Sophos Shop Update v3.3 – improvements and roadmap
With our Sophos Shop, we never wanted to be just another “online store” on the Internet. We have specialized in Sophos and would like to offer on the one hand the products, but also our service as a complete package.
That’s why, since the first design draft of our web store, we’ve been working towards becoming a one-stop store for people who are already using Sophos in their network, or who want to use it.
With our webshop, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to order Sophos products, renew licenses, get free purchase advice, plan larger projects with us, and get support when you’re at the end of your Sophos rope.
For us, Sophos is not just any product on the shelf. You buy your Sophos product from professionals, a certified Gold Partner, who themselves know something about the subject.
Update: In 2017, we achieved the highest status with Sophos and were officially named a Platinum Partner
Of course, we are nowhere near where we would once like to be. Our roadmap is peppered with great ideas that still need to be implemented.
Here we would like to give you a short update about what we have improved in our store in the last weeks and what new features you can look forward to!
Order optimized for prepayment
In order to keep the time between the order and the shipment as short as possible in the case of “prepayment”, the invoice with the necessary payment information is now attached to the order confirmation e-mail immediately after the order is placed. In the past, we still created each invoice manually, making the customer wait unnecessarily. This step has now been fully automated and it is now only up to the customer how quickly they pay the invoice. According to our experience, we are informed about the receipt of payment the very next day and release the order immediately.
In contrast to the invoice, PayPal or credit card, a maximum of one working day is lost with prepayment.
Credit card payments improved
Until now, we have always offered the payment methods PayPal and credit card together. Since you could also pay by credit card with PayPal, that was always very convenient for us as a provider.
Thanks to some feedback from customers who wanted to pay by credit card, we have found that the payment process on PayPal’s site can be very confusing. We then decided to offer the two payment methods separately and to look for a separate payment provider for the credit card.
It should now be a lot easier and more understandable to pay by credit card in our store. We have also decided to pay all credit card fees ourselves and not to charge them to the customer, as is the case with PayPal.
Pay by invoice on request
The most popular payment method for end customers is and remains, of course, on account. However, we as a provider naturally always take a high risk with this payment method, as we have to make advance payments for a customer and trust that the amount will be settled within the payment period. Customers who have already ordered from us more often may order on account for a longer time.
So that it does not come however with new customers because of this missing payment method immediately to the purchase abort, nevertheless calls before simply times with us or writes a E-Mail. We then briefly check the order value and the company behind the order, and then decide whether we agree with an order on account. In the case of private individuals, we make an exception in very few cases.
Roadmap
Finally, I’ll give you a very brief overview of what you can expect in the near future:
TotalProtect Plus Bundles
The popular TotalProtect Bundle (Hardware + FullGuard) gets a big brother! With the TotalProtect Plus Bundle, you get Sophos Sandstorm in addition to the FullGuard license (hardware + FullGuard + Sandstorm).
Sophos Clean
How do you know that your current antivirus hasn’t missed anything? With Sophos Clean, a brand new product from Sophos will make its way into our store in the next few months. Sophos Clean works on the principle of “double is better” and should be used in parallel with your existing antivirus. So, so to speak, the “sidekick” of your antivirus software. We have written more about Sophos Clean in the following blogpost: Sophos Clean: the sidekick among virus scanners
Sophos Cloud becomes Sophos Central
Sophos has announced that it will rename its Sophos Cloud product to Sophos Central. For this purpose, we will also revise the “Sophos Cloud Department” in our store. So far, however, we do not know the new product names. We will keep you up to date here as well.
MSP
With MSP, Sophos offers a new “pay-as-you-go” payment model. This means that a license no longer has to be purchased for 1, 2 or 3 years, but can be rented on a monthly basis. We have already given some thought to how we can also integrate this model into our store in the most practical way possible. If you already see that this model could be interesting for you, please feel free to contact us.
Update: We no longer offer monthly licenses until further notice. Unfortunately, we had to discontinue our developed model for a Sophos Central or XG subscription in May 2018.
Become a reseller
We’ve had a number of requests from companies who want to deploy Sophos to their own customers, but don’t want to have to register with Sophos and a distributor. In addition, certifications are also required, which is too costly for many who do not see Sophos as their core business. So they asked if they could purchase Sophos hardware and software through us, and if they got stuck, they could count on our Sophos support.
In response to these requests, we set up a reseller program. A company that registers with us as a reseller and orders from us regularly will receive special reseller conditions from us. In the fourth quarter we have planned a major update of our store, where you can also create a reseller account directly.
But until then, we are already offering an interim solution. If you would like to learn more about our reseller program, please contact us.