< Previousconfigured tester should not have many faults. However, when faults do occur, it is important that they are fixed quickly. Installers simply do not have time to spend reviewing measurements on the certifier to understand, and then fix, the failure – they do not want complexity in this area. Instead, they are demanding products which show the type of fault, what has caused it and most importantly where along the cable they need to go to fix it. Simple test setup A need for simplicity was also expressed when it comes to setup in order to test the installation. During research, it was found that technicians may make hundreds of inputs on average for setup. This includes typing the address and labels, selecting standards, moving between functions and configurations. This always happens at the end of the project when the pressure is on and there is simply no time to absorb delays. Complex certifier setup can take a lot of time, as well as leading to mistakes – many standards are similar so in a rushed situation, it can be easy to choose the wrong one. Incorrect setup can also lead to failed links which cause engineers to spend time fixing issues by re-terminating or pulling a new cable in the hope it will pass and resolve the problem, even though the problem will persist. On some occasions, installers may also encounter problems from mistakenly selecting a lower standard, like Cat 5e rather than Cat 6A. While the installation will test without problems, when the results are submitted for warranty, they will not be eligible. Misconfiguration leads to project delays affecting cashflow and retesting reduces margins with unforeseen labour costs. Therefore, installers are keen to have access to products which make setting up the tester as simple as possible and consider the way that engineers work, not just the standards they are testing to. Make data entry effortless Cable installers on site need to be able to accurately record the links tested using the correct naming convention to properly detail location. The most significant improvement that customers wanted, was a reduction in the time spent correcting errors and adding in missing details before submission for warranty for the customer. Users want ways to automate this process, and to have more ways to collaborate among teams. Especially for large and complex projects, installers feel that their options are limited. OPINION www.networkseuropemagazine.com 30Simplify results transfer At the end of the project, installers want to get the results off the tester and back to the office or Project Manager quickly. The faster they do this, the sooner they can submit the finished project and get paid. However, this can be time consuming. Often remote engineers are required to download results to a laptop via a USB stick or cable and then email the results back to the office. Their laptop is in the van, not the tool bag so this process does not mesh well with their standard working day. Other engineers downloaded the results when they return to the office once a week, sometimes less. Either approach wastes time and can cause a bottleneck at the end of the week where Project Managers have multiple projects to process. Cable installers told us that the process of transferring results from their cable certifier leads to delays, and in some cases lost results. The most common feedback from engineers was that they want to be able to ‘press one button’ to send the results back to the office to the job site. As tester manufacturers, this need should guide the development of our cable certifiers. Improve management software The right management software helps minimise the time required to organise reports for customers, helping to ensure payment can be invoiced more quickly. However, research showed that satisfaction in this area was low. Project Managers typically explained that they must follow a structured formatting and quality checking process when creating reports. Often the data they receive from the certifier requires a significant amount of time. This process assures customer acceptance, warranty approval and quality, which in turn reduces call backs. The challenge when developing improved cable certifiers and the related management software is to reduce the labour involved, without compromising the objective the process is designed for. More efficient port labelling Without accurate labelling, installers are handing over an installation that will be difficult and time consuming for the owner to manage and resolving mislabelling issues takes up a huge amount of time. It is also vital that the completed test report ID’s match the installed links on site whether the labels are printed beforehand or while on site. Issues occur because the cable list is input to the tester and then into the printer as well. This double handling can lead to mistakes and mismatches. As the area of cable certification with the largest market satisfaction gap, labelling is a clearly a very important area to get right with cable certifiers. Decrease lifetime cost of ownership A unanimous recurring theme was that test equipment is a big investment for cable installers and can put pressure on their business. Many tales are heard of of installers making bad equipment choices which meant they did not have the equipment needed to win work or enter an adjacent market segment, the result of which was needing to purchase yet