ChannelVision Magazine

at your service: Xaas Calling all partners Gatens is adamant that the chan- nel will be a critical part of SpaceBelt’s growth strategy. “To start, we are a wholesale ser- vice,” he said. “We see the channel as being fundamental to our strategy and business model. It will enable us to scale into a range of verticals and lever- age partners that already have existing customer relationships. This will help us cement our position in the marketplace and take on new addressable markets. “We think it’s very much a mutu- ally beneficial relationship,” Gatens added. “The channel is key to our go- to-market strategy, and we can bring to the table a solution that doesn’t exist today. There is no apples-to-apples comparison. It enables partners to sell a higher value service to customers who are looking to protect their most sensitive assets.” For partners, this is a unique oppor- tunity as it combines the “wow” factor of a space-based technology with a viable cybersecurity solution. It’s an impres- sive technology to add to a portfolio, and one that is certain to at least be a conversation starter. In a recent study from Harvey Nash & KPMG, it should be noted, more than 60 percent of CIOs reported that improving cybersecurity is a key issue facing their board. This is a trend that has increased steadily over the last two years. “You can certainly capture their in- terest with an initial positioning of ‘let’s talk about a cloud service capability in space,’” Gatens said. “But then when you sell and present the value propo- sition, it clearly addresses a problem that is significant for any multinational enterprise that exists no matter what the vertical or the amount of data that an organization has. The risk of a breach could have a devastating im- pact on a company.” Gatens did reiterate that this is meant to be a complementary service. It’s designed to work with other solutions in a portfolio. No other company, though, is currently offering anything like Space- Belt —at least not yet. “We do not see any competitive threat on the horizon in the public do- main or back channel,” Gatens said. “We believe we are unique. Do we believe cloud services in general are going to take advantage of LEO and the economies of space going forward? Yes. We always should anticipate com- petition. But right now, we don’t see anyone going down this path. We also have patents on our architec- ture and operations. “Right now, we have strong product differentiation throughout the foresee- able future that enables us to go to the channel with a compelling service of- fering that partners can roll out to their customers,” Gatens added. o September - October, 2018 | Channel Vision 57