computer news middle east july 2014

WHERE TECHNOLOGY MEANS BUSINESS

issue 270 | july 2014WWW.CNMeONliNe.COM

PLUS: SSd in the enterPriSe | giSec | it bUdgetS on the riSe | teLecom revenUe StreamS

How Ahmed Yahya’s love of science fiction and travel guided him home

healthyattitude

Dubai Refreshements’ new ERP

Which OS is the most secure?

The face of the future data centre

How tablets are changing the workplace

Building Big

working moBile

refresh+reboot

operationsafety

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ChairmanDominic De Sousa

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EditorAnnie Bricker


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Last month, I had the opportunity to host a panel discussion at our sister publication Reseller Middle East’s annual partner conference. The moot point was the future of systems integrators in today’s everything-as-a-service world. For quite some time now, there have been predictions about how the enterprise IT consumption model’s move from on-premise to off-premise could make systems integration redundant as we know it today. After all, systems integrators make their money from putting together complex systems, technologies and enterprise-packaged software, with a bit of consulting thrown in. In the Middle East, the market for systems integration has been growing at a steady pace all these years, with local players dominating the market. Now the question everyone asks is whether the advent of cloud, especially software-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service, could possibly throw a spanner in the works. And this is a very pertinent question given the fact that some of the SaaS vendors have started to bundle integration with their offerings as a value addition.

There is no doubt cloud has already started to disrupt the systems integration industry. In fact, some of the tier 1 global SIs such as Accenture and IBM Global Services have morphed themselves into cloud service providers. Is it time for the local SIs to follow suit? Most of the panelists agreed that a change in their business models is imminent and the time is ripe for them to start integrating cloud service products into their portfolio. For SIs, cloud could be more of an opportunity than a threat. Enterprises still need someone to customise SaaS applications and address the security concerns that are inherent in cloud. Maintenance and support is another area where SIs can make their mark. Though it is true that enterprises leveraging cloud may no longer need an SI for the integration of their complex internal systems, they still require third-party integration services to gain the maximum mileage out of their existing IT investments. And in a market like the Middle East where relationships and face-to-face meetings are still important, SIs will continue to play a key role, providing that local touch. But, for how long can they survive with current business models is a completely different question.

Jeevan thankappanGroup Editor

E-mail:[email protected]

EDITORIAL

A bleak or bright future?

Talk to us:

WHERE TECHNOLOGY MEANS BUSINESS

issue 270 | july 2014WWW.CNMeONliNe.COM

PLUS: SSd in the enterPriSe | giSec | it bUdgetS on the riSe | teLecom revenUeS StreamS

How Ahmed Yahya’s love of science fiction and travel guided him home

healthyattitude

Dubai Refreshements’ new ERP

Which OS is the most secure?

The face of the future data centre

How tablets are changing the work place

Building Big

working moBile

refresh+reboot

operationsafety

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Ericsson’s experience-centric managed services align service delivery with operators’ strategic and business objectives, securing customer experience-centric operations and proactively driving business innovation.

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CPI_424X280.pdf 1 10.06.2014 14:14:19

GCC no longer 'emerging' Ramadan Kareem to all our friends and colleagues. The weeks leading up to this, the Holy Month of Ramadan, have been absolutely jam-packed with events. From roundtable discussions with leading IT experts, to technical workshops and awards ceremonies, we at CPI have been running around town, and around the GCC, trying to take in as much as possible. As the event season wraps up and the holiday season takes hold, we are all given a chance to exhale.

As the dust settles I have taken a moment to reflect on my first six months in the GCC. I have lived in the Middle East for a number of years, but this is my first stint in the Gulf region, and as I was told, it is a completely different experience. The GCC maintains a buzz around it that is unlike any other in the world.

Through interviews, research, case studies and more, it has become clear to me that enterprises and SMEs in the region are refreshing their IT infrastructures and, perhaps, gearing up for a push forward. In addition to deploying new modules and systems, companies are pairing down and streamlining their infrastructure with the help of virtualisation technology.

Indeed, it isn’t surprising in itself that organisations are updating their gear, it is the rate in which these upgrades are occurring. Companies in the Middle East are taking on massive overhauls at an astounding rate. Moreover, we are seeing a great deal of success with little downtime and few failures.

It is not only the larger companies that are showing their colours in the region. Start-ups are beginning to play a major role in the GCC’s technology landscape. A flourishing spirit of entrepreneurialism has taken hold in the Middle East. The region is increasingly producing start-ups and engineers who are creating companies that will change lives in the MENA region.

What does this all mean for the region? The Middle East is no longer playing catch-up in terms of technology. The term 'emerging' is becoming less and less relevant. Instead, the GCC is fast developing into a technology leader in the world. Rather than the region looking outside for guidance, parts of the world are now looking to the Middle East for blueprints in technology development.

People are looking to the GCC when they want to see how it is done. Because companies here are not afraid to move forward, the region is setting an example. 'Emerging' may have fit the bill a decade ago, but today, the region has 'emerged.' With its new found role in the world, enterprises in the GCC now have more motivation than ever to prove what the region’s IT industry can do.

annie Bricker Deputy Editor

E-mail:annie.bricker@

cpimediagroup.com

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6 Computer News Middle East july 2014 www.cnmeonline.com

Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit 201415 – 16 September | Raffles Hotel | Dubai, UAE

The launch Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit will for the first time bring the Gartner analyst and security and risk management community together in one location in the GCC to bring the latest research, insights and forward-thinking perspectives found nowhere else.

The Summit features multiple track programs, 11 analysts, and more than 25 sessions and roundtables, and will provide the ability to collaborate and network with peers and gain immediate take-aways you can apply back to the office.

Hot topicS to be coveRed:

Cybersecurity

Risk and Compliance

Internet of Things

Mobile and Cloud Security

Single Sign-on and Identity Governance

Operational Technology Risks

Security Metrics and Analytics

For more information visit: gartner.com/me/security

Smart Risk: balancing Security and opportunity

ContentsISSUE 270 | jUly 2014

12 Data Centre Build CNME brought IT leaders in Riyadh,

Dubai and Doha together to discuss future innovations of data centre technology.

14 Safety First Three-day IT security conference GISEC

gave the masses a chance to meet first-class secuirty vendors as well as listen to presentations from internationally renowned security professionals.

22 To boldly go Ahmed Yahya, CIO of Sheikh Khalifa

Medical Centre is no stranger to a challenge. From Saudi to Jordan to the US, his journey around the world has given him a broad outlook on life.

26 Refreshing change When Dubai Refreshments decided to

build a state-of-the-art factory, they took the opportunity to update all of their systems, including the implementation of a new ERP solution.

36 Work release CNME investigates the benefits and

challenges of providing mobile devices to employees in the workplace.

42 Cutting edge With the systems integrators market

evolving, IT leaders have the opportunity to tailor their skills to specific verticals and areas of SI specialisation. Which verticals offer the best opportunities?

48 The need for speed IT managers around the world are falling

love with SSDs in enterprise servers because they run fast enough to replace multiple HDDs, and help keep costs down.

54 A safe bet The OS wars rage on with every user

fast to defend the system of their choice. A key point in determining which one reigns surpreme is security. CNME decides which OS is safest.

60 Digging for gold Intensified competition coupled with

declining voice ARPU is forcing telecom service providers to look around for new revenue streams.

64 Money-making machines The future of the Internet of Things could

mean big money in the future. Gartner's Peter Middleton explains.

12

26

14

DATA cEnTRE buILD

REfREshIng chAngE

gIsEc

22TO bOLDLy gO

our Strategic Partners

strategic iCt partner strategic technology partner

strategic innovation partner


in depth

Cognizant, in conjunction with CNME, hosted an exclusive roundtable to discuss the changing face of IT infrastructure. In addition to leading IT professionals in the region and experts from Cognizant, the event was also attended by Gartner Research Director Biswajeet Mahapatra, who provided valuable insight into the topic at hand.

Transformational IT

Cognizant Round Table

In addition to presentations by Cognizant top-brass, the roundtable was an open discussion amongst an

impressive cast of attendees on disruptive forces such as mobility, converged infrastructure, IT automation and cloud that could lead transformative changes in businesses through IT.

To start off the event, Stephen Fernandes, Assistant Vice President and Head, Middle East, Cognizant, welcomed the participants to the event, and gave an outline of IT infrastructure trends in the technology industry. From autonomics and predictive analytics to the move from a reactive IT environment to a predictive

one, the day’s topics aimed to provide unique insight.

“Cognizant is well positioned to address clients’ dual mandate of driving greater performance in their current businesses, while developing the capabilities they need for future success,” said Fernandes, “We continue to leverage our global scale and competitiveness


with rapidly changing business dynamics.” He also discussed common “pain points” of the modern CIO, including mobility and virtualisation and what can be done to turn those issues into opportunities.

Attended by ten of the region’s top CIOs and moderated by Mahapatra, the discussion centred around cloud, mobility and enterprise automation. Rajendra Sonawane, Head of IT Infrastructure Services, Landmark Group, discussed his experience as an end-user of Cognizant solutions. “I think these types of discussions are very important to the IT industry,” said Sonawane, “Cognizant has been critical in supporting our operations.”

Mahmoud Kamal, Chief Financial Officer, Habtoor Hospitality Group brought up the idea that many of these topics could be thought of as passing phases. The group agreed that though

to help clients unlock significant value from the synergies of applications and infrastructure. Our consulting and managed services deliver the resources and capabilities required to assess, design, build and manage an agile, flexible IT environment.”

The floor was then given to K.S. Ganesan, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, IT Infrastructure Service Practice, Cognizant Technology Solutions, for a keynote speech. Genesan gave an overview of the current suite of solutions provided by Cognizant, with a focus on products that can help streamline and modernise enterprises in the Middle East.

The presentation was then handed over to Mahapatra from Gartner who discussed the current state of affairs of IT. “We are working with the ‘new’ IT model,” said Mahapatra, “and businesses need to keep up

it may be true that these topics are hot at the moment, it is still necessary to keep abreast of issues like mobility and cloud to remain current in the industry.

Fernandes discussed Cognizant’s role in enterprise mobility, emphasising the company’s vison to help customers realise benefits from Cognizant’s enterprise mobility solutions. The approach, he said, is to “think like a start-up,” by providing optimal solutions in a cost effective manner. As such, Cognizant is able to walk the line between quality products and providing alternative resourcing and pricing models.

“Cognizant’s IT Infrastructure Services business continues to see strong demand for its value proposition of simplifying, optimising and automating clients’ IT infrastructure,” said speaker Renga Bashyam, Vice President, IT Infrastructure Services, Cognizant, “Cognizant is empowering a growing number of clients, including one of the largest retail groups and a premier bank in the UAE, to respond to their business needs in innovative ways by embracing new enterprise IT models aligned with social, mobile, analytics and cloud technologies.”

The event was certainly flush with information on up-and-coming products. However, it was more of an environment for CIOs to discuss issues and solutions. Ideas and opinions on mobility and cloud trends were shared in conjunction with information on Cognizant products and solutions. Real life tales from Cognizant end-users such as Landmark group gave attendees a more detailed picture of the challenges that the company could help to turn into opportunities.

11Computer News Middle Eastjuly 2014www.cnmeonline.com

in depth

Across the Middle East, IT industry leaders gathered to discuss the latest innovations in data centre technology. Over the course of a week, in Dubai, Doha and Riyadh, participants were able to upgrade their virtualisation and data centre knowledge.

