GEC NEWS WIREEnterprises often are forced to have a Trade-Off between Network Performance and Security while choosing a Next-Gen Firewall; there is need for a Comprehensive NGFW that protects against Ever-Evolving Threats without jeopardizing Network Performance. Dell Sonicwall Has Brought In Super Massive 9800 for a deeper level of Network Security.
“Because of the level of performance it provides combined with the price range, Super Massive 9800 will definitely be the right product for the Mid Size market, and of course, for large organizations. Super Massive firewall comes with scalability as well; so we take care of the customer’s needs not just for the present but also for the next quite few years; we ensure excellent RoI for them.”
FLORIAN MALECKI, INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT MARKETING DIRECTOR- NETWORK SECURITY DELL
What was the reason behind changing the name from Dell SonicWALL to Dell Security?
Dell acquired SonicWALL back in May 2012. Dell SonicWALL is part of Dell overall security product offering that includes next generation firewall from SonicWALL, identity and access management, systems management, data protection and encryption as well as managed services. From product perspective, we have still retained “SonicWALL” because especially in the ME, the brand equity of SonicWALL is very strong among our partners as well as our end-user customers.
The market has been a witness to several big changes with the splitting of HP, Symantec, etc; how do you view the situation?
We can’t comment on the decisions of our competitors, but yeah Dell is strategically positioned from end-user computing aspect to the networking technology, network security expertise to the cloud. Dell is actually very active in the Open Stack Initiative as well. So, Dell is really focussing on the strength in all the divisions including end users, enterprises and software. It’s uniquely positioned as a true end-to-end solution provider to the market and is definitely at a stronger position than its competitors.
How have you revamped your product line over the recent times?
2014 has been a very busy year. Mobility has been a really hot topic for both the reseller and the end user community. We have introduced new capabilities within our secure mobile access products. The task is to secure remote connectivity from mobile device back to the network. We have added new features like per application VPN to better manage your bandwidth without compromising with your network. At GITEX 2014, we introduced a new next-generation firewall- Super Massive 9800 to bring higher level of network security to the customers, at the price point that is between the existing Super Massive 9000 Series and our three years old Super Massive 10,000 series. This will do really well in the ME because the level of adoption of our Super Massive product range here has been really high.
How have you planned your channel engagement initiatives to go with the new product?
Today, if you look at the Dell Software business, 60% of the revenues are fulfilled from the channel and that revenue has grown 15% year-over-year in Q2. So, channel is very important for Dell Software and forms the core of our strategy. We always had a two tier channel model- value-added distributors and resellers. On a regular basis, we do regular technical training updates, technical training certifications; we also conduct fast track sales training events for our VADs about the changing customer requirements, their key concerns. For our Super Massive 9800, we will be hosting a range of webinars, conduct hands-on workshops and sales training as well.
What’s the segment you’re targeting with the Super Massive 9800; is it confined to the higher end users?
Because of the level of performance it provides combined with the price range, Super Massive 9800 will definitely be the right product for the Mid Size market, say for user strength of 500 and above and of course, for large organizations. However, at times, the company size doesn’t really matter; instead, what matters most is the nature and requirements of business of that organization, their compliance requirements, etc. Super Massive firewall comes with scalability as well; so we take care of the customer’s needs not just for the present but also for the next quite few years; we ensure excellent RoI for them. So, we believe our new product will hit a really sweet spot in mid size organizations as well as enterprises. Based on our existing customer base and success, the segments where we hope to see maximum adoption and growth are definitely education, health care, public sector as well as hospitals and retail.
What are your investment plans for the coming days?
At the end of the day, our success is due to our partners. So, when it comes to investments, we shall put that into our partner programs, taking time to train our partners, and do transfer-of-knowledge. These investments come with definitely excellent RoI. We understand and bring value to our VADs and resellers.
What kind of growth are you looking forward to in the coming year?
According to analysts, the industry growth is averaging around 10%. We can’t comment about our own growth but if the market is growing at 10%, it can be assumed that Dell from the Network Security perspective shall grow at a higher pace than the industry growth.
