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In the last few years, the IT channel has seen a gradual but significant shift. From mere product pushing, the market has evolved towards value added services, keeping pace with a maturing market scenario for technology investments. Broadline distribution
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ISSUE 192 // DECEMBER 2012WWW.RESELLERME.COM
PUBLICATIONLICENSED BY IMPZ
ANALYSIS VENDOR FOCUSWindows 8 is finally here. But, is channel excited about this new proposition?
Symantec enlists the support of partners to maintain leadership position.
REVIEWSAxtrom o!ers low priced, high performance tablet.
CASTING A NEW LINEBDL Group seeks business in
the buoyant ICT market
N E T W O R K I N G C H A N N E L N E W V I S T A S O F G R O W T H F O R P A R T N E R S
Your next router will unleash your content.Your next router will love your wireless devices.Your next router will make your home a hotspot.Your next router will use apps.
Your next router is here.
App-ready for a whole new level of control.
This new generation of Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers gives the same powerful wireless performances expected from a Linksys router, plus it is app enabled for anytime, anywhere access that makes it easy to run a connected home from any browser or mobile device. With an ever-expanding suite of apps Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers bring a whole new level of control to a home network such as setting site permissions, blocking malicious content, home camera monitoring and remote sharing. To learn more, please visit linksys.com
Maximum Performance derived from IEEE Standard 802.11 speci cations (draft speci cations for 802.11ac). Actual performance can vary, including lower wireless network capacity, data throughput rate, range and coverage. Performance depends upon many factors, conditions and variables, including prod-ucts used, interference and other adverse conditions. 802.11ac 1300 Mbps in the 5GHz Band is approximately 3 x faster than 802.11n 450 Mbps in the 2.4GHz Band. An 802.11ac adapter will be needed to achieve 11ac data rates and up to 1300 Mbps wireless speeds may be achieved when connecting to
other 802.11ac 1300 Mbps devices.
© 2012 Cisco. All rights reserved. Cisco, the Cisco logo and Linksys are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its a liates in the United States and certain other countries. Mac and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document or website are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.
COVER FEATURE
CONTENTSISSUE 192 // DECEMBER 2012
HIGHLIGHTS 6 News We help you catch up on all the
major news and announcements in the regional channel community
ANALYSIS
20 Key to success For Dell, its Storage Forum in
Paris was all about revealing five end-to-end updates to its storage portfolio, but behind the products we find that the channel is the real key to its success.
22 Windows 8 touches down in Dubai
In true rock star fashion, Microsoft ended its world tour of Windows 8 with a bang from inside the tallest building on the planet, in the heart of Dubai. Is channel excited about this new proposition from the software giant?
FEATURE 28 New vistas of
growth With enterprises refreshing
network infrastructure to keep up with emerging technologies, it’s time for the channel to scale up and lap up the opportunities in this high-growth market.
VENDOR FOCUS 40 Steady as it goes
Symantec has recently laid out its management and product strategy. The company, which has gone through a leadership change, is planning to enlist the support of its partners to ward off competition and maintain its leadership position.
BDL Group is branching out into the regional ICT market
38
58
CASTING A NEW LINE
HOT PRODUCTS Canon PIXMA iP7240 Linksys
X-Series
59Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 3
EDITORIAL
New game, new rules
PublisherDominic De Sousa
Group COONadeem Hood
Managing DirectorRichard Judd
[email protected] +971 4 440 9126
EDITORIAL
Group EditorJeevan Thankappan
[email protected] +971 4 4409109
Contributing EditorsBen Rossi
Joe Lipscombe
ADVERTISING
Commercial DirectorRajashree R Kumar
[email protected] +971 4 440 9131
Key Account ManagerMerle Carrasco
[email protected] +971 4 440 9134
Sales ManagerNasir Bazaz
[email protected] +971 4 440 9144
CIRCULATION
Database and Circulation ManagerRajeesh M
[email protected] +971 4 440 9147
PRODUCTION AND DESIGN
Production ManagerJames P Tharian
[email protected] +971 4 440 9146
DesignerAnalou Balbero
[email protected] +971 4 440 9104
DIGITALwww.resellerme.com
DIGITAL SERVICES
Digital Services ManagerTristan Troy P Maagma
Web DevelopersErik Briones
Jefferson de Joya
Photographer and Social Media Co-ordinator
Jay Colina
[email protected]+971 4 440 9100
Published by
Registered at IMPZ
PO Box 13700Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 440 9100Fax: +971 4 447 2409
Printed byPrintwell Printing Press
© Copyright 2012 CPIAll rights reserved
While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all
information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.
E-mail:[email protected]
Facebook:www.facebook.com/
ResellerME
Twitter:@ResellerME
Talk to us:
Gone are the days when networking was just about connectivity.
With the high cost of downtime, it has become increasingly
important for companies to ensure their networks are available
24/7, performing at their peak when users need it. Now, with
the advent of technologies such as virtualisation and cloud,
enterprise IT decision makers are rethinking the way they
design networks. All over the world, network spending is picking
up as companies refresh their network infrastructure to keep up
with the new technology trends.
According to TheInfoPro’s 2012 Network Technology Study,
core router and switching upgrades are the top project priorities
for network managers, followed by wireless implementations. The
research firm says the top network projects that enterprises plan
to tackle in the next 12 months will include Unified Comms, VoIP,
network expansion, WAN optimisation, mobile device management,
to name a few. What does this mean for the channel? This means
unprecedented opportunities, not just around networking gear but
related services as well. Though all major networking vendors are
trying to push their partners into the services game, unfortunately,
in the Middle East not many have paid enough attention to this
hugely untapped area. Vendors, on their part, have made their
partner programmes flexible and made available enough tools and
resources to help the channel evolve towards successful professional
services delivery. All you need to do is take up the gauntlet, create
di!erentiated technology solutions around networking, and not let
these opportunities go a-begging.
Personally, I think IPv6 and SDN (software-defined networking)
will also gain enough steam in 2013. For the uninitiated, SDN
represents a revolutionary change in network architecture and
promises to make the network more flexible, easy to manage
and programmable. It is expected that the initial focus of SDN
implementation will be data centres because that’s where the
network has been most impacted by the new requirements. I
recommend you ask your suppliers to keep you informed about key
SDN developments and track the new standards closely to get into
the game early.
Jeevan ThankappanGroup Editor
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 5
Condo Protego ups the ante
STME has achieved Symantec
specialisation in the area
of data protection with a
focus on Symantec’s backup
and recovery technologies.!
Symantec data protection
specialisation recognises
partners with a proven
expertise in Symantec’s
NetBackup and Backup Exec
product ranges, including
the latest NetBackup 5220
Appliances and ensures
they have the skills and
experience required to deliver
di"erentiated services to
customers.
“By achieving this milestone
specialisation, STME has
demonstrated an investment and
expertise in Symantec backup
technology and an ability to
provide complete protection for
their customers’ information-
driven enterprise. STME is now
in an even better position to
meet the needs of its customers
by delivering high-value
solutions to protect and manage
their information”, said Afchine
Tabrizian, Services and Support
Director at STME.
Symantec specialisations,
which recognise partners
with a proven expertise in a
particular area of business,
provide partners with the skills
and experience required to
deliver di!erentiated service
to their customers." Symantec
partners achieve specialisation
by meeting certain requirements
that deepen their knowledge
and proficiency in a solution
family, and specialised Symantec
partners receive exclusive
benefits as a result of their
investment.
“The data protection
specialisation was designed
to enable partners to
di!erentiate themselves from
the competition, maximise
customer opportunity and
accelerate revenue based
on their expertise in the data
protection market,” said Ramzi
Itani, Channel Manager, Middle
East & French-speaking Africa,
Symantec. “Specialised partners
have invested in Symantec’s
solutions to manage and protect
their customers’ identities as
well as critical information,
and we are committed to our
partners by providing them with
the products and services to
help grow their business.”
STME acquires Symantec data protection specialisation
Condo Protego, a value-added reseller
focused on storage and data protection,
is riding on the crest of the growth wave
in the storage market, and says there
is a sea-change in the way businesses
perceive storage.
“Business leaders in the Middle East
are increasingly determined to move away
from the notion of data storage as a di!use,
overwhelming burden to embrace it as an
integral part of a business strategy driven by
information visibility and accessibility,” says
Andrew Calthorpe, CEO of Condo Protego.
Calthorpe believes that the era of
information being dumped and dispersed
across multiple servers and mainframes is
long gone, and business leaders are rightly
looking for solutions that are faster, more
e#cient and, above all, safer.
He says the regional storage market
is growing rapidly, even when many other
market segments have struggled during
the economic downturn. While the average
storage utilisation levels hover around 30
percent in most enterprises, Calthorpe says
some users have learned to use storage
optimally. “Companies buy big lumps of
storage without being scientific about what
they need it for and smart ones buy based on
project by project basis by working out how
much capacity they need.”
Calthorpe says his company’s unique
value proposition is its consultative approach.
“We work with two major vendors – EMC and
Symantec. We try to understand what the
customer challenge is and then recommend
a solution to address it. We don’t want to sell
anything that we can’t support completely,
because we are involved right from the
design stage to implementation and post-
sales support.”
Condo Protego, which sees huge
opportunities around virtualisation, backup
and recovery, works very closely with
its partners to cash in on this. “We are a
signature partner of EMC, the highest level of
partnership, and are among the only partners
who buy directly from them. We are also a
master specialist partner for Symantec for
the MENA region, and deal with all of their
availability product lines.”
Being a service-enabled partner,
Condo Protego is now eyeing opportunities
outside of the UAE and plans to get itself
more aligned with the product roadmap of
its vendor partners to further explore the
opportunities in the data storage market.
HIGHLIGHTSNews
Andrew Calthorpe, CEO of Condo Protego
Afchine Tabrizian, Services and Support Director at STME
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 7
build logistics to supply Plantronics’ products,
including wireless headsets, through its
channels in the GCC, including Saudi Arabia.
Almasa Value Distribution was chosen as
the partner to address the rising enterprise
market demand for Unified Communications
(UC) solutions across the region, including
voice communications and collaboration.
“Vox Spectrum has identified the growth in
demand for Plantronics unified communications
solutions around the region, but needed
a partner with the relevant expertise and
market reach to address these opportunities."
With Almasa’s focus on the UC sector and
knowledge of the needs of the Middle East’s
market, we have found the ideal conduit
for Plantronics to reach our target base of
regional resellers and ultimately, end-users,”
said Manoj Gopinath, Chief Operating O#cer,
Vox Spectrum. “We look forward to working in
close alliance with Almasa, to strengthen the
Plantronics brand recognition through joint
marketing activities and to meet the Middle
East’s increase in UC market needs.”
Vox Spectrum and its subsidiaries have
been operating in the region for more than
Comguard has entered into
a distribution agreement
with Canada based security
vendor, FixMeStick.
FixMeStick is a technology
innovation that is powered
by multiple anti-virus engines
which increases the number of
detectable viruses, and clean
external scanning devices
prevent viruses from hiding
or from interfering with their
removal. Three of the best
anti-virus engines in the world
Kaspersky Lab, Sophos, and GFI
powers FixMeStick for detection
and removal of virus.
FixMeStick is a Linux-based
device that runs before Windows
boots, enabling it to clean the
PC while malware is inactive.
Everything that is required to
remove the virus and malware
from a computer is built into the
USB device. There is no need to
download or to install any new
software, thereby completely
avoiding conflict with any of the
existing software programs in
the system.
Mohammad Mobasseri,
Senior Vice President at
Comguard, said, “FixMeStick
is one of the most progressive
innovations in IT security domain
and yet so simple to use. It is a
bootable USB device running on
Linux and is powered by three
of the world’s leading anti-
virus engines; Kaspersky Labs,
Sophos, and GFI to automatically
remove malicious files.”
He added further, “We are
sure FixMeStick will provide a
great relief to both individuals
and businesses in the region.
While, it will provide an
immense opportunity for all our
channel partners across the
region, who have been looking
for a product like FixMeStick
to expand their market base
and make inroads into new
business territories.”
The product is available
across the Middle East region
including countries like UAE,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq,
Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Oman,
among others.
Vox Spectrum teams up with Almasa
Comguard to distribute FixMeStick
Vox Spectrum,an International group
of telecom companies and the master
distributor of Plantronics Headsets in
the region, !has appointed Almasa Value
Distribution as its value added reseller of
Plantronics headsets in the UAE.
Under the agreement, Almasa Value
Distribution will generate demand for and
twenty five years and had been the Plantronics
distributor for nearly twenty."" The company’s
new partnership with Almasa is set to
considerably accelerate its business due to a
wider channel network and prompt distribution
of its solutions." As an existing partner of Avaya,
Almasa serves all the segments of the regional
enterprise market from large enterprises, to the
mid-market which includes call centres, to the
SMB o#ce and mobility markets.
“Plantronics, a global leader in headset
and communication devices, has technology
which is vital to the growth of UC in the Middle
East, and Almasa is delighted to add these
elements to the first-class solutions we provide
to our regional channel community. We
understand that innovative wireless headsets
are becoming more and more popular,
because they assist in enhancing productivity
and simplifying connectivity. So by bundling
Plantronics headsets with our range of Unified
Communication products, Almasa is delivering
competitive advantage to our channel partners
and ultimately, to the wider regional market,”
said Roger El-Tawil, Executive Director of
Almasa Value Distribution.
Roger El-Tawil, Executive Director of Almasa Value Distribution
Mohammad Mobasseri, Senior Vice President at Comguard
HIGHLIGHTSNews
8 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
© 2012 Avaya Inc. All rights reserved.
With Avaya, your next video call is always just a click, swipe or touch away. And unlike
other vendors, we connect to your existing infrastructure to create a video system
that’s simpler and more affordable. To learn more about video and support services
where everything just clicks, visit avaya.com/click.
Connecting your business with video comes easy with Avaya.
Click. Click.
Let the video collaboration begin.
WD, a Western Digital company, has
appointed Nairobi-based Mitsumi
Distribution as its new partner for Africa.
