PatchLink signs LAN Systems as distributor

US security vendor PatchLink has appointed LAN Systems as its sole distributor for Australia and New Zealand.

Neal Gemassmer, Asia-Pacific regional vice-president at PatchLink, said the patch, vulnerability and compliance management software vendor had signed up the value-added distributor to push its range to Australasian resellers.

"LAN Systems has very strong national coverage and a presence in New Zealand and is strong in the security space," he said.

Gemassmer said LAN Systems maintained a stable of leading networking and security vendors that it believed complemented PatchLink's portfolio.

The distributor also had excellent contacts at national and specialised resellers. LAN Systems' coverage of the government space also attracted PatchLink, he said.

"They provide integrated solutions and support around those solutions," he said.

Gemassmer said it had been evaluating its Australasian channel possibilities over the last three or four months. PatchLink itself had reported 500 percent revenue growth over the past year overall, he said.

"We looked at working with the channel in Australia, really from working with smaller, very specialised security groups and there were a number in the $1-5 million [turnover] range but they were primarily city- or state-based," he said.

PatchLink had also considered larger distributors, but had decided that the best focus and "synergies" would come from one like LAN Systems, he said.

The security vendor had put a business development manager in to work full-time on LAN Systems activity and launched a global partner program that would go live in the Australian market over the next month, Gemassmer said.

"We're just localising the program for Australia and New Zealand," he said.

Wendy O’Keeffe, general manager at LAN Systems, said PatchLink fitted in with the distributor's search for ranges that complemented what it already sold.

"[PatchLink] fills a gap in our portfolio of remediation and vulnerability management software.  Most appealing is that PatchLink has integrated its superior patch, vulnerability and compliance management technologies with various leading technology partners," O'Keeffe said in a statement.

O'Keeffe pointed to a VPN offering developed by PatchLink with Check Point as a good reseller offering. "There just aren't cost-effective, cross-platform solutions like PatchLink in the market," she said.

PatchLink opened its first Australian office in Sydney earlier this year.

Chris Andrew, product management vice-president at PatchLink, told CRN earlier this year that the vendor's flagship software, PatchLink Update, helped users identify patch-related and non-patch-related vulnerabilities.

"There are lots of tools where you do a patch and kind of hope for the best. But our approach is best practice-driven. When you need a patch, we also test the patch. And we also actually script every patch for you," Andrew said.