Cyberoam and e92plus sever six-year partnership

Sophos-owned UTM vendor moves forward with VCW and Siracom after relationship failed to meet sales expectations

Unified threat management (UTM) vendor Cyberoam has severed ties with its longest-standing distribution ally, e92plus.

The duo wound up their relationship last month following a 90-day notice period, leaving Cyberoam with two UK distributors in the form of VCW Security – which does the majority of its business – and newly appointed education specialist Siracom.

Ricky Knights, UK and Ireland channel director at Cyberoam, said e92plus' performance was not living up to the vendor's ambitious growth targets.

"Our growth last year [to 31 March] was 60 per cent and we have plans to reach that again this year, if not exceed it, so it was a strategic decision to part with them."

India-based Cyberoam was acquired by Sophos in February but will operate as a separate business unit for the foreseeable future. This puts it in the slightly odd position of competing head to head with Sophos' Astaro UTM offering.

"We do come across them in opportunities, particularly in the education space, where they are strong," Knights said. "But each company has its differentiators and there is plenty space for both companies to play."

Despite Sophos' penchant for dumping the distributors it inherits through acquisitions, Knights said Cyberoam – as an independent entity – is "very much dedicated to value-added distribution".

"I don't see any reason in the near future why that should change," he said.

Mukesh Gupta, managing director of e92plus – which was appointed as Cyberoam's first distributor in 2008 – labelled the split as "amicable".

"Cyberoam was a small part of our revenue and we decided to take those resources and put them into other areas," he said.

Simon Jackson, commercial director at VCW Security, said the Sophos acquisition had allowed Cyberoam to overcome its brand awareness issues.

"A lot of partners knew about Cyberoam but didn't want to put it in front of their customers," he said. "They're now more comfortable if they can use the Sophos brand."