Why cybersecurity should be your top priority as an MSP

The new year is just around the corner, meaning we’ll be ringing in 2022 before we know it. So how did your MSP fair in 2021? Did you achieve the sales and revenue goals you set?

Net new customer acquisition continues to be the #1 challenge facing MSPs today. And because most businesses already have an MSP they are using, the struggle is real. So the test becomes, how can I set myself apart?

In one word: cybersecurity. With the ever-changing security landscape, a new normal exists when it comes to cybersecurity and risk mitigation strategies, and the MSPs who have openly embraced this evolution are best positioned to see continued growth in their customer base. So if you haven’t yet pivoted your MSP to a more security-centric focus, what is stopping you?

5 reasons cybersecurity should be your top priority in 2022—and beyond

1. It will help to differentiate your MSP from your competitors

People appreciate dealing with specialists over generalists. If you have a heart condition, for example, would you continue to seek treatment from your family doctor or would you rather be under the care of a cardiologist? MSPs need to start changing the conversation they are having with prospects. It’s no longer about maintaining the uptime, connectivity, and availability of an organization’s network—those benefits are now expected. MSPs who are winning new clients now speak in terms of risk identification, risk tolerance, risk mitigation, and risk ownership, and they aren’t afraid to speak candidly about the consequences and outcomes of a poorly protected network in an ever-changing threat landscape.

2. All businesses need to hear more about cybersecurity more regularly

All businesses—big and small—are targets for an attack. Unfortunately, many MSPs aren’t having regular review meetings with their customers, so the topic of cybersecurity and risk mitigation strategies are not being openly discussed. What is the end result? Employees are not being properly educated in how they can play a larger role in cyberattack prevention. According to a recent IBM security breach report, 23% of data breaches are caused by human error. But with regular discussion and education taking place between the MSP and the customer, this number can easily be reduced.

3. It will provide better protection for your MSP business

Yes, you are concerned with proactively protecting your customers against cyberattacks and ransomware. But by standardizing on a minimum viable security program and enforcing that stack across all of your customers, it is going to insulate your MSP from risk as well. As an MSP, your overall security posture is only as strong as your weakest link, so if you allow your customers to determine their own security stack and protection measures based on an arbitrary, preconceived budget, your MSP business becomes like a piece of Swiss cheese—with gaping holes attackers can easily permeate.

4. You don’t want to give the cyber insurance company a reason to deny a payout on a ransomware claim

In the event of any claim made—cybercrime-related or not—insurance companies typically want to conduct an investigation to see who was negligent or possibly at fault. In the event of a ransomware attack where a company is forced to pay the ransom, their claim could be denied if the investigation determines that you—the MSP—were not enforcing a set security standard across your customers, and/or your customer chose NOT to upgrade their security coverage to better protect themselves. Not only would this outcome be detrimental to the customer from a financial standpoint, it could also trigger negative feelings and resentment towards your MSP for failing to properly educate and protect them.

5. It’s a moneymaker for your MSP

Cybersecurity is a wide-open greenspace, and has quickly become the number one growth opportunity for MSPs. Now is the time for MSPs to reposition and remarket themselves as cybersecurity experts to stand apart from their competitors. A 2020 Security Services Trends Report from the Robert Herjavec Group found the following:

• 73% listed ransomware as their top threat
• 57% listed loss of customer data as their top threat
• 39% listed email account compromise as their top threat

And from that same report, 37% of organizations cited security as a top priority for their executive management team, and 42% of respondents expected their managed security services budget to increase.

As we transition into the new year, you owe it to yourself and your customers to prioritize cybersecurity education and training. If you are wondering how to develop and sell security programs to your customers, I’m holding a new Boot Camp on October 26 to discusses this very topic. You can register here: https://bit.ly/3BJ2U3r

Stefanie Hammond is Head Sales and Marketing Nerd at N‑able. You can follow her on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @sales_mktg_nerd.