By Frank J. Ohlhorst

Many MSPs are looking to get into the managed security services market, but becoming an MSSP is no easy task. It’s complicated by the number of cloud-security products on the market as well as the lack of integration of those products into existing services.

Comodo is looking to tap into that potential market by offering something that might very well be irresistible to MSPs — a centralized IT management platform that supports the addition of security services, all at a price that any MSP can afford. Qualified MSPs can get the Comodo One management platform, referred to as C1, for free, the company recently announced.

The offering includes an IT help desk tuned for MSPs to use with multiple customers, as well as patch management, remote monitoring and management, service desk, remote access, mobile-device management, website security tools and access to a growing community of MSPs.

Comodo’s Adam Curran

Of course, any sensible MSP will wonder “what’s the catch?”

“C1 is free because Comodo’s vision is to create an international tree of life as it pertains to key MSP business functions,” said Adam Curran, Comodo’s senior product marketing manager.

Curran said Comodo’s goal is to become a one-stop shop for MSPs of all sizes. Both Comodo and its partners can make money via the company’s app store, where partners can buy and resell services and Comodo’s seven-layer endpoint protection. That protection can be coupled with boundary (cdome) and internal network (cwatch) security.”

Simply put, the catch comes down to Comodo wanting to engage with MSPs, and by doing so, be able to sell MSPs and their customers more services, as well as security products. For MSPs transitioning into the MSSP market, Comodo’s offer makes a great deal of sense. The company has a fully integrated security suite that offers endpoint protection, as well as server protection, which fully integrates into the C1 offerings.

That said, MSPs can venture into the world of security services with little or no upfront costs and potentially replace any other IT management platform that they are currently using, saving quite a bit of money. On the other hand, leading MSP management platforms, such as those available from Kaseya, Manage Engine, ConnectWise, and numerous others might offer more robust feature sets, as well as security software and services.

In the never-ending battle to grow their businesses, MSPs now have more choices than ever when it comes to management platforms and security solutions. Picking what fits best proves to be more of an art than a science, and seeing more vendors enter the arena only proves to benefit MSPs looking at choices to help build their businesses.

Comodo will most likely be a welcome addition to an already crowded field, yet with no cost of entry, it should prove to be worthwhile to take a look at what the company is offering — and at the very least, use that offering as leverage when negotiating for better deals from their current ITSM providers.