Why the UK is 'core' to this Forcepoint rival's EMEA assault

CEO of iboss tells CRN that it needs 'hundreds' more partners due to unexpected rapid growth in EMEA

The UK plays a central role in cybersecurity vendor iboss' renewed EMEA push, according to its CEO Paul Martini.

The born-in-the-cloud company placed the UK at the heart of its relaunched EMEA strategy, which Martini said has been an overwhelming success.

"The UK is part of our core strategy," he told CRN. "We didn't expect it to grow at this rate, and now given the opportunity, it is at the forefront.

"We are growing across all verticals. Internet security is a core component for every single company because they are moving to cloud applications. They need that connectivity to be fast, but they are also struggling with mobility.

"The opportunities in EMEA are substantial, and the reason for that is that once companies move to cloud applications such as Office 365, they realise their security needs to move too. It's a critical need, not a want."

Martini co-founded the company in 2004 with his twin brother Peter, but it came out of stealth in 2011. It provides web filtering, malware protection and data loss prevention to customers.

Craig Talbot, VP of EMEA at iboss, told CRN in November that it was seeking a dozen managed security service providers (MSSPs) and VAR partners.

However, due to the unexpected rate of growth in EMEA, Martini said that number now needs to be in the hundreds.

"[We are looking for] MSSPs and providers that provide complementary IT staff and expertise to organisations," he explained.

"These are the best fits for us and we need tons of those in our channel. Similarly, any VARs that are going to go through a transformation from installing gear to moving to cloud-based services are also a good fit.

"The right channel partner is one that is able to deliver cloud services, they don't have to be internet security. We are looking for partners that have experience, or want experience, in delivering SaaS-based, cloud-based services."

Due to its born-in-the-cloud nature, partners can expect to win more customers from teaming up with iboss, stated Martini, adding that the platform does not require partners to expend resources on installing infrastructure and hardware.

"Some of the partners we've met with used to have their own datacentres, but now they are leveraging our cloud and datacentres," he said.

"They say that not only allows them to deliver faster and acquire more customers with a smaller number of employees, but also to get better margin because they don't have to install or hold gear, and that translates to more revenue in their pocket."

The Goldman Sachs-backed vendor counts Symantec, Forcepoint and McAfee among its legacy competitors, as well as ZScaler as its only other cloud-based competitor.

Martini claimed that what differentiates iboss from its rivals is that it is unique in its ability to migrate traditional internet security appliances to the cloud.

"Because of our design and how we implement it, we are able to check the box and ensure that they don't lose any of those capabilities when they migrate to a cloud-based platform," he stated.

"We are the only one who can migrate feature by feature 100 per cent of everything you can do with those traditional appliances in a SaaS-based, cloud-based form."