Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium Nigeria & partner Arravo Global Service promote digital transformation in Africa
Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium Nigeria and a key local partner, Arravo Global Service, have joined forces to promote digital transformation in Africa, via a major editorial piece in Africa Outlook magazine. The content featured an interview with Ayo Adegboye, CEO of Arravo, plus comments from Ernest Sales, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium.
At the core of the feature is an exciting view of the development possibilities of high technology across Africa, centering on Arravo Global Service’s plans and the solutions offered by Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium. Hewlett Packard Enterprise operated by Selectium is cited as a local representative of the existing country-presence business model from Hewlett Packard Enterprise stating how, through partnership between HPE and Selectium, they help customers to further accelerate their business outcomes.
According to the feature in Africa Outlook, Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria, and considered to be the ‘technological hub of the entire continent,’ and ‘Africa’s answer to Silicon Valley’, where regional and continental conditions for growth that already look promising.
Ayo Adegboye, CEO of Arravo Global Service, talks in the magazine about their strategy for digital transformation going forwards – “Our target is to expand our operations across west and east Africa within the next four quarters. This has been slowed down due to the pandemic, but as economies begin to revive again, we will continue to drive our regional expansion plan.”
According to Ernest Sales, the next wave of technology change is about accelerating connectivity from ‘edge-to-cloud,’ where enterprises unlock value everywhere, opening up new opportunities everywhere. “The future of the Enterprise is edge-centric, cloud-enabled, and data-driven,” he writes, in his comments.
“The result of these initiatives is showing a growth in recognition in the market space, through customer inquiries and interest in our products and services.”
Arravo’s strategy to reach forwards across the continent hinge upon becoming Africa’s lead provider of IoT expertise and solutions, and to do this requires leveraging on cloud technologies and working to bring effective economies of scale, according to Ayo Adegboye. Among other factors needed to bring success, he also cited the backing of a stable network of best-in-class partners like HPE to deliver solutions to customers.
MDS UAE celebrates 40 years, subsidiary Midis SI unveils future plans
To mark 40 years in business of MDS UAE, Enterprise Channels MEA recently interviewed Sami Abi Esber, President of Midis System Integration (SI) Group.
MDS UAE founded in 1981, was one of the very first IT businesses in the region and is part of the Midis SI Group. Midis SI Group is the system integration and services arm of MIDIS Group, having a presence across 13 countries and 20 major cities, and has been acknowledged by IDC as one of the top System Integrators in the region.
Sami was asked about some of the key achievements MDS UAE have seen over the last 40 years. “On the 40th anniversary of MDS UAE, the group can look back on several significant milestones in our past, including taking our revenue over AED 2 billion, building an outstanding team of 900 employees in the UAE, and having in excess of 3000 customers. We have achieved a three-fold increase in turnover, including 12% compound annual growth from 2008 to 2018. As one of the UAE’s oldest IT companies, it’s gratifying to play a part in this journey.”
MDS UAE have clear forward-facing strategies for the future, which Sami also talk about in the interview: “MDS UAE has been nominated by IDC for more than 15 years as the ‘#1 IT Services Company in the UAE’. For the years ahead, we are focused on being leaders in the key Digital Transformation Pillars of Cloud, Security, Big data, Analytics, and AI.”
In the interview, Sami also talks about how and why these achievements were possible – “Our success is anchored in the expertise and competence of our highly certified pre-sales team, engineers, support staff and subject matter experts – across Cloud and Data Center Infrastructure, Managed IT, Managed Security, and Software & Professional Services.
We also have an extensive background in End User Computing, Mobility, and Communications. Our Enterprise IT and Technical services are addressing the needs of a large portfolio of clients with Servers, Storage, Data Management, Network, Maintenance, Power Solutions, Containerized Data Centers, Outsourcing and Call Centre Services, and much more.”
New website for information technology provider i4 Solutions
A new website for information technology provider i4 Solutions has gone live at https://www.i4.com.qa/
i4 Solutions offer Managed Services, Hybrid IT Solutions, Cybersecurity Solutions, Business Critical Services and Productivity Solutions among other services.
The website is mobile responsive and has up-to-date graphics, attractive imagery and a smart design in addition to being interactive and informative for prospective customers and partners.
The website has also been enriched with targeted keywords which will enable it to rank highly on Google over the next few months using SEO technology.
