DataCore Software, the industry’s premier provider of storage virtualization software, today announced significant investments into the Nordic region with the appointment of a new Regional Manager, Ilpo Wilkman, based out of Stockholm, Sweden. Ilpo has more than seven years experience in growing the virtualisation market and partner community, holding former positions at VMware and TechData.

The appointment comes after three years of robust growth within the region with DataCore firmly setting its future sights on doubling the partner base within 12 months from demand of its new storage virtualisation software solution, SANsymphony™-V. The foundations for this growth have already been established in the Nordic channel. For example, leading Swedish virtualisation provider, Atea, with its 29 offices in Sweden alone, became one of the first channel partners in the region to grasp the opportunity to recommend DataCore’s storage hypervisor, having achieved DataCore Gold Partner status six months ago.

In addition, DataCore is pleased to announce the appointment of another Scandinavian as the new Worldwide Alliances Director – Swedish native, Håkan Söderbom, based out of Redmond, Washington. Håkan has 13 years’ experience leading multiple alliance and partnership efforts at Microsoft Corporation, having formerly held the position of Director of Partner Business Development. Within the region, Söderbom will use his native skills and experience to boost DataCore’s marketing presence.

Comments Wilkman, “This is a really exciting time and opportunity for DataCore Software. The team has already established a stable base from which to grow further. I join having built strong virtualization partner communities in Sweden both at VMware and at TechData – success that I intend to leverage to grow the DataCore business. End users in the region like the fact that with DataCore’s SANsymphony-V they avoid hardware vendor lock-in. My responsibilities will be to grow channel sales and increase brand presence in the region. The appointment of Håkan Söderbom from the Marketing side will assist this growth together with increased events, Public Relations and Channel Marketing programs.”

DataCore’s software-as-an-infrastructure solves the problem of storage-related barriers that stall or inhibit virtualization initiatives. This platform enables data centers to use existing equipment and conventional storage devices to achieve the robust and responsive, shared storage environment necessary to support dynamic virtual IT environments. This is exactly what Swedish media giant, MittMedia, gained using SANsymphony across their nine offices. In addition, Swedish retail giant, IKEA, also use SANsymphony to secure high-availability and business continuity

Adds Söderbom, “Whilst I am primarily based in Microsoft’s backyard of Redmond, Washington my local knowledge of the region and language skills will help enable me to build the DataCore presence across the Nordics – working with Alliance partners including Microsoft, VMware, Citrix and Nexsan working alongside Ilpo and the team.”

Thomas Mittig, Business Unit Manager at Arrow ECS Sweden, a key distribution partner in the region, concludes, “We see DataCore as a significant opportunity for channel partners across the region. DataCore’s software acts as a storage hypervisor, providing virtualized storage that not only delivers cost-savings but also enables high-availability, business continuity and easier management.”

For a complete case study on IKEA and other Swedish reference sites, please link to: http://www.datacore.com/Testimonials/IKEA.aspx