ITTech Pulse Exclusive Interview with Jay Lindenauer Vice President of Network Security WatchGuard

Welcome to ITTech Pulse! We chat with Jay Lindenauer, VP of Network Security at WatchGuard Technologies, leads innovation in scalable, high-performance, and unified cybersecurity solutions worldwide.

Many in the tech community admire your journey from engineering and product development at firms like SafeNet and IBM to leading network security at WatchGuard. What key moment or philosophy has guided your approach to building innovative security solutions?

My experience has taught me that many factors must align to deliver an innovative solution that can be sold and adopted at scale. There are many “cool” solutions in the lab that could be demoed, but the key ingredients for a successful security solution are ease of understanding and deployment, and meaningful impacts on the efficacy and/or efficiency of your target customer.

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Looking back at your career, what pivotal experiences or challenges have most influenced your leadership style and vision for secure, unified network solutions?

Both private and state actor adversaries are looking to create chaos, disrupt businesses, steal secrets, and make money through what we all consider criminal activities. Understanding that anyone can be a target provided me with the realization that one must always be vigilant in protecting anything of value to your business or to you personally.

The recent launch of the Firebox M Series has drawn significant industry attention. What was the driving vision behind this product, and how does it address the pressing challenges MSPs and their clients face today?

Firebox M Series was engineered for scalability, performance, and simplified deployment. The new models empower MSPs and their customers with enterprise-grade security built for growing networks and modern hybrid environments. The integration of the M Series appliances with WatchGuard’s Unified Security Platform delivers high-performance with low complexity, simplifying management, broadening service opportunities, and maintaining healthy margins. MSPs can also choose from five models to match a wide range of deployment and business scenarios. Unlike other vendors’ firewall refreshes, the Firebox M series is supported on all new and legacy management systems and runs the same Basic and Total Security Suites as previous generations, allowing for simpler migrations to the new models.

The integration of FireCloud Total Access and the Unified Security Platform is a standout feature. How do you see cloud-native zero trust access reshaping remote workforce security in today’s hybrid environments?

As organizations evolve toward hybrid and distributed models, networks are handling more encrypted traffic, cloud applications, and remote connections than ever before. These factors make it essential for organizations to use a zero-trust approach that continuously verifies every user, device, and connection. FireCloud Total Access delivers this cloud-native zero trust protection to every user, anywhere they work, eliminating the risks and complexity of traditional VPNs. By integrating with the Firebox M Series through WatchGuard Cloud, both on-premises and remote user traffic can share the same security policies and threat protection in a unified, hybrid SASE architecture without adding complexity, downtime, or unnecessary cost.

With the M Series delivering up to twice the performance of previous generations, what were the main technical or architectural innovations that made this possible?

These new appliances have twice the performance of the previous generation of models and are customized to scale alongside business needs, without hidden costs. The Firebox M Series combines powerful, real-world performance with centralized, multi-tenant management. It offers a second optional power supply for resiliency against certain power disruptions, integrated XDR and MDR capabilities, and flexible licensing through WatchGuard Cloud. This lets MSPs expand services, automate operations, and deliver enterprise-grade protection without adding complexity or cost.

WatchGuard places strong emphasis on scalability and future-readiness. How do you ensure that MSP and SME customers experience seamless upgrades and long-term value without frequent hardware replacements?

WatchGuard ensures scalability and long-term value for MSPs and SMEs by engineering the Firebox M Series to grow alongside business needs without requiring hardware replacement. Each model is powered by an intel-based architecture with integrated multi-gig and SFP/SFP+ (10 Gbps) connectivity, ensuring consistent performance even under full inspection and active security services. Upgrades are handled through firmware updates and flexible licensing tiers, enabling MSPs to expand capabilities seamlessly and cost-effectively.

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Sustainability is often overlooked in network security hardware. Can you share your approach to sustainable product design in the new M Series, and how it aligns with WatchGuard’s broader climate commitments?

In April, WatchGuard signed The Climate Pledge, committing to reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, starting with its global supply chain. The company is working to ensure that its logistics, manufacturing, and cloud infrastructure partners align with these sustainability goals to drive measurable reductions in carbon output. The Firebox M Series reflects this commitment through eco-conscious design choices, including reduced packaging, the use of recyclable materials, and energy-efficient components that minimize environmental impact.

From your perspective, what are the most critical skills and mindsets future-ready cybersecurity leaders should cultivate in the next few years?

The future of cybersecurity will be the ability to verify the identity of every user or machine attempting to access sensitive information. Adopting a Zero Trust policy and architecture is essential in the hybrid world of modern information technology. Combined with AI-driven security solutions that can correlate, detect, and respond to emerging threats beyond the capabilities of traditional systems, Zero Trust is central to a security foundation prepared for the next generation of threats.

Before we conclude, is there any advice or final thought you’d like to share with organizations and young professionals about building resilient, unified security strategies in a rapidly evolving landscape?

The best security solutions are layered. Never rely on a single component or product to protect what’s valuable to your business. Endpoint, identity, and network security solutions are vital in building a resilient and highly secure environment. This layered approach becomes even more powerful when supported by an engine that can synthesize telemetry from all components and orchestrate real-time actions and responses.

Thank you, Mr. Jay, for sharing your insights with us.

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