SMART SOLUTIONS - ITP.net - Middle East … Rizwan Ahmed E-mail: [email protected] Track Distribution - Saudi Arabia Oﬃces in Riyadh/ Jeddah/ Damman Tel: +966 1 460 1950 Contact: Noman

APc’S ISX IN A BOX:The triple promise of InfraStruxure

deployment (P26)

INSIDE: WELCOME LETTER BY DR. ALI BAGHDADI P3. APTEC AT GITEX P4. APTEC NEWS P5. DELL’S POWEREDGE SERVER P8. VMWARE’S CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE P12. RIVERBED’S GRANITE OFFERING P13. D-LINK’S DVX-9000 IP-PBX SERIES P15. HP’S ESSN BUSINESS P18.

SMART SOLUTIONSSpearheading smart solutions selling in the Middle East region

Business Insights For IT Solution Providers October 2012

DAwN Of A New eRA:Microsoft readies new product

launches (P20)

tRANSfORM cOMPLeXItY tO SIMPLIcItY:

Symantec’s cloud-based services (P23)

An in-house Publication by Aptec - an Ingram Micro company

GITEX 2012

Meet industry leaders at Aptec’s GITEX

stand (4)

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

2 10 | 2012

APTEC - GCCDubai Internet City, Dubai, UAE

PO Box 33550

Tel: +971 4 3697111

Contact: Svetlana Sorokina

E-mail: [email protected]

APTEC - EgyptHeliopolis, Cairo, Egypt

Tel: +202 6444264 / 6355030

Contact: Tarek Baghdady


APTEC - LebanonSt. Georges Sq, Lebanon

Tel: +961 4 718891

Contact: Elie Abou Emaan


APTEC - Oman Knowledge Oasis Muscat Building 4

P O Box 100, Rusayl, Oman

Tel: +971 4 369 7111

Contact: Svetlana Sorokina


APTEC - Saudi ArabiaPO Box 94609

Riyadh 11614

Tel: +966 1 4601950

Contact: Mohammed Sheikh


APTEC - TurkeySuleyman Seba Cad

Macka 34367 82/3

Istanbul, Turkey

Tel: (90 212) 2590 0064

Contact: Hulya Erkmen


Track Distribution - DubaiPO Box: 111778

DIC, Dubai-UAE

Tel: +971 4 4293476

Contact: Shailendra Sainani


Track Distribution - PakistanOffice 410, 4th Floor, Caesars Tower

Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi

Tel: +9221 32786675

Contact: Rizwan Ahmed


Track Distribution - Saudi ArabiaOffices in Riyadh/ Jeddah/ Damman

Tel: +966 1 460 1950

Contact: Noman Rasheed


Contact Information

PARtNeRS & cONtAct INfORMAtION

Published on behalf of Aptec - an Ingram Micro Company by ITP Technology Group

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

310 | 2012

Dear Partners,

Smart solutions selling has been the driving force behind our success and our partner’s success. When we sign up new vendors we ensure that they con-tribute to a solution and generate service opportunities for our partners. Our partner training and enablement programmes across the region are increasing

in range and intensity as they provide the necessary tools for success.Currently, our solutions cover the areas of Datacentre, Private cloud, Security, Stor-

age, Unified Communications, BI & Enterprise computing and Virtualisation. Over the next months, we plan to launch new and exciting solution specialisations such as Point of Sale and Physical Security. In addition, our Public Cloud offerings and solu-tions are already being rolled out.

Our partners and suppliers have been informed recently about the acquisition of the Aptec Group by Ingram Micro. This will prove to be an exciting development for the region, for the vendors and most importantly for our reseller partners. Aptec, as an Ingram Micro company will continue to develop the value-added distribution and value services as its core business. Ingram Micro is the World’s largest distributor and a Fortune 100 company. Being part of this global company means that Aptec will be introducing new and exciting opportunities to its vendor and reseller partners..

Sincerely,

Dr Ali BaghdadiVice President & CEOMiddle East, Turkey & AfricaAptec - an Ingram Micro Company

(10)APtec - SMARt SOLUtIONS: Pioneering smart solutions selling

(12)VMwARe - cLOUD INfRA-StRUctURe: VMware’ s vCloudSuite 5.1

(16)HP - cONVeRgeD cLOUD: HP expands cloud array with VMware

(21)NetAPP - gAMe cHANgeR:NetApp’s FAS2220 range

(24)VeeAM - VIRtUALISAtION: Running multiple workloads

INtRODUctION

October 2012

Aptec joins Ingram Micro Group

Aptec receives ‘IBM Best Distributor Award’

Ingram Micro enters Middle East region with Aptec acquisition

Dr. Baghdadi will lead the acquired operations.

Aptec’s MD, Bahaa Salah (c) after receiving the IBM Best Distributor

Award.

Regional VAD recognised for System X sales in Middle East and Pakistan.

Ingram Micro Inc, the world’s largest technology distributor and supply-chain services provider, recently announced that it is broadening its

geographic reach into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region after it signed a definitive deal to acquire certain IT businesses of Dubai-based Aptec Holdings Ltd.

Aptec is a regional value-added distributor in the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa, with products and solutions covering data centre, stor-age, security, networking, and software catego-ries, including technical services.

Although details of the transaction have not been disclosed, the acquisition is expected to contribute more than $250 million in revenue to Ingram Micro on an annual basis and is expected to close before the end of the third quarter of 2012, subject to the satisfaction of

Aptec - an Ingram Micro Company, one of the largest technology distributors in the Middle East, Pakistan, Turkey and North Africa, recently received the prestigious IBM System x Distributor Growth Award at the IBM Middle Easand Pakistan Business Partner Executive Conference, in Dubai.

Aptec Distribution joined other 11 IBM regional distributors at the IBM Partner Conference where awards were given to distributors for best performance during the past year in different business areas.

According to Aptec, the IBM System x Distributor

certain closing conditions. Dr. Ali Baghdadi, founder and chief executive

officer of Aptec, will lead the acquired operations reporting to Shailendra Gupta, senior executive vice president and president, Ingram Micro Asia-Pacific.

“The acquisition of Aptec fits well with our stra-tegic objectives to continue to build our higher margin specialty businesses while broadening our geographic reach to capitalise on higher growth markets,” said Alain Monié, president and chief executive officer of Ingram Micro Inc. “The Middle East and Africa are robust and growing markets with total IT spending projected to reach $80 billion by 2015. Aptec has been highly effec-tive in growing their business and enhancing profitability in these emerging markets and we believe this combination will further accelerate these ongoing objectives. Aptec has a long-ten-

Award is the most prestigious among all, and the Aptec team was thrilled to receive this award for the first time in its more than 13 years history of distributing IBM products in the region.

Aptec said the recognition from the vendor came after it delivered the highest business growth of 221% year-on-year, contribution to the IBM brand and proactive channel development.

Govind Haridas, Security & Storage Business Unit Manager at Aptec Distribution, commented: “We would like to thank IBM Middle East and Pakistan

ured, accomplished leadership team and we look forward to joining forces with them.”

“We are excited to join with Ingram Micro,” said Baghdadi. “For more than 30 years Aptec has focused on building the company through innovation, value-added service and an unwavering commitment to our customers and vendor partners. “

APtec NewS

team and all our partners for this high-status award. IBM is a key strategic vendor for Aptec for many years now.”

Bahaa Salah, MD, Aptec - an Ingram Micro Company, said: “This award is a recognition of Aptec’s commitment to IBM and our partners .”

ATS is recognized as a VMWare Authorized Training Centre (VATC) o� ering Virtualization Solution Trainings in the region.ATS is recognized as a VMWare Authorized Training Centre (VATC) o� ering Virtualization Solution Trainings in the region.

Training Courses:

VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager: Install, Con� gure, Manage VMware View: Install, Con� gure, Manage VMware vSphere: Design Workshop

For schedules and pricing in United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia; Please Contact: Nermin Zayed - Business Development Manager Professional Services & Training; Email: [email protected]

VMware vSphere 5: Install, Con� gure, ManageVMware vSphere: Fast Track VMware View: Desktop Fast Track

October 2012APtec NewS

Bytes Technology partners with Aptec

Aptec shines at Schneider Electric distribution conference

The two companies launch storage business unit in UAE

Distributor bags five distribution awardsBytes Technology Group Emirates, a subsidi-

ary of Bytes Technology Group, a principal subsidiary of Johannesburg Securities

Exchange-listed Altron Group, has launched a storage business unit in the UAE based on Ne-tApp product offerings.

Bytes is currently NetApp’s largest partner in Africa and has extensive experience in enterprise storage and data solutions.

