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Sonic Boom: Getting to Know the New SonicWall

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In the months after I graduated college, I wasn’t yet sure what I wanted to do next. After attempts to join both the military and the Peace Corps fell through, the possibilities stretched endlessly before me — seemingly in all directions. Hoping to make some connections, I ended up at an alumni event, where another attendee was asking the usual questions about my major.

“Global business and marketing,” I told him. “But I don’t know what I want to do yet.”

“Can you sell me a router?” he asked.

“I don’t know what a router is,” I replied. “But if you teach me, I’ll sell you three of them.”

That man turned out to be the area VP at a major technology company — and that conversation marked the start of a networking and cybersecurity career that would span 18 years and counting.

During this time, I’ve worked with partners of all stripes, leading, developing and growing channel ecosystems at Cisco, Office Depot/CompuCom, JS Group and Cisco again. While working in the channel, I’ve also become increasingly involved with driving Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives and developing the next generation of channel talent.

So, when the opportunity arose to become the new North America Channel Chief for SonicWall, it seemed like a natural next step. SonicWall has long been committed to greater inclusivity and is currently shifting to a more outside-in channel approach. Combined with the company’s recent tremendous growth, I firmly believe there’s never been a more exciting time to be a part of SonicWall — or to partner with SonicWall.

We’re going in a great new direction, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that we’ve already come so far. Now that you’ve gotten to know a little about me, I’d like to be among the first to introduce you to the new SonicWall.

We are not owned by Dell.

I’m a little surprised we still hear this. At this point, we’ve been spun off from Dell for longer than we were part of them (SonicWall was acquired by Dell in 2012, and became its own company in 2016). If anything, it’s a testament to the amazing brand recognition the Dell name gave SonicWall at the time.

But while there are benefits to being under a big brand, there can also be drawbacks. When we became a private entity again seven years ago, that transition offered us a chance to adjust our corporate roadmap and decide what we wanted the next era of SonicWall to look like. As an independent company, SonicWall has been able to act even more quickly in serving and strengthening relationships with our channel partners and customers.

We’re not just firewalls.

Another thing that emerged from this new direction is the expansion of our product portfolio. The recent investments in people, processes and technology have allowed us to move beyond our core offering of firewalls and reimagine SonicWall in a way that would not previously have been possible.

Today, we offer a full suite of solutions designed to stop targeted cyberattacks, including physical firewalls supporting deployments of all sizes, virtual firewalls, endpoint protection, email and application security, zero-trust network access, wireless security, remote workforce security, distributed network security, and more.

We’re not new to the game.

During the past few years, SonicWall has grown tremendously in every market we serve — and at the same time, our actionable threat intelligence has made us a recognized thought leader in the cybersecurity space. While this energy is typically associated with startups and new companies, in reality SonicWall has been serving the cybersecurity market for more than three decades.

But our status as a highly established brand doesn’t mean we’re “legacy,” mothballed or moribund. The past three decades have brought near-constant change — and each of these events has offered us the opportunity to stop and say, “Who does SonicWall want to be now? And what can we do today, that maybe we couldn’t do five years ago or five months ago, to work toward that vision?”

The result is a company that has 30 years of threat intelligence combined with a very entrepreneurial mindset. We have passion, energy and grit to propel us forward, but we have history, reputation and expertise underpinning and enriching this momentum.

The recent supply-chain challenges we saw arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic are a good example of this. While other companies were running waitlists and backorders, SonicWall was consistently able to deliver 95% of orders in three days or less — despite being amid a period of unprecedented growth.

If we hadn’t been both experienced enough to see these changes coming, and agile enough to get ahead of them, we wouldn’t have been able to deliver for our customers and partners when very few others could.

This sweet spot also positions us well for future growth: We’ve been around awhile, but we’re also in a place where we can be creative and innovative. We can build on our past, but we aren’t beholden to it.

We aren’t just in the SMB space.

