Full Report
Dima Kumets explains why he wanted to make his way back to the world of MSP security—and how he ended up as a Principal Product Manager at Huntress.
Analysis Summary
# Industry News: Huntress Strengthens Product Leadership with MSP Veteran Dima Kumets
## Summary
Huntress has announced the appointment of Dima Kumets as Principal Product Manager, bringing a veteran of the OpenDNS/Cisco Umbrella era back into the MSP security fold. The move signals Huntress' commitment to scaling its product roadmap by prioritizing deep community integration and purpose-built tools for the "99%" of underserved businesses.
## Key Details
- **Date:** January 20, 2022
- **Companies Involved:** Huntress, Cisco (OpenDNS), Fastly
- **Category:** Company News / Talent Acquisition
## The Story
Dima Kumets, a pivotal figure in the early success of OpenDNS’s MSP channel (which eventually became Cisco Umbrella), has officially joined Huntress as Principal Product Manager. Kumets brings a circular history to the firm; he served as an early advisor to the Huntress founders in 2016 during their initial pitch phase.
After a tenure at Fastly, where he managed edge computing and media products through an IPO, Kumets is returning to the MSP sector. His arrival is framed around three core philosophies for the SMB market: demonstrating continuous business value beyond "cool tech," prioritizing partner-requested features (such as deep PSA/ticketing integrations) over theoretical "expert" roadmaps, and fostering a "Go-Giver" community spirit.
## Business Impact
### For the Companies Involved
- **Huntress:** Gains a product leader with a proven track record of scaling MSP security startups to major acquisitions. Kumets’ experience at Fastly also brings "big tech" scaling discipline to a rapidly growing company.
- **Fastly:** Loses a veteran Director of Product, though the move highlights the gravitational pull the cybersecurity sector currently exerts on top-tier product talent.
### For Competitors
- **Legacy Vendors:** Competitors who rely on top-down roadmap decisions may struggle against a Huntress product team led by someone focused on "bottom-up" partner feedback and operational friction reduction (e.g., ticketing vs. billing integrations).
- **Emerging EDR/MDR Players:** This hire reinforces Huntress' position as the "MSP-first" choice, making it harder for new entrants to gain trust without similar community pedigree.
### For Customers
- **MSPs:** Can expect a continued focus on "quality of life" features. The emphasis on ticketing integrations over billing suggests a product roadmap aimed at reducing the labor overhead of security analysts.
- **SMBs:** Benefit from high-end security tradecraft translated into affordable, manageable tools.
### For the Market
- **The "99%" Segment:** The hire validates that the SMB/MSP market is no longer a secondary focus for cybersecurity talent, but a primary destination for leaders from major tech firms and IPO-stage companies.
## Technical Implications
Kumets emphasizes that technical innovation in the MSP space is useless without **workflow integration**. The specific mention of prioritizing PSA (Professional Services Automation) ticketing over billing reflects a technical strategy focused on "Mean Time to Respond" (MTTR) and operational efficiency within a security operations center (SOC) environment.
## Strategic Analysis
- **Market Positioning:** Huntress is positioning itself as the champion of the "under-resourced" partner, moving away from being just a "startup" to a mature platform led by industry veterans.
- **Competitive Advantage:** Kumets’ background at Cisco Umbrella gives Huntress "insider knowledge" on how large-scale security platforms operate, allowing them to anticipate market shifts while maintaining a small-firm's agility.
- **Challenges:** Scaling the "community-first" culture as the company grows toward its own potential exit or IPO can lead to tension between partner needs and investor demands.
## Industry Reactions
- **Analyst Sentiment:** The move is seen as a "win" for the MSP community, as Kumets is highly regarded for his role in standardizing DNS-based security for service providers.
- **Market Response:** Generally positive, viewing the hire as a sign that Huntress is preparing for a sophisticated phase of product expansion beyond its initial persistence-detection roots.
## Future Outlook
- **Predictions:** Expect Huntress to expand its integration ecosystem, moving deeper into the daily workflows of MSPs (RMM/PSA integrations).
- **Watch For:** Potential product pivots into edge security or content delivery security, given Kumets’ recent experience at Fastly.
## For Security Professionals
Practitioners should note the shift in focus from "threat detection only" to "threat detection + operational efficiency." The inclusion of leaders who value PSA integrations means tools will become less "noisy" and more actionable, allowing lean security teams to handle larger volumes of alerts without increasing headcount.