Aryaka Expands Network Into Canada, Hires Another Gigamon Alum

**Editor’s Note: Click here to see which channel people were on the move in June.**

Aryaka Networks is moving into the Great White North.

The global SD-WAN provider announced Monday that its network has a new point of presence in Toronto, and yet another former Gigamon employee of has signed on to lead the expansion.

Aryaka’s Craig Workman

Aryaka said that the “rapidly growing presence of global enterprises” with Canadian locations incentivized the network expansion.

Craig Workman will lead the expansion as Aryaka’s newly hired business development director for Canada. Aryaka says Workman has more than 25 years of experience in networking, security and software.

Vikas Garg, Aryaka’s senior vice president of engineering and operations, said his company is the best option for building globally distributed enterprises that want to digitally transform.

“We are thrilled to further expand our network and market footprint in Canada and improve the performance of Aryaka’s global SD-WAN for our existing customers in the region as well as serve other Canadian organizations searching for a viable alternative to legacy network technologies,” Garg said.

Aryaka says the Canadian expansion allows customers in that region the option of SD-WAN as a service. Partners comprise more than 70 percent of Aryaka’s business.

“This is an extremely exciting time for the SD-WAN market, and Aryaka’s continued success combined with its expansion in Canada further establishes the company’s position as the largest independent SD-WAN provider,” Craig Workman said. “The POP in Toronto will further enhance our software-defined network optimization and access capabilities in the region and open up new markets for our partners.”

Workman spent the previous five years at Gigamon as regional sales director for Canada and finally the country manager for Canada. We’ve highlighted the Gigamon-Aryaka connection several times over the last year. Aryaka’s new chief revenue officer, vice president of U.S. sales and channel chief all worked at Gigamon, which filed for an IPO in 2013. Aryaka has made clear its intention of going public in 2019.

Meantime, the company has formed multiple partnerships in the last year that cement their global presence, including deals in China and South Korea.

Channel Partners contributor Ellis Booker last year offered up analysis of how the channel is becoming more global.