Zscaler CMO: Partners key to driving the Zero Trust message in the AI era
“We start with Zero Trust because it is a fundamental architecture that we feel is crucial for where AI and agents are going,” explains Sunil Frida, Chief Marketing Officer at Zscaler.
In a conversation with CRN Asia, Sunil Frida, Chief Marketing Officer at Zscaler shared that Zero Trust remains the right technology architecture at the right time to protect customers, especially with AI and data growth ballooning globally.
This is also why Frida believes that when it comes to the messaging in cybersecurity, the first and most important messaging is all about ensuring customers understand zero trust technology.
Specifically, Frida believes that the concept is still not fully understood by many organizations and that a lot of the explanation needs to be really broken down so that everyone can truly make sense of why zero trust is really important in cybersecurity.
The second message is about making sure customers know that Zscaler has a cybersecurity platform with many choices and not just a point product. Third, it is all about making most of AI to help customers in their journey and understand how to use AI properly.
“Those are three things that we kind of position our company around. And we tell that story around that,” he said.
Getting the story right for partners
When it comes to Zscaler’s partner ecosystem, Frida mentioned that partners remain a core part of the business in helping Zscaler scale up, especially in the APJ region.
“Our penetration with our top customers is done through partners. So, the partner relationship is very crucial for us especially in APJ and some parts of Europe as well as in North America as well.”
“Partners understand our vision of why we're at the right place at the right time and it's important for us. So, the partner strategy is a big deal as it is also a sizable growth opportunity for us,” he said.
In terms of making sure partners get the right message out to customers, Frida explained that the first Zscaler does is to ensure every partner understands how the company is positioned, especially on zero trust.
“They know where we are and why Zero Trust is important as well as why the platform approach is essential. Because everyone is saying the same thing today. So, we make sure that our platform partners understand why Zero Trust is important. We start with Zero Trust because it is a fundamental architecture that we feel is crucial for where AI and agents are going,” he explained.
Next, the message is to ensure partners understand why Zscaler is one single platform.
“We don't have multiple platforms. You don't buy different companies and say OK we'll stitch a platform together with one platform. We also ensure that partners understand why agents and the growth of agents are good and important but also can be a disaster,” he added.
For Frida, making sure all these three messages land with partners is key so as they go out and work with customers, they get it right.
“We also have a mechanism with our partners to where we train them. We ensure that they're updated with the latest technology and information about all the new products that we're bringing out. We will not survive and not be successful without our partners. They are a big deal for us,” Frida said.
Looking ahead, Frida pointed out as Zscaler connects to more customers. the aim is to remain close to CISOs and to make sure they can innovate the work together so that if something happens, the vendor is there to remediate with them.
“So, moving forward I think that is a big deal for us. Also, whenever we feel there's an opportunity to augment our platform with an acquisition, that's something that we will always consider and would never walk away from. Jay (Zscaler CEO) is very aggressive in that way to make sure that we get the right products for our customers,” he said.
“And for me, the last one is to make sure that from a CMO perspective, it’s all about making sure our brand is understood,” he concluded.