ArabWeeks

Hybrid cloud deployments are set to have a big impact on Saudi Arabian organizations in the coming years, according to F5 Networks(NASDAQ: FFIV).

The Global Application Delivery Networking leader today highlighted Saudi businesses’ increasing appetite for the potential of the technology, and revealed details of its new enhanced security and cloud offerings.

Highlights include new F5® software that enables hybrid technologies through dynamic on-premises and off-premises deployments, and the extension of its hybrid cloud Silverline services platform to incorporate web-application firewall capabilities.

“The ongoing migration of applications to the cloud, increased user and resource mobility, and the emergence of ever more sophisticated threats have led to the dissolution of the traditional enterprise perimeter,” said Mamduh Allam, Saudi Arabia General Manager, F5 Networks.

“This is pushing organizations to pursue a unified services platform that spans integrated data center and cloud deployments.”

According to IDC, the Saudi cloud market is set to grow 53.8% this year compared to 2014, hitting $77.5 million. The upward trend is echoed by a recent survey by market research company Dun & Bradstreet, which found that 44% of Saudi companies have already or are planning to deploy a cloud computing model in their offices. 28% are planning to implement an advanced hybrid cloud model.

Globally, the hybrid cloud market is estimated to grow from $25.28 billion in 2014 to $86.67 billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 27.3%1, according to MarketsandMarkets. The Middle East and Africa (MEA) is set to play a big role in that growth, with the Cisco Global Cloud Index (2013-2018) noting that the region is set to post the world’s highest cloud traffic growth rate, increasing more than eight-fold from 31 exabytes in 2013 to 262 exabytes in 20182.

However, the transition to the cloud is not without its challenges. A recent survey commissioned by F5 Networks in Saudi Arabia found that 48% of Saudi IT decision-makers claimed that the top cybersecurity challenges was managing the shift from datacentre-focused infrastructure to the cloud.

“Corporate borders are expanding and they must include all cloud environments. These cannot continue to be disconnected operational islands,” said Allam.

“If the future is hybrid – and we very much believe it is – we need to be able to manage such environments much more seamlessly, so that it benefits performance and the bottom line in an obvious and compelling way.”

Extended Hybrid Application Services for Optimized Performance in All IT Environments

BIG-IP® version 12.0 is a major software release that expands F5’s hybrid platform of services, and greatly improves the agility, security, and performance of cloud application deployments

It takes advantage of F5’s application delivery services fabric, extending the F5 Synthesis™ model by combining physical and virtual resources to better support cloud and hybrid scenarios. This approach allows customers to more easily transition workloads to cloud environments as needed and incorporate technologies like HTTP/2, while maintaining the same visibility, security, and control of traditional infrastructures.

F5 accelerates cloud migrations, enabling customers to integrate security, management, and orchestration capabilities for their evolving on-premises and off-premises deployments. Moreover, F5’s programmable, extensible architecture and growing ecosystem of technology partners make its application services an ideal fit for emerging IT trends such as SDN, NFV, and converged systems offerings.

F5 supports customers deploying cloud and hybrid IT architectures, with BIG-IP virtual edition solutions becoming available in the Azure Marketplace.

“Organizations are seeking the same confidence level with applications and services in cloud/hybrid deployments that they’ve seen in the data center,” said Allam.

“Our BIG-IP software is instrumental in helping customers take advantage of the benefits of the cloud without sacrificing security, flexibility, or savings.”

Silverline™ Web Application Firewall

The Silverline™ Web Application Firewall service offering, meanwhile, provides quick web application firewall (WAF) implementation and unified, scalable policy enforcement capabilities. The service also includes 24×7 support from highly specialized F5 security experts with the company’s Security Operations Center (SOC) resources.

As the latest addition to F5’s Silverline cloud-based application services platform, the new WAF offering is built on the award-winning capabilities of the company’s BIG-IP® Application Security Manager™ product. F5 seamlessly provides leading WAF services in both on-premises and subscription-based cloud offerings. The company’s versatile, easy to deploy WAF solutions lets organizations confidently incorporate cloud resources while protecting apps and data from increasingly sophisticated security attacks, risks, and vulnerabilities.

“With security needs outpacing the number of qualified WAF experts in the industry, many organizations find themselves under-protected. Silverline solutions expand F5’s fabric-based Synthesis framework to include cloud-delivered services—giving customers the benefit of F5 experts proactively looking after WAF functionality,” explained Allam.

Driving investment in the Kingdom’s fast-growing ICT sector, the Ministry of Interior announced that the Kingdom will serve as the Official Country Partner for GITEX Technology Week 2015, the largest technology event in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

The Kingdom’s ICT sector has expanded significantly over the past ten years and remains on a strong growth trajectory; in 2012, ICT sector spending reached SAR 94 billion, recording 13.9% annual growth, and reached approximately SAR 102 billion in 2013, recording approximately 14% annual growth.

