First Distribution aims to make KEMP Technologies the No1 server load balancer brand in SA

INDUSTRY

KEMP Technologies, a global manufacturer of server load balancers and application delivery controllers, has appointed First Distribution to engage the Southern African market and establish the brand.

First Distribution is an established broad-based distributor of premium IT solutions to the Southern African market. It will leverage off its experience within highly strategic areas of ICT to entrench the KEMP product brand.

KEMP Technologies manufactures a globally-recognised range of server load balancers and application delivery controllers. The company’s solutions ensure high availability of server and application resources, as well as optimisation and scalability of mission critical applications.

The company’s server load balancers are approved by Microsoft for use with MS Exchange, Lync, Sharepoint and Terminal Services. The range comprises both hardware appliances and virtual (software) appliances which can run on VMware and Hyper-V and can be used for load balancing any kind of server/application.

KEMP’s products are used to guarantee high availability and optimise user experience and performance in private and public sector organisations of varying sizes, from medium-sized organisations to large enterprises.

The increase in web-based applications and the growth in the average number of servers in an organisation are all contributing to the importance and need for server load balancing to ensure optimum performance and high availability of services.

The company has identified the Southern African marketplace as a rapidly developing area of opportunity and one that continues to appreciate the value inherent within business-building ICT solutions.

KEMP Technologies has appointed First Distribution to engage the local market and help grow the brand.

Phil Thersby, KEMP Product Manager at First Distribution, says the company has adopted a multi-faceted strategy to grow and entrench the KEMP brand.

“We are seeing a shift towards customers wanting value-for-money within these virtual hosted environments, which is understandable in today's economic environment. This is something which the KEMP product portfolio clearly provides,” says Thersby.

First Distribution also emphasises the value of one-to-one meetings with prospective KEMP clients.

“We're aided in these meetings by the fact that many of our leads come via the KEMP website and people already know what the KEMP products do and how they are utilised, which makes our job a lot easier. We also keep an eye on cyberspace and contribute where we can - a lot of 'unofficial' marketing for KEMP is done on blogs where 'product champions' promote the values of the brand,” he adds.

Paul Luff, Sales Manager at KEMP Technologies, is confident that the partnership will achieve the objectives of building awareness of the brand and developing an accurate, sustainable and effective local market profile by building long- term partnerships with resellers and integrators in the SA ICT channel

“KEMP is differentiated not only by the quality of its solutions, but also by the fact that unlike competitors, the company has the resources and expertise to accommodate and help first-time buyers and small-to-medium sized operators. This segment of the market was previously neglected in terms of load balancing vendors. Our value proposition is strong, can be identified with by the local market and we have a tier one distribution company that we know we can rely on to generate channel business effectively,” says Luff.