Hitachi Data Systems is ramping up its New Zealand activity with the appointment of an Auckland territory manager to support the company's growing partner ecosystem and customer base in the region.

The vendor says the appointment of Jacques Cronjé is in response to ‘significant' opportunities and growth in the New Zealand market.

HDS has brought on 20 new partners across New Zealand and Australia in the last 18 months in order to support emerging demand for cloud, convergence, data mobility, data protection, big data analytics and internet of things.

Among the partners which HDS says will benefit from the new appointment is long-standing partner, and 2014 HDS ANZ Partner of the Year, Revera, which has applauded the ‘continued investment' from HDS in partnership and in the region.

Cronjé has more than 20 years experience in the IT sector, most recently at Fujitsu, and specialises in cloud, disaster recovery, virtualisation and storage technologies.

Laurence Cole, HDS ANZ corporate sales director, says as more organisations look to transform through cloud, virtualisation and managed services, the vendor understands that partnership and collaboration is critical.

“We continue to deepen and grow our partner relationships in order to engage with and support end users in a way that helps them achieve their desired business outcomes.