Selective Growth

backup software SMB

Sonasoft's products combine backup and replication capabilities with high availability and disaster-recovery functionality in one product it calls integrated data protection. Its SonaSafe product line includes software to back up and protect data stored with Microsoft's SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange or with any file system.

Sonasoft's products are designed for customers with between 10 and 1,000 users, but they are also used at the department level by some major enterprise companies, including the Internal Revenue Service, Stanford University and Reuters. But its focus—and its channel strategy—is the small to midmarket customer.

THE COMPANY:

SONASOFT

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LOCATION:

SAN JOSE, CALIF.

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FOCUS:

SONASAFE LINE INCLUDES SOFTWARE TO BACK UP, PROTECT DATA.

Although Sonasoft, San Jose, Calif., began with a direct-sales strategy, it decided that the channel is the way to go if it wants to become a significant player in the storage software market.

"To exponentially grow you have to use the channel. You have to leverage what's already out there in terms of existing customer relationships and the channel is the best way to do that," said Rick Caylor, vice president of sales.

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unit-1659132512259
type
Sponsored post

So far Sonasoft has signed up more than 25 resellers and is looking to expand in a controlled way as it builds its channel, zeroing in on SMB resellers that will be able to focus on selling Sonasoft solutions but that will not compete with one another in any given geographical area.

"We don't have the brand that I think would allow us to go to a tiered model with the resellers, so we have a flat reseller percentage we give them in terms of gross profit. We spend a lot of time scrutinizing which resellers want to sign up," Caylor said. "The reason you'd have a tiered model is if you went after every reseller and put them in a category based on what they provide. What we did was create one model but scrutinize the resellers we put into that model."

"We don't just want a reseller to put our product on their line card in the hopes that someone will call that reseller and want to buy a Sonasoft product," he added. "We're looking for resellers that actually want to help us in creating demand. That narrows the field a bit in terms of the type of resellers we can go after."

To train its new resellers, Sonasoft offers Webinar training and is building out a five-module training program for certification that will be available via its Web portal. Resellers that complete the training modules and achieve certification will receive additional compensation on sales. Sonasoft offers resellers 25 percent margins.