The Fast & The Furious
3:00 PM EDT Fri. Jul. 21, 2006
From the July 24, 2006 issue of CRN
Page 6 of 10
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By Kevin McLaughlin  Being in the enterprise security business and focusing on regulatory compliance-oriented security solutions, it would be hard not to be enjoying solid growth, as the federal government has gotten serious about requiring organizations to safeguard sensitive corporate data on their networks. Even so, Sword & Shield Enterprise Security, a Knoxville, Tenn., security integrator with a staff of 24, has done very well indeed. It grew 442 percent over the two-year period CRN looked at, to $26,959,436 million in 2005 from $4,974,229 in net sales in 2003.
Regulatory compliance-oriented security solutions, such as encryption, authentication and identity management, represent the fastest-growing part of Sword & Shield's business, according to CEO Will Henderson. The company partners with Check Point Software Technologies, Juniper, Websense, RSA Security and Internet Security Systems to bring compliance solutions to market. "All of our security products are based around compliance in one way or another," he says.
Compliance solutions aren't the only growth driver for the solution provider, however. Henderson's financial industry background has helped the company form strong and beneficial business relationships, according to John McNeely, CTO at Sword & Shield. "He understands financial models that will work, especially in partnerships and agreements, and he really has an eye for the number-crunching aspect of things," he says. One of Sword & Shield's main strengths is the knowledgeable team of sales associates Henderson has assembled over the years, says Juhi Aswani, COO at Securematics, a distributor in Santa Clara, Calif. "They're very easy to deal with, they know their products, and they know the right questions to ask." Sword and Shield's sales force is also aggressive and willing to dig deep into accounts to look for opportunities to sell solutions, says Anthony D'Angelo, manager of Americas Channel Sales at RSA Security, Bedford, Mass. When it comes to regulatory compliance, companies depend on solution providers like Sword & Shield to help them define their needs and show them how solutions can benefit them, he adds. Sword & Shield stages regular seminars to educate companies on the need for compliance technologies and also works on a one-on-one basis with customers to understand where compliance fits into their business processes, according to McNeely.
Henderson says Sword & Shield's judicious use of subcontractors has helped it sustain growth without adding staff. This approach gives it the ability to choose subcontractors with industry knowledge and contacts specifically related to key vendor partners, he adds.
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