Akamai, WWT Expand Strategic Partnership for Security Solutions

Akamai and World Wide Technology (WWT) are expanding their strategic partnership to offer Akamai’s security solutions to WWT’s global customer base.

WWT delivers Akamai’s security solutions to its enterprise, service provider and public sector customers globally. Central to the expanded partnership is Akamai’s inclusion in WWT’s Advanced Technology Center (ATC). With an international footprint, the ATC houses an array of technologies that enable customers to access an ecosystem of innovation, research and thought leadership. Akamai API Security and Guardicore Segmentation solutions are running in WWT’s ATC, making Akamai proofs of concept, labs, demos and testing simple and efficient.

Expanded Strategic Partnership Provides Big Value Add for Customers

Dave Allen, Akamai‘s vice president of partner sales and services, said inclusion in WWT’s ATC provides a significant value add for customers, both from a presale standpoint, and determining product selection and technology fit, as well as the capability of implementation and managed services as well.

Akamai’s Dave Allen

“In the security segment, customers just don’t want products; they need offerings, the combination of products and services,” he said.

Akamai will benefit from WWT’s size and scale to reach more customers, particularly newer customers who would like to take advantage of Akamai products plus WWT services, Allen said.

“At this point in time, the relationship with WWT is focused on North America,” he said. “There are possibilities and capability to expand beyond this geo, so this is the ability to be able to reach more customers in all industries in the commercial segment, including public sector as well. So given the rapid growth for Akamai, particularly in the security segment with our portfolio of offerings, WWT‘s size and scale will help us reach new customers where we haven’t done business with before or existing customers that want additional capabilities as we’ve added new products to our portfolio, particularly in the areas of API security, application security and segmentation.”

More to Come from Strategic Partnership

This expansion is likely just the start of Akamai’s strategic partnership with WWT, Allen said.

“In my conversations with WWT executives, I think we’re just scratching the surface,” he said. “The threat landscape, particularly in security, is ever changing. And so as Akamai adds more capabilities, more products either through organic development or M&A activity, we would expect and hope that WWT would adopt those products as part of their ATC and go to market motions, and then wrap their services around that in the nature of consulting services to customers and prospects, implementation services, and then also managed services because many companies just don’t have the IT staff or resource capabilities to be able to manage all of these offerings and try to mitigate all these threats. So as we add capabilities, as WWT brings more capabilities and services to the mix, I expect that we will see this relationship expand going forward.”

Greg Schoeny, senior vice president of WWT’s global service provider business, said WWT and Akamai have a comprehensive security portfolio to protect customers as their online experiences expand into most aspects of their daily lives.

“Not only are we encouraged by the impressive volume of Akamai business won with WWT, but also the seamless nature of closing business and service activation,” he said.