Holton & Associates was appointed as the southern African distributor for BitDefender in January 2004. When asked to comment on the partnership deal, Grayford Holton, CEO of Holton & Associates, declared: "My company was looking for anti-virus software that would match our quality requirements, while giving us an edge over the competition by keeping the total cost of ownership on their products as low as possible. We found it.
"We set out to introduce BitDefender to all the computer dealers and consultants throughout SA so that we could establish a point of presence in each and every town/city throughout SA and the neighbouring countries," says Holton.
Contact was made with IT dealers/consultants and a trial CD was sent to them. Some dealers found the time to test BitDefender immediately; others put the CDs away for a quieter time.
Nobody could have foreseen what these BitDefender trial CDs would reveal to the dealers. The results in some cases were spectacular, to say the least. BitDefender found viruses and Trojans on computers, which were using the latest updated versions of other anti-virus systems, which were previously not seen.
In one case, a dealer situated in the Southern Cape found no less than 700 viruses on a client`s computer. In another case, a dealer situated in Port Elizabeth forwarded the following to us: "BitDefender found 3 052 virus bodies and the system was infected with w32.swenA@mm, W32.netsky.c@mm and JS.trojan.noclose.m."
Initially, dealers started selling single user systems, and as their confidence in BitDefender grew, 5 - 200 user sites are now installed.
To cope with the demand for BitDefender, and to provide local service, offices have been setup in Cape Town, Durban, Swaziland and Port Elizabeth. "We expect to open more offices by the end of the year," says Holton.
The growth in SA is very much in keeping with the growth experienced throughout Europe, says Bogdan Irina, worldwide sales and marketing director for BitDefender. "I am confident that BitDefender will go from strength to strength in southern Africa. BitDefender ranks in the top three anti-virus retailers in major European countries and look forward to repeat this performance."
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BitDefender provides security solutions to satisfy the protection requirements of today`s computing environment, delivering effective threat management for over 38 million home and corporate users in more than 100 countries.
BitDefender anti-virus is certified by all the major independent reviewers in the anti-virus field - ICSA Labs, CheckMark and Virus Bulletin.
Web site: http://www.bitdefender.com
SOFTWIN
Founded in 1990, SOFTWIN is a leading provider of computer software and services. SOFTWIN`s 500-strong team of qualified professionals has managed over 10 000 projects so far. The company has a strong presence on the US and European Union IT markets and develops along four interlinked business lines: eContent, Data Security, Business Solutions and Customer Relationship Management. SOFTWIN is headquartered in Bucharest, Romania and has offices in Tettnang, Germany and Barcelona, Spain.
Company Web site: http://www.softwin.ro
Holton & Associates
Founded in 2001, Grayford and Jonathan Holton set out to offer a personalised anti-virus service to the dealer channel and their customers. BitDefender is an anti-virus software system, from SOFTWIN, which echoes our service offerings and beliefs.
Your anti-virus software system is guaranteed to be available to be installed within 48 hours and we are so confident that you`ll love your BitDefender that you`ll receive an unheard of 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee!
You`ll even find a unique, telephonic or live chat support on a 24-hour instructional hotline when you need help.
That is why our customers, people just like you, have rated us as the emerging anti-virus system worthy of taking on the best in SA.
Web site: http://www.holton.co.za