Webroot/Email Systems Merger Offers Security SAAS to VARs

The merger will see on-premises security software vendor Webroot integrate its offerings with SAAS security provider Email Systems. However, while Webroot has an established channel in the United States, Email Systems operates directly in the region.

"The merger means that Email Systems' offering will now be open to our VARs," Peter Watkins, Webroot's CEO, told Channel Insider. "Email Systems does operate a channel in Europe, so we will take elements of that into our [joint] channel program. But we want to be sure that our channel partners want to adopt the technology. They have the choice; if partners show commitment to it then we will help them train and certify to sell Email Systems technology." The joint organization will also look to recruit more VARs in the coming months.

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Watkins said Webroot VARs are used to operating on a monthly recurring revenue model, so operating a SAAS model in a similar fashion should not be too challenging. He added, however, that nothing will change within its channel or product set just yet.

"We will continue with our channel plans as we were. We are not looking to make any wholesale changes," he said. "When we are ready and our VARs are ready, there are lots of services from Email Systems they can offer. It's not just anti-spam and anti-phishing; there is disaster recovery for e-mail, e-mail management and a whole series of services that they can tailor into the right package for customers."

Watkins said the product sets are likely to remain separate for at least the next six months, although having desktop security through Webroot and cloud security through Email Systems and allowing them to communicate to protect all aspects of traffic is the ultimate goal.

The financial details of the merger have not been disclosed. However, Watkins said there will be no job losses and added, "When we got together with Email Systems, we thought it was in fact too lean, so it's likely that we will add resources here."