WatchGuard Rolls Out New Product Family Year After Panda Security Acquisition

One year after acquiring Panda Security, WatchGuard Technologies is adding a new endpoint security product family to WatchGuard Cloud.

Now, partners and customers can deploy and manage endpoint security, network security and multifactor authentication (MFA) services via one display. The endpoint security product family was previously known as Panda Adaptive Defense 360.

Partners and customers can streamline security delivery, simplify operations, consolidate vendors, and bolster business growth and profitability.

Michelle Welch is WatchGuard‘s senior vice president of marketing and channel.

WatchGuard’s Michelle Welch

“When we acquired Panda in 2020, our goal was to fully integrate the new endpoint security capabilities into WatchGuard Cloud within the first year,” she said. “Achieving that milestone today is just the latest example of our ongoing commitment to and investment in offering the security solutions our partners need while ensuring they’re simple to procure, deliver and manage.”

WatchGuard has seen “massive growth and momentum” from its partners as a result, Welch said.

“Approximately 35% of WatchGuardOne partners have achieved more than one product specialization to date,” she said. “And 20% have transacted with our endpoint security SKUs specifically since October 2021.”

Vendor Consolidation Benefits Partners

MSPs focus on driving recurring revenue while reducing costs, Welch said. And security vendor consolidation is the best way for them to accomplish this.

“By integrating the WatchGuard endpoint security product family into WatchGuard Cloud, partners can now leverage one vendor relationship to access and deliver critical endpoint protection, network security, MFA and secure Wi-Fi services from a single, MSP-focused cloud management console,” she said. “What’s more, we simplify procurement with options including fixed-term contracts, WatchGuard Points, and flexible monthly and usage-based subscriptions. [That’s] so MSPs have the flexibility to transact in the manner that best suits their business model.”

All of this adds up to a unified security platform that helps partners eliminate piecemeal security vendor engagements, Welch said. That means streamlined security training, management and delivery processes, and less overhead and more profitability.

Distributed Workforces More Vulnerable

“In this post-pandemic world, customers’ businesses are more distributed and thus more vulnerable than ever before,” Welch said. “With employees operating from home networks beyond traditional perimeter defenses, organizations need an intelligent, automated way to detect, contain and remediate pressing endpoint security threats, including zero-day malware, ransomware, phishing, in-memory exploits, fileless attacks and more.”

Partners can address their customers’ top distributed workforce security concerns within the same process and platform they do for WatchGuard network security or MFA deployments, Welch said.

“Additionally, COVID-19 introduced new financial pressures for partners and their customers,” she said. “As a result, MSPs are looking for ways to reduce costs, cash-flow friction and long-term commitments. Our FlexPay program addresses these needs by offering several flexible procurement options MSPs can use to purchase WatchGuard hardware and software at little to no upfront cost and with the ability to start, pause and scale on demand within the platform.”

WatchGuard will continue to invest in adding security capabilities into the platform, Welch said.