COLLABORATION | EDUTECH | REMOTE SECURITY | HOME OFFICE AN I T P ME DI A GR OUP PU B L IC AT IO N JUNE-AUGUST 2020 VOLUME 26 ISSUE 04 INDUSTRY EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON THE RADICAL CHANGE IN THE WORKPLACE, ITS SECURITY DEMANDS AND THE NEED TO FIX THE SKILLS DEFICIT SPECIAL REPORT Cybersecurity //21 With the Pure Storage NVMe technology in place, we reduced our CAPE and OPEX.” Ahmad Al-Jebaly, Director of Networks and Operations Department, IPA 14//Feature> Reimagining the workplace As the world steps up its efforts to accelerate the adoption of collaboration tools and technology, Network Middle East, in association with Microsoft, explores what this reimagined workplace will look like 18 12//Interview > Adapting to the new normal We caught up with Paul Collins of Acer to discuss the com- pany’s product focus in the Middle East and how the current pandemic has paved the way for technology innovation and adoption 18//Case Study> An ‘evergreen’ business model To meet employees’ training needs, increase their produc- tivity, knowledge, skills and behavioural trends necessary for the development of administrative work, The Institute of Public Administration selected Pure Storage Volume 26 Issue 04 June-August 2020 // CONTENTS / JUNE-AUGUST 2020 // JUNE-AUGUST 2020 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / 3// WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM /In this very digital society, technology has advanced at an incredible pace leading to innovation in all spheres of life. Ac- celerating digital trans- formation initiatives have encouraged organisations to drive smarter outcomes by adding flexibility and agility to work processes. Although the workforce has been undergoing some form of transformation or the other over the years, advances in technology have significantly impacted consumer demand and increased market expecta- tions. The pace of transfor- mation is only accelerating as workplace demograph- ics evolve to accommodate advances in mobility and connectivity. To put things into per- spective, an IDG research reveals that establishing a digital business is among the top priorities as 91 % of organisations have either adopted or have plans to adopt a digital-first strategy. Of these organisations, 48% already have a digital- first approach in place, meaning they are either in the execution, integration or maintenance phases. While organisations remain at different stages of digital maturity, the demand for increased productivity at //Inside> Sarah Rizvi Editor sarah.rizvi@itp.com Welcome AAA digital state of mindA digital state of mind lower costs while maintain- ing business continuity is making it harder to meet market requirements. Consequently, regard- less of an organisation’s approach to maximise business value and output, some element of digital transformation is neces- sary. And it starts with empowering the organisa- tion’s workforce. Ultimately, success would depend on a well-crafted digital strategy that is aligned with the business direction and objectives, and one that focusses on deliver- ing business value rather than random technology implementation. In line with this we have included different aspects of remote collaboration and security in this month’s issue. 21 4240 08// REGIONAL UPDATE AVEVA hosts Global Virtual Customer Event series 09// SECURITY UPDATE 8×8 selects Oracle Cloud for secure video meeting solutions 21// SPECIAL REPORT SANS managing director MEA, Ned Baltagi stresses on the importance of a well-trained and certified workforce and above all on the significance of acquiring the right skillsets to keep organisations secure 28// ANALYSIS Werno Gevers, cybersecurity specialist at Mimecast explains how Covid-19 cyberattacks are placing organisations at increased risk 34// FEATURE Network Middle East, in association with Microsoft, explores how organisations can secure the borderless office - empowering the remote workforce to stay secure 36// INTERVIEW On the 20th anniversary of the LoveBug malware, we caught up with Mark Nutt, EVP EMEA at Veritas on how this two-decade-old event changed the IT security landscape 40// VENDOR PROFILE We profile AppDynamics, an Application Performance Monitoring company 42// FIVE MINUTES With Jan Tietze, director secu- rity strategy EMEA, SentinelOne // CONTENTS / JUNE-AUGUST 2020 / WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM //4 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / JUNE-AUGUST 2020 //MMCOOMMMSMEA.COMHewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) today announced advancements to HPE Prim- era and HPE Nimble Storage, including an AI-driven, self-healing and self-optimised system that delivers real-time autono- mous operations. This is part of a com- prehensive update to the Intelligent Data Platform that provides customers with an AI-driven, built for cloud, as a service of- fering that results in unmatched applica- tion availability and performance, agility, and automation. Omer Asad, VP and GM of HPE Prim- era and HPE Nimble Storage, said: “HPE Primera and HPE Nimble Storage cus- tomers are able to accelerate innovation and adapt to the changing circumstances of their businesses, while also preserving cash flow via HPE GreenLake, without compromise to applications. HPE reduces risk, eliminates complexity and lowers costs associated with data protection, and has the world’s smartest storage that utilises AI to self-optimise in real-time, giving customers the power to run their infrastructure with agility and reliability.” HPE Primera and HPE Nimble Stor- age overcome the agility versus reliability tradeoff between the public cloud and tra- New capabilities include self-optimising system operations with embedded AI in HPE Primera and advanced cross-stack analytics in HPE