AFRICA

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AFRICA

Kaspersky , a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997 , has signed value-added distributor ( VAD ) DataGroupIT to provide the cybersecurity specialist with access to new markets in Nigeria and Ghana as part of its strategy to grow the IT security business in West Africa .

“ DataGroupIT is a well-known distributor in Africa with a clear value-add when it comes to generating focused business growth , especially in the enterprise segment . It also has the capacity to support the Kaspersky business logistically and provide valuable technical expertise on Kaspersky solutions ,” said Lehan van den Heever , Enterprise Cyber Security Advisor , Kaspersky in Africa .

DataGroupIT has more than 1,000 clients in over 15 sub-Saharan African countries with its professional teams delivering exceptional sales , pre-sales , logistic , marketing and financial support .

The partnership between the two organisations will further enhance Kaspersky ’ s rapidly expanding footprint in Africa . It is designed to empower customers to leverage Kaspersky ’ s knowledge , market intelligence , and world-class cyber security professionals with best-in-class local market support .

“ West Africa is becoming a major focus for Kaspersky . The agreement with DataGroupIT will see Kaspersky gain access to new verticals in this region while helping new and existing customers build their cybersecurity strategy . It also puts Kaspersky in a position to work with major regulators to elevate the digital protection threshold across the region ,” said Van den Heever .

Amir Shtarkman , VP Business Development , DataGroupIT said : “ Our partnership with Kaspersky is an excellent fit for our growing product portfolio and our ‘ Six pillar model ’. Kaspersky is an experienced vendor and a leader on their product portfolio . Their offerings will enable our customers across the region to realise the benefits of cybersecurity and in particular , endpoint protection and cyber intelligence .

Lehan van den Heever , Enterprise Cyber Security Advisor , Kaspersky in Africa

DataGroupIT has a wealth of experience in the cybersecurity market in Africa and we are looking forward to growing the Kaspersky business with this partnership .”

With the DataGroupIT partnership in place , Kaspersky plans to replicate the success it has observed in other African regions .

“ This expansion will help move the maturity of cyber defence tools and processes in West Africa to a new level especially at a time when organisations and consumers are adapting to a new distributed working environment that creates the potential for additional cyber risk ,” Van den Heever added . •

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