more costly equipment. The investment required in some cases significantly impacted the company’s ability to grow. Cable installers also need to know that the certifiers they buy will be supported long enough for them to get a return on their investment, and that they are designed to meet the testing needs of the future. Reduced calibration and service downtime Due to the relatively high unit cost, many cable installation businesses are running operations with far fewer certifiers in their fleet than would be ideal and without carrying spares. If testers require calibration or service they require time out of the business, and this needs to be carefully managed. Installers told us that this could result in downtime onsite and complexities in managing completion dates to fit in with resources. If calibration dates are missed, sites can inadvertently be tested by equipment out of calibration which will mean warranties are denied, certification needs to be repeated, and p rofitability is reduced. Installers are keen for manufacturers to support them in keeping calibration and service downtime to a minimum. Conclusion Cable installers work in an industry which is constantly evolving. As such, what they really need is access to cable certifiers and test equipment that can change with them and address their biggest day to day challenges. n OPINION www.networkseuropemagazine.com 31 www.networkseuropemagazine.com 31With cloud and digital transformation initiatives now commonplace across enterprises today, organisations are increasingly looking at rearchitecting their wide area networks (WANs) to align to their changing business requirements. As a result, there has been a rapid adoption of software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) technology and modern organisations are experiencing the biggest transformation in the WAN since the introduction of multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) networks back in the late 90s. However, one of the biggest challenges for key enterprise decision makers is navigating through the mixed marketing messages from security and SD-WAN vendors – should the focus on the WAN be security-first or networking-first? Looking beyond the SD-WAN marketing hype With International Data Corporation (IDC) predicting that the SD-WAN market to reach $5.35 billion by 2023, there is a lot of hype and a stampede of companies looking to capitalise on this new technology category. At last count, there were about 70 companies with marketing messages all vying to hop on the SD-WAN bandwagon. Marketing messages from different vendors vary widely depending on the heritage of the company and the capabilities – or limitations – of their offerings. Some focus their messaging around security, while others focus just on networking technology – and there are only a few that focus on enabling a modern WAN edge infrastructure solution. This leads to a lot of confusion and frustration for organisations trying to sift through the details in order to make a sound, strategic decision on how to best rearchitect their WAN edge to advance their cloud and digital transformation initiatives. One of the key areas of confusion and a key decision factor for customers: Is it the Wide Area Network first and security second? Or is it security first and the WAN second? The reality is that it’s both. Optimising security It is useful to begin by considering what security is needed at an office branch. At a minimum, a basic Layer 3/ Layer 4 firewall to block incoming threats. However, more sophisticated capabilities are desirable at the branch, including advanced segmentation that spans the LAN- WAN-Data Centre and the LAN-WAN-Cloud. For example, a retail organisation might define a network segment for Point of Sale (POS) traffic, one for guest Wi-Fi, and another to prioritise real-time voice traffic (for QoS reasons, not necessarily for security purposes). This type of zone-based micro-segmentation enables the organisation to meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance requirements by isolating this traffic on the network to secure the organisation from threats that might arise from guest use of the network and ensure high quality voice services. A key benefit enabled by a modern SD-WAN is the ability to connect users to cloud applications directly from the branch using the internet. Known as ‘local internet breakout,’ this delivers the highest cloud application quality of experience. However, using the internet for transporting enterprise application traffic increases exposure to vulnerabilities, broadens the attack surface at the branch and, ultimately, exposes the entire enterprise to greater risk. As with the WAN, delivering the best cloud application user experience also requires a modern approach to security. This new approach requires unified security functions delivered by the branch SD-WAN platform, including automated service chaining to cloud-delivered security services for more advanced inspection. Another dynamic that is transforming network and security requirements is the explosion of network endpoints – the definition of a “site” is expanding. Besides branch locations, a site might be an ATM machine, a railroad car, a wind turbine or even a medical backpack used by first responders to transmit real-time patient medical data from the field back to a hospital. Network architects now need to think