JASK Debuts Partner Program With More Deal Protections, MSSP Perks

JASK has unveiled an enhanced partner program that rewards solution providers that find or assist new customers and provides MSSPs with support around pricing and services.

The Austin, Texas-based cybersecurity startup will provide more financial assistance to solution providers that register a new deal, help carry a JASK-identified opportunity across the finish line, or are having to fend off channel competition on a deal they already registered, according to Jessica Couto, vice president of worldwide channels.

"We've put forth a program that clearly shows and highlights and illustrates that value of the channel community to JASK," Couto told CRN exclusively. "We are dedicated to doing our business with the channel, 100 percent."

[Related: Cybersecurity Startup JASK Hires Jessica Couto As Channel Chief]

JASK's channel community has grown from 10 solution providers to 31 since Couto started at the security operations vendor in October. Couto would like JASK to have at least 50 traditional channel partners by the end of 2019, and believes the company could have upward of 60 solution providers in total thanks to a new stand-alone program for MSSPs.

"We're a new-world SIEM taking out the old-world technology," Couto said. "The window of opportunity is moving fast."

JASK has increased the discount for deals that are registered to reward solution providers for being first to a new prospect, Couto said. She declined to disclose the exact amount of the discount, but said that solution providers that register a deal will have access to a discount that's 25 percent larger than the discount available to partners with unregistered deals.

As part of the updated program, Couto said JASK has also found a way to reward partners that didn't initially identify the opportunity, but added value during the process by completing the proof of concept or helping with procurement. The discount for "protected" status scenarios will be greater than for unregistered deals, she said, but smaller than the discount for deals the partner registered themselves.

In addition, Couto said JASK will offer back-end rebates to registered partners who find themselves in a competitive scenario with an unregistered partner and find themselves needing to sweeten the deal in order to hang onto the customer.

Customers sometimes tell vendors that they would prefer to work with an unregistered partner that they have a pre-existing relationship with, but expect to pay the same price as if they had gone with the partner that initially registered the opportunity, according to Couto. Vendors historically told customers this wasn't an option, but risked having the customer walk away from the deal altogether.

In certain situations, Couto said JASK will give the unregistered partner access to the same price as the registered partner, but provide the registered partner with more money on the back end so that it can compete and win against the unregistered partner without jeopardizing profitability. Registered partners that ultimately lose out on a deal would still receive a referral fee from JASK, she said.

"The market has become super competitive," Couto said. "If you're not taking care of partners, they're going to go where they feel safe."

Meanwhile, MSSPs that add JASK will save their SOC analysts significant amounts of time, Couto said, making it possible for them to scale to more customers without having to add additional headcount. Unlike traditional SIEM vendors that charge by storage or throughout, JASK charges by employee count, which Couto said is easier for customers to calculate.

JASK's offering retails at $125,000 for 1,000 employees, with the per-user price decreasing for each tier above 1,000 workers. MSSPs can get an additional 5 percent off the deal registration price by getting certified to handle Tier 1 and Tier 2 support for their JASK customers, according to Couto.

Set Solutions is glad to see JASK protect the interest of the partner that initially enabled the deal rather than treating the partner as "cannon fodder" like so many other vendors do, said John Marler, CEO of Houston-based solution provider Set Solutions. By prohibiting bad behavior in the field, Marler said JASK demonstrates its commitment to the channel.

"JASK is trying to bake some integrity into their channel program that's been lost in a lot of other programs," Marler told CRN. "JASK understands the value that the channel brings."