Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the global cybersecurity climate has become increasingly challenging—especially for small- and medium-sized businesses who find necessary modern security activities difficult in the first place. But enterprise companies also are struggling as they adjust to evolving threats and the vulnerabilities introduced by hybrid work environments.
Chief information security officers (CISOs) and other security leaders are looking to both consolidate their security solutions and enhance security capabilities as a result. A Gartner global survey found that 80% of security leaders are preparing a strategy of vendor consolidation over the next three years, while 30% are already engaged in this strategy today, Cybersecurity Dive reports.
Now, both SMB and enterprise companies are turning to managed security services—partnering with managed security solution providers (MSSPs)—to both consolidate security solutions and increase security capacity beyond what’s possible in house. As a result, managed security spending will be among the largest portions of growing managed services budgets among North American and European IT buyers in 2022, Redmond Channel Partner reports.
What is Managed Security, and What are MSSPs?
In the same manner as other managed services, MSSPs provide varying degrees of monitoring, security, and response capabilities to business clients who wish to expand upon their own internal security capabilities. MSSPs provide both protection services—such as ongoing management of firewalls and other security measures—as well as proactive services—such as vulnerability testing, antiviral initiatives, and staying abreast of the latest security capabilities.
Although the MSSP market is roughly 25 years old, its sophistication is growing beyond the traditional intrusion detection and prevention standards that characterized cybersecurity in the past. Today, MSSPs prioritize not only unique services but also optimizing their clients’ operations—that is, minimizing their client’s internal security staff, spend, and technology creep while supporting them with an industry-leading security posture.
Why is Managed Security Important Today?
By 2023, 75% of organizations will restructure risk and security governance to build a more “resilient, scalable, and agile cybersecurity strategy”—an increase of fewer than 15% today, Gartner predicts. Just as on-premise computing gave way to the adoption of cloud services, companies of all sizes are outsourcing security to realize these goals; especially as both external threats and their own companies’ operational models become more complex.
MSSPs therefor are valuable to SMBs who lack IT staff and resources. However, enterprise companies with growing workforces outside of network perimeters often need to expand security capabilities as well. That’s because these companies will have far more out-of-network “endpoints”—at-home users with personal computers or mobile devices—which can be compromised and made to threaten those companies’ own digital assets.
There are additional advantages to managed security beyond simply “keeping up” with the latest capabilities. Shifting to a managed security model relieves rising pressures such as IT skills shortages, growing hybrid workforces, and the need to adopt a more sophisticated and scalable security posture; it ensures internal personnel have a better security experience, and may even help improve internal advocacy for security. Managed security therefore is not only remedial; its adoption is also a starting point for a healthier security culture.
Working with a single MSSP solves for the “consolidation” challenge in cybersecurity and ensures internal IT stakeholders can access the best integrated security solutions as well. “[CISOs are] no longer satisfied with buying independent, siloed, best-of-breed products to cover their security architecture,” said Peter Firstbrook, VP Analyst at Garter when speaking at Gartner’s virtual IT Symposium/Xpo in October 2021. “They’re looking for an integrated platform where these products can talk to each other.”
5 Ways an MSSP Can Help Transform Your Long-Term Security Posture
In 2022, security must evolve to accommodate new working models, employee expectations, and necessary protections against modern threats. Whether you represent an enterprise company with complex security requirements or an SMB hoping to secure your future growth, consider the following common MSSPs capabilities as you determine your best path forward.
1. Cloud-Native Security
Cloud supports a wide range of more modern security capabilities that both reduce risks associated with the latest threats and support evolving business models, such as hybrid work environments. Leading MSSPs will use native cloud solutions and direct or API integrations, for example, beyond what their prospective clients can get from the most popular cloud providers (e.g., Amazon, Google).
According to a 2021 managed security services provider Forrester Wave™, “the leading MSSPs vaulted ahead in terms of cloud capabilities and the ability to work with data no matter the type or location.” Security tools also are among the fastest growing cloud technologies, where cloud security portions of IT budgets are expected to have risen by roughly 40% from 2020 to 2022, based on figures presented by Redmond Channel Partner.
2. Zero-Trust Security
Unlike traditional perimeter security, zero-trust security is a new approach whereby users and devices are constantly treated as foreign—they must continuously prove their identity as they access organizational resources based on their roles. Among the top five categories where organizations are planning to increase security technology adoption, zero-trust is the most popular—57% of respondents will do so in 2022, Redmond Channel Partner reports.
MSSPs are a good fit and the “obvious choice of partner for zero-trust implementation,” as Forbes describes. Ongoing monitoring and reporting can be delegated to an MSSP, freeing up internal security resources. Cloud-native models enable MSSPs to quicky provision security for their clients as well. MSSPs also are best equipped to stay abreast of the latest zero-trust security developments and apply these capabilities for their clients.
3. Proactive Protection & Remediation
“Proactive security” means that “holistic resilience and digital trust are attained through the transformation of processes and adoption of next-generation technologies,” McKinsey describes. Internal security teams often can’t keep up with the most critical security measures, let alone the proactive cybersecurity required based on the impositions of modern threats.
Since MSSPs dedicated the bulk of their resources to cutting edge security, they have the capacity for this type of transformation. Already, MSSPs are transitioning from an alert-based approach to security, focusing on managed detection and response (MDR) instead. MSSPs are equipped to perform other proactive measures, such as breach and attack simulations; they can better scale their capacity for these capabilities than internal teams as well.
4. Optimized Customer Experiences (CX)
Unlike internal teams, MSSPs have an impetus to improve experiences for their business customers. That’s why leading MSSPs are developing automated and customer-optimized processes that make identifying and analyzing threats a better, more holistic experience for their clients. Market differentiators include more manageable advanced escalation processes made possible by automation, as well as chat features and mobile apps that improve user experiences for customers interfacing with their MSSP-provided resources.
5. Internal Security Advocacy
MSSPs can assist their client organizations in improving internal advocacy and awareness for security issues. They are equipped to provide trainings and town halls clearly explaining new security protocols to their clients’ employees, for example. Working with one or a handful of internal security advocates, they can support managers as they work to identify and improve upon security awareness gaps within their ranks as well.
Next-Generation Security, within Reach
Whether you represent a startup or a large enterprise; whether you’ve been a victim to an attack, or simply want to stay ahead of emerging threats; partnering with an MSSP may be the right path for you. That’s because like cloud or other managed service providers, MSSPs can scale services based on your needs. They can fully incorporate your company into their industry best-practices and operations, ensuring you always have state-of-the-art security capabilities—no matter your size or budget.
Learn More About Managed Security with Uvation
You can learn more about managed security as it applies to your business. In time, Uvation can help you achieve ongoing security, giving you, your colleagues, your partners, and your clients ongoing peace of mind. Visit our managed security service page to learn more, or start a conversation about managed security options today.