InfoSight for Hyper-V HPE updates intelligent data platform with autonomous operations and storage class memory ditional enterprise storage by providing a modern, as-a-service experience through HPE GreenLake, combined with intelli- gence and automation that ensures appli- cations are always-on and available. HPE Primera is architected with an embedded AI engine that processes glob- ally trained machine learning models to deliver real-time predictions into applica- tion behaviour and performance patterns. With HPE Nimble Storage, enterpris- es have a highly available platform with six-nines of measured availability, HPE Peer Persistence with automatic failover across 2-sites, and asynchronous replica- tion on-premises or to the cloud for ex- tended distances. For both HPE Primera and HPE Nim- ble Storage, replication can be configured in minutes with no specialised storage skills, no additional software fees, and no professional services required. Now, HPE Primera supports all- NVMe, bringing its massively parallel architecture to deliver higher perfor- mance density. For SAP HANA, HPE Primera with all-NVMe now supports 2X the number of SAP HANA nodes at half the price. Further, it now supports the CSI Driv- er for Kubernetes, joining HPE Nimble Storage, to deliver a developer-centric storage experience for dynamic provi- sioning and enterprise data services. For all the latest network news from the Middle East and Africa, visit networkmiddleeast.com INSIDE… 07 Red Hat, AWS join forces to deliver Amazon Red Hat OpenShift 07 Moro Hub and Avaya partner to launch UC Cloud Service Solutions in the UAE 07 Dell and Google Cloud launch new solutions 08 AVEVA hosts Global Virtual Customer Event series //Regional_Update HPE Primera and Nimble Storage overcome the agility vs reliability tradeoff between public cloud and traditional enterprise storage. // UPDATE / JUNE-AUGUST / WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM //6 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / JUNE-AUGUST 2020 //Red Hat and Amazon Web Services have announced a new collabora- tion to deliver Amazon Red Hat OpenShift, a jointly-managed and jointly-supported enterprise Ku- bernetes service on AWS. Amazon Red Hat OpenShift is currently pre- paring for an early access program and will help organisations address business-specific enterprise tech- nology footprints and challenges. Sathish Balakrishnan, vice presi- dent, Hosted Platforms, Red Hat said: “Developers will be able to build containerised applications that integrate natively with the more than 170+ integrated AWS cloud- native services to enhance agility, innovation and scalability. By blend- ing Red Hat’s and AWS’ decades of enterprise IT knowledge and expe- rience into Amazon Red Hat Open- Shift, IT organisations will be able to launch cloud-native systems that can retain enterprise-grade securi- Amazon Red Hat OpenShift is currently preparing for an early access program Red Hat, AWS join forces to deliver Amazon Red Hat OpenShift Amazon Red Hat OpenShift is a jointly-managed enterprise Kubernetes service on AWS. Nutanix signs Alpha Data as Master Part- ner in the UAE As part of the agreement, Alpha Data is authorised to purchase products and services from Nutanix distributors and carry out implementations of the vendor’s market- leading multi-cloud infrastructure solutions across the UAE. NEWS IN BRIEF Kodak Alaris partners with Xenith Intelligent Workplace Services Create a pre-configured Scan@Home Solution built on INfuse, the global information capture specialist’s Smart Connected Scanning Solution. The platform enables remote workers to scan directly into line-of-business systems from their home offices. Dell and Google Cloud launch new solutions Launch Dell Technologies Cloud OneFS for Google Cloud to help organisations control exponential data and application growth and ease the flow of files across their private clouds and Google Cloud. Moro Hub and Avaya partner to launch UC Cloud Service Solutions in the UAE Moro Hub has launched Moro Connect to offer Unified Communications-as-a- Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center-as-a-Service (CCaaS) for businesses across the UAE. Moro Connect is built on technology powered by Avaya, a business communications software, systems and services provider. ty, be more agile and see improved performance while driving cost efficiencies,” he added. Amazon Red Hat OpenShift will offer customers the ability to launch Red Hat OpenShift clusters and provide the benefit of an AWS integrated experience for cluster creation and management, AWS Console listing, on-demand (hour- ly) billing model, single invoice for AWS deployments and the ability to contact AWS for support. Red Hat views the cloud-native platform for the enterprise as ful- ly open and highly-scalable in a model that embraces upstream in- novation safely for use in produc- tion. Bringing Amazon Red Hat OpenShift to the market along- side our long-time partner AWS pairs the enterprise leader in open source technologies, including Ku- bernetes, with the leader in public cloud infrastructure and services. JUNE-AUGUST / UPDATE // // JUNE-AUGUST 2020 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / 7// WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM /AVEVA will be hosting the first of a se- ries of three virtual global events, under the umbrella of AVEVA World Digital, on the 16th and 17th June 2020. Attendees are invited to participate from the comfort of their desks, and experience the latest strategies for digital transformation, de- livered straight to their device of choice. Supported by strategic partner Sch- neider Electric, the first AVEVA World Digital event is designed to provide ex- pert advice and real-world examples to help organisations adopt the