A conversation across vendors, distributors and partners on the future of India’s cybersecurity channel
Publish Date: 2026-07-03 03:53:00
Source Domain: www.crnasia.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
OpenText, Rashi Peripherals, Neozaar and i2k2 Network discuss how AI, compliance, managed services and consultative selling are reshaping India’s cybersecurity ecosystem, and what partners must do to remain relevant over the next two years.
India’s cybersecurity channel is moving beyond traditional product fulfilment as AI, compliance requirements and managed services reshape customer expectations. As partners increasingly shift from selling products to delivering outcomes through advisory, technical expertise and recurring services, CRN India brought together leaders representing the vendor, distributor and partner ecosystem to discuss where the channel is headed and what will define success over the next two years.
Roshan Dsouza, Director, Sales India at OpenText Cybersecurity;
Rajesh Thadani, Director and CEO at Neozaar;
Kamleshwar Bhatt, CEO of i2k2 Network (P) Ltd; and
Rinkesh Arora, Business Unit Head – Software and Security at Rashi Peripherals Limited (RP Tech)
The executives shared their perspectives on the opportunities, challenges and structural shifts shaping the next phase of India’s cybersecurity channel. The following are edited excerpts from the discussion.
CRN India: What’s the single biggest growth opportunity you’re betting on in the next 12 months, and what has to go right in the channel for you to capture it?
Dsouza: The biggest growth opportunity is cybersecurity services built around consumption economics. Customers no longer want to pay upfront for something they’ll use later. Instead of large deals, we’re now seeing large service contracts. To capture this opportunity, the channel needs the right skills. Customers won’t give you a second chance, so partners must have the expertise and confidence to deliver the right outcomes the first time.
Thadani: Partners need to adopt the managed services provider (MSP) mindset. The opportunity lies in bringing together cybersecurity products, professional services and managed services into a single, outcome-driven solution. Today, it’s no longer about selling tools or services independently—it’s about delivering business outcomes.
Bhatt: Managed services offer recurring revenue and long-term margins. The biggest opportunities lie in AI, modernising legacy applications, cyber resilience, backup and disaster recovery. While customers know they want AI, many are still defining the right use cases. Partners should also build repeatable solutions that can be deployed across multiple customers to create scalable, recurring revenue.
Arora: The growing focus on compliance is creating a major opportunity for partners to become cybersecurity advisors. Rather than simply selling products, partners should take a consultative approach to help customers build cyber resilience through data protection, ransomware preparedness and recovery planning.
CRN India: Where does the chain break today – between vendor, distributor, and partner – and who needs to change what to fix it?
Dsouza: At OpenText, we believe in a two-tier approach, with a distributor and a partner delivering the solution. But if a distributor is not a value-added distributor that provides handholding and intermediary services, the model breaks down, especially in a subscription-based market.
“If you’re just a traditional distributor, you’re no longer part of the game.”
MSPs will choose value-added distributors because skills remain a major challenge. If partners don’t have the right capabilities to solve customer problems, they lose customer confidence.
Thadani: From a customer perspective, the entire chain is fragmented. Customers want to buy products and services through a consolidated commercial model with budgets aligned for the CFO.
What the ecosystem needs is contract consolidation. Customers are signing large cloud agreements, but the real challenge is fully utilising those commitments. Marketplaces are addressing this by enabling customers to buy products and services through a single platform, simplifying procurement and improving utilisation.
Bhatt: From an MSP’s perspective, we’re still working in silos. Instead, OEMs should support distributors, distributors should support partners, and partners should support customers through a consultative approach focused on customer needs.
Managed services are fundamentally different from product sales. Products are transactional, but managed services require continuous customer engagement. That’s why the entire ecosystem must work together rather than independently.
Arora: I wouldn’t say the chain is broken. Traditionally, there has been a disconnect between IT and finance over budgeting, but cybersecurity discussions are now increasingly happening at the board level.
The focus should be on aligning customer expectations with a partner’s delivery capabilities. Having the right technical expertise to meet customer requirements is critical to delivering successful outcomes.
CRN India: What does an Indian enterprise or SMB customer actually need from you today that they couldn’t articulate two years ago?
Dsouza: Earlier, customers weren’t looking for help with compliance-driven cybersecurity. Today, the challenge is complying with multiple regulations, including the DPDP Act and other government requirements. They need partners who can help them become compliant.
Customers also need services such as tabletop exercises and incident response preparedness. Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT responsibility; it involves HR, finance, operations and other business functions. As SMBs increasingly work with large enterprises and GCCs, compliance and cyber insurance have become critical because one wrong move can have significant financial consequences.
Thadani: Customers are far more informed before they engage with a vendor. By the time they reach out, they’ve largely decided what they want to buy. The need today is to be digitally present and help customers make informed decisions by building trust through certifications, competencies and a strong digital presence.
The focus has shifted from GDPR to the DPDP Act and other compliance requirements. Certifications such as ISO 27001 are becoming the default expectation, as procurement teams increasingly prefer partners they can trust.
Bhatt: SMBs have undergone a significant mindset shift. Earlier, IT was seen purely as a cost centre. Today, businesses recognise that while IT may not directly generate revenue, it is critical to supporting business operations and growth.
Cybersecurity and backup are no longer viewed as optional services; they’re business essentials. Customers also have a much better understanding of the shared responsibility model, recognising that protecting data is not just the cloud provider’s responsibility but their own as well.
Arora: Earlier, customers viewed IT partners as traditional resellers and approached them for products rather than solutions. Today, they expect partners to take a consultative approach by understanding their business challenges before recommending technology.
Customers are looking for end-to-end solutions that address both security and business requirements. The biggest change is that partners are increasingly seen as trusted advisors rather than external vendors.
CRN India: 18 to 24 months from now, does this channel look the same or does AI, consolidation, or direct-to-cloud change who’s still standing and why?
Dsouza: Customers have already moved ahead. They know what they want before engaging with partners and no longer need help making buying decisions. The channel must therefore move from point-in-time transactions to a consultative approach, working more closely with customers through collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Partners will also need to help customers determine where AI should, and shouldn’t, be used, while ensuring sensitive data remains protected. The channel must continuously evolve to stay relevant.
Thadani: Customers already know what they want to buy, leaving the channel with two key responsibilities: providing trusted advice and ensuring successful implementation.
As SaaS continues to simplify deployment, the real value will lie in helping customers integrate applications, enable secure APIs and single sign-on, and maintain security. Managed services will continue to exist, but the way they are delivered will evolve. The channel must evolve with it.
Bhatt: The channel ecosystem is moving away from transactional relationships. Going forward, partners must become part of the customer’s ecosystem by continuously adding value rather than simply completing transactions.
The stronger the capabilities of the channel and its partners, the better they will be able to serve customers and build long-term relationships. Only partners that consistently deliver value will remain relevant.
Arora: Customers expect partners to act as trusted advisors, which means the channel must continue evolving. Success will depend on technical readiness, continuous learning and the ability to understand customer requirements before recommending solutions.
As AI adoption accelerates, and concerns around AI misuse grow, customers will increasingly look to partners as trusted guardrails for their technology decisions.
