Step-By-Step Process

Vendors should be ready to work closely with resellers, to understand what each partner's strongsuits and unique verticals are, and to discover how they can best help partners sell security-as-a-service based on these attributes.

"We sit down and work with our partners in a step-by-step process," said Bowman. "We look at their core assets and core skills, such as what they're doing in different verticals, and travel out the matrix of that."