Small businesses, the vital engine of the U.S. economy, find themselves more vulnerable to cyber threats, as evidenced by a staggering 43% of data breaches targeting them in recent years, according to a Verizon report. Despite the alarming frequency and severity of these attacks, only a small percentage of small businesses are adequately equipped to defend against cyber threats.
So why are small businesses adequately equipped to begin with? To simplify the answer, the complexity and cost associated with traditional cybersecurity solutions are barriers that make it difficul for them to deploy, comprehend and maintain robust defenses.
Therefore, small businesses often turn to MSPs to navigate the intricate landscape of cybersecurity. But that does not mean everything is A-OK when an MSP helps small businesses. These service providers are burdened with adeptly managing the cybersecurity setups of multiple companies, each utilizing a diverse range of platforms, while also securing appealing cyber insurance coverage for their clients.
MSPs do this because they feel they must strive to outshine rivals to attract new clients, all to stay competitive in the MSP market. Well, there are times when the helper needs help. And MSP Expo sponsor Guardz, the cybersecurity company securing and insuring small businesses, provides a holistic cybersecurity solution built to empower MSPs to secure and insure SMEs against all kinds of cyber threats.
In less than a year, Guardz has experienced rapid growth, partnering with hundreds of MSPs and securing thousands of the businesses they manage in the U.S. and Europe. Building on that momentum, Guardz raised an $18 million Series A round led by Glilot+, the early growth fund of Glilot Capital Partners.
The new funds will fuel the company's commercial growth and accelerate product development to increase cybersecurity coverage, as well as to expand sales of its holistic cybersecurity offering for the MSPs that serve small businesses.
The holistic platform offers automated threat detection and remediation across various attack vectors, covering business data, employee identities, cloud directories, web browsing, emails and devices. It provides real-time risk prevention and actionable alerts, using AI to continuously monitor both external and internal digital footprints for ongoing cybersecurity analysis and threat mitigation.
For example, its recently announced MSP Growth Hub offers customized reports highlighting clients' changing cyber landscapes and vulnerabilities, which allow MSPs to stand out with detailed risk analyses for potential clients. It also allows branding customization for personalized business interactions and provides a clear snapshot of customer subscriptions.
"MSPs are at the forefront of protecting small businesses, which underpin the U.S. economy, and we are on a mission to empower them to do so better and more efficiently," said Dor Eisner, CEO and co-founder of Guardz. "We enable our MSP partners to ensure not only small businesses' cybersecurity posture, but also the longevity of their businesses. The time is now to double down on our successful go-to-market machine and equip even more MSPs to do so."
The investment comes less than a year after Guardz launched with $10 million in seed funding, bringing its total funding to date to $28 million. Guardz's existing investors Hanaco Ventures, iAngels, and GKFF Ventures participated in the oversubscribed round and were joined by new investors ClearSky.
Guardz is a Gold sponsor of MSP Expo, taking place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 13-15, 2024. Part of the #TECHSUPERSHOW, MSP Expo is the premier event for MSPs, offering a three-day experience combining conference education, networking opportunities, an exhibit hall full of the latest technologies and solutions to help MSPs build their business, and more. Guardz will be in booth #442 in the exhibit hall.
Edited by
Alex Passett
