‘The product isn’t changing overnight. What changes is that we’re going to invest more in it, add more infrastructure, strengthen the security capabilities and accelerate innovation. We believe every MSP is eventually going to need a SASE platform, even if some of them don’t realize it yet,’ says CyberFox CEO David Bellini.
CyberFox has acquired cloud-native SASE (secure access service edge) platform maker Timus Networks in a move CEO David Bellini said will help MSPs simplify their security stacks while securing users wherever they work.
The acquisition, announced Monday, also brings secure remote access, secure web browsing, adaptive policy controls and always-on connectivity into the company’s platform. CyberFox’s Bellini said the acquisition is part of the strategy the Tampa, Fla.-based vendor outlined after raising financing earlier this year. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This is exactly what we said we were going to do,” Bellini told CRN. “We’re trying to build that Palo Alto Networks for the MSP and SMB market. Customers want fewer vendors and a more complete security stack, and SASE was an obvious piece that needed to be part of that vision.”
He added that the acquisition also points to how workplace security has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic with employees continuously working from home.
[Related: CyberFox’s New Channel Chief On Scaling The Business: ‘This Is About Building Something Sustainable’]
“You need a way to secure every connection back to your business applications, whether that’s Microsoft 365, ConnectWise, HubSpot or anything else. That’s exactly what SASE gives you. It protects users no matter where they are,” he added.
Rather than building a SASE platform internally, acquiring Timus allowed CyberFox to accelerate its roadmap.
“Could we have built it ourselves? Sure,” he said. “But Timus already has hundreds of MSP partners using the platform every day. It’s been tested, it’s been validated and customers are happily paying for it because it works. Instead of spending years recreating something that’s already best-in-class, we were able to bring it into the CyberFox family and immediately integrate it with everything else we’re doing.”
Matt Rose, co-founder and chief experience officer at Orlando, Fla.-based CyberFox partner Tech Rage IT, said the addition of a SASE platform aligns with the broader industry trend toward vendor consolidation.
“Having a single vendor typically gets better integration, better support and better pricing, all while checking all the boxes for what we need to provide our customers,” he told CRN. “Having a SASE product is definitely intriguing, as it’s a tool most MSPs already have, or should have, that they can provide to customers.”
Bellini said the acquisition also creates another opportunity to expand recurring cybersecurity services.
“Every MSP today has become a security provider whether they planned to or not,” he said. “Customers expect them to handle cybersecurity alongside infrastructure, cloud, mobile devices and everything else. What we’re doing is making those security tools easier to deploy, easier to support and affordable enough that MSPs can build profitable security offerings around them.”
Timus will continue operating under its existing brand for now, with no disruption to existing partners or customers. Bellini said CyberFox plans to invest aggressively in the platform while integrating it into the company’s broader portfolio.
“The product isn’t changing overnight,” he said. “What changes is that we’re going to invest more in it, add more infrastructure, strengthen the security capabilities and accelerate innovation. We believe every MSP is eventually going to need a SASE platform, even if some of them don’t realize it yet.”
