Sophos Business Systems Transformation: what do I need to know?

Sophos is implementing an update to its backend systems (Business Systems Transformation – BST) that includes changes to licenses, quotes and SKUs. For you as a Sophos partner, this modernization would make it easier for you to do business with Sophos. Discover the key milestones and changes below!

Blackout

As Sophos transitions to new back office systems, there will be a scheduled maintenance period of approximately two weeks starting Oct. 1, 2023. During this period, Sophos will not be able to process orders or activate licenses, and parts of the Sophos Partner Portal will be unavailable until all systems are fully operational as of Oct. 12.

Licensing and Entitlements

• License Activation, Un-Activated Licenses, Delivery of License Schedule: From 1 October 2023, the subscription period will commence on the date on which the order process is completed by Sophos, regardless of when the licence is activated. This also applies to non-activated products purchased before 1 October 2023 and not activated by that date.
• Firewall Renewals and License Management: All Sophos firewall renewals and mid-term changes are automatically activated when the order is processed. No manual license activation is required for renewals, as our system will automatically activate renewal licences. There will also be no licence key; the schedule will simply show the start and end dates for each product purchased, with no change to who receives the licence schedule. Firewall licence management in MySophos will be replaced by Sophos Central. All licences will be migrated automatically.
• Hardware Warranty Change: From 1 October 2023, Sophos will enforce its hardware warranty terms as stated in the Hardware Warranty Policy.  As such, the hardware warranty term starts when the order process is completed by Sophos (“the date of original purchase from Sophos”). Sophos will no longer allow for a 90-day grace period for hardware warranties to start.

Product Configuration and Pricing (incl. Deal Registration)

New SKUs / Odd Terms Ordering: Sophos will introduce a 14-character format with dedicated SKUs for each term (1-60 months). To facilitate migration to the new SKU model, Sophos will provide a SKU translator. Legacy SKUs for standard term orders will be accepted until the end of December 2023. Odd term orders using the 1-month SKU will not be accepted and will need to be re-created using new 14 character SKUs after 1 October 2023.

Quoting

• MSRP Pricing Inquiries for Resellers: Sophos will no longer provide quotes, instead they are Pricing Inquiries only. Distributors will provide quotes. Resellers will only see MSRP Pricing in the Partner Portal. Once distribution sends the quote back, resellers will see all approved discount levels: program, deal registration, promo, etc.
• New Configure Price Quote (CPQ) Tool: The quoting/pricing inquiry tool is the new Salesforce Lightening CPQ application and allows resellers to generate pricing inquiries and Kappa Data to create quotes through the Sophos Partner Portal.

Partner Portal

• Contact Roles: Partner Portal Administrators can now select contact roles for the users in their organization to identify which contacts should receive specific notifications from Sophos on upcoming renewals, new leads, deal registration status, partner program updates and marketing information.
• Partner Leads: 18 September 18, 2023: Existing partner-generated leads that have been inactive for more than 90 days will be closed. From 1 October 2023: Partner-generated leads in the Sophos Partner Portal that have not been progressed or closed will expire after 90 days of inactivity.

Not-for-Resale (NFR)

There is no change for existing resellers to NFR rules. New resellers joining the Sophos Partner Program will be issued a license schedule with their allotment of zero-dollar NFR software products. For any non 0 € NFR products, or quantities above the partner level allotment, they can be requested by the reseller, or by Kappa Data on behalf of the reseller, through a Sophos Channel Account Manager.

Source: https://partners.sophos.com/prm/English/c/welcome-to-sophos-bst

Sophos MSP

Sophos MSP Connect flex will NOT be affected during the BST blackout period October 1-12, 2023. Sophos MSP puts you in control of how and where licenses are distributed, giving you the flexibility to offer competitive pricing that maximizes your margin. Complete your MSP training and register now!

If you have any questions, please contact your Kappa Data team [email protected]