Managed services providers that are looking to start providing managed security services to their clients need to make some important decisions about what managed services they should offer. Here we provide some tips on selecting products, explain some of the options available, and list some of the essential components of an MSP security stack.
A One-Size Fits All Approach May Not Work
When it comes to selecting cybersecurity solutions for an MSP security stack, a one-size-fits-all approach is attractive. You can create a security package that covers all the bases that includes several different cybersecurity solutions, each of which addresses a particular threat or group of threats or security issue.
How effective that package will be at protecting your clients will depend on the environment of each client. If all your clients have on-premises infrastructure and therefore a traditional perimeter to defend, that will be straightforward. However, the same stack of software solutions is unlikely to be suitable for clients that operate fully in the cloud or have hybrid infrastructure. You need to consider the environment of each client and make a decision on the best products to meet their needs and develop your MSP security stack accordingly.
One of the best places to start is to develop a core set of cybersecurity solutions that the majority of your clients will need and to start offering that as a basic security package. You can then provide various add-on services to meet the specific needs of each client, with those additional solutions going above and beyond the cybersecurity essentials.
The Core Security Package
You will already be providing a range of traditional managed services to your clients, such as network management, on-premises servers, on-premises or cloud storage, and data backups as part of your MSP software stack. Adding a basic set of cybersecurity solutions would be of great benefit to your clients. The components of your basic security stack should reflect the nature of your clients’ businesses and their environments. The best place to start with any security offering is to include a security evaluation to discover the current state of security and the solutions that will best meet their needs.
For your core security package there are many different aspects of security to consider, but for a basic cybersecurity software we recommend some or all of the following:
- Firewalls
- Vulnerability assessments and remediation
- Antivirus/endpoint security
- Ransomware protection
- Email security
- DNS filtering
- Security awareness training
Choosing the Right Security Solutions
When you first get started, you will need to invest considerable time and resources into developing an MSP security stack. You will need to conduct research to identify the best solutions that meet your needs as well as your clients. You will need to sign up for those solutions, train staff on using those products, and get your infrastructure developed to allow those solutions to be efficiently delivered and managed.
One problem experienced by many MSPs when selecting the best solutions to add to an MSP security stack is finding solutions that work seamlessly with each other. Most cybersecurity solutions have been developed to address a specific threat or set of threats and getting all of those solutions working seamlessly together can be a real challenge. One easy approach to take to reduce headaches, is to sign up with a vendor that provides multiple solutions that work seamlessly with each other and to limit the products to hose provided by just a few vendors, at least initially.
Beyond the core MSP security stack, many MSPs choose to create between 2 and 4 security bundles that are tailored to the types of organizations that they cater to. One approach often taken by MSPs is to provide different levels of protection. Standard, better, and best, as while cybersecurity is important, many clients will not have the budget available to pay for the best of the best.
One important thing to consider when developing an MSP software security stack is the threats you are protecting against are constantly changing, and so too must the MSP software security stack. You will need to continuously evaluate your packages to ensure they remains effective and continue to keep your clients protected. You must be prepared to make changes and add new products and services to continue to keep your clients well protected.
TitanHQ – The Perfect Security Partner for MSPs
Developing the perfect MSP security stack will take time, but TitanHQ is here to help get started and on the right track by providing a core set of cybersecurity solutions. All TitanHQ solutions have been developed from the ground up with MSPs in mind and offer the features that MSPs need to make their managed security services successful and profitable. All solutions work seamlessly with each other, are intuitive and easy to setup, use, and maintain. MSPs can join the TitanShield MSP program and get access all TitanHQ solutions, all of which include generous margins for MSPs, excellent terms, flexible billing, and are delivered as cloud-based services.
- SpamTitan Cloud – Email Security
- WebTitan Cloud – Web Security
- SafeTitan – Security Awareness Training and Phishing Simulations
- ArcTitan – Email Archiving
- EncryptTitan – Email Encryption
For more information about becoming an MSP partner and joining the 2,500+ other MSPs that use TitanHQ solutions in their MSP security stacks, give the TitanHQ channel team a call today.