Published by: VAR MEA Magazine. For enquiries, contact Tel: +971-4-3326647 Fax: +971-4-3326621 sales@var-mea.com or info@var-mea.com www.VARonline.com

...continued on pg 4

16th August 2011Issue 142

What’s New - AcerIn Focus - Al Hosani Computer

Golden Systems Middle East (GSME) have won the ‘Best Distributor’ award for the Middle

East region from ZOTAC International, close on the heels of the ‘Best Performance’ award

they had won from the vendor earlier this year.

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

..

Powerful wirelessperformance in your home

GRAND PCD TRADING 04-43937661

Golden Systems wins Best

Distributor Award from ZOTAC

Printingon the goHP Middle East recently announced new imaging and printing solutions and devices designed to help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and enterprise organizations enhance employee productivity, both in the office and on-the-go. Amin Mortazavi, General Manager, Imaging & Printing Group, HP Middle East says HP’s new technolo-gies and innovations are designed to transform paper-intense processes into simple digital workflows, allowing businesses to identify new opportunities for growth. He discusses further in the following interview with VAR magazine.

...continued on pg 4

cer

Aspire x755NotebookSeries

Building on

the lead

2 16th August 2011

Authorized Partner

Rising Technologies LLCP.O. Box 45766, Khalid Bin Waleed Road, Opp. Highland Hotel, Bur Dubai - UAETel: +971 4 3939201, 3939202 Fax: +971 4 3939203, E-mail: risetech@emirates.net.ae

316th August 2011

4 16th August 2011

Discuss how e-print technology now

features more prominently across your

devices.

The recent launch was to introduce e-print

across the inkjet portfolio. The launch in

the region was first done in Cairo.

The recent product launches further

endorses our commitment to making

e-print capabilities available in more of our

devices and specifically addresses needs of

our customers in the region. We have

equipped our entry level printers with

e-print capability. This means each of the

printers has its own email id and can be

sent print orders through the cloud.

How has the adoption been across

segments?

e-print has revolutionized Technology.

There are two segments. The consumer

segment is picking up which is positively

surprising. We are in talks with corporate

side customers to deploy e-print solutions.

While these are initial stages in the

commercial segment, it is absolutely

known and accepted on the consumer

side.

We have also introduced a couple of colour

laser printers for the SMB segment and

they also incorporate e-print capabilities.

This is a helpful feature for an SMB which

may have workforce travelling and with a

need to print on the go. There are security

features. First of all it goes through the HP

cloud. Email address is randomly gener-

ated, quite secured and known to only

users.

How is Managed Print Services gaining

currency?

We are on the verge of closing a big MPS

deal with a large customer in the region.

The establishment of HP Financial Services

last November at DIFC has enabled us

further scope in working on large MPS

deals. We have already worked out some

MPS deals through our partners, which

further shows our commitment to the

partner model.

What other value propositions are

available for customers?

We are flexible in terms of customer

offerings. We have introduced a software

with our new printers that gives them

capability to upgrade the firmware. HP

FutureSmart Firmware and the latest

version of the HP Open Extensibility

Platform (OXP) help extend the life of an

imaging and printing fleet while helping to

increase office productivity and simplify

fleet management.

How successful have been your

initiatives to combat counterfeits trade?

We have increased our efforts in fighting

News

the business of counterfeits. We have been

quite successful in going after the

criminals, working with authorities across

the region.

We have done many seizures of fake

products across counties like Egypt, KSA,

UAE etc. This has brought down the

menace significantly. At the same time, we

are also ensuring that the awareness in the

industry and among consumers continues

to improve not just regarding counterfeits

but also regarding environment friendly

practices such as recycling of empty toners

through our Planet partner program.

Discuss initiatives on the eco-printing

front?

It is not new to us and we continue to

undertake several initiatives. We have

introduced features to reduce consump-

tion of electricity. we have included duplex

printing to print either side of a printer. The

planet partner program takes back empty

toners for recycling.

Is retail going strong or is there a dip?

We see retail growing. In some countries it

is growing while in some it remains a bit

flat. But this is kind off-season and post

Ramadan, there should be further increase.

How is the growth in the large format

printer business?

In the large format segment, there was a

dip after the construction slowdown in the

region. We have however sustained our

market share. In Q1, we had 78.5 % market

share in the region and we do not expect

any major change.

How vital is training for partners?

Discuss your engagement on the

channel front?

We will start a partners training program

right after Eid. It is necessary to ensure that

partners are well informed to satisfy

customer queries and make the best of

cross selling and up-selling opportunities.

We continuously look at the programs

catering to our partners. We make sure the

programs are up to date and meet their

requirements in the market. HP IPG has the

biggest coverage across the region in

terms of partner accounts Managers. The

priority is to increase the number of people

on ground in markets like Kuwait, Qatar,

Bahrain, Oman etc. We want to make it

easier for partners to access our services.

How has the year been so far and what

is the outlook?

This year, the industry has come into the

recovery phase. We look forward optimisti-

cally to September- October and the next

fiscal.

HP Middle EastIn Focus

Golden Systems was chosen for this accolade for their

outstanding sales performance in 2010, effective

regional distribution strategy, customer service, strong

marketing support and for increasing ZOTAC’s market

share and brand visibility in the region.

“We are happy and proud to win a second award from

ZOTAC this year. Being awarded the ‘Best Distributor’

award is another milestone for Golden Systems which

has motivated our team to work even harder towards

achieving further growth for this brand in the region. I

would like to dedicate these awards to the Golden

Kaspersky Lab announced the

availability of the 2012 versions of

its home user products KIS and KAV

for customers across the Middle

East region. The two products are

available in many of the specialized

and unspecialized stores across the

region, to make it available to the

widest range of users possible.

