By: Jon Bove, VP Channel Sales at Fortinet.
Increasingly, the cyber security industry is made up of professionals with diverse profiles, talents and skills. Today, with the increasing complexity of cyber threats and the need for organizations to maintain secure networks, our industry requires specialized sales professionals capable of presenting the best strategies to each of their clients.
I often speak with our channel partners to learn about their concerns and tailor our products to meet market demands and their personal objectives. In these meetings, I have found that these professionals are looking for a flexible platform to build a profitable and highly differentiated security practice that leverages the best solutions in the industry.
It’s no secret that we live in an era of rampant ransomware and that remote work has become common practice for organizations of all sizes. This landscape has radically changed customer needs and, as a result, has opened up the range of cyber security solutions. For example, new network ecosystems with hybrid cloud environments require specialized sales and technology skills that channel partners can approach intelligently and flexibly.
This year, in the midst of industry changes, Fortinet launched the Fortinet Engage Partner Program 2.0, with the intention of offering our channel partners an opportunity to leverage the business potential of the Fortinet Security Fabric platform. The new program was designed to provide them with a comprehensive set of benefits, such as free training and our specializations program. This allows them to better meet the dynamic needs of their customers.
We understand that partners are looking for a program that offers flexibility, differentiation and, most importantly, profitability. In addition, we are aware that channel professionals are pursuing growth. At Fortinet, we don’t compete with them and instead offer sustained sales, marketing and executive support to help them develop productive, predictable and profitable relationships.
The Fortinet Engage Partner program helps partners acquire the industry knowledge they need to deliver digital transformation with customized programs and increased business opportunities, as well as the programs and infrastructure to accelerate their growth.
Just as flexibility is an essential feature of our products, we want our partner program to address this key value. Needless to say, Fortinet’s breadth of products is tightly integrated into a highly automated platform and includes tools to connect with adjacent technologies. In this way, we enable our partners to meet and exceed their customers’ security outcomes and provide them with the flexibility to scale services as their business expands.
From our trenches, we support channel partners to effectively respond to emerging security risks around the world, as we have numerous patents and an effective threat research and response organization that provides protection and actionable threat intelligence on an ongoing basis. In addition, our leadership in third-party validation and independent analyst reports support our offering.
Our breadth of third-party recognitions and validations are a testament to Fortinet’s technology differentiation, proven credibility and dedicated, long-term commitment to the channel. The value of these certifications and awards help us validate our technologies and enhance our development, and also help potential customers evaluate technologies from different vendors.
In 2022, the Fortinet Engage Partner program will be two years old. As we approach this important milestone, we can only recognize the importance of collaboration with channel partners. For our part, we are confident that in the coming year we will continue to grow hand in hand with our partners, delivering effective solutions to the cybersecurity issues facing organizations around the world while ensuring flexibility.
