According to the 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report, 63 percent of confirmed data breaches involved leveraging weak default or stolen passwords, proving that multi-factor authentication is a critical component to any organisation’s overall approach to data security.

To address this growing need, WatchGuard announced earlier this year that it had acquired Datablink, a leading provider of advanced authentication solutions. We sat down with WatchGuard’s SVP of Product Management Andrew Young to discuss what the acquisition means for Channel Partners and their managed security services.

How will WatchGuard’s multi-factor authentication solution further enable MSSPs?

It will enable our VARs and MSSPs to provide a new security offering for their customers that is easy to deploy and simple to manage as a multi-tier, multi-tenanted cloud-based service. We are developing a new ecosystem of dedicated technology partnerships to ensure that our multi-factor authentication solution integrates with a wide range of applications, making it easy to sell, deploy, and manage alongside other technologies. Additionally, we are looking at ways to enable customisable branding throughout the product to create a consistent user experience for customers alongside the other services our MSSPs provide.

How does the Datablink acquisition align with WatchGuard’s product portfolio and vision?

SMBs haven’t deployed multi-factor authentication at the same rate as large organisations, even though they’re faced with the same level of threats each day. WatchGuard is going to continue our track record of breaking down barriers to make enterprise-grade security widely available. Multi-factor authentication was identified by both the WatchGuard technology team and our Channel Partners as a very desirable technology to complement our existing product portfolio and go-to-market channels. The addition of multi-factor authentication accelerates execution toward our established vision of expanding into adjacent security markets that are not only relevant to SMB, mid-market, and distributed enterprise organisations, but also very channel-friendly.

When will this new service become available?

Our newly expanded product and R&D teams are hard at work to deliver this cloud-based, advanced authentication service in 2018. Built leveraging the Datablink technology, it is targeted to be released as part of the WatchGuard Cloud platform, providing unified configuration, management, and visibility across all WatchGuard products. Once this new service launches, WatchGuard will have three distinct security solutions: Advanced Network Security, Secure Wi-Fi, and Advanced Authentication.