Wasabi Technologies Bolsters Leadership Team in Japan and Australia to Meet Hot Cloud Storage Demand Across Asia Pacific

BOSTON & TOKYO & SYDNEY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Wasabi Technologiesthe hot cloud storage company, expanded its leadership bench in the Asia-Pacific region with the additions of Aki Wakimoto and Andrew Sandes as country directors for Japan and Australia respectively. Wakimoto and Sandes will drive customer and partner growth as Wasabi continues its large-scale APAC expansion to meet demand for high-performance, affordable cloud storage in this digitally driven region.

Wasabi has undertaken a large rollout to support the region with cloud storage that is 1/5th the cost of hyperscalers, with no charges for output or API requests, and no vendor lock-in. Businesses are able to securely and cost-effectively store all their data and access it when they need it, without complex pricing tiers. Executive hires from Wakimoto and Sandes follow the opening of four storage regions – Tokyo, Osaka, Sydney and, most recently, Singapore – and the appointment of a longtime APAC industry veteran Michael King as Vice President, Managing Director of APAC in May 2022.

“APAC is quickly becoming one of Wasabi’s most important markets, and we are strategically expanding our operations to support the incredible opportunities in Japan and Australia,” King said. “I have witnessed Aki and Andrew succeed in their markets, creating optimized distribution channels and driving customer success. They will take us to the next level.

As Country Manager for Japan, Wakimoto will lead Wasabi’s growth strategy in the country, working closely with King to build Wasabi’s go-to-market team, drive value for channel partners and customers , and help deliver storage solutions that maximize data ROI across organizations. Wakimoto brings more than 20 years of experience in the Japanese computer industry to his new role at Wasabi. Previously, she served as President and Representative Director of SolarWinds Japan, where she developed the company’s customer and channel businesses, and implemented a comprehensive portfolio of IT Operations Management (ITOM) products to support the digital transformation of Japanese companies. She has also held a number of senior sales and operations positions at CA Technologies, Citrix Systems and Adobe Systems and was also President of Pulse Secure Japan.

Sandes has over 20 years of experience in Oceania, Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region, helping customers solve their biggest problems using advanced technologies such as cloud storage. Prior to Wasabi, Sandes held the position of Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand at Empflifi and was previously Managing Director Asia Pacific at Lithium Technologies (now Khoros) working with major companies in the region to provide solutions to large-scale online and social customer service challenges. Prior to Lithium, Sandes spent five years in corporate advisory, executing cross-border mergers and acquisitions and capital raising transactions in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors. He has also held several sales and business development positions in the APAC technology sector. With Wasabi, Sandes will focus on go-to-market strategies with Australian partners, build a team to support Wasabi’s channel, and evangelize the value proposition of cloud storage to customers in the country facing issues such as ransomware, data sovereignty and unpredictable costs of hyperscale storage providers.

Wasabi now serves customers in over 100 countries, storing data ranging from backups, disaster recovery and ransomware, archiving, CCTV, sports data, media and entertainment files, and more. For more information on Wasabi and its storage regions, please visit wasabi.com/locations/.

About Wasabi Technologies

Wasabi provides simple, predictable, and affordable hot cloud storage for businesses around the world. It allows organizations to instantly store and access unlimited amounts of data at 1/5th the price of the competition, without complex tiers or unpredictable egress fees. Recognized by tens of thousands of customers worldwide, Wasabi has been recognized as one of the most visionary and fastest growing technology companies. Founded by Carbonite co-founders and cloud storage pioneers David Friend and Jeff Flowers, Wasabi has secured nearly $275 million in funding to date and is privately held in Boston. Wasabi is a proud partner of the Boston Red Sox and the official cloud storage partner of Liverpool Football Club and the Boston Bruins.

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