Anti-spam as a service
Why shift boxes when you can sell licences, asks Mark Herbert.
Recently CRN has quite rightly been encouraging resellers and distributors to look at the opportunities that spam can offer.
Selling the concept of anti-spam to customers shouldn't be too hard. The media has told them that spam is a big issue and companies have realised it is one they need to tackle immediately.
It is a simple statement of fact to put to customers that if they don't 'can the spam' now, their business email could become counterproductive and spiral out of control.
Spam hits productivity, increases IT vulnerabilities, irritates everyone and could make customers liable to prosecution if they don't protect employees from offensive material.
So, that's the sales pitch sorted. But how can you, as a reseller, make money from spam? It really is very simple.
I'm not suggesting that you create your own spamming mass-mail operation from a shed in the back streets of eastern Europe to create funds, because that probably doesn't fit in with your business plans. Besides, there are more profitable ways to benefit from spam.
I believe that the best money to be made, and indeed the best solution for the end-user, is to resell an anti-spam managed service.
And there are lots to choose from. A managed service can operate on remote servers, cutting out junk mail before it even reaches the user's network.
By doing so, spam emails are quarantined at the internet level, users can check what has been stopped, without the need for spam to be forwarded onto their own network thereby slowing down their internet connection and network processing speeds.
The anti-spam managed service option is a great reselling opportunity. Unlike software versions requiring installation on customers' systems, there is no need for your technical support team to get involved.
It is a simple ordering process where you engage the customer with the service, then the managed service provider runs the system. Your profit comes directly from the mark-up on the customer's anti-spam user licence.
There's no need to store stock, no problems with customer credit, and the burden of technical support rests with the managed service provider.
Because the service runs remotely, and there is nothing installed on site, it doesn't affect or rely on the customer's network.
Similar antivirus services can be up-sold in this way later. Indeed, many antivirus resellers have already realised the possible profit margins available by providing anti-spam.
Managed services to counter spam do not rely on your availability or your resources; it simply isn't your problem. So why shift boxes when you can sell licences?
Mark Herbert is managing director of intY.