The role of a modern MSSP is dynamic. No longer are most just juggling responsibilities of cybersecurity management for a handful of clients. Today, innovative MSSPs are also tackling compliance, legal, regulatory and privacy management.
And, it’s never been more complicated. Why? Because industry standards and expectations are evolving, and so are compliance and regulatory expectations on federal and state levels. What was once a single security operations center (SOC) focus for each MSSP client, has evolved into a full range of services, all that require careful insight and direction for each client’s unique needs and business objectives.
If your MSSP is still using spreadsheets, static word processing documents or outdated legacy GRC software to manage client needs, you may feel like you’re constantly playing catch-up. But worse, you’re likely struggling with limited insight into your client risks.
Unfortunately, many organizations still hang on to legacy compliance management strategies because there is some comfort in using the known, even if it results in lost time, more expense, and more errors.
Or, they hang on to the legacy platforms because they don’t have time or resources to hire additional personnel for the traditional time-consuming processes of evaluating new resources. Many also don’t have an adequate budget to implement a new GRC resource.
Yet, what a lot of organizations don’t realize is that selecting and adopting a new SaaS-based GRC is not as complicated, costly, or burdensome as it once was.
In fact, with the right GRC solution, you might be surprised by just how quickly — and affordably — you can work with a consultant and get your new GRC resource up and running. And you can do so without having to hire additional staff with specialized skills.
So, how can your MSSP strengthen your cybersecurity and compliance processes, build confidence with your clients, and attract and win new business without hiring more people or stockpiling finances once required for legacy GRC implementation?
10 Ways to Instantly Streamline and Simplify Security and Compliance Management
- A SaaS-based GRC platform can give you instant insight into your client’s current compliance state in a real-time, easy-to-understand dashboard, complete with simplified compliance scoring.
- Have controls and sub-controls that work across multiple frameworks for the same client? Stop duplicating work and re-entering data and let a SaaS-based GRC platform automate that for you, with instant cross-walking of as few or as many frameworks you have to manage.
- There’s no easy way to build customized reports in spreadsheet solutions. A SaaS-based GRC framework management solution can do this instantly for you. Apptega, for example, has an entire library of report templates you can choose from or you can easily build your own based on client needs.
- Audits traditionally take a long time. That’s because historically it requires a lot of back and forth between auditors asking questions and your MSSP and/or client seeking answers. A SaaS-based GRC platform can help streamline your audits by as much as 60%. With real-time compliance scoring and a single source of truth for evidence collection and reporting, you’ll always know how—and how well—your clients are meeting compliance expectations and you can easily share that with auditors.
- While many organizations like the ease of handing off their compliance and security management directly to their MSSPs, some like to work together. In these hybrid environments, you may be able to white-label GRC software with your brand and show your clients how to use it, all the while building confidence and collaboration between your teams.
- Because a GRC eliminates much of your duplicated work and automates many key processes, you can increase your bandwidth, enabling you to manage more clients in less time, and open channels for your teams to focus on bringing in new business while meeting—and often exceeding—client expectations.
- With a GCR platform that has framework-level insight all the way down to a granular level of controls and sub-controls, you can fine-tune processes and offer clients added value by identifying security and compliance gaps and establishing a remediation strategy to mature their programs—all the while encouraging a proactive approach to identifying this issues and solving them, long before an incident occurs.
- A growing number of organizations are embracing cloud adoption. Whether they’re cloud-first or a hybrid environment, your MSSP faces unique challenges managing cloud security and compliance issues. However, using a GRC platform, especially one that manages multiple frameworks and controls in a multi-tenant environment, you’ll always be client-focused, regardless of the changes that evolve from a dynamic cloud environment.
- Ever tried prepping for a certification like SOC2, ISO 27001, or PCI with spreadsheets? It’s almost impossible to cull everything or map controls and frameworks directly to your certification requirements. A GRC platform can help your organization efficiently streamline these processes so you ace your next certification process with confidence.
- Regardless of industry or enterprise size, your MSSP clients face a growing number of risks as their environments evolve and the threat landscape expands. A GRC compliance platform can give you insight into the top risks for each of your clients and ensure you have mitigation and remediation plans in place. Whether it’s risk identification for all of your assets, or a focus on your most critical assets and operations, GRC software can help you quickly identify where your compliance and security programs fall short so you can mature your processes and move your clients to their target profile easier than ever before.
Want to learn more about how you can simplify your day-to-day cybersecurity program management? Visit Apptega. Regularly contributed guest blogs are part of MSSP Alert’s sponsorship program.