about scaling not to a thousand sites, but to tens of thousands of endpoints – and many of these endpoints may be located far away from physical enterprise locations. This places additional requirements on how security must be delivered. Instead of the security perimeter being defined by branch locations, it is now everywhere the business has an endpoint. To deliver the right security services at the right place – as close to the endpoint as possible – and the right time requires a distributed security enforcement model. SD-WAN and cloud-delivered security go hand-in-hand With cloud-delivered security services, they shift the entire security stack and locate it in the cloud, instead of on dedicated, expensive security appliances at each What comes first – security or network? Damon Ennis, SVP of products, Silver Peak NETWORK SECURITY www.networkseuropemagazine.comwww.networkseuropemagazine.com 32branch location. The security stack not only includes next-generation firewall services, but also IDS/IPS, URL filtering, UTM, antivirus protection, sandboxing and more. In addition, automated daily security and threat updates ensure always-up-to-date security and consistent policy enforcement across the enterprise. Delivering optimal, cloud-delivered security requires an advanced SD-WAN that can identify, classify and automatically steer traffic on the first packet by applying and enforcing business-driven security policies. Implementing cloud-delivered security services requires establishing primary and backup secure tunnels between branch sites and the closest and next-closest cloud- security PoPs. It requires configuring, monitoring and managing two or more tunnels from every branch site, a time-consuming task if performed manually. Automation is also key when it comes to the orchestration of cloud-delivered security services. What was traditionally a manual, time-consuming and potentially error-prone process now happens in minutes via tight integration with modern APIs. Ultimately, best-of-breed SD-WAN and best-of-breed cloud-delivered security go hand-in-hand for today’s cloud- first enterprises. After all, organisations should not have to compromise WAN performance or security in architecting a modern WAN edge. n security or network? www.networkseuropemagazine.com 33 NETWORK SECURITY www.networkseuropemagazine.com 33With the recent rollout of 5G internet in 2019, people now expect their internet connections on their mobile devices to be faster than ever before. However, connecting to the internet on a mobile device can often be a slow and arduous task, making it difficult to send an image, load a web page, or even writing an email. One area that people never to stop to think about is the underlying technology being used in the Internet infrastructure to give us the high-speed and quality content people care about most – and one of the most important elements is Ethernet. The key ingredient – Ethernet One of the most important elements to the success of the internet, even from its earliest days nearly 40 years ago, is Ethernet. Bob Metcalfe, known as the Father of Ethernet, came together with peers to invent and develop the Ethernet local-area network (LAN) technology and its system of packet protocols. This allowed personal computers to efficiently share files and printers and was a major advancement for its time. However, what was missing was a technical networking standard for Ethernet – a “universal recipe for packets” that would allow for multiple vendors to build interoperable equipment and, ultimately, bring widespread Internet connectivity to the masses. Networking standards that matter The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 Ethernet Working Group, developers of one of the IEEE 802 family of networking standards, define the Ethernet standard’s specifications. Ethernet provides all the necessary specifications to ensure that everything interoperates with each other and it, therefore, ‘disappears’ from the radar of nearly everyone as a concern. This fueled intense competition between manufacturers, that when combined with the high volumes associated with the global adoption and ubiquity of Ethernet standards, has led to lowering costs across the board, which is a critical factor in the success of the Internet. Without a common technology as the foundation of the internet, no one would have cost-effective, high-speed access to everything the Internet offers. Ethernet: a key enabler in today’s hyper- connected world By John D’Ambrosia, IEEE Member and IEEE 802 Executive Committee Member ETHERNET - A KEY ENABLER www.networkseuropemagazine.comwww.networkseuropemagazine.comwww.networkseuropemagazine.com 34Ethernet and Wi-Fi Ethernet often gets overshadowed by the end-user visibility/awareness of the wireless connection Wi-Fi offers. However, people often do not realise that the two technologies need each other to thrive. Every Wi-Fi access point in a ceiling has a wired Ethernet cable supplying both power – through Power over Ethernet – and data sending the traffic into the networks that form the on-ramps to the Internet. As such, it might be argued that Wi-Fi is fully dependent on wired Ethernet, but the reality, however, is that they are complementary to each other, as Wi-Fi offers another connection option to the wired Ethernet-based infrastructure that accesses the Ethernet-enabled internet. It is important to look at