In cybersecurity, customer protection and partner success go hand in hand.<\/p>\n
When a customer\u2019s protection lapses, they lose coverage, continuity, and peace of mind \u2014 and partners lose an opportunity to strengthen a trusted relationship.<\/p>\n
We sat down with Teresa Anania, Chief Customer Officer at Sophos<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n Q: Teresa, from your perspective, what defines best-in-class customer success in cybersecurity?<\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa Anania:<\/strong> At Sophos, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n In cybersecurity, being proactive is key. Threats evolve every day, and our customers\u2019 needs evolve with them. Our job is to help them adapt, stay protected, and see lasting value from what they\u2019ve invested in.<\/p>\n Whether that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Q: How does Sophos\u2019 approach to customer success support partners directly?<\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa: 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, \u201cHow do we make sure your protection stays strong and your investment continues to deliver?\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 not harder.<\/p>\n Q: Why does Sophos follow up with customers after their protection has lapsed, and how does that benefit partners?<\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa:<\/strong> Reaching out after a lapse is responsible customer care. Even a short gap in protection can create unnecessary risk.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why we\u2019ve 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\u2019t renewed, we\u2019ll make one last attempt to encourage them to reconnect with their partner or renew through an authorized reseller. It\u2019s about bringing them back into protection and keeping that trusted relationship intact.<\/p>\n 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\u2019re doing the right thing \u2014 helping partners keep customers safe, not taking deals away.<\/p>\n 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?<\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa: For partners, it\u2019s also a great opportunity for renewal conversations. If a customer reaches out for help and their license has expired, it\u2019s an easy opening to reconnect, renew coverage, and reinforce the value of staying current.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
\n
\nCustomer success isn\u2019t a department \u2014 it\u2019s a mindset.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/strong>We share the same goal as our partners \u2014 keeping customers secure, satisfied, and successful.<\/p>\n
\n
\nMost lapses aren\u2019t intentional. We find that they can happen because people are busy, processes get delayed, or renewals fall off someone\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/strong>This update ensures that every customer gets the support they need \u2014 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\u2019re working on supported solutions, so the customer gets the right fixes and updates.<\/p>\n