Eight Security Vendor Updates from RSA 2023

Huntress has introduced a managed detection and response solution for Microsoft 365.

The new system, which is the vendor’s first cloud security offering, is in beta testing currently. “We’re excited to announce GA pretty soon,” says Nadya Duke Boone (pictured right), the vendor’s chief product officer.

Like other Huntress solutions, she adds, the new one will couple warnings about threats with prescriptive remediation advice from security analysts. “We’re not sending you alerts,” Boone says. “We’re sending you answers and we’re telling you what to do.”

Unlike earlier Huntress products, which have all addressed endpoint security, the new cloud MDR service will be priced on a per user basis rather than per device. It will also be the first Huntress offering that partners must purchase separately. In the past, the company has always rolled new functionality into a single subscription fee.

Huntress, which has historically sold exclusively through MSPs to SMBs, plans to roll out partner program resources for resellers as well through early 2024, according to CRO Mike LaPeters (pictured left).

“We have a very formalized MSP program that has a lot of details on how we engage and how the program is structured, how pricing works, what type of engagement they get from us,” LaPeters observes. “On the VAR side, it’s a much looser program.”

Huntress, which presently has relationships with about 40 VARs, plans to rely more heavily on resellers to increase sales to mid-market businesses, which it defines as organizations with 250 to 2,500 employees. 

A rich new set of industry-specific marketing resources for mid-market customers is coming as well. “Having a generalist message on the value we bring doesn’t have as much traction as when you talk to a school district and say, ‘this is how we can help schools be successful,’” LaPeters notes.