Technology Reseller - v23

technolog y reseller.co.uk SECURITY 39 Focusing on solutions The way to do this, suggests Ellis, is to be more solutions-oriented than point product-oriented. “In the past, we always sold point products. We would sell one product; then another threat would come along and we would sell the next best thing to deal with that; then another would emerge and we would sell something else. That is not sustainable. Tech Data wants to help partners address bloat in the market by building solutions and removing some of that complexity end users are facing.” Ellis says it is doing this in a number of ways. “Firstly, we work with core architecture vendors – vendors that have solutions that play in multiple segments in the market, like Cisco, Checkpoint, IBM. An enterprise couldn’t build its whole security infrastructure just with Cisco and IBM, but it could certainly reduce the number of vendors it carries, and partners can offer solutions to enable that,” he explains. This, suggests Ellis, is partly a question of portfolio selection and partly about enabling the channel to offer solutions, which Tech Data is supporting through the creation of solutions-oriented Practice Builder programmes in areas like ransomware, GDPR, IoT and endpoint security. These give resellers everything they need to take a solution to market, including marketing collateral, brochures, Powerpoint data, videos, sales battle cards and so on. “If you are a big security specialist, you can probably create those yourself. But resellers addressing the mid-market and SMBs probably won’t have the expertise or the deep pockets that are needed to build all these things. They can use our programmes to help them go to market with solutions,” explains Ellis. Resellers such as these are also the target for Tech Data’s new Recon Services portfolio, a range of security services that partners are able to buy and resell. “We give them all the service collateral, the SLAs, the legal documentation, everything they need to take those services to market, because to build a 24/7 help desk, to monitor customers’ equipment, to build and design a service is a pretty big investment for an average mid-size, SMB-type reseller. We take those costs away from them so they see a much quicker return on investment.” Broader market End user customers, too, benefit from having one trusted solution provider that can put together integrated solutions encompassing products from multiple vendors. Having ‘one throat to choke’ is especially appealing for SMEs that now take security as seriously as enterprises. “The way SMBs use data now is very different to 10 years ago. Then, an SMB may not have been doing any online transactions. Now, they may have a full digital transformation programme,” explains Ellis. “They are using data differently, so the threats to them are higher than they were 10 years ago, and because of that they need to ensure they have adequate security. There has been a mindset in the market that says ‘I am a 30-man company and no one is going to want to come after me’. But that’s not true. Attacks these days are very broad-based and smaller organisations are at risk too. The channel has a key role to make sure that message gets across to customers.” As the market for security products has broadened so, says Ellis, has the type of reseller distributors like Tech Data now deal with. “Seven years ago, people in the security market tended to be either specialists or very big corporate resellers – the Computacenters, the SCCs of this world. Today, there’s a much broader base. Resellers that have traditionally sold some networking, some Microsoft licences, some printers now also want to sell security. They don’t necessarily have the skills to do everything themselves, so there’s a role for distribution to help support them and provide some of the services they may not have the scale to deliver themselves. He adds: “If you are an SMB reseller you probably won’t have the deep pockets or the size of customer to build a 24/7 support centre supporting Cisco, IBM, RSA, Checkpoint and those kinds of products. You probably won’t have people who can design managed security services and build the marketing collateral around that. You are going to want a partner to do that. And, as the end customer base broadens out to SMBs, there will be a bigger need to deliver security-as-a-service. Because SMB end customers won’t have security experts on staff, outsourcing to a trusted solution or service aggregator who can manage that security for them makes good sense.” On test Make the most of your network with the SEH myUTN-2500 USB Deviceserver The myUTN-2500 USB Deviceserver from German company SEH is a very useful accessory that makes virtually any non-network USB device (e.g. hard drive, MFP, scanner, security camera, microphone) visible on the network and available to network users. Once a device is plugged in and assigned an IP address, it can be accessed from any network PC running UTN Manager software. Setup is relatively simple (despite the generally poor instructions), but even so it is probably best done by an in-house IT expert as it requires public access administration rights. SEH UTN Manager client software lets you add the server and attached devices to the network and, where necessary, assign IP addresses and allocate ports. Once you have assigned an IP address to the myUTN-2500, plug the devices you wish to network into a USB 3.0 port on the back of the server and configure them through UTN Manager software. These will now appear on your network. To access a connected device, simply run the UTN Manager software on your PC and select the device you want to use. The myUTN-2500 can really enhance your network by enabling you to connect and share USB devices that would previously have needed to be attached directly to a PC or laptop. It lets you extend the usefulness of existing devices and gives you the flexibility to put your security camera stream on the network or even add your telephone system. Up to three devices can be connected at any one time, with full encryption, port control and password access (if required), all managed via manager software running on Windows , Mac OS or Linux networks. The myUTN-2500, built in Germany with a noticeably high build quality, comes with a 36-month guarantee. This can be extended online, if required. For more information, visit SE H-technology.co.uk . EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD SEH USB Deviceser ver 9 www.techdata-europe.com/security