10 Minutes With The VAR Guy: Astaro CEO Jan Hichert

Astaro CEO Jan Hichert says the security appliance maker is enjoying strong growth in 2010. Astaro’s claim to fame is best-of-breed security applications deployed on Linux appliances. So where do channel partners fit into the Astaro strategy? Read on for the game plan…

Hirchert says Astaro will grow about 26 percent to 28 percent this year. That revenue growth is organic, he added. Astaro made small acquisitions in 2010 but Hirchert says they did not contribute significantly to this year’s revenues.

Hichert says Astaro RED and Astaro Wifi were well received with over 2,000 REDs sold in the first four weeks after launch. RED stands for Remote Ethernet Device, an appliance that connects a branch office securely to an Astaro Gateway at a company headquarters. Without VPNs and other more involved methods of configuration, Hichert says branch offices are seeing value in it the solution.

On the managed services front, Hichert says the Astaro Command Center is an “MSP console” that lets a partner manage a customer’s network security from afar. Hichert boasts that over 700 partners worldwide use the solution as a “foundation to their managed services revenue streams.” New partner enablement tools, video training and social media are all on the way to the new partner portal. Astaro has spruced up their partner portal with new “dynamic’ information on a partner’s regional Astaro sales contact. A partner-exclusive blog designed for better partner communications is also available with price lists, product FAQs and more.

On the cloud front, Hichert says Astaro will now compete with its partners.

The VAR Guy will be sure to watch the situation closely.

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