March Issue 2026

STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE WITH CHANNEL POST MEA

Editor, Magazine

WOMEN DRIVING THE CHANNEL FORWARD AS THE REGION EMBRACES RESILIENCE IN TOUGH TIMES

The Middle East’s channel landscape is undergoing one of its most profound shifts in decades—shaped by geopolitical tension, AI driven disruption, and the rapid evolution of cloud, cybersecurity, and data centric business models. In this moment of uncertainty and acceleration, one theme rises unmistakably across this month’s issue: women are emerging as the channel’s most reliable force of stability and strategic clarity.

Our cover story, Women Leading the Channel Through Conflict, captures this transformation through the voices of leaders who are not only navigating complexity but actively shaping the channel’s next era. Their leadership—rooted in resilience, strategic empathy, and the ability to influence without authority—is proving indispensable as the industry moves from transactional engagements to intelligence driven, outcome based partnerships. Their stories reflect progress, but also the persistent need for visibility, sponsorship, and equal access to high impact roles.

This narrative of transformation continues in our feature story, AI Powered Security: The New Frontline of Cyber Defense. As threats accelerate at machine speed, experts from across the region outline how AI is redefining detection, response, and resilience. From autonomous SOC operations to securing AI models and pipelines, the message is clear: AI is no longer an enhancement—it is the backbone of modern cybersecurity.

“Women are emerging as the channel’s most reliable force of stability and strategic clarity”

Our interviews further illuminate the evolving channel. Leaders from Westcon Comstor, Bitdefender, ASBIS, and Impetus Consultancy unpack how cloud marketplaces, managed services, AI workloads, and shifting vendor expectations are reshaping partner strategies across MEA. They highlight a channel that is maturing rapidly—one where specialization, enablement, and measurable outcomes matter more than ever.

Expert perspectives from Qualys and Nutanix sharpen the strategic lens. Whether reframing cybersecurity around Value at Risk or redefining cloud success through intelligent management rather than visibility alone, these insights point to a channel that must evolve from reactive operations to proactive, data driven decision making.

Our news section rounds out the issue with major industry developments—from acquisitions and rebrands to AI powered innovations, partner program overhauls, and regional expansions. Together, they reflect a market that is accelerating, consolidating, and preparing for the next wave of digital transformation.

Across every page, one truth stands out: the channel’s future will be shaped by leaders who can bring clarity, collaboration, and conviction to a rapidly changing landscape. Increasingly, those leaders are women.

WOMEN LEADING THE CHANNEL THROUGH CONFLICT: THE MIDDLE EAST’S NEW FORCE OF STABILITY

AI- POWERED SECURITY THE NEW FRONTLINE OF CYBER DEFENSE

IS RESHAPING THE CHANNEL LANDSCAPE AND PARTNER STRATEGIES

VALUE AT RISK: A NEW NARRATIVE FOR THE CYBERSECURITY CHANNEL

BITDEFENDER DEEPENS CHANNEL STRENGTH TO DRIVE REGIONAL GROWTH

ASBIS STRENGTHENS ITS ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Pure Storage Rebrands as Everpure, Announces Plan to Acquire 1touch

Pure Storage has rebranded itself as Everpure. This change reflects the company’s greater impact from reshaping storage to defining the future of data management. The company also intends to acquire 1touch, an innovator in data intelligence and orchestration that provides a comprehensive, unified view of an enterprise’s information. With 1touch, Everpure furthers its commitment to data management innovation, making data secure, accessible, intelligent, and ready to perform.

“Everpure reflects the company we have become as we help enterprises unleash the full power of their data. It captures the power of our Enterprise Data Cloud architecture and adapt-

ability of Evergreen, reinforcing what has always set us apart as we redefine important markets. With 1touch, we are taking the next step in helping organizations not only gain control of their most valuable asset—data—but also understand, enhance, and contextualize that data for actionable intelligence,” said Charles Giancarlo, CEO of Everpure.

As AI becomes central to business operations, the modern enterprise has reached an inflection point. AI has exposed the weaknesses of current infrastructure, where siloed data, manual processes, and inflexible architectures cannot support the scale, speed, and intelligence demands of enterprise AI.

Data is an organization’s most valuable asset, but it is trapped by these inefficiencies. Its full value can only be derived if it is effortless to manage, continuously protected, instantly available, and infused with context. Everpure is breaking these barriers with its Enterprise Data Cloud (EDC) architecture. Powered by the Everpure Platform, the EDC architecture transforms storage into a unified, virtualized cloud of data, governed by an intelligent control plane. It manages datasets globally, through policy, eliminating the friction of manual configurations, which brings unprecedented simplicity, agility, and efficiency to data management.

“Data is the lifeblood of the AI era, but without the proper controls and semantic context, it remains an untapped resource,” said Ashish Gupta, CEO and president, 1touch. “By joining forces with Everpure, we can eliminate the barriers that have kept enterprises from realizing the true ROI of their data. Together, we will further expand the Everpure platform to provide a level of contextual intelligence that is unmatched in the industry—giving customers the foundation they need to move AI projects from pilot to production at record speed and trust.”

WD Consolidates Pro Creator Storage Portfolio into G-DRIVE Line

WD has announced the re-launch of its G-DRIVE brand as the unified identity for its content creator and creative professional external storage product portfolio. The brand consolidation brings together high-capacity, high-performance storage solutions under a single name brand – G-DRIVE – known for its quality, performance, and reliability.

The G-DRIVE brand, also represented by the iconic “G” logo, will replace SanDisk Professional branding across WD’s creator storage lineup, including desktop drives, portable drives and multi-bay RAID systems purpose-built for the creative community’s most demanding workflows: high-resolution photography, video production, graphic design, and audio engineering. Supporting individuals, businesses and production studios, G-DRIVE solutions support the full creative lifecycle, from on-set capture and real-time editing to backup and postproduction. Products currently branded as SanDisk Professional will transition to the G-DRIVE brand by the end of this month.

“G-DRIVE has become synonymous with reliable, high-capacity, high-performance storage for all creatives and all stages, from enthusiast to professional,” said Darrin Bulik, director of product management at WD. “By consolidating our content creator storage portfolio under this established and trusted brand, we’re honoring that legacy while leveraging WD’s industry-leading storage innovations to deliver the tools creators need to bring their vision to life. This commitment means more product choices now, and in the future, backed by the quality and reliability that creators depend on.”

The initial G-DRIVE product lineup includes:

• G-DRIVE ArmorATD: Rugged portable drive, up to 6TB, with

triple-layer shock resistance, dust/water protection (IP54), and durable aluminum enclosure designed for creative professionals and their mobile workflows.

• G-DRIVE: High-capacity desktop drive with an enterprise-class Ultrastar® HDD up to 26TB capacity delivering fast transfer speeds and sustained performance for video editing, photo libraries, backup and content archiving at the workstation.

• G-DRIVE PROJECT: Single-bay Thunderbolt 3 desktop solution with highcapacity, high-performance, enterprise-class Ultrastar HDD storage up to 26TB for demanding workloads.

• G-RAID PROJECT 2: Compact two-bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID system shipping in RAID 0, with field-swappable enterprise-class Ultrastar drives up to 52TB for accelerated post-production performance.

• G-RAID SHUTTLE 4 and SHUTTLE 8: Transportable storage arrays (4-bay and 8-bay) with hot-swappable enterprise grade Ultrastar drives up to 208TB, shipping in default RAID 5, and high-speed connectivity for on-set data management and multicamera productions.

AmiViz Partners with Veracode to Secure AI-Driven Software Development Across the Region

AmiViz has announced a strategic partnership with Veracode to bring the Veracode platform to customers across the Middle East, East Africa, and Libya, strengthening the region’s ability to secure modern software at scale. The collaboration brings together two trusted organisations whose combined expertise will help enterprises embed security into every stage of the software development lifecycle. By aligning with Veracode, AmiViz reinforces its commitment to delivering advanced, future ready security solutions that meet the evolving needs of digital businesses.

AmiViz selected Veracode for its long standing leadership in holistic application risk management, backed by nearly twenty years of proprietary data,

innovation, and deep security expertise. Veracode enables development and security teams to work seamlessly together, securing software from code to cloud. Through its AI powered remediation capabilities, organisations gain precise insights into exploitable risks, accelerate vulnerability fixes, and reduce security debt in real time. This partnership positions AmiViz to support customers seeking to modernise their application security programmes while maintaining speed and agility.

“Application security has become a board-level priority as organizations embrace AIdriven development,” said Ilyas Mohammed, COO of AmiViz. “By partnering with Veracode, we are equipping our partners and customers with a proven platform that embeds security directly into development workflows, enabling faster innovation with reduced risk.”

The partnership programme is designed to help channel partners adopt and deliver Veracode solutions quickly, with minimal disruption to their existing operations. By combining AmiViz’s regional reach and partner ecosystem with Veracode’s technology, organisations will gain access to a powerful, integrated approach to application security.

“Our partnership with AmiViz empowers security leaders across the Middle East and Africa to find, fix, and govern application risk at scale using Veracode’s integrated software security solutions,” said Michael Steinmetz, Senior Vice President of EMEA & APAC at Veracode. “Together, we’ll deliver transformative technology innovations, an enhanced customer experience, and deep, technical expertise to help organisations strengthen their security posture.”

This alliance marks a significant step in advancing application security maturity across the region, enabling enterprises to innovate confidently while maintaining strong, scalable protection for their software environments.

BPS Appointed as Nutanix’s First Aggregator for MSPs in the Region

Nutanix has entered a strategic new go to market partnership with BPS, appointing the company as its first aggregator for Managed Service Provider (MSP) business across the Middle East and Egypt. By combining Nutanix’s cloud platform with BPS’s extensive reach, the partnership is designed to help MSPs scale more efficiently while giving customers easier access to trusted local service providers and flexible consumption based solutions tailored to evolving business needs.

Through this collaboration, BPS will support MSPs in accelerating onboarding, simplifying service delivery, and adopting Nutanix technologies through models that align with how customers increasingly prefer to consume IT. As organisations across the region reassess where their data resides—balancing performance, compliance, sovereignty, and cost—MSPs are becoming essential partners in navigating complexity. Their ability to offer local control, transparency, and architectural flexibility positions them at the forefront of the next chapter of cloud adoption.

Nutanix has responded to this shift by launching a purpose built MSP programme that aligns product innovation with market demand. The partnership with BPS will accelerate the delivery of these capabilities, enabling service providers to respond more effectively to customer requirements and strengthening Nutanix’s MSP footprint across the Middle East and Africa. This expansion builds on a global ecosystem of more than 400 MSPs.

“Our partnership with BPS as a key aggregator represents a strategic evolution in how Nutanix engages with Managed Service Providers,” said Shaista Ahmed, Director – Channel & Ecosystem, Middle East & Africa at Nutanix. “By leveraging BPS’s extensive

reach and expertise, we are able to access and nurture the MSP market, creating new opportunities for growth. This collaboration allows us to deliver tailored solutions, accelerate adoption of our portfolio, and provide dedicated support to these partners. Together, Nutanix and BPS are not just expanding our footprint—we are enabling a more focused, impactful, and sustainable approach to serving this critical market segment.”

“Being appointed as Nutanix’s first MSP aggregator across the Middle East and Egypt is a significant milestone for BPS. This partnership allows us to bring Nutanix’s industry leading cloud platform closer to regional service providers, enabling faster onboarding, simplified consumption models, and stronger go to market execution. Together, we are empowering MSPs to deliver consistent, high value services while helping customers modernize their IT environments with confidence,” concludes Negib Abouhabib, General Manager, BPS.

ManageEngine Introduces Causal Intelligence and Autonomous AI for Faster Incident Response

ManageEngine added new causal intelligence and autonomous AI capabilities in Site24x7, its fullstack observability platform. These enhancements transform how enterprises handle outages, shifting from firefighting to autonomous resilience. By drastically reducing mean time to recovery (MTTR) and ensuring servicelevel agreement (SLA) compliance, Site24x7 helps IT teams safeguard the customer experience and retain trust.“Hybrid and cloudnative architectures have made IT operations highly interconnected, while IT managers are

under constant pressure to resolve incidents quickly amid growing complexity,” said Srinivasa Raghavan, director of product management at ManageEngine. “By combining predictive anomaly detection, intelligent event correlation, service dependency context, and AI-driven causal insights, Site24x7 cuts through alert noise to show not just what is broken, but what caused it and what it impacts, helping teams identify the true fault faster and significantly reduce MTTR while minimizing service disruption.”The introduction of autonomous AI in Site24x7 represent a practical step toward more autonomous IT operations by analyzing observability data, reducing cognitive overload, and turning insights into clear, actionable guidance. “With MCP providing the control and governance layer, we ensure this intelligence is applied securely and within enterprise guardrails. This empowers IT leaders move toward agentic workflows with confidence, stay ahead of the AI adoption curve, and strengthen the resilience of their critical digital services,” said Raghavan.

Key capabilities include:

• Domain-aware causal correlation with predictive anomaly detection: Detects anomalies and correlates

related signals across applications, infrastructure, and networks into a single, context-rich problem—so teams can quickly understand what is connected and where to start.

• Customizable AI Agents with governed, task-driven automation: Enables customers to create and tailor AI Agents, set approved guardrails using solution documents, and assign tasks that guide agents from analysis to guided action—making response workflows more consistent across teams.

• MCP-enabled agentic foundation for customers: MCP provides the enabling layer for customers to build and operationalize agentic use cases on top of observability data—standardizing how agents access data, follow approved guidance, and execute tasks within enterprise-ready controls and auditability.

• Orchestrated remediation with Qntrl: Co-ordinates downstream actions through structured workflows and repeatable runbooks, powered by Zoho’s workflow and orchestration platform Qntrl, with approvals and traceability built in to support controlled automation. These AIOps capabilities are now available for all users in Professional and Enterprise plans.

Al Ostad Pallet Factory Taps ZayStack to Digitise Core Operations

Dubai-based Al Ostad Pallet Factory has appointed ZayStack Intellizence to deliver a groundbreaking programme to digitise and automate core business processes across sales, procurement, production, inventory, and delivery.

