Barracuda MSP In the News
Latest Coverage Around the Web About Barracuda MSP
Barracuda Delivers Strong Growth in Cloud Email Security
May 12, 2021- “Barracuda Networks, Inc., a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced product milestones and sales growth rates for its email protection business, which was accelerated by increased Office 365 adoption, and higher demand for Barracuda Sentinel, Barracuda’s advanced technology that leverages API integration to protect businesses from spear phishing, account takeover, business email compromise and other advanced threats.”
Are You Using an RMM Tool to Grow Your Business?
May 11, 2021- “A remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool gives managed services providers (MSPs) the ability to monitor clients’ IT and troubleshoot and repair a range of issues without a trip to their offices or facilities. There’s no doubt RMM provides value—but are you maximizing it? An RMM tool can do more than help you efficiently run your business. It can help you grow it. Mark Whiffen, Senior Product Manager for Barracuda MSP, offers these three ways.”
5 Channel Partner Progarms and MSP Updates
May 11, 2021- “Barracuda’s email protection solutions, including Sentinel and Forensics and Incident Response, added 3,400 new customers in FY2021, which ended February 28, 2021. That’s 60 percent year over year growth in new customers, the company says. Also, Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud backup experienced 112 percent growth. And annual recurring revenue (ARR) for Barracuda MSP’s email protection solutions grew 66 percent year-over-year at the end of Q4 FY2021.”
Remote Work is Here to Stay for SMBs
May 6, 2021- “Over the past year, many organizations had to rapidly shift to a work-from-home model because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies that had resisted remote work eventually discovered that productivity and employee satisfaction actually improved. However, for some companies, these work-from-home programs were hastily cobbled together in a way that didn’t provide the best performance or the right level of security. According to the Top 10 SMB Technology Trends study for 2021 (from the SMB Group), work-from-home operations will drive new technology investments in the next year and beyond. That means MSPs have an opportunity to provide new technology, new security infrastructure and consulting services to help the firms improve current remote work scenarios, expand their programs and better incorporate a variety of network and application access models in the future.”
Zero-Trust Security is a Lucrative Opportunity for MSPs
April 28, 2021- “Even before the abrupt shift to remote work in 2020, the old approach to network security was becoming outmoded. As more and more workers were on the move or working from home, the data center-centric approach that many firms took was no longer sufficient. For MSPs, zero-trust technology must be a vital part of the security portfolio to keep client data, networks and applications safe and ensure future growth. According to Gartner, as much as 60% of VPNs will be replaced by zero-trust solutions by 2023. The VPN market is worth between $25 billion and $40 billion, so more than half of that could be up for grabs over the next few years.”
The $4.2 billion cybercrime tsunami requires a new security strategy
April 27, 2021- “The FBI Internet Crime Report for 2020 was released earlier this year, and the news was grim. As expected, the ongoing pandemic, political instability, and sudden shift to remote and home-based work caused a significant spike in cyberattacks, specifically Business email compromise (BEC) attacks, phishing scams, and ransomware incidents. According to the report, cybercrime complaints are on a steep rise—the report says the FBI recorded a whopping 69 percent increase in total complaints compared to 2019. Financial losses due to these attacks exceeded $4.2 billion. With the rise in BEC attacks and sophisticated phishing scams related to the pandemic, MSPs and VARs in the tech sector will need to offer customers new and more advanced tools to help protect their data and applications, along with training and resources to recognize these new types of attacks.”
Podcast: The WFH Trend Confirms the Need for Zero-Trust Security
April 14, 2021- “Barracuda MSP’s Chris Crellin talks about how MSPs have less control over remote work environments, including the routers, Wi-Fi and devices that end users are leveraging to connect to their data and applications. Exposed networks, unmonitored user identities, unknown device security status and complex switching between VPNs are just the tip of the iceberg. Crellin discusses how MSPs must embrace both IT security and data protection by becoming security-centric in their offerings and adopting zero-trust network access strategies.”
Selling WAFs: Your Biggest Questions Answered
April 13, 2021- “Businesses and organizations that use protected or sensitive data and use web applications need to protect that information. So, which companies does that include? If you take a close look at your client list and the solutions they use, a web application firewall (WAF), which filters and monitors HTTP traffic between the application and the internet, is a good idea for most of them. Managed services providers (MSP) and a value-added resellers (VAR) new to selling WAFs, however, likely have questions about the potential to grow your business by expanding your portfolio to include these solutions. Chris Crellin, Senior Director of Product Management at Barracuda MSP, answered several of our questions on these topics.”
An MSP top priority: closing the cybersecurity skills gap
April 8, 2021- “As the pandemic subsides and the economy begins to recover, MSPs will be in demand to help their clients evolve and adapt to the next stage of their business journeys. There will be greater demand moving forward for mobile device security and MSPs that have expertise in public cloud infrastructure and hybrid cloud scenarios. But, both MSPs and their clients will be challenged by the cybersecurity skills gap in the industry. To succeed, MSPs will need to invest in training and education for their existing workforce and be more strategic in hiring as new talent enters the market. MSPs can also tap into external resources and expertise, such as services offered through vendors and partners, to ensure they have the right talent to assist their clients.”
IoTSSA Podcast: Zero Trust Architecture
April 6, 2021 “Has BYOD made the comeback and here to stay? Neal Bradbury, VP of MSP Strategic Partnerships with Barracuda MSP, catches up with the IoTSSA Podcast to discuss post pandemic technology and the escalating cybersecurity challenges that come with it. The adoption of Zero Trust policies with a remote and/or hybrid workforce now looks to be critical when upgrading your customers cybersecurity posture.”
Inoculate Your Customers Against Vaccine-Themed Phishing Attacks
March 29, 2021- “The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the lengths and depths to which cybercriminals will go to compromise their victims and exploit a catastrophe. Early in the pandemic, criminals leveraged the confusion around the rapid shift to remote work to increase their attacks and launch email scams that took advantage of the lack of information available about efforts to fight the spread of the disease. Now that vaccines are available, cyberattacks have expanded to include phishing scams centered around vaccine access. The FBI issued a warning in December about this emerging threat, outlining common email and phone scams. Things have only gotten worse in the ensuing months. Barracuda’s analyses found that vaccine-related emails were increasingly being used for spear phishing attacks. After the first vaccines were announced in November, these attacks increased by 12 percent. By the end of January, they were up by 26 percent.”
New Research Shows Shift To Remote Work Has Intensified Data Protection Challenges
March 25, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released key findings from a report titled The state of Office 365 backup. Commissioned by Barracuda, the research surveyed global IT decision makers to capture their opinions and perspectives about Office 365, data security, backup and recovery, SaaS solutions, and a variety of related topics. Overall, the findings indicate that the worldwide shift to remote work during the pandemic has intensified the challenges associated with protecting Office 365 data.”
Barracuda CloudGen Access to Increase MSPs’ Security Capabilities
March 12, 2021- “Barracuda has expanded its portfolio to include CloudGen Access for MSPs. It’s also updated its remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. Barracuda CloudGen Access makes zero-trust network access (ZTNA) capabilities available to the company’s MSP partners. Enhancements to Barracuda’s cloud-based RMM platform, now called Barracuda RMM, deliver expanded integrations, improved Microsoft patch management capabilities and more. The RMM platform was formerly known as Managed Workplace.”
Barracuda Networks Enhances Zero Trust Security, RMM for MSPs
March 12, 2021- “Barracuda Networks has introduced new Zero Trust Security and RMM (remote monitoring and management) software capabilities for MSPs. The Zero Trust effort involves Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs. The software, based on Barracuda’s Fyde acquisition, allows MSPs to enable “secure, reliable, and fast access to cloud and on-premises applications and workloads from any device and location,” according to Sinan Eren, VP of Zero Trust Access at Barracuda. The MSP-centric offering features multi-tenant management and monthly pricing options for partners.”
Barracuda opens up zero trust network access solution to MSPs
March 12, 2021- “Barracuda Networks is making its CloudGen Access solution accessible for MSPs and making updates to its cloud-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. The zero trust network access solution, CloudGen Access, was launched in November 2020 following the acquisition of Fyde. It is being updated with monthly pricing options and multi-tenant management to allow MSP partners to add the solution to their offerings.”
Barracuda expands MSP offering to mitigate work-from-anywhere risks
March 12, 2021- “Security solutions provider Barracuda Networks has expanded its offering for IT managed service providers and announced significant changes to its cloud-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. To help MSPs protect customers’ apps and data and control access from corporate or personal devices, it has launched an MSP version of its Zero Trust Network Access solution, Barracuda CloudGen Access, introduced in November 2020, following Barracuda’s acquisition of Fyde. Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs adds multi-tenant management and monthly pricing capabilities that make it easier for MSPs to deploy and manage the solution. Changes to the RMM platform Barracuda acquired in 2019 include a change of name from Managed Workplace to Barracuda RMM and the addition of several new features.”
Barracuda bolsters MSP support
March 12, 2021- “Security vendors have seen accelerated adoption of subscription-based services and in response, many are increasing the support they can offer to managed service providers (MSPs). At Barracuda, the focus has been on adding more functionality into the mix that MSPs can pitch to customers. The firm has extended CloudGen Access for MSPs and announced updates to its RMM platform. CloudGen Access was launched in November 2020, following the acquisition of Fyde, and the firm has now added multi-tenant management and monthly pricing to the mix to make life easier for MSPs. The firm has also renamed its Managed Workplace offering “Barracuda RMM”, with the latest version providing integration with its Intronis Backup solution as well as improved Microsoft patch management capabilities.”
Barracuda Launches MSP Version of CloudGen Access and Updated, Renamed RMM Release
March 11, 2021- “Barracuda Networks has shipped an MSP edition of its CloudGen Access solution and an updated release of its RMM application with a new name. Going forward, Managed Workplace, the remote monitoring and management system Barracuda purchased in 2019, will be called Barracuda RMM. The new name better aligns with a changed IT landscape in which users are as likely to be doing their job from home as from an office, according to Brian Babineau, Barracuda’s senior vice president and general manager of MSP solutions.”
