Coro CEO and EMEA general manager talk channel plans

With a brand new head of EMEA and a CEO set on 100 per cent channel, Coro is ready to reintroduce itself to partners

Coro has spent more than a decade quietly building a cybersecurity platform aimed squarely at small and mid-sized businesses.

But “quiet” is no longer the word that comes to mind.

With an ambitious EMEA expansion now underway, CEO Joe Sykora and recently appointed VP and EMEA general Burton deliberately making noise about the operation.

The pair spoke to CRN about their channel plans and what’s already underway in the wake of XChange MSP in London.

“It’s a very difficult company to ignore,” says Burton.

“You can hear the noise, and it’s just getting louder and louder.

“I’d heard about Coro for a while, and when the opportunity came up, I couldn’t resist it.”

Burton joined Coro after senior roles at DigiCert and Proofpoint, drawn by what he describes as a rare opportunity to help shape a fast-growing brand from the ground up.

“It’s such an amazing opportunity within that SMB market and the level of penetration Coro already has,” he explains.

“Working with Joe again and building something from scratch in EMEA was too good to pass up.”

For Sykora, a veteran of Fortinet, Bitdefender and Proofpoint, the expansion is about scale but done the right way: through the channel.

“All of my go-to-market models have always been 100 per cent channel-first,” he says. “We’ll never sway from that.

“Everything we do is about empowering partners.”

That philosophy is built into the product itself.

“We cover everything from email to endpoint, network, cloud, and application security, all the way through to compliance, DLP, and phishing simulation,” Sykora explains.

“It’s all powered by one dataset and managed through a single pane of glass.”

Sykora believes that this simplicity is what makes Coro so compelling for partners serving smaller organisations.

“SMBs struggle massively with enterprise products being pushed at them, complex, expensive stacks they simply can’t manage,” he says.

“Coro gives them something purpose-built that finally makes sense for their scale.”

The company recently introduced a two-tier partner programme and a dedicated MSP track to make engagement “low-friction and mutually beneficial”.

“We introduced a simplified partner program about two months ago, one of the first things I worked on,” Sykora says.

“It’s a two-tier structure plus an MSP programme low friction, easy to engage, and focused on mutual investment.”

He adds that Coro is “not going to compete with our channel partners on services”, a stance likely to resonate in the MSP community.

“A lot of them make a living from managed detection and response,” he notes.

“I’d rather let partners make that money and have predictable revenues.”

Predictability, in fact, has become something of a mantra for Sykora.

“We want to bring predictability back for partners: predictable margins, predictable protection, and no mystery in how they make money,” he says.

“Whether they’re resellers, MSPs, or OEMs, they should know exactly what to expect.”

Coro’s channel footprint is expanding rapidly.

“We’re about to announce Pax8, and that’s a big milestone for us,” Sykora reveals.

“I’ve worked with them in previous roles, and they’re a fantastic fit for Coro’s global expansion.”

As Burton settles into the EMEA role, he’s clear about his first steps.

“My first priority is building the right team and resource model across the key markets,” he says.

“Then it’s about segmenting our partner base and deciding who we really place our bets with.”

That means being selective.

“We don’t have huge global partners like CDW or SHI in EMEA, so our focus will be regional,” Burton explains.

“I’d rather work closely with a small number of partners who already have deep cybersecurity expertise.”

Both leaders are adamant that Coro’s approach fills a crucial market gap.

“Everyone knows Microsoft’s built-in security isn’t enough, and the customers who use Coro aren’t buying E5 licenses,” says Sykora.

“We fit that gap of delivering strong protection at a fraction of the enterprise cost.”

The pair are also drawing on their shared history and camaraderie to build momentum.

“The energy inside Coro is unbelievable,” says Burton.

“Two days ago I was just finding the coffee machine, and now we’re already at Exchange, heading to Barcelona and Dubai. It’s nonstop.”

Sykora shares the excitement.

“When I attended XChange MSP, it was fascinating to see the differences between markets,” he says.

“The conversations in the UK and Europe are similar to the US in some ways but have their own nuances, which makes it exciting to expand here.”