Building the future

Data Centre Build

From June 1 – 4 CPI Media Group played host to the second annual Data Centre Build road show. An event

that spanned the region, with workshops in Dubai, Doha and Riyadh, CNME, its partners and expert speakers aimed to shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities for virtualisation in the Middle East. The three conferences were designed to educate delegates in all aspects of data centre strategy.

Business in the Middle East is on the rise, and as such, data centres in the region are set for a period of steady growth that will mirror that expansion. Modern data centres need to support new, holistic requirements with infrastructure convergence, optimisations and automation while keeping in mind opportunities to save energy and costs.

Virtualisation is on the minds of all CIOs in the region as the IT industry looks to virtualise

in order manage the pace of infrastructure change and provide increased control over user experience. In addition, virtualisation can provide better security and business continuity as well as improve software deployments and streamline updates.

Key topics at all three conferences included; design, build and operation of the data centre—from selecting the site, engineering and design to power availability


Executive Director, Sky Computing; and Afif S Abdallah, Territory Manager, KSA & Jordan, Fluke Networks.

Also speaking in Dubai Ismair, tackled the topic of the on-demand data centre network and the role of fibre networks in the new data centre landscape. “People say that fibre channels are dying,” said Ismair, “they are not. They are efficient and reliable and are experiencing consistent market growth.”

Kuldeep Bhatnagar, IT Advisor, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi Government, discussed the environmental impact of data centres in the Middle East. Virtualisation, he said, is actually making a positive impact on the environment. “Gartner estimates that 1.2 million workloads run virtual machines,” said Bhatnagar, “That saves 720 million tons of Co2 per year.”

Ziad Sawtari, Territory Sales Manager for UAE & Oman, Fluke Networks, discussed

and full data centre automation; outsourcing decisions, from collocation to Platform-as-a-Service to building in the cloud; and IT optimisations - insight into how IT needs to drive data centre strategy.

Each conference featured a number of high-level experts from the region, representing firms such as Etisalat, Brocade, Fluke Networks, MEEZA and the Government of Abu Dhabi. As speakers were experts based in each city, they were able to address issues that local CIOs encounter when faced with the challenge of building or upgrading a data centre.

In Doha, speakers included Elie Kamel, Solutions Manager, Dell Qatar; Samer Ismair, System Engineer-MENA, Brocade; Chris Leahy, Director—Technical Facilities, MEEZA; and Mamoun Hajjar, Territory Sales Manager—Qatar, Kuwait & RoME, Fluke Networks. In Riyadh, expert speakers included Adel Gharib, Dell Middle East; Ahmed Aamer,

the importance and challenges of network performance monitoring. “Finding the problem is like looking for a needle in a haystack. With the right tools, however, the issue can be found,” said Sawtari in regard to monitoring data centres, “Monitor from the end user perspective - what the end user is experiencing, to find were the problem is coming from.”

Each conference ended with a panel discussion with regional IT industry leaders. Topics included the future of virtualisation in the region and how the market is changing for IT consultants.

The conferences provided solutions such as better security and business continuity that can be applied in real-world scenarios. Delegates that attended the CNME 2014 Data Centre Builds undoubtedly walked away with a clearer understanding of the state of data centres and virtualisation in the Middle East today.


in depth

Three-day IT security conference GISEC 2014 gave the masses a chance to meet first-class security vendors as well as listen to presentations from internationally renowned security professionals. CNME reports from day one of the show.

Safety first

GISEC

The region’s top security event drew some of the Middle East’s leading IT professionals to Dubai World Trade

Centre for the second edition of the conference. The event served as a forum for a variety of fresh IT security perspectives.

Kicking things off was Robert Bigman, former Chief Information Security Officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, who drew on his vast experience to discuss the importance of intelligent IT architecture, and the prospects of both government and business in dealing with security threats.

Next up was Konstantinos Karagiannis, Director, Ethical Hacking, BT Global Services, who offered a more scientific-based perspective. He discussed how the theory of sending data from one quantum computer to another via fiber channels could render data unhackable with high encryption. He said that if a system was created where electrons broke-down once they had been discovered, data would be unreadable.

John Taylor, of Protection Group International, used his presentation slot to discuss the power of human behaviour within IT

security. He chose to highlight the importance of analysing the motivations of why sacked employees often revert to their former companies to inflict damage. “Behind every technical attack, there is always at least one human being,” he said. “It is essential to analyse the motivation for someone who works inside a company to cause harm to it. Look at Edward Snowden, all the indicators were there that he was unhappy in his job, and he initiated a deliberate act of stealing information. It is possible to predict with 80 percent certainty who will become disloyal.”

Ashraf Ali Ismael, National Information Assurance Manager, ICT Qatar, framed regional security challenges as ones that required collaboration, “I believe public-private partnerships are a valuable way to allow governments to see what is happening on the ground,” he said. “I don’t believe regional collaboration is up to scratch, and a unified legal ecosystem would be beneficial.”

GISEC also enlisted African speaker Stephane Konan, Special Advisor to the Minister of Homeland Security, Ivory Coast. He discussed prevalent threats in his country, and how its skills

shortage was making it easy for cybercriminals to get away with their endeavours. “The criminal considers three factors in plotting a crime: investment, risk and gain,” he said. “The risk element is currently very low for them, as we face challenges such as weak identification, dynamic IP addressing and mobility.”

Sameer Shaikh, IT Security Policies and Risk Manager, Emirates Group IT, highlighted the importance of balancing robust security whilst fostering an environment that encourages innovation. He said, “Power is nothing without control, but too much control will slow us down. IT security stops innovation, but innovation is a threat to security and systems. Security needs innovation, while innovation needs to manage risk. It’s important to remember that organisations need a balance of skills, you need core ‘techies’, but also people who understand the business.”

The explosion of applications has left most IT users unaware of the extent to which their day-to-day use has exploited their security. Nader Henein, Regional Director, Product Security, BlackBerry, discussed how apps pose an innate threat to user privacy, “Today, there are a total of 124 different application permissions on Android, and more often than not we do not realise what these permissions entail.” he said. “[Reddit app] BaconReader has access to your email, once installed. WhatsApp, an application that I’m sure most people in this room use, is exporting your contact list to its servers in California. Each contact list is worth at least $100. Information is currency in this age, and it is important to realise exactly what information with applications.”


For deeper network security and control

look beyond the obvious.

Copyright 2014 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell SonicWALL is a trademark of Dell Inc. and all other Dell SonicWALL product and service names and slogans are trademarks of Dell Inc.

Dell™ SonicWALL™ next-gen firewalls provide a deeper level of network security and application control without slowing down performance.

Not all next-generation firewalls are the same. To start, Dell SonicWALL next-generation firewalls scan every byte of every packet while maintaining the high performance and low latency that busy networks require. Additionally, Dell SonicWALL network security goes deeper than other firewalls by providing high-performance SSL decryption and inspection, an intrusion prevention system that features sophisticated anti-evasion technology, context-aware application control and network-based malware protection that leverages the power of the cloud. Now your organization can block sophisticated new threats that emerge on a daily basis and stay productive.

Go deeper at: sonicwall.com/deep

Amazon has unveiled its highly anticipated entry into the smartphone market, a handset called “Fire.”

The phone, announced by CEO Jeff Bezos at an event in Seattle, has a 4.7-inch screen and quad-core processor.

It also has a rear 13-megapixel camera

with optical image stabilisation to reduce the effects of camera shake for clearer and sharper photos.

Amazon is offering free image backup and storage through its cloud service with the phone, Bezos said.

A key feature of the phone is the application ‘Firefly’ which provides a tie-in to the company’s online retail business by recognising films, TV shows, music and books, as well as objects, and

allowing users to place recognised items into their Amazon cart for purchase.

Fire also comes with Amazon’s “Mayday,” a service offered on the Kindle tablet that puts a customer service representative on-screen to answer questions.

Month in viewshort takes

Microsoft releases surface Pro 3 in uae

AmAzon enTerS SmArTphone mArkeT wITh ‘FIre’

What’s hot?

Microsoft has announced the availability of Surface Pro 3 for commercial customers in the UAE.

The all-in-one tablet and laptop features a 12-inch display and continuous kickstand. Microsoft have added new accessories to the Surface Pro 3, including the Surface Pro Type Cover and Surface Pen which has pressure sensitivity capabilities.

It also packs a full-size USB 3.0 port, microSD card reader and Mini DisplayPort Coupled with additional optional accessories, including a new Docking Station for Surface Pro 3 and a Surface Ethernet Adapter.

Running Windows 8.1 Pro, users can run Microsoft Office and multitask with side-by-side windows.

Oracle will buy hospitality and retail technology vendor Micros Systems for US$5.3 billion, in a deal that will be its largest since the purchase of Sun Microsystems in 2010.

The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close this year. Net of Micros’ cash, the transaction is worth $4.6 billion, according to Oracle. Oracle bought Sun for $7.4 billion, for a deal value of $5.6 billion net of cash and debt.

Micros sells hardware and software used by hotels, restaurants, retailers and other industries to run their operations, from POS (point of sale) systems to back-office applications. Its products are installed at hundreds of thousands of locations around the world. Micros has 6,600 employees and logged $1.27 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year.

“We anticipate delivering compelling advantages to companies within the hospitality and retail industries with the acquisition of Micros,” Mark Hurd, President, Oracle, said in a statement.

It may be easier for Oracle to weave Micros into the mix compared to some of its other acquisitions, given that Micros’ has built products using Oracle technology.

oraCle to buy $5.3 billion retail teCh vendor MiCros

Ericsson’s Mobility Report reveals that the number of Middle East and Asia subscriptions will grow from 1.2 billion in 2013 to 1.9 billion in 2019, while mobile penetration in the Middle East is currently at 107 percent, with 365 million mobile subscriptions.

Seagate will pay $450 million in cash for Avago’s Accelerated Solution Division, and has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement under which it will acquire the division’s assets and Flash Components Division.

LSI’s ASD business, which is the second largest player in the PCIe flash space, offers an enterprise-grade PCIe flash solution focused on the high-growth cloud and hyperscale markets.

eriCsson: Mea Mobile subsCriptions to hit 1.9

billion by 2019

seagate to buy avago’s lsi flash business for

$450 Million


Adobe has branched out from its software business into hardware with the introduction of Ink and Slide.

Ink is a three-sided hydro-formed aluminium stylus for the iPad, while Slide is a digital ruler and companion to Ink.

The two accessories are being launched together with three new mobile apps for

iPad, Adobe Sketch, Adobe Line, and Adobe Photoshop Mix.

While branded with the Adobe logo, the company will not produce Ink and Slide.

Instead, that task been outsourced to Adonit, a company that creates accessories for tablet devices.

The accessories are available now in the US.

dell introduCes Mid-size and softWare-defined storage arrays

google’s nest aCquires dropCaM for $555M

AdoBe enTerS hArdwAre SpAce wITh Ink And SlIde

What’s not?

Dell plans to expand its storage lineup with a series of mid-sized SAN arrays and a portfolio of software-defined storage systems.

The SC4000 series of SAN (storage area network) arrays brings most of the features of the SC8000 series to enterprises with smaller storage requirements.

The new arrays will be configurable as hybrid or as all flash. The SDS (software-defined

storage) appliances are based on a startup’s software that runs on standard hardware.

The new array line will debut worldwide in the third quarter with the Dell Storage SC4020, a model that will start with 24 drive slots in a 2U (3.5-inch) rack enclosure. It will be available with both Fibre Channel and iSCSI ports. A full-sized SC4020 will have 120 slots, each of which

can be used for SSDs (solid-state drives) or spinning disks. Its maximum capacity will be 400TB.