Barracuda strengthens MSP capabilities with Barracuda RMM and Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs
March 11, 2021- “Today Barracuda is making a pair of announcements which are both geared at improving their MSP offerings. They are announcing Barracuda RMM, a rebranded (and improved) version of the Managed Workplace RMM product they acquired in 2019. They are also announcing the availability of the ZTNA [Zero Trust Network Access] solution Barracuda CloudGen Access, which came from the Fyde acquisition late last year. At the time it was acquired, Fyde was not multi-tenanted, and Barracuda said then that a multi-tenanted version for MSPs would be quickly developed. What is now Barracuda RMM started out in life as Level Platforms’ Managed Workplaces RMM offering, which was acquired in 2013 by AVG to be used as a delivery method for their endpoint protection products. That acquisition was spectacularly unsuccessful, and after Avast acquired AVG they unloaded the RMM, which they saw as hurting their overall business by poisoning the well with companies who might otherwise partner with them. Barracuda also sees the RMM product as being differentiated by a security focus, but it’s a very different kind of security focus.”
Barracuda Enhances Solution And Service Offering For Today’s Security-Centric MSP
March 11, 2021- “Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs and Barracuda RMM help MSPs mitigate the cybersecurity risks associated with the growing remote workforce. Barracuda CloudGen Access makes Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) capabilities available to Barracuda’s MSP Partners. Enhancements to Barracuda’s cloud-based remote monitoring and management platform, now called Barracuda RMM, deliver expanded integrations, improved Microsoft patch management capabilities, and more.”
Barracuda Enhances Solution, Service for Security-centric MSPs
March 11, 2021- “Barracuda Networks Inc., a trusted partner and provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, announces the expansion of its portfolio of solutions and services for IT-managed service providers to include Barracuda CloudGen Access for MSPs. Additionally, the company is unveiling updates to its scalable, cloud-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. “As organizations continue to adapt to hybrid work scenarios to support their growing remote workforces, the introduction of Barracuda CloudGen Access and enhancements to Barracuda RMM are necessary next steps in our commitment to supporting MSPs in their security-centric journey,” said Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager, MSP Solutions. “By enabling MSPs to adopt a security-centric operational model, we are helping them to better mitigate the security risks associated with the work-from-anywhere approach and creating new business opportunities for them to deliver more flexible, secure access to valuable data, and streamline data protection operations.”
Your Clients are a Long-Term Commitment
March 4, 2021- “Attention and appreciation are critical to any successful relationship, including the relationships that MSPs have with their clients. And creating a successful relationship means prioritizing activities that will increase customer loyalty. Scott Bennet, Senior Director of MSP sales at Barracuda MSP, provides six tips to help keep your MSP practice on the right track when it comes to customer satisfaction and commitment.”
Why cyber criminals want to hijack your private conversations
March 3, 2021- “Small and medium-sized businesses have become increasingly reliant on technology as the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way they did business, delivered services, and interacted with employees, clients, and vendors. SMBs were already embracing the cloud before the pandemic because it offered cost savings, resource allocation, and ease of use. The pandemic pushed them to test these solutions across even more application areas, including security, IT access, and collaboration. And the cloud enabled them rapidly adjust their operations while reinforcing the overall value of working on these platforms.”
SMBs and the cloud: Evolving security needs
February 25, 2021- “Small and medium-sized businesses have become increasingly reliant on technology as the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way they did business, delivered services, and interacted with employees, clients, and vendors. SMBs were already embracing the cloud before the pandemic because it offered cost savings, resource allocation, and ease of use. The pandemic pushed them to test these solutions across even more application areas, including security, IT access, and collaboration. And the cloud enabled them rapidly adjust their operations while reinforcing the overall value of working on these platforms.”
SASE: The Key to Mitigating Business Transformation Risk
February 22, 2021- “Last year, business transformation efforts took on a whole new dimension. The global health crisis upended markets and supply chains, disrupted manufacturing operations, and pushed many companies (ready or not) into remote work scenarios and cloud-based workflows. For some, this meant existing transformation initiatives were suddenly accelerated and stress-tested–everyone got a good look at just how cloud-ready their vendors, applications and employees really were. Others saw ongoing projects grind to a halt while they took steps to adjust. Companies’ ability to embrace the opportunities presented by this abrupt shift, and to adapt and transform to meet the challenges of this new reality, was critical to surviving the harsh business conditions of 2020.”
CEO Outlook 2021
February 17, 2021- “Barracuda’s President and CEO BJ Jenkins recently spoke with CRN to provide his outlook on the industry and Barracuda’s partnerships as 2021 begins. Specifically, BJ offered his insights on the opportunities and obstacles Barracuda and its partners will tackle together, Barracuda’s adjusted practices in response to the effects of the pandemic, and the strategic investments Barracuda is making in 2021.”
Barracuda redesigns Email Threat Scanner tool to improve user interface and experience
February 11, 2021- “Today, security vendor Barracuda is announcing a redesigned version of their Barracuda Email Threat Scanner. This tool is for Office 365 environments, and is provided free to partners, where its ability to show customers threats that have already made it past their email gateway makes it valuable as a pre-sales tool.”
Barracuda Email Threat Scanner Detects Millions Of Attacks Missed By Organizations’ Existing Protection
February 11, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced a redesigned version of the Barracuda Email Threat Scanner, a free tool that helps businesses detect email threats that got past their email gateway. These threats include highly targeted attacks such as spear phishing, business email compromise, conversation hijacking and services impersonation, among many others. Each scan provides a report on attacks found inside the environment, as well as at-risk domains and employees. This helps organizations identify gaps in existing email protection and assess email security vulnerabilities.”
New Year’s Podcast Series: Brian Babineau of Barracuda MSP
February 8, 2021- “Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager of Barracuda MSP is our guest on this edition of the New Year’s Podcast Series. On it, Babineau walks us through how the company’s business went in 2020 and his thoughts on what’s to come in 2021.”
The SMB Cloud Adoption Trend has a Silver Lining for MSPs
February 3, 2021- “Over the past year, as a global pandemic forced businesses of all sizes to adjust to remote work scenarios and economic upheaval, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) increased their use of cloud-based technologies. As we move into 2021, MSPs should take this opportunity to help them leverage the cloud in ways that can enable them succeed and thrive. According to a new SMB Group report, Top 10 SMB Technology Trends, embracing new technologies and business processes will be critical for these smaller companies, many of which were pushed to the brink during the business disruption in 2020. “
How MSPs can grow their businesses in 2021
February 3, 2021- “As Australian and New Zealand businesses grapple with uncertain economic conditions and ongoing disruption to normal operations, many managed service providers (MSPs) are also facing a tough 12 months ahead. Because they need to service their clients and support IT infrastructures remotely, MSPs are realising their operation methods need to change. To avoid any revenue dips in 2021, new strategies are likely to be required. There are many ways in which MSPs can shore up their businesses and increase their chances of enjoying a profitable year.”
Five B2B website best practices to help attract and engage customers
February 2, 2021- “This summer will mark the 30th anniversary of the very first website. We have undeniably come a long way from those green screen days in terms of accessibility, content and web design. Many websites still fall short of their potential, however, so here are some tips that can help draw more traffic and make your site work harder for your business. A robust website plays a vital role in marketing and lead generation. But many companies don’t regularly revisit their page design or most visible content once the site is built and deployed. If your current website simply features a list of services, packages and prices, you’re likely under-utilizing this valuable marketing resource.”
Barracuda Introduces Fast, Scalable, And Resilient Backup Platform To Protect Data In Microsoft Office 365
January 28, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced the latest version of Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup with a new platform that delivers a fast search and restore experience for Office 365 data, including Teams, Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Compared to traditional backup and recovery solutions, a cloud-native solution provides scale and resiliency, fast performance, and wide global coverage to protect Office 365 data born in the cloud.”
Barracuda introduces fast, scalable, and resilient backup platform to protect data in Microsoft Office 365
January 28, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced the latest version of Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup with a new platform that delivers a fast search and restore experience for Office 365 data, including Teams, Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Compared to traditional backup and recovery solutions, a cloud-native solution provides scale and resiliency, fast performance, and wide global coverage to protect Office 365 data born in the cloud. According to an October 2020 Microsoft blog post: “This quarter, Microsoft 365 users around the world generated more than 30 billion collaboration minutes in a single day as people communicated, collaborated, and co-authored content across work, life, and learning. This new metric combines both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration and reflects the changing nature of work.”
Barracuda completely rearchitects Cloud to Cloud Backup platform to meet growth in Microsoft Office 365
January 28, 2021- “Today, Barracuda is announcing that in collaboration with Microsoft, they have entirely rearchitected their Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup solution, which had become sorely tested with the massive increase in Microsoft Office 365 use since it was first introduced four years ago. The rearchitected solution will be exponentially faster in the speed at which it does backups and high-fidelity searches, and will also provide more flexibility around where it restores. “We had a very successful $100 million purpose-built backup appliance business, and in 2017, we took that solution and pointed it at it at Office 365 and it became one of our fastest growing solutions,” said Tim Jefferson, SVP Engineering for Data, Network and Application Security at Barracuda. “Cloud to Cloud Backup has consistently grown 100% year over year.”
The Importance of Being Security-Centric
January 22, 2021- “Last year, as companies were abruptly thrust into work-from-home and remote work scenarios, IT security took on a new urgency. Outside the office network and corporate firewall’s perceived safety, it rapidly became apparent to many organizations that their approach to data protection and security was woefully outdated. For those who allowed some employees to work from home or on the road, the gaps in the security infrastructure suddenly looked like gaping holes. MSPs with existing security expertise and offerings scrambled to help their clients adjust to this new way of working while simultaneously helping shore up their security profile. As a result, it looks like 2021 may very well be the year of the security-centric MSP.”
New research reveals IT professionals’ growing confidence in public cloud despite security concerns
January 14, 2021- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released key findings from a report titled Cloud networks: Shifting into hyperdrive. Commissioned by Barracuda, the research surveyed global IT decision makers to capture their attitudes and opinions about public cloud, access constraints, security concerns, emerging solutions, and a variety of related topics. Overall, the findings indicate that although IT professionals are gaining confidence in the cloud, organizations face growing constraints when it comes to cloud access.”
