Partner Spotlight: Trace3 Gets Customer Wins by Bringing Together Insights from Security and Operations

If you’re in IT consulting, you’re tasked with helping customers use technology to deliver business outcomes even when they lack enough resources. Trace3 has lived in that world for more than 20 years and has built a company that helps customers integrate, automate, innovate, and elevate. Named after the three generations of entrepreneurship that founder Hayes Drumwright can trace back in his family, Trace3 has aims to solve modern business challenges with innovation, creativity, and fanatical passion for technology.

And some of the technologies Trace3 is passionate about come from Gigamon. In fact, the company has been a Gigamon Partner since 2013. When we asked David Ishmael, Vice President of Intelligent Operations at Trace3, for a one-word impression of Gigamon, he said “robust.”

We sat down with David for a Q&A to find out more about the relationship his company has with Gigamon, and how we’ve been able to help Trace3 serve its customers.

Gigamon: Why did you decide to become a Gigamon partner?

David: We took that step once we realized we could use Gigamon to make the solutions we were selling better.

Gigamon: We definitely like to hear that! How does Gigamon help meet the specific challenges of your market when it comes to network security and visibility?

David: Security and operations can provide a wealth of insights that can be useful to a business as a whole. And yet in many organizations, they continue to function independently of each other. Solutions like those from Gigamon, which can straddle the fence between security and operations, provide meaningful insights using the same source of truth: the network. This makes Gigamon ideal for multiple uses throughout the business and shortens the time required to realize a return on investment.

Gigamon: From your perspective, which Gigamon features stand out the most from the competition?

David: Well, let me give you an example. For one of our customers, the combination of NetFlow generation and de-duplication was really important. We were able to tunnel NetFlow traffic from remote sites to smaller, less expensive ExtraHop appliances. This reduced the cost of adding larger interfaces to the core system, which in turn allowed more Gigamon TAP deployments and improved East-West visibility across the environment.

Gigamon: What has been your most memorable moment as a Gigamon partner?

David: I’m impressed with the overall level of support I have received thus far, especially the speed at which my requests are handled. Everyone is eager to assist us regardless of the time of day, and we appreciate that. We need partners that can operate at the speed of business, regardless of when or where that business exists. The willingness and overall responsiveness of the Gigamon technical team to share their knowledge is priceless.

Gigamon: What are some of the new challenges you see in the market that your partnership with Gigamon can solve?

David: Trace3 believes that all roads lead to the cloud, but some of those journeys will be longer than others. That means enterprises will need visibility into legacy, hybrid, and cloud environments for the foreseeable future — and will require innovative solutions that guide them to success no matter their cloud posture. Gigamon is the answer to increased awareness through deep network and security visibility and analytics, which is a key component to ensuring organizations operate at the speed of business.

Gigamon: What are the some of the positive business outcomes you’ve experienced as a Gigamon partner?

David: We’re cultivating relationships with longstanding internal customers to show the value of the partnership between Gigamon and Trace3. The partnership will let us create unique marketing material specifically targeting our internal Riverbed customers, for instance. This is the first of many customer partnerships to come, and I look forward to developing our long-term strategy so we can land new business on both sides.

Gigamon: What unique capabilities does your partnership with Gigamon bring to your business?

David: Partnerships, like marriages, take work and can be challenging, exciting, and fruitful. Gigamon has demonstrated a strong focus on supporting their channel to ensure that we can tackle modern business challenges together with creative solutions that resonate well with our customers. We work seamlessly together, building on our strengths to overcome any weaknesses. This manifests as real value to our customers.

Gigamon: Where do you see the trends in network security and visibility going in the near future­­ — say, three years’ time?

David: Visibility between security and operations will continue to converge. Businesses will look to capitalize on a full picture that encompasses both of these areas, and will not be able to successfully function and innovate without the increased situational awareness this convergence will bring. This is where vendors like Gigamon can truly help secure the future. Gigamon provides visibility and analytics across both security and operations — 360 degrees of insights from a single source of truth: the network.

Thank you, David and Trace3, for making time for us and for being such a wonderful partner.