The Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 microphone is now certified for Microsoft Teams Rooms when deployed with Microsoft-certified DSPs. The ceiling array microphone, which offers easy installation and patented dynamic beamforming technology, will be available from Microsoft as a solution for Microsoft Teams Rooms complete with a Microsoft-certified DSP.

TeamConnect Ceiling 2 delivers flexibility and performance thanks to automatic, adaptive beamforming. This technology, patented by Sennheiser, automatically focuses on the active speaker and follows their voice no matter where they move in the room.

“With TeamConnect Ceiling 2 we set web and video conferences free – making them simpler and more productive, while ensuring optimum audio quality for remote participants,” said Jens Werner, Portfolio Manager Business Communication at Sennheiser. “We are very happy to take this pursuit of simplicity, performance and reliability even further with a TeamConnect Ceiling 2 bundle that ensures a seamless experience for Microsoft Teams users.”

“The certification indicates that this solution meets the highest specifications outlined in the certification program to provide the best experiences, compatibility, and reliability when used with Microsoft Teams products,” explained Microsoft’s Ilya Bukshteyn, Head of Product (Partner Director), Microsoft Teams Devices.

Created with the ability to combine multiple ceiling tiles to serve medium and large meeting rooms, Sennheiser’s adaptive beamforming technology automatically follows the active speaker’s voice, letting people speak naturally – whether they are sitting, standing or moving around the room. Hence, with TeamConnect Ceiling 2, the meeting room can be used in a totally flexible way: Tables are free from cables and microphones, chairs and tables can be arranged as desired, and the meeting participants can move about the room freely.

TeamConnect Ceiling 2 also offers exceptional flexibility as it can be used together with existing analogue audio equipment as well as integrated into fully digital systems, where it can be controlled and monitored via the IP network. The ceiling array microphone supports Power over Ethernet (PoE), Sennheiser Control Cockpit, Dante Domain Manager and third-party control solutions such as the Crestron control platform.

HID Global®, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, today announced that its IdenTrust™ digital certificates are now certified members of the Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL) program, the world’s largest trust service for electronic documents. AATL certification allows millions of users to create digital signatures that are automatically identified as being trusted whenever the document is signed with Adobe® Acrobat® DC, Acrobat Reader® DC or Adobe Sign.

“We are very pleased to be part of Adobe’s trust initiative for its ubiquitous Adobe Document Cloud solutions that are used to process more than six billion electronic and digital signature transactions each year,” said Brad Jarvis, vice president and managing director with HID Global, Identity and Access Management. “When authors sign their Adobe documents with IdenTrust certificates, they can now provide recipients who open those documents using Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader the confidence that the signatures can be trusted without requiring any specialized software or custom configuration.”

When using Adobe Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader for digital signing, the digital signature that has been created using an identity-based certificate can be validated each time the document is opened. If multiple digital signatures are applied to the same document, each signature is validated independently when the document is accessed. In addition to confirming that users can trust the sender’s identity, the Adobe software also verifies that the IdenTrust credential was valid when the signature was applied and that any changes to the document met the document author’s specifications.

The world’s leading digital Certification Authority, IdenTrust has more than 5.7 million certificates in active production and supports more than 18 billion validations per year. Its digital certificates establish the basis for trusted identity solutions recognized by financial institutions, healthcare providers, government agencies and enterprises around the world.

A10 Networks(NYSE: ATEN), today announcedits participation at GITEX Technology Week 2019, taking place between 6-10 October at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), under the theme ‘Automate Cyber Defense.’ The company will demonstrate its entire portfolio of leading solutions including service provider network security to support IoT in the age of 5G, multi-cloud management, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) with Zero-day Automated Protection, carrier-grade networking and IPV6 migration and application visibility and analytics.

Speaking about the company’s participation at the event, Mohammed Al-Moneer, Regional Vice President of Sales – MENA at A10 Networks says, “In today’s sophisticated security landscape, a breach can happen unexpectedly at any point in time, and every second is critical when it comes to protection and remediation. Automation of cyber security systems can make the difference in those crucial moments during a breach, to help regain control and minimize any damage. We believe the future of cyber security for 5G and multi-cloud rests on Intelligent Automation coupled with machine learning, ensuring that business-critical applications are protected, reliable, and always available.”

