“You have to have the right skills in the right place, with the right levels of experience,” he explained. “That absolutely now includes third-party providers and other service providers that are going to help build that collective team.”
While cybersecurity was a lot “simpler 15 years ago”, with threats less frequent and less impactful.
“The whole journey has been as the threats have advanced, both in the types of threats like ransomware,” Castanga said. “[Talking] about ransomware in 2011, 2012…I mean, can you imagine if 10, 50, 100 companies were getting ransomware?
“Add on data breaches and other types of operational or availability issues or defacements, you add all the nation states.
“Those threats and the impact of those threats have gotten much more difficult, and as a result, the technology stacks that we need have gotten more complex.”
“In the past five years, I’d say there’s more of a shift back to platformisation. There’s also more of a shift to a lot of soft problems.
“[It’s] been a journey and it’s not getting easier with AI yet.”
Castanga’s insights helps to reinforce the challenges Rapid7 customers are dealing with.
“We need to understand the challenges that exist at [that] levels, and sometimes [it’s] different to the conversations that we have with the technical team,” noted channel director Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) David Quist.
That means making sure “partners are as conscious” as Rapid7 sellers, he said. As well as being prepared as they can be for the types of conversations they need to have.
“Our partners’ technical teams are at the heart of how customers experience Rapid7 in the market,” Quist said. “These are highly skilled practitioners who customers trust to guide critical security decisions, often in complex and high-stakes environments.”
That’s why the vendor has revised its channel program and relooked at how it rewards partners – which gives clearer deal structures, stronger incentives for partner-led opportunities, and economics that support long-term growth.
The recently released 2026 partner program introduces partner tier differentiation, simplified deal motions, and enhanced program economics.
Rapid 7’s PACT framework supports partners delivering managed detection and response. As well as other recurring security services where consistency and margin clarity are critical.
Other key updates to the program include platinum partner tier, updated deal motions, improved program economics and a Tech Champion program.
With the introduction of initiatives like the Tech Champion framework, we’re doubling down on recognising that expertise,” explained Quist. “[This] gives partner engineers earlier visibility, deeper engagement and a stronger voice in how we go to market together.
“These changes are very much shaped by partner input, ensuring we’re aligned to how they build profitable security practices while responding to increasingly complex customer needs.”
Quist said the changes to the partner program wasn’t just about “hitting partners with a lot of information about solutions.”
“It’s really about how we connect better and get better acceptance of those solutions,” he said. “We need to continue to invest [in] how we help our partners win the trust of their existing customers, to continue to earn the right to maintain those relationships.
“We’re not looking to be ‘showing up and throwing up’… because that gets you a pretty quick journey to the exit.”
According to Quist that’s Rapid7’s responsibility as part of the wider cybersecurity community.
“We work collaboratively,” explained Quist. “Brian’s [Castanga] isn’t going to be able to help and solve all these problems by himself.
“He’s going to make informed decisions based on the problems that he’s got and the relationships that he trusts.
“I suppose what we’re trying to reinforce with the Rapid7 community is that…we need to be able to empathise with the situations that CISOs face.
“I think CISOs have more and more expectations. Partners will [need to] approach [them] in a way that he can rely on. Also one that’s real, very much aligned to the outcomes that he’s trying to get.”
