Building and delivering IT solutions for the Middle East An ITP Media Group Publication V ol. 18 Issue. 03 JUL Y -SEPTEMBER 2020 www .channelmiddleeast.com SPECIAL REPORT PC GAMING p28 INSIDE FOUNDATIONS OF A DIGITAL WORKPLACE p12 BENEFITS OF A CLOUD-ENABLED REMOTE WORKFORCE p34 REALIGNING BUSINESS STRATEGIES HOW TO DRIVE BUSINESS GROWTH IN UNCERTAIN TIMES p16(3) www.channelmiddleeast.com CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 //JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 VOLUME 18 / ISSUE 03 REGULARS 28 IN-DEPTH 12 LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF A DIGITAL WORKSPACE Channel Middle East, in association with Microsoft, delves into the essential elements of the digital workplace FRONTLINE 06 EclecticIQ partners with Cyberknight Introduce a reinforced threat intelligence platform to the region 06 Kyriba ties up with Midis Group Alliance to enable delivery of localised services and help solve the liquidity challenges 07 Westcon, Cybereason pen Middle East distribution agreement Westcon to market, distribute and service Cybereason products FRONTLINE 16 NAVIGATING CHALLENGING TIMES We caught up with channel stakeholders to gauge partner challenges and how they can wrestle the far-reaching effects of the pandemic 28 SPECIAL REPORT The flourishing PC gaming market: Acer’s robust portfolio for gamers parallels the strong growth of the PC gaming industry 34 BENEFITS OF A CLOUD- ENABLED REMOTE WORKFORCE How is cloud enabling businesses to streamline communications, reduce downtime and facilitate collaboration PEOPLE 10 HPE names Ahmad Alkhallafi MD for UAE Alkhallafi to lead HPE’s growth in the UAE 11 Nutanix appoints new director for GSI business in EMEA Tarbox to develop and execute a regional alliance strategy 11 ThreatQuotient appoints new regional director Firas Ghanem joins as regional director – Middle East & Pakistan FEATURES 14 Ramping up channel engagement We caught up with Bridget Bisnette, senior vice president global channel sales, programs and operations at Riverbed 26 Smart meetings and collaboration Channel Middle East, in association with Microsoft, discusses the importance of remote meeting tools and software 16 08 Matrix42 and VAD Technologies announce regional partnership VAD Technologies to promote Matrix42 solutions 09 Etisalat launches data centres The two new data centres will consolidate the UAE’s position as a connectivity hub 09 Microsoft and SAS partner to integrate analytics and AI Partnership to help accelerate cloud transformation initiatives 26 34(4) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 www.channelmiddleeast.com Businesses often experience ups and downs, but the current global health crisis is affecting businesses hard. People are adjusting their lifestyles to work from home and reevaluate their priorities. IT departments are under incredible pressure to maintain business productivity for the expanded remote workforce. Companies have had to readjust their priorities and budgets to adapt to their new realities and are very focused on cost savings and efficiencies wherever possible. The sudden onset of the pandemic led to unavoidable challenges such as supply chain issues from strict border lockdowns, increased need for cloud and networking products along with fast, uninterrupted con- nections. Furthermore, there was increased pressure from customers who expected vendors and service providers to meet their requirements quickly and efficiently. Consequently, channel players have been working overtime to rapidly transition and meet the new and immediate demands of the market successfully. From a go-to-market perspective, not much has changed. If anything, Covid-19 has shone a light on the need for organisations to automate processes, improve collaboration and transparency across departments and implement standardised procedures for executing tasks. The pan- demic has forced organisations to invest in digital transformation or ramp up existing digital agendas. Now is the time to focus and communicate with existing customers, partners and team members. They may have plenty of questions, won- dering how this crisis will affect everyone's business. There never was a better time to discuss and offer guidance on how to manage and retain prospects and clients. As global economies stay at different levels of recovery, the channel needs to remain strong and brave this storm with full determination. If nothing, the pandemic has served as a wakeup call for companies that have been procrastinating their transformation plans, and that is some- thing to look forward to. A BRAVE NEW WORLD As COVID-19 continues to create uncertainty around the globe, the channel must prepare to weather the storm and face the challenges head-on IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT FOR STORIES VISIT USchannelmiddleeast.com FOLLOW CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST channel_m_e ChannelMagazine Sarah.Rizvi@itp.com EDITOR’S NOTE // by Sarah Rizvi PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 444 3000 