Kaspersky named top dog in Canalys channel satisfaction report

Kaspersky has been recognised for the quality of its partner programme in the Canalys Worldwide Vendor Benchmark.

The company was named the top cybersecurity vendor for channel satisfaction after achieving the highest overall rating (75.8%) when compared to 10 other cybersecurity vendors.

Canalys is a globally renowned independent analyst firm and it's Worldwide Vendor Benchmark gives the channel reassurance over which vendors provide the best service in several sectors, including cybersecurity, and service features.

The benchmark is an objective comparison of channel partner programmes, measuring how vendors perform in a range of key categories.

Canalys has found that Kaspersky has improved in overall performance in the last 12 months, achieving a +7.7% year-on-year score increase.

According to the Canalys Worldwide Vendor Benchmark, this year Kaspersky scored the highest ratings for product availability and supply (83.7%) and ease of doing business (78.4%).

The largest year-on-year rating rise is seen in accreditation and specialization programs (+ 9.9%).

This growth area sits alongside increases in the effectiveness of how the company approaches partner account management (+ 8.7%) and margin retention and profitability (+ 8.7%).

Sophos and ESET were named second and third respectively, however, they both saw a decline in their score year on year.

Other vendors showing a score improvement included Check Point (7th), Juniper Networks, Trend Micro (8th equal) and Symantec (10th).

Cisco's score remained unchanged, placing them in fourth, while Palo Alto, Fortinet (5th equal) and McAfee's scores also declined, with McAfee coming in last place of the 11 vendors in the report.

Kaspersky has put a sustained effort in attracting new partners and offering more benefits to existing and new ones.

The launch of a new partner programme – 'Kaspersky United' – at the start of 2019 was one of the steps to address these priorities.

 Kaspersky United helps partners monetise their specialisms and gain more rewards from working with Kaspersky, as well as get more expertise, education and marketing opportunities.

"Receiving this great recognition as the top cybersecurity vendor for channel satisfaction by Canalys shows we have made the right decision in investing and improving our partner programme," says Kaspersky chief business officer Alexander Moiseev.

"We not only want to meet our partners' needs but also further improve user experience and offer incentives for them to work with us. This ensures they receive quality service and feel confident in us as a cybersecurity vendor. The next important improvements to the program are going to be announced at the beginning of 2020."