value-added distribution - itp.net engineered systems: oracle’s extreme performance & low cost...
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ORACLE ENGINEERED SYSTEMS: Oracle’s extreme performance & low
cost datacentre solutions (P12)
INSIDE: WELCOME LETTER BY DR. ALI BAGHDADI P3. APTEC NEWS P4. VALUE PIONEER P6. MICROSOFT VAD P9. CISCO’S DATACENTRE ARRAY P10. RIVERBED PARTNER NETWORK P11. BACKUP’S INCONVENIENT TRUTH P14 .
Value-Added Distribution
Pioneering value-added distribution in the Middle East region
Business Insights For IT Solution Providers June 2012
POWERVAULT STORAGE: Storage made simple with Dell’s
PowerVault MD array (P18)
HP SIMPLIFIES NETWORKING: Vendor widens range with
OpenFlow enabled switch range (P24)
An Aptec Holdings Group in-house Publication
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
2 06 | 2012
APTEC Distribution FZDubai Internet City, Dubai, UAE
PO Box 33550
Tel: +971 4 3697111
Contact: Svetlana Sorokina
E-mail: [email protected]
APTEC EgyptHeliopolis, Cairo, Egypt
Tel: +202 6444264 / 6355030
Contact: Tarek Baghdady
E-mail: [email protected]
APTEC KuwaitOffice 11, 6th Floor, Rifai Complex,
Ibn Khaldoun Street, Hawally, Kuwait
Tel: +965.22256890
Contact: Akeel Zakir
E-mail: [email protected]
APTEC LebanonSt. Georges Sq, Lebanon
Tel: +961 4 718891
Contact: Elie Abou Emaan
E-mail: [email protected]
APTEC OMAN BranchKnowledge Oasis Muscat Building 4
P O Box 100, Rusayl, Oman
Tel: +971 4 3697111
Contact: Svetlana Sorokina
E-mail: [email protected]
APTEC Saudi ArabiaPO Box 94609
Riyadh 11614
Tel: +966 1 4601950
Contact: Mohammed Sheikh
E-mail: [email protected]
APTEC TurkeySuleyman Seba Cad
Macka 34367 82/3
Istanbul, Turkey
Tel: (90 212) 2590 0064
Contact: Hulya Erkmen
E-mail: [email protected]
Track Distribution DubaiPO Box: 111778
DIC, Dubai-UAE
Tel: +971 4 4293476
Contact: Shailendra Sainani
E-mail: [email protected]
Track Distribution PakistanOffice 410, 4th Floor, Caesars Tower
Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi
Tel: +9221 32786675
Contact: Rizwan Ahmed
E-mail: [email protected]
Track Distribution Saudi ArabiaOffices in Riyadh/ Jeddah/ Damman
Tel: +966 1 460 1950
Contact: Noman Rasheed
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact Information
PARTNERS & CONTACT INFORMATION
Published on behalf of Aptec Holdings Group by ITP Technology Group
June 2012
www.apteconline.com 306 | 2012
Dear Partners,
From a traditional broadline distribution model, Aptec has been making the
transition to value-added distribution (VAD) for some time now with the estab-
lishment of ATS, its professional services and Advanced Logistics Services (ALS).
For the past few years, Aptec has taken several steps in the direction of VAD as
we have removed components and consumer oriented products from the product
portfolio and expanded the VAD solutions, invested in training centres across all major
offices in the region thereby helping us to skill-up and train partners, increase technical
competencies, provide technical training and enablement, certify pre- and post-sales
technical expertise etc.
Today, Aptec is 100% focused on value-added distribution and associated services
across the group, selling solution-based products to the SMB and SME market
through qualified resellers and increasing its local presence and services in the region.
Aptec now offers a multitude of smart solutions with products supplied by more
than 30 of the world’s leading multinational IT vendors. These include infrastructure
solutions like security, data centre, storage, virtualisation, private & public clouds, and
networking. Others include applications like database engines, data analytics, CRM,
smart dashboards and unified communications (UC).
Two awards “Value-Added Distributor of the Year” received from two major IT
industry publications ‘Channel Middle East Awards’ by ITP and ‘Choice of the Channel
Awards’ by VAR is recognition of our efforts in the direction of setting the standards for
the VAD offerings. We were extremely happy to receive these awards, and I would like
to take this opportunity to thank all our reseller partners and vendors who contributed
to our joint success. We hope that our relationship will only strengthen going forward.
The Aptec team will work hard to keep up to the expectations of partners across the
region.
Sincerely,
Dr Ali Baghdadi
President & CEOAptec Group
(9)MICROSOFT - VAD: Being a Microsoft VAD
(11)RIVERBED - RPN PROGRAM: Vendor boosts partner programme
(12)ORACLE - DATACENTRE ARRAY: Extreme perfomance solutions
(13)VMWARE - VALUE-ADD: A distributor’s Midas touch
(24)HP - SIMPLIFIED NETWORKS: OpenFlow enabled switches
INTRODUCTION
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
4 06 | 2012
Aptec scoops ‘VAD of the Year’ at Channel ME 2012 Awards
Aptec shines at ‘VAR Choice Awards’ Aptec, SAP partner in MENA region
Distributor grew its VAD business by 40% in 2011 in the region
Dr. Baghdadi says Aptec has transitioned towards the VAD model and has a
product portfolio to reflect this change.
Aptec’s Svetlana Sorokina (l) says the award shows that Aptec is on the
right path with its VAD strategy in the region.
Aptec Holdings, a regional technology
distributor in the Middle East, Pakistan,
Turkey and Africa, was recently awarded
the ‘Value-Added Distributor of the Year 2012’
at the Channel Middle East Awards 2012. The
Channel Middle East awards held at the Westin
Hotel, Dubai, brought together IT leaders in the
Middle East region to recognise the outstanding
achievements of the regional channel over the
past twelve months.
More than 300 channel executives attended
the awards event.
Aptec won the award for its outstanding con-
tribution in the field of value-added distribution
(VAD). Aptec says that its VAD business grew by
40% in 2011 in the Middle East.
Dr. Ali Baghdadi, CEO and President of Aptec
Holdings, said: “As one of the largest distributors
Distribution powerhouse Aptec Holdings,
was recently recognised as the ‘Value-Added
Distributor of the Year” at the VAR Choice of the
Channel (COC) 2011 awards ceremony was
which held in Park Regis Hotel in Dubai. The
sixth COC Awards also celebrated the 150th
issue of VAR magazine and was attended by
more than 200 channel executives from the
regional IT industry.
Aptec received the award for its outstand-
ing achievements in the field of value-added
distribution (VAD) which were recognised by
the industry through an on-line voting process.
