Sophos (LSE: SOPH), a global leader in network and endpoint security presented awards to six of its top performing channel partners from the Middle East and Africa region at its EMEA Partner Conference which was held in Lisbon, Portugal between 9th - 11th May, 2017. These awards were in recognition for their proactive approach and significant achievements in FY 17. The event attracted 750 attendees across Europe, Middle East & Africa.

'We would like to congratulate our winning partners and extend our gratitude to all our partners for their continuous support and commitment in embracing our complete IT security value proposition and recognizing the benefits of delivering our award-winning, simple-to-use security solutions to their customers, ' commented  Harish Chib, Vice President Middle East & Africa, Sophos.'As a 100 percent channel focused business, the success of our channel partners is vital to the success of Sophos and it’s an honour for us to work with some of the best channel partners in the Middle East and Africa in order to provide to the products and the best customers service,' he continued.

Partners with long standing relationships with Sophos as well as the more recent partners who have helped clients transform their business in line with the company's focus were awarded in a series of categories.

The top performing Channel Partners in the Middle East & Africa are

2017 New Partner of the Year, NEEMEA - Batelco
2017 Top Performer of the Year, NEEMEA - Obsequium
Top Regional Excellence Partner Middle East - Ansa Otomasyon Bilgisayar Muh. San. Tic. Ltd. Sti.
Discovery Partner Middle East - Entelyst
Top Regional Excellence Partner Africa - Datategra
Discovery Partner Africa –MTDS
The theme of the partner conference this year was 'This Is Next Gen'. It focused on how the company is reinforcing its 100 percent channel first business strategy and how it continues to expand its synchronized security approach to arm partners with defences for their customers that are as coordinated as the attacks they protect them against. The event was created to encourage partners to achieve their growth objectives with competitive margins, dedicated marketing and sales support, deal registration protection, sales tools, training and certification and other programs. For Sophos, partners are a critical part of the company's ecosystem and the growth and success of their business is a top priority.

'The partner conference is a good opportunity to get our partners synchronized with our vision and strategy, our product roadmap and training. It also gives them a chance to network face to face with our team, and get to know and discuss the company's partner strategy for accelerating profitable growth together. We are becoming a disruptive leader in the IT security market, and the company's dedication to the success of its partners is second to none,' added Chib.

The event brought together key channel partners from around the EMEA region to discuss their market strategy and to plan how to add value to customers as threat experts. It also included workshops, networking sessions, and meetings with Sophos experts where partners were advised and mentored about the threats in the region such as ransomware and how Sophos Intercept X , one of its  fastest growing products is used to combat these sophisticated cyber threats.  Through this conference, partners were also introduced to the new app that allows partners to track and manage customers as well as submit deal registrations. It also gives them an overall visibility into the business and across platforms. The app once downloaded is updated with all the marketing material and competitive resources for partners to build their business. In addition, working together at the event got partners to realise the importance of synchronized security and how they are now able to cross-sell the products.