< Previous(10) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020 www.itp.net GITEX SPECIAL REPORT 2020 | 5G This year’s GITEX Technology Week will bring together the most innovative firms in the 5G arena – here’s a look ahead at some of the industry leading companies who will be exhibiting The UAE has positioned itself as one of the most progressive and innovative countries in the world when it comes to technology and connectivity. Little surprise then, that 5G – the fifth generation of mobile networks that will revolutionise connectivity across the world – will be playing a starring role at GITEX 2020. The UAE was the first Arab nation to launch 5G and the fourth in the entire world. Since launching its initial 5G net- works last year, the country has kept itself on the cutting edge of network innovation, as it prepares to build out and densify its next generation mobile net- works, extending 5G connectivity to mil- lions of consumers. Ultimately, 5G will provide so much more than turbo charged download speeds for consumers – it will be the bed- in May 2019. Since then, the company has been voted the Middle East’s most valuable telco, and named as the world’s fastest mobile network operator in a series of independent speed tests, con- ducted by Ookla. Etisalat achieved average download speeds of 115.89 mbps and an overall ranking in Ookla’s ‘Speed Score’ catego- ry of 98.78. rock upon which the next generation of connected industries is built. 5G will enable everything from Connected Factory and Industry 4.0 initiatives, to Smart City and Connected Vehicle appli- cations. In short, it has the potential to fundamentally redefine the way that the world’s enterprises do business. GITEX 2020 will showcase the very lat- est innovations from the world’s leading 5G players. Here’s a sneak peek at the companies who will be exhibiting at this year’s show. ETISALAT As the UAE’s biggest telco, Etisalat has been instrumental in securing the country’s reputation as a leading 5G innovator. It’s been a busy 18 months for Etisalat, since it first switched on its 5G network PUSHING 5G TO THE LIMIT AT GITEX 2020(11) www.itp.net CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020 5G | GITEX SPECIAL REPORT 2020 Etisalat will be showcasing a host of 5G innovations at this year’s show. “At Etisalat, we are looking forward to being a part of one of the biggest plat- forms, giving all visitors and our cus- tomers a preview into a digital future made possible by 5G technologies. It’s also a time for all of us to come together to captivate audiences from the region and also globally to witness the future of connectivity, networks and services,” said Dr Ahmed Bin Ali, senior vice pres- ident of corporate communications at Etisalat Group. But how will Etisalat continue to push the boundaries of connectivity in 2021 and beyond? Find out by paying them a visit at GITEX 2020. HUAWEI Huawei has worked with nearly all of the world’s leading telcos in developing, launching and driving down the cost of deploying 5G networks. The Chinese tech giant will have a pivotal role to play, particularly here in the Middle East, as operators look to scale out their initial 5G networks and prepare for the transition Huawei will be showcasing the full range of its cutting edge 5G network solutions at this year’s GITEX Tech Week, so be sure to visit their marquis stand for all the latest developments. NOKIA A recent survey published by Trendforce estimated that Nokia supplied over 22 per has been a key player in helping telcos around the world accelerate their own digitalisation programmes, paving the way for their 5G launches. The open source architecture pioneer has worked closely with a number of operators here in the Middle East. Last month, Red Hat signed a collabo- ration agreement with Samsung, which will see the pair working closely together to speed up the rollout of 5G networks across the globe, including here in the Middle East. The pair will explore a range of new initiatives, including: Open R AN; Core Virtualisation; Mobile Edge Computing; and Network Cloudification. The pair will work together to develop a range of use cases to support investment in vR AN, vCore, MEC and data analytics to help service providers extend 5G. “As service providers build 5G net- works, they are forming the foundation for the next wave of cross-industry inno- vation. From helping businesses in their edge computing solutions to ensuring enterprises can successfully deploy their artificial intelligence and machine learn- ing applications, we’re very excited to work with Samsung to bring this Kubernetes-driven solution to help ser- vice providers and their customers focus on complex and competitive use cases across the enterprise to every industry,” said Chris Wright, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Red Hat. Want to find out what Red Hat will be doing in 2021 and beyond? Be sure to stop by their stand at GITEX 2020. GITEX Tech Week will be a crucial