Astaro Launches “Competence Region Nordic” Initiative
Unified Threat Management vendor teams with value-added distributor Infinigate to give resellers a broad spectrum of services and solutions.
Karlsruhe (Germany), (November 8th, 2007) – Astaro Corporation (www.astaro.com), a leader in delivering unified threat management (UTM) security appliances, today announced plans to restructure its channel infrastructure in order to accelerate sales growth in Scandinavia. Astaro and value-added distributor Infinigate agree to further strengthen their partnership by launching the “Competence Region Nordic” initiative which is designed to provide in-depth technical training for certified partners throughout Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
“Due to strong national economies and fast adoption of new technologies, the security market in Scandinavia is one of the fastest growing segments worldwide,” said André Scheffknecht, Sales Director International at Astaro. “By reorganizing our channel structure in Scandinavia, the primary goal is to win new channel partners, and align our network of leading system integrators and regional resellers with the market’s accelerated growth rates. Striving for a growth target of 70 percent in 2008, we are confident to continue to outpace the industry’s global average in the region.”
According to IDC research, the UTM market in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland) has demonstrated considerable growth in recent years with revenue jumping from $17.44M in 2005 to $30.17M in 2006 (43% increase). Similarly, when comparing the first half revenue statistics of 2006 ($13.84M) and 2007 ($18.75M) the Scandinavian region experienced an increase of over 35%.
"The threat management security appliance market is being transformed by unified threat management security appliances", said Charles Kolodgy, IDC Research Director for Secure Content and Threat Management. "UTM devices provide the functions and features customers find compelling, and they will continue to grow in popularity because they offer substantial advantages in performance, convenience, and choice to customers, resellers, and product vendors."
The Competence Region Nordic initiative is designed to provide a broad spectrum of services to optimize the distribution of Astaro products. Astaro and Infinigate offer comprehensive pre-sales and post-sales support enabling certified channel partners to better compete in the security market. As part of the sales initiative, both companies organize roadshows, seminars, exhibitions, and marketing activities specifically targeted at medium-sized companies in the region. Since 2006, Infinigate and Astaro have built a network of Scandinavian channel partners characterized by in-depth expertise in IT security and excellent connections to local companies.
Astaro’s high-speed UTM hardware appliances and software applications are available with network security via firewall, IPS and VPN applications plus security management. Users can also subscribe to Email Security, which includes spam filtering and protection from viruses and phishing attacks. A Web Security subscription is also available with URL filtering, virus and spyware scanning.
Astaro currently has 1,000 partners across the globe, with 700 based in the EMEA region. With an installed user base of over 30,000 sites in 60 countries, Astaro solutions have been selected by a diverse customer base ranging from small and medium-sized companies to government agencies and ISPs. Astaro is distributed in Scandinavia through Infinigate, one of the leading value-added distributors focusing on internet security.
About Astaro
Astaro Corporation is headquartered in Burlington, Mass. and Karlsruhe, Germany. The Astaro Security Gateway, simplifying Email, Web & Network Security, has won numerous industry awards and is protecting over 30,000 networks in 60 countries. Astaro products are distributed by a worldwide network of more than 1,000 solution partners who offer local support and services. For more information, please visit www.astaro.com.
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