Founded in 1987, i4 Solutions is a leading provider of tech solutions and services in Qatar and the Middle East. Affiliated to Midis Group, i4 Solutions has a reputation and record of success in offering companies the digital transformation they need to improve day-to-day operations, provide valuable data and reporting, and guarantee a competitive advantage in the 21st century
Mobile responsive and secured via HTTPS, the new website benefits from extensive use of graphics, bold imagery and a smart design in addition to being interactive and informative for prospective customers/partners.
The website has also been enriched with targeted keywords which will enable it to rank highly on Google over the next few months using SEO technology.
More about MDS PACC
MDS PACC has offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to serve all its client base in UAE.
MDS PACC has been a premier IT solutions provider for 43 years, and is backed by one of the best service infrastructures in the region. Founded in 1978, PACC is part of the Midis Group and comprises highly qualified employees and professionals. To meet the demands of a changing world, PACC has been dynamic in its approach and has continuously updated its clients with the latest in technology.
Ivanti Middle East organizes successful blood donation drive across the Midis Group in Dubai
Ivanti Middle East recently invited distribution and business partners and many internal Midis Group employees in Dubai to a blood donation drive which attracted over 50 people, with 45 of those present donating.
The event that took place on July 5, 2021 from 9am to 2pm, was organized to support the community alongside helping Dubai Health Authority (DHA) as part of Midis and Ivanti’s Corporate Social Responsibility program. The Dubai Health Authority Blood Bank Center is always in need of blood supplies to make sure that all Dubai Hospitals are covered and that the community is safe across the country.
Team members giving blood during the drive. Photo credit – Ivanti
People joined the Ivanti donation drive from many companies, including Midis Group, Mindware, Starlink, MDS, Intertec Systems, Fox Data Tech, Kekst CNC, Suez, TjDeed, Tahaluf, CA Mena, Netcure, and Eset.
Salam Bou Karroum is the new Marketing Manager for Ivanti ME, joining the Group on May 23. The blood donation drive is the first project he has organized in his new post. The event took around a month to organize and it was subject to DHA availability dates.
Giving blood is worthwhile and safe. The Ivanti donation drive was medically supervised by DHA. Photo credit – Ivanti
There was a degree of official liaison to accomplish before the event could take place. After establishing communications with DHA and filling forms to do the event and agreeing on a date and venue, DHA performed an inspection of the venue.
Salam Bou Karroum explained more, “A few days before the event, we had to turn a training room into a medical facility, so all tables, cabinets, chairs were removed in preparation of the event. During the day of the event the DHA brought all their equipment and medical supplies. Six beds were used, four for blood donation and two for emergencies.”
Salam thanked team members Maria Theresa Dioquino, Emily Purches and Zeina Abou Chahine for helping in organizing and assisting all through the event.
Watch this video of the event, below:
MDS Site & Power complete major UAE Modular Data Center project in quick time
MDS Site & Power has completed a major UAE Modular Data Center (MDC) project in a quick time. The project, in Fujairah, is an innovative design that was manufactured, deployed, installed and commissioned alongside all the infrastructure within 8 months. The MDC was needed to enhance and play a critical role in serving the needs of ICT in the UAE.
One of the major challenges faced was the need to hand over the project on time, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to MDS Site & Power, from the get-go, Covid-19 affected the project, starting from factory closures to delayed shipments worldwide – many of which had a direct impact on the delivery of materials to the site. Obviously, there was a cost impact challenge to stay within the set budget while paying extras on resources.
It was also key to avoid people getting infected, which lead MDS to work 24/7, splitting the team into multiple shifts to get over having the workplace congested with workers. The Modular Data Center was a new design, not the usual bricks and mortar, so it also had to gain approval from the Authorities before any soil could be dug.
The MDC (Modular data center) was delivered as a turnkey solution, supplying, installing and commissioning all data center components such as LV panels, CRAC units, UPS, PDUs, rectifiers, batteries, a raised floor, DCiM, BMS, CCTV, access control, fire system, generators, including all authority approvals from building permit to completion certificate.
All modules were fabricated, installed and commissioned by the MDS Site & Power factory Integrated Industries in Ras Al Khaymah. The MDC is certified as a Tier III Design and Facility by Uptime Institute. Like the building itself, the project also included the necessary civil works such as foundations, substation building, trenches, and interlock installations around the MDC.