Under the agreement, ZayStack will support an initial three-month phase focused on “quick wins and foundations”, including current-state assessment, process mapping and advanced software and AI tool recommendations. The project will also see rollout of practical templates, dashboards and minimum viable automations, designed to improve visibility and accountability across operations.

The recently inked agreement is part of Al Ostad’s continuing evolution, ensuring it keeps delivering value to its ever-growing customer base, building on more than 25 years in business with strong investment in the technology-driven future of the logistics sector.

The engagement aims to help Al Ostad reduce manual, persondependent workflows and move towards a more digitally enabled, datadriven operating model that supports long-term growth, improved decision-making, and stronger customer communication. The project will help employees understand how to use cutting-edge AI tools to increase productivity.

Alex George, Managing Director, Al Ostad Pallet Factory, said: “Al Ostad Pallet Factory has grown on the strength of operational knowhow and a hands-on approach. Now, we need to ensure our team is AI prepared, and that we all understand how to make best use of AI across our business.

“This programme is about putting the right digital foundations in place so we can improve visibility, reduce friction in day-to-day workflows, and scale with confidence, all while continuing to deliver reliably

for our customers.”

Alex is keen to implement cutting-edge technologies at his 8,000 square meter DIC manufacturing facility, and is intent on becoming “best in class” for logistics and packaging solutions, aiming for the number one position regionally.

“We’re on track,” Alex says with confidence. “It’s about being ready for the future - a future where technology, sustainability, and supply chain resilience define the leaders in manufacturing. We want to be at the forefront of that shift.”

Tarun Malik, Partner, ZayStack Intellizence LLP, said: “Manufacturing businesses don’t need ‘digital’ for its own sake, they need practical systems that improve speed, accuracy and accountability. We’ll be working closely with Al Ostad to identify critical workflows and establish the dashboards, templates and ‘intelligent’ automation foundations that support sustainable, long-term adoption.”

RAK Ceramics to Accelerate Digital Transformation with SAP

RAK Ceramics has selected SAP SE to deploy an enterprise-wide digital transformation accelerated through the adoption of RISE with SAP. The program will establish end-to-end process integration across the company’s 55 entities, creating a unified cloud platform that supports operations in more than 150 countries.

The project addresses the complexity of operating multiple entities across fragmented systems by consolidating them onto a core cloud platform based on SAP Business Suite, including SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud, SAP Integrated Business Planning, and SAP SuccessFactors powered by SAP Business AI. SAP Integrated Business Planning will be adopted across three key areas: sales and operations, response and supply, and

demand planning, alongside SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and cloud payroll. By upgrading to a modern cloud environment, RAK Ceramics gains greater visibility and operational control, as well as a system that adapts to new technologies and business requirements as they emerge.

Abdallah Massaad, CEO, RAK Ceramics, said: “Selecting SAP solutions reflects our focus on strengthening how we operate and ensuring technology supports long-term growth. Consolidating global operations across RAK Ceramics onto a unified cloud platform will deliver greater transparency and control across the business. By adopting Clean Core principles and decustomization, we will create an agile infrastructure that can adapt to change over time. This foundation will enable us to introduce advanced capabilities, including AI, and empower our 12,000 employees with real-time data and integrated processes to better serve our customers.”

RAK Ceramics will implement various SAP solutions to enable more efficient management

of resources across the enterprise over five years, supported by a cloud environment designed to improve efficiency and decision-making at scale. With AI-powered ERP, the company is positioned to progressively introduce intelligent automation across the enterprise. SAP Integrated Business Planning further strengthens forecasting, inventory management, and working capital efficiency, supporting resilient and responsive supply chains worldwide.

Marwan Zeineddine, Managing Director, SAP UAE, commented: “RAK Ceramics is demonstrating how manufacturers can simplify complex environments globally and build a digital foundation that supports scale and consistency. The deployment of SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud, Integrated Business Planning, and SuccessFactors will provide enhanced visibility and governance required to manage operations worldwide more effectively. By applying Clean Core principles, the company will reduce technical debt and establish a platform that can evolve as business and market requirements change, supporting its next phase of growth.”

Zoho Hits 150 Million Users Milestone, Achieves 41% Growth in MENA Region

Zoho Corporation marked its 30th anniversary by announcing two major milestones: it now supports more than 1 million paying customers and over 150 million users worldwide. The company — consisting of the Zoho, ManageEngine, Qntrl, and TrainerCentral brands — is now a trusted technology provider to more than one million paying customers and over 150 million users globally.

In 2025, Zoho Corporation recorded a 32% year-onyear increase in customers and a 20% rise in revenue. Zoho also revealed that the Middle East and North Africa is the company’s second-fastest-growing market globally, with a 41% CAGR over the past five years. The UAE is among its top markets, recording a CAGR of over 77% in customer growth and 45% in revenue growth since 2021.

“Being bootstrapped, private, and built entirely inhouse makes Zoho an outlier among competitors,” said Sridhar Vembu, Co-founder and Chief Scientist, Zoho Corporation. “But vendors don’t need our help, businesses do, which is why delivering customer value has, for 30 years, been Zoho Corporation’s North Star. Before any innovation, strategy, or guiding principle becomes a product, pivot, or policy, it must first affirm the question, ‘Will this help businesses?’ We are incredibly grateful that companies around the world have responded so positively to our customer-first approach over the past three decades, and will continue to meet the evolving needs of businesses with powerful, scalable, and affordable solutions.”

Since setting up its first regional office in Dubai, Zoho has strengthened its commitment through significant investments in local infrastructure, support, and product localisation as part of its ‘transnational localism’ strategy.

“Zoho’s expansion in the MENA region represents a significant milestone in our global journey. We are proud that our operations here, from our growing teams to strategic partnerships and local investments, have become a key driver of Zoho’s 30 years of success,” said Hyther Nizam, CEO of Zoho, Middle East and Africa (MEA). “Our commitment to the region goes beyond providing technology, it’s about empowering businesses, supporting digital transformation, and fostering innovation. The trust customers place in Zoho has been the foundation on which we continued to deliver scalable, secure, and locally relevant solutions that help organisations of all sizes thrive in an increasingly digital world.”

The company has committed AED 100 million to expand its presence in the UAE, including the setup of two data centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai this year.

Westcon-Comstor Expands Support Services for Zscaler Partners

Westcon Comstor has expanded its support services for channel partners working with Zscaler, strengthening its role as a key enabler for vendors seeking to scale their ecosystems across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The announcement reflects the distributor’s continued investment in services that accelerate partner growth and simplify the delivery of cloud delivered security. It also builds on the company’s long standing relationship with Zscaler and the recent launch of Z Strike, a dedicated business unit designed to deepen collaboration and drive smarter, more sustainable growth for partners aligned with both Zscaler and CrowdStrike.

The distributor has also introduced the Westcon

MSSP for Zscaler Programme, an initiative created specifically for managed security service providers and authorised partners within the Zscaler MSSP ecosystem. The programme is designed to help partners support small and mid sized customers more efficiently by simplifying transactions, speeding onboarding and offering the flexibility required to scale services in line with customer demand. By reducing operational friction, Westcon Comstor is enabling partners to focus on delivering high value security outcomes rather than navigating administrative complexity.

A key component of the enhanced offering is an end to end support model that now includes Level 1 and Level 2 support. Westcon Comstor will manage troubleshooting, escalation and day to day technical assistance, giving Zscaler partners a single point of contact for service needs. This integrated approach is intended to reduce response times, improve customer experience and strengthen the overall quality of service delivered through the channel.

“These initiatives underscore our commit-

ment to delivering distribution led support that enables partners to focus on delivering world class security outcomes to their customers, while allowing vendors to scale their services by leveraging adoption through the channel,” said Martin Flensburg, Vice President Services Delivery and Go To Market, Europe at Westcon Comstor. “By embedding our services into Zscaler’s support processes for partners, we are demonstrating the added value that distribution brings – reducing complexity and making life easier for both partners and vendors.”

“Westcon Comstor is a strategic Zscaler distribution partner, and this expanded services model reflects the strength of our collaboration and shared commitment to accelerating partner success,” added Anthony Torsiello, Senior Vice President, Global Partner Ecosystem at Zscaler. “By deepening operational alignment and investing in scalable support capabilities, Westcon is helping extend the reach of the Zscaler platform across EMEA, while enabling partners to deliver more integrated security outcomes for our joint customers.”

UiPath Joins Agentic AI Foundation to Advance Interoperability in Agentic AI Adoption

UiPath announced it has joined the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) as a Gold Member. Together with other member organizations, UiPath will work with industry leaders to shape standards and collaborate on open source innovation necessary for scaling agentic AI in the enterprise.

The advent of agentic AI represents a new era of autonomous decision making and coordination across AI systems that will transform and revolutionize entire industries. Shared, open standards are necessary as AI moves from experimental to operational. Research on the economic impacts of open source shows that 89% of organizations that have adopted AI use open source in their infrastructure, reinforcing the importance of neutral governance, agreed upon standards, and open collaboration as agentic architectures mature.

Founded in 2025, the AAIF is the open foundation driving the transparent and collaborative evolution of agentic AI. Agents in isolation deliver limited value; their power is realized only when they can access the tools and systems required to complete tasks.

“Joining the Agentic AI Foundation reflects our commitment to advancing open, enterprise frameworks for agent development, governance and orchestration,” said Raghu Malpani, CTO, UiPath. “Being a a part of the AAIF’s working groups for governance, regulatory alignment, security, and observability allows us to align our products and go-to-market priorities to the security, observability,

and compliance demands of enterprises looking to transform their business using AI agents and agentic orchestration. We can take a leading role in ensuring the standards that emerge support enterprise-grade deployment, measurement and controls needed to enable enterprise trust in the potential and promise of agentic AI and automation.”

The UiPath Platform has been an early adopter of open source standards, supporting Model Context Protocol (MCP) for agent interactions and agentic orchestration with UiPath Maestro on open source Temporal.io engine. As a result, UiPath customers can adopt the platform with confidence, coupled with an open ecosystem of agentic partners to enable MCP-compatible, orchestrated end-to-end processes. In real-world scenarios such as claims processing, where organizations need to orchestrate multiple specialized agents to execute a complete process, an open ecosystem using those standards allow agents to interact in a standardized way using common language, within shared guardrails.

Proofpoint Launches New Partner Program to Accelerate Partner Growth and Profitability

Proofpoint has launched the Proofpoint Partner Network, a redesigned global partner program built to accelerate partner growth, strengthen profitability, and deliver greater customer value at a time when cyber threats are increasingly targeting people, data, and AI driven workflows. The new program introduces a simplified structure, deeper investments, and enhanced incentives aligned to how customers buy and how partners build sustainable, recurring revenue businesses. It also reflects Proofpoint’s long term commitment to a partner led strategy, offering clearer protections, stronger economics, and expanded opportunities for partners to differentiate through services built around Proofpoint’s AI driven security and compliance platform.

According to the company, the Proofpoint Partner Network is designed to help partners win more consistently in a market where human centric attacks continue to rise and organisations seek integrated solutions that reduce risk and simplify security operations. “Partners play a critical role in helping reduce risk, simplify security, and

drive measurable outcomes for customers,” said Stan de Boisset, senior vice president of global channels at Proofpoint. “The Proofpoint Partner Network reflects how the market is evolving, built to help our partners win with stronger economics, clearer protections, and the tools they need to build successful, long-term practices around the most trusted human-centric security platform in the market. By aligning our investments to partner growth, simplifying engagement, and leading together in the agentic security era, we’re delivering a program that helps our partners win today and well into the future.”

A central focus of the new program is partner profitability and predictability. Proofpoint maintains a renewal rate exceeding 90 percent, with many customer relationships lasting more than a decade, creating a strong foundation for recurring partner revenue. The Proofpoint Partner Network builds on this strength with enhanced incentives for new customer acquisition and renewals, expanded co investment through demand generation funds, and new data security focused

investments that help partners tap into one of the fastest growing areas of cybersecurity spending. Strengthened protections for partner sourced and co sell opportunities, along with incumbency protection at renewal, ensure that partner investments are safeguarded throughout the customer lifecycle.

The program is also engineered to help partners increase win rates, improve margins, and grow accounts without adding unnecessary complexity or vendor sprawl. Proofpoint’s platform, powered by advanced threat intelligence derived from trillions of signals each year, enables partners to differentiate in a crowded market while addressing emerging risks in the agentic workspace, where people and AI interact in increasingly complex ways.

To simplify engagement and support partner growth, the Proofpoint Partner Network introduces three tiers—Select, Elite, and Elite+—that recognise partner investment and performance while offering clear pathways to increased benefits. Middle and top tier partners gain access to NFR licenses, enabling hands on learning, demonstrations, and deeper technical expertise. Proofpoint is also expanding its routes to market through the AWS and Microsoft Azure marketplaces, opening new opportunities for partners to deliver solutions across AI, data security, and managed services. Looking ahead to 2026, the program will further empower partners to build and scale security services, including health checks and certified deployment offerings, creating new high margin revenue streams.

Regional partners have welcomed the launch, highlighting the program’s alignment with long term service led business models. Dr Aleksandar Valjarevic, Acting Chief Executive Officer at HELP AG, said: “The Proofpoint Partner Network is an exciting opportunity for Help AG to deepen our collaboration with a trusted leader in security, across email, data, and collaboration, and continue providing measurable cybersecurity outcomes to clients. The program’s structure aligns well with our goal of building long-term, recurring, and service-based business models. By working together, we can better serve our customers, expand our services, and stay ahead in a fastevolving market.”

With the Proofpoint Partner Network, the company is positioning its global ecosystem for the next era of cybersecurity—one defined by AI driven threats, human centric risk, and the need for integrated, outcome focused security programs.

TECHNOLOGY IS RESHAPING THE CHANNEL LANDSCAPE AND PARTNER STRATEGIES

Prakash Krishnamurthy, Founder & CEO of Impetus Consultancy & Advisory, explains how emerging technologies are transforming vendor relationships, partner strategies and the future of regional IT ecosystems.

How would you describe the current state of the IT channel ecosystem in the Middle East, particularly in high growth sectors like cybersecurity and cloud?

