As cyberthreats become more sophisticated and hybrid IT environments more complex, organisations are increasingly turning to specialist managed security service providers for deeper expertise and stronger protection. Check Point Software explores how this increasing demand is driving the adoption of prevention-first, AI-powered security strategies across highly regulated sectors.
Check Point Software Technologies, a pioneer and global leader of cybersecurity solutions, has highlighted the growing demand for specialist managed security service providers (MSSPs) as organisations across healthcare, public sector and highly regulated industries look for deeper cybersecurity expertise to help secure increasingly complex digital environments. This reflects a broader shift towards platform-based, prevention-first cybersecurity architectures that simplify protection across hybrid environments, leveraging AI-driven threat intelligence such as Check Point’s ThreatCloud AI.
The shift comes as organisations face mounting pressure to defend against escalating cyberthreats while managing hybrid infrastructure, cloud adoption, remote access requirements, compliance obligations and growing use of AI-driven technologies. Many organisations are now reassessing traditional outsourced security models in favour of specialist providers capable of delivering hands-on expertise and operational partnership. The trend is further driven by the ongoing cybersecurity skills gap and rising operational complexity across cloud and hybrid environments.
This growing demand is reflected in the continued growth of UK-headquartered cybersecurity specialist MSSP SEP2, a Check Point Elite Partner that has built its business around delivering highly specialised managed security services powered by Check Point technologies. Founded in 2016, SEP2 operates a 24/7/365 UK-based security operations centre (SOC) and supports organisations ranging from SMEs through to large enterprises operating complex hybrid environments across public and private sectors.
SEP2 says organisations increasingly want partners that can operate as an extension of internal security teams while bringing deep technical expertise and operational consistency to increasingly demanding cybersecurity environments, particularly in highly regulated sectors where resilience and uptime are business critical.
The company has deliberately focused on a specialist strategy centred around a limited number of best-of-breed technologies rather than attempting to support dozens of overlapping platforms. SEP2 describes this as a ‘go deep, not wide’ philosophy, prioritising deep expertise over broad but shallow service coverage.
For network and access security, that strategy has centred on Check Point since the company was founded. “Check Point has been a cornerstone of our business from day one. Check Point enables us to compete with larger competitors and has levelled the playing field for us,” said Mark McDaid, Head of Go-to-Market and Alliances at SEP2.
Today, SEP2’s technical teams support a broad range of customer environments spanning on-premises infrastructure, hybrid cloud deployments, SASE architectures, email security, secure collaboration platforms, governance programmes and exposure management initiatives. The MSSP’s ‘Wingman’ service portfolio incorporates multiple Check Point technologies, including Check Point Maestro Hyperscale Firewall, Check Point SASE, Check Point Email Security and Check Point ThreatCloud AI capabilities.
Across these services, SEP2 supports secure access, email and collaboration security, exposure management and governance-driven programmes, underpinned by AI-powered threat prevention and intelligence.
The partnership between SEP2 and Check Point recently played a key role in supporting a major NHS hospital deployment involving Check Point Maestro Hyperscale Firewall, one of the industry’s most advanced hyperscale network security platforms. Following a network anomaly initially attributed to the firewall, engineers from SEP2 and Check Point worked collaboratively on-site to investigate and resolve the issue. The engagement included direct support from specialist Check Point R&D teams, helping reinforce customer confidence in the deployment and contributing to the organisation signing a new five-year platform agreement. The collaboration demonstrated the value of deep technical partnership in high-stakes, highly regulated environments.
The collaboration reflects increasing customer demand for more integrated approaches to cybersecurity that reduce operational complexity while improving visibility and protection across distributed environments.
“Organisations are trying to balance security effectiveness with operational simplicity,” said Mark Weir, Regional Director, UK and Ireland, Check Point Software. “Many are moving away from fragmented security models towards integrated, prevention-first platforms that deliver consistent protection across hybrid environments. Specialist MSSPs are becoming increasingly important because they combine deep operational expertise with architectures that can scale across complex hybrid environments.”
SEP2 also works closely with Check Point’s Advocacy services, enabling deeper post-sales collaboration and helping deliver consistently higher-quality outcomes for customers.
SEP2 says its investment in technical specialisation has also become a major differentiator in recruitment and retention. Approximately 70 percent of its Wingman Secure Access team hold elite-level Check Point certifications, including CCSM and CCSM Elite accreditations. The company also maintains dedicated lab environments where engineers can test deployments and expand technical capabilities using live Check Point technologies, including Maestro and VSX environments.
The specialist strategy is delivering measurable commercial results: SEP2 reports year-on-year growth of approximately 35–40%, onboarded 88 new customers in 2025 compared with 54 the previous year, and continues to strengthen retention through consistent service quality and multi-year customer relationships.
Operationally, the company says its technical teams resolve approximately 98 percent of support tickets internally without escalation. “The technical team has strong confidence in the Check Point platform and the value it delivers to customers,” said John Tammaro, Head of Customer Success at SEP2.
As organisations continue modernising infrastructure and expanding AI adoption, SEP2 expects demand for specialist security expertise to continue growing across sectors including healthcare, financial services and critical infrastructure.
