The WannaCry global attack that shut down hospitals in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service and inflected more than 150 countries is a timely reminder of the reach of ransomware and other threat vectors across Europe and globally. According to the data gathered by the SonicWall Capture Labs team and reported in the SonicWall Annual Threat Report, ransomware grew from 3.8 million in 2015 to an astounding 638 million attack attempts in 2016 for a 167x year-over-year increase. SonicWall has added leadership in the European market to partner more closely with the channel in securing customers from threat vectors such ransomware, leveraging the company’s real-time breach detection and prevention solutions guided by real-time insights from the SonicWall Capture Threat Network.
Michael Berg Tapped for SonicWall Sales and Channel Team in Europe
As part of the Worldwide Sales and Channel team, Berg will drives sales and channel programs in Europe and is based in Switzerland. He will be responsible for executing on SonicWall’s 100 percent channel go-to-market strategies, partner recruitment and development, distribution partnerships and the full implementation of the SonicWall SecureFirst Partner Program to drive mutual revenue growth with the channel.
“SonicWall already has garnered unprecedented traction with channel partners globally and in Europe since spinning off as an independent cybersecurity company in November,” said Steve Pataky, Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Channel. “Michael’s expertise will strengthen the deep partnerships we are building with channel partners in the next phase of our growth. I’m particularly excited that Michael brings personal experience working with distributors and can strengthen our close ties with the distributor community.”
Berg brings to SonicWall more than 20 years of experience working with channel partners and distributors in the region. He joins the SonicWall team after serving as the Channel Director at encrypted communications firm Silent Circle where he lead commercial activities with distributors in the mobile device space. Previously, he was Vice President of Project Management at leading IT distributor ASBISc Enterprises PLC and established strong channel relationships across EMEA. Berg developed his in-depth knowledge of the distributors earlier in his career during his 15 years at distributor Tech Data, where he served in various management positions in Germany and Switzerland.
“After 20 years of working with channel partners and distributors, I have developed a great impression of SonicWall,” said Berg. “The rush of partners to join the SonicWall SecureFirst Partner Program demonstrates that the company enjoys partnerships with the channel that are unmatched in the industry. I am excited to join SonicWall at a time when it's seeing incredible traction with the channel worldwide, fueled by a mix of strong leadership, innovative solutions and channel enablement.”
