LogicNow has acquired a security company that could connect the dots between MSPs, risk assessments and data-driven security decisions. The acquired technology -- called iScan Online -- will resurface as LogicNow MAX Risk Intelligence solution. The result: MSPs and IT professionals will be able to quantify -- in actual dollar terms -- how much risk and cybersecurity exposure end-customers face, the company claims.
LogicNow's buyout of iScan accelerates a key shift at the MSP-centric software provider. Pushing beyond traditional remote monitoring, backup and endpoint security, LogicNow has been developing big data and machine learning tools for MSPs. Generally speaking, the tools work in the background in a machine-to-machine (M2M) format, alerting MSPs with upsell and crosssell opportunities based on data gathered from millions of customer endpoints. That big data effort, known as LogicCards, surfaced in September 2015.
Prioritizing Threat Mitigation
The new Max Risk Intelligence offering, working in tandem with LogicNow Max Remote Management, sounds like another machine learning system of sorts. "This acquisition will, for the first time, provide enterprises with access to automated vulnerability scanning to help prioritize threat mitigation strategies based directly on business costs," LogicNow said in a prepared statement.
Curiously, LogicNow mentioned "IT Pros" as potential users throughout the press announcement, a potential hint that the company is expanding beyond MSPs to promote the security platform directly into corporate settings and perhaps even enterprises. Among the LogicNow sound bites that caught my attention:
"MAX Risk Intelligence enables IT Pros to quickly and easily conduct regular automated risk assessments within their IT environment to calculate the real-time risk of a data breach and assign a dollar value to it. The solution also helps to satisfy a host of regulatory compliance requirements including HIPAA, PCI DSS and FINRA."
The buyout also moves iScan executives into key LogicNow executive positions. Carl Banzhof, former iScan CEO, is now VP of engineering at LogicNow. Billy Austin, former iScan president, is now VP of security at LogicNow. I'm checking to see how those LogicNow executives will be working with LogicNow GM Alistair Forbes -- who joined the company through the HoundDog buyout of 2009.
Layered Security, Mac OS Support and More
Overall, LogicNow is striving to push beyond traditional RMM and security conversations. On the RMM front, the company in January 2016 acquired Mac-MSP -- which makes Mac monitoring and management software.
And the iScan buyout shifts the security conversation beyond traditional endpoint security and anti-virus, toward far more sophisticated risk assessment, mitigation and cost analysis engagements.
We plan to catch up with LogicNow later this week to examine whether MAX Risk Intelligence is purely for MSPs or IT pros... or a mix of both.