“With our position and depth of experience in the security and application delivery networking domain, we see GITEX as the perfect platform to educate the market about the need for security automation and also spread awareness about A10 Networks’ AI-driven application and network security solutions including hyperscale 5G security, DDoS protection and multi-cloud application visibility, analytics and automation.”

This year, the Middle East team will be joined at the A10 Networks booth by several high-level executives including Anthony Webb, Vice President Sales in EMEA. During the event, executives from A10 Networks will run a series of presentations delivered on the booth daily, with the intention of helping educate CIOs and IT managers about technology issues important from a regional standpoint including decryption, multi-cloud, 5G and DDoS. 

The booth presentations which will be running daily include: 

• Beyond Simple TLS/SSL Decryption: Multi-Layered Enterprise Security
• Automating Load Balancing Configuration in Dynamic Multi-Cloud Kubernetes Deployment
• WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHERE and HOW of DDoS Attacks
• Is Your Enterprise Perimeter Equipped To Defend You From Modern Cyber Attacks?
• The Anatomy of DDoS Attacks, Understanding and Surviving the Three Most Rampant Attacks
• 5G Security is Now

At GITEX, A10 Networks is keen to demonstrate its recently launched Zero-day Automated Protection (ZAP) capabilities that it has added to its leading Thunder® Threat Protection System (TPS) family of distributed denial of service (DDoS) defense solutions. The ZAP capabilities automatically recognize the characteristics of DDoS attacks and apply mitigation filters without advanced configuration or manual intervention. This speeds the response to the increasingly sophisticated multi-vector attacks to minimize downtime and errors and lower operating costs.

A10 Networks is a leader in next-generation security technology for mobile operators worldwide—and the solution provider of choice for carriers undertaking 5G transformation. Its advanced converged firewall and DDoS protection solutions provide hyperscale, feature richness and AI-driven automation to meet the growing capacity requirements and complex management needs of 5G networks, while also improving the economics and performance of user plane and control plane security in today’s networks. A10Networks’ 5G security solutions are widely recognized and embraced by mobile operators worldwide. The company secured five design wins in the second half of 2018 for its Thunder 5G Gi-LAN converged firewall from operators planning commercial 5G deployments in early 2019.

A10 Networks continues to increase its investment in the Middle East. Previously, the company used to participate in GITEX through it’s distributor, but this year it has its own booth to solidify its market presence in the region. “GITEX is the largest technology show in the Middle East, and as such it is an essential platform for A10 Networks to demonstrate our wide portfolio of solutions. It is a good opportunity to nurture important customer and channel relationships as we introduce them to our wider team. In addition to meeting current customers, we can share our leading solutions with new customers to demonstrate how together we can protect and help them maintain business as usual,” concludes Al-Moneer.

A10 Networks will be exhibiting from stand number SR–J10 in Sheikh Rashid hall at DWTC. More information about the company’s participation at GITEX can be found at https://events.a10networks.com/gitex-2019/. Interested customers and partners can also book meetings with A10 Networks’ executives by clicking on the above link.

Initiative aims to groom local talent and grow the Kingdom’s retail and manufacturing sector

Capillary Technologies, a leading SaaS based product company which helps brands stay ahead of the digital evolution, has signed a strategic joint venture agreement with Saudi-based Veda Holding to form Capillary Arabia. The venture will allow Capillary Technologies enhanced access to the Kingdom’s rapidly growing retail, F&B and Manufacturing sector, and the ability to provide continued on-ground support to customers. 

Saudi Arabia is host to a growing and vibrant international luxury retail culture. The recent shift in Saudi Arabia’s retail sector can be attributed to the change in buying habits of consumers who demand and have access to an omnichannel shopping experience. According to Euromonitor, the retail industry in Kingdom is currently worth US$106 billion and is forecast to steadily rise to US$119 billion by 2023. While store-based retailing continues to dominate the sector accounting for $103 billion of the overall market in Saudi Arabia, non-store retailing, which includes online shopping, direct selling, mobile internet, social media and home shopping, is set to grow by 93% from now to 2023.

