Skyhigh Security Debuts First Partner Program Since McAfee Enterprise Split

The security service edge vendor says the new program for resellers and distributors will later be expanded to professional and managed services providers.

Scott Goree, VP of worldwide channels at Skyhigh Security

Skyhigh Security announced its first distinct partner program since the split of McAfee Enterprise last year, which is initially focused on reseller and distributor partners.

The program unveiled on Monday, the Skyhigh Security Altitude Partner Program, includes generous backend rebates, deal registration, a new partner portal and a commitment that 100 percent of business will transact through the channel, according to Scott Goree, vice president of worldwide channels at Skyhigh Security.

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“There is no direct business. We have sellers that work directly with customers, but they are motivated to work with our partners — and by policy [Skyhigh is] 100-percent channel,” Goree told CRN.

It’s the first partner program to launch under the Skyhigh Security name and the first that is distinct from what Skyhigh had in its prior iteration, as the security service edge (SSE) business of McAfee Enterprise, he said.

“This is a big step in [us] forming our own path,” Goree said.

Following the merger of McAfee Enterprise and FireEye in 2021, the combined company was then split into two parts in 2022 — with the SSE division becoming Skyhigh Security, led by former Cisco Security executive Gee Rittenhouse as CEO. The remainder of the company, including the endpoint security business, was renamed Trellix. (Skyhigh Security and Trellix continue to operate legally as one corporate entity, but are largely separate in their functions and only share a few resources such as finance and legal , the company said.)

SSE is a set of solutions focused on enabling secure remote access to an organization’s applications and other resources. Core capabilities include zero trust network access (ZTNA) as a more-secure alternative to VPNs, cloud access security broker (CASB) for protecting SaaS usage and secure web gateway (SWG) for protecting web usage. Skyhigh Security’s SSE platform has included a major focus on data protection, including through its data loss prevention (DLP) solution. Last year, Gartner named the business now known as Skyhigh Security among the three leaders of its first-ever Magic Quadrant for SSE.

Skyhigh’s Altitude program includes three tiers — registered, essential and advanced. The program offers a revamped training platform, available through the portal, for sales and technical training that partners can take free of charge to move up to a higher tier, Goree said.

In terms of financial benefits, the new program offers double-digit backend rebates for advanced-tier partners and “slightly less” for essential-tier partners, according to Goree.

Customer demand for SSE solutions is growing rapidly and Skyhigh offers a compelling platform in the space, particularly with its emphasis on preventing data theft, said David Martinez, security practice director for the Eastern U.S. at Technologent, an Irvine, Calif.-based solution provider that has been partnering with Skyhigh since the third quarter of last year. With its data-focused SSE offering, Skyhigh Security is “focused on what people really care about protecting,” Martinez said. “They’re solving the fear [customers have] of data getting out and about.”

In addition to its strong technology platform, Skyhigh also has demonstrated a genuine commitment to working with channel partners to drive its business, he said.

“I’ve seen other companies that say they are ‘all-channel,’ but their sales force looks at partners like a necessary evil,” Martinez said. But with Skyhigh, he said, it’s clear that “their salespeople have our success at heart as much as their own. That does not happen that often in this business.”

Looking ahead, Skyhigh’s plan is to expand the program later this year to include professional services partners and managed services partners (MSPs), Goree said.

While Skyhigh already has relationships with MSPs and professional services partners, the company wants to design a “solid, bulletproof program” for those types of partners, he said. “We’re going to evolve how they go to market with us, but in partnership with with them and through feedback from them,” Goree said.