What is our primary use case?
Over the years, Huntress has gained many features, but initially, it was the foothold detection that drew us to the solution. It excels at uncovering persistent threats that evade other security measures. Our staff often compares it to a baseball backstop: you might not hit every pitch, and the catcher might miss a ball, but the backstop is there to prevent a disaster. In the same way, Huntress acts as a safety net, a team of experts searching for threats that slip past other security layers.
We observed threat actors continually refining their attack methods against the managed endpoints of our diverse clientele. We sought a security tool that avoided exaggerated claims of absolute protection. We understand that perfect security doesn't exist. Instead, we prioritized finding a partner with integrity and a genuine commitment to the SMB security mission, both for our clients and the broader community. Even before becoming an investor and customer, Huntress impressed us with their educational approach. They actively engage the MSP community, providing valuable knowledge, training, and insights into current threats. Their focus on raising security awareness before securing contracts resonated deeply with us. We admire their company culture and approach.
Our client base presents a mixed deployment landscape. Some, particularly those in manufacturing, maintain significant on-premises infrastructure. In contrast, others have fully embraced the cloud and haven't adopted serverless technologies like the ones we offer. Therefore, our platform must cater to this diverse range of deployment models.
How has it helped my organization?
Huntress was likely the easiest tool we've ever deployed. It's low-touch, and we didn't anticipate any problems. The worst-case scenario would be an issue with their internet connection, but otherwise, it requires minimal interaction with the machines. Users are unaware of its background operation; it doesn't make changes or enforce rules initially, making the rollout very smooth. We even deployed it internally before broader implementation to familiarize ourselves and ensure it wouldn't cause any harm. My confidence stemmed from its ease of use and the high quality of its product.
It is a cost-effective solution for the SMB market. It allows us to keep our costs competitive while ensuring optimal protection for our clients. Additionally, it instills a sense of quality and reliability in our operations. After all, we are human, and mistakes are inevitable. Huntress provides peace of mind for the MSP side by helping us mitigate those potential oversights.
We observed the benefits of Huntress within the first two weeks of deployment. We discovered several previously unknown aspects of the managed environment. Subsequently, after implementing the change to simply push them out of their base stack, we were able to quickly identify well-responding machines, those requiring attention, and malfunctioning Wi-Fi protection. This process effectively illuminated areas requiring improvement from a management perspective.
The fact that the Huntress system is managed 24/7/365 is extremely helpful for our workloads. Our staff typically works from seven in the morning to five in the afternoon, so there's only a small overlap with Huntress' coverage. However, we greatly benefit from them keeping an eye on things and being able to alert us in the middle of the night if something suspicious happens. We're very thankful for their round-the-clock monitoring, as it saves us from having to keep our staff up late or hire additional workers for overnight hours. This, in turn, saves us money on labor costs.
There’s a feature that allows us to automatically remediate low-severity threats, and we have enabled it for certain clients. This feature has significantly reduced the number of minor issues that our SOC team would usually deal with, freeing them to focus on higher-level threats and more strategic tasks.
Huntress has significantly improved our security posture. Their team provides exceptional vigilance, staying informed about emerging threats and tracking the tactics of bad actors. We've seen numerous instances where they've detected threats just as they activated. In some cases, we simply isolated the affected machine, while in others it didn't require such immediate action. Remarkably, a month later, the FBI contacted us to inquire about one of these potential threats. Fortunately, thanks to Huntress' swift intervention, there was no actual danger. This experience highlights their cutting-edge expertise, not just in technology, but also in understanding the evolving tactics of cybercriminals. They consistently stay ahead of the curve, or at least keep pace with, the ever-changing threat landscape.
Huntress helps to reduce the need for expensive security tools and analysts. We have a superior base layer compared to just offering a standalone product. While it is a tool, it's also a product and service that includes access to the Huntress team's expertise. Their threat operations team monitors potential threats, so we don't need to dedicate our own time and resources to analyzing logs and information. They essentially do it for us.
Finding cost-effective security partners is crucial, as we navigate competing demands. Some clients expect high effectiveness and demonstrably high value, while other vendor tools see rising costs. It's key to identify partners who deliver demonstrably good value for our investment, maximizing our effectiveness through optimized time and resource allocation.
We begin to see improvements in our company's security within two days of deployment. Pushing the installation requires minimal effort. Typically, suspicious activity becomes apparent within the first 24 to 48 hours, which the system highlights immediately. After a week or two, the system learns usage patterns and adapts to the environment, providing us with a comprehensive understanding of our security posture. By then, we've proactively addressed any identified issues, resulting in a swift and efficient security monitoring process.
What is most valuable?
