Apps
Synology Launches Two New Apps in the Active Backup Suite

Synology has announced the official release of two major backup applications in Active Backup suite of packages. One is the official version of Active Backup for Office 365 that supports SaaS cloud backup. Another is the beta version of Active Backup for Business that provides data availability for workloads in physical and virtual environments.
“More and more companies and organizations are operating across physical, virtual, and cloud platforms. This phenomenon presents a tremendous challenge to IT departments for ensuring the safety of the growing data in this cross-platform environment,” said Jia-Yu Liu, Director of Application Group at Synology Inc. “To tackle this problem, Synology provides a new, all-in-one solution that closely integrates software and hardware for businesses of varying scale.”
Active Backup for Office 365 employs single instancing technology to not only help businesses with the management and availability of Office 365 data, but also significantly lower the space occupied by backups. The content search function is particularly geared toward combing through content in mail and attachments, enabling users to find the mail in need of recovery in the shortest time.
Key features of Active Backup for Office 365 include:
- Support multiple Office 365 endpoints: Office 365, Office 365 Germany, Office 365 operated by 21Vianet.
- Centralized and comprehensive protection: Back up OneDrive for Business, mail, contacts, and calendar data to a Synology NAS and manage the copies efficiently from a single interface.
- Granular restoration, search, and export from the self-service recovery portal: Efficiently filter by keyword with the new content search feature. From there, users can find the right email and restore or download a single file, mail, mail attachment, contact, or calendar event from the self-service recovery portal.
- Backup and storage efficiency: Single instancing ensures efficiency by transferring and storing files with unique content only. Block-level deduplication helps businesses keep the most data using the least storage space by only saving a file’s blocks that are changed compared to its previous version.
In contrast, Active Backup for Business integrates multiple technologies adopted by DiskStation Manager (DSM). For Btrf file system, Synology has developed the Global Deduplication function to greatly reduce the required storage for backup. The integration with Virtual Machine Manager allows NAS backups of physical servers or virtual machines to directly run on DSM, maximizing the availability of data and applications.
Key features of Active Backup for Business include:
- PC and server protection: With the Active Backup agent utility, users can perform image-based backups to protect their Windows PC or Windows server workloads. Depends on the scenario, users could choose to restore a single file from the recovery portal, bare-metal restore the whole system, or directly run a backup image on Virtual Machine Manager to retrieve the application data and provide application availability.
- Virtual machine protection: Users can protect their virtual machine workloads without an agent just with VMware vSphere info. It supports multiple restoration methods, ranging from individual file restore, instant VM restore to NFS, full VM restore and running on Synology VMM.
- Faster Backup: Changed Block Tracking (CBT) technology performs incremental backups instead of a full backup every time.
- Storage efficiency: Built-in global deduplication greatly reduces storage consumption.
- Better restore reliability: Verify backups on Synology VMM to maximize backup reliability and minimize the burden in production environments.
- Run on VMM: The unique feature, integration with Synology VMM, allows users to create the same IT environment as the product site, serving as a temporary Disaster Recovery solution, export / import objects and an upgrade testing environment.
Each Synology NAS that supports Active Backup for Office 365 comes with 10 free licenses. As for the Active Backup for Business, no license will be required during the beta period and the software will have all the functionality available. Backing up computers, servers, and virtual machines will require purchasing a separate license per host after the conclusion of the beta testing period.