The IT channel ecosystem in the Middle East is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades, driven largely by the rapid acceleration of cloud adoption, the rising urgency of cybersecurity, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence.

For many years, the region operated on a traditional distribution model that revolved around box moving and transactional engagements. That era is now fading quickly. Distributors who once prided themselves on signing as many vendors as possible are realizing that the market has matured, and success now depends on specialization, depth of expertise, and the ability to deliver measurable outcomes.

This shift has prompted many distributors to restructure internally, streamline their vendor portfolios, and align more closely with global technology providers who expect strategic execution rather than superficial value added claims.

At the same time, system integrators and value added resellers are recognizing that remaining product agnostic is no longer enough. They are investing heavily in upskilling their sales and technical teams to meet the increasingly complex demands of customers navigating cybersecurity threats, cloud migration challenges, and AI driven transformation.

Across the ecosystem, a new mindset is taking hold—one that acknowledges that knowledge, specialization, and continuous learning are now the most powerful competitive weapons. The partners who embrace this shift are positioning themselves to thrive, while those who cling to legacy models risk being left behind.

What major shifts are you seeing in distributor and vendor relationships across the region?

Vendor–distributor relationships in the Middle East have entered a new phase marked by heightened scrutiny, strategic alignment, and a clear

Founder & CEO of Impetus Consultancy & Advisory

“We aim to make a meaningful impact on the regional technology landscape by empowering organizations to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.”

expectation of performance. Vendors investing in the region have become far more selective in choosing distribution partners.

They are no longer persuaded by generic claims of value added services or broad market reach. Instead, they seek distributors who can articulate realistic strategies, demonstrate execution capability, and commit to measurable outcomes. This has led to more rigorous evaluations, deeper due dili-

gence, and more transparent conversations about expectations and deliverables.

On the other side, distributors themselves are undergoing a period of introspection. Many have experienced declining loyalty and inconsistent support from vendors, prompting them to rethink their approach and rebuild their credibility. Traditional box moving distributors, in particular, are realizing that their limited understanding of

emerging domains such as cybersecurity, AI, and cloud security is no longer acceptable. As a result, they are investing in new competencies, restructuring their organizations, and adopting more consultative models.

This mutual recalibration is reshaping the channel landscape, creating a more mature, performance driven environment where both vendors and distributors are expected to contribute meaningfully to long term growth.

How has the rise of cloud marketplaces and direct to customer models impacted traditional channel structures?

Cloud marketplaces led by hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud have grown exponentially over the past decade, but their impact on the broader channel ecosystem is more nuanced than many expected.

While these marketplaces have become dominant platforms for procuring cloud infrastructure and related services, they have not significantly disrupted the adoption of niche enterprise solutions or emerging cybersecurity products. In these segments, the direct to customer model has not gained substantial traction. Instead, small and medium enterprises, as well as large organizations, continue to rely heavily on the traditional channel for evaluation, deployment, and support.

These customers prefer detailed product demonstrations, hands on proof of concept engagements, and customized integration support—activities that require the involvement of skilled system integrators and VARs. This dynamic has reinforced the importance of the channel community, particularly for niche vendors seeking market entry. As a result, SI’s and VARs have strengthened their relationships with end customers, focusing on specialized solutions where they can maintain influence and profitability.

Despite the rise of cloud marketplaces, the traditional channel remains deeply embedded in the region’s technology procurement process, especially where complexity and customization are involved.

What are the biggest challenges

regional system integrators and VARs are facing today?

System integrators and VARs across the Middle East are grappling with a series of challenges that have reshaped their role and influence in the market. One of the most significant issues is the erosion of trust and loyalty from both vendors and distributors. A decade ago, SI’s and VARs were indispensable intermediaries, relied upon to reach end customers and drive adoption. Over time, however, vendors and distributors have

increasingly engaged customers directly, bypassing the channel partners who once controlled these relationships.

This shift has left many SI’s and VARs feeling marginalized and weakened, as they struggle to maintain relevance and protect their customer base. The competitive landscape has also intensified, with multiple partners bidding for the same opportunities, often leading to aggressive price wars that erode margins and strain operational sustainability.

As profitability declines, many partners find it difficult to retain skilled talent, further weakening their ability to compete. Those who aim to survive long term are pivoting toward niche technologies, investing in specialized skills, and rebuilding their value proposition. Yet the journey is challenging, and many partners only seek help when they are already in financial distress, making recovery far more difficult.

In your experience, what separates high performing channel partners from those struggling to scale?

The most defining difference between high performing channel partners and those struggling to scale is mindset. Successful VARs, SI’s, and startups demonstrate openness to change, a willingness to seek expert guidance, and a commitment to building strong sales and technical capabilities. They understand that growth requires structure, strategy, and investment, and they actively engage consultants and advisors who can help them accelerate their trajectory. In contrast, struggling partners often operate with a closed mindset, resisting external input and relying on outdated practices.

They frequently face high employee turnover, particularly in sales roles, which further undermines their ability to grow. When they encounter obstacles, many of these organizations mistakenly conclude that sales itself is ineffective, prompting CEOs to take on the burden of business development alone. This approach rarely succeeds, as no company can scale sustainably without a dedicated and skilled sales force.

At Impetus Consultancy and Advisory, one of the biggest challenges arises when partners approach us only after they have reached a critical financial or operational breaking point. At that stage, turning the business around becomes a far more demanding and time consuming effort. The partners who thrive are those who seek support early, embrace change, and invest proactively in their growth engines.

What specific services do you offer vendors or distributors looking to enter or expand in the Middle East market?

Impetus Consultancy and Advisory provides

comprehensive support to vendors, distributors, startups, and channel partners seeking to establish or expand their presence in the Middle East. Our work focuses on helping organizations re engineer their business models, build high performance sales engines, and achieve exponential revenue growth.

Over the past year, we have supported global vendors in successfully entering the region, guiding them through market positioning, channel strategy, and partner enablement. We have worked closely with distributors to develop strong, effective sales teams capable of driving consistent results. We have also helped startups launch their products with clarity, structure, and market readiness, ensuring they enter the ecosystem with a competitive advantage. Additionally, we assist SI’s and VARs in streamlining their operations, strengthening their value propositions, and rebuilding their market presence.

Our overarching mission is to support companies facing existential challenges and help them transition from survival mode to sustainable growth. We aim to make a meaningful impact on the regional technology landscape by empowering organizations to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.

Looking ahead, what structural changes do you expect in the regional IT channel over the next three to five years?

The Middle East IT channel is on the brink of a profound structural transformation that will redefine roles, capabilities, and business models over the next three to five years.

The industry is shifting away from transactional, hardware centric engagements toward models driven by cloud sovereignty, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and managed services. This evolution will give rise to a new generation of channel partners equipped with advanced AI expertise, deep cybersecurity knowledge, and the ability to deliver complex digital transformation projects. As technologies such as Web 4.0, 6G networks, and hyper automation become mainstream, the demand for highly skilled, agile, and innovative partners will surge. Network speeds and connectivity will multiply, creating new opportunities but also raising the bar for technical proficiency. Partners who fail to adapt to this rapid evolution risk becoming obsolete. To remain competitive, SI’s, VARs, and distributors must prepare for an unprecedented paradigm shift by investing in talent, embracing specialization, and aligning their strategies with the future of digital infrastructure. The next few years will separate the channel partners who evolve from those who fade away, making this a critical moment for the entire ecosystem.

WOMEN LEADING THE CHANNEL THROUGH CONFLICT: THE MIDDLE EAST’S NEW FORCE OF STABILITY

As regional conflict tests the resilience of the IT channel, a new generation of women leaders is stepping forward—driving continuity, innovation, and strategic clarity when the industry needs it most.

With the Iran–Israel conflict unsettling regional stability and exposing the fragility of global supply chains, the Middle East’s IT channel stands at a critical crossroads. Amid this uncertainty, women leaders are emerging as a stabilizing force—driving resilience, innovation, and continuity across a region balancing between conflict and transformation.

International Women’s Day 2026 arrives at a defining moment for the channel ecosystem, where women are no longer simply participating but actively shaping and steering its evolution.

As the industry shifts from transactional models to intelligence driven partnerships powered by cloud, AI, cybersecurity, and subscription based services, the strengths women bring—strategic empathy, relationship driven leadership, resilience, and the ability to navigate ambiguity—are proving indispensable.

Yet their journeys also reveal the barriers that persist and the work still required to build a truly inclusive, future ready channel landscape. Their voices underscore a powerful truth: in a region tested by geopolitical tension and rapid technological change, women are becoming the anchors

of stability and the architects of the channel’s next era.

Alyaa Alsharif, Senior Business Development Manager, META at Group IB, reflects on the evolving role of women in the channel with a blend of realism and optimism. She explains that while women have become far more visible in strategic and technical roles, visibility alone does not guarantee influence. Too often, she says, women are the first voices dismissed and the last ones credited—particularly in high stakes cybersecurity environments. Yet she believes cybersecurity has also helped shift perceptions,

because threats do not discriminate and diverse perspectives strengthen defence. Alyaa highlights emotional intelligence, calm decision making, and the ability to influence without authority as qualities that have helped her navigate complex partner ecosystems and crisis situations. For her, the future depends on organizations treating women’s advancement as a business strategy tied to innovation, not an HR initiative. Retention, sponsorship, and clear pathways to leadership are essential to sustaining progress.

Subela Bhatia, Founder and Managing Director at Imperium Middle East, sees the regional

channel undergoing meaningful transformation as more women step into influential roles across leadership, partner management, and ecosystem development. She notes that women’s visibility in boardrooms, industry events, and strategic discussions has grown significantly, reflecting a broader recognition of the value they bring. Yet persistent barriers remain, including uneven access to STEM education and a shortage of mentors in technical fields. Subela believes women excel in empathy driven communication, collaborative leadership, and long term relationship building—qualities that have shaped her own career and strength-

ened partner loyalty. As the channel shifts toward cloud, AI, and integrated security models, she sees a unique opportunity to elevate women into high growth domains. Inclusion, she argues, must be treated as a business priority tied to revenue and innovation, with women placed visibly in strategic roles that shape the future of the channel.

Mona Sedki, Channel Manager for Egypt at AmiViz, describes a dramatic shift in how women contribute to the channel. She explains that women have moved from back end support roles to becoming drivers of leadership, innovation, and customer experience. Their perspectives, shaped

TEAM

by the challenges they navigate, bring new dimensions to problem solving and partner engagement. Yet deep rooted gender bias in promotion structures and the lack of workplace flexibility remain ongoing barriers. Mona believes women bring emotional intelligence, strong relationship building skills, and the ability to multitask without compromising quality—strengths essential for managing complex partner ecosystems. In her own journey, these qualities have helped her balance priorities, build trust, and drive better outcomes. She argues that as the channel transforms with cloud and AI, organizations must invest in technical upskilling, certifications, and executive sponsorship to ensure women are empowered and positioned for leadership.

Udita Vasishth, Senior Field Marketing Manager for META at BMC Helix, has witnessed women transition from support roles into trusted strategic contributors who shape partner strategy and go to market execution. She believes this shift has been driven by stronger advocacy, leadership intent, and a growing recognition of the impact women bring to the channel. Udita highlights stra-

tegic empathy, collaboration, and long term relationship management as core strengths women contribute to partner ecosystems. In her own career, she has leveraged these qualities to build authentic partnerships, align stakeholders, and deliver results with clarity and consistency. As the channel evolves with cloud, AI, and subscription models, she emphasizes the need for organizations to ensure women have access to transformative roles, sponsorship, and visibility in strategic initiatives. Structured mentorship, inclusive leadership pipelines, and flexible work cultures are essential to positioning women as future ready leaders capable of navigating the channel’s next phase.

Melissa Velez, Team Manager for Enterprise Security Engineers EMEA at Check Point Software, sees women increasingly driving the heart of channel partnerships by building trust, fostering collaboration, and shaping long term strategy. She explains that women often bring a blend of strategic thinking and empathy, enabling them to understand both partner goals and customer needs. This combination strengthens relationships and creates opportunities for deeper engagement.

In her own work, she leverages active listening, curiosity, and the ability to identify hidden opportunities to become a trusted advisor to partners. Yet she acknowledges that women still struggle to secure space in high level strategic conversations, where influence is shaped. Melissa believes organizations must empower women with visibility, confidence, and platforms to share their expertise. Investing in mentorship, learning, and leadership opportunities will ensure women drive innovation, strengthen partnerships, and shape the future of the channel.

Yasemin Ersoz, Channel Manager at Extreme Networks, has seen a significant shift in women’s roles across the regional channel. She notes that women are no longer supporting the channel— they are leading strategy, owning partner ecosystems, and driving revenue conversations across marketing, distribution, and technical roles. However, she points out that the region’s relationship driven culture can unintentionally limit access to influential networks, especially when trust is built in informal settings. Yasemin believes women bring emotional intelligence, structured thinking, and the ability to balance relationships with performance expectations—strengths that are particularly powerful in partner driven environments. In her own journey, she has relied on credibility, transparency, and early stakeholder alignment to drive growth and strengthen long term partnerships. She argues that as the channel shifts toward cloud and AI, organizations must evaluate leadership potential based on measurable impact rather than tenure or traditional networks, ensuring women are represented by design, not exception.

Uma Shankari, Managing Director at Luckystar Computers, describes the past decade as a period of remarkable evolution for women in the UAE’s IT channel. She highlights how women are now leading channel sales, partner strategy, marketing, and technical conversations across cloud, cybersecurity, and AI. Industry platforms such as

GITEX Global have amplified women’s visibility as decision makers and thought leaders. Yet representation at senior leadership levels—particularly in P&L ownership and technical architecture— remains limited. Uma believes women bring emotional intelligence, collaborative leadership, and long term relationship focus to partner management, which are powerful differentiators in a trust driven ecosystem.

In her own career, she has prioritized authentic relationships, transparency, and long term value creation. She argues that organizations must provide equal access to high growth technology domains, move from mentorship to sponsorship, and ensure women are represented in strategic forums where influence is shaped.

