For this article, we sat down with Roch Tremblay, the Chief Operating Officer from Radio IP – one of Media Sonar’s valued partners. 

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If the security industry has shown us anything in the last decade, risks are evolving in frequency and complexity at a near-constant rate. Between the expanding cybersecurity landscape and the time, budget, and human capital required to develop an in-house security team, there’s no question that there is increased demand for managed security services. What used to be primarily reserved for MSSPs, security services have shifted and require MSPs to evolve beyond their traditional scope and include security as a component of their service offering to attract and retain clients. 

“We hear about cyber-attacks on a very regular basis.  What once were single attacks on single users 20 years ago are now a multi-threat, multi-level, multi-culprit reality of daily Government and corporate operations,”  said Tremblay. “What was resolved by our colleagues in the anti-virus industry has now pushed companies to be more creative in developing solutions that can better detect, defend and deter potential attacks in many forms. This is an extremely fast-paced and challenging environment.”

Challenges of Offering Managed Security Services

Previously, the main challenge was communicating the importance of building robust security policies beyond good-to-use basic security programs. Despite the average cost of a data breach expected to surpass $5 billion in 2023 and 60% of small and mid-market organizations going out of business entirely within six months of experiencing a breach, there were still government entities and corporations who assumed they were not a target. While this is still a barrier with some organizations, the more significant challenge is communicating the return to those that have invested in their security posture.  

“Over the past 10 years, we have seen many organizations wanting to strengthen their position in cybersecurity risk analysis and mitigation. We see this as a very positive sign,” said Tremblay. “Yet, we also see that even when specialized companies, such as ours, raise flags to alert various stakeholders that the risks are still increasing, there is still a global tendency to evaluate the importance of cybersecurity as a cost-benefit balance or by evaluating the potential ROI of implementing one program instead of another.”

Sometimes in security, clients can feel like they are paying for a lot and getting nothing if, in the best-case scenario, they don’t get attacked. MSPs should be able to consistently report to customers what they are doing, how those measures benefit their clients, and if the user didn’t have that security, what would they lose or what is at risk? Failing to do so could mean that even if you sell a security solution, the customer could decide a year later that they need to cut it.  

“We want to continue to educate CISOs and CIOs to pursue their efforts in promoting strong cybersecurity policies and implement solutions that will simplify the management of these programs,” said Tremblay. “But, we also need to encourage them to deepen their involvement in promoting such programs and practices by advocating to their leadership team that cyber programs should not be evaluated on costs and benefits but on long-term savings for the reputation, operations, customers, shareholders, and employees of that organization.”

Building Value in Managed Security Services

1. Flexibility.

In the security services world, there is not one recipe that can fit all the necessary requirements for all customers. Offering flexible security services provides more tailored and adequate coverage for clients and demonstrates that you are focused on helping each client solve their unique problems.  

“One of the key aspects that bring Radio IP to the forefront of the cybersecurity world is its ability to adjust its offering to tailor the proposed solution to the needs and requirements of its customers,” said Tremblay.  “Radio IP has always tailored its offering to ensure that the requirements set forth by its customers are met, no matter the challenge.”

2. Advanced support.

Offering support has always been a critical contributor to achieving success and building trust with clients. When it comes to security, the need for advanced support is even more integral and may extend beyond the level of support typically required. 

“If you want to create value for your customer, you should focus your efforts on the support you provide your customers with,” added Tremblay. “We specialize in wireless networking and secure data transfer.  Yet, in the course of a year, we might end up helping to configure CAD and some routers and debug Windows issues.  That is part of our service offering, and I believe our customers and partners see a lot of value in this attitude.”

3. Collaboration & partnerships

“There seems to be a trend in the market where technology companies are either building very strong partnerships from a technological standpoint or simply integrating specialized companies into their larger cybersecurity ecosystems,” explained Tremblay. “Our constant efforts in developing technical and business partnerships with leaders in other specialty fields and integrators ensure we can deliver the required products, services, and solutions to a broader range of customers.”

With new cybersecurity vendors consistently entering the market, it can be challenging to determine the partnerships and solutions that best fit the needs of an MSP and its clients. Instead of just selecting technology vendors that are checkbox, feel-good, compliance-driven solutions, MSPs must choose vendors that can help them consistently demonstrate real value to the end customer so they can make money on them as opposed to just eating the cost. 

“As a service provider selects its core partner environment, it should look for innovative vendors to ensure a constant presence in a robust collaborative environment,” said Tremblay. “For instance, Radio IP Software offers a portfolio of security solutions to overcome the performance, security, connectivity, and roaming challenges of wireless networks to achieve faster response times. Designed for today’s wireless and mobile environments, its solutions enable mobile users to roam seamlessly across all network environments.”

4. Differentiation.

MSPs have always needed to find ways to differentiate their service offerings to remain competitive. As more and more MSPs offer security services, those looking to stand out from the crowd need to go beyond internal data and tools. Firewalls and endpoints do not account for vulnerabilities between the traditional corporate perimeter and where businesses engage – the social, surface, deep and dark web.

“Our partnership with Media Sonar adds depth to Radio IP’s key offering on Mobile security technology,” said Tremblay. “Media Sonar’s Digital Risk Detection and Web Intelligence solutions help us bring more visibility. It’s now possible to to search, access, and analyze data from the social, surface, deep and dark web to increase security internally and externally during investigations.”

Moving Forward

Predicting the future of managed security services is nearly impossible because the security landscape is evolving faster than any group of people or technology can keep up with. Amongst this ambiguity, one thing is clear – the demand for managed security services will continue to rise. The MSPs that will come out on top will be the ones that are dedicated to adapting to the changing security landscape, can effectively demonstrate the value of security services, and provide each client with the support and unique experience that they expect.