The new Kaspersky Internet

Security 2012 and Kaspersky

Anti-Virus 2012 incorporate

advanced protection technologies:

a sandbox for launching suspicious

applications, a program activity

monitoring module, a script

emulator, a cloud-based reputa-

tion database, a virtual keyboard

plus many other features.

In the 2012 versions of Kaspersky

Lab's home user products, cloud-

based technologies have been

improved. By regularly exchanging

information between products

installed on users’ machines and

the centralized databases in the cloud, the most up-to-date threat information is made

available for the protection of users. In addition to superior protection from the cloud, the

new product versions also demonstrate how they do it. The main program window

provides users with in-depth information about which cloud components are active and

how they are protecting users’ computers and personal data.

Kaspersky Lab believes that the combination of cloud protection and security software

running on users’ computers is an ideal way of ensuring multilayered protection. At

present, this hybrid approach is the best option in terms of combating the wide range of

threats out there in the wild. That is why both of the new product versions feature

improved cloud technologies and enhanced program capabilities.

Tarek Kuzbari, Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab Middle East and Turkey, said, “This launch

comes as an assurance on our commitment to our loyal customers in the Middle East

region, who are becoming more and more tech savvy and security aware, especially with

the increase use of social media and online services. The products are now available in all

authorized stores”.

“Being aware of the availability of pirated KL softwares in the region, our team have initiated

a number of measures aimed at providing Middle East consumers with the supported and

official products which are tailor made for the local needs,” continued Tarek Kuzbari, Manag-

ing Director, Kaspersky Lab Middle East and Turkey. “Our paramount priority is the protec-

tion of our customers from buying illegally imported products and indirectly lending their

support to pirates in this respect. And we want to ensure that channel partners stay well

away from grey imports and turn to legitimate business practices instead.”

Kaspersky Lab has put together an anti-grey market drive that comprises a range of

concrete steps designed to tackle the issue at its root. Kaspersky Lab will only activate

codes designed for use within the Middle East region. Localized versions of the products

ensure that buyers gain technical support and activation codes. Moreover, the vendor has

introduced boxes that include a territorial belonging identifier – a special line on the box in

Arabic and English that specifies the region that the product is sold in, in addition to a

stretch-card with ME barcode

2012 KIS and KAV editions

include new and improved features

Systems’ team who have put in tremendous efforts to

grow the ZOTAC brand and provide only the best

service, support and technical expertise to our custom-

ers,” says Iman Mozaffari, Senior Product Manager,

Golden Systems Middle East.

Golden Systems is a leading distributor in the region

representing some strong brands in the components

segment. It has recently won awards from its vendor-

partners such as Kingmax, Coolermaster apart from

ZOTAC.

Tarek Kuzbari

Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab ME, Turkey

“Golden Systems has shown tremendous commitment

in promoting ZOTAC in the Middle East in 2010 in such

a short span of time. We would like to thank them and

show them our appreciation by giving them the ‘Best

Distributor’ award for the Middle East for 2010. Golden

Systems has demonstrated exceptional ability in

promoting ZOTAC’s products in the region with the

highest levels of customer satisfaction. We are happy

with our decision of signing them as our distributor and

are confident they will continue to break barriers for

ZOTAC in the Middle East,” said Carsten Berger, market-

ing director, ZOTAC International.

516th August 2011

16th August 20116

Please discuss your recent recognition

from Kaspersky?

We got the best partner award from

Kaspersky at the partner conference

recently in Capetown in recognition of our

sales achievements, and creative marketing

of Kaspersky Lab products. We were also

credited for promoting of Kaspersky Lab

software to the key retailers in the GCC,

including Carrefour ME, Sharaf ME, Jarir

Bookstores, Plug-Ins, Geant ME, EMax ME,

Jacky's, Jumbo, Dubai Duty Free,

CompuMe and HyperPanda.

What are the other brands you

distribute?

We are working with several leading

software brands in the region. Our major

focus is IT software. Besides Kaspersky, we

have distribution rights for ABBYY, Sony,

Magix, Adobe, Roxio, Nero among other

software brands. We are a distributor for

Sage as well in the retail segment.

How has the year been so far in terms of

sales?

It has been challenging. We have

progressed through the year. We have

achieved good growth with Kaspersky

which is today the top choice among

buyers of AV security software and has

growing appeal with consumers. They like

the product as it is light and fast.

The business is improving in countries like

Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan although maybe

not to the extent we desire.

Are you looking to expand in terms of

new offices at other locations?

We will be opening an office in DSO to be

closer to our customers. We want to make

it easier for them to interact with us. We

News

will retain our Sharjah office.

There was a delay in opening the Qatar

office because we were in the midst of a

busy period. We will open in 2012. We have

an office in Iran that serves Iran as well as

Pakistan and Afghanistan.

We continue to work in KSA through our

partner’s office. KSA remains a large focus

for us as it is the largest market in GCC

territory. But several brands have had to

deal with the issue of piracy there. In Egypt,

we have faced small issues with customs as

rules and regulations are not the same as in

GCC.

Would you be participating at GITEX

this year?

We are participating at the GITEX trade

exhibition as well as at the GITEX Shopper.

One of our activities last years was a

campaign for Kaspersky buyers. Through a

raffle draw, a UAE local won the prize

which was a Mini-Cooper. We will look at

some interesting activities this year as well.

Discuss how you see volume of business

changing across power retailer and the

reseller channel?

We do equal sales between the power

retailer and the regular channel segment.

