OpenDNS and ConnectWise have teamed up on security management services for managed service providers (MSPs). The OpenDNS Umbrella for MSPs service has been integrated with ConnectWise service management software, tailored to MSPs, VARs, ISVs and IT service providers.
The partnership integrates security management services into the ConnectWise professional services automation (PSA) platform. Thie enables MSPs and other services providers to centrally manage and deliver Umbrella security services and web filtering to their customers.
The Umbrella service can reduce malware infections by up to 80 percent more than competitive offerings and offers a variety of benefits for MSPs and their partners and clients. The integration will benefit OpenDNS and ConnectWise MSP partners by helping them boost profits and operational efficiencies, as well as providing visibility into security and Internet activity of individual client accounts directly through ConnectWise.
MySherpa is an IT managed services firm that will realize immediate benefits from the integration. "As an MSP, we need to be able to quickly and easily explain the value of our security service to customers,” said Ethan Tancredi, president of MySherpa. “OpenDNS enables us to do this by providing instant visibility into network activity and metrics like the number of malware infections prevented and domains blocked. Being able to access actionable OpenDNS security data alongside other customer information within ConnectWise allows us to automate service and account management processes. This helps us improve efficiency, margins and ultimately, our profitability."
The MSP is using Umbrella to protect customers’ endpoint devices from malware and cyber attacks, whether they are on or off the corporate network. Before using the OpenDNS service, MySherpa was using unified threat management (UTM) appliances to deliver its managed services. But maintaining and managing on-premise appliances proved to be expensive and time consuming, and the devices ultimately offered little protection against malware.
“Since deploying Umbrella, there has been a remarkable decrease in the number of infections,” added Tancredi. “The very few, non-network infections have all been automatically quarantined by Umbrella’s botnet containment technology before they were able to update or spread. Plus, the time spent cleaning malware has drastically decreased. Before, we spent hours, and now on the rare occasion it happens, it’s less than an hour’s time for our staff.”
The combined OpenDNS-ConnectWise offering provides a number of benefits for MSPs. These include data on service status at customer endpoints, information on blocked malware infections, the number of Botnets contained and DNS queries processed, the top websites visited and website categories and blocked domain statistics.
"The ability for MSPs that use ConnectWise to instantly access actionable data from the OpenDNS security service in one unified console provides the visibility they need to act as 'CIO' for their customers," said Dima Kumets, MSP product manager for OpenDNS. "The OpenDNS-ConnectWise partnership enables MSPs to centralize and automate business processes so they can service customers better, faster and most cost effectively, which increases renewal rates."
Edited by
Cassandra Tucker
