Dell to Acquire SonicWALL

Dell Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SonicWALL, Inc., in network security and data protection.

SonicWALL’s Next-Generation Firewalls and Unified Threat Management (UTM) Firewalls complement Dell’s security solutions portfolio, enabling it to offer customers a broader range of enterprise offerings.

Customers of all sizes face increasing challenges in maintaining effective IT security, from the exponential growth of data and rapid adoption of cloud-based solutions, to the increased presence of consumer devices brought into the enterprise environment. SonicWALL expands Dell’s growing security portfolio, which includes Dell SecureWorks security services, cloud security solutions and data encryption solutions, and Dell KACE vulnerability and patch management.

Dell has taken significant steps to expand its enterprise solutions portfolio to offer customers a complete range of products and solutions to help customers simplify the management of their IT infrastructure. Dell remains committed to delivering complete security solutions using the most effective technologies and services from both Dell and from other providers.

SonicWALL designs security solutions that combine capability with ease of use, delivering a return on investment for their customers. The company has more than 130 patents, registered and pending, and develops all of its own key security gateway intellectual property. Today, more than 300,000 customers use SonicWALL security solutions, including firewalls, secure remote access, email security, backup and recovery, and policy, management and reporting.

The increased frequency and diversity of security threats, requires customers to deploy more comprehensive security solutions.

SonicWALL’s Global Management System allows network administrators to centrally manage and provision thousands of security appliances across a widely distributed network:

• Unified Threat Management solution is ranked as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management appliances.
• SuperMassive provides Next-Generation Firewall designed for the unique needs of enterprise, government, university and service provider deployments that require scalability, high availability and high performance. It was rated the most effective Next-Generation Firewall of those that achieved the NSS Labs "Recommended" status.
• SonicWALL integrates advanced networking and remote access technologies to verify and defend the security of traditional and wireless networks, users and applications – and their endpoint devices – while scanning the entire data stream across platforms and perimeters.

Committed to Channel Partners
SonicWALL solutions are available for small, mid-sized business customers and large enterprise customers, and are deployed in large campus environments, distributed enterprise settings, government, retail point-of-sale and healthcare segments. The company has a channel program with 15,000 resellers providing global coverage. Dell plans to take the best of the SonicWALL channel programs and combine it with Dell’s PartnerDirect program. Likewise, Dell’s existing PartnerDirect members will be able to sell SonicWALL solutions to meet their customers’ IT security needs.

SonicWALL, founded in 1991, is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. and serves customers in 50 countries around the world. Thoma Bravo is the lead institutional investor in SonicWALL. Dell looks forward to welcoming SonicWALL’s approximately 950 employees to the Dell team, and plans continued investments to grow this business.

The transaction was approved by the board of directors of each company. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction remains subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of Dell’s FY13.

"We are building a strategic software portfolio to address the needs of our customers with key assets in the fast-growing and highly profitable IT security solutions business. Our customers see security as a key IT concern for the foreseeable future," said John Swainson, president, Dell Software Group. "SonicWALL gives Dell access to unique intellectual property resources and technology that position us well in fast growing parts of the software security business."

"Dell’s distribution, reach and brand are well-recognized across the industry. This transaction aligns well with Dell’s mid-market design focus and allows us to accelerate growth of our flagship SuperMassive Next-Generation Firewall solutions with Large Enterprise customers," said Matt Medeiros, president and CEO, SonicWALL. "Additionally, SonicWALL is recognized as a leading security solutions provider for small and medium businesses through our UTM solutions. Dell’s phenomenal breadth and reach into small and midsize companies provides a significant opportunity to expand our customer base."