https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501 Application
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501 Application
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

Strategy


Shutterstock

Distribution

Security Market Shows Why Distributors Must Do More than Logistics — or Risk Irrelevance

  • Written by Pradeep Aswani
  • March 2, 2018
Partners selling security and other advanced tech are perfectly entitled to demand more from their distributors.

We think of distributors, like my company, as the bridge between technology vendors and the VARs, SIs, MSPs, consultants and other partner types out there selling to end customers. Our value prop has been delivering financial and logistical services that help streamline sales operations to ensure customers’ needs are met.

Pick and ship is still important. But I’d argue that in today’s fast-paced world, where software is king and more and more solutions are delivered as subscriptions, partners need to ask: Are financing and logistics still the biggest problems that distributors can solve for my company? The short answer is usually “no.” For distributors to thrive in the new channel, we’re going to have to do more. Think vet startups and new tech, helping to tackle the talent shortage and more.

Fortunately, the vantage point of a distributor, as the bridge between vendors and resellers, gives us a unique perspective on the market. We can see both the big picture and dig into the details, which means we have much more to bring to the supply chain than operational efficiencies. 

To illustrate what I mean, let’s look at the security market, which is big and getting bigger. 

Attacks continue to increase in number and sophistication — 2017 was another banner year for damaging cyberattacks worldwide. In the first half of 2017, 1.9 billion data records were lost or stolen, says one report. Companies know they need to invest to protect their data, making security a nearly $138 billion market in 2017, according to analysts. Spending is on track to reach almost $232 billion by 2022, with an 11 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Venture capitalists have noticed, and there is a constant barrage of new cybersecurity companies and products. They join literally hundreds of existing suppliers operating in dozens of different security categories; Gartner breaks the market into five segments, each of which contains multiple subsegments.

It’s incredibly complex and high-stakes. It’s also easy to see why customers, who are focused on their businesses, find it difficult to digest all the information coming from all the different companies on all the different cybersecurity issues they need to worry about. And make no mistake, suppliers – especially SaaS suppliers – are reaching out directly to your customers.

Then there’s the well-documented shortage of expertise out there, for both customers and partners. Unfilled cybersecurity positions are predicted to reach 3.5 million by 2021. 

Customers will turn to their trusted advisers to help them make sense of it all. But here’s the thing: If you are also overwhelmed by these market conditions, customers will start to wonder why they need you.

This is where distributors and master agents must step up and help. Otherwise, we can’t blame you, the partner, for asking why you need us and the two-tier model overall.

Make sure the distributors you work with are actively cutting through the clutter to identify emerging opportunities and then providing the technologies, tools and services you need to capture that business. Specifically, evaluate distributors on three key capabilities that facilitate a simplified sales cycle.  

Education to Lay the Foundation

Sure, a distributor can provide education materials that help partners and end customers understand what the real security issues are and the different ways in which they can be solved. This is table stakes given their vantage point. Look also for an ability to evaluate the viability of up-and-coming companies — to play the role of a lookout for the market, giving partners the heads-up on what startups they should be paying attention to and how new technologies can help their customers address their cybersecurity needs.

Distributors can spot early indicators of trends. They can make you aware of the proven and emerging cybersecurity technologies you need in their portfolios to meet customer demands, today and in the future.

Through training, certifications and general education courses, distributors can help partners address the skills shortage by building their competency and proficiency; ultimately, this will help technology vendors generate awareness and acceptance for their latest offerings, while accelerating the adoption of advanced capabilities that will strengthen all of our security stances.

Engagement to Accelerate Adoption

A distributor can provide the real-world, first-hand experiences partners and customers need to understand how new technologies really work. Make sure your distis offer labs, test drives and virtual sandbox services that can win customers over at various points in the sales process. A distributor can create one environment that can be used by hundreds of partners to prove concepts, test configurations and demonstrate capabilities. Don’t reinvent the demo wheel.

First-hand experiences offer a frictionless way for customers to see what a new technology can really do and envision how it can be used to solve their problems. They can also work to vet new technologies, which is difficult and expensive for individual partners.  

Enablement to Ensure Success

Given the shortage of cybersecurity (and other) talent facing most organizations, it’s not uncommon for sales to be stalled simply because the partner or customer doesn’t have the staff to get a service up and running. Distributors need to offer enablement that not only ensures a smooth, seamless sale, but also smooth, effective ongoing deployments. I’m talking going beyond sales logistics to include presales and post-sales services that support the appropriate identification and scoping of an opportunity, as well as design, implementation and configuration.

