Secureworks on increasing the 'small percentage' of business it does through the channel

The cybersecurity vendor’s global partner boss tells CPI how it's incentivising the European channel

Secureworks' global channel boss is going on a European channel push to help the US cybersecurity vendor reach new customers across the continent.

Maureen Perrelli (pictured) told CRN sister title CPI that its newly unveiled global partner programme has "no quotas or tiers" in an attempt to entice new partners to join the fold.

She conceded that up until now, the Atlanta-headquartered firm has only derived a small percentage of its overall $552.8m in revenues through partners.

A SEC filing logged at the start of the year put that figure at nine per cent.

"Yes we've had a small percentage come to us though the channel.

"But quite frankly, customers are asking for security solutions more than before and with engaging with partners through the Secureworks program we can broaden that reach," she said.

Perrelli took the reins as global channel boss in November.

She said that since then, she's set about asking partners what would most likely entice the European channel to back the vendor's SaaS application, Red Cloak Threat Detection and Response, and its managed detection and response (MDR) solution.

"We've moved away from the traditional compliance-based tiered program.

"So we've built a performance-based program. And with that, the more you achieve with Secureworks, the more you earn, and then the more profitability you'll get with us."

Rewards for performance run from referring an opportunity with Secureworks, which the vendor takes direct, to registering an opportunity as a reseller, which the partner manages.

The partner portal offers all the usual vendor sales training, technical training, assets, and collateral sales, as well as MDF funds.

But beyond that, Perrelli stressed that Secureworks wants to incentivise new partners early on into the relationship.

"We designed our incentives around an upfront incremental discount, and then backend solution rebates," she said.

"From the front end, when they register an opportunity they get a discount. When they register an opportunity, and it's a net new account for us, they get an additional incentive.

"On the back end, they'll be eligible to receive more. As they hit certain revenue thresholds, and they complete certain competencies, they then can earn further rebates."

Secureworks has channel sales teams in market across EMEA, with its key European offices being in London, Edinburgh, Paris and Bucharest.

"We certainly want to extend our reach into these markets and be able to get out to those customers that are looking for a secure solution…And into the markets that we're not in," she said.

"We want to be able to get additional reach into the marketplace, and be able to make sure that being both a software and a services company, we're able to get our offerings out to people at a greater scale, through the channel."