SonicWall readies partners for DBAM
Security vendor calls on resellers to jump on the WAN optimisation bandwagon
Keith Bird: This is a new business opportunity for a large number of our channel
SonicWall has urged its partners to follow it into the WAN optimisation space after acquiring technology from DBAM Systems.
SonicWall snapped up some of DBAM’s intellectual property last month after the UK-based WAN optimisation vendor entered administration in February.
The security vendor also took on between 10 and 12 of its technical staff, including founder and chief technology officer Shane O’Hanlon.
SonicWall will embed DBAM’s technology into its own solutions and product roadmap, with the first shipments set for late autumn.
Keith Bird, vice president of EMEA at SonicWall, predicted that many partners would follow its lead. “This is a new business opportunity for a large number of our channel,” he said.
“Increasingly, we are providing solutions that go beyond pure security, and the WAN acceleration technology DBAM had is a natural extension. Today, nobody owns that space, particularly in the SME market where we are strong,” he added.
Buying just the technology meant SonicWall was not lumbered with any support contracts, but Bird maintained the deal was a good result for all parties.
“By the time outside parties like us came in, DBAM was already in administration,” he said. “With every acquisition SonicWall has made, the company has been trading and active.”
Tekdata was DBAM’s only active distributor and is also SonicWall’s largest EMEA distributor. It served about 40 DBAM resellers.
Tekdata sales director Jason Hill said: “This is an exciting move for SonicWall because it will help it with larger enterprise customers. My hope is that SonicWall will introduce a dedicated WAN acceleration appliance.”
Chris Green, marketing manager at SonicWall partner Networks Unlimited, said: “We were also a DBAM supplier and the feedback from customers is that it was very good technology. SonicWall spotted an opportunity and it is a good fit.”