Cybersecurity should always be top of mind, but email security in particular is one area that managed service providers (MSPs) and their clients should always keep a keen eye on. Read any security research report and it will tell you that email is a top threat vector for malicious activity.
The FBI has reported that business email compromise scams cost domestic and international US businesses more than $43 billion between 2016 and 2021. While social engineering scams in this category—phishing, account or website spoofing, malware delivered through email attachments, etc.—loom large, attacks on system technology are also prevalent and equally concerning. Servers are attacked in more than 80% of breaches, and new vulnerabilities are discovered all the time.
For MSPs and their clients, this can all seem like an unwinnable situation. How can anyone rest assured their systems are being well looked after? Obviously, trust is a major factor here. And finding an email provider you can place your trust in is a tall order.
How to find an email provider you can trust
When looking for an email provider, it’s important to investigate what security measures, practices and process they have in place. Providers who are unwilling to share information or communicate about these areas are probably a red flag and aren’t worth your time. Questions you should ask a potential provider include:
- What server hardware do you use?
- What redundancy measures do you have in place?
- How many certified technicians do you have?
- What kind of support do you offer?
- Do you have a strategy for ransomware defense?
- What kind of additional security tools can you offer?
- Where are your datacenters located?
- What kind of compliance features can you provide?
- What’s your process for patching and updating?
Transparency should be key. Additionally, in the event of an attack or breach, your email provider should have a clear communication and remediation plan that they can share with you.
Why Sherweb’s Hosted Exchange solution is a great choice for MSPs and their clients
Sherweb has been in the email provider business for over 20 years. Our Hosted Exchange infrastructure is based on a reliable, scalable platform that provides a stable and secure messaging environment for more than 25,000 businesses around the world. Furthermore, every critical component is equipped with a corresponding redundant counterpart.
All data associated with our Hosted Exchange offering is backed up daily to a dedicated system. Our networks are monitored 24/7/365 by certified technicians, and all of our server hardware sits safely in enterprise-grade datacenters based in Canada and the US.
Understanding the importance of keeping Exchange servers regularly updated, Sherweb is committed to providing 99.9% guaranteed uptime for Hosted Exchange. We keep security at the forefront of our operations to ensure this promise stays honest, with adequate backup and data replication in place so that all client data is protected and recoverable. Our support technicians are readily available to answer partner and end-client concerns by phone, email or chat at any time, resulting in a one-day resolution time for the vast majority of tickets. We also offer email archiving to maintain reliable, historical records of partner data, as well as data loss prevention and encryption to provide compliance with HIPAA, SOX and GLBA.
Going beyond your typical email provider: Additional security tools to keep MSPs and their clients safe
As a value-added cloud solutions provider, Sherweb is also prepared to help partners improve security posture for both themselves and their clients with a variety of solutions available through our cloud marketplace. Whether you’re looking for additional email security, data backup and replication, endpoint protection or managed detection and response capabilities, Sherweb experts can work with you to keep your systems protected.
Our portfolio of security, backup and compliance solutions includes…
Bitdefender
Providing powerful antivirus and endpoint security, Bitdefender is a strong option for any organization’s ransomware defense strategy. With a low resource footprint and reduced number of detected false positives, Bitdefender offers MSPs and their clients patch management, security for virtualized environments and specific security for Microsoft Exchange, among other features.
Office Protect
Sherweb’s in-house solution for Microsoft 365 security, Office Protect provides 24/7 monitoring, alerts and security reporting for MSP tenants. Due to the sweeping nature of Microsoft 365 security and varying needs of different customers, managing different settings and parameters across clients can be easier said than done. By outsourcing round-the-clock security monitoring and response to Sherweb experts, partners can gain peace of mind that their customer environments are being watched over and alerted to suspicious activity as soon as it appears.
Proofpoint
Taking a layered approach to cybersecurity is considered best practice, and this can’t be understated when it comes to email. Compatible with Microsoft 365 and Hosted Exchange, Proofpoint ensures clients’ email environments—which, as we’ve discussed here, are among the most vulnerable points for all businesses—are protected against malware, ransomware, phishing and other advanced threats.
Trend Micro
Another leader in both endpoint and extended detection and response, Trend Micro outfits MSPs with the right capabilities to seek out and eliminate threats before they occur. Partners can also take advantage of a managed XDR offering to offload monitoring, detection and response to Trend Micro’s experts and relieve internal security teams from time-consuming alert triage and remediation efforts.
Microsoft 365 backup powered by Veeam
In the event that an attack does happen, reliable backups are one of the last defenses against losing data and by extension, losing business. Unfortunately, too many businesses neglect to back up sensitive information on a regular basis. Sherweb’s in-house backup as a service (BaaS) solution, Microsoft 365 backup powered by Veeam, makes this process predictable and reliable. For protecting and replicating servers or additional workloads outside of Microsoft 365, Sherweb also offers Veeam Cloud Connect.
Work with a provider you can rely on
Your and your clients’ security should be a top concern for the provider you work with, whether that’s an email provider alone or otherwise. Want to learn more about how Sherweb’s Hosted Exchange offer and other value-added cloud services can set your business up for success, in addition to keeping you safe? Explore our partner guide to see how we can help your business grow, or join our partner program today to get started.
