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As Symantec has just sold its BtoB business to Broadcom and is looking for a buyer for its consumer business, competitors are rushing to snap up the brand’s partners for their own networks.
It's not surprising, as the pie is big; Symantec has one of the largest distribution networks of any security brand. compuBase's figures covering EMEA and America show that more than 13,000 companies there work regularly with Symantec, nearly 9000 of which are in the EMEA region alone.
This breakup is coming at a time when security is a growing sector driven by the increased awareness of companies about the development of threats in a world that is becoming more interconnected and digital-dependent by the day, not to mention more reliant on the migration of applications to the Cloud.
Such migrations are leading companies to seek out partners and the ideal partner today is an MSP (which knows how to integrate managed services into its solutions) and more specifically, those with skills in the area of security (MSSPs, or Managed Security Service Providers).
The time is therefore right for a quick analysis, based on compuBase data of Symantec’s distribution network in EMEA (as a reminder, compuBase’s data set covers 75% to 85% of the IT business market depending on the region).
It's not surprising, as the pie is big; Symantec has one of the largest distribution networks of any security brand. compuBase's figures covering EMEA and America show that more than 13,000 companies there work regularly with Symantec, nearly 9000 of which are in the EMEA region alone.
This breakup is coming at a time when security is a growing sector driven by the increased awareness of companies about the development of threats in a world that is becoming more interconnected and digital-dependent by the day, not to mention more reliant on the migration of applications to the Cloud.
Such migrations are leading companies to seek out partners and the ideal partner today is an MSP (which knows how to integrate managed services into its solutions) and more specifically, those with skills in the area of security (MSSPs, or Managed Security Service Providers).
The time is therefore right for a quick analysis, based on compuBase data of Symantec’s distribution network in EMEA (as a reminder, compuBase’s data set covers 75% to 85% of the IT business market depending on the region).
Symantec Partners | Volume of partners by country
In terms of target customers, Symantec is present in all customer sizes, but it appears that its distribution network is overperforming somewhat at the bottom-end compared to accounts with over 500 employees.
This weakness of Symantec’s partner network is particularly evident when covering the vertical markets of the medical/health sector and in the financial and retail sectors.
Conversely, Symantec’s distribution network is particularly good at covering local government markets, the non-profit sector, and more generally speaking, the service sector, especially when the activity covered is that of small businesses.
The Cloud is a difficult issue for Symantec due to its problems with covering Cloud target partners. The brand does have a presence with nearly one-third of Cloud partners (MSPs), but that presence falls to 16% when looking just at managed remote security specialists (MSSPs), even though this segment is without a doubt the most promising segment of current partners.
It remains a fact that Symantec’s network is a major asset for those who want to quickly gain ground in the consumer or small business market, as long as they understand that when it comes to acquisition costs, this type of target customer is probably the most expensive, which unsurprisingly makes it attractive both to established market players and venture capitalists looking for a deal. All that’s left is the thorny matter of a successful integration that does not lose the network, since the competition will surely be at the table as well.
For more information or a custom study, contact compuBase.
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