Dell’s pricing on the SC4000 series appears to put another nail in the coffin of 15,000-rpm drives, which have been used for relatively high-speed, low-latency storage but are being displaced by faster solid-state media as the price of flash declines.

The Internet-connected thermostat and smoke detector maker is acquiring the home security system developer as part of a push to connect a wider range of devices in people’s homes.

Dropcam, founded in 2009, makes small

Wi-Fi-connected cameras designed to let people monitor what goes on in their homes when they’re out. The company makes an app for iOS and Android devices to let people receive mobile alerts about motions and

sounds in their homes.Nest said Dropcam will come under its

privacy policy, which says that data won’t be shared with anyone, including Google, without the customer’s permission.

A new report on the Errata Security blog shows that more than 300,000 servers are running out-of-date, unpatched versions of OpenSSL.

Errata scanned the most commonly used server ports, to determine which version of OpenSSL it was running based on the server’s response and thereby determine if the server was at risk of attack.

The U.S. National Security Agency has been allowed to continue to collect phone records in bulk, while lawmakers consider new legislation that would block the agency from collecting the data.

The government’s application for reauthorisation of the programme for a period of 90 days was approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

More than 300,000 servers still unpatChed

for heartbleed

nsa granted extension to ColleCt

bulk phone data

intel introduces its Most Powerful chiP everThe Xeon Phi chip is Intel’s largest chip package to date, and can deliver over 3 teraflops of peak performance, which is in the range of high-performance graphics chip used to crunch complex maths calculations in the world’s fastest computers.

The chip, which will be in supercomputers starting in the second half of next year includes a new form of stacked memory that could ultimately displace conventional DDR memory used in PCs and servers today.

Also in the chip is new ‘fabric’ technology, called OmniScale, for faster internal and external data transfers.

The new chip is almost three times faster than its predecessor, called Knights Corner, which has up to 61 cores and can deliver peak performance of up to 1.2 teraflops.


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Molerats, here for springAyed Alqartah, Senior Systems Engineer, FireEye

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Red Hat announces Enterprise Linux 7 release

Google unseats Microsoft as U.S. browser powerhouse

Oracle’s Hurd: We will catch Salesforce

Spectrum of hope

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Cio spotlightAhmed Yahya

For Yahya, the path that has landed him at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre has been winding. Even determining his origins is an exercise in geography. “I am originally Palestinian, I am

Jordanian and I am American,” he answers cryptically. “But I was born in Saudi Arabia.” He explains that his parents are both Palestinian, but like many Palestinians, no longer maintain residence there, but in Jordan instead. An oil and gas man, Yahya’s father was working for Aramco in Saudi in the 1960s where Yahya was born.

Though he moved away for some time, Yahya’s latest stint in Abu Dhabi is not his first. “My family moved to Abu Dhabi in 1975,” he explains, “I actually went to school here.” Abu Dhabi has changed a great deal since the 1970s and 1980s. However, when Yahya left in 1983 to attend university in Jordan, he may not have realised he would be returning in his adulthood to see first-hand how much the emirate had transformed.

In 1983, he moved to Jordan to attend Yarmouk University, though his major was determined more by location than by interest. “My interest has always been in computers, but as the eldest son in the family my father wanted to stay in the region,” says Yahya, “Yarmouk only offered a minor in computer science, and to earn that minor, I had to be enrolled in the science department, so I decided to major in Chemistry.”

In 1988 he graduated from Yarmouk, and decided to pursue his Master’s degree overseas—a move that his parents supported. In 1988 he was accepted to Western Kentucky University. “Everyone always asks, why Western Kentucky? Why Bowling Green?” Again, it was a matter of location. “It had nothing to do with academics. My brother was there working on a pre-pharmacy degree and, frankly, I wanted to be near family.”

In 1990, Master’s degree in hand, Yahya had every intention of returning to the Middle East. Unfortunately, with the Gulf War fully underway, the unstable situation in the region grounded him in the United States. Instead of returning to the UAE, Yahya was able to secure a temporary US visa for practical training and moved to Houston, Texas.

With a specialisation in UNIX he was able to land a position in Houston with Scientific Software. At Scientific Software, he worked for his first year on systems for the National Aeronautics and Space

To Boldly GoAhmed Yahya likes science fiction. More specifically, the CIO of Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre in Abu Dhabi is a fan of Star Trek. Having grown up watching the show, he saw how technology could be implemented to improve the lives of people. Though he may not be developing transporters or travelling to the depths of space, he has always maintained the idea that technology can change lives.

Administration. Specifically, Yahya took on software that supported satellite and space shuttle monitoring - truly a dream come true for a young science fiction fan. On his temporary visa, he was only able to work for one year in the US without an official sponsorship from a company. Thankfully for Yahya, Scientific Software saw his potential, and sponsored him for his work visa.

In 1996, Yahya moved to Southern National Gas, a Houston-based oil and gas company, where he updated the company’s IT infrastructure and data centres. He was also put in charge of moving the mainframe systems to client servers. After much success at Southern National Gas, the company was acquired by El Paso Energy, and as a testament to his necessity as an employee, Yahya was not only retained, but moved into a new role. In this new role, he was in charge of maintaining infrastructure as El Paso Energy began to acquire a number of new companies.

It was at El Paso Energy that Yahya came to what he recognises as a pivotal point in his career. Just prior to the infamous Enron scandal, El Paso Energy assigned Yahya to build and streamline the company’s marketing systems. At the time, the company was experiencing a great deal of instability in the area and needed to reduce outages and integrate their trading infrastructure. “I was put into a role as a principle engineer, but I was dealing with mostly upper management.” Yahya recalls the challenging project, “At this point they basically told me that if I succeeded, it would pay off, and if not, I knew where the door was.”

In this make or break moment, Yahya was able to focus on the task at hand and succeed. He pins his success on his team and a keen attention to communication skills. Just as his project completed in 2002, the Enron scandal broke. As his colleagues were losing their jobs around him, he was the only employee in the company to receive a promotion. With that promotion, he was then put at the head of all infrastructure projects at El Paso Energy.

After much success in Texas, in 2007 Yahya was approached by an organisation in Dubai. The Emirate was looking to break ground on Dubai Healthcare City and wanted Yahya’s help creating key IT infrastructure for the project including a data centre, the technical aspects of the hospital as well as a post-graduate school and hotel. In addition, he was tasked with creating an electronic health record system.


Born in Saudi

Moved to Abu Dhabi for the first time

Moved to Jordan

Graduated with a Bachelors in Chemistry from Al–Yarmouk University in Jordan

Graduated with a Masters in Computer Science from Western Kentucky University

Transformed the IT department of El Paso Corporation as IT manager

Returned to the UAE with Dubai Healthcare City

Moved to Abu Dhabi for the second time with Sheik Khalifa Medical Centre

Promoted to CIO of Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre

“Anyone can be taught a new system or be given new information, but it is essential to find IT staff that are innovative and willing to see the larger picture.”

At this point, money was no object in Dubai, and the plans for Healthcare City were vast. Unfortunately for Yahya, and the rest of the world, the global financial crisis hit in 2008, bringing the plans to a screeching halt. While others were unable to find opportunities in the UAE, Yahya was offered a position at Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre in Abu Dhabi.

When Yahya came to Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre, the IT infrastructure of the hospital was decentralised. He was tasked with the enormous job of implementing full technology overhaul and integrating the hospital’s systems, as well as the IT staff. As the Director of IT services, he teamed up with the CIO of SKMC to transform the IT department into a forward-thinking unit, rather than the “keep the lights on” staff that it had been up until that point. In 2012, Yahya succeeded the CIO and is now at the head of the technology division.

Yahya pins his continued success on not only an understanding of IT principles, but on his dedication to finding the right people. “Anyone can be taught a new system or be given new information, but it is essential to find IT staff that are innovative and willing to see the larger picture.” In addition, he says, senior management needs to be on board with all IT projects as technology is now the infrastructure on which businesses are built.

Though it has been many years and many successes since Yahya was a child obsessed with science fiction, the CIO of Sheik Khalifa Medical Centre still recalls Star Trek sparking his original interest in technology. “I saw how innovations could impact people on a daily basis, and I keep that idea in mind,” he says.

When he is not developing his own knowledge base or creating new IT infrastructure at SKMC, Yahya spends time with his three daughters. “We try to travel every chance we get. I think it is very important that they see new parts of the world and see how others live,” Yahya emphasises the importance of giving a developed world view to his children.

Indeed, it has perhaps been Yahya’s experiences all over the world that have been the key to his success. “I developed a sense of competitiveness during my time in the US,” he recalls, “and more than IT systems, communication skills have really been a driver to my success.” As for what is next, Yahya knows the importance of staying current in IT. “You have to change your skill set as technology progresses,” Yahya says, “whatever you do, never stop learning.”

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Cio spotlightAhmed Yahya


Case studyDubai Refreshments


When Dubai Refreshments’ ERP systems needed refreshing, the company was faced with a choice. They could either upgrade their current systems, or go on a search for a suite of modules to fit their every need. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Anas Taraben, Head of ICT, Dubai Refrshments, examined what it needed to quench the business’ thirst for innovation.

A refreshing change

Although Dubai Refreshments has been providing the region with beverages such as Pepsi, 7Up and Miranda for years, it is likely that thirsty consumers do not give a

great deal of thought as to what steps are necessary for that ice-cold beverage to land in their hands. Anas Taraben, Head of ICT, Dubai Refreshments, knows more than anyone, however, what it takes to keep the soft drink manufacturing company pumping our refreshments without a hiccup.

This year Taraben and the company were nominated for and won a CNME CIO 50 award to honour their achievements in implementing a new ERP system. Hardly a simple task, the ERP system implementation project, named the Greenfield Project, was meant to update and streamline all systems throughout Dubai Refreshments and bring the company into a new era of IT infrastructure and integrated systems.

The story of Dubai Refreshment’s ERP upgrade begins nine years ago when the company was still largely on an Oracle ERP system. “The


for all interested vendors. “After going through the proposals, we quickly narrowed our choices down to ten possible providers,” says Taraben, “Five of those possibilities were from Oracle, and five were from SAP.”

“When we did the evaluation, we considered both the functionality and cost of implementing the system. In the end we narrowed it down to two suppliers from Oracle, and two from SAP,” says Taraben. The solutions from SAP would provide a fully integrated end-to-end solution with all modules housed under one umbrella. From manufacturing maintenance to BI solutions to mobility, SAP could meet all the needs of each department.

After much deliberation, Dubai Refreshments decided to go for a solution from SAP. The system had a strong supply chain module that was key for the manufacturing plant. Further, SAP had been in the food and beverage industry for many years and had built up a suite of tools and systems that can truly enable a company like Dubai Refreshments. “The ERP system from SAP gives us a high level of mobility and visibility which lets us see what is going on throughout the company,” says Taraben, “It allows us to monitor all the systems and the modules from one portal.”

There were, of course, a few challenges when taking on such a monumental overhaul of the Dubai Refreshment systems. There were the technical risks involved in getting the solution to work, especially when another ERP system, with a high level of customisation, was already in play. However, the most notable challenge was mapping of the current business processes. With a clear map, Taraben was able minimise the customisation necessary and as well as the man hours the project would take.

