Kaspersky Lab appoints head of operations for Africa

"Our aim is to become the number one IT security vendor in South Africa and the leader in the African region within the next three years. It is for this reason that the company recently undertook a restructuring process within its office located in Johannesburg, South Africa," says Vasily Dyagilev, managaing director of emerging markets at Kasperskly Lab.

In line with this Kaspersky Lab has announced the appointment of Riaan Badenhorst as the head of operations for Kaspersky Lab Africa. Badenhorst will be in charge of all Kaspersky Lab's operations in more than 40 countries of the sub-Saharan African region. Having been with the brand since 2011, where Badenhorst has worked as the corporate sales manager focusing on growing Kaspersky Lab's market share in both the enterprise and small business sectors, he brings a wealth of insight into this role.

Extensive IT knowledge

Continues Dyagilev: "We are excited about the appointment and welcome him into this role. With more than 15 years of experience in the broader IT industry, he has acquired extensive knowledge of IT over the years and we look forward to the value this will bring to the brand in Africa."
"I am honoured to have been appointed in this role for Kaspersky Lab in SA," says Badenhorst. "In the local region, we will work hard on expanding our reach and service offerings, paying special attention to developing our channel and supporting our partners, where soon we will be able to present new services for our African business customers."
Since the brand opened its local office in South Africa in November 2009, Kaspersky Lab has experienced phenomenal growth and has shown strong results. Today, the brand is number one within the retail sector in the country, and when comparing results of 2011 to 2012, the brand has experienced a 30% growth rate in the retail sector, and a 15% growth rate overall.

The next big growth market

Africa has been hailed as the next big growth market and it is for this reason that the world has its eye on the continent, due to the ample opporutunity it presents. Opening an office in the SA region formed part of Kaspersky Lab's international expansion strategy to establish its footprint across the emerging African region, which has and continues to show stong IT competiveness.

Adds Dyagilev: "According to Kaspersky Lab statistics, every fifth user in South Africa and Nigeria and every forth in Kenya faced a form of malware while surfing the Internet. This proves the reality of cyber-criminal activity here and makes us work harder on raising awareness of the necessity of protection measures and offering a robust line of consumer and corporate solutions in the region.

"We are committed to delivering only the best in products and services to our customers where the restructure of the African office reaffirms Kaspersky Lab's commitment to the region," concludes Dyagilev.