First Distribution and Mimecast expanding cyber resilience across Africa
First Distribution, which positions itself as Africa's leading value-added distributor of technology solutions, today announced a new partnership with Mimecast, which positions itself as a global leader in securing humans, data and AI, to make Mimecast's integrated cyber resilience platform available to partners across Africa.
Through this partnership, First Distribution will provide African partners with access to Mimecast's comprehensive cyber resilience platform, enabling them to help customers secure e-mail, data and AI-powered environments. Backed by more than 24 trillion behavioural signals each year and over two decades of behavioural intelligence, Mimecast helps organisations identify, prevent and respond to phishing, ransomware and business e-mail compromise attacks before they result in financial loss, data exposure or business disruption.
As African organisations accelerate digital transformation, cloud adoption and the use of artificial intelligence, the cyber risk landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. Cyber criminals are increasingly exploiting the human element through sophisticated e-mail attacks, social engineering, collaboration platforms and emerging AI-driven techniques to gain access to sensitive information. Simultaneously, organisations are navigating increasingly complex regulatory requirements, data protection obligations and business continuity expectations, making cyber resilience a critical business priority.
Businesses today require more than standalone security tools. They need integrated, intelligent capabilities that reduce human risk, protect communications and critical data, strengthen compliance and secure rapidly evolving digital and AI environments. Through this partnership, First Distribution and Mimecast are helping partners deliver these capabilities to organisations across the continent.
"Africa’s organisations require solutions that go beyond traditional e-mail security to address the growing challenges associated with data protection, human risk and AI-driven threats," said Yolandi Landsberg, Mimecast Brand Manager at First Distribution. "By adding Mimecast to our cyber security portfolio, we are equipping our partners with a market-leading cyber resilience platform that enables them to deliver greater value to their customers while helping them navigate an increasingly complex threat environment."
"Africa's cyber security market is growing faster than most organisations can keep pace with, and that's exactly the gap this partnership closes," said Sue Nesbitt, Mimecast VP Sales – Africa. "First Distribution's established regional partner networks gives us the reach to get resilience capabilities into the hands of organisations of every size, across key markets in southern, East and West Africa, at the speed the threat landscape demands, and gives Mimecast the channel depth to scale with them. This is growth built in both directions."
Partners will benefit from dedicated sales enablement, technical support, training, marketing programmes and go-to-market resources designed to accelerate customer adoption and build sustainable cyber security practices.
"Cyber resilience has become a boardroom conversation, particularly as organisations embrace cloud-first strategies and AI technologies," said Brad Stein, General Manager: Cyber Security at First Distribution. "Our partnership with Mimecast reinforces our commitment to providing partners with best-of-breed security solutions that help organisations protect their people, communications and business-critical data. Together, we are enabling our channel ecosystem to address today's threats while preparing customers for the opportunities and risks of the AI era."
"This partnership is about extending Mimecast's reach through a distribution network that truly understands the African channel. By working closely with First Distribution, we're able to put our platform directly into the hands of partners who know their local markets, so more organisations across the continent can benefit from enterprise-grade cyber resilience," adds Yuraisha Mari, Channel Director Africa at Mimecast.
By combining Mimecast's proven cyber resilience platform and global expertise with First Distribution's established regional presence, deep market knowledge and extensive partner ecosystem, the partnership will enable organisations across Africa to build stronger security postures and improve cyber resilience. Together, Mimecast and First Distribution are helping organisations better protect their people, communications and critical business data while embracing innovation in an increasingly connected, AI-driven economy.