The channel appreciated Aptec’s multiple
initiatives related to channel development and
solutions offerings in the field of datacentre
and virtualisation, cloud computing, storage,
in the region, we have a commitment to our part-
ners to stay relevant and ensure that they have
access to products and solutions that match the
needs of our partners’ customers. We have been
slowly transitioning towards VAD and have been
streamlining our portfolio and partnerships to
reflect this change. We are happy to get recogni-
tion and appreciation of the channel in a form of
Award from Channel ME.”
Svetlana Sorokina, Regional Marketing
Manager at Aptec Holdings, said : “We are de-
lighted with the award which clearly reflects the
continued confidence of our vendors and the
satisfaction of our channel partners. We listened
to our customers and were able to give them
the best solutions, services and innovations to
everyone’s satisfaction.”
As one of the largest distributors in the region,
security, networking and other technologies.
Having transitioned from the traditional
broadline distribution, Aptec has been making
the transition to become a VAD for some time.
The distributor has established ATS, its profes-
sional services subsidiary.
Aptec offers its partners support in terms of
finance and credit facilities, marketing tools, as
well as local interaction with qualified staff across
the Middle East in more than 20 locations in 11
countries. The company says that it has invested
in training centres that contribute to the skilling
up and training on technical competencies.
Aptec has tied up with SAP to sell SAP Business
Objects portfolio in the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA) region. SAP says it wants to expand
its ecosystem and harness the power of Aptec’s
reseller network in the MENA market.
The vendor states that resellers can now sign
up with Aptec and sell SAP Business Objects BI
Edge to their customers. Aptec as a Value added
distributor will support resellers with complete
pre-sales and post-sales activities, says SAP.
SAP BusinessObjects Edge BI 4.0 helps compa-
nies make rapid, fact-based decisions – regard-
less of where the data resides. Its dramatically
improved capabilities provide rapid ROI, save
money, and improve agility, says SAP.
Resellers can contact Aptec on tkamath@
aptecme.com or 043697111-391 for more details.
APTEC NEWS
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
506 | 2012
Aptec strengthens presence in the Gulf region
Track Distribution launches APC in Pakistan
Track leads channel enablement in the region
Distributor reaches out to channel partners in Kuwait and Qatar
Aptec and Track Distribution recently success-
fully hosted two Aptec Business Forums for
its channel partners in Kuwait and Qatar.
The events, which were held as part of the
Aptec Group effort to cement its channel
presence in the Gulf region saw more than 150
reseller companies attend.
Aptec used the platform to showcase a wide
portfolio of products to channel partners in the
two Gulf states.
“As a distributor, we have a commitment to
our partners to help them maximise revenue op-
portunities and this road show highlighted some
unique solutions offered by our vendors,” said
Bahaa Salah, Managing Director for Aptec Distri-
bution FZ LLC. “In the current economic scenario,
it is important for the channel to offer the right
balance of products, services and solutions that
will give their customers a measurable ROI. We
feel we have the right tools to help them do this.”
Track Distribution, part of Aptec Hold-
ings Group, one of the largest technology
distributors in the Middle East, Pakistan,
Turkey and Africa, and APC by Schneider
Electric recently launched Track Distribution
Pakistan as the official distributor of its solu-
tions in that country. The initiative by Track
Distribution and APC is part of a concerted
effort by the two companies to train resell-
ers on APC products and solutions, and
power management.
Essam Baghdady, Vice President of Aptec
Group, said: “While the IT market showed
contracting trends worldwide by 3% and
the European recession hit harder, the
Middle East and Africa (MEA) region saw a
5% growth. On a positive note, IT spending
according to researchers and analysts hit
the bottom and now is on the recovery.”
Baghdady said Pakistan showed promis-
ing indications and the potential growth
outlook with the ICT sector is estimated at
US$12.8 billion.
Christian Bertrand, Vice President Middle
East and Africa at APC by Schneider Electric,
said network downtime and interrupted
supplies of electricity can affect business sig-
nificantly. Bertrand said UPS systems ensure
the conversation of energy in the system
therefore helping companies to expand
their business with lesser cost.
“The Aptec Business Forums in Kuwait and Qa-
tar were another two great initiatives to person-
ally meet with key executives of the local IT chan-
nel community to keep the finger on the pulse of
local and regional developments within the ICT
business. I enjoyed the most having interactive
sessions with all participants, as those help us to
understand the local requirements to support the
channel and grow the business to the next level,”
said Mario Veljovic, General Manager of Advanced
Technology Services, Aptec’s own professional
services company.
Govind Haridas, Business Unit Manager for
Security & Storage at Aptec Distribution agreed
and added that: “This road show gave us the op-
portunity to re-introduce our business units and
the various vendors we represent along with the
latest offerings from them. We could also present
our value proposition to our customers while
updating them with the latest initiatives at Aptec.”
Track has announced focus on distribution led business of Cisco by forming a new four-member ‘inside
sales’ team which will be focused on reaching out to the entire Aptec and Track Distribution database. Track
says enablement of SMB resellers followed with programmes and promotions aim to drive sales. Track also
announced its focus on KSA as a strategic market by having a new two member team for Oracle based in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Track will be working with potential system integrators to grow the share of Track in
the Kingdom. Reseller enablement and EX tra, Track’s Channel Program for Oracle’ will be the key drivers.
Executives from Track & APC at the launch of the vendor’s products in Pakistan.
More 150 resellers attended Aptec’s road shows in Kuwait & Qatar.
APTEC NEWS
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
6 06 | 2012
Value PioneerWith vendors and channel partners demanding more from the ‘new age’ distributor, the onus is on them to prove their worth as the middlemen in the supply chain of IT products. Dr Ali Baghdadi, President & CEO Aptec Holdings, explains how Aptec Group has been transitioning and building capacity to become a VAD in the Middle East AND Africa region.
Distributors in the Middle East region
have been talking about value-
added services for quite some time
now. Many agree that it’s the only
way to survive in the emerging
highly competitive scenario. But most channel
partners hold a different view and add that value-
added distribution is hardly visible, except for a
select few distributors who have developed this
model. Many channel partners claim that most
distributors do not provide any value-addition to
the hardware and software products they sell to
the channel.
Although most distributors do have service
centres, provide quality products and services, sup-
plying high-quality products and service reliability
is no longer enough. Both IT manufacturers and
channel partners are demanding much more from
the ‘new age’ distributor. So what does value-addi-
tion mean in the current sense of the term?
Dr Ali Baghdadi, President & CEO Aptec Hold-
ings, says a distributor is an essential link in the
supply chain of IT products and services. Bagh-
dadi said distributors always have to adapt with
changes in products and their optimal supply
route to market.
Consequently, says Dr. Baghdadi, the distribu-
tor’s role may combine elements from different
functions, such as: logistics, marketing, technical
pre-sales support, technical post-sales services,
telesales, field sales, channel marketing, end-user
pull, break and fix services, research and develop-
ment (R&D), hosting, finance and credit, and
geographical coverage. He says no one company
can do everything, but what is vital is that the
distributors must choose the path that’s suitable
for their business model, skill-up and be best-in-
class in what they do. “This will depend on the
products and solutions being carried,” he says.
