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New Fortinet chief aims squarely at channel

Building the channel is a top priority for security box maker Fortinet's new Australia and New Zealand boss, Steve Clack, the third person to hold this position in less than two years.

Networking industry veteran, Peter Sandilands, took up the job in February 2004, but left the company suddenly the following May, citing a difference of opinion over the company's direction.

He was replaced by Ben Teh, who has now been promoted to South Asia manager, a similar role he previously held with firewall vendor, Watchguard.

Clack is described as a data security specialist and was previously channel director ANZ for Trend Micro, and a former sales director for McAfee in the UK, from where he originally hails.

In his new role, Clack has his sights firmly set on boosting the ranks of the company's channel.

"Fortinet is not a straightforward product to sell - technical expertise is required and we will focus on good-quality partners who can support our customers," he said.

Clack wants to ensure Fortinet partners are well educated and trained on the range and have the technical expertise and competency required to represent the brand.

He will also look into creating opportunities and sales leads for partners by generating end-user demand.

Clack said he was still assessing the best way to achieve this.

"We have to enhance the Fortinet name with end-users to drive business for our partners," he said.

There were big opportunities in the network security market at the moment, Clack said.

"Network security is a very big issue and the multilayered approach is very important, especially with unified threat management - users want an all-in-one security solution," he said.

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More about: ANZ, Boss, Enhance Electronics, Fortinet, HIS Limited, McAfee, Trend Micro, Watchguard, WatchGuard

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