Empathy, AI and channel partners: Insights from Barracuda’s CEO

Key takeaways from Lawrence Troemel’s partner conversation with Rohit Ghai

Takeaways

• Barracuda’s partner-first, partner-only philosophy reflects an unwavering commitment to the channel.
• In the AI era, empathy and trust are becoming more valuable than intelligence alone.
• AI is rapidly expanding the cybersecurity threat landscape, increasing urgency for businesses.
• These challenges create significant opportunities for MSPs and other channel partners to guide customers through AI-driven security transformation.

At Barracuda’s recent sales kickoff, Lawrence Troemel, President and CEO of NobleTec LLC, sat down with Barracuda CEO Rohit Ghai for a candid conversation about the future of the channel, the rising importance of empathy and the evolving role of AI in cybersecurity. Their discussion underscored why Barracuda’s partner ecosystem is uniquely positioned to lead customers through today’s shifting threat landscape.

A partner-first, partner-only philosophy

One of Lawrence’s biggest takeaways from Rohit’s keynote was the clarity and conviction behind Barracuda’s go-to-market strategy. Many vendors talk about being “partner-first,” but few fully commit to it. Barracuda does.

Rohit explained the distinction:

 “I’ve been in the security business for many years, and I’ve been at several different companies where we had a partner-first tagline, but we were always conflicted because we had a direct motion as well. I believe the go-to-market motion for Barracuda is pristine. There is no conflict.”

For Lawrence, this clarity isn’t just refreshing — it’s foundational to building trust and long-term success with customers.

Empathy as a competitive advantage in the AI era

Another standout moment from Rohit’s keynote was his perspective on empathy as a differentiator in a world increasingly shaped by AI. As intelligence becomes more automated and accessible, human connection becomes more essential.

Rohit put it simply:

“What will differentiate companies will not be the intelligence, not the brain, but the heart and how deeply you care… Everybody wants to work with people they trust, especially in the context of go-to-market, people buy from people. So, I believe empathy is going to be a differentiator for companies in the AI era, and it’s your humanity that will win the day, not intelligence.”

For partners, this message resonates deeply. Technology may scale, but trust is earned — and empathy is what sustains it.

The challenges and opportunities of AI

AI was a central theme throughout the event, especially its transformative impact on cybersecurity. Rohit highlighted a critical reality: while every new technology introduces risk, AI is unique in how dramatically it expands the attack surface and accelerates threat actor capabilities.

However, this evolving landscape also creates opportunity. Rohit described how MSPs and channel partners are positioned to meet this moment:

“Demand velocity for managed services will rise as a function of AI and cybersecurity. If you think about your ICP, the customers you serve, they are grappling with this — they need help with cybersecurity. They want to focus on their core business. They want help on the cybersecurity side. In cyber, the use of AI is imperative because like we just said, the threat actor is wielding AI, so you have to put AI into your cybersecurity strategy. These companies are barely positioned to have a cybersecurity strategy, let alone cybersecurity augmented and enhanced with AI strategy. So, the demand velocity for managed services will rise because you guys, companies like NobleTec, will have the capacity and the expertise to bring together not just the cyber expertise but overtime the AI expertise to help them defend their state.”

For partners, this is a clear call to action: AI isn’t just reshaping threats — it’s reshaping demand.

Watch the full interview

Want to dive deeper into the impact of empathy, AI and how the role of channel partners is evolving in today’s threat landscape? Check out the full interview for more valuable insights and perspectives.

Watch the video here