PLUS
Newgen Secures a Patent for Managing and Archiving Electronic Messages /06 www.smechannels.com
India’s leading IT magazine for channel business VOLUME 12 | ISSUE 04 | PAGES 32 | JUNE 2021 | RS. 20/-
INTERVIEW / 22
The future of Work is Hybrid.
SECURITY / 26
VMware Anywhere Workspace Makes Collaboration Using Zoom Simpler and Safer for Hybrid Workforces.
CASE STUDY / 28
GMERS Ensures Safety with Matrix Video Management Software.
PLUS
Dell Technologies Launches PowerScale F900 All-Flash Storage Array Pg: 15 www.smechannels.com
India’s leading IT magazine for channel business INTERVIEW / 22
SECURITY / 26
The future of Work is Hybrid.
VMware Anywhere Workspace Makes Collaboration Using Zoom Simpler and Safer for Hybrid Workforces.
CASE STUDY / 28
GMERS Ensures Safety with Matrix Video Management Software.
MY EXPERIENCE EDITORIAL
ARE WE AT EASE OF DOING BUSINESS? SANJAY MOHAPATRA
sanjay@smechannels.com
Dear Friends One after another strains of Covid-19 coming into India. No sooner had we opened and thought about doing business under cool atmosphere, another strain came up. There is a very uncertain environment around the country. Many of the cities have completely opened up, which is of course good, but does it mean that we are at ease. It is absolutely a problematic area. Still people are dying and still the cases are spreading in various regions. We have time and again cautioned business houses against this. We have therefore strongly recommended for adoption of some specific businesses. We have told that cloud should be one of the biggest areas of investment, we have also recommended for going deep into cyber security – specially security services. The other one is the digital technologies, where partners need to invest. Since we are tracking both the CIOs/ CISOs, we can see what is trending in the market. The customers are very strongly moving into the direction of the digital platform. Starting from bringing in visibility dashboard to the C - level executives, to connecting all the key functionality including enterprise applications including ERP and CRM, to strengthening cyber security from access point of view, the customers have started investing. We earlier used to call infra modernization, today the customers are jumping one step ahead. They are onside digitizing the entire visibility platform and moving very rapidly into the cloud infrastructure. They are not modernizing the infra rather making it smart. It means the requirement is need based. If the customers have on prem heavy, they are moving to a hybrid platform, if they are seeing that seeing that they are on prem is quite lite they are moving into public cloud. Therefore, the opportunity for the partners is immense. The other thing we can see is that there is a huge need of consultancy among the customers. Since they want to save cost, the big four are getting good among of competition from lesser-known companies. If any partner can develop capability, he can see good opportunity too. Last but not the least is the cyber security, which has been a core area of investment for the customers. Since we have been speaking about this in last many issues, I am not giving any special mention in this edition. However, cyber security is the biggest challenge and threat for the customers. So keep invested in cyber security and develop skillsets of consulting too in this area.
Dell Technologies Latitude 9420 Dell’s long time intrinsic security approach builds intelligent and automated security deep within each system to provide the industry’s most secure commercial PCs. Dell Latitude 9420 delivers advanced security features like SafeShutter, the industry’s first automatic webcam shutter[v] that knows when to automatically open or close by syncing with video conferencing applications, so users can work securely and confidently from anywhere. Designed as collaborative business PCs with the best connectivity and collaboration experiences, the Latitude 9420 comes with a powerful built-in speakerphone and camera enhancements that provide automatic light correction and background blur.
FEATURES: THE NEW COMMERCIAL PC IS ENERGY STAR CERTIFIED AND EPEAT GOLD AND SILVER REGISTERED TO HELP YOU REDUCE ENERGY USE. FINAL THOUGHTS: PRICED AT INR 1,36,000, DELL LATITUDE 9420 IS REALLY A MACHINE THAT THE SENIOR EXECUTIVES SHOULD LOOK UP TO.
SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
3
contents
Trusted Advisor of Channel Business
VOLUME 12 ISSUE 04
2021
JUN r tne Par ner Cor
Publisher: Sanjib Mohapatra Editor: Sanjay Mohapatra Sub Editor: Nidhi Shail Designer: Shadab Khan Web Designer: Vijay Bakshi Technical Writer: Manas Ranjan Lead Visualizer: DPR Choudhary MARKETING Marketing Manager: Vaishali Shukla Circulation and Printing: Rajkumar Hansa SALES CONTACTS Delhi 6/102, Kaushalya Park, Hauz Khas New Delhi-110016 Phone: 91-11-41055458 / 8587835685 sanjeev@smechannels.com Bangalore #28/1, 3rd Floor, Sri Lakshmi Krupa, Near Shamanna Park, Model House Street, Basavanagudi, Bangalore - 560004 Ph. No. +91 88618 21044 Mumbai Tahmeed Ansari 2, Ground Floor, Park Paradise, Kay-Bees CHS. Ltd.,Opp. Green Park, Oshiwara, Andheri (west), Mumbai - 400 053. Ph. +91 22 26338546, Fax +91 22 26395581 Mobile: +91 9967 232424 E-mail: Info@smechannels.com Kolkata S Subhendu BC-286, Laxmi Apartment, Kestopur Kolkata-700101 Phone: 9674804389
Nutanix Launches Service Provider Program Expanding Delivery of Hybrid and Multicloud Solutions /18
EDITORIAL OFFICE Delhi: 6/103, (GF) Kaushalya Park, New Delhi110016, Phone: 91-11-41657670 / 46151993 info@ smechannels.com Bangalore #28/1, 3rd Floor, Sri Lakshmi Krupa, Near Shamanna Park, Model House Street, Basavanagudi, Bangalore - 560004 Ph. No. +91 88618 21044 E-Mail info@ accentinfomedia.com
INTERVIEW
DESIGNED BY
HYBRID / 22 “The future of Work is Hybrid.”
Printed, Published and Owned by Sanjib Mo-
SECURITY
hapatra
VMWARE / 26
“VMware Anywhere Workspace Makes Collaboration Using Zoom Simpler and Safer for Hybrid Workforces.”
Place of Publication: 6/101-102, Kaushalya Park, Hauz Khas
more inside
CASE STUDY MATRIX / 28
“GMERS Ensures Safety with Matrix Video Management Software.”
New Delhi-110016
Phone: 91-11-46151993 / 41055458 Printed at Karan Printers, F-29/2, 1st floor, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-2, New Delhi
Editorial~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 03 Snippets~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 06 Product~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 29
110020, India. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without the prior written permission from the publisher. Subscription: Rs.200 (12 issues) All payments favouring: Accent Info Media Pvt. Ltd.
4
SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
Save time saving your company www.kaspersky.co.in Authorised Distributors E-Caps Computers India Private Limited 9842211022 gunaa@caps.in
Sea-Infonet Private Limited 7980096201/1800-2586800
Ingram Mircro India Private Limited 9819199258 vibha.vanmali@ingrammicro.com
Inflow Technologies Private Limited 9379190083 info@inflowtechnologies.com
B2B Support - support.kasperky.com/b2b/IN
suman@seainfonet.com
SNIPPETS PRODUCT | CHANNEL | CONSULTING | SERVICES
for more log on to smechannels.com
Newgen Secures a Patent for Managing and Archiving Electronic Messages Newgen Software, announced that the Indian patent office has granted a patent (No. 365407) for its invention entitled “Method and System for Managing and Archiving Electronic Messages.” This is for a term of 20 years commencing from May 13, 2009, in accordance with the provisions of the Patents Act, 1970. The technology makes e-mail management more efficient by automating email storage, archival, and retrieval. The invention has built-in mechanisms to facilitate legal discovery. Additionally, it ensures business continuity and enables seamless collaboration while complying with regulatory norms. The invention has many powerful features, including: • Capturing metadata from e-mails • Removing duplicate content • Categorizing and classifying
e-mails • Accessing a consolidated view of a complete chain of conversation • Saving complex or frequent searches for data retrieval • Building rules and assigning access rights for tight administrative control • Providing anytime-anywhere information access • Building comprehensive retention policies “For years, our customers have relied on our technologies for digital transformation initiatives. This patent underlines our focus and ability to deliver state-of-the-art products and solutions, and further strengthens our content services platform. This invention will primarily help businesses that deal with large volumes of emails,” said Diwakar Nigam, MD, and Chairman, Newgen Software.
Capital Float ends FY21 on a high, crossing 2 million lifetime credit customers Capital Float, ended FY21 on a high note. It crossed 2 million lifetime customers, a 4x increase from March 2020. It has now financed over INR 2000 crores worth of consumer purchases through its Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) model till-date, making it the fastest growing BNPL platform in India. Additionally, Capital Float’s
6
SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
Walnut app surpassed the 500,000 active customers mark and has seen considerable traction for consumer credit, personal financial management and insurance. The company celebrated several significant milestones in Q4. It achieved a 220%+ increase in BNPL disbursals when compared to Q4 FY20, and in March 2021
alone the company financed over a million transactions. Capital Float has been adding over 150,000 customers each month through value-driven online credit offered across e-commerce, travel, ed-tech and other key sectors, and across a wide range of personal needs. The company also raised INR 150 crore in debt in Q4 FY20, adding to the
already strong reserve in the balance sheet. Capital Float ended FY21 at a monthly disbursal run rate of INR 140 crores and an NNPA of 1.56%. Gaurav Hinduja, Co-Founder & MD, Capital Float said, “We are happy to have witnessed such rapid growth in our customer base over a short period of time.
PMP
TM
Peak Throughput up to
1.2Gbps
SNIPPETS
Capgemini reinforces its collaboration with Ericsson to support client innovation at its 5G Lab for Industries in India Capgemini has strengthened its collaboration with Ericsson to accelerate the deployment of 5G solutions, a key component of Intelligent Industry. As part of their ongoing collaboration, Capgemini has deployed the 5G (standalone) Industry Connect solution from Ericsson at its 5G Lab in Mumbai[2] to enable industry innovation, experimentation and deployment of 5G and Edge technologies for clients across industries. As 5G is bringing a step-change in connectivity, services automation, autonomous devices and applications across every industry, Capgemini’s 5G Labs for Industries are designed to help organizations from across sectors to pivot their business towards Intelligent Industry. The multidisciplinary team of experts at the Lab will accompany and support organizations in their exploration of the latest use cases; experiencing new perspectives on how 5G is transforming their industry; and in helping them to build, monetize, and strategize what 5G brings next for their business. Ericsson has deployed its Industry Connect solution at the 5G Lab. Ericsson Industry Connect is a plug and play, pre-packaged and pre-integrated dedicated network product with Ericsson pre-selected components. This solution can be deployed by industry customers requiring a fully private (i.e., on-premise) deployment for limited coverage areas, for example, in manufacturing or warehousing.
