What is our primary use case?
Huntress is a product that we automatically deploy to all our clients. It functions as a basic antivirus solution for most of them. We roll out Huntress immediately after deploying our Kaseya agent to conduct a quick sanity check on the network endpoints and ensure no hidden threats are lurking. It's one of the first tools we use and is included as part of our standard package. By providing a baseline assessment, Huntress gives us peace of mind that no unexpected issues are lurking in the network.
Security stacks weren't a common thing in the past, but they've grown dramatically in popularity. Today, we rely on a mature and robust security stack, with Huntress as the first line of defense. This represents a significant shift from our previous reliance on antivirus software, which only reacted to known threats. Unlike antivirus, Huntress proactively investigates potential threats and identifies hidden risks.
Huntress offers two solutions: an on-premises agent and a cloud platform. We manage the cloud platform and deploy their agent to our client systems.
How has it helped my organization?
Using Huntress is simple. Whenever an agent is deployed, Huntress automatically rolls out, seamlessly integrating with our infrastructure. This eliminates the need for manual intervention from our technical team. Once alerts are triggered, our trained team readily identifies and addresses the flagged events, making the entire process highly efficient.
Every small and medium-sized business should consider implementing a solution like Huntress. Its importance cannot be overstated. We adopted Huntress as the cornerstone of our security stack years ago, and it remains our go-to solution. Although we've enhanced our security measures over time, Huntress remains the first line of defense we deploy.
We have our own Security Operations Center. While Huntress provides invaluable backend monitoring, our dedicated SOC team is responsible for handling alerts triggered by Centrus. Having Huntress' 24/7 monitoring significantly lightens the workload. It ensures I don't have to jump up in the middle of the night or take on the additional role of resolving issues as the CTO. My team handles day-to-day operations, while a select group receives filtered alerts from Huntress. These alerts only include high-priority items requiring immediate attention, eliminating the time spent chasing false positives. This makes us more responsive and focused on resolving critical threats efficiently.
Huntress can remediate low-severity threats automatically. Our team uses this ability all the time.
It hasn't increased our workload. Huntress has narrowed our focus by handling routine tasks and allowing us to prioritize the truly important items. We have a high level of confidence in the product, which means I don't have to constantly second-guess it. While it's not completely "set and forget" since we don't ignore it entirely, it's something we trust. By automating tedious tasks and providing relevant alerts, it frees up our team's time to focus on other critical areas.
We saw a fairly immediate improvement in our security upon deployment. Within the first few days, we identified three or four client-related issues that would have remained hidden without Huntress. This early success demonstrated the platform's effectiveness in revealing previously unseen security concerns. The impact was both immediate and positive, allowing us to quickly address the problems and move forward.
What is most valuable?
We've been very impressed with the features Huntress has added. We particularly value Recon and Windows Defender Management, and we leverage much of the platform's functionality.
From a CTO's perspective, I'm focused on identifying potential security vulnerabilities and ensuring our SOC team has the tools to address them effectively. Huntress helps by highlighting potential issues, allowing us to take proactive measures. We actively utilize Managed Antivirus, Ransomware Canaries, and External Recon for this purpose. While features like Persistent Footholds and Process Insights operate silently in the background, alerting us upon detection, we primarily rely on the aforementioned features for our day-to-day operations.
What needs improvement?
We need an API to automatically retrieve metrics and data about backend activity so we can generate client reports. We believe in comprehensive reporting and actively inform our clients about our efforts. Our daily, weekly, and monthly activity reports demonstrate our proactive approach. Currently, Huntress lacks an API to pull this data, hindering our ability to efficiently convey what happened in the past week, month, or quarter, and how it was addressed. An API solution would streamline reporting and enhance client transparency.
In addition, we require an external recon report generation system. Ideally, we should be able to select a client and instantly generate a report with a single click. I expressed this need to one of Huntress' developers, emphasizing the importance of user-friendly report access. Such a system would significantly improve our workflow and communication with clients.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Huntress for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Our clients have not experienced any stability issues with the deployed Huntress agent. Due to its low-impact nature, they wouldn't likely notice its presence even if we informed them of its integration.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not encountered any scalability issues thus far. Huntress has successfully handled everything we have thrown at it.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support team is fantastic. While I haven't needed their assistance in a while, every time we've interacted, they have been incredibly responsive. They've even gone above and beyond by calling me directly to address urgent issues. For example, on a weekend or after hours, they've proactively contacted me to inform me of a potential device problem and offered to isolate it until a resolution could be found. They even asked me to let them know when I was available for a fix. In short, their proactiveness has even helped me avoid problems before they arise.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We already had antivirus options like Defender and Symantec, but Huntress offered something different. It wasn't just another antivirus; it provided a new perspective on potential threats lurking in our systems, beyond what traditional antivirus could detect.
How was the initial setup?
I deployed Huntress myself and found it to be a straightforward process. Huntress provided excellent documentation that made the rollout easy to follow. This has allowed us to automate future deployments, further simplifying the process.
The deployment only took a day or two, despite requiring several manual steps. I had to install the software, configure it, and then initiate the scans. While these steps might sound time-consuming, they were quite quick due to automation scripts. The entire process was straightforward and required minimal time investment from me.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was completed in-house.
What was our ROI?
Huntress remains our go-to tool. We never even considered replacing it. I think that's the highest form of flattery: it's the first thing we deploy and the only one we never question.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing model for Huntress is similar to competitors and is charged per endpoint. While they have raised prices over the years, they've also invested significantly in development, which justifies the cost. Additionally, the tool itself is valuable, and we've never complained about the pricing.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Huntress ten out of ten. They are a partner and the first thing we roll out.
Currently, we're not utilizing the EDR component, not because we believe it's not valuable, but simply because we already have an existing EDR solution in place. Redundancy doesn't make sense at this stage.
When I first adopted Huntress, I lacked a dedicated SOC team and a comprehensive security stack. Since then, we've built a security stack with roughly twelve tools encompassing various areas, from basic spam filtering to advanced threat detection covered by Huntress, Microsoft 365 security, domain DNS filtering, and more. We established a dedicated SOC team. However, expanding our security stack does introduce the challenge of requiring additional personnel to manage and monitor these systems effectively. My intention isn't to diminish the value Huntress provides or imply it solely created an additional workload. Instead, I want to emphasize its significant role as one crucial piece within our broader security ecosystem.
Being a long-standing client of Huntress provides us with significant advantages. We consider them a true partner, not just a vendor. If I need anything, whether it's a tabletop exercise or additional information, I can simply contact a few key people at Huntress, and they always go above and beyond to assist. Similarly, if I need data or someone from Huntress to present alongside me, they readily oblige. This level of support solidifies their status as a partner invested in our success and the value we bring to our clients. In essence, they offer more than just a product; they provide ongoing support and collaboration to help us improve.
Huntress updates automatically. The only maintenance required is a periodic check to ensure no pending actions need our attention. It runs silently in the background.
I recommend seeing Huntress in action by checking out a demo. While it's valuable to talk to a Huntress partner and do your due diligence, make sure to also engage directly with Huntress by participating in a demo, attending a webinar, or trying their product. We evaluated Huntress on our network and gained valuable insights by talking directly to a Huntress partner.
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