“The market for storage is showing tremen-dous growth in this part of the world, and we are excited about leveraging our NetApp relationship to drive solutions in the UAE market,” said Rodney Barrell, Managing Director of Bytes Emirates. “We have developed a wide range of offerings in this space which add value to our customers, ranging from pro-active monitoring solutions to full stor-age infrastructure managed services offerings,

Regional distributor Aptec - an Ingram Micro Company, recently won five awards at the Schneider Electric Middle East and Africa (MEA) annual distributor conference 2012.

The recognition from the vendor came for delivering on the highest business growth, contribution to the APC by Schneider Electric brand and its proactive channel development in the region.

Aptec Distribution scooped the Distribu-tor of the Year 2011 for the Middle East region. Track Distribution, a subsidiary of Aptec Holdings, received the “H&BN Distributor of the Year Award” while Aptec Saudi scooped the “Best SMB Distributor of the Year 2011” for the Middle East region.

Aptec Turkey on the other hand, got Sales Development of the Year 2011 award, while Aptec Egypt received the ‘Against All Odds’ award from Schneider Electric.

Essam Baghdadi, VP of Aptec said: “We would like to thank Schneider Electric team and all our partners for these awards. “

and now is a great time to be introducing these to the local market.”

Martyn Molnar, Managing Director NetApp Middle East said: “Bytes brings enterprise experi-ence and credibility to the Middle East market, and we look forward to working with them to further serve our customers in the region.”

Bytes will be supported in their go to market efforts by Aptec - an Ingram Micro Company and regional technology distributor that has worked closely with NetApp for several years. “It is great for us to be working with a reseller of the size and calibre of Bytes. Our storage and data business is one of the most important areas of our business, and our relationship with Bytes will strengthen our footprint in this area of the market,” said Govind Haridas, Business Unit Manager – Security & Storage from Aptec.

The Aptec Distribution team after scooping five awards at the APC by Schneider Electric conference 2012.

Haridas says the alliance with Bytes will strengthen Aptec’s storage business.

For inquiries; please Contact: Safa Iskander : Account Manager; Email: [email protected]

ATS’ Service O� ering

Security: Deployment, Optimization and Management Storage: Consolidation and Deployment Archiving: File Systems and Emails

Virtualisation: Data Centres and WorkstationsEnterprise Data: Protection, Availability and Compliance Uni� ed Communications: Voice, Data, Email, Instant Message Systems Management Solutions

ATS helps grow your business by providing highest Quality IT professional Consultancy services and support to resellers within the Middle East covering the GCC and Levant regions. ATS also o� ers enterprise expertise in all aspects of computing infrastructure.

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

8 10 | 2012

NeXt geNeRAtION SeRVeRS

8 2012 Issue 03 | dell.com/powersolutions

Recent citings

Recent

citings

Next-generation servers put to the test

Dell recently released 13 models as

part of its 12th-generation Dell™

PowerEdge™ server portfolio. These

next-generation servers introduced a

number of innovative features that were inspired

by input from IT professionals driven by specific

organizational requirements to support a wide

range of workloads. In addition, Dell engineered

these features to help simplify the complexities

of today’s IT environments and manage

converging resources efficiently—enabling

organizations to achieve desired outcomes

quickly and easily. (See the sidebar, “Inspired

innovation at work.”)

Because IT environments continue to

grow in complexity—particularly as every

level of the infrastructure becomes virtualized—

12th-generation PowerEdge servers are designed

to give organizations the power to do more with

large memory footprints and flexible I/O options.

They help bolster compute operations for a broad

spectrum of high-performance, I/O-intensive

applications, and they enable faster processing of

surging data volumes and, when needed, scaling

of more virtual machines than previous Dell server

generations. Plus, they readily upgrade to next-

level technologies such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet

(10GbE), and the visionary engineering behind

them is in step with continuous efforts by Dell

to enhance energy efficiency.

Benchmark wins

In July 2012, the CRN Test Center, running

Geekbench 2.3 cross-platform benchmark

software from Primate Labs, tested the

performance of a Dell PowerEdge R720 server

and an HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8 server.

Both servers were powered by two

Intel® Xeon® E5-2690 processors and

ran nearly identical configurations.

CRN ran five separate tests and reported

the PowerEdge R720 server performance score

at 40,250—nearly 11 percent higher than the

ProLiant DL380p Gen8 server score of 36,295.1

The CRN Test Center result corroborates

in-house testing of these same two servers

at Dell. Using the standard SPECpower_ssj

benchmark test at Dell Labs in June 2012,

the Dell Solutions Performance Analysis team

found that the PowerEdge R720 server is more

energy efficient than the ProLiant DL380p server.

Testing showed the PowerEdge R720 server to

be 15 percent more efficient overall, 28 percent

more efficient under load, and 10 percent more

efficient at idle than the ProLiant DL380p server.

For an IT organization, these results can translate

to a significant reduction in energy costs.2

Editor’s choice

In the short time following their launch,

12th-generation Dell PowerEdge servers have

garnered considerable attention from industry

media. The PowerEdge R715 server received an

InfoWorld 2012 Technology of the Year award,3

and innovative features in other PowerEdge

servers in the portfolio have received the

following accolades:

• In an IT Pro review, the PowerEdge R820

server received a five-stars-out-of-six rating

for showcasing the latest Intel Xeon E5-4600

processor in a feature-packed system.4

1 “Battle of the titans: HP’s ProLiant DL380p versus Dell’s PowerEdge R720,” by Edward J. Correia, CRN, July 12, 2012. Based on benchmark tests performed by the CRN Test Center in July 2012. Each rack server was configured with two Intel Xeon E5-2690 processors and 128 GB RAM. The ProLiant DL380p server was configured with eight 600 GB, 10,000 rpm Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) drives, and the PowerEdge R720 server was configured with six 300 GB SAS drives. For complete details, visit qrs.ly/xz24yk3.

2 Based on SPECpower_ssj2008 benchmark tests performed by the Dell Solutions Performance Analysis team at Dell Labs in June 2012. Each rack server was configured with two Intel Xeon E5-2660 processors; four 8 GB dual-ranked Low Voltage Registered Dual In-line Memory Modules (LV RDIMMs) RAM; and two 73 GB, 15,000 rpm SAS drives. For complete details, visit qrs.ly/1324ykj.

3 “InfoWorld’s 2012 Technology of the Year award winners,” InfoWorld, January 9, 2012, qrs.ly/xq24yk4.

4 “Dell PowerEdge R820 review,” by Dave Mitchell, IT Pro, Dennis Publishing, May 14, 2012, qrs.ly/9224yk8.

Complex workload? No problem

Escalating demands of business applications and ever-growing volumes of data are pushing IT infrastructures to their capacity and manageability limits. View this video to learn more about how the flexibility of 12th-generation Dell PowerEdge servers supports challenging workloads in complex environments.

qrs.ly/go244t3

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2012 Issue 3. Copyright © 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

910 | 2012

NeXt geNeRAtION SeRVeRS

dell.com/powersolutions | 2012 Issue 03 9

• A V3.co.uk review issued the

PowerEdge R620 server a five-star

rating along with the statement that

this 1U rack server can be an excellent

choice for organizations looking for a

high-density server.5

• The InfoWorld data center site gave

the PowerEdge C6220 server an

8.7 out of 10 score, and the server

received an InfoWorld.com Editor’s

Choice designation.6

Outstanding management agility

Design principles inspired by IT

professionals around the world have

resulted in a next-generation server

portfolio that features many innovative

technologies. Among them, these

next-generation servers utilize the

embedded Integrated Dell Remote

Access Controller 7 (iDRAC7) with

Lifecycle Controller to manage the

entire life cycle of servers without

the need for software agents. They

deploy energy-efficient, cost-saving

Fresh Air–compliant configurations

that enable data centers to run at high

temperatures worry-free, and they

upgrade the networking fabric with

advanced I/O capabilities through

deployment of Dell Select Network

Adapter technology. These and

other exceptional features, including

integration of the Dell OpenManage™

systems management suite, enable

enterprises to achieve unprecedented

efficiency gains that can change the

economics of their business and

organizational success.

Learn more

Dell PowerEdge servers:

dell.com/poweredge

5 “Dell PowerEdge R620 review,” by Alan Stevens, V3.co.uk, Incisive Media, July 17, 2012, qrs.ly/z624ykd.

6 “Review: Dell simplifies the blade server,” by Brian Chee, InfoWorld, April 26, 2012, qrs.ly/ge24ykg.

The PowerEdge R715 server, winner of an InfoWorld 2012 Technology of the Year award

Inspired innovation at workPositive reviews and impressive performance numbers tell a compelling story, as

do advanced data center technologies that heighten data center IQ and efficiency.

But first and foremost, invaluable insights derived from the wants and needs of IT

professionals guided the design of 12th-generation Dell PowerEdge servers.

The following outlooks capture some of the many ways in which customer-inspired

innovations enable these PowerEdge servers to increase performance, improve

productivity, and optimize power and cooling efficiency in compute-intensive,

high-performance business and scientific sectors.

