SonicWall Unveils Two New Partner Levels

Starting Monday, SonicWall is adding levels to its Medallion partner program for two new partner categories: direct-marketing reseller (DMR) and value-added merchant (VAM) partners, to go with the existing levels of Gold, Silver and Approved.

Mike Valentine, vice president of America Sales at SonicWall, said among the organizations that buy the vendor's products, there's a new entity starting to spring up -- a higher end e-commerce outfit that sells and supports SonicWall products from the inside and has great attach rates.

Valentine, who last year began using the term VAM to describe this type of organization, said vendors often make the mistake of trying to push the VAM into their VAR program, or classifying them as a DMR. "But I don't think either classification really fits these guys," he said.

The VAM also has great lead generation skills, as well as the ability to call into customers that stems from their typically having a larger than normal database for their size, Valentine added.

Brian Reed, president of Dreaming Tree Technology, a Noblesville, Ind.-based VAM, says Sonicwall is the first vendor he has worked with that is recognizing the e-commerce channel in this way.

"Other vendors' channel programs don't make the distinction between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar, but SonicWall is stepping up and recognizing there are important differences," he said.

The new VAM level is important in light of the "significant amount" of SonicWall's revenue that flows through e-commerce companies, and the fact that some e-commerce outfits have been selling products at "absurdly low prices," said one solution provider, who asked not to be named.

"This is something that has needed to be cleaned up for some time, and it happens with other vendors, too. What happens is, you get into cases of sideways selling, and vendors having 'special partners' who hide their identity and sell products for dirt cheap on eBay," said the source.

Another solution provider said that prices for SonicWall products such as the TZ170 firewall appliance are currently listed on Nextag for between 32 and 35 percent off MSRP, while channel discounts are around 27 to 32 percent.

"Nextag is literally advertising products well below what a reseller could buy it for, and that forces resellers to buy sideways just to survive," said the source, who requested anonymity.

In addition to the new partner levels, SonicWall wants to allow VARs to sell services along with hardware, according to Valentine. "We're going to be strict on technical certifications on products, and we will make having certificated technicians on staff a requirement for partners," he said.

To help the channel more effectively market its products, SonicWall hired field marketing managers for each of its three U.S. geographical regions, Valentine said. Although this will be extended only to Gold and Silver partners, Approved partners with the potential to move up in the program will have unofficial access, he said.

SonicWall has launched a co-op marketing program based on what the VAR sells and on how well a proposed marketing program meets co-op guidelines, Valentine said.

"Partners can come in with a request for some sort of marketing activity, and if it meets our guidelines, SonicWall will meet them 50-50 from a cost perspective," Valentine said.