After heading up the small-business advisory council at Cisco and working to translate their offerings to MSPs, it felt natural to join a company looking to grow their MSP and MSSP offerings, particularly one that caters to SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) as well as global enterprises.

Unlike many other cybersecurity companies, however, we don’t see this as an either/or proposition. At SonicWall, our goal isn’t just to be a cybersecurity vendor. We will continue to be a big player in the SMB market, but we also want to be a strategic partner that creates the solutions and programs you need to grow your business at any size.

In this way, our continued expansion into the enterprise market doesn’t just benefit enterprise customers. It benefits our SMB customers as well: If we have an existing relationship with an SMB customer, that relationship can continue as their business grows.

It benefits our partners, too: As growing businesses continue their journey with SonicWall, this gives our partners access to bigger deals, boosting their businesses as well. We all help one another grow, and we all benefit from this growth.

We don’t sell to end organizations.

As a 100% channel-driven company, our partner community isn’t just important to us — it’s our lifeblood. Our 17,000 partners (more than 9,000 in North America alone) are the extension of SonicWall’s mission. They’re the trusted advisors to our customers, and we’re working hard to ensure they’re supported.

Increased responsiveness and agility are steps to this goal, but the biggest one is collaboration. Rather than operating in a vacuum and telling partners and customers what we think they need, we want to hear from you.

We may know what the threat landscape looks like, but what does this mean for you specifically? How can we incorporate the right programs, products, solutions, incentives, education, training, enablement — all of it — to make sure you have what you need to be successful and protect your customers?

Our outside-in approach starts with CEO Bob VanKirk and flows down through every employee, in every department, in every country. It’s built around acknowledging the work our partners put in and understanding your needs and pain points. Your work has made our success possible. We couldn’t be more grateful for that, and it’s our goal to continue working to better support and enable you across every function and team.

SonicWall isn’t just another cybersecurity vendor.

I know every company says this, but I truly believe it. What differentiates us from the other 4,327 security companies in the world is that we have the best combination of incredibly great products, at a reasonable price, with wonderful support. Even before I worked here, I was struck by the love that people have for SonicWall. I think a big part of that is the amount of care that we have for our partners and customers. SonicWall has heart.

We frequently hear about experiences at other vendors where people couldn’t find anyone to support them or talk with them about issues because everybody was too busy swimming upstream. But they didn’t feel insignificant at SonicWall. We make the time to offer great service to small and large organizations alike, and our leadership is accessible and wants to help. I’ve been known to give out my email address and personal cell on LinkedIn, because it’s important for me to make sure that everyone has some point of connection. If you have a problem and haven’t heard from anybody, let me know!

None of this means we’re perfect, of course — but when we do get it wrong, we want to make it right. My very first day on the job, I was approached by a partner who said, “Congratulations on your new role. Unfortunately, I’m moving to [a competitor].”

After learning that it was a support issue, we immediately organized a meeting with him, his boss, his support team, myself, and our sales and product folks. We apologized for their trouble, we asked what we could do to help, and then … we just listened. By the end of the call, they had not only chosen to stay with SonicWall, they had also joined our Partner Advisory Council (PAC) so that they could keep giving input and stay involved.

While we were thrilled to keep them as a partner, my favorite part of that story is how we came together to demonstrate that we really cared. We offer quality solutions at a reasonable price, but we recognize that people don’t buy on solutions alone. People buy from those they like, know and trust.

And this goes double when choosing partners. We want to help you reimagine the future of SonicWall with us working alongside you. In the coming months, you’ll be hearing about some new and exciting changes to SonicWall’s partner vision. These changes represent the next step toward continuing to support you as we work together toward an even more successful 2024 and beyond.

SonicWall Earns 5-Star Rating in 2023 Partner Program Guide for the Seventh Straight Year

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SonicWall is pleased to share that it has been recognized by CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, with a prestigious 5-star rating in its 2023 Partner Program Guide. This marks the seventh straight year SonicWall has received this recognition, dating back to 2017.