Mindware and Barracuda extend distribution agreement to Africa
DUBAI, UAE, 5th July 2021 – Mindware, one of the leading Value Added Distributors (VADs) in the Middle East and Africa, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Barracuda, a leading provider for cloud-enabled security solutions, to offer the entire suite of the vendor’s security products to enterprises across North, West and Central Africa.
The new contract builds on the existing partnership between the two companies that extends to the Gulf and Levant countries, which saw the distributor successfully grow Barracuda’s regional business and market share.
Elaborating on the partnership, Toni Azzi, General Manager – Qatar, Africa and Levant at Mindware, said “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic disruption and the emergence of remote working as a trend that is likely to continue in the future. New research from Barracuda shows that the shift to remote work has intensified data protection challenges. 52% of IT decision makers say their organization has experienced a ransomware attack, which is an alarming statistic. It is therefore intuitive that security should be a top priority for enterprises as part of their overall digital transformation plans.
Barracuda is an established leader in enterprise email security and has a vast array of innovative security solutions spanning networks, data, and applications. Adding the vendor to our portfolio complements and strengthens our current security offerings. The solutions provide a strong value proposition to our channel partners and their customers looking to implement best-of-breed, enterprise-grade, cloud-ready security technologies. We are looking to replicate the same level of success in Africa that we have been able to achieve for the vendor in the Gulf and Levant regions.”
Mindware will focus on the entire suite of Barracuda business products, with emphasis on increasing regional adoption of the company’s email security solutions including Email Security Gateway and Cloud-to-Cloud Backup. The company was recently named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Email Security, Q2 2021. With the hybrid workplace trend, Mindware sees huge potential for Barracuda CloudGen WAN, the first secure SD-WAN service built natively on Microsoft Azure. It is a single, unified solution that makes it very simple for enterprises to ensure highly secure seamless connectivity to all their locations and all their cloud-based resources and applications. The distributor will also focus efforts on promoting Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, a solution that goes beyond next-generation firewalls and gives companies comprehensive protection for on-premises and multi-cloud deployment.
Mindware has attained all the required certifications to offer professional services and training on behalf of Barracuda. Both vendor and distributor will work jointly to roll out tailor-made channel enablement plans that will help partners optimally position different technologies taking into account the particular verticals/customer segments that they specialize in.
“We have shared a long-standing relationship with Mindware and are excited to extend this partnership to Africa, which is a key growth market for Barracuda. The distributor, with its strong security practice, high level of technical expertise, expansive partner network and unparalleled knowledge of the region, will be a key ally for our company. We believe we are now well placed to serve the unique requirements of regional customers and in doing so, increase our market share,” concludes Chris Ross, SVP Sales, International at Barracuda.
About Barracuda
Barracuda strives to make the world a safer place. It believes every business deserves access to cloud-enabled, enterprise-grade security solutions that are easy to buy, deploy, and use. It protects email, networks, data, and applications with innovative solutions that grow and adapt with the customers’ journey. More than 200,000 organizations worldwide trust Barracuda to protect them — in ways they may not even know they are at risk — so they can focus on taking their business to the next level. For more information, visit https://www.barracuda.com/
Barracuda Networks, Barracuda and the Barracuda Networks logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Barracuda Networks, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.
About Mindware
As one of the leading distributors of the finest IT products in the Middle East and Africa, Mindware’s extensive portfolio includes top-class global brands reaching out to over 4,000 partners. Mindware’s comprehensive offering includes a selection of infrastructure, networking, security, and storage leading brands. As part of its VAD methodology, Mindware also offers supplementary value-added services to its reselling partners including pre-sales consultancy, implementation services, local technical support, marketing enablement tools, and multiple channel-enabling programs. Headquartered in Dubai UAE since 1991, Mindware has been uncompromisingly serving its customers for more than three decades.
MDS CS named Fortinet Public Cloud Partner Of The Year
MDS for Computer Systems (MDS CS) was named Fortinet Public Cloud Partner Of The Year on July 4 with the occasion marked by the awarding of a trophy at MDS CS offices.
MDS CS has been a Fortinet Partner for a year, and the success of the relationship has been a major achievement for the company, as Mohammad Joudeh, Sales Director and Deputy General Manager explains:
“Our partnership with Fortinet inspires continuous growth even during these challenging times. Public Cloud is an increasingly important strategic space for digital transformation, and our success with Fortinet emphasizes the importance of this. A huge thanks to all of our teams who contributed to this achievement!”
