Sourcefire benefits from IPS chaos

Security vendor claims consolidation among competitors will drive partners into its arms

Sourcefire says it is profiting from uncertainty in the channels of rival intrusion prevention (IPS) vendors, after recruiting 26 more EMEA resellers over the past year.

The IPS landscape has been drastically reshaped this year, with Intel’s acquisition of McAfee and HP’s purchase of 3Com, which owns Tipping Point.

This follows on from IBM’s 2006 acquisition of ISS. Anthony Perridge (pictured), EMEA channel director at Sourcefire, claimed the shake-up was driving partners into his arms.

“The technologies we compete with in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant have all recently been acquired or are part of a suite,” he said.

“Comp­etitors do not have the same level of focus as Sourcefire and it causes concern among resellers when big organisations acquire technology and open out the channel.

“We are very good at technology refresh.”

Perridge said Sourcefire’s Security Alliance Channel programme, launched 12 months ago, offers partners the highest retained margins in the industry, with deal registration discounts of close to 20 per cent.

The programme also places an emphasis on enabling partners to deliver high- margin services such as training, implementation and configuration, on Sourcefire’s behalf.

Graham Welch, EMEA managing director at Source­fire said: “We know the programme is working, but next year we will have an increased focus on enabling the channel and transferring our expert technical knowledge into them.”

Welch said Source­fire’s plans to launch a next-generation firewall in the second half of 2011 could throw it into contact with a different breed of reseller.

“We are not expecting to replace Check Point at the perimeter, but I think there will be a significant opportunity to sell next-generation firewalls into the enterprise to control access from department to department and applications,” he said.

Avnet Technology Solutions was recently appointed as Sourcefire's sole UK distributor.

Bruce Hockin, head of business strategy, networking and security at Avnet TS, said: "Following on from the introduction of the [Security Alliance] programme Avnet has witnessed a decrease in deal conflict and partners are reporting increased margin retention."