Online Business Systems, an MSSP that specializes in information security, customer experience and service management, has opened a security operations center (SOC) in Irving, Texas. The SOC is staffed by certified security engineers and provides Online's Managed Security Services (MSS) offering, the company says.
The SOC was built in response to the growing need for organizations to have continuous access to security expertise, Online said. It provides organizations with a security program built around their unique business strategy, compliance requirements and risk profile.
A Closer Look at MSS
MSS empowers organizations with the ability to continually monitor and manage their security posture, Online noted. That way, MSS helps organizations identify cyber threats, investigate these threats and address security gaps faster than ever before.
Online offers three MSS options:
- Fully Managed: Provides a fully managed solution backed by Online's SOC that monitors, validates and escalates security threats based on customer requirements.
- Co-Managed: Uses a shared model to monitor and manage a customer's IT environment and security duties. With the co-managed solution, a customer typically manages its security information and event management (SIEM) solution, and Online monitors and reviews logs and other data from the SIEM solution, processes this information and provides threat intelligence.
- Custom: Involves the use of a custom-build security platform that is tailored to a customer's specific needs, budget and other considerations. Online's custom solution simultaneously leverages a customer's existing security investments and addresses critical security gaps.
MSS provides organizations with the assurance that their IT environments are monitored by a certified team that uses advanced security technology to identify and address cyber threats, according to Online. It helps customers mitigate cyberattacks based on their business priorities and provides clarity and context into what is happening in an IT environment.
Outsourced SOCs for MSPs, MSSPs
Online's SOC arrives amid growing competition in the MSSP sector. Indeed, multiple SOC providers that work with MSPs and MSSPs have surfaced in recent months. Key names to know include:
- Arctic Wolf Networks, which has an integration with ConnectWise.
- ChannelSOC, which surfaced at the CompTIA ChannelCon 2017 conference in August;
- Continuum, which plans to launch a SOC purpose-built for MSPs sometime in early 2018;
- CyberBit, which offers a SOC to MSSP partners like MNS Group;
- CyFlare — which has a SOC for VARs;
- Foresite, which recently inked a distribution agreement with ConnectWise;
- NetEnrich — which offers SOC services to midsize MSPs and VARs;
- Trusted Metrics offers a home-grown Elastic SOC to partners; and
- Infogressive and Carvir are two up-and-coming master MSSPs that offer their services to MSPs.
What Is Online?
Founded in 1986, Online is a privately held information technology and business consultancy. The company has nearly 300 business and technical consultants throughout Canada and the United States and supports customers across many business sectors, including:
- Agribusiness.
- Energy.
- Financial services.
- Healthcare.
Online offers risk, security and privacy, digital experience and other business and technical consulting services. Now, with MSS, Online looks poised to capitalize on the rising demand for managed security services.
The global managed security services market is projected to be worth nearly $33.7 billion by 2021, market research firm MarketsandMarkets said in a prepared statement. This sector also is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6 percent between 2017 and 2021.
