Cisco Tetration Analytics Provides the most Comprehensive Data Center Visibility and Analysis in Real Time, at Scale

Cisco delivers a “Time Machine for the Data Center” by combining analytics and data center technologies  

  

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 27, 2016: Cisco announced Cisco Tetration AnalyticsTM, a platform designed to help customers gain complete visibility across everything in the data center in real time– every packet, every flow, every speed. Cisco Tetration Analytics gathers telemetry from hardware and software sensors, and then analyzes the information using advanced machine learning techniques. Tetration addresses critical data center operations such as policy compliance, application forensics, and the move to a whitelist security model. Through continuous monitoring, analysis, and reporting, the Tetration Analytics platform provides IT managers with a deep understanding of the data center that will dramatically simplify operational reliability, zero-trust operations and application migrations to SDN solutions and the cloud.  

“Gaining much deeper visibility into the data center and automating actionable analysis across a company’s infrastructure marks a critical technology advancement in building secure digital business models like cloud, mobile and IoT,” said Mike Weston, Vice President, Cisco Middle East. “We believe the insights we gain from applications and the data center overall will enhance existing software solutions and drive the future development of new advanced software that will improve business operations, efficiency and customer experiences.”

With Cisco Tetration Analytics, organizations can:

• Understand what applications are dependent on each other throughout their data center and into the cloud
• Move from reactive to proactive: make informed operational decisions and validate the effect of policy changes before they are implemented
• Search across billions of flows in less than a second using Tetration’s forensics search engine and user interface
• Continuously monitor application behavior to quickly identify any deviation in communication patterns

The Challenge

There is currently no single tool designed to collect consistent telemetry across the entire data center and analyze large volumes of data in real time, at scale. Up till now, organizations have performed fragmented tasks without the correlation necessary to address operational issues comprehensively. As a result, these complex, slow and disjointed tools are costly in terms of time, money and lost opportunity. IT managers today are hampered by a lack of visibility and knowledge.  

• They lack pervasive visibility into data center infrastructure and how applications are interacting, which results in operational challenges.
• They are unable to migrate applications to the cloud or set up a Disaster Recovery site effectively with precision and speed.
• They’re unable to adopt a zero trust model because they lack the critical information and resources to implement or maintain it.

The Solution: Cisco Tetration Analytics Platform

Tetration is designed to help enable pervasive and complete visibility across the data center using either server software sensors that require very low overhead, network hardware sensors that monitor packet-by-packet meta data, or both combined for the most complete solution. Tetration executes advanced data center analytics in real time and presents actionable analysis with easy to understand visuals. Tetration delivers information critical for data center operations, such as: application insights, automated white list policy recommendations, policy simulation and impact analysis, compliance management, and network flow forensics.

Tetration is like a time machine for the data center, enabling organizations to rewind what has happened in the past, view what is happening in the present in real time, and model what could happen:

• Model a change before it’s executed to understand the impact on applications to enable informed operational decisions;  
• Validate that policy changes have actually been applied and taken full effect;
• Do real-time and historical policy simulation - replay what happened in the network at any time, with long term data storage capabilities.

How it works

Software sensors are installed on end hosts: either virtual machine or bare metal servers. In the first Tetration release, software sensors support Linux and Windows server hosts, while hardware sensors are embedded in the ASICs of Cisco Nexus 9200-X and Nexus 9300-EX network switches to collect flow data at line rate from all the ports. A single Tetration appliance will monitor up to one million unique flows per second. Both software and hardware sensors communicate the flow information in real time to the Tetration Analytics platform. The platform can be installed in any data center with any servers and any network switches.

The Tetration platform is a “one-touch” appliance: the servers and switches are prewired and the software is pre-installed. Setting up Tetration is easy: answering a few questions regarding the data center environment allows the Cluster to be configured. The big data complexity is hidden- no special big data expertise is needed to deploy or operate Tetration. Available in July 2016, the first Tetration platform will be a full rack appliance that is deployed on-premise at the customer’s data center.

