Kaseya Releases Managed Security Module

The latest version includes new backup, recovery and virtualization options plus a managed security module that incorporates OEM'd Grisoft AVG antivirus, spyware and malware technology into the Kaseya's remote management console.

"Everything [in the security module] is controlled within our framework and interface. So there's no relearning for MSPs," said Jim Alves, executive vice president of marketing at Kaseya. "The deployment [of security updates] is automated, scheduled and unattended."

The upgrades to Kaseya's core MSP platform will be rolled out at no cost to partners, while the security module will cost less than the $40 to $80 per license that a customer typically pays for an antivirus product and be scaled down based on volume, Alves said.

Two MSPs that have beta-tested the security module are already offering it as another option on their antivirus menus.

"We have about 40 or 50 nodes [on the Kaseya security module] at this point rolled out to clients. We're primarily a McAfee house, and the majority of our clients have the McAfee products or Symantec or Trend [Micro]," said Elliot Lehman, CTO of Computronix, Stamford, Conn.

"Kaseya's solution is running on AVG, a top competitor in the antivirus world. I think it's the first time you've seen a product such as antivirus incorporated into a management platform like Kaseya's. It's able to be remotely deployed and remotely configured from the Kaseya platform without ever looking at the desktop in question, which is what makes the Kaseya platform so powerful."

SecureMyCompany, a managed services shop in Encino, Calif., that sells a hosted Kaseya service directly to customers and to other resellers, had been asking the vendor to build a managed security offering for some time, said SecureMyCompany vice president Frank Hughes.

"When we first started hosting Kaseya, we said, 'You've got to integrate security. We've got McAfee, but we're looking to drop in this Kaseya security module.' We advertise ourselves as vendor-neutral, so we've put the Kaseya module up there along with the McAfee products," Hughes said.

For Lehman, Kaseya's security offering brings Computronix closer to offering its customers an end-to-end managed services solution.

"We're just getting closer and closer to complete management, without the client having to worry about licensing or purchases. A place where we can give them one price, and their network is managed," he said.