Pentesec hails rapid rise through Check Point partner ranks

Newbie VAR claims its speedy advance to 4-Star partner status is unprecedented

Pentesec claims it has made an "unprecedented" rise through Check Point's ranks since it was founded in 2014 after bagging 4-Star status with the vendor.

The Peterborough-based outfit has been appointed as one of only 10 4-Star Check Point partners in the UK after trebling its Check Point revenues in 2015 and gaining the necessary certifications.

"What we have done in a relatively short period of time, given our age, is unprecedented," said Pentesec managing director Ian Turnbull, one of five staff who founded Pentesec two years ago.

"We took the decision to form Pentesec and disrupt the existing channel because we felt we could do a better job and be more agile seeing as we come from a technical background."

4-Star is the second tier in Check Point's new Stars partner programme and sits below the invite-only 4-Star Elite tier.

To gain the badge, resellers must have a five-star Check Point certified security expert rating, Turnbull said, adding that Pentesec is one of only two endpoint-certified support partners in the UK.

Only nine other UK partners hold 4-Star status, including market giants such as Computacenter, Softcat, NTT Com Security and HP, according to the Check Point partner locator.

"There are some fairly large household names on there. For us to be considered in the same sentence is very pleasing," Turnbull said.

"Check Point are hugely important to us," he added. "They are the cornerstone of the technologies we offer. The other products we partner with support the Check Point products, so they really enhance our profile."

Pentesec now has its sights set on 4-Star Elite, a status currently held by only two UK partners, Bytes and SecureData, Turnbull said.

"We absolutely want to push for that status because there is such a small selection in the UK," he said.