WatchGuard Technologies New Partner Program Sets Industry High Water Mark for Profitability

SEATTLE, July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- WatchGuard® Technologies, a leader in multi-function firewalls, today announced its newly enhanced partner program, WatchGuardONE™. The new program leverages a value-based model that places additional focus on reseller certification and training in addition to simply volume sales. With WatchGuard's award-winning visibility solution WatchGuard Dimension^TM(i), and additional profit sharing partner programs, such as Deal Registration and Security Pays, with which resellers can achieve combined discounts of more than 70 percent, WatchGuardONE brings game-changing value to the market for partners. WatchGuard has been positioned as a leader in Gartner's Unified Threat Management Magic Quadrant⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ for four consecutive years.

"Well-trained and well-educated resellers have happier customers and end-users, with safer networks. It's that simple," said WatchGuard Technologies Vice President of Sales, Alex Thurber. "Our new partner program gives the power to the reseller, allowing them to determine their level of commitment and role in WatchGuardONE. By focusing on value rather than volume, our partners can concentrate on quality and competency of solutions and deployment, rather than their margin."

WatchGuardONE delivers a variety of membership levels including Silver, Gold and Platinum. Discounts and rebates vary depending on the partner's level of commitment and range from 30 to 46 percent. Key reseller benefits include:

• Emphasis on Training and Certification – The WatchGuardONE training and certification program makes it easy for partners to expand their knowledge with a virtual instructor-led technical training program with multiple classes, topics and time zones. The more partners invest in training the more WatchGuard invests in the partner's profitability.
• Up-front Discounts and Back-end Rebates – This allows all partners, regardless of size, to choose the level of program involvement. Discounts will be based on the number of people each reseller trains, with back-end rebates that are a percentage of total purchase revenue. This means less price pressure at the outset and greater opportunity overall.
• Multi-channel Selling – Partners will have the flexibility to sell online, in-store or in-person, whatever works best for their customer-base.

Current WatchGuard partners welcome the new program. "As a partner for more than 10 years, we know WatchGuard's partners are some of the most knowledgeable in the industry and the company's commitment to training and certification is already significant," said Rory Sanchez, CEO and President, SLPowers. "All resellers strive to have technology experts, but often times with the competition from vendors, it's difficult to justify the level of investment needed to deliver those experts. This new program is a win for WatchGuard, the reseller and the customer."

WatchGuard's 2014 U.S. Partner of the Year, Blackpoint IT Services agrees. "Our customers don't just want a partner that has sales-sheet knowledge. They want an expert that truly understands the challenges and threats facing their business," said Lesleigh Watson, COO, Blackpoint IT Services. "It's always a challenge when working within a vendor's channel program, trying to balance sales versus training. At the end of the day, these programs are designed around volume, but now, with WatchGuardONE, a new bar is being set that will allow us to lead with expertise and be the go-to resource for our customers. And the best part, the more training we complete, the more WatchGuard rewards our effort."

WatchGuardONE officially launches in January 2015. It will not be available at this time in Asia Pacific. Existing or prospective partners can learn more and register now to begin the training in preparation for launch by visiting: http://watchguard.com/wgrd-partners.

About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.

WatchGuard® Technologies, Inc. is an award-winning, Frost and Sullivan recognized, global leader of integrated, multi-function security solutions that intelligently combine industry standard hardware, Best-of-Breed security features, and policy-based management tools. WatchGuard provides easy-to-use, but enterprise-powerful protection to hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. 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 WatchGuard.com.

For additional information, promotions and updates, follow WatchGuard on Twitter @WatchGuardTech on Facebook, or on the LinkedIn Company page.

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

ⁱ Network Computing Awards Best New Product of the Year, Network Computing Awards

ⁱⁱ Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management, Jeremy D'Hoinne, Greg Young, July 2013.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Contacts:
Kerry Desberg
WatchGuard Technologies
(206) 613-3760
[email protected]

Justin Hall
Voxus PR
253-444-5442
[email protected]

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SOURCE WatchGuard Technologies