meeting place for international and local stakeholders in the region’s 5G ecosystem. Don’t miss your chance to network with the world’s pre-eminent thought leaders and innovators at this year’s show. to full standalone 5G. Huawei’s president for the Middle East, Charles Yang, recently reiterated his company’s commitment to 5G in the region – singling it out as a key area of growth and an essential enabler of eco- nomic growth in the post Covid 19 era. “The use cases for 5G are practically unlimited, although certain sectors can stand to benefit more in current circum- stances, such as healthcare, education, transportation, and energy, to mention a few,” said Yang. “But transitioning towards a smarter society, in general, requires strong part- nerships between the public and private sectors. The need to develop the 5G eco- system, including the talent ecosystem, is clearer than ever.” cent of all 5G network components across the globe in 2020 – no mean feat! The Finnish network equipment provider will be looking to ramp up that figure in 2021 and has identified the Middle East region as a potential area of growth. Earlier this year, Nokia signed a new five-year Master Frame Agreement (MFA) with STC, to further strengthen their strategic partnership in the region. The agreement will streamline the buying process of Nokia’s latest equip- ment, software and services, and will allow STC Group to ramp up its deploy- ment of cutting edge network technolo- gies such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), IP & Optical network technologies, and customer experience management from Nokia’s end-to-end portfolio for mobile and fixed networks. “We are committed to bringing our technology innovations to STC in an agile manner, and supporting STC Vision to be a world-class digital leader, empow- ering innovative services and platforms for digital transformation,” said Amr K. El Leithy, SVP of the Middle East and Africa market at Nokia. Find out what Nokia has planned for 5G in the Middle East by visiting their stand at GITEX 2020. RED HAT Following the company’s $34 billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2019, Red Hat (12) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020 www.itp.net GITEX SPECIAL REPORT 2020 | SMART DUBAI In an exclusive interview, H.E. Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General, Smart Dubai & CEO of Dubai Data Establishment, discusses the emirate’s digital readiness, GITEX plans and the road ahead This year has been a tough one for many countries across the world. No nation, government or busi- ness was immune to the adverse effect of the Covid 19 pandemic. World governments found themselves in uncharted territory, faced with unprec- edented challenges. What was evident, however, is that digital technologies have played an important role in enabling organisations in both public and private sectors cope with the bottlenecks. The UAE had long before recognised the importance of digitisation and the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in ensuring the resilience of the country. In Dubai, the government has demon- strated a high level of adaptability. All entities in the emirate immediately sprang to action to preserve the govern- ment system that has allowed the UAE to earn its leading international status over the years. “I’m proud to say that due to the robust infrastructure built by the Dubai Government over the past 20 years, the delivery of government services was completely uninterrupted and all ser- vices were delivered successfully through digital channels,” said His Excellency Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director-General, Smart Dubai & CEO, Dubai Data Establishment. His Excellency also highlights that opening and sharing data, coupled with a series of smart solutions implemented across the emirate allowed Dubai Government entities to monitor the city’s activities and needs, detecting and delivering to any change in peo- ple’s requirements in real-time. “This allowed the government to respond quickly and maintain the situation as close to business-as-usual as possible,” he explained. mented the UA E PASS, the first secure national digital identity and digital signature solution, which was introduced at GITEX in 2018 in part- nership with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority.” GITEX 2020 Earlier this month, Smart Dubai announced its plans to participate in the 40th GITEX Technology Week, which will take place from the 6th to 10th December at the Dubai World Trade Centre. At the show, the government firm seeks to showcase the latest develop- ments in terms of city-wide smart trans- formation and the positive impact digi- tisation is making on people’s lives. Speaking about the organisation’s participation at the tech show, H.E. Al Nasser said: “At GITEX Technology Week 2020, we will be showcasing the latest updates of all of Smart Dubai’s flagship products such as DubaiNow, UAE PASS, Dubai Pulse, Smart