Zero trust network access (ZTNA) has become an imperative for organisations of all sizes; however, it can be challenging to implement and manage ZTNA in-house. This has led to exponential growth in demand for managed security services that support ZTNA.
This is according to Ian Parker, Executive Manager Partnerships and Technology at leading value-added network security and information security distributor, LOOPHOLD.
Parker says SonicWall, a leading provider of cyber security products and services, offers compelling value propositions for managed security service providers (MSSPs) looking to enhance their cyber security capabilities and stay competitive.
He says: “SonicWall has brought to market a series of new products in recent years, and has enhanced their offerings utilising their traditional retail model, while adding a new MSP/MSSP model. The new Cloud Secure Edge is predominantly through MSPs, while their MXDR Solution, SonicSentry Managed XDR, is MSSP only. The managed security service and monthly billing model is a real focus for them, in line with growing demand from the market.”
He notes that outsourced and managed security services are growing largely because of a shortage of specialised skills in the market. “It makes a lot more sense to hire security providers to look after your infrastructure rather than trying to do it yourself. They’re hiring professional companies with staff who are trained, experienced and know how to manage and support the equipment that they're looking to purchase. The transition from capex to opex is also a driver for the move to MSPs/MSSPs.”
Parker says local demand for MSP/MSSP support has grown as organisations field more remote and home-based workers. “Now a lot of people work from home, so the challenge is extending the enterprise security model to people's home offices. The perimeter is now a coffee shop or someone's home office, so now you need a security model that enables you to authenticate the people that are trying to access your network or access your services. That's where the ZTNA security model and framework comes in. SonicWall Cloud Secure Edge (CSE) is an advanced product that addresses that issue by enabling you to manage who has access, what people have access to, rather than just opening the door to anybody.”
CSE is an easy-to-adopt cloud-delivered access solution, enabling workforces to securely access any resources from any device. It delivers simple, secure zero-trust access to private and internet resources for employees and third parties, regardless of their location. CSE combines the functionality of multiple traditional network appliances such as remote access VPN, web proxy and firewalls into a unified cloud-delivered solution.
Parker elaborates: “It offers a private cloud arm and they've got a public arm to protect SaaS applications and support an advanced VPN service into your local network, with a secure web gateway. With affordable, user-based pricing, CSE is suitable for even smaller businesses. Cloud Secure Edge brings everything under one roof and enables it to be simplistic when managed by an MSP/MSSP.”
SonicWall also streamlines operations for MSPs/MSSPs with its SonicPlatform, which brings all alerts into one dashboard, enables easy management of all customers and registered products and supports easy onboarding and renewals.
LOOPHOLD will host an event for MSPs/MSSPs at Montecasino in Johannesburg next week, to outline the opportunities for them to expand their toolkits with SonicWall cyber security products and services and Wasabi’s affordable hot cloud storage.
For more information and to register for the event, visit: https://events.loophold.com/Expanding-MSSP-Toolkit.
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