Over the next five years, the ICT market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1% to exceed SAR 138 billion in 2017.

Public sector investment in ICT will play a key role in the Kingdom’s nationwide digital transformation, with the Kingdom’s public sector IT spending set to grow by 44% from 2014-2017, according to a report by IDC and Mobily.

As a result, the Kingdom ranks fifth in the Middle East and Africa, and 35th in the world, in the World Economic Forum’s Networked Readiness Index 2015, with the Kingdom’s government ranking 8th in the world for promoting and adopting ICT usage, and 18th in the world for government usage of e-services.

Moving forward, the Kingdom’s Tenth Development Plan (2015-2019) and the e-Government Second Action Plan (2012-2016) call for government usage of ICT to build a sustainable e-government workforce, improve the citizen services experience, develop a culture of collaboration and innovation, and improve government efficiency.

“As the Official Country Partner for GITEX Technology Week 2015, the Kingdom will use this global platform to demonstrate best practices in government-led innovation to boost economic diversification, while encouraging foreign direct investment in the Kingdom’s ICT sector and supporting home-grown technology entrepreneurs to expand beyond our borders to deliver transformative services,” said Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Asiri, Official Spokesperson, National Information Center, Ministry of Interior, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom’s Yesser e-Government Program is a beacon for best practices in e-services, with more than 875 e- services across more than 100 government agencies. For example, the Ministry of Interior’s Abshir provides electronic services across visas and sponsorship, vehicle registration, health insurance, and Hajj eligibility.

GITEX Technology Week 2015 will feature the event’s highest-ever number of exhibitors and exhibition space from the Kingdom since its launch 35 years ago, with 48 Saudi exhibitors over more than 1,800 square metres, a 26% increase in exhibitors and 19% in total space.

“For the 35th anniversary of GITEX Technology Week, the Kingdom is our ideal partner – a regional powerhouse for economic growth and technology innovation, and the region’s largest market for ICT investment. Visitors to the event can discover innovations in government services, and insights into reaching a large, youthful, and tech-savvy audience for technology innovations, and a welcoming market for foreign direct investment,” said Ahmed Al Khaja, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre, organisers of GITEX Technology Week 2015.

The new GTX Horizons zone will showcase demonstrations of emerging solutions such as 3D Printing, Autonomous Vehicles (drones), robotics, and smart transport. Additionally, the new GTX Communities area will provide new research, networking, and solutions for firms in key vertical sectors – banking, construction, education, healthcare, retail and oil and gas – that will lead innovation, foster next generation technologies and develop strategic partnerships.

GITEX Technology Week 2015 will continue the innovation narrative with hundreds of globally-renowned speakers leading the show’s expansive conference formats.

Running under the theme ‘The Internet Future of Everything,” GITEX Technology Week 2015 is set to attract more than 140,000 visitors, 20,000 C-level executives and over 3,500 exhibiting brands from 55 countries. The show will be held from 18-22 October 2015 at DWTC. For more information visit: www.gitex.com.

International Data Corporation (IDC) today said it expects ICT spending in Saudi Arabia to top the $36 billion mark this year, as organizations gear up for a whole new era of enterprise computing by ramping up their investments in emerging technologies such as cloud, mobility, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things.

These pronouncements were made as the research and consulting firm hosted the latest edition of its Saudi Arabia CIO Summit at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh. Held over two days, the event was hosted under the patronage of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and attracted over 150 of Saudi Arabia’s most influential CIOs, technology decision makers, and government advisors from across the Kingdom’s entire vertical spectrum.

Running under the theme ‘Where IT Meets Business’, the Summit discussed the importance of closely aligning IT and business functions at a time when organizations across the region are facing up to the challenge of implementing emerging products and services while simultaneously trying to improve operational efficiency.

“While warnings of impending change have been heard for as long as the IT industry itself has existed, the realities facing today’s businesses represent a whole new ballgame,” said Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC’s group vice president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. “Users are having to wrestle with a rate of change that has never been seen before. With this, the focus of CIOs across the region is beginning to shift to the new wave of disruptive technologies that are heading their way, with unprecedented opportunities to drive innovation and value creation across all facets of the organization. This will not only require a new breed of CIO leadership, but also a whole new era of collaboration right across the CxO value chain.”

With the event representing the largest gathering of CIOs in Saudi Arabia, a host of global ICT giants joined forces with influential local players to present their unique insights into the latest trends shaping technology adoption across the wider region, while a variety of senior line-of-business executives were also on hand to offer that all-important non-IT perspective. For the first time, the event also included a series of vertical-focused tracks, with the spotlight focusing on the Kingdom’s government, banking and finance, and energy sectors, as well as on the need for organizations of all kinds to embrace the digital revolution before they get left behind.

