For SonicWall, partners are an extended arm for protecting customers’ business

Sanjeev Kumar 
Regional Sales Director - India & SAARC region, SonicWall

SonicWall has been running a partner program named Secure First where its core objective is to protect all customers from ongoing cyberthreats and make sure its partners are well equipped to address the demanding needs of their customers.

Channel Partners are pivotal to any vendor’s success story, forming the backbone of the company representing the latter to customers. Partners form inroads for companies to access new customer segments and expand their reach in the target markets across regions, thus driving business.
“Being a 100% channel partner-driven company, with more than 17,000 strong and active partners worldwide, our partners are the extended arm in protecting customers’ business every day,” explains Sanjeev Kumar, Regional Sales Director - India & SAARC region, SonicWall. “Thanks to them, our market share has increased in key price bands and market segments, confirming SonicWall’s place as one of the unquestioned leaders in the cybersecurity space.”
 “SonicWall Secure First partner program which is upgraded and revamped at regular intervals, provides backend rebates to partners who achieve targets.  We also extend Marketing Funds to our partners to enable their business expansion programs, offer free training to develop their team along with various other investments from time to time to support them -like offering them additional Back-end rebate for new customer logo acquisition etc,” says Sanjeev.
SonicWall maintains effective communication with its channel partners through a variety of structured and strategic methods that align with its cybersecurity goals and strategies. It provides partners with comprehensive resources and training programs to ensure they are well-versed in the latest SonicWall technologies and threat landscapes. This includes access to detailed product documentation, cybersecurity updates, and threat intelligence reports. SonicWall also organizes periodic partner events and forums where they share insights on emerging threats and strategic direction, fostering a collaborative environment.
Additionally, SonicWall's support teams work closely with channel partners to offer technical assistance and guidance, ensuring that they can effectively deploy and manage SonicWall solutions. This proactive approach helps align partners with SonicWall's cybersecurity objectives and ensures a unified strategy in addressing evolving security challenges

EVALUATING PROGRAM SUCCESS
Measuring the success of partner programs is an ongoing process. It's crucial to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals and regularly analyze the data to identify areas for improvement.
“Adjusting our partner program based on these insights will help ensure continued success and alignment with our organization's strategic objectives. We conduct QBRs (Quarter Business Reviews) with all our Metal & Focused Partners to discuss their progress QoQ and YoY while extending support and solutions for any issues they have or may face in the future,” says Sanjeev.
Furthermore, SonicWall every year recognizes distinguished partners and distributors for their continued excellence in protecting customers in a challenging threat landscape through its annual SonicWall Partner Awards. The awards honoured SonicWall partner organizations worldwide that had gone above and beyond delivering cybersecurity solutions to their customers.