Recently, I was privileged to spend three days at the Dell Security Peak Performance EMEA conference in Berlin, meeting and talking with more than 300 Dell partners and customers from across Europe. Security is very much top of mind for our partners, and we know from the results of a Dell survey conducted ahead of the conference that advanced persistent threats are a chief concern for a majority of their customers.
Our partners have told us that security and innovation are number one and number two on every customer’s list, but they believe that only a tiny percentage of those customers are protected against today’s threats, which can result in the devastating loss of IP, productivity and customer data.
As cybercrime becomes ever more sophisticated, organizations must take the appropriate steps to protect the company, their customers and employees. At the same time, they need a dynamic IT environment that can support current trends such as mobility, cloud and SaaS. At Dell, we’re committed to ensuring our partners’ success by equipping them to help customers close security gaps, reduce complexity and mitigate risk by extending end-to-end security that both enables the business and protects from ever-evolving, sophisticated threats.
Events like Dell Peak Performance EMEA reflect Dell’s commitment to our partners and to building channel momentum around security solutions. Keynotes and general sessions, plus deep dive breakout sessions led by our security experts, armed partners at the conference with the most up-to-date knowledge of our security products, and a view of innovative security development planned for the future. We have almost 1,000 security specialists at Dell, and philosophically, they wake up every morning to team with a partner. And that scale is a major difference between us and some of our competitors.
In talking with partners at Peak Performance EMEA, it was clear they were fired up about our security strategy, and understood what it meant when we showed them specific integrations and how we can make those work for them. For example, when Dell’s Secure Mobile Access solution is combined with Dell’s Enterprise Mobility Container, we can enforce the company’s data loss prevention policy at the edge, ensuring the intellectual property contained within sensitive data does not leak.
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The channel is showing tremendous enthusiasm and continuing to grow. Last year, Dell Software achieved 60 percent growth through the channel in EMEA, and that momentum is set to continue. With Dell’s end-to-end connected security strategy, we expand our security footprint and equip our partners to provide greater value to customers beyond what they may initially request. Partners are able to leverage our complementary security solutions, and, what’s more, can take advantage of new opportunities for sales, adding value through their advanced security expertise. Dell’s channel program continues to grow and develop, enabling our partners to benefit from access to our impressive customer network, and helping them build potentially lucrative relationships. The survey of partners attending Peak Performance showed, alarmingly, that respondents believe only three percent of organizations are adequately prepared for an attack. Although this statistic is frightening, it also demonstrates the business opportunities still available.
Via our advanced competency training courses in security, partners can build their expertise and specialize in security, helping them to corner this growing market. Last year saw a 41 percent rise in the number of EMEA partners achieving security certification – and, as our partners are reporting an average year-over-year revenue growth of 37 percent, it’s great to see the channel is benefiting from working with Dell.
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We’re protecting over a million customers every day. In their capacity as advisors helping customers manage security, our partners play a critical role. Our goal is to ensure their success by giving them opportunities to leverage the knowledge and tools in the Dell Security arsenal, so their customers benefit from security solutions that both protect their organizations from threats, and enable them to succeed.
Dell Security Peak Performance North America is August 30 – September 2 in Las Vegas. I encourage partners to register for this event, visit…www.dellpeakperformance.com