Netskope, a provider of cloud access security broker (CASB) platform, has added a tier to its channel program that promises greater rewards and access to additional levels of training and support for partners that develop a professional services practice around Netskope ONECloud.
The Preferred Service Provider program from Netskope will provide incentives for partners to invest in expanding their cloud security skills, says Dave Rogers, vice president of channel sales at Netskope.
That’s a significant issue because in the absence of access to skills organizations will not as aggressively deploy their most sensitive applications to the cloud, adds Rogers.
“There are not enough cloud security skills in the market today,” says Rogers.
In addition to adding a new tier to its program, Netskope has also moved to increase profit margins and incentives for driving upsell and renewal opportunities, even when Netskope drove the initial sale.
While there is clearly a massive amount of demand for IT security offerings for cloud computing environments, that feeding frenzy has resulted in large numbers of vendors all targeting the same opportunity. IT organizations are already moving to consolidate the number of cybersecurity vendors they need to have a relationship with as part of an effort to rein in cybersecurity costs. That means that cybersecurity channel partners that have deep relationships with customers are now worth their weight in gold more than ever.
The challenge channel partners routinely face is finding and retaining the cybersecurity talent required to build a practice. Even when a channel partner can find that talent, they often need to fend off multiple offers from rival service providers, vendor and internal IT organizations looking to lure that talent away. Channel partners also often overlook the cost of having to constantly retrain personnel in a sector where the nature of cybersecurity threats is always changing.
Of course, these days there’s no avoiding cybersecurity. Customers expect solution providers to be able so to secure every type of application environment. The only real question is to what degree can a partner deliver that capability more profitably themselves versus needing to rely on external expertise.
Be First to Comment