Mimecast Looks To Push All SMB Sales Through Channel, Readies New Program Launch

On the heels of strong partner growth, Mimecast says it is working to move all of its SMB business through the channel and its readying the launch of a refreshed partner program.

Himanshu Patel, director of field and channel marketing, said in an interview with CRN at XChange 2017 in Orlando, Fla. that the company continues to see strong growth in its partner base. He said the company is now in a trial piloting all SMB deals through partners as it looks to move as much of its SMB business through the channel as it can.

Patel said partners are helping the company in the midmarket with many of its deals, as well.

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The move comes as Mimecast overall looks to move more business through the channel in North America. The company does 100 percent of its business through the channel in Australia, Asia-Pacific, and the United Kingdom, with around 70 percent of its business through the channel in North America, as of January.

The company hired former HP Security executive Eli Kalil in late December as senior vice president of global channel sales, a new position for the email security, continuity and archiving vendor to lead its push to the channel.

Patel said Mimecast plans to solidify that channel strategy by the end of the calendar year with the launch of a refreshed, bigger channel program. He said that new program would include a push through two-tier distribution, which he said will also benefit the company's SMB partners.

Michael Goldstein, president and CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based LAN Infotech, said he has definitely seen a shift from Mimecast in regards to SMB partners, like himself, in the last few months. While his business has been a Mimecast MSP partner for a while, he said the company has been reaching out more and passing his business more leads recently.

"It's really good to see them push that way and talk more about the channel," Goldstein said. Goldstein said his business with Mimecast continues to grow, with more than 90 percent of his clients now using the company's solutions.

Goldstein said he thinks the push to move more SMB accounts to the channel will make Mimecast more competitive in the long-run, especially as it goes head-to-head with companies like Sophos, Barracuda, and SonicWall. "I think it definitely makes them more competitive," Goldstein said. "I think they really want to push into the [email security and continuity] space and not leave anything on the table."

Patel said the opportunity for SMB partners to work with Mimecast is particularly ripe as more businesses look to move to Office 365. He said SMB partners could help secure customers' move to Office 365, as well as ensure uptime through business continuity solutions. He said that could be a significant upsell for an SMB partner, leading to more margin.

Patel said that opportunity has only risen in the wake of recent ransomware attacks, including WannaCry and NotPetya, which have put the importance of email security and business continuity solutions front and center for customers.