Security vendor Cyber-Ark has appointed its first UK partner manager and has switched from a two-tier to a single-tier channel strategy.

The firm, which specialises in vaulting technology, has signed Paul Barnett as its UK channel head and has parted company with distributor Noxs after 18 months.

Speaking to CRN, Barnett, who worked at distributor Computerlinks, (formerly Unipalm) and Check Point, before becoming UK channel director for Cyber-Ark, said the switch to a single-tier strategy was necessary.

“Although we had a great relationship with Noxs and know it has done great work in the past, a two-tier model was not for us,” he said. “With a single tier, we can engage more directly with our partners and add more value and resources to our resellers.

“At the moment we are still very much at the early stage of the market and we need to engage directly with our resellers. Noxs has been a great partner and it has put in a lot of hard work on our behalf.”

Barnett added that the vendor was still looking to recruit resellers.

“I want to grow our channel and am still looking for focused security partners that understand the market and are easy to work with,” he said.

Kay Eggleston, UK managing director of Noxs, said the decision was an economic one. “Cyber-Ark is a niche technology that works in the high-end enterprise sector,” she said. “This needs a lot of direct touch and this is why it has hired Paul. I think this is probably the right thing for Cyber-Ark to do and if I was in its shoes I would probably do the same.”

However, Eggleston said she would take the product back ‘like a shot’ if the market demand was there.

“I think Cyber-Ark needs at least a year to really develop the market,” she added. “It is a great technology, but it needs a lot of evangelising. I’m not saying goodbye to Cyber-Ark, I’m saying au revoir.”

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