WatchGuard Technologies has announced the expansion of its research and development (R&D) center in Bilbao, to serve as company development center for new and innovative managed services capabilities, threat hunting and extended detection and response (XDR) solutions. To support this expansion, the company plans to add at least 25% new staff annually.
Additionally, the WatchGuard team is engaging with the local academic community to increase cybersecurity training opportunities to help develop the next generation of cybersecurity professionals in Spain. These initiatives will ultimately translate into the creation of quality employment opportunities and the fight against the skills gap in cybersecurity, as well as contributing to the acceleration of digital transformation in the Basque Country.
WatchGuard has created a Unified Security Platform approach that enables service providers to deliver powerful cybersecurity solutions across network security, endpoint, identity protection, and secure Wi-Fi. With this approach, service providers can not only better protect their customers, they can more easily increase the scale and speed of their business while gaining operational efficiency. As a global provider of cybersecurity platforms, WatchGuard will continue to innovate across many vital security categories, including cloud transformation, secure access service edge (SASE) technology, extended detection and response (XDR), detection and managed response (MDR), and further innovation in security automation and simplification for MSPs.
WatchGuard’s R&D center in Bilbao is the global development center for the company’s innovative endpoint protection technologies. This team of 200 people is among the largest R&D groups in Spain managed by a multinational. WatchGuard is at the forefront of the industry’s shift in focus from prevention and incident response to proactive and continuous response. The company will continue to lead this transition through the work of the Bilbao R&D team in the evolution and expansion of its capabilities for managed services, threat hunting and extended detection and response (XDR) solutions. To accelerate this growth through these advanced technologies, WatchGuard anticipates that it will need to increase the number of new roles by 25% per year.
“For the past 25 years, WatchGuard has driven constant growth and innovation. In recent years that growth has accelerated significantly, fueled by the powerful expansion of our portfolio of products and services, and our ability to build and retain an enviable channel community.” Prakash Panjwani, CEO of WatchGuard Technologies. “Spain is a very important country for WatchGuard, both because of its contribution to our global bottom line, and because of the acquisition of Panda Security, and we now have a significant employee base here as well. This is an important development center for us, and a foundation for growth in our managed services, threat hunting, XDR capabilities, and the WatchGuard for SOC business.”
WatchGuard is proud of the great work carried out by its R&D Center in Bilbao to date, for its impact on Bilbao as a center for training and talent development, and for the alignment with the Basque Government programs such as the new “Plan de Science, Technology and Innovation Euskadi 2030» (PCTI 2030) or the Strategy for the Digital Transformation of Euskadi 2025 (ETDE2025), where cybersecurity also occupies a prominent space.
Another way in which WatchGuard intends to have a positive impact in Bilbao is through the extension of its program WatchGuard Initiative for Security Education (WISE) in the country. Organizations around the world are struggling to hire and retain the technical security staff they need to build and manage security solutions, and WatchGuard, in collaboration with its partner community, is on a mission to close that skills gap by providing current technologies. and training time at local universities. More announcements about the WISE program will be made later in early 2023.
“WatchGuard’s current investments in the Basque Country, coupled with its significant growth plans and training options, create tremendous opportunities for people who want to pursue a technical career in cybersecurity. By creating a high volume of security analyst positions in Bilbao, WatchGuard will provide an excellent environment for experienced and aspiring engineers alike,” said Guillermo Gómez Santamaría VP, Endpoint Product at WatchGuard Technologies.
