MSPs have a serious opportunity in the security market. But how many MSPs will truly become full-blown MSSPs (managed security services providers)? Even I've got to concede: It won't be a massive number. But that's not the point. The real opportunity ahead is for channel partners to bolster their own security know-how, and then partner up with full-blown MSSPs to fill in the gaps.
No doubt, the managed security services market is massive -- and growing. Revenues in the sector will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 14.6 percent from 2016 through 2021, reaching $33.68 billion by that time, according to Markets and Markets.
At the low-end of the sector, traditional MSPs will continue to charge for antivirus, patch management and basic malware prevention services. But a true MSSP must have know-how to address at least nine different technical areas -- not to mention the business and financial know-how you'll need to build out and monetize the practice.
Will touch on those requirements and more during our June 15, 2017 Webcast -- which traces the MSP to MSSP business journey.
VAR to MSP Deja Vu? (Nope)
The journey toward MSSP shouldn't be confused with the VAR journey toward cloud or managed services. After all, the transformation from VAR to MSP and/or CSP involved business model and service delivery changes. In stark contrast, becoming an MSSP essentially requires you to hire top-notch security professionals while investing heavily in full-blown SOC (security operations center) buildouts and more.
Yes, some MSPs now qualify as full-blown MSSPs. Names to know include Carvir, Infogressive and N-Dimension. And each day, more MSPs are building out dedicated MSSP practices. (Keep an eye on MyTech Partners, for one).
So where does MSSP Alert fit into this discussion? We exist to help you navigate that intense decision tree -- should you truly build your own MSSP and SOC services -- or would it be wiser to find and partner up with an established MSSP.
It's our mission to identify the best of the best MSSPs in the weeks and months ahead. It should be your mission to emulate their best practices -- or partner up to leverage them.