Dr Baghdadi adds that value adding means
to provide an edge to a product in the form of
technical services or additional technical features,
which create additional profit opportunities to
the reseller and an enhanced solution to the end
user. He said in order to achieve this, a value-
added distributor (VAD) must invest in technical
expertise that can deliver pre- and post-sales
services, or invest in technology development
capabilities that can enhance the products being
offered. “VADs sell solutions through value-added
resellers (VARs) aimed at businesses and the com-
mercial sector,” he says.
With vendors and channel partners increasing
their demands from the new age distributors,
the spotlight is on them to justify their role and
relevance in the supply chain. How are distribu-
tors balancing their role in the current scenario so
that they remain relevant?
Dr Baghdadi explains that as one of the largest
distributors in the region, Aptec has a commit-
ment to its channel partners in the Middle East to
stay relevant and ensure that they have access to
products and solutions that match the needs of
their end-user customers. “We have been slowly
transitioning towards the VAD model and have
been streamlining our portfolio and vendor part-
nerships to reflect this change,” he says.
Aptec states that it has been making the transi-
tion from being a traditional broadline distributor
to a VAD for some time now. According to Aptec,
the establishment of ATS, its professional services
arm and Advanced Logistics Services (ALS), has
helped it to address the needs of its vendor
partners in 21 countries across the Middle East
region. Aptec now offers a multitude of solutions
with components supplied by more than 30 of
the world’s leading IT vendors.
Dr. Baghdadi points out that as the supply
chain is changing and the distribution sector in
the Middle East region is going to be challenged
further to add value, it’s worth noting that dis-
tributors cannot be everything for everyone. Dr.
Baghdadi says becoming a VAD with value-added
services is one direction, becoming a broadliner
catering for consumers and SMBs partners is
another. In general, he points out that distribu-
tors will get big in one of these two directions,
become niche in a vertical product or will get out.
“Distribution will always be there so long as we
need laptops, servers, networking equipment,
mobile phones and other physical hardware,” he
says. “The VAD changes are mainly happening in
software and specifically in cloud-based software.
However, let us put things in perspective; Cloud
based services are forecast to represent between
15 to 30% of all software sales.”
Eventually, the goal of a VAD should be to
make sure that the right product is made avail-
able at the right time in the most efficient and
cost effective manner. Distributors not only need
to procure the product from the channel and sell
it to the next level but also ensure that it in turn
successfully sells to the next level by creating
demand for it.
That, after all is the aim of the VAD game. �
Excerpts of this article were first published as a fea-
ture in the March 2012 edition of Channel ME.
www.apteconline.com
ANALYSIS June 2012
6 06 | 2012
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June 2012
706 | 2012
“Distribution will always
be there so long as we need
laptops, servers, networking
equipment, mobile phones
and other physical hardware.
The VAD changes are mainly
happening in software and
specifically in cloud-based
software.”
- Dr Ali Baghdadi, President & CEO
Aptec Holdings Group.
www.apteconline.com
ANALYSISJune 2012
706 | 2012
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
8 06 | 2012
For further information, please visit www.netapp.com/flexpod
FlexPod: A Flexible Data Center Platform to Accelerate Cloud Deployment In response to their needs for a flexible, cost-effective IT solution that will fit into current infrastructures, many organizations are moving away from siloed servers, storage, and networking resources to higher levels of virtualization and are making rapid movement toward the cloud. A major evolution in the data center The FlexPod™ Data Center Solution from Cisco and NetApp provides a flexible infrastructure platform composed of pre-sized storage, networking, and server components. It’s designed to ease IT transformation from virtualization to cloud computing with maximum efficiency and minimal risk. FlexPod differs from other virtualization solutions by providing:
-tier software partners -scale data centers
without architectural changes -to-end automation
Investment protection with standardized, flexible IT The FlexPod future-proof unified architecture runs multiple workloads on all protocols and fits right into current infrastructure, leveraging existing resources and minimizing or eliminating technology replacement costs. Proven across a broad range of environments FlexPod has been pretested and jointly validated with popular hypervisors, operating systems, applications, and infrastructure software, including:
and SharePoint®
FlexPod can be optimized to support several of these workloads simultaneously. NetApp and Cisco have also jointly developed reference architectures—several of them Cisco Validated Designs, with prescriptive sizing guides—to help integrate and flex the solution to meet specific requirements.
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
906 | 2012
VALUE-ADDED DISTRIBUTION
Being a Microsoft VADAptec has continued to invest in future technologies
Aptec, being one of the largest distribu-
tors in the Gulf region always works
hard to stay ahead of innovation,
investing in future technologies to ensure that
its channel partners get all the information and
support to generate sales around the latest
advances from Microsoft.
The distributor is delighted and proud to be
awarded as the only and first value-added dis-
tributor in the entire Gulf, concentrating mainly
on three advanced and upcoming technology
areas. These are: Virtualisation, Unified Commu-
nication (UC), Security and Identity.
Aptec under the Microsoft VAD programme
has continued to enable resellers and service
providers to drive future growth while maintain-
ing a profitable revenue stream by capitalising
on increasing demand and being able to deliver
enhanced technology solutions.
Since its inception as a Microsoft VAD, Aptec
has worked extremely close with the vendor
to develop new business opportunities for a
number of resellers, both in conventional licens-
ing but equally importantly in the virtualisation,
UC and security markets. The company has been
able to achieve this via its technical specialist
teams from Advanced Technology Services and
Business Development Resources.
Aptec drives the VAD business through
focused VARs; exploring the huge opportunity
available for the VARs to build the solution sell-
ing motion on Microsoft solutions by leveraging
the Aptec’s resources. The distributor aims to be
a one-stop shop for VARs to provide total solu-
tions to their SMB and mid-market customers
using the complementary products and solu-
tions along with Microsoft offering.
In addition, Microsoft provides channel
partners with highly skilled technical sup-
port to offer deep expertise for world-class
customer satisfaction, adequate trainings,
and to educate and help resellers understand
the customer requirements needed to deliver
appropriate solutions, focusing on SMBs where
requirements are specific. As a VAD, Aptec
further offers post-sales services to enhance
the end-customer experience.
The company has further optimised and
increased adoption and market development of
specialty solutions in the Middle East region. �
Renu Dhar, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Products, Aptec Holdings
Security & IdentityFOREFRONT Business Read Security
Solution with indentity management,
for integrating and extending security
across the enterprise including End
Point Protection, Online Protection for
Exchange, Sharepoint Etc., with Unified
Access Gateway helps protect every-
where & access anywhere.
