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Newsflash: Reflex Is Not Dead

A death notice was posted to one of my blogs last week. I'm guessing it was someone with a personal grudge. Turns out Reflex Security is alive and well.

Reflex Security announced a channel partnership with Lifeboat Distribution today at VMworld in Cannes. Reflex has taken stock of its success selling the VSA (Virtual Security Appliance) and is turning to the channel to reach a broader market.

The Atlanta-based company also is proud to have been tagged a "Sweet 16" recipient from the Technology Association of Georgia as one of the 16 most innovative companies in the state. I may be wrong, but this doesn't sound like a company that has shut its doors...

Last week an "anonymous" poster posed as a Reflex employee and made a number of negative statements about the company, including mention of an early demise.

InformationWeek removed the posts from our boards. They were not opinion-based discussions, but purposefully misleading statements portrayed as coming from senior execs.

I had a followup discussion with Laura Armistead, senior director of marketing at Reflex, to clear the air.

Reflex is doing well. Sales numbers are doing well. The company has chosen to shift to a channel-based sales model in an attempt to bring market share and revenue to the next level. Armistead works in PR. She was very tactful in describing this transition and was clear that the company is looking forward to new opportunities.

My opinion: moving from a primarily internal sales strategy to a partner-based strategy requires substantial restructuring. Folks get displaced, roles and power shift. Employees leave. The company (usually) goes on.

Reflex Security is maturing as an organization, much as the virtualization marketplace is maturing around us.

We have seen an en masse move to sales partners as virt vendors at all levels look to break into new markets. It is pretty darn difficult to move overseas or into big shops in the United States without channel help.

Customers like working with solutions providers.

"Local" partners tend to have a better angle on marketing to markets outside the United States. Despite dreams of Web sales and middleman-ectomies, VARs and consultancies have solid roles to play in product selection, sales, integration, and support.

Frankly, I sympathize with anyone who has been impacted by restructuring at Reflex or elsewhere. I've lived through eight rounds of "right-sizing" in my career. But I believe Reflex is making the right moves.

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