Gazzang today announced the appointment of Michael J. Harper as vice president of worldwide sales and alliances responsible for managing the company’s direct revenue model as well as its strategic partner and channel ecosystem.
An award-winning sales executive, Harper has more than 23 years of experience advancing go-to-market strategies for cloud, open source, SaaS and enterprise application solutions. He has also been instrumental in successfully positioning start-ups for IPOs, venture investment, mergers/acquisitions, and global market expansion in the US and abroad.
“The market opportunity for Gazzang continues to grow as cloud computing and big data drive demand for more robust data protection solutions,” said Larry Warnock, president and CEO of Gazzang. “Michael can help us seize this opportunity and scale our sales operation from startup contender to market leader. We’re thrilled to have him join our team and look forward to expanding our global footprint under his leadership.”
Most recently, Harper was senior director of Cloud Foundry Services for VMware, responsible for expanding the company’s partner ecosystem. Prior to VMware, he was vice president of worldwide sales and alliances for WaveMaker Software (acquired by VMware in 2011), where he managed revenue and partnership programs for enterprise direct, resellers, OEMs, integrators and professional services. Harper has also held strategic sales positions at companies including Sendmail, Persistence Software, Dun & Bradstreet Software and EMC.
“Security is top of mind among enterprises who want to take advantage of cloud computing and big data without the risk. Gazzang is very well positioned in this growing market,” said Harper. “I’m excited to work with such a talented team to provide essential data security solutions to customers and expand our strategic alliances.”
About Gazzang
Gazzang develops cloud-based encryption and key management solutions that help organizations address the security challenges of open source databases and big data. Gazzang is backed by Austin Ventures and Silver Creek Ventures. For more information, visit www.gazzang.com.