Dive Brief:
- SonicWall shifted its specialization structure to push partners deeper into its cybersecurity portfolio and out of transactional firewall sales, the company said in a March 12 announcement. The changes make it easier for partners to show their strengths across SonicWall’s portfolio, which includes network security and managed security services.
- The firm now designates specializations at the company level rather than the individual level. Instead of requiring two technical certifications, SonicWall is mandating that a partner have at least two employees with a role-based accreditation.
- “Relying on standalone firewalls and one-off projects is no longer enough to stay competitive,” Allison Clark, VP, go-to-market and partner programs, wrote in a blog post. “The updated SecureFirst Partner Program is designed to help partners adapt to this shift — reducing friction, accelerating time to revenue and enabling expansion across SonicWall’s broader portfolio without increasing operational risk.”
Dive Insight:
SonicWall has lowered technical barriers for specialization — instead emphasizing different aspects of the sales lifecycle: sales, pre-sales, post-sales, professional services and managed services. The changes swap individual technical certifications for company-level, role-based accreditations with the overall goal of encouraging partners to offer broader cybersecurity services.
Partners previously needed workers with the SonicWall Network Security Administrator and SonicWall Network Security Professional certifications, and they were required to earn continuing education points to stay in their tiers. The system placed too much reliance on senior technology specialists to maintain their relationships with SonicWall, according to the announcement.
“These updates remove unnecessary complexity while preserving meaningful skill development,” Clark wrote.
The program refresh follows an executive refresh. Jason Carter recently stepped in as SVP of global channels and alliances following Michelle Ragusa-McBain’s departure from the channel chief position. SonicWall also appointed Patrick O’Donnell, formerly Barracuda Networks’ sales head, as its new CRO.
“The SecureFirst Partner Program updates are about removing friction and helping partners move faster, attach more services and build profitable, long-term customer relationships,” O’Donnell said in the announcement. “We’re aligning our enablement, incentives and support to ensure partners can scale confidently and win in a market that increasingly values outcomes over products.”
Details are emerging on how SonicWall has tweaked its incentives and programs. The company notably removed size requirements for deal registration in its cloud secure edge and managed protection security suite. That’s a direct way to lower the barrier for selling non-firewall products.
SonicWall is also luring partners from rival security vendors, giving them the chance to move faster through SonicWall’s tiers and gain top benefits if they join.
The vendor introduced the program changes on March 1 and is giving partners until Jan. 31, 2027, to meet its new requirements.
