Barracuda Makes Wider MSP Play With Acquisition Of Avast's Managed Workplace RMM

Cloud security technology provider Barracuda Networks has acquired Managed Workplace, giving the company its first remote monitoring and management, or RMM, platform.

Managed Workplace is the RMM product line of Czech Republic-based cloud security software developer Avast Software.

As part of the acquisition deal, Barracuda, based in Campbell, Calif., has signed a multi-year agreement with Avast to resell that company's Integrated Antivirus, Integrated CloudCare Antivirus, and Avast Business Antivirus Standard, Pro, and Pro Plus offerings.

[Related: The 10 Biggest Cybersecurity News Stories Of 2018]

No financial details of the acquisition or reseller agreement were released.

With the acquisition, Managed Workspace becomes Barracuda's first RMM offering. The company called Managed Workplace a technology for delivering a complete RMM platform with security tools and services including security site assessments, Office 365 account management, and anti-virus.

The move could make Barracuda a potential competitor with other RMM platform developers such as Datto RMM from its Autotask acquisition, or Kaseya's VSA platform. However, Barracuda, which has relationships with most of the major RMM platform providers, as of Friday did not indicate whether its new offering would be aimed at a wider range of technologies or stay focused on the security side of the business.

Managed Workplace brings a number of security-specific capabilities to the MSP community, including security assessments, comprehensive reporting for advising new and old clients, both out-of-the-box service plans and the ability to create new service plans, a centralized dashboard, task automation, patch management, real-time monitoring and alerts, and asset management.

Managed Workplace also integrates with such third-party platforms as VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization platforms and a number of professional services automation, or PSA, providers including Datto Autotask, ConnectWise, Tigerpaw, Salesforce, and more.

Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager for Barracuda MSP, told CRN via email that Managed Workplace is Barracuda's first RMM product.

"Managed Workplace’s security-centric approach is what made it stand out to us," Babineau said. "We believe there is a gap in the MSP marketplace for a security-centric RMM that makes it easy for MSPs to incorporate security tasks into their usual management routine. Security has become a critical part of MSPs’ offerings, and we want to make it easier for MSPs to manage security operations efficiently.”

For Avast, the deal provides an opportunity for the company to focus more on investing in the channel to better serve the security needs of their customers, said Kevin Chapman, Avast Business general manager, in a statement.