BUILDING AND DELIVERING IT SOLUTIONS FOR THE MIDDLE EAST CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST OCTOBER 2008 V ol. 06 Issue. 10 B U ILDIN G AND DELIVERIN G IT SO L U TI O N S F O R THE MID DL E EAEA STSTST C HANNEL MIDDLE EA ST OC T O BE R 2008 V ol. VV 06 Issue. 10 Building and delivering IT solutions for the Middle East An ITP Media Group Publication V ol. 18 Issue. 02 APRIL-JUNE 2020 www .channelmiddleeast.com M IC R O S O F T T E A M S A D D S N E W C A P A B IL IT IE S ET IS AL A T B O LST E RS C L O U D T AL K MEET ING P L A T F O RM H U A W E I A P P O IN T S N E W C E O F O R K S A O P E R A T IO N S R E A L M E D E B U T S I N UA E INTERVIEW WESTCON-COMSTOR p28 EXCLUSIVE SECURITY ROUNDTABLE KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY p14 LEADING THE WAY During a pandemic that has disrupted business operations globally, the tech industry ramps up efforts to facilitate remote work through cost-free software and services, enabling fl exibility, accessibility and productivity p20Contact Us: enterpriseME@huawei.com e.huawei.com/ae HUAWEI Wi-Fi 6(3) www.channelmiddleeast.com CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_APR-JUN 2020 //APR-JUN 2020 VOLUME 18 / ISSUE 02 REGULARS 28 IN-DEPTH 14 SECURITY ROUNDTABLE Kingston Technology initiates discussions around data security and the need for a robust security posture, regulations, encryption and more. FRONTLINE 06 Gems Education, IBM collaborate Launch pilot programme introducing IBM Digital – Nation Platform 06 Mindware inks distribution agreement with Mitel The vad will market, distribute and service Mitel’s cloud and UC range 06 Google Cloud platform announces Middle East expansion Launches new cloud region in Doha FRONTLINE 20 COVER STORY Technology players are helping organisations cope with the current pandemic by offering cost-free software and services. 40 DAY IN THE LIFE Maya Zakhour, channel sales director MEA, NetApp 42 GET TO KNOW Mohamed Abdallah, regional director META, SonicWall PEOPLE 10 FireEye appoints new VP Gordon Love to help drive growth and deepen relationships with existing partners 10 Cisco appoints new vice president Reem Asaad will be responsible for Cisco’s MEA operations 11 SAP appints Sergio Maccotta as SVP Joins to drive vision for cloud- based digital transformation INTERVIEWS 27 Acer gaming drives double- digit growth Exclusive interview with Paul Collins 28 Westcon onboards new vendor Sandvine Exclusive interview with Steve Lockie and Hesham Eid 31 Extreme Networks expands regional footprint Maan Al-Shakarchi on hiring new talent and channel partners in cloud networking space 20 07 Western Digital unveils gaming portfolio Available in UAE at retailers, e-tailers, resellers, SIs, WD store 07 VMware launches partner connect program Offers partners pn enhanced experience and rewards 08 VAD Technologies inks deal with Prime Computer Adds Prime Computer’s mini-PCs and servers to product range LEADING THE WAY 14 40The COVID-19 pandemic has taken over the world. Schools, offices, malls have closed indefinitely, most country borders have sealed, and production lines have halted. We are in desperate times, and desperate times call for desperate measures. Globally, business operations have been disrupted, regardless of industry or size, and everyone has been forced to observe social distancing to remain in the confines of their homes. The need for remote collaboration tools is higher than ever, especially as on-premise employees have been asked to shift to remote work environments. But is the world ready to go remote? The necessity to work remotely has resulted in a surge in the volume of internet traffic which has already >> THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA IT SOLUTION PROVIDER CHANNEL CHANNELMIDDLEEAST.COM hit record levels. This is putting increasing levels of pressure on private networks as people spend much more time using connected devices for work, entertainment and education. Additionally, phishing campaigns intended to steal credentials and spread malware are increasing. But this does not mean that businesses have come to a standstill. As the world fights this fast-spreading pandemic, businesses need to continue running in some form or the other. A glimmer of hope started pouring in when several technology companies rose to the occasion, offering cost-free software, services and tools to enable business continuity and secure digital assets. Our cover story this month (p20) lists such initiatives, and we will keep updating this list online as more announcements pour in. As technology providers and employers do their bit to enable flexibility and accessibility, we as consumers need to play our part as well. This means being vigilant about what we share, what links we click, and how we treat the company’s data and assets. Further, on the personal side, it is important to prioritise work, follow a schedule and stay connected to your team through video collaboration. Stay safe! NOTHING LASTS FOR EVER Not even the bad times. There has been a boost in working from afar on a global level as businesses shift to digital channels, and everyone is trying to make the best of a bad situation. This too shall pass, but is the world really ready for remote? EDITOR’S NOTES // by Sarah Rizvi (4) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_APR-JUN 2020 www.channelmiddleeast.com(6) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_APR-JUN 2020 www.channelmiddleeast.com GEMS Education today announced its collaboration with IBM to launch a pilot programme introducing IBM Digital – Nation platform. Delivered on IBM Cloud, the platform is designed to offer advanced knowledge and skills in key emerging technologies to over 2,000 students and 70 teachers across the United Arab Emirates. Through this initiative, GEMS Education students will have access to over 75 different courses comprising over 250 hours of learning. The platform will provide a range of programmes, with a focus on highly sought-after advanced IT skills in future and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud, coding, Internet of Things (IoT), quantum computing, data science and analytics, and cybersecurity. The courses will be offered at three levels – Explorer, Innovator and New Google Cloud Platform has signed its first strategic collaboration agreement to launch a region in the Middle East with the Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) to launch a new cloud region in Doha. The region will be available for Google Cloud customers globally. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) regions are the cornerstone of the company’s cloud infrastructure. Over the past four years, the platforms have grown in number to 22, with 67 zones across 16 countries, delivering high-performance, low latency, zero emissions, cloud-based services to users throughout the world. His Excellency Ahmad bin Mohamed GEMS EDUCATION, IBM COLLABORATE TO ADVANCE EMERGING TECH SKILLS GOOGLE CLOUD PLATFORM ANNOUNCES EXPANSION TO THE MIDDLE EAST Google Cloud Platform will launch in Doha, Qatar, allowing new and existing customers, as well as partners, to run their workloads locally Collar – and will be run both as part of the school curriculum and as individual courses that students can take in their own time. Successful completion of each course will earn students IBM digital credentials that will help enhance their university applications and CVs. Each student and teacher will also have their own account with full access to all the necessary tools to create and innovate new solutions. Launch a pilot programme introducing IBM Digital – Nation platform to over 2,000 students and 70 teachers across UAE The VAD will market, distribute and service the entire range of Mitel’s cloud and premises-based UCC solutions across the Gulf Value Added Distributor Mindware has signed a distribution agreement with Mitel, a global leader in business communications. As per the agreement, Mindware will market, distribute and service the entire range of Mitel’s cloud and premises-based Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) solutions across the Gulf region. Mitel’s cloud, enterprise and next-gen collaboration applications power more than two billion business connections globally. It is the undisputed leader in cloud communications. The company’s public, private and hybrid cloud solutions have made it the choice of nearly 4.7 million business users worldwide. With Mitel looking to increase its footprint in the region, Mindware will provide more than 2,000 Gulf partners access to the vendor’s solutions. The distributor will also actively seek to recruit new partners having strong capabilities in business software integration, unified communications, cloud computing, mobility, and virtualisation. As part of the ramping up process, Mitel will extend full support and conduct training and enablement sessions for the Mindware team. In addition, Mindware will set up a Mitel ‘demo lab’ to enable partners to ‘test drive’ the solutions and get an in-depth understanding of the product technicalities. MINDWARE INKS DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH MITEL Students will have access to over 75 different courses of over 250 hours of learning. Mindware will set up a Mitel ‘demo lab’ to enable partners to ‘test drive’ the solutions. Al-Sayed, Minister of State and Chairman of the Qatar Free Zones Authority, said, “We are pleased to welcome Google Cloud as a partner to the Free Zones to further develop our leading technology ecosystem. As we advance our strategy to promote investment to the country, the Google Cloud region will be a major and invaluable part of our expanding offering, serving a wide range of businesses both locally and internationally.” He added, “We are proud that Google Cloud has chosen Qatar and is joining the growing number of major international companies in various fields which have registered an interest in setting up in the zones. FRONT LINE(7) www.channelmiddleeast.com CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_APR-JUN 2020 Raqmiyat, a regional systems integrator and provider of digital transformation solutions and services, has announced partnership with Kore.ai, a globally recognised provider of Conversational AI and Digital UX Virtual Assistant Platform and Solutions. This partnership will help to support the digital initiatives of customers by enabling human and machine interactions to be more conversational and effective. By leveraging this partnership, Raqmiyat will provide enterprise virtual assistant solutions and an end-to-end Conversational AI and Digital UX Virtual Assistant Platform that can be deployed on-premises or WESTERN DIGITAL UNVEILS GAMING PORTFOLIO IN THE MIDDLE EAST Partnership