By K.S. Parag, Managing Director, FVC

Digital Transformation is driving organizations to rethink their IT strategies, technology and resource investments. DX can be challenging or easy to implement based on various factors such as business processes, a constantly changing technology landscape, and evolving business models. The rapidly changing pace in technology means that even if you were up to speed six months ago, you might have already missed the bus in terms of innovation. Add to this, there is a pressing need for skilled professionals who know how to initiate a customers’ DX journey and successfully complete it.

It is here that the channel needs to play a key role in digital training that can help them get exactly the skills they need, right now. A short-term investment in digital training will result in long term reward by empowering a channel firm and its employees, maintaining their competitive advantage and ensuring they don’t get left behind.

Here is how your firm could benefit from a strategic and sustainable digital training:

Motivate Employees

Today, there is an unprecedented global digital skills shortage affecting all the industries. As a result, the recruitment of competent candidates presents a problem to organizations of every size. As they are in competition with each other to hire the few digitally engaged professionals that exist, smaller businesses suffer, failing to match the increasingly lucrative salaries and benefit packages easily offered by their corporate competitors. If organizations empower their employees with a digital education, not only will they benefit from their new digital capabilities and incentivized attitude, they can leverage the training as a powerful retention tool as well.

Generate Cost Savings

According to a market study by Gartner, 40% of organizations claimed they received considerable cost savings from using digital methods to promote their products and services. These savings can then be taken and reinvested into more digital marketing techniques and tactics to reiterate revenue success at a lower overall expenditure. With digital methods, easy and immediate online interactions are possible with a segmented target audience, that can generate more conversions for a lesser cost. An abundance of data from analytics tools can also provide invaluable insight, which can help in refining a digital strategy and avoid unnecessary spending.

Drive More Revenue

By 2020, customers will manage 85% of their interaction with the enterprise without interacting with a human. Digital skills can enable your organization to better nurture its customer relationships, establish itself as an industry thought-leader and convert more buyers throughout the customer journey. Digital skills training will release the potential of driving more revenue for your business.

Develop a Competitive Edge

A strong digital skillset is no longer a luxury for organizations – it’s a fundamental element of any competitive business model. Digital is a data-driven enabler for success. It can streamline processes and the accompanying efforts required, whilst expanding capabilities. Some of the main barriers to digital adoption is lack of expertise in-house, as well as lack of organizational commitment to the area. In order to realize the potential what digital training holds for your organization, it’s essential to have the requisite skills training to be able to understand its significant benefits and take action.

Omnichannel commerce has been a ubiquitousterm in the industry since the last decade. Middle-East online spend is expected to reach to $29 billion by 2022, increasing online’s share of the total retail sales to upwards of 3%. A report by Bain & Co, however, estimates that UAE will grow 31% annually to reach $9 billion , Saudi ecommerce market will grow 27% annually to reach $10 billion which is  8% of total retail sales, and Egypt 33% annually to reach $3 billion – by 2022.. The success of Amazon has generated a post-truth that, if run intelligently, an ecommerce business can yield high returns in the long run. However, looking at the numbers objectively we found out that there’s more to this than meets the eye.

During our discussions with industry leaders, we noticed a coherent desire to venture into the ecommerce space and target the customers even from the remotest of locations. Most of them ask us the same questions – “Do you think we are ready to go for an ecommerce solution?” In this article, we’ll cover the challenges that any brick and mortar retailer faces when venturing into ecommerce, and how they can opt for a full-fledged solution instead!

Challenges in launching an E-commerce portal:

1. Target Audience

Although online shopping is the millennial’s darling, there’s more than enough customers who need the touch-and-feel of the product. It could be argued that these customers are experience-driven than convenience-driven. It’s hard to push these customers to transact online unless targeted through some lucrative online-exclusive deals. Another challenge we witnessed is secure payments. Beyond a certain price, especially in the case of luxury products, customers prefer paying a hefty amount once the product has been delivered to them. Allowing Cash/Card on delivery will help in mitigating this challenge to a reasonable extent.

