Acronis: MSPs Can’t Live In The Past

Many MSPs’ approaches to cybersecurity are inadequate when it comes to the latest threats, according to Acronis president Gaidar Magdanurov.

Magdanurov said the specter of advanced persistent threats (APTs) means that MSPs must rethink their existing methods of protecting customers.

Microsoft and OpenAI recently disclosed that nation-state threat groups are leveraging AI large to automate malicious operations, translate technical papers, generate believable phishing content and gain vulnerability knowledge.

“In the past, the MSP approach was, ‘I back up and protect the servers. Then for endpoints, I have some basic antivirus and that’s it. I don’t need anything else.’ Those type of attacks, antivirus would not prevent,” said Magdanurov. “This is where you need extended detection and response (XDR) and endpoint detection and response (EDR).

Acronis' Gaidar Magdanurov

“People are just starting to realize it now," he continued. "Most MSPs are still in the old paradigm: ‘I don’t need to protect endpoints. Why? I mean, if it’s dead, I can recover from an image.’ So that’s a massive opportunity for the channel. Because now they can go back to their customers and upsell them security.”

Acronis to Launch XDR Solution

Acronis expanded into cybersecurity from data protection seven years ago. Now it's set to launch its own XDR solution in the next few months. It will include AI “for generating human readable descriptions of what’s going on,” said the exec.

“Basically, you don’t have to be a security expert but you can understand if there’s an attack happening. You’re going to understand what’s happened, what is about to happen, and then you can communicate in natural language to block it and prevent it. So that way we can enable those technical people who are not cybersecurity experts to cover some of that," said Magdanurov.

Acronis also just announced it is partnering with Stellar Cyber to deliver a threat detection and response solution that allows MSPs to protect on-premise, cloud, hybrid and IT/OT environments.

Stellar Cyber and Acronis aim to help organizations protect themselves from advanced cyberattacks by removing artificial obstacles that make it difficult for security teams to identify and mitigate threats effectively.

Acronis Wants MSPs to Expand Within Customer Base

Magdanurov revealed a push to help MSPs expand their Acronis footprint within existing customers. He said the company offers different packages to help partners upsell and cross-sell security, to squeeze revenue from existing customers.

“Let’s say we offer an MSP backup for Microsoft 365. From there, they can expand to backup and security for endpoints, servers, virtual machines and so on. Our strategy is that we provide a one-stop-shop, only one solution for MSPs,” Magdanurov told Channel Futures.

Magdanurov said Acronis can help MSPs scale their businesses without investing in new employees.

“The opportunity is growing, but at the same time, MSPs don’t have enough IT professionals. They can’t recruit enough people. The only way for them to scale is to work with someone like us,” he said.

Last November, Acronis as launched its MSP Academy, an educational initiative that aims to provide MSPs with business and technological knowledge, skills and tools.