With this tie up, WD further strengthens and
extends its global footprint by specifically
catering to rising demand from Africa’s
growing storage market. Enterprise and
home users alike will have better availability
of the comprehensive range of storage,
networking and entertainment solutions
o"ered by WD. Mitsumi Distribution is WD’s
first Africa-focused partner.
Mitsumi Distribution, one of Africa’s
leading IT distributors, will cover the Central,
East and West African regions for WD’s
component and branded products. WD’s
component products include internal storage
products such as desktop, mobile, SOHO
NAS and enterprise hard drives, while the
company’s branded products comprise
external storage devices, home entertainment
HIGHLIGHTSNews
WD extends distribution in Africa
Symantec targets partners to develop better mobile securitySymantec has enhanced
its partner programme in
the Middle East with a new
specialisation that addresses
both the increasing needs of
companies for relevant and
reliable mobility strategies
and the opportunities for
channel partners to benefit
from this growing trend. By
acknowledging the skills and
experience that qualifying
partners have in the mobility
market, the new specialisation
empowers them to deliver
greater value to customers,
maximise opportunities and
accelerate their profitability with
Symantec’s mobility portfolio,
while further di"erentiating their
businesses in this booming and
competitive market.
The mobility solution
specialization enables Symantec
specialised partners across
the Middle East to help their
customers to gain granular
control over their mobile
deployments and have di!erent
levels of oversight on mobile
devices, according to their
specific policies and needs. The
specialisation comprises the
following Symantec product/
solutions: mobile application
management (MAM), mobile
device management (MDM) and
mobile security
“As technology continues to
evolve and mobility becomes a
key priority for organisations in
the Middle East, partners must
be continually adjusting and
broadening their o!erings in
order to address ever-changing
needs and provide the value their
customers expect, “ said Ramzi
Itani, Regional Channel & Alliance
Manager, Middle East and North
Africa. “Our new mobility solution
specialisation provides partners
with the tools and resources
needed to leverage business
opportunities in mobility,
drive additional revenue and
maximise their returns from their
Symantec investment.”
The new mobility solution
specialisation o!ers benefits
to qualified partners who
have acquired comprehensive
knowledge and expertise in
Symantec’s mobility solutions."
Partners who achieve the
mobility solution specialisation
benefit from additional discounts
(via their distributor) and
enhanced rebates through
opportunity registration, as well
as access to consulting toolkits."
As a specialist, they have access
to specialised training, sales
tools and technical resources."
Specialists also have their
investment in the specialisation
promoted to prospect customers
though the Symantec Partner
Locator, and can di!erentiate
further their status with a
mobility solution specialization
logo." Specialists can also
access Symantec’s beta product
program and can also benefit
from other commercial benefits
(such as teaming plans).
Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Sales Director- India, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, WD
Ramzi Itani, Regional Channel & Alliance Manager, MENA at Symantec
solutions, small business storage, and
networking solutions.
“Africa’s storage market, while rapidly
growing, is still underserved. This presents
long-term growth opportunities to WD,”
explained Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Sales
Director India, Middle East, Africa and Turkey,
WD. “Mitsumi Distribution was appointed to
focus specifically on the Central, East and
West African regions in countries such as
Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Congo,
Algeria, Tanzania and Uganda. We partnered
with Mitsumi owing to its healthy regional
reach and strong in-country presence, as well
as its wide customer base.”
Mitsumi operates in 19 countries in Africa,
but will cover the key markets of Nigeria,
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Ethopia,
Congo" and Algeria. Mitsumi Distribution
will also provide customer support via its in-
country service centres.
10 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
Reseller ME B2B Security 270x207-E.indd 1 10/24/12 6:21 PM
Cloud creates channel opportunities, says Brocade survey
GBM: Security worries hinder cloud adoptionConcerns over data security
is the top factor delaying the
widespread adoption of cloud-
based services, according to a
new survey of IT professionals
conducted by Gulf Business
Machines (GBM), the region’s
leading IT solutions provider.
According to the survey,
which coincides with the
launch of GBM’s Intelligent
Network Solutions (INS) division,
concerns over service reliability
and availability, as well as the
cost of cloud-based solutions
are often cited reasons for the
slow adoption of outsourced
enterprise cloud services.
While two-thirds (62 percent)
of the regional IT professionals
polled stated that data security
was a concern and 40.5 percent
identified cost as a barrier, 43
percent cited service reliability
concerns. In comparison, a lack
of support from non-IT decision
makers was mentioned by less
than a quarter (22 percent) of
the respondents.
“These findings should
come as a serious concern for
the industry since perceptions,
as opposed to facts, appear
to play a significant role in
decisions to defer the adoption
of cloud services in an
enterprise environment,” said
Hani Nofal, Director of Intelligent
Network Solutions (INS) at
GBM. “While it is important
to note that the use of cloud
technologies is part of the IT
function’s evolutionary process,
it is equally important to realise
that change is usually a gradual
process. It is only a matter of
time before the benefits of
using the cloud, such as cost
e!ectiveness and scalability,
outweigh these unfounded
concerns.”
Nofal added: “At GBM INS,
we aim to partner with our
customers to introduce them to
cloud-based services at a pace
that is in line with their comfort
levels. We truly believe that the
region o!ers significant potential
for scaling up the adoption of
cloud solutions and we aim
to use our combination of
experience and access to best-
in-class technologies to support
this trend.”
Significantly, almost a
quarter (24.6 percent) of the
respondents said that their
organisations were planning to
outsource business applications
and services to cloud-based
service providers in the next 12
to 18 months. The study also
revealed that while one-in-10
IT professionals owns five or
more personal devices - such
as smartphones and tablets – a
third of those polled owned up
to three devices. However, only
6.2 percent admitted to owning
one device.
Regan McGrath, Senior VP of Worldwide Sales at Brocade
New research from Brocade surveying
500 channel organisations worldwide
shows that professional services in the
area of cloud computing is expected
to be the main revenue generator for
channel by 2020. If this is to be the
case however, vendors need to play an
important ‘enabling’ role by enhancing
their own capabilities, tailoring their
partner programmes and making it
less complex, increasing flexibility and
developing innovative products and
solutions. At the moment lack of all
these factors is impeding channel in
their efforts to move toward cloud-based
professional services.
For the majority of channel
respondents, professional services
today accounts for 25 percent or less
of revenues. The survey also revealed
growing customer demand for professional
services. The biggest hurdles to this are
complexity and CapEx constraints. Another
interesting statistic is the fact that only 11%
of respondents seek innovative financing
HIGHLIGHTSNews
solutions from their vendors and 19%
for marketing funding – both important
competitive advantages when trying to
build a brand and reputation rather than sell
on price.
Regan McGrath, Senior VP of
Worldwide Sales at Brocade said,
“Revenue focused channel programs like
our Brocade Alliance Partner Network,
combined with di!erentiated technology
solutions that help address customers’
needs for innovative and easy to deploy
networks, flexible financing solutions such
as Brocade Network Subscription, and tools
and resources that help channel develop
their reputation as consultants, will all
become increasingly critical to developing
competitive consultancy businesses that
drive significant revenue returns.”
Regan cautions that the channel
need to be critical and evaluate their
vendors vision, strategy, technology and
enablement programmes to ensure that
they complement the partner’s efforts in
offering professional services.
12 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
The Middle Eastern and Northern African
public cloud services market is forecast
to grow 15.3 percent in 2012 to total
$378.5 million, compared to $111 billion
worldwide, according to Gartner. Business
process services (also known as business
process as a service, or BPaaS) is on pace
to be the largest segment, accounting for
about 52 percent of the total Middle East
and Northern Africa market in 2012, while
cloud management and security services
represents the fastest-growing segment
of the public cloud services market and is
expected to grow 41.4 percent in 2012.
"”The cloud services market is clearly
a high-growth sector within the overall
IT marketplace,” said Ed Anderson,
research director at Gartner. “The key
to taking advantage of this growth will
be understanding the nuances of the
Cloud services in MENA market to surpass $378 Mn in 2012: Gartner
Fortinet hosts global partner conferenceFortinet!has recently
hosted!its annual Global
Partner Conference, which
this year took place on
board the Royal Caribbean
Cruise Liner ‘Majesty of
the Seas’, on November
5-8. !This year’s conference
attendance was Fortinet’s
largest, encompassing more
than 1,000 distributors and
silver and gold resellers from
70 countries.
During the event, one
of Fortinet’s highlights was
the introduction and channel
training of its new FortiOS 5.0,
the world’s most advanced
security operating system.
This new release provides
more security, intelligence and
control to help enterprises
be better protected against
today’s advanced threats
and enables more secure
BYOD environments. Bringing
more than 150 new features
for FortiGate, FortiManager,
FortiAnalyzer and FortiClient
products, FortiOS 5.0
provides Fortinet’s partners
with a real competitive
advantage by allowing them
to o!er enterprises of all
sizes solutions that better
defend against new advanced
threats and help manage and
protect networks against the
influx of mobile devices and
applications.
Fortinet also recognised
the outstanding achievements
drawn from the company’s
distributors and resellers
around the world, rewarding
its best partners of the year.
“Fortinet continues to
rapidly gain market share in
the overall network security
market, and our channel is
key to that success,” said
Bashar Bashaireh, Regional
Director of Fortinet Middle
East. “This year’s conference
was the perfect opportunity
to share our latest technology
innovations and business
strategies with our silver
and gold resellers in order
to have them best equipped
to address the increasingly
challenging security
requirements of our end
customers.”
opportunity within service segments and
geographic regions, and then prioritizing
investments in line with the opportunities.”
"BPaaS is the largest segment
primarily because of the inclusion of cloud
advertising as a subsegment. BPaaS is
forecast to grow to $195.1 million in 2012, up
from $191.7 million in 2011. In 2011, human
resources BPaaS services represented
about 19 percent of the total public cloud
services market, making it the biggest
identifiable subsegment in the forecast.
By 2016, cloud advertising will become
the largest segment accounting for about
22 percent of total public cloud services
spending in the Middle East and Northern
Africa region.
"Software as a service (SaaS) is the
next-largest segment and is forecast to
grow to $74.6 million in 2012, while IaaS
is forecast to grow from $35 million in
2011 to $47.5 million in 2012. Growth in
application infrastructure services (also
known as platform as a service, or PaaS)
will also be high, although it is a smaller
market relative to the other segments.
PaaS is strategic and considered to be a
critical growth driver for other segments,
including BPaaS and SaaS. The PaaS
segment in the Middle East and Northern
Africa region is forecast to grow to $15.8
million in 2012. Cloud management and
security services constitute a new forecast
segment comprising cloud security
services, IT operations management
(ITOM) and storage management (including
backup and recovery services). The
cloud management and security services
segment is forecast to grow to $45.5
million in 2012.
HIGHLIGHTSNews
Bashar Bashaireh, Regional Director of Fortinet Middle East
14 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
iPad
Authorized Value Added Distributor
EMPA Middle East has signed a master
distribution agreement with Supermicro,
a prominent server manufacturer. As
per the agreement, EMPA will now
o"er Supermicro’s full range of server,
workstation, storage, and embedded
products through its extensive reseller
network across the Middle East, North
Africa and Turkey (MENAT).
“Our channel partners have been
instrumental in making Supermicro the fastest
emerging company in servers and storage
space,” said Dr.Gaith Kadir, Regional Sales
Manager, Supermicro MENAT. “Our faith in
EMPA Middle East reflects our commitment
Empa inks pact with Supermicro
Microsoft signs up Westcon ConvergenceMicrosoft has announced a new
strategic global partnership with
the value added distributor Westcon
Convergence. The announcement
coincides with Gartner’s recent Magic
Quadrant for unified communications,
2012 report, in which they evaluated
Microsoft’s current in-market
technologies including Lync 2010
and Exchange 2010, which came
out as strong leaders in nnified
communications.
Microsoft views the strategic
alignment and collaboration with Westcon
Convergence as a key partnership to
enabling and driving Microsoft channel
partners to fully extend Microsoft Lync
Unified Communication solutions to market
with maturity and consolidated support
from the Lync eco-system vendor partners.”
Westcon Convergence’s proven expertise
in delivering excellence in core distribution
services around the region is key to
supporting market expectations of our
customers and partners”.
“Westcon believes that Lync will continue
to play an even more important role in the
business of Unified Communications as the
market continues to grow and evolve,” said
William Hurley, Chief Technology O#cer,
Westcon Group." “Lync exemplifies Westcon’s
belief that the Unified Communications
market is transitioning from a hardware
oriented solution to software and services
oriented solution.”
“We are happy to see that the Gartner
report considers Microsoft a leader in the
unified communications space, as they have
for several years.
“Our customers continue to realise
value by using Microsoft Lync for enterprise
voice, IM/presence and conferencing and
as the Lync partner ecosystem continues
to grow at a rapid pace, we are glad to
announce our strategic partnership with
Westcon Convergence as we’ve always
felt that the company shared our vision for
unified communications,” he added.
to our resellers’ success by providing the
programmes, training and support that
will help them accelerate their business
growth. This collaboration is a milestone for
Supermicro and we are looking forward to
working closely with EMPA.”
Nicholas Argyrides, MD at EMPA Middle
East said, “Our alliance with Supermicro
is a decisive step forward for EMPA as it
matches our strategy of expanding o!erings
into the enterprise space, also covering
SME. We are confident that the combination
of Supermicro’s competitive technologies
along with EMPA’s regional grasp will put
a lot of smiles onto our resellers’ faces.
Ultimately, it all boils down to listening to
our channel partners and executing. This is
really exciting.” Nicholas Argyrides, MD at EMPA Middle East
HIGHLIGHTSNews
Rittal Middle East, a system supplier for
enclosures, power distribution, climate
control, IT infrastructure and software and
services, recently organised and hosted two
end-user focused seminars in Saudi Arabia
and Lebanon during last month.