Barracuda Study Reveals Growing Confidence in Public Cloud
January 14, 2021- “IT professionals are becoming increasingly confident about the public cloud despite security concerns, explains Barracuda in a new report titled Cloud networks: Shifting into hyperdrive. The research surveyed global IT decision makers to capture their attitudes and opinions about public cloud, access constraints, security concerns, emerging solutions, and a variety of related topics. Overall, the findings indicate that although IT professionals are gaining confidence in the cloud, organizations face growing constraints when it comes to cloud access.”
The MSP Value Proposition
January 5, 2021- “Building a solid technology portfolio is essential for a successful MSP, but having a good lineup of products and services is just one part of fortifying client relationships, attracting new business and remaining competitive. MSPs have to establish a unique position in a crowded marketplace, and communicating their value is a critical component of meeting their business goals. To win new business and maintain margins, MSPs have to offer a value that their clients can’t get from other providers. If they’re doing a good job, it’s likely their clients may even be taking their efforts for granted because things are, generally, running smoothly. MSPs need a simple, easy-to-communicate value proposition to clarify why existing and new clients should spend money with them. That value proposition also needs to be communicated regularly. How can they do all these things? Barracuda has a new eBook, The MSP’s Guide to Demonstrating Value to Customers, that can help.”
COVID, Work From Home making spear phishing attacks more widespread and dangerous
December 17, 2020- “Business email compromise [BEC] attacks have almost doubled compared to last year, likely as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s a key takeaway from a new report by Barracuda on the evolution of email threats, which is being released today. The report identifies 13 types of email threats, running from spam, malware and data exfiltration at the least complex end, to BEC, conversation hijacking, lateral phishing and account takeover at the more complex. “Different vendors use different labels when talking about these threats,” said Don MacLennan, SVP, Email Protection, Engineering and Product Management, Barracuda. “We saw a need to educate the market, and thought we could best do this through a vendor-neutral framework. All the different vendors, including us, use our own terms, so we have structured a common order to how we all talk about these things, which translates all our proprietary language, and makes it clear what we are all referring to. That shows that there are 13 specific types of threats. We think this is helpful for educating the market.”
Three 2021 Predictions that MSPs Can Bank On
December 16, 2020- “Believe it or not, 2020 is almost over, and many MSPs and VARs are already gearing up to execute on their 2021 planning. This is also the time when industry experts make predictions about the vital trends and technologies that we should all be focusing on in the coming year. What’s interesting, though, is that just about anyone who made predictions for this year back in 2019 was way off base about what the business climate was going to look like. 2021 predictions have similar challenges given the current state of things. Still, our experiences this year – one in which technology companies found innovative and sometimes surprising ways to pivot, serve customers and keep the lights on – point to three key trends that we think will be important.”
Threat Spotlight: When bad bots attack
December 15, 2020- “Holiday shopping season makes e-commerce sites an attractive target for cybercriminals using bots to run distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, make fraudulent purchases, and scan for vulnerabilities they can exploit. In mid-November, Barracuda researchers ran Barracuda Advanced Bot Protection in front of a test web application, and the number of bots they detected in just a few days was staggering, with millions of attacks coming in from thousands of distinct IP addresses.”
Vandis Announces New Addition to Microsoft Azure MSP Portfolio: Managed VWAN with Barracuda CloudGen WAN
December 15, 2020- “Vandis Inc. announces the addition of the Barracuda CloudGen WAN solution to its Microsoft Azure Lighthouse managed service offerings. This technology allows organizations to implement a secure SD-WAN solution while leveraging Microsoft Azure Virtual WAN (vWAN) to obtain enterprise connectivity and throughput for meshed connectivity between Branch, Datacenter, and Cloud.”
Channel Partner and MSP updates
December 14, 2020- “Vandis has added Barracuda CloudGen WAN solution to its Microsoft Azure Lighthouse managed service offerings. This technology allows organizations to implement a secure SD-WAN solution while leveraging Microsoft Azure Virtual WAN (vWAN). The result is enterprise connectivity and throughput for meshed connectivity between Branch, Datacenter, and Cloud services, Vandis says.”
ChannelPro Weekly Podcast: Episode #168 with Neal Bradbury and Brian Babineau
December 4, 2020- “MSPs will bear the lion’s share of responsibility in the cybersecurity effort, according to Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager for MSP at Barracuda Networks. In this episode of the ChannelPro Weekly podcast is joined by Brian Babineau and Neal Bradbury of Barracuda MSP for a deep dive on how coronavirus security trends have shaken up the managed security landscape.”
A Baker’s Dozen of Cyberattacks
December 1, 2020- “The number and variety of cyberattacks continue to expand every year, with an increasing cost to businesses. The FBI estimates that cybercrime resulted in $3.5 billion in losses in 2019. The majority of these attacks are initiated via email, and they involve increasingly complex techniques that traditional email security solutions are not designed to protect against. The most successful of these attacks are designed to bypass email gateway defenses using social engineering, fraud, and other strategies. In Barracuda’s eBook 13 Email Threat Types to Know About Right Now, the company outlines an unlucky number of common attacks and how to guard against them. While a robust email gateway is a good start, more advanced solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and an API-based inbox defense approach can provide much more comprehensive protection.”
Cybersecurity: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
November 24, 2020- “In many ways, 2020 has been a year like no other, and the holidays will likely be unusual, too. With COVID-19 numbers spiking worldwide, there will be less holiday travel, fewer gatherings, and much less in-person shopping. Holiday shoppers and revelers are adjusting their behavior to these conditions, and cybercriminals are, too. An enormous boost in online shopping — not just for presents, but for groceries and other items people would typically buy in person — presents a much broader threat vector for online scams.”
Barracuda expands Zero Trust capabilities with acquisition of Fyde
November 11, 2020- “Today, cybersecurity vendor Barracuda is announcing the acquisition of Fyde, a Zero Trust Network Access [ZTNA] provider based in Palo Alto, and originally out of Porto, Portugal. Fyde’s technology will be rebranded as Barracuda CloudGen Access, and will expand the Barracuda CloudGen SASE platform with ZTNA capabilities. Zero Trust is a relatively new space for Barracuda. They first entered the space in July with the launch of the Barracuda CloudGen WAN service, a secure SD-WAN service built natively on Microsoft Azure, in close collaboration with Microsoft, to run inside Azure Virtual WAN Hubs.”
Barracuda Acquires ZTNA Innovator Fyde
November 11, 2020- “Barracuda has acquired Fyde, a zero trust network access provider, to expand the Barracuda CloudGen SASE platform. It will be available in the coming weeks for MSPs. Fyde’s zero trust solution enables secure, reliable, and fast access to cloud or on-premises applications and workloads from any device and location. Fyde’s ZTNA solution addresses the security risks associated with traditional remote access by continuously verifying that only the right person, with the right device, and the right permissions can access company resources. The solution is ideal to connect users directly to cloud-native and legacy corporate applications deployed in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.”
Barracuda Acquires Zero Trust Network Access Company Fyde
November 11, 2020- “Barracuda, backed by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, has acquired Fyde, a zero trust network access (ZTNA) cybersecurity company. So, what exactly is zero trust security? Forrester Research offers this definition: “A Zero Trust (ZT) architecture abolishes the idea of a trusted network inside a defined corporate perimeter. ZT mandates that enterprises create microperimeters of control around their sensitive data assets to gain visibility into how they use data across their ecosystem to win, serve, and retain customers.”
Barracuda Buys Remote Access Startup Fyde To Protect Apps
November 11, 2020- “Barracuda has purchased early-stage remote access vendor Fyde to apply a Zero Trust approach to safeguarding applications, workloads and devices.
The cybersecurity vendor said its acquisition of Fyde will provide employees and contractors working from home on BYOD equipment with quick and secure access to cloud or on-premises applications and workloads, according to Klaus Gheri, Barracuda’s vice president and general manager of network security. “We want to make sure we seize the opportunity,” Gheri told CRN. “For partners, the opportunity is right now.”
Everyone Needs Firewall Management
November 4, 2020- “As businesses’ IT environments expand with remote teams and new cloud services, firewall management has become a more vital – and a more complex – task. But how much of an opportunity does it represent for your business? Chris Crellin, Senior Director of Product Management, Barracuda MSP, responds to timely questions, giving managed services providers (MSPs) and value-added resellers (VARs) a snapshot of how firewalls are being managed, tips for how to educate your clients and prospects on their need for more effective solutions, and important trends to factor into your planning.”
It’s time to talk to customers about conversation hijacking
November 2, 2020- “While not as widespread as other types of cyber-attacks, conversation hijacking is a rapidly growing account takeover (ATO) attack method that can be highly effective and difficult to detect. To protect their employees and their data, your clients will need both education and the right technology. For MSPs who want to keep client networks safe, it may be time to discuss conversation hijacking.Recent research by Barracuda Networks highlights the growing dangers of these attacks. According to the report, an analysis of approximately 500,000 monthly email attacks shows a 400 percent increase during 2019, going from about 500 incidents at the beginning of the year, to roughly 2,000 incidents by November of last year.”
5 Things MSPs Should be Doing Now to Drive Revenue and Protect Customers
October 27, 2020- “As we approach the end of 2020 and make plans for the first quarter of 2021, there appears to be no end in sight for the ongoing economic and political uncertainty that has plagued businesses since March. The cold weather on the way may further exacerbate the COVID-19 pandemic, with cases rising in some regions where the worst seemed to be over. Your MSP clients may continue to struggle both with falling revenues and the challenges of remote work. It brings to mind that dire warning from Game of Thrones: “Winter is coming.” How can you keep your own business in the black while continuing to protect your customers? Here are five things MSPs should do now to keep their businesses healthy heading into the new year.”
Podcast: What’s new in email protection?
October 22, 2020- “Email has been a vector of attacks for almost as long as attacks have been a thing, and yet, email remains at least an aspect of virtually every security breach today. How are email-based attacks evolving, and what can MSPs do about it? We tackle those topics with Mark Ballegeer, systems engineer at Barracuda MSP on this edition of the podcast.”
