security software channel programs

First, the big news: As you may have heard, Apax Partners has acquired majority interest in Sophos. But the drama doesn’t end there.

1. Kaspersky Lab has introduced financial incentives, deal registration, customer account registration, extended distribution terms, syndicated Threatpost content, self-service software downloads and trials, and online training. Um… sounds like Kaspersky has been busy since the company’s partner summit.

2. McAfee, as expected, launched its overhauled partner program. Central to the effort: An ongoing commitment to MX Logic partners. McAfee acquired MX Logic, a SaaS security specialist, in 2009.

3. Sophos apparently has more plans in store for this week. In particular, watch for the company to open its arms to managed services providers really soon.

4. Symantec recently adjusted its partner program to include more specializations. Also of note: Symantec seems to be stepping away a bit from the consulting market, and deferring more opportunities to partners.

5. Trend Micro didn’t make channel-specific news, but the company is out with a new portal protection platform that safeguards Microsoft SharePoint customers.

6. Websense also didn’t announce any partner program news, but the company did launch a new gateway that apparently addresses Data Loss Prevention, hybrid SaaS and on-premises security, and threat prevention.

Noise or News?

Clearly, security software companies are jockeying for position in the channel. As the economic recovery potentially accelerates, The VAR Guy wonders if M&A activity will begin to consolidate the security software industry. Right now, security looks like a highly fragmented market. And our resident blogger hasn’t even mentioned any tier-two players or emerging upstarts in this post…

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