NEXTGEN scores exclusive CrowdStrike distie deal

Security vendor CrowdStrike has named Sydney's NEXTGEN as its exclusive distributor for Australia and New Zealand

The agreement is also designed with the potential to expand into Asia, where the distributor has operations based in Singapore.

This is the first such deal for CrowdStrike in the region who had worked direct with partners. NEXTGEN already supports other vendors with which CrowdStrike has existing technical partnerships through the Spectra Alliance including Netskope and Okta.

CrowdStrike’s regional VP for alliances Geoff Swaine told CRN that the company had taken a long and “very fine tooth comb approach” to looking for the right distribution partner.

“It was a long process, but all the way through, we've been well engaged with the NEXTGEN team,” he said. “They've helped us understand what we could do in the market, they've worked with us, they presented it to our team and clearly showed the advantage of the partnership.”

“We've got a really, really strong alignment in terms of our cultural fit, the kind of business that we are, the outcomes that we're looking to make together in the market, the people, it just seemed like a really natural part for us to bring to come together.”

The deal represents part of an increased focus on security for NEXTGEN which has traditionally been known for its enterprise software and strong partnerships with the likes of Oracle and AWS.

Last month, the company recently promoted Gabe Marzano from cybersecurity business manager to the newly created head of cybersecurity role.

NEXTGEN CEO John Walters told CRN that setting up a cyber security practice was always on the cards but that the model needed to be mature enough to do it properly.

“When we set it up just three years ago, we really went after those next generation cyber vendors, we didn't even talk to the other traditional guys. And what tweaked our interest was the Spectra Alliance," he said.

The Spectra Alliance is a technology partnership between security vendors CrowdStrike, Netscope, Proofpoint and Okta.

NEXTGEN has quietly been building up its security operations and now boasts a significant amount of revenue from its existing partnerships.

“What I can tell you today is our cyber business is over 20 people strong, it is circa over $100 million worth of revenue coming out of that,” Walters said. “We've got a cyber lab, we build up our team based on ex military cyber operators.”

The distributor’s CyberLab is set up for partners, vendors and end-customers to access and demonstrate the technologies which NEXTGEN offers and others which customers or partners may wish to test its cyber technologies against. The facility is also home to the security advisory division of NEXTGEN’s cyber business.

“CrowdStrike adds a significant way into that and will be our largest cyber vendor in that cyber portfolio. It really adds so much to our go to market and I think I'd be really surprised if in six months time, we are not known for security.”