DCI NETWORKS | 5G | AI ETHICS | DEVOPS | AV CONVERGENCE AII PSSWEETWED DESE AN I T P ME DI A GR OUP PU B L IC AT IO N MARCH 2020 VOLUME 26 ISSUE 03 IKK GROUP FUELS ACCELERATED & COST-EFFECTIVE EXPANSION WITH VEEAM SOFTWARE //18 NAVIGATING CHANGE SPECIAL REPORT Data Centre //23Contact Us: enterpriseME@huawei.com e.huawei.com/ae HUAWEI Wi-Fi 6 It isn’t just Veeam solutions but also their support that can boost custom- er satisfaction.” Ayman Mansour, IKK Group 18//Case Study> Navigating change IKK Group selects Veeam Availability Suite to address the technology and support shortcomings it was facing 18 12//Awards > N ME Innovation Awards 2020 Save the date: 10th June 2020 Celebrating achievements of networking professionals, ser- vice providers and vendors at the 16th Network Middle East Innovation Awards 2020 28//Feature> The next wave of cabling Networking cabling infrastructures need to evolve in this age of digital transformation. Network Middle East examines what the key considerations are to ensure least disruption to business before upgrading data centre networks Volume 26 Issue 03 March 2020 // CONTENTS / MARCH 2020 // MARCH 2020 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / 3// WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM /Yes, it does and it is! It is a no-brainer that cloud is here to stay. The technology is in fact be- coming more specialised calling for vendors to bring vertical-specific custom- ised offerings to the table. Although the technology is gaining popularity, a For- rester study claims that only one-fifth of enterprise appli- cations run in the cloud. This small number, however, does not reflect a slow- down in cloud adoption. It, in fact, highlights how legacy IT investments and security concerns have impacted migration to cloud. Is that silver lining fad- ing? Absolutely not, as hy- brid cloud and multi-cloud provide the much needed balance between flexibility and security. Hybrid cloud means a cloud computing environ- ment that uses a mix of on- premises, private cloud and third-party, public cloud ser- vices that allows workloads to move between private and public clouds. While in a multi-cloud solution, an organisation uses multiple different public cloud ser- vices, often from multiple different providers. A recent report from Gartner projects public cloud-services technol- ogy revenues to grow by //Inside> Sarah Rizvi Editor sarah.rizvi@itp.com Welcome The sun always shines The sun always shines yy above the cloudsabove the clouds more than 50% globally in the next three years, to about $355 billion in 2022. A recent Nutanix report states that the financial sector is outpacing others in embracing hybrid cloud as security and flexibility remain their top priorities. Adopting a mix of public and private cloud options not only increases mobil- ity across clouds, it also allows organisations to gain greater control over IT spend while ensuring a security blanket over sensitive data. This is why the adoption rate is increasing across different industry verticals and only depends on the stage of digital transforma- tion within an organisation. 12 4240 06// REGIONAL UPDATE IFS spotlights aviation solu- tions at MRO Middle East 07// REGIONAL UPDATE Western Digital intros storage solutions for 5G devices 10// SECURITY UPDATE Help AG launches Incident Response & Forensics Service 11// SECURITY UPDATE Cybersecurity value-added dis- tributor CyberKnight launches MEA operations 14// VIEWPOINT Gartner outlines how AI can be leveraged to advance digital business initiatives 23// SPECIAL REPORT We examine what the future of data centre looks like 40// VENDOR PROFILE We profile Tech Mahindra, Digital Business Transforma- tion Service Provider 42// FIVE MINUTES Five Minutes with Osama Shwaihat, managing director UAE & Arabian Gulf, Orange Business Services // CONTENTS / MARCH 2020 // WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM /// 4 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / MARCH 2020 /A NIGHT TO SHOWCASE INDUSTRY EXLLENCE WEDNESDAY 1ST APRIL WALDORF ASTORIA, THE PALM. BOOK YOUR TABLES TODAY! www.DigitalStudioME.com/awards #DSAWARDS GOLD SPONSOR FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES, CONTACT: THOMAS LAMBERT, Sales Manager Tel: +971 4 444 3637 / Mobile: +971 55 760 0707 Email: thomas.lambert@itp.com FOR EVENT & ENQUIRIES, CONTACT: TERI DUNSTAN, EVENTS MANAGER TEL: +971 4 444 3227 EMAIL: TERI.DUNSTAN@ITP.COM FOR TABLE SALES ENQUIRIES, CONTACT: ANTHONY CHANDRAN, TABLE SALES EXECUTIVE TEL: +971 4 444 3685 EMAIL: ANTHONY.CHANDRAN@ITP.COM KAUST aims to advance its hybrid cloud strategy with Riverbed. Riverbed has announced that King Ab- dullah University of Science and Tech- nology (KAUST), one of Saudi Arabia’s premier research universities, is collabo- rating with Riverbed on a transforma- tion project. KAUST is also looking to advance its hybrid cloud strategy to take advantage of the scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness that this paradigm offers. The alliance will enhance the Uni- versity’s ability to deliver digital services to faculty, researchers and students, both within the Kingdom and beyond. Riverbed Network Performance Man- agement (NPM) solution, AppResponse, will give KAUST comprehensive visibil- ity across its entire network, enabling rapid troubleshooting for better network performance and visibility while signifi- cantly reducing IT complexity and man- agement overheads. Abdulmajeed Serajuddin, director of IT Operations at KAUST said, “Our partner- ship with Riverbed will help us achieve two key objectives – giving our staff and students seamless access to the services, information and applications they need in this digitally-driven era and enabling seamless real-time collaboration with re- search institutes across the globe. In this way, the deployment will support our mis- Partnership will help elevate digital learning and collaboration