Secureworks, a Top 250 MSSP, continues to invest in training and enablement, marketing and demand generation to ensure cybersecurity channel partners are equipped to sell, market and support Secureworks software solutions, CEO Mike Cote told Wall Street analysts during an earnings call on December 3, 2020.
Neither Cote nor Secureworks CFO Paul Parrish described specific channel partner milestones during the call. But the channel push involves Secureworks' threat detection and response capabilities, Cote noted.
Secureworks launched a global partner program in May 2020. Maureen Perrelli, chief channel officer, is responsible for building out the partner program.
The channel effort involves "elevated spend for a period of time as we get the channel growing," Parrish said during the December 2020 earnings call. "But ultimately, as channel grows and becomes a larger part of our business, then the efficiencies that we get off of that wider network will reduce those sales and marketing ."
Meanwhile, Secureworks' overall business -- involving a shift from services to software -- is showing progress. The company's threat detection and response application now has nearly 300 customers. The push includes positioning Secureworks vs legacy SIEM (security information and event management) providers. Moreover, the company has launched a Vulnerability, Detection and Prioritization (VDP) application.
Although overall revenue barely climbed from Q3 fiscal 2020 to Q3 of fiscal 2021, Secureworks increased its GAAP gross margin increased to a record 57.9 percent during the quarter, the company said.
What's Next for Secureworks
Looking ahead, Secureworks onDecember 8 will host an Investor Day Conference, Cote says. Also, the company has confirmed the Secureworks Connect virtual conference for February 2021.
Although Secureworks is publicly held, Dell Technologies remains the MSSP's primary owner. Rumors about Dell acquiring all of Secureworks popped up in 2019, but those rumors have gone quiet in 2020.