Unified CommunicationsLYNC – Communication Experience with
instant messaging, audio, video, web con-
ferencing, enterprise voice, application&
document sharing, scheduling, managing
& online meetings.
Virtulisation
VIRTUALISATION for consolidating
improves efficiency and availability of IT
resources. Virtualising reduces IT costs
while increasing utilisation and flexibility
of existing assets.
Windows Server with System Center Suite Solution gives the right synergy
to virtualise your IT infrstructure by
justifying ROI and TCO.
“Aptec under the Microsoft
VAD Program has continued
to enable resellers and service
providers to drive future
growth while mainatining a
profitable revenue stream.”
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
10 06 | 2012
Cisco’s Datacentre Product PortfolioOffering the regional channel a comprehensive array of best-in-class datacentre solutions
CISCO DATACENTRE PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
BUSINESS VALUES TRACK SERVICE OFFERINGS & CHANNEL PROGRAMS
CISCO UCS SERVERS A Blade Architecture where a Single Management Module can manage 40 Chassis or 320 Half
Width Blade Servers.
a. DEMO: Track is the only Distributor in the Market having a
complete Datacenter Demo setup comprising of Cisco Blade Serv-
ers, Rack Servers, VMWare, Netapps FAS 2020 Storage Server, APC
RACK. TRACK can offer POC’s.
b. PRESALES SKILLS: We have qualified people who can design
complete Datacenter solutions with products available in Cisco
Datacenter portfolio, Netapps Storage, VMWare & APC.
c. UCS Rising Star Program- This Program combined with the
Powerup promotion from Cisco gives the partner an excellent
opportunity to be commercially competitive in the Rack Mount
Server Market. This program extends back end rebates to Partners
on Cisco Rack Mount Server sales. This is apart from the aggres-
sive discounts available to the partner from Cisco which range
from 72-77%.
d. Challenge & Reward Program- 4% additional discount from
Track to Non UCT certified Partners on datacenter components
in a sale .
e. Cisco Attach Program- Excellent Back end rebates to Partners
selling Cisco DC Products along with Cisco Networking Products
The Best Rack Mount server available in the Market for Virtualization. 2 Socket Server can scale
upto 384 GB RAM.
Single Point of Management for Cisco Rack & Blade Servers.
In the event of a blade failure, the new blade can be provisioned with exactly the same profiles
of the failed Blade in 4 minutes without VMWARE in the system.
CISCO NEXUS SWITCHES Increase business agility, simplify operations, and protect your investment with the architec-
tural flexibility provided by data center switching.
Market Leader in 10GB FCOE switches with nearly 75% Market Share
Support core, aggregation, and access in Unified Fabric implementations
CISCO ACE LOAD BALANCER Unifies your application delivery infrastructure.
Increases application, server, and virtual server availability
Reduces power and cooling costs while accelerating application provisioning
CISCO WAAS These solutions can help you dramatically scale application delivery and provide an optimal user
experience to more users and devices across your entire organization.
2 Gbps optimized WAN throughput
Deliver a high-quality user experience through application acceleration and network optimization
CISCO MDS SAN SWITCHES One of the best Fibre Channel SAN Switches available in the Market
Implement highly scalable, converged storage networks
For any clarifications on the above products please contact us today
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
DATACENTRE SOLUTIONS
CISCO UCS SERVERS NEXUS SWITCHES WAAS MDS SWITCHES ACE LOAD BALANCERS
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
1106 | 2012
PARTNER NETWORK PROGRAM
Riverbed enhances RPN Program Vendor unveils a new framework to accelerate partnership momentum in the Middle East region
Imran Batoaq, Product Manager, Riverbed at Aptec Distribution.
Riverbed Technology, the performance
solutions company, has announced a new
framework for its worldwide Riverbed
Partner Network (RPN) Program, an initiative that
is designed to accelerate partnership momen-
tum with new tools, resources and profitability
programmes in the Middle East.
According to the vendor, the next phase of the
RPN programme focuses on creating mutual suc-
cess for value-added resellers (VARs) by introduc-
ing new enablement programmes, enhanced
profitability schemes to reward partners and sup-
port their business growth, and enriched training
initiatives to increase partners’ competency across
the entire Riverbed performance platform.
The vendor has also unveiled a new speciali-
sation framework through Technology Authori-
sation Paths (TAPs) that will empower partners
that focus on building competency and selling
the products and solutions that are best suited
for their skills, target markets and expertise.
As a part of this framework, Riverbed says it
is making a significant investment in building
partners’ competency around the Riverbed
performance platform and across the entire
Riverbed product portfolio, which spans WAN
optimisation, edge virtual server infrastructure
(edge-VSI), application-aware network perfor-
mance management (NPM), application delivery,
web content optimisation (WCO), and cloud
data protection for backup, archive and disaster
recovery (DR).
To ensure partners are well versed on the
Riverbed performance platform, the company
is also introducing a new partner training
programme that includes an extensive offering
of online training classes and curriculum that
are role based - from basic to advanced sales,
and pre-sales. In addition, the new profitability
programmes are geared to help partners build a
strong financial business model when they part-
ner with Riverbed to solve customers’ complex
IT problems with performance solutions.
“With more data being created and living
in more places, we continue to partner with
Riverbed to provide performance solutions that
accelerate data and applications, regardless of
where it resides in order to support the chang-
ing landscape of the customer IT environment.
Riverbed performance solutions enhance our go-
to-market strategies for all related technologies
that we integrate with, from servers to storage to
networking, and to security,” said Paul Myerson,
Vice President at Enterprise Strategy Group.
Accelerating Partnership Momentum with
the VAR community, the RPN is built around five
key pillars to ensure partner success - capac-
ity, competency, engagement, marketing, and
profitability. It is a comprehensive initiative
designed to provide growth and profitability for
each type and size of Riverbed partner, includ-
ing distributors, global partners, large account
resellers, as well as enterprise and small/medium
enterprise solution providers.
“The new RPN initiative offers a simple propo-
sition to partners: here is the money you can
make by selling more solutions that solve cus-
tomers’ IT performance problems,” said Myerson.
“Riverbed connected the dots from a solutions
standpoint and assembled a performance
platform for accelerating applications. Riverbed
has now created a comprehensive partner pro-
gram that more easily brings its performance
platform to market, and provides partners with
an opportunity to expand their line card in the
IT performance market.”
“The Riverbed Partner Network programme is
designed to provide growth and specialisation
opportunities for our entire partner ecosystem,”
said Carolyn Crandall, Vice President, Worldwide
Marketing at Riverbed. “Our new RPN frame-
work will enable greater success for our VAR
community through our TAP programme, which
essentially allows them to excel in areas best
suited for their expertise. With this framework
and the broad suite of performance solutions
we have for partners to offer, this is a great time
to partner with Riverbed.” �
Additional information about Riverbed is available
at www.riverbed.com .
