“We are a critical cog in the wheel, but we are not the whole wheel,” Rubrik’s Ananth Nag on the partner ecosystem

With a 100% channel model, Rubrik’s channel ecosystem continues to grow in the region with the vendor focused on investing more partner enablement.

As Rubrik continues to support its customers to be cyber resilient in their AI journey in the region, the vendor relies heavily on its channel ecosystem to ensure customers get the best support and service from them. With a 100% channel model, Rubrik’s channel ecosystem continues to grow in the region as well.

In an interview with CRN Asia, Ananth Nag, Vice President for APAC at Rubrik explained that Rubrik needs partners and processes to be aligned, which is why partners are very critical for them.

“We are a critical technology to help make organizations cyber resilient. Most organizations find it hard to prepare for that because you can't prepare for the worst case scenario. And when this happens, it is very critical for partners to help build and stitch the entire wheel,” he said.

Nag explained that while the technology comes from Rubrik, they need partners to make sure they align the technology in the environment of the customer to make sure that the data is secure, cyber resilient and able to define the cyber RTO as well as be aligned to the regulatory and compliance needs of that customer.

“It’s very critical that we work with partners. We work with some of the large global system integrators across the world, as well as in this region, to make sure that a lot of partners have built cyber resiliency as a service to their customers, technology at the back end being from Rubrik,” Nag said.

On working with MSSPs across the region, Nag added that most customers want to make sure that they're taken care of if there is an incident, and hence they work with a lot of MSSPs across the region.

“We work with MSSPs specifically in each of the regions be it in ANZ, in ASEAN, or in different countries, and across India. For example, we've got a service provider in ANZ. We are working with region-specific in ASEAN. We are working with region-specific in India. Apart from MSSPs, we also work with telcos. We are opening conversations with many telcos who think of small and medium businesses,” he added.

Rubrik also pointed out that Rubrik’s focus is across the entire spectrum. The vendor ensures that it not only addresses the large segment of the market but also work with channel partners to cover the enterprise and mid to small, medium enterprises through MSSPs and channel partners.

Investing and growing the partner ecosystem

When it comes to ensuring partners are well enabled, Nag said Rubrik is heavily investing in enablement not just for MSSPs but for its validated resellers, as well as global SIs. Nag also shared that some of the global SIs that Rubrik works with are realigning their services with the emerging trends, and that is the reason why AI is a critical aspect of each of these global system integrators' models.

“They've also started to realize that cyber resilience is a more important topic today. So they critically understand that Rubrik is investing, as well as heavily focused on making sure that we deliver value to these large customers, including medium enterprise customers. We are working very closely with all of these partners to make sure that their skills are enabled, they're certified, and they're able to deliver the outcomes for customers,” he explained.

Nag also highlighted that as partners differ from each market, Rubrik wants to keep enabling and scaling its partner ecosystem in each of these markets.

“This is because what works in one region is not the same cookie-cutter model that can apply into another country or region, and we are always evolving. So we've invested heavily in partner leadership and in partner enablement to make sure that we build partners for success to make sure that they are successful in delivering outcomes for their customers,” he said.

Importantly, as a critical technology for delivering an outcome, Nag pointed out that it's the partner that brings the story together, making sure that they stitch the final deliverables. This includes the cybersecurity recovery time objective (RTO) of delivering an outcome for a customer to make sure that the customer becomes resilient and is able to recover in a major scenario.

When asked what Rubrik would like to see more from partners in the region, Nag said partners have involved themselves in the transformation of each of these organizations that they work with.

“Their customers are coming to them and asking for more, because they do not have enough cyber resources, shortage of cyber resources within the customer organization. The need is there in each of the partner organizations. Also the ability to build a cyber resilience plan for each of these customers needs skilling within the partner community. So, they consistently need help from Rubrik and the ecosystem to make sure that partners are skilled enough. The engagements are consistent in delivery, which means that our investment with partners to drive outcomes for customers has to be at a level that, because this is a critical area for each of the customers,” Nag explained.

At the same time, Nag shared that partners are also hoping to see more investment in enablement, especially in understanding the customer's architecture and to make sure that they're able to build a cyber resilience plan for customers.

“So they're not just asking enablement from Rubrik, but also having a conversation and talking the architecture within the customer environment to build those practices to make sure that those cyber resilience plans are built for customers,” he concluded.