to support digital initiatives of customers by enabling human and machine interactions to be more conversational and effective WD Black portfolio is currently available in the UAE at select Western Digital retailers, e-tailers, resellers, system integrators, and the WD store Western Digital has introduced a portfolio of external storage solutions in the Middle East purpose-built for PC and console gamers. Building on the top-tier performance of the WD_Black SN750 NVMe SSD currently on the market, the five new solutions introduced by Western Digital have been designed to address storage challenges. They provide the performance, capacity and reliability to help PC and console gamers to drive their game and play without limits. The solutions include the WD_Black P50 Game Drive SSD, a first-to-industry SuperSpeed USB (20Gb/s), USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 device. Western Digital has unveiled a pop- up gaming park at this year’s edition of the Etisalat Beach Canteen, the central hub of the ongoing Dubai Food Festival (DFF). Located at Jumeirah Beach behind Sunset Mall, the WD_Black Gaming VMWARE LAUNCHES PARTNER CONNECT PROGRAM Park will provide an immersive space for visitors to enjoy their favourite games on the beach up until March 14, 2020. Designed for audiences of all ages, the gaming park will include an exclusive VR experience as well as designated spaces for other gaming consoles. The WD Black portfolio is currently available in the UAE at select Western Digital retailers, e-tailers, resellers, system integrators, and theWD store. WD Black portfolio is now available in the UAE. Ossama Eldeeb, director, Partner Organisation, METNA. VMware has launched VMware Partner Connect, the new flexible program designed to enable partners to do business with VMware in a way that aligns with their business models. VMware Partner Connect empowers partners with the flexibility to meet customers’ needs, making VMware technologies and services opportunities more accessible. Partners now have an enhanced experience that delivers simplicity, choice, and innovation, and recognises and rewards partners based on the value they bring to customers. VMware Partner Connect now offers three tiers: Partner, Advanced Partner, and Principal Partner. Hundreds of partners have been designated Principal Partners at today’s launch. These partners can help customers identify and implement ideal VMware solutions, as evidenced by the achievement of Master Services Competencies across different strategic IT priorities. These Principal Partners also earn comprehensive rewards including deployment and consumption incentives and prioritisation for collaborative business planning and co-selling opportunities with VMware. RAQMIYAT, KORE.AI PARTNER TO OFFER AI-POWERED VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS on-cloud, enabling companies to rapidly and easily build and deploy advanced virtual assistants. This will enable customers to leverage the power of AI virtual assistants through a platform to connect with customers, have valuable conversations, and offer solutions to their problems. Kore.ai’s platform has a multi-pronged NLP engine and supports 40+ integrated digital and voice channels, and makes websites and mobile app more human-like, connects with multiple enterprise backend applications and helps global enterprises leverage the power of conversational AI without compromising privacy, security or compliance. Offers partners an enhanced experience that delivers simplicity, choice, and innovation, and recognises and rewards partners FRONT LINE(8) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_APR-JUN 2020 www.channelmiddleeast.com Spectrami has announced a strategic distribution partnership with CloudSEK to provide its digital risk monitoring solutions across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Organisations across the globe have the difficult task of fortifying their security posture against cyber threats. By combining CloudSEK’s cybersecurity expertise and Spectrami’s distribution prowess, companies can avail cybersecurity solutions that can efficiently monitor and secure their assets. “CloudSEK’s integration into Spectrami’s wide range of information security offerings will allow us to accelerate CloudSEK XVigil’s delivery and support capabilities,” said Sourabh Issar, CEO CloudSEK. “Working together will help us realise NUTANIX BRINGS INVISIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE TO BIG DATA ANALYTICS This partnership combines CloudSEK’s cybersecurity capabilities with Spectrami’s strong channel ecosystem Nutanix HCI, objects, splunk certification bring massive scale, one-click simplicity to upgrade it support of data scientists With this alliance, VAD will distribute Prime Computer’s Mini-PCs and Servers to its product range in the Middle East Nutanix, a leader in enterprise cloud computing, today announced it extended the Nutanix platform with new features for big data and analytics applications, as well as unstructured data storage. These capabilities, part of Nutanix Objects 2.0, include the ability to manage object data across multiple Nutanix clusters for achieving massive scale, increased object storage capacity per node, and formal Splunk SmartStore certification. The enhancements add to a cloud platform that is already optimised for big data applications, to deliver performance and incredible scale, while also reducing cost by maximising existing, unused resources. Nutanix Objects is now certified by Splunk as SmartStore compliant allowing customers to simply and seamlessly manage VAD TECHNOLOGIES INKS DEAL WITH PRIME COMPUTER Splunk data growth with Nutanix Objects. Joint customers can now run Splunk workloads on Nutanix software, and leverage Nutanix Objects for built-in object storage to support their Splunk environment. “Every company is striving to become a data-driven company. Big data applications require incredible scale and performance at competitive cost structures,” said Smith. Greg Smith, VP, product marketing, Nutanix. VAD Technologies will add Prime Computer’s Mini-PCs and Servers to its product range and will position and distribute the Swiss manufacturer’s innovative hardware solutions in the Middle East. Prime Computer CEO Sacha Ghiglione commented on the new partnership: “Thanks to our Sales Director AMEA (based in Dubai) Nigel Ransom, Prime Computer is already an established brand in the UAE. The partnership with VAD Technologies further strengthens our position in UAE and expands into the rest of the GCC. Mario M. Veljovic, general manager of VAD Technologies also commented; ‘Prime Computer’s products are innovative, reliable and ensure lower total cost of ownership (TCO). Prime Computer clients in the region are very satisfied, and we are excited to bring the same experience to new resellers, clients and industries within our distribution ecosystem.’ All products are silent and protected against dirt and dust. This ultra- compact Mini-PCs and powerful servers can be used in areas where conventional hardware fails. SPECTRAMI, CLOUDSEK JOIN HANDS TO BOOST DIGITAL RISK MONITORING the full potential of XVigil and enable our customers to anticipate and mitigate the onslaught of ever-evolving cyber threats.” As part of the collaboration, CloudSEK’s specialised solutions will add to Spectrami’s digital risk monitoring capabilities, and Spectrami will increase CloudSEK’s global footprint, enhance its delivery mechanism, and ensure excellent customer experiences. “We are witnessing significant investments by organisations to secure their digital assets and brand reputation. Spectrami, with its skilled resources, along with its network of channel partners are committed to demonstrating the value proposition of CloudSEK’s XVigil platform to its customers,” said Anand Choudha, CEO of Spectrami. VAD Technologies will add Prime Computer’s Mini-PCs and Servers to its product range. FRONT LINE// TOP TIPS FROM MASTERS OF THE CHANNEL The Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) smart home devices market – which includes smart home appliances, home monitoring/ security, lighting, smart speakers, thermostats, and video entertainment devices – saw strong growth in the final quarter of 2019. That's according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation (IDC), which shows that the market expanded 35.6% year on year in Q4 2019 to reach 5.3 million units. IDC's research shows that the growth rates varied significantly across the different product categories that make up this market, with smart video entertainment continuing to be the main driver of both shipments and revenue in the region. At the other end of the scale, shipments of smart speakers experienced a year-on-year decline in Q4 2019. "As things stand, smart speakers do not support Arabic for voice-enabled commands, which is obviously a key inhibitor of uptake within this region," says Isaac T. Ngatia, a senior research analyst at IDC. The home monitoring and security category is a very robust category within the META region, with vendors addressing a wide variety of consumer needs, including smart cameras, doorbells, door locks, sensors, and smoke detectors. Amazon, TP-Link, and D-Link are the key players in this space by virtue of pushing devices to the market at attractive price points. However, the category is highly fragmented across the region, as different markets have different needs. IDC believes that a general lack of awareness around availability is constraining uptake and growth in the META smart home devices market and preventing it from reaching its full potential. Educating consumers on the installation and use of smart home devices will go a long way to deepening the market for these devices. This approach will also help to mitigate concerns around security and privacy. Overall, IDC expects the META smart home devices market to see continued growth over the coming years as vendors push their devices to the market. This push could either be through existing channels or new relationships. Some of these include collaboration with traditional retailers by seeking shelf space in retail outlets, and also through working closely with home automation specialists and installers of smart home devices. .... ..... SMART HOME DEVICES MARKET EXPANDS YOY IDC says that while the smart home device market continues to grow, localisation remains a challenge META HOME MONITORING & SECURITY CATEGORY – VENDOR SHARES, Q4 2019 Amazon.com - 14.9% TP-Link - 11.8% Others - 49.6% Google - 7.7% D-Link - 10.7% Xiaomi - 5.3% Source: International Data Corporation, March, 2020 THE MARKET BY NUMBERS // FACT FILE (9) www.channelmiddleeast.com CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_APR-JUN 2020Next >