Guest blog courtesy of Stellar Cyber.
Today, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are equally at risk of a cyberattack as larger companies, with nearly 40% of small businesses claiming they have experienced data loss as a result of a cyberattack in recent years. Threat actors target smaller organizations because they are often strapped for resources and lack an efficient cybersecurity infrastructure necessary to combat attacks like phishing, deepfakes, and ransomware.
SMBs often outsource their cybersecurity defenses to managed security service providers (MSSPs) that deliver comprehensive cybersecurity protection at scale for smaller companies with limited budgets. As SMB attacks rise, so does the demand for MSSPs, skyrocketing the security services market to a projected $67 billion by the end of 2025. With managed security services in such high demand, what does it take for an MSSP to stand out in the crowd as a “top” choice provider? We’ve broken out four simple but critical areas that separate the top-performing service providers from the competition.
Build an impressive cybersecurity vendor ecosystem
MSSPs rely on partnerships with security vendors to form the backbone of their service delivery model, offering a variety of tools including hardware, software, cloud, and distribution and services. Depending on customer needs and the company size, not every security product is the right fit for a managed service. Having a robust ecosystem of diverse security vendors, from laser-focused, single-solution startups to platform vendors and large-scale legacy products, today’s top MSSPs offer a variety of solutions tailor-made for an SMB’s needs.
Focus on AI-powered solutions to advance automation wherever possible
Manual processes are one of the biggest burdens an SMB experiences when facing cybersecurity threats. Tight budgets, small teams, and a lack of sophisticated skill sets make it incredibly hard to keep up. Top MSSPs focus on meaningful partnerships with AI-first vendors that leverage AI in their platforms, which can create a host of automation possibilities for customers where they need it most. It also demonstrates that the MSSP is on the bleeding edge of the latest technology and isn’t afraid to lean into emerging solutions like AI and machine learning to offer their customers the most innovative technology services.
Offer comprehensive training and support for customers of all sizes
Delivering an exceptional managed security service isn’t just about the security technology and products themselves, it considers education, training and support as a holistic packaged offering for SMBs. Top MSSPs today select security vendors that can offer comprehensive training and support packages for SMBs, which help drive value for the service and ensure the customers' lean teams are fully supported and regularly engaged, thus generating the best return on their investment in the service.
Deliver flexible, adaptable services to combat today’s top threats
SMB customers regularly face various cyber threats, including phishing, ransomware, deepfakes, brute force attempts, advanced persistent threats (APTs), and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. To stay ahead of these threats with minimal disruption, top MSSPs partner with security vendors that offer highly adaptable, flexible, and openly integrated solutions that can easily scale while integrating with other products in the security stack. Doing so streamlines the service offered to the customer, reducing the burdens of their strapped, lean teams and ultimately maximizes the customer’s resources while offering superior protection against today’s top threats.
Partnership is the name of the game, and how you win it
To summarize: As the MSSP market heats up, service providers have an opportunity to stand out amongst the competition by selecting the most diverse and innovative vendor partners who can provide the right flexibility, adaptability, and support to help SMB customers stop the latest cyber threats with the same power and scale as their enterprise peers.
How do we know this? Since our founding in 2017, Stellar Cyber has gone to market primarily through our MSSP partners, and we proudly partner with 77 of today’s top 250 MSSPs. Our teams have spent years collaborating with the MSSP community to understand their biggest hurdles. As a result, we purpose-built our security operations platform to work seamlessly in any scaled environment, providing rich visibility to see what’s happening in a network, know how to combat it, and act quickly to neutralize threats.
