Resellers threaten rebellion over Websense support woes

Several top partners worried that support, technology and channel strategy have gone downhill under new VC owner

Some of Websense's top UK partners are threatening to turn their back on the security vendor over concerns that its support, technology and channel strategy have gone downhill under new owner Vista Equity Partners.

The bosses of two high-level partners CRN spoke to said Websense had rapidly fallen down their vendor pecking order since its $907m (£595m) takeover was completed in June 2013, with one of the two even saying he is moving his firm off running Websense internally.

Much of the bad feeling centres on Websense's decision to move its US support hub from San Diego to Texas last February, the fallout of which the two partners feel is still affecting customers almost a year on.

Both also pointed to UK staffing problems and inconsistency over channel policy in areas such as deal registration.

One of the two, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Websense – which is regarded by Gartner as a leader in secure web gateways and data loss prevention – had dropped from being one of his top-two vendors to number eight.

"We are moving away from Websense internally because the quality of the spam filter has decreased noticeably over the last two or three months," the partner told us this week.

Although 90 per cent of support for UK customers is understood to be carried out in Reading, "severity-one" cases, which require instant attention, are backed off to the US if it is outside UK working hours. Websense struggled to staff up its Texas support centre last year and its other hubs, including Reading, were put under extra strain as it looked to cover for the shortage, onlookers say.

Although the support issues may have reached a zenith last year, both partners said customers are still feeling the impact.

"Support wasn't brilliant before but now it is shocking," said the second partner, who talked to CRN last month, also anonymously.

"Almost every customer across the board has complained about support. There are also problems and arguments on every deal we do and it's like they are making up the rules for their deal registration programme as they go along, with incumbency being moved over on some deals and not others. They have lost all their channel team. A lot of partners are moving away and shifting back to vendors like Blue Coat."

The second partner also expressed concerns about Websense's technology under Vista.

"Since it was bought out we haven't heard much about product development," he said. "While it's the best out there, will that be the case in 12 months?"

CRN has put these concerns to Websense repeatedly over recent weeks but each time the vendor has said it is unavailable to comment.

However, not all Websense partners we spoke to said they have experienced the same issues.

"Any vendor that has been acquired will experience challenges," said Lior Arbel, chief technology officer of Websense partner Performanta.

"I am confident that any short-term issues with Websense are being resolved. If other partners don't feel that way, that's better for me. Partners need to look at what they are doing to support the vendor – things are different if you show value to them."

The boss of a fourth partner, speaking anonymously, said he felt the support problems encountered last year were beginning to improve, adding that he'd heard Websense was adding up to 10 UK staff to support local partners, having recently installed a new UK boss.

"The move to Texas caused quite a bit of upset," he said. "We are seeing it turn a corner slightly and it is not as bad as it was. We're not super happy but we are not looking to move our customer base away."

He added: "Websense is a complex product to look after and, because it is heavily reliant on the infrastructure the customer has in place, half the time it's an implementation or configuration issue. The product has many quirks – they don't publish patches in the most logical format – but it's about knowing your way around those quirks, which we do."

Another anonymous partner said he was confident any support issues customers have encountered should subside as hundreds of newly recruited engineers – all of whom must now complete a rigorous three-month training programme – come online.