Foothold detection is a valuable feature, acting as a valuable second set of eyes for both us and our clients. However, what truly convinced us to make it a core part of our security stack, instead of just deploying it selectively based on specific needs, was Huntress' introduction of Managed AV. This allowed us to replace our basic antivirus solution often Windows Defender for our predominantly Windows environment with a more robust option managed by Huntress. Managed AV essentially made Huntress our new baseline antivirus, replacing Windows Defender, while still allowing us to utilize premium solutions like SentinelOne for specific situations. Ultimately, this shift enabled us to expand our footprint from around 400-500 machines to an impressive 4,600.
What needs improvement?
I'd like Huntress to implement a component that can analyze network traffic for specific sites. This involves deploying network sensors that monitor beyond just endpoint data, which they currently gather, and identity information through their 365 integration. This additional layer would offer site-level visibility, allowing us to detect suspicious traffic even on devices where the Huntress endpoint agent can't be installed. For example, in manufacturing environments, network devices and IoT devices might not be compatible with the agent. Comprehensive site-wide visibility would significantly enhance our security posture.
Buyer's Guide
Huntress Managed EDR
December 2024
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For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Huntress for around four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Huntress is stable. We have not encountered any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Easy scalability that requires minimal time investment from us. Their platform readily handles our needs.
How are customer service and support?
We've been using their service for years now with minimal technical issues. However, I've contacted their technical support several times, usually regarding security-related alerts. In some cases, it was a matter of needing clarification, while other times we simply couldn't find the relevant documentation. We wanted additional information about these alerts to improve our understanding and prevent future issues. Sometimes they get busy and their response time is slow but the quality of their service is great.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used a variety of security solutions, but none specifically addressed the gap where users require items to be forwarded to other security layers. We solely relied on antivirus software or various EDR solutions at the time. We simply made the most of those tools available. Huntress did replace antivirus programs like Bitdefender and Webroot for us. Because we could utilize Managed AV, we no longer needed those other products. In that sense, it did take their place. However, Huntress entered the market to fill a previously unmet need and created a new market segment.
How was the initial setup?
The initial deployment was smooth, even when we encountered some misalignments between our expectations and reality, or when we had to adjust initial assumptions. Fortunately, we were able to rectify these issues quickly by modifying the agents. For example, if an agent was assigned to the wrong client, we could make a prompt correction.
Overall, the deployment was very straightforward thanks to the ease of using PowerShell. The developers did a fantastic job making the process as user-friendly as possible.
One person was required for the deployment.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the deployment internally, leveraging our existing RMM tool which already manages and deploys other software.
What was our ROI?
Huntress boasts a high return on investment. This translates to needing fewer staff dedicated to analyzing security tools, which is a significant benefit for us. Consequently, labor costs associated with incident monitoring decrease. Additionally, it provides a dedicated Security Operations Center team that continuously monitors for threats. Essentially, it's like getting two solutions for the price of one. I imagine the reduction in personnel costs would at least cover half the expense of incident investigation and response, which are typically more costly with other solutions. Overall, the ROI from Huntress is evident in our daily operations. The peace of mind and improved sleep Huntress brings are invaluable.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
While other options have emerged since Huntress' arrival, I believe it still offers the best value for the features and services it provides.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Many alternative security solutions originated from the enterprise market, resulting in high pricing that didn't fit our MSP pricing model for smaller clients. Additionally, while existing antivirus vendors offered bolted-on MSP options, standalone SOC services often lacked cost-effective models per endpoint. At the time, nothing quite like Huntress existed in the market.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Huntress ten out of ten.
Huntress is doing exactly what we need. However, we haven't fully explored its potential for expansion. Previously, my main request was Microsoft 365 integration, which they are now working on. We're currently conducting some early pilot tests with it. In essence, that integration addressed the major gap I identified.
Most multi-tenant tools involve a dashboard, user interface, and the ability to create sub-organizations or child accounts. Each child account has access to all purchased products under its parent account. The key requirement is ensuring machines are accurately tagged to their respective companies. While infrequent, maintaining these tags involves verifying their correctness and fixing minor issues, such as typos or inconsistencies. This applies to most multi-tenant tools, not specific to Huntress. However, Huntress simplifies this process compared to other solutions. Unlike requiring uninstallation or redeployment in other tools, Huntress allows seamless correction and movement of tagged machines, minimizing errors and streamlining management.
As long as we understand the platform's capabilities and the value it provides, we can avoid any misconceptions. I believe many MSPs tend to get overly excited about any new tool. We've faced similar challenges in the past, so it's crucial to remember that this isn't a "deploy and forget" solution. While the platform simplifies the process significantly, some effort is still required on our end to ensure proper configuration before deployment. It's more of a "set it and manage" tool compared to the others we use. Therefore, understanding the product, its position in our security stack, and how it complements existing tools is essential. We need to know how to explain its role and support it effectively for our clients. That's the key takeaway. Knowing its place in the security stack is fundamental.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: MSP Reseller