SASE is a real services opportunity for MSPs, but scaling it is where things get tricky. Providers cannot scale managed SASE profitably if every new customer requires a long setup cycle, manual licensing work, or repeated vendor support tickets.
That is the problem
Netskope is trying to solve with its new Catalyst MSP/SP Program. The program gives partners a more self-service way to spin up customer environments, move licenses around, train teams, and build managed SASE services around Netskope’s platform.
A program built for managed service delivery
The biggest piece is Partner Orchestrator. Netskope describes it as a multi-tenant, self-service platform for creating customer environments across its SASE and AI product portfolio in under 15 minutes. For MSPs managing many customers, that is more than a nice-to-have feature. Tenant creation, access rights, and service activation can quickly become a bottleneck as the customer base grows.
Kristin Carnes, VP for global channel programs and strategy at Netskope, told ChannelE2E that the under-15-minute setup gives MSPs a production-ready tenant with the services and SKUs the customer needs, including SWG, ZTNA, SD-WAN, DEM, and AI Security.
“They select exactly the services and SKUs the customer needs, in any combination, and the platform spins it up with those capabilities enabled and lives across Netskope’s global POP footprint, base configuration deployed and ready to go,” Carnes said.
That does not mean the customer is fully live without any additional MSP work. Carnes said the remaining go-live steps, including steering, policy, and user onboarding, are API-driven so MSPs can automate and repeat their standard customer build instead of recreating it manually each time.
“The result: faster time-to-value, repeatable delivery at scale, and no vendor in the critical pathway,” Carnes said.
The program also includes access controls that let MSPs manage different partner tiers underneath them, including systems integrators, sub-partners, and resellers.
Pricing and license portability target MSP margins
Netskope is also putting pricing and licensing at the center of the program. Catalyst includes simplified pricing, programmatic discounts, and 24x7 support. The company is also offering license portability, which allows MSPs to move licenses between customers without opening a ticket or waiting for approval.
Licensing can create margin pressure when customer demand changes faster than the contract model allows. If one customer has unused licenses and another needs more, portability can help reduce waste and improve utilization. It also gives providers more flexibility when customers grow, shrink, churn, or change service needs.
“With Netskope Partner Orchestrator, an MSP can move customer entitlements between customers they are managing,” Carnes said. “If a customer goes out of business, the licenses can be redeployed to an existing or new customer.”
License portability gives providers more room to manage that change without turning every adjustment into a support process.
“We’ve made the end-to-end process more seamless,” Carnes said.
The program has three partner tiers: Foundation, Ascent, and Summit. Each tier comes with different benefits across the program. Tiered programs are common in the channel, so the real test will be whether the benefits map cleanly to how MSPs actually package, sell, and support managed SASE services.
Training and support aim to shorten ramp time
SASE projects often touch networking, identity, cloud access, data security, and user experience. Providers need sales teams that can explain the service clearly and technical teams that can deploy, manage, and troubleshoot it consistently. Netskope is also adding training and accreditation paths for partners, including Netskope Sales Core, Netskope SASE Associate, and Netskope SASE Specialist. The company is offering both e-learning and instructor-led training.
Netskope is also offering Partner Assist deal support, co-branded campaigns, service creation workshops, a unified partner portal, and deal protection. Those pieces point to a broader channel strategy: help partners build a repeatable managed SASE business rather than simply resell licenses.
Carnes said MSPs can use the program in more than one way. Some partners may add Netskope into an existing customer environment, while others may use the platform to replace older security and networking products.
“We have MSPs who add our solutions to their existing customer environments as well as those who replace existing legacy products with the Netskope SASE platform,” Carnes said. “With the addition of Netskope Partner Orchestrator, we see more MSPs interested and moving to leverage this unique offering.”
Competitive pressure continues in managed SASE
Netskope is competing in a crowded SASE and SSE market, where vendors are trying to win channel mindshare as MSPs and MSSPs build recurring services around cloud access, zero trust, data protection, and AI security.
Carnes said Netskope’s position with MSPs is tied to Partner Orchestrator and the company’s broader SASE portfolio.
“In addition to the flexibility that Netskope Partner Orchestrator provides, Netskope has a complete SASE offering, so MSPs can consolidate customers to our offerings and provide a very robust experience,” Carnes said.
The Catalyst MSP/SP Program is giving Netskope a clearer managed services motion at a time when enterprises are asking providers to simplify security and networking.
