Barracuda expands MSP security offerings with RMM acquisition

Cloud security solutions provider Barracuda has announced that its MSP's portfolio approach, led by security is a key growth area for the company.

Barracuda has grown its international MSP partner base nearly 300 percent over the past two years, and the number of MSPs using multiple Barracuda solutions increased 34 percent year-over-year, as of February 2019.

Barracuda also recently acquired Managed Workplace, the remote monitoring and management (RMM) product line of Avast.

Managed Workplace delivers an RMM platform with security tools and services, such as site security assessments, Office 365 account management, and integrated third-party antivirus.

This addition to the Barracuda portfolio reinforces the company's investment in the MSP marketplace and builds on the 120 percent year-over-year growth Barracuda MSP has seen for its security solutions.

Barracuda Networks CEO BJ Jenkins says, "We have been expanding our portfolio of MSP solutions, and our partners' response — based on their spend with us — has been positive.

"The acquisition of Managed Workplace continues that portfolio expansion.

Barracuda MSP SVP and general manager Brian Babineauof says, "Our mission is to empower our MSP partners to create services to sell, deliver profitable offerings, and demonstrate value to their customers," said

"With Managed Workplace, we can offer MSP partners a security-centric RMM solution that incorporates security tasks into a service provider's daily routine.

"It complements the security solutions we have introduced via our MSP models, such as email protection, cloud-generation firewalls, and security awareness training.

Barracuda also expanded its MSP security offerings in 2018 by introducing Managed PhishLine, a service that helps MSPs provide phishing simulation and security awareness training to their customers without creating added work for their IT professionals.

This makes it easy for MSP to create a new service that addresses the growing need for better security awareness training.

The Barracuda team has also demonstrated its commitment to building up the MSP community through several educational initiatives that have gained more traction over the past year.

• Ready, Set, Managed!, which is an exclusive, interactive educational and networking program for VARs and MSPs to learn best practices for successfully growing their managed services operations, saw 136 percent growth year over year in the number of channel partners that have requested an invitation to the program.

• Barracuda's EMEA team will host the second annual MSP Day on May 23, 2019. The initiative was set up to help create an interactive and connected community with the unified purpose of making managed services more understandable, trustworthy, and significant. More details on MSP Day 2019 will be announced shortly.

RMM tools are a foundational platform for the managed services community, and according to research by AMI Partners, the RMM market is expected to reach nearly $800 million by 2022, with more than $400 million of that coming from outside North America.

Every MSP, transitioning reseller, or new market participant needs an RMM, and acquiring Managed Workplace gives Barracuda another way to provide MSP partners with the tools they need to run their business and protect their customers.

• Site security assessments – Managed Workplace includes a built-in site security assessment tool, which MSPs can use to measure the security posture for customers' sites and identify gaps that need to be addressed. This tool can be used to help generate sales and to demonstrate the MSP's value by showing progress over time.

• Office 365 service module – This module in Managed Workplace helps MSPs streamline operations by providing a single place to manage common Office 365 tasks, such as viewing usage across multiple sites, tracking mailbox activity, and resetting passwords, alongside endpoint and other management tasks.

• Cloud architecture – Managed Workplace is offered as a cloud service, with multiple global instances already running on AWS. It can also be deployed on premises. The API-driven architecture allows for plug-ins to be updated easily and new ones to be added.

• Business alignment – Managed Workplace extends Barracuda's opportunity for security innovation and our ability to simplify security for MSPs by connecting RMM with key components, such as email protection, cloud-generation firewalls, security awareness training, data protection, and the Avast Business Security solutions.

• Current IT trends – Managed Workplace aligns with current IT trends by supporting Windows and Mac endpoints, VMware and Hyper-V servers; integrating with Office 365 Account Management capabilities; monitoring network routers and SNMP-enabled devices; and creating and delivering recurring security assessments.