The shift would depend on changes in the

market but there should be growth in both

segments.

What challenges do you continue to

see?

The challenge is to keep promoting our

brands and continue ensuring their

success. We have increased our sales team,

merchandising support, support team etc.

We are careful with products we carry.

There is a need to be more selective.

Al Hosani ComputerIn Focus

HP recently announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2011

and suggested the possible spin off of HP PSG. HP unveiled the details of a plan to

accelerate the strategy introduced in March. The plan introduced is expected to move

HP into higher value, higher margin growth categories, sharpen HP's focus on its

strategic priorities of cloud, solutions and software with an emphasis on enterprise,

commercial and government markets and increase investment in innovation to drive

differentiation

As part of the transformation, HP announced that its board of directors has authorized

the exploration of strategic alternatives for the company's Personal Systems Group. HP

will consider a broad range of options that may include, among others, a full or partial

separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction. HP will discontinue

operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. The

devices have not met internal milestones and financial targets. HP will continue to

explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

"We're focused on improving performance across the business," said Léo Apotheker,

HP president and chief executive officer. "HP is taking bold, transformative steps to

position the company as a leader in the evolving information economy. The plan will

allow HP to drive creation of long-term shareholder value through a focus on fewer

fronts, thereby improving its ability to execute, invest in innovation and drive a higher-

margin business mix."

HP's Commercial

businesses remain

healthy with 5% revenue

growth year over year.

HP's Consumer

businesses, within PSG

and IPG, were collectively

down 15% year over year.

Personal Systems Group

(PSG) revenue declined

3% year over year but PSG

remains the PC market

leader in terms of units,

revenue and profit share.

Commercial Client

revenue grew 9% and

Consumer Client revenue

declined 17%.

So far, this year has brought little cheer to the market so far as far as growth goes across established

product segments in the PC industry. Tablets have robbed the sheen from notebooks and netbooks

with an impressive growth trajectory.

The slow industry pace and flat growth rates challenges the visions that companies have held on

to in the past few years. Companies are definitely looking at shifts in strategies as HP’s consideration

of spinning of HP PSG reveals. Google’s buyout of Motorola’s Mobile phones business is also a

dramatic shift for the software company to a hardware vendor, and ensuring that it would in due

course compete head on with some of its biggest OEM clients in the Android segment.

Potentially, the next few quarters could reveal some more dramatic plans of makeovers from manu-

facturers as boundaries between product categories continue to blur. This will be a response to

testing times as margins continue to drop. Hopefully, most of them would be well thought out long

terms visionary strategies and not reflect only the thinking of the current leadership to be later

debunked, when a new team takes over.

In the past few years ever since it heralded the iPhone and later the iPad, Apple has cornered an

overwhelming part of the growth for the IT and smartphones industry combine in the consumer

segment. In other words, while Apple extended its reach into the consumer segment, attracting

first time buyers of its products, this growth came at the expense of established players in the IT as

well as smartphones industry. The plight of Nokia which has seen its market share drop tells the

story in the smartphones segment. In the PC industry, the failure of most vendors barring Samsung

to bring out a competitive alternative to the Ipad is illustrative.

In addition to the economic slowdown, the innovative shift that Apple brought along seems to

have caught most traditional PC hardware manufacturers off

guard. They have been slow to respond and have seen the

opportunity slip by to make an impact in new categories. Inevita-

bly, the advantage in PC and Notebook markets would continue

to shift towards manufacturers that can combine low cost manu-

facturing along with innovative offerings, leading towards

realignment in the marketplace.

Editorial

A potential realignment Building on the lead

HP mulls PSG spin-off

Al Hosani computer is one of the leading distributers of Kaspersky as well as several other software brands. Ryad Santouh, Managing Partner at Al Hosani Computer LLC speaks in the following interview with VAR Magazine on how the distributor is consolidating despite market challenges

Ryad Santouh

Managing Partner, Al Hosani Computer

Leo Apotheker

President & CEO, HP

716th August 2011

CHOOSE ALLIED TELESISNETWORKING PRODUCTS

Ideal for IP Surveillance & IP Telephony deployments

CALL OUR AUTHORISED RESELLERS NOW!!!

AT-8000S/24POE· Layer 2 Stackable Fast Ethernet Switch· All Ports POE Enabled· ECO- Friendly switch (Green)· Gigabit Fiber / Copper uplinks· Truly Stackable (up to 6 devices)· Multicast support (IGMP snooping)· Link aggregation & Port Mirroring· Web interface· Industry standard CLI management· QOS· 5 Years Warranty

AT-8000S/24· Layer 2 Stackable Fast Ethernet Switch· ECO- Friendly switch (Green)· Gigabit Fiber / Copper uplinks· Truly Stackable (up to 6 devices)· Multicast support (IGMP snooping)· Link aggregation & Port Mirroring· Web interface· Industry standard CLI management· QOS· 5 Years Warranty

AT-FS750/24POE· 24 Ports Web Managed Switch· 12 Ports PoE Enabled· Gigabit Fiber / Copper uplinks· Multicast support (IGMP snooping)· Web interface management· ECO- Friendly switch (Green)· QOS· 5 Years Warranty

Media Converters

Allied Telesis engineers high-performance, high-quality, future-proof products to meet all of your cutting-edge voice, video and data networking needs, without breaking your budget. From unmanaged and WebSmart switches to Layer 2 and Layer 3 switches, our strength is in producing efficient, streamlined, powerful products that will last for the life of your network and deliver the highest-possible return on your investment.

