Fortinet recruiting to meet channel demand
Vendor cites success of indirect model as product demand increases
Security vendor Fortinet is increasing its workforce to cope with what it has claimed are "increasing sales opportunities through the channel".
The firm, which specialises in unified threat management and network-based anti-virus firewalls, has appointed Darren Turnbull as chief systems engineer and Kevin Pask as a key account manager to help with demand for its products due to expanding channel sales.
Turnbull joins Fortinet from IP and broadband service supplier CoSine Communications, while Pask is an ex-Foundry Networks sales manager.
"Fortinet products are becoming easier to sell thanks to functionality improvements over the past year. Serious players are taking these products onboard," said Graham Fox, managing director of distributor Fresh Egg.
Last month Fortinet launched its FortiGate 5000 series of scalable anti-virus firewalls for service providers and large enterprises.
Fox told CRN that Fresh Egg does not believe it would benefit from further Fortinet technical support, but added: "For resellers, commercial support will increase through channel expansion."
Jonathan Mepsted, regional director at Fortinet UK and central Europe, said the firm believes in the indirect business model.
"We don't want to see companies competing for the same market. It's about underselling, and we hope to build a pipeline of trusted resellers," he said.
In the next two quarters Fortinet intends to open offices in Rome, Milan, Copenhagen and Madrid, and to double its European sales headcount.
The firm, which has more than 500 employees worldwide, hopes channel expansion will allow it to increase this figure.