Sophos’s new program offers partners strong growth potential in unstable climate

Global program gives Sophos partners deal protection and better margins for increased revenue streams

Singapore. April 22, 2009 – IT security and control firm Sophos today announced the launch of its new Sophos Partner Program, a global effort which now offers a wealth of new benefits such as a two-tier margin structure, enhanced vendor support, as well as new deal registration and margin protection initiatives. In contrast to many vendors who continue to make cut backs within their channel, Sophos’s program has been designed specifically to deliver business growth for dedicated partners, strengthening their position in the market.

Sophos worked with Partners from around the globe and internal channel specialists when developing the program to ensure it delivered the right incentives, protection, training and support.

“Partners are an extension of our sales force - they offer expertise on the local market and are best placed to help us further accelerate our growth,” said Jim Dowling, Director of Sales for Asia, Sophos. “In return, they need a vendor they can trust, who offers unique incentives and gives them the tools and training they need to beat the competition. This is what Sophos’s new global partner program is designed to do. For the new Sophos Partner Program, the company has streamlined the online selling process, and now formally recognize partners not only for the volume of sales they bring in, but also for achieving high levels of customer satisfaction and developing specializations in specific areas.”

All partners will benefit from margin protection through online and automated registration of net new sales opportunities, guaranteeing immediate entitlement to the maximum margin level as well as offering compensation if a deal is procured by another Sophos partner.
“Our working relationship with Sophos has been a rewarding one particularly in areas of revenue generation and skills set transfer. Enterprises across Asia Pacific are increasingly seeking a compelling alternative to legacy security systems and finding answer in Sophos solutions, which helps contribute to our double digit growth year-on-year,” said Charles Kong, General Manager, SC Systems Sdn Bhd in Malaysia. “In addition to the winning solutions, Sophos has also provided us with great tools, training and incentives to help us offer the best services to customers. We are very excited about this new partner program because we know we will earn a competitive margin, regardless of what other partners might choose to bid, whenever we seal a deal. Ultimately, it is the customer that will benefit the most from this win-win partnership.”

“Times are tough out there, and resellers need to be careful. Not only are customers demanding more for less and intra-channel competition seriously fierce, but some companies are not playing by the rules,” added Dowling. “Some of the past experiences we are hearing from new partners are shocking. Best advice I can offer is to avoid vendors that offer customers the option to buy direct, excluding any channel involvement.”