Utimaco and Astel sign distribution partnership for HSMs in the Africa region

London, United Kingdom, February 4th, 2019 – Astel, a leading provider for IT infrastructure and office automation solutions on the African continent, and Utimaco, the global #2 in Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), today announced a distribution partnership for the Africa region. HSMs by Utimaco provide the ‘Root of Trust’ to a wide range of industries, encompassing financial and payment services, the automotive industry as well as cloud and IT services in the public sector.
Over the last 35 years, Germany-based Utimaco has built its market leading position through highest quality products and support, a comprehensive partner network and a steady focus on compliance. This is reflected in numerous certifications, including the recently achieved Common Criteria (CC) EAL4+ certification for its CryptoServer CP5 HSM, FIPS 140-2 Level 3 and Physical Security Level 4.
Yuvraj Jobanputra, CEO of Astel, said: “For African organizations, digital information and electronic transactions play an increasingly significant role in their daily business operations. This development goes hand in hand with strict data security regulations looking to minimize the risk of cyberattacks. Utimaco’s flexible and cost effective HSMs provide our customers with both the needed hardware security and extensive regulatory compliance. With this new partnership, we further strengthen our position as a leading distributor for IT infrastructure and office automation solutions on the African continent.”
Stefan Auerbach, CEO of Utimaco adds: “This partnership marks an important step into the region for Utimaco, bringing us another step closer to our local customers in order to be able to cater for their needs in an even more efficient manner. It is a great match and complementary for both organizations. Astel’s reach across Africa allows us to further expand our global footprint, arming customers in the area with leading state-of-the-art hardware security to better protect themselves. We look forward to the unique opportunities this cooperation will bring.”

Try Utimaco’s free HSM simulator

Both customers and value-added resellers can perform evaluation and integration testing with Utimaco’s free simulator. It works without any installation of hardware and comes with 100% functional runtime, available for both Windows and Linux systems. It is available for download free of charge.

About Hardware Security Modules

A Hardware Security Module is a device to generate, store and manage cryptographic keys safely. Its functions include key generation, encryption & decryption, authentication and signing operations. An HSM secures numerous applications and transactions, keeping digital identities, critical infrastructures and high value data assets safe.

About Astel

Astel (UK) Ltd is a leading distributor providing IT infrastructure and office automation solutions within the African continent. Astel markets and distributes a comprehensive range of ICT equipment to a broad customer base.
For more information, visit https://www.astel-africa.com/.

About Utimaco

Utimaco is a leading manufacturer of Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) that provide the Root of Trust to many industries, from financial services and payment to the automotive industry, cloud services and the public sector. We keep cryptographic keys and digital identities safe protecting your critical digital infrastructures and high value data assets. Our products enable innovation and support the creation of new business by helping to secure critical business data and transactions.
Founded in 1983, today Utimaco HSMs are deployed across more than 80 countries in more than 1,000 installations. Utimaco employs a total of 220 people, with sales offices in Germany, the US, the UK and Singapore.
For more information, visit https://hsm.utimaco.com.

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