Sydney-based distributor LAN 1 has cut a distribution deal with firewall provider Fortinet in an effort to beef up a security practice that it hoped would contribute up to 35 percent of its sales revenue by the end of this year.
Under the agreement, LAN 1 would move the range of FortiGate network-based antivirus firewall systems to the local reseller channel. The distributor joins Dovetail on the security vendor's distribution books.
LAN 1 also carries security products from SonicWALL and physical IP-based surveillance systems manufactured by Swedish vendor Axis.
Danny Lee, managing director at LAN 1, said the distributor expected to exceed $2 million in Fortinet sales this year. Lee said total revenue for LAN 1 would be around $22 million for the year ending 30 June, of which 20 to 35 percent would be generated by security product and services sales.
'One of the big challenges for us is that we're seeing a lot of requests from resellers asking for some sort of antivirus gateway product,' he said. 'It's a very hot topic.'
He said the distributor could garner more revenue from design, configuration and services work around security and on behalf of the reseller channel.
'Not many people are specialising in security - it's a big investment and I sympathise with the resellers out there.'
He said that in the security market, the sales cycle can often be between 30 and 60 days, which can make it hard to justify the investment, but added that people need to take a more proactive approach to preventing virus attacks and other security breaches.
Peter Sandilands, the newly appointed country manager for Fortinet Australia and New Zealand, said LAN 1 would reach a broader base of resellers than Dovetail, which was primarily focused just on security.
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