The threat detection and response firm has opened its APAC headquarters in Sydney and is looking for more partners Credit: Supplied Art (with Permission) Threat detection and response vendor Vectra has expanded into the Asia-Pacific region with a new Sydney headquarters off the back of the closing of a USD$100 million Series E funding round. The business offers network security through its Cognito platform, an AI driven threat detection and response for the cloud. Leading the local operation as Vectra’s regional director is Kevin Vanhaelen, who brings more than 20 years of industry experience. He was most recently Telstra head of strategy and operations for global security solutions and had previously spent 16 years at Dimension Data. While Vectra has a number of global partners offering its Cognito platform, no Australian or New Zealand partners have been announced to be working with the firm yet. However, announcements should be expected "not too far down the line", according to Vanhaelen. "In the A/NZ region, we are at the moment in the final stages of signing up a few very strong and well-respected partners," Vanhaelen said. Vanhaelen said the business is also looking to add more partners to their complement as long as they would be the right fit. "We will look at who are the right ones and where both of us, we can really bring value to their own customer and of course we will continue to strategically expand that footprint and the partnership," Vanhaelen said. Vanhaelen added that the time he spent at Telstra and Dimension Data helped him prepare for his role of regional director of Vectra. "I’ve been very fortunate in the companies I’ve worked with before that I had always great people around me to be successful in a number of roles. Very early, and if I just go back two organisations, back with Dimension Data, I really cut my teeth into the technology itself, very hands-on where I was in engineering, then I was in the consultancy side of things," Vanhaelen said. "That’s where really my background is, in engineering and in penetration testing and security consultancy, and then gradually moved into expanding my scope in a broader set of professional services and responsibilities, managed services, technology sales, the whole gamut and managing teams and businesses. "Combine that with, as I mentioned, my background in systems integration and telecom, my background is quite diverse, I have worked with very large enterprises, was lucky enough to coach a number of teams of great people, and different roles, technical and non-technical, so it’s quite a diverse background." Related content news Regional NSW AI preparation lacking Deficits in infrastructure and education need to be addressed. By Sasha Karen 26 Apr 2024 4 mins Innovation Artificial Intelligence Emerging Technology news IBM to acquire HashiCorp for US$6.4B in hybrid cloud, AI play Close to half of HashiCorp’s voting power, at 43 per cent, has entered into an agreement to approve the deal. By Sasha Karen 26 Apr 2024 2 mins Mergers and Acquisitions Cloud Computing Vendors and Providers news Digital hub reopens in Cremorne The hub previously operated in a “very limited capacity” and could not roll out program and hold industry events prior to the refurbishment. By Sasha Karen 24 Apr 2024 2 mins Business Operations Emerging Technology Industry news HP brings AI PCs to Australia Includes extra processing power for AI workloads. By Sasha Karen 24 Apr 2024 2 mins Emerging Technology Vendors and Providers SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe