Channel Post MEA speaks to Sébastien Pavie, the Regional Sales Director for MEA at SafeNet, who says Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) is a growing technology trend in the Middle East.
What sort of technology trends have you seen in the Middle East and Africa market over the past few months?
One of the growing trends in the region has got to be the much talked about employee Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD). The Middle East has one of the highest rates of BYOD adoption in the world, with 80 percent as of last year. There is no longer a clear delimitation between work and personal devices, as many employees now choose to use their smart phones and tablets for both types of activities.
They are also looking to stay connected to friends and family through these devices, which is why communication services have also seen an increase, with a mobile subscription rate of more than 175 per cent.
Another growing trend is the cloud security software market, which is a rather new segment, but with a great potential. The cloud security market is expected to grow rapidly to over 45 percent by the end of 2013, as more and more companies are resorting to migration to cloud services.
How has the regional ICT market grown over the past few years?
The market growth in the region comes as no surprise, due to the launch of many new consumer products on the market, such as tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices, as well as the fact that the Middle East is one of the regions with the highest rates of early adopters of new consumer technology. According to a recent report by International Data Corporation (IDC), the software market in the Middle East has witnessed a year-over-year growth of 7.2% in 2012.
At the same time, mobile technology and smartphones have also risen in popularity and usage, especially with the proliferation of BYOD among employees. On the other hand, according to IDC, the PC market has seen a significant decline of 14.1% year on year during the first quarter of 2013. This was influenced by the growing demand for tablets.
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?
In the past year we have seen the proliferation of the BYOD concept and this is apparent in the consumers’ choices as well. There is an evident shift from the PC to tablet, as well as increased smartphone usages.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), tablet shipments in the MEA region have increased by 208 per cent in the second quarter of 2013, compared to last year, to 2.79 million units. The Android operating system has contributed the most to this increase, with vendors shipping around two million Android devices in Q2. The same research mentions that education is the main focus for vendors in the commercial sector with various initiatives being launched across the region.
Which technologies do you think are the most-wanted technologies in the MEA region for sectors such as enterprise, SMB and end consumers?
In recent years we have witnessed a shift to the data cloud, especially for enterprises that now have the liberty to store data outside their premises. This also means organizations need to adhere to stringent compliance requirements and to protect sensitive assets as they leverage virtualized, hybrid cloud, and cloud infrastructures. Therefore, cloud security will become a more intense focus for the enterprises.
The IDC expects that the MEA security appliances market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6 per cent over the next four years, reaching approximately $350 million in customer revenues. With more and more companies realizing that their most precious asset is the data they poses, companies regardless of size are looking for security software that can be reliable and cover all their needs, from cloud security to encryption. As a leader in the security market, SafeNet is focused on bringing strong, innovative security solutions to next-generation environments like the cloud.
What do you plan to achieve through GITEX Technology Week and GITEX Shopper this year? Can you please share your plans?
This year, SafeNet celebrates its 30th anniversary, marking the union of many different products, ideas, and people into one successful, growing organization. We are happy to share the celebration with our partners and customers during GITEX Technology Week, as it is with their worldwide integrated support and trust throughout the years that we have achieved this milestone.
SafeNet will also be showcasing its entire Data Protection portfolio, from data encryption and control solutions, to the comprehensive authentication portfolio, including the authentication-as-a-service solution, SafeNet Authentication Service. With no infrastructure required, SafeNet Authentication Service enables a quick migration to a multi-tier and multi-tenant cloud environment, and protects everything, from cloud-based and on-premise applications, to networks, to users and devices.
We will also be introducing our newest security solution, the Crypto Hypervisor, a solution which enables organizations to virtualize their crypto resources in an efficient and scalable way, and ensures that all data can be safely encrypted, even as it moves in a virtualized environment, in order to prevent data loss.
Do you plan to launch any new products or techologies at GITEX Technology Week and GITX Shopper this year?
During our participation in the GITEX Technology Week we will be launching the Crypto Hypervisor, as part of our “secure breach” strategy, which revolutionizes the delivery of encryption. This solution provides IT departments with on-demand, elastic key vaulting and encryption services for data protection across physical, virtual, and cloud environments. By virtualizing our key vaults, companies can use up to 95% less hardware without sacrificing the strength of hardware-based encryption.
The solution is perfect for the cloud operations model, giving IT managers full, centralized control of the delivery of encryption services such as secure key storage. This enables organizations to prevent data loss in an efficient and scalable way, by safely encrypting all data in the virtualized environment.
What’s going to be your theme at GITEX Technology Week this year?
SafeNet’s theme at GITEX 2013 is Secure Breach, a notion which is built on our belief that breach acceptance is better than prevention. In today’s world of increasing data breaches, the question is not whether the breach will happen, but when and how can we protect the data itself. This is why SafeNet’s priority is to secure what matters, where it matters. If we approach security from a breach-acceptance point of view, securing the data becomes the priority, since the lust for data is the only reason why the breaches happen in the first place.
Do you have plans to conduct raffle draws, give away gifts and so on for end consumers this year?
SafeNet will be participating in distributors’ raffles and give-aways campaigns at GITEX Technology Week this year. Give-aways will be distributed on Starlink and Comguard stands to visitors at SafeNet spaces.
What sort of channel strategies are you going to follow this year?
SafeNet has designed a channel partner program that helps partners improve their skills and capabilities and provides them with access to a portfolio of the industry’s most innovative IT security solutions. Our channel partners have self-service access to tools and materials through our partner portal and can also benefit from SafeNet’s product development teams and a market-driven philosophy that delivers ongoing product innovations and new features designed to meet the evolving security needs of the markets we serve.
In the Middle East region, SafeNet relies on a set of trusted distributors that are certified and recognized on the market. In order to give a better support in a timely manner and best fit each territories’ specificities, SafeNet also doubled the size of its local team with direct presence in most countries. This, together with an extended training and certification program, should empower our partners. Indeed, to ensure they are up-to-date with the latest developments and technologies in our business, we provide our partners with technical resources and support as well as training and certification programs.
Our regional Authorized Training Centers offer official Safenet certification training programmes that help our partners obtain the necessary certifications. Regular partner training sessions are held for all channel partners and cover topics such as new business and software developments, emerging trend reports and potential business opportunities.
Do you have any specific engagement for your channel community this year at GITEX?
As last year, SafeNet will be engaged through its trusted distributor in the Middle East at Gitex 2013. SafeNet will be present in both Starlink’s and Comguard’s stand, showing one more year our mutual commitment in delivering the best-in-class data protection solutions to the Middle East.