Cisco Advanced Services

Although Tetration Analytics is easy to deploy in just hours to start gaining immediate benefits, some organizations may wish to engage Cisco Tetration Advanced Services expertise to gain even faster time to value through guidance on optimizing policies and application performance, and support for comprehensive adoption of the solution in their data centers. In addition, Cisco Solution Support for Tetration provides 24/7 global solution expertise for centralized issue management and resolution for Cisco Tetration Analytics and Tetration ecosystem partner products, with hardware, software and solution-wide support in a single service.

Majid Al Futtaim encourages visitors to donate books, toys and clothes during last weeks of Ramadan

10th ‘Make A Difference’ Campaign helps families in need across the region

During Ramadan, Majid Al Futtaim have placed special donation boxes in convenient locations in all of its destinations across Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, and the UAE, encouraging visitors to donate everyday essentials including books, clothes and toys.

Alain Bejjani, Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim – Holding said: “In line with our vision to ‘Create Great Moments for Everyone, Everyday,’ the ‘Make a Difference’ Ramadan Campaign brings us together with local communities to support those in need during the holy month. For ten years, we have seen the campaign help capture the true spirit of Ramadan amongst communities, and motivate individuals and families to make a difference by helping those less fortunate. The campaign continues to be one of our most successful annual charity activations and we hope to increase donations once again this year.”

Across the region, Majid Al Futtaim partners with charitable organisations such as the Islamic Association in Bahrain, Life Makers in Egypt, Bassma in Lebanon, Dar Al-Atta in Oman, and Red Crescent in the UAE, ensuring timely and appropriate distribution of all donated goods through their humanitarian network during Ramadan. Last year, the company collected more than 36 tonnes of donated items, which were distributed to families in need across the region through its humanitarian aid partners.

“We have been a proud partner of Majid Al Futtaim’s ‘Make A Difference’ campaign for the past ten consecutive years. It is a truly inspiring initiative that captures the Ramadan spirit of giving and compassion and we hope that this year will see the highest number of donations to date,” said Mohammed Abdullah Alhaj Al Zaroni, Manager, Red Crescent UAE.

Starting on the first day of Ramadan and continuing into Eid, the ‘Make a Difference’ Ramadan Campaign provides easily accessible donation points at Majid Al Futtaim assets across the region, including Mall of the Emirates and City Centre malls. Collection points can also be found in participating Carrefour, Magic Planet, Ski Dubai and VOX Cinemas. Furthermore, customers can make donations through Najm, Majid Al Futtaim’s Visa credit card.

Samsung Launches Innovative Keep Ramadan Shining Campaign Across the Middle East

The creative campaign aims to capture the brightness in every moment this Ramadan  

Cairo, Egypt – June 26, 2016 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd MENA, today announced the launch of its #KeepRamadanShining campaign. Samsung aims to portray the brightness in every moment this Ramadan by capturing its essence through the different ways it is celebrated by individuals, family and friends, and entire communities, with the aim of bringing that essence to life for future generations.  

The creative campaign stems from the realization that today’s fast paced, modern lifestyle, has transformed the way in which people throughout the Middle East experience Ramadan. In light of this, Samsung is supporting the younger generations in keeping the essence of Ramadan alive by letting it shine through their memories. #KeepRamadanShining is about capturing the moments, making them bright again and sharing them with friends, family and the world around.

In the spirit of storytelling, Samsung has joined forces with award winning international photographers and celebrated individuals throughout the region to capture the essence of what Ramadan is to them and their communities with the Galaxy S7 edge camera.

“Ramadan has always been celebrated throughout the Middle East region as a time when families gather to reflect and celebrate the essence of what the holy month means to them. We realized that as our world changes, so do the ways in which we celebrate and make memories. At Samsung, we have created an entire ecosystem that is transforming the way we capture memories, so that they can be relived as moments, time and time again,” said Ragia Samir, Head of Corporate Marketing, Samsung Electronics Egypt.  “#KeepRamadanShining is a story telling campaign that captures flashes of the celebrative, reflective and community aspects that really bring this holy month to life. This campaign is intended to be a dialogue for people to capture their experiences this Ramadan and share them with the world.”

