Sophos A/NZ Ashley Wearne
Key channel plays for 2015?
Our whole business is the channel, anything we can do to make our partners more money, is good for us. We spent the last year recruiting, but enablement is the big thing for us. We want our partners and technical sales people to love working with our company and to be rewarded for it. We’re integrating all of our products, which will present better services opportunity for our partners.
Key technology trends for 2015?
It’s the Cloud and network protection.
Key message to the channel?
They should be getting into the Cloud and not just renewing a customer on their old technology. Someone else will talk to their customer about the Cloud. If the channel aren’t influencing a decision, they’re going to be left behind.
Key warning for the channel?
Keep up with the curve, but don’t be the channel partner that says ‘I’ll do whatever my customer tells me.’ If you do that, then you aren’t adding any value.
Key to Sophos’ success this year?
It will be based on the extent that our people can help our channel partners. We want to end the year with much closer relationships with our partners. We’re hiring more channel people and we’re going to spend more time working alongside our partners.
