Trellix Revamps Partner Program, Promotes Channel Exec In ‘Transformative’ Moves
The cybersecurity vendor is announcing new specializations and incentives along with the promotion of Kurt Mills to senior vice president and global channel chief.
Trellix on Tuesday unveiled new partner specializations and incentives as part of a major channel program overhaul while also announcing the promotion of channel executive Kurt Mills to senior vice president and global channel chief.
For the revamp to the cybersecurity vendor’s Xtend Partner Program, essentially “everything has been changed,” Mills (pictured) told CRN.
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The new program is aimed at doubling down on partner enablement through an array of new investments, amid a massive “opportunity for us to increase some of our channel routes to market,” he said. “We're working hard to add and expand our relationships.”
Meanwhile, Mills, who joined Trellix as vice president of global channels in June 2024, has been promoted to senior vice president and global channel chief. He previously held channel executive roles at major cybersecurity industry vendors including Check Point, Mimecast, FireMon and Blue Coat Systems.
Program Updates
Trellix announced it is moving from a flat partner program model to a three-tier system with platinum, gold and silver levels that bring corresponding incentives and benefits.
Another major update for Xtend is the debut of Trellix’s first partner specializations, which will be offered in five categories — data security, email collaboration, endpoint, NDR (network detection and response) and XDR (extended detection and response).
Now, for instance, “if a partner has a go-to-market strategy that is very much about XDR, they can focus on those learning modules,” Mills said. “We’ve really tried to customize it to how they go to market.”
Trellix has also consolidated some of its training and enablement systems with the debut of a new portal and new learning management system.
Trellix CEO Bryan Palma said that the company’s aim for the new channel program is “deep enablement” with partners.
“The investment overall in training and enablement has gone up significantly — multiple millions of dollars going into that,” Palma told CRN.
“Now it's very much catering toward what the partners are interested in, and it’s then able to go deeper into those areas that we think are differentiators,” he said.
That particularly includes growth areas such as XDR and NDR, as well as the company’s AI engine, Trellix Wise, according to Palma.
Additionally, when it comes to profitability in the new program, “the incentives and the rebates and the [compensation] structures are all going to be richer for partners in 2025 than they were previously,” he said.
Partner Perspective
For GuidePoint Security, the updates being rolled out as part of the new channel program are highly welcome, according to GuidePoint’s Mark Thornberry.
“I’m happy to see a company that has as strong a solution set as they do to be transformative — not just in their channel program, but their overall go-to-market approach with strategic partners,” said Thornberry, senior vice president for vendor management at GuidePoint, No. 39 on CRN’s Solution Provider 500 for 2024. “I think that it's been needed for quite some time.”
The hire, and now promotion, of a seasoned channel executive such as Mills is also a positive sign, he said.
“That lends a ton of legitimacy to what they're building and how they're scaling — and signals to their strategic partners that they're very serious about the channel,” Thornberry said.
In terms of key areas of opportunity for partners in working with Trellix, XDR is “at or near the top of that list,” he said. “That definitely makes them appealing as a solution for our customers.”
At SHI, No. 13 on CRN’s Solution Provider 500, XDR is also seen as a “standout” category for Trellix, according to Joseph Lentine, director for strategic software partners and security at SHI.
With Trellix’s “longstanding presence in the endpoint space, that’s a natural one for them,” Lentine said.
As far as the new program updates go, the launch of revamped training as well as the introduction of specializations are strong moves, he said.
The debut of specializations, in particular, “helps us paint a clearer picture” for customers, Lentine said.
All in all, “more opportunities for investment from Trellix is definitely a good thing,” he said.
Re-Engagement With Partners
In connection with the updated program, Trellix expects to not only seek new partners but also to reconnect with a number of partners that “we’ve had relationships with, but we didn't have momentum with,” Mills said. The goal is that such partners will be open to “re-engage as a result.”
Palma said that while Trellix has long been a “channel-first” company — with more than 90 percent of its revenue generated through partners — the new program should signal that Trellix is doing everything it can to help the channel seize major opportunities whether it’s in AI or key areas such as XDR and NDR.
“Those are the things that we think are critical to talk to the channel about that are differentiated,” he said.