GEC News Wire

Category: News

  • Mindware to Showcase AI, Cloud, and Emerging Technologies GITEX Africa

    Mindware to Showcase AI, Cloud, and Emerging Technologies GITEX Africa

    Mindware is set to exhibit at GITEX AFRICA, scheduled from 29-31 May 2024 in Marrakech, Morocco. The company will spotlight “AI, Cloud, and Emerging Technologies,” encompassing AI, IoT, DevOps, Cloud, and security solutions. The aim is to empower business partners with NextGen technology, accelerating business transformation for regional enterprises and fostering growth.

    Mr. Benoit Malraison, General Manager Africa at Mindware, said, “By leveraging digital technologies, countries in the African continent have been able to diversify their economies and create a sustainable knowledge-based society. Mindware has over 30 years of presence and experience in the African market. Our company, through its expansive partner ecosystem, has been a main enabler of the technology growth in the market by promoting, selling and channelling the latest technology solutions to enterprises. We are dedicated to staying ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation and technological advancements.”

    At the Mindware stand, trade visitors can expect to witness a remarkable showcase of technologies and solutions from industry leaders such as Dell Technologies, HP Inc, Microsoft, Schneider Electric, Cisco, Juniper, Splunk, MCI and AWS. These key vendors will be presenting their latest innovations, demonstrating their commitment to advancing the industry and providing cutting-edge solutions to customers. Mindware’s Cloud Marketplace Platform that was launched in Africa last year will be another highlight. The platform offers superior transactional experience to the channel community as well as a wide variety of Cloud solutions and services.

    “We would like to extend an invitation to all channel partners to visit us at GITEX AFRICA to learn about Mindware’s solutions portfolio and capabilities including Mindware Cloud Marketplace, automation tools, supply chain capabilities, professional services offerings and as-a-service education portals,” concluded Mr. Malraison.

    Mindware will be exhibiting at Hall 5, Stand 5B-40. The distributor will be hosting a gala dinner for its partners and business associates on the evening before the event kicks off.

  • SolarWinds Introduces Consultative Sales Approach to Enhance Customer Value of ITSM Solutions

    SolarWinds Introduces Consultative Sales Approach to Enhance Customer Value of ITSM Solutions

    SolarWinds introduces a new consultative approach to enhance the value of IT service management (ITSM) solutions for enterprises. This approach aims to minimize costs and staffing needs associated with high-level IT consultancy. SolarWinds now offers a free online evaluation and assessment tool, providing enterprises with insights into their current ITSM practices and a customized roadmap for operational excellence, cost reduction, and improved service delivery.

    While most enterprises today leverage ITSM solutions to simplify day-to-day IT operations, standardize processes, and streamline workflows, ongoing challenges prevent them from realizing ITSM’s full potential. The SolarWinds ITSM Maturity Model provides an unparalleled way for IT professionals to understand, evaluate, and advance their technical and strategic readiness to deal with complexities and resolve issues amid escalating IT complexities.

    Cullen Childress, Senior VP of Product at SolarWinds, said, “SolarWinds is proud to offer the best of both worlds: the ease and simplicity of our solutions, complemented by the kind of expert, consultative support typically associated with much higher price tags. Our goal is to demystify the complexities of IT service management, making the journey towards maturity as seamless and straightforward as possible.”

    As IT environments become increasingly complicated due to hybrid and multi-cloud configurations, IT agents are often overwhelmed and issues can be slow to resolve. SolarWinds offers step-by-step guidance on tailoring IT services to specific organizational needs, promoting proactive strategies to minimize the frequency and impact of IT problems, and integrating ITSM into the broader business strategy to drive future growth.

    With this new approach, SolarWinds offers enterprises a customized, in-depth, and actionable consultative service without the complex, expensive, or cumbersome processes used by other service providers. By fostering a deeper understanding of an organization’s unique needs, challenges, and migration paths forward, SolarWinds can provide not only tailored recommendations but a comprehensive plan for continuous improvement as organizations scale or adopt emerging technologies like AI and edge computing.