experiences for students and faculty KAUST joins forces with Riverbed to deliver digital services sion of establishing KAUST as an incuba- tor for technological innovation and pro- gress in the Middle East.” Riverbed was selected for its estab- lished market-leadership, strong pres- ence in the Middle East and its ability to provide the University with a clear long- term solution roadmap. “Several mem- bers of our IT team were already aware of and have used Riverbed’s solutions. This gives us added confidence, as we have first-hand experience of the rich features and capabilities of Riverbed’s portfolio,” explained Abdulmajeed Serajuddin. Riverbed’s solutions will serve to re- place the complex mix of siloed tech- nologies that were limiting the Univer- sity’s ability to gain full visibility across its entire network – a shortcoming that introduced complexity, increased licens- ing costs and translated to difficulties in identifying the root cause of network performance issues. The deployment is on track for completion in Q1 2020. “Saudi Arabia is an important market for Riverbed in the Middle East, and our objectives align with the Kingdom’s vi- sion. Riverbed will continue to invest with enterprise customers across higher edu- cation and other verticals to help enable economic transformation under the Saudi Vision 2030, and to enable organisations to maximise performance and visibility across networks and applications. We are proud to support KAUST in their digital transformation strategy and the addition of this reputable University to our cus- tomer-base stands as a testament to the great strides we have been making in es- tablishing ourselves as a leading technol- ogy provider to the largest and most pres- tigious organisations in the Kingdom,” said Moueen Zahreddine, regional sales director MENA, at Riverbed. “Our partnership with Riverbed strong- ly aligns with this vision as their solutions address the potential complexity of the hybrid cloud and provide a clear path to cloud success,” concludes Serajuddin. For all the latest network news from the Middle East and Africa, visit networkmiddleeast.com INSIDE… 07 IFS spotlights aviation solutions at MRO Middle East 07 ATAR Labs signs MENA distribution agreement with Spectrami 07 Mimecast announces integration with IBM Security 08 Genetec unifies airport security and operations 08 Cloud usage drives cybersecurity spending: SANS 2020 survey //Regional_Update // UPDATE / MARCH // WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM /// 6 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / MARCH 2020 /His Excellency the Minister of Commu- nications and Information Technology, Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha, inaugurated the KPMG Insights Centre in the firm’s new head office in Riyadh. The festive opening of the Centre, the first of its kind in the region, was attended by a range of public officials and top executives from leading international and Saudi firms in the private sector. During the opening, the Insights Cen- tre was celebrated as a next step in pub- lic and private collaboration to achieve the digital transformation objectives, as outlined by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. The centre will also play a key role in the development of digital talent amongst the Saudi workforce. Dr. Abdullah Al Fozan, Chairman of KPMG in Saudi Arabia commented: “Digital transformation is high on the agenda of both the public and private sectors. The government is aiming high with the ambitious Vision 2030 pro- gram, and the involvement of the private KPMG highlights public-private collaboration for DX objectives in Saudi Arabia Opens the first-of-its-kind Insights Centre in the firm’s new head office in Riyadh technologies and the opportunity to build real-life business scenarios, ena- bling data-driven decision-making. We believe that with the technology behind the Insights Centre, coupled with the continuous investment in our people, we will be able to make a true difference for our clients, and tackle any business challenges that present themselves,” Al Fozan concluded. sector is key for success. At KPMG, we are committed to be at the forefront of this digital journey. The KPMG Insights Centre in Riyadh joins a global network of 20 centres, through which the firm will be able to leverage on the latest technologies in the field of advanced visualisation and data analytics. “The Insights Centre offers interactive The festive opening of the Centre was attended by a range of public officials and top executives from leading international and Saudi firms in the private sector. IFS spotlights aviation solutions at MRO Middle East IFS will leverage its participation at the event to offer insights into its software solutions designed to optimise aviation maintenance management operations. NEWS IN BRIEF Kingston IronKey D300 series achieves NATO certification Kingston has announced that its IronKey D300, IronKey D300S and IronKey D300SM have been listed in the NATO Information Assurance Product Catalogue (NIAPC). Mimecast announces integration with IBM Security Mimecast, through a pre-built API addon, integrates email security data into the IBM Resilient Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) capabilities. Western Digital intros storage solutions for 5G devices The new embedded flash device will allow mobile developers to take full advantage of UFS 3.1 high-interface bandwidth (Gear 4 / 2 Lanes) as well as SLC (single-level cell) NAND caching. ATAR Labs signs MENA distribution agreement with Spectrami The partnership will see ATAR Labs’ Automated Threat Analysis and Response (ATAR) being promoted extensively through the distributor’s extensive network. // UPDATE / MARCH // MARCH 2020 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / 7// WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM /Genetec unifies airport security and operations Genetec has