Rittal Middle East along with its strategic
channel partners in the respsective regions
organised an in-depth exploration of Rittal’s
complete data centre solution, christened
Rimatrix5. The solution consists of server
and networking Racks, UPS systems, power
distribution and cooling, in addition to
monitoring and remote management.
The delegates were addressed by the
representatives of Rittal including Joseph
Najjar, MD, Rittal Middle East, George
Rittal showcases data centre solution
Shifra adds Versatile Security to lineupThe regional security VAD Shifra
Middle East has partnered
with Versatile Security Sweden
to market its smart card
management system vSEC:CMS
in the region. The use of smart
cards has gained increasing
adoption and prominence
throughout the Middle East,
across a wide range of business
and commercial organisations.
According to new research
conducted by Frost and Sullivan,
the value of the smart card
market in the Middle East and
North Africa is expected to reach
$328.5 million by 2014, with the
telecommunications industry
representing more than 64
percent of the market.
With the entry of vSEC:CMS,
Versatile Security and Shifra hope
to provide a smarter and more
cost-e#cient alternative to current
o!erings in the market.
Smart card management
systems are essential to
implementing high security
electronic identity and can
be used to control access
to a company’s facilities and
information systems. “It is
being increasingly adopted in
the region, and the demand
for secure authentication is
expected to increase as security
threats continue to increase
in severity and frequency. We
are delighted to have been
chosen by Versatile Security to
introduce their market-leading
smart card management systems
throughout the Middle East,”
said Ahmad Elkhatib, Managing
Partner, Shifra.
Versatile Security CEO
Joakim Thorén said, its favourable
participation in GITEX 2012
opened doors of opportunities
for the company to penetrate
the Middle East. “Shifra has
enormous experience and
expertise in enterprise security
as well as extensive knowledge
of the region. Together we will
be able to secure customers
of all sizes in Middle East and
can deploy smart card based
security solutions in a tactical
way,” he added.
Gibbler from the Rittal Headquaters in
Germany and regional sales managers who
introduced their products along with the
opportunities that exist.
These IT seminars compliment the
business agenda for Rittal Middle East
noting the significant investments made in
terms of sta#ng, local o#ce setup and sales
enablement programmes for channel partners
in these key markets strengthening their
contribution to the Middle East numbers.
Joseph Najjar, MD at Rittal MEA said :
“The Middle East is one of the fastest growing
region in the Rittal businesses globaly. The
rapid innovation in our products and o!erings
that kept pace with the needs of our IT clients
have been fueling sustained growth in IT
HIGHLIGHTSNews
Joseph Najjar, MD at Rittal MEA
Ali Hyder, CEO, Focus Softnet
sales. Our diversified products o!erings in the
Middle East will contribute to robust growth
for IT business in 2013”.
18 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
Brocade!has!announced the appointment
of Thomas Langkjaer as Channel Sales
Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa
(EMEA), and Alain Valluy, who previously
held the channel role, as Regional Director
– Southern Europe.! The appointments
signify the company’s commitment to its
channel and driving business opportunities
across the region, bolstering operations in
Southern Europe to focus on markets such
as France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
“Southern Europe is of strategic
importance to Brocade in EMEA, so finding
the right leadership is critical to our ongoing
success,” stated Alberto Soto, Vice President
– EMEA, at Brocade." “Alain [Valluy] has done
a terrific job in leading the channel team
over the past two years, and in this new role
[Regional Director – Southern Europe] he
will be instrumental in driving our expansion
in the Southern region to capitalise on the
Brocade appoints new EMEA channel headI am confident that Brocade in EMEA will
continue to flourish.”
Langkjaer will be responsible for
developing Brocade channel strategy,
focusing on accelerating channel
recruitment and sales and ensuring
partners are able to fully leverage""the
unique technology differentiation
delivered by Brocade innovative
networking solutions, and its Alliance
Partner Network (APN) programme."
Langkjaer has more than 18 years’
experience of sales, marketing and
business development in the global
networking market place, most recently
as the Brocade OEM prime for the DACH
(Germany, Austria and Switzerland)
region, and before that he held several
senior sales, marketing and distribution
roles at Hewlett-Packard and Compaq
across EMEA and in the US.
Thomas Langkjaer as Channel Sales Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
HIGHLIGHTSNews
market opportunities in front of us." Thomas
[Langkjaer] will continue Alain’s work in
building our channel and ensuring our
ongoing commitment to partner growth is
met." With these two seasoned professionals,
For Dell, its Storage Forum in Paris was all about revealing five end-to-end updates to its storage portfolio, but behind the products we find that the channel is the real key to its success.
KEY TO SUCCESS
ANALYSISDell
The channel is a significant aid in
Dell’s operations all around the
world and probably no more than
in the Middle East, where despite
having a large presence out here it utilises
to the full.
The clearest sign of this on show at the
Dell Storage Forum was the latest result of
the tech giant’s long-running partnership
with CommVault.
Dell PowerVault DL2300 is a new
enterprise-class data protection appliance
that combines Dell PowerEdge 12th
generation servers with CommVault Simpana
9 modern data protection software to provide
large enterprises with data backup, recovery,
replication, archiving and deduplication for
both physical and virtual servers.
The new appliance incorporates latest
generation processor and memory capabilities
to optimise deduplication database
configurations for higher backup performance.
Users can also save administrative time with
built-in policy-based automation for managing
backup and archiving.
“For us in the Middle East, we actually
do a lot of work with CommVault,” said Kevin
Pickford, Solutions Director, Dell ME. “We
have a very good working relationship as well
– it’s mutual on both sides.
“We have joint account visits and see
customers together, so it’s a really healthy
relationship. It goes hand in hand. The
relationship with CommVault became quite
strong from an early start. In the Middle East
it goes beyond 2007, but it started in the UK
in the late 90s or early 2000s, so we go back
a long way.
“The channel is the key to our success.
Channel for Dell is a must. We are very channel
friendly in the Middle East – we have to work
through it. For us to actually grow we have to
be working and educating our channel.”
Darren Thompson, GM, Dell Storage
20 Reseller Middle East NOVEMBER 2012
Another significant channel announcement
to come o! the back of Dell’s releases in Paris
was a partnership with networking company
Brocade, which hopes to o!er the new Dell
Compellent Storage Center 6.3 array software.
The software o!ers enhanced scalability
and performance for Dell Compellent arrays,
and along with Compellent SC800 controllers
can increase performance up to 100 percent
over previous versions when running
enterprise workloads, Dell said.
With this release, Dell has become the
first storage provider to announce end-to-end
16GB fibre channel capabilities, which it said
doubles bandwidth and speeding access to
business critical applications and data.
Designed for medium to large enterprises
and cloud computing, Dell Compellent arrays
o!er automated tiering, advanced data
protection and increased ease of use, combined
with a modular design that enables users to
update storage software at no additional cost.
The solution also includes Brocade
M6505 16 Gbps FC embedded SAN
I/O module by Dell, which enables Dell
PowerEdge M1000e Blade Enclosures to
directly connect to the higher bandwidth-
capable Compellent storage arrays.
“Driven by the deployment of cloud and
virtualisation, storage continues to grow at
unprecedented levels and demand for fibre
channel storage technology is increasing,
along with an accelerated adoption of 16 Gbps-
based SAN products,” said Jason Nolet, VP,
Data Center Networking Group, at Brocade.
Whilst Dell Storage GM Darren
Thompson’s keynote speech did not go into
further detail on Dell’s partnerships, he did
highlight their importance.
“The market dynamics are changing and
we’re going to have to mould ourselves to fit
into these dynamics,” he said. “We’re going to
have to partner with new partners and do all
kind of things.”
Furthermore, Dell’s investment in the
Middle East was well demonstrated when
Mohamed Laher, Enterprise Solutions
Director, Emerging Markets, Dell, revealed
plans for a solutions centre in the Middle East.
“We haven’t executed it yet but that’s the
plan,” Laher said. “The solutions centre will
be a hub of the ones in Ireland and the one in
the US, and we’ll pass technologies through
that map into this region.
“So the organisations that are worried
about data going outside the region can use
the hub, which will be in either Dubai or Abu
Dhabi. Once we’ve set this up we’ll use the
facility to have access to the wider solutions
centres and then do stu! locally.” //
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In true rock star fashion, Microsoft ended its world tour of Windows 8 with a bang from inside the tallest building on the planet, in the heart of Dubai. Is channel excited about this new proposition from the software giant?
WINDOWS 8 TOUCHES DOWN IN DUBAI
ANALYSISWindows 8
The Windows crew has been
touring the globe, demonstrating
the latest version of its classic
operating system since mid
October. The Middle East was chosen as the
final stop, fitting for a product based on
reinvention and innovation.
Hundreds piled into the Burj Khalifa to
see Microsoft executives Antoine Leblond
and Ali Faramawry showcase the most radical
version of Windows to date. Though Windows
8 has already been tried and tested all over
the world prior to the event, it didn’t dampen
the enthusiasm of the party at all.
“This isn’t a product launch,” said
Faramawry, Corporate VP at Microsoft Middle
East. “This is a celebration, and we’re thrilled
to be sharing it with you all here this evening.”
Innovation demonstration
Leblond walked the audience through a
number of new features on Windows 8
which, to some, would be completely alien,
considering the drastic redesign since the
highly popular Windows 7. Using a number
of devices, including Window’s own Surface
tablet, Leblond demonstrated how the brand
new, tile style user interface worked. A very
socially influenced user interface which
“Windows 8 builds on what is great about!Windows 7!– it works well side-by-side with existing Windows 7 infrastructure to deliver the experiences people love and the enterprise-grade solutions organisations need.”
22 Reseller Middle East NOVEMBER 2012
presents apps, programmes and settings all
on one screen in the form of individual tiles.
Leblond showed how simple changes
had also been made, in terms of start
up times, closing programmes, saving
documents, sending documents, using the
touch screen, and gaining the most from the
thousands of available apps.
“This is a no compromise product,”
Leblond stated. “It allows you to benefit from
its features through touch screen as easily as
you would through mouse and keyboard.”
One of the main selling points of
Windows 8 is how it’s been influenced by
consumer products but uses these features
to improve its service for businesses. The
Windows 7, more successful, according
to Forrester statistics, is still available on
Windows 8, ensuring that comfortable
users won’t be left totally dumbstruck by
the transformation. However, the features
available on Windows 8 aren’t sacrificed in
order to accommodate Windows 7, you get
the whole package.
“Windows 8 builds on what is great
about"Windows 7"– it works well side-by-side
with existing Windows 7 infrastructure to
deliver the experiences people love and the
enterprise-grade solutions organisations need.
Windows 8 also helps companies improve the
way they do business through immersive apps
developed to better reach employees and
improve customers’ experiences.”
Now available on more than 1,000
certified PCs and tablets on a wide variety
of screen sizes, configurations, and designs,
Windows 8 is supported by thousands of
apps available in the Windows Store.
“The innovation Windows 8 is sparking in
the region is impressive,” said Faramawy.
“Just a few weeks after its global
launch, Windows 8 is already transforming
the lives of consumers, businesses and
economies through a set of amazing new
devices and rich apps. UAE Smart Learning
is a great example of how technology is
helping to make the region more competitive
internationally by equipping students with
access to latest technology.”
A questionable release
However, a day prior to the event in the Middle
East, Forrester released results from a survey
which suggested that Windows 8 had received
the opposite response to that of its predecessor
in 2009, which was actually very positive.
Forrester surveyed enterprises on a
number of factors relating to the launch of
Windows 7 during its release three years ago,
the same questions were asked about Windows
8 this year. The results were very interesting.
Windows 7 received high praise from
industry, and statistics showed that high
numbers of customers were planning to
upgrade to the release, or had thought
about it. In contrast, Windows 8 appeared
to be left in the dark. The majority of
“If anything, this says a lot about how
successful Windows 7 was,” he said.
“Our customers are so happy and
comfortable with that version, that they see
no need to upgrade. Vista may have had
something to do with it, the release prior to
Windows 7. On the one hand, these results
show that people are happy with Windows 7,
on the other hand it shows, maybe, we have
a lot of work to do to show people what is
required for Windows 8.”
Despite the results of the single survey,
Faramawry claims that the release was exactly
what Microsoft needed in order to force its
way back among the technological elite,
regardless to if that’s what it wanted to do.
“We’ve seen a change in demand from
customers. These new applications and
platforms have set a trend and yes, we had to
react. Did we want to change our culture as
a company? What do you think? Sometimes
you have to move out of your comfort zone
and do something new,” he said.
“It’s been a fantastic year for us though,
we’ve done all we planned and it’s been
extremely successful.”
Microsoft, regardless to the Forrester
survey results, has seen a very good initial
uptake of Windows 8. Perhaps not as good as
Microsoft may have liked, however, considering
it’s a completely new area for the company,
it can take some solace from the fact that it’s
being talked about across the technology wire.
Filling the app gap
One key factor may lie in the form of apps.
Microsoft has planted a pretty decent product on
the market with the Surface, however, it currently
o!ers only 10,000 apps. Google Play o!ers
around 675,000 apps and the Apple App Store,
unsurprisingly, o!ers in excess of 700,000.
For all the trials and tribulations
surrounding Microsoft in the wake of its major
transformation, it can’t be too disappointed
with its initial response. People, again, are
talking about Microsoft. //
customers surveyed said they either weren’t
considering upgrading, or were waiting for
the next release and planned on skipping
Windows 8 altogether.
47% of firms said that they hadn’t taken
Windows 8 into consideration, compared to
only 27% who said the same three years ago.
On the other hand, 24% said they expected to
migrate to the new operating system, where
as 49% said the same during the launch of 7.
The results put the new release in the
spotlight for sure. The popularity of Apple’s
iOS and Google’s Android operating systems
may have presented a bigger challenge for
Microsoft than originally expected. The new
Windows 8 interface has been designed by
Microsoft as a route into the handheld device
market, however, previous Windows versions
may have been seen as a more stand out
household brand with less competition.
Faramawry dismissed the idea that the
survey results had anything to do with the quality
of Windows upgrade, paying praise to its former.
