MSPs and MSSPs face a daunting task when it comes to providing SMBs with network security. For starters, your clients will often place high expectations on your managed security practices, especially now more than ever. But even with powerful tools and processes set up to protect against cyberattacks, no security plan can construct a total foolproof environment.
Secondly, building your offering in today’s crowded security marketplace can be tricky. With countless tools and products to choose from, how do you know if you’re providing your clients with the services they need to successfully protect against today’s evolving threats?
In this article, you’ll learn why taking on a comprehensive and multi-layered approach to selling security is critical and how to get started.
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Build your offering
If you’re considering entering the managed security space, you need to make it your strong suit and differentiation. After all, the managed security services market is expected to exceed more than $56 billion by 2027, which also means increased competition.
You also need to keep in mind that the landscape of cyber threats is constantly evolving and becoming more complex, forcing businesses to implement advanced defenses that secure all endpoints to prevent a data breach.
When building your tech stack, it’s imperative that you consider all possible scenarios, such as outages, disasters, breaches and inefficiencies – and ensure that there are no vulnerable gaps and oversights in security coverage. Start by choosing proven solutions that make the most sense for both you and your end-customers while also making sure they offer multiple defense capabilities that suit companies of any size or scope.
Below are examples of advanced security solutions and services you can combine to deliver the best possible protection.
Monitoring – Many businesses think that products like Microsoft Office 365 are automatically secure. Unfortunately, SMBs with budgetary constraints or low operation overhead are unable to take advantage of additional security features within Office 365 or monitor their systems around the clock.
Here’s your opportunity to reinforce your offering with enhanced security. Look for innovative products that are designed to stay on top of security events and keep user data safe across all Office 365 apps.
Office Protect, for example, does all that while simultaneously saving you the time and knowledge it takes to properly manage those security settings by providing:
- Proactive monitoring; detecting and preventing threats in real-time
- Best practice security settings; protecting users and their data through an audit log that’s always enabled, multi-factor authentication, human error prevention, spam alerts and much more
- Centralized access via an easy-to-use dashboard that provides all the necessary tools and reports to help you manage an environment’s security
Email protection – As one of the most widely used business communication platforms, email is an easy target for malware, phishing and spam. To make matters worse, cyber criminals continue to find new ways to target vulnerable systems and employees to access data.
Help your clients build stronger defenses against the most sophisticated threats with email security. The ideal solution offers comprehensive protection that implements industry-leading security practices and tools to safeguard data, such as email filtering and advanced threat detection.
You can find these capabilities in Proofpoint email protection, for example.
Authentication – Today’s changing workspace allows employees to access private information from within and outside the walls of an organization in a variety of ways. We’re talking mobile devices, personal laptops and different types of login systems. Using multi-factor authentication blocks 99.99% of account hacks by accurately validating a user’s login credibility. It’s a simple and straightforward security measure regardless of where private information is accessed.
Backup & disaster recovery – A large part of selling managed security services is giving clients a game plan when they ask you the all-important question: “What happens if a security breach does happen?”
When selecting the right tools to top off your security stack, think about the kinds of backup and recovery solutions you would want to rely on as a provider and for the benefit of your clients. How well do you want them to be protected? What’s the recovery target time? What’s your backup storage strategy?
By stepping back and looking at what’s required to execute a swift backup and recovery with minimal downtime, you’ll be able to match solutions that meet your client’s needs. The best way to do that is by working with them to assess their goals and priorities.
Endpoint detection & response – As we mentioned earlier, a layered security approach delivers the best possible protection.
Because businesses are operating in a highly dynamic environment, they need security measures that block attacks using detection and response capabilities across all endpoints. Unfortunately, many service providers lack the in-house security expertise and tools to defend against advanced threats.
One way you can fill this gap is with a proven endpoint solution like Bitdefender. Consistently leading tests for protection with the lowest impact on systems, Bitdefender uses advanced security layers that work together to detect and stop a breach early. By leveraging this solution, you can combine and easily manage multiple service offerings through a broad range of features and enhancements from a single console.
Educate your clients
Getting the conversation started about security can be challenging. This is especially true if a client doesn’t have a clear understanding of what being secure actually means in today’s business world.
One way to break the barrier is to show them how much risk they’re facing in the event of a disaster, from lost revenue to downtime costs. Ultimately, the conversation will lead to how you will manage those risks through your service offering while helping to achieve their business goals.
To best demonstrate the value of your solution package, it’s a good idea to first try the products you’re pitching on your own network. This will help you see if they’re easy to use and whether they fill a gap or make sense for your individual clients, making it easier for you to explain why you see a need for the solutions.
Of course, security discussions mean nothing without putting proper training, policies and processes in place. That’s why it’s important to communicate with your clients on a regular basis and educate them on threats and best practices, which helps to strengthen your partnership with them.
Work with a strategic partner
Many MSPs manage multiple technology vendors. Whether or not you have the resources to do so, a lot of time goes into choosing the right vendor. This includes evaluating and qualifying them for their innovative products, offerings, services and the prospect of building a long-term business relationship.
The last thing you want is to jeopardize your credibility by adding an excess of security products to your tech stack without an effective plan around data protection, business continuity, recovery, management and communication protocol.
In order to realize growth, align yourself with a strategic partner that makes your life easier and saves you time. Partnering with an indirect cloud solutions provider like Sherweb, for example, will support you in every aspect of your business; arming you with the right tools, knowledge, skills and the best business-critical solutions that suit both your business needs and customers.
