Open XDR Vendor Stellar Cyber Debuts Partner Program For Resellers

The extended detection and response provider is building on its growth with MSSPs with the launch of the new InterStellar Partner Program.

Stellar Cyber Founder and CTO Aimei Wei

Stellar Cyber, which offers an extended detection and response (XDR) platform focused on the needs of smaller cybersecurity teams, has launched its first partner program focused on resellers and distributors as it seeks to accelerate its growth with the channel.

The new InterStellar Partner Program joins the company’s existing program for managed security service providers, the MSSP Jumpstart Partner Program, which has helped to drive strong growth with MSSPs, said Aimei Wei, founder and CTO of Stellar Cyber.

Now, with the new reseller-focused program, Stellar Cyber is aiming to work with more partners to reach a greater number of underserved businesses, “especially the small and medium-size customers who have very lean security teams,” Wei told CRN. “Helping them out is what our mission and goal [has been since] the very beginning.”

XDR aims to provide enhanced security by correlating data from across an organization’s environment and devices and then prioritizing the most serious threats for a response. Stellar Cyber offers what’s known as an “open” XDR platform, meaning that it can correlate and analyze data from third-party products, as opposed to just working with native tools.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company has aimed to stand out in part through offering hundreds of “turnkey” integrations from the get-go as well as liberal use of AI to power its detections.

“There’s such a huge value in providing customers with the ability to use the products and tools that they’ve already purchased,” said Randy Johnston, vice president of channels at Stellar Cyber.

Increasingly, Johnston said, partners and customers are concluding that “open XDR is the answer that the industry is looking for.”

The InterStellar Partner Program consists of two tiers for partners —“5-Star” and “Star”—which offer benefits including market development funds, sales incentive rebates and lead sharing, as well as a partner portal with marketing and sales resources.

At the 5-Star level, partners can also receive access to additional resources such as a “white-glove” enablement team, a branded open XDR training and certification platform and the company’s network of MSSPs.

Many partners today may not be able to offer 24/7 managed security services to customers but most are interested in figuring out some way to get into the managed services space, Johnston said.

“We want our partners to be able to leverage our expertise on the managed services side,” he said.

Partner Perspective

Presidio, No. 24 on CRN’s 2022 Solution Provider 500, has been finding major interest in Stellar Cyber from customers in the higher-education space, said Rebecca Reese, a Presidio sales director focused on state and local government and education (SLED). Presidio is now planning to pursue state and local government accounts, as well as commercial customers, with the Stellar Cyber platform to “capitalize on all the success we’ve already seen,” Reese said.

Stellar Cyber’s ability to connect the dots between different security tools and dashboards makes the platform akin to a one-stop shop for cybersecurity, she said.

“I think truly that sets apart the Seller Cyber solution from others,” Reese said, adding that “their cost model is extremely competitive in the marketplace today.” Presidio has been working with Stellar Cyber for the past nine months and has forged a “strong” partnership with the vendor, she said.

Ultimately, customers that have been using Stellar Cyber so far have been “resoundingly happy,” and “I think that that is [an outcome] that we can continue to replicate out there,” Reese said.

Founded in 2015, Stellar Cyber is backed by more than $68 million in funding from investors including Highland Capital Partners, Valley Capital Partners, SIG, Northern Light Venture Capital and Samsung.