News
Increase in Cyber-attacks Drives MSP Customers to Invest in Security
May 2020 by Kaseya
More than nine out of ten (91%) of managed service providers (MSPs) say that 10-40% of their customer base has fallen victim to a cyberattack in the past 12 months, while a further 8% had more than 40% of customers in that category. That’s according to the latest annual MSP Benchmark Survey report (EMEA edition) from Kaseya.
In line with this, the research also found ‘meeting security risks’ is now the top IT need for well over a quarter (29%) of MSP customers, making it the top IT need not only globally but also in each of the individual Americas, APAC and EMEA regions. It was followed by cyber-security services (e.g., anti-virus, anti-malware or ransomware protection), highlighted by 14% of the survey sample overall.
The vast majority of MSPs (95%) said that at least some of their clients have turned to them for advice on cybersecurity plans. More than half of respondents in total (55%) said most or all of their clients have done this.
Jim Lippie, senior vice president of partner development and general manager at Kaseya, said: “While the survey was carried out before the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect that the number of businesses looking to MSPs to provide cyber-security services will have significantly increased during the crisis.
“More and more employees working from home has led to increased security threats, caused by everything from larger volumes of home devices connecting to the corporate network to growing incidences of ransomware and phishing attacks. During this volatile time, businesses more than ever need to leverage the expertise of MSPs to help with resource-intensive IT and security needs.”
The survey also revealed that among general managed services, the security solution most widely provided by EMEA MSPs in 2019 was antivirus/antimalware (80%) closely followed by backup and recovery (79%). MSPs have also ramped up the delivery of dark web security monitoring services for their clients, with the volume providing this service growing more than fivefold during 2019 (up to 16% from only 3% in 2018).
In looking at specific security services offered, the research found firewall and VPN management was being provided by 80% of MSPs globally while over two-thirds (66%) of respondents were providing assistance with password resets, self-service and password management.
Lippie said: “MSPs are focused on building up their portfolios of security solutions in response to the growing cyber-security threat and rising demand from clients. Nearly three quarters (72%) of EMEA MSPs reported an increase in revenue through security offerings over 2019, which suggests there is a growing demand for security as a service.
