ESET MSP and partner licensing covers the rules for organizations that use or distribute ESET Services on behalf of others. ESET’s Terms of Use for Business assign every User a Role: Customer (internal use), managed service provider (MSP), ESET partner (distribution) or End-User. One Role applies per Subscription, depending on why the Subscription was obtained.[1] The same company can be a Customer for one Subscription and an MSP for another. A Subscription bought for internal use is a Customer Subscription. A Subscription bought to provide services under a valid MSP agreement is an MSP Subscription.[1] Catalog: One Role per Subscription: Customer, MSP, ESET partner or End-User.
Editions
MSPs use the same ESET PROTECT Services as Customers, managed in ESET PROTECT Hub or ESET MSP Administrator 2 (EMA 2).[1] Hub labels MSP subscriptions by type: Full, Trial or Not for resale.[5] The MSP program page describes a single program that brings flexible seat counts, one console for all clients, automation, and plug-ins for RMM and PSA tools.[2]
Metrics
Seat-day. EMA 2 reports MSP usage in seat-days: “the total number of days a product was used on all devices”. Daily usage values sum to the seat-day total. Full licences (type 1) and trial licences (type 4) are reported separately.[3] A device protected for a whole 30-day month is 30 seat-days. A device added halfway through the month is about 15.
Seat. Each MSP customer licence in EMA 2 has a number of authorized units. EMA 2 shows an error status when activated seats exceed them.[4]
Counting / floors
Usage billing. ESET describes MSP billing as “Daily billing, monthly invoicing”, where MSPs pay for what they use, “no flat rates, with no long-term commitment”.[2] MSPs can upgrade subscriptions and adjust seat counts themselves, and ESET states that higher sales bring higher discounts.[2] Catalog: MSP usage billed daily and invoiced monthly.
Reports. In EMA 2 an MSP can export a daily usage report (CSV) for selected licences and view each licence’s history.[4] The API’s usage report returns, for each company and product, the seat-days and a list of usage values per day.[3] Reconciling invoices against these exports is the MSP equivalent of a true-up.
Status. EMA 2 shows Error when activated seats exceed the authorized units, Warning when they are close, and Suspended when products activated under the licence are deactivated.[4] Catalog: EMA 2 flags MSP licences where activated seats exceed authorized units.
Floors. The MSP program page says there is no long-term commitment and no flat rate.[2] Any minimums would be in the separate MSP agreement, which is not public.
MSP obligations
The Terms of Use’s Special Terms for MSPs add the following duties.[1]
- Valid MSP agreement. MSP rights depend on a valid MSP agreement with ESET or an ESET partner, and end when that agreement ends.[1]
- Own services, not resale. MSPs use ESET Services to provide their own IT services to clients, under their own name. They “cannot resell or otherwise distribute” ESET Services, although invoices may name the Services used.[1] Catalog: MSPs provide their own services and cannot resell ESET Services.
- Branding. MSP services may not be labelled as “provided by ESET”, but may be described as “powered by ESET”.[1]
- Clients as End-Users. MSP clients are End-Users. When an MSP deploys locally installed products for a client, the MSP accepts the Terms on the client’s behalf and stays liable for the client. The MSP also indemnifies ESET against claims arising from client use.[1]
- Communication. ESET provides the Services only to the MSP. Client requests and notices go through the MSP.[1]
MSP Account orders. Services ordered in the MSP Account are confirmed immediately and provided “for an indefinite Subscription period” until the MSP terminates them. Termination in the Account takes effect immediately.[1] Catalog: MSP Account orders run indefinitely and can be cancelled at once.
Platforms and liability. ESET provides the Services in an MSP’s Subscription to the MSP alone and has no obligation towards the MSP’s clients. Once the MSP sets up an ESET PROTECT Hub or ESET MSP Administrator 2 Account, ESET may also provide Services through those platforms.[1] The MSP is fully responsible for its services to clients. ESET disclaims all warranties and liability for damages arising from those MSP services, even where ESET performs tasks directly on a client’s infrastructure.[1] MSPs must also make sure that their own client contracts and marketing comply with the Terms.[1] In the liability cap, the fees for the specific MSP Subscription concerned are taken into account.[1]
ESET partners
ESET partners (ESET offices, distributors, resellers, MSP distributors and MSP managers) use the ESET PROTECT Hub Account or Partner Portal only for distribution.[1] Before processing an Order, they must tell customers that the Terms of Use apply and that an ESET PROTECT Hub Account is required. They must enter the customer’s own email address, never their own. They may create an account for a customer only with the customer’s own email address. Breaking these rules is a substantial violation.[1] For a licence manager this matters because the customer, not the reseller, should own the subscription record in Hub.
NFR Subscriptions. Qualified partners may receive not-for-resale subscriptions. NFR holders count as Customers, cannot distribute or assign the subscription, and may use it only for internal training, demonstrations and other NFR Policy purposes.[1] Catalog: NFR Subscriptions only for training and demonstrations.
Virtualization & partitioning
The same seat rules apply to devices managed by an MSP as to a Customer’s own devices. Usage is measured per device per day, so short-lived VMs only add the days they were active.[3] See ESET PROTECT plans and seat counting.
Cloud / BYOL
MSPs can distribute EMA 2 licences to client endpoints through ESET PROTECT (cloud) or ESET PROTECT On-Prem.[4] ESET Threat Intelligence is an exception to MSP sharing. MSP clients count as third parties and need their own ETI Subscription.[1]
Programs
- ESET MSP Program. Usage billing, self-managed seats and RMM/PSA integrations.[2]
- Trial Subscription. Trials are available to Customers and MSPs. In EMA 2, an expired trial licence can be extended, converted or suspended.[1][4]
Out of scope
- MSP price lists and discount bands, which are not public.
- Partner Portal terms for specific territories (United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Italy, Singapore, United States and Canada), which the Terms of Use reference but which were not reviewed.
- Renewals as a Service and affiliate programs.