eSentire teams up with CMS Distribution on MDR push

eSentire has partnered with CMS Distribution in the UK and Ireland, extending its managed detection and response offering through CMS Distribution's channel network.

The agreement gives resellers, managed service providers, managed security service providers and other channel partners access to eSentire's managed detection and response services, along with threat hunting, incident handling and response support. It also includes an automated penetration testing and offensive security service that partners can combine with managed detection and response for customers.

The combined approach is designed to help partners identify security risks and track whether those issues are resolved by either the partner or the customer's internal team. The arrangement targets organisations that want external detection and response support without overhauling their existing security operations.

CMS Distribution works with more than 200 technology manufacturers across cybersecurity, software, hardware, storage, networking and cloud services. Under the deal, it will bring eSentire's services to a wider group of partners across the UK and Ireland.

eSentire supports more than 2,000 organisations in more than 35 industries worldwide. Its service combines round-the-clock security operations with threat hunting and incident response, delivered through a mix of automated tools and security analysts.

Channel focus

The agreement reflects continued channel demand for outsourced security monitoring and response, particularly among partners serving mid-sized organisations that may not have in-house security teams large enough to run a 24-hour operation. Distributors have increasingly added cybersecurity vendors to their portfolios as partners look for recurring services that can sit alongside infrastructure and cloud contracts.

For CMS Distribution, the tie-up adds another security service to a portfolio built around value-added distribution. For eSentire, it provides a route into more partner accounts in two markets where cybersecurity spending remains a priority for many businesses facing persistent ransomware, phishing and broader operational risks.

Huw Jones, Chief Business Officer at CMS Distribution, said: "Cybersecurity has become a board-level priority for organisations of every size, and partners need proven solutions that are simple to position, easy to adopt and trusted to deliver outcomes.

"Our partnership with eSentire expands the capabilities available to our channel community and helps partners address one of the most urgent customer challenges in the market."

Service mix

The relationship covers eSentire's multi-signal managed detection and response service as well as its 24/7 security operations centre expertise. In practice, that means partners can offer monitoring and response across different parts of a customer's environment while also adding testing and offensive security work intended to uncover weaknesses before attackers do.

This is increasingly important for channel partners because customers want not only alerts and monitoring, but also clearer remediation paths once vulnerabilities or suspicious activity are identified. One challenge for service providers has been closing the gap between identifying a problem and ensuring it is fixed.

Phil Skelton, Senior Director at eSentire, said: "CMS Distribution has a strong reputation for helping technology vendors scale through the channel.

"Together, we can make advanced MDR more accessible to partners and their customers, helping organisations strengthen resilience, reduce response times and stay ahead of disruption."

eSentire's services are available through CMS Distribution with immediate effect.