Dell and SonicWall – The Big Picture Play
Let’s talk about real intention here for a moment and the Dell acquisition of SonicWall, which was revealed this week.
Technology companies have many facets. So when Dell says it wants SonicWall for its security technology that's only one part of the equation.
When you think SonicWall, you think firewall. You think security.
But this is just a piece of Dell’s bigger picture. Dell is the third largest PC maker in the world. But its ambition go way beyond PCs.
Dell, for example, acquired SecureWorks, a provider of managed security services. Dell also has existing reseller relationships with vendors such as Trend Micro. In fact, Dell has been signalling its intent to be a major player in the security space for years.
Among the things that Dell wants from SonicWall are the recurring revenues it generates from managed services that are delivered via its firewalls. It also wants SonicWall’s MSP Advantage Program to bolster the network of buiness partners that Dell has been building these mant years now.
And Dell wants something SonicWall has unique to itself, technology that enables a computer to immediately take alternative paths through the Internet, quickly restoring full Internet access in case Internet servers go down, competing carriers decide to depeer each other, or systems get hacked.
Tom Snyder, COO of Xantrion, an Oakland, Calif.-based consultant and MSP, notes that customers running SonicWall firewalls are spared any long-term effects of depeering thanks to failover Internet features in SonicWall products.
And finally. Dell wants SonicWall’s software code. SonicWall’s acquisition by Dell will mark only the second acquisition for Dell's new software group – the first: AppAssure, a company that developed backup and replication software.
With SonicWall in its hands, Dell will be capable of delivering protection, failover, storage, managed services, constant Internet access, and a high level of reliability from a single source.
And in the end, that may be single biggest reason to tip your hat to Michael Dell for coming back to once again run his company.
Comments
Great comment - That's a tough one. It really comes from a end-users preference for one provider, which can keep costs down if that provider can do what they say, lowering the cost of overall IT management. Dell has a lot going for them. Customers like them. It will be Dell's job to make sure each part in the stack works, otherwise, Dell ends up working harder. The SLA protects the end user. Like any move, this may be reviewed up in the booth, but at least its an offensive play, and not a defensive one.
Thanks so much for the comment!!!!!
Dell cobbles together this capability, not necessarily with a best of breed solution stack. So I think the call on the field may be reviewed and in fact may not stand.