Kyndryl Teams With Cisco On Managed, Security Consulting Offerings For SSE

"We're looking at the edge and how we secure and Cisco is doing the same … They have a platform, a single pane of glass, which is very attractive in the market today to consolidate all those security point solutions and they've specifically invested in Kyndryl from both a networking and edge and security and resiliency perspective," solution provider giant Kyndryl said on the newly-expanded partnership with Cisco and the two new resulting offerings.

IBM managed infrastructure services spin-off Kyndryl is partnering once again with Cisco Systems on the creation of two new security edge services.

The two new offerings are Kyndryl Consult Security Services Edge (SSE) with Cisco Secure Access and Kyndryl Managed SSE with Cisco Secure Access. Kyndryl, one of the largest global solution providers, is bringing the managed and value-added services, while Cisco is bringing the technology to the equation, the two companies told CRN.

"[These services] really bridge both security resiliency, as well as networking and edge," said Michelle Weston, vice president of global offerings for security and resiliency for Kyndryl.

Kyndryl Consult SSE with Cisco Secure Access is a modular and unified approach for consulting and implementing a SSE architecture with Cisco’s technology offered by Kyndryl.

Kyndryl Managed SSE with Cisco Secure Access introduces a new category of network security services that integrates security into a cloud-delivered service model, the two companies said. It provides an end-to-end service for transition, implementation and managed services of SSE using Cisco’s portfolio of networking and security products and services.

The extended partnership and two new offerings build on Kyndryl’s relationship with Cisco. The two companies have been co-invested and collaborating on a development process to build scalable security offerings, Weston said.

Cisco recently invested in Kyndryl's Foundry, a new process with which the solution provider goes to market with its offerings. This process lets Kyndryl work with a technology partner, or a customer to develop capabilities that don't exist in the market today. It allows Kyndryl to get to market in 30-90 days with that offering, depending on its complexity, Weston said. Cisco's investment in The Foundry went towards the creation of the two new SSE offerings, she added.

"We're looking at the edge and how we secure and Cisco is doing the same. They've made substantial investments in security overall. They have a platform, a single pane of glass, which is very attractive in the market today to consolidate all those security point solutions and they've specifically invested in Kyndryl from both a networking and edge and security and resiliency perspective," she said.

The two companies in August revealed an expanded partnership which has Kyndryl using Cisco’s portfolio of network software, hardware and equipment with the firm's cyber resilience framework to help customers proactively address and respond to cyber incidents. Specifically, Cisco's Security Cloud platform is letting Kyndryl integrate multi-vendor offerings to create more integrated security solutions, while Kyndryl is offering managed services around cyber resilience to help customers quicken their adoption and decrease their time to implementation, according to Kyndryl.

Weston said that internally, she and her security team work very closely with Kyndryl's networking global practice as security and networking grow more tightly integrated.

"If you go into any of our customers, they can have 50 security products. That's very difficult to manage and … I don't think security point products are going to work. We also know that there's a skill shortage around the world when it comes to security skills. Those two things are not sustainable," Weston said. "Now, that really serves Kyndryl well from a managed security services perspective because we can take that complexity off the client."

Brian Feeney, vice president, worldwide security channel sales for Cisco hopes that Cisco is able to help other solution providers add Cisco-powered offerings to their own catalogs.

"We're not looking to drive and deliver services. We want our partners to deliver security services, so you're always going to see a concerted effort to determine how we can get services into the hands of external partners," Feeney said.

The partnership with Kyndryl is indicative of Cisco's plans pursue new routes to market for its security portfolio. Feeney said that nine months ago, Cisco's security channel bookings predominately came from the traditional resale channel. The company has since stepped up its efforts to extend into the managed service provider space.

"We're especially excited about what [Kyndryl] is doing with Managed SSE with Cisco Secure Access," he said.

Kyndryl, which helps customers with application modernization, secure infrastructure, and hybrid work, in 2022 achieved Cisco Global Gold Integrator status, the highest level available for Cisco partners.