Endace returns home

Kiwi network monitoring and recording systems provider Endace has worked in reverse of most companies. It’s a Kiwi company which isn’t well known at home, but instead has an international customer base, including five of the top 10 global telcos, intelligence agencies and two of the three largest exchanges in the world.Born out of technology spun out of a University of Waikato research programme, Endace provides packet capture and analysis technology with its three key markets being telcos; government agencies, including defence and intelligence agencies; and financial services – from investment banks to stock exchanges and hedge funds. But the company says as network speeds increase, its products are finding favour with large companies as well."From early on in our start up we had a technology that was able to solve some problems that did not exist in the Australia and New Zealand marketplace,” says Neil Templeman, Endace’s director of APAC sales. "By default we went overseas and sold to a customer base in North America and the United Kingdom before we even touched a New Zealand customer.” That customer base now includes four of the top 10 Fortune 500 organisations, six of the top 10 commercial banks in the US and four of the top five diversified financials, globally, along with Telecom and TelstraClear here in New Zealand, where it has six customers.Changing timesBut the market closer to home has changed, Templeman says, with the maturity, complexity and speed of networks seen in overseas markets becoming more prevalent in New Zealand in recent years. "Close to home is starting to present some good opportunities for us,” Templeman says.With that in mind the company is beginning to invest ‘fairly aggressively’ in a channel programme to sell in New Zealand and Australia – where it appointed its first channel partner , Melbourne’s Newgen, in May. This month saw Craig Betts – who has spent time with Toshiba, Axon and Observatory Crest – take up the position of New Zealand sales manager.  Betts will be responsible for establishing the criteria for channel partners, how many will be needed and where to start. Templeman says he expects the first channel appointment announcements to follow ‘very quickly’.Channel FocusedThe company has traditionally sold direct, but Templeman says it’s moving to a hybrid model, with a longer term plan to become increasingly channel focused. He says Endace is seeking ‘true channel enablement’ with education, training, enablement and fulfilment all done via the channel for both new and existing customers.The company may consider a two-tier model in the medium to long-term, Templeman says, but will focus on establishing ‘some focused resellers first’. "We are making a solid sales and marketing investment in New Zealand and believe there is great potential for growth,” he says. "And we’re giving [resellers] a new technology to introduce to their customer base.”The company saw revenues grow 24% to US$38.4 million in the year to March 31, with a before tax profit of US$2.9 million, up from US$0.4 million for fiscal 2010. Endace chief executive Mike Riley says globally there are ‘exciting opportunities for future growth’ as governments increase expenditure on cyber security to combat terrorism while financial services markets are being driven by regulatory, compliance and risk management requirements. Increasing interest and demand is also being seen from large enterprises needing to be able to protect their operations and customers from cyber-attack, Endace says, citing its win of a contract to provide Betfair with a global monitoring system to protect its global data network against cyber attack.