  • Unveiling Samsung’s 2024 TV Lineup: A New Era of AI TV Experiences Arrives in the Gulf

    Unveiling Samsung’s 2024 TV Lineup: A New Era of AI TV Experiences Arrives in the Gulf

    Samsung Gulf Electronics revealed its 2024 TV and soundbar lineup at the Dubai Unbox & Discover event. The showcase included the latest Neo QLED 8K and 4K, OLED TVs, and soundbars. Samsung, the world’s top TV manufacturer for 18 years, presented AI TVs aimed at enhancing home entertainment for Gulf consumers with advanced, AI-powered features.

    Unbox and Discover 2024 explores Samsung’s commitment to sustainability, smart connectivity, and transformative technology. It aims to demonstrate how screens can enrich our lives, with a focus on creating a connected, AI-enabled home environment.

    AI remains a strategic focus in the Gulf, with the region poised to harness AI’s potential to revolutionize industries and contribute significantly to the economy. Samsung’s AI-powered TVs resonate with this vision, bringing advanced AI capabilities to homes across the region, aligning with the region’s growing interest in smart homes. Samsung’s latest TV offerings are, therefore, a step towards the interconnected, AI-driven future that the GCC aspires to lead.

    Nikola Aksentijevic, Director and Head of Visual Display Division, Samsung Gulf Electronics, said, “We are thrilled to introduce our latest lineup of cutting-edge TVs and soundbars to the Gulf region. Our 2024 products showcase Samsung’s unwavering commitment to delivering unparalleled home entertainment experiences through AI-powered innovation and user-centric design. We are confident that consumers in the GCC will appreciate the advanced features and seamless integration that our new lineup offers, elevating their viewing and listening experiences to new heights.”

    Elevating Senses With Neo QLED 8K: Clarity, Sound and Smart Experiences

    Neo QLED 8K stands as the flagship of Samsung’s latest TV lineup, equipped with the advanced NQ8 AI Gen3 processor and marking a significant leap in AI TV technology. This processor features a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that delivers twice the speed of its predecessor, along with an eightfold increase in neural networks from 64 to 512 — ensuring an exceptional viewing experience with crisp details, regardless of the input source.

  • Strategic Partnership between Liqid and StorIT in the Middle East

    Strategic Partnership between Liqid and StorIT in the Middle East

    StorIT Distribution, the leading Value-Added Distributor in the Middle East and North Africa for Enterprise IT Products and Solutions, and Liqid, a global leader in composable infrastructure solutions, have announced a strategic partnership that promises to reshape the AI infrastructure landscape in the region.

    Overview:

    This partnership combines Liqid’s dynamic GPU pooling capabilities with StorIT’s extensive market experience. By joining forces, both companies aim to empower organizations across the Middle East with unparalleled performance, power efficiency, and agility in managing their GPU resources, essential for modern workloads like AI.

    “We are very excited to work with Liqid.  As their Distributor partner, StorIT aims to deliver unparalleled value for business growth to our reseller partners across the MENA region by catering to the rapidly growing customer’s’ need for dynamic resource allocation and improved efficiency in data centres using Liquid’s innovative technology that sets new benchmarks for superior AI infrastructure performance” said  Suren Vedantham, Managing Director at StorIT Distribution.

    VAD Partner social post
    VAD Partner

    ‘’The Liqid Team is thrilled to work with StorIT to architect optimized GPU solutions, catering to emerging AI performance and efficiency demands and expanding our global reach in the EMEA market,” said John Dauskurdas, Senior Vice President of Sales at Liqid. “Integrating Liqid’s AI enablement solution with StorIT’s robust network of value-added resellers enables collaboration with our channel partners and delivers high-performance solutions tailored for AI. This partnership positions us to address current demands and scale efficiently to meet future computing challenges.

    Significance:

    • Resource Optimization: Liqid Matrix software allows users to effortlessly deploy, scale, and manage physical GPU resources in seconds, integrating up to 20 GPUs into a single 2U server. This level of control over resource utilization, which can include networking and storage, ensures infrastructure optimization for evolving demands.
    • Market Position: StorIT’ s position as a trusted Value-Added Distributor enables it to deliver Liqid’s innovative solutions to enterprises of all sizes in the region.
    • Milestones Ahead: The partnership sets the stage for achieving significant milestones in enhancing data center infrastructure and driving technological innovation.
  • Leading the change

    Leading the change

    Connor, in association with GEC Media Group, organized a roundtable discussion on the topic of ‘the agile CIO—navigating the innovation-cost paradigm.’ The US-headquartered Connor provides contract compliance and software asset management services. The event was kicked off by the company’s regional head, Siddharth Tiwari, who stated that the role of the CIO has evolved beyond merely managing IT infrastructure; they are now integral to strategy creation and execution, making today’s IT leaders agents of change. 

