Internet Solutions (IS) and Symantec have partnered to build a multimillion rand data centre in Johannesburg that will provide hosted data security services across Africa.
The companies have declined to disclose the value of the investment. But the new data centre is essentially a replica of Symantec’s own data centres in other parts of the world, says Symantec’s VP for hosted services in the EMEA region, Jesper Frederiksen.
The market for security as a service is opening up in SA and Africa, he adds. There is a high rate of adoption of software as a service among SA companies and integrating security into those solutions is becoming imperative, says Frederiksen.
Symantec hosted security solutions that will be made available to IS clients through the data centre include Symantec’s MessageLabs Hosted Email AntiSpam and AntiVirus, MessageLabs Hosted Email Encryption, and MessageLabs Hosted Email Archiving.
The portfolio of products will be available in early 2011.
Symantec will be recruiting channel partners, including Symantec resellers, to resell the hosted products to clients across Africa, says Symantec’s regional director for Africa, Gordon Love.
IS innovation and technology manager, Hayden Lamberti, says the partnership will strengthen IS’s existing hosted services business.
The service provider will be able to provide Symantec with access to IS customers in SA and other African countries where the software vendor already operates, as well as extend its reach into territories where it is not yet active. — Candice Jones, TechCentral
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