Claroty EMEA channel chief talks partner strategy, staff changes

Andrew Lintell sits down with CRN to discuss Claroty’s plan for the channel and the growing OT security space

Andrew Lintell, Claroty’s general manager for the EMEA region, has been spearheading growth and change in the organisation as it adapts to a rapidly evolving operational technology (OT) security landscape.

With nearly 25 years of experience, 15 of which focused on guiding hyper-growth companies, Lintell brings a wealth of expertise to his role at Claroty, which he took on in November 2023.

Lintell’s role centres around scaling the EMEA function to contribute more effectively to the company’s overarching mission, and to meet the dynamic needs of the OT security market.

“The current state of the market, the current expectation of customers… is changing very rapidly,” he notes.

With OT now increasingly connected for efficiency, safety, and regulatory compliance, cybersecurity becomes even more critical in these environments.

“The nature of OT security is changing very rapidly,” Lintell emphasises, pointing to the necessity for robust solutions that address both the connectivity and safety of OT systems.

A key driver of this change is the demand from customers to achieve better visibility into their OT networks, which historically has been a challenge.

“Customers are really now demanding that they are able to get the visibility of their own network,” he says.

“There's the understanding of that environment, its classification, segmentation—all the things that come into securing and ensuring that a system is available and safe, which, of course, in the world of OT is a critical factor.”

To address these demands, Claroty is positioning itself as more than just a technology vendor; it aims to be a trusted partner guiding its customers through the complex journey of OT digital transformation.

“I have wanted to make sure that the EMEA function is best set up around a customer-centric model -not just choosing the right tech vendor, but also the path of transformation, to be fully digitally integrated.”

This aligns with the trend of CISOs taking on greater responsibility for OT security, a shift driven by the growing interconnection of IT and OT systems.

When discussing how to achieve this customer focus, Lintell stresses the importance of strategic partnerships.

“Partners are critical to the growth expectations of Claroty,” he says.

While OT security is a niche area compared to IT, it is a large and growing market that requires specialist knowledge.

Claroty’s approach is to work closely with a select group of partners that are well-positioned to understand the unique needs of large multinational companies.

“We need multilingual, multinational, large OT advisory companies who have already delivered a lot of value to these customers,” says Lintell.

The vendor's goal is to enable partners to provide value beyond initial deployment, focusing on long-term value realisation from the solutions deployed.

Lintell outlines this strategy: “I want to make sure that we're focusing in on fewer partners that are delivering a larger amount of value for the customer.”

Claroty seeks to deepen relationships with these selected partners, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and support to deliver solutions across varied and sometimes remote customer environments.

Evolving partner enablement

Claroty’s channel enablement is evolving in tandem with its strategic goals.

“We’re investing heavily now in new programs, new classifications, certifications, enablement, both online and in the field,” Lintell reveals.

In fact, these efforts are set to materialise in channel programme changes set to be announced in 2025.

Looking at the revenue model, partnerships play an increasingly significant role.

“We’ve got to be up in the high 90s in terms of how much we will actually deliver by partners,” Lintell says.

This underscores the importance of the channel to Claroty’s go-to-market strategy in EMEA and how the company plans to work closely with its elite partners to enable them to deliver end-to-end value, from deployment to ongoing optimisation of the tools and solutions in place.

Looking ahead: Sector focus and advisory

When it comes to high-growth sectors, Claroty has a focused approach.

Lintell identifies manufacturing, utilities, and energy—particularly oil and gas—as key areas due to their critical infrastructure and regulatory pressures.

He also highlights logistics and food and drink as growing sectors of interest.

“If you make something or you move it, those are the markets that are leading and generating perspective as well.”