Hitachi Data Systems has appointed a new sales manager and established a customer service and support division in New Zealand.

Paul Lewer will be responsible for driving sales of Hitachi products and services. He joins Hitachi from Sun Microsystems, where he worked as a storage and systems sales specialist.

Citing continued growth in the New Zealand market, Hitachi is looking for customer support engineers to offer its Platinum and Silver partners on-site maintenance services.

Wendy Watkinson, Executive of Channels at Hitachi Data Systems Australia and New Zealand, said that Hitachi’s channel partnerships were integral to its continual success.

“Hitachi’s TrueNorth Channel Partner Program is widely recognised in the industry. Our focus has always been to work closely with partners to help them identify opportunities for growth.

“We have a highly skilled channel community of Platinum, Silver and Distribution partners. We will continue to work with our partners to help them grow their businesses and provide value-added services to their customers,” Watkinson said.