EDITOR ’ S

Channel partners are spoilt for choice when it comes to the tooling ’ s they can recommend into their customers .

C-suite executives desire a technology provider to understand their organisations risk profile , compliance and regulatory requirements and go onto design and pilot governance functions for the business . Even to a surface level , this would catapult the channel partner from simple technology reseller into trusted advisor status .

This is where the real opportunity exists and provides a launchpad for a long term sustained partnership . The benefit is a positive reputation for the channel partner to be perceived as a cyber security provider that can listen and adapt a plan to best suit the organisational structure and agenda .

Cyber security is a fluid discipline , with an ever-changing threat landscape , new and reimagined threat actors victimising anything that presents as an opportunity and a strain on defenders to keep up with the fast pace of change . It is no surprise then simply falling back to supplying the tooling to deal with the threat can be the path of least resistance for a channel partner , but where is the longevity in that approach ?

Sophos has outlined the desire of the C-suite looking for an outcome-based partnership , however , technical partnership and maximising operational effectiveness of the cyber defenders is crucial in delivering these outcomes .

Channel partners are spoilt for choice when it comes to the tooling ’ s they can choose to recommend and implement into their customers . However , looping back to the people in the organisation who will be driving these tools , will it suit their own capabilities as cyber defenders ? How can the tool in question best augment and scale , in a positive way , the people we have put in charge of being responsible for managing the cyber tools ?

The opportunity for channel partners to engage with their technology vendors to demand that services are provided by the vendor as an overlay for the channel partner .

Managed security services greatly enhance the operational and tactical coverage any one partner has today and scale it up . And with the complexity of threats and the expertise that lies within the vendor a channel partner can focus on proactively advising and mitigate threats for their customers and driving additional partnerships without needing speciality knowledge directly . •

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