“ The agent-free monitoring capabilities available with the

12th-generation Dell PowerEdge servers will let us dedicate

100 percent of our CPU cycles to the scientific applications

so we can maximize performance.”— Tommy Minyard

Director, advanced computing systems

at Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)

February 2012

“ These servers can deliver outstanding performance for data

processing while using very little power. This means we can

accommodate company growth by running more servers

in our data center while staying within our power envelope

and controlling our energy costs.”

— Matthew Woodings CTO at HotSchedules

February 2012

“ With these new server, processor, and networking technologies,

we will be able to help researchers spend less time transporting

data and more time testing scientific ideas.”— Harvey Newman

Professor of Physics at California Institute of Technology

February 2012

Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2012 Issue 3. Copyright © 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

10 10 | 2012

Smart solutions sellingAs the value-added distribution landscape continues to be highly competitive, smart solutions selling has become imperative for those players that want to stay ahead of the game. Bahaa Salah, Managing Director, GCC & Near East Region, Aptec - an Ingram Micro company, explains how the distributor is spearheading smart solutions selling in the Middle East region.

ANALYSIS

IT distribution powerhouses have long been advocating for solutions selling and value-adding in the channel. With cloud computing

continuing to garner momentum in the IT sector and cloud-based services taking root in the market, most distributors have been developing strategies that aim at helping their organisations to capitalise on opportunities that are emerging as a result of this shift in the market and channel.

For Aptec - an Ingram Micro company, the value and solutions journey is one that the company has fully embraced as it has successfully transitioned from pure broadline IT distribution to having a value proposition that puts services at the core of its value offerings to channel partners.

Not only has Aptec moved away from box or broadline distribution, but it has mapped out a strategy that gives channel partners the value proposition needed for their businesses to survive in the highly cutthroat business.

Bahaa Salah, Managing Director, GCC & Near East Region, Aptec - an Ingram Micro company, said smart solutions selling is a new era in the IT industry. “We have move from the traditional way of selling IT products, when hardware was sold separately or simply put in a bundle, to a more intelligent way where products are combined together with the purpose to benefit not only the reseller, but most importantly the end-user clients,” he said.

Salah said the trend of smart solutions selling is maturing now in the IT industry and in the Middle East region as well, but it still requires a lot of awareness to reach the level when it will be well understood and accepted by all the players in the regional channel.

He added that Aptec, with a big database of reseller companies, offers a unique range of value products in its portfolio and the ability to comple-ment that with services. “We are able to address the market with smart solutions offerings, and that’s what we started doing already when our core strategy shifted from broadline distribution to a more value-added concept,” he said.

Salah pointed out that Aptec sees its strength in the ability to work closely with the reseller community to raise awareness about smart solu-tions selling among different channel segments and to offer very customised enablement pro-grammes to different levels of reseller companies, starting from SMB and SMEs to enterprise resellers and system integrators. These programmes, said Salah, help resellers to understand better how to approach end-user companies with smart solutions offerings, how to quote such solutions

and to explain benefits of each to IT managers in smaller or bigger organisations. “What we offer now to the partners includes enablement programmes, ready product bundling/smart solutions, professional services as part of solutions bundle or separate, sharing best practices in solu-tions offerings and updates on new trends in the industry related to solutions selling,” he said.

Although channel partners in the region are still warming up to the idea of solutions-selling, Salah said the existing channel has different levels of capacity, ability and focus, when talking about readiness in solutions selling. “There is a good number of partners who have already adapted to the concept of smart solutions selling, but at the same time, there is a large number of resellers who still needs to understand the concept more and to see the benefits for themselves and signifi-cantly for their end-user clients,” he said.

He added that is where the role of the distribu-tor comes up and Aptec sees a lot of opportuni-ties in this area and is ready to offer its expertise in enabling the reseller community to be able to understand the concept and to start practising it in the enterprise, SMB or SME space.

Salah explained that Aptec now offers a multitude of solutions with products supplied by more than 30 of the world’s leading IT vendors. These said Salah, include infrastructure solutions like security, data centre, storage, virtualisa-tion, private & public clouds, networking and others. He added that applications like database engines, data analytics, CRM, smart dashboards and unified communications are all on offer for savvy solution providers and resellers that want

Salah says smart solutions selling is a new era in the IT industry in the region.

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

1110 | 2012

ANALYSIS

to develop expertise in these domains. “We currently have few smart solutions offerings in communication, security and networking, but we are diving stronger now in the area of data centre specialisation and smart solutions offering in this field combining servers, storage, virtualisation software, security and UPS,” he noted. “Currently, we are running a few of such programmes with different vendors involved, but what is common in all these packages is the base on top of which we build the whole programme.”

Salah said such initiatives start from Aptec identifying the right target reseller segment to address the offering to. “Together with the ven-dors, we screen the partner database and select resellers to focus on a partner’s capability, level of sales and technical expertise and of course interest from their side in the field of solution selling,” he said.

He added that enablement programmes include sales and technical trainings after which partners can easily do implementa-tions of offered solutions and address all queries from the customer side. “Such enablement programmes end with an individual’s and company’s certification to confirm the reseller’s expertise in the technology which was covered during the training. In order to motivate resellers to be part of enablement initiatives and join enablement sessions, we often design spe-cial incentives plans for partners, or on a later stage involve them in our loyalty offerings, which we customise for specific reseller segment and make it interesting for all type of resellers to be part of and benefit,” he said.

Having successfully transi-

tioned from broad line distribution to a focused value-added model, Salah explained that: “During the transition period, we could clearly see a rising need in the whole IT industry and especially among resellers - to run their business in a more profitable and sustainable way on a long-term basis. That is one of the reasons which made Aptec to change the strategy from broadline distribution to value driven offerings.”

With smart solutions slowly gaining momen-tum in the enterprise cloud and mobility space, Salah believes that resellers should start from evaluating their available resources first. “It is vital to understand that only investing in upgrading their knowledge and knowledge of their staff, can be the step that takes their businesses into the area of enterprise cloud, mobility solutions and smart solutions,” he said.

He reiterated that it is crucial to have right resources and right expertise in order to succeed in solutions offering to end-user customers.

“Alternatively, resellers can also consider hir-ing ready resources, that’s why we offer resellers our enablement programmes and technical expertise,” he added.

With more resellers experiencing margin pressure in the Middle East,

hence the need to embrace solutions, Salah said that it is becoming tougher

for resellers evey year to sustain profitable businesses in the Middle

East. “That’s is why we strongly recommend and have been advocating to our channel part-ners to make their choice and

go for the more profitable route of switching to value-add and smart solutions selling,” he said.

While the enterprise cloud computing and mobility space are steadily gaining appeal, Salah said cloud computing remains an interesting but new subject for this part of the world. “I think that it will take quite a few years before

“We have move from the traditional way of selling IT products, when hard-ware was sold separately or simply put in a bundle, to a more intelligent way where products are combined to-gether with the purpose to benefit not only the resell-er, but most importantly the end-user clients.” Bahaa Salah, Managing Director, GCC & Near East Region, Aptec - an Ingram Micro Company.

the cloud computing concept reaches maturity stage, especially here in the region. At the same time, cloud computing is gaining momentum and the value of this concept is equally visible for smaller resellers, as well as larger ones to see,” he said.

Looking ahead, Salah said Aptec is progress-ing well in this area and will be launching its newly developed cloud portal in the November/December timeframe this year. He added that the portal will be offering cloud solutions to resellers to sell to their end-users. “It is an online tool which is very easy to use and very secure for resellers to run and will allow partners to make transactions selling cloud products and solu-tions to end-users,” he said.

Secondly, Salah pointed out that Aptec is al-ready involved in cloud offerings through some of its vendors it represents. For some key players in cloud computing arena, Aptec is the only exclusive cloud distributor in the region. We already run few channel initiatives that seek to recruit resellers to become cloud providers, in-troducing them to the cloud concept, providing them online and live training sessions. As part of a broader initiative, we run incentives schemes for partners to motivate them to try and step in the new area of selling cloud computing,” Salah cloncluded. n

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

12 10 | 2012

VMware unveils cloud infrastructure and management solutionVMware vCloudSuite 5.1 delivers the software-defined datacentre

VMware recently unveiled a comprehen-sive solution of cloud infrastructure and management products, expertise and

ecosystem support to help customers drive greater efficiency and improve operational agility.

The new VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 is the first solution to deliver the software-defined datacentre. According to VMware, the vCloud suite integrates VMware’s leading virtualisation, cloud infrastructure and management portfolio into a single SKU, sim-plifying the adoption of cloud era technologies.

“VMware and its partners are taking a bold step toward simplifying IT, offering customers everything they need to build, operate and man-age their cloud environments,” said Paul Maritz, VMware CEO. “The VMware vCloud Suite delivers the software-defined datacenter, the architecture for implementing cloud computing.”