Fortinet Announces Secure SD-WAN Integration to Google Cloud’s Network Connectivity Center (NCC) Fortinet announced an integration of the company’s industry leading Fortinet Secure SD-WAN to the Google Cloud Network Connectivity Center (NCC). Fortinet is extending the benefits of its industry-leading Fortinet Secure SD-WAN solution to Google Cloud NCC users to simplify and improve their connection across distributed sites, Google Cloud workloads and applications. Fortinet is delivering the most complete and simplified cloud on-ramp experience through its Secure SD-WAN solution. Securing Multi- and Hybrid Clouds that Enterprises Rely On Over 90% of enterprises employ multi and hybrid clouds, allowing their applications to reside anywhere – from on-campus to branch to data center to cloud. Where these applications reside should be transparent to the end user. This challenges organizations to interconnect applications and data across clouds, data centers, and branches to achieve this – sometimes at the expenses of security and operational efficiency.
Worldwide Smartphone Sales Grew 26% in First Quarter of 2021
EXECUTIVE MOVEMENT
SLICE STRENGTHENS LEADERSHIP; APPOINTS SIVA KUMAR TANGUDU AS CTO
Worldwide Top 5 Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 1Q21 (Thousands of Units)
Vendor
1Q21 Units
1Q21 Market Share (%)
1Q20 Units
76,611.0
20.3
55,332.6
18.4
Apple
58,550.8
15.5
40,920.1
13.6
Xiaomi
Samsung
1Q20 Market Share (%)
48,938.6
12.9
29,678.4
9.9
Vivo
38,715.2
10.2
22,324.4
7.4
OPPO
38,393.2
10.2
23,948.9
8.0
Others
116,781.7
30.9
127,836.7
42.6
377,990.7
100.0
300,041.1
100.0
Total
Due to rounding, some figures may not add up to the totals shown. Source: Gartner (June 2021)
8
SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
EATON APPOINTS DEBASISH BANERJI AS DIRECTOR, SALES AND SERVICE, POWER QUALITY DIVISION, INDIA MORPHISEC APPOINTS AJIT PILLAI AS REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR APAC REGION VIRTUSA CORPORATION ANNOUNCED THE APPOINTMENT OF SANTOSH THOMAS AS ITS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO).
Transforming telecommunications enriching the customer experience atos.net
SNIPPETS
Doosra comes to the rescue of Social Workers contributing to COVID-19 During these unprecedented times, while our COVID volunteers are taking brave steps to support multiple social cause activities either directly or indirectly, they are faced with an inconceivable challenge in their daily routine life. In the process of extending support, one of the critical elements that a volunteer is compelled to do is to share his personal mobile number on various social platforms so that, the needy can approach him or her for support. Not just in the form of willful activity, sometimes the volunteers’ contact details are being circulated or posted on various social media platforms without their notice or permission. Ever since the second wave of pandemic has hit, COVID volunteers in different parts of the country have complained about people stalking them or receiving irrelevant calls or messages, as their personal mobile numbers are floating on the social media platforms. This has become a serious matter of concern, as it would defeat the very purpose of the noble cause and as the volunteers are getting boggled, they are also refraining from undertaking such public welfare programs. Having noticed such unfortunate incidents, Doosra has stepped up to support COVID Volunteers and decided to facilitate 100 free virtual mobile numbers to U&I TRUST.
Dell Technologies Turns Up the Power on Dell EMC PowerStore with Greater Performance and Automation Dell Technologies is upgrading the performance of Dell EMC PowerStore enterprise storage systems with new software and automation capabilities. The company is also introducing the PowerStore 500, a lower-cost model suitable for a broader range of businesses and use cases with enterprise performance and features. “PowerStore is the fastest-growing new architecture in Dell history. New and existing storage customers are seeing first-hand how its unique design, extreme performance and standout automation capabilities help them innovate and maintain a competitive advantage,” said Jeff Boudreau, president and general manager, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies. “With today’s announcements, we’ve made PowerStore faster and smarter while making it easier for a broader range of businesses to get started with the platform.”
DiGiSPICE Launches New-age Startup ‘Korero Platforms’ Offering Communication Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) Solutions
Eurotech Introduces BestNet Rack Mount Fiber Enclosures
Korero Platforms, a new-age startup offering communication platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) solutions to enterprises was launched today. Korero, meaning conversations, will enable omni-channel, contextual conversations between future-ready businesses and their stakeholders. Korero Platforms will help enterprises in their digital transformation journey by harnessing the latest AI technology to improve the connected customer experience. A business unit of DiGiSPICE Technologies, Korero Platforms will leverage DiGiSPICE’s global presence and rich experience in running technology and content focused platforms and solutions for public as well as private enterprises. DiGiSPICE has a legacy of catering to a diverse set of enterprise customer needs, whilst keeping pace with the rapid evolutions in the technology industry, which will prove to be a benefit for Korero Platforms, as it gets launched today. Korero Platforms will leverage the existing partnerships and customer base that DiGiSPICE has not only in India, but other geographies, while expanding into the Indian start-up industry.
Eurotech Technologies, a leading provider of fiber connectivity products, today introduced a wide range of BestNet rack mount sliding LIUs. Equipped with integrated fiber management the modular LIU (Light Interface Units) are suitable for optical cable installation, bare fiber splicing, protection, pigtails storage & management. Available in the range of 12 – 144 ports the slide-out tray holds configurations with different adapters like SC, LC and FC. To ensure network reliability by managing and protecting fiber optic cable terminations, splices, connectors and patch cords, BestNet optical fiber interconnecting units are designed for easy installation and maintenance. To manage cable resources efficiently the enclosures provide complete solution for routing, terminating and organizing fiber optic cables. The 1U sliding LIU utilizes easy glide ball-bearing slide rails for smooth pull-out & push-in with a positive stop feature. BestNet optical fiber interconnection units are fiber patch panels & cabinets used in interconnecting, cross connecting or splicing applications in LAN.
PMI Pune-Deccan India Chapter Hosts 7th Edition of Project Management Regional Conference 2021 Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s leading association for project professionals and changemakers, Pune-Deccan India Chapter recently hosted the seventh Project Management Regional Conference 2021 (PMRC21) in a virtual format on May 29 and 30, 2021. Based on the theme ‘Digital Project Management: New Horizons. New Strategies’, the two-day virtual conference offered participants the opportunity to explore the right skills, tools and techniques that can help them and their organizations become future ready. The virtual conference brought together visionaries and subject matter experts who shared their views on the mission-critical capabilities the new age project manager must have, with a particular focus on technology-enabled project management effectiveness. They also focused on how PMI is empowering changemakers with the requisite skills to propel growth of their career and the organizations.
10 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
SNIPPETS
Newgen Secures a Patent for Online Collaborative Signing of Documents Newgen Software, has announced that the Indian patent office has granted a patent for an invention titled “Online Collaborative Signing of Documents.” This is for a term of 20 years commencing from November 18, 2010, in accordance with the provisions of the Patents Act, 1970. The invention offers an enriched digital signature solution for the collaborative signing of documents with automatic verification of user device, identity, and signatures. The documents in the system are accessed via an interface and further authenticated with user device ID management and digital rights management. Additionally, the system also includes a workflow manager which manages the flow of signed and unsigned documents, enabling collaborative signing and automatic signature verification. Furthermore, the detailed information is secured in a hash generator. “We are delighted with the issue of this patent which underlines our commitment to constantly deliver state-of-the-art products and solutions.
Blue Dart enhances their customer experience with hi-tech solutions by Dell Technologies
Prisma Cloud Launches ML-Powered Next-Generation Cloud Security Posture Management New updates to Prisma® Cloud, Palo Alto Networks Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) solution, help eliminate dangerous cloud blind spots and free security teams from the burden of alert fatigue. Cloud environments are growing ever more complex as organizations add more cloud providers, users, applications and resources. Most security solutions are not designed for this new world and lack the end-to-end visibility needed to accurately assess risks and alert security teams of advanced attacks, leaving them to deal with both unsecured cloud resources and the cacophony of false-positive alerts. Today’s Prisma Cloud CSPM updates help security teams address these issues. “Companies don’t want to slow down to secure the cloud, and they shouldn’t have to,” said Varun Badhwar, senior vice president, Prisma Cloud at Palo Alto Networks. “An ideal CSPM solution needs to offer coverage for all cloud resources, should stay up to date as new resources are introduced, and must effectively detect real attacks while minimizing unnecessary false positives.
Dell Technologies is supporting Blue Dart in continuing its winning streak as a premium express logistics provider with the deployment of its IT infrastructure solutions. The partnership has allowed the express logistics company to continue being a Provider of Choice to their customers by helping them enhance their IT infrastructure and increase efficiency to ensure maximum customer satisfaction. Blue Dart is a part of the DPDHL Group and is South Asia’s premier express air and integrated transportation and distribution company providing comprehensive logistics services to over 35,000 locations in India and over 220 countries & territories. Blue Dart gains its market leadership by consistently evaluating and updating its premium differentiators. While evaluating their IT infrastructure, they observed that their existing IT infrastructure, was not aiding the fast-paced and uninterrupted service that the brand values. As a result, they were not able to fully utilize the true potential of their manpower and technological solutions combination; an issue that had could impact Blue Dart’s volumes during peak season.
Snowflake Announces New Features to Bring Together the World’s Data in the Data Cloud Snowflake unveiled its latest product innovations that redefine what’s possible in the Data Cloud. At its annual Snowflake Summit, the company announced innovations in data programmability, global data governance, and platform optimizations to empower organizations to bring more data together in the Data Cloud, achieving deeper value from data and powerful business insights. Snowflake customers like Sainsbury’s are already leveraging Snowflake’s data programmability capabilities.“Snowflake enables us with a flexible, scalable toolset and processing power to bring together granular data and build upon the data we already have,” Sainsbury’s Senior Data Viz and Automation Manager, Steven Henson-Tyers said. “With Snowflake’s Data Cloud, our data scientists have more access to the near real-time information needed to build and iterate on models more quickly and effectively.”
Fortinet Simplifies Network Operations by Enhancing Security Fabric with Digital Experience Monitoring Fortinet announced two new offerings to accelerate AIOps Network Operations with FortiMonitor and FortiAIOps. Fortinet is now extending network monitoring beyond the Fortinet Security Fabric to third party network infrastructures, applications and clouds, providing comprehensive Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) with FortiMonitor. FortiAIOps leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models to eliminate manual analysis and correlates data from every network edge, automating anomaly detection. Driven by the user experience, digital transformation requires network teams to ensure the quality of user experience on all applications with comprehensive visibility. However, disjointed tools for LAN, WAN, cloud performance and security monitoring are impeding the holistic end-to-end user to application visibility and adding operational complexity.
SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
11
SNIPPETS
Infortrend Launched U.2 NVMe Unified Storage Solution Infortrend launchedU.2 SSD solution for enterprise unified storage - EonStor GSfamily. The new EonStor GS U.2 NVMe All-Flash Array is high performance storage for enterprise, equipped with U.2 NVMeSSD, it provides higher IOPS and throughput and is more cost-effective. It’s a unified storage that supports both SAN and NAS. It supports block-level and file-level scale-out to linearly increase performance and capacity. Also, EonStor GS U.2 NVMe All-Flash Array provides complete data protection, including RAID for disk protection, snapshot, remote replication and public cloud integration for data backup. With U.2 NVMe SSD’s high speed and low latency PCIe Interface, GS U.2 NVMe All-Flash array provides up to 20/10 GB/s read/write performance and 1000K IOPs within single appliance.