Solve the Cybersecurity People Problem with Security Awareness Training
October 20, 2020- “When it comes to cybersecurity threats, most organizations’ biggest weakness is employees who may inadvertently fall victim to phishing or malware attacks. Why? Usually it’s because they lack information—and security awareness training. Remember the saying, “You don’t know what you don’t know?” Although it sounds like one of Yogi Berra’s malapropisms, the phrase appears to have originated with former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The concept is related to the Dunning-Kruger effect, a form of cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate their knowledge or abilities. And when it comes to cybersecurity, what most of your clients’ employees don’t know could fill a book–a book that gets re-written every few weeks. That’s why security awareness training is so critical in combating these increasingly complex attacks.”
The ChannelVision Podcast: Discussing Cybersecurity with Barracuda SE Mark Ballegeer
October 16, 2020- “In this edition of the ChannelVision podcast, Mark Ballegeer, a systems engineer at Barracuda Networks, a global leader in security, application delivery and data protection solutions, provides an overview of the threat landscape, some of the top security challenges facing businesses and some cybersecurity best practices.”
XaaScast: 5 Steps to Building Managed Security Services
October 14, 2020- “Mark Whiffen, senior product manager for Managed Workplace at Barracuda MSP, joins this episode of the XaaScast to discuss the rising opportunities for MSPs to take on a greater role in providing security services to their customers even if they don’t become an MSSP (managed security services provider).”
Help your customers do their part to #BeCyberSmart
October 5, 2020- “As October has arrived, it’s an excellent time to remind IT solution providers about National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), which is now in its 17th year. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) promote NCSAM to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity across our Nation. This year’s theme is “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart,” which encourages individuals and organizations to own their role in protecting their part of cyberspace, stressing personal accountability, and the importance of taking proactive steps to enhance cybersecurity. One way that MSPs can help keep their clients safe from cyberattacks is by educating them on the latest and most pernicious threats. Two of those — domain impersonation and brand hijacking — are on the rise”
Remote Learning: Help Your K-12 and Higher-Ed Clients Get Back to School Safely
September 25, 2020- “Educators have been faced with a very unusual return to school this year. At every level, from colleges and universities to preschools, the education system is struggling to provide services to students during the pandemic. Some organizations and districts are operating fully remotely this fall; others are offering a mix of in-person and online classes. Because most of these schools weren’t equipped for distance learning, they’re using a mix of Google Classroom, Zoom meetings and other services that have been cobbled together–in some cases with very little preparation, and in most cases being used by novice users. This has left schools and students vulnerable to cybercriminals. Over the summer, the FBI issued a Private Industry Notification warning that cybercriminals would increasingly target K-12 schools as they shift to remote learning.”
11 Things To Have In Your Coronavirus Business Continuity Plan
September 25, 2020- “High-performance VPN and endpoint security tools spanning both corporate and personal devices allowed businesses to access corporate and internal resources from anywhere during the coronavirus pandemic, while older computers, poor throughput firewalls and unscalable two-factor authentication were really put to the test, said Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager for Barracuda MSP.”
Hurricane Season and Your Customers’ Business Continuity Readiness
September 24, 2020- “You probably don’t need any further evidence that 2020 may go down in history as one of the most challenging, unpredictable years in recent history. But, consider this: the 2020 hurricane season has been so bad that we have almost run through the alphabetical list of names already, and we’re barely halfway through September. For many MSPs, data backup and recovery, as well as disaster response and preparedness, are vital services for ensuring client networks and systems remain safe and available. This year, however, the definition of disaster is evolving. Many companies were caught unaware by a slow-rolling pandemic that seems like it may never end. In its wake, the coronavirus set off a series of other disasters, from supply chain disruptions to widespread unemployment and an abrupt shift to remote work that has put even more strain on overtaxed IT departments.”
Threat Spotlight Podcast: Impersonation and BEC Attacks on the Rise
September 23, 2020- “No matter which technology niche an IT solution provider specializes in – unified communications, enterprise networking, cloud services – it all has to be built on a foundation of security. Recently, Olesia Klevchuk of Barracuda Networks joined the XaaScast podcast on impersonation and BEC attacks to explain how malicious attacks work, what makes them successful, and what MSPs can do to protect their customers.”
Barracuda upgrades CloudGen WAN with personal remote access, IoT capability
September 22, 2020- “Today, cybersecurity vendor Barracuda has announced enhancements to the CloudGen WAN secure SD-WAN service built natively on Microsoft Azure which they launched in July. They include cloud-delivered personal remote access functionality that eliminates the implicit trust model deployed by traditional point-to-site solutions. Barracuda also announced the introduction of two new CloudGen WAN devices for Internet of Things [IoT] endpoints.”
10 Tips For Choosing The Best MSSP For Your Company
September 21, 2020- “There are multiple entry points into a company that cybercriminals can use, meaning that if an MSSP is focused on just email, cloud or endpoint, they’re leaving the customer susceptible to risk, according to Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager for Barracuda MSP. If an MSSP just manages firewalls or offers endpoint security, hackers will find and exploit the areas where there isn’t coverage.”
WAF’s Critical Role in the New WFH Movement
September 8, 2020- “The pandemic has forced IT administrators at many companies to expose internal-only apps previously to the public internet so remote workers can access them, opening up new vectors of vulnerability to a growing number of cyberattacks. Nitzan Miron, vice president of product management, application security services at Barracuda, shares his perspective on how MSPs can adapt their security strategies to protect customers no matter where they’re working.”
Threat Spotlight: Ransomware
August 27, 2020- “Cybercriminals are targeting government, healthcare, and education organizations with ransomware. While an uptick in attacks was expected due to the upcoming presidential election, cybercriminals are also leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work to wreak havoc on organizations. Although ransomware has been around for more than two decades, the threat has been growing rapidly in recent years. In the past 12 months, Barracuda researchers identified and analyzed 71 ransomware incidents. The majority of ransomware attacks looked at this year were on municipalities, including local governments, schools, libraries, courts, and other entities.”
Barracuda: Ransom Payments Rise Amid Jump in Attacks
August 27, 2020- “Ransomware attacks and ransom payments are on the rise, and ransoms now are more likely to exceed $1 million. That’s according to new research by Barracuda. In the past year, Barracuda researchers identified and analyzed 71 ransomware incidents. Cybercriminals are targeting government, health care and education organizations with ransomware. An uptick in attacks was expected due to the upcoming presidential election. However, cybercriminals are also leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work to wreak havoc on organizations. Attacks on education – including colleges – include the theft of personal information and medical records, as well as health care research.”
Priced to Sell
August 27, 2020- “In the current economic climate, conversations around service pricing are often going to be tense and possibly even counterproductive. When an MSP receives a call asking for a quote, odds are the prospect is price shopping. MSPs that have built their pricing around the actual value they create may not fare well in a price-only comparison. That’s why it’s important to shift those inquiries into a different type of conversation that focuses on the solutions the potential client needs, and the value the MSP can create for them.”
Barracuda highlights study on remote working trends in India
August 21, 2020- “Barracuda Networks, a trusted partner and a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, highlights key findings from a recent study on remote working trends in India. It reveals that COVID-19 has accelerated the introduction of remote working by at least five years for 59% of organisations in India, yet, organisation must address relevant security challenges. The mindset of business leaders in the region has now shifted to optimism, with 92% planning to keep remote working in place for employee productivity and business continuity once the pandemic is over for a more flexible and hybrid workplace.”
Best Practices for Protecting the Network Edge Include SASE
August 14, 2020- “The increased use of remote and cloud-based resources resulting from the COVID-19-fueled work-from-home trend has highlighted another trend that was already underway before the pandemic: The network edge isn’t what it used to be. According to a 2019 Gartner report, “The Future of Network Security is in the Cloud,” the entire concept of the network perimeter has rapidly evolved. “The enterprise perimeter is no longer a location,” Gartner says. “It is a set of dynamic edge capabilities delivered when needed as a service from the cloud.”
Threat Spotlight: Malicious Accounts in Business Email Compromise
August 10, 2020- “Since the beginning of 2020, researchers at Barracuda have identified 6,170 malicious accounts that use Gmail, AOL, and other email services and were responsible for more than 100,000 BEC attacks on nearly 6,600 organizations. In fact, since April 1, malicious accounts have been behind 45 percent of the BEC attacks detected. Here’s a closer look at how cybercriminals are launching attacks with these accounts, along with solutions to help protect your business by detecting, blocking, and remediating the evolving threats.”
Four pandemic security risks requiring MSPs’ immediate attention
August 4, 2020- “As COVID-19 re-emerges in many geographies, it looks like work-from-home orders may stay in place for many organizations through the end of the year. Cybercriminals have been staying busy exploiting the vulnerabilities created by the abrupt shift to remote work earlier this year. Perhaps more than ever, MSPs will be front and center in helping their clients manage their remote workforce and ensure they don’t suffer any catastrophic security breaches. Here are four key security risks MSPs should keep top-of-mind as we all navigate these unchartered waters.”
MSP Survival Skills for the COVID-19 Pandemic (and Beyond)
July 28, 2020- “In mid-March of this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies (including MSPs) had to quickly ramp up infrastructure and processes to enable a complete shift to remote work. How long will companies need to operate this way? Right now, the question remains open ended. What is clear, however, is that organizations must re-evaluate what went right (and wrong) during this unexpected transition, and use those lessons to inform their ongoing efforts toward digital transformation.”
5 Big Bets Barracuda Is Making To Become A $1 Billion Vendor
July 28, 2020- “Barracuda hit the $500 million billings mark in 2019 a decade-and-a-half after the company’s founding, and the cybersecurity vendor expects to reach $500 million in revenue for the first time ever this year despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, according to President and CEO BJ Jenkins. A narrower technology focus coupled with five acquisitions over the past half-decade has propelled Barracuda to the half-billion mark, and Jenkins said Barracuda can reach $1 billion in sales in the next three-to-four years if it continues on its current growth trajectory. Investments in business systems, a strong relationship with Microsoft and the IT channel will play a key role in that growth, Jenkins said.”