www.itp.com Offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London and Mumbai ITP MEDIA GROUP CEO Ali Akawi Managing Director Alex Reeve EDITORIAL Editor Sarah Rizvi Tel: +971 4 4443617 e-mail: sarah.rizvi@itp.com ADVERTISING Sales Manager Paul Hylden Tel: +971 4 444 3000 e-mail: paul.hylden@itp.com PHOTOGRAPHY Senior photographers Efraim Evidor, Richard Hall Staff photographers Lester Apuntar, Aasiya Jagadeesh, Grace Guino, Fritz Asuro, Ajith Narendra PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Group Production & Distribution Director Kyle Smith Production Manager Basel Al Kassem Production Coordinator Manoj Mahadevan Image Editor Emmalyn Robles CIRCULATION Distribution & Warehouse Manager Praveen Nair MARKETING Director of Awards & Marketing Daniel Fewtrell ITP LIVE General Manager Ahmad Bashour Tel: +971 4 444 3549 e-mail: ahmad.bashour@itp.com ITP GROUP CEO Ali Akawi CFO Toby Jay Spencer-Davies Subscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. Published by and Copyright © 2020 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC. THE TRUSTED SOURCE FOR TECHNOLOGY NEWS AND ANALYSIS FOR CIOS, IT MANAGERS AND CYRBERSECURITY PROFESSIONALS ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM(6) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 www.channelmiddleeast.com Finesse has announced the launch of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Center of Excellence (CoE) with Automation Anywhere, a global player in RPA to further develop Intelligent Automation capabilities in the region. “Finesse’s insightful understanding of regional market needs puts them in a great position to deploy Automation to meet business objectives. We’re excited to see the impact of this CoE as we bring the full potential of RPA, cognitive RPA, and human- bot collaboration to the region,” said Milan Sheth, EVP-IMEA, Automation Anywhere. “Our vision for the Centre of Excellence is to extend and expand our skills in RPA and to combine them rapidly along with AI & IoT solutions. I am confident that it will allow us to deepen our understanding of the technology and strengthen our relationship with our clients,” said Bobby Thomas, Delivery Global leader in liquidity solutions Kyriba has announced a partnership with Midis Group, a technology organisation, comprising some 170 companies across 70 countries in the EMEA region. The alliance will enable delivery of localised services and support in these regions to help finance leaders, banks and governments solve the challenge of understanding and managing their liquidity with sophisticated, market leading solutions for payments, cash & liquidity management, supply chain finance, and FX risk management, all centralised in Kyriba’s cloud-based Active Liquidity Network. FINESSE LAUNCHES RPA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE WITH AUTOMATION ANYWHERE KYRIBA EXPANDS REGIONAL FOOTPRINT WITH MIDIS GROUP PARTNERSHIP The alliance will enable delivery of localised services and support to help finance leaders, banks and governments solve the liquidity challenges Head, Emerging Technologies, Finesse. Automation Anywhere and Finesse offer diligently orchestrated Intelligent Automation solutions to transform businesses, thus ensuring the best outcomes for clients, workforce, and the organisation. Apart from RPA solutions, Finesse digital transformation portfolio includes AI & Chatbot, Blockchain, BI & Analytics, WhatsApp for Businesses, CRM/CEM, Corporate Treasury Management, and Infra Managed Services. The Center of Excellence will provide technical guidance, testing, development of software bots, and complimentary RPA training and support Improve intelligence-led security with detection and threat hunting EclecticIQ and Cyberknight augment intelligence-led threat detection, hunting and response by bringing a reinforced threat intelligence platform to the region. The goal is to improve intelligence-led security by bringing bleeding-edge detection and threat hunting capabilities to the endpoint and cloud security market. The new vision became possible when EclecticIQ recently joined forces with PolyLogyx, a creator of endpoint and cloud workload threat detection and response technologies, which will complement CyberKnight’s existing endpoint security stack. “Faced with a future in which remote and distributed workforces are the norm, IT security teams need to completely revamp how they think about threat intelligence. There is no better way of fighting sophisticated cyber threats than having access to best-in-class threat hunting,” commented Avinash Advani, Founder & CEO at CyberKnight. “Our mutual ambition with CyberKnight is to redefine the way that threat intelligence is applied at the core, well beyond traditional IOCs. While endpoint security more than ever requires a holistic, integrated approach, our new strategy aims to bring a re-imagined CTI approach to customers by changing the way analysts detect, hunt and respond to sophisticated threats,” said Herro Zoutendijk, regional director at EclecticIQ. ECLECTICIQ, CYBERKNIGHT