Employee, Smart Supplier and more. “In addition to showcasing Dubai Government’s latest digital products and services, we are hoping to meet global technology vendors and under- stand what are the latest technology products and services in the market, helping us plan future investment deci- sions to further accelerate the city’s digital transformation.” The 2020 edition of GITEX, will bring together five prestigious tech shows under one roof. Attendees will be able to sample a packed conference agenda from GITEX 2020, GITEX Future Stars, GISEC, Future Blockchain Summit and Marketing Mania. This year’s event will host the indus- try’s key players from more than 60 countries including Japan, Saudi As Covid-19 restrictions across the globe gradually ease, technologies and processes that have been successfully implemented during the crisis will have a profound effect on various industries’ futures. A key factor that Smart Dubai has kept in mind. “Over the last few years, the urgent demand for efficient and speedy servic- es has prompted organisations to accel- erate innovation to fast-track their digi- tal transformation. This rapid response was manifested through the pace at which officials collaborated and adapt- ed to the changes as the pandemic pro- gressed,” H.E. Al Nasser explained. He further noted that fast-paced digiti- sation will be a trend that will drive every industry sector as nations adapt to the new normal. “Digitisation takes many forms such as buying products or availing services online. We can also expect companies to invest significantly in digitising their data to leverage the power of data science. Furthermore, we will see the emergence of digital identi- ties and digital signatures playing a major role in accelerating the KYC pro- cesses and approvals on people availing goods and services. “At Smart Dubai, we had predicted the rise of these trends before Covid-19 and have been working on building the infrastructure and ecosystem to embrace these trends for over five years now,” said H.E. Al Nasser. “For one, our DubaiNow app pro- vides access to over 120 city services from more than 30 different govern- ment and private sector entities – all 100 % digital. We have also rolled out Dubai Data initiative, where we have built a holistic data ecosystem in the emirate that includes governance, infrastructure, collaboration and value generation. Finally, we have imple- SMART DUBAI POWERS AHEAD WITH SMART CITY AMBITIONS(13) www.itp.net CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020 SMART DUBAI | GITEX SPECIAL REPORT 2020 Arabia, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, Turkey, Belgium, Romania and India. “Dubai and the UAE are now global business, trade, and finance hubs, con- necting individuals from all over the world. The face-to-face meetings dur- ing these events lead to better business relations, which lead to more economic transactions, which I believe not only helps the local economy but also accel- erates economic growth of the respec- tive countries of the exhibitors and attendees. Though virtual meetings and events are the new norms, they can never match the level of engagement and understanding individuals have between each other when meeting face- to-face,” His Excellency explained. He also highlighted that due to the UAE leadership’s prompt and efficient actions towards curbing the spread of Covid-19 locally, Dubai has been able to safely resume hosting several major face-to-face events, playing a key role in driving the economic prosperity of countries and companies globally. LOOKING AHEAD According to H.E. Al Nasser, Smart Dubai endeavours to continue to inno- vate and build on the emirate’s smart city ambitions. “A nyone who has been to Dubai w ill agree that the cit y and the UA E as a whole are a tr ue testament to what great leadership looks like. We are luck y to have such a w ise, farsighted leadership who has been leading us to greater successes over the years,” he said. “At Smart Dubai, our vision is to become the happiest city on Earth. We all know that the vision cannot have a deadline. Once we achieve our goals, we only work towards becoming better. We will always keep working to embrace newer technologies, embedding them in everyday city experiences, ensuring we are providing the city’s residents and visitors with only the best standard of living, resulting in the highest levels of happiness across the globe.” His Excellency also said that Smart Dubai will continue to work on enabling the nation to achieve its goals including the Centennial 2071 plan, which is aimed at helping make the UA E the best country globally across all industry sectors by its 100th National Day in 2071. His Excellency Younus Al Nasser, Asssistant Director General of Smart Dubai and CEO of Dubai Data Establishment. (14) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020 www.itp.net GITEX SPECIAL REPORT 2020 | HUAWEI Huawei is predicting widespread convergence in connectivity, cloud, AI, computing