‘7 Minutes’ with Zentera Systems Director of Sales and Business Development Robert Donovan

… we want to ensure our partners are successful. In time, we will expand our footprint.

CP: Quick-hit answers: Percentage of sales through the channel, number of partners, average margin. Go.

RD: Goal for average margin is 15-20 points. Our channel program is an ever-evolving vital portion of our business. It’s a bit too early for stats, but we are in the middle of opening up huge channels. The one we can publicly disclose is CenturyLink, but stay tuned for more announcements!

CP: Who are your main competitors, and what makes your offering better?

RD: Using conventional VPN connections can solve point-to-point challenges, but do not offer a complete solution to multiple endpoints in multiple clouds. Illumio is a competitor that offers micro-segmentation; however, it uses traditional VPN, with no advanced networking capabilities. vArmour is another competitor, but their solution is based on hypervisors, while our solution is based on application security. Lastly, Palo Alto Networks is a potential competitor, but they are an edge-based firewall company on a road map for endpoint firewalls. Only CoIP interlocks enterprise applications to the enclave, which is a unique approach to security in the cloud.

CP: How do you think your technology portfolio will change in the next three years?

RD: We are a next-generation solution provider in the network and security space. As the market evolves to security-first networking, we will continue to shape our solution to be adaptive and ready for future cloud challenges, providing MSSP support and offering DevOps new solutions for security integrations. We aim to expand our solution and promulgate CoIP as an emerging standard in the industry.

CP: How do you expect your channel strategy to evolve over that timeframe?

RD: We will continue to work with key channel partners in several different areas of focus to expand our footprint for industry penetration. Our APIs will enable them to incorporate CoIP into their own products and services, to the benefit of all involved.

CP: What didn’t we ask that partners should know?

RD: We are at a tipping point in cloud evolution. Companies will have to adopt a cloud-first strategy to remain competitive, and will have to take multiple journeys to become cloud-centric. Some of the more traditional service providers will need to evolve or risk becoming irrelevant.