Polivec Enlists Channel

Roberto Medrano, PoliVec's CEO and former general manager of Hewlett-Packard's e-services and Internet security divisions, said the channel is the most cost-effective way for the vendor to grow its market.

"Resellers can deliver a lot of value. They have a lot of contacts. They have the local market and, in some cases, they are the local market preference," he said.

The vendor's channel program offers two levels of partnership,Premier and Authorized. Benefits include sales and technical training and support, rebates and marketing programs.

Mountain View-based PoliVec is one of several companies offering tools in the emerging area of automated security policy management. Others include PricewaterhouseCoopers, BindView and PentaSafe Security Technologies, which was recently acquired by NetIQ.

PoliVec offers a three-product suite. PoliVec Builder helps companies develop security policies and translate them into operational standards for Windows, Linux and Solaris systems. The product provides four policy templates to help companies comply with federal privacy regulations: a general best-practice template for enterprises, two templates for banks and credit unions and a template for the health-care industry.

PoliVec Scanner audits systems for policy compliance, while PoliVec Enforcer monitors compliance and enforces policies. Builder costs $7,500, Scanner costs $10,000 and Enforcer costs $30,000.

Randy MacDougall, president of Expert Systems Resources, a Toronto-based solution provider, said PoliVec's products meet a "tremendous need in the industry."

Most companies don't have security policies, or they have a consultant develop a policy that ends up sitting on the shelf, he said. PoliVec's suite streamlines policy development and also ensures that systems are properly configured. "It creates a security mind-set in a company," he said.

Misconfigured systems are a leading cause of security problems, MacDougall added.

Keith Dolgaard, president of Computer Consulting Partners, Scottsdale, Ariz., said PoliVec's technology is "an excellent fit" with his firm's security focus and a cost-effective way for a company to create a security policy.

Both MacDougall and Dolgaard said PoliVec has created a strong channel program.

"It's the people," Dolgaard said. "These are not amateurs. They know how to encourage and support resellers. If I make a phone call and have it returned, that's more important than anything else."

Terry Jacobson, PoliVec's director of channel sales, said the company started with 10 VARs in the United States and is adding partners in key geographic areas and in verticals the vendor targets, including financial institutions, government and health care. PoliVec's sales representatives will pass on leads to partners in those markets, he said.

PoliVec offers service opportunities because customers often want security services such as vulnerability testing, Jacobson said. "Several partners have those services, and they see this [PoliVec] as a valuable tool. They're using this as a tool to sell their services," he said.

PoliVec's goal is to push 80 percent of its business through the channel by the end of this year, Medrano said.

PoliVec offers discounts of about 30 percent and quarterly rebates of 2 percent at minimum, according to Jacobson.

"We don't have hundreds of VARs, so we don't have people undercutting each other," he said.

Authorized partner requirements include an annual sales target of $100,000 or five new PoliVec customers, training of sales and technical staff by PoliVec and marketing activities conducted twice each year. Premier requirements include an annual sales target of $250,000 or 12 new PoliVec customers, trained staff and quarterly marketing activities.