MSP Standardizes on Watchguard Network Security and Finds Success With an Effective Competitor Displacement Strategy
Challenge
MSP franchise TeamLogic IT in Vernon, Connecticut opened in 2015 and they attribute much of the steady success they’ve seen since their inception to their partnership with WatchGuard.
“When we were first starting up, we spent a lot of time on choosing the right products that we were going to standardize on,” says Sandeep Kaushal, owner of TeamLogic IT in Vernon, “I come from the corporate world, and standardization is sort of the mantra in the corporate world as much as possible. It makes life easier when you're selling products and supporting products as your business.”
As he embarked on this standardization project, Kaushal looked at the entire universe of providers, including many of WatchGuard’s competitors. However, Kaushal discovered that most wouldn’t work for TeamLogic IT, based on their ease of use, pricing structure, support options, and more.
After narrowing down the field to four network security providers, WatchGuard stood out to Kaushal as the clear choice, for numerous reasons.
Solution
“We chose WatchGuard because of how easy Fireboxes are to set up, the availability of options, the ease of access to marketing collateral, and the ease of pricing,” explains Kaushal.
WatchGuard’s Firebox product line especially impressed Kaushal. “From a firewall perspective, what I love about WatchGuard is that it doesn't matter which firewall you pick – the way you manage it is identical, which makes maintaining and supporting them very easy. It's pretty straightforward. So, we loved WatchGuard’s technology, the way it was easy to support.”
Pricing was a major factor as well. “I absolutely love the way WatchGuard pricing is set up. When you're starting a business, the financial aspect is obviously very important. And for us, that aspect won out, because the way you price your hardware is very simple. It’s not complicated, and that was the biggest thing. Some of the conversations I had with other vendors made it just impossible to understand what you were purchasing.”
After deciding to standardize on WatchGuard, the partnership continued to grow positively. “What kept us with WatchGuard since 2015 was your support,” says Kaushal. “Your tech support is phenomenal. There are two vendors that we will never walk away from. One of those is WatchGuard.”
Results
Year after year, TeamLogic IT continues to see success moving clients to WatchGuard’s Firebox network security solution. They currently employ a strategy using competitive evaluation to displace current network security providers.
“When we onboard a client and they don't have WatchGuard, as soon as they are up for renewal for their firewall, we pitch Firebox,” says Kaushal. “And I'm not exaggerating, either – this strategy has been 100% successful in moving them from their current firewall to WatchGuard. And that has been because WatchGuard provides great marketing material to us partners.”
We can do this because the competitive intelligence that we receive from WatchGuard is really good,” he continues. “There are three things customers are looking for: the quality at the firewall in terms of bandwidth, the security it provides, and the pricing, and licensing. So with the competitive intelligence from WatchGuard, I can go in to a prospect’s business and say, ‘Hey, here’s the solution you currently have, but if we move you to a Firebox, here's the difference in price, in security, in licensing, etc.’ And honestly, at the end of the three years of their old contract, we ended up moving them onto a Firebox. And every three years, you release a new and improved product anyways, so it becomes even easier to pitch an upgrade to a new WatchGuard product.”
The future is looking bright for TeamLogic IT and their customers, and Kaushal has no plans of disrupting a successful strategy. “Like I said, I just love WatchGuard’s product,” smiles Kaushal.