Thiago Felippe, AIQON CEO, discusses how his company works with channel partners and tells us about his management philosophy.
What does your position entail?
As founder and CEO, I take care of the company’s culture. A company’s culture is a product of its people and how they interact with each other. To have a tailor-made culture, the leadership has to worry daily about new hires, the processes, controls, outcomes and people’s wellbeing. Apart from that, as CEO I take care of the relationship with strategic vendors, partners and clients.
It is part of my mission, also, to research innovative cybersecurity vendors, organizations with solutions that are able to solve today’s and tomorrow’s security challenges of businesses of all industries and sizes.
Aware of the financial restrictions of many user companies in LATAM, I’ve developed, also, special financial offerings to our partners and customers. The goal is to smooth the journey of our region in the direction of digitally mature and secure business processes.
Can you explain how your company works with channel partners?
We promote in-person and online events together and work on new opportunities together. Due to the consulting and investigative nature of our sales process and business, it is important to support our channel partners as much as possible. We offer software engineers and account executives to every partner and deal to make sure we are indeed addressing the client’s needs. The goal is not to sell. The goal is to sell something useful and valuable to the client with the utmost excellence.
It’s a known fact that many cybersecurity solutions are acquired, but due to a lack of the necessary professional skills in project development and solution implementation, their full potential remains untapped.
The AIQON team diligently collaborates with AIQON partners to mitigate this issue, ensuring that customers have the resources needed to fully leverage the benefits of their new cybersecurity technology. This dedication to excellence in results fosters long-term relationships between our ecosystem and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs).
What is your management philosophy?
I believe in people. People can make the difference and will. As a manager, my responsibility is to lay the foundation for excellent people to shine.
Do you work differently with channel partners in Latin America compared to other regions?
The AIQON Channel Program stands out for its uniqueness. Representing various cybersecurity brands such as Netwrix, Syxsense, and Swimlane, among others, our program integrates these technologies and offers different relationship levels within the channel ecosystem, encompassing all these offerings.
When a local partner joins the AIQON Channel Program, their technical team gains access to a portfolio of solutions that effectively address most of their customers’ cybersecurity challenges. In this way, AIQON serves as a ‘One Stop Shop’ for its partners, keeping them informed about a range of disruptive technologies with excellent cost/benefit ratios.
How do your partners deliver AIQON solutions to end-users?
Within our program, we have both resellers and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs). While the number of resellers outweighs that of MSSPs, it’s worth noting that an increasing number of traditional resellers are exploring the MSSP model. In this model, AIQON solutions are provided as Security-as-a-Service.
How do you ensure channel partners flourish in a highly competitive market?
By backing them up every step of the way as said above.
We work together on the sales process, marketing strategy and operations, pricing, implementation and technical support. The channel partners understand and appreciate us being an extension of their operations. Partnerships are win-win relationships and should be treated with respect and the highest level of ethics.
What are the latest trends you see emerging across the channel?
Channel partners are increasingly frustrated with past sales of low-quality solutions. This sentiment is particularly pronounced in Brazil, a country known for its price sensitivity, where inexpensive products often gain rapid market traction. However, as the market matures, there’s a growing recognition of the importance of higher-quality solutions that deliver tangible results. This shift is driven by the understanding that opting for cheaper options can ultimately lead to higher costs and increased risk. Consequently, channel partners are transitioning towards offering higher-quality solutions to meet the evolving needs of the market.
Which regions do you see offering the most opportunities for your company?
Brazil as a whole. There are different challenges and maturity levels in every region and market sector. AIQON makes sure we have solutions for every company size and for different cybersecurity maturity levels.