Skylo and Inmarsat work together to enable world’s first commercial narrowband IoT over satellite solution Skylo announced that Inmarsat will provide the satellite capacity backbone to deliver its IoT solutions for connecting machines and sensors. The agreement pairs Inmarsat’s exceptionally reliable global satellite network with a complete, easy-to-use IoT solution that provides even the most remotely located application users with real-time, actionable insights; helping improve efficiencies, increase profits, improve sustainability, and save lives. The solution is available now in India through a partnership with in-country partner BSNL and expansion plans will be announced later this year. “The most effective IoT solutions require a truly resilient and flexible network that can scale as demand grows,” said Rajeev Suri, Inmarsat Chief Executive Officer.
Amitabh Kant CEO Niti Aayog addresses a press conference, at National Media Centre Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Sunday said that the Centre’s aspirational districts programme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, has benefited almost 21% of the nation’s population and improved their quality of life. “The UN has done an independent third party study and concluded that this program of aspirational districts, launched by PM in January 2018 has been a remarkable success story, aspirational districts have done better than non-aspirational districts. Because of this, almost 21% of India’s population has benefited and improved quality of life. This has been a huge transformational change at the grassroot level,” Kant was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. Kant said that the program has been able to make difference to lives of citizens of India, in education, health, nutrition, financial inclusion, skill development and this has made a difference to some most backward and most geographically far-flung districts of the nation. “I am very satisfied that what PM had envisioned for this program. We have come a long way, we have achieved substantial difference in making a qualitative difference to lives of citizens of India,” the Niti Aayog CEO said.
Online learning firm Byju’s has become India’s most valuable internet startup Byju’s becomes India’s most valued startup at $16.5 billion with UBS, Blackstone funding,Online learning firm Byju’s has become India’s most valuable internet startup with a valuation of $16.5 billion in its current funding round, surpassing fintech firm Paytm’s $16 billion valuation Byju’s has raised $350 million from UBS, private equity giant Blackstone, Abu Dhabi state fund ADQ, Phoenix Rising and video conference firm Zoom’s founder Eric Yuan, regulatory filings said. Byju’s has raised over $1.5 billion dollars in the last 18 months, many times more than total funding earlier, with growth for online education turbocharged by the COVID-19 pandemic.Byju’s is expected to use the funds for more acquisitions. Its acquisitions in the last one year include coding firms Whitehat Jr, competitor Toppr, offline test preparation firms Aakash, Great Learning and Gradeup.
12 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
DIGEST POLYCAB INDIA TO ACQUIRE SILVAN INNOVATION LABS POLYCAB INDIA LIMITED (PIL) ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT IT IS TO ACQUIRE 100 PERCENT STAKE IN SILVAN INNOVATION LABS PRIVATE LIMITED FOR 182 MILLION. FOUNDED IN 2008 BY FOUR ELECTRONICS AND EMBEDDED SYSTEMS DOMAIN VETERANS, SILVAN CLAIMS TO BE ONE OF THE PIONEERS IN THE HOME AUTOMATION SECTOR IN THE INDIAN RESIDENTIAL BUILDING MARKET. THIS IS COMPLEMENTED BY ITS APPLICATION AND CLOUD PLATFORM (IPSM) FOR VALUE-ADDED SERVICES AS WELL AS INTEGRATED CAPABILITIES ON VARIOUS THIRD-PARTY CLOUD PLATFORMS SUCH AS AWS, GOOGLE CLOUD, SAMSUNG SMART THINGS, AND IBM WATSON. WITH ‘SMART’ IOT SOLUTIONS BECOMING ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENTS WITHIN CONSUMER ELECTRICAL SPACES, POLYCAB ASSERTS THAT ACQUISITION OF SILVAN ADDS NEW DIMENSION TO THEIR R&D AND INNOVATION CAPABILITIES.
IBM RANKED THE INDIA IT INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES MARKET LEADER INTERNATIONAL DATA CORPORATION (IDC), THE MARKET INTELLIGENCE FIRM, HAS NAMED IBM THE MARKET LEADER IN THE INDIA IT INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES MARKET FOR THE 11TH YEAR IN A ROW. BASED ON VENDOR REVENUE; IBM INDIA LED THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES SEGMENT WITH AN AVERAGE MARKET SHARE OF 14.3 PERCENT IN FISCAL YEAR 2020. GLOBALLY, THE MULTINATIONAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY WAS ALSO RANKED #1 IN THE IDC WORLDWIDE SEMI-ANNUAL SERVICES TRACKER 2H 2020. ACCORDING TO IDC, THE INDIAN IT & BUSINESS SERVICES MARKET RECORDED A 5.41% YEAROVER-YEAR (YOY) GROWTH IN 2020 AND WAS WORTH USD 13.41 BILLION AS ENTERPRISES ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES BEGAN INVESTING IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE MIDST OF THE PANDEMIC. ENDPOINT MANAGEMENT, HOSTED APPLICATION MANAGEMENT, IT OUTSOURCING, HOSTING INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, NETWORK CONSULTING AND INTEGRATION, HARDWARE DEPLOY AND SUPPORT, AND SOFTWARE DEPLOY AND SUPPORT SERVICES ARE ALL PART OF THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES MARKET.
DIGISOL SYSTEMS TO HOST AN ONLINE ‘YOGA WORKSHOP’ DIGISOL SYSTEMS LTD. WILL BE CONDUCTING A FREE ONLINE YOGA WORKSHOP ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY FOR ITS PARTNERS, SIS AND EMPLOYEES ON 21ST JUNE, 7:30 AM. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP IS TO HELP ATTENDEES LEARN HOW TO USE YOGA AND BREATHING TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE GENERAL MOBILITY AND HEALTH. ON THE INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY THE WORKSHOP WILL BE CONDUCTED BY MRS. KOMAL NAIK, EX DIGISOL EMPLOYEE AND NOW FACULTY WITH THE ART OF LIVING FOUNDATION.
SNIPPETS
Rahi Announces Partnership with Cobalt Iron in the Middle East and Africa Rahi has partnered with Cobalt Iron Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise backup and data protection to deliver advanced, automated, and modern data management and protection in the Middle East and Africa. Remote workers are the new normal. Security threats are on the rise, targeting the organization’s most vital asset: data. And the amount of data under management is seemingly endless. Many enterprises still rely on overly complex legacy backup infrastructure. Those traditional methods of backup and recovery are labourintensive and have a high total cost of ownership, making them completely unrealistic for meeting today’s enterprise backup needs. Yesterday’s backup methods don’t fit today’s needs. With the amount of administration and management that goes into daily enterprise backup operations, the sheer volume of data, the ever-evolving cybersecurity threats, and the mass move to remote workflows.
Best Power Equipments (BPE) Plans to Ramp Up Channel Presence in Southern Market BPE is growing &expanding its presence in southern market. With a strong presence in Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad, Karnataka and Kerala; BPE is planning to ramp up its channel presence. At present BPE has 39 active channel partners and aim to appoint 100+ partners by the end of 2022. BPE will be hiring manpowerin the senior management, technical support and sales. The company recently bagged order from Indian Navy,Kerala State Electrical City board, Alphonsa Hospital Kerala, ITI and Government fishery department where it has deployed higher and lower kVA Products single and three phase UPS above 200 kVA. Commenting on this expansion, Amitansu Satpathy, Managing Director, Best Power Equipments says, “This is a strategic move which will expand & deepen our offerings in these market. The southern markets are a major Technology & automobile hub and will cater to the huge demand in the IT sector, followed by the IT enabled services, Healthcare, telecom, banking, financial services, insurance (BFSI), and manufacturing.”
FIS kicks-off COVID-19 Employee Vaccination Drive across FIS has begun its COVID-19 vaccination drive for its employees and their immediate family across 8 office locations in India. FIS, which houses one-third of its global workforce in India, aims to help vaccinate 10,000 plus people under its employee health and wellbeing program. In the first phase of its COVID-19 vaccination drive, the company will help with the vaccinations of around 5000 people, which includes employees and their family members from Pune, Mumbai, Mohali, Noida and Bangalore. FIS has partnered with some of the India’s leading healthcare providers including Villo Poonawalla Hospital, Apollo Hospitals, Fortis Healthcare, and Manipal Hospitals to carry out the vaccination program across the country for all medical insured employees and their covered dependents. The vaccination drive, which started in Pune on May 31st, will be carried out in a phased manner in Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Gurgaon, Noida, Mohali and Indore.
Aarav Solutions to Implement ‘Adptx Cloud’ for Raipur Development Authority (RDA)’s Phase-II Digital transformation project Aarav Solutions has increased its engagement levels with Raipur Development Authority (RDA) by bagging a multi-year contract. This association with RDA is the second consecutive outsourcing deal that has been bagged by the company. Aarav Solutions is already implementing the phase-I of the RDA project where it has transformed the complete IT infrastructure of the development authority. Under the current phase-II project of the RDA, Aarav Solutions is mandated to implement the SAP ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications that will help the development authority to streamline its sales and business processes for quick service delivery to citizens. The company will drive the complete life cycle of this digital transformation the process from project planning that revolves around VM (virtual machine) specifications, installation, testing, implementation, plugin add-on requirements, user training; it will also provide continuous maintenance and support.
AFIN Collaborates with R3 to Drive Central Bank Digital Currency Innovation The ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), a not-for-profit entity jointly formed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the ASEAN Bankers Association, has partnered with R3, the global enterprise software firm, to enable banks and FinTechs to build and test Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)applications, and drive its innovation and adoption globally. Through R3 and AFIN’s collaboration, AFIN will launch a new digital currency sandbox in APIX, and R3 will be the first partner organization to provide APIs for building applications using Digital Currencies. Select APIs of R3 Sandbox for Digital Currencies, a learning and development platform for CBDC experimentation used by global financial institutions and regulatory bodies, will be listed on the API Exchange (APIX) from August 2021. In addition, developers can create and edit code, integrating R3’s APIs and others across different solution domains in APIX’s marketplace by leveraging the cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE). This collaboration will provide financial institutions and FinTechs on APIX with tools to build CBDC applications for new payment rails and multicurrency payment systems.
SME CHANNELS 13 JUNE 2021
SNIPPETS
Zeotap has launched Google Customer Match integration to drive addressability in a postcookie world Zeotap, the leading Customer Data Platform, has launched a new integration with Google Customer Match, enabling marketers to leverage their first-party data to engage audiences at scale across Google Search, Shopping, Gmail, YouTube and Display.2 In doing so, the new integration provides an important solution to addressability when third-party cookies deprecate at the end of this year. By becoming a Customer Match partner, Zeotap allows marketers to upload their first-party data to Google Customer Match via a simple API integration, streamlining the matching process. The resulting segments can then be included or excluded from Google Ads campaigns and used to tailor bid strategies, ad creatives and landing pages. This precision targeting helps deliver 79% higher CTR and 67% higher CVR than non-audience traffic. Florian Lichtwald, Managing Director and Chief Business Officer of Zeotap, said: “For any marketer looking to drive strong returns on their campaigns, the benefits of Google Customer Match have long been clear - Zeotap’s role is to make it easier than ever to get those results.
