What does SonicWall's new UK boss have in store for the channel?

Helen Jackson tells CRN the vendor is gunning for enterprise business

SonicWall is undergoing a recruitment drive to push further into the enterprise space, according to new UK regional director Helen Jackson.

Jackson (pictured) joined the security vendor in December and has previously held senior roles at Juniper Networks and Nokia.

"We've been working with Dell for many years in the enterprise space already, but we've been on a recruitment drive and have invested in new headcount in the UK," she told CRN.

"The UK is a strategic country for SonicWall so the team has grown. We're introducing enterprise salespeople to provide opportunities into our channel partners, so it will be direct touch but enabled through the channel, which is a model I'm very familiar with in my previous roles."

Jackson previously told CRN that partnering with systems integrators was a key part of her plans for the region, but since settling into her role she has added to her ambitions.

"I'll be driving initiatives into government; expanding our thought leadership position [with it] and doing some work with various government departments," she added.

SonicWall is also gunning to grow its UK partner base, hiring new staff with experience and knowledge of strategic partners that the vendor doesn't currently work with.

"We will be investing in new partners as well as growing our existing partner base," she said.

"By that, I mean taking them on the journey with us with our platform solution, and the new wireless portfolio we have will introduce [us to] some specialist partners."

Jackson is one of a number of new execs to join SonicWall in the last few months. Long-standing chief revenue officer Steve Pataky is leaving his role in April and is being replaced by former CMO Bob VanKirk.

Jackson said the new faces working alongside stalwarts such as CEO Bill Conner have brought a renewed enthusiasm to the vendor.

"What we had was working brilliantly - we had a strong SMB mid-market business - but a touch of new blood has really changed the dynamics in the company. It's a fantastic place to be," Jackson said.