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McAfee puts channel focus on SMB for 2011

The security software vendor will roll out several new channel initiatives in 2011 designed to ramp-up activity in the SMB segment

Security software vendor McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE) plans to put the focus on the small and medium-sized business (SMB) segment in 2011 with a number of new channel initiatives designed to help partners drive business in the SMB market segment.

(Read about McAfee’s acquisition by Intel Corp. for US$7.7.)

At its recent Focus 2010 conference, McAfee announced a number of new channel programs and resources that will come on line in 2011 as part of this SMB focus. Johanna Fry, worldwide channels communications manager for McAfee, said the core announcements include an SMB partner acceleration initiative designed to increase partners’ sales of McAfee security solutions in conjunction with increased services attach rates. It will include the launch of a partner portal, called the McAfee Partner Acceleration Center, with SMB-specific sales and marketing tools and resources to help partners become trusted security advisors to their customers.

A Flexible Delivery Model Initiative will also be rolled-out by McAfee in 2011, including two new partner programs designed to provide SMB customers with more choice around service delivery: managed services and the cloud. Partners will be able to qualify for a SaaS designation that will help them differentiate themselves in the market, and will include tools and resources specific to the delivery models. There will be programs for both Managed Services Provider and Outsourced Service Provider partner types.

Finally, McAfee will also be launching an Emerging Technology program, designed to help it bring new technologies to market faster. McAfee will work with select invited partners positioned to bring an emerging technology to market right away in a specific area of expertise, such as cloud services, providing profitability and enablement support. As the technology matures, it will be rolled-out to the wider partner base.

“When we acquire smaller companies such as Trust Digital, and suddenly we have 1500 sales people and smaller partners, it’s very easy to overwhelm them. This lets us roll it out slowly to the channel community,” said Alex Thurber, senior vice-president of worldwide channel operations for McAfee. “It’s almost like a pilot program. We roll through that and will gradually open the program as the technology matures.”

While McAfee has certainly been a player in the SMB market in the past, Thurber said the vendor has been working over the last few tears to simplify its go-to-market segmentation model. McAfee has gone from six market segments to three: enterprise named accounts, large commercial accounts and SMB. The groups are based on number of employees rather than transaction size, with SMB tentatively defined as 250 seats and below.

“The SMB and the lower end of commercial are very fast-growing markets, with unique requirements, and we want to participate in them,” said Thurber.

Donna St. John, McAfee’s director of partner experience, added with the new segmentation McAfee will be able to more closely support the partners that sell into the SMB with focused programs that meet their specific needs.

“(SMB partners) want a laser focus on that to make sure they get the tools and support they need. We’ll have partner acceleration initiatives to get them the marketing support they need in a more programmatic way,” said St. John. “From a lead perspective, it’s having programs to make sure we get the right leads to the right partner. It’s expanding our footprint, and helping partners attack that market better with specific training to meet specific customer needs.”

Thurber said McAfee already has some very compelling technologies on offer in the SMB segment today, and it’s looking to continue to grow on that base.

“The biggest technology we have for SMB is our SaaS offerings, particularly security-as-a-service which we picked-up as part of the MX Logic acquisition,” said Thurber. “They’ve been thought of as having the best partner program for SaaS, and we’re copying and integrating that into the McAfee SaaS program.”

Follow Jeff Jedras on Twitter: @JeffJedrasCDN.

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