AppRiver this week announced it has added encryption software developed by parent company Zix to its portfolio of cybersecurity and compliance offerings.
That move represents is part of an effort to bring the portfolios of the two companies together following the acquisition of AppRiver by Zix earlier this year for $275 million.
The goal is not to merge the operations of the two companies outright as much as it is to enable partners to leverage the product portfolios of both companies alongside the distribution capabilities AppRiver already provides to over 4,500 resellers by making available third-party offerings such as Microsoft Office 365 available to partners, says Chris Essex, senior vice president of global sales at AppRiver.
“We don’t want to mess the existing sales motion,” says Essex.
Both AppRiver and Zix have previously made their offerings available via both direct sales and indirect channels. Prior to being acquired by Zix, AppRiver acquired Total Defense, a provider of endpoint security software last Fall. But following the acquisition of AppRiver by Zix, both companies are in the process of shifting toward relying on channel partners more than ever, says Essex.
AppRiver is especially interested in working with managed service providers (MSPs) that either have an existing cybersecurity or compliance practice or are looking to add one to their portfolio, adds Essex.
It’s not clear to what degree partners will want to rely on AppRiver to act as both a distributor as well as a provider of cybersecurity and compliance software. On the one hand, AppRiver will provide a single proverbial throat to choke in terms of both support and managing transactions. On the other hand, many partners have existing relationships with larger distributors.
Regardless of the path chosen, however, the one thing that is clear is that when it comes to cybersecurity and compliance these days channel partners need all the help they can get regardless of where it comes from.
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