ConnectWise bolsters security partnership with SentinelOne

There cannot be many managed service providers (MSPs) that are not aware of the risks posed by ransomware and the need to bolster their security position.

The recent attack on Kaseya, which affected a number of MSPs and customers, underlined just how far criminals were prepared to go to infiltrate supply chains.

Although the year is still only seven months old there have been a large number of ransomware attacks, including an attack on Taiwan-based PC manufacturer Acer, which saw criminals trying to get a ransom of $50m.

ConnectWise has taken steps to improve its position by extending its technology partnership with SentinelOne.

The firms will be making it possible for MSPs to order SentinelOne Control and SentinelOne Complete as standalone products from ConnectWise instead of having to get them through the SOC-targeted Fortify Endpoint offering. 

SentinelOne Control, which is the current core of ConnectWise’s Fortify Endpoint solution, offers endpoint security protection, including prevention, detection and response. It also allows remote device and endpoint firewall control. The SentinelOne Complete product helps MSPs with threat analysis and the opportunity to identify and remediate against problems.

“Technology service providers and MSPs are realising that the stakes have never been higher in cyber security as ransomware, cyber attacks and other emerging threats are increasingly causing major business catastrophes,” said Jason Magee, CEO of ConnectWise.

“We’re proud to team up with SentinelOne and offer both of these EDR [endpoint detection and response] products available directly to our partners. Arming our partners with these critical cyber security tools is of the utmost importance,” he added.

The two firms are emphasising that there is flexibility and that the MSP is in the driving seat about which products they choose and if they want to then can take the functionality at the SOC end of the spectrum.

“Many TSPs and MSPs still rely on legacy antivirus, which has proven time and again to be ineffective against ransomware and the evolving threat landscape,” said Nicholas Warner, chief operating officer at SentinelOne. “Our purpose-built AI-powered platform secures some of the world’s largest enterprises and seamlessly scales autonomous cyber security to ConnectWise’s global partner base.”

As well as the security announcements, ConnectWise has used its IT Nation Explore event to unveil improvements to its billing and data tools, with BrightGauge Essentials providing dashboards showing the health of a service providers business. ConnectWise Manage Billing Reconciliation gives more help with managing invoices and reducing errors.

“With these two new, no-cost powerful business features, ConnectWise aims to help partners make it easier to use data to see their overall business performance, including comparing what they are charging customers, while also efficiently reconciling vendor bills,” said Magee.