CRN’s annual Partner Program Guide offers essential information to solution providers, such as managed service providers (MSPs), value-added resellers (VARs), systems integrators and strategic service providers as they explore technology manufacturers’ partner programs to find the vendors that will best support their business needs.

The 5-star rating is awarded to the companies that go above and beyond in their commitment to nurturing strong, profitable, successful channel partnerships.

“At SonicWall, we understand that our partners are critical to our success, and we work hard to ensure that they have the tools and support they need to be successful,” said SonicWall CRO Jason Carter. “By providing innovative, cost-effective security solutions and exceptional customer service, we help our partners deliver superior cybersecurity services to their customers and build lasting relationships. We welcome the recognition from CRN as we try to provide our partners with everything they need to succeed.”

For the channel partner community, a critical factor when assessing which IT manufacturers, service providers, and distributors to team with in building world-class technology solutions is the breadth and depth of the partner programs those companies offer. Strong elements such as financial incentives, sales and marketing assistance, training and certification, technical support, and more can set a vendor apart and play a key role in boosting partners’ long-term growth.

In the 2023 CRN Partner Program Guide, vendors were evaluated based on program requirements and offerings such as partner training and education, pre- and post-sales support, marketing programs and resources, technical support, and communication.

“In today’s world, the need for innovation is greater than ever,” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “Solution providers seek vendors that can keep pace with their developing business and evolving client needs. CRN’s 2023 Partner Program Guide delivers deep insight into the strengths of each program, spotlighting the vendors dedicated to supporting their partner community and pushing positive change throughout the IT channel.”

The 2023 Partner Program Guide will be featured in the April 2023 issue of CRN and online at www.CRN.com/PPG.

A New Era of Partnering to Win

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SonicWall Partners are at the core of our success. We’re continually improving products, services, support, and brand awareness.

After a couple of months now as President and CEO of SonicWall, I’ve had a chance to begin focusing on the core objectives that will continue to drive the company going forward. A primary focus of mine will be staying better aligned with you, our trusted partners. To that end, I’d like to offer the first of many updates on how we’re doing as a company, what to expect in the future, and how we’re tracking on goals we’ve set for ourselves.

Where We Are and Where We’re Going

SonicWall is in the midst of historic growth: We’ve experienced five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, with both top- and bottom-line performance at or near historic highs.

At the core of our successes are the key contributions from our partner community. We’re seeing strong bid performance globally, with record levels of Deal Registration Create, Deal Registration Close, In-Quarter Create and In-Quarter Close. We’re unbelievably thankful for your incredible performance and continued dedication.

We continue to see growth in the SMB market, which aligns to our strategy of building on our leadership there. We’re also continuing our expansion into the enterprise market, with strong growth in 2022. Much of this increase is due to the tremendous success of our enterprise-class NSsp next-generation firewall. We’re now coming off our highest-performing quarter of all time for our NSsp firewalls.

The growth of NSsp and other offerings has been bolstered by the strength of SonicWall’s supply chain. In 2020, long before any wide-scale supply-chain disruption had occurred, SonicWall had begun modifying its products, revisiting internal processes and changing the way we work with suppliers.

This has allowed us to have product in stock when others didn’t. In partnership with you, last year alone we collectively drove a 33% increase in the number of new customers and a 45% increase in sales — all while fulfilling 95% of all orders within just three days.

Getting ahead of supply-chain disruption has also allowed us to realize supply chain and shipping cost advantages, which in turn has enabled us to continue to offer industry-leading TCO. While SonicWall has long focused on providing the best products at the best value, during this time of economic uncertainty, this has become an even greater differentiator.

Prior to 2020, SonicWall had already begun looking toward a future built around widespread remote work. Since then, we’ve been developing, refining and expanding our cloud product offerings, including our Cloud Edge Secure Access solution, our NSv virtual firewall and more. And our focus in this area is paying off, with SonicWall’s cloud evolution achieving 36% growth in 2022.