VIAVI Unveils TMLite to Enhance 5G Network Test Scalability and Productivity VIAVI Solutions today unveiled TMLite, a streamlined version of its flagship TM500 Network Tester in use with virtually every wireless base station manufacturer around the globe. By delivering features, software environment and user experience consistent with TM500 on a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) server, this new solution enables vendors to increase engineering productivity and rapidly identify software errors by deploying focused functional test tools earlier in the development cycle. It also enables smaller vendors to gain access to the market-leading TM500 family with a more compact package. In order to maximize 5G coverage, service providers will need to densify their networks, increasing the diversity of radio types and suppliers. Smaller scale manufacturers may not require the large number of carriers and highcapacity testing typical in traditional base station validation, but they still need early access to 3GPP features, as well as network parameters used by other manufacturers to confirm interoperability. TMLite is an extension of the industry-leading TM500, providing test capabilities trusted by leading manufacturers.
Standard Chartered launches an industry-first innovative digital SOFTEX solution
Aptean partners with Talent Works
Standard Chartered Bank has announced the launch of an industry-first innovative digital SOFTEX solution - aimed at supporting clients in their software export processes that run through the Bank’s digital platform Straight2Bank. The aim of this newly launched SOFTEX solution is to simplify the filing process for software exporters and simultaneously ensure regulatory compliance. The process begins with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) filing and concludes with the Export Data Processing & Monitoring System (EDPMS) reconciliation with the Bank and collection of export proceeds thereby automating the end to end process and significantly reducing the manual touch points. The solution has extensive functionalities like creating files in the requisite formats, data upload and reconciliation tools, integration to the Bank’s internal tool to provide an end-to-end digital package encompassing all stages of documentation and forex execution on inward remittances received.
Aptean has announced a major talent initiative with the assistance of Talent Works. The company, whose industry-specific ERP, supply chain and compliance solutions are used in over 80 countries, is working with Talent Works to review and localise its employer brand in order to recruit over 150 roles. These span 17 departments and 8 markets including the US, UK, with a key focus on upscaling its offering in Madurai and Bangalore, India. Aptean’s key objective is to align its corporate values (Drive for Results, Win Together, Foster Innovation, Be Courageous) with its qualities and strengths as an employer, as it goes in search of the ‘Aptean Attitude’. The Talent Works campaign output was a result of significant research and stakeholder interviews to discuss strengths, points of difference and areas for improvement as an employer. The Aptean and Talent Works teams found that brand challenges included a low employer brand awareness, loyalty to the product over people, and employee engagement. They worked together to develop an Employer Value Proposition (EVP) which would help them overcome these challenges.
Trend Micro Offers Industry’s Broadest Zero Trust Solution with the Unique Risk Insights Organizations Need Trend Micro offers comprehensive visibility into identity and device security health based on the industry’s most comprehensive risk insights. This is critical for customers to successfully achieve true Zero Trust security. According to Forrester1, “Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is the signature security technology of the pandemic. While modestly unchaining users from their antiquated VPN technology, it has inspired organizations to reimagine how security (and networking) can be consumed both today and in the future.” With a dispersed workforce using a variety of devices to access corporate resources hosted in a range of locations, from the corporate data center to cloud or SaaS applications, companies can no longer assume verified or trusted devices and individual identities are secure. Zero Trust is the key strategy to enhance the security of critical data and systems. It is the way forward to secure the always changing hybrid workplace in a more agile, effective manner than legacy security architectures can deliver.
14 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
SNIPPETS
Dell Technologies Launches PowerScale F900 All-Flash Storage Array Dell Technologies India announced the launch of Dell EMC PowerScale F900 to support demanding data workloads with modern, high performance all-flash and all-NVMe configurations. It includes OneFS 9.2 that provides performance boost to F200 and F600. Today’s most demanding unstructured data workloads – such as massive graphics and video files, large repositories of analytical, research, genomics, and AI data; electronic design automation for semiconductors; high-performance computing (HPC) – are difficult for many storage systems to handle as they require massive amounts of CPU and GPU processing power and the ability to scale capacity and performance seamlessly. According to a recent research from the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), big data/data lake repositories for unstructured data are among the top three workloads IT managers were investing in to keep pace with the demands of a digital business. Additionally, businesses today need lowlatency, high-performance access to the bulk of their corporate file data, not just subsets of it.
Global Service Providers Partner with Fortinet to Offer Managed Services Powered by Industry-Leading Secure SD-WAN Fortinet announced four new service providers from around the world have selected Fortinet Secure SD-WAN to differentiate their business and deliver new value-added services to customers. These four organizations, including Commandlink, DNA, Syringa Networks and TIM (Telecom Italia), are expanding their customer offerings powered by Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, continuing Fortinet’s momentum with an existing and expanding list of service providers (SPs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs). Service Providers Select Fortinet’s Organically Developed Secure SD-WAN Solution Service providers and MSSPs are creating new SD-WAN managed services powered by Fortinet to meet the demands and needs of their customers wanting to deploy SD-WAN. Fortinet Secure SD-WAN helps SPs and MSSPs differentiate their managed services by significantly improving user experience, simplifying operations and achieving a return on investment by consolidating networking and security in one. Other reasons that a growing number of SPs and MSSPs have selected Fortinet to power their SD-WAN services include.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise deploys 53 COVID-19 Vaccination Centers across 6 states in India HPE announced that it has deployed 53 COVID-19 Vaccination Centers across Assam, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Chandigarh in collaboration with respective state governments and NGO partners. Additionally, HPE also announced that its 50 COVID-19 Test Labs and Outpatient Department (OPD) Centers have collectively facilitated over 500,000 patient visits across 14 states in India. Launched in May 2020, these facilities are designed to provide additional authorized COVID-19 testing facilities and isolation beds, thereby assisting the Government of India and state governments in their efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. “As an organization whose purpose is to advance the way people live and work, HPE has responded with numerous initiatives to support local communities during this pandemic,” said Som Satsangi, MD – India, HPE. “The provision of the COVID-19 Vaccination Centers reaffirms our commitment to be a force for good in this unprecedented situation and we shall continue to put our technology and innovation to work to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Truecaller on Android updated with significant new capabilities, 16th June 2021 Truecaller is rolling out new features to further augment the user experience. These new features include Group Voice Calling, Smart SMS and Inbox Cleaner. All of them are based on user feedback and are designed to cater to the evolving needs of our consumers. With Group Voice Calls, consumers can make cross-border voice calls with up to eight people simultaneously. Smart SMS offers a host of new features designed to make day-to-day communication a lot more convenient. Finally, Inbox Cleaner lets consumers free up space on their phone by removing unused messages. Commenting on the new additions, Rishit Jhunjhunwala, MD India, Truecaller said, “We continue to remain focused on the evolving needs of our users and meet those needs with innovative solutions. These features get us closer to our mission: to make communication safer and more efficient for everyone.
Indian UHNIs expected to invest US$ 30 billion in Indian Tech startups by 2025 According to a newly launched report titled, “Turning Ideas to Gold,” jointly prepared by 256 Network and Praxis Global Alliance, India expects to add 95 new tech unicorns to its 56-strong unicorn pool by 2025. The report forecasts that Indian UHNIs will have invested up to US $ 30 billion in tech startups in India by 2025, reiterating the growing investment opportunity for home- grown tech ventures. This report offers Indian Family Offices a detailed perspective on how VC/PE investments can help unlock high returns, especially in the emerging context of increasing digitization and the growing need for tech interventions across sectors. Speaking about the opportunity for Indian Family Offices investing in technology companies, Kris Gopalakrishnan, the co-founder of Infosys and promoter of Pratithi Family Office, said, “Investments in innovative startups have emerged as a lucrative alternate asset class when compared to traditional investments like equity, debt, commodities, and real estate. However, it is difficult to get exposure to high-growth portfolios that use innovations to solve real challenges and build large companies in a relatively short period of time. Backing such companies requires deep expertise, strong networks, patience, and sufficient capital.
SME CHANNELS 15 JUNE 2021
PARTNER CORNER
As various State Governments have announced unlock in a phased manner after the horrific second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, channel partners across the country are now geared up to restart their business in full capacity. However, unlike the explosion in demand for IT hardware solutions post-first unlock phase, partners do not expect a similar surge this time. RP tech India reached out to prominent partners across the regions to understand business prospects, challenges and opportunities post-unlock 2.0. IT helped people survive the Pandemic The IT sector played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was one of the industry, which grew multi-fold during the crisis due to an exponential increase in demand for IT hardware solutions and rapid adoption of digital services. Channel partners played a critical role in the fulfilment of IT hardware solutions and related services to various strategic institutions such as banks, hospitals, small and medium scale businesses etc. IT helped people continue their business and survive through the global slowdown. Partners say that the trend will continue postpandemic and more organizations will embrace digitization to match the global pace. Biren Yadav, Managing Director of Mumbai based Bluecom Infotech Pvt Ltd says that every component of the IT business will grow consistently for the next couple of years. “We are surviving this pandemic because of IT and the industry is contributing towards the community to tackle the pandemic. As far as Bluecom Infotech is concerned, we are the system integration company and we serve some of the premier institutions in India. We were functioning during the lockdown as well and we were serving the community by supplying critical IT solutions to companies”, he says. Adding further he says, “IT is an essential element of any business and I don’t think the demand will go down post-pandemic. People will continue to explore the digital mediums to get their IT in place to match the world pace. No big boom but gradual business Partners say that, unlike the first unlock phase, the demand for computing hardware will not see a sudden spike this time but the regular retail business will pick up gradually over the months. Though a majority of State governments have lifted restrictions, there are certain regions, which are still under lockdown and hence, there is a challenge of product availability and price. Assam based Mr. Vikash Agarwal, Director of Universal Systems who supplies IT products in the entire Northeast region says that markets are operating
16 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
UNLOCK 2.0: HOW CHANNEL PARTNERS ARE GEARED UP FOR BUSINESS with limited capacity and most of the fulfilment of the product have already happened last year. Hence, there will not be a sudden surge in the business post unlock. “Contrary to the big boom in demand we saw during the last unlock phase, this year the scenario is different. Most of the buying has already happened, especially in the online learning segment. However, there is little demand from the regular retail segment. Once the working hours increase and the regular transportation resumes, we expect a rise in the demand. We expect business from the Government and Corporate sectors but price rise and scarcity of products remain the main challenges”, he says. Free movement of goods critical for business Partners say that free intra-state and inter-state movement of goods is very critical for business. They say it is important for partners to maintain sufficient stock of products to meet consumers’ demand. “Our entire business in the Government was stuck during the first lockdown due to restrictions on transportation and physical movement. However, this time the Government allowed transportation of essential commodities including IT. Therefore, we were able to execute the B2B orders in the Government segment. This was a good step of the government, which enabled us to
do the business”, says Mukesh Agarwal, owner of Lucknow based BM Computers. WFH/LFH continue to drive business Last year the industry had seen tremendous demand for WFH and LFH solutions from the consumer and SOHO segment. But this year the demand will be limited as the majority of consumers have already bought the products. However, WFH and LFH will continue to drive the IT business along with Government and Corporate sector as many people embrace digital technologies. “Unlike the last lockdown, the demand for IT will not rise exponentially during this unlock phase. The demand will rise in the next one month but after that, it will again go into stagnancy. Therefore, the situation is critical but we are optimistic with the business in hard drives, computer peripherals and accessories. Notebooks, tablets, laptops, headphones, webcams are some of the products, which are currently high in demand and we will continue to generate revenue through these product segments”, says Jinkesh, Director of Chennai based Samkit Infotech. The COVID-19 pandemic is here to stay for the next couple of years and technology is going to be a game-changer in terms of how we adapt to the new normal. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how channel partners leverage the opportunity and grow their business.