INTRO REINFORCED THREAT INTELLIGENCE PLATFORM Our vision is to expand our skills in RPA and combine them with AI & IoT solutions. There is no better way of fighting cyber threats than best-in-class threat hunting. Jean-Luc Robert, Chairman and CEO at Kyriba, said: “Kyriba will now have the ability to offer governments, banks and corporate CFOs in emerging regions modern solutions to manage liquidity as they navigate the road to recovery in a new global landscape.” “Together, Midis Group and Kyriba will offer native expertise and modern solutions to help our clients connect to the global economy and international banking systems, while reducing risk from FX volatility or payments fraud,” said Amer Chebaro, General Manager at Midis Group. “Kyriba’s Active Liquidity Network will enable our clients to thrive, whether through simple modular upgrades in payments, or full ERP transformation projects.” FRONT LINE(7) www.channelmiddleeast.com CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced that starting today, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), data providers, and consulting partners based in the UAE can transact in AWS Marketplace and AWS Data Exchange, empowering UAE based business to access and market to AWS’s millions of customers around the world. This expansion also means that AWS’s global customers can purchase directly from UAE-based software and data providers through AWS Marketplace and AWS Data Exchange, selecting from over 7,000 software listings and data products from more than 1,500 sellers. Customers can also procure software SPECTRAMI AND WEDGE NETWORKS SIGN DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP With this expansion, AWS’s global customers can purchase directly from UAE-based software and data providers through AWS Marketplace and AWS Data Exchange Partnership to bring Wedge Networks Absolute Real-time Protection platform - WedgeARP to MEA Cyber security value-added distributor Spectrami has been appointed as an authorised distribution partner for Wedge Networks for the Middle East and Africa. With this partnership, Spectrami will be able to deliver the Wedge Absolute Real-time Protection (WedgeARP) platform to its regional customers. Anand Choudha, CEO at Spectrami said: “We are all geared up to introduce the WedgeARP platform to our channel partners and with our in-house dedicated team of specialists, we will execute both sales and technical support to our channel partners that will enable them to offer this real-time threat protection platform to their customers spread across various industry verticals.” “The MENA region is an important market for Wedge Networks in our mission to secure the cloud-connected world,” stated Dr. Hongwen Zhang, Wedge Networks, CEO WESTCON, CYBEREASON PEN MIDDLE EAST DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT & CTO. “Spectrami is a strong partner for us to serve this market. We are impressed with its forward thinking of the Cloud Distribution Strategy. Working closely, this partnership will bring the much-needed real-time threat prevention ability to secure governments, enterprises, and critical infrastructures. We welcome Spectrami to the Wedge Networks partnership family.” Spectrami will deliver Wedge Absolute Real- time Protection (WedgeARP) platform to regional customers. Partnership cements our ability to provide best-in-class security solutions to the channel. Westcon has signed a Middle East distribution agreement with Cybereason, a leader in endpoint protection, to market, distribute, and service Cybereason products and solutions in the Middle East. Commenting on the partnership, Steve Lockie, managing director, Westcon- Comstor ME, said: “Cybereason is the leader in endpoint protection. This addition to our vendor portfolio further cements our ability to provide best-in- class security solutions to the channel. By enabling prevention, detection, and response all in one lightweight agent, Cybereason gives enterprises the upper hand over cyber adversaries.” Lockie added that there is a huge opportunity and demand in the channel for enterprise class endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions and Cybereason addresses this perfectly. We are looking at following a strategic approach in taking their solution to the channel in the Middle East.” The Cybereason Defense Platform provides complete endpoint protection against today’s most advanced threats. The company also recently launched Cybereason Mobile, a new cloud-based offering designed to help enterprises prevent, detect and respond to both mobile device and traditional endpoint risks by connecting disparate threats in a single and complete malicious operation (Malop). Along with offering a wide range of value added services, Westcon also offers integrated Digital Distribution Platforms. AWS LAUNCHES MARKETPLACE AND DATA EXCHANGE IN UAE through local consulting partners with Consulting Partner Private Offers (CPPO) in AWS Marketplace, which enables ISVs to authorise Consulting Partners to receive wholesale pricing on their