WatchGuard marks 30 years backing MSP-led security

WatchGuard Technologies has marked 30 years in the cybersecurity market, citing a sustained focus on managed service providers (MSPs) and growth in its global partner base.

It reports working with more than 25,000 MSPs, with its technology used to protect over 1.5 million customers worldwide. Over its 30-year history, WatchGuard also counts partnerships with more than 50,000 cybersecurity providers.

WatchGuard positions itself as a long-term supplier in a sector known for rapid shifts in product strategy and frequent consolidation. It says it has maintained a partner-led approach as MSPs have expanded from general IT support into managed security services.

"For 30 years, we've earned trust the hard way - by delivering enterprise-grade security built for MSPs, adapting fast, and always showing up when you need us the most," said Joe Smolarski, CEO of WatchGuard Technologies.

Smolarski tied the company's approach to service providers' operational priorities. "Our focus is simple: deliver the best protection, streamline operations with automation and reduced noise, and help partners scale a profitable security practice. Longevity isn't the goal. Momentum is. And our momentum comes from building with partners, not around them, so they can protect customers no matter how the threat landscape shifts," he said.

MSP focus

MSPs have become a key route to market for many cybersecurity suppliers as small and mid-sized businesses outsource IT management and security operations. That has increased competition for channel partners and heightened demand for tools that cut overhead in monitoring, reporting, and incident response.

WatchGuard says it has aligned its products and partner programmes with MSP operating models, emphasising standardised delivery across multiple client environments. It describes its platform as combining network, endpoint, and identity security into a single integrated service.

It also highlights automation as a differentiator, saying it reduces day-to-day complexity and helps MSPs scale customer coverage.

"WatchGuard is one of the few vendors that truly understands how MSPs operate: standardised, repeatable, and under constant pressure to do more with less," said Don Gulling, president and CEO of Verteks Consulting.

Gulling said the approach helps partners managing multiple customer environments. "They help us deliver real protection without burying us in complexity, and that consistency has made them a foundation of our security stack for years," he said.

Market resilience

Cybersecurity suppliers have faced shifting demand as organisations move workloads to cloud services, add remote and mobile endpoints, and adopt more identity-centric access controls. At the same time, ransomware and data theft have become more industrialised. Service providers have also faced customer pressure for predictable monthly pricing and clearer reporting on risk and remediation.

WatchGuard frames its three-decade history as evidence of resilience through multiple technology and threat cycles. It also seeks to distinguish itself from vendors that chase category trends or rely on acquisitions instead of long-term product roadmaps.

Industry analyst Jay McBain, chief analyst at Omdia, said longevity can signal fit with the channel. "Cybersecurity is full of vendors that look strong until the market shifts. Then they disappear, get acquired, or stop innovating," he said.

"WatchGuard's durability signals something more important than age: the ability to evolve through multiple eras of cybersecurity while staying aligned to MSP economics, operational realities, and customer outcomes," McBain said.

Platform direction

WatchGuard says its Unified Security Platform includes artificial intelligence features and a Zero Trust-aligned approach across network, endpoint, and identity protection. It presents this as a way for MSPs to manage policy and security operations more consistently across layers.

The company did not disclose financial details tied to the anniversary. It also did not provide a regional breakdown of its partner count or customer coverage.

While it cited scale in terms of customers and endpoints protected, it did not say how many are direct deployments versus services delivered through MSPs. It also did not specify whether the 1.5 million customer figure refers to organisations, sites, or individual end users.

WatchGuard says it will continue investing in products and partner programmes for MSPs, focusing on new threat techniques and changes in customer infrastructure.

"WatchGuard's innovation timeline tells a simple story: every time the market changed, WatchGuard changed with it - without abandoning partners or forcing disruptive resets," the company said.