Sophos NA Channel Chief: We See Opportunities vs. McAfee, Symantec

Staying focused: Fogelgren role as North American channel lead “doesn’t change. I’m not taking over global channel chief, and I don’t have international responsibilities. But it makes sense for me to make a more active role here as we communicate in North America” and Sophos will coordinate its channel programs through close communications with regional leaders, Fogelgren says.

Creating A Wedge: Fogelgren notes that Symantec is “big and not just focused on security.” Meanwhile, Intel’s buyout of McAfee is potentially a “square peg in a round hole.” Those two market realities, he says “creates a nice wedge in the market place as partners look for alternatives. We think we can fill that void.”

Beyond Anti-Virus: At the low-end of the market, Fogelgren says some VARs are becoming frustrated with pure AV software providers since anti-virus is only one piece of a total security solution. For instance, he asserts that partners are embracing Sophos’ Data Loss Prevention (DLP) software, which is built into the company’s endpoint security products.

Recurring Revenues: Sophos launched some partner program enhancements in May 2010 that specifically serve MSPs. Fast forward to the present, and MSPs serving SMBs with 25 to 200 seats are beginning to engage with Sophos, he says. “I think we’re in lock-step with the market, and we’re working with peer networking groups to recruit MSPs.” Sophos also sees an opportunity to potentially displace AV offerings that come with managed services platforms, since the Sophos solution extends beyond AV, Fogelgren says.

Sophos Ownership: The company was acquired by a private equity firm in early 2010. Since that time, Fogelgren says, “everything I’ve observed is they’re here to help us grow the business.”