Westcon has introduced Infoblox to the South African market, and will make it available through its network of reseller partners.
Justin Olivier, sales manager: SADC at Infoblox, explains that Infoblox’s core message is to simplify and secure networks across Africa.
“There are a few key areas that we address: security, visibility, resilience and simplicity. If we can get this right, it fundamentally changes the way organisations do business.”
The opportunity is huge, he adds. “Africa is the fastest growing digital economy, driven by cloud transformation, 5G expansion and fintech innovation.”
Indeed, 5G is expected to reach 605-million users by 2030, while fintech is enjoying a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) or 10%.
“We have a huge opportunity to talk to any customer about DNS protection,” Olivier points out.
While organisations have invested heavily in layered security, every network has a weak point, he adds. “If DNS falls over, you have a problem. Your strongest defences mean nothing if the DNS is exposed. And it is the least protected part of the network.”
With 50,8-million Internet users in South Africa – 78,9% of the population – Olivier believe DNS protection can no longer be treated as an afterthought. “It is not a luxury: it is business-critical.”
He explains that every device that connects to the Internet must go through DNS, using port 53 – which in most instances is not protected by existing security measures.
And, with 40 000 new malicious sites being created every day, the chance of users connecting to one of them is growing all the time.
“Infoblox provides a new way of enhancing an organisation’s cybersecurity posture with DNS capabilities, and stop threats before they even start.”
Because Infoblox delivers contextual visibility by linking threats to users, assets and behaviour across on-premise and cloud, it accelerates response times.
“We reduce operational noise, shrink threat attack surfaces and lower business risk – all without adding complexity,” Olivier says.
Infoblox can cut the risk of a breach by 40%. “If you can block 40% of the traffic that is malicious before it even hits your infrastructure, you improve security and efficiency.”
Charl Crofton, sales engineer at Infoblox, explains that Infoblox unites networking security and cloud with a protective DDI (DHS, DHCP and IPAM) platform that delivers enterprise resilience and agility.
“DNS is the Achilles heel of networks,” he adds, pointing out the several of the big cloud providers have recently experienced DNS outages that severely impacted users around the world.
“Infoblox lets you see, manage and secure everything better. It manages who and what connects to the network, delivering greater control, smarter automation and stronger security.
“It unites networking, security and cloud, either on-premise, in the cloud or as a managed service.”
The Infoblox product portfolio includes: Universal DDI Management; NIOS-X; NIOS DDI; Universal Asset Insights; Threat Defence; and Threat Intelligence.
The motivation for partners to sign up with Infoblox can be compelling, says Antione Bebawi, distribution channel manager at Infoblox.
He points out that the average cost of a data breach was $4,45-million in 2023. And 55% of customers say there are substantial visibility gaps.
“For partners, this means there is good customer retention in a market niche where there is little credible competition.”
As a result, Infoblox is seeing continued growth is sales and revenues, while customers report good return on investment (ROI).
The Infoblox Trusted Partner Program is built on four tiers: Authorised, Emerald, Sapphire and Diamond partners.
The tiers are not based on revenue, but on partner investment, certificates and training.
Because it operates in more than four regions, Westcon is a Diamond distribution partner.
Partners benefit from incentives for deal registration, while individuals also qualify for incentives through the Elite programme.
In addition, Sapphire partners have access to the Infoblox Partner Demo program, while others are able to use the distributors’ facilities.