Intronis MSP Solutions, owned by Barracuda Networks, has expanded its security offerings to include a subscription-based firewall appliance. It's the latest evidence that security and storage subscription services are converging in the MSP channel.
The new offering, called Barracuda NextGen Firewall – Intronis MSP Edition, launches today in North America. The pricing model involves a fixed monthly fee (OpEx) rather than up-front capital (CapEx) costs, according to Channel Chief Neal Bradbury, senior director of business development at Intronis MSP Solutions. ChannelE2E is checking to see when the offering will surface in additional regions.
Barracuda acquired Intronis in September 2015. Barracuda CEO BJ Jenkins hinted in April 20165 that the company would update its security offerings and then sell them into the Intronis MSP Solutions channel.
Fulfilling that promise, today's firewall announcement is designed "for MSPs with multiple customers and locations, each firewall can be controlled through a single centralized management console that makes it easier to deploy common security policies across multiple units."
The launch comes only a few weeks after Barracuda named Brian Babineau to lead the Intronis business. He succeeded former Intronis CEO Rick Faulk, who exited to focus on the robotics industry. Babineau led the Intronis integration into Barracuda, so he's quite familiar with the MSP market.
Intronis isn't the only company connecting the MSP dots between security and storage. Rival Datto is extending beyond its business continuity heritage and preparing Datto Network Appliance -- a router that's actually a unified threat management (UTM) platform. Datto previewed DNA at last week's DattoCon16 but did not reveal exact availability.
Ironically, Intronis MSP Solutions and Datto are striving to succeed where many storage and security rivals failed. A key case in point: Symantec acquired Veritas a decade ago to converge storage and security, but largely missed the cloud and mobile waves in the process. As a result, Symantec finally sold off Veritas at a discount in 2015.
