Partners embracing Rapid7’s training
Security player’s channel head provides an update on the reaction to partner programme changes the vendor introduced earlier this year
Rapid7 has seen its channel embrace the key features of the Pact partner programme it introduced earlier this year, with the introduction of a partner portal, more tailored engagement proportions and a fresh training academy.
Kelly Hiscoe, the cyber security player’s director of global partner programmes, said the academy had resonated with partners, and in the past few months had been used extensively.
“The academy was a really big part of our programme launch for 2025, and we knew this was an area we needed to really invest in as a company – and we did,” she said. “We have a team of people now that are responsible for building our partner academy framework and content, and that is truly central to Pact 2025, and that will continue to be a theme as we go into next year.”
The backdrop to the partner programme changes that came in February was a recognition that there were various channel models, and the academy was a method to ensure that training would be there for all of those signed up to Pact.
“We’ve really been focused on global awareness and adoption of the programme changes that we put in place back in February,” said Hiscoe. “We’ve continued to make enhancements for the partner portal. We’ve launched a new partner directory tool, and then we’ve also continued to push new content for our partners down through that academy.
“As we think about the academy and what that represents, we really wanted to create this with our partners and for our partners, and we wanted to take into account the different roles that our partners play, but also how those roles align to the customer lifecycle,” she said.
“So, we put this robust training content in place that looks at sales, pre sales, technical and post sales services. We’re really thinking about the persona or the role of the partner and how that overlaps on the customer lifecycle.”
High levels of interaction
Hiscoe said that in the first five months of the programme, there had been high levels of interaction with the academy.
“The early results show very strong engagement, which is demonstrated through the completed training,” she said, adding that the vendor had surveyed hundreds of partners and the response had indicated “the partner academy is exceeding expectations”.
“They believe that the content is relevant, well designed and an excellent resource for both new and experienced professionals,” said Hiscoe. “It helps them to deepen their understanding and stay ahead of the evolving threat landscape.”
She added that just shy of 2,000 partners had enrolled in the academy, gaining over 3,300 certifications.
The plan is for the vendor’s channel leadership to continue listening to partners, as well as to evolve the programme and react to their needs.
“We want to continue to make space for this continuous feedback loop that’s very important to us … the content that we’ve already pushed out to our partners, we’re seeing very strong positive reaction to that, but we are never done,” said Hiscoe. “We’re going to continue to find ways for that continuous feedback loop.
“We’re going to continue to listen very carefully to our partners and keep building upon that content that we’ve made available over the next year and beyond,” she added. “We’re not going to slow down now.”
