ISSUE 19
A
Intelligent briefin
gs for Middl
e East and Africa
PUBLIC ATION
channel partn
ers
Digitalising
the
automotive
sector
ELMA POTGIETER,
BRITEHOUSE’S
REGIONAL EXECUT
IVE, MIDDLE EAST
The importanc
e of partnershi
ps
in the cyber
security secto
PAUL POTGIETER,
r
Mark Bowen is Lynchpin Media’s Managing
Editor, and Editor of Intelligent CIO Middle East
and Intelligent Tech Channels. He has more than
10 years’ experience of editing newspapers and
magazines in the UK.
MANAGING DIRECT
OR
– UAE, DIMENSION
DATA
How chann
els partners
mitigate risk
for SMB custo can
mers
ZACKY
VAZ, REGIONAL
CHANNEL
MANAGER, FORTIN
ET
A SENSE O
TOGETHER F
NES
S
GET SOCIAL
. . .
Mahmoud Alyah
Xerox, on why a, Middle East Operation
s Region Mana
channel partn
ger
ers are a ‘true
company’s
extension’ of at
market activ
the
ities.
@IntTechCha
nnels
www.linkedi
n.com/compa
ny/lyn
chpin-media
www.intellig
enttechchan
nels.com
EDITOR’S COMMENT
W
elcome to the latest edition
of Intelligent Tech Channels
(ITC) magazine. This edition,
on page 24, we discover how
a South Africa-based team
implemented a large-scale
automotive digitalisation project
in the Middle East. Britehouse,
a specialist in advanced supply
chain and manufacturing industry
solutions, demonstrated its expertise
by implementing a new SAP solution
for automotive distributor Abdul
Latif Jameel Motors. The Britehouse
team was tasked with carrying out the
complex project because of its track record
in delivering complex SAP solutions for large
enterprises. And the fact that the project
was based in the Middle East proved to be
no barrier to the team. As Elma Potgieter,
Britehouse’s Regional Executive, Middle East,
puts it: “We now understand the culture
within the Middle East and know what the
challenges and pitfalls are. We enjoyed
working in the Middle East, so we are looking
forward to the next opportunity in this region.”
In this edition, on page 64, we also
discover how channel partners can mitigate
risk of cyberattacks for SMB customers.
With SMBs targeted by cybercriminals,
Zacky Vaz, Regional Channel Manager,
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
Issue 19
Fortinet, tells us how channel partners
can reduce the risk. He says many SMB
customers store data that is just as
valuable to cybercriminals as that of larger
companies, be it payment information,
healthcare records, or other personally
identifiable information. He tells us
how Fortinet partners can assist these
organisations in finding the right level of
security for their individual needs to keep
them from suffering a data breach, while
harnessing the benefits of new technologies
to grow their digital business.
On the next couple of pages we take
a close look at collaboration between
cybersecurity partners and vendors.
Paul Potgieter, Managing Director – UAE,
Dimension Data, tells us how no single vendor
has the capacity to provide agile solutions to
a multitude of medium and large enterprises,
hence the importance of partnerships across
sectors such as cybersecurity.
It’s very difficult to disagree with these
sentiments since they underline the sheer
importance of channel partners and the
crucial role they play in fundamentals, such as
protecting us all from cyberattack. We should
all be grateful for the vital role they play.
Mark Bowen
Editor
15