VMware says the software-defined datacentre delivers on the promise of cloud computing for agile, elastic, efficient, and reliable IT services by extending the benefits of virtualisation to every domain in the datacenter, compute, storage, networking, and the associated availability and security services.

The software-defined datacentre architecture, says VMware, abstracts all hardware resources and pools them into aggregate capacity, enabling automation to safely and efficiently dole it out as needed for applications. VMware vcloud Suite: By recasting every layer of datacentre infrastructure into software services running across pools of industry standard hard-ware, the VMware vCloud Suite will simplify and automate operations while ensuring application service levels for even the most resource-inten- VMware and its partners are taking a bold step toward simplifying IT, says Maritz.

sive business critical applications. The VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 brings together the components customers need to build, operate and manage cloud infrastructure, virtualisation, software-de-fined datacentre services, policy-based provi-sioning, disaster recovery, and application and operations management.

VMware vSphere 5.1: The proven platform for any application

The foundation of the VMware vCloud Suite is an updated version of the widely deployed virtu-alisation platform, which includes more than 100 enhancements and new features to deliver the highest service levels for all applications, includ-ing business-critical workloads and low-latency, I/O-sensitive applications. Key advancements in VMware vSphere 5.1 include more powerful VMs, more innovations to help customers avoid unplanned downtime and more robust network-ing capabilities.

VMware vcloud Director 5.1: Provision virtual datacenters in minutes

At the heart of the VMware vCloud Suite is a set of software-defined datacenter services which apply the virtualisation principles of abstraction, pooling and automation to the domains of stor-age, networking, security and availability.

VMware vcloud Networking and Security 5.1 – Redefine the network: With the introduc-tion of the vCloud Suite, VMware is delivering a leading software defined networking and security solution to address one of the final barriers to achieving the agility of cloud computing – the network. VMware vCloud Networking and Security will enable the dynamic creation of virtual networks and services that are completely decoupled and independent from the physical network hardware.

vCloud Networking and Security will allow customers to create logical networks for each ap-plication or tenant, and it can isolate the network traffic between applications belonging to the same organisation – regardless of physical network constraints or boundaries. By creating a pool of network capacity on top of any network hardware, vCloud Networking and Security can easily support tens of thousands of isolated virtual networks.

VMware vCloud Networking and Security will bring together the VXLAN protocol and VMware vShield edge and application security services to provide a full set of software-defined networking capabilities, and a comprehensive solution lineup for virtualising the network – from virtual switching to virtualised layer 4-7 services. It will also include an extensibility framework to support the integra-tion of a wide range of third-party network and security solutions. n

cLOUD INfRAtRUctURe

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

1310 | 2012

wIDe AReA NetwORKS

Riverbed’s Granite Speeds up WANVendor says new accelerator technology will drive storage consolidation

Riverbed Technology plans to make enter-prise data centres look like local storage at branch offices with Granite, a new

accelerator technology by Riverbed.Granite is designed to carry out block data

transfers across WANs (wide-area networks) without the many back-and-forth exchanges that make such movements time-consuming now. Granite can essentially achieve the same thing with blocks of data that Riverbed’s Steel-head appliance does with applications, slashing wait times at branches and letting enterprises centralise their storage.

Granite will play a major role in a plan by international law firm Paul Hastings to go from 16 data centers to four, said Searl Tate, the firm’s director of network engineering. Paul Hastings has been working with the product since the alpha testing stage. “The story of consolidation is compelling,” Tate said.

In addition to moving large files around the world at LAN speed, Granite will let remote users boot up virtual desktops over long distances, a process that often takes 30 minutes or more and in some cases is not even possible.

The technology is available both as a standalone appliance and as software on a Steelhead appliance. Granite is a major initiative for the company, “the next Riverbed inside Riverbed. Riverbed made its name with WAN application acceleration that helped enterprises centralise their servers in many cases, and Gran-ite will address some additional situations.

When servers have to remain at the remote site to run certain applications, Granite allows IT departments to at least house the data centrally. Retrieving it to the Riverbed appliance for local use is quick thanks to the new technology, ac-cording to Riverbed. Imran Batoaq, Product Manager, Riverbed at Aptec - an Ingram Micro

Company.

This is going to help project whatever disk is in the data centre out to the edge, so that the edge can think the disk is actually local.

When a server needs to retrieve data from a storage array, where it usually resides in many different blocks, typically the server requests the bits from each block in sequence. Over a WAN, that process can take a long time because messages and data need to travel over a long distance. Using its awareness of the file system, Granite allows the remote server to retrieve all the required blocks of data in one round-trip transaction.

By eliminating “chatty” transactions that are delayed by the latency of distance, Granite al-lows enterprises to take advantage of the speed of current available WAN connections, which are

now available at multiple gigabits per second.In a demonstration, Riverbed showed 200MB

of files being copied to a remote server from a data center in a few seconds, and booting up a remote system from a Windows 2008 OS stored in the data center in about 40 seconds.

Granite initially will use iSCSI for block storage transfers across the WAN, but the company plans later to add Fibre Channel capability. It can bring that data to servers using Microsoft NTFS (New Technology File System), with Linux EXT (Extended File System) coming later.

Granite can be used for centralising resources in three key cases that Riverbed’s other products were unable to address, custom applications, write-intensive applications, and the need to keep working at the remote site if disconnected from the data centre.

There are still a lot of enterprises that have a lot of infrastructure at their remote sites, that creates IT headaches because of the need to back up data at those sites, which raises security issues, and to devote IT staff time to managing those sites. If non-IT staff manage all the tech-nology at a remote office, it’s harder to maintain proper procedures, in addition, storage and other resources at remote sites also are usually not highly utilised.

All those things start adding up, so the more they can bring back, the more they can consoli-date, the more they can take advantage of those economies of scale back in the data center..

At Paul Hastings, consolidation over the next three to five years should cut down on big spending for storage gear at the company’s 20 offices, according to Tate. “It would really be nice to leverage our SAN resources and those assets just in the hub locations, and kind of get off that train,” he said. n

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

14 10 | 2012

D-Link’s Cloud SolutionsD-Link puts personal cloud in the palm of your hand

Since the mid of 2011, D-Link has been launch-ing its latest invention: D-Link cloud solutions. D-Link’s cloud solutions allow users to access or share their digital media content, manage their networks, or keep an eye on their house and loved ones by using mobile applications. D-Link’s family of affordable wireless cloud-ena-bled devices makes it easy to set up a complete wireless network to access on-the-go. The most recently launched Cloud products are the DCS-6010L, the first-ever wireless fisheye cloud camera for 360° and the DCS-7010L - HD Mini Bullet Outdoor Network Camera.

the D-Link DcS-6010LThe DCS-6010L Wireless N 360° Home Network Camera is a mydlink-enabled IP surveillance camera built with a fisheye lens and a 2 meg-apixel sensor, making it ideal for monitoring large areas with a single camera.

360 Degree SurveillanceThe DCS-6010L uses a fisheye lens to provide incredible wide angle coverage; simply place it on a wall for a panoramic 180° view of a room, or place it on a ceiling for a full 360° view with-out blind spots. Distortion correction fixes the camera video so you can use ePTZ to zoom in, zoom out, and pan across your camera’s video

and survey a large area easily.

Anywhere Access with mydlinkThe Wireless N 360° Home Network Camera is mydlink-enabled, which means that you can access and configure your camera remotely, no matter where you are. See your camera’s live view through the mydlink website, or down-load the mydlink mobile app and view your camera directly on your iOS or Android mobile device. Keep an eye on your home while you’re at work, or check on the office when you’re out on the road; mydlink makes it all possible.

Zero configurationIf you have a mydlink-enabled Cloud Router, setting up and configuring your DCS-6010L is a snap, thanks to mydlink Zero Configura-tion. Simply connect your camera to its power adapter and then connect your camera to your Cloud Router with an Ethernet cable - the camera will automatically be added to your account. mydlink does the hard work for you, allowing even novice users to set up and use their mydlink-enabled cameras immediately.

the DcS-7010L The DCS-7010L HD Mini Bullet Outdoor Net-work Camera is a mydlink-enabled IP surveil-

lance outdoor camera that lets you monitor an area 24 hours a day. A durable, rugged housing and a powerful IR LED illuminator make it ideal for all-day outdoor surveillance.

24 x 7 HD SurveillanceThe DCS-7010L is built with a megapixel image sensor to give you high-quality snapshots and video with resolutions up to 720p HD. This gives you sharp, high-resolution snapshots and videos with rich detail. Get a closer look with ePTZ, which lets you zoom in, zoom out, and pan across your camera’s video so you can survey a large area easily. An infrared cut removable (ICR) filter is also built into the DCS-7010L, which blocks infrared light during the day for improved image quality. At night, it moves out of the way to use all available light for low-light surveillance, and paired with a powerful IR LED illuminator with a 10 meter range, this camera can monitor an area even in complete darkness.

