Cloud Distribution puts on its Spikes
Distributor claims latest signing, Spikes Security, will yield high margins for limited number of resellers
Cloud Distribution is looking for a limited number of resellers with its latest signing, US security player Spikes Security, but claims these partners will benefit from high margins.
Founded in 2012, Spikes Security is a venture capital-backed network security vendor which claims it can stop 100 per cent of malware entering the network.
The Silicon Valley-based player is using the agreement with Cloud to launch in the UK and has no legacy partners or customers here. It is not planning on opening an office here until the second half of 2016 but wants Cloud to be an extension of its sales team, according to chief marketing officer Franklyn Jones.
"We wanted a distributor that could literally provide everything from pre-sales support to post-sales support, marketing, leasing; everything that we wanted and needed if we had our own office here," Jones said. "There are not many distributors willing, interested or capable of providing that range of services. But I happen to have known Adam [Davison] for several years now and it was an easy decision to work with Cloud."
Cloud is set to be Spikes' only UK distie for the time being, and Jones said he "wants this love affair to continue".
Adam Davison, Cloud's marketing director, said that Spikes' technology represents something "absolutely new" for partners, and a good opportunity for resellers to upsell and provide another layer of protection.
He said that the technology is complementary to Cloud's current vendors including Check Point, Vectra Networks and OpenDNS, and partners should look to get their customers to add Spikes as an extra offering.
"Also, we don't sell Websense [now Forcepoint] or Blue Coat but these people are selling secure web gateways, doing a number of functions on these platforms," Davison said. "Spikes gives them the secure part of the web gateway, so anyone who is selling Blue Coat or Websense should be taking Spikes to their customers as well."
Jones said he had made the decision to go for only a limited number of partners with its deal with Cloud because the technology is new to the market and there is a "learning curve" for partners.
"We want partners that like to embrace innovation and disruptive technology and like to take on the development of that tech and move it forward," he said.
Davison said he is looking for between eight and 10 partners with this new signing but these resellers will benefit from high margins with up to 35 per cent discounts.
"The reason we are limiting the number of partners is we want to reward the partners that put the effort in upfront so they can recoup their efforts to evangelise this net new tech."