WatchGuard takes to the cloud with new platform

Network security and intelligence vendor WatchGuard Technologies has released a cloud platform that centralises security management and reporting from a single interface.

The platform delivers multi-tier, multi-tenant capabilities, scaling automatically to allow MSPs to create and manage an unlimited number of customer accounts, deploy new WatchGuard appliances, manage and deploy WatchGuard applications, and gain insights into a customer's network.

"MSPs need a modern, cloud-hosted security solution that's capable of providing powerful security insights, unlimited scalability and easy deployment processes," says WatchGuard product management SVP Andrew Young.

"WatchGuard's mission is to make cybersecurity simple, and this applies not just to end users, but also to the partners who deploy, configure, and manage our products and services. Simplicity is in our DNA, so we are extending that to our partners with the launch of WatchGuard Cloud."

Features include:

• Limitless account management – WatchGuard Cloud is built on a multi-tier, multi-tenant architecture, allowing service providers to create and onboard any number and type of customer accounts while ensuring separation of data between tenants and role-based access to information.
   
• Scalable – The platform responds immediately and automatically to changing compute and storage requirements, allowing the platform to maintain high performance, running reports in seconds across terabytes of data while providing summarised insights.
   
• Inventory allocation - account delegation – WatchGuard Cloud's inventory management features let service providers view and track licensing across all customers. They can also allocate and de-allocate services to those customers on terms that fit their service models. Additionally, WatchGuard Cloud provides tenants with the ability to delegate access to another tenant, including control over duration and permissions.
   
• Automated alerts - notifications – As a centralised management interface, the WatchGuard Cloud platform allows users to quickly and easily configure alerts and notifications across all security applications, including visibility of Firebox UTM and AuthPoint multi-factor authentication events. MSSPs can access notifications on anything from customer licenses, usage or expirations to security and performance updates.
   
• Flexible data retention – WatchGuard Cloud offers a variety of data retention options, removing the need to configure, deploy, maintain and scale servers and appliances for logging and reporting.
   
• Zero Infrastructure Requirements – As a cloud-hosted service, the platform has no hardware requirements for service providers to deploy, resulting in reduced cost and time spent deploying and maintaining servers.
   
• Visibility and reporting – Building upon the award-winning Dimension solution, WatchGuard Cloud comes equipped with more than 100 dashboards and reports that identify key network security threats, issues and trends, while accelerating users' ability to set and enforce meaningful security policies.
   
• Platform and data security – User logins are protected by multi-factor authentication, and WatchGuard Cloud offers built-in security for data in transit, and at rest, which enables users to implement role-based access control and supports the logical separation of data between tenants, as well as partitions between subscriber accounts.