German-based Unified Threat Management provider expands international distribution channels
Hamburg, Germany. 16.02.2010 – gateProtect announced today that it has signed a distribution agreement with Bechtle AG. The IT service provider is now a Platinum Partner and will provide sales and customer support services for gateProtect’s Unified Threat Management solutions throughout Europe. With this agreement, gateProtect has completed another phase of its partnership strategy and its international expansion. gateProtect is extending the availability of its solutions in other countries via channel partners and selected distributors. The company currently has 550 resellers and is actively working to increase its international network.
The focus of the channel partnership with Bechtle is on gateProtect’s Unified Threat Management appliances, which have been awarded top rankings in several independent tests and are the only products of their kind on the market with the easy to use eGUI® interface.
“Expanding into other European countries is a key part of our growth plans,” says Dennis Monner, CEO of gateprotect. “We’re seeing very strong demand for our UTM appliances almost everywhere now. Along with Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Bechtle has a presence in eight additional central European countries, so this partnership will enable us to grow even faster and expand our market share in these areas. We’re mainly targeting larger midsized companies who need a strong IT service provider across multiple regions. This is why we’re very pleased to have excellent access to these companies through Bechtle and to have gained a partner of unusually high repute who is known and trusted by the midmarket.”
According to Eckhard Zuber, Product Manager at Bechtle, the partnership will enable the company to extend its Bechtle Security Portfolio with a solution for ergonomic network protection. He comments: “With gateProtect’s Unified Threat Management appliances, we’ll be able to offer our customers an integrated security solution that helps them reduce the increasing complexity of safeguarding their corporate networks.” Bechtle provides a comprehensive range of services and products for IT infrastructures. These span IT strategy consulting, hardware and software products, project planning and execution, system integration, maintenance and training as well as the complete management of all IT operations. Bechtle AG currently has over 56,000 customers, mainly midsized companies, and has solid contacts as well as many years’ experience with this sector. Bechtle has trading companies in eleven European countries. All gateProtect products will be available from Bechtle’s system house and e-commerce divisions.
At this year’s CeBIT, gateProtect will give further details of its partnership with Bechtle AG during its press conference on 2 March 2010 from 9.00am to 10.00am in Room 112 of the Convention Centre. gateProtect is exhibiting at CeBIT on Stand B37 in Hall 11.
About Bechtle
The Bechtle Group has more than 50 system houses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and is one of Europe's leading IT e-commerce providers with trading companies in eleven countries. Founded in 1983, the Neckarsulm-based company currently employs around 4 400 people. Bechtle is a manufacturer-independent company that provides one-stop shopping for all the IT infrastructure and operation needs of its more than 56 000 predominantly small and medium-sized industrial, public sector and financial market customers. Bechtle has been quoted on the stock exchange since 2000 and is listed in the TecDAX technology index since 2004. In 2008, turnover was at 1.431 million Euros.
gateProtect AG Germany
gateProtect Germany is a leading provider of IT security solutions in the area of network protection. Its primary products are xUTM appliance, firewall and client encryption systems.
Differentiators
Alongside their technical highlights, gateProtect products stand out from their competitors with their unique ease of use. gateProtect is the only provider in the world with an end-to-end implementation of the ISO NORM 9241 guidelines relating to ergonomic product design. With its unique and patented eGUI® (ergonomic Graphic User Interface) technology and its Command Center, gateProtect again raises the bar for easier configuration and management of firewall systems for Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs). The innovative eGUI® technology enables a significant increase in enterprise security as well as higher efficiency levels for ongoing system maintenance. This delivers lower operating costs for customers.
