Full Report
Even the best cybersecurity tools won’t configure and sell themselves. That's why we're thrilled to introduce a new Huntress service: Partner Enablement!
Analysis Summary
# Industry News: Huntress Launches Partner Enablement Service to Bridge the Cybersecurity Skills Gap
## Summary
Huntress has announced the launch of a new "Partner Enablement" service integrated directly into its platform dashboard. This initiative aims to provide Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with the technical training, marketing collateral, and threat intelligence necessary to effectively sell and manage cybersecurity services for Small and Mid-sized Businesses (SMBs).
## Key Details
- **Date:** November 18, 2020
- **Companies Involved:** Huntress
- **Category:** Product Launch / Channel Enablement
## The Story
Recognizing that sophisticated security tools are only effective if properly configured and communicated to end-users, Huntress is shifting focus toward the "human" side of the security equation. The new Partner Enablement service is a resource hub designed to help IT providers navigate the complexities of a layered security stack.
The service is structured into three distinct pillars:
1. **Mastering Huntress:** Focused on technical ROI, providing documentation and configuration guides to ensure MSPs utilize the full extent of the Huntress platform.
2. **Growing Revenue:** A sales-centric wing providing co-branded datasheets, hacking demonstrations, and pitch decks to help MSPs translate technical risk into business value for their clients.
3. **Gaining Knowledge:** An educational resource focused on threat tradecraft and security maturity frameworks to keep partners informed of the evolving attacker landscape.
## Business Impact
### For the Companies Involved
Huntress strengthens its "sticky" relationship with its channel partners. By providing free tools that help partners grow their own revenue, Huntress ensures lower churn rates and higher platform utilization without increasing the cost to the partner.
### For Competitors
This move puts pressure on other Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and EDR providers to offer more than just a dashboard. Competitors who only provide technical alerts without supporting the partner's sales and marketing efforts may lose market share to "partner-first" vendors like Huntress.
### For Customers
SMB end-users benefit from a more informed and capable IT provider. As MSPs become better at communicating risks and configuring tools, the overall security posture of the small business community improves.
### For the Market
This signals a shift in the cybersecurity market from "pure-play technology" to "technology + enablement." It acknowledges the "skills gap" within the MSP sector and positions the vendor as a primary educator.
## Technical Implications
The service includes "Assisted Remediation" and "External Recon" tools, which automate the identification of open ports and provide step-by-step instructions for fixing vulnerabilities. The integration of automated co-branded marketing assets indicates a technical investment in the dashboard's UX/UI capabilities.
## Strategic Analysis
- **Market Positioning:** Huntress is positioning itself not just as a software vendor, but as a business partner for MSPs catering to the "under-secured" 99% of businesses.
- **Competitive Advantage:** Providing these resources at "no added cost" creates a high-value proposition that simplifies the MSP’s sales cycle—a major pain point in the industry.
- **Challenges:** The primary challenge will be keeping the content fresh enough to match the rapid pace of threat evolution and preventing the platform from becoming a static library of outdated PDFs.
## Industry Reactions
*Analyst Note:* The market response to Huntress’ recent expansions (including Ransomware Canaries and External Recon) has been overwhelmingly positive, evidenced by their subsequent receipt of awards like the ConnectWise IT Nation Partner’s Choice. Analysts view this enablement move as a necessary step for vendors targeting the SMB space where marketing budgets are slim.
## Future Outlook
Expect Huntress to continue expanding this "Hub" concept. Given their recent acquisition of Curricula (a security awareness training platform), the future outlook likely includes integrating end-user training directly into this enablement framework, turning the MSP into a full-scale security educator for their clients.
## For Security Professionals
Practitioners working within MSPs should immediately leverage the "Mastering Huntress" modules to ensure their current deployments aren't suffering from "feature fatigue" or misconfiguration. The "Gaining Knowledge" section serves as a valuable, free source of threat intelligence that can be used for internal team training.