announced Security Cen- tre for Airports, a new solution designed to help airports of all sizes manage and optimise their security and airport ter- minal operations. Available immedi- ately, Security Centre for Airports ena- bles security managers, control room operators, terminal and ground han- dling staff as well as passenger experi- ence managers to work together using a single unified product tailored to their unique needs. Security Centre for Airports will empower customers to create a safer en- vironment, improve airport operations, enhance passenger experience, while reducing the overall costs of operations and increasing non-aviation revenues. “Traditionally, airports would have Helps secure airports, optimise terminal operations, and build a smoother passenger experience Security Centre for Airports features a number of airport- specific capabilities like video management, access control and Automatic License Plate recognition. to work with a multitude of single-pur- pose products that don’t interconnect to build their global security operations centres (GSOCs),” explained David Le- not, Airport Practice Leader at Genetec. “This would often create a very com- plex operating environment leading to slow security response time. But with the growing volume of passengers, air- ports need help to guarantee safe trav- el, and many airport security teams are rethinking their security technology strategy. With Security Centre for Air- ports, control room operators, terminal operations, and ground handling can all work in sync to ensure their airport runs like clockwork.” Gartner forecasts public cloud services in MENA will grow 21% in 2020 MENA Public Cloud Service Revenue Forecast, 2019-2021 (millions of USD) Segment20192020 2021 Cloud business process services (BPaaS) total388440495 Cloud application infrastructure services (PaaS) total352434524 Cloud application services (SaaS) total1,3121,5851,895 Cloud management and security services total182214251 Cloud system infrastructure services (IaaS) total226313421 Grand Total2,4602,9863,587 CLOUD USAGE DRIVES CYBERSECURITY SPENDING: SANS 2020 SURVEY 71% of respondents saw a need to increase spending on cloud security monitoring 53% said cloud access security broker (CASB) cloud-specific tools were the focus 52% saw a need to increase spending on staff skills training 50% of respondents ranked increased use of public cloud IaaS implementations as the biggest disrupter to security programs 57% said increase in investment in people would provide biggest improvement to overall security posture DATASTREAM Source: Gartner (February 2020) // UPDATE / MARCH // WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM /// 8 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / MARCH 2020 /Cisco has introduced an IoT security architecture that provides enhanced visibility across both IT and OT envi- ronments and protects industrial pro- cesses. Cisco’s new solutions will en- able the collection and extraction of data from the IoT edge so organisations can increase efficiencies to make better business decisions and accelerate digiti- sation projects. “Organisations need complete vis- ibility into the most disparate of net- work environments in order to secure their industrial edge, lower the risk of cyber threats, and optimise industrial processes,” said Osama Al-Zoubi, Cisco CTO for the Middle East and Africa. CISCO’S IOT SECURITY ARCHITECTURE Securing the industrial network environment: Cisco Cyber Vision is the first software-based security solution for automated discovery of industrial assets delivered via Cisco’s Industrial IoT (IIoT) networking portfolio. Cisco Cyber Vision analyses traffic from con- nected assets, creates segmentation Osama Al-Zoubi, Cisco CTO for the Middle East and Africa. Genetec unifies airport security & operations with Security Cen- tre to secure airports, optimise terminal operations, enhance passenger experience. Etisalat completes Help AG ac- quistion, enabling it to accelerate growth of its existing cyber secu- rity activities and allow for further expansion across the region. Newly launched XG Firewall by Sophos features AI- enhanced threat analysis from SophosLabs and accelerated application performance. SentinelOne unveils AI-pow- ered XDR platform, Singularity to help organisations gain access to back-end data through a single solution. For further info on the above stories, plus all the latest security news, visit www.networkmiddleeast.com/security NEWS JUST IN… //Security_Report The IoT security architecture will converge IT with OT to provide advanced anom- aly detection and enhanced visibility across both environments Cisco launches security architecture for industrial IoT policies in Cisco ISE and DNA Center to prevent lateral movement of threats across the operational environments, and is powered by Cisco Talos’ threat intelligence, providing real-time moni- toring of cybersecurity threats to in- dustrial assets and processes that affect uptime, productivity, and safety. Data governance from edge to multi-cloud: Integrated with Cisco’s industrial networking, Cisco Edge In- telligence simplifies the extraction of data at the network edge. It streamlines the data delivery to multi-cloud and on-prem destinations to improve the competitiveness of an organisation and helping businesses better manage data throughout critical aspects of its life cy- cle from start to finish. Cisco has removed the complexity of a multi-vendor, multi-data, and multi- asset infrastructure to deliver simple IoT cybersecurity solutions that can be managed on any of Cisco’s gateways, switches, or routers, bringing end-to- end security and simplified data man- agement together. Cisco’s new solutions will enable the collection and extraction of data from the IoT edge so organisations can increase efficiencies. // UPDATE / SECURITY // MARCH 2020 / NETWORK MIDDLE EAST / 9// WWW.NETWORKMIDDLEEAST.COM /Next >