More about Fortinet
Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) secures the largest enterprise, service provider, and government organizations around the world. Fortinet empowers its customers with intelligent, seamless protection across the expanding attack surface and the power to take on ever-increasing performance requirements of the borderless network—today and into the future. [Source – Fortinet website]
MDS UAE celebrates its 40th Anniversary
Dubai, July 2021 – MDS UAE (part of the Midis Group) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year achieving significant milestones with revenue exceeding AED 2 Billion, 3000+ customers and more than 900 employees in the UAE.
MidEast Data Systems UAE (MDS UAE) is a holding company with more than 24 companies operating under it. MDS UAE started its operations in UAE during 1981 and was one of the first IT companies established in the country.
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, MDS UAE has been nominated by IDC for more than 15 years as the ‘#1 IT services company in the UAE’. The growth of the company portfolio is focused the existing lines of business along with the key Digital Transformation Pillars, broadly defined as Cloud, Security, Big data, Analytics, and AI among others.
Leading the celebration of this important corporate landmark, Midis SI President, Sami Abi Esber, had this to say: “The United Arab Emirates was forward thinking years ago by prioritizing Digital Transformation. That is part of its wider national economic development and diversification transformation.”
“We at MDS are very proud to be part of this successful journey, launched by the leaders of UAE, and we will continue to play a major role in this transformation as we have an enviable position in the Enterprise marketplace with many years of heritage of ethical and trustworthy business practice”.
Sami further added, “MDS UAE looks forward to the future as a time of unprecedented challenge and opportunities. The company’s pioneering entrepreneurship spirit will continue to develop its enterprise, actively participate in its customer’s success as they face the great changes in today’s information age, and enrich its business partners as they explore the enormous potential of the UAE and the Arab world.”
“Building on its experience and the trust of its customers, employees and business partners, we are confident that MDS UAE will continue to excel in the coming years. Moving forward, we intend continuing to lead in the key sectors we are active in, while growing steadily our investment in new technology trends,” said Sami.
Mindware win big at the Dell Technologies MERAT Distribution Awards
Mindware has won three awards at the Dell Technologies MERAT (Middle East, Russia, Africa, Turkey) Distribution Summit & Awards Ceremony 2021.
On their LinkedIn profile, the company thanked Dell Technologies for the recognition, and also the key teams responsible for the award-winning hard work.
Mindware and Dell Technologies have a longstanding successful partnership for over 20 years. Through its 4000+ regional partner ecosystem, a dedicated Business Unit and warehousing facilities, Mindware has been promoting and deploying Dell Technologies Solutions across its major regions with excellent service quality and technical support.
CEO of the Mindware Group, Philippe Jarre, thanked the team via a comment on the profile: “Congratulations to all of you! I am extremely proud of this very strong partnership, and a big thank you as well to all our partners who are delivering these solutions!”
Second award for Mindware – the Infrastructure Solutions Award in the UAE. Photo credit – Mindware
Also in the comments on the Mindware LinkedIn profile, Nicholas Argyrides, GM Gulf, Mindware, thanked his colleagues in this way: “This success is the product of a smashing partnership and nothing less.”
“Thank you Alaa Zahran and the Mindware team for making us proud once again – threefold! And thank you Dell Technologies MERAT for being next to us all the way, all the time.” Alaa Zahran is Business Unit Manager, ME at Mindware.
Mindware also won the award for Infrastructure Solutions across the Gulf – a great achievement. Photo credit – Mindware
On the Dell Technologies website the event was welcomed in this way: “Partners are at the heart of everything we do. Even in challenging times of discontinuity and uncertainty, technology is the key to our collective progress, and the prosperity of our communities. This special event is an invitation to celebrate together your outstanding achievements throughout last year and recognize the best of them.”
The Dell Technologies MERAT Distribution Summit & Awards Ceremony 2021 was held virtually on June 22nd, 2021.
MDSap showcase CCH® Tagetik project for Turkey Wealth Fund at IDC Financial Services Summit
Nesrin Demirci, GM of MDSap Turkey, recently presented with colleagues about the successful CCH® Tagetik deployment for the Turkish Wealth Fund at the IDC Financial Services Summit, held virtually on June 3, 2021. MDSap were Platinum Sponsors of the summit.
Further details of the CCH® Tagetik project, carried out in partnership with Fintra, were explained by MDSap Pre-Sales manager Ozan Azbazdar, and also by Baturhan Butur, the VP of the Financial Consolidation and Control department of the Turkey Wealth Fund. The Fund team worked hard to ensure the success of the project alongside the MDSap and Fintra teams. The CCH® Tagetik solution from MDSap partners Wolters Kluwer was the core product chosen to meet the needs of the Fund.
