Blancco, which has been transitioning to a channel-first model, has added the AWS Marketplace to their distribution relationship with Carahsoft. It will apply in both the U.S. and Canada.
Data erasure provider Blancco Technology Group has augmented its existing relationship with government market-focused distributor Carahsoft. In addition to their traditional distribution relationship in North America, the companies have now partnered to offer Blancco solutions in the AWS marketplace through Carahsoft.
Blancco provides organizations with a hardware and software platform for data erasure, including a digitally signed, tamper-proof certificate with a full audit trail that verifies that sensitive data has been permanently erased, and cannot be recovered. Their core market is regulated industries, which includes government, and accordingly they have been partnered with Carahsoft in both the U.S. and Canada since 2017.
“Carahsoft is a long-standing partner of ours through traditional distribution,” said Christina Walker, Global Director of Channel, at Blancco. “They have been especially important in the Canadian marketplace as a key part of our route to market there. The government market is the largest growing segment of our business in North America right now. That growth is based on regulatory requirements, where customers have to be conscious both of assets and chain of custody. They need to delete data with some sort of audit trail and that’s where we come in.”
Blancco, which is Finnish in origin, has been in its space since 1997, and for much of that period, sold direct. Their channel and channel program date from 2015. Today, however, the company is in the process of transitioning to a channel-first company.
“Holistically, the channel continues to increase, and the focus has been on moving more of our enterprise business into the channel,” Walker said. “Much business that has been direct is being transitioned to partners.”
Extending their presence to the AWS Marketplace through Carahsoft will create new opportunities for partners. Blancco will be available through private offers on the marketplace, through a simplified procurement process streamlines billing to include “pay-as-you-go” and subscription options, allowing government agencies to build holistic data management solutions.
“This Marketplace will open up more doors,” Walker said. “Government purchasing on marketplaces can sometimes be an issue. Every agency has its own rules and regulations about revenue limits and sourcing. But ultimately, it is all about data centre optimization, and being able to purchase through the marketplace is a growth behavior. We expect to see significant growth through this channel.”
In addition, while Carahsoft is primarily a distributor to the government market, they will be able to sell to other players through the Marketplace.
“Carahsoft sells mainly to government, not purely government,” Walker indicated. “They do have private sector purchasing off the marketplace as well.” Large education and healthcare organizations are among their customers.
The geographic definition of this agreement is defined in this case, not by AWS, but by Blancco’s distribution relationship with Carahsoft.
“This is a North American relationship, because they are a North American distribution partner,” Walker said.
