WatchGuard CEO on 30 Years and the Future of MSP Security

WatchGuard is marking its 30th year in business, a milestone that CEO Joe Smolarski says highlights both the company’s longevity and the continued importance of the IT channel.

In an interview with Channel Insider, Smolarski reflected on WatchGuard’s history working with managed service providers (MSPs), the evolving cybersecurity landscape, and why the vendor plans to keep partners at the center of its growth strategy.

Why WatchGuard invested early in the IT channel

WatchGuard has worked extensively with MSPs and other channel partners throughout its history. Now, the company supports over 25,000 partners worldwide and continues to develop security solutions built for their unique needs.

“WatchGuard has a tremendous reputation in the channel, and it’s because the channel has been the focus for this company since day one,” Smolarski said. “Everything about the platform is built with MSPs in mind. We went after this market early and we’ve remained committed to it since.”

“From our perspective, we gambled right. This market has grown exponentially in the last few years, and all we’ve had to do is double down on that commitment,” he added.

As MSPs evolve, vendors must evolve with them

It doesn’t take long to find someone willing to say that MSPs need to evolve to stay competitive, nor is it hard to find examples of that same thought throughout the past decade in the channel.

To Smolarski, innovation is crucial not just to partners but also to the vendors building the technology those partners need to serve their customers.

“It can’t just be about our legacy as this great channel company, it has to be about our evolution and where we’re going,” Smolarski said. 

“It’s good that our partners know we aren’t a fly-by-night company that might not be around, because that builds trust, but we need to keep growing and building, too.”

At WatchGuard, that has meant organically, through product development and a long-term focus on AI, and inorganic growth through acquisitions over time.

Rising cybersecurity threats make MSPs critical advisors

Smolarski isn’t the only executive at a security company focused on the SMB market, of course; cybersecurity companies have exploded as threats intensify and become more complex.

“It’s not that everyone else sucks, it really isn’t, but there are a few key differentiators for us that we need to make sure the market understands,” Smolarski said.

Those key areas go beyond just the technology itself and encompass the overall support WatchGuard promises its partners and their end customers.

“SMBs have really become the heartbeat of the global economy, and they’re relying on technology more than ever before just to exist,” said Smolarski. “MSPs, meanwhile, have become the engine through which SMBs get that technology.”

“We’re always there for our partners when something happens,” he continued. “They can rely on us to support them so they can go watch their kids’ soccer game or just generally keep the business going.”

Why MSPs remain central to WatchGuard’s future strategy

SMB owners have been slow, in some ways, to adopt security as a business need; many spent much of the 2010s and before believing they were “too small” to be a target. 

Even today, many lack the budget and in-house talent necessary to keep up with the threat landscape, meaning MSPs have only grown in importance for their SMB customers.

In that context, Smolarski said, WatchGuard continues to innovate on the product side to keep SMBs secure at the right price.

“Our job is to stay ahead of threats. It’s also to make sure that customers are secure at the proper economics,” Smolarski said. 

“MSPs need to make money, and SMBs don’t have the budget that larger organizations do for security, so we need to help partners find that middle ground where everyone gets what they need.”