Cybersecurity firm SonicWall has named Rajnish Mishra as senior vice president and chief development officer, tasked with accelerating the company’s hybrid network security solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs). Mishra brings over 20 years of cloud and network security expertise from leadership roles at Zscaler and Cisco.
Most recently Mishra served as senior vice president of engineering at Zscaler, where he helped scale the company from an early-stage startup. His appointment reinforces SonicWall’s focus on cloud-native security offerings tailored for MSPs and MSSPs, said a top executive from the company.
“Rajnish joins us at a critical moment in SonicWall’s journey. We’re entering the next phase of our evolution, accelerating our integrated network and cloud security strategy with a focus on delivering scalable solutions designed for MSPs and MSSPs,” said Bob VanKirk, president and CEO of SonicWall.
Mishra will oversee the development of SonicWall’s cloud security portfolio, including zero-trust network access (ZTNA) and security service edge (SSE) solutions. The company has seen increased adoption of its co‑managed security services among MSPs and MSSPs.
Mishra’s career includes key engineering and leadership roles at Cisco and Zscaler, where he contributed to cloud security innovations. At Zscaler, he played a pivotal role in scaling the company’s engineering operations, supporting its rapid growth in the cloud security market.
SonicWall stated that it is increasing its emphasis on solutions tailored to the needs of service providers. This includes the recent introduction of zero‑trust network access (ZTNA) and security service edge (SSE) offerings. The company said these developments are intended to support service providers with co‑managed security services and integrated protection for cloud and on‑premises systems.
VanKirk said: “With Rajnish’s leadership, SonicWall is doubling down on its vision of providing an integrated portfolio of cloud security offerings.”
SonicWall reported growth in adoption of its ZTNA and SSE products and stated that its partner ecosystem has also expanded. The company did not disclose specific figures related to product uptake or revenue in the announcement.
According to research published by Canalys in January 2025, IT managed services revenue in the channel is set to grow approximately 13 per cent year‑on‑year in 2025, reaching US$595 billion globally.
Gartner in November 2024 forecasted that worldwide end‑user spending on public cloud services will total US$723 billion in 2025, a 21.5 per cent increase from 2024.
Canalys also found that more than 90 per cent of cybersecurity spending in 2025 will flow through partner channels .
SonicWall’s recent announcements align with industry‑wide movements reported by Canalys, which has stated that MSSPs are seeking more integrated security frameworks to cover both cloud and traditional environments.
SonicWall’s competitors which includes Fortinet, Check Point and Palo Alto Networks have also introduced cloud‑native and service‑provider‑focused offerings. Market analysts at Omdia, as reported by Canalys, have said the cybersecurity industry is shifting towards bundled service delivery models that include managed detection and response, cloud access security broker features and secure web gateway integration .
