Technology Reseller - v21 2019

01732 759725 24 SECURITY There is no denying the vital role that IT distribution plays alongside channel partners in helping end customers achieve their digital transformation goals. In many ways, distribution provides the value-added services needed to compete in today’s complex IT marketplace – something that’s reflected in the sector’s continued growth. Equally, there’s no denying the huge shifts that have taken place within the IT channel over the last couple of years. An influx of new partners, a shift in B2B buying habits and the ongoing disruption of the cloud to traditional sales models have encouraged many IT providers to re-evaluate and adapt their go-to-market strategy. There is no better example of this than distribution. Across the entire landscape, distributors are shifting their focus from warehousing, logistics and credit support to specialist services, cloud aggregation, online marketplaces and other ways to create value in the new channel ecosystem. At Becrypt, we have always recognised the value of distribution; our partners have been invaluable in helping to establish our successful cyber security business and long-term relationships with the UK government and public sector. At the same time, we feel it is important continually to assess the best route-to-market and evaluate whether that approach is optimally aligned with the latest technologies and customer needs. Closer customer relationships In 2017 Becrypt launched Paradox, a lightweight operating system that can be deployed on a variety of end user devices, giving organisations secure access to online and cloud-based applications, such as Office 365 or Salesforce. From the start, we took Paradox to market via a single-tier approach. This enabled us to develop closer relationships with our specialist channel partners and has proved so successful that we have now decided to mirror it for our established full- disk encryption software products, the Disk Protect Product Suite. We have two product portfolios at different stages of their lifecycles and don’t believe that having a mixed go-to-market model and mixed messaging are beneficial to our channel. Having a consistent approach across the two product sets will make it easier for resellers and partners to sell both product families and will help us to build and invest in a small group of partners who have the capability to adapt to market changes and distribute all our products, not just one. As we change and move towards a SaaS model, we need partners who can support this. To fully embrace this new route to market, we have invested in new partner relationship management (PRM) The advantages of consistency technology and established an online portal, which will allow us to maintain the same level of service provided by our distribution partners. A short interlude This is not a parting of ways with our distribution partners, just a short interlude as we work towards building out our portfolio of partners and determine the best strategy for the business, in the short and long term. For Becrypt, it makes sense to take a step back, regroup and make sure we’ve got the right capabilities to focus on a small group of specialist partners that reflect where we feel the market is heading. We also see huge value in maintaining relationships with our long-term distribution partners. We see the value not just in their people, but in their processes and in the support that they can provide us. In the long-term we will work together again as we look to scale our portfolios. Following the decision of Becrypt to adopt a single-tier channel strategy for its Disk Protect family of encryption products, mirroring the approach already taken for its Paradox operating system (see box), Becrypt Channel Specialist Jo-anne Holliday explains why it is important for organisations continually to assess and evolve their go-to-market strategy Becrypt is adopting a single-tier channel strategy for its Disk Protect family of full-disk encryption software products, mirroring the direct approach it has been using to sell its security-focused operating system Paradox. The endpoint cybersecurity software provider has taken this step to bring consistency across its two product sets, to make it easier for resellers and partners to sell both product families and to develop closer relationships with its channel partners. Becrypt CEO Bernard Parsons said: “We’ve seen success off the back of our single-tier approach with Paradox and we want to replicate this with our encryption products and only run one channel go-to-market, which will avoid any confusion with our partners. This is in no way a reflection on our distribution partners who we have been very happy with, just a simplification of our route to market.” The Becrypt Disk Protect family includes the Disk Protect Suite for small and medium-sized businesses and Disk Protect CPA and DPE SK certified for use by Government organisations. Going direct