Johnson Hsiung (Bluechip Infotech)
Cyber security solutions vendor Bitdefender is set to ramp up its focus on the local small- to medium-sized business market thanks to a new Australian distribution agreement with Bluechip Infotech.
“Since our official entry into the Australian market in March 2019, the brand has grown from strength to strength,” Bitdefender worldwide channels vice president Joe Sykora said.
“With the announcement of a new strategic distribution partnership with Bluechip, we have greatly expanded our capability in the SMB market covering both MSPs and resellers which reaffirms our commitment to the Australian market."
“Our channel partners have proven an essential ingredient in our success, and we look forward to working closely with Bluechip, locally, to serve and protect even more businesses in the region,” he added.
For Bitdefender, Bluechip’s network of customers and technical expertise, along with the distributor’s focus on the SMB market, is set to strengthen the vendor’s existing security and managed service provider (MSP) offerings, staff training and partner portal.
According to Bluechip’s managing director Johnson Hsiung, the new partnership is expected to bolster the distributor’s standing in the local market.
“The Bitdefender addition to the Bluechip Infotech portfolio will strengthen our overall value proposition in the cyber security landscape and reinforce our position and ability to service the Australian SMB, mid-market and service provider business sector,” Hsiung said.
“We are excited about the market opportunity Bitdefender provides to both our direct and in-direct partners, who are constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to increase net new revenue streams,” he added.
The deal comes roughly half a year after Bitdefender appointed Nextgen Distribution as its distributor for the A/NZ region, a relationship that has now come to an end.
According to Nextgen Group CEO John Walters, the decision to part ways with Bitdefender was mutual and amicable.
"In the usual due diligence done by Nextgen in investigating a new vendor, we found that Bitdefender had great technology and a firm desire to tackle the enterprise space, which is our focus," Walters told ARN in a statement. "It was identified that Bitdefender had a large legacy but extremely important consumer and SMB business and we were concerned about handling this segment, whilst focusing on expanding the enterprise.
"Both Bitdefender and Nextgen decided to engage with an open review period. After a decent attempt, both parties decided it was in Bitdefender’s best interest to find a broader based distribution partner that could cover both markets adequately.
"The Bitdefender team at both regional and global levels has been open, honest and transparent with us throughout and the decision was mutually amicable. We wish Joe [Sykora] and Demetrios [Georgiou, Bitdefender regional director] all the very best in their future," he added.
Georgiou also said that the decision was both a mutual and amicable agreement, and noted that it made sense to seek a distributor to focus on the vendor's SMB and MSP offerings.
"We'd like to thank Nextgen and John Walters for their support over the past year and we wish them only ongoing success in the enterprise market," Georgiou said.