    “The pandemic obviously triggered a massive transformation in companies, some forced and others proactive. This change gave IT leaders some flexibility in budgets, which also brought about huge expectations. After all, we are all working towards strategic business goals with high expectations,” he said. 

    However, during economic downturns, CIOs focus on smart investments and optimizing existing solutions to create value. “So, imagine if I told you that we can help you unlock the riches hidden within your software assets. We are essentially helping organizations maximize value, acting as treasure hunters to unearth the gold within your software assets. But we’re not just focusing on what’s buried; we’re helping you see the invisible,” he added. 

    The roundtable discussion, anchored by Jaykumar Mohanachandran, Group CIO of Buzeki Enterprises, delved deep into a variety of topics including how technology investments directly contribute to revenue generation and redefining CIO-CXO partnerships. ‘Controlling the costs related to IT software requires collaboration between IT, procurement, and other departments,’ he remarked. 

    The CIOs in attendance unanimously agreed that tech innovation has the potential to drive business growth and profitability, but it must be presented in a clear and compelling manner to business stakeholders.

     

    Roundtable attendees

    The participants in the discussion included Damian O’Gara, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Kent; Aus Alzubaidi, CIO, MBC Group; Aamir Khan, Head of Enterprise and Data Architecture; Khaldun Al Khaldi, VP-IT from a leading financial institution in the UAE; Vijaykumar Mali, Head of Digital Transformation, Lamprell; Mohamad Gholoom, Governance, and Risk Assessment expert, Ministry of Health and Prevention; Mohammed Ragab, Applications Development Section Head, RTA, Yousif Odeh, IT Manager, Emirates Driving Institute; and Padam Kafle, Head of Innovation, Aster Digital Health.

  • Liferay Launches Technology Partnership with SugarCRM

    Liferay Launches Technology Partnership with SugarCRM

    Liferay announced the establishment of a technology partnership with SugarCRM, provider of the award-winning AI-driven sales automation platform.

    Trusted by thousands of organizations in over 120 countries, the Sugar platform enables sales and marketing teams to work more efficiently by streamlining data collection and delivering a complete view of the customer. By leveraging the robust segmentation and personalization capabilities of Liferay DXP in conjunction with data in the Sugar platform, B2B organizations are able to deliver impactful, relevant, experiences to their audiences.

    Brian Chan, CEO, Liferay, said, “It puts the right information at the right time in the hands of employees, partners, and customers, enabling B2B organizations like manufacturers to compete on what truly differentiates them from the competition, experience.”

    Long established as a best practice in the B2C space, the ability to deliver a truly personalized experience is becoming critical for manufacturers and other B2B organizations. B2B customers expect to be able to access digital self-service capabilities tailored to their role and interests on demand and across devices, just as they can in their personal lives as consumers.

    In addition to powerful segmentation and personalization capabilities enriched by Sugar customer data, Liferay DXP delivers low code, drag-and-drop site building functionality allowing business users to quickly roll out new digital experiences without having to rely on overburdened IT teams. These experiences, such as customer portals, both delight customers and enable sales and marketing teams to focus on more impactful activities building relationships with customers.

    “In the manufacturing sector, customer experience has a significant impact on revenue, cross-sell/up-sell potential, and customer retention,” said Clint Oram, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder, SugarCRM. “Our partnership with Liferay enables industrial companies to deliver world-class digital experiences with a high return on investment.”

  • Secureworks Introduces AI-Powered Threat Prevention and Detection with Taegis NDR

    Secureworks Introduces AI-Powered Threat Prevention and Detection with Taegis NDR

    Secureworks launches Secureworks Taegis™ NDR to thwart threat actors moving through networks. With the rise of cloud apps and remote work, network traffic has surged by over 20% from 2023 to 2024. Adversaries exploit this surge to evade detection. Taegis NDR uses AI to uncover hidden threats, combining threat prevention, detection, and response to stop malicious activity on networks.

