Impact of M&A, Investment on Channel

Cybersecurity M&A is always going to be somewhat of a challenge for the channel, Bell said.

“Companies are coming and going, and what does that mean?” he said. “[Partners] need to look at the agreements that they have and make sure that they have change-in-control provisions set in the contracts. One way to mitigate that is if you are acquired, we still are your partner and we’re working with you. You can’t just be canceled in that transaction as a provider or a channel partner, and you’ve got to negotiate strong contracts.”

In terms of investment, it’s a good thing for the channel if companies are getting funding, Bell said.

“A side of the due diligence when you’re working with cyber providers is, do they have adequate funding to last because somebody can come and sell you a great product? If they don’t have the financing that they need or they don’t have access to capital, you’re taking a huge risk as a channel partner,” he said. “Oftentimes investing, whether it’s in the sales and marketing of it, or even just implementing platforms, you want to make sure you’re not putting something in and it’s going to get pulled out tomorrow.

“And I think that also goes to some of the reasons some of the providers, the larger players in the space, are trying to tuck in these capabilities. They’ve seen enough companies come and go over time to know that they can take advantage when somebody has something very unique that fits well within their platform.”