Websense relaunch a 'huge opportunity' for partners
Stonesoft and Sidewinder acquisitions announced and newly created group renamed Forcepoint
Websense has ditched its name following its acquisition by Raytheon, with Forcepoint the new moniker for a group that now includes firewall companies Stonesoft and Sidewinder after two acquisitions were completed this week, representing a "huge opportunity" for partners.
Last April, Websense was acquired by US defence contractor Raytheon in a deal worth $1.9bn (£1.3bn). A new company was created following this, Raytheon|Websense, which combined Websense with Raytheon Cyber Products and its 400 staff. Now the security company has completed deals for next-generation firewall player Stonesoft and proxy-firewall firm Sidewinder, both from Intel Security, with the newly enlarged group renamed as Forcepoint.
Andy Philpott, Forcepoint's senior vice president of EMEA sales, told CRN the company needed to move away from the Websense brand because it has many more capabilities and technology now.
He said that through the technology it has taken on from Raytheon, and now with the two latest deals, Forcepoint is focused on "4D security". This encompasses defend, the content and data security from Websense; detect, using threat intelligence to identify breaches; decide, using analytics to prioritise attacks; and defeat, using the information gathered to help stop the threats.
"Forcepoint pulls all that together and enables us to have that central point, that critical piece where all those things come together," Philpott said. "That step away from the legacy Websense name and brand is very much needed because within those four pillars there are multiple technologies as a result of those acquisitions."
Some of Websense's UK partners threatened to move away from the vendor in 2014, complaining about the company's support and channel strategy since it was taken over by Vista Equity Partners in 2013.
Philpott admitted that the company has had problems with its channel, but claims it is now on the right track with its partners.
"We had some challenges 18 months ago and some of the channel were dissatisfied with some of the things we have been doing," he said. "But we were going through an enormous amount of change and we have made enormous strides. We have a different partner programme now and the partners we are working with now are committed and focused. They are excited that we have more to offer them now."
He added that there was no crossover between the four companies and that means partners from all sides are presented with a "huge opportunity" to bring complementary technology to customers.
Philpott said the channel strategy will "be the same" with Forcepoint, and the company doesn't want to recruit hundreds of news partners, but rather spend its time focusing and investing with existing players.
Websense has historically had a foothold in the mid-market space, and Philpott said Forcepoint will continue to serve this market but will also look to play in the enterprise and try to win deals with banks, finance houses and even governments.
New deals
Following the acquisitions of Stonesoft and Sidewinder, Philpott said no offices are to be closed down and all the people who worked for those firms are coming with the technology to join Forcepoint.
He added that the deals will augment Forcepoint's EMEA footprint and give it a stronger footing, especially in the UK, France and southern Europe. The company is also going on a recruitment drive, looking to add 60 new staff across EMEA in sales and sales engineering roles.
Philpott said the leadership will be "enhanced rather than changing" following the rebrand.
As well as the acquisitions, three new products were announced today: SureView Insider Threat protection which it claims gives customers an early warning system; Triton platform is now to be hosted on Microsoft Azure and Forcepoint's Stonesoft NGFW for network security.