GITEX 2012 INTERVIEWS ITU TELECOM World 2012 - Teletimes

Comguard and WatchGuard run a series of NextGeneration Security workshop for partnersComguard, a Dubai basedleading value added distributorfor IT products and part of theSpectrum group in associationwith WatchGuard is organising aseries of half day security workshopfor channel partners titled‘Next Generation Security-RedInstead’ at Dubai, Doha, Muscatand Riyadh.‘Next Generation Security-Red Instead’ focuses growingopportunities in the UnifiedThreat Management (UTM)appliances market which isone of the fastest growingsegments of IT market in region.According to a recent reportby Gartner, the Middle Eastand Africa market for UnifiedThreat Management appliancesin 2011 witnessed a growth of13.5 percent. The report furtherstated that the growth in thisregion was driven by a mixtureof transformational governmentprojects, high-speed Internetconnectivity adoption and aheavier reliance of regionalSMBs using Internet access toconduct business.WatchGuard is a global leader inthe unified threat management(UTM) market space andrecently they have introducednew version of their nextgenerationUTM WatchGuardXTM 5 Series network securityappliances that ports the fastestthroughput in its price classwithout sacrificing securityefficacy, manageability andease of use as well industry’smost effective defense-indepthsolution for emailsecurity, web security anddata loss prevention solution,WatchGuard XCS (ExtensibleContent Security) in the MiddleEast region.Mohammad MobasseriHaroon Iqbal, Sales Manager-Middle East Africa & Pakistan,WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.,said, “We are 100% channeldriven company and our growthrest on success of our partners.It has always been endeavour toempower our channel partnerswith the right skill sets andknowledge. These securityworkshops are just the first stepSanjeev Kantin the same direction to educateand train channel partners onour next generation securityplatforms that will allow themto gain more business andbetter margins.”Key executives and technicalexperts from both Comguardand WatchGuard will be presentat all the security workshops.They will make several technicalpresentations during the courseof the workshop and also willprovide hands on training topartners on WatchGuard XTMand WatchGuard XCS platforms.WatchGuard will highlight itsPartner Program and introduceits Partner Portal to thechannel partners present at theworkshops. It will also share itsincentive program ‘SecurityPaysGlobal’ and will explain in detailshow partners can benefit fromworking with WatchGuard.Comptel extends provisioningand activation contract with MobilinkJoanna DiTrapanoComptel Corporation hasannounced that Pakistanimobile operator Mobilink,owned by VimpelCom, hasextended its provisioning andactivation contract. Mobilink’scustomers are enjoyingthe services provisionedthrough Comptel’s fulfillmentoffering, which expedites theirdeployment and launch withminimal human interventionto ensure a high customerexperience, particularly at thefirst points of engagement.Mobilink is Pakistan’s leadingcellular and Blackberryservice provider with morethan 35million subscribers. Itmaintains market leadershipthrough cutting-edge,integrated technology, thestrongest brands and thelargest portfolio of valueaddedservices in the industry,a broadband carrier divisionproviding next-generationInternet technology as well asthe country’s largest voice anddata network with more than8,000 cell sites.Comptel Provisioningand Activation is part ofComptel Fulfillment, a fullyintegrated suite of productsthat also encompassesorder management, catalog,and service and resourceinventory capabilities. Itenables operators to fullyautomate the process ofhandling subscriber orders,to activating resources andservices in the network, all theway up to the start of billing.Comptel Fulfillment bridgesbetween customer order andservice use—reducing costs,supporting service innovationsand improving the quality ofcustomer interactions.“Our requirement was afully automated provisioningsolution that was capable ofhandling customer ordersto activating services inthe network,” said IrfanFarooq, chief informationofficer, Mobilink. “ComptelProvisioning and Activationhelps us control costs, reduceerrors and deliver services tocustomers without delay, thusincreasing satisfaction.”“We are committed to thislong-term relationship withMobilink in Pakistan andhelping them see through theirgoal of delivering optimumcustomer satisfaction,” saidSyed Veqar ul Islam, seniorvice president, Middle East &Africa, Comptel. “We have alsoidentified a strong demand forour solution portfolio withinthe market amongst serviceproviders looking to improvetheir own customer interactionsand service offerings, and, inturn, expand their businesses.Our solutions will not onlyhelp operators foster moremeaningful relationships withtheir subscribers, but alsobring customers closer to theirinterests and allow them tobetter connect to what mattersmost to them.”November 2012www.teletimesinternational.com57