In this CPTV interview, I spoke with Sophos director Jessica Reece about how Sophos is using its SecureWorks acquisition to simplify XDR platforms for managed security service providers (MSSPs).

Sophos acquired its Taegis cloud-native, AI-driven Extended Detection and Response (XDR) platform when it bought SecureWorks in 2025. Reece, director of GSI and MSSP strategy and sales, said Taegis expanded Sophos’ security capabilities.

“With that acquisition, and our continual development of it and the frameworks being put into place that MSSPs can leverage, it gives them an opportunity to reach their customers at scale and with efficiencies that Sophos hasn't been able to bring before,” Reece said.

She said Sophos – which has been around for 40-plus years – uses its huge ecosystem of vendor relationships to build out its data and telemetry and strengthen its security tools. “Simplifying the platform and giving [partners] an opportunity to pull all that data into one place only helps them grow and increase the opportunity and potential they have within the customer base they're going after,” Reece said.

Jessica Reece

And AI tools obviously play a significant role in that process. Reece said Sophos’ AI capabilities help MSSPs do more with fewer resources.

“AI is a force multiplier, even more specifically in the MSSP space,” she said. “When we think what they're investing into their SOC operations, AI is going to help them streamline and work through and triage the alerts and data coming in more effectively. That's going to give their analysts the opportunity to focus more on response — handling those high-severity alerts they're receiving and focusing their time there. It's going to help them do more, expand within their target customer base with the same number of people they have. You've got the same amount of people doing more. I don't think humans are going to go away and AI is going to do everything, but it's going to make the people that are there just that much more impactful.”

Reece said she is looking forward to meeting with partners at Channel Partners Conference this week.

“The Channel Partners Expo is one place, once a year, where great minds from the entire channel ecosystem come together,” she said. “It's a chance for everyone to talk about the things that are top of mind. I love it because it's everybody in one place — it gives me the opportunity to talk to them.”

Watch the entire video at the top of the page for more.