In December last year, Cato Networks, the Israel-based provider of secure access service edge (SASE) architecture, announced a new channel program that was aimed to address the frustration that team members have with traditional channel programs. The partner program that offered advanced level of training, enablement and support has reaped fruit, as the company announced that in just three months, it saw 220% increase in bookings, doubling in channel-led business.
Designed from the ground up to enhance the channel experience with strong margin opportunities, easy onboarding and expanded revenue streams, Cato’s Partner program builds on the Cato unique SASE platform. Today, more than 450 enterprises across thousands of locations including India rely on Cato for their daily business.
“We founded Cato five years ago on the premise that enterprise networking and security had to converge into the cloud, and last year’s results are the clearest validation of that vision,” says Shlomo Kramer, CEO and co-founder of Cato Networks.
“We’ve seen massive business growth, incredible customer traction, and widespread industry endorsement of the Cato approach in the form of Gartner’s SASE framework. Today, Cato is the industry standard for SASE.”
SASE Validates Cato’s Approach to WAN Transformation The secure access service edge (SASE), which Gartner introduced last August, describes an architecture converging networking and security for all enterprise edges – sites, mobile users and cloud resources – into a global, cloud-native platform. Cato was recognized as a “Sample Vendor” in the SASE category of the Hype Cycle and is the only company today to offer a fully functional, global SASE platform.
Evidence of SASE’s adoption can be seen in Cato’s 2019 results. While customers can purchase Cato’s SD-WAN capabilities alone, most chose to purchase SD-WAN with other SASE components. More specifically, 70% of Cato customers chose a Cato SASE solution of SD-WAN with built-in advanced security, and 50% chose to replace an MPLS service with SD-WAN and Cato’s global backbone. Cato also more than doubled the mobile VPN licenses sold with SD-WAN.
SASE also significant implications for the channel, and in 2019 Cato saw total growth from channel-led business increase by more than 200%. The convergence of multiple capabilities into one global platform gives Cato channel partners unprecedented opportunity to deliver new services, improve profitability, and increase customer value. Cato partners saw a 387% increase in up sell opportunities to existing customers. To date, more than 200 certified partners have joined Cato’s Global Partner Program with Accelerated ROI that launched mid last year.
The Cato partner portal delivers on all of the crucial elements that companies need to support a smoother and more seamless partner enablement. As Kramer said, “Business wants to enable its partners to profit from the growing demand for digital transformation, exploring opportunities like SD-WAN and cloud adoption.”
SASE has also contributed to the strong customer adoption of Cato in 2019 with Cato’s customer base doubling across industries. Most customers not only purchased site connectivity, typical of an SD-WAN vendor, but also chose the additional features of a SASE solution, such as advanced security, mobile access, and cloud connectivity.