Astaro seeks partners to boost UK exposure
UTM vendor focuses on UK growth and plans to recruit VARs at all partner levels
Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance vendor Astaro is looking to smash its 60 per cent annual growth and is recruiting additional UK channel partners to help achieve its goal.
The firm, which also recently launched version 7 of its flagship ASG software, has already doubled its UK partner base over the past year and recruited a new UK channel sales manager and new technical and pre-sales manager in recent weeks.
Shameem Ibrahim, UK sales director at Astaro, said: “We are seen as a leading light in the UTM market and are a relatively new player in the UK.”
The firm, which operates a three-tier channel strategy with Premier-, Preferred- and Authorised-level partners, is looking to recruit VARs at all three levels, according to Ibrahim.
The vendor is also working closely with UK distributors Northamber and Softek to find the right partners. “We are looking for a commitment from partners to work with us. We will provide free training and support,” he said.
Maintaining attractive margins is also important for Astaro. “Although we plan to expand our reseller base, we want to ensure we retain our margins,” he said. “It is a fine line and we are going to select our partners carefully. It has to be right for them and us.”
Anna Goss, UK channel manager at Softek, said Astaro’s products are attractive to VARs. “It is an easy product for resellers to explain to their customer base.
“Instead of the disruption caused by integrating multiple separate point solutions into an IT environment and the large ongoing management burden, Astaro can be implemented quickly and provides a single management interface,” she said.