Marvin Blough, SonicWall

Channel Chief Name	Marvin Blough
Channel Chief Title	Vice President, Worldwide Sales
Company and Division	SonicWall
Markets Served:	Security
Company's overall 2007 revenue:	$185.5 million
Percentage of revenue from solution providers:	99%
Number of years with the company:	7
Number of years involved with indirect sales:	20
Number of employees in channel organization:	250+
To whom do you report in your organization?	Matt Medeiros, President and CEO at SonicWALL
Does that individual report to your CEO/president?	Yes
Describe your channel organization's major accomplishments over the past year:	Our major accomplishment this past year was the integration of the Aventail acquisition into our channel model. We took a direct sales team and sales model and have completely integrated into our channel model.
List up to 10 of your top products sold through the channel:	All of SonicWALL's products are sold through the channel. Our entire go-to-market is through the Channel. Specifically.. SonicWALL's Network Security Product line. We have 12 appliances designed for use by very small offices up through Enterprise Class customers. SonicWALL Email (anti-spam) Security product line. We have 8 versions of the appliances and software designed for use by very small offices up to Enterprise Class customers. SonicWALL SSL-VPN Remote Access product line. Here we have 6 versions of the appliances designed for use by very small office up to Enterprise Class customers. SonicWALL CDP Backup and Recovery Solutions. We have 4 versions of the appliances designed for use by small- and medium-sized businesses.
Describe how your partner community has grown over the past year:	Most of our partners have seen increases of 10-30% in their SonicWALL revenues due to our expanding product line. The most dramatic increases have been with partners that have expanded into the mid-market with our new E-Class products, SonicWALL Aventail products and Email Security products. We have several long term partners that have seen an increase of 300-400% because of these product offerings.
Name the one individual who has had the most profound impact on your life:	Professionally, although I don't know him, the things that Steve Jobs has accomplished at Apple are stunning. He has turned an 'also ran' into cultural brand. Personally, it would have to be my kids. They absolutely influence my work and I seem to learn something new from them every day.
Please name the single most innovative initiative for which you were responsible for the past year?	We began using Web 2.0 methods for partner communication, partner training and partner management. We expect to evolve our PartnerLink (our partner web-portal) into a 'Live' experience for our partners.
What were the key channel partner investments you made in the past year?	We have opened a new facility in Tempe, Arizona specifically for our Channel Management Team. We are bringing together our Channel Management, Channel Support, Channel Marketing, Channel Training and Customer Service all into one facility. We expect the synergies from this to become best in class and a 'one stop shop' for our partners. We also totally revamped our PartnerLink website, a web-portal for our partners. The intent is to make this an interactive, self service partner resource. We have also taken training into the Field as we saw a huge opportunity with our new E-Class and Aventail product lines. Because of this, we have made a huge investment in developing partner expertise in the field to deliver these solutions.
How are you attracting the next generation of solution providers?	We are trying to concentrate on what customers want and solving a customer's problem. If we get that right, we will have a great opportunity for partners to deliver solutions to those customers.
What is the greatest challenge you overcame in the past year?	Relocating back to the US from Europe. In a short 24 months, the dynamics and drivers of the US channel have changed. Reestablishing and developing new relationships take an investment of time. The quality of your relationships is directly proportional to the amount of time you invest in those relationships.

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