Cybersecurity specialist WatchGuard has announced the acquisition of ActZero in a move designed to help MSPs leverage new MDR capabilities without the need for an in-house security operations center (SOC).
Headquartered in California, ActZero specializes in MDR services that offer proactive, automated threat response alongside AI-driven threat analysis.
WatchGuard has moved to acquire the business to further expand its own 24/7 MDR service and extend the capabilities of its Unified Security Platform to provide MSPs with further operational efficiency gains.
In an announcement, WatchGuard CEO Prakash Panjwani said the company realized the need to “scale rapidly” following strong traction of its MDR service over the last year.
“The acquisition of ActZero allows WatchGuard to add capacity, scalability, and new technology that will enable our MDR service to expand to the full WatchGuard portfolio and third-party security products,” he explained.
“With additional scale, we can handle a larger partner base efficiently, building confidence with our partners so they can easily add more services as we expand our MDR capabilities. ActZero has built its service with this kind of scaled customer experience in mind.”
Foundation
First introduced in October 2023, WatchGuard MDR is designed to equip MSPs with a scalable offering for monitoring endpoints and Microsoft 365 activities, threat hunting, detection, investigation, as well as containment and remediation.
WatchGuard said it now plans to make ActZero the foundation of the WatchGuard MDR line to further tailor the offering to MSP needs, incorporating ActZero’s customer success function, onboarding procedures, and expert SOC team.
Additionally, the platform will benefit from new machine learning-based tools designed to drive down false positives and noise, while open architecture will enable management of Fireboxes and third-party services such as Microsoft Defender.
“WatchGuard shares our commitment to delivering leading MDR services and simplifying cybersecurity management for MSPs,” commented Hal Libby, ActZero co-founder and the new general manager of managed services at WatchGuard.
“We’re excited that more MSPs will be able to leverage our platform capabilities, and that together with WatchGuard, we can accelerate the expansion of MDR products in the future.”
Continuity
WatchGuard said the immediate focus of the freshly combined company will be to service all of its customers and partners to ensure they continue to receive the level of service they are used to.
ActZero’s SOCs, staff, and processes will “direct the overall delivery” of WatchGuard MDR services going forward, the firm added.
“I’d like to thank and congratulate the entire ActZero team,” commented Sameer Bhalotra, co-founder and CEO of ActZero.
“By integrating with WatchGuard, the team’s efforts in creating an AI-powered MDR solution with expert analysis will expand worldwide and provide unmatched protection against cyber threats. “