Allied Telesis switches featuring the eco friendly logo have been

designed to operate at significantly lower power than

traditional switches. This not only reduces environmental impact,

but also reduces the operational running costs of the switch.

alliedtelesis.com

Secure VPN Routers

SOME OTHER PRODUCTS

1G & 10G Copper/Fiber NICs

Datasat Computer Technology LLC+9714 393 0038datasat@eim.ae

Scan Trans Computers LLC+9714 393 7252scanme@eim.ae

UAE

16th August 20118

Avira seems to have been a later entrant

into this market. How do you reckon the

company can make a significant impact in

the local market?

We are confident that Avira has the reputation

and experience to be quite successful in this

market and we have seen positive results.

Avira has been a worldwide leading provider of

professional and private antivirus software and

IT security solutions. The company has over 25

years of business experience and more than

100 million clients. Avira AntiVir's core product

distinguishes itself due to its outstanding

reliability and has been regularly honored with

the VB100 awards. Avira is the only provider of

antivirus software that offers IT security

products that also guarantee protection

against data espionage.

Discuss range of products being distributed

from Avira?

The range includes products for private users

and Business users as well as bundles. The

personal products include Avira AntiVir

Personal , Avira AntiVir Premium and Avira

AntiVir Security Suite.

For Companies , there is a comprehensive

range that include Avira AntiVir Professional ,

Avira AntiVir Server , Avira AntiVir SharePoint ,

Avira AntiVir MailGate , Avira MailGate Suite ,

Avira AntiSpam , Avira AntiVir Exchange , Avira

AntiVir MIMEsweeper , Avira AntiVir WebGate ,

Avira WebGate Suite and Avira Security

Management Center.

We also offer product bundles including Avira

Small Business Bundle , Avira Business Bundle ,

Avira AntiVir NetWork Bundle , Avira AntiVir

NetGate Bundle and, Avira AntiVir GateWay

Bundle.

How has demand been in the past few

months?

If we compare the demand for AVIRA in the last

Quarter of 2010 via-avis the first Quarter of

2011, we have seen an increase of upto 75%

across. We hope to continue the momentum

of growth.

With so many strong brands in the market,

do you see possibility of tough competi-

tion?

Users of Avira products will know there is a

huge difference between the high perfor-

mance levels of products from Avira- vis-avis

products from other competitors. Avira’s

products have the best malware detection

rates as well as fast scan speeds. The superior

performance and good

reputation will help us in

building market reach.

Do you think consum-

ers are spending more

on endpoint security

than before?

The need for informa-

tion security has

increased continuously.

Consumers are more

aware than before of the

need to secure their

computing devices. We

are seeing them spend

more actively on

endpoint security.

What are the standout

features of Avira’s

range of products?

It is not an easy decision to choose between all

these Antivirus products available in the

market, However if you know what are the

features and aspects you should look for in the

product you are evaluating, this shouldn’t be

an issue.

Avira combines all features and technologies

needed to provide highest security levels for all

needs from home user PC up to the enterprise

most mission critical servers.

The most critical job of the Antivirus is to

detect a virus and eliminate it, with the newly

emerging threats this function becomes the

most critical aspect of the Antivirus and

differentiates between products in this domain.

Avira is recognized for its exceptional detection

rates for both on demand and Pro-active. Avira

got the Advanced+ rank in last AV Compara-

tives On-Demand detection test (AV Compara-

tives, February 2011), and the first rank among

all cotntestees in the Pro-Active test (AV

Comparatives, May 2011) with lowest false

positive.

Avira is very well known for its light presence

and small foot print on the computer memory.

In last AV comparatives performance report,

Avira got the best result which is Advanced+.

Avira has a very fast engine with more than

10MB/S which combines best Pro-active and

on demand detection, best performance and a

very fast scanning speed.

What are the pricing and promotional

benefits available for buyers?

Avira has a very attractive pricing policy to

ensure that users will always get the best price

even if they are changing from other competi-

tors.

Avira has the Renewal discount wherein, loyal

users will get 30% less discount of the first

purchasing price. Governmental sectors get

30% discount on the official price list. Users

that wish to convert from a competitor to Avira

will get the price of renewal (which is 30% less)

at the first purchasing to allow them enjoy

renewal price from year one.

Avira has many promotions throughout the

year to support competing and demanding

market, last promotions from Avira include

bundled products (Tune-up utilities) and free

extra license and free extra years. Avira has

promotions for business products also like

giving extra 13 months on top of a purchased

license.

News

NETGEAR has revealed that net revenue for

the first two quarters of 2011, which ended

July 3, 2011, grew by 49 per cent, reaching a

total value of USD 291.2 million. The figure

shows a key increase from last year’s Q1-Q2

revenue of USD 195.0 million and Q1 2011

figure of USD 278.8 million. The company

has also reported that the net revenues from

the Middle East and North African (MENA)

region and the European region has totalled

to USD 110.331 million in the second

quarter of 2011.

The increase in revenue was bolstered by

the company’s launch of 17 products during

the first half of 2011, strongly highlighting

NETGEAR’s efforts to build product momentum. Notable new products include

the compact WiFi repeater/booster for home use, the stackable 48 port Gigabit

Smart Switch with 10Gig uplinks and the mini-travel router for the Asian market.

The launch of these new products has not only given the company its desired

product momentum but has also exceeded their expectations with the huge

response generated from consumers. In fact, the second quarter of 2011 drove in

triple digit revenue growth from service providers, which accounted for approxi-

mately 37 per cent of the NETGEAR’s total revenue for Q2 2011, as compared to

the 16 per cent figure of 2010 and the 29 per cent figure posted in Q1 2011. This

will also include revenue growth from the CNS division, which was acquired from

Westell earlier this year. Further, NETGEAR’s service provider revenue during the

second quarter also benefitted from a one-time USD 10 million order from a

major service provider customer.

