Galix, IT services, infrastructure management and compliance specialists, has become the first ever African partner to receive SonicWall’s Platinum Partner status. This is the highest status offered by SonicWall’s global partner program and is awarded only to their most prestigious partners on an invitation-only basis.

The top-level partner status comes in recognition of Galix - previously of Gold Partner status - meeting the stringent criteria for the award, following a nineteen year long partnership in which they have successfully deployed some of SonicWall’s largest projects in the EMEA region to date. Galix is the only SonicWall partner on the continent to reach this partnership level.

Says Simeon Tassev, Managing Director and Qualified Security Assessor at Galix, “To achieve this Platinum Partner status, partners need to attain specific annual revenue targets as well as have four SonicWall accreditations each for pre-sales, technical and advanced technical. Not only have we met these criteria, we have exceeded them with between ten and twelve fully accredited engineers at Galix at any given time. SonicWall is an integral part of our product portfolio and is our de facto security standard on any project we build, meaning our team of professionals and engineers are required to have in depth knowledge of SonicWall’s suite at all times.”

Along with the achievement of being the first to reach this level within Africa, the Platinum Partner status provides Galix with the best available pricing as well as proof of their exceptional level of skill, underpinning their reputation as a partner of choice for large project deployments.

Ashley Lawrence, Regional Sales Manager for Emerging Markets at SonicWall says, “Galix has evolved alongside SonicWall and remains current with market trends, as well as becoming renowned for their expertise in the compliance space. Their new partner status is evidence of their continued commitment and contribution to SonicWall and to their customers. As our most accredited partner in the territory, Galix provides us with a globally competitive presence on the African continent and we are proud to be affiliated with an organisation of their competence and credibility.”

Galix is also an Authorised Services Partner under SonicWall’s Partner Enabled Services Program, enabling them to offer SonicWall’s full suite of professional services to other SonicWall resellers who require the skills or assistance to design and implement SonicWall solutions. Galix’s team of engineers are highly qualified and have a long tenure with Galix, offering up a combined technical experience of well over fifty years.

“The combined effect of both partner statuses allows us to leverage our considerable technical expertise to strategically partner with our industry peers in order to deliver holistic, technically sound solutions to their customers as well as our own,” says Tassev. “This is especially beneficial in emerging markets where smaller start-ups may lack the skills and experience to deliver SonicWall solutions, and where we can provide the professional services they while they build up their own skills, or on a permanent basis.”

“We are proud to be the first SonicWall Platinum Partner in Africa and believe this is only one of many firsts for us, as we pioneer our way across the continent. We do not take this award lightly and will use the advantages it provides to continue to deliver excellence to our customers and strategic partners,” concludes Tassev.