July 18, 2017 - ESET®, a global pioneer in IT security celebrating its 30-year anniversary, announced today its record year-over-year channel growth with a 40 percent increase in channel partners in the last 12 months. ESET’s channel business has steadily grown since its 2006 inception, but the program has seen significant traction following a 2016 revamp, and as it has placed an emphasis on the enterprise segment.
As part of its overall channel momentum, ESET is seeing a tremendous interest specifically from MSPs. The ESET MSP Program is the channel program’s fastest growing segment. In fact, 95 percent of partner applications came from MSPs and MSSPs (vs. other types of partners/resellers) last year. To ESET, that signals a trend that is indicative of where the IT security model is going: more businesses are outsourcing IT to MSPs and MSSPs.
For ESET this means ensuring that its partners are equipped with not only solid technology, but also knowledge. “Partners are looking for a trusted vendor that has proven experience and track record of success,” said ESET Partner Community Manager Cameron Tousley. “For 30 years we have been pioneers in security innovation and delivering the best security solutions on the market. As the global threat landscape intensifies, and we see huge-scale ransomware attacks such as Petya and WannaCry, partners are leaning on their vendors to deliver effective technology and security insights at rapid speed.”
As ESET’s partner base has grown, the company has also been making strides in the enterprise space, with over 20 percent year-over-year growth of enterprise customers in North America, acquiring large accounts in sectors like healthcare, retail, education and finance. “These large organizations are gold for partners,” noted Tousley. “Our ability to attract and pass through these customers to partners is an important part of our growth strategy.” ESET has delivered on its promise to grow its business and enterprise segment; in 2016, Gartner ranked ESET as the 4th largest endpoint security vendor globally.
“As cyber attacks get more sophisticated and larger in scale, it’s more important than ever that we make security as easy and effective as possible for our clients,” said Ted Clouser, Executive Vice President at PC Assistance, Inc. – an MSSP in Little Rock, AR. “For that reason, our relationship with ESET is an important one, and they have really been a go-to partner for us. Their technology is dependable, straightforward to deploy and they are truly dedicated to providing the channel resources we need to do our job effectively. We made the change to ESET in February 2016 and have never looked back.”
To continue building an industry-leading channel program, ESET is also announcing the launch of its Partner Council. This advisory group will include 10 active partners initially, that will participate in quarterly calls and get a first-look at new products and technologies. Feedback will be used to refine product roadmaps, help shape the supporting content and ultimately better enable partners’ sales teams.
“The launch of our new Partner Council will ensure that we are listening to our partners and understanding their customer needs,” added Tousley. “Two-way communication is critical if we want to deliver tailored programs that will enable our partners to build their businesses.”
Supporting the rapidly growing channel momentum, in the last 12 months, ESET has added new talent in several departments, and has placed a heavy focus on lead-generation – since generating qualified leads for partners is a top priority – and partner events. Additionally, ESET launched a Partner Services-focused team that caters to all partners but specializes on the MSP segment.
ESET’s Partner Program has garnered several honors in 2017. For the third consecutive year, CRN gave ESET a5-Star rating in its 2017 Partner Program Guide, CRN named Gerald Choung, VP of Sales and Marketing, to its list of 2017 Channel Chiefs for the second consecutive year and Hope McCluskey, Director of Partner Marketing and Events was named as a CRN Women of the Channel, Power 100.
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About ESET: For 30 years, ESET® has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services for businesses and consumers worldwide. With solutions ranging from endpoint and mobile security to encryption and two-factor authentication, ESET’s high-performing, easy-to-use products give consumers and businesses the peace of mind to enjoy the full potential of their technology. ESET unobtrusively protects and monitors 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company. Backed by R&D centers worldwide, ESET became the first IT security company to earn 100 Virus Bulletin VB100 awards, identifying every single instance of “in-the-wild” malware without interruption since 2003. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.