software, further helping them to lower the cost of their technology by using AWS. AWS Marketplace provides a new sales channel for ISVs and Consulting Partners to sell their solutions to AWS customers and makes it easy for them to find, buy, deploy and manage software solutions easily. AWS Data Exchange simplifies the process of finding, subscribing to, and using third-party data products in the cloud, and offers more than 1,500 data products from over 100 qualified data providers. Cybereason Defense Platform provides endpoint protection against advanced threats FRONT LINE(8) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 www.channelmiddleeast.com Spectrami has partnered with Check Point Software Technologies, a leading provider of cyber security solutions globally, as the authorised value added distributor in GCC countries & Egypt. According to the terms of agreement, Spectrami will promote, market and distribute entire suite of Check Point security products and solutions including its cloud security, network security, endpoint security, mobile security and security management through its strong network of channel partners. Check Point offers a multilevel security architecture with its new Gen V advanced threat prevention that protects all networks, cloud and mobile operations of a business against all known attacks combined with the MATRIX42 AND VAD TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP Leading cyber security value-added distributor Spectrami to promote, market and distribute entire portfolio of Check Point cyber security solutions in GCC countries & Egypt VAD Technologies will promote Matrix42 solutions through its extensive network of channel partners across the Middle East The alliance will give SIs and solution partners across UAE and Oman access to TP-Link’s portfolio of SMB solutions Workspace Management solutions providernMatrix42 has expanded its partner ecosystem in the Middle East with a new partnership with VAD Technologies. Under the terms of the agreement, VAD Technologies will promote Matrix42 solutions through its extensive network of channel partners across the Middle East. Andreas von Lowtzow, director Channel & Alliances at Matrix42, said: “The Matrix42 unified and intuitive platform offers a world class portfolio of Secured Endpoint Management, Enterprise Service Management and Digital Workspace Management, and our exciting new partnership with VAD Technologies will provide a world class partner network and strong support for the Matrix42 Middle East expansion strategy.” Mario M. Veljovic, general manager at VAD TP-LINK APPOINTS NAIZAK AS DISTRIBUTION PARTNER FOR SMB SOLUTIONS Technologies, said: “We are extremely happy to partner with Matrix42 in the Middle East region. Our product and solutions portfolio require that we constantly scout for disruptive next generation technologies to ensure that our partners can offer the latest and greatest to their customers. Matrix42, a leading provider for digital workspace experience supports our vision and completes our comprehensive IT service management portfolio.” Andreas von Lowtzow, director Channel & Alliances at Matrix42. TP-Link Technologies has signed a distribution agreement with Naizak Distribution in Dubai for their SMB solutions. With this partnership, Naizak Distribution aims to amplify its footprint in the SMB solutions segment in the UAE and Oman. “Collaborating with Naizak to enhance our distribution channel will act as a catalyst in reinforcing TP-Link’s reliable SMB solutions in the UAE & Oman. Naizak’s performance as distributors has been impressive, and we are confident that this partnership will help us generate more opportunities with system integrators,” said Lucas Jiang, general manager at TP-Link MEA FZE. Naizak will be distributing the full range of TP-Link’s SMB solutions. The alliance will benefit the SMB market greatly, allowing system integrators and solution partners to access SMB solutions from a global provider with the local service support of an experienced distribution partner. Salim Abdul Ghani, general manager at Naizak Distribution, said: “We are delighted to work with TP-Link MEA to enhance the quality of solutions available in the SMB market through their robust offerings. We look forward to this collaboration opening new avenues for us.” SPECTRAMI BAGS DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS FOR CHECK POINT SOFTWARE industry’s most comprehensive and intuitive single point of control management system. Anand Choudha, CEO at Spectrami said, “We see a perfect fit for Check Point products within our brand portfolio, complementing our existing solutions. With Check Point onboard, we now have every component of cyber security in our portfolio. This allows us to offer complete end-to-end cyber security solutions to secure infrastructure for enterprises of all sizes.” “As businesses increasingly see the need to implement a consolidated IT security architecture, this partnership will help support our customers with a holistic IT security strategy that covers network, endpoint, mobile