Lookout Harnesses Channel As Segue Into Enterprise With New Security Product

Mobile security company Lookout on Tuesday unveiled a business-focused product that it plans to bring to large enterprises exclusively through the channel.

The company revealed its Lookout Mobile Threat Protection, an app that allows large businesses to embrace mobility securely by checking for security gaps, protecting against advanced root and jailbreak, and detecting apps installed from unofficial app stores.

The San Francisco-based company has been largely consumer-focused, said David Helfer, vice president of worldwide channel development and inside sales at Lookout, but hopes to reach large enterprise businesses through one main vehicle: the channel.

[Related: Samsung 'Knox' On Lookout's Door For Device Antivirus]

"This is an untapped market with a lot of market potential, and the channel partner program we've put together is designed to maximize the partner's margins and differentiation in the marketplace," said Helfer. "We've designed our entire go-to-market strategy around the channel, which minimizes friction and positions our channel partners as trusted advisers to their customers."

Lookout touts 70 million consumer clients since its inception in 2007, but wants to reach new clients with a business-specific app set that utilizes the company's Lookout Security Platform, which carries an array of mobile code information from customers, and makes accurate security predictions.

Lookout's product uses this platform to allow enterprises to manage and set standards on the risks for their mobile device users.

For channel partners, the product's value for their customers is its protection rate, according to Lookout. Lookout Mobile Threat Protection includes features like advanced root and jailbreak detection of compromised devices, side-loaded app detection for apps that may have malicious capabilities, and risk management capabilities, which manages risks based on certain user characteristics.

"With bring-your-own-device issues in the workplace today, mobility needs to enable secure mobile applications and content for both federal employees and customers, and Lookout addresses both," said Venkat Sundaram, principal consultant at Emergent, a Lookout partner. "The product sells itself through the features and values it gives to the end users. Our plan [with the Lookout Mobile Threat Protection] is to focus on the capabilities of the product, such as the cross-platform capabilities for mobile device management and side-loading applications, which are risk-based."

Emergent plans to bring Lookout's product to market after it is released June 30, said Sundaram.

"We're absolutely going to market with it," he said. "We've seen the product, seen the support and the protection rate. Lookout has provided training on the product as well for us."

The Lookout Mobile Threat Protection will specifically be targeted toward larger enterprise businesses, explained Aaron Cockerill, vice president of products at Lookout.

"These companies have tens of thousands of employees using mobile devices and need better visibility into the threats these devices introduce to the organization," he said.

Moving forward, Lookout plans to continue to strengthen its channel through its new enterprise product. The company has been exclusively partnering with VARs, SIs, and distributors in the SaaS market.

PUBLISHED JUNE 3, 2015