Ali Faramawry, Corporate VP at Microsoft Middle East
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 23
SAP is a big company, so it goes without saying that it should present itself in a big way. Sapphire Now, its annual European event was hosted in Madrid, where the company revelled in the glory of HANA, its in-memory database analytics tool, and insisted that further innovation and growth is on the horizon.
FORECAST OF INNOVATION
ANALYSISSAP
Despite Madrid being the location
of political protests during the
same week, SAP managed to
successfully gather 11,000
customers, partners, journalists and
analysts into the Spanish capital, and like
many conferences this year, the main theme
was on the innovation and growth of the
mobile and social markets.
Although ending in triumph, SAP’s
conference began on a sad note, as keynote
speaker, Bill McDermott, co-CEO, SAP, had
to address the audience via satellite link,
following a tragic family event which prevented
him from travelling. The commitment to the
event was appreciated however, and the
warm reception helped McDermott to deliver a
positive and personal speech.
“The world used to be business to business,
now it’s business to business to consumer. The
customer demands digital, demands mobile, it’s
critical. In Kenya they skip meals to pay mobile
bills - that says it all,” he said.
McDermott was quick to speak of the
success of SAP’s customers since adopting
mobile business capabilities, as well as newly
designed, socially based application interfaces
and products. The rise of mobile platforms,
virtual desktops, BYOD, and big data has made
dealing with these a necessity. And McDermott
says: “Necessity is the mother of invention –
we needed to transform ourselves.”
“Customers are 40% more likely to buy if
something is marketed on a social platform.
This is already proved, so now we just need
to build upon it.”
Taming big data
Statistics on big data have continued to stun
in the past 12 months, and ways of controlling
it and benefiting from it are a high priority for
businesses everywhere. Two years ago, SAP
developed the first version of HANA, the in-
memory database analytics tool. Now, it’s just
entered its fifth stage of development and SAP
believes that the rest of the industry is starting
to realise the importance of its capabilities.
Even Oracle CEO, Larry Ellison was
critical of the idea at first, as Product Manager,
Ingo Brenckmann said.
“He called us complete lunatics, and
asked where we were getting our drugs from.
So now that companies like Microsoft are
moving into this type of analytic, we’re proud.”
“The fifth version has incorporated text
analysis, this is a brilliant feature because it
now gives people the chance not just to view
data and sort it, but to analyse it in context.
For example, you can now use HANA to not
only see how many people are tweeting about
SAP, but what they’re actually saying, what’s
the response, is it negative or positive? What
are main issues, what are the thoughts and
numbers and what do they represent? The
power of this instantaneous data is crucial to
companies working in this digital era,” he said.
Brenckmann believes that the big data issue
is a snowballing e!ect. He says that the speed
of business and the growth of data is causing
companies to take great measures to consolidate
it, which creates more data. This cycle has
demanded a response from companies like SAP,
which strongly feels that HANA is the answer.
HANA is now a complete software
package that supports applications and runs
servers through it, on top of the analytics and
data control element. It’s truly one of a kind
according to SAP.
With HANA, businesses can implement
entire applications from scratch. It stops them
needing a web server or an application server
– everything is connected through one server.
“We’re trying to provide a complete new
user experience, keeping our customers mobile
and free all the while,” said Brenckmann.
“No other company is providing what we
are at the moment, they’re behind, and are
just starting to realise this isn’t such a dumb
idea after all.”
The simplicity of products hasn’t been
abandoned on any front by SAP. Deploying or
hiring HANA couldn’t be easier. Businesses
can fully benefit from HANA on a month by
month cloud based purchase. Alternatively,
they can acquire HANA and have an engineer
fit the software with each element fully set-up,
attach it to the network and it’s ready to go.
Bill McDermott concluded in his keynote
that HANA is the ultimate collaboration of
mobility, data and tapping the value chain.
“This is true innovation – The Stone age
didn’t end because we ran out of stone, that’s
a fact.”
Bill McDermott, co-CEO, SAP
24 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
George DeBono, GM- MEA at Red Hat, spells out how the solutions provider landscape will change in the coming year
CHANNEL CHANGES IN 2013
OPINIONRed Hat
Wayne Gretzsky, one of ice
hockey’s greatest legends and
goal-scorers, was once asked why
he was so successful. Gretzky
gave the advice to “Skate to where the puck
is going to be, not where it has been.” As we
head into a new year filled with challenge and
change, this is great advice for channel
partners: get your business to move to where
the market and your customers are going; not
where they are today.
In this spirit, I see four key items driving
change and challenge for solution providers
in 2013:
New Business models: Solution
providers need to build business models that
are designed to deliver services and solutions
to their customers, not just sell products.
Gone are the days when customers just want
a channel partner to fulfill a product need.
They truly want trusted advisers: someone
who can guide them through the technology
industry changes and help provide them with
competitive di!erentiation in their market or
industry. This will be increasingly important as
we head into the new year and its economic
uncertainty. Similarly, we anticipate continued
consolidation among channel partners as
they team up with other solution providers to
meet these challenges.
Cloud: Closely related to new business
models for solution providers is new business
models for their customers, namely the
adoption of software, infrastructure, and
platform-as-a-service (SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS,
respectively). Many enterprises are looking to
build and deploy services via clouds. Cloud
is no-longer a buzzword; it’s a reality and
solution providers have a huge opportunity to
help their customers migrate to the cloud.
Big data: Real-time analytics and decision
making are making big data a big reality.
The amount of data being produced by
enterprises is staggering and providing ways
to make better decisions using this data
is all about providing your customers with
di!erentiation and competitive advantage.
They are looking to you to show them the
way. Fast growing enterprise organisations
looking to glean the most useful information
from their growing data sets will seek out
solution providers with big data capabilities.
Enterprise mobility / application strategy:
The sophistication of mobile applications is
set to explode in the next few years. Solution
providers and ISVs need to build applications
that best align with their target marketing
and deliver the style of application that is
best suited for the task at hand. We expect
cloud and big data to be two core elements
of these applications and solution providers
need to develop skill sets and practices
around application modernisation tools so
they can help their customers migrate existing
applications to where their markets and
industries are headed.
For many solution providers, 2013
is going to be a year of challenge and
change. Many have already embraced
change, adopted new business models and
are thriving despite the global economic
conditions in which we operate. They
have already created their competitive
di!erentiation and have already moved to
where their customers want to be in the
future. As Gretzsky’s advice implies, move
to where you want to go, and you’ll be well
positioned for success. //
George DeBono, GM- MEA at Red Hat
26 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
Features
Incident Management
Account Management
CMDB
Rebranding
Service Level Agreements
Change Management
Remote control
Purchase & contract management
Automated Billing & Reporting
Introducing
Billing Module
With enterprises refreshing network infrastructure to keep up with emerging technologies, it’s time for the channel to scale up and lap up the opportunities in this high-growth market.
NEW VISTAS OF GROWTH
FEATURENetworking Channel
Both enterprises and service
providers are opening up their
wallets for networks, adding
advanced capabilities. According
to IDC, the global networking hardware
market will reach $51.4 billion in 2014, with
lion’s share of revenues coming from
switching, IP telephony and routing.
IDC believes the biggest drivers of
the networking market revolve around
the buildout and adoption of the next
generation of IT in support of the intelligent
economy. The research firm estimates
enterprises have invested around $39.4
billion in both network intelligence and
network bandwidth upgrades to create a
robust foundation to support trends such as
mobility, cloud and video.
A growing networking market has
opened up new vistas of growth for the
channel. And now with cheaper network
hardware and more e#cient networking
software being promised by suppliers,
channel organisations that specialise in
networking are in demand.
The networking behemoth Cisco
believes the big IT trends that are
transforming the market and creating huge
opportunities for its partners are cloud and
data centre virtualisation, mobility and video.
“These trends will drive major upgrades to
enterprise networks in the near future. The
intelligent, secure, and agile network is at the
center of all three, and Cisco is synonymous
with the network. Selling architectures,
professional services, and smart solutions
will help drive di!erentiation and profitability
in capturing these market transitions for
partners,” says Claire Jones, Regional
Manager, Cisco UAE.
Gautham Raj, HP Networking Sales
Director for Middle East, agrees that the
move to cloud will drive investments in the
data centre switching space. “We are also
seeing enterprises roll out wireless in their
organisations like never before. This is
happening as users embrace new computing
devices and wireless becomes the new
access layer.”
28 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
Most of the big networking vendors
are beefing up their partner programmes
to help channel partners reach new
customers and roll out some of these
advanced technologies. Cisco, for example,
revamped its partner programme in 2011
to better align its channel partners with the
company’s three major areas of focus and
shift them beyond technology solutions into
architecture-based solutions.
The company’s channel partner
programme introduced new architecture
specialisations for Borderless Networks,
collaboration and data center, which
requires its partners to go through
training and certification in at least one
of the specialisations, depending on their
partner level.
“Cisco’s Channel Partner Program focuses
on a partner’s ability to deliver intelligent
networks and technology architectures built
on integrated products, services, and software
platforms. The programme o!ers training
in the latest Cisco technologies, provides
valuable branding resources, and rewards
partners with incentives. The benefits also
include: co-marketing resources, financing,
incentives and promotions, and service and
support,” says Jones.
HP Networking, on its part, are designing
and running education programmes
which focus on implementations and
troubleshooting. “This is being eagerly
adopted by our partners. We also have
constant knowledge sharing sessions
between our own technical resources and the
key channel resources on a monthly basis to
share best practices,” says Raj.
D’Souza from Comstor says the channel
will also need to skill up on how to address the
needs of the existing networks. Assessment
and monitoring services will be key. It will
enable very relevant discussions around how
to make the network more robust and future
proof. Additionally the channel skill sets need
to be beefed up around having business
conversations – basically how the network
solution will enable better productivity for that
business or add value to it, he adds.
Claire Jones, Regional Manager, Cisco
Gautham Raj, Sales Director, HP Networking
Increased focus on security will also drive
major network upgrades in 2013, according
to Hani Nofal, Director of Intelligent Network
Solution at GBM. “In a recent GBM survey of
more than 900 IT professionals in the GCC,
more than 32 percent of the respondents
stated that they have more than three
personal mobile devices, while more than
36 percent of the regional IT professionals
surveyed said that they have four personal
devices or more. Of those with four personal
devises, 62 percent confirmed that their
organisations allow them to connect those
personal devices to the enterprise wireless or
wired network. So, the challenge is not only
in supporting such an increasing demand, but
also ensuring they maintain the highest levels
of control and security.”
Within the network security domain,
Dell SonicWALL expects to see massive
adoption of next-gen firewall technology.
“IT departments expect threat protection to
be part of the firewalls they purchase. Now
with additional features o!ered by NGF, IT
managers will be able to know immediately
about a problem, prompting them to take
corrective measure. In 2012, we will see
much more of this and it’s a technology that is
ahead of the curve,” says Shahnawaz Sheikh,
Regional Director of the company.
Renton D’Souza, Divisional Director
of Comstor, has a di!erent take: “On an
EMEA level, with the economy expected to
continue to grow sluggishly, we foresee that
enterprises will look to getting more “bang
for the buck” with their existing infrastructure.
This will mean more services revenue for
vendors and more focus by the channel
around annuity based services.”
He adds that in the ME region, there
will be greater e!ort to control costs
around upgrades as well. The need to
assess networks and understand where
vulnerabilities lie will be more prevalent
which will lead to a more focused approach
to network upgrades. Most network upgrades
will be made to fix vulnerabilities, address
end of life product issues and make networks
video ready as well.
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 29
The ongoing cloud computing paradigm, and the shit in IT from an on-premise to off-premise model is slated to have a far reaching impact on the networking channel.
Vendors are also making huge
investments to enable the partners to
increase market competitiveness and
revenue opportunities. Cisco has announced
that it will be investing $75 million globally in
fiscal year 2012 in initiatives and programmes
supporting our partners in the form of
marketing resources, incentive programmes
and access to Cisco Technical Engineers
Network to accelerate partner growth. “Our
partner programme focuses on a partner’s
ability to deliver intelligent networks and
technology architectures built on integrated
products, services, and software platforms.
As more customers place a high premium
on working with certified companies and
qualified vendors, Cisco and our partners
know that these customers also want to work
with top-quality individuals. Developing talent
to strengthen our joint competitive advantage
continues to be a main priority,” says Jones.
Raj from HP says customers and partners
alike are now looking for a dual vendor
approach. “It is the skill set and the capabilities
of partners that should di!erentiate them in
front of the client and not a vendor’s support.
In general we have found that the channel
has not yet prepared itself for the wireless
opportunity. The skill sets and the capabilities
to o!er a end to end experience from wireless
site surveys to design to implementation and
support in a wireless era is something that the
channel is struggling with. We see this as an
opportunity for the partners who are willing to
invest in these skills.”
Undoubtedly, the opportunities for network
channel are aplenty but the key questions is,
how does the Middle East network channel
look today and how will it change over the
next two years? “In the past, the networking
channel’s strength was dependent on their
strong relationship with the vendor. They did
not have the choice. Today with significant
marketshare gains that HP has had this
provides them with options. They can
compete in the marketplace based on their
strengths. "With the adoption of open standards
and best of breed solutions, system integration
value add goes up in the marketplace. This
provides opportunities for the channel. With the
inevitable openflow adoption that will happen,
the network switches will be vendor neutral
and will provide "a level playing field for the
channel,” predicts Raj.
Cisco believes services will a big focus in
the next two years. The company has recently
launched a new partner programme specific
to its services business, which is a collapsing
of nearly 50 di!erent global programs into
one, re-designed umbrella programme, and a
way for Cisco partners to capitalise on what
is roughly a $200 billion market opportunity
with the potential to expand individual deals
by as much as 12 times their value. The Cisco
Services Partner Program o!ers performance-
based incentives according to the breadth
and competence of the services partners
provide customers.
“We will also be seeing the Middle East
channel as business advisors as opposed
to technology advisors which will add more
value and better ROI for our customers.
Additionally, as cloud fundamentally
changes the way customers consume
technology, partners must evolve their
business models to succeed and grow.
