In cybersecurity, customer protection and partner success go hand in hand.
When a customer’s protection lapses, they lose coverage, continuity, and peace of mind — and partners lose an opportunity to strengthen a trusted relationship.
We sat down with Teresa Anania, Chief Customer Officer at Sophos, to discuss what best-in-class customer success looks like, the changes Sophos is making to strengthen retention and renewal efforts, and how vendors and partners can work together to ensure no customer is left unprotected.
Q: Teresa, from your perspective, what defines best-in-class customer success in cybersecurity?
Teresa Anania:
Customer success isn’t a department — it’s a mindset.
At Sophos, it’s about helping every customer get real outcomes from their investment, not just during onboarding or at renewal time, but throughout their entire journey with us.
In cybersecurity, being proactive is key. Threats evolve every day, and our customers’ needs evolve with them. Our job is to help them adapt, stay protected, and see lasting value from what they’ve invested in.
Whether that’s a dedicated Customer Success Manager for a large enterprise or automated engagement programs that help smaller customers get the most from their products, it all comes back to one thing: making sure customers are confident, secure, and getting results that matter.
Q: How does Sophos’ approach to customer success support partners directly?
Teresa:
We share the same goal as our partners — keeping customers secure, satisfied, and successful.
Our Customer Success and Renewals teams work with partners to spot opportunities early, reduce churn risk, and make renewals as smooth as possible. When we engage with a customer, the conversation is always, “How do we make sure your protection stays strong and your investment continues to deliver?”
We call it shared success because none of us can do this alone. Partners play a huge role in keeping customers engaged and protected, and our job is to make that easier — not harder.
Q: Why does Sophos follow up with customers after their protection has lapsed, and how does that benefit partners?
Teresa:
Most lapses aren’t intentional. We find that they can happen because people are busy, processes get delayed, or renewals fall off someone’s radar.
Reaching out after a lapse is responsible customer care. Even a short gap in protection can create unnecessary risk.
That’s why we’ve expanded our renewal communication. We already send automated email reminders before a license expires, but now we also reach out to customers whose protection has lapsed for more than 30 days. Partners always have the first opportunity to renew, but if a customer still hasn’t renewed, we’ll make one last attempt to encourage them to reconnect with their partner or renew through an authorized reseller. It’s about bringing them back into protection and keeping that trusted relationship intact.
In our pilot earlier this year, we found that nearly 80% of customers who renewed reached out directly to their partner to do so. That tells me we’re doing the right thing — helping partners keep customers safe, not taking deals away.
Q: Sophos recently announced that customers will need a valid license or active support contract to open a technical support case. Why is that important?
Teresa:
This update ensures that every customer gets the support they need — and that the help we give is effective. To stay protected, customers need to be running current, licensed versions of our products. Linking technical support to active licenses ensures we’re working on supported solutions, so the customer gets the right fixes and updates.
For partners, it’s also a great opportunity for renewal conversations. If a customer reaches out for help and their license has expired, it’s an easy opening to reconnect, renew coverage, and reinforce the value of staying current.
We’ve also added flexibility. Customers can renew up to 90 days after expiration (with approval), and those renewals are backdated to the original contract date. That means fewer gaps, fewer budget issues, and more time for partners to close the renewal without disrupting coverage.
Our Support Team summarizes the process for submitting a technical support case in this Community post.
Q: What should channel partners expect from vendors when it comes to customer retention and renewals?
Teresa:
Partners should expect transparency, collaboration, and shared accountability.
That means early visibility into at-risk customers, shared insights around usage and adoption, and tools that make it easy to take action. The best vendors don’t just hand partners a list of expiring customers — they work side-by-side to keep those customers protected.
We’ve expanded our global Customer Success organization to make that easier. With more regional coverage, faster response times, and smarter automation, we’re helping partners close renewals faster and reduce customer churn — all while giving customers a better experience.
Q: What actions should partners take to make the most of these renewal updates?
Teresa:
These changes are all about keeping customers protected and making renewals smoother for everyone — but they work best when we stay proactive together.
Here’s how partners can get ahead of the process:
- Remind customers of the importance of renewing on time as lapses mean loss of protection, updates, and technical support
- Complete renewals prior to the renewal date or within 30 days of expiration to avoid customers receiving post-expiration communication from Sophos
- Follow up promptly with customers who’ve received Sophos renewal reminders and want to renew through you
- Coordinate with your regional renewals team for help with quotes, extensions, or backdating guidance
By staying ahead of expirations and working closely with our renewals teams, you can help ensure every customer stays protected and every renewal stays on track.
Q: Some partners worry that direct outreach from vendors could complicate relationships. How does Sophos maintain that balance?
Teresa:
That’s a fair question, and I get why it comes up. The short answer is — we’re not competing with you; we’re backing you up.
When Sophos reaches out to a lapsed customer, the message is simple: “Your protection has expired — please contact your Sophos partner to renew.”
We include a direct renewal link in some of our communication for convenience, but it’s always secondary to the partner message. Our intent is to remove friction, not create it. And the data backs that up — the vast majority of customers who respond to these reminders renew directly through their existing partner.
At the end of the day, partners are always at the center of the relationship. We’re just helping open the door when customers go quiet.
Q: Looking ahead, how is Sophos evolving its customer success strategy?
Teresa:
Our vision is simple: make customer success a true differentiator for Sophos and our partners.
We’re expanding globally, adding new customer success hubs, and using smarter data to engage customers more effectively. We’re also integrating insights across support, renewals, product, and sales. This means every team sees the full customer picture and can act faster.
Most importantly, we’re making retention a shared mission. When customers stay protected, partners grow, and everyone wins.
Closing thought
At Sophos, customer retention isn’t a campaign — it’s a commitment. Every outreach, every renewal, and every conversation is about one thing: keeping our shared customers protected and successful.
