IronKey Channel Partner Program Targets Banking Service Providers

IronKey is relying on the channel to bring more security to the banking industry with a new partner initiative.

Dubbed the Trusted Access Elite Channel Partner Program, the idea is to recruit partners with the right sales and technical capabilities to promote IronKey’s Trusted Access for Banking solution as an answer to the malware threat facing online commercial banking.

’Some of our existing Elite partners who currently sell secure portable storage may find Trusted Access as another means to cross-sell into existing customers thus finding new revenue opportunities with much higher margins,’ said May Mitchell, vice president of global channel sales for IronKey. ’We are also looking to recruit a new type of partner, Banking Service Providers.’

According to IronKey, Trusted Access for Banking is meant as a compliment to two-factor authentication products used by banks for security. Through Trusted Access, users can connect their IronKey USB security device to launch a protected, virtualized environment designed to protect users from malware and man-in-the-middle attacks by establishing a secure, encrypted connection for online banking.

There is little question that attackers are targeting financial transactions. A recently released survey of 533 SMB executives by researchers at the Ponemon Institute found 56 percent of businesses reported experiencing payment fraud or attempted fraud in the last 12 months. Seventy-five percent of businesses experienced account takeover and fraud in the online channel.

The new channel program also targets systems integrators, VARs and current qualified IronKey Elite Partners, enabling them to refer, resell, train and customize Trusted Access solutions.

’IronKey's route to market continues to be 100 percent channel across all geographies,’ Mitchell said. ’Trusted Access for Banking is a new solution introduced in the marketplace in July 2010. After 9 months of gaining traction with banking customers, IronKey is now ready to scale the business by leveraging selected partners who have the expertise in servicing the financial industry. The value to these partners is that Trusted Access is a complementary fit to their existing security practice, offers high margins and recurring revenue streams.’