Our major challenge is to shift our Gold partners to the Platinum level

Prakash noted that partners today opt for products that offer value to
their customers along with those that require deep engagement with the clients,
since it increases the chances of recurring business

What are the different levels of partner programs that you have? What
differentiates a Platinum partner from a Gold one?

We have three levels-Platinum, Gold and Silver. Platinum partners have a
larger footprint in the market. We engage with them proactively, as they
contribute the maximum business to Websense.

We update them with regular presentations on our products and conduct
seminars to help them better target their key customers.

Platinum partners have a national presence, whereas our gold partners are
strong in particular regions. As a practice though, we keep trying to shift our
gold partners to the next level, which is also a major challenge.

Silver partners are those who buy on a need-basis. They are usually the
anti-virus sellers, who buy security solutions when their clients ask for it. In
such cases, we try to find the silver sellers, who are willing to invest
continually in resources for selling our solutions and only if they do, we
reward them with some incentive and move them to the gold level.

But how do you carry out client mapping to ensure there is no in-fighting
amongst your channel partners?

We have a channel portal where our partners can register any prospective
leads. We have appointed a sales guy who looks after the leads registered on the
portal and works closely with the partner to freeze it satisfactorily. Also at
Websense, we hold periodic reviews with the partners about the existing and
prospective customers they can target and how they need to work on these
prospects.

What about training customers and partners, given that your solutions need
a good technical understanding?

Our partner portal has a lot of technical resource material that partners
can use. This aside, we conduct regular online and onsite technical training
sessions for our partners and customers.

These trainings are not merely technical in nature. In contemporary times, if
a partner needs to finalize an infrastructure deal, he needs to make the project
look compelling for the CEO, CFO and the CTO of the company. Only if the first
two concur, will the CTO be able to finalize the deal. We educate partners on
how they can address the queries of the CFO and the CEO as well.

You have partnered with two value-added distributors (VAD), but not with
any national distributor. Can you give reasons for this?

We want distributors who will act as our extended sales force rather than
just a logistics fulfillment agency. This is why we empower them with all the
technical details needed for them to go out and educate customers or channel
partners about the technical nuances of our product line.

Secondly, our business is more solutions-oriented rather than volume-driven.
This makes it more opportune for VADs to work with us, as they can contribute
reasonable business which has depth and not merely breadth. In the case of
national distributors, they will be more interested in the kind of revenue they
can generate through our brand rather than merely evangelizing it.

In the recent times, a lot of vendors are creating a pool of manpower to
manage the situation in the market. What is Websense doing for the same?

The number of trainings which we conduct has to be in proportion to the
money that we generate through our business. We would like to create a ready
pool of manpower for our technology, but ultimately it depends upon the kind of
business we generate.

Minakshi Shetty

minakshis@cybermedia.co.in