Partner Training is Critical
Channel Post speaks with Garreth Scott, Sales Director Middle East, Africa and India at Credence Security discussing the importance of partner training. Credence Security is a distribution company that specializes in IT security, Forensics and Incident response.
Channel Post (CP): Do you have your own Partner Program or rely on your vendors for that?
Garreth Scott (GS): Most of our vendors do have partner programs and those who don’t have their own partner program rely on us for effective channel management in the region. To enable this we have an informal partner on-boarding program in place that encompasses all support features that our partners need, such as deal registration and protection, incentive plans, partner enablement and pre-sales support. Later this year, we also intend to launch our own partner program that would provide an excellent platform for all our channel partners
CP: Information security is a specialized domain and requires certain amount of critical skill sets. Are these skill sets easily available in the region and how do you enable your channel to be at par with the required skills?
GS: Undoubtedly there exists a gap between demand and availability of talent in this region. There are number of factors that contribute to the shortage of professional skills. To overcome this challenge we work closely with our vendors and run a series of workshops to transfer knowledge and required skill sets to our channel partners. From time to time, we organize webinars and workshops to educate partners and enhance their technical skills. During such workshops, we also offer hands on product and technical training to our partners across the region.
CP: What is the importance of having trained partners and how does training help partners?
GS: Having well trained partners is very essential for an effective channel. In a scenario, where technology is so dynamic we need a well informed and educated channel that can add value. Training partners is as critical for us, as it is for the partners to be trained.
Training enables our partners to enhance their knowledge and skill sets about the new technology and solutions. End users also like to deal with partners who can understand their product and its technicalities. It also allows partners to add value by selling their services and gaining better margins.
CP: Do you face any challenges when it comes to partner training and how do you overcome these challenges?
GS: Training partners can be challenging because most of the partners don’t like to invest their time and resources in training their staff. Even adding skilled manpower is not on their agenda which makes it even more difficult to equip partners with latest technology and skill sets.
From our end, we run free training workshops for channel partners on different technology platforms at various locations in the region. We also encourage our channel partners to participate in such workshops by offering strong value proposition and training program.
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