Network security vendor SonicWALL rolled out a new managed
service provider program this month that it says will provide MSPs more
flexible monthly service billing and give them better tools to manage their
SonicWall-enabled service portfolio.
"At SonicWALL, we continuously strive to drive
technology, but we also understand the business challenges that our partners
are facing," said Vince Massey, senior director of North America Channels
at SonicWALL, whose team released the new MSP Advantage Program to help
partners meet those challenges.
MSP Advantage Program leans on the new SonicWALL Global
Management System (GMS) platform to give partners the ability to centralize
real-time monitoring, as well as report on policy and regulatory compliance
practices.
More significantly, though, SonicWALL also introduced a
program called FlexSpend, which allows MSPs to forgo significant upfront
payments for annual support and subscription licenses. Available to Gold and
Silver partners who participate in the SonicWALL MSP Advantage Program,
FlexSpend gives partners the power to procure services monthly, rather than
annually.
"Specifically, the MSP Advantage Program helps MSPs
address one of their key issues: matching cost they incur with the revenue
stream they receive from their customers," Massey said. "The program
reduces upfront cost and improves monthly cash flow.”
Existing SonicWALL partners seem eager about the
opportunities that the new programs will open up. Michael Crean, president and
CEO of Solutions Granted, says that his relationship with the vendor has
already made his firm a lot of money.
"I don’t see why we couldn’t attain $2 million in sales
this year," Crean says. "Not a lot of people can say that. I believe
SonicWALL’s MSP Advantage Program will help us achieve this goal."
Meanwhile, Tim Martinez, president of Western NRG, says that
the new FlexSpend program will greatly reduce the fiscal risks associated with
managed services.
"Today, MSPs have no effective mechanism to offset the
risk of uncollectible receivables when customers stop servicing their
contracts," Martinez says. "If a customer in mid-year decides or is
no longer able to continue paying their monthly bill, we are unable to recover
our upfront investment in the support contracts and subscription services that
we have already paid our supplier for. FlexSpend allows us to forego upfront
capital expenditures and still provide SonicWALL Security Services to our
customers at a monthly rate with far less risk should a customer
become unable to uphold the contract commitment."