People throughout the Middle East can get involved in the campaign by following the hashtag #KeepRamadanShining across all social media channels, as well as sharing the moments that capture the essence of what Ramadan means to them.

سامسونج تطلق حملة " خلي رمضان منور" في جميع أنحاء الشرق الأوسط

تهدف الحملة الابداعية لتسليط الضوء على اللحظات المشرقة في الشهر الفضيل

القاهرة، مصر- 26 يونيو 2016: أعلنت شركة سامسونج للإلكترونيات الشرق الأوسط و شمال أفريقيا- اليوم عن اطلاق الحملة الابداعية #خلي_رمضان_منور، و تهدف الحملة الى تسليط الضوء على كل لحظة مشرقة و ذات خصوصية في رمضان سواءَ مع الأصدقاء أو أفراد الاسرة و حتى المجتمعات، و ذلك بهدف إيصال جوهر الشهر الفضيل الى الأجيال القادمة.

و تأتي هذه الحملة الإبداعية من وعي بأن نمط الحياة السريعة قد حولت أنماط الحياة التي يعيشها الناس في جميع أنحاء الشرق الأوسط خلال رمضان، و للمساهمة في إحياء جوهر رمضان بين جيل الشباب، أطلقت شركة سامسونج حملة #خلي_رمضان_منور، لالتقاط جميع اللحظات المشرقة الرائعة، و تقاسمها مع الأصدقاء و الأسرة حول العالم.

و ضمن روح الحملة، دعت سامسونج مجموعة من المصورين العالميين و المشاهير الذين سوف يعملون على التقاط أجمل لقطات المودة خلال الشهر الفضيل باستخدام سامسونج غالاكسي S7 ايدج.

قالت السيدة راجية سمير، رئيس قطاع تسويق، سامسونج الكترونيكس مصر:" يعتبر رمضان شهراَ جامعاَ للأسرة  في جميع أنحاء الشرق الأوسط للاحتفال بالشهر الفضيل، هذا العام في رمضان اتخذنا خطوة لنرى كيف يمكننا تقديم الأفضل و التواصل مع عملائنا ضمن طقوس الشهر الفضيل ، #خلي_رمضان_منور، هي حملة رواية للقصص التي تلتقط في اللحظات الاحتفالية و هذا يشكل انعكاساَ للشهر المبارك، حيث تهدف حملتنا لتكون اطاراَ عريضاَ للصور ليرى الناس الأشخاص الفاعلين داخل مجتمعاتهم".

ويمكن لجميع الأفراد في منطقة الشرق الأوسط المشاركة في هذه الحملة  الهاشتاق #خلي_رمضان_منور على جميع روابط التواصل الاجتماعي، و مشاركة اللحظات المشرقة للشهر الفضيل.

Banque Saudi Fransi Confirms Platinum Sponsorship for Saudi Trade Finance Summit

QnA International hosts 4th annual Saudi Trade Finance Summit in Jeddah

Jeddah, 27thJune, 2016 –The upcoming 4thAnnual Saudi Trade Finance (STF) Summit, organized by Dubai based QnA International has cemented its position as the premier gathering to discuss financial regulations, strategies and services development and trends shaping the economy and the business landscape in the Kingdom. The STF Summit is gearing up to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in November 2016. Previously, The STF Summit was held in Riyadh for three consecutive years.

A by-invite only exclusive event continues to feature key stakeholders including: government and regulatory authorities, financial institutions, technology providers, trade credit insurers, consulting and advisory firms along with finance professionals from mid and large enterprises.  The platform is set to focus on enabling opportunities in the diversification of non-oil based economic development and services that will fuel growth in line with Vision 2030 for creating a thriving economy.

