Websense enhances its ChannelConnect Partner portal

The most notable enhancement is the Partner Relationship Management (PRM) tool that allows Websense partners to accept and manage leads and opportunities from the company.

The system is powered by salesforce.com and ties in directly to the partner's own CRM tool if they choose.

Partners can also register deals via the PRM tool to get extra margin and support and set up their own co-branded Websense evaluation site for free.

All Websense solutions are free to trial, and if an end user requests the trial via a co-branded evaluation sites, the partner is notified of that lead and can go ahead and manage it through to close.

It has also enhanced deal registration to protect and enhance margins. The rewards give partners financial incentives for pre-sales investment associated with securing new sales opportunities in targeted market segments.  

"Enhanced deal registration means the partner can now get an extra five per cent margin on all approved registered deals," said Daniel Crnkovich, alliance partner manager, A/NZ, Websense.

"Deal registration will be a lot easier and streamlined via the new partner portal.

"When a partner registers a deal, the request and approvals are automated and specific deadlines for the partner and Websense are effectively and timely automatically communicated.

"The great thing for partners is that they will have complete visibility of all deals registered via a link into a salesforce.com portal making tracking and management easier," he added.

Partners enrolled in the Websense ChannelConnect Global Partner Program can also request marketing development funds (MDF) to help fund co-branded, lead generation activities managed by the partner through the PRM system.

The amount is subject to the campaign components and must be first approved before any activity commences.

"All MDF requests must have an element of lead generation and all leads must be managed via the PRM tool. This allows us to track and monitor with the partner the success of all campaigns," said Crnkovich.

Websense is launching its new Web security gateway appliance called Websense v10000 in April and the company is staging a customer and partner roadshow in all major capital cities starting 21st April.