Forcepoint makes first UK distribution change for over five years

Nuvias joins incumbents Arrow ECS and e92plus

Cybersecurity vendor Forcepoint has made the first tweak to its UK distribution line-up for more than half a decade, adding Nuvias as a third option as it looks to snare more resellers in line with its corporate and technological reinvention.

Nuvias will join incumbents e92plus and Arrow ECS in a UK distribution line-up that has remained static for over five years.

"The reality is that we are looking to recruit some new [reseller] partners," Neal Lillywhite, VP of channel EMEA Neal Lillywhite (pictured), told CRN.

"The status quo is over and our proposition is very different from what it was 18 months or two years ago. This is about how we take that proposition - risk-adaptive protection and cloud - to a broader channel base. That [distribution] landscape has been pretty consistent - certainly in my tenure, it hasn't changed for in excess of five years and this is about how we engage with a different set of partners."

Forcepoint has also added Nuvias to its distribution line-up in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where it also works with Infinigate and has terminated Arrow ECS.

The move is part of a pan-European distribution review and represents "the biggest change in a long time" from a Forcepoint's channel strategy perspective, Lillywhite said.

Distributors across the region that are "fundamentally just transacting business" will be removed, Lillywhite warned.

"If there was a perception there was a distribution status quo, there isn't one anymore," he said.

"I'm going through that process of qualifying all the distribution partners in terms of how they align with where we are going and their appetite, and then making the appropriate moves."

The Nuvias relationship could at some point in the future be extended beyond the UK and DACH, Lillywhite hinted.

Although Nuvias - whose UK security business is based on the 2015 acquisition of Wick Hill - and e92plus are tied up together in a few big reseller accounts - not least Softcat - there is limited overlap between the duo in terms of customers, Lillywhite claimed.

"They're pretty much separate reseller bases," he said.

Following its acquisition by Raytheon and rebrand from Websense, not to mention several bolt-on acquisitions (including RedOwl), "all the pieces have come together" for Forcepoint, Lillywhite claimed.

"It's now all about execution and growth, rather than getting those pieces in a line," he said.

Mukesh Gupta, managing director of e92plus, said: "We've enjoyed outstanding growth with Forcepoint in the past few years, and their product range has evolved with the additional of CASB, NGFW and risk adaptive solutions that are at the forefront of the most in-demand technologies. The market potential for cybersecurity is excellent, in particular for Forcepoint, and with e92plus leading in this area it's nice to see others following us again in recognising the opportunity."