Banque Saudi Fransi, a platinum sponsor at the 2015 edition of the STF Summit has yet again confirmed its platinum sponsorship for the upcoming edition in November. Speaking on the importance of the Summit and the reasons for sponsorship, Mr. Anjum Noman Mirza, Head—Trade Finance Sales and Solutions Department, Corporate Banking Group, Banque Saudi Fransi, said, “Saudi Arabia is a large global trading partner, and the trade business is a dominant contributor to the country’s GDP. However, as global trade and markets evolve continuously, appropriate trade related solutions catered to clients through new concepts, products, and solutions need to be provided. But, the knowledge of these new methods is lacking in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region. Our platinum sponsorship of the STF Summit is guided by our desire to help in the dissemination of knowledge.’’

Trade is an integral part of economies and businesses around the world and trade finance is an important tool for the smooth flow of international trade. “Trade finance provides the best medium and tool for businesses to venture into new markets. By using banks to provide the trade finance products and services to mitigate various risks associated with their new ventures, organizations can tap into new and diverse markets. In today’s world the quick cross-border trade solutions are a necessity. Trade finance conferences such as the STF Summit can increase awareness of the latest developments in this important field,’’ emphasized Mr. Mirza.

Over the years, the STF Summit has created a firm reputation and strong foothold as Saudi Arabia’s premier and only trade finance gathering, making it a flagship event for the top 150 CFOs and other decision makers involved in trade finance from different industries in Saudi Arabia. At the Summit in November, there will be a shift in focus as the organizers move towards a platform of exchanging ideas on market trends, current situations and disruptions in trade finance transactions.

Explaining the need for focusing on trade finance in this manner, Sidh N.C, Director, QnA International, said, “Now that the Summit is in its fourth year, it has become a regular and well-attended event for those in trade finance. In the context of the global economy and forecasts for trade in the future. It is

prudent for us to discuss the current outlook and emphasise on the diversification of the economy and the role of financial institutions in the Kingdom’s vision to achieve sustainable growth.” He further reaffirmed that “The platform will focus on how to implement and execute the ideation created from the summit.”

While echoing these sentiments, Mr. Mirza added, “Trade remains the core medium of business. Liquidity for corporates as well as lending institutions will be a major player in the economic conditions in 2016. The government’s effort to raise liquidity will be a key factor for the sustainability of its various development endeavours.” In general, there exists a liquidity gap in the region, which has hindered the progress of various businesses but especially SMEs.

“Trade Finance is one of the best solutions for raising working capital. It has also become the first choice for financial institutions during economic downturns as most trade transactions ascertain short term maturities offering better liquidity management, are self-liquidating in nature, carry lower risk for the lender, and helps clients focus on their core business,” continued Mr. Mirza on the effects of trade finance for business operations.

The STF Summit will bring together experts and decision makers ranging from C-level executives to senior professionals from finance departments across industries over a two-day period. The STF Summit will be held from 15-16 November 2016 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

البنك السعودي الفرنسي يؤكد مشاركته كراعٍ بلاتيني في قمة تمويل التجارة السعودية

شركة "كيو ان ايه انترناشونال" تنظم القمة في عامها الرابع وتنقلها الى جدة

(جدة، 27 يونيو 2016) – تنظم شركة "كيو ان ايه انترناشونال" القمة السنوية الرابعة لتمويل التجارة السعودية، والتي عرفت بكونها احدى اهم الاجتماعات السنوية التي تطرح العديد من المواضيع للنقاش كاللوائح المالية والاستراتيجيات وتطوير الخدمات المالية واتجاهات تشكيل الاقتصاد في المملكة العربية السعودية. القمة في عامها الرابع ستعقد في شهر نوفمبر القادم في مدينة جدة، بعد ان طرحت اعمالها في العاصمة الرياض لمدة ثلاث سنوات متتالية.  

القمة الحصرية للمدعوين فقط تستمر باستضافة اهم الاشخاص في مجال التجارة والتمويل ومن مختلف المؤسسات كالسلطات الحكومية والتنظيمية والمؤسسات المالية وشركات التكنولوجيا و شركات التأمين والائتمان التجاري والشركات الاستشارية جنبا إلى جنب مع المتخصصين في القطاع المالي من المؤسسات المتوسطة و الكبيرة. وتمثل القمة منصة للتركيز على تمكين الفرص المتنوعة  لتنمية القطاعات غير النفطية والخدمات الاقتصادية القائمة التي من شأنها أن تغذي النمو الاقتصادي في المملكة تماشيا مع رؤية 2030 التي تهدف لخلق اقتصاد مزدهر.

