Websense is hunting for its first SME-dedicated distributors as it gears up for an all-out attack on the sub-500 market.

The security vendor this week sent out letters to a handful of distributors in the UK, France, Germany and Benelux, inviting them to apply for the new status, CRN has learnt.

Frank Coggrave, regional director UK and Ireland at Websense, stressed that there are no plans to axe current partners. In the UK, the vendor currently works with just two distributors, e92plus and Computerlinks, after axing InTechnology in October (CRN, 9 October).

He told CRN: “We are inviting distributors to join us in our strategic push into the SMB market. The best way to start would be with one SMB-focused partner in each territory.

“The majority of our customers come from the SMB sector and that’s without any focus on it. We believe our product scales well to the SMB space so we need partners that can work with us to get into that space.”

CRN understands that Westcon and Wick Hill are among the UK distributors in the frame. Other possible contenders would include DNS, Magirus, Sphinx and OpenPSL, while e92plus and Computerlinks have also been sent the initial letter.

One onlooker commented: “Wick Hill could be in prime position as that’s its market and it has done a good job for Check Point in SMB.” Wick Hill weren’t available for comment.

Another well-placed source said: “Websense needs to develop SME products if it’s going to attack that market, which it has not traditionally had.”

The distributors in question have until next week to express whether they are interested. Websense will announce the final European line-up on 29 May.

Further Reading:

Websense drops InTechnology

Westcon poised for security onslaught