NelsonHall, a global independent research analyst firm that specializes in business process outsourcing (BPO), has identified 10 managed security services providers (MSSPs) that could drive the market's growth for the foreseeable future.
The report ranked MSSPs on their abilities to deliver immediate benefit and meet future requirements. NelsonHall placed managed security services providers (MSSPs) into one of the following categories:
- Leaders: Display a high ability to deliver immediate benefit and a high capability to meet future customer requirements.
- High Achievers: Show a high ability to deliver immediate benefit and have the necessary scope to enhance their ability to meet future customer requirements.
- Major Players: Act as significant vendors in the sector.
NelsonHall named eight MSSPs as Leaders in its report:
- Atos.
- Capegemini.
- CGI.
- DXC.
- IBM.
- SecureWorks.
- TCS.
- Unisys.
Infosys was ranked as a High Achiever in the NelsonHall report, while CSS Corp. was named a Major Player. That essentially rounds out the top 10 list.
Challenges and Success Factors for MSSPs
NelsonHall identified the following challenges for MSSPs:
- The combination of the rising cost of cybersecurity and the increasing need to demonstrate return on investment (ROI).
- Access to cybersecurity skills and up-to-date information.
- Need to respond to cyber threats quickly and efficiently.
- Demand for a holistic view of cybersecurity.
- Improving social engineering around security.
- Uneven workloads.
Meanwhile, NelsonHall pointed out the critical success factors for MSSPs include:
- Ability to develop a strong go-to-market strategy that demonstrates a vendor's strengths in cybersecurity research and delivery.
- Ability to stay informed about the latest cybersecurity regulations.
- The creation of strong cybersecurity talent and recruitment programs.
- The development of security operations centers (SOCs) to support a wide range of customers.
Managed Security Services Market Outlook
The managed security services sector looks bright, and NelsonHall has made several predictions about the market, including:
- Regulations will reign supreme. New cyber regulations will take effect over the next few years, and MSSPs will need to comply with these requirements.
- MSSPs will promote offerings designed to protect a customer's brand reputation. Many MSSPs will focus their branding on securing a customer's reputation.
- Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and automation will provide superior cybersecurity capabilities. MSSPs will incorporate AI, machine learning and automation capabilities into their offerings to help end users detect and respond to cyber threats faster than ever before.
Also, NelsonHall has predicted revenue from threat management services will surpass security management by 2020 and represent 24 percent of the managed security market.
