First Distribution, the leading pan-African distributor for Cybersecurity, Datacentre, Cloud, Surveillance, and IoT Solutions, has been appointed as a preferred provider and distributor by Nozomi Networks Inc, the leader in OT and IoT security.
The partnership will broaden First Distribution’s delivery of services to customers in industrial automation, manufacturing, power and building operations industries across East Africa, West Africa, SADC and southern Africa.
“First Distribution has selected Nozomi Networks to extend our cyber-exposure product stack to address the needs of our customers who are already operating in the operational technology (OT) environment,” says Brad Stein, General Manager: Cybersecurity at First Distribution. “Nozomi Networks solutions will complement our existing brand portfolio to provide a more comprehensive cybersecurity solution to our established partner ecosystem within the OT and information technology (IT) space.
“With the ongoing rise in cyber-attacks within industrial and IoT environments, we have identified the need for a solution that will address the specialised requirements within these industries, and we are confident that Nozomi Networks is the best solution to tackle the threats they are facing,” Stein adds.
Recognised as the market leader in OT and Internet of Things (IoT) security, Nozomi Networks offers superior operational visibility, with advanced OT and IoT threat detection. Its solutions currently support more than 70-million devices in thousands of installations across energy, manufacturing, mining, transportation, utilities, building automation, smart cities and critical infrastructure.
Nozomi Networks products can be deployed on-premises and in the cloud. They automate the hard work of inventorying, visualising and monitoring industrial control networks through the innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI) in IT, OT and IoT environments.
Use cases reach beyond cybersecurity to include troubleshooting, asset management and predictive maintenance.
First Distribution has been a value-added distributor and visionary in the IT service and product provisioning market in Africa for over 30 years. It combines best-of-breed brands in various product verticals to provide customers with world-class, all-inclusive IT solutions.
“Our client base has been built up through a history of consistent trustworthy service and nurturing resellers as business partners,” says Stein. “First Distribution’s commitment to its business partners, whose success we view as our own, ensures a keen understanding of our resellers’ needs, enabling First Distribution to bring maximum value to their endeavours.”
Alexander Foroozande, Nozomi Networks Head of Channel for Middle East, Africa & Russia, comments: “OT/IoT cybersecurity continues to be a top priority for organisations within the critical national infrastructure industry. Adversaries are coming to a realisation that CNI is a lucrative sector to disrupt, due primarily to outdated OT systems. Creating havoc and security/environmental challenges for such organisations is becoming commonplace and, as such, a significant focus for governments.
“As the OT / IoT cybersecurity leader, we are keen to invest in South Africa as our African hub and to help our customers increase their security posture,” Foroozande adds. “Choosing the right channel partner is a vital component of our growth. First Distribution was the obvious choice given their true value-add capability, breadth of technology, and laser focus on security.”
