Alert Logic has been backing SaaS — rather than on-premise gear — as the path for channel partners seeking to add security services to their offerings. The company positions itself as a alternative to partnering with a managed security services provider (MSSP), which Alert Logic chief executive officer Gray Hall has characterized as a business model in decline. A data point supporting this view comes from Alert Logic’s recent teaming arrangement with Tenzing Managed IT Services. Here are the details.
Tenzing is integrating Alert Logic’s intrusion detection services with its managed hosting offering. In addition, Tenzing uses Alert Logic’s scanning capability to offer its customers Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) vulnerability assessments. Alert Logic earlier this year was recertified as an Approved Scanning Vendor by the PCI Security Standards Council.
For Tenzing, the partnership marks a shift in how the company provides security.
“Historically, as customers subscribed to Tenzing’s Intrusion Prevention service, we would deploy a physical device on-premise in our datacenter in a 1:1 model,” said Simon Keogh, vice president of marketing at Tenzing.
Keogh noted the convergence of the companies’ business models: Tenzing as a cloud hosting provider focuses on e-commerce and SaaS applications, while Alert Logic offers a SaaS-based delivery model.
Alert Logic’s View
For Alert Logic, the deal underscores the notion that cloud service providers will opt for managed SaaS security instead of looking for an MSSP partner. Hall said Tenzing’s services portfolio, which includes managed private clouds and a range of managed hosting options, offers small and medium enterprises a choice of IaaS flavors. Those services, embedding security as they do, essentially lock out MSSPs.
“The fact that IaaS providers like Tenzing have security integrated into their solutions cuts out the MSSP from being able to service SMEs who elect to adopt the IaaS model,” Hall said.
Hall said the more SME companies work with cloud service providers, the smaller the addressable market becomes for traditional MSSPs.
The lingering question is how quickly customers will snap up the cloud model. MSSPs face a market-timing task as they straddle their traditional on-premise and emerging cloud/SaaS businesses.
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Posted In: Managed Security Services
Tags: Alert Logic | Gray Hall | Intrusion Prevention Service | Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard | PCI DSS | PCI Security Standards Council | Simon Keogh | Tenzing | Tenzing Managed IT Services
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Take a look at our 
XyberShield is also a SaaS based web application security service. We have been developing a reseller channel along with partnering with Rackspace. Our choice to do so was based solely on the ability to reach more customers. We feel that smbs that are hosting their own sites benefit from the relationships developed with MSSPs, due to the vast array of tools and services MSSps offer. MSSPs put a human face to and give expertise for the tools and services that SMBs cannot afford to hire permanent staff to cover.
We partnered with Rackspace, so that their customers that are relying on virtual servers or hosted applications can more quickly find our security tool and implement it within their Rackspace servers. ( http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101006005210/en/XyberSecure-Joins-Rackspace-Cloud-Tools-Program-Offer )
Our view is that SMBs will want to utilize some tools offered by their cloud providers and still have a relationship with a MSSP. In our experience, our customers are having the MSSP manage and monitor the user consoles. Having an expert on call to provide advise and support via phone and on site still seems to be needed.
Wasn’t going to post, but saw the post regarding XyberShield. Have had good experiences with XyberShield actually protecting our website & applications.
Alert Logic is great at detecting the intrusion, but doesn’t actually defend against intrusion. Good service, but for the life of me can’t see why we’d commit resources to a partial solution?
Hi Bobby, just to clarify: Alert Logic does offer 24×7 monitoring and alert service via their ActiveWatch and LogReview services. Alert Logic is a sound product that offers quality reporting for analysis and correlation.
Bobby@2: Can you disclose your background? are you an end-customer? MSP? Other type of service provider?
Jim@1/@3: I assume you work for XyberShield? Correct?
-jp
Joe, I am responsible for bus dev, channel partner dev and marketing for XyberShield.You can also read more about XyberShield via the Rackspace cloud tool blog.
Jim: Thanks for the background. I will check out the blog you mentioned.
-jp
Joe, wanted to say thank you for referring me to Channel Maven last year. The advise was very valuable.
Channel Maven = smart person.
-jp
but for the life of me can’t see why we’d commit resources to a partial solution? That is an awesome quote. It applies to almost every government problem I can think of. I’m going to write that down.