Ozan Azbazdar, center, from MDSap explained the capabilities of the CCH® Tagetik solution during his presentation, above. Photo credit – MDSap.
Ozan Azbazdar from MDSap explained more: “Wolters Kluwer’s CCH® Tagetik solution has nearly 1500 customers worldwide. In addition to consolidation, budget planning and forecasting, cash flow planning, financial modeling and reporting, which are under the umbrella of Corporate Performance Management, CCH® Tagetik also has ready solutions for IFRS9, IFRS16, IFRS17, and Solvency within the scope of regulation reporting. Wolters Kluwer/CCH® Tagetik has very important customers in Turkey including holdings, banks, and the private sector.”
The Wealth Fund itself is a relatively complex consolidation proposition, as Mr. Baturhan Butur from the Turkey Wealth Fund explained:
“The Turkey Wealth Fund was established in August 2016 under Law No. 6741 to contribute to Turkey’s development and economic stability by managing public assets more effectively and efficiently. We consolidate 17 large companies and banks in five different sectors. Each one is a holding company in its own right. The 17 companies also include companies established by us, private sector companies, and banks. In all, we consolidate 112 companies through full consolidation and about 60 companies via an equity method. It is the largest consolidation in Turkey, both qualitatively and quantitatively.”
Mr. Butur also explained that the regulatory environment for the Wealth Fund was complex and appropriately strict. Subject to independent audit, and appraised by one of the Big Four, the activity is scrutinized by a budget commission after the government agency oversees it. “So there are a lot of regulators and control mechanisms. Therefore, the Wealth Fund needed a tool that could support robust, transparent, and accountable reporting.”
Mr. Butur also explained that the Fund wanted an on-premise solution, rather than a cloud-based product, and they wanted to get on with financial management, their forte, rather than maintaining a code-based system in-house.
According to Nesrin’s introductory presentation, in the implementation of the Turkey Wealth Fund CCH® Tagetik consolidation, MDSap aimed to give the Fund what they wanted, with IFRS financials and footnotes received entirely through the application.
For this to work effectively, intercompany transactions from all subsidiaries – and subsidiaries of those subsidiaries – are transferred to the system with the mutual agreement being made on the system.
After these agreements, all subsidiaries load their data packages into the application in a controlled manner in the IFRS format, and the consolidated IFRS report is obtained via CCH® Tagetik. Inter-company eliminations and minority interest calculations are also performed automatically by CCH® Tagetik. At the end of all these operations, the consolidated IFRS report is ultimately disclosed by CCH® Tagetik Collaborative Office in Word format.
Mr Baturhan Butur, right, presents his view of the project during the IDC Summit. Photo credit – MDSap.
Now deployed and working with just three people taking care of daily operations, the project has led to immediate data and workflow benefits, as Mr. Butur from the Wealth Fund explains: “It made significant contributions to the processes of agreement, allowing portfolio companies to simultaneously see their balances with each other. Previously, we were managing this process on Excel.”
“All the companies had to have sent us their mutual balances to be able to see the difference. That could be a big problem; data immigration is also a challenging step in the process of transformation. We have now transferred data from all the years we’ve been in. So, we ended up creating a good database, and also had the opportunity to test structures of consolidation for the past year. We also defined certain levels of controls to ensure that unchecked data was never uploaded to the TWF.”
At the end of the case study presentation at the IDC Summit, Mr. Butur thanked the MDSap team in this way: “In fact, we know that the first key to a challenging implementation process is a good team and taking action to ensure that company needs are accurately identified and any scenarios that may occur can be considered in different discussions. Therefore, it has been a very efficient project for us in terms of tool, consultant, and team.”
Watch the whole online case study presentation, below (Turkish, with English subtitles.)
Nathealth chooses Jordan Data Systems and Vertiv solution for Data Center project
Jordan Data Systems (JDS) and Nathealth have signed an agreement to provide Nathealth with the latest innovation in the data center industry by using the most recent Vertiv Solutions for Data centers.
Nathealth has more than 23 years of experience in the market, covering the widest medical network in Jordan with more than 5000 preferred health care providers across the kingdom.