Built for the OutdoorsSpecially built for outdoor use, the DCS-7010L has a solid metal IP-66 weatherproof housing that protects it from dirt and rain. A Power over Ethernet (PoE) port allows you to connect the camera to your network and power it through a single cable, simplifying deployment and doing away with the need for a nearby power outlet. A wire-in bracket protects cables from damage and provides a clean installation. nThe DCS-7010L outdoor network camera from D-Link.

The DCS-6010L wireless N 360° home network camera from D-Link.

cLOUD SOLUtIONS

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

1510 | 2012

D-Link’s DVX-9000 IP-PBX seriesD-Link provides a fully redundant, complete PBX system

Internet IP telephony, also called Voice over IP (VoIP), is defined as the transport of tel-ephone calls over the IP network as standard Internet data packets. IP telephone calls can originate from traditional phone handsets via phone line-to-VOIP (analog trunk) gateways, by PCs using software, or embedded devices (IP Phones, smartphones).

Most of the interest in Internet telepho-ny is motivated by cost savings and ease of developing and integrating new services. Internet telephony integrates a variety of services provided by the current Internet and the Public Switched Telephone Net-work (PSTN) infrastructure.

D-Link has responded to the trend of sav-ing cost possible through IP Telephony and responded with its DVX-9000 Asterisk-based IP-PBX. The D-Link DVX-9000 is a heavy-duty, stand-alone, pre-configured, out-of-the-box Asterisk IP PBX featuring the Elastix Asterisk dis-tribution. The DVX-9000 may be equipped with up to 32 analog ports, up to eight BRI ISDN ports, and up to 4 E1/T1 PRI, or E1 R2 ports in a single, 19-inches 2U chassis. Additional PSTN/analog phone ports can be provided by connecting up to 24 external USB Gateway units via the USB2 ports, for a total of up to 800 PSTN/analog phones ports, up to 800 users and up to 300 concurrent calls.

The DVX-9000 offers all of the essential telephony features required for medium to enterprise businesses. Features such as call forwarding, call hold, follow me, and voice mail. Incoming calls are directed by the integrated auto-attendant and hunt groups to assist call-ers to their destinations. It can utilise standard phone lines via an external phone line gateway

or cost effective Internet telephony services.It also has a user-friendly web Interface,

an interface in different languages, CDR (Call Details Record), call recording, TDM/SIP/IAX trunks, remote extensions, fax support, voicemail to email, IVR menu system, ring groups, call queues, video calls, conference rooms, time-based routing, advanced dialing rules, music on hold, paging and intercom, web access to voicemail, admin status screen, package manager (for easy updates), room monitor, network settings tool, full and auto-matic IP PBX redundancy.

The DVX-9000 supports up to 800 exten-sions, which can be located anywhere with Internet access. Multiple units can be used to increase the number of extensions or unite a company that has many locations under a single PBX system.

The PBX phone features are user adjustable via the DVX-9000’s web configuration tool. The

administrator assigns each extension a profile of telephony features, which allows the best match for a user’s job function. Each user can fine-tune their assigned profile via the web to match their daily business schedule.

DVX-9000 series IP PBX system provides automatic detection of server failure and im-mediate switching of all telephony functions, including telephony interfaces, to a back-up server within seconds

All-in-all, the DVX-9000 is an IP-PBX solution that provides full redundancy for a complete PBX system, incl. telephony interfaces, a quick and automatic failover process to decrease downtimes to an absolute minimum, auto detection of server failure & switch to backup server, a firmware-based switching mechanism that is independent from the network and most importantly, it boasts two DVX-9000 IP PBX units with identical configurations (DVX-8050(s) with dual USB ports). n

The D-Link DVX 9000 is a heavy-duty stand-alone asterisk IP PBX offering.

SMARt SwItcHINg

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

16 10 | 2012

cONVeRgeD cLOUD ARRAY

HP Expands Converged Cloud Portfolio HP offers optimised Solutions for VMware vCloud Suite 5.1

HP has announced it is expanding its HP Converged Cloud portfolio with new solutions for VMware vCloud

Suite 5.1, enabling clients to transform tradi-tional virtualisation deployments into open private and hybrid cloud environments with less risk and complexity.

Introduced earlier this year, HP Converged Cloud extends the power of the cloud across infrastructure, applications and information to provide clients with choice, confidence and consistency.

The expanded HP Converged Cloud portfolio, built on HP Converged Infrastructure and HP Converged Management and Security, has been optimised for VMware vCloud Suite 5.1, and includes new capabilities that enable clients to:� Reduce complexity and accelerate building

and managing cloud with preintegrated solu-tions.

� Fast-track cloud adoption with comprehen-sive security and compliance controls that can be automatically applied to virtual machines.

� Decrease the risk of data loss with automated policy-based data protection. “As organisations move from a virtualised

environment to a private or hybrid cloud, they may face significant challenges with security, performance and the management of multiple, heterogeneous computing models,” said Eyad Shihabi, Managing Director, HP Middle East. “Extending HP Converged Cloud with compre-hensive, integrated solutions for VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 enables clients to embrace secure cloud computing with less risk and greater choice.”

“With VMware vCloud Suite 5.1, organisations will have reliable, flexible cloud solutions that enhance business agility while also address-ing individual enterprise needs quickly and efficiently,” said Raghu Raghuram, executive vice president, Cloud Infrastructure and Manage-ment, VMware. “VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 and HP Converged Cloud solutions will enable our joint customers to accelerate their journey to the cloud, giving enterprises a proven, integrated solution that provides a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving market.”

HP accelerates cloud transformation & management with new capabilities

The expanded HP Converged Cloud offerings include the integration of VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 with HP CloudSystem, helping clients rapidly transform virtualised resources into self-service private and hybrid cloud environments. To accelerate time to value, HP offers customers preintegrated cloud solutions.

Combined with VMware vCloud Suite 5.1, HP CloudSystem doubles virtual-machine density, reduces network complexity and provides flex-ibility to support any workload.

New HP CloudSystem capabilities integrated with the VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 include:

HP cloudSystem optimised for VMware—provides faster time to revenue with preinte-grated solutions that include HP Converged Infrastructure and cloud management from HP and VMware.

Auto-flexing feature—reduces response time to business requests and improves overall service levels by enabling VMware administra-tors to provision hardware for vCloud Director

to automate the scaling of converged infrastruc-ture. With this technology, customers can cut the time required to add a virtual host from four hours to 15 minutes.

Virtual-machine importing—simplifies clients’ path to the cloud by easily importing running virtual machines into an HP CloudSys-tem without downtime or reconfiguration.

HP cloud Maps for VMware—accelerates the design of cloud services and automates the deployment of virtual applications using prepackaged, optimised HP CloudSystem templates.

The expanded HP Converged Cloud portfolio also includes the HP Cloud Protection Pro-gram and Consulting Services, which deliv-ers a comprehensive security solution across network, storage and server virtualisation layers that can be designed and implemented in less than three weeks. The new service identifies an effective mix of HP and VMware cloud-security capabilities that addresses common barriers to the adoption of cloud services, while enabling compliance controls. Management capabilities include cloud, virtualisation of the network, and storage virtualisation layers.

For VMware clients challenged with ad-dressing the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) in virtual environments, HP also offers the industry’s first converged PCI Compliance Security Solution Stack for virtual and cloud environments. The solution acceler-ates the path to compliance covering a majority of 200 security-based PCI DSS controls, remov-ing security hurdles associated with achieving PCI compliance and access to cloud.

Aptec HP Enterprise Servers Storage & Networking Business email : [email protected]

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

1710 | 2012

cONVeRgeD cLOUD ARRAY

VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 enables

clients to embrace secure cloud

computing, says Shihabi.

New enterprise-class data-protection HP Data Protector, the industry’s first and

only backup and recovery solution support-ing federated deduplication for the enterprise, now delivers integrated protection for VMware vCloud Director. This new solution features patented HP StoreOnce deduplication technol-ogy, and dynamically provides one-touch policy-based protection for VMware’s multitenant cloud environment. These capabilities help vCloud customers and service providers eliminate the risk of data loss from applications, both on premises and now in the virtual cloud.

Availability Select expanded HP Converged Cloud solutions are available through HP and its worldwide channel partners; the remaining solutions are e-xpected by the end of the calendar year. HP also will offer all VMware vCloud Suite editions with HP Converged Cloud solutions through HP sales and channel partners in late third calendar quarter.

