Anti-virus software. Endpoint detection and response (EDR). What's the next cybersecurity software that MSPs will deploy in a near ubiquitous way? The answer involves SaaS application security for every end-user on the planet, SaaS Alerts CEO Jim Lippie asserts.
During multiple conversations with ChannelE2E in recent months, Lippie described how MSPs now need to mitigate customer risk across major SaaS applications and cloud suites like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and more.
No doubt, the ubiquity of SaaS applications makes them prime targets for cyberattacks. Now, MSPs are stepping up to mitigate that risk for SMB customers. The evidence: SaaS Alerts, founded in 2020, now supports more than 500 MSPs, Lippie mentioned to ChannelE2E during the Build IT Live 2022 conference, hosted by IT By Design last week near Manhattan, New York.
Those 500+ MSPs running SaaS Alerts, in turn, now have roughly 375,000 end-user accounts under contract. The software platform offers unified, real-time monitoring to help MSPs "protect against data theft, data-at-risk and bad actors while integrating with the most popular SaaS Applications and MSP tools," SaaS Alerts states.
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) for Microsoft 365 (And More)
On the R&D front, the latest SaaS Alerts launch involves the Respond Module. The software allows MSPs to create customized rules that automate responses to security threats. MSPs can set rules for specific organizations or accounts. And the rules can include variables such as start and stop dates, manual interventions or automated actions, and more.
In theory, the Response Module can cut down on MSP service desk and security workloads. Instead of manually tracking and responding to every cyber event, MSPs can leverage the software to design and scale rules across some or all of their customers.
The Response Module currently supports Microsoft 365, though SaaS Alerts plans to extend it to additional cloud productivity platforms like Google Workspace and Salesforce.
Next up, the overall SaaS Alerts platform will extend to support all of the major RMM (remote monitoring and management) software platforms by the end of this year (check in with the company for a list of currently supported integrations). Also, MSP partners can consume the software for free in their own businesses as a way to harden their own software platforms, Lippie notes.
SaaS Application Security: Growing Market
Admittedly, SaaS Alerts isn't alone in the market. Augmentt -- launched by N-able veterans Derik Belair and Gavin Garbutt -- also promotes SaaS application security and management to MSPs. The latest Augmentt move involves a Free Community Software Program to help MSPs and IT professionals manage and secure their SaaS and cloud applications.
Meanwhile, venture capitalists and private equity firms are pumping money into the market. Examples include:
- June 2022: Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners invested in BetterCloud, a cloud-based management platform for SaaS applications.
- June 2022: Private equity firm Thoma Bravo has invested in AppOmni, a SaaS security management and posture solutions company. The Series C funding round, which included Salesforce’s venture capital arm, raised $70 million.
On the funding front, we've tracked such raises as:
- April 2022: DoControl raised $30 million to automate SaaS security.
- February 2022: Torii raised $50 million in Series B funding.
- December 2021: Grip Security raised $19 million in Series A funding.
- October 2021: Adaptive Shield raised $30 million in Series A funding.
Still, each platform has unique SaaS management and security capabilities that differ from the rival down the road. Moreover, SaaS Alerts and Augmentt are the only two SaaS application security platforms we've seen that specifically engage MSPs as the primary go-to-market model.
So what's next? Watch for SaaS Alerts to celebrate and reward MSPs that develop innovative response rules...
Disclosure: ChannelE2E Editorial Director Joe Panettieri is a member of Channel Angels, a network of angel investors focused on the SMB sector. Channel Angels invested in SaaS Alerts in 2021.
