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In November 2016, SonicWall got a new start as standalone company separate from its parent Dell. At the time, Bill Conner was brought in as the company’s new CEO and over the past 18 months has helped to direct the network security company forward.
In a video interview with eWEEK, Conner talks about how SonicWall has progressed as an independent company, how the product portfolio has developed and also hinted at some new hardware innovations that have yet to be publicly announced.
“We still have Dell as a partner and as an OEM and still do a great deal of business with them,” Conner said. “We also have business that has nothing to do with Dell.”
Conner said that when he first joined SonicWall there were some questions about the company’s product road map and its’ ability to deliver. He noted that he’s pleased to report that both the company and the roadmap are doing well.
In 2018, SonicWall has introduced multiple new products, including Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection as well as virtual editions of the company’s firewall and Web Application Firewall (WAF) platform. SonicWall also introduced the Capture Cloud security platform which integrates security, management, analytics and real-time threat intelligence capabilities.
Conner also noted that the latest update of the SonicOS 6.5 firmware, provides a unified operating system that runs across the company’s hardware portfolio. Conner noted that while his company has announced virtual editions of its firewall there is still room for silicon-based innovation for hardware as well.
“As we look toward service providers, you’ll probably soon see a next generation hardware appliance that could run multiple blades, maybe 40 gigabit and include the kinds of things that a carrier would need,” Conner said.
While SonicWall now has multiple capabilities across its portfolio that can help defend endpoints, emails and networks, Conner still sees the company as being primarily a network security company.
“Everything comes through some kind of a network, ” Conner said. “Where we think the market is going is really going to be about automated, real-time breach detection and prevention.”
Watch the full video interview with Bill Conner above.
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.