    Secureworks data, from its global customer base, indicates that Taegis NDR can block 99% of identified malicious activity on networks. With threat actors increasingly obfuscating their behavior, traditional network controls like IDPs and firewalls are struggling to keep up. A multi-layered cybersecurity approach is essential. Taegis NDR offers comprehensive visibility into internal and external network traffic, crucial for detecting and tracking threat actors. Integrated with the Taegis XDR platform, NDR correlates telemetry across various threat vectors to detect adversarial behavior that might otherwise be overlooked.

    “Taegis NDR empowers us to proactively mitigate cyber risks to our business,” said, Steve Hey, Senior Vice President of Information Technology, Infrastructure, and Operations, National 9/11 Memorial & Museum. “It adds an extra layer of intelligence that fortifies our cyber defenses. When Taegis NDR sends us an alert, I know there’s an issue so I can quickly assign my resources to tackle it and protect our business.”

    Managed centrally in the Taegis Platform, Taegis NDR is updated continuously with curated countermeasures based on global real-world threat intelligence to protect customer networks from the latest attack vectors. Its AI engine analyzes network traffic for anomalous application and port usage, identifying potential internal and external threats before they can cause harm, such as data exfiltration or ransomware attacks. Automated response actions fuel faster and more accurate response times. Lastly, customers don’t have the burden of managing endless rules and signatures, saving them time and resources that can be deployed elsewhere.

    “Network connected devices represent an opportunity for cyber criminals, as few organizations have the central governance, and strong policies, to ensure 100% up-to-date coverage at the endpoint. Threat actors continue to develop stealthy and evasive techniques to enter networks, that if not detected, inflict serious operational and financial damage on an organization,” said Kyle Falkenhagen, Chief Product Officer, Secureworks.”

  • Developers Spending More Time Firefighting Issues Than Delivering Innovation

    Developers Spending More Time Firefighting Issues Than Delivering Innovation

    Cisco has released the results of a survey revealing that software developers are spending over 57% of their time in ‘war rooms,’ tackling application performance issues. This detracts from their ability to focus on developing new, innovative software applications aligned with their organization’s innovation strategy.

    Software developers play a critical role in building, launching and maintaining the applications and digital services that are essential to the way modern organizations operate today, and the pressure on them has never been higher. Globally, 85% of those surveyed report encountering increased pressure to accelerate release velocity, while 77% point to mounting pressure to deliver seamless and secure digital experiences.

    But while developers are being expected to deliver new tools and functionality at ever faster speeds, they also find themselves on the receiving end of endless demands to help Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) and IT operations teams manage the ongoing availability and performance of applications. The result is teams of developers spending hours in war room meetings and debugging applications, instead of creating code and building new applications.

    Lack of Critical Insight into Application Performance

    Developers report that the issue is down to their organizations not having the right tools and visibility required to understand the root cause of application issues. They believe this stems from IT departments lacking a full and unified view into applications and the supporting IT stack. Developers are acutely concerned about the potential consequences this could have, with three quarters (75%) of those surveyed fearing that the lack of visibility and insight into IT performance is increasing the chances of their organization suffering downtime and disruption to business-critical applications.

    The situation is significantly affecting morale amongst developers, with 82% admitting that they feel frustrated and demotivated, and 54% increasingly inclined to leave their current job. These findings should ring alarm bells for organizations who are now dependent on developers to create the compelling, intuitive digital experiences that customers and users expect. With demand for developer skills at an all-time high and a finite pool of talent, businesses cannot afford an exodus of talent simply because their IT teams don’t have the tools they need to do their jobs.

    “While most IT departments have deployed a multitude of monitoring tools across different domains, they simply fall short when it comes to today’s complex and dynamic IT environments, leaving technologists unable to generate a full and unified view into their applications and the supporting IT stack,” said Shannon McFarland, Vice President, Cisco DevNet.”

    The Potential for Full-Stack Observability

    Encouragingly, developers are acutely aware that there are solutions available to address these concerns, and as many as 91% feel that they should be playing a bigger role in shaping and deciding on the solutions needed within their organization. Above all else, developers point to full-stack observability as being a potential game changer, providing SREs and IT operations teams with unified visibility into applications and supporting infrastructure, across both cloud-native and on premises environments.

