Barracuda's integration of Barracuda Content Shield into the Managed Workplace RMM platform it acquired earlier the year is slated to be the first of many, as Barracuda looks to make the platform a power in the MSP space.
Barracuda Content Shield
Barracuda Networks has taken the first step to further build out the Managed Workplace RMM [Remote Monitoring and Management] platform they acquired earlier this year. They have announced an integration with their Barracuda Content Shield web filtering and malware protection solution. It is the first in what the company says will be a series of integrations to build out Managed Workplace as a security-focused RMM platform for MSPs.
“This is our first step in integrating the Barracuda portfolio into a really exciting security-centric RMM solution,” said Chris Crellin, Senior Director of Product Management at Barracuda MSP.
Both the two products being integrated are comparatively new products to Barracuda. The Managed Workplace RMM platform, originally from Ottawa-based Level Platforms, was acquired by AVG in 2013, and following a generally unsuccessful integration there, passed to Avast when it bought AVG in 2016. Avast ultimately concluded that the RMM platform created more conflicts with potential vendor partners than it was worth, and divested it to Barracuda in February of this year.
While Barracuda is a relatively new player in the RMM space, the same is also true in DNS Filtering, where Cisco Umbrella and Webroot are the market leaders. Barracuda Content Shield has been in the market for a little over a year. Originally launched as a DNS filtering product, agent-based filtering was added as well last summer.
Integrating Barracuda Content Shield into Managed Workplace is the first formal step in what Barracuda says will be a series of integrations designed to make the RMM platform a force in that market.
Chris Crellin, Senior Director of Product Management at Barracuda MSP
“The Managed Workplace business has been steady since we acquired it,” Crellin said. “People have been excited about the exciting possibilities of the RMM in Barracuda, and we see this as a golden opportunity. This is the first integration of many that are coming. We see Managed Workplace as a hub for MSP products.”
Crellin described the existing integration with Barracuda Content Shield as the first phase of a ground-up API integration.
“There is more work to be done,” he said. “This initial release isn’t a management solution, but it lets you deploy at scale very easily, see threats and get base-level integration with the RMM. You can establish a connection between the two products, and do a rollout to devices. You also have an MSP dashboard of Content Shield security posture. What you can’t do yet is any policy management. That’s coming in the next year. In-depth reporting is coming as well.”
Crellin said that DNS protection is generally underserved in the MSP market, which makes it a good growth opportunity.
“A lot of MSPs do use Webroot – but not enough MSPs use DNS filtering,” he stated. “It has been fairly rudimentary, so the real value isn’t seen. Adding anti-malware to it as we do gives MSPs so much flexibility as well.”
Barracuda Content Shield will be sold within Managed Workplace on a per-user pricing model No special pricing for Barracuda Content Shield within the RMM is available today. Crellin indicated that there was a possibility of pricing bundles in the future, however.
