CRN Exclusive: MSSP Security On-Demand Hires New Channel Chief In Blitz For More IT Partners

MSSP Security On-Demand has hired its first-ever channel chief in a push to expand its channel beyond telecom carriers to include mid-sized VARs and MSPs.

The San Diego-based company, No. 50 on the CRN 2017 Fast Growth 150, hopes to bring in 20 to 30 well-qualified IT channel partners next year with a background in security, according to CEO Peter Bybee.

Spearheading the channel offensive will be new Director of Sales Kim Scott, who previously served as director of business development for Winnipeg, Manitoba-based solution provider Online Business Systems. Bybee praised Scott's combination of sales and product management experience, saying it should serve her well in putting together complex cybersecurity solutions for channel partners.

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"She's got a unique perspective for understanding the industry," Bybee told CRN.

Security On-Demand recently landed its first IT channel partner with the signing of San Diego-based Technology Integration Group (TIG), No. 75 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, and is currently negotiating deals with a half-dozen other solution providers, Bybee said. Security On-Demand has enjoyed a two-year growth rate of 90.97 percent, according to the Fast Growth 150.

"We haven't become really well-known in the marketplace because we are focused on the carrier level," Bybee said. "But we see progress, and we're seeing a lot of interest."

Security On-Demand does more than 95 percent of its business through the channel, Bybee said, of which roughly 70 percent is through telecom carriers while 25 percent is through new channel partners such as TIG and data center hosters.

The company's primary telecom partner recently developed its own private-label solution, though, meaning that they're no longer leading with the Security On-Demand product.

"Selling through the channel is like herding cats," Bybee said. "You don't control the sale anymore."

Bybee said managed service providers have suffered a hit to their traditional sources of revenue due to changes in Microsoft's software licensing program and servers being consumed in the cloud rather than as an outsourced MSP service. As a result, Bybee said security had become a required part of the MSP's strategy if they wish to stay afloat.

Security On-Demand has incorporated approximate query (AQ) technology into its platform to make it possible for the security operations center (SOC) to answer queries at 100 times the speed with 99 percent accuracy, Bybee said. AQ uses cutting-edge math to approximate the accurate response based on the 15 billion events happened across all of the company's customers.

"The typical tools can't keep up with a centralized data store," Bybee said.

Security On-Demand has been doing machine learning and artificial intelligence-based behavioral analysis for two years now, Bybee said, during which time the company has developed a solid track record in interpreting deviations.

In addition to providing customers with data more quickly, Bybee said the new platform also boosts the user experience with a portal that provides the end user with insight into the actual security services being provided. The platform goes beyond SIEM (security information and event management) in a quest to find and detect the next unknown, zero-day threat.

"The new platform puts in a very favorable position in the market," Bybee said. "We think the user experience is very, very good."