Elevating the Channel: Recognition, Relationships, and Continuous Improvement

As the cybersecurity landscape evolves, the role of channel enablement is expanding beyond sales and support. Today’s channel leaders are educators, strategists, and trusted advisors who help organizations strengthen their security posture through collaboration and context-driven insight.  

That philosophy is front and center in my recent conversation with Tony Ramirez, Nucleus Security’s Manager of Channel Enablement and Training and Field Engineer for the channel team. 

Recognition That Reflects Impact 

When you talk to Tony, it’s immediately clear that his focus is on helping partners succeed. That commitment recently earned him a spot on CRN’s “100 People You Don’t Know But Should” list, which celebrates standout contributors in the IT channel. 

Tony told me the recognition felt especially meaningful because it came from peers. “It’s really validating,” he said. “It’s important to me that it’s coming from peers. A lot of what I do is about helping our partners understand where we fit in the market and how to use the platform.” 

The Human Side of Channel Enablement 

Tony’s role sits at the intersection of technology, sales, and enablement. He described it as “being an intermediary between the technical side, the sales side, working alongside our partners and the Nucleus side.” It’s a position that requires both technical fluency and empathy, skills he sees as essential for today’s channel leaders. 

“You have to be willing to understand what somebody’s doing in the market and what they’re asking questions about,” he explained. “It’s about being an active listener.  As long as you can be an active listener, you can take that information and actually try to solve some of these problems or understand how it fits or doesn’t fit in your platforms.” 

He laughed as he added, “It’s a little bit like a therapist role to some degree.” That balance of listening and guiding allows him to surface the real challenges partners face and help them navigate toward meaningful outcomes. 

CTEM as a Process, Not a Product 

Tony also spoke about the industry’s growing adoption of Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) and the misconception that it’s a single solution rather than a broader approach. 

“There’s no one tool that’s going to be able to do everything across that CTEM cycle,” he said. “It’s really a framework ... People finally have a better understanding or are willing to have a conversation about moving away from static risk or static severity.” 

For Tony, this shift is about moving beyond outdated metrics like static CVSS scores and embracing the nuance of real-world context. “Vulnerability management is so much more complicated than that,” he explained, talking about applying context to vulnerability prioritization. “Let's look at things in terms of the environment that exists in our world, and let’s make better decisions and see how we can take a better approach to remediation.” 

Context, Exploitability, and Smarter Prioritization 

When we discussed prioritization, Tony emphasized that risk scores alone don’t capture what’s actually happening in the wild. “It could be something that’s a ten, but if it’s a ten and nobody’s exploiting it, who cares? That exploitability and proof of concept availability can completely change risk calculations.” 

He contrasted that idea with a more grounded, business-aligned approach: “The printer in the basement doesn’t matter as much as the web server that’s hosting all the company logic. Which one are you going to fix first? I think you know the answer. No brainer.” 

In his view, effective vulnerability management means weighing technical severity against exploitability and business impact. It requires using data such as threat intelligence and exploit prediction alongside an understanding of what the asset actually does and, just as important, how susceptible it is to misuse. 

Bringing Non-Security Stakeholders into the Fold 

Tony also sees communication as critical for extending vulnerability and exposure management beyond the security team. Developers, engineers, and other non-security stakeholders play a pivotal role, but only if they understand the “why” behind it. 

“I think storytelling still matters,” he said. “Telling them, ‘Hey, this is exploitable, and if it’s exploited, these are the types of consequences.’ And asking, ‘Do you think that could be consequential to the business?’” 

Those conversations, he explained, are the foundation of business context. They create alignment between technical realities and organizational priorities. This alignment is something he sees as increasingly essential in modern security programs. 

The Channel’s Role in Driving Continuous Improvement 

As our conversation wrapped up, Tony reflected on how the channel can help customers strengthen their security posture through education, measurement, and consistent communication. 

“There’s no single silver bullet. Everything is a process,” he said. “Vulnerability management is probably one of the least sexy areas of security just because it’s a lot of process. But that’s also why it’s one of the biggest problems.” 

Much of the problem is tied to the metrics and overwhelming volumes involved. Vulnerability management involves a unique set of data and terms that require at least some understanding. These numbers, while potentially overwhelming, also tell a unique and reliable story. 

“Being able to provide people those measurements, those metrics, those things they can rely on to actually measure security posture ... that communication part, that education part is a huge, huge part that will help organizations.” 

Then, with a grin, he added a line that perfectly sums up his philosophy: “There’s never been a better time to have a conversation with an engineer than now.” 

Watch the Full Interview 

Tony’s insights underscore how vital the human element is in technical collaboration, especially as organizations navigate the complexities of modern exposure management. 

You can watch the full interview with Tony Ramirez here to hear more about his work, his recognition by CRN, and his perspective on the evolving role of the channel.