With the rise of digital transformation comes a drastically increased need for cybersecurity services. As a managed service provider (MSP) or channel partner, this presents enormous opportunities to get ahead of your competition – if you know what to look for. With cybercrime widespread and growing rapidly, it’s essential that MSPs stay up-to-date with crucial trends and technologies that can help protect their customers. Let’s dive into the biggest opportunities available to MSPs in terms of cybersecurity in late 2023 and into 2024.

Overview of Cybersecurity Trends in 2023

In 2023, cybersecurity trends built upon the strategies and solutions of previous years, with more focus on improving existing systems. The biggest opportunities for MSPs moving into 2024 will be XDR, cyber insurance as a service, unified platform approach to security, and building stronger relationships with security vendors to support team resources. As cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, it’s imperative for MSPs to provide customers with comprehensive security.

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) capabilities will be increasingly sought after by businesses looking for improved visibility into potential threats across the entire IT landscape. MSPs are well positioned to play a pivotal role in risk management and threat detection practices with XDR.

Additionally, more than ever before, customers are turning to their MSPs to help them qualify for and attain cyber insurance. As cyber threats increase, insurance carriers are requiring increased security capabilities as a condition of coverage. This is creating more demand for security providers as many organizations are finding it harder to meet these new requirements on their own. Offering cyber insurance, as a service will be an opportunity for MSPs to audit and build stronger security for their customers.

With limitations on MSP resources (staff, time, and money), automation is becoming necessary to keep up with daily operations. That’s why organizations worldwide are investing in the unified approach to security platforms that streamline their cybersecurity operations and simplify management practices. Furthermore, adopting a unified approach helps MSPs establish strong security vendor relationships, which will be as crucial as ever.

XDR: An Opportunity for MSPs with SMB Clients

As MSPs know, there is a need for sophisticated security with automation for small to mid-size businesses (SMB). XDR is the solution. This innovative security tool leverages automated threat detection and response capabilities to monitor threats to systems, endpoints and data across an organization from a single console.

For MSPs with SMB clients, XDR not only provides increased protection from potential attacks but also offers greater cost-savings. Having a single unified solution versus a patchwork of solutions minimizes costs, improves efficiency and increases efficacy.

It’s no surprise then, that the global market for XDR is projected to grow more than 56% annually over the next few years, making it an attractive offering for MSPs looking for a more secure and efficient way to serve their SMB clients.

Cyber Insurance As A Service: A Lucrative Advantage for Security Providers

The demand for cyber insurance has been on the upswing as more companies and industries are getting this type of coverage to mitigate the often significant financial consequences of a breach. By adding cyber insurance as a service to their business model, MSPs can gain a significant business advantage over their competition and offer customers additional protection.

In order to qualify for cyber insurance at affordable rates, customers need a robust security platform approach. By adding specific security tools like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and endpoint detection protection and response (EDPR), MSPs have successfully lowered insurance rate quotes received by customers.

The best service opportunity for MSPs is auditing customer security and identifying the updates and tools needed to pre-qualify for cyber insurance. MSPs can turn this into a competitive advantage through improved customer relationships, deploying security solutions that simultaneously provide stronger protection for their customers while helping them to qualify for insurance. 

Why MSPs Should Build a Strong Vendor Relationship

As the economy becomes increasingly uncertain, MSPs and their customers are closely monitoring their financial margins. To mitigate risks and threats, it’s crucial for MSPs to establish strong relationships with their existing security vendors. This collaboration enables MSPs to leverage technological expertise, training resources, and cutting0edge technologies they don’t have in-house for more efficient and cost-effective service delivery. It’s a win-win for both MSP and the vendor.

By tapping into these external resources, MSPs can build their security capabilities faster than ever before, keeping their customers’ networks safer and with less risk.

Building Strong Security for Customers in the Future

Looking at the future, agility and automation are key for MSP business success. Implementing a unified platform for security provides many advantages for MSPs, including automated processes and improved governance, better visibility into threats and existing network security issues, and the ability to customize policies on an ongoing basis. With a comprehensive, integrated solution, MSPs can instill confidence in customers that they are getting the best protection against threat actors today and will have the resources to tackle new challenges in the future.

As cybersecurity challenges increase, so do the opportunities for MSPS. By implementing these strategies, they can effectively protect their clients from unwanted intrusions and stay ahead of potential risks. It’s never been more important to prioritize your customers’ data security than it is today.

Author: Cathryne Rowe, North America Marketing Director at WatchGuard Technologies