Incase of any queries: please email
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
12 06 | 2012
The Power Behind Oracle’s SystemsOracles extreme performance, fastest deployment and lower cost datacentre solutions.
ORACLE ENGINEERED SYSTEMS
ORACLE ENGINEERED SYSTEMS BUSINESS VALUES TRACK’S SERVICE OFFERINGS
Oracle Database Appliance • Single box that delivers high-availability database services for online
transaction processing (OLTP) and data warehousing applications
• Pre-Sales Support and Consultancy:
We offer excellent presales support to our partners or to their end customers in
terms of providing infrastructure IT solutions with respect to Disk to Application
which involves sizing & architecting the best solution and help them with low-
est TOC and high ROI. We also enable our partners on latest technology and keep
them updated with respect to Oracle Portfolio.
• Partner Development Program:
Track Oracle partner program designed for partners to get rewarded while doing
Enablement activity for Oracle Business. Our partner Program focuses on the
following areas.
• Partner Recruitment:
Partner On Boarding, OPN Registration, Knowledge Zone Activation, Hardware
Resell Rights Activation, Specialization
• Partner Enablement:
Trainings on completing OPN specialization, Product Refresh, Product Position-
ing, OPN/OPS tools.
• Partner Growth:
Rewards Program, Demand Generation Activities, Solution Bundles
• Pay as you grow quickly scale from 2 processor cores to 24 processor cores
• Consolidate OLTP and data warehousing databases up to 4 terabytes in size
Oracle Exalytics Appliance • Best-in-class enterprise BI platform, in-memory analytics software, and
hardware optimized to work together
• No limits on your users, your data, or your applications
Oracle ZFS Storage • Extremely fast backup and recovery for Oracle’s engineered systems
• Lowest total cost of ownership for disk-based data protection
• Leverages Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) best practices
• Backup and restore of Oracle’s engineered systems
Oracle Big Data • Oracle Big Data Appliance is an engineered system optimized for acquiring,
organizing, and loading unstructured data into Oracle Database 11g
Oracle Super Cluster • Best-in-class, wire-speed security with integrated on-ship cryptographic
acceleration
• 100% Oracle SPARC/Solaris binary compatibility for easy migration and
on-going investment protection
• Database, data warehousing, and business intelligence
Oracle Exadata • Consolidate entre Oracle database in your Datacenter
• Accelerate performance for all workloads by at least 10X
• Reduce database storage requirements by 10X
Oracle Exalogic • Exalogic is hardware and software engineered together to provide extreme
performance for Java applications, Oracle Applications, and all other
enterprise applications
References:http://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/database-appliance/overview/index.htmlhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/oracle-database-appliance-ds-495410.pdfhttp://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/ent-performance-bi/business-intelligence/exalytics-bi-machine/overview/index.html?ssSourceSiteId=ocomme
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
1306 | 2012
Value-Add: A distributor’s Midas touchKaushal Shah, Product Manager – Team Virtualisation at Aptec shares insight on value-added distribution and why it should come with services surrounding the distributor’s product portfolio.
Shah says the VAD model should be supported with a solid services portfolio.
Of all the terms that define a distributor
the term value-add has been heard
for some time now and has stayed
the course longer than any other terms that
describe distribution. In the distribution space,
the term typically relates to a company that has
far more in their locker than standard logistics,
procurement and account management ser-
vices. Value add comes from services surround-
ing the company’s portfolio such as training,
marketing support, pre-sales and post-sales
services especially today, where a competitive
price is not the sole deciding factor for doing
business. In today’s competitive market, a
distributor needs to work as an extended arm
for the vendors and their channels.
While each distributor maintains its own
individual flavour of value-adding, there are
certain key characteristics that bring a world of
difference to the value-add game.
Aptec Distribution has created a niche iden-
tity for itself with enterprise class business offer-
ings, differentiators to its vendors and channels.
Team Virtualisation within Aptec Distribution
is continuously striving to act as an extended
arm for the vendor and emerge as a one-stop-
shop for all the channel’s virtualisation require-
ments. The Team Virtualisation is built with
VMware at its epicentre and VMware technology
partners like Wyse, Veeam, Virtualsharp, Liquid-
ware Labs complementing VMware’s offerings to
channel partners and their end-user customers.
Team Virtualisation relies heavily on Aptec’s
preposition of value-added services by fol-
lowing a systematic approach for the Middle
East channels.
Value Preposition for Resellers/Channels:
Reseller enablement: Team Virtualisation
updates our channels regularly by conducting
product knowledge transfer sessions, chan-
nel programme sessions, product enablement
drives, sales and pre-sales bootcamp sessions
towards enabling channels to position and
identify sales opportunities.
Pre-Sales Engagement: Team Virtualisation’s
dedicated pre-sales team engages with the chan-
nel on opportunity basis to help them conduct
capacity planning, proof of concept (POC),
end-user customer presentations, scoping and
solution designing with the aim of making them
fully enabled in conducting similar projetcs in
their upcoming opportunities.
Sales Engagement with Market Intelligence:
Team Virtualisation’s dedicated sales team works
closely with the channel sales teams by accom-
panying them to attend to end-user customer
calls, understanding the precise requirement and
suggesting appropriate up-sell and cross-sell op-
portunities that arise at the end customer.
Training and Implementation Services – Team Vir-
tualisation within Aptec Distribution works closely
with Advanced Technology Services (ATS), Aptec’s
sister company that provides vendor certified
courses to channels and its customers helping
them elevate their partnership level and product
knowledge with vendors.
Logistics: Team Virtualisation relies heavily on
Aptec Logistic Services (ALS) the delivery arm
within Aptec to ensure timely clearance and
delivery of solutions to all channels in the region
thereby ensuring minimal effort in tracking the
material and timely delivery.
The goal of Team Virtualisation is to ensure that
the right solution is made available to solution
providers at the right time in the most effective
way. The delivery of the right value-add to channel
partners and vendors will create business op-
portunities in new and existing customer accounts
and empower Aptec to position more robust and
beneficial solution for the channel and end-users. �
VIRTUALISATION
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
14 06 | 2012
EXPERT VIEW
Unrecoverable: Backup’s Inconvenient TruthGregg Petersen, Regional Manager, Middle East at Veeam Software Veeam Software talks about virtualisation and the importance of backing-up data.
Virtualisation and image-level backups
have brought many advantages, but one
issue remains. Can you explain how this
process works?
Gregg Petersen: It’s the same issue that has plagued
backup in the physical world: testing. Just
because a backup completes successfully does
not mean the virtual machine (VM) can be
recovered. Even if the integrity of the backup file
is verified, there is no assurance that the operat-
ing system and applications will start without
errors or that data will be intact. The only way
to be completely certain is to test and verify the
recoverability of every backup.
Why isn’t testing a routine process?
