BlackBX launches partner programme for website support

BLACKBX has launched a partner programme for managed IT providers, IT consultants and penetration testing firms, extending its website support model to channel partners.

The programme targets a gap in many clients' technology arrangements, where responsibility for website software sits outside both the managed IT contract and the hosting provider's remit. Website content management systems, plugins, modules and underlying PHP versions are often left without an ongoing owner after the original developer moves on.

That can create problems for IT providers that manage devices, networks and Microsoft 365 but do not maintain the website itself. It can also leave security firms identifying issues in penetration tests without being engaged to fix them or monitor whether they stay resolved.

Under the programme, partners can work with BLACKBX in two ways. In one model, the partner remains the client and receives a single BLACKBX login covering the websites in its portfolio, with BLACKBX dealing only with the partner. In the other, the partner introduces the end client and steps back, and BLACKBX then manages the relationship directly through its own login.

In either arrangement, BLACKBX does not present itself as the partner's company. It limits its work to websites rather than offering broader desktop support or penetration testing services, allowing partners to retain work in those areas.

Website oversight

For each site under management, BLACKBX creates a logbook recording changes, findings, renewals and outages, with dates attached. Sites are scanned daily for known vulnerabilities and outdated software, checked nightly and monitored for uptime every minute.

The monitoring also tracks expiry dates for SSL certificates, domains and software end-of-life, while flagging lookalike domains and administrator accounts that do not use multi-factor authentication. On the Maintenance and Full Service plans, BLACKBX developers also patch website software.

BLACKBX is positioning that record-keeping as a practical tool for businesses facing insurance and compliance questions around patching internet-facing systems. In those cases, the logbook provides an auditable record of maintenance activity and incidents.

BLACKBX supports WordPress, Drupal, Magento and Silverstripe websites, as well as custom applications and headless sites built with platforms including Next.js, Node.js, Laravel, Statamic and Craft CMS. Sites can stay with their existing hosting provider, while customers on the Full Service option can move hosting to Google Cloud, AWS or BLACKBX's own Australian servers.

Pricing model

BLACKBX's entry-level Monitor plan starts at AUD $99 a month plus GST and covers monitoring and notifications to a site's developer about required work. The Maintenance plan, which includes software updates and patching by BLACKBX developers, starts at AUD $840 a month plus GST. Full Service, which adds hosting and server patching, is priced on request.

All plans are offered monthly with no minimum term. Customers also renew at the same price as their starting plan.

The business operates from Sydney, the Sunshine Coast and Ho Chi Minh City, and sits within UnDigital, a web agency that has spent 15 years building websites. The partner programme suggests BLACKBX sees room to work alongside IT service providers and security specialists rather than competing with them across the wider technology stack.

Andrew Cornale, Co-Founder, BLACKBX, said the programme responds to repeated requests from IT providers for clearer visibility over website maintenance work.

"IT providers kept telling us the same thing: what they value is visibility. When two critical PHP flaws were published this month, one of our clients logged in the next morning and could already see what had been done. Partners can now give their clients that for the website too, or hand the website to us entirely," Cornale said.