HiddenLayer Partners Get First Channel Program

HiddenLayer partners are getting access to the artificial intelligence (AI) application security provider’s first end-to-end partner program.

The HiddenLayer Partner Program allows partners to onboard while providing predictable, transparent pricing and flexible licensing models, and an automated, scalable AI security (AISec) platform. HiddenLayer partners will be able to educate customers on a new threat landscape and provide the solutions they need to protect their AI and competitive edge, build stronger relationships and establish their team as AI leaders for their customers, the company said.

“We know we have one opportunity to introduce HiddenLayer to the channel ecosystem, and therefore, explicitly decided to hold the launch until we had built our program to be best in class,” said Abigail Maines, HiddenLayer’s chief revenue officer. “We spent the last two quarters implementing our partner portal, designing self-paced training and developing marketing programs purpose-built for the ecosystem."

HiddenLayer's Rebecca Cahak

HiddenLayer last quarter hired head of channel Rebecca Cahak, a 20-year industry veteran. She is a channel professional with over 20 years of experience.

3 Tiers for HiddenLayer Partners

HiddenLayer aims to optimize its current partner network, enhancing it through streamlined support and collaborative offerings. There will be three tiers for the program – covert, concealed and clandestine – so customers can work together with HiddenLayer to achieve the best-shared outcome.

Related:HiddenLayer Appoints Security Channel Vet Abigail Maines as CRO

Each tier includes pricing discounts, free online training for sales and technical enablement, and security for AI marketing partnerships. Concealed includes free on-site training and performance incentive programs for extra financial success. Clandestine includes everything previously mentioned, with the addition of account mapping, executive security research briefings and more.

Overwhelming market demand from partners prompted the need for HiddenLayer’s program, Maines said.

“Since inception, and especially after our RSA Innovation Sandbox win in 2023, partners have been asking to bring our AISec platform to their customer base at scale,” she said. “I can tell you, it was very difficult to ask these partners to wait for our program, but we knew we had to ensure our partners and their customers had an effective and efficient onboarding and field execution model from HiddenLayer.”

Further, machine learning (ML) and AI are driving innovation across every single industry, Maines said. But as the impact of this technology grows, so does the scale of the threats to their security. New attack surfaces, like inference/extraction, data poisoning, model evasion and model injection are creating risks that many businesses might not even know could be on their doorstep. And bad actors are developing new attack techniques all the while.

HiddenLayer's Abigail Maines

“Forty percent of organizations have experienced an AI security or privacy breach, per Gartner, and 20% of companies experienced an AI model attack over the course of one year, from May 2022 to May 2023, per Scale Venture Partners,” she said. “So this is an urgent challenge that we are educating our customers on, and by creating the HiddenLayer partner program, we are able to implement it with customers at a faster scale and rate. We know channel partners' IP is their customer relationships and as such, their ability to accelerate customer relationships and ultimately the security for AI industry is unmatched.”

HiddenLayer Partners' Feedback Incorporated Into New Program

Since day one, HiddenLayer’s go-to-market strategy is to be 100% channel-led, Maines said.

“We understand how valuable partners are to their customers and to solution providers like us,” she said, “We have tremendous empathy for the sheer number of cyber offerings that partners can sell, which is why we built our program to be easy, predictable and transparent. We consulted with over 50 partners to design this partner program and intend to continue to incorporate partner feedback as received.”

The partner program is about providing the benefits and ease of use that partners already receive to their customers, Maines said.

“A lot of partners' daily needs are offered as self-service on the site and of course, we are always available for any additional human touch needs,” she said. “Our suite of products is the most automated, scalable and unobtrusive solution to secure AI on the market, and this program spreads those benefits to our partners’ customers. And we are listening to our customers as we build out our roadmap.”