Symantec Makes Strides In Services

Following a yearlong acquisition binge, Symantec's channel executives report that 70 percent of all the deals being tracked through the company's deal-registration process involve multiple Symantec products.

Now Symantec plans to let some partners resell consulting services provided by employees of @Stake, which Symantec acquired two months ago. The vendor also hopes to offer a set of managed services around specific Symantec products that solution providers can co-brand and weave into a larger set of managed services, said Randy Cochran, vice president of Americas channel sales at Symantec, Cupertino, Calif.

To maximize the value of its @Stake acquisition, Symantec in early 2005 plans to make available security courseware and tools that will train partners to more effectively sell Symantec products. The tools will also be available online so partners can use them at customer sites.

Symantec is also beta-testing a security analysis tool called Inform, which helps solution providers and customers identify potential security hazards, estimates the cost of getting hit by those hazards, and assists in recommending the proper defenses.

Susan Jabbusch, vice president at Carolina Advanced Digital, Silver City, N.C., said Symantec's plans to expand professional services opportunities should be aimed at the SMB market, where the value of professional services is less understood.

"Many customers in the SMB market do not see the value of ongoing professional services," she said.

DAN NEEL contributed to this story.