MEA Q3 2020

6 MEA MARKETS / Q3 2020 MEAMARKETS / Q3 2020 7 , Speeding Digitization Efforts Ooredoo collaborates withNutanix to launch VDI-as-a-Service for businesses in Kuwait. Ooredoo Telecom, the first to introduce innovative digital services in Kuwait, has recently signed a partnership with Nutanix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in enterprise cloud computing, to offer Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)-as-a-Service to businesses in Kuwait. The telecom service provider has implemented Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform combined with Citrix Virtual Desktops software in its datacentre with a view to provide a fully supported solution for desktop virtualization to small and medium businesses (SMBs) and enterprise customers. Aaron White, Regional Sales Director, Middle East, at Nutanix says, “COVID-19 has made Work from Home a necessity over the last couple of months and even post-pandemic, this remote working trend will most likely continue and gain momentum. Most organizations in Kuwait are faced with the challenging task of setting up their employees to work remotely, while still maintaining access to the same tools and applications they require to be productive. Many of these companies are just not fully equipped with the technology, tools and processes to make this a reality.” “We are pleased to partner with Ooredoo to help organizations speed up their digitization efforts through the VDI-as-a-Service offering. Companies will now be able to spin up and provision desktops in record time without having to provide new hardware to users spread across the country.” Ooredoo will offer VDI-as- a-Service on a subscription basis out of its state-of-the-art data centre facilities that offer integrated networking, security, service SLAs and a host of other solutions to business in Kuwait. Physical desktops and laptops are becoming a poor fit for today’s dynamic, digital workplace. Intelligent digital workspaces, delivered by VDI, enable users to access applications and information from anywhere while data remains secure, making them ideal for end-user computing needs. The advantages of VDI-as-a-Service are around flexibility, scalability, security and cost savings with the OPEX model being highly favoured by businesses looking to save on high up-front infrastructure costs. Speaking about the launch of the new solution, Mr. Bilal Agha, B2B Marketing Director at Ooredoo Kuwait says, “Our company is at the forefront of technology innovation and we are proud to be the first telco service provider in Kuwait to introduce VDI-as-a- Service, in response to the needs of our business customers. We have partnered with two world leading vendors – Nutanix, that delivers a web-scale, hyperconverged solution purpose- built for virtualization and cloud environments and Citrix, a leader in virtual desktop infrastructure. We believe that this solution will find great uptake by both public and private organizations in the country as they realize that technology workers are going to increasingly demand workplace flexibility in future.”