Check Point Software has appointed Kash Sharma as the company's new director of distribution and SMB for Australia and New Zealand. Sharma will be based in Sydney and will be responsible for working with the company's distributors to build and maintain partnerships in order to grow the business.

“We are delighted to welcome Kash into his new role in the company. The wealth of experience that he has gained in managing multinational vendors as well as extending partner networks and relationships will be invaluable in driving the successful implementation of our relaunched Channel Partner Program," says David De Laine, says regional managing director – ANZ at Check Point Software.

Sharma has a decade-long background in the IT industry, having held a regional sales manager role for ANZ at A10 Networks, as well as senior business roles at Express Data and Telstra for more than six years.

Previously, Sharma spent the last two years working at Check Point as Australia's distribution and sales manager.

Last month Check Point also launched a Technical Assistance Centre for channel partners across Australia and New Zealand, which the company said was indicative of its commitment to local growth.

The company also expects to roll out centres in China, India and Japan.

“Check Point continues to invest in Australia and New Zealand to maintain the highest levels of support across our broader customer and partner distribution networks.  Assuming local technical support responsibility for Check Point Software customers highlights our focus on customer satisfaction and the importance of threat prevention and security,” said Philip Dimitriu, regional director of systems engineering at Check Point Software.