The First Channel-Only MDR

When CRITICALSTART first opened for business in 2012, we pursued a service-led product resell business to ensure we were adding value rather than simply pushing product. Serving as a trusted advisor to our customers, we encountered various approaches to the channel, whether direct, channel-friendly, or channel-only. Our experience in assessing the best approaches for our customers helped us gain a true understanding of our customers’ environment and business.

The knowledge we gleaned in working with our product manufacturer partners led us to the obvious decision to adopt a channel-only approach.

CRITICALSTART’s engagement of the channel enables trusted advisors to bring a solution to their customers that fills a critical vulnerability left by the shortage of headcount and limited security resources. Our approach gives organizations the ability to minimize risk by resolving 99.9% of alerts.

The value of the channel provides partners:

• Ease in purchasing – Depending on the customer, procurement can be a nightmare to navigate with contracts and legal preventing the customer from getting the necessary solution. Channel partners can provide knowledge of the process, existing purchase contracts, and a familiar point of contact for the customer.
• Environment awareness – Identifying champions, influencers, and decision-makers can be difficult, wasting manufacturer and customer time. Channel partners provide relationships and expertise to ensure the correct people are included in the conversations.
• Manufacturer partner relationship – Product manufacturers also recognize the value of the channel and have well-established channel programs. Acting as a platform to automatically resolve known good and deliver services, the channel provides a single conduit to the customer for both our services and the products with which we integrate.
• A trusted partner for the customer – Some customers have well-built security teams with resources dedicated to technology evaluation, implementation, and operationalization, but most do not. For those customers lacking the ability to evaluate the hundreds of technology solutions in the space, a true value-added reseller can act as a trusted advisor and ensure the correct solutions are being promoted to solve security problems while being mindful of business considerations.

Moving to a channel-only company required careful selection of the right leader to build the channel program and identify focus partners for engagement. The appointment of Dwayne Myers as VP of Channels was the first step in fulfilling our commitment to the channel. Our decision to move to a channel-only model also found favor with our integration partners, who are excited to bring CRITICALSTART’s MDR to their channel partners without fear of conflict, extended sales cycles, and proposed removal of the existing reseller.

If you have questions about our channel-only move, contact us today.

by Randy Watkins | CTO, CRITICALSTART

December 13, 2019