Look for a distributor with enough scale to ensure customers are up and running with a clean, best-practice deployment, freeing you to focus your resources on developing differentiated services and intellectual property that generate new recurring revenue streams. Sometimes that means holding a vendor to account. Make sure your disti is willing to go to bat. 

The goal of the distribution tier has always been to remove barriers to the sales process, so vendors and resellers can both focus on what they do best. While this objective hasn’t changed, the capabilities a distributor needs to fulfill this mission are evolving and expanding. 

What do you as a partner need from your distributors but aren’t getting? Tell me in comments. 

Pradeep Aswani is the CEO and founder of Cloud Harmonics Inc., the pioneer of holistic distribution, which provides the Education, Engagement and Enablement capabilities that technology and channel partners need to accelerate the adoption, ramp and sales of next-generation cybersecurity, software-defined networking and cloud technologies.

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Best Practices Sales & Marketing Security Strategy Technologies

Related


  • Multi-Cloud VMware
    Multi-Cloud: Strategy or Inevitable Outcome? (or both?)
    VMware’s approach to multi-cloud can help at any stage--wherever your business is at any given moment.
  • CP-Expo-Logo-1050x618 web
    Day 2 at Channel Partners Virtual Complete, with a Packed Day 3 Ahead
    Get some sleep tonight. Our content isn't fading out on Day 3 of Channel Partners Virtual. Here's what to expect.
  • CP-Expo-Logo-1050x618 web
    Channel Partners Virtual Wraps — See You In Person at CP Expo Homecoming
    So long, Channel Partners Virtual. But what a week it was. Now, our live event is on tap.
  • Depiction of a supply chain
    Full-Stack ICT Supply Chain Ownership Becoming a Thing of the Past
    To own or not to own? Supply chain model changes bring new players to the forefront.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • IBM Names 2 Senior Execs for NewCo Spinoff
  • Microsoft Integrates Dynamics 365 and Teams, Reveals New Features
  • Auth0 Acquisition to Power Okta's Growth in Massive Identity Market
  • From The Second City: How to Use Improv as a Business Tool

Galleries

View all

From The Second City: How to Use Improv as a Business Tool

March 3, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

5 Ways XDR Can Improve Operational Efficiency for MSPs

March 4, 2021

Multi-Cloud: Strategy or Inevitable Outcome? (or both?)

March 3, 2021

Backup Vulnerability: 4 Targets Hackers Might Utilize to Infiltrate Your Backup Solution

March 2, 2021

Webinars

View all

A Partner’s Perspective on Channel Success in 2021

March 23, 2021

XDR and Why it Matters to MSPs

March 24, 2021

Top Security Trends Impacting Technology Security Providers In 2021

March 25, 2021

White Papers

View all

Why Fortinet for my MSSP?

March 2, 2021

Small and Mid-Size Business Security: 4 Steps to Success

March 2, 2021

How SMBs Can Secure Endpoints and Remote Workers for the Long Haul

March 2, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How SOAR Eliminates Security Challenges and Elevates Service Provider Revenues

January 6, 2021

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

FASTCHAT: How Old, Unpatched Technologies Are Creating New Security Threats for MSPs and Their Customers

December 3, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

Our latest #Cybersecurity Roundup highlights #CPVirtual, @Huntresslabs, @Entrust_Corp and @InsightEnt.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 5, 2021
ChannelFutures

RT @Channel_Expo: A HUGE thank you to our amazing #CPVirtual sponsors and exhibitors! 👏 @ATTBusiness @DellTech @8x8 @lumentechco @telarus @…

March 5, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@okta acquiring rival @auth0 in $6.5 billion all-stock transaction. #security dlvr.it/Rtzwdp https://t.co/4LvHCJuwsR

March 4, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@MicrosoftTeams features are coming to @MSFTDynamics365, the company announced at @MS_Ignite. #MicrosoftIgnite… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 4, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@PreciselyData acquired by Clearlake Capital, @TAAssociates. #digitaltransformation dlvr.it/RtzbKg https://t.co/1rNYnTScxq

March 4, 2021
ChannelFutures

Thanks for attending #CPVirtual. Here's a Day 3 wrap and a look ahead to #CPExpo Homecoming in November!… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 4, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@Veeam announces six annual Impact Partner Awards, with @SHI_Intl, @LogicalisUS, more. #cloud… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 4, 2021
ChannelFutures

#XDR can improve operational efficiency for #MSPs. @TrendMicro #security #endpoint #AI #threatintelligence… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 4, 2021

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Online
  • Channel Partners Events
  • MSP 501
  • MSSP Insider
  • IoT World Today
  • Webhostingtalk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X