Illumio targets SMBs with new MSP partner program

Zero trust segmentation vendor Illumio is ramping up its focus on the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) market with the launch of its new partner program for managed services providers (MSPs).

It is thought the new program, which is aimed at both MSPs and managed security service providers (MSSPs), will help SMBs reduce the risk of suffering from ransomware attacks and other breaches.  

Part of Illumio’s rationale for the focus of the new program is the reasoning that MSPs are typically trusted advisors to SMBs, often providing security services without the overhead of self-management.  

“With the increase of ransomware attacks in recent years, small and mid-sized businesses are increasingly vulnerable – a minor breach can bring operations to halt,” said Geoff Noble, Illumio partners and alliances director for Asia Pacific.

“MSPs are essential in helping mid-sized companies adopt security controls that can make them resilient to today’s attacks – and that’s why Illumio is prioritising these partnerships.

“With Illumio’s zero trust segmentation solutions, organisations can effectively prevent breaches from spreading into cyber disasters,” he added.

Illumio claims that MSPs which partner with the vendor will be able to help protect their customers from ransomware and other attacks by preventing lateral movement with Illumio Edge’s zero trust segmentation at the endpoint.  

Moreover, partners have access a new, self-service multi-tenant portal that will streamline operations for MSPs and enable easily managed support across thousands of clients with distributed environments, including work-from-home.

In late 2020, Illumio made some adjustments to its channel infrastructure in a bid to “better accommodate” a re-jigged channel-only strategy across Asia Pacific.

Under the changes, Illumio APAC moved to offer a tiered system for partners that was consistent across the Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ), Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia markets in which it operates.

The tiers included ‘Authorised’, ‘Silver’, ‘Gold’ and ‘Platinum’.