WatchGuard Technologies has enhanced its Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services with the release of WatchGuard Open MDR. This new offering is designed to provide Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with continuous detection and response capabilities, integrating seamlessly with third-party tools as well as WatchGuard’s own technologies.
This approach aims to deliver comprehensive managed security services without necessitating a disruptive change to existing platforms.
Open MDR provides MSPs with an integrated operational view, combining both native WatchGuard solutions and third-party systems. This integration facilitates quicker onboarding, reduces complications during contract renewals, and enables standardised service delivery across various client environments without enforced migration.
Open MDR offers MSPs enhanced control, efficiency in threat detection, and reduced unnecessary alerts. The platform leverages proprietary AI and machine learning to minimise false positives, evaluate threats, and respond promptly, with actions initiated in under six minutes.
According to the company, this technology delivers less than one false alert per month, offering enterprise-level power to smaller partners without requiring them to invest in building a Security Operations Centre (SOC).
MSPs and their clients benefit from comprehensive visibility across endpoints, networks, and cloud services, ensuring consistent security delivery. With WatchGuard’s SOC, continuous expert threat monitoring and threat validation are conducted, allowing for a swift response to potential threats, which helps to isolate dangers before they can disrupt business operations. Importantly, the platform does all this without forced migrations, preserving customer relationships and reducing onboarding challenges.
As businesses often possess security tools, yet lack the resources to effectively utilise them, Open MDR shifts this paradigm by allowing WatchGuard’s SOC to manage environments continuously. This includes verifying threats and crafting rapid responses to incidents, effectively containing threats and preventing attacks from escalating. The platform’s proactive threat hunting uncovers hidden risks, supported by detailed reports that bolster user confidence.
Tailored for MSPs, Open MDR is equipped for efficient, large-scale security services, maintaining customer relations while WatchGuard provides behind-the-scenes SOC support via dedicated Technical Account Managers (TAMs) for escalation and security advisement. It supports cross-platform coverage, compatible with various tools like Microsoft Defender and CrowdStrike Falcon, alongside WatchGuard’s own technologies.
Customer feedback highlights the value Open MDR provides, with Don Lawson, Technical Solutions Advisor at Sonit Systems, expressing that it “Enables us to deliver enterprise-grade protection with clarity and confidence,” thereby reducing alert fatigue while simplifying operations.
