McAfee Focus 10: Five Questions for McAfee's Channel Chief

McAfee Focus 10: Five Questions for McAfee’s Channel Chief

Written by The VAR Guy 1
October 10, 2010

The VAR Guy lands in Las Vegas shortly. Next stop: McAfee Focus 10, a major conference that includes the McAfee Global Partner Day. More than 700 global partners are scheduled to attend the event. No doubt, attendees plan to learn how McAfee’s channel partner program will potentially operate under Intel’s planned ownership. But that’s not all. Here are five questions The VAR Guy plans to pose to McAfee Global Channel Chief Alex Thurber (pictured) and North America Channel Chief Fernando Quintero.

5. Social Community: During the face-to-face McAfee Global Partner Day, it’s safe to expect plenty of community building chatter. But where is McAfee going to take its online interactions with partners? Surely, some clues will emerge on Oct. 11.

4. Cisco DNA?: Thurber, as you’ll recall, is a Cisco Systems channel veteran. The VAR Guy wonders if Thurber has injected any of Cisco’s channel DNA or channel strategies into McAfee’s partner program. Hmmm…

3. Mid-Market Moves?: McAfee in May 2010 expanded Thurber’s role to include a mid-market sales push. So, how are McAfee partners performing in the mid-market? The VAR Guy will be sure to ask Thurber.

2. SaaS and Cloud Channel Partners: Of course, The VAR Guy will be listening closely to learn how McAfee plans to continue rewarding partners that embrace SaaS and cloud security offerings. The former MX Logic PartnerFocus Program has been rebranded as the McAfee SaaS Email & Web Security Partner Program. Are more moves coming? The VAR Guy sure thinks so. Stay tuned for potential news on Oct. 11.

1. Security Software Becomes Hardware?: When Intel announced plans to acquire McAfee in August 2010, The VAR Guy’s team openly wondered how much of McAfee’s security software would wind up embedded in Intel hardware. Hmmm… It’s still a bit premature for McAfee to share too many Intel-centric updates. Still, The VAR Guy will press Thurber and Quintero for more perspectives.

Stay tuned for complete coverage of McAfee Global Partner Day and McAfee Focus 10. Somehow, The VAR Guy plans to remain focused on blogging during his stay in Sin City.

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