Partners are evolving their technology
competencies around virtualisation,
automation and management, oftentimes in
collaboration with many of our technology
ecosystem partners. They are also evolving
their financial and service models for selling,
pricing and delivering as a service cloud
o!erings,” says Jones.
Cloud and the channel
The ongoing cloud computing paradigm, and
the shit in IT from an on-premise to o!-premise
model is slated to have a far reaching impact
Shahnawaz Sheik, Regional Sales Manager, Dell SonicWALL
FEATURENetworking Channel
30 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
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on the networking channel. “Cloud computing
will involve multiple services and its integration
and customisation. Channels will have to be
trained in new competencies like data centre
management, provisioning, billing, customer
support etc,” says Farook Majeed, CEO of
Precedence Technologies, a networking SI.
He adds that trends such as BYOD
will disrupt the traditional hardware selling
channels as customers are going in to bring
all kinds of devices from all kinds of sources.
However, providing security and upgrading
the network/bandwidth are going to open up
new opportunities for channel.
Cisco estimates that the market for cloud
infrastructure will grow to $112 billion by 2015,
while the market for cloud services will reach
$113.6 billion over the next three years. This
represents opportunities for channel partners
to sell infrastructure for private clouds, to
become cloud providers or to resell cloud
services of cloud service providers.
“As the trend for delivering technology
as a service continues, now more than ever,
partners must evolve their business to support
the demand for new consumption models
such as cloud and managed services." In
order to support our partner’s evolution,
Cisco continues to evolve our channel
partner programme to help partners profitably
monetize the cloud and managed services
opportunity." As cloud fundamentally changes
the way customers consume technology,
partners must evolve their business models to
succeed and grow,” says Jones.
Raj says with cloud, conventional ways
of network provisioning will not serve the
purpose. “Software Defined Networks are
the solution and that is clearly the outcome
of the cloud adoption. We at HP are the
only mainstream networking vendor to
have launched a large portfolio of openflow
enabled switches in our portfolio. The
adoption of openflow enabled switches will
bring down the TCO for clients as they will
not be locked down to any single vendor.”
However, there are growing fears in the
channel about cloud and most aren’t sure
if it’s a threat or opportunity. “I believe that
although all major hardware and software
vendors are talking about cloud computing
and trying to demonstrate their understanding
and readiness to support it. But, those
vendors are yet to prove to their channel
partners that they are serious and committed
to support that shift. The reality is that they
are not there yet. In addition to the evolution
of the channel programs, a major change
should take place in the vendors’ sales
incentive programs in order not to block the
sales teams’ attention to cloud based services
and solutions. I believe that this will be
similar to the journey that we have seen from
product sale to managed services. I would
argue that not all vendors and providers got
that market shift right in terms of their channel
programs and sales incentives,” says Nofal.
Dsouza says we are at the cusp of a new
era – consumerisation of enterprise IT. “The
change in consumption models is already
hitting many vendors. The old Capex model
of buying upfront is now going to change to
a “pay as you use” model. This will be a huge
change for most vendors and channel partners.
With the cloud model, the upfront money to be
made is almost negligible, it happens as the
end user adopts and uses the technology.”
While cloud adoption is ramping up, many
IT departments are still grappling with aging
network equipment while juggling demand for
new network initiatives, such as mobile device
management, fuelled by IT consumerisation
and BYOD trends. Industry surveys reveal
core router and switch upgrades are the
top project priorities for network managers
in the coming year, followed by wireless
implementations. And therein lies a huge
opportunity for the networking channel. //
Renton D’Souza, Divisional Director of Comstor
“Industry surveys reveal core router and switch upgrades are the top project priorities for network managers in the coming year, followed by wireless implementations. And therein lies a huge opportunity for the networking channel.”
FEATURENetworking Channel
32 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
© 2012 Dell Products. Dell, the logo, XPS, Latitude and Vostro are registered or unregistered trademarks of Dell!Inc. in!the United States and other countries. Ultrabook, Celeron, Celeron Inside, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Atom, Intel Atom Inside, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo, Intel vPro, Itanium, Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, vPro Inside, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks or trade names may be used in this document to refer to third-party products (such as operating systems and software) included with the products o" ered by Dell and the entities claiming the marks and names of those products. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. Dell Corporation Ltd, Dell House, The Boulevard, Cain!Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1LF.
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INFORMED CHANNELThe need to educate the channel on the value of training and certification is more important than ever in today’s market, where adding value and making the most of products and functionality is paramount to growing a sustainable business.
FEATURECertifications
We often hear the names of
companies and distributors
being accredited by various
vendors, or channel partners
that are certified to sell certain product
lines.! But what does this all actually mean?
From one point of view, certain
certifications can be seen as nothing more
than a branding and marketing exercise,
aimed at improving credibility and brand
awareness within the channel, but there
are certain certifications that genuinely
mean something.!
34 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
privy to regular updates and new products.
Certification increases competence levels
of the engineer, enabling customers to
have more trust,” says Shahnawaz Sheikh,
Regional Director – MEA & Turkey, Dell
SonicWALL.
Jai Shankar, Marketing Manager, Brother
International Gulf, agrees: “People trust
a certified partner. It means you have the
right people, skills and after-sales support.
Training and development is an integral part
of our partner strategy and certification is
mandatory for partners to move up the tiers
in our channel structure.”
Boby Joseph, CEO of StorIT, offers
another perspective on the value of
certifications for the channel: “The
greatest value in certifications is to
let the partner drive the opportunity
independently and know the technology
better. This will help the customer to
understand the partner value additions as
compared to a normal partner.”
Another vendor who has marked the
channel for education is Kaspersky Lab.
“Enabling our partners to help serve our
customers better by providing them with
training and transferring product and
technological know-how is one of the key
pillars of our success here at Kaspersky
Lab. Our partner programme places a lot of
emphasis on the certification requirements
of partners,” says Aman M. Manzoor,
Channel Manager, Kaspersky Lab Middle
East & Turkey.
The security vendor addresses the
requirements of partner education with
the Kaspersky Knowledge Space, which is
Jai Shankar, Marketing Manager, Brother International Gulf
Aman M. Manzoor, Channel Manager, Kaspersky Lab Middle East & Turkey
People trust a certified partner. It means you have the right people, skills and after-sales support. Training and development is an integral part of our
partner strategy and certification is mandatory for partners to move up the tiers in our channel structure.”
The industry agrees that proper training
and certification is by far one of the best
value-adds, especially in an industry that is
still dominated by a number of box-pushing
resellers, which could ultimately do more
damage to a brand than the little good of
pushing up sales figures."
Especially when considering the new
technologies, certification and training play
a very important role in di!erentiating skills,
aiming to ensure that a reseller or channel
partner does not over-commit themselves
just to close a deal."
With thinning margins and increasing
competition, the channel is under pressure.
This requires the ability to provide a better
level of service and higher level of qualified
sta! than their competitors. Though the
comprehensive partner programmes that
big name vendors are o!ering, quality
training has become available to everyone.
But it is up to the distributors and resellers
to take advantage of these programmes
and ensure that their sta! become certified,
and that they are continually improving their
skill sets.
Particularly with technologies such as
cloud, virtualisation and mobility coming
to the fore, the channel needs to be better
equipped to be able to take advantage
of the need for these new technologies,
and the sustainable revenue that could be
generated."
“Certification usually means that
a partner has a broader and better
understanding of the technology and its
key features. Our certified partners become
part of our regular communication and are
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 35
FEATURECertifications
designed to spread and share knowledge
about products and technologies designed
by Kaspersky Lab. It brings together all
current training methods (training centres,
electronic materials, forums) and new ways
of receiving knowledge through the use of
programmes that organise training in real
time for its partners.
“The Kaspersky Knowledge Space is
available at no additional cost, as a part
of our partner extranet to our channel
community. Further, on the sales training
side, we provide free sales training
sessions,” says Manzoor.
Data loss prevention solutions vendor
InfoWatch says value of certifications is
signifant because the company’s certified
partners can independently integrate and
initially support InfoWatch solutions.
“DLP solutions are only e#cient with a
great deal of consulting. We call it a three
step DLP approach including Pre-DLP,
DLP and Post-DLP. The Pre-DLP stage is
a necessary part of the process when all
data existing in the company is classified
and divided into several categories (strictly
confidential, confidential, not confidential,
etc). Only after such classification can the DLP
solution be integrated to function e#ciently,
and without Pre-DLP the system e#ciency is
only 30%. Therefore, InfoWatch’s certification
programme gives our partners all knowledge
and skills necessary to maintain such full
cycle integration,” says Alexander Zarovsky
- International Business Chief at InfoWatch.
Most vendors agree that certification levels
reflect a partner’s technology skills and
breadth. “Partner certifications are similar to
academic degrees. Some specialisations are
prerequisites for becoming certified while
others provide specialized knowledge
of certain technologies. Certification
levels reflect a partner’s technology skills
breadth,” says Saeed Agha, Cisco UAE
Regional Manager.
He adds that specialization levels
definitely reflect a partner’s depth of
expertise, capabilities, and end-to-end
service and support for specific solutions
and technology architectures. “The
higher their level of certification, the more
credentials and resources our partners
need to meet the requirements. Certification
reflects a breadth of skills across certain
technologies and is based on your
organisation’s ability to support customers
within a single country or country grouping.”
Joseph from StorIT says some of the
most sought after technical certifications
in the channel today are around storage,
virtualisation and security. From a
security perspective, there is a growing
interest in certifications on firewalls,
secure remote access with BYOD, and
identity access management.
“From our experience with operating
in a client’s infrastructure, the majority of
channel partners face di!erent technical
complexities, such as setting https, specific
setting of IT security policies, and integration
into client’s existing infrastructure. Therefore,
certification programmes aimed at training
the partners to solve these highly technical
tasks are in real demand,” says Zarovsky.
The bottom line is that training is
imperative to enabling the channel to support
their customers in choosing the right solution.
This is not a tactical approach, but rather a
strategic one, which aims to ensure that long
term relationships are built with the end-user. //
For example, if a partner has taken one of our specialized courses on either wireless or email security we at Dell SonicWALL will recommend
them to a customer looking for solutions in these fields.”
Boby Joseph, CEO of StorIT
Saeed Agha, Cisco UAE Regional Manager
Alexander Zarovsky - International Business Chief at InfoWatch
36 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
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The Saudi based BDL Group has raked in revenues exceeding $790 million in 2012, clocking a robust growth rate of 19% year on year.
Now, this prominent distributor is branching out into the regional ICT market and has recently formed a strategic business unit to address the opportunities in this sector. Tamer Ismail, CEO of the company, spoke
to us about the company’s game plan.
CASTING A NEW LINE
Tamer Ismail, CEO, BDL Group
INTERVIEWBDL Group
38 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
How do you plan to switch
your focus from IT to the ICT
market? What kind of
opportunities do you see in the
regional ICT market?
BDL will not switch from the IT market to
the ICT market since the company has
two strategic business units. The first unit
is for the IT market and one of its most
important goals is to be the best in the
Middle East market. The other unit is for
the ICT market (communications, mobile
devices and tablets). Its goal is to have
a big role and a strong presence in this
growing market.
The ICT market is growing rapidly
in the region, where business cycles
are quick, offering much better margins
and cash flows. We believe at tablet
offering will have a significant impact
in the commercial, business and
government sectors.
Do you have any plans to expand your
portfolio and enhance your services
capabilities to address this market?
BDL as a company always deals with its
partners with an open mind and carefully
considers the offers available for the
business development and takes the new
partnership decisions by studying them
carefully and in-depth.
How do you plan to enable your channel
partners to tap the opportunities in the
ICT market with less investment from
their part?
BDL opens sales opportunities for its
partners in both IT and ICT fields by
ensuring all the products in our portfolio
are available to them, backed by good
support and logistics. In addition to this,
we support and develop our partners’
businesses continually and we very well
understand the meaning of FMTG (fast
moving technology goods).
Moving stock quickly continues to be the
key to success for regional distributors.
Are you planning to ramp up your
logistics infrastructure?
We have a very strong logistics
infrastructure, which enables us to keep a
tight control on inventory. In fact, logistics
services is one of our key strengths, and
we support this through good planning to
purchases and sales on a weekly, monthly
and quarterly basis.
Vendors today need significant value
add from their distributers, up and down
the channel. What kind of initiatives are
you taking to create end-user awareness
and channel development?
We have adopted a strategy of diversity
which means we add value to the
products, services, various programmes
and offers. This is supported by the
huge customer base we have and we
deal with them daily through sales,
technical support, marketing and after-
sales services.
“We have a very strong logistics infrastructure, which enables us to keep a tight control on inventory. In fact, logistics services is one of our key strengths, and we support this through good planning to purchases and sales on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis.”
“The ICT market is growing rapidly in the region, where business cycles are quick, offering much better margins and cash flows.”
Can you give us an insight into the most
current issues and opportunities in
today’s channel?
We think today’s information
technology market is characterised by
two revolutions. First is the mobility,
represented by the rapid proliferation
of tablets and smartphones, which was
first started by Apple and then followed
by Samsung. The second revolution is
fairly more recent and has three main
elements. The first one is Windows 8 and
the second is Intel-powered Ultrabooks.
Thirdly, we are seeing a huge change
in the way these devices are designed.
The typical design of a laptop is now
changing from clamshell type to more
innovative convertible types or what we
call laptop tablets.
Mobile computing has become a
way of life and these hybrid computing
devices have become more robust and
powerful with high-speed processors and
specs, and support even professional
softwares such as AutoCAD. This
represents big growth opportunities for
the distribution channels in the IT market
and we have earmarked this as huge
growth area for us as more and more
consumers desire portability.
Are you looking to cash in on some of
the emerging technologies such as cloud
and virtualization?
All the new technologies and
developments provided by our vendor
partners will be available to our partners
through us. //
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 39
Symantec has recently laid out its management and product strategy. The company, which has gone through a leadership change, is planning to enlist the support of its partners to ward off competition and maintain its leadership position. Jason Ellis, VP of Channel- EMEA at Symantec, spokes to us about the role channel plays in the strategy.
