Symantec: Don't Retreat
Let's just review what we know so far. During a June 12 meeting with financial analysts, Symantec COO Enrique Salem outlined some changes to Symantec's go-to-market strategy that would no doubt impress investors. You can read Salem's comments in a moment, but the bottom line is that he let analysts know that the company was now giving its largest customersand#8212;up to 900 of themand#8212;the "option" of buying direct and indicated Symantec would get more aggressive when it comes to renewing licenses or subscription renewals for SMB customers. Even though Salem maintains large customers could always purchase direct from Symantec, the change was needed to drive efficiencies, read that cost savings for Symantec, along with the promise of higher sales. What jarred the channel was the way Symantec rolled out the news it would be setting a "hard deck" going forward. Anytime a top sales executive or COO uses the phrase, "we are giving the customer an option" means there is some hard selling going on to turn that customer into a direct account either through discounts or other incentives. Symantec claims this may result in more business flowing through the channel, but partners won't buy that spinand#8212;at least not initially.
No sooner had we posted the story on ChannelWeb, along with a transcript of Salem's remarks, that the VAR community started passionately responding. Some partners remarked that Symantec's strategy goes against conventional wisdom, not to mention the strategy employed by nearly all of its competitors. Others stated that they will gladly start selling security and storage goods from Symantec's rivals, who are far more channel-friendly. Still others were vocal about not trusting a large multinational company with customer data. Another VAR was so infuriated he vowed to move his clients off Symantec products within the next year. At press time, comments were pouring in, so please visit ChannelWeb for the latest.
Keep in mind that partners and customers were left bruised and scarred by Symantec's buyout of Veritas because the deal crippled the company's operations and sales-reporting capability. Symantec's execs were candid about the problems and asked the channel to stick with it because bigger opportunities and better times were just around the corner. Well, now we know what was around the corner. Certainly, the news could not have come at a worse time for Symantec because partners were starting to feel better about the company overall. Then along comes Salem with his comments: "Symantec over the last 25 years has been very focused on a two-tier distribution strategy. But as we've built out a very strong direct sales force where we're heavily engaged with each customer, it doesn't make sense to continue to leverage both a distributor and a partner to serve, let's say, the seven, eight, 900 largest customers in the world. So, those deals will now give the customer the option to go direct. Again, just simplifying our channel go-to-market for the largest customers in the world."
Symantec could have handled this better, and the initial response from worldwide channel chief Julie Parrish is perplexing. In an e-mail exchange, she stated that Symantec's named accounts have always been able to buy direct, and there have been "no material shifts from indirect to direct so far this year."Parrish also sugarcoated the SMB renewal by citing new automation that will drive efficiency for customers and "facilitate" a connection to partners. Hard decks haven't had a history of success, so Symantec needs to explain why this time might be different or somehow benefit the channel. What do you think of the move? Let me know.
Robert C. DeMarzo ([email protected]) is Senior Vice President/Editorial Director of Everything Channel.