Features PureNote^TM Driver Technology Offers Accuracy and Clarity

Soundcore​, Anker Innovations’ premium audio brand, today introduces the next generation in its popular Liberty true-wireless earbud line, the ​Liberty Air 2 Pro, featuring​ ​advanced active noise-cancellation (ANC), transparency and PureNote driver technology.

DESIGNED BY ENGINEERS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

The Liberty Air 2 Pro was designed to sound great, even with noise-canceling turned on. To do this, Soundcore engineers developed PureNote driver technology, that utilizes ten hardened nano layers to make up the 11mm driver in each earbud, offering accurate sound and clarity at all frequencies. Soundcore then worked to tune the earbuds, both with ANC turned on and off, to make sure that music always sounded like artists originally intended.

“In 2019, Soundcore launched the Liberty 2 Pro, the first in the company’s Pro line of earbuds,” said Faraz Mehdi, General Manager Sales – MEA for Anker Innovations “The focus then, was to bring premium sound to the true-wireless headphone space. Today, we launch our new Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds and unveil a new noise cancelling experience that doesn’t compromise the sound in any environment. With an assortment of user customizable elements, from sound profiles to customizable ANC and transparency modes, the Liberty Air 2 Pro allows users to get the best sound for themselves.”

MULTI-MODE ANC FOR DAILY LIFE

The Liberty Air 2 Pro offers users the ability to change between three noise cancellation modes including Transport mode​, when needed to block out low frequency noises from airplanes, trains or city buses; Outdoor mode​, which use a less powerful ANC setting but wider bandwidth to block out street noise, and finally ​Indoor mode​, which primarily reduces mid-range frequencies to help block out voices that are commonly found in an office or at a café.

Additionally, the Liberty Air 2 Pro also features ​Transparency​ ​mode​ with two different settings. Mode 1 is for total transparency which helps enhance all ambient sounds. This is ideal for runners and bicyclists that need to safely hear noises around them on a city street. The second transparency mode focuses on vocals to enhance voices in the immediate vicinity while simultaneously reducing background noise. This mode is ideal for users who may be waiting for a flight or a bus but still need to hear announcements from a P.A. speaker or flight attendant.

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CUSTOMIZED LISTENER EXPERIENCE

Using the updated Soundcore app, the Liberty Air 2 Pro, offers users HearID 2.0, the next generation in audio frequency customization. After performing a simple hearing test with the earbuds, the Liberty Air 2 Pro tunes the sound for the individual to ensure the best possible listening experience. New to version 2.0, users can make changes to these individualized audio settings, or can choose from one of the preset sound profiles.

KEY FEATURES

● PureNote Driver technology with 11mm drivers for accurate sound and clarity at all frequencies.

● Multi-mode ANC with Transport, Indoor and Outdoor settings for customizable usage levels

● Two transparency modes enhance the environment including voices without removing earbuds.

● 7-hour battery in earbuds with ANC off / 6-hour battery with ANC on

● Qi wireless charging case with 26-hour battery with ANC off / 21-hour battery with ANC on as well as USB-C charging.

● Anker Fast Charging technology – 10 minutes charging earbuds = 2 hours of playtime

● Premium call quality using 6-mic uplink noise reduction helps optimize voices and minimize background noise.

● Customizable user touch controls to set preferences for play/pause, track advance, volume, etc.

● Voice-assistant compatibility with Siri^®​ ​at launch and other popular voice-assistants in the future.

● Nine sets of silicone ear tips, ranging from XXXS to XL and L+ in ensure a proper fit.

● Bluetooth version – 5.0

● Waterproof rating – IPX4

● Available in Four Colors: Onyx Black, Titanium White, Sapphire Blue, and Crystal Pink

● Earbud size // Case size – 1.47” x 0.87” x 0.91” // 2.44” x 2.35” x 1.18”

● Earbud weight / Case weight – 0.37 oz // 1.78 oz

The Liberty Air 2 Pro will be available today in four colors including Onyx Black, Titanium White, Sapphire Blue, and Crystal Pink with an RRP of AED 529 which is available at Sharaf DG, Jumbo, Virgin, Emax, Carrefour & other electronics stores and online on Amazon.ae and Noon.com

Global market report reveals struggle to protect the explosion of Office 365 data

Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released key findings from a report titled The state of Office 365 backup. Commissioned by Barracuda, the research surveyed global IT decision makers to capture their opinions and perspectives about Office 365, data security, backup and recovery, SaaS solutions, and a variety of related topics. 

