GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. With award-winning technology, an aggressive pricing strategy and a strong focus on small to medium sized businesses, GFI is able to satisfy the need for business continuity and productivity encountered by organizations on a global scale. Founded in 1992, the company has offices in Malta, London, Raleigh, Hong Kong, Adelaide, Hamburg and Cyprus which support more than 200,000 installations worldwide. It is a channel-focused company with over 10,000 partners throughout the world.
GFI has a strategic partnership with Microsoft - it is a Gold Certified Partner and a member of various limited access Microsoft groups such as the Exchange Server JDP program. Microsoft has presented the company with the Winning on Windows Award and the Microsoft Fusion award.
Kent Cheong, a business development manager, introduced his company as a professional company that has been partnered with few software distributors and system integrators in Korea. Kent introduced: "Currently, we have around 10 partners in Korea and these partners are mainly focused on the network security and messaging markets, to provide services to their end users in terms of sales and technical support. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, we are mainly focused on the Microsoft-based market -- the Windows platform, MS Exchange or MS ISA users."
GFI is currently looking for software resellers and distributors in the vibrant high margin network security and messaging software markets. "We provide partnership program to our resellers," Kent continued, "to match GFI's award-winning technology and attractive pricing. Its objective is to enhance their business growth, profitability and market leadership. All partners will obtain unparalleled support by GFI, and to enhance our partnership, GFI will invest more to top contributing partners who are committed to deliver business results."
Kent shares with us about a successful case of the business relationship GFI has built so far with other companies. "Softmate Co. and Man Technology Ltd. are the success stories which I would like to mention here," he said. "Softmate Co. is a technical consulting company who has been partnered with GFI since 2006. They provide technical services to resellers and end users during the stages of pre and post sales.
"Man Technology is a solution developer which has been partnered with GFI since 2005 and has localized one of the GFI products, GFI MailArchiver, into the Korean language. This is GFI's first product which provides a Korean interface and Man Technology has integrated MailArchiver within the company's own technology to enhance the adaptability to the Korean system environment."
When thrown a question of his perspective on Korean IT and its market, Kent replied: "In my point of view, Korea is a dynamic and attractive market for the software developer. The end users create a very sensitive market trend -- especially in IT field. GFI is a market leader thanks to its ability to innovate and adopt key technologies early on. For example, GFI MailEssentials was the first server-based anti-spam software to include Bayesian filtering.
GFI MailSecurity was the first software to tackle the email security problem more aggressively via its exploit checking and Trojan checking features. GFI FAXmaker led the way with its seamless email and network integration. GFI LANguard N.S.S. proved revolutionary in the security scanning market. GFI holds several patents pertaining to network and email security."
"Furthermore," he continued, "few of the biggest Korean manufactories in world such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and the SMB companies who required the tools to manage and monitor their confidential data, based on the network and email servers -- this is a potential of the market, as GFI provides such software to fulfill their needs."
Apart from Korea, GFI also focuses to branch out to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. The company aims to collaborate with software distributors and resellers in these countries to provide sales and technical support to their end users, which will eventually lead to a mutually beneficial that he refers to as a "win-win partnership."