"We believe the third quarter 2011 will present sequential increase in market

demand due to back to school for both our retail and commercial business units,"

said Richard Jonker, Managing Director for Emerging Markets, NETGEAR. “The

vibrancy of the global IT market continues to fuel our determination to create

more strategic and fully reliable networking and storage products for our diverse

customer base. Our vision is to drive in more profit growth and expansion in the

coming years, ably positioning ourselves as a major player in the networking and

storage industry segments.”

Quick Heal Technologies has launched

Mobile Security Suite for Android. With this

launch, the company will be addressing the

global market of Android Smartphone users.

"Smartphones are individual-centric

technologies that have gradually become

an indispensable and important part of

personal and professional lives. People have

gone beyond basic entertainment,

ringtones and have started using mobiles

for more advanced applications such as

wireless email, browsing, m-commerce and

banking. With this launch, we have used our

deep research and knowledge in antivirus

technology to address the security and

information safeguarding needs of such

users. Very soon we plan to launch security solutions for Blackberry platforms as

well", said Kailash Katkar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Quick

Heal Technologies.

Quick Heal Mobile Security for Android is a complete security solution that offers

a host of features such virus protection, call blocking, SMS blocking, anti-theft

and data protection features. The automatic real-time virus and spyware scan

comes with optional manual scan for installed applications. Call filtering allows

users to block unwanted calls by configuring Black and White lists. The SMS

blocking feature enables silent blocking of, malicious SMSs, unwanted spam

SMSs and fraudulent SMSs. Data protection allows user to lock the lost or stolen

phone remotely and wipe the personal data remotely by sending a pre-defined

SMS. This powerful product also has anti-theft feature to trace/locate a lost or

stolen phone and has the capability to render the device unusable once stolen.

The company plans to offer a compelling introductory price to all the

early-adopters. To know more about the product and to avail exciting offer,

www.quickheal.com/android.

Al-Seera Group ( Distributor for Avira)In Focus

NETGEAR sees 49 per cent

revenue growth in Q2 2011

Quick Heal launches Mobile

Security Solutions for Android

The reliable sentinelAl Seera Group is the distributor for Avira’s security products in the region and is steadily helping strengthen the brand’s reach in the channel and market. Abdul Qader, GM at Al-Seera Group, distributor for Avira speaks about the confidence with which Avira is engaging with the market.

Richard JonkerManaging Director, Netgear

Kailash KatkarMD, CEO, Quick Heal

Abdul QaderGM, Al - Seera Group

916th August 2011

VAR MagazineEmpowering and educating the channel

VAR Magazine is the fastest growing channel magazine in the MEA region. VAR MEA Magazine, which has completed over 125 issues of print, is the leading channel magazin in the region. Over five years and more, the magazine has become the preferred mode of communication with the channel for many leading vendors, distributors and resellers. VAR Magazine is presented in an easy to read print format, one of the reasons for its endearing appeal. It has deep and wide channel

penetration in terms of its distribution, a feature well recognized by the industry.

VAR MEA magazine has introduced several expan-sion initiatives including the exciting bilingual VAR Arabia. www.varonline.com, an interactive portal for the channel, was launched towards end of 2009 and has a fast growing readership in the channel

VAR Arabia - A bilingual magazine for KSA IT channelWith the monthly VAR Arabia edition, the magazine extends its value proposition to benefit the Saudi Arabia ICT channel. The VAR Arabia print edition has a specific focus on the large strategicmarket of Saudi Arabia and is in line with the commitment of the VAR team to meet the expectations of a larger local IT channel readership across the Middle East. The intent is to deliver a product that builds on the strengths of VAR magazine with a strong editorial focus as well as providing unique value to advertisers.

Milestones of VAR Magazine

• VAR MEA Magazine was founded on Sept. 18th 2005 for providing better, in-depth & sustained communication across the MEA IT channel.

• Over the past 5 years and 125 plus issues, VAR has successfully informed and executed channel centric communication like product launches, call to action campaigns, special offers, etc.

• 1st to launch a channel magazine in eBook format

• With over 5000 resellers in OGCC having access to the magazine, the VAR Advantage delivers wide and deep penetration into the channel for advertisers.

• VAR Value fortnightly e-newsletters re-launched in January 2010

• First to launch channel awards in the region. The awards ceremony for the 4th edition of the VAR Choice of Channel Awards was held on the 21st of March at the landmark Meydan hotel in Dubai.

VAR Magazine’s vision of being a most reliable information media for the IT resellers in the region is backed by the executionfrom a team that has over a decade’s experience working closely with the channel. For VAR, the greatest success has been in

winning trust from the region’s channel and the magazine will look forward to emulating that with its KSA edition.

For sales enquiries, contact sales@var-mea.com For subscription, contact subscribe@var-mea.com For more details, contact info@var-mea.com

16th August 201110

Discuss brands and product lines that you

oversee in Empa?

Notebook and Peripherals Unit which has brands

like Fujitsuand Toshiba Notebooks, Philips,

Samsung Pleomax

How have notebook shipments fared in this

year so far, compared to last year?

It is growing year on year and in Fujitsuthe growth

is almost double comparing last year. In the

markets like Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan the

growth rate is high.

Among the Notebook product lines, discuss in

further detail, which are the faster moving in

terms of configurations- whether it is entry

level or mid level laptops?

