International cyber security firm Sophos has established Sophos South Africa, a legal entity to bolster the company’s South African operations and support growth in sub-Saharan Africa.
In a statement, Andy Travers, senior VP for EMEA sales at Sophos, said SA is a strategically important market for the company – both in its own right and as a gateway into Africa.
“Establishing a local entity means our customers get faster, locally aligned support and simpler procurement. For our partners, it means local invoicing, streamlined vendor registration and compliance alignment that make it easier to transact and grow with Sophos. This is the foundation for our long-term growth in the region,” he added.
Sophos plans to leverage the new entity for investment in local hiring, expand in-region capabilities and deepen engagement with the South African cyber security community.
The move also aligns with Sophos’ broader focus on AI-powered security innovation and trust.
“AI is reshaping both attack and defence, but technology alone is not enough. Our recent cyber security trust research shows that organisations are looking for partners they can rely on, not just vendors with tools. Sophos is combining AI, automation, threat intelligence and expert-led services to help organisations improve resilience and make better security decisions with greater confidence.”
The company also cites additional recent research, the State of Identity Security 2026 report, a vendor-agnostic survey of 5 000 IT and cyber security leaders across 17 countries, including SA.
The report found that 71% of organisations globally suffered at least one identity-related breach in the past year. In SA, the reported breach rate was even higher, at 75%.
“South African organisations are operating in a cyber environment where attackers are moving faster, exploiting identity weaknesses, abusing legitimate credentials and taking advantage of gaps in visibility," said Travers. "At the same time, many local businesses are under pressure to modernise, digitise and adopt AI responsibly, often with limited internal security capacity. This makes South Africa an important and dynamic market for Sophos, and one where local presence matters.”
In May, global technology distributor Climb Channel Solutions (Climb) announced its partnership with Sophos.
John Mitchell, channel director for EMEA North at Sophos, told ITWeb that the local team will manage the new Climb relationship under the new legal entity.
“They will be supported by our full Sophos channel resources. While we don't have any additional South Africa partnerships pending at this time, we continue to actively assess all markets for future growth opportunities,” said Mitchell.
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