Second-Tier Vendors Can Sometimes Forge Better Partnerships

At the XChange Tech Innovators conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., a handful of solution providers said many up-and-coming vendors give them the flexibility, creative partner programs, deep margins and the attention that some larger vendors have lost sight of. XChange Tech Innovators is sponsored by CRN parent CMP Media.

Take John Kerr, a certified systems security professional at Security Assurance Group (SAG), a $3 million, eight-month-old security consultant and solution provider in Annapolis, Md. Kerr said SAG uses Tenable Network Security's line of vulnerability detection and security management products over competing products by better-known vendors such as Symantec and Internet Security Systems.

Kerr acknowledged that those companies provide solid products, but Tenable will go the extra step to customize its products to fit the specific needs of SAG's customers. That flexibility increases SAG's time to market and helps the company differentiate itself in the increasingly competitive security space.

"They're a new company, and they're fighting against the big guys," Kerr said of Tenable, Columbia, Md. "The time it takes them to customize software is really no time at all. The heads of the company really have their stuff together."

Founded by Ron Gula, president and CTO; Jack Huffard, vice president and COO; and Renaud Deraison, director of research, Tenable develops Lightning Console, a centralized security management tool; NeVO, which determines network vulnerabilities; and NeWT, a Windows vulnerability scanner.

Kerr said SAG also works with NetScreen Technologies' line of security products over Check Point Software Technologies' because NetScreen's licensing structure is easier to manage and more cost-effective for his customers.

"I like Check Point's products, but their licensing has forced me to look for a new partner," Kerr said.

Steve Herbst, CEO and CIO of Secure ITnet, a $6 million Cohasset, Minn.-based solution provider with a focus on security, has formed a tight relationship with Airespace, a San Jose, Calif., developer of wireless solutions. Airespace products, which include Wireless Enterprise Platform, Control System software, 4000 Wireless Switch and 4100 WLAN Appliance, usually yield between 18 percent and 33 percent margins, Herbst said.

"I like them because they only sell through the indirect channel, they help us generate lots of consulting revenue and they have defined telemarketing programs," Herbst said.

Secure ITnet also uses Fort Lee, N.J.-based ReefEdge's line of wireless network management and security products for their ease of use; Billerica, Mass.-based SilverBack Technologies' network monitoring tools, which allow Secure ITnet to monitor several clients from a single console; and Tracy, Calif.-based Barbedwire Technologies' line of intrusion detection/prevention and VPN/firewall products, Herbst said.

"What's great about Barbedwire is that they give us 30-day product trials for our clients," Herbst said. "That's important because for a company of our size to spend $10,000 to $15,000 on demos is just not feasible. The ability to easily use a vendor's technology makes or breaks the partnership for us."