3 Ways for MSPs to Increase Their Managed Security Footprint

Managed service providers looking to increase their business often face the choice of whether to focus on finding new customers or expanding their existing base. But there’s a growing opportunity making the latter option especially appealing.

The small and midsize businesses that comprise the bulk of the MSP customer base have a limited understanding of cyberattacks–an ever-escalating threat that can cause millions of dollars in remediation, recovery and reputational costs. SMBs need guidance to strengthen their cyber defenses, and MSPs are best positioned to address this need by delivering affordable managed security services.

Moreover, adding services for existing customers costs less than client prospecting. Existing customers don’t need to be pitched: If an MSP effectively deploys their services right, customers will trust them to deliver value and support their business goals, making them more willing to adopt the provider’s services.

With that in mind, here are three security services opportunities MSPs can explore with their existing customers:

Businesses increasingly rely on cloud-based applications such as Office 365 and Google Drive services to run operations. These services have built-in cyber protection, but it’s not enough to fully safeguard businesses against the previously unknown digital dangers that make up 95% of threats in the wild.

MSPs can deliver added protection for email and file-sharing platforms as a managed service, supplementing it with awareness and training programs that educate employees on cybersecurity. Cyberattacks frequently succeed because many end users have a poor understanding of security risks–for example, unwittingly clicking infected URLs or attachments that cause security breaches. With proper instruction on cyber dangers, users are much less likely to make these mistakes.

Endpoint detection and response remains a critical need, but only addresses part of the problem. Threat actors have become savvier at breaking into networks to disrupt operations and steal data in various ways–a lot of threats hide in the network unnoticed, waiting to strike.

Addressing these threats requires a multilayered approach to security that includes visibility and quick incident response capabilities. MSPs can help businesses via managed security services that are administered from a central console and deliver multiple layers of protection at the endpoint and beyond–servers, cloud workloads, email and the network itself.

Managed unified threat management (UTM) services with comprehensive security capabilities is another area where MSPs can play an essential role. Managed UTM further strengthens a company’s defenses against cyber attacks with features such as managed firewall, HTTPS scanning, URL filtering, intrusion detection, and protection against malware, email-borne threats and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

The ideal managed UTM solution should provide easy deployment and simple management from a single location. MSPs that deliver UTM services add significant value to customers by enhancing their security posture against cyber attacks that can disrupt operations and incur significant costs.

MSPs can increase their customer footprint by taking advantage of Trend Micro’s MSP Program. It helps providers add managed security services to their portfolio, boosting their business prospects and fortifying their clients against the cyber threats of today–and tomorrow.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.