Juan Villalobos, Director of Sales Channels at F5 Latin America, discusses the evolving role of channel partners, key cybersecurity investments, and strategies for maintaining a competitive edge in the region’s dynamic IT landscape.
Can you give us an overview of your company’s current focus in the Latin American IT landscape?
Several players in the LATAM digital economy rely on F5 intelligence to protect their businesses. We are talking about banks, government agencies, telecom carriers and customers from all industries and LATAM countries that depend on applications like Internet banking or an e-commerce vendor software engine. F5 is a leading provider of multi-cloud application security and traffic management solutions that help CIOs and CISOs to solve the following challenges:
- Application security: As cyberthreats continue to evolve, F5 is helping Latin American organizations secure their applications with advanced solutions like web application firewalls and bot protection.
- Cloud adoption: With the increasing adoption of cloud computing in Latin America, F5 is providing solutions that help organizations migrate their applications to the cloud securely and efficiently.
- Digital Transformation: F5 is helping Latin American businesses digitally transformed by delivering solutions that optimize application performance, improve user experience, and enable secure and reliable delivery of applications.
At the end of the day, thousands of LATAM B2C and B2B operations are supported by F5 intelligence. So, from the C-Level to consumers, millions of people in Latin America can have a safe and attractive digital life thanks to F5 solutions running in the background of the businesses.
How do you see the role of channel partners in Latin America evolving in the next few years?
Channel partners are expected to play an increasingly important role in Latin America’s IT landscape in the coming years. Here’s a breakdown of the key trends:
Focus on cloud expertise: As cloud adoption accelerates, partners will need to develop deep expertise in cloud-based solutions and services to help businesses migrate and manage their applications effectively.
Specialization in emerging technologies: Partners with skills in areas like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity will be in high demand to support businesses in their Digital Transformation journeys.
Value-added services: Moving beyond just product sales, partners will add value by providing services such as consulting, implementation and managed services. This will allow them to build stronger relationships with customers and become trusted advisors. One segment that is rising in LATAM is related to Managed Secured Services Providers (MSSPs), with high qualified teams that act as a co-manager of the user organization internal cybersecurity team.
What are the key technologies you’re investing in right now, and why do you think they are important for the industry?
F5 is recognized by its innovative solutions and is continuously investing in AI and ML based key security technologies to address the evolving threat landscape and empower businesses to deliver applications securely. Here are some of the most important areas:
- API Security: APIs are becoming a critical part of modern applications, but they also introduce new security risks. F5 offers solutions that help organizations secure their APIs from unauthorized access, data breaches, and other attacks. LATAM is a heavy user of APIs – according to a 2022 study from Postman, one of the largest countries of the region, Brazil, is behind only India and USA in API consuming (52,4 billion of APIs). This country is, also, the fourth largest posting source of APIs – 5.45 billion of languages – of the world.
- Automated Threat Detection and Response: Security teams are increasingly overwhelmed by the volume of security alerts they receive. F5 is investing in automation technologies that can help security teams identify and respond to threats more quickly and effectively.
- Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): ZTNA is a security model that eliminates the concept of trust on a network. F5 offers ZTNA solutions that can help organizations to secure access to their applications regardless of where users are located.
These investments are important because they allow F5 to provide its customers with the tools they need to stay ahead of security threats and deliver applications securely.
Can you discuss the cybersecurity measures you’re implementing to protect both your organization and your channel partners?
F5 recognizes the importance of cybersecurity for both itself and its channel partners. Here are some key measures being implemented:
For F5:
- Security awareness training for employees: Regular training helps employees identify and avoid cybersecurity threats.
- Strong security policies and procedures: These policies govern how F5 accesses, stores and transmits sensitive data.
- Regular security audits and penetration testing: These activities help identify and address vulnerabilities in F5’s systems.
For channel partners:
- Security training programs: F5 offers training programs to help channel partners improve their cybersecurity posture.
- Security best practices guides: F5 provides resources to help channel partners implement security best practices.
- Joint security initiatives: F5 collaborates with channel partners on security initiatives to protect the overall ecosystem.
By working together, F5 and its channel partners can create a more secure environment for everyone. This is critical in the protection of LATAM digital businesses.
What strategies are you employing to maintain a competitive edge in the fast-paced Latin American market?
It is a top priority for us to work with our partners in building value proposals based on AI and Machine Learning F5 solutions. The result of it is that we have strong channel partnerships: we are continuously investing in relationships with channel partners who have deep expertise in cloud-based solutions and emerging technologies.
Another key strategy is that we are continuously innovating the solutions to address the evolving needs of Latin American businesses, such as API security and automation.
Part of this effort is a cloud-centric approach. We recognize increasing cloud adoption in the region and offer solutions that help businesses securely migrate and manage their applications in the cloud.
Finally, we offer localized solutions. We tailor our solutions and marketing to the specific needs of the Latin American market, considering factors like language and cultural preferences.
