Today is a big day for Palo Alto Networks, our partners and the momentum we’ve achieved in advanced endpoint protection. We are very proud that Traps has been recognised by CRN as the overall winner for endpoint security in CRN’s 2016 Products of the Year.

Traps is our advanced endpoint protection product and an important part of our next-generation security platform. This award validates our unwavering commitment to innovate and lead with our channel partners.

Not only did we win Product of the Year in Endpoint Security, we swept the category. And the best part: For the first time, the award is based on channel partner feedback, further underscoring the strength of our Traps channel momentum.

CRN’s coveted Products of the Year awards are given to standout products and services that represent “best-of-breed” technological innovation (Traps v3.4) backed by a supportive channel partner program (NextWave Traps Specialisation). A panel of CRN editors selected five eligible products as finalists in each of the 17 different product categories. Then, CRN fielded a survey of targeted solution providers comprised of partners representing the finalist vendors. The survey asked the partners to score their experiences in the following three areas:

• Technology – product quality and reliability, richness of product features/functionality, technical innovation and compatibility, and ease of integration
• Revenue and Profit – demonstrated ability to drive new revenue, resulting profit margins, and demonstrated ability to attach services revenue
• Customer Demand – demonstrated ability to meet a market or customer demand; demonstrated ability to create new customer relationships or improve existing ones

Traps not only received the highest overall score in the Endpoint Security category but also received the highest score in all three areas. To sweep such a highly competitive category, based on channel partner feedback in a market that is at an inflection point, is a huge achievement for the entire company.

Palo Alto Networks was built on market disruption. We thrive on making the previously impossible, possible. And we are ready to do it again in the endpoint market. The situation is simple: Legacy antivirus point products can no longer protect against today’s advanced cyberattacks. With Traps our partners can deliver advanced endpoint protection against both known and unknown threats.

If you aren’t already one of the 75 NextWave Traps Specialised partners worldwide, here are a few reasons – from the past month alone – as to why you might want to reconsider:

1. Effective November 1, 2016, server pricing was reduced to align with workstation pricing.
2. On October 6, 2016, we introduced a deal registration discount boost for NextWave Traps Specialised partners. Traps Specialised partners will receive a 5 percent boost for standard deal registration pricing and a 3 percent boost for non-standard pricing.
3. On October 4, 2016, Coalfire Systems confirms that organisations in the financial and healthcare sectors can replace legacy antivirus endpoint products with Traps to help prevent cyber breaches while remaining compliant with PCI and HIPAA/HITECH standards.

Finally, in addition to sweeping the Endpoint Security category, our Next-Generation Security Platform, specifically the PAN-OS 7.1 updates, earned the subcategory win in technology in the Security-Network category.

Our channel mission is to build an ecosystem of next-generation security innovators with the coverage, capacity and capabilities to elevate our leadership position in the security market. Channel partner recognition of our Next-Generation Security Platform for its superior technology is a key initial step to achieving our channel mission.

A special thank you to our partners for recognising our efforts in both the Endpoint Security and Security-Network categories. Let’s use this recognition to our advantage and continue to break away together.