Barracuda adds Jason Beal to Global Partner Leadership

Security giants, Barracuda networks introduced the position of VP of worldwide partner ecosystems and they have chosen Jason Beal to occupy it. Beal needs no introduction among Channel partners having worked in top channel positions at AvePoint and Palo Alto Networks. Before his appointment at Barracuda, Beal was serving as the senior vice president of global channel and partner ecosystems at AvePoint.

Beal’s appointment comes seven months after Barracuda’s takeover by private equity powerhouse KKR and the move is aimed to, among other things, help ensure better coordination between various Barracuda partner programs around the world.

“We see big opportunities not only to accelerate channel investments but to do more with partners and more with our distributors,” Beal said.

Beal acknowledges that the Channel landscape has increasingly become more diverse and complex hence the need for someone in his role.

“There’s been this proliferation of different partner types ranging from old-school resellers and integrators to MSPs, cloud consultants, DevOps specialists, and beyond. We welcome opportunities to work with partners of all shapes and sizes to help meet their customer's cybersecurity and data protection needs,” Beal said.

Beal announced that he is looking to engage with all the players in the channel that interact with Barracuda or its partners.

After its acquisition of Barracuda, KKR announced that growth acceleration was its top priority and Beal’s appointment aligns with that goal. The goal is to leverage Barracuda’s channel to increase the company’s presence in key security markets including managed detection and response, extended detection and response, and secure access service edge (SASE) technology.

Neil Medwed, director of strategic partnerships at Meriplex is confident Barracuda’s channel business will excel under Beal having known the veteran for over a decade.

He’s always been channel-focused. Jason has unsurpassed skills. He’s extremely respected. I think it’s going to be a big plus for Barracuda,” said Medwed.

His sentiments were echoed by Chris Ross, Barracuda Networks’ chief revenue officer who believes the hiring of Beal is a clear sign of his company’s commitment towards the Channel.

“We’re looking forward to his focus on continuing the growth acceleration across our partner ecosystem and driving innovation within our business model. He will also play an integral role in continuing to build and grow a world-class channel go-to-market strategy and partner program for our business,” Ross said.