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Illumio re-jigs channel strategy across Asia Pacific

Illumio APAC now offers a tiered system for partners that is consistent across Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ), Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia

Network segmenting specialist Illumio has made new adjustments to its channel infrastructure in a bid to “better accommodate” a re-jigged channel-only strategy across Asia Pacific. 

Under the new changes, Illumio APAC now offers a tiered system for partners that is consistent across the Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ), Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia markets in which it operates. 

The tiers include ‘Authorised’, ‘Silver’, ‘Gold’ and ‘Platinum’. 

Under the new system, Illumio APAC is entering all existing partners into the Silver tier, which the company claimed brings extra margin and deal protection advantages, with partners having 12 months to attain accreditation and maintain silver status.

In addition, Illumio has kicked off a formal referral program for security consultancies in the channel ecosystem. 

According to the company, channel organisations that focus on consulting rarely make a direct sale of a certain solution in order to avoid any perceived conflict of interest. However, these organisations also play a vital role in increasing the adoption of micro-segmentation and other advanced security solutions, it said. 

Rob van Es, Illumio APAC vice president, said that with a 100 per cent channel mandate, the company was now able to tailor its approach to suit the channel in APAC.

"This will take time to achieve, and will be an ongoing process," he said. "After such exciting growth in 2020, we’re convinced this is the best approach for the APAC region.

“We’re setting out to both reward our early adopters that have proven the effectiveness of this approach in our region, as well as rapidly build out the infrastructure, support and channel partner network to help us achieve the next stage of growth," he added.

The channel infrastructure re-jig comes as the micro-segmentation player sees 90 per cent growth in annual contract value since the formal launch of its local channel program earlier this year, with 100 per cent of new customers in APAC coming through its channel program in the second quarter this year.

The resulting expansion of the APAC channel network has seen the inclusion of six distributors into the Illumio network across the region, including Arrow ECS in A/NZ, SIS International + Exclusive Networks in Hong Kong and M.Tech in ASEAN and India. 

Moreover, Illumio revealed it is also actively seeking partners in the cybersecurity and network infrastructure fields to join its partner program.

“We’re not accepting all comers. Illumio’s micro-segmentation products are on the leading edge of cybersecurity solutions,” Van Es said. “We recognise that the implementation of policy frameworks like Zero Trust will take time and rely first and foremost on strategic vision for the future of enterprise technology combined with the strong relationships our channel partners have with their customers.

“This is why we’ve created the formal referral program — to help reward those partners that are thought leaders and bringing their customers on that journey with them.

"We are seeking partners that are proactive with their customers, those who do not wait and react but instead work to stay ahead of the curve with their clients. If that sounds like you, get in touch,” he added.