Tired of MSSPs ‘Failing,’ Nuspire Debuts Platform to Combat Cyberattacks

The number, frequency and intensity of cyberattacks in 2021 all continue to mount. This month alone, end users and their managed security service providers have dealt with at least three: FragAttacks, Darkside and crippling ransomware.

And by “dealt with,” we really mean “reacted to.”

Most organizations lack the tools and skilled IT teams to stay ahead of bad actors. They end up scrambling to shore up the gaps and pick up the pieces after a hit.

Lewie Dunsworth has had enough of reacting. Over the last six months (timing that appears to coincide with the giant Solarwinds breach), he and his team developed a platform that brings together all of an organization’s cybersecurity tools. It also delivers threat intelligence.

Nuspire’s Lewie Dunsworth

“Frankly, I was tired of the industry failing its clients,” Dunsworth, CEO of Michigan-based MSSP Nuspire, told Channel Futures. “I’ve walked in our clients’ shoes as a former CISO. Being in security leadership is not for the faint of heart and we owe it to our clients, and the rest of the industry, to make their job easier.”

Nuspire’s New Solution

On Monday, Nuspire debuted myNuspire, a technology-agnostic, customizable security operating system. The platform consolidates an organization’s cybersecurity technology stack into one place for holistic visibility. That’s a vital component given Gartner’s estimate that 78% or organizations use more than 16 cybersecurity resources and 12% rely on more than 46.

With that in mind, myNuspire combines cybersecurity solutions into a single repository. CISOs no longer have to click through each brand separately or attend to multiple, disparate alerts.

myNuspire also features on-demand threat intelligence and gap identification. The former provides actionable modeling information on cybersecurity attacks by industry and size. The latter helps users understand whether technology is operating correctly and where investments lead to the best returns.

“I knew there had to be a better way to manage and improve security programs,” Dunsworth said. “So, we looked at ourselves, and the industry, and were brutally honest about areas for improvement. That created a vision for myNuspire.”

Building myNuspire

Dunsworth said his company built myNuspire on modern technologies with a modular approach. That, he said, “allows us to always be relevant, maximize the power of cloud-based capabilities and use new processes that allow us to dynamically improve and enhance the features based on our client’s needs.”

To be sure, not only did Nuspire aim to give organizations better cybersecurity tools, the MSSP wanted to reduce CISOs’ stress. Most CISOs stay at one job anywhere between 18 months and two years. The level of responsibility, defined by chaos and ever-changing conditions, tends to lead to …

… burnout quickly.

IDC’s Martha Vazquez

“The role of a CISO and security executives is a tough job, and confusion and complexity in the market continues to be a challenge for these leaders,” said Martha Vazquez, senior research analyst at IDC. “With the surplus of industry buzzwords, and variety of technologies and tools, having a technology-agnostic, single-pane-of-glass operating system that gives an organization full visibility into their program can simplify the job of a CISO.”

That sums up Nuspire’s vision for myNuspire.

“As a longtime CISO turned CEO of a security company, my goal has been to create a solution that would have made my job as a security leader less complicated,” Dunsworth said. “There are many challenges associated with building and sustaining a security program over time and it can leave you feeling overwhelmed, stressed and on an island. We recognize security leadership is not easy and sought a way to create an innovative experience that puts security leaders in complete control of their security program. This revolutionary platform changes the game; we owed it to our clients.”

Taking myNuspire to Market: Where Might Partners Fit?

As an MSSP, Nuspire works directly with end users. For initial purposes, it designed myNuspire for midmarket and small enterprises, Dunsworth said. Later this year, though, the company will release enhancements that allow it to target large enterprises, too.

Importantly for some channel partners, myNuspire will have an indirect play. Managed service providers, regional VARs and some other channel folks will be able to use and/or white-label Nuspire’s services. That will come to fruition anywhere between three and six months from now.

But there’s a caveat.

“We don’t have plans to extend our capabilities to other MSSPs,” Dunsworth said.

That makes sense from a competitive standpoint. Nuspire wants to corner as much of the market as possible with myNuspire.

In terms of technical help for myNuspire, the MSSP provides in-house support from each of its operational teams, every weekday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern.

“Once we gather more information on the types of assistance our clients need, we’ll adjust the support model to reflect their expectations,” Dunsworth said.

In addition, Dunsworth said, Nuspire will shift myNuspire to a subscription-based model “once we have assurance that the platform is providing all the value our clients and users expect.”

And while Nuspire has no plans to offer myNuspire through its fellow MSSPs, Dunsworth does have some advice for peers.

“We need to move past ‘the event,’ or a security incident that is being dealt with reactively,” Dunsworth said. “As cyberattacks continue to explode and increase in frequency, companies can no longer afford to only react. The future of managed security is focused on providing insights and recommendations to clients that help them proactively improve their security posture.”