Ingram Micro has unveiled a program designed to provide resellers with the effective offerings their customers need to stay safe in the evolving threat landscape.
The Cybersecurity Practice Builder is supported by vendors such as Microsoft, Sophos, Proofpoint, Bitdefender, and Sky-High Security.
The new program combines technology, expertise, professional services, and training into a single resource, allowing resellers to quickly establish and expand their information security practice.
Ingram Micro’s chief of cybersecurity, Rod Lazarus, says these facts support the need for a powerful channel.
“One of the biggest problems we face in Australia is not a shortage of the necessary technology to protect against cyber threats, but a shortage of skilled people,” said Lazarus.
“With the Cybersecurity Practice Builder program, we build capacity with the support of our suppliers by providing training, certification, sales, and technical support rather than just shipping products.”
In addition, Ingram Micro provides access to its substantial cybersecurity team, including solution architects, professional services, business development support, and product managers.
Ingram Micro provides critical components under its Technical Security Services, including IT infrastructure, penetration testing, application penetration testing, and social engineering exercises.
Furthermore, the company’s Security Advisory Services include security program development, virtual CISO, threat modeling, and strategy guidance.
Offerings under Cybersecurity Firewall Services, all of which are available on-demand for sale by partners to end customers, include firewall implementation and assessment, custom firewall technical training, firewall migration, and firewall health check.
“In addition, Ingram Micro runs white-label ‘eye reports’ in our partners’ customer environments, reporting on their exposure and providing roadmaps for protection and recovery,” notes Lazarus.
“This helps the end user understand their security posture and supports the reseller in taking the necessary actions to mitigate common threats effectively.”
He adds that partners earn rewards for building their cybersecurity practice with a series of webinars and events that support Cybersecurity Practice Builder.
Lazarus notes that this contributes to certification and capacity building, increasing sales and advocacy for end-users.
Ingram Micro cloud sales manager Adam Smith says protection is always better than cure with cybersecurity.
“With this program, we are bringing together all the elements needed for effective protection and making it easier for all of our partners to get into this business,” said Smith.
“Protecting your customers should be an integral part of the complete IT solution delivery, and Cybersecurity Practice Builder points the way to creating a proven competency.”
Smith adds that the increasingly interconnected nature of the modern business also poses challenges.
“The need for watertight cybersecurity is not new, but the nature of the problem is constantly evolving, making sustainable solutions difficult,” notes Smith.
“Effective cybersecurity does not depend solely on technology but relies as much on the process as human capacity.
“That’s what Ingram Micro is doing with the Cybersecurity Practice Builder, bringing together the full range of resources needed to demystify cybersecurity for the reseller so that our partners can provide the protection their customers need.”
The companies note that Australia’s government Cyber Security Center agency recorded a 13% year-on-year increase in its cybercrime reports from 2020 to 2021, to 67,500.
In addition, the companies say self-reported losses exceeded AU$33 billion, demonstrating the rising costs of security breaches.
They add that things get worse when it is recognized that nearly 25% of incidents involved affected entities related to Australia’s critical infrastructure.
