Symantec Broadens Monthly Subscription Buying Option

June 21, 2010

Symantec Corp. said that it is broadening its Enterprise Service Provider program (ExSP) licensing program, previously confined to large service providers, to allow all qualified channel partners to purchase security software on a monthly subscription basis, a move the vendor believes will extend its products and services further into the small- and medium-sized business market.

Company officials said that the pay-as-you-go licensing offer is aimed at helping channel partners to reduce upfront costs and eases the transition to delivering more solutions in a managed services model, particularly to SMBs.

Under the program, partners can bundle Symantec’s software with their own services, map use to payment schedules and eliminate pre-purchasing of estimated licenses, factors conducive to selling into the SMB segment.

“Our partners are telling us that they’re finding success in offering Symantec software bundled with their services to solve their customers’ information protection challenges,” said Randy Cochran, Symantec vice president, channel sales.

Cochran suggested that an extended ExSP program better accommodates smaller partners selling managed services to SMBs.

“By enhancing our ExSP licensing program to make it accessible to our broader partner base, Symantec is enabling partners of all sizes to accelerate profitability and reduce their upfront investments to support growth,” Cochran said.

The ExSP licensing program is open to all Symantec channel partners qualified as service providers, that offer end user customers a mix of the vendor’s products and their own services. Partners must hold a Symantec Technical Specialist (STS) certification to qualify.

Subscription pricing is based on the volume of licenses purchased.