1 Based on HP internal sales estimates of HP CloudSystem and other cloud solutions.

2 Based on HP internal testing and analysis.3 According to HP engineering testing and

comparisons.4 Based on HP internal testing and analysis n

“As organisations move from a virtualised environ-ment to a private or hybrid cloud, they may face signifi-cant challenges with secu-rity, performance and the management of multiple, heterogeneous computing models.” - Eyad Shihabi, Managing Director, HP Mid-dle East.

email : [email protected] HP Enterprise Servers Storage & Networking Business email : [email protected]

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

18 10 | 2012

HP Empowers SMBs to Thrive ina Mobile WorldNew solutions simplify and optimise IT to support a growing mobile workforce

eSSN cAtALOgUe

email : [email protected] HP Enterprise Servers Storage & Networking Business email : [email protected]

HP has announced new offerings to help SMBs prepare their technology infrastruc-tures for a growing mobile workforce.

With more than 1.1 billion mobile appliances in use worldwide, firms of all sizes are challenged by the need to access, manage and secure mobile devices and the data generated by them. HP Con-verged Infrastructure provides the ideal platform for secure continuous access to data and applica-tions. With partner solutions from Citrix, Microsoft and VMware, HP also delivers improved employee accessibility and productivity as the requirements for mobility continue to grow.

New offerings from HP include technology solutions and services, as well as financing and training programs that enable resource-chal-lenged SMBs.. Predefined solutions secureAccording to Gartner, by 2016, at least 50% of business email users will rely primarily on a tablet or mobile client instead of a traditional desktop. The trend to use devices to access email and other business data requires SMBs to prepare their infrastructures to support increased mobility. New HP solutions & services enable organisations to:

Improve security with HP Client Virtualisa-tion SMB virtual desktop solution. The solution includes reference architectures—such as HP ProLiant Generation 8 (Gen8) servers and client virtualisation software from Citrix, Microsoft or VMware—that protects company data by storing user profiles and data on a centralised server. This enables SMBs to provide secure access to applications from thin clients, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Reduce risk and complexity of client virtu alisation projects with HP Client Virtualisation, Analysis and Modeling, a prepackaged service

that analyses the existing IT environment to sim-plify and speed deployment of virtualisation for SMBs and help them embrace mobile technology.

Simplify adoption of mobile technology with HP Transformation Experience Workshop for Mobility, a service that aligns business and IT stakeholders to ensure employees have access to data while upholding security requirements.

Increase uptime for a growing mobile work-force with HP Business Protection Solutions, preconfigured reference architectures based on HP Converged Infrastructure and best practices in data protection, network security and disaster recovery. These customised solutions guide SMBs in the design of a risk-mitigation program to ensure continued accessibility to company data from a mobile device.collaboration tools improve productivityTo support the acceleration of mobile devices, HP and its partners are helping SMBs improve em-ployee productivity and drive business efficiency.

Improves collaboration with HP UC & Collab-oration (UC&C) Solutions with Microsoft Lync, an integrated hardware and software solution that enables SMBs to securely video conference, share information on desktops and collaborate to improve productivity. The comprehensive UC&C solution includes Microsoft Lync software, HP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, HP networking and HP ProLiant Gen8 servers, storage and services.Simplified infrastructure for SMBsSMBs need simple, reliable and economical com-puting to support growing data and new apps across wired and wireless environments. New solutions based on HP Converged Infrastructure help companies to:

Simplify network management with the

expanded HP Multi-Service Router (MSR) Series, an all-in-one, customisable platform that allows clients to streamline deployment of networks.

Reduce power costs with the HP 1910 8G Switch Series, which features energy-saving Power over Internet (PoE) to deliver simple, reliable and cost-effective network access for rich-media apps.

Address the explosion of unstructured data from a growing mobile workforce with increased capacity and simplified management featured with HP X5000 Storage. This highly available clustered network attached storage (NAS) plat-form reduces IT administration time for SMBs by ensuring users have access to file data from their mobile devices. Increased support for SMBs & partnersHP provides SMBs and channel partners with a broad range of programs to drive growth, create new revenue streams and ensure collaboration. Enhanced programs provide:

Favourable financing options with the HP Even Better Than Zero program, which allows companies to lease HP equipment at a less-than-zero implicit lease rate, available through HP Financial Services.

Improved business skills for SMBs through HP Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs (HP LIFE) e-Learning. The new cloud-based platform, hosted on HP Converged Cloud infrastructure, offers free information and courses to help SMBs establish or grow their businesses.

AvailabilityThe HP Client Virtualisation SMB Reference Architecture for Microsoft VDI is scheduled to be available from September. All other solutions and services are available now through HP and worldwide channel partners. n

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

1910 | 2012

Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking Business

eSSN cAtALOgUe

HP Converged Infrastructure is a new approach to data center management that is helping companies minimize IT sprawl, lower risk and save millions of dollars in data center acquisition and operational costs by:

Getting server, storage and networking working together Optimizing power and cooling based on enterprise demand Improving utilization, availability and performance Simplifying management and implementation Provisioning application workloads quickly Ensuring fast, repeatable and efficient IT service delivery

Aptec - an Ingram Micro company Building No: EIB 03, P.O. Box: 33550, Dubai Internet City, UAE.Office: +971 4 3697111Fax: +971 4 3697110email: [email protected]: http://www.apteconline.com

For more details contact HP ESSN Team

HP Converged Infrastructure is a new approach to data center management that is helping companies minimize IT sprawl, lower risk and save millions of dollars in data center acquisi-tion and operational costs by:

APTEC HP ESSN Value Added Services HP ESSN Certified Pre Sales Team to support on technical

queries and product positioning HP ESSN Certified Sales Team to support on sales, products

and prices HP ESSN Demo units for customer POC and demo Stock of HP Servers, Storage and Networking Products for

immediate delivery Logistics and Financial support for order execution across

middle east

Single Vendor Solution for your complete Enterprise business needs

APtec offers end to end solution on HP converged Infrastructure and to your enterprise business needs

APTEC - Excellence in Distribution

SERVER SOLUTION ON

HP RACK POWER AND COOLING SOLUTIONS

STORAGE SOLUTION ON

• Mission critical servers• Blade Servers• Rack mountable Servers• Tower model Servers• Virtualization Software• Server Management Software• OS : HP UX , Windows and Linux

BACKUP SOLUTION ON• Disk based backup• Tape Library , Autoloader and Tape drives• Backup Software

• Storage Area Network ( SAN ) • NAS Systems• Storage Blades• Storage Networking• Storage Software• Information Management Software

NETWORK SOLUTION ON• Switches ,Wireless , Routers • Security Products• Unified Communications and collaboration• Network management Software

• Server Management Software• OS : HP UX , Windows and Linux

• Information Management Software

NETWORK SOLUTION ON

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

20 10 | 2012

It’s a new era at Microsoft Microsoft readies new product launches

This is the most exciting time for Microsoft and their partner ecosystem. There is a whole new era of technology happening and Microsoft is

leading the way with all the new product launches Windows Server 12, Windows 8 and much more during the Microsoft fiscal year 2013.windows Server 2012 is at the heart of the Cloud OS and delivers on the promises of a modern data center to bring you the economics, agility and inno-vation of cloud both on your premises and off. We’ve seen hundreds of thousands of downloads of the pre-release versions, thousands of engineers worked on this product. In Microsoft’s cloud model, products such as Internet Information Server, SharePoint Server, Lync Server, SQL Server, Exchange Server and Dynamics will be folded into the cloud architecture offered by Windows Azure to deliver a seamless rollout suite that can be managed from a single point, cloud utilities such as platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), but with Server 2012 Microsoft brings its other server products together to allow a hybrid distribution, Windows Azure handling the public cloud and Windows Server 2012 handling the rest through HyperV, Microsoft’s virtualisation builder.

Windows Server 2012 will be delivered to a market concerned about the security issues associated with the expanding “bring your own device” (BYOD) cul-ture and aggressive malware proliferation. Microsoft claims Server 2012 ticks the boxes of scalability (from a home network to an 8000-workstation virtual environment), elasticity (management tools allow the automatic resizing of resource allocations) and availability (“always up, always on”).windows 8 is very different from the many operat-ing systems the software giant has launched since 1995. In some ways, Windows 8 represents even more of a sea change for Microsoft and the personal

computer than did Windows 95.By bringing touch, an entirely new user interface,

and a new chip architecture to the Windows plat-form, Microsoft has opened the door for hardware and software makers to change the definition of what makes a PC.

We live in a world where tablets are about touch, and PCs about the keyboard and mouse, but what happens when you revisit those assumptions.Windows 8 has been re-imagined to focus on your life. The beautiful, fast, and fluid design is perfect for a range of hardware: from compact, touch-enabled slates and lightweight laptops, to large, powerful all-in-ones with high-definition screens. It’s smooth, intuitive, and gives you instant access to your people, apps, and stuff, so you spend less time searching and more time doing. Windows 8 has the flexibility you need. You can use a touch screen or a keyboard and mouse—and you can switch anytime. Apps are the heart of Windows 8. From the moment you first use Windows 8, you’ll have a set of built-in apps for the things you do most.

