Dhanya Thakkar (Trend Micro)
Cyber security solutions vendor Trend Micro has shaken up its channel partner program with a bunch of new updates and enhancements.
Among them is the introduction of streamlined discount structures based on deal registration, sales and marketing incentives across all partner tiers and distributors and new rebate schemes for gold and platinum partners.
“We have made a lot of investments into our channel operations, and this program is one of the capstones of our commitments to the broader channel ecosystem,” Dhanya Thakkar, senior vice president of Trend Micro across Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), said. “The entire program consists of multiple enhancements.
“To start off, all our partners are entitled to significantly more discount once they do deal registration with us, which naturally translates into deal protection for them,” Thakkar told ARN in a statement.
The new additions also include highly-subsidised and strategically-curated not-for-resale (NFR) packages of Trend Micro’s solutions for partners to “better address real-world customer cyber security pain points”.
Thakkar said he believes Trend Micro’s partners will appreciate the NFR packages the company has put together for them.
“Instead of having a la carte NFR solutions – an industry norm, we have curated bundles of solutions that will help partners address the most complex cyber threats for their customers, not to mention at a highly-subsidised rate.
“Our partners can trial these packages in their centres of excellence or conduct proof-of-concepts (POC) for their customers,” he added.
Additionally, the vendor has introduced a set of enhanced business tools, including a refreshed partner portal, a new mobile app and a business analytics dashboard, to drive joint field activities.
“All these initiatives are designed to boost the profitability of our channel partners,” Thakkar said. “On top of this, we’re providing an entirely complimentary training program for all our channel partners. TRENDs Campus is one of the few free training initiatives in the channel community.
Trend Micro’s new channel sales and technical enablement initiative designed to educate partners in the latest cyber security knowledge and trends, the vendor’s industry-leading solutions and opportunity discovery.
“Channel partners can take advantage of these courses to beef up their cyber security knowledge and know-how, and hopefully in the long term, we also help to develop more cyber security experts for the industry at-large,” he added.
