Smoothwall looks to channel growth

Yorkshire-headquartered security firm plans increase in indirect business

Security vendor Smoothwall is upping its focus on the channel as it looks to tempt rivals' customers over to using its product line.

The Leeds-based firm's new focus on the channel will see its percentage of indirect revenue increasing to around 40 per cent this year, up from 28 per cent in 2014.

The security vendor claims to have a plan in its bid to win more custom from the channel, according to head of partnerships Michael Miller.

"One of the aces we have up our sleeve is when dealing with a partner who has a large education share, they are not going to win over any business when putting in a competing product, because we already [are very strong] within that market space," he said. "One of the things I have been tasked with... is displacing our biggest global competitor in one of the largest resellers in the UK so they sell us instead of them."

Miller acknowldges that it can be daunting for a smaller company to face off against companies that are much larger, and may even have been in the market for longer. But Miller remains confident, claiming that the firm's sharp focus on its target sectors is a key differentiator.

"The larger you get, the more of a commodity product you produce, what we offer is more than just the best product in the sector, it's a kind of ongoing relationship where we can develop around a market that is maybe insignificant to the Symantecs of this world," he explained. "We consider ourselves a specialist, and in turn our customers consider us one of the best."