Office 365 Open: A new way for partners to sell the service, Office 365 Open is a pre-paid offer that enables partners to realise more revenue, deliver packaged services with a single invoice and manage the customer relationship. It consolidates many business productivity services into a single cloud-

based solution that you can choose to run in a way that works best for your business: on-premises, as a hosted service, or as a combination of on-premises and a hosted service.

Office 365 has enterprise-grade reliability, continuous data back-ups, robust disaster recovery capabilities, globally-redundant data centers, and extensive privacy features. With Office 365, you can get your work done securely and communicate real-time from almost anywhere. Combining Office with Office 365 unlocks the full potential of Office 365 as the best solution for productivity, collaboration, communication, and worry-free IT. Features of Office 365 are:• Cloud-based professional email• Video conferencing and IM• Share files inside and outside your firm• Easy and secure administration• Financially backed reliability• Predictable monthly costs with no up-

front infrastructure costswhat are the advantages of moving to the cloud?

Transitioning to the cloud offers numerous benefits, ranging from costs savings and increased productivity to disaster recovery.

All the above is just a sneak peak and we all have to stay tuned to be a part of the upcoming excitement. n

APPLIcAtIONS

Collaborate and share information more easily Moving to cloud-based services enables your employees to interact more efficiently and access information from nearly anywhere, on many types of devices, which increases their productivity.

Protect sensitive data Using cloud-based services contributes to your piece of mind, because if your equipment becomes damaged, lost, or stolen, your sensitive data remains protected and available. Cloud services such as Office 365 often offer multilayered security, proactive monitoring, and access restriction.

Reduce cost and resource strain Automatic security and software updates in cloud-based services enable your business to save both the time and money that are required when you have to maintain an onsite infrastructure.

All the above is just a sneak peak and we all have to stay tuned to be a part of the upcoming excitement.

Renu Dhar, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Products, Aptec - an Ingram

Micro Company.

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

2110 | 2012

FAS2220: The Game ChangerFAS2220 is the latest member of NetApp’s entry-level product portfolio for midsize businesses

Due to the global financial crunch, or-ganisations are rightsizing to operate at the most optimal levels to remain

competitive. Even the IT Departments of large enterprises had no choice but to follow suit. The problem becomes all the more exacer-bated when it involves midsized businesses. The Midsize business faces the challenge of keeping pace with growing demands while managing the volume of data being gener-ated, all with limited IT resources and budget. As a result, the decisions midsize businesses make about their storage foundation play a critical role in their future success.

Building on a simple, flexible, and efficient IT infrastructure enables the agility required to help midsize businesses capitalise on this data growth to drive their success and create a competitive advantage. The FAS2220 is the latest member of NetApp’s entry-level product portfolio for midsize businesses and builds on the momentum and success of the recently introduced FAS2240. It’s definitely going to be a game changer in the way IT Storage will be perceived in the region.

A FAS2220 is a perfect blend of ingenu-ity and affordability. At an amazing starting price of less than $6,000, this system packs all the features of the new enterprise class operating system i.e. Data ONTAP 8.1. It is extremely scalable and has the capability to scale up to 180TB if required. With the new operating system this entry level system possesses all the technical capabilities of a FAS2240 i.e. High availability and Metro Clus-tering options. Every FAS2220 System comes with an Essentials version of Data Ontap 8.1 which includes features like de-duplication,

snapshots etc which are currently chargeable with most other vendors.

Replacing the fAS 2040: The FAS2220 is a replacement for the largely successful FAS2040. A FAS2220 boasts of a 3 times faster controller and with Data Ontap

8.1 is much more data and network efficient. With a far cheaper price than a FAS2040 the total cost of ownership for the customer is very low. Also if customers have an older version of FAS system like the FAS 2020 or 2040 there are tech refresh promotions available wherein they can be swapped for a new FAS2220 at a highly discounted price.

why is the fAS2220 a game changer?The new NetApp OnCommand System Manager 2.1 helps simplify, control, and automate both setup and ongoing management of NetApp stor-age. This tool allows customers to improve their storage and service efficiency, boost productivity, and reduce the impact of storage management on IT resources.

NetApp’s FAS2220 leverages new NetApp “Flash Pool” technology to provide an unmatched combination of performance and value to help midsize businesses start right and stretch their dollars. Flash Pools, which extend NetApp’s Virtual Storage Tier approach to the midsize market, enable customers to accelerate application performance and are simple to implement and operate “out of the box.” Flash Pool technology also seamlessly integrates with NetApp’s industry-leading suite of nine storage efficiency technolo-gies to help customers increase utilisation and reduce power costs. NetApp is the only vendor offering this unique intelligent caching approach in the entry-level storage market. n

StORAge

Govind Haridas, Business Unit Manager – Security & Storage, Aptec - an Ingram

“The FAS2220 is the latest member of NetApp’s entry-level product portfolio for midsize businesses and builds on the momentum and success of the recently introduced FAS2240.”

Micro Company.

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

2310 | 2012

Transform Complexity to SimplicityIT executives are increasingly turning to cloud-based services to address complex technology challenges in their organisations.

Symantec says cloud-based services cab help organisations to simplify their

IT environments.

Cloud-based services can help address these challenges by easing time and resource burdens for IT and help to dra-

matically simplify their environments—without sacrificing visibility or control. Solutions

Symantec.cloud solutions provide: IT departments with the ability to shift the burden associated with securing and managing infor-mation stored on endpoints and delivered via email, Web, and instant messaging to the cloud A single web-based management console to manage all Symantec.cloud services. A highly scalable, reliable and expertly managed infra-structure built on fifteen data centers around the globe.

Backup exec.cloudGet simple, secure online backup and recovery from Symantec, the preferred provider of data protection solutions. Use Symantec Backup Exec.cloud to protect your critical data by automatically streaming it, en-crypted to Symantec’s secure, off-site data centers. So easy to set up and use, you can get started in minutes and no hardware purchase is required.

email continuity.cloudThe Symantec Email Continuity.cloud service provides an affordable standby email failover system that activates in minutes, providing virtu-ally uninterrupted access to email in the event of a mail server outage.

email encryption.cloudSymantec MessageLabs Policy Based Encryp-tion.cloud service helps you to automatically

safeguard the security and privacy of sensitive data you exchange with customers and busi-ness partners via email. Policy Based Encryption.cloud lets you create and enforce flexible rules in accordance with your company policies.

email Security.cloudSymantec MessageLabs Email AntiSpam.cloud prevents email spam from reaching your net-work and improves employee productivity by virtually eliminating the need to read and delete unsolicited messages. With advanced perimeter defense and proprietary Skeptic technologies, our cloud-based spam filtering service delivers protection against both established and emerg-ing spam techniques.

endpoint Protection.cloudSymantec Endpoint Protection.cloud offers a comprehensive hosted security solution designed to meet the needs of small to medium sized busi-nesses. Our Endpoint Protection solution enables you to manage security requirements via a single Web-based console and does not require addi-tional hardware or management software.

enterprise Vault.cloudSymantec Enterprise Vault.cloud (formerly Email Archiving.cloud) enables you to confidently ad-dress the challenges of email storage manage-ment, legal discovery, and regulatory compliance, with the ease and efficiency of a cloud-based email archiving service. With no hardware or soft-ware required, this solution frees up IT resources and provides users with rapid and secure access to email from their inbox, any supported Web

browser or hand held device.

Instant Messaging Security.cloud Uncontrolled use of Unified Communications (UC) and public Instant Messaging (IM) net-works can expose your business to risks that can compromise productivity, profitability, business continuity and customer trust. Potential disrup-tion from UC and IM-borne malware, accidental or deliberate data leakage, inappropriate use and regulatory non-compliance are very real dangers.MessageLabs Instant Messaging Security.cloud service can be used by IT departments to help employees use UC and public IM clients safely and securely.

web Security.cloud Symantec MessageLabs Web Security.cloud offers a Web content filtering service to help you control Internet use in your organisation. Our URL filtering service helps protect businesses from the ramifications of inappropriate Web use and assists in blocking access to websites by URL, time of day, or file type. n

cLOUD SecURItY

www.apteconline.com

October 2012

24 10 | 2012

Virtualisation: Have we had our fill of IT?By Gregg Petersen, Regional Manager Middle East Veeam Software

Virtualisation continues to play a major role in the data centre, giving organisations the ability to run multiple

workloads at a fraction of the cost of traditional physical services. According to an IDC report more than 70% of all server workloads installed on new shipments in 2014 will reside in virtual machines. The only question remaining is: when will it become the de facto platform in all data centres?

Virtual Disconnect?Last year we compiled the V-index — a com-prehensive, independent study that shows the penetration rate of virtualisation in the enter-prise. The study found that 87% of enterprises are using virtualisation, yet the penetration rate of virtual servers to physical servers is 39%. How-ever, the V-index showed there is a clear appetite for more, with 81% of enterprises saying they plan to increase their use of virtualisation.