the impact the rapid growth of the internet has made on society and how the family of 802 networking standards, especially those first created for Ethernet, has impacted our modern world. Living in a hyper-connected world Ultimately, 40 years ago, it was a nascent concept to connect computers together to communicate. Without networking standards, as well as a continual and sustained focus on supporting what the networking industry needed, it is inconceivable that people would be enjoying the experiences and conveniences that impact every aspect of our lives. Thousands of engineers have paved the way for innovation in connectivity that has changed and continually influences people’s lives in ways large and small – without them, people would not have the luxury of the hyper-connected world they live in today. n ETHERNET - A KEY ENABLER www.networkseuropemagazine.com 35 www.networkseuropemagazine.com 35 www.networkseuropemagazine.com 35A closer look at networking trends NETWORKING TRENDS www.networkseuropemagazine.comwww.networkseuropemagazine.com 36 Proliferation of 5G, IoT, Wi-Fi 6 and other technologies will change the network landscape drastically. Soon, more than 28 billion networked devices will be relying on failsafe digitalised systems and functions. As market segments merge, separation between public, data centre and local area networks may all but disappear. Once rolled out, the 5G network will be capable of linking 100 billion devices. 5G is expected to deliver speeds in excess of 10 Gbps. 5G isn’t just faster than 4G, it also offers lower latency (down to 1 ms - 20x better than 4G). Data transfer could be up to 150 times faster than 4G. This will be driven further by the already vast and growing need for streaming to mobile devices. WiFi 6 is expected to rapidly boost these requirements further. Carriers are increasingly deploying 5G and, according to Deloitte, telcos are targeting enterprises for 5G applications in several areas. Service providers are combining FTTx and 5G rollouts to benefit from a common infrastructure that supports both platforms. Investment budgets are merging as operators discover that it’s not about choosing between wireless and wireline investments, but investing in both. Performance associated with 5G, such as low latency, high capacity and extreme reliability depend on having sufficient fibre. Inherent limitations of wireless solutions mean that fibre and high-density architectures are required to cable and connect billions of sensors and enable extremely high, uninterrupted, low-latency symmetrical bandwidth. 5G’s bandwidth and latency performance potential can only be realised by bringing FTTx networks closer to the wireless connection point. The antennas alone will not be capable of handling vast data traffic volumes fast enough. This will require a dense backhaul network consisting of optical fibre. Matthias Gerber, Market Manager Office Cabling Reichle & De Massariwww.networkseuropemagazine.com 37 NETWORKING TRENDS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 37 Connecting 5G base stations using radio links will no longer suffice - antennas must be integrated into fibre networks and connected to edge data centres. Applications will also rely on 5G’s ability to enable edge computing. International Data Corporation predicts that in three years, 45% of all IoT-generated data will be stored, processed, analysed, and acted upon close to or at the edge of networks. Edge facilities improve the quality and user experience of high-bandwidth applications outside large urban areas – provided there are no bottlenecks between edge and centralised DC. This changes the way networks are designed, built and monitored. As space is often limited, Ultra-High Density is a ‘must’ for providing all required connections. Several factors limit 5G speed in buildings and built environments. To overcome this, and optimise management and allocation of centralised computational base band resources, a Centralised RAN (C-RAN)-based solution, with multi-operator capability and simpler cabling infrastructure is required. Looking at LAN Cabling, IP-based convergence will increasingly support new deployments. Integrated pools of (virtualised) resources are increasingly shared across applications. As LANs merge with Building Automation, a new kind of connectivity is emerging, requiring high levels of standardisation, availability and reliability. An ‘All over IP’ approach facilitates this: building technology and building management devices communicate over Ethernet and IP. This is already being enabled by RJ45 and Power over Ethernet (PoE), and will be supported further by Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) based on xBASE-T1. SPE uses a single twisted pair for data transmission and features miniaturised connectors. This can replace the traditional field bus, helping realise high density, connection speed and ease of installation. Instead of introducing connectivity for each application, uniform manufacturer-independent connectivity can be used. Next generation cabling (i.e. 25G ready and Cat.8.1 cables) in the Digital Ceiling will be essential to enabling WiFi6 and 5G DAS. A well-designed solution should accommodate all current and near-future requirements, offer a lower cost per connection than existing platforms, and provide a pay-as- you-grow approach and flexible upgrade path for many years to