In addition, there was a delay on the building of the plant itself. “When I found out about the delay, I made the decision that I didn’t want it to delay the SAP implementation,” Taraben recalls, “Unexpectedly we had to make the decision to implement the new modules in phases.”

More than technical issues and delays, the biggest challenge was changing the mindset of the new products’ end users. “People are set in their ways and used to doing things in a certain manner,” says Taraben, “Still we knew that the benefits would outweigh a temporary inconvenience.”

In all, 16 modules were rolled out in what Taraben describes at a “big bang” fashion - all modules were implemented at the same time. Some of those systems were implemented for the first time in the industry in Middle East. For example the advanced planning and optimisation module, supplier relationship management, business planning and consolidation, xMII manufacturing intelligence and integration and new mobility using SUP.

Taraben was correct in his prediction that the benefits to an upgrade would be worth the effort. Analyses and calculations that used to be pain-points for Dubai Refreshment’s various departments are now streamlined and much easier to carry out.

However, keeping systems updated these days is not a one shot deal. Companies, particularly those in manufacturing, need to stay abreast of the latest technology. “The truth is that no matter how much you update systems and implement them, your business will always demand more,” advises Taraben. “For that reason we maintain a small team that continually develops, implements and updates IT systems and infrastructure."

company was relatively small at that time,” recalls Taraben, “so we had gotten along without the need for a complex, integrated ERP system.” However, the days of paper transactions and systems that couldn’t share information with one another were numbered at Dubai Refreshments.

The idea for a major overhaul of IT systems began in early 2009 when Dubai Refreshments made the decision to build an enormous, state-of-the-art bottling factory. Taraben came into the company with years of Oracle experience, but an understanding of the need to move forward. The company had grown, and technology had modernised and it was obvious that there was a need for major changes.

The plan was to move from this unstructured, scattered system into a system that met the needs of each department at Dubai Refreshments. “We began the transition in the financial areas, HR and sales,” says Taraben, “Those are the three areas on which we first focused.” The plan was to implement a new ERP system while the new factory was under construction - not an easy task. The factory was tipped to be the largest Pepsi factory in the Middle East.

When Taraben joined Dubai Refreshments the company was using an older version of Oracle and the majority of business was direct sales. Everything was done with bill to bill or cash transactions. The extent of the mobility solution at the company was a handheld PDA that allowed for billing in the field. "We'd had some systems that were put in place with support from Pepsi International, however, there was clearly a great deal of room for improvement," says Taraben.

To begin the search for new systems, Taraben decided to hire KPMG as an advisor to determine the best way in which to make such an important decision. “We came to the conclusion that this wasn’t just an SAP versus Oracle question,” says Taraben. “We needed to find a solution that worked for each department’s individual needs. At the same time, we needed a solution that could be integrated.”

With their goals in mind, the company went about assessing the needs of each department of Dubai Refreshments. By interviewing players from each department, Taraben was able to build out a System of Need document, which outlined what each area needed from a new ERP system. “We documented the requirements of each area of operations and created a huge document,” Taraben explains, “we then floated that document out on the market as an RFI.”

The result of the System of Need document was 24 responses from potential providers. From those responses, the company created an RFP

The truth is that no matter how much you update your systems and implement them, your business will always demand more.

Case studyDubai Refreshments


Lieberman Software is the pioneer of automated Privileged Identity Management solutions with comprehensive expertise in opera-tional systems management. This is why Lieberman is fundamentally different from other vendors in this space who offer security appliances – we appeal to IT operations because of the inherent efficiencies in our architecture. This approach is reflected in our long-time motto: “Weeks of work cut down to seconds.”Enterprise Random Password Manager (ERPM) is a strategic Privileged Identity Management software solution that leads the market in automating security for the complex “Shared-Account” problem every enterprise has, and is under pressure to fix.

Competing products are not comparable with Liebrman’s ERPM in the area of automated discovery and service account management. Clients find that Liebrman is far superior for supporting large, dynamic, complex environments. To bestunderstand the operational approach to IT security that distinguishes ERPM from other solutions in this space, below are key differentiators.

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In The BAnk

BudgetsFEATURE

With a range of forecasts from research firms Gartner and IDC stating that MENA IT spending will increase in 2014, will CIOs find their budgets swelling, and if so, which areas are most in need of the spend? Who stands to benefit and what can the Middle East do to catch up with more developed regions?


solutions World

Things seem to be looking up for the Middle East IT scene. Research firm Gartner recently forecast that MEA’s IT spend would see a 2.3 percent increase

in 2014, hitting $11.9 billion on IT products and services. Where that will be invested remains to be seen, but a number of technologies seem prime candidates for that investment. Sachin Bhardwaj, Director, Marketing & Business Development, eHosting DataFort, sees cloud as a main driver, “There are various innovations that are transforming the IT landscape today - some examples include cloud computing, data centres, BYOD, personal clouds, and cloud integration mechanisms,” he says. “Among these, cloud computing is the dominant technology which shapes the data and communication sphere for governments, enterprises and citizens. Due to the abundance of devices, making a shift to the cloud is necessary to integrate critical IT functions and enhance connectivity between people.”

Habib Mahakian, Regional General Manager, Gulf & Pakistan, EMC, believes that software and the third platform will be clear beneficiaries, “We expect to see greater investments in software-defined technologies, flash, cloud and

31Computer News Middle Eastjuly 2014www.cnmeonline.comwww.cnmeonline.com

virtualisation,” he says. Simultaneously we will witness the greater adoption of Big Data, social and mobile to drive routes to market and enhance competitive differentiation.”

Suffice to say, the technologies being implemented will vary across sectors, but a common theme will be in implementing technologies that are cheaper, more flexible and agile enough to accommodate future growth.

It would be fair to say that even though the Middle East has some catching up to do in terms of technology standards, it has the advantage of being able to invest in some of the most recent innovations, without playing catch up. Not quite on a par with the US and Europe, the region has seen large IT growth in recent years as it attempts to bridge this gulf.

Hesham El Komy, Regional Marketing Manager, MEMA, Brocade, believes this should be a major priority in investing increased budgets, “Even though the region is seen as an emerging market there is still a lot of legacy software and hardware in use,” he says. “Over the past few years the demand on IT as an internal service has increased dramatically with the growth of companies and the general increase in use of technologies, but the budget has decreased or stagnated which has meant that in a lot of cases CIOs were just keeping things ticking over. If budgets are to increase the updating and future-

proofing of infrastructure and data centres should take priority.”

Faisal Husain, Founder and CEO, Synechron, believes intelligent IT investment is needed in specific areas to catch up with more mature markets, “To attain the growth rate like the markets in US and Europe, investments are required in the core areas supporting the revenue generating sectors like oil and gas, manufacturing, healthcare, and infrastructure,” he says.

El Komy goes on to say how the Middle East’s need for growth could have a silver lining, “The region is unique in the sense that it is growing very fast and many organisations are being built from the ground up, so they are already employing the latest and greatest technology,” he says. “They have little or no catching up to do at all. The issue relates more to multinational organisations that have regional HQs in the Middle East who tend to be forgotten by their global corporate IT departments, so tend to be behind the curve and will have the most catching up to do. How much will this cost? The question is akin to ‘how long is a piece of string?’”

Much like the technology that shapes the industry, the role of the CIO is in transition. In times where IT’s function is increasingly that of a business value-add, CIOs must ensure they are approaching the right people for the necessary support when investing increased budgets, or getting the best out of whatever they have.

Yassine Zaied, Executive Vice President, Middle East and Emerging Markets, Nexthink, sees the value of using end user feedback as a guiding light, “Today there are two groups of internal customers the CIO serves, both the

Today there are two groups of internal customers the CIO services, both the end-user and the business. It is a real challenge for CIOs to balance the end-users' needs with that

of the buisness. The CIO no longer imposes choices on end-users and has evolved to become more of an internal vendor or service provider.”

Yassine Zaied, Executive Vice President, Middle East, Nexthink

Even though the region is seen as an emerging market there is still a lot of legacy software and hardware in use."

Hesham El Komy, Regional Marketing Manager, MEMA, Brocade

BudgetsFEATURE


DATA ANALYTICSwatch every move

A u t h o r i z e d V a l u e A d d e d D i s t r i b u t o r

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end-users and the business,” he says. “It is a real challenge for CIOs to balance the end-users’ needs with that of the business. The CIO no longer imposes choices on end-users, and has evolved to become more of an internal vendor or service provider. Increasingly, CIOs rely on those who are responsible for the workstations, IT operations and support, who are tasked with ensuring the delivery of high quality services and support to the end-users.”

The increased importance of IT within a business not only gives CIOs an ego massage, but also drives related discussions to board level. “CIOs could consult with senior management and the internal finance team to assess long-term business objectives and budget allocation of various components, including OPEX on IT,” says Bhardwaj. “Such specialists will determine various requirements of the business based on key performance indices and revenue.” Mahakian agrees with Bhardwaj, “Traditionally, CIOs focused only on their own teams and sought direction from the CFO on budgets and priorities, but today, CIO’s have become part of the broader spectrum of C level executives who work together to set down the strategic direction for the business and review the organisation’s abilities to meet these objectives,” he says.

Given that in recent years most IT budgets have either stagnated or been reduced, a budget increase could offer a welcome break for regional IT teams. An increase could provide a window to

ensure a company has the necessary infrastructure to continue its growth. El Komy is confident of the two sectors that know how to make the most of a budget increase, “Telco’s and financial services will always find an innovative way to spend more money on IT which generally yields quick and visible results—so arguably those two sectors will benefit the most as they tend to be more poised to utilise it on future technologies and not so much on general updating,” he says.

With the UAE government set to spend over $15 billion this year in preparation for Expo 2020, certain sectors such as banking, finance, oil and gas, healthcare and education all stand to be leading recipients of increased IT spend. Combined finance providers are expected to invest $800 million in IT in 2014 while GCC nations are expected to fork out $27 billion on defence development, and IT is sure to receive a tidy cut from this.

Mahakian is mindful of what it takes for any given sector to make the most of an increase, and how to avoid wasting such an opportunity, “Enterprises across almost every key sector today are working to create more centralised and reliable infrastructure to improve workflows, expedite service delivery and enhance overall business efficiency,” he says. “Sectors that do not understand how the right technology investments can help them achieve these objectives - and do not make the right investments, not just in terms of technology but also in terms of personnel and practices - will struggle with growing business complexity and rapid changes in the internal and external environment.”

CIOs could consult with senior management and the internal finance team to assess long-term business objectives and budget allocation of various components,

including OPEX on IT."

Sachin Bhardwaj, Director, Marketing & Business Development, eHosting DataFort Sachin Bhardwaj, Director, Marketing & Business Development, eHosting DataFort

enterprises across every key sector today are working to create more centralised and reliable infrastructure to imporve workflows, expedite service delivery and enhancebusiness efficency.

BudgetsFEATURE


Tel: +971-4-4479444Fax: +971-4-4472512

Work releAse

MobilityFEATURE

Employees and employers alike are embracing the move to mobile technology in the workplace. For employees, this means a greater amount of freedom when it comes to when and where they work. For employers, mobile technology can mean a boost in productivity and efficiency.

As our work lives become more mobile, our business technology must also keep up. As such, more and more businesses are providing employees with tablets or support of a BYOD

plan that allows employees to become more mobile. In addition to general use in the office, tablets are also being used to increase productivity in areas such as retail and maintenance. It is not unusual to see servers taking orders using tablets these days, and workers that provide regular maintenance in the field can now take a snapshot with a tablet and instantly file a report to headquarters. Mobile technology is, without a doubt, changing the way that business is done.

