McAfee Channel Partner Program Rolls with COVID-19 Changes

Written by Edward Gately
May 26, 2020

McAfee launched its new MPACT program in the first quarter. Here's what it means to you.

The new McAfee channel partner program launched just before the global COVID-19 pandemic hit, and executive changes have rocked the company since the start of the year.

The MPACT partner program is based on a year of feedback from partners and other partner programs that have proven successful.

The new McAfee channel partner program allows partners to decide which path they want to go with the company. That can include as a traditional VAR or a MSP.

In January, Chris Young left his role as McAfee’s CEO to join private equity firm TPG as a senior adviser. Peter Leav, BMC Software’s former CEO, replaced Young as McAfee’s CEO.

Other executives – such as Allison Cerra, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, and John Giamatteo, president and CRO for McAfee’s enterprise business group –.also left the company,

In terms of channel leadership, McAfee appointed former Apple sales executive Kathleen Curry head of global channel management. And Lynne Doherty joined McAfee as executive vice president of global sales and marketing for the enterprise business.

In addition, Rob Hornish signed on as senior vice president of the Americas.

McAfee’s Ken McCray

Ken McCray is the company’s head of channel sales and operations for the Americas. He gives an update on the new McAfee channel partner program; plus, how his company is accommodating partners and customers during the pandemic.

Channel Futures: What is the status of the new McAfee channel partner program?

Ken McCray: The new program is launched and we are through our first full quarter and now in [quarter two]. The partner reception has been very positive. We’re seeing partners lean into more trainings and we’re seeing partners very active around the direction. Part of what we did with the new partner program is we aligned it to the corporate strategy. And as we focus on our cloud strategy, more specifically MVision Cloud, we’ve aligned the program to build incentives to the partners if they align to the strategy, and that’s been very well received.

CF: How has the pandemic impacted the new partner program?

KM: Productivity, in my opinion, has gone up because we no longer have the interruptions of travel. We no longer have some of the interruptions of availability. I’ve seen increases in productivity in terms of number of calls by our team and deal registrations in the pipeline. Our pipeline has actually grown a little bit more, and it’s all about that availability piece. So I’m really excited about that. But I tell you the other benefit that we’ve seen is in terms of our virtual trainings. We ramped up our virtual trainings … and we’re seeing our participation numbers go up by at least 30%. When I looked at it last week, we’re seeing more people, more technicians participate in trainings and that’s been a real positive for us.

CF: Do McAfee partners face additional challenges, such as financial constraints, due to COVID-19?

KM: I’ll start with the financial part first. There is some pressure from the partner community because …