البنك السعودي الفرنسي، الراعي البلاتيني للقمة في عام 2015 اكد مشاركته في النسخة الرابعة من القمة ايضا وكراع بلاتيني. السيد أنجوم نعمان ميرزا ​​، رئيس قسم مبيعات التمويل التجاري والحلول للشركات في البنك السعودي الفرنسي، اشار في معرض حديثه عن أهمية القمة و أسباب الرعاية بالقول "تعتبر  المملكة العربية السعودية شريكا تجاريا عالميا كبيرا، خاصة وان الأعمال التجارية هي المساهم المسيطر في الناتج المحلي الإجمالي للبلاد. وبما ان التجارة والأسواق العالمية تتطور باستمرار يجب تقديم حلول تجارية مناسبة تلبي طلبات العملاء من خلال المفاهيم الجديدة والمنتجات وتواكب تطور القطاع. كما تهدف القمة الى تبادل هذه الأساليب الجديدة غير الموجودة في المملكة ومنطقة الشرق الأوسط  والتعرف عليها. ولقد اخترنا ان نكون راع بلاتيني لرغبتنا في المساعدة في نشر المعرفة"

التجارة هي جزء لا يتجزأ من الاقتصادات و والاعمال في جميع أنحاء العالم، والتمويل التجاري هو أداة هامة لانسيابية التجارة الدولية. فاضاف السيد ميرزا "يوفر التمويل التجاري أفضل أداة للشركات للدخول الى أسواق جديدة، وذلك من خلال استخدام البنوك لتوفير المنتجات والخدمات للتخفيف من المخاطر المختلفة المرتبطة بالمشاريع الجديدة والتمويل التجاري، ويمكن للمنظمات أن تلجأ إلى أسواق جديدة ومتنوعة. في عالم اليوم الحلول التجارية السريعة العابرة للحدود هي ضرورة، ومؤتمرات التمويل التجاري مثل هذه القمة يمكن أن تزيد الوعي حول أحدث التطورات في هذا المجال الهام".

على مدار 3 سنين، خلقت قمة التمويل التجاري السعودية سمعة مميزة وضمنت لها موطئ قدم قوي كالقمة السعودية الاولى والوحيدة التي تتمحور حول التمويل التجاري، مما يجعلها الحدث الأبرز بالنسبة لاكثر من 150 شخصا من المدراء الماليين و صناع القرار المعنيين في تمويل التجارة من الصناعات المختلفة في المملكة، في القمة التي ستعقد  في نوفمبر المقبل سيكون هناك تحول فيما ستركز عليه، اذ نقل المنظمون التركيز الى تبادل الأفكار حول اتجاهات السوق والحالات و الاضطرابات الحالية في عمليات التمويل التجاري.

ولشرح اسباب اهمية التركيز على الاضرابات والاتجاهات الحالية في التمويل التجاري هذا العام، قال سيد ان سي، مدير شركة "كيو ان ايه انرتناشونال" المنظمة للقمة " الآن نحن نحضر للقمة في عامها الرابع ، فقد أصبحت حدثا منتظما وذا اهمية لكل المهتمين بقطاع التمويل التجاري لمناقشة الاقتصاد والتوقعات العالمية للتجارة في المستقبل . لذا وجدنا أنه لمن الحكمة مناقشة التوقعات الحالية والتأكيد على تنويع الاقتصاد ودور المؤسسات المالية في رؤية المملكة لتحقيق النمو المستدام. لذا ستركز القمة على حول كيفية تطبيق وتنفيذ التصورات التي سيتم استنتاجها خلال القمة".