and industrial applications over the next decade Huawei has highlighted massive scale convergence across con- nectivity, cloud, AI, computing and industrial applications as the key issue to dominate the tech sector over the next 5 to 10 years, as the Chinese tech giant gears up to exhibit at GITEX Technology Week 2020. Huawei’s president for the Enterprise Business Group in the Middle East, David Shi, said that his company would use the forthcoming event in Dubai as a platform to share insights with its customers from across the world and to help them ramp up their own digitalisation initiatives. “We believe that GITEX is a significant platform that demonstrates the region’s innovation capabilities to the world and is a testament to the region’s great ambi- tions to build a more connected, intelli- gent future. It is a platform to showcase to the region and to the world some of the most significant emerging technolo- gies—whether in the area of enterprise connectivity, enterprise IT, telecommuni- cations, cloud and AI, or consumer devic- es. And this year’s edition has special importance as it comes during Covid-19 times. There is a lot to be discussed when it comes to supporting various industries during and post Covid-19 to achieve recovery, stability, and socio-eco- nomic development,” he said. “Huawei advocates openness, collabo- ration, and shared success. Through joint innovation with our customers and partners, we are expanding the value of ICT through synergy across major tech domains to provide scenario-specific solutions that create value for all indus- tries, governments, and enterprises,” he added. ernments to achieve their strategic goals. By leveraging synergy across the five tech domains, Huawei will continue building a robust digital ecosystem that creates new value for industries. “We will leverage this event as a plat- form to discuss with our customers and partners on how we can navigate indus- try changes, share experience, and work together to create new value. At this year’s event, we will explore trends and opportunities in industry digitisation; showcase advanced ICT technologies, products, and solutions; give visitors an insider’s look at the fruits of joint inno- vation; and share best practices in digi- tal transformation. Our ultimate goal is to build an open and sound industry eco- system that will benefit all stakeholders and create new value for all industries,” he concluded. Shi believes that the shift towards digi- talisation has been expedited by the Covid-19 pandemic, with consumers demanding remote interactions with businesses and workers increasingly opt- ing to work from home. “The major trends that have impacted businesses this year are, of course, driv- en by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pan- demic has accelerated digital transfor- mation across almost all industries. Public and private sector entities have stepped up their digitalisation plans in order to operate as seamlessly and sus- tainably as possible during the pandem- ic. This has prompted the ICT market to mature rapidly, and we anticipate this will have a positive impact on ICT plan- ning for many businesses and govern- ments in the near future. At this year’s event, we hope to showcase the ways in which technology can be used to improve productivity, increase efficien- cy, and contribute towards helping busi- nesses to thrive in the post-pandemic environment,” he explained. For tech vendors like Huawei, this trend represents a key opportunity – especially here in the Middle East, where businesses are already a fair way down the road in their own digitalisation journeys. “We see a massive convergence of opportunities across five tech domains: connectivity, cloud, AI, computing, and industry applications. These elements have all come together to create unprece- dented opportunities for the ICT sector but also enterprises and governments around the world. Over the next 5-10 years, it will be critical to focus on apply- ing these technologies to help enterpris- es grow their businesses and help gov- David Shi, president, Enterprise BG, Huawei. 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SCAN HERE TO GET YOUR FREE VISITOR PASS - EXCLUSIVELY FOR ARABIAN BUSINESS READERS HOURS OF POWERFUL CONTENT OVERENGAGE IN WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WORKSHOPS Coca-Cola | Saatchi & Saatchi | New Media Academy and more LISTEN TO + TOP MARKETING NEWSMAKERS Organised byBLO CK - CHA IN - SUMMIT W O R LD’S MOST INFL UEN TIA L The largest Blockchain learning and sourcing platform returns for its 3rd edition #FBS2020(17) www.itp.net CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020 We spoke with Sascha Giese, head geek, technical product marketing at SolarWinds, about how businesses across the region are adapting to life in the post-pandemic world A s businesses across the Middle East and North Africa continue to evolve their IT systems to cope with the demands of supporting a remote