STEADY AS IT GOES
“The vision of Symantec’s global channel program is to offer opportunities for predictable, profitable growth for its Middle East partners.”
Will there be any disruptions in
the business due to the sudden
leadership change?
For Symantec, it’s our partners
who bring the products and solutions to life
for our customers. Symantec’s partners are an
extension of our brand and “trusted advisors”
who match innovation, drive and talent
with experience and expertise. Symantec
continues to put significant focus towards the
channel, demonstrating value to our partners’
business with market-leading products,
financial rewards, engagement, ecosystem of
resources, and service-rich opportunities to
help them grow their business.
As a partner-focused company, Symantec
will continue to develop new Specialisations
and Master Specialisations to give partners
the ability to grow alongside the latest IT
needs and trends in the market. In evolving
a partner-led approach, new Master
Specialisations are available to eligible
partners who specialize and maintain an
active consulting practice, and complete
business and technical assessments in each
solution area.
Steve Bennett has a strong record of
corporate leadership, with previous positions
as CEO of Intuit and a 23-year career at
VENDOR FOCUSSymantec
General Electric before that." Steve has been
on Symantec’s board since 2010 and served
as its chairman since 2011 so he already
has strong insight into the company and its
strengths, including our valued relationships
with the channel partner community.
How does Symantec plan to maintain its
market share in the coming years in the face
of increasing competition in the marketplace?!
Symantec has continued to reinforce its
commitment to its partners through the
Symantec Partner Program, which provides
partners a broad array of benefits and
resources to help grow their business
and support customers. Specializations
are the foundation of Symantec’s Partner
Program and the key way in which the
company enables its partners to di!erentiate
themselves from competitors, deliver more
value to customers and take advantage of
new market opportunities thereby helping
them grow their business. Specialisations
are a unique recognition for partners
with a proven expertise in a particular
area of business. Partners are able to
achieve Specialisations by meeting certain
requirements that will extend their knowledge
and proficiency in a solution family, such
as data protection, security or compliance
among others.
Symantec has focused on partner
profitability through the enhanced partner
program that will help partners get the
most from their technical sta!. The vision
of Symantec’s global channel program is to
o!er opportunities for predictable, profitable
growth for its Middle East partners and enable
them to deliver solutions and services that
protect customers’ most critical information.
How do you plan to educate partners
and customers over the coming year
around new technologies such as
mobility and virtualisation?
Recently Symantec enhanced its partner
program in the Middle East with a new
specialisation that addresses both the
increasing need for relevant and reliable
mobility strategies and the opportunities for
channel partners to benefit from this growing
trend. By acknowledging the skills and
experience that qualifying partners have in
the mobility market, the new specialization
empowers them to deliver greater value
to customers, maximise opportunities and
accelerate their profitability with Symantec’s
mobility portfolio, while further di!erentiating
their businesses in this booming and
competitive market.
The Mobility Solution Specialization
enables Symantec specialised partners across
the Middle East to help their customers to gain
granular control over their mobile deployments
and have di!erent levels of oversight on
mobile devices, according to their specific
40 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
policies and needs. The Specialisation
comprises the following Symantec product/
solutions: Mobile Application Management
(MAM), Mobile Device Management (MDM)
and Mobile Security.
With its promise of greater e#ciency and
lower cost, virtualisation is a key customer
priority. Symantec o!ers partners a Data
Protection Specialization to recognise partners
that provide complete protection for their
customers’ information. Each of the backup
solutions o!er a single integrated product that
protects virtual and physical environments,
simplifies backup and disaster recovery, and
provides unmatched recovery capabilities.
Do you have any plans to ramp up support
capability in the region, particularly in the
Cloud-based and managed security services
space that requires high skills?
With our partners at the core of our business
across the world, we are dedicated to
ensuring partners have the right skills,
education and training to keep up to date
with changes in technology and IT trends.
Late in 2011 Symantec unveiled its
Managed Service Provider (MSP) strategy,
which was designed to make it easier and more
cost e!ective for partners to deliver Symantec’s
market leading backup and security solutions
as managed services. In addition, Symantec
has adopted a partner-led services approach to
help organizations manage IT risk and maximize
IT performance around Symantec solutions.
This a!ords Symantec customers the broadest
set of o!erings along with competitive pricing
for IT consulting.
Symantec’s Managed Security Services
(MMS) blends industry leading security
technology with the expertise from top security
analysts providing 24/7, around the clock
monitoring of the entire security framework.
Being connected to Symantec’s Global
Intelligence Network means that organizations
benefit from an unparalleled source of Internet
threat data to identify new and evolving threats
with more than 240,000 sensors in over 200
countries monitoring attack activity, and more
than 133 million systems providing malicious
code intelligence. In addition, MSS allows an
organization to outsource their security threat
monitoring to experts in real time, while helping
the organization build and sustain a resilient
incident management program. By outsourcing
security monitoring and management an
organisation can reduce investments in
security operations infrastructure and redeploy
basic security operations sta! to other mission
critical operations.
Do you have any plans to enhance your
partner and channel programme? How do
you plan to drive partner profitability?
Symantec’s vision is to give every one of
our partners the opportunity for predictable,
profitable business growth; o!er relevant
market-leading solutions to protect and
manage their customers’ information; and
provide the education and training tool to
ensure partners are skilled to deliver superior
value to their customers.
Jason Ellis, VP of Channel- EMEA at Symantec
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 41
As Specialisations become central to its
program, Symantec’s partners will find even
more opportunities to di!erentiate themselves
and deepen their expertise in Symantec
solutions and services. Symantec will continue
to deliver several new tools and resources
over the next few months to help partners in
the Middle East maximise sales opportunities
and accelerate profitability in the new model.
Do you have plans to expand your partner
ecosystem in the Middle East? Will MSPs
play a key role in your partner strategy?
Symantec has seen particularly strong
expansion of our partner ecosystem in the
Middle East region with good coverage in all
disciplines among several partners, as well
as geographical growth in Qatar and Kuwait
and expansion into the French-speaking
Africa region with Morocco and Tunisia. The
specialisation programme has also enabled
Symantec to provide advanced professional
support to partners who invest in particular
skills, thus significantly raising the value
of the service they deliver to customers.
Specialisation partners also receive support
to drive profitable, predictable growth and
shorter sales cycles.
Through new and expanded integration
with leading remote monitoring and
management (RMM) platforms and new cloud-
based o!erings, Symantec is helping partners
more e!ectively deliver and manage multiple
products and services while minimising added
overhead costs. Symantec’s MSP strategy also
includes the ExSP Licensing Program, a pay-as-
you go subscription licensing model designed
for service providers, and a recently enhanced
SMB Specialization program with benefits for
service provider partners, including partner-
specific technical support o!erings.
Symantec provides partners with
opportunities for enhanced profitability,
business growth, market-leading solutions,
and the technical expertise and tools to help
them deliver superior value.
How do you plan to up-skill your partners to
deliver complex technologies?
Symantec realises that now more than ever
before, customers are taking every detail
into consideration when selecting a solution
provider. Symantec values its partners and
strives to give them every advantage over
the competition. By providing them with
more in-depth knowledge about products
and better access to resources, partners will
be able to prove their value to potential and
existing customers.
Specialisation is the foundation of
Symantec’s partner programme where they
can earn multiple Specialisations in specific
technology focus areas. As technologies
advance and evolve, Symantec will add
new specialisations to meet customer
requirements and help expand opportunities
for its partners. Master Specializations
recognise and promote partners with
advanced consulting, technical, and service
capabilities in a specialised solution area. This
specialisation category is part of Symantec’s
partner-led consulting services model, which
o!ers partners increased scalability to meet
customer requirements, reduces channel
conflicts, and creates opportunities for
greater license sales potential. The Master
Specialisation recognizes deep expertise in
providing consulting services to Symantec
customers and are available for each of the
solution Specialisations.
By achieving specialisation, partners
can demonstrate their expertise and show
customers that they are serious about
helping solve their problems through
insight, experience and innovative solutions.
Symantec provides technical and sales
training to partners so they can add skills and
capabilities to their organisation.
Symantec continuous to enhances its
investment in existing partners to identify
gaps in the marketplace and work with
partners to put focus on developing their skill
set and overall performance.
Can you outline some trends with
opportunities for the channel next year?
How will cloud impact the channel?
Cloud computing is a trend that most of
our partners are exploring and thinking
about how to best leverage for their
customers. Symantec continues to enhance
specialisations related to cloud computing as
another tool to enable partners to become
well-versed in as it becomes increasingly
important to customers.
In addition to cloud computing, there
are a number of other IT trends that will
offer partners the opportunity to become
more strategic with their customers, as
well as provide them with increased
revenue opportunities.
The evolution of cyber attacks is an
ever evolving trend and Symantec predicts
that 2013 will see an increase in targeted
attacks and cyber conflict between nation
states, people and organisations. In addition,
organizations of all sizes must find viable
ways to cope with the information explosion
which is predicted to grow 67 percent over
the next year for enterprises and 178 percent
for SMBs, according to Symantec’s 2012
State of Information Survey. Lastly, the rise
of the mobile workforce as more businesses
adopt “Bring Your Own Device” strategies
poses a number of benefits but also a
number of challenges for IT. It is an exciting
time in IT and our partners can use the
evolving IT trends and landscape as a way to
deliver more value to their customers in the
Middle East. //
“Symantec provides partners with opportunities for enhanced profitability, business growth, market-leading solutions, and the technical expertise and tools to help them deliver superior value.”
VENDOR FOCUSSymantec
42 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS*
Designed for Life: Yours
PARTNER WATCHAxtrom
Within a short span of time,
tablets have grown from a niche
product to become mainstream
and have already overtaken
global netbook PC sales. Reports indicate
the global tablet market will reach $ 31.86
billion this year, breaking the 100 million
unit shipment barrier.
Tablet prices under $100 with Android
is a big win for mobile consumers looking
for low cost, high performance tablets. This
is where Axtrom fits in, which believes in
the philosophy of o!ering quality products
at a!ordable prices. The company is now
beefing up its channel network to push
Mohamed Samy, Business Development Director, Axtrom
Axtrom, which develops computer components, peripherals and accessories, is looking to cash in on the booming mobility market with its AXPAD range of tablets.
SPREADING WINGS
into new markets and tap the opportunities
around the mobility space. “We see a lot of
room for growth in the tablet market and
it’s only the beginning. Axtrom is being
distributed by Golden Systems Middle East
in the UAE and BDL Group for the rest of the
GCC region. We have also signed up a new
distributor in Egypt,” says Mohamed Samy,
Business Development Director, Axtrom.
Axtrom says it’s uniquely positioned in
the burgeoning tablet market. “We don’t
intend to position in the high end dominated
by Apple and Samsung but somewhere in
between with quality products at reasonable
prices. A lot of investment has gone into
our products to ensure quality and we
don’t intend to play in the lower end of the
spectrum, which is driven by price. We will
never be the cheapest,” says Samy.
Currently, Axtrom has three models in
its tablet portfolio and is going to expand it
to eight to nine models by the end of this
quarter, all sporting the new version Android
Jelly Bean. Also on the cards are models
based on Windows 8 once the platform is
mature from a manufacturing standpoint.
Samy says the company is focused on
branding, rather than just selling maximum
volume at lower prices. “We focus on certain
specs, which you don’t see in the third tier
products. All our products come bundled with
a leather carry case and screen protector,
and we pay special attention to packaging.
In addition, we are registered with all the
regional telecom regulatory authorities
with the intention of making our products
available to carriers as well. We are not
just focused only on the consumer market
because it’s a finished market that can reach
all market segments.”
Axtrom claims authenticity is another
value proposition it is bringing to the table.
“We include authorised software and we get
all the new version and updates. We o!er full
technical support, not just for dealers but users
as well. We have service centres in Qatar,
Kuwait, Oman and we are in the process of
setting up one in Egypt,” says Samy.
Axtrom is also planning to expand
its geographical coverage in the region.
“Though our products are available across
the region, we do realise we can’t tackle
the entire market at once. We have a strong
presence in Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, and
we are tying up with retailers where we don’t
have a presence yet,” says Samy, who plans
to ship around 20000 units every month
starting Q1 of next year. //
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 45
Successful trade show participation
continues even after the stands are
put away and it holds very true in
the case of the Dubai-based
Spectrami. The VAD, which made its Gitex
debut this year, plans to capitalise on the
brand visibility it achieved during the show
and put its business on the fast track.
“It couldn’t have been any better for us.
We wanted to let people know about our brand
and send a message to the partner and user
community. It was also an excellent platform for
our vendor partners as it gave them a better
understanding of the market, which in turn, has
resulted in more commitment and resources. The
top management from the partners were here
and now they are seriously looking at this market
and developing product features tailored for the
region,” says Anand Choudha, MD of Spectrami.
A cursory glance at Spectrami’s portfolio
might make you think some of the names
are not too familiar in this part of the world.
Anand Choudha, MD of Spectrami
PARTNER WATCHSpectrami
Armed with best of breed technology solutions, value added distributor Spectrami has carved a niche for itself in a very short span of time.
SPECIALISED IN VALUE
However, Choudha says all these specialised
vendors are globally well known and the
technologies they o!er are very important to
the security landscape. “Security is evolving
and you can no longer protect against
advanced threats with traditional security
tools. That’s why WD thinks our portfolio is
very relevant to this market,” he says.
As a VAD, Spectrami is focused on two
areas; security and storage. “Again, we are
not in the traditional storage space but what
we o!er is what Gartner calls protection
and availability storage. What it basically
means is copy data management, as multiple
copies are being made of production data for
backup, DR, anlystics, etc. It is estimated that
15-120 copies are being made for various
purposes, which accounts for major chunk
of your storage infrastructure. What we are
o!ering is a solution from Actifio that reduces
the storage by 90 percent,” says Choudha.
