Spanish suitor seduces Google and Symantec partners

Email security newbie Spamina lures UK channel with retained margins of 30 per cent

New email security entrant Spamina is positioning itself as a high-margin and easy-to-sell alternative to potential recruits from the channels of Google and Symantec.

The Barcelona-based vendor is aiming to recruit 10 UK VARs by March and 40 by the end of 2011 after opening an office in Reading and launching its Action partner programme.

Its cloud-based email security platform is aimed at mid-market firms with 160 to 3,500 staff.

Newly appointed UK country manager Daniel Power (pictured), said Spamina's ability to guarantee retained margins of 30 per cent on registered deals would make it attractive to Google and Symantec partners with itchy feet.

He also stressed that its online management tool would allow VARs to control the whole sales cycle. It enables partners to create and manage new customer accounts, run demos and automate renewals.

"I see our major competitors being Google and Symantec," Power said.

"Both are over-distributed and there is virtually no margin in their channels. People are finding it hard to retain more than 10 to 15 per cent if they are lucky.

"MessageLabs is a damn good product, but not every reseller likes doing business with Symantec and our objective is to pick up a number of their resellers."

Spamina's traditional stomping ground has been limited to the Spanish-speaking world, but the vendor is plotting a pan-European expansion drive after bagging a round of investment last year.

"It puts us in a position to open offices in the UK, France and Italy, and, later this year, Germany," said Power. "All our technical resource is on a European timeframe."