The drivers of SonicWall’s long-term plan include maintaining our sizeable SMB base, steadfast growth in the enterprise space, and continued expansion into next-generation cloud security. And these strategies will be underpinned by ongoing innovation as we continue to build on our Boundless Cybersecurity architecture.

How We’re Continually Improving Customer and Partner Support

During this time, we’ll continue to focus on growing our MSSP program. In early 2023, we’ll introduce an updated MSSP portal, which will provide greater value for our MSSP partners.  We’re also increasing our MSSP product offerings: stay tuned as we lean even further into that area and ensure that every product is aligned to our MSSPs.

Over the past couple years, you’ve emphasized the importance of customer and technical support. We’ve already begun making strides toward greater alignment in this area, both through our web support presence and through our one-on-one support.

We’ve continued to grow and refine our knowledgebase and self-service options. As of this writing, our self-service score is 19-1. In other words, for every 19 inquiries, only one turns into a phone call — the other 18 are sufficiently addressed via the knowledgebase and other online tools. (For context, 13-1 is viewed as best in class.)

As you know, this is a journey and not a destination, and we’ll continue to do our best here. In fact, some of our efforts to improve the user experience for web-based support are already bearing fruit. In August, the Association of Support Professionals (ASP) awarded SonicWall a special award for Best Search on a Support Website, the first time such an award had ever been given.

ASP's annual Best Support Website, awarded to SonicWall in 2022 for our work with our partners.

But because not all support tasks can be handled through online inquiry, we’ve also been investing heavily in our support call center. We aren’t just focused on adding more support resources, however — we’re also focused on supporting more partners and customers, which is key as we grow and expand. Among our support initiatives is the addition of local language support wherever possible, greatly increasing the breadth of our support program.

How We’re Building Brand Awareness

Not all support is after the sale, however — we’re aware that we can make your jobs easier by ensuring end users recognize SonicWall and our partners as thought leaders in the cybersecurity space. In July, we released the mid-year update to our 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report. This report continues to set records, not only in number of downloads, but also in terms of media coverage and mentions in major articles and news stories.

The Threat Report also serves as a vehicle to highlight SonicWall’s threat performance, particularly our patented Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI™). Through the end of Q3 2022, this technology had discovered 373,756 new malware variants — a 22% year-to-date increase, and an average of 1,374 new variants per day.

These capabilities have also been validated by third-party testing — not just once, but seven times in a row. For the past seven consecutive quarters, ICSA Labs has evaluated a SonicWall NSa 3600 equipped with Capture ATP with RTDMI. And in every test cycle, the solution identified 100% of new and little-known threats, some only hours old.

SonicWall is currently the only participating vendor to achieve seven straight 100% threat detection scores, and we’ve now had seven consecutive quarters with the highest overall score among all participants.

Our Partners Are at the Core

But no matter how strong our portfolio is, at SonicWall we know we’re only as strong as our partner community. That’s why we’re working toward increased partner communication and collaboration on every front.

Gen 7 have seen an eight- to nine-times improvement in their top line.

We’ll continue to focus on expanding our technical tracks, as well as our SonicWall University offerings, which have been incredibly successful. We’ve found that partners who take just three hours of SonicWall U training on topics such as Gen 7 have seen an eight- to nine-times improvement in their top line.

But for those who may not have a chance to complete a full training module right away, we’re introducing a new series of 15-minute videos that will serve as a supplement to our SonicWall U training. These videos will provide a bite-sized look at a particular topic and can be shared across your team and with customers. In our GTM revamp of the SonicWall sales team four years ago, we moved to weekly mandatory training for the entire team — something even I continue to do — every week.

With the COVID-19 pandemic easing a bit in many places, we’ll be ramping up our in-person training and will continue reintroducing our regional roadshows. Our Sales Enablement team members have begun meeting partners and customers in person where appropriate, as well.

But as our Sales Enablement team hits the road, we recognize they may be unavailable while they’re in transit or with customers. To maintain a Sales Enablement presence that’s consistently available, we’ve begun investing in virtual SES. These team members are equipped with a variety of tools and will be available during working hours in case you need a quick response.

