Briefing Overview

  • SonicWall on Tuesdayappointed Jonathan Bergeras Senior Vice President of Global Channels and Alliances. Berger previously served as a marketing executive at BlueAlly, an IT consulting and managed services provider and one of SonicWall's largest strategic partners, for nearly six years.
  • "Jonathan doesn't just understand our partners—he was one of them," said Patrick O'Donnell, SonicWall's Chief Revenue Officer, in the announcement. "He has experienced the partner journey firsthand, understanding the business decisions they face daily, which programs truly drive their business, and what commitments build long-term trust."
  • This move marks the third time SonicWall has changed its channel leadership in less than a year. Berger succeedsformer channel chief Jason Carter. According to a spokesperson who told Channel Dive via email, Carter will remain with the company in a strategic role, helping integrate AI into SonicWall's operations and services. Carter took over the role in January of this year, when his predecessor Michelle Ragusa-McBain was appointed asGlobal Channel Chief and Vice President of Channel Sales。

Deep Dive Analysis

SonicWall's executive reshuffle comes at a time when the cybersecurity industry is increasingly reliant on partners—as large, mid-sized, and small businesses alike seek to simplify IT operations without weakening their defenses.

According to data from Omdia, Channel Dive's sister company, more than 90% of the nearly $25 billion in cybersecurity spending in the final three months of 2025 flowed through the channel, a year-over-year increase of10.3%. The research firm expects partner sales and services to account for 90% of the $311 billion market this year.

In March of this year, SonicWallrestructured parts of its partner programto help resellers and service providers in its ecosystem adapt to its platform-centric strategy. Following the channel incentive and specialization adjustments, the company earlier this monthexpanded its firewall platform, at a time when cybersecurity vendors such as Palo Alto Networks, Broadcom, Proofpoint, and WatchGuard are increasingly investing in integrated, cloud-based solutions.

BlueAlly's core proposition issolving IT complexity for customers, a strategy that drove the company's 2024 brand refresh. Now Berger will tackle this issue from the other side of the channel.

"My career has been about building partner businesses and working alongside vendors," Berger said in Tuesday's announcement. "The best channel relationships are built on the belief that a partner's success and a vendor's success are one and the same... I'm excited to sit on the other side of the table, committed to delivering programs and strategies that give our MSPs and MSSPs a true competitive advantage."

SonicWall emphasized that Berger's addition reinforces its channel-first strategy.

"He's not here to learn the channel," the company said in an email. "He comes with a genuine understanding of the business decisions partners face daily, what programs truly work, and what it takes to compete as an MSP or MSSP in today's market."