Dive Brief:
- SonicWall appointed Jonathan Berger to SVP of global channels and alliances Tuesday. Berger previously spent nearly six years as a marketing executive at IT consulting and managed service provider BlueAlly, one of SonicWall’s largest strategic partners.
- “Jonathan does not just understand our partners — he has been one,” SonicWall CRO Patrick O'Donnell said in the announcement. “He has lived our partners' experience. He understands the business decisions they face every day, the programs that move the needle and the commitments that build long-term trust.”
- The move marks SonicWall’s third channel leadership change in less than a year. Berger replaced former channel chief Jason Carter, who will remain with the company in a strategic role helping to integrate AI into SonicWall operations and services, a spokesperson told Channel Dive via email. Carter assumed the role in January, when his predecessor Michelle Ragusa-McBain was appointed Global Channel Chief and VP of Channel Sales at competitor Corero Network Security.
Dive Insight:
SonicWall’s executive shuffle coincides with the cybersecurity industry’s growing reliance on partners, as large, midsize and small businesses seek to simplify IT operations without compromising defenses.
More than 90% of nearly $25 billion in cybersecurity spending flowed through the channel during the last three months of 2025, representing 10.3% year-over-year growth, according to Channel Dive sister company Omdia. The analyst firm expects partner sales and services to account for 90% of the $311 billion market this year.
SonicWall restructured aspects of its partner program in March to help resellers and service providers in its ecosystem adjust to its platform-centric strategy. The changes in channel incentives and specializations were followed earlier this month by an expansion of the company’s firewall platform, as Palo Alto Networks, Broadcom, Proofpoint, WatchGuard and other cybersecurity providers doubled down on integrated, cloud-based solutions.
BlueAlly’s pitch centered around solving IT complexity for its customers, a strategy that fueled the company’s 2024 brand revitalization. Berger will now tackle that problem from the other side of the channel.
“I have spent my career building partner businesses and working alongside vendors," Berger said in the Tuesday announcement. “The best channel relationships are built on the conviction that partner success and vendor success are one and the same … I am excited to be on the other side of the table, working to deliver programs and strategies that give our MSPs and MSSPs a genuine competitive advantage.”
SonicWall stressed that Berger’s arrival reinforces its channel-first strategy.
“He is not coming in to learn the channel,” the company said in an email. “He is coming in with a genuine understanding of the business decisions partners face every day, the programs that actually move the needle, and what it takes to compete as an MSP or MSSP in today's market.”
