SonicWALL Establishes European Operations Centre

Infrastructure Investment Underlines SonicWALL’s Commitment to European Market


Eindhoven, Netherlands – October 20, 2003 - SonicWALL, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNWL), a leading provider of integrated Internet security solutions, today announced the establishment of its new operations centre in Europe. Leading the initiative is Rob van Oostenbrugge who assumes the title of managing director, European Operations.


SonicWALL’s European Operations Centre, based in the Netherlands, comprises a team of experts dedicated to adapting SonicWALL’s products and value proposition to the needs of the European market. New functions to be performed by the Centre include:


Product management tasked with specifying and introducing new product applications and services for European markets

Commercial sales management for SonicWALL’s installed base

Customer support management including marketing communications for increasing brand awareness and accelerating channel incentive programs

European financial control and analysis

EMEA-focused support for strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions


“The new European Operations Centre is a direct reflection of the strategic importance placed on the European region by the senior management at SonicWALL,” said Matt Medeiros, CEO. “The emphasis will be on providing our European partners and customers with the right support in terms of innovation, marketing and effective reporting systems.”


“I am pleased to lead the new European Operations Centre,” said van Oostenbrugge. “SonicWALL is making bold strides in the European Internet security market, and the European Operations Centre is a key element of our overall global strategy.”


Rob van Oostenbrugge has an international business development background and brings extensive executive management experience to the role. Most recently he has held the post of acting vice president, EMEA for SonicWALL. Previously he spent 25 years with Philips Electronics, ultimately as CEO of the Digital Networks Division.


About SonicWALL, Inc.

SonicWALL, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated Internet security appliances offering access security, transaction security and security services for the enterprise, e-commerce, SMB, education, healthcare and government markets. Core technologies include firewall, VPN, SSL, high availability, anti-virus, and content filtering. Together, these products and technologies provide the most comprehensive Distributed Security Architecture available. SonicWALL, Inc. is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA. SonicWALL trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol SNWL. For more information, contact SonicWALL at +44 (0)1344 668090 or visit the company Web site at http://www.sonicwall.com.


For Additional Information Contact:


Katy Sutcliffe

Marketing Manager

SonicWALL UK, Middle East & Africa

Tel: +44 (0)1344 668090

Email: ksutcliffe@sonicwall.com


Paul Shlackman

Write Angle Communications

Tel: +44 (0)20 8868 4101

Mobile: +44 (0)7775 655363

Email: paul.shlackman@writeanglecomm.com