This week, the CRN team is gearing up for the biggest event in the channel calendar - the Channel Awards.
One of the distinguished finalists at this year's awards is cybersecurity vendor Illumio, which is a contender for Security Vendor of the Year.
Here we talk to its director of channel sales EMEA, Scott Walker (pictured), on what has made the business stand out in a crowded security market in 2022.
What would winning a CRN Award mean to you?
Winning an award would be fantastic and a true testament to Illumio's growth.
Our EMEA channel business is growing rapidly, and we still have a major opportunity ahead of us, so just being shortlisted for Security Vendor of the Year is a tremendous accomplishment.
We've put a lot of work into enabling our channel partners to help organisations build resilience through Zero Trust Segmentation. To have this capability recognised would be the icing on the cake.
What have been your highlights of 2022 so far?
"For me, one of the biggest highlights is the number of channel-sourced opportunities we have seen from our partners.
It shows a growing appetite from customers for Zero Trust strategies and an increased understanding in the industry that Zero Trust Segmentation is a core pillar of a Zero Trust architecture, alongside Zero Trust Network Access.
It's also great to see the impact that we are having on our partners' revenue and growth - something we've certainly witnessed in the last year.
What's the most interesting industry trend you've noticed this year?
One of the most notable trends we have seen this year is the development of new best-of-breed architecture, driven by complimentary partnerships between vendors.
Our recent integration with Appgate is a great example of this, enabling channel partners to deliver a more integrated and comprehensive Zero Trust offering to customers.
A big problem the channel often faces is finding solutions that can integrate into customers' existing estates without ripping and replacing infrastructure.
Best-of-breed solutions solve this problem and help reduce the need for numerous point solutions.
How has your partner strategy evolved in 2022?
Our partner strategy has remained consistent throughout the year.
We are laser focused on a specific type of partner with strong skillsets across both networking and security domains.
We continue to invest heavily in both enablement and demand generation, while also adding partners in new markets where we continue to see demand and growth.
What are you most looking forward to about 2023?
We're seeing a tectonic shift in security approaches and technologies that we have not seen in a decade.
More and more organisations are adopting the "assume breach" mindset and this means cyber security strategies will need to evolve from the traditional "find and fix" approach to one of "limit and contain."
Detection-only techniques will no longer be enough as companies strive to increase resilience, and the channel has a real opportunity to lead the way and help educate organisations on how to build a true Zero Trust architecture using best-of-breed technologies.
