Building a Resilient Business: Why Cybersecurity is Key to Long-Term Success

This is an excerpt from a recent podcast interview between Troels Rasmussen and Pete Roythorne.

In an increasingly digital world, business resilience is no longer just about weathering storms, maintaining supply chains, or keeping operations running smoothly. For Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and their clients, resilience must also include a robust cybersecurity framework. Cyber threats are no longer hypothetical—they’re inevitable. As Troels Rasmussen, GM of Security at N‑able, emphasized to me a in recent podcast interview, “If you don’t have the right security posture… you’re setting yourself up for a potential extinction event.”

Beyond the Horizon, Episode 11—Building Resilient Businesses: The Critical Growth Areas of Security for MSPs   Listen on your favourite streaming platform: click here Watch on YouTube: click here

The role of cybersecurity in business resilience has expanded significantly over the past decade. No longer just an IT concern, security is now central to ensuring operational continuity, protecting sensitive data, and safeguarding business reputation. To build a truly resilient business, organizations need to treat cybersecurity as a critical part of their long-term strategy.

Cybersecurity as a Strategic Investment

For many businesses, cybersecurity is often seen as a necessary cost, but not necessarily a strategic investment. This view, however, is increasingly outdated. As Troels points out, “Cybersecurity is like your insurance, your pipeline planning, or how do you contingency planning for business-critical operations—it’s part of running a resilient business.” Without focus on security, businesses are left vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks that can bring operations to a grinding halt.

A well-designed cybersecurity program protects businesses not just from immediate threats like malware or ransomware but also from long-term consequences like regulatory fines, reputational damage, and the loss of customer trust. In industries like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing—where data and operational continuity are critical—cybersecurity plays a vital role in ensuring that business operations can withstand external shocks.

Building Resilience Through Layered Security

A resilient business requires more than just basic cybersecurity measures. The complexity of today’s threat landscape means that a single solution won’t cut it. Instead, businesses must adopt a layered security approach, integrating tools and services such as Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Managed Detection and Response (MDR), firewalls/ZTNA, and backup solutions to create a comprehensive defense.

“Security is a sliding scale—how much protection are you willing to pay for? There’s always more you can add,” says Troels. While some businesses may feel overwhelmed by the variety of security options available, this layered approach is essential to protecting against the multitude of threats that can arise. By combining different technologies and practices, businesses can better detect, investigate, and respond to threats, reducing the risk of downtime or data loss.

For MSPs, offering this range of security services helps clients build a more resilient business by ensuring they have the right mix of tools to address their specific needs. Whether the client is a small business looking for basic protection or a larger enterprise needing advanced threat detection, MSPs must provide scalable solutions that can evolve as the business grows and as threats change.

The Financial Impact of Downtime

One of the most compelling reasons to invest in cybersecurity as part of a resilience strategy is the financial cost of downtime. Every minute a business is offline due to a cyberattack can result in lost revenue, damaged customer relationships, and the potential for long-term damage to the brand. “How much does it cost for you to be out of business for an hour, a day, or a week?” Troels asks, driving home the importance of understanding the financial risks associated with not having a robust security framework.

In some cases, the cost of recovering from a cyberattack far exceeds the cost of implementing preventative measures. Consider the example of Maersk, the global shipping giant, which was hit by a ransomware attack that halted its operations for 10 days. As Troels notes, “The estimated cost of this outage ranged between $350 to $450 million. While not every business will face losses on that scale, even smaller businesses can suffer significant financial damage from just a few hours of downtime or having your reputation damaged.”

For MSPs, it is essential to communicate these risks to clients in a way that emphasizes the value of resilience. While clients may balk at the upfront costs of cybersecurity, helping them understand the financial implications of downtime can shift their perspective. Cybersecurity is not an expense to be minimized; it’s an investment in the future stability of the business.

Preparing for the Unavoidable

In today’s threat landscape, it’s not a question of if a business will be targeted by a cyberattack, but when. This shift in mindset is critical for building resilience. Businesses must plan for the unavoidable and ensure they have the necessary tools and strategies in place to minimize the impact of an attack.

“Cybersecurity is not a one-and-done—it’s an ongoing process, an evolution,” says Troels. To stay resilient, businesses need to regularly assess and update their security measures to adapt to new threats. This includes investing in advanced solutions like MDR, which allows businesses to detect and respond to threats in real-time, significantly reducing the potential damage of an attack.

MDR provides MSPs and their clients with the capability to respond rapidly to threats, minimizing downtime and ensuring that business operations can continue uninterrupted. “You need better technology, and in most cases, you need people to support you through the process,” Troels notes. This support is critical, especially for smaller businesses that may not have the internal resources to manage 24/7 security operations.

The Role of MSPs in Building Resilience

MSPs play a crucial role in helping businesses of all sizes build resilience through cybersecurity. By offering scalable, flexible security solutions, MSPs can tailor their services to meet the unique needs of each client, ensuring that they are protected from a wide range of threats.

One of the key benefits MSPs bring to the table is the ability to provide enterprise-grade security services to even the smallest of businesses. This is particularly important in industries where regulatory compliance is a concern. As Troels notes, “Compliance is regulatory bodies setting the bar for how tall you need to be to take this ride.” By ensuring that their clients meet regulatory standards, MSPs can help businesses avoid fines and operational disruptions that could threaten their long-term success.

By positioning cybersecurity as a critical element of resilience, MSPs can demonstrate their value to clients not just as service providers but as strategic partners in their success.

Making Cybersecurity a Business Priority

Building a resilient business in today’s digital world requires more than just basic operations planning—it demands a robust cybersecurity strategy. As Troels highlights, “Cybersecurity is a core tenet of having a resilient business.” For MSPs, the challenge is clear: help clients understand that cybersecurity is not just an IT issue, but a strategic investment in the continuity and success of their business.

By emphasizing the financial risks of downtime, the importance of layered security, and the inevitability of cyberattacks, MSPs can position themselves as essential partners in building long-term resilience.

For more insights on how to incorporate cybersecurity into your business resilience strategy, listen to the full podcast episode with Troels Rasmussen, where he dives deeper into the evolving role of security in today’s business landscape.

Beyond the Horizon, Episode 11—Building Resilient Businesses: The Critical Growth Areas of Security for MSPs

• Listen on your favourite streaming platform: click here
• Watch on YouTube: click here

Pete Roythorne is Senior Brand Editor at N‑able