The series of F5 Networks Forums held around the globe annually is hailed as a major IT event, no matter where it might take place. This year’s Johannesburg leg was no exception, with the event featuring a number of key global F5 speakers from among the senior echelons of the business.
Speakers from F5 Networks included Nasser El Abdoulie, Sales Manager, who opened the Forum; Diego Arrabal, Vice-President Sales: Middle East, Turkey and Africa, who gave the keynote address; Alain Tshal; district sales manager sub-Saharan Africa; Alfredo Vistola, Senior Solution Architect, EMEA; and Steve Gerrard, Senior Marketing Manager. Johannesburg delegates were also able to attend the breakaway sessions of their choice in what F5 describes as ‘our premier customer event of the year’.
The F5 Forum Johannesburg 2019, which was held at the Maslow Hotel, Sandon, gave delegates exclusive insight into topics such as securing and enhancing application capital, developing a cloud migration strategy for existing apps, and achieving business continuity and security in the cloud. F5 experts provided demos and interactive presentations, and break-out sessions provided further opportunities to dive deeper into specific areas.
Networks Unlimited Africa, a value-added distributor of F5 in Africa, has been an F5 Networks distributor since July 2014, and this year saw the second year in a row that the company was awarded the accolade of ‘Distributor of the Year’. In addition, Networks Unlimited Africa’s Marketing Manager, Siyandiswa Mthanti, also won the ‘Marketing Super Hero of the Year’ award.
Networks Unlimited Africa CEO Anton Jacobsz said the company was delighted to be awarded both of these honours, commenting, “As a business, we are proud to partner with F5 Networks and play our role in facilitating networking and cloud security and performance. The digital economy of today has placed applications at the centre of organisations, with apps being the gateway to data, and data, in turn, being the jewels that cyber-attackers seek. The increased complexities of the app-centric world bring increased risk. F5 is a trusted partner in reducing that risk.”
Simon McCullough, F5 channel partner manager in South Africa, endorsed the two awards, adding, “We have held our relationship with Networks Unlimited Africa in the highest esteem since we first partnered with them in 2014. They bring real value to the vendor-partner relationship and we appreciate their marketing initiatives and engagement with us.”
McCullough noted that the Johannesburg F5 Forum provided delegates with the opportunities to learn about the latest trends and solutions in the ever-changing security and multi-cloud landscape. “We were proud to once again bring together international and local industry experts who all stood united on the over-riding theme of securing the multi-cloud future. The turnout on the day at this extremely worthwhile event was excellent, with tickets being booked out well in advance of the event itself and a number of walk-in attendees who wanted to attend the event if at all possible. The event is growing in reputation and popularity and we are enormously pleased to once again put Johannesburg on the same global stage as such cities as Cairo, Milan, Abu Dhabi and London,” he concluded.
Edited by Fundisiwe Maseko
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