Meet Ahmed Ahsaan

Customer conversations are rapidly evolving — shifting from "we just need backup" to a far more critical question: how do we actually stay secure? In this month's Meet the Expert, we're joined by Ahmed Ahsaan, Software Business Development Manager, to unpack why basic backup is no longer enough, how cloud and edge security can be simplified, and how organisations can combat ransomware and phishing without overwhelming IT teams. Drawing on Dicker Data's software vendor portfolio, Ahmed covers the solutions partners can access right now to help their customers start 2026 better protected.

Q1: Customers keep asking for “just backup” – how do I convince them Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud is worth it over basic backup tools?

Honestly, most people still think backup = backup. But Acronis flips that on its head. It’s backup + disaster recovery + endpoint protection all in the same platform. One console, no juggling five different tools.

What really helps close deals these days:

• It’s fully validated against SMB1001 – that global cybersecurity standard built specifically for small and medium businesses. Insurers love it, enterprises love it, customers are starting to ask for it. Acronis lets MSPs take customers from basic hygiene right up to certified levels without ripping everything apart.
• Super MSP-friendly – multi-tenant, white-label ready, recurring revenue baked in.
• We’ve got training, presales muscle and deal reg to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table.

 When you pitch “proper cyber protection + a path to certification” instead of “cheap backup”, customers get it. Less vendor chaos, lower risk, easier compliance – it sells itself once they see the bigger picture.  

Q2: Edge and web security feels messy for a lot of our customers – what’s Cloudflare actually fixing for them?

NZ businesses (retail, schools, SMBs especially) are still stuck with old-school firewalls or VPNs that slow everything down and don’t scale when people work from home or the café. Adding hardware just makes it worse.

Cloudflare is built for the cloud era – DDoS protection, WAF, secure web gateway, zero-trust access, CDN, the lot – all at the edge, no boxes to install.

Quick wins for partners:

• They’ve got a proper MSSP model so you can manage it for your customers and build recurring revenue without reinventing the wheel.
• It’s a brilliant Zero Trust VPN replacement – secure access for remote users and branches without the latency, complexity or security holes of traditional VPNs.
• Start small with a free trial or PoC – block threats before they even touch the network, show instant value.
• Low-latency for NZ traffic, great for local content delivery too.

We make onboarding smooth and we co-sell with you. Once customers see how fast and clean it is, they don’t go back.

Q3: Ransomware and phishing are still hammering people – how does Trend Micro help without overwhelming the IT team, especially with the shift happening?

These attacks keep evolving and they’re targeting email, endpoints, cloud apps – the usual suspects. Customers want protection that’s smart, not just loud.

The big focus right now is Trend Vision One – their AI-powered platform that pulls everything together: endpoint, email, network, cloud security with XDR visibility, auto-response, and massive global threat intel. The licensing push is all about Vision One credits – that flexible model where you buy credits once and allocate them dynamically across 30+ solutions as your needs change (no more rigid SKUs or sunk costs). It’s scalable, easy to manage, and perfect for MSPs growing with customers.

For endpoint specifically:

• A lot of NZ partners are still rocking Apex One as their solid, battle-tested foundation (lightweight agents, great management, low false positives) – and migrating those agents to Vision One Endpoint Security is straightforward if/when customers want the full XDR layer.
• Once on Vision One, add CREM (Cyber Risk Exposure Management) for one unified view of assets, real-time risk scoring, and automated fixes – kills tool sprawl and helps prioritise what actually matters.
• Throw in CRQ (Cyber Risk Quantification) to turn cyber risks into real business numbers (“this could cost $X in downtime/revenue”) – makes it way easier to get exec buy-in and budget approval.

We’ve got the certs, deal protection, and bundling support to help you make good margins while guiding customers through the transition smoothly.