Gregg Petersen: It’s a simple case of priorities.
When working with limited resources, most
organisations see recovery testing and verifica-
tion as a catastrophic event that may never
happen as a lower priority than more immedi-
ate business concerns. And, until recently, it
was not even possible to verify the recoverabil-
ity of every backup.
Is there a solution to this? What solutions
are out there in the market?
Gregg Petersen: Yes, there are solutions to this
and that lies in virtualisation. Security
researchers have already experienced the
benefits of virtualisation by creating live,
isolated environments for assessing defences
against malware and other threats without
risking the overall infrastructure. Using simi-
lar principles, isolated environments can be
created to test backups.
How does Veeam Software fit in?
Gregg Petersen: Testing the recoverability of a
VM—or a group of related VMs is possible with
Veeam Backup & Replication. Built specifically
for the virtual world, it provides fast, flexible and
reliable recovery of virtualised applications and
data. With Veeam Backup & Replication, IT teams
can verify the recoverability of every backup,
every time.
How does Veeam Backup and Replication
solution work?
Gregg Petersen: Veeam’s breakthrough technology,
vPower, runs a VM directly from a compressed
and deduplicated backup file on regular backup
storage.The IT team can simply start the VM
from the backup in their production environ-
ment or in an isolated Virtual Lab environment
that Veeam automatically creates and manages
for them. Veeam vPower enables several ex-
tremely helpful capabilities such as SureBackup,
which automatically verifies the recoverability
of every backup.
vPower also lets IT teams instantly recover a
VM directly from a backup file, restore individual
objects such as email messages and database
records from any virtualised applicationand trou-
bleshoot andtest software updates and patches
in theisolated environment. With virtualisation
and Veeam, organisations can reduce the cost,
ensure the reliability, and increase the value of
data protection and disaster recovery.
Most organisations have already invested
heavily in virtualisation and disaster recov-
ery. Is recoverability testing expensive?
Gregg Petersen: Not at all. Veeam Backup & Replica-
tion is licensed per CPU socket and doesn’t
have additional per-server/per-agent fees. It’s
built on a foundation of features that organisa-
tions need most: 2-in-1 backup and replication,
built-in deduplication and a flexible, distributed
architecture. Plus, Veeam is storage agnostic.
It’s used by more than 35,000 customers and
protects more than 2 million VMs worldwide.
Veeam Backup & Replication is the number 1 VM
backup solution on the market today.
About the interviewee: Gregg Petersen has
over 13 years executive experience in the IT industry.
Petersen was personally responsible for a cloud
strategy project for the largest bank in Africa,
which was used on more than 3,500 servers in 15
countries. In 2007, he relocated to the Middle East
to work in various market sectors including the
oil and gas, finance and government. Currently,
Petersen is the Regional Manager, Middle East for
Veeam Software, one of the world’s fastest growing
virtualisation software companies. �
Petersen says most organisations see receovery testing and verification as a
tragic event.
“The only way to be com-
pletely certain is to test and
verify the recoverability of
every backup.”
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
16 06 | 2012
SMART SWITCHING
D-Link touts Smart Switch SeriesVendor says new switches offer reliability, high flexibility and upgradability at affordable prices
Today’s business environments depend
more than ever on secure, robust and reli-
able networks. With its smart switch series
D-Link has developed the answer to providing
your networks with more stability, upgradabil-
ity and flexibility to fit any size of business and
budget. Offering a comprehensive solution for
your network infrastructure, D-Link’s Smart Switch
Series consists of the DES-1100 Series, the DES-
1210 Series and the DGS-1210 Series of switches.
The DES-1100 Series
The D-Link DES-1100 Series is the latest series
of EasySmart Switches. Equipped with16 or 24
10/100 Mbps ports, the series integrates basic
configurable functions that provide perfor-
mance and scalability.
With an easy-to-use management interface
via PC Utility or Web Browser, the EasySmart
series helps customers deploy their network
quickly and easily. The DES-1100 Series provides
a complete and affordable solution for Small
and Medium Business’, or communities without
IT staff. Their non-blocking architecture makes
them suitable for Enterprise deployment and
can be used in branch offices and meeting room
environments that require simple management.
Management options for the switches include
Web Management and SmartConsole Utility. The
series also supports Layer 2features such as VLAN,
QoS, and Porttrunking. Both models come with an
innovative fanless design incompact 11-inch metal
cases. This characteristic makes them ideal for silent
environments, such as offices, libraries and class-
rooms, dramatically increases the switch’s lifespan
and saves energy while lowering the costs.
The DES-1210 Series
The D-Link DES-1210 Series is the latest genera-
tionof Web Smart Switches. Equipped with 24 or
48 10/100Mbps ports, two 10/100/1000BASE-T
ports, and two combo 10/100/1000BASE-T/
SFP ports, the series integrates advanced
management and security functions to provide
performance and scalability. The DES-1210-28P
is built with 10/100Mbps ports that are PoE-
enabled, offering ease-of-use and green features
like time-based PoE and Smart Fan. Time-based
PoE can shut off PoE power at a predetermined
time, and the Smart Fan feature allows the
built-in fans to automatically turn on at a certain
temperature, providing continuous, reliable, and
eco-friendly operation of the switch. Compliant
with 802.3af and 802.3at, the DES-1210-28P is
capable of feeding power of up to 30 watts to
devices. While easy to use, the DES-1210 Series
provides a complete and affordable solution for
SMBs. Management options for the switches
include SNMP, Web Management, SmartConsole
Utility, and compact Command Lines. The series
also supports ACL filtering and the D-Link
Safeguard Engine™, which protects the CPU
from Broadcast/Multicast/Unicast flooding. Fur-
thermore, the DES-1210 Series uses Auto Voice
VLAN, ensuring higher priority for voice traffic.
With its built-in QoS technology, time-sensitive
data gets delivered efficiently and it supports
IEEE 802.1p QoS up to four 802.1p Priority
Queues. Both models come with an innovative
fanless design in 19” metal cases.
The DGS-1210 Series
The D-Link DGS-1210 Series is the latest genera-
tion of Web Smart switches to feature D-Link
Green technology which allows businesses to
save power by detecting the cable length and
the link status of the connected PCs. Equipped
with 10, 16, 24, or 48 10/100/1000Mbpsports
and two or four combo 10/100/1000BASE-T/SFP
ports, the series integrates advanced man-
agement and security functions that provide
performance and scalability. Additionally, the
10/100/1000Mbps ports on the DGS-1210-10P
are PoE enabled, offering ease-of-use and green
features such as PoE scheduling, which allows
for the power to be shut off at a pre-determined
time. Management options for the DGS-1210 Se-
ries switches include SNMP, Web Management,
SmartConsole Utility, and Compact Command
Lines. The series also supports ACL filtering and
the D-Link Safeguard Engine™, which protects
the CPU from Broadcast/Multicast/Unicast
flooding. TheDGS-1210 Series uses Auto Voice
VLAN, ensuring higher priority for voice traffic.
