Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 16 | Page 7

ISSUE 16 EDITOR’S COMMENT www.intelligenttechchannels.com PUBLICATION Intelligent briefings for Middle East and Africa channel partners TREND MICRO’S CHANNEL IN SAUDI ARABIA Dr Moataz Bin Ali Vice President and Managing Director Trend Micro, Middle East and Africa Digital mantras for CIOs Outsourcing security events management GDPR is time for data audit HANS NIPSHAGEN MAJID KHAN TAREK JUNDI AKAMAI HELP AG MCAFEE EDITOR’S NOTE Managing Partner Richard Judd richard@lynchpinmedia.co.uk M anaged security services are the dominating theme in this issue of Intelligent Tech Channels. We look at security profiles of leading managed security services players including Help AG, NXN, ProVise, BT Al Saudi amongst others. Leading vendors including ESET, Fortinet, SonicWall, Sophos, present their perspective on the eco system of solutions and infrastructure required for the delivery of security services by a managed services provider. We also ask each of them what they believe is the basis of a sustainable ROI model. Interesting revelations to read! The recent initiative by security vendor Trend Micro, to move its operations to Saudi Arabia, is presented in detail through a discussion with its Vice President and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Dr Moataz Bin Ali. Dr Ali explains how the managed services channel partner is a good fit with Saudi Arabia’s national objective of diversification, captured in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 statement. Also, particularly revealing is Dr Ali’s explanation of the key role that cloud service providers will play in the future channel eco system: “The market is shifting towards this direction. I see that in the coming four, five years, cloud service providers and cloud providers will be the distributors.” Dr Ali also presents his thoughts on the value system of an effective channel player for Trend Micro. Our Expert Speak section picks up the managed security services theme again. Majid Khan at Help AG and Sachin Bhardwaj at eHosting DataFort, present their thought leadership comments on this subject. Harish Chib at Sophos and Ross Brewer at LogRhythm tackle this month’s Editor’s Question, about the influence of artificial intelligence on a security vendor’s product portfolio. Particularly interesting is how artificial intelligence deployed in the cloud is likely to change detection analytics. “When deployed in the cloud, artificial intelligence can benefit from collective intelligence and a broader perspective to maximise intelligence. Imagine incorporating real- world insight into specific threats in real time,” writes Brewer. In our closing blog, McAfee’s Tarek Jundi revisits the looming GDPR deadline. He elaborates on the positive side of the compliance deadline: “Rather than approaching it separately and in isolation, the new regulation has put a price on cybersecurity and secure data management—bringing it to the attention of the C-Suite. This will have a dramatic impact on a number of current security challenges many IT teams are facing, such as the massive growth in Shadow IT.” Food for thought in this issue! Arun Shankar Managing Partner Stuart Lynch stuart@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Managing Editor and Editor, Intelligent CIO Middle East Mark Bowen mark@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Editor, Intelligent Tech Channels Arun Shankar arun@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Editor, Intelligent CIO Europe Alix Pressley alix@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Editor, Intelligent CIO Africa Paul Rogers paul@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Editor, Intelligent CISO Jess Phillips jess@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Business Development Manager Susan Paul susan@lynchpinmedia.co.uk +971 50 544 7141 Marketing and Operations Manager Curtis Driscoll curtis@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Head of Design and Production Pippa Sanderson pippa@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Senior Digital Manager Charles Brandreth charles@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Lynchpin Media © 2018 Intelligent Tech Channels is a Lynchpin Media publication for IT professionals with an interest in the Middle East. If you wish to apply for regular free copies then please email info@lynchpinmedia.co.uk Lynchpin Media is a boutique publisher registered in the United Kingdom. Company number 8096230 5 Burnside Court, Leominster Enterprise Park Herefordshire, HR6 0LX 7