StarLink, an Infinigate Group company, a leader in the MEA distribution space as a Trusted Digital Advisor announced expansion of their IBM distribution footprint into the Levant (Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine), extending the success of an already established collaboration across key markets in Levant.

As organizations across the Levant accelerate digital transformation, modernize applications and infrastructure, and explore enterprise AI, this expansion will enable local partners to access IBM’s technology portfolio of AI, automation, data, application integration, observability, storage and hybrid infrastructure technologies alongside StarLink’s dedicated regional sales and technical expertise.

Bringing IBM innovation closer to Levant customers

IBM’s high-growth technology portfolio spans Data and Agentic AI, Automation, Application Integration, HashiCorp, Observability, Storage and Hybrid Infrastructure. These technologies can help organizations address some of their most pressing digital priorities – from modernizing applications and automating IT operations to strengthening cyber resilience, optimizing infrastructure and accelerating the adoption of AI.

The portfolio presents significant opportunities across key industries in the Levant, including government and public sector, financial services, telecommunications, energy, utilities and large enterprises.

By offering these capabilities to local partners and customers, StarLink aims to help organizations build more agile, intelligent and resilient digital environments.

A Partner-first model built for growth

StarLink’s channel execution capabilities and deep regional partner relationships are a differentiator alongside their dedicated IBM-focused engine to support partners across Software, Hardware and Services while providing access to dedicated technical expertise, professional services, training and marketing investments. This model is designed to give partners the resources and expertise they need to identify new opportunities, develop customized solutions and accelerate customer engagements.

“The expansion of our IBM distribution footprint into the Levant is a natural progression of our successful relationship,” said Ahmed Diab, COO, StarLink. “The Levant presents a significant growth opportunity as organizations accelerate their adoption of AI, automation, application modernization, and hybrid infrastructure. IBM’s strong integration across AI, applications, data, automation, infrastructure, and observability also aligns exceptionally well with StarLink’s broader technology portfolio. By bringing these capabilities together, we can help our partners address evolving enterprise needs with a more integrated technology strategy. We are confident this expansion will unlock new opportunities, strengthen our partner ecosystem, and generate a strong pipeline for the Levant.”

StarLink will focus on building the foundations for long-term growth across the Levant channel community with partner recruitment and onboarding, IBM portfolio enablement, supported by sales and technical training.

ParamountAssure, a UAE-headquartered cybersecurity company, has announced its inaugural ‘Paramount CybHER Awards’ to recognise the expertise and contributions of women protecting their organisations from cyber risk. Registrations are open for women working in cybersecurity and governance, risk and compliance across India, Australia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Participants are invited to share practical knowledge that can contribute to the wider cybersecurity profession.

The initiative comes as women remain underrepresented in cybersecurity, with the Global Cybersecurity Forum and Boston Consulting Group’s Cybersecurity Workforce Report estimating their share of the global cybersecurity workforce at 24%. Paramount has unveiled CybHER to recognise women in the public and private sector who implement and oversee cybersecurity in practice and keep operations running.

Premchand Kurup, CEO of ParamountAssure, said: “Women in organisations understand how cybersecurity decisions affect the wider business. Through our interactions, we see women applying sound judgement to complex security and risk challenges every day. Their experience deserves greater visibility. CybHER gives them a platform to share their approaches and lessons, while showing women considering cybersecurity the range of skills and career paths within the profession.”

Five winners will each receive a citation and award recognition, bringing their expertise to a wider professional audience. Selected on the merit of their submissions, winners will gain recognition for the quality of their thinking and the contribution their ideas can make to the cybersecurity community.

Participants can choose the format that best communicates their thinking, submitting an original article or blog of up to 1,000 words, a presentation of up to 10 slides, or a one-minute video. Entries should offer practical insights or useful frameworks, explaining an approach to a cybersecurity challenge or sharing lessons that other professionals can apply. The emphasis is on communicating expertise clearly and giving readers or viewers ideas they can use in their own work.