The DGS-1210-10P comes with afanless design
in a compact 13-inch desktop enclosure; the
DGS-1210-16 and DGS-1210-24 come in a
fanless design with a 19-inch metal case. The
DGS-1210-48is equipped with two smart fans;
these fans are set tolow speed by default and
will automatically switch to high speed once
the temperature threshold has been reached. A
fanless design allows for quieter operation and
guarantees an extended lifetime, while smart
fans help to considerably save power. �
For further information on D-Link’s green conduct,
please visit: www.dlinkgreen.com.
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
1706 | 2012
IP Surveillance
Security
Storage
Wireless
Switching
DGS-3120 Series
S it hi
DGS 3120 Series
Less complexity... hassle, outlay, limitation, risk, stress, downtime...
...more choice
Connect to More Visit dlinkmea.com
D-Link's comprehensive range of switches offer solutions to fit any size of business and
budget all with the reassurance of D-Link quality, reliability and support.
D-Link’s DGS-3120 Series is the ideal entry-level stackable solution for businesses looking to upgrade their
network.
These switches offer advanced hardware design and a comprehensive set of Layer 2 features. With built-in 10GbE
stacking ports and the ability to stack up to six units, combined with additional benefits including comprehensive
security features and PoE support, the DGS-3120 Series is the perfect solution for any environment where
manageablility, reliablity and high port densities are necessary at an affordable price.
D-Link can boost your business performance in other ways too, with a wide range of flexible and cost-effective
Wireless, Storage, Security and IP Surveillance solutions.
www.dlinkmea.com
facebook.com/dlinkmea [email protected]
+971 4 880 9022
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
18 06 | 2012
POWERVAULT STORAGE
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
1906 | 2012
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
20 06 | 2012
PROJECTION SOLUTIONS
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
2106 | 2012
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
22 06 | 2012
www.apteconline.com 2306 | 2012
INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENTJune 2012
3M launches 3M™ Volition™ Intelligent Management System 3M’s comprehensive infrastructure management solution
Chehab says there is increasing interest in real-time monitoring of connectivity in data centres across the Middle East region..
3M Gulf, has announced the launch of
its innovative product, 3M Volition
Intelligent Management System (VIMS)
across the region GCC and Levant region.
3M VIMS works by providing a non-intru-
sive overlay system on the main patching
frame that can be continuously monitored
to give real-time visibility and control of the
connections, and can be managed from any
location with internet access.
3M has a track record that is hard to rival,
spanning over 40 years of network design
and product innovation. 3M has in-stalled
high-calibre cabling solutions across the
world, for many of the biggest global organi-
sations and in some of the most demand-
ing situations imaginable. Employing some
of the best experts in the industry, 3M has
worked closely with the industry associations
tasked with creating international cabling
standards for many years.
Bachir Chehab, 3M Business Unit Manager
in Aptec Distribution said 3M VIMS is a com-
prehensive infrastructure management solu-
tion serving the organisation at every stage
of the operation – from planning through
installation and implementation and on to
network maintenance and monitoring.
Chehab said 3M VIMS is a physical layer
network management system that offers
an end-to-end structured cabling system in
either copper or fiber. He said it can be used
for both enterprise and data centre applica-
tions, using innovative fiber and copper con-
nec-tors, cable assemblies, patch cords, patch
panels and other infrastructure products.
“There is now increasing interest in real-time
monitoring of connectivity in data centres
and premises networks to ensure accuracy of
documentation, to minimise planning, instal-
lation and maintenance time and to ensure
maximum availability of the network.
So it is no surprise that many organisations
are looking at taking their existing local area net-
work cabling systems to a new level that will last
for years to come. This is why it is vital to make
the right choice of product and to work with a
partner that has the experience and expertise
to support you every step of the way. Whether a
system owner, an installer, consultant or systems
integrator, 3M is your ideal solutions provider for
intelligent management systems, with a system
that will perform in even the most demanding
of mission-critical’ situations. Marketed under
the Volition brand name, all 3M cabling solutions
are backed by a flexible range of consultancy
and project support services.” �
For All your enquiries please contact: Bachir Chehab,
Business Unit Manager - 3M,
Aptec Distribution, Mobile: +971 55 882 0824, E-mail:
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
24 06 | 2012
SWITCHING
HP simplifies networking with OpenFlow-enabled switchesVendor provides wide choice with new switch range
HP has announced a portfolio of
OpenFlow-enabled switches, providing
customers with the broadest choice in
the industry for simplifying network manage-
ment while meeting a wide range of bandwidth,
performance and budget needs.
The portfolio spans 16 models and includes
the HP 3500, 5400 and 8200 series switches.
Additionally, HP plans to expand support for
OpenFlow across all switches in the HP FlexNet-
work architecture this year, making HP the only
major networking vendor to offer a complete
portfolio of OpenFlow-enabled solutions.
OpenFlow is an emerging network virtualisa-
tion technology that provides customers flex-
ibility and control to configure their networking
environments to their specifications.
Deploying the OpenFlow standard enables
enterprises to significantly reduce the complex-
ity of network devices and automate tasks using
simplified network management. By reducing
the time it takes to make changes to the net-
work, OpenFlow allows IT staff to better respond
to changing needs in real time.
Customers and partners can now access a free
upgrade to HP’s OpenFlow-enabled software for
their HP switches.
“To help enterprises uniformly manage
network traffic flow across the data center, HP
became an early innovator of the OpenFlow
standard, supporting more than 60 universi-
ties and research centers in trials, development
efforts and practical real-world applications,” said
Gautam Raj, Networking Business Unit Manager,
UAE, HP Middle East. “With more than 10 million
OpenFlow-capable switch ports deployed and
the broadest portfolio currently available on the
market, HP is leading the move to the OpenFlow
standard and further simplifying networks for
our enterprise clients.”
HP pioneers OpenFlow-enabled switches,
drives real-world deployments. HP switches
with OpenFlow-enabled software have been
deployed by academic and commercial
researchers worldwide to achieve simplified
management. The extensive testing and practi-
cal application of OpenFlow technology on HP
switches over the last four years in these envi-
ronments have helped to ready the standard for
broad enterprise use.
HP partners and customers include Indiana
University, Stanford University and the Global
Environment for Network Innovations (GENI)
Project. The GENI Project, operated by Raytheon
BBN Technologies and funded by the National
Science Foundation, is a virtual laboratory that
explores future applications and services for
efficient, agile networks.