PARTNER CORNER
TREND MICRO LAUNCHES ‘PARTNER NINJA’ PROGRAM AT THE PARTNER DAY 2021 Trend Micro Incorporated shared its focus strategies for the year, to pivot around Trend Micro Vision One Threat Defence Platform leveraging advanced XDR capabilities and Cloud One Security Services Platform for Cloud Builders, which is a Cloud-native, SaaS-based platform with the most extensive set of cloud security services. The company also mentioned that Software-as-aservice (SaaS) and cloud have become the major growth drivers for its business in India. In India, the company has witnessed a significant growth across its enterprise and government verticals. In India, Trend Micro has one of the largest teams in cybersecurity, serving enterprises across different verticals. Vijendra Katiyar, Country Manager, India & SAARC, Trend Micro said, “Notwithstanding the pandemic and its impact on the economy, India has been as one of the fastest growing markets for us in the region. I would like to express my grati-
tude and thank all the partners who have shown confidence in Trend Micro and contributed to this growth of ours’. Our Partner Day gives us yet another opportunity to reward as well as to empower our partners to grow alongside us and take our exciting next-gen offerings to the market, whether it’s our Trend Micro Vision One or Cloud One Security Services. It’s also a time for us to come together and chart out our strategic plans and delve on the focus areas for the coming year.” He further added, “Customers are looking for service providers beyond deployment stage to ensure that solutions are running smoothly and monitored well. The scope of services has to ensure that customers take full benefit of the solutions. So, Trend Micro Vision One provides a platform for partners to weave specialized services to increase value proposition to the customers.” As part of the partner program update, Trend Micro shared elaborate insights around its latest
TOM CHEERAN, DIRECTOR – CHANNEL, INDIA & SAARC, TREND MICRO
‘Partner Ninja’ program offering for their partner community, with a multi-pronged objective which includes – to develop experts (Ninjas) within the partner community, to make the selected partners as an extended arm of the company, and finally, to increase the number of certified engineers trained on Trend Micro products. Tom Cheeran, Director – Channel, India & SAARC, Trend Micro said, “We have always been a channel-focused company and try to deliver all our solutions through the channel. Keeping the channels at the core of what we do, our ‘Partner Ninja’ is an exciting competency enhancement program that aims to further empower and equip our channel community. Apart from this, there would be a host of partner program benefits that partners could avail, i.e. – skill enhancement with TRENDs CAMPUS Program and access to educational content on the Partner Portal etc.”
SME CHANNELS 17 JUNE 2021
PARTNER CORNER
NUTANIX LAUNCHES SERVICE PROVIDER PROGRAM EXPANDING DELIVERY OF HYBRID AND MULTICLOUD SOLUTIONS Nutanix announced the launch of the Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program, further extending the benefits of the Elevate Partner Program to now include service providers globally. The program empowers service provider partners – including managed and cloud service providers – to build highly-differentiated hybrid and multicloud services, delivering increased profitability and faster time-to-market. As many organizations look for opportunities to simplify their IT operations, IDC forecasts the managed cloud services market to grow to $101.1B by 2024*. With this opportunity, comes the challenge of service providers meeting increasingly individualized customer demands while staying profitable. The Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program helps service providers improve margins and agility by addressing the lock-in and minimum commitment requirements encountered in traditional service provider vendor models and programs. “As the demand for managed and cloud services surges, service providers are uniquely positioned to assist an organization’s growth, optimization initiatives, and digital transformation needs,” said Christian Alvarez, SVP Worldwide Channels at Nutanix. “Through the Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program, we are rewarding our partners’ commitment in delivering high value IT cloud service offerings and helping them maximize profitability and increase their revenue growth potential through premium offerings.” Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program Details This service provider program adds two partnership levels to Nutanix Elevate: Authorized Service Provider and Professional Service Provider. Authorized Service Providers will include partners new to Nutanix or those delivering Nutanix services to small to mid-market organizations.
18 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
Professional Service Provider will deliver differentiated services for enterprise organizations. Partners who join the program will be able to take advantage of all the benefits outlined in the Elevate Service Provider Program Guide including training, Not For Resale (NFR) and Nutanix XLAB software licenses, and enablement support. Professional Service Provider partners will be able to take advantage of expanded support from Nutanix including marketing materials, potential market development funds, sales tools, goal-based financial incentives and rebates, and personalized insights in the Nutanix Partner Portal. Key advantages of Nutanix solutions and Elevate Service Provider Program include: Improved Bottom Line: Simplified pricing options, no minimum commitment levelsor mandatory product purchases help deliver increased profitability for service providers. Nutanix service providers also benefit from significantly lower management overhead with Nutanix, compared to competitors, ultimately delivering a highly capable and cost-effective HCI solution. Increased Top Line and Faster Time-to-Market: The simplicity of Nutanix solutions can also help deliver faster time-to-market thanks to more than 80% faster deployment. Nutanix service providers can also onboard and rapidly scale new services including private, hybrid and multicloud, Desktop as a Service (DaaS), Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), Database as a Service (DBaaS), and more. Additionally, Nutanix software licenses can be used by service providers at their customer’s site, in the service provider’s environment, or on Nutanix Clusters running in public cloud environments – including AWS, AWS GovCloud and with support for Microsoft Azure under development – giving their customers a fast path to hybrid cloud.
CHRISTIAN ALVAREZ, SVP WORLDWIDE CHANNELS AT NUTANIX
Simplicity: A hallmark of Nutanix solutions, and a key driver behind the company’s average NPS score of 90 for the last seven years, is simplicity. Service providers will be able to deliver IT services, at any scale, with simple one-click deployment, upgrades, scaling, self-healing capabilities, troubleshooting and more with Nutanix. This will allow Nutanix service provider partners to realize nearly 60% more efficient IT infrastructure management, freeing up significant time to focus on innovation and supporting broader business priorities. Additionally, service providers can take advantage of auto-metering, enabling them to provide granular billing to their customers. Nutanix is running a Service Provider Starter Pack promotional offer for new partners joining the Elevate Service Provider Program. This promotional offer includes training, certification and the right Nutanix software to help partners bring their differentiated services to production and start generating revenue. This offer is available immediately. The Nutanix Elevate Service Provider program is available now to providers worldwide.
GUEST ARTICLE
HOW MODERN IS YOUR WORKPLACE VIKAS BHONSLE, CEO, Crayon Software Experts India
So what does it take to make a modern workplace? A Modern Workplace is a term used to define organizations that recognize digital collaboration, technology and tools as the way of the future. It is a new age evolution of work culture that breaks the restrictive idea that work, and employees must be restricted to a particular geography and that the security of a company’s data and resources is strictly premise centric. Modern workplace instead aims to decentralize security and workplace collaboration, helping enterprises to expand their bases. Today, businesses are spread across the globe, and this requires the adoption of modern workplace practices. The modern workplace focuses on remote working thus enabling companies to make the most of cloud solutions and making it easy for employees to work from anywhere, using any connected device, and at any time. Employee collaboration in real-time from any location is one of the biggest highlights of the modern workplace. Thus, transforming into a modern workplace requires the organization to have a flexible environment that supports continued collaboration and communication. A modern workplace enables an organization to leverage technology developments and culture changes to achieve its goals. Characteristics of a modern workplace: 1. A Mobile Workforce: A mobile workforce is one of the most critical elements of a modern workplace. Cloud-based data drives and collaborative tools enable the workers to stay in touch and access their work files, remotely. With the arrival of the new normal, the need to have a seamless remote working strategy for organizations has found utmost priority. In the recent Microsoft India’s country-specific findings of its first annual Work Trend Index shows that nearly three-fourths (74%) of Indian employees are keen on flexible remote work options, which reveals insights, challenges, expectations and motivations
that will shape the future of work in India. 2. Employees Collaborate and Work as a Team: With a host of online project management and ERP tools, the modern workplace enables the employees to be more collaborative. Files and data are easily shared with the help of these tools, and this in return accelerates work, saves time and the progress is measurable. 3. Cloud-centric: Modern workplaces are cloudcentric. Hence, from storing data to computation, it is all done over the cloud. Cloud technology eliminates the need for company servers and users can access data from anywhere. 4. Technology adaptation: The modern workplace creates an ecosystem, where enterprises are more tech-savvy than their traditional counterparts and stays ahead with trending technologies. This helps the team to adapt to changing IT developments and progress faster than the traditional ones. 5. Have in Place Advanced Security Measures: Due to its acute dependence on cloud technology or digitization, cybersecurity is a foremost priority for a modern workplace. Remote access from any device can breed vulnerability for a network if it does not regulate its access control. The contemporary workplace recognizes these challenges and has mechanisms to protect the infrastructure. It has advanced protection features that protect your data and system. Organizations must ensure that the workforce embraces the modern way of working. This can be achieved by supporting the workforce in adapting to new technologies and training them to use the same. Also, to retain the employees, enterprises must create a healthy atmosphere where employees can think freely on ideas and most importantly, express the same. Furthermore, as we see more people adapting to remote working, team collaboration and regular exchange of information and ideas are crucial in a modern workplace.