Vima Awasthi, Senior Channel Manager for Abu Dhabi at Mindware, sees a very encouraging shift in the regional channel ecosystem, particularly in the UAE, where women are increasingly recognized for their contributions across sales, partner management, and leadership. She believes supportive leadership and inclusive work environments have played a major role in this progress. Vima emphasizes open communication, trust, and collaboration as the fundamentals of her approach to partner management.

Being approachable and consistent has helped her build strong relationships with partners and navigate the complexities of the Abu Dhabi channel landscape. She believes women must be given equal exposure to new technologies, strategic

initiatives, and customer facing opportunities to build confidence and experience. Organizations that recognize and support talent regardless of gender, she says, create environments where everyone can grow and contribute meaningfully to the business.

International Women’s Day 2026 is a reminder that progress is real, but unfinished. The women shaping the regional channel ecosystem are not asking for special treatment—they are asking for equal access, equal recognition, and equal opportunity to lead. Their voices reveal a powerful truth: in a region defined by geopolitical tension and rapid technological transformation, women are not only strengthening the channel—they are

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WESTCON COMSTOR BUILDS HIGH VALUE CHANNEL CAPABILITIES ACROSS AFRICA

Vincent Entonu, Managing Director for Africa at Westcon Comstor, says the company is enabling partners to meet Africa’s rising demand for secure, scalable, and outcome driven technology solutions.

How would you characterise the overall business climate for technology distribution in Africa today, and what has been Westcon-Comstor’s performance and progress in this environment?

Africa’s technology market remains resilient, with demand driven by digitisation in financial services, government modernisation, cloud adoption and a growing focus on cybersecurity. At the same time, customers are more value-conscious, looking for clear outcomes, faster deployment and trusted local support. Within this environment, Westcon-Comstor has continued to progress by staying close to partners and vendors, resulting in consistent growth. Our combination of technical expertise, local presence, data-led insights and other value-added offerings has helped partners align vendor innovation with real-world requirements, supporting sustainable growth rather than short-term volume.

What differentiates doing business in Africa compared to other regions, and how has Westcon-Comstor adapted its operating model to address the continent’s unique opportunities and challenges?

Africa is a collection of highly diverse markets, each with its own regulatory frameworks, infrastructure maturity and economic dynamics. Success depends on understanding those local realities and adapting global strategies accordingly. We have shaped our operating model around strong regional coverage, local partnerships and on-the-ground expertise, supported by centralised technical capability and digital platforms. This allows us to combine consistency with flexibility, helping partners navigate complexity while delivering solutions that reflect local priorities and market readiness.

How would you describe WestconComstor’s current channel strategy for Africa, and how does it differ from other global regions?

Managing Director for Africa at Westcon Comstor

“Our

channel programme in Africa is designed to help partners grow sustainably by building differentiated capabilities and driving high-margin, profitable recurring revenue through repeatable business models.”

Our channel strategy in Africa is centred on partner-led growth in areas where expertise and services matter most, with a focus on our core

technology domains of cybersecurity, networking and cloud. We focus on helping partners build differentiated capabilities that translate into repeat-

able customer outcomes. Compared with more mature or standardised regions, Africa requires a greater emphasis on enablement, localisation and data-driven decision-making. We work closely with partners to tailor go-to-market approaches, ensuring they are aligned to local demand patterns, skills availability and long-term profitability.

What are the key pillars of your channel programme in Africa, particularly in terms of enablement, specialisation, and partner profitability?

Our channel programme in Africa is designed to help partners grow sustainably by building differentiated capabilities and driving high-margin, profitable recurring revenue through repeatable business models. Enablement and specialisation are at the heart of this approach, supported by targeted investment from Westcon-Comstor across several key areas:

3D Lab (virtual solution demo environment): Enables partners and their customers to assess and validate security solutions against specific use cases prior to purchase. This reduces risk, accelerates sales cycles and builds confidence with customers.

Intelligent Demand (analytics-led sales programme):

Uses data-driven insights to help partners prioritise the right opportunities, understand demand patterns and focus effort where conversion potential and long-term value are highest.

Tech Xpert (sales-free community for technical channel professionals):

Provides access to deep technical expertise, with members becoming part of an exclusive, opt-in community of like-minded technical professionals, gaining access to exclusive training, insights, events, networking and points-based participation rewards to drive a competitive advantage and increase adoption of the latest technologies. Together, these capabilities support structured demand generation, solution validation, peerto-peer knowledge sharing and ongoing lifecycle services. By shortening sales cycles, reducing deployment risk and enabling partners to move up the value chain, we help create healthier margins and more predictable, recurring revenue.

Which African markets are currently driving the strongest growth for Westcon-Comstor, and why?

Rather than focusing on individual countries, we classify our African markets into three broad categories based on factors such as GDP, technology adoption, regulatory maturity and the strength of the local partner ecosystem.

Category A countries are high-growth markets with more mature technology adoption and wellestablished financial services sectors. In these

markets, we typically have a full complement of sales and technical resources to support partners and end customers directly.

Category B countries represent mediumgrowth markets where technology adoption is less mature but where clear growth potential exists. These markets are supported through a regional hub model, with sales and technical teams travelling in to deliver enablement, partner support and customer engagement.

Category C countries are earlier-stage or greenfield markets with lower current adoption but long-term growth potential. Here, our focus is on market development, working closely with vendor partners and leveraging regional sales and technical resources to build foundational channel capability.

Growth is strongest where enterprise investment is sustained, regulatory focus on resilience and data protection is increasing, and partners are evolving from transactional resale towards managed and lifecycle-based services.

Are there emerging or underpenetrated markets in Africa that you see as high-potential over the next three to five years?

Yes. Many of the strongest future opportunities sit within our Category B and Category C markets, where cloud accessibility is improving, connectivity is expanding and public sector digitalisation is accelerating. Over the next three to five years, we expect increased demand for solutions addressing identity, cloud and endpoint security, secure access, incident readiness and AI-driven networking. The key for the channel will be building scalable, repeatable solutions that can grow alongside market maturity, supported by regional insight and technical depth.

How are you investing in skills development, cybersecurity expertise, and cloud capabilities within your partner ecosystem?

Skills development is one of the most important investments we can make in Africa’s channel. We focus on practical enablement that directly improves delivery outcomes, from pre-sales architecture and solution validation through to deployment and optimisation in live customer environments. In cybersecurity, we are helping partners transition from product sales to outcome-driven security services across the lifecycle. This includes access to threat intelligence, hands-on exposure to real-world scenarios, and guidance on building incident readiness and response capabilities. For partners moving into managed services, we support them with sharedservice models that help overcome skills shortages and operational complexity. Across cloud and

hybrid environments, our investment combines technical training with data-driven insight into consumption patterns and customer behaviour, enabling partners to deliver solutions that are secure, scalable and commercially viable over time.

What role does digital transformation, including marketplaces and platform-based distribution, play in your Africa go-to-market strategy?

Digital transformation plays a central role, particularly as buying models shift toward subscription, cloud marketplaces and consumption-based services. Platform-led distribution improves speed, transparency and governance, which is critical in multi-country operating environments. For us, this is about more than transactions. By using data and automation, we help partners identify the right opportunities, configure solutions accurately, and manage renewals and lifecycle services more effectively. This directly supports partner profitability and stronger customer relationships.

How are you helping vendors successfully localise their go-to-market approach across Africa’s diverse regulatory and economic environments?

We help vendors assess market readiness, prioritise countries and align their routes to market with local channel capability and regulatory conditions. Our role is to translate global strategies into practical, in-market execution, driving distribution-led business. This includes partner recruitment, enablement, demand creation and ongoing performance management, all informed by regional insight and data. By doing so, vendors can scale responsibly while maintaining consistency and compliance across diverse markets.

Looking ahead, what structural shifts do you anticipate in Africa’s IT channel landscape, and how is Westcon-Comstor positioning itself to lead that evolution?

The channel is increasingly shifting from resale towards services and lifecycle-led engagement, particularly in cybersecurity and cloud. Customers are also placing greater emphasis on measurable resilience and operational outcomes. At the same time, distribution is becoming more platform-driven, with data and automation shaping demand creation, delivery and renewals. Westcon-Comstor is positioning itself to lead this evolution by investing in technical expertise, analytics-led engagement and programmes that help partners build repeatable, scalable practices. Our focus remains on strengthening the bridge between world-class technology vendors and local delivery capability, supporting long-term digital resilience across African markets.

VALUE AT RISK: A NEW NARRATIVE FOR THE CYBERSECURITY CHANNEL

Hadi Jaafarawi, Regional VP for the Middle East & Africa at Qualys, notes that the UAE’s fast growing cybersecurity market is facing a surge in AI driven threats. As a result, enterprises are demanding clearer ROI from their security investments. He adds that channel partners now need to differentiate by quantifying Value at Risk and guiding customers toward more proactive, risk based security decisions.

TRegional VP for the Middle East & Africa at Qualys

“We believe the key to winning modern cybersecurity customers’ hearts and minds is Value at Risk (VAR).”

he United Arab Emirates’ cybersecurity sector is expected to be worth US$543.47 million in 2025 and shows no signs of deceleration in the coming year. Revenues are projected to keep growing at a CAGR of 6.88% to 2030, to reach US$757.98 million. But while threat actors continue to bolster their arsenals with the latest developments in generative and

agentic AI, the country’s enterprise decisionmakers are wondering if their cyber-investments will pay dividends.

As 2026 dawns, UAE business leaders will be aware they are in the final furlong of Vision 2030. Anxious to avoid a stumble, many will ramp up protection of their digital assets. Subsequently, cybersecurity competition will continue to heat up as players from global vendors to local integrators

jostle to provide the latest capabilities — zero-trust architecture, AI-powered analytics, and managed and cloud-native security services.

Amid the white noise of sector growth, how should the cybersecurity channel approach the challenge of differentiation? What do end customers really care about and how can channel partners build a narrative to reach them? We believe the key to winning modern cybersecurity customers’

hearts and minds is Value at Risk (VAR).

Why should a VAR care about VAR?

Value-added resellers and other channel players have long focused on value propositions built around complementary services. By focusing on Value at Risk (which from here on I shall call “VAR”), these partners can demonstrate to customers the value of a longterm security relationship. The VAR approach involves quantifying the real-world costs of their inaction. Through cyber-risk quantification (CRQ) the channel can guide customers to an understanding of the potential for lost revenue and the likelihood of that loss occurring. For a business leader, numbers talk, so if the channel can express threats and risks in financial terms, potential customers will begin to think in terms of the impact of inaction rather than the expense of action.

The truth is many enterprises lack a formal mechanism to categorize risks or to amend those categorizations over time. In a surprising number of cases, C-level executives gain cyber-awareness from the headlines. After a high-profile incident happens to somebody else, internal due diligence involves investigating whether the organization has the same vulnerability as the headline victim. In early 2025, the UAE Cyber Security Council warned that more than 223,800 domestically hosted digital assets were vulnerable, and reported that half of all critical vulnerabilities had lain unpatched for more than five years. This situation will go unaddressed if we wait for more headlines.

The challenge faced by value-adding partners is how to inspire customers to action. Connecting money spent to risk averted is a strong starting point. Another bold step is to work with customers to quantify their risks and to use these quantifications to prioritize budget allocation. If you find they have two issues with potential business impacts but one has a 10% chance of impact and the other a 20% chance, you may be tempted to prioritize the issue with the higher probability of impact. But if the lower-probability issue is going to hit a business unit that generates, say, AED20 million a year, while the higher-probability issue impacts a unit bringing in AED2 million, then it is important to discuss context. It is reasonable to multiply probability and value to get a deeper understanding of risk. We can think of a potential risk of AED2 million compared to a potential risk of AED 400,000. This is CRQ, and hence VAR, at work. By quantifying risks like this we account for not just the likelihood of impact but the extent of the real-world harm.

Bringing VAR to the ROC

If we are to tackle the complexity of the modern threat landscape, risk management must become an operational process, just as cybersecurity did before it. An effective Risk Operations Center (ROC) needs data from multiple sources. Channel partners have an important role to play in this ecosystem. They can guide customers to implement their own ROCs by demonstrating how customers will receive better insights and drastically mitigate

potential future impact. Partners can also provide managed ROC services to their customers, where that data is delivered as a service based on customers’ deployments and potential security gaps.

Either scenario is a path to a long-term business relationship. Channel partners can be consultants on risk by individualizing the advice they give. They can assess each customer’s environment for risks and deliver the threat intelligence that is relevant to that customer’s set-up. They can offer periodic updates to risk scoring that ensure customer businesses can shrewdly adjust their risk postures over time. And they can keep customers up to date on the real-world impact and potential consequences of each security issue, allowing for more prudent budget allocations.

Route to safety

The UAE cybersecurity channel faces the usual changing headwinds in 2026. IT is changing, architecture is changing. Cybersecurity and its providers must also change. Concentrating on Value at Risk starts to address the age-old challenge of meeting customers where they are. Business leaders who want to address the complexities of cyber through risk management will need support from the channel to deliver effective ROCs. If, through these new partnerships, the channel can also address the long-standing cybersecurity conundrum

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BITDEFENDER DEEPENS CHANNEL STRENGTH TO DRIVE REGIONAL GROWTH

Sumit Kumar, Channel & Distribution Manager for the Middle East at Bitdefender, explains that the company is expanding its regional teams, enhancing partner capabilities, and delivering advanced security solutions to strengthen cyber resilience across the MEA region.

How would you describe Bitdefender’s business performance across the Middle East and Africa, and what are the primary growth drivers in the region?

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is a high-growth priority for Bitdefender. We are seeing strong demand for advanced prevention, protection, and detection capabilities, as well as risk management and compliance solutions. Organizations across the region are shifting from reactive security approaches to proactive cyber resilience. This transition is driving sustained demand for our prevention-first GravityZone platform.

The threat landscape in MEA is evolving rapidly. How is Bitdefender adapting its technology portfolio to address increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks? Cyberattacks in the MEA region are becoming more targeted, sophisticated, and disruptive than ever. At the same time, threat actors are exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities across widely used platforms and leveraging living-off-the-land (LOTL) techniques to blend into an organization’s legitimate traffic to evade detection. Our strategy is clear: reduce complexity, consolidate security, and quickly identify and stop threats before they execute.

