Should channel partners target small, medium-sized or enterprise customers with DLP offerings?
Dunlap: It’s a mixed bag. I recall a briefing with a large data leak prevention provider in the earlier days that had broken [its sales] down to 20% [channel] and 80% direct. For an emerging technology, that’s not a big surprise, because there’s a lot of hand holding that goes along with new technology. VARs don’t typically have access to the big customer accounts unless they are very security-savvy. As the technology continues to be adopted and integrated into traditional technologies, more channel partners will gain access to it. The midsized customer space will eventually end up being the sweet spot for [the channel]. In the meantime, larger DLP providers are going to retain compliance-types of add-on opportunities for their direct sales. Data leak prevention is an excellent add-on service. The midsized and some smaller companies are slowly recognizing the need for it. For example, a credit union that might have a couple hundred employees still has a lot of sensitive data to protect
