Websense distributors eye SMEs

Pat Dunne: Distributors will play a broadline role and receive broadline margins.

Security vendor Websense has briefed its four UK distributors to focus solely on unmanaged partners to help build its brand in the SME space.

Computerlinks, DNS Arrow, e92plus and Bell Micro will net extra rebates for generating new business among lower level Silver partners, which Websense admitted have not traditionally been a focus area.

The quartet’s involvement with Platinum and Gold partners will, however, be restricted to a logistics and finance capacity.

Pat Dunne, senior director of the UK and Ireland at Websense, said the shake-up would negate the need to appoint a broadline distributor in the UK, following the vendor’s appointment of Ingram Micro in the US.

“What we are doing here gives us the best of both worlds. Distributors will play a broadline role and receive broadline margins on Platinum and Gold partners, and where they can add value we will compensate them accordingly,” he said.

Dunne said the distributors would focus on enabling smaller partners and driving their sales through joint marketing activities to SMEs.

“Smaller companies are concerned with productivity, legal liability and the ability to safely connect to the internet. Our job is to provide the right messaging through resellers to this customer base and I do not believe other vendors have an approach that focuses on this market,” he said.

Anthony O’Mara, EMEA vice president of sales at rival Trend Micro, said: “We spent a couple of years planning and executing our entry into the SME market. For us, it was not just about refocusing our distributors or dropping our enterprise products into the SME channel.”

Mukesh Gupta, managing director of e92plus, said: “Websense has had a lot of traction in large enterprises so it is good to see it change its discount structure.”