How do you plan to tap the Indian market? 
Lumension Security, one of the latest entrants into the Indian security solutions market, launched its products chiefly via channel-focussed events. We have chalked out an aggressive plan to tap the Indian Security market. We plan to increase VARs (value-added resellers) across the country. We have already appointed 60 tier 2 partners who are security specialists. Apart from system integrators, we believe in partnering. Lumension Security is planning to shift the approach from blacklisting to whitelisting – a shift from reactive to proactive approach.

What are your product offerings? 
Lumension Security offers the industry’s only product suite that provides complete global security management. This includes Unified Vulnerability Management (Automated Discovery, Assessment, Remediation and Validation); Unified Endpoint Policy Enforcement (Application and Device Control), Sanctuary Device Control 4.3 and Security Configuration Management (SCM). Recently, Lumension Security was awarded a patent for its innovative Shadowing technology, a key component to its Sanctuary Device Control endpoint security solution.

What are the verticals you are targeting? 
Lumension Security is focussing on sectors like BFSI, government, IT/ITeS, manufacturing, transportation, hospitality, telecom, pharmaceutical and education. We have identified a set of partners having expertise in the said verticals. This will definitely help in enhancing our market share.

Any plans to tap B and C class cities? 
Lumension is primarily focussing on class-A cities because of high awareness / adoption level among the enterprise and SMB segments and plans unified protection and control of about 5 to 10 lakh nodes across enterprise endpoints by end-2008. We also plan to extend our roots to class B and C cities, where security in SMBs is catching at a fast pace.

What is your channel structure? 
Lumension Security adopted a two-tier channel model that encompasses system integrators and distributors who have the relevant expertise in the security space. To reach out to our potential customers, we appointed Bangalore-based Inflow Technologies as our national distributor.

In order to enhance our channel network, Lumension also appointed Gateway Nintech, a leader in specialist IT Security Solutions, as our sub-distributor in India. As part of the partnership, Gateway NINtec facilitates Lumension’s Sanctuary range of products in endpoint security, viz. Device and Application Control solutions. Given their established capability in endpoint security products, sound understanding of Lumension, national reach and highest standards in customer support, we are confident of substantially increasing its market share and presence in the country. Within the System Integrators, we have partnered with global System Integrators, National System Integrators and a host of Value Added Resellers who are focussed security players within their geography / region, who help carry our solutions across the verticals across the Large / Enterprise and SMB customers.

Kindly share your channel plans? 
Lumension has an aggressive programme targeted at building up technical competence within our channel community and we achieve this by conducting periodic technical training sessions. Also, we have facilitated an online training programme for our channels to undergo on induction. Lumension also has crafted a superb incentive programme both from a channel sales personnel and organization perspective to keep the channel motivated and awarded towards building up the market for Lumension. Since these are new solutions, we have spent time on training our partners. As a result, the revamp has fetched more margins. Besides, there is a huge scope for services and support and, therefore, recurring revenues.

Lumension is also planning to offer patch and vulnerability solutions on a subscription basis. A customer would be charged Rs.100/node/year and can opt for multi-year agreements. This will ensure fixed revenues to the partners in the service model. The company’s solutions are priced competitively and the partners should look forward to earning high margins on them. Lumension expects partners to generate volume deals that could translate into more revenues. Hence, activities are planned around customers of select channel partners, viz. SIs and VARs who are accomplished players in the field, are competent and have large service accounts. These will be exclusive customer-partner sessions.

Why a partner should join Lumension?
Lumension is a channel-driven organization. We promote our brands primarily through our partners. We believe that channel partners are our greatest ambassadors and hence we invest heavily in innovating channel programmes and training initiatives. At Lumension, we have trained 100-plus partner engineers till now in India, who are ready and certified to implement Lumension’s entire range at customer end. Lumension will drive its channel to work on its proven Positive Security model that offers automated asset discovery, vulnerability assessment, remediation and validation; application and device control; extensive policy compliance reporting and, finally, integration with leading network access control solutions.

This will equip them and help them develop competencies and make them market ready before entering the business model. The partners will then be categorized into the silver, gold or platinum, depending on the competence, dedicated focus for Lumension products and revenue forecasts. Additionally, we are also looking at organizing road shows in tier I and II cities to create awareness about Lumension and its offerings. We are also participating in industry- leading security-focussed seminars / articles / events to create awareness and lead generation programmes put together towards building up more awareness within the market.

What, according to you, are your key strengths? 
The key strength of Lumension Security stems from its ability to think and think ahead. The people behind have been visionaries, starting their early concentration on Patch Management solution and believing that it is going to be an integral part required by any organization and through constant research and development they have established themselves as an expert in that area. To sum it up simply, Lumension Security’s strengths are: 
* Futuristic approach to designing products and solutions 
* High Quality Engineering and Research & Development 
* Excellent Customer Support and Services

What is the growth you are experiencing? 
Lumension has seen a very sharp and a positive growth in the developed markets like the Europe / UK and US. We have seen an encouraging response within the Asia-Pacific market to our offerings. In India, we are looking at servicing anywhere between 5,00,000 and 10, 00,000 nodes in this financial year.