Check Point Software announced last week that it will soon be establishing a South African presence.

According to Niall Moynihan, northern European technical director for Check Point Software Technologies, who was recently in the country, this will happen in a matter of months.

He says the company has realized that the South African business opportunities and in the rest of Africa are immense, and that the region thus needs more direct attention. The company is also shifting its focus from perimeter security solutions to network and desktop solutions. He says this shift warrants a closer relationship with partners, which is better facilitated through a local presence.

He says that the market for Check Point in Africa is worth millions. ?And to tap more revenues from opportunities in this growing market we need to be closer to assist and educate our distributor and reseller partners.?

So who will be the local representative? Moynihan says that he is only waiting for his position as country manager to be formally announced, after which he will be heading to SA.

Local distribution partners for Check Point include Westcon and Value Added Distribution Africa (VAD Africa), local resellers include Business Connexion, Dimension Data Information Security Architects (ISA) and Faritec.

Moynihan concludes: ?Seeing that we do not sell direct at all, it is very important to work closely with our partners in order to grow our business further.?