While organisations are hungry for more, there is still some scepticism and distrust about what virtualisation promises to do. In a separate study we commissioned, we found that 44% of enterprises were avoiding using virtual ma-chines for mission-critical applications because they worried about data protection. Clearly, many people don’t understand the real potential of this technology, and as our V-index revealed, there are a number of other factors that may be contributing to this case of virtual disconnect.

Punishment for gluttonyThere is a clear misunderstanding between the perceived and actual benefits most organisa-

tions achieve through virtualisation. The V-index was based on the opinions of CIOs across 578 enterprise-level organisations. It revealed that at an executive-management level the perceived consolidation ratio of virtual machines on physi-cal servers is 9:1, which was significantly higher than the actual consolidation ratio of 5:1. Aside from the fact that this suggests many organisa-tions aren’t effectively measuring the ROI from virtualisation investments, there’s a strong chance that some budget holders might not see any need for further investment.

There are also some broader concerns that may be fuelling this perception versus reality

conundrum. For instance, 36% of organisations are concerned about the reliability of virtualisa-tion. In addition, 33% of enterprises worry about application performance and backup and res-toration. More broadly, 31% are worried about their ability to effectively manage their virtual infrastructures.

These barriers to virtualisation came from a group of CIOs. It would be interesting to see if those responsible for managing the data centre would echo these concerns. There’s definitely some food for thought either way. One thing is clear: organisations want more choice on their virtualisation menus.

Hypervisor Á La carte In 2012, one of the top virtualisation trends was hypervisor coexistence. Clearly, VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V are delivering the needed features to IT environments. Many enterprises rely on both of them to meet today’s demanding performance, scale and availability requirements.

The coexistence trend is complementary to what is happening in the larger IT ecosystem, where hardware vendors, software systems and other critical components fully embrace both Hyper-V and vSphere technologies. No longer does IT need to create exceptions in standard-ised infrastructure policies for “this virtualisa-tion thing.” This is a critical point. Although underlying virtualisation technologies are very important, they are not the defining character-istics we really care about. The applications that run on virtualised infrastructure truly define the capabilities IT can offer. n

Petersen says there is still scepticism and distrust about virtualisation.

VIRtUALISAtION

“Last year we compiled the V-index — a comprehensive, independent study that shows the penetration rate of virtualisation in the enter-prise. It found that 87% of enterprises are using virtu-alisation, yet the penetration rate of virtual servers to physical servers is 39%.”

Introducing Next Generation InfraStruxureWhether your company just acquired another company or is planning ‘followthe moon’ virtualization to streamline energy use, you’re most likely facingpressing demands on your company’s IT infrastructure. Your legacy datacentre infrastructure may not be able to handle these business changes. That’s where APC by Schneider Electric™ steps in with its proven high-performance, scalable data centre infrastructure. Only InfraStruxure™ ensures that your data centre can adapt effectively, efficiently, and quickly to business changes, making you the company hero! What’s more, it gives you the capabilities you need to monitor and manage your data centre proactively and easily to ensure healthy operations at all times.

• Availability Systems configured with inbuilt (N+1) redundancy and assembled from

highest reliability components. Total system better than 99.999% availability. Remote monitoring and four hour response available.

• Highest Efficiency OutstandingenergyefficiencyguaranteeingannualizedaveragePUEofless

than1.5forcompletesystemswithcertifiedstartup

• Lowest TCO Right-sizedsolutionwithdynamiccoolinggivesindependentlyverifiedannual

savingsofatleast20%overconventional;piece-mealsolutions.

• Fastest time to value Yourtotaldatacentersolution,delivered,installedandstarted-upinfourweeks

orless.Aworld-beater.

The triple promise of InfraStruxure deploymentA data centre means business when it is always available 24/7/365 and performs at the highest level at all times, is able to grow at the breakneck speed of business, lets you add capacity without waiting on logistical delays (e.g., work orders), continues to achieve greater and greater energy efficiency—from planning through operations, and is able to grow with the business itself.

InfraStruxure fulfils our triple promise of superior quality, which ensures highest availability, speed, which ensures easy and quick alignment of IT to business needs, and cost savings based on energy efficiency. What better way to ‘mean business’ than to enable quality, speed, and cost savings—simultaneously?

InfraStruxure data centres also enable you to:

1) Accommodate high densities easily

2) Add cooling quickly and easily

3) Monitor threats proactively

4) Upgrade instead of overhaul

5) Manage in a ‘single-pane’ view

6) Model capacity changes

7) Ensure your business drives your IT

8) Manage new equipment in seconds

9) Optimize reliability and effi ciency

10) Move at business speed

Get your Data center in 4 weeks

©2011 Schneider Electric. All Rights Reserved. Schneider Electric, APC, and InfraStruxure are trademarks owned by Schneider Electric Industries SAS or its affiliated companies. • E-mail: [email protected] • E Wing, Level 4, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Emirates Road & Dubai-Al Ain Road Intersection, P.O. Box 341057, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

To learn more, visit www.apc.com

©2011 Schneider Electric. All Rights Reserved. Schneider Electric, APC, StruxureWare, vSphere, and InfraStruxure are trademarks owned by Schneider Electric Industries SAS or its affiliated companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. • 998-4108_ME-US 35 rue Joseph Monier, CS 30323, 95506 Rueil Malmaison Cedex (France) • Tel. +33 (0) 1 41 29 70 00

Tap the business value of your data centre! Learn how in our management software white paper 107#

Visit SEReply.com Key Code 97528TAfghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, UAE, Yemen : + 971 4 7099333Bahrain : 17557939Oman : 80073666 or 800SEOMNQatar : 4553010Saudi Arabia : 920011101, +971 4 7099333Turkey : 08002612135

Tap in to the health of your data centre.As an IT or data centre manager, you know that doing your job well means saving your company both time and money. Today, there finally is a way for you to be completely tapped in to the overall health of your data centre. StruxureWare™ for Data Centres gives you visibility across your entire data centre infrastructure so you can make informed decisions — not arbitrary ones — about your infrastructure. For example, you can plan proactively for needed capacity and streamline workflow management to improve your business agility and availability. In fact, now more than ever, infrastructure decisions are business decisions.

An always available, efficient data centreWhat’s more, StruxureWare for Data Centres communicates in real-time with the leading virtualization platforms: VMware® vSphere™ and Microsoft® System Centre Virtual Machine Manager. The software’s built-in automated response capabilities ensure that virtual loads always have healthy host environments. With your VMs on healthy hosts, you can focus on running your data centre more efficiently. The software also gives insight into PUE/DCiE trending over time, enabling you to make intelligent energy management decisions. With StruxureWare for Data Centres planning and reporting capabilities, who’s the company hero now? You are!

APC by Schneider Electric™ is the pioneer of modular data centre infrastructure and innovative cooling technology. Its products and solutions, including InfraStruxure™, are an integral part of the Schneider Electric IT portfolio.

The strategic bridge between your data centre and your business? You

Now, make informed decisions about your infrastructure:

> Plan proactively for needed capacity.

> Blueprint data centre expansions and consolidations.

> Streamline workflow management of your IT physical infrastructure to improve your business agility and availability.

> Make changes knowing how they will affect your business.

> Visualize change/capacity scenarios to improve your bottom line.

> View your current and historic PUE/DCiE and energy costs of subsystems to make intelligent energy management decisions.

Only StruxureWare for Data Centres enables a healthy, business-driven data centre.

> Executive summary

How Data Centre InfrastructureManagement Software ImprovesPlanning and Cuts Operational Costs

White Paper 107

998-4108_ME-US.indd 1 2011-09-14 15:26:58

ISX In A Box

Demo Center Launch (MTC) Leaflet.indd 1 12/27/11 4:42 PM

we clearly have no competition.

By offering thousands of products from leading IT and Telecommunications manufacturers and a wide range of solutions and services to more than 10,000 resellers in the region, we are the leading and largest Value-Added Distributor in the Middle East, Turkey & Africa.

From offices and warehouses in 9 countries, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan and with more than 650 specialized staff, Aptec serves over 25 countries.

With our regional geographical coverage, extensive customer base and our value added services, we have become the fastest growing Distributor in the Middle East. Having beeen in business for 30 years, when it comes to value added distribution in the region...Distributor in the Middle East. Having beeen in business for 30 years, when it comes to value added distribution in the region...

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Aptec Egypt: Tel: (+202) 6444264 / 6355030, Aptec Pakistan: Tel: (+9221) 2788736, Aptec Lebanon: Tel: (+961) 4718891,Aptec Saudi: Tel: (+966 1) 4601950, Aptec Turkey: Tel: (+90 212) 2590 0064, Aptec Oman: Tel: (+968) 96429250

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