Proofpoint Boosts Deal Protection, Profitability With Launch Of New Partner Program

The cybersecurity vendor is rolling out expanded incentives that aim to enable solution and service providers to drive consolidation on Proofpoint’s platform, according to Channel Chief Stan de Boisset.

Proofpoint unveiled an updated partner program Tuesday that aims to better enable solution and service providers to drive consolidation on the cybersecurity vendor’s platform, according to Channel Chief Stan de Boisset.

Major enhancements in the new Proofpoint Partner Network include greater deal protections and expanded incentives to bolster profitability in the channel, de Boisset said in an interview with CRN.

“We’re putting in new, stronger protection with deal registration [and ultimately] strengthening overall the position of the partner in the account,” he said.

In some previous instances, partners may not have used deal registration because it was not strong enough to make using the system worthwhile, de Boisset said.

“Not all partners were using it because the protection was perhaps not real for them—it was not strong enough,” he said.

Now, with the new launch of the Proofpoint Partner Network, the vendor has addressed those issues to ensure that it will be “worth it” to the partner now to use deal registration, de Boisset said.

Deal protections have been significantly strengthened both for partner-sourced deals and co-sell opportunities, as well as around incumbency protections on renewal business, he said.

In terms of profitability, Proofpoint is introducing new backend rebates for partners related to winning new customer accounts, he said.

Notably, the company is providing improved rebate opportunities for partners around reaching certain growth targets as part of the new program, which should be “super compelling” for partners, according to de Boisset, senior vice president for global channels at Proofpoint.

Another major profitability enhancement includes a new incentive focused around customer renewals, he said.

All in all, Proofpoint’s updated partner program is aimed at driving consolidation on Proofpoint’s platform, de Boisset said. The platform includes offerings for email and data security complemented by tools such as AI-powered threat intelligence via Proofpoint Nexus.

Partner Perspective

For Denver-based cybersecurity powerhouse Optiv, No. 28 on CRN’s Solution Provider 500 for 2025, Proofpoint’s new program should help to address many of the biggest challenges clients are facing today when it comes to cybersecurity, according to Optiv CRO John Hurley.

Many customers are dealing with complexity and confusion around their tech stack, exacerbated by an overabundance of vendor tools, he noted.

Proofpoint, on the other hand, is seeking to help partners like Optiv to “simplify the tech stack itself” for clients, Hurley said.

“I think that is something that Proofpoint is trying to build into their model, and we're trying to help them deploy on that,” he said. “This program does reflect that shift—they're giving partners clear frameworks to work with their customers to truly get to a much more modernized security platform.”

In August 2025, Optiv announced that it had reached $1 billion in total sales with Proofpoint to date, as an indicator of the solution provider’s momentum with the security vendor, Hurley noted.

Without a doubt, the major focus around boosting deal protection and profitability in the new Proofpoint program should “help us continue to invest” going forward, he said.

MSP Push

The newly launched Proofpoint program is not related to the company’s $1.8 billion acquisition of Microsoft 365 security specialist Hornetsecurity, which closed in December and was the largest M&A deal in the vendor’s history.

Hornetsecurity for now is continuing to operate its own partner program focused on MSP partners, according to de Boisset.

Speaking with CRN in December, Proofpoint CEO Sumit Dhawan called the Hornetsecurity acquisition a “watershed moment” that sets the stage for massive new MSP opportunities with Proofpoint in the U.S.

“For our partners, if you have had any engagement with Proofpoint [in the past]—and have wished that the power of Proofpoint defense was available for customers of a smaller size—now you have it,” Dhawan said at the time.

Meanwhile, last week, Proofpoint announced that it was expanding its offerings around AI security and governance with the acquisition of a startup in the space, Acuvity. Proofpoint said the acquisition will bolster its capabilities around delivering visibility and governance for AI agents, as well as providing security controls around agentic technologies.