Is the channel missing the ‘human touch’?
July 27, 2020- “A recently published vendor survey suggests the IT channel today is missing ‘the human touch’. This may come as a surprise, given the importance of relationships to the channel, but the research by Kaspersky shows that nearly seven out of 10 resellers and distributors want better relationships with vendors. The same number say they would like more personal contact with their dedicated account manager. “There is much more for us all to do to build better relationships. It is, however, a two-way street,” says Jason Howells, Director of International Sales at Barracuda MSP.”
5 Mid-Year Threats MSPs Need to Address Now
July 24, 2020- “There are times when it seems the year 2020 – and the cavalcade of emergencies, crises and disasters it has brought with it – will never end. But believe it or not, we are already halfway through the year. As we prepare for the third quarter and beyond, here are five cybersecurity trends you should be prepared to address for your clients.”
2020 Retail Industry Challenges and the Tech Solutions to Conquer Them
July 21, 2020- “New retail industry challenges emerged without warning in 2020. The pandemic impacted nearly every aspect of business, from in-store operations and supply chain to labor and customer engagement. The depth and breadth of change required demanded that retailers respond with agility, innovation – and, in many cases, the right technology. Nitzan Miron, Vice President of Product Management, Application Security Services at Barracuda, reminds managed services providers (MSPs) and value-added resellers (VARs) to stress the importance of ensuring all new solutions are secure.”
Barracuda, Microsoft Tout SD-WAN on Azure for Multi-Cloud Services
July 18, 2020- “Barracuda and Microsoft have announced a new secure SD-WAN service built natively on Microsoft Azure that the companies hope will spur greater public cloud adoption while addressing security challenges. The announcement comes less than a week before Microsoft Inspire 2020, an annual worldwide partner conference that will be held virtually this year. In the recent report “Secure SD-WAN: The Launch Pad into Cloud,” Barracuda found that SD-WAN is being used by more than half of those who have added security to their public cloud. The report explains that “SD-WAN can help overcome the top two security challenges organizations are facing when it comes to public cloud: lack of access control and backhauling traffic.”
Barracuda becomes first to market with secure SD-WAN service built natively on Microsoft Azure
July 16, 2020- “Today, Barracuda is announcing its Barracuda CloudGen WAN service a new secure SD-WAN service built natively on Microsoft Azure. The product of extensive co-development work with Microsoft, Barracuda CloudGen WAN becomes the first SD-WAN solution that runs inside Azure Virtual WAN Hubs. Barracuda already has its Cloud Gen Firewall offering, with SD-WAN as a part of it, but the company is stressing that the CloudGen WAN service is a very different product, which has been built through deep collaboration with Microsoft.”
New Barracuda SD-WAN Service Built Natively on Microsoft Azure
July 16, 2020- “A new Barracuda SD-WAN service is the first SD-WAN offering that runs inside Microsoft Azure virtual WAN hubs. With Barracuda CloudGen WAN, companies and service providers can create a secure access service edge (SASE) in public cloud.”
Wanted: Trustworthy Guidance from a Security Professional
July 2, 2020- “In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are facing the dual challenges of supporting employees working from home while absorbing the fallout from the associated economic downturn. Although economies are slowly re-opening around the world, it’s unclear just how long it will take to get back to where it was before the shutdown. Work-from-home is going to be a reality for many through the end of summer, and possibly the end of the year. Security will remain a critical challenge as companies struggle to ensure data safety in a distributed computing environment, while keeping a handle on budgets.”
Summing Up the Value of RMM for MSPs
June 23, 2020- “Managed services providers (MSPs) who are serious about growing their businesses research remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools and implement the best solution for their operation. In fact, successful solution providers often view shops that haven’t discovered the benefits of RMM for MSPs as “no competition.” Mark Whiffen, Senior Product Manager, Barracuda MSP, explains, “An RMM is the backbone for MSP businesses. It allows them to deliver managed services and fulfill service level agreements (SLAs), all the while growing their profitability and business branding in their communities.”
Cybercriminals are targeting your Work-From-Home customers
June 18, 2020- “While much of the world is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through a variety of shelter-in-place orders and other restrictions that have shut down offices and large gatherings, another type of “virus” is sweeping the globe. An increase in cyber attacks, particularly phishing, has followed in the wake of the pandemic. A security manager with HP reported a 600 percent increase in attacks since the COVID-19 crisis forced the majority of workers to shift to remote work. A Google report found a 350 percent increase in phishing websites, many of them fake COVID-19 sites. Cyber attacks were already increasing independent of the virus, and according to a recent report from Dell, 82 percent of organizations had experienced a disruption of some sort in the past 12 months, up from 76 percent the previous year.”
Study Reveals Demand for Cloud Security Services
June 16, 2020- “The current COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdown of various sectors of the economy– including retail, hospitality and entertainment–along with several months of work-from-home mandates across many industries, have forced many companies to re-evaluate their IT infrastructures and their approach to security. A recent Barracuda survey of more than 1,000 business decision-makers in the United States and Europe, conducted by independent research agency Censuswide, found that many companies are struggling to fund both data protection and security, while also maintaining their workforce. More than half of companies would consider making workforce reductions to support security initiatives adequately, but 40% have already cut their cybersecurity budgets as a cost-saving measure during the pandemic.”
Enterprises Turn to SD-WAN in Move to the Cloud: Barracuda Survey
June 12, 2020- “Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) is a key part of the overall security picture for enterprises as they migrate workloads to the cloud, according to a survey released this week by network security vendor Barracuda Networks.”
New Research Reveals SD-WAN is the Solution of Choice for Securing Public Cloud Deployments
June 11, 2020- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released key findings from a report titled Secure SD-WAN: The Launch Pad into the Cloud. Commissioned by Barracuda, the research surveyed global IT decision makers to capture their attitudes and opinions about SD-WAN adoption, along with data about acquisition preferences, variations by industry, and a variety of related issues.”
Barracuda Networks Optimizes SD-WAN Traffic with Patented Erasure Correction Technology from Steinwurf
June 10, 2020- “California-based Barracuda Networks and Denmark-based Steinwurf ApS announce an OEM relationship to use Steinwurf’s Kodo Software libraries to add Erasure Correcting Codes (ECC) with the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall. The network world is transitioning from the use of dedicated leased lines like MPLS toward SD-WAN with uplinks provided by shared broadband lines. Analyst firm Gartner predicts that 60 percent of all companies will have adopted SD-WAN technology by 2024.[1] Widespread acceptance of SD-WAN creates new network challenges.”
Channel Partner Updates: Tuesday 9 June 2020
June 9, 2020- “Barracuda Networks’ CloudGen Firewall will leverage Steinwurf ApS’s Kodo Software libraries for Erasure Correcting Codes (ECC) technology. The ECC technology mitigates latency issues.”
Third Annual MSP Day Highlights Global MSP Opportunities
June 9, 2020- “This year marks the third annual MSP Day, a movement Barracuda MSP started in 2018 to celebrate and champion the managed services industry and the changes and challenges it meets with each new year. 2020’s report takes a deep dive into the global MSP market, as channel partners the world over are presented with the opportunity to bolster their security offering to better support the new, more vulnerable mobile workforce that has emerged in the wake of the novel coronavirus.”
Selling services in tough times
June 8, 2020- “We are in the midst of one of the most uncertain economies in many of our lifetimes, and that uncertainty isn’t going away any time soon. The global shutdown in response to COVID-19 has brought many sectors of the economy to a screeching halt. How managed services providers are being impacted varies, but the overarching question is this: How can MSPs continue to sell services during what could be a deep recession? The silver lining here is that many MSPs (particularly those with a diverse client base) could come out of this experience even stronger than before. The last time there was a significant recession (2008-2009), managed IT serves grew as many companies reduced their in-house IT investments. That growth snowballed in the ensuing years as more companies embraced outsourcing and implemented cloud-based IT solutions.”
Now is a Good Time to Modernize Your Business Continuity Plans
June 8, 2020- “The current pandemic has been an unusual sort of disaster for businesses and the MSPs that help support their IT operations. Things happened very quickly, yet, somehow, in a highly organized and almost quiet fashion. Well-organized operations invest in planning for disaster preparedness, business continuity, and recovery. But, those plans are usually focused on singular, dramatic events like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and fires. Those are the types of disasters that can destroy your IT infrastructure. What’s happening now is the inverse of one of those events. All of the infrastructure is still in place, but the employees have been swept out of the building. That makes this as good a time as any to revisit those business continuity plans with your customers, measure just how prepared they were for this particular problem, and make updates where necessary.”
The Opportunity and Challenges of Offering Managed Security
May 26, 2020- “With new cyberattack vectors and new bad actors continually increasing, managed security — and skilled managed security services providers (MSSPs) are in demand. Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report states that web application breaches now account for 43 percent of data breaches, twice as much as last year, and ransomware attacks are on the rise, now making up 27 percent of all malware incidents. Furthermore, 17 percent of breaches can be traced to human errors — that’s twice as many as last year. The Verizon report also confirms that virtually every industry is a target, including financial, healthcare, restaurants and hospitality, entertainment, construction, education, IT, manufacturing, and mining, energy and utilities. Regardless of its size, the business or organization may lack in-house resources to address cybersecurity — and they are looking for help.”
MSPs seek to diversify portfolios
May 22, 2020 – “Managed service providers aiming to diversify their portfolios are finding growth in security and backup services. New reports on the MSP market from Barracuda MSP and Kaseya Corp. reveal service providers are looking to expand their offerings. Barracuda MSP’s The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business Report 2020, found 91% of the nearly 300 global partners surveyed plan to increase “the breadth and depth of their services capacity in the next 12 months.”
Cybersecurity and Remote Working Present Challenges for MSPs
May 21, 2020- “MSPs see big opportunities for growth this year despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but cybersecurity and remote working require changes. That’s according to the Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business Report 2020 by Barracuda MSP. The company polled nearly 300 MSPs spanning the United Kingdom, the U.S., Germany, Canada, Ireland, Belgium, Australia and Spain. The report coincides with Barracuda’s third annual World MSP Day.”
