Alert Logic Reveals Cloud Strategy, Partner Program

Managed security services providers (MSSPs) sometimes act as master MSPs, seeking out channel players as marketing allies. See here and here. Alert Logic follows a similar track, although the company believes it offers a different approach. The Houston-based firm targets a range of channel partners — hosting providers, MSPs, and VARs — with security offerings delivered as a service. Here are some new details.

The company this week spelled out its cloud-based network security approach. Alert Logic’s lineup for service providers includes Log Manager and Threat Manager, the latter incorporating an intrusion detection capability. The company also offers vulnerability management in the cloud.

Alert Logic seeks to differentiate itself from MSSPs in that builds its own software, rather than tapping commercial-off-the-shelf wares. Gray Hall, Alert Logic’s chairman and chief executive officer, suggested MSSPs may eventually become the company’s customers. He said an MSSP could swap out the log management and threat management products embedded in its solution for Alert Logic’s SaaS counterpart.

Today, Alert Logic’s customers range from VARs edging into the managed services business to large hosting companies such as Rackspace. Hall said the company provides flexibility when it comes to how service providers package its SaaS solutions, noting that some partners do private labeling.

Rackspace for example offers Alert Logic’s threat and log management offerings as an add-on hosting option. As for VARs, Hall said some have opted to jettison Cisco Systems’ Security Monitoring, Analysis, and Response System (MARS) in favor of Alert Logic’s SaaS approach. He said VARs are switching for ease of deployment, faster provisioning, and the ability to establish a recurring revenue stream via managed services.

Alert Logic’s SaaS solutions reside in the company’s data center. Service providers deploy an Alert Logic multi-tenant appliance — a 1U rack-mounted device — in their own data center or at the customer’s premise. The appliance collects log, threat and vulnerability data and sends it to Alert Logic’s cloud. Alert Logic performs the analysis and generates reports, which customers can access through a Web interface.

Alert Logic now provides an application programming interface that lets service providers integrate Alert Logic’s user interface into their portals.

Alert Logic also rolled out a new channel program dubbed the Partner Success Platform. The program has two tiers: one for hosting providers/service providers and one for resellers/VARs, noted Randy Rosenbaum, product marketing manager at Alert Logic.

Hall said the company currently works with more than 30 partners and may add a dozen or so additional partners this year. He added that his main focus is on organic growth within the existing partner base. To that end, the Partner Success Platform aims to provide lead generation events among other marketing support activities.

Also new at Alert Logic:

• LogReview, a service geared toward customers with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliance chores.
• Log Manager 2.1, the latest version of the company’s log management SaaS solution.
• A multi-tenant edition of Threat Manager.
• Traffic Director, which the company said is used to aggregate network span ports on service providers’ networks.