Launching a new Channel Program every year helps to modify according to business needs

Debasish Mukherjee  
VP – Regional Sales, 
APAC, SonicWall

Need of a Partner Programme 
SonicWall, is a hundred percent channel organization that considers channel partners to be an integral part of our business. Being a very lean team, it is important for us to maintain a broader channel outreach in order to connect with multiple customers spread across different regions. So it is important that we have a channel program, align our messaging, that is communicated with the customer. Our relationship with the channel is important for furthering our business interests and the partners.

SonicWall University is a sophisticated online partner enablement platform created to keep SecureFirst Partner Sales Representatives, Pre-Sales and Support Engineers at the forefront of selling today’s cyber security solutions. The platform offers free training with pathways for partners to earn their SecureFirst Sales, Technical and Support Accreditations. 

Importance of a Partner Programme
At SonicWall, we believe in fine-tuning and developing our SecureFirst Partner program by analysing the feedback that we receive from our partners. We interact with our top partners across regions on a regular basis. Our program rests on three pillars: frontend performance, backend development and investment. We recently modified our acceleration program into a very straightforward calculation for businesses to run efficiently without any added confusion due to complex calculations. Instead of launching a new channel program every year, it makes more sense to mold the existing program according to the needs of a business and keep modifying it as we go along. 

Main Concerns to Address 
Our SonicWall Partner Program is rests on three pillars, with a frontend reward, a backend reward, and investment. Another key feature would entail our communication with the partner in terms of product training, product update, and what our priorities are and USP.  The third aspect is development of partners which is one of the most critical components in our business as there is a huge gap in the skillsets. We believe in working on developing the skills of our partners and ensuring that they are up to the mark in offering consultation to their customers.