AI for Dataminr is ‘not a feature, it’s not an add-on. It is the platform,’ Channel Chief Matthew Harrell tells CRN.
Dataminr debuted its new channel program Tuesday with a tiered system and an array of other improvements, ultimately aiming to drive major opportunities for partners in AI-powered threat intelligence and risk detection, Channel Chief Matthew Harrell told CRN.
The launch of the Dataminr Partner Network comes as many solution and service providers seek to find more-accessible opportunities in bringing AI into the spheres of cybersecurity and risk reduction for their customers.
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Dataminr’s platform utilizes both LLMs and predictive AI models to analyze nearly 1 million public data sources, providing the ability to uncover events and predict threats in advance, according to the company. Key capabilities include “regenerative AI” that continually updates descriptions of events in real time as they’re unfolding.
“What’s really powerful is that you get this immediacy of time-to-value with our AI solution,” Harrell (pictured) said in an interview. “Everyone’s hyping AI. But AI is our platform. It’s not a feature, it’s not an add-on. It is the platform.”
Indeed, Dataminr has stood out with its ability to rapidly provide useful capabilities to customers with AI, according to one partner.
With Dataminr, “we can talk with our current customers about some of the vulnerabilities they might have from these public feeds —immediately — and have a very tailored conversation off the bat,” said Timothy Hall, director of alliances at Annapolis, Md.-based Blackwood, No. 107 of CRN’s Solution Provider 500.
As a solution provider focused on serving U.S. government customers, “that is very rare that we get to do that in the federal space, and the public sector space in general,” Hall said.
Program Updates
For the new Dataminr partner program, the company is rolling out a two-tier system, replacing its previous system that didn’t have tiering, according to Harrell.
The program includes deal registration, a full-fledged partner portal and “healthy” margins, as well as a spiff incentive for the first time, he said.
One crucial change that Dataminr is making in connection with the new program launch is to shift to a neutral compensation structure, so that its internal salespeople can’t gain an added financial benefit for taking deals direct.
Blackwood’s Hall said this move, in particular, is a big win for Dataminr partners.
“When there is comp neutrality between the partner reps and the OEM reps, you get trust automatically — because everyone has the same goal,” he said. “It creates more of a teamwork situation.”
Dataminr, in fact, is also implementing an incentive that aims to encourage its sales team to work more closely and do more deals with partners, Harrell said.
Services Opportunities
The new version of the Dataminr channel program is focused on partners including resellers and security service providers, but the company plans to add training later this year that will offer enablement for MSPs and MSSPs as well, he noted.
Additionally, while Dataminr offers its capabilities as a standalone platform, its technology can be integrated with security operations tools such as SIEM (security information and event management) and SOAR (security orchestration, automation and response) systems, Harrell said.
For partners working with Dataminr, “we think there’s a huge services play within that area,” he said.
The partner program launch follows Dataminr’s appointment of Harrell, who’d previously led Cloudflare’s partner program, as its chief partner officer in July 2024.
The moves also come after Dataminr hired industry veteran Brian Gumbel as its new president in April 2024, as the $4.1 billion company eyes an initial public offering in coming years.