Jordan Data Systems is a company with more than 40 years experience in the market in the field of ICT, well equipped to provide NatHealth with the latest Data Center Solution.
Managing data to develop a clear business picture has become core to digital transformation across many sectors – in this instance, healthcare. Photo credit – JDS/Nathealth
Loai Madanat, JDS GM, and Ahmad Tijani, Nathealth CEO, signed the agreement on June 6 in the Nathealth office in Amman.
Nathealth aims to be the first in the region to update its Data Center with the newest technology in terms of cooling, UPS, racks and containment, allowing it to offer customers the highest quality online services without interruption.
MDS CS wins the Nutanix Partner of the Year Award
MDS for Computer Systems (MDS CS) has won the Nutanix Partner of the Year Award for the Middle East region, with the Award arriving at the MDS CS office recently.
The award reflects the company’s dedication toward Digitalization and moving to Cloud by providing customers flexible architecture to accommodate all their dynamic needs while maintaining higher and faster ROI.
“We are honored to win the Nutanix Partner of the Year – the Middle East Award. I would specially like to thank Nutanix for trusting us as their committed, loyal and strategic partner. I am also grateful to our customers for the trust and confidence they have shown in MDS CS, to our team and their skills on-board, which have contributed towards this great achievement and recognition,” said Mohammad Joudeh, Sales Director and Deputy General Manager, MDS CS.
“As one of the leading Nutanix Partners in the Middle East region, MDS CS has come a long way, and it is indeed gratifying to have our customer focus and service quality recognized by such a prestigious Award,” added Mohammad Joudeh.
“At Nutanix, our success lies in the growth and achievements of our partners’ ecosystem. We want our partners to unlock their potential, taking leverage of our technology, training and tools to expand their reach. In doing so, we seek to help them ‘blaze their own trails’ for greater mutual success,” said Mr. Aaron White, Sr. Sales Director, METI at Nutanix.
On the MDS CS LinkedIn profile, the company applauded its partnership with Nutanix, writing that it inspires continuous growth and contributes to joint success with customers.
ABM Care opens first Apple Authorized Service Provider site in Oman
ABM Care has officially launched its first Apple Authorized Service Provider site in Oman, offering their usual excellent service and the full range of Apple Accessories for the Omani market.
The newly opened ABM Care outlet is in the heart of the Boulevard Boutique Mall, in Al Kharjiyah Street, in Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman.
Within the service center, the core staff team are carefully managing the service experience, from a safety perspective adhering to all official social distancing, curfew and lockdown requirements.
ABMCare offers a fully equipped one-stop-shop for Apple products repairs and services with a team of expert technicians who can resolve almost any Apple device issue, ranging from iPhone & iPad repairs to even reviving dead Macs. Photo credit – ABMCare
More about ABM Care
ABM Care is the sole distributor for Apple service in the Middle East, managing over 40 service channels in the region and Apple Authorized Service Provider locations in UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar and Oman. All the locations are well equipped, state of the art repair facilities, as per Apple guidelines for service centers.
ABM Care has well qualified and Apple certified technicians capable of servicing all Apple products, including desktops, portables, accessories, iPod, iPad and iPhones, with customer satisfaction as an integral part of its mission.
CPT wins LogRhythm Partner of the Year 2020 Award in IMETA region
Computer and Power Technology (CPT) has won the LogRhythm partner of the year 2020 award in the IMETA region for its outstanding performance in 2020. The Award was given in recognition of CPT’s achievement during the last year, building one of the highest market shares for LogRhythm in the region.
“LogRhythm has always been a great addition to our unique solution portfolio where, with no doubt, they are an industry leader in the product and services they deliver,” said Mr. Nader Eid, Managing Partner at MDS Computers and CPT.
“With Covid 19 hitting all over the globe, Cybersecurity has been a mandate, not a luxury, to all entities, small, medium and Enterprise. The LogRhythm platform has evolved and focused a lot on these emerging customer needs and pain points. We are proud and honored to receive such an award” said Nader Eid.
CPT has been increasingly successful in the region providing customers with a key LogRhythm solution, Security Information and Event Management, or SEIM.
According to the LogRhythm web page for the product, the core set of capabilities for a SEIM solution includes data collection, parsing (or normalizing) data, and correlating that data to identify suspicious or problematic activity. This processing and enrichment of data enables all forms of data analysis and can have a direct impact on how effectively an organization can search and access its data.
