Johannesburg – Cyber security technology distributor Maxtec, a QBS Technology Group company, has announced its platinum sponsorship of the 20th annual ITWeb Security Summit Jhb, taking place on 3 and 4 June at the Sandton Convention Centre.
With a 38-year history in the tech sector, Maxtec has evolved from a peripherals importer into a cyber security solutions provider, supporting organisations in developing proactive and resilient cyber security strategies.
ITWeb spoke with Praven Pillay, MD of Maxtec Peripherals, ahead of the event to discuss the company’s continued growth, market approach and the importance of awareness in tackling today’s threat landscape.
From peripherals to cyber security
“Maxtec started as a distributor of IBM peripherals and quickly established itself in the infrastructure and networking space,” said Pillay. “By the early 2000s, we recognised the shift in industry needs and began transitioning into a cyber security-focused business.”
The company now offers a portfolio of turnkey cyber security solutions, helping service providers manage bandwidth, offer value-added services to MVNOs and strengthen their security posture.
“Security is by far the largest part of our business today,” Pillay noted.
Fortinet leads the portfolio
While Maxtec represents a range of vendors – including CyGlass (cloud-native SaaS security), Orca Security (agentless cloud security) and Qualys (vulnerability management) – its flagship partner remains Fortinet, with whom Maxtec has maintained a two-decade relationship.
“Fortinet understood early on the impact of IOT and the need for intelligent traffic inspection,” said Pillay. “They go beyond bandwidth management – scanning web and e-mail traffic, preventing malware and mitigating ransomware threats.”
He added that Fortinet’s intrusion prevention capabilities and virtual patching address common vulnerabilities caused by unpatched devices across endpoints, apps and infrastructure. Its web content filtering technology enables organisations to rate, categorise and selectively block content.
All these capabilities are consolidated within Fortinet’s unified threat management approach.
Gaps in visibility, skills, control
Pillay emphasised that many organisations still lack basic asset visibility – across public and private cloud, data centres and remote offices. “If you don’t know where your data is, how do you secure it?” he asked.
To address this, Maxtec offers free cyber security assessments, helping businesses – ranging from SMEs to major banks and universities – identify security gaps and prioritise solutions based on risk severity.
“We don't sell direct. We engage with end-users, but we always transact through our ICT channel partners,” said Pillay. “We support them with implementation and even offer short-term managed services until customers can build internal capacity.”
Enabling through training and proof of value
Maxtec backs its solutions with certified training and professional services. Its proof-of-value process allows customers to test solutions within their environment before making a purchase.
“This isn't just about a sale,” Pillay said. “We help implement, monitor and manage solutions for as long as needed – while always preserving the integrity of the channel.”
Sponsoring awareness at ITWeb Security Summit
Maxtec’s sponsorship of ITWeb Security Summit 2025 aligns with its mission to increase awareness across the industry.
“For us, awareness is everything,” said Pillay. “Customers often don’t know their own exposure – how many devices connect to their network or what applications are in use.”
He stressed that many organisations know their headcount, but not how many devices are accessing internal systems – highlighting the ongoing need for visibility, education and risk mitigation.
“Our role is to identify these gaps and help close them before an organisation is compromised,” Pillay concluded.
Click here for more information and to register for the ITWeb Security Summit.
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