SurfControl upgrades VARs to Platinum

Vendor continues move towards fully indirect sales model

Security software vendor SurfControl is continuing its move towards a completely indirect sales model.

The firm will upgrade 70 channel partners worldwide to Platinum status, including three UK resellers: Foursys, GSS and the recently regenerated Peapod UK.

SurfControl now passes all leads to resellers in the health, education and Novell Boarder Manager product environments.

According to Julian Martin, director of channel development at SurfControl, other sectors are also open to resellers. "If we are talking directly to customers in any market and a reseller comes in we will withdraw," he said.

The vendor, which currently sells over half of its filtering software through resellers, has upgraded the level of support the UK trio will receive as Platinum partners, as well as the amount of commitment it expects in return.

"Platinum certification means the relationship does not change but the commitment on both sides grows," said Martino Corbelli, director of marketing at SurfControl UK. "The bigger VARs fit this and, by guaranteeing they will achieve certain revenues, we will offer more support such as training."

He added this is part of the company's increasing commitment to the channel.

Paul Prior, managing director of reseller Foursys, said firms are at risk if they fail to have the right filtering products. "Email and the web are the most important communication tools, yet they are also the most vulnerable to security threats," he said.

Despite a growing UK business, SurfControl continues to miss out the distribution layer and sells direct to VARs because it claims to be able to "bring more to the party" that way.