Pax8’s Walsh: ‘Security Is Never Going To Leave The Conversation’
Seventy-seven percent of Pax8’s partners expect to begin working with new additional security technology, with the top three being ransomware detection, threat hunting and endpoint protection, says Ryan Walsh, Pax8’s chief channel officer.
Pax8 partners are investing in security technology at a rapid pace as the company sees skyrocketing growth in adding new partners and hiring new team members.
The company now has 17,995 partners and 942 employees, with 500 of those employees on-boarded within the past year and a half, said Ryan Walsh, chief channel officer, and Nick Heddy, chief revenue officer, during a session at XChange+ 2021, hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company.
In their session, the Denver-based cloud distributor’s executives touched on the market trends they’re seeing through a recent survey conducted by the company.
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Over the next six months, demand for the cloud is expected to increase 58 percent, they said during their keynote. Demand for remote management and security are expected to increase 47 percent each.
They also reported that Forrester Research predicted that cloud technology will grow 35 percent in 2021 to a global public market of $120 million.
Thirty-five percent of the MSPs that were attacked in the Kaseya ransomware attack did not have cyber insurance, according to a study by CompTIA, Walsh said during his speech.
Meanwhile, 77 percent of Pax8’s partners expect to begin working with new additional security technology. The top three are ransomware protection, threat hunting and endpoint protection, he said.
“Security is never going to leave the conversation,” Walsh told CRN.
The executives also discussed the addition of new team members and how to keep all employees satisfied.
“The concern that I have is you focus on a great customer experience but you really have to focus on how do we keep employees happy and satisfied,” Walsh told CRN. “We spent a lot of time talking about that. When you’re growing like we are, that’s something that you know draws a lot of people into our ecosystem, but it’s more than that. It’s that sense of purpose. I should be here. I need to be here.”
When it comes to a return-to-office approach, Heddy said employees are surveyed and asked how they want to work, whether it be fully remote, in the office or a hybrid approach.
“The question is how do we return if everyone wants to return because we don’t have the space,” he said. “We’re looking at space and we’re doing a remodel renovation now to add ‘hoteling’ and collaboration space. Right now our employees are happy working from home, which makes us happy.”
But it’s not just about office configurations and where to work—it’s about employees’ well-being, Heddy added.
“It’s how are you nurturing what people need from work and personal connection,” he said. “Personal connection … there’s something powerful to that.”
Pax8 recently launched a Rural Expansion Program where it has satellite offices in rural parts of Colorado.
The offices hold 25 to 50 employees and bring IT jobs to those rural towns. The first satellite office opened about 18 months ago. There are about 20 currently.
“We’re bringing jobs instead of outsourcing them to other countries,” Heddy told CRN. “It has truly opened up a talent base that wouldn’t have had an option,” Walsh said. “Somebody who wants to get into tech support or sales can now do that remote in a community where they didn’t have a lot of options.”