Overall, the findings indicate that the worldwide shift to remote work during the pandemic has intensified the challenges associated with protecting Office 365 data. Highlights from the report include: 

• Protecting data against attack and loss—both from outside actors and inside sources—is a key concern. 
• 72% of respondents are concerned that their Office 365 data could be the target of ransomware.
• 52% say their organization has experienced a ransomware attack.
• Organizations want granular restore and other functionality not available in Microsoft’s native capabilities.   
• 77% of IT decision makers agree that granular restore of Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams is important to them.  
• 79% want to be able to recover mailboxes to another location or user.
• Data protection is both a security and a regulatory concern. 
• 69% of respondents are concerned about data being backed up outside their geography (geo residency).
• More than 7 in 10 respondents are concerned about compliance with data privacy requirements.  
• Organizations prefer a SaaS solution that is fast and easy to get up and running. 
• 74% of the IT decision makers surveyed say that SaaS backup for Office 365—i.e., no hardware or software to maintain—is important to them. 
• Roughly 8 in 10 want to be able to start running their first backups immediately upon signing up for a new data protection solution.

“With the rapid shift to remote work dramatically increasing reliance on SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams over the past year, protecting Office 365 data is a more crucial requirement than ever before—and more challenging,” said Tim Jefferson, SVP, Engineering for Data, Networks and Application Security, Barracuda. “That’s why organizations are looking for comprehensive, easy-to-use backup solutions that are fast to get up and running and include capabilities like granular retention that aren’t included in Microsoft’s native functionality.”

The survey, conducted by independent market researcher Censuswide, includes responses from 1,828 executives, individual contributors, and team managers with responsibility for their organization’s cloud infrastructure. They came from organizations in companies with 50 or more employees in the U.S., EMEA, and APAC.

Veeam plans an additional multi-million dollar investment in the EMEA ProPartner Program for VARs to further increase support for subscription-based IT and improve the customer value proposition

Veeam® Software, the leader in Backup solutions that deliver Cloud Data Management™, has enhanced its ProPartner Program for Value-Added Resellers (VARs) across EMEA with an additional multi-million dollar investment. Aligned to Veeam’s 2021 channel strategy, the enhancements will reward partners that demonstrate core competencies and see Veeam strengthen its joint network of VARs, Veeam Cloud & Service Providers (VCSPs) and System Integrators; enable partners to leverage the growing market adoption of subscription licensing; and offer solutions that extend partners’ value proposition to customers.

Veeam’s sales motion, which is 100% through partners, serves all customers through its ProPartner Network. Veeam recognises that the move to cloud architectures and transition to agile OpEx and subscription-based IT is driving substantial change. Modern businesses need more than implementation and require strategic advice, higher levels of service and ongoing consultancy. To support its partners in meeting the changing needs of customers and to accelerate their business and strengthen their revenue, Veeam is driving competencies, simplicity and consistency so partners can ensure customer success and meet their business objectives. Since the initial competencies were introduced in H2’20, 43% of participating partners have already converted their earned points to incentive rebates, which enhances their profitability.

“We conduct 100% of our sales through the channel and our partners are critical to the acceleration of our Act II journey into the hybrid cloud. We are committed to continually investing in our partners, helping them to extend their own customer value propositions and increase profitability,” said Daniel Fried, General Manager (GM) and Senior Vice President (SVP), EMEA, and Worldwide Channels, Veeam. “With customers focused on maximising ROI through digital transformation and de-risking by adding more robust data protection and cybersecurity measures, subscription-based IT will become the norm. The key element will always be the customer. The decisions and investments they make are ultimately based on the advice and actions of the intermediary parts between vendors and them. Veeam is enabling partners to offer higher levels of service beyond just implementation and deliver against these accelerating customer needs in a manner that is commercially viable and helps build stronger, more strategic relationships.”

Key enhancements to the Veeam ProPartner Program for VARs include:

Reinforcing the partner network

To achieve the strategic objective of strengthening its network of tier-1 partners, Veeam is extending the benefits range for VARs, VCSPs and System Integrators on its ProPartner Programs. This will include additional measures designed to help Gold and Platinum partners increase profit margins when selling Veeam, as well as stronger deal registration incentives to reward partner performance and loyalty.

Optimising for subscription-based licensing

Customers are increasingly looking to consume IT services through subscription-based licensing and OpEx pricing models, paying for services as they are used rather than making up-front purchases on a CapEx basis. Veeam is supporting its partners by enabling them to generate higher margins when selling subscription-based services.

VAR and VCSP partnering

Veeam is providing additional support for VARs looking to adopt a hybrid reselling model by partnering with VCSPs — adding some of our VCSP cloud services in their portfolio to better meet their customer’s cloud services requests and generate an additional revenue stream.

Rewarding loyalty and performance

Veeam has introduced two new competencies to its ProPartner Program for VARs: rewarding partners leveraging tools provided through Veeam’s Marketing Centre and those driving deals for specific products within Veeam’s strategic portfolio.

Veeam is also investing in its VARs and distributors via a Management by Objectives (MBOs), rewarding top-performing partners based on a variety of performance-related metrics.

Veeam is introducing a tiering of enterprise partners who will be rewarded among others for their contribution to developing new deals through an influencer fee program.

