Firemon to be 'laser focused' on fewer partners

Enterprise security vendor says it was previously 'out of sight, out of mind' with partners

Enterprise security management vendor Firemon is homing in on certain partners as it looks to give them "the attention they deserve", having previously given "a little bit of attention to everyone".

The vendor's new vice president of worldwide channels, Kurt Mills - who started at Firemon in August - told CRN that it was not possible to effectively manage its channel relationships when the company wasn't giving key partners enough attention.

"I think some of our teams have previously tried to give a little bit of attention to all our partners and it just isn't possible. You can't do a good job like that. So we spent a lot of time getting strategies together around who we should spend time with. We have been looking at who has good growth potential if we invest in them," he explained.

"We don't have to go out and recruit partners; we already have great ones. We probably haven't given them the attention they deserve. With the channel it is out of sight, out of mind."

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Kansas, Firemon specialises in management software for enterprises, with more than 35 types of firewalls on its systems.

Mills said Firemon - which does 100 per cent of its deals through the channel - will now be focusing specifically on partners that make "the most sense" to the vendor, which he says depends on their customers and the services they provide.

With the channel it is out of sight, out of mind

"We spent a lot of time profiling what is a partner that makes sense for us," he said. "It's everything from the customers they have, which should be enterprise based because they are the ones who have multiple flavours of firewall, to the services they provide. We are not looking to go out and recruit; it is a matter of taking the partners we already have and understanding how they go to market.

"We will probably be very laser focused on so many partners worldwide. But we will also be doing training for partners who are looking to work with us but don't have the time or capacity to deploy [the solutions]."

VAR Brookcourt has been selling Firemon solutions for four years, and its CEO Philip Higgins said he has noticed a new focus from Firemon as it looks to home in on specialist VARs in various sectors.

"Today's reseller model has been divided, and you've now got the specialist resellers. I think that is where Firemon are now looking to engage, and that is what we represent. In the specialist fields, these things have to be represented in the right way, not just sat on a shelf, which is what happened in the past," he said.

"They have listened and changed the model from what they used to do. From my perspective, they are now someone you want to work with, because they are easier to work with. They are not complacent; the complacency has now gone away. They are listening to customers and partners a lot more."