SME CHANNELS 19 JUNE 2021
GUEST ARTICLE
RIT TECH’S AUTOMATED INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT (AIM) TOOLS, PROVIDE A LIFELINE FOR THE DATA CENTRE NETWORK ASSAF SKOLNIK, CEO, RiT Tech
With Government initiatives such as Digital India and the insatiable demand for data, India is experiencing a significant growth when it comes to the demand of Automated Infrastructure Management in data centre and cloud services. Added to this, the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most critical challenges of our time, has increased the reliance on data centres with limited support substantially. Data centres are experiencing difficult challenges – from availability of onsite staff and supply chains to remotely identifying faults ahead of any potential downtime, which has resulted in the need for intelligent technology solutions. One of the answers to these challenges is automation, enabling data centre operators to become autonomous through a tried and tested concept coined as Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM). What is RiT Tech Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM)? RiT Tech’s PatchView+ Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM) system helps to bring real-time visibility, monitoring and control of all network physical-layer components. Patchview+ automatically identifies the points of failure before it has a direct impact on downtime and escalation by automating the work processes and eliminating manual errors. A strong provisioning capability of the AIM system helps in provisioning new equipment and enabling full utilization of all IT assets with 3D visualization of data centre cabinets and floors. How does AIM work? Offering as a combination of hardware and software, AIM brings together both interconnect and cross-connect topologies, supporting different architectures of a data centre, including the Leaf and Spine. This innovation helps IT managers to deploy the system for optimal management of ports, space and control in any type of network by keeping up with the future ongoing demands from 10G - 40G
20 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
- 100G/400G networks. In addition to all of this, the PatchView+ ID Key, an innovative aspect of AIM, also detects attempts at unauthorized connections to the devices such as switches and servers in real–time. The IP Discovery Module creates a visual map of the complete network which is also updated in realtime, from building and floor level, down to cabinet, rack, device, and port. AIM continuously monitors the network, including all physical connections and data centre environment sensors with detailed reports, alerts and notifications according to pre-set rules, providing vital information such as switch utilization, connectivity, work orders, and more. How AIM is making a difference in Data Centre Management? Many users/customers have a positive view of RiT Tech AIM tools after using them; according to them, it has the flexibility to convert a passive port to a smart port. Any unauthorized patching changes to servers, panels or switches anywhere across data centre are tracked. If someone connects an unauthorized device, we get to know about it immediately. AIM is also making a difference to operators by providing the opportunity to achieve complete automation, identifying everything from routine tasks to optimising daily operations – whether this is automated and predictive provisioning of assets or automating work orders to reduce duplication and waste or human error. As a pioneer and inventor of AIM, RiT Tech offers the best solution in the market with support for the future network. In India, RiT Tech’s AIM system is implemented over one million ports across the largest airport, largest banks, largest Indian MNC, and other Government and Telecommunication sectors. RiT Tech’s AIM concept is now an integral part of ISO/IEC 18598 standards.
GUEST ARTICLE
DEEPENING YOUR NETWORK SECURITY DEBASISH MUKHERJEE, Vice President, Regional Sales APAC, SonicWall Inc.
Today’s business-driven IT initiatives — such as mobility, BYOD, wireless, cloud and IoT — inadvertently create new vectors for cyberattack. Organizations often do not have deep actionable insight into the behaviors, actions and traffic generated by new technologies over wired, wireless and mobile networks. This lack of insight hampers the effectiveness of network security and compliance teams to plan and implement a viable defense. As a result, organizations must take a comprehensive approach to network security analysis across all networking vectors. WHY THE NEED FOR DEEPER LEVELS OF NETWORK SECURITY? Rising security threats The growing use of cloud and mobile computing, IoT devices, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies — and the rise of shadow IT — have added new levels of risk, complexity and cost to securing an organization’s data and intellectual property. Organizations of every size must now combat a wide range of increasingly sophisticated threats, including advanced persistent threats (APTs), cybercriminal activity, spam and malware. At the same time, many are also grappling with tighter budgets and don’t have the resources to easily address this. The move to Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) To combat growing security challenges, more organizations are migrating away from traditional firewalls that focus only on stateful packet inspection (SPI) and access control rules to next-generation firewalls. NGFWs have transformed network security by providing more robust protection against emerging threats. In addition to traditional firewall features, NGFWs feature a tightly integrated intrusion prevention system (IPS), real-time decryption and inspection of TLS/SSL sessions and full control and visualization of application traffic as it crosses the
network. Not all NGFWs are created equal Modern attacks have become more difficult to identify and employ several complex techniques to avoid detection as they sneak quietly into corporate networks to steal intellectual property. These attacks are often obfuscated using complicated algorithms designed to evade detection by various security solutions. Once the target has been exploited, the attacker attempts to download and install malware onto the compromised system. In many instances, the malware used is a newly evolved variant that traditional antivirus solutions cannot detect. Also, advanced attacks often rely on encryption to hide the malware download or disguise command and control traffic that is sent by the attacker from halfway across the world. In addition, some organizations rely on NGFWs that compromise network performance for protection, leading to lowered productivity. Others turn off or limit existing security measures in order to keep up with high network performance demands. With today’s new threats and threat vectors, this is an extremely risky practice. It is clear that a more advanced set of threat detection and prevention capabilities are needed. Ultimately, today’s organizations need a NGFW that can deliver a deeper level of network security without compromising performance — and a total cost of ownership that is maximized for both large enterprises and small businesses. The security solution: NGFWs should be able to provide organizations of any size greater levels of network security without compromising performance. They should be able to scan all traffic regardless of port or protocol including TLS/SSLShould detect anti-evasion techniques Have network-based anti-malware with access to a cloud database that is continually updated Be both easy to manage and affordable.
SME CHANNELS 21 JUNE 2021
INTERVIEW
ANKUR GOEL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, POLY INDIA AND SAARC
THE FUTURE OF WORK IS HYBRID COVID-19 has altered the way we work with remote work becoming increasingly popular. Many industry experts believe that hybrid/remote working is the future of work, and that as organisations adopt it, they will benefit from it. We reached out to Ankur Goel, Managing Director for Poly India & SAARC, to talk about why businesses should reconsider their collaboration strategy for remote and hybrid workers. What are your observations on remote working and how employee expectations have changed regarding workspaces? What are your views on the future of work? Employee expectations when it comes to workspaces have certainly changed over the last year. Today, work is no longer a place we go to but what we do. Remote working is widely accepted now, and employees are more accustomed to working from home as they find that they have a better work-life balance. So, there is a large segment of the working
22 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
population that prefers to continue with remote working. But, on the other hand, another segment of workers are finding it difficult to continue with the work from the home arrangement as they miss the in-person interaction and brainstorming, and find that they are more productive in the office. Looking at these trends and varied expectations from employees, I truly believe that hybrid working is the future. Employees will want to split their time between home (office) and office, and collaboration technology will be at the heart of their workplace experience. And for organizations, no matter the employ-
ees’ location, at home or in the office, they need to provide their workforce with the tools and technologies required for a great collaboration and work experience.. What are some best practices for business leaders while thinking about the future of work – how should they redesign, implement to enable hybrid workforce? Across all workspaces, the focus for business and IT leaders should be on creating environments that motivate and empower workers to be pro-
INTERVIEW
“EMPLOYEE EXPECTATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO WORKSPACES HAVE CERTAINLY CHANGED OVER THE LAST YEAR. TODAY, WORK IS NO LONGER A PLACE WE GO TO BUT WHAT WE DO.” ductive and do their best work no matter their location. A few tips on how organizations can enable a good hybrid work environment include – Rethink work patterns – Hybrid working brings flexibility on location, times, and days that work is carried out. Review and revise workfrom-home policies and focus on what employees need to be productive in their roles. Foster better collaboration – Encourage inclusive and productive work as teams become more virtual in nature. Create engaging virtual workspaces, using noise-cancelling and intelligent acoustic solutions in dynamic headsets and video soundbars. Optimize investment – Banish under-utilized office spaces that bring little return on real estate costs. Prioritize investment beyond the office walls to create flexible, collaborative, technologyenabled personal workspaces everywhere. What are some of the trends you see in the collaboration industry? Some of the trends include – Hybrid working – Going forward, we expect to see more organizations adopting the new hybrid work model and a more consistent work experience no matter where they are, whether in the office, at home, or anywhere in between. Work is no longer defined by the hours put in but on the
outcomes of the work. The rise of the prosumer - Employees are realizing that consumer-grade gear simply cannot deliver, are demanding that home workspaces be upgraded with technology that allows for seamless collaboration, whether fiber internet connectivity, noise-blocking headsets, or even audio and video conferencing solutions which allow them to join video meetings with the click of a button. The transformation of the office – Offices will become a central gathering point for employees to meet, while the majority of work will continue to be done remotely. Workspaces will become collaborative and technology-enabled to accommodate the work style of every employee. Video is the way forward - Video is now more common than ever for meetings, and thanks to technological advances in the past few years, has enabled collaboration on a whole new level as an increasingly critical part of business-as-usual, as organizations in industries like telemedicine and education adapt to a whole new way of doing business. Implementation of multi-cloud – Companies are investing in back up of back up (multi-cloud) solutions to cater to different workstyles and are looking for vendors that are platform agnostic and user friendly. Has Poly’s product portfolio changed with the shift towards hybrid working? Have you introduced any new products? Yes, we certainly have. Our product roadmap has evolved significantly over the last year. We know that remote and hybrid work will continue well into 2021 and beyond and the applications that connect our workforce require improved audio and video solutions to collaborate more effectively, whether at home or in the office. We recently launched Poly Studio P series, a new line of professional-grade personal video devices engineered for remote and hybrid workers. The new Poly Studio P Series includes the Poly Studio P5 Webcam, Poly Studio P15 Personal sVideo Bar, and Poly Studio P21 Personal Conferencing Display. Poly Studio P5 Webcam – The Poly Studi P5 is a personal webcam with camera optics optimized for video conferencing. Poly Studio P15 Personal Video Bar – This is a Zoom and Microsoft Teams certified personal video bar with powerful 4K clarity, automatic
camera framing, and a powerful integrated speaker and microphone array with advanced NoiseBlockAI technology to block outside noise. Poly Studio P21 Personal Meeting Display – Poly Studio P21 is a video conferencing display that includes everything a user needs for a premium video conferencing experience, including a 21” display, camera, and audio all-in-one. How important is the Indian market for you? What are your market expansion plans? We see tremendous opportunity in the Indian market and have customers across all sectors – government, manufacturing, healthcare, IT/ITeS using our audio, video conferencing solutions and headsets. For 2021 and beyond, our focus will be to educate and help our customers navigate in the new world of work i.e. hybrid working. We want to provide best-in-class conferencing experience for users from all segments, whether working from home, in-office, or client locations. With respect to segments, we see many opportunities in the healthcare and education sector– the way these customers are using collaboration technology is exciting. The pandemic has propelled these customers to disrupt the way they use technology to serve their clients, and we see a lot of opportunities for Poly to be the collaboration partner for them in this digital disruption journey.
