Sophos, a global vendor in network and endpoint security, announced it has expanded its partner programme to now offer training, certification and financial incentives that will help channel partners support customers using or migrating to the public cloud. Sophos is the first next-gen security vendor to introduce a programme specifically designed to help partners address this revenue growth opportunity and make the purchase of its products in Microsoft’s Azure or Amazon Web Services marketplaces channel-friendly.
According to Gartner, the worldwide public cloud services market is projected to grow 18% in 2017 and is expected to reach $383.3 billion by 2020.
Sophos also announced Sophos Server Protection is now available for Azure. When used with Sophos XG Firewall on Azure, Sophos Synchronised Security technology will coordinate defenses against cyber threats attacking multiple vectors, including Virtual Machines running in Azure.
“Partners in the Middle East and Africa see a big opportunity to help customers secure their public cloud deployments and they want to continue to receive the same benefits that they get through traditional sales models set up with their vendor partner programmes. Sophos is paving the way for this to happen and created a new programme that delivers the same type of partner programme benefits to partners selling Sophos solutions into public cloud deployments,” said Harish Chib, Vice President, Middle East and Africa.
“As customers in the Middle East and Africa region increasingly adopt cloud computing, either all-at-once or methodically over time, partners need a strategic business model that includes innovative security technology, reliable vendor training and support, and financial incentives. As a channel-only company, Sophos is committed to accelerating partner success and revenue growth with cloud security. This is a great opportunity for partners to become specialised as Sophos Cloud Security Providers and benefit from today’s growing billion-dollar cloud marketplace.”
As Sophos Cloud Security Providers, partners will be able to build-up their technical expertise to better recommend how customers evolve to cloud deployments with the right security products. While Microsoft and Amazon manage security for their respective cloud infrastructures, businesses are expected to secure what they bring to cloud. By working with Sophos, partners can play an important advisory role on what customers need whether they are newly migrating, are all-in or have a hybrid scenario. Sophos will also work with partners to maximize Bring-Your-Own-License BYOL or Pay-As-You-Go PAYG purchasing and deployment options for their customers.
As a Sophos Cloud Security Provider the benefits include:
- Increased partner margin through rebates when customers buy Sophos products that are available on Azure and AWS cloud marketplaces
- Revenue from BYOL deals that apply in the cloud environment
- Sales and pipeline lead generation from Sophos free product trials and PAYG testing
- Training and support from Sophos Security Architects who specialize in cloud security and migration
- Certification as a Sophos Cloud Security Provider, which is available in two tiers: Professional level for partners who focus on consulting and selling services and Expert level for those who also have deployment services for customers
- Enhanced lead sharing for partners certified at the Expert level, due to their ability to provide pre- and post-sales support as customers deploy, run and manage applications in Azure or AWS