2. Capex

A well-functioning ecommerce platform requires significant upfront investment. These include the platform cost, infrastructure cost, logistics, packaging, digital marketing, and human resources. Adding on, there are a few recurring hidden costs that usually come into play once the brand and the product are taken live. Most importantly, ecommerce ventures are nothing like opening a new retail store – the Capex is disproportionately higher to Opex. Strike a balance between the Capex-to-Opex ratio , typically 75:25 for the first year because ecommerce is generally challenging to retailers who have never ventured in this space.

3. Price-Point

Here’s where online shopping gets tricky. Customers often arrive at  a pre-conceived price-point for the desired product before they make a purchase, or browse through multiple websites. Traditionally, brands arrive at a  price-point for the product based on the appetite of their target customers; with the help of data. Studies suggest that localization of price-points improve ecommerce sales by 10%-12%. Meaning, prices of products should vary based on the region, and the demand for the product in that region, eventually leading to better conversions. Identifying that right regional pricing has become increasingly difficult due to change in the user behaviour across different channels and platforms.

4. Product

For a successful ecommerce venture, it is pertinent to identify the right product mix. This point is an extension to the previous point which translates to localization of the products. Through our internal studies, we have observed that 12-15% of the customers don’t end up making a transaction due to unavailability of the right product or the desired product. Millennials expect more than just the quality of the product, they want an experience and a value proposition. Apart from offers, discounts and coupons as a strategy, showing favourable product reviews helps immensely moving the needle towards your brand, and establishes credibility.

5. Logistics

Post-sales operations have been optimized to a great extent in the last decade. As soon as users make a transaction, it hits the warehouse which in turn passes on to the logistics provider, be it in-house or outsourced. Sounds great, huh? Well, not so much.

Seamless logistics comes at a cost, which retailers consume partially and pass on the rest to the end users. In case of white goods and furniture, this cost becomes significantly high. If a customer were to ask for a return, the margin takes a heavy blow! Few retailers allow international shipping to cater to a wider audience, wherein the custom duty charges and any additional expense is borne by the customer, and that’s why when a product is returned, it leads to poor consumer experience. Last but not the least, cash-on-delivery frauds are not very rare either. All the aforementioned scenarios make it compelling for the retailers to get their logistics right.

When a business is ready to go online:

If you’re still reading this, hope you related to the challenges identified above, and if you didn’t you can always reach out to us for further input! All these challenges, by no means, should discourage a retailer from venture into the ecommerce space. In this rapidly changing ecosystem, we must also try to elaborate on whether the business is ready to go online and what are the precursors to an omnichannel commerce approach.

Understanding your Existing Customers

Retailers tend to capture the customer info at the time of transaction and in more often than not, this remains the primary means of customer engagement. However, capturing customer foot-prints across multiple touch-points, understanding their shopping preferences, and personalized targeting across multiple channels have been instrumental in generating a topline growth of 4-5%. Having said that, before venturing into a new business, it is essential to reach the utmost maturity in the existing scheme of things. Brick and mortar players need to focus their time, money and energy first on understanding their offline customers better and engage with them continuously before opening a new channel, which will come with its own set of challenges. Want to know where your brand stands? Take this test and find out! Check what your CRM score is.

Winning against Competition

Unlike North America, Middle-Eastern markets haven’t yet been monopolized and hence, there’s enough space for a niche online player to make a mark through the right mix of product, price and customer experience. However, niche retailers are expected to face heavy competition from the marketplaces like Souq, Noon etc. due to wide variety of products and affordable prices. In such a scenario, what truly turns the game in your favour is the customers’ loyalty towards the brand. Identifying the top 10% most loyal customers and giving them a differential experience can yield results in unimaginable ways. Loyal customers don’t just buy more and more frequently, they also act as the vocal brand advocates and refer the brand to their friends and family – basically word of mouth!

Seamless, Integrated, Omnichannel Commerce

We’ve seen retailers succeeding through an O2O (Online-to-Offline) approach where the users can order from anywhere and pick it up from the nearest store. No wait time, no unnecessary order updates, no post-sales replacement hassles and 5-6% boost to the topline sales. Hence, unless the organization envisions their omnichannel strategy and how they are going to offer a one-brand-one-experience,  be it in terms of seamless payment options (Card, Wallet, COD), seamless logistics (quick delivery, quick return, realtime order tracking) and seamless fulfilment (order from anywhere, fulfilment from anywhere), ECOMMERCE IS NOT FOR YOU.

A10 Networks(NYSE: ATEN)successfully hosted its EMEA Partner Summit with the theme ‘Navigating the Future’ between May 21st – 23^rd, 2019 in Sardinia, Italy. The event included a channel conference and awards dinner.

“Europe, Middle East and Africa continues to be one of the most interesting and rewarding regions for our business thanks to the latest technology trends including 5G security and automated multi-cloud app delivery solutions being embraced rapidly. This region has also seen a number of high profile DDoS attacks in recent years. “We believe we have a very strong value proposition to offer organizations here with our market leading technology solutions including service provider network security to support IoT in the age of 5G, multi-cloud management, Zero-day automated DDoS protection and application visibility & analytics,” said Ehab Halablab, regional channel head for Middle East and North Africa at A10 Networks.

“Building a strong and competent partner base to service these demands is vital to our strategy for the region, which is why partner enablement was a big focus of this event,” said Ehab.

The event provided a platform for channel partners to network with their industry peers and the A10 worldwide and EMEA executive team. Over the course of the two days, A10 executives delivered a number of sessions aimed at raising awareness about the company’s latest solutions and how these could help grow revenues and profitability for partners’ businesses. Partners were also given an overview of the company’s strategy for capturing the massive opportunity in security, 5G and multi cloud. A marketing master class on generating more demand and new customers saw strong interest from partners. There were also case studies presented where attendees were educated on how they could replicate large wins within their customer base.

As part of the event, A10 Networks organized a partner award ceremony where key partners were honoured for excelling in the marketplace and contributing to growing A10’s regional business. The award winners from the Middle East included:

Ingram Micro – EMEA 2018 Distributor of the Year

STCS Saudi Arabia – EMEA Telecoms Partner Win of the Year

“The EMEA Partner Summit is a great platform for us to meet with our partners and distributors and engage in meaningful discussions where we gain unique insights into how we can help partners win in the marketplace based on a customized approach to the region’s specific needs. We have received very positive feedback from partners about our enablement sessions at the event and we are keen to see how these efforts translate into business results this year and next. We also would like to congratulate the award winners from our region – Ingram Micro and STCS Saudi Arabia, and at the same time thank each one of our partners for their hard work round the year. Our channel partners have consistently met our expectations and helped expand our company’s footprint across the region, becoming core to our operations and business success,” concluded Mohammed Al-Moneer, Regional Vice President of Sales at A10 Networks.

Better Buys, a leading authority in evaluating software and technology products that businesses rely on to maximize efficiency, has recognized Alaris, a Kodak Alaris business, with its Editor’s Choice Award for 2Q 2019 in the document scanner category.

The Editor’s Choice Award is given to a select group of office equipment products as a sign of excellence in quality, performance and value. Winners are carefully reviewed and handpicked by product experts. The award provides third-party validation that the products selected are best in class. Each product is individually evaluated and compared against the competition on a range of criteria, including unique features, value to the customer and price.

Better Buys recognizes the E1000 Series Scannerfor its one-touch scanning of up to nine different jobs; ability to scan and send documents to email, cloud and other applications and its wide range of imaging features.

Packing all the intelligence of a larger device into a streamlined, desktop scanner, the Alaris E1000 Series Scanners are ideal for small office/home office environments, reception areas and workgroups. The two models in the range feature an 80-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF), the largest in their class, and offer exceptional media handling capabilities. The devices scana variety of paper sizes and weights. Alaris integrated flatbeds further expand the scanners’ capability and they are backed by a three-year warranty.

“The E1000 Series Scanner is a good fit for small offices as they include similar robust features as Alaris’ other scanners,” said Better Buys Editor, Melissa Pardo-Bunte. “With their compact design, these scanners are an affordable choice for those offices to help improve their productivity and provide better customer service.”