workforce—even post-pandemic— process automation will be a crucial weap- on in their arsenal. With millions of people across the world still choosing to work and study from home, IT teams are having to redouble their efforts to meet the increased demand for remote network access while simultaneously maintaining the highest standards of online security. “As a lot of spending is on hold, we won’t see any major innovations soon. Instead, we’ll see a few changes which were overdue—for example, more automation, as it’s a perfect way to save money and free up resources,” said Sascha Giese, head geek at SolarWinds. “Security has to change, too—the ‘cloud- ier’ it gets, the less perimeter there is to secure. So the mindset needs to change to a zero-trust model,” he added. A major challenge for businesses in the coming months will be bringing their IT systems up to speed in a cost-effective manner, enabling them to accommodate remote access and work from home initia- tives in the long term. “Really, we have to look at this in the con- text of the relatively short time frame from March to today. In the second quarter of 2020, everybody tried to make everything virtual and online to provide that work from home capability, and this entailed a lot of changes to their IT infrastructure. “Those changes had to be made immedi- ately. Things that usually would have taken months of proper planning had to be imple- mented almost overnight. What we have seen in recent weeks is companies trying to fix the mistakes they made during those initial implementations. This is quite chal- lenging for IT teams because budgets are tight right now, so they have to be creative in how they get things done,” he said. Since March 2020, SolarWinds has seen an uptick in demand for its range of IT SOLARWINDS: AUTOMATION IS A CRUCIAL COST-SAVER FOR IT SECTOR IN THE POST COVID LANDSCAPE I’m extremely interested in technology as a whole, and this event gives me a great opportunity to check in with other ven- dors and see what’s new and what they have going on at the moment. Second, from a company point of view, it’s a fantas- tic opportunity to talk to our customers, who have been using our tools for as long as I can remember. They always come up with really interesting and creative ideas we had never even thought of ourselves. These are valuable insights for us, and they’re one of the main reasons we attend a trade show like this,” he explained. SolarWinds will be represented at GISEC by one of their key partners, Spire, at Booth H7-D40, as well as exhib- iting online through the GITEX 2020 vir- tual event platform. “I think with a mix- ture of a physical presence at GISEC and a virtual presence at GITEX we will have a great experience, enjoying all elements of what the events have to offer.” Giese added the return to a physical, face-to- face conference and exhibition setting would help the industry feel a semblance of returning to normality following months of virtual events. “You can’t beat a face-to-face event like GITEX 2020 when it comes to personal interaction, however, virtual events have become an important way for us to connect in 2020. A hybrid attendance allows us to meet our customers wherever they are— in-person or online.” security solutions—particularly those designed to monitor VPN connections—as IT professionals around the globe strive to keep their infrastructures alive and sup- port employees working from home.. EXPANSION AND GROWTH Earlier this year, SolarWinds acquired database monitoring specialist firm SentryOne. SentryOne is a leading technol- ogy provider of database performance monitoring and DataOps solutions for Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and the Microsoft data platform. The acquisition will help SolarWinds expand its reach in these markets. “Across the board, companies are using more and more data. We’re seeing huge quantities of data being stored in databases, and it’s getting harder and harder for database admins to deal with it,” Giese explained. The acquisition of SentryOne will com- plement the SolarWinds on-premises and cloud-native database management offer- ings and will allow the company to serve the needs of its mid-market clients while simultaneously ramping up its offering to larger organisations. “We already have a strong database per- formance analysis portfolio with three products. SentryOne is our fourth offering in this market. Each one of these offerings has a slightly different target audience, so this is a really great addition for us. It defi- nitely gives us something we were miss- ing,” he added. GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS, AT GITEX 2020 SolarWinds will be exhibiting virtually at this year’s GITEX Technology Week, and Giese believes the event will be a crucial opportunity for the company to get some valuable time with its customers. “There are two really interesting things for us in the run-up to GITEX 2020. First, from a personal point of view, Sascha Giese, SolarWinds.