SMBs prefer MSPs for security deployments

More than half of US SMBs now use an external service provider; that number will rise as the need for security grows.

SMBs are being ‘forced' to spend on IT solutions to secure the many different devices (data centre applications, network gear, mobile devices, etc) in the modern workplace: a result of the spread of the BYOD and IoT trends. The conclusion is the result of a survey by Techaisle and dinCloud, which states that solution spending will fall into four categories:

  1. Protection of data entering the corporate environment
  2. Protection of the mobile environment
  3. Traffic inspection
  4. Protection of information in use

Due to the diversity of spend (and solutions) needed, Techaisle predicts that the popularity of managed service providers (MSPs) will continue to rise: 59 per cent of SMBs in the USA already partner with one. While larger firms tend to rely on internal security teams, SMBs have more limited resources, making MSPs a more attractive prospect.

"As cyber-attacks continue to become increasingly sophisticated, businesses must ensure they are safe by leveraging the expertise offered by security focused MSPs," said dinCloud's senior director of infrastructure, Farhan Mirza. "While businesses are taking advantage of various technologies like cloud computing, IoT and mobility, they are increasingly vulnerable to attack vectors that hackers can exploit. In this fast-changing technical landscape, IT teams also have to worry about securing their data on-premises or in the cloud. It is necessary to not only have a comprehensive security policy in place covering all these areas, but also have a monitoring mechanism."

So far MSPs have had most success with data centre/server, network and endpoint security offerings; but Techaisle views mobile device security, gateway messaging/web security and virtualisation security as growth opportunities for security-as-a-service providers.

We recently talked to Mike DeCesare of ForeScout about the inherent insecurity of the IoT - the Mirai botnet was just the beginning, he feels. We also talked to Malwarebytes's CEO Marcin Kleczynski about how his company is evolving to beat malware authors.