The fast moving model is still the entry level

configuration featuring Core i3 shared graphics

with 2GB RAM and 320GB HDD. A growing

demand is visible in dedicated graphic models in

Corei5 and i7 CPU with 4GB/6GB RAM and

640/750 GB HDD with 1GB/2GB dedicated

graphics.

Are there any tablets being distributed by

Empa? Discuss which brands if so? How are

they faring in the market?

Yes, in Fujitsu we are

distributing Tablets

which are very well

accepted in the market

and gaining popularity

due to following

enhanced features like

bi-directional rotatable,

multiple finger-touches

or multifunctional pen,

modular bay for an

optional second hard

disk drive, DVD/Blu-Ray

drive, second battery or

weight Saver. There

are optional integrated

3G/UMTS (incl. GPS),

WLAN and Bluetooth. In

addition, there are

features like Fujitsu

Advanced Theft Protec-

tion, fingerprint sensor,

Smartcard Reader, etc.

which make the tablet

stand out from competi-

tion.

Discuss the retail distribution business model of

Empa?

We have contract with all major power retailers in

UAE, KSA and GCC and directly distributing all major

brands that we carry. Apart from the products

mentioned, I also handle the retail division of EMPA.

Do you see retail buying on the rise or remaining

steady?

It is growing and expected to increase further,

especially markets like KSA, Kuwait and Qatar

Discuss what are the challenges you see in

distribution into the power retail segment?

The major challenge in retail business is shrinking

margin. Since most of the retail business is vendor

driven offering very thin margins, hence it becomes

very diffcicult to manage the bottom line.

Do smaller retailers have a fair share of the

overall shipments in retails compared with power

retailers?

Not really, majority is with the large power retailers

who deliver better sell-out. Yes, there are some small

retailers who are catching up fast.

News

Al Hosani Computer LLC

has been awarded

Kasperky Lab's Best Partner

of the Year for the third year

running. The distributor

was recognized for its

exceptional sales achieve-

ments, and creative

marketing for Kaspersky

Lab products.

Al Hosani Computer LLC

was also credited for

promoting of Kaspersky

Lab software to the key

retailers in the GCC, includ-

ing Carrefour ME, Sharaf

ME, Jarir Bookstores, Plug-Ins, Geant ME, EMax ME, Jacky's, Jumbo,

Dubai Duty Free, CompuMe and HyperPanda.

Kaspersky Lab recently summed up the results of its collaboration

with partner companies from the emerging markets region in

2010. Representatives of companies from over 40 countries

participated in the partner conference in Cape Town, South Africa

on 8-12 May, where those partners demonstrating the best results

received special awards.

Get-togethers of this kind are traditionally held once a year,

offering emerging-market partners from non-CIS countries the

chance to share experiences and discuss challenges and potential

business opportunities. At the Cape Town conference the senior

management of Kaspersky Lab gave presentations on the current

IT security trends as well as their forecasts for the future.

Garry Kondakov, Managing Director, Emerging Markets at Kasper-

sky Lab, noted that 2010 had been a very successful year for the

fast developing regional partner network. “We are continually

moving forward. Last year we successfully launched a new

program that made collaboration with partners even more

effective and involved them more actively in marketing

campaigns and various promotions held in countries throughout

the region,” said Garry Kondakov. “The partner network itself is also

developing – there are currently 5,000 participating companies in

the Russian-speaking countries of the emerging markets region

and 4,500 in other countries.”

There was a new format to the conference with sessions in which

the heads of the regional offices reported on their operations.

Sales growth in Eastern Europe was 30%; in the Middle East – 73%;

Africa – 66%; and Russia – 40%. “Our task this year is to continue to

grow in all territories. To achieve this we intend to bring our

collaboration with partners to a new level and strengthen their

positions on the market by rendering comprehensive assistance,”

stated Garry Kondakov.

Tripp Lite reinforced its strategic

partnership with Redington Gulf, a

leading IT distributor in the Middle

East and Africa, with the signing of

both a comprehensive Authorized

Reseller Service Centre (ARSC) and

Critical Application Partner (CAP)

service contracts that will cover 20

countries in both the Middle Eastern

and African regions. The move comes

after the recent signing of a value-

added distribution agreement

between the two companies and is

part of Tripp Lite’s continuing efforts

to position itself across the rapidly

developing IT markets of the Middle

East and African regions while also

establishing itself as a leading brand

offering integrated solutions for data

centre and corporate IT environ-

ments.

EMPA Middle EastIn Focus

Al Hosani gets Kaspersky BestPartner of the Year award

Strong bets on mobilityEmpa as a distributor has consolidated its Mobility and Accessories portfolio with a few leading brands. Chandan. Kr. Das, Business Unit Manager, EMPA Middle East FZCO speaks to VAR Magazine.

Under the terms of the ARSC contract,

Redington Gulf will establish key

service centres where customers can

bring in Tripp Lite products that are

within or out of warranty, for repairs

and services. Meanwhile, the CAP

contract, will allow Redington Gulf to

offer services like installations, on-site

warranty service calls and preventive

maintenance services.

“The signing of these new service

contracts brings a fitting start to our

strategic partnership with Redington

Gulf,” said Vipin Sharma, Vice

President, Middle East, Africa and CIS

Sales, Tripp Lite. “The opening service

centres in strategic locations across

the Middle East and Africa as well as

having the ability to call and ask for

help in the event of a failure or

emergency situation reassures our

customers and instils a sense of

confidence in the Tripp Lite brand.

Our partnership with Redington Gulf

gives us the advantage of being able

to leverage our effective and reliable

power protection solutions across

new markets and emerging econo-

mies in the MEA region.”