We’re also in the process of revamping our SonicWall Secure First Partner Program. We’ll be spending a considerable amount of time, effort and investment into improving this program from a partner standpoint, to offer high-quality training and to reward the commitment partners are making in SonicWall.

Like so many of our other initiatives, this one is built around acknowledging the work that our partners put in and continuing to learn how we can better align and better understand your needs and pain points.

Going forward, my key priority is ensuring we’re listening across the company to our partners — getting your input and soliciting your opinion to shape our initiatives and offerings, as opposed to just providing updates. We’ve always strived to be a partner-centric company, but we want to continue to grow in how we can better support and enable our partners across every function and team.

SonicWall’s Bob VanKirk, HoJin Kim & David Bankemper Earn 2022 CRN Channel Chief Recognition

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SonicWall is thrilled to share that CRN has named three of its sales leaders to the 2022 Channel Chiefs list: Bob VanKirk, HoJin Kim and David Bankemper. CRN’s annual Channel Chiefs project identifies top IT channel vendor executives who continually demonstrate expertise, influence and innovation in channel leadership.

“CRN’s 2022 Channel Chiefs recognition is given exclusively to the foremost channel executives who consistently design, promote, and execute effective partner programs and strategies,” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “We’re thrilled to recognize the tireless work and unwavering commitment these honorees put into fostering outstanding business innovation and building strong partner programs to drive channel engagement and success.”

As Chief Revenue Officer for SonicWall, Bob VanKirk is responsible for driving top-line sales across SonicWall’s global distribution network and oversees the teams, strategy and execution related to SonicWall’s global partner success.

HoJin Kim, Vice President, Worldwide Channels for SonicWall, is responsible for driving the development of SonicWall’s global channel efforts. He leads the implementation of the company’s modern channel strategy to build a sustainable competitive advantage for SonicWall’s partners.

David Bankemper is the Senior Director, Channel Sales for SonicWall and has helped to guide continued investment in and adoption of SonicWall’s MSSP program. David is also responsible for ensuring that SonicWall’s channel partners have the products, tools, incentives and training to profitably deliver cost-effective solutions to their customers.

“It is an amazing feat to have three employees from the same organization recognized by CRN as Channel Chief honorees,” said SonicWall President and CEO Bill Conner. “SonicWall is proud to be a 100% channel company and having three people recognized speaks to the caliber of program SonicWall has built over its 30-year existence.”

The 2022 Channel Chiefs are prominent leaders who have influenced the IT channel with cutting-edge strategies, programs and partnerships. All honorees are selected by CRN’s editorial staff based on their dedication, industry prestige, and exceptional accomplishments as channel advocates. SonicWall has been consistently included in recent CRN awards including Executive of the Year, Women of the Channel and Channel Chief and Rising Female Stars.

CRN’s 2022 Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2022 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs.

SonicWall and our Channel Partners Team to Deliver New High-Value Security Professional Services to Fight the Bad Guys

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I can only imagine the pressure that comes with the job of being responsible for a company’s network security.  These individuals are not only entrusted with protecting company and customer data, but the reputation of the company and its brand.  In the case of smaller businesses, the stakes are particularly high, where a network breach and data loss can threaten the very existence of the company. According to the Ponemon Institute Cost of a Data Breach 2017, the average cost of a breach for the average total cost of a data breach is $3.62M, and over 60 percent of SMBs cease to exist 6 months following a data security breach. Add to these grim statistics the incredible rise in malware, ransomware and other advanced threats in a constantly evolving cyber threat landscape and you have the plot of a very scary true (cyber) crime movie – the good guys vs. the bad guys.

