Secureworks has worked with channel partners before, but informally in the field. Their first formal channel program is a single-tier one designed explicitly to be very easy for partners to use.
Maureen Perrelli, chief channel officer, Secureworks
Today Secureworks is launching their first formal Global Partner Program. It’s a simple program as these things go, and that is by design. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for partners to engage with Secureworks on either a reseller or a referral model around offerings like Secureworks’ software-driven Red Cloak Threat Detection and Response [TDR] application, their Managed Detection and Response [MDR] solution and their Incident Management Retainer for proactive and emergency incident response.
“This is a brand new and easy to use program,” said Maureen Perrelli, chief channel officer, Secureworks. “We didn’t have a traditional partner program before. It was more a case of channel account manager engagement in the field.”
Two key pillars of the program are that there are no tiers, and thus no revenue requirements.
“It’s all based off what they have achieved with us and the competencies that they complete,” Perrelli said. “They get a front-end discount when they register an opportunity, and if it is a new customer, they get an incentive for that. We really want them to drive net new business to us.”
Revenue achievements are rewarded with a back-end discount.
“There is a debate there for revenue thresholds,” Perrelli indicated.
Because this is SecureWorks first partner program, many of the benefits are net-new. There was no deal registration provision before in the informal system.
“Partners now have the opportunity to get recurring revenue through renewals, which is also something that was not available before,” Perrelli said.
Proposal-based MDF funds are also a formal part of the program, allowing SecureWorks and the partner to coinvest in marketing opportunities together.
The education and training competencies are available through an online portal, which SecureWorks built itself and is also new. The competencies are in basic sales and technical fields, rather than being around specific Secureworks services.
“The portal allows partners to communicate with us and ask us questions, Perrelli said. “In addition to providing the training around SecureWorks, it also has training kits and marketing collateral available.”
Perrelli also emphasized the important of what she termed clear rules of engagement.
“When a partner brings in an opportunity, they are the partner of record for that opportunity, and that dictates how we work with that end user,” she said.
Secureworks has about 300 channel partners today, and is looking to use the new program to recruit more.
“We are looking to work with a wide variety of partners, including security specialist partners and resellers who have a security practice,” Perrelli. “A lot of the resellers now provide both traditional resell and MSPs.
“We look forward to making it easy for them to join,” she concluded. “We want both strong new partners and the ones we have been working with to see new opportunities.”
