US-based provider of API gateway and cloud security technology, Forum Systems now has a deal with ASM Technologies which becomes its preferred distributor partner for the UK.
Apart from the UK, Forum Systems has already had a network of channel partners in place across a number of European countries, with no more than two per country. However, it sees more potential in boutique disties, such as ASM, and ‘consulting outfits’ that have a “heavy touch-point” with end customers.
The plan for the European channel is to aggressively engage with consulting companies that possess local expertise and understand the Forum’s solutions.
The company’s flagship product is Forum Sentry, which has achieved a globally recognised security standard Network Device Protection Profile (NDPP) compliance certification, and it is the API gateway that does not relies on OpenSSL but provides instead its own location for SSl processing and private key management (cryptography), the company says.
In Europe, Forum also plans to target "highly-trained" distributors and a large number of system integrators. However, since Europe is much different from the US it sees big differences in the way the business is conducted in each market, particularly in terms of sales and payments cycles. According to Forum, there are the geographies which require some longer business cycles, but on the other hand countries such as the UK, Germany, Netherlands or Switzerland are quick adopters of new technologies.
Although Forum has been typically associated with the commercial, government and military sectors as its solutions are dedicated to protect sensitive and critical data, in Europe it intends to target telcos, public agencies, healthcare and manufacturing as it sees ‘the most dynamic set of factors’ in which it has successful deployments, it says.
“Europe has continue down the path of integration, yet establish controls to ensure that its openness is not exploited. We see a desire for significant information exchange between government agencies and commercial sectors across EU nations, especially related to the movement of people and money. (..) EU is at geopolitical inflection point where it has to continue the free movement of resources for economic vibrancy without compromising its security. Forum Systems believes that the European nations will accelerate their initiatives to collaborate and protect their citizenry,” President and CEO of Forum Systems, Mamoon Yunus tells IT Europa.
“Beyond the technical capabilities of their products, we have found Forum Systems to be a good fit for ASM and the UK market in general. As an employee-owned business, they provide outstanding customer service and support, and as the only independent API gateway vendor in the market they have a real focus on security that their rivals just can’t match. We are very proud that Forum Systems selected ASM as their preferred partner in the UK,” says channel manager at ASM Technologies, Stephen Dale.