< Previous49TB QLC DirectFlash modules providing the lowest possible total cost of ownership. Scott Baker, Vice President of Product Marketing, FlashArray, Pure Storage, said, “With the second generation of FlashArray//C, we’re proud to once again demonstrate our commitment to innovation and make the benefits of flash more accessible for a broader range of use cases at an economic advantage that is sure to make hybrid storage a thing of the past.” WESTERN DIGITAL LAUNCHES NEXT- GENERATION WD BLACK GAMING PORTFOLIO PURE STORAGE MAKES ALL-FLASH MORE ACCESSIBLE WITH SECOND-GEN FLASHARRAY//C Western Digital has announced the launch of its WD Black portfolio of products, specifically designed to help gamers enhance their setups and adapt to the evolving gaming landscape. The launch will see the introduction of three new and upcoming products, including its first NVMe solid-state drive (SSD) with next-gen PCIe Gen4 technology, a fully bootable Gen3 x8 add-in-card and a Thunderbolt 3-powered NVMe SSD gaming dock, each offering eye-catching RGB lighting options. WD Black SN850 NVMe SSD is designed to feature the unprecedented performance of PCIe Gen4 technology, this future-ready product will deliver fast read/write speeds up to 7000/5300MB/s (1TB model). Built with the WD Black G2 controller and optimised for top-tier and high-intensive gaming (not intended for NAS or server environments), the WD Black SN850 NVMe SSD will help gamers achieve supreme PC performance. It reduces game load times and transfers files faster than its predecessor while using brand new cache technology. In addition to high performance, the WD Black SN850 NVMe SSD also delivers improved low queue- depth performance over its predecessor, allowing both gaming and everyday users to experience smoother loading of applications. And, for the ultimate in aesthetics and customisation, there will be an optional RGB-enabled heatsink model that cuts down on thermal throttling. The WD Black SN850 NVMe SSD non-heatsink version will be available in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities starting at $129.99. Pure Storage has introduced the second generation FlashArray//C, reducing the cost of running capacity-oriented workloads so significantly it eliminates the need for legacy hybrid disk arrays. The only all-QLC storage array, FlashArray//C is built on Pure’s DirectFlash technology and Purity software platform to deliver enterprise- grade performance and features cost- effectively, marking another step towards realising Pure’s vision of bringing flash mainstream for any use case through its entire portfolio of products and solutions. With the second generation of FlashArray//C, Pure is extending its QLC advantage by delivering the first and only enterprise-grade all-QLC flash array – transforming raw QLC into a high-endurance medium while delivering new cost economics that is 30% less than similarly sized hybrid storage arrays on the market today. FlashArray//C is available with 24.7TB and Intel has recently announced the launch of its next-generation mobile PC processors and the evolution of its broad ecosystem partnerships that are propelling the mobile PC industry forward. According to the company, the new 11th Gen Intel Core processors with Intel Iris Xe graphics (code-named “Tiger Lake”) are the world’s best processors for thin-and-light laptops with unmatched capabilities for real- world productivity, collaboration, creation, gaming and entertainment across Windows and ChromeOS-based laptops. Leveraging Intel’s new SuperFin process technology, 11th Gen Intel Core processors optimise power efficiency with leading performance and responsiveness while running at significantly higher frequencies versus prior generations. More than 150 designs based on 11th Gen Intel Core processors are expected from partners including Acer, Asus, Dell, Dynabook, HP, Lenovo, LG, MSI, Razer, Samsung and others. 11th Gen Intel Core processors with Intel Iris Xe graphics are the uniquely designed for thin-and-light laptops across both Windows and ChromeOS. The company noted that it is their most ambitious system-on-chip (SoC), delivering more than a generational leap in performance and the best experiences for U-series laptops in productivity, creation, gaming, entertainment and collaboration. The three new high-performance SSD storage solutions are purpose-built to give gamers the tools they need to optimise their gaming setup 11th Gen Intel Core processors with Intel Iris Xe graphics are the uniquely designed for thin- and-light laptops With the second generation of FlashArray//C, Pure is extending its QLC advantage by delivering the first and only enterprise-grade all-QLC flash array INTEL UNLEASHES A NEW ERA OF LAPTOP PERFORMANCE WITH ‘TIGER LAKE’ CPUS COMPONENTS (40) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020 www.itp.netand up to 40% better graphics performance over the previous generation. For customers and applications that need high-performance display capabilities, the Ryzen Embedded V2000 series can power up to four independent displays in 4K resolution. “AMD is continuing to deliver high performance embedded processors for our customers with the new Ryzen Embedded V2000 series,” said Rajneesh Gaur, corporate vice president and general manager, Embedded Business, AMD. SAMSUNG FLAUNTS NEXT-LEVEL SSD PERFORMANCE WITH 980 PRO AMD INTRODUCES ENHANCED AMD RYZEN EMBEDDED V2000 PROCESSORS Samsung Electronics has unveiled the company’s first consumer PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid state drive (SSD) – the Samsung SSD 980 PRO. The new 980 PRO is designed for professionals and consumers who want cutting-edge performance in their high-end PCs, workstations and game consoles. Optimised for handling data-intensive applications, the 980 PRO is ideal for consumers and professionals who work with 4K and 8K contents, and play graphics-heavy games. All the key components, including the custom Elpis controller, V-NAND and DRAM, are completely designed in-house to deliver the full potential of PCIe 4.0. This allows the 980 PRO to provide sequential read and write speeds of up to 7,000 MB/s and 5,000 MB/s respectively, as well as random read and write speeds of up to 1,000K IOPS, making it up to two times faster than PCIe 3.0 SSDs and up to 12.7 times faster than SATA SSDs.3 While most of today’s high-performance NVMe SSDs rely on external copper heatsinks to diffuse heat, Samsung’s 980 PRO employs a nickel coating on the controller as well as a heat spreader label on the backside of the SSD for efficient thermal management. The Samsung SSD 980 PRO comes in 1TB, 500GB and 250GB models, and will be available worldwide starting this month, while the 2TB capacity model will be available by the end of