Beachhead Solutions, provider of cloud-managed mobile device security and data access control for businesses of all sizes, has announced its expansion into the South African region, along with the appointment of Amit Parbhucharan as the new country manager for South Africa and Mauritius.
Beachhead’s new availability in South Africa is particularly opportune for businesses needing compliance solutions ahead of Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) enforcement.
Beachhead’s launch in South Africa builds off the company’s success in the United States, where its web-managed device security and encryption technology will be sold exclusively through distribution partners, resellers and managed service providers.
The popularity of Beachhead’s solutions and their arrival in the region now offer Southern African businesses new, cloud-managed security for whatever devices an employee uses – including laptops, phones, tablets, and USB drives – and new protections for the data residing on these devices in the event that devices are lost or stolen. Both employee-issued and BYOD devices are able to be managed with Beachhead products.
Beachhead’s first-in-class products include the SimplySecure Management System, a single, configurable, web-based management tool to secure all vulnerable mobile devices in an organization.
SimplySecure products feature encryption of all sensitive data on devices, remote enforcement of password and security policy, complete data wipe capability when devices are lost or stolen, immediate data access elimination (or quarantine) with instant, administrator-enabled remote access-restoration, customizable reporting of status and device risks and conditions, and a broad range of both administrator-enabled and automatic security responses to a variety of threat conditions.
“Security concerns are the same wherever you go,” says Cam Roberson, director of the Reseller Channel, Beachhead Solutions. “Our growth and success in the U.S., combined with new data protection laws like POPI, have created an environment where it’s a great time to offer our services in Africa.
“We already have a great deal of experience protecting industries in the states and parts of Europe from data breaches and reputational risk, especially in high-risk verticals like healthcare and finance. We’re excited to spread Beachhead’s umbrella of protection to safeguard more devices globally.”
POPI, a South African law enacted in 2013 that is pending commencement, presents new obligations to companies that collect and process personal information. POPI requires that businesses of any size take measures to protect the confidentiality and integrity of personal information, to collect personal information only for a defined purpose for which the user has consented, and to remove the information once that purpose is completed.
“POPI is a well-intentioned piece of legislation aimed at protecting the personally identifiable and private information of individuals, including bank account numbers,” says Amit Parbhucharan, South African Country Manager, Beachhead Solutions.
“However, in practice it creates a conundrum for companies that need the right technology to help them comply. Beachhead couldn’t have arrived here at a better time. With POPI, information must be safely retained and destroyed after use. Beachhead’s SimplySecure makes encrypting and eliminating data simple. It’s cloud-based for convenient use, easy to implement without extensive training, not cumbersome to device performance, and affordable to the span of South African business. It’s a win-win for customers and companies when it comes to keeping data safe.”