 

Recognizing that AI is now imperative to defending against, detecting, and responding to cyber-attacks, over a quarter (27%) of organizations already have plans to invest in cybersecurity capabilities that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)[1]. In a move that strengthens its capabilities in leveraging AI and ML for cybersecurity, Help AG today announced a partnership with Vectra, the leader in AI-powered Network Detection and Response (NDR). The agreement enables the security services and solutions provider to offer Middle East enterprises Vectra’s Cognito AI powered NDR platform, enabling them to detect, investigate and respond to cyber-attacks in real time

The Cognito platform provides pan-enterprise visibility, regardless of IT architecture choices and augments human expertise and capacity to address today’s cybersecurity challenges by applying AI to provide rich context and coordinate incident response with existing security systems, reducing the security operations workload by up to 36X.

Over the last year, Help AG has worked closely with industry-leading security vendors in a concerted effort to deliver the most effective applications of AI in cyber security. “We’re looking beyond the AI buzz and embracing it as a tool that when applied correctly can drastically enhance cyber capabilities. Because it can process massive volumes of data, and automate and fine-tune analytics, AI and ML is ideally suited to identifying threats and attacker behaviours, which is where Vectra excels,” explained Stephan Berner, CEO at Help AG.

Vectra has built a comprehensive ecosystem around its platform through its technology alliances with several key vendors in Help AG’s portfolio including Palo Alto Networks, Splunk, Carbon Black, and Ixia. “This enables us to seamlessly integrate Vectra’s industry-leading AI-powered NDR capabilities into our solution architecture and thus enhance the effectiveness of our holistic cyber security framework,” said Berner.

In addition, the security services and solutions provider will also leverage Cognito within its own Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) to provide 24/7 advanced threat detection and response services. These services enable customers to identify and mitigate threats in real-time by entrusting this critical security function to Help AG’s expertly qualified team of Managed Security Services (MSS) professionals.

“We’re delighted to partner with Help AG, a trusted name in security and services in our regions. Their progressive approach, technical capabilities and services offering are a great fit for Vectra,” said Ammar Enaya, Regional Director at Vectra. “We’re looking forward to this partnership helping our region’s enterprises dramatically reduce attacker dwell time and reduce their cyber-risk.”

Only 29 Percent of Respondents Confident in Ability to Moderate DDoS Impact, According to New Study Conducted by the Ponemon Institute

A10 Networks(NYSE: ATEN) today unveiled findings of a new study demonstrating that global communications service providers, whose businesses are predicated on continuous availability and reliable service levels, are struggling to fend off a growing number of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against their networks. A lack of timely and actionable intelligence is seen as a major obstacle to DDoS protection, according to the study.

The A10 Networks study conducted by the Ponemon Institute highlights the critical need for DDoS protection that provides higher levels of scalability, intelligence integration, and automation. Some 325 IT and security professionals at ISPs, mobile carriers and cloud service providers participated in the survey.

According to the report, entitled “The State of DDoS Attacks Against Communications Service Providers,”these service providers have major concerns with DDoS resilience readiness with only 29 percent of respondents confident in their ability to launch appropriate measures to moderate attacks. DDoS attacks targeting the network layer are the most common form of attack—and the most dangerous to their business, according to respondents. These attacks flood the network with traffic to starve out legitimate requests and render service unavailable. As a result, service providers say they face a variety of consequences, the most serious being end-user and IT staff productivity losses, revenue losses and customer turnover.

85 percent of survey respondents expect DDoS attacks to either increase (54 percent) or remain at the same high levels (31 percent). Most service providers do not rate themselves highly in either prevention or detection of attacks. Just 34 percent grade themselves as effective or highly effective in prevention; 39 percent grade themselves as effective or highly effective in detection.