SME CHANNELS 23 JUNE 2021
INTERVIEW
TANUJ MITTAL, SALES DIRECTOR, INDIA, DASSAULT SYSTEMES
CLOUD WAS ALWAYS CLOUD FIRST STRATEGY, WE ALWAYS WOULD LIKE TO PROMOTE THIS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS Tanuj Mittal, Sales Director, India, Dassault Systemes in conversation with SME Channels and he spoke about Dassault Systemes’ Channel Growth Strategy 2021 What is your understanding of market sentiment, since you are into those designing space, which is into manufacturing, and some manufacturing has been affected? What is your sense of market? Last year, when this all started, in the early part of the year, I think for most of us, we were unprepared. And this came as a surprise and there were a lot of learning which happened in the last 3- 4 quarters, I would say. Our ability as an ecosystem and as an organization was at a testing point. But over the years, we along with our customers and partners, we learned how to handle these kinds of situations which were a surprise, but then if you see we follow a calendar year and if you see that the first three months of this year, which is January to March have been very good for us that is when this second wave hit us. And we have a little disruption, but then apart from that, business is looking up. As you rightly said, a lot of engagement is happening with the customers now online
24 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
rather than being physically meeting them. So, business is not stopping, I would say there is a little gap in demand from the end consumer, but then everybody’s utilizing this time to prepare themselves to cater to that demand as and when comes up. So, overall, it is positive, I think the worst is behind us and I personally think and is positive that the subsequent waves will not be that negative for all of us. So, business wise we are on a good track. From market point of view, I think automotive industry is not doing great. Overall if you look at a year basis, it is not doing great on certain are that other sectors also. So, which are the verticals driving your revenue these days, I mean particularly for this month 2021? As an organization, we work primarily in three sectors, one is manufacturing. The second one is
Life Sciences and Healthcare. And the third one is Infrastructure and Cities. So, automotive falls under manufacturing itself, but then in terms of business, you see, the focus of each of the organization is shifting, this is what we see currently. For example, earlier this test is too much on R&D and development but now the focus has gone to for instance, digitalization of software. So, how to still keep producing with a lesser manpower and optimize the sources and how to keep a track online and digitally for all the manufacturing activities which are happening. So that is a kind of a shift we see. Similarly life science and healthcare industry. It is a kind of, for this sector, currently the demand is there although the situation is negative, but this is the sector which is benefiting the most Life Sciences and there is a lot of push both from government and otherwise in terms of fundamental research related to pandemic and then also how do we mass produce the lifesaving drugs and equipment required for the citizens. So, this is really growing and you can see in the stock market, all the companies related to this segment, their shares have kind of doubled and even more than that. And, the last one, which is infrastructure and cities, thanks to a lot of initiatives by government, although there was some interim disruption in the projects, but then the overall projects remain intact and government is still very positive and infusing money and intent in terms of growing the sector. So, this also is kind of I will say growing for us, looking at it. We have solutions like 3d experience twin digital twin, wherein, even though you are not able to be there on site, physically not of work, you can still do remotely, digitally. So, for us, the sectors are growing, and whatever disruption was there, that is a time our customers and partners are utilizing their selves for the eventual boom, which is going to come. Now, the point here is that India is completely a B2B market; we do not sell to that extent directly. So, can you please take techniques through or take our my audience through your channel strategy now are you going to take any channel activity, looking at the changes in the market? So I think these changes, they were short term, I will say a couple of few angles which has come up for example, cloud is much in demand now, because we want that kind of flexibility to work from anywhere and still have the relevant technologies and infrastructure in place.
SECURITY
ROYAL AIR FORCE AND ROYAL NAVY SELECT PEGA’S LOWCODE SOFTWARE FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION HAYDEN STAFFORD, PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL CLIENT ENGAGEMENT, PEGASYSTEMS
P
egasystems, the software company that crushes business complexity at the world’s leading enterprises, today announced it has been chosen by the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) to develop a new, joint low-code platform for candidate recruitment. The new application will be built on Pega Customer Service™ Digital Customer Engagement Edition, a bespoke public sector application that will help the RN and the RAF to provide a better experience for both candidates and recruiters, significantly improve the existing recruitment cycles, and provide reporting analytics for greater insights on the process. The RN and the RAF typically receive interest from 180,000 candidates every year, resulting in approximately 60,000 applications from which they aim to recruit up to 8,500 service personnel. This recruitment effort is currently being delivered by approximately 600 RN and RAF personnel, operating out of 48 Armed Forces Careers Offices across the UK. Today, the process is predominantly manual, which can result in long recruitment cycles and contribute to higher candidate dropout rates. The new application is estimated to help reduce the recruitment process for those candidates that wish to progress quickly to as little as 30 days. Digital Customer Engagement Edition will leverage intelligent automation and insights to create a nearly fully automated process to drive greater candidate proactivity and recruiting agility, while providing insights and data that are
truly built around the candidate experience. By creating a multi-channel, self-service model, candidates can take ownership of their progress and next steps, allowing recruiters to provide 1:1 nurturing to the candidates who need the most support during the recruitment journey. Using a low-code approach to development, RN and RAF recruiters will be able to make future app changes themselves, becoming true citizen developers able to shape their own process. Any necessary changes or service improvements may be achievable in hours or days rather than weeks or months, providing the required flexibility and agility to continue to modernise and stay current. In addition, the new system will help support the Ministry of Defence ‘s (MOD) Defence Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2018 – 2030 by leveraging data and analytics to track under-represented candidate groups’ progress and performance to better understand how they can accelerate the realisation of their diversity targets. The implementation partner is SiXworks, which has a strong track record of delivering highly successful projects within the MOD ecosystem and will act as the Programme Management Office (PMO) for delivery of the new application. “With the prevalence of digital natives among the recruiting audience, there’s an expectation for an experience that matches the types of sophisticated digital journeys they experience in the rest of their daily lives,” said Hayden Stafford, president of global client engagement, Pegasystems. “We’re honoured to help with this modernisation
effort and excited to see both Services realise the benefits of a fully automated recruitment process in fulfilling their targets.” Group Captain Lizzy Nicholl, head of recruiting and selection for the RAF said: “Royal Air Force recruiters have never had such hands-on involvement in a major software development project, so a joint RN and RAF Recruiting IT System [RITS] is very exciting. Working hand in glove with Pega experts in building something so capable, which we can then maintain in-house, is a big step forward for us. That we are delivering this project jointly with the Royal Navy is a great bonus, the level of collaboration is excellent, and we are seizing every opportunity to adopt recruiting best practice from each other.” Group Captain Nicholl added: “We are hopeful that RITS will enhance the candidates’ recruitment experience and increase the likelihood that individuals will persist with their recruiting journey increasing the diversity within the Royal Air Force, which is critical to maximising our effectiveness as we move into ever more complex operational environments such as cyber and space.” Captain Peter Viney, head of recruitment for the Royal Navy said: “The Royal Navy is absolutely delighted to be working with Pega to develop a modern recruiting Information and Communications Technology (ICT) system to support and modernise 21st century recruiting for the Senior Service to ensure a better candidate experience from end-to-end.”
SME CHANNELS 25 JUNE 2021
SECURITY
VMWARE ANYWHERE WORKSPACE MAKES COLLABORATION USING ZOOM SIMPLER AND SAFER FOR HYBRID WORKFORCES BRENDAN ITTELSON, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, ZOOM
A
t Security Connect 2021, VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) announced its work with Zoom Video Communications, Inc. to enable a better and more secure collaboration experience for hybrid work environments. The effort delivers interoperability between the recently announced VMware Anywhere Workspace and the Zoom collaboration platform to further improve ease of use, application and network performance, and security. A VMware commissioned research study showed that 61% of respondents consider remote work as a prerequisite, not a perk, and over 90% rely on their employers to provide them with the technology and tools they need to be successful at their jobs(1). And while last year gave remote work a dramatic boost, the future of work is dynamic, with a global workforce in distributed locations, working wherever, whenever, and however, they want. The VMware Anywhere Workspace solution empowers today’s anywhere workforce by removing the friction that can exist between IT systems and employees. This creates better experiences and broader, more effective security. VMware Anywhere Workspace is available today and brings together the benefits of three innovative solutions – VMware Workspace ONE, VMware Carbon Black Cloud and VMware SASE. Through relationships with industry-leaders such as Zoom, VMware is delivering interoperable solutions with VMware Anywhere Workspace to better support a hybrid workforce. “The way we work has changed forever. And now that companies have seen the benefits of
26 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
remote work, they want to do more than just support it,” said Shankar Iyer, senior vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware. “Employees now expect an identical experience for their collaboration and communications tools from any location. VMware is working with industry leaders such as Zoom to help shape the future of work with interoperable solutions that deliver an exceptional and more secure user experience – in the office, at home, or anywhere.” “As companies begin to reopen their physical offices, an increasingly hybrid work model is very likely. As such, enterprises will have to plan for both scenarios – employees working remotely, and also many employees back in the office,” said Brendan Ittelson, Chief Technology Officer at Zoom. “The unified experience that VMware can provide for Zoom environments can help make employees more productive and IT more effective and efficient.” VMware and Zoom Address Key Work from Anywhere Pain Points Zoom’s video communications platform is very stable under most challenging network conditions. However, with distributed workforces, users and data can reside anywhere, connecting via the public Internet, from devices that may or may not be owned or managed by an organization. The combination of VMware Anywhere Workspace and Zoom can create stronger and more resilient organizations by helping them improve visibility, user experience and security: Enhanced Visibility and Troubleshooting: by enabling greater insights into the networks and devices supporting Zoom users, VMware Any-
where Workspace makes IT more responsive and efficient. VMware Edge Network Intelligence works with Zoom via a downloadable application on the Zoom App Marketplace to proactively identify and remediate issues through full visibility into the Zoom end-user environment. Edge Network Intelligence can provide network insights from the device perspective, tracking the status of its wireless state, Internet stability, gateway connectivity, and other factors that can impact performance. With the power of AIOps, the IT team can get the visibility and full context they need to determine user experience baselines across the entire enterprise, location, device, the client OS used, and more—all automatically learned. Optimized Experience: with support for a multi-modal employee experience common with a hybrid work environment, combining VMware Anywhere Workspace with Zoom gives users a great experience and consistent performance on any device, from any location, over any network. Zoom interoperability with VMware SD-WAN, part of the VMware SASE platform, better enables user experience by automatically identifying and prioritizing Zoom platform applications, improving network performance through unique Dynamic Multi Path Optimization (DMPO), and accelerating network traffic handoff to Zoom data centers. The optimized experience works even in Work from Home situations where there are many non-business applications and myriad smart home devices. Click the link to read more: https://www.smechannels.com
SECURITY
CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHES AUTOMATED UNIFIED CLOUD WORKLOAD PROTECTION TJ GONEN, HEAD OF CLOUD PRODUCT LINE, CHECK POINT SOFTWARE
C
heck Point Software Technologies Ltd. has expanded the capabilities of its unified Cloud Native Security Platform, to deliver application-first workload protection with Check Point CloudGuard Workload Protection. This fully automated cloud workload security solution empowers security teams with tools to automate security across applications, Application Programing Interfaces (APIs) and microservices from development to runtime via a single interface. As the COVID-19 pandemic forced enterprises to transition to the new ‘work from anywhere’ environment, cloud became a natural progression for organizations looking to enable their remote workers quickly. As more organizations are still migrating to the cloud in parallel to undergoing the “shift-left” organizational change, security teams find themselves with multiple platforms to manage. These platforms provide neither the visibility nor the ability to protect the rapidly growing cloud workload deployments. In fact, according to a recent survey, 68% of enterprises regard the misconfiguration of cloud assets as one of the biggest contributors to cloud security threats. “By unifying essential cloud security capabilities, Check Point’s CloudGuard platform is meeting a central requirement revealed from ESG’s annual cloud-native security research study, a strong preference for a consolidated set of controls based on an integrated platform. The fully
automated approach of the CloudGuard platform reflects another central finding from our research, automating the introduction of controls and processes via integration with the continuous integration and continuous (CI/CD) tools employed by DevOps,” said Doug Cahill, Vice President, Analyst Services and Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. Application-first approach to automated workload protection CloudGuard takes an “application-first” approach to workload protection with cloud native automated web application and API protection. Key features and benefits include: Unified and automated approach reduces the complexity and risks of securing cloud applications and workloads with end-to-end protection for all applications and microservices on a single, cloud native-platform. Microservice protection ensures zero trust and the highest level of threat detection across the entire environment by automatically profiling and enforcing function and container behaviour with threat prevention in runtime. “Shift-left” tool ensures container and serverless functions are scanning from build by automatically assessing configuration risks and generating least privilege access control across these functions. CI/CD tools for central control: automates
security from build and at the registry stage. “CloudGuard significantly helps us to improve and automate our overall cloud security posture,” explained Leonardo Amor and Darwin Ochoa, CISO office, Telefonica Tech. “This cloud native solution allows us to visualize and control our security posture, and conform to regulatory requirements and security best practices automatically, and therefore our team can actively enforce security best practices, and protect us against identity theft and data loss in the cloud.” “To protect cloud native applications, organizations need to implement cloud born solutions that can keep up with the speed of DevOps,” said TJ Gonen, Head of Cloud Product Line, at Check Point Software. “Check Point´s strategy is to help organizations secure their most critical workloads with a unified platform. Check Point CloudGuard is designed to address the challenges that come with cloud computing and automate all aspects of application and workload security.” Check Point CloudGuard has expanded to include container security, which completes the cloud native Workload Protection suite. The combination of AppSec, threat intelligence & threat hunting, high fidelity posture management, combined with runtime protection and admission control for containers and serverless functions, makes Check Point CloudGuard the most complete, automated, cloud native workload protection offering in the market.
