#Channel Bridges Security Skills Gap at Infosec2025

A growing channel and reseller marketplace is helping cybersecurity teams address operational gaps and compensate for skill shortages in critical areas. Concurrently, these channel partners are facilitating security vendors’ entry into new markets while providing specialized industry expertise.

According to analysts at Canalys, the global cybersecurity technology market is now valued at over US$21 billion, with 91% of total spending occurring through the channel. This uptick in cybersecurity purchases through resellers indicates an increasingly diverse market, with new vendors emerging to offer innovative security tools, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). Additionally, the escalating threat landscape has prompted smaller businesses to significantly increase their cybersecurity expenditures.

Small and mid-sized businesses stand as the backbone of the reseller channel in both IT and telecommunications, making it logical for them to extend their existing business relationships by incorporating cybersecurity tools and services. The channel also serves as a strategic entry point for new cybersecurity vendors.

Channel Evolution at Industry Events

This year marked the introduction of a dedicated Channel Zone at industry events, designed to enhance visibility for resellers, CISOs, and security buyers while offering exposure to vendors who primarily sell through indirect channels.

In this shifting landscape, the operational dynamics of the channel are evolving. Traditionally, the channel comprised technology providers operating in silos focused on vendor-led solutions. However, as Richard Eglon, Chief Marketing Officer at Nebula Global Services, notes, channel firms have developed more expansive ecosystems in response to end-client demands for outcome-oriented solutions. Eglon identifies a new breed of vendor that is leveraging the channel for more effective market access.

Will Goodall, Wholesale Director at Elevate, highlights that vendors gain quicker access to larger markets without the need for an extensive sales team and can explore sectors that might have previously been inaccessible, such as education and healthcare.

Goldilock, a vendor specializing in the physical segmentation of assets and networks, employs a channel-only sales strategy, relying on trusted partners to provide credibility, scalability, and sector-specific insight. According to Steven Brodie, Chief Risk Officer at Goldilock, utilizing the channel facilitates rapid scaling to support diverse verticals while minimizing time to value for both the company and its customers.

Advantages for CISOs

Buyers benefit from the ability to procure a broader range of products and services from a single reseller, gaining access to the reseller’s buying power, which can translate into better pricing and enhanced support. This channel marketplace offers significant opportunities for CISOs to explore advanced technology, commercial models, and agile frameworks that align with their desired outcomes.

Eglon notes that legacy vendors are increasingly utilizing the channel due to heightened competition, allowing CISOs to source from both established and emerging vendors through a single partner. Enterprises view the channel as a means to consolidate security tools and services from various vendors, reducing procurement complexities and accelerating solution implementation.

This approach enables enterprise customers to achieve faster deployment, access bundled services, and receive tailored security solutions with measurable return on investment (ROI).

Value-Added Services Through Channel Partnerships

The availability of value-added services is another critical factor driving IT security teams toward channel purchases. In light of skills shortages and challenges in recruiting experienced personnel, many CISOs opt for channel partners or value-added resellers that can provide the necessary resources for technology enablement, installation, and support.

CISOs frequently prefer a ‘best of breed’ strategy concerning products and services, a preference met more effectively by channel partners than single-source vendors. This option also appeals to CISOs apprehensive about vendor lock-in, where reliance on a single technology firm can heighten risk.

The size of the company plays a significant role in this dynamic; larger enterprises may require less support from channel partners compared to smaller firms, which depend more heavily on third-party resources to streamline their security infrastructures in light of limited specialized IT and security staff. While many technology vendors possess service divisions, these typically focus on the largest opportunities.