Capitalizing on Cybersecurity Growth

The move toward digitalization has fundamentally changed the landscape for businesses of all sizes and verticals—both on the OEM and SaaS side and channel partners. With more business functions moving online and a growing remote workforce increasing the demand for digital tools and communication platforms, many organizations are left wondering how to manage this new digital landscape. At the same time, nefarious players want to take advantage of security loopholes to steal customer information, account data, or other intelligence that can lead to a quick payday.

While this presents a challenge for many companies, it also represents an opportunity for channel partners. Here’s how channel partners can capitalize on the demand for cybersecurity partners in 2022 and beyond.

The Cybersecurity Landscape in 2022

According to a Brandessence Market Research and Consulting report, the global cybersecurity market is predicted to be valued at $403 billion by 2027, up from $176.5B in 2020. What is growing this incredible boom? There are several factors, the first of which is the growing remote workforce. Although remote work had been slowly and steadily trending up for years, a recent Gartner report says that as many as 60% of knowledge workers are currently remote. This increase in remote employees significantly increases many companies’ risk exposure and opens the door to cybersecurity attacks. Combined with an increasingly digital supply chain and a growing role of e-commerce for many organizations, cybersecurity is top-of-mind.

Growing as an MSSP

Managed security service providers—or MSSPs—are valuable channel partners for many organizations. A good MSSP acts as an extension of the business and leverages its security expertise to help diffuse risk and improve security standards and protocols. But as a channel partner, being an effective MSSP involves staying abreast of current security trends, tools, and threats. To grow as an MSSP—and provide the most value to your customers—you must work relentlessly to pursue the best partners and stay on top of the latest trends and risks in cybersecurity.

Don’t Wait, Defend Now

Most channel partners, even those without MSSP experience, likely have some expertise as a security provider. If you want to capitalize on the growing need for cybersecurity services, sell to your customer base now, before another company approaches them or, even worse, your customer experiences a data breach or cybersecurity attack. Be proactive in defending your customers—it shows your clients they can trust you to prevent them from being attacked and offers a great opportunity to grow your bottom line.

Focus on Outcomes, not Fluff

While colorful dashboards and fancy reports might wow your customers, your security results will speak for themselves at the end of the day. If customers aren’t receiving the expertise and outcomes they expect, they will quickly look elsewhere—particularly for something as mission-critical as protecting data. While dashboards and analytics can be a helpful and essential tool for your customers, keep focusing on preventing attacks and remediating breaches to strengthen customer relationships and build a reputation as security experts.

With hundreds of billions of dollars coming down the pipes in the next few years, cybersecurity represents an incredible opportunity for the channel. By growing your MSSP offerings, remaining proactive, and focusing on results, you can build a reputation as a security expert and help grow your company’s cybersecurity practice.