Third Annual MSP Day Highlights Global MSP Opportunities
May 21, 2020- “This year marks the third annual MSP Day, a movement Barracuda MSP started in 2018 to celebrate and champion the managed services industry and the changes and challenges it meets with each new year. As has become tradition, today Barracuda MSP launched its latest The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business Report 2020 to coincide with this year’s event. For this year’s MSP Day, The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), a leading voice and advocate of the global IT ecosystem, will be joining Barracuda for the first MSP Day virtual event. CompTIA’s Director of Member Communities, Miles Jobgen, will join Barracuda’s Director International MSP, Jason Howells, and VP MSP Strategic Partnerships, Neal Bradbury, to discuss this year’s report, alongside a host of videos and discussions on the state of the industry.”
Security a Top Opportunity for MSPs, Barracuda MSP Says
May 21, 2020- “Most MSPs plan to expand their portfolio of services this year and security will be a key focus, according to a report released today by Barracuda MSP, which offers advanced protection solutions to managed service providers.”
MSP Day: Lessons for MSPs in new Barracuda report
May 21, 2020- “MSP Day was first launched in 2018, with Barracuda’s first Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business Report. Today, Barracuda is issuing their third such annual report. It both provides a snapshot on the state of the MSP industry globally, and indicates both areas of opportunity and areas where MSPs need to pull up their socks – some of which are the same. This year’s event, of course, comes under the shadow of the global pandemic, and Brian Babineau, SVP and GM, MSP Solutions at Barracuda, paid tribute to the way the MSP community has responded to the crisis.”
MSP day research shows priority tasks for providers
May 21, 2020- “In a report to mark the third annual MSP Day, research for Barracuda has found that most MSPs want wider portfolios of services to meeting rising customer demand. And security is key – some 88% of those questioned said that demand for security services was either ‘moderately’ or ‘significantly’ increasing. Endpoint Security, Email Security and Network Security all made it into the top five services table in 2020. In 2019, email security was the only security service in the top five.”
Managed services more popular than ever
May 21, 2020- “Barracuda MSP has launched its latest The Evolving Landscape of the MSP Business Report 2020 which provides insights into the changes and challenges that managed service providers are seeing across nine countries, including Australia and New Zealand. The 2020 report takes a deep dive into the global MSP market as channel partners the world over are presented with the opportunity to bolster their security offering to better support the new, more vulnerable mobile workforce that has emerged in the wake of COVID-19.”
5 Things MSPs Can Do to Mitigate the Economic Impact of COVID-19
May 20, 2020- “The impact of COVID-19 has upended the global supply chain, and regional stay-at-home orders have severely curtailed economic activity. Many companies across all sectors are taking a significant revenue hit, and that includes MSPs. Some clients will have difficulty maintaining services because of the cash crunch. Others may go out of business. In either case, MSPs should brace themselves for at least some client losses. But the right strategy can help minimize the damage.”
Closing the Cybersecurity Skills Gap
May 12, 2020- “Companies often struggle to create and enforce robust cybersecurity strategies, partly because compliance varies among employees. This inconsistency could be caused by the specifics of job roles within the company that might make policies more or less inconvenient to employees based on their position. In addition, different levels of security awareness and technical skills across an organization can create further security challenges.”
The Role BDR Solutions Play in Protecting a Remote Workforce
April 28, 2020- “Many businesses and organizations had the assurance that their backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solutions were running in the background, protecting their data, especially when their technology solutions provider (TSP) administered them. Then, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic hit. Organizations suddenly had remote workforces, and leaders may have lost some confidence in their BDR solutions’ capabilities, wondering, “Will we be able to access all of our data, and is it safe?” Chris Crellin, Senior Director of Product Management for Barracuda, weighed in on BDR in the era of social distancing, what businesses and organizations should be doing to protect their data, and the most important lessons learned about BDR during a pandemic.”
Now’s the time to upgrade customer security
April 27, 2020- “For VARs and MSPs, things have not slowed down – clients need your help now more than ever as they deal with the logistics of managing employees that have been forced into remote work scenarios. You should consider upgrading your security offerings during the pandemic to help drive new business. Leveraging security-centric tools will not only provide new revenue streams, it will also help your clients adjust to the “new normal” of working from home in a highly volatile business environment.”
MSP Day coming at a time when trust is being earned
April 24, 2020- “Along with everyone else, managed service providers (MSPs) are having to adapt to a new normal and work with customers through the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown. Next month will give them the chance to pause and reflect on the role they play, with the third annual MSP Day on 21 May. Research from the Evolving landscape of the MSP business report, which was shared at 2019’s event, found that managed services was seen by the channel as the most significant revenue opportunity, dwarfing other potential sources of growth. Customers struggling with a lack of in-house skills was the main catalyst for turning to an MSP for support.”
Remote Security: It’s Not Just about Devices Anymore
April 20, 2020- “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend businesses, companies that can remain operational via work-from-home scenarios are now in the middle of a massive, unplanned experiment. Can work be done effectively and securely with hundreds (or thousands) of employees remotely accessing the network on a wide variety of devices? For these newly remote employees to work securely, businesses must shift from a device-centric approach to security focused to one that is both user- and data-centric. Many employees likely don’t have their office equipment with them. They are accessing the network on personal computers and tablets, and they may be sharing these same devices with other family members.”
Channel Partner Updates: Friday 17 April 2020
April 17, 2020- “CompTIA and Barracuda MSP will be celebrating MSP Day on May 21, 2020. The effort includes an MSP survey, which is open to partners worldwide. It also includes a series of virtual events that Barracuda MSP will be hosting on Thursday May 21”
Threat Spotlight: Coronavirus-Related Phishing
March 30, 2020- “Barracuda researchers have seen a steady increase in the number of coronavirus COVID-19-related email attacks since January, but they have observed a recent spike in this type of attack, up 667-percent since the end of February. Between March 1 and March 23, Barracuda Sentinel has detected 467,825 spear phishing email attacks, and 9,116 of those detections were related to COVID-19, representing about 2 percent of attacks. In comparison, a total of 1,188 coronavirus-related email attacks were detected in February, and just 137 were detected in January. Although the overall number of these attacks is still low compared to other threats, the threat is growing quickly.”
Coronavirus Email Phishing Attacks Skyrocket, Barracuda Research Finds
March 29, 2020- “Coronavirus-related email phishing attacks have spiked 667 percent since March 1, sparked by opportunistic hackers capitalizing on widespread fear and uncertainty surrounding the contagion, a new threat intelligence report said. Cyber creeps are using Covid-19 information to target and trick people into opening malicious documents or clicking on malignant links, Fleming Shi, Barracuda’s chief technology officer, said in a blog post. While the number of coronavirus themed phishing attacks is still relatively low compared to other threats, the uptick in incidents isn’t, according to Barracuda’s figures. As is with pedestrian phishing infections, the Covid-19 cyber attackers are looking to distribute malware, steal credentials, and scam users out of money.”
Barracuda: Cybercriminals Preying on COVID-19 Vulnerabilities
March 26, 2020- “Coronavirus-related spear phishing attacks have jumped a staggering 667% since the end of February, according to Barracuda’s latest Threat Spotlight report. Between March 1 and March 23, Barracuda Sentinel, the company’s AI solution for spear phishing and cyber fraud defense, detected nearly 468,000 spear phishing email attacks, and more than 9,100 of those detections were related to COVID-19. In comparison, nearly 1,200 coronavirus-related email attacks were detected in February, and just 137 were detected in January.”
Survey Results: Public Cloud Security Is a Top Customer Concern
March 24, 2020- “In a new report, “Future Shock: The Cloud is the New Network,” Barracuda evaluates just how big a challenge security concerns will be when it comes to public cloud investments. Barracuda and market research Vanson Bourne interviewed 750 IT decision-makers across EMEA, APAC and the United States with responsibility for or knowledge of their organizations’ cloud infrastructure.”
RMM Pitfalls That Can Derail Your Success
March 17, 2020- “Mark Whiffen, the senior product manager for Managed Workplace at Barracuda MSP recently appeared on a recent episode of XaaScast. This episode covers higher-level business pitfalls like not capitalizing financially on the value RMM brings to your customers as well as more tactical points such as ensuring your RMM doesn’t become a gateway for cybercriminals to gain access to your customers. One point Mark gets into during the discussion is the vital role RMM plays in patch management and the different strategies MSPs should be considering.”
How to Standardize Processes and Offerings Using an RMM Tool
March 17, 2020- “Managed services providers (MSPs) are all working toward the vision of an ideal business that runs like the proverbial well-oiled machine. Some, however, forget that to achieve that level of efficiency, the machine has to run the same way time after time. MSPs may also overlook the fact that you already have an answer to how to standardize processes and offerings: your remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool.”
Security-Centric RMM: Making Managed Security Better
March 17, 2020- “As the number of cyberattacks targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) increases, there is more pressure to protect against those attacks. That’s why MSPs handling the IT needs of these businesses must place security at the top of their priority list. One way to build a strong security offering is from the ground up, starting with one of the most fundamental tools used by and MSP – their remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution.”
How managed services can help SME security teams take back their time
March 10, 2020- “For many organisations, a shared resolution in 2020 will likely be to free up the valuable time of their security teams so they can focus their attention where it truly matters, not at their desk managing the latest patches or investigating every perceived threat. Just as we may appoint a friend to keep us accountable as we abstain from chocolate or wine, these businesses would be wise to look to managed services to help them see their resolutions through. “
A New, Harder-to-Detect Phishing Scheme is Infiltrating Your Customers’ Inboxes
February 28, 2020- “New research from Barracuda Networks highlights a rapidly growing cyber threat – conversation hijacking. An analysis of 500,000 emails showed that this type of attack rose by more than 300 percent between July and November of 2019. That’s a jump from around 500 attacks to more than 2,000 in just a few months.”
CEO Outlook 2020
February 27, 2020- “CRN asked nearly 80 of the industry’s top CEOs five questions regarding their views for how 2020 will shape up for the channel. Here’s what Barracuda CEO BJ Jenkins had to say about innovation, investments, and the keys to success for their channel partners.”
