Fortinet has direct presence at Gitex 2006 for the first time

After attending Gitex in a partner's stand in 2005, the fast-growing company this year will have its own exhibition booth at the Dubai-based IT trade show, thus showing its commitment to the Middle East markets.

Patrice Perche, Regional Director Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa (SEMEA), Fortinet said: "Our direct presence at GITEX 2006 will allow us to meet our existing clients and tier two partners on site, demonstrate our competitive solutions and have a show window to draw the attention from MEA-based big accounts."

Fortinet will be exhibiting at the stand number Z-P20 situated in Zabeel Hall (next to Hall 1) and will feature interactive presentations, including new products and award-winning FortiGate series.

For Fortinet, GITEX 2006 is a significant step to further enhance its presence in the distribution channel across Middle East while developing a value added partnership with Secureway that has become its exclusive distributor in this region.

"One of Fortinet's key priorities this year is to expand our direct support team in the region to help our master distributor, Secureway. Technical and sales support will help them to build and strengthen our regional presence," explained Perche. "We have seen a steady increase in our business throughout the Middle East; especially in the enterprise sector therefore it was necessary for us to re-focus our strategy. With more and more enterprises highlighting their security needs, we needed a partner that would go beyond distribution to add value not only to our tier 2 partners but to the corporate sector too."