Security vendor Sophos has been doing well, particularly with service providers, says Kevin Isaac, vice president of EMEA. But he says that the issues with channels and their customers have been around human concerns rather than technology. In his plans for the next year he has his sights set on growth in a “quality” way, building coverage and a wider range of products, but with simplification aimed at making channels more effective. Cybersecurity should be integrated and be able to work out of the box, he thinks.
“One lesson from the last year is that partners’ first priority should be on the mental health and wellbeing of people- customers and staff,” he says.
Channels are facing issues with getting into customers physically, he agrees, but are busier than ever because of the move to home working.
“We are focusing on digital advocacy, digital transformation and communicating via social media.”
And emphasising that Sophos is working with customers of any size. Channels are looking for simplification of solutions, which could imply a reduction in the range of services they support. With larger enterprises working with up to 60 products there is room for change here. “Yes, there is consolidation and more automation, but partners always have to think about their value to the customer.”
And increasingly this means SaaS and cloud solutions; "next-gen" sales are up 70%, he adds.
But the risk for MSPs in particular will be leaving business to rivals, so a customer value focus of some sort is needed, he thinks.
And service providers – up 49% in the UK in the first half, are helping drive the business, he says. Now, he wants to work on the portfolio sell and get channels to work on ways to sell value. The ability to sell end-point security can be added to the firewall business and there is an opportunity to accelerate this. “There is a lot of room for cross-selling”.
The new Sophos channel programme, based around certification is delivering an improved customer experience, he says. And this means that “those that invest with us will do better.”