It has become clear that the uptake of tablets in the work place is not a passing phase. As employees become more comfortable with mobile technology in their personal lives, they wish to bring the same convenience to their work days. “Individuals have become

increasingly dependent on these devices for a variety of purposes, from checking email and texting to searching the Internet and posting on social media sites,” says Manish Bhardwaj, Regional Marketing Manager, Middle East and Turkey, Aruba Networks, “More and more firms have embraced these technologies, letting their staff members use personal gadgets for work-related tasks or even providing them with new company-owned ones.”

It seems that most businesses can benefit from mobile technology, although in different ways and with different caveats. A bank, for instance, may have some security concerns in regard to their employees using their own devices or taking devices home. The same bank, however, would benefit greatly from their customers utilising a mobile app on a tablet or smartphone. On the other hand, a distribution company could stand to benefit from employees using tablets in the field to document necessary maintenance or billing, whereas they may not see any benefit from an external customer facing app.


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Mobility solutions such as tablets are becoming so commonplace in the enterprise space that their usage is almost a necessity in some industries. However, the benefits to providing or allowing employees to have tablets are not limited to large corporations. “People consider mobility to be for corporate giants, but it has been demonstrated that adopting mobile tools allows SMEs to operate efficiently, which is a key driver of success,” says Zahaib Nabeel, Mobility Team Leader, MDS ap, “In short, for companies to gain a competitive edge over the rest of the market, mobile technology is crucial. Mobility can help organisations improve internal processes, and increase employee efficiency.”

In general, the ability to work remotely is the biggest benefit that businesses are reaping from the introduction of tablets in the workplace. “Being able to carry around work devices from one place to the other has made mobility possible,” says Fouad Rafiq Charakla, Research Manager, IDC, “which has been the

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key benefit of mobile devices including portable PCs, tablets and smartphones.”

The Middle East in particular has a growing segment of employees that choose to use mobile devices, such as tablets, at work. “The Middle East is very much a technology driven market where people are open to change with the pace of the market in order to grow,” says Nabeel. Employers tend to be supportive of this move, with most companies well on their way to developing a Bring Your Own Device plan.

Tablet sales in general are growing and are predicted to reach 32.1 million units in 2016. Mohammad Ismail, Middle East and Africa Secure Identity and Authentication Solutions Manager, Gemalto, sites a recent IDC study stating, “The tablet market in the Middle East and Africa region grew 184 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2013, to reach 2.25 million units.” His explanation for these skyrocketing sales numbers - “The convenience tablets bring makes the BYOD trend unstoppable and the latest surveys even show that over 50 percent of employees see BYOD as a right rather than a privilege.”

Employees that leverage mobile devices are able to work from anywhere at any time. “The concept of having a fixed desktop with a keyboard and a mouse is almost extinct,” says Sonali Bhatia, Product Business Unit Head, Acer Middle East, “The tablet demand continues to grow in the region and this is a big driver for mobility.” This

increased mobility allows employees to access work emails and applications while in the field or at home.

However, as with most new freedoms, the work mobility trend comes with its potential costs. Most importantly, one cannot unleash mobile devices into the workplace without thinking of possible security issues. Particularly in light of the Bring Your Own Device trend, employees flooding the workplace with their own devices can create security issues. There are several security concerns when it comes to BYOD, most notably the devices exposure to unauthorised networks and persons.

Corporate data that is transferred from home, to work and all public networks in between can be at risk. “Implementing a BYOD policy can be beneficial to both the employee and the employer,” says Ismail, “but with the benefits come costs associated with supporting the different devices and ensuring proper security.”

So too can employees personal information be put at risk by the BYOD trend. “Users need to ensure that their BYOD devices not only secure corporate information,” warns Milos Pesic, Consultant, Informational Security, CA Technologies Middle East and North Africa, “but the privacy of their personal information like their family pictures and tax filing information.”

The solution for these potential security woes is simply a robust mobile technology policy, both in regard to BYOD and to employer provided tablets.

The concept of having a fixed desktop with a keyboard and a mouse is almost extinct. The tablet demand continues to grow in the region and this is a big driver for mobility.”

Sonali Bhatia, Product Business Unit Head, Acer Middle EastS

MobilityFEATURE

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Organisations need to be able to parse off personal from corporate data and be able to wipe devices when an employee leaves the company. “It all comes down to the policies a company sets,” says Bhardwaj, “The policy should allow the employer to access the device to remotely wipe corporate data when an employee decides to leave.”

Still, with a robust BYOD policy, tablets in the workplace can be a real boon for business. In addition to working at any time from a variety of locations, employees can also communicate with the home office from the field. Redefining the working environment in this manner can ensure levels of empowerment and productivity among the workforce.

The future of tablets in the workplace is inevitable. According to a survey conducted by Aruba Networks nearly six in ten employees in Saudi believe that they work most efficiently before 9

am or after 6 pm rather than traditional working hours and almost half of employees in the UAE say they work most efficiently from home as compared to an office, café or other public space. To leverage those productive hours, employees must be willing to allow their workforce to go mobile.

“A growing number of organisations will become forced to migrate a larger portion of their devices toward mobility if they are to maintain a sustainable business model,” predicts Charakla, “this is true particularly in light of the present day competitive business environment which continues to demand increasing levels of productivity.” With this in mind organisations need to develop BYOD policies and consider providing their employees with mobile devices. Not only does this support the generational transition away from the office desk, but will allow for more productivity in the field.

MobilityFEATURE

Implementing a BYOD policy can be beneficial to both the employee and the employer, but with the benefits come costs associated with supporting the different devices and ensuring proper security.”

Mohammad Ismail, Middle East and Africa Secure Identity and Authentication Solutions Manager, Gemalto

More and more firms have embraced these technologies, letting their staff members use personal gadgets for work-related tasks or even providing them with new company-owned ones.”

Manish Bhardwaj, Regional Marketing Manager, Middle East and Turkey, Aruba Networks

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Systems IntegratorsFEATURE

With the systems integrators market evolving, IT leaders have the opportunity to tailor their skills to specific verticals and areas of SI specialisation. Which verticals offer the best opportunities for growth and what types of projects will SIs have to specialise in?

Exactly which pillars of the third platform will be the most profitable remains open to debate, but social, mobility, analytics and cloud all offer fresh

opportunities for SIs. Mechelle Buys du Plessis, Solutions Director, Dimension Data, Middle East, feels that a utility-based approach to IT will prevail,

“The realisation that clients worldwide are looking at procuring tech services has dawned on most companies,” she says. “We need to change the way that these services are procured. Utility will be key; for instance, if you are in need of energy, there is no point in building your own power plant.”

Serjios El-Hage, Group CEO, EMW, believes that those who are unable to capitalise on the


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“sIs used to be a one-stop shop for various services, like integrating servers and printers. nowadays, all vendors offer some form of cloud service, so it is important for sIs to be agile, and to consider that mobility, data centres and the whole ecosystem are up to scratch.”

emergence of mobility will be left behind, “Mobility, and anything to do with it, is becoming massive,” he says. “The transition from wireless to smart devices has meant that MEAPs and MDM are now crucial areas for SIs. Applications like Dubai Smart Gov have given rise to the fact that people can transact everything via their mobile apps.”

Stephan Berner, Managing Director, Help AG, is in no doubt that SIs who focus on another ever-present concern—security—will stand out from the crowd, “Security has proved to be an extremely rewarding area of specialisation,” he says. “There are few players in the local market who focus solely on IT security. Enterprise IT security requires a multi-faceted approach that includes technologies and solutions, privacy, enterprise architecture, legal and compliance issues related to computer security, risk analysis, employee training, and financial and economic considerations. To address each of these concerns, organisations require integration partners who have true value addition capabilities.”

Hani Nofal, Executive Director, Intelligent Network Solutions, Gulf Business Machines, is conscious of the value of business-IT alignment and also in driving system integration into a “holistic” era, “IT is currently experiencing a power shift where traditional customers are becoming business users,” he says. “IT is becoming increasingly important to the business, and so it is difficult to find the right balance

The realisation that clients worldwide are looking at procuring tech services has dawned on most companies. We need to change the way that these services are procured.

Utility will be key; for instance, if you are in need of energy, there is no point in building your own power plant.”

Mechelle Buys du Plessis, Solutions Director, Dimension Data, Middle East

of skills and people who understand the business. On top of that, SIs who are able to combine the power of technologies like Big Data, virtualisation and mobility will put themselves in a very strong position in terms of this business-IT alignment.”

Offering a broader range of SI services opens a wider range of market opportunities, but with that decision comes stiffer competition. By the same token, it is often more challenging for niche operators to gain access to certain customers, yet they are not as susceptible to the large risks that come with offering broader services. For Klaus Middeler, Director, Strategy and Business Development, Ericsson Middle East, it is clear that SIs must make clear the distinction of which path they will follow, “There are only two sizes of companies which are able to sustain a long term profitable business - those who offer the full range of services or those who are specialised,” he says. “Companies in between will either not have the necessary expert skill or cost advantage to survive in the long run. Both segments - full service provider and niche player - offer good margins and revenues. Niche players have the advantage to be more flexible but the disadvantage not being able to prime larger SI contracts.”

“If an SI is offering a broad range of services they must fundamentally understand the processes,” says Mechelle Buys du Plessis, Solutions Director, Dimension Data, Middle East. “In the same vein, an SI service provider could provide broad services but have niche knowledge in a particular field.”

El-Hage sees the value in SIs ensuring they stand out from the crowd, and stay abreast of the emerging



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technologies, “SIs used to be a one-stop shop for various services, like integrating servers and printers,” he says. Nowadays, all vendors offer some form of cloud service, so it is important for SIs to be agile, and to consider that mobility, data centres and the whole ecosystem are up to scratch. Software-defined networking will come no matter what, and there is ,a decreasing reliance on hardware suppliers, with the move to SDN and virtualisation.”

SIs who have the advantage of specialising in a particular vertical will have a unique advantage, and with large parts of the Middle East in economic transition, certain sectors will present huge opportunities. El-Hage sees a clear roadmap for which verticals will prove to be goldmines for SIs, both in the UAE and the Middle East as a whole, “Regionally, I see the hospitality vertical being the most profitable in future,” he says. “With Expo 2020 coming up, there will be an influx of new developers, and the number of available properties in Dubai—84,000—is expected to double. Following that, education will experience growth, with the average student in the Middle East carrying between 2.7-3 mobile devices. Thirdly, I expect retail to grow, brands are coming into the region, and with mall expansions this will create demand.”

Berner believes that the growth of specific verticals will vary across the region, “In terms of segments driving the broader scope of systems integration in the region, this varies from country

to country and can in general be linked to which verticals are fastest growing in each country,” he says. “This is simply because IT is now a must-have and achieving the next level of business growth is a matter of deploying the best solutions that aid business flexibility and efficiency.”

With the increasing demand for a variety of IT services and solutions, the future promises a decrease in mere boxes, with the lines between hardware and software becoming increasingly blurred. It seems fair to assert that hardware-focused SIs may face a drop in business, while those who accommodate the transition into more software-defined technologies will be better off. By the same token, with the increased uptake of cloud and remote operations, the need for engineers to travel on-site may decrease. Exactly which areas of system integration stand to suffer draws debate, the decline in demand for various types of system integration proving a harsh reality for some.