right solu- tions to master the ever-changing busi- ness environment and facilitate resil- ience and growth. Themed around ‘Digital Resilience for Turbulent Times’, the inaugural AVEVA World Digital event is aimed at industrial professionals interested in in- novative solutions that can build resil- ience and lay the foundation for digital transformation, now and in the future. These will include CXOs, department heads, directors and managers interest- ed in digital transformation from across industrial sectors. The event will be captioned in seven languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Over the two-days, an impressive line- up of keynote sessions will take place all providing insights for digital trans- formational strategies to help organiza- tions thrive in the post COVID-19 era. Speakers will include AVEVA CEO, Craig Hayman, Jean Pascal Tricoire, CEO Sch- neider Electric, Rachel Botsman, Author, Saïd Business School, University of Ox- ford, Matteo Centù, Head of Industry 4.0, ENEL and Saad Bashir, CTO, City of Seattle. The fully packed agenda will also include a panel session entitled Op- timizing Your Agility in Disruption, on- ‘AVEVA World Digital’ series to guide attendees on strategies to build resilience and accelerate digital transformation AVEVA hosts Global Virtual Customer Event series Craig Hayman, AVEVA CEO. demand content breakout sessions, and an AVEVA World Digital Expo featuring on-demand product demos. “The world is changing beyond rec- ognition and at a phenomenal pace. Consequently, organisations that oper- ate with a globally remote workforce, supply chains and operating models are adapting in the face of growing daily disruption, and rapidly implementing new plans,” commented Craig Hayman, AVEVA CEO. “Consumer demand is inevitably shifting more toward the necessi- ties for life, and the manufacturing industry is having to reposition to meet these ever-changing needs. To- day, more than ever, digital technol- ogy experience and insight is relevant as companies collectively help global organisations pinpoint the massive opportunities for growth into new areas and increasing demand from new audiences.” Software AG partners with Tech Mahindra Software AG has partnered with Tech Mahindra to provide IoT, analytics and integration technologies, services and support. This will enable communications service providers (CSPs) and manufacturers to drive digital transformation efficiently and with maximum impact for their customers, employees and business. CSPs need new building blocks of connectivity management, hardware management and integration management which will be provided by Tech Mahindra’s domain knowledge and Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT platform. NEWS IN BRIEF // UPDATE / JUNE-AUGUST / WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM //8 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / JUNE-AUGUST 2020 //IDC and Microsoft today hosted an ex- clusive webinar featuring industry ex- perts to discuss business continuity and its challenges, as organisations in the region and around the world maintain the remote working norm. The session titled ‘Powering Through Together ‘ex- plored the recent surge in uptake of cloud technologies and collaboration tools and urged business leaders to take a holistic approach to cybersecurity, while ensur- ing productivity of their workforce. Mark Walker, associate vice president, Vertical Industries for IDC Middle East and Africa, delivered the opening key- note and discussed the challenges that leaders are facing during the unprec- edented times, as well as the implications on businesses considering the outlook. Ann Johnson, corporate vice presi- dent for Cybersecurity Solutions Group at Microsoft, shared her perspective on business continuity, and laid out guid- ance for businesses to adapt and enable secure remote work options to become more operationally resilient in short and longer term. The AI capabilities built into Microsoft Security tools are trained on 8 trillion daily threat signals backed by insights from Ann Johnson, corporate vice president for Cybersecurity Solutions Group at Microsoft. SANS Institute introduces flexi-pass to facilitate and guar- antee security education. Users can avail benefits of SANS Flexi- Pass until June 30th, 2020. EMEA leads the way for multi- cloud adoption. F5 report shows that 88% of surveyed EMEA organisations are benefiting from multi-cloud environments. Aston Martin appoints Sentine- lOne as official cybersecurity partner. SentinelOne to protect a century of motoring heritage and replace legacy antivirus. Secureworks launches global partner program with a simple engagement model, broad portfolio and incentives based on competencies and performance. For further info on the above stories, plus all the latest security news, visit www.networkmiddleeast.com/security NEWS JUST IN… //Security_Report Industry leaders discuss new ways to enable the workforce to stay secure and pro- ductive while working remotely IDC, Microsoft host digital event The session also hosted a panel discus- sion with participants from the Financial services industry. Yuri Misnik, group technology office at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) shared insights on the strat- egy put in place while implementing re- mote working procedures. 3,500 security experts. Custom algorithms and machine learning models make, and learn from, billions of queries every day. During the webinar, Microsoft experts from the Middle East and Africa highlighted key security strategies that can help organi- sations in improving their security posture. SECURITY / UPDATE // // JUNE-AUGUST 2020 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / 9// WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM /Next >