Upwind founder talks benefits of going channel from the start

The usual pattern for a startup is to operate direct, start with a few channel partners and then develop a larger channel strategy – but that has not been the approach at Upwind.

The security player’s founder had the experience and appreciation of partnering gained in former spells at Spot.io and at NetApp after that business was acquired. As a result, the cloud security player, which recently closed its latest round of funding, has gone partner-first from the beginning and established a network of partner leads across its organisation.

“When we started Upwind, we started with this mindset of channel first. We are second timers. From day one, we started to work with channel partners from all different types,” said Lavi Ferdman, co-founder and senior vice-president of growth at Upwind.

The firm has recruited resellers, managed services providers (MSPs) and managed security services providers (MSSPs) to get its offering in front of more customers. The firm has also sealed relationships with AWS and Microsoft, which has given it additional exposure to a wider channel base.

“We have this operation globally – we have a vice-president of channel and alliances, we have channel managers in the different regions, we spread globally,” said Ferdman. “The majority of our business is coming and is [generated] by working with channel. More than 50% of our revenue is coming from channel. So, that’s definitely the strategy.”

Ferdman said that it was building an ecosystem that maximised opportunities for partners and offered more than a two-way relationship: “It’s not just like a channel strategy in the traditional sellers, but this triangle between the cloud providers, the channel partners and the vendor. I think anyone that will solve this will [be] set up to great success,” he said.

He added that there was a key role for the channel to play in providing education to customers concerned about AI security, who are looking for guidance around strategies as well as technologies to deploy.

“It’s obvious that organisations are putting in budgets, efforts and head counts to figure this out,” he said. “It needs a lot of education. The top priority right now, as we see it, is visibility.”

With AI increasing the risks for customers, the growth potential for partners is rising – and the door remains open for more to sign up with the vendor.

“Every CISO and every partner understands that there must be a strategy, and it has to put budget in and some focus on the topic of AI security,” said Ferdman. “What CISOs are worried about is that they have lost control, they have lost visibility, they have no idea who is using agents...or what [their] exposure looks like.

“If you get it right, from day one, and invest in that, then it will be the biggest source for your pipeline, the biggest source for potential business. We all see this value to scale globally in the dynamics of the market, the targets that we have on the table and the opportunity here. We have five partners on our side. We can’t do it by ourselves,” he added.