NAKIVO signs Italian distribution agreement with ICOS

NAKIVO has signed a distribution agreement with ICOS in Italy, expanding its reach in the Italian market.

Under the agreement, ICOS will sell NAKIVO's data protection products to IT resellers, system integrators and managed service providers across the country. ICOS is based in Bolzano and has offices in Ferrara, Verona and Milan.

The deal gives NAKIVO a new route into a market both companies view as active among small and medium-sized businesses and mid-market customers. It also adds another vendor to ICOS's portfolio in backup, replication and disaster recovery.

US-based NAKIVO sells backup and disaster recovery software for organisations running physical servers, virtual machines, cloud services and SaaS platforms. It says it serves more than 16,000 customers in 191 countries.

Its customer base includes multinational groups such as Honda, Siemens and Coca-Cola. NAKIVO also works with more than 3,000 partners globally.

For ICOS, the partnership builds on more than three decades of work in data protection, IT infrastructure and cybersecurity. The distributor serves resellers, system integrators and managed service providers in Italy, and also operates in Mediterranean and Balkan markets.

Italian channel

Italy remains an important market for software suppliers that sell through the channel, particularly those targeting smaller businesses that often rely on local resellers and service providers for deployment and support. That makes distribution partners with established regional networks a key route to market for overseas vendors.

ICOS's footprint across several Italian cities gives it access to partners in different parts of the country. Its focus on data protection and related infrastructure also places it in a segment where demand has been shaped by cyber risk, data growth and the need for business continuity.

Bruce Talley, Chief Executive Officer of NAKIVO, highlighted that fit in comments on the agreement. "Italy has one of Europe's most dynamic SMB and mid-market segments and it's exactly the kind of market where NAKIVO fits," Talley said.

"ICOS understands that audience better than anyone and we're glad to be working with them," he added.

Federico Marini, Managing Director of ICOS, said the distributor added NAKIVO because of the product's simplicity, speed of implementation and pricing. "Within the landscape of backup, replication and disaster recovery solutions, NAKIVO stands out for its simplicity, speed of implementation and a pricing that meets the needs of the local market," Marini said.

"In a highly competitive environment, all this represents a significant differentiating factor for partners," he added.

Backup market

The agreement comes as backup and recovery suppliers seek broader channel coverage in Europe, where national distribution relationships often remain central to growth. Vendors in the sector compete not only on product breadth but also on how easily partners can sell, install and support their software for customers with mixed on-premise and cloud environments.

NAKIVO's main product, NAKIVO Backup & Replication, is designed to help organisations protect and restore data across a range of infrastructure and software services. The company has built its business around hybrid environments, where workloads can sit across physical systems, virtual infrastructure and cloud-based applications.

NAKIVO has also sought external recognition in a crowded market. It says NAKIVO Backup & Replication has been recognised in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software Solutions.

For Italian resellers and service providers, the agreement provides access to another backup and disaster recovery software option through a domestic distributor with an established local presence. For NAKIVO, it offers a way to build sales through channel partners rather than through direct expansion on the ground.