Ahmad Elkhatib, the Managing Partner at Shifra, speaks to Channel Post about his company’s plans for GITEX Technology Week 2014
What technology trends have you seen in the Middle East and Africa market over the past few months?
Many of the new trends that are coming up such as Internet of Things, Bring Your Own Device, and the increase of mobility in the work place is introducing a lot of security challenges and we see that the more companies wish to build scalable flexible networks have to thing about security first rather than keep it as an after thought.
How has the regional ICT market grown over the past few years?
ICT in the region has been growing along with the rest of the economies of the region and will continue to grow in the foreseeable future as the region bridges the gap with the more developed economies.
Which ICT products are in demand in the MEA region? Has there been a major shift in what the consumers/companies want in ICT products?
Access anywhere and instantly has become a mindset within the ICT user, as the younger new generation enters the workforce organizations need to address those needs and at the same time organizations need to make sure that this ease of access and mobility will not compromise on the security and integrity of those corporate networks.
Which technologies do you think are the most-wanted technologies in the MEA region for sectors such as enterprise, SMB and end consumers?
In the enterprise we see an increase in mobility and wireless uptake with corporation increasingly confident from the level of security offered by the enterprise grade wireless vendors such as Aerohive with advanced security features such as a next generation firewall right on the access point.
In the SMB sector the uptake of cloud based computing and protection has reached a stage where it makes commercial sense. For end-users I think mobility space continues to be the most attractive.
What do you plan to achieve through GITEX Technology Week? Can you please share your plans?
We are showcasing the latest technology from our vendor partners Aerohive, Gemalto, and Centrify as well as some new vendors that we will announce our relationship with them during the show. We also look forward to connect with our channel partners and update them on the latest news from our vendors.
What’s going to be your theme at GITEX Technology Week this year?
Secure Mobility is our theme, with us offering technologies that help organizations address the explosion of mobile devices and Bring Your Own Device but at the same time keeping the cycle of access, authentication,and management as secure as possible.
What sort of channel strategies are you going to follow this year?
We are always looking forward to recruit channel partners that are looking to use our value add and focused technologies while we help them with technical ability, pre-sales support and training in their respective markets.
Do you have any specific engagement for your channel community this year at GITEX?
We will be offering sessions around the clock at GITEX to train our channel partners on the latest features of our products, they will be welcome to attend those free sessions on our stand (D1-24).