and cloud security solutions and needs.” said Murat Kaymaz, area manager at Check Point Software Technologies. Naizak will be distributing the full range of TP-Link’s SMB solutions. FRONT LINE(9) www.channelmiddleeast.com CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 Microsoft and SAS have partnered to integrate SAS’ AI and analytics with Microsoft Azure, which will be the preferred cloud provider for the SAS Cloud. The companies will migrate SAS’ analytical products and industry solutions onto. With this partnership, customers will be able to run their SAS workloads in the cloud. This partnership builds on SAS integrations across Microsoft cloud solutions for Azure, Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365 and Power Platform. Scott Guthrie, Microsoft executive vice president of Cloud and AI. “SAS, with its recognised expertise in analytics, data science and machine learning, is a strategic partner for Microsoft, and together we will help customers across dozens of industries and horizontals address their most critical ETISALAT LAUNCHES TWO NEW DATA CENTRES IN THE UAE Partnership to help organisations accelerate their cloud transformation initiatives and enable customers to run SAS workloads in the cloud The new facilities in Fujairah and Dubai will help to consolidate the UAE’s position as an international, inter-regional connectivity hub Etisalat has announced the expansion of its SmartHub in the UAE, launching a Tier 3 data centre facility at two new locations in the country. The move will allow Etisalat to grow its presence in the region, whilst simultaneously enabling global partners to bring digitalisation, implement cloud transformation initiatives, and accelerate connectivity and capacity reach across Europe, the US, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Etisalat will launch the new data centres in Fujairah and Dubai, supporting the UAE’s vision to become an ICT and data hub for the region. The facilities will address the diverse requirements of global data centres and technology companies. With the launch of the new facilities Etisalat’s Carrier & Wholesale Services (C&WS) have set a benchmark in the region and is also a MARCH NETWORKS AND VAD TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCE DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP testimony to the company’s strategy of ‘Driving the digital future to empower societies.’ The addition of the space and high power capacity in Fujairah and Dubai will bring the overall power capacity to more than 10MW with diversified power grid supply complemented with backup systems (N+N power redundancy). Etisalat will launch the new data centres in Fujairah and Dubai. Trevor Sinden, March Networks’ director of sales MEA. VAD Technologies is pleased to announce a new distribution agreement with March Networks, a global leader in video security and video-based business intelligence. The agreement will deliver advanced video surveillance technologies to customers across the Middle East. March Networks’ video solutions are used by the world’s largest financial institutions, retail brands, transit authorities and commercial facilities to improve efficiency and compliance, reduce losses and risk, enhance customer service and compete more successfully. Its secure, IT-friendly product portfolio includes: “Video plays a significant role in security, but it can also be a rich source of business data,” said Trevor Sinden, March Networks’ director of sales MEA. “March Networks is dedicated to helping our customers protect and secure their assets while also leveraging video for usable business intelligence. Mario M. Veljovic, general manager at VAD Technologies commented; “We have a built a very successful physical security practice and strong partner ecosystem over the years with a focus on AI and smart analytics powered solutions. We are immensely proud of this new partnership, as March Network’s comprehensive product and solutions portfolio supports us to better address the challenging requirements of the market.” MICROSOFT AND SAS PARTNER TO INTEGRATE ANALYTICS AND AI and complex analytical challenges.” Microsoft and SAS will explore opportunities to integrate SAS analytics capabilities, including industry-specific models, within Azure and Dynamics 365 and build new market-ready joint solutions for customers that are natively integrated with SAS services across multiple vertical industries. This further integration will enable SAS customers to capitalise on the scalability and flexibility of the cloud for their analytics and AI workloads. Commentring on the partnership, Oliver Schabenberger, SAS chief technology officer and chief operating officer, said: “Partnering with Microsoft gives customers a more seamless path to the cloud that provides faster, more powerful and easier access to SAS solutions and enables trusted decisions with analytics that everyone – regardless of skill level – can understand.” The agreement will see the pair work together across the Middle East region FRONT LINENext >