Avast and Kyocera Document Solutions Canada are partnering to deliver endpoint security solutions and managed IT services for multifunction printers and products (MFPs) and users throughout Canada.
Indeed, the companies today announced a three-year agreement to provide AVG Business by Avast products to Kyocera Canada printer and MFP customers.
The partnership provides Kyocera Canada customers with access to the AVG Business by Avast cloud-based, machine learning threat detection network, the duo says.
More moves could be coming. During the recent RSA Conference 2017 in San Francisco, Avast CEO Vincent Steckler told ChannelE2E that the company was preparing a range of efforts to accelerate its SMB partner program.
A Closer Look at the Avast-Kyocera Partnership
AVG Business by Avast provides Kyocera Canada customers with an IT services portfolio that includes endpoint security services and help desk and technical support. It gives Kyocera Canada customers "access specialized cloud and remote monitoring and management (RMM) solutions to build, standardize and automate a managed security program," Avast said in a prepared statement.
Kyocera Canada customers can use AVG Business by Avast to detect and block cybersecurity attacks, including:
- Malware.
- Phishing.
- Ransomware.
In addition, Kyocera Canada can customize AVG Business by Avast solutions to meet security needs across multiple customer segments, such as:
- Education.
- Government.
- Healthcare.
Avast also is providing Kyocera Canada customers with technical training and support from its sales engineers, counsel and guidance on go-to-market strategy and access to marketing resources.
"By partnering with Avast, not only can we provide immediate and effective security protection, we now have the technology, services and resources to build and scale the IT services side of our business," Michel Naud, director of direct operations at Kyocera Canada, said in a prepared statement. "This is a clear market advantage for Kyocera Document Solutions Canada."
Avast Buys AVG: After the Deal
Avast in July acquired AVG Technologies for $1.3 billion. The combined companies planned to focus on the consumer market before pushing harder into the SMB sector, Avast CEO Vince Steckler told ChannelE2E in July.
Moreover, Avast remains committed to the small and medium-sized business (SMB) security market and AVG Managed Workplace RMM platform for MSPs. The mobile and SMB markets are expected to be major growth areas for company as well, Steckler said at the time.
During a more recent ChannelE2E meeting at RSA Conference 2017, Steckler said the M&A deal with AVG was performing well so far. Among the reasons why: Rapid integration of teams and technologies. Instead of worrying about blending the Avast and AVG cultures, Avast treated the deal as a true buyout rather than a merger of equals, Steckler told ChannelE2E.
Why the focus on speed? Steckler was at Symantec when that company acquired Veritas in 2005. That deal never delivered expected synergies because Symanatec didn't move fast enough to integrate Veritas -- especially amid the shift to cloud and mobile computing, Steckler recalls.
We're checking to see if or how Avast's MSPs will potentially benefit from the Kyocera deal.
Additional insights from Joe Panettieri.