“Our partnership with Tripp Lite has

taken a major step with the signing of

these new service contracts. The

setting up of key service centres

across the MEA region not only

demonstrate the strength of our

relationship with Tripp Lite but also

reflects our common commitment

towards providing customer and

technical support to our customers.

Rest assured, we will continue to work

closely with Tripp Lite and promote its

wide range of power protection

products to help meet the growing

Chandan Kr. Das

Business Unit Manager, EMPA Middle East

Sethuraman S.

Sr. VP, Services, Redington Gulf

demands and requirements of our

customers.” said Sethuraman. S, Vice

President, Services, Redington Gulf.

Earlier this year, Tripp Lite signed a

distribution partnership agreement

with Redington Gulf to distribute

Tripp Lite’s wide range of products

including UPS Systems, UPS Batteries,

PDUs, KVMs, Cables, Power Inverters,

Racks and Surge Suppressors. Tripp

Lite solutions cater to data centres

that are as small as a remote closet to

a full-fledged modern data centre

facility. Key benefits and advantages

gained from using Tripp Lite products

and solutions promote significant

savings from operational costs,

seamless connectivity and a marked

increase in productivity and

efficiency.

Tripp Lite and Redington Gulf sign strategic service contracts

Rafeek P. V.

(PCME Computers)Abdul Rasheed

(Computer Shack LLC)Akhtar

(Prince Computer Trading LLC) S. M. Jamshed

(Channel7 Trading L.L.C)Razik Parvez N. M.

(Color Works LLC)

Syyed

(hi com)Noufal

(Diazone Technologies LLC)Shamjid

(Variety Computer)

Anil Beriyaon the behalf of Vishal Beriya(Scantrans Computers LLC)

V. Manikkavel

(SHA Computer's)

Seagate’s Fill and Win campaign for Momentus XT drives was a huge success. The large number of correct

entries coming in from resellers and their sale staff through faxes as well as online revealed that the channel

is keeping itself well informed about Seagate’s products. Ten lucky winners were chosen through a raffle

which included all correct entries. Each of the ten winners won a Seagate hard drive.

&&& WINNERS!WINNERS!WINNERS!1116th August 2011

16th August 201112

What’s

Samsung ML-4510/501X series mono laser printers

Key features:

Avira Premium Security Suite

For more details, log on to www.avira.com

For more details, log on to www.acer.com

Key Features: Key Features:

Epson Stylus Photo R2000

Massive 23 GT Notebook Cooler

Aten VC 180

For more details, log on to www.thermaltake.com

For more details, log on to www.samsung.com

For more details, log on to www.aten.com

Key Features:

Key Features:

Key Features:

• Part of the X755 series, the Aspire 5755 and 4755 take advantage of the second generation Intel Core processor family, delivering smart performance that adapts to users’ needs and dynamic processing power for music, gaming, videos, movies, photos, social networking and other demanding mainstream applications. • Aspire 5755 and 4755 combine excellent performance with a classy and appealing look and feel. • The glossy cover features an attractive stripy pattern modulated in several colour options. • The Aspire 5755 comes in brown, black, red and blue, while the Aspire 4755 is available in brown, black, green and blue. • The multi-gesture touchpad puts swift, flawless navigation at your fingertips, for ultra- convenient zooming, rotating, navigating and browsing. • The new Aspire 5755 and 4755 come in two format sizes – 35.5 cm (14”), 39.5 cm (15.6”) – both with high-definition CineCrystal LED backlit displays presenting striking 720p visuals in 16:9 aspect ratio.

• The new A3+, 8-colour photo printer, which has been launched in the Middle East, delivers high-quality photographic prints using Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss2 pigment ink

• It comes with the advantage of 50 percent higher capacity cartridges compared to previous models in its class. This allows larger print jobs to be completed with fewer ink changes.

• Epson has also answered customer calls for wireless connectivity, making the R2000 one of the only printers in its category to feature Wi-Fi.

• Combined with USB and Ethernet connectivity, Wi-Fi enables the R2000 to fit easily into any studio or home environment.

• Users can print remotely from iPhones or iPads using the Epson iPrint app.

• The ML-4510/5010ND/5015ND is the latest addition to Samsung’s business to business (B2B) printing range.

• Designed for small-to-medium businesses, the ML-4510/5010ND/5015ND series provides a productive, high quality and trouble free mono laser printing solution that’s also budget and environmentally friendly.

• The range’s effective job processing means the ML-4510ND prints 43 A4 pages per minute, while the ML-5010ND/5015ND models print 48 A4 pages per minute.

• Converts VGA signals to HDMI output• Supports analog stereo audio input• Superior video quality – up to 1080p, WUXGA• Screen Position Button – screen position settings can be restored for each output resolution• Multiplatform support – Windows, and Mac• Supports dual power sources: VGA port or power adapter (in case the VGA port cannot provide sufficient power)• LED indicator• Automatically detects video input signals

• Avira Scanner detects all known viruses, worms and Trojans while AntiAd/Spyware protects you against spyware and adware • AntiSpam filters out unwanted and phishing emails and AntiPhishing protects you against identity theft attacks • AHeADTechnology halts unknown code that looks suspicious while WebGuard keeps you away from malicious websites • AntiDrive-by stops sneaky malware downloads while you surf , MailGuard scans all your incoming and outgoing emails and FireWall slams a door in the face of hacker• Parental control to help parents keep their childs from inappropriate websites• Backup feature, to keep your important files backed up in a safe and virus free place.• As long as you have a valid license, you have the right to use Avira latest version. Avira is using this approach for both business and consumer products