“Enterprise data centers are in the midst of a
massive transformation driven by data center
consolidation, server virtualisation, web-based
applications and new security requirements,
which our research indicates has created numer-
ous network challenges that can’t be addressed
with existing legacy networks and manual pro-
cesses,” said Jon Oltsik, senior principal analyst,
Enterprise Strategy Group. “OpenFlow holds
the promise of breaking the logjam in network
flexibility as well as paving the way for network
innovation in the data center – and vendor
support from companies like HP is crucial for
advancing this technology in 2012.”
HP is a founding member of the Open
Networking Foundation, which continues to
advance the OpenFlow standard in order to
lower network operating costs for enterprises
through simplifying hardware, software and
management processes. Additionally, HP Labs
– the company’s central research arm – has
been developing programmable networks since
2008, and has published research on evolving
OpenFlow technology for broader deployment
by enterprises. �
More information about HP Networking solutions is
available at www.hp.com/go/networking.
Raj says the OpenFlow standard helps firms to uniformly manage traffic flow
across the datacentre.
“Deploying the OpenFlow standard enables enterprises to
significantly reduce the complexity of network devices and
automate tasks using simplified network management. ”
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
2506 | 2012
PROJECT VOYAGER
HP Accelerates Server Market Transformation with Self-sufficient HP ProLiant Gen8 Servers
HP ProLiant Gen8 servers are the result
of a $300 million, two-year program
called Project Voyager, the company’s
initiative to redefine data centre economics
by automating every aspect of the server life
cycle. To date, Project Voyager has resulted in
more than 900 patents filed and a new sys-
tems architecture called HP ProActive Insight
architecture, which will span the entire HP
Converged Infrastructure.
With intelligent technologies that auto-
mate tasks and significantly improve uptime,
HP ProLiant Gen 8 with HP ProActive Insight
architecture addresses the top concerns of
enterprises. For example, in a typical 10,000
square foot data center:
Companies spend on average of $24 mil-
lion over three years on manual operations to
support servers. HP ProLiant Gen8 triples ad-
ministrator productivity by eliminating most
manual operations such as server updates,
which typically take five hours of administra-
tor time per rack of servers. The industry-first
HP Smart Update feature can perform the
same update in 10 minutes or less.
Growing server energy and facilities ex-
penses cost companies up to $29 million over
three years.
Unplanned downtime costs clients approxi-
mately $10 million an hour. With industry-
first HP Active Health and HP Insight Online
technologies, HP ProLiant Gen8 is the only
server that automatically analyses its own
health across 1,600 data points. Through self
monitoring, self diagnosing and proactive
support, clients can resolve unplanned down-
time issues up to 66 percent faster.
“The skyrocketing cost of operations in the
data center is unsustainable, and enterprises
are looking to HP to help solve this problem,”
said Mark Potter, senior vice president and
general manager, Industry standard Servers
and Software, HP. “We are delivering innova-
tive intelligence technologies that enable
servers to virtually take care of themselves, al-
lowing data center staff to devote more time
to business innovation.”
Tested in more than 100 real-world data
centers, HP ProLiant Gen8 servers are built
with more than 150 client-inspired design
innovations. These innovations dramati-
cally accelerate application performance
and also allow administrators to maximise
server availability by eliminating common
problems that cause failures, downtime
and data loss. These include:
Integrated Lifecycle Automation – speeds
application deployment and proactively im-
proves uptime by automating manual tasks.
As a result, clients can increase productivity,
reduce errors and greatly simplify operations.
With these improvements, HP ProLiant Gen8
servers enable IT staff to save more than 30
days of administration time a year per person
in a typical 10,000 square-foot data centre.
Dynamic Workload Acceleration – im-
proves data-intensive storage performance
by almost seven times with a converged
server and storage design that leverages
intelligent, HP solid-state technologies. Smart
analytics and workload-aware intelligence
enable HP ProLiant Gen8 servers to adapt in
real time to optimise system performance
and efficiency. Unique HP Advanced Data
Mirroring and smart algorithms ensure data
is as much as 1,000 times safer, speeding
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)
initialisation by 95%.
Automated Energy Optimisation – deliv-
ers nearly double compute-per-watt capacity
and saves $7 million in energy costs in a
typical data center over three years with HP
ProLiant Gen8 energy-efficient servers and
industry-first intelligent racks that feature
built-in sensors.
Proactive Service and Support – ena-
bles clients to achieve a 95 percent first time
issue resolution rate with HP Insight Online, the
industry’s most comprehensive cloud-based, IT
management and personalised support portal.
Data is available securely anywhere, anytime,
allowing clients to grant access to HP-author-
ised channel partners via the HP ServiceONE
program, providing proactive problem preven-
tion in addition to rapid resolution. �
HP’s ProLiant Gen8 server offerings.
www.apteconline.com
June 2012
26 06 | 2012
DCIM Software improves planningThe role data centre management software plays in improving planning & cutting operational costs
APC’s White Paper demonstrates the ability of datacentres to help businesses respond quickly to changing market demands.
Schneider Electric, the global specialist in
energy management, has published a new
White Paper on ‘How Data Centre Manage-
ment Software Improves Planning and Cuts
Operational Costs’. The document demonstrates
the ability of data centres to help businesses
respond more quickly to changing market
demands and mark a significant growth on the
bottom line.
According to Uptime Institute, a division of
the 451 Group, the market for data centre infra-
structure management (DCIM) systems will grow
from $500 million in 2010 to $7.5 billion by 2020.
Forecasts indicate that challenges of higher-
density computing, dynamic workloads and the
need for efficient energy consumption will drive
demand for software to help organisations plan,
operate at low cost, and analyse systems for
workflow improvement.
Furthermore, Uptime Institute suggests IT and
business executives are aware that improved
physical infrastructure planning, minor system
reconfiguration, and small process changes
can save significant financial spend on energy
and operations. However, only higher visibility,
more control, and improved automation can
help deliver on the commitment of producing
business value.
The paper highlights the role of holistic
management capabilities available today to
allow data centre professionals to maximise their
capacity to control facility energy costs and ad-
vise the business on best ways to utilise IT assets
more effectively.”
The new ‘Planning and Implementation’ tools
share key data points, historical data, and asset
tracking information. It also develops the ability to
charge back users allowing them to take actions
based upon data centre business intelligence.
Planning and Implementation tools improve IT
room allocation of power and cooling (planning),
provide rapid impact analysis when a portion of
the IT room fails (operations), and leverage histori-
cal data to improve future IT room performance
(analysis). These tools are explained in the White
Paper, which also highlights the value that the
suite collectively brings to business. �
Note: To download a copy of Schneider Electric’s
White Paper 107, “How Data Centre Management
Software Improves Planning and Cuts Operational
Costs”, please visit the White Papers section at www.
apc.com/whitepapers
WHITEPAPER
“The new ‘Planning and
Implementation’ tools
share key data points,
historical data, and asset
tracking information. It
also develops the ability to
charge back users allowing
them to take actions based
upon data centre business
intelligence.”
