A majority of (93 per cent) of managed service providers (MSPs) are currently planning to add new services to their cybersecurity portfolio, according to a report by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky titled ‘MSP market focus in 2021: IT security challenges and opportunities in the new normal.’
“Cybersecurity is one of the most prominent areas of growth for MSPs, according to various industry experts. It presented the biggest opportunities for growth in 2021, together with remote workforce setup – with 65 per cent of MSPs reporting security service revenue growth as a result,” the report said.
As for the new services that are sought after by MSPs, threat intelligence is the most preferred choice (46 per cent).
Another popular service as per the report was APT reporting (29 per cent), which allows them to keep up to date with the most recent investigations, threat campaigns, and techniques of APT actors.
This is followed by threat data feeds (27 per cent) and threat lookup (26 per cent) that help to improve incident response. Other services that providers look for include malware analysis (41 per cent), security assessment (41 per cent), and targeted attack discovery (38 per cent).
“Expanding their portfolio with cybersecurity services can help MSPs strengthen their position in the market which has become quite competitive,” the report said.
In 2021, 81 per cent of providers reported an increase of their client base since 2019, and a third (32 per cent) see the competition from other MSPs as the most serious business challenge in comparison with only 19 per cent in 2019.
Requirements for vendors are also defined by this competitive environment. As for choosing a vendor for the service, the top criterion for MSPs is competitive pricing (45 per cent), followed by quality of protection in tests (41 per cent) and the ability to offer additional services (36 per cent).
“Managed service providers understand the business need to combat security risks in an increasingly complex environment. Today, when a reactive approach to cybersecurity is not enough, MSPs have to seriously address the choice of threat intelligence (TI) service providers,” said Mikhail Kolchin, Head of MSP Business at Kaspersky.
“High-quality TI implies a range of characteristics, such as possession of a rich context that creates intelligence from data and provides additional value. It also implies support from a recognized team of experts with proven experience in uncovering complex threats, and the smooth integration of services into a company’s existing security operations,,” added Kolchin
The report is based on a study conducted in June-August 2021. The research involved insights from 606 quantitative interviews conducted in 21 countries, and eight in-depth telephone interviews conducted with selected respondents from the quantitative study. The businesses interviewed included MSPs and MSSPs who provide IT services to client businesses which supply managed IT and security services.
