"This promotion is a great reflection of Karl's hard work as a major technology evangelist for Arcserve across ANZ and the APAC region," said Arcserve APAC vice president of sales David Lenz.

"Karl's unwavering commitment and dedication to the support of our customers will ensure we continue to deliver solutions that matter as we continue to build upon our success in the region."

Thomson joined Arcserve in 2013, and most recently worked as APAC senior pre-sales consultant.

He previously worked for Future IT as a senior engineer, and for New Era IT as a network technician.

Thomson is an active member of the Kiwi entrepreneurial community and supports local up-and-coming technology ventures including SkyDrop, Supergenerous, and Jasper.

He holds a diploma in business computing from Auckland University of Technology, plus multiple industry certifications including the Institute of Directors in New Zealand's certificate in company direction.

"Ransomware is now a major risk for businesses, compared to traditional hardware failure or a natural disaster. We are focused on changing the mindset of businesses to realise the importance of frequent daily backups across on-prem, cloud, and SaaS environments," said Thomson.

"I am thrilled for the opportunity to draw on both the sales and engineering aspects of my experience to ensure our solutions cater to the needs of solution engineers, promote greater adoption of technical best practice capabilities, and ultimately, drive greater data resilience for our customers and partners."