The move into virtualised storage and networks, along with the rise in digital services is disruptive, and Mohammed Zameer, General Manager, Al Rostamani Communications, sees three clear areas of technology that are becoming outdated and may get left behind. “Voice communications are becoming unified and IT-based, so the need for services in that area is declining,” he says. “With the prevalence of 3G, cabling infrastructure has gone wireless so that will suffer. The demand for standard storage and servers is also decreasing, as everything is becoming more rack-based.”

There are few players in the local market who focus solely on IT security. Enterprise IT security requires a multi-faceted approach that includes technologies

and solutions, privacy, enterprise architecture, legal and compliance issues related to computer security, risk analysis, employee training, and financial and economic considerations.”

Stephan Berner, Managing Director, Help AG

“Mobility, and anything to do with it, is becoming massive. The transition from wireless to smart devices has meant that MEAPs and MDM are now crucial

areas for SIs. Applications like Dubai Smart Gov have given rise to the fact that people can transact everything via their mobile apps.”

Serjios El-Hage, Group CEO, EMWMiddle East



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The need for speed

SSDFEATURE

IT managers around the world are falling in love with SSDs (solid state drives) in enterprise servers because they solve two major headaches: they run fast enough to replace multiple HDDs (hard disk drives) and they help reduce the electric bill.


Solid-state disk, once considered a niche technology for ruggedised, industrial and military applications, is on its way to the mainstream. This is partly because of SSD benefits,

which include performance, power efficiency, ruggedness and a lightweight, compact size. But other developments have also come into play, including technology and market developments that have begun to help this technology overcome its pitfalls - namely capacity, reliability and price.

Because SSD is based on NAND flash memory chip technology, it has no moving parts, which makes it faster and less prone to mechanical failure than hard disk drives. Today, costs are shrinking faster than ever, thanks to market growth, new technology developments and vendors working overtime to accelerate their SSD development.

There are many reasons why SSDs are being adopted into enterprise servers and storage systems. “The electronically stored NAND based flash architectures permit increased durability, scalability and greater reliability and can be a boon for VDI deployments and dynamic infrastructures,” says Swapna Subramani, Senior Research Analyst, Systems and Infrastructure Solutions, IDC.

Salil Dighe, CEO, Meta Byte Technologies, adds SSDs also require far less power and produce a fraction of the heat of their spinning counterparts. “According to the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), SSDs demand 92 percent less power, and operate at 38 percent lower temperatures. In addition, the absence of moving parts such as mechanical arms, motors and spinning platters enables SSDs to deliver far greater reliability and higher Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). Parts stress analysis indicates a MTBF of almost twice as many hours for Enterprise SAS SSDs vs. HDDs. SSDs are becoming more reliable than their spinning counterparts, which essentially translates to drastically improved uptime and less costly servicing, a feature that is proving critical in some industries.”

Christian Assaf, Senior Sales Manager, Seagate,

StratEGiC tEChNOlOGy PartNEr

storage advisor

49Computer News Middle EastJULY 2014www.cnmeonline.com

says a growing cloud ecosystem is also one of the factors behind the increase in enterprise SD adoption in the Middle East. Enterprise SSDs have enabled a faster, more efficient cloud, and as these solutions are more widely adopted, demand will continue to escalate. Faster data flows enabled by enterprise SSD deployments in the cloud will also lead to the creation of additional data to be stored, creating an advantage to solution-provider partners.”

SSD vs. HDDAre SSDs poised to replace hard disks in server infrastructure? Enterprises have long struggled with the storage conundrum of high capacity vs. high performance. Hard disk and solid state drives (SSD) each offer advantages the other cannot match. Hard drives are the reigning kings of capacity, but lack the performance, ruggedness and power-saving features of SSDs. For all their advantages, SSDs are miles away from hard disk drives in delivering the capacity and cost-effectiveness required by enterprise applications.

“While enterprise SSDs have the potential to move beyond niche applications and become a viable option for certain environments, HDDs will continue to remain the mainstay of storage architectures. With data explosion occurring every year, enterprises are looking at solutions that can maintain federated data sources with de-duplication, automatic tiering, backup and archiving, disaster recovery and business continuity solutions. These solutions require high-performance disk based systems,” says Subramani.

Dighe agrees: “Given the enormity of future capacity needs, it will be impossible for CIOs and IT managers to completely replace hard drives with SSDs during the next five years in data centres. Having

said that, there are far better flash based technologies, which are superior with higher addressable capacities and performance. FusionIO, one of the brands in our portfolio, is the leading storage solution provider for server infrastructure. These solutions could possibly be the best choice today for IT managers who are bothered with performance and consolidating the data centre footprint.”

These two technologies offer varied and compelling attributes and users have to consider certain factors while comparing HDDs and SSDs for their applications. “There is more than just cost per capacity or capacity density to consider when determining the type of enterprise storage to use for cloud environments. Certainly space capacity measured in gigabytes and terabytes are important characteristics to consider. However, there are other attributes that should inform purchasing decisions depending on the application, workload or usage scenario,” says Assaf.

These requirements include performance, availability, space capacity, economics and functionality. It is also critical to understand what kind of data an organisation is dealing with, as well as the environment in which the drives will be used. Different applications and data - such as active data versus inactive data - require unique storage devices.

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) has completed an in-depth analysis of the factors that need to be considered in comparing HDDs and SSDs for any given application. It concluded that assessing total cost of ownership offered the most realistic basis for comparison - assessing both the direct and indirect cost of deploying a storage system over its life cycle.

“Given the enormity of future capacity needs, it will be impossible for CIOs and IT managers to completely replace hard drives with SSDs during the next five years in

data centres."

Salil Dighe, CEO, Meta Byte Technologiess

Enterprise SSDs have enabled a faster, more efficient cloud, and as these solutions are more widely adopted, demand will continue to escalate.”

Christian Assaf, Senior Sales Manager, Seagate

SSDFEATURE

50 Computer News Middle East JULY 2014 www.cnmeonline.com

Direct costs, labour and capital costs are familiar and relatively easy to measure. However, indirect costing becomes more complex to expose. Industry studies have shown it can cost more to operate a storage device over three years than to buy it. To get a clean TCO, it is essential to objectively include all relevant data including cost for:

* Acquisition. Analysis of acquisition costs needs to include cost per drive, software licenses and differing architecture options. Consider that, in a high random I/O transaction application (i.e. Exchange email, banking transactions, etc.), a single SSD could replace an array of 10 or more HDDs, resulting in a smaller footprint, higher performance and lower costs for supporting hardware and software licensing.

* Maintenance and Repair. HDDs have an annual failure rate of 2 percent to 8 percent. So as many as one in 12 HDDs deployed will fail every year. Factor in the cost of a drive, the personnel to replace it and any system downtime to get a clear picture of the true cost of these replacements. In addition, SSDs need to be treated as a consumable with endurance dependent on multiple factors, which vary by manufacturer and design.

* Power and Cooling. In tier 0 and 1 storage systems, choosing SSDs can save more than 80 percent in total storage system energy requirements. There are many elements to this calculation. Ultimately, it is the greater power density (IOPS/Watt) of SSDs that make the difference; fewer drives can deliver the same throughput for less power, with the added benefit of requiring less space and cooling.

* RAID Configuration. It is standard practice to use RAID configurations to improve performance and

The electronically stored NAND based flash architectures permit increased durability, scalability and greater reliability and can be a boon

for VDI deployments and dynamic infrastructures.”

Swapna Subramani, Senior Research Analyst, Systems and Infrastructure Solutions, IDC

reliability. Conventional RAID configurations mask the high I/O latency inherent in HDDs. New SSD-friendly RAID implementations both exploit and enhance the performance and reliability of SSDs. The tradeoffs between levels of RAID can significantly shift the performance, cost and reliability equations so the relative benefits need to be factored into a complete TCO exercise.

“Calculating a full TCO is an important discipline. But for immediate comparison between SSD types and designs, some simple metrics are useful. In the HDD era, the rule of thumb measures were cost per GB and I/O throughput. The characteristics of SSDs weaken the relevance of cost per GB and mean that tests of I/O throughput need to be appropriate to SSDs to ensure accurate real-world performance comparisons can be made between drive types,” says John Scaramuzzo, Senior VP and GM of SanDisk’s Enterprise Storage Solutions.

This leads to two new rules. One, adopt cost per terabyte written ($/TBW) as a key metric for comparison. And two, compare performance on the basis of standardized tests, suited to SSDs.

SNIA has evaluated the impact of these different factors and developed a performance test specification for enterprise solid state storage.

“Realistic comparisons between HDDs and the best performing SSDs show that for the majority of enterprise applications the performance benefits of SSDs are now available at a price that is becoming competitive with HDDs. Think TCO and ask for $/TBW and SNIA performance figures. Then simply run the numbers; they speak for themselves,” Scaramuzzo sums up.

Calculating a full TCo is an important discipline. But for immediate comparison between ssd types and designs, some simple metrics are useful.

SSDFEATURE

52 Computer News Middle East JULY 2014 www.cnmeonline.com

A sAfe BeT

Operating SystemsFEATURE

The OS wars are nothing new. Every user has a laundry list of reasons why their operating system is king. One of the key points in determining which OS reigns supreme is security. CNME investigates the security successes and pitfalls of the most commonly used operating systems.

54 Computer News Middle East july 2014 www.cnmeonline.comJunE 2014

It would be wrong to assume that any OS is completely immune to malware, viruses and other malicious attacks.

Apple, Android and Windows, the leading OS softwares for mobile and desktop, have all experienced their fair share of breaches, though some less than others. OS software that account for smaller portions of the market such as Linux’s Ubuntu and the new Tails platform have experienced far fewer security issues, though many argue that this has little to do with resistance to attacks and more to do with market share.

seCurity advisor


With malware attacks on the rise, businesses and personal users alike need to ensure that they are using the most secure OS possible.

“Today’s operating systems are more sophisticated and feature-rich than ever before,” says Ravi Patil, Technical Director, MMEA, Trend Micro, “this makes them substantially more useful to the user but also adds security vulnerabilities, unless the operating systems are configured, administered and monitored correctly.” To ascertain which OS is the most secure, first one needs to clarify the question. Security can be seen in two different ways. The first is the OS’ inherent resilience to attack. This comes down to the coding and design of the operating system itself. If there are vulnerabilities in the system, those vulnerabilities are likely to be exploited by malicious actors.

This also includes how quickly a system is patched and updated when a threat is detected. “In this sense,” explains Vanja Svajcer, Principal Researcher, Sophos, “there is very little in terms of security model and features, which distinguishes on OS from another.” In short, with a few differing details, most developers are on the same level when it comes to the physical build out of the security features of their systems.

The second way in which OS security needs to be assessed is market share. This has little to do with the actual structure of the software, and everything to do with the popularity of the OS itself. Hackers are more likely to develop malicious

software that targets the most popular operating system simply because the breach will effect more users. The more users affected, the more likely the hackers are to benefit from the attack.

“We all know that Microsoft Windows OS has the lion’s share of the market at almost 90 percent. The idea that the more popular you are the more eyes are on you holds true for the OS industry as well,” explains VS Pradeesh, General Manager, ESET Middle East. As such, operating systems such as Apple’s iOS are more secure, but through no innovative development of their own, simply because they have fewer users.

Guillaume Lovet, Senior Manager, EMEA Threat Response Team, Fortinet, agrees. “A very popular OS is obviously going to be a lot more likely to be targeted by hackers and cybercriminals than those with low market shares,” he explains, “This is because the popular OS will offer a better ROI for them.”

