Salt Security has expanded its Essential Partner Program under the leadership of Jon Peppler, its new vice president of worldwide channels.

The API security provider says it’s always been 100% channel-focused. Making this program more broadly available will expand the network of distributors, channel partners, consultancies and integrators already driving adoption of the company‘s API security platform.

Peppler previously was Bitglass’ vice president of global channels. Forcepoint acquired Bitglass last fall.

Salt Security’s Jon Peppler

“Salt has been working with partners and learning best practices throughout the past year,” he said. “We started life as a 100% channel vendor. As we were introducing our Essential Channel Program to select partners, their feedback enabled us to tune the program. For example, we learned a lot about essential elements that our partners valued. They had found these elements uniquely at Salt. And we worked with them to document them as central tenets of our program.”

Some of the key principles outlined with partners include trust and partner integrity, alignment and growth, Peppler said.

Addressing Partner Pain Points

Partners are struggling with a few different shifts in how business gets done, Peppler said. They’re struggling with how they can engage with their own clients. Salt Security and its partners are working to address specific areas. Those include the shift to digital versus live events, economic contraction due to the pandemic, and reviving dormant customers.

“Security in particular goes through pendulum swings, as companies adopt new technologies and then over time look to consolidate their security tooling,” he said. “API security is just gaining momentum, and customers’ needs are rapidly accelerating. This growth and innovation gives our partners the chance to call back into dormant customers and offer to solve this new challenge.”

The Essential Partner Program supports both associate and professional tiers. The tiers are based on the number of sales and solution architect certifications, pipeline value identified and joint customer wins. It also includes best-practice guidance for partners around rules of engagement, deal registration, technical enablement, and growth accelerators through incentives and marketing investments.

Salt Security will augment the program with additional tiers as it grows. The company also provides specialized support to help partners grow their API security business.

Giving Partners a Competitive Advantage

“Salt Security Essential partners have a competitive advantage in being able to address evolving customers’ needs, drive higher margins in a new technology area, and differentiate themselves from their competition with expertise and accreditation,” Peppler said. “In a lot of ways, APIs are a silent killer. They’re power enablers of digital innovation, but they leave companies so exposed. Being part of our program, with early access to the industry-leading research and technical education materials that Salt creates, our partners can shine a bright light on this enormous exposure APIs create and show their clients the path to secure innovation.”

This year, the company will be rolling out more programs that drive partner autonomy and profitability, he said.

Jeffrey de Heer is SoftwareOne‘s EMEA multivendor leader.

“The Salt commitment to the channel has been clear since its earliest days,” he said. “The team has been an immensely proactive partner that offers both competitive advantage to our customers and substantial opportunities for our sales team. The Salt Security API protection platform is the most advanced and proven API security solution on the market. With the company’s industry-leading mix of technology, training and programming, its channel program helps us better understand our customers’ key challenges while driving new growth and sales opportunities.”