come. Wavelength-Division-Multiplexing (WDM) can help realise this. WDM transmits different services at different wavelengths, cost-effectively increasing capacity without introducing vast amounts of new fibre. Add-drop multiplexer solutions allow extraction of a small number of connections, for example in small cell deployment. New technologies such as WDM and Pulse Amplitude Modulation 4 (PAM4) demand more than ever from fibre. Passive parallel optics rely on the scalability and compression of infrastructure. This needs to be taken into account when making decisions regarding cabling and network components, for new or expanded networks. Air Blown Fibre allows blowing fibre into tubes only when needed, reducing cost and increasing design flexibility, and eliminating the need for splicing and interconnection points. In data centres, gradual migration to 100, 200 and 400 Gbit/s is underway. That means higher density and more cabling in racks. A high density solution can optimise capacity and space usage whilst preparing for the future. However, this introduces new demands in rack and cable management. Today’s DCs may contain hundreds of thousands of ports and patch cords. Automated hardware and software solutions are required to unburden humans and boost efficiency. Automated Infrastructure Management (AIM) facilitates management of large and complex infrastructure and can bring 30 – 50% reduction in downtime. System data can be used for budgeting and IT infrastructure inventory. Future steps include use of AI to keep infrastructure manageable. The number of fibres used for transport is increasing. 40 and 100 Gbit/s require eight fibres in parallel pairs. Higher speeds require 16 or 32 pairs, boosting cable density significantly. The traditional hierarchical network topology with core, aggregation and access level can no longer cope. To avoid congestion and ensure data and applications are available in real-time at all times, latencies must be considerably reduced. A leaf-spine architecture does this and is adaptable to continuously changing needs. A network mesh with crisscrossing cabling guarantees that switches at the access level are just one hop away from each other. Unlike the ‘classic’ three-tier architecture, this new topology has only two layers. The leaf layer is built up of access switches that connect to servers, edge routers, load balancers, firewalls, and other devices. The network backbone is provided by the spine layer, consisting of routing switches. Infrastructures for smart cities require a highly flexible, future-ready approach to architecture and data traffic: IoT- linked sensors connected by fibre extending deep into the network and plays a crucial role as the backhaul network for connected and wireless networking. There’s a growing demand for intelligent building infrastructure, that can manage and monitor functionalities over a converged network and power devices. By extending LAN cabling with technologies such as Wireless LAN, PoE and SPE, digital building automation can be realised exclusively with Internet Protocol. An ‘Everything over IP’ approach provides high levels of standardisation, availability and reliability, with LAN providing the physical communication layer and Power over Ethernet. Buildings can be connected and controlled digitally throughout. In practice, any number of devices can be addressed. Smart converged data networks can be extended through ceilings in a ‘honeycomb’ configuration. This makes it possible to connect devices to building automation via zones with pre-installed overhead connecting points (service outlets) and introduce energy-conserving technologies and applications. Real estate managers and tenants can plug in zone network switches, sensors, controls, WLAN access points and other distributed building services, which are powered and connected to the network. Tackling these new trends and arriving at the best possible solution for your specific application can be challenging. For manufacturers and developers, it is vital to share expertise and engage in a dialogue with different target audiences. After all, there’s no single ‘one size fits all’ solution. n CENTIEL's Senior Appointments CENTIEL UK, has confirmed the promotion of Louis McGarry to Sales and Marketing Director with immediate effect. Formerly CENTIEL’s sales manager, Louis McGarry will now oversee CENTIEL’s UK sales and marketing operation. In addition, Andrew Skelton previously operations manager, has now been named as Operations Director. Andrew Skelton is responsible for the delivery and deployment of CENTIEL’s full range of market leading UPS solutions for projects across the UK. Mike Elms, managing director, CENTIEL UK confirms: “Since launching the CENTIEL brand in the UK two years ago, the company has grown dramatically requiring additional staff which makes introducing the correct structure and the right people within a senior management team imperative. In addition, our range of UPS solutions has been further extended, so as well as CENTIEL’s true modular UPS system, CumulusPowerTM which offers class-leading "9 nines" availability, the standalone PremiumTowerTM range now has individual ratings up to 250kW. As a technology company, we continue to position CENTIEL as industry experts and trusted advisors to our growing client base in the UK. “Louis McGarry’s appointment to sales and marketing director recognises his