MSSP 250 company High Wire Networks has been doubling down on its cybersecurity services business over the last couple years. In 2023 it sold its staffing subsidiary and in June 2024 it sold its tech enablement business – redeploying the proceeds into cybersecurity services under the brand and platform Overwatch.
High Wire Networks CEO Mark Porter has been assembling his dream team of C-suite executives to take this strategy forward in the market, naming cybersecurity veteran Ed Vasko as CEO of the Overwatch brand earlier this month and more recently naming him chief operating officer of the entire company. Another industry veteran and top executive, Mark Dallmeier, has been appointed as chief revenue officer.
MSSP Alert caught up with High Wire Networks’ dream team to talk about the leadership changes, the strategy going forward, and the opportunity in the market today.
CEO Mark Porter explained why High Wire Networks is moving these chess pieces into place right now in the form of the new executive leadership.
“There’s one mission going forward that I’ve tasked these guys with. It’s very simple but very broad. It’s to take this from having a good offering to make it the best solution for our partners and their customers in North America. In America. And that’s the mission,” he said.
MSSP Alert asked Ed Vasko for the top three things he wants to accomplish in his first six months as the top leader of Overwatch. Here’s what he said:
- Expand the channel ecosystem and help MSPs grow their cybersecurity offerings
- Help partners and end customers address their technical debt. He said they are dealing with an overlapping and confusing technology landscape, and that’s what creates technical debt. He’s looking to simplify this through trusted partnerships.
- Maintain a focus on trust and innovation. Vasko noted that trust is central to the Overwatch brand and the company will work to bring innovative solutions that align with partners’ needs and also create long-term value.
Enabling a Deeper Channel Ecosystem
Managed service providers have been the core focus of Overwatch, but High Wire recognizes that more partners across the ecosystem are looking to add cybersecurity services to what they offer to their end customers. With that in mind, the executives said that High Wire will broaden its approach to include other types of channel partners such as VARs, ISPs and physical security providers.
Some of this is a greenfield opportunity for High Wire and Overwatch. It’s an approach that Vasko and Dallmeier have pioneered in their previous work.
“In our prior lives we worked with a number of multi-billion dollar telecommunications providers to white label our services and solutions to help them form a cybersecurity capability that they bundled, white labeled, and then in turn took into the marketplace,” Dallmeier said.
Ed Vasko’s View: The Cybersecurity Business
“Cyber is a horizontal that runs through everything,” Vasko said. “It’s not its own industry sector. It runs through and touches every aspect of every business.”