Network security vendors like SonicWall and the channel partners who integrate our products in to security solutions for their customers are most often the first line of defense to help organizations defend against the bad guys. These organizations rely on SonicWall to deliver highly efficient security products that can stop today’s known and unknown threats. And they rely on our channel partners as their trusted advisors to deliver their security solution. With so much at stake, it is critical that the right SonicWall products are designed in the security solution. And just as critical that the solution is implemented properly and optimized for the customer’s environment and business requirements. Even the best security products, if not properly spec’d and implemented, can leave an organization vulnerable. To address this reality, SonicWall has announced the launch of a new lineup of valuable professional security services to help customers and channels design, implement and operate SonicWall security solutions that keep the bad guys at bay and defend against their relentless cyber attacks.

Organized around three areas of competency, the security professional service offerings were jointly developed and blueprinted by SonicWall and a group of channel partners (the good guys) with deep security services expertise. Each service incorporates the real-world services experience of these partners, essential knowledge gained through hundreds of services engagements.

The services include:

  • Implementation Services – compliance audit prep, remote and onsite implementation services for SonicWall products
  • Solution Services – security health checks,  wireless security deployments, campus network and distributed network solutions.
  • Architecture Services – more complex or large-scale solutions and customer environments, such as DPI-SSL deployment or SuperMassive next-gen firewall implementations.

It makes so much sense to have these types of services surround the SonicWall product portfolio, as a means to ensure our customer have the best possible protection. As SonicWall’s Channel Chief, I’m equally proud of the new services as I am of the way in which they are delivered.

This is where our new Partner Enabled Services Program comes in. Just launched, the program identifies and showcases SonicWall SecureFirst channel partners who have a security focused professional services practice and enables them to deliver the new services. These partners are vetted, granted status as a SonicWall Advanced Authorized Services Partner and given access to exclusive training, tools, sales, marketing and technical resources. All of the services are branded and sku’d by SonicWall, so the entire SonicWall channel can resell them. Once sold, the services are delivered by the Advanced Services Partners.

This breakthrough approach to delivering professional security services is only possible due to the collaboration and trust that exists within the incredible SonicWall channel partner ecosystem – one that has developed over the last 25 years. SonicWall channel partners genuinely trust each other to engage respectfully with their customers to deliver high-grade professional security services and, in doing so, they deliver the most effective security solution and drive incremental opportunity for their business. With this program, SonicWall’s broad channel, our Authorized Services Partners, and most importantly, our customers, can join forces to fight the bad guys and win the war against cyber attacks. Score one for the good guys!

Feedback from our channel on this approach to services offer creation and delivery has been fantastic.

“This year marks 20 years of our relationship with SonicWall and we are excited about deepening our engagement with SonicWall and showcasing our SonicWall based services expertise through the Partner Enabled Services Program. The Exertis team is highly skilled in SonicWall distributed architecture deployments, proven time and again to be the real leader when customer security is at stake,” Jason Hill, Security Sales Director of Exertis in United Kingdom, a leading SonicWall distributor in Europe..

“As a dedicated SonicWall Platinum Partner with a mature services practice, we are delighted to see SonicWall making such significant investments in driving partner growth in security services.  Our team of security experts have a passion for security and phenomenal service,” said Timothy Martinez, President of Western NRG Total Internet Security, based in Camarillo California. “With more than 15 years of SonicWall implementations, we go to battle for our customers in the cyber arms race. The Partner Enabled Services Program is an excellent opportunity to grow our services further with SonicWall.”

“Our unwavering commitment is to protect and empower our customers against today’s most damaging cyber attacks,” said Michael Crean, CEO of Solutions Granted, a SonicWall SecureFirst Platinum partner in Virginia. “In our case, as one of SonicWall’s longest-term Managed Security Services Providers, this requires additional services and expertise to ensure we’re delivering the value and guidance our customers require to be secure. SonicWall understands our needs and, yet again, delivers the structure, resources, training and incentives to enhance customer loyalty, satisfaction and market recognition.”

Customers interested in the new security professional services should contact their SonicWall channel partner.  For interested SecureFirst Partners, we have a webinar planned for Nov. 30 at 8:30 am PT: Grow your Services Business with the New Partner Enabled Services Program.

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