Trend Micro launches new channel strategy

Security vendor Trend Micro has launched a new channel strategy that would see it deal direct with its top national reseller organisations targeting the enterprise market.

At the same time, the company is driving harder into the SMB market (two to 500 seats) promising MDF and more resources to its Premier and Associate partners that deal through distributors Ingram Micro, Channelworx and Alstom IT.

Previously, all resellers bought Trend Micro products through distribution.

Chris Poulos, MD at Trend Micro Australia, said distributors were not giving the vendor the leverage it needed at the "top end".

"Generally they [national and global resellers] have their own technologists on board and they know what they want," he said.

Dealing directly with its top five to ten resellers would involve Trend Micro's national reseller account managers working more closely with these companies, he said. "I want the way we sell to be taught to those reseller organisation's [sales] reps," he said.

Still, its distribution partners were important in the SMB segment and the company has passed responsibility for maintenance renewals to its distributors. "We're going to give that responsibility to our distribution partners, we used to do that half and half," he said, adding that there were two maintenance officers on board to help distributors.

Channel partners are being rewarded for passing on sales referrals. Upon closure of a sale (over 500 seats) the referring partner would be paid 10 percent of the recommended partner buy price.

For sales between 250 and 500 seats, the referring partner would receive five percent of the recommended partner buy price.

Premier and national partners are also entitled to rebates. Resellers that do between $30,000 and $49,999 in hardware and software sales per quarter would receive a five percent rebate.

Sales between $50,000 and $99,999 would return a 7.5 percent rebate and sales of $100,000 and over would return 10 percent. The rebates exclude licence renewals, the company said.