It has been injected with a new management team - led by the former CEO of LANDesk, Joe Wang who was appointed to the role of president and CEO of WatchGuard Technologies Inc. in April this year - and has emerged stronger, re-invented and rejuvenated.

"Watch out for the new WatchGuard! We're definitely back with a vengeance and have undergone an exciting transformation: we have a new product strategy and a new team with a lot of experience, we have a new intuitive logo, a more streamlined website - we've re-energized ourselves and are dedicated to the success of our company's future and to providing the best in network security technology," says Wang.

According to Wang, the company will grow 15% in the second half of this year and 20% next year. "Once we achieve this, we will go public again."

Wang states that one of his main goals right now is to clarify the product direction of the company, and that their strategy here is to:

Be a true UTM (Unified Threat Management) company

"In the past, WatchGuard has not done a good job in marketing as well as positioning UTM despite the fact that we've already been in this space for 2 years. Many users still associate us with just being a firewall and VPN vendor, but we are much more," states Wang. "As traditional firewalls have evolved into UTM appliances - offering security services such as spam blocking, anti-virus, and intrusion prevention - WatchGuard was the first to offer True Zero-Day protection VPN appliances. We will continue to be at the forefront of this technology."

Carry on being known for reliability

"People are still buying our products. Despite the bad patch we went through, users still believe in our solutions. Yes, as a company, we've made mistakes but the fact is, WatchGuard didn't and hasn't gone down. Our products are well known for their reliability and their performance and these continue to be good selling points for us. As we move forward, we will not forget our roots," Wang says emphatically.

Be leaders in UTM

"If you look at all the major players in the security market, WatchGuard and Check Point Software are the only ones which provide proxy technology. Therefore, we provide more (multiple) communication layers and this makes it more secure. Our aim is to provide the most secure UTM product in the market," elaborates Wang.

Ensure ease-of-use

Wang notes, "Although we didn't really serve our partners well in the past, the ease-of-use of our products has carried on. We have a renewed focus on R&D and are also concentrating on manageability to ensure we and our partners can manage all our boxes well."

According to Wang, the strategy in the past when the company was public and even in the first few months when it went private concentrated on profitability as the No. 1 goal. Now, the aim is not so much on profitability, but to see and ensure a growth market. In order to achieve this, WatchGuard will concentrate heavily on R&D, marketing, sales, support and the recruitment of new partners.

Currently, about half of the company's growth is from North America, 15% from the Asia Pacific region, and 30% from Europe. The Asia Pacific though, has the highest room for growth, and a huge advantage for WatchGuard, says Wang, is the fact that the company is already well-established in the region.

Wang believes that the new, clearly defined strategy combined with an effective channel strategy will ensure the company's success. Wang's history in the channels line from both LANDesk and Symantec ensures that WatchGuard's channel strategy will not be neglected he says. On top of this, WatchGuard has been a 100% channel-focused company, and this is not going to change, he emphasizes. "Our channel program is working but we are committed to improving it. In the Asia Pacific, we want to grow the VARs space as we do not have enough of such partners and know that there is room for improvement here. For example, we will hold more joint marketing activities (like, joint seminars, telemarketing and advertising) and will continue to invest in our partners," Wang elaborates. "We want to expand in the region and we feel the way to do this is with bigger VARs and through relationships with companies like Dell for example, because the bigger the scale, the better the reach."

Norbert Kiss, vice president, Asia Pacific, WatchGuard Technologies Inc. adds that the company has 5 key markets in Asia Pacific, with each contributing approximately 20%  of the region's revenue: Australia; Greater China; Japan; Korea and India; and South East Asia.

India, China and Japan in particular, are high growth areas for the company, and a key focus right now is nurturing these markets. "Each of these markets is of course unique in its own way. In Japan for example, localization is very important. In India, it's about expanding the channel market and re-igniting it. In China, we want to ensure we seal partnerships with the bigger partners. Although the tactics and approach in each market is different, ultimately, we'll be promoting our great products aggressively in each market" he elaborates.

In addition, South East Asia has been a star for them in them in the region for the last quarter. Singapore and Malaysia especially have been extremely buoyant. Kiss describes the Singapore market as a replacement market probably because the country is the headquarters of this region.

He also singles out Indonesia and Vietnam as very important markets with Vietnam being at the learning curve at the moment and expected to emerge in 3-5 years time.

Kiss is also enthusiastic about the company's channel focus and strategy, saying, "When it came to the channels just like our core business, WatchGuard lost its focus over the last couple of years. Yes, we've always had a great set of products, but were not focused on promoting these products via the channel worldwide. We've learned from our past mistakes. We want our partners to see us as easy to work and engage with."

"We want to grow along with our partners and provide them with a win-win situation. In order to do this, we aim to work closely and well with our partners. We have our great product solutions, and we now have a great partner program in place - one that is very flexible as well," he continues.

Not only is WatchGuard expecting substantial growth from its resellers, it also expects to sign a lot of new partners in most geographies in the region. However, Kiss stresses that this will not be at the expense of their existing customers. "We want to provides our existing partner base with even more opportunities and help them grow their business even more," he says.

What does it take to be a WatchGuard partner? The company looks especially at its partner's capabilities, for example the customer base. "We want a company that is ready to introduce as well as sell our products," Kiss explains. In addition, commitment to the partnership is vital. "We want our partners to engage well, invest in the partnership and be dedicated to training. Of course, commitment is not just a one-way street, and our partners can be guaranteed that we will stay committed to them," he adds.

In line with its commitment to its channel network, the company launched a new partner-centric sales model across the region in April 2007, revamping its channel partner program.  The enriched Partner Program is designed to attract and increase mindshare in the channel, featuring an improved reseller co-op program, MDF funding, attractive and instant rebates, promotions, bundles, trade-up programs, turn-key marketing campaign resources, and free consultation on how to maximize the campaigns.  The Program is tiered and based on quarterly purchase as well as certification requirements. 

At the same time, WatchGuard has also refreshed its Partner Portal, so that WatchGuard's Secure Partners (WSPs) have a one-stop-shop to find valuable product information and marketing news. 

In addition, WatchGuard is strengthening its WSP training and pre-sales/post-sales support across the region. 

When it comes to UTM, Kiss notes that there is still a lot of awareness that has to be drummed up. "UTM is still not a mature market. Most people know the importance of a firewall, but not of UTM boxes. "Of course, this shows that there is great opportunity here - for our partners and for us," he says.

He also points out that the speed of development in this market is very rapid. "This also means that there are lots of opportunities for our partners here. WatchGuard also provides very good ARS (Annuity Revenue Stream) to our partners, and the added bonus is that this is renewable over many, many years,"

Wang adds that when it comes to UTM a lot of companies may think they are providing UTM solutions, but in actual fact, they are only providing certain parts of the solution. He acknowledges that each company has its own ways of positioning themselves but WatchGuard's strength here is that it is completely focused on this space. "WatchGuard lives, breathes, goes to bed and gets up in the morning with UTM," he declares.

In line with this, the company is busy with its UTM product roadmap and has just launched Firebox X Edge 8.6, and announced the upcoming release of Fireware 9.1 for its Firebox X Core and Peak UTM solutions. As Wang says, keep your eyes trained on WatchGuard.◊