Gartner Magic Quadrant 2018: Endpoint Protection Security Platforms

by Joe Panettieri • Jul 12, 2019

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms for 2018 plots 21 cybersecurity companies — down from 22 in the 2017 report.

Once again, we took a look at the report and looked for companies that actually have dedicated partner programs for MSPs and full-blown MSSPs. Here’s a look at the Magic Quadrant companies for 2018, along with our channel-centric perspectives.

First, some market definitions. According to Gartner:

“Endpoint protection is evolving to address more of Gartner’s adaptive security architecture tasks such as hardening, investigation, incident detection, and incident response. Security and risk management leaders should ensure that their EPP vendor evolves fast enough to keep up with modern threats….

By 2021, endpoint protection platforms (EPPs) will provide automated, orchestrated incident investigation and breach response. Separate, stand-alone endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions will focus on managed security service provider (MSSP) and large enterprise security operations center (SOC) environments.”

Still, many of the EPP platforms for 2018 also focus on MSSP and SOC relationships, MSSP Alert found. Here’s a look at each company sorted alphabetically, along with the Magic Quadrant layout…

Gartner Magic Quadrant 2018: Endpoint Protection Security Platforms & MSSPs

Bitdefender:

• Quadrant: Niche Players
• Gartner says: Bitdefender provides good effectiveness across a broad range of platforms and capabilities. Bitdefender offers EPP and EDR in one platform, and one agent across endpoints, and physical, virtual or cloud servers.
• MSSP Alert says: The company announced a cloud-centric push in November 2017. Also, the company in December 2017 hired Fortinet veteran Joe Sykora as VP of worldwide channel development. Bitdefender’s Key MSSP partners include The Bonadio Group.

Carbon Black:

• Quadrant: Visionaries
• Gartner says: Carbon Black is in the middle of a significant corporate transition, consolidating its overall offerings into a new cloud-based security platform called Predictive Security Cloud. The company’s overall offerings consist of Cb Defense (EPP), Cb Response (threat hunting and incident response), and Cb Protection (application whitelisting and device lockdown). Carbon Black began to consolidate EDR features from Cb Response into Cb Defense in 2017 as it started to build a presence in the EPP market.
• MSSP Alert says: The company launched a managed threat hunting service in January 2018. Key an eye out for the potential Carbon Black cb Connect 2018 conference, which will likely surface in October or so.

Cisco Systems:

• Quadrant: Visionaries
• Gartner says: Cisco’s Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) for Endpoints is a new entrant to this year’s Magic Quadrant. It consists of prevent, detect and respond capabilities deployed as a cloud-managed solution that can be hosted in a public or private cloud.
• MSSP Alert says: Cisco has bet much of its business growth on security. The company also is coming downstream — embracing MSPs that support SMB customers. That effort largely involves Cisco’s growing partnership with ConnectWise.

Comodo:

• Quadrant: Niche Players
• Gartner says: The Comodo brand is best-known as a digital certificate authority and, in late October 2017, Francisco Partners acquired a majority stake in Comodo’s certificate authority business, with Comodo planning to focus on its endpoint protection strategy. Comodo Advanced Endpoint Protection (AEP) includes malware protection, a host-based intrusion prevention system (IPS), web filtering, a personal firewall, sandbox analysis, vulnerability analysis and patching, and a 100% classification capability that helps guarantee a good or bad verdict on all executable files. When an executable is untrusted or unknown, it is run in a tightly controlled container to isolate any potentially malicious activity.
• MSSP Alert says: Comobo provides one-time free use of a malware removal and cleanup service powered by its cWatch Web website security platform. The Comodo malware removal and cleanup service is paired with security operations centers (SOCs) globally to help businesses combat website malware. The company has about 8,000 partners worldwide.

Continue to page two of five for the next five companies in the 2018 Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Security Platforms … and their implications for MSSPs.