After hitting some channel and SMB bumps in 2015, AVG Technologies has re-emerged with a range of partner program enhancements for service providers.
Among the moves that surfaced today:
- The AVG CloudCare product will be integrated with key AVG Antivirus 2016 features, including a faster scanning engine, real-time outbreak detection and more.
- The company recently signed CMS Distribution, the largest UK and Ireland independent, value-added distributor, which serves 3,000 partners including the top UK VARs.
- A new partner certification program, coming soon, will give partners and distributors access to business, marketing and technical training.
Fred Gerritse, senior VP and GM of AVG Business, apparently is the driving force behind the moves. Gerritse, essentially AVG's channel chief, arrived around November 2015 after the company's small business channel efforts hit some turbulence.
A channel reorganization and some job cuts occurred around the time of Gerritse's arrival. And the results appear promising. During a February 2016 earnings call, AVG executives described a healthy overall business environment -- though the SMB portion of the company still wasn't growing as quickly as AVG hoped.
Fast forward to the present day and Gerritse's latest moves seem designed for partners in the SMB sector. The wildcard here? How does Managed Workplace -- the MSP platform that AVG acquired from Level Platforms a few years ago -- fit into the conversation?
We're reaching out to AVG for more thoughts in the days ahead.