significant contribution to our success so far. He will now have overall responsibility for the continued expansion of our hardware and service sales in the UK. Louis and Andrew’s new roles and our renewed structure will further strengthen our existing team and put CENTIEL in the best place for continued for long-term industry leadership.” Louis McGarry comments: “I joined CENTIEL to be part of something different. Launching the CENTIEL brand and delivering the latest UPS technology has certainly been different! Being part of a team of experts who have an agile approach and a shared goal has been key the company’s growth and to our success. “Taking on the role of sales and marketing director will allow me to continue our expansion and help the company move to the next level. It's an exciting time in this industry to be leading the next generation of UPS experts, delivering the next generation of UPS technology. Who wouldn't want to be part of this!” n Colt appoints VP of New Business Development Colt Technology Services has today announced the appointment of Annette Geuther as its Vice President (VP) of New Business Development, reporting to Keri Gilder, Colt’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Annette brings to this newly created role a wealth of knowledge about new and emerging technologies and extensive expertise of go-to-market strategies for new solutions. Combined with deep global experience in both direct and indirect sales, Annette is well positioned to support Colt as it continues to invest in the likes of 5G, Edge Computing, SDN and NFV, Capital Markets, as well as Cyber Security. Keri Gilder, CCO, said: “I’m delighted to be welcoming Annette into the team. At Colt, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront when it comes to new and emerging technologies, and I’ve no doubt that Annette’s vast knowledge and experience will help us to continue to innovate and challenge the industry status quo.” Annette joins Colt from ADVA, where she most recently served as its Senior Vice President Sales Emerging Markets. Her team was responsible for sales across the globe, from Eastern and South Eastern Europe to the Middle East as well as across Africa and Latin America. Prior to ADVA, Annette has held several senior and executive positions at global communication providers based in Germany, the USA, North Africa and the Middle East. On her appointment, Annette commented: “I am very excited to be joining Colt - I have always been impressed with the agile way in which the organisation operated. Despite Colt having an impressive global footprint with its Colt IQ Network, the company still acts like a challenger brand in market, championing innovation and customer experience. I know this next decade for Colt is going to be just as transformative as the last. I am ready and committed to contribute with my expertise to the company’s ongoing transformation.” Annette will be based in Munich, Germany. n Movers & Shakers Excel appoints Internal International Sales Manager Excel Networking Solutions – the copper and optical fibre cabling infrastructure provider – has appointed Liam Pye as new Internal International Sales Manager. Speaking of Liam’s appointment, Nadeen Tisi, International Sales Director, commented, “I am delighted to provide Liam with this opportunity. He has been with the business for seven years and has a good, solid understanding of the international side of our business, especially from territory management through to project and pipeline ownership. His experience will help us to develop both efficiencies and processes within the team in order to make them become more proactive and profitable in the coming years.” Nadeen concluded, “Liam will be working closely with the existing internal team to drive the growth of our international sales, securing wider market share across Europe.” Speaking of the role, Liam commented, “I am excited to take up this responsibility and I’m confident that my experience with Excel Networking’s international team over the last seven years will provide the right foundations for me to head up the internal team.” Liam concluded, “I would like to thank the business for offering me the opportunity and look forward to working with the team to take on the new challenges ahead.” n www.networkseuropemagazine.com MOVERS AND SHAKERS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 38Gira UK introduces two new starters Gira, one of the world’s leading full-range suppliers of intelligent system solutions for building management, is pleased to welcome two new team members to its prestigious UK brand and business. Jessica-Lee van der Walt, Project Sales Representative, Gira UK Starting 2nd March 2020 – Jessica-Lee comes with a strong background in account management and will be working closely with Richard Udell, Sales Manager- Distribution and Projects, to develop the Gira project business in London initially, and with scope to offer nationwide support as required. With a range of experience in the international market for leading toy manufacturer, Jellycat, as well as a solid grounding in projects at Hansgrohe in London and in South Africa, Jessica is excited to bring her network of contacts and experience in sales and project management to Gira UK. Chris Pereira, Technical Support Assistant, Gira UK Starting 2nd March 2020 – Chris will be joining our UK Hotline department, and working