AI is now central to cybersecurity innovation. How is Bitdefender leveraging AI and machine learning within its solutions to enhance threat detection and response?

AI is not new to Bitdefender. We have been leveraging AI and machine learning to detect and stop threats for nearly two decades. Today, these technologies enable us to identify threats across the entire attack lifecycle, including the pre-execution phase, analyze user behavior in real time, and automate investigations. This significantly reduces alerts and false positives, freeing up valuable security team resources.

As AI also empowers adversaries, how do you ensure your AI-driven defenses stay ahead of AI-powered attacks? As attackers weaponize AI, defenders must stay two steps ahead. It is not simply AI versus AI, but

Channel & Distribution Manager for the Middle East at Bitdefender

“Our

partners are the backbone of our success in MEA.”

how effectively AI is integrated across security solutions and services to prevent threats at the perimeter, stop attacks before execution, reduce

the attack surface, and lower overall risk. To achieve this, we combine AI and machine learning with continuous threat intelligence and

human-led expertise to stay ahead of evolving threats. With Bitdefender solutions deployed across millions of systems worldwide in both enterprise and consumer environments, we have extensive visibility into the evolving threat landscape, where new AI-powered attack techniques continue to emerge.

How critical is the channel ecosystem to Bitdefender’s go-to-market strategy in MEA, and how are you strengthening partner enablement and specialization? Our partners are the backbone of our success in MEA. We continue to invest in private cloud readiness, expand our distribution network, strengthen partner enablement programs, and deepen collaboration to help partners build profitable new business opportunities.

We take a highly hands-on approach, working closely with our partners to support their success through technical training, as well as sales and marketing resources that drive demand-generation campaigns.In today’s market, partners need a technology provider that not only understands the challenges they face, but also has the scale,

expertise, and long-term commitment to help them grow.

Which industry verticals—such as government, BFSI, energy, or healthcare—are currently driving the strongest demand for Bitdefender’s solutions? Government, energy, and healthcare are leading cybersecurity investment across MEA. In these sectors, resilience is mission critical due to the sensitivity of data, regulatory requirements, and the potential impact of operational disruption.

Which key markets within the Middle East and Africa are strategic priorities for Bitdefender, and where do you see emerging opportunities?

The GCC (particularly the UAE and Oman) remains a strategic priority for Bitdefender, alongside Qatar and Kuwait. These markets continue to invest heavily in digital transformation, smart infrastructure, and cloud adoption, which in turn increases the demand for advanced cybersecurity solutions.

More broadly, countries across the Middle

channelpost

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East are accelerating modernization initiatives, expanding critical infrastructure, and strengthening regulatory frameworks. As digital ecosystems grow in scale and complexity, the need for resilient, prevention-first cybersecurity strategies becomes even more critical.

Looking ahead, what investments is Bitdefender making in the region to accelerate growth, deepen customer engagement, and expand its partner footprint?

Our long-term commitment to the Middle East and Africa is reflected in the investments we are making across people, partners, and technology. We are expanding our local teams to ensure we are closer to customers, strengthening our partner ecosystem to support deeper specialization and market reach, and delivering advanced XDR and MDR capabilities alongside comprehensive risk management and compliance solutions. Together, these efforts are designed to help organizations reduce exposure, build stronger resilience, and stop modern threats before they can disrupt operations.

THE NEW FRONTLINE OF CYBER DEFENSE

Artificial intelligence has become the defining force reshaping cybersecurity. As organisations across the Middle East and Africa accelerate digital transformation, expand cloud adoption, and integrate AI into business operations, the attack surface has grown dramatically. At the same time, adversaries are weaponising AI to automate reconnaissance, craft hyper realistic phishing campaigns, generate polymorphic malware, and exploit vulnerabilities at machine speed. The result is a rapidly evolving battlefield where defenders must match AI driven attacks with AI driven defense. Across the cybersecurity industry, experts agree that AI is no longer optional; it is foundational to modern security strategy. From reducing dwell time to securing AI models and data pipelines, organisations are rethinking their entire security architecture. This feature brings together consolidated insights from leading cybersecurity voices across the region, each offering a unified perspective on how AI is transforming detection, response, and resilience.

Ilyas Mohammed, COO at AmiViz, explains

that AI driven detection and response is dramatically reducing dwell time by automating threat identification and prioritising alerts based on risk. AI models analyse behavioural patterns across networks, endpoints, and cloud environments, detecting stealthy threats far earlier than traditional tools. Automated playbooks integrated with SOAR and EDR platforms enable real time containment, allowing teams to isolate compromised assets and remediate incidents instantly. Mohammed warns that AI generated attacks increase the scale and sophistication of threats, enabling adversaries to craft convincing phishing emails, automate vulnerability discovery, and generate polymorphic malware. Deepfakes and synthetic identities heighten fraud risks, requiring layered defenses that combine AI powered detection, strong identity controls, continuous monitoring, and employee awareness. He stresses that securing AI models and data pipelines demands security by design, strict access controls, encryption, data integrity checks, adversarial testing, and integration of AI systems into SIEM and SOC processes to prevent tampering and ensure resilience.

Morey Haber, Chief Security Advisor at Beyon-

dTrust, highlights how AI compresses dwell time by automating correlation, intuition, and threat hunting tasks that once required extensive human effort. AI engines model identity behaviour, endpoint activity, and network telemetry in real time, surfacing anomalies that indicate compromise, including privilege misuse and lateral movement. When confidence is high, AI can isolate accounts, revoke access, or quarantine systems before analysts intervene. Haber warns that AI generated attacks introduce unprecedented speed, accuracy, and targeted precision, overwhelming legacy defenses. Threat actors automate phishing, deepfakes, vulnerability discovery, and malware customisation, exploiting trust and human behaviour. He argues that mitigation requires defenders to adopt AI as aggressively as attackers, combining identity centric security, least privilege enforcement, behavioural analytics, and rapid response automation. Securing AI models and pipelines, he adds, requires treating them as critical infrastructure with strong identity controls, secrets management, integrity checks, and protection against data poisoning and prompt injection.

Ram Narayanan, Country Manager, Check

DEFENSE

Point Software Technologies, Middle East, says organisations are combining AI driven detection with exposure management to improve visibility across the entire attack surface. AI autonomously analyses behaviour across networks, cloud workloads, and user environments, detecting anomalies early while exposure management highlights critical weaknesses. Automated containment— such as isolating devices or suspending accounts— reduces dwell time and limits impact. Narayanan warns that AI generated attacks increase both speed and precision, enabling automated phishing, rapid vulnerability discovery, and coordinated ransomware campaigns. The risk lies not only in volume but in how quickly exposures are probed. He advocates a prevention first approach supported by continuous exposure management, AI driven threat intelligence, and automated containment. Securing AI environments, he adds, requires visibility across cloud and network layers, strict access controls, and continuous monitoring to prevent data leakage, model tampering, and unauthorised access.

Biju Unni, VP of Sales at Cloud Box Technologies, notes that AI based threat detection is now deeply embedded in modern SIEM, SOC, and XDR platforms. Security teams can identify attacks early and act immediately by disabling

compromised credentials, blocking malicious IPs, or isolating endpoints. He emphasises that today’s teams are trained to be proactive, using AI to anticipate threats rather than simply react. Unni warns that AI based attacks are becoming more convincing and harder to detect, with phishing, automated vulnerability discovery, and undetectable malware increasing risk. Mitigation requires MFA, continuous user awareness training, zero trust principles, and real time threat intelligence. To secure AI models and training environments, he stresses the importance of encrypting data at rest and in transit, monitoring for dataset poisoning, adopting MLOps security practices, isolating training environments, and establishing governance frameworks to ensure accountability and compliance.

Azeem Aleem, Global Executive Director, Cyber Resilience Services at CPX, explains that AI significantly enhances detection and response by filtering the “white noise” that overwhelms analysts. AI correlates signals faster and maps adversary tactics more effectively, enabling earlier detection and quicker response. This reduces dwell time and strengthens resilience. Aleem warns that AI gives attackers speed, enabling faster and more deceptive lateral movement. Organisations must think like hackers to identify potential attack paths in their own environments. Defenders can leverage AI to detect behavioural patterns and classify adversary activity early, creating balance against emerging AI enabled threats. Securing AI models and pipelines, he adds, requires secure by design principles, strong code checking, governance, controlled access, and protection of training data integrity. Ensuring models behave safely in production and embedding continuous monitoring and human oversight into the AI lifecycle are essential for cyber resilience.

Zakeer Zubair, Director of Solutions Engineering for the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa at F5, argues that security teams must work closely with other departments to embed security into applications, APIs, systems, and processes from the outset. He emphasises the need for an end to end lifecycle approach to AI runtime security, including the ability to connect and protect AI agents. As enterprises adopt AI across customer experiences and internal workflows, the risk landscape expands to include adversarial manipulation of models, data leakage, unpredictable user interactions, and compliance challenges. Zubair says these risks can be mitigated with guardrails for AI agents and comprehensive API security. He highlights F5’s AI Guardrails and AI Red Teaming capabilities, which help organisations identify vulnerabilities before they reach production and ensure AI systems remain safe, compliant, and resilient throughout their lifecycle.

Kalle Björn, Senior Director, Systems Engi-

neering - ME at Fortinet, explains that security teams are moving away from manual threat hunting toward automated discovery powered by AI driven behavioural analytics. Fortinet correlates telemetry from endpoints, networks, and cloud environments in real time, spotting abnormal behaviour that traditional rules miss. By automating detection, investigation, and response across the Security Fabric, teams can contain threats in seconds rather than weeks. Bjorn warns that AI generated attacks expand the scale and sophistication of phishing and automation, enabling adversaries to craft realistic lures and evade signature based controls. Mitigation requires AI powered inspection, Zero Trust principles, and behavioural analytics that identify malicious intent beyond static signatures. Securing AI models and pipelines, he adds, requires visibility and control over training data and infrastructure, layered AI driven detection, monitoring, and Zero Trust enforcement across networks, cloud, and API layers.

Yara AlHumaidan, Red Teaming Specialist, META region at Group-IB, says security teams leverage AI driven behavioural analytics, anomaly

MOREY HABER CHIEF SECURITY ADVISOR AT BEYONDTRUST

RAM NARAYANAN

COUNTRY MANAGER, CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES, MIDDLE EAST

detection, and automated triage to identify threats in real time. Machine learning correlates telemetry across endpoints and networks, prioritising high risk alerts and enabling rapid containment before attackers escalate privileges or exfiltrate data. She warns that AI generated attacks enable scalable phishing, deepfakes, automated malware mutation, and rapid reconnaissance. Mitigation requires zero trust architectures, strong identity controls, adversarial testing, and employee awareness. From an end user perspective, she stresses the importance of data governance and privacy by design, including encryption, role based access control, DLP, and clear data retention policies. Sensitive data should be masked or anonymised, and organisations must ensure models do not retrain on confidential inputs without consent. Secure isolated environments, vendor risk assessments, and audit logging are essential to prevent unintended data leakage.

Mohammed AlMoneer, Sr. Regional Director, Türkiye, France , Africa & Middle East at Infoblox, explains that the smartest security teams use

ZAKEER ZUBAIR

DIRECTOR OF

SOLUTIONS ENGINEERING FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, TÜRKIYE, AND AFRICA AT F5

BIJU UNNI VP OF SALES AT CLOUD BOX TECHNOLOGIES

AI not just to detect threats but to make decisions. AI aggregates signals across tools, ranks real business risk, and triggers automated playbooks. Success is measured in minutes of dwell time, analyst hours reclaimed, and incidents contained before they escalate. AlMoneer warns that GenAI gives attackers mass personalisation at zero cost, enabling unique lures, deepfakes, and polymorphic malware that break the “patient zero” model. Defenders must adopt pre emptive strategies, including continuous exposure management, predictive threat intelligence, and disciplined playbooks that assume every employee and workload can be individually targeted. Securing AI requires treating it as critical infrastructure, with governance for data and model risk, security testing in MLOps pipelines, runtime monitoring, and clear accountability between CISOs, CDOs, and engineering teams.

Essam Seoud, Head of Enterprise Sales, for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa, says AI driven systems reduce dwell time by automating triage and initial response steps. Automation playbooks

KALLE BJÖRN SENIOR DIRECTOR, SYSTEMS ENGINEERING FOR ME AT FORTINET

AZEEM ALEEM GLOBAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CYBER RESILIENCE SERVICES AT CPX

can be triggered instantly, while the system suggests actions analysts can accept or reject. By filtering alert noise and minimising routine work, AI allows experts to focus on complex cases and accelerate containment. Seoud warns that AI generated attacks enable realistic phishing, deepfake impersonation, voice cloning, and automated exploitation. As organisations adopt more digital and AI driven systems, their attack surface expands, creating interconnected vulnerabilities. Mitigation requires automated detection, human expertise, continuous threat intelligence, and strong employee awareness. Securing AI systems, he adds, requires protecting data and models throughout their lifecycle, enforcing access controls, validating data sources, encrypting sensitive data, and monitoring for tampering or anomalies.

Raoul Van Engelshoven, Managing Director for Middle East, Kyndryl, explains that AI accelerates detection and response by analysing large volumes of telemetry across devices, identities, and applications. Generative AI assists analysts by collecting, sorting, and conducting initial incident

YARA ALHUMAIDAN

RED TEAMING SPECIALIST, META REGION AT GROUP-IB

MOHAMMED ALMONEER

SR. REGIONAL DIRECTOR, TÜRKIYE, FRANCE, AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST AT INFOBLOX

analysis, reducing manual workload and speeding investigations. As capabilities mature, AI enables proactive threat hunting and improved visibility across hybrid environments. Van Engelshoven warns that AI generated attacks increase the scale and sophistication of phishing, deepfakes, and social engineering, lowering the barrier for attackers. Mitigation requires employee education, formal governance, and zero trust architecture. Securing AI systems demands strong governance frameworks, privacy controls, cross functional oversight, and continuous verification of users and devices.