Channel Partner Updates: Thursday 20 February 2020
February 20, 2020- “On average, organizations currently have 45% of IT infrastructure running in the public cloud, but that number is expected to increase to 76% in the next five years, Barracuda Networks reports.”
Barracuda adds new local availability zones in Canada as its email security posts strong growth
February 20, 2020- “Cybersecurity vendor Barracuda Networks has expanded its regional email protection availability zones in both Canada and Australia, in response to strong triple digit growth of their email protection business in both of those geos. This expansion comes as Barracuda releases a new report emphasizing that the cloud is the new network, and that the kind of public cloud support represented by the new Canadian zones is essential to deal with security concerns as more IT infrastructure moves to the public cloud.”
Cyberthreats to Watch out for in 2020
February 18, 2020- “Cybercrime continues to increase, and cybercriminals persist in developing new and more insidious approaches to escalate their success rate at compromising business networks and stealing credentials, data and cash. These attacks are becoming more sophisticated, highly targeted and increasingly costly.”
Professional Services Businesses Need Your Help with Cybersecurity
February 17, 2020- “When data breaches make headlines, it’s common to hear about cyberattacks on retailers, restaurants, healthcare, and hotel chains. Value-added resellers (VARs) and managed services providers (MSPs), informed by this news, may focus on the undeniable need for cybersecurity solutions in these verticals. Your other clients, however, including professional services offices of all sizes, need your help as well.”
The top IT trends MSPs need to watch in 2020
February 13, 2020- “The MSP market is expanding at a healthy rate, with estimates putting the value of MSPs at $319.5 billion by 2024. For MSPs looking to take advantage of the increasing demand for their services, it will be essential to stay ahead of rapid developments in the information technology space. In 2020, MSPs should target their investments in technology and personnel around a few key trends.”
Channel Partner Updates: Thursday 13 February 2020
February 13, 2020- “Barracuda has expanded its local availability zones in Australia and Canada. The expansion allows customers and partners in those regions to protect data locally.”
Channel Chiefs 2020: What’s The Key To Success For Your Channel Partners In 2020?
February 12, 2020- “We here at CRN asked each of the honorees of the Channel Chiefs 2020 list to offer their advice on what solution providers should focus on to succeed this year. Here’s what Neal Bradbury, VP of MSP Strategic Partnerships at Barracuda MSP, had to say.”
Follow-Up Phishing Attacks on the Rise
February 6, 2020- “Cybercriminals are getting craftier and sneakier when it comes to email account takeover attacks, according to new research from Barracuda and UC Burkeley. Researchers conducted a large-scale analysis of email account takeover and the timeline of attacks, the behaviors hackers are using to try to avoid detection, ways to identify suspicious activity that could indicate an email account has been compromised, and precautions businesses can take to protect themselves.”
Do Your Clients Need Spear Phishing Education?
January 28, 2020- “Cybercriminals are constantly coming up with more sophisticated ways to breach network security protections. Spear phishing attacks are growing and becoming increasingly expensive–and the companies in your client base may not be fully prepared to deal with these new threats. While your customers may be generally familiar with phishing emails and how they work, spear phishing schemes are more sophisticated and can rope in end users that otherwise wouldn’t fall for traditional email scams.”
Best Practices for Combating Spear Phishing
January 28, 2020- “As we head into 2020, it’s clear that cybercriminals will continue using spear-phishing attacks as a go-to tactic for attacking victims. In these breaches, attackers heavily research their targets and craft carefully designed messages, usually impersonating a trusted colleague, website, or business. The attacks are designed to steal login credentials, financial data, and other information that can be used for other crimes.”
Podcast: Catching a growth trend
January 6, 2020- “Generating growth is a challenge for all technology companies. Few can create lightning in a bottle on their own. In many cases, vendors can catch a ride on the growth train by attaching themselves to another growing technology that they complement. In the case of Barracuda MSP, a division of Barracuda Networks that provides managed services for security and backup, that opportunity came with Microsoft’s push to increase the number of Office 365 business users.”
Survey says: Cloud Security Confidence is Growing
December 31, 2019- “As an increasing number of businesses adopt the public cloud, security remains a crucial concern. However, it appears that organizations are getting more confident in their cloud security strategies. According to a recent Barracuda Networks survey of 850 security professionals, just over 44 percent of respondents believe that public cloud environments are as secure as on-premises platforms, while 35 percent of respondents feel that on-premises environments were more secure than the public cloud. When it came to cloud security confidence, nearly 60 percent of respondents were either very confident or somewhat confident in their cloud platform. Only 14 percent were either not very confident or not confident at all.”
5 Cybersecurity Predictions for 2020
December 20, 2019- “As 2019 comes to a close, MSPs should already be ramping up their plans to grow their customer and product base in 2020. Cybersecurity will continue to present massive challenges for everyone’s client base, and even those MSPs that aren’t currently in the security market will find themselves inexorably drawn into working with security solutions. The continued focus on security as a top concern as we head into the New Year is not surprising, but certain dynamics will certainly influence shifts in the cybersecurity landscape. To help MSPs better target their resources and position themselves for success, here are a few predictions about what the security landscape is going to look like in the near future.”
7 New Year’s Security Predictions from Top Vendors
December 19, 2019- “MSPs will bear the lion’s share of responsibility in the cybersecurity effort, according to Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager for MSP at Barracuda Networks. “MSPs will need to become security professionals in order to position themselves for growth and success and remain relevant to their customers,” he says. “Instead of worrying about how to sell or market their MSP business, MSPs need to focus on getting better at security by embracing extended security skillsets.””
Barracuda begins to build out security-centric RMM offering with Content Shield integration
December 11, 2019- “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.”
Barracuda Integrates Managed Workplace Platform with Content Shield Web Filtering Solution
December 11, 2019- “Barracuda Networks has embedded functionality from its Content Shield web filtering solution directly within its Managed Workplace platform. Available now at no extra cost to MSPs who use both systems, the new integration lets Managed Workplace users deploy Content Shield agents on customer endpoints from within the same interface they use to deploy other agent-based software. It also allows technicians to view metrics on security-related topics like threats detected and quarantined, among others, without exiting their RMM. “
Channel Partner Updates: Tuesday 10 December 2019
December 10, 2019- “Barracuda Networks is connecting the dots between the company’s products to assist MSPs with business automation and security. The latest step involves Barracuda Content Shield integrating with Managed Workplace, the company’s remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. MSPs that run Managed Workplace can now leverage Content Shield’s web filtering and malware protection. The integration comes amid Barracuda MSP’s rapidly expanding international footprint.”
Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) News: December 10, 2019
December 10, 2019- “Each business day, MSSP Alert broadcasts a quick lineup of news, analysis, and chatter from across that managed security services provider ecosystem. In today’s MSSP news alert, Barracuda Networks is connecting the dots between the company’s products to assist MSPs with business automation and security. The latest step involves Barracuda Content Shield integrating with Managed Workplace, the company’s remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. MSPs that run Managed Workplace can now leverage Content Shield’s web filtering and malware protection. The integration comes amid Barracuda MSP’s rapidly expanding international footprint.”
Barracuda MSP Reveals Managed Services Market Growth Clues
December 5, 2019- “Barracuda Networks has pulled back the curtain a bit on the company’s MSP-focused software and technology business worldwide. Although actual dollar and profit figures remain undisclosed, Barracuda MSP’s percentage growth figures — particularly outside of North America — sound impressive.”
Timely Tips for Choosing the Right RMM Tool
December 2, 2019- “Remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools have proven to be invaluable for MSPs. These solutions help service providers shift from break-fix to proactive support structures, improve service and increase profitability. With the right RMM solution in place, MSPs can improve resource utilization, reduce service delivery costs and automate many routine tasks. Because these solutions can play such a critical role in an MSP’s business, it is essential to evaluate both the RMM tool and the software provider carefully. Do your due diligence, find out what other services/tools the vendor offers, and make sure the solution can meet your business goals.”
The 3 Biggest Mistakes Users Make with Endpoint Security
November 26, 2019- “Effective endpoint security has a different look in this era of cloud, BYOD, and IoT. Nagarajan Rajan, Vice President of Web Security at Barracuda, explains, “The explosion of mobile device usage and cloud-deployed SaaS solutions is creating security challenges for organizations of all sizes. Endpoint devices are consistently connected to the internet, which can expose them to threats from ransomware such as WannaCry, CryptoLocker, and other vulnerabilities.”
Cybercriminals’ New Favorite Attack Vector: Your RMM
November 21, 2019- “MSPs are increasingly becoming the targets of a variety of different types of cyberattacks. Criminals are attempting to leverage the fact that by breaching an MSP’s network, they can potentially gain access to client credentials. Not only does this provide a potentially lucrative way to increase the damage caused by a ransomware attack, it also gives hackers multiple platforms where they can launch attacks using trusted credentials from several companies, all at once. To keep their internal networks and their clients’ data safe, MSPs must fully secure their remote monitoring and management (RMM) platforms and other systems. A critical step in this process is to implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) strategies.”
Barracuda Research Uncovers Techniques Cybercriminals are Using to Make Business Email Compromise Attacks More Convincing
November 21, 2019- “Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released a new report with key findings about business email compromise attacks. The latest report, titled Spear Phishing: Top Threats and Trends Vol. 3 – Defending against business email compromise attacks, reveals new details about these highly targeted threats, including the latest tactics used by cybercriminals and the steps you can take to help defend your business.”
Anatomy of a BEC Scam
November 21, 2019- “They typically land in no more than 25 inboxes in an organization — on a weekday first thing in the morning, posing as an urgent or time-sensitive email from a co-worker or executive. Business email compromise (BEC) scams represent just a small fraction of spear-phishing attacks overall, but these lucrative campaigns contain a few telltale traits. Barracuda Networks analyzed the characteristics and trends of 1.5 million spear-phishing emails — of which just BEC made up just 7% — to determine the key methods scammers are using in their BEC campaigns. Don’t let the tiny percentage fool you: BEC scams caused $26 billion in losses to businesses in the past four years, according to the FBI.”