Spectrami’s security line of business also
boasts of very specialised vendors in the domain.
While Fidelis o!ers cyber security solutions,
Verdasys is a data loss prevention vendor and
LogRhythm specialises in SIEM. Others include
Tenable for vulnerability management and Titus
for data classification solutions.
Choudha says value means di!erent things
to di!erent people and is one of the abused
words in the industry today. “It is interesting
to see how value is being defined. You have
mainline disties who o!er value add in the form
of logistics and credit facilities. Then you have
true VADs who give you technical capabilities
and dedicated product management. But, I call
us as a VEM (vendor extention model), which
basically means that we behave like a vendor or
as an extension of their brand. We interact with
customers, develop proof of concept centres
and even do marketing for the vendor partners.”
Spectrami is currently looking to
expand its partner base but is choosy about
it as well. Choudha says the company is
looking for specialised partners who are
committed and focused. “Six months back
we were pushing channel partners at our
set of and now it’s the other way around.
We want to be selective and what we have
done is segment partners and certify them
for a specified technology. We want to
make sure that our partners are certified,
have the right skills and are ready to invest
in growing this business.”
To upskill its partners, Spectrami
organises training programmes every
month with the help of its vendors, and
has invested in a lab that can be remotely
accessed by the partners. “Some of these
are complex technologies that can’t be
mastered in a day and we even go to the
extent of providing on-job training to our
partners,” says Choudha.
Though 2012 raised serious concerns
about the health of the channel industry,
Choudha says it has been a di!erent case
for Spectrami, as some of the high-profile
security breaches in the region have created
a huge demand for security. “What happened
at Aramco and RasGas has been a blessing in
disguise. In the first half of the year, people
were talking about security, without really
budgeting for it, but this has turned the game
around on its head. Now, companies who
did not have a security-specific budget are
creating one and the mandate today is just
do it. 30000 infected PC being replaced at
Aramco was not a joke.”
Almost a year and half since starting
operations, Spectrami is now gearing up for
the next phase of growth by increasing the
headcount from 11 to 25 by the end of Q1 next
year and new o#ces in Saudi and Morocco.
“We want to continue to be niche and we
don’t want to get into the volume game,”
sums up Choudha. //
46 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
www.facebook.com/prologixmewww.prologixme.com [email protected] Call Now for Support 600 525523
Shaikh Zayed Road 55, R.K.M. Proper es Dubai, U.A.E | P.O Box: 71790Tel: 971 4 340 78 40 Fax: 971 4 340 78 41Email: [email protected] WWeb : www.prologixme.com
Maroor Street opposite Abu Dhabi Bus Sta on Maj building, c-‐159, O ce M 02 Abu Dhabi, U.A.E Tel. 971 2 641 88 68 Fax. 971 2 641 88 61Email: [email protected] WWeb : www.prologixme.com
O ce# 1602 | Y Cluster | Swiss Tower Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) Dubai, UAE | P.O Box: 71790Tel : +971 4 362 62 18 Fax: +971 4 368 30 39Email: [email protected] WWeb : www.prologixme.com
Opp. Palm Beach Hotel Khalid Bin Walid Road Bur Dubai, U.A.E| P.O Box: 71790Tel: 971 4 326 64 45Fax: 971 4 326 64 46Email: [email protected] WWeb : www.prologixme.com
In the business of rendering world-‐class security solutions since 1998, Prologix is playing a dynamic part in Intersec Exhibition to validate the reasons of its global recognition. Showcasing dynamic products and services, the company invites clients foraging for the best-‐of-‐breed commercial and technology-‐rich security systems. Business operations entails handling host of activities including BOQ design, planning, survey and installation of scrupulous security devices. Come explore the vigilant security systems worth praising.
Access control systems
Surveillance systems
Wireless solu ons
Networking solu ons
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Prologix L.L.C ( H,O) Prologix L.L.C Abu Dhabi Prologix Comserve JLT Prologix Showroom
Not Just SecurityYour Peace of Mind is Our Business
Not Just SecurityYour Peace of Mind is Our Business
Meet Us @ Intersec 2013(15-‐17 January) Hall#3 Stand# 3-‐125C
Charles Phillips joined Infor as CEO two years ago with a brand new team and a lifetime of experience, which he claimed were critical to breaking the stronghold of its competitors. Now, he is revelling in Infor’s recent success. Having just moved offices into the heart of New York and kick started the next generation of application integration, the Arkansas man is on a roll.
‘WE’RE THE DISRUPTIVE ALTERNATIVE’
INTERVIEWInfor
Charles Phillips, CEO, Infor
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 49
How have your first two years
been at Infor?
We’ve had a blast. I brought with
me a tightly linked team which
works well together. Having the guys I
chose personally has been really beneficial.
I’ve worked at Oracle, which is a fantastic
company, and I’ve worked in plenty of other
sectors too. I’ve seen the industry from lots of
di!erent angles so I brought with me a huge
amount of experience.
How do you see Infor’s presence in the
Middle East?
We’re doing very well in the Middle East
right now. We’re seeing a particular success
in healthcare. We already have about a
70% share of all hospitals in the US. The
healthcare system in the Middle East is
going through radical change, more so
than anywhere else. There are world class
hospitals being built, and for us it’s an
amazing opportunity. This hard work was
rewarded when we won the Healthcare
Deployment of the Year at CNME’s ICT
Achievement Awards 2012.
What is your strategy here, do you work
directly on the ground or mainly with
partners?
In any given year, about a third of our
business goes to our partners. However,
we want more feet on the street. One way
to do that is to keep up good relationships
with partners locally. It’s critical - no matter
how many people we hire we can never hire
enough to cover all the opportunity. Partners
have unique relationships with customers
which we can benefit from. We’re always
looking for more partners.
How do you see the market at the moment?
It’s a great time to push in this region. The
partners we’re signing now don’t want to
go through legacy and training on older
product bases such as Oracle or SAP. Our
new products are easy to use and learn and
quick to implement so it’s a good time to be
active in a fast moving region such as the
Middle East. It’s a little easier for us because
we’re relatively new - we didn’t have the old
middleware and didn’t have to carry that with
us so for a new partner they can skip those
generations. Those sorts of details have
helped us here and generally all over.
Can you elaborate on the next-gen
integration technology?
We recently built a next generation
integration platform. We took an internet
based approach to integration. It’s
exponentially simpler than traditional
middleware, which works for our purposes.
The problem with application integrations is
that when you change one thing, 500 other
things break. We’ve solved that with this.
How should the next generation of business
applications be delivered?
The next generation user will demand
beautiful products. They will want to
work on platforms and applications which
are similar to those which they use in
their personal time. Creating socially
inspired working applications will promote
easier tasking, better productivity and
happier employees. We have developed
“The partners are critical for us outside of the US. We have long lasting relationships inside the US but when we step outside, our partners become more and more important to our penetration.”
“The next generation user will demand beautiful products. They will want to work on platforms and applications which are similar to those which they use in their personal time.”
INTERVIEWInfor
our unique social business platform
- reinventing our applications to look
beautiful, integrating social media with
business for the future users.
People are used to consumer products.
We’re making the step of pushing it now
and moving that chapter forward. If you
look at Twitter or Facebook, this is how our
applications will look soon enough. We’re
about three to five years ahead of our
competitors so we will drive this move and
others will have to react. Unfortunately for
them, they have big architectures so they
won’t be able to change anything quickly.
This is the time for disruptive technology and
we want to be the disruptive alternative.
50 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
INFOR TEAMS UP WITH VMWARE
Infor has teamed up with VMWare to help
customers of its Infor LN ERP (enterprise
resource planning) software run on
VMWare’s latest virtualisation technology,
opening a door to cloud deployments
and potentially lower infrastructure costs.
The companies have created a
reference architecture that customers and
partners can use to create a virtual appliance
with VMWare products such as vSphere,
Cloud Director and vFabric, according to the
announcement. Customers will be able to
deploy the appliances to either on-premises
or cloud infrastructures, Infor said.
Infor is hoping to work with customers
on the virtual appliances and will likely have
packaged products out within six months.
The VMWare announcement follows a similar
one Infor made with Red Hat in September.
Why fork out $900 for a 50-inch TV, when you can get a 100-inch for the same price?
SIZE DOES MATTER
REVIEWSony
I must admit, I had never before
considered buying a projector.
But when I was sent Sony’s new
home theatre projector – the
VPL-BW120S – everything changed.
Previously, I was of the seemingly
misinformed opinion that the picture quality
on a projector did not live up to the standards
of the high definition plasma TVs we take for
granted today. Or perhaps it was an accurate
opinion, but the new home theatre projectors
on o!er now are doing great at narrowing
that gap.
Yes, the VPL-BW120S is a heavy and
bulky piece of equipment, but far less so than
a television so that’s not significant. It can also
be placed close to a wall or screen without
the need to mount it.
The really smart thing is the short throw
technology. This means that the projector
can be placed 15 feet away from the
intended surface or as close as 5 feet away
and still produce a clear 100-inch image
and brightness.
This review was done by Ben Rossi, Reseller Middle East’s contributing editor
As soon as you turn it on, it’ll light up your
living room and you’ll wonder why you never
invested in one of these before.
Using 3LCD display technology, the
VPL-BW120S reproduces picture with a
brightness output of 2600 lumens (on high
lamp mode) at WXGA (1280 x 800) native
resolution. It also has a high contrast ratio
of 4000:1 for colour reproduction and 12-bit
3D gamma correction, meaning you get an
overall excellent picture quality and don’t find
yourself missing your plasma.
According to Sony, the projector achieves
uniform image colour and brightness that
extends right to the corners of the screen,
and I certainly couldn’t dispute that claim. It
also o!ers energy-e#cient features such as
a power saving mode, standby mode, and
a synchronised lamp and filter replacement
cycle of 6,000 hours.
Furthermore, built-in speakers enable
a one cable (HDMI) connection, and the
projector also comes with a variety of other
input options such as RGB, Composite,
S-Video, RS-232C control input/output and
audio ports.
However, there is one big disclaimer on
the VPL-BW120S. It will ruin your social life.
Let me explain.
On my first day with the VPL-BW120S I
watched my favourite TV show Homeland
and decided it was the best thing since
sliced bread.
On my second day, I was scheduled to
go to the cinema with my friends. Having
re-evaluated the situation I could no longer
see any sense in spending a small fortune
to watch a movie in a cramped seat just for
the benefit of a big screen. That big screen
experience was now in my living room with
my comfy couch and cheap snacks, so I
stayed at home and celebrated the now
redundant relevance of cinemas to my life.
On day three I was again all set to head
out to with my friends, this time to watch my
beloved football team play on the big screen
at a local establishment. Again, I failed to
conceive why I should sip on overpriced
drinks just for the sake of watching my
severely underperforming team fail in their
attempts to kick a football around. Instead,
I wallowed in my self-pity with my new best
friend – the VPL-BW120S.
The conclusion is that with the VPL-BW120S
you can be the envy of your friends and play
host at the same time. But make sure you save
that alone time too because this projector is sure
to be the new love of your life. //
52 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
Unifi ed
Web
Endpoint
Mobile
Network
Data
For more information: www.sophos.com/unifi ed
Sophos Middle East | Offi ce 205-EIB 5 | Alpha BuildingPO Box 500469 | Dubai Internet City | Dubai | UAE Email: [email protected] | Tel: +971 4375 4332 | www.sophos.com
Sophos RED Provides complete protection for even the smallest branch and home offi ces.
Complete UTM Security: It extends your Network, Web and Email Security subscriptions on your Sophos UTM to branch offi ces.
Built-in central management: The Sophos UTM controls your Sophos RED so there’s no need to manage individual devices.
Rapid deployment: Sophos RED is the fi rst security gateway that doesn’t require local set up or technical skills at the remote site.
Virtual Ethernet cable: Sophos RED acts like a remote network port connected by a virtual Ethernet cable to your Sophos UTM.
Strong Encryption: All data sent to the central UTM appliance is protected with strong encryption and authentication.
You’re safer in our world
Morepoints
Lesscomplex
Lessmaintenance
Sophos_RED_neemea_217x280.indd 1 27.11.2012 13:39:18
We’re certainly not spoilt for choice when it comes to top of the range tablets these days, but what about the lower end of the spectrum? The Axpad 7i02, from Axtrom, fits comfortably into that category, but what exactly are the requirements?
REVIEWAxpad
To me, the ‘lower end of the
spectrum’ means one thing;
price. If I purchase a product
towards the lower end of the
spectrum, I expect it to be affordable,
simple, and charismatic. The Axpad 7i02
is all of these things.
It’s a simple tablet with no hidden
agenda - a tidy package of features and
apps, and little more than a light tug on
your wallet – it sells at AED399, a tiny
amount for an Android device.
I’ll spell it out for you now however,
if you’re looking for a tablet tablet, then
this isn’t for you. It’s not going to rival your
laptop with its entertainment system, it’s
not going to rival your smartphone with its
camera capabilities, and it’s not going to
provide you with crisp browsing like the
higher end tablets will.
AXTROM AXPAD 7I02
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 55
To move past the obvious; this device
isn’t here to compete with Apple, Microsoft
and Samsung, etc. I’ve been playing
around with it for a couple of days and
trying to figure out the meaning of life for
the Axpad. With Christmas approaching,
it struck me that, although marketed as a
lower end tablet device, the Axpad is, in
fact, a high end toy.
I’ve heard countless stories where
business professionals have handed their
handheld devices over to their children
to fiddle with and taken them back in a
state far worse off than when the handover
happened. In my professional opinion, this
is the perfect answer to this issue.
This tablet is extremely sturdy. It’s a
tough cookie, believe me, because I often
take the form of a small child and have
dropped it twice already. However, it’s not
actually built for this, as the first page of
the user manual states; ‘do not drop, bend,
hit, throw or puncture.’
It’s smaller than most tablets, lighter
( just 36g), simpler, and compliments
smaller hands just fittingly. I’m not saying
it’s a kids game, it isn’t. It’s got 3G
capability, document applications, maps,
and other handy features as standard.
