The SonicWall SecureFirst MSSP Program provides customized services generation capability for experienced MSSPs, blueprints for those newer to the space, and white-labelling of the experienced MSSPs’ services for partners just making the move.
Steve Pataky, SonicWall’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Channel, and Chief Revenue Officer
Last fall, SonicWall expanded their SecureFirst Partner Program with a Partner-Enabled Security Services Program, through which SonicWall will co-develop professional services with designated professional services partners, with the services able to be resold by any SonicWall partner, and with a professional services partner doing the implementation. Today, they are announcing another new element in their program, with the SonicWall SecureFirst MSSP Program. While it is broader than the Partner-Enabled program in directly enlisting newer MSPs as well as mature ones, it is similar in having a component for partners who are still new to the managed security services space.
“With the MSSP Program, we are taking the same approach that we used in our Partner-Enabled program,” said Steve Pataky, SonicWall’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Channel, and Chief Revenue Officer. “SecureFirst creates a strong foundational program, and then we build off that brand. This is the next add-on program to address what we see as a demand for managed security services, driven by the threat landscape and skills gap. It will leverage partners who have deep managed services capabilities, to allow partners who have not yet moved into managed security services to use our ecosystem to get into these services without delivering them themselves.”
The trend towards managed security services has continued to the point that almost all partners who have not yet made the move to offering such services as part of their practice need to consider it, Pataky said.
“This is being driven by the market,” he said. “Even if you are a traditional reseller, you are likely being asked by your customers about managed security. If you are already an MSP, you are also likely being asked about managed security. We are encouraging everybody in the security business to ask what they are doing about managed security services. Our hope is that launching this program to a broad channel will facilitate broad dialogue, about the need for them to have an approach. That’s a key message.”
Like the Services program, the Managed Security Program is grafted on top of the basic SecureFirst Program.
“What partners detest is when they have completely siloed programs that cost them time to administer,” Pataky said. “That’s why we don’t launch these as separate programs, but as part of SecureFirst. It’s incremental, add-on and holistic.”
A partner who, is, for example, a Gold partner in the SecureFirst program, will be Gold in this one. The differentiation is in the tier that they have for the MSSP program specifically. There are three of those — Protect, Powered, and Powered Plus.
Scott McCrady, VP, Global Strategic Partnerships, at SonicWall
“The Protect tier commits to 24/7 services delivery with dedicated people around sales and operations,” said Scott McCrady, VP, Global Strategic Partnerships, at SonicWall, and the co-architect of the program. It is not a bare bones commitment, but the burdens are relatively low. The upper tiers require more complex capabilities, involving things like decryption and analytics, which are really powerful solutions, and which require a certain level of redundancy and dedicated staff.”
The expectation is that all the MSPs will be capable of handling Level 1 and 2 support, since this is something that the customer will expect. For new MSSPs who lack this capability, this is where the ability to leverage the more experienced MSSPs in the program comes in.
“The higher-end MSSPs will provide white labeled services through these other partners,” McCready said. That gives the newer partners in the space the ability to put a baby toe in that way, while they develop the confidence and the understanding of service models needed to succeed as an MSSP.”
The program features managed services ‘blueprints’ that provide the training, tools and support required to deliver a range of managed service offerings based on SonicWall solutions. More advanced partners can also work jointly with SonicWall to define and deliver custom services.
“This set of blueprints and capabilities address whatever kinds of services that partners want to launch,” McCready said. “It lets MSPs take uncertainty off the table.
“The program will address the challenge of building, delivering and launching managed security services, and then adding further value over time,” McCready added.
