Secureworks' expansion beyond traditional managed security services continues to show progress. Recent initiatives involving channel partners, MDR (managed detection and response) and SaaS software development all seem to be taking hold.
The latest evidence: Secureworks' revenue was $141.8 million in Q1 of fiscal 2021, up 6.3 percent from the corresponding quarter last year, the MSSP disclosed June 4. The revenue figures and additional financial metrics generally exceeded Wall Street's expectations.
Recent Secureworks developments and milestones, the company notes, include:
- 40 percent sequential growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from Secureworks' Red Cloak Threat Detection and Response (TDR) software and MDR offerings. In Q1, the company added 50 MDR customers to the Red Cloak platform.
- New support for VMware Carbon Black Cloud endpoints and a new MDR Manager Dashboard. Plus, a growing alliance across the VMware and Dell ecosystems. (Dell owns investment stakes in both VMware and Secureworks.
- In response to the global coronavirus pandemic, Secureworks brought new capabilities - including remote access vulnerability assessment, flexible incident management retainers, and security assessments - to customers.
New Secureworks Partner Program: Early Feedback
Secureworks in May 2020 launched a new channel partner program that's led by Maureen Perrelli, senior VP and chief channel officer. Early feedback has been positive, CEO Mike Cote said during the company's June 4 earnings call.
Referring to the partner program, Cote told Wall Street analysts:
"We launched two weeks ago, actually, and it was two weeks ago today we had over 200 attendees on the launch, the virtual launch," Cote said. "We've had a lot of interest, actually signed up 25 new partners already. So Maureen mdrsand her team are very busy. There's conversations ongoing with over another 100 partners. And we've been excited to see the media interest around the globe and the early interest and opportunity from a momentum perspective. So, in a short period of time, I think Maureen and her team have done a really good job getting us out of the gate."
Secureworks: Progress Reality Check
No doubt, Secureworks ranks among the world's Top 200 MSSPs -- though the company is generally growing less quickly than the overall MSSP market, which is expanding 12 percent to 15 percent annually, MSSP Alert believes.
Cote, Perelli and the Secureworks executive team have vowed support for channel partners. But it will take some time for the MSSP to re-build credibility with some partners. Indeed, Secureworks has a history of flip-flopping on its channel commitments -- though recent evidence suggests the company is serious about reseller engagements.
Next up, we'll be watching to see if Secureworks expands its channel push from reseller mode to more of a true MSP multi-tenant program -- wherein MSPs potentially gain a Secureworks dashboard to co-manage end-customer systems.
From time to time, we also hear rumors about Dell potentially selling off Secureworks. Much of that chatter occurred in 2019. We haven't heard any grapevine updates in 2020.
Regardless, anecdotal evidence suggests Secureworks continues to make progress on its channel, MDR and SaaS security efforts.