this year. The 980 PRO’s manufacturer’s suggested retail prices start at $89.99 for the 250GB model. AMD has launched a new product in its high-performance Embedded processor family, the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 Series processor. Built on the innovative 7nm process technology, ‘Zen 2’ cores and high-performance AMD Radeon graphics, the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 Series provides a new class of performance with 7nm technology, incredible power efficiency and continues to deliver enterprise-class security features for embedded customers. The AMD Embedded Ryzen V2000 family is designed for embedded applications such as Thin Client, MiniPC and Edge systems. Equipped with up to eight CPU cores and seven GPU compute units, a single AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 Series processor provides 2x the multi-threaded performance-per-watt, up to 30% better single-thread CPU performance Kingston Technology Europe Co, an affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, a global player in memory products and technology solutions, has announced it has been ranked the top third-party DRAM module supplier in the world, according to the latest rankings by revenue from analyst firm TrendForce (formerly DRAMeXchange). Kingston retains its number 1 position with an estimated 80.33% market share on $12.9 billion revenue, according to TrendForce. The rankings for 2019 mark the 17th consecutive year that TrendForce has placed Kingston in the top spot. As the industry transitions from current memory modules built using 8Gbit density DDR4 chips to 16Gbit, Kingston noted that it stands ready to assist customers and address their concerns with the compatibility of these new higher-density chips on legacy platforms. The new wafer lithography needed to produce 16Gbit DRAM also provides power savings over last- generation 8Gbit, providing improved battery life on mobile systems and reducing costs in data centres - all while increasing the capacity per module. Kingston began shipping 64GB Registered DIMMs last December, and also refreshed the entire Server Premier product line to feature 16Gbit solutions in July 2020. 980 PRO SSD unlocks a new range of advanced applications for gamers and creative professionals Kingston retains its number 1 position with an estimated 80.33% market share AMD Ryzen Embedded V2000 processors deliver up to 2x the performance-per-watt KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY NAMED TOP DRAM MODULE SUPPLIER COMPONENTS (41) www.itp.net CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020> What sort of interests do you have outside of work? The outdoors is what draws me. There are so many things that give me pleasure, be it training for a marathon, or a game of badminton, or maybe just a pleasure ride on a motorbike. On the other hand, I love networking especially within group activities. It could be something like teaming up for a bicycle ride. I love the simple pleasures of life. > What’s your favourite thing about the company you work for? I am very pleased to be surrounded by a team that has a very positive attitude to winning and accomplishing a job. Our team spirit keeps us motivated and this is mirrored across the organisation. > If you could improve one thing about the channel business what would it be? It is all about the available skillsets that an organisation holds and increases the value of the deliverables. It should be a preferred option rather than companies taking on a project as a whole without internally assessing their professional capabilities. This helps many more companies being able to be a part of a strong channel network rather than large companies gaining all the opportunities and then proceeding by sub leasing work. It is important that companies reward the right partner for their skillsets. This in turn contributed to right evaluation of partners and making way for healthy competition and transparency. > What’s your career history to date? How did you end up working in Dubai? With a total of 17 years of work experience across India and UAE, I have had the good fortune of working with multiple MNCs. I came to Dubai with a work opportunity that gave me a break into Aptec Distribution. 17 > What is your proudest career achievement to date? What I am today is the best in my life and all that I have dreamed of achieving. I can visualise our company growth and see it coming out in flying colours. I have to be thankfully to my colleagues and well wishers for being a part of this journey. > What is the best piece of advice you have been given? Life is to live! So live life king size. Take risks. Learn the art of listening. > Which IT company, other than your own, do you most admire and why? I would say Alpha Data and admire their consistency in pursuing growth professionally despite not having the extra muscle power that the other giant industry players have to their advantage. > What is the biggest mistake you have ever made since working in the IT market? If there is something I have been bitten by and learned while working in the IT industry is that I should never rely on a single vendor for IT needs. And I do understand that just like any other industry ours is fast paced industry and demands a lot of time that eats into the time one can spend with family. > What is the biggest challenge facing the Middle East IT channel? There is rapid Cloud adoption, and, several organisations are reducing their IT work force due to these advancements. While it will be easier for the larger Cloud Service Providers to survive, the medium and smaller IT service providers will struggle to stay afloat, unless they begin to adopt digital transformation into their future planning. We are at an early stage of this transition and have a clear-cut strategy to achieve our digital transformation goals. Yet another area which is daunting is streamlining the payment cycles. At times, managing the credit periods for a longer tenure turns out to be very challenging. Years of experience across India and UAE RANJITH KAIPPADA MANAGING DIRECTOR, CLOUD BOX TECHNOLOGIES > What product or technology should the channel watch out for this year? Artificial Intelligence has been the buzz word in recent years and continues to be the trend because of the way it has entered every sphere of our lives. Besides, there have been developments in the other branches of AI including Machine Learning. The Channel stands to gain a lot with these opportunities. GET TO KNOW // CHANNEL CHAMPIONS UNCOVERED (42) CHANNEL MIDDLE EAST_DECEMBER 2020 www.itp.netModernizes your approach to secure access For more info, contact your authorized distributor, Mindware FZ LLC at rsa@mindware.net | www.mindware.net | www.rsa.comNext >