Zenarmor Launches SASE Partner Program for MSPs and Channel Providers

As the need for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) protections rises for enterprises, cybersecurity vendor Zenarmor has created a new channel partner program to help MSPs, MSSPs, ISPs, VARs, and other partners provide targeted SASE services for business customers.

The Zenarmor SASE Channel Partner Program is designed to make it easier for MSP and MSSP partners to deploy, manage, and sell SASE services that protect customer applications and data in the cloud, at the edge, on-premises, or remotely on customer-owned or partner-managed infrastructure, according to the company.

"This is a new channel program for Zenarmor and the industry in the way partners can deliver SASE," Asha Kalyur, vice president of marketing for Zenarmor, told ChannelE2E. "Zenarmor has always been partner-led. This announcement formalizes and expands our global SASE-focused channel strategy with a new structure, positioning, enablement, go-to-market alignment, and benefits for channel partners."

Zenarmor does other work with channel partners across firewalls, network security, and distributed enforcement deployments, she said.

SASE combines critical network and security operations into a single cloud-delivered service to help simplify and improve security and performance for customers while reducing system complexity through a single monitoring platform, according to the vendor.

Zenarmor's SASE product eliminates the need for cloud PoP infrastructure and other overlay networks because it deploys its full SASE stack at customer sites, endpoints, edges, and on partner infrastructure, said Kalyur. This also helps maintain data sovereignty by bringing monitoring within customer or partner environments, she added.

"Zenarmor’s distributed enforcement model reduces the operational risk and performance tradeoffs common in PoP-centric SASE platforms for partners," said Kalyur. At the same time, "many MSP and MSSP customers are hybrid, distributed, and cost sensitive. They need Zero Trust and secure internet access without global backbone dependency or excessive costs."

Additional Service Gains for Partners

"Partners consistently asked us for a structured channel partner program around Zenarmor SASE that they could take to market," said Kalyur. "The core technology already existed from Zenarmor. What is new is the formal channel framework and explicit SASE-focused benefits that partners can confidently build services around."

The SASE-focused channel partner program also brings partners other benefits, including greater service differentiation, stronger margin control, minimized cloud egress costs, faster customer deployments, and better performance for customers, said Kalyur. "In short, Zenarmor’s new SASE partner program helps partners build services they can operate for their customers, not just resell."

Shamus McGillicuddy, an analyst and vice president of research for Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), told ChannelE2E that it makes sense that Zenarmor is building out this channel segment now.

"Enterprises increasingly want to consume SASE as a managed service, and channel partners excel at delivering managed services that fit the unique needs of various industries and individual customers," said McGillicuddy. "The company offers a unique angle to the channel by delivering a solution that does not rely on PoPs (Points of Presence) for cloud-native security," which has been an integration headache for partners and end customers for a long time, he said.

"SASE PoPs introduce latency, create operational blind spots, and add resiliency risk," said McGillicuddy. "Sure, if a SASE PoP goes down, the vendor will fail over to a secondary site, but customers often experience a latency hit when that happens because their traffic must travel farther to reach a PoP."

Zenarmor’s architecture removes those complications, making it simpler and more efficient, he said.

"Many customers will insist on the traditional approach that incumbent SASE vendors offer with their global network of PoPs," said McGillicuddy. "However, partners who want a flexible and efficient secondary offering will find Zenarmor intriguing because it could require less overhead to get customers up and running and make it easier to deliver a good experience. Right now, Zenarmor is ideal for partners who want to offer multiple options to small and medium enterprises."