Cisco Targets MSSPs With Combined AMP For Endpoints, Umbrella, Meraki Systems Manager Portfolio

Cisco Systems is targeting managed security service providers with three products bundled as a single cloud-based endpoint security solution portfolio.

Cisco's Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) for Endpoints, Umbrella and Meraki Systems Manager are included in the bundle. Umbrella is Cisco's cloud security platform. The Meraki Systems Manager is a mobile device management platform.

Together, the portfolio allows MSSPs to deploy advanced security solutions quickly, manage customers through a cloud-based console and respond rapidly to threats, the company said.

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Any certified Cisco channel partner, technology integration partner or MSP/MSSP partner will be able to sell the portfolio to customers, Steve Benvenuto, Cisco senior director, global security partner sales, told CRN in an email.

The portfolio is intended to compete with offerings from companies including Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet, Benvenuto said, and solution providers may buy the portfolio and prop it up as a hosted platform in their own data center. Terms, however, will vary based on the specifics of each project, he added.

"Cisco's security stack has moved beyond the network and can now protect users across a multitude of client and mobile OSes," said Tim Femister, head of cybersecurity and customer life cycle for Eagan, Minn.-based ConvergeOne.

The company's endpoint security offerings all talk with one another, Femister said, sharing intelligence and information to ensure controls against zero-day threats are put into place as expeditiously as possible. Cisco AMP for Endpoints and Cisco Umbrella particularly excel at sharing information with one another, according to Femister.

Most customers are asking ConvergeOne for a managed option around security since they lack the staff and infrastructure to administer and optimize it, Femister said. Having the right tools in place is absolutely critical to delivering managed security services, he added.

Cisco can further strengthen its endpoint security bundle by delivering AMP for Endpoints, Umbrella and Meraki Systems Manager in a single pane of glass, according to Femister, enabling partners to log into just one portal and manage and share information from a single screen.

Cisco's MSSP portfolio is a profitable way for MSSPs to differentiate themselves from competitors and strengthen customer relationships by helping to detect and mitigate threats and protect the network on multiple fronts, the San Jose, Calif., networking giant said in a statement.

The market opportunity for the portfolio comes as customers' security teams face advanced threats,but lack the budget and/or talent to combat those threats, Cisco said. Those organizations are reinforcing their in-house security systems with managed security services, Cisco said, with almost half of U.S. enterprises and SMBs outsourcing at least one aspect of their security practices to third parties.

"At a time when customers are moving to the cloud and struggling with the requirements to improve operational efficiency, we're partnering with MSSPs to ensure they can deliver comprehensive solutions with security, visibility and endpoint control," Gee Rittenhouse, senior vice president of engineering in Cisco's security business group, said in a statement. "Through flexible licensing models and an expanding portfolio, we address customer needs and the needs of our MSSPs to differentiate and grow their businesses."