Check Point Software Technologies this week announced it has revamped its channel program as part of an effort to better align partners with strategic Check Point initiatives.
Partners going forward will now also be evaluated not only on activity and revenue but also on how much time and effort is being allotted to platforms such as the Check Point Infinity Next cloud service.
The program now also includes a third Elite tier that rewards partners for registering deals and reselling along with a Check Point Partner Growth Program to provide partners with access to more expert resources, says Frank Rauch, head of worldwide channels for Check Point.
“It’s all about creating a better day one experience for customers,” says Rauch.
At the same time, Rauch says Check Point is also now working more closely with alliance partners, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, VMware and Silver Peak, to drive sales via shared channel partners. The goal is to establish stronger alliances with IT vendors that sell complementary technologies such as software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs).
Most of the Check Point effort will be on driving more business via its existing base of partners, but Rauch says Check Point is looking to recruit new partners that have, for example, Internet of Things (IoT) expertise. Check Point today has somewhere between 6,000 to 7,000 active partners, says Rauch.
Historically, Check Point has been a dominant provider of cybersecurity platforms deployed in higher end enterprise IT organizations. As Check Point makes more cybersecurity services available via the cloud, there is an opportunity to extend the reach of the company’s offerings to additional customers. The challenge now is finding a way to motivate partners to seize it versus focusing on any one of the few hundred other opportunities in the cybersecurity space.
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