"We want to be one of the primary security players in a growing economy like India"

SonicWall is a cybersecurity leader globally with an extensive global footprint. A 100% channel centric company, the SonicWall brand has been built on the principle of trust. With over 20 years of cybersecurity product management and marketing experience and having a clear understanding of the security landscape, Chandrodaya Prasad, Executive VP Global Products - SonicWall tells VARINDIA of how the company has been able to build this trust over the years, while also sharing about what he feels about the India  market - 

How is SonicWall positioned in the global security landscape?

SonicWall has been a cybersecurity vendor for almost 30+ years. So we have had a rich install base of close to 3-4 million sensors across the globe. We are predominantly known for firewall, even though we have different products in the portfolio, ranging from an endpoint to a network security product, capabilities in the cloud, which includes remote access portfolio, email security, and a bunch of other things. In addition, we are a 100% channel centric company with close to 17,000 partners globally, operating across almost 175 countries. So we have an extended global footprint, with a phenomenal presence worldwide. 

How is SonicWall University helping the industry to grow?
As a cybersecurity vendor, a part of our responsibility is not just to sell cybersecurity capabilities or solutions, but it is also to educate our partners and customers about some of the cybersecurity challenges, trends, and solutions that we see across the globe. A lot of these content is presented and posted in the SonicWall University program. 

Interestingly, you don't necessarily have to be a SonicWall customer to access some of these content. The cybersecurity market for vendors like us is built on trust. And one of the ways we have to earn and build this trust is by making sure that we educate our customers and partners worldwide. 

With so many cybersecurity vendors around, how difficult or easy is it for a partner to choose the right solution? 
In the last RSA Conference, which is one of the marquee cyber security events in the Bay Area, there were a close to 3500+ vendors with cybersecurity capabilities across the board. But that said, one of the trends that we see and we hear from our customers and partners is that there is an OEM or a vendor fatigue that is settling in. There was a time when the best of breed ruled. But today, it is becoming a challenge for the partner or the customer to pick the right vendor. 

So a lot of these partners have a preference now to work with vendors that offer ‘best of suite’ rather than ‘best of breed’, which means they are looking for one vendor that could provide them an entire solution from an endpoint to an application and everything in between. Vendors that are moving to a platform capability, offer all of the capabilities as part of the technology stack and pull all of that together in a single pane of stained glass, with contextual information shared across each of the these different enforcement points, will probably rule the roost moving forward.  

As an Indian working on a global scale, what do you have to say about the India market?
India is a very dynamic market. This is a volume market and consumer rules the roost here.  In a country where wired infrastructure is still a challenge in a lot of places, wireless or cellular capability has tripled, thanks to innovations in mobility like 4G, 5G and LTE. 

The pace at which innovation is getting sparked in regions like India is just phenomenal. But that also provides the bad actors with a bigger threat landscape, for them to go after some of these prime infrastructures. So, while there is an opportunity, there is also a threat in such a fast paced growing economy.  

With Make in India gaining momentum, do you have any plans for manufacturing initiatives in the country? 
We continue to evaluate 100% and are trying to understand the nuances that are involved in what Make in India actually entails. We are working through the concerned authorities and bodies in terms of understanding the scenario, as we understand that there are various criteria for certifying and be qualified for Make in India. We are also working with our third party, ODM vendors to see what provisions and capabilities they have to make sure that we adhere to the some of the regulations that have been put forth by the government of India. India is a great opportunity for us. It's one of the biggest growing markets, and we definitely want to be one of the primary players in the space. 

As a global leader, what message would you like to give to partners and customers? 
From a partner perspective, we have a moral responsibility and a moral obligation to earn the trust, and to make sure that we protect our end customers. That's pretty much the name of the game. 

We are all in a business and we all need to succeed. But we have to make sure that our end customers are well protected and safe by keeping the bad actors away. From an end customer perspective, they should ensure that they have continued awareness of the resources that they are accessing, where they are accessing, how they are accessing; this notion of zero trust becomes very true.