How do you assess and choose channel partners to collaborate with?
F5 carefully assesses and selects channel partners to ensure a successful and long-term collaboration, such as:
- Alignment with F5’s strategy: Partners should share F5’s focus on cloud security and innovation, with the ability to deliver these solutions effectively.
- Market reach and expertise: Ideal partners have a strong presence in the Latin American market and possess deep knowledge of the region’s IT landscape and customer needs.
- Technical capabilities: Partners should have the technical expertise to support F5’s solutions and deliver successful implementations for customers.
Commitment to customer satisfaction: F5 prioritizes partners who share a commitment to providing excellent customer service and support.
Can you talk about any partnerships that you have recently signed or are in the pipeline?
F5 actively cultivates partnerships to expand its technology offerings and address broader customer requirements. A recent example is F5 and NetApp Collaboration.
F5 partnered with NetApp, a data storage solutions leader, to provide businesses with robust, secure and agile data mobility capabilities. This collaboration enhances hybrid cloud ROI and reduces IT overhead for enterprises.
Through this alliance, our platform F5’s Distributed Cloud Services delivers a secure MCN solution for Blue XP users. This empowers businesses to navigate the complexities of multicloud environments with confidence.
It is important to stress that global alliances like this one results in a larger portfolio availability for our partners. The goal is to enable our partners to have a consultant approach with their customers, having a deep understanding of their customers’ needs and offering to them an end-to-end solution.
What challenges do you foresee in the IT industry, particularly concerning channel partnerships in Latin America?
The IT industry in Latin America, particularly concerning channel partnerships, faces several challenges:
- Evolving security threats: The cyberthreat landscape is constantly evolving, requiring channel partners to stay up to date on the latest threats and solutions.
- Skills gap: There may be a lack of skilled IT professionals in some areas of Latin America, making it difficult for channel partners to find the talent they need to support F5’s solutions.
- Rapid technological change: Keeping pace with the rapid advancements in technology can be challenging for channel partners, requiring ongoing investment in training and development.
- Competition: The IT market in Latin America is becoming increasingly competitive, with new vendors entering the market all the time.
By working together to address these challenges, F5 and its channel partners can continue to thrive in the dynamic Latin American IT market.
How does your company approach training and upskilling channel partners?
I can share some general best practices for training and upskilling channel partners:
- Understand your partners’ needs: Tailor training programs to address the specific knowledge and skill gaps of your channel partners.
- Offer a variety of training formats: Provide a mix of online and in-person training, as well as microlearning modules that can be easily integrated into busy schedules.
- Make it easy to access training: Ensure that training materials are available on demand and accessible from any device.
Get feedback from partners: Regularly solicit feedback from partners to improve your training programs.
What benefits can channel partners expect when working with your organization?
F5 channel partners are seen by the customer as an advisor on everything regarding protecting Apps and APIs running in a multi-cloud environment. CIOs and CISOs are facing huge challenges in managing this complex context and have been finding in F5 partners services the answers to support their businesses in the ultracompetitive digital economy.
Partners with a solid and continuously updated technical knowledge and the ability to customize F5 solutions according to the customer specific challenges have the opportunity of growing their businesses.
The benefits of this positioning can be increased profitability through margin-rich incentives and rebates and access to market development funds and deal protection. The partners will receive F5 support with marketing activities and sales resources, besides training and enablement opportunities to improve their technical expertise. At the end of the day, the goal is to enable the partner to have the necessary flexibility to sell F5 solutions in a way that best suits their customers’ needs.
Can you elaborate on any ongoing or upcoming initiatives aimed at expanding your company’s footprint in Latin America?
F5 has a history of prioritizing growth in Latin America. We have been present in the region for more than 25 years, with local teams in countries like Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Chile, besides a channel ecosystem that operates in the entire area. In Mexico we have a global manufacturing plant and a support and sales center with teams that speak Spanish, Portuguese and English. This confirms that F5 views Latin America as a strategic market. We are continuously investing in expanding our partners sales, engineering and teams in the region. Another important point is that we have been conducting research to understand the specific needs of the Latin American market.
What advice would you give to companies looking to become a channel partner with your organization?
My advice for companies looking to become an F5 channel partner:
- Align your business goals: Ensure your areas of expertise and target market align with F5’s solutions.
- Invest in training and certifications: Equip your team with the knowledge and skills to sell and support F5 products effectively.
- Build strong relationships: Develop a strong relationship with your F5 sales representative to leverage their support and expertise.
- Demonstrate commitment: Showcase your commitment to F5’s technologies and willingness to invest in marketing and sales activities.
Being a F5 partner means being engaged in a continuous learning process about AI and ML based cyberthreats and how to use F5 intelligence to help the CIO and the CISO to protect applications and APIs responsible for business processes.
The channel partners that are well prepared are recognized by the market as top service providers and have the opportunity of an ongoing business growth.