Hamburg, 25th September 2012 – German IT security specialist gateprotect (http://www.gateprotect.de) has entered into a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Value Added Distributor Contronex. The agreement has been in force since 1 August 2012 and is valid for the whole of North America, one of the key international markets for gateprotect. The goal of the partnership is to optimally support the launch of gateprotect Managed Security Services solutions in the US market and to generate cross-selling opportunities. The logistical implementation will continue to be carried out by existing distribution partner Securematics.

Beat Kramer, Managing Director at Contronex: "The interaction between the manufacturer, distributor and subdistributor optimally addresses the US market for IT security solutions. The around 250 Contronex VAD resellers currently in place are familiar with selling security solutions and are strong in the traditional key sector markets health, finance, government institutions, authorities and education. Securematics will carry out the entire logistical implementation, so that we can immediately use the synergies and cross-selling opportunities for our customers without first having to build up our own structures."

gateprotect has undergone major expansion over the past few years. The IT security solutions provider has gained a number of renowned partners in the booming markets in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, as well as in the key USA market.

"As a manufacturer of next-generation firewall solutions, this model offers many advantages for us", explains Christian Reuter, Vice President North America at gateprotect. "Contronex has a network of VAD resellers with the necessary technical know-how to sell "IT Security made in Germany" via the relevant licensing models. This is ideal for us, as we only have to supply one distributor centrally."

As managed services and cloud-based services are gaining in significance in the US market as well, and the complexity of IT security systems is constantly increasing as a result, simple operation and handling will provide a major competitive advantage in the future. "The next generation firewalls from gateprotect with unique eGUI technology are therefore also perfectly suited to the US market", continues Christian Reuter. "With the focus on IT security, gateprotect will be an ever stronger player in the region together with its partners."

Brian Vincik, VP an GM of Securematics, also sees many benefits in the agreement: "Contronex offers its customers an extensive partner program suited to the market, including intensive training and lead generation measures. The account managers at Contronex also understand the business of demanding IT security solutions such as those supplied by gateprotect."

gateprotect, one of the top providers of IT security solutions in the world, has been listed in the Gartner "Magic Quadrant" for UTM firewalls since 2010 and received the Frost & Sullivan "Excellence Award" in 2011. SC Magazine recently published a recommendation to buy for the firewall solution GPZ 2500 and awarded it top marks.

Download the press release at: http://www.gateprotect.com