Shahnawaz Sheikh, the Regional Director for Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey at Dell Sonicwall, speaks about the company’s plans for GITEX 2013.
What sort technology trends have you seen in the Middle East and Africa market over the past few months?
There has been a mobile web explosion which will most likely continue over the next few years. The mobile internet ramp will become the fastest technology adoption in modern history.
Employees will report using an average of four consumer devices and multiple third-party applications, such as networking sites during the course of their day. Since 2009 and predicted to 2014, the number of workers using smartphones for work is set to double, according to IDC.
Companies have to embrace mobility. However they have to do it securely. Depending on their requirements and user profiles, these organisations might adopt hybrid approach with BYOD like COPE.
Mobility is set to become the biggest enterprise driver over the next few years in the Middle East and Africa. Responsible for shaping business including cloud computing and mobile applications, mobility is a dominant technology trend in the ME’s mobile-to-business market.
How has the regional ICT market grown over the past few years?
The ICT sector in the Middle East has been growing significantly. Investment is pouring into the region and coming from both government and private sectors. Companies are looking to enhance their IT infrastructure and adopt the latest technologies to drive business. ICT is a necessity to sustain a robust economy.
What sort of ICT products are in demand in the MEA region? Has there been a major shift in what the consumers want in ICT products?
There is a growing demand for Next Generation security appliances especially from customers who are realising its value. Customers are now replacing their old hardware appliances and software solutions opting to go with NGFW appliances.
Dell SonicWALL has shown significant year on year growth by increasing the install base of Next Generation Firewall in the region.
There is also the demand for email security designed for small to medium to large enterprises and is scalable. In the case of hosted service, mails are routed to the Dell SonicWALL infrastructure and get processed to check for spam, phishing and viruses and business policies. Clean mails are then directed to the customers’ servers
Companies are also realising the importance of implementing a BYOD strategy.
What do you plan to achieve through GITEX Technology Week and GITEX Shopper this year? Can you please share your plans?
Gitex is a key event for Dell SonicWALL and through this event we aim to grow our market share in the region and strengthen our position, identify new projects and trends in the technology market. It’s a great platform to promote our solutions in the UAE but also other GCC and Middle East countries (KSA, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, etc.), Eurasia and Western/Southern Africa.
It is here that we can meet new and existing customers and strengthen our position in the market.
Do you plan to launch any new products or technologies at GITEX Technology Week and GITEX Shopper this year?
During Gitex Technology Week we will be showcasing; Dell Connected Security product offerings, which include:
- Dell SonicWALL solutions provide network security, remote access and anti-spam tools.
- Dell Data Protection solutions offer comprehensive encryption, advanced authentication and leading-edge malware prevention to protect data wherever it goes.
- Dell SecureWorks solutions which actively manage some or all of the security environment, configuration, deployment and response, using certified experts who work 24×7 to analyze threat intelligence to constantly improve your security posture.
- Dell Quest Identity and Access Management solutions which provide one with access to critical information, provide insight into who’s doing what, when and how, and enable your IT staff to comply with virtually any audit or compliance request — all with diminished complexity.
- Dell Kace for systems management and MDM
What’s going to be your theme at GITEX Technology Week this year?
This year we will demonstrate Dell connected security end to end capabilities. Channel strategy is included in the Dell SonicWALL DNA. Dell also has an award winning channel programme – Partner Direct. Dell SNWL products are sold through the channel in the Middle East.
So we will carry on that way, enabling our existing partners and recruiting new ones in the SMB and enterprise space.