Haider Pasha, Chief Security Officer at Palo Alto Networks, EMEA, underscores that AI powered security has become essential as attackers now exfiltrate data within hours rather than days. He explains that the only effective countermeasure is replacing manual correlation with machine speed analysis. By unifying telemetry from endpoints, networks, and cloud environments into a single data lake, organisations can detect multi stage attacks autonomously and contain

ESSAM SEOUD

HEAD OF ENTERPRISE SALES, FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, TURKIYE AND AFRICA

them in real time, shifting the SOC from reactive firefighting to proactive defense. Pasha warns that AI generated attacks—highly personalised social engineering, context aware phishing, and polymorphic malware—are outpacing traditional security controls. He advocates a multi layered strategy that secures the entire AI application lifecycle, from autonomous agents to underlying models. For him, true resilience requires a “code to cloud to SOC” approach, where Policy as Code, Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD scanning, isolated training environments, and strict data lineage work together to protect AI models, pipelines, and production systems from tampering, poisoning, and emerging AI driven threats.

Ezzeldin Hussein, Regional Senior Director, Solution Engineering, SentinelOne, says AI based detection and response automates remediation in real time, correlates threats, and analyses behaviour across endpoints, identities, and cloud workloads. This unified intelligence enables autonomous containment and proactive investigation at machine speed. Hussein warns

EZZELDIN HUSSEIN,

REGIONAL SENIOR DIRECTOR, SOLUTION ENGINEERING, SENTINELONE

RAOUL VAN ENGELSHOVEN MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, KYNDRYL

that AI generated attacks include deepfakes, automated exploits, and hyper personalised phishing. Mitigation requires AI based defense, behavioural detection, prompt layer protection, and continuous identity verification, supported by human analysts. Securing AI models and pipelines requires runtime monitoring, threat detection, strong access controls, data integrity verification, and securing supply chains, APIs, and prompts.

Tidiane Lo, Vice President at Westcon Comstor, explains that AI driven analytics correlate signals across networks, endpoints, and cloud environments in real time, spotting threats faster and automating response. Distributors help partners deploy multivendor solutions effectively, enabling customers across the region to cut dwell time to minutes. Lo warns that AI powered attacks scale phishing, deepfakes, and malware with alarming speed. Mitigation requires AI enabled defenses, strong identity controls, and continuous training. Securing AI models and pipelines requires visibility, governance, and trusted architectures, ensuring innovation does not come at the cost of risk.

ASBIS STRENGTHENS ITS ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Abdul Razzak Inchassi, Commercial Leader VAD at ASBIS Middle East, highlights that the company is strengthening the regional channel through deeper enablement, enhanced technical expertise, and integrated enterprise solutions.

How is ASBIS positioning its enterprise infrastructure portfolio to meet the evolving needs of Middle East enterprises undergoing digital transformation?

ASBIS Middle East is aligning its enterprise infrastructure strategy with the region’s rapid digital transformation, where organizations are accelerating adoption of cloud-native architectures, AI-driven analytics, and hybrid IT models. As a leading value-added distributor, ASBIS curates a comprehensive ecosystem of servers, storage, and data center technologies from global vendors, tailored to the needs of enterprises across the Middle East, Pakistan, and Africa.

In servers, ASBIS focuses on high-performance computing (HPC), GPU-accelerated platforms, and modular architectures that support AI/ML workloads, big data analytics, virtualization, and edge-to-cloud deployments. These solutions are designed for industries such as oil and gas, finance, government, and smart cities, where low latency, scalability, and data sovereignty are critical. The company emphasizes architectures that integrate seamlessly with 5G and IoT ecosystems, enabling enterprises to optimize resource utilization, reduce latency, and meet regulatory requirements.

In storage, ASBIS prioritizes high-speed, resilient, and intelligent systems that support multicloud strategies, data protection, and ransomware resilience. Intelligent tiering, high-density storage, and compliance with regional data localization laws are central to the portfolio. ASBIS also provides value-added services—including pre-sales consulting, PoC deployments, and post-sales support—to help customers transition from legacy systems to modern, cloud-ready infrastructures.

By investing in training programs and demo centers in Dubai, ASBIS equips partners and endusers with hands-on experience, enabling them to adopt advanced technologies confidently. This customer-centric approach ensures enterprises can accelerate digital maturity and build resilient, future-ready infrastructures.

“ASBIS

is

enhancing

go to market execution through co marketing initiatives, lead generation, and dedicated technical resources that help partners win competitive deals..

What market trends are driving demand for high-performance compute and storage in the region, and how is ASBIS adapting its vendor and solutions strategy?

Demand for HPC and advanced storage in the Middle East is being driven by several major trends. National digital transformation agendas are accelerating investments in AI, machine learning, and data analytics across government, oil and gas, BFSI, healthcare, and smart cities. The region’s cloud HPC market is expanding rapidly as enterprises seek scalable, on-demand compute

resources for simulations, AI training, and realtime analytics.

Sustainability goals and rising energy costs are pushing organizations toward energy-efficient, high-density compute and storage systems. Meanwhile, global memory shortages and supply chain pressures are increasing the need for reliable, regionally supported distribution partners.

ASBIS is responding by strengthening partnerships with leading vendors to deliver cutting-edge HPC servers, GPU platforms, and optimized storage solutions for AI/ML, edge computing, and hybrid cloud environments. Its Dubai-based

demo and PoC labs allow partners to test configurations in real-world scenarios, ensuring alignment with regional requirements such as data localization and cybersecurity.

The company is also collaborating closely with governments and large enterprises to support national digital agendas, offering scalable, energyefficient infrastructures. With four distribution centers across EMEA, ASBIS ensures supply chain resilience and rapid delivery, enabling enterprises to stay ahead in a data-driven economy.

With AI workloads accelerating, how is ASBIS supporting partners and customers in deploying infrastructure optimized for AI, HPC, and data-intensive environments?

We are addressing the surge in AI workloads by delivering end-to-end infrastructure solutions optimized for AI, HPC, and data-intensive applications. Through strategic alliances with global technology leaders, ASBIS offers GPU-accelerated servers, workstations, and clusters certified for deep learning, scientific computing, and largescale analytics.

To support deployment, ASBIS provides hands-on access to its Dubai-based demo and PoC labs, where partners can validate AI and HPC configurations, test performance, and ensure compliance with regional requirements such as data sovereignty and energy efficiency. The company’s value-added services include pre-sales consulting, solution design, integration, and post-sales maintenance, helping customers reduce deployment complexity and accelerate time-to-value.

ASBIS leverages its four distribution centers to ensure reliable supply chains and rapid delivery of AI-ready systems. This comprehensive approach has earned industry recognition and positions ASBIS as a key enabler of AI-era infrastructure across the region.

How does ASBIS differentiate its enterprise business from other regional distributors, especially in technical expertise, pre-sales support, and solution integration?

ASBIS differentiates itself through a strong valueadded distribution model that goes beyond traditional logistics. With more than 30 years of regional experience, ASBIS offers a one-stop ecosystem of high-performance infrastructure, AI-ready systems, IoT solutions, and integrated technologies tailored to key verticals such as oil and gas, finance, government, and telecom. Its technical expertise is a major differentiator. ASBIS employs vendor-certified specialists with deep knowledge in AI, HPC, edge computing, and cybersecurity. Continuous training and

investment in demo and PoC labs in Dubai allow the team to deliver hands-on demonstrations and real-world simulations.

In pre-sales, ASBIS provides consultative services including needs assessments, architecture design, feasibility studies, and workshops. This proactive engagement ensures solutions align with regional regulations such as data sovereignty in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

For integration, ASBIS delivers end-to-end solutions combining hardware, software, and services. Its distribution centers across the region support efficient logistics, while integration services cover deployment, migration, optimization, and future-proofing through robotics and IoT. This holistic approach fosters long-term partnerships and delivers measurable ROI for customers.

What role do hybrid cloud, edge computing, and software-defined infrastructure play in ASBIS’s growth strategy for 2026 and beyond?

Hybrid cloud, edge computing, and softwaredefined infrastructure are central pillars of ASBIS Middle East’s growth strategy for 2026 and beyond. These technologies address the region’s need for agility, compliance, low-latency processing, and scalable digital services.

Hybrid cloud is critical for enterprises navigating data localization laws and hybrid work models. ASBIS is expanding its portfolio of hybrid-ready servers, storage, and orchestration platforms that enable workload portability, disaster recovery, and cost optimization while maintaining compliance.

Edge computing is becoming essential as IoT adoption, 5G deployments, and real-time applications grow. ASBIS integrates edge solutions into its HPC and AI offerings, supporting smart cities, industrial automation, and oil and gas operations where localized processing reduces latency and bandwidth costs.

Software-defined infrastructure underpins both hybrid and edge strategies by virtualizing compute, storage, and networks. This enables automated, policy-driven management, reduces complexity, and accelerates innovation. ASBIS partners with leading vendors in SDN, SDS, and virtualization to help customers modernize legacy environments and improve resource utilization.

Together, these technologies position ASBIS to capture opportunities in AI, autonomous systems, and advanced analytics, supported by its regional labs and distribution centers.

How is ASBIS strengthening its partner ecosystem to scale enterprise infrastructure adoption across government, BFSI, telecom, and large enterprises?

Strengthening the partner ecosystem is a core priority for ASBIS Middle East. The company works closely with global vendors to deliver sector-specific solutions—from secure, compliant data centers for BFSI to HPC for government smart city initiatives and low-latency edge infrastructure for telecom 5G networks.

ASBIS invests heavily in channel enablement through training, certifications, workshops, and access to its Dubai demo labs for PoCs. This empowers system integrators and value-added resellers to deploy complex solutions efficiently and confidently.

The company collaborates directly with government entities and major enterprises on projects aligned with national digital agendas such as Vision 2030. Participation in major industry events like GITEX and cybersecurity summits strengthens relationships and showcases ASBIS’s AI-ready, sustainable infrastructure solutions.

ASBIS is enhancing go to market execution through co marketing initiatives, lead generation, and dedicated technical resources that help partners win competitive deals. With four EMEA distribution centers, the company ensures rapid deployment for time sensitive projects across BFSI, telecom, and government sectors.

What investments or expansions are being prioritized to accelerate the growth of ASBIS’s enterprise infrastructure business?

ASBIS Middle East is prioritizing investments across regional presence, vendor alliances, and service capabilities to accelerate enterprise infrastructure growth.

Regionally, ASBIS is expanding beyond its Dubai hub by strengthening operations in Saudi Arabia and scaling its footprint in Africa, including markets such as Ghana and Ivory Coast. These expansions align with the region’s rapidly growing data center capacity and rising demand for enterprise infrastructure.

In vendor alliances, ASBIS is deepening partnerships with global technology leaders to enhance its portfolio across HPC, AI, storage, hybrid cloud, and edge computing.

In services, ASBIS is expanding its value-added capabilities, including pre-sales consulting, custom integration, migration support, and postsales maintenance. Training and certification programs for partners are being scaled, and demo labs are being enhanced to support rapid PoCs. The company is also improving logistics efficiency through its distribution centers to ensure reliable supply chains amid global demand pressures.

These investments strengthen ASBIS’s position as a trusted value-added distributor and enable customers to deploy modern, compliant, and scalable infrastructures across the MEA region.

CLOUD ISN’T THE PROBLEM, BUT MANAGEMENT IS

Raif Abou Diab, General Manager – South Gulf & Sub-Saharan Africa at Nutanix, explains that as hybrid becomes the default operating model, organisations are realising that visibility alone does not equal control. Effective cloud management—built on automation, governance and responsive operations—is now essential to ensuring stability, cost discipline and long-term business resilience.

RAIF

ABOU DIAB

General Manager – South Gulf & Sub-Saharan Africa at Nutanix

“When management capabilities are implemented properly, organisations can regain control without compromising agility.”

Most organisations assume they have a cloud problem. In reality, the challenge is far more specific and far more persistent: cloud management. Infrastructure did not suddenly become unmanageable because enterprises embraced hybrid or multi-cloud strategies. The real issue emerged when environments evolved faster than the tools responsible for

operating them. Over time, platforms multiplied, workloads dispersed across locations and accountability became fragmented. The long-promised “single pane of glass” quietly turned into a collection of disconnected views. What stands out is that control was not lost the moment organisations adopted hybrid or multi-cloud models. Control was lost when cloud management approaches stalled at partial, plat-

form-specific visibility, despite the environment becoming increasingly interconnected.

Seeing Everything Still Isn’t the Same as Being in Control

Most cloud management tools provide extensive visibility—dashboards, alerts, metrics and visualisations that explain what is happening across environments. That information is

valuable, but only to a point.

Operations teams quickly learn that visibility without context creates noise. Alerts arrive from multiple platforms, each offering a fragment of the truth. The real challenge is rarely identifying what is happening, but understanding what action to take and how quickly it needs to happen.

This is where the concept of a “single pane of glass” often breaks down. In practice, it frequently means a unified view limited to a single vendor’s environment. As soon as workloads extend beyond that boundary or span locations, teams revert to switching between tools to piece together the full picture.

A cloud management platform should do more than observe. It should respond when pressure builds, take action when thresholds are reached and give operations teams the time they need to resolve issues properly.

Why Day-to-Day Operations Break Down Under Pressure

Infrastructure teams do not usually struggle with design—they struggle with time. They are expected to maintain stability, manage growth, control costs, enable new digital initiatives and respond to incidents, often all at once. In Middle East and Africa, this pressure is amplified by rapid digital transformation, regional expansion and the introduction of data-intensive workloads, including early AI initiatives, into already busy environments.

When issues occur, they tend to surface at the worst possible moment—during critical business processes that cannot be paused.

Payroll is a straightforward example. It runs periodically, consumes significant resources in a short window and must complete successfully. If it fails, the impact is immediate and highly visible across the organisation. In those moments, teams are not interested in architectural diagrams or long-term capacity trends. They need the platform to adapt, absorb the spike and give them breathing space to address the root cause.

When a management platform can automatically respond as resources come under pressure, the situation changes dramatically. The issue still exists, but the urgency and panic disappear—and

that alone has a tangible operational impact.