“We are excited to strengthen our presence in Saudi Arabia with the joint venture with Veda Holding. It demonstrates our commitment to the local market and gives us the opportunity to onboard local talent to provide support to our customers in their preferred method,” said Aneesh Reddy, CEO and Co-founder Capillary Technologies. “The retail sector is on the cusp of transforming into a technology-fueled, consumer-driven industry. Capillary Arabia would be fulfilling the gap in the retail tech in the Kingdom. Our proven success record in the region and customer-centric solutions combined with Veda’s robust retail network and superior market knowledge will provide Capillary Arabia with an unparalleled advantage to develop and digitize the retail ecosystem. By providing superior AI-powered technology we are set to help brands tap the immense opportunities by redefining their consumer experience across platforms, improve brand loyalty, and always be consumer-ready.”

Founded in 2017 by Fahad Alhokair, Veda Holding is an investment holding company providing value and growth capital to startups and mature companies. Veda’s investment portfolio includes a number of world-class luxury fashion and beauty brands. 

“Consumers live a fast-paced life and demand an equally fast and personalized experience while shopping instore or online. We are delighted to join forces with Capillary to help brands reinvent themselves and their approach to not only grow their customer base, but also add value to their purchasing experience,” said Fahad Alhokair, Founder, Veda Holding. “Veda Holding is committed to redefine the retail experience in the country and help retailers drive growth. We believe this joint venture will enable us to jointly explore and develop the retail ecosystem and bring it on par with global standards.”

With a global clientele of more than 400 marquee brands, consumers are at the heart of Capillary’s solutions. Local brands such as Herfy’s and Al Hokair Group rely on Capillary’s solutions to enhance their customer experiences and boost brand loyalty. Capillary is actively involved in spearheading CRM and AI driven solutions to transform customer engagement in different sectors, and to create a seamless omnichannel presence for some of the biggest brands in the market.

Telecom Operator launches the most secure and technically advanced data center in the region and one of very few globally

 Zain, the foremost telecom company in Jordan, has announced the launch of ‘The Bunker’ – a TIER III UPTIME, with 99.982% availability, state-of-the-art, military grade design and development, highly modernized, fully redundant power, cooling and communications network data center, situated at the King Hussein Business Park in Amman Jordan. The Bunker, which is the first of its kind in the region and one of very few worldwide, gives local, regional and international organizations the opportunity to host their IT infrastructure, disaster recovery (DR) offices and enhance their ICT business processes. 

The Bunker is another initiative that exemplifies Zain Jordan’s efforts to spearhead digital transformation in the country. The company revolutionized telecommunications in Jordan by introducing GSM mobile services in the country and introduced Fourth Generation services “LTE” for the first time in the kingdom.

Companies that have very crucial computational functions and important data to store can really value such a facility that provides the highest levels of security and sustainability. When a company uses The Bunker as their main data center or their disaster recovery (backup) location, it is safer than any other conventional building. Its area measures approximately 4300 sq. mts., located 12 mts. below ground level. Built with the same specifications as a military-grade underground facility, The Bunker is constructed to the highest standards of security and redundancy requirements. It has dedicated rooms protected by high security 2-ton iron doors and 2 metres thick reinforced concrete walls, giving it the capability to withstand natural disasters, missiles and fires. Furthermore, when a disaster strikes, the cooling, power and connectivity systems are redundant and can be sustained for long periods without any outage. The facility has 24/7 onsite security personnel and advanced surveillance cameras security systems (CCTVs). 

Mr. Fahad AlJasim, Chief Executive Officer at Zain Jordan says, “We see this as a turning point and a milestone in Zain’s journey to be the most advanced telecom operator, to meet the long-term aspirations of our partners, and to help them with a range of services that are at the core of their business, contributing to their aspirations for further success in their organization.”

The technological advancements of IoT, Big Data Analytics and Cloud Services, require substantial computing power, resilient networks and, most importantly, security. Nevertheless, conventional data centers are not disaster proof and provide a mediocre security level. The value proposition of The Bunker is that it provides a colocation space as well as a designed cloud, heavily protected underground and powered by Zain’s resilient network. Companies can avoid large TCOs of building data centers and alternatively adopt an OPEX model through yearly payments. The facility’s location in the heart of Amman is very convenient to IT staff of any company to reach The Bunker where their servers are hosted. 

