Ingram Micro has announced the launch of its Cybersecurity Practice Builder, which is backed by vendors including Microsoft, Sophos, Proofpoint, Bitdefender and Sky-High Security.
Ingram Micro Head of Cyber Security Rod Lazarus says there is a necessity for an empowered channel. “One of the major issues we face in Australia isn’t a shortage of the necessary technology for protecting against cyberthreats, but a shortage of skilled people. With the Cybersecurity Practice Builder program, we’re building capacity with the support of our vendors, offering training, certification, sales and technical enablement rather than merely shipping product.”
The distributor offers access to its substantial cybersecurity team, including solution architects, professional services, business development support and product managers. Under its Technical Security Services, Ingram Micro offers essentials such as IT Infrastructure Penetration Testing, Application Penetration Testing and Social Engineering exercises; its Security Advisory Services offerings include Security Program Development, Virtual CISO, Threat Modelling, and Strategy Guidance. Under Cybersecurity Firewall Services, solutions include Firewall deployment and review, customised firewall technical training, Firewall migration, and Firewall health check. All these services are available ‘on demand’ for partner onsell to end customers.
“In addition, Ingram Micro runs white-labelled ‘eyesight reports’ in our partners’ customer environments, reporting back on their exposure and providing protect and response remedy roadmaps. This helps the end user understand their security posture and supports the reseller in taking the necessary actions to effectively mitigate commonly faced threats,” notes Lazarus.
He adds that partners earn rewards for building their cybersecurity practice, with a series of webinars and events in support of Cybersecurity Practice Builder helping towards certification and capacity building, ultimately leading to closing more sales and looking after the interests of end users.
Ingram Micro Cloud sales manager Adam Smith says that with cybersecurity, protection is always better than cure. “With this program, we’re putting together all the elements required for effective protection and making it easier for all our partners to get into this business. Protecting your customers should be an integral part of complete IT solution delivery – and Cybersecurity Practice Builder guides the way towards creating a proven competency.”
Smith continues the increasingly interconnected nature of modern business comes with its challenges. “The necessity for watertight cybersecurity isn’t new, but the nature of the problem constantly evolves making enduring solutions difficult. Effective cybersecurity depends on more than technology and rests equally on the process and human capacity. That’s what Ingram Micro is doing with the Cybersecurity Practice Builder, bringing together the full range of resources necessary to demystify cybersecurity for the reseller, so our partners can deliver the protection required by their customers.”
While cybersecurity measures represent a cost to businesses, breaches are more expensive by far. The government Australian Cyber Security Centre agency recorded more than 67,500 cybercrime reports from 2020-2021, an increase of nearly 13 percent from the previous year, with self-reported losses totalling more than $33 billion. Just how serious the problem is becoming clear when noting that nearly a quarter of reported incidents affected entities associated with Australia’s critical infrastructure.
