2025 vendor Champions in the Cybersecurity Leadership Matrix

2025 Cybersecurity Leadership Matrix identified eight vendors achieving Champion status, signaling their high performance in the cybersecurity ecosystem. Check Point, CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Trend Micro and WatchGuard reaffirmed their positions, while Acronis joined the ranks for the first time, alongside the return of Fortinet and Sophos. Champion status reflects excellence in channel management, robust market performance and a proactive approach to advancing the cybersecurity partner ecosystem. Canalys analysts, drawing on partner feedback and ongoing research, evaluated vendors based on vision, leadership, competitiveness, and partner initiatives, assessing channel leadership and momentum over the past year. The matrix considered 32 cybersecurity vendors, requiring a minimum of US$200 million in annual cybersecurity revenue and a channel-centric business model with over 50% of sales through partners.

Cybersecurity: the partner advantage

The increasing importance of partners is evident, with over 90% of the projected US$281 billion cybersecurity spending in 2025 expected to involve partners. This highlights the critical need for vendors to cultivate strong partner relationships. However, customer demands are escalating due to heightened threat levels, resource constraints and the necessity for comprehensive, proactive, and AI-driven predictive security. Vendors must consistently engage and enable partners at scale, adapting to diverse business models. Innovation, particularly in AI-driven automation for both threat management and partner profitability, is essential.

Champions invest in partners to drive success

Among the various successful channel initiatives the eight vendors rolled out, some were particularly important in enabling partners for current and future growth opportunities:

• Globalizing programs and restructuring frameworks to accommodate multiple partner models.

• Enabling predictable and profitable transactions across cloud marketplaces.

• Advancing partner skills through specialized training and certifications.

• Simplifying managed services development with flexible payment and SOC options.

• Automating processes with AI and enhancing profitability through targeted incentives.

• Adopting customer-centric metrics to drive specific outcomes.

• Increasing cross-sell and upsell opportunities through enhanced analytics and collaboration.

Platforms will drive change for vendors and partners

Cybersecurity platforms are driving significant change, expanding the partner ecosystem from transactional to service-led models. This shift necessitates vendors to recognize partners at point of value rather than point of sale, rewarding them at different stages of the customer journey, from influencing decisions to expanding accounts through cross- and up-selling motions.

The evolution of routes to market, driven by cloud-based subscriptions and digital-first buyers, is accelerating cloud marketplace growth and transforming procurement. Vendors must simplify marketplace transactions and leverage data to target the right buyers. Quantifying partner opportunities is also evolving, shifting from margin-based to multiplier-based models. Vendors must demonstrate the full financial potential of their platforms, encompassing advisory, design, implementation and managed services, in addition to licenses and subscriptions.

Effective engagement across all partner types—transactional, service-led (MSPs, MSSPs, GSIs) and ISVs—is crucial. Vendors must adopt an integration-first approach, fostering strong platform ecosystems that attract diverse partners and generate significant multipliers. This will determine future Champions in cybersecurity over the next decade.