Broadcom's new go-to-market efforts move security offers via TD SYNNEX, Arrow Electronics and Carahsoft

Broadcom’s security business can now move its own deals and products via select distributors known as “Catalyst” partners

Broadcom's enterprise security business is designating some distributors as "Catalyst" partners and allowing them to create and deliver their own product and deal offerings to the channel.

As Broadcom focuses on a small number of top-level enterprise customers in the hardware business, tapping into the wider market needed to support its security business has been a "continuous challenge," Jason Rolleston, vice president and chief product officer of the enterprise security group at Broadcom, told CRN.

"This is tapping into the distributors to really enlist them as not just distributors for us, but really active partners in the execution of the business," Rolleston (pictured) told CRN.

"What I mean by that is they have a vested interest in the business. They have targets they need to hit and if they achieve those targets they have a tremendous profitability upside, but there's also downside if they don't get there.

"They also have a tremendous amount of flexibility in terms of what they do with the portfolios, how to assemble them, and build different bundles."

As opposed to the four bundled offers of products that are allowed to be sold by those invited to resell VMware Cloud Foundations, Broadcom Catalyst partners can move pricing, and marketing, and localise offers to be relevant to the market, he said.

"We're really leaning on them to make the products work well and to make the offers align to what is needed."

Broadcom's Catalyst program is designed to drive it deeper into the SMB and midmarket.

Part of a distributor's business is to treat all of the products it sells impartially, like Switzerland in international politics. Rolleston said it has no desire to interfere in those relationships, but it is offering distributors "tremendous rewards" for sales of Carbon Black and Symantec products.

"They do need to help us to drive growth in the business and the markets and the geographies they cover," he said. "If they do that the rewards are tremendous for them. That's kind of a different model, generally, the distributors look a lot like Switzerland. In this model for us they actually are actively interested in selling Carbon Black and helping those portfolios grow."

TD SYNNEX, Arrow Electronics and Carahsoft all celebrated the move as a way to meet customers at a relevant point in their buying journey, according to statements.

"Our team is extending our level of involvement through our expansive enablement resources and tools, demand generation efforts and best-in-class technical support. It's our mission to be an accelerated extension of their team to ensure both ease and success for our partner community," said Mike Heintzelman, SVP of vendor solutions.

Broadcom bought Symantec Enterprise Security for $10.7bn in 2019. VMware bought Carbon Black for $2bn in 2019. The two businesses came together when Broadcom completed its acquisition of VMware last year.

Initially, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan planned to sell Carbon Black, but later told investors that he reversed course and more value could be found by folding it into Broadcom's existing security business.

"Based on our success selling Symantec, we are tremendously excited to be able to sell Carbon Black," Eric Nowak, president of Arrow's global enterprise computing solutions, said in a statement.

In Europe, the catalyst partner is Arrow Electronics. In emerging markets, it is MBCOM and it is Westcon-Comstor for Asia Pacific.