The converse of this market share issue also holds true. As an operating system becomes more popular, it falls under attack. “For example,” says Mohamad Amin Hasbini, Senior Security Researcher, Global Research and Analysis Team, Kaspersky Lab, “with the increasing numbers of Android based devices, attacks have also increased, accounting for 98 percent of mobile malware in early 2014.”

Still, in spite of the fact that iOS has a smaller market share, it does not mean that the operating

Today’s operating systems are more sophisticated and feature-rich than ever before. This makes them substantially more useful to the user but also adds

security vulnerabilities, unless the operating systems are configured, administered and monitored correctly.”

Ravi Patil, Technical Director, MMEA, Trend Micro

We all know that Microsoft Windows OS has the lion’s share of the market at almost 90 percent. The fact that the more popular you are the more eyes are on you holds true for the OS

industry as well.”

VS Pradeesh, General Manager, ESET Middle East



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What really matters in IT todayTo be competitive as possible more organisations today are creating agile infrastructure, which promises the ability to scale IT resources up and down to rapidly meet changing user and customer needs, reduce costs and help bring new products and services to the market.

A solid IT infrastructure is a key building block for agility. Done right, it can increase efficiencies and reliability. As business environments become less predictable, where cycles are shorter, quicker refreshes are required, creating agile infrastructure is more important than ever.

Where is enterprise IT headed? How do you keep pace with technology advances? How do you take advantage of the new agile infrastructure without the constraints of existing legacy systems?

CNME’ s Infrastructure Strategies 2014 will bring together over 100 senior IT executives from the Middle East to find out how to build a strong infrastructure that will stand the test of time as organisations accelerate their journey to a more agile IT environment. It will feature an excellent agenda made up of leading CIOs and heads of infrastructure from top Middle East organisations, who have led the way with their own infrastructure projects.

Don’t miss out on the chance to be a part of an invaluable discussion that is sure to outline exactly how Middle East organisations should be approaching IT infrastructure moving forward

system is under the radar when it comes to hackers. “The myth about Mac OS unbeatable security was smashed when the merciless Flashfake Trojan managed to create the biggest Apple botnet, which consisted of one million infected devices all over the world,” Hasbini reminds us.

As we have established, market share aside, there is no such thing as a completely secure operating system. With that in mind, the best way to keep data safe is prevention. Prevention can take a plethora of forms, from behavourial modification to operating system updates. As hackers are beginning to take advantage of human error more and more, it is not only paramount that systems are kept updated, but also that users are kept abreast of new malware and scams. “Attacks these days are becoming socially engineered, meaning they take advantage of your behaviour online,” explains Megha Kumar, Research Manager, Software, IDC, “users need to be cautious.”

The Internet is clearly the largest attack surface for hackers. Connecting on any kind of network give hackers a doorway into a computer’s operating system. As such, users need to be particularly vigilant when browsing. “While browsing users need to avoid suspicious links and websites and be very careful about the sites they are visiting,” says Pradeesh. Users need to educate themselves on how to identify scam emails and false websites as well has how to password protect their sensitive information.

Beyond behaviour, there are, of course, ways to secure the operating system itself. Most operating systems come with some security measures built in, either in the coding itself, or how software is deployed. “On a secure operating system,” says Patil, “the protections are indistinguishable and non-removable from the operating system as a whole; therefore, it is much harder to work around them.”

In addition to any native security measures, users should install and keep updated anti-virus and internet protection software. “Users need to install the latest software updates from their corresponding vendors and choose a decent antivirus and internet protection for all of their devices,” says Hasbini.

The bottom line is that no operating system is without vulnerability and the biggest break in security is often the user. The most secure operating system is one whose resilience is bolstered by regular updates, robust antivirus software and best practices on the part of the user. “Those people who know better are aware that there is a lot more to security than counting vulnerabilities,” says Patil, “Other, more credible criteria may involve factors such as code quality auditing, default security configuration, patch quality and response time, and privilege separation. Indeed, operating system security is a constantly evolving target. The most secure operating system is that which is operated by a savvy user.

“The myth about Mac OS unbeatable security was smashed when the merciless Flashfake Trojan managed to create the biggest Apple botnet, which consisted

of one million infected devices all over the world.”

Mohamad Amin Hasbini, Senior Security Researcher, Global Research and Analysis Team, Kaspersky Lab


on a secure operating system the protections are indistinguishable and non-removable from the operating system as a whole; therefore it is much harder to work around them


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RevenueFEATURE

dIGGInG for GoldIntensified competition coupled with declining voice ARPU is forcing telecom service providers to look around for new revenue streams that some of the new advanced technologies offer. However, it can be a daunting task for carriers who are saddled with legacy systems

and manual internal processes.


iN aSSOCiatiON With

teleCoMs World

With penetration rates reaching 100 percent in most countries, increasing competition and a steady decline in voice revenues, telecom service providers in the Middle East are

starting to focus on offering value-for-money services.Telcos, who have been dependent on voice business

for long, are now leaving that model behind and moving towards an application business model. The new telecommunications business model encompasses a range of applications, including wireless, multimedia, data and connectivity solutions.

Even during the global economic slowdown, the telecom market in the region has remained resilient, mainly due to the increased demand for telecom products and services. Now, industry pundits predict new technology areas will sustain the growth momentum and create pockets of revenue opportunities.

“LTE, NFC, M2M, cloud and Big Data analytics are technology trends which have the potential to change mobile operators’ current business drastically over the next couple of years,” says Klaus Middeler, Director – Strategy & Business Development, Ericsson.

LTE - Long Term Evolution - provides consumers with data speeds they usually would get from a fixed line operator making their business close to obsolete in areas where copper is still the main means of data transportation. With new media compression technologies enabling efficient video transport over the air we will see home TVs connected to the mobile network bringing mobile operators in the position to earn revenues from media distribution, he adds.

M2M, which will connect billions of devices in the near future, is another lucrative market. “With M2M, sensors, meters, cars and machines will exchange data without the interference of a human being. Many of these connections will use the mobile network as a means of transportation. As a result payments have to be made and money has to be collected. This is a profitable revenue stream mobile operators can participate in,” says Middeler.

The growing demand for managed security services is also an attractive proposition. “The size, frequency and complexity of Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks is increasing. Unfortunately, when it comes to today’s range of sophisticated DDoS attacks, traditional security products, such as firewalls or intrusion prevention systems, are proving to be inadequate,” says Mahmoud Samy, Regional Director, Arbor Networks.

Enterprises are now more concerned about this than ever before and telecom companies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can help them combat these threats, while simultaneously creating lucrative new revenue streams, he adds.

Service providers have some inherent advantages that enable them to capitalise on this demand because they own the ‘pipes’ that transmit data across the Internet. This makes Telcos & ISPs uniquely positioned to deliver a comprehensive solution that can combat DDoS attacks.

As telecom sector competition intensifies, customer experience is taking centre stage, with providers leveraging on new-age tools such as social media and mobile Internet. The stress is increasing on operators to enhance customer experience and incorporate a wide variety of service to attract new customers while retaining existing customers.

“There are many areas where the current way of operations can be performed much more cost-efficiently than today," Middler says. "Consolidating islands of technology, automating business processes, enabling self-care to consumers and the virtualisation of network functions are prime areas to look at. One of the scarcest resources of our era is 'time' it takes minutes to call news history, to churn from one company to another one. The operator, who will best manage customer experience, acts proactively and instantaneously to the needs of

“There are many areas where the current way of operations can be performed much more cost efficiently than today. Consolidating islands of technology, automating business processes, enabling self-care to consumers and the virtualisation of network functions are prime areas to look at.”

M2Msensors, meters, cars and machines will exchange data without the interference of a human being


its customers to have an important advantage against competition. Needless to say, this will be translated into profitability."

He adds that investment into real-time decision making, actionable intelligence, and complex event processing technologies will be key for operators to be in charge of their customer experience. In the very near future, Social CRM will come from the hype cycle and become an important pillar of CEM to support profitability.

The revenue leakage problemToday, service providers deliver voice, video, data, interview, wireless and even cable offerings over a common infrastructure. Technology is now available that enabled many such different services over common networks. However, such convergent offerings can be just another dammed-up revenue stream unless they are properly and reliably billed.

Revenue leakage is often treated as a billing issue. Telecommunications industry analysts estimate that between 2-5 per cent of all billable-minute revenues are lost because of absent or incorrect billings. Telcos typically focus on revenue leakage only when a major fluctuation occurs in financial results or billable metrics. Unfortunately, this approach is misguided, as there are many significant revenue leakage problems that may not turn up in monthly trend-analysis reports.

Revenue loss can occur in any element of the revenue stream, from new product development to systems - switches, order and provisioning, rating, invoicing - to back-end customer support. Given the sheer scale of transactions processed by a typical telco,

the total amount of money washing down the drain due to leakage can be substantial.

In this context, it is important for service providers to sustain their investment in fraud management and revenue assurance technologies. Middeler says, "New investments are not the only key to success. Operators need to be willing to question established routines and processes to be more successful in fighting against fraud. Making sure that you get paid for the service you provide is more a question of having the right technology in place. Many outdated systems could be replaced and financed only by the losses the old ones are responsible for in less than a year."

Revenue assurance programs allow organisations to identify revenue opportunities and threats, and enhance the efficiency of operational and support activities. An effective program will increase billable revenue and cash flows, make operating processes more efficient, cut end-to-end cycle times and minimise the chance of service disruption.

Revenue assurance methodology was originally developed for telecommunications companies, but the underlying risk management principles can be applied to other industries that face similar challenges: rapidly shifting market conditions, processing small transactions on a massive scale, and fragmented hand-me-down systems architecture. For example, utility companies are now facing markedly similar conditions as power markets deregulate, and may benefit from the adoption of revenue assurance techniques. Financial institutions also face similar issues. Revenue assurance concepts can be generalised to be of use to any savvy organisation that wants to implement improvements in its revenue processes and drive dollars to the bottom line.

LTE, NFC, M2M, cloud and Big Data Analytics are technology trends which have the potential to change mobile operators’

current business drastically over the next couple of years.”Klaus Middeler, Director – Strategy & Business Development, Ericsson

“The size, frequency and complexity of Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks is increasing. Unfortunately, when it comes to today’s range of sophisticated DDoS

attacks, traditional security products, such as firewalls or intrusion prevention systems, are proving to be inadequate.”

Mahmoud Samy, Regional Director, Middle East, Russia and CIS, Arbor Networks.

RevenuesFEATURE

2-5%billable minute revenues lost because of absent or incorrect billings.


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analyst CornerGartner

money making machinesBy Peter Middleton, Research Director, Gartner

The Internet plays an increasingly important role in the modern world, not only at the level of infrastructure

but also in culture, society and business. The Internet of Things extends that role to an increasingly diverse range of devices and communications streams, many of which will be essentially machine-to-machine communications, rather than involving a person at either endpoint.

Gartner defines the Internet of Things as the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment. It encompasses hardware (the “things” themselves), embedded software, communications services and information services associated with the things.

The growth of such things is predicted to be rapid, such that the Internet of Things’ growth

will far exceed that of other connected devices. Gartner forecasts that, in 2020, the number of smartphones, personal tablets and PCs in use will be 7.3 billion. But the Internet of Things will expand much faster, to a whopping 26 billion units in the same year.

Due to the low cost of adding Internet of Things capability to consumer products, Gartner expects that “ghost” devices with unused connectivity will be common. They will include


will invest in improved physical security systems and smart-building technology.