    While developers themselves may not be the primary users of full-stack observability solutions – focusing instead on their specific areas of domain expertise – 78% believe that implementing full-stack observability within their organization would be beneficial. Developers recognize the benefits of having unified visibility across the IT estate and acknowledge that full-stack observability would make it much easier and quicker for operations teams to identify issues, understand root causes, and carry out necessary remediation. In turn, this would result in fewer technologists from multiple domain teams being required to attend war room sessions, and free up that talent – including developers – to focus on their day jobs.

    76% of developers went so far as to state that it’s becoming impossible for them to do their job because SREs and IT operations teams don’t have the insights they need to effectively manage IT performance. This explains why 94% point to full-stack observability as the single thing that would most help them to escape war rooms and focus on innovation.

  • Hendy Harianto, Group CIO & Head of Business Process Transformation at Meratus Group, Appointed as Country Ambassador for Indonesia by Global CIO Forum

    Hendy Harianto, Group CIO & Head of Business Process Transformation at Meratus Group, Appointed as Country Ambassador for Indonesia by Global CIO Forum

    Hendy Harianto, a distinguished technology leader with over 25 years of extensive experience in IT, Business, and Digital Transformation, has been appointed as the Country Ambassador for Indonesia by the esteemed Global CIO Forum. In his role as Country Ambassador, Hendy will represent Indonesia on the global stage, advocating for technological innovation and collaboration across borders.

    Currently serving as the Group Chief Information Officer and Head of Business Process Transformation at Meratus Group, Hendy brings a wealth of expertise in driving digital initiatives and fostering organizational excellence. Meratus Group, a leading Indonesian logistics & shipping integrator in Southeast Asia, benefits from Hendy’s strategic leadership and his commitment to leveraging technology to drive business growth and efficiency.

    Throughout his illustrious career, Hendy has held various leadership positions within multinational organizations, including the CMA CGM Group, a global shipping and logistics giant headquartered in Marseille, France. His roles encompassed overseeing IT infrastructure, digital transformation, and automation initiatives across the Asia Pacific region, contributing significantly to the company’s global success.

    In addition to his professional accomplishments, Hendy is deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of IT talent. He actively engages in mentorship programs and shares his knowledge and experience through speaking engagements and workshops at IT conferences across Southeast Asia. His dedication to fostering talent has earned him recognition and respect within the industry.

    Hendy’s exemplary leadership and transformative contributions to the field of technology have garnered numerous prestigious awards and accolades, including the CIO100 ASEAN and Hong Kong Award and the World CIO 200 Summit Award. His innovative approach to digital transformation, leveraging emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, has been recognized with awards such as the Innovation Leader of the Year Award and The Study UK Alumni Awards in Business and Innovation.

     

  • Ichwan Peryana, Co-Founder & Director of Pinjam Modal, Appointed as Country Ambassador for Indonesia by Global CIO Forum

    Ichwan Peryana, Co-Founder & Director of Pinjam Modal, Appointed as Country Ambassador for Indonesia by Global CIO Forum

    Ichwan Peryana, a distinguished technology leader and Co-founder & Director of Pinjam Modal, a leading P2P lending company focusing on the productive loan market in Indonesia, has been appointed as the Country Ambassador for Indonesia by the esteemed Global CIO Forum. Ichwan will represent Indonesia on the global stage, advocating for technological innovation and collaboration within the region.

    With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, Ichwan Peryana has demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation in driving digital initiatives. As the Co-founder & Director of Pinjam Modal, he has played a pivotal role in leveraging technology to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through accessible and efficient lending solutions.

    Ichwan’s remarkable contributions to the field of technology have been recognized with prestigious awards, including being listed among the Top 200 CIOs in Southeast Asia by the Global CIO Forum in The World CIO 200 Summit in both 2021 and 2022. Additionally, he has received accolades such as the CIO 100 Awards 2022 from cio.com and the CSO30 ASEAN Awards 2022 from csoonline.com, highlighting his exceptional leadership and impact in the industry.

    As the newly appointed Country Ambassador for Indonesia, Ichwan Peryana will play a key role in promoting Indonesia’s technological capabilities and fostering collaboration with global technology leaders. His appointment underscores Indonesia’s growing influence in the global technology landscape and highlights Ichwan’s outstanding leadership and contributions to the industry.