Partner Newsletter June 2023

Dear

As the summer vacation rapidly approaches, we are happy to present a new partner newsletter.

Recently we sent a bulletin in which we asked you to expand your probes' hard drives with additional storage. We have been pleasantly surprised by the large number of positive responses and quick action from a large number of partners!

In this newsletter, we share our monthly progress report on the Lighthouse platform. We are slowly coming to the end of our major migration project and the new front-end is also starting to take shape.

We also give a brief overview of partners who have achieved their certified status. There are still a number of partners we expect to achieve certification this month, so the list will soon be outdated, which is a good thing!

For those partners who have attended technical or commercial training, we have created an evaluation form. Please share your feedback and don't hold back, we want our trainings to get better!

Kind regards,
On behalf of the Guardian360 team,

Jan Martijn Broekhof

Managing Director

Lighthouse update

The first version of our new Lighthouse dashboard is so close we can smell it.

This last month we have been working to get an MVP (Minimal Viable Product) ready to provide some valuable functionality to our partners and their clients.

The HTML is just about done but there is still work connecting to the database and some authentication issues that need to be sorted out. Once that is completed then we can share it with our partners and get some valuable feedback!

The MPV will have some basic sought after features that will work as a foundation for what we will be building going forward.

The following will be included:

2FA login to the dashboard
Multiple organisation filtering in a hierarchical structure
Multiple Language selector
Entity counters for

Probes,
Hacker Alert Appliances,
Scan Objects,
IP Addresses and
Websites

A Hacker Alert Counter
4 Charts

Issue Trends,
First Detected Dates of Open Issues,
Risk Level By Scanner and
Risk Level by Scan Object

Each chart will be filterable by date and will show the last 30 days trends by default or all time if selected
Risk levels will be shown based on the organisations selected
Compliance modules will be shown as well as descriptions to describe each module
The page will be printable

Here is a sneak peek of what it will look like below:

The introduction of this will bring us one step closer to our goal of embracing our new continuous delivery approach which is centered around client feedback through the whole development process.

That means rebuilding and reimagining a solution that is tailor made to real requirements and being able to show progress on these issues on a daily basis. In other words, our partners will not have to wait too long to see their requests implemented but will experience changes within the platform on an almost daily basis.

We have had a good taste of continuous delivery and while it has been refreshing and energising, we are keen to optimise the most important part of this process – making your life easier by listening to you.

Certified partners overview

In previous partner newsletters we shared with you the importance of certification of our partners. We are excited we have quite a few certified partners already!

Below is an overview of Premium, Advanced and Certified partners in alphabetical order.

Premium
Intermax
SLTN
On IT!

Advanced
Bizway
T-ICT

Certified
Aces IT Consultancy & Services
Auxzenze
Axle-IT
Brightcare Solutions
HET IT
Inergy
Netcure
Port-IT
Systra Automatisering
Verdel ICT & Media
Wentzo

Please note that the partners status of partners who don’t meet the criteria mentioned in the partner program on July 1, 2023 will be awarded the Sales Partner status.

Should you want to certify, then please sign up for the commercial and/or technical training via the buttons below.

Evaluation commercial and technical trainings H1 2023

We greatly appreciate those partners who have made the effort to participate in our commercial and technical training. To ensure that we continually enhance our training programs, we kindly request feedback from those who have attended. Your insights will play a vital role in evaluating the effectiveness and relevance of our training.

By completing the evaluation form, you can help us understand your experience, identify areas of improvement, and tailor our future offerings to better meet your needs.

Your feedback is invaluable in shaping the quality of our training so that we can provide you with the best possible learning experience. We genuinely value your opinion and encourage you to take a few moments to share your thoughts.

Thank you for your time and contribution in helping us deliver exceptional training sessions that exceed your expectations.

Try before you buy ground rules

Guardian360 considers the “Try before you buy” license to be the last step in the sales process that convinces a customer of the benefits of Guardian360 Lighthouse. When a partner offers the “Try before you buy” license to a client, we assume the sales process has already been completed; a demo of the Guardian360 Lighthouse platform has been given and the customer has the budget available for the monthly investment required.

So, when do you offer the “Try before you buy” option? Two good examples are:
When a client needs to be convinced scanning doesn’t interfere with their network or,
When the client needs prove Guardian360 Lighthouse works as promised.

The best way to convert “Try before you buy” into an order.
We learned that partners who schedule two evaluation sessions with clients during the two weeks while the “Try before you buy” license is valid are the most successful in closing. By using this approach, clients gain insights in the progress of issues and how accepting issues really works.

It is also a good idea to make the two weeks “Try before you buy” period part of the quote for the paid license so that customer only need to sign once for both the “Try before you buy” and the paid license.

Invoicing will start after 14 days
To date, we have turned a blind eye to partners offering the “Try before you buy” licence to customers for longer than two weeks. However, effective immediately, we will invoice partners automatically after the two weeks period.

Partners are welcome to negotiate this period as needed with our Partner Success Managers. Any current exceptions that have been agreed on will still be honoured.

G360DAO Update

On June 6 the VTS Congress Day with the theme "Digitisation of society, is the Dutch Tax Administration prepared for this?!" was held. Jan Martijn and Frank Putman of EY delivered a trio of workshops on the topic of "The (im)possibilities of DAOs: tax implications of organisations on the blockchain".

We were able to share with over 100 people within the Tax Administration what innovative entrepreneurs are facing while setting up a DAO like G360DAO and what the tax challenges are. We received many thought-provoking questions, and at the same time, assistance was offered, and people were genuinely willing to collaborate.

Emmanuel, Martin and Mithat proceed working on the Lightnet marketplace and created exclusive branding for it. Check it out right away and add your listings!

Tim designed some business cards and stickers, please find us on conferences to obtain your swag!

Cybercriminals increasingly active with CEO fraud

Recently, the Meierijstad municipality was in the news because cybercriminals had captured €37,200.- via CEO fraud. In emails, they pretended to be board members who needed a confidential emergency payment from the municipality.

They managed to convince the officials to transfer the amount and called again 2 days later. This time a colleague became suspicious and raised the alarm, which resulted in the fraud being unmasked. The municipality decided to be transparent about what had transpired. They disclosed the theft and expressed support for the employees involved.

This is such a big contrast when compared to previous cases where fraud was only discovered due to industrial disputes with those involved.

But was this really a good approach?

SIDN asked Jan Martijn Broekhof, managing director of information security company Guardian360. Click on the link below to read more!

SDR Vacancy

Guardian360 is looking for a Sales Development Representative with passion for consulting clients, information security, and working with partners.

The main objective is to contact organisations and consult them to increase their cyber resilience. The SDR will find these organisations, contacts them proactively and will be seen as a as a worthy dialogue partner by earning trust of the staff responsible for information security.

The SDR of our choice is averse to fancy talk and therefore averse to using beads and trinkets to close a deal. People trust the SDR because they have integrity. That is why they follow their lead and why the SDR is successful.

SWE Vacancy

Guardian360 is on the lookout for a Software Engineer with passion for automation and software engineering to join our team. We are not looking for just anyone. The new colleague must fit seamlessly into our team and culture. We place high demands on the knowledge, experience, and motivation of this new colleague. Finding these “jacks of all trades” may take a little longer, but we are happy to take that time to find the perfect colleague!

If you know someone who fits the profile, would you kindly point them to our vacancy?