Proofpoint appoints local distributor SecureServ

On a recent visit to Australia, Gary Steele, chief executive officer of Proofpoint spoke to CRN about the vendor's current focus and plans for expansion in the region. He was joined by Gerry Tucker, regional head of APAC for Proofpoint.

The announcement follows the completion of a US$28 million financing round, led by investor DAG Ventures. According to Steele, the raised capital provides Proofpoint with resources to explore growth opportunities in the local market.

“There is significant opportunity in investing in growth and driving growth locally,” said Steele. “So what you’ll see from us is increased investment in marketing, personnel and overall investment in the channel.”

Tucker claimed the vendor has a strong channel focus both here and overseas and has been developing and enhancing its existing partner program.

“The deal with SecureServ is definitely part of a concerted effort to expand our channel in the Australian marketplace,” he said.

He added that Proofpoint is concentrating on the data loss prevention and email security solutions arena, ensuring partners are equipped with the necessary tools to effectively participate in these markets.

“There’s a channel partner portal where resellers can get full access to all our documentation. As part of this portal we also push leads to partners,” said Tucker.

Other features of the program include training and technical certification enabling partners to install, implement and support Proofpoint products, explained Tucker. He also commented that resellers can register the projects they are pursuing to help minimise partner conflict.

“We want to make it as easy as possible to work with us and add value to customers. Part of what we’re doing is continuing to invest in our local resources, sales and technical marketing to drive lead generation,” he said.

A recent survey conducted by the vendor found 65 percent of end-user organisations required an on-premises solution, 13 percent preferred a hosted service and 22 percent sought a hybrid delivery model. Tucker claimed Proofpoint’s broad portfolio is effective in addressing a variety of customer deployment preferences, giving resellers a leg up when targeting businesses in need of a hybrid approach.

“What we’re delivering is a much broader messaging solution, it’s not just a spam and virus product,” he said. “This means our partners have a much broader product set that is extremely modular. Resellers can therefore have a conversation with a client, focus on what their business and technical requirements are and be confident regardless of whether they’re looking for an on-premises, hosted or hybrid solution.”

Steele indicated that Proofpoint is seeking to recruit more partners in the local market and would be making the announcements in coming weeks.

“A big priority for Proofpoint is to broaden distribution by recruiting resellers in the region,” he said.

distribution proofpoint secureserv security