Keeper is also announcing a two-tier partner program to support its MSP partners.
ORLANDO – At the ConnectWise IT Connect event here, password management provider Keeper Security reached out to the ConnectWise MSPs in attendance. The Chicago-based company announced their KeeperMSP solution, a multi-tenanted version of their B2B offering. They also announced an MSP Partner Program to support their MSP channel.
Keeper started out as a consumer offering years ago, a legacy that they believe helps them as they extend into B2B markets.
“Our first iteration was developed in 2009, and was a consumer app,” said Michael Chester, Senior Director of Business Development at Keeper Security. “We formally incorporated in 2011. That mobile app is still wildly popular, and has won Editors’ Choice awards in PC Magazine and PC World. There are vendors who have solutions built for MSP technicians. Because we originated out of the consumer space and expanded into SMB and enterprise, we have that legacy of being easy to use. People won’t want to use this kind of app if it isn’t easy to use.”
Keeper made its move into the B2B segment three years ago with Keeper Business and Keeper Enterprise.
“We have had both SMB and enterprise customers using these,” Chester said. “Keeper Business is our core password management solution. More complex and larger customers have Keeper Enterprise, which has more advanced 2FA, syncs to Active Directory, and has access to our SDK, as well as to more advanced functionality.”
MSPs have already been using Keeper’s business products, Chester stated.
Michael Chester, Senior Director of Business Development at Keeper Security
“We found that they really liked our Keeper Business solution, and were using it for their own use,” he said. “We really came to understand their needs, not just for their own use but for deploying it to their customers. We have been thinking about developing this focused MSP solution for some time. 40% of SMBs use an MSP in some capacity, so the market is large, and MSPs are also becoming advisors on cybersecurity within it. Since our sweet spot is SMB, it made sense to expand our presence in that market.”
KeeperMSP is designed with full multi-tenancy. It also has a central administrative console that lets MSPs manage customers, provision licenses, establish permissions and set enforcement policies for each customer.
“We offer a zero-knowledge architecture,” said Bill Sheehan, Director of Product Management at Keeper Security. “No administrator and no third party can see into the user’s private vault. We also have a very deep 256-bit encryption, As long as the user maintains the security of the master password, their vault will be secure. It’s synchronized through the cloud, so when it is sent in transit, it’s encrypted, and you need access to the master password on other level to decrypt it. It’s difficult to replicate that level of security.”
Keeper also announced a partnership with ConnectWise at the event. It will let MSPs purchase Keeper directly from the ConnectWise Marketplace and consolidate billing across all ConnectWise applications. They also announced an integration with ConnectWise Control, which will let MSPs seamlessly autofill passwords from their KeeperMSP vault into remote systems.
The new MSP Partner Program that Keeper announced has two tiers, Base and Gold
“Everyone that signs up will enter as a Base level partner,” Chester said. “They get a number of benefits, with the main one being the right to resell the product. Base partners also can leverage Keeper’s partner branding, access all relevant enablement and education materials and have the opportunity to join Keeper-hosted events. These include both virtual and onsite events.
The Gold Tier will be more centred on sales and marketing support, and will include what Keeper determines to be their top partners.
“We do want to scale the program,” Chester said. “That’s why it has two tiers. We want to be able to service the Base level tier with the core content and support that they need – including product support and training. We will then use the Gold tier to work more closely with a select number of partners.”
Chester said they interacted with a significant number of partners at the show who demonstrated interest.
“Reaction has been very positive,” he said. “MSPs are taking cyber security very seriously because they know that over 80% of MSP data breaches are the result of poor password hygiene. Any one weak password can be a trojan horse into the business.”
