Sophos has set up Sophos South Africa, a local legal entity designed to strengthen Sophos’ operations in South Africa and support the company’s continued growth across sub-Saharan Africa.
Local organisations are facing a more complex threat landscape driven by ransomware, identity-based attacks, AI-assisted threats, skills shortages and growing pressure to demonstrate cyber resilience. As businesses across the region accelerate cloud adoption, hybrid work models and the use of AI, the need for trusted, measurable and locally supported cybersecurity outcomes has become more urgent.
“South Africa is a strategically important market for Sophos, both in its own right and as a gateway into the wider African region,” says Andy Travers, senior vice-president: EMEA sales at Sophos. “Establishing a local entity means our customers get faster, locally aligned support and simpler procurement. For our partners, it means local invoicing, streamlined vendor registration and compliance alignment that make it easier to transact and grow with Sophos. This is the foundation for our long-term growth in the region.”
Beyond day-to-day operations, the new entity creates a stronger platform for Sophos to invest in local hiring, expand its in-region capabilities and deepen engagement with the South African cybersecurity community over time.
Travers adds that the move aligns with Sophos’ broader focus on AI-powered security innovation and trust.
“AI is reshaping both attack and defence, but technology alone is not enough. Our recent cybersecurity trust research shows that organisations are looking for partners they can rely on, not just vendors with tools. Sophos is combining AI, automation, threat intelligence and expert-led services to help organisations improve resilience and make better security decisions with greater confidence.”
Recent Sophos research highlights the urgency of this need. Sophos’ State of Identity Security 2026 report, a vendor-agnostic survey of 5 000 IT and cybersecurity leaders across 17 countries, including South Africa, found that 71% of organisations globally suffered at least one identity-related breach in the past year. In South Africa, the reported breach rate was even higher, at 75%.
“South African organisations are operating in a cyber environment where attackers are moving faster, exploiting identity weaknesses, abusing legitimate credentials and taking advantage of gaps in visibility. At the same time, many local businesses are under pressure to modernise, digitise and adopt AI responsibly, often with limited internal security capacity. This makes South Africa an important and dynamic market for Sophos, and one where local presence matters,” Travers says.