Ashok Chandrasekharan, COO at ParamountAssure, said: “Women currently make up 25% of ParamountAssure’s workforce and leadership contributing across different functions within our business. We see first-hand the value of their expertise in supporting our work with clients. CybHER reflects our belief that the contributions of women in cybersecurity should be recognised and shared more widely across the industry.”

The awards are open to women whose roles involve protecting their employer’s systems and information, including professionals responsible for security, risk, compliance or privacy. Eligibility extends across technical, managerial and leadership positions, reflecting the different ways women help organisations prevent and respond to cyber threats. Participants can draw on experience in security operations or in setting and overseeing the policies that guide how their organisation manages digital risk.

The independent jury includes Sumayya Shafi, Information Technology Manager at Dubai Petroleum, Amna Al Balushi, Chief Information Security Officer and Head of IT Governance at a leading bank in Oman, and Mariam Ben Dhafari, Director of the Information Systems Center at the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development in Kuwait. Together, they will assess submissions on demonstrated expertise and originality, considering their practical value, clarity, analytical thinking and potential industry impact.

Sumayya Shafi, Information Technology Manager at Dubai Petroleum, said: “There is still a perception that technical and cybersecurity roles are predominantly male, and many women working in these fields remain underrepresented in the wider industry conversation. Women are already leading in these fields across organisations, and recognising their work is an important step towards closing that gap. CybHER provides a platform to bring these contributions into greater focus.”

The application window will close on November 30, 2026 at 11:59 pm GST (UTC+4), with the announcement of five winners scheduled in January 2027. Eligible professionals can visit the website for further updates, including full participation criteria and submission guidance.

Varonis Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNS) (“Varonis”), the data and AI security leader, and Proofpoint, Inc. (“Proofpoint”), a global leader in human and agent cybersecurity, today announced entrance into a definitive agreement under which Varonis will be acquired by Proofpoint, a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $6.3 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Varonis shareholders will receive $49.75 per share in cash. This purchase price represents a premium of 52% to Varonis’ closing stock price of $32.71 on June 22, 2026, the last full trading day prior to initial rumors about a potential sale of the Company, and a premium of 17% over Varonis’ closing stock price of $42.35 on September 1, 2026, the last trading day prior to additional media reports speculating about a potential sale of Varonis. The transaction values Varonis at approximately 53x LTM Free Cash Flow and 8.4x LTM Revenue.¹

The combined company will serve more than 16,000 enterprises and millions of organizations globally, creating one of the world’s leading pure-play cybersecurity companies and establishing the industry’s largest data and AI cybersecurity organization. Together, the combined company intends to deliver a unified platform that helps organizations adopt AI with confidence: finding and protecting sensitive data, controlling what people and AI can access, and stopping data loss. Following closing, Proofpoint intends to move quickly to integrate the companies’ capabilities, align go-to-market efforts, and accelerate delivery of the combined platform to customers.

“Today begins an exciting new chapter for Varonis and our customers. It’s a testament to the incredible work of the Varonis team over two decades,” said Yaki Faitelson, Varonis CEO, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors. “Our mission is to secure AI and the data that powers it. By joining forces with Proofpoint, we can achieve this mission faster than ever.”

Faitelson continued, “This announcement follows a comprehensive evaluation led by a committee of independent members of our Board of Directors, which included extensive outreach to a range of potential strategic and financial buyers. This transaction is an excellent outcome for the company and our shareholders, representing a realization of immediate, significant, and certain value well in excess of the risk-adjusted value of delivering against our standalone plan.”

“As AI becomes embedded across the enterprise, the data it can access determines both its value and its risk. AI agents are increasingly accessing sensitive information and taking action across systems, making it critical for organizations to understand not only what data needs protecting and who can access it, but how it is actually being used,” said Sumit Dhawan, CEO of Proofpoint. “By connecting communications, identities, permissions, data, and AI, we are creating an intelligence advantage that helps customers see risk more clearly, respond faster, and defend against the next generation of AI risks. This is a defining step in Proofpoint’s evolution into a cybersecurity platform built for the future of AI.”