The Bunker is not just a data center. Other than its variety of colocation options, it consists of various DR offices. Customers can rent dedicated or shared offices as well as ‘hot seats’ which can serve as business continuity units in cases of disasters or day to day activities related to their data center. These spaces span from 20 sq. mts. to 100 sq. mts. and can cater to various customer needs. 

The Bunker hosts a NOC (Network Operation Center) to monitor and protect data center related infrastructure (UPS, generators, firewalls, switches, chillers, etc). It also hosts a SOC (Security Operations Center) to monitor and protect colocation customers and our existing cloud infrastructure, cyber security threats and other preventive operations. 

The facility is Uptime Tier III certified. This certification is only given to data centers that are secure and provide cooling, power and connection redundancy to the users of the facility to ensure continuity of service. 

Zaid Jordan’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Yousef Abu Mutawe concludes, “Zain has transformed from providing services to individuals to becoming a leader in providing services to the business sector. We are extremely proud to introduce the Zain Regional Center for Data Storage, Information and Disaster Recovery (The Bunker) which is the first of its kind in the Arab world. We will continue to expand and enhance our ICT portfolio and introduce innovation to the market.”

By: Paulo Pereira, Director, Systems Engineering – Emerging Markets and Eastern Europe at Nutanix

Companies of all sizes are turning to desktop as a service (DaaS) solutions to satisfy their digital workspace needs. Traditional desktops and laptops are costly and difficult to manage, and they pose significant security challenges. Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) replaces traditional systems with virtual ones powered from your datacenter. Many enterprises have successful VDI deployments, but are looking for options that extend their organization into cloud and reduce management overhead. DaaS overcomes the challenges of traditional desktop and laptop systems and can serve as a platform to deliver VDI from clouds. 

For companies undergoing digital transformation, DaaS is a great way to empower both your end users and your IT teams. End users benefit because they have greater flexibility to work from anywhere, on any device, and collaborate more easily with co-workers, partners, and suppliers. IT teams benefit because DaaS can simplify VDI integration and delivery while making it easy to add new services to an Enterprise’s digital workspace whenever and wherever you need them at the speed of the business.

Top Ten Reasons to Choose DaaS

Reason 1: Eliminate Desktop and Laptop Challenges

Managing and supporting a large number of desktop and laptop workstations with locally installed software is a challenge for companies of all sizes. Employees come and go regularly, and appropriate devices have to be supplied and retrieved. Keeping close tabs on desktops and laptops, often across numerous physical locations, is difficult, time consuming, and expensive. An even bigger concern for most companies is security risks created by physical computing devices with data stored locally.

DaaS addresses these challenges by moving all the heavy lifting into an enterprise or cloud datacentre:

• User applications no longer need to be installed or run locally on each device.
• Company data remains in your datacenter or the cloud where it is more secure. 
• If a physical device fails, the user can simply switch to a different device and pick up where they left off.

Reason 2: Remove the Expertise Barrier

For many companies, running VDI in-house is subject to operational, performance, and scaling constraints due to a lack of expertise and experience. Smart companies increasingly view DaaS as an elastic complement to existing VDI deployments or an opportunity for continued growth in VDI in hybrid cloud. DaaS reduces or eliminates VDI management challenges, enabling IT teams to focus on delivering services to businesses and end-users — and satisfying digital transformation goals.

Reason 3: Focus on Strategy Not Tactics

DaaS is an important part of your digital transformation strategy, significantly reducing the IT effort required to support end users and freeing your team to focus on business outcomes rather than IT outcomes. DaaS makes it possible to continuously integrate and continuously deliver emerging technologies. DaaS also allows you to quickly support projects that require a fast ramp up, without exposing your company’s network and intellectual property. In many industries, mergers and acquisitions are a fact of life. DaaS can help you accelerate onboarding of new employees during acquisitions and grant them immediate access to company applications, data, and services. 

Reason 4: Overcome Geographic Limitations

DaaS offers a great solution to address digital workspace needs across disparate geographies. With the right DaaS solution, employees can work from almost anywhere that has an internet connection and receive good performance. If users in different locations need to collaborate electronically, DaaS solutions can facilitate collaboration.

