Redvine Networks, a fully-managed secure SD-WAN and networking service provider and distributor, says it will embark on a “comprehensive” hiring strategy across sales and technical departments as it looks to build on growth of its customer base in Africa.

Binesh George, CEO and co-founder of Redvine Networks, told ITWeb Africa that as it continues to leverage the strength of its SASE solution, it will scout for a combination of skills in both the technical and sales fields. “We are recruiting at the entry level through universities and in the mid-tier through recruitment agencies to match skills to the requirements in our business. Network and security, UNIX and coding skills are amongst the skills we continue to look for. For our sales team, we are looking for people who have experience selling technology solutions.”

George adds that the company provides comprehensive training to its team to match the evolving technology landscape in which it operates.

“There is talent available in Africa, and it is talent that we can develop and invest in. Our solutions are software based and we work across the continent - this combined with our future-ready approach to solutions development, means that our team is always looking at how we can develop cutting edge solutions. Where AI and machine learning might be buzzwords in other businesses, it is something we are already using as part of our solutions set.”

George says the continent has shown an appetite for robust SASE solutions that are ushering in a new age of digital transformation. While year-on-year the company has been in a strong position and over the last two years doubled its client base and kept churn low, it is now going after fresh opportunities in emerging markets.

“Redvine Networks has invested in establishing cloud gateways in a number of locations nationally, as well as in Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Nigeria and the UK to provide customers with flexibility and redundancy that keeps business online and delivers SD-WAN, SASE and monitoring/ analytics tools,” he says.

As part of its African expansion plans, the company has prioritised East and West Africa, and is busy establishing cloud gateways in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana and Angola.

“Clients are becoming digitally led and require solutions that allow them to benefit from the cloud and the availability of more sophisticated technologies,” he continues.

George is excited about prospects in Africa and says many companies have seen the opportunity that software-based solutions provide them “to leapfrog their technology investment.”

“Software is taking them from minimal bandwidth and expensive links, to higher bandwidth through SD-WAN and SASE. Growth across the continent is exponential and there is an appetite for solutions that deliver agility, flexibility and scalability,” he adds.

But Redvine Networks is aware of challenges … “not least of which is some hesitation to change to software-based solutions. It requires education, which is critical,” says George.

“Traditional hardware based vendors continue to try push hardware and tin, and many businesses have gone down the vendor/ service provider route, with promises of SLA and bandwidth - but have not seen results. There are enormous benefits in software - install/ upgrade/ downgrade/ enterprise policies in an instant - not dependent on hardware - delivers the agility, speed and flexibility that businesses are increasingly demanding.”

While Redvine will continue to offer solutions across the financial services, mining, manufacturing, retail, agricultural, chemical, and medical sectors, it has identified others where significant opportunities exist as it diversifies, including logistics, media, ICT, and tourism.

George underlines the value of his channel customers. “The support and growth of our partner base has been an important contributor to our growth. Our partner base is expanding across West and East Africa and not just reselling our services, but using Redvine’s offerings around SASE and SD-WAN to make their products easier to deploy and sell. Africa has a large geographic area, with rural and remote areas that lack reliable connectivity. We have been able to make quality that was otherwise not reliable, enterprise grade.”