Building Guardrails That Scale with the Environment

Governance is another area that is often misunderstood. It is still framed as restriction or approval, when effective governance is really about consistency.

As cloud estates become more distributed, relying on manual enforcement becomes unsustainable. Rules drift, exceptions accumulate and outcomes vary depending on who is involved and how stretched teams are at that moment.

Embedding governance into the management layer removes that variability. It ensures workloads are deployed, scaled and managed in line with agreed standards wherever they run, while enabling safe self-service without sacrificing control.

This becomes even more important as automation is introduced. Automation is rarely immediate or effortless. It requires upfront design, scripting and planning, which can feel challenging when teams are already under pressure. What is often overlooked is that automation is not a recurring burden. Once implemented, it delivers returns quietly over time. Most organisations already automate informally through scripts and scheduled tasks. Formalising those efforts is less about ambition and more about ensuring actions are consistent, auditable and secure.

From Cost Visibility to Confident Decision-Making

Cost visibility has also evolved rapidly. As FinOps practices mature, organisations have become far more aware of consumption, but awareness is sometimes mistaken for restriction. In reality, understanding cost is about enabling better decisions, not halting progress.

The analogy is familiar. Reviewing a bank statement does not mean stopping spending altogether—it provides clarity on where money goes. That awareness supports better trade-offs. The same principle applies to infrastructure.

When teams understand what workloads consume and what that consumption costs the

business, discussions become more constructive. Overprovisioning can be challenged, resources can be right-sized with confidence and growth can be planned deliberately rather than guessed.

Why Hybrid Isn’t a Phase, but the Default State

One of the clearest lessons from organisations managing complex estates successfully is that hybrid is no longer a transitional phase—it is the operating model. Early public cloud enthusiasm has given way to more balanced considerations around cost predictability, data sovereignty and resilience, while on-premises environments continue to evolve rather than disappear.

Success in this model does not come from forcing everything into a single environment. It comes from managing different environments consistently. Platforms that treat each location as a separate problem tend to introduce friction. Those that recognise them as variations of the same operational challenge reduce it.

This is where cloud management must refocus: away from labels and architectural debates, and toward outcomes such as stability, predictability and the ability to respond calmly when things do not go to plan.

Putting Cloud Management Back Where It Belongs

Cloud management lost direction when it became more focused on describing environments than running them. Organisations that succeed use platforms that fade into the background—quietly enforcing governance, supporting automation and enabling better decisions under pressure.

What I consistently hear from customers across the MEA region is that while technology matters, outcomes matter more.

When organisations focus on the benefits derived from management capabilities—and invest the time to implement them properly—they regain control without slowing the business. As infrastructure continues to become more distributed, that balance is what ultimately defines effective cloud management.

PREDICTIONS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2026 FOR ALL 12 ZODIAC SIGNS

CAREER

High-pressure deadlines and performance reviews dominate. Leadership roles or critical tasks may come your way—handle authority calmly to gain senior appreciation.

LOVE

Emotional impatience may cause misunderstandings. Singles may reconnect with someone from work or past networks.

FINANCE

Stable but expenses on gadgets, travel, or certifications rise. Avoid risky investments.

HEALTH

Headaches, eye strain, or BP-related issues due to long screen hours. Regular breaks are essential.

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 11 – MARCH 18

LOVE LIFE CAREER BOOST FINANCE HEALTH

Cancer (Karka)

CAREER

Strong networking month. Collaborations and team-based achievements bring appreciation. Promotions may be discussed.

LOVE

Emotional depth increases; proposals or commitment talks likely.

FINANCE

Gradual financial improvement; avoid lending large sums.

HEALTH

Energy improves, but watch sugar levels and water intake.

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 8 – MARCH 16

LOVE LIFE CAREER BOOST FINANCE HEALTH

CAREER

Aries (Mesha) Gemini (Mithuna)

CAREER

Recognition from seniors for past efforts. A project involving overseas clients or new technology can elevate your profile.

LOVE

Emotional stability improves. Married natives feel supportive bonding; singles may meet someone through professional circles.

FINANCE

Gains through incentives or delayed payments. Good month for structured savings.

HEALTH

Minor throat or neck stiffness. Avoid irregular eating habits.

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 6 – MARCH 14

LOVE LIFE CAREER BOOST FINANCE HEALTH

Leo (Simha) Taurus (Vrishabha)

CAREER

Authority challenges possible. Avoid ego clashes with managers. Focus on skill enhancement and certifications.

LOVE

Romantic intensity rises but arguments over dominance may occur.

FINANCE

Controlled income flow; avoid speculative ventures.

HEALTH

Heartburn or blood pressure sensitivity—maintain balanced diet.

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 20 – MARCH 27

LOVE LIFE

Sudden team restructuring or management shifts may create uncertainty. Stay adaptable and avoid workplace gossip.

LOVE

Communication gaps with partner possible. Singles should avoid casual workplace flings.

FINANCE

Mixed results; unexpected expenses on family matters.

HEALTH

Anxiety, sleep disturbance, or digestive sensitivity due to stress.

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 19 – MARCH 25

LOVE LIFE CAREER BOOST FINANCE HEALTH

Virgo (Kanya)

CAREER

Productive month with strong analytical output. Opportunities in data, AI, or system upgrades favor growth.

LOVE

Practical discussions about future plans. Singles meet someone intellectual.

FINANCE

Savings increase; cautious financial planning pays off.

HEALTH

Minor skin or gut-related issues—maintain hygiene and diet.

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 3 – MARCH 10

LOVE LIFE CAREER BOOST CAREER BOOST FINANCE FINANCE HEALTH HEALTH

CAREER

Scorpio (Vrishchika) Libra (Tula) Sagittarius (Dhanu)

Workplace politics may rise. Maintain neutrality and documentation. Hidden competitors become active.

LOVE

Emotional ups and downs; avoid bringing work stress home.

FINANCE

Sudden expenses on vehicle or family matters.

HEALTH

Lower back pain or fatigue—prioritize stretching.

CAREER

Strategic growth month. Secret planning for job change or internal transfer succeeds.

LOVE

Passion deepens; hidden attractions possible at workplace.

FINANCE

Good gains from side projects or freelancing.

HEALTH

Energy high but avoid overexertion.

CAREER

Workload increases but visibility also rises. Travel or relocation discussions may surface.

LOVE

Supportive partner; singles may meet someone through learning platforms.

FINANCE

Stable, though travel or education costs increase.

HEALTH

Hip or thigh strain; regular exercise required.

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 14 – MARCH 22

CAREER BOOST

LOVE LIFE

FINANCE

HEALTH

Capricorn (Makara)

CAREER

Slow but steady progress. Senior management observes your consistency. Avoid overwork burnout.

LOVE

Emotional reserve creates distance; express feelings clearly.

FINANCE

Gradual improvement; long-term investments favored.

HEALTH

Joint stiffness or vitamin deficiency possible.

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 4 – MARCH 12

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 9 – MARCH 17

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 18 – MARCH 26

LOVE LIFE CAREER BOOST

BOOST

LOVE LIFE

Aquarius (Kumbha)

CAREER

Innovation and creative tech ideas shine. Good month for startups or new modules.

LOVE

Sudden romantic sparks; unexpected proposals possible.

FINANCE

Gains through digital platforms or bonuses.

HEALTH

Nervous tension; meditation beneficial.

Pisces (Meena)

CAREER

Emotional sensitivity at workplace; avoid over trusting colleagues. Focus on documentation and clarity.

LOVE

Romantic but slightly confusing phase; clarity needed

FINANCE

Mixed results; avoid impulsive spending.

HEALTH

Sleep disturbance and water retention issues possible.

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 15 – MARCH 23

LUCKY PERIOD: MARCH 7 – MARCH 15

BOOST CAREER BOOST CAREER BOOST

LOVE LIFE

Meriam ElOuazzani to Lead Censys in the META Region

Censys has appointed Meriam ElOuazzani as its first dedicated Vice President for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) region. In her new role, Meriam will lead the company’s end-to-end regional growth strategy, including revenue expansion, partnerships and ecosystem building, as well as establishing the organization’s position as the default external attack surface intelligence layer for organizations across the region.

“We are delighted to welcome Meriam ElOuazzani as Vice President for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. This deepens our investment in a region where Censys has established strong momentum and is strategically positioned for accelerated growth,” said Sarah Ashburn, Chief Revenue Officer at Censys. “Meriam’s proven track record of scaling cybersecurity markets across META, combined with her deep regional insight, makes her the right leader to grow our market presence and meet rising demand for trusted internet intelligence.”

With over two decades of extensive experience in cybersecurity and enterprise technology, Meriam ElOuazzani has consistently built and scaled markets across the region, assembling the teams, channel ecosystems, and marketing blueprints. Her career trajectory reflects her strong regional leadership through her roles as Senior Regional Director at SentinelOne, where she established the regional go-to-market operation and multiple leadership roles at VMware across MENA, strengthening the channel, security, and distribution networks to accelerate growth. She has also led the Regional Product Sales for Mobility across the Middle East at Cisco Systems. At Censys, Meriam will focus on expanding strategic partnerships across government and enterprises, including channels, MSSP, and hyperscaler alliances, to scale efficiently across diverse markets.

“The META region is at an inflection point in cybersecurity maturity. Across the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, governments and commercial organizations are moving beyond perimeter defense and demanding real-time threat detection and operational visibility into their digital footprint,” said ElOuazzani. “Over the past two decades in this region, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the right intelligence transforms the security operations entirely. Censys’s internet intelligence platform equips security teams with authoritative, real-time insight into exposure and adversary activity, replacing assumptions with actionable confidence. My mission is to establish Censys as a trusted partner across META, enabling the shift from reactive defense to proactive intelligence.”

Nintex Appoints Samir Akel as Regional Vice President for Emerging Markets

Nintex has appointed Samir Akel as Regional Vice President for Emerging Markets, a move that underscores the company’s ambition to accelerate its growth across the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe. With more than twenty years of experience leading digital transformation initiatives across both public and private sectors, Akel brings a deep understanding of regional priorities and a proven ability to scale technology adoption in fast growing markets. His leadership roles at global technology firms such as Oracle, BMC Software, and Udacity have equipped him with the strategic insight needed to guide Nintex’s expansion and strengthen its presence in some of the world’s most rapidly evolving digital economies.

In his new role, Akel will oversee Nintex’s regional strategy, drive customer success, and enhance the company’s partner ecosystem. His mandate includes championing the adoption of Nintex’s full agentic business orchestration portfolio—Nintex K2, Nintex CE, and Nintex for Salesforce—solutions designed to help organisations reimagine processes, streamline operations, and build the foundation for AI ready enterprises. These platforms are already enabling organisations across the region to automate workflows in key functions such as sales, HR, legal, and finance, reducing complexity and accelerating digital transformation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Samir to the Nintex leadership team. His deep understanding of the region and proven track record in delivering large-scale digital transformation make him the ideal leader to accelerate our growth and strengthen our commitment to the Middle East and beyond,” said Tad Finer, CRO at Nintex. “The region’s vision for innovation aligns perfectly with our mission to simplify and orchestrate the way people work.”

Akel’s focus will be on helping governments and enterprises move from basic auto-

mation to true orchestration, where humans, AI, and systems operate in harmony to deliver seamless, intelligent workflows. “My focus is on helping governments and enterprises move beyond simple automation into true orchestration, where humans, AI, and systems work seamlessly together,” said Samir Akel, Regional Vice President, Emerging Markets at Nintex. “Emerging markets are home to some of the world’s most ambitious digital transformation programs, and Nintex is proud to be a trusted partner in making those visions a reality.”

Under his leadership, Nintex will deepen alignment with national transformation agendas such as the UAE’s Zero Bureaucracy mandate and Saudi Vision 2030, supporting these initiatives through no /low code platforms that simplify service delivery and accelerate innovation.

Gulf Business Machines Announces Two New Senior Appointments

Gulf Business Machines (GBM) announced two senior leadership appointments to further reinforce its executive bench, deepen market presence and sharpen its focus on delivering customer-centric digital transformation across the UAE.

As part of this leadership evolution, Dr. Feras Al Jabi joins as General Manager of Technology at GBM, while Bassam Rached has been appointed General Manager of GBM Abu Dhabi. Together, the appointments reflect GBM’s commitment to strengthening operational leadership, advancing technological capability and ensuring closer alignment with customer and market needs.

In his new role as General Manager of Technology, Dr. Al Jabi will strengthen GBM’s technology strategy, oversee its solutions portfolio and delivery capabilities and ensure they continue to meet evolving market demands. He will focus on advancing GBM’s cloud, data, AI and automation capabilities, expanding strategic partnerships with global technology providers and aligning GBM’s innovation roadmap with the Gulf region’s national digital priorities.

Dr. Al Jabi joins GBM from ITQAN, where he spent 28 years building and scaling technology businesses across the UAE and the wider GCC. During this time, he led major national and enterprise transformation programs across government, healthcare, energy and infrastructure sectors. He brings extensive experience in systems integration, multi-cloud environments and enterprise digital transformation, alongside a strategic focus on growth, capability-building and long-term digital roadmap development.

Dr. Al Jabi, added, “I am excited to join GBM at a time when organizations across the GCC are redefining how they use technology to

drive impact. My priority will be to strengthen GBM’s technology leadership, craft growth strategy, deepen collaboration with partners and ensure we continue to deliver practical, scalable and customer-focused digital solutions.”

Complementing this move, GBM has appointed Bassam Rached as General Manager of GBM Abu Dhabi to lead strategic initiatives, oversee operations and reinforce the company’s position as a trusted partner driving digital transformation across the emirate.

With this appointment, Bassam will collaborate with GBM’s Abu Dhabi teams to accelerate growth by driving solution innovation and ensuring the company’s offerings remain aligned with global technological advancements and local business needs. He will also play a pivotal role in strengthening strategic partnerships that empower public and private sector organizations to advance their digital transformation.

Veeam Bolsters EMEA Channel Team with Three Senior Appointments

Veeam announced a significant boost to its EMEA Channel strategy with the appointment of three new leaders: Nick McAlister as Channel Director UKI, Charbel Zreiby as Channel Director EMEA East, and Roman Brandl as Enterprise Channel Director EMEA.