The DDoS intelligence gap was highlighted by a number of survey findings:

• Lack of actionable intelligence was cited as the number-one barrier to preventing DDoS attacks, followed by insufficient personnel and expertise, and inadequate technologies.
• Out-of-date intelligence, which is too stale to be actionable, was cited as the leading intelligence problem, followed by inaccurate information, and a lack of integration between intelligence sources and security measures.
• Solutions that provide actionable intelligence were seen as the most effective way to defend against attacks.
• The most important features in DDoS protection solutions were identified as scalability, integration of DDoS protection with cyber intelligence, and the ability to integrate analytics and automation to improve visibility and precision in intelligence gathering.
• Communications service providers who rated their DDoS defense capabilities highly were more likely to have sound intelligence into global botnets and weapon locations.

“Communications service providers are right, both in their expectations for increased attacks and about their need for better intelligence to prevent them,” said Gunter Reiss, vice president, marketing at A10 Networks. “The continuing proliferation of connected devices and the coming 5G networks will only increase the potential size and ferocity of botnets aimed at service providers. To better prepare, providers will need deeper insights into the identities of these attack networks and where the weapons are located. They also need actionable intelligence that integrates with their security systems and the capacity to automate their response.”

At the same time, many service providers see DDoS protection as a managed service as a significant business opportunity, with a majority (66 percent) of providers saying they were either delivering DDoS scrubbing services or planning to do so. However, the high cost of delivering these services using legacy solutions and making them profitable was seen as a major impediment. Service providers are being forced to find modern approaches that can scale defense in a profitable way.

Other key findings include:

• DDoS is seen as the most difficult type of cyber attack to deter, prevent and contain.
• Cybercriminals who use DDoS attacks to extort money are considered the biggest risk to service providers, followed by those who use DDoS attacks as a smoke screen for some other cyber attack.
• The network is significantly more likely to be attacked than other layers of a service provider’s infrastructure, such as the application and device layers.
• A majority of respondents say they do not have actionable intelligence into DDoS-for-hire botnets or DDoS weapon locations around the world to help them protect their networks.

Survey Methodology

In partnership with A10 Networks, the Ponemon Institute conducted a survey of 325 IT and IT security practitioners in the U.S. who work for internet service providers, mobile or cloud service providers and are familiar with their organizations’ defenses against DDoS.

Digital competencies have become vital to achieving business goals, according to new research by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In Benchmarking competencies for digital performance,commissioned by Riverbed, 83% of UAE respondents see digital competencies as being either very or extremely important in achieving, among other things, organisational agility, employee satisfaction, and talent acquisition.

The survey uncovers a shared awareness among businesses that digital transformation is necessary to achieve their goals and remain competitive. Yet, 64% of UAE organisations say they are struggling to achieve these important goals because they lack digital competencies, which is higher than organisations in North America (54%) and EMEA (56%). In particular, 74% of UAE respondents say that their digital-competency gaps have negatively affected user experience.

The central importance that companies place on improved digital competency appears to be driven by the fact that the majority of businesses that do so are achieving meaningful results. 76% of UAE organisations surveyed report measurable benefits from their digital strategies.

In terms of overcoming this capability gap, the IT function plays a pivotal role. Businesses are aware that IT must be agile, as 72% cite digital product and service innovation as their top digital competency for achieving their goals, with digital workplace transformation and digital talent recruitment, retention and management tying for second in this priority list at 66%. In addition, enabling greater communication and collaboration between IT and the rest of the organisation (where digital competencies may be scarce) can significantly improve digital performance and user experience.

Globally, high performers believe a continual focus is also vital, with 74% of them keen to improving all digital competencies, compared with 80% of all UAE respondents, indicating a potentially greater scope for enhancement of digital competencies in the Emirates. Unlike other respondents, high performers also use a wider approach to developing digital competencies, including establishing a cross-functional digital competency centre of excellence and/or appointing a Chief Digital Officer (CDO).

Robert Powell, Editorial Director of EIU Thought Leadership (Americas), says: “The study shows a clear consensus among respondents that improving digital competency is vital for boosting organisational performance, even if some are not yet witnessing the results. Nevertheless, among the highest performing, the lessons are clear—do not hesitate, encourage internal collaboration, and, even if you feel ahead of your competition, never stop looking over your shoulder.”

