London, UK – February 18, 2013 – AVG Technologies, the provider of Internet and mobile security to 143 million active users, today announced that its inaugural Partner Advisory Council for AVG CloudCare™ resellers will take place on February 19, 2013 in Newark, Notts.  The one-day event will allow members of the Council to share their experiences of using AVG CloudCare and provide constructive feedback for the future development of the cloud-based small business (SMB) IT management platform.

The Partner Advisory Council meeting will serve as an open forum to share the latest IT management demands from SMBs and will help shape the next phase go-to-market strategy and product direction for AVG CloudCare. Sessions include panel discussions, case studies and best practices as well as presentations from AVG on marketing support, product roadmap and future direction.

According to Gartner* the worldwide SMB opportunity is huge.  The respected analyst firm calculates SMBs will spend approximately $920 billion worldwide in 2013, representing 44 per cent of the total IT spend. With six million SMBs and 65-70 million SMBs worldwide, total SMB market IT spend is set to top the trillion dollar mark by 2015.  The Partner Advisory Council will work closely with AVG to enhance the performance and range of services provided by the AVG CloudCare platform so that SMBs can enjoy the benefits of simplified IT management, pay-as-you-go services and increased productivity.

“The Partner Advisory Council reaffirms the commitment from AVG and its partners to continually evolving AVG CloudCare’s features and capabilities,” said Mike Foreman, General Manager, SMB for AVG Technologies. “A good example of what this kind of collaboration can achieve has been the development of the free remote desktop tool which has helped give our partners a valuable edge when in relation to their competitors.”

“Before AVG CloudCare, resellers like us were crying out for a platform that would help them manage their small business customers more cost-effectively,” said Dwayne Smith, Managing Director of Vivid Clouds, an AVG reseller.  “AVG has brought the right product to market at just the right time as small businesses start to realise the potential of the cloud to help them become much more productive when it comes to managing their use of IT services.”

AVG CloudCare™ is a cloud-based IT administration platform provided to partners free-of-charge enabling them to roll out “pay-as-you-go” services that make it easier for them to manage and protect their small business customers. Free remote management tools, one-click service and user activation plus easy policy deployment help save time and reduce the need for onsite visits. Additionally partners benefit from sales alerts and one-click reporting to help demonstrate their value add to customers and drive sales. The overall aim is to make even the smallest customer a profitable one. 

*Gartner webinar: The SMB Market: Trends, Drivers & Predictions for 2013, November 2012

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About AVG Technologies (NYSE: AVG)

AVG’s mission is to simplify, optimize and secure the Internet experience, providing peace of mind to a connected world. AVG’s powerful yet easy-­‐to-­‐use software and online services put users in control of their Internet experience. By choosing AVG’s software and services, users become part of a trusted global community that benefits from inherent network effects, mutual protection and support. AVG has grown its user base to 143 million active users as of September 30, 2012 and offers a product portfolio that targets the consumer and small business markets and includes Internet security, PC performance optimization, online backup, mobile security, identity protection and family safety software.

www.avg.com

Contacts:

Paul Shlackman

PR Manager, SMB & Channel, AVG

paul.shlackman@avg.com

+1 (0)7792 121510