These appointments reflect the company’s ongoing commitment to drive growth, innovation, and customer value across the region, under the leadership of Senior Director of EMEA Channel Sales, Kinda Baydoun.

“Veeam is setting a new standard for what partnership means in the data resilience space,” said Kinda Baydoun. “With Nick, Charbel, and Roman on board, we’re doubling down on SaaS transformation, leading the way in enterprise data resilience, and ensuring our ecosystem has the innovation and support needed to thrive.”

Recent strategic moves, including the acquisition of Securiti AI and the expansion of the Veeam Data Cloud (VDC) SaaS portfolio, reflect Veeam’s vision for a secure, intelligent, and unified approach to data management. As organizations modernize their data protection strategies, Veeam is helping partners and customers harness the benefits of AI-driven innovation at scale.

Nick McAlister brings over 20 years of experience in partner network development and enterprise channel management across EMEA, including senior roles at VMware.

Charbel Zreiby has more than two decades of IT sector expertise, driving channel strategies across Turkey, the Middle East, and Africa. He previously held leadership positions at Dell Technologies.

Roman Brandl’s background centers on supporting large Pan-EMEA partners and driving enterprise channel success for leading IT vendors.

Veeam continues to optimize partner coverage, accelerating VDC adoption, and

maximizing investment across the region. Under Kinda Baydoun’s leadership, Veeam is further strengthening its partner network and delivering innovative solutions that address the evolving needs of customers in today’s digital landscape.

“With the addition of these veteran channel leaders, we are reaffirming our commitment to our partners and customers,” Kinda Baydoun said. “Their expertise will be instrumental in advancing our channel strategy—enabling us to create new synergies and develop multidimensional partnerships, especially through deeper engagement with Alliances and GSIs in the Enterprise space. We are positioning our ecosystem for even greater success as we continue to lead in enterprise data resilience and SaaS transformation.”

Exabeam Strengthen its Leadership Team in the IMETA Region

Exabeam has appointed Mazen Adnan Dohaji as Senior Vice President and General Manager, India, the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (IMETA), Ramy Muhammad Ahmad as Senior Director, Sales Engineering, IMETA, and Sultan Alanazi as Country Director for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). These strategic appointments strengthen the on-the-ground presence of Exabeam with dedicated expertise to recognize and serve the unique cybersecurity needs of IMETA and the KSA.

For over a decade, Dohaji and Ahmad have led the growth of the IMETA team from just two people to over 70 today. Together, they have strongly contributed to the global success of Exabeam and helped achieve high double-digit growth for the region between 2024 - 2025. Under their leadership, Exabeam has expanded its IMETA presence, highlighted in achievements including the launch of its cloud region in KSA, strengthened investment in India, and the opening of its regional office in Riyadh. Within his role as Senior Vice President and General Manager, IMETA, Dohaji will be responsible for leading sales, technical support, and client advocacy and customer success in the region.

“I’m so proud that Exabeam has become a

trusted partner for local organizations over the past decade, helping customers scale their security whether they operate on-premises or cloud-native,” said Mazen Adnan Dohaji, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IMETA at Exabeam. “Throughout my career in the IMETA region, I’ve witnessed firsthand how cybersecurity has evolved from traditional defenses to AI-driven solutions that tackle increasingly sophisticated threats. Looking ahead, we remain fully focused on investing in the region for the long term by supporting organizations with their rapidly evolving security needs.”

As Senior Director, Sales Engineering, IMETA, Ahmad will continue to empower local organizations with a strategic blend of technical expertise and customer-centric innovation. He will apply his deep understanding of complex security solutions to help customers bolster their cybersecurity foundations with region-specific deployments.

“I’m honored to step into the role of Senior Director of Sales Engineering for the IMETA region at a time when attackers are exploiting expanding attack surfaces through AI-powered threat tactics,” said Ramy Muhammad Ahmad, Senior Director, Sales Engineering, IMETA at Exabeam. “Cybersecurity in the IMETA region will never be a one-size-fits-all approach. After working with organizations across the region for over 10 years, it’s clear that customers need security solutions tailored to their unique operational, regulatory, and threat environments. Our goal is

to help organizations solve real-world security challenges with proactive and resilient solutions.”

In his position as Country Director for the KSA, Alanazi will lead the Kingdom’s operations to elevate local cyber resilience and secure the region’s digital growth as it moves closer to Saudi Vision 2030. He will work closely with customers, partners, and internal teams to ensure scalable growth, operational excellence, and long-term impact through outcome-focused security strategies.

“Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s fastest growing and most ambitious global markets. Meeting its evolving security needs requires service, accountability, and long-term value creation,” said Sultan Alanazi,Country Director, KSA at LogRhythm | Exabeam. “Our strategy will remain centered on understanding business needs, accelerating security maturity, and delivering quantifiable, AI-driven outcomes that support Vision 2030 as well as scaling digital transformation ambitions. I look forward to building even stronger relationships in the market and contributing to the success of the organizations we serve.”

These appointments are part of the broader, ongoing investment by Exabeam across the IMETA region. They build on a recent partnership with Al Moammar Information Systems Co. (MIS) and plans to open an expanded office in Riyadh featuring a Customer Innovation Center to showcase advanced AI capabilities from Exabeam across IT, OT, and IoT.

BENQ LAUNCHES NEW MA SERIES AND 4K NANO

GLOSS MONITORS FOR MAC USERS

BenQ has announced the extension of its MA Series monitors, including new flagship and 4K Nano Gloss versions designed exclusively for the Mac user experience. The expanded lineup demonstrates BenQ’s commitment to providing colour-accurate, high-performance displays geared to creative professionals, hybrid workers, and content creators in the UAE and around the world.

The latest flagship additions to the MA Series, the MA270S and MA320UG, set new standards for visual precision and seamless macOS interaction.

The 27-inch MA270S features a 5K (5120×2880) resolution panel with 99% P3 wide colour gamut coverage and a 2000:1 contrast ratio, delivering superb detail reproduction and colour accuracy. Designed for designers, photographers, and video editors, the display offers pixel-perfect clarity that is compa-

rable to native MacBook screens. The 32-inch MA320UG displays 4K resolution at 120Hz, enabling smooth motion rendering for multimedia professionals and advanced office workflows. Both models feature BenQ’s unique Nano Gloss panel technology, which is designed to reduce glare while retaining rich contrast and beautiful colour depth in a variety of lighting settings.

Thunderbolt 4 enables up to 96W of power delivery, high-speed data transfer, and daisy-chain capabilities. Users may handle numerous systems with a single keyboard and mouse thanks to integrated Smart KVM support, while Display Pilot 2 software automates colour synchronisation and streamlines screen management.

BenQ now offers the MA270UP (27-inch) and MA320UP (32-inch) monitors, both with 4K (3840×2160) IPS displays and Nano Gloss finishes. These displays provide wide viewing angles, steady brightness, and beautiful colour reproduction, making them ideal for extended work hours in both professional and household settings. Single-cable USB-C connectivity delivers up to 90W of power, allowing customers to connect, charge, and display from their MacBook with a single streamlined cable. Additional HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort inputs provide more device compatibility.

The MA270UP supports VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification, and the MA320UP supports VESA DisplayHDR 600, which improves contrast and dynamic range for immersive visual experiences. M-Book Mode, iDevice Colour Sync, and ICCsync are Mac-centric capabilities that automatically align display colour profiles with macOS standards, removing the need for manual calibration and assuring consistent output between the laptop and the external screen. To accommodate a variety of workstation setups, both models include ergonomic stands that allow for tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustments.

“MacBook users rely on a single device for everything, from focused work and virtual meetings to entertainment and personal projects,” said Manish Bakshi Managing Director of BenQ Middle East.

CISCO ANNOUNCES NEW SILICON ONE G300 TO POWER AND SCALE AI DATA CENTERS

Cisco has unveiled the Silicon One G300, a 102.4 Tbps switching silicon designed for massive AI cluster buildouts.

The Cisco Silicon One G300 will power new Cisco N9000 and Cisco 8000 systems that push the frontier of AI networking in the data center.

The systems feature innovative liquid cooling and support high-density optics to achieve new efficiency benchmarks and ensure customers get the most out of their GPU investments. In addition, the company enhanced Nexus One to make it easier for enterprises to operate their AI networks — on-premises or in the cloud — removing the complexity that can hold organizations back from scaling AI data centers.

“We are spearheading performance, manageability, and security in AI networking by innovating across the full stack - from silicon to systems and software,” said Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer, Cisco. “We’re building the foundation for the future of infrastructure, supporting every type of customer—from hyperscalers to enterprises—as they shift to AI-powered workloads.”

Silicon One G300: The Networking Foundation for the Agentic Era

The new Silicon One G300 is a 102.4 Tbps switching silicon that exemplifies Cisco’s rapid innovation and sets a new standard for AI backend networking. It is designed to power massive, distributed AI clusters with high performance, security, and reliability.

The G300 uniquely offers Intelligent Collective Networking, which combines an industryleading fully shared packet buffer, path-based load balancing, and proactive network telemetry to offer better performance and profitability for large-scale data centers. It efficiently absorbs bursty AI traffic, responds faster to link failures, and prevents packet drops that can stall jobs, ensuring reliable data delivery even over long distances. With Intelligent Collective Networking, Cisco can deliver 33% increased network utilization, and a 28% reduction in job completion time versus simulated non-optimized path selection, making AI data centers more profitable with more tokens generated per GPU-hour.

Cisco Silicon One G300 is highly programmable, enabling equipment to be upgraded for new network functionality even after it has been deployed. This enables Silicon One-based products to support emerging use cases and play multiple network roles, protecting long-term infrastructure investments. And with security fused into the hardware, customers can embrace holistic, at-speed security to keep clusters up and running.

PHILIPS LAUNCHES NEW 200HZ REFRESH RATE EVNIA GAMING MONITOR

Philips Monitors announced the regional launch of its latest Evnia gaming monitors, the 24M2N3200FQ and 27M2N3200FQ, designed to deliver championship-level performance and immersive visuals to the passionate gaming community across the Middle East. This 24 and 27-inch Fast IPS monitor combines blistering 200Hz speed with cutting-edge image clarity technologies, offering gamers the critical edge needed for victory.

The Middle East’s gaming scene is renowned for its intensity and competitive spirit. The Philips Evnia gaming monitor meets this demand head-on with its ultra-fast 200Hz refresh rate and a near-instant 0.3ms (Smart MBR) response time, effectively eliminating motion blur and ghosting. This ensures every panning shot in an FPS and every high-speed turn in a racing game is rendered with stunning sharpness, giving players a seamless and lag-free advantage.

“Gamers in our region deserve equipment that matches their skill and ambition”, said Carol Anne Dias, Sales Director, Middle East & Africa for Philips Monitors. “The 24M2N3200FQ and 27M2N3200FQ are engineered for those decisive moments where a split-second can mean the difference between victory and defeat. We’re bringing hyper-responsive performance and rich, immersive visuals to a broader audience of dedicated gamers”.

Beyond raw speed, the monitor features Stark ShadowBoost, a proprietary technology that illuminates dark scenes in games without overexposing bright areas, ensuring enemies lurking in shadows are clearly visible. The Smart Crosshair feature dynamically changes color based on the background for maximum visibility, enhancing targeting accuracy.For a truly captivating visual experience, the monitor supports HDR10 content, delivering a wider range of colours, superior contrast, and more lifelike images. Gamers can

further personalize their experience through the Evnia Precision Center software, which offers intuitive controls to fine-tune settings for different game genres or create custom profiles.

Designed with players’ well-being in mind, the monitor incorporates LowBlue Mode and Flicker-Free technology to reduce eye strain during marathon gaming sessions. Its sustainable design, featuring a chassis made with 85% post-consumer recycled plastic, aligns with a forward-thinking ethos.

VERTIV EXPANDS COOLPHASE PERIMETER PAM AIR-COOLED RANGE

Vertiv enriches the Vertiv CoolPhase Perimeter PAM air-cooled range with new cooling system ratings and the Vertiv CoolPhase Condenser. Available now across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), this solution combines energy efficiency, environmental responsibility, and operational resilience, delivering measurable improvements in both power usage effectiveness (PUE) and total cost of ownership (TCO), and helping to extend system lifespan.

Designed for the next generation of data centers, the Vertiv CoolPhase Perimeter PAM now features

the highly energy-efficient Vertiv EconoPhase Pumped Refrigerant Economizer (PRE), fully integrated into the Vertiv CoolPhase Condenser system. This breakthrough technology aims to reduce energy consumption as it enhances free-cooling and system reliability by using a pumped refrigerant circuit that operates at a fraction of the power required by traditional compressors, while saving space. The Vertiv CoolPhase Perimeter PAM range uses R-513A refrigerant, which features a 70% lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) compared to R-410A, with non-flammability and low toxicity risks. This makes it fully compliant with the EU F-Gas Regulation 2024/573 and ideal for operators seeking to minimize their carbon emissions without compromising cooling performance.

“With this latest addition to the Vertiv CoolPhase Perimeter PAM range, we’re making our direct expansion offering more flexible while addressing two critical challenges faced by data center operators today: environmental compliance and operational efficiency,” said Sam Bainborough, VP thermal management,

EMEA at Vertiv. “The new air-cooled models boost free-cooling capabilities to lower PUE, demonstrating our commitment to providing energy-efficient and environmentally responsible solutions that don’t compromise on performance.”

The Vertiv CoolPhase Perimeter PAM range is designed with features such as variable speed compressors, staged coil together with innovative patented filter technology and seamless integration with Vertiv CoolPhase Condenser units through Vertiv Liebert iCOM control. This is part of a holistic strategy that considers all elements as part of a single system, enabling intelligent optimization of performance, efficiency and flexibility.

The Vertiv CoolPhase Perimeter PAM range is part of Vertiv’s thermal chain of products and is backed by the Vertiv global service organization, providing comprehensive support throughout the equipment lifecycle, from design and commissioning to ongoing optimization, enabling continuous reliability through expert deployment and proactive maintenance.