Webroot has taken Computelec on-board as a reseller to push the vendor’s security software products out to local schools.

Computelec, with offices in Victoria, NSW, WA and QLD, is an IT service provider for the education market.

David Borgnis, national channel manager at Webroot told CRN, the vendor was attracted to the company's tradition of offering the education market a variety of IT services.

According to Borgnis, the Internet has become a key educational tool for research and communication in schools.

“It’s essential schools can provide resources without exposing students to Internet threats,” he said.

“A total security package allows educators to focus their attention on educating young Australians rather than dealing with spam or Internet threats."

Darren Elsby national sales manager at Computelec said the service provider believes SaaS was playing an increasingly important role in the education sector.

“With SaaS solutions, schools are able to offload the burden of maintaining their Web and email content filters whilst retaining all the control and features they need to keep their schools safe from inappropriate content,” he said.

According to Borgnis the vendor’s SaaS model provides attracted service providers because it provided resellers with healthy margins.

“I can’t go into what margins resellers could expect from SaaS because they were negotiated on individual reseller relationships.

“But the margins are very healthy because it's subscription based and has recurring revenue stream through services.”