The revamped program is built with the needs of end-customers in mind and will equip partners to answer accelerating customer demands around digital transformation, data protection and cybersecurity. Furthermore, Veeam will provide additional benefits and protection to partners, as well as reward its top-performing VARs and distributors.

“With the ever-increasing data growth in organizations, it is imperative that our channel ecosystem is delivering the best possible value proposition to end customers. Veeam is a 100 per cent channel business and we take great pride in always ensuring that the ProPartner Network is concurrent with today’s market demands. Our program helps to position simple, flexible, and reliable solutions that facilitate the modernization of IT strategies and architectures alike. For 2021, Veeam has set the stage for partner success and growth on all levels by enabling a highly skilled and engaged local partner landscape. There has never been a better time to join forces with Veeam!” concluded Claude Schuck, Regional Director, Middle East at Veeam.

SUPPORTING QUOTES

“The acceleration in digital transformation spend presents an opportunity for partners, but challenges them to support a broader range of solutions and service consumption models than ever before. As the role of VARs evolves to deliver more services and become the de facto digital transformation partners in the minds of their customers, vendors must reimagine the way they engage and reward partners. Veeam understands the culture of partnerships and has recognised this shift to evolve its ProPartner Program for VARs to reward loyalty and equip them with the tools and expertise to create more strategic relationships with their customers.” — Chris Webber, Research Director, Strategic Alliances, IDC

“Our partnership with Veeam continues to deliver real value by extending our sales opportunities through joint solutions with other vendors, increasing profitability and enabling us to successfully support subscription-based sales. As the market trends towards a more subscription-based ARR model, it is great to see that Veeam is rewarding partners for driving that business in the right direction and supporting customer retention. We are committed to investing in our partnership with Veeam and taking advantage of the support provided to VARs in its ProPartner Network such as the opportunity to upskill our sales team in new data protection solutions as well as leverage rewards based on loyalty and performance.” — Joe Hepburn, Head of Data Management, Bytes Software Services Ltd UK, a Platinum Veeam Value-Added Reseller

“ITEC has worked with Veeam as a strategic partner for over six years. The ProPartner Program for VARs has helped ensure ITECs sales and technical teams are fully equipped to deploy and support Veeam products. The partner program has continued to evolve over time and provides regular updates on product roadmaps, sales and technical enablement and how Veeam partners can create new opportunities to use Veeam in both new and existing customers. The ProPartner Program for VARs has provided ITEC with resources from Veeam to help develop solutions and support customer engagements.” — James Arscott, Head of Data Centre Services, ITEC Connect, a Silver Veeam Value-Added Reseller and Silver Veeam Cloud & Service Provider

Find out more information, visit https://propartner.veeam.com/partner-levels-program-reseller.

This move is another sign of the company’s deepening commitment to the region and follows closely on the heels of the company establishing a physical office in Dubai in Q1 2021

With the rapid digital transformation in the Middle East being threatened by a shortage of skilled IT resources, Kissflow, one of India’s Top 5 SaaS Software companies whose products are used by organizations in over 160 countries, has set its sights on an aggressive expansion in the region, as it looks to empower employees at all organizational levels. Tasked with leading this strategy in the region is the company’s newly hired Regional Sales Director, Vaidy Panchabikesan who takes on the responsibility for expanding Kissflow’s presence in the region, extending its partner network, and ultimately driving enterprise sales for the industry-leading no-code, low-code work management platform.

The company’s regional ambitions mirror its broader global expansion which saw it scale its workforce by 50% through the height of the pandemic as a result of businesses turning to low code and no code solutions to increase agility and productivity while reducing costs.

“Currently, 40% of companies have moderate to major skills gaps. The resulting digital inefficiency can be profound, costing as much as 20% in lost productivity,” explained Vaidy. “While organizations across the Middle East have been early adopters of digital transformation, it is imperative that they have the technology infrastructure and in-house skill sets to ensure the success of these initiatives. Guided by our ‘Power of Simple’ philosophy, Kissflow addresses this pressing need by democratising IT, empowering business users to build applications, and enabling developers with pluggable low coding extensions helping them to further expand the application needs for customization.

Vaidy brings with him 12+ years of sales and leadership experience and a proven track record in technical sales. Having previously led regional sales for Outsystems, his passion for Low code and No-Code platforms continues to keep him at the forefront of the industry as he now takes leadership of Kissflow’s regional operations.

A key focus for Vaidy will be the strengthening of the company’s channel partner network across the MEA region. “Our direct presence in the region is supplemented by an ever-growing community of partners that is committed to working with us to ensure our customers realize the full potential of our solutions. There is a tremendous market momentum for low code and no-code platforms which is set to continue as organizations embrace hybrid workforce models. Consequently, there is tremendous potential for channel organizations to grow their business together with us,” said Vaidy.