Anthony Stevens (6 clicks)
Credit: 6 clicks
Melbourne-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform operator 6clicks is looking to grow its channel base in Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ), attracting partners through “competitive ” rebates.
The cyber security management and compliance specialist offers partners a rebate margin of between 20 percent to 40 percent for licenses sold to customers in an effort to compete with the likes of ServiceNow.
Speaking to ARN, 6clicks CEO and co-founder Anthony Stevens said the company recently revamped its partner portal and encourages partners to “work their way” into the partner program through an online academy.
Specializing in risk assessment and compliance, 6clicks works with both traditional resellers, managed service providers (MSPs) and consultants.
It currently has a channel spanning 65 such partners covering A/NZ – which includes companies such as CyberCX and Tesserent – as well as the US and South Africa.
The company recently refreshed its Partner Program for resellers, which has three tiers: Silver, Gold and Platinum.
The program includes several sales certifications that partners are required to maintain, online training, channel account managers and 24/7 support.
The program refresh comes nearly three years after 6clicks acquired 6clicks’ assets, people, and customer contracts in 2019, with the TrustyGate brand coming under the 6clicks umbrella.
The combined outfit provided a unified cyber security management and risk assessment platform for businesses and service providers.
Stevens said 6clicks differentiates itself from its competitors – including ServiceNow and “dinosaurs” such as IBM Open Page and RSA Archer – with higher rebates.
“Many of the vendors in our space tend to only offer 10 percent margins, so ours is more competitive,” he said. “Customers love the product. We’ve been around for about two years, but we have a very high conversion rate.”
In advisory firms, the “relationship [with 6clicks] deeper and broader and strategic”, explained the platform operator.
They, along with 6clicks MSPs, are working by licensing its platform to streamline their own delivery service.
“MSPs use our platform to provide services like virtual CISO, managed cyber compliance or risk management – anything where there is repetitive human-based activity that needs to be done,” Stevens said. . “Our platform gives them the scalability of those offerings
“We are probably the only platform out there that takes time for everyone [their] MSPs, helping them use it with their clients.”
Stevens said the company is “significantly growing” its partner program and has new partners “coming in every week”.
In addition to this, 6clicks is about to sign a deal with “one of the largest distributors in the US”, which Stevens said will give the vendor “significant wholesale reach.”
Having raised a total of $12.7 million, which includes $5 million raised last year, 6clicks said it is looking to grow its domestic Australian market and has acquired a number of new customers and partners in Australia and overseas. It also employs a total of 55 people in its four markets.
Discussing why the platform has gained momentum, Stevens said the current cyber security climate has created a high demand for cyber risk assessment, especially in its target market of small-to-medium-sized businesses and mid-market companies.
“A lot of companies try to get cyber insurance and they can’t because they can’t adequately demonstrate the cyber security risks,” he said. “Our platform helps offset that risk.
“It helps them demonstrate that they manage risk better, are more compliant and therefore manage operations better.”
In addition, the need for security and compliance is likely to increase around the public sector and critical infrastructure, Stevens added.
“We have had a huge increase in the growth of the public sector, with almost every state now using our platform.
“There is a big emphasis by the government right now to focus on cyber security,” he said. “In Australia, we have IRAP- [Information Security Registered Assessors Program] protected iteration of the platform for government clients. This means that we have compliance for cyber security requirements regarding information.
“Ultimately we are looking for a quick transition,” he added. “The interesting thing about the landscape is that most of the players are old, slow and the sales cycles are long. We see a big advantage of being able to move quickly; people love our product; it’s about quantity.”
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