RocketCyber provides Pax8 with a 24/7 SOC-as-a-Service explicitly designed for MSPs serving the SMB market.
Ryan Walsh, Chief Product Officer and Channel Chief at Pax8
Cloud distributor Pax8 has signed a new partnership with RocketCyber, a Dallas -based company which provides SOC-as-a-Service to MSPs, using a combination of apps which they designed themselves, and third-party apps to which they integrate.
RocketCyber came out of stealth in late 2018. It is the product of two tech entrepreneurs, Carl Banzhof and Billy Austin, who are the CEO and President respectively. They are on their third company together. Citadel Security, which made security compliance software, was acquired by McAfee in 2006. iScan Online, which made an automated risk intelligence solution, was acquired in early 2016 by LOGICnow, which now part of SolarWinds. Both of these companies were focused on the enterprise, but RocketCyber is different in that it is focused on SMBs, and focused on reaching them through the MSP channel.
“We knew of Billy and Carls reputation in the security space,” said Ryan Walsh, Chief Product Officer and Channel Chief at Pax8. “They understood that the security needed at the SMB space was not well served, and they understood it had to be delivered through the MSP channel. Their platform was built for the MSP channel, which is what makes their service stand out. There are other SOC services out there that don’t integrate as well with the number of MSP embraced solutions as well as RocketCyber does. Other SOCs as-a-service may want you to use specific endpoints or email products. RocketCyber’s positioning, with few exceptions, is that this is built to integrate with an MSP stack, so will embrace what they have.”
The SOC-as-a-Service capability is an extension of the original conception of the RocketCyber platform. Initially, it consisted of high-value services which they designed themselves, some of which were given to MSPs for free – a concept which was soon dropped – and others which were offered on a fee basis. A SOC-like Live Threat Map customized for each MSP was one of their early apps, but the move towards the full 24/7 SOC-as-a-service really picked up steam a year ago, when they introduced the RocketCyber AppStore, which opened the platform to third-party apps.
“What they have built is a multi-tenanted MSP portal, so they can pull together threat feeds from multiple vendors and monitor data,” Walsh said. “They use a cloud-based agent, so don’t rely on hardware, and they provide it on a monthly subscription.”
The RocketCyber SOC platform now provides MSPs with 24/7 real-time cyber security monitoring, SIEMless log monitoring across cloud, network, and endpoint attack vectors, intrusion detection monitoring, threat remediation and isolation, next-generation malware prevention, breach detection and threat hunting, and Microsoft 365 threat monitoring.
“As a SOC as-a-service, they fit very well with us from two integration points,” Walsh said. “First, they integrate very well with our existing vendors. Secondly, they have integrated with the major PSA tools from a ticketing perspective. This all sends a message to the market that they are very MSP-focused.”
Walsh said that the importance of this core familiarity with the MSP business can’t be overemphasized.
“We have some vendors who aren’t familiar with the channel space, but want to get in, and we have to educate them,” he noted. “RocketCyber already has that next level of understanding. It’s fantastic.”
