Monday Morning Impact – September 12

Dell SonicWALL Unveils New Value-based Partner Program

Dell SonicWALL has rolled out its new “Reward for Value” North American partner program for network security channels. The updated program introduces expanded technical enablement and a new sales accreditation program with online learning tools and trainings on the SonicWALL portfolio, as well as related security threats.

“Customers are facing a fast-paced world of ever changing security threats and mounting requirements for industry compliance,” said Steve Pataky, vice president, worldwide sales, Dell SonicWALL. “It’s imperative that we help our valued partners reinforce their roles as trusted advisors to their customers. A cornerstone of supporting our partners is our new partner program designed to enable partners to deepen and broaden their security practices.”

In addition, newly expanded financial incentives include incremental discounts for identifying leads, delivering proof of concepts, selling and implementing broader solutions that drive customer success by leveraging more of the SonicWALL portfolio, and driving ongoing renewals. Channel communications will be enhanced with the introduction of a new partner portal, which will provide access to content that highlights the full solution portfolio.

Channel Impact^®
As security becomes an increasingly important facet to the success of channel partners, updated, enriched programs will continue to become increasingly important in keeping those partners engaged with any given vendor.

Okta and Google Expand Partnership for Enterprise Digital Transformation

Okta, a San Francisco-based identity and device management company, has announced a new, expanded partnership with Google to jointly deliver a flexible, multi-cloud reference architecture that enables large enterprises to securely deploy and manage Google Apps. Okta intends to work closely with Google when building solutions for large enterprises that connect on-premises technology with modern, cloud-based applications. The two companies are hoping their combined synergies will accelerate the transition of large enterprises to a secure, multi-cloud, mobile-centric architecture.

“New technologies are rolling out at a rapid pace and we’re doing everything to help our customers easily adopt and adapt to the cloud,” said Diane Greene, senior vice president of Google’s cloud businesses. “Google and Okta are delivering a comprehensive set of productivity and collaboration tools for large enterprises everywhere, which will make the shift to the cloud smooth, and as we have seen with our current customers, a huge efficiency and cultural boost.”

Okta and Google will equip global systems integrators (GSIs), Google resellers, and independent software vendors (ISVs) with training, tools and support enterprises need to accelerate their transformation to the cloud.

Channel Impact^®
It’s not unusual for large industry leaders to accept alliances with smaller companies that can sometimes bring synergistic effects to key strategies – especially when channel partners are part of the overall go-to-market strategy.

D&H Increases Credit Lines for VARs

HARRISBURG, PA – August 25, 2016 – D&H Distributing, a Harrisburg, PA-based, distributor, is extending nearly $23 million in additional credit for 850 reseller customers. The offering is part of D&H’s “Business Assurance” program, in which D&H vendor partners offer funding for credit influxes in an effort to stimulate channel growth.

Credit lines for the select resellers have seen expansions ranging from $2,500 to $100,000, with the typical increase reaching $25,000, depending on the VARs’ spending levels and their financial standings with D&H. The total volume of credit available to this group of resellers was increased by almost 50 percent. The affected resellers are in good credit standing with D&H, and showed particular potential for growth. Increases were applied mostly to solution providers selling into the small business marketplace, which is D&H’s most prevalent type of VAR customer.

“Many programs in the marketplace don’t necessarily focus on resellers in the SMB space, and instead direct credit toward larger accounts. This program is mainly designed for those VARs who are underserved by general channel programs, helping them to be more competitive,” said Tony Warfield, senior director of credit services at D&H Distributing. “We’re excited to provide a catalyst that can lead to greater opportunities for our customers.”

In addition, resellers have been encouraged to leverage their new credit toward the distributor’s Incentives Rewards program in order to accrue additional value. This loyalty program allows customers to accumulate points based on a percentage of their purchases, which are redeemable for merchandise in an online “mall.”

Channel Impact^®
Initiatives like these can often go a long way towards attracting channel partners, who may feel that they are underserved by traditional broadline distributors.