وقد اكد السيد ميرزا على هذه الفكرة مشيرا "لا تزال التجارة وسيلة أساسية من اساسيات الأعمال، وتعتبر السيولة في الشركات ومؤسسات الإقراض لاعبا رئيسيا في الأوضاع الاقتصادية في عام 2016. وتعتبر جهود الحكومة لرفع السيولة عاملا أساسيا لاستدامة خططها التنموية المختلفة". بشكل عام، وجود نقص في السيولة في المنطقة أعاق تقدم مختلف الشركات لا سيما الشركات الصغيرة والمتوسطة.

واستطرد ميرزا قائلا " ان التمويل التجاري احد أفضل الحلول لرفع رأس مال الشركة، كما أصبح الخيار الأول بالنسبة للمؤسسات المالية خلال فترات الركود الاقتصادي حيث اكدت معظم المعاملات التجارية ان الاستحقاقات قصيرة الاجل تحقق ادارة افضل للسيولة، وتمثل نسبة اقل من المخاطر بالنسبة للمقرض اضافة الى انها تساعد العملاء على التركيز على اعمالهم الاساسية".

قمة تمويل التجارة السعودية ستجمع  الخبراء و صناع القرار بدءا من المدراء التنفيذيين وكبار المتخصصين من الإدارات المالية في كافة المجالات الصناعية على مدى يومين، حيث ستعقد القمة يومي 15 و16 نوفمبر المقبل في جدة ، المملكة العربية السعودية.

Nile Air is the first Middle Eastern airline adopting Amadeus’ complete Airline IT portfolio

The new IT system will help Nile Air improve operational efficiency and save money

Cairo, Egypt; 27 June, 2016: Modern airlines need IT systems that can handle an incredible amount of fare and passenger information and Nile Air is no exception. Nile Air, one of the largest private schedule airline in Egypt, connects Egypt with key international markets like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE, Turkey, Sudan in addition to domestic connections. The airline serves a diverse group of travellers, and it needs an IT system that is capable of creating and selling fares that are tailored to meet the needs of its unique customer segments.

To meet this goal, Nile Air extended its contract with Amadeus to expand the scope of the airline IT services that they use. The airline is now the first in the Middle East to use Amadeus’ complete Airline IT portfolio, which provides end-to-end IT solutions for carriers of all sizes, including small to mid-size airlines.

Apart from Amadeus’ complete Altéa Suite and the Amadeus Digital Solutions, Nile Air has now gained access to four key new features — revenue management, revenue accounting, mobile web and loyalty management — that will boost operational efficiency and save the airline money:

• Altéa Segment Revenue Management tool will give Nile Air recommendations on the best price and packaging for flights and allow the airline to apply dynamic pricing, fare families and ancillary services to better package their fare offers.

• With Amadeus Revenue Accounting solution’s real-time transactional model, Nile Air can track all passenger sales revenues as they happen to increase productivity and data accuracy.

• The Amadeus Loyalty Management system helps Nile Air personalize offers so that they can retain loyal passengers and boost revenues.

• Finally, Amadeus Mobile Web solution ensures that Nile Air’s website is mobile friendly so the airline can achieve brand consistency, smooth customer service and accuracy on all digital platforms.

The new multi-year agreement gives Nile Air access to a fully integrated IT system with instant communication, so the airline can make revenue decisions in real time. The system is also scalable, which allows Nile Air to quickly respond to the needs of a growing airline.

“Successful airlines need to be top-of-mind for passengers and travel agents at the time of booking. With the Amadeus Airline IT portfolio, we are able to improve our operational efficiency and offer a differentiated experience to all of our customers whether travelling internationally or domestically, for business or leisure,” says Ahmed Aly, the CEO of Nile Air.

“Nile Air operates in a very competitive environment and has found a unique niche in which to build their success. With the latest Amadeus suite of IT solutions, Nile Air will have access to a real time fully-integrated, cutting-edge platform which will help them improve their revenue management so that they can better personalize their offers,” says Maher Koubaa, Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Airline IT & Distribution, Amadeus IT Group.

“Nile Air continued growth and expansion further emphasizes the need for a robust, reliable IT platform that will allow it to cater to future growth requirements, customer base while providing the scalability to grow further,” said Khaled Gad, General Manager at Amadeus Egypt.