LevelBlue Empowers Partners with Fast-Track MSSP Transformation Program

At a glance

• LevelBlue, spun off from AT&T: The new company is building a channel program for partners that want to sell security services.
• From reseller to MSSP: The program gives partners a path to become managed security service providers (MSSPs).
• Speed and training: LevelBlue promises a fast track, with training and support so partners can start selling managed services sooner.
• Who runs it: The company is led by security industry veterans who want partners to own more of the customer relationship.

LevelBlue wants its partners to sell managed security

LevelBlue, the cybersecurity company spun off from AT&T, has launched a program to turn its partners into managed security service providers. The goal is simple. Partners that today resell products would instead run security services for their own customers and earn recurring revenue from monthly contracts that renew year after year, which is the business model most small IT providers want.

How the fast track works

The program offers partners a quicker route to becoming an MSSP, with tools, training and resources from LevelBlue. Speed is the selling point. Many small providers want to add security services without spending years building a practice from scratch, hiring analysts one at a time and paying for round-the-clock monitoring before the first customer signs.

What partners get

Partners that become LevelBlue MSSPs get access to LevelBlue’s resources, expertise and support. Their reach grows. That matters in a market where breaches keep rising and small businesses look to their existing IT provider for help.

The people behind it

LevelBlue’s leaders have long careers in security. They want partners to stop simply reselling products and start spotting and stopping threats for customers, instead of reacting after an attack has already done its damage.

What to watch

Partner numbers will tell. How many resellers make the jump, and do their customers stay?

For LevelBlue, the program is a bet that partners will drive growth as a standalone company. The next test is whether partners sign up in large numbers.

Frank Jones, CISSP

Frank Jones has loved computers from the age of 13. Frank got his hacking career started when he downloaded a war dialing program that he used to detect dial up modems in his hometown of Chicago. Frank Jones now works as a JAVA coder and cyber security researcher.