Deliver CRS cybersecurity services. In your country.
Distributed Connected Services lets CRS partners sell and deliver cybersecurity services across Africa and beyond.DCS opens every accredited partner's services to every other partner's clients. A partner brings the client and keeps it; a different accredited partner delivers what the first could not; CRS governs the whole job — scoping, routing, quality assurance and pricing — so partners can rely on one another's delivery.
Partner registration opens ahead of the 2027 launch. RetaliatorNation partners will be emailed when it opens — partners who want to deliver can apply for accreditation now.
See it in two minutes
One job, from registration to payout
The lifecycle
How a DCS job works
- 1
Register
The originating partner registers the client engagement and opts it into DCS.
- 2
Scope & quote
CRS confirms scope and the partner-channel price. You set your client's price.
- 3
Route
CRS matches a different accredited partner by tier, country, availability and scorecard.
- 4
Contract
You contract your client; you sign a Work Order with CRS; CRS subcontracts the delivering partner.
- 5
Deliver
Delivered under your brand, on CRS templates. You face the client.
- 6
QA
Nothing reaches the client until CRS has reviewed it. Specialist work is signed off by a CRS technical lead.
- 7
Release & accept
CRS releases to you; your client accepts.
- 8
Pay & score
Everyone is paid on agreed terms; the delivering partner's scorecard feeds the next match.
The principles
Partners own the client. CRS governs the work.
Every rule in DCS protects the partner who brought the client — including from CRS.
Partner services, open to every partner
DCS opens each accredited partner's services to every other partner's clients, for the work the originating partner cannot deliver itself. CRS governs every job.
CRS never owns the client
Every end client belongs to a partner. CRS sits in the partner chain, never in front of the client.
CRS finds, partners keep
Leads CRS or a vendor sources are passed to a matched partner, who owns the client from introduction.
Only what you opt in
DCS only ever sees the customer requests you explicitly register for delivery. Nothing else of yours enters it.
CRS owns quality
No deliverable reaches the client without CRS review. Specialist-band work carries CRS technical sign-off.
Accreditation before assignment
Partners only receive work their tier is cleared for, staffed by named, verified individuals.
Breach has consequences
Approaching another party's client ends your DCS agreements and carries damages, clawback and legal action.
Who owns what
End client
Its own environment, data and decision to buy.
Contracts only with its partner. It is never approached by anyone else in the chain.
Originating partner
The client relationship, the contract and the price.
Registers the engagement, faces the client and keeps the client — recorded in the Client Ownership Register.
CRS governance
Scope, routing, quality assurance and the rules.
Sits in the partner chain, never in front of the client. CRS never owns, contracts with or invoices an end client.
Delivering partner
The work it is accredited for — nothing else.
A different accredited partner, subcontracted by CRS, delivering under the originating partner's brand on CRS templates.
The separation rule
The partner who brings a client can never deliver it. That is the intention of the programme: DCS exists for the services an originating partner cannot deliver itself, so that every partner's clients can get them from the accredited network. CRS routes delivery to a different accredited partner — never you, and never a company you own, are owned by, or share control with — or CRS delivers it itself.
- CRS never owns a client. Every client belongs to a partner: the partner who registered it, or the partner CRS assigned a CRS-sourced client to. CRS never contracts with, invoices or retains an end client.
- Recorded in the Client Ownership Register. Ownership is recorded with the date, the partner and the evidence. An entry not disputed within 10 business days is conclusive between DCS parties.
- It does not expire. Ownership lasts while you are in DCS and survives you leaving it — only future CRS-sourced leads stop.
- CRS is bound too. CRS signs the same non-solicit as every partner, so you are protected against CRS as well as against other partners.
- Direct approaches are referred back. If your client contacts CRS or a delivering partner directly, they must refer it back to you within 2 business days.
The data guarantee
Only what you opt in
DCS loads only the customer requests you explicitly opt into DCS for delivery — no other service requests, ever.
- Only customer requests you explicitly opt into DCS for delivery are loaded into DCS — one registration at a time, each with its own opt-in.
- DCS never reads your other customers, deal registrations, partner requests, quotes or SMBsecure orders. They stay exactly where they are.
- A delivering partner never sees your client's identity until the statement of work is signed, and never sees your price.
- You can withdraw a registration that is held for launch at any time. Your ownership of the client is unaffected.
Client protection
Breach has consequences
Breach means soliciting, contracting with or diverting another party's client; going around CRS to deal with a partner it introduced; or routing a job to yourself or an affiliate. It applies to CRS exactly as it applies to partners.
The non-solicit runs for 24 months. Every consequence below applies, cumulatively.
- Termination and removal
- Every DCS agreement with the breaching party ends immediately and it is removed from the Partner Register and the DCS network.
- Liquidated damages
- An amount per breach, set in the final DCS agreement, paid to the partner who owns the client.
- Account of profits
- The breaching party pays the client owner the gross profit earned from the diverted client for 24 months.
- Urgent interdict
- The client owner, or CRS, may apply to court urgently to stop the conduct.
- Fee clawback and set-off
- CRS may withhold any amount it owes the breaching party against what the breaching party owes.
