Top Takeaways from the Acronis #CyberFit Summit Dubai 2021

That’s a wrap on the Acronis #CyberFit Summit in Dubai. The third stop of the Acronis #CyberFit Summit World Tour 2021 offered an engaging and insightful opportunity for MSPs, resellers, distributors, HSPs and more looking to make their IT channel business more productive and profitable in 2022.

Whether you were able to join us in person in Dubai, you logged in virtually from home, or you’re just exploring all of the practical insights and business-building advice you missed at the world’s premier cyber protection event, here are some of the top takeaways from the Acronis #CyberFit Summit in Dubai.

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Thousands of IT channel professionals joined members of the Acronis leadership team and Albara Bahjatt (Founder and CEO, Smart Technology Solutions) for a look at the current state of our industry and what’s to come in the years ahead.

From Acronis, this means an even firmer commitment to supporting the success and security of Acronis partners. “Your end customers are coming to you and asking for help,” acknowledged Acronis CEO Patrick Pulvermueller. “We as Acronis are here to help you be successful in answering.” To achieve this Pulvermueller highlighted plans for an expansion in local support and data centers, increased language options in Acronis solutions and new training and growth opportunities for MSPs through the Acronis #CyberFit Academy.

Pulvermueller went on to invite VP of Cyber Protection Research Candid Wüest and Acronis CTO Oleg Melnikov to the stage to guide attendees through the cybersecurity threats their businesses face and the Acronis product roadmap prepared to keep their businesses safe, secure and successful.

Wüest, a cybersecurity and cyber protection expert, explored the recent explosion in cyberattacks as described further in Acronis’ newly launched Cyberthreats Report 2022. “Last month more than 16,000 vulnerabilities were spotted,” reported Wüest. These vulnerabilities – and the attacks that exploited them – impacted businesses regardless of size, geography, industry or IT stack composition. “Last year there was a 1,100% increase in Mac viruses. On the Windows side, half a million threats are coming in each day.” What’s worse, Wüest explained, is that these attacks are increasingly targeting service providers: “Cybercriminals are targeting service providers because it’s profitable to go through you to get to all of your customers.”

Fortunately, Acronis has a solution. A single solution, in fact. “At Acronis, we’ve always had a vision for a one-stop cyber protection solution for all devices and workloads, no matter where they are. Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud is that solution,” said Melnikov. “Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud has a single management console, a single agent on every workload, a single control panel, a single support portal and a single marketing portal. The user experience was designed specifically with your service techs in mind.”

Of course, Melnikov conceded, one company cannot fight all of the evil in the world. To do that, he highlighted the growing stable of technologies that integrate with Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud – expanding its capabilities and usefulness to partners and customers, and streamlining the user experience as they deliver cyber protection services.

Former FBI negotiator and CEO of the Black Swan Group, Chris Voss took center stage at the Acronis #CyberFit Summit Dubai to discuss how empathy enables businesses to more effectively and successfully grow. He went on to explain that clients choose and stick with vendors for a number of reasons but, “of the top five reasons a client chooses a vendor, none of them are price.”

Instead, IT channel professionals should demonstrate a strong knowledge of the solution area and the landscape (pitfalls, obstacles, barriers) and the customer and their needs (increase productivity, increase profits, grow, etc.). His parting message for attendees focused on ongoing, long-term business success: “Leave everyone you talk to wanting to work with you again. Separate the process from how they feel about you. That is the end goal of empathy. That is how you guarantee success in your life, for your business.”

Day one of the Acronis #CyberFit Summit in Dubai came to a close with an evening reception full of food, fun and inspiring conversation capped off by the always-popular Women in Tech and Business panel. Live in Dubai, this Summit’s panel featured

·       Tara-Jane Sloane (VP Sales, Teknov8 Distribution)

·       Amy Sessions (Editor in Chief of Emirates Woman and Emirates Man magazines)

·       Nezha Alaoui (CEO, Mayshad Group)

·       Jamie Chadwick (Two-time W Series’ Champion)

·       Kristian Bunting (MSP Partner Program, EMEIA, Jamf)

·       Elizabeth Lucas (Business Development Manager, Global System Integrators)

·       Mareva Koulamallah (Head of Marketing and Communications Middle East & Africa at Acronis)

All of these trailblazing women shared their experiences overcoming challenges to achieve success in historically male-dominated fields. Alaoui noted that support and community can lead to enormous growth toward gender equality in the workplace: “Sometimes we feel like we can’t change the world, but if we can support one person, we will make an impact. And that goes across genders. I know men who have been helped by women and women who have been helped by men.”

This message was echoed by champion racer, Chadwick who encouraged the audience to build mentorships, community and support networks: “Anyone you can get support from is powerful. Whether you need to use the word mentor or not, being able to have that voice and advice is important.”

The Acronis #CyberFit Summit World Tour isn’t over yet! Acronis will continue to deliver these unbeatable experiences in Singapore in February 2022 and is already looking ahead to next year’s biggest cyber protection event!

Be sure to save the dare for the Acronis #CyberFit Summit 2022 in Miami coming in November 2022!

In the meantime, be sure to keep an eye on the Acronis blog and Acronis events sites for more news, insights, and opportunities to help your IT channel business achieve greater levels of profitability and success in the year ahead.