CyberGuard To Direct-Sales Force: No Commission If You Sell Direct

The requirement is the underpinning of CyberGuard's new One Partner Program, an initiative designed to help the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based network security vendor achieve 100 percent of its sales via the channel, said Bryan Bain, vice president for worldwide marketing.

"We are not taking the passive approach and throwing a program out there with the hope that people will take advantage of it. We are turning our salespeople into channel managers," Bain said. "And if they don't sell through a reseller, they don't get paid."

CyberGuard is revving up for the midsummer launch of a new multilayer security appliance that integrates VPN, antivirus, intrusion-prevention and firewall functions. And as the company's 100 or so direct-sales staff prepare to take the new appliance to market, they also will be tasked with signing up select resellers to the One Partner Program, based on the global geographic regions they serve, Bain said.

Membership rewards in the One Partner Program will be based on a reseller's CyberGuard product certifications, which cover a range of high-performance VPN and firewall appliances, as well as Web/e-mail content security solutions that CyberGuard attained through its recent acquisition of Webwasher.

"Reseller margins will escalate according to the level of certification of CyberGuard products," Bain said, adding that VARs not certified on CyberGuard products still can participate in the One Partner Program. "They have to go through certification training within 30 days of signing the partner contract," he said.

One Partner members will be privy to CyberGuard product promotions and advertising campaigns, and the vendor will assist them in developing and expanding their sales, according to Bain. The program also includes lead generation and deal registration through CyberGuard's Web-based portal, he added.