Channel Post MEA speaks to Neo Neophytou, the Managing Director at ESET Middle East to find out the company’s plans ahead
Post the exit of Aji Joseph has anyone been appointed to replace him?
Yes, we have already signed on Pradeesh VS who will take over the role of General Manager for the Middle East at ESET in December 2013. Prior to joining ESET, he was the Regional Sales Manager- NetGenie, Middle East at Cyberoam and has over 9 years of experience in the Middle East IT industry.
In his new role Pradeesh will be tasked with growing ESET’s share of the enterprise security solutions space and leading the company’s regional expansion- both through new recruitments, and addition and enhancement of its channel community.
ESET is on the verge of a major expansion in the Middle East which will involve recruitment of new staff members and shifting to a larger office in Dubai to accommodate these new employees.
Pradeesh will leverage his strengths in the areas of business development, sales and marketing, channel management and product management to effectively manage this growth. He will also be charged with extending agreements with existing ESET channel partners as well as identifying new partners who will help drive the our growth in both the business and home user segments.
ESET recently appointed Elham Alizadeh as the company’s new channel marketing manager. What would be her role at ESET?
Elham Alizadeh joins ESET from security VAD Comguard, where she was handling public relations and marketing for over two years. In her new role, Ms. Alizadeh will manage the entire marketing activities of ESET Middle East and public relations campaigns for the company.
In addition, she will be responsible for channel development and working closely with the company’s channel partners to ensure the alignment of marketing strategies to ensure mutual growth.
What would be Elham Alizadeh’s channel strategies for ESET’s channel community?
Through her interactions with channel partners, Ms. Alizadeh will work to expand ESET’s channel base and provide an excellent platform for all its partners to gain more market share in the region.
She will aim to pave the way for the channel by streamlining structure and process to help partners increase their business in the Middle East. This is in line with the company’s dedication to meeting and exceeding the expectations of its loyal partners by ensuring that they have the right products at the right price to take to their customers.
Is ESET planning to launch any channel partner program in the coming months?
Yes, we are in process of restructuring our partner program to enable our partners enjoy a higher level of business with us.
ESET is continually monitoring the Middle East IT security market to identify trends that will help us decide the next technologies to bring to market. At a global level, we recently announced the ESET Technology Alliance which is an integration partnership.
The aim of the program is to better protect businesses with a range of complimentary IT security solutions that seamlessly integrate with ESET products. All members of the ESET Technology Alliance are strategically selected security companies that specialize in a specific IT security area which complements the ESET product portfolio.
We have already signed on the first entrant into the ESET Technology Alliance which is DESlock, an encryption software company. At a regional level, we are set to grow both in terms of staff strength as well as customer base. We will do so by deepening our relationship with our channel. The soon to be announced channel program is aimed at doing exactly this.
Furthermore, we will continue to offer solutions that meet the specific needs of the local market. A couple months ago we released the Arabic version of our mobile security app and have seen a tremendous uptake of this. Such initiatives prove our dedication to the market and we will continue to focus our efforts on advancing these activities.
