Australian distributors: Security vendors need the channel

Patrik Bihammar, IDC's senior analyst for security solutions in ANZ said the channel is crucial to the security vendor community as it is at the frontline of understanding customer needs and they often own the customer relationship.

“Unlike the enterprise market in which vendors can closely manage the relationships with their largest clients, the majority of SMBs are managed indirectly through partners," he said.

IDC's study dubbed, Australia and New Zealand Security Channel Review 2007, shows the importance of small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) in the channel as they constitute a major part of the economic fabric in ANZ, making it vital for vendors to build strong and sustainable partner strategies and relationships to gain and maintain market share.

Nick Verykios, marketing director at Distribution Central, believes the number for the IT security business solutions segment surpasses that of IT security software, when it comes to sales made through the channel.

He told CRN the number would be around 99 percent, with resellers not only providing end-point hardware but a total package around the product sold.

“Businesses don’t just buy a point product they need technology that goes with it. They need a reseller to validate software licensing agreements. A security product would be useless without someone managing, monitoring and patching the product,” he said.

Jonathan Odria, sales director at Whitegold Solutions believes with hardware security products the sales are 100 percent through the channel.

"I would say from all of the vendors we deal with, 100 percent have a channel focus. Although in some of the other vendors like, Cisco, they may sell direct to clients," he said.

Odria said resellers were trusted advisors to the end-user and the channel allows vendors to ahve a further reacha and becomes an extended sales force.

Tom Piotrowski, managing director of Unixpac, agreed with Odria and said both vendors and distributors need resellers to broaden their reach.

"With only a handful of distributors of software and hardware solutions in Australia and resellers become invaluable in reaching customers across the nation," he said. "Without the chanel we wouldn't have the reach we need. End customers have a solid relationship with their service providers. More and more resellers are becoming incumbent advisors," he said.

With security no longer becoming just an added measure, Verykios believes key policy makers within an organisation see security breaches as no longer a nuisance for a business it has now become potentially dangerous for an organisation.

“Security is no longer about what happens when the golf ball hits you on the head, now it’s about don’t get hit at all,” he said.

With that in mind resellers must be able to provide an effective partner strategy is critical for security vendors to be successful in maintaining and growing market share, said Bihammar

“Failure to achieve this will ultimately limit the ability to be successful in today's competitive marketplace and cost effectively target the midmarket," he adds.

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