Resellers affiliated with distributor Ingram Micro Inc., of Santa Ana, California, can now offer their customers cloud-based, big data-powered mobile security software from Lookout Inc. Under an agreement announced yesterday, Ingram Micro partners have immediate access to Lookout’s Mobile Threat Protection solution, with additional Lookout products to follow in the future.
As employees do more and more of their work on smartphones and tablets, protecting the data on those devices has become an increasingly urgent issue for SMBs and IT providers alike, according to Eric Kohl, Ingram Micro’s executive director of advanced solutions.
“Delivering IT security-as-a-service is quickly becoming a top priority for nearly all channel partners one way or another,” he says. “Mobile threat protection is a hot category and an area that channel partners are eager to monetize and manage.”
Many solution providers rely on mobile device management software to protect mobile devices at present. Such products are ill-equipped to safeguard businesses from today’s continually evolving and ever-more sophisticated mobile threats however, according to David Helfer, vice president of worldwide channel development at Lookout.
“While these solutions certainly do a wonderful job managing devices, management is not synonymous with security,” Helfer says. Drawing on data from over 100 million sensors worldwide, Lookout Mobile Threat Protection utilizes predictive analytics and machine learning technology to identify and block zero-day mobile attacks, he adds, supplementing an MDM system’s defenses with critical additional layers of protection.
Founded in 2007, Lookout focused on direct sales of consumer-oriented mobile security software until last year, when it branched out into the commercial market by introducing Mobile Threat Protection and a partner program. Since then the company has forged alliances with 36 mostly large, enterprise-oriented resellers such as KDDI Corporation, Carahsoft Technology Corporation, and Enterprise Mobile, a division of Honeywell International Inc. Joining forces with Ingram Micro will enable a wider range of solution providers to offer Lookout solutions to their clients.
“Ingram Micro is one of the largest distributors in the world,” Helfer says. “Aligning with them gets us direct access to the thousands of resellers they work with who are trusted by the enterprises our solutions are designed to protect.”
Helfer declined to reveal how much margin its partners collect, but noted that as a subscription-based offering Mobile Threat Protection provides VARs a steady stream of recurring revenue. Lookout sells to businesses exclusively via the channel, he added, eliminating the potential for sales conflicts and customer poaching. According to Kohl, that channel-only approach was part of what attracted Ingram Micro to Lookout.
“[Lookout’s] channel first go-to-market strategy is a big draw in a category where many vendors sell direct or do both—sell direct and through the channel, whichever comes first,” he says
Ingram plans to add further security solutions, from Lookout and other suppliers, to its mobility product lineup in the months ahead.
“We are constantly evaluating new and emerging technologies and looking for high opportunity, in-demand vendors such as Lookout to bring greater value and visibility to our portfolio,” Kohl says.
