Channel Best-Sellers: E-Mail Security
Nancy Reynolds, VP of Channel and SMB Sales, North America for Trend Micro, said the company's multilayered approach to stopping spam and filtering e-mail content has had resounding success with customers, as well as strong channel support.
Customers are adding more "in the cloud" e-mail reputation services, for example, Reynolds said. Plus, the upgrade to Exchange has caused many customers to revisit their e-mail server security solution, causing Trend to gain a large number of customers in the process, she added.
"We consistently hear from our channel partners that they enjoy doing business with Trend Micro more than our competition, and that the channel enjoys the choice of form factors that Trend Micro gives them to sell, including a more "channel-friendly" hosted e-mail security solutions," said Reynolds.
"Everybody can claim to catch spam. These guys have some great research going on behind their product," said Stephen Nacci, regional account manager at TLIC Worldwide. "My experience with Trend keeps getting better and better and work with them is easier and easier. I think Symantec is playing catch-up in that area."
Symantec has relinquished some of its market share, but executives say that despite the small dip, the company anticipates steady growth in light of its third quarter and other recent financial earnings. "We have been and continue to be a channel-led company. The channel utilization remained constant," said Julie Parrish, vice president of global channel sales. "Clearly our customers are choosing to buy through the channel. I don't really see that trend changing. Our partners are going to be a very strong continuation of our growth going forward."
One up-and-comer to watch is PGP Corp., which gained market share from 2006 to 2007. "Our products deploy as one platform, so you can add applications as the customers need them," said Phillip Dunkelberger, president and CEO.
Dunkelberger said he anticipated that growth would continue to spike, particularly in its channel business, as the company added new points of distribution in addition to its markets in North America, the U.K. and central Europe.