“As the world changes beyond all previous recognition, we are increasingly becoming a community of digital citizens living in a global network that is always connected,” said Abdulaziz Al-Helayyil, IDC’s regional director for Saudi Arabia. “We engage online more than ever before, and with the world’s information at our fingertips we have become significant contributors to a vast and growing information ecosystem. Businesses need to keep pace with this change by redefining themselves and adopting a digital mindset. That starts with digitizing their business models and re-engineering the customer experiences they deliver, so that they can leverage both the information they own and the information that is created by their customers.”

To ensure the very latest technologies were covered at the Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2015, IDC partnered with some of the world’s foremost ICT players, including: STC, EMC, Wareef, and HP (in partnership with Intel) as Summit Partners; F5 Networks, BlackBerry, AEC, VMware, Schneider Electric, and Oracle (in partnership with Intel) as Platinum Partners; Infoblox, Cognizant, Vision Solutions, Informatica, Fortinet, Symantec, Veeam Software, and Juniper (in partnership with Salec) as Gold Partners; Lenovo and iLead as Vertical Partners; and Global Knowledge, Innovative Solutions, and Integrated Telecom Company as Lunch Partners.

For more information about IDC’s Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2015, please contact Abdulaziz Al-Helayyil, IDC’s regional director for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, on +966 11 263 2962 or at ahelayyil@idc.com. You can also tweet about the Summit using the hashtag #IDCSAUDICIO or visit the dedicated event website at www.idcciosummitksa.com.

Sprout by HP, a first-of-its-kind Immersive Computing platform that redefines the user experience and creates a foundation for future immersive technologies is now available in Saudi Arabia. Sprout by HP is the first product available under HP’s Blended Reality ecosystem, designed to reduce the barriers between the digital and physical worlds, allowing users to reimagine how and what they can create.

Sprout by HP Reimagines Computing

Sprout by HP combines the power of an advanced desktop computer with an immersive, natural user interface to create a new computing experience.

Combining a scanner, depth sensor, hi-resolution camera and projector into a single device, Sprout by HP allows users to take physical items and seamlessly merge them into a digital workspace. As the first fully integrated desktop 3D scanning solution, Sprout by HP provides users with a simple, quick and affordable way to create 3D content. The system also delivers an unmatched collaboration platform, allowing users in multiple locations to collaborate on and manipulate a single piece of digital content in real-time.

Sprout by HP At-a-Glance

• Dual-screen Experience: A workspace designed for creative expression and human interaction with an integrated vertical HD touch screen coupled with a 20 point capacitive touch mat.
• The Sprout Illuminator: A projection system that scans and captures real-world objects in 3D, allowing the user to immediately interact and create.
• HP Workspace: A software platform built expressly for Sprout to take full advantage of the dual-screen experience to make working and creating seamless, intuitive and engaging.
• 3D Scanning Solution:The solution, consisting of Sprout with its Intel Real Sense 3D cameras, the proprietary HP 3D Capture Stage and 3D capture software, uniquely allows users to easily capture any object in 3D that can then be further modified, shared, and printed.
• True Remote Collaboration: The way collaboration should be. An interface that advances how users work, collaborate and share, with simultaneous visual and workspace connectivity, allowing concurrent creativity and content manipulation.
• Advanced Platform: A next-generation computing platform featuring a powerful 4^th generation Intel i7 Processor, 1TB of storage in an easy-to-use dual-screen interface, and a Windows 8.1 multi-touch experience.

Sprout Marketplace

The potential of Sprout by HP’s unique configuration is fully realised through the Sprout Marketplace, an application marketplace that contains a growing suite of applications that are optimised to take advantage of Immersive Computing platform to enhance how users work, play and engage with entertainment.

The Sprout Marketplace currently contains a suite of Windows-based applications designed uniquely for the dual-screen environment including the Crayola DJ, Fuse for Families, Virtual DJ, DreamWorks Animation Story Producer, Crayola’s Draw & Sing, GestureWorks Gameplay and first party experiences from HP including Create, Collaborate and Capture, enabling users to easily capture physical objects, manipulate them in a digital environment, and collaborate and share their creations in new ways.

New applications, including a range of creative applications for professionals, families, gamers and beyond, will continue to be added to the marketplace regularly. The Sprout Software Development Kit is available at www.sprout.hp.com/developer.

Sprout by HP is available now at Jarir Book Store Only for a starting price of 9,999 SR For more information on Sprout by HP go to: www.sprout.hp.com