Computerlinks Middle East plots expansion into Africa

The Middle East operation of Computerlinks is in the process of opening a subsidiary in South Africa as part of broader plans to expand its geographic footprint.

The security distributor, which works with vendors such as Blue Coat, Kaspersky and RSA, intends to begin trading from a Johannesburg-based office within the next month. It also has plans to open in Cape Town later down the line.

“We are going to have a fully-fledged Computerlinks office in South Africa looking after all the mainstream vendors that we work with here as well,” confirmed Lee Reynolds, managing director of the Middle East, Africa and Asia at Computerlinks.

“I think the market in South Africa is ready for a true VAD — not just a box-shifter type of company. The vendors that we deal with really see value in us doing that. The market is growing and it is key for the security vendors to have strategic partners down there,” added Reynolds.

With country managers already handling markets such as Morocco and Tunisia, the company regards expansion into South Africa as the next step it needs to take before eventually moving into some of the faster maturing sub-Saharan markets.

“The middle countries in Africa are really coming on board and they are starting to buy infrastructure so they are ready and waiting for that security element to go on top of it. Our strategic plan is to move that way,” said Reynolds.

In addition to Africa, Computerlinks’ Middle East arm is also responsible for the company’s strategy in Asia. It already has an operation in Singapore and is currently setting up an office in Hong Kong.

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