flexible and cost-effective solution that customers can rely on. There are loads of business-boosting features to help you win new orders and help your customers bridge the IT resources gap and transform their business: >Scalable business architecture On-demand capacity & performance to meet every core challenge >Intelligent automation Enhanced server room efficiency and embedded diagnostics – no more amber light patrols >Integrated security Build-In IT lifecycle protection and security embedded into hardware and firmware >Extend your offering Offer professional services such as consultancy, deployment, support – plus flexible financing solutions for your customers >SUPPORTED BY: Extraordinary new Partner Program Take a no-compromise approach to building your business by leveraging the potential of the best server platform and the best Partner Program in the industry Our extraordinary new Partner Program delivers core business benefits and is specifically designed to be: Simple – Predictable – Profitable

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Intel® Xeon® Platinum Processor

Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/ or other countries.

SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER, 2019

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