MSSP, Content

Secureworks CEO Describes MSSP, MDR Partner Program Progress

Secureworks ($SCWX) continues to gain momentum as an MSSP and MDR (managed detection and response) cybersecurity provider that works closely with channel partners, CEO Mike Cote asserts.

Maureen Perrelli, SVP, Secureworks
Secureworks Channel Chief Maureen Perrelli
Wendy Thomas, CEO, Secureworks
Michael Cote, exiting CEO, Secureworks

During a Secureworks quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts on September 9, Cote noted:

  • Secureworks launched a global partner program in May 2020.
  • More than 100 partners since that time have embraced Secureworks for cybersecurity solutions.
  • The company has disclosed several new Red Cloak TDR SaaS application and MDR deals via with these new partners this quarter.
  • One example is Condo Protego, a UAE based IP infrastructure and information management consultancy organization. Condo Protego closed its first deal with Secureworks three days after joining the partner program in July.
  • A North American distribution agreement with Aero Electronics expands Secureworks' reach across the continent.

The anecdotal progress sounds promising, though Secureworks did not disclose how much revenue channel partners are driving for the MSSP.

Maureen Perrelli, chief channel officer, is responsible for building out the partner program. That journey will involve a variety of partners and engagement models -- whether it's reselling certain services are building out additional services like analytics on the platform, according to Wendy Thomas, president of customer success at Secureworks.

On the technology integration front, Secureworks continues to balance partnerships with VMware Carbon Black and Qualys even as Secureworks also acquires its own vulnerability management tool -- namely, Delve -- according to Thomas.

Secureworks: A Software-Driven MSSP

The ultimate goal, Cote adds, involves "building on our expertise as a global leader in managed security to be the provider of choice in the converging XDR market that cuts across markets from MSS and MDR to next generation SIEM and SOAR."

The company's cloud-native platform offers three major benefits to partners and customers, the CEO added

  • First, the cloud native platform continues to detect and respond to threats across the full environment, including endpoints, network, business systems, and cloud infrastructures. There's no need to rip and replace existing point products amid a journey to the cloud.
  • Second, Secureworks will leverag deep security operations experience to help customers transform their security operations, automate and simplify investigations, enable collaboration across security and I.T. functions in a single platform that sits at the heart of their security operations.
  • Third, Secureworks is delivered with flexible service options for customers who have varying levels of in-house security expertise, putting choice and control in our customer’s hands, Cote said.

Secureworks: MSSP Business Evolution

Secureworks, a Top 200 MSSP, has spent recent quarters transforming from a traditional MSSP into a software-driven MSSP that leverages more and more of its own intellectual property. The company, owned by Dell Technologies, also partners closely with sister company VMware Carbon Black.

Secureworks’ revenue was $138.47 million in its latest quarter, up 1.4 percent from the corresponding quarter last year. Secureworks’ valuation was $964 million as of September 9, 2020, according to Yahoo Finance.

Rumors about Dell potentially seeking to sell Secureworks have popped up from time to time, though such chatter has quieted down in recent months.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.