UK-based Sophos, a global leader in network and endpoint security, is showcasing its expanded partner programme, which will enable partners to become cloud security providers, at the ongoing Gitex Technology Week in Dubai, UAE.

Sophos said it is the first next-gen security vendor to introduce a programme specifically designed to help partners address this revenue growth opportunity and make the purchase of its products in Microsoft’s Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS) marketplaces channel-friendly.

The expanded programme will now offer training, certification and financial incentives, which will help channel partners support customers using or migrating to the public cloud, the company said in a statement.

According to Gartner, Inc., the worldwide public cloud services market is projected to grow 18 per cent in 2017 and is expected to reach $383.3 billion by 2020.

The company also revealed that Sophos Server Protection is now available for Azure. When used with Sophos XG Firewall on Azure, Sophos Synchronized Security technology will coordinate defences against cyber threats attacking multiple vectors, including virtual machines (VMs) running in Azure, it said.

Harish Chib, vice president - Middle East and Africa (MEA), Sophos, said: “Partners in the MEA see a big opportunity to help customers secure their public cloud deployments and they want to continue to receive the same benefits that they get through traditional sales models set up with their vendor partner programmes.”

“The company is paving the way for this to happen and has created a new programme that delivers the same type of partner programme benefits to partners selling its solutions into public cloud deployments,” stated Chib.

“As customers in the MEA region increasingly adopt cloud computing – either all-at-once or methodically over time – partners need a strategic business model that includes innovative security technology, reliable vendor training and support, and financial incentives,” he noted.

While Microsoft and Amazon manage security for their respective cloud infrastructures, businesses are expected to secure what they bring to cloud.

By working with Sophos, partners can play an important advisory role on what customers need whether they are newly migrating, are all-in or have a hybrid scenario, he added.-TradeArabia News Service