'7 Minutes' with AppGate Channel Chief Tina Gravel

Cyxtera has completed spinning out its cybersecurity business into a separate company, AppGate, and Tina Gravel has joined the new company as its channel chief.

Gravel previously was Cyxtera’s senior vice president of global channels and strategic alliances. AppGate brings together a set of cloud-and hybrid-ready security and analytics products and services.

Gravel tells Channel Partners the opportunity in the security space is “limitless” right now, and with the advent of COVID-19 and working from home, “we are more relevant than ever.”

AppGate’s Tina Gravel

“You will see more outreach via video and audio broadcasts than we have ever done before,” she said. “We will also provide incentives to partners that really dig in and go big with us now and the future. Our CRO has given me audacious goal[s] …. around increasing partner productivity, so you will probably get tired of hearing from me in the future. We are so lucky to have been able to attract Tamara Prazak, our new director of channel marketing to join us, too, and you will hear from both of us. Last but not least, I am raring to get out and sell with partners. I have been a road warrior my entire career and do not mind the travel at all. As soon as I have permission by the states and federal government to do so, I’ll be there.”

Cyxtera and AppGate will work closely together as strategic partners, with AppGate leveraging Cyxtera’s global footprint to accelerate deployments and expand as-a-service capabilities. Cyxtera will integrate AppGate products into the capabilities connected via its CXD on-demand marketplace, providing customers with a cyber-resilient data center platform.

In a Q&A with Channel Partners, Gravel talks about what differentiates AppGate from competitors and what it has to offer the channel.

Channel Partners: Tell us what customers love about your product or service. What’s the secret selling sauce?

Tina Gravel: We have a number of products, but not all have been sold through channel (but they will be soon), so I will talk about AppGate SDP, a solution that many partners are seeing great success in selling. We can keep companies, individuals and governments better protected than traditional tools like VPNs. The current VPN technology is antiquated and not safe, difficult to manage and maintain, and has become a bottleneck due to scalability issues. AppGate SDP provides a better user experience, massive scalability, provides a zero-trust posture (more secure) and saves clients countless dollars on administration. Secret selling sauce: if you have remote workers, you need us.

CP: Describe your channel program — metal levels, heavy on certifications, open or selective, unique features? Do you work with masters and/or distributors?

TG: As AppGate just recently spun out from Cyxtera, we are using the same program I created there. The program is solid, fair and lucrative, but I want to make sure it is a perfect fit for what I am currently involved with security software and solutions, and make sure we have the best program we can have.

We do work with masters and distributors. Avant, Intelisys, Telarus and MicroCorp are quite active on the masters side, and Ingram Micro is our main distributor. All of their partners have been awesome to work with. We are an open program; anyone can apply and we are building out …

… a certification program for the sales engineers and architects that want to learn as much as possible about what we do.

CP: Quick-hit answers: Percentage of sales through the channel, number of partners, average margin. Go.

TG: Estimated 20% sales through the channel, 60 partners and 20-22% average margin.

CP: Who are your main competitors, and what makes your offering better?

TG: Most companies we are competing with say that they have a true zero-trust solution that works in the cloud, on premises, etc. When tested, they find that most of those that compete with AppGate SDP cannot get close to the functionality we offer. The main competitors are ZScaler and Verizon SDP. They both have great offerings, but do not do what we do.

CP: How do you think your technology portfolio will change in the next three years?

TG: We have a service that we offer for AppGate SDP that we manage (SaaS), but it is very new and the acceptance of the solution has room to grow. I expect many MSPs to utilize this, add to their portfolio of services and this offering will expand. We will have a certification program for our partners to implement our products as we do not expect to have a large consulting staff ever. Lastly, our newest offering, AppGate IoT Connector, will mature and become the de facto standard for securely managing your devices.

CP: How do you expect your channel strategy to evolve over that time frame?

TG: I have done this role in the past and the foundational needs have not changed; how do you gain mindshare with clients that are sold by agents and partners and three to four people removed from you? How do you extend your own sales capabilities to others that you might never meet you until the sale is made? How do you stand out among the noise that all channel partners face with so many different solutions they can sell from many different companies?

CP: What didn’t we ask that partners should know?

TG: By selling AppGate SDP with us for VPN replacement, you will begin to learn the elements of security that will serve you well in the future if that is the direction you wish your business to go. We help you sell by partnering you up with a direct seller (no cost to you) and we walk hand in hand through the sales cycle to make sure you have a successful outcome and your client gets the very best experience possible. By doing this, you will learn well and before you know it, you will possess thought leadership in security solutions.