Malwarebytes takes flight in UK channel with Kite

Recently appointed ex-Trend Micro exec to boost efforts to break into the UK market

US-based malware-detection vendor Malwarebytes has signed up Kite as the second distributor in its push into the UK channel.

Kite Distribution opened up shop last year and is led by some senior faces formerly of Sphinx and Arrow. It will join Blue Solutions as part of Malwarebytes' two-tier distribution strategy in the UK.

The vendor opened a European headquarters in Cork at the beginning of January, appointing ex-senior vice president of Trend Micro Anthony O'Mara to lead a new team focused on growing into the channel.

Kite director Dave Marshall explained that his firm will be firmly placing its bets on its new partner.

"We took the view that we wanted to sign just one vendor in any particular market space [so that] when we go to market, we can both tie our flag to the same mast, if you like, and we can go into an opportunity and either win that opportunity together or lose it together."

O'Mara claimed bigger rivals are recommending his firm's services when they cannot deliver what customers require.

"We sit beside every major security vendor, so it shows that you don't have to rip and replace. I would say that our ability to detect and block at the moment is pretty much unrivalled," he said. "We are aware through the grapevine that the support team of two of the larger security vendors will recommend Malwarebytes when they are unable to clean and block themselves, which is flattering."

The Malwarebytes exec pointed out that the vendor blocked millions of pieces of malware last year, even though most of its customers also use another major security vendor.

"We blocked millions of pieces of malware last year," he said. "But I would like to highlight that most of our customers are also using one of the major vendors, meaning those vendors have failed to block millions of pieces of malware, because if they had, there wouldn't be a market there for us," he explained.