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Illumio taps into rise in zero trust demand
Security player has bolstered channel efforts to put itself in a good position to mop up market share
Cyber security player Illumio has invested in its channel, with fresh programmes and portals, as well as a higher headcount to support partners, as it looks to increase the profile of its zero trust offering.
The buzz around zero trust continues to grow, with vendors actively engaging with the channel to get the technology in front of more customers. Earlier this month, fellow cyber security player Appgate cut the ribbon on an MSP programme that was designed to support its growth goals in this area.
For Illumio, the story of the year has been to build up its channel support, get the right technology in the hands of partners, launch MSP-tailored programmes and make sure the training and support is there to make sure zero trust is delivered with confidence.
“We have heavily invested in our enablement programmes, that’s everything from sales, pre-sales, architecture and consultancy all the way through to delivery and mentoring, to ensure that partners not only can talk about these things, but they can actually deliver them successfully as well,” said Scott Walker, senior director of channel and alliances for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Illumio.
“From a channel strategy perspective, one thing we’ve done very well is stick to our strategy,” he said. “We’ve tried to operate a very lean, focused channel, but what probably has changed is the velocity in which the market is adopting things like zero trust as a strategic principle, or more importantly, zero trust segmentation, which is strategically focused on solving lateral movement, which is a part of that programme.”
Market dynamics are changing, and as a result the zero trust-as-a-service proposition is resonating with more across the channel. “We are seeing that many MSPs have been extremely focused on detection and response-type capabilities,” said Walker. “What they’re really looking to do is ensure they keep up with the market maturity and how can they embed zero trust principles, proactive security controls to complement, bolster and accelerate those existing capabilities that they’re already offering to customers.”
Rise in interest in zero trust
Illumio has also benefitted from the widespread rise in interest in zero trust, with it clear that more customers understand the concept and are asking their channel partners for support in adopting the technology.
“Zero trust, from my perspective, is a strategy, philosophy or culture that a business can adopt, and it changes your mindset from being reactive to security in responding to something happening to thinking about how to build security and resilience proactively into a business,” he said.
“One of the things we’re always looking to do is continue to pioneer and innovate that part of the market, so that fundamentally customers can be safe in moving to the cloud or having a consistent security control, across hybrid infrastructure, for example,” said Walker.
“That’s where the channel plays such an important role, because they are actively making recommendations of blueprints and what resiliency looks like, as part of a wider security programme.”
