Nokia is throwing more weight behind its specialist security partners after concluding that most of them have no interest in its wider enterprise portfolio.

The vendor launched its For Business channel programme in 2007 to encourage its security, mobility and voice resellers to take on technology outside of their specialist areas (CRN, 29 January, 2007). Resellers working across multiple ‘tracks’ were offered extra margins.

Although the programme remains unchanged, Nokia has conceded that most of its 50 UK security resellers are not yet ready to spread their wings.

Stuart Hopper, head of western Europe business mobility at Nokia, said the vendor had strengthened both its direct and channel security sales capabilities to reflect this discovery.

“Although some partners now have capabilities across different tracks, there are still a number of security-only resellers. We have tried to reflect this in our sales teams as we need to keep partners that have stayed in single tracks motivated.”

Bernie Dodwell, European security manager at Nokia distributor Westcon Group, said: “If the programme’s objective was to get security resellers moving into voice and mobility, then it has failed. Larger security integrators such as MIS are seeing the opportunity and moving into voice and mobility, but for most low-end boutique security resellers, it is not their market.”

Nokia is the fourth-largest security appliance vendor in western Europe, according to recent IDC data, securing four per cent market share in the first quarter of 2008.

Harper denied Check Point’s recent move into hardware represents a competitive threat and would jeopardise the duo’s long-standing alliance.

“Check Point having hardware capabilities is more of a threat to our joint competition with Cisco and Juniper, than to Nokia.

“Check Point has the resources to target customers we cannot cover in the UK, such as in the low-end SME space and it remains a key partner of ours,” he said.