MSPs Face Big Cybersecurity Talent Gap
MSPs Face Big Cybersecurity Talent Gap
Here are key findings that indicate where MSPs should focus their resources to support and grow their sales to SMBs and larger enterprise customers.
Lack of Experts
Two-thirds of MSPs, serving the large enterprise market (60 percent) and smaller businesses (58 percent), agreed that a shortage of qualified IT security professionals contributes to the challenge of ramping up their cybersecurity offering.
Top Priority
92 percent of MSPs include cybersecurity as part of their service portfolio, and 51 percent said security is essential to the customers’ operational continuity over the next three to five years.
Tech Trends
Other tech trends that will affect managed services in the next three to five years are: Cloud expansion: 41%,
Desktop and server virtualization: 38%,
Hybrid on-premises or/and cloud architecture: 35%,
Growing importance of security: 31%
Revenue Boost
77 percent of MSPs with small customers (up to 50 end-user stations) said expanding their security portfolio will help attract new customers, while 78 percent of MSPs with larger customers said it will help retain current accounts.
Protection Concerns
Ransomware protection is the top concern according to 54 percent of MSPs with enterprise customers and 49 percent of MSPs with smaller customers.
Top Challenge
MSPs serving both small and large customers, 64 percent and 62 percent, respectively, reported their number-one challenge is cybersecurity solutions that are too expensive.
Technical Issues
About half of MSPs – 51 percent serving the large enterprise market and 54 percent supporting smaller businesses – reported difficulties with the remote deployment and management of their solutions.
Success Indicators
MSPs serving both small and large customers, 84 percent and 85 percent, respectively, said the level of customer satisfaction is the top indicator of their success in managed security services.
Selling Points for Small Customers
55 percent of MSPs said the primary selling point for small customers is their ability to make their budgeting easier through operational expenses, followed by expertise (46 percent), and budget optimization (43 percent).
Selling Points for Big Customers
50 percent of MSPs with larger customers said their primary selling point is their expertise, followed by budget optimization (47 percent), and risk mitigation of data loss (44 percent).