Apps
AppGallery Gamers Cup Returns to Iraq

The much-anticipated AppGallery Gamers Cup (AGC) returned to Iraq with the AGC-Yalla Ludo Friendly Cup on March 21, bringing together the wider gaming community. The event was organized in collaboration with Jetour Iraq and its exclusive distributor, Harlem for Commercial Agencies, a subsidiary of Harlem Group. This year’s tournament witnessed 64 players, carefully selected from a record-breaking 38,000 online registrations, compete in intense, back-to-back matches for a share of the $6,000 prize pool.
The tournament, featuring the popular Yalla Ludo game, highlights the increasing demand for competitive gaming experiences across the Middle East. It further strengthens HUAWEI AppGallery’s commitment to supporting the region’s thriving gaming ecosystem and fostering esports growth.
William Hu, Managing Director, Huawei Consumer Business Group, Middle East and Africa Eco-Development and Operation, added, “We are very proud of the success of the AGC – Yalla Ludo Friendly Cup. This event is part of our ongoing commitment to fostering esports in the region and connecting with passionate gaming communities. We are honored to collaborate with Yalla Ludo and Jetour, further strengthening our dedication to creating exciting opportunities for players and fans alike. This is just the beginning of many more initiatives to come, and we look forward to seeing the continued growth of esports in Iraq and beyond.”
Mohamed Majeed, Harlem Group Representative, also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to collaborate with Huawei at such a prestigious event. He highlighted Harlem Group’s commitment to innovation and support for digital advancements in Iraq. “Harlem Group has always been at the forefront of fostering technological progress in Iraq. We are proud to sponsor this event through Jetour Iraq,” he said.
Apps
Astra Tech Unveils Botim AI

Astra Tech announced the integration of Botim AI into its Botim Ultra App, bringing advanced AI capabilities to the platform and enhancing accessibility for over 150 million global users. This makes Botim the first fintech in the region to introduce this innovation. Botim AI is a chat assistant designed to elevate user engagement and interaction, offering free, seamless access to cutting-edge features directly within the Ultra App. Users will benefit from intelligent, AI-driven conversations and assistance across various areas, including productivity, education, research, and everyday problem-solving.
H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Board Member and CEO of Astra Tech, commented: “The launch of Botim AI marks a significant milestone in our journey to revolutionize digital communication in the MENA region. By integrating advanced AI capabilities, we are enhancing user experiences and setting new standards for intelligent, seamless interactions. This innovation underscores our commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to meet the evolving needs of our users, while advancing our mission to deliver more inclusive solutions that empower individuals from all demographics and enable frictionless engagement with our solutions.”
The AI currently supports chat-based interactions, with enhancements such as web search capabilities and action-based integration planned for future phases. As part of its strategic evolution, Botim is advancing toward the deployment of executional AI, enabling users to complete tasks in their native language with ease. This innovation meets the growing demand for inclusive AI solutions that ensure seamless, accessible interactions, empowering individuals from all backgrounds to engage effortlessly with the Ultra App.
Botim AI represents a significant step forward in the evolution of communication apps in the MENA region, offering users a smarter, more interactive way to connect and engage. Easily accessible from the landing page, Explore, and Search sections of the app, Botim AI allows current users to simply update to the latest version to access these new features directly on the landing page. Additionally, users can securely save chat history for future reference and have the option to delete past conversations for privacy and control.
Apps
Google’s Latest AI Model Enables Watermark Removal from Images

A potentially controversial application of Google’s new Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model has emerged: users are leveraging it to remove watermarks from images, including those from stock photo sites such as Getty Images.
The recently expanded image generation feature of Gemini 2.0 Flash allows for native image generation and editing, a powerful tool that seemingly lacks robust usage restrictions. Social media users have highlighted how the AI can not only remove watermarks but also intelligently fill in the resulting gaps, often with impressive accuracy, and it’s currently free within Google’s AI Studio developer tools.
While labeled “experimental” and “not for production use,” Gemini 2.0 Flash’s ability to bypass watermarks stands in contrast to models like Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet and OpenAI’s GPT-4o, which explicitly prohibit such actions, citing ethical and legal concerns.
It’s important to note that Gemini 2.0 Flash isn’t foolproof; it can struggle with semi-transparent or heavily overlaid watermarks. Nevertheless, the ease with which it can remove watermarks raises potential copyright issues, as removing a watermark without the copyright holder’s permission is generally illegal in many countries. This situation underscores the ongoing challenges of balancing powerful AI capabilities with copyright protection.
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