McAfee is giving MSPs and other channels the chance to sell hardware as a service, and has widened its channel portfolio as it says 2014 is a key time for the momentum building up in the market. It has clearly identified the hosted and cloud provision of security as a critical part of its future, and now owned by Intel, is preparing for a major European push in what it says is a fragmented industry.
The McAfee MSP programme will now include access to Next Generation Firewall, Enterprise Security Manager, Network Security Platform, and Advanced Threat Defense. Additionally, it is expanding the number of software products available via its MSP programme to include its portfolio of authentication solutions.
“We are making the pricing compelling for those net new opportunities, says EMEA Channel development director Cristiano Voschion. He is recruiting new partners in Europe and managing the transition for those traditional resellers. The move to managed services takes them between six and nine months to ramp-up, he warns. The small percentage of the channel not yet thinking about the move to managed services must mature, he says. He will use rebates to play an active role in the transition.
He says that 2014 is a key time of change, and McAfee is putting a lot of focus on this sector; “We want to be on top of the opportunity”. With extensive rebranding under Intel and the loss of the McAfee name expected later this year, he wants to use the power of the giantl behind the business to carve a way through the large number of small competitors. He wants the channels to work on a total McAfee solution rather than trying to make so-called best of breed alternatives work together.
Working with distributors, McAfee appliances will now be available on a pay-as-you-go basis. It is expected to appeal particularly to resellers of Microsoft, VMware and Citrix systems with a promise of easy integration. And, he advises the channel, this managed services push is not a short term move, the company is in it for the long term with an advanced technical programme.