Synnex To Distribute Promisec Endpoint Security Products

Promisec has signed a distribution agreement with Synnex as part of a broader effort to grow its channel business.

The Needham, Mass.-based endpoint security vendor has doubled its channel sales revenue over the past year, and expects the deal with Synnex to drive 50 percent growth in its partner base over the next 12 months.

"For a smaller software company like we are, reach is everything," John Sullivan, Promisec's vice president of worldwide sales, told CRN. "This makes us look a lot larger."

[Related: Synnex Signs Distribution Deal For Time Warner Business]

Synnex reached out to Promisec several months ago in an effort to cover a gap in its information security portfolio. Sullivan said this is Promisec's first relationship with a distributor.

Even though Promisec has yet to speak with Synnex's entire sales force, Sullivan said the vendor has already brought one Synnex partner on board.

By tapping into Synnex's partner base, Promisec expects to go from having 20 partners today to nearly 30 by the end of 2015. Promisec prefers to partner with solution providers that have expertise and a significant investment in information security.

Roughly three-quarters of Promisec's sales go through the channel, which Sullivan said is up dramatically from a year ago.

Synnex partners will be able to resell Promisec Endpoint Manager, a comprehensive dashboard to manage all endpoint security operations, as well as Promisec Integrity, a new cloud-based, Software-as-a-Service offering for complete endpoint threat detection.

The products are intended to help IT organizations find and fix security vulnerabilities that leave them susceptible to attacks. Interest in both products has grown tremendously over the past year as customers become more concerned about endpoint breaches, Sullivan said.

The offerings have gained the most traction in the retail, health care and financial services verticals, though Sullivan said Promisec has seen interest from end users across the gamut that possess customer, employee or internal protocol information.

Promisec has a good track record in getting repeat business from customers, who will usually start by securing 10,000 to 15,000 endpoints and eventually expand to as many as 130,000 endpoints. The company's 400 customers range in size from global Fortune 500 enterprises to small businesses.

Sullivan said channel partners reselling Promisec products should obtain healthy margins, though he declined to give the exact amount. Promisec also will help solution providers recoup money lost in situations where the partner needs to offer a discount to secure the deal.

Solution providers can easily bundle other security items, such as antivirus software, malware detection and security information management (SIM) offerings with Promisec's products, Sullivan said.

Promisec offers sales, marketing and engineering assistance to all of its partners, he said.

The vendor is willing to go in on joint marketing programs or offer marketing collateral, providing VARs with all the content they need for the sales process, and has its sales and engineering teams work alongside those of their channel partners to close deals.

"We're really serious about the channel, and we view them as a key to our success going forward," Sullivan said.

Technology integrator ReliaQuest partnered with Promisec 18 months ago to fill a gap in its endpoint security offerings, according to Brian Murphy, CEO of the Tampa, Fla.-based company.

ReliaQuest operates its own management center and security operations center, and has been able to fold Promisec's offerings into its co-management platform.

Murphy said the release of Promisec Integrity has made co-management much easier and more responsive by facilitating remote as-a-service delivery models.

ReliaQuest customers have responded favorably to the products, Murphy said, particularly in the retail, health care and information science and technology (IST) verticals.

PUBLISHED JAN. 12, 2015