Why Improving Incident Response Times is the Key to Preventing Loss
November 12, 2019- “We’ve all heard the phrase “time is money,” but when it comes to security incident responses, lost time isn’t just lost revenue — it can also mean a loss of new business, loss of existing customers, loss of critical data, and a loss of brand reputation. In fact, the inability to respond to email and other cyberattacks is resulting in billions of dollars of losses each year for affected businesses. Because the threat landscape is continually evolving, identifying and removing these email-based threats is often a slow, manual, and resource-intensive process. The longer it takes to root out malicious emails, the farther they can spread and the more damage they can cause.”
IoTSSA Podcast: Cybersecurity Mindset
November 6, 2019- “SVP and GM at Barracuda MSP, Brian Babineau, talks about how MSPs can adopt and maintain a strong cybersecurity mindset in order to be successful. Brian also discusses the rise in lateral phishing attacks and how taking a multi layered approach with the adoption of new tech such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can help in multiple ways.”
The switch from ‘If’ to ‘When’
November 1, 2019- “With cybersecurity month winding down Brian and Tania have some fun in a round table discussion with Neal Bradbury, VP MSP Strategic Partnerships with Barracuda. Neal states that MSP’s need to switch their thinking from ‘If’ we or our clients get breached to ‘When’ and talks about some great new tools that are on the horizon for IT Service Providers in order to better help secure the IT Channel.”
ConnectWise Acquires Continuum: Barracuda’s Perspective
November 1, 2019- “Barracuda, meanwhile, is best known in the security market but also has backup and RMM (remote monitoring and management) software in the MSP sector. Barracuda, like ConnectWise, is owned by Thoma Bravo.” Brian Babineau, SVP and GM of managed services providers at Barracuda, had this to say about the recent business acquisition.”
Partners and Competitors React to Epic ConnectWise/Continuum/ITBOOST Deal
November 1, 2019- “Security has been a massive change catalyst for the MSP marketplace—the dynamic threat environment has challenged MSPs to evolve their offerings and skill sets, while at the same time driving vendors to expand their security offerings beyond anti-virus. Most of this expansion has come in the form of M&A versus organized R&D. More specifically, most of the MSP supplier consolidation has centered on larger tool providers buying smaller, emerging security vendors. This really highlights how hard it is to truly innovate and sustain information security intellectual property. At Barracuda, we have taken a bit of a different approach in applying our battled-tested security offerings to critical MSP operational tools, and it turns out that having a heritage in security matters a whole lot to MSPs who are just getting into it.”
Securing the Vote: 8 Best Practices for MSPs
October 29, 2019- “While the electorate may be divided on many issues, the government entities tasked with managing election logistics are united in their concern about security at the polls. Whether those fears are centered around foreign influence, voter registration fraud, or voting machine vulnerabilities, security is top of mind as we head into another campaign season.”
Providing More Value to Your Customers over Time
October 29, 2019- “Providing IT and security services is not a “set it and forget it” business. To maintain client relationships, MSPs and VARs need to continually evaluate and evolve their services, the technology they provide and their communication strategies. Customer needs and demands change all the time, and service providers must keep up to ensure long-term, mutually beneficial business partnerships. But as an MSP, how can you achieve this? Here are a few best practices you can follow.”
Advice to MSPs and VARs on Marketing and Selling Email Security
October 21, 2019- “According to a global study, almost 92 percent of malware is sent through email. Scott Bennett, Senior Director, MSP Sales, Barracuda, says, ‘These emails are the front door into your business’ or your customers’ sensitive data, and there are more ways for cybercriminals to break in than ever before. Whether it is phishing, identity theft, or spam, every employee can be the key to opening the door for an attacker.’ Bennett adds that regardless of which vertical your customers are in or what size their company is, email is an integral part of how businesses operate today. However, convincing your clients and prospects that the solutions you provide are the best choice for their business and deliver value takes some research, planning, and strategy.”
4 Simple Steps to Get Started Selling BDR
October 7, 2019- “Every business that relies on data needs a backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan in place. Chris Crellin, Senior Director of Product Management at Barracuda MSP, points out that although it has always been important for businesses to recover from user error, hardware failure, natural disasters, and more, with the security landscape posing such a heightened risk, it is even more critical.”
Tips, Observations, and Takeaways from 2019 GlueX
October 3, 2019- “At IT Glue’s GlueX event, Brian Babineau, SVP and GM at Barracuda MSP, explained to attendees why they should be putting focus on selling Security-as-a-Service, if they are not doing so already. Here are some highlights from his presentation.”
Inefficient Incident Response Times Are Costing Businesses Billions
October 2, 2019- “Cybercriminals aren’t just stealing your customers’ credentials and financial information–they are also stealing your time. As cyber attacks continue to increase in frequency, organizations are spending countless hours manually finding, identifying and removing malicious email threats. This can be a lengthy process, which gives attacks time to spread across the organization and cause more damage.”
Strengthen Your Patch Management Processes
October 1, 2019- “IT departments are often overwhelmed and understaffed, which is why so many companies turn to IT service providers. However, even VARs and MSPs suffer from patch anxiety. For instance, even if patches were deployed, it can be challenging to know if the updates were implemented correctly on every device and, as a result, whether the patch will protect customers from emerging security threats. There are tools like Barracuda’s Managed Workplace that can make it even easier to stay on top of patch management. The solution includes a patch scanning feature that helps identify which devices need additional patches, or which patches may have been missed during the normal update process.”
Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) News: September 26 2019
September 26, 2019- “Each business day, MSSP Alert broadcasts a quick lineup of news, analysis, and chatter from across that managed security services provider ecosystem. In today’s MSSP news alert, Barracuda Networks has introduced Forensics and Incident Response as a dedicated solution. The service was previously available only to Barracuda Total Email Protection customers.”
Barracuda Networks Adds Cybersecurity Tools to RMM Platform
September 24, 2019- “Barracuda Networks is starting to embed security and data management capabilities into the platform for delivering managed services that it acquired from Avast Software earlier this year. One of the primary reasons Barracuda Networks acquired the Managed Worksplace remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform is that it’s become obvious that managed service providers (MSPs) are being required to provide cybersecurity service alongside every other IT service they currently provide, says Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager at Barracuda MSP, an arm of Barracuda Networks focused specifically on MSP partners.”
Microsoft’s Backup Miss is a Big Opportunity for MSPs
September 23, 2019- “This past summer, Microsoft surprised several customers when the company revealed that it had not backed up the registry in Windows 10 since last October. The decision to turn off this feature was part of an effort to reduce the overall size of the platform. Understandably, most users assumed backups were still occurring. Even though they weren’t receiving data transfer confirmations, there also weren’t any alerts from Microsoft telling them that there was anything wrong. The company has since published a support page explaining its decision.”
Barracuda Unleashes RMM Platform Update
September 18, 2019- “Barracuda Networks has unveiled the first major update to Managed Workplace, its security-centric remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform, since it acquired the solution earlier this year. With the launch of Managed Workplace 12, MSPs and solution providers now gain access to new capabilities delivered by advanced software management, which enables service providers to offer expanded patch and software update management for thousands of different software versions from more than 100 software vendors. Service providers can automatically apply these patches and software updates to devices under management.”
Image Gallery: GlueX 2019 Featuring Barracuda
September 18, 2019- “During GlueX, Barracuda MSP announced the first major update to Managed Workplace since it acquired the solution earlier this year. The new features and functionality allow partners to manage third-party patches, updates and monitor backup activity for their customers.”
Barracuda Updates Managed Workplace Solution
September 17, 2019- “Barracuda Networks has shipped an updated edition of Managed Workplace, the remote monitoring and management solution it acquired earlier this year. Available immediately, version 12 of the product is designed to support Barracuda’s larger strategy to make Managed Workplace the industry’s RMM platform of choice for securing end user environments.”
Elevate Security with These Web Application Firewall Best Practices
September 17, 2019- “Web applications and websites are desirable targets of cyberattack. Unprotected web applications can give hackers access to an extensive pool of user data or the ability to distribute malware to a large number of people. To protect your clients, their networks, their customers and their data from cyberattack, you need to deploy an end-to-end security solution that includes a web application firewall (WAF). Managed services providers (MSPs), value-added resellers (VARs) and other solutions providers, however, need to observe WAF best practices — from the sales process to delivering ongoing services — to provide their clients with the highest possible level of security. “
Barracuda MSP emphasizes automated patch management in Managed Workplace 12
September 17, 2019- “Last February, Barracuda Networks acquired the Managed Workplace RMM [Remote Monitoring and Management] solution. Today, with the launch of Managed Workplace 12, they are announcing their first major release since the acquisition. While it includes other elements like integration with the Intronis backup line, the main focus is on enhancing the automation of third-party patch and software update management, so that patch management can better scale to keep pace with today’s demands.”
Barracuda Bulks Up Updating, Patching in RMM Solution
September 17, 2019- “Barracuda Networks continues to build on its acquisition earlier this year of Managed Workplace with the latest release of remote management and monitoring (RMM) tool that includes features enabling MSPs to deliver expanded software patch and update management capabilities. With Managed Workplace 12, service providers can ensure that their customers’ software remains protected through the latest patches and updates, an important step in defending against increasingly sophisticated cyber-threats.”
Barracuda MSP continuing to increase options for managed service players
September 17, 2019- “In a blog post explaining the rationale for the purchase of Managed Workplace in February, Brian Babineau, senior vice president and general manager of Barracuda MSP, stated that the RMM tool made it easier for partners: ‘Managed Workplace, MSPs can routinely assess security risks across their customer base, test and update password policies, patch devices, and manage email accounts and security from one console.’ In the months that have gone by since the deal was struck, Barracuda MSP has been busy adding more depth to the Managed Workplace offering and is launching the latest version of the product with expanded patch management and software update capabilities.”
5 Channel Partner Updates: September 17, 2019
September 17, 2019- “Barracuda MSP has enhanced Managed Workplace, an RMM (remote monitoring and management) software platform that the company acquired earlier this year. The enhancements simplify patch management and tighten integration with Barracuda Intronis Backup.”
