Kaspersky Lab Unveils 2017 Channel Partner Program

Cybersecurity powerhouse Kaspersky Lab has announced the company’s 2017 channel partner program along with new, regional Kaspersky Lab Partner Summit events, which will occur throughout the year.

The channel updates are focused on four key areas: increased regional support, advanced rewards and technology offering, new managed service provider (MSP) program offerings, and regional Kaspersky Lab Partner Summits.

In a competitive market, Kaspersky Lab North America is adapting its sales structure to secure new business opportunities and build upon the company’s current relationships with its partners. By increasing its regional sales footprint, Kaspersky Lab will provide more technical and sales support and streamline communications for the channel.

This year, partner sales managers will also act as a single point of contact for partners. This means that partner sales managers will focus on smaller territories, to provide more personalized, regular interaction with their partner contacts.

Also this year, Kaspersky Lab is providing increased one-on-one support, more technical education throughout the year, and what it characterizes as “generous rewards” to encourage its business partners. Advanced sales and technical certification requirements will also provide more hands-on education so that partners can easily identify and close more new business opportunities

Additionally, the company is expanding its portfolio in 2017, starting with the addition of its first enterprise specialization for the Kaspersky Lab Partner Program, Kaspersky Anti Targeted Attack (KATA). This new specialization enables partners to differentiate themselves and earn additional margin on registered, qualified and approved new Kaspersky Lab sales.

The company is also adding a specialization for MSPs, as many partners make the transition from their traditional value-added reseller (VAR) model to a managed service  business model. To support this, integrations for MSPs with popular remote monitoring and managing (RMM) platforms, such as Connectwise and LabTech, are now available to its channel partners. That means that MSPs can manage Kaspersky Lab’s portfolio of security solutions from a single, centralized console, streamlining the process of deploying and managing security across customers’ entire IT infrastructure.

As for the regional Kaspersky Lab Partner Summits, they will be held in six major cities convenient to where partners are located. These summits will build upon current partner program activities, expand product training and technical solutions support, as well as allow the opportunity for more engaging one-on-one communications. Kaspersky Lab will kick off its first event in Dallas, with additional events to follow in Chicago, San Diego, Miami, Minneapolis and Boston.

“With our new solutions, incentives, trainings and sales management structure, we’re providing our partners even more valuable resources and cutting-edge technologies to help them increase profitability,” said Michael Canavan, senior vice president, sales at Kaspersky Lab. “Last year, we were able to help all of our partners grow their businesses, and some nearly doubled their revenue. In 2017, we’ll be focused on not only deepening our relationships with all of our partners, but also empowering them to capitalize on today’s thriving cybersecurity market.”

“Kaspersky Lab is passionate about saving the world from cybercriminals and we absolutely share that passion,” added Shane Vinup, CEO, Cyber Advisors. “Ransomware alone took in over a $1B last year and we don’t see the threats slowing down. If anything, the threats are becoming increasingly complex. When I look at the security vendor landscape as a whole, there are few that have the knowledge, experience and resources to keep up. Partnering with Kaspersky Lab will help us protect our customers in 2017 and beyond.”

The updated channel partner program will be effective on April 1. 2017 to allow partners time to complete the sales and technical requirements of the new program, Kaspersky said.


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