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Enterprise security environments are incred- ibly fragmented, and many organizations simply do not have the visibility that they need over their mix of on-premises, cloud, virtual- ized, third-party and OT (operational technology) networks. By facilitating the creation of a fully inte- grated ecosystem, partners can model and normalize data, provide incisive insight and al- low for intelligent remediation of an organization’s most exposed flaws. Once complete, partners will be able to demonstrate true, lasting value and foster the long-term, service-led relationships that they need to grow their businesses. Developing an ecosystem also is critical for partners to drive upsell opportunities. If they work from a central platform, it is much easier for them to sell another product off the back of it. Customers are looking for solutions that can be deployed with ease – if their partner can come to them with solutions that already have proven integrations, it saves them the trouble of having to work with a number of different ven- dors. It also builds a foundation for partners to develop expertise: when they consolidate their product range and only have to concentrate on the products that slot into their ecosys- tem, they are better able to develop a position of authority. Satisfaction comes first Ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction is central to any part- ner’s success. It is difficult for part- ners to achieve high enough levels of satisfaction due to spinning too many plates. To improve their stand- ing, they need to understand and re- spond to what their customers need –automation, better process devel- opment, a more integrated security environment and expertise that can serve as their North Star. These security focuses have been developing long before CO- VID-19 turned the world on its head. However, the pandemic has acceler- ated the need for partners to change so that they can better serve their customers and be positioned to drive growth within their own businesses. If there was ever a time for partners to develop a big picture view and de- velop a focused security ecosystem – it is now. o Uri Levy is vice president of busi- ness development for Skybox Security. FIRSTCOMM + WHOLESALE = A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS FirstComm’s newWhite-label “as-a-service” solutions include a robust suite of communication tools that help drive business more efficiently, while also offering competitive pricing, dynamic feature sets, and countless opportunities to increase ROI and profitability. One Platform. One Solution Manage essential telecom fundamentals such as: mobility solutions, SIP trunks, DID’s and collaboration tools - all in one simple, intuitive cloud-based platform. TrueWorkforce Mobility With the demand for workforce virtualization on the rise, ensuring your employees stay connected to what matters, is our highest priority. From web conferencing and chat to superior mobility tools that meet the demands of a growing remote workforce, FirstComm has you and your customers top of mind. CALL : +1 312 334 0019 EMAIL : kbartnicki@firstcomm.com KEVIN BARTNICKI Percentage of US full-time employees working primarily from home (at least 3 days a week) before COVID-19 and expectation 12 months postpandemic Source: The Conference Board, April 2020 SMB Security Vendor Complexity Source: Cisco, 2020 How has COVID-19 impacted your UC sales during the past 3 months, based on what you sell? Source: Baird, June 2020 Source: Nemertes Number of security vendors used within security environment and systems downtime due to the most severe security breach managed in the past year Average outage length Annual downtime Number of security vendors Downtime in hours MSP Reported Service Offerings Source: CompTIA Helpdesk/IT support Network Cybersecurity Business (compliance, analytics) Application/software Internet of things (IoT) Storage Backup and recovery Desktop support Mobility/MDM Telecom or A/V Print Less than 10% % Remote workers % of organizations Before COVID-19 Period Expectation one year after COVID-19 10% to less than 20% 20% to less than 40% 40% or more 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Zo m Phone Dialpad GoTo Connect/ Jive Vonage Microsoft Fuze Ring Central Other Hybrid/ on- premises Greatly Decelerated Slightly Dec lerated Neutral Slightly Accelerated Greatly Accelerated 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 > 50 21-50 11-20 6-10 2-5 <1 1-4 5-8 9-16 17-24 > 24 1 63% 59% 55% 55% 54% 53% 52% 52% 47% 29% 29% 29% 76% 31% 15% 23% 6% 28% 3% 19% 6% 8% 0% 42% 13% 13% 8% 8% 4% 29% 42% 38% 29% 17% 13% 14% 14% 14% 14% 43% 14% 32% 32% 16% 13% 14% 5% 8% 29% 38% 13% 13% 19% 44% 50% 6% 12% 24% 53% CYBER PATROL 44 CHANNEL VISION | July - August, 2020