WatchGuard's Bill Smith Recognized as one of CRN Magazine's 2013 Channel Chiefs

SEATTLE, Feb. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- WatchGuard® Technologies, a global leader in manageable business security solutions, announced today that Bill Smith , vice president of sales, has been named one of UBM Tech Channel's CRN 2013 Channel Chiefs. This prestigious list of the most influential and powerful leaders in the IT channel business recognizes those executives directly responsible for driving channel sales and growth within their organization, while evangelizing and defending the importance of the channel throughout the entire IT Industry.

In 2012, WatchGuard made advancements to its managed security service provider (MSSP) programs. The company announced a new cloud-based configuration utility – RapidDeploy – that eliminates the need for IT security professionals to pre-configure devices or travel to the deployment site for installation. In addition, WatchGuard announced a new program that enables MSSPs to more closely align expenses with revenue, eliminating many upfront costs of annual service contracts. The new program allows MSSPs to manage customer billing and cost structure in a way that aligns with its business model, rather than paying up front for services.

"As a company that sells its products exclusively through the channel, it is important that we offer a flexible and supportive program for our partners," said Smith. "I am honored to be recognized as a 2013 Channel Chief, and I'm dedicated to the continued success of our partners around the world."

For more than ten years, Channel Chiefs have been selected by the CRN editorial team based on channel experience, program innovations, channel-driven revenue, and public support for the importance of IT Channel Sales.

"The 2013 Channel Chiefs list recognizes vendor executives dedicated to driving channel programs in the IT marketplace," said Kelley Damore , senior vice president and editorial director for CRN. "These are the people, the products and the programs that any savvy solution provider needs to know. We congratulate this year's Channel Chiefs for their stellar record of business innovation and applaud them for their continued dedication to the partner community."

The 2013 Channel Chiefs list is featured in the Feb. 25 issue of CRN Magazine and is featured online at http://www.crn.com/channel-chiefs/cc2013.htm.

About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.

Since 1996, WatchGuard® Technologies, Inc. has been a global leader of business security solutions that solve real world security problems. WatchGuard provides easy-to-use but enterprise-powerful protection to hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. The WatchGuard family of threat management devices provides network, application and data protection, with unparalleled levels of manageability, usability, and visibility. WatchGuard products are backed by WatchGuard LiveSecurity® Service, an innovative support program. WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle, Wash. with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. To learn more, visit www.watchguard.com.

WatchGuard is a registered trademark of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. All other marks are property of their respective owners.

Contacts:
Lucas Westcoat
WatchGuard Technologies
(206) 613-3760
lucas.westcoat@watchguard.com

Jeremy Bartram
Raffetto Herman Strategic Communications
(206) 264-0246
jbartram@rhstrategic.com

SOURCE WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.

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