Infoblox Channel Leader on New GSI, MSSP Pathways

Infoblox recently rolled out new tracks within its Skilled to Secure partner program to address the needs of its GSI and MSSP partners.

We spoke with Chris Millerick, VP of partners and alliances at Infoblox, about the new program and how the company continues to scale its channel motion.

New Infoblox partner program focuses on services enablement

Infoblox’s suite of solutions addresses networking and related network security challenges for customers largely in the enterprise and midmarket arenas. 

Millerick says nearly all deals flow through channel partners, and the Skilled to Secure program aims to give partners the enablement resources they need to confidently bring Infoblox to joint customers.

“We were not making it as easy to do business with Infoblox as we could have been, and we weren’t doing as much to build confidence in our partners as we could have, either,” Millerick said. “We took a look at the experience across the whole process, from pre-sales to the implementation teams actually handling our technology, to services, and we built from there.”

Across the board, Infoblox ensures its partners operate in a sales motion tied to reseller, MSP/MSSP, or influencer commitments, each with specific agreements and other qualifications.

To Millerick, the enhancements to the Skilled to Secure program reflect Infoblox’s commitment not only to closing deals with partners but to growing with them in long-term strategic areas of business.

“Competency is typically a great way to build confidence, so we focused on building ways to build that competency in our solutions. We really thought about what was in it for partners to work with us, and what we could provide to them, and a lot of it is around the centerprice of building competency through training, ongoing education, and other things,” said Millerick.

How Infoblox is building MSSP and GSI pathways

As Infoblox continues to expand its partner ecosystem to better support customers in the enterprise to midmarket sectors, Millerick says the team began to realize the potential in building pathways for MSSPs and more traditional MSPs to work with Infoblox.

The program emphasizes training across Infoblox’s security portfolio to help service providers build the technology into their portfolios.

“It’s been a lot of fun to learn from MSSPs as we’ve gone on this journey, honestly,” Millerick said. “We’ve worked with the channel for a long time, but mostly with traditional resell partners, so the experience of what service providers need is somewhat new.”

Why Infoblox sees partners as critical to enterprise demand

Infoblox, as Millerick highlighted throughout our conversation, has supported enterprises for over two decades. In that time, much has changed, and now, AI is fueling demand for new approaches to infrastructure at faster speeds than ever before.

“This is an enterprise (market) being shaped by consumer trends,” Millerick said. 

As these buying trends influence how companies procure and deploy technology, Millerick says, they are increasingly turning to service providers.

“There’s so much complexity now, and not just for the biggest enterprises, that we are seeing many businesses realize it’s too difficult to keep it all in-house,” said Millerick. “Leaders can’t be full-time shoppers; they need to focus on doing the actual work of their business.”

To Millerick, that presents an opportunity for Infoblox to continue expanding its partner base and supporting those providers as they enable outcomes for mutual customers worldwide.