• In addition, jobs start within just 7.5 seconds when the printer is ready, and in 16 seconds from sleep mode.• With a powerful 600MHz Dual Core CPU, linked to a 1GB network connection, the Samsung ML-4510/501X series handles large volume print jobs with ease, printing documents quickly and efficiently and with much greater energy efficiency. So, for example, a 50 slide presentation can be printed in just 86 seconds. • The ML-4510/501X series has a large input capacity up to 620 sheets, so paper can be refilled less often.

and

s

l

otely fromng the

Acer Aspire x755 Notebook Series

For more details, log on to www.epson.com

• Supports laptop size from 10” ~ 17”• One mini-USB and dual USB ports• 200mm red LED fan• Fan speed control knob (500~800 RPM)• Five different angles adjustment• Anti-slip rubber design• Fan grill design for heat dissipation• Ergonomic angle design

scts

1316th August 2011

SSD shipments in notebooks will rise to 16.8 million units in

2015, up from 4.7 million in 2010. This will represent only a

single-digit percentage of the notebook storage market

compared to HDDs through the year 2015. However, this small

percentage is impacting the growth of the notebook HDD

market.

The notebook HDD market set to expand at a 9.7 percent

compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2010 to 2015. The

combined market for HDDs and SDDs will rise at a CAGR of

10.2 percent. This indicates the solid-state drives will shave off

half a percentage point of growth from the notebook HDD

market during the five year period.

The rising sales of media tablets could have an even bigger

impact on notebook HDD sales. Media tablets, which employ

flash memory for storage, are expected to have a negative

impact on sales of notebook PCs, and thus the HDDs used in

them.

Seagate’s Momentus Thin HDD could

find acceptance in netbook and

notebook computers, preventing SSDs

from making further inroads. However,

the near term opportunity for these

drives in tablets is limited. HDD-based

models are expected to account for 2

percent or less of the total tablet market

in 2012, IHS predicts.

A Momentus Event forStorageSeagate in June announced that its

Momentus Thin HDD - a 2.5-inch drive

Seagate Technology’s introduction of a super-slim hard disk

drive (HDD) could help the HDD industry stave off the

incursion of solid-state drives (SSDs) in the notebook personal

computers (PCs) and media tablet markets, according to data

from the IHS iSuppli Memory and Storage Service from

information and analysis provider IHS.

“Although shipments of SSDs for notebooks will be miniscule

compared to HDDs during the next few years, the solid state

drives are shaving off points of market share that are critical to

maintaining the growth of the hard drive business,” said Fang

Zhang, analyst, storage systems, for IHS. “Furthermore, SSDs

are universally employed in media tablets, which are eating

into the sales of notebook and netbook PCs. Seagate’s new

Momentus Thin HDD represents an attempt by the hard drive

industry to answer the challenge of SSDs in notebooks—and

even in media tablets—by undercutting the cost of solid-state

drives while providing higher densities.”

Can Seagate’s Thin Hard Drive Stave Off the Threat of SSDs?

that is only 7 millimeters thick - will be featured in tablets set to

ship in September. The HDD has capacities ranging from

160GB to 320GB, with speeds of 7,200RPM and 5,400RPM, and

16MB of cache.

The thin form factor makes the Momentus suitable for mobile

platforms.

However, the Momentus may really set itself apart from SSDs

in terms of cost and capacity.

Seagate said the Momentus Thin HDDs are being used in what

it called the world’s first handheld tablet computers with hard

drives: the G9 8- and 10-inch tablets from ARCHOS. The manu-

facturers’ suggested retail prices for the ARCHOS 80 G9 and

ARCHOS 101 GB tablets are $279 and $349. Seagate said that

was a significantly lower price than competitive flash-based

tablets, which cost between $349 to $829, with densities from

16GB to 64GB.

A tablet using the Momentus Thin HDD can have 10 times the

storage capacity of a flash-based tablet. Momentus Thin

HDD-based tablets also can be significantly lighter than

HDD-based netbooks due to the reduction of the 2.5-inch

drive size.

HDD DisadvantagesThe disadvantages of HDD-based tablets include a potentially

shorter battery life, a longer boost time and a relatively heavy

weight compared to flash-based tablets. These drawbacks

may serve as a disincentive to some tablet users who require

speed and mobility.

Notebook and Netbook PC HDD and SDD Unit ShipmentForecast (Thousands of Units)

450,000400,000350,000300,000250,000200,000150,000100,000

50,000-

5.0%

4.0%

3.0%

2.0%

1.0%

0.0%2010 2011

HDD SSD Percentage of SSD Relative to HDD

Source: IHS iSuppli August 2011

2012 2013 2014 2015

A one-stop dedicated, specialistfor genuine consumables

P.O. Box 103743, dubai - UAE.Tel: +971 4 3254446Fax: +971 4 3254447Email: sales@buraidacomputers.comwebsite: www.buraidacomputers.com

Now relocated to a brand new store at a new address at Al Ghubaiba Rd.,Opp. to National Flour Mill & Carrefour, Bur Dubai

Platinum Partner

Preferred Partner

Gold Partner

Gold Partner

Platinum Partner

Preferred Partner

16th August 201114

1516th August 2011

1703 BelResheed Tower, Buhaira Corniche, Sharjah, UAETel: +9716-575-444-3, Fax: +9716-575-444-9www.alhosanime.com, Email: sales@alhosanime.com

Official Distributor in the Middle East and West AsiaAl Hosani Computer LLC

16th August 201116

YOUR DATA IS PRECIOUS. HANDLE ITWITH CAREYOUR DATA IS PRECIOUS. HANDLE IT WITH CARE