Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 16 | Page 9

NEWS StarLink announces Innovation Centre, Academy, Marketplace StarLink, a value-added-distributor in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa region hosted its much-awaited channel event of the year, the Annual StarLink Partner Summit on March 21. With over 300 plus channel partners from across the META region, the event was a huge success. The event theme Partnering for Innovation, was very much in alignment with StarLink’s vision to empower partners to achieve channel autonomy. And supporting them in stepping up and taking a holistic approach in assisting customers in the region to achieve data governance, enterprise mobility, security intelligence and visibility. During this event, three key initiatives were announced. StarLink Innovation Centre: A platform for creative collaboration and driving technology-led innovations to tackle the most pressing real-world IT challenges. StarLink Academy: A facility to empower aspiring IT professionals with top of the range training programmes enabling them to become future cybersecurity leaders. StarLink Marketplace: An e-commerce destination in the cloud that provides existing and new partners flexibility with payments, scalability, end-to-end visibility and instant order processing features. One of the key highlights of the event was the 2017 Partner Appreciation Awards. The categories and winners were: Ÿ Ÿ Computer & Power Technology: Partner Appreciation Award for IT Security Vision Ÿ Ÿ Alpha Data: Partner Appreciation Award for IT Security Focus With over 300 plus channel partners from across META region, the annual event was a success. Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Gulf Business Machines: Partner Appreciation Award for IT Security Leadership Al Moammar Information Systems Company: Partner Appreciation Award for IT Security Strategy Innovative Solutions: Partner Appreciation Award for IT Security Integration FutureTec: Partner Appreciation Award for IT Security Sales SecureTech: Partner Appreciation Award for IT Security Growth PRO TECHnology: Partner Appreciation Award for Data Center Excellence Versos: Partner Appreciation Award for IT Security Initiatives Al Jeraisy: Partner Appreciation Award for IT Security Management Etisalat recognises top sales channel partners of 2017 Etisalat honoured its top performing partners at an awards ceremony in Dubai. Etisalat annually recognises and rewards the company’s partners for their support to achieve strong results and for their efforts in taking Etisalat to greater heights. This year, the Sales Engagement award ceremony was held at the Ritz Carlton, Jumeirah Beach Residence. The annual event seeks to recognise the top performing partner stores for recharge, eLife, prepaid and post-paid sales in 2017, to drive passion and create a competitive environment. Etisalat annually recognises and rewards the company’s partners. 9