Security proving a secure market

A vertical market approach

Verykios claims end-point security is a particular area of business opportunity for resellers looking to capitalise within a multitude of vertical markets such as manufacturing and mining which are heavily reliant on devices for people outside of their standard networks.

Pointing to vendors such as Checkpoint and NetApps, Verykios says that again, it is a complex technology area where it is often preferable for resellers to partner up, rather than attempt to go it alone.

Dzienchiol of Symantec maintains government as one vertical market that continues to offer big reseller opportunities, fuelled by increasing federal and state legislation changes in the wake of the new government.

“Privacy is a very hot topic currently and of course, great for those resellers that are focused on working to help government implement data retention and archiving technologies. IT compliance, discovery and retention management and DLP are also areas, which are big within the public sector at the moment and government bodies are looking to partner with resellers and vendors that specialise in these areas.”

Dzienchiol also mentions telecommunications as a vertical market with a strong need for security offerings, especially from an infrastructure point of view, concerning NextG, web-based and unified communications services.

He adds that the finance sector continues to prove itself hungry for cutting-edge security solutions, with various resellers aligning solutions specifically for this marketplace.

“Financial services is still a number one hotspot for malicious web-based activity and therefore holds big opportunities for strong, security-focused resellers,” he said.

O’Loughlin’s company Dimension Data is a reseller with strong credentials in the financial sector. He attributes this to the sector’s ease with which it understands technology.

“We work across many business areas and some are easier to work in than others,” he says. “It is important that resellers are able to assist their end users in helping them understand the technologies and skills involved, and likewise be able to efficiently articulate the business risks to them.”

Gerard Florian, chief technology officer of Dimension Data agrees that government – both at State and Federal level – are big areas for resellers, with the opportunity to provide enterprise solutions on a large scale.

SME angle

Looking at things from an SME point-of-view, Dzienchiol says this business sector specifically – but in line with the market as a whole – is increasingly seeking a one-stop-shop from which to gain all of their security services.

Referring to Symantec research which points to end users looking to reduce the number of vendor touch-points and deal with just the one supplier, he says: “Some resellers have moved to increase their portfolio to offer a managed service solution for this group, maybe by leveraging their vendor capabilities. This can be a good way of delivering a total solution around the whole spectrum of security technologies.”

Indeed, a recent IDC analyst report has stated that most security functionalities will be outsourced by business by the end of this decade.

Verykios from Distribution Central agrees that a migration to managed services provides further opportunities for resellers.

“Most end users and resellers do not have their own facilities or staff on hand 24/7 for dealing with security, so this is certainly an area resellers should look at getting into,” he says.

“The fact that several niche security specialists went bust over the last few years has not gone unnoticed and proves that you need to be offering more than just a couple of technologies,” he adds. “Additionally, with technology constantly evolving, there are ongoing opportunities for the monitoring, upgrading and assessments that are always needed within the security space.”

a market proving secure security