Proginet Looks to Grow Indirect Sales

The enterprise security software vendor has traditionally used the channel internationally but had only a direct sales force in the United States. "We realized that to continue our growth we had to improve our go-to-market strategy and the way we plan on doing that is through the channel," said Kevin Bohan, CIO at Proginet.

He said the vendor has around 5 to 10 percent of U.S. sales through the channel but hopes its current reseller recruitment drive will increase that number to 25 percent of sales by next year, and to 50 percent by the following year. Bohan said the company wants 75 percent of revenues to come through the channel within the next three to four years.

Bohan said before announcing its channel strategy the vendor had analyzed the things that VARs look at most when joining a solution provider program. "There were three main things that VARs judge: how much they are asked to invest, how long it will take them to recoup that investment and the long-term ROI with that vendor. So we laid out our strategy based around these things," he said.

David Feliu, director of the channel program at Proginet said the vendor offers free training on both technical and sales staff, as well as marketing support. It also helps VARs with cash flow by allowing them to pay only after the customer has paid them and has a deal registration scheme. The registration scheme was also crucial to minimizing any channel conflict, according to Feliu

"Once a partner registers an opportunity our direct sales force cannot touch it. Also, our direct sales teams target mostly the high-end customers, so there is an opportunity for our channel in the midmarket," he said.

The vendor's channel program has three tiers—Premier, Preferred and Affiliate—and each level receives different benefits depending on the level of commitment from the solution provider.