The healthcare sector is slated to see a wide range of innovations, from personal medical devices such as wearable wireless monitors and sensors to smart pills, connected medical instruments and diagnostic equipment, as well as implantable technology. Medical technology, however, will take longer than areas such as lighting to move into the mainstream because of regulation. Nevertheless, the new Internet

of Things technologies will add $285 billion of healthcare provider value to the global economy by 2020, with the main benefits felt after this date.

As hardware costs fall and solutions proliferate, the bulk of the revenue opportunity falls to service providers. Although the industry will benefit tremendously from Internet of Things technology, consumer end users will drive almost two-thirds of Internet of Things supplier revenue.

products that have the capability built-in but require software to “activate” it, and products with Internet of Things functionality that customers do not actively use.

By 2020, component costs will have declined to the point that connectivity will become a standard feature, even for processors that cost less than one dollar. This will raise the possibility of connecting just about anything, from the very simple to the very complex, to offer remote control, monitoring and sensing.

The Internet of Things Will Bring New Supplier Opportunities and Add Economic ValueGartner estimates that the Internet of Things will add an astronomical $309 billion to the combined revenue of hardware, software and services suppliers in 2020. For example, LED light bulbs are only just now coming to market, and the early models are not networked. By adding Internet of Things capability, LED lighting suppliers can charge higher prices for their products, and associated services will arise. About 15 per cent of LED lamps will contain connectivity technology by 2020 and will therefore be part of the Internet of Things. This amounts to more than 1 billion connected lamps.

The use of LEDs results in considerable energy savings, combined with electronic controllability. About 90 per cent of the energy savings will be in consumer markets, with commercial, street and area lighting accounting for the rest. The energy savings are so great that governments will encourage the use of LED lamps through subsidies and forced use

Economic “value-add”—the aggregate benefit that businesses derive from the sale and use of Internet of Things technology—has been forecasted to hit $1.9 trillion across all sectors in 2020, according to Gartner. The industries that are currently leading its adoption are manufacturing at 15 percent, healthcare at 15 percent, and insurance and banking and securities at 11 percent. The banking industry, for example, has widely employed connected automatic teller machines and Point of Sale technology to deliver operational savings and enhance revenue opportunities. The banking and securities industry will continue to innovate around mobile and micropayment technology using convenient Point of Sale terminals, and


faCe to faCeRamon Baez


cloud conTrolHP CIO Ramon Baez talks about HP’s vision for cloud computing and Big Data, and how HP can help its customers make the most of these new technologies.

You’ve mentioned that there is a gap between the CIO’s optimism about what can be done with Big Data and the cloud, and the systems they actually have in place. Why do you think there is

this disparity? I think it happens for various reasons. The shifts are occurring so rapidly that talent isn’t keeping up with the changes. I know when I was delivering my first software-as-a-service years ago, we didn’t have people who were cloud integrators. They did on-premise integration, and that is very different from doing cloud integrations. Cloud is a very different mindset. It’s not just about the technology but the leadership of the organisation. Do they have the people with the right attitude and aptitude to get things done?

Many people don’t have a vision of how they want to use the cloud. About 37 percent [of managers surveyed by HP] did not have a true vision of how cloud can be used, whether as software-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-service or platform-as-a-service. Take a look at big data, which I guarantee is not hype. But the problem is, the technical people are developing these really great tools, but users aren’t educated about them.

Our job at HP is to articulate the value that we got using these technologies. We believe you can get the same benefit from doing these things as well.

How is the cloud changing businesses?The cloud has opened up business leaders to be much more IT-savvy. They have a better idea of what they need than ever before. When we’d deploy on-premise solutions, we’d have to configure the heck out of them, to get everyone’s requests in, because they knew if they didn’t get them into the first version, they wouldn’t see those [features] for years. Now, with the cloud, when they submit their changes, they can be added rather rapidly.

Platform-as-a-service is increasing the velocity in how we are doing business. Previously, it’d take two or three weeks to provision a server. Now we can provision a whole stack for our developers within hours. It used to take a week to deploy a database. Now it takes five minutes.

Are you finding individual business units making an end run around the IT department to directly get these clouds provisioned?Every company has those savvy super-users, if you will. Or shadow organisations. I’ve said innovation just doesn’t reside in IT—it’s all over the map. I think it’s important for IT to work with business. It relieves some of the tension.

When you have leaders who truly understand the business, I think it shapes the way we deal with people who want to be that shadow

organisation. They may say, “Hey, I have to go get my own solution” and then they find they have to work with IT because IT has to do the back-end integration. They don’t know how to do that, and that’s when it falls apart.

How will the role of IT administrators change with the cloud?What will happen, as time goes on, is a lot of these people will become service brokers. In the old days, the people who would deal with internal clients were called account managers. They will work with a colleague within the business and look at a service to buy.

When I meet with a CIO, I usually present my organisation chart. This is how I’m structured; I have a few things that are very centralised, like the IT infrastructure, security, development services. But within my business units, I have more of a vertical view.

So what can companies do to get started on using big data?What we’re seeing is that it doesn’t happen overnight. You have to build up the stack. You have to understand the tools. You have to understand what the data is telling you. You have no idea what question to ask until you get all the information.

How do you teach people to use big data? We have people in the industry who have used reports forever. People are used to Excel-type reports of columns and rows. How do we get them weaned off of those types of reports and more towards the analytics and dashboards?

You have to go through this whole process of management change. It’s more of a culture issue than a technology issue. But big data is alive and well, and there are so many tools that can give you those types of insights.

HP has offered cloud services for years, but in April the company announced it was unifying its services under the HP Helion nameplate. Was there a single moment at HP when executives decided to make cloud a major priority for the company?I think what happened was, when the leadership had to make a decision about the HP cloud, we asked: would it be proprietary, or would it be OpenStack? That was our eureka moment. That really changed our view of the cloud, how it could become something that many companies can go with. What we’re finding is that many CIOs do want that openness. They’re at HP for now, but if they want to move later they want to be able to do that easily.

When we were all talking about this, Martin Fink, our chief technology officer, asked if I was seeing [desire for openness] out there as well, and I did. That’s when we all agreed that this is the direction we’d take.


Launches and releasesPRODUCTS

PRODUCT OF ThE MONTh: Amazon FireBRAND: Amazon

WhAT IT DOES: Amazon has done fairly well in the past with its line of tablets, so it was just a matter of time before they hit the smartphone market with a handset. Aptly named “Fire”, the phone was released at an event in Seattle. It comes with a rear-facing 12-megapixel camera and optical image stabilisation, as well as free image backup and storage through its cloud service. WhAT yOU ShOULD KNOW: Perhaps the most attractive feature of the phone is the “Firefly” application which connects users to the company’s online retail business. Users can access films, TV shows, music and books as well as Amazon’s classic retail warehouses. In addition, the handset comes with “Mayday,” a service originally offered on Amazon’s line of tablets that connects users with a live customer service agent.

PRODucT WATchA breakdown of the top products and solutions to be launched and released in the last month.

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH


PRODUCT: Surface Pro 3

VENDOR: Microsoft

WhAT IT DOES: The new Microsoft Surface Pro 3, now available in the UAE, claims to be the tablet that will finally replace your laptop. It is certainly possible. The all-in one tablet comes with a 12 inch display and native kickstand. Microsoft has included some new bells and whistles, such as the Surface Pro Type Cover and Surface Pen which both have pressure sensitivity capabilities.

WhAT yOU ShOULD KNOW: The kit comes with a USB 3.0 port, micro SD card reader and Mini display port. With a docking station and Surface Ethernet adapter, we can hardly think of anything that the tablet misses. It runs Windows 8.1 Pro and comes with Microsoft Office. Truly, the Surface Pro 3 may be the missing link between tablets and laptops.

PRODUCT: Xperia T3

VENDOR: Sony

WhAT IT DOES: The latest incantation of the Xperia line, the T3 is the follow up to Sony’s Xperia Z2. The handset boasts an ever so slightly larger display than its older brother, at 5.3 inches to the Z2’s 5.2 inches. The metal frame is a new feature, giving the T3 a sturdy feel without a bulky build. At only 7mm thick it actually manages to be incredibly slim. There is only 8GB of native storage, but the set comes with a microSD card slot, so adding memory is not an issue.

WhAT yOU ShOULD KNOW: It’s odd that the T3 carries with it some improvements over its older sibling, but then some areas where Sony has cut corners. The display, for example, is larger, but at a lower resolution. The Z2’s back is glass whereas the T3 uses polycarbonate. However, with these few points, Sony has managed to put the T3 in a mid-range affordable price range. The T3 is slated for release in late July.

PRODUCT: HTC One Mini 2VENDOR: HTC

WhAT IT DOES: The latest addition to the HTC One family, the HTC One Mini 2 features BlinkFeed, which provides a live stream of the latest news and social media updates, aggregating feeds from a list of over 1,000 partners. The smartphone packs a 4.5 inch HD display, HTC Sense 6 and a 5MP front-facing camera.

WhAT yOU ShOULD KNOW: The One Mini 2 is aiming to be a sleek device that is pleasing on the eye and ear, featuring the same curved back and gunmetal gray finish of the HTC One, and HTC BoomSound technology, which is omitted through dual frontal speakers. The Zoe app allows users to share and edit photos and videos with other users, and distribute them via other social media channels.


James D

artnell

ColuMnThe word on the street

Once again man has discovered Fire, only this time there’s more smoke than bright embers.

Amazon has unveiled its highly-anticipated entry into the smartphone market,

and hype is brewing.The phone has a 4.7-inch screen

and quad-core processor, as well as a rear 13-megapixel camera with

optical image stabilisation, and a quad-core 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor.

Amazon is also offering free image backup and storage through its AWS cloud service

with the phone.Fire users will be able to

place ‘recognised’ items into the phone’s Firefly application which can put movies, TV shows, music, books and objects into a user’s Amazon shopping cart. It can also find products through barcodes or

photos of labels.But enough about Fire’s

features, which in fairness are of high quality. What all this adds up to is Amazon acknowledging its status as one of the cloud behemoths of the world—and leader of Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings—but conceding

that failing to enter a

smartphone market that will have 20 billion users by 2020 is a risky move.

Other than promoting Amazon itself, Fire offers nothing new or disruptive in terms of the smartphone market. Alongside its hardware, it can offer Amazon Prime music, e-book and video services, but whether these can rival the stylish offerings of the likes of Apple seems very unlikely.

Amazon has entered the market with the intention of creating a direct supply line to its 237 million shopping users, and to recruit more customers to the service.

However, I believe it will struggle to shift anything like the 500 million iPhones that Apple has seen fly off the shelf. Given Amazon’s prominence as a global brand, they naturally consider themselves as a company that can demand top dollar for their flagship smartphone.

But, priced between $649-749, I find it hard to envisage them selling the sort of volume to compete with Apple and Samsung. It seems that they are relying on their existing customers to purchase Fire, as there is no real reason new customers would opt for it over a Samsung Galaxy or iPhone.

Think back to Facebook’s attempt to enter the market in 2013 with the customised HTC First. The phone was a flop and a few months later carrier AT&T was offering it at a discount. Speak of which, they’ll be the only US operator carrying Fire at the time of launch, which is expected to be 25th July. All the more reason for it to fail. Time should extinguish Fire’s burning ambition. Enough.

CNME’s man about town gives his spin on the latest IT news and trends.

Lot of smoke, little Fire


computer news middle east july 2014

Documents

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