alongside fellow Technical Support Assistant, Daniel Evans, to provide additional support and practical know-how to Gira customers and System Integrator Partners on all things technical. Chris has a background in the electrical industry, with expertise in wiring installations, lighting and maintenance, all of which will help Gira to provide an excellent level of service to its growing UK customer base from its headquarters in Middlesex. Mark Booth, Managing Director at Gira UK says “We’re delighted to welcome two new members to the UK team, bringing to our business a sound knowledge of project sales, account management and technical support to broaden the depth and breadth of our customer service in key parts of our business. By growing our team, we can expand our support to integrators, offering crucial support with specifications and quotations, along with additional training for Gira Partners and site visits, when required. With our 2020 plans for business expansion well underway, we are keen to continue to grow our UK presence with increased specification of Gira products and services in domestic and commercial developments around the country.” n Lenovo DCG welcomes Giovanni Di Filippo Giovanni Di Filippo has joined Lenovo Data Center Group (DCG) as President, Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA), to drive the business in this region and build on relationships with data centre partners and customers. Giovanni brings a wealth of experience to Lenovo DCG. Through various senior leadership roles, he has transformed sales organisations within international, multi-billion-dollar technology companies. Before Lenovo, Giovanni was VP of EMEA for Channels, Sales and Strategic Alliances with Riverbed Technology, where his channel-first oriented strategy led in 2018 to become the Geography of the Year. Prior to this time, he held several Global Vice President-level positions within SAP’s global channel & sales divisions. Following a period as the Managing Director of Central & Eastern Europe and the Gulf region for Cisco, he also went onto expand this role to lead the entire CEE, CIS and Middle East region as well, covering 42 countries in total with a $3bn business. In more recent times, Giovanni has worked with several European startups – providing consultancy to ensure sustained growth and helping to set up their international sales organisations- which gave him invaluable insight into business agility and innovation. Giovanni is a staunch advocate of smarter sales models based on the entire partner eco-system and even invented his own innovative next generation business architecture known as the rapid operational sales model as well as the partner quadrant model. He is also passionate about developing people and creating a world-class team focused on delighting our valued network of partners and customers. As Giovanni says, “For me, technology has the potential to do so much for the digital society if we think more about the people at the centre of it all, and encourage greater collaboration- how technology should work smarter for everyone, how it can truly enable us to make everyday life easier, even how it can help solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.” n Opengear Appoints Mark Hughes Opengear, a Digi International company, and provider of solutions that deliver secure, resilient network access and automation to critical IT infrastructure, has announced the appointment of Mark Hughes to the position of Channel Manager for EMEA. In this role, Hughes will head up efforts to expand Opengear’s channel landscape across EMEA, with the aim of recruiting five to six resellers in each of Opengear’s key country markets within the region. This effort is designed to reinforce Opengear’s presence in EMEA and will increase its core, strategic channel community to 50, with a number of other specialist relationships across EMEA. In building the channel community for Opengear, Hughes will work closely with Exclusive Networks, a value-added distributor (VAD) that has covered southern Europe for Opengear since June 2019, and has now expanded that relationship to also cover the DACH region (Austria, Germany and Switzerland) and the UK as of January. Hughes has extensive experience working with, recruiting and enabling channel members in the out-of-band and IT infrastructure markets. Immediately prior to joining Opengear, he was the EMEA Partner Manager for Out-of-Band remote network management products at Lantronix. “I’m delighted to be joining such a successful company and I’m looking forward to helping the business grow further both by developing our existing network and by connecting with and onboarding new channel members,” said Hughes. “My focus will be on building a close-knit, value added channel community, and developing relationships based on loyalty and mutual understanding to benefit all parties including the end customer.” “We are looking to take business growth to the next level in EMEA by creating a structured distribution and reseller channel,” said Alan Stewart- Brown, VP EMEA, Opengear “Mark’s extensive industry connections and his in-depth experience and expertise both in business development and in building dynamic fast-growth channel and partner networks across the region make him ideally suited for this role.” n MOVERS AND SHAKERS www.networkseuropemagazine.com 39 www.networkseuropemagazine.com 39Next >