NEC XON Cyber named Palo Alto Networks' sub-Saharan Africa Partner of the Year - Justin Lee — Justin Lee, regional sales director at Palo Alto Networks

NEC XON Cyber has been named Palo Alto Networks’ sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Partner of the Year, recognising the company as the region’s top-performing partner for 2025. The award was presented at Palo Alto Networks’ recent annual partner gathering in Istanbul, Turkey.

The SSA Partner of the Year award honours the partner that demonstrates outstanding growth, technical innovation and customer impact. NEC XON was selected from a highly competitive field of partners across the sub-Saharan African region, less than two years after restarting its Palo Alto Networks programme under new leadership.

Proven impact

“NEC XON’s recognition as our sub-Saharan Africa Partner of the Year reflects the impact of our partnership: proven expertise, relentless execution and outcomes that matter for customers. Together with Palo Alto Networks, NEC XON is helping organisations across the region stop threats faster, simplify security operations and build a resilient digital future,” said Justin Lee, regional sales director at Palo Alto Networks.

Discover more at www.nec.xon.co.za

Criteria for the award include:

Enablement and engagement: Driving customer adoption and skills transfer;
Technical innovation: Delivering advanced, integrated solutions; and
Financial performance: Achieving strong growth while ensuring measurable outcomes.

“This award validates our platform-led approach to cybersecurity,” said Armand Kruger, head of cybersecurity at NEC XON. “Achieving Diamond Partner status with five specialisations, pioneering XMDR services and consolidating end-to-end security platforms has enabled us to deliver measurable results for our customers. We are deeply honoured to be recognised by Palo Alto Networks and remain committed to helping organisations across Africa build secure, resilient digital futures.”

Validation through client successes

Recent client successes highlight NEC XON’s impact. A major financial institution was struggling with tool sprawl and escalating software costs. By consolidating multiple point products into Palo Alto’s integrated platform (next-gen firewalls, Prisma SASE, Cortex XDR), NEC XON Cyber helped the client reduce software spend by 28%, cut security triage time by 54%, and streamline operations with fewer consoles and more automation. This transformation turned cybersecurity into a measurable ROI driver instead of a growing cost centre.
When a leading telecommunications company came under ransomware attack, NEC XON Cyber’s Cortex XDR-powered MDR service detected and contained the threat within minutes. The attempted encryption was stopped before spreading, no customer data was compromised and business continuity was maintained without downtime or financial loss. This showcased the value of proactive monitoring and rapid incident response at scale.

Armand Kruger, head of cybersecurity at NEC XON

Partner award more than a trophy

“The SSA Partner of the Year award is more than a trophy – it’s Palo Alto Networks’ public endorsement of the most capable, trusted partner in sub-Saharan Africa,” Kruger said. “It validates that NEC XON is not only delivering on revenue and growth targets but also meeting the highest global standards of technical expertise, innovation and customer success.”

Looking ahead, NEC XON Cyber will build on this achievement by scaling its MDR and XMDR capabilities to more customers across sub-Saharan Africa, driving adoption of Palo Alto’s consolidated, platform-led security model and growing regional cybersecurity expertise through training, certification and skills development.

About NEC XON
NEC XON is a leading African integrator of ICT solutions and part of NEC, a Japanese global company. NEC XON has operated in Africa since 1963 and delivers communications, energy, safety, security and digital solutions. It co-creates social value through innovation to help overcome serious societal challenges. The organisation operates in 54 African countries and has a footprint in 16 of them. Regional headquarters are in South, East and West Africa. NEC XON is a level 1-certified broad-based black economic empowerment business. Discover more at www.nec.xon.co.za.