WatchGuard MSSP Program Offers Enhanced Flexibility

MSSPs Can Manage Costs on a Month-to-Month Basis and Reduce Upfront Contract Expenses

SEATTLE – WatchGuard® Technologies, a global leader in manageable business security solutions, today announced enhancements to its WatchGuard Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) program. Available during the fourth quarter (Q4), the new program enhancements enable MSSPs to more closely align expenses with revenue and eliminate many of the upfront costs of an annual service contract.

WatchGuard MSSP customers can specify LiveSecurity® or Security Suite services for each MSSP appliance on a monthly basis and pay only for the services used by applying Pre Pay points. As services are enabled or disabled by the MSSP, point usage rates will either slow down or speed up the draw from the pre-paid balance. This enables the MSSP to manage customer billing and cost structure in a way that aligns with its business model, rather than paying up front for services that they may not be able to bill to a customer for months.

"We are dedicated to helping our MSSP partners tie their revenue stream to the expenses incurred within a given period," said Bill Smith, WatchGuard's vice president for global partnerships. "By introducing a more flexible activation and payment structure, we're supporting our MSSPs in managing costs, improving cash flow and profitability and offering an enhanced portfolio of services."

"This new model has streamlined our service and billing structure," said Sandro Alvarez, CEO and President of New Global Solutions. "We anticipate lower upfront costs for managing our customer's security. The program gives us the flexibility to grow our client base and revenue while keeping our costs predictable."

When the new program rolls out later in Q4, Pre Pay point usage and bundle purchases will be managed through the secure MSSP Customer Portal; an intuitive dashboard which shows all of the customer's MSSP devices, points available and what services are currently activated on each MSSP device.

New RapidDeploy Helps MSSPs Control Costs
Additionally, WatchGuard announced last week new functionality for its UTM appliances designed to help MSSPs speed deployment while controlling costs and boosting profitability. The company is adding a new cloud-based configuration utility -- RapidDeploy – that eliminates the need for IT security professionals to pre-configure devices or travel to the deployment site for installation. Rather than requiring manual provisioning of the device in advance, IT security service providers create and store configuration data in the cloud – public or private – and have the appliance directly shipped to its destination. Once it arrives and is plugged into a power source, it effectively deploys itself by automatically "phoning home" to the cloud for secure download of its configuration settings.

WatchGuard Management for MSSP
WatchGuard management software is designed to offer service providers ease-of-use in managing multi-box deployments. Instead of going to each client individually with changes, providers can use the XTM centralized management console to implement one-touch configuration or firmware updates to all managed WatchGuard devices to save time and money. Real-time monitoring gives visibility into network activity, and rich historical reporting streamlines compliance audits.

About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.
Since 1996, WatchGuard® Technologies, Inc. has been a global leader of business security solutions that solve real world security problems. WatchGuard provides easy-to-use but enterprise-powerful protection to hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. The WatchGuard family of threat management devices provides network, application and data protection, with unparalleled levels of manageability, usability, and visibility. WatchGuard products are backed by WatchGuard LiveSecurity® Service, an innovative support program. WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle, Wash. with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. To learn more, visitwww.watchguard.com.