Veeam Software, the innovative provider of solutions that deliver Availability for the Always-On Enterprise, has announced the appointment of IT veteran Graham Porter as Middle East Channel Manager. Graham will be responsible for the company’s regional channel sales team spread across Dubai, Riyadh and Qatar, managing relationships with major distributors such as Aptec, Redington and Logicom, and building opportunities along with ecosystem alliance partners like HPE, Cisco, NetApp, Microsoft and SAP. The appointment signifies the company’s commitment to its partners and driving business across the region.
Gregg Petersen, Regional Director, Middle East, Africa and SAARC at Veeam Software said, “The opportunity facing Veeam’s channel is immense, as businesses in the region look to embrace Availability solutions that ensure that the enterprise is ‘Always-On’ 24/7/365. Graham, with his wealth of experience in running channel businesses for several tech giants in the region, will be instrumental in developing our channel strategy and driving our business expansion.”
Graham started his career with IBM in the UK in 1984 in a technical support role and had various sales and channel roles in the UK and across EMEA. In 1994, he relocated to Saudi Arabia where he worked with IBM/SBM to set up the company’s channel network. Since then, he has held various channel leadership roles at companies such as HP, Sun Microsystems, Cisco and lastly at NetApp, where he spent three years rebuilding its distribution and channel business and getting the company into the security business.
Graham discussed his appointment saying, “I am delighted to join Veeam, a company which I have been working indirectly with for the last three years while I was at NetApp with many joint distributors and partners. I look forward to helping Veeam and its partners grow the business, make money and have some fun. Datacentre consolation and virtualisation are big trends here in the Middle East and will have a big impact on the regional ICT industry over the next few years. Veeam is uniquely positioned to help customers transition to these technologies. My focus is on partner enablement so that they can act as consultants and expertly advise enterprises about implementing ‘Availability’ solutions as part of their digital transformation efforts.”
Graham will be primarily focusing on Saudi and UAE, the region’s two biggest IT markets, where Veeam is experiencing exponential growth. The company also sees huge opportunities in Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Levant and Iraq.
“This year we will be focusing on new product innovation and also on a new cloud provider programme as we start to see hosting companies develop and offer more services with Veeam across the region,” concluded Graham.