Reason 5: Enable Bring-YourOwn-Device

Adopting a BYOD policy, as many companies are doing, makes device management even more intractable. With DaaS, your company’s important applications run in your provider’s infrastructure services, safely isolated from other activity on user devices. Users gain access to applications and data only after proper authentication. And because no data is stored locally on the device, there’s no risk of compromise if the device is lost.

Reason 6: Soar into the Cloud

DaaS provides an platform for Enterprises to understand and consume cloud services without having to learn new technology terminologies. DaaS also accelerates the cloud learning maturity in an organization because they can focus on application service integration and delivery without worrying about tech debt and tech inertia.

Reason 7: Pay Only What You Use

The ability to pay as you go—and pay only for what you use—is a hallmark of IT success in the digital age. DaaS simplifies your operations, reduces your per user costs, and makes perfect sense for organizations in the midst of digital transformation. DaaS reinforces a subscription based consumption model that meters on actual usage.

Reason 8: Simplify Scaling

The worst thing that can happen to new employees is to have them sit idle waiting for the computing resources they need to do their jobs. But planning for resource needs and scaling infrastructure—whether physical systems or VDI—to keep up with the needs of a dynamic enterprise is hard. DaaS provides immediate scalability to simplify the planning process and address unforeseen needs. You can provision new desktops as needed and release them just as quickly.

Reason 9: Maintain Full Control

A common concern that many enterprises have when it comes to DaaS is loss of control, but DaaS and BYOD don’t necessarily mean that you lose control over your environment. In fact, you may even increase control. DaaS gives you both greater visibility and increased cost control. Depending on your DaaS provider, you can quickly and easily grant (or remove) access to applications and data at a granular level. You can control access to data and prevent employees from making local data copies or writing data to insecure devices. Employees can also access specialized resources like GPUs on an as-needed basis.

Reason 10: Step Up Security

DaaS eliminates the risks that result from sensitive data stored on user devices. Data remains secure in a datacenter, subject to your full control and established governance. DaaS providers take security seriously and offer a variety of advanced authentication and other security capabilities.

Company will also highlight FVC Services, Audio-Video and ITIS portfolio

FVC, a leading value-added-distributor (VAD) in the Middle East and Africa, has announced its participation at Gitex 2019.  With a focus on enabling organizations’ digital transformation journey, FVC will demonstrate the strength of its comprehensive enterprise collaboration vendor portfolio, in addition to highlighting its Audio-Video, IT Infrastructure and IT Security portfolio. 

“Theuptake of enterprise collaboration solutions has significantly increased owing to a rise in digital transformation initiatives across the region. Businesses of all sizes and industries are investing in ‘Smart Meeting Rooms; and ‘Huddle Spaces’ in a bid to enhance employee productivity, reduce costs and achieve better outcomes,” said K.S. Parag, Managing Director, FVC. “Although collaboration tools have been around for more than two decades, active adoption has increased over the last few years as organizations have realised the benefits of modernizing their infrastructure to realise the benefits of connecting a distributed workforce. The popularity of co-working spaces and business hubs is also driving demand for state-of-the-art collaboration solutions to offer mobile professionals a rich communication experience. The outlook for enterprise collaboration looks promising as businesses focus on enriching their employees’ workplace experience to boost productivity.”

At GITEX, FVC will demonstrate the synergy between its collaboration and AV portfolio to deliver a truly seamless and rich communications experience. FVC will also showcase its IT infrastructure and Security portfolio which consists of network monitoring solutions, switching, WAN Optimization and SD-WAN solutions, end-point security, Privileged Access Management, real-time breach detection and prevention solutions. 

“GITEX will be our platform to demonstrate our strength in helping partners and customers with solutions that will power their DX initiatives and improve their business processes. We also look forward to meet with new and existing partners as well as end-users to understand their businesses and IT challenges and help develop a synergy with our partner community,” added Parag.

FVC will also showcase FVC Services, its tailor-made offering specifically for partners to be able to offer the same high levels of service to their customers. Through FVC services, the company brings across its domain expertise including cloud migration and managed service offering to end-customers through the FVC partner community. 

Located in the Sheikh Rashid Hall on stand SR-B2, FVC will be showcasing its key vendors including Poly, Barco, SMART, Ribbon Communications, Yamaha, and Vaddio, amongst others.