- Legal costs
- Recovered from the breaching party on the attorney-and-client scale.
- Employees and affiliates count
- A breach by a partner's employee, director or affiliate is a breach by the partner.
Removal never moves the client — it stays with its owner.
Service bands
Three bands of work, matched to accreditation
Every service sits in a band. The band sets the minimum tier a delivering partner needs and how closely CRS oversees the work.
Associate
Tier 1+Deployment and onboarding of every solution in the CRS stack (Todyl, Flare, vRx, Aikido, BeachheadSecure, Blue Flag Security, Cyber Risk Essentials, Panorays, SMBsecure, Strobes, Telivy, Vectra); health checks; L1/L2 managed-service support
- Oversight
- Template deliverables; CRS spot-check review
- Typical effort
- 1–2 person-days, done within a week
Certified
Tier 2+Vulnerability management operations; configuration reviews; GRC and compliance readiness
- Oversight
- Full CRS review of every deliverable before release
- Typical effort
- 4–10 person-days or a monthly retainer, 1–4 weeks
Specialist
Tier 3+VAPT; red teaming; incident response; SOC/MDR operations
- Oversight
- CRS shadows the first engagement; a CRS technical lead signs off every report
- Typical effort
- 7–25 person-days, 2–6 weeks
The catalogue at launch
| Service | Associate | Certified | Specialist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Todyl deployment | ● Associate band | ||
| Aikido deployment | ● Associate band | ||
| BeachheadSecure deployment | ● Associate band | ||
| Blue Flag Security deployment | ● Associate band | ||
| Cyber Risk Essentials rollout (awareness, simulations, training) | ● Associate band | ||
| Flare onboarding | ● Associate band | ||
| Panorays onboarding | ● Associate band | ||
| SMBsecure managed-service deployment | ● Associate band | ||
| Strobes Security deployment | ● Associate band | ||
| Telivy deployment | ● Associate band | ||
| Vectra deployment | ● Associate band | ||
| vRx deployment | ● Associate band | ||
| Health check | ● Associate band | ||
| Managed-service support — L1/L2 for any CRS stack solution | ● Associate band | ||
| Vulnerability management operations | ● Certified band | ||
| Configuration review | ● Certified band | ||
| GRC / ISO 27001 readiness | ● Certified band | ||
| VAPT external — SME band | ● Specialist band | ||
| VAPT external + internal — mid-market | ● Specialist band | ||
| Red team engagement | ● Specialist band | ||
| Incident response activation | ● Specialist band |
Not in the catalogue? It can still run through DCS.
Delivering partners: Can you deliver a cybersecurity service that is not listed? Tell CRS at intake. Other services are reviewed at accreditation and added to the catalogue as accredited capability comes on board — the catalogue grows with the network.
Selling partners: Does a client need something not listed? Register it as “another service” and CRS scopes it with you — the same client ownership, separation and deal protection apply.
Accreditation
Tiers for delivering partners
Delivering partners are accredited into a tier. A partner only receives work its tier is cleared for.
Tier 1
Associate
Cleared for: Associate-band services — deploy, onboard and support any solution in the CRS stack, including managed services
- Signed DCS contract pack
- At least two named engineers with the relevant vendor certification
- One client reference
Tier 2
Certified
Cleared for: Associate and Certified-band services
- Everything in Tier 1
- Vendor-certified implementers named per product
- Two client references
- CRS technical interview
Tier 3
Specialist
Cleared for: All bands, including Specialist
- Named testers or analysts with role-relevant certifications (e.g. OSCP, CREST, CISSP)
- Professional indemnity insurance at the CRS-required level
- Sample report reviewed and accepted by CRS
- Signed responsible-testing policy and code of conduct
- Certifications are verified with the issuer (cert ID or vendor portal), never accepted from a CV.
- Accreditation is for named individuals. A job is staffed only with people on the register.
- A partner drops a tier after two rejected deliverables in a rolling 12 months.
- Expired insurance or agreements suspend assignment until renewed.
FAQ
Questions partners ask
If CRS routes us a job, can we sell other services to that client?
No. A delivering partner acquires no rights to the client it delivers for. No DCS party, CRS included, may solicit, contract with or divert another party's client for any cybersecurity service for 24 months, and a direct approach from the client is referred back to its owner within 2 business days.
How does billing work when we own the client and another partner delivers?
The originating partner contracts and invoices its own client and sets its price. CRS invoices the originating partner under a Work Order and subcontracts the delivering partner. CRS never contracts with or invoices the end client.
Are deliverables in our brand if we're the originating partner?
Yes. Deliverables are produced on CRS templates and delivered under the originating partner's brand, never the delivering partner's.
Who covers rework costs if the CRS quality review fails?
The delivering partner. Nothing reaches the client until CRS has reviewed it, and rejected deliverables are reworked at the delivering partner's cost.
Launching 2027. Keep every client you bring.
Existing CRS partners opt in from the partner portal. Companies that want to deliver DCS work start with a capability intake — CRS verifies every certification and reference before a tier is assigned.
Not a CRS partner yet? Become a partner first.