SonicWall & CyberCert launch SMB1001 push for MSPs

SonicWall and CyberCert have partnered to help managed service providers in Australia and New Zealand guide small and medium-sized business customers toward SMB1001 certification.

Under the arrangement, managed service providers using SonicWall products will be able to map existing firewall, endpoint and email security deployments against SMB1001 controls and identify gaps that must be addressed before certification. The framework offers publicly registered certification levels from Bronze to Diamond.

The partnership targets a market in which smaller businesses face growing demands from insurers, procurement teams and boards to show evidence of cyber controls. For service providers, that shifts part of the commercial discussion from selling security tools to managing a certification process that can be independently registered.

SMB1001 is an internationally recognised cyber certification standard for small and medium businesses published by Dynamic Standards International. It uses a tiered structure, starting with baseline controls at Bronze and progressing to more demanding requirements at Platinum and Diamond, where external audits apply.

For smaller businesses, the model provides a way to document cyber maturity for customers, suppliers and insurers. In practice, managed service providers can package security work with compliance reporting and annual certification support.

Channel focus

The partnership is centred on the managed services channel in Australia and New Zealand, where many small businesses rely on outside providers for cyber defence and compliance support. SonicWall has long sold through partners, and the agreement adds a certification pathway to that route to market.

Ryan Ettridge outlined how the programme is intended to work for service providers and their customers.

"Organisations are increasingly being asked to demonstrate measurable cybersecurity and compliance outcomes," said Ryan Ettridge, Co-founder and CEO of CyberCert.

"By mapping SonicWall's security capabilities to SMB1001 controls, MSPs can help customers progress from security deployment to independently registered certification outcomes."

The emphasis on certifiable outcomes reflects a broader shift in the cyber market, especially among smaller companies that must satisfy supplier questionnaires, cyber insurance conditions and governance requirements without large in-house security teams. In that environment, independently registered certification can serve as a formal record of controls already in place and a guide for further work.

Compliance demand

The agreement gives SonicWall partners a way to broaden their services beyond security implementation and monitoring. That could allow providers to play a larger role in compliance planning for customers already using the vendor's products.

"This partnership enables our partners in Australia and New Zealand to extend the value they deliver to customers beyond cybersecurity protection alone. Whether customers are strengthening an existing security environment or embarking on a new compliance initiative, SonicWall and CyberCert provide a pathway to help organizations improve cyber resilience and progress toward SMB1001 certification," said Debasish Mukherjee, Vice President of APJ Sales at SonicWall.

For channel businesses, the commercial appeal lies in recurring advisory work linked to annual reviews and certification milestones. Instead of treating compliance as a separate project, providers may be able to combine infrastructure management, policy work and evidence gathering within one customer relationship.

This is particularly relevant for smaller organisations under pressure to prove cyber readiness but without the scale to pursue broader corporate certification schemes. A more segmented framework can make certification easier to stage over time while still producing a public registration outcome at each level.

Ettridge said demand is being shaped by several external pressures at once.

"The compliance pressure on SMBs is increasing across regulation, insurance and enterprise supply chains," he said.

"MSPs that can deliver certifiable outcomes are better positioned to help clients meet those expectations and strengthen long-term customer relationships."

SonicWall has more than 17,000 partners globally. In Australia and New Zealand, the partnership with CyberCert adds a compliance-led offering to that ecosystem, linking existing security deployments with a formal certification pathway for small and medium-sized businesses.