It has five swipe home screens with the
capability to customise your interface
easily just by dragging and dropping, it
does its best not to over-complicate any
process – a businessman could easily find
many productive uses for it.
In fact, you’ll find a heap of little
Android touches all over the device, which
isn’t unusual as it runs on the 4.1 Jelly
Bean operating system. The browsing is
fast, seamless, and web pages look pretty
good. The resolution, however, is pretty
poor, though presented as 800x480, I
wasn’t totally convinced. The screen can
be somewhat unresponsive at times, and
perhaps the backwards facing speakers
could have been better positioned.
The verdict Overall, what it claims to do, it does well. It hasn’t arrived to take a run at the iPad or the Surface, it’s a light, small, and delightfully cheap Android device. Great for fast gaming, customising, instant messaging and general play time. The Axpad is the ideal travel partner, whether alone or with several kids in tow.
RATINGS:
HARDWARE 8/10
PERFORMANCE 6/10
VALUE FOR MONEY 7/10The camera – we all know I like a
good camera. Sadly, this doesn’t possess
such a thing. In fact, the chances are that
your smartphone carries a better camera
than the 2mp one situated on the back of
this device. However, those people that
hold up tablets and snap pictures with
two hands can be irritating at the best of
the times, it’s not built for those people. A
sweetener is that it does sport a forward
facing camera, and with Skype already
installed, you can use it to for video
calling. That’s a great feature whatever
your age or purpose.
The winning feature on this device
is that it supports 3D games. The SD
card can run up to 32G maximum, it’s
pretty impressive and the games run very
smoothly on the device as a whole. //
This review was done by Joe Lipscombe, sub-edtior at CP Technology
REVIEWAxpad
56 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
Canon Middle East has launched three
new premium PIXMA printers that produce
photo-lab quality prints at home and boast
advanced design features, the PIXMA iP7240,
PIXMA MG5440 and PIXMA MG6340.
Joining Canon’s All-in-One Photo printer
range are the MG5440 and MG6340, two
high-performance PIXMA devices which
feature fast print speeds, the option of cost-
saving high capacity XL inks, and enhanced
connectivity for printing around the home.
CANON INTROS NEW PIXMA PRINTERS
The launch also includes the new PIXMA
iP7240, a document and photo printer
replacing the iP4950, with faster print speeds
and Wi-Fi connectivity. The iP7240 also
supports tablet and smartphone printing.
The latest PIXMA printers have been
designed to be even easier to use. The
MG6340, for example, features a large 8.8cm
colour touch-screen display that combines
with Canon’s Intelligent Touch System, which
is integrated into the surface of the printer, for
easy and intuitive, light-guided touch operation.
The new printers also feature Auto Power
O!, an energy saving function that allows
the PIXMAs to automatically switch o! if
left idle for a set amount of time. For added
convenience, Auto Power On turns the printer
on automatically when a print job is sent to it,
particularly useful when printing wirelessly.
HOT PRODUCTSNew launches
Epson has expanded its SureColor wide-
format printer line-up in the Middle East with
three, 4-colour printers for CAD, GIS and POS
applications. The Epson SureColor SC-T7000,
SC-T5000 and SC-T3000 o"er fast, reliable
printing on coated and non-coated media up
to 44-inch (1,118mm), 36-inch (914mm) and
24-inch (610mm) wide respectively. Epson
also revealed that the 36 inch printer is a new
size that the company was introducing to the
market for the first time.
The SC-T7000, SC-T5000 and SC-
T3000 are ideal for applications where
speed and economy are paramount, such
as printing architectural designs and plans,
maps, presentations, posters and indoor
signage. The printers take just 28 seconds
to produce an A1 print in draft mode on
plain paper, and o!er optimised running
costs with a choice of 700ml, 350ml and
110ml ink cartridge sizes.
The printers use Epson’s new
UltraChrome XD Ink, which has been
specifically developed to produce high-
quality, durable prints with deep blacks,
a wide colour gamut and crisp, dense
lines with a minimum width of 0.02mm.
Epson’s Variable-size Droplet Technology
brings clarity to fine detail while delivering
optimum e#ciency for larger areas of colour.
WD now o"ers its WD Sentinel
DX4000 small o#ce storage server
with a capacity of 16TB, in addition to
existing shipping capacities of 4 TB,
6 TB, 8 TB and 12 TB. WD Sentinel is
a storage server designed specifically
to meet the storage needs of small-
to-medium sized businesses (SMBs).
The WD Sentinel 16TB unit includes
four 4TB hard drives, which o"er
small business owners the capacity,
performance and capabilities they
need to support their business. The
WD Sentinel DX4000 small o#ce
storage server acts as the “on-premise
cloud storage” solution for the SMB.
The WD Sentinel includes
backup & recovery licenses for up
to 25 client computers and features
redundant network, power and USB 3.0
connectivity, a complete DLNA media
server and secure remote web access
to all authorized users.
The DX4000 servers ship with
KeepVault, an optional cloud backup
storage provider, which provides an
integrated o!site backup solution for
SMBs’ most important information,
providing a secure o!site disaster
protection plan at an SMB price point.
WD ROLLS OUT 16TB SMALL OFFICE STORAGE SERVER
EPSON LAUNCHES 4-COLOUR PRINTERS
58 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
Kingston Technology has unveiled HyperX
Beast, the latest addition to the HyperX
product line. It matches high performance
with the largest available capacities and
is XMP ready. HyperX Beast is aimed at
gamers, and content creators, who want high-
performing hardware in an innovative design.
HyperX Beast is part of the Predator family,
and features kits up to 2400MHz for faster
processing times in applications requiring
maximum performance, and is available
in capacities from 8GB-64GB. The new
heatspreader colour and design adds diversity
and character to the current HyperX memory
o!erings. It is designed to work with third-
generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors as
well as the latest AMD A-Series processors. For
added benefit, HyperX Beast is Intel XMP ready
so users can easily achieve the best performance
optimisation by simply selecting a speed profile,
hand-tuned by Kingston engineers.
KINGSTON UNLEASHES HYPERX BEAST
NOKIA DEBUTS LUMIA RANGE
Nokia Middle East has launched Nokia
Lumia 920 and the Nokia Lumia 820,
based on Windows Phone 8 in the region.
The Nokia Lumia 920 is the flagship
Windows Phone 8 smartphone, including
Arabic language capabilities and the
latest advances in Nokia PureView
imaging innovation.
Using advanced floating lens
technology, the camera in the Nokia Lumia
920 is able to take in five times more light
than competing smartphones without
using flash, making it possible to
capture clear, bright pictures and
video indoors and at night.
The Nokia Lumia 920
also comes with Nokia City
Lens, the latest addition to
the Nokia location suite. By
pointing the camera at a city
street, City Lens overlays
information about restaurants,
shops, hotels and more on the
surfaces of buildings, for the
most intuitive way to explore
surroundings. Nokia City Lens
is the start of a new augmented
reality experience that also
enhances Nokia Maps, making
it possible to move between maps view
and augmented reality view to help people
check their direction and surroundings.
Along with enhancements to Nokia Drive
and Nokia Transport, the Nokia location
suite of services represents the most
comprehensive, integrated mapping
experience of any smartphone.
The Nokia Lumia 920 comes in yellow,
red, grey, white and black. The Nokia
Lumia 820 comes in red, yellow, grey, cyan,
purple, white and black.
CISCO EXPANDS LINKSYS X-SERIES
Cisco has introduced a new addition
to its X-Series product line, the Linksys
X1000. This 802.11n Wi-Fi router with
built-in ADSL modem can be connected
to an ADSL line or to a cable or fibre
modem and share the broadband
connection wirelessly to all devices in
your home.
The new model is the first to feature
the new X-Series design that matches the
rest of the Linksys Wi-Fi portfolio. The new
design, with a black matte finish, makes it
a stylish addition to any modern home. As
with all products in the Linksys X-Series,
the Linksys X1000 is an ideal solution for
consumers who want an easy way to install
Wi-Fi solution for their home that works
with both Mac and Windows computers.
Linksys X-Series products work with
Cisco Connect Express, a free mobile app
for smart phones and tablets that enables
users to keep control of their home Wi-Fi.
Connect a Smart TV to your Wi-Fi with
a push of a button or enable the guest
network for visitors and immediately
send them the password through a text
message or e-mail – all directly from
your mobile device. The Cisco Connect
Express App is available for free from the
Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Reseller Middle EastDECEMBER 2012 59NOVEMBER 2012
HOT PRODUCTS
Cyberoam has rolled out the NG Series
appliances for future-ready security in IT
networks. The NG Series enables SOHO/
SMBs networks to become future-ready
as they move towards gigabit network
infrastructure and high Internet speeds,
says the company.
NG Series appliances come pre-
loaded with CyberoamOS – the most
powerful Cyberoam firmware till date.
CYBEROAM UNVEILS UTM FOR SMBS
SOURCEFIRE STRENGTHENS FIREPOWERSourcefire has strengthened and expanded
its FirePOWER appliance family, providing
users with the unmatched ability to protect
against sophisticated malware, advanced
persistent threats (APTs) and targeted
attacks. One of the latest innovations is
the introduction of advanced malware
protection for FirePOWER, which provides
visibility and control of modern threats on
the network – from point of entry, through
propagation, to post-infection remediation.
Sourcefire also introduced additions
to the FirePOWER 7000 Series appliance
lineup, and new 5.1.1 software featuring
file type detection and control, as well
as security intelligence for IP reputation
and blacklisting. With the new models,
Sourcefire’s performance range now
spans from 50 Mbps to 40+ Gbps.
FirePOWER appliances provide industry-
best threat protection with proven
performance leadership, and comprise
Sourcefire Next-Generation Intrusion
Prevention Systems (NGIPS), with and
without application control, and Next-
Generation Firewall (NGFW) models on a
universal platform.
The new firmware tightly integrates with
the hardware for network and crypto
acceleration to deliver high performance.
The CyberoamOS also extracts full
performance from a multi-core platform,
along with offering minimum latency and
improved processing speed with use of
optimized Interrupt rates and FastPath
technology. The NG series appliances also
boars of powerful hardware consisting
of Gigahertz processors for nano second
security processing along with Gigabit
Ethernet ports and high port density. The
unique design and robust components
used in the NG series support high speed
I/O throughputs for better performance as
well as protect against tough environment
conditions, including power surge and
fluctuations.
New launches
60 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012NOVEMBER 2012
Waleed Al-Basheer, Intelligent
Network Solutions Manager at
GBM, has an almost sagely advice
to his peers: “Life o!ers many
opportunities and one should always make
the right use of it.”
Al-Basheer, who is a young achiever,
describes himself as a very straightforward,
level headed person, who has learned to take
challenges head-on and use it as a fuel to push
ahead. “I am adventurous by nature and like to
take up new challenges, which gives me the
zeal and impetus to work towards excellence.
One thing I firmly believe in is that one should
always strive towards individual betterment. I
am never scared of beginning where others
end,” he says in an impassioned tone.
Probably, Al-Basheer’s unique style and
personality stems from his attitude towards
challenges and his innate ability to embrace
change. He says he has been motivated and
inspired by a quote from Martin Luther King
Jr.--“The ultimate measure of a man is not
where he stands in moments of comfort and
convenience, but where he stands at times of
challenge and controversy.”
He adds that in today’s fast growing global
and business world, the possibility of change
sits constantly on our shoulders. “Truly, nothing
is certain and constant except change. I enjoy
adapting to new technological advancements,
which have changed the shape of our lives over
the past couple of decades.”
Waleed Al-Basheer
PEOPLE FOCUS
Driven to succeedAl-Basheer, who has been in the IT
industry for 10 years, is fascinated by the
pace of change and has witnessed the rapid
evolution of IT trends that have a far-reaching
impact on our everyday lives. “Computational
power rises exponentially, not linearly, and so
does the rate of change. Adapting to these
changes has polished and enriched my
experience in IT,” he says.
He adds that the most interesting aspect
of his work is being able to interact with
di!erent kind of people through his role in
the channel and exposure to di!erent market
segments. “However, the most challenging
part of my professional life is ensuring
customer satisfaction. In the competitive
marketplace, customer satisfaction is a key
performance indicator and is seen as a key
di!erentiator against competitors.”
This led to his firm conviction that it is an
imperative for businesses to provide more
than just products and services. “Businesses
are also responsible for helping customers
with technical issues, even small ones,
because they can have an enormous impact
on the customer experience. Understanding
the customer’s needs, enhancing service
delivery and providing quality assurance will
help not only to meet but to surpass customer
expectations,” Al-Basheer says.
Since Joining GBM in 2007, Al-Basheer
says he has become more assertive, even in
situations outside of comfort zone. Working at
GBM has also honed his interpersonal skills,
be it with colleagues or customers. Though
Al-Basheer spends most of his time at work, like
many in the industry, he has been able to strike
a fine balance between work and personal life.
“It has been a conscious decision, and I am
always mindful of drawling lines between them.
Whether I am at work or at home, I do my best
to stay fully invested in that place at that time. If I
am at home with the family, I set aside work and
enjoy them to the fullest,” he says.
By force of habit, Al-Basheer starts his
day with reading emails and organizing
his calendar, and feels hapless without his
mobile, laptop and iPad, even if he is on a
holiday. “Multitasking and fairly balancing
between my personal and work life is key.
The trick is to detach from one or the other,
depending on the situation and the priority.
Al-Basheer, who is passionate about
learning, says he is particularly interested
in learning new disciplines in math, physics
and fringe science. He also likes to watch
documentaries during his spare time.
Married with twins, Al-Basheer is a doting
dad and says he always finds the time to
spend with his children. And his ultimate
dream in life? “I like the academic path. My
lifelong ambition has always been to get a
PhD in a science, such as math or physics. I
am also interested in eventually volunteering
to teach courses at a university, while
completing research and theses,” he says. //
Waleed Al-Basheer, Intelligent Network Solutions Manager at GBM
62 Reseller Middle East DECEMBER 2012
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