SME CHANNELS 27 JUNE 2021
CASE STUDY
GMERS ENSURES SAFETY WITH MATRIX VIDEO MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Subtitle: Upgrades to a Centralized and Preventive Solution Customer Name: Gujarat Medical and Education Research Society (GMERS) Industry: Education/ Healthcare Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India Project Highlights: Centralized Control of 400+ Cameras Prompt notification through SMS and Email Support of Multiple NAS Flexibility of Incorporating Third Party Cameras
Company Profile Gujarat Medical and Education Research Society is an initiative taken up by the State Government of Gujarat to improve the Human Development Index in the state by establishing new medical colleges. This, in turn, will increase the availability of qualified doctors and ensure the spread of health care services and medical knowledge. GMERS Ahmedabad is also one such initiative. Spread across five buildings, the campus has a hospital setup with a capacity of 720 beds.
Business Challenges Centralized Monitoring and Management – Be-
28 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
ing aware of the various security challenges that an education hub faces, GMERS Ahmedabad had already installed 400+ cameras to secure the campus. However, they faced difficulty while centrally monitoring the entire system. Also, since the campus is divided in five buildings, it was challenging to manage all at once. Real-time Security – Due to the large area, it was difficult to extend quick and real-time security to various parts of the campus. Being a medical college, they needed a technically sound system which could provide notifications in real-time during critical situations.
Matrix Offering Matrix offered SATATYA SAMAS as the solution. It is a Video Management Software which provides common platform to all the existing security systems. Existing 400+ cameras were configured in the software and thus, could be centrally monitored from a dedicated room. Apart from this, VMS allowed the flexibility of incorporating other brand’s cameras and integration with other security systems as well, like Fire Alarms. Moreover, with the availability of user-based control, it was ensured that the surveillance system is
being managed by the right security personnel. For example, the security guard was restricted to viewing rights and only the IT personnel was given administrator rights. This assures data security. SMS and Email alerts for notification were also configured to provide prompt support in case of urgency. Furthermore, features like E-Map enabled swift notifications about the health status of cameras and devices.
Results Unified Platform for Centralized Control Instant Aid During Urgency Flexibility of Future Expansion.
Products Offered 1. SATATYASAMAS LE | 1nos | Software for More than 250 Cameras 2. SATATYA SAMAS CAM50 | 4nos | Additional 50 Camera License 3. SATATYA SAMAS User3 License Three Concurrent User License For Monitoring. For further information, please contact: Toll Free -1800-258-7747 E-Mail: inquiry@matrixcomsec.com
REVIEW
PRODUCT
PORTRONICS LAUNCHES “SOUNDDRUM 1” -A 10W PORTABLE BLUETOOTH SPEAKER
MATRIX VARTA WIN200/ ADR100/AMP100 BY MANAS RANJAN
info@smechannels.com
POST THE PANDEMIC AND GLOBAL EMERGENCIES, the definitions of normal have gone for a toss. In the wake of such chaos, organizations and industries are forced to revisit their norms and navigate the attention of hygiene and fool-proof solutions. Precisely, to focus on having minimal human intervention. Powered by MATRIX UCS, VARTA helps you avoid unnecessary equipment investment by supporting BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Here’s how VARTA elevates communication effectiveness and business productivity to the next level with: a. Contact-less virtual communication for mobility b. Retaining your existing telephony assets c. Cutting your company calling cost significantly d. Availability for Windows OS, Android, and IOS (VARTA WIN200/ADR100/AMP100).
PORTRONICS, A PROMINENT NAME IN THE PORTABLE AND INNOVATIVE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS MARKET LAUNCHES “SOUNDDRUM 1” -PORTABLE BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS. THE NEWLY LAUNCHED PREMIUM WIRELESS SPEAKER DELIVERS A WHOPPING 10W POWERFUL AUDIO ENHANCING THE MUSICAL EXPERIENCE FOR PARTY ANIMALS. PORTRONICS SOUNDDRUM 1 COMES WITH A 2,000 MAH BATTERY CAPACITY OFFERING 8 TO 10 HOURS OF PLAYBACK TIME IF USED AT 60% TO 70% VOLUME. FOR WORKING PROFESSIONALS, IT ALSO WORKS AS A SPEAKERPHONE.
OTHER FEATURES OF PORTRONICS SOUNDDRUM 1:
KEY FEATURES •
Call Management - Call, Hold, Transfer, Forward, DND, and Intercom • ● 1000 Direct Station Selection Keys for Streamlined Calling • ● 600 Busy Lamp Field keys for • ● Global Corporate Directory Integration • ● Multi-party Audio Conferencing and Drag and Drop Transfer • ● Presence Sharing and Voice Assistant Calling • ● Call Screening - ACB, Forced Answer, Global Hold • ● General Call Park, Call Chaining, Call Recording, IR and Barge-IN • ● Outlook Facilities Integration • ● Open COSEC Door Integration
l LED Light: Portronics SoundDrum 1 comes packed with beautiful indicator light adding a stylish look to the Bluetooth speaker. l Multiple Device Connectivity: Can connect with phone/laptop/tablet very easily. For switching power On/Off, one simply needs to press the main button for 3 seconds to start the device. l Portability with FM: Portronics SoundDrum1 portable Bluetooth speaker has an in-built FM for all radio lovers. l Minimalist Controls: With its minimal buttons, it is completely user-friendly and premium. Controls can be used, i.e., One On/Off button suffices for BT/ AUX/FM/USB/MODE functions and the volume can be controlled using VOL+ and VOL- buttons.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY: Portronics “SoundDrum 1” is exclusively available on Amazon at an introductory price of INR 1,399/-with a 1-Year warranty. One can also buy the same at Portronics website as well.
SME CHANNELS 29 JUNE 2021
PRODUCT PRODUCT
NETGEAR
NETGEAR ORBI RBK852 WIFI 6 With the broadest range of Wi-Fi 6 offerings in the industry, NETGEAR, the leading provider of Wi-Fi solutions continue the commitment to advance Wi-Fi performance with the launch of a new product Orbi RBK852 WiFi 6 Mesh WiFi System (AX6000). Also, the Netgear ORBI RBK852 (AX6000) works smoothly with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant and support voice commands to control your home WiFi network. Salient Features: • WiFi Coverage – 5,000 sq. ft. • Antennas – Eight (8) high-performance internal antennas with high-powered amplifiers • Beamforming – Beamforming: Implicit & Explicit Beamforming for 2.4GHz & 5GHz bands MU-MIMO capable for simultaneous data streaming to multiple devices • Processor – Powerful Quad-Core 2.2 GHz processor • WiFi Performance – AX6000 Tri-Band WiFi : 2.4GHz (2400Mbps†) + 5GHz (2400Mbps†) for WiFi devices to connect to the Internet. 5GHz (1200Mbps†) dedicated WiFi link for faster data connections between Orbi Router and Orbi Satellite.
POLY
POLY VOYAGER FOCUS UC The product we have our hands on is from the house of Poly (erstwhile Polycom & Plantronics), Poly Voyager Focus UC – Stereo Bluetooth Headset. A device not only meant for conferences or meetings, but it’s a wholesome package with some great stereo audio output, high-quality noise cancellation, a mic, with equally great Bluetooth connectivity. Features: • Get great sound and block out noise • Connect to your devices and applications with ease • Use smart control of mute • Enjoy music in stereo with automatic controls • Customize settings to make it yours An ideal device that can be connected/paired to most generic devices such as Smartphones, Tablets and Music Players, etc. n Price: INR 15,000/-
n Price and Availability: The NETGEAR ORBI RBK852 WIFI 6 MESH WIFI SYSTEM (AX6000) is available in India through various e-commerce and authorized NETGEAR store at a price point of INR 61,999/- on https://www.netgearstore.in/
n Where to buy ht t p s : / / w w w. p o l y. c o m / i n / e n / p ro d u c t s / h e a d s e t s / v o y a g e r / voyager-focus-uc
KLEVV
KLEVV LAUNCHES THE NEW CRAS C920 AND C720 PCIE M.2 GEN4X4/3X4 SSDS KLEVV launched two new M.2 NVMe PCIe Solid State Drives (SSDs) – the CRAS C920, KLEVV’s first PCIe Gen4x4 SSD, and the CRAS C720 SSD, a PCIe Gen3x4 SSD which is an upgraded version of last year’s C710. Both products have a matte black PCB to reflect its low-key yet sophisticated design philosophy. n Pricing & Availability KLEVV products are distributed by Sunstrike
30 SME CHANNELS JUNE 2021
Electronics in India: All lineups are available at local online/ offline channels. Read about the KLEVV CRAS C920 M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 SSD at https://www.klevv.com/ken/
products_details/ssd/Klevv_Cras_C920 Read about the KLEVV CRAS C720 M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 SSD at https://www. klevv.com/ken/products_details/ssd/ Klevv_Cras_C720.
NE W PRE CIS ION MOBILE W ORKS T AT IONS
AS POWERFUL AS IT IS INTELLIGENT. Let’s make genius real.
Precision 15/17 3000/5000/7000 Series (Models 3551, 5550, 5750, 7750, 3550) Mobile Workstations
Please Contact
Iris Global Services Pvt Ltd Mahipalpur Extension, Mahipalpur, New Delhi, Delhi 110037 Achin Kumar : +91 9873592171