Elie Dib, Regional Vice President, EMEA Emerging Markets, at Riverbed said, “Based on the findings of the EIU survey, there is a call to action for enterprises in the region to invest in digital competencies to ensure the long-term success of their business transformation efforts. A mix of initiatives that include employee trainings, adoption of DevOps, allocation of resources focused on driving digital transformation projects across the organisation and the establishment of dedicated centres focused on fostering these competencies will go a long way in enhancing employee productivity, building better digital experiences for customers and consequently improving the bottom line.”

 

Updated pocket cinema brings 720p HD picture, bigger sound & 3600+ apps

Anker Innovations reveals Nebula Capsule II, its next generation pocket cinema in the region. Available in the same compact and soda-can inspired design as its predecessor, it hosts new capabilities including Android TV, Google Assistant, HD picture quality and improved audio.

Nebula Capsule is perfect for consumers who want to enjoy their favorite video apps on the go on a bigger screen as Capsule II increases the number of options now powered by Android TV which brings great content to you, so you spend less time browsing and more time watching. Just pick from the personalized recommendations on Google Play, YouTube, Hulu Plus or apps that appear automatically in your home screen.

Additionally, Android TV now comes with your Google Assistant built in. Just say “OK Google,” or press the mic button on your remote to quickly find the latest blockbuster, check the score of the big game, or dim the lights, without leaving your sofa.

Nebula Capsule’s sleek, black cylindrical body measures in at 5.9 inches high and can be easily transported in the included carrying sleeve. Capsule II is now able to project a 720p image at 200 ANSI lumens and provides 3-hours of video playtime or 30 hours of Bluetooth speaker on a single charge.

Leveraging Anker’s Power Delivery technology, Capsule II can charge to full power in 2.5 hours via USB-C. Capsule II offers owners an advanced entertainment experience, anytime, anywhere.

 

The building sector contributes an estimated 40% of global CO2 emissions; WorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment aims to reduce carbon footprint of the built environment

In a bid to curtail the global temperature rise to within the 1.5°C to 2.0°C target set by the historic Paris Agreement at COP 21, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has established its ‘Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment’. AESG today announced that it has joined the elite group of 51 signatories – which includes 23 cities, 6 states and regions, and 19 businesses and organizations across the globe – that have demonstrated their support for this commitment.

The importance of committing to a net zero economy is highlighted in the latest IPCC report on the impacts of global warming, published October 2018. The impact of a 1.5°C to 2.0°C increase includes the loss of 70-90% of coral reefs, the extinction of a number of terrestrial and marine species, increased extreme weather events, and droughts and flooding that will impact up to 79 million people worldwide.

The building sector is estimated to contribute upwards of 40% of global CO2 emissions which promotes the urgent need for the net zero[1] approach in the sector. As a signatory, AESG has committed to ensuring its offices operate at net zero energy consumption by 2030. Furthermore, through the wider reach of its projects, the company has the potential to positively impact thousands of buildings worldwide, furthering the net zero agenda and contributing towards a more sustainable future.

“We hope that in providing a pathway to net zero on all of our projects, we will be able to help stimulate the transition to decarbonising the global economy in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Change agreement,” said Saeed Al Abbar, Managing Director at AESG. “We are proud of our latest partnership with the WorldGBC and commend them on this initiative. Achieving the goals of this commitment will require close coordination between public and private entities and the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment provides the ideal platform to facilitate this engagement.”

The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment has been developed in partnership with a wide stakeholder group including Green Buildings Councils, The Climate Group and C40. Other prominent signatories of the commitment include the cities of New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney, as well as the Majid Al Futtaim property development group in the Middle East.

Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council stated, “We are inspired by the leadership action demonstrated by the early signatories to the Commitment. Reaching this significant milestone of over 50 signatories demonstrates that businesses are recognising the value net zero buildings present to their operations; and policymakers are acting on the responsibility to their citizens to provide more efficient and healthier buildings for us to occupy every day. Our Green Building Councils are supporting their members to better understand how these targets can be applied in practice, and respond to the climate emergency facing us.”

[1] The WorldGBC definition of a net zero carbon building is one that is highly energy efficient and fully powered from on-site and/or off-site renewable energy sources