Fortinet has appointed Andre van Zyl as its channel accounts manager for southern Africa.
This is a new position for the company ? the duties of the channel accounts manager were previously fulfilled by Perry Hutton, Fortinet's regional director for Africa.
Fortinet says Van Zyl's appointment supports the company's aim for significant business growth across the region ? driven through the strengthening of its channel network with a better engagement towards the existing partners and adding new ones.
"The contribution of our channel in supporting our growth is paramount, and we must constantly ensure our partner programme is in line with their needs in terms of technical expertise, business support, as well as sales and marketing benefits," says Emilio Roman, VP of international sales operations at Fortinet.
Reporting to Hutton, Van Zyl will be responsible for increasing partner certifications and the number of Fortinet resident engineers who will help improve customer service quality.
With over 20 years of experience in the IT sector, Van Zyl was a founding member of eSecure Distribution in 2003. He moved to Axiz as channel accounts manager after AxizWorkgroup acquired eSecure in 2012.
He believes there is significant growth in the need for IT security solutions in general and also Fortinet products, specifically in the southern African region.
"Threats are increasing, and people are becoming more tech-savvy and understanding the need to protect their data," says Van Zyl.
"Therefore, there is great scope for growth of the IT security sector in southern Africa. However, people often find the large range of security products confusing. This is where our channel plays a crucial role - acting as trusted advisors to end-users and corporates."
According to IDC Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Tracker 2013, factory revenue and units rose in the fourth quarter with Fortinet remaining the third largest security appliance vendor, with a 6.6% share in the quarter.
Van Zyl believes the increase in growth of IT security technology is the result of the constant change in security technologies and the need for organisations to keep channel resources up to date with advancing technologies.
Therefore, with Fortinet's two training centres for sales and technical resources and constant training in the channel, he hopes to continue building on the success of the current channel, he adds.
Fortinet has over 10 000 reseller partners across the globe, with more than 300 signed every quarter. Recruitment of Fortinet's authorised resellers is based on specific requirements, including reseller size and level of commitment.
Share