Toronto – Kaspersky Lab in an effort to further its partner base in Canada has made several enhancements to its Green Team partner program.
The Green Team program will now include a deal registration element to incent Kaspersky channel partners in earning more margins. Partners can expect to receive anywhere between 20 to 25 per cent margins on Kaspersky products, said Kevin Krempulec, its Canadian country manager.
In addition to the margins boost the Green Team program, which is focused on the SMB, will also have more certifications and sales training tools.
The company also partnered with GE Finance to extend payment terms for channel partners as well as a no-payment for 60-days option.
The program also has a personal touch. Krempulec said that if partners need questions answered and wish to personally contact the vendor, they can quickly and easily get someone live on the phone.
“Sometimes partners just want to talk to someone and they don’t want to be directed and forced to go through things like a Web portal, although we do have both,” Krempulec said. “We have fast response and resolution times.”
This December marks Kaspersky Lab’s first-year anniversary of business in Canada and Krempulec wanted to thank its business partners.
The Moscow-based Internet security vendor first made its breakthrough in the North American market space when it opened up its Woburn, Mass.-based office about four years ago. Wanting to further expand its reach and presence, Kaspersky opened up its Canadian office last December in Markham, Ont.
It’s not even the end of its first year in Canada and already the company and its business partners have seen a 128 per cent increase in the number of transactions year to date versus 2008, Krempulec said.
“The company has had a tremendous first year in Canada,” he added. “We’re 100 per cent channel-friendly and our partners played a big part of how well we did in our first year.”
The company currently has distribution partnerships with Eigrs Distribution, in Quebec, Mississauga-based Tech Data Canada and most recently, D&H Distributing Canada. Kaspersky also has a retail presence in shops which include Best Buy, Future Shop, Staples, Office Depot and London Drugs.
Kaspersky has solutions that target small and home office (SOHO) users as well as business-class users. Among its solution offerings for SOHO users are its Internet Security 2010, Anti-Virus 2010 and Security for Ultra Portables suites. For businesses, Kaspersky also offers various security applications for workstations, mail servers, Internet gateways and more.
Krempulec says that the company’s partner strategy is to make sure there are enough of the “right partners” on board and that there’s no over-saturation in the market.
Especially in these tough economic times, Krempulec said partners who are experts in specialized areas such as security and verticals will find a greater chance of success and opportunities.
“My advice to partners is to have a specialized practice and move into industry-specific verticals such as healthcare, for example, because then the conversation starts moving away from price,” he explained. “Partners have a great opportunity with Kaspersky in the anti-malware space and especially with endpoint security (solutions) because people are looking for alternatives.”
As the company and its channel community prepares to move into the New Year, Krempulec said he’s excited about where the company is in the market place right now.
“Having a local presence (in Canada) really makes a big difference,” he said.
