Sophos opens in old Silicon Valley McAfee digs

New location won't reduce emphasis on US headquarters or UK base, says vendor

Sophos officially opened its first Silicon Valley office yesterday, 8 January, in a location familiar to many in the Bay Area and the channel. The building is the former headquarters of rival McAfee.

The facility is where many of its senior executives, sales, channel and development functions will operate.

Kris Hagerman, chief executive of Sophos, indicated he was thrilled to join the many other technology leaders that call Silicon Valley home.

"A meaningful presence in Silicon Valley gives us a golden opportunity to capitalise on the technology trends and partnership opportunities that are so abundant in this area. Silicon Valley is a renowned global centre for the disruptive innovation, top talent and strategic relationships that will help propel Sophos to the next level," he said.

The new facility in the heart of the technology capital will play an instrumental role in the development and go-to-market strategy of Sophos' expanding channel and product line, including unified threat management appliances and cloud-based security services.

Hagerman, chief marketing officer Matt Fairbanks and vice president of worldwide sales Mike Valentine will work primarily or part-time from this facility.

In an interview with Channelnomics last month, Hagerman said the new facility will not detract from the importance of Sophos's US headquarters in Boston or its global base in Abingdon, United Kingdom.

The facility is already the focal point of controversy between Sophos and rival UTM vendor Fortinet. Last month, Fortinet filed a lawsuit against Sophos and Valentine for poaching managers, salespeople and developers - including channel chief Kendra Krause.

Many of the people in question work in the Sophos US Santa Clara office. Valentine, who was head of sales at Fortinet until last February, had a no-hiring clause in his separation agreement.

Sophos dismisses the poaching allegations, saying quality people should have the ability to choose where they want to work. Hagerman called Fortinet's lawsuit "a nasty scare tactic" designed to scare people away from working for Sophos.

The humour of placing the Sophos logo where McAfee's moniker was once visible from Highway 101 is not lost on Hagerman and team. Hagerman said many people now working in the office once worked for McAfee and say their route to work is quite familiar.

As part of our special editorial relationship, CRN is republishing this article from Channelnomics