I recently got back from one of our multi-city Dell Security partner Roadshow where I was a featured speaker for the Dell Channel. Prior to going on the road, I had concerns.
Back in mid-2012 Dell acquired SonicWALL. As we all know, getting acquired means both positive and negatives. On the positive sides, Dell has a massive worldwide reach and can bring more resources to bear on driving our solutions. On the negative sides, it is easy to shift focus away from what is core to the business as you take on new opportunities. My concern was simple: Did we lose Channel steam during the acquisition? After all, one reason Dell acquired SonicWALL was to inject best in class channel management and programs into the infrastructure.
So how did we do and where are we today? To be very honest, I think immediately after the acquisition, there was a lull. An absence of communications and perhaps, a thinning of best practices. Yet, after having come in off the road, I’m extremely enthusiastic about where we are now two years after acquisition. This trip showed that while there was a period of integration that impacted our bandwidth to support the Channel – the fact is, we’ve come back 200 percent and are executing in the channel in a big way. It is 200 percent since we have 2x the resources in sales supporting the channel as compared to pre-acquisition. Further, Channel has become a HUGE rallying cry for the larger Dell. Our ability to support and help VARs drive their business is far greater than pre-acquisition. So while I was concerned we lightened up for a short period of time immediately after acquisition, I’m thrilled that we are twice as focused with twice as many resources and we have our priorities straight.
At the Partner Road Show, I saw a combination of partners I knew from working with them for over a decade, plus many new partners who have now entered the Security market due to their long standing relationships with Dell. Meaning, we are expanding rapidly both through our traditional means, and by using the power of Dell PartnerDirect relationships. We have a new opportunity to help bring Dell Security solutions to a larger population of customers, and we can be proud of how we have invested in and supported the channel to continue to succeed. I like the following comment from one of the VARs that attended the roadshow as it demonstrates the feel I get from most of our partners.
“Our day at Dell Security Roadshow held at Bondurant was great," said DJ Rodriguez, senior account executive at iT1Source, a premier partner. "The breakout sessions were simple and informative. Dell did an excellent job of keeping it straight forward and very relevant. It allowed us to get updates on many areas of Dell’s broad portfolio of products without being to monotonous. Then they added in the fun and excitement of racing these high performance machines. Heck yeah! Most important of all it gave us more time to get to know the support team that Dell has in place to assist us as we are out in the trenches selling. To me the experience was well worth taking the time to invest in our partnership with Dell.”
We are now two years past acquisition, and our commitment to the channel has not only grown in legacy SonicWALL – it’s impacted the culture of Dell. It’s is always great to get on the road to see and hear what’s really happening. I’ll continue to do so over the coming quarters and years to make sure our commitment never wanes.
Take a moment to view a recent video of Data-Sec who is forecasting a 400 percent growth in their Dell SonicWALL business this year.