(18) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020 www.itp.net Regional IT solutions distributor Hiperdist has announced a strategic alliance with cybersecurity company Keeper Security. As part of the agreement, Hiperdist will distribute the complete range of Keeper products across the Middle East and Africa region. “Robust, comprehensive cybersecurity solutions are the need of the hour. We are excited about this partnership, which will allow our partners to mitigate cyber-threats by preventing password-related data breaches cyberthreats while reducing operational costs,” said Roland Steinmetz, Director of Channel – EMEA at Keeper Security. Keeper Security offers the only enterprise SPECTRAMI, ONESPAN TO DELIVER DIGITAL IDENTITY SOLUTIONS ACROSS EGYPT Keeper Security offers an enterprise password manager that is built on a fully zero-knowledge architecture OneSpan helps secure digital identities and protect organisations and their data against digital fraud NETGEAR selected Ingram Micro for its strong base of system integration channel partners and reseller network Spectrami has announced that it will distribute the entire range of OneSpan digital identity and anti-fraud solutions in Egypt. OneSpan, a global player in securing remote banking transactions, enables companies to flexibly deploy identity verification, authentication, mobile security, fraud prevention, e-signature and more either together or as standalone solutions. Under the partnership, Spectrami will leverage OneSpan’s offerings to help prevent identity fraud and enable secure digital journeys for Egyptian enterprises in financial services, government and healthcare. As companies continue to shift to delivering services remotely, the opportunity for digital fraud also increases. Spectrami’s partnership with OneSpan helps secure digital identities and protect organisations and their data against digital fraud. Anand Choudha, CEO at Spectrami, said, “No security issue should go unchecked. INGRAM MICRO, NETGEAR INK DISTRIBUTION DEAL FOR GULF AND EGYPT With an increase in online transactions, and digital transformation, it is now more important than ever. Securing every aspect of the company brand including the identity of their stakeholders and their position within the company network is crucial. With OneSpan, we are certain that this issue can be readily dealt with, and with the ease of deployment offered by a cloud-based solution, it will certainly put our customers at ease knowing their networks cannot be penetrated using any form of identity theft.” (LtoR) Charbel Diab, OneSpan and Anand Choudha, Spectrami. Ali-Baghdadi, Ingram-Micro. Ingram Micro, the global technology and supply chain services provider, has announced the signing of a value-added distribution agreement with NETGEAR, a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. With this agreement, Ingram Micro is authorised to sell and promote NETGEAR’s portfolio of networking and security solutions through its vast channel network in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Egypt. NETGEAR selected Ingram Micro, as a top distributor for the Region, because of its strong base of system integration channel partners and reseller network to sell its full range of networking products. “We are very pleased to team up with NETGEAR, who is a trusted vendor in this space and complements our portfolio very well. This venture is a positive addition to the Ingram Micro networking solutions, which will enable our channel network to meet its customer requirements in the Region effectively,” said Ali Baghdadi, Senior Vice President and Chief Executive, META region, Ingram Micro. HIPERDIST, KEEPER SECURITY PEN DISTRIBUTION DEAL FOR MEA password manager that is built on a fully zero-knowledge architecture and that is ISO 27001 and SOC2 certified. Govind Haridas, Business Head – Cyber Security at Hiperdist, said, “In the UAE alone, as many as 82% of organisations faced at least one cyber-attack in 2019. Poor password hygiene, mishandling sensitive information are some of the leading causes of such threats. Keeper Security focuses on password management and protection across businesses of any size – from start-ups to managed service providers to enterprises. We plan to leverage our deep reach in the region and decades-long expertise to support them, empowering our partners with their applications in the cybersecurity toolkit.” FRONT LINEALLOW AUDIO TO TRULY CONNECT Next floor. Next city. Next continent. When the audio between conference callers works the way it should, distances become irrelevant. But when it fails, those distances are really felt. With a choice of solutions from Shure, you’ll be able to offer your users reliable audio technology that supports seamless collaboration. As if everyone’s in the same room. The way it should be. Finally, users will feel truly connected. © 2020 Shure Incorporated. See shure.com/trademarks. 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