Websense to pull support from passive partners

Security vendor expected to stop supporting incumbent resellers that do not add sufficient value

Websense is reviewing whether to continue awarding incumbency discounts to partners that are making no effort to upsell or cross-sell existing customers.

Currently, the incumbent partner gets an added discount on renewals to help protect their investment in the deal.

However, partners have been told the vendor is reviewing whether to remove it from those who aren't being sufficiently proactive and are just farming their install base. This would enable resellers well versed on Websense's new Triton architecture and other upsell/cross-sell opportunities to compete for these accounts when they come up for renewal.

Rob Jacobs, Websense product manager at distributor Computerlinks, confirmed the vendor is in a consultation process with a view to adjusting the rules.

"The incumbency discount is great for protecting business but it doesn't always encourage partners to find new business and work their existing customers," he said.

"Partners need to prove they are adding value. But in the majority of cases partners are working hard and adding value."

Incumbency discounts vary depending on partner level but Mukesh Gupta, managing director of rival Websense distributor e92plus (pictured), said the margin gap between incumbents and non-incumbent partners is "significant".

"They are looking at partners that sell the product once or twice a year and are not active in the Websense channel," Gupta said.

A Websense representative claimed they were not aware of plans to remove incumbency discounts from Platinum, Gold or Silver partners.

"We are however going through a compliance process as far as the partner badge colour is concerned. In the event that we change someone's badge colour then their discount structure will also change," they added.