By Mazen Adnan Duhghi, Regional Director, Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Logitham.

Despite the state of economic insecurity in the Middle East as well as the prevailing uncertainty in some parts of the region, Distribution channels still maintain a positive view of what their business will achieve in the next 12 months, and will look at what 2018 will bring to the distribution channel Regional commissions.

Setting the distribution channel business in the region in 2017
The Middle East and North Africa region is experiencing rapid growth, with new projects being launched from day to day, while global IT companies are constantly seeking to invest in this market.

For this reason, Logretham has chosen Dubai as the center where it will expand its presence in the region. There is a tremendous opportunity in Dubai, especially in the ICT space, but the growth rate indicates the need for all sectors to cooperate to keep pace with demand.

Major growth engines for distribution channels in 2018
While the IT security market in the Middle East remains strong and stable, especially from the perspective of products, solutions, services and suppliers, it continues to attract significant threats given the wealth generated by the various sectors in the region.

Among the major countries we expect to focus on and achieve significant revenue, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and the rest of the Middle East and North Africa market.

While the major growth sectors will be mining, retail, service providers, defense, oil and gas and government, especially in smart cities.

Those involved in the distribution channels should feel optimistic about 2018 despite the existence of a large state of uncertainty in the regional IT economy
The era of evolution is just beginning. Most companies specializing in systems integration, as well as vendors, focus more on business outcomes that customers seek than on product life cycles.

Leading to the need to integrate different technology solutions into the mix of capital expenditure and operating expenses. As the pace of competition in terms of security spending increases, leading to marginal pressure, IT security providers are looking for new and potential revenue streams.

Add to this increased threats such as malware attacks, which are a need for customers to search for new solutions and here comes the role of channel partners.

With the increasing proliferation of cyber attacks, companies will begin to move towards comprehensive strategies that are capable of dealing with cyber attacks instead of just looking for security. The strategy to respond to cyber attacks requires solutions to eliminate massive numbers of threats, archiving and back-up e-mail messages , As well as providing continuous access to e-mail even if the attacks caused a disruption in the servers.

Ways of distribution channels to keep pace with the scene of information technology
The tendency of enterprises to rely on Internet networks and cloud migration has increased the chance of cybercriminals and thus increased cybercrime. New e-mail users are not always aware of the potential risks or the fact that advanced security is needed to protect their corporate networks.

The security of e-mail in some markets does not keep pace with the number of people on the Internet. However, some of the biggest threats to both small and medium enterprises are clearly malicious.

Introducing your small business to malicious attacks is worrying, as it can affect all of your business, from productivity to reputation, especially in small and medium businesses.

It is up to the distribution channel to educate its customers about the need to have the ability to deal with cyber attacks. It needs to explain the fact that counter-attacks alone are no longer sufficient as they were before. They must ensure business continuity even during attack and recovery. Data after the threat has been neutralized.

Big bets in technology
The Middle East’s appetite for cloud computing remains substandard compared to developed markets due to a number of factors, including security and privacy concerns.

“We are already beginning to see what cloud services are offering from the region’s current investment and building their data centers in the Middle East. We expect more governments and companies to adopt emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence , Internet stuff and Block Qin technology, while protecting the investments they have already developed.

Because there are many types of threats, regulatory compliance to be followed, and many different areas and solutions that can be used despite the limited budget, organizations tend to prioritize their spending on security. Logrethm believes that the basis for managing threats is to stop attacks as soon as possible Possible from the life cycle of the attack.

How will the IT security market succeed in 2018?
E-security has been the dominant force in the IT sector in 2017, and although enterprises are increasingly wary of spending on information technology, the security market is growing.

This means that for many channel operators, catching up only by adding security solutions to their portfolios, Logitech provides the next generation of information and event management security, electronic records management, network criminal data, endpoint monitoring and security analysis.

Integrated threat intelligence and the threat lifecycle management platform help organizations rapidly detect, respond to, and suppress any harmful electronic threats before they become incidents or breakthroughs of key data.

We believe that the corporate sector in the Middle East is more dynamic in its adoption of new security solutions and services. However, some of the biggest threats to both small and medium enterprises are clearly malicious.

What should the distribution channel do to take advantage of the tremendous momentum this year for the IT industry in the Middle East?
Understanding the market, customer complaints, emerging trends and technology allows distribution channels to capitalize on the continued growth of IT adoption. The fact that no single solution can provide the necessary protection is one of the reasons why the security sector is profitable for distribution channels.

Instead, institutions need a multilevel approach. Simply, today’s success requires strengthening the distribution channel system with a flexible platform to build something valuable to bring to the market for business success.

The most attractive outlook for the profit margin in 2018
There is no one solution that has a more attractive profit margin, which is why we benefit from the power of vertical disciplines and access to relevant information in that way.

Ultimately, the application of technology by focusing on several types of users is one of those things, but it is more powerful when you can meet the business challenges faced by actors in each sector.

In turn, we work closely with our partners by supporting training and certification, as well as field expertise if needed, by providing technical and market advice on product offerings. Logitech’s partners include: leading technology vendors, value-added vendors, managed security services providers and consulting partners, and in common, allowing the distribution channel the clarity it needs to protect the end-user from cyber threats, meeting compliance objectives and improving operational efficiency.