Exertis joins Kaspersky VAD line-up

Kaspersky says it has chosen Exertis UK for its 'unrivalled' reseller community

Kaspersky Lab has announced that Exertis UK will be joining Arrow and Wick Hill in its UK value-added distributor line-up.

Kirill Slavin, general manager of UK and Ireland at the security vendor, said Exertis was selected for its reseller community, which he claims is unrivalled.

He added that all three distributors bring something to the table.

“Each one is slightly different. Arrow Computerlinks is a highbrow VAD and Wick Hill is strong in the mid-range space," Slavin said.

"Exertis' strength is slightly different; it is a solid VAD and at the same time can cover a mass reseller community."

Kaspersky has reported a growth in its channel partner base, increasing the number of UK resellers by 250 in a year. It now has a total of 582 reseller partners.

When asked if any of the vendor’s B2B distributors had been dropped in the past year, Slavin said: “We haven’t as of yet, but we work with Ingram on rather small volumes. They are still here, it’s just the volumes are small.”

He continued that Kaspersky has been working with Exertis for some time on the B2C side of the business, and he sees the expanded responsibility of the distie as a logical step.

Exertis VAD solutions' managing director Grahame Smee told CRN: “Kaspersky are growing at a pretty impressive rate and they wanted to add more value add their channel.

“So we are working with them around using our technical services, our consultancy, our 24/7 tech centre and our ability to help with complicated deployments.

“They are changing and becoming more or a high-end cyber security company – more so than they have been in the past and it is our job to help promote that," he said.