#15 Newsmaker of 2009: Kevin Krempulec of Kaspersky Lab Canada

IT Business Canada, By CDN Staff

Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based Internet security vendor, opened up shop in Canada last December and already, the company has experienced a 128 per cent increase in the number of transactions year to date, versus 2008, in addition to a 71 per cent increase in the first three quarters of 2009 in the number of active partners it has.

Kevin Krempulec, country manager for Kaspersky in Canada, said despite a down economy, security remained an area where IT budgets stayed relatively the same, if not growing in certain market segments this year. “We've educated our partners that even in a down economy, security is still top of mind for customers and customers want alternatives when it comes to anti-malware products,” Krempulec said.

In 2010, Krempulec says the company will continue to focus on expanding its channel base, particularly in Western Canada and the Maritimes.

“We don't want to oversaturate the market because we want partners to add value and make money,” he said. Kaspersky will also focus on key vertical markets such as healthcare and municipalities moving into the New Year.

Krempulec encourages partners to develop specializations, if they haven't already done so, particularly in the security space, so they can take advantage of the spending increase once the recession ends.

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