Once the data has been ingested and normalized, the SIEM software correlates events across all of the data in aggregate to identify patterns of compromise and alert the end-user to suspicious activity. The SEIM solution can work on-premise or remotely in a cloud-based deployment.
eHosting DataFort cited in Gartner Market Guide as a leading MEA vendor providing BaaS
eHosting DataFort, based in Dubai, UAE, has been mentioned in the Gartner Market Guide as a leading provider of Backup as a Service (BaaS) in the MEA region.
In the preface of the Gartner report, the business context for BaaS is set out clearly:
“The backup-as-a-service market is poised for rapid growth, driven by ease of use and convenient consumption models. I&O leaders responsible for backup operations of midsize IT infrastructure can simplify backup operations and reduce the infrastructure footprint with cloud-based backup as a service.”
Gartner defines the sector as typically having two core segments, Backup Vendors and BaaS Hosts. eHDF is cited as a major provider in the latter segment of “BaaS providers that partner with enterprise backup solution vendors, such as Dell Technologies, Commvault, Veritas and Veeam.”
In the report summary, Gartner suggests that while the Backup as a service (BaaS) vendor landscape is rapidly evolving, it is also developing diversity and complexity, with providers offering a varying range of capabilities and deployment options with an increased focus on public cloud backup.
The report suggests that many customers investing in BaaS offered by backup vendors are midsize businesses operating an environment of less than 100 VMs and 25TB of application and file data. “For companies like these, operational simplicity, self-service and opex-based consumption are the key drivers for such enterprises to invest in BaaS solutions.” The report goes on to explore recent moves by BaaS vendors to sell solutions to larger Enterprize customers, an emerging trend.
Apcom welcomes new partnerships in North Macedonia and Croatia
Apcom in the Adriatic region has announced new partnerships with retailers Setec in North Macedonia and Sancta Domenica in Croatia.
Setec was established in 1993, when its main activity was within the IT sector, but in recent years, the company has moved into other segments as well.
When asked what partnering with Apcom means to the company, Setec CEO Dejan Kimovski said, “Above all, we would like to express our satisfaction with the cooperation so far and share the joy of mutual success.”
Sancta Domenica is a Croatian IT retailer that has been in business since 2000, offering a complete range of the world’s leading consumer electronics manufacturers, and recently Apple products as well. Partnering with Apcom offers them a significantly increased range of categories of electronic devices.
Like Setec, Sancta Domenica is pleased with the new partnership: “We are excited to be working with new partner Apcom to offer the highest quality support and offering customers access to the most wanted Apple products. We believe that by expanding our portfolio of Apple products, we become even more attractive to our customers and that will further strengthen our position in the market,” said Vesna Ramljak, Sancta Domenica CEO.
Branka Čander, general manager of Apcom in the Adriatic region also commented on the new partnership. “Apcom is honored to welcome new partners into our network and to expand our business through these markets.”
More about Apcom
Apcom is an Apple Authorized Distributor in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo.
Cybersecurity: Threats, Solutions and Outlook
Husni Hammoud and Demes Strouthos from ESET both talked to Tahawultech.com at GISEC 2021 about the challenges of the last year and the prospects for the cybersecurity industry in the year ahead.
Husni Hammoud, Managing Director of ESET Middle East, spoke to TahawulTech.com about the cybersecurity landscape in 2021, the changes in the organization’s security preferences and the importance of innovation in developing cybersecurity products.
According to Husni in the interview, the move towards remote working has exposed many to increased cybersecurity risks, which are growing exponentially.
“People have had to work from home and they have had to have access to their information to be able to communicate with their customers and this has been heaven for hackers, and let’s say, the bad guys.”
Demes Strouthos, General Manager of ESET Middle East, spoke to TahawulTech.com at GISEC 2021 about the most popular cybersecurity solutions this year and his outlook for the future of the industry.
Demes followed up Husni’s interview by outlining some of the ESET solutions that are helping businesses mitigate the growing dangers of cybersecurity attacks.
“I would say that we see a big focus and demand on EDR solutions, on multi-factor authentication solutions and on email security. One of our latest business security offerings, ESET cloud office security, is a Security as a Service (SaaS) offering, which provides advanced anti-malware, anti-spam, and anti-phishing protection for Microsoft Office 365 applications.”
“We’ve seen an increase in investment in cybersecurity because companies realize its importance and its value and at the same time they realize the potential financial impact of a cyberattack. Companies needed to rethink and adapt to the current threat landscape.”
