Kaseya puts down New Zealand roots

Kaseya’s Kiwi CEO Gerald Blackie has demonstrated his knowledge of the New Zealand market and his belief  in its potential by appointing a New Zealand Country Manager for the first time. The newly- appointed   Sim Bong and the company are eager to grow the New Zealand presence and Bong will be responsible for  managing the managed service provider’s partner base here.

 “The product was introduced four years ago now, so it has been very successful,” Bong said.

“Today we probably have about 100 partners on board in the country and that’s the reason why Kaseya actually decided to put a person on board to support those partners as well as help to grow the market further.”

Bong was formally appointed in July, and said that once the company’s local revenue can be formally forecast, Kaseya will be making more resources available to its New Zealand partners.

Bong was previously Sales Manager at Chillisoft, and left in order to take on the new challenge at Kaseya. In  2000 while at Chillisoft, he helped establish SonicWall’s managed security service providers (MSSP). He  said his previous experiences have allowed him to get to know resellers in the country, which will be  beneficial in his new position.

Bong, who was drawn to Kaseya’s unique product, which allows businesses to move into a managed service  solution, said: “Obviously there are a lot of products out there that allow you to do so, but Kaseya is the only  one that provides a platform for resellers to move into a managed service model so they have everything set up  and ready for anyone that wants to move into this type of managed service solution.”

Resellers will also reap benefits from having a local contact that cuts out the need for relying solely on the Australian office.

“It will benefit [resellers] a lot because, instead of having to call Australia all the time, with a couple hours’ time difference, they have a local person who knows the local market,” he said.

Bong’s long-term goals are to grow Kaseya’s market share and become a leader among other managed service  providers. In the short term, however, he is focused on making sure existing partners are happy with the product  in order to help them make money.

When asked about companies shifting operations back to Australia due to the recession, Bong said that many  companies see New Zealand as a promising market, but he believes in order to fully and successfully break into it, they need people who know the market and customer base